Qin Ren strolled down the winding mountain path, his chest puffed with pride and ambition. From this moment on, the sky was his to fly, the sea his to swim—Young Master Qin was finally stepping into Jianghu. To him, the great martial world was just another backyard.
It was the third month of spring. The grass grew thick, and eagles soared fat in the sky. White clouds floated lazily over Lingyun Mountain, which looked even more beautiful through the eyes of a newly freed soul like Qin Ren. The flowers flirted with him, the wind giggled in his ear. The world smelled fresh, fragrant… and strangely seductive—like a naked beauty inviting him into her arms.
Feeling the stirrings of lust, Qin Ren suddenly pictured every beautiful woman under heaven stripped bare, legs open, smiling seductively, calling for him. His heart raced, and, inspired, he broke into a song from his previous life:
"You—fell from the sky into my bed,Your lewd little grin, those soul-stealing eyes,One moan, and I lost all control…That year, you told me: 'Riding Lixiang tastes like heaven…'But a man—should never regret chasing girls!Cold winds blow, but the fire still burns~~!"
By the time he finished howling his song, Qin Ren had reached the foot of the mountain, stomach growling. At the base of Lingyun Mountain lay a well-trodden official road, and by the roadside stood a humble tea stall. A few weary merchants sat beneath it, sipping cold tea and gnawing on dry buns.
Qin Ren, pampered since birth, couldn't bring himself to eat like some peasant laborer. No way was he chewing stale biscuits at a roadside shack. Left with no choice, he rummaged through his bag, pulled out two pills—the Nine Heavens Evil-Banisher Pill and the Resurrection Elixir—and popped them both into his mouth, crunching them like candy before swallowing with a gulp of saliva.
Having grown up on high-grade elixirs, Qin Ren had learned a few things—namely, that the more rare a pill, the tastier and more filling it was. One of these could keep you full for days. Now that he'd eaten two? Warmth bloomed from his belly, spreading through every meridian and muscle. He burped contentedly.
"Ah… that's the good stuff. Should be good for three days at least."
If his father, Qin Xiaoyao, ever found out that Qin Ren had just eaten his only Resurrection Elixir—a one-of-a-kind, life-saving pill—as a snack, he'd definitely explode.
The Nine Heavens Evil-Banisher Pill was indeed best taken early to ward off poisons. But the Resurrection Elixir? There were only three in the entire world. Qin Xiaoyao had given one to each of his sons before they left home. Qin Feng and Qin Lei had stored theirs like precious lifelines. But Qin Ren? He didn't give a damn—he lived for the moment.
Strolling casually along the official road, Qin Ren wasn't in any hurry to reach the provincial capital. He took in the scenery at his leisure. Any other young lord traveling Jianghu would be surrounded by servants, riding in a carriage pulled by fine horses, beauties at his side. But not Qin Ren.
He brought no servants, no carriage—not even a horse.
Why? Too much hassle. Horses need food, attention, and thieves love to steal them. And besides, how many horses could outrun Qin Ren himself? His two legs were plenty.
Bored, he pulled out a small item from his pouch: a Thunder God Flash Bomb.
His father had claimed that this tiny thing could obliterate everything within a ten-foot radius. Skeptical, Qin Ren tossed one casually into the roadside bushes.
He backed away quickly, just in case. Even with preparation, the blast that followed made him jump—a deafening boom split the air, a small mushroom cloud rose from the grass, and when the dust cleared, there was a crater ten feet wide and three feet deep.
"Holy shit," Qin Ren muttered. "The old man wasn't exaggerating. This thing hits harder than a grenade."
Like any kid with a new toy, Qin Ren quickly got addicted. He stuffed cotton in his ears, grabbed a handful of flash bombs, and started lobbing them left and right as he walked.
Boom! Boom! Boom!One by one, tiny mushroom clouds bloomed along the road. Craters formed like pockmarks on a once-smooth path. He practiced his throwing technique: sometimes two bombs, sometimes three, sometimes a whole handful.
Eventually, he wanted more thrill. He hurled seven bombs at once, right into the middle of the road.
BAAANG!Seven simultaneous explosions shook the earth. A black mushroom cloud rose like a dragon ascending to the sky. Wind whipped his robe, hair danced wildly. It was magnificent.
When the dust settled, the road was gone—replaced by a crater seventy feet wide.
"Now this is fun," Qin Ren grinned.
He kept tossing bombs as he walked, leaping lightly over each crater with his qinggong. Sometimes, he'd flip mid-air, strike a dramatic pose, then hurl a bomb below and ride the explosion's updraft in style.
Before he knew it, he'd used up all 108 Thunder God Flash Bombs. The once-wide, flat road now looked like it had been shelled by artillery.
Qin Ren looked at the empty pouch, clicked his tongue, and muttered,"Stingy old man. Only gave me a hundred or so? Hmph. I'll ask for more come New Year's—make some fireworks!"He tossed the pouch aside and strode off toward the capital.
By dusk, Qin Ren finally reached Wuyun City, the capital of Yun Province.
Though a provincial capital, Wuyun was lawless and chaotic. As Qin Ren walked through the city gates, he noticed everyone moved with tension in their eyes and weapons at their sides.
The streets were wide—enough for three gilded carriages to ride side by side—and packed with people, few of whom looked decent.
From a nearby smithy, two burly men were haggling over knives. One got annoyed, grabbed a blade, cleaved the shopkeeper in half, and casually looted the place.
From a tavern overhead came sounds of combat and shouting. Now and then, someone would be flung out the window, crashing to the ground in a bloody heap.
Two "heroes" stood in the middle of the street, apparently in a duel. After half an hour of facing off, they still hadn't moved—but the spectators had started brawling, killing two and injuring three. The rest simply returned to watching, unfazed.
Two masked men chased each other across rooftops, dark-clad and light-footed. One fled, the other pursued, tossing out blades and counter-blades. Their projectiles flew wild, impaling bystanders, who clutched their wounds and screamed curses—only to realize the attackers had vanished.
Constables with chains and iron rulers ran through the chaos, shouting,"Official business! Move aside!"They dragged a random spectator from a crowd, clamped an iron collar around his neck, and declared,"You've committed a crime. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be used against you in court."
Qin Ren sidestepped a corpse that had just fallen beside him and took a deep breath."So this… is Jianghu?" he muttered. "Looks like no one gives a damn about murder around here. Damn, this world's a mess!"
"Hmph. Country bumpkin."A handsome young man with a longsword at his waist brushed past, sneering."Jianghu isn't some romantic fairy tale. Pretty boy like you should go home. Out here, no one'll even bother collecting your corpse."