Chapter 158: A Heart Full of Grievances!

"Let's build a small wooden cabin first." He Chang'an narrowed his eyes, gazing into the distance at the misty "Lawless Zone," and said with utmost seriousness.

"Build... a wooden cabin?" The old white ape and Ah Ran were stunned.

The old white ape, in particular, stared at He Chang'an with its strange eyes, a look of disbelief crossing its face. It even began to question if its previous favorable impression of this kid had been a mistake.

A low-tier martial artist, a novice Qi cultivator, stranded in a Lawless Zone overrun by demons and plagued by chaotic spiritual energy—instead of trying to find a way back to the city wall, his first thought was to build a small wooden cabin...

However, Miss Ah Ran had some realization.

This He Chang'an, she thought, was truly a construction maniac. She remembered the first time she met him, which was on a sheer cliff where he had built two extremely sturdy and warm little wooden cabins, lined them with animal skins, and simmered a pot of meat...

Tsk tsk, come to think of it, that wasn't half bad.

"Since those old seniors on the city wall don't like me, I'll settle down here first and go up after I've made myself at home." He Chang'an looked at the puzzled gazes of the old white ape and Ah Ran, and said with a somewhat embarrassed smile:

"I have a quirk—I just love building small wooden cabins.

"When I was young, my mother passed away too early, and my father went to fight on the northern border. I was left all alone at home, constantly bullied by the little ruffians in Weiyang County.

"So, I often wouldn't go home. I lived in the wild, hunting, foraging, figuring out how to survive..."

The old white ape gently shook its head. It couldn't understand.

Ah Ran, however, quickly figured it out. So this He Chang'an was very lonely, just like her, lacking a sense of security...

"He Chang'an, we should head back to the city wall first. The chaotic spiritual energy here is detrimental to cultivation," the old white ape said in a muffled voice.

"No, you guys go back first," He Chang'an said, walking towards a sunny hillside. After pondering for a moment, he began to chop down trees. "I can manage flying now. If I encounter any danger, I'll naturally find a way back."

With that, he got straight to work. Felling trees and twisting ropes, he was extremely proficient, looking like someone who had done this many times before.

"He Chang'an, I'll help you," Ah Ran rolled up her sleeves and began to pitch in. "And you, old monkey, since you're so strong, come help us move these logs."

The old white ape: "..."

He Chang'an: "..."

"What's wrong, unwilling?" Ah Ran glared at the old white ape with annoyance, pouted, and ignoring it further, summoned a flying sword to start 'chopping' trees.

At this sight, even He Chang'an was dumbfounded.

A disciple of an immortal sect, summoning a flying sword... to chop wood?

If word of this got out, those old Daoist priests of Zhenwu Mountain would probably vomit blood in anger.

The old white ape reached out and scratched the back of its head. After thinking hard for a good while, it suddenly grinned, thumped its washbasin-sized fists against its chest a few times with loud thuds, laughed heartily, and began hauling logs.

Suddenly, the progress of the construction sped up.

...

Three hours later.

The setting sun cast its glow through the hazy mist, deep within the Lawless Zone. The lingering, low growls of strange beasts echoed faintly from the distance, sending shudders through the heart.

In the nearby mountain forests and swamps, some low-tier beasts hid in the shadows, silently observing, revealing looks of incomprehension...

Inside a "small wooden cabin" constructed from giant logs, bright flames blazed, heat billowed, and a large pot of meat was bubbling away.

The aroma of the meat filled the air.

Two humans and an ape were in high spirits.

"The beast-demons here have fine, firm meat. It's actually several times more tender and robust than the lions and tigers outside. It needs to simmer for another hour," He Chang'an said, wearing an apron and stirring a large pot with a big ladle.

"A bit of a blunder, though—I brought too few seasonings with me."

He shook his head with a bitter smile, looking quite regretful, which made the old white ape grin broadly.

"He Chang'an, you rascal, you suit my tastes!" Ah Ran gave He Chang'an a thumbs-up.

"Oh? A pot of stewed meat suits your tastes?" He Chang'an laughed.

"Not just because of a pot of meat... Ahem, though knowing how to cook is pretty remarkable," Ah Ran grabbed the ladle and gave the meat soup a few practiced stirs. "My martial arts mistress used to say that whether a man is reliable or not depends mainly on whether he can cook."

"Your mistress has a point," He Chang'an chuckled.

"Of course! My mistress is ordinary in every other way, but whenever she scolds my master, classic lines just roll right off her tongue..." Ah Ran chuckled mischievously.

...

"What, don't believe me? My mistress is amazing. Sometimes she even pins my master down and beats him," Ah Ran said with a look of adoration. "And sometimes the beating lasts all through the night..."

The old white ape rolled its strange eyes, caring only about the beast-demon meat in the big pot, paying almost no attention to the little girl's words.

He Chang'an, however, found it hard to keep a straight face.

This Ah Ran... so young yet so precocious. Who knows how her master and mistress taught her?

"Ah Ran, what your mistress said makes a lot of sense," He Chang'an said, holding back a smile. "When she talked about whether a man can cook, she actually meant whether a person still retains a sense of human warmth and vitality."

"Human warmth and vitality?" Ah Ran opened her eyes wide.

"Yes, human vitality, also known as the flavor of mortal life," He Chang'an said thoughtfully. "I came from a humble background, didn't read many books, and couldn't figure out many principles.

"It wasn't until later that I met an old scholar who advised me to read more and ponder things I would never have thought of before.

"Finally, I slowly began to figure some things out."

He Chang'an casually added some firewood to the stove, thought deeply, and continued: "For a very long time, I thought my primary mission was to improve my cultivation. To that end, I frantically... ahem, I diligently cultivated.

"Later, as I interacted with scholars and ordinary lower-class folks, I discovered that in this chaotic era, not only do you need to rapidly improve your cultivation, but you also need to maintain your humanity.

"Many cultivators and officials probably weren't bad people when they started out, but after cultivating for a long time, they forget many things—for example, that people need warmth, need to eat, need to sleep...

"And need a small wooden cabin..."

He Chang'an's voice was low and somewhat halting, as if many logical problems had not yet been fully thought through and required him to speak while thinking.

However, Ah Ran and the old white ape listened very carefully.

Deep in their eyes, there was a trace of surprise, and some nameless flame was burning.

"Take those Daoist masters on the city wall, for instance. In terms of individual strength, they are probably at the peak of the human race. But what's the use of that?

"Of course, they have also sacrificed a lot to fend off the demons and ghosts of the Lawless Zone, and every one of us should feel sincere gratitude.

"However, this doesn't conflict with my disdain for them.

"A cultivator, as they cultivate, loses their humanity and the warmth of the mortal world. No matter how high their cultivation is, they are merely powerful individuals.

"Even if they are peerless experts."

...

He Chang'an's voice grew deeper and deeper. Thinking of his two lifetimes of experiences and encounters along the way, he suddenly missed the old scholar.

He also missed Ah Jiu and the sword cultivator.

Moreover, he missed Li Yishan, Wen Taiyuan, Zhao Zheng, Lord Zheng, and Zheng Hongxiu... Especially those border soldiers outside the Great Scatter Pass who had lived and died alongside Zheng Hongxiu.

In He Chang'an's current state of mind, only those who lived and died while keeping humanity in their hearts were worthy of being called heroes.

As for himself, his cultivation was still too low, and he didn't even own a sword...

This made him feel sorrowful and helpless, filled with a deep sense of powerlessness and guilt.

Standing alone on the city wall with a sword, facing demons and malevolent ghosts—that was what he wanted to do most right now...

Then, the old white ape and Ah Ran noticed that a faint, formless sword intent began to emanate from He Chang'an, chilling and piercing to the soul.

The ape and the girl exchanged glances.

Surprise flickered in their eyes.

He Chang'an, still talking to himself and immersed in self-reflection, felt a pent-up grievance in his chest that he needed to vent. He wished he could instantly transform into a terrestrial sword immortal and slaughter all malevolent entities in the world!

"The old scholar once said that human beings are human precisely because they possess the warmth of the mortal world.

"And as for the demons, ghosts, and monsters of this world, as well as those cultivators and rulers, how much compassion can they spare for the common people? With foreign enemies lurking all around, this damned Great Tang is listless, willing to quietly perish rather than rise up and fight!

"Is it because those people lack backbone? Are they not brave enough, or do they lack the strength to lift a sword?

"No, that's not it. There are far too many people stronger than me, He Chang'an. In fact, they could crush me to death as easily as an ant, without even breaking a sweat.

"Yet, I still look down on them. Just like those old Daoist priests hiding on the city wall—no matter how brilliant their individual prowess is, it's not worth a damn!

"Nominally, they are guarding this Sword Gate Pass for the human race, but have they ever cared about the mortal world?

"No. Those so-called immortal cultivation sects are merely trying to achieve their own longevity, paying no heed to the suffering of the mortal world. Tell me, what is the point of such cultivation?!

"I, He Chang'an, only wish for my sword qi to travel far—far enough to slay demons and eliminate monsters. I don't need my sword qi to stay close, confined to within four paces, invincible in the world!

"To hell with immortal cultivation!

"I, He Chang'an, am a sword that slays demons and eliminates monsters!"

He Chang'an suddenly stood up, raised one hand, pointed into the unfathomable depths of the Lawless Zone, and declared with fierce resentment: "Since that's the case, let me temper myself right here in this dangerous Lawless Zone!

"One day, I will slaughter every last demon, monster, and ghost in this world!"

With that, he casually swung his hand down as if wielding a peerless sharp sword, slashing fiercely through the air.

And then...

Then, the small wooden cabin was split right down the middle with a three-foot-wide gash, the cut impeccably smooth...

A hundred paces away behind a boulder, a jackal-like beast-demon was cautiously peering toward the small wooden cabin, its eyes filled with malice and viciousness.

Suddenly, it felt a coolness wash over its body. A breeze brushed past its forehead, feeling quite pleasant.

Immediately afterwards, this cunning tier-2 beast-demon, which had ambushed and killed many human Qi cultivators in the past, realized something was wrong.

It couldn't catch its breath; its whole body felt limp and warm. Instinctively, it lowered its head to look at its body, only to find in shock that its vision could no longer focus.

A tier-2 beast-demon had been inexplicably sliced into two halves by a strand of sword qi, dropping limply to the ground like two pieces of meat...

"Huh? Who... who carved a hole in our little wooden cabin?" He Chang'an's expression froze.

He stared blankly at his palm, frowning and looking somewhat bewildered. "That's a bit awkward. Why did I get so worked up while talking..."

Staring at the "small wooden cabin" cleanly severed by a strand of sword qi, He Chang'an stood stunned for two or three breaths before reacting: "Is this... sword intent? But wait, I wasn't even holding a sword."

He quickly realized that his outburst of grievances had stirred the sword intent within him. Could this be the correct way to unlock the true power of distant sword qi?

The most dumbfounded ones, however, were the old white ape and Miss Ah Ran.

They knew He Chang'an's strength inside out. Far from commanding flying sword qi, whatever he had previously displayed vaguely resembled sword cultivation at best, but ultimately he was just a crude martial artist and a novice Qi cultivator.

How did a simple rant turn him into a sword cultivator?

The old white ape scratched the back of its head in utter confusion, then its expression suddenly turned sorrowful as it remembered its own master, who had also been an ordinary scholar. After reading and comprehending the sword outside Sword Gate Pass for decades, he had suddenly become a terrestrial sword immortal.

'Could this He Chang'an truly be a natural-born sword embryo?'

Miss Ah Ran was equally excited. She circled He Chang'an several times, examining him closely and clicking her tongue in amazement. "Not bad, He Chang'an! Even I misjudged you. You're actually a sword cultivator!

"Confess, was it my heroic demeanor and flying sword techniques that helped you悟 (comprehend) the sword dao?

"No, wait, it must have been a surge of righteous indignation that helped you break through your bottleneck..."

Looking at the bewildered He Chang'an, Miss Ah Ran quickly connected the dots, a look of sudden realization dawning on her pretty face, and she burst into laughter: "Good, good, good! I want to become a sword cultivator too, I want to become a sword cultivator!

"Listen up, you old Daoist priests of Zhenwu Mountain! This young lady is furious, and you... you are all big bad guys!

"Master... Mistress... Hmph, just you wait, I'll beat you until you eat dirt!"

With that, Ah Ran imitated He Chang'an's earlier posture, raising one arm with majestic bearing and waving it fiercely...

"Ahem, no sword qi? Never mind, it must be because my inner sense of injustice wasn't strong enough to force it out..."

Miss Ah Ran's face turned red, but she quickly laughed it off without a care in the world, cupping her fists toward He Chang'an and saying, "Congratulations to He Chang'an on becoming a sword cultivator! Congratulations on being even more awesome than me!"

Vibrant, bold, and completely unapologetic about failing to conjure sword qi on the spot, she possessed a certain... unyielding character.

However, He Chang'an liked it.

Truly liked it.

"Thank you, Miss Ah Ran..." He Chang'an reached out, wanting to ruffle her hair.

"Stop!" Ah Ran suddenly turned serious. "He Chang'an, when you become a peerless sword immortal, I will marry you.

"But until then, don't you dare take advantage of me!"

He Chang'an: "..."

The old white ape: "..."