Chapter 2: Sword Unsheathed

Name:Tome of Troubled Times Author:
Chapter 2: Sword Unsheathed

Dusk.

What remained of the sun was like blood.

Crows were circling around a lone village, their mournful calls interwoven with pained wails, making the place seem more like a demonic hellscape.

Zhao Changhe stood in a daze behind a far away tree, looking at the chaos. Before even regaining his senses from the discomfort of traveling between worlds, a small village on the cusp of being wiped out emerged before him.

Shattered pieces of wood from doors and windows littered the ground; the stinging stench of blood wafted out from every household; in front of doors and outside of windows, corpses were strewn around in disarray; the exposed bodies of women were casually tossed aside by the road, covered in marks of defilement.

Men in black clothes were everywhere, wreaking havoc, pillaging buildings, and plundering riches. Zhao Changhe, with his improved eyesight, could clearly see: a man pulled out a woman onto the street and humiliated her right then and there, while a group of black-clothed men laughed.

So this is the so-called “safe starting location?

As he had appeared in a forest on the village outskirts rather than directly in the village, the marauders had no idea of Zhao Changhe’s presence. He could leave discreetly. This was probably why this place was considered safe.

However, there was one black-clothed man who pulled an ox carrying a bunch of bloodstained riches. He shouted impatiently, “That should be about it. How tasty can these village girls be? The sun is about to set. Kill them all. Don’t leave any future problems around.”

Seeing a black-clothed man raising a butcher’s knife to cut down a child, Zhao Changhe flew into a rage. He could not restrain himself, and grabbed a thick branch lying around before rushing out of the forest.

Come to think of it, why is that broad saber gone now? It was here every time...oh, whatever. Who gives a fuck about safety? This is just a dream! Going on past experience, he would wake up when he died. Then, he could go and ask that blind woman what tricks she was up to!

Bang!

The club hurtled toward the black-clothed man, catching him off guard. His blade was knocked away. Zhao Changhe pressed the attack and swung the club again, hitting the man square in the face. Fresh blood splattered everywhere.

The black-clothed man covered his head, screaming in pain. The rest of his companions looked incredulously as Zhao Changhe quickly grabbed the child, turned around, and dashed away. Winning a fight outnumbered was impossible; saving lives was more important.

A man suddenly sneered, “There are actually still some alive. Kill them.”

The black-clothed men grinned menacingly as they gave chase. With the child in tow, how could Zhao Changhe outrun them? He could clearly “see” behind him. There was a long saber already heading for his neck.

The Back Eye—it’s really working?

Zhao Changhe urgently moved to the side, raising his club to block, but it was immediately split in twain. Though he had swiftly dodged, the saber still cut a long, bloody scar on his face.

With this small delay, the child was cut down by one of the pursuers..

Zhao Changhe could not care about the pain. His mind was blank.

The child was dead... Just like that, his lively form had been hacked to death right in front of Zhang Changhe. He could not save him.

The village looked to be devoid of any life...

“Fuck you!” Zhao Changhe shouted with indignant fury. With the broken club in his hands, he stormed over like a crazed tiger.

“So it’s just a peasant that’s never trained in any martial art. He can only rely on brute strength.” The black-clothed men were all laughing. The man who had been hit in the face earlier dashed over and easily evaded Zhao Changhe’s flailing. The saber in his hand deftly slashed at Zhao Changhe’s neck.

It was over.

The attack was impossible to dodge.

“Zhao Changhe.”

Coincidentally, Zhao Changhe’s surname matched the name of the Zhao House next to them.

Yue Hongling spoke no more and offered a hand. As she pulled Zhao Changhe up, he felt like he was riding on clouds and soaring above mist. He quickly landed on the back of the horse and sat behind her.

Yue Hongling’s graceful, straight back was just inches in front of Zhao Changhe. He could even pick up a faint fragrance from her body. Zhao Changhe, who had been single his entire life, found it embarrassing to let his imagination run wild. He grabbed the saddle from behind, feeling that the dream world he found himself in this time was much more ridiculous than whatever else he’d experienced, with how detailed it was.

There was conversation; there were smells; there was a valiant heroine, carefree in nature—she was absolutely a real person.

The light snow together with the wind felt when riding on horseback were very cold. As Yue Hongling urged on her horse, the ends of her hair lightly flitted across his cheeks. It was a little ticklish.

Apart from the nightmares where he could do nothing but cut people down, he had never experienced such a level of detail in his past dreams.

The cut left by the saber on his cheek still hurt. He reached out his hand to feel the wound. It was full of blood.

Zhao Changhe looked at the blood on his hand. Suddenly, he had a fearful thought: what if this was not a dream?

His thoughts were in a mess. He did not know what to ask Yue Hongling, so he just remained silent the entire journey.

After traveling a few tens of li, vast farmland appeared ahead. It was early winter, and there was no one to be seen in the snow-covered fields. At the end of the farmland was a manor reaching into the distance. The walls of its courtyard were towering, and Zhao Changhe couldn’t even tell how far they stretched. At the center of the road leading to the manor stood a large arch. On it was inscribed in gold, “Luo Family Village.”

Yue Hongling slowed down her horse. Looking at the guard servant in front, she heaved a sigh of relief, “It looks like this village is still in good shape.”

Very quickly, one of the guard servants blocked her path, “Halt, traveler!”

Yue Hongling tugged on the reins, cupping her fists as per etiquette in the jianghu, “Would you please inform the Luo Village Lord that Yue Hongling from Luoxia Mountain Village has come to visit?”

Yue Hongling’s voice was not very loud, yet it was like a morning bell or an evening drum, reaching far far away. Zhao Changhe envied her. This must be her internal force. It was nothing like him, who had almost received internal injuries from being jolted around on a horse...

Without waiting for the guard servant to respond, laughter broke out from within the manor, “Which wind has blown you here today to our manor, Miss Yue? Truly, your presence brings light to my humble dwelling. Open the gates. Welcome our guests!”

The guard servants hastily opened the large gate in the middle. A middle-aged man with a long beard stepped out, smiling as he met them. “Indeed, your otherworldly beauty is like the red sun at dusk illuminating the clouds. Your praise in the jianghu is not without good reason.”

Zhao Changhe groaned, then proceeded to puke his guts out. “Blerghhhh...”

Yue Hongling: “...”

Zhao Changhe did not mean to do it. His first time being jolted around on a horse really made him vomit. If anything, he very much approved of the man’s words—Yue Hongling was really very, very beautiful.

The middle-aged man’s gaze fell on Zhao Changhe, his eyes questioning. “This person is...”

Yue Hongling coughed dryly and helped Zhao Changhe off the horse. She cupped her fists, saying “Village Lord Luo, it is good to meet you again. I come here today because there are some private matters I wish to report. This person here bears some relation to them...”

Zhao Changhe perked up his ears.

On the second card he had drawn at the fortune telling hut there was a jade pendant that apparently pointed to his starting location. However, with that in mind, he found this place baffling. He could not see what relation it had to the jade pendant. Could it be that the private matter mentioned by Yue Hongling had something to do with that?

1. Attire commonly seen in wuxia novels and dramas. Looks like this: /550x/09/0f/1a/090f1ac1d231dfbb8bd88830996c60cd.jpg ☜

2. One li (里) is 500 meters. ☜