Blade - Unbound

Chapter 13: Sha Lifei

“He’s dead?!” Li Yan was stunned by his grandfather’s declaration.

“Of course he’s dead,” Li Gui cursed. “That dog Yuan Xizhong was older than me and already riddled with injuries during the Northern Campaign. I heard ten years ago that the old bastard had taken to his bed. He suffered for three full years before dying, wasting down to nothing but skin and bones. His children were just as useless too! They committed grave crimes and got the whole family executed. Serves him right!”

I see...

Li Yan scratched his head, feeling oddly unsettled. It was like preparing to take revenge, only to find that a cart had run over the target.

He couldn’t help asking again, “What exactly happened back then?”

Li Gui smoked in silence for a long time before finally speaking, “Fine. It’s been so many years, I don’t want to take it to the grave.

“We had entered the lands of white mountains and black waters. Besides the rebel general Guo Mao, the foreign tribes that followed him south had also been crushed. Back then, the former Great Xing Dynasty and the Golden Horde were locked in a north-south stalemate, so there were still many Han villages along the frontier. But for some reason, Yuan Xizhong went mad! He burned every village along the way, sparing not even the elders, the weak, or the sick...

“A few of us raised objections, and he had us flogged ten times in public, mocking us all the while. That alone might have been bearable. In the end, war is brutal, and innocent deaths are nothing new. But when a group of fleeing Jurchen royals passed by, he acted blind and let them go.

“Afterward, we reported the matter to General Zhang, but we were stopped outside the camp. Yuan Xizhong interfered behind the scenes. He rose through the ranks, while we were forced to lay down our arms and return home.”

Li Gui sighed loudly. “The court is corrupt, while the jianghu is dangerous... It’s better to live as a simple farmer.”

So that’s the story.

Li Yan fell into thought, yet something still felt off. According to his grandfather, Yuan Xizhong had only been a minor officer during the campaign. His rise in rank had come afterward. But imperial plaques, tampering with the mystic arts, and something as rare as the Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coins...

None of that seemed within Yuan Xizhong’s capabilities. The person who had laid the curse was likely someone else. What kind of grudge would drive someone to such great lengths?

Li Yan couldn’t help but continued asking, “Grandpa, what about your old comrades?”

The old man sighed, gazing into the distance as he smoked. He seemed lost in memory and he didn’t speak for a long time. Eventually, he muttered, “For the first few years after returning home, we still exchanged letters occasionally. But later, contact stopped. Most are probably old or dead by now. There can’t be many left...”

Li Yan didn’t press further. He was already certain; there was more to it. He just had no intention of telling his grandfather more.

The old man was aging and frail. He had only just escaped the shadow of the curse and begun to let go of the past. If he learned that his enemies had placed a curse on them that killed his son, and that it was still connected to his grandson, it might break him entirely.

Worse still, in a world of ghosts and demons, dying with unresolved resentment might leave him unable to rest in peace. That would be Li Yan’s burden to bear. Such grudges, Li Yan felt, should be settled by the younger generation.

After casually changing the subject and chatting for a little while, Li Yan entered the kitchen, cooked a couple of simple dishes, and shared a few drinks with his grandfather.

He seemed relaxed on the surface, but he had already made up his mind. The person who laid the curse would show themselves sooner or later, and when they did, he would pay them back for what they had done.

However, for the time being, his priority was clear. He needed to step into the mysterious world of cultivation. According to Big Tooth Du, Sha Lifei knew people in the circle. It was just that Li Yan was in no rush to seek him out.

The reason was simple. With the summer harvest approaching, Sha Lifei would come on his own. The Li Clan actually had some history with the man. In fact, Sha Lifei wasn’t his real name. It was an alias he used, and his actual name was Sha Guangsheng.

As the old saying goes, those who roamed the jianghu sought only two things: profit and reputation. Making a name for themselves was everything! However, one’s reputation was usually given by others.

Li Yan’s father, Li Hu, had earned the title “Sick Tiger of Guanzhong” because he looked unassuming at first glance. However, once roused, he was as ferocious as a tiger descending the mountain.

Sha Lifei however, had named himself. It sounded imposing, but those in the know treated it as a joke. Still, he was shrewd, skilled at reading people, and adept at going with the flow. He understood jianghu etiquette and avoided major trouble.

Over time, the name stuck. People even forgot his real name. Anyway, being a bladesmen didn’t mean killing all day. In the jianghu, building reputation and earning a living were equally important. Risky work paid well, but opportunities weren’t constant, especially in times of peace.

One couldn’t be hired without a reputation.

Renowned bladesmen were supported by several important patrons, but novices or those who failed to make a name for themselves had to find other ways to survive.

Usually, there were three paths they could take. The first was to follow a famous bladesmen, complete missions to escort caravans, guard strongholds, or trade salt. The second was to become an outlaw. Many bandit leaders in the Guanzhong Plains had once been bladesmen, choosing to live by the sword and die by the sword rather than enduring hardship and serving others. The third was to take whatever job came their way.

Li Hu had chosen the third way. During harvest seasons, he would organize laborers from nearby villages to travel for work. It was an old tradition. Nearly every labor group had a bladesman as a leader to secure good contracts and to prevent landlords from cheating them.

Of course, the leader would take a cut of the total amount paid for the labor group. In simple terms, Li Hu was a contractor. Even after gaining fame, Li Hu continued walking his path. As he put it, the money didn’t matter; it was about protecting his people and earning a good reputation. Eventually, he even stopped taking payment altogether and simply helped to arrange jobs.

After his death, the labor groups had lost their leader. That was when Sha Lifei had stepped in. He had once studied under the same master as Li Hu, and had a loose connection with the former labor group leader. It was just that their paths had diverged in the end..

Back then, Li Hu had made a name for himself. Sha Lifei, on the other hand, had drifted between villages, making money off common folk and never daring to venture near Chang’an. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Leading the laborers was a decent opportunity. Naturally, he wouldn’t pass it up.

As for his annual visits... that was jianghu etiquette. Whenever one entered another’s territory, one paid one’s respects. Since he was benefiting from his former connection, he had to offer tribute each year. With Sha Lifei’s slick nature, he wouldn’t leave himself open to criticism. That said, his gifts were always perfunctory. It was just a few cheap cakes and biscuits to avoid the wagging tongues.

Since the harvest season was upon then, it was time for his visit.

The next day, a rider appeared on the official road, kicking up a trail of dust. The horse he rode was an old yellow-maned steed. It might be old, but it rode steady. The man atop it was dressed in gray clothes and had twin blades hanging from his belt. He had a full beard and broad shoulders, complementing his fierce appearance.

However, that wasn’t his most defining feature. What stood out most was his bald, gleaming head that shone under the sun.

“Sha Lifei!”

“Uncle Sha!”

A group of children from the village yelled in excitement when they saw him. Regardless of what was said, Sha Lifei certainly looked the part of a wandering hero. In their eyes, he was the exact image of what they expected when they thought of a man from the jianghu.

Li Yan, though handsome and also a bladesman, looked more like a scholar. The way he spoke was also eloquent, and he never held back when scolding others. He didn’t look like a hero at all.

Hearing the children cheering his name, Sha Lifei laughed heartily. “Hahaha!”

The children clapped in delight as he tugged at the reins, bringing his horse rearing before he charged into the village.

As his horse passed, two copper coins clinked to the ground as his hearty laugh lingered in the air. “Kids, go buy yourselves some sweets!”

After entering the village, Sha Lifei rode around once, beating a gong. At the same time, he yelled at the top of his lungs, “Listen up, anyone who wants to earn money, bring your tools and follow me tomorrow morning!”

There were three essential tools for laborers: the sickle, the whetstone, and the bedding.

With manpower short this year, landowners were offering good wages for workers. Everyone already knew the news, and those interested had already prepared their gear and rations. Their plan was to quickly head toward Xianyang and Xianping for a quick job, before returning in time for their own harvest.

Hearing the shouting, villagers immediately crowded around.

“Hero Sha, how much are they paying this year?”

“Hero Sha, have you secured the contracts yet?”

Though being called a hero pleased him, Sha Lifei kept his stern expression as he rubbed his bald head slowly. “Why do you have so many questions?! Follow me and you won’t go hungry!”

He jumped off his horse and tossed the reins to a random villager beside him.

“Zhuzi, feed my horse,” he said as he grabbed a paper-wrapped bundle of pastries from his saddle.

He hummed a tune and headed toward Li Yan’s courtyard. At the door, he ran into Li Gui, who was headed out to play chess.

“Haha! Elder Li, you’re looking well!” Sha Lifei greeted with a bow. “I came to visit. Brought you some osmanthus cakes from Xiangyuan House in Chang’an; it’s good stuff!”

“Enough. Don’t come next year.” Li Gui snorted before tottering off on his cane. He had never liked Sha Lifei. He felt the man was too scheming and was always up to no good.

As for what he brought... Xiangyuan House’s pastries? If Sha Lifei could ever get his hands on such delicacies, he would have eaten them first. The pastries he brought were clearly cheap goods from Lantian County. Most importantly, all his visits were for show. He simply wanted to create some fanfare to boost his reputation.

It was a shame that Sha Lifei was a thick skinned bastard. He didn’t mind at all as he laughed, barging his way into the courtyard. Inside, Li Yan was practicing his martial arts, executing a mighty “Fierce Tiger Climbing the Wall,” then twisting into a beautiful “Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaf.”

“Hoh? Nice moves!” Sha Lifei praised loudly as surprise flickered in his eyes.

He practiced the Red Fist himself, and he had a discerning eye. Though the Red Fist emphasized footwork, he knew the punches and hand movements were the true key. With solid structure and flowing techniques, one would be invincible!

Despite his youth, Li Yan had clearly grasped its essence. Every movement carried huge force, his tendons and bones snapping like lightning with each move. It was obvious he had already reached the peak of the Light Jin Realm. In the future, he might just surpass his father!

Sha Lifei felt a hint of regret with his bootleg gifts. He felt that he should bring something more respectable in the future, lest his stinginess came back to bite him.

As he rubbed his bald head again, he chuckled sheepishly, “Oh, Little Yan, please carry on, I’ve got business elsewhere. I shall not disturb your practice...”

Setting down the bundle, he turned to leave.

Before he could take his first step, Li Yan spoke. “Uncle Sha, there’s no need to rush. I have something to ask you.”