"Now that Hero Shen is also dead, who would dare accept the Call for Heroes?"
Many shook their heads and sighed in pity at Shen Ying's fate. Too many lives have been laid to waste trying to wipe out the Thirteen Riders of the Great Desert.
Suddenly, members of the Liu Clan arrived outside the yamen, carrying with them body after body.
"Quick, make way!"
"Prefect, please send the troops to destroy the Thirteen Riders!"
"Our caravan had more than a hundred people. We paid their toll, only for our family to still be slaughtered!"
"They left a letter on one of the corpses, addressed to the prefectural yamen."
One hundred and thirty-six fresh corpses now lay on the ground. A foul stench filled the air, and many onlookers turned pale as they stared at the long row of corpses. It was a sight of unspeakable horror.
The Patriarch of the Liu Clan had always followed the rules. When the Thirteen Riders demanded a toll, they paid it without a single complaint. And still, they had been massacred.
"Open the letter and read it aloud," the prefect ordered, his expression dark with fury.
"Yes, my lord."
A yamen officer unfolded the letter left behind by the Thirteen Riders.
"To the prefectural yamen: you have sent heroes after us, and for that we will send more bodies back. Be warned that for every hero you have dispatched, a nearby village will pay the price. The Liu caravan was just the beginning. Now, the village of Xiaohe will burn."
As the yamen officer finished reading the letter, a flustered murmur arose from the crowd.
"Xiaohe has hundreds of people! How dare they?"
"Those bandits have no bottom line!"
A hush descended as a city guard came running with urgent news.
"Prefect, refugees from Xiaohe have arrived outside the city! The village was completely massacred by bandits. They are requesting assistance from the prefecture!"
This news ratted the prefect, who was already shaking with rage.
"This is intolerable..."
Gritting his teeth, the prefect's eyes burned with fury. He knew he was powerless. Even as the top-ranking official in the prefecture, there was nothing he could do against the Thirteen Riders. The townsfolk shared this seething rage, but like him, anger was all they had to offer.
Lu Changsheng could not stay any longer. He turned away and headed straight to Miaoren Hall. There, he found Wang Ruhai sitting in silence, his face pale with faint tear marks at the corners of his eyes.
Concerned, Lu Changsheng asked, "Physician Wang, what’s wrong?"
Wang Ruhai clenched his jaws, struggling to speak. "Those bandits... slaughtered the whole Xiaohe village. I was born there. That was my home."
His parents had been living there, spending their later years in peace. Now, they were likely among the dead, their lives cut short by the bandits' blades. Wang Ruhai was drowning in grief and rage, but as a mere physician, how could he possibly avenge them?
In fact, the entire Miaoshou Garden was powerless against the Thirteen Riders of the Great Desert.
"Physician Lu, is there truly no way to deal with the Thirteen Riders?" Wang Ruhai looked up with bloodshot eyes.
"There is a way."
"What is it?"
"A Divine Strength martial artist could kill the Thirteen Riders."
Wang Ruhai's eyes lit up. Not being a martial artist himself, he didn't understand what the Divine Strength Realm meant. He was only thinking where such a person could be found.
Lu Changsheng did not bother to explain further. Wang Ruhai, what you need now is time... Time to ease the grief and rage ripping through your heart.
***
Dusk soon fell.
Lu Changsheng stopped by his master's herbal medicine shop. When Wu Jing saw Lu Changsheng, he beamed. "Changsheng, come, sit."
Lu Changsheng smiled and obliged. "Master, it has been a while since I last visited."
"Heh, well there's nothing new to see here anyway. This old man can still eat, drink, and walk. I won't die anytime soon," Wu Jing chuckled, then sighed. "But the world is in chaos. Bandits roam everywhere outside the city. I heard the village of Xiaohe was wiped out. I had a few old friends there, and now they're gone..."
Lu Changsheng continued to chat with Wu Jing for some time. After confirming Wu Jing was still strong and healthy, he headed back to Miaoshou Garden.
Along the way, he saw countless refugees lining the streets, begging for scraps. Some were still children, and they were nothing but skin and bones. He learned that they were villagers from the outskirts, fleeing to Nanyang City to escape the bandits.
But how much could they get from begging? If things continue this way, they would starve to death sooner or later. And if more refugees pour in, Nanyang City might even be forced to close its gates...
Lu Changsheng sighed. By the time reached his small courtyard, darkness had completely swallowed the sky. It was pitch black in his room, and he didn't light a lamp.
Thump, thump, thump...
In the silence and darkness, Lu Changsheng focused on the faint thump of his heartbeat, trying to sense the Profound Gate of Life and Death once again.
He frowned. Still nothing...
Lu Changsheng couldn't calm his mind. The tragic scenes of the past few days flickered endlessly through his mind: Shen Ying's corpse, the bodies from the Liu caravan, Wang Ruhai's tear-stained face, his master's weary sigh, and the roads crowded with starving refugees.
I should focus my mind and let thoughts flow unhindered. Only then will I sense the Profound Gate of Life and Death. But my mind remains scattered, and my thoughts are anything but clear.
Lu Changsheng had gone through life undistracted by the concerns of others. Bandits, imperial troops, or even people like Shen Ying should have been of little consequence to him. By all reason, he should have felt nothing for what had happened to them.
Still, he couldn't help it. He had built his life here in Nanyang and had unknowingly developed a sense of belonging. Like a wild beast recognizing its own territory, he had come to see Nanyang Prefecture as his domain, and he wanted to protect its peace from the chaos closing in from the outside world.
When the heart is restless, kill.
Lu Changsheng remembered the night when he killed Li Ji, the Saber-Dragging Heavenly King. Just like then, his heart was restless.
Whoever disturbs my peace shall die.
The thought echoed clearly in his mind. He opened his eyes wide. Using the disguise technique taught by Li Hongzhuang, he altered his appearance to that of a burly man with a thick beard.
Whoosh.
Lu Changsheng pushed open the door and disappeared into the night.