Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 510 - 504: Enormous Fury Nine

Chapter 510: Chapter 504: Enormous Fury Nine

With the stomping of feet, a group of brawny men with swords at their waists charged up to the second floor, immediately spotting a young girl and a middle-aged man still struggling.

"Zhuang Qiyi, today I really want to see where you can escape to!" The leader of the robust men had a face covered with horizontal scars and a missing ear, seemingly severed by some sharp weapon.

His voice shook the entire second floor, which was much louder than it had been downstairs. Some of the weaker patrons even bent over, covering their ears, showing faces of pain.

The yelling young girl, Yun’er, also turned deathly pale and dared not move any longer.

"Zhao Jun!?" The middle-aged man’s complexion turned ugly, he glanced around and suddenly crashed through the window.

With a crash.

He jumped out, holding his daughter.

"Yun’er, run quickly!"

He pushed his daughter gently sending her far into a narrow alley.

The little girl fell with a cry but seemed to be okay. She turned over and ran as fast as her legs could carry her.

The expert from the Huangshan Sect, Zhao Jun, started to snicker sinisterly, with a wave of his hand.

"Catch the little girl! Hehe, an eleven-year-old that’s this beautiful, imagine what she’d look like when she’s older, wouldn’t she be the top courtesan at the Wan Ye Tower? Go! Catch her and you can do whatever you want for a day!"

"Yes!"

"Alright, boss! Haha!"

His subordinates all giggled, a few of them sprinted towards the girl, while the majority rushed towards the middle-aged man downstairs.

Lin Xin quietly watched through the open window, the street below already bloodied.

The middle-aged man seemed to be badly injured already, moving significantly slower, and within a few exchanges, he was slashed twice, blood flowing profusely, instantly turning his face pale.

At this point, the patrons who still dared to sit and dine in the restaurant were few. Including Lin Xin and another, there were only two tables.

Both dressed like Jianghu travelers, appearing to be tough characters.

At one table where women were the majority, several sword-carrying women all showed faces of anger, apparently wanting to stand up, but were suppressed by a middle-aged man with them.

Nan Shunqing frowned as he watched the fight downstairs, his face thoughtful, seemingly about to speak.

"See that? This is the Underworld." Lin Xin remarked. "Chaos, slaughter, madness, distortion; these are its themes. Only the tyrants reign here. Even the surrounding crowds have grown accustomed and numb."

"I’ve heard that the North Dynasty is different, strictly ordered, governed by the Dynasty." Nan Shunqing frowned, hesitated for a moment, then retorted.

"So what? Even if that’s true, it’s just a small part." Lin Xin picked up his cup and took a sip.

"What about teacher then? When the teacher first rescued Brother Luo and Sister Duan..." Nan Shunqing countered again.

"That’s different." Lin Xin shook his head.

"Teacher..."

Nan Shunqing stopped himself from saying more.

"What?" Lin Xin, realizing his disciple wanted to do something, asked. "Do you want to save them?"

A flicker of compassion passed through Nan Shunqing’s eyes.

"I ask the teacher to make a move!"

"You still don’t know what grudge lies between them, and yet you want to save them?" Lin Xin challenged.

Ah!

The man below had just been struck with another blade.

He rolled on the ground, trying to dodge with a movement technique akin to a nimble rodent, but due to his injuries, his movements were far from as agile and natural as before.

The four burly men encircling him wore mocking expressions, clearly toying with him now.

Nan Shunqing glanced downstairs once more, and finally spoke to Lin Xin again.

"I ask the teacher to make a move!"

"Everyone, once a choice is made, seals the initial cause. The consequences that follow, good or bad, must be borne by you. You might have realized that already." Lin Xin’s words were meaningful and pointed.

"The disciple understands."

Nan Shunqing nodded.

Lin Xin smiled slightly, gazing steadily at his disciple.

"Very well."

A blue Talisman Paper naturally appeared in his hand.

The rectangular Talisman Paper was clearly written with a symbol. A crooked symbol representing thunder.

"Clear Heart Thunder?" Nan Shunqing recognized the Talisman Paper, Its power generally minimal, used for meditation to steady the mind and shake the Heart Demon, its destructive power similar to that of a candlelight.

Before he could understand why Lin Xin brought out this talisman, he saw it gently leave his hand and hover between them without wind.

Hiss!

The talisman burned and instantaneously turned into a bolt of blue lightning, shooting out of the window like an arrow.

The speed of the lightning was astonishing.

In just the blink of an eye, those from the Huangshan Sect who were attacking below started screaming in pain one after another.

Nan Shunqing quickly looked downwards just in time to see the blue lightning pierce through the heart of the last of a dozen burly men, then speeding towards a distant alley.

Two moments later, several screams echoed from the alley, then silence followed.

The Jianghu people who had been enjoying the spectacle on the street, upon witnessing this scene, didn’t say another word and took to their heels.

This disturbance was far beyond the usual Jianghu disputes. Staying any longer meant risking being implicated and possibly not even having a grave to lie in.

The Huangshan Sect was no easy target, with significant backing. Once avengers came seeking revenge, escaping might not even be an option.

In the blink of an eye, over twenty people were dead.

The blue lightning then flew back like a living creature, and Lin Xin pinched it with his index finger. With a snap, it burst and dispersed.

"Behind the Qingxiu Sect is the Huangshan Sect, the largest Evil Sect in this area besides the Yuan Dou Demon Sect. Killing these people is just the beginning."

Lin Xin picked up his chopsticks, grabbed some food, and put it into his mouth, chewing slowly.

"Among these people, there are also those with good intentions, though few. But when I made my move, I killed them all without distinguishing between good and evil. The consequences that arise from this...."

"Disciple understands," Nan Shunqing murmured thoughtfully, nodding earnestly.

"That’s good."

Afterward, neither of them spoke again, just quietly eating.

On the gray and white street below, a group of bodies lay quietly on the ground; all the members of Qingxiu Sect had been pierced through the heart, the edges of their wounds charred black, with no blood flowing.

By now, a cavalry of fast horses had arrived, all dressed as government officers, in red with white belts.

The group of government officers dismounted and quickly examined the corpses.

The leader merely glanced over them before his expression turned grim. He turned his head and spoke softly to his subordinates, then quickly led them away.

On the side of the street, some bold vagabonds were tempted to loot the corpses but didn’t dare get too close. They cautiously watched to see if anyone would claim the bodies.

There were also some nearby residents gathered to watch the excitement, but those with a bit of sense quickly went home and shut their doors.

Suddenly, this block seemed to empty out significantly.

Lin Xin and his companion were eating upstairs.

The master and disciple remained silent, but it was the table nearby, with the women holding swords, that suddenly stood up and began to argue.

"I’ve caused you trouble, teacher," said Nan Shunqing, somewhat helplessly.

"It’s not really trouble, but for you, it indeed is," Lin Xin hinted meaningfully.

Nan Shunqing paused slightly, then realized what he meant. He had also seen the middle-aged man downstairs who was bloodied, getting up and rushing into an alley.

Soon, the man also pulled out a little girl.

The little girl, crying profusely, clung tightly to her father’s hand.

The two rushed toward the restaurant where they were.

"That man has thirteen fatal wounds on his body; he has managed to hold on to this point purely by a breath of life," Lin Xin sighed slightly.

Nan Shunqing pondered for a moment, then understood what Lin Xin meant.

"....."

He didn’t know what to say, but there were things he would still choose to do, even knowing the trouble they would cause.

Sure enough, soon after, a blood-soaked man rushed up the stairs to the second floor of the restaurant. He led the little girl to Lin Xin and his companion and fell to his knees with a thump.

"I beg you... protect my daughter...." The man’s voice faltered as he spoke. The numerous fatal wounds on his body made his inner energy weak, and just speaking nearly made him collapse.

Nan Shunqing let out an exasperated sigh and looked at Lin Xin.

"It’s up to you," Lin Xin said with a smile, turning to him.

"Please... please... protect my daughter, this as compensation..." The man pulled out a palm-sized white jade statue from his chest.

"Dad!!" The little girl Yun’er finally reacted, her voice hoarsely crying out.

"Daddy! Don’t die! Don’t die!!"

She cried loudly, tears streaming down like broken strings, her hands tightly gripping her father’s sleeves.

"Yun’er won’t scold you anymore; I’ll be good.... Daddy.... don’t leave..."

Blood continuously dripped from the man’s wounds onto the floor. He had already been at the brink of collapse, barely keeping himself alive using some secret technique that stimulated his body.

"Good... good Yun’er...."

He reached out to caress his daughter, but his hand only had one finger left; the others had been severed, and he eventually just let it droop helplessly.

"Dad..." Yun’er choked, holding tightly to her father’s shoulders.

Nan Shunqing, witnessing this scene, also knew by now that the man was beyond saving.

He had sustained heavy injuries before, and just now, in the midst of being attacked, he had struggled so long only because he had fought hard; unless he had leaped out earlier and his teacher had helped him immediately, his fate would inevitably be death.

"Teacher...." He ultimately still looked to Lin Xin.

"Taking her in as a maid wouldn’t be bad, but since it’s your choice, it’s your karma. I will not interfere," Lin Xin stated indifferently.

"Thank you, teacher!"

Nan Shunqing nodded.

Lin Xin reached out and lightly pointed a finger.

Instantly, the man’s wounds began to heal rapidly, but his body’s potential was exhausted, like a candle that had burned out, never to be lit again.

"Thank you...." The man knelt on the ground, his voice growing weaker.

He embraced his daughter, whispering softly into her ear, his voice and breath growing fainter with each word, until they were as thin as a mosquito’s.

Thump.

The little girl Yun’er then also knelt down in front of Lin Xin.

"Please! Save my daddy! Save my daddy!!"

Her forehead banged against the floor, sound after sound, as if she felt no pain at all.

"I have no reason to save your father." Lin Xin smiled lightly. "Agreeing to protect you was already a favor done at my disciple’s behest."

Facing the tragedy before him, he remained unusually calm.