A Head as Proof of Allegiance

Su Yuan found Tie Niu in the woods, despondent, and handed him a head wrapped in cloth.

"Tie Niu, this is the head of a Shan Family Martial Warrior. You can pass the test with it."

"Someone from the Shan Family?" Tie Niu was still bewildered when Su Yuan pulled him out of the woods.

The two made their way to the mouth of the valley. Su Yuan looked up at the high platform.

Why did everyone look so unhappy?

He presented the head in his hands. The examiner stared at it in surprise.

It was clearly the head of a Shan Family Martial Warrior.

Seeing Su Yuan actually present a Shan Family head, the others secretly watched for the reaction on the platform.

"Su Yuan! What are you doing?" The moment Shan Xiongqing saw the head, he sprang up in a fury.

Su Yuan remained calm. "Young Master Shan, we were helping you root out a traitor in your own ranks. Du Hengfeng gathered a group in the woods, hunted down his fellow contestants, and released prisoners. He was clearly an agent of Great Jing. This head is worth a hundred points."

"That's nonsense! You dare slaughter your own people in front of the Wolf God? You deserve a thousand deaths!" Shan Xiongqing could hardly believe it. He shouted furiously.

The Liang People's young masters and young ladies all turned to look, eager to see who had dared to be so bold.

"Huh, that carpenter again." Rong Yuzhi looked toward Su Yuan.

Tie Niu stepped forward. "Everything Su Yuan said is true."

The Chai Family Martial Warriors who had taken part in the earlier ambush also came forward, backing Su Yuan.

Shan Xiongqing glared at Chai Nian. "Is the Chai Family planning a rebellion?"

Chai Nian didn't look at Su Yuan. His gaze fell on the other head in Tie Niu's hands. "If they dare accuse him in front of everyone, they must have evidence."

"That's right! Everyone here can bear witness!" Su Yuan turned and looked at the people emerging from the woods.

Huang Tong stepped out from the crowd.

They had already killed Shan Family Martial Warriors. If they didn't support Su Yuan now, they would have a hard time clearing themselves of suspicion, too.

"I can testify on Su Yuan's behalf. I was hunting beasts when Du Hengfeng suddenly led a group in an attack. He was the one who broke the rules first. We were forced to defend ourselves." Her voice rang clear as she presented the head of a Shan Family Martial Warrior.

The Rong Family Martial Academy's students chimed in as well.

Rong Yulian raised her chin slightly. She hadn't expected Huang Tong to get caught up in this, too.

With two Liang People's martial academies taking the lead, the Martial Warriors from the martial arts schools also stepped forward.

If they could make up the required number with Shan Family heads, they wouldn't have to kill anyone else.

Besides, everyone had suffered under Du Hengfeng and the Shan Family Martial Academy for a long time.

They had long suspected that the Shan Family was behind the disappearance of several fellow contestants.

Seeing the crowd rise in anger, Shan Xiongqing breathed heavily through his nose. "You... You really are rebelling! Where is Du Hengfeng?"

Chai Nian chuckled. "Su Yuan just cleared out a hidden threat to your Shan Family. You ought to be grateful. Unless the Shan Family really does have ties to Great Jing?"

Gao Mian stood at just the right moment to distance himself from the matter. "I never imagined the Shan Family would harbor such a villain. Xiongqing is heartbroken that his subordinate betrayed him and lost control for a moment. I apologize to everyone on his behalf. The Shan Family will investigate this matter and give you all an explanation."

"Gao Mian, you—" Shan Xiongqing spat blood.

The success and triumph of the first two days of the hunting competition stood in brutal contrast to the constant bad news of the last few days.

The Shan Family in the city had suffered its greatest losses, too.

Shan Xiongqing felt a rush of metallic sweetness surge up his throat. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his vision went black, and he toppled straight backward.

"Xiongqing!" Gao Mian cried out and rushed to catch him, but she was a step too slow. His forehead struck the ground with a heavy thud.

"Fetch a doctor!"

The Rong sisters exchanged a smile, glad to see this happen.

Their Rong Family Martial Warriors had picked up a few heads, too. They hadn't lost out.

The Shan Family elders fell silent.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the evidence and the crowd's support were on the other side. The other families were watching, too.

Su Yuan added at just the right moment, "Du Hengfeng took advantage of the chaos to escape. His whereabouts are unknown."

An investigation followed, of course.

For now, the traitors' heads were each counted as worth a hundred points, and the test of loyalty was passed.

Tie Niu reclaimed first place, while Su Yuan rose to fifth.

Gao Mian shot Su Yuan a look, telling him not to worry about the wager: fight for third place.

The final day of the hunt.

Su Yuan carried Du Hengfeng's head through the silent woods.

He moved straight-backed and alone, his footsteps the only sound breaking the forest's stillness.

Du Hengfeng was still alive, though he had been reduced to a human stump. Only his head and torso remained, and he could manage no more than a faint moan.

At this stage, the revenge he could take had been settled.

He only wondered whether Duan Hongyan was still alive—or had already taken his own life.

Su Yuan reached a shadowy cleft in the mountainside.

The rock face curved inward, veiled by hanging vines to form a shallow natural cave, well hidden from view.

He heard the faint sound of breathing.

Duan Hongyan was still alive.

He leaned against the rock wall, his face pale as paper. The wound on his chest was a bloody mess, and he was barely breathing.

But with the index finger of his right hand, he was using his own blood to write, with great difficulty, on a torn scrap of clothing.

He didn't know if anyone would be able to carry this out, but he wanted to leave something behind.

Hearing footsteps, he stopped and gave a bitter smile. "It's over."

He shoved the bloodstained letter into the dirt beneath him, then closed his eyes and waited to die.

Then he saw a clear-eyed young man in fitted clothes enter the cleft, carrying a dwarf.

"Su Yuan. So it's you, the lackey." Duan Hongyan hadn't expected to see a familiar face at the end.

"You saved the children, so I won't kill you. I brought you the man who wronged you." Su Yuan tossed Du Hengfeng to the ground.

He examined Duan Hongyan's injuries. His heart meridians were shattered, his channels severed—there was no saving him.

"Are you two bastards putting on an act? I won't say a word." Duan Hongyan sneered.

Du Hengfeng still had enough strength to taunt him. "Idiot. Your academy's Senior Sister Yun already confessed..."

"What? Senior Sister Yun!"

Su Yuan planted a foot on Du Hengfeng's head, grinding his unfinished words back down his throat. Calmly, he said, "She confessed, yes, but the horse ranch has already been taken. Everyone was rescued."

Duan Hongyan fell silent for a moment, then smiled in relief. "As long as they got out, that's enough. It doesn't matter if they took the martial arts manual. A martial arts manual... how could it matter more than a life?"

"Su Yuan! You traitor, let go of me!" Du Hengfeng cursed hoarsely.

Su Yuan ground his teeth to dust with another stomp. "How do you want to deal with him? He's yours."

Duan Hongyan believed they weren't putting on an act after all. He lowered his eyes to the enemy who had tormented him for days and spoke calmly. "Kill him."

"All right." Su Yuan pressed down harder. Du Hengfeng's skull groaned under the strain.

At last, terror of death appeared in Du Hengfeng's eyes. "Don't kill me! My old mother still needs me to support her! I still have to serve Young Master! I haven't gotten my revenge on that masked man! If you kill me, Young Master will never let you—"

At the mention of the masked man, Su Yuan's foot paused.

Du Hengfeng thought he had scared him and was about to keep threatening him, but when he looked up, he met the face of a green, fanged ghost mask. "Ah! A ghost! You're that ghost!"

His pupils shrank. He understood in an instant, but it was already too late.

The crisp snap of his neck breaking rang out.

Su Yuan had paused only because he still needed to bring the head back intact to complete the task.

"Senior Green Ghost?! Su Yuan, you... You're the Green Ghost!" Duan Hongyan was too stunned to speak.

How could he have imagined that the mysterious and powerful Green Ghost was Su Yuan?

If it had been Su Tieniu, he might have believed it.

But it had to be Su Yuan, the man they had written off as a lackey of the Liang People.

At last, he understood where the precise intelligence about Yun Xu and the horse ranch had come from.

Once deep-seated prejudice took root, it blinded a person to every possibility.

His emotions surged and his blood roiled. He choked out a mouthful of stagnant blood, and his breathing weakened further.

Su Yuan quickly pressed several major acupoints, barely protecting the last spark of life in his heart. "Do you have any last words?"

With a trembling hand, Duan Hongyan retrieved the bloodstained letter from the dirt. "If you get the chance, please give this to my family."

"What is it?"

"A letter home." The writing on the cloth was twisted and hard to make out, in a script unique to the south.

"You're from the south?"

"Yes. But I'll never make it back." Duan Hongyan gave a miserable smile. "Senior, take my head, too. I know they want a head from their own people as proof of allegiance. Let this head repay your kindness. It will help you win the trust of the Liang People, and when Ji City is liberated one day, take this letter back south."

"No need. I've already passed the test of loyalty. You saved the children, so we're even." Su Yuan briefly explained what had happened with the Shan Family.

"Senior, you handled that well. But Shan Xiongqing is ruthless and cunning. He may stir up trouble again. It would be safer to take my head, too." The light in Duan Hongyan's eyes was fading.

Su Yuan fell silent for a moment, then finally spoke honestly. "When I first sent you messages, Yun Xu forced me to do it. I don't want to hide that from you. In a few months, I may leave Ji City for Great Liang proper. I can try to get this letter to your junior sister, but I can't agree to anything else you've asked."

The light in Duan Hongyan's eyes faded completely, but he still spoke softly. "Then let it repay you for avenging me. As for your choice... I have no right to question it."

He struggled to lift his uninjured left hand and brush it across his own throat.

In the valley, Tie Niu looked around anxiously.

After investigating, the Shan Family insisted that Du Hengfeng alone had been a traitor, while the others had acted under coercion. Though they deserved to die, their heads didn't count for points and couldn't make up for the test of loyalty.

Anyone holding one of those heads had to return to the woods to hunt down a commoner.

Tie Niu realized that the head Su Yuan had earlier slipped him was actually that of a commoner. He was safe.

But Su Yuan hadn't returned since then.

The final hunting gong had already sounded. The competition was nearly over, yet Su Yuan was still nowhere to be seen.

After Shan Xiongqing came to, his face was deathly pale, but he grew more and more certain that something was wrong.

Su Yuan had to be trying to frame them, then avoid killing Jing People to preserve his own clean record.

Somehow, he sensed that Su Yuan was an agent, too.

Otherwise, why would Su Yuan repeatedly oppose the Shan Family? Perhaps he had set this up to clear himself of suspicion and infiltrate the higher ranks.

"Everyone, if I'm not mistaken, Su Yuan is definitely a traitor! He and Du Hengfeng played good cop and bad cop, all to earn our trust and infiltrate Great Liang. Now that their scheme has been exposed, he's fled in fear of punishment!" His analysis was ironclad.

Looking at Tie Niu, who had been so timid before, Chai Nian began to suspect the brothers, too.

Even if they needed to investigate further afterward, the champion this time would still be someone from the Chai Family.

Gao Mian's gaze never left the woods. Her worry deepened as she hoped that familiar figure would appear.

Fortunately, Su Yuan did appear at last.

He carried a head in each hand.

One was Du Hengfeng's, the other Duan Hongyan's.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, my lords. Your humble servant is late because I was pursuing the traitor Du Hengfeng."

"The rites are complete! Let Su Yuan, champion and Great Liang's most loyal warrior, come forward and present his spoils!"

The master of ceremonies proclaimed it in a ringing voice, and every noble present rose to their feet.

The final day's rites were complete, and everyone had returned.

Draped in the golden silk that had once covered the Wolf God's statue and wearing the ceremonial cap, Su Yuan held a brocade box containing a head in each hand and presented them before the statue.

A kill worth a hundred points was indeed the most valuable prize in the competition.

After the heads of the Shan Family Martial Warriors had been wrongly counted, many contestants' scores were adjusted downward.

When Su Yuan presented these two heads, his score surpassed Tie Niu's, making him champion in one fell swoop.

The city lord, Wei Yan, appeared once more, approval in his eyes. "You carved a statue of the Wolf God and received his blessing. Now you've claimed the hunting championship and brought glory to our martial might. You are a Wolf God warrior blessed by heaven!"

Thunderous applause erupted all around.

Su Yuan lowered his head. "I thank the Wolf God for his blessing."

He gently straightened the brocade box containing Duan Hongyan's head.

As expected, Shan Xiongqing had played another dirty trick. Without these two heads, Su Yuan would have struggled to prove himself and nearly been brought down.

Su Yuan gazed calmly at the head inside the box, his thoughts unreadable.

Caw—caw—

Only when a few scattered cries of geese crossed the sky did Su Yuan look up. A flock of wild geese was flying north.

Spring had come.

The geese flew north, never south again.