Chapter 628: An Accident

“Bzzz—bzzz—!”

The Pure Lotus Sword trembled, giving off a low yet distinct hum as though it were shouting at the top of its voice.

The surrounding air warped like the placid surface of water stirred into disorder, sending out layer after layer of colorless ripples.

The cracks across the bronze-colored Broken Sword closed at a visible pace. Flecks of rust crumbled into powder and peeled away, while the ancient blade took on a bright silver luster.

At the sight of this transformation in the Pure Lotus Sword, the Shuishu Shou (Water Savage Beast) seemed to recall something terrifying. Its bell-sized eyes went perfectly round.

Then, as if someone had pressed a lit cigarette to its rump, it yowled, “Awooo!” and darted behind Huá Sāng with a whoosh, trembling as though it had seen a ghost.

At the same time, the instant the Pure Lotus Sword turned silver-white from end to end, it gave a violent jolt as though about to fly from Lu Yibei’s hand. Then both the vibration and the humming stopped abruptly.

Lu Yibei glanced at the Pure Lotus Sword from the corner of her eye, her eyes widening despite herself.

In just a few seconds, the ancient Broken Sword looked as though it had been reforged. It was as good as new, with a faint gleam flowing along its edge like a thin veil of mist.

Only its sharpest point was nowhere to be found. The jagged break that remained was the sole flaw in an otherwise nearly perfect sword.

Qing Ji studied Lu Yibei meaningfully for several seconds, then smiled. “My great-grandson’s wife…”

“Yes, sir?” Lu Yibei and Huá Sāng answered in unison. They glanced at each other, blushed together, then hurriedly looked away.

“…” Qing Ji looked from Huá Sāng to Lu Yibei. After a few seconds of thought, he asked, “Have you been studying all this time under a remnant soul that carries the memories of my younger self?”

When the Pure Lotus Sword’s main body resonated with its fragment, he had suddenly remembered many things and learned of many experiences he had never personally lived through.

For example, he had a great-grandson named Lu Yibei. And his great-grandson’s wife had spent some time studying under a wisp of his remnant soul.

Lu Yibei’s eyes lit up, and delight rose in her heart.

“…”

I knew it. Even Zhang Shuo could stay conscious under Pink Fluffy Bunny’s corruption, with only his actions restricted. Of course Ancestor can too.

But if he’s still lucid, why is he stopping me? Lu Yibei wondered.

Still…

Although she did not know what Qing Ji intended, hearing him speak to her so coherently eased her taut nerves instead.

Compared to a Qing Ji who had gone completely mad, a Qing Ji whose thoughts she could not read…

Uh. Wasn’t that just as terrifying?

“That’s right!” Lu Yibei answered frankly. As she spoke, she slipped one hand behind her back and gestured for Huá Sāng to keep moving forward.

She had rarely won in her past bouts with Qing Ji. But after fighting him so many times, she knew his methods inside and out.

She could still keep him occupied for a while.

Huá Sāng caught Lu Yibei’s gesture and grasped her general intent. Her pupils trembled and her brow furrowed as she circulated her psychic energy, readying herself.

She was waiting for an opening—the instant Qing Ji attacked Lu Yibei, she would charge forward with all her strength!

Qing Ji noticed Lu Yibei and Huá Sāng’s little exchange but paid it no attention.

He looked at Lu Yibei and said calmly, “What a pity. Even when I was young, my learning was a hodgepodge and my skills were crude. Yet I went and taught someone else. I was simply leading my pupil astray.”

Qing Ji was not being falsely modest.

Under the “loving care” of his several shifus, he had acquired a body of skills whose methods of instruction and mutual compatibility were both deeply problematic, even contrary to common sense.

If he followed his old path of growth and trained all over again, even he would have only a slim chance of surviving, much less anyone else.

It was like a pot of assorted ingredients thrown together at random. One might accidentally produce something delicious once, but might not be so lucky the next time.

Now, the Qing Ji who possessed his youthful memories had been doing almost exactly what his own shifus had once done to him. If he kept treating Lu Yibei this way, sooner or later she would be finished.

In fact, without that special illusion where she could prolong her life indefinitely, Lu Yibei might not have lasted until now.

This also proved, from another angle, that Zhang Huainan had not risen above the many Great Pure Palace disciples tormented by Qing Ji and become a Headmaster of his generation by mere chance.

“Since that is the case, in view of your meager bit of talent, I shall give you a lesson today!”

At last, Lu Yibei understood what Qing Ji had in mind.

So Ancestor wants to give me some pointers? Then this isn’t any different from usual!

It’s just the difference between a monthly test and the college entrance exam…

It’s only a test. It’s not like anyone’s going to die! Lu Yibei thought.

“One warning…” Qing Ji glanced at Hu Chuan behind him and said evenly, “That damned thing can’t control my mind, but I am constrained by another all the same. I may not be able to hold back once we begin, so you’d best be careful.”

He truly did intend to test Lu Yibei’s skill and help her correct the bad habits she had developed during her training.

However, the Calamitous Corruption’s power was no ordinary thing. It kept him from defying it completely.

At the very least, he could not disobey the command to stop Lu Yibei with all his might.

Whether he actually managed to stop her in the end was another question.

“If you don’t want to die… struggle with everything you’ve got!”

As the words fell, Qing Ji bent slightly and assumed a sprinter’s starting posture before Lu Yibei.

Seeing this, Huá Sāng drew a deep breath and charged forward with all her strength. A hum echoed behind her the next instant.

Don’t look back. Don’t even let the battle between Lu Yibei and Senior Qing Ji distract you…

Once I deal with Hu Chuan, everything will be over! Huá Sāng thought, quickening her steps further. In the blink of an eye, she arrived before the writhing mass of pale flesh.

The air hummed. Lu Yibei’s vision went dark, and the face marked by the passage of years appeared directly before her.

Qing Ji grinned. His eyes and brows held a springlike gentleness that put one at ease, yet the psychic energy fluctuations surging around him were cold as iron and made the soul tremble.

“…”

It didn’t look like he used any movement technique. It was just a simple dash, yet he was much faster than before…

Was this the legendary state of having mastered all principles, unhindered by form?

But how in the world did the old man do it?

Lu Yibei stared fixedly at Qing Ji, trying to memorize the path of his movements and uncover how he had reduced a complex movement technique to simplicity. Just then, countless premonitory thoughts flashed through her mind.

[He will slash open your throat.]

[He will stab out both your eyes.]

[He will shatter your ribs.]

…

The flood of premonitory thoughts packed her mind as densely as a screen full of “Thanks for the ride!” comments at the finale of a hit anime’s final season.

There was clearly only one man and one sword ahead, yet in that instant Lu Yibei felt as though she faced an army of thousands. In shock, she retreated on instinct.

When every lethal attack had been predicted but there was no time to respond to any of them, she would have been better off without the predictions.

Or the prediction could at least be straightforward and simply give her one word: [Death]! Lu Yibei thought.

At that moment, she suddenly realized that “tests” really could kill people.

People could even die playing cards. Why couldn’t they die taking a “test”?

Not far away, the Shuishu Shou had curled into a ball. Seeing Lu Yibei’s instinctive reaction, it shook its enormous head.

Wrong. Zero points. She’s done for!

Against that man, retreating would only give him the chance to keep piling on pressure until she suffocated beneath it.

At a time like this, attacking with everything she had would actually let her hold out a little longer.

Don’t ask how the Shuishu Shou knew. Once upon a time, it had reacted exactly as Lu Yibei had.

The result was that every last strand of its beautiful, silky golden mane had been plucked out and taken away by Qing Ji to delight some girl. It had needed more than ten years to grow the mane back.

As it recalled that experience, the Shuishu Shou silently raised a forehoof and covered its eyes.

It rather liked the girl Lu Yibei and could not bear to watch Qing Ji torment her.

Just as the Shuishu Shou predicted, Lu Yibei’s retreat was entirely the wrong choice.

She flew backward, but before she had opened even a meter of distance, Qing Ji caught up with sword raised.

Step. Leap. Strike…

No particularly powerful psychic energy fluctuations erupted, yet every movement was terrifyingly clean and precise, like the finest machine in the world, without the slightest deviation.

Lu Yibei had not yet steadied herself and had no time to dodge again. She could only raise her sword and meet him head-on.

A roar erupted.

Sword energy screamed past both sides of her body, plowing two trenches several meters deep into the asphalt.

Lu Yibei’s feet sank into the road and carved two fissures several meters long before she left the ground and continued flying backward like a kite with its string cut.

“…”

Was my younger self truly this inadequate?

How did he teach such a “pupil”?

Unsteady movement, sword strokes riddled with openings, strikes weak and powerless… She was far more hopeless than even that brat Zhang Huainan!

Qing Ji stared at the utterly outmatched Lu Yibei with a slight frown. He opened his mouth to offer a pointer, only to notice something unusual. The words on his lips became a soft exclamation instead.

“Hm? What is she…”

Lu Yibei was not flying backward in a straight line. Like a small boat tossed about by waves, her body traced a winding arc.

Qing Ji stared for two seconds, then detected the bubbles of psychic energy drifting through the air, almost imperceptible even to psychic sense. He broke into an amused smile.

“Heh. Using Body Beyond the Body to alter where you’ll land? I didn’t expect you to have learned even that. A mildly clever trick, but…”

She did not seem to have mastered it yet.

If it were me, I would adjust my posture and land there—or there… Qing Ji frowned, his gaze passing over two spots behind Lu Yibei that offered obvious cover.

But Lu Yibei’s flight path was wildly chaotic and followed no discernible pattern, making her purpose impossible to see.

Then, while Qing Ji was still puzzled, something happened that no one expected.

After tracing a stretch of disorderly movement through the air, Lu Yibei landed beside Zhang Shuo, who still lay on the ground.

Then—

The instant she steadied herself, she struck backhanded, slashing straight across his throat!

“Squelch—!”

Blood sprayed out with a muffled sound and became swarms of Pink Fluffy Bunnies that scattered in every direction.

Qing Ji and the Shuishu Shou: “…”

Feeling thick liquid churn and writhe in his throat before pouring out, Zhang Shuo grew steadily weaker. His eyes widened as a succession of question marks appeared in his mind.

“???”

He felt he deserved a reasonable explanation.

Even Huá Sāng, who was some distance away studying how to deal with Hu Chuan, sensed the strange dead silence behind her and glanced back, briefly distracted.

What in the world was she doing? Wasn’t she fighting Senior Qing Ji?

How had her sword ended up inside that man?

Zhang Shuo had considerable faith in Lu Yibei’s combat strength. Through Hu Chuan, he had seen a few scattered scenes of her holding her own with ease while surrounded by members of the Esoteric Society the previous night.

He had known nothing about Qing Ji’s strength before this. But as a former Class A+ psychic, he had picked up a few clues from Qing Ji’s every movement.

That girl was strong. That man was even more terrifying…

When the two began fighting, Zhang Shuo had quietly watched from the side, expecting a spectacular show. He had never imagined he would become “collateral damage.”

Yes, collateral damage. At least, that was what Lu Yibei claimed.

“Uh, sorry. Fists and feet show no mercy, and blades have no eyes. That old man is absurdly strong, and for a moment I couldn’t control myself, so… You understand, right?”

Zhang Shuo looked helplessly at Lu Yibei, waved a hand, then silently shifted his weakened body far away from her.

The explanation was reasonable enough. He could accept it.

When experts clashed, innocent bystanders were inevitably caught in the crossfire. Back when he fought his own enemies, many innocent people had likewise been affected and killed.

What a shame. I didn’t manage to kill him with one strike!

Should I say Ancestor put me under so much pressure that my strike went off course…?

Or should I say, as expected of a former Class A+ psychic?

As Lu Yibei thought this, a fierce wind suddenly struck her face. Qing Ji attacked again.

In the blink of an eye, a terrifying blast wave erupted and swept out in every direction. The highway shook with an earthquake-like rumble as bottomless fissures spread across it.

Lu Yibei shot out from the collapsing fog, altered her trajectory several times in bizarre fashion while airborne, and, as she descended, planted the Broken Sword squarely in Zhang Shuo’s chest.

Then—

She stumbled. Her body pulled her arm, her arm pulled the Pure Lotus Sword, and the blade churned several circles inside Zhang Shuo’s body.

“Pfft—cough, cough—!”

Zhang Shuo convulsed amid violent coughing and vomited a great mass of Pink Fluffy Bunnies.

He gave Lu Yibei an aggrieved look and squeezed two words through clenched teeth. “An accident?”

“Uh…” Lu Yibei started to speak, hesitated, then nodded and answered with certainty, “Yes. An accident.”

“…” Not far away, Qing Ji appeared on the verge of saying something, but the corners of his mouth twitched violently instead.

The first time Lu Yibei flew toward Zhang Shuo and swept her blade across his throat, even Qing Ji had thought it was merely an “accident.”

But the second time, he had carefully observed the entire process and caught every detail. He could say with absolute certainty that it had not been an accident at all. She had done it deliberately!

While he stood there in a daze, Lu Yibei raised the Pure Lotus Sword in both hands and took advantage of Zhang Shuo lowering his guard. Moving too quickly for the eye to follow, she stabbed him dozens of times in less than half a minute, until his entire torso became a mass of pulp crawling with Pink Fluffy Bunnies.

Then, beneath the gaze of Zhang Shuo’s gradually unfocusing eyes, she said without expression, “This time wasn’t an accident.”

After a pause, she added, “Really. I’m not lying to you. I promise!”

As she spoke, her eyes looked a hundred times more innocent than they had during the “accidents.”

“…”

You think that fucking needed saying?

Anyone whose eyes worked could tell that wasn’t an accident!

Lu Yibei’s words sent anger surging into Zhang Shuo’s heart. His already grievously wounded body could no longer endure. It immediately collapsed into three badly damaged objects that fell to the ground with a clatter.

Lu Yibei watched the three broken objects coldly for several seconds, kicked them aside, then looked at Qing Ji. She straightened her disheveled long hair and slowly exhaled a turbid breath.

“Phew! Ancestor, now I can show you everything I’ve learned lately.”

Qing Ji looked at the three objects she had kicked away, then at Lu Yibei, confusion on his face.

“You might not know this, but my father is dead, and that man was one of his murderers. He might not have shown any hostility just now, but I couldn’t feel safe with him here,” Lu Yibei explained.

Qing Ji paused. Then he nodded and said calmly, “Reasonable.”

“Shall we begin, then?” Lu Yibei tilted her head and asked tentatively.

“Mm,” Qing Ji answered.

The next instant, both figures shot toward each other, and their swords collided violently.