Bai Fuzi.

Extremely warming, its flavor is pungent and sweet, and it is toxic.

It can dispel wind-phlegm, calm shock, and alleviate pain.

This medicinal herb has an unremarkable appearance, resembling a weed or a clump of dirt, yet it is unyieldingly firm. Its texture is hard, making it difficult to break.

Zhu Ju lowered his head to study the herb in his hand, then took a few copper coins from his clothes and handed them to the mountain-dwelling herb gatherer.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you, Young Master!"

The mountain dweller thanked him profusely before taking his leave.

Gathering herbs was hard work, and selling them required a trek of over ten li to town, only to fetch a poor price.

For someone to be willing to buy them, and at a good price at that, was enough to save him a full day of toil. Naturally, he was full of thanks.

Finding a smooth stone, Zhu Ju sat cross-legged upon it and stuffed all the herbs into his mouth at once.

"Hooo..."

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, he slowly closed his eyes and silently circulated a Method to regulate his breathing.

Although he had ultimately won his battle against Jiangg Ke, he had not escaped unscathed. It would be no exaggeration to say he was riddled with internal injuries.

Fortunately, his Thirteen Body Refinement had already reached the stage of Perfection, so recovery was just a matter of time and careful recuperation.

As for medicinal herbs...

To be honest, common herbs were of little use to Zhu Ju anymore. At most, they could help regulate his Qi.

Time passed slowly.

An unknown amount of time passed.

A clamor arose in the distance, growing ever closer.

The sounds of battle cries, furious roars, and the clash of metal merged into one, until finally, only heavy footsteps remained.

"GASP... GASP..."

Covered in wounds and drenched in blood, Bai Fu staggered before Zhu Ju, leaning on her Longsword and panting for breath.

Then, her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Master!"

"I don’t take disciples, and you are not my disciple." Zhu Ju opened his eyes and looked down at her.

"It seems a lot has happened to you."

"...Yes." Bai Fu gave a bitter smile, her expression complex.

"I... I have nowhere left to go."

"The world is vast. How could there be nowhere to go?" Zhu Ju shook his head, stretched his Tendon and Bone, and stood up from the rock. He asked casually,

"Which way is Saint Head Peak?"

"That way." Bai Fu struggled to her feet.

"I’ll lead the way for you."

"No need." Zhu Ju strode forward.

"I can find my own way."

With that, he walked away. His pace didn’t seem fast, but with just a few strides, he had already covered a distance of over a hundred feet.

It was as if the very ground was shrinking beneath his feet.

Bai Fu gritted her teeth, glanced at her trembling legs, and followed after him, using her sword as a crutch.

She was a pathetic sight—her hair disheveled, her body cloaked in a blood-soaked robe, and even one of her shoes was missing.

She had endured countless battles along the way and was already utterly exhausted, her steps faltering.

The sky gradually darkened.

Without having stopped for a single step, Bai Fu finally saw Zhu Ju again. He was squatting before a fresh wolf carcass, lost in thought, seemingly contemplating how to turn it into a meal.

"Young... Young Master."

Bai Fu’s eyes lit up. She hurried closer and spoke in a hoarse voice,

"I know how. Let me do it for you."

"Oh?" Zhu Ju turned his head, a hint of doubt in his eyes.

"Are you up to it?"

"Yes!" Bai Fu nodded repeatedly. Her chapped lips bled from just forming the single word.

"I can do it."

Without waiting for a reply, she knelt beside the wolf carcass and began skinning it and carving off the meat. She even used her blood-soaked hands to light a campfire.

Despite her severe injuries, she could still prepare food.

"CRACKLE..."

The wood snapped sharply in the flames.

Bai Fu roasted the wolf meat with great concentration, even taking some seasonings from a small pouch at her waist and sprinkling them on top.

Before long,

the aroma of meat began to drift through the air.

Zhu Ju, sitting cross-legged not far away, opened his eyes, a faint smile on his face.

He was a man who believed that food could never be too fine, nor its preparation too meticulous.

"RUSTLE RUSTLE..."

In the dense forest, the clamor rose again.

"Hurry!"

"There’s a campfire! That Demoness must be just ahead. The Zhao and Che Families are offering a bounty of one thousand silver taels."

"If we kill her, we’ll be rich!"

"Faster!"

The shouts grew closer and closer.

Bai Fu looked up and saw that Zhu Ju’s expression was cold, even slightly displeased, and her heart trembled.

"Young Master."

"I’ll go take care of them right now!"

She stuck the branch skewering the roast meat into the ground, grabbed her Longsword, and charged toward the source of the voices.

"It’s her!"

"The woman who killed the Che Family Patriarch!"

A dozen or so men burst out of the dense woods. Upon seeing Bai Fu, their faces filled with crazed joy, and they charged forward, shouting.

Black Tiger Leaps the Gorge!

The man in the lead, wielding a long saber, leaped high into the air and swung down with his blade.

"SHIING!"

A flash of Sword Light.

The figure in mid-air was like a deflating ball, suddenly losing all strength and falling straight to the ground.

Holding her Longsword, Bai Fu leaned forward slightly, like a she-leopard baring its fangs, and plunged into the crowd.

"SHIING!"

The blade carved a cold arc through the hazy night, and another figure stumbled and fell.

Throat, heart, ankle...

Every strike of Bai Fu’s Longsword targeted a vital point. To be hit by her sword meant death or serious injury.

Injury meant loss of combat ability, which would inevitably be followed by a fatal blow.

Bai Fu’s Sword Technique was simple and effective, her moves having only one purpose: to kill her opponent.

This was highly abnormal.

Sword Techniques designed for killing were not unheard of, but they were far from the norm.

Ordinary Sword Techniques, though capable of defeating an enemy, usually left some leeway, emphasizing stopping once the point was made.

If every move was a life-or-death struggle, how could a sect’s disciples possibly practice?

Would they have to sacrifice their lives for it?

Only someone like Bai Fu, who had stumbled into the Martial World in a daze, could be so pure in her swordsmanship, wielding her blade solely to kill.

That was why she almost never left survivors. It was always kill or be killed.

"PUFF!"

"HISS..."

A saber slashed across Bai Fu’s back, drawing a spray of blood, but her Longsword had already found her opponent’s throat.

The mountain wind blew.

A dozen or so corpses lay scattered on the ground, their tattered clothes fluttering in the wind as still-wet blood slowly pooled.

Bai Fu’s figure was small and slender. The Longsword in her hand trembled slightly, and a mixture of her blood and her enemies’ dripped down the blade.

Under the night sky,

the scene resembled a desolate ink wash painting.

"GASP... GASP..."

Her gasps for air were like the heaving of a bellows.

Her body trembled as she struggled back to the campfire and slowly finished roasting the last of the meat.

"Young Master."

Bai Fu lowered her head and presented the roasted meat.

"Please, have some."

"Mm." Zhu Ju took it, tore off a strip of meat, and popped it into his mouth. He nodded in satisfaction.

"The flavor is excellent."

"Mmm..."

"Your Sword Technique isn’t bad either. It’s become second nature to you. However, your techniques for exerting force are still flawed."

Bai Fu’s eyes lit up, and she quickly raised her head.

"There are six types of force: penetrating, explosive, contending, inch, sinking, and whole. You must wield your force like flowing water, so that your momentum is like drifting clouds."

Zhu Ju leaned against a tree trunk, his voice distant.

"It is the same with Sword Technique. Explosive force for Entering the Body, Inch Force for transformations, penetrating force for collisions..."

"A forward thrust should leave three parts leeway; a horizontal swing should have the potential for another change. This is true for Sword Technique, and it is also true for life."

Shaking his head, he tossed the rest of the meat to her.

"I’m full."

"..." Bai Fu froze for a moment, then knelt and crawled forward to pick up the meat. She kowtowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Young Master."

*

*

*

「Saint Head Peak.」

Saint Head Mountain is the collective name for a mountain range, and Saint Head Peak is just one of the peaks within it.

It was named so because its summit resembles a human head.

Legend has it,

that this great mountain range was formed from the body of a deceased deity, and the deity’s head became the summit of Saint Head Peak.

This was, of course, nonsense.

The proportions were all wrong. The summit was only a few dozen feet across, while the peak itself was thousands of feet tall. If it were a person, it would be a misshapen one.

"This isn’t the place."

Standing at the foot of Saint Head Peak, Zhu Ju shook his head gently.

"The place Fu Xuan visited... it’s not here."

"Young Master."

Bai Fu spoke up.

"Within Saint Head Mountain, only Saint Head Peak is famous. The other peaks have no notable history. Are you certain this isn’t it?"

"If I say it’s not, it’s not." Zhu Ju turned around.

"Which is the highest peak?"

"That..." Bai Fu hesitated.

"I don’t know either, but it looks like it should be the one to the north." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

...

There was a deer in the mountains, a creature prized for its every part.

However, Zhu Ju was only interested in the venison.

Bai Fu expertly started a fire, skewered the venison on her Longsword, and propped it on a forked branch to roast slowly.

The aroma quietly wafted through the air.

"Who’s there!"

Bai Fu whirled around.

"Hee hee..." A figure drifted through the morning mist, her clear, pleasant voice echoing through the woods.

"Sister Bai Fu, what sharp ears you have!"

"So young, and without the guidance of any famous master, yet you’ve managed to make such a name for yourself all alone. It’s truly enviable."

Bai Fu’s ears twitched, and her expression gradually darkened.

She couldn’t tell where the voice was coming from. It seemed to be all around her, impossible to pinpoint.

"Who are you?"

Taking a cautious step back, she slowly gripped the hilt of her sword.

"What do you want?"

"Hee hee..." The voice rang out again.

"No need to be nervous, little sister. I’m here to help you."

"Help me?"

"That’s right!"

The leaves rustled as the woman’s voice continued,

"You must have run into a lot of trouble these past few days, haven’t you, little sister?"

"Big sister can tell you, your troubles are only going to increase. Have you thought about how to avoid them?"

"You can help me?" Bai Fu’s expression shifted slightly.

Because of the bounty from the Zhao and Che Families, people had been entering the mountains to hunt her down one after another, and her assailants were getting stronger and stronger.

Just as she had said before, there was no longer a place for her in this world; she had nowhere left to go.

As for Zhu Ju...

Aside from a few words exchanged during meals, he had never once taken the initiative to help solve her problems.

"That’s right!"

The woman’s voice said,

"I can solve your current predicament and even help you get revenge by killing the members of the Zhao and Che Families."

"Hmph!" Bai Fu snorted coldly at her words.

"You hide your face and conceal your presence. Why should I believe you?"

"SHIING!"

A white figure flashed ahead, and a veiled woman appeared, her white robes fluttering in the wind.

An object shot toward her.

"THWAP!"

Bai Fu reached out and caught it. It was a Token.

The woman spoke.

"This is called the Red Blood Order. It is the token of a Core Disciple of the Red Blood Sect. With this, you can travel freely across several provinces."

"The Red Blood Order?" Bai Fu’s face changed drastically.

"You’re from the Red Blood Sect?"

"Indeed." The woman nodded.

"My name is Dugu Feng, and I am one of the Three Capitals Guardians of the Red Blood Sect."

’Dugu Feng?’

’The Three Capitals Guardians?’

Bai Fu looked utterly bewildered.

She was not, after all, a person of the Martial World. She didn’t understand the significance of that surname or the title of Three Capitals Guardians.

The Red Blood Sect, on the other hand, she had heard of.

"Fiends of the Red Blood Sect!"

Bai Fu tossed the Token back the way it came.

"I don’t want your things!"

"Tsk, tsk..." Dugu Feng clicked her tongue, but she didn’t insist. She caught the Token and floated backward gracefully.

"You will accept it."

"Hmph!" Bai Fu snorted.

"Never!"

With that, she squatted down and continued roasting the meat.

But it seemed her troubles were more plentiful than usual today. Just as the meat was cooked, another voice came from behind her.

"Blood Poison Sword Bai Fu, we’ve finally found you!"