Blood Flowed Like a River

Duan Yun had traveled far from that place of trouble, only to find quite a few people hurrying over to watch the excitement along the way.

"Brother, if they really start hacking at each other, won't it be dangerous?"

"It's only thrilling if they really start chopping. The blood will flow like it costs nothing."

"Exactly. As long as it's exciting enough, even dying would be worth it."

A noisy group went off to watch the spectacle, while Duan Yun rode his gray donkey in the opposite direction.

Because the two gangs had arranged a fight, all the nearby shops had shut their doors. Now that he had earned those two taels of silver, he had money to eat.

Drinking and shooting wine cost money. Today, he was definitely going to drink less.

It was now the turn of summer and autumn, yet the city still carried a trace of heat.

On a nearly empty street, the wine banner before a tavern swayed listlessly in the breeze, but Duan Yun's eyes lit up.

After drinking for a while, he had picked up a few tricks.

One whiff told him this was authentic plum wine, perfect for drinking in such weather.

So he tied his gray donkey at the entrance and walked straight inside.

The wine was freshly brewed plum wine, and the dishes were authentic home cooking.

Duan Yun had eaten and drunk his way across the land, sampling flavors from all over. Yet this meal was comparatively restrained, both in wine and dishes.

There was not much wine, and only two dishes, yet he experienced a rare deliciousness.

Only when people were poor did they know the value of silver. Only after they had gone hungry did they know the preciousness of food.

Earning these two taels of silver had not been easy.

The more he thought about it, the stranger it felt. For two taels of silver, he had actually had to kill someone.

But the jianghu was strange. He only hoped he could forever preserve this clear and innocent kindness.

Yes, he killed people—men, women, monks—yet he was a good person.

After succeeding in sword practice, he simply no longer wanted to be bullied.

Did good people deserve to be bullied in this world?

Did honest people deserve to have others brandishing blades against their throats?

After a cup of plum wine went down, Duan Yun's thoughts stirred, and a surge of bold spirit rose in him.

He had killed well today!

Monks from a place like Dusk Temple were clearly demons in disguise, harming people without end.

He had merely stood there like some lackey. Because he was a little too handsome, he had offended that demon monk, who had come looking for trouble and wanted his life.

If he had not possessed a bit of skill today, he would likely have died at the other man's hands.

Duan Yun did not hold grudges, but he remembered those strange monks.

Yes, if he encountered any of those harm-bringing demon monks from Dusk Temple in the future, he would slaughter every last one of them to vent today's grudge over them picking a fight with him!

Thus, after Red Tower Fairy and the lunatics of the Thunder Duke and Old Mother Sect, Duan Yun added the demon monks of Dusk Temple to his little notebook.

There was simply too much trash in this jianghu.

The plum wine was delicious. Duan Yun drank slowly, yet with great satisfaction.

But he knew this was not the perfect way to drink it. If the wine were chilled, it would definitely taste even better.

He had already begun considering where to get a secret manual. If he could learn some Frost Palm to chill his wine, that would be a fine thing indeed.

No, it would be best to learn both Frost Palm and Flame Fist. In summer, he could use them to chill wine, and by making preparations for a rainy day, he could warm wine in winter as well.

When the time came, half frost and half flame—the double heaven of ice and fire might be an even more wonderful pleasure.

Duan Yun had only eaten half his meal when the people who had gone to watch came tumbling and scrambling back.

Two of them even rushed into the tavern and drank wine like water to quench their thirst.

"They've gone mad! They've gone mad!"

"The Yellow Fish Gang and Red Crane Sect are hacking at each other like their lives depend on it. Blood is flowing like a river!"

"If I hadn't run fast enough, I would've been chopped down there too."

Someone in the tavern could not help asking, "Why are they fighting so viciously?"

"Who the hell knows what set them off?"

These people thought the same as Duan Yun had before. In such a massive confrontation, both sides would usually negotiate until one compromised. Even if they fought, it would only be a small skirmish, like two generals dueling alone on a battlefield to decide whose army withdrew.

But today, blood truly flowed like a river.

Listening to their conversation, Duan Yun could not help muttering again, "These gang martial artists are all brainless. Too impulsive. How did they suddenly start fighting to the death? Good thing I was rational and got out in time. Otherwise, I would have been dragged into it too."

He was glad he had taken the two taels of silver and left rather than staying for that meal.

After all, once there were too many people and the charge became fierce, quite a few could be trampled to death.

The bloody battle lasted for a long time.

In short, from Duan Yun's perspective, people kept arriving on the street and then leaving one after another.

Many were members of the two gangs, carrying injuries. Some were covered head to toe in blood and clearly beyond saving.

There were even people from both sides on the street who had been badly wounded and gone looking for a doctor, only to start cursing each other again on the road.

They cursed and cursed, then began hacking at each other in the street once more, until they lay dead where they fell.

Only around dusk did the bloody battle barely come to an end.

Blood had truly flowed like a river.

A layer of corpses floated in the waters near West Wharf. It was said that even the authorities did not dare approach for the time being.

No one had expected the two gangs to fight themselves into such a state.

Watching this scene, Duan Yun could not help sighing. "Was it really this serious?"

Though he had already killed many people, and had even wiped out the Black Bear Gang's entire household, the sight of hundreds and thousands of corpses still made Duan Yun's heart tremble, as though he had stumbled into a human realm of Asura.

He had left after killing the demon monk and did not know what had happened afterward.

It probably had little to do with him.

After all, he had merely been a passerby dragged in midway to lend a fist, at most forced to counterattack once.

For some reason, the sight of blood flowing like a river gave Duan Yun a strange sense of satisfaction.

It was the satisfaction of pustules bursting one another open, of everything breaking apart.

Because along this journey, in his eyes, martial artists who mixed with gangs were mostly trash, not much different from the bunch of bear cubs in the Black Bear Gang.

They were brainless and loved acting on impulse, as if they had trained their muscles into their brains. At the slightest provocation, they fought and killed. Though they were still at the bottom of society, they strutted about like masters, lording it over ordinary people and squeezing the marrow from their bones.

There were simply too many evil people in this world and too few good people like him who could barely resist. That was why it was not a better place.

Now this was good. Dogs biting dogs until blood flowed like a river had made this place much more peaceful.

At the very least, like Riverside City, that unreasonable protection fee should be impossible to collect for the time being.

At this time, there were still people in the area who had worked up the courage to loot the bodies. Since Duan Yun was not wealthy himself, he joined them.

But it was not long before he came back out.

First, the soldiers had arrived. Second, after searching for quite a while, aside from getting a hand full of disgusting blood, he had found nothing valuable.

In the end, he only picked up two axes and a broken saber to hang from his donkey, though he had no idea how much they could sell for.

As evening drew near, Duan Yun decided to spend the night at an inn before continuing on.

He had already led his donkey toward an inn when he saw quite a few martial artists leaving the city together.

Some of them were survivors of the two gangs' bloody battle during the day, while others were wandering jianghu folk like Duan Yun who had come to lend a fist. They walked in groups of twos and threes.

Duan Yun followed behind them and listened to their conversation.

According to the survivors, Yellowwater City had become like this, and they could no longer stay. They planned to go hide around Springwatch City for a while.

After all, the two gangs had fought over territory before, their hands stained with blood, and they had quite a few enemies elsewhere.

When they were powerful, their enemies naturally did not dare move against them. But now that both sides had suffered a bloody collapse from one brutal battle, that was another matter entirely.

The wandering jianghu people knew that the two great gangs were finished. There would probably not even be work like lending a fist here anymore, so they could only seek another path.

Hearing that these people were headed for Springwatch City, Duan Yun made his decision at once and followed them.

Asking for directions along the road was unreliable, but a human map had to be dependable, right?

After traveling for a month, Duan Yun truly wanted to reach Springwatch City, his destination, sooner rather than later.

Once there, he could temporarily end his wandering, and it would be convenient for this gynecologist to resume his old profession.

People were always so cheap. When he had been a gynecologist, he wanted to be a young hero. After being a young hero all this way, he wanted to be a gynecologist again for a while.

All that could be said was that adults wanted it all. Taking turns between being a young hero and a gynecologist was not a bad form of balancing work and rest.