Half-Step Heavenly Mechanism, Please Enter The Jar

The doors of the Tianlu Pavilion opened.

Ji Ye walked out.

His steps were slow, each one landing as if on cotton, silent and traceless. His complexion was even paler than when he entered, the strands of hair at his temples soaked with cold sweat and clinging to his skin. The entire person exuded a weakness like that of someone recovering from a serious illness.

But his eyes were bright.

So bright they resembled two wisps of ghost fire burning in the abyss.

Eunuch Zhao, who had been guarding the entrance, his cloudy old eyes always half-open and half-closed, suddenly snapped them open.

The broom in his arms moved of its own accord, the bamboo twigs emitting a fine, trembling hum.

"Young man."

Eunuch Zhao's voice was still hoarse, but it held less of its previous weariness and more solemnity.

"What did you see?"

Ji Ye stopped and turned to look at the old man who had guarded the pavilion for sixty years.

Under the lingering aftereffects of the Martial Dao Heavenly Eye, he no longer saw a withered old eunuch, but a pile of ashes about to be extinguished, yet still terrifying. Beneath those ashes lay a residual heat capable of burning down a city.

"I saw eight characters."

Ji Ye did not hide anything, his voice somewhat ethereal.

"Which eight characters?"

"Misfortune and fortune have no fixed abode; they are only brought upon oneself."

Eunuch Zhao was stunned.

On his old face, like dried orange peel, every wrinkle seemed to tremble at that moment.

After a long while, he let out a sigh. The sigh was very light, yet it sounded like wind whistling through dry bones, carrying a chilling dread.

"Sixty years..."

Eunuch Zhao slowly lowered his head and hugged the broom tighter.

"In these sixty years, countless geniuses have entered this pavilion. Some saw 'Dragon and Tiger Converge,' some saw 'Yin and Yang Generate Each Other,' and others saw 'Ascension in Broad Daylight.'"

"But only you saw these most uninteresting, and most deadly, eight characters."

He raised his eyelids and looked deeply at Ji Ye.

"These eight characters are not martial arts; they are fate."

"To understand them is good fortune; to fail to understand them is calamity."

"Since you have seen them, you must take care of yourself."

With that, the old eunuch closed his eyes, as if falling back into slumber, becoming once again the lifeless statue.

Ji Ye bowed deeply to the old man.

"Thank you for your guidance, Eunuch."

He understood the old man's meaning. These eight characters spoke not only of cause and effect but also of the situation in Da Liang.

Since his sword had been drawn, he had invited fortune and disaster upon himself.

The carriage drove back into the night, crushing the moonlight on the ground.

Inside the carriage, Xiao Hongxiu had been observing Ji Ye.

She noticed that the young man had changed. If the previous Ji Ye was a sharp iron sword, then the current him was like a sword sheathed in "steadiness."

That heart-stopping killing intent had disappeared, replaced by a profound calm.

"It seems you've gained quite a lot," Xiao Hongxiu broke the silence.

"I've gained a little."

Ji Ye leaned against the carriage wall, his eyes closed, resting. He was seizing every moment, using the subtle perception of Martial Arts Through Divinity to repair the minute scars in his sea of consciousness that had been torn by the Heavenly Dao's energy.

"You only looked at that scroll for an hour," Xiao Hongxiu said lightly. "Marquis Wu'an back then looked at it for three days and three nights. When he came out, he vomited three liters of blood, saying it was a heavenly book, beyond human comprehension."

"Marquis Wu'an wanted to see the whole text; what I wanted to see was the path."

Ji Ye opened his eyes. "Once the path is clear, one simply walks it."

"Well said, 'once the path is clear.'"

Xiao Hongxiu smiled, her smile carrying a hint of admiration, but more so the satisfaction of a hunter seeing a falcon grow its sharp talons.

She took out a jade tablet from her sleeve and threw it to Ji Ye.

The jade tablet was smooth and warm, carved with a spreading phoenix on one side and the words "Sword Attendant" on the back.

"From today onwards, you are the Grand Princess's Sword Attendant. Your rank is equivalent to the fourth grade. Although you have no real power, in Capital City, besides the Imperial Palace and the residences of the Three Dukes, you can walk with your head held high."

Ji Ye took the jade tablet and weighed it in his hand.

"Is this considered an advance payment?"

"You could say that."

Xiao Hongxiu lifted the carriage curtain and looked at the passing streetscape outside the window.

"However, this token is also a hot potato. You killed Tuli tonight and burned down Zuisheng Tower. The Qin family hasn't retaliated yet, but this is the calm before the storm."

"I know Qin Wuji. The quieter he is, the more he's plotting something big."

"You'd best stay in Tingxue Tower these few days and don't run around."

Ji Ye put the jade token into his embrace and closed his eyes again.

"Hide?"

"You can hide from the first day, but not the fifteenth."

"If he wants to come, I'll face him."

General Zhenbei's mansion, study.

Qin Wuji changed into a loose white robe and was sitting at his desk, writing.

He wrote slowly, each stroke penetrating the paper, as if trying to carve through the Xuan paper.

Beside the desk stood an old man with white hair and beard. The old man wore the uniform of a housekeeper, his aura contained. He was the old servant who had followed Qin Wuji at Zuisheng Tower that day.

"Did you find out?" Qin Wuji didn't look up, his brushstroke turning to write a murderous character for "quiet."

"I found out."

The old housekeeper bowed. "This person's name is Ji Ye, a wandering swordsman. Two years ago, he was a constable in Black Stone County in the northern territory. Later, when the Barbarians broke through the city, he disappeared. Today, at Tingxue Tower in the Grand Princess's mansion, he defeated Liu Bai with one sword and was taken in by Xiao Hongxiu as her chief tutor."

"Black Stone County... constable?"

Qin Wuji's hand paused slightly, and a drop of ink fell on the paper, smudging and ruining the character "quiet."

He put down his brush, picked up a hot towel from the side to wipe his hands, and a playful smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Interesting. A constable from a small border county, missing for two years, can practice a sword technique that shattered the camphor wood pillar of my Zuisheng Tower?"

He thought of the figure in green from last night.

The way that sword used borrowed force to strike was so exquisite it didn't seem like it came from a self-taught wandering swordsman, but rather from a grandmaster who had immersed himself in martial arts for decades.

"Young Master, could it be... a pawn planted by one of the other families?" the old housekeeper asked in a low voice. "Or perhaps from the Barbarians..."

"Doesn't seem like it."

Qin Wuji shook his head, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"His killing intent is pure and clean. It's the kind of aura only someone who has crawled out of a pile of dead bodies possesses. And when he killed Tuli, he didn't hesitate at all, he even seemed to... enjoy it."

"Someone like that wouldn't be a dog of the Barbarians."

Qin Wuji walked to the window, looking in the direction of the Grand Princess's mansion, his gaze deep.

"Xiao Hongxiu, that woman, has good luck. She actually found a raw jade in a pile of trash."

"However, if raw jade is not carved, it will also shatter."

He had lost face at Zuisheng Tower.

Not only did the man in green kill someone right under his nose, but he also set a fire, and finally left with a provocative remark before escaping unscathed.

The Qin family couldn't swallow this insult, and neither could Qin Wuji.

"Young Master, shall this old servant bring some men to..." The old housekeeper made a throat-slitting gesture.

"No need."

Qin Wuji waved his hand, a graceful and cruel smile appearing on his face.

"Assassination is too undignified. And he's in the Grand Princess's mansion. That madwoman Xiao Hongxiu is very protective. It's not worth it to force our way in."

"Since he wants to be a blade, I'll give him a chance to be broken."

Qin Wuji turned around and pulled out a gilded invitation from the bookshelf.

"In three days, it will be Old Madam's eightieth birthday. My Qin family will hold a 'Sword Appreciation Gathering' at the martial arts arena, inviting heroes from all over the world."

"You go and deliver this invitation to the Grand Princess's mansion."

"Just say..."

Qin Wuji threw the invitation on the table.

"I heard the Grand Princess has recently acquired a Sword Attendant who is divine in swordsmanship. I, Qin, have admired him for a long time and specially invite Sword Attendant Ji to my humble abode for a chat and to exchange swordsmanship."

"If he dares to come, I will cripple him openly and honorably in front of everyone."

"If he doesn't dare to come..."

Qin Wuji sneered.

"Then this blade will be dulled and not worth fearing."

The old butler looked at the invitation, a glint flashing in his eyes.

This was an open scheme.

It was forcing the other party to jump into a fiery pit.

"This old servant will go and do it now."

The next morning.

Tingxue Tower.

Ji Ye was practicing swordplay in the courtyard.

He wasn't practicing any peerless sword technique, just the most basic "thrust."

Once, twice, a thousand times.

With each sword strike, he adjusted the angle of his wrist and the force of his muscles, trying to integrate the "qi" he had comprehended from the Supreme Induction Chapter into his sword moves.

"Mr. Ji."

A maidservant hurried over, holding a gilded invitation, her expression somewhat flustered.

"The Qin family... the Qin family has sent an invitation."

Ji Ye sheathed his sword and took the invitation.

Upon opening it, he saw the calligraphy, like iron and silver hooks, exuding an overbearing arrogance.

[Three days from now, Qin Manor will hold a martial arts exhibition. We await your esteemed presence. Qin Wuji respectfully offers this.]

There were only a few words, yet each one felt like a knife.

Ji Ye closed the invitation, his finger lightly caressing the gilded character "Qin."

"A Sword Appreciation Gathering, is it..."

He smiled.

There was no fear in his smile, only the excitement of finally having found his prey.

"Tell the messenger."

Ji Ye casually tossed the invitation onto the stone table, then flicked his sword tip, pinning a fallen leaf onto the invitation.

"I accept this invitation."

"In three days, I will bring my sword and arrive on time."

The maidservant looked at the pinned fallen leaf, a chill rising from the soles of her feet.

She felt as if she could already see the Qin Manor in three days, destined to be a scene of bloodshed and chaos.

Ji Ye looked up at the hazy sky.

"Qin Wuji, you set the stage, and I will perform the play."

"But the price for this play..."

"Can your Qin family afford it?"

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