Chapter 35: Mission

Yesterday, the Martial Artists who had achieved Skin Grinding Mastery were dispatched by the Feiyun Guard to the Mountain God Temple on Black Wind Mountain to investigate. If there were indeed wandering bandits, they were to kill them; if not, they were to observe for three days before returning.

As long as they returned, the mission would be considered complete, and they would be rewarded with silver coins. If they brought back the heads of bandits, they would receive Exotic Meat as a bonus reward.

By the time Xu Guang and Li Yuan arrived, the other five were already there. Everyone carried Weapons. Yesterday, after moving to his new home, Xu Guang had also found time to visit the blacksmith to retrieve his Long Spear—a weapon that was half-spear and half-blade, which Master Niu had named the Dragon Blade Spear.

However, since he did not know how to use it, he had left it behind, opting to bring his most familiar pig-slaughtering knife and bone-cleaver instead.

Li Yuan, on the other hand, had invested quite a bit of capital in purchasing a three-foot-long, thick-backed saber. It was heavy, and he carried it with extreme care along the way, terrified of even the slightest bump or scratch.

Xu Guang was somewhat speechless. Weapons were meant for killing, not for being coddled like this. However, Li Yuan lacked his means of scavenging unowned wealth. Given Li Yuan’s background, this saber had likely drained his family’s entire life savings, making his protective attitude understandable.

The others’ Weapons were also mostly sabers. For bottom-tier Martial Artists, the saber was the most practical choice. While swords were elegant, they were out to kill, and a sword was ultimately less efficient than a saber for that purpose.

All their Weapons had been registered with the Three Guards Department, granting them the legal right to carry blades through the city streets.

No personnel from the Three Guards Department accompanied them. Only the seven of them had gathered at the entrance of the department.

One of them, a man of average build wearing white clothes and possessing decent looks, suddenly spoke. "I am Hao Wenzuan, a disciple of Hong Tao of the Qingfeng Fist. Brothers, our objective for this trip is to investigate the whereabouts of the bandits on Black Wind Mountain. If possible, we are to kill them. However, regarding the specific execution of this task, I believe we need a proper plan."

Someone immediately voiced their agreement. "Brother Hao makes an excellent point. I feel the same way. Do you happen to have a plan in mind, Brother Hao?"

Li Yuan seemed slightly disgruntled that Hao Wenzuan had so easily won everyone’s approval. But since Xu Guang remained silent and showed no reaction, Li Yuan, lacking support, could only keep his thoughts to himself.

Hearing the crowd’s flattery, Hao Wenzuan revealed a touch of humility on his face. "I believe we must be cautious after leaving the city this time, and everyone needs their own assigned role. Last night, I visited my older cousin, who serves as an Honored Guest for the Han Family. I asked him a few questions and carefully studied the terrain of Black Wind Mountain. There are exactly three paths leading up the mountain.

"I suggest that once we ascend, if the bandits are not in that dilapidated Mountain God Temple, four of us will stay at the temple to search the mountain. The remaining three brothers will be tasked with guarding the three entry paths, rotating shifts every three hours. What do you all think?"

It had to be said that although Hao Wenzuan seemed intent on showing off, he had genuinely done his homework.

Xu Guang actually found himself somewhat interested in this cousin of his. An Honored Guest of the Han Family...

"Brother Hao’s method is solid. I think we should go with it." Someone immediately supported Hao Wenzuan’s proposal.

Li Yuan mumbled speechlessly. With a young man’s pride, he only wanted to oppose for the sake of opposing, yet he couldn’t come up with a better alternative.

Xu Guang glanced at Li Yuan with a hint of disappointment. The man was impetuous and restless. Perhaps achieving some results in his martial arts training had inflated his ego. He likely had the short-lived fate of someone whose ambitions far exceeded their capabilities.

Thinking of this, he quietly took a few steps back, retreating behind the group to make himself as invisible as possible.

Whether he personally killed anyone or not didn’t matter to him; as long as people died, it was fine. He had already made up his mind. The most important thing about joining the military was, of course, preserving his own life. He would let others risk their lives in battle to create corpses, while he stayed in the back and collected Essence Blood.

As for participating in combat, unless victory was absolutely certain, he would avoid it at all costs.

"Since all of you brothers think my plan is good, then let’s settle on it. We march out of the city!"

The group of seven walked down the street with sabers on their backs and bows slung over their shoulders. They projected quite an imposing aura, or at least, they looked like people not to be trifled with.

Their departure went relatively smoothly. This was Xu Guang’s first time leaving the city since moving to his new home. Unfortunately, the direction they were heading was not toward his home village.

The group strolled leisurely along the official road, looking entirely like a motley crew.

Xu Guang shook his head. Minding his own business, he pulled out the flatbread Ji Xiaolu had baked for him from his robes, tore off a piece, and stuffed it into his mouth. From time to time, he took out his canteen to wash it down.

With the Essence Blood in his Blood Eye supplying him with energy, he wasn’t actually very hungry. However, since everyone else was eating, it would have seemed odd if he didn’t.

Beside him was Li Yuan, still hugging his long saber. It was likely his first time leaving the city in his entire life, as he was making a fuss over the smallest things along the way. Whenever they encountered anyone, he would warily grip his precious Weapon.

Along the road, they came across some soldiers from the Servant Army transporting grain for the Three Guards. They were dressed in tatters, every one of them sallow and emaciated. They walked weakly, wearing white linen undershirts with ragged military-issued clothing thrown over them.

Their uniform appearance was merely a superficial facade.

Their footwear was even more of a bizarre assortment; they wore whatever shoes they could find, and quite a few had their bruised, purplish toes poking out.

They stood in stark contrast to the supervising officer leading them, who hailed from the Three Guards.

Stopping and starting along the way while boasting to each other, the group unwittingly drifted far from the official road. They could already see the dark, sprawling mountain range in the distance.

Hao Wenzuan, intentionally trying to win over their loyalty, suddenly pulled a large pile of Insect-Repelling Powder from his pack just before they entered the mountains. "Brothers, although you are all strong men of the Martial Dao, I reckon you haven’t had many opportunities to venture into the mountains. If my cousin hadn’t warned me, I wouldn’t have known that the venomous insects in these mountains are even more dangerous than Alien Species. I present this Insect Repellent Powder to all of you."

As expected, this gesture earned him the gratitude of the crowd.

In the dead of winter, where would there be any snakes, insects, rats, or ants?

To Xu Guang’s surprise, Hao Wenzuan actually walked over to him. With an amicable expression, he handed over the remaining powder and even offered some dried meat strips. "I saw you eating nothing but dry flatbread the whole way, Brother Xu. We Martial Artists have big appetites. Dry bread won’t fill you up."

Xu Guang was baffled at first, but he quickly realized what was happening.

Was the man trying to buy him off? Was it because he was dressed the most shabbily among them and only carried a pig-slaughtering knife, leading Hao Wenzuan to believe he had the lowliest background?

Xu Guang’s expression couldn’t help but turn incredibly strange.

If he wanted to, killing everyone else here wouldn’t be too difficult, right?

However, since he had made up his mind to keep a low profile, he went with the flow and accepted Hao Wenzuan’s goodwill, though it amounted to nothing more than that.

Sure enough, Hao Wenzuan’s actions drew the attention of the others. Their expressions varied—some looked regretful, some disdainful, and some thoughtful.

Why hadn’t they thought of recruiting a meat shield before entering the mountain?

In their eyes, Xu Guang was just a dim-witted, gullible fool who could be easily swayed.

Xu Guang didn’t care about their thoughts. After ascending the mountain and nearing the Mountain God Temple, the group no longer dared to speak loudly. One by one, they drew their long sabers and observed their surroundings with extreme caution.

However, this observation was destined to be futile.

The temple was empty, though there were signs of recent habitation.

Living up to everyone’s expectations, Xu Guang accepted the "heavy responsibility" of guarding the mountain path.

He gladly agreed. It would be even better if more people died.

The desolate mountain had long been buried in white snow, leaving nothing but a vast expanse of gleaming frost as far as the eye could see.

It was a truly spotless and boundless world.

Xu Guang found a pine tree. Since pine trees didn’t shed their needles in winter, it provided excellent cover for his figure. He sat securely on a sturdy branch, leaning back with his eyes half-closed. Employing Introspection, he stimulated his Bloodline Power to channel his vitality and blood into his bones.

This was an ability he had acquired after dual cultivating with Ji Xiaolu, which had slightly strengthened his Bloodline Power. Although it wasn’t as fast as actively performing the movements of the Bone Forging Chapter, its advantage lay in the fact that he didn’t need to move; he could Cultivate while lying down.

Several hours passed, and the sky gradually darkened. There were very few animals in the vast snowy mountains, and hardly any living creatures were visible, but he could still occasionally hear the rustling sounds of rodents scurrying beneath the ground.

Turning a deaf ear to the noise, Xu Guang would periodically check on his "brothers" at the Mountain God Temple.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t encountered any bandits, which left Xu Guang feeling rather disappointed.

The origins of these wandering Mountain Bandits could mostly be traced back to Martial Artists among the refugees or ambitious individuals who sought to exploit the chaos for their own gain.

Now that the City Guard’s Mansion and the Yellow Heaven Sect had called a truce, it was time to clean up these troublemakers.

As the sky grew completely dark, a man holding a torch appeared at the entrance of the mountain path. He looked around but couldn’t find any trace of Xu Guang, so he had no choice but to shout.

"Brother Xu! It’s almost fully dark. Brother Hao says you guys should come back and warm up by the fire. It gets too cold in the mountains at night!"

Xu Guang didn’t want to regroup with them. He didn’t feel cold at all. Although Cultivating while lying outside was slower and burned through his Essence Blood rapidly, he hadn’t felt the chill. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Rumor had it that Martial Artists with vigorous vitality and blood were immune to extreme cold and heat, and impervious to water and fire.

With the help of the Blood Eye’s Blood Refining Ability, he was able to prematurely enjoy this sensation of being untouched by the harsh elements.

Xu Guang leaped down from the tree and ducked behind a boulder, pretending as though he had been lying prone in the snow the entire time.

"Thank you, Brother Liu. But please pass a message to Brother Hao. Since we are out in the wilderness, we need to be extra careful. I will just stay here and keep watch."

"Huh? Brother Xu, have you just been lying in the snow observing this whole time?"

Xu Guang nodded vigorously, his face brimming with a deep sense of responsibility. "Brother Hao said the mountain pass is of utmost importance. I, Xu, dare not be careless."

"What an absolute fool," Brother Liu thought, his mouth twitching slightly.

"Alright then. We’ll leave it to you, Brother Xu."

After the man left, Xu Guang returned to his spot in the tree. Curling his body up, he silently channeled his vitality and blood to continue forging his bones.