Consultor de vida de la dinastía Song del Sur

Capítulo 12

Chu Yi dared not interrupt her daydreams, and suppressed his sorrow as he forcefully channeled his inner strength.

"Please tell the young master that I did not disappoint him... That filthy man pounced on me, and I clung to him, injecting him with the venomous poison from my lower body... He later realized what was happening and, in a fit of rage, slapped me... Later, many people came in, but no one even glanced at me. During their fight, someone threw me down..."

The lady was panting heavily, and with each breath, streaks of bright red blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. "Please show him this brocade pouch. I only hope he'll remember me just once… It's a little dirty now; I hope it won't soil his hands…"

"Madam, where is Young Master Bixie? I'll take you there." Chu Yi grasped Madam's hand, inside which was a deep purple brocade pouch, exuding a faint fragrance of orchids. Chu Yi held this brocade pouch, holding a woman's humble hope.

"No..." Madam Ru's body trembled. "I look ugly and disheveled right now, don't take me to him... Help me up so I can face east, then I can see him..."

Chu Yi gritted his teeth, lifted Lady Ru's body with both hands, and leaped to the frosty eaves. He turned Lady Ru's head and placed it on his chest, according to her last wish, so that she would face east.

The silent night seemed to be tinged with a faint, cool dawn, shining brightly on the distant horizon. Dark clouds, veiled in rosy hues, rolled across the heavy sky, carrying the biting north wind as they swirled freely in the air.

The sun and moon rise in the east and west, and day and night turn like a revolving pearl.

Chu Yi placed the two cold bodies of Madam Ru and Ruan Si side by side, knelt silently in the room for a long while, then got up and opened the door. A chilling wind rushed in, Chu Yi tightened the collar of his clothes, picked up the moonlight in his right hand, and strode towards the door.

On the shores of the East China Sea, on Wufang Island, lies Bixie Manor. Day after day, the first rays of the rising sun appear here. Legend has it that a brilliant and resourceful young man was born here, radiating the sun's brilliance, and was known as the pride of the East.

Far away in Youzhou, Chu Yi, facing the wind and the faint light, walked forward with a calm and resolute expression, sword in hand, towards the person whose fate was irreversible.

13. Closing the net

Dozens of miles away from the flower-filled Yunhu Inn, there is a stone pagoda built against the mountain. Because wild geese from the north often cry out here, longing for their homeland, people named it "Falling Goose Pagoda".

Leng Qi never imagined that the fight, which he thought would end in an hour or two, would last until the first light of dawn. He grew increasingly anxious, and the clear light in his hand shone like a silver river cascading from a frosty sky, a clear and cold expanse. His sword was stained with a thick layer of blood, which flowed down the carved black patterns like a mountain spring.

Looking around, there were still eight people who had caught up with them to the foot of Luoyan Pagoda.

The young master's purpose was clear: the plan, meticulously crafted for half a year, would officially come to a close tonight. From the first time Leng Qi saw the young master in the magnificent royal palace, he understood that this dragon among men could only live in the light of being admired by thousands, destined to be nothing more than an assassin.

Tonight's turn is crucial for the "Thunderbolt Plan." The young master has entrusted him with full control, so he can only succeed and cannot fail.

The boy, who had survived the ordeal, entered the hall with him to assassinate Li Jingtang and the Jingxiang warriors, their aim being to stall those in the hall. Outside the inn, the Silver Light Prince, with his feathered arrows, stood guard; anyone who escaped would be met with a devastating blow from his silver-haired, meteor-like strike. The concubine entered the room to poison the King of Jingxiang, while the Three Elders of Cangshan held the King's corpse hostage, commanding the Jingxiang warriors. All the plans proceeded according to plan; the King of Jingxiang did indeed die from poisoning, and countless of Li Jingtang's men, who were colluding with the Tang Clan, were killed or wounded. But why hadn't the fighting stopped yet?

Last night, after Chu Yi left carrying the dying Ruan Si, everyone heard Nan Jingqi's howling voice and were led to the fourth floor of the inn to continue their fierce battle. After the three elders took away the corpse of the King of Jingxiang, the enemy pursued them closely and came here.

In front of Luoyan Pagoda, there is a plum grove, shrouded in cold mist, where plum blossoms bloom in profusion.

Leng Qi gripped the dragon-patterned sword tightly, standing intently before the plum grove filled with silver blossoms, the sword exuding a chilling aura and gleaming cold light.

Behind him stood the Three Hermits of Cangshan, their expressions serene, forming a triangle that blocked several escape routes in front of Luoyan Pagoda. The Silver Light Prince stood atop the pagoda's wing, bowstring drawn, his posture as intimidating as a cheetah poised to pounce, exuding power without anger.

Leng Qi stared coldly at the handsome young man in front of her.

The boy's eyes were clear and bright, fixed on Leng Qi without blinking, like the cold starlight, exceptionally clear. The cold killing intent flowing between his brows did not detract from his handsome and otherworldly appearance, nor his wild and unrestrained nature. Behind him, on the grass, lay a tall body, none other than the King of Jingxiang, who had died from poisoning.

The young man stepped forward, sword in hand, and stared coldly at Leng Qi: "Guard Leng, it seems you still don't intend to return this Dragon Pattern Sword to its rightful owner?"

Leng Qi's thumb unconsciously stroked the bottom of the sword, carefully caressing it. He discovered that there really was a "Leng" character on it. Remembering what Chu Yi had said, he was secretly surprised, but his face remained expressionless.

He gave a cold laugh: "General Nan, your lord has already passed away, why are your men still fighting like cornered beasts?"

"No need to worry about that." The young general from Jingxiang, Nan Jingqi, showed no panic in his clear phoenix eyes, his gaze fixed on Leng Qi's face, calm and composed.

Lan Jun, dressed in white scholar's robes, slowly stepped forward and stood still behind Leng Qi. He held a translucent jade staff in his hand, and smiled as he looked at the plum blossoms in full bloom. He seemed to be admiring the fragrance and beauty of the plum blossoms in the garden. He said leisurely and wistfully, "General Nan became famous at a young age. He has experienced countless battles in the martial arts world and on the battlefield. He is calm and composed after a hundred battles. With the support of the Divine Spear Master Wang, the Double Tang Staff, and the four masters of Jingxiang, he is fearless."

Nan Jingqi remained silent, but a withered old man silently walked up behind him. His hands were twice the size of a normal person's, and he was dressed simply. He stared at Lan Jun with a sinister smile and said, "Lan Jun has good eyesight."

Lan Jun remained calm and composed as she admired the plum blossoms: "Old Master Wang Yifei's divine spear and Wu Xuanwu's meteor hammer are both highly skilled, having killed countless of my evil-repelling youths. It's hard to mistake that."

"The Three Elders of Cangshan seem to know the situation so well. It seems they were indeed lying in ambush in the hall tonight, watching the young man who was trying to kill himself in vain, yet they remained hidden. I wonder why?" The man in the dark blue thin jacket said sinisterly, holding a gleaming meteor hammer in both hands.

"People say that Wu Xuanwu's bodyguards are skilled in psychological warfare, and now that I hear your words, I can confirm that it is true." The black-robed Elder Zhu, who had remained silent until now, spoke coldly.

"There is still one thing that is unclear. Why did the Silver Light Prince, who is rumored to never miss an arrow, repeatedly feint several times before withdrawing his arrows last night?" Wu Xuan seemed not to hear the sarcasm in Zhu Lao's words and asked indifferently.

"Without a doubt, it was to force us to leave the inn. Seeing the three elders ahead, it was only natural that we came here," Nan Jingqi said calmly before Leng Qi and the three elders could answer.

Leng Qi's heart sank slightly. Chu Yi was hit on the back last night and injured by the three elders during the day. Logically speaking, he should not have escaped the Silver Light Prince's repeating crossbow. But from their conversation, it seemed that the Silver Light Prince did not use all his strength to capture him. So Chu Yi must not be dead yet. So where is he now?

Nan Jingqi looked at Leng Qi and said coldly, "Guard Leng, if I'm not mistaken, this is where you set your trap." He slowly surveyed his surroundings, then smiled arrogantly, "I wonder if this place, compared to the inn, is also a failure?"

To Leng Qi's left rear was an old man in a green robe. His eyes were slightly closed as if he were half asleep, but he stepped forward and shouted loudly, "Not bad, I, Monk Songbai, have been waiting for you for a long time." With a wave of his hands, a group of guards dressed in silver armor appeared densely in the plum grove around the stone tower. They all steadily nocked their bows and strung them, their movements in perfect unison, waiting for the order to fire a volley of arrows.

Nan Jingqi and the others remained expressionless, their eyes keenly observing the situation on the field.

Suddenly, the Silver Prince, who was located on the wing of the tower, put down his silver bow and stood with his hands hanging down.

Lan Jun, who had been facing the plum blossoms, reached out to stop the monk Songbai. With a stern expression, he said respectfully, "With the young master here, it is not our place to point fingers."

Upon hearing this, everyone present changed their expressions. They had been in this quiet plum grove for so long, yet they hadn't even noticed the presence of another person!

A cold mist swirls among the plum blossoms, and a subtle fragrance fills my sleeves.

A tall, blurry figure slowly emerged from the mist, and a handsome, unparalleled face gradually came into view.

Nan Jingqi and the others seemed stunned by the boy's appearance, all thinking the same thing: "Is this stunningly handsome young man the world-renowned Young Master of Evil Repelling - Qiu Ye Yijian?"

A sudden morning breeze swept up several plum blossoms, which fluttered down onto his clothes like a few startled swans across a vast snowfield, their chill indescribable. A cold, clear gaze swept over them, and in that instant, everyone before the tower gasped, no one doubting his identity anymore; silence reigned.

Qiu Ye walked straight to Leng Qi and stopped in front of her, her hands hidden in the sleeves of her robe with gilded silk trim, hanging at her sides. The people behind her all bowed slightly in greeting.

"Two hundred years ago, the swordsmith Wei Zifu took the ancient Juque black gold and tempered it with millennia-old black ice to make two sharp weapons, named Changyou and Yueguang. Changyou was taken to Jingchu by the Duke of Jingyuan of the previous dynasty to protect the country, while Yueguang's whereabouts are unknown." Qiu Yeyi spoke coldly with her sword, her eyes seemingly fixed only on the air in front of her.

"Changyou Sword is the Dragon Pattern Sword."

Qiu Yeyi's cold voice cut through the silence, her eyes narrowed sharply as she stared directly at Nan Jingqi in front of her.

Nan Jingqi stood tall and elegant in his flowing black robes, his expression unchanged.

While everyone was still in astonishment, they didn't see how the young master of Bixie moved. They only felt a cold wind sweep past them, and he had disappeared.

Qiu Yeyi took a step back from the side, flipped her sleeve and snatched the dragon-patterned sword from Leng Qi's hand. She then leaped up and slashed down at Nan Jingqi with a simple "Falling Flowers" move.

In the blink of an eye, the people in front of Qiuye turned around several times, none of them daring to face the seemingly ordinary sword strike head-on without dodging.

Nan Jingqi turned around to dodge the attack, but Wu Xuan behind him could no longer avoid it. He used his "Iron Shirt" technique to parry the meteor hammer with both hands.

The sword shadows, undiminished in their momentum, fell with a single strike, severing the Meteor Hammers. Wu Xuan collapsed backward, a red line running down his philtrum. Looking again, the Evil-Repelling Young Master stood silently before Leng Qi, as if he had never left.

Qiu Yeyi turned and snatched the sword, then slashed down, killing one man in a single move. In the blink of an eye, one of the top double-hammer masters in the martial world was dead, a story that was nothing short of alarming.

But the sight of Wu Xuan's fallen body serves as a stark reminder.

The air on the field grew even colder. As long as Qiu Yeyi had a sword in her hand, no one dared to make a move. Many were seeing the godlike young master of Bixie draw his sword for the first time; this dazzling and magnificent strike actually required such a heavy price.

"Leng Qi, you shouldn't have used this sword."

Qiu Yeyi stared coldly at what was in front of her, but spoke to Leng Qi behind her.

Leng Qi, standing behind him, bowed respectfully and said, "I will follow your instructions, Young Master." The others did not understand the meaning of Qiu Ye's words, but Leng Qi did.

—While your use of this sword is indeed sharp, it obscures the brilliance of the hidden blade. Leng Qi's fame stems from the profound and unyielding power of his twin swords, making them difficult for mortals to evade.

Autumn leaves, like floating clouds, drifted down lightly onto the glazed eaves of the tower.

As soon as the young master of Bixie made a move, his subordinates launched an attack. Young Master Yinguang remained standing on the eaves of the tower, and without the young master's order, the Feathered Arrow Guards naturally dared not fire their arrows.

Leng Qi's hands moved swiftly, entangling Nan Jingqi, the number one swordsman of Jingxiang. Nan Jingqi wielded his sword, and the two youths immediately engaged in fierce combat.

Master Green Robe Pine and Cypress could no longer contain himself and raised his palm to strike at his target, the three guards of Jing and Xiang.

These three people were the ones Lan Jun had repeatedly told him to remember last night.

The Jingxiang Kingdom has four top experts. Apart from Wu Xuan, who was just killed, there are three others: the legendary Martial God Chiermu, Xuelangzhao Tiegan, and Changbidao Guanyin.

The renowned martial god Chiermu, the number one warrior of Jingxiang, is nine feet tall, with red hair and eyes. He is skilled in using a spiked club and possesses the courage to split mountains and shatter rocks, making him invincible against ten thousand men.

Tie Gan, one of the four great bodyguards of Jingxiang, is said to have captured the thousand-year-old snow wolf king of Baishi Mountain, cut off its claws to make his hands, and swept across the martial world, killing without end.

Guan Yin, the long-armed swordsman, was the teacher of Han Yuanshan, the "Canglang Swordsman." Han Yuanshan is currently the head of the Tongcheng School, so his master's swordsmanship must be among the best in the martial arts world.

The weapons of the three were easy to identify: the one wielding the spiked club was Chiermu, the one with the claws on his right hand was Tiegan, and the one brandishing his sword against the wind was Guanyin. Master Songbai, having observed the three, knew that a combined attack from them would be no joke, so he used all his strength in his very first move.

With a flick of his wrist, Elder Zhu unleashed a crystalline, dark green spear towards Divine Spear King Yifei. As the saying goes, "An inch longer, an inch stronger; an inch shorter, an inch more dangerous." Elder Zhu was facing the legendary, long-lost Overlord Spear, and unwilling to directly confront its domineering and fierce technique, he could only resort to a clever close-range attack on a vital acupoint on King Yifei's chest.

Only Lan Jun remained standing gracefully before the plum grove, smiling as she looked at the remaining people.

Li Jingtang remained calm in the face of danger, standing tall and imposing in the cold wind. Two Tang-style staffs stood guard on either side of him.

Li Jingtang knew he couldn't panic now. Even though the young master Bixie, whose martial arts were unmatched, had arrived, if he lost his composure, his side would surely be wiped out. So he steadied himself, not even glancing to the side, and even felt a chilling aura pressing down on him from behind.

Even though General Li Jingtang of the Former Tang Dynasty had been busy with military affairs for decades, he still knew the strengths and weaknesses of martial arts practitioners in the martial arts world.

—Among the three hidden figures of Cangshan, the most senior are those with profound internal strength and the strongest martial arts skills.

—The Double Tang Staff Master was an early Shaolin Discipline Hall enforcement elder. His combined attack with two staffs was no match for the three elders, ranking him second. Equally matched with the Double Tang Staff Master was the Divine Spear Master Wang Yifei, whom he had hired at great expense.

—Nan Jingqi and Leng Qi's swordsmanship is evenly matched, and they can withstand dozens of moves.

In terms of martial arts skills, Chiermu is the weakest; he is incredibly brave but lacks stamina. Tiegan and Guanyin can still hold their own thanks to their weapons and combat experience.

Standing under the eaves, Qiu Yeyijian suddenly uttered a single word in a cold voice: "Light."

The Silver Prince leaped into the air and flew to the side of the young master.

Qiu Yeyijian kept her head down, surveying the situation on the ground, and coldly issued the order: "Luring them here, do not let a single person slip through."

Yin Guang received the order without uttering a word, drew the bowstring, gathered his strength, and stood firm. The arrowhead was aimed directly at the enemy leader, Li Jingtang, behind him. With a "whoosh," the repeating crossbow bolt shot out.

Upon hearing the sound, the two brothers, with their staffs in perfect harmony, dared not be careless. They channeled their energy into their staffs, creating a blur of light and shadow as they swept away the swift and fierce arrows. With two sharp clangs, two arrow marks appeared on their staffs. The two exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with trepidation.

While the Silver Light Prince was firing his crossbows, the still Lan Jun reached out and grabbed Li Jingtang.

Li Jingtang couldn't dodge in time, and a deep bloody gash was torn in his chest by the sharp claws. Tang Kun turned around to protect his chest while Tang Zhong guarded his back.

“Chiermu.” Qiu Yeyi, standing beside the Silver Light Prince, suddenly spoke.

Yin Guang understood, nocked an arrow, and shot it at the tall, red-haired man.

Just as Chiermu raised his staff to feint a palm strike at the pine and cypress trees, he suddenly heard a sharp sound of something cutting through the air. He turned around and deflected the first arrow, but the second arrow pierced through his chest.

His burly body crashed to the ground. Tie Gan and Guan Yin nimbly rushed to his aid, their long-armed swords slashing through the wind, aiming straight for Master Songbai's face.

Nan Jingqi, who had been locked in combat with Leng Qi, suddenly shouted, "Mr. Tie."

Tie Gan rolled on the spot, picked up the corpse of the King of Jingxiang, and leaped to the left corner of Merlin. He hooked an arrow guard with his wolf claws, tore open a corner, and was about to rush out.