Villains

The next morning, the sun was shining brightly.

Li Mu had enjoyed a rare good night's sleep and pushed open the door to step outside.

The new house was quiet and comfortable. After being sprayed with fragrant insect repellent, it was free of mosquitoes as well.

Looking into the distance, he saw a group of female laundry slaves at the edge of Spirit Ravine Peak, carrying bucket after bucket of clothes as they washed them.

Many of these female slaves had grown into their figures, and their rough clothes could not conceal their full curves.

In the past, he had always left early for breakfast before heading to Myriad Swords Tower for work. Now that he was a household guard, his schedule was much looser, leaving him the leisure to enjoy such scenery.

The female slaves chatted and laughed as they washed. Suddenly, several of them noticed the young man in white. Their eyes brightened at once, and they cast coquettish glances his way, waving at him.

Li Mu pretended not to see them and turned around.

Though the laundry slaves were barefaced, quite a few of them were rather pretty, and they were enthusiastic as well. No wonder Zhao Tuo always liked going there. This was the pleasure den of the household guards...

Unfortunately, they were wasting their flirtatious looks. To Li Mu, they were not nearly as appealing as a sword manual.

He stroked the sword at his waist. Time to eat.

He strolled over to the wooden shed, where more than a dozen household guards were already having breakfast.

The household guards and sword-wiping slaves ate in the same shed, but the guards had far more time to eat, and their food was more than twice as good.

A large bowl of corn porridge, two big meat buns, and soy milk.

One bite of the buns brought a mouthful of meat filling. A spoonful of corn porridge followed by a sip of sweet soy milk—it was a real treat.

For the first time in three months, he was having such a hearty breakfast.

"Woodhead, being a household guard really is great. I heard lunch and dinner both come with three pieces of braised pork... Now this is what you call food! That stuff we used to eat was really..."

A bald youth carrying a tray sat down beside him and could not help sighing.

It was Hui Zhen.

He had changed into white short-sleeved martial attire. After training these past days, his physique had become strong and sturdy. If he carried a staff instead of a sword, he would truly look like a young warrior monk.

After moving in last night, the two had gathered for some wine and a huge plate of braised pork, cheerfully spending the reward Hui Zhen had just received.

"This is more like living like a person." Li Mu nodded.

The documents changing his slave registration had also been delivered to him last night.

He was now a registered resident of the Hidden Sword Manor district outside Azure River County's outer city, with a status of free commoner.

Twenty years later, if his strength declined and he could no longer serve as a household guard, he could apply to return to the outer city of Azure River County and purchase a proper house and farmland.

There were indeed quite a few household guards who did this.

After all, not everyone possessed the talent for martial arts or had the potential to rise into a Hidden Sword Manor disciple or steward.

Compared to three months ago, such a future was already much brighter.

"But I have the Great Expansion Sword Register. How could I possibly end up as nothing more than a household guard?"

Li Mu's eyes gleamed as he glanced at the Sword Register's information.

[Qi and Blood: 9.2↑]

[Dripping Water Swordsmanship: 1921/2000 (Minor Accomplishment)]

Li Mu smiled. Today, the Dripping Water Swordsmanship would reach Major Accomplishment.

At the entrance of Myriad Swords Tower.

Two tall, slender figures in white approached and saluted Zhao Tuo, who was on duty at the entrance.

One was a graceful youth with long hair tied behind his back. The other resembled a young warrior monk from a Buddhist temple.

"You're here. Looks like you rested well." Zhao Tuo had just received silver from the two yesterday, so he was all smiles. "Let me give you a few pointers on the rules for guarding the tower. It's all very simple."

After speaking for a while, Zhao Tuo left with another household guard.

This was the shift change for tower duty.

Li Mu and Hui Zhen were to stand guard here until the third bell at noon.

There was a table and chairs nearby, along with tea. When it ran out, they could refill it in the tea room. There were even a few idle books hidden beneath the table, clearly left behind by their predecessors to pass the time. It was actually much like being a security guard in his previous life.

The two agreed to alternate after each stood guard for a while. The other could rest and read, or patrol the tower.

After all, it was their first day on duty. If they acted too lax and Leng Shuangyu caught them off guard, they might be punished.

Hui Zhen stood straight as a rod.

Li Mu, meanwhile, sat down, poured himself a cup of tea, and casually pulled out a volume.

Azure River Chronicle of Villains.

"Hmm? Villains..." Li Mu's interest was piqued.

After reading for a while, he was somewhat shocked. He had not expected Azure River to be so unsettled.

This Chronicle of Villains did not only record criminals native to Azure River. It also documented those from elsewhere who had made infamous names for themselves around Azure River.

Among them, Li Mu saw someone he had been concerned about.

[Mountain-Holding Vulture. Originally named Liu Bahe, young manor lord of Tyrant Blade Manor. Ten years ago, his entire family was slaughtered, and everyone believed he had perished. Five years later, he reappeared outside Azure River City with a giant vulture. With his Snowwing Saber Technique, he brazenly ambushed and killed twenty-three members of the Changning Escort Agency, assassinated the masters of Heavenly River Martial Hall and Changxing Martial Hall, occupied a mountain to establish a stronghold, and took the title "Mountain-Holding Vulture." He ranked ninety-eighth on the Black List...]

Above it were messy annotations left by some household guard after reading it, the handwriting barely legible:

[Three years ago, this bandit was jointly hunted by the city garrison and the five major martial halls. He barely escaped. Now that he has returned, I fear he will stir up another bloody storm.]

Someone had added:

[Exactly! It was said that this fiend had already reached Inner Strength five years ago. Who knows what realm he has reached now? May the Grand Manor Lord leave seclusion soon and kill him!]

Someone else added:

[If the Grand Manor Lord were not in seclusion, how could Mountain-Holding Vulture be running rampant today? Ten years ago, at Hidden Sword Manor's Grand Sword Conference, the Grand Manor Lord rose to prominence by challenging the three manor lords of Tyrant Blade Manor with his sword. There was no suspense at all in the battle between blade and sword...]

The pages were filled with all sorts of random comments, but the rest was merely idle chatter.

"This Mountain-Holding Vulture, Liu Bahe, had a miserable background and a difficult life, yet he escaped death time and again. His strength kept improving, and he killed countless people. No wonder his vicious reputation is so renowned..."

Li Mu was amazed. He vaguely felt there was more to this.

He always managed to escape by luck and come back stronger. That was a little too impressive.

Either some expert was secretly helping him, or he had some kind of cheat...

Still, there were few clues. Experts would concern themselves with such bandits. Li Mu merely committed it to memory. After all, Mountain-Holding Vulture was still entrenched in Azure River. Better safe than sorry.

Besides this man, there were many other villains described in even more bizarre terms.

Li Mu suddenly spotted a name and was immediately startled. "Third Manor Lord?"

[...Ye Wei, Third Manor Lord of Hidden Sword Manor. Ten years ago, he learned that his beloved wife, Liu Xi, had died of illness at Tyrant Blade Manor. When he tried to take away her body, he was instead imprisoned for several months. Then, his hair turned white overnight. He comprehended the Peerless Silent Sword, broke free from his prison, and with one sword strike killed and wounded a hundred people. He took away his deceased wife's remains and established an unparalleled vicious reputation!]

No wonder the Third Manor Lord had white hair despite being middle-aged, always wore a sorrowful expression, and seemed so lonely. He had been a man deeply devoted to his wife.

That was not the important part. The important part was the Peerless Silent Sword.

One sword strike had killed and wounded a hundred people! That was incredibly fierce!

Even if Li Mu used the Dripping Water Swordsmanship with all his strength, it would already be impressive if he could injure several people around him. To injure a hundred with one sword strike—how powerful would that have to be?

Incredible. I want to learn it, but my current talent probably isn't enough...

Besides, such arts were not passed down lightly.

Without becoming a core disciple, he likely could not learn such a supreme technique.

"Wait... Could Tyrant Blade Manor's destruction have had something to do with Hidden Sword Manor?"

A thought suddenly occurred to Li Mu.

Ye Wei's sword strike had killed and wounded so many Tyrant Blade Manor disciples. The two sides must have become enemies.

As the Third Manor Lord of Hidden Sword Manor, if Ye Wei still had not vented his anger, then even if he was not the mastermind, he might have added fuel to the flames...

The more Li Mu thought about it, the more likely it seemed. At the very least, Liu Bahe might have believed so.

A dignified young manor lord with formidable martial arts had not taken the proper path but instead become a bandit. There could only be one reason: he had no other choice...

"If every force in Azure River is his enemy, then becoming a bandit and establishing his own stronghold would be understandable. In that case, if some expert is supporting him, it probably would not be any major power. Otherwise, he could simply borrow that power to take revenge..."

Li Mu casually considered the matter without dwelling on it. After all, these were only subjective guesses based on clues from a book. Only those involved knew the truth.

Besides the feud between Hidden Sword Manor and Tyrant Blade Manor, he also found some bizarre anomalies.

[Warrior monk Moluoduo traveled here from the Sacred Buddha Temple of the Western Regions. He was ambushed by the Black Tiger Gang, Azure River's largest gang, and fell off a cliff with grievous injuries. Yet the next day, his wounds had miraculously healed. As if possessed, he slaughtered his way from the gates of Azure River City to the Black Tiger Gang, indiscriminately massacring dozens of innocent civilians and destroying the Black Tiger Gang. Later, he was surrounded and killed in the street by the city garrison. His corpse was horrific: his meridians bulged blackish-brown, while his flesh and blood had withered like dead wood.]

After finishing the entire Azure River Chronicle of Villains, Li Mu came to a conclusion.

The martial world was dangerous, and there were far too many villains.

Geniuses were as numerous as carp crossing a river. They achieved enlightenment at the drop of a hat. It was simply terrifying.

Also, if he encountered the likes of Mountain-Holding Vulture, he had to run.

Just seeing that name made his right eyelid twitch wildly.

They said a twitching left eye brought wealth while a twitching right eye brought disaster... Li Mu would rather believe it than not.

"This man definitely would not bring people to Hidden Sword Manor to die. The only time I need to be careful is in the countryside, or when escorting goods to Azure River City."

"When I'm alone, it seems I'll need to change out of these Hidden Sword Manor clothes. And I need to gather more intelligence, so I don't bring disaster upon myself."

Li Mu silently cautioned himself. A sense of insecurity welled up within him, and he began making plans.

As for that warrior monk Moluoduo... that was a little too fantastical.

Seeing an annotation above that said, [Smuggling in personal views, promoting Buddhism], Li Mu understood that the author was likely a devout Buddhist. It was normal for the story to sound a little exaggerated.

Hui Zhen occasionally spoke of wondrous Zen riddles and fantastical tales as well. It was nothing unusual.

Li Mu merely smiled and put it out of his mind.