With the Blade-Chapter 59 - 54: The Day’s Plan Begins in the Morning

Chapter 59: Chapter 54: The Day’s Plan Begins in the Morning

Just like how Du Chengfeng still doesn’t know, the Qingyang tribe had already given him the nickname "Young Tiger of Jibei", the leaders of the Qingyang tribe probably didn’t expect that Du Chengfeng never thought of changing places.

In fact, until now, Du Chengfeng still believed that the Qingyang tribe’s army was an ambush arranged by He Xiqing.

The appearance of an ambush highlights He Xiqing’s prowess, and the presence of twelve bizarre dancers within the ambush, who could control the enemy with just horns and war drums, further proves He Xiqing’s extraordinary skills and abilities.

If he had misjudged even slightly a moment ago, he might have already been thrown into the bonfire and roasted into a well-done meal.

"This is exactly what makes He Xiqing terrifying..."

Thinking of that War God-like figure in his mind, Du Chengfeng’s heart grew heavier.

In this world, there truly exists such a person, invincible and flawless.

So he was really full to the brim looking for trouble with He Xiqing in Jizhen, when he could’ve used that time to return to the Yang Household Fort, stir-fry a couple of hearty dishes, and have a good night’s sleep afterward.

After all, having fought for half the night, he was a bit tired too.

"Balancing work and rest is the most important."

With this thought, Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but glance around a few more times.

Very well, there were no ranger pursuers to be seen.

After confirming his safety, Du Chengfeng didn’t let his guard down, but first rode his horse in nearby circles. Only after confirming that the road underfoot was relatively hard, did he dismount, wrap the horse’s hooves in soft leather, and led the horse back to Yang Household Fort.

This was a trick he learned from the methods of avoiding police tracking on the knives and daggers from those bandits, though Du Chengfeng didn’t think it could fool the prairie scouts, yet being able to buy a little more time was a good thing.

As long as he could buy a bit more time, he could have a good sleep, and then it would be his turn to chase down those prairie people to kill them.

"Though the Yang family sure ran fast..."

Back at the Yang Household Fort, Du Chengfeng looked at the desolate village, feeling somehow slightly unaccustomed.

Although in the past, Yang Household Fort could not be considered populous, at least there was some human activity, adults working in the fields, and children running back and forth on the road—yet with the departure of the Yang family and other displaced people, the entire Yang Household Fort ultimately fell back into dead silence.

With the residents gone, all the houses revealed an air of desolation and emptiness.

"Li Carpenter left as well... seems like the Yang family can be trusted somewhat."

After confirming that the house he was familiar with was already empty, Du Chengfeng then returned to his small courtyard.

The first thing upon returning was to put down his luggage, tie up his warhorse, and take down the horn and war drum from the horse’s back—this is why he always wanted a place of his own, after all these odds and ends needed somewhere to be placed.

He had studied the horn and war drum on the way. Simply put, he hadn’t figured them out. Although these horns and single-sided drums performed unbelievably in the hands of those bizarre dancers, when Du Chengfeng tried them, those two horns and three single-sided war drums ended up not even producing a single puff.

But perhaps that’s not entirely accurate, at least when he blew the horn, the sound was very much like farting.

"There must be a special method, maybe I can learn something about it while sharpening blades later."

Although he didn’t yet know how to use the horn and single-sided drum, keeping them as trophies for memories was also a good thing. Moreover, even though the horn sounded like a fart, at least the drum could be beaten, and practicing in spare time could make it count as a presentable musical instrument.

After setting things down, the first thing was of course to eat. After a busy night, Du Chengfeng finally got to eat the few hearty dishes he longed for—a big bowl of dry sliced noodles, a portion of Pingqiao tofu soup, and the dish he was most looking forward to: braised lion’s head. Although with his current understanding of the blade, his cutting speed was remarkably fast, by the time he finished preparing these dishes, the sun had already risen.

"So is this breakfast or dinner for me?"

Scratching his head, Du Chengfeng decided not to ponder this pointless question.

He fed the horse with forage, cleaned and polished the weapons in the saddlebag with some cheap wine, and then sat down to enjoy the meal.

The remaining embers in the stove hadn’t completely died out, and under the morning sun, Yang Household Fort had left only this wisp of cooking smoke.

Yet even if it was just a wisp of smoke, it added a bit of liveliness to this desolate village.

After eating and drinking, Du Chengfeng, though drowsy, didn’t rush to sleep but picked up the weapons again, practicing a few moves in the air—even though real combat was the best teacher, Du Chengfeng had learned quite a bit from the memories he had of these weapons, and after actually starting to kill people, he gained many new insights.

Rigid motions gradually became smooth, stiff chops turned flexible, and the descriptions in the Red Needle Technique about human body structure grew into more profound understanding, even the shift of center of gravity and the Step Technique underfoot became steadier and swifter.

If the Fat Yang from back then were standing here, he might be able to see one human silhouette after another in front of Du Chengfeng.

But facing these human silhouettes of varying heights and sizes, Du Chengfeng could always manage to make the blade glide through the joints and membranes without cutting or slicing.

"If you can butcher a pig, you can butcher a man."

At this moment, Du Chengfeng, who had just reviewed all his techniques, felt a sense of enlightenment.

"No wonder Fatty Yang is just a pig butcher, yet he managed to kill the entire Inspectorate... Turns out the principles are connected."

Thinking of this, Du Chengfeng couldn’t help but admire this Fatty Yang, whom he had never met.

Whether it’s the knife techniques, business ideas, the scale of operations, or stirring up trouble.

An ordinary pig butcher certainly wouldn’t be capable of prompting an Inspector to take action against him, even if Jizhou was a notoriously impoverished frontier state.

Naturally, thinking of Fatty Yang also brings to mind his descendants. However, knowing that the Yang family has already headed west, Du Chengfeng no longer concerns himself —— after all, with him holding the attention of the steppe Hu people, the Yang family should be able to deliver that good-natured elder brother to a safe place.

As for whether they’d meet again in the future, Du Chengfeng didn’t consider it.

After all, whether he could survive this life-or-death battle was still an unknown.

"Better go to sleep first, wake up and then go out to kill... Hmm?"

Just as Du Chengfeng was about to settle into bed for a good rest, the previously dead-silent Yang Fort suddenly erupted with the noise of people.

"Who?"

Rolling out of bed, Du Chengfeng grabbed the Heavy Great Saber by his side.

Were they pursuers? Or had his whereabouts been exposed all along?

Turns out those bandits’ methods of concealing tracks weren’t so great. In hindsight, he should have taken a different approach, simply raiding one of those bandit hideouts from memory, just to rest temporarily.

As for now...

"Just ate, perfect time for some exercise."

Saying this, Du Chengfeng stepped outside with the saber, ready to kill.

But upon stepping out, he didn’t see any steppe Hu people.

Instead, it was those who were supposed to have left Yang Fort.

In front of him were the Yang family members and the villagers, each injured and bloodied. The group, initially hundreds strong, was now greatly diminished, and much of their belongings lost. Clearly, they had fled back in panic.

"What happened? Why are you like this?"

Du Chengfeng hurriedly searched among the people for Li the Carpenter, and luckily his elder brother was alive. His family of four remained unharmed, only missing a leg in splints.

At least it was better than the elder Yang Xuan next to him, who originally could walk with a cane but now lay on a cart with both legs completely broken, unable to get down.

"What happened? Weren’t you heading west?"

Du Chengfeng furrowed his brows tightly.

"How did you end up back here?"

"All thanks to me!"

Just as Du Chengfeng was about to inquire from Li the Carpenter about what happened, a familiar figure brandishing a curved saber rushed to him.

"All thanks to me, Yang Sanlang’s... Ugh!"

Startled, Du Chengfeng instinctively decked Yang Sanlang, sending him sprawling.

It was then that Du Chengfeng realized something about the curved saber in Yang Sanlang’s hand looked familiar.

"This..."

Looking at the blood-stained curved saber, Du Chengfeng was at a loss for words.

He seemed to understand why the Yang family encountered trouble.

After consoling the still shaken Li the Carpenter, Du Chengfeng decided not to question his elder brother further. After all, he had already sensed the trace of bloodthirsty Evil Qi on the curved saber, and that he could use an easier method to find out what happened.

"Surely it can’t be that unlucky..."

With this in mind, Du Chengfeng began to sharpen the Unlucky Curved Saber in his hand, which had been lost and found again.