Fortunes and Misfortunes Without End

Killing intent erupted, and the entire army was shocked.

Gong Liefeng and Cai Yuelin both shook their heads. Only Ouyang Qingcang praised him. "That's how a true man ought to be!"

"Stop fanning the flames!" Lei Zhaoye rebuked Ouyang Qingcang.

Gong Liefeng laughed and patted Ouyang Qingcang on the shoulder. "That brat's temperament is no different from Gu Feibai's."

"Except he's missing a pretty wife!" Cai Yuelin grinned. Just as he was about to imitate Cao Langao with ventriloquism, three fists from Gong Liefeng, Cao Langao, and Ouyang Qingcang landed on his head at once. He let out a miserable cry. "Ow!"

Lei Zhaoye stepped forward, gently pulled Liu Yunshen aside, and advised him in a low voice, "Brother Liu, we may be able to deal with this sort of thing for a time, but not forever. If we insist on standing up for them, then once we leave, the people here will have an even harder time."

The commander was already trembling with fright, hiding behind a large tree and ready to grab his horse and flee at any moment.

"Brother Lei is right. Even if injustice fills the world, we cannot wipe out all its evils overnight." Liu Yunshen sighed and sheathed his rusty iron sword.

Hu Two and Zhao Da cried out in delight, pointing at a Qin army unit wading across the water in the distance. "That's General Ying Hua!"

"General!" The two rushed into the small river to greet him. "Greetings, General!"

Ying Hua was already old. Though nearly nine feet tall, his back was bent as he dismounted. He looked at the two in puzzlement. "Where are your uniforms and weapons?"

Hu Two looked ashamed, but Zhao Da declared loudly, "We thank you for your great kindness, General, but neither of us intends to return to the army!"

"Nonsense! Though you two have yet to earn military merit, you possess the makings of generals. Why cast aside the eight-foot body of a true man?" As Ying Hua rebuked them, he looked into the distance. His gaze was involuntarily drawn to Liu Yunshen, whose build was not particularly striking, and he was slightly startled. "That youth is the Brother Liu you two keep talking about?"

"That's right! General, we had originally planned to find Brother Liu and follow him from then on!"

"Four Swords Sect?" Ying Hua looked at the miserable state of the village and shook his head. "I'll settle the matter of taxes first. The rest can wait!"

"That's wonderful!"

Hu Two's eyes lit up as he tightly gripped Zhao Da's arm. "Big Dog Brother, did I hear that right?"

"You heard right. This time, the people truly have hope!" Zhao Da staggered, nearly choking on a mouthful of river water, but he still laughed joyfully. "Quick, let's go!"

By the time the two returned to shore, Ying Hua had already led his troops in halting Commander Ying Lei's atrocities and ordered the three armies to form ranks.

"Soldiers! What you wear and what you eat are all provided by the common people. Yet today, you brandished weapons in broad daylight and plundered their grain. The state has its laws, and families have their rules. What should be done?"

The officers and soldiers looked solemn. Though tears filled their eyes, they all happily knelt down. "We are willing to accept military law!"

"That's right! You lot of old soldiers have lacked discipline! Heh heh, Uncle..." Ying Lei chuckled as he pulled a money pouch from his robes. Ying Hua raged, "As commander of an army, you indulged your soldiers in plundering the people's goods. You have already violated military law! And besides, I am no longer your uncle! Before your father died, he entrusted you to me. I had meant to raise you into a worthy man, but I never expected you to collude with those scum in the court!"

"General! General! Th-this was the Marquis's order! This lowly one was merely following orders! Please show mercy, General!"

"Take him away. Fifty strokes!"

"Fifty military strokes?! I'm going to die!!! General, spare me! Spare me!"

At Ying Hua's command, the soldiers behind him dragged Ying Lei behind a tree and beat him fiercely with military staves!

All the villagers cheered.

"General Ying Hua has come!"

"General Ying is the one who truly cares for us!"

"But the court has already increased the taxes. The court is full of treacherous ministers. I fear General Ying alone cannot hold up a lone tree!"

As the villagers spoke among themselves, Ying Hua had already ordered his soldiers to repair their homes in atonement.

"Thank you, General, for speaking up for the people!" Liu Yunshen, Lei Zhaoye, Gong Liefeng, and the other youths stepped forward. Ying Hua turned sideways and stared at the group of youths before him. He could not help looking up at the sky, rubbing the broken blade in his robes. After a long while, he gave them a faint smile. "Why don't you young sect masters travel with my army? It will save you from encountering another attack by the demon sects on the road."

"Very well!" Lei Zhaoye and Cai Yuelin cupped their fists respectfully in thanks.

Gong Liefeng and Ouyang Qingcang lifted their chins. "I think we should travel on our own. If we run into those demons again, we'll kill every one who comes!"

"Brother Ouyang is right!" Hu Two roared from the side. His voice made the soldiers' eardrums buzz, frightening them into retreating far away.

Ying Hua frowned, and Hu Two hastily lowered his head.

"Where did Brother Liu go?"

Liu Yunshen had vanished without a trace, and the child's corpse on the ground was gone as well. Cao Langao sighed. "Brother Liu has probably gone to deliver the dead soul again!"

That night, the people of Four Swords Gate, along with Liu Yunshen, Hu Two, and Zhao Da, crowded into the military tent, eating and drinking as they chatted merrily with General Ying Hua.

Everyone spoke cheerfully, laughing and talking. General Ying Hua kept gazing at Liu Yunshen from time to time, then touched the broken sword in his robes. Lei Zhaoye sensed that something was amiss and immediately rose with a smile. "General, it's getting late. We should take our leave as well!"

"Ah! We should go too! This isn't..." Gong Liefeng was still gnawing on a lamb leg when Cao Langao smilingly dragged him away.

Cai Yuelin and Ouyang Qingcang also noticed something unusual and rose to leave with the others.

Only Liu Yunshen, Hu Two, and Zhao Da remained in the command tent.

"Zhao Da, Hu Two, since you have both decided to leave, I will not try to keep you. The road to the ends of the earth is long; who can say you will not carve out a foundation of your own? You are both adults now, so I will give each of you a name." Ying Hua smiled at them.

"Thank you, General!"

"Hu Two, you are brave and fierce by nature. From now on, you shall be called Hu Lieshan."

"I have a name now, Brother!" Hu Lieshan threw his arms around Liu Yunshen, his face alight with joy!

"Zhao Da, you are deeply loyal without lacking wit, calm yet unyielding in your strength. You shall be called Zhao Dingjiang. I hope that one day you will pacify the four borders and secure our lands!"

"Thank you, General!"

"You two go outside first. I have something to discuss with your big brother!"

Hu Lieshan was startled and wanted to ask more, but the moment he opened his mouth, Zhao Dingjiang pulled him out of the tent.

After staring deeply at Liu Yunshen, Ying Hua sighed. "Nephew Liu, perhaps you have already set foot upon a crooked path."

"I would like to hear the details!" Liu Yunshen's heart skipped a beat, and he respectfully bowed to the ground.

Ying Hua helped him up and drew him to his side.

"One sword cannot save all under heaven!"

"But..." Darkness appeared in Liu Yunshen's eyes. "But wielding a sword to eliminate demons is the duty of a martial artist. If we see a snake and do not strike it, how are we any different from the wicked path?"

Ying Hua smiled and waved a hand. "I am not saying that eliminating demons is wrong. But with you alone, even if you exhaust every drop of flesh and blood in your body, how many demons can you kill in a day? How many monsters can you eliminate in a night?"

Liu Yunshen lowered his head, clenching the rusty iron sword and Benevolent Heart Ripples in his fists! Ying Hua stared at that treasured sword, continuously stroking his beard as though he had fallen into profound confusion.

"Thank you for your guidance, General! This junior's mind is in utter turmoil. I would like some quiet time to think." Liu Yunshen bowed in thanks and rose. Ying Hua saw him out of the tent and watched his retreating figure, feeling a trace of regret. "Did I speak too harshly?"

With a stifled breath in his chest, Liu Yunshen unleashed his cultivation, leaping several yards over the camp gate and flying to the mountainside. He immediately sprang into a tree and used the first mirror, third-stage Earth Vein Rooting method, intending to enter sleep cultivation. Yet the fire in his heart blazed fiercely, and illusions surged forth!

Liu Yunshen woke from his sleep-cultivation dream drenched in sweat. This had never happened before. His teeth ground together. "I am far too weak right now. I can neither protect my companions nor protect myself, much less sweep away the demons beneath heaven! Yet I still spouted lofty nonsense and swore oaths to the sky! How laughable!"

Liu Yunshen stood blankly atop the tree for a long while, staring at the dark and heavy sky.

"More words are useless! I should cultivate harder!" Liu Yunshen sighed, immediately adjusted his state of mind, and lay down again. Yet stray thoughts still lingered and the illusions did not lessen. One moment, Qin Leopard and Zhao Hungry Tiger's agonized faces appeared; the next, they became the face of that tragically dead girl; then they changed into the horrific sight of the dozens of children who had died in that village!

Liu Yunshen took a deep breath and employed the fist art taught by that strange Daoist. Yin and yang, the five elements—they were all within it. Chaotic scenes rose one after another, like a kaleidoscope. He immediately stopped cultivating, climbed down from the tree, and bent over at the riverbank to wash his face. Then he suddenly froze. "That's not right. The river is ten li away. Could I still be dreaming?"

In an instant, peach blossoms whirled through the air, and a sob sounded behind him!

"I really am in a dream!" The youth was overjoyed and hurried toward it, but the girl backed away three steps. She stared coldly at him. "You said that in this life you would marry no one but me, so why have you changed your heart and set your sights on my younger sister?"

"Yu Wan... How did you know?" The youth was horrified, his face turning deathly pale!

"Fine! I didn't believe it at first, but it's true... It's really true!" The girl covered her face, weeping as she ran away.

"Yu Wan!" After suffering two devastating blows in a single night, the youth was driven mad with grief and fury. This humble gentleman became exceptionally rough, seizing the girl's jade-like arm!

"No! Don't come near me!" Terror appeared in the girl's eyes as she kept retreating. Looking at her senior brother's outstretched fingers and blood-red eyes, like a wolf or jackal, hot tears rolled down her face. "Has your true nature been exposed by me, Senior Brother? Are you going to violate me!"

Only then did Liu Yunshen cry out and pull back his hand. The girl wept in a corner!

"If you don't believe me, what meaning is there in living!" The youth's fury flared wildly as he drew Benevolent Heart Ripples and stabbed it toward his abdomen! The girl was shocked. She snatched away the treasured sword, and the sharp blade cut her jade-like hands. In panicked tears, she cried, "You... Who... Who said I didn't believe you! I..."

The girl sprawled against the youth's chest and wept loudly.

"You're not angry with me anymore!" The youth was thrilled and excited, tightly clasping the girl's slender jade fingers. The girl cried out, "Ah! That hurts!"

"I'll treat your wound!" The youth activated his pill energy. A blazing sun and bright moon rose into the sky; the earth, clustered pines, and a hundred currents of energy filled the air. The rusty iron sword released brilliant white-gold energy. The five colors merged into one, erupting with majestic power. In an instant, more than half the wound on the girl's palm healed!

"Wow! Senior Brother's skills are amazing!" The girl lightly clapped her hands. A moment ago she had been crying her eyes out, yet in an instant she had changed faces again.

Liu Yunshen looked at his junior sister's beauty, enough to topple kingdoms and cities, and his heart pounded wildly. Yet his brows furrowed. A woman's heart truly is impossible to fathom. How did she go from tears to smiles in the blink of an eye?

Yu Wan sensed her senior brother's gaze and slowly withdrew her hands, yet she lifted her eyes to secretly look at him again.

"Then... then what is going on between you and your younger sister..." The girl merely glanced at the youth for a moment before her face flushed scarlet with extreme shyness.

"Heh heh! Someone who cannot even protect himself still dreams of clinging to a spring branch!"

In an instant, the earth split open. The peach blossoms were gone, and a deep ravine separated Yang Qingchan from Liu Yunshen!