Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 18

Now that Lou Jing had learned the circumstances her mother had faced, it felt as though her heart had been carved from her chest.

Her entire world seemed on the verge of collapse.

The past had once resembled brilliant vermilion walls, but now the vivid color peeled away piece by piece, leaving everything mottled and ruined.

She felt helpless and nearly burst into tears.

Seeing that something was wrong with her expression, Lou Yan said, “Jing’er, your father is not that kind of man.”

Lou Jing recalled Lou Xuanzhi’s solemn bearing.

She had lived beside him for more than ten years. She had observed his character from close at hand and understood it clearly.

That was precisely why she struggled so fiercely.

She shook her head.

“My father would never be that kind of person.”

Lou Yan said, “Jing’er, come home with Second Uncle.”

Shen Zhongyin gave a cold snort.

“You think you can leave?”

The moment the words fell, Shen Zhongyin attacked with lightning speed.

His inner force surged, and his first move was already intended to kill. His palms moved so quickly that they produced countless afterimages, carrying the momentum of mountains collapsing and seas overturning.

Standing before him, Lou Yan felt as though he were upon a raging ocean, with towering waves bearing down upon him.

Lou Yan turned his folding fan and used it as a sword, thrusting directly forward.

It was merely a fan with wooden ribs and a gold-flecked paper surface, yet in Lou Yan’s hand it released magnificent sword intent.

He executed Sword Pierces the Rainbow, a move from the Qian Formula, and seemed to divide the western sky in two.

True qi surged violently, sending sand and stones flying.

This was the first time Lou Jing had seen Lou Yan fight.

He carried nothing but a folding fan throughout the day, and she had never once seen a sword at his waist. She had always assumed he simply did not keep one with him.

Now it appeared that Lou Yan did not use a sword as his weapon at all.

Yet for someone with profound cultivation, anything could become a sharp blade.

After her initial surprise, Lou Jing paid it little further attention.

The twilight deepened.

Shen Zhongyin and Lou Yan fought only briefly before exchanging a direct palm strike.

The resulting force swept outward. A wave of scorching heat filled the air, making the chest feel stifled and breathing difficult.

Lou Yan was forced backward.

A thread of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He covered his chest and frowned. Heat surged uncontrollably through his body, turning his cheeks crimson.

Only after a long while did the color drain away, leaving him deathly pale.

“I did not expect your cultivation to have reached completion. You are no longer the man you were. Even I am no match for you now.”

Seeing Lou Yan injured, Lou Jing became anxious and tried to approach him.

“Second Uncle…”

She was already devastated after learning the truth of her mother’s death, her heart filled with grief and indignation that had nowhere to go.

Now that Lou Yan was wounded, concern threw her thoughts into chaos.

Her guard lowered, and Shen Zhongyin struck one of her acupoints from behind.

Lou Jing’s awareness drifted away. Her legs weakened until she could no longer stand.

Shen Zhongyin caught her in his arms.

Her vision became hazy, as though covered by white mist. Sounds around her were muffled, as though cotton had been stuffed into her ears.

She could only faintly hear Shen Zhongyin say, “If he wants to take her away, tell Lou Xuanzhi to come…”

The rest was unclear.

Lou Yan seemed to look at her several times, or perhaps he was looking at Shen Zhongyin.

After a long while, he turned and departed.

As his figure receded into the distance, Lou Jing’s consciousness gradually sank into darkness.

After leaving, Lou Yan hurried directly back to the Qianyuan Sect.

More than a day later, he reached Tiger Roar Mountain and rushed into Lou Xuanzhi’s study.

Seeing him covered in dust and exhaustion, as though he had traveled at full speed without proper rest, Lou Xuanzhi poured him a cup of tea.

“Did negotiations with Caoliu Manor fail?”

Lou Yan shook his head.

He told Lou Xuanzhi how he had encountered the messenger carrying Lou Jing’s letter and how he had fought Shen Zhongyin.

“Foolish!”

Lou Xuanzhi slammed his palm against the desk.

“You have always been cautious. Why did you not return and report to the sect first? Why did you go to confront Shen Zhongyin alone?”

Lou Yan replied, “Jing’er wrote that she was secretly monitoring Shen Zhongyin’s movements.

“What sort of man is Shen Zhongyin? If he discovered her, who knew what he might do?

“I thought the situation demanded immediate action. I intended to investigate first and, if possible, quietly bring Jing’er back.

“But she had already been exposed and was being held by Shen Zhongyin.

“I originally believed my strength would be enough to contend with him. Yet his cultivation has advanced enormously over the years and far surpassed what it once was.

“It was beyond my expectations. I could not defeat him, so I had no choice but to withdraw first.”

Lou Xuanzhi gave a heavy snort.

“I think you merely wanted to conceal her reckless behavior. If you could cover it up for her, all the better. When you discovered that you could not, only then did you remember to come find me.”

Lou Yan sighed.

“This matter could not be explained clearly in a few lines of a letter, which is why I left Jing’er and returned personally.

“Elder Brother, now is not the time to assign blame. Bringing Jing’er back safely is what matters.

“Shen Zhongyin is most skilled at manipulating people’s hearts. Do you know what he—he…”

Lou Yan stamped his foot in frustration.

“What?” Lou Xuanzhi demanded. “Say what you have to say.”

“He told Jing’er the truth about Jiao Lan’s death…”

A thunderous crash rang out.

The four-drawer ebony desk beside Lou Xuanzhi collapsed beneath his palm.

A dark expression covered his face.

“He dared mention that before Jing’er!”

Lou Yan said, “Elder Brother, I believe he came prepared. He has detained Jing’er because he probably wants to fight you again and avenge the sword wound he received years ago.”

Lou Xuanzhi replied coldly, “I spared his life because he offered Jiao Lan and Jing’er some assistance while they wandered outside.

“I had already shown him the utmost benevolence.

“Since he wishes to compete again, very well. This time, I will not spare him!”

As Lou Xuanzhi walked outside, he instructed Lou Yan, “That man is deeply calculating. We do not know what further schemes he may have prepared.

“Gather some disciples and follow immediately.”

“Elder Brother!”

The moment Lou Xuanzhi left the study, he tapped his toes against the ground.

His figure drifted away like the wind and vanished within moments.

Lou Yan could only hurry to find the elders.

He had just left the study and reached the platform above the steps when he saw someone walking slowly toward him.

“I just saw the sect master rushing down the mountain. What happened?”

The newcomer wore green robes and had a small goatee upon his chin. His eyes were long and narrow.

It was Third Elder Li Changhong.

Lou Yan glanced at him.

“Jing’er was captured by Shen Zhongyin. How could my elder brother not be anxious?”

“Such a thing happened?”

“You arrived at the right time.

“My elder brother fears Shen Zhongyin may have secretly prepared some scheme, so he intends to bring several disciples in case anything unexpected occurs.

“Gathering people will take time. I must trouble Senior Brother to handle it.

“I will follow him first so that someone can support him.”

Li Changhong nodded repeatedly.

“Very well. I will summon the disciples and follow shortly.”

Having handed the matter over, Lou Yan immediately pursued Lou Xuanzhi.

At that same time, on Xiangri Peak, Yu Jingqiu sat bent over her desk with lowered brows.

She held a message delivered by carrier pigeon.

The strip of paper was barely a finger wide. She unfolded it and read it repeatedly, unable to stop herself from releasing another soft sigh.

Inside a cage by the windowsill, the pigeon cooed.

The message contained a meticulous drawing of half a jade pendant.

Its shape and broken edge roughly matched the fragment in Yu Jingqiu’s possession.

Beneath the drawing were four words:

Are you willing to meet?

The entire matter had begun when she descended the mountain to search for Lou Jing.

Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye had failed to find her. Eventually, Lou Xuanzhi noticed something was wrong and discovered that Lou Jing had run away.

Although he stubbornly said they should leave her to live or die as she pleased, his heart softened.

He still sent Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye to Xuzhou City to search for Lou Jing, while also investigating the scene of Cao Ruxu’s death for clues.

They found nothing regarding either matter.

When they returned empty-handed and began climbing the mountain from the town below, they encountered a farmer surnamed Zhang.

He raised poultry, mainly to supply the Qianyuan Sect. He also delivered birds to Xiangri Peak, so they were familiar with him.

That day, he handed Yu Jingqiu a cage containing five or six pigeons.

He said someone had entrusted him to pass them to her.

When asked who it was, he could not identify the person. He only said the stranger’s face was unfamiliar and that he had never seen them before.

The person delivering the pigeons had also left a message:

“They will prove useful in time.”

It was extremely mysterious.

Yu Jingqiu had no idea who was deliberately creating such suspense.

She found it strange.

They seemed to be carrier pigeons. Did the mysterious person intend to contact her?

Most people she knew belonged to the sect. If someone within the sect wished to communicate with her, there would be no need for such elaborate arrangements.

If it was someone outside, perhaps one of her master’s close friends, none of those elders behaved in such a secretive manner.

But aside from them, who else could it be?

Her heart stirred.

She involuntarily thought of the elder sister she had never met and whose location was unknown.

The moment the thought arose, she hurriedly suppressed it, telling herself that her imagination had become far too wild.

Yet, as though compelled by some unseen force, she kept the pigeons.

Several days later, the sound of fluttering wings came from above Chengxin Waterside Pavilion.

A carrier pigeon had arrived.

Yu Jingqiu was astonished.

Xiangri Peak lay deep among the surrounding mountains, far from the outside world. Never before had a carrier pigeon flown there.

Who had sent her a message?

When Yu Jingqiu opened the note and saw the few lines written upon it, she froze in place like a stone statue.

It was her elder sister?

How could it be her sister?

Yu Jingqiu struggled to calm herself before noticing how suspicious the matter was.

She had only just learned about her origins, and someone immediately sent a message claiming to be her elder sister.

The timing was far too coincidental.

Moreover, carrier pigeons relied upon their instinct to return home. For these pigeons to recognize the route to Xiangri Peak, they must have been trained for some time.

That meant the sender had known for quite a while that Yu Jingqiu lived there.

If her sister knew she was at the Qianyuan Sect, why had she not contacted her earlier?

Yet the contents of the message closely matched what Lou Xuanzhi had told her.

It probably truly was her sister.

Yu Jingqiu’s blood surged with excitement.

Countless questions filled her heart. She wanted to rush to her sister at that very moment—to see her and question her.

But Master had made her swear an oath.

She was forbidden from meeting her sister or investigating anything about her.

She had sworn.

Remembering her master’s command, she became deeply conflicted.

Gritting her teeth, she burned the message and resolved to forget everything, pretending she had never seen it.

She looked at the carrier pigeon and intended to send it away as well.

She lifted its cage and hesitated repeatedly, but in the end, she could not bear to part with it and kept the bird.

She set the matter aside for many days, yet she continued thinking about it at night.

Perhaps everyone naturally longed for their closest blood relatives, especially someone like her, who had believed herself utterly alone.

She could not forget the joy of learning that she still had family in the world.

She could not relinquish that mortal attachment within her heart.

At last, for the first time in her life, Yu Jingqiu secretly disobeyed her master and sent a reply.

Thus began their correspondence.

Yu Jingqiu wanted to obey her master’s command, yet she also longed to learn about her sister.

Every time she received or sent a message, she passed her days consumed by guilt over defying her master.

She received three letters in total.

Each time she opened one, the guilt became heavier until it was nearly unbearable.

This latest message had remained unopened upon her table for an entire day.

She had thought about it for that entire day as well.

Her promise to her master and her longing for her sister had battled within her mind from morning until night.

She told herself, This will be the last time.

When she finally opened the letter, she saw the drawing of the broken jade pendant and the question beneath it.

After comparing the pendants, Yu Jingqiu could now be certain that the sender truly was her elder sister.

She felt both delighted and melancholy.

Are you willing to meet?

Secretly corresponding after disobeying her master for the first time had already pushed her to her limit.

She did not know how she could bear the guilt of arranging a private meeting.

Holding the pigeon, she sat blankly beside the waterside pavilion.

She had already made her decision.

She would not meet her.

Yet she could not bring herself to place her written refusal inside the tube attached to the pigeon’s leg.

Would her elder sister be hurt after receiving such a letter?

While Yu Jingqiu was lost in thought, someone called from outside the pavilion.

“Senior Sister Yu.”

She abruptly returned to herself.

Seeing the pigeon in her hands, she suddenly behaved like a thief caught in wrongdoing, moving first in one direction and then another as she tried to hide it.

After regaining a little composure, her reason returned.

She hurriedly released the pigeon.

Once it had flown away, her face burned.

Looking down at her palm, she realized that she had forgotten to place her reply inside the message tube.

“…”

She had never expected that disobeying her master for the first time would make her feel so guilty and nervous.

Yu Jingqiu could only smile bitterly.

The person calling outside was Han Ling.

Hearing movement within the pavilion, he entered.

“So Senior Sister was here.”

Yu Jingqiu asked, “Junior Brother Han, is something the matter?”

Seeing the flush upon Yu Jingqiu’s cheeks, Han Ling felt his heart stir.

Her usually cool and gentle beauty had gained a touch of vivid color, making her appear incomparably alluring.

His voice unconsciously softened.

“Has Senior Sister forgotten? We arranged for me to tell you something. But Senior Sister has been so busy that the matter has been delayed again and again.”

Yu Jingqiu remembered and said apologetically, “I have neglected you.”

“Senior Sister has been occupied. It could not be helped, so I do not blame you.”

“What important matter did Junior Brother wish to discuss?”

Yu Jingqiu lit the small stove beside her and began preparing tea for him.

Han Ling unrolled the painting he had been holding and spread it across the table.

“I heard that Senior Sister appreciates painting. This is an authentic work by Xigu…”

Yu Jingqiu’s expression clearly showed her disapproval.

“Junior Brother Han, one should not accept a reward without merit. I have said before that you should not give me such a valuable gift.”

Han Ling knelt beside the table.

“Senior Sister, because we are fellow disciples, you naturally should not accept a reward without merit. But if… if…”

“Junior Brother?”

Han Ling took a deep breath and cupped his hands toward her.

“Senior Sister, ever since I entered the sect, I have admired you.”

He lifted his head. His cheeks were slightly red, and as though gathering his courage, he shouted the words.

“I—I—I love you!”

Yu Jingqiu stared at him in astonishment.

She remained bewildered for a moment.

Having never experienced romantic matters, she did not know how to respond and slightly furrowed her brows.

Han Ling immediately had a bad feeling.

“Senior Sister, I am not asking you to answer me now. You may consider it slowly.”

Yu Jingqiu shook her head.

Looking at him, she said gently, “Junior Brother, I have only ever regarded you as my junior brother. At present, I also have no interest in romantic affection.

“Junior Brother, the sect is currently passing through a period of transition. As a man, you should devote more thought to refining your swordsmanship and serving the sect.”

Han Ling’s heart plunged violently from the heights.

His complexion turned ashen.

“Senior Sister, I…”

Yu Jingqiu’s rejection left him no room to recover.

“Senior Sister, my feelings are sincere.”

“Junior Brother, so are mine.”

Yu Jingqiu poured him a cup of hot tea.

She had only just filled her own cup when Yun Yao rushed inside like a whirlwind.

Yun Yao picked up the cup before Yu Jingqiu and took a sip, only to burn her tongue and stick it out.

After catching her breath, she said, “Senior Sister, they found Ah-Jing.”

Yu Jingqiu immediately stood.

“Where is she?”

“I heard from a junior brother on the main peak that Ah-Jing has become involved with the great demon Shen Zhongyin.

“Master and Martial Uncle Lou have already gone ahead. Master feared it might be a Feihua Alliance trap, so he instructed an elder to gather disciples, and they have also departed.”

Yu Jingqiu asked, “Why did I not hear the bell summoning the disciples?”

“They said it was not serious enough to ring the bell. I do not know much else. We would have to ask Martial Uncle Wu.”

The moment Yun Yao finished, Yu Jingqiu said to Han Ling, “Junior Brother Han, please excuse me.”

She hurried toward the main peak, with Yun Yao following close behind.

Han Ling watched her departing figure.

The words he wanted to call after her remained stuck in his throat. His chest felt unbearably obstructed.

Lowering his head, he saw the famous painting he had searched so painstakingly to obtain.

His disappointment and defeat transformed into resentment.

Veins bulged across his forehead, and his face flushed dark red.

He seized the cup of tea and smashed it violently onto the painting.

Gritting his teeth, he said, “Lou Jing. Lou Jing! You see nothing but Lou Jing!”

“I worship you like a deity, terrified of causing you the slightest displeasure and wanting only to win your affection.

“I offer you my sincere heart, yet you refuse even to see it.

“Lou Jing opposes you at every turn. Her temperament is strange and perverse. She has even drawn her sword against you.

“Yet you always protect her. Your eyes watch only her!”

Han Ling closed his hand around a fragment of porcelain.

He gripped it so fiercely that its sharp edge pierced his palm, and blood flowed between his fingers.

It was late spring approaching early summer.

The weather had grown warmer, and the sounds of insects became increasingly loud at night.

Elsewhere, after Shen Zhongyin struck Lou Jing’s acupoints and rendered her unconscious, she awoke amid those insect calls.

They had taken rooms at the roadside inn.

Shen Zhongyin had sealed Lou Jing’s inner force, limiting her movements to the inn and its immediate surroundings.

The bodies of the riders Shen Zhongyin had killed along the roadside had disappeared somewhere.

Rain fell during the night, washing away even the bloodstains.

Lou Jing wondered whether the one-armed survivor who recognized Shen Zhongyin would seek assistance from Caoliu Manor.

They remained at the inn for some time and indeed saw a group from Caoliu Manor arrive to make inquiries.

The innkeeper, however, had already received a warning from Shen Zhongyin.

He and the others at the inn had witnessed Shen Zhongyin kill those men, so the innkeeper did not dare defy him and concealed the truth.

Shen Zhongyin continued teaching Lou Jing his palm techniques.

Both the palm art and its internal method were unquestionably superior martial skills.

Yet Lou Jing had no interest in them.

Never before had she felt as lost as she did now.

She had begun to doubt her own sect and even the father who had raised her.

Lou Jing suddenly hated Shen Zhongyin for tearing open this bloody wound.

If Shen Zhongyin had revealed monstrous fangs, she might have felt better and dismissed everything as part of his scheme.

But he had not.

He behaved exactly as he had before.

Few travelers passed along this road, and the inn remained deserted.

Aside from Lou Jing and Shen Zhongyin, only the innkeeper remained.

There had originally been a waiter, but he feared Shen Zhongyin and fled during the night.

As the weather grew hotter, the inn’s supplies began to run low.

With the waiter gone, the innkeeper had no choice but to travel personally to the city to purchase more.

Lou Jing sat beneath the eaves at the rear of the inn, facing a pine forest.

Pine needles covered the ground, their sharp points seeming to sting her eyes.

She still remembered what Shen Zhongyin had said before she lost consciousness, so she asked him, “What exactly are you trying to do?”

“Do?”

Shen Zhongyin caught a falling pine needle between his fingers.

With a casual flick, half of it buried itself in a corridor pillar.

“To avenge the woman I loved.”

Lou Jing’s expression immediately changed.

Although Shen Zhongyin had not named anyone, she knew exactly whom he meant.

She had always wanted to understand what had happened between Jiao Lan and Shen Zhongyin but had never been able to ask.

Then she remembered what he had said that day:

No one believed in her faithfulness.

Lou Jing suddenly understood.

Deep self-reproach followed.

She had been no different from those people. She too had once doubted her own mother.

When she remembered his other words—that not a single person had stood beside her—an endless sorrow filled her.

“You said my mother killed herself.”

“Lou Xuanzhi left her to bear everything alone. How was he any different from her killers?

“I should have killed him more than ten years ago. My martial arts were inferior to his then.

“Now, all I lack is an opportunity.”

“I do not understand you.”

Lou Jing glared fiercely at Shen Zhongyin.

“You want to kill my father, yet you teach me your palm techniques.

“Are you not afraid I will kill you?”

Shen Zhongyin stood before her and looked down.

A light breeze moved the hem of his robes.

“Jing’er, from the first moment I saw you, I knew that one day you would avenge your mother.”

Shen Zhongyin narrowed his eyes. His gaze was darker than the sky.

“That is why I will lend you my strength.”

Lou Jing always felt that his words carried another meaning, but she could not understand it.

Avenge her mother?

Who was the enemy?

Was it the now-vanished Paisha Gang, the righteous martial factions, the Feihua Alliance, her father, or the Qianyuan Sect?

Lou Jing did not know whom she should hate.

At that moment, roof tiles shifted overhead.

Robes snapped loudly in the wind, and a person descended into the courtyard.

Lou Jing stood.

“Father.”

The newcomer was Lou Xuanzhi, who had traveled day and night from Tiger Roar Mountain.

Lou Jing was not surprised to see him.

She knew that once Lou Yan returned and told him about her situation, Lou Xuanzhi would certainly come.

Part of her had hoped he would.

She wanted Lou Xuanzhi and Shen Zhongyin to confront each other face-to-face.

Yet another part had not wanted him to come, fearing that Shen Zhongyin had prepared some scheme.

Lou Xuanzhi called, “Jing’er, come here!”

Lou Jing remained where she was.

Her expression was complicated, and she did not move.

Dark clouds covered the sky, leaving heaven and earth dim.

Only a thin thread of light could be seen where the clouds met.

A cold wind began to rise, tearing fresh green broad leaves from the branches.

Lou Jing asked, “Father, why did you conceal the truth about Mother’s death from me?”

Lou Xuanzhi understood Lou Jing’s temperament and had already expected this question.

After a long silence, he said, “You were still too young…”

Shen Zhongyin interrupted, “Or were you afraid your daughter would learn the truth and you would lose all dignity as her father?”

Lou Xuanzhi abruptly turned his head.

His gaze was as sharp as shears, and his voice resembled a tiger’s roar.

“Shut your mouth!”

Shen Zhongyin gave a low scoff.

“Angry from humiliation.”

Lou Xuanzhi said sternly, “Shen Zhongyin, do you truly believe that because so many years have passed, no one knows what you did back then?”

Shen Zhongyin sneered.

“What did I do?”

“When Jiao Lan left the sect, she had already been pregnant for more than a month.

“While protecting the Meng family during their flight, she attempted to contact the sect for assistance.

“You interfered repeatedly and prevented her from reaching us, causing the misunderstanding between her and the sect to deepen.

“Had you not created trouble between them, why would she have wandered outside with Jing’er for years and only returned after our master died?

“You acted with such contemptible shamelessness, yet you still dare proclaim that you loved her!

“You even possess the face to stand before Jing’er.

“If Jiao Lan knew this beneath the springs, she would regret ever having met you!”

Lou Xuanzhi had abruptly struck Shen Zhongyin’s most painful wound.

In his fury, veins throbbed at Shen Zhongyin’s temples, and his eyes turned blood-red.

“If I were truly contemptible, I would have bound her and dragged her back to the Feihua Alliance!

“There would be no Lou Jing today—only Shen Jing!

“If I were truly shameless, I would never have allowed her to return to the Qianyuan Sect and cut her own throat in despair!”

Shen Zhongyin retaliated bitterly.

“Lou Xuanzhi, you coveted the position of sect master and treasured your own reputation.

“Outside the sect, you did not dare offend the martial factions. Inside, you did not dare defy your martial uncles and elders.

“The only person you dared betray was her!

“You could not protect her. You are unworthy of being called a man!”

Lou Jing asked, “Father, are his words true?

“Father, if you say they are not, I will believe you.”

Lou Xuanzhi did not wish to defend himself.

No matter how many reasons he possessed, it remained true that he had failed Jiao Lan.

He closed his eyes.

A tear silently slid from the corner of his eye.

He stood there like a stone statue, cold and wordless.

It was the first time Lou Jing had ever seen her father cry.

For some reason, she intensely hated that single tear.

She seemed to understand what it represented:

His regret that he had not given everything he possessed.

Lou Xuanzhi opened his eyes once more and glared furiously at Shen Zhongyin.

“If not for you, how could she have ended this way? If not for you!”

He hated and grieved so deeply that even his voice became hoarse.

If not for you, why would she have cut her throat to prove her chastity so that no one would question Jing’er’s birth?

If not for you, why would Jing’er have suffered contempt and been cursed as a bastard?

He did not dare voice those words.

He feared Lou Jing would blame herself.

Public opinion could be terrifying.

Jiao Lan had gone to the Meng family while already pregnant, though she did not know it at the time.

Afterward, she wandered outside until she gave birth to Lou Jing alone.

Aside from Jiao Lan, Shen Zhongyin, and the Meng family’s child, no one could verify Lou Jing’s parentage.

Yet no one believed either Jiao Lan or Shen Zhongyin.

Even her fellow disciples within the sect could not believe them, because the timing was far too coincidental.

What use was Lou Xuanzhi’s faith alone? It could not silence the endless mouths of the world.

Lou Xuanzhi’s greatest regret concerned the Paisha Gang incident.

He had failed to speak.

Behind him had stood his master’s coffin. In his hand had been Deliverance from Calamity, the sect master’s sword.

Before him, Jiao Lan had been condemned by everyone.

He had failed to become the person she could depend upon and tell them:

“She did nothing wrong!”

Jiao Lan had possessed proud integrity and valued righteousness.

When he remained silent, she understood his dilemma.

She did not wish to burden him or implicate the sect.

She also wished to preserve both her own reputation and her child’s.

Before all the gathered factions, she resolutely drew her sword and cut her own throat.

This was the greatest pain and regret of Lou Xuanzhi’s life.

If he had cast aside his countless concerns, adopted an unwavering position, and abandoned everything to protect her, would she still have made such a final decision?

Shen Zhongyin smiled contemptuously.

“If not for me? If not for me?

“Then where were you when she was suffering?”

The two men hated one another, each believing the other’s existence had destroyed the woman he loved.

When enemies met, their eyes burned redder than ever.

Over the years, Lou Xuanzhi had devoted himself to the sect and his disciples.

He had avoided thinking about the past, allowing his hatred to fade, which was why he had never sought Shen Zhongyin for revenge.

Shen Zhongyin, however, had fought Lou Xuanzhi once before and lost.

He had secluded himself and cultivated bitterly ever since.

Now that they met again, Lou Xuanzhi’s dormant rage ignited.

Aside from himself, the people he hated most were the Feihua Alliance and Shen Zhongyin.

Shen Zhongyin’s desire for revenge had accumulated for years, burning ever more fiercely.

Their words had already become as sharp as exchanged swords and blades.

How could their hands show mercy?

Lou Xuanzhi said, “Utterly shameless!”

Shen Zhongyin replied, “Coward!”

A muffled thunderclap exploded in the sky.

Violent winds arose.

Two supreme experts attacked, and their colliding true qi resembled Mount Tai collapsing with a deafening crash.

Lou Xuanzhi drew his sword.

It was not Deliverance from Calamity, the sect master’s weapon.

Yet even though it was only an ordinary sword, its departure from the sheath was accompanied by the cry of a dragon, revealing the profundity of his cultivation.

Shen Zhongyin swept both palms outward and unleashed his full power.

Wind and thunder seemed to roll around him.

The pine needles scattered upon the ground rose beneath his palm force and transformed into countless tiny blades.

He released a wave of scorching qi.

Flames leaped into existence, and the long streams of pine needles immediately caught fire.

They spiraled like two fiery dragons.

Shen Zhongyin thrust his hands forward, and the fire dragons roared.

Lou Xuanzhi released a clear cry.

His sword became a silver rainbow, like ten thousand shooting stars falling to earth, carrying overwhelming force that seemed impossible to resist.

Their vast true qi collided.

Heaven and earth changed color.