Chapter 147: The Mirror of the Sword's Edge

Jingliu, the Sword Champion—a name Yanqing had only ever encountered in dusty Xianzhou annals and the hushed, gossiping tones of her elders.

It was a name steeped in equal parts legend and taboo.

Now, in a dizzying flash, that name was being superimposed onto the blindfolded, white-haired woman before her—the very same woman who had once so gently played the erhu for her. The cognitive dissonance was so overwhelming that her mind simply refused to process it.

She stood frozen, her face a mask of blank disbelief.

Reflected in her wide, clear eyes was the aloof, extraordinary silhouette of the swordswoman. A moment later, that image was replaced by fragmented passages from ancient texts, describing the sparse, fearsome history of Sword Champion Jingliu. Then, just as quickly, the memory of the endless, mournful sorrow that had poured from her erhu in that quiet alleyway flooded her senses.

These conflicting images tangled together in her mind, a chaotic knot that made even her breathing hitch and slow to a crawl.

Chen, having just taken a step back, immediately noticed that something was wrong with the young girl at his side. He saw the rigid set of her shoulders, the faint tremor in her hands.

‘Her wide, dazed eyes, which practically screamed Who am I? Where am I?, are utterly adorable,’ he thought, a flicker of amusement cutting through the tension.

He couldn’t resist. He raised a hand, resting it gently on Yanqing’s head. He ruffled her soft hair before letting his hand slide down to pat her tense shoulder reassuringly.

“Silly girl,” he murmured, his voice a low, calm echo of Jingliu’s. “Scared witless?”

Yanqing flinched at the sudden contact, a full-body shudder running through her. The warmth seeping from his palm was a stark, grounding contrast to the chilling scene before her. It was the same warmth she’d felt when this woman had let her, a stranger, lead her through the bustling crowds of the Exalting Sanctum.

The terrifying legend of Sword Champion Jingliu. The devastating, glacial sword light from moments ago. The memory of a lonely musician in a back alley. They clashed violently in her mind, threatening to tear apart her simple, ordered understanding of the world.

“Sword Champion… Jingliu…” she whispered the name, her eyes a whirlwind of struggle and confusion.

As a Lieutenant of the Cloud Knights, she was intimately familiar with the laws and history of the Xianzhou. She knew exactly what that name signified. A hero of a bygone era, who later became one of its most wanted criminals—a living legend tied to countless tragic battles and a forbidden past.

She was also… theoretically… someone Yanqing was duty-bound to apprehend and bring to justice.

But the person before her had saved her life. She had played the erhu with a desolation that spoke of a thousand sorrows. She had needed a little sister like her to guide her through the streets…

“You…” Yanqing took a deep, shuddering breath, fighting to suppress the tempest of emotions churning within her. Her eyes were no longer dazed; the ingrained sense of responsibility that came with her uniform was asserting itself, driving her forward. “Are you really… Jingliu? The… former Sword Champion of the Luofu?”

Her voice carried a tremor she couldn’t quite conceal, and her hand tightened instinctively around the hilt of her sword. She was on guard, a coiled spring of martial readiness, yet she was also wrestling with a powerful emotional current pulling her in the opposite direction.

Chen, cloaked in Jingliu’s form, remained silent for a long moment.

“What if I am?” he asked, his voice still placid, devoid of any discernible emotion. “And what if I am not?”

He tilted his head toward Yanqing. It felt as though his gaze, even from beneath the black blindfold, could pierce straight through to the girl’s heart.

“If I truly am Jingliu, a major criminal under Xianzhou law…” he continued softly. “Little sister, will you… arrest me with your own hands?”

The question was posed so casually, yet it struck Yanqing’s heart like a physical blow.

Arrest her? With her own hands?

Arrest the person who had offered a hand when she was lost and had listened so quietly to her prattle on? The woman who had accepted her clumsy gift, whose music wept with an ocean of sorrow, and who had just saved her from certain death?

The color drained from Yanqing’s small face, leaving it pale as parchment.

Her head whipped around, her gaze frantically taking in the scene. She saw Blade, watching them like a tiger poised to strike, his murderous aura still clinging to him like a shroud. She saw the mysterious, unfathomable Kafka, who had appeared from nowhere. She saw the distant figure of Imbibitor Lunae, floating in the air, another being whose identity was as sensitive as it was complex…

Finally, her gaze fell back upon the white-haired, blindfolded woman before her.

‘It’s too complicated!’she screamed internally.’This is all way too complicated! This isn’t a situation someone my age and with my experience should be handling!’

“I… I…” Yanqing’s mouth opened, but the words wouldn’t come. Her usually sharp, clear thoughts were now a tangled, hopeless mess. Her duty as a Cloud Knight was a shrill command in her ears, but her heart was screaming in protest.

Finally, as if to shake off the infuriating conflict, she stomped her foot hard on the stone ground and shouted at Jingliu, her voice cracking with strain.

“I—I don’t know! But… but it’s true that you saved me just now! And it’s also true that the Stellaron Hunter wanted to kill me!”

She took another breath, her resolve hardening with every word. “The General says that we must address matters in order of priority. Right now… right now the most important thing is to deal with the crisis in the Scalegorge Waterscape! And these… these dangerous people!”

As she spoke, the tip of her sword swung back toward Blade and Kafka, though her stance lacked some of its earlier conviction, weakened by the emotional turmoil. Her gaze, however, had become firm once more.

“As for you…” she declared, looking back at Jingliu. “Your matter… after… after everything is over, I will report it to the General and let him decide!”

Hearing this, a faint, almost imperceptible smile touched the corner of Chen’s lips.

‘A smart kid,’he thought.’She knows when to stand her ground and when to be flexible.’

“A wise choice.”

“Heh…”

A soft, musical laugh cut through the heavy atmosphere. Kafka looked from Yanqing to Jingliu, her eyes alight with deep interest.

“What an unexpected script! However…”

Before Kafka could finish her thought, she turned with an elegant, deliberate grace, her gaze shifting to another direction entirely—toward an area that appeared empty, populated only by jagged reefs and a thin, swirling mist.

The composed smile on her lips deepened, becoming sharper, more knowing.

“Have you seen enough of the show, General?”

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]