Cutting Him Off

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

The murky yellow lamplight 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 the low house.

"Byakugan!"

With his Byakugan activated, Yizhe clearly saw two figures inside the house: one lying on the ground, the other sitting on the floor.

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

"No matter what, Lord Mifune will give you a fair judgment! Come back with me!" Rikaku continued to persuade him patiently.

"This turmoil was all caused by me! Besides, I injured Lord Mifune. My crime is unforgivable! There is no going back!" Daidao's self-mocking voice came from inside.

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

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

With a crash, sword energy swept forth, carving a man-sized hole through both the door and the wall!

"You stay outside. Do not come in!"

After tossing out those words, Rikaku flashed away from where he stood.

Clang!

Immediately afterward, the crisp sound of clashing blades rang out from inside the house.

Yizhe clearly saw the two figures locked against each other within.

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

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

"There is no going back, Rikaku!" Daidao gave a miserable smile.

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

"I will plead with 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 our swordsmanship predecessors with everyone would elevate the swordsmanship of all samurai!"

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

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

"I do not know what devastating blow this turmoil will bring to the Land of Iron! What losses it will cause!"

"Moreover, 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 toward Rikaku.

Clang!

Rikaku casually cleaved apart the sword energy coming straight at him, while the other two struck the walls of the house with thunderous crashes.

Creak, creak, creak!

The house had long been abandoned and fallen into disrepair. Assaulted by sword energy now, it was like the final straw that broke the camel's back, gradually collapsing.

"Where do you think you are going!"

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

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

Crack!

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

Thud!

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

"Why?" Rikaku looked up and demanded loudly.

He had clearly seen Daidao pause. He 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 can go! I no longer have the face to stay, but I do not want to leave!"

"This is the only way!"

"This is the only way..."

Yizhe, who had been standing guard outside, saw Rikaku stab Daidao. He had originally thought Daidao would use the house's collapse to break out, allowing him to support him from the side.

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

Boom!

The low house finally collapsed completely. The resulting shockwave whipped up a violent storm of snow and dust, and the samurai surrounding it were blasted by the gust so hard that they could not open their eyes.

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

With that thought, Yizhe used the gust as cover and rushed into the scene in a few swift strides!

He casually pulled a smoke bomb from behind him and threw it into the area through the opening.

Poof!

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

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

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

He then pulled the sword from Daidao's back, stepped backward twice atop the rubble, and vigilantly remained on guard.

Daidao, meanwhile, collapsed weakly where he stood.

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

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

Everything before him was hazy, and he could barely see his hand in front of his face. Acting rashly might bring disaster.

"It is you!" After the smoke spread, Daidao discovered that a youth had appeared beside him.

"Yes, it is me!" Yizhe answered.

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

From Daidao deliberately taking Rikaku's sword earlier, Yizhe could tell that he was extremely resolute. If he knew Yizhe was saving him, he would certainly be unwilling. He might even interfere, which would be immensely unfavorable for Yizhe.

Rikaku was powerful. Even though Yizhe's injuries had healed, he did not consider himself a match for him. With layers of encirclement around them as well, escaping with someone would be even harder.

If Daidao refused to cooperate and caused trouble, Yizhe would have no chance of rescuing him.

Therefore, he could only knock Daidao unconscious, completely removing this variable and increasing the odds of a successful rescue by a fraction.

The smoke soon dispersed. Daidao had vanished from the ground, leaving behind only a pool of vivid blood.

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

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

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

With that, he pushed off the ground and rapidly gave chase.

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

For a time, the long street erupted into commotion, dense footsteps and noisy battle cries filling the entire road.

"Kid, leave Daidao behind!" Rikaku shouted from behind him.

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

"Hmph!"

He did not look back. Instead, he took two shuriken from his waist with his free hand and hurled them forcefully behind him toward the sound, hoping to stop Rikaku from closing in.

Clang, clang!

Rikaku paused for a moment and easily deflected the incoming shuriken with his sword.

"Trying to run? No chance!"

Without slowing down, he pursued again.