“Tch!” Two vivid blossoms of blood bloomed before Lin Sui’an’s eyes at the same moment — one was her own blood, one was an enemy’s. She had long since lost count of how many she had put down, but in the blink of an eye the fallen would be swallowed up by the surging black-clad figures and vanish without a trace. Only countless black-hole eyes kept circling all around her, and a relentless, ceaseless assault like a bottomless swamp — inch by inch, consuming her speed and strength.

This was a formation!

Lin Sui’an had already realized it — entirely unlike the sloppy, gap-riddled “Seven Stars Formation” that Shen Xun had tried to deploy earlier. This was a genuine, profoundly sophisticated formation. Even though only forty or fifty people stood before her eyes, it felt as though she was fighting against an army of thousands.

Remarkable! If the timing weren’t so terrible, Lin Sui’an would almost have wanted to present this formation’s designer with a Tang Kingdom Intangible Cultural Heritage certificate of transmission.

Suppressing the killing impulse within her through sheer willpower was more physically draining than she had imagined. Lin Sui’an felt like a smartphone with only twenty-five percent battery remaining — still functional, but constantly watching for the indicator to turn red. Her body seemed deeply dissatisfied with the situation; the surging killing impulse that welled up again and again was like a free power bank dangled right before her eyes. If she simply accepted it, she could instantly restore full charge and sweep all before her without challenge.

The temptation was immense. Lin Sui’an licked the blood that had trickled from her forehead to the corner of her mouth. The salty, metallic taste slid from the tip of her tongue to the back of her throat. She was somewhat thirsty. This parched, dry-throated sensation was oddly familiar — it made her think of Hua Yitang.

Whatever wound medicine Hua Yitang used must be extraordinarily expensive. It had now been washed away by blood. What a waste.

【Not one of you is getting away — every single one of you is paying me!】

It seemed she could hear Hua Yitang’s furious bellow in her ears. A low laugh rose from Lin Sui’an’s throat. She might not know much about formations, but she had plenty of experience brawling against large numbers!

When fighting the few against the many, there was one guaranteed winning strategy — grab whoever was leading it and beat them mercilessly!

Lin Sui’an’s left hand sent the blade sheath flying to knock three people away. Her pupils contracted to pinpricks, locking onto the masked figure concealed at the center of the formation. She pressed forward in a straight line — sweeping, charging, cleaving, whipping, driving through. The black-clad fighters on either side went spinning through the air like blood-leaking pillows, and a path of blood began to open up ahead — only to be buried again at once beneath a tide of adhesive bladelight. Lin Sui’an ignored every obstacle completely, fixing herself on the direction of the masked figure and attacking in a direct, unwavering line.

To hell with this elaborate formation. Between any two points, a straight line is the shortest path. Cut him down, and she wins!

The masked figure cried out something in a panic — Lin Sui’an couldn’t make it out clearly, something that sounded like a recitation: “Rat of the zi hour, ox of the chou hour, tiger of the yin hour, hare of the mao hour…” Then he suddenly plunged into the concealment of the black-clad throng. Lin Sui’an gave a cold laugh, reversed direction to send two people tumbling, and using their bodies as footholds, launched herself upward. Dark green bladelight lit up the surroundings. The masked figure wriggled through the crowd like a slippery loach in desperate flight — just as he was about to vanish again, a faint green smoke descended from above, and five brilliant streaks of crimson light bloomed within the crowd, blasting the masked figure’s position wide open.

“Lin Sui’an — straight ahead! Don’t worry about anything else!” Hua Yitang’s voice broke through the layers of blood and mist like the first light of dawn.

Well now! The moment she had been waiting for had finally come!

Lin Sui’an spun in midair, touched down, and Qian Jing became a streak of green lightning driving forward without hesitation. The black-clad fighters on either side toppled like trees with their roots severed — Jin Ruo’s shameless ground-hugging harvest technique had been put to work. The few who managed to slip through were caught by Yun Zhong Yue overhead, who sliced across their scalps with ease. She even heard Bai Xiang’s yelp: “This young lady is terrifyingly fierce!”

In a flash, the masked figure was right before her. Qian Jing’s bladelight surged skyward in a reverse arc, crushing through the repugnant mask and shredding the black mantle. A line of blood drew itself from the crown of his head straight down through his bare body, splitting him perfectly in two. Beneath the mask was an entirely ordinary face — appearing to be around thirty years of age, with roughened skin. His eyeballs found Lin Sui’an’s face and then seemed to bulge outward like a frog’s.

Lin Sui’an was alarmed and quickly raised her hand to dislocate his jaw — but it was already too late. Black liquid — blood — poured from the man’s mouth. He convulsed and collapsed, breathing his last. A villain’s standard final technique: poison concealed within a false tooth.

The bulging eyeballs crashed directly into Lin Sui’an’s pupils. Something in her mind gave a crackling snap, as though some bizarre instrument had snapped apart under impossible tension. Her vision shattered. Lin Sui’an felt herself plunging into boundless darkness. A rustling sound crept over her — like countless centipedes with fine, delicate legs crawling across her feet, winding up her calves. They chittered and squeaked among themselves, their cries assembling into fractured, blurry words—

【Ten Directions Splitting Radiance… Earth-Shaking Transformation… Qian Jing… Decisive Severance… Ten Thousand Forms of Evil…】

What on earth is that?!

Lin Sui’an was startled. Her golden ability had, for the first time, been confronted with such a sinister vision. She was just beginning to look more closely when suddenly a voice pierced her eardrum, and the golden ability’s vision shattered in an instant.

“Lin Sui’an!” Flower-petal-white robes carrying a faint fragrance came rushing toward her, and then enveloped her in an embrace. A firm, solid shoulder struck her nose — aching and stinging at once. Lin Sui’an stood frozen, as though the collision had knocked her soul loose. An out-of-nowhere description floated through her mind:

【A spring wind came overnight; a thousand trees, ten thousand trees — all in pear blossom.】

The sounds of the ongoing melee all around gradually called her scattered senses back to life — the Seven Stars and the Pure Gate elders had severed the black-clad fighters’ reinforcement routes; the four soft-armored guards, Jin Ruo, and Yun Zhong Yue were occupied with finishing off the remaining black-clad fighters; Ling Zhiyan and Wan Lin, lightly wounded but refusing to leave the field, were working side by side with the injured Pure Gate disciples to protect Jiang Seventh Lady and the others.

The battle wasn’t over yet!

Lin Sui’an’s right hand clamped hard around Qian Jing. Her left hand threaded beneath Hua Yitang’s armpit, seized the collar at the back of his neck, and yanked him backward. Hua Yitang let out an “ah!” as he was hauled to her rear.

“Keep close to me!” Lin Sui’an gripped Hua Yitang’s wrist tightly. Qian Jing’s bladelight swept across the field — and this time, it was truly and completely unstoppable.

With everyone fighting in concert, the black-clad fighters on the Appreciation Pavilion dwindled rapidly. Yet before anyone could draw so much as a breath of relief, Yun Zhong Yue, who had been prowling the outer perimeter, suddenly let out a shout: “There’s a squad coming straight for the White Heron Pleasure Boat!”

Jin Ruo slid to Yun Zhong Yue’s side, leaned out to look below, and his expression changed. “Trouble! They’ve cut off the route from White Heron Island to the outside!”

The color drained from everyone’s faces at the news.

Lin Sui’an cleaved a black-clad fighter away with a single stroke. “The leading masked figure is already dead — why are they still pressing the attack? Could it be—”

Hua Yitang finished the thought with a well-placed kick. His eyes narrowed. “There is someone else still giving orders!”

Lin Sui’an’s heart lurched. She turned to exchange a quick glance with Hua Yitang, and they both swept the area with their eyes at the same time.

Inside the Appreciation Pavilion, only a small cluster of black-clad fighters remained, standing back to back in a last desperate stand — they would be taken down by the Seven Stars within moments. Aside from them, who else could it be? Lin Sui’an’s gaze swept rapidly across the safe zone where Jiang Seventh Lady and the others were sheltering. Her pupils contracted sharply. At almost the same instant, Hua Yitang’s voice exploded in her ear: “Where are Su Yiyun and Shen Xun?!”

Inside the protective ring guarded by Wan Lin and Ling Zhiyan, both of those individuals had vanished into thin air. Ling Zhiyan was jolted with alarm and hurried to search, but found only a slashed-apart length of rope in one corner.

The Seven Stars drove their blades simultaneously through the chests of the last few black-clad fighters and suddenly went rigid, their expressions shifting dramatically. They stumbled backward several paces in unison. The ring of black-clad bodies fell heavily to the floor, and the person they had shielded with their lives was revealed.

Shen Xun had a dagger pressed against Su Yiyun’s throat. His smile was twisted and vicious — as though he wore another repugnant mask of his own.

So he was the true leader of these black-clad fighters all along.

The blazing midday sun steamed the blood-soaked ground, sending up a putrid, nauseating charnel reek that made everyone involuntarily hold their breath.

Hua Yitang stepped forward, his voice cold. “Elder Shen, to have endured such humiliation and suffered in silence all this while — Hua has truly underestimated you.”

Shen Xun let out a sigh. “If Hua Fourth Young Master had simply sold Qian Jing to me, why would we ever need to have come to this?”

“Master!” The voice of Polaris was almost on the verge of tears. “What are you doing?! Are you truly going to betray the Pure Gate?!”

Shen Xun seemed to hear nothing of Polaris’s words. He stared coldly at Lin Sui’an. “Miss Lin, shall we make a deal?”

Lin Sui’an: “Can it be that Elder Shen intends to trade this Mister Su for the Qian Jing in my hand?”

“One life for one blade — is that not worth it?” Shen Xun said. “All the more so when this life belongs to a man of talent from the Suizhou Su clan.”

Lin Sui’an nodded. “What Elder Shen says makes excellent sense,” she replied, raising Qian Jing and flicking the blood from its edge. Then she bared her teeth in a smile. “But I don’t want to trade.”

These words sent everyone — except Hua Yitang — into stunned silence.

Bai Ruyi was the softest-hearted of the group, and was the first to cry out: “Miss Lin — Miss Lin, please reconsider!”

Jiang Seventh Lady blinked in surprise.

Su Yiyun erupted into furious cursing. “Vicious woman through and through! Lin Sui’an, you poisonous wretch — back then, my Su clan’s son Su Chengxian was so taken with you that despite the vast difference in our social standing, despite not minding your lowly and base origins, he sincerely intended to enter into a marriage agreement with you! Yet you used treacherous schemes to bring about his death! And now you still want to harm me! Do you intend to wipe out every member of my Su clan before you are satisfied?!”

Su Yiyun’s words were so vile that everyone was shaken, and all turned to stare at Lin Sui’an with disbelief. Only Jiang Seventh Lady kept her gaze on Su Yiyun, her brow furrowing slightly.

What no one had expected was that the first to refute Su Yiyun was not the endlessly sharp-tongued Hua Yitang, but the usually mild-mannered Ling Zhiyan.

“Slander and lies! It was Su Chengxian who first broke faith, and through coercion attempted to dissolve the marriage agreement — every member of the Luo clan in Nanpu County can testify to this!” Ling Zhiyan’s brows drew together in fierce anger. “Su Yiyun, stop trying to twist the truth and falsely accuse an innocent person!”

Lin Sui’an raised a bloodstained eyebrow in surprise: Well now! Who knew the dashing Commander Ling had such a talent for vicious verbal takedowns that didn’t require a single crude word.

“Miss Lin never made public the true cause of Su Chengxian’s death — that was out of the breadth of her magnanimity, her unwillingness to lower herself to the level of shameless individuals such as yourselves! Hua, on the other hand, is a completely different sort — Hua is petty and vindictive to the bone, absolutely devoted to repaying every grievance in kind!” Hua Yitang produced his fan with a snap and flicked it open, his smile luminous. “The Suizhou Su clan’s Su Chengxian — having spent the entire night entangled in intimate dalliance with his beloved companion Wei Li, left himself depleted and drained. The following morning, he went out on unsteady legs, tripped, and fell into a sewage ditch, where he drowned. By all accounts, when the body was discovered, the stench was unimaginable — his face unrecognizable. Alas, what a pitiful, wretched end!”

Everyone let out a burst of shocked exclamations, looking at one another with eyes burning bright with scandalous fascination. Jiang Seventh Lady’s gaze on Su Yiyun grew increasingly unfavorable.

“You — you, you, you — how dare you smear us with such slander! The Suizhou Su clan is one of the high-born, distinguished families among the Five Surnames and Seven Clans — how could we possibly engage in such shameful behavior?!” Su Yiyun screamed in savage fury, only to be silenced in an instant when Shen Xun pressed the blade tighter against his throat.

“One word — trade or not?!” Shen Xun demanded through gritted teeth.

Lin Sui’an: “Not.”

Hua Yitang: “Elder Shen, as you yourself have witnessed, Miss Lin’s enmity with the Su clan is a blood feud that cannot be shared under the same sky. That we haven’t already struck him down is already a great deal of face given to the Su clan.”

“I really will kill him!” Shen Xun pressed his blade against Su Yiyun’s throat. Crimson blood ran down the blade’s edge in a thin stream.

Lin Sui’an narrowed her eyes, on the verge of speaking — but Hua Yitang stepped in front of her.

Hua Yitang fanned himself, sighing with feeling, “Young Master Su, rest assured. After your death, Hua will set aside all past grievances and see to it that you receive a proper, grand burial.”

Su Yiyun’s eyes bulged from their sockets. “Hua! Yi! Tang!”

Hua Yitang’s smile grew more radiant. “Go peacefully — to your eternal rest!”

Before the last syllable faded, an eerie smoke suddenly descended, shrouding Shen Xun from above. Five ghostly afterimages of Lotus Blossom Steps dropped from the sky — seize the moment, miss the moment never. Lin Sui’an shot forward like a gust of wind, and Qian Jing became a hair-thin line of light aimed with perfect precision at Shen Xun’s arm. But even as it moved, Shen Xun flung Su Yiyun violently toward Lin Sui’an — he had made himself a human shield against Qian Jing in an instant. Su Yiyun’s shriek nearly shattered her eardrums — clearly still alive. Lin Sui’an had no choice but to deflect her strike, and with her left hand she instinctively caught Su Yiyun as well, flinging him clear to a safe distance. But that tiny moment of hesitation had cost her the initiative, and Shen Xun, under cover from the Seven Stars, had already fled to the overhanging eaves above. Yun Zhong Yue was livid, screaming: “You seven — just whose side are you on?!”

“They are indeed the fine disciples I poured my heart into training,” Shen Xun said with a smile.

Jin Ruo’s voice rang out with fierce intensity: “Polaris! Seven Stars! Open your eyes and look clearly — is this the master you hold in your hearts, as he stands before you now?!”

The Seven Stars stared at Shen Xun with reddened eyes, and then, suddenly, dropped to their knees as one.

Polaris: “Master — do not compound one wrong with another! So long as you are willing to stop, all seven of us brothers will follow you into retirement from the martial world, and care for you in your old age!”

The other six bowed their heads, tears audible in their voices.

Shen Xun regarded them in silence for a long moment, then exhaled a heavy breath. “Obstinate fools!”

The Seven Stars cried out: “Master!”

Shen Xun threw both arms wide and laughed with abandon. “Hua Yitang, you have greatly underestimated me! What I want today is not merely Qian Jing and Miss Lin — I also want the lives of every stumbling block among you!”

Chaotic footsteps erupted from below the Appreciation Pavilion. Lin Sui’an took a quick glance — the black-clad figures who had sealed off White Heron Island were already surrounding the White Heron Pleasure Boat, and it was clear they would be storming aboard at any moment. Yet by now, everyone on their side was at the very end of their strength. Even she herself likely could not hold on much longer.

Against the backdrop of despair written on everyone’s faces, Hua Yitang’s radiant features stood out with particular brilliance. He strolled in a measured pace to the prow of the Appreciation Pavilion, leaned against the cloud-swept river view at his back, lifted his chin, and said with a smile: “Shen Xun, don’t be so sure you’re the only one who’s been playing for time—” He snapped his fan open as he spoke. The river wind tore past in a fury. His snow-white robes bloomed open like flowers. Behind him, an immense fleet of vessels materialized on the surface of the Cloudy Water River — leading the formation was a magnificent pleasure boat flying the Hua clan’s insignia. Over a hundred cargo ships followed in its wake, and their earth-shaking battle cries pierced through the azure vault of the sky, bearing down on White Heron District with relentless, overwhelming force.

Shen Xun’s face turned green. “How — how is this possible?!”

Hua Yitang lounged against the railing, using the fan to smooth a fold in his sleeve. His bearing was elegant and utterly unruffled. His incomparably handsome face caught the light of the sun, as though carved from the finest jade — the very picture of a dashing, charismatic figure, his smile captivating enough to bewitch the eye. “So you want to see whose clan has more people? Come on then — who’s afraid of whom!”

“You’re only putting on a show of force. I refuse to believe the Hua clan could command such power in the Eastern Capital—” Even before Shen Xun’s words were finished, a signal flare suddenly shot up from the dense forest on White Heron Island. The black-clad fighters massed outside the White Heron Pleasure Boat immediately ceased their attack and withdrew like shadows into the forest, vanishing without a trace. Shen Xun’s face went abruptly ashen. He sprinted to the edge of the overhanging eave and threw himself into the Cloudy Water River in a powerful plunge. The water rose in a swirling eddy and swallowed him up.

These black-clad fighters had appeared without warning and withdrawn with ruthless efficiency, leaving no trace behind. It took everyone a long moment to come back to their senses, and then they all exhaled in relief simultaneously.

Ling Zhiyan, Wan Lin, and the Pure Gate members collapsed to the floor. The Seven Stars were in the worst condition of anyone, their faces the color of ash. Jin Ruo fumed, jumped up onto the overhanging eave, and hauled them down one by one. Bai Xiang lay on the ground groaning steadily. Bai Ruyi sat cross-legged on the floor, maintaining his noble family composure as he slowly dabbed away the sweat. Su Yiyun was face-down on the ground without a shred of dignity, apparently having fainted.

Lin Sui’an surveyed the room — sure enough, Yun Zhong Yue was nowhere to be seen. She pushed a few bodies aside, retrieved her blade sheath from the pool of blood, wiped it with the hem of her robe, returned Qian Jing to its sheath, and walked over to Hua Yitang’s side, leaning against the railing as he did.

She said nothing, but Hua Yitang seemed to know what she was about to ask. He indicated with his eyes: “Jiang Seventh Lady will investigate this to the very end.”

Lin Sui’an nodded. With the current sovereign personally handling the aftermath, they could afford to stop worrying.

Jiang Seventh Lady stood with her hands clasped behind her back, staring steadily in the direction the black-clad figures had retreated. Her four soft-armored guards stood at her back like four pillars holding up the sky, not moving an inch from her side. After a long silence, Jiang Seventh Lady let out a quiet sigh, turned her head, and looked at the two of them — Hua and Lin — revealing a gentle smile.

“Hua Fourth Young Master, what are those people on your ship shouting?”

“Well, about that—” Hua Yitang scratched his temple with the tip of the fan, his smile turning somewhat sheepish.

The fleet drew ever closer. Lin Sui’an spotted the dark-faced Fangke and the anxious Itta on the pleasure boat. The shouting that had previously been muffled by water and wind was growing clearer and clearer. Now at last those on the Appreciation Pavilion could make it out — and they all simultaneously dropped their jaws.

It turned out that what the crewmen aboard those cargo ships had been shouting was:

“Hua Family Fourth Young Master, pay us our goddamn money!”

A family member has been hospitalized; I need to be there to take care of them. Starting tomorrow, I am going on leave — a week to start. (I bow in apology)

Please, everyone — take good care of your health.