Chapter 26: A Man of the Righteous Path?

"Chen Xuan, are you poisoning us? What... what are you doing?" Zhao Hai asked in terror.

"Pfft."

Chen Xuan sneered. "What am I doing? What do you think? How about I do you?"

"You... don't do anything reckless," Zhao Hai shouted.

Tan Bao and Wu Tian were even more furious and terrified. Tan Bao, in particular, tried several times to gather his internal energy, only to find he couldn't stir a single bit. Having already exhausted his energy before and now poisoned with Soft-Tendon Powder, how could he possibly have any strength left?

"Junior Brother Chen, we are all fellow practitioners. We traveled thousands of miles to assist your Five Poisons Sect. Are you really going to strike at us? We were fighting on behalf of your sect!" Tan Bao hurriedly pleaded.

"Senior Brother Tan, didn't you say you wanted to test my Five Poisons Palm with your Phantom Yin Finger? Isn't Junior Brother here specifically to accommodate you?" Chen Xuan smiled, suddenly lunging forward to grab Tan Bao's fingers and twisting them violently.

*Snap!*

*Ah!*

A shrill, miserable scream tore through the forest. Chen Xuan had snapped all ten of Tan Bao's fingers, leaving them mangled with exposed white bone and flowing blood. It was a gruesome sight, and the pain nearly caused Tan Bao to faint.

"Phantom Yin Finger? Heh, go ahead, keep fantasizing. Now that you don't even have fingers, what are you going to phantom? Keep at it!" Chen Xuan laughed.

Tan Bao writhed in agony, screaming shrilly, wanting to roll on the ground but unable to move an inch. Beside him, Zhao Hai and Wu Tian were even more terrified.

"Senior Brother Chen, it's a misunderstanding! There's a misunderstanding between us. I truly had no ill intent. Let me explain..." Zhao Hai scrambled to speak.

*Bang!*

Before he could finish, Chen Xuan struck him on the forehead with a backhanded palm. With six hundred pounds of force, Zhao Hai's skull collapsed instantly. Blood poured from his seven orifices, his eyes bulged, and he died on the spot.

Wu Tian had originally wanted to beg for mercy just like Zhao Hai, but seeing this scene, he was paralyzed by fear. His pants turned damp, and a pungent odor filled the air.

"Spare... spare..."

"You want to say 'spare my life,' right?" Chen Xuan looked at Wu Tian with a smile. "I told you, my nickname is the 'Iron-Blooded Young Master.' Do you know what iron-blooded means? It means when I turn on someone, no one else matters. It's too late for mercy now."

*Bang!*

Another palm descended, striking Wu Tian's forehead. His skull fractured instantly, blood erupted from his seven orifices, and he died a wretched death.

"How invincible is it to be so lonely..."
"How invincible is it to be so empty..."
Chen Xuan looked intoxicated.

"Chen Xuan, you killed us! Our master will definitely avenge us!" Tan Bao wailed in pain on the ground.

Chen Xuan suddenly stopped singing and looked at Tan Bao with a smile. "Senior Brother Tan, actually, you are the person I respect most, and you are the one I least wanted to kill. Tell you what, call me 'Iron-Blooded Young Master' once, and I'll spare your life."

"You... Iron-Blooded Young Master, Iron-Blooded Young Master, Iron-Blooded Young Master." Tan Bao called out three times in a row.

Chen Xuan felt a surge of secret pleasure. *This is the nickname I've dreamed of.*
*White robes fluttering, long hair like ink, a sword coming from the west, the world bowing in submission.*

*Bang!*

With a wave of his hand, he brought his palm down on Tan Bao's forehead, crushing his skull and causing him to bleed from his seven orifices. Tan Bao's eyes remained wide open in death.

"I lied to you. I'm a bad guy, hahahaha..." Chen Xuan laughed loudly. *How could I not kill you? Keep dreaming.*

He searched the three men, but after a long while, he only found a few bottles of pills. There were no secret manuals to be found. The pills were all ordinary healing or energy-restoring medicines. Chen Xuan pocketed them all, then retrieved the small bottle of Five Poisons Water given to him by Qian Dacai. He poured a few drops over the bodies, which immediately began to corrode and dissolve into a pool of pus and blood.

Satisfied, Chen Xuan left the area. The Five Poisons Water provided by Qian Dacai was for self-defense and was diluted, so it wasn't as violently toxic as the original, but it was still enough to melt gold and iron.

By the afternoon, Chen Xuan had traveled quite a distance. The Qinxia Town area was vast; he had been walking for hours without seeing an end, feeling as if he had lost his way.

"Damn it, if I run into experts from the righteous path, I'll be in trouble. No, I can't keep wandering. I need to find a place to hide."

He had killed the young master of the Cui family, and they had already issued a warrant for his arrest. With his shaved head and green right hand, it would be far too easy for him to be identified. He couldn't be so reckless. It was best to wait until nightfall to move.

Chen Xuan looked around, searching for a place to hide, when he noticed a small town at the foot of the mountain ahead, with green bricks and tiles stretching out. He pondered whether to hide in the town or find a cave. *The most dangerous place is often the safest,* a principle Chen Xuan had never doubted. After a moment of thought, he headed toward the town. On the way, he tore a strip from his coat and wrapped it around his head to cover his baldness, then used the "Eight-Step Cicada" technique to travel at high speed.

...

The quiet town was deserted. There wasn't a soul in sight. The streets were in disarray, as if many people had fled in a hurry not long ago. Chen Xuan walked through with a vigilant gaze. Had the residents all fled early, just like the village he had passed earlier?

He arrived in front of an inn and was about to push the door open when he paused, his expression sharpening. *There is someone inside.*

Faint sounds of conversation drifted from the inn. He pricked up his ears and circulated his internal energy, listening intently. In an instant, the faint noise was amplified, becoming crystal clear.

"It sounds like the innkeeper and his assistant; they haven't left and are hiding in here." Chen Xuan's eyes flickered. The voices were full of sighs and complaints, sounding like ordinary commoners.

He decided not to knock. It was hard to say whether these remaining villagers were informants for the three major righteous families. It would be safer to climb through a window. Stepping back, he scanned the surroundings, leaped onto a wall, and vaulted through a second-story window. He flashed through the hall and slipped into an empty guest room, locking the door behind him.

"I'll rest here for a few hours, then head back to the Five Poisons Sect as soon as it gets dark," Chen Xuan thought. He sat on the bed and began to cultivate his internal energy.

...

Night fell, and a crescent moon hung in the sky. Just as Chen Xuan opened his eyes and prepared to move, the sound of horses' hooves clattered outside, chaotic and numerous. He narrowed his eyes and went to the window, peering through a crack.

A dozen riders, all armed with swords and blades, had stopped in front of the inn.

"Young Master Wang, look, it's late. Why don't we rest here for the night?" a burly, bearded man asked, reining in his horse to look at a young man in blue robes.

The young man in blue surveyed the area and commanded, "Leave two men outside to keep watch in case of trouble. Everyone else, go in and settle down!"

The bearded man nodded and shouted, "Liu Tao, Zhang Zhu, you two stay outside. Everyone else, inside!"

The group dismounted, tied their horses to the posts outside, and strode into the inn.

*Bang!*

The door was kicked open, and the group swarmed in. Chen Xuan could hear the commotion clearly from upstairs. He remained still, not acting rashly. With two guards outside, he didn't know their strength; if he jumped out the window now, he would surely be discovered. He would have to wait until they were asleep before taking action. He held his breath, making no sound.

Downstairs, the group of martial artists had just entered the hall when the young man in blue and the bearded man both sensed something wrong.

"Someone's here!" they shouted in unison.

The others were startled and drew their weapons.

"Come out!" The young man in blue flicked his wrist, sending a flurry of silver darts toward the floorboards behind the counter.

*Bang, bang, bang!*

The floor shattered, dust flew, and a dark cellar was revealed, from which screams erupted.

The bearded man's eyes lit up. "There are women!"

He flashed to the entrance of the cellar, his gaze burning as he looked down, his blade held upright. He laughed strangely, "I'll count to ten. If you don't come out, I'll carve the meat off your bodies slice by slice."

The others gathered around, peering into the cellar. The innkeeper's family, hiding below, were paralyzed with terror.

"Spare us, kind masters! Please spare our family. We have never been involved in the martial arts world, please!" a trembling voice pleaded.

A group emerged from the cellar, their faces pale with fear. Besides the innkeeper, there were three servants and two women. One of the women was a young beauty with a delicate face and graceful figure, while the other was a slightly older, voluptuous woman whose tear-filled eyes only added to her allure.

The bearded man's eyes brightened as he scanned the two women, a thick, lecherous grin spreading across his face. "What a fine little lady, hehe..."

He glanced back at the young man in blue, licking his lips with intense, burning desire.

The young man in blue frowned and said coldly, "If you want to have your fun, go upstairs. Kill everyone else. Don't let word leak out, or they'll say we of the righteous path are kidnapping innocent women!"