Trouble

The morning light was just right.

A gentle cool breeze drifted through the shaded wooden shelter.

In the corner sat a young man in white with strong, muscular arms. A famous sword in a black sheath hung at his waist. Four large meat buns lay on the plate before him. He picked one up, took a bite, and chewed slowly as he leafed through a book.

Li Mu had taken it from a drawer in the duty building.

Over the years, the drawers in the duty building had accumulated all manner of books—miscellaneous texts, old books, and vulgar tales of spring flowers, autumn moons, and rolling clouds and rain...

The one in Li Mu's hands recounted sect grudges and jianghu events in Jiangnan Commandery and Azure River County.

There was still much about this world that he did not understand. Limited by his status, he currently had few channels through which to gather information. Reading more could broaden his horizons.

"Sword Pavilion..." Having heard of Sword Pavilion's exploits last night, Li Mu had begun paying particular attention to it.

This volume mentioned that Sword Pavilion's swordsmanship heritage had endured for five hundred years, unshaken through wind and rain. It stood like a giant within Jiangnan Commandery. No matter how many promising young talents from Azure River were sent there, they might not even be chosen as outer disciples.

That was because Sword Pavilion valued talent above all else. The younger and more gifted one was, the more highly one was regarded, yet they would always rather lack than accept inferior candidates.

There had even been years when more than ten thousand young talents from Jiangnan Commandery arrived, yet only a handful remained.

There were also sects that had once shone brilliantly, only to gradually decline due to jianghu conflicts, various grudges, a dwindling pool of talent, lost secret manuals...

"In this world, strength is ultimately supreme. Without great strength, nothing can last." Li Mu sighed. Those famous sects had once enjoyed renown throughout the land, only to fall rapidly within a few years. At the root of it all, their strength had been insufficient, their foundations too shallow, and their successors lacking.

The book also said that Sword Pavilion had once kept a low profile, obscure and unknown. But once it emerged, it became invincible throughout Jiangnan. Even the Great Qian imperial family held it in great awe. Its foundations were unfathomable.

Hidden Sword Manor was much the same. Ten years ago, Tyrant Blade Manor stood supreme in Azure River. Then Hidden Sword Manor abruptly rose to prominence, held its first Famous Sword Convention, and quickly made a name for itself. Not long after, Tyrant Blade Manor suffered a massacre, while Hidden Sword Manor gradually rose.

There were scattered notes in these books, but the household servants clearly avoided the subject.

"Liu Bahe of the past, the young manor lord of Tyrant Blade Manor. Mountain-Holding Vulture of today, Azure River's foremost bandit..." Li Mu could see that many people connected these two matters, though there was no concrete proof. Now, Mountain-Holding Vulture Liu Bahe had repeatedly returned, watching them like a tiger eyeing its prey. He seemed intent on taking revenge against Hidden Sword Manor, perhaps even all of Azure River. Record of Notorious Men contained similar evidence.

"I'm at Hidden Sword Manor, and I need the sword manuals and books here. I won't be leaving anytime soon. Sooner or later, I'll probably have to face this..."

A faint sense of unease arose in Li Mu's heart. He was not growing stronger fast enough. Taking one of the top three spots in the martial exercises and obtaining more resources was imperative.

But on second thought, could Hidden Sword Manor be considered an outer branch of the outer sect of Jiangnan's top sect, Sword Pavilion? Perhaps...

"Wooden Head, something terrible has happened!"

Hui Zhen hurried over.

"Take your time." Li Mu set aside his thoughts and put down the book.

"Mountain-Holding Vulture really made their move!"

With a grave expression, Hui Zhen said, "Yesterday, Mountain-Holding Vulture's Third Chief, Zhong Lingchuan, led a raid and seized the sword transport convoy! I heard that this Third Chief actually fought the Third Manor Lord to a standstill. Although he was driven off in the end, we still lost some goods and suffered considerable casualties!"

"What? Their Third Chief can contend with the Third Manor Lord?" Li Mu was surprised as well.

He had only learned some of the history between the Third Manor Lord, Ye Wei, and Mountain-Holding Vulture's Liu Bahe from Record of Notorious Men. He knew very little about the strength of the two sides.

It seemed the sword transport missions were no longer as secure as before.

When Cao A-Man had mentioned the matter yesterday, Li Mu had felt his right eyelid twitch violently. Who would have thought it would come true?

Hui Zhen sighed. "Who could have imagined that although Mountain-Holding Vulture's gang has been defeated time and again, their core strength has been improving as well? At this rate, sword transport missions won't be easy anymore. The transport convoys usually rest for two days, but this group rushed back in a hurry."

"Oh, right. Cao A-Man was carried back to Forging Sword Tower. He was too eager to earn merit, and a bandit who still had one last breath suddenly sprang up and cut off one of his arms! He's probably crippled for good now. He'll receive a little silver, then be expelled from the manor..."

Hui Zhen could not help sighing at how quickly Cao A-Man's fortunes had risen and fallen.

Just yesterday, he had returned to Myriad Swords Tower and revealed that he had broken through the Blood and Qi barrier, full of high spirits. In the blink of an eye, he had become crippled... No one could endure such a blow.

"The jianghu is far too dangerous." Li Mu's heart tightened at the news. No matter how chaotic the situation became in the future, he could not let down his guard. When killing someone, he had to make sure they were dead.

As they spoke, a commotion suddenly arose in the distance.

A group of wounded men wrapped in bandages, carrying bundles on their backs, was being escorted out of the manor.

Li Mu happened to know the two household servants leading them.

Xing Yuanjia and Tian Zeyi.

They had been ordered to send these wounded men away from the manor. Their expressions were cold and merciless. Even though some of these men had once eaten and drunk with them, they were now cripples being cast out of the manor. Their old friendship meant nothing.

Only when the two spotted Li Mu did their expressions soften. They nodded to him.

The injured men behind them remained silent, their eyes vacant as they staggered forward.

Hidden Sword Manor could endlessly replenish its household servants. It had no need for a group of crippled first-barrier martial artists.

A little compensation was enough to send them away.

Li Mu immediately spotted a broad, burly figure among them. It was Cao A-Man. In just one day, his expression had changed beyond recognition. Yesterday, his simple smile had been bright and spirited. Today, his gaze was lifeless, his face ashen.

He stared fixedly at the ground, unwilling to raise his head. His right sleeve hung empty, while his left hand leaned on a wooden cane. With his lips pressed tightly together, he slowly followed the group out of the manor.

At the very end, he seemed to sense something. He turned and looked from afar in Li Mu's direction, revealing a bleak, miserable smile before finally leaving for good.

"Fortunately, I didn't rush to reveal my strength, draw too much attention, or join the sword transport mission." Li Mu sighed. When he had vaguely heard some rumors back then, he had already felt uneasy. Now, he truly understood the danger beyond the manor.

Cao A-Man had drawn Forging Sword Tower's attention after becoming number one in Myriad Swords Tower due to his naturally exceptional physique. Ye Wanqing and Liu Yi had also paid a considerable price to recruit him, giving him many resources and allowing him to smoothly break through in just seven days. At the time, countless people had discussed it, praising him as another rising star of Forging Sword Tower.

Cao A-Man had been full of vigor then, surrounded by endless flattery.

But today, Cao A-Man was leaving the manor crippled. Ye Wanqing and Liu Yi were nowhere to be seen, and not a single person from Forging Sword Tower came forward.

Such was the world. Such was human nature.

Until they became formal disciples, household servants like them were nothing more than expendable cannon fodder in the eyes of the manor's upper ranks. Once crippled, they would receive no pity. After being given their compensation, they would be sent away at once. They had more dignity than slaves, but not by much.

"Besides, I warned him." Li Mu shook his head slightly as he watched Cao A-Man's dejected back disappear.

Risks were unavoidable in the jianghu, but if Cao A-Man had remained cautious and prudent, rather than becoming complacent and eager to earn merit, he would not have ended up like this.

But Cao A-Man had been born rash and reckless. He was destined to choose a different path from Li Mu's. How could there have been any ifs?