“Miss Zhong is Xue Xianzi’s daughter?” Tie Jing’s mind was confused for a moment, then slowly calmed down. There must be some hidden story here. “Why would he say Miss Zhong was an abandoned baby he found? Why would he only acknowledge being her master?” Wanyu Yuedan pondered for a while, then suddenly smiled. “Actually… Tie Jing, close the door and don’t let anyone in.” Tie Jing was puzzled but ran over to close the door. Wanyu Yuedan stood up from his chair, paced around the room twice, raised a finger to his lips. “Shh… wait until everyone has left.” Tie Jing couldn’t help but laugh. If you were to say the Palace Master was composed, sometimes he was still quite childish. “Is Palace Master going to tell a story?”
Wanyu Yuedan nodded. He didn’t return to that chair carved with dragons and phoenixes, but sat down on the floor and patted the space beside him. Tie Jing also sat on the floor with him, raising his head to look at the ceiling. “Palace Master, this reminds me of childhood.” Wanyu Yuedan smiled very happily. “Miss Zhong being Xue Xianzi’s daughter isn’t really a complicated story. You know Senior Xue Xianzi has always liked beautiful women, and his temperament was the same when he was young. Although he married a wife when he was thirty-six, his fondness for beautiful women never changed, and his wife was quite ugly… so once… eh…” He found it somewhat difficult to speak, thinking for a long time. “Once he rescued a very beautiful girl on the road. The girl offered herself to him in gratitude. Senior Xue Xianzi was momentarily confused and did something wrong to his wife.” Tie Jing listened to this senior’s romantic affairs with great amusement. “If he liked beautiful women, why would he marry an ugly woman?” Wanyu Yuedan said leisurely, “He didn’t tell me about this, but given the senior’s martial arts and temperament, if he wasn’t willing, who could force him? In any case, he had a brief affair outside. The girl became pregnant for ten months and gave birth to Miss Zhong. The girl carried the child to Snow Tea Manor, insisting on marrying Senior Xue Xianzi as a concubine. As a result, Senior Xue Xianzi’s wife flew into a rage, immediately left in anger, and disappeared without a trace.”
“This… this can only be blamed on the senior’s wrongdoing.” Tie Jing wanted both to laugh and worry for Xue Xianzi. “What happened next?” Wanyu Yuedan whispered, “The senior was forced into a difficult position. The child had already been born, so he had no choice but to marry that beautiful woman as his concubine.” Tie Jing sighed. Everyone knew that Xue Xianzi now had no wife or concubine, living alone. Who would have known he once had a beautiful wife and concubine. Wanyu Yuedan continued, “When his first wife heard news of his remarriage, she angrily ventured alone into the southern frontier and never returned. Xue Xianzi missed his first wife, so he went to the southern frontier to search for her. He was gone for two years. When he found his wife, she was already bones. I heard she had mistakenly been poisoned by miasma and died alone in the dense forest.” Tie Jing fell silent, feeling very sad. Wanyu Yuedan continued, “When he buried his wife and returned to Snow Tea Manor, he found his concubine sitting in front of the mountain waiting for his return. She had been exposed to the harsh mountain cold and was already terminally ill, beyond any cure.” Tie Jing felt sorrowful and heavily exhaled. “Two years?” Wanyu Yuedan nodded. “He was gone for two years. Less than a month after returning, his concubine also passed away, leaving behind two-year-old Miss Zhong. He never acknowledged being Miss Zhong’s biological father. I think… perhaps it was because he felt guilty toward his first wife and concubine, or perhaps he didn’t want his daughter to know that her mother died because of him. In any case…” He sighed deeply. “The senior’s life has not been satisfactory.”
“But how could Miss Zhong be mistaken for Princess Langya?” Tie Jing asked in a low voice. “She probably doesn’t know her own background. Once the truth comes to light, wouldn’t this be the crime of deceiving the emperor?” Wanyu Yuedan shook his head. “This matter is very troublesome and could easily cause a great uproar. Although Miss Hong has no intention of returning, Liu Yan must know her background.” He lightly exhaled. “She’s infatuated with Liu Yan and will certainly hold nothing back from him. If Liu Yan knows, perhaps Gui Mudan will also know. Once Gui Mudan knows that Miss Hong is the real princess, he’ll capture Miss Hong and threaten Miss Zhong.”
“Threaten Miss Zhong, Zhao Zongjing, and Zhao Zongying to have the Imperial Guards assist Fengliu Shop?” Tie Jing’s voice became even lower. “Is that possible?” Wanyu Yuedan shook his head again. “The Imperial Guards cannot get involved in martial world conflicts. Even if their power were to be used, it would be used in the palace.” Tie Jing was deeply shocked. “What does Gui Mudan want to do?” Wanyu Yuedan sighed. “I don’t know.”
Both fell silent together, the earlier relaxed and pleasant atmosphere completely gone. After a long while, Tie Jing asked in a low voice, “Would Young Master Tang handle this kind of matter?” Wanyu Yuedan smiled slightly. “Yes.” Tie Jing smiled bitterly. “We have no room to interfere in such matters. Speaking of which, Young Master Tang is truly constantly busy, never getting a moment’s rest.” Wanyu Yuedan was quiet for a moment. “He…” Tie Jing listened for Wanyu Yuedan to continue, waiting quietly for a moment, then heard Wanyu Yuedan’s voice, very gentle. “If he didn’t have so many affairs, he would probably be more lonely.”
The two sat on the ground. A snow-white little rabbit hopped over and burrowed into Wanyu Yuedan’s arms. He gently stroked the rabbit’s back. “The martial world is full of bloody storms. I feel very lonely, but if some people didn’t have these bloody storms, their lives would be completely empty…”
“Palace Master! Palace Master—” Suddenly there were rapid footsteps outside the door, then someone crashed through the door with a “bang.” Tie Jing leaped up, shouting, “Who?” Wanyu Yuedan stood up and saw the intruder covered in fresh blood, wearing jade-green clothes – it was a disciple of their palace. Tie Jing caught him in his arms. The disciple had a bloody hole through his back, clearly beyond saving. He tightly gripped Tie Jing’s clothes, gasping, “Outside… someone… breaking into the palace, we can’t stop them… Palace Master must be careful…” Before finishing his words, he dropped his head and died. Wanyu Yuedan’s expression suddenly changed, and he strode outside. Tie Jing placed the body on a chair and followed closely.
The vast Biluo Palace was in an uproar. Dozens of disciples held swords and knives, confronting one person. Bi Lianyi had unsheathed his long sword and was blocking the intruder’s path.
Wanyu Yuedan couldn’t see the intruder’s appearance, but he could feel a bone-chilling killing intent pressing directly against his chest, as if standing opposite was a demon that had come through cutting wind and rain. The weather was icy and cold, yet within that demon’s body, blazing flames seemed to burn.
The person holding a halberd facing dozens from Biluo Palace was none other than Kuanglan Wuxing. Earlier, he had walked to the entrance of Biluo Palace. The gatekeeper disciples recognized him as Kuanglan Wuxing, knowing this person had been recuperating in the palace for quite some time, so they hadn’t been particularly vigilant. As a result, Zhu Yan pierced through with one halberd strike, killing one person and severely wounding another.
“Wanyu Yuedan?” Zhu Yan’s voice was cold and stern, carrying an indescribable magnificent presence, as if his voice could echo across the vast clouds and earth. Wanyu Yuedan stood in front of the crowd, his right hand’s five fingers clenched and hidden in his sleeve. “That’s correct. You received life-saving grace from me, yet I don’t know why you repay kindness with enmity, killing my disciples?” His tone was not high, his voice not loud, yet his words clearly distinguished gratitude from grievance, neither humble nor arrogant. Zhu Yan pushed forward with his long halberd. “Come and die!” He turned a deaf ear to what Wanyu Yuedan said. The brown long halberd carried fierce wind, directly stabbing toward Wanyu Yuedan’s chest. Bi Lianyi shouted loudly and struck with his sword to block. The long sword’s radiance was like silk, graceful as a dragon or snake, meeting the long halberd in mid-air. They heard a long “humming” sound. Everyone covered their ears, feeling their ears ring and hearts pound, the world spinning. The tiger’s mouth of Bi Lianyi’s right hand holding the sword split open, fresh blood flowing down the sword. He blocked Zhu Yan’s halberd strike, flipped his wrist, and thrust three sword strikes toward his chest with swishing sounds.
“Big Brother Bi, come back!” Wanyu Yuedan shouted amidst the sound of weapons cutting through the air. His voice was almost drowned out by the sound of the long halberd cutting through air, but Bi Lianyi heard it. His figure flickered and he suddenly retreated rapidly. Zhu Yan stepped forward and suddenly flicked his sleeve robe. His purple robe sleeve was densely packed with fine silver needles barely visible to the naked eye. He raised his head and looked grimly toward Wanyu Yuedan. Wanyu Yuedan held something shaped like an egg in his right hand, shook it at him, and smiled slightly.
That was the “Five-Five-Four-Part Needle,” extremely poisonous. This kind of hidden mechanical weapon was complex to use – even if an ordinary person used both hands together, they might not operate it properly. Yet Wanyu Yuedan had shot them all out using only his right hand. Zhu Yan held his long halberd ready, the blade tip pointing directly at Wanyu Yuedan’s chest. Everyone could see he was calculating how to aim at Wanyu Yuedan’s chest, then hurl the halberd over to first shatter Wanyu Yuedan’s ribs, then pierce through his chest.