Chapter 1: A Hero in the Mountains
…When I was young.
People called me trash, or a slave.
After I grew a bit more, I was mostly known by derogatory names like weed or vicious bastard.
After I grew up, I even heard myself being called the Poison Snake Spear (毒蛇槍) or the Spear Ghost (槍鬼).
After ascending to the supreme realm, albeit briefly, I was once called by the undeserved title of Spear King.
But what in the world is this?
“Wah—”
Now, it seems I’m about to be called trash again.
* * *
Was he just around fifteen or sixteen years old?
A boy with a youthful appearance stood at the foot of the mountain.
“Wah?”
The boy tried mimicking a baby’s cry in a voice full of absurdity.
“Hmm. I see. I’m not that young, then.”
Chui.
No surname, just a name.
Anyway, he had returned.
From the other side of the battlefield where blood (血) and demons (魔) mingled, back to the body of his untainted childhood.
And there was a crowd welcoming him.
“Die!”
Green Forest Bandits (綠林徒).
A wicked band that hid in the mountains, killing travelers and plundering their wealth.
They were in the middle of launching a night raid on an escort agency passing through the deep mountains.
“…….”
Chui stroked his soft chin, which didn’t have a single strand of beard.
‘Indeed. Come to think of it, it was around this time. The time I worked as a porter.’
Chui was originally from a minority tribe in the south.
After his tribe was annihilated by foreign forces, in his childhood, he drifted from job to job, starting as a tavern waiter and a porter, before eventually enlisting in the army.
After enlisting in the army, Chui roamed through countless battlefields.
For clothing (衣), a single tattered military uniform was enough, and for food (食), a single rationed potato sufficed.
For shelter (住), it was the battlefield.
He lay down with his spear as a pillow, slept covered by corpses, and washed his body with hot blood and cold night dew.
Was he born with such a nature, or had his talent blossomed?
While holding a single spear and killing countless people, he himself managed to never die.
Was it because of the curse of the dead who told him to wander the battlefield all his life and die?
Even after returning to the past, Chui stood alone on the battlefield like this.
…But.
Whether in the past or now, he could not keep his body still.
It was not in his personality to do so, and the world simply would not leave him be.
“What’s with this kid?”
A passing bandit spotted Chui.
He raised the tip of his spear and spoke.
“He’s not an escort. A porter?”
Chui did not reply.
He only stared silently at the enemy in front of him.
Bloodshot eyes.
An overloaded body.
A head unaware of it.
It was a typical reaction shown by someone who set foot on a battlefield for the first time.
A novice who had gone mad at the taste of blood had no luxury to spare any consideration for women, children, or the elderly.
As expected, the bandit rushed at Chui, gripping his spear.
“Kill everyone from the Swift Tiger Escort Agency!”
That was his misfortune.
Kiririk— thud!
Chui evaded the spear thrust that reached the tip of his nose with extreme ease.
Then, using the Grappling Hand Techniques (擒拿手法) he had once trained in until his fingerprints wore away, he grabbed the opponent’s spear shaft.
“Huh?”
The bandit’s expression blanked.
And he froze just like that.
Thud—
It was because Chui snatched the bandit’s spear and immediately pierced his heart with it.
“Though my martial arts (武功) are gone, the principles of martial arts (武理) remain. This is enough.”
With every breath, a sharp heat rose from inside his dantian.
His internal energy accumulated, albeit minutely.
Although the martial arts he learned in his past life was a fast-improving demonic art (魔功), it was absolutely necessary for survival as a low-ranking soldier.
Gathering his internal energy, Chui’s eyes turned dark red.
Thwack—
He lifted the spear that had pierced the bandit’s heart as it was.
His body remembered how to kill people.
Just as a person does not forget how to breathe even if they lose their memory, Chui’s body was perfectly replicating the killing arts (殺人技藝) of his past life.
Just then.
“Aaaah, you monster!”
A shriek close to a scream was heard from behind.
Turning his head, he saw a bandit aiming a bow at him.
Piiing— thud!
The arrow shot by the bandit flew toward Chui’s forehead.
However.
“…….”
Chui tilted his head to the side and deflected the arrow.
Only a single trickle of blood flowed down his forehead, where the arrow had narrowly grazed.
It had only torn the skin and failed to pierce the skull.
The bandit had no idea what had happened, and that became his cause of death (死因).
Rip!
Chui’s spear pierced the flank of the bandit with the bow.
Now, the bodies of two people were impaled on the spear.
But as if that was not enough, Chui lifted the spear as it was.
“What is with this crazy bastard?! Die!”
A giant bandit who came up along the ridge swung an axe at Chui.
However.
Crack!
He too was pierced through the chest by Chui’s spear and went limp.
The first, second, and third bandits were all impaled on Chui’s long spear.
Chui lightly hoisted the spear, which easily weighed over seventy gwan, and slung it over his shoulder.
Patter— patter— patter—
The falling raindrops were crimson.
Carrying a skewer of bandits on his shoulder like skewered meat, the fourth lump of meat did not dare to come near him.
They only retreated in utter panic as if they had seen a ghost.
“……Swift Tiger Escort Agency. It brings back memories.”
Chui raised his head and looked beyond the dark forest.
The sounds of clashing swords and the death screams of escorts and bandits were tangling together.
Chui walked toward the forest with a leisurely pace.
The Spear Ghost had returned to the mountains.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost