20. An act of a play
In the deep mountains, on a sloped hillside...
The barbarian looked toward the young face in shock and utter astonishment.
He had never expected to encounter an ambush...
And judging by the speed of the attacker's movements and the force of the blade, not only was the assailant stronger than him, but they also had seasoned experience in killing and sneak attacks...
The barbarian was just about to speak...
But Song Cheng suddenly pressed down on the blade, driving the tip into the barbarian's neck.
Barbarian: ??!!?!
Why?
Won't you even ask any questions?
Song Cheng made a swift motion.
Shist...
The head "gulu-lu" rolled down the slope, only stopping when it hit a rock.
Song Cheng breathed a sigh of relief.
He suddenly felt more secure having killed the man.
After all, there were others to question. Why keep a bandit alive? To wait for a chance to turn the tables?
He took a moment to calm himself and confirmed the barbarian was truly dead before searching his body.
He hadn't held much hope, but as he felt around, he unexpectedly found a thin booklet, which he pulled out to see was a coverless book.
Skimming through it briefly.
'It's a Cultivation Technique!'
Song Cheng was astonished.
Turned out the fabled "killing monsters to obtain Cultivation Techniques" actually happened to him.
After a moment of thought, he more or less understood.
Cultivation Techniques were precious, and these mountain bandits might need to flee at any moment, so naturally, they would carry them on their person, after all, "once you leave, you never know if you can return."
But where was the silver?
Why didn't he have any silver on him?
He and Tong Jia were broke.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and he had a guess: it must be carried by the two women in his company?
By then, Tong Jia had emerged from behind a tree, and looking at the fiendish bandit beheaded, he looked at Song Cheng in shock.
Song Cheng nodded.
Tong Jia said, "Brother Cheng, you..."
"Killed someone" were the words that almost slipped out, but changed to "Are you alright?"
Song Cheng shook his head again, then said, "This man was likely a bandit. He had two women with him. Let's go check."
"Did he kidnap them?"
"Don't know, but one of them should be Nan Hui."
"Miss Nan Hui?" Tong Jia was astonished.
...
...
The barbarian had quite a reprehensible reputation, ordering the two women to stay put, and they complied.
It wasn't until Song Cheng and Tong Jia appeared that the women showed signs of surprise.
Nan Hui's eyes widened, "Doctor Tong!"
Tong Jia also exclaimed with joy, "Miss Nan Hui?"
The two of them hurried closer.
Suddenly, Nan Hui said, "Doctor Tong, you need to run, that bandit..."
Tong Jia said, "Brother Cheng killed him. Brother Cheng had a fortunate encounter, not only did he cure his eyes, but his strength has also soared dramatically."
"Brother Cheng?" Nan Hui looked behind Tong Jia, not recognizing the person with him.
How could the once frail Little Blind Boy suddenly transform into such a gallant, slightly wild youth?
There was a moment of silence in the air.
Suddenly, Tong Jia inexplicably sensed a crisis.
Nan Hui ran to Song Cheng, her beautiful face lighting up with surprise, "Big Brother Song... is that thief really dead? He was very formidable, no one in the village could withstand a single blow from his blade."
Tong Jia: ???
She called him Brother Cheng?
Why did Nan Hui call Song Cheng Big Brother?
What did that mean?
...
...
Night fell quickly.
That evening, all four of them stayed together in the hut.
Other than the moonlight, there wasn't much illumination.
Tong Jia took out some previously dried wolf and fox skins and some soft branches, making makeshift bedding for the two women to rest on. The women also brought out a bag of broken silver, tallying up to more than a hundred taels!
Song Cheng unceremoniously accepted it, then he and the women sat down by the wooden table near the window, chatting.
Next to Nan Hui, the girl with snow-white skin and a lovely visage was named Guan Xi, a grain merchant. She was robbed by bandits while escorting grain past Tang River Village, targeted for her beauty.
In a Chaotic World, beauty was a curse.
After the bandits invaded the village, the bandit's chief abducted Nan Hui, forcing her and Guan Xi to serve him. After suffering a vicious death in Tang River Village, the two women ended up in the hands of the third in command, the same bandit Song Cheng had killed.
The three of them were lucky to have escaped Tang River Village successfully.
Subsequently, at the mountain's base behind the village, the third in command waited several days. During that time, surprisingly, many villagers and even some bandits emerged from the village.
No one dared to pass through Tang River Village again, so they considered taking a detour.
But even for bandits, they were unfamiliar with the mountains behind Tang River Village.
With limited food and no end to the waiting, they began looking for a way out.
Today, it was by chance that the third in command found this place.
Miss Nan Hui said, "Big Brother Song, everyone who survived in the village says it's Yune's doing.
But it doesn't seem like her doing. If it were Yune, she would only kill those who wronged her.
Not everyone went to see her being punished at 'The place where those dishonest lovers were punished' that day... some people didn't even know about it, but they still died."
Song Cheng asked, "How did they die?"
Nan Hui replied, "They suddenly disappeared, and when we escaped, we saw a lot of bodies floating in the river."
Suddenly disappeared, then appeared in the river?
Instantaneous space movement?
Song Cheng felt a shiver down his spine.
It was indeed a forbidden technique.
He couldn't help but glance at "Drowning Ghost's Blessing".
He had thought about returning to Tang River Village, but now he had finally dismissed the idea.
Forbidden techniques killed indiscriminately, with no regard for relationships.
Certainly, Yune might treat him differently.
But Song Cheng had only one life.
How to test it?
Run to Tang River Village and gamble on the odds?
Forget it.
At this time, Tong Jia's bed was made.
Song Cheng glanced at another girl with snow-like skin and a blossoming look, who remained silent and didn't say anything. He simply said, "Let's rest for now."
Nan Hui said anxiously, "What if the bandits come looking again?"
Before Song Cheng could speak, Guan Xi said, "They won't. If the third in charge doesn't return, they will only feel fear and won't come looking."
Nan Hui said, "Big Brother Song, should we... should we go rescue the villagers?"
Song Cheng said, "We'll talk about it tomorrow."
With that, he too got into bed, pulled over the only blanket, and covered both himself and the innkeeper's young wife.
Under the blanket, Tong Jia's little feet scratched at his calves, curled up tight, she fiercely grabbed them, then leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "Big Brother Song, does it feel good?"
Song Cheng was caught off guard and couldn't help but laugh.
Tong Jia said indignantly, "Nan Hui, I'm telling you, you can't do this. Song Cheng is my man, you can't call him Big Brother Song."
She spoke quickly, like popping soybeans.
Nan Hui said gently, "Doctor Tong, you've misunderstood..."
After that, she added pitifully, "If you don't like it, I won't call him that anymore, so as not to make things difficult for Big Brother Song."
Tong Jia turned away in a huff, her back to Song Cheng.
Song Cheng leaned closer and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "She was humiliated by the bandits and barely escaped with her life."
After a moment's thought, Tong Jia turned back over and whispered softly, "Let's sleep."
Without a husband, without a home, beautiful and yet having fallen into the bandit's lair to be repeatedly humiliated...
Well... forget it.
The innkeeper's young wife's heart softened, and she said, "Nan Hui, if you want to call him, then call him."
But Nan Hui was silent once again.
...
...
There's a common saying, "Three women make a play."
Especially three beautiful girls in a Chaotic World, it is even more so.
Song Cheng felt that the small wooden cabin had suddenly turned into a stage, the air was thick with the scent of Heart's Eye.
A night passed.
The morning light slanted in.
Song Cheng got up and adeptly put 7 points into the Mysterious Turtle Step.
Still 7 points, that meant the innkeeper's young wife really wasn't angry.
Suddenly, the progress of "Mysterious Turtle Step" became "(Great Achievement) (3/16)".
Song Cheng's strength also became "16~29".
Making steady progress was completely good news for someone seeking Longevity.
He took some firewood to boil water, but saw Nan Hui also sit up as if she wanted to help.
He waved her off, then sat next to the "handmade" stone stove, filled the pot with water, and while tossing in the firewood to kindle the flame, he also held the cultivation technique he had obtained from the third in charge yesterday and perused it intently.
When the water in the pot boiled, he added the dried wolf meat chunks.
This morning... it was meat soup again.
And it was unsalted meat soup at that.
A while later...
Seeing the lid of the pot "popping" and making noise, Song Cheng didn't bother with it, continuing to feed the fire.
Wolf meat was tough to cook, and if removed from the water as soon as it boiled, the meat would be too hard to chew.
He estimated the time in his mind, his eyes never leaving the cultivation technique.
Snap...
As he turned the final page.
In the panel titled "Cultivation Technique", a new line of information appeared:
Roaring Tiger Blade (Yellow Level Grade D) (Uninitiated) (0/2) (Conflicts with existing techniques)
At the same time, a "+" symbol appeared after "White Snake Blade".
The corresponding information popped up:
One may use other stones to polish jade, being well-versed and wide-ranging offers the chance to advance further.
1% chance to extrapolate a "Yellow Level Grade C" Cultivation Technique.
...
...
Song Cheng stared at the "1%" and hesitated for a moment, thinking maybe... he should just continue to lie low in the mountains?
Firstly, it was peaceful and quiet, away from trouble; secondly, although extrapolation was slow, did the Longevity People fear not having enough time?
The only problem was the taboo.
In the mountains where people were scarce, with the "taboo" now unlocked, would it really be safe to stay here?
'I can see the taboo, so it should be fine, as long as I avoid it beforehand, right?'
He comforted himself.
His heart held a glimmer of hope.
As for the conflict, he more or less understood.
"White Snake Blade" opted for agility, while "Roaring Tiger Blade" was clearly ferocious and robust.
Learning one set of moves and then trying to learn a completely different set was akin to "Learning to Walk in Handan", not only would he encounter conflicts, but he might also forget his original techniques.
But perhaps with a higher Realm, one could integrate and accommodate, blending myriad techniques into one and forging oneself.
Who could say for sure?