A Man in the Snow: Starting with a Sword Challenge to the Northern Liang Prince's Palace

At the hour of Mao (5-7 AM), it was still dark.

Several people were already standing inside the east gate of the city. Ye Yun leaned against the wall of the city gate archway, a wine gourd tucked into his waistband, and four flying swords hovering at his sides, the bloodstains on the blades still not wiped clean. Standing next to him were three old sword cultivators, all over sixty years old, with gray hair and wrinkles on their faces as if carved by a knife.

One was surnamed Liu, another Zhao, and the third Sun. They were all former subordinates of Dong Bude, who had fought alongside the old man, guarding the city, drinking, and cursing together. After Dong Bude died, they came to the tavern, drank to their hearts' content, and left, never to return.

The three people stood in a row, sizing up Chen Ping'an as he walked over.

Chen Ping'an was dressed in gray cloth clothes, with an ordinary iron sword hanging at his waist and a cloth bundle on his back containing dry food and water. He walked up to Ye Yun and nodded: "Boss Ye."

Ye Yun grunted in agreement and gestured towards the three old sword cultivators: "Uncle Liu, Uncle Zhao, Uncle Sun. Old Dong's old brothers."

Chen Pingan turned around, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Three seniors, I am Chen Pingan, please take care of me."

Old Liu snorted but didn't reply. Old Zhao sized him up and down, his lips curling downwards. Old Sun was the most direct, turning to Ye Yun and saying, "Boss Ye, isn't bringing along a novice who's never left the city just causing trouble?"

Ye Yun ignored him and pushed open the city gate: "Let's go."

The five people left the city.

Outside the city lay a desolate wasteland. The land was cracked and barren, littered with the footprints and droppings of demonic beasts. In the distance, black smoke rose, the direction of the demon camp. A stench of decay permeated the air, like rotting flesh mixed with sulfur.

Three old sword cultivators walked ahead, deliberately walking very fast. Chen Ping'an followed behind them, unhurried and steady in his steps. Ye Yun walked at the very back, carrying a gourd of wine in his hand, taking a sip every now and then.

After walking for about an hour, Old Man Liu looked back and saw that Chen Ping'an was still following, his expression unchanged and his steps steady. He frowned slightly.

"Young man, is this your first time leaving the city?" Old Zhao asked.

Chen Pingan: "The first time."

Old Zhao: "Are you scared?"

Chen Pingan thought for a moment: "I'm afraid."

Old Zhao scoffed, "Are you afraid of me? Why are you coming?"

Chen Pingan: "I'm afraid they'll come anyway."

Old Zhao didn't ask any more questions.

After walking for another half an hour, Ye Yun suddenly stopped and raised his hand to signal everyone to stop.

He crouched down, pressing his fingers to the ground. The ground trembled slightly, rhythmically, as if something was moving.

"Ahead," Ye Yun said in a low voice, "less than two miles. There are seven or eight of them, and one of them is quite strong."

The three old sword cultivators immediately entered battle mode, drawing their swords and spreading out. Old Liu was in front, Old Zhao on the left, and Old Sun on the right, forming a triangular formation with each of them about three zhang apart.

"Chen Ping'an, stand at the back," Old Liu said without turning his head.

Chen Ping'an didn't move.

He stood two steps behind Old Liu, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his eyes fixed ahead. A row of black dots appeared on the distant horizon, rapidly growing larger—they were demon scouts.

There were five wolf demons, three leopard demons, and the leader was a half-human, half-beast monster. It had a human-like body but two curved horns on its head, dark red skin, and carried a bone knife.

Nascent Soul Realm.

Eight demons, one at the Nascent Soul stage and seven at the Golden Core stage. For the three old sword cultivators, it wasn't too difficult, but it still required some effort.

"I'll lead the way," Old Liu said in a low voice. "Old Zhao and Old Sun, you two cover the flanks. Boss Ye—"

He turned around and found that Ye Yun had retreated ten feet away, leaning against a rock, opening his wine gourd and taking a sip, looking like he was watching a show.

"Boss Ye, you—"

"You guys fight," Ye Yun said, "I'll watch."

Old Liu cursed, but before he could say anything more, the demons had already rushed up to him.

The lead, horned monster was the first to pounce, its bone knife aimed at Old Liu's head. Old Liu raised his sword to parry, the bone knife striking the sword, sparks flying, and the impact forced him back two steps. He was startled—this monster was much stronger than he had anticipated.

Old Zhao and Old Sun were entangled by other monsters and couldn't break free for the time being. Old Liu couldn't hold out alone and was being hacked away by the horned monster, forced to retreat repeatedly.

"Damn it!" Old Liu gritted his teeth. "Old Zhao! Come help!"

Old Zhao was entangled by the two wolf demons and couldn't break free, so he kept cursing in frustration.

Just then, a figure swept past Old Liu.

Chen Ping'an.

He didn't shout, he didn't yell, he didn't even make a sound. He simply drew his sword and charged forward.

A flash of sword light.

That sword strike was swift. Not the flashy kind of swiftness, but the clean and crisp kind. There were no superfluous movements; drawing the sword, thrusting it out, and sheathing it were all done in one fluid motion.

The horned monster's bone knife stopped halfway up.

A thin line appeared on its neck. The line grew thicker and thicker, blood seeped out from it, and then the entire head slid off its neck, fell to the ground, and rolled twice.

He was still standing, his bone knife still raised in his hand, when he collapsed to the ground with a thud after two breaths.

The remaining seven demonic beasts were stunned for a moment.

Chen Ping'an wasn't stunned.

He turned and charged at the nearest wolf demon. The wolf demon reacted just as it opened its mouth to bite, but the sword had already pierced its eye socket. The wolf demon howled and collapsed, convulsing.

The second one.

A leopard demon pounced, moving with the speed of a black shadow. Chen Ping'an dodged to the side, his sword slicing through the leopard demon's abdomen, ripping it open. The leopard demon crashed to the ground, its intestines spilling out, still struggling.

The third one.

Seeing the situation was dire, the last wolf demon turned and ran. Chen Ping'an gave chase, catching up in three strides, and plunged his sword into its back, the tip emerging from its chest. The wolf demon took two steps, then collapsed to the ground, motionless.

In seven breaths, all seven Golden Core Realm demonic beasts were killed.

Chen Ping'an stood amidst the corpses, covered in blood, clutching an ordinary iron sword in his hand, the blade stained with blood that dripped down. His breathing was a little rapid, but his hand and eyes remained steady.

The three old sword cultivators stood there, mouths agape, unable to close them for a long time.

Old Liu was the first to react. He sheathed his sword, walked up to Chen Ping'an, and looked him up and down. Then he reached out and patted him on the shoulder.

"Excellent swordsmanship," said Old Liu. His voice was a little dry, as if something was blocking his throat.

Old Zhao walked over, looked at the corpse on the ground, then at Chen Ping'an, opened his mouth, and finally only said one sentence: "Kid, you've really never killed a demon before?"

Chen Pingan shook his head: "The first time."

Old Zhao took a deep breath and said nothing more.

Old Man Sun was the most honest. He squatted down, examined the horned monster's corpse, plucked off its two horns, wrapped them in cloth, and handed them to Chen Ping'an: "Take this back as proof. The Hidden Official killed a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator on his first trip out of the city; that should shut those people up."

Chen Ping'an took the cloth bag and thanked him.

Ye Yun walked out from behind the rock, glanced at the corpses scattered on the ground, and then at Chen Ping'an. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, a very faint smile that was almost imperceptible unless you looked closely.

"Let's go," Ye Yun said, "Let's go back."

On the way back, the attitudes of the three old sword cultivators changed a lot.

Old Liu initiated a conversation with Chen Ping'an, asking how long he had been practicing swordsmanship and who his teacher was. Chen Ping'an replied that he had been practicing for ten years without a master, just practicing on his own. Old Liu didn't believe him but didn't press the matter.

Old Zhao handed his water pouch to Chen Ping'an, offering him a sip of water. Chen Ping'an took it, drank a mouthful, and then returned it. Old Zhao, not minding that Chen Ping'an's lips had touched it, drank directly from his own mouth.

Old Man Sun was the most direct. He walked up to Chen Ping'an and walked alongside him, asking, "Chen Yin Guan, can you teach me your sword techniques? I've practiced swordsmanship for forty years and have never seen anything so clean and efficient."

Chen Ping'an smiled and said, "Senior Sun, you're too kind. I was just hacking around recklessly."

Old Sun spat and said, "You think you can cut that angle by just randomly chopping? You're not being honest."

The group chatted and laughed as they walked back to the Sword Qi Great Wall.

When he entered the city, the guards at the city gate were startled to see Chen Ping'an covered in blood. Then, when they saw the two curved horns in the cloth bag at his waist, their eyes widened.

"A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator? You killed him?"

Chen Ping'an nodded without saying anything more.

The news spread quickly. When Chen Ping'an arrived at the tavern, there were already people waiting there—not to cause trouble, but to inquire about news.

Chen Ping'an ignored them, walked into the tavern, and sat down at the counter.

Ye Yun followed him in, took a pot of "Longing" tea from the shelf, poured a bowl of it, and pushed it over.

Chen Pingan picked up the glass and took a sip, frowning at the bitterness: "This wine is too bitter."

"How did it feel to kill a demon for the first time?" Ye Yun asked.

Chen Ping'an held the bowl, staring at the amber-colored liquid inside, and thought for a while.

"It doesn't feel good," he said.

Ye Yun didn't respond, waiting for him to speak.

Chen Pingan took another sip, the bitterness spreading in his mouth, astringent: "Before killing, I didn't feel anything, I was just thinking about how to draw my sword. After killing them, looking at those corpses, I suddenly felt... they were alive too."

He put down the bowl and looked at his hands. There was still blood on his hands that hadn't been wiped clean, and dried scabs were embedded in his fingernails.

"But he deserves to die," he said. His voice was soft, but firm.

Ye Yun looked at him and suddenly remembered that many years ago, someone had said the same thing. That person had returned from killing a demon for the first time, and sat in front of him in the same way, holding a wine bowl in the same way, looking at his own hands in the same way, and said, "It's not easy, but it was necessary to kill."

That person is Li Yufu.

Ye Yun pushed the wine pot over: "Have another bowl."

Chen Pingan poured himself a bowl and gulped it down. The bitter and spicy flavors rushed up, making him cough several times.

"Boss Ye," he wiped his mouth, "is there any patrol tomorrow?"

Ye Yun: "Yes."

"I'll go again."

Ye Yun looked at him: "Aren't you afraid?"

Chen Pingan thought for a moment: "I'm afraid. But if I go more often, I won't be afraid anymore."

Ye Yun didn't speak. He leaned against the counter, watching Chen Ping'an finish the wine in his bowl, watching him stand up, watching him hang up the Hidden Official Token again, and watching him walk towards the door.

"Peace," Ye Yun called out to him.

Chen Pingan turned around.

Ye Yun opened his mouth, as if to say something, but in the end he only said, "Don't be late tomorrow at 5 a.m.

Chen Pingan smiled and said, "I understand."

He pushed open the door and went out.

Ye Yun stood behind the counter, tapping her fingers on the tabletop, tap, tap, tap.

He thought, "Li Yufu, did you see that? This kid is even more clueless than you were back then."