SS CH77

“The Palace Master shoots geese all day long, yet today he nearly had his eye pecked out.”

In the inner hall, Helian Yu sat high above. He twirled his fingers, causing the red wine to swirl in the luminous glass cup, looking exactly like human blood in the candlelight.

Hearing this, he reached up to touch his cold mask. “A momentary lapse in judgment. I wanted to test the little dog’s weight, but I didn’t expect a wolf cub that had already grown fangs and claws.”

The person who spoke was a man seated below. He wore black clothes and light armor, with a bamboo hat on his head. The hanging black veil obscured his face, allowing only a vague glimpse of his silhouette.

The man frowned and asked, “Since he’s a wolf cub, why not slaughter him early?”

Helian Yu chuckled lightly. “Naturally, he has his uses.”

Pausing, he studied the wine in his cup. Though he hadn’t drunk it, its color alone was exceedingly beautiful. “Grape wine from the Western Regions?”

“Fine wine newly acquired by my master, specially sent for the Palace Master to taste.”

“Offering courtesy for no reason—that doesn’t seem like your master’s style.”

The man smiled. “There is indeed a matter we wish to consult the Palace Master about in detail, but this wine is offered for friendship, not as payment.”

The corners of Helian Yu’s mouth twitched beneath his mask. “Oh?”

The man said, “The previous attempt to intercept and kill Chu Xun failed, and he has now returned to the Imperial Capital. This will likely breed endless trouble in the future… My master hopes the Palace Master can assist once more and eradicate this hidden danger.”

Helian Yu raised an eyebrow. “If killing a royal descendant right under the Emperor’s nose were so easy, why didn’t your master do it himself? The Burial Soul Palace is in the business of killing, not throwing our lives away. Even if you want to hide the bow once the birds are gone… it’s not time for that yet.”

The man’s expression hardened behind his veil. He knew this temperamental Palace Master of the Burial Soul Palace was no fool to be easily brushed off. If he truly got angry, the mere thirty men the man had brought wouldn’t be enough to even look at.

Fortunately, Helian Yu had no intention of tearing up their alliance just yet. After a light warning, he changed the subject: “However, although that transaction cannot be completed, we can make a different deal.”

The man took the offered out: “The Palace Master means…”

Instead of answering, Helian Yu asked, “Do you know who the youth that was just detained is?”

The man was startled. When he had requested an audience with Helian Yu earlier, he was led outside the martial arts chamber and left waiting for half an hour. Just as he was growing impatient, he suddenly saw chaos erupting from the secret door. He reflexively ordered his men to draw their bows, but assuming it was just a “human sacrifice” Helian Yu had captured for cultivation rebelling, he hadn’t thought much of it.

Now that Helian Yu asked this, it seemed his previous assumption was wrong.

After pondering for a moment, the man shook his head. “Please enlighten me, Palace Master.”

Helian Yu said, “His name is Gu Xiao. He is the one who rescued Chu Xun and ruined the grand plan.”

The moment these words fell, the man froze. Immediately after, a fierce aura erupted from him, his voice instantly turning cold and heavy: “It was him?!”

“Don’t be in a rush to hack him to pieces just yet, Commandant Lin. Hear me out.” Helian Yu tilted his wine cup slightly, letting a thin, blood-like stream of wine slowly spill onto the floor. “Have you never wondered how a wet-behind-the-ears brat could possess such skill? Furthermore, who was the woman who escorted Chu Xun and his brother to Mianfeng City?”

Commandant Lin’s expression turned grim. He unfastened his bracer and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a seven-inch saber scar on his arm. He said in a low voice, “I led men to ambush them on the road. But that woman’s martial arts were highly formidable, and she was incredibly experienced. What’s more, she was secretly assisted by a group of unidentified individuals highly skilled in stealth and reconnaissance. Not only did we fail to keep her there, but we also suffered casualties and nearly had our identities exposed.”

“That woman is the wolf cub’s Shifu.” The wine cup in Helian Yu’s hand shattered within his palm, turning into fine powder that slipped through his fingers. “Her name is Gu Qifang. She is the Jinghong Blade, who has lived in seclusion from the Jianghu for many years.”

The moment the words “Jinghong Blade” were spoken, the man’s expression changed drastically. After chewing over the name “Gu Qifang” for a moment, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, accompanied by uncontrollable, pleasant surprise: “The only daughter of the former Lueying Commander, Gu Zheng?”

Helian Yu nodded. “Exactly.”

He perfectly understood why this man was so excited. The “Lueying Guards” were the Emperor’s secret guard created by the Grand Ancestor, moving seamlessly between the martial world and the imperial court. They were known as an inescapable net that penetrated everywhere. The empire the Grand Ancestor conquered owed much to the contributions of Gu Zheng and his Lueying Guards.

Twenty-one years ago, Gu Zheng was executed by death of a thousand cuts for his involvement in the Duke Qin case. The Lueying Guards were subsequently disbanded. Those “shadows,” who once struck terror into the hearts of countless officials and martial arts families, faded into the masses and were never seen again.

It wasn’t that no one had thought of uprooting them entirely, nor that no one had tried to recruit them under their own banner, but no one had ever been able to find them.

However, if there was anyone in the world who could reorganize the Lueying Guards, it certainly wouldn’t be the royal family that had utterly broken their hearts, but the Jinghong Blade they had followed their entire lives.

Gu Zheng was dead. Although his daughter Gu Qifang was young at the time, her skills over the years had become no less formidable than her father’s. However, she was exactly like her title—like a startled swan and a fleeting shadow, blooming briefly like a night-blooming cereus. Aside from her brief time wandering the Jianghu in her early years, she had made no sound since.

Until now.

The man could no longer sit still. He stood up and cupped his hands. “If the Palace Master can capture Gu Qifang, it would be absolutely perfect! Once my master obtains the Lueying Guards, he will certainly not forget the Palace Master’s immense contribution today!”

“There’s no need for pleasantries right now.” Helian Yu curled his lips. “Gu Xiao is her disciple, and since he has fallen into my hands, Gu Qifang will definitely come to save him. However…”

The man eagerly pressed, “However what?”

“However, luring this wretched woman here is easy; capturing her will require some effort. After all, she hails from the Lueying, well-accustomed to the business of nocturnal stealth and ambush.” Helian Yu scoffed. “Therefore, I will need to borrow you, Commandant Lin, and your men.”

The man replied, “As long as we can capture Gu Qifang, we are at the Palace Master’s command.”

“Easily said.” Answering noncommittally, Helian Yu clapped his hands lightly. “Someone.”

A man bowed as he entered from outside the hall, not daring to look up directly. “This subordinate is here! What are your orders, Palace Master?”

“Bring that reckless youth who doesn’t know life from death up here to me.”

The subordinate complied and left. Before long, he returned. Two guards dragged Gu Xiao in using long halberds, leaving a trail of mottled blood all the way into the hall.

When the halberds were withdrawn, Gu Xiao lost his support and instantly collapsed to the floor. Using his right hand, he struggled to prop up his upper body. Just this single movement nearly drained all his accumulated strength.

“How pathetic.” Helian Yu looked down at him from above. “The way you look right now, it’s exactly like a corpse freshly dug out of a mass grave.”

Gu Xiao trembled all over from the pain, but his stubborn temper flared up. He refused to show weakness even if it killed him. Spitting out a mouthful of bloody saliva, he sneered, “What? Did this beast catch a whiff of your young master’s fragrant bones and can’t resist taking a few bites?”

Before his words faded, the man walked over and delivered a brutal kick to his stomach. Gu Xiao immediately rolled thirty feet away, his back slamming heavily against the wall. His internal organs felt as if they were tearing apart; he opened his mouth and vomited fresh blood, coughing uncontrollably.

The man said coldly, “Death is at your door, yet you still talk tough!”

“Why lower yourself to the level of a dying man?” Helian Yu’s laughing voice sounded. “It’s merely a few words of mercy. Indulging him a little does no harm. If you can’t bear to listen, why not go to the rear hall and take a look at the ‘human sacrifices’ I recently captured? They are quite interesting as well.”

There was a clear intention to see the guest out in these words. Knowing his place, the man left. For a time, only Helian Yu and Gu Xiao remained in the hall.

Helian Yu slowly walked over to Gu Xiao, crouched down, and used a finger cot to hook his chin. The sharp tip nearly pierced his jaw.

“I really dislike these eyes of yours,” he murmured. “Unfortunately, you haven’t seen the most beautiful scene in the human realm yet. It’s not time to gouge them out.”

Unable to utter a complete sentence, Gu Xiao could only spit bloody saliva at him, but unfortunately, Helian Yu dodged it by tilting his head.

“If there’s a next time, I’ll cut out your tongue.” Helian Yu released his hand. “Trying to enrage me into killing you isn’t that easy. Gu Qifang hasn’t witnessed your miserable state with her own eyes, and you haven’t seen her defeat and death with yours. How could I let you close your eyes so easily?”

Forcing himself to swallow the blood in his throat, Gu Xiao asked, “What deep, bitter grudge do you have against my Shifu?”

He had asked this question once before at the foot of Feiyun Peak. At that time, Helian Yu hadn’t responded, but now, he provided an answer.

“A grudge?” Helian Yu thought carefully for a moment before suddenly laughing. “I have no distant grudge with her, nor any recent enmity. I… simply hate her.”

Gu Xiao frowned as he continued, “Hate or dislike doesn’t require a reason. Sometimes, upon meeting someone for the very first time, you wish you could see them die without a burial place… Just like the first time I laid eyes on Gu Qifang, that was exactly what I thought.”

He spoke plainly, but the words sent a chill down Gu Xiao’s spine. He cursed, “You madman!”

Helian Yu replied, “Do you know what a madman does when he gets angry?”

Gu Xiao sneered, “Bring it on if you have the guts. I’m not afraid of you.”

“Don’t speak too soon. After all, when I get angry, even I am afraid of myself.” Helian Yu chuckled lowly before suddenly changing the subject. “Has Duanqing been well these past few years?”

Hearing him mention his Shiniang, Gu Xiao’s heart skipped a beat.

Helian Yu muttered to himself, “He shouldn’t be. After all, someone who should have cultivated in seclusion away from the world chose to entangle himself in the mortal dust with a wretched woman like Gu Qifang. His mental technique and internal energy are bound to become unstable. Sooner or later, he will die a horrible death.”

Gu Xiao demanded, “What do you mean?”

“I want to see Duanqing. Do you think he will come?” Helian Yu seemed anticipatory, his tone carrying a childish joy. “It would be best if he came. I want to hack off every piece of flesh and bone on Gu Qifang’s body right in front of him, then chop off your limbs, and let you wriggle in the bloody water like a worm… Heh, his expression then will surely be fascinating.”

Gu Xiao’s scalp tingled. He squirmed, desperately wanting to escape, but unfortunately, he couldn’t move at all.

“I am going to send you to a place,” Helian Yu smiled at him. “That place is called the ‘Weeping Blood Cave.’ It’s where I cultivate in seclusion. There is no water and no food inside, but there are many corpses. If you get thirsty or hungry, just find a fresh one and take a few bites. You won’t starve to death.”

Another mouthful of blood rushed up Gu Xiao’s throat. Unable to speak, he could only stare fixedly at Helian Yu with his eyes. Unfortunately, the man still wore his mask, preventing him from seeing his true face. All he could do was firmly memorize that cruel, delighted gaze.

“Oh, right. There are also ‘human sacrifices’ inside that I’ve force-fed madness-inducing drugs. They recognize no one, hide everywhere, and love attacking others the most. Be careful not to let them catch you. If you get eaten alive, don’t blame me.” Helian Yu reached out and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. “For Duanqing’s sake, I’ll give you a knife for self-defense later. But don’t even think about seeking death. Because even if you die, I will still use your corpse to make a deal with Gu Qifang. If you don’t want to drag her down and let all her painstaking efforts go to waste, you’d better stay alive until then.”