The blazing sun hung overhead, heat waves billowing as though the air itself had been boiled. Every breath felt like swallowing hot coals, leaving one's throat swollen and scalding.
This was a small village with an ancient, rustic air, nestled beside a clear little river that murmured as it flowed.
There were several dozen households, most of them thatched cottages. Every family kept chickens and ducks, with pigs and cattle in their pens. They rose at sunrise and rested at sunset; though not wealthy, they lived peaceful and healthy lives.
In one household, two children with their hair in braids chased each other around the earthen courtyard, occasionally scooping up handfuls of cool water from a wooden basin and splashing one another to beat the heat. They were innocent and adorable.
Beneath the great banyan tree in the center of the courtyard, an old man in a cloth jacket lay rocking leisurely in a bamboo rattan chair. His face was deeply lined with the marks of time, and he slowly waved a cattail-leaf fan, eyes closed as he enjoyed life.
On the roof of another grass hut, two men in red lay concealed, taking advantage of the open view to watch the old man in the courtyard. They were so cautious that it seemed they were not watching an old man, but a terrifying demon king, afraid they would be killed in an instant the next moment without even leaving behind last words.
"Senior Brother, is that Old Man really the former Head of Ten Thousand Blades, the great hero who led all blades?"
The slightly younger man in red was full of confusion. His dry, peeling lips moved faintly as he communicated with the man beside him through Secret Sound Transmission.
He had been stationed here for two full