Cai Zhao was pulled by Chang Ning as they ran straight towards the cliff’s edge. She couldn’t help but ask, “Why are we going there?” With enemies attacking, she thought they should go to crowded areas to fight or to key locations to disrupt the invaders. She didn’t understand why they were heading to the Thousand Waters and Mountains Cliff.
Chang Ning strode forward, his clothes fluttering, “You said it yourself: the Green Palace Sect is impregnable. For two hundred years, no one has ever breached the Thousand Waters and Mountains Cliff. So how did these outsiders manage it?”
Cai Zhao sighed, “I want to go save people.”
Chang Ning’s expression remained calm, “Some people are bound to die. We need to quickly figure out the cause, or else we’ll face endless troubles.”
Hearing him speak so casually about people dying, Cai Zhao felt a chill run down her spine. She couldn’t help but mutter, “Can’t we investigate later?”
Chang Ning suddenly stopped, glaring at the girl, “I think the Twilight Palace is more urgent. Although Master Qi and many experts are there, and Song Yuzhi is leading disciples to assist, I’d rather accompany you there quickly to prevent your beloved from getting scratched and catching a cold from the mountain wind. A beauty saving her hero would make a great story. After all, the Six Northern Sects are one big family. Whether you marry someone surnamed Zhou or Song, it’s all the same. We can always switch engagements later, and then you’ll get your wish…”
“Senior Brother Chang is right. Master is incredibly skilled, and all the other masters have their talents. Besides, the Third Senior Brother made excellent arrangements earlier, so there shouldn’t be any major issues. If we don’t investigate how the enemies invaded, it will truly lead to endless troubles,” Cai Zhao rattled off quickly, denying his implications.
Chang Ning let out a cold snort.
As soon as they left the training ground and reached the central gate, they were hit by the strong smell of blood. More than a dozen bodies lay scattered about, three or four of which were not from the sect. They wore gray, tight-fitting clothes with long scarves wrapped around their heads and grotesque, painted masks covering their faces.
Cai Zhao was confused, but Chang Ning immediately explained, “They’re from the Demonic Cult, no doubt. Judging by their attire, they’re from the Tiangang Killing Camp, though I’m not sure which unit. Hmph, Nie Zhe has been harboring scum all these years. Who knows what kind of trash is attacking us now.”
The two didn’t dare to linger. Along the way, they encountered several groups of sect disciples fighting gray-clad men. Chang Ning would step forward with his sword, taking down one enemy with each strike. His sword moves were sharp, fierce, and precise. At one point, three gray-clad men rushed him at once, but he swept his sword horizontally, instantly slitting all three throats.
Cai Zhao held her sword up and then back against her arm, never getting a chance to swing it.
One of the leading gray-clad men, seeing Chang Ning’s face covered in sores and unable to recognize him, yet noticing his deep internal energy and vicious techniques, asked, “Your moves aren’t from the Six Northern Sects. May I ask who you are?”
“What trash, you dare ask for my name?” Chang Ning laughed loudly. He casually picked up a broken saber, holding the sword in his left hand and the saber in his right. He tossed the saber up, and as it fell, he flicked his finger against the blade, shattering it instantly. With a sweep of his long sleeve, dozens of blade shards flew towards the gray-clad man!
The man saw the flying blades and frantically waved his weapon to block, but he couldn’t defend against them all. He was pierced like a sieve, blood gushing as he died.
This series of moves was smooth and powerful, impressing the watching disciples, who cheered in unison.
The two continued forward, passing a pavilion where many bodies were scattered inside and out, seemingly killed without warning. On a stone stool lay a blood-covered sect disciple, making hoarse cries for help.
The cries were strange, seeming to come directly from the throat.
Cai Zhao, without thinking, leaped into the pavilion. She saw that the disciple’s entire face seemed soaked in blood, the pool already congealing. She pulled the disciple up to look and almost screamed in terror!
The disciple was only about seventeen or eighteen, but from the lower lip down, the entire chin had been cleanly sliced off. The lower half of the face below the upper lip was gone, forming an arc-shaped cut. But the throat and neck were intact, which is why he could still make those hoarse cries.
Cai Zhao’s gaze moved downward, struggling to control her trembling—the disciple’s hands and feet had been cut off, explaining why he couldn’t move.
Cai Zhao had never seen such a horrifying sight up close. She staggered back two steps, her heel hitting something. She turned to look and saw it was a pink-clad maid who had died tragically, her lower face also sliced off in the same arc shape.
She gasped, “Isn’t this Senior Sister Lingbo’s…” This maid was the one she had used to spread rumors to Qi Lingbo. She must have been caught while chasing after Qi Lingbo when the warning horns sounded, unable to escape in time.
Chang Ning also saw the corpses, but he stood motionless outside the pavilion, secretly gripping some blade shards in his hand.
Besides the young disciple and the pink-clad maid, Cai Zhao found two more corpses with their lower jaws sliced off. A cold wind blew, and she felt her hair standing on end.
Before she could turn to call Chang Ning, four gray-clad men with painted masks suddenly sprang out from behind a nearby rockery.
These four were stronger than the previous groups of gray-clad men. Not only were their moves incredibly fast but they were also experienced. Seeing only a young girl in the pavilion, one rushed towards it while the other three attacked Chang Ning.
The three were fierce, but Chang Ning wasn’t afraid. He used his sword in his left hand and palm strikes with his right, exchanging blows with them.
The one rushing towards the pavilion was burly, with a pair of muddy, cruel eyes visible through his mask. He wielded twin moon-and-sun wheels, their blades still dripping with fresh blood. “What a pretty little girl,” he leered. “Your face is perfect. This one’s useless now, so let me fix your face for you. Hahaha…”
Chang Ning saw this and was alarmed. He wanted to rush to the pavilion to help but was entangled with the other three.
Cai Zhao stared at the bits of flesh and bone stuck to the wheel blades. She finally understood how the young disciple, the maid, and the others had been injured like that.
At the same time, she realized that these four were specifically ambushing sect disciples here—leaving one alive but maimed, unable to speak, to lure the sect’s experts into a trap.
The large gray-clad man cackled eerily as he pounced forward.
Cai Zhao raised her sword to meet him. There was a sharp clang as their weapons clashed—the man’s left hand exploded in pain, and the moon wheel flew from his grasp. He staggered back several steps, clutching his right arm as blood gushed between his fingers.
The man was shocked. “Who… who are you?!”
Cai Zhao’s sword moved incredibly fast. In an instant, the tip slashed upward at an angle, piercing through the sun wheel’s handle, then arcing down in a curve.
The man felt a burst of pain as his right arm was severed by a single stroke, blood spraying from the wound.
“Falling Petal Valley, Cai Zhao.” The girl’s face was as calm as still water.
The man’s voice trembled, “What relation are you to Cai Pingxu?”
“A lowly scoundrel like you doesn’t deserve to speak her name.” Cai Zhao stepped forward with her sword, making four lightning-fast butterfly-like strikes to deflect the sun wheel, then a final horizontal slash that sent the man’s head flying.
The headless body twitched on the ground for a few moments before going still.
When she was young, Cai Zhao had asked her aunt if she was afraid the first time she killed someone.
As usual, Cai Pingxu told a story from her past.
Her first kill was an unremarkable bandit. In terms of skill, he wasn’t even fit to shine the shoes of the Demonic Cult members, but he was even more brutal.
That year, Cai Pingxu was not yet fourteen. She was traveling with the Zhou family’s disciples to attend the Six Sects’ Young Talents Competition hosted by Yin Dai. On the way, they passed a farmhouse in the forest and saw an old couple weeping over their granddaughter’s corpse.
Upon inquiring, they learned that the night before, a bandit returning to his hideout felt hungry and broke into the farmhouse demanding food and drink. The area was known for its many bandit lairs, so the old couple didn’t dare refuse. They gave him everything they had, feeding and serving him.
Who would have thought that after the bandit was drunk and full, he took a fancy to their thirteen-year-old granddaughter? Because the girl scratched his skin in her pain, he raped her and then stabbed her to death.
Cai Pingxu was furious beyond words. Her fellow disciples all advised her to just leave some silver for the old couple and move on. The forest was dense with many bandit hideouts, and who knew where that small-time thug was hiding? Seeking revenge for the old couple would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. They argued that responding to Elder Yin’s call to jointly resist the Demonic Cult was more important.
Cai Pingxu couldn’t understand. Why was it only evil when the Demonic Cult killed people? Didn’t it count when ordinary bandits harmed the innocent? So she left a note and slipped away from the main group a few days later, returning alone.
At that time, she was still young and had a poor sense of direction. She didn’t know how many wrong turns she took or how much hardship she endured. She nearly flattened half the forest, turning ten bandit lairs upside down and causing chaos before finally finding that thug.
The terrified bandit leader quickly pushed out the troublemaking subordinate. Cai Pingxu killed the scoundrel without hesitation and then demolished the entire bandit lair—why hadn’t they done this earlier, only handing him over now?
Of course, she also missed the North Chen Young Talents Competition.
Cai Pingxu had thought she would be afraid the first time she killed someone. But when she cut that rapist and murderer in half, not only did she feel no fear, she felt extremely satisfied.
Chang Ning killed the remaining three men and quickly rushed to the pavilion.
Seeing Cai Zhao in a daze, he thought she was frightened after her first kill. He hurriedly said, “Are you scared? The outer gate’s kitchen is nearby. Should I accompany you for a bowl of calming soup?”
Cai Zhao stared at the gray-clad man’s corpse on the ground, blood still spurting from the severed neck.
She shook her head, “I’m not afraid.”
“Auntie, the man who sought refuge with Father is dead. His body is all broken, blood everywhere. Mother couldn’t save him. I’m scared. Auntie, were you not afraid the first time you killed someone?”
“No, I wasn’t,” Cai Pingxu stroked the little girl’s head. “When you uphold justice and protect the weak, what is there to fear?”
Cai Zhao silently recited these twelve words in her heart.
At this moment, she too experienced that sense of satisfaction after eliminating an evil person.
After three years, she finally felt that her aunt hadn’t left her. She had passed on her martial arts skills and courage to Cai Zhao.
The young disciple who had been calling for help earlier had already died from his severe injuries.
Chang Ning checked the breathing of the other corpses and shook his head.
Seeing Cai Zhao’s gloomy expression, he tried to lighten the mood, “When you fought just now, I realized that what you’re using isn’t sword techniques, but saber techniques. Haha, you’ve been keeping that a secret.”
“We’re even then,” Cai Zhao wiped her sword on the gray-clad man’s clothes. “I used to think Senior Brother Chang was left-handed in combat, but today I realized you’re right-handed, aren’t you?”
Chang Ning’s expression didn’t change, his smile growing gentler, “What do you mean by that, Zhao Zhao?”
“Nothing much,” Cai Zhao looked up with a smile. “We’ve only known each other for about ten days. There’s a lot we don’t know about each other, so we can’t talk about keeping secrets.”
Seeing her relaxed and casual demeanor, Chang Ning also smiled, “You’re right, Zhao Zhao.”
After this exchange of subtle jabs, the two didn’t linger any longer and continued on their way.
The Green Palace Sect occupied a vast area with a sparse population. Using the Twilight Palace as a reference point, the training grounds were at its northernmost end, while the Thousand Waters and Mountains Cliff were at its southernmost end. As the two headed away from the palace buildings, they encountered fewer and fewer people. Apart from scattered corpses along the way, even the gray-clad men were nowhere to be seen.
As they ran swiftly, treading on fallen leaves and dust, Chang Ning noticed that Cai Zhao’s lips held a constant smile. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you so happy?” Surely killing one evil person wasn’t enough to make her this joyful.
Cai Zhao asked in return, “Do you know that more than twenty years ago, Elder Yin Dai once held a Northern Chen Young Talents Martial Arts Competition?”
This topic seemed to come out of nowhere, and even Chang Ning, who prided himself on his unconventional thinking, couldn’t grasp the girl’s meaning.
“In that competition, Uncle Zhou and Wu Yuanying stood out, evenly matched,” Cai Zhao continued, smiling particularly brightly as she recalled something. “But Aunt Zhixian said that Uncle Zhou should have won. He held back when facing Wu Yuanying.”
“Why is that?”
Cai Zhao’s cheeks flushed pink, her smile radiant, “Because he realized that Elder Yin wanted his beloved disciple and future son-in-law to shine in front of everyone. Uncle Zhou is a true gentleman; how could he steal someone else’s limelight? Alas, Qiu Renjie lost too quickly. He didn’t even get a chance to let him win before the match was over, so Uncle Zhou only subtly gave half a move when facing Wu Yuanying.”
Chang Ning chuckled and asked, “What about your aunt? Was her martial arts not developed at that time?”
Cai Zhao replied, “She was held up by something and couldn’t attend that time.”
“Is this what’s making you smile so much?” Even more than when she ate chicken wonton soup that night.
The girl’s dimples deepened as she patiently explained, “I’m not happy because of this story. I’m happy because I thought of how happy my aunt must have been.”
Chang Ning struggled to understand but nodded anyway.
Cai Zhao paused, then added, “A year later, when it was Chu Guan’s turn to host the Northern Chen Young Talents Competition, my aunt went.”
Chang Ning made a sound of acknowledgment: “Is that the time your aunt broke someone’s treasured sect sword?”
“…That’s right.”
This was something she had only learned from her mother a few days ago.
That year, Cai Pingxu, just sixteen years old, brought along the ever-worried Chang Haosheng on her left, the recently coaxed-back-from-the-Hanging Monastery Ning Xiaofeng on her right, and the naive, insecure Qi Yunke in the middle.
She wanted to reassure Chang Haosheng, cheer up Ning Xiaofeng, and encourage Qi Yunke, so she went all out during the competition—not realizing that after her year of wandering, her skills had far surpassed her peers in the Six Sects.
In the end, Chu Guan’s treasured sword was broken, and resentments were born.
Ning Xiaofeng said that Cai Pingxu later regretted it somewhat. Wu Yuanying was generous and upright, a worthy friend, and it was a pity that the incident had caused everyone to lose face.
…
The two finally arrived at the Thousand Waters and Mountains Cliff.
Seven massive black chain boxes stood at the cliff’s edge. Each box was square on the outside and round on the inside, containing huge chain wheels and powerful iron mechanisms, ready to release or retract iron chains at any moment.
Now, all seven chain boxes had shot out their chains, but the locks had been released, and the chains hung down into the deep chasm below the cliff. Around the chain boxes lay the scattered bodies of cliff guards, as well as some gray-clad men and outer sect disciples who had died fighting each other.
Chang Ning’s wide sleeves fluttered as he leaped to examine the corpses. He alternated between checking the gray-clad men’s bodies and crouching to inspect the wounds on the sect disciples’ corpses. Cai Zhao followed him quietly.
After about fifteen minutes, he concluded, “There’s an insider.”
“You looked at corpses for all this time just to figure that out? I already knew that,” Cai Zhao sighed. “The chains were released from our side of the Thousand Waters and Mountains Cliff, not shot over from the opposite Fengyun Peak. Someone from within the sect is behind this.” It seemed obvious to her.
“Could it be an outer sect disciple who was bribed? Or perhaps someone impersonating a family member visiting their child on the cliff today?” She guessed wildly—the sect had at least two to three hundred people, and if you counted the cooks, gardeners, maids, and servants, the range of potential insiders was vast.
“Strange, very strange,” Chang Ning’s expression grew even more serious.
Cai Zhao dropped her mocking tone: “What exactly is it?”
“Look,” Chang Ning pointed to several sect disciples’ corpses. “This one died from a judge’s pen, this one from a water-parting Emei dagger, and these three from a purple-gold hammer—yet among the Demonic Cult corpses lying here, there are none who used these three weapons.”
Cai Zhao looked them over: “So that means those who used these three weapons killed and then immediately left.”
Chang Ning nodded, then pointed to four or five gray-clad corpses: “Now look at these. Except for one who died by a long sword, the rest were killed by the Great Sorrow Palm and the Vajra Finger—yet among the sect disciples here, none show signs of having practiced the Great Sorrow Palm or Vajra Finger.”
The Great Sorrow Palm and Vajra Finger were both extremely powerful external martial arts. Anyone who practiced these techniques would inevitably develop thick calluses on their palms and fingers.
Cai Zhao pondered for a moment: “It might be Elder Chen and Elder Ouyang. I heard they were both Buddhist disciples before Elder Yin recruited them into the sect after they left their monastic life.” According to Fan Xingjia, these two had a deep blood feud with the Demonic Cult, but the strict rules of the Jialan Temple forbade monks from starting conflicts with the Demonic Cult for personal revenge, so they left their monastic life.
Chang Ning glanced at the girl: “One doesn’t have to be from a Buddhist background to practice the Great Sorrow Palm and Vajra Finger.”
He continued, “What I mean is, both sides didn’t suffer mutual destruction. Instead, both had people who completely withdrew. There was probably a fierce battle, and then the Demonic Cult members fled first, with the sect disciples in pursuit, leaving many corpses behind. But the strange part is—”
“Just say it, stop being cryptic,” Cai Zhao said, her head aching. “Falling Petal Valley is peaceful and prosperous; I’ve never encountered anything like this before.”
“Look at these corpses. They’re either wounded from behind or the side and their swords are still sheathed, indicating they were ambushed before they could even react.” Chang Ning moved away from these six or seven corpses, walked a few steps to the left, and pointed, “Now look at these two. Although they were struck from the front, their swords are only half-drawn, their elbows not even fully extended. Their expressions show utter shock—clearly, they were surprised by ‘their people’ suddenly turning hostile.”
Cai Zhao agreed: “To kill eight cliff guards so quickly, there must be more than one insider.”
Chang Ning nodded, “After swiftly killing the cliff guards, the insiders immediately opened the chain boxes, activated the mechanisms, and shot the chains to the opposite shore—presumably, Fengyun Peak was already under enemy control. However, once these iron mechanism boxes are activated, they make a thunderous noise, which alerted the patrolling disciples nearby…”
“Is the sound of activating the mechanism boxes that loud?” Cai Zhao asked, puzzled.
Chang Ning replied: “You’re underestimating the Thousand Waters and Mountains Cliff. For two hundred years, the Demonic Cult has tried everything but failed to breach it. The Green Palace Sect has its unique strengths.”
“There are checkpoints from the cliff’s edge to the Twilight Palace, with disciples patrolling. If one area is attacked, a warning whistle is immediately blown, and reinforcements arrive from all directions.” He pointed at the disciple who died with his sword half-drawn; sure enough, there was a silver whistle hanging around his neck.
“Even if the cliff guards were ambushed before they could blow their whistles, the tremendous noise from the mechanism boxes would be heard for seven or eight miles. Any patrolling disciple who isn’t deaf could blow their whistle to warn the entire sect.”
Cai Zhao couldn’t help but place her small hand on the cold iron mechanism box, her expression showing awe.
After a moment’s thought, she suddenly said, “Wait, that’s not right. Even if disciples from various areas rushed here after hearing the alarm, by that time, the mechanism boxes would have already been activated, and the invaders would have already climbed up, right?”
Chang Ning smiled, “How long did it take you to cross from Fengyun Peak to the Thousand Waters and Mountains Cliff on the iron chains?”
Cai Zhao was taken aback, remembering the swaying iron chains and the grating sound of metal scraping. “Our family of four rode in a carriage, which took quite some time. But if one used lightness skills, it would probably be much faster, right?”
“Walking normally on the chains takes about half an hour. With lightness skills, you could halve that time,” Chang Ning said quickly. “The mechanisms activate, making a huge noise. A quarter of an hour later, the invaders reach the cliff—but by this time, the sect disciples would have also arrived.”
“Moreover, only the first wave of invaders could reach the cliff within a quarter of an hour. Even if all seven chains were activated simultaneously, allowing seven experts to climb up, if the reinforcing disciples greatly outnumbered them, it would only take one or two people to open the locks on the mechanism boxes. The chains would immediately break, and everyone on them would fall into the abyss.”
Cai Zhao thought carefully and realized he was right. “Yes, and if they were using lightness skills, they couldn’t be too close to each other. The chains sway so much that it would be easy to fall if people were crowded together.”
She extrapolated further, “The first patrolling disciples to arrive would have encountered the first wave of Demonic Cult invaders. The invaders were skilled, so the sect’s disciples were overwhelmed. But as more sect disciples arrived… at least…”
She looked at the chaotic footprints on the ground, “At least forty or fifty people.” The Green Palace Sect is usually organized in groups of seven, so there must have been at least seven or eight groups patrolling around the cliff.
“The Demonic Cult probably had about twenty people,” Chang Ning estimated, considering the time frame.
Cai Zhao continued, “As more and more sect disciples arrived, the Demonic Cult invaders were outnumbered. By this time, the locks on the mechanism boxes had been opened, preventing more invaders from climbing up. Instead of engaging in a prolonged battle, they killed several sect disciples and then fled northward.”
In terms of individual combat ability, the Demonic Cult members were stronger than the sect disciples. Unable to stop them completely, some disciples were sent to sound the alarm horns to warn the entire sect, while the rest gave chase.
“That’s probably what happened,” Chang Ning agreed.
“But what does that matter?” Cai Zhao looked at Chang Ning. “Even if all our deductions are correct, so what?” — Why aren’t we hurrying to aid the Twilight Palace, your pockmarked face, thought.
Chang Ning seemed to sense the girl’s anxiety: “That’s the question. Did the Demonic Cult go to all this trouble just to send twenty-some people into the Green Palace Sect? What could these twenty-odd people accomplish? Hundreds of sect disciples would swarm them and trample them to death.”
Cai Zhao was also bewildered; how could she know?
She looked around anxiously, then suddenly pointed at a corpse, “Didn’t you say this person was killed by an insider’s sneak attack?”
Chang Ning was startled, answered yes, and asked why.
Cai Zhao exclaimed in shock, “This… this is Chu Guan’s sword technique!”
Chang Ning was greatly surprised and bent down to look—the person had been stabbed through the left chest with a long sword, which then exited through the right back, killing them instantly. “Are you sure?”
Cai Zhao nodded vigorously, pointing at the left chest of the corpse, “If you don’t believe me, tear open his clothes and look. Isn’t there a half-spiral wound where the sword tip entered the flesh?”
Chang Ning tore open the chest of the corpse, and it was indeed as she said.
Cai Zhao explained, “This is the thirteenth move of Chu Guan’s sword technique, ‘Gazing at the Moon Through a Round Window,’ created by Xiaoyao Zi, the third-generation head of Chu Guan. My aunt told me about it. When executing this move, you first lower yourself halfway, then thrust upwards at the enemy’s vital point. Because of the upward force, you need to rotate the sword handle as it enters the flesh, which leaves this curved sword mark.”
Chang Ning looked down again and noticed faint traces of saliva near the silver whistle on the corpse’s neck. “This disciple saw his fellow sect member being attacked, so he bit down on the silver whistle before drawing his sword, intending to blow the whistle while defending himself…”
Cai Zhao understood and finished his thought, “The insider feared this disciple would blow the whistle before they could activate the mechanism boxes. To ensure the Demonic Cult members could climb up in time, they hastily used their own sect’s sword technique to kill him with one stroke.”
Chang Ning asked, “Is ‘Gazing at the Moon Through a Round Window’ only known to Chu Guan disciples?”
Cai Zhao felt a chill down her spine: “It should be. Even my aunt only knew its form, not the inner workings or incantations.”
— Within the sect, only the Wu brothers, Wu Gang and Wu Xiong, who were staying to recover from injuries, knew Chu Guan’s sword techniques!
Cai Zhao’s head was spinning, “But all the sect disciples know those two! Why didn’t anyone send a warning message?!”
Chang Ning said gravely, “The Wu brothers must have left immediately after activating the mechanism boxes. Those who saw them are all dead, and the patrolling disciples who arrived later didn’t see them.”
Cai Zhao looked at Chang Ning in panic.
Understanding her concern, Chang Ning grabbed the girl and began sprinting northward.