Frame-up

Bai Sui had a plan in mind. He turned back to find Kubota Noriyuki, "Are there any bandits or highwaymen around here? Or perhaps some notorious roving outlaws? It would be best if they have a signature style we could imitate so we can frame them for this."

Kubota Noriyuki thought for a moment, "I honestly don't know what's in the Land of Fields, but I do know of a few infamous bandits from the Land of Iron. Wait, I just thought of one we could use. There was a group of roving bandits in the south of the Land of Iron who committed quite a few atrocities there. Before I left, I heard they had already slaughtered four or five squads of samurai sent to suppress them."

"The key is that they are roving bandits who move over large areas, and they have a habit of using their blades to impale their victims' heads and display them right next to the corpses. I actually studied them for a while, hoping to wipe them out, but then I was targeted by ninjas and ended up coming to this village."

"Although I don't know if they are still active, we could borrow their reputation. After all, they had hundreds of men back then; even if they were suppressed, it would be reasonable for some to have escaped."

Bai Sui nodded after hearing this, "Good. I'll go take care of them, and then I'll leave it to you to stage the scene."

With the plan set, Bai Sui didn't delay any further. Sword in hand, he waited on their path.

The four samurai soon spotted Bai Sui. They gestured for the foot soldiers under their command to close in and surround him, "Hey! We are samurai from the Daimyo Mansion. Anyone who blocks our path will be killed without mercy. Get lost, now!"

Bai Sui didn't strike immediately; he wanted them to get closer to ensure no one could escape. He moved to the side of the road, clearing the way.

As they drew closer, the four samurai were less than ten meters away from Bai Sui, and the furthest of the twelve foot soldiers was no more than fifteen meters away.

Bai Sui moved. He drew his precious sword from his back and charged at the four men. The samurai had never let their guard down, "Haha, I knew you were trouble! You're courting death!" "Kill him!"

Bai Sui lunged forward, sweeping his sword horizontally.

The blade, infused with metal-attribute Qi, snapped the nearest samurai's katana in two and continued its momentum, slicing straight through the man's torso.

The four men were elites of the Daimyo Mansion, and their years of coordination kicked in. Seeing one of their own about to be cut down, the other three lunged at Bai Sui, hoping to force him to retract his blade to defend himself.

However, this was exactly what Bai Sui had been waiting for. As the three men rushed in to save their comrade, Bai Sui parted his lips slightly, and three golden lights shot from his mouth, heading straight for their faces.

These Qi Swords moved with such blinding speed that before the three could react, the golden lights had already pierced through their foreheads.

With no one left to block him, Bai Sui's sword struck the first samurai, and just like that, all four samurai were dead within the first moment of the engagement.

Bai Sui didn't stop. He bypassed the four bodies and charged at the foot soldiers behind them.

The foot soldiers in the rear had been cheering excitedly, preparing to shout and intimidate the enemy while watching their masters fight.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, their four masters had fallen to the ground. The man who dared to draw a blade against them hadn't been killed; instead, he was charging straight at them.

The group was stunned, the shift in reality too jarring to process. Only the few in the back, who had been too far away to see what happened, were still shouting mindlessly.

This finally snapped the foot soldiers out of their stupor. Some turned and ran, while others tried to draw their blades to fight to the death.

But the three Qi Swords had not yet dissipated. Before Bai Sui even needed to use his own blade, those three projectiles alone slaughtered the twelve foot soldiers, leaving only the merchant, who was so terrified he was on the verge of fainting, slumped on the ground.

He didn't run because he knew exactly who stood before him: the miracle doctor he had been sent to capture. He knew he was a dead man.

Whether this man chose to kill him or not, his fate was sealed. He was the one who had led the group here, and now that the samurai were all dead and he was the only one left, the Daimyo would never let him live.

Moreover, the man before him was clearly here to silence witnesses. Even if he didn't know how the man had tracked them, he knew he wouldn't be spared as an informant.

Bai Sui indeed had no intention of letting him go. He hauled the man up by his collar, and as their eyes met, Bai Sui drove his spiritual energy into the man's mind.

This was a technique Bai Sui hadn't used since he condensed his Golden Flower; he had only seen information about it in the memories of his past life. This was his first time attempting it in this world.

Though he was unpracticed, Bai Sui's spiritual energy was vastly superior to the merchant's. It tore through the man's defenses like a hot knife through butter, reaching deep into the recesses of his memories.

After a simple and brutal extraction of the relevant information, Bai Sui tossed the merchant—whose brain had been shredded—onto the ground.

By now, Kubota Noriyuki, who had been rushing toward the scene since the fighting started, finally reached Bai Sui's side. Along the way, he had watched Bai Sui swing his blade and seen the three golden lights reap lives like stalks of wheat. In that moment, he felt he finally understood what Bai Sui meant by "cultivating the sword," and he saw the path he would walk from here on.

Without a word, he silently began to clean up the scene and forge the evidence.

About half an hour later, thanks to Kubota Noriyuki's professional touch, the scene looked as if a massive battle had taken place between two large groups. To make it convincing, they even stripped the bodies of all valuables, armor, and weapons.

The two checked the area one last time to ensure no mistakes were left behind, then headed back toward the village with their spoils.

By the time they returned, the sun was nearly setting. Seeing them against the final glow of dusk, the village chief, who had been waiting at the entrance, finally let out a sigh of relief.

To avoid causing a panic, the chief simply told the villagers that the two had gone out on business. Though curious, no one asked further questions.

But now, seeing the dried, blackened bloodstains on their clothes, the villagers grew uneasy. As the two approached, the stench of blood drifted into everyone's nostrils.

Bai Sui left Kubota Noriyuki to explain to the villagers while he went to wash up. Kubota Noriyuki now regarded Bai Sui as a divine being, so he was more than willing to handle the explanation.

Though he kept it brief, the villagers understood that a catastrophic disaster had been averted by the two men. Seeing the fatigue on Kubota Noriyuki's face, the chief didn't let anyone pester them further, telling everyone to go get some rest and discuss the matter in detail the following morning.