There were roughly twenty Qi Refiners who had arrived early and were staying in Small River Village.
These Qi Refiners could broadly be divided into two groups.
The first consisted of orthodox Qi Refiners from Red Crow City, led by the Li Family.
The second consisted of Rogue Cultivators from various places—some from the foot of Green Deer Mountain, others from a populous town near the giant Red Crow City.
This group had the most people, numbering over a dozen. They were a mixed bag from all walks of life: there were arrogant and overbearing martial artists, Taoists with an otherworldly air, and gallant heroes carrying the air of bandits...
"Nothing is off-limits..."
Chen Xuan silently summed them up. Then he clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely made his way toward the place where he had once lived in Small River Village.
He vaguely remembered.
When he had left back then, he had entrusted the courtyard to a familiar farming household in the village to look after.
Low yellow-earth walls enclosed a simple little courtyard. Two or three low, dilapidated rooms stood inside, with wisps of cooking smoke drifting upward.
In the courtyard, a middle-aged man with a lame leg was chopping firewood. A young woman with fairly pleasant features was squatting on the ground, silently heating water. The tender cries of a child faintly came from a nearby room.
"..."
Chen Xuan stood at the doorway, poked his head inside slightly, and surveyed the courtyard with a smile.
The husband and wife, both around thirty, soon noticed him. In the next instant, their faces turned despairing.
Seeing the gentle smile on Chen Xuan's face, the young woman instantly clutched the collar of her clothes. She hurriedly lowered her head and quickly walked toward the rear bedroom.
"He saw me. He saw me..."
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the stone axe in his hand, then helplessly loosened it. His face was filled with humiliation, his whole body trembling like a sieve. He slowly knelt on the ground, burying his face in the dirt.
"It's my family's turn. It's finally my family's turn..."
"...Heh."
Chen Xuan's smile faded as he understood some things. Then, silently, a smile appeared on his face once more.
Old acquaintances had long since forgotten him.
Now that they met again, all that remained was the fear of Qi Refiners that had sunk into their very bones.
A moment later.
Footsteps sounded, followed by several rough, booming voices.
Three men appeared, each carrying a Pu Dao on his back. They were brimming with menace, like gallant heroes of the martial world, yet also like great bandits from the greenwood. They chatted and laughed as they strode around the corner toward this place.
"Did you see it? The people from Green Deer Mountain actually dared to stay in the mountain at night."
"They've got some nerve..."
"Wouldn't it have been better to come back at night? Those country wenches have a flavor all their own. That young woman at the east end of the village last night, heh..."
"That family last night didn't know what was good for them. They even dared to resist. After we were done, Big Brother Zheng chopped them all up with a few strokes."
"..."
The black-faced, burly man with the surname Zheng leading them held his five fingers in the air as if gripping a bowl and let out a strange laugh.
"Second Brother, Third Brother, stop complaining. Your big brother saw another pretty one this morning. She's younger, with even more tender skin, and she lives right over here."
"Big Brother has a sharp eye." The tall and thin second brother gave an admiring thumbs-up.
They had traveled thousands of miles. The road had been desolate, the land bitterly cold, and they had endured enough of such miserable days.
After finally reaching a human village, there were at last some things that could dispel their fatigue and boredom.
"Big Brother Zheng, there's someone at the courtyard entrance... A Qi Refiner..." the third man at the rear suddenly said.
The three men immediately stopped and looked over.
"..."
Chen Xuan lowered his hands, did not move, and turned his face to the side without expression, his brows and eyes lowered.
In the narrow alley, more than twenty meters apart, their gazes converged.
The black-faced, burly man named Zheng Tu stood nearly two meters tall, with a face full of rugged flesh and a broad, powerful build. He frowned slightly and exchanged a look with the second and third men behind him, but continued walking toward the courtyard.
An ordinary Qi Refiner, seemingly with rather vigorous qi and blood.
But he was alone.
He could not pose any threat to them.
Qi Refiners had embarked upon the Feather Transformation Path. Their strength varied, but the difference amounted to no more than several hundred or a thousand jin.
Though the three men were puzzled as to why this young man was standing at the courtyard entrance, they were not worried or alarmed enough to feel excessive unease because of it.
Zheng Tu walked to the courtyard entrance, swept his gaze up and down Chen Xuan a few times, and asked with a smile:
"Fellow Daoist, have you just arrived and failed to find a suitable place to stay?"
Chen Xuan nodded.
"Oh, I guessed as much."
Zheng Tu's tone was quite friendly.
"But we three brothers picked out this courtyard in advance, and we're staying here tonight... Why don't you look elsewhere?"
Small River Village had dozens of households. There were plenty of empty rooms, and plenty of ordinary people willing to serve others.
Zheng Tu spoke with great tact, using a pleasant tone. He did not wish to sour relations with a Qi Refiner over a minor matter.
Chen Xuan stared at him and narrowed his eyes.
"But I think this courtyard has a nice setting. And the... young woman inside looks pretty good too. Why don't you give her to me?"
Those words counted as a fairly direct provocation. Anyone who heard them would feel uncomfortable.
Zheng Tu was stunned as well, his eyes widening.
"Uh..."
Well, look at that. This young man looks dignified and handsome, but he's one of those people with no taboos after all.
All looks and no virtue.
Zheng Tu sneered inwardly, but showed nothing on his face. Instead, he threw back his head and laughed heartily.
"Since you're one of us, Fellow Daoist, you can take that worldly woman and play with her a few times if you like... But as for the courtyard, we truly can't yield it. Otherwise, outsiders will look down on us. You should leave your brothers a little face, shouldn't you?"
When away from home, harmony was the most precious thing.
They had only just met, and there was no deep-seated enmity between them.
Zheng Tu believed his words were reasonable and well-founded. Anyone who heard them would be unable to find fault with them. He had already shown the other party the greatest goodwill.
One had to understand that the three brothers were currently one of the leading forces in Small River Village. Aside from the Red Crow City Li Family, their faction was the strongest.
Zheng Tu's degree of Feather Transformation was especially high. His strength exceeded four thousand jin. Anyone who saw him would have to call him exceptionally gifted, a true hero of the region.
They had originally had no need to yield at all.
If the other party continued pushing his luck, then he would be taking their respect for granted.
The blades of the three brothers were by no means dull!
Listening to him, Chen Xuan nodded thoughtfully.
"You three... really know how to conduct yourselves. You must have many friends."
Zheng Tu nodded.
"I've always been accustomed to treating people kindly."
Chen Xuan inclined his head. His feet shifted slightly, and he moved aside to clear the gate.
"Go in. I won't make things difficult for you."
In the courtyard, the lame middle-aged man knelt on the ground, his face ashen as he listened to his family being passed around like merchandise. From the distant room, the woman's quiet sobs could be heard faintly...
It was as though despairing dark clouds had descended from the sky.
At the far end of the alley.
A black cat came out, a jade tablet tied around her neck with a red cord. A pitch-black crescent moon rose behind her head, making her look like a god overlooking the mortal world. She held her head high and puffed out her chest, walking forward with elegant, indifferent steps.
The shadows spread forward.
The King of Hell began calling the roll.
You won't make things difficult for us?
What a lunatic...
Zheng Tu looked at the young man who had voluntarily stepped aside, calm and unruffled. The flesh on his face twitched as he thought, This young man's really got a big mouth. "I won't make things difficult for you"? I gave you face, and you really think you're somebody?
What rotten luck.
This is hilarious.
Still, the other party had known his place. Intimidated by their numbers and power, he had voluntarily yielded.
He was scared after all, wasn't he?
Zheng Tu sneered repeatedly in his heart. He called the other two men and passed in front of Chen Xuan together with them, heading into the courtyard.
"Little brother, when you're away from home, having one more friend isn't a bad thing... Not everyone is as kind to others as we are..."
As he passed by, he tossed out a casual remark.
"Today, we brothers have given you enough face."
Zheng Tu treated people kindly, but there was also a fierce tiger in his heart. He would not allow just anyone to humiliate him.
We've given you enough face!!!
Zheng Tu and the other two cast a sidelong glance at the young man beside them, assuming that their icy words had frightened him.
The next moment.
He raised his left foot and stepped over the threshold. Then, as if it were an illusion, he sensed a palm patting his shoulder.
"Hey."
The young man's flat voice sounded beside his ear, like a thunderclap exploding on level ground.
"Who told you to step in with your left foot first?"
Zheng Tu turned back in confusion. In his field of vision—
A fist drove forward.
"Boom!"
Before his eyes, the wind and force of the young man's fist came surging forth, swallowing the heavens and devouring the earth—
At that moment, what suddenly appeared before him was an upheaval he had never anticipated, an enemy completely beyond his imagination...
He had not sensed even the slightest trace of killing intent beforehand.
Inside a room, candlelight swayed as several Qi Refiners from Red Crow City clinked cups and drank.
"Small River Village is a complete mess. Some of those Rogue Cultivators have gone too far."
Chu Huo Gun stood on the wine table. After drinking the rice wine fed to him by the Maiden Chu Qing Ling, he turned his head and continued complaining unhappily.
"Old Man Li, you're an orthodox Qi Refiner from Red Crow City, at least. Can't you step in and manage things?"
The Li Family head wore a brocade robe and had a square face. He snorted.
"These mortals aren't related to me in any way. What do they have to do with me? I have important matters to attend to... Stop beating around the bush. If you want benefits, just say so!"
He had brought his entire family through untold hardships to travel to the Southern Wilderness. He had come to fight for a future, not to make enemies!
Old Man Chu's eyes widened as he cursed.
"I nearly saw the Small Underworld with my own eyes! You deliberately stood by and watched me die, and I can't even say a few words about it? Your family is currently the strongest force here in Small River Village. Naturally, you represent Red Crow City's attitude and prestige. Only you can step forward and suppress those lawless Rogue Cultivators!"
The Li Family head sneered. He did not engage with the serious topic, instead changing the subject.
"Stop bringing up the Small Underworld. That's just a legend. Who has ever seen the real Small Underworld? Oh, right, where's that fellow Xiao Wang who saved you? I'd really like to meet him and weigh his authenticity for myself..."
Chu Huo Gun had said that after Feather Transformation, the physique of that fellow named Xiao Wang had reached over four thousand jin. Aside from never having cultivated any techniques, he was no weaker in other respects than old fellows of some renown like themselves.
Hah, the intention to flatter him is far too obvious...
But if it was true, then that Xiao Wang was now a competitor who could not be ignored...
"Do you need to be the one to weigh him? Don't get any crooked ideas."
Chu Huo Gun sneered and continued.
"Your personalities are different. You won't get along. If there's a chance, I'll introduce you to each other."
Hearing this, the Li Family head felt reassured. As expected, it was a lie.
"If he truly has ability, I'd like to make the acquaintance of such a young hero..."
Just then.
A tremendous crash came from outside the room. It shook the heavens and earth, causing even the tabletop to tremble violently, splashing wine everywhere and leaving a scene of utter chaos.
"Boom!"
It sounded as though something had been blasted out by tremendous force, punching through the wall like a cannonball and creating a thunderous commotion.
Under the dusk sky, every mortal and Qi Refiner in Small River Village heard that enormous crash.
Shrill and abrupt.
Before you continue