The sunlight on the fifteenth day of the seventh month scorched the earth, beating down overhead and shrinking the trees' shade into tiny circles.
Across the mountains and ravines, there wasn't even a thread of breeze.
The forest blanketing the earth like green waves shimmered with light as its leaves drank in the earth's nourishment. Yet even so, one could still sense their listlessness.
They were holding on—holding on until the wind came, until the clouds arrived, or until the sun shifted and was no longer so vicious, giving them time to catch their breath.
But the two people in front of the woods were brimming with spirit, full of confidence and vigor.
They looked far more resilient than the leaves.
The looks in their eyes and on their faces made them seem as though a mountain of gold had already been placed before them, just waiting for them to reach out and take it.
More and more Martial Students could not help watching from a distance.
Had they run into highway robbers?
Everyone was curious about how the person in the carriage would handle it.
Could it be Righteous Fang Gongzi?
Fang Che coughed once.
Night Dream hurried forward, bowed, and lifted the carriage curtain with her two fair, delicate hands.
One foot stepped out first, clad in an exquisitely crafted black leather boot. Subtle gold patterns adorned it. The foot planted itself firmly and steadily, kicking up fine dust and revealing the elegant, long, well-proportioned shape of a calf.
Then a head of black hair emerged from the carriage. It was thick and luxuriant, bound by a dark-gold hairband that reflected hazy colors beneath the sunlight. The hairband was as thick as a goose egg, a testament to how dense and vigorous his hair was. A purple-jade hairpin slanted through his hair to secure the band, and purple light seemed to shimmer mistily on either side.
His other foot touched the ground at the same time. A black cloak lined with dark-gold patterns draped over him as his body slowly straightened. A handsome face appeared. His brows were thick as swords; even untrimmed, they possessed a sharpness that seemed to leap past his brow line and pierce the heavens.
Beneath them, his eyes were like the starry sea, deep and composed. His face was as flawless as fine jade. His nose was straight, his lips slightly thin and pressed together in an elegant curve.
With red lips and white teeth, his gaze was upright and clear. His black hair was neatly bound, though one lock hung diagonally behind his ear, fluttering strand by strand.
His shoulders were broad and his back straight, though he was slightly slender. His cloak hung open carelessly, revealing ape-like arms, a wasp-thin waist, and long, powerful legs. He was impossibly tall and handsome. Standing there, he resembled a jade tree facing the wind, dignified and graceful, yet his bearing was deep and steady, still as an abyss and imposing as a mountain.
Fang Che moved and took three steps forward. He was elegant and unhurried, as though strolling above the clouds. As he walked, the dark-gold patterns on his cloak rose and fell like waves. Shafts of radiance flashed beneath the sunlight, vanished, and then sparkled from countless different spots elsewhere.
As he walked, it was as though he carried ten thousand miles of starry river with him.
With that single appearance, light seemed to kindle in everyone's eyes, and they could not help cheering inwardly: What bearing! He truly deserved the words, "A man like jade by the roadside, a gongzi unmatched beneath heaven"! It had to be said that even Night Dream's eyes grew hazy for an instant when she saw him.
For a moment, it felt as though being scolded a few times by someone like this was not so bad.
Especially since he had been right to scold her!...
The two men opposite were cowed by his presence and could not speak for a time.
Fang Che said indifferently, "Are the two of you looking for me? What instructions do you have?"
"Uh..."
Fine beads of sweat appeared on the tall bald man's head. He finally came to himself. Upon seeing Fang Che's appearance, and then comparing it with his own, he suddenly felt a wicked fire blaze up in his heart.
He flew into a rage. "Fang Che! Do you know who I am?"
Fang Che extended a hand, and Night Dream obediently passed him a snow-white handkerchief with both hands.
He wiped his hand very elegantly, then said carelessly, "Who are you?"
"I'm Su Yue's maternal uncle."
A trace of ferocity and greed appeared on the ugly man's face. "I heard that Young Master Fang is managing my nephew's assets for him. After receiving the news, I hurried here as fast as I could and ultimately arrived before Young Master left."
"Oh."
Fang Che smiled, revealing pearly white teeth. "I wonder what this uncle wants?"
"What else would I want? My poor nephew and his whole family are dead. As his uncle, naturally I have to help him safeguard his family assets. That is why I have come to meet Young Master Fang today."
Fang Che laughed with interest. "So you came all this way to ask for money?"
The bald man answered righteously, "Exactly."
Fang Che smiled and stood with his hands behind his back. His cloak moved without wind, reflecting light. "How much do you want?"
"At the very least, you must give me one million taels first!"
Greed gleamed in the bald man's eyes.
"Heh..."
Fang Che laughed faintly.
The Su Family's assets were worth hundreds of millions, not to mention countless Gold Notes and all kinds of rare treasures. One million taels? This man probably just wanted to take advantage of the situation. But being so close to Azure Wave City, he had not dared to act, so he had followed them all the way here.
He had not even dared enter the Ten Thousand Spirits Forest.
That showed how weak he was.
Ignorant and weak—he was probably someone else's pawn sent to test the way.
Fang Che immediately felt at ease. He said indifferently, "It is true that Brother Su's assets are in my hands. But if you want them, you will need Brother Su's written authorization, or a document from the Guardian Hall proving that you share the Su Family's bloodline."
"If every stray cat and dog could come here and take money from me, how could I face Brother Su?!"
Fang Che smiled, his gaze cold. "Don't talk about being an uncle or anything else. Come take it with your own ability!"
"Exactly, with my own—"
The bald man had only just begun to speak.
A flash of light appeared before his eyes. Fang Che had already strode forward, and the radiance suddenly flashed again.
Clang.
The sound of a sword leaving its sheath rang out.
Yet no sword could be seen.
The radiance had already reached the bald man's throat.
Terror suddenly filled his eyes.
Fang Che had already withdrawn his sword and stepped back.
Blood Spirit Seven Swords, First Form—A Touch of Red!
"The Soul-Seeking Sword leaves no shadow; when the sword emerges, gods and ghosts are startled. It kills without bloodshed—beneath the sword, a touch of red." A tribute to my favorite book.
The two men toppled backward, sending up a cloud of dust.
At their throats, a touch of red slowly spread, yet no blood flowed.
At the same time the sword tip touched their throats, it shattered their windpipes and severed their airways. One stream of Sword Qi surged upward, shredding their brains and souls; another plunged downward, pierced their internal organs, and smashed their dantians to pieces. Those were all the consequences of that single sword strike.
Their souls were utterly destroyed!
In other words, when Fang Che sheathed his sword and retreated, the two streams of Sword Qi were still rampaging through the enemies' bodies.
Complete silence descended. Everyone watching nearby or from afar wore expressions of shock.
A faint smile rested on Fang Che's face as he stood beneath the tree's shade with his hands behind his back. He tilted his head slightly and narrowed his eyes at the scorching sunlight overhead. In his eyes, it looked like streaks of sword light descending from the heavens.
His gaze swept once around the faces of the onlookers. "It was nothing but a farce. I wonder which expert arranged such a clumsy little drama. People are poor, after all. Everyone living in this world, in this martial world, wants to make money and rise above the crowd. I understand!"
"So I can understand what happened today. But I have one sentence of advice for the person behind it."
Fang Che said indifferently, "Some money must be taken with one's life. Or rather, one must have a life before one can take it!"
His words carried a very obvious hidden meaning.
There were now seven or eight people watching around them. Some were Martial Students from Azure Wave City, while a small number were not.
Shock stirred in every eye.
They were shaken by Fang Che's ruthlessness and decisiveness.
He had killed the moment he said he would, striking without hesitation and leaving his opponent not the slightest room to recover. They were also stunned by the sharpness of Fang Che's cultivation and killing technique.
What kind of sword technique was that? Several people exchanged glances, but none spoke. Their faces were expressionless.
At least on the surface, it was impossible to tell which of them had been behind the two fools just now.
"Actually, I know perfectly well that with those two fools jumping out so recklessly, someone must be behind them. And that person is one of you."
"I have no interest in investigating."
Fang Che said indifferently, "Someone who would go to such lengths over this little money is not worthy of entering my sight or occupying my thoughts."
"And this was someone who did not even dare move in Azure Wave City. Heh."
Fang Che flicked his sleeve and flashed his teeth in a smile. "Nothing but a cowardly rat!"
A white-clad youth smiled. "Brother Fang is right. I look down on such people too."
He smiled, cupped his fists, and said sincerely, "I am Kang Zijian. I hope to meet Brother Fang and travel alongside you at the Martial Academy in the future."
Fang Che smiled faintly and cupped his fists. "Brother Kang."
Beside Kang Zijian stood another young man. His eyes flickered, but he still stepped forward. "I am Wei Zihao of Azure Wave City. Greetings, Brother Fang. Don't be angry, Brother. There are countless jumping clowns in this world. If anything like this happens again in the future, I, Wei, would be willing to fight shoulder to shoulder with you!"
Wei Zihao.
The genius Martial warrior of Azure Wave City's Wei Family.
He was also one of this batch of Martial Students taking the examination.
The Wei Family and the Fang Family were both among Azure Wave City's four Ninth Grade lineages.
Fang Che studied Wei Zihao for a moment, then smiled. "Brother Wei is right. Such jumping clowns truly are not worth minding."
Several youths came forward one after another, introducing themselves and making friends. Their impressions of Fang Che were all excellent.
Decisive in killing, swift and fierce in action, flawless in dealing with people, graceful and refined, perfectly courteous.
Being around him was like bathing in a spring breeze.
Who would not want to befriend someone like that?
Fang Che thus gained a pile of friends.
Afterward, everyone worked together, dug a pit, buried the two bandits' corpses, and then went their separate ways.
That was because the Martial Academy did not permit Martial Students to travel together. Everyone had to reach the Martial Academy alone for it to count.
Night Dream was somewhat puzzled.
In her view, there had certainly been a mastermind among these people. But why had Fang Che simply let the matter pass?
Could it be that killing those two was truly enough for him?
This fellow normally was not so magnanimous.
In the dense forest to the left of the road, a person had merged with the thick foliage. Even if someone walked right up to him, they would not notice.
It was Fan Tiantiao.
He, too, was currently wearing a puzzled expression. Had that fellow really just left? Based on his experience, Wei Zihao was highly suspicious among these people and was very likely the mastermind.
Although the two men who had acted had been killed in an instant, their cultivation should not have been low. Even if they were not Martial Masters, they should at least have been high-level Warriors.
Such cultivation was naturally no more than ants in Fan Tiantiao's eyes, but against Fang Che, it was more or less sufficient.
At the very least, that should have been what the mastermind thought.
He had not expected them to be eliminated so easily by Fang Che.
"Why didn't he send experts of a higher level?"
"Was it merely to test his strength?"
"Why did Fang Che just let it go?"
Fan Tiantiao kept calculating in his heart.
On the right side of the road.
Another person was concealed high in a distant tree, watching everything here.
It was Qian Sanjiang.
Qian Sanjiang was also frowning, utterly unable to make sense of it.
"That killing just now was truly satisfying. Why did he say a few empty words after killing them and then let the matter drop? Wei Zihao obviously has a problem. Why didn't he continue investigating?"
"What use is there in killing only those two? The mastermind is still out there. Wouldn't that mean endless trouble in the future? And he exposed his cultivation, allowing the other side to better gauge how many people to send afterward. That was truly unwise."
"Was he simply young and thoughtless, or did he have some other consideration?"
Before you continue