Cloud traces drifted ethereally, the sky clear and bright. The forces of Haoyun Mountain had been divided into several groups, preparing to head to Bodhi Valley. Tang Lici assigned Qi Xing to handle lodging and meals along the way, while Zheng Yue had already taken the vanguard to scout the terrain. The battle with the House of Pleasure was about to erupt.

Yu Konghou merely watched from the side with a smile. These past few days, because Tang Lici had issued strict orders that no one could act independently without forming groups of five, he had not found an opportunity to impersonate Tang Lici and kill again. But to force Tang Lici away, framing others was merely one method.

He believed that someone should be coming soon.

“Click” – a soft sound as the window lattice opened. Yu Konghou’s black hair hung loose as he pulled out his hairpin. Hearing the sound, he smiled slightly. “You’ve come?”

The person entering through the window wore yellow clothes and carried a red fan, appearing unchanged – it was Fang Pingzhai. He leaped over the main gate of the Shenfeng Hall, passed through layers upon layers of defenses as if nothing had happened, entering Yu Konghou’s room as casually as stepping into a guest room in his own home, not disturbing a speck of dust.

“Seventh Brother.” He moved his red fan once. “Tell me honestly – did you know about the White Cloud Gorge affair beforehand? Even – before the court dispatched troops?”

“If I tell the truth, will you be at peace?” Yu Konghou turned around, his black hair flowing over his shoulders in an alluring manner. “Or – if I tell the truth, will you kill me?”

“Seventh Brother, you understand my nature well.” Fang Pingzhai inserted the fan handle between his index and middle fingers, no longer fanning. “I’m asking you, just asking you calmly and peacefully. You need only answer me truthfully, and I won’t be angry.”

“Sixth Brother always keeps his word.” Yu Konghou slowly turned his face. “That’s right, I knew beforehand, before the court dispatched troops, but I didn’t act to save anyone.” He spoke slowly. “To me, to all the people of White Cloud Gorge, the value of White Cloud Gorge’s existence was to help you restore Great Zhou and reclaim the realm. Their deaths could make you determined. I believe that beneath the nine springs, they would all rest in peace. Sixth Brother, it’s not that you cannot restore the country. The House of Pleasure has plotted for ten years, its influence has long penetrated every sect and faction, even the entire court. As long as you nod – whether the realm or the martial world, all would be yours… But you hesitate, you’ve always been hesitating…” His tone was very gentle, but his voice sounded cold. “If you could have made today’s determination five years ago, or even two years ago, Great Zhou would have been restored long ago, the world would already belong to the Chai family, and everyone in White Cloud Gorge might have returned home in glory, even enjoying wealth and honor. But you only awaken now. Now the matter of restoring the country is not as easy as it was two years ago. Standing in our way is Tang Lici – from this perspective, the people of White Cloud Gorge died too late, not that they should never have died.” He looked coldly at Fang Pingzhai. “My truth – having heard it, do you resent me? Are you heartbroken?”

Fang Pingzhai stood motionless. After a long while, his red fan swayed slightly. “Those with imperial bearing can listen to harsh truths. Though you calculated extensively regarding White Cloud Gorge, though you are heartless and unrighteous, it was ultimately the court’s soldiers who killed and massacred the village. I won’t hate you.” He said calmly, “I should hate myself. Indeed, if I could have made up my mind two years ago, or even ten years ago, not only would the people of White Cloud Gorge not have died, they could have returned home and enjoyed wealth and honor. The one who caused my relatives’ deaths was myself, not you.” He took a long breath. “You had no obligation to save people. I cannot treat you as a murderer just because you didn’t act to save them.”

“Sixth Brother is truly rational.” Yu Konghou smiled. “Since you know the truth yet still don’t hate me, this proves you’ve made up your mind to walk the path of restoring the country?”

Fang Pingzhai clenched his five fingers, gripping the red feather fan in his hand. “I have no choice but to walk this path. This was destined from birth, wasn’t it?”

Yu Konghou laughed heartily. “Very good. Sixth Brother, do you know what I’ve always admired most about you? You – though you value loyalty and righteousness, your heart is ruthless enough – when you decided to kill Third Brother, you decided to simultaneously poison Fourth Brother; when you decided to escape the identity of ‘Chai Xijin,’ you could abandon everything in White Cloud Gorge; and when you decide to restore the country, you can completely abandon the false goodness of ‘Fang Pingzhai’ and do everything ‘Chai Xijin’ should do! Sixth Brother, you often make those close to you who trust you feel frightened and surprised, because you always have another side that people dare not believe.”

“You don’t need to provoke me.” Fang Pingzhai slowly raised light smoke from the feather fan in his five fingers. After the smoke drifted past, the red feather fan had been burned by inner force, breaking section by section, turning into crumbled charcoal. He opened his five fingers, letting the fan’s ashes drift to the ground. “The things I decide, the path I should walk – I’m very clear about them. But there are some words I must say first.”

“What conditions?”

“If Great Zhou can be restored, I want two lives to sacrifice to the world.” Fang Pingzhai said slowly. “The first is Zhu Yan, the second… is you.”

Yu Konghou still smiled. “Sixth Brother is truly Sixth Brother.”

“Now can you tell me why you want to help me restore the country?” Fang Pingzhai’s gaze finally shifted from the ashes in his hands to Yu Konghou. “Helping me restore the country brings you no benefits. Even at the moment of success, I will want you dead.”

“Cousin died.” Yu Konghou smiled like a blooming flower. “Why should I care about life and death? I only care about the process. I only want to prove -” He gently exhaled into the air. “Whomever I want to gain the world can gain the world; whomever I want to accompany Big Brother in death, whomever I want to accompany Cousin in death, they must accompany them in death.” After a slight pause, he said, “As for the world, I don’t care about it.”

“Big Brother said you want to send troops to Liao, to recover Yanyun. Is that true?”

“True.” Yu Konghou said gently. “Whomever I want to gain the world can gain the world. Whomever I want to win will win, whomever I want to lose will lose.”

Fang Pingzhai stared intently at Yu Konghou. This person must be mad – a very familiar kind of madness. Or rather… from a certain perspective, Seventh Brother and Tang Lici were the same type of person, even their madness was so similarly mad. But Sixth Brother no longer had anything he wanted to protect, so that madness manifested externally, revealed in his very bones.

Using this person’s power to restore the country was feasible. This madman only wanted to prove himself and wouldn’t pose any threat to him. Fang Pingzhai thought very clearly, then laughed coldly. Perhaps he truly wasn’t born to be a good person – abandoning everything from more than ten years of his life was so easy, so easy that he couldn’t shed a single tear.

Past moral choices, gentlemen and petty men, principles and styles all became smoke and clouds. He thought he would struggle and suffer, but actually he didn’t. After taking the first step, his heart only felt ice-cold. After that, everything became predetermined – no pain, only the ability to walk forward step by step.

When a person becomes cruel to himself to the extreme, he will no longer feel that others’ suffering is suffering.

“Sixth Brother, since you’ve made up your mind, there’s one thing you must do.” Yu Konghou didn’t care about Fang Pingzhai’s cold gaze. “Regarding Liu Yan -“

“What about it?”

“Capture Liu Yan.” Yu Konghou said. “Kill A’Shui.”

Fengming Mountain.

Jihe Manor.

Fang Pingzhai had been gone for several days. Dust had already settled in the room. Liu Yan sat in the manor’s main hall. Yesterday, Tang Lici had sent people to arrange for them to leave for another safe place, saying Yu Tuan’er had already been sent ahead by Shen Langhun. Liu Yan and A’Shui had packed everything today and were ready to depart.

They had no intention of staying to wait for Fang Pingzhai.

Fang Pingzhai always did as he pleased. When he wanted to come, he would naturally come. When he decided to leave, that meant he would never return. Both A’Shui and Liu Yan understood he had encountered difficulties, and both hoped he could overcome them. With his wisdom and martial arts, as long as he didn’t encounter an opponent like Zhu Yan, traveling alone wouldn’t be dangerous. So neither planned to wait for his return.

They both thought he wouldn’t come back.

But both were wrong.

Today was overcast. By near dusk, the sky was already very dark, making the scenery outside the door lose all color. A’Shui was inside packing some essential belongings, while Liu Yan sat in the hall. Just when the sky was extremely dark but starlight had not yet appeared, a person slowly walked through the door – bright yellow clothes, unchanged gait.

Liu Yan was quite surprised. “Fang Pingzhai?”

The newcomer smiled. “Master.” He stood with his back to the light, so Liu Yan couldn’t see his face clearly, but could see that he no longer held the red fan in his hand. Instead, he carried a short, snow-white flying blade. That curved flying blade unusually flickered with crystalline light in the dim skylight, as if it were merely a piece of jewelry.

The moment his gaze touched that flying blade, a chill passed through Liu Yan’s eyes. “You -“

“I’ve come to take back my drum.” Fang Pingzhai said calmly. “Master, you were right. I can do whatever I want, but I cannot not think.”

Liu Yan remained silent, looking at the flying blade in his hand. “You still cannot give up after all.”

Fang Pingzhai said slowly, “That day… if Master had advised me to give up, perhaps I would have given up. But Master, you didn’t advise me.”

Liu Yan said, “Perhaps I was wrong again, completely wrong.”

Fang Pingzhai shook his head. “No, Master. You were just kind-hearted. You told the truth… I’m very grateful.”

Liu Yan smiled faintly. “You came back – what do you want to do?”

“Take you away, kill A’Shui.” Fang Pingzhai’s voice remained calm. “Master, I don’t expect anyone to understand, but this is my path. I have no choice but to walk it.”

Just as the two were speaking, A’Shui had finished packing and came out from the room. Seeing Fang Pingzhai, she was first startled, then smiled broadly. “Brother Fang…”

“Splat” – a soft sound as she suddenly saw some blood droplets splash before her eyes. Then her vision went black and she fell forward. When she hit the ground with a “thud,” she felt intense pain in her chest. Dazedly raising her head, she saw Fang Pingzhai lifting Liu Yan as if he weighed nothing, then floating away.

Pressing her chest, what was inserted in her heart was a snow-white flying blade. This kind of hidden weapon… that day… when the nineteen Shaolin monks wanted to capture Liu Yan, she had seen it before. At that time –

Her thoughts were cut off there. Before sinking into complete darkness, a thought flashed through her mind like lightning – I’m dead. Will Young Master Tang know?

Why did she so hope he would know the news of her death? She could no longer think. When conscious, she had hoped beyond measure to leave Tang Lici and live her peaceful, tranquil life, preferably never hearing his name again. But at the moment of death, she desperately wished he could know of her death, even if just hearing it, letting him nod once would be good.

“Waaaah -” Fengfeng in the room burst into tears, crying heartbrokenly. The sky darkened to the extreme, gradually drowning the fresh blood in darkness.