The bronze-skinned man's muscles bulged as he prepared to strike Qin Yun. Yet, unlike his wide and sturdy frame, his facial features betrayed his youthfulness, almost as if he had just reached adulthood.

  He charged forward, fists clenched, leaving a trail of airborne sand behind him with each decisive step. His eyes shone with fury, but also tears streamed down his cheeks, screaming his rage until his voice grew hoarse. Despite the language gap, the man's intentions were as clear as the bright blue sky overhead. Still, Qin Yun struck regardless.

  His fist cut through the distance, shattering space, only to thrust a mass of compacted air forward at unimaginable speed. It collided squarely with the young barbarian's chest; the white cloth covering the man's upper body exploded into scraps, almost turning into dust. Yet the man remained unscathed, his bronze skin unmarred, except for the countless grey symbols pulsing with power.

  “Enough!”

  Qin Yun shouted, trying to deter the young man, yet his words were ignored. The young man was too consumed by unending rage. Surprise couldn't help but flash into Qin Yun's eyes, but it soon turned into fascination. While he had reigned in the blow, he didn’t expect it to have so little effect. And yet, the young man’s charge remained unhindered, swiftly closing the distance.

  Mercilessly, Qin Yun's eyes narrowed as he clenched his fist for the third time, anchoring his feet deep into the sand. He stared down the barrel of a gun as a bronze-skinned bull charged at him. The young man seemed barely conscious of his actions, eyes red with fury.

  Qin Yun calculated the distance and then struck. His punch shattered the world's fabric, if only for an instant before it repaired itself as if nothing happened, only for Qin Yun's thrust to reach the apex of its velocity just as the young man entered his range. Yet, the young Outsiders wasn't defenceless this time.

  As if on instinct, the young man readied a punch of his own, only to unleash it in the exact same instant Qin Yun did, adding to the speed of his charge. Their two knuckles collided, creating a shockwave as if an explosion, shattering the nearby dunes as they rose into the air, only for the majority to come back down as dry rain, while another part was carried away by the desert wind.

  The world stood, if only for a moment, as Qin Yun felt his bone shake from the impact. He felt the shock wave deep in his core, shaking the slumbering lotus seed deep within. Golden characters lit up over his entire body as if absorbing the impact, yet Qin Yun couldn't help but raise a single eyebrow in surprise.

  Before him stood the bronze-skinned young man, undeterred, as if he had braved the raging seas and won. Their knuckles were still connected, neither backing down. Even more unbelievable, Qin Yun even felt he had lost the confrontation. He had been pushed back over three metres; his feet carved two deep grooves into the sand until they finally stopped.

  Yet, the man’s raging state didn’t falter. If anything, this failure only added to the torrent of sorrow and self-loathing raging in the young man’s heart—so much so that tears of blood even began to fall. Of course, Qin Yun knew better than to attribute this to sorrow.

  Despite the raging winds around him, Qin Yun could clearly hear his opponent's heartbeat echo around him. Deep black veins bulged on his skin as the tears from his eyes turned dark. His chest heaved up and down as he tried to catch his breath, and his muscles trembled, screaming for more oxygen. Despite it all, the young man's strength didn't falter, pushing Qin Yun even further back, almost as if he had lost all control of himself, resorting to pure instinct, immersed in vengeful rage.

  In an instant, Qin Yun switched tactics. He completely stopped his meaningless resistance, only to swiftly turn to the side. As the force holding him back crumbled, the young man couldn’t stop himself from lunging forward.

  Using the momentum, Qin Yun turned his back and slipped under his outstretched arm. He held the man's wrist with both hands, then pulled down as he leaned forward, all the while pushing against the soft ground.

  Taken aback, the young man's feet created an arc into the air before his back was slammed onto the sand. His lungs collapsed as he collided with the ground, yet before he could draw breath again, Qin Yun had already slipped his leg around the young man's throat, cutting his access to oxygen, all the while restricting any other movement.

  High on emotion, the young man didn't care and only struggled more. Qin Yun even felt a few of the man's joints pop under the strain of his own strength, yet Qin Yun held tight, suffocating the man with each passing second.

  The wait seemed endless as Qin Yun's muscles tensed, restricting the man's freedom. Yet silence soon arrived, and the man stopped his futile resistance. His red eyes rolled back into their orbits, and foam dripped from the man's mouth. Yet Qin Yun held tight even as the man's limb fell limply on each side of his body.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Only when he felt the man's heartbeat start to slow did he finally let go before rising swiftly. He anticipated the man's resurrection, yet no such surprise came. The man remained immobile on the hot sand, the grey characters on his skin slowly fading.

  “I didn't expect this to come in handy in this world," Qin Yun said, slightly proudly, as he looked upon his handy work.

  Some of the man's joints—namely his two shoulders—were dislocated entirely, and some muscles showed signs of tears. Reddish patches lay under the man's bronze skin, mostly likely from internal bleeding, but there was also a mass of blood lingering in the man's mouth, slowly dripping away to dye the sand.

  It seems the grey characters give strength he cannot control. Any longer, and he would have self-destructed.

  Qin Yun turned to face the still smouldering ruins, yet no sorrow or concern appeared in his eyes. While he knew the pain the young man felt, if only intrinsically, none of it was reflected in his heart. This part of him had died so long ago that he couldn't bring himself to care for their passing.

  After a deep sigh, Qin Yun picked up the fallen man, stopping before the single building that remained standing. Just as he retrieved his robes, he also extracted a thick chain from his storage. It was by no means an artifact, just a regular metal chain, yet Qin Yun knew better than to rely on artifacts in this barren land. Still, he expected the young man to be able to free himself regardless of when he came to, yet it was better than nothing.

  ******

  The sun had shifted from its prior position high in the sky to almost below the horizon, and darkness blanketed the land. Still, the day's heat lingered upon the land, creating an updraft radiating away from the scorching sands.

  Qin Yun spent the entire afternoon sifting through the numerous corpses scattered around the village, yet found nothing substantial. Most had died of bladed weapons, mainly of a single expert strike to a vital, leaving no doubt of their demise. Most of their deaths were quick and painless, yet some also bled out onto the sand; most of those were the elderly.

  Yet, if only judging by their muscles, Qin Yun could clearly see the expertise they built up over the years. Even if their bodies had started to decay from old age, they had once been experts in their craft and were given a warrior's death. At least, he believed so.

  Suddenly, Qin Yun heard the slightest rustling of chains from within the ruins, only for a slight smile to appear on his face. Yet he showed no urgency. With all the respect he could muster, he neatly lined the remaining corpses next to those he assumed were their family. Still, all he could do was group those who had died together.

  A moment later, Qin Yun heard a muffled groan and then the snapping of the chains, only for the young man to emerge from the broken building, his two arms still limp on each side. The fire in his eyes still smouldered, yet was held back by reason.

  The young man's gaze lay on the neatly lined corpses, only for tears to well in his eyes. He fell to his knees and started bawling, ignoring Qin Yun's presence. Qin Yun opted not to disturb his grief and instead glanced at the stone pillar to which Qin Yun had tied the young man.

  A thick chain lay broken on the ground, teeth marks clear on its surface, cutting straight through one of the links as if squeezed by a bolt cutter. He couldn't help but turn toward the young man, slightly astonished, as not even he was confident enough to cut through metal that thick.

  "Did... you do... this?" the young man said.

  The words were disconnected; not only were they said through tears, but Qin Yun barely recognized them through the heavy accent. Still, he knew they were directed at him. He remained silent for a while longer, pondering his response, only for the man to turn to face him while still on his knees, standing over the remains of a woman he recognized—the one who broke down as she uncovered her murderer's identity.

  “I did move them and clean them,” Qin Yun said slowly, looking straight into the young man’s eyes. “If you’re asking about their murder, you already know the answer.”

  "But... you know who did it."

  This was no question but a statement. The man's gaze showed no doubts, only unwavering conviction as if the truth were laid bare for him to see. Qin Yun wondered how he could be so confident yet chose not to push further.

  “I don’t know their identity, but I witnessed the scene,” he replied.

  “You did... nothing?”

  His voice betrayed his emotions as barely veiled accusations filled his tone, yet Qin Yun remained as cold as steel as he sustained the man's gaze, only to see rage bubble again in the man's eyes. Qin Yun could only look at the slowly darkening sky and sigh.

  “Why should I?” Qin Yun shrugged. “Why should your people’s infighting concern me?”

  The man’s pupil dilated at the revelation. He swiftly rose to his feet, even trying to charge Qin Yun down, only to collapse on the ground soon after as he slipped on the slick sand, falling directly onto his injured shoulder. A muffled grunt remained stuck in his throat as he repressed the pain, an expression of hatred apparent on his face.

  Yet, Qin Yun felt this wasn't directed at him. Many could be the target of such hatred; not even the young man himself would be spared. However, soon, the rage fizzled out, replaced with despair, as he finally recognized his current state. He closed his eyes as tears streamed down his face, only to utter two simple words.

  “Kill me,” the young man said through gritted teeth.

  Qin Yun could feel the pain in his voice, yet none of it affected him. This young man was but a stranger, as was this slaughtered tribe. This was merely a small bump on his path toward the world’s edge. Yet, for some reason, fate had seen fit for them to meet, even if what most considered fate didn’t exist on this side of the Great Barrier. Only luck remained in this barren land, and Qin Yun couldn’t decide if he was lucky or not. Still, something gnawed at Qin Yun’s mind.

  "Do your people not possess the concept of revenge?" he asked, closely watching the subtle changes on the man's visage, only for the spark of hope and the fires of vengeance to burn deep in the young man's eyes as they snapped open.