Chapter Forty-Nine: The Destiny of the Sword

“Are you of the Star Clan?”

“That’s right,” Xingyan replied, spreading her wings.

Seeing the pale blue wings, Ye Pei frowned. “So it seems… your status in the Star Clan must be quite high. You’re the younger sister of the current Star Emperor…”

Xingyan was also a little surprised. She hadn’t expected this youngster to remain so composed after she proved her Star Clan identity.

Within the Star Clan, the paler the color of one’s wings, the nobler the bloodline. As for Ye Feilan’s transparent wings—well, not just in the last hundred years, there had never been such a thing in the clan’s history.

Ye Pei pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you know anything about the current Star Emperor’s daughter?”

Xingyan was startled. “How do you know about that? I’ve only heard a little—apparently, the child went missing. I’ve been estranged from the Star Clan for quite some time.”

This information was wholly unexpected for Ye Pei. He raised an eyebrow. “You left the Star Clan?”

Xingyan nodded. “I did. I left because my master, Elder Huiyao, told me many things, but I cannot disclose them to you.”

Ye Pei found it difficult to judge the truth of her words. After thinking for a moment, he decided not to mention that the missing Star Princess was in his care.

Seeing Ye Pei’s silence, Xingyan said, “Come on, let’s go to Canglong Town. I’ll treat you both to a meal. After all, we did take down that corpse demon together.”

Talking about these matters made Ye Pei’s mind swirl again. He felt he could almost grasp the truth, but the events in Canglong Town just didn’t fit together.

During the meal, Ye Pei tentatively raised a question with Xingyan.

“Princess Yan, do you know the full story behind the corpse demon’s attack on the You family?”

Xingyan glanced up at him, put down her chopsticks, and said, “I do. If you want to hear it, I’ll tell you.”

“That place originally belonged to the Shi family. Last year, Master Shi took a concubine, Lady Wang. The Shi family controlled the town’s commercial lifeblood and held considerable influence.”

“You Siman was once a traveling merchant,” Xingyan’s expression turned odd as she continued, “He came to Canglong Town and, by chance, met Lady Wang during a transaction. Somehow, the two fell for each other at first sight and became entangled!”

Ye Pei blinked, unable to help himself. “Wait, Princess Yan, why are you so agitated?”

Xingyan realized it too. She took a sip of tea and continued, “Anyway, they got involved. You’ve surely heard about the Bandit Domain—this place is lawless. The town chief here is Cao Sanlong. His grandfather, Cao Dalong, established the town and named it.”

Ye Pei squinted. “So… his father must be called Cao Erlong, then?”

Xingyan imitated his squint. “No, his father is Cao Cilang.”

“…”

“Let me continue. Cao Sanlong didn’t welcome You Siman and his merchant group, trying every trick to suppress them. So You Siman came up with another plan: he had Lady Wang seduce Cao Sanlong.”

Ye Pei could hardly find words to describe this bizarre town.

“Lady Wang was young, so Cao Sanlong fell quickly, but Master Shi found out. Just as Cao Sanlong was being plied with drink by Lady Wang and You Siman was about to burst in with his men, Master Shi beat him to it.”

“Master Shi stormed in and, without hesitation, beat Cao Sanlong to death. He then turned on Lady Wang, intending to kill her as well. That’s when You Siman and his men rushed in and rescued Lady Wang.”

“Imagine Master Shi’s state of mind—thinking he’d caught his wife in the act, only for another man to suddenly appear.”

“So Master Shi mobilized all his connections in Canglong Town, launching a manhunt for You Siman and Lady Wang. Forced into a corner, You Siman sneaked into Shi Manor with his men and killed Master Shi.”

“Lady Wang had almost broken with You Siman, probably realizing that her days of luxury were over with Master Shi dead. Just as she was about to kill You Siman, he told her he planned to stay in Canglong Town and take over the Shi family’s assets. Though most of Master Shi’s foundation had been carved up by then, what remained was plenty for You Siman, Lady Wang, and his friends to live well. He drove out the original servants, keeping only the coachman Shi Kuang, who’d buried Master Shi himself and felt grateful to You Siman.”

Ye Pei’s expression was indescribable. “Princess Yan… how do you know all these details? And what does this whole ridiculous story have to do with the corpse demon?”

“Because I was tailing You Siman the whole time.”

Ye Pei was even more confused. “Why?”

“He’s my son.”

At this, Ye Pei closed his eyes and took a deep breath, rendered completely speechless.

“As for the corpse demon… I was so shocked by his actions while following him that I got careless. A Star Envoy tracking me discovered my presence, and after I hid again, the envoy realized You Siman carried my blood. That envoy then used Master Shi’s freshly buried corpse to create the corpse demon. But Master Shi, before death, was also…”

“In any case, the demon was more powerful than expected, so before completing it, the envoy split it in two, molding a clay body and separating it from the flesh. One half was sealed away, and the other half unleashed on You Siman.”

“That’s when I left Canglong Town to retrieve my hidden sword. When I returned, I saw you gravely injured by the corpse demon. But tell me, how did you disappear that day? And how did your wounds heal so fast, with your strength rising so much? Also… the envoy wouldn’t be foolish enough to set the whole corpse demon on You Siman. If he could use the demon to mask his Star Clan identity, he can’t be that stupid…”

Ye Pei rubbed his nose, glanced at the quietly listening Qingrong, and smiled. “Princess Yan, it was Qingrong who unsealed the other half of the corpse demon.”

Then Ye Pei added, “Princess Yan, aren’t you going to do something about your son’s actions? Let me remind you, Shi Kuang has no gratitude for You Siman—I was hired by him to exorcise the demon. He has no intention of showing thanks.”

Xingyan rubbed her forehead. “I really don’t know what to do. He doesn’t know I’m his mother, and we’ve never been together. I only found him last year and have been following him since. None of this is because of my teaching… Maybe I should warn him about Shi Kuang?”

So, Ye Pei had no wish to remain in this strange town any longer. Before parting, he asked, “Princess Yan, may I ask about You Siman’s father…”

Xingyan waved her hand. “Oh, it doesn’t matter. His name is You Die. He’s of the Flame Clan. He fell into the Necrovolcano. I don’t think he’s dead. If you ever meet him, tell him to come find me in the Bandit Domain.”

…

Beneath the hazy curtain of rain, a sharp sword-light sliced through a pack of wolves. As the alpha collapsed with a howl, the wounded survivors scattered. The swordsman sheathed his blade and turned to the trembling young herbalist beside a tree.

“Miss, are you all right?”

It took a long while for the delicate girl’s pallor to fade. Looking at the swordsman in blue who had saved her, she stammered, “I… I’m all right.”

“Come, I’ll escort you home. A girl shouldn’t be walking these wild mountains alone.”

Still shaken, the girl clung tightly to her medicine basket and led the swordsman down the path to her home.

“Thank you for saving me, young master. My name is Zhuang Tianlan—may I ask yours?” As they walked, her fear abated and the slender, sword-bearing figure beside her seemed to radiate safety amid the wilds.

The swordsman’s face was stiff, as if he had not smiled in years. Forcing a faint smile, he replied, “My name is Jiang Zhongqing.”

When they reached Tianlan’s tiny village at the mountain’s edge, Jiang Zhongqing caught the stench of blood on the wind and frowned.

As they entered the dusk-shrouded village, there was no gentle smoke curling from chimneys, only a hellish scene of blood and slaughter.

Watching Zhuang Tianlan collapse in weeping upon the ground, Jiang Zhongqing remembered himself a year ago. If not for Ye Pei, he would have been slain by the Feng family of Baizhou, unable to avenge his kin or achieve his present mastery of the sword.

“Do you know who did this?” His voice, recalling old grief, carried a chill as keen as a blade.

Fresh from the terror of the wolves, Tianlan was already near collapse; now, faced with this carnage, she was utterly speechless.

Leaving her by her family’s bodies, Jiang Zhongqing wandered the village and soon found a survivor.

“Who was it?”

The dying youth’s breath was short, blood laced with fragments of organs. Yet, seeing the swordsman, his dim eyes lit up. “Thirty li east… Longjiang Stronghold…”

After the youth’s last breath, Jiang Zhongqing returned to Tianlan and spoke the words that set her heart alight: “Come. I’ll avenge you.”

Was it the rain that foretold tragedy, or tragedy that moved the heavens to weep?

The two, united by fate and loss, rode a single horse and vanished into the rain.

The downpour, mingled with blood, washed over the Longjiang Mountains that day. The trails of beast and human blood together etched the scene of the Sword God meeting the future Empress of Medicine.

With his sword on his back, the blood-soaked youth stood amid carnage, his voice a rare warmth in hell.

“Come with me. I’ll protect you.”

“All right.”