Fall in line

"You're young, but your methods are ruthless."

Chen Shi'an's face remained expressionless as he slowly raised a foot and walked toward the boy.

A flicker of fear appeared in the boy's eyes, but he quickly concealed it, keeping a smile on his face. "Without ruthlessness, you can't stand firm.

The Black Saber Alliance has been destroyed. Father failed, and it'll be hard for him to rise again.

But I have limitless possibilities ahead of me.

So if only one of us could live, naturally, it had to be me. I was planning for the future of our Jiang Family."

Chen Shi'an stopped six paces in front of the boy, his dark, fathomless eyes fixed squarely on him. "Are you explaining yourself to me?"

Under Chen Shi'an's piercing stare, the boy was visibly nervous. Yet he forced himself to meet Chen Shi'an's gaze, the corners of his mouth still slightly raised.

"You could see it that way.

I think we shouldn't waste time on these meaningless questions.

If you could track us here, the others from your Demon Hunting Team might do the same.

If they arrive, you may have to share this tremendous achievement with them."

With that, he stepped forward and headed straight toward the passage ahead.

"Wait."

Chen Shi'an spoke softly.

The boy stopped, a look of suspicion crossing his face.

Chen Shi'an raised his eyelids slightly. "I never said I would make a deal with you."

The boy frowned. "What difference does it make?"

"All the difference in the world."

Chen Shi'an raised his voice slightly. "Jiang Beiwang deserved to die, but even a vicious tiger doesn't eat its cubs. He protected you from beginning to end and retained some shred of humanity.

But you're worse than a beast. How could I make a deal with you?"

The boy's expression changed drastically. "I'm the only person in the world who knows where the black-iron ore deposit in West Mountain Hollow is. If you won't make a deal with me, you'll never find it.

An achievement and fortune vast enough to blot out the sky will slip right through your fingers..."

Before he could finish, Chen Shi'an abruptly drew his Horizontal Saber.

Under the boy's horrified gaze, a cold gleam suddenly flashed through the passage.

Then blood spurted from the boy's throat. A few desperate gurgles escaped him before he hit the ground with a thud.

Of course Chen Shi'an wanted to know the exact location of the black-iron ore deposit, but the need was not urgent.

He wanted to leave the Desolate Ruins with Su Qingrou and Chen Tiantian, now joined by Qin E'na and Zhao Ling.

Windrise Stronghold was merely a temporary way station for him. Whether he earned great merit there was not particularly important.

Besides, the boy had been certain that he would be safe once he left the Outer City.

Most likely, someone was waiting to receive him, possibly people from Flowing Stone Stronghold.

Black-iron ore was extremely valuable. If the people Flowing Stone Stronghold sent to receive him included a Ranked Martial Artist, escorting the boy out might put Chen Shi'an in danger.

More importantly, the boy was already so vicious and ruthless at such a young age.

If allowed to grow up, he would undoubtedly become a terrible scourge.

Thus, snuffing him out in the cradle was the best choice.

After cutting off Jiang Beiwang's head, collecting the cloth bundle full of valuables, and taking the six Black-Iron Bows, Chen Shi'an piled the six bodies together, picked up the scattered torches, and tossed them onto the heap.

Then he hurried back along the route he had taken.

When he returned to the secret chamber, the shouts of battle in the Black Saber Alliance headquarters had yet to cease.

He closed the passage inside the secret chamber, took out his fire striker, and set the entire chamber ablaze.

Once he saw the whole chamber engulfed in roaring flames, he drew the Horizontal Saber at his waist and cut a gash across his stomach, slicing through his clothes as well.

Only after blood had stained his clothes red did he sprinkle some Wound Salve onto the wound, cut off the hem of his clothes, and bandage the injured area.

By the time the Demon Hunting Team's recruits fought their way to the deepest part of the Black Saber Alliance headquarters, the alliance's final resistance had crumbled.

Iron Bull and the newly appointed Squad Leaders led their men in the final mop-up of the Black Saber Alliance.

When the first ray of morning sunlight fell upon the Outer City, the killing inside the Black Saber Alliance headquarters finally stopped.

The entire sprawling Black Saber Alliance headquarters was shrouded in the thick stench of blood.

Perhaps to help the Demon Hunting Team's recruits quickly adapt to a blood-soaked battlefield, Iron Bull ordered them to carry the bodies, one by one, into the Black Saber Alliance's square.

They piled them together into a small hill.

Then Iron Bull took out the paper and brush he had prepared beforehand, dipped the brush in blood, and wrote a line of large characters:

The Black Saber Alliance repeatedly robbed and murdered residents of Windrise Stronghold and committed countless atrocities in the Outer City. The Demon Hunting Team has slain them to the satisfaction of all!

He pasted the blood-soaked yellow paper onto a stone tablet beside the square.

Iron Bull ordered the Squad Leaders to count their men and assess their casualties.

Meanwhile, two riders galloped in, riding straight into the Black Saber Alliance's square.

They were a man and a woman: Ye Xicheng and Qianshan Xue.

After Iron Bull and three others were wounded by Black-Iron Arrows, they immediately sent someone to inform Fu Qingyang.

Black-Iron Arrows were no trifling matter, so Fu Qingyang immediately dispatched Ye Xicheng and Qianshan Xue.

By the time the two arrived at the square, Iron Bull had finished the count.

Of the ten newly formed squads, three had each lost one man, four had wounded members, and only three had suffered no casualties.

Their Squad Leaders were Chen Shi'an, Tu Gou, and Song Yuming.

However, Chen Shi'an was not in the square at that moment.

After burning the secret chamber that concealed the passage, he quietly searched around until he found an extremely well-hidden spot, where he divided the bundle seized from Jiang Beiwang into two portions.

He hid one half and carried the other on his back.

Though the Outer City was nowhere near as prosperous as Windrise Stronghold, Jiang Beiwang had operated there for years and amassed a considerable fortune.

A rough count told him the valuables in the bundle were worth at least forty or fifty thousand taels of silver.

Naturally, Chen Shi'an had considered keeping such an enormous sum entirely for himself.

But after thinking it over, he decided he should not be too greedy. He would take only half and hand over the rest.

Killing Jiang Beiwang without handing over so much as a single coin would certainly be hard to justify.

Only as the Demon Hunting Team gathered in the square did Chen Shi'an finish hiding the valuables and head unhurriedly to join the main force.

"Where's Jiang Beiwang?"

Ye Xicheng looked around, his brows gradually drawing into a tight frown.

He had not seen Jiang Beiwang's body.

Shame appeared on Iron Bull's face. "I failed in my duty and let Jiang Beiwang escape."

Ye Xicheng snorted. "Against a mere Black Saber Alliance, you not only let the bandit chief escape, but had so many men wounded!"

Iron Bull's face burned, and he lowered his head in shame.

Qianshan Xue spoke softly. "Jiang Beiwang had Black-Iron Bows. Iron Bull did everything he could.

What we need to do now is catch Jiang Beiwang quickly and find out where he got the Black-Iron Bow."

Ye Xicheng nodded, then suddenly turned his gaze toward one corner of the square.

Pi Hou and the other ten men stood there anxiously.

After arriving in the square, they had failed to find Chen Shi'an. Seeing Iron Bull and the others wounded made their hearts lurch.

They could not help thinking:

Even veterans of the Demon Hunting Team like Iron Bull were wounded. Chen Shi'an rashly went after Jiang Beiwang alone. He probably faces more peril than hope.

"Where's Chen Shi'an?"

Ye Xicheng's voice was cold.

Only then did the members of the Demon Hunting Team, who had just undergone a slaughter, realize that Chen Shi'an was absent.

When counting the men earlier, Iron Bull had been so consumed by shame that he had failed to notice Chen Shi'an was not in the square.

Besides, he believed that with Chen Shi'an's strength, dealing with the Black Saber Alliance would be as easy as reaching out and grabbing it. Nothing could possibly go wrong.

Under Ye Xicheng's cold, stern gaze, Pi Hou turned pale and grew extremely nervous.

"I asked you where Chen Shi'an went!" Ye Xicheng's tone grew noticeably colder.

Pi Hou hurriedly answered, "Reporting to the commander, I don't know where Squad Leader Chen is now either."

Ye Xicheng's eyes chilled. "What happened?"

Pi Hou hesitated briefly. "Not long ago, Squad Leader Chen separated from us and went after Jiang Beiwang alone."

At those words, a chorus of voices immediately rose across the square:

"Chen Shi'an is outrageously arrogant. Even Personal Guard Iron and the other Demon Hunting Team veterans were wounded by Jiang Beiwang, yet he dared pursue him alone. Isn't that just asking to die?"

"Chen Shi'an was eager to earn merit, but he couldn't even weigh his own worth!"

"He still hasn't appeared. For all we know, Jiang Beiwang has already taken his life."

A gloating expression appeared on Song Yuming's face. "He truly doesn't know how high heaven is or how deep the earth runs. If he threw his life away, he deserved it!"

His ten subordinates had suffered a setback the previous night. Seeing that Chen Shi'an was likely doomed, each wore a look of satisfaction, and some even laughed aloud.

Ye Xicheng slowly turned and fixed Song Yuming with a cold, stern gaze.

Song Yuming froze, hurriedly composed his expression, and looked elsewhere.

Qianshan Xue spoke at just the right moment. "You have all earned some merit in destroying the Black Saber Alliance.

Now, each squad should bring out its battle trophies."

As her words fell, Song Yuming, Tu Gou, and the other Squad Leaders each produced a bag.

With Chen Shi'an absent, his squad's bag was in Pi Hou's keeping.

When Pi Hou took out the bag, obvious shame hung on his face.

The bags contained ears, cut from those they had killed to serve as a tally.

Since Chen Shi'an's squad had not killed the elderly, the weak, women, or children, they naturally had fewer ears.

Of the ten bags held up, Pi Hou's was the smallest-not even half the size of Song Yuming's.

Naturally, the more ears collected, the greater the merit.

Song Yuming puffed out his chest and raised his head, brimming with arrogance.

His subordinates were equally smug, all directing mocking looks at Pi Hou.

Pi Hou's face was scarlet. The ten men beside him were equally ashamed, all lowering their heads and avoiding everyone else's eyes.

Ye Xicheng's expression grew even uglier, and he signaled Iron Bull with a glance.

Iron Bull strode forward and inspected the ten bags one by one.

After examining the bag in Pi Hou's hands, he visibly frowned but said nothing.

Once he had checked all ten bags, Iron Bull announced in a deep voice, "The greatest contributor to this operation against the Black Saber Alliance is Song Yuming!"

At those words, Song Yuming's subordinates cheered in unison.

Song Yuming raised his chin high and clasped his hands behind his back, looking down on everyone.

The corners of Qianshan Xue's mouth lifted slightly, and she cast Song Yuming an approving glance.

Iron Bull cleared his throat. "The one who killed the fewest enemies was Chen Shi'an."

Everyone's gaze immediately locked onto Pi Hou and the other ten men.

Gloating expressions appeared on most of their faces.

When Chen Shi'an's squad was first formed, it had received special treatment and been given twelve men.

Moreover, the previous night, Chen Shi'an and his men had drunk deeply and eaten hearty mouthfuls of meat, while everyone else could only stare.

Naturally, seeing Pi Hou and the others humiliated now gave them a sense of vindication.

Song Yuming and his subordinates made no effort to hide their mockery, bursting into laughter and even booing.

Some spoke with sneering sarcasm:

"Pi Hou, weren't you strutting around last night? What happened today? Lift your head! Let us see that radiant confidence of yours again!"

"Huh! Why are all your faces so red? Could it be that last night's wine still hasn't worn off?"

"We really envy your luck, getting a Squad Leader like Chen Shi'an.

You've barely stepped out the door, and already you've made a splendid start!"

Faced with the mockery of Song Yuming and his subordinates, Pi Hou and the others had no reply. Their faces flushed scarlet with shame, and they lowered their heads even farther.

Chen Shi'an was Ye Xicheng's direct subordinate. With Pi Hou and the others disgraced, Ye Xicheng naturally felt he had lost face as well.

He swept a cold gaze over Pi Hou and the others. "What are you still standing here for? Hurry up and find Chen Shi'an! Alive, I want to see him; dead, I want to see his body!"

Pi Hou and the others all paled, hastily turning to leave the square.

Just then, a figure slowly approached from afar. It was none other than Chen Shi'an.

He looked rather bedraggled, his topknot loose, his clothes disheveled, and his abdomen covered in dried blood.

Over his shoulder, he carried a long black oilcloth bundle that looked quite heavy, bending his back beneath its weight.

"Boss!"

Seeing Chen Shi'an appear, Pi Hou and the others immediately found their pillar of support. Delight and relief spread across their faces as they hurried over to him.

Nimble and fastest of all, Pi Hou reached Chen Shi'an first and moved to help take the oilcloth bundle off his shoulder.

But the moment he laid hands on it, his expression changed.

The oilcloth bundle was heavier than he had imagined.

"Boss, what's inside?" Pi Hou asked in confusion.

Chen Shi'an shook his head. "Don't ask yet. You'll find out soon."

By then, the other subordinates had caught up. With many hands working at once, they took the oilcloth bundle off Chen Shi'an's shoulder and lifted it together.

"Chen Shi'an, what are you doing?"

The fury Ye Xicheng had been bottling up finally erupted, and he roared, "As a Squad Leader, instead of leading your subordinates to complete your assigned mission, you abandoned your post, recklessly chased glory, and put yourself in danger.

Chen Shi'an, for what happened today, I am recording a major demerit against you.

If you dare do this again, I will strip you of your position as Squad Leader on the spot!"

Qianshan Xue spoke up next. "Commander Ye, please calm your anger. Chen Shi'an's intentions were good. He wanted to contribute more to the Demon Hunting Team.

It is only natural for young people to reach too high and too far. With a little polishing and tempering, they can become more grounded and steady.

I believe he will mature considerably after this lesson, and he will surely make rapid progress toward matching Squad Leader Song Yuming."

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