Darkness Arrives at the Imperial City

Ming Feizhen suddenly shivered an inexplicable reason. Meanwhile, Tiangou sat down in front of Ming Feizhen.

“Long-time no see. You kn-”

“Can’t we talk after you free me?”

“This is fine.” Tiangou flashed his fangs. “What’s the rush? How long has it been compared to how long you kept me unconscious at the underground palace?”

Well, it certainly wasn’t much considering being drugged daily and then force fed an unknown pill to recover his strength.

“You didn’t pose as an examinee to fulfil your former dream, did you? I have assistants working here, so if you need, I c-”

“No need. Your system sickens me. I wouldn’t return here if it wasn’t to approach you.”

“Approach me? Why?”

“Fiends’ Genesis needs your help.”

“…”

“The majority of our brothers at the new base survived thanks to you. In contrast, Jiang Chen tried to destroy them and spared no thoughts for our long-time brothers.”

“That’s not the reason you helped me.”

Putting aside revenge against Gongsun Chu being too weak of an impetus, it was poor timing if that was the goal considering the fact that there was no safe haven for Fiends’ Genesis in the capital at the moment. Additionally, not everyone in Fiends’ Genesis would support tackling Jiang Chen. He did raise Drought Demon and Nine-Lives Cat Fiend, after all. They wouldn’t fight back even if he went to behead them.

“I don’t plan to get revenge on Jiang Chen.”

“Can you get to the point? What do you want?”

“Nine Dragons Fire Jade.”

Despite it being an illogical answer, Ming Feizhen chose to continue listening. It couldn’t have been impertinent if Tiangou was willing to take such a big risk, after all.

“You know what I’ll ask, so why don’t you just give me the answer?” Tiangou cast his eyes downwards. “It’s said that Master fought two great warriors once and then vanished after being outclassed.”

“That certainly is the rumour. It’s said that Sword Deity and Brilliant Broadsworder marched in after Shang Bieshi offended their sects and defeated him.”

“That’s false. Master killed Jian Changzai when he came to our base twenty years ago, angering Swordless Sword Deity into coming out from seclusion. Despite how big of a name he was, he sent a letter beforehand. We thought Wordless Sword Deity was planning to challenge all of Fiends’ Genesis, yet Master and Jiang Chen casually told us to remove our traps and to welcome him as an esteemed guest. At the banquet Master prepared, they got along cordially, with neither of them mentioning Jian Changzai. A day later, though, they fought. At the time, we thought they fought because they couldn’t see eye to eye.”

“Yeah, that obviously wasn’t the case. It’s said that Wordless Sword Deity was a world-known, respected scholar before he became a revered swordsman. If Jiang Chen educated your master, they’d be about the same level. Factoring in their skillsets, it’s no surprise they felt as if they met a bosom buddy, so they discussed academics first. How could they not discuss martial arts after?”

“You make it sound like you were personally there. Master and he chatted over swordplay. They’d spar, then chat, spar and then chat. There was no definitive winner after several nights. I’ll never forget the intensity of the last match. I’ve yet to ever see such sophisticated displays of martial arts… They both exchanged a smile after the match. I heard Wordless Sword Deity made up his mind to retire to the mountains permanently afterwards.”

“He didn’t avenge his beloved disciple? Really?”

“Jian Changzai’s death was an accident. For whatever reason, he was extremely hostile to my master, trying to kill my master as soon as they met. Owing to Jian Changzai’s skill and the number of respectable allies he had, my master had to kill him, or he would’ve been the one who perished. Wordless Sword Deity was more interested in getting to the bottom of the matter rather than avenging his disciple.

“Jiang Chen said Wordless Sword Deity has an honourable and noble character. The misunderstanding was cleared after he met Master, and there was a clear opportunity to clear the air with Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary, as well. Jiang Chen was right. Wordless Sword Deity and Master are both heroes. Wordless Sword Deity understood there was more to it as soon as they met. Both of them respected each other as great men in a matter of days. Nobody ever thought…”

Tiangou’s voice got deeper and deeper, raspier and raspier, shakier and shakier.

“We had another visitor not long after Wordless Sword Deity’s departure, but he didn’t introduce himself. Instead, he went on a killing spree, cutting down every one in his path. We were in the midst of celebrating Master making a new friend. As a result, we were unprepared for an attack…”

“Elder Brilliant Broadsworder?”

Ming Feizhen had his brows glued together for he never recalled Brilliant Broadsworder being that sort of man. While the elder was a fiery man who could’ve gone trigger happy if he was furious, his third brother didn’t die at Fiends’ Genesis. Moreover, the person in question clearly timed his attack to take advantage of Shang Bieshi’s fatigue following his matches against Wordless Sword Deity. Such a scheming person was unlike the elder who wore his emotions on his sleeve.

“We thought it was him, and I believe Hai Yecha still believes that to be the case. It’s true that we hurt Bai Zhiqing. According to rumours, Elder Brilliant Broadsworder had also returned to the Central Plain by then. We couldn’t name anyone else who could’ve been as formidable as the killer, either. Master tried to stop him alone and told us to escape. Only Shitou… that stubborn guy stayed behind and ended up as a man in his thirties with the mental age of a kid.”

“What happened back then?”

“Defeat.” Tiangou scowled. “Master lost and was subject to some sort of seal that’s put him in a slumber tough to wake from. The attacker cast the seal on Shitou, too, although Shitou’s isn’t as bad, but it’s enough to show how damaging the seal is. According to Jiang Chen, Master has been moved to somewhere hard to find. Shitou needs to have his mind cleared in order to find him, which is why Confucianism’s Nine Dragons Fire Jade is necessary to break Shitou’s seal without damaging his mind.”

Tiangou took the risk of sneaking into the imperial city to meet Ming Feizhen because the latter was one of the people with the best chances of getting his hands on the Nine Dragons Fire Jade. Even if his friendship with Huang Yuzao was ignored, Tang Ye and Su Xiao would’ve shared it with him if they got their hands on it.

“I understand now, but what are you giving me in exchange?”

“Yu Sihe’s killer. Good enough?”

“What?!” Tiangou was one of the last people Ming Feizhen expected to hold the answer he sought.

“Huang Yuzao would be the most interested in the answer. Regrettably, considering his hatred for Fiends’ Genesis, he won’t do business with me. It’s better to deal with you.”

“Slow down! Slow down! You really know who killed Yu Sihe?”

“I take it you’ve agreed to the exchange?”

“Absolutely! Tell me!”

Tiangou nodded. “It’s not difficult to work it out. Yu Sihe had Nine Dragons Fire Jade, so his killer was after it.”

“Someone who wants Nine Dragons Fire Jade… That would be…”

“Two possibilities. The first is someone affiliated with Fiends’ Genesis who has the goal of waking our master. The second is the person who cast the seal on him and doesn’t want him to wake up.”

“What a vicious motherflipper! So, who is it, exactly?”

“Do you know… who tucked Fiends’ Genesis away twenty years ago?”

Ming Feizhen’s first thought was Gongsun Chu obviously hid them, but further thought made it clear that Gongsun Chu wouldn’t have done so notwithstanding his ability to have done so. Whoever did so needed to be able to hide them from both sides of the law, not to mention their former base was right in the heart of Jiangnan.

Jiangnan… Seven Champion White Princes…

“Which… of the White Princes was it?”𝒊𝒏𝙣𝙧𝙚𝙖𝒅.𝒄𝙤𝙢

Tiangou grinned. “Cold Mountain Temple.”

Ming Feizhen couldn’t believe his ears.

“Don’t be so shocked. Who do you think I believe killed Yu Sihe?”

Ming Feizhen flapped his eyes subconsciously whilst lowering his jaw. “What are you implying? It sounds to me like you’re saying…”

Tiangou bobbed his head.

Cold Mountain Temple… Cold Mountain Temple… Xun Feng… Xun Feng must be trying to steal the Nine Dragons Fire Jade to finish the unfinished job from then. Yu Sihe didn’t have the Nine Dragons Dragon Jade on him when he died. Uncle Huang kept its whereabouts a secret. Why try to steal it now? Wait… Is it because there soon won’t be a reason to fear the imperial court anymore?!

Ming Feizhen realised his folly – assuming Gongsun Chu was the ultimate mastermind. Gongsun Chu wanted to restore his dynasty. His goal was to destroy Li Clan and then the imperial court. On the other hand, the White Princes was only after His Majesty as he was the only monarch in history who wanted to and worked to strip them of power. Most importantly, Emperor Yuansheng had a lot of firepower. Besides the three offices overseeing the martial world, he had even more allies out there. The current generation of The Ultimate Three were arguably the strongest trio in history. The fact that Luo Sword Manor took the initiative to step down was a testament to Emperor Yuansheng’s power. He was determined, had the ability, and had momentum on his side.

The White Princes wouldn’t want to support another dynasty as their special privileges came from Li Dynasty. In other words, they wanted to maintain the status quo. They needed Fiends’ Genesis so that someone could bear the sin for them and so that the next Emperor would continue counting on them. More specifically, Gongsun Chu would bear the burden of the crime. Besides it being a specialty of his, perhaps he felt that Emperor Yuansheng’s death would bring about real chaos. There was no doubt they had made a pact based on their conditions.

The White Princes mobilised their forces to serve as a distraction. Once all attention was focused on the outside of the walls, someone would sneak in to assassinate Emperor Yuansheng. That person would be none other than the same person who killed Yu Sihe.

Confirming his theory, Ming Feizhen heard someone emerge from Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor’s secret passage. Based on the immense strength and discipline he sensed, he identified them and their aim. His inexplicable shiver came from the evil that had entered the imperial court.

“Amitabha.”

Everyone in Taishu Hall, including Tiangou, passed out. Ming Feizhen remained conscious, but he was unable to move. Even though the puzzle had been completed in his mind, he was unable to undo it.

Cold Mountain Temple’s Venerable Monk had arrived to assassinate His Majesty!

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