Through the ghostly entity Peon's slow narration, Sevrin gradually understood.
It turned out that Peon had been dead for decades.
Back then, while still in Nina Town, Peon, who was just a small peddler walking the streets and alleys, encountered a tragic life event.
His father, after years of overwork, fell ill and unfortunately passed away.
Although grieving, Peon, as the eldest son, naturally had to bear the responsibility of arranging his father's funeral affairs.
Therefore, he inevitably had to deal with the Xin Family.
Because in Nina Town, the Xin Family monopolized all matters of celebration and mourning in the entire town.
Without the Xin Family's permission, one could not marry, nor could they arrange funeral rites.
If anyone dared to marry secretly and was discovered by the Xin Family, they would be seized and charged with the crime of illicit relations, then stuffed into a pig cage and thrown into the river to drown alive.
The same applied to funerals.
If anyone dared to secretly dig a grave and bury a corpse, only to be discovered by the Xin Family, they would be accused of ruining the Fortress's Feng Shui. The buried body would be dug up and discarded in the wilderness, left to be devoured by passing wild beasts.
And whether it was a funeral or a wedding, to gain the Xin Family's permission, there was only one way: pay up.
For funerals, the Xin Family set the standard at one hundred Ducans. Pay the full amount, and they would allocate a piece of land for the deceased to be buried.
Unfortunately, Peon's family was poor and had no money, so he could only borrow from here and there.
In the end, after borrowing from everyone he could, he only managed to scrape together eighty Ducans.
Since the amount was insufficient, the Xin Family naturally refused Peon's request for a burial.
Coincidentally, the Xin Family member who visited Peon's home that day took a liking to his sister at first sight.
So this Xin Family member, named Xin Gein, hinted to Peon that if his sister accompanied him on a two day outing, his father's burial fees could be waived entirely.
Facing such a disgusting demand, Peon naturally refused. Xin Gein merely smirked and left.
Then, that very night, bandits broke into Peon's home.
Not only did Peon himself suffer a beating, but the money he had painstakingly borrowed was entirely robbed. Even his sister was kidnapped.
Before leaving, the bandits dropped a parting remark: "If you knew this would happen, why resist earlier?"
This sentence instantly awakened Peon; the mastermind behind his current ordeal was definitely that Xin Gein.
He didn't care about anything else. That night, he frantically went to the Xin Family to settle the score.
As a result, upon arriving at the Xin Family's grand mansion, Xin Gein completely denied the matter, even claiming Peon was making false accusations, and had the mansion's guards beat him out with clubs.
Beaten once again, a demoralized Peon returned home, only to find a letter in his ruined house. The letter stated that if he wanted to find his sister, he should go to Mount Pasha.
"Mount Pasha?"
Sevrin asked, "Is that the mountain we are on now?"
Peon slowly nodded. "Yes..."
"And then what?" Sevrin continued, "You were murdered by them in this mountain?"
Peon nodded again, and then continued his story.
Back then, after reading the letter, overwhelmed with anxiety, he desperately left his home and headed straight for Mount Pasha.
He pushed himself to travel through the night, and nearing dawn, Peon finally arrived at the foot of Mount Pasha.
However, the area was dim and completely deserted. Apart from the occasional bird call, there was no sign of anyone.
With no other choice, Peon decided to enter the mountain.
But as soon as he entered the mountain, he was ambushed.
In the chaos, Peon had no idea how many people there were, nor could he clearly see who they were.
Afterward, his tendons were slashed, and he was beaten half to death before being thrown onto the bank of a deep mountain stream.
In the end, Peon was brutally torn apart and eaten by a pack of wild wolves on the bank of that stream, dying with unfulfilled grievances.
"I... do not hate... the wolves," Peon's jawbone opened and closed slowly. "I only hate... Xin Gein."
After finishing his tale, he suddenly stood up and knelt before Sevrin, pleading:
"My Lord, this lowly one knows... your powers are vast. I beg of you... help me take my revenge."
As if fearing Sevrin would refuse, the moment Peon finished speaking, he immediately threw out his plan:
"This lowly one... has wandered... Mount Pasha for decades... Deep within this mountain, I discovered... the ruins of an ancient sect..."
Sevrin interrupted, "You mean to say, if I help you take your revenge, you will tell me the location of these ruins, right?"
Peon nodded. "Yes... Within the ruins... there is gold and silver... precious pills... divine weapons... cultivation techniques..."
"Very tempting, but" Sevrin asked, "What if I find the ruins on my own? What then?"
"You... will not... find them," Peon shook his head. "Those ruins were... during an earthquake... sunk deep underground... The mountain closed over them... There are no paths or caves... that lead to the ruins... save for... one winding, narrow path... that only this lowly one knows."
"You mean to say" Sevrin said, "These ruins, because of an earthquake, were buried entirely beneath Mount Pasha, and there is only one path leading there, which only you know."
"Not buried..." Peon corrected. "It was an earthquake... that split this mountain open... swallowing the sect... It fell underground... and became ruins."
"How bizarre. How do you know all this so clearly?"
Sevrin asked in surprise, "Did this sect get swallowed by Mount Pasha right before your eyes and then fall underground?"
To this question, Peon answered: "This lowly one... has entered the ruins... There are stone steles left behind... by the people of that sect... The inscriptions state... they perished in... the Grxin calendar year."
"Grxin calendar year?"
Sevrin was completely bewildered. "What is that? Is it an era name?"
"This lowly one... previously... also did not know."
Peon spoke in disjointed phrases, "Later... over the decades... by constantly... asking others... I gradually learned... Grxin... was the dynasty before... Graew. The Graew had a national fortune of a thousand years. Therefore, Grxin and the ruins of this sect are over a thousand years old."
"The Graew Dynasty lasted for a thousand years?!"
Hearing this, Sevrin became even more bewildered.
A feudal dynasty that lasted at least a thousand years, what kind of concept was that?
For a moment, Sevrin couldn't even think of an earth dynasty to compare it to. He could only utter a sigh of, "Badass."
"Alright."
Sevrin casually composed himself and said, "I will help you."
Peon knelt and kowtowed once again.
"So, how exactly do you want me to help you?"
Sevrin asked further, "Do you want me to only kill Xin Gein, or wipe out the entire Xin Family?"
"Kill Xin Gein," Peon said gloomily. "As for the other... Xin Family members... that is up to... Your Lordship's... will."
"Fine," Sevrin nodded. "I understand."
"Also..." Peon raised his skull like face and pleaded, "My Lord... please help me inquire... about my sister's... whereabouts."
"Sigh" Sevrin shook his head and sighed. "I can, but it's been decades. This..."
He didn't finish the sentence; it was too cruel.
"But I..." Peon persisted, "Only want to know... my sister's whereabouts."
"Alright," Sevrin nodded. "I will help you investigate."
"Thank you, My Lord!"
Peon kowtowed heavily, his skull thudding against the ground. "Thank you... thank you, My Lord!"
...
At this moment, Sevrin stood at the outermost layer of the Xin Family Fortress's military defense system, the outer rampart.
The so called rampart, the lower base spreads wide while the upper portion is narrow, forming a solid, sloping mound of compacted earth and stone. It is structurally sound, steep, straight, and imposing.
Thus, the outer rampart of the Xin Family Fortress was a winding, continuous wall of earth and stone.
Beyond this stone wall lay a winding yellow dirt road and vast tracts of farmland, with farmers and livestock scattered in small groups across the fields.
Sevrin did not choose to act at night. Instead, he waited until the sun rose in the east and the sky was bright before arriving at the Xin Family Fortress.
The reason was not complicated: he simply had no desire to engage in the cowardly act of assassination.
Sevrin intended to slaughter Xin Gein and his family right in the middle of the street, under the watchful eyes of the public, like butchering dogs in broad daylight.
Upon arriving at the Xin Family Fortress, Sevrin stood on the main road. The passing pedestrians and small vendors involuntarily detoured around him, completely afraid to approach.
Almost every person who walked around him felt a continuous dread in their hearts toward Sevrin's burly and imposing physique.
However, there were also many simple country folk who were not overly frightened, just constantly marveling.
For instance, an elderly farmer carrying a hoe showed no fear as he passed by and struck up a conversation with Sevrin:
"Youngster, you are truly robust."
Sevrin happened to need some directions, so he simply stood by the roadside and chatted with the old farmer:
"Old sir, have you finished your work?"
"Finished, finished. I have little land, so the work is also less."
"Is the land your own?"
"No, no."
The old farmer shook his head repeatedly. "Over ninety percent of the land in the Xin Family Fortress belongs to the Xin family. I am just a tenant farmer for the Xin family."
"A tenant farmer? Then how much rent do you have to pay a year?" Sevrin asked again.
"About..." The old farmer made a hand gesture. "I pay seventy-five percent."
Hearing this, Sevrin immediately frowned. "That black hearted? Then how do you feed your family?"
"You must not speak like that."
The old farmer waved his hands repeatedly, panic flashing across his face. "If the Xin family hears that, this old man will be doomed."
He then sighed and said, "This old man has no family. It's just me."
"Where is your family?"
"All dead. Murdered."
"The Xin family?"
The old farmer fell silent for a moment before replying, "If my grandson were still alive, he would probably be your age, though surely not as sturdy as you."
Sevrin nodded. "Old sir, do you know which direction Nina Town is?"
"Simple. Just follow this main road straight ahead, no turns. You'll be there in a few miles."
"Does everyone from the Xin family live in Nina Town?"
"Of the entire Xin Family Fortress, Nina Town is the most prosperous, so all the Xin family members live there."
"Understood."
Sevrin nodded and added, "Old sir, if you have free time today, you should take a walk toward Nina Town. I will be there, personally slaughtering the entire Xin family to avenge you and everyone else."
"Ah?!" The old farmer's eyes widened. "Youngster, you... what are you saying? This old man... I don't understand."
Sevrin didn't explain further. He just smiled, turned around, and with a heavy stomp, shot toward Nina Town, leaving a trail of heavy afterimages. The old farmer and the pedestrians were left standing in place, utterly dumbfounded.
...
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
Along the side of the winding dirt road, heavy, muffled impacts continuously echoed from the ridges of the fields, simultaneously creating a series of small, violently cratered dirt pits.
Frightened pedestrians looked over but couldn't see a single figure, as if an invisible beast had just sped past without crossing paths with anyone.
They had no idea that this was actually Sevrin sprinting, charging toward Nina Town at a speed of over two hundred meters per second.
If he had run on the main road, every single pedestrian would have been smashed to pieces, dying without an intact corpse.
Fortunately, Sevrin wasn't entirely crazed. To avoid harming the innocent, he only sprinted through the unpopulated fields alongside the road.
But even so, the gale force generated by Sevrin's sprint caused the large and small trees along his path to sway violently, their leaves rustling loudly.
"Hoo..."
"Haa..."
Sprinting forward, Sevrin maintained a steady breathing rhythm. His powerful heart pumped surges of blood throughout his body, allowing inexhaustible strength to continuously expand and erupt from within.
In truth, as he gained a deeper understanding of the Steel Tendons and Iron Bones realm, Sevrin became increasingly certain that he was now immune to almost all firearms attacks.
Even the so-called anti-materiel sniper rifles likely couldn't harm him.
It was simply because his current physical durability was too exaggerated, too terrifying, so terrifying that he could endure bombs and even artillery fire head-on.
At the same time, Sevrin wasn't idle while running.
He glanced at his personal interface and, with a single thought, pushed the divinity skill he had stolen from Peon to its limit.
In an instant, Sevrin acquired two new special traits: [Level 1 Yin Absorption] and [Level 1 Aura Concealment].
Simultaneously, he grasped the true essence of the "Gradual Submersion Yin-Gathering" divinity.
The so-called gradual submersion referred to mountains, and mountains were eternally silent and unyielding.
Therefore, "Gradual Submersion Yin-Gathering" was a divinity capable of both absorbing the yin energy of the deep mountains and concealing one's presence and aura.
But the twisted part was that living humans could not tolerate yin energy; accumulating too much would lead to illness, or even ruined fortune and premature death.
Thus, "Gradual Submersion Yin-Gathering" was clearly a ghost-type divinity meant for the dead. The wielder had to die and become a ghost before the divinity could activate and take effect.
This was the fundamental reason why a ghostly entity like Peon, whose corpse was utterly decomposed, making the concept of bloodline moot, could still possess a bloodline divinity.
From this divinity, Sevrin also came to a sudden realization.
If there was one, there would be a second; if there were two, there would be a third.
Since things like dual-trait divinities existed, then in this world, there were bound to be even more powerful divinities, martial arts, and techniques possessing an even greater number of special traits.
They were just waiting for him to seek them out, discover them, and claim them.
"I've arrived."
Outside a towering memorial archway, Sevrin came to a halt. "This is Nina Town."
...
The morning sunlight struck the weathered archway at the entrance of Nina Town, casting the inscribed characters in clear relief:
Tempered edge points horn to the sky, surging ambition pierces the smoke. Through a thousand grinds and ten thousand strikes it remains steadfast; the brave wield it, charging ever forward.
This poem was left by the founder of Nina Town, its very first mayor.
Back then, there was no Xin Family Fortress, only a poverty-stricken Nina Town and a sparse scattering of small villages nearby; it was far from its current prosperity.
However, the people then were pure of heart and helped one another. Though impoverished, they lived honest lives, and smiles could be seen on every face.
But now, while Nina Town appeared prosperous on the surface, no one knew exactly when the vengeful spirits and weeping cries had begun.
Who was right and who was wrong? It was hard to say in a few words.
After glancing at the archway, Sevrin passed beneath it, merging with the sea of people as he stepped onto a broad, grey-stone thoroughfare.
Lining both sides of the street were rows of shops, gatehouses, and low buildings.
Hanging from the facades of these storefronts, houses, and buildings were wooden signs of all shapes and sizes.
Inscribed on them were words like Silver Ornaments, Textiles, Apothecary, Pawnshop, Shoemaker, Teahouse, Tavern, Hotpot House, Fragrant Meat Shop, Rouge... and more.
In short, it had absolutely everything one could need.
Besides the storefronts, the grey-stone thoroughfare was also dotted with numerous peddlers and hawkers carrying their wares on poles, constantly shouting out to passersby to sell their goods.
Thus, the clamor of the crowd, the noisy play of children, and the shouts of the hawkers assaulted the ears, converging before Sevrin to form a bustling portrait of common life.
However, the moment this vibrant atmosphere drew near him, it was forcibly suppressed by a third, stifled by his exaggeratedly tall and powerful physique.
Regardless of age or gender, anyone who caught a close-up glimpse of Sevrin couldn't help but be intimidated and awed by his imposing stature. They couldn't even manage to speak loudly, wanting only to lower their heads and keep their distance.
Sevrin himself, however, was entirely oblivious to this, or rather, he simply didn't care.
Right now, he only wanted to know where the Xin Family mansion was located.
"I need to find someone to ask."
Muttering to himself, Sevrin scanned his surroundings.
After a quick sweep, his eyes lit up, having locked onto a target.
"Hey!"
Sevrin walked up to a roadside militia guard, clad in rattan armor and holding a long spear. He looked down and asked in a deep voice, "Where is the Xin Family mansion?"
"Uh..."
The guard, barely standing 1.7 meters tall, craned his neck to look up at the expressionless Sevrin. Overwhelmed by his aura, the guard asked, wary and flustered, "You... you... what do you want to do?"
With that, he raised his spear, aiming it shakily at Sevrin.
SWISH!
But in the blink of an eye, the spear was snatched from his hands by Sevrin and casually hurled into the sky.
WHEEEW!
The guard craned his neck, his mouth hanging open as he watched the spear fly higher and farther, accompanied by a continuous sonic boom. In a flash, it flew right out of Nina Town, vanishing completely from his line of sight.
"Did you not hear me speaking?"
This sharp reprimand snapped the guard back to reality. He quickly turned his head, bowing and scraping to Sevrin as he said, "Yes, yes, please speak, please speak."
"I ask you." Sevrin, restraining his temper, asked again, "Where is the Xin Family mansion?"
"Just walk down this street for two miles, then turn right and go another mile and a half, and you'll be there," the terrified guard rattled off in a single breath.
"Mhm."
Sevrin nodded in satisfaction. He patted the guard's shoulder and said, "Very good. You have a glib tongue; you have a bright future. Then I will ask you one more question."
"Please speak, please speak," the guard said with an obsequious smile.
"Among the militia captains you know..." Sevrin asked casually, "is there one who is in poor health, perhaps having been stabbed in the kidney?"
"Stabbed in the kidney... poor health..."
The guard frowned in thought, then said hesitantly, "I've heard people say... our Vice-Captain Chiao seemed to have suffered a back injury three years ago. He rested for a long time to recover, and it hasn't fully healed. Even in hot weather, he has to wear a thick cloak, otherwise, he shivers and breaks out in a cold sweat."
"Sounds exactly like the guy."
Sevrin nodded. "Very well. Go fetch this... Chiao, whatever his name is, for me."
"My Lord, there's no need to call him."
The guard pointed toward a tea stall at a street corner on the right side ahead. "Unless an inspector from above comes down, Chiao spends his time drinking tea there every single day."
"What a coincidence."
Sevrin swept his gaze over and broke into a smile. "Ah... This is perfect."
With a massive stride, he headed straight for the tea stall.
The distance of twenty-odd meters was closed in a flash.
The moment he entered the tea stall, Sevrin's eyes locked onto the Captain Chiao the guard had just mentioned.
He was so certain because, among the five or six scattered people in the entire stall, only one person was wearing a thick robe on such a scorching hot day. If it wasn't him, who else could it be?
"Chiao."
Chiao, who was drinking tea and resting, heard someone call his name from behind and slowly turned to look.
He then saw a giant of a man, with skin strangely pale yet built like a titan, staring at him coolly from about three meters away.
"Who are you?" Chiao asked, his voice filled with suspicion and wariness. "I don't know you."
"Then do you know Dashan?" Sevrin said coldly.
"Dashan?!"
Upon hearing this name, Chiao's expression changed instantly. He shouted, "Whose man are you?"
"Hahaha, quite the temper."
Hearing the deep-seated hatred in his voice, Sevrin grinned and said, "But by the looks of it, you haven't had an easy time these past three years either. How is it? Does the kidney still ache? Are you even still capable of fulfilling your manly duties?"
"Cut the crap!" Chiao gritted his teeth and snarled. "Where is that bastard hiding? Tell him to give me..."
Before he could finish, Sevrin suddenly reached out, grabbed Chiao by the hair, and slammed him viciously to the ground. Then, dragging him by the hair, he scraped Chiao's face along the ground all the way out of the tea stall.
This sudden turn of events, coupled with Chiao's blood-curdling screams, terrified all the tea patrons and the stall owner into fleeing for their lives.
In just that short span of time, Sevrin had already dragged Chiao for seventeen or eighteen meters. The path was stained with blood and mangled scraps of flesh, causing the surrounding onlookers and pedestrians to retreat in horror.
When he had walked exactly twenty meters, Sevrin abruptly stopped and let go of the dying Chiao.
By now, Chiao's entire face was a mangled mess of blood and gore. His specific facial features were completely indistinguishable; only a single, bloody hole remained on his face, opening and closing slightly as he desperately gasped for air.
Looking at Chiao's miserable state, Sevrin couldn't help but laugh:
"You drink a little horse piss and think you're something special, huh? You see a commoner's wife and just have to humiliate her, right? Since you don't want your face, I'll help you take it off."
After speaking, his smile vanished. He looked at Chiao's blood-streaked, sticky face and said coldly:
"Dashan didn't die, so I won't kill you either. As for how long you can live after this, that's entirely up to you."
With that, he turned and walked quickly away, leaving Chiao alone on the street corner, groaning in agony.
After a few moments of wailing, a massive spray of blood erupted from the gaping hole in his face. Amidst the terrified screams of the surrounding pedestrians, he breathed his last and died.