Chapter 55: We Need to Pull Off a Big Heist
Night fell swiftly, its darkness like a rising tide, engulfing the forest.
Surrounding them were towering mountains, blocking the moonlight.
The barbarian youth, holding the Blood Slaughter Sword, sat on the grass in the traditional Chinese “seiza” position.
He wore an animal skin coat that exposed his right shoulder, his close-cropped hair like a bowl on his head, marking him as a foreigner.
The Blood Slaughter Sword lay across his lap, its bloody aura intensifying.
He could sense the sword’s excitement and hunger, indicating its target was approaching.
The darkness seemed to part, icy energy sweeping across the grass, startling the birds into flight.
A young Chinese man in a long robe, a sword at his waist, his hands clasped behind him, stepped out of the darkness, reciting, “Zhao’s blade, from its silk scabbard drawn, gleams bright as frost or snow at dawn. On silver saddle sits his steed of white; he rides like shooting star across the night. Ten steps, and one life meets its doom; a thousand miles he rides, then seeks no tomb!”
The barbarian youth, sitting on the grass, narrowed his eyes.
He felt the approaching aura, the darkness seemingly illuminated by the young man’s presence. Even before the sword was drawn, the sword intent washed over him, powerful and overwhelming.
The barbarian youth slowly stood up, the Blood Slaughter Sword, like a venomous snake, radiating a menacing aura.
On a nearby hill, hidden in the tall grass, Xu Xiaoyan watched the approaching young man and muttered, “He’s reciting poetry again?”
“I am Shi Tu Xiong,” the barbarian youth said, attempting to speak in the formal Central Plains dialect, his accent slightly off. “State your name!”
The bloody aura of the Blood Slaughter Sword intensified, like an invisible serpent coiling above him.
The Chinese youth said calmly, “Shi Hao.”
Their invisible sword intents clashed, creating crisscrossing marks on the ground, scattering the grass.
Xu Xiaoyan, from her vantage point, couldn’t see who drew their sword first… Perhaps they had drawn simultaneously.
In a flash of brilliant light, the two swordsmen seemed to divide the world in two, one side filled with swirling ice and snow, the other enveloped in a bloody aura.
Their figures blurred, moving with incredible speed, exchanging blows, flashes of lightning and crimson light briefly piercing each other’s domain before being repelled.
The clashing of their swords wasn’t loud, more like the clinking of jade, but the flurry of sword shadows was blinding.
Xu Xiaoyan was inwardly amazed. Having connections to both the Daoist and demonic sects, she was familiar with most martial arts styles in the martial world.
But she couldn’t recognize either of these two men’s techniques.
The only thing she could tell was that they were both incredibly profound and powerful.
They moved from the grassy field into the forest. Xu Xiaoyan could no longer see them, only the occasional flashes of sword light piercing the darkness, indicating the fight was still raging… and intensifying.
This was a duel to the death, a single mistake potentially fatal.
Trees crashed to the ground as they emerged from the forest, their swords clashing, the sharp ringing echoing through the night, reaching her even from this distance.
Sword energy penetrated the earth, then erupted as sword shadows, like bamboo shoots after the rain, only to be suppressed by another wave of sword energy.
Sword light surged like a flood, wave after wave, an unstoppable tide… yet unable to break through the opponent’s defense.
Xu Xiaoyan watched in awe, her eyes struggling to keep up with their movements, even from afar.
Suddenly, a resounding boom echoed through the night, the loudest sound since the fight began.
Icy and fiery sword energies collided, the resulting shockwave throwing both men backwards half a zhang.
She saw the barbarian youth grip his sword, the Blood Slaughter Sword extending behind him, its energy rising like a tower, layer upon layer.
It was as if a magnificent structure had appeared above him.
Shi Hao, his stance unwavering, his sword held before him, thrust upwards, his sword energy swirling like a tornado, a coiling dragon rising into the sky, then converging into a single, thunderous strike.
The thunderbolt and the blood-red “palace” collided with an earth-shattering boom. The palace exploded, the Blood Slaughter Sword flying through the air, and the barbarian youth stumbled backwards, falling to his knees.
Xu Xiaoyan sighed in relief… The duel was finally over.
Shi Hao, holding his sword, slowly approached the barbarian youth.
The barbarian, Shi Tu Xiong, clutched the grass, his body trembling, “Kill me!”
Shi Hao swung his sword, and with a clang… he struck, not Shi Tu Xiong, but the Blood Slaughter Sword.
He had sensed the sword coming alive, a bloody shadow emanating from it and reaching towards Shi Tu Xiong.
He knew this was the “demonic sword devouring its master” and destroyed the shadow with his sword.
He picked up the Blood Slaughter Sword, turned, and floated away, quickly disappearing into the darkness.
Leaving the barbarian youth alone, trembling in the night—
Shi Hao reached the hillside, and Xu Xiaoyan emerged from the bushes.
“Why didn’t you kill him?” she asked, walking around him.
Shi Hao said calmly, “He’s already defeated.”
Xu Xiaoyan smiled, “I hate all those rules and formalities of swordsmen.”
She looked at the Blood Slaughter Sword in his hand, “Well, at least you got the sword.”
As they headed towards the circular valley, Shi Hao asked, “By the way, you mentioned a ‘big heist’ the other night. What are you planning?”
Xu Xiaoyan chuckled, “I’m surprised you remember. You were the one who said petty theft was undignified, that we should aim for a bigger target…”
Shi Hao said, “I didn’t say that last part.”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “Same difference.”
Shi Hao said, “Big difference. Well, tell me your plan.”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “While you were practicing your swordsmanship today, I went out to gather some information. Do you know what’s happening?”
Shi Hao asked, “What’s happening?”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “After Hero Fu Shiyuan launched his rebellion, he’s been fighting in the Changbai Mountains, capturing several cities and establishing a base there. Many people have joined him, including several groups in Liaoyang Province.
“To suppress the rebellion, the barbarian court is mobilizing troops from all over. Do you know what the most profitable business is during wartime?”
Shi Hao asked, “What?”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “Medicinal ingredients! War means death, and for every death, there are many more injured. Many people could survive, but they die because of a lack of medicine.
“So, during wartime, the price of medicine skyrockets, especially wound healing medicine.”
Shi Hao nodded, “So you want to find a supplier and smuggle medicinal ingredients?”
“Let me finish!” Xu Xiaoyan smiled. “And when it comes to alchemy, the Chongxian Sect is the best. Not because their skills are unparalleled, but because they control the supply of immortal ingredients. They have vast medicinal herb farms, and the barbarian court allows them to cultivate on a large scale.”
Shi Hao said seriously, “Indeed… Go on.”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “The Chongxian Sect supplies the barbarian army with Minor Restoration Pills. A single pill can stop bleeding and save a life, far more effective than ordinary wound medicine. The nearest Chongxian Sect temple, Jing’an Monastery, is currently mass-producing these pills for the barbarian army.”
“If we can steal a large quantity of these pills and transport them to the Changbai Mountains, selling them to the rebels, wouldn’t that be a highly profitable venture?”
Shi Hao smiled, “It sounds tempting, but there are a few problems.”
Xu Xiaoyan asked, “What problems?”
Shi Hao said, “First, smuggling medicinal pills isn’t easy. If Jing’an Monastery discovers a large theft, they’ll report it to the Six Gates. This operation is far more dangerous than you think. And stealing from Jing’an Monastery itself is no easy feat.
“Second, although the rebels desperately need medicine, even ordinary wound medicine, let alone these more effective Minor Restoration Pills, with so many refugees joining them, despite their growing numbers, their logistics are strained, and they’re facing immense pressure.
“Can we really make a profit?”
Xu Xiaoyan said, “We won’t know until we try.” She turned to face him, took a step back, and placed her hands behind her back, “If you’re afraid, you don’t have to come.”
Looking at her fallen horse bun swaying in the wind, her beautiful face illuminated by the moonlight, her slender figure, and her chest proudly puffed out, Shi Hao smiled, “Of course I’ll come. We have to pull off a big heist at least once in our lives; otherwise, what’s the point of all this training?”
Xu Xiaoyan glanced at him, turned away, swung her braided ponytail, and hummed a tune under the silvery moonlight.
Her voice, sweet and melodious like a nightingale’s, echoed through the wilderness.
They returned to the circular valley, the Blood Slaughter Sword in hand. Daoist Tie Yu had been waiting.
Shi Hao handed him the sword. Along the way, he had felt a voice within the sword, constantly tempting him.
Now, back in the valley where the furnace stood, a bloody shadow, like a struggling serpent, emanated from the sword, trying to coil around him as he let go.
Clang! Daoist Tie Yu struck the sword with a red-hot hammer.
The Blood Slaughter Sword quieted down.