Jin Tianwang woke up in a bed inside a bamboo room. Sweeping his eyes around, he saw that all the furniture was made of bamboo. Everything was arranged simply. Doors and windows were made of bamboo without oiled paper screens, so one could see through to the outside. The smell of bamboo still lingered. He believed this house was built not long ago.

  Inside the room, besides Jin Tianwang lying on the bed, there was another tall, broad-shouldered man. This tall, large man was about forty or fifty years old. He had a beard reaching his chest, and his mouth appeared only as a thin line. His thick eyebrows were straight lines. His nose was high and prominent. His eyes, though not huge, expressed bravery. Overall, he had the appearance of an extremely upright and steadfast man. In his hand, he held a blade. On the scabbard, there was a metal carving of a hawk spreading its wings. The hawk's eyes were decorated with two red gems, looking as if it were truly alive.

  Jin Tianwang felt a sense of relief upon seeing the tall, large man. He spoke up, "Uncle Zhang, you have saved me once again," while pushing himself up to sit, cupping his hands in a gesture of gratitude.

  "You are injured quite a bit. Lie down and continue resting."

  "Uncle Zhang sees that I am that useless."

  "Tianwang, right now in the martial world, there are loud rumors that you have become a lecherous bandit."

  "This is merely someone teasing me."

  "It is the Frostflower Maiden, Han Yuexin." Jin Tianwang spoke with a small laugh,

  "I expect it is her."

  "There are no decent people in the Han clan. I say you should stop getting involved with her."

  The Frostflower Maiden, Han Yuexin, was actually the daughter of the Heaven-Equaling Peak, Han Zhaoming, or the leader of the Virtue Association, who was accepted as the leader of the Orthodox Martial World. The Han clan had been famous for two generations. Han Xiaozhi, nicknamed the Sage of the Eight Corners, was a supreme expert in internal energy in the martial world and and the father of Han Zhaoming. The father and son of the Han clan played a significant role in suppressing the Demonic Sect fourteen years ago. The current peace in the martial world seemed to owe a debt of gratitude to this father and son pair.

  "When I find her, everything will surely end well."

  "Some believe that you already killed her at the market in Jingling City."

  "At Jingling City, I did kill a woman, but it was not Han Yuexin."

  The long-bearded man looked at Jin Tianwang with a concerned expression and said, “This woman is extremely vicious toward you. You should not associate with her anymore.”

  "In truth, I intend to do just that." Jin Tianwang, speaking to this point, suddenly felt a bit dizzy again.

  "You lie down and continue resting."

  "Li Sibei, this person did not waste the training received from Uncle. His blade skills are extremely vicious."

  "The kid knows no good or evil, daring to lay a hand on you. I cut off the master-disciple relationship with this person long ago."

  The Reckless Blade, Li Sibei, was a top expert in blade mastery, widely praised among martial artists for his skill. The long-bearded man was none other than Li Sibei’s former master. In fact, he was far more renowned than his disciple, for he was the Blood Hawk, Zhang Zhufan, whose reputation stood on equal footing with Heaven-Equaling Peak, Han Zhaoming. The two celebrated prodigies of the past had now become middle-aged men, yet not only had they not declined—they were even stronger than in their youth.

  Among the martial world, there was a saying: “One Supreme Mountain, Two Red Hawks Soaring the Sky. Sweeping eyes across the land, finding no equal.” It was a phrase praising the two supreme experts of the age. Yet because Han Zhaoming’s name was always mentioned before Zhang Zhufan’s, this alone had long been a source of dissatisfaction for the Blood Hawk.

  The Blood Hawk, Zhang Zhufan, was a blade-wielder who acted as he pleased, rampaging through the land for over twenty years, never submitting to anyone. Fourteen years ago, he was one of the important experts who dealt with the experts of the Demonic Sect at that time.

  "Uncle cut ties with Li Sibei already."

  "Correct. Six years ago, he dared to rampage at Meiyi's wedding."

  "The wedding day of Meiyi, Uncle's daughter."

  "Correct. The kid did not know his place. I accepted him as a disciple, yet he dared to disobey my orders."

  Jin Tianwang seemed to connect the story himself through memory. He remembered that Li Sibei, who was Zhang Zhufan's head disciple, had secretly fancied Zhang Meizhen, Zhang Zhufan's daughter. However, as the young man and woman grew up, she naturally entered a marriage ceremony. But Zhang Meizhen did not marry Li Sibei; instead, she married the son of a district magistrate. Although Jin Tianwang did not attend the wedding, he later visited and greeted Zhang Meizhen, so he had heard some of this story. On that day, Li Sibei went so far as to attack and injure the groom. Zhang Meizhen thus became a daughter-in-law detested by her husband's parents. Jin Tianwang felt no small amount of regret for the fate of a woman like her.

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  Zhang Zhufan seemed to think of his daughter's fate as well. His body suddenly trembled with anger. His breathing was heavy, causing the household items inside to shake along with it.

  Zhang Zhufan’s internal energy had reached a terrifying level; even his breathing alone seemed to carry immense force. The objects inside the house trembled faintly with each heavy breath. Just moments ago, he had crossed blades with Li Sibei. Though he had forced the younger man back, the power hidden within that strike left a slight tightness in his chest. Upon reflection, he could not help but feel shaken—Li Sibei’s skill might no longer be far beneath his own.

  "The stories of the past have all passed. Uncle Zhang should worry about his own health."

  "How can the skill of that beast surnamed Li compare to you? If only you intend to, you can still kill him in a single move."

  "I have no grudge against him; why must I go through the trouble of seeking him out?"

  "He hurt you to this extent; it counts as deserving death."

  “Li Sibei is merely an unfortunate man,” Jin Tianwang said quietly. “When I think about it, I am not much different myself.”

  “Why compare yourself to him?”

  “Because both he and I were born to humble fates.”

  Jin Tianwang was also an orphan, living in the forest and mountains until he grew up. If he thought to marry a woman, he feared he would face rejection just like Li Sibei. Inside Jin Tianwang's heart, he felt no small amount of sympathy for Li Sibei. Thinking to this point, Jin Tianwang felt exhausted, closed his eyes, and finally fell asleep.

  Zhang Zhufan, seeing Jin Tianwang asleep, walked over to sit on a bamboo chair he had made himself. He then controlled his breathing to circulate his internal energy to heal his internal injuries. Just a moment ago, he had clashed blades with Li Sibei once. Although he could push the kid back, the power latent in that blade of Li Sibei made Zhang Zhufan feel slightly oppressed in his chest. Reviewing and guessing, he feared that Li Sibei's skill did not differ much from his own right now. This was a matter of no small shock.

  Zhang Zhufan thought in his heart, "Is the kid getting stronger, or am I getting old?" Circulating his internal energy to this point, faint red smoke began to rise above his head. The air near dawn is usually extremely cold. Inside the bamboo house, candles were needed for light. The cold wind blew through the doors and windows into the interior, causing the flames on the candle tips to flicker, which in turn caused the shadows of people on the wall to flicker as well.

  Inside the room, there were two people. One person lay straight on the bed, while another sat by the window. It was an extremely lonely time until a voice rang out from the person sitting by the window.

  "How long will you pretend to be asleep?"

  The person lying on the bed continued to breathe steadily like a sleeping person.

  "You know well that I am not the old man surnamed Zhang."

  "In truth, you two have blade auras that are very similar." The person lying on the bed spoke, his voice clear, not like a sleeping person at all, yet his eyes remained shut.

  "I and him are no longer related."

  "Even your words are spoken similarly."

  "You know well that I was once his disciple."

  "But we only met for the first time last night."

  "You are the person whom the old man surnamed Zhang must go to meet in the tenth month of every year."

  "You also know this matter."

  "I only know that when Meiyi was eight years old, she followed her father to travel in the tenth month. After she returned, she was unexpectedly quite good to me."

  "Meiyi came to see me at eight years old? I have forgotten this matter."

  "In the past, I even thought of thanking you."

  "In truth, the two of us seem like close relatives."

  "But today, having met you, I understand why Meiyi was pleased with that district magistrate's son."

  "Brother Li should let the past pass."

  "That district magistrate's son unexpectedly resembled you greatly."

  "There is such a thing..." "Therefore, I decided that I must kill you." "Up to now, why have you not struck?"

  "Because a feeling tells me that if I strike, it will still be me who blunders."

  "I myself am not confident that I will be faster than the blade in your hand."

  “You deserve to die by this blade,” Li Sibei said coldly. “And I deserve a wife.”

  Jin Tianwang let out a faint laugh. “So if you kill me, you gain a wife? What kind of twisted logic is that?”

  “She promised to marry whoever can kill you.”

  "She likes to speak teasing words. Brother Li cannot take them seriously."

  "The words of Han Yuexin, daughter of Han Zhaoming, cannot be trusted."

  Jin Tianwang, upon hearing Han Yuexin's name, felt his still-closed eyelids twitch once. Li Sibei, who was staring constantly, suddenly had a smile appear at the corner of his mouth. When experts clash, the state of mind is a crucial factor. Li Sibei had found what made Jin Tianwang's heart shake.

  "Brother Li, leave like this. I am extremely familiar with Uncle Zhang's internal energy. My feelings tell me that Uncle is about to arrive." Jin Tianwang tried to stop his distracted thoughts. Right now, he was lying straight, at an extreme disadvantage. Li Sibei was trying to throw his mind into turmoil and would strike the instant he opened his eyes — the moment when sight replaced sound as his primary sense. Li Sibei was waiting for that moment. Jin Tianwang was trying not to let that moment happen.

  "I do not think to be a son-in-law of the Han clan. However, Han Yuexin is rumored to be the number one beauty in the martial world. If only I spend several nights with her, I will then leave." Li Sibei continued to speak provoking words to Jin Tianwang.

  Jin Tianwang's face twitched, accompanied by wrinkles between his eyebrows caused by the knitting of both brows.

  "You are so foolish in love." Li Sibei suddenly felt Zhang Zhufan's internal energy approaching. After finishing his words, he hurriedly leapt through the window.

  Jin Tianwang suddenly rose, shouting after Li Sibei, "Love is not a foolish thing!"

  A violent gust of wind rushed into this small bamboo house. All household items seemed to float up slightly. The figure of the tall, large man with the chest-length beard appeared, speaking in a fierce voice, "You are still safe, right?"

  Jin Tianwang sent a smile to Zhang Zhufan. The clothes on his back were soaked with sweat that had flowed while facing Li Sibei just a moment ago.