Chapter 16

Regarding Zhao Dehua, Li Miao actually had a rough judgment in his heart long ago.

His nature was that of a cold and ruthless character.

As mentioned before, Wu Gong is to a large extent idealistic.

To what extent a person can use a martial art depends in large part on whether their nature matches that martial art.

For example, blade techniques are often bold and aggressive; it is difficult for an indecisive person to reach the peak. If that person turns to learn palm techniques that overcome hardness with softness, they might progress by leaps and bounds.

The claw technique Zhao Dehua used followed a path of digging out hearts and lungs, peeling skin and scraping flesh—a path of sinister, ruthless softness. A person with an upright nature could never use it to such a degree.

Li Miao could see at a glance that Zhao Dehua’s natural talent was poor; he was able to reach the level of a second-rate expert because he was truly suited for this claw technique.

That great bandit from back then likely also believed he couldn't escape the pursuit of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which is why he deliberately "remodeled" Zhao Dehua into a successor suitable for his legacy.

Zhao Dehua did not disappoint him.

Of course, not everyone in this world acts according to their nature. For example, Wang Hai’s claw technique was even more sinister than Zhao Dehua’s, but under Li Miao, he could restrain his habits and generally act as a good person.

So Li Miao did not make a rash judgment, but instead had the two clarify the events of that year.

Having served in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for twenty years, and with his own unfathomable Wu Gong, he naturally had the means to see if the two were lying.

Seeing Zhao Dehua rolling and wailing on the ground, digging his ears until they bled, Mei Qinghe shook her head.

She turned to Li Miao and said: "Senior, is there an antidote?"

Li Miao raised an eyebrow: "What, you can't bear it?"

Mei Qinghe shook her head: "No."

"The one I want to kill is Zhao Dehua, not a madman who doesn't even know why he is dying."

"A confused death is too easy for him."

Mei Qinghe had thought that the moment her great revenge was about to be fulfilled, she should be excitedly weeping.

But her heart was as still as water, as calm as if she were watching someone else’s affairs.

Only the Qi within her body surged, like a stove fire that had been smoldering since fifteen years ago, burning dully in her chest, making her lips dry.

Li Miao raised his hand and tossed over a small packet: "Use this."

"Put it in his mouth and use your Qi to catalyze it; it will be done in a moment."

Mei Qinghe took the packet, thanked Li Miao, turned around, pinched Zhao Dehua’s mouth, and shoved the antidote in.

Then she gripped Zhao Dehua’s pulse and channeled her Qi into his body.

Gradually, Zhao Dehua stopped wailing, and his hands and feet stopped thrashing.

After another stick of incense had passed, his eyes regained clarity.

Zhao Dehua looked up at Mei Qinghe before him, his lips moved, and he finally said dryly: "You... you didn't die..."

It was the same thing he said when he first saw Mei Qinghe, only the first time he had been poisoned, and in his mental confusion, he felt it was the vengeful spirit of Mei Qinghe’s mother coming for his life.

Now he was sober and knew that Mei Qinghe was the little girl he had let go back then, coming to seek revenge for her mother’s murder.

Mei Qinghe nodded: "Yes, I survived."

"I came down the mountain with a heart prepared for death; from the moment I came down, only one of us can live."

"Although I won't torture you the way you tortured my mother back then, I won't let you die just like that either."

Mei Qinghe made a move, instantly sealing Zhao Dehua’s major acupoints, blocking his Qi circulation and causing his limbs to lose strength, leaving them to flail aimlessly.

"You tortured my mother for ten hours back then, so I will stab you ten times; every time a stick of incense passes, I will stab you once."

"And, I will give you another choice."

Mei Qinghe picked up the broken short sword, then picked up the broken long sword, and walked to Zhao Dehua’s side.

She forcefully inserted the short sword into the ground, then let go and stood up.

The short sword stood upright on the ground, its blade pressed against Zhao Dehua’s neck, raising goosebumps.

"This is the first sword."

Having said that, the long sword pierced into Zhao Dehua’s left arm.

Blood splattered, Zhao Dehua wailed, rolling on the ground.

His acupoints were sealed by Mei Qinghe; his limbs could move but not obey him, only twitching aimlessly at his sides.

Another stick of incense passed.

"The second sword."

This was repeated until the ninth stick of incense, by which time Zhao Dehua was covered in blood, his wounds deep and shallow, leaving a gruesome trail of blood on the ground.

Having spent many years in the Wu Lin, the pain of wounds was not so unbearable for him.

What was truly unbearable was the process of walking step by step toward death.

He slammed his head against the ground, kowtowing to Mei Qinghe repeatedly, his face covered in blood.

"I had no choice! I had no choice! He forced me! He forced me!"

Mei Qinghe watched coldly as Zhao Dehua struggled on the ground, saying nothing.

Not until the sky began to brighten and the east turned pale did Zhao Dehua lie on the ground, gasping for breath, on the verge of death.

He mumbled incoherently.

"I had no choice..."

"I had no choice..."

Mei Qinghe walked up to him.

"If you commit evil, you must pay."

"Back then, my mother was tortured by you and the Plum Blossom Bandit for ten hours."

"The Plum Blossom Bandit didn't say a word; it was you who took the initiative to take the insects you had removed from your own ears and put them into hers."

"This... was your choice. You hated her, you didn't dare choose to hate the Plum Blossom Bandit, you only dared to choose to hate her, to hate her for making you unable to continue being a good person."

Mei Qinghe said softly.

"You always said you had no choice, but now you have a choice."

"This short sword has been stuck in the ground the whole time; you can see it. You can throw yourself onto it at any time and die, but you never dared to look at it even once."

"Now is the last sword; you can choose: will you do it yourself, or should I?"

Zhao Dehua stopped making a sound.

"Have you chosen?" After waiting for a while, Mei Qinghe asked softly.

Zhao Dehua still did not make a sound; he gritted his teeth and slowly moved his neck toward the short sword.

He wept continuously, his neck moving closer to the blade, then away.

This repeated for a long time, but there was still no movement.

Mei Qinghe looked into Zhao Dehua’s eyes and said:

"You don't dare to choose."

"You don't want to choose to live, and you don't dare to choose to die. You aren't fit to be a good person, and you don't dare to be a bad one."

"You aren't a good person forced into a dead end; you are just a coward who dares not choose anything."

Mei Qinghe kicked the hilt of the short sword, the blade slicing through Zhao Dehua’s neck, and blood gushed out.

"In the end, you still had to let others choose for you."

Zhao Dehua struggled, seemingly wanting to argue something, but blood flooded his mouth and nose, and he could only make a "he-he" sound.

He struggled for a while, then stopped moving.

Watching Zhao Dehua gradually lose his breath, Mei Qinghe sat down on the ground.

She gasped for air, and tears finally flowed down.

Mei Qinghe didn't want to show a shred of weakness in front of Zhao Dehua, because that might have made Zhao Dehua no longer afraid.

So she had never dared to let her tears flow, trying hard to flatten her voice and maintain a cold posture.

Now, she had finally walked out of the mountains from fifteen years ago.

Li Miao stepped forward and patted Mei Qinghe on the shoulder.

"Well done, he must have been terrified."

Mei Qinghe finally burst into loud sobs.

Li Miao waved his hand: "Hey, hey, keep it down."

"Last night, to let you have your revenge properly, I used sleeping incense on the nearby houses."

"It should be wearing off soon; control yourself and go clean up the roof for them."

"I have given you your benefit; from now on, focus on working for me."

"Pack your things and go buy a sword. We hit the road in an hour."

(End of chapter)