novelAbuy Chapter 12 On the Wedding Night, Demonic Music Lingers in the Ears, and the Heavenly Sword Cries Out
Chapter 12 On the Wedding Night, Demonic Music Lingers in the Ears, and the Heavenly Sword Cries Out
"Your Highness, a few petty thieves came to steal, but we have already apprehended them," Qian Zhenggang's booming voice came from outside.
"Thank you for your trouble, Uncle Qian," Liu Xiao said to the door, but he remained vigilant.
"My beauty, it's getting late, look."
Clang~ Clang.
The clear, melodious sound of plucking strings suddenly rang out.
"The cold moon shines deep into the desolate courtyard, the five notes of the night echo with the chill of the five elements." A man in green sat upright in the center of the courtyard, a seven-stringed zither laid flat before him. The sound was not loud, but elegant and ethereal, and the music made people's hearts tremble. The guards who had gathered around stared blankly, as if they had lost their souls in the music.
"You're asking for death!" Qian Zhenggang was the first to come to his senses. He bent his knees slightly and leaped up, about to smash the head of the musician in blue with a punch.
Bang! The expected sound of a skull shattering did not occur. Qian Zhenggang landed on the ground, his fist caught firmly. He did not dare to be careless and turned to kick the person who had taken the blow.
Bang! Qian Zhenggang flew away like a kite, spitting out a mouthful of blood in mid-air. He only stopped when he crashed into a wall, then spat out another mouthful of blood. Qian Zhenggang never got up again; his fate was unknown. The guards snapped back to reality in shock. In a single move, even the strongest Qian Zhenggang couldn't withstand a single blow from the burly man before them.
"Kill!" Gong Jin, the captain of the personal guard, was the first to react, drawing his sword and charging forward. But how could a top-tier martial artist with a base martial skill of 99 points possibly be a match for a third-rank martial artist? The opponent threw another punch, and Gong Jin flew out with a caved-in chest, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs before completely losing his life.
"The golden air is heavy with the bleak wind, the rain has ceased and the water stains are faint in the vast night." The sound of the seven-stringed zither rang out continuously, accompanied by the recitation of the man in blue. The power of the music burst forth from his fingertips and flowed through the strings, coalescing into sharp blades that struck the charging guards. More than a dozen men were sent flying, none of them killed, but all of them lay on the ground groaning, incapacitated.
"The martial arts of Fang Tiancheng, the master of the Eight Directions Fist of Hanyue Manor, are truly remarkable. Today, I, Yuan, will test you." A man in a black brocade robe and a bronze mask leaped down from the roof. This man was Yuan Tiangang. He had also been stopped earlier and had barely managed to escape the entanglement, but he was a little too late.
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"Xi Jiangyue of the Dongting Sword Sect? Why do you choose to assassinate the prince of the Han Dynasty instead of staying in the land of Chu and Yue?" Li Chunfeng, dressed in white with hair as white as snow and with hair as white as a waterfall, retreated rapidly after exchanging blows with the black-clad swordsman. He channeled his inner energy into the celestial compass in his left hand, causing the pointer to dart around erratically.
The Dongting Sword Sect was originally an insignificant, second-rate sect. Even though its records claimed it was a powerful sect capable of wielding the power of heaven and earth a thousand years ago, its decline was irrelevant, and no one cared about those vague rumors. Until one day, an ordinary disciple carrying an ancient, rusty sword, facing a joint attack and annexation by four sects, used the waters of Dongting Lake as his sword, slaying six fourth-rank masters and defeating all the third-rank masters from the three regions of Chu, Yue, and Wu. Only then did this sect, which had been in decline for a thousand years, regain its former glory.
"No need for further words, let's fight. This sword, Dongting." The slender Xi Jiangyue slowly drew the rusty sword. Under the moonlight, it seemed as if the sound of rolling waves echoed in their ears. The Dongting Sword, forged in Dongting, fought in Dongting, and sank in Dongting, this precious sword, buried under the sands of history, was unsheathed, and the sound of the waves remained unchanged.
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As night deepened, Zheng Shan, the Central Heaven Commander among the Five Commanders, perused stacks of documents, occasionally frowning in deep thought. As the leader of the Central Heaven Commander, stationed in the capital, his position demonstrated the emperor's trust in him. Stationing in the capital had always been the safest, but also the most challenging. With the imperial guards, the old guards of the royal family, and the old fogies of the powerful clans feigning death, a mere third-rank expert like himself couldn't cause any trouble in the capital.
"Lord Zheng, how about we make a deal?" Without anyone noticing, a hunched figure appeared outside the window screen, which was glowing red from the candlelight, and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"Who goes there!" Zheng Shan suddenly stood up, his muscles tense, his robes billowing, fully alert. Anyone who could get here unnoticed must either have practiced special techniques or possess unfathomable internal strength.
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and a masked figure walked in, hunched over.
"I know that you have a grudge against the Prince of Ji's mansion. I have come to congratulate you. Today is the perfect time to eliminate any future troubles." A hoarse voice came from the hunched figure, and the speaker looked like an old man on his deathbed.
"You want to assassinate the Prince of Ji? Ha! As the Grand Commander of the Zhongtian Order, I am favored by His Majesty. How can I not do my best to serve him?" Zheng Shan's eyes flickered slightly. After thinking for a moment, he spoke slowly and deliberately. Clearly, he was tempted, but he lacked a reason not to help.
"Lord Zheng spared no effort, leading his men in a relentless pursuit of the notorious flower thief, Hua Die Ke, throughout the night. After three months of meticulous planning, they finally caught and killed this lecherous scoundrel after chasing him for half the night." The old man slowly untied the bundle from his waist, revealing a head with its eyes wide open in death.
"What benefits will I get?" Zheng Shan's apprehension towards the old man deepened. Hua Die Ke, the infamous flower thief, had harmed countless innocent women in the past decade. Back when the powerful Great Xia Dynasty had gathered six top experts to capture him, Hua Die Ke still managed to escape into the Golden Horde's territory despite having an ear cut off and an arm severed. The six experts were ambushed in a meticulously planned counter-ambush, and all six experts loyal to the royal family perished in the battle. The fact that Hua Die Ke, a third-rank cultivator, could shake off a second-rank enemy was a testament to his exceptional agility. Yet now he had fallen into the hands of this seemingly frail old man, which made Zheng Shan more cautious.
"I have heard that Lord Zheng has been searching for something in the martial world, and I happen to have one of these things in my possession."
"It's a deal." Zheng Shan's cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, and he agreed without hesitation.
"Bring it in." The old man called softly towards the door, and a thin young man carried in a large box. Third rank? When did experts from the Han Dynasty become so cheap? Zheng Shan was shocked. Zheng Shan sensed the fluctuating aura emanating from the young man. This young man must have recently broken through, and couldn't yet control his aura freely. But even so, it proved the young man's exceptional talent.
"Lord Zheng, then this old man will take his leave." After the young man put down the box, the old man got up with a smile and walked out. After saying a few words, the two of them disappeared into the vast night.
Zheng Shan closed the door, opened the box, and looked inside. His pupils dilated in shock, and even his hands trembled uncontrollably. After searching for so many years, the truth was finally about to surface. Click! A hidden door opened, and Zheng Shan, bending over, carried the box inside. He then closed the door again, turned a mechanism, and a huge bookshelf rose from under the floor, concealing the hidden door.
"Pass down the order: if the wanted criminal Hua Die Ke is found, have a few of them bring their best men to the south to provide support," Zheng Shan said to a minor official not far away as he walked out of his courtyard.
The clerk's expression changed, he replied "Yes," and quickly ran to the other courtyards.
Zheng Shan extinguished the candles in the room, re-tied the package containing the human heads to his waist, and flew south.