Awe Across North Mang

Zhao Changhe really had not known that the "passerby he had spared" was on the Hidden Dragon Ranking. He had just been saying that in this dump, he could not even meet anyone on the Chaos Era Ranking...

He had originally thought that after his arrogant proclamation went out, the authorities would be the first to come knocking.

After all, what wanted criminal so brazenly announced his whereabouts? How was that any different from parading through the streets with "Come arrest me" pasted across his forehead?

It was just that there was little point in hiding now. His whereabouts had already been sold out; even those idiots knew. The authorities were bound to find out, so what difference did hiding make?

His status as a wanted criminal meant something different from that of an ordinary murderer. Once his whereabouts were confirmed, whoever the authorities sent would most likely be First Seat Tang himself or some other important figure. Even if they sent subordinate government troops, their orders would probably be to "take him alive." They certainly would not casually cut him down.

He might as well simply sit down and talk to them. So far, he knew far too little about the authorities, and such a serious imbalance in information was hardly a good thing.

What he had not expected was that, no matter how long he waited, the authorities never came... He did not know whether the bureaucracy of this empire in its twilight years really was that inefficient, or whether there was some other reason. In any case, everyone who came was "from the underworld."

Clang! A long saber snapped, and Zhao Changhe kicked a skinny man several yards away, leaving him sprawled on the ground, struggling as he coughed up blood.

"Strip his clothes off and hang him upside down! Fuck, I said it costs a hundred taels per challenge, and you come empty-handed for a free ride? You think I've got nothing better to do than wait around for your challenges? If you don't pay, you lose your clothes. That's the rule! It's been half a month-haven't you heard?"

"C-Chief Zhao, spare me! Aaaah, I really hadn't heard..."

Zhao Changhe shaded his eyes with a hand and looked toward the several swaying figures already hanging in the distance. His face wore a vicious expression, but inwardly, he was thoroughly enjoying himself.

More than half a month had passed since he issued his arrogant announcement.

There had been plenty of challengers over those two weeks, and their fighting strength was particularly well suited to his needs. Most were at the first or second layer of the Profound Pass, and occasionally several would come at him together. For honing himself through real combat, it was simply marvelous.

Practicing alone was not enough. Martial arts were not dancing arts; actual combat was essential. Fighting in the Mountain Stronghold no longer helped him improve, and nobody dared fight him anyway. Just when he had been worrying about where to gain experience, this endless stream of sparring partners delivered to his door had been an absolute delight.

There were also several tough customers among them, the sort who could overturn the boat if he let his guard down. The more of those, the better. Fight after fight, Zhao Changhe felt his understanding of his saber technique deepen, until wielding it truly became as natural as moving his fingers.

It also greatly advanced his cultivation. Over these past days, Zhao Changhe felt his internal and external practices blending together, making him ever stronger. He was already nearing the brink of another breakthrough.

Inner-outer second heaven?

He did not know how many more days it would take. He felt he still needed a little more tempering; he really could not be called a genius. In any case, these past days had been a delight, a sheer delight. Even if these people never paid a single copper, Zhao Changhe would have been perfectly happy.

Besides, some really did pay... And those who broke the rules and brought no money still had weapons he could seize.

In a mere half month, the mountain road on North Mang Mountain had become lined with dangling challengers. The silver in the storehouse had surged from its original three hundred taels to nearly two thousand, and fine sabers and swords filled an entire warehouse.

"Dig a trap here too. Yes, right outside my door. What, are you afraid I'll step into it? Put one behind the house too."

All around the stronghold, everyone was hard at work-not practicing martial arts, but setting up all manner of traps.

That was because quite a few people had recently tried raiding the stronghold at night to secretly cut off Zhao Changhe's head.

Of course, those who did that were not now hanging upside down along the mountain road. Their heads were mounted on flagpoles instead. Looking at the row of heads beside the stronghold, the bandits truly regarded their boss with both respect and fear.

Who had said this boss was softhearted because he refused to rob or plunder? When he cut off heads, they never even saw him blink. The more blood stained his hands, the thicker the blood baleful intent around him became. Even from far away, they could feel what it meant to be cloaked in demonic aura.

His killing intent truly towered into the heavens, striking awe across North Mang.

No one had dared launch a night raid over the past day or two, but they still could not relax. According to Boss Zhao, spring was almost here, and government troops might be coming. These traps were not just for dealing with underworld figures; they would also be very useful against an attack by government troops.

So the traps had to be laid not only inside the stronghold but outside as well. Places like the back mountain could not be neglected.

A pack of idle bandits who were always wondering where to go robbing suddenly took on the air of a bustling construction crew. Not one dared pay lip service while secretly disobeying.

Zhao Changhe's prestige was now simply too high.

Watching with his arms folded, Zhao Changhe himself felt that he was fucking amazing. This was practically turning ghosts into people!

But he also knew perfectly well that he would not get to be such a badass for long.

Under normal circumstances, experts at the third layer of the Profound Pass or higher would not come running to fight him over the two-hundred-and-fiftieth spot on the Hidden Dragon Ranking... Besides, real experts understood the nature of the Hidden Dragon Ranking better. They would not be like these local fools, thinking they could seize a place through a challenge... Still, there was no guarantee none would come. In a world like this, people who could truly read, reason, and had an education were few and far between. This was no age of nine-year compulsory schooling.

At present, there were no powerful figures around Mang Mountain, making it a Novice Village perfectly suited to his combat training. But word of what happened here would always spread outward, and experts at the third layer of the Profound Pass might really come... Travel in this world was inconvenient, so that process would take some time, but they would certainly come.

Were the traps really being dug to deal with government troops?

No. They were meant to deal with potential dangers, whether the third-layer experts who would soon arrive or Fang Buping, who might recover from his injuries.

"Boss." Wang Dashan cautiously approached him. "Today's New Year's Eve. Have you made any arrangements?"

"I'm not your wife. Why are you asking me about the holiday?"

"?"

Zhao Changhe said, "The stronghold has plenty of money lately. Give everyone a red envelope. Also, take some men into town to buy wine and meat. Let the brothers enjoy good wine and good meat tonight."

Wang Dashan's face lit up. "Yes, I'll go buy them right away."

Watching Wang Dashan leave in high spirits, Zhao Changhe's eyes showed a trace of mockery.

This deputy chief was not trustworthy. Setting aside his recent secret dealings with Fang Buping, Zhao Changhe actually knew that the first people who had come to provoke him had been lured here by this man.

In other words, his presence on Mang Mountain had been leaked by this fellow together with Fang Buping.

Want to be chief, do you?

Heh...

For now, however, Zhao Changhe did not want Fang Buping to know that he had seen through his spy. Knowing who the spy was was better than not knowing whom Fang Buping might plant next. He might as well keep using him. To win his trust, this fellow worked quite hard. How convenient.

Besides, he had no secrets for Wang Dashan to leak. He practiced his internal art in bed. What the hell did the man know?

The most urgent task was to break through to the second layer of the Profound Pass. Everything else could wait.

As for celebrating the New Year?

What does that have to do with me... There isn't even a stronghold mistress in my room. What holiday is there for a man all alone?

As he watched the Mountain Stronghold erupt in cheers at the news of plentiful wine and meat tonight, Zhao Changhe instead felt terribly lonely. At this moment, he especially missed home, missed his mom and dad.

Human joys and sorrows did not flow into one another.

He sighed softly, looked up at the sun sinking westward, and turned back toward his room.

He might as well cultivate.

"Chief Zhao's tiger roar echoes through the mountains, striking awe across North Mang. Why the sigh?" The moment he stepped into his room, a woman's voice laughed. "Seeing you from behind, you look very different from the fierce, heroic man you usually are outside."

Zhao Changhe stopped in his tracks, astonishment on his face.

A figure in red leaned beside the window, leafing through the Blood God Cult's scriptures. Seeing him enter, she looked up with a smile.

The setting sun spilled through the window lattice. The heroine's smile was free and bright, as though even the sunset clouds outside had grown more radiant with it.

Red plumes beneath the setting sun, mirrored in the evening clouds-a beauty beyond any earthly scene.

Master Luo's character might have been poor, but that description truly could not have been more apt.

"Miss Yue... Why are you here?" Zhao Changhe actually felt a little nervous. He knew how vast the gap between him and Yue Hongling was. What if she disapproved of all the people he had killed lately...

Huh... Wait...

Zhao Changhe suddenly noticed that the color around Yue Hongling's lower abdomen was wrong... There was a darker shade on her red clothes. That was not the red of her clothing, but blood.

Was she injured?

Yue Hongling knew what he was thinking. She shook her head with an amused laugh. "Yes, I'm injured... You're the only person I know here. What's so strange about coming to you for shelter when I'm hurt? Did you really think I came to vanquish demons... You seem bold and fierce, but you think too much. You're not straightforward at all."

Without another word, Zhao Changhe turned to rummage through the cabinet for medicine and bandages. "The same goes for you. A heroine who truly let a stranger sit behind her without any wariness probably wouldn't live to see the hidden dragon emerge from the depths."

"Ha..." Yue Hongling tilted her head to look at him. "Then did you, who hadn't realized any of that back then, count as an innocent young man?"

Countless thoughts swept through his heart. Zhao Changhe gazed absently at the slanting sunlight outside the window, and only after a long while did he answer softly, "Yes."

"Then..." Yue Hongling looked at the bandages he had taken out and asked quietly, "Can I still trust the man you are today?"