Chapter 28: Every Sect, Every School, Every Guild, Every Brotherhood

The Gu Family Village was utterly consumed by fire, transformed into a sea of flames. Harrowing screams echoed from within, their sounds not human, but more akin to some unknown beast. The snow on the ground was stained crimson by blood and fire; Ning Xiu stood at the entrance to the village, before him a burning mountain of corpses.

The searing waves of heat and the scent of roasting flesh left the crowd dizzy and nauseous. The middle-aged man glanced at Ning Xiu; neither his own men nor the seasoned constables, hardened by years of service, could endure the stench and retreated to the rear. Only Ning Xiu remained at the village gate, the reflections of two raging fires flickering in his clear eyes. To Zhang Kuo, it seemed as if the inferno before them had ignited from deep within Ning Xiu’s heart.

What Zhang Kuo did not know was that Ning Xiu’s thoughts had drifted to the great fire in Shouchun from his previous life—far more intense than the flames before him.

“Master Ning, to have fought your way out from so many corpse puppets, I truly admire you,” Zhang Kuo stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ning Xiu.

“Just luck,” Ning Xiu replied. “Those monsters moved slowly, and the encirclement hadn’t fully formed. I managed to break through by chance.”

Monsters?

Zhang Kuo noted Ning Xiu’s choice of words and hesitated, then asked, “Did you encounter any other creatures inside, besides the corpse puppets?”

“What exactly do you mean, Elder Zhang?” Ning Xiu responded calmly.

“It’s nothing,” Zhang Kuo replied, watching Ning Xiu. “From your skill, you must be at the second grade. To possess such strength at your age—would you consider seeking a position in Lingnan Prefecture? Our Bamboo Grove Society is one of Lingnan’s premier factions. With your martial prowess, I believe you could make a name for yourself.”

Second-grade masters were not rare, but one so young was certainly worth recruiting.

“I’ll think about it.”

“Very well. If you ever change your mind and come to Lingnan, you need only seek out the Bamboo Grove Society and mention my name.” Zhang Kuo did not press further. Confirming that Gu Family Village was utterly reduced to ruins, he departed with his men.

Chief Jin and his team followed, returning to the county to report.

On the surface, Ning Xiu left with them, but after escorting Xiao Cui and Zhang Heng to safety, he returned alone.

Since Feng Chu had dropped one of those gray crystals, perhaps the corpse puppets would as well.

Unfortunately, upon returning to the scene, Ning Xiu found nothing but charred remains—no trace of anything else.

The only consolation was that the blood-red crystals in his system had surged, increasing by more than four thousand. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before he could try another ten-draw.

The day after his return to Shouchun, news spread that Gu Family Village had been slaughtered by the bandits of Black Wind Fortress.

Black Wind Fortress expressed their helplessness—apparently, every misdeed was attributed to them.

Yet, this blame was not entirely undeserved; having chosen a path of murder and arson, they ought to have accepted the consequences.

Ning Xiu sometimes suspected that the authorities, despite having sufficient power to eradicate bandits, refrained from doing so merely to have a scapegoat at a critical moment.

On the third day after returning, Zhang Heng finally regained consciousness.

As a second-grade martial artist, his physique was far sturdier than most; had an ordinary man suffered such injuries, he would not have survived.

Ning Xiu hurried to visit him.

“Uncle Zhang, how are you feeling?” Ning Xiu took a bowl of decocted medicine from Wu Wan’er and placed it before Zhang Heng.

“I’ll live,” Zhang Heng waved dismissively, setting the medicine aside.

He looked at Ning Xiu, his expression complicated. He had practiced martial arts for most of his life, reaching only the second grade. Years ago, he had hoped to break through to the first, but was sabotaged by enemies and left with a hidden injury—likely never to advance again.

“I heard you met the Bamboo Grove Society after?” Zhang Heng asked.

Ning Xiu nodded. “Are you familiar with them, Uncle?”

“Have you heard of the four great masters of Lingnan—the Blade, the Spear, the Sword, and the Halberd?”

Ning Xiu shook his head. Though powerful, his experience was limited to killing bandits and escorting a single shipment. He knew little of the martial world, especially its figures in Lingnan.

Zhang Heng looked at Ning Xiu and continued, “With your current strength, you can walk unchallenged in Lingnan. Still, there are forces you must not offend—the authorities first. Their power is not as simple as you might think; you’ll understand in time.”

“Apart from the authorities, there are four places and four people you must not cross.”

“What are these four places? Is the Bamboo Grove Society one of them?”

Zhang Heng nodded. “One Sect, One School, One Society, and One Gang.”

“The Sect is Iron Sword Sect, the School is Pure Frost School, the Society is Bamboo Grove Society, and the Gang is Great River Gang. The four masters—the Blade, the Spear, the Sword, and the Halberd—are the leaders of these factions.”

“All four have reached the Grandmaster level. With your current ability, you are no match for them.”

“Grandmaster level…” Ning Xiu silently took note.

After a pause, he asked, “At Gu Family Village, how did you manage to stay conscious, Uncle Zhang?”

Even he had nearly succumbed to the Yin evil—he doubted Zhang Heng could have resisted without preparation.

“That’s because it wasn’t my first encounter with such strange phenomena,” Zhang Heng answered frankly.

Ning Xiu was not surprised, having already noticed Zhang Heng’s immediate recognition of corpse poison.

“Since you met the Bamboo Grove Society, are you not curious why they were present?” Zhang Heng’s eyes narrowed; Ning Xiu already had an answer in mind.

“This world holds many dangers unknown to ordinary people. To distinguish them from common disasters, those in the underworld call them Black Calamities. A Black Calamity is any event that defies ordinary understanding—Gu Family Village’s incident was one such.”

Zhang Heng coughed and continued, “Fortunately, Black Calamities do not occur frequently, and are usually confined to a single place, seldom spreading. Low-level Black Calamities are handled by the four great factions and the authorities. To prevent public panic, the authorities manage the aftermath and conceal the truth.”

“As for deeper matters, I don’t know. When I served as an outer steward in Pure Frost School, I encountered only two low-level Black Calamities.”

Pure Frost School—as it turned out, Uncle Zhang had once belonged to one of Lingnan’s four major factions, even reaching the position of outer steward.

How he had fallen so far, and for a paltry hundred taels of silver, was a mystery—such a sum was insignificant to Pure Frost School. There was surely more to the story, but since Zhang Heng was unwilling to elaborate, Ning Xiu did not press him.

Still, he made a silent note of it in his heart.