Bright Blossoms

He vaulted over the wall into the courtyard.

Evading the patrolling guards.

He made his way to the outskirts of the rear courtyard of the Marquis of Jing'an's residence.

Just as Old Xiang was about to enter, the Soul Banner in his robes trembled faintly.

"You've come again."

From the shadows, a burly man carrying a long saber stepped out and blocked Old Xiang's path.

"You actually broke through from the Bone Forging realm into Viscera Refinement." The burly man's voice carried both surprise and admiration.

The burly man looked at the Black-Cloaked Man.

From his build and eyes, one could tell that this man was no longer young.

Deep wrinkles lined the corners of his eyes.

Before, those eyes had seemed clouded, but now they blazed like raging flames.

To break into Viscera Refinement with an aged body and declining blood and qi was a miracle to any martial artist.

Worthy of respect.

But if this man intended to enter the marquis's residence and wreak havoc, Xue Yi would never permit it.

Old Xiang pressed a hand over the saber at his waist and faced the burly man head-on.

He recognized this man: Xue Yi, captain of the guards of the Wen family, Marquis of Jing'an.

Even the heir treated him with great respect.

For some unknown reason, he had joined the marquis's residence and become one of its guards.

Old Xiang had never thought much of him in the past, but now that he had broken through to Viscera Refinement, he realized just how remarkably steady this man's aura was.

Old Xiang said nothing.

He had spoken with Xue Yi before. If he spoke again, the other man might recognize his true identity from his voice.

"Leave at once, and I can pretend nothing happened. But if you insist on barging in—"

"Then leave your life here today."

Xue Yi held his long saber and stared directly at Old Xiang.

Old Xiang's face beneath the black mask twisted with savagery.

Leave?

He had come prepared to die. How could he retreat?

The bluestone beneath his feet cracked.

Old Xiang drew his waist saber and charged straight at Xue Yi.

Xue Yi frowned, gripped his long saber tightly, and met him head-on.

Bang.

Light flashed as the blades collided.

Old Xiang's waist saber and the long saber struck up a shower of sparks.

As their inner qi surged.

With a sharp shing, the two blades swept past each other.

Old Xiang's waist saber targeted vital points with every stroke.

His Hundred Battles Saber Art was flawless.

Yet he wielded the blade with his left arm. His strength fell short, and he was ultimately forced into an inferior position.

At first, he could still contend with Xue Yi, but as time passed, he would inevitably fall into a disadvantage.

With his blood and qi already declining, he gradually could no longer withstand the contest of strength.

Old Xiang's saber art emphasized speed, precision, and ruthlessness. Xue Yi's, however, was powerful and heavy, as though it could split mountains and shatter earth.

The blade was three fingers wide and nearly six feet long, opening and closing in grand sweeping arcs.

Like a fierce general on the battlefield.

Inside the banner, Tu Shan Jun shook his head faintly. Old Xiang's defeat was certain.

Xue Yi's saber art was direct and straightforward, battlefield saber work.

But the man was younger and had entered Viscera Refinement earlier.

At thirty or forty, his blood and qi were at their peak, unlike Old Xiang, who was already in his fifties and whose blood and qi had begun to decline.

Old Xiang, wielding a saber left-handed, would not last long before losing.

"Embroidered Uniform Hundred Battles Saber."

"You're one of the Embroidered Uniform Guards, aren't you?"

"Have they finally grown restless and decided to harm the heir?" Xue Yi rolled his neck. The warm-up had been decent; it was about time to end this.

Old Xiang's wrist trembled slightly, and he suddenly broke into a miserable laugh.

Too powerless.

Too weak!

Even after entering Viscera Refinement, he still seemed unable to take revenge.

Tu Shan Jun felt that Old Xiang was far too hasty.

If he could cultivate the Nether Spirit Art and become a Qi Refiner, then use spiritual power to summon him, no one here would be able to withstand even a single exchange against him.

Even the so-called immortal masters in the Attendant Tower were nothing more than clay chickens and porcelain dogs.

But Tu Shan Jun knew he could not persuade him.

Just as he had once been utterly unable to persuade Li Qingfeng, he likewise could not persuade Old Xiang now.

Bang.

The flat of the blade slammed heavily into Old Xiang's body.

He flew backward and crashed to the ground, vomiting blood. His face instantly turned pale.

The black mask on his face was knocked away by the spray of blood, revealing his true features.

Though the moonlight was faint, Xue Yi still saw Old Xiang's face.

"Captain Xiang?"

Xue Yi's voice held surprise, along with delight.

"It's you!"

Old Xiang braced himself to rise and tightened his grip around the waist saber in his hand.

"You came to see the heir, didn't you? I heard you had come before."

"I never expected you to break through to Viscera Refinement." The taut hostility from moments ago vanished in an instant. Xue Yi appeared genuinely delighted by Old Xiang's arrival.

Old Xiang was somewhat stunned as well.

He had not come to see the heir. He had come to take revenge and kill.

But since things had already been said this far, he could only brace himself and follow the slope downhill.

He had originally thought Xue Yi and the heir were merely acquaintances who nodded to each other in passing.

Now, though, it seemed the situation was different. Xue Yi appeared deeply concerned for the heir's safety.

"That's right. The marquis's residence has been sealed off, so I had no choice but to resort to this." Old Xiang answered.

"I thought Commander Xue..." Old Xiang did not continue, but the expression on his face made it abundantly clear that he had worried Xue Yi was merely a guard, neutral in these affairs, and might stop him from entering the marquis's residence.

Xue Yi laughed loudly. "I am the heir's saber instructor."

A master-disciple relationship was indeed far from ordinary. Though an instructor in a wealthy household held less status than a true master.

Xue Yi was different. He was a first-class Viscera Refinement expert.

"Come. I'll take you to see the heir."

Xue Yi simply sheathed his saber openly, turned around, and led the way for Old Xiang.

His entire back was exposed to Old Xiang's sight.

If Old Xiang launched a sneak attack, Xue Yi would certainly be either dead or wounded—and badly wounded at that.

So long as Xue Yi died, no one in the entire marquis's residence could stop a first-class Viscera Refinement expert like him.

Old Xiang gripped his waist saber tightly, but in the end, he did not strike.

The heir had once saved his life. If he killed Xue Yi, the heir would truly have no one to rely on afterward.

With a broken leg and no one to depend on, he would die.

In truth, once that man's leg was broken beyond any hope of treatment, he had already ceased to be the heir.

With able-bodied brothers, the old marquis would certainly consider them instead.

That was also why the second branch had suddenly begun acting so boldly.

Xue Yi watched Old Xiang the entire time.

Turning his back on him was, in itself, a test.

If Old Xiang made a move, he certainly could not take him to see the heir. Instead, he would kill him.

Fortunately, Old Xiang did not act.

"Just when the mountains piled high and rivers twisted, leaving one doubtful of any road ahead, the willows darkened and the blossoms shone bright, revealing another village." Tu Shan Jun laughed soundlessly.

He had not expected that, in such a disadvantageous situation, a path to survival would still emerge.

The two of them wound through twisting paths until they reached a small house.

No one guarded this place. The courtyard was dilapidated and secluded.

Pushing open the door, Old Xiang smelled a thick medicinal odor. Only the heir's personal attendant was busy inside.

"Has the heir rested?"

"Not yet."

The attendant hurriedly shut the courtyard gate and invited the two inside.

"Heir, look who I brought." Xue Yi lowered his voice.

"Master Xue."

The young man lying in bed struggled to sit up.

As the two approached the bed, the young man also saw Old Xiang beside Xue Yi.

"Captain Xiang?"

"This subordinate, Xiang Hu, greets the heir." Old Xiang saluted.

His eyes were filled with disbelief.

He had expected the injury to be severe, but he had never imagined it would be this severe.

The entire leg was nearly unable to move.

"I am no longer the heir." Wen Yue's expression was downcast.

When he learned that his entire leg was ruined, he had nearly gone mad.

Not only had his hereditary title been stripped away, his position as deputy commander of the Military and Horse Department had also been taken. Everything around him seemed to have drifted far away.

Only his saber instructor remained by his side.

For that very reason, the others in his household had not yet made a move against him.

But there was no guarantee that those he had offended in the past would not kick him when he was down.

The people in the palace no longer associated with him, and everything under his control had been transferred away. There was still the risk that someone might use those matters against him.

He was crippled, but not dead.

Their failure to act now was merely because they were watching and waiting.

Wen Yue asked, "How are all of you?"

Concern filled his voice.

He had fallen, and many others would fall with him—some might even lose their heads.

Old Xiang opened his mouth.

Not only him, but none of those in Wen Yue's faction had come to a good end.

The stubborn ones were executed on one pretext or another. The more moderate ones chose self-preservation, stepping down to make way for others.

Others had thrown their lot in with the newly appointed deputy commander.

The glory of old had already become yesterday's flowers.

Though Old Xiang said nothing, Wen Yue understood. Without his support, everyone in his faction would be purged.

What official did not form factions?

Even the emperor had royalist factions.

In the end came the blade of reckoning.

Once one became an official, one had to consider not only oneself, but also one's followers.

Tu Shan Jun felt deeply moved. Back when he watched television dramas.

Those men surrounded by followers would straightforwardly declare that they would not become emperor and would not fight for the realm.

It made Tu Shan Jun stamp his feet in fury.

They could wash their hands of it and leave, either retreating into seclusion or living in fine clothes and galloping horses.

But those followers did not possess such great abilities. All that awaited them was the path of being purged.

It was simply irresponsibility toward human lives.

The bloody reality told him that if one did not fight to the very end, only a road to death remained.

Just like now.