Human Lives as Sacrifice

Cultivation was not merely the shedding of sweat; it was the precise and brutal remolding of the flesh.

Steam billowed through the room, thick medicinal fumes mingling with the stench of blood until it stung the eyes shut.

Ji Ye sat naked in a bathing barrel, dark-red medicinal liquid rising over his chest and bubbling like boiling lava. It was a potent brew made from mixed inferior herbs, its effects violent. Without Bone-Penetrating Grass to temper it, it would pierce flesh like steel needles.

"Urgh..."

Ji Ye clenched a wooden stick between his teeth, veins bulging at his temples as every muscle in his body spasmed uncontrollably.

With every breath, his lungs rasped like bellows. He could clearly feel the scalding medicinal power burrowing through the wounds that had just been ground open with iron sand, like countless ants gnawing at his nerves.

It hurt enough to make one want to tear off this layer of skin.

But he did not move. Triple Brute Force granted him not only destructive power, but absolute control over this body. He forcibly tightened every muscle, locking in the medicinal power trying to escape as though sealing in moisture.

Two hours later.

The medicinal liquid had faded into murky gray water.

Ji Ye rose from the barrel, water splashing down around him.

He walked to the bronze mirror and examined this new body.

His formerly pale skin now bore an unhealthy dark-red hue. His arms and calves in particular were covered in fine calluses and healed scars. They felt as rough as sandpaper, and when tapped, even gave off faint thudding sounds.

"Barely counts as touching the threshold."

Ji Ye picked up the bone-scraping knife from the table and cautiously drew it across his left arm.

There was no blood.

The blade left only a white mark. His skin was like a layer of tough old cowhide. Though it still could not withstand the chopping of sharp weapons, ordinary scrapes and blunt blows would have a hard time breaking through it.

This was the initial stage of the Skin Tempering Realm.

But it was not enough. Without Bone-Penetrating Grass reaching deep into the fascia, this layer of skin was dead. Against Internal Strength or sharper weapons, it would still be as fragile as thin paper.

"Bone-Penetrating Grass..."

Ji Ye dressed, his gaze dark.

The Black Tiger Gang did not merely want his life; they had cut off his path.

There was nothing left to discuss.

The following day, the county yamen had an eerie atmosphere.

The normally lax constables were all tense today, hands resting on their sword hilts and eyes darting about.

The moment Ji Ye stepped into the courtyard, he felt more than a dozen gazes shoot toward him in unison. There was awe, concern, and more than anything else, the pity reserved for a dead man.

"Captain Ji, Captain Wang is waiting for you in the side hall."

Pockmarked hurried over, keeping his voice extremely low, his face pale. "Something big happened. This morning, someone hung a row of dead rats outside the yamen gate. Every rat had a cloth strip tied around its neck with your name written on it. The Black Tiger Gang sent word: if we don't hand over the killer within three days, they'll bathe Team Ding in blood."

"Bathe Team Ding in blood?"

Ji Ye gave a cold laugh without slowing his stride. "Do they think this is a bandit stronghold? They dare attack the county yamen?"

"Normally, they wouldn't." Pockmarked stamped his feet anxiously. "But I heard the Black Tiger Gang has made connections in the prefectural city. Even the County Magistrate has to give them some face. And... Zhao Hei Hu supposedly came out of seclusion last night and smashed half a stone mill with one palm!"

Half a stone mill.

That was the strength of a thousand catties, and proof that his bones were harder than rock.

Ji Ye entered the side hall.

Wang Meng still sat in that grandmaster's chair, but the iron walnuts he usually rolled in his hand were gone, replaced by a cup of tea that had long gone cold.

When he saw Ji Ye enter, Wang Meng lifted his eyelids. His normally clouded old eyes now gleamed sharply.

"Sit."

Ji Ye sat as instructed, his back ramrod straight.

"Did you kill Bone-Scraping Marquis?" Wang Meng asked bluntly.

"Yes."

"Good kill."

Wang Meng's answer was unexpected. He slammed the teacup heavily onto the table. "The Black Tiger Gang has been reaching too far these past years. They even dare lay hands on the government's salt permits. Killing one Red Stick was a warning to them."

But then his tone shifted, turning grim. "Zhao Hei Hu is truly enraged. He sent someone with a letter last night. Inside was a severed finger. It belonged to one of our brothers planted undercover in the Black Tiger Gang."

Ji Ye's eyes narrowed.

"He's forcing the issue." Wang Meng rose and walked to the window, looking out at the overcast sky. "The County Magistrate is spineless and doesn't want trouble. He intends to hand you over to calm things down."

"And what do you intend, Captain?" Ji Ye asked calmly.

"I'll protect you."

Wang Meng turned around, a savage smile appearing on his face. "The men I lead aren't for these thugs to kill. But I can only protect you for three days. Three days from now, Zhao Hei Hu will formally emerge from seclusion and host a Hand-Washing Feast. Every notable figure in the city will attend. It will be when he establishes his prestige—and when he uses your death to sacrifice to his banner."

Three days.

Three days again.

"Give me ten capable men." Ji Ye suddenly spoke.

"What are you planning?" Wang Meng narrowed his eyes.

"Since he wants to establish his prestige, I'll give him a grand gift." Ji Ye rose and straightened his collar. The madness radiating from his very bones made even Wang Meng's heart skip a beat. "He monopolizes the city's medicinal herbs. There must be plenty of good things in his warehouses. I want to borrow some."

"You want to rob the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters?" Wang Meng looked at him as though he were mad. "There are at least fifty fighters there, and crossbows!"

"No need to go to their headquarters."

Ji Ye pulled a crumpled slip of paper from his robes. It was intelligence he had bought at great cost from the Ghost Market last night.

"I heard that a shipment of 'gifts' from the prefectural city will arrive tonight. It contains the final main ingredient Zhao Hei Hu urgently needs. The goods won't travel by the official road. They'll come in by the western waterway."

The western waterway, the reed marshes.

It was a natural graveyard for murder and plunder.

Wang Meng stared at Ji Ye for a long while before finally grinning, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"You brat, you really are a wolf."

He untied a black iron token from his waist and tossed it to Ji Ye.

"I'll give you the men. If anything happens, you bear it yourself. But if there's any Tiger Bone Paste in that shipment, I get thirty percent."

"Deal."

Ji Ye caught the token. It was cold and heavy in his hand.

This was not merely the authority to deploy men. It was also Wang Meng's wager placed upon him.

Late at night, with no moon and fierce winds.

In the reed marshes outside the western docks, the cold wind howled. Withered yellow reeds swayed like ghostly shadows, rustling softly.

Ji Ye crouched on the muddy riverbank, his body smeared with black mud, exposing only a pair of icy eyes. Behind him, ten carefully selected constables were equally silent, gripping cocked military crossbows.

They were all Wang Meng's trusted men, hardened veterans who had seen blood.

"They're here."

Pockmarked whispered a warning beside him.

In the distant black waters, a lone lamp drifted closer, swaying faintly. It was a covered boat sitting deep in the water, clearly laden with cargo.

Two men holding sabers stood at the prow, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.

Ji Ye slowly drew his Wild Goose Feather Saber. Its blade had been deliberately wrapped in black cloth, reflecting not a glimmer of light.

He drew a deep breath. The cold air filled his lungs, cooling the restless hot blood within him slightly.

Tonight, he wanted not only medicine, but lives.

For the so-called Bone Forging Realm, Zhao Hei Hu could sever others' limbs. Ji Ye could slaughter his entire household.

That was the logic of this world.

Simple, cruel, and intoxicating logic.

"Fire."

Ji Ye spat out the two words coldly.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The trembling bowstrings tore through the night's silence.

More than a dozen crossbow bolts screamed with death as they flew toward the lone boat.

The two men at the prow did not even have time to sound the alarm before they were shot full of holes and toppled headfirst into the freezing river.

"Kill!"

Ji Ye sprang up like a hunting leopard, charging through the mud toward the river. Triple Brute Force erupted. In waist-deep water, he moved as though on level ground, throwing up enormous sprays of water.