The news that Tang Lici had traveled west to Biluo Palace and disappeared without a trace on Cat Tooth Peak had been spreading like wildfire throughout the martial world these past few days. All the various sects in the martial world were greatly puzzled by Wanyu Yuedan’s actions. The Central Plains Sword Assembly had consecutively lost two great masters, yet Tang Lici, who had killed Shi Tinghe and Yu Qifeng, had not given any formal explanation to the martial world, nor provided any reasonable justification. Although Jiang Feiyu of Yanmen strongly testified that Shi Tinghe’s involvement with the Scarlet Ghost Nine Hearts Pills was the deed of a villain seeking fame and glory, and that his death was well-deserved, Yanmen was not a major sect in the martial world, carrying little weight with few listeners. Moreover, even if Shi Tinghe was a villain, Yu Qifeng was a renowned righteous hero of the Central Plains with a widespread reputation. Tang Lici had brought the underworld master Chi Yun and the Thirteen Towers assassin Shen Langhun to invade the Yu Family Sword Manor, killed Yu Qifeng, destroyed the Yu Family Sword Manor, and even desecrated Yu Qifeng’s mother’s grave—such vicious acts were truly outrageous. Although no one knew why the master of Ten Thousand Apertures Studio, Tang Lici, wanted to kill the Sword King Yu Qifeng, both were men of extraordinary status. Within just a few days, rumors flew everywhere, and Tang Lici’s name became known to all. Some said he was an arrogant and conceited demon; some said he was a far-sighted hero who eliminated evil from the martial world; some said the conflict between these two men was merely about mutual interests, likely stemming from some agreement they had made in the past; still others said that Tang Lici’s killing of Yu Qifeng was simply out of extreme boredom, wanting to make a grand show in the martial world. Various discussions abounded, and that Wanyu Yuedan actually allowed these people to stay in Biluo Palace caused an even greater uproar. Some said Biluo Palace would surely be razed to the ground by the demon surnamed Tang, and Wanyu Yuedan must have already died; others said Wanyu Yuedan dared not offend Tang Lici, fearing to offend the imperial court and officials, and so on and so forth. However, despite all the discussions, the martial world had been surprisingly quiet these past few days. The Central Plains Sword Assembly had invited swordsmen from various sects to meet at Haoyun Mountain to discuss Tang Lici’s matter in detail, but there were still eight days until the scheduled discussion, and the Haoyun Mountain meeting seemed to yield no results. The legendary Scarlet Ghost Nine Hearts Pills that had supposedly killed “West Wind Swordsman” Feng Chuanxiang and “Iron Pen” Wen Ruiqi had not appeared in the martial world, as if such a thing had never existed in the martial world at all, merely nonsense and speculation.
Amidst all the various discussions, ten days passed in a flash.
On Cat Tooth Peak, the Left Guardian of Biluo Palace handed Wanyu Yuedan a message sent by carrier pigeon, which was a brief summary of the current situation in the martial world. Naturally, Wanyu Yuedan could not see the contents on the paper, but the Left Guardian, as was customary, had already read it aloud once in his calm manner. Wanyu Yuedan sat leaning against the brazier, with a white jade hand warmer beside him, snow-white and elegant, making his person appear even more delicate and frail. After listening, he smiled faintly, “Do you also find it strange?”
The Left Guardian shook his head, standing quietly before him without speaking. Wanyu Yuedan picked up his ginseng soup and took a sip. “What does Tie Jing think of Tang Lici?” The Left Guardian remained silent for a long while. “A harbinger of disaster.” The corners of Wanyu Yuedan’s eyes crinkled slightly. “What about Yan’er?” The “Yan’er” he mentioned was precisely the Right Guardian of Biluo Palace. Tie Jing said, “He thinks he’s not bad.” Wanyu Yuedan laughed, “He must have taken a liking to some opponent.” Tie Jing smiled faintly, “These past few days he’s been pondering methods to counter flying daggers.” Wanyu Yuedan chuckled, “The palace is rather lonely after all. Finding an opponent is also a very good thing. You may go.” Tie Jing bowed and withdrew. Wanyu Yuedan closed the lid of his ginseng soup, closed his eyes, and quietly contemplated.
Tang Lici—a man as venomous as a snake or scorpion, with an evil and ruthless nature, yet strangely inclined toward acts of kindness. Great evil and great good, great wickedness and great righteousness flowed and merged within him, creating a distinctive and unusual brilliance. Such a man was very attractive to cooperate with, to see the results of his good deeds. However, to conspire with a snake, even if it was a good snake, or even an enchantingly beautiful snake, one still could not say… it was completely harmless and non-toxic… He slowly opened his eyes and gazed out the window. In the distance were towering ice peaks, a flawless blue sky, and boundless sea of clouds, but in his eyes, there was only a field of blood red. How far the sky reached, so far reached the martial world, and so far reached the winds of blood and rain.
“Little Yue.” He Xiaoqiu quietly peeked her head in at the doorway. “What are you doing?”
“Xiaoqiu?” Wanyu Yuedan smiled gently. “What’s the matter? Come in.”
“My brother and that Chi Yun are fighting again. Aren’t you going to do something about it?” He Xiaoqiu walked in. “My brother also says that Young Master Tang is causing us trouble. Now many suspicious people have come to the foot of Cat Tooth Peak, all trying to discover where Biluo Palace is located. They’re all here for Young Master Tang. Little Yue, why did you let them stay?” He Xiaoqiu’s older brother, He Yan’er, was precisely Wanyu Yuedan’s Right Guardian.
“They’re not bad people. If I drove them away, those people down the mountain would certainly kill them. Wouldn’t that be very pitiful for them?” Wanyu Yuedan sighed softly.
He Xiaoqiu made a sound of understanding. “So we’re saving people?”
“Yes.” Wanyu Yuedan sighed softly again.
“Then why are you sighing?” He Xiaoqiu frowned as she looked at Wanyu Yuedan. “I think that Young Master Tang doesn’t look at all like someone being hunted. He’s just sitting there reading books. It’s quite amusing—such a grown man who appears learned and refined is actually reading the ‘Three Character Classic,’ and he spends so long on each page, I don’t know what he’s looking at.”
“Is that so?” Wanyu Yuedan asked. “What have you been reading recently?”
“Me? I haven’t read books in ages. There aren’t any new books to read here, and I don’t like reading those ancient books written by old scholars—poetry and manuscripts don’t reach us here either.” He Xiaoqiu lowered her head. “But I know that moving here was for everyone’s good. I don’t resent it at all.”
“You’ve suffered for it.” Wanyu Yuedan’s expression dimmed somewhat. “Everyone has suffered.”
“I haven’t suffered at all, and everyone else hasn’t suffered either.” He Xiaoqiu said. “To move here, Little Yue, you… you… even left behind A’Nuan’s grave…” She became dejected and couldn’t continue speaking. To move to this remote and desolate place, Wanyu Yuedan had abandoned the graves of Wenren Nuan and Yang Xiaozhong, leaving those two graves forever in the south of the Yangtze River. Even though he would go to pay respects every year on that day, what he had abandoned… was it merely two lonely graves? Cat Tooth Peak was a land of ice and snow, with treacherous distant paths. Moreover, this place was over a hundred zhang high, requiring rope bridges to cross. Moving graves would be extremely difficult, and besides, no one knew how long everyone could actually stay here, so there was no other choice.
“Xiaoqiu, are you happy living like this?” Wanyu Yuedan asked slowly.
“I…” He Xiaoqiu said quietly, “As long as Little Yue is happy, I’m happy, and everyone else is happy too.”
“Were you happier before, or are you happier now?” he asked gently.
He Xiaoqiu’s eyes slowly filled with tears. “Of course it was… when A’Nuan was alive… when I was little… I was happier…” she said with a trembling voice, then suddenly turned around. “I’m going to eat.” She covered her face and ran out.
Wanyu Yuedan’s lips curved into a faint smile, a smile tinged with desolation. Silly girl, there’s still an hour before mealtime—children who can’t lie. Happier before, happier when A’Nuan was alive, happier when little, not having to live this kind of wandering, displaced life. Biluo Palace, oh Biluo Palace, Father, oh Father, how exactly did you hold up this piece of sky back then? How could you support Biluo Palace’s tremendous reputation, keep it safe and sound, keep it away from the dust and clamor of the martial world, and truly make us all so happy?
Perhaps… Father encountered good times, but Father, there’s one thing I don’t want to envy you for. I don’t want Biluo Palace to face another day when enemies storm our gates and blood splatters three feet high. I don’t want to live too many more days of wandering displacement. I don’t want the swords in the palace to be lonely, don’t want the people in the palace to shed tears. So—I must become stronger. Someday, I will bring back those two graves. Someday, I will make sure no one in the world dares to walk to the gates of my Biluo Palace and point at my plaque to utter the word “Biluo”! I want the next generation and the generation after that in the palace to live simple, happy days just like when I was little.
So…
Wanyu Yuedan gripped that cup of ginseng soup, gripping it tightly until his knuckles turned white. So… A’Nuan, I can never go back, can never again be that child who lay in the grass sleeping and catching dragonflies. Although I really want to go back… I cannot, because I am the Palace Master.
In the guest room, Tang Lici leaned against two beds’ worth of bedding, reclining on the bed reading a book. One bed of bedding was his own, the other was Chi Yun’s. Biluo Palace’s bedding was naturally soft and snow-white, infinitely comfortable to lean against. Tang Lici leaned against the two beds of bedding, carefully and meticulously reading the “Three Character Classic.” Chi Yun sat on another bed with a face like green iron, meditating. Earlier, Tang Lici had smiled and said that meditation should be done with a calm and peaceful mind, free of distracting thoughts. With Chi Yun full of resentment and his emotions unsettled, he might fall into qi deviation—it would be better not to meditate at all. Why not have some tea instead? Those words made Chi Yun’s face even more like green iron, and he sat firmly on the bed meditating, refusing to come down.
Someone approached with measured steps outside the door—not too tall, not too short, with footsteps like an ordinary person. It was Shen Langhun. Tang Lici gestured with his book, inviting him to sit wherever he pleased. Shen Langhun nodded slightly but didn’t sit, saying coolly, “There’s something I can’t figure out.”
“Can’t figure out?” Tang Lici turned a page of his book. “Can’t figure out why Wanyu Yuedan is willing to let you and me stay on Cat Tooth Peak?” The bone-cleansing silver bracelet on his left wrist gleamed, complementing his fair and smooth skin beautifully.
Shen Langhun nodded. “What’s the reasoning?” Tang Lici kept his eyes on the book, his lips curved in a smile. “What kind of person do you think Wanyu Yuedan is?” Shen Langhun said coolly, “A master.” Tang Lici’s gaze moved from the first line to the second line. “He’s not a master. He’s a king.” Shen Langhun was slightly startled. “A king?” Tang Lici smiled faintly. “A king of the martial world—one who serves under no one and bows to no one’s might. When weak, he flees to the ends of the earth; when strong, he dominates the world. Biluo Palace was destroyed under Wanyu Moru’s hands and reborn under Wanyu Yuedan’s hands. Wanyu Moru was material for maintaining the status quo. Under his hands, Biluo Palace’s mysterious reputation reached its peak, but mystery is merely an illusion. The advantage of mystery lies in inspiring awe and fear in people. The disadvantages of mystery are twofold. First, a mysterious palace that closes its doors and keeps to itself will have no friends. Second, people within the palace rarely venture out, and those like Bi Qiuhan are too few. Even when they do go out, they dare not claim to be disciples of Biluo Palace. Though the disciples in the palace have high martial arts skills, most engage in armchair strategizing and lofty theorizing, inevitably becoming detached from reality. So—” Shen Langhun said, “So when Li Lingyan led his forces to our gates, Biluo Palace faced near annihilation.” Tang Lici said, “Correct. When there’s a first person to lift the veil, there will be a second and a third… After Biluo Palace revealed its true strength in the battle at Luoyang, it wasn’t as formidable as the legends claimed, so it fled to the ends of the earth. Those two words ‘mystery’ could no longer serve as the foundation for establishing the palace.” His gaze moved from the third line to the fourth line. “So after that… if Biluo Palace doesn’t want to remain a displaced pack of defeated dogs fleeing from the martial world, if it’s unwilling to abandon the Central Plains, it must take action. This doesn’t depend on whether the Palace Master is Wanyu Yuedan or not—it’s driven by circumstances, inevitable—Therefore—” he smiled faintly, “Therefore, Wanyu Yuedan’s agreement to let you and me stay in Biluo Palace isn’t because he’s taken the wrong medicine or because he fears us, but because he has the intention of ruling over the world, and I have the heart to disrupt the winds and clouds. With mutual feelings and intentions aligned, we can coexist peacefully.”
“These past few years, Biluo Palace has been hiding outside the martial world, and its strength has undoubtedly grown considerably. Biluo Palace’s return to the martial world needs a good opportunity, and it just so happens that your investigation of the Scarlet Ghost Nine Hearts Pills led to killing Shi Tinghe and Yu Qifeng, causing the winds and clouds of the martial world to change color…” Shen Langhun said coolly, “But how can he be certain that lending you his strength is the right choice?” The corners of Tang Lici’s lips curved upward, forming a moist and smooth, beautiful arc. “That involves the so-called judgment of a ‘king.’ Wanyu Yuedan judges that I can give him this opportunity and furthermore—everyone who cooperates with me knows…” His tone gradually became softer, his eyes slightly upturned, his lip line slowly rising. That tone became so soft it was soul-stirring, “The stakes I offer have always been… extremely generous. Basically, whatever you want, I can give you…” Shen Langhun smiled faintly—this was the first time he had smiled with some expression in front of Tang Lici, though whether in belief or disbelief was unclear. Tang Lici turned to the second page of his book. “I’m very happy that you came today.” Shen Langhun said, “Oh?” Tang Lici closed his book and smiled. “It shows you consider me a friend.” Shen Langhun glared at him. He habitually spoke very little, and even when he did speak, he showed little expression. At this moment, he suddenly came out with, “I really can’t figure out whether you’re a clever person or a complete fool.” Tang Lici laughed aloud, closed his eyes, and leaned back against the bedding to sleep. “But I know that anyone who sells himself as an assassin to buy back his wife’s corpse must be a complete fool.” Shen Langhun was startled, then suddenly smiled. “To be able to find out even such things—you truly deserve to be called the world’s number one fox spirit.”
The reason Shen Langhun had entered the Thirteen Assassin Tower and willingly became their top assassin was indeed because after his wife had pursued someone into the Yellow River, her remains were obtained by the Tower Master of the Assassin Tower. To redeem his wife’s remains, Shen Langhun entered the tower and drew his sword, taking money to claim lives. People all thought Shen Langhun was cold and heartless, unable to distinguish between good and evil, but in truth, this man simply valued his love for his wife far more than his respect for the sword in his hand.