A Blade That Kills

"Hard. So damned hard."

As night fell, Yang Xuan, the man in charge of Yang Family Fort and one of the village's three elders, let out this sigh for who knew how many times.

Jizhou, where Yang Family Fort stood, had always been a land fought over on all sides. Not far north lay the territory of the Hu people, and those mounted Hu raiders would charge over at the drop of a hat to burn, kill, and plunder. Although large-scale Hu invasions had become less frequent in recent years, raids by light cavalry had barely stopped at all.

Normally, living in a place like this was practically courting death. Anyone with the slightest bit of common sense knew they ought to move somewhere far from the ravages of war. Yet Yang Xuan had his own difficulties, which was why he still led the younger members of the clan in staying here.

"Clan Uncle, we really can't retreat again this time."

Just as Yang Xuan was sighing and lamenting, a short-bearded man dressed in fitted work clothes pushed open the door and entered.

The man was named Yang Sanlang. He was Yang Xuan's nephew, and the fiercest of the Yang Clan's younger generation. It was said that when Yang Sanlang had still been a youth, Yang Family Fort had fought the neighboring village over water, the two sides locked in a bitter struggle. In the midst of it all, some young men from the neighboring village, venting their anger, had cursed the Yang Clan and even its ancestors with foul mouths.

That was when Yang Sanlang stepped forward.

"You can curse me, but how dare you curse my Yang Clan's ancestors?"

With that, Yang Sanlang grabbed a spear and hurled it out. The flying spear nailed the shouting man dead to the ground. Seeing such a gruesome sight, those opposing Yang Family Fort scattered like birds and beasts.

It was precisely because of that fearlessness in daring to kill that Yang Sanlang soon gained a measure of fame in Jizhou.

But now, this man renowned for his bravery had his brows tightly furrowed.

"Last year, because those Hu people came through, we failed to deliver enough grain to Commander Liu. If something happens again this time, then Commander Liu's side will probably..."

"Stop. Stop... Sanlang, stop. I know. I know it all."

The aged Yang Xuan sighed once more.

This was one reason Yang Family Fort could not move elsewhere. Commander Liu, who governed Jizhou and commanded a great army, was both Yang Family Fort's umbrella of protection and the one who collected grain and military pay from them to guard the border. If their Yang Clan of Jizhou dared to slip away without a word, with Commander Liu's violent temper, he would likely chase them down even across a thousand miles just to teach them a lesson.

Of course, Commander Liu was not the sort who only knew how to take. The sturdy fortified manor in the village had been built by soldiers under Commander Liu's command. Though the manor was not large, no corners had been cut. Its walls were solid and thick, and it lacked none of the watchtowers, corner towers, and the like that it ought to have. Whenever war came, the village farmers could hide inside for refuge. Yang Family Fort had gotten its name from this fortified manor.

Yet the problem lay precisely with that fortified manor.

People could enter the manor to seek refuge, but the crops in the fields outside could not grow legs and walk in by themselves. If the Hu light cavalry failed to seize anything, they would surely tear down houses, smash roofs, and ravage the fields. The farmers' homes and belongings were one thing, but if the grain suffered losses and they could not hand over enough to Commander Liu after the autumn harvest, then their Yang Clan of Jizhou would...

"How many able-bodied men do we still have?"

The aged Yang Xuan clenched his fists.

"Count the refugees too."

"Forty-six who can wield weapons, including me."

The short-bearded Yang Sanlang thought for only a moment before giving the number.

"If we add the able-bodied men among the refugees... we should be able to scrape together around a hundred?"

"...Only that many?"

His clenched fists loosened. The aged Yang Xuan looked somewhat dispirited.

A hundred or so able-bodied men was not actually a small number. At the very least, it was already quite a powerful force for fighting a neighboring village over water or land. But the problem was that what he faced now was not some village squabble fueled by bravado. He had to meet the vicious Hu light cavalry from the north.

Could a mere hundred or so able-bodied men, who had received no proper training, withstand more than a few charges?

What was more, over half of them were refugees they had taken in. Leaving aside whether these sallow, emaciated refugees could fight at all, their resolve was another matter. These refugees might not truly be willing to stake their lives on Yang Family Fort as the Yang family children who had put down roots here were.

Before the battle had even begun, the seed of wavering morale had already been planted. This was simply...

"Clan Uncle, there is no need to panic."

Yang Sanlang saw Yang Xuan's worries at a glance. He quickly stepped closer and lowered his voice.

"If it truly comes to that, we'll use the ancestral treasured blade!"

"You..."

Hearing this younger clansman bring up that matter, Yang Xuan's pupils contracted.

The ancestral treasured blade was the Yang Clan's secretly guarded treasure. According to the clan records, their ancestor had followed the founding emperor on campaigns east and west, slaying countless enemies with this very blade. Though the Hu people later invaded southward and Jizhou was battered to ruin, dragging the once-glorious Yang Clan down with it, the ancestral blade had retained its might. In a moment of crisis, the previous Yang Clan head had still wielded that treasured blade to personally slay more than a hundred Hu light cavalrymen.

Yet much like that headache-inducing fortified manor, the ancestral treasured blade had a problem of its own.

"It isn't that I am unwilling to let you use the blade. You are the finest young man of this generation of the Yang Clan, and that blade was always meant to be passed down to you. But you know as well that the previous Yang Clan head used that sharp edge to personally kill more than a hundred Hu people. Sha Qi has now entered the blade and has yet to be ground and washed clean. If I truly let you use it, then when the Sha Qi enters your body, I fear you will..."

Yang Xuan could not bear to continue. Clearly, in his eyes, Sha Qi entering the body was far more perilous than a Hu raid.

"If we are to use that blade, we must find a grinding craftsman to polish it and wash away the Sha Qi first. Commander Liu has grinding craftsmen on his side, but they are not people we can afford to hire now... If you ask me, rather than pinning our hopes on that blade, we should hurry and ask Commander Liu for reinforcements. So long as Commander Liu is willing to help..."

"It's too late, Clan Uncle."

Yang Sanlang merely shook his head.

"The Hu people come and go like the wind, swift horses and light blades. With only the manpower we have, we cannot hold out until Commander Liu's reinforcements arrive. Besides, Commander Liu will not help us for free. When the soldiers pass through, men need food and horses need fodder. Can our Yang family truly afford that price?"

"Then what do you say we should do?"

Seeing Yang Sanlang, a junior, still daring to argue back, Yang Xuan immediately became anxious.

"This won't do, that won't do—then tell me, what will do?"

"If you ask me... Clan Uncle, it's true we have no grinding craftsmen, but don't we still have whetstones?"

Yang Sanlang's expression darkened slightly.

"Find a few able-bodied men among the refugees and have them grind the blade."

"But they aren't grinding craftsmen!"

Yang Xuan was so shocked he nearly tore out his beard.

"They don't know how to grind a blade! When the Sha Qi enters their bodies... Are you telling them to fill the gap with their lives?"

"What battle has ever been fought without deaths?"

Yang Sanlang gritted his teeth.

"So long as the Yang family can be preserved, I will pay any price."

When Carpenter Li had just dragged him into the fortified manor, Du Chengfeng had still been somewhat dazed. It was not until someone pulled him and the other able-bodied men into the same formation, then stuffed a wooden spear into his hands, that Du Chengfeng realized what sort of situation he was in.

He had originally thought this strange turn of fate had given him the script of an ordinary man building himself up from nothing. The process might be difficult, but the future would at least be promising. Yet who could have imagined that in the blink of an eye, his peaceful, stable life of labor would become battle and slaughter, struggling to survive in chaotic times?

One look at the clearly rough, cheaply made wooden spear in his hand told Du Chengfeng that he and these able-bodied men were being dragged out to plug the battle line.

"This..."

Du Chengfeng could not speak for a long while.

He knew exactly what he was capable of. While he could gain the upper hand in a brawl, that was only because he had eaten and drunk well back when he had lived in peaceful times, leaving him with a solid, sturdy body that gave him more strength than the malnourished people of these troubled times around him. But on an actual battlefield, facing mounted Hu people, the strength in his two arms would be nowhere near enough.

For someone like him, with no experience in military formations, the battlefield was an extremely dangerous place. Before two armies, blades and swords had no eyes, and skill in one-on-one fighting was useless.

Fortunately, he might not necessarily have to fight alone.

Those local thugs who had tried to seize his land earlier had also been pulled into the formation. Upon spotting Du Chengfeng, they actually came over on their own initiative, surrounding him as though they had no intention of leaving.

Seeing these thugs, whom he had taught a lesson several times, still daring to swagger around in front of him, Du Chengfeng, who had been somewhat nervous, burst out laughing.

"You still dare come over? Forgotten the beating you got last time?"

"It's because you can fight that we came over."

The thugs could swallow their pride. They decisively admitted their defeat.

"If we follow someone else, when they die, it'll be our turn. If we follow you, you can hold out longer, and maybe we'll live a little longer too."

Du Chengfeng could not help giving them a sidelong look at that. So these thugs were not stupid after all—they wanted to drag him, the one who could fight, up front to take the blame. Still, that was not a bad thing for him. It even suited his wishes perfectly.

If he fought alone in a chaotic army, he would be doomed to a death by a thousand blades. But if he had more people protecting his flanks and back, then he might be able to preserve his life through this perilous killing ground.

Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it. Even if it was only to protect that little courtyard of his, barely half-built, Du Chengfeng was prepared to risk his life this time.

Yet just as Du Chengfeng adjusted his mindset and readied himself for the battle that was about to begin, a sturdy, short-bearded man he did not recognize approached from afar.

Du Chengfeng knew the man walking toward him. This Yang Sanlang was powerfully built and strong as a tiger, a notable figure in Yang Family Fort. The current force of able-bodied men was also under his command. Now that Yang Sanlang had appeared, did that mean the fighting was about to begin?

"All of you, line up. Let me see which of you are the strongest."

To Du Chengfeng's surprise, Yang Sanlang did not shout any morale-boosting slogans. Instead, he began picking people.

Was he choosing vanguards? The strongest would stand at the front?

"Swish—"

While Du Chengfeng was still trying to figure it out, the thugs who had gathered around him all took a step back in perfect unison.

With that retreat, Du Chengfeng's build, already different from that of ordinary refugees, became especially conspicuous. Yang Sanlang immediately turned toward him.

"Yes, you. You don't need to fight. Put down the spear and come with me."

"...Huh?"

The thugs who had just stepped back were instantly filled with regret, while Du Chengfeng himself was thoroughly confused. They had picked him because he was the strongest, yet they were not letting him fight. Then what did they want him to do? Could it be that they wanted him to run out and deliver a message?

But if he was supposed to deliver a message, they were heading the wrong way. Yang Sanlang was clearly leading him deeper into the fortified manor, not out of it.

"We're here. This is the place."

Yang Sanlang stopped before a building that looked like an ancestral hall.

"You won't be going onto the battlefield, but the work you have to do isn't easy either... See that? That blade. Help me grind it."

"...That's all?"

Du Chengfeng's expression became a little strange.

Grinding a blade? He should have said so sooner. Why make such a grand spectacle of it, as though they were choosing a suicide squad?

Though he had never learned how to sharpen a blade, he had at least seen it done even if he had never eaten pork. At worst, he had sharpened kitchen knives before. He only needed to make the blade sharp and keen.

He sat on a long bench, poured water over the whetstone, and prepared to get to work. Clearly, compared to going to the front lines to die, this was much better work.

But the instant he picked up that war blade, his expression changed.

Once, when he had first arrived in this world, he had thought he had been handed a wilderness survival script. After arriving at Yang Family Fort, he had thought he had been given a build-yourself-up-from-nothing script. Just moments ago, he had even prepared himself to fight for his life in chaotic times.

But only when he touched this blade did he realize that this world might contain something even more challenging to his imagination.

The instant his right hand touched the hilt, a vicious Sha Qi surged up his arm and rushed straight for his head!

As his consciousness blurred, Du Chengfeng felt that he had become a blade.

New author, new book. Please bookmark and recommend it. Thank you, everyone.