Chapter Forty-Four: Dominance, Divine Fist

The ancient sages of the Spring and Autumn era once said: If there is an enemy, what should one do? Kill them first. If someone is about to become an enemy, what should one do? Kill them quietly. When confronted with an adversary, one must strike preemptively, pour in every ounce of strength, and spare no means to eliminate them! Later generations joked: The reason the ancient sages became revered was simply because they eradicated all their enemies.

...

Cao Kaijin was beheaded.

He died on the spot.

His death was humiliating; even though he sensed someone lurking in the shadows, he still perished, never even glimpsing the face of his attacker.

"Who are you?" The young man stood up, rubbing his belly, his face filled with astonishment and wariness.

After all, those who kill your opponent are not necessarily virtuous.

"Who I am is not important. What matters is that I saved you." Yang Fan was also guarded, not stepping forward. "Can you tell me about the Purple Gold Mine?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"My father was a hunter. He disappeared a year ago."

"I see!" The young man glanced at the beheaded Cao Kaijin and felt the wounds on his body.

He understood that if his interlocutor truly wished to kill him, he wouldn’t be able to resist.

He sighed inwardly.

He squatted, grimacing from the pain, and speculated, "You overheard our conversation—Cao Kaijin and his men capturing hunters, and the matter of the mass graves. That's why you intervened?"

Yang Fan nodded.

"In any case, thank you. If not for you, I would have been killed today." The young man smiled. "I am Lou Qingshan. How should I address you, brother?"

"Yang Fan!"

"So, Brother Yang! How about I tend to my wounds first, then explain everything?"

"No rush."

"Good!" Lou Qingshan finally felt at ease.

Having killed Cao Kaijin with a reasonable pretext, being young, revealing his name, and allowing time for recovery, Yang Fan seemed unlikely to harbor ill intentions.

Lou Qingshan produced some medicinal powder from his chest and applied it wherever he could reach, but there were many wounds on his back.

Seeing that Yang Fan didn’t approach, Lou Qingshan felt truly reassured, and smiled, "Brother Yang, would you help me with the bandages? I can't reach the ones on my back."

"Alright," Yang Fan relaxed his guard a bit.

However, his "earth sense" remained active.

The Dragon Scale Blade was sheathed.

He walked over, took the bottle, and simply helped bandage Lou Qingshan’s wounds.

This act established a preliminary trust between them.

Lou Qingshan leaned against the stone wall, exhaled a long breath, and continued, "I have a friend living at the foot of the mountain, whose father was a hunter. One day, after entering the mountain, the entire hunting party vanished without a trace. Further investigation revealed nothing. Later, news came that hunters from nearby villages and towns were disappearing as well. Sensing something amiss, my friend asked me to look into it. I found some clues and traced them here."

He sighed softly, then added, "Who would have thought that so many hunters had been captured, all around the periphery of Cloud Mist Mountain, sent to the mine to be slaves, forced to work until they died. I found two mass graves, filled with venomous snakes. When someone died, their bodies were tossed in, to be devoured, leaving only heaps of bones."

Yang Fan listened quietly, asking questions from time to time.

Such as about the Lord of Tianhe.

He was the youngest son of the previous emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty. Before coming of age, the old emperor died; upon reaching adulthood, he was granted the fief of Tianshui County, with the title of Tianhe.

After being given his domain, he became the local tyrant.

A simple example: strolling through the streets on a whim, he would abduct any woman he fancied.

If it were only that, it might be tolerable.

But after he tired of them, they ended up either as fertilizer for flowers or fed to his pets. Anyone who dared to protest or file complaints would see their entire family slaughtered.

"Don’t your Sky Patrol Guards do anything?" Yang Fan frowned.

"The Sky Patrol Division only hunts demons and suppresses sects," Lou Qingshan replied bitterly. "Matters of the county prince are handled by local officials or the Imperial Clan Bureau. But locally, who can afford to provoke a prince?"

"Is there really no one who stands against him?"

"There are, many in fact, but what can they do? Regardless of his own cultivation, the prince’s mansion is guarded by guest experts and elite guards. Who could break in? Look at how formidable Cao Kaijin was—that’s just the deputy commander of the mine guards. There’s also the commander, training elites deep in the mountains, and another deputy commander with his own squad."

Yang Fan nodded in agreement.

Strength and power often walk hand in hand.

On the path of martial cultivation, without wealth, it’s nearly impossible to succeed.

But with power comes access to techniques, money, resources for cultivation, even training far beyond ordinary imagination.

Yang Fan asked for more details.

The Sky Patrol Tower in the provincial city had comprehensive records on the Lord of Tianhe. As a Sky Patrol Guard, Lou Qingshan knew plenty.

Within the prince’s mansion, the commander was of fourth rank cultivation.

There were also guest experts, with upper third rank cultivation—likely only third rank, not second.

After all, he was merely a neglected, idle county prince.

The most notorious figure in the prince's mansion was the eldest son, the heir apparent, tyrannical and vicious.

"Isn’t training troops in the mountains forbidden?" Yang Fan asked.

"Strictly speaking, yes," Lou Qingshan replied helplessly. "But as a county prince, he’s allowed a certain number of personal guards. How he trains them is not questioned, and no one makes an issue of it."

"By your account, the prince’s mansion commits every evil. Doesn’t he have any rivals? Any adversaries of equal power?" Yang Fan pressed.

Lou Qingshan gave him a meaningful look. "He does! In neighboring Jade Bamboo County, atop Jade Bamboo Mountain, is the Divine Fist Sect. Four years ago, the sect leader’s daughter visited Tianshui City, caught the eye of the heir, and was slapped for resisting his advances. Eventually, she was dragged to the mansion, and soon died horribly. When Divine Fist Sect learned of it, the whole sect united in outrage, stormed Tianshui City, nearly overturning the prince’s mansion!"

"The prince’s forces were strong, but Divine Fist Sect used many covert tactics, causing widespread chaos and countless casualties."

"The Sky Patrol Tower in the county couldn’t suppress them, so the provincial city sent reinforcements to subdue Divine Fist Sect. However, they too despised the prince, so they didn’t deliberately persecute the sect."

Lou Qingshan recounted the episode.

"A powerful sect’s leader’s daughter dared to resist and was killed? Truly lawless," Yang Fan marveled, then, as if casually, asked, "Divine Fist Sect trains atop a mountain. They must be quite poor, right?"

"Poor?" Lou Qingshan was surprised, then realized what Yang Fan meant, showing a strange expression and finally nodding, "Indeed, very poor—they’re practically driven mad by their poverty."

Yang Fan smiled.

The two had reached an understanding.

Yang Fan asked further about the Purple Gold Mine, then cupped his hands and said, "Brother Lou, I still have matters to attend to, so I must take my leave. If fate allows, we shall share a drink next time."

"Meeting Brother Yang is a blessing for me. The road in the martial world is long—be careful and travel cautiously," Lou Qingshan stood and cupped his hands, pointedly reminding him.

Yang Fan nodded.

Before leaving, he searched Cao Kaijin’s corpse but found nothing of value, then swiftly melted into the darkness.

"Is he heading for the Purple Gold Mine?" Lou Qingshan gazed in the direction Yang Fan vanished, pondering, "So young, yet so decisive—seizing the opportunity to behead Cao Kaijin. Judging by his weapon, a heavy blade, his strength must be considerable. He’s shrewd, having drawn out the prince’s rival, hinting for me to spread news of the prince’s mining operations to Divine Fist Sect, so they might confront the prince. Is his father really a hunter? I doubt it! Unless he’s from an illustrious family or a sect prodigy, it’s rare to nurture such exceptional talent."

He glanced at Cao Kaijin’s corpse and departed as well.

This was no place to linger.

Yang Fan traveled under the cover of night, heading straight for the location of the Purple Gold Mine.

Knowing hunters had been captured there, he felt compelled to investigate. From Lou Qingshan, he had learned the general situation.

Martial artists guarded the site.

Quite a few.

But aside from Cao Kaijin, the strongest were only of sixth rank, just two in number.

With his own skills, even if he couldn’t defeat them, escape wouldn’t be difficult.

Traversing mountains, a glow appeared ahead.