Chapter 49

Chapter 49

An eminent family had been wiped out overnight by one of their own. The incident became the hottest topic on everyone’s lips. No matter where one went, someone was bound to mention it in passing.

“They say that forty years ago, two young geniuses emerged from Phoenix Town. With Qingshuang and Bai Xue in hand, they struck terror into the hearts of demons and monsters alike. Alas, fate is a cruel thing. For reasons unknown, the Qingshuang Sword Master lost his way, while the Bai Xue Sword Master was bound in the frigid abyss beneath the earth, her immortal bones worn down to a withered husk.”

In the teahouse, the storyteller slapped his clapper block on the table, spittle flying as he spoke.

The tea guests around him were listening in rapt attention. Someone could not help but cut in, “What happened to the Bai Xue Sword Master afterward? I heard that even though she was imprisoned back then, she still protected everyone?”

The storyteller said, “Now that is a long tale. No need to rush, honored guest. Let this old man tell it slowly. Forty years ago, Zhao Fanhua wielded the Qingshuang Sword, while Mu Yunshu wielded the Bai Xue Sword. The two were originally a pair…”

Qiao Ying sat in the teahouse and poured Shen Qingyu a cup of warm tea, placing it in his hand.

Shen Qingyu took a small sip, then smiled. “This is excellent tea. What made you willing to spend money on such good tea for me today?”

“You bleed every few days. You need something good to nourish yourself.” That was what Qiao Ying said, but in the end, she still felt the sting of the silver spent. She took several gulps of tea herself, thinking that the money absolutely could not go to waste.

Someone hurried over to greet them. “Qiao Ying, Shen Qingyu.”

Qiao Ying looked up. “Young Master Ming.”

Ming Caihua had always been the sort to treat everyone like an old friend, and besides, he had gone through danger with Qiao Ying and Shen Qingyu several times. No matter how one put it, they could be considered friends by now. So he sat down openly and without ceremony.

Wherever Ming Caihua was, Xue Heting was naturally there as well.

Xue Heting had been badly injured. Though it had not been fatal, he had still needed quite some time to recover even this much. His face was still somewhat pale. He was far more proper than Ming Caihua. First, he cupped his fists in salute to Shen Qingyu and Qiao Ying, and only after Qiao Ying invited him did he take a seat.

Qiao Ying did not beat around the bush. She said directly, “The story of Qingshuang and Bai Xue-you were the one who spread it.”

Xue Heting nodded. “Yes.”

Ming Caihua jumped in before he could continue. “You have no idea how much pressure he was under to make the truth from back then public. Even now, there are people talking behind his back, saying he disrespected his elders by exposing the disgraceful past of his master and Master’s Wife.”

Xue Heting said, “If Master were still himself, he would have done the same as me and made the truth known to all. Just as Miss Qiao said, Miss Mu was a bright pearl. She should never have been covered in dust.”

“That Zhao Fanhua really was hateful. To think he would betray faith and righteousness, when the world still admired him so much!”

“And that Song Zhenzhu was truly vicious too!”

“What a pity about Mu Yunshu. Not even her bones remain.”

The listeners were filled with righteous indignation, as though they were speaking up for the pitiful Mu Yunshu. In their mouths, Zhao Fanhua and Song Zhenzhu, the pair they had once praised to the skies, the immortal couple they had envied-had now become a pair of despicable, shameless villains.

And so, the great deeds Zhao Fanhua had truly accomplished over all these years with the Qingshuang Sword, the countless common people he had genuinely protected, were completely forgotten in that moment.

Shen Qingyu smiled. “Human emotions really are interesting.”

Qiao Ying quickly poured Shen Qingyu another cup of tea to stop his mouth. To be honest, she felt a little guilty. After all, Shen Qingyu had helped push Zhao Fanhua over the edge.

Qiao Ying asked, “What are your plans from here, Young Master Xue?”

Xue Heting said, “I am going to search for my master’s whereabouts.”
On the day of the Zhao Family Massacre, Ming Caihua had taken Xue Heting to a clinic for treatment. But when Xue Heting sensed the bloody aura surging into the sky from the Zhao family, not even Ming Caihua could stop him. Ignoring his own badly wounded body, he insisted on rushing over to see what had happened.

Ming Caihua did want to knock him out, but Xue Heting had already grown wary. Knocking him out a second time was not going to be so easy.

When Xue Heting arrived at Zhao Manor, a scene of bloodshed lay before him.

The former Song family members, now the Zhao family members, were all dead.

He saw Zhao Zhiyi lying in a pool of blood. He also saw his master, eyes red with slaughter.

Xue Heting was injured and no match for Zhao Fanhua, but he still rushed over and stood in front of Zhao Zhiyi, raising the Qingshuang Sword to block Zhao Fanhua’s strike.

The ringing cry of the Qingshuang Sword briefly brought Zhao Fanhua back to his senses.

“What am I doing… Yunshu… Yunshu!” Zhao Fanhua’s figure sagged in despair. He staggered back again and again, then lifted Song Zhenzhu’s corpse into his arms. “Yunshu, I won’t let you die. I will bring you back to life!”

And just like that, with one person’s name on his lips while he carried another person’s corpse, he vanished into the night.

Xue Heting’s voice was heavy. “Master was in a deranged state. I don’t know whether he will do anything else to hurt others or himself. I must find him, to stop him from making one mistake after another.”

He tightened his grip on the Qingshuang Sword.

When his master had passed this sword on to him, he had once said, “Heting, from now on, take this sword and cut down every injustice beneath the heavens. Slay evil, uphold the righteous path, and protect the common people.”

Now, Xue Heting was following his master’s teachings, striving to become the person his master had wanted him to be.

So when the day came that he truly met his master again, he could no longer show mercy.

Qiao Ying considered for a moment, then said, “I heard Young Master Zhao injured both legs and can no longer walk.”

“Now that is the strange part!” Ming Caihua clicked his tongue twice, his voice brimming with feeling. “Old Master Zhao went completely mad. He wanted to kill everyone connected to the Song family, and he didn’t even spare his own son, so of course he wouldn’t have spared Zhao Zhiyi either. But when he tried to kill Zhao Zhiyi, a strand of sword qi inside Zhao Zhiyi’s body protected him and preserved his meridians. So although he was injured, the doctor said that after two or three years of recovery, there shouldn’t be any other problems.”

Ming Caihua glanced at Xue Heting. “It was also because that sword qi resonated with the Qingshuang Sword that we managed to find Zhao Zhiyi in time at the very end and stop Zhao Fanhua from delivering the killing blow.”

Xue Heting said, “It was the Bai Xue Sword that protected Zhiyi.”

Ming Caihua sighed. “Fate really does toy with people. The Bai Xue Sword Spirit came for revenge. Back then, she hated them so much she wanted to kill everyone. But in the end, the one who protected the last trace of the Zhao family’s bloodline was actually her. If only Zhao Zhiyi weren’t of Zhao family blood. I feel like the Bai Xue Sword Spirit didn’t have absolutely no feelings for him.”

But just as he had said, fate toyed with people. Zhao Zhiyi, as it happened, was surnamed Zhao.

Xue Heting did not linger long in the teahouse. After arranging the aftermath at Zhao Manor, he still had to search for Zhao Fanhua’s whereabouts. Someone said they had seen Zhao Fanhua leave Fangcun City, so he had to catch up as soon as possible.

Ming Caihua muttered, “It’s bad enough that he’s a workhorse born to toil, but he has to drag me along and turn me into one too.”

Before leaving, Ming Caihua waved at Qiao Ying. “Qiao Ying, see you again if fate allows. Oh, right, maybe you should think again about whether you really want to hang yourself from one crooked tree!”

Afraid someone would settle the score with him, Ming Caihua tossed out those words and hurriedly slipped away after Xue Heting.