"Does no one go to this route or what???" Xue Shen said in annoyance. He had been sitting behind the tree for what felt like hours, yet there were still no signs of any incoming wagon. The forest was quiet, only the occasional rustle of leaves breaking the silence as darkness soon approached.
"stats"
[Name: Xue Shen]
[Level: 3 | EXP: 6 | 30]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 24 | Lifespan: 70]
[Race: Human]
[Cultivation: Mortal]
[Bloodline: None]
[Physique: None]
[Spiritual Roots: 0 | Status: Rootless]
[Talents: None]
[Unspent Stat Points: 0]
[Constitution: 0.4]
[Strength: 3.5]
[Dexterity: 1.8]
[Intelligence: 1]
[Endurance: 2.8]
[Perception: 0.9]
[Charisma: 2]
[Luck: 0]
[Skills: Blade Mastery: Level 0 | 3.5/10]
[Techniques: None]
"Hmm..? When did I unlock Blade Mastery?"
[You unlocked Blade Mastery because you killed a lifeform with a blade. Weapon mastery is determined by the specific weapon used to kill a lifeform. For example, if you had used a spear to kill, you would have unlocked Spear Mastery! Also, whatever weapon you use to kill, 10% of the EXP gained from the target is added to that weapon's mastery.]
"I see…" Xue Shen muttered.
"It's getting dark soon and there's still no signs of any incoming wagons," he said, disappointed.
A few hours later…
Loud hooves suddenly awoke Xue Shen. He gripped his blade tightly and looked toward the dirt road. He saw a wagon with dim lights, two men riding at the front, and a hood covering the wagon.
"Honey, why'd you stop?" a middle-aged woman inside the back of the wagon asked.
The three in the carriage looked ahead and froze at the trail of blood leading into the forest.
"Honey, grab our swords!" one of the men shouted.
The woman snatched up their swords and torches. The three of them, torches in one hand and blades in the other, carefully followed the trail until they reached Nan Li and her grandfather's bodies.
"Oh my God!" the woman screamed, staring at the rotting corpses.
"What kind of monster could do this?!" another man cried out, sickened at the sight he saw.
Xue Shen, in the darkness hiding behind trees, inched closer and closer, to the three but his foot stepped on a branch. "CRACK!"
The three froze, looking around.
"WHO'S THERE?!" one shouted.
"COME OUT!" the other demanded.
Xue Shen weighed his options, deciding to wait.
"COME OUT! WE PROMISE NOT TO ATTACK!" the woman yelled.
Upon hearing the woman's words, a sickening idea flickered in Xue Shen's mind. A wicked smile slowly spread across his face.
"MERCY?! YOU'VE ALREADY KILLED MY GRANDFATHER AND SISTER! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!" he shouted, his voice trembling with rage and despair.
The three turned towards where the sound came from and eventually landing on a tree.
"CALM DOWN! WE AREN'T THE KILLERS OF YOUR FAMILY!" the woman said.
"LIARS! YOU HAVE SWORDS! I CAN'T TRUST YOU!!" Xue Shen screamed, panic in his voice.
"Calm down. We were just passing by and saw blood on the road. We aren't trying to hurt you" the woman pleaded.
"STOP! DON'T GET CLOSER! PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS! ONLY THEN I WILL TRUST YOU!!" Xue Shen yelled.
The three looked at eachother.
"Could this be a trap?" one man whispered.
"No way! He's clearly scared. Any sane person who just had their family killed would be frightened" the woman said.
"So why don't we do as he says?" she added.
"Hah… fine," the husband said. Seeing him drop his weapon, the others followed.
"WE'VE DROPPED OUR WEAPONS. WE'RE COMING CLOSER TO YOU, OKAY? DON'T BE AFRAID. WE AREN'T HERE TO HURT YOU!" the woman yelled
Xue Shen tensed, readying his blade to strike
The three reached the tree but the man was nowhere in sight. Suddenly, one man made a noise.
"Hhhhuuuhh"
[Ding! 10 EXP!]
[Ding! 1 Blade Mastery]
The man and woman turned, but only saw a head split off.
"AaaHHHHH!" the woman screamed.
[Ding! 10 EXP!]
[Ding! 1 Blade Mastery]
The man grabbed his wife's hand to run, but her body was stiff. Her head had also been severed. Dropping her hand, he scrambled for a sword.
"YOU MONSTER!! WHAT DID WE DO TO DESERVE THIS!! WE WERE ABOUT TO GET MARRIED!!" he shouted, backing toward his wagon.
"I'm sorry. I hope you find peace in your next life," Xue Shen said, stepping out of the shadows, and held the woman's head, and he tossed it toward the man.
"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!" the man roared, dropping his torch as he charged at Xue Shen, both hands gripping his sword.
Xue Shen anticipated the attack, blocked the strike, and in a fluid motion sidestepped to the man's right, slicing cleanly through both of his arms.
"AUGHHH!" the man screamed, collapsing to the ground.
Xue Shen grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head to stare down at him. The man met Xue Shen's gaze and to his shock, it was cold and expressionless.
"DID KILLING MY BROTHER AND WIFE? MEAN NOTHING TO YOU?!" the man shouted, eyes blazing with anger and bloodlust.
"My apologies, friend. Wrong place, wrong time. Nothing personal," Xue Shen replied, his voice flat and apathetic.
The man's eyes filled with bloodlust and rage. "FUCK Y-" Before he could finish, Xue Shen's blade flashed, decapitating him. Xue Shen held his head for a moment staring at it, then threw it head to the ground.
[Ding! 10 EXP]
[Ding! Level up]
[Ding! 1 Blade Mastery]
"stats"
[Name: Xue Shen]
[Level: 4 | EXP: 6 | 40]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 24 | Lifespan: 70]
[Race: Human]
[Cultivation: Mortal]
[Bloodline: None]
[Physique: None]
[Spiritual Roots: 0 | Status: Rootless]
[Talents: None]
[Unspent Stat Points: 2]
[Constitution: 0.4 +^]
[Strength: 3.5 +^]
[Dexterity: 1.8 +^]
[Intelligence: 1 +^]
[Endurance: 2.8 +^]
[Perception: 0.9 +^]
[Charisma: 2 +^]
[Luck: 0]
[Skills: Blade Mastery: Level 0 | 6.5/10]
[Techniques: None]
"Hmmm… let's go with two points into Dexterity."
[Dexterity: 1.8 -> 3.8]
Xue Shen felt lighter and more flexible. Swinging the sword, it moved effortlessly. After a few minutes, he stopped and looted the three bodies. He found pouches of silver, gold, and wooden IDs, which he discarded.
Grabbing the three swords and a torch, he walked toward the wagon.
On the back, he saw barrels, crates, and a chest. He opened the chest first and found a note
"Qan Liu… come back home to Lin City. Your son misses you deeply. He is about to take the civil service exam to become a scholar, and he wishes more than anything to see you and Ning Hua before that day comes. Please… come home soon."
Beside it was a map showing Lin City and the forest surrounding it was labeled "The Blighted Wilds." he also saw several cities around it the closest one to Lin city being Baiyan
"What an ominous name…" Xue Shen muttered. He also found jewelry and gold. Finally, a paper stating: "This wagon was acquired by Qian Liu on the 9th day of March in the year 130,892 of the Imperial Jin calendar" He assumed it was the ownership certificate. "Qian Liu, huh? I guess that's my new name…" He returned everything to the chest, checked barrels and crates, but only found food and water, after checking he closed them. Climbing onto driver's seat of the wagon, he grabbed the reins, maneuvered around the collapsed wagon, and headed straight toward Lin City.