Sun Hu turned and swatted a rotten hand off his face, rolled away from the group as he brought his palms up, and sent a wave of Qi across the line of broken men gathering around himself. He took short, quick breaths to keep the fog from oozing into his body. Dangerous stuff, no doubt. Dangerous and wicked and sick, to his thinking.

A spear came at him from the back. His senses tingled. It was hard to get a feeling of these bastards when the damned fog weighed him down. Not much he could do but carry on. That was one of the lessons. Sometimes justice demanded more than simple investigations.

He wrapped a hand around the shaft and pulled it hard, the rotten man holding the spear buckling forward. Sun Hu’s fist caught his uneven fall and smashed into his chest. Fingers lodged in deep and tore at his pulsing core.

The Oath’s invisible chains tightened around Sun Hu’s heart. Every step he took forward, every inch he gained over the sin that had soiled this land gave him strength. His fingers were prickling, feet light as feathers. He knew he was in the thick of it and relished the sensation.

More men. Looked like an army of corpses rather than the once-proud guards of Jiangzhen. The sickness had claimed them as its own. Beyond their ranks, deep within the Governor’s Place, a green light burst forth from the jaded ceiling in a wavering pillar.

Nothing’s simple, eh?

Not very simple, indeed. But he liked it this way. It felt just right that his stubborn insistence over the matter had brought palpable results. There really was something sick being carried under Jiangzhen’s mortal skin. His Old Master, foolish Master, that wrinkled piece of shit, had been proved inept once again.

Sun Hu just wished that he would’ve been proven wrong when he’d been actually here. His Master was strong. Old, but a monster in his own right. A little help would’ve been appreciated.

Still, being alone wasn’t anything new. His father had once told him there was some quality to Sun Hu. Some strangeness that attracted trouble like moths to a flame. This, here, was one such trouble.

You have to carry on.

His Foundation circulated at mad speed, sending waves of Qi across his body. There was little spiritual energy left in this city, but it certainly was enough to handle these rotten, mindless creatures that tried to hamper his mission.

Light glinted over his palms. Sun Hu graced his company with a beaming smile. Then the fog was burning, rope-like lights hurling and twirling about, latching on his foes’ rotten skin like furious chains. Sun Hu pulled at them like one might pull at a shackled prisoner, sending the guards crashing into the ground all around him.

The Sun Clan’s signature manual, Chains of Law, was indeed the archenemy of everything that was unjust.

Onward, through their broken lines, Sun Hu weaved his way as he made for the Governor’s Palace. On his way, more guards tried to stop him, but they might as well have tried to stop the sun from shining over the clouds. They fell in heaps to his ethereal chains, stretching in a crooked lane of bodies that trailed after Sun Hu like some artist’s wicked version of the skyline.

Though he knew the Governor’s close circle stayed in the Library for one last ritual, his eyes still searched for a familiar face here. He was curious. Just now, right after he barged in through the wooden gate, he felt something shift in the fog permeating Jiangzhen like a heavy blanket. It was changed. Somewhere someone had clogged one of the holes feeding the fog.

Or crushed it. But who could it be?

Unexpected company, one that seemed to be sharing the same mission as him, but it made his job a whole lot harder. If the Governor’s men had felt it just the same, then there was no way they would leave the hole in the Governor’s Place unguarded. Or rather, they would send more help to one of the last two holes, knowing it was in danger.

That’s why Sun Hu was confused when he kicked the door to the jaded place and came across another group of rotten guards. They looked stronger than their fellows before, but still, against Sun Hu’s Foundation Establishment Stage strength, they had no chance whatsoever.

A slithering, darkish tongue then showed itself from beyond the guard ranks. More joined it as the tongues stretched over the group like limbs of some twisted creature.

“That’s more like it,” Sun Hu muttered, one hand clasped over his mouth to keep away the rotten stench that suddenly doubled. “That’s how it should be.”

Sacrifice. Blood and tears. It was written in the old texts. An Oath to the Heavens was no mere word. It had to come from within one’s heart. From the very core that governed one’s soul. Once spoken with pure intent, there was no going back. Sun Hu could feel the devotion deep in his mind.

He lunged forward, heart thumping in his chest, breath hissing in his throat. He sent the chains rattling across their line and closed his eyes, ears perked up to catch any sound. Men breaking there. Men stalking here. Shadows stirring beyond. They were dangerous. Almost silent as well, but Sun Hu could hear them. His head was full of their malevolent intent.

One tendril lashed out at him. An ethereal chain wrapped around it in mid-air, brought it down for Sun Hu to gaze at it. It was dark with a greenish tint under it, its surface wriggling as though a wave of worms. The rot was what kept it alive. Animated. It was coming from the pillar.

He smiled. That was why he came here.

……

[You have leveled up! 3 stat points gained!]

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

[You have leveled up! 3 stat points gained!]

…

[You have leveled up! 3 stat points gained!]

Lei waved the notifications off as Zhu Luli applied some remedy to his aching bruises. The green thorn lay in a shattered mess a few paces ahead. The kids and Fatty Lou were up there, over the crack, keeping an eye around the hole against possible intruders.

“Don’t think anyone’s coming,” Lei muttered, then winced when Zhu Luli wrapped a bandage around his waist. One tendril nearly had him there. It stung like hell. “G-Guess they’re still waiting in the--”

“The Library,” Lei nodded, feeling the mana-spiritual energy blend in his body.

The moment he shattered that thorn, a din of voices sounded in his mind and told him he’d gained five levels. He immediately distributed the stats, focusing more on Strength than the others, as he knew his job was not yet done.

I hope it’ll be enough.

“Up, now. Feel your bones,” Zhu Luli said, stretching a hand toward him. “Tell me if there’s anything wrong.”

Lei accepted the help and pulled himself to his feet. His bones clicked and cracked, but other than the bruises, there didn’t seem to be anything deep that ached from underneath his skin. Beyond that, the stats he’d put in Strength filled his body with intoxicating power that he felt in the tips of his fingers.

“We should deal with the other current,” Lei said, wiping his face as he gazed at the shattered remains of the thorn and the motionless tendrils that lay around them. “This fog’s feeding them. Best we cut the other source before we try to make a move on the main one.”

Zhu Luli looked thoughtful. “Or we can just take Master Li and slip away.”

“What?”

“The formation or whatever this is,” Zhu Luli said solemnly. “It can’t be whole now that we crushed one of its sources. Feel the spiritual energy. It’s already coming back. There must be a hole that we can use to get away. No need for a fight.”

“That…” Lei muttered, slightly shaken by the offer.

He’d thought of taking them away when he first sensed the sickness, and the curfew had bound his hands. But now things were different. The guards were no more, either lying senseless around the streets or teetering on the brink of collapse. The rot had caught them in its claws and refused to let go. They were as good as dead.

The people of Jiangzhen—

“People of Jiangzhen,” Lei said, mind aching with invisible pain. “This city. Everything… What would happen if we were to leave them here?”

Zhu Luli looked him in the eye. “They will die or face a fate that’s worse than death. This rot will leave them half. They will never become whole again.”

Lei swallowed. It was easy to forget when there wasn’t a sight of others. Easy to pass over them when all he faced was the empty streets. But they were there, weren’t they? Hiding in their houses. Desperate. Abandoned and betrayed by the ones they trusted. Being used as tools for some twisted purpose.

Could he leave them alone?

“I…” he said, voice hoarse. “I’m afraid I can’t do that, Sister Luli. I can’t leave this city alone. Not after all the things they’ve been through. I just can’t do it—”

“No need to say more,” Zhu Luli said. She was staring at him with her eyes proud and lips stretched into a beautiful smile. “I wouldn’t expect less from our Heavenly Cook. You’re ready, then?”

“Ready,” Lei said, and they both climbed back to the surface to join the others. He gazed deeply into their eyes and saw the same resolve there. He nodded, raising a finger toward the Governor’s Place that was barely visible through the fog. They had a long way ahead of them.

“We move.”

Lei led them through the streets, choosing a roundabout route that stayed away from the Library. He could feel the mana-spiritual energy blend course through his veins. After he dealt with that thorn, the mana within his chest seemed to have been bolstered further by some invisible source.

The System surely had played a part in that. That was strange. When he tried to see if he could make use of the rotten mana around him, that fog eerily stayed quiet against his touch. So either he lacked the ability to impress his control upon this source, or this type of mana wasn’t meant to be used by people like him.

He favored the second assumption more. Spiritual energy had different types as well. Zhu Luli had once talked about the Death Cultivators that could use deathly spiritual energy to cultivate. By that logic, mana could have different types too.

Is the one I’m using a neutral type, then?

The Cookbook skill that he’d glanced over because he chose the Chef’s Touch was still on his mind. The notion that he could gain mana through his recipes was an alluring one. If he survived the Governor’s devious scheme, then the next time he got a skill selection, he would definitely go for that one.

The possibilities are endless.

A cold wind prickled his skin, coming off from beyond the borders of the city and flapping the tails of his robe. Ahead, once they were out of the city’s internal maze of streets and out before the Governor’s Peak, a pillar of light came into view stretching forth from the Governor’s Place.

Thick clouds of fog coiled around the green pillar. The Spiritual Sensitivity skill jolted as Lei faced it. He couldn’t see the tip of the pillar, but there had to be a reason why it kept wavering unevenly as though it was about to burst.

“Brother Lou, break that gate for me, will you?” Lei said as they stepped over a tall gate that blocked the Governor’s Peak from the city’s interior. To his knowledge, there were over a dozen such gates around the peak, often strictly guarded and used only by Jiangzhen’s officials and the Governor’s men.

Today, it seemed deserted like the rest of the city. So much so that when Fatty Lou crushed it with a fist, the sound of the impact reverberated loudly around them.

Beyond, a curious sight welcomed them.

“Ah…” Snake muttered, a frown stretching his lips thin. “Looks like we’re late.”

“Late, indeed,” Fatty Lou said, and stepped over a guard’s body that lay sprawled on all fours.

Most of the man’s face was eaten by the sickness, breath wheezing weakly through his lips. There were others like him. Dozens of guards lying senseless on the ground, wailing in silent cries that didn’t reach any ears.

Lei arched an eyebrow when he saw the deep impressions on their robes or bodies. It was as though these men were handled by thick chains that left burnt marks all over their bodies. Their yellowish blood had spattered everywhere, but most of them were still alive.

Barely.

“There!” Zhu Luli said all of a sudden, pointing a finger toward the Governor’s jaded palace. “Can you hear the sounds? Someone’s fighting there?”

“Who?” Fatty Lou asked with genuine curiosity. “Is there anyone here other than us who could dare to fight against the Governor’s scum?”

“Looks like there is,” Lei said. He clicked his tongue when the green pillar shuddered fiercely as if it was about to go off. “And seems like whoever that is isn’t weak.”

“What do we do, Big Brother Lei?” Snake turned to gaze at him. Little Mei and Snake joined him as they waited for Lei’s word.

Could be dangerous. We don’t actually know anything.

Lei weighed his options. It took him only but a moment to make a decision. Either way, they would have to deal with that source. Help or not, it didn’t change anything.

“We’re going in,” he said, one hand wrapped tightly around the mace. The others nodded.

He was about to lead them through the long steps when the ground underneath his feet trembled. Trees dotting along the staircase shook and cast their leaves off. A big piece from the Governor’s Palace came off, carved by a set of chains that glinted within the thick fog. It rolled slowly off from the side of the roof, slipped, and fell with a loud thump that sent a tremor across the whole peak.

Then another, louder crack sounded. Something shattered. The green pillar that rose high to the sky wavered for one last time, then it vanished in a shower of yellowish light that sprinkled across Jiangzhen’s streets.

“Certainly…” Zhu Luli muttered shakily. “Not weak.”

Lei and Fatty Lou crossed eyes.

“Not weak at all,” they said at the same time.