The palace doors opened.
What entered his eyes was a vast expanse of brilliant golden light.
Inside the National Teacher’s Hall, the carved beams and painted rafters were all decorated with fine gold dust. Light yellow silk curtains hung low. The floor was covered with woven mats, while the soft cushions and backrests were embroidered entirely with golden threads.
The entire hall was magnificent and luxurious, filled with floating golden radiance.
Within this golden glow, a man wearing a wide robe with flowing sleeves sat by the window with his back facing him, lowering his head as he played the qin.
That ancient qin was made with human skin as its surface and hair as its strings.
Nine human eyes were embedded into the body of the instrument.
As the strings were plucked, those eyeballs followed the movement of his hands, rolling around continuously.
Hearing the sound of the door being kicked open, the man unhurriedly finished playing the final few notes, pressing down on the trembling strings.
Then he calmly said:
“The night is quiet and peaceful. May I ask what business brings my guest here?”
Li Qingqian’s voice was filled with deep hatred.
Holding a sword dripping with blood, he forced out four words through gritted teeth:
“I have come for revenge!”
“Heh…”
The National Teacher laughed softly, like drifting smoke.
“In this world beneath the heavens, whether they are living people or resentful ghosts, there are countless who wish to seek revenge against me.”
“However, those capable of breaking into the royal palace alone and arriving at my hall…”
He slowly turned his head.
“There truly are not many.”
As he raised his head, the candles inside the hall flickered and illuminated his face.
The National Teacher of Liao Kingdom was also wearing a golden mask.
Behind the mask, his black eyes surged with hidden currents.
He gave a faint laugh.
“Immortal Lord, whose revenge have you come seeking?”
Li Qingqian coldly replied:
“A blood feud!”
“Oh?”
The National Teacher stood up with interest.
“Then which person I killed is it?”
Li Qingqian knew that telling him Hong Shao’s name would be useless.
So he gritted his teeth.
“The daughter of the mountain sacrifice…”
“You know exactly what you have done yourself.”
“You… liar!”
The National Teacher was silent for a moment before suddenly laughing.
“So it turns out Immortal Lord is enraged for the sake of a beauty…”
Li Qingqian trembled with fury, his eyes bloodshot.
“You said that you searched for women with similar appearances because you wanted to take them as Saintesses and teach them the ways of astrology and heavenly fate.”
“But the truth is, you buried them alive in Phoenix Feather Mountain to offer them as sacrifices to the mountain god!”
“Is that true or not?!”
The National Teacher replied:
“No.”
“…!”
Li Qingqian had always been someone who valued reason.
Hearing him deny it so decisively, the hatred that had been about to erupt was forcefully suppressed.
He widened his eyes and stared at him, his chest rising and falling violently.
The National Teacher sighed.
“For Immortal Lord to come to such a conclusion is truly because you only understand half the matter. You have wronged me.”
“I… I…”
From his expression, Li Qingqian seemed to want to ask, How have I wronged you?
But his emotions were too turbulent, and the National Teacher’s words were too unexpected, leaving him unable to ask.
The National Teacher continued:
“It is true that I collected those women.”
“But you saying that I buried them alive to worship the mountain god is a mistake beyond all reason.”
“Little Immortal Lord, let me ask you—what kind of mountain god could exist on Phoenix Feather Mountain?”
“…”
“The mountain gods of the Five Great Evil Mountains might not even receive a hundred virgin sacrifices.”
“Where does Phoenix Feather Mountain rank among them?”
“B-but…”
“It possesses no spirituality. At most, it is merely a dead feng shui formation.”
“You heard the rumors among ordinary people and immediately concluded that I buried hundreds of girls alive in a pit as sacrifices for the mountain god, causing them to lose their lives here.”
The National Teacher paused.
“I ask you… why would I be so bored?”
Li Qingqian clearly did not wish to believe him.
But the other man’s words were reasonable and well-supported. There was no forceful argument or distortion.
Thus, his expression became filled with confusion.
That confusion made him appear extremely exhausted and pitiful.
It was as if even the heavens wanted to pull the flame of revenge from his body, leaving behind only a cold and empty skeleton.
The National Teacher watched him with those deep, flowing eyes.
He watched him lower his head.
Watched him hesitate.
Watched his gaze become scattered and his willpower weaken.
After a long while, the National Teacher raised his slender fingers, covered his golden mask, and suddenly let out a soft laugh.
Li Qingqian abruptly raised his head and looked at this strange man with a pale face.
Within his confused gaze, the National Teacher was like a person teasing a small bird for amusement.
His laughter grew louder and louder.
Wave after wave of laughter spread like cold water overflowing across the surface.
It made Li Qingqian’s hair stand on end.
“Hahaha… hahaha…”
“What are you laughing at?!”
“Pfft. I’m laughing because you are interesting. You are truly far too interesting.”
“The Broken Water Sword Grandmaster, Li Zongshi. I have long admired your reputation for subduing demons.”
“Who would have thought that the so-called grandmasters of this era would actually be someone as innocent and naive as you?”
Li Qingqian was stunned.
“You knew it was me from the beginning…”
“The sound of your sword rang outside.”
“If I could not recognize it, would I not be deaf?”
Li Qingqian was shocked.
“So everything you said just now… was a lie?!”
The National Teacher returned to his qin stool.
One hand rested on the qin, while the other lay upon his knee.
His eyes shone brightly, and his smile was sweet.
“Hmm?”
“Why would I lie to you?”
“Everything I told you just now was true.”
“I did not use those hundred women as sacrifices for the mountain.”
“But they were indeed buried by me.”
“Not for the sake of the nation’s fortune…”
He paused.
Then smiled.
“Only to… find some amusement.”
Li Qingqian stared in disbelief.
“You—!”
“Do you know why I chose those women?”
The National Teacher casually plucked the strings.
The broken, meaningless sounds echoed from the qin.
Then he lowered his eyes and smiled faintly.
“Actually, there is nothing else they can be blamed for.”
“The only thing they can be blamed for is that they looked like a certain wretched person.”
He sighed.
“That wretched person made me hate her so much.”
His black eyes shone brightly.
“I was unhappy.”
“You… you are a madman…”
“That’s right. I am a madman.”
The National Teacher giggled.
“But if I told you that I am actually a deeply devoted person as well… would you believe me?”
“You—”
“Aren’t you curious who those women looked like?”
Li Qingqian did not answer.
The National Teacher did not care.
He continued speaking leisurely.
“They all looked like a Saintess I once raised…”
“A lowly servant girl.”
“I treated her generously, yet she did not properly show gratitude.”
“Instead, she betrayed me and did something that went against my wishes.”
“Afterward, she fled.”
“I kept searching for her whereabouts, but I could not find her.”
“Only many years later did I hear that in Chonghua, there was a woman of unparalleled beauty who had married.”
“That woman was her.”
The National Teacher used the most casual tone to describe the overwhelming resentment in his heart.
“Tsk tsk. How touching.”
“People all said that this woman, possessing such a beautiful appearance and youthful elegance, had married a man so cold and harsh that she must have lost her mind.”
“She clearly possessed beauty capable of overturning cities, a face like a blooming hibiscus, yet she insisted on clinging to an emotionless block of ice and wooden man.”
“She truly wronged such a beauty.”
The qin strings forged from hair produced a terrifying sound beneath his fingers.
The National Teacher grinned.
“I thought so too.”
He pointed at the side of his own head.
“I thought that for her to marry that man…”
“There had to be something wrong here.”
“You see, she was so mischievous.”
“She refused to remain the noble Saintess of the National Teacher’s Palace and instead insisted on becoming someone else’s poor wife.”
“Ah, she made me so angry.”
While saying these words, the National Teacher kept smiling happily, as if discussing some insignificant everyday matter.
“But what could I do?”
“I was so lofty, my position so extraordinary.”
“I could not possibly go and steal someone’s bride, could I?”
“Therefore…”
His lips split open like a beast’s, revealing two rows of chillingly white teeth.
“I came up with a wonderful idea.”
“To get rid of my unhappiness.”
Looking at Li Qingqian’s face, pale as paper, he smiled and spoke casually.
“I will marry as well.”
“She was unparalleled in beauty, rare throughout the world, capable of captivating others?”
“Then I shall marry hundreds, thousands of women who look exactly like her.”
“That wretched woman raised her own worth, so I will trample her into the dust.”
“What does being beautiful enough to topple a kingdom mean?”
“Hahahaha…”
“If I want to find a few, then I can find a few!”
“Marrying her… what is so impressive about that?”
“…!”
This time, not only Li Qingqian, even Mo Xi felt that this person must have some kind of illness to have become this completely insane.
“Look at me.”
“Hundreds of Saintesses come whenever I summon them, each one possessing a face resembling hers.”
“What is she?”
The National Teacher spoke with excitement, his eyes flashing with madness.
“If I want to marry them, I can place golden crowns upon their heads and dress them in phoenix robes.”
“Then make them kneel before me one by one—”
Li Qingqian had originally remained silent, his face as pale as gold paper.
But when he heard these words, he suddenly shouted coldly:
“Hong Shao would never kneel before you!”
Unexpectedly, the National Teacher glanced at him.
He did not deny it.
Instead, he laughed twice and said:
“There are indeed some who refuse to kneel.”
“…”
He licked his own sharp, snow-white canine teeth and narrowed his eyes.
His voice was sweet yet terrifying.
“But all those who dare resist… those who are unwilling… those wretched women…”
He laughed coldly twice.
“As long as they are killed, they will all become obedient.”
“You! You are simply—!”
Li Qingqian was both furious and grief-stricken.
His entire body trembled.
He had never cursed at others in his life.
But at this moment, his hatred had reached its limit, yet he did not even know what words he could spit out.
His face flushed red.
His lips trembled slightly.
“You…”
The National Teacher merely smiled.
His eyes shimmered with satisfaction and cruelty.
“Were they not determined to possess pride that could never be broken?”
“Fine.”
“Then I will bury all of them beneath Phoenix Feather Mountain and refine them into resentful ghosts through the reversed feng shui formation!”
“Stop talking…”
“There are countless things in this world that do not go according to one’s wishes.”
“It is impossible for everyone to obey my desires.”
“Although I cannot fulfill my own heart’s wishes completely…”
“I can at least make the world understand one thing.”
“What it means that those who follow me prosper, and those who oppose me perish!”
“You are insane…”
“You are completely insane!!”
Li Qingqian could endure no longer.
With a sharp clang, his long sword was drawn.
A flowing green light illuminated the hall.
The Broken Water Sword shot directly toward the National Teacher’s head!
Mo Xi had faced countless enemies throughout his life.
At this moment, he could already see that this strike contained Li Qingqian’s entire lifetime of swordsmanship.
It was truly a sword intent that shook heaven and earth.
It could overturn snow and shatter stone.
Among all sword cultivators in this world, there were no more than three who could stand against it.
But who would have thought…
The National Teacher did not move at all.
He remained seated calmly.
He merely plucked the strings of the human-skin ancient qin with his fingertips.
The qin strings rang sharply.
The brilliant light of the Broken Water Sword dimmed instantly.
A moment later—
It exploded apart and scattered in all directions.
It vanished into nothingness.
“How could—”
Li Qingqian was stunned.
Even Mo Xi could never have imagined that such an earth-shattering sword strike would be broken so easily.
The National Teacher dispersed the sword light, stood up, raised two fingers, and moved as quickly as a ghost.
By the time Li Qingqian recovered, the sword in his hand had already been taken away by the National Teacher.
It was caught between two fingers.
With the slightest exertion—
Crack!
The sword shattered into thousands of pieces.
“You…”
Li Qingqian suddenly stepped backward.
His face was filled with disbelief.
“How could you…”
The National Teacher smiled.
“How could I break your sword technique so easily?”
“…”
Behind the golden mask, those eyes shimmered with a dark and eerie light.
The National Teacher casually threw away the sword hilt and slowly walked toward Li Qingqian.
Suddenly, he struck forward.
One hand pressed against the pillar behind Li Qingqian.
Like a leopard that had caught the scent of blood, he leaned close.
Their eyes were almost directly facing each other.
“The Broken Water Sword.”
The National Teacher’s voice was low and sweet.
“What is there that I do not know?”
All color drained from Li Qingqian’s face.
He had nowhere left to retreat.
With a bang, his back struck against the heavy nanmu wooden pillar of the hall.
His pupils contracted violently.
He stared at the eyes behind the golden mask.
Suddenly, suspicion flashed through him.
—Could this…
Could this be the same pair of eyes from his memories?
The pair of almond-shaped eyes that had saved him and his younger brother from the smoke and flames of war?
Eyes that seemed to carry the misty rain of Jiangnan?
He did not dare confirm it.
He could not confirm it.
He only felt cold.
Every drop of blood.
Every inch of flesh and bone.
Was freezing.
His Broken Water Sword had been derived from the sword manual left behind by that green-robed cultivator years ago.
Other than that person…
Who else in this world could break his sword technique so effortlessly?
But the person before him…
This insane, twisted, dark-hearted National Teacher…
How could he possibly be the man who had once saved him?
How could he?!
The only thing they shared was this golden mask…
There were countless cultivators in this world who liked to cover their faces with masks, refusing to let others see their true appearance.
How could this madman possibly be the benefactor who had once saved him?!
How could it be?!
He no longer had Hong Shao.
He had already lost his future.
And now…
Was this cruel world going to destroy even his past as well?!
Was it going to take everything from him?
Li Qingqian trembled as he spoke.
“No… impossible… you are not…”
The National Teacher’s gaze was like a blade.
It slid down from between his brows, little by little, tearing through flesh and peeling apart bone and blood, effortlessly seeing through the trembling depths of his heart.
“Heh heh…”
“Although the Broken Water Sword is not perfect, when I was young, I truly and sincerely loved it.”
The National Teacher smiled faintly.
“Listen.”
“Five years, one sword, and spring and autumn change.”
“Ten years, one sword, and the vicissitudes of the world are reversed.”
“Just these two sword verses alone reveal what kind of reckless youth created them.”
Li Qingqian slowly shook his head.
Then suddenly, as if driven mad, he shouted:
“No!”
“You are absolutely not him!”
“You cannot possibly be him!!”
The National Teacher did not answer.
He merely lowered his lashes, revealing a cold smile with his teeth.
“Li Qingqian.”
“Since you cultivated this sword manual, you can at least be considered half my disciple.”
“Good disciple.”
“Your master knows you hate me.”
“But I have not yet had enough fun in this world.”
“I cannot die so easily.”
“So I can only send you on your way first.”
Li Qingqian’s face turned deathly pale.
The National Teacher chuckled softly.
“Ah, originally I planned to use the resentful ghosts of Female Crying Mountain to refine my sword.”
“But that was ruined by you, this little troublemaker.”
“Fortunately, you delivered yourself right to my doorstep.”
“I can use you instead.”
“Don’t worry.”
“After you die, Master will definitely refine you into a divine weapon.”
“You must be obedient.”
“Do not cry or make a fuss.”
Li Qingqian was not afraid of death.
What he feared was the person before him…
Could he truly be the green-robed swordsman who had saved him back then?
The person he had spent all these years chasing after?!
“The Broken Water Sword… was yours…”
“You were the one who passed it to me…?”
“That person back then… was you…?”
His voice shattered as he spoke.
The National Teacher did not answer directly.
He only smiled.
“Actually, I never wanted to pass it on to anyone else.”
“But… forget it.”
“There is no point speaking of it now.”
After saying this, he straightened his body.
A flash of cold light appeared in his eyes.
“Come, come.”
“Let me show you what the true Broken Water Sword is really like.”
“Master.”
“Will.”
“Teach.”
“You.”
Mo Xi: “!!”
The moment the words fell—
A streak of emerald light flashed before his eyes.
As swift as a flying bird’s shadow.
As fierce as thunder breaking through the nine heavens.
In an instant—
Hot blood sprayed everywhere.
The scene before him violently shook.
Mo Xi saw Li Qingqian lying in a pool of blood.
And that National Teacher…
Had torn open Li Qingqian’s chest with the blade of his sword.
With his bare hands, he pulled out the still-beating, trembling heart, liver, and intestines.
Blood splattered across the golden mask.
The National Teacher laughed wildly the entire time.
His laughter echoed endlessly.
Within the sea of crimson, the National Teacher licked the blood that had splashed onto the corner of his lips.
He smiled faintly.
“Li Qingqian.”
“The girl you loved should never have done one thing.”
“She should never have looked like her.”
“And you…”
“You should never have learned this sword technique.”
He stared at Li Qingqian’s corpse.
His voice was indifferent.
“It was because you two were ignorant.”
“You cannot blame me even in death.”
The final scene was the National Teacher standing up.
With a blood-covered hand, he grabbed Li Qingqian’s neck.
Dragging his body behind him, he walked out of the golden National Teacher’s Hall.
Toward the endless night beneath countless stars.
On the golden bricks remained a trail of fresh, warm blood.
Li Qingqian’s corpse was dragged farther and farther away.
When they disappeared around the corner of the hall entrance, the National Teacher’s wild, hoarse laughter suddenly erupted.
It carried both satisfaction and madness.
He sighed with pleasure:
“Five years, one sword, and spring and autumn change.”
“Ten years, one sword, and the vicissitudes of the world are reversed.”
“This sword is peerless enough to sever water…”
He paused.
Then a roar filled with both unbearable pleasure and unbearable pain shattered the long night.
“Yet in this lifetime, the hardest thing to sever…”
“Is facing your heart!”
The mad song spiraled endlessly through the illusion.
Everything fell into silence.
Mo Xi suddenly plunged into an abyss of darkness.
…
When he opened his eyes again, the first thing reflected in his vision was the clear night sky.
Stars filled the heavens.
Several sparse branches reached toward the sky.
The withered leaves at the tips curled slightly in the night breeze.
The memories had ended.
He had returned to Mu Rong Chuyi’s courtyard.
Mo Xi lay on the ground.
The lingering echo of—
“This sword is peerless enough to sever water, yet in this lifetime, the hardest thing to sever is facing your heart”
—still remained in his ears.
The scenes from the illusion were still vivid before his eyes.
From dancing with the sword before the cottage…
To the final blood-stained scene inside the National Teacher’s Hall.
He stared at the night sky.
His throat moved slightly.
He did not know what feeling filled his heart.
Only after a long while did a thought suddenly emerge.
He thought:
What if Hong Shao had never been ill?
What if she had received the heavens’ blessing and possessed a healthy body?
Would they have remained together forever?
Would this world have one less Sword Demon and one more loving couple?
Would the little gong have grown into an old woman while still noisily bustling around Li Qingqian?
Could such a possibility have existed?
Mo Xi did not know.
When he was young, he understood very little about love.
Back then, he believed that as long as one did their best, lovers would eventually become a couple.
Later, he discovered that was not true.
Because in this world…
There was something called fate.
When deep love was met with shallow destiny, fate would transform into poverty, hatred between nations, illness…
And countless other crushing weights that no one could imagine or predict.
They would fall upon tightly held hands.
Some people, after feeling the pain, would let go.
But those who suffered and refused to surrender…
Those who suffered yet refused to give up…
Would probably end up like Li Qingqian.
Their flesh torn apart.
Their bones exposed.
Their skeleton shattered.
Their blood and tendons ripped apart.
Even after stubbornly holding on until the very end…
They would still break.
And receive a final ending where they no longer even resembled themselves.
Mo Xi stood up.
The effects of the medicine had not yet faded from the others.
They remained asleep.
His gaze slowly passed over each person.
Finally, it landed on Gu Mang.
Gu Mang was still unconscious.
Mo Xi’s chest felt unbearably heavy.
He could not help thinking that he and Gu Mang were actually the same.
The gulf of status.
The hatred between nations.
Everything had pressed down upon them.
Gu Mang could not endure the pain.
So he left him.
In the end…
He was still the one who had been abandoned.
But perhaps…
Perhaps the feelings between them were not even comparable to those between Li Qingqian and Hong Shao.
Perhaps from the very beginning…
They had never truly held hands tightly.
Perhaps it had only been him being sentimental.
A one-sided desire.
He had stubbornly held onto Gu Mang’s fingers, forcing Gu Mang not to leave.
Those years when Gu Mang had said “I love you”…
He did not even know how much of it had been sincere.
Mo Xi closed his eyes.
Holding his forehead, which throbbed painfully, he slowly pulled himself away from the lingering emotions and heartbreak left by the illusion.
At that moment, the others also began moving.
One after another, they awakened from their dreams.
Yue Chenqing had never understood the suffering of the mortal world, nor had he experienced the helplessness of love.
Therefore, although he felt Li Qingqian was pitiful, he was not deeply affected.
He was simply disgusted by the final scene.
The moment he got up, he immediately fell to the ground and dry-heaved repeatedly.
“Ugh—”
“Ugh—”
“Th-that Lun Kingdom’s Imperial Preceptor… he’s a madman, isn’t he?!” Yue Chenqing retched several times, gasping for breath. His face was pale as he weakly said, “Why would he rip out someone’s intestines for no reason? Was he reincarnated from a wild wolf?!”
The two Murong men were relatively composed. Murong Chuyi showed no expression, his eyes closed as he calmed his mind and rested. Murong Lian, meanwhile, leaned listlessly against the artificial mountain rock and said, “A sword spirit, you know this too—the more tragic its death, the greater its power. In the past, weren’t there some weapon refiners who liked to cover a person’s entire body in glue, peel off their skin, coat them in sugar water, and throw them into a swarm of bees…”
Yue Chenqing waved his hand, signaling him to stop, then covered his stomach and started retching again.
“Ugh—”
Murong Lian probably found Yue Chenqing’s vomiting disgusting, so he stopped talking. He used the rock to steady himself as he stood up and stretched his limbs before coldly saying, “But now I finally understand. It turns out Li Qingqian’s Duanshui Sword was not originally his own. He comprehended it from the sword manual given to him by the Lun Kingdom’s Imperial Preceptor.”
Murong Chuyi, however, said, “They are not the same path.”
“How are they not the same?”
“Duanshui Sword was a new technique Li Qingqian comprehended after rebuilding it from the original. The essence of his sword path lies in: ‘The benevolent sword cuts water, the righteous sword cuts sorrow. Even in poverty, one saves the world; even amid countless hardships, one does not retreat.’
“But that person from the Lun Kingdom—the core of his sword path was instead: ‘This sword is supreme enough to sever water; in this lifetime, the only thing difficult to sever is my heart toward you.’
“One wields the sword for righteousness. The other wields the sword for love. They are completely different paths.”
Murong Lian was stunned for a moment, then unwillingly sneered. “Immortal Fool, Immortal Fool. They call you foolish, and you truly are a lunatic.”
Yue Chenqing was truly protective of his uncle. Although he had not yet recovered from vomiting, the moment he heard Wangshu Jun insult Murong Chuyi like that, he became angry.
“Don’t you dare insult my Fourth Uncle!”
Murong Lian glanced sideways at him. “Why can’t I insult him? Other than His Majesty, is there anyone in all of Chonghua that my Murong Lian cannot scold?”
“Murong Big Brother, you—you—you’re unreasonable! I’m going to tell His Majesty!”
Murong Lian rolled his eyes. “Little darling, why don’t you go tell your mother instead?”
Yue Chenqing’s face instantly turned pale. Trembling with anger, he was just about to say something when suddenly a flash of white appeared.
“Pa!”
A crisp slap rang out.
Murong Chuyi had actually raised his hand and given Murong Lian a solid slap across the face!
Everyone was stunned.
Murong Lian was even more shocked, covering his cheek as he stared at him in disbelief and anger.
“You… you actually dare…”
Murong Chuyi’s wide sleeves fluttered, the silk ribbons hanging from him swaying gently. Beneath his sharp brows, his gaze was as cold as a blade.
“What would I not dare?”
Murong Lian was nearly about to explode. His peach blossom eyes reddened with fury.
“You bastard! I am—”
Murong Chuyi struck him again with the back of his hand.
“You are nothing.”
Murong Lian had grown up never having been humiliated like this by someone of equal standing. He was so furious his vision blurred. Even the hand holding his pipe trembled.
“You… how bold of you… I will report this to His Majesty! You have committed insubordination…”
Murong Chuyi slightly narrowed his phoenix-like eyes. His pale lips moved, returning Murong Lian’s previous words to him in a calm, icy voice.
“Why tell His Majesty? Why not go tell your mother?”
Those words instantly made Murong Lian’s face flush bright red. The veins on his neck bulged, and he immediately looked ready to charge forward and fight Murong Chuyi.
Murong Chuyi stepped aside to avoid him, his wide sleeve sweeping out as he coldly ordered:
“Make him leave.”
Yue Chenqing had not expected his Fourth Uncle to actually command him. He widened his eyes, almost confused and startled, then nodded.
“Oh… oh, okay…”
But Murong Chuyi said:
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Ah?”
The sound of wooden mechanisms clicking suddenly rang out.
The bamboo warriors that had originally been surrounding Gu Mang began moving their limbs. One by one, they turned and marched toward Murong Lian.
Murong Chuyi stood with his hands behind his back behind the wooden constructs, coldly looking at Murong Lian.
“See the guest out.”
Wangshu Jun’s status was extremely honored. Wherever he went, people treated him with respect and admiration.
Yet now, Murong Chuyi had sent a group of wooden puppets to drive him away. Judging from their posture, if Murong Lian refused to leave, they seemed prepared to knock him down and carry him away.
Murong Lian trembled with rage and pointed at Murong Chuyi.
“You dare!”
Murong Chuyi’s white robe was as pure as snow. His expression darkened.
“Throw him out.”
The bamboo warriors shouted “A-da! A-da!” as they followed their command. They swarmed around Murong Lian and dragged him away.
After throwing Murong Lian out, Murong Chuyi returned to the courtyard and calmly sat down beside the stone table, as if nothing had happened. He looked at Mo Xi and said:
“Xihe Jun, sit.”
Mo Xi: “……”
Immortal Fool really was a lunatic…
Yue Chenqing, however, seemed completely accustomed to his Fourth Uncle’s personality. He looked at him hopefully.
“Fourth Uncle, can I sit too?”
Murong Chuyi did not even glance at him.
“You stand.”
Yue Chenqing lowered his head dejectedly.
“…Oh.”
Murong Chuyi raised a finger slightly. Immediately, two bamboo warriors came from beneath the corridor, carrying a teapot and trays. They placed them on the table.
After pouring two cups of tea, Murong Chuyi calmly said:
“Let us discuss serious matters. Now that Li Qingqian’s past has been revealed, what does Xihe Jun think of that runaway Sword Demon?”
Mo Xi glanced at Gu Mang several times before finally looking away.
“He should not have left Chonghua. He will also go find the peerless beauty mentioned by the Imperial Preceptor.”
Yue Chenqing interrupted.
“But that sword spirit is strange. The Li Grandmaster we saw in the memories just now was such a gentle person. How did he become like this now…”
Mo Xi said:
“Li Qingqian is a Sword Demon, not a sword spirit. After he died tragically and was refined into the Red Peony Sword, his consciousness could still remain at first. However, the Red Peony Sword stayed beside that Imperial Preceptor for a long time and must have absorbed a great deal of the blood and resentment of vengeful spirits.
“Under such circumstances, his mind and actions would gradually become more and more similar to his master.”
Yue Chenqing was shocked.
“So the Li Qingqian we encountered has already become closer in temperament and personality to that Imperial Preceptor?”
Murong Chuyi answered:
“Mm.”
Yue Chenqing thought for a moment.
“Then the Red Peony Sword must have later been given to someone else by that Imperial Preceptor, right? If it still belonged to him, it probably wouldn’t have ended up in Murong Lian’s hands.”
Mo Xi shook his head.
“Who owns the Red Peony Sword is no longer important. What matters is who he will search for next.”
Murong Chuyi said:
“Exactly. After Li Qingqian took human form, every action of his was deliberately imitating that Imperial Preceptor. His obsession has likely gone so deep that he has already fallen into madness; we cannot judge him by ordinary standards.
“However, his obsession is not difficult to guess. He wants to find the ‘peerless beauty’ mentioned by the Imperial Preceptor.”
Mo Xi agreed with Murong Chuyi’s words.
Most likely, Li Qingqian had captured those women not to kill them immediately. Instead, he would force them to tell him where women resembling that person could be found. Then, following the information they revealed, he would capture them one by one and torture them to death.
Perhaps Li Qingqian believed that if it were not for that woman marrying someone else and causing the Imperial Preceptor to develop resentment, Red Peony would never have died.
Li Qingqian had already fallen into madness.
Thinking of this, Mo Xi turned and asked:
“Yue Chenqing, about ten years ago, who was the most beautiful woman in Chonghua? Do you know?”