Chapter Seventeen: Acid Rain!

The battle was utterly one-sided.

Although the members of the Bloodhand Society were all desperate men, it was usually other people whose lives they gambled with. But after several volleys from the Flame Army's gunners, and a wave of soldiers charging into the crowd with blades flashing, the Bloodhand Society was utterly routed.

No matter how skilled you are in martial arts, you still fear a kitchen knife. Yet no matter how sharp the kitchen knife, it stands no chance against firearms.

One must trust in science!

The Bloodhand Society certainly believed in science. They knew the Flame Army was an unstoppable force, and that their mere two hundred lives stood no chance. After dozens of their brothers fell, the rest threw up their hands and cowered in corners or lay face-down on the ground...

With such decisive surrender, they clearly conveyed one crucial message: Stop! I surrender!

Bloodhand himself was a killer, renowned in the martial world for his ghostly movements and unpredictable attacks. Yet against Chen Hu, a brute who practiced a practical military-style boxing, his skills were useless. Chen Hu’s moves might have looked crude, but combined with his raw strength, every slash of his blade was wide and forceful, leaving Bloodhand with no opportunity to retaliate.

After dozens of exchanges, Chen Hu slashed at Bloodhand's chest.

Bloodhand dared not meet it head-on. He retreated desperately, trying to dodge the lethal blow. He knew that if Chen Hu’s blade landed squarely, he would be split in two.

Bang...

But in his desperate retreat, Bloodhand lost his footing and fell hard to the ground. Looking down, he noticed a line of blood across his chest. The blade hadn't touched him, yet he had suffered such a grievous wound.

A chill ran through him—he realized this was the infamous blade aura. Had this brute actually managed to cultivate such an art through sheer force?

There were indeed many unsavory characters in the Flame Shrine, but not a few extraordinary individuals as well. Chen Hu approached, blade resting against Bloodhand’s neck, threatening, “This is your last chance... Will you give them up or not? If you don’t, your life ends here.”

“I know... Even if I hand them over, I won’t live to see another day...” Bloodhand’s face was ashen, and he laughed bitterly. “I’ve killed many in my day, done terrible things all my life... But I never thought I’d lose my life over something I never did, for someone I never killed... What an injustice.”

“Still stubborn at the brink of death?”

“What’s left to hide when you’re about to die?” Bloodhand looked up at the elder in white and said, “I know who Bian Zhenxin was. With a father like you, a master of the grill, how could I dare to cross him? I wined and dined him, gave him the best of everything... Never did I expect you’d blame his death on me.”

“My life isn’t worth much. If I die, so be it. But you’d better be careful yourselves... The real killer of Bian Zhenxin is still out there.”

Bian Feng’s brow twitched. “Tie him up. Roast him.”

He paused, his tone resolute. “As for the real killer... I will find them.”

Just then, a group of people rushed over from the distance. The gray-robed guards intercepted them, and their leader hurried over to report to Bian Feng, “My lord, another group from the Bloodhand Society has arrived... They say they’ve found Scarface’s corpse and have come to report in...”

“Scarface? Who’s that?” Chen Hu asked.

“Scarface was the owner of that lighter... Turns out he’s been killed, too...” Bloodhand, sensing a glimmer of hope for his life, scrambled to explain, “Scarface disappeared, so I sent out several groups to look for him... Now they’ve finally found his corpse...”

“Or maybe you sent someone to silence him.” Chen Hu’s wrist flicked, and a red line appeared on Bloodhand’s neck.

“Bring them here,” the elder in white commanded.

Soon, a group of gray robes carried over several corpses. These bodies looked as if they’d been dead for some time, stiff and pale, with a pungent odor wafting around them. One corpse had been so mauled by unknown beasts that only the skeleton remained largely intact.

The elder in white pointed to a middle-aged man with a scar on his face. “Is this Scarface?”

“Yes, we called him Scarface because of that mark... No one cared about his real name... He owned that skull lighter...”

“So, did he kill my son?”

“That... I don’t know,” Bloodhand replied.

“Then who killed him?” Bian Feng asked grimly.

The coroner stepped forward and examined the body, but could find no fatal wounds until his fingers reached the back of the neck. He gasped, “Qi Manipulation... He was killed by a practitioner skilled in Qi Manipulation...”

A collective gasp of shock swept the crowd.

Chen Hu protested, “Impossible! How could there be a cultivator in the Hate Mountain settlement? Even if there were, they’d never be so advanced in Qi Manipulation... Coroner, are you sure you’re not mistaken?”

The coroner, who had been brought here from the Lingyang district by Bian Feng, had little patience for the likes of Chen Hu. Offended by the challenge to his expertise, he retorted, “Vice Commander Chen, I may not be as skilled at killing and protecting people as you, but in examining wounds and corpses, you’re no match for me. I’ve handled more bodies than you’ve had women—each to his own trade, do you understand?”

He gestured to two gray-robed assistants. “Roll him over.”

The two did as ordered, turning Scarface’s large body. The coroner pointed to the wound at the back of the neck. “Look how clean this cut is... the depth is just right... The sharpness of the blade and the control of force—both are perfect...”

“When he died, he probably didn’t feel a thing... It was like being bitten by an ant, and then his life was over...”

He straightened up, walked to Bian Feng, and reported, “A year ago, during the cultivators’ war in Lingyang, two Body Tempering experts died at the hands of someone skilled in Qi Manipulation... The wounds were nearly identical to this one...”

“And three years ago, the Crocodile Pond corpse was also wounded by a Qi Manipulation cultivator... The cut was just as smooth, almost beautiful...”

Bian Feng circled the corpse, then crouched and gently touched the wound. He nodded. “This was indeed done by a cultivator. Without the support of Yin and Yang energy, no ordinary weapon could do this...”

He stood and addressed Bloodhand, who still sat on the ground with a blade at his neck. “Let him go. He didn’t do it.”

He didn’t trust Bloodhand’s words or his supposed honor, only his own judgment. These thieves and thugs could never have committed such a deed.

Bloodhand was on the verge of tears.

It wasn’t me. It really wasn’t me. I’ve said it so many times—I’m innocent. Yet you killed most of my brothers and beat me half to death. If Scarface had come back a few seconds later, my head would’ve been chopped off...

You owe me!

Scarface, my good brother, thank heavens you came back—you’re a lifesaver!

Only now did Chen Hu withdraw his blade, turning to Bian Feng. “My lord, a Qi Manipulation practitioner has appeared in the Hate Mountain settlement?”

“As absurd as it sounds, it’s true,” Bian Feng replied. The facts were clear: a cultivator skilled in Qi Manipulation had murdered Bian Zhenxin. To escape the wrath of the Flame Shrine, he’d killed Scarface and his fellow predators, then deliberately left Scarface’s lighter at the scene to frame them.

At this thought, Bian Feng even felt a pang of sympathy for the Bloodhand Society’s fallen. But then, wasn’t this the fate of ants?

“How can we find him?” Bian Feng turned to Chen Hu. “I don’t care if he’s a cultivator hiding among the masses or a noble from the New Star—find him for me. Dig three feet if you must, but drag him out.”

“Yes,” Chen Hu agreed through gritted teeth.

Cultivators were formidable, far beyond ordinary men. Yet the dead black-robed man was his direct superior, the son of his boss—this grudge had to be avenged.

Bian Feng saw the resolve on Chen Hu’s face and said, “I know how dangerous a Qi Manipulation master is, and I won’t send my brothers to die in vain... The Flame Army I brought is yours to command. As for the Bloodhand Society...”

He looked at Chen Hu. “Predators have been looting and breaking the law under the nose of the Flame Shrine for years. Do you know why we haven’t wiped you out?”

Because we’re in cahoots! Bloodhand thought silently to himself.

Of course, he wouldn’t dare say that aloud. Instead, he threw himself to the ground and proclaimed, “The Bloodhand Society awaits your command, my lord!”

“Good.” Bian Feng was clearly pleased. “Contact every predator group in the Hate Mountain settlement, big and small. Everyone must contribute. Assist the Flame Shrine in finding this cultivator...”

“If you fail...” His eyes turned cold and menacing. “Then the Hate Mountain settlement will cease to exist.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“We will do our utmost,” Chen Hu and Bloodhand swore together.

———

Tang Fei walked ahead, carrying two water buckets, with Phoenix following close behind, also carrying two buckets.

Phoenix had shed her expensive and eye-catching interstellar flight suit, now dressed in faded jeans and a dull black hoodie. The hood was pulled up, hiding most of her face and black hair.

Tang Fei had even smeared ashes from the stove across her exposed fair skin, giving her a sooty, grimy appearance. The only thing he couldn’t hide was her eyes—so bright and lively, like stars in the sky. He had even stolen a pair of aviator sunglasses from the old man’s stash for her, but found that the glasses drew even more attention...

The sky over the ruins was dim and the paths treacherous—wearing sunglasses here was more likely to get you killed.

Only the old man would saunter from one end of the village to the other every few days, sunglasses perched on his nose, slowing his steps to flirt with any young wife or widow he encountered—such a rascal.

Now, Phoenix had already blended with the land, looking every bit the tomboy.

As long as she didn’t speak and reveal her unmistakable New Star accent...

“Hurry up,” Tang Fei urged, glancing back at Phoenix. “If we’re late, we’ll lose our place in line.”

“We have to queue just to get water?” Phoenix caught up, walking side by side.

“There’s only one water source in the entire Hate Mountain settlement,” Tang Fei replied. “Only water from that spring is fit to drink... If we’re late, there’ll be a crowd ahead of us.”

“Oh.” Phoenix nodded in understanding.

On New Star, water was abundant—just turn on the tap and the water would gush out endlessly. As long as you paid your bill, you could use as much as you wanted. Life here, on Old Earth, was simply too harsh.

By the time Tang Fei and Phoenix arrived, more than a hundred people were already queued up, all carrying buckets, jugs, and even a cauldron or two, ready to fetch enough water for their whole families.

At the front, a thin stream of clear spring water trickled out. Some people, after filling their containers, would guzzle a mouthful right away. Others pressed their lips to the spring, drinking their fill until the impatient shouts and curses from behind forced them to move along—afraid someone might drink it all in one go.

“So long?” Phoenix exclaimed.

“Are you complimenting me?” Tang Fei quipped.

Phoenix rolled her eyes. “Where do you learn these dirty jokes?”

“From books.”

“What books?”

“Dragon and Tiger... ‘Inverse Scale.’”

“What’s that about?”

“In an age when everyone wants to slay dragons, the protagonist, being a dragon himself, feels the pressure mounting.” Tang Fei had found the book at Scholar Zhao’s house, not one of those books the old man kept under his pillow.

“Sounds interesting. Can you lend it to me?” Phoenix asked. She wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon, so she might as well find something to pass the time.

“No way.” Tang Fei shook his head.

“Why not?”

“It’s filthy.”

“Filthy?”

“Yeah, too filthy.” Tang Fei finally found an excuse, speaking earnestly. “You have no idea how many people have read it. Fatty reads it while eating, so it’s covered in grease... And the old man once fell asleep reading it, drooled all over the pages. Now, whenever I open it, I can still smell his saliva...”

Sure enough, Phoenix’s face twisted in disgust. “Forget it, then...”

She couldn’t bear to touch those pages smeared with grease and saliva—there’d be no pleasure in reading, only torment.

“Exactly, best not to read it, too gross,” Tang Fei agreed.

“Then tell me the story of ‘Inverse Scale.’ I’m curious about it.”

“No way,” Tang Fei refused again.

“Why not?”

“It’s too long.”

“...”

Phoenix suspected he was flirting again.

Over an hour later, it was finally their turn.

Tang Fei filled both his buckets, screwed on the lids, then helped Phoenix fill hers. Once done, each of them carried two buckets of spring water homeward.

Halfway back, a thunderous roar split the sky, followed by lightning and thunder.

Tang Fei sniffed the air and shouted, “Acid rain! Quick, find shelter!”

(P.S.: Thanks to Miss Melbourne for the second silver reward—words cannot express my gratitude. And thanks to young Wind Dance Dream Endless for becoming our leader—may your feet always run with the wind, your heart hold dreams, and may you always press forward. Also, the new book is climbing the charts—please support with recommendations, monthly votes, and all your enthusiasm!)