Chapter 1: First Meeting

Pain… my head hurts so much… Su Tang could not help but let out a low groan. A picture suddenly appeared in his mind: a man sat there, leisurely eating food. The long table in front of him was filled with food, and more than a dozen silver-white candles on the candlesticks emitted flickering light.

On the wall behind the man hung a giant oil painting. Was that… The Last Supper?

How do I know the name of that painting? Also, who am I? Su Tang?!

Su Tang felt as if his head were splitting open. Just then, sharp sounds rushed into his ears, sounding as if something was moving rapidly and colliding violently.

Su Tang snapped his eyes open. What he saw was a flawless sky. That clear, glossy blue was refreshing and even gave him the urge to cheer out loud.

“Young Master, you are awake?!” Along with the voice, a messy figure with a big beard blocked the sky.

Too close. The person had clearly invaded his safety zone. Su Tang’s right hand shot up; he prepared to use two fingers of his right hand to attack the other’s eyes, while his clenched left fist was about to smash into the other’s chest. In the next moment, Su Tang froze. What on earth am I doing?!

Images of memories flooded into Su Tang’s mind like a tide, leaving him somewhat dazed. After a long time, his hand slowly lowered.

“Young Master, what is wrong?” The bearded man had no idea he had almost gone blind and asked nervously.

Su Tang smiled. So… my name is Su Tang, and I am the master of Little Forest Castle.

He had accidentally overheard some maids chatting. In their eyes, Young Master Su Tang was a playboy, and the most useless kind at that, knowing only how to chase girls and good for nothing. Therefore, their attitude was not very respectful, especially behind his back. But as a man, he still had some impulsive courage. Su Tang felt annoyed in his heart and decided to go hunting in the mountains. Ideally, he wanted to kill a fierce beast to show those blind little girls what Young Master Su Tang was capable of!

Su Tang was not stupid. For his first trip into the mountains, he naturally had to ensure his own safety. Therefore, he spent a large sum of money to hire a female hunter named Hu Niu. Although Hu Niu was not even twenty and was a woman, she had spent many years wandering in the deep mountains and had developed great skills, making her famous in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, unexpected things happen. Two days after entering the mountains, they finally found a Cloud Spirit Leopard. Suddenly, a strange old man appeared. Without saying a word, he pinned Hu Niu down and tried to molest her. Su Tang had not dared to act rashly at first, but Hu Niu’s cries and pleas were too piercing. He could not bear it and stepped forward to stop him. As a result, the strange old man slapped him across the face. He flew far away and lost consciousness.

Thinking of this, Su Tang could not help but touch his left cheek. Sure enough, it was swollen high like a steamed bun, and a faint sweet and metallic taste lingered in his mouth. That was the taste of blood.

“Qian Biao, what happened?” Su Tang asked in a low voice. He remembered now; that messy man was his trusted servant.

“Young Master, a man passed by just now and fought with that old beast!” Qian Biao replied in a slightly trembling voice.

As if to verify Qian Biao’s words, a sharp whistling sound shot over and hit a small tree more than ten meters away. The small tree was cut in half at the waist and slowly fell onto the grass. At the same time, the sound of fierce fighting over there stopped abruptly.

“Hahaha… Bai Henshui, how does my Broken Sword taste? Hahaha…” A loud, unpleasant laugh, like that of a night owl, drifted over.

“Oh no, Young Master, that old beast won!” Qian Biao’s face turned pale.

Su Tang climbed up and peeked out from behind the slope, looking downward. There was a stream below, and Hu Niu lay in the grass by the stream. The deer-skin coat on her body had been torn, exposing two private areas. Her eyes were lifeless, staring blankly at the sky, and her chest did not move. She should be dead. The carcass of the Cloud Spirit Leopard was not far away.

Wait… how did my eyesight become so good?! Su Tang suddenly realized something was illogical.

“Cough, cough…” The sound of coughing from below brought Su Tang back to his senses. A man in white clothes lay face down in the stream, while another thin old man lay on his back. A long spear pierced through his body, pinning him firmly there. Moreover, his limbs were twisted in strange ways, as if they had been crippled and he could not move. His broken body could only float up and down with the flow of the stream.

This was clearly a situation where both sides were injured. Su Tang’s gaze froze. He saw a Broken Sword lying by the stream emitting a brilliant light. It felt as if there was some kind of bond between himself and the Broken Sword, and an uncontrollable impulse grew in his heart: get it! I must get it!!!

“Cough… you two brats, hurry up and pull this damn broken spear out of me!” the thin old man shouted, “What are you standing there for? Do you believe I will slaughter you?!”

Qian Biao shuddered in fear and hurriedly jumped up to rush toward the stream.

“Qian Biao!” Su Tang shouted, “Don’t move blindly.”

“Ah… Young Master?” Qian Biao froze and turned around to look at Su Tang in confusion.

“Follow me,” Su Tang said.

Regardless, Hu Niu was hired by him, so he naturally had to avenge her. He had taken a very heavy slap that almost broke his neck, and he still felt a tearing pain now. Finally, he wanted to get that Broken Sword.

If only one of these three reasons existed, he might hesitate. If two existed, he would find a way to kill that old beast no matter what. Now that all three existed, there was no need to worry about anything.

“Where are you going?” Seeing Su Tang and Qian Biao walk behind the slope, the old man was both anxious and angry: “Come back! Come back to me!”

Su Tang ignored him and led Qian Biao to the downstream part of the stream. They crossed the water and then walked back, taking a large detour.

“Bastards! You are dead! You are dead! Do you know who I am? I am an Elder of the Tie Family in Changshan County!”

“Two country bumpkin brats! You dare leave me here ignored, cough cough…”

“There are no houses nearby. I remember now, you must be people from Little Forest Castle! Haha… once I escape and return to the Tie Family, I will definitely kill everyone in Little Forest Castle, leaving not even a chicken or dog alive, not even a chicken or dog!!” The old man roared hoarsely. Although he was seriously injured, with his high Cultivation Base, he would definitely not die as long as he got help, so he was extremely anxious.

“Young Master, he is an Elder of the Tie Family!” Qian Biao said in a low voice, his body shaking violently.

“I don’t care if it’s the Tie Family or the Tong Family.” Su Tang gave a cold smile, peeked at the carcass of the Cloud Spirit Leopard not far away, and said, “Go, drag that Cloud Spirit Leopard carcass over here.”

“Young Master…” To drag the Cloud Spirit Leopard, he would definitely have to approach the stream. Qian Biao was very afraid.

“Go now!” Su Tang shouted in a tone that allowed no doubt.

Qian Biao replied helplessly, then bent down and crawled toward the carcass of the Cloud Spirit Leopard. The old man continued to curse; he must have heard their movements and knew they had not gone far.

With seven or eight meters left until the carcass, Qian Biao suddenly jumped up, rushed over to grab the leopard’s tail, and then turned and ran back. Although the Cloud Spirit Leopard was a beast people feared, this one was not yet an adult and weighed only about a hundred pounds, which was not a problem for a big man like Qian Biao.

“Bastard!!” the old man roared. The Broken Sword lying quietly by the stream suddenly flew up and wobbled after Qian Biao.

Qian Biao was completely unaware and continued to run stumblingly. However, the old man’s injuries were very severe, and the flying Broken Sword lost its accuracy. It grazed the side of Qian Biao’s neck, leaving only a faint streak of blood.

Qian Biao jumped three feet high, let out a scream, dropped the leopard tail, and scrambled back.

Seeing this scene, Su Tang shook his head while stretching his body. He was estimating whether his movement speed could avoid the same attack. Although this body lacked exercise, its nutrition was good and it had developed well, so there should be no problem.

Su Tang paused. Why did I say… this body? It is clearly my own…

“Young Master, that was close…” The returning Qian Biao sat on the ground, his teeth chattering. It was clear he was terrified to the extreme.

Su Tang walked quickly outward. Qian Biao was shocked and barely jumped up from the ground to pull Su Tang back, but Su Tang had already walked more than ten steps away. Qian Biao wanted to chase after him, but thinking of the encounter just now, he gasped and shrank back.

Su Tang’s pace became slower and slower. His eyes stared at the old man in the stream, while his peripheral vision observed the Broken Sword, ready to react at any time. When he was three or four meters away from the sword, he suddenly bent over, picked up a stone, and threw it forward. With a thud, the stone landed exactly on top of the Broken Sword, pressing it down.

Su Tang grabbed the Cloud Spirit Leopard’s tail and walked backward. The old man had reached the end of his rope, and the Broken Sword was pressed by the stone and unable to move. He could only watch helplessly as Su Tang disappeared into the woods.

“Where is the flint?” Su Tang asked.

“It is here, Young Master. What do you want the flint for?” Qian Biao asked in confusion.

“Go pull some dry grass and start a fire. I’m a bit hungry; we will roast some leopard meat.” Su Tang’s expression was slightly strange: “Just wait and see how much longer he can keep jumping around.”

A campfire was soon lit. Su Tang used Hu Niu’s hunting knife to sharpen a branch, then cut two pieces of meat from the leopard’s hind leg and put them over the fire to roast. Just then, the old man, who had been silent for a long time, began to speak again.

“You man, you are a servant of Little Forest Castle, right? What future is there in being a servant? Do you really want to be a beast of burden for others for the rest of your life?!”

“Why can that little brat be the master? Are you weaker than him or is your brain stupider than his?”

“Heaven’s will? Fate? Hahaha… we Practitioners must act against heaven and fight for our lives! Boy, if you dare kill that little brat and send me back to the Tie Family, I swear I will take you as my disciple. Even if you are the most useless, you can become a guardian of a region, which is thousands of times better than being a servant!”

The old man changed his strategy and began to drive a wedge between Su Tang and Qian Biao. Every word was designed to provoke. Qian Biao’s expression changed repeatedly. Suddenly, he jumped up and shouted: “Old man, stop talking nonsense! I, Qian Biao, am loyal to Young Master Su, and heaven is my witness!”

Su Tang gave Qian Biao a praising smile. However, when he lowered his head to continue roasting the leopard meat, his gaze became cold. Because Qian Biao was too close to him and because his senses had inexplicably become extremely keen, he could clearly hear that Qian Biao’s heartbeat had become very fast and the rhythm unstable. This proved that Qian Biao had likely been tempted.

Five castles make a village, and five villages make a town. Being a guardian of a region was unreachable for Young Master Su, let alone for a bottom-tier servant. Su Tang could understand, but he could not forgive!