"Why is Sky Jade being fought over? They're useless unless all eight are together."

  Yang Feng shrugged. "Simply put, if I manage to gather all eight, then the dragon that descends will be mine."

  "The dragon's oath to the emperor." Long Wei was confused. This was different from the stories he had heard.

  "Maybe whoever summons it will receive the dragon," Yang Feng said. "But the dragon has sworn an oath. Once made, it will never be broken. Perhaps the dragon's power is the reason why the eight jades have never been united before a worthy imperial heir is found."

  "So all of this is part of the dragon's game?" Long Wei suddenly felt a surge of anger. "We're being toyed with!"

  "You're wrong... you're wrong...." With the air of a wise man, Yang Feng waved his right hand dismissively. "Think of it this way. What if all eight Sky Jades fell into the hands of someone evil and the dragon was used for their selfish ends?"

  "They say the eight Sky Jades can never be gathered except by the rightful imperial heir, and that is the dragon's will."

  "I said, what if?"

  Long Wei furrowed his brow. He didn't need to think to answer such a simple question. "Chaos, of course."

  "Exactly!" The old man pointed at him. "So, rather than letting the Sky Jades fall into the wrong hands, isn't it better that we safeguard them?"

  Deep inside, Long Wei still felt conflicted. Did people not understand that the eight jades could never be gathered because that was the dragon's will?

  "That's just a myth, Long Wei...."

  Long Wei was startled. Yang Feng seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

  "It's a myth, and no one has ever proven that this chaos is the dragon's doing to keep the Sky Jades apart. However, the altar atop Mount Yuling is real. People call it the Dragon Summoning Ground. So the question is, what if the myth is wrong and the Sky Jades fall into the hands of evil? Like you said, chaos."

  Long Wei fell silent, choosing not to press the matter further. He figured he would learn more once he had honed his skills and set out on his journey one day.

  Their journey had lasted nearly a week,six days and one more night until a full week had passed. Yang Feng was adamant that they had yet to find a suitable place to retreat. They no longer traveled north because of Yang Feng's concerns about the growing conflict between the empire and the small tribes there. Instead, they went west,not to approach the capital, but because they had no other choice.

  During their travels, Long Wei did more than just walk. He diligently meditated under the morning sun and bathed in moonlight at dusk. Beyond these two times, he rigorously trained in the art of Mystic Yin-Yang Martial Arts.

  Under the guidance of a master like Yang Feng, Long Wei had made astonishing progress within a week. By now, Yang Feng was confident that his disciple could take on at least ten grown men without much trouble.

  Time passed, and that night, they arrived at the outskirts of Mingxia Village.

  "Of course, it's quiet," Long Wei remarked as they passed through the unguarded village gate.

  "Well, naturally. It's already late." Yang Feng glanced around, his ever-present smile not leaving his lips. "Now we just need to find an inn. I can't wait to lie on a soft bed."

  Deep down, Long Wei had no such expectations for a soft bed in a village like this.

  As they continued walking, searching for a place to stay, the sound of a door creaking open came from a house on their left. Both of them instinctively turned, and Yang Feng immediately smiled and waved as a child stepped out.

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  "Come here!" the boy whispered, waving frantically.

  The two stopped in their tracks.

  "Come on!" The boy whispered again, louder this time. "Hurry, unless you want to end up as headless ghosts."

  Yang Feng chuckled. "My dear boy, what kind of ghost goes around lopping off heads?" The old man glanced around, pretending to be on guard. "Where? Where? Let me behead it first."

  The boy stomped his foot in frustration. "You arrogant outsiders!"

  Yang Feng burst into laughter. "Alright, alright...." He and Long Wei then approached the child. "Now, my friend and I have answered your summons. What's the matter?"

  But the boy immediately tried to push them inside the house. Of course, he wasn’t strong enough to move them, only adding to their confusion.

  "What is it?" Yang Feng caught the boy’s hand. "Tell us."

  "Just come inside first." The boy glanced around nervously, his face suddenly pale. "Quickly."

  Sensing something was off, the two men had no choice but to comply.

  Once inside, the boy hastily shut the door. His breathing was uneven for a moment before he calmed himself.

  "Oh, sorry to intrude." Yang Feng bowed to a serene-looking woman sitting in the front room. "Your child insisted."

  "I know. I was the one who sent him." The woman smiled.

  Long Wei could see how beautiful her face was,if not for her sickly pallor and the dark circles beneath her eyes. Yang Feng, too, silently took note of the same and became increasingly certain that something was very wrong here.

  So the old man spoke first, this time without jest. "What exactly is happening in this village?"

  The woman ran a hand over her chest, inhaling deeply. "It's terrifying...," she murmured.

  What's wrong? Long Wei, growing impatient, joined in and directed the question at the boy.

  The boy took a deep breath. "A pair of demons may have just escaped from hell."

  "Huh?"

  "I'm not lying!" the boy retorted. "Two twin men,one wields a bamboo staff, the other a flute. They're unbelievably strong."

  "And then?" Long Wei pressed when the boy suddenly stopped, his breath ragged. He failed to notice that Yang Feng’s expression had subtly shifted at the mention of those weapons.

  "They keep challenging the young men of the village to duels. Every week, they come demanding a fight,this is the fourth time now. We don’t know where they came from. They just showed up and started causing trouble."

  "What are their names?"

  Everyone in the room flinched at Yang Feng’s sudden outburst.

  "I don’t know," the boy said, shaking his head. "None of us do."

  Now Long Wei turned to Yang Feng. "Why? What’s wrong?"

  "Good heavens, Wei Ji." The old man’s face had gone slightly pale. "If my guess is correct, those must be The Death Twins."

  Long Wei frowned.

  "Who are they?" The woman,likely the boy’s mother,who had been silently listening, finally spoke.

  "Ten years ago, those two led a traveling opera troupe that toured many regions. But in reality, it was nothing more than a facade to mask their crimes." Yang Feng clenched his fists.

  "What kind of crimes?"

  Yang Feng turned to Long Wei. "They would harm anyone who watched their performance without making a donation. Worse yet, they forced passersby to stop and watch. Many warriors attempted to put an end to their tyranny, but they all fell to the opera troupe."

  The woman shuddered. "Then... does that mean they've been hiding their troupe all this time?"

  "Let’s hope they haven’t built a new one." Yang Feng took a deep breath, trying to steady himself. "Ten years ago, Mystic Devil and I destroyed them. We were gravely wounded, but the opera troupe was annihilated. Unfortunately, the two leaders escaped, managing to steal both our weapons,my bamboo staff and Mystic Devil’s flute."

  Long Wei tensed. The fact that Mystic Devil and Yang Feng had both suffered severe injuries at their hands, just how powerful were The Death Twins?

  Yang Feng continued, "They were also critically wounded, far worse than us. I crushed the elder twin’s right eye, and Mystic Devil severed the younger one’s left leg. And yet, hearing this story, their behavior remains just as reckless and insolent!"

  "Then what does this have to do with this village?" Long Wei asked.

  Yang Feng was silent for a moment before finally answering. "We crushed them before The Death Twins ever made it here."

  "No wonder we never knew about them," the woman said. "So, what do we do now, sir? The young men and our husbands have all gathered at the village chief’s house, planning to ambush those two."

  "Not a single man in this village would be able to match even one of them. I'm certain of that."

  The woman began to sob, and the boy was already crying at the thought of his father.

  "Why the village chief’s house?" Long Wei asked, keeping his composure.

  "Because that's where they always appear first to issue their challenge, before spreading throughout the village and provoking the men into fighting."

  "Bastards!" Yang Feng’s face had turned crimson with rage.

  These powerful martial artists are truly strange, Long Wei mused to himself. "We have to go there."

  Before Long Wei could even close his mouth, a sharp scream echoed in the distance, followed by more shouts filled with fury.

  The woman’s face went pale as a corpse. "They're here...."

  "Damn it!" Yang Feng's figure blurred as he dashed outside, Long Wei following close behind.