Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 31

Meanwhile, Yu Jingqiu and the other two had taken seats inside the tavern.

The wine and dishes had long since been served. They waited so long that all the steam faded from the food, yet their senior brother still did not return.

The golden sun sank toward the west. No travelers remained upon the road, and the sunlight gradually softened and warmed.

Yet Yu Jingqiu and the others felt a chill pierce their bones.

Outside the tavern, killing intent gathered thickly.

Without warning, the roof collapsed.

A mountain-splitting axe came crashing down toward Yu Jingqiu’s head with terrifying force.

Yu Jingqiu kicked the table and used the resulting momentum to send her stool sliding backward, narrowly avoiding the attack.

A huge, powerfully built man dropped through the roof, his axe striking empty air.

His assault appeared to be a signal.

Everyone lying in ambush outside the tavern charged at once. Lang Ye and the remaining fellow disciple drew their swords and met the attackers from both sides.

Before the axe-wielding man could recover his stance, Yu Jingqiu hooked the stool with her foot and kicked it toward him.

The man swung his axe and shattered the stool into pieces.

Behind the flying fragments, a single point of sword light stole the brilliance of the sun and moon as it shot toward one of his vital acupoints.

Despite his thick waist and broad shoulders, the man’s movements were surprisingly nimble.

He evaded Yu Jingqiu’s unexpected strike, suffering only a shallow cut across his face.

A powerful wind split the air from the side.

Yu Jingqiu raised her sword to block.

A long whip lashed toward her like lightning and coiled around her blade.

The axe-wielding man immediately closed in.

Yu Jingqiu used the pulling force of the whip to fly forward, turning the attack to her advantage as she rushed toward the woman wielding it.

Her sword flashed like lightning, aiming directly for the woman’s wrist.

At that moment, a muscular man thrust a black-gold spear between them.

Yu Jingqiu had no choice but to withdraw her sword and defend herself.

In an instant, two men and one woman had surrounded her.

A defining feature of the Zhixing Sect was the great variety of martial arts its members practiced.

Lang Ye and the other disciple recognized several familiar faces among the attackers.

Lang Ye shouted coldly, “Friends of the Zhixing Sect, although our sects cannot be called intimate allies, we have always lived in peace.

“How have we offended you? Why have you ambushed us and attacked our fellow disciples?”

The axe-wielding man stared at Yu Jingqiu.

“If you wish to blame someone, blame your… unfortunate origins.”

They refused to explain further and immediately began using killing moves.

The three surrounding Yu Jingqiu possessed the strongest cultivation.

After forcing back their own opponents, Lang Ye and the remaining disciple hurried to assist her.

Yu Jingqiu said, “Senior Brother Hao went to obtain horses. I fear he has also encountered disaster.

“Senior Brother Zhao, Ah-Ye and I will hold them here. Hurry and find Senior Brother Hao. Then we will break out together.”

Senior Brother Zhao acknowledged her and withdrew from the fight, rushing outside.

Lang Ye called, “Senior Sister, let us try the sword formation!”

The Qianyuan Sword Formation had evolved from their sword art.

It was created by their grandmaster Lü Keji, an unparalleled genius whose brilliance had once dominated the martial world.

The formation could be used by anywhere from one to ten people, progressing through the principles of Taiji, the Two Forms, the Three Powers, the Four Symbols, the Eight Trigrams, the Nine Palaces, and the Ten Directions.

Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye had known each other since childhood and shared a profound understanding.

Although they seldom used the formation, they could still execute it effortlessly without preparation.

Once the formation arose, it was as though an impenetrable wall of swords had appeared between them.

The members of the Zhixing Sect could find no opening through which to attack.

The two fought while retreating, searching along the way for their missing senior brothers.

Then they heard a miserable cry.

They hurried toward the sound.

What awaited them were the corpses of both men.

Senior Brother Hao, who had gone to obtain horses, was covered in blood that had already begun to dry. He had clearly been dead for some time.

Senior Brother Zhao’s eyes remained wide open.

It appeared that he had seen Senior Brother Hao’s corpse moments before his own death. His attention had faltered, and a sword pierced his heart.

He had died without closing his eyes.

The sight of their fellow disciples’ deaths shook Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye deeply.

A flaw appeared in their sword formation.

The axe-wielding man gathered all his strength and swung at Yu Jingqiu.

Distracted by grief, she reacted one step too slowly.

There was no time to redirect the force, so she could only meet it head-on.

The impact was as fierce as a tiger charging down a mountain.

Yu Jingqiu was thrown backward.

She smashed through a doorway and fell into a nearby house.

Inside, a small child was bending beside a water vat to scoop water.

At that moment, the muscular man outside thrust his spear toward her.

Yu Jingqiu wanted to evade, but feared the weapon would strike the child behind her.

She therefore faced the spear directly.

Unexpectedly, a chill arose behind her.

A sharp dagger stabbed toward her back.

Because a child stood behind her, Yu Jingqiu had completely lowered her guard.

By the time she sensed danger, it was already too late.

With the spear attacking from the front, she had lost the initiative and could not evade both.

She could only forcefully counter the spear before her while shifting just enough to protect her vital organs from the dagger behind.

As she drove the spear-wielding man back, the dagger sliced across her waist.

A sharp pain tore through her.

Ignoring the injury, Yu Jingqiu reversed her sword and thrust backward.

She used Scooping the Moon from the Water, an unusually tricky move that forced the “child” to evade.

She immediately withdrew.

Clutching the wound at her waist, Yu Jingqiu felt blood stream between her fingers.

Her lips rapidly turned pale as she stared at the child.

Although the figure had the body of a young child, the face was unusually mature, resembling that of a middle-aged man.

He was not truly a child but an adult afflicted with dwarfism. No one knew how old he actually was.

Outside, Lang Ye stood alone and could barely support himself.

Inside, Yu Jingqiu had been wounded.

Just as it appeared that both martial siblings would be buried there, several startled cries erupted from the crowd.

Chaotic hoofbeats thundered from the village entrance.

Two fast horses with their tails set aflame had gone mad and charged into the crowd, knocking people aside.

The horses scattered the attackers surrounding Lang Ye and Yu Jingqiu.

Before the Zhixing Sect members could restore order, a sparrow-feathered arrow tore through the air.

The arrow carried astonishing force.

It pierced through one person’s chest, continued onward without slowing, and buried itself in the back of another.

One arrow killed two people.

More arrows followed.

Sharp whistles filled the air.

The archer was a master marksman. Every arrow struck its target, and each carried enough force to seemingly pierce heaven and earth.

The mere sound of the feathers cutting through the wind was enough to inspire terror.

Several members of the Zhixing Sect were struck in succession.

Their screams rang out as their formation dissolved into chaos.

They had never expected these two to possess reinforcements, much less to be attacked from behind.

A young woman in brilliant clothes rode a magnificent horse, drawing a large purple sandalwood bow.

She charged toward them, leading two additional horses behind her.

Her momentum resembled an army of thousands surging into battle as she broke into the crowd.

Lang Ye had recognized her the moment she began firing.

Delighted though he was, he did not waste the chance to escape.

He hurried inside and protected Yu Jingqiu as they withdrew.

The young woman rode toward them and shouted, “Friends and siblings, mount quickly!”

Lang Ye helped Yu Jingqiu onto one of the horses first.

Then he lightly leaped onto another.

The members of the Zhixing Sect would not allow them to leave so easily.

The axe-wielding man raised his weapon and swung directly toward a horse’s legs.

At that critical moment, the young woman loosed an arrow.

It struck the flat of the axe with a particularly loud metallic clang, jolting the man and freezing his movement.

The force behind the shot was clearly tremendous.

During that brief pause, the three horses had already charged several yards away.

“After them!”

The three rode at full speed.

To escape their pursuers, they did not dare slow down.

Even after night fell and no one could be seen behind them, they remained vigilant.

Only after finding a concealed place within the forest did they finally stop to rest.

This unexpected calamity had been impossible to foresee.

Even after escaping danger, Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye could not calm themselves.

They grieved for the two senior brothers who had died so horribly and were deeply troubled by the Zhixing Sect’s sudden attack.

The three sat around a fire.

Lang Ye kept his back turned while the young woman applied medicine to Yu Jingqiu’s wound.

“This is my family’s special injury medicine. For wounds to the flesh, it should bring recovery within three days.”

Lang Ye said, “We must thank you for saving our lives today. Had you not intervened, who knows what fate would have befallen Senior Sister and me?”

The young woman smiled.

“Since we are friends and siblings, such words only make us strangers.”

Lang Ye froze.

Warmth arose in his heart.

This young woman was none other than the one they had rescued from the bandit inn.

When she finished applying the medicine, Lang Ye turned back around.

“Did you not go after the escaped bandits? How did you come to Zhixing Village?”

The woman replied, “I followed those bastards to their stronghold. They knew only filthy tricks and had little genuine ability. Dealing with them did not take much effort.

“I overheard your conversation that day and knew you had lost your horses and intended to rent some in Zhixing Village.

“There were several fine horses at the bandits’ stronghold. Since they no longer had any use for them, I thought I might as well bring the horses to you.

“Then I discovered you were surrounded.

“What grievance do you have with those people? Why were they fighting you so viciously?”

Lang Ye smiled bitterly.

“We would also like to know.”

The woman stirred the fire until it burned more brightly.

After some thought, she said, “I do not know whether those people will continue pursuing you.

“If you still intend to travel to Heavenly Star Palace, I can escort you for part of the journey. I know the road there better than anyone.”

Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye suddenly remembered that the woman had said her surname was Nie.

They asked, “We have not yet learned your full name.”

The woman replied openly, “Nie Yunlan.”

The two froze.

Yu Jingqiu asked, “What relationship does City Lord Nie of Heavenly Star Palace have with you?”

Nie Yunlan grinned.

“He is my old man.”

Lang Ye exclaimed, “So you are City Lord Nie’s daughter!”

No wonder she was free-spirited and uninhibited, forthright and genuine, and so skilled in riding and archery.

The people of Heavenly Star Palace had originally been nomads beyond the frontier. Later, they migrated into the snowy region and gradually established the present Heavenly Star Palace.

People beyond the frontier were naturally skilled riders and archers.

The snowy region was bitterly cold and its conditions harsh. Anyone capable of taking root there and opening new territory would naturally possess an unyielding spirit and hot blood capable of melting ice and snow.

Nie Yunlan asked, “Why are you going to Heavenly Star Palace?”

“We are disciples of the Qianyuan Sect. One of our elders has been gravely injured and requires City Lord Nie’s treasure, the Dewdrop Emerald Pearl, to save his life. We have come to request the medicine—”

Before Yu Jingqiu could finish, Nie Yunlan excitedly leaped to her feet.

“You are from the Qianyuan Sect?!”

Lang Ye said, “Miss Nie…”

Firelight reflected in Nie Yunlan’s eyes, her enthusiasm blooming like a flower.

“I left home this time because I wanted to travel throughout the martial world. The first place I planned to visit was the Qianyuan Sect!”

Seeing her openly express such admiration and reverence for their sect, Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye liked her even more.

Their temperaments proved compatible, and their conversation became increasingly lively.

Lang Ye asked, “What do you wish to see at our Qianyuan Sect?”

Nie Yunlan stood and suddenly raised her face toward the heavens, reciting passionately:

“Thirsting, I drink three feet of jackals’ blood;
I dare laugh at men who are no true heroes!”

Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye froze.

Nie Yunlan had recited a poem written by their master’s wife.

Her blood stirred with excitement.

“I have heard the stories of Heroine Jiao Lan and admired her since childhood.

“To think that such a heroic woman once existed beneath heaven!

“The character Lan in my name was chosen in imitation of hers.

“I decided long ago that when I traveled through the martial world, I would certainly visit the sect where she once lived.”

Lang Ye possessed few memories of their master’s wife and could find nothing to say.

Yu Jingqiu had learned Jiao Lan’s story from Lou Xuanzhi.

Hearing Nie Yunlan’s words now filled her with sorrow.

Her master’s wife had indeed been a heroic woman who yielded nothing to any man.

Unfortunately, she had died far too young.

Nie Yunlan said, “How about this? I will first take you to Heavenly Star Palace. Once your business is finished, you can bring me to the Qianyuan Sect. What do you think?”

Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye were delighted.

Yu Jingqiu replied, “That would naturally be ideal.”