Shen Qiao put his hand on Fan Yuanbai’s shoulder, telling him to calm down. “We’re still in the sect’s outermost area. Let’s head to the inner area and see.”
Then he asked Xue Qi, “Where’s your shifu?”
He spoke softly, but his voice sounded crisply in Xue Qi’s ears. A shudder ran through him. “In the inner area—he’s fighting Elder Yue…”
Fan Yuanbai ran out of patience for listening. He leapt forward, grabbing his sword and charging into the inner area.
As he ran, a crowd of armed fighters came to stop him. Some were from his sect, some were from Dongzhou Sect, and there were also some dressed in black who had heavy brows and prominent noses. After a few exchanges of blows, Fan Yuanbai’s strength started to flag, and his movements grew clumsier. He was almost hit with a slash, but fortunately Shen Qiao had followed close behind, keeping an eye on him.
Green as he was, Shiwu was handling the situation with much more ease than Fan Yuanbai. The sword he was using was just an ordinary longsword he’d picked up on the way up the mountain, but with his every move, he brought to bear all of Shen Qiao’s recent teachings. He felt none of Fan Yuanbai’s turmoil, and with Shen Qiao beside him, his mind was clearer, his movements steadier. In fact, he was taking the charging attackers as nothing more than sparring opponents.
But Shiwu was still only a novice, after all. He started out a little clumsy and flustered. When, after great effort, he finally subdued an enemy, he rushed to turn his head, seeking an approving smile from the person behind him. “Shen-shi, how did I do?”
And Shen Qiao really did smile. “Very well,” he said. “But you must be careful.”
He brushed his hand gently over the boy’s shoulder, leaving behind a blooming trace of warmth. Greatly encouraged, Shiwu said, “Yes!”
In the inner area, Yue Kunchi’s sword flew from his hand when Ruan Hailou slammed a palm into his waist, forcing Yue Kunchi to stumble three steps back and crash into a pillar.
He paid no heed to the nearby disciples who rushed to help him, nor did he look at Ruan Hailou. Instead, he roared at Sect Elder Lu Feng. “Lu Feng, how dare you collude with outsiders to assault Bixia Sect? You traitorous, evil bastard! You don’t deserve to be a disciple of Bixia Sect!”
Lu Feng scowled. “You don’t get to decide what I deserve or don’t, Yue Kunchi. That’s for Sect Leader Zhao to tell us.”
Yue Kunchi grit his teeth. Lu Feng’s faction obviously knew that Zhao-shimei was in secluded cultivation and couldn’t tolerate even the slightest disturbance. They’d timed their attack to coincide with her seclusion.
“When you were young, your shifu’s scolding often had you in tears,” said Ruan Hailou. “I was the one who ran down the mountain to buy you sweets. When your shifu called you a fool, I was the one who took you by the hand and taught you all those moves. I trust you’ve forgotten all about that?”
“I didn’t forget,” said Yue Kunchi. “I’ll remember the kindness Ruan-shishu showed me for the rest of my life! But now you’re a member of Dongzhou Sect—you even married a Goguryeo princess. You brought these Dongzhou Sect disciples here and slaughtered your way into Bixia Sect, and you colluded with the Göktürks and our sect elders, intent on the leader’s seat. Is this how you treat your own sect?!”
Ruan Hailou sneered. “If your shifu hadn’t stabbed me in the back, subjected me to public castigation, exiled me from my own sect, and forced me to flee in despair, then I never would have ended up in Goguryeo. Of course, you wouldn’t care how much I suffered before I caught the Dongzhou Sect Leader’s eye. I became his personal disciple, and twenty years passed in a blink. It’s unfortunate your shifu has already passed on—I’d have been more than happy to seek justice from him!”
Pu Anmi, who’d been watching from the sidelines for a while, broke in. “Say, why are you telling him so much, Ruan-gong and Lu-gong? Zhao Chiying is stuck in seclusion, so Yue Kunchi holds sway as acting sect leader. I can only imagine how pleased he is about that. Of course he isn’t willing to step down. We’ve already killed all these people, so let’s just finish the job and do away with anyone who won’t listen to us. Once Zhao Chiying’s the only one left, she won’t be able to stop us, even when she does leave seclusion.”
“He’s right,” said Lu Feng flatly. “Yue Kunchi’s strength is almost spent, Ruan-shixiong. He’s just talking nonsense to buy time. Let’s depose him first—Hui Leshan owes you quite a bit, and now it’s his disciple’s turn for payback!”
Ruan Hailou spoke no more. He lunged forward and struck at Yue Kunchi.
His strength completely exhausted, Yue Kunchi had nowhere to retreat. He could only close his eyes and wait for death. His disciple Zhou Yexue leapt from his side, trying to block the blow for her master.
Fan Yuanbei stumbled onto the scene in time to see this play out. Seized by terror and panic, he screamed, “Shimei!”
The distance between them was too far. Even if he flung himself over, it was impossible to reach her in time.
Just at that moment, a shining sword glare swept past his ear and pierced right between Ruan Hailou and Zhou Yexue.
It happened too fast for anyone to react.
Ruan Hailou was already halfway through his strike. The sight filled him with alarm, but it was too late to withdraw. With all the majesty of a king descending from heaven, the sword glare screamed forth and quelled his palm blast.
Pain seared through his palm, and he quickly retreated. He landed on the ground and looked down to see a long, bloody gash gored deep into his palm.