Inside the cave, the campfire was rekindled.
By the fire, a burly man wrenched a tiger's leg free with brute strength. The youth, wielding a kitchen cleaver, chopped the meat into large chunks, skewering them on a sturdy branch, wrapping the pieces in fat before setting them over the flames to roast.
Not far off, a young man with a short beard and a sharp blade embedded in his head sat on a stone, head bowed as he painstakingly wrote his confession.
Jiang Biehe had no desire to write this confession, but he had no choice. Only by putting pen to paper could he pass on what he knew.
He was determined that Li Chaofeng—the man who had killed him—would perish under the weight of his own arrogance.
For that, Jiang Biehe was supremely confident.
Now, Li Chaofeng finally learned the name of the reckless man before him. Just as he had guessed: Hu Tiefa.
"Swans and butterflies are wings of a pair; flowers scent the world around."
The swan was Ji Bingyan; the butterfly, Hu Tiefa.
And Hu Tiefa was only about twenty-four or twenty-five years old.
In a way, Chu Liuxiang's story hadn't even begun yet.
Li Chaofeng pulled a small white spray bottle from his pack. Under Hu Tiefa's astonished gaze, he carefully misted the tiger meat with homemade cooking wine.
The aroma quickly filled the air, and before long, a large skewer of tiger meat was ready.
"Gulp!"
Just the scent alone made Hu Tiefa believe Li Chaofeng's nickname of "Little Culinary God" was well deserved. When he finally bit into the meat, the taste far surpassed any other large game he had ever eaten.
Carnivores' meat was usually tough and gamey, but Li Chaofeng's superhuman senses, granted by his Five-Insect Blade, combined with his cooking skills and homemade wine, transformed the tiger meat into a delicacy.
"Your skills, Old Jin would be crazy to give you just one tavern — even ten wouldn't be a loss!" Hu Tiefa praised between mouthfuls, grease dripping as he ate.
Li Chaofeng smiled quietly. After grilling several more skewers for Hu Tiefa, he began to butcher the tiger carcass.
In this world, no one cared for animal protection. The tiger's skin, bones, claws, gallbladder, blood, and even its penis were all valuable.
If handled properly, someone would buy every part.
Right after finding the tiger's lair and killing the beast, Li Chaofeng had started to lure Jiang Biehe into attempting a sneak attack.
If he had begun butchering earlier, he wouldn't have had much rest time—and Jiang Biehe wouldn't have thought Li Chaofeng was sleeping soundly.
Now, with plenty of time, Li Chaofeng took the opportunity to earn some extra pocket money.
With a boning knife in hand, he dismantled the tiger carcass with the precision of a master butcher. Hu Tiefa finally felt full, rubbing his belly with regret.
"If only there were a jar of good wine now, life would be perfect."
Li Chaofeng seemed to have an idea. He opened his pack and pulled out a jar of Huadiao wine.
Hu Tiefa's mouth instantly went dry, his face lighting up.
"Wow, you carry wine while wandering the martial world?"
Li Chaofeng explained that the wine wasn't for drinking.
"This is cooking wine, to flavor the food. Since I'm packing tiger skin and bones, drinking some will free up space."
Unlike Hu Tiefa, who carried silver notes and ate wherever he pleased, Li Chaofeng—lacking lightness skills—had to prepare his own supplies for the wilderness.
His pack was huge; when riding, it was strapped to the horse; when on foot, always nearby.
Inside were spare clothes, dried meat and fruit, salt, oil, and seasonings. Though not as carefree as Hu Tiefa's wandering lifestyle, it was steadier—and that was no loss.
Hu Tiefa only asked casually, not caring why Li carried wine. Before Li finished explaining, Hu Tiefa uncorked the jar and gulped down the contents.
Finishing the Huadiao in one go, Hu Tiefa felt a pleasant warmth fill his chest. He looked upward with satisfaction.
"Ah, this is the true joy of life."
Full and content, Li Chaofeng finished peeling and drying the tiger skin. Hu Tiefa's eyes then shifted behind him to where Jiang Qin was still bent over, writing.
With some irritation, he called out.
"A confession isn't that long—are you planning to write until the end of time?"
No matter how long a confession could be, it rarely exceeded a hundred characters, yet Jiang Biehe had already penned thousands.
Hu Tiefa refused to believe that a lifelong evildoer, facing death, would suddenly repent with such a lengthy confession. It was obvious he was deliberately stalling.
Li Chaofeng ignored this, but Hu Tiefa was unwilling to wait any longer.
Hearing Hu Tiefa's words, Jiang Biehe remained unfazed. His brush danced across the paper like dragons and phoenixes, while he explained calmly.
"Doesn't Hero Hu want to see just what mysteries the Married Garment Divine Skill holds?"
"Oh? Even a glory-seeking profiteer can be this kind-hearted?"
Hu Tiefa chuckled softly upon hearing that Jiang Qin was actually writing down the Married Garment Divine Skill. After all, Jiang Qin's earlier plan had been to exchange the secret manual for Hu Tiefa's assistance.
But then, unexpectedly, Jiang Qin had suddenly stopped writing and became unusually obedient.
Sensing that something was going on that he didn't fully understand, Hu Tiefa didn't press further. He was merely meddling in this matter as a favor, and as long as Li Chaofeng was okay with it, Hu Tiefa had no intention of saying more.
Jiang Biehe smirked quietly to himself, continuing to write his customized version of the Married Garment Divine Skill with solemn dignity.
"When a man is about to die, his words tend to be kind. Since I am to die, carrying the Married Garment Divine Skill with me brings no benefit, does it?"
"Besides, Young Hero Li hasn't objected to me continuing, so why should Hero Hu be in such a rush?"
Li Chaofeng paid no mind to Jiang Biehe's thoughts. At this moment, Jiang was nothing more than a grasshopper after the autumn harvest—he simply could not leap again.
Now, Jiang Biehe was restricted not only in what he could write but even in his movements.
Though Li Chaofeng was cutting and scraping flesh from his own body, most of his spirit remained focused on Jiang Biehe. Should Jiang make any sudden moves, the Five-Insect Blade would instantly return to Li's hand.
Whether the blade might change masters after being lodged in Jiang's head for so long was something Li Chaofeng had pondered during his five years with the sword. If such a thing really happened, it would be a groundbreaking discovery—and it might even alter his combat style.
Would Jiang Biehe become invincible simply by possessing the Five-Insect Blade?
Li Chaofeng could only say that while the Five-Insect Blade was powerful, its strength lay in its unpredictability—not in straightforward combat.
After killing the Three Tigers of Tianmen, the blade had only grown half an inch; now just eight inches long, it was still essentially a dagger.
Moreover, the blade had no healing powers; unless Jiang Biehe had given up on life, he would never draw it for battle.
As Jiang Biehe laid down the final stroke of his writing, a faint look of triumph gleamed in his eyes as he glanced at Li Chaofeng.
If Hu Tiefa ever read what was written in the Married Garment Divine Skill, Li Chaofeng's secret would be lost for sure.
The thought that Li Chaofeng would perish under his own arrogance made Jiang Biehe's expression all the more smug.
Li Chaofeng caught the gleam of pride in Jiang's eyes, but he only smiled and raised his right hand. In an instant, the short dagger embedded in Jiang Biehe's forehead flew back into Li Chaofeng's palm.
"How did you—"
Jiang Biehe's eyes widened in disbelief, his heart filled with frustration.
He had invested countless efforts, even encoding secret messages within the Married Garment Divine Skill, all to evade Li Chaofeng's watchful eyes and secretly inform Hu Tiefa that this blade was not only sharp but also extraordinary.
Yet here Li Chaofeng was, demonstrating that very extraordinary power right before Hu Tiefa's eyes. So everything Jiang had done earlier… was truly just to write that confession and the Married Garment Divine Skill!
"Pfft!"
Unable to bear the frustration any longer, Jiang Biehe spat blood, collapsing to the ground. Thick fluid oozed slowly from the two knife wounds in his head. His eyes opened wide with fury—he was dying but unwilling to rest in peace!