Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

On the surface, she appears to be just a young girl all alone, with a slender and delicate figure, as if she would fall over with a strong wind—naturally, she would attract the covetousness of others.

Therefore, even though Xi Heng carried a sword as a deterrent, he still encountered many thugs and bandits who came to rob him along the way.

Some came in groups of three or five, while others even came in groups of dozens.

Those bandits and the people Xi Heng had just killed had no difference in appearance or gaze; in Xi Heng's eyes, they were all people who could be killed.

So, in just one day, she had already killed dozens of people.

"Kill one man in ten steps, leave no trace for a thousand miles..." As Xi Heng approached the city gate, he recited a few more lines of poetry.

Arriving at the solid city wall with almost no gaps, the girl looked up at the archer above who was drawing his bow and nocking an arrow.

She took the bundle from the donkey's neck, gathered her strength, and used her light-footed movements to climb the wall one after another.

"Halt!" Upon seeing this, the archer above immediately drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

Xi Heng didn't respond at all; he simply climbed the short, four- or five-meter-high city wall in just two or three steps.

When I stepped onto the city wall, the city gate guards hadn't even drawn their bows yet.

She gave a soft scoff, and seeing the leader of the guards shoot a sword at her, she immediately drew her own and charged forward to slash—

The sword flashed red light for a moment, met the arrow in mid-air and cut it in two, slicing the long shaft cleanly in half as well.

"I've reached the Great Perfection of Ming Jin, don't waste your energy," Xi Heng said calmly after deflecting the sword strike.

The guards on the city wall dared not fire any more arrows until the leader of the guards waved his hand down, and everyone put away their weapons.

A martial artist who has reached the peak of Ming Jin is a general of a thousand men even in the army of the Great Zhao, and is not someone that their few dozen archers can deal with.

"What brings you here, heroine?" The archer commander breathed a slight sigh of relief upon seeing that Xi Heng harbored no hostility, and asked.

"I came across this city and decided to stay for the night." Xi Heng said simply, then went to the other side of the city wall, stepped into the air, and fell down.

His body slid down naturally under gravity, kicking up a cloud of dust as he landed.

She patted the dust off her clothes and saw that the city was completely empty.

Outside, there were throngs of constantly clamoring refugees, but inside, it was quite desolate.

A cold, gray city wall separated the warmth and desolation from the outside world, making Xi Heng feel as if he were walking in a deserted place.

"I killed another person, but I still couldn't sense any change in the sword intent..." She sighed softly, "I was clearly very serious when I swung my sword."

She killed so many people along the way to protect herself, yet her understanding of the sword intent in the darkness only increased slightly.

If one wants to hone their sword intent to reach the level of hidden strength through this method, it's unknown how many people they would have to kill.

“I’m afraid even a thousand wouldn’t be enough…” Xi Heng shook her head. She didn’t enjoy killing, but she felt it was necessary.

She wasn't a psychopath who enjoyed killing.

Although he had killed so many people, Xi Heng didn't think he was a bad person, probably.

"Speaking of which, I'm tired of riding the donkey." Xi Heng looked around and muttered to himself, "Are there any stables in this city...?"

She wanted to buy a horse to ride, but the city in front of her looked quite desolate, and the shops with various signs on both sides were all closed.

After walking slowly for a long time, we finally saw some shops that were open for business, and there were some pedestrians on the road.

Many of them were disaster victims who had somehow managed to sneak in, looking exhausted and carrying their families and belongings.

Their situation was better than that of the refugees who were crowded together and camped outside the city, but even if they entered the city, they would be subjected to all kinds of difficulties.

Xi Heng hadn't walked far when he saw another group of men who were slightly stronger than average, with solid steps and postures. They seemed to have practiced some martial arts. They surrounded the refugees entering the city and extorted so-called protection money from them.

"Just three taels of silver?!" The leader's expression turned fierce. "You dare to try and fool me?"

"Gentlemen," a man with the appearance of a poor scholar said tremblingly from the family of four surrounded by the crowd. "Jinshi City is big, and there are many rich people in the central city, but my family is really just a commoner."

"When we left the city, we were first robbed by thugs from a powerful family, and then we encountered bandits. If we hadn't abandoned our valuables and run away quickly, we wouldn't have been able to save our lives. Now that we've reached the edge of the city, we have to give the informant five taels of silver before they'll let us into the city... We've been ripped off all the way here, and we're really penniless... Please have mercy on us!"

His eyes were lifeless, and he clasped his hands together, bowing and praying to the person in front of him as if worshipping Buddha.

"No money? If you have no money, what are you carrying?!" The other person suddenly waved his hand, and several people behind him skillfully rushed forward, grabbing at the bundle on the person in front of him.

"This, this is worthless, it's not money!" the man cried out, clutching the package he was carrying tightly.

"Give it to me!" The leader reached out and yanked, tearing open the bulging blue-green coarse cloth with a ripping sound.

First, several old books that looked quite worn fell to the ground, then pictures rolled up with thin wooden sticks, and then a mahogany memorial tablet and a Guanyin statue fell down.

The porcelain Guanyin fell to the ground, but only made a few soft rolling sounds; it did not shatter.

The burly leader grabbed several books from the ground, flipped through them several times but couldn't find any silver notes or leaves hidden in the compartments. He then glared angrily and said:

"Where's the money?!"

"This is the account book...this is the family tree, there's no money, no money left!" The man's legs went weak after being yelled at, and he trembled so much that he almost knelt on the ground.

"What good are you if you have no money!" The burly man grabbed a few tattered books and slapped the man on the head like a slap: "Get lost!"

"Yes, sir! We'll be going right away, we'll be going right away..." the man said in a humble voice. He picked up the books and Guanyin statue scattered on the ground, and hurriedly left with his wife and daughter behind him.

The family members were naturally trembling and refused to utter a single word.

They had only taken a few steps when another shout came from behind: "Wait!"

The man paused, slowly turned his head, and his expression turned into a smile that was more painful than crying:

"If there's anything else you gentlemen need, I'll do my best to help, as long as it's within my power."

“Not bad, but I don’t need you to do anything.” The burly man approached and squatted down next to the little girl the man was leading.

"Daddy, I'm scared..." The little girl remained motionless, her voice trembling.

The man next to him gritted his teeth, slowly squatted down, and reached for the knife hidden at his waist.

“Young scholar, you are now destitute and you won’t get anything good by taking this child with you. At most, you’ll only get some coarse tea and simple food every day…” The burly man reached out and wiped the mud off the girl’s face that was used to cover her features. Seeing that her features were neat and clean and that there were not many flaws in her appearance, he pinched her mouth, glanced at her teeth and tongue, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Why don't you hand her over to us and let her work as a maid in a wealthy family? She can eat some vegetables and meat every day, and that would be a good use of her natural good looks."

“No…” the man immediately shook his head.

After watching for a while, Xi Heng covered his lips and slowly yawned.

The unmasked breathing attracted the attention of one of the thugs, who gave Xi Heng a threatening look.

"Twenty taels of silver," the burly man said, then patted the little girl on the shoulder.

"I won't sell it for any price!" The man gritted his teeth and mustered his courage to stand in front of the girl.

"Thirty taels." The man's tone remained unchanged.

"Impossible!" The man's voice finally regained its strength.

"We, the Iron Water Gang, follow the rules, but if you're unwilling to follow them, then there's no way we'll follow them." The burly man's voice grew colder as he clenched his fists together, making several dull cracking sounds as he projected an imposing aura.

The threatened man suddenly turned around, pulled a sharp knife from his chest, and with bloodshot eyes and gritted teeth, began to fight the burly man in front of him to the death.

The blade whistled through the air, and the thug was stunned and had no time to react before the tip of the blade pierced his chest.

With a snap, the blade pierced less than half an inch into the bone before becoming lodged there.

Enraged, the thug punched the man directly in the chest, sending him flying and crashing to the ground.

He then grabbed the screaming girl, spat at the man on the ground, his face dark, and said nothing.

"Speaking of which, I paid forty taels of silver for a donkey yesterday," Xi Heng remarked, watching from behind. "Human life is truly worthless at times like these..."

"Who?" The burly man carrying the girl immediately turned around and saw a woman in a gray-red outfit approaching.

Xi Heng carried a sword, holding the scabbard in her left hand and gripping the hilt in her right, as she walked towards five or six martial artists who were much stronger than her.

"Who goes there? State your name!" The other party shouted, recognizing that Xi Heng's footwork and posture indicated he had martial arts training.

"The one who will kill you." She unleashed a murderous aura without restraint, chilling those around her to the bone.

The opponents immediately assumed a fighting stance, clearly indicating that they sparred regularly.

"Are you looking down on my Iron Water Gang?!" the burly man asked with a stern face.

"Iron Water Gang? Never heard of it." Xi Heng casually waved his left hand: "I was just passing by and killed a few people on the way. There's no discrimination involved."

Having said that, she immediately took a step forward and flew closer, and in the blink of an eye, her right hand deftly drew the long sword from its sheath.

The blade traced a thin line between the blade and the scabbard's edge, and in the next instant, the sword tip drew a red line through the air, accompanied by a sharp, piercing sword cry.

The longsword trembled slightly as it fell, and the red thread had already severed a head.

The round head was blown by the gust of wind and fell backward.

It hit the ground with a thud.

Immediately, streaks of blood appeared on the chests of several other thugs beside him, the very spots where they stood being slashed by the red lines slashed by Xi Heng.

The girl heard the thuds of people falling to the ground and slowly exhaled.

She remained in the position after swinging her sword, closing her eyes to intently sense the impact of the strike.

At this moment, she finally vaguely felt the so-called sword intent in her heart.

There was indeed a certain intent in this sword strike, unlike the previous killings that resembled entrapment on the road.

"Is this the intent of the sword..." Xi Heng thought to himself, trying to discern this mysterious and profound intent of the sword.

But the sword intent was like a fleeting thought that quickly faded from her mind, and she was unable to truly grasp it.

However, after sensing the sword intent through this, Xi Heng gradually understood why his previous killings had little effect on improving his sword intent, while this time he could clearly feel it.

It was precisely because his previous deliberate attempt to attract attention and ensnare thugs, which resulted in the beheading of them, was actually an unnecessary and mechanical act of killing.

Sword intent is not some mystical or elusive thing; it is simply a spontaneous feeling of connection between the person and the sword that arises in one's mind when wielding the sword.

The previous killings failed to resonate with the sword intent precisely because those sword moves contained no intent at all.

In the beginning, it was just like setting up bait when hunting, then gathering the prey together in an iron cage, and then killing them one by one with a sword.

Although he used a sword, Xi Heng did not truly pour his heart into it.

Even if you act serious and earnest before killing someone, clasping your hands together and bowing in prayer, the words "intention" and "heart" are simply absent; you cannot lie.

Unlike before, this sword strike was a natural act of helping someone in need.

Just as a seed planted in damp soil will inevitably sprout, she, upon arriving here and witnessing this scene, will inevitably wield her sword against the enemy—it's all perfectly natural.

Although Xi Heng could ignore these people and leave by detour, the sword intent had already been fixed and condensed the moment he spoke, even before he drew his sword.

After wielding this sword, one's mind will naturally be stirred, and the so-called sword intent will spontaneously manifest.

"So that's what it means when you have something in your heart, and that's what your sword is like..." After this incident, Xi Heng gradually understood something and shook his head, saying, "So all the seriousness I put on before was wrong."

The form of swordsmanship is irrelevant. Even if you are just wielding a broken, rusty sword, even if you don't use any sword techniques, as long as your mind is focused enough, the sword intent will spontaneously emerge.

As the number of occurrences increases, the vagueness gradually becomes more refined.

After thinking it over, Xi Heng paused for a few seconds before finally moving again. With a gentle turn, he precisely inserted the longsword into the scabbard in his left hand.

The sword struck the scabbard with a thud, and the scabbard was hung back on her waist. The girl did not stop again and continued walking forward.

As for the family she had saved with her sword, Xi Heng only listened to their repeated words of gratitude and didn't give them another glance.

"Having accomplished his task, he dusted off his clothes and departed, concealing his identity and name..." She recited another line of poetry, then saw an inn with its doors open ahead and stepped inside.

"Shopkeeper, bring some meat and vegetables, and if you have osmanthus cake, bring a plate of that too," Xi Heng said to the counter, then casually found a place to sit down.

"Heroine, the lamb bone and bamboo shoot chicken are our shop's signature dishes. Please accept the three taels of silver for the pastries as well," the shopkeeper said.

"Are you robbing me?" Xi Heng was unfazed and simply pulled back the hilt of his sword, revealing a longsword with a cold gleam.

Originally, in Jinshi City, two or three dishes would cost a little over a hundred copper coins, but now this person has quoted a price twenty times higher.

"Please don't be offended, lady. Ever since the Tianliang Army attacked, the prices of vegetables and ingredients have been skyrocketing every day. Copper coins are no longer copper coins, and silver coins are no longer silver coins. It's not easy for our family to keep running the shop. Look around, where are there any shops left on the street..." the other party explained.

Xi Heng didn't say much to him, and casually tossed a few coins from his waist pouch:

"Let's serve."

"Alright!" The shopkeeper's eyes lit up when he saw the silver, which was completely unlike what he had just said, that the silver wasn't even silver.

He quickly grabbed the silver and shouted to the kitchen.

"What's the price for a hotel room?" Xi Heng asked.

"I'm sorry, sir, our hotel is fully booked for today," the man said, turning back to the counter to deposit his money.

The inn's lobby was empty, the tables were covered in dust and no one bothered to wipe them, yet the inn was already full of guests...