Plundering Worlds: I Have a Shotgun in a Fantasy World-Chapter 60: The Weight of Silence

[Riverbank - Evening]

Kael walked west along the riverbank. His boots pressed into damp earth and scattered gravel, and the current moved beside him, slow and heavy. Blood had dried on his clothes, stiff and dark.

Behind him, footsteps—light, unhurried.

"You know, your efficiency is remarkable." Baihe’s voice carried through the evening air. "Fifty-four people. How long did that take? Twenty minutes? Twenty-five?"

Kael kept walking.

"And you remembered every single one. Every person who spoke, every word they uttered. That requires exceptional memory and control."

The path curved around a rocky outcrop. Kael followed it.

"How did you do it? Did you count them as they spoke? Or did you just... know?"

Silence.

"You’re quiet." Baihe’s tone held amusement. "Thinking? Regretting?"

The sun sank lower, painting the mountains orange and red.

"You’re accepting what happened. I can tell by the way you walk—your shoulders are straight, your pace is steady." A pause. "You’re calm."

Kael’s hand rested on his sword hilt as he descended a steep section of the trail.

"Too calm, actually." Baihe’s voice came closer. "Like someone who planned everything from the start."

Kael stopped. He turned his head slightly.

Baihe stood three paces behind, those blue eyes gleaming in the fading light. The red skin around them looked darker in the shadows.

"Something to say?" Baihe tilted his head. "Or am I wrong?"

Kael faced forward and kept walking.

Baihe laughed. "Interesting."

[Small Town - Night]

Lanterns hung from the eaves of wooden buildings. The main street was quiet, most shops already closed for the night. A few travelers moved between the inn and the stables.

Kael entered the town square. His clothes drew stares—the blood, the torn fabric, the way he moved like someone barely holding together.

"Kael?!"

A figure rushed toward him from the inn’s entrance—Lianghong, his eyes widening in recognition, then shock as he took in Kael’s appearance.

"What happened to you?" Lianghong’s eyes scanned the wounds, the blood. "Are you—do you need help?"

Kael walked past him toward the inn.

Lianghong blinked, then followed. "Wait! At least tell me—"

He stopped.

Baihe stood in the doorway, those blue eyes focused on Lianghong, his head tilting slightly. The words died in Lianghong’s throat. He recognized this man—the white hair, the bone-pale skin, those eyes. Stories from the road, warnings from other travelers.

"Dongfang... Baihe..."

Baihe smiled. "Oh? You’ve heard of me?"

Lianghong’s face went white. He looked at Kael, then back at Baihe, then at Kael again. "You’re... traveling together?"

Baihe stepped inside. "I’m following him, actually. He’s quite entertaining."

Lianghong stood in the doorway, frozen, his hands trembling slightly.

Inside, Kael approached the innkeeper. "One room."

The innkeeper—an older woman with gray hair—took one look at him and nodded quickly. "Upper floor. End of the hall." She placed a key on the counter, her eyes flicking nervously to Baihe.

Kael took the key and climbed the stairs. Baihe followed, humming softly. Lianghong watched them go, his mind racing.

[Inn Room - Night]

Kael removed his outer robe, revealing the cuts underneath. Blood had soaked through in several places. He poured water from a basin and began cleaning the wounds.

The door to his room stood slightly ajar. Through the gap, Baihe’s voice drifted from the hallway. "You should rest. Those wounds will fester if you’re not careful."

Kael tore strips from a clean cloth and began wrapping his shoulder.

Baihe appeared in the doorway, leaning against the frame. "Silent treatment? How long will that last, I wonder."

Kael tied off the bandage and moved to the next wound.

"I’ve been thinking." Baihe walked into the room, uninvited, and sat on the windowsill, one leg drawn up, the other dangling. "About what happened."

Kael wrapped his ribs.

"Those villagers—they were quite vocal about wanting Wei to die. Very demanding. Very insistent." Baihe’s fingers traced patterns on the window frame. "And you killed them all."

The bandage pulled tight. Kael tied it off.

"But you spared the others. The ones who stayed quiet. The children. The old people who just watched." Baihe’s blue eyes caught the moonlight. "Selective slaughter. How considerate."

Kael reached for another strip of cloth.

"Which makes me wonder—were you really killing them because they ’annoyed’ you?" Baihe’s smile widened. "Or were you saving the rest?"

Kael’s hand paused for a fraction of a second. Then he continued wrapping.

Baihe laughed softly. "There it is. That little hesitation."

He stood and walked closer. "You weren’t following your nature at all. You were calculating. Choosing. You used those fifty-four lives to satisfy my game while protecting everyone else."

Kael finished the bandage and looked up. "So?"

Baihe’s eyebrows rose. "So?"

"You’re going to kill me?"

Baihe threw his head back and laughed—genuine, delighted. "Kill you? Why would I do that?" He leaned forward, eyes bright. "I’m even more interested now!"

Kael held his gaze.

"You think you saved people." Baihe crouched, bringing himself to eye level. "But here’s what actually happened—you killed fifty-four humans. Whatever your reasoning, whatever your justification, you ended their lives."

His voice dropped lower. "You decided who deserved to die and who deserved to live. You played god with their fates."

Baihe’s smile grew wider. "You think you’re a hero? A savior? You’re exactly like me. A killer. The only difference is you wrapped your actions in pretty reasoning. You told yourself a story about saving people, about choosing the ’lesser evil.’"

He stood. "But at the end of the day, you’re still covered in their blood."

Kael remained silent.

Baihe walked to the door. "I’m still following you, by the way. Because I want to see how many more ’reasons’ you can find." He paused in the doorway. "I want to watch you realize—that you’re not saving anyone. You’re just killing people and calling it virtue."

The door closed. Kael sat in the darkness. His hands slowly clenched into fists. Blood seeped through one of the bandages.

[Inn Room - Deep Night]

Kael lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. His body ached. The wounds throbbed with each heartbeat. He closed his eyes. Sleep came reluctantly.

The square materialized around him. Blood pooled on the stones. Bodies lay scattered. Then they moved.

Fifty-four corpses rose. Their wounds still bled. Their eyes—dull, lifeless—fixed on him. They surrounded him.

The old man shuffled forward, his severed head tilting at an unnatural angle. "You decided I deserved death. Because I told Wei to sacrifice himself. But I only wanted to live. Was that wrong?"

The young woman stepped closer, blood streaming from her throat. "I called you an outsider. You killed me for speaking truth."

The middle-aged man—his body split down the middle—lurched forward. "One life for a hundred. You made the same choice I did."

The voices multiplied, overlapping. "You chose who lived." "You played god." "You decided we deserved death." "What authority?" "What right?"

They pressed closer, forming a circle, their faces inches from his. "Based on your own moral code?" "Your personal judgment?"

A woman’s voice, sharp. "Who gave you that right?"

A man’s voice, bitter. "Are you a god?"

The old man again. "We begged for our lives. We pleaded. We offered you gratitude, monuments, eternal thanks. And you killed us anyway."

The circle tightened. Hands reached toward him—cold, bloodstained. "You’re the same as us. You wanted to live. We wanted to live. You killed to survive. We would have killed to survive. What makes your life worth more than ours? What makes your judgment correct? Who decides? Who decides who deserves to die?"

Their faces pressed closer. Blood dripped onto his skin. "You. You decided. You chose. You killed us. Murderer. Killer. Monster."

Kael woke. His body was cold despite the blanket. Sweat soaked his hair and clothes. His breathing came fast and shallow.

The room was dark. Silent. He sat up slowly. His hands were shaking.

Outside the window, the moon hung low. Dawn was still hours away.

Kael pressed his palms against his eyes. The images lingered—those faces, those questions. What makes your judgment correct? Who gave you that right?

He lowered his hands and stared at them. In the moonlight, he could still see traces of dried blood under his fingernails.

[Inn Common Room - Morning]

Lianghong sat at a table near the window, a bowl of rice porridge cooling in front of him. He barely touched it. Around him, other travelers talked in low voices.

"—heard about that fishing village to the west?"

"The one by the river?"

"That’s the one. Apparently, something terrible happened there."

Lianghong’s attention sharpened. He leaned slightly toward the conversation.

An older merchant shook his head. "My cousin lives two villages over. He said a swordsman went mad and slaughtered dozens of people."

"Why?"

"Nobody knows for certain. Some say the villagers offended him. Others claim there was a demon in the village and he was hunting it."

A younger traveler spoke up. "I heard it was a demonic cultivator. Someone who kills to steal Qi."

"Could be. There’s been talk of strange happenings in that region. Fish dying in the river, crops failing."

"How many dead?"

"Fifty, maybe more. The whole village square was covered in blood."

Lianghong’s hand tightened around his tea cup. He glanced toward the stairs. Kael’s room was on the upper floor.

The merchant continued. "Terrible business. Women, children, elderly—cut down without mercy."

"Did anyone survive?"

"Some. The ones who hid, mostly. But they’re too terrified to give clear accounts."

"What about the authorities?"

"What can they do? By the time they arrive, the killer will be long gone. And if he’s powerful enough to slaughter that many people..." The merchant shook his head. "They won’t pursue someone like that."

The younger traveler lowered his voice. "I heard the Sword Saint of the East was in the region."

Silence fell over the table.

"Dongfang Baihe?"

"That’s what they say."

"Then heaven help anyone in his path. That man kills for entertainment."

Lianghong set down his cup carefully. His hands were trembling. He looked at the stairs again—Kael had arrived last night covered in blood, Dongfang Baihe following him. A fishing village to the west. Fifty dead. Blood covering the square.

Impossible. But the pieces fit.

Lianghong stood abruptly. The chair scraped against the floor. His feet carried him toward the stairs before he’d fully decided to move.

---

Morning light streamed through the inn’s windows.

Kael descended the stairs. His wounds were bandaged, hidden beneath clean clothes he’d purchased from the innkeeper. He moved stiffly but steadily.

Baihe followed, looking as pristine as ever, his white robes seeming to glow in the morning light.

"Where to today?" Baihe’s tone was cheerful. "More villages? More interesting moral dilemmas?"

Kael reached the bottom of the stairs and stopped. Baihe stopped as well, following Kael’s gaze.

A man stood in the inn’s doorway, silhouetted against the morning sun, his figure familiar. He stepped inside.

Wei.

His clothes were caked with dried mud. His eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with red. He looked like he’d walked through the entire night without pause. His gaze locked onto Kael.

"I..." His voice cracked. He took a step forward, his legs unsteady. "I had to... I had to ask you..."

Wei moved closer. Other patrons in the common room fell silent, watching.

"Why did you kill them..."

Baihe leaned against the staircase railing, arms crossed, his smile widening. Kael’s expression stayed flat.

Wei stumbled forward another step. "They... they were just trying to survive... Their words were cruel, yes, but they only wanted to live..."

His knees buckled. He collapsed to the floor. Tears streamed down his face. "You should have killed me instead... Why them..."

He covered his face with his hands. Sobs tore from his throat, filling the silent room.

Lianghong appeared at the top of the stairs. He saw Wei, saw Kael, saw Baihe watching with that terrible smile. The innkeeper stood frozen behind her counter. Travelers backed away slowly, instinctively creating distance.

Wei knelt on the floor, shoulders shaking, hands pressed against his face. Kael looked down at him. The room held its breath.

Kael’s hand moved to his sword.