Chapter 64 : Chapter 64
Chapter 64: You Like Playing with a Whip? Then Today I'll Let You Play to Your Heart's Content!
The towering Sword-Forging Mountain stood lofty and majestic.
On the front side of the mountain, pavilions and halls rose in orderly layers, solemn and imposing.
Geothermal caverns used for forging weapons were scattered throughout.
This was the public face of Sword-Forging Manor, the great sect that had dominated Jiangnan for centuries.
At the peak, jagged rocks jutted skyward like flying swords from beyond the heavens.
The rear side of Sword-Forging Mountain was covered in forest, filled with towering ancient trees.
Hidden among the woods were countless thatched sheds and wooden huts, with innumerable sallow, emaciated men in tattered clothing moving to and fro.
Most of them either bore severe injuries or were missing hands and feet.
Their eyes were always filled with fear as they looked toward a gigantic cavern.
A gigantic cavern that had swallowed countless lives.
Deep within the cavern, laborers carrying pickaxes moved back and forth in dense rows, struggling to haul great stones out on their backs.
One man, his strength exhausted, stopped to wipe away his sweat and catch his breath.
The tightly packed line immediately jammed up behind him.
SNAP!
"AHHH!!"
Several Sword-Forging Manor disciples in martial attire stepped forward, each with a finely crafted weapon hanging at his waist.
One of them lashed his whip viciously across the laborer who had blocked the way.
The man fell at once, bloody welts erupting across his body as flesh split open.
"How dare you slack off! Are you looking to die?!"
"Great hero, spare me! Great hero, spare me!"
The laborer was already old, and years of brutal toil had left his body ever weaker.
The martial artist was immensely strong. One whip alone had broken the man's ribs.
Enduring the pain, he begged for mercy through tears, wanting only to hurry up, shoulder the stone, and move on.
But with broken ribs, the moment he exerted strength, the pain bored into him like a drill, and no matter what he did, he could not lift it.
"Move it!"
"I...!"
The old laborer was in unbearable pain and terrified out of his mind. Using every last bit of strength, he finally forced himself to his feet.
But in the next moment, his body swayed, and he collapsed to the ground again, the stone crashing down heavily onto him.
"Help me! Help me!" came his shrill cries.
After struggling for a short while, he stopped moving.
The other laborers watched this scene in fear and sorrow, but not one of them dared make a sound.
"Useless trash!"
A Sword-Forging Manor disciple flicked out his whip, coiling it around the man and his corpse alike, then flung them into a corner.
The body smashed apart even further.
"Stop staring! Move it, all of you! If you delay Sword-Forging Manor's grand undertaking, even the lives of several generations of your families together would not be enough to pay for it!"
The other laborers hurried forward again, their eyes filled with grief and despair, their hearts clinging to one final wish.
They no longer hoped anyone would save them.
They only hoped they might find the courage for a swift death, rather than continue suffering in this hell.
Satisfied, the disciples of Sword-Forging Manor nodded and walked onto a wooden platform beside the gigantic cavern.
A white-bearded martial artist of extremely powerful aura sat cross-legged upon an exquisite cushion, his eyes closed in rest.
Beside him were neatly arranged fruits and fine wine.
"Elder Chen, the deeper we go, the stronger the dragon-might becomes. These laborers probably won't be of any use after another ten days."
The excavation was too close to the Dragon Vein. Even martial artists could hardly bear it.
As for ordinary laborers, it was already a sign of strong vitality if they did not simply die on the spot, let alone continue digging.
"Ten days, is it? After a full five years, we've finally come to this step."
Elder Chen nodded silently, his eyes still closed.
"Yes. Dragon Abyss Path hasn't been peaceful lately. Sword-Forging Manor has been snatching up laborers both old and young, and they keep getting crushed to death and blocking the tunnel at the slightest thing."
One disciple spoke in disgust.
Those men had spent years in this cavern, with movement in and out kept strictly controlled for secrecy, so they rarely knew much about the outside world.
All they knew was that the quality of the laborers brought in recently had been poor.
The old, the weak, the sick, and the crippled kept running into trouble, forcing them to deal with the mess.
Elder Chen nodded.
"The Manor Lord came to see me a few days ago and told me that they have indeed run into some trouble. The jianghu forces over in Qingjiang Prefecture were wiped out by the Jinyiwei."
"They have even been spreading word everywhere about our excavation of the treasure, bringing no small amount of trouble to the manor."
The disciples were all somewhat surprised.
"The Jinyiwei? Mere imperial hounds actually dared oppose us!"
In Dragon Abyss Path, Sword-Forging Manor was the sky itself.
How could any Jinyiwei dare stir up trouble here?
They truly had a death wish!
Elder Chen nodded.
"The Manor Lord's side hasn't sent anyone over lately because they are busy resolving this matter. The Dragon Abyss Sword was just brought out. By now, I imagine all the enemies have already been executed."
He had just felt the aura of the Dragon Abyss Sword.
With that heavenly armament capable of cowing all others now brought forth, there could be no mishap.
"When the Dragon Vein is finally excavated, it will be the day my Sword-Forging Manor returns to the peak and becomes the Great Qian Dynasty's Tenth Great Sect."
"At that time, not only will petty vermin no longer dare stir up trouble, but the martial powers of all Jiangnan will submit completely."
At those words, the disciples' eyes all lit up.
When that day came, those who had managed this place for so many years would all have rendered tremendous merit.
Their future would surely be bright!
One disciple asked, "Elder Chen, what should be done with these laborers after ten days?"
The deeper the pit went, the stronger the dragon-might became. Laborers without Internal Energy would be useless by then.
"Naturally, they will all be disposed of."
Elder Chen spoke calmly. "To sacrifice themselves so Sword-Forging Manor can return to the summit of the jianghu is an honor they ought to be grateful for."
"All of you, go keep watch outside. Things have not been peaceful lately. Do not let some petty rat sneak in."
The disciples nodded and accepted the order.
Half a day earlier, a black shadow had slipped into the depths of the pit, and Elder Chen had discovered it when it left.
A thief with the heart for stealing, but not the guts to go through with it.
Just then, a series of noisy, chaotic sounds came from outside the gigantic cavern.
Elder Chen opened his eyes.
"Go out and see what is happening."
"Yes, sir!"
At the mouth of the cavern, dense masses of black figures emerged from the forest like phantoms.
Blade-light flashed, and the Sword-Forging Manor disciples guarding the area all fell into pools of blood in an instant.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
The disciples who had only ever been tasked with preventing the laborers from escaping had never expected enemies to appear.
Panicked, they immediately cried for help.
When the newly arrived laborers saw martial artists clashing, afraid of being caught in the crossfire, they began wailing and scattering in all directions.
"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
But the laborers who had been here for years widened their eyes and did not run.
They simply stood there, blank and motionless.
They had already suffered enough torment.
A single clean death by the blade would be better.
Among them stood a gaunt laborer with only one arm, his body covered in wounds.
He watched as a black-clad figure carrying a saber walked toward him.
He neither dodged nor hid. Instead, he knelt to the ground and silently lifted his face toward the sky.
"Mother, I broke my promise. I can't go back and look after you in your old age. In my next life, I'll be your son again..."
In this world, ordinary people were not treated as people, and their lives were not treated as lives either!
No one would save them.
SHING!
Blade-light flashed before his eyes.
But to his shock, something was wrong.
Why was he not dead?
Dazed, he turned around, only to see the corpse of a Sword-Forging Manor disciple lying on the ground.
The Jinyiwei pulled the stunned laborer to his feet.
"Find somewhere to hide. Just don't go too far, or it'll be hard to send all of you home together later."
With that said, the Jinyiwei continued forward, ready to keep killing the enemy.
"Why?" the one-armed laborer asked blankly.
The Jinyiwei turned back with a frown, then remembered Lord Cheng's teaching.
He smiled.
"Because you are one of Great Qian's people."
The same scene repeated itself over and over.
Some recognized that the men who had come to save them were the Jinyiwei, and their hearts were filled with nothing but shock and boundless gratitude.
Those dark and chilling figures seemed to shine with golden light in their eyes.
【The host has led a righteous force and greatly elevated the Jinyiwei's reputation. Reward: Heaven-Grade weapon: Demon-Beating Staff (ineffective against humans; specially effective against demon beasts)!】
With his hands clasped behind his back, Cheng Yu advanced step by step. Beneath his feet lay the corpses of Sword-Forging Manor disciples, while around him laborers fled in agitated relief.
A Sword-Forging Manor Steward with Fifth Rank strength stepped out from an exquisite wooden hut, whip in hand.
The moment he saw the laborers scattering in all directions, he flew into a rage.
"Have you all gone mad? Are you courting death?!"
With a crack of his whip, several laborers were beaten to death amidst miserable screams.
The nearby laborers were so terrified that they no longer dared move.
The steward of Sword-Forging Manor saw clearly the Flying Fish Uniforms and Xiuchun Sabers of the attackers.
He was instantly beside himself with fury. "Mere imperial hounds of the court actually dare oppose my Sword-Forging Manor! Kill them!"
But in the next moment, thunder roared, and frost condensed.
Blade-light flashed.
The Xiuchun Saber in Cheng Yu's hand slowly slid back into its sheath.
"AHHH!!"
The Sword-Forging Manor steward's hands were severed clean off, and he let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered!
"Heh. Weren't you acting quite impressive just now?"
Cheng Yu's cold laugh rang out as he bent down and picked up the whip that had fallen to the ground.
SNAP!
"AAAHHHH!!!"
"You like playing with a whip? Then today I'll let you have your fill of it!"
SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!