Blade - Unbound

Chapter 5: Knock, Knock, Knock.

The cuisine of the Guanzhong Plains had a long and rich history.

As the capital for multiple dynasties, Chang’an had gathered chefs from all over. Delicacies from across the land shared a table. Not only were there countless varieties, but the way people ate was refined and particular.

Staple foods alone came in many forms.

There were soup noodles and flatbreads, of course, but also qingjing rice from the south. It was made by soaking grains in the juice of the Sea Bilberry, then steaming and drying them nine times. This turned them into small, jet-black grains said to strengthen the body and improve complexion.

There were also oil rice balls, made with over a dozen ingredients. In the summer, they made other rice dishes like lotus-steamed rice, locust-leaf cold noodles, and cherry-stuffed pastries. Meats like pork, lamb, beef, and horse were prepared in a variety of ways. Though the capital had since moved north, many of these traditions remained.

Since Li Yan had been a foodie in his previous life, he was no stranger to cooking. Thanks to his hard-to-please taste buds, he became quite good at it.

Some dishes were no longer suitable to make now that the weather was warming up. Without a fridge, preparing half a pig was less about indulgence and more about preservation.

Guanzhong smoked meat was best prepared deep in the winter. Attempting it in the current climate risked spoiling it or letting maggots crawling all over it in a few days.

Fortunately, Li Yan had his methods. First, he rendered some pork fat. He left some of it for cooking and used the rest to seal large chunks of pork belly, preserving them for some time. The remaining meat was turned into braised pork, cured meat, and deep-fried meatballs. Naturally, a pot of minced meat sauce was essential for foodies like him.

Fragrance filled the courtyard, attracting the dogs roaming the village.

“Scram!” Li Yan laughed while waving them away. “When Third Blindy snuck into our place, not a single one of you dared bark. Useless mutts.”

He couldn’t help but wonder why they didn't. The dogs in the village dared to charge even if they were up against a wolf pack. Why had they let Third Blindy slip into the village without making a sound? Alas, the matter had passed. No one knew the answer.

At noon, they ate noodles with minced meat. At night, it was rice porridge, flatbread, and stir-fried dishes cooked in pork fat. Li Gui and Li Yan ate until their bellies were bloated, then sat on the doorstep, enjoying the cool breeze.

Now, they no longer had a worry left in the world. Life in the countryside was peaceful, but dull. As night fell, aside from a few couples still tossing about in bed, most of the villagers had already blown out their lamps and gone to sleep. After all, the farming season had arrived. Everyone would have to rise early to tend to the fields the next day.

Before long, the village fell into silence.

Inside Widow Wang’s main room was a dim, flickering candle and an offering table laden with items required for a ritual. More than a dozen red wooden sticks had been planted in a circle on the ground before it, bound together with red string. Her young daughter, only four years old, lay within it.

Unlike her unkempt mother, the girl’s clothes were clean. She was also pale and delicate since she had rarely been under the sun. Despite her appearance, though, she seemed trapped in a nightmare. She was curled up tightly, her face flushed red and her eyes shut. Her eyelids trembled violently as beads of perspiration dropped off her forehead.

Nearby, Widow Wang knelt on the ground, her face pale with worry. She kept glancing between her daughter and the door as if she could sense something out there. Holding three sticks of incense above her head, she repeatedly bowed and muttered under her breath, “Third Aunt, protect us... Third Aunt, protect us...”

***

Li Yan sat up abruptly in his room and frowned as he reached for his back. It felt ice cold. His surroundings were far from cold, yet touching his back felt like touching a block of ice in the middle of summer.

What the hell?!

Years of martial training meant that, although he hadn’t yet broken into the Dark Jin Realm due to his age and lack of combat experience, his awareness and control over his body far surpassed that of ordinary people. He would notice anything wrong instantly.

He had gotten that feeling once before, when he killed Third Blindy. Since everything had happened too quickly back then, he thought he had been mistaken.

Did I catch something nasty from that beast?!

Despite his concerns, Li Yan didn’t panic. Instead, he tried to use the statue in his dantian. As long as it affected him, be it poison, wounds, or even illness, the statue should transfer it away instantly. As long as the three flames remained, he was nearly impossible to kill.

Strangely enough, nothing changed! Not only did he still feel as though he were freezing, but he was getting colder by the second.

Huh? Is this a psychological problem?

At that moment, he heard something seemingly knocking on wood outside, dragging him out of his thoughts. It was faint, but in the dead silence of the night, it was unmistakable.

Li Yan frowned. He quickly rose to his feet, put on his pants, and grabbed his Guanshan blade from the wall. His door creaked softly as he slowly opened it and peered outside.

There was nothing. freёwebnovel.com

Life in villages in the Guanzhong Plains was peaceful, but not without danger. Wolves were one thing, but bandits were worse. Even if Li Clan’s Fort wasn’t rich, there was always a chance of desperate men or scoundrels from the jianghu making a move on them. His father had once told him that there were all kinds of people in the jianghu. Some were honest traders, but far more relied on deception and trickery.

This included the sects, which were divided into the orthodox and unorthodox factions. There were precisely eight sects on each side. The orthodox faction consisted of the Jin, Pi, Cai, Gua, Ping, Tuan, Tiao, and Liu sects. The unorthodox faction consisted of the Feng, Ma, Yan, Que, Hua, Lan, Ge, and Rong sects.

Among the orthodox eight, a few did divination and fengshui readings. Some had real abilities, but the majority barely had skills and were simply scraping by.

On the other hand, the unorthodox eight were the dangerous ones. Among them, the Ma Sect specialized in scams. Some disguised themselves as monks or Daoists. Skilled ones targeted the wealthy, while the less capable preyed on the ordinary population.

They would smear eel blood on doors, attracting bats at night to create the illusion of ghosts knocking. Some would coat lamp wicks with powder mixtures, making flames flicker unnaturally enough to make it seem as though ghosts were blowing them out.

But at the end of the day, they ran a simple operation: they would scare their targets, then show up as a master to scam their targets into paying for their services.

The tricks used in the jianghu were endless.

Unfortunately, anyone who tried to play tricks on Li Yan would be courting death. He was no fool.

Li Yan smirked faintly as he looked outside. The courtyard, which the dim moonlight illuminated, was empty.

As he was seriously wondering what was wrong, he heard knocks again. This time, he could tell it was coming from the main gate. It was faint enough to make Li Yan wonder if it was just a rat or a cat. Even so, he didn’t let his guard down. Squinting slightly, he slowly drew his blade and moved to the gate.

He moved silently, like a shadow. If the creature outside was a bandit or some thief, he would use his razor-sharp blade to slice them in half, even if he had to cut through the gate.

But as he approached, his expression sank. He could sense it. There was nothing outside at all!

However, a stench hit him hard. It was the same stench he smelled when he killed Third Blindy!

Didn’t I kill it already?!

Li Yan felt a chill run down his spine and got goosebumps all over. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to sense what was out there again, only to feel nothing again.

However, the stench grew stronger.

Could it be a ghost?!

Whatever was happening, it had already gone beyond anything Li Yan understood. No matter how strange Third Blindy was, it was still a creature of flesh and blood. Stabbing his blade into its belly would slay it all the same.

He couldn’t kill a ghost! But why would a beast even come back to haunt him?

The knocking came again. Li Yan froze, then slowly raised his head.

“Mighty Through a Hundred Battles.”

Then he caught another scent through the stench. It was metallic, with the musk of wood and faint traces of incense.

It was a strange combination. Metal and wood shouldn’t smell like that, yet the scent immediately reminded him of a combination of those two.

Third Blindy’s stench brought a chill down his spine. However, the scent coming from the plaque lit a fire in him.

As the supernatural forces collided, knocks rang out again.

Li Yan suddenly realized that the plaque was also a type of treasure. It simply didn’t reveal itself under normal circumstances. Only when something unclean came did it awaken.

With his strange ability, he could smell things normal people couldn’t. He was sure his ability didn’t come from the statue, but something he was born with.

What in the world is going on?!

Li Yan’s palms started to sweat. Faced with something so mysterious, he felt utterly powerless for the first time.

Yet, as if the strange invisible presence could sense his feelings, the stench he smelled when he killed Third Blindy grew stronger. The knocking also started to grow more frequent.

Knock, knock, knock...

It was soft and unassuming, but to Li Yan, it sounded like it was hastening his death.

He didn’t move. The thought of his grandfather, who was sound asleep, prevented him from retreating, but he didn't dare open the gate either.

His Guanshan blade did not reassure him in the slightest. He could only pray that the plaque that had been awarded to his grandfather could hold back whatever it was out there.

As the knocks continued, Li Yan felt his back getting colder. It was as if he was pressing his back against an entire block of ice!

At the same time, the hateful glare that Third Blindy had shot him during its death replayed in his mind.

Is this a curse? free𝑤ebnovel.com

Li Yan couldn’t be sure. Fortunately, he could feel the clash between the two strange powers slowly thinning out the stench.

Before he knew it, two hours had passed. Finally, after one last round of knocks, the stench disappeared.

Woof! Woof! Woof!

The barking of dogs broke the oppressive silence, and Li Yan finally heaved a sigh of relief. Even so, his expression remained overcast.

His back was still as cold as ice.