Zhang Heng

Zhang Heng

This group was actually from the Medicine Hall.

Lu Zhaojin had not meant to eavesdrop; they simply had not avoided him while talking.

Come to think of it, he had only spent a few days in Qishan County, yet he had already encountered the County Yamen and the Moon Wolf Gang. This was his first contact with the Medicine Hall.

They always carried a faint, warm fragrance of medicine, likely picked up from dealing with medicinal herbs year after year.

The medicinal fields at the foot of the mountain could not be seen from here. But if one stood halfway up the mountain and looked down, one would see a sea of tender green waves, with the occasional black speck moving through it—the herb farmers at work.

Even after Qishan County lost the precious wild medicinal herbs on Mount Qi, great numbers of merchants and travelers still came here to purchase herbs because of those medicinal fields.

Behind the medicinal fields naturally stood the Medicine Hall. Though the County Yamen and the Moon Wolf Gang had learned some medicinal knowledge, they did not possess the craft of cultivating medicinal herbs, much less growing them well.

This also showed the Medicine Hall's importance in Qishan County.

Better provoke the county magistrate than provoke the Medicine Doctor.

This saying, widely circulated throughout Qishan County, could be considered a way of survival in Qishan County.

Unfortunately, it no longer applied now.

Their journey had not been peaceful. They constantly ran into people blocking the road—if not members of the Moon Wolf Gang, then people from the Zhang family.

These people were stopping others from going up the mountain and entering the Cave Mansion.

The middle-aged man from the Medicine Hall still tried to reason with them, but when faced with hot-tempered people, he was bound to suffer. The moment they met, a blade came cleaving down.

Had he not possessed some skill himself, he likely would have died on the road long ago.

Of course, Lu Zhaojin killed all of them, turning them into experience points to improve his cultivation art.

But everyone along the way had only been Ninth-Rank Martial Artists. The experience had risen very slowly; for the Flowing Water Art to reach completion, he still needed at least the experience from two Eighth-Rank Martial Artists.

Experience: 1608

Although he had gained experience, after all that slaughter, the people from the Medicine Hall looked at him somewhat differently.

Fear?

Terror?

Keeping their distance?

It was probably all of those things.

Along the way, whenever they encountered someone too powerful, they fully realized that the Cave Mansion was not something they could lay hands on. No matter how unwilling they were, their lives mattered more. Upon finding valuable medicinal herbs nearby, they bid Lu Zhaojin farewell and left.

Lu Zhaojin continued onward alone. After walking a long way, he finally saw the cave entrance as night fell.

People from the Zhang family and the Moon Wolf Gang guarded the entrance, refusing to let anyone else enter.

The martial artists who had come from outside Qishan County looked at them with fury and resentment. Yet their cultivation was too weak, and they had no choice but to swallow their anger. They only hoped those who went in ahead would not scrape the pot too clean, leaving them something to pick up.

At that moment, Lu Zhaojin appeared before them. Holding a long sword, he slowly walked toward the Cave Mansion, ignoring the Zhang family and Moon Wolf Gang guards as though he intended to force his way inside.

Seeing how young Lu Zhaojin was, only around sixteen, they could not help but feel a trace of mockery. A newborn calf fears no tiger. They waited eagerly to watch the show.

But when the Zhang family guards and Moon Wolf Gang members at the entrance saw Lu Zhaojin's face clearly, their expressions changed drastically. They gathered together, intending to use their advantage in numbers against this god of slaughter.

Before the spectators could make sense of what was happening, Lu Zhaojin had slain the guards and gang members. Corpses piled up at the entrance, blood seeping from the wounds on their necks and spreading across the ground.

The smell of blood stimulated everyone present. They stared at the youth in horror, never imagining he would be so vicious. He looked like a young man newly entered into the martial world, yet his methods were ruthless as those of a killing god.

At that moment, they suddenly recalled that the Zhang family and Moon Wolf Gang seemed to be searching the mountain for a youth. They had previously assumed it was the one inside the cave, but thinking about it now, could it have been this person?

However, with the guards at the entrance dead, no one remained to stop them. After only a brief hesitation, they steeled themselves with the thought that wealth was sought amid danger and entered the Cave Mansion.

The dark tunnel was not very long. After walking about sixty steps, Lu Zhaojin arrived at an open area.

There was firelight here, enough to see by.

Lu Zhaojin looked at the group and paused slightly. He had unexpectedly encountered an acquaintance—or rather, an enemy.

Several Zhang family guards held torches, their light illuminating most of the area. They surrounded Zhang Heng in the middle, warily watching their surroundings and missing no movement.

The cave was quiet, so quiet that even footsteps could carry far into the distance.

Thus, when they heard Lu Zhaojin's footsteps, they all turned toward his direction.

But—

Because Lu Zhaojin had not yet entered the range lit by the torches, they could only vaguely make out a silhouette and could not see who had come. They raised their voices and shouted, "Who's there?! Come out!"

Lu Zhaojin made no move. He merely looked at Zhang Heng, who sat cross-legged on the ground. Zhang Heng was regulating his breath, suppressing a strand of chaotic qi rampaging through his body that did not belong to him. Presumably, he had gained no advantage in his battle with Zhao Jinzhi and had instead been injured.

The guard's shout startled Zhang Heng. An outsider had arrived, and he had no choice but to divert some attention and open his eyes to see who it was.

His gaze seemed able to pierce the darkness. Lu Zhaojin's face appeared completely in his pupils, which contracted slightly. Almost gritting his teeth, he called out the other man's name, "Lu Zhaojin!"

Lu Zhaojin stepped out from darkness's shelter and strode openly into the light. Meeting Zhang Heng's gaze, which wished it could devour his flesh and drink his blood, he said leisurely, "Patriarch Zhang, why look at me like that? When you slaughtered my Sihai Escort Agency, did you ever think there would come a day like this?"

Zhang Heng truly did regret it, but not because he regretted deciding to slaughter the Sihai Escort Agency. He regretted failing to kill Lu Zhaojin personally. Otherwise, how could Lu Zhaojin have survived after jumping into the river?

He did not know what opportunity Lu Zhaojin had encountered in the Qi River, but in only a few short days, Lu Zhaojin seemed like a different person. His cultivation had surged, and even Zhang Jiao was no match for him.

An unusual light flashed in Zhang Heng's eyes. If he could force Lu Zhaojin to reveal the opportunity he had obtained, perhaps even the Sixth Rank would be within reach. "I, Zhang Heng, never regret my actions. But you seem not to understand the capabilities of a Seventh-Rank Realm martial artist."

As soon as the words fell, Zhang Heng suddenly struck with his palm. With only a muffled boom, the air itself twisted for an instant, as though an invisible palm print were hurtling toward Lu Zhaojin.

Facing this palm strike, Lu Zhaojin merely shifted to the side and dodged it. The palm print crashed into the stone wall behind him with a thunderous bang, blasting it apart and leaving behind a palm-shaped imprint.

Surprise flashed through Zhang Heng's eyes. He had not expected Lu Zhaojin to evade it. He had used this move to kill many Eighth-Rank Martial Artists before; almost anyone struck by it died.

Yet today, he had miscalculated.

It must have been because of the strand of true qi within his body.

Zhang Heng's expression darkened. Thinking of the person responsible for that strand of true qi, his hatred became even harder to dispel. No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand how Zhao Jinzhi had broken through to the Seventh Rank. Zhao Jinzhi was only seventeen this year.

A seventeen-year-old Seventh Rank.

In both Yanling Commandery and Luoshui Commandery, that was the existence of a prodigy.

He had cultivated for decades, yet he was actually inferior to a mere youth. His dao heart had nearly collapsed.

Thinking of how he had once regarded Zhang Jiao as the Zhang Family's Prodigy and repeatedly compared Zhao Jinzhi with Zhang Jiao, jealousy gnawed at his heart even more. Just what was his Zhang family lacking?

Lu Zhaojin did not care whether Zhang Heng thought much or little. In any case, while you were sick, he would take your life. Then he would go deeper into the Cave Mansion and kill Zhao Jinzhi, cutting off future trouble at the root.

None of these guards could withstand even one strike of his sword. They died with a single sword sealing their throats.

At last, he thrust his sword straight at Zhang Heng.

With catastrophe bearing down on him, Zhang Heng could no longer regulate his breath. He roared, and surging waves of qi erupted around him, trying to block that sword.

But that Sword Light was like a bamboo leaf floating in a raging gale. It pressed forward stubbornly, though slowly, until a great hand finally caught it, leaving it unable to advance even an inch.