Qingfeng Village, a remote little village situated beneath the Piaoling Mountain Range.
Unlike the perpetual cold of the Piaoling Mountain Range, it enjoys regular seasons here, warm in winter and cool in sumr.
However, sothing mind-boggling recently happened in Qingfeng Village.
The most beautiful girl in the village, Ya Sang, brought down a Cold Spirit Flower from the mountain range. Of course, that’s nothing particularly strange, but alongside the Cold Spirit Flower, she also brought back a man in a black robe who seed like a corpse, with no sign of life!
"Aunt Wu, have you heard? The man Ya Sang brought back is a corpse!"
"I heard, indeed. A young maiden went out and brought back a dead man, it’s truly... But I’ve heard, this man has no breath, yet his body remains warm, very eerie!"
"How frightening! Ya Sang is a good girl, even though she can’t speak, she endures hardships. Why would she bring back sothing so filthy? How will she ever get married now?"
"Indeed, many young n from our village and the neighboring ones fancy Ya Sang. Several martial artists among them, but upon hearing this, none of them want anything to do with her!"
"Alas, it’s truly a sad fate."
The gossip in Qingfeng Village was like a boiling pot, everyone was talking about this incident.
So even passed by Ya Sang’s house daily, peering through the windows, shaking their heads and sighing.
Bang!
A wooden basin was harshly thrown to the ground, shattering into pieces, steaming water splashed all over.
"Ya Sang! Get him out of here right now. Keeping a corpse at ho, do you want us all to end up in coffins?"
A plainly dressed woman smacked the water-filled wooden basin from Ya Sang’s hands onto the ground.
"Mother... He’s not dead, really, I saw it with my own eyes. He’s just temporarily unconscious!" Ya Sang said anxiously.
"Not dead? What do you an not dead? He’s already stopped breathing!" the woman scolded loudly.
"Look at you, ever since we sold the Cold Spirit Flower and your father’s condition improved a bit, you’ve been taking care of this corpse every day. He’s dead; even if his body is warm, he’s still dead. Why take care of him? Do you want to anger to death?"
The woman’s voice, tinged with sobs, carried outside their small house. Hearing it, the villagers gathered around, craning their necks to look inside.
"Mother... He is my savior, he saved , and I must repay him. Please, help !"
Ya Sang’s eyes reddened.
"Your savior is already dead! Once dead, he should be buried, not tended to daily like this. He saved you, yes, and I can give him a grand funeral, but you can’t tornt yourself like this. You’re still a young maiden; how will it look if you’re always by a corpse? How will you ever find a husband?"
As she spoke, the woman could no longer contain her tears.
"Mom... Please, help , I beg you!"
Ya Sang knelt before the woman, repeatedly kowtowing, her forehead breaking and bleeding profusely.
"Xiu..."
Just then, a weak voice ca from another room.
The wooden door creaked open, and a pale, incredibly frail middle-aged man leaned against the door fra, struggling to walk out.
"Ya Sang’s father! You haven’t recovered yet. The doctor said you can’t move around, quick! Quick, lie back on the bed!"
The woman hurriedly helped the middle-aged man, speaking anxiously.
"Xiu, this is the child’s intention; we should fulfill it."
The middle-aged man spoke weakly, coughing several tis involuntarily.
"But Ya Sang’s father, you’ve heard the village talking about us. For Ya Sang, for our family, he can’t stay!" the woman quickly said.
The middle-aged man waved his hand, looking at Ya Sang with a pale smile.
"Ya Sang, he is your savior. You must take good care of him. Daddy will help you."
"Thank you, Dad!" Ya Sang gratefully gave the middle-aged man a bow.
"Ya Sang’s dad..."
The woman wanted to say more, but the middle-aged man rely gave her a look, and she lost her resolve.
"You two are both so stubborn!"
...
Wang Xu lay quietly in bed, calling for food when hungry, and Ya Sang would gently feed him with her share.
Even though Wang Xu had a mortal body, he never seed to accumulate any dirt, not even attracting insects. Conversely, since Wang Xu’s arrival, Ya Sang’s ho hadn’t been troubled by mosquitoes or mice.
Ya Sang often sat by the bedside, lost in thought.
The 300 taels of silver from the Cold Spirit Flower were completely spent on her father’s treatnt in rely half a year, and Ya Sang’s family returned to poverty.
Relying solely on Ya Sang and her mother’s ager inco barely sufficed to keep the family fed, and most tis, they couldn’t eat their fill.
Yet, despite this, Ya Sang still split half of her food to feed Wang Xu.
On rainy days, their leaky wooden house would let water in, and to keep Wang Xu from getting wet, Ya Sang would move his bed several tis.
But as more leaks sprang up, eventually, when it rained, Ya Sang could only catch the water using a basin.
And catching the water took her the whole day until the rain stopped; she alternated between her left and right hand, refusing to place the basin on Wang Xu.
Ti trickled on, day by day, year after year.
In the blink of an eye, three years passed.
For over a thousand days in three years, Ya Sang showed no signs of impatience, repeating the sa routine every day.
Sitting by the bedside each day, Ya Sang gazed at Wang Xu’s face in a trance, not knowing what she was thinking. Sotis she would burst into laughter, and other tis she would feel dejected; her parents observed and could only sigh helplessly.
As three years passed, Ya Sang grew from a sixteen-year-old girl to an almost twenty-year-old young woman of graceful presence.
Ti had not withered her beauty or her enchanting figure; instead, it made her even more radiant and attractive, srizing many a young man with her allure.
However, they dared not confess their feelings, nor did they dare to approach Ya Sang casually.
"Ya Sang stays by a corpse every day, absorbing death itself. Whoever gets close to her will die!"
This rumor was no secret in Qingfeng Village.
Everyone said so, spreading the word until it grew, even to the neighboring villages who knew that Qingfeng Village held a beautiful woman who lingered among the dead every day, now becoming an on of calamity—you must steer clear of her!
This matter drastically altered Ya Sang’s image in the villagers’ eyes, transforming from a beloved beautiful girl to a dreaded harbinger of disaster.
Whenever Ya Sang walked through the village, all the villagers cast scornful glances at her.
Because of her, even the few families who once had good relations with Ya Sang’s parents no longer associated with them.
The day arrives.
Rumble~~~~Rumble~~~~~Rumble~~~~~
Outside Qingfeng Village, a cloud of yellow dust fills the sky, and the rumbling can be heard clearly from ten miles away.
The villagers look toward the village entrance, only to see a torrent of iron charging forth from the distance!
As they co closer, the villagers finally see their true form.
"Iron Blood... The Iron Blood Horse Thieves are coming!!"
Panic-stricken voices spread throughout the village, and soon the village chief and the village’s Martial Artist team quickly rushed over.
The chief of the village, the strongest in Qingfeng Village, possessed the strength of a Martial Artist at the Fifth Layer, capable of crushing Golden Stone.
The Qingfeng Village Martial Artist team was also quite formidable, consisting of five Fourth Layer Martial Artists, over twenty Third Layer Martial Artists, and more than a hundred young n at the First Layer and Second Layer.
This lineup was one of the most formidable in the surrounding villages.
"Who goes there!"
From a distance, the village chief Zhou Cui’s booming voice rang out, his Inner Strength of a Fifth Layer Martial Artist exploding, audible from a mile or two away.
The dense cavalry charged forward and halted at the entrance of Qingfeng Village with a rumbling sound.
A flag adorned with a fierce Great Saber, fresh blood dripping from its tip, flapped violently in the wind.
Step!
A burly scarred man on a warhorse clad in iron armor approached.
His gaze was full of arrogance as he looked down at the village chief and the Martial Artist team, snorting lightly through his nose with contempt.
"These are fearso horse thieves, on par with the village chief’s Fifth Layer!"
The young n below felt a chill in their hearts as they sensed the powerful aura.
The village chief maintained a grim expression, clasped his fists toward the scarred man, and said, "Brave sir, you honor us with your visit to Qingfeng Village, but why bring so many horsen? Our Qingfeng Village has always treated others kindly and never engaged in such petty skullduggery. Brave sirs, you may rest assured!"
"Haha..."
The scarred man laughed heartily, his piercing gaze sweeping over Qingfeng Village’s Martial Artist team with a hint of disdain.
"Village Chief Zhou Cui of Qingfeng Village, save your breath; your words are useless before , ’Mad Scar.’"
The scarred man declared loudly, "We’ve co to collect the annual tribute. You have three days to gather ten thousand liang of silver, thirty pieces of Jade Artifacts, twenty Silver Ornants, and ten Gold Ornants. After three days, I, Mad Scar, will personally co to collect."
Clang!
He unsheathed a Great Saber that glead with cold light, pointing directly at all of Qingfeng Village.
"If there’s even a hint of forgery or error, or if you attempt to resist, don’t bla my Great Saber for being ruthless!"
"Is that clear to everyone?"
Mad Scar’s words nearly suffocated the villagers of Qingfeng Village!
Ten thousand liang of silver, thirty pieces of Jade Artifacts, twenty Silver Ornants, ten Gold Ornants... How could Qingfeng Village possibly possess such wealth? Even if they sold Qingfeng Village, it wouldn’t be enough!
The village chief’s face was already extrely grim as he forced down his anger and clasped his fists, "Brave sir Mad Scar, we have indeed heard of Iron Blood’s formidable reputation. However, forgive my boldness, the tribute you speak of is far too exorbitant. Our Qingfeng Village simply cannot afford—"
Swish!
Before the village chief could finish speaking, a flash of white swept across his cheek, and a gust of wind whisked past his ear, causing him to pause, his heart congelled in alarm.
Mad Scar sheathed his Great Saber, and gave the village chief a cold glance.
"This is your first warning. If you dare to bargain with , Mad Scar, again, I will flatten Qingfeng Village!"
"Move out!"
After speaking, Mad Scar tugged on the reins, turned his horse, and led the cavalry away like a receding tide.
"Village chief! You’re injured!"
The Martial Artist beside him saw a narrow wound open on the village chief’s cheek, fresh blood trickling down, and exclaid in shock.
The village chief’s face was set in a deep frown, and he waved his hand: "Imdiately follow to Qingfeng Hall, to carefully discuss how we should handle this matter." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welco to vote for recomndations, and monthly votes on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian to read.)
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