Chapter 159: A Step Too Late

In less than the time it takes to finish half a cup of tea, a troop emerged from the distant barracks and headed straight toward Zhou Qing. Soon, the group, numbering more than forty men—most of them burly fellows—arrived before Zhou Qing. Among them was the patrol leader who earlier had hurled threats before running off.

“Deputy Wang, look, it’s that fellow. He’s got a blade sharp enough to cut through iron as if it were mud. See those spearheads? He sliced them right off with a single stroke.” The patrol leader stood before the robust man addressed as Deputy Wang, pointing at the spearheads Zhou Qing had just sheared, a schadenfreude-laden smile on his face.

“What a marvel! Who would’ve thought such a treasure exists in this world?” Greed flickered in Deputy Wang’s eyes. He cleared his throat and shouted at Zhou Qing, “Hey, you in the red coat, get up! I have something to say to you.”

Zhou Qing ignored the deputy’s call. He simply drew out his Phantom Peerless, gave it a casual wave, and immediately a bloody mark appeared on the face of the patrol leader standing beside Deputy Wang.

“Agh!” the man cried out in pain, cursing at Zhou Qing with a foul expletive.

No sooner had the curse left his lips than Zhou Qing flicked his hand again, and the patrol leader dropped to one knee, a fresh wound gaping on his leg.

The invisible weapon conjured by spiritual power was, of course, imperceptible to these ordinary soldiers. Seeing the patrol leader’s sudden injuries, they recoiled in fright, staring at Zhou Qing in stunned silence.

“Did you just call me a fool?” Having dealt with the patrol leader, Zhou Qing took two steps toward Deputy Wang, his voice cold with accusation.

Though Deputy Wang was a strapping man, trained in the martial arts from childhood, the scene before him filled him with dread. As Zhou Qing approached, he stumbled backward in fear.

“Don’t come any closer! Please, don’t!” he stammered, trying to steady his voice. “Esteemed master, I meant no offense; I was calling you a great man in red, truly I was.”

“Is that so? Are you sure you didn’t just call me a fool?” Zhou Qing pressed further, a smile touching his lips. As he spoke, he noticed Cao Linliang hurrying toward him from not far off.

“Haha, Fellow Zhou! We meet again!” Cao Linliang called out cheerfully as he arrived, catching the tail end of Zhou Qing’s words.

Without pause, he seized Deputy Wang by the collar and slapped him hard across the face.

“Who the hell do you think you’re calling a fool? You must have a death wish! Do you have any idea who you’re offending here? This is Fellow Zhou—do you think you can afford to cross him? Apologize at once!”

At Cao Linliang’s slap and furious rebuke, Deputy Wang immediately changed his tune. Bowing deeply to Zhou Qing, he poured forth a cascade of apologies.

“Let it be, let it be. Fellow Cao, I have returned to ask a favor of you. I hope you’ll assist me,” Zhou Qing said.

“You wish to go to Mount Beique? If that’s the case, I’ll go and request leave from my commander right away, and accompany you there myself,” Cao Linliang replied at once. After Zhou Qing’s departure the previous night, Cao Linliang had been filled with regret. Not only had Zhou Qing’s grand-master shown great kindness to his own Puhua sect, but according to the records of his own master Lu, the techniques of the Tianyi school were rare and exceptional in this world. Clearly, Zhou Qing’s cultivation was not to be underestimated. If he was intent on going to Mount Beique, he would not do so lightly. In hindsight, Cao Linliang realized he should have simply accompanied Zhou Qing without hesitation.

“No, that’s not it. I’ve returned today to ask a different favor of you,” Zhou Qing said, moving beside Cao Linliang. He recounted in detail the plight of the family of four from Peach Blossom Village.

“You wish to have the family sent to Turtle County in the south?” Cao Linliang clarified.

“Precisely. Would you be willing to help?”

“No problem. I’ll see it done. Where are they now? I’ll personally escort them to the place you named.” Cao Linliang agreed without hesitation. He then turned and barked at the soldiers nearby, “What are you idiots standing around for? Go and fetch a carriage for me!”

At his command, several soldiers dashed into the barracks and soon returned, driving a carriage to the edge of the steppe.

“Please, Fellow Zhou, get in. Let’s go fetch the family together,” Cao Linliang said, inviting Zhou Qing into the carriage. He instructed a soldier to inform his superiors of his absence for a few days, and then set off at a gallop.

Thanks to their swift journey, they soon reached the roadside spot where Zhou Qing had last encountered the couple from Peach Blossom Village.

“Fellow Cao, wait here for me. I’ll go and fetch them,” Zhou Qing said before slipping into the woods by the road. At the base of the mountain, he heard a commotion in the distance.

A sense of foreboding gripped his heart. He dashed toward the cave at the foot of the hill, and there, at its entrance, he found the man from Peach Blossom Village.

The man lay on a mound of blood-soaked earth, eyes wide open in defiance, utterly motionless—clearly, he had breathed his last.

Beside him, his two ten-year-old daughters knelt, weeping over their father. From within the cave, the sounds of a woman’s anguished cries mingled with the leering laughter of several men.

Though he had not yet entered, Zhou Qing understood all too well what was taking place inside. Fury surged within him; he drew his Ruthless Blade, gripped it tightly, and shouted at the cave, “You beasts inside, come out and meet your death!”

At the sound of his voice, the two little girls outside the cave were the first to notice him. One, her eyes brimming with tears, called out, “Brother!”

“Come here, little ones,” Zhou Qing beckoned gently. After a moment’s hesitation, the two girls ran to him.

“Who the hell is making all this racket?” a man called as he strode out of the cave, adjusting his clothes. When he caught sight of Zhou Qing, he sneered, “And who the hell are you? Looking for trouble?”

With a roar, the man drew a knife from his belt and charged at Zhou Qing.

As the man closed in, Zhou Qing easily sidestepped the attack and, with a flick of his blade, severed half the man’s leg, sending him crashing to the ground in agony.

His screams brought two more men rushing out of the cave, weapons raised. But their fate was the same: Zhou Qing swiftly crippled each of them, leaving them writhing on the earth, one leg useless.

“I have neither the right nor the desire to judge your lives,” Zhou Qing said coldly, “but for this vile deed you’ve committed, you’ll pay with a leg.”

With a kick, Zhou Qing sent one of the men sprawling several yards away. Then he strode to the cave entrance, where he saw the woman inside, her face etched with utter despair.