Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 34

From a distance, Yu Jingqiu caught sight of Nie Chan’s silhouette and instinctively turned to head in his direction.

Lang Ye grabbed her arm, restraining her. “Senior Sister, the City Lord is facing our way. A martial artist has sharp ears and keen eyes—there is no way he hasn’t seen this commotion. General Yang is his personal attendant; without his order, how could they have attacked us? His heart is set on our deaths. Even if there is a misunderstanding, he has already unleashed his killing intent. How can a few words of ours convince him to change his mind? Our priority now is to escape.”

“We traveled thousands of miles to get here, lost two senior brothers on the road, failed to get the Emerald Drop Pearl, and now we’re fighting for our lives. Even if I am to die, I must die with clarity!”

“Senior Sister, stop talking about dying! Our two brothers gave their lives to escort us; we must be even more cautious. The pearl is important, and the truth is important, but neither is more important than a life. Someone must return to report these events to the sect. You and I cannot be allowed to perish here in vain.”

Yu Jingqiu thought of her two tragically killed fellow disciples. Her heart grew cold with sorrow. She knew Lang Ye was right, but as she scanned the heavy ranks of guards, she realized that escaping would be no easy feat.

Taking advantage of the moment the guards were reloading their arrows, the two broke through a weak spot in the southeastern corner and charged into the crowd. The people of the Celestial Star Palace, fearing they might hit their own men, hesitated with their arrows notched. Once the pressing rain of arrows ceased, the pressure on the two decreased sharply.

However, the brief delay allowed General Yang and the man with the ring-pommel saber to charge back in.

From the very first exchange, Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye had realized their skills were roughly equal to these two men—perhaps even slightly inferior. They were only able to contend with them by virtue of the superior Qian Yuan Sword Technique. If they allowed themselves to be entangled, and with the Celestial Star Palace soldiers providing backup, they wouldn’t stand a chance of escaping the palace today.

Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye didn’t dare slow down. Gathering their qi, they moved like soaring dragons and flying swallows, weaving through the crowd.

The two men possessed powerful external techniques, but their light-body skills and footwork were slightly weaker. This allowed Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye to put some distance between them.

However, the southeastern route was crowded with guards and palace attendants. Seeing the pair escaping, they didn’t wait for orders and immediately stepped forward to help capture them.

With wolves in front and tigers behind, they were being pursued and blocked at every turn.

Every step of their escape was difficult. And this was still only inside the Celestial Star Palace; once they exited, the city itself was still the territory of the palace.

Nie Chan and his son, Nie Zhongyuan, had been watching the battle from the terrace of the great hall. Seeing the two leap off the roof and the sounds of combat fade into the distance, Nie Chan walked slowly toward the direction they had fled. “Call General Jiang and General Shen. And while you’re at it, bring me my Magpie Drawing Bow.”

“Father, though those two have some skill, they are young after all. Dealing with them shouldn’t require all four generals to take the field.”

“Zhongyuan, never underestimate an opponent. Even a lion exerts its full strength when hunting a rabbit. Moreover, those two aren’t rabbits—they are snow wolves.”

Nie Zhongyuan grasped his father’s meaning and said no more, heading off to find Generals Jiang and Shen.

The four generals—Jiang, Shen, Han, and Yang—were the top four leaders of the Celestial Star Palace guards. Their skills went without saying; they were ranked even within the Central Plains martial world. While Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye were brilliant talents, they were ultimately novices, which was why Nie Zhongyuan had felt that mobilizing all four generals was overly cautious.

Once Nie Zhongyuan brought the two generals, he had to admire Nie Chan’s foresight.

The two young people had actually broken through the perimeter and reached the South Gate, largely because their footwork was so nimble, like slippery fish that were hard to catch. Generals Han and Yang were not necessarily inferior in martial skill, but their foundation in light-body techniques truly could not match the pair’s.

However, Generals Jiang and Shen were swift in both advance and retreat—they were the perfect counters for the duo.

While escaping, Yu Jingqiu observed the situation while Lang Ye scouted the path. The moment Jiang and Shen entered the fray, Yu Jingqiu spotted them. Seeing them move as fast as crashing thunder, she knew things were dire.

Ahead was the main gate of the Celestial Star Palace, a green wall thirty feet high. They were still several dozen paces from the archer’s gallery. The gates were tightly shut, and the guards were standing ready. To break through the gate would require time—and in that time, Jiang and Shen would surely catch them. But to leap over the wall with light-body techniques was too far; there was no point of leverage in the air.

In this grim moment, even the luxury of time to think was gone.

However, though young, both were incredibly intelligent and quick to adapt. Yu Jingqiu said, “Junior Brother, you go first!”

She placed her hand on Lang Ye’s back. He understood her intent immediately. Though he was unwilling to let her stay behind to cover him, he knew that in this crisis, if he hesitated and delayed, they would both be trapped. Thus, when Yu Jingqiu’s palm exerted force, Lang Ye was already prepared. He pushed off with his toes and flew out.

With his own light-body skills and the boost from Yu Jingqiu’s strike, Lang Ye soared like a goshawk, crossing the distance of dozens of paces and landing gracefully atop the green wall.

He didn’t know how Yu Jingqiu would escape. He looked back, his heart in his throat.

General Jiang arrived. He was a lean, capable man carrying a gold-thread nine-ring broadsword. He leaped onto the gallery and swung at Yu Jingqiu. The strike came down like a thunderbolt, looking as though it would split a mountain or part the sea.

Yu Jingqiu had been waiting for this. She pushed off the ground, her body floating light as a feather in the air. As the blade lunged toward her, she raised her sword to parry. She felt a violent shock through her hands; her arms went numb and her sword nearly flew from her grip. But she borrowed that momentum to drift even further through the air where there was nothing to push against.

On one side, Lang Ye had leaped onto the wall. On the other, Yu Jingqiu had met General Jiang’s blade.

Nie Chan drew his bow, its curve like an autumn moon, the sparrow-feathered arrow pointed straight at Yu Jingqiu.

Yu Jingqiu was using the force from General Jiang’s strike to withdraw, appearing as if she, too, would reach the green wall.

The bowstring suddenly snapped. Thwack. Two arrows tore through the void like lightning, aimed straight for the prey’s vitals.

Yu Jingqiu felt a chill closing in, her heartbeat stalling. Being in mid-air, it was extremely difficult to dodge, especially since the arrows were so powerful and swift.

Her waist was flexible. With a surge of force, she twisted her body halfway in mid-air to face the incoming arrows. In the time it took her to turn, the arrows were already upon her. She held her sword against her chest; one arrow was aimed directly at her heart. Because she had shifted her position, the arrow struck at an angle, blocked by the flat of her blade. The sheer force left a small pit in the sword’s surface.

But Yu Jingqiu was not lucky enough to dodge the second arrow.

Of these two shots, one was aimed high, the other low.

Nie Chan was a veteran of many battles; he never missed. By firing these two arrows, he calculated that even if Yu Jingqiu could dodge, if she avoided the top, she could not avoid the bottom.

That arrow shot straight into Yu Jingqiu’s knee.

Yu Jingqiu felt a tearing pain in her left leg, sharp and boring deep inside. In that instant, she seemed to hear the sound of bone shattering. The agony traveled along her bones into her very marrow. Her face turned deathly pale. Unable to withstand the pain, the qi in her dantian scattered, and she fell from the air.

Yu Jingqiu was only a step away from the green wall. Lang Ye leaped down from the wall and caught her by her collar. He thrust his sword into the wall to halt their fall. The flexible sword was incredibly resilient; after bending to its limit, it snapped back upward. Lang Ye pushed off the wall with his toes, his figure like an arrow piercing the clouds. He shot up the side of the wall, cleared the top, and exited the Celestial Star Palace.

After flipping over the wall, Lang Ye didn’t dare stop. Supporting Yu Jingqiu’s waist, he headed toward the densely populated streets of the city.

In the blink of an eye, the four generals—Jiang, Shen, Han, and Yang—pursued them, followed by a large number of palace soldiers.

The Snowy Region produced rare beasts and herbs and had opened trade routes with the Central Plains. This season was a time of frequent merchant traffic. The streets were filled with carts and pedestrians. To avoid accidentally harming the commoners, the soldiers could not easily use their bows.

Yu Jingqiu’s left leg was injured, and with Lang Ye supporting her, their speed dropped. Generals Jiang and Shen, who were exceptionally fast, caught up quickly.

General Shen was tall and thin, wielding a black-gold spear. On the battlefield, it could pierce armor and sweep through thousands. As the long blade of the spear bore down on them, creating a chilling wind, Lang Ye and Yu Jingqiu raised their swords together to block it. General Jiang leaped in, swinging his broadsword at their waists.

If they didn’t dodge, they would be sliced in two on the spot. But Yu Jingqiu was injured and couldn’t move easily. To Lang Ye’s side was Yu Jingqiu, to the other was General Jiang, and in front was General Shen. If he retreated, Yu Jingqiu would be the one caught in the pincer attack.

In this moment of extreme peril, Lang Ye had a flash of inspiration. He sank his qi to his dantian and stomped his foot hard. Using his internal energy, he shattered the roof tiles and snapped the beams below. The roof they were standing on gave way, and all four fell through.

A chorus of startled screams erupted below.

What kind of place was this? It was filled with steam and white mist—a bathhouse. And it was filled with people.

With a skylight now opened in the roof, tiles falling and water splashing, the cursing began. It turned out to be a women’s bathhouse.

Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye landed outside the hot spring pool, while Jiang and Shen landed squarely in the water.

The women of the Snowy Region were of a fierce nature. Seeing two men fall from the sky, they weren’t shy; they didn’t care who the men were. Covering themselves with their towels, they pointed at the men’s noses and started cursing. “You two big men, don’t you have women at home? Peeping all the way into the bathhouse—have you no shame!”

Jiang and Shen were beyond embarrassed. Like tigers with their teeth pulled, despite their great skill, they didn’t dare strike. They explained awkwardly, “Ladies, the Celestial Star Palace is conducting an investigation; it wasn’t intentional…”

“You still wanted it to be intentional! Even if you’re from the palace, even if City Lord Nie himself were here, there’s no excuse for barging into a ladies’ bathhouse!”

“…”

In the chaos, Lang Ye supported Yu Jingqiu into a side hall where they could finally catch their breath. When he looked at her knee injury, he saw the arrow had pierced through; the cross-shaped arrowhead had emerged from the back of the knee. This type of arrowhead created a large wound and had barbs—it could not be pulled back out.

Lang Ye decisively snapped off the arrowhead. He said in a low voice, “Senior Sister, grit your teeth.”

Yu Jingqiu clenched her teeth and leaned against the wall. Lang Ye didn’t give her much time to prepare and pulled the broken arrow out in one swift motion.

Yu Jingqiu let out a muffled groan, the sound suppressed between her teeth. Her head spun, and the color vanished from her lips.

The arrow took a spray of blood with it, quickly staining her white robes a vivid red. Lang Ye struck her acupoints to stop the bleeding and tore his own clothing to wrap her wound crudely.

“We can’t stay here. We have to find a way to leave.”

“A’Ye…” Yu Jingqiu opened her eyes. The pain caused a veil of mist to form in them as she gazed at him.

Lang Ye gritted his teeth, the muscles in his jaw tight. “Senior Sister, don’t say those things. I won’t leave you here alone.”

Yu Jingqiu lowered her eyes, a faint, nearly imperceptible sigh escaping her.

Lang Ye helped her up and they exited the bathhouse. They saw many palace guards on the main road, so Lang Ye chose the side alleys. But he didn’t know the way. Before long, their tracks were discovered. A guard sent a signal, and the four generals arrived within moments.

They were like turtles in a jar—there was no escape.