Pig-Slaughter Guards

Yang Xiao woke from meditation, pushed open his door, and saw a wisp of cooking smoke drifting out of the kitchen.

"Brother Xiao, you're up." Yang You'er was carrying a bowl of meat porridge. A smile appeared on her face when she saw him. "Come eat. The porridge won't taste good once it gets cold."

Yang Xiao murmured his agreement and walked into the pavilion. Watching Yang You'er bustle about, he said, "You'er, how about I hire a tutor to teach you to read?"

This world had schools too. The old man had sent him to one when he was little, mainly to learn some characters.

Yang You'er brought over a bowl of side dishes and paused. "Reading? What's that? Is it fun?"

"Reading will help you understand how the world works. If I'm not by your side someday, you'll still be able to live well."

"Why wouldn't you be by my side? Are you going to abandon me, like in the storyteller's tales at the teahouse—abandon your poor little sister and go live with some wicked woman?"

"Ow!" Yang You'er rubbed her head. "Why did you hit me?"

Yang Xiao glared at her. "Nonsense. I'll speak to Old Li in a bit and find you a tutor. You're going to study properly with him over the next few days."

Yang You'er pursed her lips, clearly unwilling.

After breakfast, Yang Xiao left the courtyard. The City Lord's Residence was enormous, and it was easy to get lost inside. He stopped a maid and asked, "Do you know where Old Li is?"

The maid paused, then suddenly realized who he was. "You must be Young Master Yang, who just arrived. Steward Li should be in the front hall now."

A cultivator's memory was far better than an ordinary person's. Following yesterday's route, he found the front hall, where Butcher had received them the day before.

In the front hall, he saw Old Li directing a group of servants as they cleaned the hall and replaced its vases.

Yang Xiao approached the old man in the green robe. "Steward Li, I'd like to find a tutor to teach my sister to read. Do you have anyone to recommend?"

Old Li turned and bowed. "Young master, just leave this matter to this old servant."

"Over the years, my lord has hired many tutors for the young master, and this old servant handled all the arrangements."

"Thank you, Steward Li," he said.

The next day, three tutors were invited into the courtyard. One was a young man in a green robe who had some cultivation, though he had only just entered the Qi Gathering Realm. Yang Xiao guessed that his talent must be poor.

The young man was rather handsome. If he had a silver tongue, he could certainly deceive a few innocent girls who knew nothing of the world. Yang Xiao rejected him first.

The second was a middle-aged man with a beard. He seemed easygoing, but a wine flask hung at his waist, and he had a mature air that would prove devastatingly attractive to young girls. Yang Xiao rejected him too.

The third fit his image of a tutor quite well. He was an old man in plain robes with a head of white hair. Ever since entering, he had been surveying the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

Given the temperature in the courtyard, however, Yang Xiao was genuinely afraid the old man might be unable to bear it and faint.

Seeing him study the old man for so long, Old Li approached and asked, "Young master, are you satisfied with Old Tutor Mo?"

Yang Xiao pulled Old Li aside and whispered, "I'm quite satisfied with Old Tutor Mo, but the Plum Courtyard is too cold. Can his body withstand it?"

Old Li smiled. "You needn't worry about that, young master. Yesterday, this old servant told my lord about the matter."

"My lord specially bestowed a piece of Warm Jade. As long as you approve, this old servant will give it to Old Tutor Mo."

"With Warm Jade on his person, he won't feel cold even in lower temperatures."

"Wearing it over a long period can also prolong his life."

"Then he's the one." Yang Xiao called into the room, "You'er, come out! I've found your tutor."

Only after quite some time did Yang You'er reluctantly emerge from her room.

Yang Xiao brought her before Old Tutor Mo. "I'll entrust my sister to you, sir. Sorry for the trouble."

Old Tutor Mo looked Yang You'er over. "It's no trouble. Teaching is my profession. From now on, I'll come in the morning and stay until evening. I wonder whether the young lady can endure such hardship."

Yang You'er snorted and turned her head away.

Yang Xiao pulled Old Tutor Mo aside and whispered, "Please don't take offense, sir. My sister injured her head a while ago. There are gaps in her memory, and she's become like a little child."

"I invited you here to teach her how to get by in life. If I'm ever unable to stay by her side, she'll still be able to survive."

Old Tutor Mo stroked his beard. "I understand. I'll do my utmost to teach the young lady well."

Yang Xiao sat in the pavilion, watching Old Tutor Mo teach Yang You'er the great principles of life. She nodded off from time to time, and whenever she woke, she glared fiercely at Yang Xiao.

He would be going out to cultivate tomorrow. Uneasy about leaving Yang You'er and Old Tutor Mo alone in the courtyard, he had asked Old Li that morning to send a few maids to attend to her and supervise her studies along the way.

In the evening, Yang You'er went to cook, while Yang Xiao kept Old Tutor Mo for dinner before letting him leave.

Old Tutor Mo enjoyed drinking and only went home that evening after drinking himself tipsy.

Even Yang Xiao and Yang You'er, who never drank, had a couple of sips with him. Yang Xiao was fine; once the wine reached his stomach, he used his magical power to dispel its effects. Yang You'er could not do the same, and her little face flushed red.

After escorting the slightly unsteady Yang You'er back to her room, Yang Xiao retired early too.

He had not spent the past two days idle. He had inquired about matters both large and small throughout the city.

The hottest topic in the city now was tomorrow's recruitment at the Heavenly Master Palace and the Earth Master Hall.

Ever since the incident involving the Carefree Sect, Yang Xiao had felt an aversion toward the Heavenly Master Palace and the Earth Master Hall. He planned to go tomorrow and see whether he could make some trouble for them.

A thousand thoughts swirled through his mind. He thought about tomorrow's affairs, then his future cultivation. With the little wine he had drunk on top of that, he fell asleep in bed not long after nightfall.

The next day, before dawn had even broken, the sound of recitation in the courtyard woke him.

When he stepped outside, the two maids he had requested from Old Li had also been sent over.

One wore a red dress and the other a green one. They were young and rather cute, standing like two flowers in the courtyard amid the swirling snow.

Hearing the door open, Yang You'er glanced back, then gave a soft snort and continued reading.

Though she was somewhat unhappy with him, she still did as she was told.

During a break, the maids brought breakfast. Yang Xiao ate in the courtyard and gave Yang You'er a few more instructions before leaving the City Lord's Residence.

The streets were livelier than usual. There were more cultivators carrying weapons, as well as young people in ornate white or black robes.

White represented heaven, and black represented earth. This tradition had been passed down from the days before the Carefree Ancestor disappeared.

Back then, the Carefree Ancestor had united the Heaven and Earth Books into the Carefree Scripture. As both Great Zhou's only Heavenly Venerable and its only Earth Ancestor, he naturally became an object of reverence for countless Heavenly Masters and Earth Masters.

In those days, not only had the Carefree Sect's arts surpassed those of other sects, but its disciples had also spread throughout Great Zhou.

It could be said that ninety percent of Great Zhou's current Heavenly Masters and Earth Masters were inheritors of the Carefree Sect's legacy. After ten thousand years, however, most of their arts had been lost.

The Heavenly Master Palace held its recruitment in the morning, while the Earth Master Hall held its recruitment in the afternoon. This custom was also said to have been influenced by the Carefree Ancestor.

Before he even reached the Heavenly Master Palace, the streets were packed. The road ahead was blocked, and everyone was trying to squeeze inside.

"Make way, make way! Our Heavenly Water City's foremost Heavenly Master has come for the recruitment. All of you, get out of the way!" an armored guard shouted at the crowd, drawing his sword.

Behind him were seven or eight guards dressed the same way. In their midst stood a young man in white robes patterned with thunderclouds, a fan in his hand. He glanced over the crowd and casually fanned himself.

Yang Xiao's gaze settled on the fan. Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning were painted across it. It was a Spirit Artifact intended specifically for Heavenly Masters, though it was only a Mid-Grade Spirit Artifact.

Hearing the guard's shout, those toward the rear of the crowd stopped and glanced back at him, then continued squeezing forward. Voices rose from the crowd.

"Where did this country bumpkin come from? He's just a Heavenly Master, yet he dares act so arrogantly. In Slaughter Heaven City, someone at his level wouldn't even rank in the top hundred."

"Exactly, exactly. Someone like that has clearly never suffered a beating from a heaven's chosen. After a few beatings, he'll learn that there are heavens beyond heaven and mountains beyond mountains—and above geniuses stand heaven's chosen."

The crowd's remarks reached the young man in the thundercloud-patterned white robes, making his face grow darker and darker. Pointing at the crowd, he shouted, "Kill all these unruly peasants!"

The guards drew their blades and advanced on the crowd, their faces filled with murderous intent. The people, by contrast, paid them no mind, as though every one of them were an expert hidden among the common folk.

Yang Xiao stepped aside and watched curiously to see how things would unfold. One person acting like this might be a fool, but an entire crowd could only mean they had something to rely on.

One guard raised his sword, its blade reflecting a cold gleam in the sunlight. He swung it down, but before it completed its arc, an authoritative voice rang out from afar.

"Who dares commit violence within the city?"

As the voice faded, dozens of streaks of light flew over and surrounded the young man and his guards.

These men wore beast-hide armor and carried spears, with pig-slaughtering knives tucked at their waists. Murderous intent lurked in every pair of eyes. At a glance, they were clearly soldiers who had fought on battlefields and killed before.

Their attire was also identical to that of the guards outside the City Lord's Residence.

At that moment, the crowd began talking again.

"The Pig-Slaughter Guards are here. Now we've got a show to watch."

"How long has it been since we last saw something like this? Outsiders really are arrogant enough. The bad guys in our Slaughter Heaven City turned over a new leaf ages ago. We never get to see scenes like this anymore."

The young man swallowed at the sight of the soldiers in beast-hide armor. He stepped forward obsequiously and said, "My lord, I'm the son of Heavenly Water City's city lord. What happened just now was all a misunderstanding.

"Please take these Earth Vein Crystals, brothers. Consider them my treat for drinks."

With that, he offered a Storage Ring.

"He's finished. There's no saving him now," Yang Xiao heard an old man beside him say, shaking his head.

"Sir, why do you say there's no saving him?" Yang Xiao asked.

The old man gave a mysterious smile, keeping him in suspense. "Keep watching, and you'll see."

Just then, a distinctive member of the Pig-Slaughter Guards stepped forward. The others wore brown beast-hide armor, making them look like humanoid brown bears.

This man, however, wore black beast-hide armor, making him look like a black bear.

He took the Storage Ring, tossed it twice, and split his broad mouth in a grin. "Not bad, not bad. Over a thousand Low-Grade Earth Vein Crystals. That's as much as my salary for a whole year."

"Kid, got any more? These Earth Vein Crystals aren't enough to buy drinks for all my brothers."

At this, delight appeared on the young man's face. He took out another Storage Ring and offered it. "As long as you're happy, General, I have as much as you want."

"I only hope you can drive those lowly peasants away for me."

The black-bear-like Pig-Slaughter Guards took the Storage Ring, then slapped the young man on the shoulder hard enough to make him wince in pain.

He smiled. "Very good. Those Earth Vein Crystals just now were only enough to put you in prison for five years. Now you've got twenty."

The young man's face turned white in an instant. His legs weakened, and he nearly dropped to his knees. With an expression caught between laughter and tears, he said, "General, could there be some misunderstanding?"

The black-bear-like Pig-Slaughter Guards waved his large hand. "There's no misunderstanding. You publicly insulted Slaughter Heaven City's residents and bribed an official. You'll be detained according to the law. Take him away."

Yang Xiao watched the retreating backs of the Pig-Slaughter Guards. This was the first time he had seen a city in this world where the law was strictly enforced.