With the Blade

Chapter 302: Chapter 253: What’s Really on the Edge of the Blade

Clutching the wooden stick in his hand, Woodman Li, the carpenter was immensely furious at this moment.

On one hand, of course, it was because of the memory of being attacked earlier, and on the other hand, it was because of Du Chengfeng’s current miserable state—after all, although he’d always heard about his brother Du fighting life and death outside, upon returning, Du was always intact, so he figured with Du Chengfeng’s combat prowess, everything should be fine.

It should be fine, after all his brother Du had always been strong, so strong when he was at Yang Fort that in his understanding, there was no one stronger than Du Chengfeng.

This was also the common perception of those refugees and villagers; they all believed Du Chengfeng wouldn’t encounter any danger. With the immense courage of this warrior Du, who could possibly outmatch him?

Not until now did Li, the carpenter realize what kind of battles his brother Du had been going through all along.

His left shoulder shattered, deep wounds on his arm cut to the bone, his left calf impaled, leaving a translucent hole in the flesh, and his body was already riddled with cuts, leaving pools of scarlet blood everywhere, even his head swollen from the impact of heavy punches, his right eye nearly unable to open.

Yet even with such severe injuries, Du Chengfeng was still exchanging blows with that swordsman from the martial world, not falling behind.

It turned out that his brother had been through such battles all along.

Li, the carpenter wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Even though he and Du Chengfeng always acknowledged each other as brothers, Li understood that the distance between him and his brother Du was vastly wide—after all, in his eyes, as well as in those of the villagers and refugees, the powerful Du Chengfeng was always akin to a soaring dragon, a mighty figure overlooking others, while he, called an elder brother, was merely a village carpenter, whose skills were of no real comparison.

If things were ordinary, a figure like Du Chengfeng might never even meet him; such powerful figures that overlooked life existed high above, far beyond the reach of ordinary folks like himself...even if they did share some fate, once Du Chengfeng became powerful, someone ordinary like him would have long been left behind.

After all, they were already in two entirely different worlds.

The strong have their world, a place Li would never reach; whenever he heard Du Chengfeng casually mention his adventures, talking about dueling with masters, fighting assassins, defeating monsters, even slaying emperors...to Li, it all sounded like gods’ tales.

Unlike him, who still pondered what to eat for each meal, his brother Du seemed more like a man born to be an eagle.

Eagles should soar in the sky, why would they look down at the mice on the ground?

Yet his brother Du, even after becoming stronger, never saw him as any kind of mouse.

They would still gather to drink and eat meat together, still chat and laugh together, even if sometimes what Du said was hard to understand, he never once treated him as anything less than a brother.

Even though they shared no blood relation, their bond was truly as close as brothers.

So, something must be done.

Something must always be done.

"Something must always be done."

At this moment, not only himself, but even the blood-stained long staff in his hand echoed the same determination.

The same pain, the same sadness, the same anger, the same resolute determination.

The long staff he meticulously crafted was now indistinguishable from himself.

No, it was exactly like him.

The dried, beating heart on the long staff was his very own heartbeat.

"...Eh?"

Raising the long staff, the wooden man suddenly paused.

Was that his own heart?

Does that mean he was already dead?

"I..."

The wooden man’s vision suddenly blurred.

At this moment, looking at that desiccated heart, he suddenly remembered those originally vague memories flooding back into his mind—yes, in that bustling market, a stranger grabbed the long staff and suddenly struck, piercing his chest and even gouging out his heart.

He was already dead, his heart stolen, and his lingering consciousness sealed within this long staff.

So who was he exactly?

If he was himself, then what was this long staff? What about the him that was pierced?

Too many questions exploded in his mind, accompanied by immense terror; at this moment, he even lost the ability to think, and the long staff raised stayed suspended in midair.

Meanwhile, the swordsman lying on the ground spoke as well.

"So this was your contingency...you shouldn’t have let him touch that."

Yin Ren Wuzhao, collapsed there, looked at the also downed Du Chengfeng and cracked a smile.

"Yes, you achieved what no one else could, so what? He’s just a carpenter; can he really tell which one is himself?"

"You..."

Du Chengfeng’s face darkened.

Not towards Yin Ren Wuzhao, but about Li, the carpenter’s situation; after all being able to battle for two hours had more than satisfied him, leaving the final blow for this old brother was merely giving him a chance to advance—who would have thought Li picked up that long staff, the one holding his very will.

A weapon harboring Li’s will yielded unforeseen issues between it and Woodman Li.

"So, you didn’t think I’d be out of strength, did you?"

Grinding his teeth to brace, the heavy great saber that had fallen was already back in Du Chengfeng’s hand.

"Prepare your last words, you’re about to..."

Bang—

Before Du Chengfeng could stand back up, the long staff holding the desiccated heart had already struck Yin Ren Wuzhao’s head.

Then came a second strike, and a third.

"Aaaaargh—"

The wooden figure wielding the long staff screamed while smashing madly, even though his mind was in utter chaos, his intent was crystal clear.

After all, both he and the long staff in his hand shared the same thought.

And that was to smash open this enemy’s head for Du Chengfeng.