Chapter 132: The Murderer, Eternally Killed

After a while, Monk Cheng Xin finally caught up.

Hong Zhi unexpectedly tipped Monk Cheng Xin a small amount.

In the later journey, no organized units of wolf cavalry appeared. However, small groups of wolf cavalry scouts continued to be present.

They sometimes were ahead, sometimes behind, occasionally suddenly approached to observe, then quickly withdrew. As soon as any cultivator acted, these scouts would hardly escape death. Yet, after the recent battle, no cultivator was willing to act.

Xi Kaishan did fire two highly threatening arrows, killing a blue wolf and wounding a wolf cavalryman. However, this also revealed his position.

In the following time, these scouts began to widen their reconnaissance distance, daring only to roam beyond three hundred zhang.

The Xi Nation army, to reduce accidental clashes, confined all light cavalry within a hundred‑zhang marching range. Their current location is still within Xi Nation's territory, but the Blue Wolf Nation cavalry here felt as if they were in their own backyard.

Although Wei Yuning feels conflicted about killing mortals, he harbors an unmistakable disgust for these arrogant Blue Wolf Nation soldiers. It truly is a nation full of wolfish nature. When victorious, they devour people without spitting out bones; even when defeated, they remain haughty, showing no awareness of being losers.

Before sunset, the Xi Nation's main army finally halted and began preparing camp.

The stopping point featured a vast riverbank and a mountain over fifty zhang tall, its body a reddish‑brown, strikingly conspicuous; locals call it Devil Mountain because its shape resembles a monster's head, with eyes, ears, mouth, nose, even hair—truly bizarre.

This place lies over fifty li from Xi Nation's capital Black Rock City and also marks the legal border between Xi Nation and Blue Wolf Nation. However, since the war began, it has become de facto Blue Wolf Nation territory, and Xi Nation's herders have long abandoned the area.

As darkness deepened, the wolf cavalry gathered in greater numbers, their howls never ceasing.

Several cultivators set the night‑stop point atop Devil Mountain. The area from Devil Mountain to Black Water River is where the night camp lies. Within fifty zhang of the camp, soldiers dug three sets of horse‑trap pits, each set consisting of two adjacent tunnels; even if one luckily bypasses one pit, escaping the second is impossible.

This underhanded idea came from Wei Yuning; after hearing it, Xi Kaishan almost wanted to take him as a master.

The soldiers were divided into three groups: one on night watch, two resting. The carriage's compartment served as a ready‑made barracks, one zhang wide and one and a half zhang long; packed together, about twenty people fit without issue.

In secret, Xi Nation soldiers received indirect orders from the prince, to stay alert, keep their sole dagger ready, and at any moment be prepared to scavenge and kill like Bai.

The camp had no fire; the riverbank offered only some dry grass and no suitable firewood. After a tiring day, everyone ate some dry rations and water at leisure, and those off duty drifted to sleep.

The night‑watch soldiers planted three rows of large shields at the camp's edge, standing in small groups, gazing at distant specks of light. Those were the eyes of the Blue Wolf.

Devil Mountain summit.

Wei Yuning watched the continuously gathering Blue Wolf Nation cavalry, feeling worried.

"Senior uncle, what should we actually do?" he finally could not hold back. Killing these mortals felt wrong, yet not killing them while they came knocking for a deadly clash put Wei Yuning in a dilemma.

"Those who kill, are constantly killed! A cultivator who goes against the Dao, seeking the Great Way, is not there to stretch his neck for others to kill. A cultivator who does not proactively kill, nor kills those who should not be killed, does not mean he never kills. Yet a person who should be killed yet is not, also harms his Dao heart!" Hong Zhi said.

Monk Cheng Xin heard this, shook his head silently at the side.

Wei Yuning, seeing this, asked, "Master, what profound view do you have?"

"I have only one question: who should be killed and who should not?" Cheng Xin, not wanting to argue, naturally retorted when asked.

"The world has good and evil; naturally the evil should be killed! Even among evildoers, there is order; naturally the one who acts first should be killed!" Hong Zhi said, as if obvious.

Monk Cheng Xin, speechless, after a while praised, "Donor, your Dao heart is so steadfast! Yet in my eyes, even a ten‑sins‑unforgivable villain has a sliver of goodness; if one can persuade him to return from the wrong path, that would be a deed of immeasurable merit! Therefore, be merciful where you can! Apart from the living's mortal enemy, demonic cultivators, there is no one who truly must be killed!"

Seeing the two disagree, Wei Yuning laughed from the side, "Actually, both of you are wrong!"

"Oh, why do you think so?" Hong Zhi asked curiously.

"Fellow Daoist, I wish to hear the details!" Monk Cheng Xin exclaimed, his face full of surprise.

"The reason it's wrong is that you forgot an important step."

The two stared at each other, then in unison asked, "What step?"

"First courtesy, then arms!" Wei Yuning declared, his voice thundering.

"First courtesy, then arms?" the two asked again in unison.

"Exactly, it's indeed first courtesy, then arms!" Wei Yuning said, "A sage acts seeking a clear conscience; killing evildoers naturally leaves a clear conscience, yet Master Cheng Xin 'doesn't know who should be killed and who shouldn't.' Both of you are actually right and wrong; adding the step of first courtesy then arms makes any decision—kill or not—conscience‑clear."

He pointed to the distant gathering Blue Wolf Nation soldiers below, saying, "These people are preparing to attack the Xi Nation army. According to senior uncle's method, the evildoer deserves death, so they should be killed! Yet these people only have the thought, not the action; we can't kill someone just because they entertain a killing thought, can we?"

Hong Zhi, irritated, laughed, "As long as one isn't a fool, anyone can see that the wolf cavalry's attack is only a matter of time. At this moment, still indulging in motherly mercy, do we have to wait until their knives pierce us before a justified resistance?"

"Senior uncle makes sense, but according to Master Cheng Xin's method, although the enemy is killing you, they haven't yet killed you; clearly they still retain a sliver of good intention. If we strike back now, that would be a grave sin! Only after we are certain we have been killed can we then kill the enemy, which aligns with the Buddha's will!" Wei Yuning said.

"Nonsense, monk, I never meant it that way!" Master Cheng Xin hurriedly said.

Wei Yuning provoked both sides, finally managing to draw all fire onto himself; Hong Zhi and Cheng Xin forgot their argument.

Hong Zhi laughed heartily, glanced at Master Cheng Xin, and said no more. Cheng Xin was stunned, then seemed to understand, fell silent, watching what Wei Yuning would do next.

Wei Yuning indeed continued, "Thus, both methods are unsuitable. The best approach is, of course, to first formally warn the other side of our stance; if they remain obstinate, we cannot be blamed!"

"Specifically, how should we act!" Hong Zhi, vaguely grasping Wei Yuning's meaning, asked out of curiosity.

"Naturally, first draft a sincere, heartfelt peace‑seeking letter!" Wei Yuning said.