Cliffs and waterfalls. As I gazed at the endless stream of water from the opposite side, I was once again lost in deep reflection. On the other side, the thousand-year-old ginseng lay dormant.
'Is there anyone else in this world who has taken a miraculous elixir twice, besides me?'
The thousand-year-old ginseng was a once-in-a-century miraculous elixir, and countless people had fought over it, turning the martial world into a bloodbath. The probability of taking a rare elixir like the thousand-year-old ginseng more than once was extremely low. I put aside my wandering thoughts and walked into the waterfall. After passing through the cave inside the waterfall, the snowfield where the thousand-year-old ginseng lay dormant came into view.
I cleared the snow from the snowfield and placed the water container and cooking utensils I had stolen from a nearby house. Just as I did last time, I had to boil and chew the leaves and roots of the black-white lotus. Cooking utensils were essential to bring.
Then I entered the cave and re-experienced the grandeur of the thousand-year-old ginseng. It still displayed the elegant white patterns without any change. I began to boil and chew the black-white lotus as I did before.
After a while, when everything was ready, I started to chew the roots of the black-white lotus without hesitation. As I had thought before, it tasted like a potato. The taste wasn't bad, but the thought of the trials that would follow after eating it made me tense.
"Ugh..."
Sssss...
A tremendous amount of yang energy rose from my dantian. I clenched my teeth, recalling the hellish pain I had experienced last time, but it wasn't as painful as I expected. Last time, the pain was like my insides melting in lava, but now it was just a mild stomachache.
'What? It's not that painful?'
The surge of energy was overwhelming, but my body was already accustomed to large amounts of qi. However, I couldn't just leave this massive yang energy alone, so I pulled out the thousand-year-old ginseng and started to chew it.
A refreshing chill passed down my throat. Soon, the massive yin and yang energies inside my body collided and began to condense as if about to explode. Last time, I had bloodshot eyes and nosebleeds, and the pain felt like my skin was being peeled off bit by bit, so I couldn't help but feel tense. A tension greater than when my throat was cut overwhelmed my entire body.
Rumble
"......?"
But I felt something strange. The massive yin and yang energies that were about to explode in my dantian naturally subsided like water seeping into the ground. The painless and melting-like disappearance of the energy was bewildering. I was prepared to desperately struggle with the Thunder Dragon Daily Exercise and the Demon Treasure Practice, but just performing the Grand Circulation of the Thunder Dragon Daily Exercise was enough to stabilize my body.
'What's going on?'
I checked the major meridians near the Life and Death Gate out of concern. The Life and Death Gate was still open, and the surrounding minor meridians were also open. However, the massive energy that had surged within me did not break through the Life and Death Gate.
I waited for a long time, but nothing happened except for a slight dizziness.
"What? Is this just a waste of time?"
I tried to sense my current internal energy, but it was always immeasurable. Now, I had no way to measure my own power. Could it be that taking multiple elixirs doesn't work? I lightly cast the Thunder Cloud Palm technique in the air, wondering if I had fallen into a state of demonic possession.
Kaboom
"......!!"
At that moment, the air exploded, and thunderous winds raged in the sky. The power was even greater than the last time I used it, and I instinctively knew that my internal energy had increased. However, I also realized that a crisis was approaching.
"Ugh, damn it!"
My face turned pale.
As I screamed, the massive amount of accumulated snow in various places in the secret realm began to move as if it were alive. The snow here resonated with the sound and explosion, trembling violently.
Avalanche!
I started running down the only path to avoid the snow that was covering the sky like a white blanket. I didn't have time to grab cooking utensils or anything, and I ran without looking back. Even with my fast lightness skill, I wasn't much faster than the falling snow. An ordinary person would have been buried and died long ago.
Rumble
"AAAAAAH."
I screamed in despair as I ran fifty zhang but still saw the avalanche covering the mountain. How could there be so much snow in this secret realm?! After running another thirty zhang, I confirmed that the speed of the avalanche was slowing down and sat down on a nearby rock to catch my breath.
"Phew... Phew... I almost died..."
It's ridiculous. I took the elixir, but I almost died from an avalanche while testing my internal energy. Of course, it was my mistake not to consider an avalanche in this area where it doesn't snow much.
After calming down, I thought about whether my internal energy had doubled. However, I couldn't conclude that just because the power of the Thunder Cloud Palm had increased. What was more troubling was that the immense pain I experienced the first time I took the thousand-year-old ginseng had disappeared, and the process was bland. It was unsettling that I couldn't confirm whether I had become stronger.
I thought about what to do next. I had already obtained the Heavenly Rock Secret Book and the elixir, but what should I do now? It would be great to enter the Green Dragon Martial Hall for training, but that was almost impossible, so I was in a dilemma.
Suddenly, I felt annoyed.
'Why not just forget about training and live comfortably?'
Any ordinary martial artist would be shocked. To think such thoughts after encountering a rare opportunity and taking the thousand-year-old ginseng twice. But during my third reincarnation, I felt a strong sense of disillusionment as I came to Huangshan. What was the point of suffering so much to build my martial arts skills and attempting to steal the Nameless Scripture, only to eventually obtain it?
I've suffered too much.
If I want to live comfortably, no one can stop me.
I already have enough power.
"......"
After pondering, I made a decision.
"Let's live comfortably."
This time, I won't get involved in any more troublesome thoughts and will do whatever I want.
I decided to forget about the Nameless Scripture for a while.
I had a clear plan. As soon as I descended to the lower village of Huangshan, I secretly entered the house of a wealthy family known for tormenting tenant farmers. I took out fifty taels of silver and left.
'This should be enough for travel expenses.'
It was clearly theft, but I didn't care. The wealthy family was already hated by the villagers and was cruel to tenant farmers. It was fortunate that I didn't commit murder. I stood at a crossroads outside the village, pondering.
"......"
Where should I go from here? After some thought, I chose the eastern direction. This was the way back to my hometown, Xiao Yi village.
I could go to the Songgong Escort Agency and see Song Lin's beautiful face again.
I could visit Wang Liang and learn more about the Mysterious Concealment Technique and knowledge.
There were various options, but I decided to return to Xiao Yi village.
It didn't take long to return to the village from Huangshan, as I walked only on the main road, occasionally rented a carriage at relay stations, and sometimes rode a horse. I had fifty taels of silver to spend.
I walked into the entrance of Xiao Yi village and laughed coldly.
"Ha ha ha!"
Why did I return here?
To take revenge, which I had been planning and longing for all this time. Looking back, I wondered why I didn't think of this after my reincarnation.
The psychological shock of the village chief hiring assassins to kill me must have been immense. I might have avoided revenge out of fear, but now, after taking the elixir twice, I was much calmer and more rational.
The village chief's worries? I'll just kill them all, and they won't know anything.
Even if they investigate after the revenge, I can just run away.
No one would believe that Xiaotong, a village boy, could wipe out the village chief's family in one night.
'People should live doing what they want.'
I walked slowly into the village, gathering my energy in one arm. My eyes were filled with a murderous intent. I planned to tear apart anyone who got in my way as an example.
At that moment,
"Xiaotong, you're back!"
"......?"
I felt bewildered when I saw someone pretending to be friendly. I barely knew this villager, and we had never had a proper conversation. He was just a tenant farmer who paid rent to the village chief, and I didn't even know his name. I replied instinctively.
"Uh, y-yes."
The murderous intent faded. I had harbored hatred for everyone in this village, but I didn't expect a greeting. The villager handed me a potato and said,
"Why did you come back to the village? You should just live outside."
"Huh?"
He clicked his tongue sympathetically.
"I thought you had run away from the village chief because your life was so hard."
I was speechless.
Didn't the villagers enjoy seeing me suffer?
I didn't know how to respond to his sympathetic words. As I held the potato in both hands and sat down, he said,
"If your parents hadn't suddenly passed away during the epidemic, you would have grown up like a normal village child. Life is unpredictable..."
That's right. My parents died from the epidemic when I was young. I suddenly became an orphan, and the villagers argued about who would raise me, eventually deciding that the village chief's family would take me in. I lived as a servant in the village chief's house during my teenage years.
I took a bite of the potato and said,
"I came back to kill the village chief."
"Ha ha ha, wouldn't that be great?"
He smiled bitterly. He seemed to think I was just venting my frustration. After all, who would believe that a teenage boy had the power of a top martial artist? I had the ability and the will to carry out a massacre. I stared at him and said,
"Uncle, if you could repeat your life, how would you live it?"
"Repeat? Do you mean go back to the past?"
"Yes."
"Um... I would try to live happily without regrets and do what I want."
I nodded at his answer.
"I plan to do the same."
Thud
At that moment, Zhang Shui fell forward and fainted. I had quickly applied a pressure point. He would be unconscious for a while but would wake up in an hour. I propped him up against a tree stump and muttered,
"Should I go see?"
No regrets.
Do what you want.
Live happily.
It seemed simple but was the hardest thing in the world. Without further hesitation, I headed towards the village chief's house, which was located at the top of the village. It was early evening, and the village chief's family seemed to be preparing for dinner.
A normal person might find the scene warm and happy, but the moment I saw the village chief's face, something inside me surged. The memory of being beheaded by the assassin's sword and the desperate struggle to survive in my previous life boiled my blood.
I walked slowly towards the village chief. He looked at me with a puzzled expression and shouted,
"Xiaotong, you brat! Where have you been running around all this time?"
"Village chief!!"
I roared. The sound was a weak lion's roar, and everyone present froze as a rumbling sound echoed. The village chief, sensing something was wrong, took a step back.
I exuded a murderous aura and said,
"Choose one person here who you want to save. I'll let that person live."
"......"
"Answer now."
The village chief stuttered and then suddenly became calm, stopping his fumbling. He pointed to himself.
"Me, me..."
"I knew you would say that."
Crack!!
In the next moment, the village chief's head was blown off by the Thunder Cloud Palm. Brain matter and flesh splattered. I could have tortured him before killing him, but the conversation with Zhang Shui had left me confused, and I just wanted to end it quickly.
"AAAAAAH!!"
"Village chief!! Ahh!"
"Dear!!"
The scene turned into chaos, and people screamed. Some, sensing the danger, tried to run, but I leaped and killed them one by one.
Thud
Bang
"AAAAAAH!!"
With one punch, I killed a person, and after just ten steps, only one person was left alive. I stood in a sea of blood with not a drop on my hands.
The remaining Jin Manzai stood there, unable to grasp the sudden massacre. He seemed to be in a state of denial, unable to understand what was happening.
I slapped Jin Manzai across the face.
"Ugh."
The blow, infused with internal energy, knocked out his teeth and sent him sprawling. I had controlled the force to keep him from falling.
I looked down at the fallen Jin Manzai and said,
"You don't understand why this is happening, do you?"
"A... Ugh... Why... Why..."
"You see, I have fifty years of grudges against you. This is the first time I'm properly settling them."
"......"
Jin Manzai, trembling with fear and anger, couldn't speak. If he had been strong enough to remain calm in this situation, I wouldn't have harbored such deep grudges against him.
I smiled and said,
"Damn brat! Born with a silver spoon, you couldn't even treat me with a little kindness?"
Crack
Jin Manzai, unable to breathe, clutched his stomach and fell, gasping. The blow, though not infused with internal energy, was enough to cause immense pain. Watching him suffer, I felt a sense of relief from years of pent-up frustration.
The memories of his torment were vivid. He was the ringleader who incited the village children to isolate and beat me, and he treated me like a servant in the house, never giving me human treatment. I must have shed hundreds of tears in the stable, crying in my sleep.
In my first life as a bodyguard, the most painful thing wasn't the struggle to survive day by day. It was the fact that while I suffered, he lived a comfortable life, and I had no way to avenge myself. But now that I had the means to do so, a storm of rage was boiling inside me.
A vicious anger surged within me. I didn't like the way Jin Manzai looked at me with fear. In that moment, I did something I couldn't understand myself.
"Your eyes are annoying. You don't need them."
Crack
"AAAAAAH!!"
At that moment, I grabbed Jin Manzai's eyeballs. Cutting the blood vessels, I pulled them out, and he became a bloody mess, screaming in agony. He was experiencing the worst pain a human could imagine.
"See how far you can go with just two testicles, Jin Manzai."
With the revenge complete, I left the scene of the massacre.
I entered the village chief's house, activated a hidden mechanism, and took the safe containing the silver ingots. With this, I wouldn't lack for food or shelter in the future.
Originally, I planned to wipe out the entire village, but I changed my mind after meeting Zhang Shui. If he hadn't shown a human side, the village would have become a sea of blood, and I would have poured oil and set it on fire.