Blade-Casting Town

"Damn it, did that kid really slip through and escape empty-handed?"

Shopkeeper Lin, who had hunted geese all his life, had finally been blinded by one.

A horse stumbling on all fours.

Though he had caught onto Liang Qisheng's plan in time, once the other party entered the dense, complex mountain terrain, his speed only increased instead of slowing.

The thick forest hindered his own pace.

But the other moved like a fish entering the sea, using the dense foliage to evade his pursuit.

He sped up, sticking close behind, not daring to relax for even a moment.

Unfortunately, after chasing for several dozen li, he rounded an ancient locust tree grown into a forest.

Faced with countless hanging aerial roots, he directly lost sight of his target.

"Hiding, are you?"

Shopkeeper Lin's foot landed on a distant tree trunk. In his fury, he stomped down.

The entire tree shook, a section snapping off.

He withdrew his qi and blood, landing on the ground. His hawk-like eyes gleamed with sharp light as he swept his gaze across the surroundings.

"Kid, no need to hide. Do you really think you can escape these old eyes of mine?"

Shopkeeper Lin moved around the area, scanning his surroundings. His feet flickered and shifted rapidly as he issued warnings over and over.

He probed every possible spot where Liang Qisheng might be hiding, trying to force this slippery junior out.

"Kid, come out now, and I'll let you keep a whole corpse."

"Otherwise, once I find you, I'll tear you to shreds."

Shopkeeper Lin's voice was icy, mingling with echoes from all directions, throwing the dense woods into confusion.

Rustle, rustle!

Just then, the sound of leaves shifting came from afar.

Shopkeeper Lin's figure flickered, spreading like a roc's wings as he shot straight toward the source of the noise.

After he left, the area fell into utter silence.

Moonlight shone down from above through the massive trees, casting shadows that blanketed the land.

A distant breeze stirred, sending a few leaves drifting.

Beyond that, no other sound came.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a dark figure dropped from the thick branches above to the ground.

Under the moonlight, it landed squarely on a face.

Only then was it clear—it was Shopkeeper Lin, who had just chased off in that direction.

From his movements, it was obvious that the earlier pursuit had been nothing but a feint, meant to lure Liang Qisheng out of hiding.

But after waiting a moment, the false charge yielded no reaction at all.

"Did that kid really get away?"

Shopkeeper Lin's heart had built up no small amount of fury, yet he had nowhere to vent it.

He had already scoured the small surrounding area thoroughly, and there was no trace of Liang Qisheng.

So he set a trap to lure him out, but still—nothing.

In his heart, he had already concluded that the other had long since fled this area.

"This time, I've stirred up real trouble."

As the shopkeeper of Nine Harmonies Hall, stationed in Lotus Town, his cunning ran deep.

Yet faced with a slippery junior like Liang Qisheng, he found himself utterly helpless.

This operation was a personal grudge, and he had no time to linger here.

Shopkeeper Lin's expression shifted a few times before he finally let out a soft sigh.

His figure turned into a streak, shooting straight into the night sky, vanishing without a trace.

But the area remained still, unchanged.

Until several hours later.

The eastern sky began to pale with dawn.

A pair of eyes peered out from beneath a pile of fallen leaves at the base of a tree.

After warily scanning the surroundings, a figure slowly crawled out from a hollow in the roots of a massive tree.

"That old bastard's finally gone."

Liang Qisheng moved his stiff body, feeling his limbs rigid and his qi and blood uncomfortable, his gaze fixed on the rising sun.

"Too dangerous—if he'd stayed a moment longer, I wouldn't have been able to hold my breath, and he'd have found me!"

It could only be said that Liang Qisheng's skill was great and his nerve bold, and facing a life-or-death crisis, the instincts of a mountain herb gatherer from years past had kicked in.

He had actually hidden by Shopkeeper Lin's feet, covering his body with dead leaves.

Using the herb gatherer's method of concealing his aura, he'd successfully stayed in Shopkeeper Lin's blind spot, evading his pursuit, and thus survived safely.

Cough, cough!

Liang Qisheng's expression shifted as he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, his face pale and bloodless.

He had exchanged blows with Shopkeeper Lin several times before; though he'd barely defended himself, he'd taken an Eagle Claw strike to the chest.

The force had penetrated through to his back, and lying on the cold ground for hours had only worsened his injuries.

So much so that the moment his mind relaxed, his injuries and fatigue erupted in succession.

Illness strikes like a landslide; a wave of dizziness spread through him.

Liang Qisheng knew this place was no safe spot to linger, so he quickened his pace, seeking a secure location to heal.

In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed.

As the sun rose above the horizon, spilling light across the land.

A tall figure emerged from a cave at the foot of a barren mountain.

With a series of leaps, he bounded onto a massive boulder.

Feeling the sunlight on his body, a warm sensation spread through him.

At this moment, Liang Qisheng's face, though still somewhat pale, had regained a bit of color.

His injuries had recovered by seven or eight parts, no longer a major concern.

"Nine Harmonies Hall may be overbearing, and this time we've made enemies, but I have to admit, the Apricot Forest Li Family's craftsmanship is superb."

"This Body Nourishing Pill has no flaws except being too expensive—it regulates the qi channels, nourishes the body, and invigorates the blood. Truly comfortable."

These ten days, Liang Qisheng had stayed holed up in the cold cave, swallowing one Body Nourishing Pill.

His intestines churned, and using the Tiger Hibernation posture from the Black Tiger Fist, he accelerated the absorption of the pill's medicinal properties, speeding up the recovery of his injuries.

Fortunately, his physical condition was good, and he was in the prime of life with flourishing qi and blood.

Coupled with the solid foundation he'd built before, in less than ten days, he'd barely managed to pull through.

Liang Qisheng sat cross-legged on the boulder platform, basking in the sunlight.

The warm rays dispelled the chill from his body, but they couldn't drive away the coldness in his heart.

Suddenly, as he opened his eyes, a pair of blade-like gazes shot into the distance.

"Nine Harmonies Hall? Shopkeeper Lin?"

As the saying goes:

"With a sharp blade in hand, murderous intent arises of its own accord."

Liang Qisheng was not one to take a beating without fighting back; this grudge he would note for now.

A gentleman takes revenge ten years later; a petty man takes revenge from day to day.

He would not be a gentleman—he would be a petty man.

"Recovery is about done. Time to leave this place."

Liang Qisheng didn't hesitate. He packed his bags and left without looking back.

This was just a refuge. He had left Lotus Town to avoid Nine Harmonies Hall.

Stone Martial County had nine towns, much larger in scope—he could always find a place to settle.

Only by returning to where he'd grown up could he find a chance to improve, and a chance for revenge.

Stone Martial County governed nine towns.

Lotus Town was naturally out of the question; Nine Harmonies Hall had too many informants, a net spread wide.

And the towns connected to Lotus Town were also not under consideration.

After all, proximity meant more exchanges, and some unexpected trouble might arise.

"Then I'll choose the farthest one—Blade-Casting Town?"