Flowers Bloom Under the Moon

Chapter 6: Flowers Bloom Under the Moon

Young Master Silver Flower had met many dashing and elegant individuals, and he considered himself a handsome gentleman, yet he had never encountered anyone like this.

He gave the impression of how an immortal, detached from the world, should look.

He simply stood there, looking at Young Master Silver Flower as if he were a towering mountain, an endless wall, leaving no room for escape for his peerless movement technique.

He could only stop.

And the Four Ghosts of Silver Flower Palace, who had been running at the forefront carrying the sedan chair, had now completely become dead ghosts.

Even Young Master Silver Flower, who had followed closely, didn't realize how the four had died.

They died silently, still maintaining the posture of carrying the sedan chair, and knelt on West Gate Street just like that.

Facing the city gate, as if paying homage to gods and Buddhas.

"How is this possible?"

Young Master Silver Flower knew how formidable his four servants were. They were masters passed down through generations of the Silver Flower Palace, and also the personal guards of the Palace Master. Let alone in Northern Wei, even among all nations, their martial prowess surpassed that of first-rate martial artists.

And they died without him even noticing?

For some reason, Young Master Silver Flower felt dazed, as if sensing something from the depths of fate.

Today might be his own death day.

Young Master Silver Flower's expression turned grim. He stared intently at the unmoving figure whose aura pressed down like Mount Tai. "Who are you, and what enmity do you have with this Palace Master?"

"Or perhaps? You've also come for this beauty?"

His gaze fell upon the person in the sedan chair. Based on his experience with beauties from all over the world, she ranked among the top.

Such a rare gem could indeed attract a master like this.

Standing on the street outside the city gate, Young Master Silver Flower spoke while secretly preparing himself. He moved his treasured fan from his back and now gripped the Silver Flower Palace's unique hidden weapon, the Silver Flower Flying Needles.

Killing intent was concealed.

However, Young Master Silver Flower hadn't expected that the Daoist would not focus his attention on the beauty at all. Instead, he glanced at the folding fan in Young Master Silver Flower's hand, the jade pendant at his waist, the silver hairpin on his head, and the glittering thousand taels of silver.

Righteousness instantly appeared on his face.

"This humble Daoist is Kongchenzi. I am passing by and need to borrow your head."

Young Master Silver Flower was stunned at first, as if he couldn't believe these words were directed at him. The Silver Flower Palace had stood in Northern Wei for a hundred years, and he himself had roamed the world. The number of people who had died by his hand was enough to form a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Never had anyone dared to look down on him like this.

These words made it sound as if killing him was as simple as casually kicking a stray dog to death while passing by on the street.

Immediately after, a cold expression surged onto his face, his complexion flushing to the extreme.

"Utterly arrogant! No one in the martial world has ever dared to speak to my Silver Flower Palace like this."

"My life is right here. Let's see if you have the skill!"

As Young Master Silver Flower spoke, his voice already carried a hint of gritted teeth. He attacked with the force of thunder and lightning.

This was a weapon activated by a special technique. The hidden weapons flew towards Gao Xian like a scattering of celestial maidens' flowers, bombarding the city wall.

There was nowhere to dodge, nowhere to evade.

The Silver Flower Palace's hidden weapons were reputed to be the best in the world. They were not used unless necessary, and when they were, death was certain. To this day, no one had been able to block them.

"Be careful, those are the Silver Flower Flying Needles!" Sword Saint Xu Bayuan had also arrived at West Gate Street and happened to see the Silver Flower Palace's peerless hidden weapon that Young Master Silver Flower had concealed. He shouted a warning to the Daoist blocking Young Master Silver Flower on the city wall.

The figure on the city wall also moved. Green Light Sword Shadows streaked through the air, leaving trails of sword light.

Then, the heavens and earth changed color.

An immortal under the moon leaped down, sword shadows carrying the vast moonlight, charging forward mightily.

"Flying Immortal Beyond the Heavens!"

A clear voice echoed in all directions.

Regardless of the thousands of silver flowers enveloping him from all sides, the sword moved towards a single point, possessing the momentum of breaking through all techniques with one sword.

Zhongxing Du of the Great Zhou Martial Rites Division and Lu Canghai, the Heart Sword, who were following closely from a distance, also arrived.

That sword pierced through the myriad silver flowers, transforming into the brilliance of the moon that swept across all directions.

With one sword strike, victory and defeat were decided.

Young Master Silver Flower's head flew from his neck, his blood splashing out like a large flower onto the long street, and he fell directly to the ground.

His head still held the confusion of his final moments, unsure if it was disbelief that such a sword technique existed in the world, or shock that someone could actually counter the Silver Flower Palace's peerless hidden weapon.

Meanwhile, the Sword Immortal on the city wall seemed not to have moved at all, still maintaining the posture of not having drawn his sword, as if the earth-shattering sword strike had just been a dream.

The Sword Immortal sheathed his sword.

"Da!"

"Creak!"

Faint sounds came from the long street.

Sword Saint Xu Bayuan looked towards the source of the sound and immediately saw that on the west street leading to the city gate, winter had given way to spring, and the trees were in full bloom, as if the season had changed overnight.

The streets were lined with blooming osmanthus trees, their fragrance drifting for miles, a scent that filled the air.

The Sword Saint, Xu Bayuan, watched from afar, utterly stunned. "This... this..."

He could only utter one final sentence: "There is such a sword technique in this world."

Zhongxing Du blew his copper whistle, summoning all the nearby Martial Rites Division personnel to gather. They were extremely wary of the person who had killed Young Master Silver Flower with a single strike.

Only Lu Canghai, the Heart Sword, though blind, recognized the attacker by his Sword Intent alone. "So, it was him."

He recalled a strike from a certain night, but today's swordplay far surpassed anything from before. It could truly be called the sword of an immortal.

"A sword from the west, a Flying Immortal Beyond the Heavens; Young Master Silver Flower died without injustice."

The Sword Saint, Xu Bayuan, was still savoring the lingering feeling of that sword strike. After hearing Lu Canghai's words, he sighed, "So this move is called Flying Immortal Beyond the Heavens."

Zhongxing Du immediately looked at Lu Canghai, surprised. "Brother Lu actually knows this expert."

Lu Canghai stroked his beard and shook his head. "It cannot be spoken of, it cannot be spoken of."

In truth, he didn't know much about Gao Xian either, other than his name. If he said more, he'd be exposed, so he could only use it to bluff a bit.

Li Rong'er, sitting motionless in her palanquin, was the one who saw the entire scene most clearly. The figure standing on the city wall, wielding his sword across heaven and earth, completely shattered her perception of the world.

"So, there really are Immortals in this world..."

The Immortal flashed from the city wall to the main street of the West Gate, and then in another flash, he stood before the palanquin.

The palanquin curtain was open, and Li Rong'er, adorned in fine robes, stared blankly at Gao Xian. He was a young Daoist with a Dao mark between his brows, seemingly born extraordinary, like an immortal child descending from the celestial palace, his ethereal aura akin to the bright moon of the ninth heaven.

Gao Xian looked down at Li Rong'er, a flicker of admiration in his eyes, and raised an eyebrow.

He turned, waved his hand, and collected the treasure fan from Young Master Silver Flower and several other treasures on his person. Then, with a few swift movements, he vanished into the distance down the street.

The person was gone. Xu Bayuan and Zhongxing Du, who had been watching the situation, breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, from further away, a commotion arose. A large contingent of constables arrived on the street behind them, just in time to collect the bodies.