SS CH43

Ye Fusheng thought Heaven lacked a sense of virtue.

The place Mu Yan’an spoke of was Crow Valley, twenty li east of the town. The mountains were tall, the forest dense, and human footprints were rarely seen. Countless crows had built their nests in these woods, leaving the ground covered in bird droppings and stray feathers. As they walked, they had to stay alert to avoid any “disasters” falling from above. The pungent, foul stench was so overpowering that Chu Xiwei could not help but sneeze the moment he stepped inside.

With his sharp sense of smell, he found the stench intolerable, but having no other choice, he covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve, wearing a deeply aggrieved expression.

Seeing Chu Xiwei walking as if he were treading on the edges of blades, Ye Fusheng wanted to laugh, but considering the man’s thin skin, he managed to hold it in. Noticing Chu Xiwei walking faster and faster, Ye Fusheng hurriedly stepped up to pull him back, whispering, “Keep an eye on your surroundings. Charging around blindly like this, what if you step into a trap?”

Suppressing his temper, Chu Xiwei said, “When I catch that wretched girl, I’m definitely going to beat her until she begs for mercy on her knees!”

Ye Fusheng: “…Don’t be like that. Even if she’s just a little girl, you should learn to show a bit of gentleness.”

Chu Xiwei let out a cold laugh and suddenly lashed out like lightning, grabbing toward the left. At the exact same moment, Ye Fusheng kicked off the ground, shooting like an arrow from a string through the gaps between the trees, disappearing from sight in a few leaps.

Chu Xiwei’s sudden strike startled the person tracking them from the shadows. Shocked that his supposedly superb stealth techniques had been seen through at a single glance, the tracker instantly burst out from behind a tree, swinging his blade downward. Unexpectedly, when bare palm met edge, it was the blade that snapped into two pieces!

Before the man could recover from his astonishment, that pale hand had already clamped around his throat. Chu Xiwei exerted power through his arm, lifting a man noticeably larger than himself completely off the ground. The man thrashed his legs wildly as he choked for air, but the hand gripping his throat remained immobile as iron.

Soon, Ye Fusheng’s figure reappeared behind Chu Xiwei. He held a blade in his hand—spotlessly clean, yet bearing a faint trace of blood scent. Noticing Chu Xiwei glance back at him, Ye Fusheng shook his hand out and said, “Chased that fellow a short way and saw him running toward a rock face, trying to open a secret passage to report. So I snatched his blade and slaughtered him.”

“Very good.” Chu Xiwei hooked his lips into a smile, his gaze landing on the face of the man in his grip, his tone indifferent. “Then there’s no need to keep you alive either.”

Before his words fully faded, a soft snap rang out. The man’s head slumped sideways, all breath gone.

Chu Xiwei tossed the corpse onto the ground. Looking at the corpse with its bulging eyes, Ye Fusheng said, “A-Yao, I think you’ve been a bit off lately.”

Chu Xiwei knit his brows: “Hmm?”

“When I first met you at Duanshui Manor, you weren’t this short-tempered or impulsive.” Ye Fusheng recalled carefully. Back then, although Chu Xiwei’s stance had been ambiguous, he had mostly been calm and composed. Yet ever since Ye Fusheng woke up, he noticed the man’s emotions fluctuated wildly. His methods when engaging in martial arts were ruthless and cruel, unlike his usual self.

Chu Xiwei sneered coldly, “It has been ten years. How well do you really think you know me?”

“A-Yao, don’t be like this.” Ye Fusheng frowned, an unusual sight for him. He reached out to check Chu Xiwei’s wrist pulse, but his arm was grabbed in a reverse grip.

This subconscious movement from Chu Xiwei carried immense force. Ye Fusheng endured the sharp pain in his wrist bone, taking advantage of the moment Chu Xiwei eased his grip to counter-grab his wrist instead. But Chu Xiwei was as slippery as an eel now; Ye Fusheng managed to feel his pulse for less than a breath before Chu Xiwei pulled his hand back and retreated.

Chu Xiwei said coldly, “Who do you think you are right now? What right do you have to pry into my business?”

The moment those words left his mouth, both of them froze.

Ye Fusheng felt a prick of pain in his heart, but without showing his hurt, he pulled his lips into a smirk, intending to joke his way out of the awkwardness. However, Chu Xiwei’s expression was equally unsightly; he secretly felt a streak of regret, yet didn’t know what to say. Without waiting for Ye Fusheng to speak, he kicked off the ground and darted in the direction Ye Fusheng had just come from.

“Stubborn ass,” Ye Fusheng shook his head, deciding to set it aside for now and smooth his feathers once this whole mess blew over. He then executed his qinggong and gave chase.

It was pitch-black, with no light source except for the sporadic moonlight filtering through the leaves. Chu Xiwei had stalked off without looking back. With Ye Fusheng’s internal energy yet to recover, following him was strenuous, and in the blink of an eye, he lost track of him entirely.

“Grown as he is, how is he still the type to vanish the second you let go?” Ye Fusheng chased all the way to the rock face, only to find the area completely empty and the secret passage firmly shut. Unsure whether Chu Xiwei had stepped inside ahead of him or wandered off elsewhere, he held his hand to his forehead.

After a moment of hesitation, Ye Fusheng prepared to press a slightly protruding stone brick on the wall. Yet before he could even touch it, a loud explosion erupted beneath his feet, accompanied by a earth-shattering tremor that nearly sent him tumbling onto his rear.

Did King Yanluo’s hometown just blow up?!

Ye Fusheng barely managed to stabilize his footing when the hidden door opened automatically. Four masked, black-clad men rushed out from within. Catching sight of him—an uninvited guest blocking the entrance—their eyes shifted in unison. One shouted, “Who goes there!”

Another yelled, “Kill!”

“Listen here, grandbabies, call me grandpa!” Ye Fusheng thought to himself that timing was everything. Blade in hand, his movement was blazingly fast, slicing straight into the middle of the four men in an instant.

All four were caught off guard. Ye Fusheng spun and slashed; the two in the back leaped away immediately, but the two in front were a fraction too slow. The blade swept past like a wild wind, opening massive gashes across their chests and spraying blood high into the air. Before they could even cry out in pain, they collapsed to the ground, dead or dying.

Just as his blade stroke cleared, a staff and a sword came lunging at him simultaneously from left and right. Ye Fusheng’s left hand struck the staff like falling leaves, smoothly deflecting its path toward the incoming longsword. The two weapons collided, forcing the swordsman back a step. Seizing the opening, Ye Fusheng closed in, the flash of his blade slitting the man’s throat.

The remaining black-clad man was terrified. Sweeping his iron staff with powerful gusts of wind, he aimed straight for Ye Fusheng’s head. Leaning backward in the nick of time, Ye Fusheng felt the harsh wind scrape his face, stinging painfully.

This man had a solid foundation in internal energy and a stable stance; he was clearly the leader of the four. Estimating the meager internal energy he had restored so far, Ye Fusheng’s eyes turned sharp. As the iron staff swept toward his legs, he suddenly raised his foot, stepped firmly onto the staff, and launched himself upward!

The man only felt his vision blur before Ye Fusheng appeared directly above him. Seeing the blade slashing straight down, he reflexively raised his staff to block, but Ye Fusheng turned his blade edge on a dime, sliding it along the iron staff and slicing off one of the man’s fingers!

Agony traveled straight to his heart. The man shuddered, his grip loosening on the iron staff. But before he could scream, Ye Fusheng’s free left hand struck through the opening, hitting him square in the face with a palm strike!

Blood trickling down his forehead, Ye Fusheng sheathed his blade and stood tall, walking into the secret passage without throwing a single glance at the corpse behind him.

The passage was narrow, wide enough for only two people to walk side by side. Hearing a considerable commotion not far ahead, he figured some chaos had broken out inside—though whether Chu Xiwei was the cause, he wasn’t sure. Hesitating briefly, he decided to check it out.

Having served as a Lueying guard for ten years, he excelled at stealth and concealment. Skittering through the shadows like a swift, agile gecko, none of the underground palace guards searching the area realized a intruder had just brushed past them.

The deeper he went, the more complex the layout became. Seeing a squad of guards about to cross paths with him on a narrow trail, Ye Fusheng leaped onto a roof beam, only to collide head-on with a figure crouching up there.

His head knocked against something hard, but before Ye Fusheng could speak, a hand clapped over his mouth. It wasn’t until the guards below passed that the person released him, asking softly in a panting voice, “Who are you?”

Ye Fusheng adjusted his gaze. The light was dim, but he could make out a petite young girl. Catching the smell of blood on her, a thought clicked in his mind, and he lowered his voice: “Girl Lan, your grandfather is calling you home for dinner.”

Qin Lanshang had been unsure of his origin, but hearing this, her heart skipped a beat: “Who on earth are you?”

So it really is her. Ye Fusheng let out a breath of relief and smiled. “Your martial uncle brought me here to take you home. What do you think?”

Qin Lanshang’s expression fractured: “My martial aunt?”

Ye Fusheng: “…Girl, you aren’t blind, and your ears aren’t broken, are they?”

Neither his voice nor his stature resembled a woman in the slightest, did they?

“My martial uncle is such a sullen guy. If you weren’t my aunt, why would he bring you along?” Unconvinced, Qin Lanshang reached out her hand. Ye Fusheng seized the chance to grab her wrist and check her pulse, his brows instantly knitting together: “You suffered an internal injury?”

Qin Lanshang pouted: “External injuries too, it hurts so much. Auntie, where is my martial uncle?”

“…Your uncle vanishes the moment you let go of him. And stop calling me auntie.” Ye Fusheng gently patted her head, only to end up with a hand full of dust. “You know, a person like me gets irritable a few days every month, too.”

Qin Lanshang: “…Hello, Uncle.”

Now that he had found her, they couldn’t waste time staying here. Ye Fusheng weighed his remaining energy and reckoned he had enough strength to protect the girl while making an escape. Given the chaos, rather than running around like headless flies, it was better to return to the agreed-upon location and wait for Chu Xiwei to return on his own.

He had a good plan, but fate sometimes refused to play along.

Qin Lanshang volunteered to lead the way, claiming she could avoid the guards. Ye Fusheng followed her as she turned left and right. He didn’t feel like they were escaping, but rather diving deeper to investigate. Unfortunately, the passage was too narrow, barely allowing the young girl to turn around freely; a full-grown man like him had to hunch his shoulders and hold his breath to avoid getting stuck. He asked in a low voice, “Are you sure we didn’t take a wrong turn?”

There was no answer behind him—only the sound of hurried footsteps fading away. As expected, the little girl who had been following behind him had turned around and bolted.

Qin Lanshang had fallen on hard times these past two days and didn’t dare trust anyone easily. Uncertain whether this man was friend or foe, she figured it was best to shake him off first before finding a way to meet up with Lu Mingyuan.

“Quite a clever little mind she has, a child acting like a shrewd adult.” Ye Fusheng quickly pieced her thoughts together. Having been tricked by a novice, he had no choice but to exit this narrow passage before catching the girl and dragging her back.

Fortunately, the passage was short, ending at a small stone door only as tall as a person. Ye Fusheng pushed hard against it, but unexpectedly, his hands met empty air—whoever built this was truly malicious; the stone door was a complete sham, designed so that anyone pushing forcefully would be carried inside by their own momentum.

Before he could even curse, Ye Fusheng tumbled headfirst inside. Beyond lay a winding, downward-sloping tunnel. The floor and walls were polished to an extraordinary smoothness, looking like a cave slithered through by giant snakes. Lacking any leverage to hold onto, he could only protect his vital areas as best he could while rolling all the way down.

Fortunately, Heaven was not ready to claim his life yet. The tunnel was not long, and he quickly hit bottom. He climbed up, dizzy and lightheaded, cursing Chu Xiwei and Qin Lanshang over and over in his heart while taking in his surroundings.

Little did he know, Qin Lanshang had specially selected this route for him. Unsure of his alignment, she hadn’t dared send him into a dead end. Recalling the layout of the underground palace she had inquired about earlier, she knew this place was a secret chamber meant for closed-door cultivation. Since Xiao Yangu—the person controlling the underground palace—was currently clashing with the Southern Scholar, this place was likely empty.

The secret chamber had no candles lit; night-luminescent pearls embedded in the walls illuminated the entire space with a faint, eerie green glow. By this pale light, Ye Fusheng saw a pool of water at the center of the chamber. Had he tumbled a bit further, he would have plunged right in like a drenched chicken.

In the center of the pool stood a stone platform about seven feet wide. Resting upon it was a sandalwood sword rack holding an ancient, unadorned longsword.

Ye Fusheng hesitated briefly before gathering his strength and vaulting onto the stone platform. His gaze lowered to inspect the ancient blade. The sword was three feet long, simple and elegant, with flowing cloud patterns carved into its hilt.

In an instant, a chill ran through his entire body.

It was undoubtedly a magnificent sword… yet back when he was still Gu Xiao, he had seen this very sword.

Carried on the back of another man, its edge had not even been unsheathed before it dealt the past him a utter, crushing defeat.

The blood in his veins froze instantly, only to boil violently a moment later. Before he could suppress the surging emotions within him, the sound of a stone door opening echoed from behind.

Ye Fusheng’s heart trembled violently as a sudden surge of killing intent flashed in his eyes. Resting his right hand on his blade, he turned back to look.