Chapter 151 - When We Are Together

The village was ordinary. No, it looked ordinary.

There were passersby and merchants, and even children running about. From this scene alone, no one would ever have imagined it was a village in Villains' Valley.

Yet although it looked like an ordinary village at first glance, there was nothing ordinary about the looks, the wary glances, or the air of the people coming and going.

We sensed them secretly exchanging looks, but pretended not to notice and followed the road.

"Not everyone here follows the master of Villains' Valley. In fact, many are constantly watching for a chance to take his position. Think of it as much like the forest bandits."

That was why we hadn't raced inside using lightness arts.

We made sure our passage would not be taken as an invasion or an attack. If it were judged an attack, every villain in Villains' Valley would take action. Whether they liked it or not, they would come out to defend their home.

Instead, we were merely walking along as unfamiliar visitors. That made an enormous difference, and it was a strategy we could choose because we had the Wicked Laughing Demon, who understood the workings of Villains' Valley better than anyone.

As we followed the road, we came upon a dozen or so men and women sitting in a clearing, drinking. Whatever they found so enjoyable, they were laughing and talking boisterously.

The instant we passed them, they sprang up to throw hidden weapons. But before those weapons could even leave their hands—

WHOOOOSH!

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon's saber qi swept through them first. We had already been prepared for their ambush.

Their act had been convincing enough while they were laughing, talking, and enjoying themselves, but not one of them had so much as glanced at us as we passed. That might have been plausible with two or three people, but with a dozen sitting there, not a single one looking our way was positively unnatural.

"Most of the villains in Villains' Valley would sell their souls for money. The valley master has probably offered a bounty in anticipation of our arrival."

I smiled at the Wicked Laughing Demon's explanation.

"He'd have to offer at least a million taels."

The Drunken Demon said, "Per person, of course?"

As we walked along joking, more ambushers sprang out of the woods on either side.

This time, the Sword Supreme lightly leaped into the air and spun once, releasing sword qi. Her sword turned with her, scattering sword qi in every direction.

Every attacker was cut down and fell dead. Not a single strand of sword qi missed its mark.

With an elegant movement technique, she descended back into her place in our walking formation.

We walked on, continuing our conversation as though nothing had happened.

"The master of Villains' Valley isn't the richest man in the world. How could he offer a million taels per person?"

"Which is why only the likes of these are coming out."

As the Drunken Demon spoke, hidden weapons flew from the bushes ahead.

We all avoided them with a slight twist of our bodies. The weapons passed between the five of us. They came hurtling in with a ferocity that made them seem impossible to dodge, yet we evaded every one with easy movements.

This time, the Drunken Demon moved. His figure flashed, then vanished into the bushes. He returned to his original spot even faster than he had gone in. However he had dispatched the ambushers, not so much as a scream had escaped.

Returning, he took a drink and said, "Gave them all a drink. Now they're sleeping it off."

I had never properly seen the Drunken Demon fight, but this alone showed that his martial arts were not to be taken lightly.

We continued on until we reached a ferry landing.

"From here, we need to cross the river by boat."

We found a boat at the landing and set out across the river.

"I'm the youngest, so I'll row."

Watching me work the oar, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon asked, "When did you learn to handle a boat? You're quite practiced."

"Is there anything I can't do?"

The other three Demon Supremes stared at me as well.

"Why are you all staring? You're embarrassing me. See, now I'm... rowing even better, aren't I? I do enjoy being the center of attention."

I joked, but they all watched me with peculiar looks in their eyes. There really must have been far too few things I couldn't do.

The boat cut swiftly through the current.

After watching the river for a while, the Drunken Demon suddenly spoke to the Blood Heaven Saber Demon.

"Seeing you strike at our enemies today, Senior, I can tell you're still hale and hearty."

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon looked distinctly flustered by this unexpected show of respect.

"That's because I don't drink much."

The Single Flower Sword Supreme said, "At times like this, just say thank you. How is it that age never makes you any less contrary?"

She had intervened, but her tone was gentle. Ordinarily, he would have grown even more cantankerous, but this time the Blood Heaven Saber Demon backed down.

"Thank you."

He had readily thanked the Drunken Demon.

"Not at all. I was only saying what I felt."

The Single Flower Sword Supreme looked at the Blood Heaven Saber Demon as though wondering what had come over him.

I could feel the effort the Drunken Demon was making. That effort was bringing about change.

Our eyes met. Thank you, Brother. You're doing well.

The attacks continued.

When the boat reached the middle of the river, ambushers burst out of the water, throwing hidden weapons.

This time, I leaped into the air with the oar in hand and struck them down.

I struck one, stepped on him, then struck another, stepped on him, and struck again. It might not have looked like much, but the method combined footwork and lightness arts of the highest order.

Everyone who had leaped out was struck by the oar, their skulls bursting before they fell into the water. Dressed in fish-scale outfits, they were the Yellow River Water Fiends, who had once roamed the Yellow River region. After plundering passing boats and slaughtering their passengers, they had finally been driven all the way to Villains' Valley, where they now lived.

At the very instant I descended toward the boat—

BOOM!

With an explosive crash, our ferryboat shattered.

The Demon Supremes and I all leaped into the air. Water Fiends poked their heads out of the water and fired poisoned needles from blowpipes held in their mouths.

PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT! PFFT!

But not one of the Demon Supremes obliged them by getting hit. They maneuvered in midair, dodging every attack. This time, the Wicked Laughing Demon stepped in.

PING! PIIING! PING! PING!

He unleashed Blood Calamity Finger in rapid succession. Only then did I discover that the Wicked Laughing Demon could release his finger force like this, one strike after another.

Those who had fired the poisoned needles floated to the surface as corpses, like dead fish.

Each of us landed on a fragment of the shattered boat. Although the pieces were smaller than a person's forearm, they did not sink beneath us.

SHHHHHH!

The pieces of wood carrying the Demon Supremes cut forward through the water.

Far behind us, more Water Fiends raised their heads above the surface, but they dared not attack. The mere sight of us using internal energy to ride broken scraps of wood across the river was enough to rob them of their will to fight.

In moments, we reached the opposite bank.

About a hundred jang from there, opponents whose names we could recognize blocked our path.

The movement techniques displayed by the five martial artists confronting us were far from ordinary.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon recognized them.

"The Five Fiends of Chongqing!"

They had once used the Chongqing region as their base, committing atrocities wherever they went.

"After all these years, few people recognize us. Who are you, old man?"

"You've forgotten me."

"You know me?"

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon merely gave a faint smile.

"Blocking our path like this... It seems age dulls judgment as much as memory."

The First Fiend's expression hardened.

He had come out to kill us, yet an inexplicable unease nagged at him. He was certain he had seen this old man somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.

"Kill them!"

The First Fiend gave the order to his subordinates, but in the end, it became an order to the Demon Supremes.

Before his words had finished, we each took an opponent.

The Wicked Laughing Demon unleashed Blood Calamity Finger. Unable to dodge it at such close range, the Fourth Fiend fell with a hole through his forehead. The Single Flower Sword Supreme's swordsmanship severed the Second Fiend's neck, while my Azure Heaven split the Fifth Fiend's chest in the blink of an eye. The Drunken Demon's Blood Tears crushed the Third Fiend's skull, dropping him.

Only the First Fiend remained. The moment the others died, he remembered.

"Ah! You... Why are you here?"

His voice trembled violently. There had been a time when the Blood Heaven Saber Demon shook the martial world. Back then, this man had not even dared meet his eyes properly. Now, after all these years, they had met again here.

The First Fiend frantically flung himself away to escape, but the Blood Heaven Saber Demon's great saber cleaved him in two.

Fighting alongside them, I was coming to realize something. Though they seemed to fight with casual indifference, the Demon Supremes were conscious of one another. They chose each move carefully and watched the others' methods closely while pretending not to look. In a sense, the opponents occupying their attention were not the villains of Villains' Valley, but one another. And what they studied most closely of all were my movements and martial arts.

Even so, I made no particular effort to conceal my abilities. I didn't show them everything, but neither did I deliberately try to hold myself back. I was the man who would become their leader. I needed them to trust me and follow me.

Next came attackers who used poisonous smoke.

Several men emerged from hiding and sprayed the smoke at us.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon and the Single Flower Sword Supreme stepped forward together and swept their sleeves, sending the approaching poisonous smoke back at those who had released it.

The men collapsed in agony, blood gushing from every opening in their bodies.

For the first time since we had entered this place, the Blood Heaven Saber Demon and the Single Flower Sword Supreme had worked together against an enemy. They looked at each other. Their gazes were growing gentler.

"Once we cross that field, we'll reach the valley master's residence."

With about a hundred jang left to go, spear-wielding villains poured out from one side.

The massive man at their head held a spear as large as a pillar.

He was the Colossal Might Ghost Spear, who had earned his infamy throughout Murim with a single spear. An expert of the unorthodox factions, he had developed a distinctive mastery of spear techniques. After attacking a full chapter of the Orthodox Martial Alliance, he had been branded an enemy of the entire martial world and vanished. Now he had appeared here in Villains' Valley.

Dozens of villains appeared on the opposite side as well. Clad in black martial robes and masks that exposed only their eyes, they were assassins. Their leader was Hidden Moon. Once renowned as an assassin of the highest skill, he was now leading an assassin organization here.

Those who appeared from another direction wore nothing but underpants. They stood with vacant eyes, intoxicated by drugs.

But anyone lulled into carelessness by their appearance would be torn apart. Their martial arts were far more formidable than they looked, and they felt no pain even when stabbed with swords or sabers. Few could withstand their onslaught if they committed themselves to charging like madmen.

They were not the only ones. A group consisting entirely of women appeared, along with people dressed as hunters and a band of beggars.

These people did not take orders from the master of Villains' Valley. They lived here with forces of their own, fighting one another for dominance over the valley.

They were also the reason the valley master had feared for his position when his trusted subordinates died.

The killing intent and pressure they directed at us were anything but ordinary, yet the Demon Supremes remained completely unperturbed.

Wearing his bloodstained mask, the Wicked Laughing Demon regarded them haughtily with his arms folded. His composure overwhelmed them.

The other Demon Supremes were no different. Merely seeing them stand there in proud composure kept hundreds of villains from daring to charge.

The Blood Heaven Saber Demon stepped forward and thundered, "If you're going to attack, come at us all at once."

RUMMMMMBLE!

Saber force gathered around the Heaven-Destroying Great Saber hanging at his side.

His concentrated qi was blood-red. It was my first time seeing his saber force, and perhaps because of that blood-red glow, it was strikingly intense and memorable.

Following his lead, the other Demon Supremes unleashed their qi presences. Sword force gathered around the Single Flower Sword Supreme's White Flower Sword as well. Hers was pure white, a color that suited her perfectly.

As the pressure from the five of us spread in every direction, the villains retreated farther, as though pushed back by a silent force.

Had I come alone, or with only the Wicked Laughing Demon, we would have had to fight them all.

But with four Demon Supremes beside me, no one dared attack us.

Hundreds had gathered, yet they could only watch from a distance, not daring to charge. Together, nothing could stand in our way.

In the end, they never attacked. Our presence was one reason, but once they realized we were heading for the valley master's residence, they saw no need to fight us. Their greed had now turned toward something greater.

We resumed walking. At the end of the road stood the estate where the master of Villains' Valley lived.

The plaque above its main gate read, "Partners in Evil Help One Another." It meant that even villains helped one another to accomplish evil.

"He'll have received word that we're coming, so he'll be waiting with whatever preparations he's made."

At my words, the Wicked Laughing Demon shattered the plaque with Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm. The entire section where it had hung was blasted away without a trace.

At the same time, another Demon Supreme released palm force. The main gate and front wall crumbled into dust.

"It might be different if I'd come alone, but with four of us here..."

The Wicked Laughing Demon took the lead and added, "If making preparations were enough to deal with us, we ought to give up our positions as Demon Supremes, shouldn't we?"