Zhen Wu, who had become docile after his defeat tensed up at his words. He had just taken a sigh of relief that he wasn't going to die but hearing that he would be taken to the villagers to be judged made him panic.

  "No! Don't take me there! Anything but that!"

  He started pleading but Ling Yun immediately shut him up. "Do you want to die?" He looked down at Zhen Wu, his eyes filled with barely contained disgust.

  "Is the great Master Wu so afraid of simple villagers? Hmmph. If you have the guts to become a murderer, then also have guts to face the punishment."

  Ling Yun snorted coldly at him. "No use of protesting. You shouldn't have done all of this in the first place."

  Zhen Wu got silent but his mind was in turmoil. He should be grateful to the heavens for the getting a chance to live but his pride couldn't stomach the alternative.

  Am I going to be paraded among mortals like a common criminal? Me, a cultivator would be judged by a bunch of farmer?

  The same villagers who used to willingly praise me as their saviour, am I going to be face their scorn and abuse? Am I going to be spat at by them?

  Never! I was a former prodigy, the vice captain of my mercenary squad. There is no way I can allow myself to suffer this indignity!

  Zhen Wu's eyes sharpened as he looked at the stars in the sky. He could feel a tight grip maintained on his soul squeezing it, threatening him that a single wrong move could end his life in an instant. He had been scared stiff because of it but not anymore. His stubborn pride overrode his fear of death.

  He had made up his mind. He would rather risk his life than suffer humiliation infront of the villagers.

  ***

  Ling Yun had stopped chanting the Serene Ocean sutra and was thinking about the next step. Both Zhen Wu and the man eating tiger have been subdued. The battle was quite close but he managed of win this time.

  I should kill the tiger. There is no need in keeping it alive. As for Zhen Wu, since the village was the victim, they have the right to decide the punishment fitting for him.

  He picked up Zhen Wu's sword and was about to go and stab the tiger to death, when his eyes suddenly turned towards Zhen Wu.

  "What are you trying to do? Stop immediately!"

  Because Zhen Wu was connected to him by the Soul connecting thread, he instantly sensed that Zhen Wu was trying to use some kind of technique. He even increased the pressure on Zhen Wu's soul threatening him to stop but Zhen Wu paid no heed and kept going.

  Ling Yun could feel the technique was about to be invoked. He could stop him by applying more pressure but that would crush his soul and kill him in the most painful of ways. He had no empathy for Zhen Wu but in the critical moment, he hesitated.

  "Sanity Devouring Hunger!"

  The tiger who had been laying quiet, suppressed by the Soul connecting thread roared and broke free, severing the thread. Ling Yun was distracted by Zhen Wu allowing the tiger to take advantage of this opening.

  Zhen Wu's technique will make the beast he controls go berserk as if they have been starving for months. Under the influence of this technique, a mother would even eat her baby cubs. The uncontrollable hunger they would experience will suppress all kinds of emotions, even the fear of death.

  The tiger's mouth was dripping with saliva, its eyes gone red with insanity. Zhen Wu inwardly smirked on his plan's success but it soon turned into a full blown panic when the tiger brushed past Ling Yun and pounced on him.

  Zhen Wu believed that the tiger would charge at Ling Yun first as he was its master but he didn't know Ling Yun's attacks directly affected the soul. Even after going insane with hunger, the tiger instinctively felt afraid of Ling Yun and so it chose the weaker person to prey on, in this case it was its master Zhen Wu.

  Zhen Wu didn't even have the chance to give some final words as the tiger chomped down on his throat and swallowed. He kept screaming in pain but with no noise, only blood came out of his mouth as he was being eaten alive by his own pet. After a few moments, his eyes closed for the final time.

  This is how the beast tamer Zhen Wu died, not by the blade of an enemy or an accident caused by heavens. In the end, he simply suffered the consequences of his choices he made.

  Ling Yun couldn't watch it anymore and stabbed the tiger from the back while it was lost in feeding on its master and brought this matter to an end.

  Even though Zhen Wu planned to do the same to him and had done same to many villagers before, he still felt pity for him. No man should have to suffer such a horrific end like being eaten alive. He could barely look at the half eaten carcass of Zhen Wu and decided to cremate it.

  Just for the sake of his worthless pride, he caused so much pain and suffered such a terrible end. No matter how hard I fall in the future, I will never become someone like him.

  As he watched the final wisps of smoke rising from the ash, Ling Yun firmly vowed in his heart.

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  "How do you feel after winning your first proper battle?"

  The voice of Brahma rang inside his mind. She rarely spoke these days so it must be something important.

  "Nothing particular. I'm just glad I managed to survive."

  Ling Yun shrugged, trying to answer as nonchalantly as he can. If he told her he felt a bit of pity and regret at Zhen Wu's demise, he would get a huge scolding from her.

  "Managed to survive? Hmmph!" Brahma snorted in disdain. "You nearly died because of your stupid mistake! Why did you allow him to use his technique?"

  This was the question Ling Yun was most afraid of. He had no answer for this so he remained silent. Brahma always does this, bringing up ugly truths that he wants to shut his eyes from.

  "Since you have decided to turn mute, I will answer for you. Did you hesitate because his begging and pleading reminded you of that trash turned blood cultivator?"

  Ling Yun unconsciously clenched his fists at the mention of Chensha. She was right, Zhen Wu was reminded of Chensha so he refrained from killing him. Even when he was about to use his technique, Ling Yun still couldn't do it.

  "Ling Yun, I've been with you long enough to know how your mind works." Brahma sighed and kept her voice low. She knew yelling at him wouldn't work.

  "If you weren't lucky, you would be the one eaten alive by the tiger in place of the beast tamer. Ling Yun, remember mercy to the enemy is cruelty to oneself. Your reluctance to kill has become a fatal weakness that your enemies can exploit. How long will you continue like this? Do you want to die?"

  "I know!" Ling Yun finally lost control of his emotions. "I know I'm being naive and stupid but I simply can't treat human lives as ants to be crushed on a whim! Is there a right reason take a person's life? Take Zhen Wu, he might the worst kind of scum but who am I to decide that he should die? Who am I to judge him?"

  In the face of his outburst, Brahma just stared blankly. Ling Yun wasn't yelling at her, the one he was angry at was himself. Ever since that night, Ling Yun had been thinking deeply about it, searching for his own answers but still unable to find one.

  "You can talk about all the ideals you want but you are simply running from reality. You are a just a fish in a river. If you want to survive, you have to follow the rules of the river."

  He heard her answer and it was just what he expected. Follow the law of the jungle, kill others to survive, might makes right. Even if it was the correct answer, he still wasn't satisfied with it. He still couldn't accept it.

  "Is there any other way?"

  "There is." She replied with her signature haughty smirk. "Even if you were born a weak fish, with enough hard work and perseverance, leap over the gate and transform into a mighty dragon soaring high into the skies. Then you will have no enemies to kill. But until then, live your life as a fish."

  Ling Yun remained in contemplation when a gust of wind blew away the ashes, reminding his where he was. He should turn back to the village but before that-

  "How long are you going to remain hiding?"

  His voice rang loudly in the silence of the night. After seeing no response, he yelled again.

  "I know you are behind that tree, Chen Yinying."

  This time she came out in the open with a sheepish smile on her face. "Wow! I didn't know master was also an expert in fighting. Seeing master in action made my heart race."

  She threw a seductive smile at him. Ling Yun knew she was trying to distract him but he had no intentions of probing her. From the start of the battle he knew she was here. It was why he couldn't use Eternal Mourning Raven because she was also in the range.

  "I'm not going to what are you doing here. But you should be careful and stay away from such dangerous battles. I don't want to see you getting hurt."

  The flirtatious look in her eyes turned into something softer and her demeanor returned to normal.

  "So what will master do now? Will you tell the truth and become the true hero of the village?"

  "I never cared about fame. I just wanted the villagers to be happy."

  "If you are going in that direction, can you listen to this request of mine, master?"

  ***

  The night passed and the rising sun greeted the three villagers on the entrance gate. They were the ones who had joined Ling Yun in the hunt. They had kept their promise to Master Wu and remained awake the entire night, ready to protect the village from any sudden attacks of the man eating tiger.

  Dark circles had formed under their eyes but they held their weapons firmly. Many times they had heard roars and loud screams coming from the distance. They were worried and wanted to go and help Master Wu but his final command stopped them. So they remained here, anxiously waiting for Master Wu to return and give them the good news.

  "Look someone is coming."

  They could make out a figure in the distance approaching the village. Their hearts thumped in excitement but it quickly died down when the purple robes proved that it wasn't Master Wu.

  Still, they rang the bell and most of the village gathered here except for small kids and elderly who were still asleep. In the front of the crowd was the daughter of the head of the village. All of them had their hearts stuck in their throats as they waited for Ling Yun.

  After a few minutes, Ling Yun reached the entrance. Surrounded by anxious gazes, he reached in his spatial bracelet and threw something infront of them. Seeing it, they were shocked into silence for a second, when someone finally asked.

  "What?! It... It's the man eating tiger!"

  "Is it.. dead?"

  Ling Yun simply nodded and the whole village broke into jubilant cheers. Some raised their fists in the air and started shouting while some hugged each other and cried. Finally the nightmare was over.

  But there was one person who wasn't celebrating, still silently looking at Ling Yun before asking, "Where is Master Wu?"

  The celebrations instantly stopped. Her voice although low, was heard clearly by the villagers. In their excitement, they had forgotten about their hero Master Wu. He should be here, celebrating with them but was nowhere to be seen.

  "Master Wu sadly lost his life. He sacrificed himself to kill the tiger."

  Ling Yun didn't try to overact and stated his words in a plain manner as if he was talking about the weather. But those words destroyed the festive mood. All of their faces turned glum and the village head's daughter broke down in tears. She was crying hysterically with an older woman supporting her.

  Ling Yun took out a sword from his spatial bracelet. Every villager recognised it as Master Wu's sword further solidifying his death.

  He reached the village head's daughter and presented her the sword. "Master Wu left it for you with some final words. He wished that you would move on from him, marry someone else and live a happy life. He was counting on you to lead in the village to a happy future."

  "Did he really say all that?"

  "Yes, the ultimate wish of the hero of the village was for you all to keep smiling. This is all he wanted."

  Saying everything he wanted, Ling Yun turned around and walked away leaving the crying villagers behind him. He would never come back to this village again.

  Years would pass and the legend of Master Wu will still be remembered fondly by the villagers. The daughter would marry a farmer and would the next head. She would start a festival on the anniversary of his death and it would be joyfully celebrated with every villager revering Master Wu as their hero. In a way, he got what he wanted.

  And Ling Yun, he would be forgotten. No one knew or remembered his name and his part would be left out from the tale. People would remember Master Wu fighting the tiger alone by himself.

  But with the villagers celebrating the festival with a smile with many years to come, the wish of the hero of the village was fulfilled in the end.