Chapter 91

“Wrong. This sword—this is not the sword I forged!”

The moment these words were spoken, the expressions of everyone in the hall changed dramatically. The few standing or sitting to the left and right were greatly alarmed; most likely, they themselves were unaware of this sword’s origin, for their faces betrayed clear astonishment. Some even let out gasps, followed immediately by hushed whispers. It seemed everyone gathered in that small turret had believed this was merely an ordinary, albeit fine-quality, sword they had seized and brought to the Vile Vale – sharp, perhaps, but nothing more. The tangled webs of true and false conspiracies were matters that had little to do with these illiterate bandits who operated purely by brute force.

Therefore, in the hall, apart from these Vicious Bandits, only one person’s expression remained largely unchanged – the bald man seated in the highest position. Now, he finally shed the somewhat inept image he had projected earlier. His gaze became hawklike as he narrowed his eyes, his smile growing increasingly inscrutable. Of course, besides this man, Zhong Xiao was another who wasn’t quite so stunned. Though his brows lifted slightly in instinctive surprise, he clearly didn’t grasp the true implications of Chen Shu’s statement. And finally, besides these two, the last one showing less shock was naturally—

Yun Shen.

It was curious. He hadn’t failed to show surprise, but his apparent astonishment didn’t quite reach his eyes. Observing his entire posture revealed that beneath this seemingly shocked expression lay an undercurrent of… relief.

Earlier, when Chen Shu had snatched the sword, his expression hadn’t been this relaxed. His lips had been tightly compressed, his gaze fixed intently on the sword in Chen Shu’s hand, not to mention his unconscious grip on the chair’s armrests, his fingers dug into its sharp angles, leaving marks. Yet he had remained utterly transfixed, watching Chen Shu as if it wasn’t her sword she’d seized, nor hers she was examining—as if that sword was the very thing he personally cared about most!

This was truly odd. Not only because the shift in demeanor itself was strange, but also because the situation now was unlike any before. Chen Shu’s accusation, the bald man’s narrowed eyes atop, the whispering crowds—all heralded the taut tension in the air. Compared to the trio’s initial entry into the Vile Vale, at this very moment, the atmosphere within the small turret truly made the crowded chamber’s limitations obvious.

If others failed to notice this shift—Zhong Xiao, perhaps, or even Chen Shu herself—it would be understandable. But Yun Shen, always so observant and alert, seemed on this occasion solely concerned with feeling a pure, inexplicable relief at Chen Shu recognizing the sword as fake.

He paid no mind to anything else.

However, throughout the room, gazes were crossing: some fixed on the sword, some reading the bald man’s expression, while others, recovering from their initial shock, looked towards Zhong Xiao near the door. In short, no one paid attention to Yun Shen’s peculiar reaction.

The bald man remained silent, and Chen Shu, losing her patience, grew angrier. She couldn’t fathom why the Vile Vale had lured them in only to show her this counterfeit sword. Fuming, she strode forward, stepping past the varied stares directed her way, forging straight towards the bald man in the center of the hall.

Only then did someone belatedly shout, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“What is the meaning of this?” Chen Shu demanded, swinging the sword as if poised to lop off the bald man’s head in the next instant. “Bringing out a fake sword—are you trying to make a fool of me?”

Her gesture finally jolted several people in the hall into action. They sprang from their seats, crying out to stop her. Yet the bald man remained composed. Even as the sword’s gleam almost hit his face, as its wind whipped past his cheek, causing the candle flames behind him to wildly scatter before regrouping a moment later, he stood as immovable as if rooted to the ground beneath the light illuminating half his body.

“That’s interesting,” the bald man said, unafraid, even chuckling. “This sword was, indeed, seized by some of my men quite by accident. If we happened to snag a fake, well, that wasn’t our intention. How then do you place blame upon the Vile Vale? Young lady, your anger seems rather unreasonable.”

As he spoke, he lifted his chin slightly, and the entire assembly in the small turret finally reacted fully. Men rose to their feet; weapons were grabbed; several advanced toward Chen Shu with deadly seriousness, nearly surrounding her.

But her brief display of swordsmanship earlier had genuinely intimidated many. Despite being rallied by the bald man, they halted five or six paces away, none daring to get closer.

Chen Shu paid them no heed. Furious, she threw the fake sword hard onto the ground in front of the bald man, letting it stick quivering in the floorboards. Her finger jabbed towards it accusingly as she raged: “Quit playing dumb! Though this sword is fake, it’s forged flawlessly! Even I was momentarily deceived at first glance—let alone ordinary folk noticing the tiny characters! If you hadn’t truly found my sword, how could you possibly make such an exact replica? How else would you replicate the small characters, characters I not only never mentioned on the bounty notice but have never spoken of to anyone?”

The throng was already cowed by her presence. Her resounding pronouncement now silenced even the lowliest ruffians. For a moment, the only sounds within the building were the uneven, echoing footsteps of the lesser hangers-on outside scrambling towards the doorway.

Yun Shen remained silent, but Zhong Xiao, intrigued by Chen Shu’s words, pushed his way through the crowd with apparent concern, seemingly eager to hear the outcome of the confrontation between Chen Shu and the bald man.

Under the scrutiny of the entire hall, the bald man finally stood and took a half-step forward. Indeed, he was tall and imposing. This simple act restored the authority Chen Shu had momentarily stripped away. In his tone, he didn’t even deny what she had implied. “Well then, since you are fully aware this sword was taken by the Vile Vale, and that we took the real sword…” he said, his voice growing softer still as he spoke, even having the composure to kick aside the fake sword Chen Shu had flung before him—sending it clattering loudly and sharply into the shadows, away from the candlelight. “…how exactly did you think it appropriate to brandish a blade in this very hall?”

“You think I’m afraid of you?” Chen Shu sneered, weaponless but undaunted. She raised her hand to sweep it across the room. “I need to ask you! Since you stole my sword, how dare you hide it and try to deceive me with this fake?! My sword, after all, is iron! It withstands whatever hiding place you choose! Tear this small valley apart, turn it upside down… and it will still be found in the end! However…” Her voice hardened, lashing out. “…whether the vile insects swarming in this valley survive that process of being torn apart and turned upside down—that remains to be seen!”

Before her words had fully faded, several men cursed by her, their faces darkening as they lost control, began to snarl back insults. They were silenced only by the bald man’s raised hand.

“Indeed,” he conceded smoothly, his hand gesturing upwards, an eerie self-satisfaction settling on his features, “a true sword cannot be destroyed by any such force; that’s partly what makes it a treasure, wouldn’t you agree? But in your journey through the Martial World, surely your concern isn’t only for yourself and that one sword, is it? At least, at this moment—”

He deliberately drew out his words. Then, lifting his head sharply, Chen Shu’s expression instantly shifted to terror. She whirled around frantically. Just as she feared: her two companions had been seized by the Vale’s bandits. Gleaming broadswords were already pressed against their necks, poised to spill their blood before her eyes with the slightest extra fraction of pressure!

Amid them, Zhong Xiao’s face was a mask of pure terror. He struggled violently, even crying out for rescue by name—calling “Chen Shu!” for aid.

But Yun Shen uttered no sound. He neither uttered a cry nor flinched away from the menacing blade. Instead, his eyes locked onto Chen Shu with unnerving intensity, as if he had unspoken words on the brink of bursting forth, which he forcefully restrained.

When Chen Shu met his gaze, she was stunned by its force. Dumbfounded, she stood speechless for a long moment. She regretted bitterly not having learned enough to decipher the profound meaning trapped within those eyes. Instead, she could only stare back at him, bewildered, amidst the gathered crowd, seeing clearly that his expression held unvoiced depths she could not begin to grasp—

In that brief moment of locked gazes, Chen Shu instinctively shifted, ready to stride toward Yun Shen’s direction. But before her foot could land, the person holding Yun Shen yanked his knife, forcibly tilting Yun Shen’s chin upward with the dull edge of the blade, abruptly severing their connected stares.

Beside them, “Zhong Xiao” was still begging for help—in such a scene, it felt almost comically out of place—

Chen Shu straightened her back, wordlessly retracting her step as she turned to glare furiously at the bald man. “Just tell me plainly what you want,” she demanded. “Stop using innocent people as pawns!”

“Good! Spirited!” The bald man clapped his hands and laughed. “A pity you’re in the Valley of Villains today. Otherwise, I might have actually been swayed by your talk of ‘justice.’ In this world, capable men rule the roost. If you can’t even protect those beside you, what right do you have to invade our Valley of Villains? That’s your failing!”

“You—!” Chen Shu’s eyes burned with fury. She took several steps forward, jabbing a finger at the bald man. She wanted to hurl insults but held back, wary of provoking him. Words had never been her strength; no fitting curses came to mind. Her pointing finger jabbed the air futilely before she finally flung it down in frustration, retracting her hand. It was as if she’d reverted to the day she first descended the mountain, helpless against a mere street vendor. “Spare me your twisted logic!” she spat. “I know right from wrong without your explanations! Just answer me this—was ransacking your nest and deploying so many men just to mock me? Cut to the chase. What are you after?!”

The bald man grew even more smug, leisurely sinking back into his seat at the head of the hall. His voice turned icy. “What am I after? To save you from your delusions, of course! The world has turned upside down! Those martial artists, those yamen runners, even the court troops—they all covet Fangcheng… Every beast, every tile in Fangcheng was earned through the Valley of Villains’ blood and sweat. This was once a paradise beyond the world’s reach. Yet now, outsiders want to invade territory we’ve nurtured for generations, to impose their vulgar morality upon us, to wreck our lawless freedom! Is that reasonable? Tell me—shouldn’t we fight back?!”

“…So you want me to help you persecute those good people working for the common folk?” Chen Shu scoffed. “Forget it!”

“I’m already imagining it.” The bald man raised his hand in a signal. Chen Shu whipped around just in time to see Yun Shen and “Zhong Xiao” being roughly hauled away. A chill gripped her heart; she was truly cornered. When she turned back, the man’s voice resumed. “Not just imagining it. I hold two lives in my hand—plenty of time to think things over. What do you hold?”

“You—!”

“I advise you to think carefully too. Life only comes once.” The bald man flashed her a grin. Then, brushing past her, he strode out of the Small Turret and disappeared.