"Their identity is of no importance to me," Xu Zimei shook his head and said, "I just look at the results."
Xu Zimei admitted that he wasn't a bad person, but he certainly wasn't a good person either.
He didn't care about the views of the common folk or the feelings of others; everything he did was simply on a whim.
When in a good mood, he could rescue those he'd never met before; when in a bad mood, he could even slaughter an entire city with which he had no involvement.
Xu Zimei had once heard a story.
An angel asked a demon, "Why, when I have only killed a single person, so many criticize me.
Yet you merely saved one person, and there are many singing your praises."
The demon said, "Because you had previously saved many people, and now they can't stand the shock of you killing one.
As for me, I was once a hands-drenched-in-blood broker; now that I suddenly saved one, naturally, they are happy to praise my change."
It was a story filled with irony.
If a good person wishes to become a Buddha, they must endure countless trials and tribulations.
And a bad person? They simply lay down the butcher's knife and immediately become a Buddha.
The moment Shili Changkong appeared, Black Thirteen felt a strong sense of oppression.
"This is a master," he gripped his longsword at his waist with both hands, his spirits tense as he warily eyed the other.
"He's one of us, no need to be so tense," Xu Zimei said to the others.
Afterward, everyone set out on horseback. Feng Buyu and others felt that Xu Zimei was too mysterious, and they couldn't see through the events this time.
And who was this man who suddenly appeared?
At noon, drifting clouds obscured half the blazing sun, slightly cooling the weather, and the group finally arrived at Heavenly Sword City.
This ancient city, nearly a thousand years old, sat like a colossal beast in its place.
From a distance, Heavenly Sword City resembled a sword piercing the sky, its edge naked and striking, awe-inspiring.
The brown city walls were several dozen meters tall; standing beneath them, one was met with an overwhelming presence, the silent walls as if narrating their past glory.
Though the True Martial Holy Sect was the overlord of the Extreme West Region, it rarely managed these cities, acting more like a supervisor most of the time.
Looking down from on high at all below.
In the Extreme West Region, there were two particularly vast empires.
The Purple Sun Empire and the Green Wood Empire.
And this Heavenly Sword City was one of the cities under the management of the Purple Sun Empire.
As the group entered the city, the streets paved with Qinggang Stone seemed somewhat crowded.
Vendors on both sides hawked their wares energetically, with freshly steamed buns still emitting steam and the fragrance of just fried Monster Beast meat filling the entire street from the neighboring restaurants.
Others sold various Cultivation Techniques, weapons, and pills.
When Xu Zimei had left this time, he also brought along the two Dark Heaven Tiger cubs.
He and Lin Ruhu each held one, and touching the sleeping cub in his embrace, Xu Zimei smiled and said, "Let's find an inn first!"
"Junior Brother Zimo, our True Martial Holy Sect has branch halls in every city; we can go straight to the branch hall," Feng Buyu spoke.
"This branch hall in Heavenly Sword City seems like a mere formality," Xu Zimei smiled and said, "Then let's head to the branch hall."
As the group was about to set off, they suddenly heard a series of urgent horse neighs nearby.
Xu Zimei looked up and saw a luxurious carriage hurtling from the city gate.
The second-order Monster Beast pulling the carriage, the Hummer in the snow, seemed out of control, charging forward like it had gone mad, even trampling several pedestrians to death along the way.
As the carriage was about to charge at Xu Zimei and his companions, the coachman hurriedly shouted, "Get out of the way, quickly get out of the way!"
Feng Buyu's expression tightened at the side, and with "bang bang bang," three Vein Gates on his body opened all at once.
"Lun Quan, Xuan Gu, Zhao Yingfeng."
Feng Buyu stood at the front, his expression slightly tense, and his hands were enveloped in a yellow glow as he was the first to make a move.
"Vein Skills: Mixed Yuan Prajna Palm."
He eyed the crazed Hummer in the snow charging towards them, took a slight half step back with his right foot, and violently grabbed the reins on either side of the horse.
His body shifted slightly, deflecting much of the force head-on, and then with a flick of his wrists, the horse twisted and sprinted to the right.
Due to inertia, the whole horse was flung to the ground.
The coachman on the carriage was thrown out as well, and the carriage behind him came crashing down, shattering to pieces.
"Miss, are you alright?" A troop of guards clad in black armor quickly rushed over.
The leader of the guards was an elder, dressed in a black robe that shrouded his entire figure within.
"Ouch, I'm going to die," a woman's voice shouted from within the wrecked carriage.
"Who was it that knocked down my Hummer in the snow?" A woman crawled out from the carriage.
The woman, appearing to be only around seventeen or eighteen, with her hair in a ponytail and dressed in a white brocade and jade gown, looked extremely willful.
Feng Buyu impassively explained from the side, "It was your prized horse that got frightened and charged us first."
"I'll give you two options," the woman sized up Xu Zimei and the others, her eyes lighting up when she saw the Dark Heaven Tiger in Xu Zimei's arms, and said, "Either you compensate me with that little tiger, or I'll have my men chop you up and feed you to the dogs."
"Quite the bold words," Feng Buyu scoffed coldly, "Heavenly Sword City has its own laws and regulations. Is the City Lord Mansion serving no purpose but to eat its own food, allowing you to kill at will?"
Xu Zimei gave Feng Buyu a look, thinking that this guy must only know about cultivation and be completely oblivious to the dangers of the outside world.
If you are just an ordinary person and offend somebody, even if they can't kill you openly, what's to stop them from stealthily murdering you in the dead of night?
"City Lord Mansion?" The woman let out a light laugh, "Do you know who I am?"
"You are people from the City Lord Mansion?" Feng Buyu glanced at the black-armored guards who had already surrounded them and finally realized the situation.
By now, the surrounding vendors and residents had hastily kept their distance, chattering among themselves.
"These people seem to be newcomers, they don't look like they're from Heavenly Sword City."
"Their attire appears quite decent, but sadly they've offended the City Lord's daughter, everyone knows Zhong Ling'er is a notorious shrew."
With her hands on her hips, the woman said with an air of arrogance, "Now that you know my background, you should understand what to do.
Hand over those two little tigers, and I might consider sparing your lives."