With the Blade-Chapter 50 - 47: Why We Live, Why We Kill

Riding on horseback, Du Chengfeng and He Xiqing gazed at each other from a distance.

This was the first time he truly saw this mortal enemy.

Even though he had seen He Xiqing countless times while sharpening the weapons of the prairie riders, it wasn’t until this face-to-face encounter that he realized how superficial those memories were.

Only now, only when their eyes met, did he truly feel this strength.

"So strong..."

Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but exclaim.

So when he saw He Xiqing charging over again, Du Chengfeng turned his horse without hesitation and dashed away.

Although directly engaging in a fierce battle would seem more courageous, he wasn’t foolish enough to fight an unbeatable opponent. Swinging a blade at a strong enemy indeed signifies bravery, but knowingly fighting a losing battle only indicates a lack of sense.

Thus, when He Xiqing pursued, Du Chengfeng fled.

When He Xiqing stopped pursuing, Du Chengfeng turned his horse back.

He had to go back, for he couldn’t let go of He Xiqing.

Of course, he couldn’t defeat He Xiqing himself now. But apart from He Xiqing, could he not kill those ordinary prairie soldiers, even those with Evil Qi in their bodies?

The fact was, he could still kill them.

Moreover, his killing had become increasingly smoother.

He could kill more.

He could still kill more.

"More, I need more..."

On horseback, Du Chengfeng murmured to himself, his eyes gradually turning bloodshot.

Fortunately, just as Du Chengfeng could hardly contain himself and nearly spurred his horse forward, He Xiqing in the distance had already led his men back to Jizhen City.

Du Chengfeng could even vaguely see the distant He Xiqing, with a fierce gaze suppressed with hatred.

This made Du Chengfeng breathe a sigh of relief.

Let him glare all he wants, as long as he doesn’t come over—he even had to thank He Xiqing for gathering those prairie soldiers into the city.

After all, this act caused his increasingly piercing killing intent to lose its target.

"Truly... dangerous."

Tightly clutching the reins in his hand, Du Chengfeng let out a long breath.

Just a moment ago, he had nearly succumbed to the urge to kill and charge out on his horse.

After killing those prairie soldiers, both he and the weapons in his hand became stronger, but the Evil Qi from the slain prairie soldiers was far purer than ordinary slaughter—which, even though Du Chengfeng had long managed not to be affected by Evil Qi while sharpening blades, at this moment, when facing the purer Evil Qi, he barely maintained basic sanity to prevent himself from going mad and rushing to his death.

It truly would have been a death wish; though he had indeed grown stronger, this irrational strength was impossible to use against the monstrous He Xiqing.

Chaotic voices echoed in Du Chengfeng’s mind, almost driving him insane.

"Kill them! Kill them! Aren’t you already strong? Why not go up and kill them?"

The voice in his head urged him, and even Du Chengfeng himself started to feel that going up to kill them was the most heroic action.

"Why not kill? Why not kill them? Is it because of your indecisiveness? Or are you a saint who wouldn’t harm anyone?"

No, it’s not like that.

On horseback, Du Chengfeng desperately clutched his head, struggling to resist the influence of the voices in his mind—but this effort was ultimately futile as the voices resounded from the depths of his heart.

"The Yang family wanted to kill you, did you not kill them? Yang Sanlang wanted to assassinate you, didn’t you spare him? And at the market, the sword seller who deceived you, the swordsman Cui Yuan who ambushed you after sharpening the sword...you haven’t killed any of them, you don’t even want to stain your hands with blood. Why? Because of your cowardice? Your weakness?"

Hiss...

With a splitting headache, Du Chengfeng fell off his horse, scattering a heap of weapons from the saddlebag onto the ground.

He had to kill, had to prove himself that he wasn’t weak or cowardly, that only blood could wash away the shame, and only slaughter could forge a steel-like will. Only by killing, killing everyone, killing everything before him, tearing everything alive to shreds!

"Kill, kill, kill, kill..."

Muttering some indistinct words that even he couldn’t hear clearly, Du Chengfeng, eyes bloodshot like twin ghost fires, reached for the weapons made for killing.

It was then that Du Chengfeng grasped a familiar handle.

It was the Heavy Great Saber.

Feeling the familiar texture under his palm, Du Chengfeng paused suddenly, his bloodshot eyes flaring.

"What am I... doing?"

Du Chengfeng looked down at the Heavy Great Saber in his hand.

"Do you have something to say to me?"

With a clang, the Heavy Great Saber fell on his foot.

The heavy iron clanged against his foot, almost fracturing Du Chengfeng’s bones.

But it was this sharp pain that abruptly halted the chaotic voices in Du Chengfeng’s mind.

Even though the peace lasted only a moment, it was enough for Du Chengfeng to regain some awareness.

"It’s Evil Qi invasion! An extremely severe Evil Qi invasion!"

In an instant, Du Chengfeng assessed his current situation.

But all he gained was this brief moment to gasp, and as soon as he made that judgment, the chaotic voices surged again, humiliating him in every way, urging him to kill, as if blood and death were everything in this world.

Under the echo of those voices repeated over and over, Du Chengfeng’s consciousness is already teetering.

But the second wave of intense pain comes from beneath his feet.

It’s the flames rising from the blade of the saber, fiery and mixed with a rich scent of alcohol, and under the scorching flames, Du Chengfeng’s already injured foot is now experiencing piercing pain.

This instinctively makes Du Chengfeng pick up the great saber.

The weighty great saber in his hand inexplicably reminds Du Chengfeng of that chaotic night, where he too was like this, his mind filled with the bloody aura of evil qi, almost driving him to slaughter everything before him.

Yet he did not do it.

Du Chengfeng very much wants to say, it’s because that’s not what he desires, he wants a settled and happy life, a peaceful existence, but he doesn’t even need those noisy voices to remind him, he’s already aware this reason stands no ground.

If he merely wanted a peaceful life, a settled happiness, then he could have fled, fled to the south, to the heartland of the Great Chen, away from the fires of war at the border, only then could he truly live a quiet life.

But now, his choice is to stay, to remain and fight those prairie armored warriors.

"You revel in it, don’t you?"

The voice in his heart rises again.

"So why not prove yourself? Why not wash away your shame with blood! Why not kill all the Yang family! Why not annihilate Yang Fortress! Why not slaughter everything you see!"

"Because, because..."

Taking a deep breath, Du Chengfeng looks down at the great saber in his hand.

And the dancing flames on the saber seem to respond to him.

"They are not qualified for us to draw our blade."

At this moment, Du Chengfeng seems to feel what this great saber wants to express.

No need to argue, no need to deny, call it disdain or arrogance, this is what they have done, it’s part of them.

Just like the previous holder of this saber, the fat Yang with the tiger fanatic name.

How could a tiger wandering in the mountains care about a few mosquitoes?

"Is this really how you think..."

Du Chengfeng gently strokes the great saber in his hand.

Fingertips passing through the firelight, like stroking some lazy large feline.

Once tasted the bloody thrills in Yang Fatty’s hand, and so fond of slaughter, why would such a saber, a bloodthirsty thing like a tiger, willingly be worshipped in a small shrine in a border village?

"Because what we ultimately want is nothing more than to waste away."

At this moment, Du Chengfeng’s mind is connected to the great saber.

What they want is really not complicated, a little courtyard of their own, where they can plant date trees or pomegranate trees, during the day, read under the shade of the trees, or do what they like, in the evening, sharpen the blade under the moonlight, or practice a few punches before going to sleep. Maybe they can raise two cats, and a dog, if such a place exists, perhaps they could live a lifetime in it.

"So, you know..."

Saying so, Du Chengfeng raises the saber.

"Those that do not hinder us, those that cannot harm us, let them go to hell."

The heavy saber blade bursts with intense flames.

"But those that block our path, must die!"

Buzz——

With the sweep of the blade, intense flames scorch everything within three zhang.

That’s the power of evil qi in the blades.

Also, his own power.

"My saddle bag!"

Snapping back to reality, Du Chengfeng shouts, hurriedly starting to extinguish the fire.

Fortunately, the angle of his swing was relatively high just now, his saddle bag on the ground had fortunately only been singed by the flames, and the luckiest of all was the warhorse, which miraculously avoided the saber edge, its head not cleaved by the blazing saber blade of over a zhang long.

"So, I am... eh?"

After hanging the saddle bag back onto the horse’s back, Du Chengfeng notices those noisy voices urging him to kill quickly have disappeared at some point.

Even his eyes, reddened by evil qi, have returned to clarity.

"I am..."

Looking down at the great saber in his hand, Du Chengfeng suddenly has an epiphany.

"So this is the way to harness evil qi..."

Tightly gripped the saber blade, Du Chengfeng gazes at the fiery saber edge igniting in front of him.

Understanding why he lives, even if this resolve is as hard as iron, it can only temporarily maintain clarity, free from the influence of evil qi.

But to truly harness evil qi, to tame those thoughts of slaughter, to use this massive force of malice for oneself, one must possess, another more important firmness.

That is, why to kill.

"We have understood completely."

Mounting the horse, Du Chengfeng carries the great saber on his shoulder, gazing into the distance at Jizhen City.

"And you? For what do you kill?"