Not a word was spoken through the night. As dawn broke, Ning Ruxue instructed Ye Wen to remain in the ruined temple while she personally went near the county seat to rent a cart for transporting the bodies.

At first, the old farmer had no idea what sort of cargo was coming, but upon seeing the array of corpses, he nearly wet himself in terror. It was only thanks to Ning Ruxue’s swift explanation—that these were notorious bandits wanted by the authorities, whom the two of them had happened upon and slain while ridding the world of evil—that the farmer was finally relieved. Otherwise, the pair might have been mistaken for a pair of ruthless, itinerant bandits, male and female, terrorizing the land.

During this entire time, Ye Wen remained silent. Seeing him frown and say nothing, Ning Ruxue worried that his old injuries were flaring up. The fierce battle of the previous night had very likely aggravated the internal wounds he had yet to fully recover from.

“If you feel unwell, you should rest in the cart,” she offered.

After all, he was her senior martial brother, with whom she had grown up side-by-side. Though she disliked Ye Wen’s temperament, she couldn't help but worry about his physical condition. Seeing his persistent frown, Ning Ruxue suddenly spoke, startling Ye Wen, who had been deep in thought and hadn't reacted immediately.

It took him a good while to realize that his junior martial sister was merely showing concern, urging him to take a rest in the cart to avoid overexertion, especially since he was still injured.

However, Ye Wen was frowning not because of his lingering injuries, but because of the sudden notion that had sprung into his mind. Ever since he and Ning Ruxue had killed these brigands and learned they were major wanted criminals, a voice had been echoing in his head. It was faint and indistinct, leaving him utterly confused about what he was supposed to do.

Yet, his heart kept telling him this was monumentally important, something he must understand. This conviction had kept him in a state of deep contemplation from before dawn until this very moment, ignoring everything else around him.

This state of mind did not abate even upon reaching the government office—in fact, the two transported the corpses directly to the Yamen’s constabulary, not the County Magistrate’s office.

Most wanted criminals were delivered there, where the local constable could confirm their identities and directly commit them to jail; arrangements for their ultimate fate would be decided later. Only truly major thieves or criminals wanted by the Imperial Court required the County Magistrate’s personal confirmation, both because such high-profile cases carried heavy implications and because the associated bounty was often too large for a mere constable to disburse.

As for those Ye Wen delivered, though they weren't petty thieves, the reward money was substantial enough to summon the Chief Clerk to handle the settlement with the pair.

Now, a Chief Clerk possessed a singular talent: an almost infallible judgment of character. He was an expert at discerning who could be offended and who absolutely could not. Otherwise, how could he offer sound counsel to the Magistrate?

Thus, the Clerk, upon seeing these two—young yet carrying swords and blades (which were the weapons of the burly men)—immediately recognized them as people of the Jianghu (martial world), and the kind that was not to be trifled with. He instantly understood that these two could not be antagonized. After all, people of the Jianghu often went by another name: desperate men.

They held their own lives cheaply, and they held others’ lives cheaply too. A mere disagreement could lead to drawing swords, and they might extinguish an entire family over some petty pretext. The Clerk certainly had no desire to be branded an evil-doer and swiftly dispatched with a blade. He had no confidence in surviving even one strike from these two (What a joke; hadn't the eight men, who were far more robust than he, ended up dead on the cart?).

Therefore, the Clerk cheerfully finalized the reward settlement and swiftly made his exit. He wanted neither to offend them nor to engage in any prolonged conversation. The ideal scenario was a clean exchange of silver for service, followed by never seeing them again.

He had no need to concern himself with other matters, nor did he need to get involved in Constable Li Fu’s attempt to curry favor with the two young martial heroes.

Li Fu, as a constable, frequently had to deal with Jianghu figures, often needing to seek their assistance. Consequently, whenever someone brought in wanted criminals to claim a reward, he would seize the opportunity to foster goodwill with them.

This time was no different, but he was surprised to find that the one speaking with him was a young girl who looked no older than sixteen or seventeen. The young man, meanwhile, remained utterly silent, appearing more like the girl’s attendant.

“Could this be a favored disciple or daughter of some great sect elder, out traversing the world for experience?” he mused.

He remained unaware that Ye Wen was still preoccupied with the voice in his head and thus had no inclination to converse with him. Moreover, Ning Ruxue saw no issue with representing the pair in discussions, so neither of them suspected they were creating this misunderstanding.

“May I ask which sect or school the two young heroes hail from?”

The conversation eventually circled back to Li Fu’s almost obligatory question: when meeting Jianghu figures, this query was practically the mandatory first step to ascertain their background and connections, helping Li Fu determine if they were worth befriending.

But to his surprise, upon hearing this question, Ning Ruxue, who had been chatting amiably until that moment, suddenly grew awkward and fell silent, subtly glancing toward the young man.

Though Ning Ruxue’s movement was discreet, it could not escape the notice of Li Fu, who had been a constable for over a decade and had become as sharp as an old fox.

“If there is some inconvenience, young heroes need not say,” he offered immediately.

Generally, martial artists traveling the world did not conceal their affiliations. If they did, it usually signaled a peculiar, sometimes even sensitive, circumstance. Thus, it was best not to press further. Li Fu understood these customs and immediately steered the conversation away, signaling he had no hidden agenda.

It was precisely at this moment that Ye Wen, who had been utterly silent, suddenly replied: “My junior sister and I are disciples of the Shu Shan Sect. A small local sect, Constable Li has likely never heard of it.”

“Shu Shan Sect?”

Li Fu had heard of the Shu Shan Sect—a small faction situated on a mountain they called Shu Shan. He knew of them only because they possessed a rather fine-sounding name. However, he also recalled hearing that the Shu Shan Sect had been wiped out just a few days prior.

“No,” Ye Wen smiled. “Not Shu Shan, but Shu Shan Sect…”

After leaving the constabulary, Ning Ruxue and Ye Wen walked in silence for a long stretch. Finally, Ning Ruxue could not contain herself.

“Senior Brother, even though our sect’s banner has been seized by others, even if our entire lineage has been destroyed, we cannot simply change the name of our sect like this.”

She was displeased with Ye Wen’s casual alteration of their sect’s name, especially since their true sect had been usurped. Logically, they were now unattached wanderers of the martial world, yet he suddenly claimed they were disciples of the Shu Shan Sect. This made Ning Ruxue suspect her senior brother had forgotten the debt he owed their sect for raising him, and that he felt shame regarding his position as the former Master of the Shu Shan Sect.

But Ye Wen seemed utterly unconcerned by this, and his decision had been made after careful deliberation.

“Junior Sister, the Shu Shan Sect and the Shu Shan Sect—what we call ourselves is merely a signboard. If we speak of tradition, as long as you and I remain, the lineage continues. What we must do is ensure the sect’s legacy survives, not cling obsessively to a mere name.”

More importantly, the Shu Shan Sect had absolutely no reputation. There was no benefit in keeping the old name, so Ye Wen had discarded it without hesitation.

As for why he suddenly felt compelled to carry on the Shu Shan lineage, it was because he finally understood the meaning behind the ceaseless voice in his head. This understanding had only surfaced thanks to Constable Li’s question about their sect affiliation.

It turned out that during the previous day’s duel, the entity possessing Ye Wen’s body had taken control, and the original Ye Wen had actually died on the spot. Only a wisp of his soul remained, unable to dissipate because of his deep regret over failing his master’s entrustment—this wisp had solidified into a persistent fixation.

When Ye Wen’s body had been in poor health recently, this lingering obsession had caused no issue. But as his body healed, this fixation resurfaced, desperately hoping that the Ye Wen who had stolen his body could revive his sect in his stead.

This thought had circled endlessly in his mind, nearly driving Ye Wen insane. Had his willpower not been extraordinary, the recently resurrected Ye Wen might have suffered another soul departure, resulting in a sudden death.

This condition began to ease only after Ye Wen started seriously contemplating how to revitalize the Shu Shan Sect. Once he had some initial thoughts, the fixation gradually faded. (Later, Ye Wen would realize that this was the original Ye Wen, the master, finally giving up his insistence, having seen that the new inhabitant of the body was willing to enter the cycle of reincarnation.)

Of course, at the time, Ye Wen simply felt that the original owner of his body had forcibly imposed a command: he must rebuild and revitalize the Shu Shan Sect, or he would never live peacefully. Otherwise, he could expect a debilitating migraine to strike at random intervals, perhaps driving the current Ye Wen to commit suicide just to find release.

Thus, feeling as if a blade was held to his throat, Ye Wen began seriously planning how to restore the Shu Shan Sect. In any case, he needed to establish the sect’s presence first, thereby fulfilling at least an initial task and placating the scoundrel in his head.

As for the future?

“This old man now has a cheat code. Once I grind out some peerless divine arts and master them, whoever robbed what was mine will return it, and whoever ate what was mine will spit it out!”

He had no doubt that in the future, he would make those who had wronged the Shu Shan Sect vanish from this region. If his martial arts progressed quickly, he wouldn't mind erasing those bastards from existence entirely. This supreme confidence was bolstered by how effective even the casually acquired Three Immortals Sword technique had proven.

After briefly explaining his plan to his junior sister, Ning Ruxue remained stubbornly opposed to Ye Wen’s decision, which amounted to establishing a completely new foundation.

Eventually, Ye Wen grew impatient. Ignoring Ning Ruxue’s increasingly disapproving and clearly unaccepting expression, he made his final decision.

“I am the Master, so my word is final. We will find a location and establish our headquarters first. Later, we will openly challenge them and reclaim what was stolen.”

What surprised him was that upon hearing this declaration, Ning Ruxue’s expression actually softened considerably. Perhaps the phrase about openly reclaiming what was lost resonated well with her temperament. She ultimately acquiesced to Ye Wen’s decision.

“So, our sect will be called the Shu Shan Sect?”

“Naturally,” Ye Wen nodded. “Shu Shan and Shu Shan sound similar. It might just be that our founder wasn't very literate and settled on the name Shu Shan Sect.”

In Ye Wen’s view, the name Shu Shan Sect was far more impressive than Shu Shan Sect... And the reason? Every person on Earth knew it.