Chapter Seventeen: The Ten Snow Mountain Eagles

"Not bad at all!" the old man said.

"Thank you for showing mercy, senior," Ding Jun replied in a low voice. On the right side of his neck, there were three bloodstains, each over an inch long, with fresh blood trickling down his collar.

"No wonder you dared to step up for the young lady. It has been a long time since I encountered a combat master like you." The old man picked up his wine skin, pulled out the stopper, took a swig himself, and then held it out to Ding Jun. "You are worthy of my wine. Come."

A smile returned to Ding Jun’s face. "Senior, you still haven't said whether you will waive the penalty drink for Miss Fang."

The old man suddenly burst into laughter. "With you here, whatever you say goes, ha ha ha ha..."

Ding Jun nodded, took the wine skin, and sipped slowly. Suddenly, he changed the subject. "Senior, the matter of Miss Fang is settled. But what about the account with Uncle Li and Master Qin at Toling Temple? And what about the fate of the Shi family in two weeks' time? If it is convenient, let us settle these accounts together."

"True, I killed the two helpers Shi Miaoshou hired. So what? Everyone must bear responsibility for their mistakes, and he is no exception. Little brother, do not think that because you can parry a few of my strikes, you can stand up for Shi Miaoshou. The illusions and curses of ancient Persia are beyond the control of even the caster himself. For instance, this time—" The old man suddenly flickered, disappearing from his chair in a flash of gray light. Three seconds later, he strode back from the far end of the earth forest where they were camped.

Behind him, two men dressed entirely in earthy-colored clothes stumbled forward, their hands gripping short guns, already raised and aimed at the old man's back.

The old man walked to the grill, picked up a skewer of grilled fish, and took a large bite, chewing through both meat and bones.

"We won't... let you... go... We were sent by Lady Lan. If you kill us... Lady Lan will not let you go..." one of the men said with a bitter smile.

"What? Lady Lan?" Ruan Feng exclaimed in horror.

Ding Jun’s heart sank, but the old man’s speed was so great that he was powerless to intervene.

"Will not... let you... go..." Before the other man could finish his sentence, his body went limp. With a wet thud, his remains collapsed into a pile—three heads, three torsos, and six arms. The first man followed, crumbling to the ground in the exact same state.

"The Three-Heads-Six-Arms Curse," Fang Qing gasped.

The condition of the two bodies was identical to those of Uncle Li and Master Qin. It was clear that the person who had killed at Toling Temple last night was also this old man.

"My surname is Jin, and everyone calls me Old Jin. 'Three-Heads-Six-Arms' was originally just the name of a blade technique, but after being infused with ancient Persian curses, it became an invincible martial art. Even I cannot explain the reason behind it. Cough, cough..." The old man began to cough.

When he raised the wine skin again, the gray robe under his right armpit had split wide open and was soaked through with blood.

"Little brother, you are truly impressive! However, I did hold back just now. If I had truly unleashed the 'Three-Heads-Six-Arms Curse,' it is hard to say who would have died. Ha ha ha... cough, cough..."

Ding Jun had remained silent, but now he stood up with a bitter smile, walked in front of Fang Qing to fully shield her, and bowed with palms pressed together toward the old man surnamed Jin. "Senior Jin, is there still room for negotiation regarding the Shi family?"

The old man shook his head. "You might as well call me Old Jin; I've been used to it for years. I will tell you clearly: the entire Shi family must die, for he has committed an unforgivable, monstrous crime that ten thousand deaths could not atone for. Little brother, I give you face, but my brothers may not."

Ding Jun took a deep breath and suddenly uttered a phrase: "Golden spears and iron horses, a spirit swallowing ten thousand miles like a tiger."

This was a line from the poem *Yong Yu Le: Thoughts on the Past at Beigu Pavilion in Jingkou* by the Southern Song patriot Xin Qiji, praising Liu Yu, the Emperor Wu of the Southern Song, who in his time rode warhorses, wore iron armor, wielded weapons in the air, and possessed a spirit as fierce as a tiger.

"What?" Ruan Feng asked, puzzled, for he did not understand the meaning of the ancient poem.

Fang Qing also took a deep breath, pushed back her chair, and stood up.

"Ha ha ha ha..." Old Jin laughed. "Little brother, you have insight! True insight!"

"Ten people—have they all arrived?" Ding Jun asked.

Old Jin nodded. "Naturally. The 'Ten Heavenly Eagles of the Snowy Mountains' never act alone, unless someone has died... Little brother, since you know these inner details, you should know that Shi Miaoshou is as good as dead, right?"

Ding Jun was referring to a force that had been rampant for twenty years across Tibet, Nepal, India, Sikkim, and Bhutan. The group consisted of ten members, with surnames corresponding to "Gold, Spear, Iron, Horse, Spirit, Swallow, Ten, Thousand, Like, Tiger." When they acted, they came like rainbows and vanished like lightning; no national military could guard against them. Whenever the Ten Heavenly Eagles struck, the governments of these nations could only watch helplessly and clean up the aftermath.

After terrorizing the region for a decade, this force suddenly vanished, retreating into the shadows, much to the relief of international security agencies.

Ding Jun knew that if they were the ones coming, the Shi family had effectively been sentenced to death.

"Mother Ge," Fang Qing reminded him from behind.

The person ranked second among the Ten Heavenly Eagles had the surname Ge, which naturally connected to Mother Ge. If Mother Ge was a mole for the Guge visitors, then every move of Shi Miaoshou had long been under the enemy's observation. But what was Mother Ge’s sudden disappearance about?

If Old Jin alone could strike such fear into Shi Miaoshou’s camp, did the arrival of all ten of the Heavenly Eagles not mean the Shi family truly had no way out?

"Little girl, those who know too much die too quickly," Old Jin reminded her languidly.

"The Shi family dying is better than us dying, right?" Ruan Feng wiped cold sweat from his brow, still shaken.

"Since the target is the Shi family, why did you have to kill those two?" The north wind blew away the scent of blood, but the fact that the two men had called out Lady Lan’s name before dying still stung Ding Jun’s heart.

"These people were tailing me. I took my frustrations out on them when I was in a bad mood. Does that need explaining?" Old Jin said.

Ding Jun gave a cold smile. "Senior, I treat people with sincerity, yet you repeatedly lie. In the battle just now, it was clearly your Divine Blade that struck, but you failed to kill me. However, every time that blade leaves its sheath, it must claim a life; you use the souls of the dead to sacrifice to the blade. That is why you killed them. From this, it seems the 'Three-Heads-Six-Arms Curse' is a malevolent thing, and even you cannot master it—no, perhaps the curse has already mastered you, leaving you unable to control it."

The final sentence clearly struck a nerve. Distracted, the old man tilted the wine skin at his lips, spilling wine fragrant with snow lotus across his chest.

Whether it was curses, illusions, sorcery, or witchcraft, all required the caster to merge with the secret arts, infusing them with the power of their soul, flesh, blood, and heart. The deeper the involvement, the greater the progress in the art, and the deeper the realm reached. Therefore, once the art was mastered, the practitioner became different from ordinary people, unable to distinguish whether they were wielding the art or being wielded by it.

Ding Jun’s intellect was first-rate; he had quickly sorted through the relationships from Old Jin’s strange behavior and reached this startling conclusion.

"It is a tragedy," Old Jin said slowly.

"Senior is a wise man; what I have thought, you have already sensed." Ding Jun spoke with increasing caution.

He had seen many people controlled by secret arts—normal in appearance but wild in spirit. Once they lost control and went mad, they became incredibly dangerous, turning into bloodthirsty demons.

"Indeed," Old Jin replied. "Little brother, you are cleverer than me. We have only crossed paths once, yet you have seen the whole truth. With your intelligence, if you joined us, you would certainly be highly valued by the High Priest."

"Unfortunately, I only wish to be an ordinary man. I have no desire to be valued by anyone, and even less to be used by anyone," Ding Jun said.

Old Jin finished the fish and picked up a skewer of squid. Even this mundane action made Ruan Feng recoil in fear, terrified that the opponent would draw his blade.

"Little brother, you are still young. When you pass forty, you will understand the truths of life. As the saying goes, even a salted fish has a dream of flipping over. In a life of a hundred years, being an ordinary person is meaningless. Only by constantly forging ahead, seeking improvement, becoming a person above others, and ascending to the heavens beyond the heavens, is the ultimate goal of a man. Back then, when we met the High Priest, we were at our peak, rampaging across the Tibetan borders. He used the most profound martial arts and the deepest wisdom to convince us, leading us into a higher realm. Before him, all martial arts and wisdom lost their meaning. He is like an unbreakable shield; no matter how sharp the spear, it would break at his feet..."

Ding Jun felt his breathing grow difficult under the immense pressure. His focus was entirely on Old Jin’s face. A true master’s blade moves with his intent; only by capturing every micro-expression could he make the correct response before the blade was drawn.

"You really should go see the High Priest. He has always liked clever young men," Old Jin said.

"Thank you for your favor, senior. But having accepted a commission, I must remain loyal to it. I wish to settle the matter of Toling Temple first," Ding Jun said firmly.

"The matter of Toling Temple? After the High Priest issued the Guge Silver Eye Death Warrant, the Shi family were already dead men. Time will prove everything; no matter what you do, you cannot change this outcome," Old Jin said.

"I never give up until the very last moment," Ding Jun said.

Old Jin laughed, throwing his head back to take several large gulps of wine. "Very well, very well. Young man, you will see the result. This time, it is not just us Ten Heavenly Eagles acting together; the High Priest’s only direct disciple, Miss Xue Wan, has also arrived... It is equivalent to using a thousand-pound sledgehammer to crush a tiny ant. Unless a miracle occurs, the Shi family is doomed."

He seemed to have spoken too much, revealing a name Ding Jun had never heard: Xue Wan.

Above the earth forest, the north wind grew stronger, and the temperature dropped again, causing Ruan Feng to shiver and huddle against the grill for warmth.

"Then, I have no choice," Ding Jun said coldly.

"When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain unbroken? Little brother, the next time we meet, we will be irreconcilable enemies. Actually, I would prefer that someone as clever as you join us, to achieve greater things under the High Priest’s leadership," Old Jin said.

Ding Jun shook his head. "How broad can the heart of someone who exterminates an entire family be? Senior, I truly cannot agree with your views."

Old Jin laughed. "Little brother, you are truly pedantic. Those who are pitiable must have something hateful about them. The Shi family—"

Suddenly, a wailing sound of a flute drifted through the wilderness, carried by the wind, impossible to pinpoint.

Old Jin’s expression changed. "I will say no more to you. You had best remember: when the critical moment comes, saving your own life is what matters. Do not act like a mantis trying to block a chariot."

He tucked away his wine skin, let out a long whistle in response to the flute, and vanished into the dark night.