Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 11

After seeing Cao Bo off, Lou Xuanzhi remained grave.

Cao Bo had not attempted to use force. He understood that if the two factions fought, both sides would inevitably suffer heavy losses. He was not someone who acted purely on impulse.

But he had, after all, lost his beloved son.

Regardless of whether Lou Jing had truly killed him, this grudge had now been formed.

Lou Xuanzhi kneaded the space between his brows.

A disciple entered the study and presented him with a letter. Lou Xuanzhi accepted it. There was no name written on the envelope.

He looked at the disciple, who explained, “A visitor delivered it. He said it came from the south.”

“The south…”

Lou Xuanzhi murmured the words.

Suddenly, his body trembled.

He dismissed the disciple, hurriedly opened the letter, and read it from beginning to end.

He placed it facedown upon the desk and stared blankly into space for a long while.

After releasing a sigh, he burned the letter.

Once Cao Bo had left, Lou Xuanzhi sent word instructing Yu Jingqiu and the others to return to the sect.

When the group reached the mountain gates, Lou Xuanzhi was already standing there.

They all felt somewhat guilty, like children caught in the act of doing something wrong, and behaved with unusual obedience.

Lou Xuanzhi’s expression was poor, but he did not reprimand them. Nor did he mention the Jade Buddha’s Hand or Cao Ruxu.

“You have traveled a long way and must be tired. Return and rest.”

Lou Xuanzhi waved his hand, dismissing them to Xiangri Peak.

He said nothing else about what had happened.

Only Yu Jingqiu was called back.

“Shanjun, come. Walk with Master.”

Lang Ye, Yun Yao, and Di Hou had already begun heading toward the rear mountain.

Lou Jing stopped beneath the shade of a tree, standing alone as she watched Lou Xuanzhi lead Yu Jingqiu away.

Lou Xuanzhi took Yu Jingqiu’s wrist and checked her pulse. He then gently asked about her injuries during the journey, his expression becoming considerably softer.

Lou Jing could no longer hear what they were saying.

She lowered her lashes, turned around, and returned to Xiangri Peak.

Lou Xuanzhi and Yu Jingqiu walked to a fork in the mountain steps. One path led toward the training grounds, while the other continued to the rear mountain.

They stopped there.

Lou Xuanzhi asked Yu Jingqiu about everything that had happened on the night the Jade Buddha’s Hand was stolen and told her to recount every detail.

Because Cao Ruxu’s death was now entangled in the matter, Yu Jingqiu did not dare conceal anything and told him everything.

“That woman said her name was Xuanying?”

“Yes.”

Lou Xuanzhi nodded.

He did not appear particularly concerned about the theft of the Jade Buddha’s Hand. After pondering for a long time, he said to Yu Jingqiu, “I understand. You may return. Your injuries still require treatment. Do not think only of practicing your sword.”

Yu Jingqiu bowed and took her leave, returning to Xiangri Peak.

The following day, Lou Xuanzhi summoned only Lou Jing and Lang Ye to his study.

Lou Xuanzhi stood with his hands clasped behind his back, facing away from them.

Lou Yan stood to the left, tapping his folding fan against his palm with a deeply troubled expression. Yu Xiu stood on the right, brows lowered and the corners of his mouth drawn down.

One glance was enough for Lou Jing to recognize the scene as an interrogation by three authorities.

She could already guess what they intended to question her about.

Lou Xuanzhi remained silent.

Lou Yan spoke in his place, instructing Lang Ye and Lou Jing to recount everything that had happened that night in detail.

Lou Jing merely repeated what she had already told Yu Xiu.

When she described the mysterious man she encountered and the manner in which Cao Ruxu’s subordinates had died, Lou Yan and Yu Xiu simultaneously looked toward Lou Xuanzhi.

Lou Yan hesitated before saying, “Elder Brother, that man was… In my opinion, there is an eighty-percent chance he was involved.

“Could Cao Bo truly be unaware of it? He said nothing about the unusual condition of the other corpses and insists that Jing’er killed his son. I think he deliberately wants to create trouble for the Qianyuan Sect.”

Yu Xiu said, “That man has always used only palm techniques, but Cao Ruxu died from a sword wound. Cao Bo may suspect that Jing’er and he…”

Lou Xuanzhi interrupted him.

His voice was cold and hard as he asked Lou Jing, “You fought Cao Ruxu?”

“Yes. I stabbed him once and struck him with my palm.”

“What is that tone supposed to mean? Do you think you struck too lightly?”

Only then did Lou Xuanzhi turn around.

“Kneel!”

The shout made the hearts of everyone present tremble.

Lou Jing had never seen Lou Xuanzhi look so cold and severe. It was as though a dark cloud covered his face.

She knelt.

“Excellent. Truly excellent. I thought that even if you caused trouble after descending the mountain, surely you could not tear a hole through the heavens.

“It appears I still underestimated you.”

Lou Xuanzhi studied Lou Jing’s expression and sneered.

“Do you still believe you did absolutely nothing wrong?”

Although Lou Jing had knelt, her back remained perfectly straight.

Young people were hot-blooded. The more others opposed and suppressed her, the more determined she became to resist them.

“Yes. I did nothing wrong.”

Lou Xuanzhi gave a cold laugh.

“You did nothing wrong?

“What did I tell you before you descended the mountain? Did I not order you to listen to your senior sister and senior brother?

“And what did you do? Answer me! Have you suddenly lost the ability to speak?”

He struck the desk repeatedly, shaking the lid from the teacup.

“When the Jade Buddha’s Hand was stolen, your senior sister told you to stop pursuing them. She was afraid that you and Cao Ruxu would clash again and create further trouble.

“You knew perfectly well that your temperaments were incompatible. Why did you refuse to listen?”

Yu Jingqiu.

It was Yu Jingqiu again.

The previous day, Lou Xuanzhi had spoken to Yu Jingqiu gently, asking about her injuries and her condition.

Today, when facing Lou Jing, he had immediately showered her with accusations before she could say anything, as though she had committed some unforgivable crime.

Her heart twisted painfully with grief.

“Cao Ruxu’s subordinate had a filthy mouth! He slandered us!”

“Could that single sentence tear away a piece of your flesh or break one of your bones?

“You simply could not remain still and had to confront them directly.

“You followed them, and sure enough, you began fighting. Now the man is dead, and his family intends to pour the entire basin of filth over your head!”

Lou Jing gritted her teeth.

“I was not the one who insisted on fighting him. He was the one who refused to let the matter go and kept attacking me. Was I supposed to stand there and do nothing?”

“I knew you had an impatient temper, but I believed you could at least distinguish between what was urgent and what was not!

“With a powerful enemy before you, you should have understood that everyone needed to work together.

“Which was more important—capturing the members of the Feihua Alliance, or turning against your own side merely to satisfy your anger?”

Lou Xuanzhi’s eyes were filled with disappointment.

“You try to compete over everything. You simply had to fight over this breath of anger.

“You refuse to admit fault because you believe you were entirely justified, do you not? You are the most aggrieved person in the entire world. You have suffered an injustice greater than the heavens themselves. Is that it?”

Lou Jing was still young.

She saw matters from only one side and instinctively defended herself. In her view, she had not started the incident. Even if she had done something wrong, it had been only a minor mistake.

When others committed errors, they were treated lightly and forgiven. Why was she always met with thunder and lightning?

She also valued her pride immensely.

Being reprimanded publicly by Lou Xuanzhi made her face burn as though pierced by a thousand fine needles.

“It was not my fault, so why should I admit it? They bullied me. Why should I endure it?”

Lou Xuanzhi’s sharp words had wounded her deeply.

Her eyes grew hot. Both hands tightly clutched the fabric over her knees, and her voice caught in her throat.

Her temperament was sharp and intense.

When she was hurt, she wanted to hurt others in return. Driven by emotion, if she had to suffer, she wanted those who wounded her to experience the same pain.

“Work together against the enemy?”

Lou Jing lifted her eyes toward Lou Xuanzhi and gave a cold laugh.

“Cao Ruxu was shameless. As long as someone had the slightest connection to the Feihua Alliance, he believed he could slaughter them indiscriminately. He would not even spare an unborn child.

“How were his actions any different from those of the Feihua Alliance demons he despised?

“Long Chou’s trusted subordinate, on the other hand, was willing to die protecting that woman. He appeared far more loyal and righteous.

“Which side was truly unorthodox?

“My elders taught me that righteousness and chivalry must come first. Then tell me—which enemy was I supposed to fight?”

A loud clatter rang through the room.

Lou Xuanzhi’s chest rose and fell as he glared at Lou Jing.

Everyone knew how deeply he hated the Feihua Alliance.

The atmosphere fell below freezing.

Lou Yan had originally intended to mediate.

“How were they different?

“The Feihua Alliance brought disaster upon the martial world and accumulated countless blood debts. That was the cause.

“The martial artists of the world now wish to destroy them and demand repayment in blood. That is the consequence.

“The Feihua Alliance committed evil first. Only then did the righteous factions resolve to eradicate them at any cost. That is the difference.

“Even if Cao Ruxu acted improperly, Jing’er, how could you compare him with a member of the Feihua Alliance?”

“They are both human, so of course they can be compared!

“I almost wish I were a member of the Feihua Alliance. Then even if I had killed Cao Ruxu, there would be no talk of causes or consequences, or what I should or should not have endured. People would only applaud!”

Lou Jing was at precisely the age when young people rebelled against convention.

“You wish to join the Feihua Alliance? Excellent!

“Why do I not expel you from the Qianyuan Sect immediately? I will grant your wish and rid the sect of a source of trouble at the same time!

“You caused this disaster, so you may deal with it yourself!”

Seeing the dark, hostile look in Lou Jing’s eyes, Lou Xuanzhi felt as though his chest had been struck by a hammer. He almost lost his balance.

He was truly furious.

“I indulged you far too much in the past!”

He had always given light punishments intended only as warnings.

If he did not strike her awake with a heavy blow now, he feared she would truly walk down a crooked path.

Lou Xuanzhi strode toward her.

Lang Ye, Lou Yan, and Yu Xiu all stepped forward to stop him.

Yu Xiu urged, “Senior Brother, she spoke only out of anger! Those are merely the words of a child!”

Lou Yan shouted, “Jing’er, why are you still standing here angering your father? Get to the ancestral hall and reflect upon your conduct!”

Yet Lou Jing stubbornly refused to leave.

She stretched out her neck and waited for Lou Xuanzhi’s cane to fall.

Go ahead and beat me.

No one would feel sorry for me.

She almost wanted her body to hurt more so that she could pity herself.

But when Lou Xuanzhi rushed forward, he did not strike her.

Instead, he seized the sword at her waist and tore it away.

Lou Jing froze.

Her face turned deathly pale. Only now did she begin to feel afraid.

“Father…”

Lou Xuanzhi drew the sword and looked at the engraved name upon its blade:

Snow Soul.

Years ago, he had commissioned the Southern Metallurgy Sect to forge swords for his disciples.

Two of those swords had been named Ice Spirit and Snow Soul.

Ice Spirit had been given to Yu Jingqiu, while Snow Soul had been given to Lou Jing.

The names symbolized pure and noble character.

They represented Lou Xuanzhi’s highest hopes for them.

Lou Xuanzhi asked coldly, “Are you worthy of wielding this sword?”

“Father, do not!”

Lou Jing stumbled to her feet and rushed forward to stop him.

She stretched out her hand, but she was one step too late.

Lou Xuanzhi drew the sword slightly back and thrust it outward.

A burst of force shook the blade.

The sword shattered like fragile ice and glass, breaking into several pieces.

A fragment flew backward and brushed past Lou Jing’s hairline.

Its sharp edge cut through her hair tie.

Her black hair poured down like clouds, scattering around her shoulders.

Lou Jing appeared to have been struck heavily across the face.

She stared blankly at the fragments scattered across the floor for a long time.

Then she slowly picked up the piece bearing the sword’s name and gripped it tightly.

Its sharp corner pierced her palm, and a line of dark red blood dripped from the edge of her hand.

Lou Xuanzhi had already turned his back to her.

His emotions had not yet settled, and his chest continued to rise and fall faintly.

“He called me a bastard!”

Lou Xuanzhi’s entire body shook.

He abruptly turned around.

“What?”

Tears streamed from Lou Jing’s eyes, though her gaze remained fierce.

“Cao Ruxu called me a bastard. He insulted Mother. He insulted you…”

An adulterous man and woman. Everyone knows it.

You are a mongrel, and Lou Xuanzhi is a laughingstock.

Blood vessels appeared in her eyes.

She gritted her teeth.

“I was wrong.

“I was wrong because I failed to stab him twice more before he died!”

“You… he…”

Lou Xuanzhi stared at Lou Jing.

His eyes contained too many emotions to name, while his face had turned completely white.

“He… he…”

He appeared unable to force out the second half of his sentence.

His breath failed midway.

He coughed twice, seemingly troubled by phlegm, and turned away with a hand covering his mouth.

What he spat into the spittoon was blood.

He tried to suppress it, but extreme grief and rage had attacked his heart. How could he possibly hold it back?

His coughing became violent, as though his breath might stop at any moment.

Blood poured directly from his mouth.

“Senior Brother!”

“Elder Brother!”

Lou Jing panicked and threw herself toward him.

“Father! Father!”

“Everyone leave! Leave! Do not crowd around him!”

Yu Xiu had also studied medicine and had long managed the medicinal storehouses on Tiger Roar Mountain.

He supported Lou Xuanzhi into the inner room and helped him lie upon the couch, then hurriedly drove everyone else outside.

Chaos broke out around the study on the main peak, alarming everyone nearby.

Meanwhile, at Kingfisher Pavilion on Xiangri Peak, the mountain scenery remained tranquil and the spiritual birds chirped cheerfully, forming a beautiful sight that soothed the heart.

Han Ling held a rolled painting in his hands and sat restlessly, unable to remain still.

Yu Jingqiu held a handful of millet and fed the kingfishers perched around the pavilion.

One kingfisher affectionately landed upon her finger.

She stood in profile, her beauty rivaling that of the sacred mountain itself.

Sunlight passing through the thin mist became hazy, covering her like a veil of light.

The ribbons in her hair wound through her black tresses and drifted down to her waist.

She looked ethereal, like an immortal standing apart from the mortal world.

Han Ling stared at her in a daze.

Only after Yu Jingqiu finished feeding the birds and turned around did he recover.

“Junior Brother Han, we arranged today’s meeting before I descended the mountain.”

Han Ling abruptly came back to himself.

“Yes. Yes, we did.”

“You looked extremely solemn at the time, so I assumed you had an important matter to discuss.

“There is no need for you to worry. We are fellow disciples. If you are facing any difficulty, speak openly. If I am able to help, I certainly will not refuse.”

“I…”

Han Ling’s face reddened.

The more seriously Yu Jingqiu spoke, the more embarrassed he became to say what was on his mind.

But after reconsidering, he thought, If I, as the man, do not take the initiative in such a matter, am I supposed to expect the young woman to speak first? Besides, I do not even know how Yu Jingqiu feels.

Han Ling took a deep breath and gathered his courage once again.

He was just about to speak.

“Senior Sister—!”

A figure flew toward them from the mountain path.

Before the person had even arrived, the drawn-out cry had already carried over.

Yu Jingqiu rose and walked forward.

Yun Yao came rushing toward her and stopped in front of her, panting heavily.

“Senior Sister, Master summoned Second Senior Brother and Ah-Jing.”

Yu Jingqiu said, “He is probably questioning them about Cao Ruxu.”

Yun Yao replied, “I heard from the senior brother who came to summon them that Master’s expression was terrible. He must be extremely angry.

“What if he believed Manor Master Cao and thinks Cao Ruxu really was killed by Ah-Jing? Could Master possibly…”

Yu Jingqiu reassured her.

“Master is not someone who listens only to one side. Otherwise, Manor Master Cao would not have left so quickly.

“Do not worry. I will go and have a look.”

Yu Jingqiu turned to bid farewell to Han Ling in the pavilion.

“Junior Brother Han, something unexpected has happened. I must go to Master’s study.”

“Senior Sister, but I… I still have something to say.”

“Let us speak after this matter is settled.”

With that, she headed toward Lou Xuanzhi’s study.

Han Ling watched her departing figure.

The hand he had raised halfway slowly fell again.

All that remained was a sigh.