Silence, thick as ink, once more blanketed the clearing where a bloody fight had just taken place. The overpowering stench of blood mingled with the smell of earth and trampled grass and trees, weighing heavily on the air. Yan Xiao Liu slumped on the cold, damp ground, his back against a cracked boulder that had been caught in the earlier battle. His chest heaved, and every breath tugged at his wounds, bringing sharp stabs of pain. But the pain in his body was nothing compared to the shock battering his mind.
His gaze was pinned as if by invisible nails to Ye Yun's upright, calm figure. The man who had just descended like a fiendish god, casually killing Li San and Wang Wu—two unfathomable powerhouses who had seemed as towering as mountains to him—was now strolling toward Zhao Si's corpse as if taking a leisurely walk in a garden.
Was this... really Ye Yun, the taciturn man from the county yamen, whose skills were decent but only above average, and who even occasionally got teased by the old, wily constables for being "too serious"?
Yan Xiao Liu felt as if his mind had become a tangled mess, or been pounded over and over with a heavy hammer. It rang and spun in a haze. Li San's "Cleaving Mount Hua," condensed from a lifetime of cultivation and fast as a thunderbolt, had been powerful enough to tear Yan Xiao Liu apart in an instant. Yet Ye Yun had casually blocked it and sent Li San reeling as if it were child's play! Wang Wu's sinister, unpredictable blade work and his final deadly poison needles had been no more than a clown's tricks before Ye Yun, easily unraveled before he met his end with his throat pierced! The entire fight had unfolded in the blink of an eye, too fast for Yan Xiao Liu to follow, yet its brutal clarity had burned itself into the depths of his soul.
He opened his mouth, but his throat felt blocked by a wad of waterlogged cotton, dry and tight. He tried several times before forcing out a few broken sounds. "...Ye... Ye Yun... you... you..." The rest of the words simply would not come. All that remained was boundless bewilderment and the shock of having his entire understanding of the world turned upside down.
Ye Yun was bent over Zhao Si's corpse, searching it. At Yan Xiao Liu's words, his hands paused, and he turned his head. The setting sun filtered through the broken branches, casting mottled shadows across his profile, which was flecked with blood and dust. Seeing Yan Xiao Liu looking as if he'd seen a ghost and lost his soul, Ye Yun's lips curved ever so slightly in quiet amusement.
"Sixth Brother," Ye Yun said, his voice as calm as ever, even touched with the warmth of everyday conversation—a far cry from the decisive killer with a frigid presence he had just been. "What's wrong? Did a mountain wildcat steal your tongue? You can't even get a sentence out."
The familiar form of address and tone pricked the taut string of Yan Xiao Liu's nerves. He jolted as if a drowning man had finally caught hold of a lifeline, then coughed violently several times. Only then did his throat loosen a little, but the shock and awe in his eyes remained undiminished.
"I-I'm fine..." Yan Xiao Liu instinctively shook his head and struggled to stand, hoping to show his respect. But the movement tugged at the wound in his abdomen, and he sucked in a sharp breath, his face paling further.
Ye Yun looked away and continued searching as he spoke. "Good. We can't stay here long. The stench of blood is too strong; it'll soon attract other beasts. Even Second-Order Demonic Beasts have appeared on the outskirts of the Sunset Mountains. It's far more dangerous than we expected. Take some time to regulate your breathing and stabilize your injuries. Then we'll pack up and leave as quickly as we can."
His tone was mild, but his decision left no room for argument. Yan Xiao Liu nodded so vigorously his head nearly bobbed off. He didn't dare slack off in the slightest. "All right! All right! I-I'll regulate my breathing right now!" He endured the pain, sat cross-legged, and tried to clear his mind of the thoughts surging through it. Then he began circulating the meager breath within him, attempting to calm his churning blood and tearing pain. But with every breath, Ye Yun's godlike battle flashed through his mind, stirring his emotions and greatly diminishing the effect of his breathing exercise.
Ye Yun paid him no further attention, focusing instead on the "spoils" at hand. Zhao Si was indeed a poor man. Aside from a few bits of silver and some worthless odds and ends, he had nothing else. Ye Yun pursed his lips, pocketed the silver, and went over to Li San and Wang Wu's corpses.
As 9th Rank peak and 8th Rank peak experts, the two men were naturally far wealthier. Ye Yun pulled a bulging leather pouch from Li San's robes. Inside was a thick stack of banknotes with high denominations, worth an estimated several hundred taels! There were also a few small jade bottles. When he uncorked one, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out. They were clearly top-grade pills for healing and restoring Essence Qi. Wang Wu had a similar number of banknotes and even better-quality pills. He also had a few exquisitely crafted flying needles that glimmered with a deep blue light, identical to the ones he had used to ambush Ye Yun.
"Sure enough, a man won't grow rich without ill-gotten gains, and a horse won't grow fat without night fodder," Ye Yun thought. He sorted away the banknotes and pills, then carefully wrapped the poison needles in cloth. Such underhanded things might come in handy at a critical moment.
By then, Yan Xiao Liu had barely managed to suppress his injuries. His face somewhat recovered, he opened his eyes. Ye Yun casually tossed him a jade bottle of healing pills. "Here. Take one right away. It'll help your injuries."
Yan Xiao Liu fumbled to catch the bottle. Seeing the quality of the pills inside, he was immediately overwhelmed and waved his hands repeatedly. "Ye Yun! No... Brother Ye! This... this is far too precious! They're your spoils. How can I..."
"Just take them. Why all the fuss?" Ye Yun interrupted, his tone leaving no room for refusal. "You looked after me plenty back at the county yamen. What's a little something like this?"
"That's not the same! Back then..." Yan Xiao Liu tried to refuse again, but when he saw Ye Yun's calm yet deep gaze, he swallowed the words. Drawing a deep breath, he spoke with unprecedented solemnity and fervor. "Brother Ye! I was blind to your true worth! From now on, you're my big brother, Yan Xiao Liu's big brother! Might makes right, and you've more than earned it! I'm willing to lead your horse and follow at your stirrup, brave fire and water for you, and never refuse!" He struggled to drop to one knee, but Ye Yun caught him and held him up.
"All right, all right," Ye Yun said, sounding a little helpless. "This big brother and little brother business sounds awkward. Call me whatever you like in private, but in front of other people, I'm still Ye Yun, and you're still Yan Xiao Liu. Don't tell anyone about my strength. Understand?" He fixed Yan Xiao Liu with a sharp gaze.
Yan Xiao Liu felt the weight behind that look and stiffened at once. "Understood! Don't worry, Brother Ye! I, Yan Xiao Liu, swear to heaven that what I saw and heard today will be buried in my gut. I won't let a single word slip! I'll act just as I always do!" He thumped his chest as he promised, his eyes brimming with loyalty and awe.
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