Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 35
The Celestial Star Palace guards had cordoned off the street; aside from them, not a single pedestrian remained. In truth, the city gate was only about a hundred paces away—a distance that seemed close enough to touch, yet was as unreachable as a thousand miles.
The four generals, comrades of many years, shared a profound wordless understanding. With a single glance, they moved forward together, occupying four cardinal directions and completely surrounding Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye.
In their previous exchanges, Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye had barely managed to hold a draw against Generals Han and Yang; compared to Jiang and Shen, they were slightly outmatched. Against all four combined, how could they possibly prevail? Especially now, with the added burden of the injury to Yu Jingqiu’s leg.
It seemed the heavens were cutting off their path to survival.
The lives of the senior sister and junior brother hung by a thread. There was no road left ahead, yet neither was willing to drop their sword and accept death. Instead, a lonely, fearless pride rose within them—if they were to die regardless, they would force their steps forward and meet it head-on.
The four generals appeared to be aware of the Qian Yuan sword formation. As their weapons flashed, they immediately moved to separate the two.
General Jiang swung his gold-thread nine-ring broadsword, creating gusts of fierce wind. The spine of his heavy blade was sharp and solid, his intent domineering as he pressed forward step by step. General Shen’s spear thrust, parried, swept, and hacked—fierce and powerful yet possessing a subtle agility, as if he were wielding a living creature.
Yu Jingqiu, her mobility hindered, focused primarily on defense. Her sword-wind constructed a three-foot wall of steel, as solid as a fortress. Lang Ye moved like a dancing dragon or a slithering snake, his steps shifting and changing. The two advanced and retreated in coordination, managing for a time to hold back the offensive of Jiang and Shen.
However, once the blades of Han and Yang joined the fray, Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye were forced into a desperate struggle, falling into a clear disadvantage.
General Yang’s long sword moved like a bolt of silk, entangling Yu Jingqiu’s blade. Yu Jingqiu adapted quickly, but while General Yang could not overcome her, she could not free herself either.
General Shen spotted an opening and flicked his spear like a black python emerging from its burrow. If Yu Jingqiu wanted to dodge, she would have to abandon her sword; to abandon her sword was to give up half her life, making death a certainty—not to mention that with her injured leg, she might not be able to dodge completely anyway.
In the crisis, Yu Jingqiu swung the scabbard in her other hand to meet the attack, the mouth of the scabbard steadily catching the sharp edge of the spear.
She had blocked it, but in that instant, she was pinned in place, unable to move.
It was then that Lang Ye cried out in terror, “Senior Sister!”
Facing Lang Ye were General Han and General Jiang. Both men were saber-wielders. Even though Lang Ye sought to counter hardness with softness, he had not yet reached the pinnacle of that mastery.
Raw strength can overcome ten subtle moves. Relying on their superior internal power, the two men used rigidity to suppress his softness, forcing Lang Ye back step by step as he struggled to cope.
Because of this, either man could choose to break away at will, and Lang Ye would find it difficult to stop them.
The moment Yang and Shen pinned Yu Jingqiu down, General Han suddenly turned his spearhead. His blade came with incredible speed, clearly aimed at Yu Jingqiu.
Because Lang Ye was worried about Yu Jingqiu’s leg injury and feared she wouldn’t hold out, he had been glancing her way whenever he found an opening. He saw now that she was physically incapable of defending herself.
If General Han’s strike succeeded, Yu Jingqiu would be severely injured at best, and killed at worst.
A fire suddenly erupted within Lang Ye’s heart, burning so hot that every hair on his body stood on end. He couldn’t think of anything else; his eyes saw only that blade. He spun his body, throwing his rear flank wide open and exposing his back to General Jiang without a shred of defense as he charged straight toward General Han. He wanted only to intercept Han’s blade before it could reach Yu Jingqiu.
General Han’s saber swept upward, its white edge reflecting a chilling cold light that stung the eyes. How sharp must that blade be? A single strike would surely cleave a person in two.
This lethal strike was aimed at Yu Jingqiu’s waist, falling straight down!
The wind was not as fast as Lang Ye. His light-body technique was superior to General Han’s; arriving first despite starting later, his sword struck like a silver snake toward General Han’s sword-arm.
However, General Jiang’s light-body technique was not inferior to Lang Ye’s. Thus, when Lang Ye pursued General Han, he did not escape the web of Jiang’s blade. As Lang Ye pulled away, Jiang’s saber followed immediately, swinging in a semi-circle aimed directly at Lang Ye’s waist.
General Han’s attack on Yu Jingqiu targeted someone pinned down and unable to defend; it was a guaranteed hit. Both Lang Ye and General Jiang were attacking what the enemy was “forced to save.” Lang Ye’s thrust at Han’s arm calculated that if Han did not withdraw to defend, his arm would be ruined, and the strike on Yu Jingqiu would fail. General Jiang’s waist-cutting blow gambled that if Lang Ye did not withdraw to dodge, he wouldn’t even have a whole corpse left.
Everything happened in the space of a single breath.
Blood splattered into the air like a red lotus blooming, then withering and shattering, drifting in all directions like a shower of coral beads.
Yu Jingqiu looked, her pupils constricting. In her bright eyes, the light died out.
An arm and a figure collapsed to the ground simultaneously.
Blood, like crimson petals, sprayed over them, dyeing the world before her eyes a vivid red.
General Han had confidently left his back to General Jiang, trusting him to stop the youth. Without hesitation, he had aimed his blade at Yu Jingqiu. General Jiang had assumed that self-preservation was human nature—that this young man had not yet tempered a heart of dragon-gall and tiger-spirit, and would surely withdraw his sword to save himself!
Both had guessed wrong.
Lang Ye had moved with absolute resolve, ignoring the lethal blade behind him. His sword was thrust without regret. The blue edge flicked, severing General Han’s arm and resolving the threat to Yu Jingqiu. The gold-thread nine-ring broadsword behind him… he could only take with his own body.
General Jiang’s long blade entered deep, splitting skin and cleaving muscle until it struck Lang Ye’s spine. This peerless sharp blade could have cut him in half, but shocked by the boy’s fearless courage, the general instinctively halted the strike.
This sudden turn of events shook everyone present, causing them to hold their breath involuntarily.
General Han clutched the stump of his arm, blood dyeing his palm a bright red. His face was as white as paper as he let out an uncontrollable howl of agony.
General Yang withdrew his sword and shouted, “Old Han!” He rushed forward to strike Han’s acupoints to stop the bleeding, but the wound was too large; the flow of blood would not cease.
General Shen glanced at General Jiang, and both stayed their hands. Yu Jingqiu stumbled a few steps and knelt beside Lang Ye, rolling him over. She saw his left abdomen had been sliced open by the blade. She struck his vital acupoints, but it was to no avail.
Yu Jingqiu pressed her hands over his wound, the blood thick and sticky. “A’Ye.”
Lang Ye’s face was deathly pale, devoid of all color. Blood welled from his lips as he looked at Yu Jingqiu, his gaze scattering. “Senior Sister, cough…”
Yu Jingqiu’s voice was raspy. “My leg is injured; I can’t get out. At least you… why were you so foolish?”
Lang Ye gently took her hand. It was unclear if his consciousness was fading, but his voice was weak as he began to speak in a daze. “Senior Sister, we have to go home together. Let’s go home. When the time comes… we still have to go get A’Jing.”
A surge of sharp, bitter desolation and sorrow rushed to her heart. Yu Jingqiu bit her lower lip, waves of tears forming in her eyes. She answered, “Yes, we’ll go home together. We still have to go get Jing’er.”
When Nie Chan arrived with Nie Zhongyuan, he happened to hear those words. He closed his eyes, sighed softly, and raised his hand.
Seeing this, General Jiang’s brow furrowed, but he still obeyed the City Lord’s order, raising his gold-thread broadsword toward Yu Jingqiu.
Yu Jingqiu ignored him. She took off her outer garment to bind Lang Ye’s wound, pressing her fingers to his pulse to channel her true qi into him, acting as if the blade hanging over her head did not exist.
General Jiang needed only to drop his blade to end her life instantly.
Suddenly, a sparrow-feathered arrow hissed through the air. General Jiang’s eyes widened; he shifted his blade, cleaving the arrow in two in mid-air.
The soldiers snapped to attention, raising their weapons toward the direction the arrow had come from.
A horse came galloping from the city gate toward the circle of guards. Seeing the rider, the soldiers not only refrained from attacking but opened a path.
Nie Yunlan reined in her horse. She saw Lang Ye lying on the ground soaked in blood and glimpsed the wound on Yu Jingqiu’s leg. She scanned the surroundings—everyone holding a saber or sword was one of her own Celestial Star Palace people.
She understood what had happened in an instant.
She had seen the gate under martial law and assumed something had happened in the city. After much hesitation, she couldn’t stop worrying about home and decided to return. She never expected that instead of someone attacking the palace, it was the palace hunting down her guests.
As if she had been struck with a club, she looked at Nie Chan and cried out, “Father! They are from the Qian Yuan Sect! Why are you…?”
Seeing his missing daughter return, Nie Chan felt a wave of relief, but his face remained stern. He barked at a nearby attendant, “Take the Second Miss back!”
Nie Yunlan retreated two steps, moving to stand beside Lang Ye and Yu Jingqiu. She demanded, “Father, what did they do that you would use such a massive force to hunt them down like this?”
“This is none of your business! Why are you still standing there? Take her back!”
“Don’t come near me!” Nie Yunlan drew the sword from a nearby guard. “They are my friends. Unless you explain yourself clearly, I will not leave!”
Nie Chan frowned and said in a deep voice, “Zhongyuan, take your sister back!”
Nie Zhongyuan stepped forward. “Yunlan…”
Nie Yunlan held the sword before her and shouted, “You told me the Qian Yuan Sect saved your life! You taught me from childhood that one must repay kindness! What are you doing now? Father, I don’t understand!”
Nie Chan’s face was dark. “It was not a sect that saved your father, but a person. What I am doing now… is repaying that kindness. You do not need to understand! I haven’t even settled the score for you leaving home without permission. Go back!”
Nie Yunlan asked, “What are you going to do with them?”
“That is none of your concern.”
“Do you know? They saved your daughter’s life! They are your daughter’s saviors!”
“…”
Nie Yunlan led her horse to Yu Jingqiu’s side. She looked at Lang Ye, unable to stop the surge of guilt. She had intended to make things easier for them by bringing them to the Snowy Region, secretly wanting them to see the local sights—who knew she had led them into a tiger’s den? “Sister Yu, take my horse and go.”
Yu Jingqiu looked up at her. Nie Yunlan’s heart twisted. “Just go! I’ll handle things here.”
Yu Jingqiu searched her eyes for a moment, then turned to lift Lang Ye. At her movement, the soldiers and the generals tensed, stepping forward. Nie Yunlan raised her sword toward the crowd. “Don’t come any closer!”
Yu Jingqiu lifted Lang Ye onto the horse.
Nie Chan said grimly, “Do it!”
Nie Yunlan spun the sword and pressed it against her own neck. “If you come any closer, I will die right in front of you.”
“You!”
Nie Zhongyuan pleaded, “Yunlan, don’t be reckless.”
“Reckless? I am only following the principles of conduct our father taught me.”
Nie Yunlan’s eyes were fixed on Nie Chan. She reached out with one hand to help Yu Jingqiu onto the horse as well. She shouted at the soldiers, “Move!”
The soldiers were caught in a dilemma, looking back and forth between Nie Yunlan and Nie Chan.
Nie Yunlan pressed the blade closer to her neck; the sharp edge cut her skin, and blood began to trickle down.
Nie Zhongyuan’s voice cracked with panic. “Yunlan!” He looked desperately at his father.
Father and daughter stared each other down, neither’s gaze wavering.
Suddenly, Nie Yunlan flicked the sword and pricked the horse’s flank. The horse let out a cry of pain and bolted. The soldiers didn’t know whether to block or not; the horse burst through the perimeter and headed for the city gate.
Soldiers moved to pursue, but Nie Yunlan leaped in front of them. “Don’t follow!”
The soldiers could only look to Nie Chan for his command.
Nie Chan’s fingers clenched until they cracked. He turned his back abruptly to his daughter and barked at Nie Zhongyuan, “Take her back! Do not let her out without my order!”
“Yes! Father… those two… do we still pursue?”
Nie Chan said nothing and walked away.
Nie Yunlan watched until the horse was a mere speck in the distance. Her body went limp, and the sword fell from her hand. The nearby soldiers, fearing she might try something else, hurried to pick it up. Nie Zhongyuan signaled, and two men stepped forward to gently restrain Nie Yunlan and escort her back to the palace.
Yu Jingqiu rode out of the city gate with Lang Ye. She didn’t dare stop, urging the horse forward as she gripped the reins, searching for signs of life. “A’Ye, hold on. I’m taking you to a doctor. Once you’re healed, we’re going home.”
The Snowy Region was sparsely populated. Because the Celestial Star Palace acted as a central hub, most commoners had moved there; beyond the palace city, there were no other cities, only scattered villages.
As dusk approached, Yu Jingqiu found a village. It was dinner time, and smoke curled from the houses.
Yu Jingqiu dismounted at the edge of the village. The horse carried Lang Ye as she led it, her steps uneven as she walked to a house to ask for medicine or a doctor.
These were honest peasants who farmed by day and wove by night. Seeing Yu Jingqiu and Lang Ye covered in blood, they assumed the pair had run afoul of some dangerous enemies. Fearing they would bring trouble to the village and seeing the sword she carried, they didn’t dare drive her away but simply bolted their doors tight. She tried six or seven houses, all with the same result; even her pleading was in vain.
Finally, she reached a hunter’s home at the very end of the village. He was not afraid of blood and had some skill in treating external injuries. He did not turn them away.
Yu Jingqiu said, “Brother, show some mercy. I beg you to save my brother’s life.”
The hunter looked troubled, his face full of pity. “Miss, it’s not that I don’t want to help, but…”
“This brother of yours… has already stopped breathing.”
Yu Jingqiu snapped back to reality, then immediately seemed to lose her soul, standing frozen in place.
She felt only that the sky was high and vast, and the evening glow was beautiful. The scenery of the Snowy Region was no different from that on Tiger Roar Mountain.
A breeze blew, stirring the petals of the cuckoo flowers, painting the mountains a vivid red.
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Thank you very much for the translation of the latest chapters! I can’t wait for more chapters.