The Sorrowmender

Chapter 16 – Autumn-Falling Sword Slash

The newcomer crossed his arms and spoke arrogantly, "My master wants to see you. Come with me."

He spoke as if it were a matter of course, but Xu Qingzhou looked bewildered, his gaze sweeping up and down the burly man before him repeatedly.

"Brother, are you sick or something?"

The man was taken aback, then burst out with crude words.

"How dare you speak like that? I'm perfectly fine, where would I get a disease?"

"If you're not sick, why should I go with you? We're not even acquainted," Xu Qingzhou replied, rolling his eyes at the man.

The newcomer was momentarily speechless, then his expression turned fierce, exuding hostility. "Do you know who my master is?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to know."

Xu Qingzhou opened his folding fan and leisurely fanned himself, lifting a few strands of hair at his temples.

Little Wuyou instinctively moved to Xu Qingzhou's side, her large eyes filled with worry as she watched the burly man warily.

Sensing the disdain and indifference in Xu Qingzhou's eyes, the man's anger intensified. He thought to himself, a mere Acquired Realm, First Layer nobody, holding a fan, really thinks he's somebody.

In front of him, a First Layer of Innate Realm expert, he dared to be so presumptuous, showing no respect. The man cracked his knuckles, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"The world calls you Mister, and you really think you're something. Fine, since you refuse to come with me, don't blame me."

He was already in the business of killing, his nature long lost. To him, people were all the same—those who could be killed and those who couldn't.

Xu Qingzhou before him was someone he could kill, but also couldn't. However, his master never said he couldn't beat him up.

Xu Qingzhou glanced at him, feeling a chill in his heart. He was certain that the man genuinely wanted to kill him. He continued in a lazy tone, "What do you want?"

"Heh—what do I want? If you won't come willingly, I'll cripple you and drag you back."

"I advise you not to. Consider the consequences," Xu Qingzhou said, closing his folding fan, his tone becoming more serious.

"Threatening me? Hahaha, ridiculous. A mere scholar dares to speak to me like that, courting death."

The man's eyes grew colder, his murderous aura violent as he swung his fist, the wind whistling.

Seeing this, Xu Qingzhou gritted his teeth and instinctively shielded Little Wuyou behind him, giving her a quick instruction.

"Wuyou, close your eyes."

In her panic, Wuyou tightly shut her eyes.

At the same time, Xu Qingzhou also clenched his fist, meeting the attack head-on in a flash.

The man saw Xu Qingzhou intending to take his punch directly, his eyes full of mockery.

"Hmph, overestimating yourself."

The next second, the two collided.

With a loud bang, a powerful force centered on the two of them, stirring up a chaotic gust.

The man's eyes flashed with shock as he felt the numbness and trembling in his arm, looking incredulously at Xu Qingzhou, who remained calm and composed.

"How is it possible? How could someone at the Acquired Realm, First Layer withstand my punch?"

In his understanding, this defied logic.

Xu Qingzhou raised an eyebrow slightly, a smile tugging at his lips, grateful he could withstand the punch.

"A frog in a well can't comprehend the vastness of the world. There are many things you don't know, like the fact that you're about to die."

With a sudden exertion of force, Xu Qingzhou's arm strength exploded a second time.

With another loud boom.

The man was shaken by the sudden burst of power, stumbling back seven or eight steps.

In his astonishment, he steadied himself, ignoring the pain in his hand, and grasped the hilt of his sword, ready to draw it for a fight.

Xu Qingzhou said, "If you retreat now, you can still live."

The burly man seemed to take this as an insult, his stubbornness flaring up, his eyes turning crimson. The long sword was unsheathed, its cold gleam sweeping before him. "The last person who dared speak to me like this is long dead."

Xu Qingzhou sighed helplessly, "Then I can't be blamed."

"Pretentious—" he said, raising his sword to strike.

But at that moment, Xu Qingzhou had already charged at him like the wind, a completely azure Azure Edge Sword appearing in his hand at some unknown time.

He focused his gaze, feeling the cold wind on his face, followed by a chilling light slicing through the sky.

"A leaf in deep autumn, all leaves fall here."

In an instant, Xu Qingzhou somehow appeared behind him, the lowered sword edge still exuding a biting chill, suffocating.

"Uh—"

Xu Qingzhou confidently wielded his sword, "A mere brute dares to be so presumptuous, noisy!"

With a clang, the long sword fell to the ground.

The burly man clutched his neck with his sword-wielding hand, his eyes wide, his face gradually contorting, his pupils slowly dilating.

Then he collapsed with a thud, never to rise again, the blood soon staining the floor red.

Xu Qingzhou licked his lips to ease the tension of killing with a cold weapon for the first time.

In his heart, he muttered, "This sword is indeed excellent, and the swordsmanship is strong. For me, at the Acquired Realm, First Layer, killing an Innate Realm, Second Layer is quite easy."

In fact, Xu Qingzhou had another ability: he could automatically comprehend techniques directly rewarded by the System, without needing to learn them. As long as they were rewarded, he could perform them with a thought.

He wasn't sure if obtaining them through the Worry-Free General Store would work the same way.

He summoned the Blue Frost Sword back to the System Space, then slowly walked to Little Wuyou's side.

Little Wuyou still had her eyes tightly shut, her small hands clutching her clothes, her body trembling instinctively.

Nervousness was inevitable, after all, she was only six years old.

Xu Qingzhou slowly reached out, wanting to pat the little one's head, but stopped halfway and withdrew his hand, clearing his throat softly.

"Ahem—" He cleared his throat and said, "Wuyou, you can open your eyes now."

Hearing her master's voice again, Little Wuyou's heart, like a startled fawn, suddenly calmed down, even her tightly clenched hands relaxed.

She slowly opened her eyes.

What met her eyes was the chaotic furniture scattered on the ground, books knocked off the table, a sword mark on the distant door frame.

And—a lifeless corpse on the ground, with a pool of blood turning dark red.

Her pupils contracted suddenly, and she instinctively took two steps back, beads of sweat seeping from her small forehead.

She swallowed hard, trying to calm her nerves, and looked up at her master, who still had deep, serene features, his expression calm and indifferent.

"Are you scared?"

Little Wuyou hesitated for a moment, then shook her head.

"With Master here, Wuyou is not afraid."

Xu Qingzhou nodded slightly and continued in a gentle voice:

"Today, Master is giving you your first lesson. Remember, at any time, when someone harbors murderous intent against you for no reason, if you can kill them, you must do so, regardless of gender, age, or youth. Never be soft-hearted, understand?"

Little Wuyou's eyes flickered, her expression mixed with fear and surprise at first, then confusion and incomprehension. She was still young, not understanding the complexities of the world, but she listened to her master's words.

Her gaze gradually turned firm, and she nodded heavily.

"Mm."

She understood her master's meaning and intentions. This world was inherently cruel, survival of the fittest, with no fairness or justice. If her master didn't kill him, he would have killed her master. Her master was not wrong.

She was an orphan, wandering for three years, experiencing the hardships of the world. She had seen the dead, those who starved or froze to death, but it was the first time she saw someone killed, which was why she was a bit scared, but definitely not terrified.

Because, as she said, as long as her master was there, she was not afraid. Her master was her safe harbor, the mountain before her.

"Good, now go to the street and call Constable Zhang, tell him someone broke in and committed murder."

"I'll go right away."

With that, she walked out with small steps, though she said she wasn't afraid, she instinctively avoided the corpse on the ground.

Watching her small, slightly flustered figure, Xu Qingzhou's deep eyes held a hint of loneliness, "Wuyou, don't blame Master for being too harsh, it's for your own good, considering your future—sigh!"

He had Wuyou close her eyes because he didn't want her to see him kill, after all, she was only six.

He had her open her eyes because in this world, many things were beyond choice, even if she was only six.

Looking at the corpse on the ground, a trace of pity flashed in Xu Qingzhou's eyes, and he muttered softly, "I gave you a chance—"