Chapter 1
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Flying Tiger (1)
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A fierce sandstorm swept over the mountains and village, blurring the boundaries of heaven and earth as if everything had plunged into a murky yellow haze.
This was Uga Mountain Village, nestled at the edge of the red highlands—a modest cluster of some thirty households.
The village's defining feature was its homes carved into caves on the steep mountainside. The layered loess soil made it possible. From the front, it looked no different from any other hamlet, but viewed from above, only the entrances were visible. Gazing up from below, the houses vanished entirely, leaving nothing but thick trees and grass on an uninhabited slope.
In short, it was a hidden village.
One could guess it was built that way due to these suspicious times.
From wandering vagrants to those in official robes, the world was overrun with brigands.
It was an age of Chaotic Times.
A massive walnut tree stood at the entrance to Uga Mountain Village, casting shade as broad as its canopy. Beneath it lounged a young man, back against the trunk, dozing off with his head nodding.
He was a swordsman. His chest-hugged blade proclaimed it, though he looked young and ragged.
But his sloppy posture and delicate features didn't inspire trust.
At least, that's what the village's mangy mutt thought. The beast had circled the warrior warily for half the day before reaching that conclusion.
'This new drifter is weak and worthless. And he dares claim the spot I staked out? Time to set him straight in the pecking order.'
Woof. Woof.
The dog hesitated, then bared its fangs and barked fiercely.
Rustle.
The swordsman, eyes still shut, rummaged on the ground and chucked a stone.
Thwack~ Yelp!
Hit square in the eye, the dog tucked tail and bolted in terror.
"The bastards they said were coming don't show, and instead some flea-bitten runt comes yapping? I'm starving enough to just catch and eat it."
The swordsman smacked his lips.
Now that he mentioned it, his stomach did ache faintly. All he'd eaten today was a single rice ball from the village head, old man U, around noon. Small wonder. Though honestly, he wasn't sure if it was hunger or the creeping tension twisting his gut.
He was waiting to slit the throats of strangers he'd never met.
Who would die? No one knew. From the moment one drank the waters of the jianghu, no one escaped death's shadow—he'd known that long ago.
Tsk tsk.
The swordsman clicked his tongue at the stray thought, easing into a more relaxed stance to shake off the tension. He gently stroked the hilt hugged to his chest.
Meet the wrong foe, and he might die. But fail to trust his own blade first, and death was certain!
'Yeah. Am I any different? But today won't be that day.'
Three days earlier.
"Flying Tiger, are you really taking this job? For a measly thirty silver taels, when your life could be on the line?"
Middle-aged Hidden Moon spoke up.
He was once a famed bounty hunter, they said. Now he brokered between hunters and clients. And right now, he was urging Flying Tiger to reconsider. The terms were rotten all around.
Flying Tiger gave Hidden Moon an apologetic look but stubbornly replied.
"Thirty silver taels. If your family scrimps, it'll last two months even in this pricey capital. How could I call it small?"
"But as medicine money for you? Gone in a week. Jobs like this usually fetch three or four gold at minimum. That's a tenth the rate! And you need at least three or four men. Yet you're doing it solo for pocket change?"
"......"
Hidden Moon scratched his cheek, eyeing the silent Flying Tiger. From the look, he'd already made up his mind to take the contract.
Money aside, maybe the story behind it tugged at him?
By his eye, this young swordsman had real skill. But he lacked street smarts—desperate for cash yet slapping weird preconditions on jobs.
Something about not lending his blade to fleece the weak.
Ridiculous.
Jobs that paid were usually the dirty ones.
That's why he was always broke, scrambling to escape poverty. But without changing his mindset, the path was blocked. He kept grabbing these piddling gigs that barely kept him afloat.
'A year nearly gone, and he's still playing hero like some naive kid? Hmm, young indeed.'
Hidden Moon nodded. He'd given his advice; the choice was Flying Tiger's. He readied brush and ink, pulling out the contract.
"Fine. If you're set on it, what can I do? We'll proceed. Sign here. But mark my words—I know your straits, and those Uga Village rubes' too, which is why I greenlit this mess... Tsk! There's such a thing as market rate. Taking this cheap will cost you big, and I'll catch flak from other hunters."
"Hidden Moon, thank you for always watching out for me."
Flying Tiger signed respectfully, while Hidden Moon gulped tea to soothe his nerves. He shrugged.
"Enough. Losing a skilled hand like you would hurt me too, so be careful—extra careful. Don't push; bail if it smells wrong."
"I will."
"Good. Good luck."
That was the moment Flying Tiger accepted the commission from distant Uga Mountain Village, a full day's ride deeper into Chang'an City.
Four bandits had stormed the village, ravaging and looting—a tragic but all-too-common tale.
In the fight to defend it, several able-bodied men died, others crippled. The bandits' prowess was such they couldn't even mount a proper resistance.
From the sound of it, they were true jianghu ruffians who'd drunk deep of its waters.
Had they vanished for good, that would've been the end. Deep wounds like a summer typhoon's wake, but what revenge could villagers dream of?
Yet half a month later, they reappeared.
Staying a night here had been comfy, the girls pretty—it felt just like home, or so they claimed.
Afterward, they treated Uga Mountain Village like their real turf, swaggering in and out like owners. Some who couldn't swallow the humiliation and stood up got half-crippled as examples.
Absurdly, the hamlet was about to fall wholly into outlaws' hands.
Temporary humiliation could be borne, but how to face tomorrow like this?
So the Uga villagers came to Chang'an City as a last resort, seeking a swordsman to save them. After much hardship, they landed on Hidden Moon with the commission.
Clutching every last bit of village savings: thirty silver taels.
'Please save us! Make sure those bandit scum never set foot here again, somehow!'
They couldn't outright beg for killings, but the solution was obvious.
Yet as Hidden Moon noted, pitfalls abounded.
The villagers' descriptions of the four bandits' looks revealed nothing of their identities.
Most likely outsiders.
The current jianghu teemed with violence from great factions' clashes. Countless jianghu folk wandered homeless, ready to turn roadside bandits at a whim. In other words, bad luck, and those four might not be mere thugs but warriors who'd made a name somewhere.
Hidden Moon's instincts screamed as much.
So biting at thirty silver felt dicey all around.
The sun dipped low, turning the already dusty, wind-whipped sky to deepening chaos.
Flying Tiger's ears perked. From far down the mountain, hooves of several horses approached.
He stretched grandly, shaking the stiffness from body and mind. Rising, his eyes brimmed with cold killing intent, all trace of unease gone.
Battle readiness.
"Time to greet our guests, then?"
Flying Tiger strode off at an unhurried pace to meet them.
The village lay eerily empty, save the shade-stealing mutt, village head old man U, and a few elders.
Flying Tiger had early advised the villagers to hide. If he failed their proxy, the backlash would be hard to bear.
Clop clop.
Twelve riders advanced. Mostly burly men, but among them a finely dressed beauty and a white-haired elder with ramrod straight back.
Their path led to Uga Mountain Village, still a ri away. No doubt the source of those hooves.
But the villagers spoke of four bandits—what was this?
Then the beauty murmured anxiously to the elder. He cleared his throat and asked a man with a blue blotch on his left cheek.
"Leader Go, that mountain ahead really hides a village, right?"
"Elder Im, put your worries to rest. Didn't I say my brothers and I visited several times?"
"Ahem! I trust you, Leader Go, but even this close, this old man's eyes see nothing."
"Heh heh heh! The spot's so perfect, even we wondered each time if we'd found it right. But that's why it's ideal to hole up from enemies for a spell. Plus, it's not far from a big city for contacts or supplies."
"True enough."
Elder Im glanced at the beauty—is your doubt eased?—as he replied.
But she had more questions and pressed Leader Go herself.
"Leader Go, what if the locals balk at us staying long-term?"
"Hmph! What can a bunch of village hicks do if they don't like it? Don't worry. We've schooled them good over repeated visits. They'll be meek as lambs."
"Still, people's hearts aren't so simple. Isn't there a saying—one lapse in a thousand precautions?"
"If it truly bothers the young lady, wiping them out is one way. But for a long stay, we need folks to wait on us, so I figured coaxing first. See for yourself and judge."
"I will."
The beauty spoke firmly; the elder eyed her with pity. Fleeing enemies by massacring an unrelated village? The daughter of his old lord wasn't so ruthless before.
But...
'Yes. The times made her so. Parents and siblings slain before her eyes, clan burned by foes—she saw it all. How else to survive such brutality?'
As the elder pondered, it happened.
"Elder Go Deok-bae, big trouble!"
A youth pelted down from Uga Mountain Village, shouting urgently. Sudden, but his pale face and frantic air piqued curiosity.
Something wrong in their intended hideout?
So Go Deok-bae—the man with the blue cheek blotch—didn't first ask who he was.
"What happened?"
And the youth crying "big trouble" was Flying Tiger, come to greet them.