Chapter 330: Grace Is Easy to Forget, but Grudges Are Hard to Let Go (6)

The Green Forest had spread its influence across all of the Central Plains—and with that, it had amassed considerable numbers.

On top of that, it secretly housed quite a few experts, and because of that, a wide range of martial arts techniques had been gathered.

That alone would’ve been enough for them to be recognized as one of the leading forces in the Central Plains.

But?

Reality said otherwise.

First off—they were just a bunch of damn thieves. A vile group of scumbags.

And then—there was a fatal flaw unique to the Green Forest.

A truly wise person has no reason to become a bandit.

Put another way—if someone is a bandit, it means they were either born wrong or they're so bad at managing themselves that they got chased out, and either way, they’re fundamentally screwed.

And with wisdom usually comes intelligence.

Usually. Not always, but most of the time.

****

“So like, beep beep beep beep, attention, beeep beep, beeep beep, that’s right side? Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep—wait, was it? Maybe not? Beep beep beep beep BEEP BEEP—?”

“Wasn’t the right side beep beep BEEP? Or was it beep BEEP beep?”

“For fuck’s sake, can’t you just yell ‘BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP RIGHT!’? If you’ve got ears, you’ll hear it. What the hell is there to memorize so much for?”

Flag signals and hand signs were discreet—but you had to see them.

Whistles and drums were loud—but if your ears were open, you could catch the info no problem.

Both had one major flaw: the sender and the receiver had to memorize the prearranged codes beforehand.

Teaching it could drive a person insane.

“FUCK! You braindead fucks! That’s it, I’m done!”

That’s why even the Green Forest’s signal system had been getting dumber and dumber. Simpler and easier to memorize.

Even the most critical signal—enemy attack, request for urgent backup—got dumbed down.

“Just blow the fucking whistle with all your fucking might! Like you're choking on a tit—blow so hard anyone knows something’s gone to hell!”

And so, ever since Moonlight Sword No. 10 made its first debut, the shrill, violent whistle had been blaring non-stop through Qing’s single-sword rampage.

Those locked in combat might have gone numb to the noise, but for the bandits lounging around the mountain hideout, it was annoying as hell.

“Who the hell’s blowing that thing like a maniac?”

“Guess they’re bored.”

“Shit, what—people only sleep at night? Some of us nap in the day too, you know. Ever heard of consideration?”

It was an old Green Forest tradition that daytime guard duty be split into pairs—senior naps while junior keeps quiet watch.

So yeah, if someone was napping, you were supposed to respect that.

Some jackass was now interrupting a brother’s sleep.

That’s why it took a while before they realized it was an emergency signal.

The guards frowned. “That beeping's coming from... Yukrak Peak? Who’s over there? Which guy was stationed there?”

Then suddenly—

“Wait, is this... isn’t this the emergency signal? Enemy attack?”

“Huh? Nah, no way. Probably just someone bored—”

BWEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

The senior bandit’s expression went pale.

“Shit. Something is happening. What do we do? What do we do again?”

“Should we ring the bell?”

“What if it’s nothing...? No, fuck it—ring it. But I don’t know anything, all right?”

“Oh, then I’ll just monitor the situation—”

“You coward little shit, you’re not ringing it? Want me to crack your skull open for you?!”

And that’s how the alert bell went DING DING DING—gather up, what the hell, why’s it so damn loud, wanna die? No, wait, the whistle—the what? Whistle?

Oh shit, something really went down!

Once you received a signal, you had to send one back.

Yes, going. Or no, can’t go.

Unless there were unavoidable circumstances, refusal wasn’t an option. The expected reply was we’re coming—hold on.

So a signal arrow was fired.

CRACK!!!

A sound so painful it made your spine shiver.

Everyone instinctively flinched.

Even the guy blowing the whistle so hard his eyes were about to pop—he froze. Mesmerized by the majestic showdown between man and rock.

But this was still the primitive, barbaric ancient era.

Man was not yet ready to conquer nature.

Humanity would one day rip open forests, level mountains, raise global temperatures, turn green fields to desert, and scream: “Nature! THIS is the greatness of mankind! You don’t listen, the ecosystem dies! You caused a tidal wave again? Fine—here, take two decimal points’ worth of sea temperature increase. If you wanna survive, lower the temp and obey us.”

Such aggressive environmentalism was still a long ways off.

Anyway—this match? Hmm. Call it a draw?

The great chief was slumped on the ground, limbs twitching faintly—so apparently not dead.

And the boulder was unharmed.

A mutual survival draw seemed the fairest result.

Suddenly under a spotlight, Qing instinctively denied responsibility.

“I—I didn’t do it! You all saw, right? He was running away like a coward, tripped like an idiot. I didn’t push him! It’s not like I’m someone who shoots energy blasts out of my hands—okay, yes, I can shoot them, but I didn’t this time! I threw a hairpin and missed, that’s ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) it! I wasn’t even gonna kill him, just take him hostage and mess with him while I escaped—”

“Master!”

The sub-chief snapped back to reality and rushed to the great chief.

Seeing him limp and his head flopped to one side, Qing quickly shouted.

“Wait! His neck’s broken! If you move him now, he’ll die! You’ve gotta stabilize it with a brace and carry him on a stretcher, gently—gently!”

Qing was a trained female physician, certified by none other than the Great Langjung himself.

Which meant—at the very least—she could play country doctor in some podunk town.

But the hearts of the Central Plains were not kind to female doctors. Even the Great Langjung, being a man of the Central Plains, couldn’t openly acknowledge her as one.

Thus—female physicians could only emerge when their status outranked the prejudices of society.

For example—Tang Nana, backed by the Tang Clan of Sichuan.

Anyway—the moment the sub-chief heard the words he’ll die, he quickly set the great chief down.

His head now bulged like a mountain from the crown. It looked ridiculous. He needed treatment, fast.

Panicked, the sub-chief asked urgently:

“Ah, uh—how do we put the brace on?”

“That’s your problem. Am I supposed to do everything for you? Are we that close?”

“Wait, he’s actually—”

“Ugh! I’m so fucking done! Why don’t you ever do anything on your own? What do you even think I am? I came here to fight, not to play your mommy! I’m tired, okay?! We’re DONE—!”

“Wait! Just hear me ou—!”

“A warrior speaks with a blade! I’ll teach you how to apply a brace with a sword! Open your ears! My sword—it’s going in—fuck, my hand, it’s going in!”

As Qing yelled, she raised her knee high to step into True Awakening stance.

Fweeeeeooooo—

A strange sound pierced her ear.

It was a signal arrow, also called a command arrow. A specialized projectile with a whistle-like tip instead of an arrowhead, or a hollow shaft that howled when wind passed through.

What the hell? I don’t like this—

Fweeeooo—! Fweeeooo—! Fweeeooo—! Fweeeooo—!

Before Qing could finish her thought, the sound rang from all directions—north, south, east, west—blasting through the sky in endless waves.

Qing, who’d been about to leap forward, slowly lowered her posture and began inching backward.

Then asked—quietly:

“Mm. Just asking, but... that thing doesn’t happen to be, like, some kind of whistle too, right? Heaven-Net Formation, or whatever? Like, a signal that someone’s heading this way?”

“Y-yes! Save the Young Master now! If you do, you might still be spared—!”

“Aaah, fuck. It’s real, isn’t it.”

There were too many sounds for it to be ignored.

And coming from every goddamn direction?

At this rate, hundreds could come swarming in for real.

Too bad—but the game ends here. Can’t even throw a proper party before wrapping it up.

Qing made up her mind.

Time for a strategic reverse assault!

She launched herself backward.

The sub-chief shouted, panicked.

“Fuck! Catch her!”

Qing grabbed the skewer impaled in the body on the ground.

Welcome back, Moonlight Sword!

With Moonlight Sword (Tenth Edition) once more in hand, she slashed down the incoming attacker.

The five-jin hunk of a brutal weapon sliced clean through a man’s torso.

Five jin might not sound like much, but with a cold weapon, that weight is monstrous.

Even the huge two-handed greatswords used by those big-nosed westerners don’t go beyond four jin.

And here she was, wielding a five-jin longsword one-handed.

Add Sword Aura to that, and it became a vicious, sweeping force—violence in the shape of a blade.

If it caught an arm—off went the arm. A leg—off went the leg. A torso? Cleaved in two.

Even weapons weren’t spared—one bastard lifted his axe with both hands, only to be cut in half along with the haft, tumbling left and right.

Wow, this thing cuts way too well.

They said Half-Grandpa wasn’t forging anymore—but turns out he still had tricks up his sleeve.

The sharper the blade, the more... thrilling it got.

Simple motions—downward slashes, upward slashes.

One bandit staggered on his feet, but her relentless strikes turned his arm into fine ribbons.

Shk shk shk shk. Slivers of flesh, delicate enough to feature in some bizarre art exhibit, stacked neatly on the ground.

This was... ah, seriously. Hoo... hoo...

Qing wobbled a bit, momentarily dizzy from the rush.

Whsssh! Something flew in—flooding her senses from all directions, like it was wrapping around her in every compass point—

There was a sharp slicing force that split the air.

Chk chk chk—a sound like something snagging and cutting repeatedly.

And then—her body was wrapped.

Wait. That familiar feeling—fuck. A net.

But Qing wasn’t the same girl who used to flail helplessly in nets.

She whipped her body, still tangled, and sent the sub-chief flying. The bandit who lunged in seized the moment—only for his shoulder to crack and collapse completely, his arm going limp.

Still—a net was annoying.

Every time she moved, she heard a snap snap snap of something tearing.

But wherever it snagged, the thick glue-sealed ropes clung like slime.

She stomped hard into True Awakening, but her next step got caught.

The net yanked at her shoulder with force equal to her own.

She staggered. With monstrous strength she barely avoided collapsing, tearing the net as she stumbled.

Then—WHAM!—something struck her back.

Clink!—the sound of shattering metal. Her back suddenly felt wet, like something had been splashed over her.

What the fuck was that? Sticky—what the hell? WHAT WAS THAT?!

Qing’s eyes gleamed with feral light.

Did these bastards just throw something on me?

She dropped her sword completely and grabbed the net with both hands, yanking it apart with frantic irritation.

Tearing the twisted rope like blades of long grass—what a goddamn sight.

“Shit! THROW ANOTHER NET!”

“We’re out!”

“What do you mean out?! You’re supposed to carry three!”

Technically, each patrol unit was supposed to carry three nets.

But nets were heavy as fuck.

If you actually packed three, you'd just end up looking like a fully equipped infantryman from Qing’s home military and get laughed at.

“Attack! ATTACK HER!”

“But—”

All around Qing, there were limbs and torsos scattered in bloody chunks.

It was a grotesque scene that crushed the will to fight out of anyone.

“All together—KILL HER!!”

The sub-chief shouted and charged in.

Good momentum.

But no one followed.

From Qing’s perspective—this was about what bandit camaraderie amounted to.

But the sub-chief didn’t notice.

Internal Energy blazed around his greatsword—the overwhelming force of a Peak Expert’s desperate blow came crashing toward her.

Qing, in the middle of tearing apart the net, naturally lifted her pale, elegant hand.

A rush of joy surged in the sub-chief’s chest.

Yes! I’ll cut that hand off!

I’ll be the one who kills Ximen Qing!

In the brief instant as the greatsword bore down, the Supreme Patrol Officer’s voice echoed in his ears—something about granting any wish.

A promotion? Maybe I’ll split off and lead my own mountain stronghold? Gold? Women? The daughter was quite the beauty, wasn’t she—

But that fantasy ended fast.

CLANG!

The sub-chief’s eyes widened in disbelief.

That was a full-powered strike, wrapped in a Peak Expert’s Internal Energy, swung down with every last ounce of muscle and weight.

But it slid harmlessly along her slanted wrist like it was skating down steel, throwing up sparks.

His heart plummeted.

He should’ve known—the way she’d raised her hand to catch the blade, with not a second of hesitation...

Then came the pale hand that clamped down on his wrist.

The sub-chief looked at Qing with trembling eyes.

Qing’s gaze met his—eyes glowing with a dreadful light, a feral gleam burning behind her face cloth.

In that moment, the sub-chief stared straight into the world’s most ominous Demonic Fire.

“AAARGH!!”

That brute strength clamped down on his wrist.

The scream burst out without thinking.

No way a human’s skin and sinew could survive a grip that could crush iron.

Qing closed her fist completely.

Squish.

Something warm and soft bulged between her fingers.

Oh, this feeling—dear god.

The sub-chief’s greatsword hit the ground.

And his severed right hand, still clutching his wrist, tumbled down beside it.

As he screamed, clutching his crushed stump, the bandits around him broke into panic—and all at once, turned and ran.