Chapter 16

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

His character was that of a cold and ruthless person.

As mentioned before, martial arts are to a large extent idealistic.

The level to which a person can master a martial art depends to a significant degree on whether their character matches the martial art.

For example, blade techniques are often bold and aggressive; a hesitant person would find it difficult to master them to perfection. But if that person turned to learn palm techniques that use softness to overcome hardness, they might progress by leaps and bounds.

The claw technique Zhao Dehua used followed a path of cruelty and ruthlessness, aiming to tear at the heart and lungs; a person with an upright and open character could never use it to such a level.

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

That bandit from back then likely also realized he couldn't escape the pursuit of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so he deliberately "remodeled" Zhao Dehua into a successor suited for his legacy.

And Zhao Dehua did not disappoint him.

Of course, not everyone in this world acts according to their own 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.

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

Having served in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for twenty years and possessing unfathomable martial arts himself, he naturally had the means to tell if the two were lying.

Seeing Zhao Dehua rolling and howling 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, 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's dying."

"A confused death is too easy for him."

Mei Qinghe had thought that the moment her great revenge was about to be realized, she would be moved to tears.

But now her heart was as still as water, calm as if she were a bystander to someone else's affairs.

Only the true energy 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 true energy to catalyze it; he'll be fine 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 true energy into his body.

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

After another incense stick of time, his eyes regained clarity.

Zhao Dehua looked up at Mei Qinghe before him, his lips moved, and he finally spoke dryly: "You... you're not dead..."

It was the same thing he had said when he first saw Mei Qinghe, only the first time he had been poisoned, and in his delirious state, he thought 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, and she had come to avenge 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 descended, only one of us could 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 struck, instantly hitting Zhao Dehua's major pressure points, blocking his true energy flow and causing his limbs to lose strength, leaving them to flop around aimlessly.

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

"And, I will give you another choice."

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

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

The short sword stood upright on the ground, its blade pressed tightly 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 howled, rolling on the ground.

His pressure points were sealed by Mei Qinghe; his limbs could move but were beyond his control, only able to twitch aimlessly at his sides.

Another incense stick of time passed.

"Second sword."

This was repeated until the ninth incense stick, by which time Zhao Dehua was covered in blood, his body riddled with wounds of varying depths, leaving a gruesome trail of blood on the ground.

Having walked the Jianghu for many years, 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 looked coldly at Zhao Dehua struggling on the ground, saying nothing.

Not until the sky began to brighten and the east turned pale did Zhao Dehua collapse on the ground, gasping for air, barely alive.

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, but you didn't dare choose to hate the Plum Blossom Bandit; you only dared to choose to hate her, 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 one."

"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 end it all, but you never dared to look at it once."

"Now for the last sword, you can choose: will you do it yourself, or shall I?"

Zhao Dehua stopped making a sound.

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

Zhao Dehua still didn't speak; he gritted his teeth and slowly moved his neck toward the short sword.

He wept continuously, his neck moving close to the blade and then away again.

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 life, and you don't dare to choose death. 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're just a coward who dares to choose nothing."

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

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

Zhao Dehua struggled, seemingly wanting to argue something, but blood surged into his mouth and nose, and he could only make a "gurgling" 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 fell.

Mei Qinghe hadn't wanted 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 fall, striving to keep her voice steady 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 put sleeping incense in all the nearby houses."

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

"I've given you your benefit, now settle your heart and work for me."

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

(End of chapter)