Ignoring the burnt and/or mutilated corpses and ruins around him, not wanting to look at them any longer, Yang Wu slowly carried Wu Ling's corpse outside the city. She had a grieving wound on her chest, probably caused by a sword. Her death wasn't a peaceful one...
He had no expression on his face, not expressing sadness or rage. But the truth was... He forcefully blocked his feelings the moment he saw Wu Ling's lifeless body.
As he walked, he noticed a few people like him wandering, sad and heartbroken. They are wounded and abandoned by the cruel reality. The more time passed, the more cries surged throughout the city.
Outside the city, Yang Wu simply continued walking with Wu Ling in his arms. He was going to Fang City's main graveyard. He found many carrying corpses on the way, either on carriages or in their arms, just like him.
But he didn't ask about what happened to anyone, he simply reached the surroundings of the graveyard and began to dig a pit with his own hands. It was below a cherry tree.
After digging three meters deep, way deeper than necessary, he carefully put Wu Ling inside, muttering, "Ashes to Ashes, so it is."
He climbed outside with ease and began to fill the pit with the earth he dug. After that, he picked a random stone, big enough to carve a short memorial, and used the butcher knife along with his Qi to carve a few words.
"Wu Ling, wife of Wu Chen and mother of Wu Ming. Friend of the Yin family," was all that he wrote, he fixed the stone firmly on the ground.
"I'm sorry for not finding you a proper coffin, but I..." he muttered, "My heart cannot bear it."
Since the first time he met her, he had the feeling she was very similar to a woman he once met in his first life, his mother. She had the same temperament and very similar appearances. They even had the same loving eyes.
And the same way, he once had to bury his mother with his own hands. At that time, he was turned into a killer machine, messing up the whole world in his search for revenge, killings hundreds of people with any small relationship with her death.
"I'm sorry, again," Yang Wu continued, "But I can't do the same thing to you. I don't want to repeat my past mistakes." After saying that, he got up and wiped the dust on his clothes.
"But I will be sure to find the master culprits behind the attack on Fang City," Yang Wu made an oath, "I won't let them be. My heart can't bear it."
After burying Wu Ling, Yang Wu began to gather information from the other survivors. He interrupted their grieving and mourning, and asked question by question.
But the survivors of the attack only knew the city was attacked without any alarm, as a sudden lightning struck the earth. No one saw it coming, and very few identified the culprits.
"The Sun Duke's rebel army," Yang Wu muttered to himself and stopped asking more. He knew the people there were just commoners and wouldn't know much anyway.
He already got the direction the rebel army went, so he simply stole a horse for himself and began to pursue the rebel army.
...
"Captain, we are tired," the soldier complained, "We have been in a hurry for days." His body was at its limit, threatening to break down at any time.
Mu Chen looked at his underlings with cold eyes and explained, "If we stop, we die!"
"Captain, the royal army is too far from us!" the soldier wanted to continue complaining but the cold eyes of his superior made him shut his mouth.
Mu Chen snorted and began to urge the other soldiers to continue marching, they weren't allowed to rest!
"Keep up!" he shouted, "When we arrive at the stronghold, we will have plenty of time to rest!" His cold times gave no time for his underlings to murmur and complain to him. But it was easy for him, he was mounting a horse, while most of the soldiers were walking.
The army he was part of was five thousand strong, one of the main eight rebel armies under Duke Sun. It was growing strong while feeding on the commoner's dissatisfaction with the court.
But this time they made a risky move. They went too far away from their comfort zone, far away from the duke's territory, and struck where no one expected.
Of course, their goal wasn't simply to pillage a small city...
"Captain! An unknown person is coming towards us!" a soldier reported to him, his face had a strange expression, as if he saw an unimaginable thing. He pointed to their back, there on the horizon a lone figure was coming close.
"Huh? A lone pursuer?" Mu Chen was surprised, it was rare but not without precedent. Many victims of war could lose their reason and go after revenge, knowing it was their end.
"Just put an end to him if he doesn't explain his intentions," the captain ordered with caution.
The soldier proceeded and stayed behind while mounted on a horse, waiting for the figure to catch up.
After a few minutes, Yang Wu reached him but didn't attack right away. "Bring me to your superior!" he ordered, "I bring bad news!"
"Who are you?" the soldier asked, not lowering his guard, "Don't get closer!"
"Fear not, comrade!" Yang Wu lifted his arms high, "I have no weapon on me, not even armor!"
The soldier analyzed him from low to high, galloping around him a few times to be sure. "Tell me the news, I will bring it to my superior."
"Don't make things difficult for me," Yang Wu smiled bitterly, "I really can't say my identity or purpose to anyone lower than an army captain."
The soldier raised his eyebrows and analyzed the situation for a moment. 'This man has no weapon or armor, what kind of risk can he pose?'
"I can bring you, but you need to allow me to bind your wrists with a rope," the soldier gave a condition, "If my superior allows it, I will free you."
Yang Wu refreshedly allowed the soldier to bind his wrists together with a tight rope and galloped with him toward the marching army with haste.
"Captain! I brought the pursuer!" the soldier explained to the captain, "He said he couldn't tell his identity or purpose to me."
Mu Chen approved the decisions of the soldier, and said, "You did well." He nodded after seeing the bonded wrists of Yang Wu.
"Who are you?" the captain asked with bewilderment.
"I'm Yin Zhe, one of the many under the duke's flag," Yang Wu calmly made up a fake identity, "Can we talk without so many unnecessary ears?"
"I trust my men!" the captain refused with a snort, "Just say what you meant!"
Yang Wu looked around and was amused by the sight of many armed soldiers looking at him intently. Their spirit was unified, a sign of discipline.
Seeing Yang Wu dozing off, the captain was about to reprimand him but was scared shitless when he saw the tight rope binding Yang Wu's wrists simply shattering and flying far away.
"I was thinking of gathering more information, but I guess my heart is lacking patience," he said leisurely and jumped off his horse, "But it doesn't matter, I already saw the one I want." And not only that, but he also saw that the army wasn't bringing along any prisoners.
"Get him!" the captain shouted and the soldiers didn't hesitate. But because they were exhausted from the long march and the recent battle, they were as slow as snails in Yang Wu's eyes.
Their swords and spears moved intently with strong murdering intent, but Yang Wu didn't avoid them and instead used his hands with concentrated Qi Blood to shatter the blades in the weapons. Scaring everyone enough to destroy their morale.
"Monster!" Mu Chen was the first to gallop too far away, leaving the soldiers without a leader. But because they are inside the marching army, others noticed the movement and the whole army began to gather its strength.
But it wasn't effective, Yang Wu just needed to scare the soldiers with his inhuman strength and their morale would collapse. And of course, the leaders of the army had no courage to fight him either.
He didn't need to defeat the army with strength, so he defeated it with an overwhelming show of strength, shattering every bit of intent they had to fight him.
They began to call him "monster," "evil soul," and other names. But he never stopped his steps towards his goal, the army's commander.
Every army commander in that world had a distinguished pattern in their armor, alongside the coat of arms. It was very attractive to one's eyes, and by coincidence, Yang Wu saw him just as he approached the army from behind.
The commander had nice-looking shining armor and a sword, and his helmet was full of exotic feathers. He attracted more attention than the prostitutes of Fang City's red-light district. So it was almost impossible for Yang Wu to miss him.
The commander, seeing Yang Wu was looking at him, immediately pissed himself and galloped in the opposing direction, not caring about the army he was supposed to command more than his own life.
Seeing their commander running away, the thousands of soldiers lost their last standing and desperately ran away as well.
Yang Wu sneered and kicked the ground as he circulated his Qi Blood to use a martial foot technique called 'Thousand Leaves Dance.'
It was as graceful and chaotic as the autumn leaves dancing with the wind, it was lethal when used in battle, making it difficult for the enemy to precisely foresee one's movements. And when used to run away or pursue others, although it wasn't as fast as other extraordinary techniques, it was economical on one's Qi Blood.
The desperate commander, still to notice the tail behind him, simply galloped in a straight line through a vast clean field. It was truly a helping hand to his pursuer, who didn't need to avoid obstacles while keeping sight of him.
Yang Wu approached him within five minutes and stroke the commander's horse's leg with a sword he caught from a soldier just a while before. With a single sword's swing, concentrated on his Qi Blood and his outstanding experience, he sliced the horse's leg in half.
The horse cried in pain and fell to the ground heavily, crushing the commander's right leg with its weight, making him cry in pain more than the horse.
"Leave me alone!" the commander cried full of tears and dirt on his face, "Don't devour my soul!"
"That's a first for me!" Yang Wu sneered with a laugh, "It's the first time someone believes I'm capable of eating souls."
Looking at the pained hose, Yang Wu sliced its neck with his sword to end its pain but didn't deal with the commander the same way.
"I can let you go if you answer a few questions of mine," Yang Wu said with a simple smile as he gently helped the commander to free his leg, "But you need to tell me the truth, otherwise it will be bad."
"It will," the commander gulped a mouthful of saliva, "be bad?"
"Hehe," Yang Wu laughed and patted his shoulder, "You should know I do not need to lie to you, just tell me the truth and I will let you go."
The commander took a whole minute to calm his breathing enough for him to talk normally, "Just ask, I will answer everything!"
Yang Wu smiled gently and said his first question, "Who ordered your attack on Fang City?"
"It was the duke, it wasn't my intention, but I had no choice!" the commander answered and kneeled on the ground with his huge body, "Please pardon me!"
"You are quick to catch on!" Yang Wu grinned, "But I wasn't lying to you before. I will let you go as you answer truthfully."
"R-Really?" the commander asked with a doubtful voice.
Yang Wu smiled and shattered the sword in his hand with ease, "Do I look like someone who needs to lie?"
The commander hesitated for a moment and said, "It wasn't my idea, it was the duke's order. And I had no choice but to agree!"
"Oh!" Yang Wu nodded, "Do you know where the duke is supposed to be right now?"
The commander gulped again and said, "In his territory, he is the commander of the First Army and First Cavalry. His location was never a secret, so you can ask other people too."
"Okay," Yang Wu continued, "Last question, why are you guys still alive and kicking? Is the Court of this State made of fools?"
"This..." the commander smiled bitterly, "I only know that the court is afraid of something, only the duke knows the precise information."
Yang Wu raised his eyebrows for a moment before dissipating his curiosity in a flash, and just as fast... the commander's head fell to the ground. He was given no chance to notice Yang Wu's intentions and had no chance to beg for his life.
"I don't lie..." Yang Wu muttered, "My ass."
He looked at the sky and sighed, " Well, just one more, I guess."
...
"My Lord!" a fully armored man entered the main tent, "I bring bad news from the Fourth Army!"
Duke Sun, a man of small stature but sharp aura, looked at him with a grave expression and said, "Say it, don't try to sugarcoat anything!"
"The Fourth Army," the man took a deep breath and reported, "Was destroyed."
The tent, full of high-patent military, fell into deadly silence.
"What happened, exactly?" Duke Sun asked without much of a change in his expression.
"The few soldiers that returned said..." the man hesitated, "That an evil monster attacked them, killing their commander."
Duke Sun immediately changed his expression after hearing it, and asked, "Was it a beast or a human?"
"They said it was a human-shaped monster... or evil soul," the man explained, "But it was probably a trick used by the enemy to destroy their morale."
After hearing it was a human, the Duke's expression turned even graver than before, and he simply got up from his seat and began to walk in circles.
"A human-shaped monster..." he muttered to himself, "But the imperial court has no spare strength to do it..."
"Get him! Don't let him get closer to the main tent!" shouts interrupted his train of thought.
From outside the tent came the sounds of weapons clashing and shattering, along with the cries of fear and shouts of "monster," and "evil soul!"
"What?" Duke Sun's expression changed gravely and he didn't hesitate to run outside the tent.
Just as he left, he saw a human jumping and evading formations of soldiers toward his location. When he saw that the so-called "monster" was truly a human, he panicked.
Not hesitating any longer, he threw his armor and weapon on the ground and began to run away desperately. But unfortunately, he was already spotted by Yang Wu, who recognized the commander pattern on his armor.
Yang Wu jumped again and landed on the head of a paralyzed soldier before jumping again and evading another formation. He was not strong enough to defeat a whole army, but he didn't need to anyway.
In just a minute, he caught Duke Sun by his neck and whispered in his ear, "Just for revenge." It was the last thing Duke Sun heard before dying from having his neck crushed.
Looking at his bloodied hand, Yang Wu sighed and then proceeded to easily avoid the army's pursuit. It can be said that this army was way better trained than the last one, but it didn't change the results much.
After that battle, Yang Wu returned to Fang City. It was still in the preliminary stages of reconstruction and not many people were on the streets. Most of its population was either killed or was scared enough to run away and not return so soon.
Yang Wu spent some days searching but found no trace of Yin Kong or Wu Chen and his daughter. He first thought they managed to run away and would return after a few days, but... a whole month passed by, and they gave no sign of existence.
Yin's manor was reconstructed by Yang Wu alone. And after a whole month of effort, it had no sign of the previous ruins.
Yang Wu spent the days like that, rebuilding the manor and searching for Yin Kong and the others.
A year passed, and the manor was already finished and flourishing with various flowers Yang Wu planted. But it still lacked the people.
Yang Wu was almost certain they died somewhere, without a proper burial. He spent his days drinking and practicing martial arts. But because of his gloomy state of mind, he had no proper progress.
But his peaceful life was suddenly interrupted by an envoy from the Ling State's royal court.
"I greet the mighty one," the envoy kneeled and prostrated himself outside the manor and waited for a reply that didn't come. But he was not in a hurry.
Seeing the insistence but humbleness of the envoy for many hours, Yang Wu decided to give him a chance to speak, "Come inside." His voice echoed from inside the manor.
The envoy sighed in relief and got up from the ground, "I'm sorry for interrupting your peaceful life!" He said as he again asked to be forgiven.
"Stop those meaningless words," Yang Wu snorted, "Otherwise don't bother to enter the manor."
The envoy entered the manor after taking off his shoes, as a sign of respect.
Seeing the manor had no one but Yang Wu, the envoy was surprised. He thought Yang Wu would at least have maids to take care of him.
"I will give you a minute to speak what you want," Yang Wu interrupted his train of thought, "If you speak more than one minute, I will make sure you regret it."
The enjoy gulped and quickly adjusted his state.
"Mighty one, I'm the envoy from Ling State Royal Court, ordered by His Majesty the King to come and invite you to the capital," he explained his purpose, "But if it is a bother, please excuse this little one for interrupting your peaceful life."
He spent less than a minute speaking and waited for Yang Wu's reply with his head low, not daring to look at him.
"Hmm," Yang Wu wondered for a moment before asking, "Say, what your king has to offer for me to bother going there?"
The envoy was happy he wasn't sent away immediately and answered, "His Majesty is willing to part with any treasure in the vault for your short stay in the capital."
"The royal treasure vault?" Yang Wu was moved, perhaps he could find something useful for him.
"Fine, bring me there," Yang Wu refreshed and agreed, patting the envoy's shoulder with enthusiasm, "You sure came here in a comfortable carriage, right?"
The envoy was trembling in fear, he heard ominous tales about this "mighty one."
"I shall obey the mighty one!" he simply maintained his head low and spoke with the utmost humbleness.
Yang Wu found it funny and laughed, it was a rare laugh.