Night Patrol

With a bang, the door was kicked open.

A rough voice boomed like thunder: "It's time for patrol! Get your asses out here!"

Wang Quan was jolted awake by the deafening noise, his heart giving a violent leap. He hurriedly answered, "Yes, my lord." His voice was still hoarse with sleep. Only then did he realize that, without noticing, he had slept through the entire day. Outside the window, dusk was already settling in.

He endured the soreness throughout his body and climbed out of bed. The movement tugged at his wounds, making him bare his teeth in pain. Limping out of the room, he saw four teams already standing in the courtyard, five men to each team. Every one of them wore dark-blue uniforms, carried a long saber at his waist, and had a cold, hard expression.

The scar-faced man who had kicked in the door was none other than Commander Chen from yesterday. He raised a hand and pointed at Wang Quan. "You're going with Team Ding."

He swept his gaze over everyone again, his voice icy. "Listen carefully. During patrol, you obey the captain's orders in all things. Anyone who resists or flees in the face of danger will be executed on the spot as a warning to the others. Now go to the armory and draw your weapons. Return them in their original condition when patrol ends."

Wang Quan lowered his head and followed the other four members of Team Ding toward a stone building on the western side. Dozens of regulation long sabers stood on racks inside. They were all of the same design, with narrow, elongated blades whose edges gleamed coldly. He copied the others and took one down. It was heavy in his hand, weighing at least a dozen pounds.

The instant he gripped the hilt, several lines of faintly glowing text suddenly appeared in his mind:

[Current Martial Art]

Wind Slaying Saber Technique (Beginner)

[Points can be allocated to gain corresponding progress]

[Insufficient points. Unable to allocate]

Wang Quan's pupils contracted slightly, and his grip tightened around the saber. Wind Slaying Saber Technique? Fragments of his predecessor's memories indeed contained traces of this saber art. Back when he had been a bandit, he had learned it from an old brigand in the stronghold. It emphasized speed, ruthlessness, and viciousness, focusing on attacks against vital points. As for this allocation system... where did the points come from? Killing enemies? Or something else?

He had no time to think it through. The captain of Team Ding had already walked to the front of the formation. He was a lean man in his thirties, with an old arrow scar across one cheek. His gaze scraped across their faces like a blade.

"Wake up and stay sharp." The captain's voice was not loud, but it carried a vicious edge. "Tonight's work won't be easy. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears pricked. Raise the alarm immediately if anything happens, but without my order, no one acts on his own." He paused, his eyes sweeping over everyone, especially Wang Quan, the unfamiliar face. "We're criminals bearing guilt. If we want to live, if we want to atone for our sins, we have to earn more merit. Once we do, Commander Chen will reward us. But if any of you turns coward or runs, the first blade to cut him down will be mine."

He glanced at the sky. The last trace of sunlight was sinking into the western hills. "Out of the city."

The five men silently passed through the garrison gate and headed toward Anping County's low earthen walls. The city gate guards checked the captain's waist tablet, then waved them through.

The moment they left the city gate, the world seemed to fall abruptly silent.

The official road stretched into the distance beneath the twilight. On either side lay indistinct farmland and wild grass. The insects and birds that had filled the daytime seemed to have vanished, leaving only the occasional croak of frogs from a distant pond, which made the surrounding silence feel even deeper. The night wind swept across the wilderness, carrying the smell of earth and rotting plants.

Wang Quan tightened his grip on the saber until his knuckles turned white. He had countless questions. What were they patrolling? Whom were they guarding against? Where would the danger come from?—but he did not dare ask. His predecessor's lingering instincts told him that in a place like this, the talkative newcomer died fastest.

All he could do was tense his nerves and desperately stir up those vague memories of combat, trying to make his body adapt to the saber grip and the rhythm of walking. The captain led from the front, with one man on either side. Wang Quan and another pale-faced young man brought up the rear.

After roughly half an hour, the road curved into a patch of tangled woods. Tree shadows loomed everywhere, while moonlight was shredded by the branches and cast twisted darkness across the ground.

Suddenly, a thick stench of decay drifted over on the wind.

"Ugh." The young man at the rear was the first unable to hold it in. He bent over and began dry-heaving. Another man beside him covered his nose and mouth, his face turning green.

"Shut up!" The captain whipped around. His low bark was especially harsh in the silence. He glared viciously at the two men. "If you want to die, keep making noise."

Almost at the same time, every hair on Wang Quan's body stood on end.

In a clearing off to the side ahead, a tall black shadow slowly turned around.

The moonlight barely illuminated its outline. The thing stood a full head taller than Wang Quan, with shoulders so broad they were almost deformed. It stood there, its shadow stretching into a vast expanse across the ground. In the faint light, its clothes could be seen hanging in tattered shreds. Its exposed skin was a bizarre dark purple, parts of its body already rotting away. A slab of decaying flesh dangled precariously from its chest. Most horrifying of all was its face. Its features were indistinct, its lips had rotted away to reveal black-and-yellow teeth, and where its eyes should have been were only two bottomless black sockets.

A fetid stench several times stronger than before rushed into their faces.

Wang Quan's head went boom, as if it were about to explode.

Holy shit... Is this a zombie?!

He had seen similar things in movies and television in his previous life, but when the creature appeared alive and breathing before him, radiating the tangible aura of death and decay, the impact was far beyond anything a screen could convey. Fear coiled around his heart like icy vines, stopping his breath.

"Hrr..."

A hoarse, inhuman growl came from the thing's throat. It moved. Its movements appeared slow, but a single step carried it nearly ten feet, sending it lunging straight at the formation!

"Scatter!" The captain's roar tore through the silence of the night. He drew his saber first and advanced instead of retreating, slashing at the zombie's neck!

The shriek of metal striking metal rang through the woods. The captain's powerful blow only carved a shallow white mark into the zombie's neck. Instead, the impact numbed the web between his thumb and forefinger, forcing him back two steps.

Enraged by the strike, the zombie swept both arms across. The captain hurriedly ducked and rolled away. Behind him, a young tree as thick as a bowl was struck by the zombie's arm and snapped cleanly in half with a crack!

"Left!" the captain shouted hoarsely.

The man on the left gritted his teeth and charged, swinging his saber at the zombie's knee. This time, the attack finally worked. The blade sank several inches into the flesh, yet it felt like cutting into soaked leather, meeting astonishing resistance. The zombie merely swayed slightly before swinging its hand back and striking the man on the shoulder.

Pfft—

There was a muffled crack as bones shattered. The man screamed and flew backward, slamming into a tree. Then he fell silent.

Seeing this, the team member on the right went deathly pale and actually turned to run.

"Anyone who flees in the face of danger dies!" the captain's voice was cold as iron, but the zombie was forcing him backward step after step, leaving him no time to deal with anything else.

The fleeing team member had taken less than three steps when his body suddenly stiffened. He slowly lowered his head. The bloodstained tip of a blade protruded from his chest. Behind him stood the pale young man who had originally been at the rear. The young man pulled out his saber and let his companion's corpse crumple to the ground. He then retreated to the side, his eyes flickering as he watched the captain battle the zombie, before glancing toward Wang Quan.

Wang Quan's heart hammered wildly, and his palms were drenched in cold sweat. Run? Fleeing meant instant death. Fight? The thing was impervious to blades and spears. How were they supposed to kill it?

At that moment, the zombie seemed to decide that the captain was the greatest threat. It roared and lunged forward, its arms closing like iron pincers. The captain could not dodge in time and was seized by the left arm. A teeth-grating sound of bones grinding together rang out. He grunted, and the long saber in his hand nearly slipped free.

Now!

At that moment, his predecessor's combat instincts overwhelmed Wang Quan's fear. The essentials of the Wind Slaying Saber Technique surfaced automatically in his mind. His body followed the saber, and the saber borrowed the wind's momentum. It did not seek to overpower the enemy, only to strike at vital joints!

He drove off with both legs and shot out from the side and rear. The long saber in his hand traced a flash of cold light—not a chop or a slash, but a thrust like a venomous snake flicking out its tongue, stabbing straight toward the hollow behind the zombie's right knee!

That was one of the forms of the Wind Slaying Saber Technique: Returning Wind Pierces Willow.

The tip of the blade struck precisely into the gap behind the knee. This time, the resistance was much weaker. The zombie's body tilted, and its grip on the captain slackened. Seizing the opportunity, the captain roared and kicked the zombie hard in the chest with his right leg. Using the force, he tore himself free and staggered backward, his left arm hanging limply. It was clearly broken.

The zombie howled, abandoned the captain, and turned to lunge at Wang Quan. Its enormous shadow descended over him, and the stench of rot nearly suffocated him.

Wang Quan tried to retreat, but his foot caught on a tree root, sending him falling backward. The zombie's claws were already reaching for his face!

At that instant between life and death, he instead became strangely calm. Lying on the ground, he instinctively swept the long saber upward. It was another form of the Wind Slaying Saber Technique—Wind Sweeps the Fallen Clouds. From below, it hooked toward the point where the zombie's jaw connected to its neck.

Squelch!

This slash cut deeply into the rotten flesh. The blade seemed to strike something hard, but its momentum did not lessen. It cleaved forcefully out through the other side!

The zombie abruptly froze. It swayed, its rotting head lolling to one side, held to the neck by only a strip of flesh. Dark-purple, foul-smelling fluid gushed out like a spring.

Boom.

The massive body crashed to the ground like a mountain collapsing and a jade pillar toppling, making the earth tremble faintly.

The woods fell deathly silent.

Wang Quan lay on the cold mud, panting heavily. The hand gripping the saber trembled violently. The captain stood leaning against a tree, clutching his broken arm, staring fixedly at the motionless zombie before looking toward Wang Quan, his expression complicated.

The pale young man who had killed his companion also slowly walked over. Looking at Wang Quan, he forced an ugly smile onto his face. "Brother, that was some fine saber work."

Wang Quan ignored him and struggled to his feet. In his mind, those lines of text appeared again:

[Wind Slaying Saber Technique (Beginner)]

[Points +1]

[Points can be allocated to gain corresponding progress]

His thoughts stirred, and he tried concentrating his attention on the "points can be allocated" option.

[Consume 1 point to increase Wind Slaying Saber Technique progress?]

The text blurred for a moment, then became clear:

[Wind Slaying Saber Technique (Beginner) → (Proficient)]

A surge of unfamiliar memories and physical instincts flooded into his mind. They concerned more refined methods of channeling force through the Wind Slaying Saber Technique, more treacherous attack angles, and smoother transitions between forms. His body was still the same body, but his understanding and control of this saber art had risen to an entirely new level.

The captain came over, dragging his broken arm. He glanced at the zombie's corpse on the ground, then looked at Wang Quan. In a deep voice, he asked, "Your name is Wang Quan? Have you trained before?"

Wang Quan nodded and rasped, "I was a bandit for a few years. I learned a little here and there."

"A bandit?" The captain tugged at the corner of his mouth, though it was unclear whether he was in pain or smiling. "Follow me from now on." He swept his eyes over the bodies of the two fallen team members, then at the pale young man. "Team Ding, it's just the three of us now." He paused and looked at Wang Quan. "Surviving means you have what it takes. Tonight's patrol isn't over yet."

Wang Quan tightened his grip on the bloodstained long saber and nodded.