A Girl

Another Overlord's Soldier was brought over, his chest pierced by a spear, nearly skewered straight through. Lin Xiao continued using his brutal methods to administer emergency treatment. He roughly and crudely rolled the Overlord's Soldier about atop an oilcloth, smearing all manner of strange medicinal powders and ointments over him. Before long, the blood flowing from the Overlord's Soldier's wound stopped, and his groans gradually grew louder. In the end, like his comrades, he let out an earth-shaking scream!

Xue Wu truly could not bear to watch any longer. Even though he was a killing fiend who had clawed his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he could not keep watching. He felt that under Lin Xiao's hands, his men no longer resembled severely wounded soldiers. They were more like New Year pigs tied to the chopping block! Even their screams were exactly the same.

Fuming, he went to Ling Batian, who was overseeing the battle, and told him about Lin Xiao's methods.

Ling Batian raised his brows in surprise and asked, "Up to now, not a single one of the men sent over has died?"

"Indeed!" Xue Wu nodded angrily.

"Oh, then let him have his fun." Ling Batian smiled. "The boy has some skill. Ninety-seven wounded men have been sent over so far, and I judged twelve of them certain to die. Yet they survived? Not bad. Taking this boy in was no loss after all."

"But he..." Xue Wu wanted to complain about something.

Ling Batian glanced at him and said blandly, "Fifth Brother, do not forget what our Blood Kill Demonic Path needs: iron-blooded heroes who survive a hundred battles. Heh heh, suffering a little is better for their cultivation. At the very least, after joining us, they will find it far easier to pass the Blood Sea Body Refinement trial! You should pray that the boy's hand becomes even harsher. The more it hurts, the better!"

At the words "Blood Sea Body Refinement," Xue Wu's expression immediately changed. He clapped his hands excitedly and laughed. "How did I forget that? Heh, hehehe, fine, let him have his fun!"

Ling Batian laughed a few times, then turned to look at Shen Family Fortress, where bloody fighting still raged.

Several hundred Overlord's Soldiers had already surged onto the walls, driving the fortress guards of Shen Family Fortress back step by step. The Overlord's Soldiers struck viciously, and they cultivated the Blood Kill Demonic Art, which ran entirely counter to orthodox martial arts. Every move carried a savage, baleful ferocity that would kill the enemy even at the price of mutual destruction. How could the fortress guards possibly stand against them? Often, they were cut down after a single exchange.

What terrified the guards of Shen Family Fortress even more was that these crazed Overlord's Soldiers would often hack dozens more times at an enemy after knocking him down. Only after chopping him into a blurred lump of minced flesh would they pounce upon another foe with savage grins. They seemed to relish the battlefield's bloody aura, so they had to create an even denser stench of blood upon it.

In just a quarter of an hour, the eight hundred fortress guards of Shen Family Fortress collapsed. More than four hundred were killed on the spot, while the remaining three hundred scattered and fled.

The eight thousand Overlord's Soldiers let out a cheer and poured through the opened gates like a tidal wave.

Ling Batian coldly watched Shen Family Fortress, blanketed by screams and pleas for mercy, and said blandly, "The Third Prince's orders are that Shen Guan Shou's direct relatives are to be sent to Feiyun Pass to threaten Shen Guan Shou. All other members of the Shen family are to be executed. Xue Yi, handle it."

Xue Yi smiled faintly. "Boss, if we were attacking Feiyun Pass, why would there be any need for so much trouble?"

Ling Batian gave a lazy smile, tilted his head, and said blandly, "Where is there such a bargain? The price the Third Prince offered is not enough to make our Blood Kill Demonic Path risk our lives for him. We must proceed step by step. We have to make the Third Prince understand that without us, he can accomplish nothing. Only then will he obediently become our most compliant puppet!"

"Boss is wise!" Xue Yi lightly flattered Ling Batian.

Ling Batian shook his head and said blandly, "The Dao Command is wise. This was not my idea. All right, go kill to your heart's content. Hmm, not even a single copper coin may be overlooked."

Xue Yi nodded lightly and was about to lead his men into the fortress when Ling Batian suddenly called him back. "Forget it. I will go with you. Hmm, you go kill people, and I will hunt for treasure. A Shen Family Fortress this large must have cellars or secret chambers. If we miss them, that would be far too wasteful."

Xue Yi's face twitched a few times. Baring his teeth, he forced out a smile and obediently followed behind Ling Batian.

Lin Xiao slapped a wounded Overlord's Soldier hard upon the thigh wound where he had been cut. The pain made the soldier howl before he fainted.

After wiping the blood clean from his hands, Lin Xiao turned to look at Xue Wu behind him and asked blandly, "What are you going to do after taking the estate ahead?"

Xue Wu narrowed his eyes and looked approvingly at the hundred-odd wounded soldiers lying on the nearby open ground. He answered casually, "Doing a job for someone. Killing people, capturing people, that is all."

Lin Xiao's body trembled slightly. He raised his head to look at the pale blue-white moon and drew a deep breath. "I want to go inside."

Xue Wu frowned. "What are you going in for?"

Lin Xiao pointed at the dwindling medicine supplies and said coldly, "There are not enough medicinal ingredients. An estate this large must have a medicine storehouse."

Slapping his forehead, Xue Wu laughed. "I forgot about that. Our Overlord's Soldiers have rarely stockpiled medicinal ingredients in the past. Those few army doctors are only useful for treating livestock ailments. Hmm, fine. I will take you in."

Lin Xiao casually tied his little bundle around his waist and followed Xue Wu toward Shen Family Fortress at a slow pace.

The young Lin Xiao had already made up his mind. He could not remain among the Overlord's Soldiers. He could not use his medical arts to treat these bandits, nor could he allow the bandits he saved to kill even more good commoners. Therefore, he needed to find a chance to escape. Though he lacked much experience in the martial world, after all these years at Spring Return Hall, he had heard many tales of the martial world from the people who came from north and south seeking treatment. A great fortress like Shen Family Fortress would certainly have secret escape passages.

Even if he could not find a secret passage, in an estate this large, finding a secluded place to hide should not be too difficult, right?

First, he would escape the Overlord's Soldiers. As for what came later, Lin Xiao could not concern himself with that much.

Perhaps going to the comparatively peaceful Capital City would be a good choice. With his medical skills, at least he would not starve there.

The Capital City... The princes had fought chaotically for years, yet no one dared wage a major battle near the Capital City. After all, it was the foundation of the Great Yuan Kingdom.

Perhaps the Capital City was the only peaceful place left in the world.

Under the moonlight, Lin Xiao, dressed in green robes, slowly walked through the gates of Shen Family Fortress.

As Lin Xiao entered Shen Family Fortress, the Overlord's Soldiers all looked at him with subtly grateful gazes.

Those gazes made Lin Xiao's feelings incomparably complicated. These Overlord's Soldiers were not good people. Yet Lin Xiao had saved their lives, and they were grateful to him. But that gratitude made him feel as if his entire body were being scorched by fire, agonizing beyond measure. He had saved over a hundred Overlord's Soldiers. How many people would later die beneath their blades?

For a youth to understand the principles within all this was truly far too difficult.

Shen Family Fortress had already fallen into chaos. Eight thousand Overlord's Soldiers moved through every building, seizing everyone and taking them to the large drill ground at the center of Shen Family Fortress. This had originally been the place where Shen Family Fortress trained its guards and where the family gathered on ordinary days. Today, however, nearly a thousand Overlord's Soldiers had surrounded it tightly. Several thousand terrified Shen family members huddled in the drill ground like chickens and dogs awaiting slaughter. Many still did not know what had happened. Their faces numb, they stared at the blood-clad soldiers around them and occasionally let out meaningless mutters.

Lin Xiao slowly walked along the edge of the drill ground. Looking at the Shen family members within, he could not help asking with a frown, "Were your Overlord's Soldiers not always after wealth alone?"

Xue Wu said indifferently, "This time, we are after lives too. Your Great Yuan Kingdom's Third Prince wants us to kill every single person in Shen Family Fortress apart from Shen Guan Shou's direct relatives."

Lin Xiao's body abruptly stiffened. He stood rigidly in place and slowly turned his head to look at Xue Wu.

Xue Wu looked at Lin Xiao, a sharp gleam flashing through his eyes. "Do not look at me. There are some things you people cannot understand."

"Then may I ask what kind of people you are, to decide the life and death of several thousand people so casually?" Lin Xiao stared angrily at Xue Wu and asked in a low voice.

After lowering his head to ponder for a moment, Xue Wu answered earnestly, "We are not the same kind of people as you. Therefore, your anger, pity, and reluctance mean nothing to us." He shoved Lin Xiao hard on the shoulder and said flatly, "You are now the military doctor of our Overlord's Soldiers. Your purpose is to treat our men. Beyond that, you have neither the strength nor the right to interfere in anything else. Boy, do you know what matters most in this world?"

Xue Wu suddenly felt that he needed to instill some proper ideas into Lin Xiao, so he unusually asked him a question that he considered utterly pointless.

What mattered most in the world? Lin Xiao opened his mouth but could not speak. Lin Shan and the doctors of Spring Return Hall had all told him that the most important thing for a healer was a kind and tolerant heart. But clearly, to people like the Overlord's Soldiers, a kind and tolerant heart was laughable.

Xue Wu gave Lin Xiao a serious look and said solemnly, "In this world, fists matter most! If your fist is big enough, you can have everything. If your fist is not big enough, you will die without even a burial ground!"

"Rubbish!" Lin Xiao clenched his fists. He opened his mouth, wanting to argue something.

Xue Wu gently rubbed Lin Xiao's head. His gaze flashed like lightning, stabbing such pain into Lin Xiao's eyes that they ached fiercely. Yet Lin Xiao stubbornly raised his head. Though the agony in his eyes brought tears streaming down, he refused to lower his head before Xue Wu. Xue Wu nodded approvingly, withdrew the divine light from his eyes, and said coldly, "If your father's fist had been big enough, he would not have been killed by the Commander Wutian of the Jimo Sect!"

Lin Xiao's entire body froze. For a moment, he became like a stone man; even Xue Wu could no longer sense the slightest trace of life from him.

Xue Wu somewhat blankly touched his lips. Had his demonic art advanced so greatly recently that he could kill someone with just one sentence?

Then Lin Xiao's large eyes blinked. He let out a heavy breath and said flatly, "So Father truly is dead. Jimo Sect, Commander Wutian? Very well!"

A cold gleam flashed through Xue Wu's eyes, and he smiled with some excitement. "Actually, you could consider joining our Blood Kill Demonic Path!"

"The Blood Kill Demonic Path?" Lin Xiao gently shook his head and said blandly, "I do not like that name."

"But we are strong enough!" Xue Wu clenched his fist hard and laughed. "Your natural gifts are not bad either. Perhaps you will achieve success in cultivation someday. Then what would a mere Commander Wutian amount to?"

Lin Xiao sneered and looked up at Xue Wu. "Are you his match?"

Xue Wu frowned, then spread his hands helplessly with complete honesty. "I am not his match."

Lin Xiao nodded lightly and smiled. "Then he is not a mere Commander Wutian."

Turning around and giving Xue Wu no chance to speak, Lin Xiao headed toward the main residence at the center of Shen Family Fortress along the horse path beside the drill ground. Xue Wu tilted his head and bared his teeth. Somewhat irritated, he smashed a stone post beside the road into powder with one palm, then strode after Lin Xiao on his long legs. As he walked, he muttered under his breath, "Blood Kill Demonic Path? What a good name! We are the number one demonic path on Chaoyuan Star, after all! Though Chaoyuan Star is nothing in the entire cultivation world, our Blood Kill Demonic Path truly is not weak!"

Still muttering away, Xue Wu followed Lin Xiao to the gates of the Shen family residence. They happened to see several blood-armored personal guards leading a large group of Overlord's Soldiers as they escorted out a group of filthy, disheveled Shen family members.

Xue Wu gave a strange laugh and shouted, "Second Brother, how did you drag out a bunch of ground rats?"

Slim in build and with dark qi covering his face, Xue Er laughed smugly. "They slipped into a secret passage to escape, but I searched them out with the Earth Listening Technique. Are they not each covered in dust and dirt?"

They had fled into a secret passage, only to be found by the Earth Listening Technique?

Lin Xiao's body trembled faintly, but he silently walked past those Shen family members.

Xue Er narrowed his eyes and swept Lin Xiao with a doubtful gaze. Xue Wu shrugged and said softly, "The army does not have much medicine prepared. He is going to the Shen family's medicine storehouse to get some medicinal ingredients."

Xue Er nodded in sudden understanding and said blandly, "That is proper business. Hmm. Boys, move out!"

With a wave of his hand, the pack of wolfish, tiger-like Overlord's Soldiers dragged Shen family's direct relatives toward the outside of Shen Family Fortress.

From the drill ground Lin Xiao and the others had just passed, there suddenly came continuous screams and the wet sounds of blades and spears piercing flesh. The massacre of the Shen family's collateral branches had begun.

Lin Xiao covered his ears, trying to shut out the cruel waves of sound. Yet perhaps it was merely psychological, but no matter how tightly he covered them, he still felt countless anguished howls flooding into his ears. He even felt that his hands had become coated in a faint bloody stench. He had saved those Overlord's Soldiers, and those Overlord's Soldiers would go on to kill even more people!

Like a walking corpse, Lin Xiao arrived outside the medicine storehouse of Shen Family Fortress and slowly pushed open its doors. Just as Lin Xiao had expected, the Shen family, which had risen through the military, possessed a large medicine storehouse within the fortress, stocked with vast quantities of medicinal ingredients. He drew a deep breath and slowly entered. Xue Wu led a squad of Overlord's Soldiers, lit dozens of torches, and followed Lin Xiao inside.

From afar came the unceasing sounds of chests being overturned and cabinets rummaged through, along with the repeated smashing of bottles and jars.

Ling Batian's voice echoed above the entire Shen Family Fortress. "Be thorough! Do not overlook a single copper coin! Damn it, I said not a single copper coin may be missed! Money! Do you know what money is? Money is what I like most in this world!"

The moment Lin Xiao entered the medicine storehouse, he realized something was wrong. Some medicinal ingredients that had originally been stacked neatly had apparently been swept hastily onto the ground. Several medicine baskets had also been knocked over, scattering their contents everywhere. Lin Xiao regretfully glanced at one of the baskets. It had held a jar of fine Inch Gold Vine Liquid, rare and precious stuff with excellent effects for burns, yet it too had been spilled across the floor.

With a sigh, Lin Xiao walked around a medicine rack. Suddenly, he heard faint breathing from behind a pile of medicine baskets.

Xue Wu noticed the movement behind the baskets as well. Drawing his long blade, he prepared to stab through them with a single strike.

But Lin Xiao hurriedly stepped in front of Xue Wu and knocked several medicine baskets to the floor with one hand.

A little girl emerged from behind the rolling baskets. She wore a white gauze undergarment, and her round little face had turned pale blue-white with fright. Shivering like a fledgling bird in a cold wind, she looked no older than eleven or twelve.

Xue Wu's long blade went around Lin Xiao's body and rested against the little girl's neck.

Lin Xiao shoved Xue Wu's blade away, then pulled the girl's body into his arms. Her body had become rigid and ice-cold with terror.

He glared at Xue Wu and shouted, "What are you doing?"

Xue Wu said blandly, "This little girl does not have the gold chain unique to the Shen family's direct line around her neck. According to the boss's orders, I have to kill her!"

The little girl opened her mouth in terror, both tiny hands clutching tightly at Lin Xiao's body.

Vast swaths of blood-red light flashed before Lin Xiao's eyes. He seemed to hear the groans and wails of those collateral Shen family members on the drill ground.

He looked at Xue Wu and said with absolute determination, "If she lives, I live. If she dies, I will fight you to the death!"

Xue Wu opened his mouth, then suddenly sheathed his blade. He nodded hard at Lin Xiao and praised, "Boy, you have guts! This girl is yours!"

With that, Xue Wu turned and strode out of the medicine storehouse.