"Next year, I will marry the Star Saintess, Salo." Tong said those words after getting very drunk.
He was slightly startled and looked up at the young pope in black.
“I will kill the current Uyghur king for her and help her family regain power,” Tong said coldly.
"Oh?" Huo Zhanbai was somewhat lost in thought, muttering, "To sit firmly on that jade throne... must be very difficult, right?"
“Heh…” Tong chuckled drunkenly, holding his wine glass. “Yes, just look at the previous leader. But…” He suddenly glanced at Huo Zhanbai, a cold glint flashing in his demonic eyes. “You’re not much better. The people of the Central Plains are cunning, and their schemes are even more elaborate and profound—just look at that guy Miaokong.”
Huo Zhanbai was startled, remained silent, and gave a bitter smile.
What a ridiculous thing—the newly appointed leader of the Dingjian Pavilion actually had a private conversation with the new leader of the Demon Palace in Medicine King Valley, pouring out their hearts to each other as if they were sworn brothers!
After the wine jars were empty, they fell into a deep sleep in the pavilion.
Before falling asleep, Tong suddenly looked up at him and murmured, "Huo Qi, I don't want to be your enemy."
Huo Zhanbai seemed to understand his meaning: "You...have you come to sue for peace?"
Tong, drunk, slumped onto the table, but pushed something in front of him: "Take this!"
Despite being drunk, Huo Zhanbai was still shocked: "The Sacred Flame Token? The token of the Great Bright Palace Pope!"
"I hope that truce isn't just a formality, but rather... that while we're both still in this position, we can stop fighting each other. No more fighting... really no more fighting... why fight to the death?"
He couldn't be sure if Tong was truly drunk at that moment, because when she pushed that precious keepsake in front of him, a resolute and cold look resurfaced in those fragile eyes: it was a deep purple, dangerous and unfathomable.
The young pope raised his hand: "You... will you agree?"
When I woke up the next day, I was already in the warm pavilion.
Huo Zhanbai awoke in the sunlight, his head throbbing. Soft, elegant, and mysterious music drifted to his ears, tinged with an indescribable sorrow. He sat up, and under the plum tree outside the window, the blue-haired man abruptly stopped playing his reed pipe, turned, and smiled: "Seventh Young Master Huo is awake?"
Huo Zhanbai frowned and looked around: "Where's Tong?"
“They left before dawn,” Ya Mi said with a smile. “They were probably afraid of being seen by the people from Dingjian Pavilion, which would cause trouble for both of us.”
Huo Zhanbai exhaled, leaned back, and closed his eyes, carefully recalling the passionate encounter with that person last night—when suddenly something hard and cold pressed against his back. He pulled it out and saw that it was a token made of black iron, with holy fire rising from it.
The Sacred Flame Token? In that instant, his mind cleared.
—Last night's conversation suddenly came vividly to mind.
Ya Mi smiled: "Tong Na took the Ink Soul Sword that you gave him as a token, saying that he would keep his promise to you."
"What?! The Ink Soul Sword?!" He snapped back to reality, reaching out to touch it, only to find his sword was no longer beside him. Huo Zhanbai's expression changed, and he shook his head violently, struggling to recall the vow he had made with that person after their last high-five.
"'In my lifetime, I will ensure that there is no more war between the Central Plains and the Western Regions.'" Ya Mi looked at him earnestly and repeated the promise word by word.
"Heh...yes, I remember now." Huo Zhanbai finally nodded, a cold glint flashing deep in his eyes.
"You're not going to back out, are you?" Yami frowned.
"Go back on your word?" Huo Zhanbai smiled wryly. "You've been through your own hell too, do you really think someone like Tong can be trusted?"
Yami remained silent for a long time before smiling and shaking her head.
"He probably released the Seven Swords down the mountain that day because he knew Xu Chonghua's true nature and could not be allowed to live. Rather than allying with such a person, it was better to choose a more reliable one. And now, his proposal for a truce may simply be because he needs time to rebuild the Great Bright Palace." Huo Zhanbai murmured, supporting his forehead. "Just watch, once he controls the situation on the Uyghur side and trains another batch of elite assassins, he will make a comeback and start a war with the Central Plains martial arts world."
Yami's eyes flickered, and she smiled slightly, "That's a possibility."
No one understood the king of assassins in that chaotic battlefield better than him. Tong was an extremely dangerous person; the Pope had ordered him to protect him at all times, mainly to guard against this person.
"Envoy Miaofeng, whose side are you on?" Huo Zhanbai asked with a slight smile, seemingly casually.
Yami maintained a gentle smile throughout. Even when faced with such a sharp question, she remained unfazed: "Myofu is dead. Yami is merely a healer—a healer's heart is like a parent's, so naturally, she treats everyone equally."
Huo Zhanbai looked at him meaningfully, but remained silent.
"When will Xia Qianyu and the others recover from their injuries?" In the silence, he suddenly asked an unrelated question.
Yami hesitated for a moment: "The tendons in the thumbs of the five swordsmen are severed. Even if the tendon replacement surgery is successful, it will take at least three years to fully recover to their pre-injury level."
"Three years..." Huo Zhanbai muttered to himself, "It seems that we have no choice but to take a break from the war these next few years."
The situation in the Central Plains and the Western Regions cannot be completely controlled by one person's power. Years of accumulated sectarian rivalries and the distinction between good and evil have already made them irreconcilable enemies. The real fear is that even if the two individuals themselves haven't yet harbored the intention to fight, their followers are already impatient—and even more frighteningly, perhaps their animosity and wariness have never subsided for a moment, and all their outward displays are merely a prelude to accumulating more destructive power to reignite a new war!
“If a war truly becomes unavoidable in the future,” Ya Mi smiled slightly after a long silence, bowed slightly, and handed over a Resurrection Token, “then, when the time comes, you may simply come to Medicine King Valley—”
"I will do everything in my power, just like Master Xue, to protect your lives."
A turbulent era has finally passed.
After Huo Zhanbai, the chief disciple of the Tianshan Sword Sect and one of the Eight Swords, succeeded Nangong Yanqi as the head of the Dingjian Pavilion, the martial arts world of the Central Plains entered a rare period of peace. The Great Bright Palace of Kunlun almost disappeared after internal strife, the assassins of the Shura Field no longer roamed the Western Regions, and even the Moon Worshiping Sect in the south ceased its activities after the death of its leader, Tianlai, and no longer acted aggressively against the Southern Martial Alliance.
In that battle, the Seven Swords lost most of their men, weakening the strength of each sect and temporarily easing the fierce conflicts in the Central Plains martial arts world. It was as if a torrent had passed through its most rugged and dangerous section and was finally gradually calming down.
The Medicine King Valley continued to issue its "Resurrection Orders" without ceasing, and batches of patients traveled from afar to seek medical treatment. However, the number of patients had been reduced from ten to one per day. Everything in the valley remained the same, except that the purple-robed Valley Master Xue had disappeared without a trace.
Former Valley Master Liao Qingran returned to Medicine King Valley to take charge of everything, but she never showed her face, and everything was handled by a newly accepted disciple.
Everyone was surprised that Medicine King Valley, which had always only had female disciples, had taken in a man. However, Valley Master Liao simply gazed at the luminous butterflies that had perched on the new disciple's shoulders and replied calmly, "Ya Mi has the heart of a child."
However, those who disagreed quickly came to believe it was perfectly reasonable.
The disciple named Ya Mi was not only intelligent and diligent, but also made rapid progress in medical skills. What was even more remarkable was his excellent temper, which made the patients, who had had enough of the previous Valley Master's irritable temper, feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.
Moreover, he was a man who could win people's hearts. No matter how fierce the patient was, they would become obedient and docile once they were in his care.