Chapter 43: Heavenly Fate

  “Cough, cough!”

  Veins bulged on his forehead. Medie Manor Lord spat blood, gritted his teeth, and pressed the major acupoints around his chest in an attempt to staunch the bleeding, but it was useless.

  His powerful heart pounded, f blood and fragments ans to spurt from the wound.

  Because the body of an Internal Fortifiartial artist was far too tough and durable, the bullets did after impact. Instead, they spun and shattered inside him, causing eveer damage and shredding more of his internal ans.

  “To think… I would die beh such a flying sword?!”

  He sank to his khe ghostly green toxic Baleful Qi returning around him and trying in vain to fill his wound for a final bit of salvation.

  An Ji his guard up, staring ily at the Medie Manor Lord, whose aura was rapidly fading. Only then did he allow himself a slight sigh of relief—given the Medie Manor Lord’s strength and reflexes, if An Jing had started out with a gun, the other party would certainly have been on guard and would easily have read the dire of the gun barrel. There would have been no way to aim, let alone nd a shot.

  In the Huaixu world, though there might not be firearms, there were still plenty of powerful hand crossbows and hidden ons. Even if they did nnize guns as such, if they merely suspected the presence of a hidden on, a wary martial artist could definitely evade it.

  Only by taking advantage of the instant when the enemy believed he had won—when his guard was down—could An Jing succeed!

  Seeing this, Bai Qinghan, who had inteo advance, instead kept her distaaring at the handgun in An Jing’s hand.

  At the very st moment, the old man—whose face was already ashen as a corpse—lifted his head. His bloodshot eyes, growing dim, fixed upon the gun in An Jing’s hand. “What is…this…flying sword casket?!”

  Both the Sword Spirit and Medie Manor Lord had repeatedly mistaken the handgun for a flying sword Divine Ability, leaving An Jing somewhat suspicious that there really might be some sword casket in Huaixu world resembling a firearm.

  But now was not the time for idle talk. An Jing was keenly aware that the Medie Manor Lord could still resist.

  He refused to approad instead raised his hand, firing again without hesitation.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Aen secutive gunsh out. The Medie Manor Lord’s pupils shrank rapidly as he let out an explosive roar, forcibly summoning his energy to dodge despite his injuries. Even in that desperate state, he still mao evade nine of the bullets. Only the st oruck him, as his movement finally stalled uhe burden of his wounds. A fountain of blood burst from his shoulder, aoppled over to the side.

  An Jing was quietly armed, taking note of that fadeed, even near death, an Internal Fortifiartial artist could erupt with one final burst of power!

  But this time, the Medie Manor Lord truly was finished.

  He used the st of his strength to lift his head and look at An Jing; his gaze carried reminisce, anger, resignation, and hatred all at once.

  Perhaps he recalled the moment, many years ago, when he saw a friend’s corpse. Perhaps he pondered An Jing’s future fate. Perhaps, as someo death’s door, he wao offer a warning. Perhaps he marveled at how An Jing had chosen a path he himself never did.

  Yet he could no longer speak, nor did he have the right to speak.

  In the very moment, his head sagged to the side. This nameless old man, guilty of tless evils, breathed his st.

  At that instant, all around the Hanging Fate Valley and the white sands, chaos and silence coexisted.

  In the distahe fearsome demonic beast had already been vanquished by the instructors, dissolving into demonic qi.

  But the Heavenly Will Demonic Sect had no time to rest, for a squad of Red Armuards approached from the rear, ung yet another battle.

  The Children of Camity who had chosen to remain were now retreating deeper into the mountains uhe leadership of several instructors. The Demonic Sect must have made preparations for withdrawal long ago, but An Jing’s reversal of fortune and the sudden invasion of Red Armuards had caught everyone off guard—so only a few people could be from those escape routes.

  Farther off, Hanging Fate Manor bzed in raging fmes. The fight between the Red Armuards and the manor’s defenders had reached a fevered pitch. Saber and sword energies roiled; fgrations of fiendish Baleful Qi cshed. Shouts of battle and sughter echoed throughout the manor and valley.

  Yet on the white sands themselves, only An Jing and Bai Qinghan remained.

  No words were spoken. Silence.

  Though An Jing had blocked Bai Qinghan, giving himself the ce to shoot the Medie Manor Lord, iy, if she had wao, she could have interve any time to disrupt An Jing, aiding the Manor Lord in suppressing him.

  But she did not. Even now, she her drew closer nor pulled away; she merely stood, gazing at An Jing. It was exactly like when An Jing had first sparred with her.

  “Qinghan…I—huh?!”

  Still holding both guns, An Jing broke the silence, intending to speak. But before he could utter more, he suddenly felt a dizzy spell.

  “This is…medie?!”

  The world spun. An Jing gritted his teeth and staggered back a step, overe by extreme vertigo. In a fsh, he recalled the moment earlier when the Medie Manor Lord’s ghostly oxic Baleful Qi had enveloped him.

  “Damn it—I fot that old man’s true job was ‘Deputy Medie Envoy’!”

  His vision tilted, turned upside down.

  All he saw before him was white sand and the rushing river.

  Falling to the ground, An Jing caught a faint whiff of medie: the st of some coixed in with the her poison. It was a fusion of venomous is and poisonous herbs—the Medie Manor Lord’s specialty.

  If An Jing had not drawn his gun and had instead tiangling with him, he would likely have beeed and captured effortlessly.

  Having not been felled by an enemy’s strike, but instead by lingering toxins, An Jing’s sciousness began to slip into darkness. Then, he saair of pin white cloth shoes.

  She approached slowly.

  Then…his body was gently propped up.

  A pair of hands supported him from behind. A cool spiritual aura coursed along his spine, spreading upward and downward. It followed the rotation of his internal circution, bit by bit dispelling the toxins and gradually returning crity to the darkhat had clouded An Jing’s sight.

  This sensation was utterly different from An Jing’s own Internal Energy—his energy flowed like molten iron, bzing hot, whereas that cool aura was akin to drinking a bowl of water from an icy spring in the heat of midsummer, so transparent and refreshing.

  “…Why?” His voice was weak. He mumbled in fusion. “Didn’t you wao go with you?”

  “If it’s not your true wish, what good is it for me to take you away?” Using the power of her Dark Yiial Star Fate to help An Jing circute his Internal Energy and expel the toxins, the young oke calmly. “Since you o longer be stopped by Hanging Fate Manor today, then iure, even Heavenly Will Mountain won’t be able to stop you.”

  “Go on, Senior Brother.”

  Once she firmed that An Jing was rec on his own, her hands withdrew. “You killed the Medie Manor Lord, and I was already weaker than you. I ’t bring you back. That’s only natural.”

  “Also, I think you were right.”

  “Two maing evil dragons—I shouldn’t have choseher o I hate Great too deeply.”

  “Senior Brother, I truly, truly…”

  “I hate them.”

  —I must make those lofty, untouchable people pay the price.

  Silence followed.

  Only the sound of the flowing river and footsteps departing in resolve.

  “Thank you.” At the end, An Jing whispered, and he heard those retreating footsteps pause. “I should be the ohanking you.”

  “Thank you for teag me to read. Thank you for teag me martial arts. Thank you for not killihank you for eating with me. Thank you for training alongside me. Thank you for never even thinking about dev me…”

  “Thank you…thank you for trusting me, for treating me like a friend.”

  By the time An Jing opened his eyes again, Bai Qinghan had left the white sands.

  —I’m sorry. And please tell Yeqi and the others I’m sorry too. He could vaguely hear her final words.

  The sughter from the dire of Hanging Fate Maned on, uo end before nightfall.

  When An Jing finally purged the toxi behind by the Medie Manor Lord and rose to his feet, he searched the old man’s corpse and found a trove of small items.

  But he was in no mood to examiheir uses right now, so he stuffed them carelessly into his clothes.

  “An Jing, well done!”

  Just then, he heard the Sword Spirit’s excited voice. “You really did save most of the people, and you held off the Demonic Sect so that no oerfered with me!”

  “I’ve now pletely suppressed the residual Heavenly Demon soul within the valley. You go inside and cim my sed fragment at the tral altar!”

  “All right, I’ll ght away.”

  An Jing answered, but realized he felt far less exhiration than he had expected. The Sword Spirit also sensed as much. “What’s the matter? Your state of mind is a bit turbulent…you seem more resolute, yet also a bit puzzled?”

  “But don’t worry. If the heart is like a swrown rusty, it’s only natural to grind it from time to time. If you don’t mind, you tell me what’s troubling you?”

  “Hmm…” An Jing was silent for a few breaths, then spoke softly. “Fuxie, if in your era... If you believed the current world order was fwed, what would you do?”

  “Kill.”

  Without the slightest hesitation, the Sword Spirit replied matter-of-factly. “If you think the world is wrong, then you must correct it. But there will always be people who think the world is just fihe way it is. They derive be from it, or stand supreme in it.”

  “Some of them simply ’t even imagine what ‘right’ or ‘better’ might look like.”

  “In such times, words are useless. Only the sword speak, f one side to fall utterly silent.”

  “To kill—only killing!”

  A sword was ily steeped ient to kill, for that was the innate mission of a bde. That was its Heavenly Fate.

  “I see.”

  Hearing this, An Jing fell silent for a moment, then gave a relieved ugh. “Ihat…”

  —My innate wisdom, my moral sense, my personality, my talent…so that’s how it is. Indeed.

  All of it, everything that guided me to make these choices, woven together…

  “This is my Heavenly Fate.”

  So saying, he turned and strode deeper into Hanging Fate Valley. His gaze grew resolute once more, even more so than before.

  And behind An Jing, a crimson halo and totem spread, maing as blood-colored stars.

  The radiance of Heavenly Fate cast the boy’s shadow in seven dires, each edge as sharp as a bde.

  —Just as I wished.

  (End of Chapter)