The Asura Blade

Shopkeeper Wang was killed in one move before he could even pick up his abacus, and that young fellow, who always kept three coin-knives hidden in his sleeves, didn't even get a chance to throw them before being blasted to death. Chang'an's mind conjured the shadow of the person who rode past on a horse, but he couldn't recall their appearance. He couldn't figure out how that person had dealt with these two first-rate martial artists in such a short amount of time.

He strode away from the scene, unable to watch any longer.

The night was deep.

Even a prosperous city like Danyang City had extinguished its lights. But in the darkness, the transactions of desire and the exchange of flesh for money still took place.

The desolate, long street was lonely and desolate.

A lonely moon hung in the sky, its silver light spilling down.

On the side of the street, an old woman's braised beef stall was still open. Three burly men sat at a few old tables. The three men were bare-chested, with rough cloth wrapped around their hands, knives on their backs. They ate large plates of braised beef, downed strong liquor, and talked loudly.

Chang'an suddenly felt like drinking.

It had been about a year since he had drunk strong liquor on a street late at night.

It was because he didn't kill people at night, nor did he need to drink strong liquor for courage. He often frequented brothels at night, because he had a beauty in his arms, brothers by his side, or because admiring young lords invited him with great hospitality, offering fine wine.

But at this moment, he suddenly wanted to drink, to drink strong liquor.

He wasn't seeking drunkenness, but rather to vent his anger.

Shopkeeper Wang's death was too quick and too bizarre. He felt a heavy sense of suspicion but couldn't figure anything out.

He didn't recognize any of these rough, burly men. Their voices were loud, unlike the gentle, rounded accents of Qingshan Prefecture. They felt completely foreign.

Chang'an sat down at an empty table. The wind was a bit cold, so he tightened his clothes. The old woman had already walked up to him and asked enthusiastically, "Drinking or eating meat?" The old woman always asked this way, which felt strange. Anyone drinking at this hour would always eat some braised beef. Anyone who ordered braised beef would also drink some wine. But the old woman still asked this superfluous question, never thinking it was improper.

Chang'an said, "Drinking without meat isn't good; eating meat without wine isn't satisfying. Give me two pounds of beef and two pounds of strong liquor!"

The old woman shuffled over to cut the meat and fetch the wine.

One of the three burly men, sitting at a table across from him, invited, "Little brother, come drink with us. It's boring to drink alone! We have some things we'd like to ask you about." The man with a broken pinky finger waved to the old woman, telling her to bring the wine and meat directly to their table.

Chang'an smiled and said, "You three aren't from around here, are you?" He stood up and sat down at the same table with the three burly men.

The man with nine fingers chuckled and said, "We're from the borderlands of the desert. We've just arrived and are passing through to handle some business."

Chang'an drank large gulps of wine, narrowing his eyes as he glanced at the knives of the three men. Their scabbards were tightly wrapped in coarse hemp cloth, stained with dried blood that had formed into patches.

The man with yellow hair said in a deep voice, "Young man, have you heard of the Bright Moon Blade?"

Chang'an nodded and said, "I've heard of its reputation, but I've never seen it. Its blade light and the bright moon are indistinguishable. It's the most tragically beautiful blade in the world. Legend has it that anyone who sees its blade light dies."

The most silent, one-eyed burly man gulped down a bowl of wine and grunted, "The people from Longyuan Province say the same thing."

The man with yellow hair and the man with nine fingers both chuckled, drinking bowl after bowl as if the wine were water.

Suddenly, a dirty, scrawny wild cat scurried across the street. The man with nine fingers sighed, "Poor cat!" He picked up a piece of beef, flicked his bamboo chopsticks, and the meat flew out with a hiss. The black wild cat, which had been running quickly, suddenly stopped. It was biting the piece of meat in its mouth but didn't swallow it.

Chang'an's pupils contracted.

The wild cat was indeed pitiful, because it was already dead.

The man with nine fingers suddenly said, "Little brother, you shouldn't be drinking here. It's dangerous at night!"

Chang'an said calmly, "It's always dangerous at night. I just saw someone killed, and their body was burned."

The man with yellow hair said, "Aren't you afraid?"

Chang'an asked strangely, "Afraid of what?"

The one-eyed man said, "Afraid of us!"

Chang'an chuckled, "What's there to be afraid of with you all?"

The man with nine fingers smiled sinisterly, "Everyone who has seen the Asura Blade kill has died! Look at that wild cat, it was greedy for a piece of meat, and it died, didn't it?"

Chang'an said, "It's definitely dead! Oh, you are the Asura Blade, and you made me witness your killing! But that wild cat wasn't greedy for your meat; it was a disaster from the heavens." Chang'an suddenly understood.

The one-eyed man said, "Therefore, you are dead. Disaster is upon you!"

Chang'an immediately shut his mouth and lowered his head to drink.

The three burly men had murderous intent in their eyes, and the one-eyed man was about to draw his saber.

Bang!

The old woman let out a startled cry. A large, unopened jar of wine on the counter was accidentally knocked over by her, spilling all over the ground. The old woman had never spilled a wine jar while selling wine and meat at her stall at night, but tonight an accident occurred. The old woman became flustered and cried out, "My wine, my wine... Old man will scold me to death, scold me to death..." She spun around in place, frantic, and suddenly grabbed the knife used for cutting beef from the counter and swung it towards her own neck, shouting, "I'll just die, just die..."

The man with yellow hair watched coldly, "This old woman has gone mad. The old man at home must be an extremely fierce and stingy miser! Pitiful, pitiful..."

The man with nine fingers shouted, "Old woman, we haven't paid yet, and you're dying. Your old man probably won't let you rest even as a ghost."

The old woman stopped abruptly at the sound, her cloudy eyes looking over, and she said hoarsely, "Hurry up and pay, give me the money... Ah, I'm still going to die!"

The one-eyed man, fiddling with a piece of broken silver, walked up to the old woman and said, "Old woman, take the money. After you take the money, I'll send you on your way!"

The old woman asked strangely, "I have to set up my stall again tomorrow night. Where am I going on my way?"

The one-eyed man said, "Of course, I'll fulfill your wish to die!"

One of his hands was already on his saber.

Crack!

A crisp sound.

The one-eyed man's head suddenly flew off, along with a section of his sword hilt and a hand.

The old woman shrieked, "Ah, where did your head and hand run off to? It's a ghost..." Her voice was hoarse and shrill, filled with extreme terror.

The yellow-haired man and the nine-fingered man's expressions changed drastically. They flipped over the table and stood up.

The one-eyed man's hand and skull rolled onto the ground, but his body remained standing, spewing large amounts of blood mist.

Chang'an was still holding a bowl of wine and saw a red piece of a blade. The one-eyed man tried to draw his sword, but he suddenly died. The blood-red Asura Blade had only been pulled out a tiny bit.

The person who killed him had acted too quickly, their movements as unpredictable as ghosts and spirits.

The yellow-haired man roared, "Crazy old woman, how dare you kill my brother?"

The old woman stammered in panic, "I didn't, I didn't... I don't know anything..." She trembled all over from fright, her legs suddenly giving out, and she fell to the ground.

The yellow-haired man bellowed, "Die!"

A flash of blood, and his sword was already unsheathed. The blood-colored blade chopped down towards the old woman, its shadow as blood-red and tragic as blood.

Chang'an lowered his head and drank his wine.

The yellow-haired man's legs suddenly flew off again. His upper body fell to the ground, blood gushing out. He was in so much pain that he couldn't even scream, and he passed out.

The remaining nine-fingered man's face changed drastically, his courage completely shattered. He had vaguely seen the old woman draw her sword, her speed being unbelievably fast. If he hadn't been well-versed in swordsmanship himself, he wouldn't have even noticed the old woman's move. He had never seen a sword move so fast.

A chill ran down his spine. His body suddenly darted out, grabbing the yellow-haired man from the ground. He moved ten times faster than a wild cat, fleeing along the empty street.

The old woman got up from the ground and saw the overturned beef. She lamented, "They didn't finish their meat, and they ran off. Young people have quick legs, help this old woman deliver it!"

Chang'an finished his wine and gave a wry smile, "I'm too fat, I'd run myself to death trying to keep up with that strong man."

The old woman began to pack up her stall, sighing vaguely as she loaded things onto her cart, "I've been butchering cattle for sixty years, but people... they're still a bit different from cows..."

Chang'an suddenly said, "Is this the Great Body-Shattering Blade Technique?"

The old woman chuckled, "This is a technique for killing livestock! Little Ning family brat, hurry along now, the soldiers from Danyang Prefecture will be here soon..."

Chang'an's expression turned solemn. He bowed, "Thank you, Grandma, for saving me. This junior takes his leave!"

The old woman said, "It's good that those unruly beasts are dead, otherwise how would the common folk live... It's late, walking in the dark, don't trip over your shadow..."

Chang'an pondered, then turned and left.

He forgot to pay.

The old woman also seemed to forget, slowly pushing her cart, and gradually disappeared down the other end of the long street.

The night was cold, the moon was round, and Chang'an's shadow was long!

How could a shadow trip someone?! Chang'an couldn't understand. His mind began to wander to things, starting from when Liu Xuanfeng and Old Liu suddenly appeared at the head of the village.

Suddenly, he stumbled and fell.

Chang'an was startled. He felt a sharp pain in his knee; his skin had been scraped. The flagstones of the street were too rough. He got up from the ground, looking a bit disheveled, his breathing momentarily stopped. He only saw a dark shadow appear before him like a ghost, silently, as if drifting.

The night wind was terrifyingly cold.

Is this a ghost?!

Chang'an took a breath and asked in a deep voice, "Are you Ghost Shadow?"

Ghost Shadow let out a low, sinister voice, "Ghost Shadow whose brother is dead."

Chang'an said, "Then you must be Ghost Shadow. Ghost Hand became a true ghost under my hand, are you finally here to avenge him?"

Ghost Shadow said, "That's right. Ghost Hand died horribly. Ning Family's Chang'an, you are doomed. You will die a hundred times more miserably than Ghost Hand!"

Whoosh!

Ghost Shadow disappeared, leaving behind a chilling fear and the shadow of death.

He enjoyed watching his prey's fear, and would slit their throats at the moment of their greatest terror. That way, he could feel pleasure.

Chang'an, however, ignored him and strode towards the end of the street.

At the end of the long street, a hundred paces away, was the inn where he was staying. There was an old locust tree, a most obvious landmark.

Swoosh!

Ghost Shadow suddenly reappeared in front of Chang'an, saying coldly, "So, you have no inner energy, you've become useless. Heh heh, a pathetic little lamb..."