Interception

"Daidao! Come back with me!" Rikaku shouted outside the door, sword in hand.

The murky yellow light cast his long shadow across the snow. No one knew what lay beneath his icy expression.

"I have committed a grave mistake. I have no face to return!" A dejected male voice came from within the low, humble house.

"Byakugan!"

With his Byakugan activated, Yizhe clearly saw two figures inside the house. One lay on the ground, while the other sat on the floor.

The one lying down was presumably the samurai who had discovered Daidao earlier and cried out. The one sitting beside him should have been Daidao.

"No matter what, Lord Mifune will give you a fair judgment! You should come back with me!" Rikaku continued persuading him patiently.

"This turmoil was all caused by me! And I even injured Lord Mifune. My crimes are unforgivable! I cannot go back anymore!" Daidao's self-mocking voice came from inside.

"If that is the case, then do not blame me for forgetting our past friendship!"

Before his words had even faded, a faint chakra glow lit up on Rikaku's blade as he slashed diagonally at the doorway.

With a crashing sound, sword energy swept out, cleaving open a person-high hole through both the door and wall!

"Guard the outside. Do not come in!"

Leaving those words behind, Rikaku's figure flashed, and he vanished from where he stood.

Clang!

A crisp clash of blades immediately rang out from within the house.

Yizhe clearly saw two figures locked against each other inside.

"Come back with me, Daidao!" Rikaku roared.

He was deeply unwilling to raise his sword against a former friend. If possible, he still hoped to persuade Daidao to return.

"I cannot go back, Rikaku!" Daidao gave a miserable smile.

The two suddenly exerted force and sprang apart, each taking a corner of the room.

"I will beg Lord Mifune for leniency. Come back with me!" Rikaku still refused to give up.

Daidao shook his head and said mockingly, "I thought that sharing the insights of the senior masters of swordsmanship with everyone would raise the swordsmanship of all samurai!"

"Unfortunately, I underestimated the true meaning contained within them! I overestimated myself! I overestimated everyone!"

"The more one immersed oneself in it, the harder it became to break free! One could even lose oneself in the way of the sword!"

"Who knows what devastating blow this unrest will bring to the Land of Iron? What losses it will cause!"

"Not to mention that I lost myself and injured Lord Mifune! I am no longer qualified to remain here!"

Rikaku raised his sword and said coldly, "Then I can only take you back by force!"

Slash!

Daidao did not answer. Instead, he swung his sword and sent three spreading arcs of sword energy flying toward Rikaku.

Clang!

Rikaku casually cleaved apart the frontal sword energy, while the other two struck the walls of the house with a booming crash.

Creak, creak, creak!

This house had long been abandoned and was already in disrepair. Assaulted by sword energy now, it became like the final straw that broke the camel's back and began to collapse.

"Where do you think you are going?!"

Rikaku immediately spotted Daidao turning to flee amid the collapsing house.

He gathered his strength, paying no heed to the falling roof, and lunged fiercely at Daidao's back.

Crack!

The glow attached to his blade split the falling roof beam cleanly down the middle, then drove unstoppably toward Daidao.

Thud!

With a dull sound, his sword passed through Daidao's chest from behind without any resistance.

"Why?" Rikaku looked up and demanded loudly.

He clearly saw Daidao's body pause. Daidao could have avoided it!

"Sin... can only be washed away with blood!" Daidao turned back with a sorrowful smile and continued, "I was born here, raised here, and dreamed here!"

"I do not know where else I could go! I have no face to stay, but I do not want to leave!"

"This is the only way!"

"This is the only way..."

Watching outside the house, Yizhe saw Rikaku pierce Daidao. He had initially thought Daidao would use the collapse to break out, allowing him to provide support from the side.

He had not expected Daidao to refuse to flee and instead take Rikaku's attack head-on. His resolve was fierce indeed!

Boom!

The low house completely collapsed. The shockwave from the collapse stirred up a violent gust of snow and dust, forcing the surrounding samurai to squeeze their eyes shut.

"I cannot wait any longer. If I keep waiting, Daidao really will die!"

With that thought, Yizhe used the cover of the gust and rushed into the scene in three swift strides!

He casually pulled a smoke bomb from behind his back and tossed it into the clearing.

Puff!

The smoke bomb exploded with a bang, and a white cloud of smoke began to spread.

The dust and snow stirred up by the collapsed house had already made visibility terrible. Now, with white smoke filling the area, no one could see what was happening at all.

"A smoke bomb? Who is it?" Rikaku covered his mouth and nose, swept his gaze around, and demanded loudly.

He then pulled the sword from Daidao's back, stepped onto the rubble, and retreated two paces, watching his surroundings with great vigilance.

Daidao, meanwhile, weakly collapsed where he stood.

Suddenly, Rikaku heard rustling sounds around him, along with shadows shifting not far ahead.

"Who is that?" he shouted toward the front.

His vision was completely blurred, and he could not see his own hand before his face. Attacking rashly could bring unforeseen danger.

"It is you!" After the smoke spread, Daidao noticed a youth beside him.

"Yes, it is me!" Yizhe answered.

Then he struck Daidao with a hand chop, knocking him unconscious.

From the fact that Daidao had deliberately taken Rikaku's sword earlier, Yizhe could tell that he was extremely stubborn and unyielding. If Daidao knew Yizhe was saving him, he would certainly be unwilling. He might even interfere, which would be terribly troublesome for Yizhe.

Rikaku was immensely strong. Even though Yizhe's injuries had healed, he still did not believe himself to be a match for him. On top of that, the area was surrounded on all sides, making it even harder to escape with someone.

If Daidao refused to cooperate and sabotaged him from within, there was no way Yizhe could rescue him.

Therefore, he could only knock Daidao unconscious, completely eliminating that variable and increasing the chance of a successful rescue by a fraction.

The smoke quickly dispersed. Daidao was already gone from the ground, leaving behind only a pool of bright blood.

Rikaku looked around and suddenly spotted the slightly familiar back of a youth racing across the rooftops toward the west.

There was someone slung over his shoulder. Looking closely, it was Daidao.

"Do not let him get away! Chase him!" Rikaku pointed his sword at the fleeing Yizhe and shouted.

With that, he pushed off with his feet and rapidly pursued Yizhe.

The many samurai below also spotted Yizhe on the rooftops and hurriedly drew their swords to chase after him.

In an instant, the long street became a frenzy, packed with dense footsteps and chaotic cries of battle.

"Boy, leave Daidao behind!" Rikaku shouted from behind.

Yizhe had already been slower than Rikaku, and with another person in tow, he was gradually caught up to.

"Hmph!"

He did not turn around. Instead, he used his free hand to pull two Shuriken from his waist and hurled them forcefully behind him in the direction of the voice, hoping to stop Rikaku from closing in.

Clang, clang!

Rikaku paused for a moment and easily knocked aside the incoming Shuriken with his sword.

"You want to run? Not a chance!"

Without slowing down, he continued the chase.