Outside the County Government Office.
"Chen Da'an died of illness in prison, you're here just in time, quickly take the body away, it's an eyesore."
The two governmental officials looked disgusted, dropped the body, and turned to enter the office.
Chen Tang looked at the body in front of him, covered in bruises and blood, his face somber, frowning without speaking.
No explanation.
No chance to ask questions either.
The person is dead, collect the body, just like that.
Anyone who isn't blind can naturally see that Chen Da'an was subjected to inhuman torture before death, hardly a case of illness.
This was Chen Tang's first meeting with Chen Da'an after his transmigration.
Unexpectedly, it was in such a manner.
Saying he had deep feelings for Chen Da'an would be too much.
But even if he hadn't been reborn in Chen Tang's body, merely witnessing this scene, it would be hard to remain calm.
Chen Tang, however, was very calm.
At least, on the surface, it appeared so.
Standing silently for a long time, Chen Tang quietly bent down, picked up Chen Da'an's body, placed it on his back, and headed home.
After transmigrating, he had been cultivating on Snow Mountain.
It wasn't until now that he truly felt the surrounding chill!
The lives of two Chen Clan members were gone just like that.
No one cared, there was no place to argue reason, and there was no one to give them justice.
Like two ants, trampled to death at will.
The pedestrians in Changze County, upon seeing Chen Tang carrying a corpse, frowned deeply and distanced themselves, avoiding him like the plague.
Chen Tang finally understood the meaning of the Mountain Guest's words.
"Uncle Sun, it's time to pay this month's protection money!"
"Master Chai, why has the protection fee increased again?"
"Stop your damn whining, just pay what you're supposed to. Without our Evil Wolf Gang's protection, your blacksmith shop would've been wrecked long ago!"
Not far from the blacksmith shop, a few members of the Evil Wolf Gang were collecting money nearby.
In Changze County, two gangs were entrenched, one being the local branch of the Black Water Gang, and the other the local Evil Wolf Gang.
The two major gangs each dominated their territory, tacitly understanding not to intrude on each other, maintaining a sort of peace.
The Black Water Gang had business dealings with the government offices of various counties, while the Evil Wolf Gang relied on collecting protection money from nearby businesses for most of its income.
It was, in essence, protection fees; if not paid, these people would come knocking to cause trouble.
Both gangs had interests related to the Changze County Government Office, so naturally, the government officials turned a blind eye.
For small business owners, besides heavy taxes and miscellaneous levies, they also had to deal with these gangs, making life extremely difficult.
"Business has been slow this month, I only have this little money left, I hope Master Chai can be lenient..."
Old Sun held two hundred copper coins in his hands, with a face full of forced smiles.
"Get out of here, you think you can brush me off with this little bit of money?"
Master Chai waved his hand, slapped Old Sun across the face, and cursed loudly.
He lifted his arm, ready to hit again, but the corner of his eye caught sight of Chen Tang in the distance, and he frowned deeply.
"Damn it, walking out and seeing a corpse!"
Master Chai cursed, snatched the copper coins from Old Sun's hands, stuffed them into his pocket, and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go, let's get away from here, don't want to catch bad luck!"
"You little bastard, get lost! If I see you again, I'll kill you!"
Before leaving, Master Chai glared at Chen Tang, swore under his breath, and quickly left with his Evil Wolf Gang henchmen.
Chen Tang remained expressionless.
He wasn't in the mood to deal with this kind of riffraff.
"Chen Tang."
Old Sun at the blacksmith shop beckoned to Chen Tang and called out.
Chen Tang paused, hesitated slightly, but still carried Chen Da'an towards the blacksmith shop.
Chen Da'an had some dealings with Old Sun when he was alive; those bows and arrows were crafted here.
"Chen Tang, thank you just now."
One side of Old Sun's face was swollen, his smile bitter.
Chen Tang shook his head.
He hadn't really helped.
"Brother Chen, he..."
Old Sun looked at Chen Da'an's body, hesitated, and sighed.
Chen Tang remained silent.
After a moment, he asked, "Uncle Sun, is there anything else?"
"Yes, yes."
Old Sun seemed to remember something, turned around back into the shop, and soon came out carrying a black-sheathed long sword.
"What is this..."
Chen Tang frowned.
Old Sun said, "After something happened to you, Brother Chen left some silver with me to make a good sword."
"He said when you were young, he once asked you what kind of person you wanted to become in the future. You said you wanted to become a Blade Master, upholding justice, roaming the Jianghu. He always remembered this but the family was poor, so he always hesitated before."
"Brother Chen said, from childhood to adulthood, he never bought you a gift. When you recovered this time and came back, this sword would be for you, to surprise you."
Chen Tang listened, remained silent for a long time, then gently placed Chen Da'an down, leaning against the front of the blacksmith shop, and reached out to take the long sword.
He was just someone who traveled through time; he never lived with Chen Da'an, so there wasn't any true affection between them.
He disliked trouble.
He even thought it troublesome to meet Chen Da'an, to stage a deep father-son relationship before he descended the mountain.
Chen Tang also didn't like the pressure of such deep-seated revenge.
Yet, for some reason, looking at the saber in his hand, a certain inexplicable emotion suddenly surged within him, leaving him somewhat uncomfortable.
The saber had been forged, but the person was no longer there.
In the end, Chen Da'an never got to hand this saber to Chen Tang personally.
The father-son fate in this life had thus ended.
They didn't even get to see each other one last time.
"Brother Chen came that day and talked to me a lot."
Old Sun continued, "After your accident, the people here often mocked you, calling you the 'tiger subduer'... but when Brother Chen brought it up, his face was full of pride."
"He said you were a good kid, a man of blood and courage, and if you could endure and survive, you'd undoubtedly become a Blade Master famed across the land in the future."
Chen Tang hung his head low, looking at Chen Da'an leaning outside the blacksmith shop, a nameless fury simmering in his chest, with no outlet for release.
"Child, I know you're not willing to accept this."
Old Sun patted Chen Tang's shoulder, advising earnestly, "But you have to think, we're just ordinary folks; encountering something like this, there's really nothing that can be done. Man, we're all bound to fate; once you're caught in it, you just have to accept it."
Should ordinary people accept fate?
Clang!
Chen Tang suddenly drew out the long saber.
The blade was smooth and sharp, its body gleaming brightly, indeed a fine saber.
Chen Tang looked closely and saw two lines of small characters engraved at the end of the blade.
"A countryman rages at injustice, honing the Eternal Saber in his chest!"
Chen Tang softly recited.
Old Sun said, "Brother Chen had me engrave this, saying he often heard your grandfather mention it, and was giving it to you together."
Chen Tang sheathed the saber, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath.
He disliked trouble.
But he feared an uneasy conscience even more.
Because of Chen Da'an, he had the opportunity to train on the Snow Mountain and return after healing.
Since arriving in this world, living another life as Chen Tang, he had to take on these grudges of his predecessor.
This is the Jianghu.
After a moment, when Chen Tang opened his eyes again, his expression had returned to calm, like an ancient well without ripples.
Living another life, he didn't want to resign to fate.
If he had to acknowledge something, it would only be the saber in his hand!
With a lethal weapon in hand, the intent to kill arises!
"Uncle Sun, how could my father wound someone from the Government Office for no apparent reason, who exactly was injured?" Chen Tang asked.
"It's not your father's fault."
Old Sun said, "I heard it was that Cui Yong..."
Before finishing his words, Old Sun glanced over and saw a few White Servants who had just been drinking, swaying as they headed this way.
Old Sun's heart tightened, he shut his mouth and awkwardly smiled, "I'm just going by hearsay, it can't be taken as fact, you should leave quickly."
"Thank you."
Chen Tang didn't continue to ask, expressed his gratitude, strapped the saber to his waist, picked up Chen Da'an's corpse again, and headed home.
Old Sun watched as Chen Tang, who had later returned to calm, didn't think too much, felt relieved, and thought to himself, "After this ordeal, this child Chen Tang has become much more stable."
Chen Tang temporarily placed Chen Da'an's body at home; as it was just after the New Year and the weather was cold, the body wouldn't rot outside.
The information Old Sun revealed didn't differ much from what he had suspected before.
To find out what exactly happened between Chen Da'an and the Government Office, Cui Yong was the key figure.
Cui Yong had jurisdiction over dozens of households nearby.
Any slight commotion in any household would be known to him.
Even without Old Sun's news, Chen Tang would first go to him!
Chen Tang didn't act immediately.
These days, he operated in stealth, observing Cui Yong's whereabouts and habits, noting the times, places, and patterns of the Changze County governmental officials' night patrols.
Cui Yong also had two White Servants by his side, often entering and exiting together.
Chen Tang was very patient.
In the deep of night, with the harsh wind biting cold,
he sat silently in the courtyard, wiping the long saber in his hand over and over, constantly simulating actions in his mind, scrutinizing details, anticipating possible variables, and planning responses.
He was waiting for an opportunity.
The night grew darker, the clouds thickened.
A crystal-clear snowflake slowly drifted onto the cold blade.
It began to snow.
And it snowed more heavily.
The wind also grew more fierce.
The snow came at just the right time.
The wind and snow not only obscured vision but could also erase all traces.
Chen Tang stood up, sheathed the saber, and went out the door.