Nightfall

Hengmu Liren lowered his head and the flowers in his hand vanished. He stood in the darkness like an upset kid and spoke with stubbornness and reluctancy. “You knew you cannot hurt me with either your first or last strike! You are no match for me! That was why you did not dare to attack me! You could never disturb my Taoist Heart with such words!”

Liu Yiqing continued coughing blood and he looked cold. However, he still sounded as if he was pitying him, “I’m dying. I did not attack you previously and would never do it in the future. No one would know the answer. You would never know if you could beat me. You might be able to defeat the whole world throughout your journey in the cultivation world. But the regret tonight will always be haunting you.”

The wall of the imperial city collapsed and bricks and relics scattered around. The water in the moat smoothed and the broken willows sunk to the bottom. It was deadly quiet while a flower bloomed. The flower merged into the darkness. It did not have a pinkish colour or a golden lining. It was completely black. It had countless petals and appeared to be a peach blossom.

A black peach blossom appeared from the darkness, and so did a man. He wore a silver mask which had lost its glitters throughout years and became frosting.

Like the black peach blossom, he used to be a glorious young man. But now he had already passed the glory to others and kept only the darkness to himself. His clothes, his eyes, and his energy all seemed cold and heavy as if they were ink drying on an inkstone.

Liu Yiqing stared at the man coming out of the darkness while his expression became complicated and solemn. It was different from when he was facing Hengmu Liren. It was because he sensed that this person was much purer and stronger than he used to be, which made him worry for the Tang people.

…

…

Long Qing came out of the darkness and walked to the imperial city.

Hengmu Liren did not pay any attention but still gazed at Liu Yiqing in the sedan.

Long Qing saw his desolate figure and his blood-stained indigo gown. He paused for a while and looked above at the moon, feeling disappointed.

Tonight, the West-Hill had sent important figures to Linkang such as Hengmu Liren, Zhao Sishou, and other four Knowing Destiny cultivators. They had set up powerful arrays around the imperial city, two thousand cavalrymen had occupied the city, and him, who had been staying in the darkness.

They disposed such a strong force not to simply take back South Jin and kill the betrayer Liu Yiqing. They had something more important to do, such as to kill the powerful cultivators who would have come to rescue the Sword Garret.

Very few people would dare to come for the Sword Garret and stand against the Divine Halls. More precisely, it could only be someone from the Academy. According to Long Qing, it would probably be Ning Que.

The Academy always played by rules and reasons. The Divine Halls had set up so many rules that they could not break through. So they could only stay aside while the Divine Halls exterminated the New Stream and invaded the South Jin.

Ning Que was the only one who never played by the rules and reasons. Therefore Long Qing thought he would probably come to Linkang. In that case, he would be very pleased. He was longing for it as Hengmu Liren was longing for an attack from Liu Yiqing. Therefore he felt disappointed now because Ning Que did not show up.

“No one from the Academy is coming. It’s such a pity that the Divine Halls had sent all of you here.” Blood was gushing out of his mouth but Liu Yiqing still sounded calm and firm.

Long Qing looked back calmly and said, “I don’t think it’s a waste because I never underestimate my enemy, especially someone like you … who has always been underestimated.”

Liu Yiqing was Liu Bai’s younger brother. He was a nobody when he was young and got blinded during his first fight with Ning Que in the Academy. As Long Qing mentioned previously, he had killed the previous emperor of South Jin by himself and lifted the curtain for a big era. But he still had barely any fame. To many cultivators, he was much inferior to Ning Que and Long Qing, therefore not qualified for making any name in the history after Liu Bai.

However, Long Qing disagreed because he had a similar experience with Liu Yiqing. He was defeated by Ning Que and paid a heavy price to regain his fame. Liu Yiqing was blinded but was still able to cultivate with his sword and reached the State of Knowing Destiny and a high level of swordsmanship. He knew how hard he had worked for it and how strong his willpower must be.

“You are the leader of the Sword Garret. Your sword is your willpower. It was obviously not an impulsive decision that you did not attack Hengmu. You did so because your target was the emperor and the imperial family.” Long Qing stared at Liu Yiqing and continued, “Because when the people standing on top of the city wall are dead, the South Jin will definitely go into an internal strife and won’t be able to recover in the near future. The Divine Halls would no longer make use of its military and national power. That was your purpose — to destroy yourself so that you destroy your enemy’s plan.”

The white cloth on Liu Yiqing’s eyes was chopped and dripping blood. He said, “You are incisive. But what I told Hengmu is also true. Many years ago, the Divine Halls promoted you as the son of Heaven and many strong cultivators were killed by you. Now the Divine Halls wants to position him as the new power. Why should I help you?”

Long Qing wondered, “That was exactly what I don’t understand. The South Jin already opened its gate. Nothing could have changed it. Why didn’t you leave? Why did you stay to sacrifice yourself for the Tang people?”

“Many years ago, my brother sent me to the Academy to try my sword, and I was blinded by Ning Que. Although I kept a well-illuminated mind for swordsmanship, I could still not figure out why.”

“But you still choose to stay on the side of the Academy.”

“That was not my choice, but my brother’s.” Liu Yiqing shook his head with difficulty and said, “I don’t understand why my brother wanted to help the Academy. But since you are doing so, here I am.”

Long Qing asked, “The Tang people were faithless. What’s the point of your sacrifice?”

“It meant a lot for myself.”

Liu Yiqing seemed exhausted and said indifferently, “I don’t like the Tang people or the Academy. But I’m not a fan of the Divine Halls or frauds like you either. I don’t know why my brother wanted to help the Academy or why everyone in the South Jin wanted to help the Divine Halls. When my brother died, the people in South Jin treated the Sword Garret like a haunted place. There was no one around us. We had no companions. I became a wandering ghost.”

He continued, “But even a wandering ghost could do something. If the Tang army were to invade, then the Sword Garret will stand against them. If the West-Hill were to come, then we fight against you too. Even if we could never win, we have to fight for it.”

“I cannot agree with your foolish reasoning for self-destruction.”

“I heard that when the Abbey Dean went to Chang’an years ago, thousands of Tang people died fighting against him. Now the Divine Halls has invaded Linkang, but no one from the tens of thousands people in South Jin stood up. I think there should at least be someone to declare our stand.”

“It is indeed better to see someone die for the kingdom.”

Liu Yiqing felt that his lungs were burning and his heart broke like a collapsing dam. He paused in pain and continued with a bitter smile, “Since I have to die, I have to displease you.”

…