What Grievance Does the White Deer Have?

"In just a few days, your Sword Qi had wounded me to this extent. Though you borrowed the power of a spirit sword, you were still quite impressive."

A grinding martial art like Purple Sash Azure Insignia was like the Sword God of Ten Mile Slope—you should not leave the mountain before mastering it, or all your previous efforts might be ruined.

Otherwise, this martial art, which could reliably be cultivated to the sixth rank, would not have drawn so little interest at White Deer Grotto.

Gu Yin crouched down, gripped the slippery sword hilt, and aimed the blade at Su Che's throat.

"Dying beneath your own weapon—do you have nothing to say?"

"..."

Su Che's lips moved, and he spat out a bloodied chunk of viscera.

"What did you say?"

Gu Yin gave a cold, sinister laugh. Suddenly, he found himself with the patience to listen.

"Since things have come to this, can you tell me what all this was for? At least let me die knowing the truth."

Rain poured down as black clouds churned overhead. Gu Yin slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Fine. At this point, what harm was there in telling him?

"Everyone has their own allotted fate. When our Confucian School lineage reaches the sixth rank, it is called Qi-Reading. We can distinguish fortune from misfortune and judge one's fate. Your original fate was what they call Canopy Fate."

Regret filled Gu Yin's eyes. "This sort of fate is suited to withdrawing from the secular world. Whether you sought Buddhism or the Dao, you could achieve something. Unfortunately, your fate suddenly changed a few months ago. It became the fate of the Sixfold Azure Dragon—a fate belonging to a tyrant of the mortal realm."

"So White Deer Grotto set its sights on me because of this fate?"

"That is correct. Everything before this was arranged by our academy."

Su Che had already heard this from Zhongyuan.

But the hints leaked by that mysterious Zhongyuan were something he had truly been unwilling to believe.

Now that he had finally received confirmation from a disciple of White Deer Grotto, Su Che did not know whether he should feel relieved or have his scalp go numb.

His enemy was White Deer Grotto, one of the Four Great Academies of the Confucian School, renowned throughout the realm.

"Over some illusory fate?"

"The matter of fate is not illusory. The Qi-Reading Art is a judgment of the future. Young Master Su, consider yourself: born into an Aristocratic Clan of officials, gifted in your own right—if you also possessed intelligence beyond ordinary men, along with a little opportunity, how far do you think you would grow?"

"Would it not be a good thing if the world gained one more tyrant capable of unifying the realm?"

"Young Master Su, think about it. What does an age of great contention, where heroes shine like stars, mean for the common people?"

To outstanding heroes, chaotic times were a stage. But to common people, chaotic times were doomsday.

Had there been no chaos at the end of Qin, the Han Founder would have been no more than a village chief, while the Overlord of Chu would still have been wandering in exile.

The Overlord of Chu fought with his back to the river and buried the captives at Xin'an. How many sons of Guanzhong were never able to return home?

The Han Founder destroyed Qin in two years and extinguished Chu in four.

As they swept across the world, how many renowned ministers, great generals, soldiers, and laborers had they dragged down with them?

The Han Founder was a true man who could take or leave all things; the Overlord of Chu was an extraordinary man who rode roughshod over the world.

Alongside their illustrious achievements stood the bones of countless commoners.

When a state rose, the people suffered. When a state fell, the people suffered.

"The world has already become like this, and you still think it is worth patching up?"

Su Che wanted to laugh—the kind of laugh that would make him cough out his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys.

White Deer Grotto's reasoning was just too fucking stupid.

There were many things in this world that required a price to be paid. Just because common people might die as a result, did that mean nothing should be done?

Yes, opposing Qin would kill people. But if they did not oppose Qin, did not fight for the realm, would the people be able to live in a paradise of kingly rule?

Bullshit.

"Our White Deer Grotto lineage inherits the teachings of Master Hengqu and guards the fortune of humanity beneath heaven. Young Master Su, you were born at the wrong time. Had you been born several centuries earlier, we disciples of White Deer Grotto would naturally have followed you and helped you accomplish great things. But now... what a pity."

"Brother Gu, open your eyes and look. You need not look far—just look at Shanyin County and Guobei County. What sort of human fortune is this? Is this the fortune your White Deer Grotto protects?"

Gu Yin fell silent for a moment.

Because he had thought about the things Su Che mentioned before.

"Though the road may be long, one cannot arrive without walking it."

Su Che gave a snickering laugh.

"Fucking White Deer Grotto, do you just love playing father to everyone in the world?"

Gu Yin's face darkened as rainwater streamed ceaselessly down it.

"With death at hand, you still have such a sharp tongue. Young Master, you truly never change."

"You flatter me." Su Che gathered all his strength and shouted, "Furry one, your man can't hold on anymore! Get your ass over here, or you'll be a widow before the wedding!"

Gu Yin's heart tightened. He abruptly turned around, bronze shortsword pointed straight ahead.

A massive white phantom rode wind and thunder as it arrived without a sound, a pair of sharp claws striking directly at his chest.

She had finally come.

What a huge dog.

Su Che closed his eyes in satisfaction.

A giant fox lightly shook the blood from her claws.

Her fur was silver all over, ghostly flames seeming to burn within her emerald eyes. Her body was nearly two zhang long, but from the waist backward, she was made of a mist that glittered with specks of light.

"As they say, one night as husband and wife brings a hundred nights of affection. Though this cheap husband of mine is quick and useless, seeing you beat him like that still makes my heart ache."

There was no need to say more. This giant fox who had rushed over was Qingqiu's true form.

A strange breed renowned across the ten islands of the Eastern Sea: a Cloud Fox.

Gu Yin remained expressionless as he drew a jade hairpin from his sleeve and stabbed it straight into the heart meridian in his chest.

"Piercing the heart and drawing blood can indeed stabilize your injuries, but after a quarter of an hour, things will still end as they must."

Qingqiu extended her tongue and groomed her fur.

"Come on."

Gu Yin's expression did not change as he slowly pushed out both palms.

Using twelve-tenths of his true strength, he unleashed the Righteous Domain Four Directions Palm. The cloud fox met it with one claw, and Gu Yin was sent flying sideways.

"You're quite stupid too. A useless technique like Purple Sash Azure Insignia should have been discarded long ago. You stayed cooped up at home for decades just to emerge at the sixth rank—what gave you the right to compare yourself to sixth-rank fighters who had honed themselves by licking blood from blade edges?"

The Cloud Fox pounced forward, one claw as nimble as a human hand as it pinned the jade hairpin against Gu Yin's chest.

"Pierce the heart and draw blood; chase the light for a moment. Once the jade hairpin leaves the body, soul and spirit scatter." Qingqiu looked coldly at Gu Yin. "Before I pull it out, do you have anything else to say?"

"Vast and righteous hea—"

Splurt.

The little fox pulled out the jade hairpin.

"I call you dumb, but you never believe it. That dead man fed you all those lines just to wait for me, wasn't it? Even if you talked until the sky broke apart, could you have angered him to death? Sigh, every last one of you is utterly clueless."

The Cloud Fox slowly walked over to Su Che and patted his face with a claw.

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't die."

"I won't."

Su Che spat out a mouthful of blood. "The Golden Core medicine's effects haven't dispersed. Taking my life won't be so easy."

"Yeah, yeah, you're amazing."

The little fox raised her head and flipped Su Che onto her back.

"Let's go. We'll find somewhere to rest and recover."