Song of Everlasting Regret - Chapter 8

Lou Jing stood frozen on the spot. The three words “Feihua Alliance” were truly thunderous to the ears; even a green-haired youth who had not yet left the mountains would know of them. Someone like her, who was obsessed with martial arts and indifferent to worldly affairs, had also heard of them from the mouths of her fellow disciples and elders.

Originally, there were no specific labels for the righteous and evil paths in the martial world: chivalry, benevolence, and kindness were righteous; eccentricity, treachery, and the harming of innocent lives were evil.

Later, the Feihua Alliance emerged, single-handedly carrying the title of the “Evil Path.”

The Feihua Alliance was brought about by the sole effort of its leader, Qiu Zhaoyi. This man not only possessed unfathomable martial arts skills but was also brilliant and sharp-witted, exceptionally skilled at plotting. Unfortunately, his temperament was cold and gloomy, and he strayed onto a crooked path.

The Feihua Alliance was initially composed of three major forces. The first was the Pilgrimage Cult, of which Qiu Zhaoyi was the leader. After he took the position of the Feihua Alliance leader, he handed the Pilgrimage Cult over to his disciple to manage. Lou Jing did not know the name of that disciple, only that others called her the “Lodestar.” The second was the Swallow Tower, which originally operated in the business of assassination. It was filled with masters and was unfathomable. Because they were reliable and rarely failed, the Tower Master earned the nickname “Living King of Hell.” Sharing the same views as Qiu Zhaoyi, he joined the Feihua Alliance. The third was the Dingshan Sect. The Sect Leader, Long Chou, shared a similar temperament with Qiu Zhaoyi, and the two became sworn brothers; thus, the Dingshan Sect entered the Feihua Alliance. Long Chou admired Qiu Zhaoyi’s talent and martial arts, remaining loyal and serving as his guardian “Gate God,” which led the world to jokingly call him the “Heavenly Martial Official.”

These three forces of the Feihua Alliance were each “Demon Kings” of the world. Any single branch was equal to a top-tier sect. Combined, no one could stop their momentum. As their power grew, they attracted many sects with strange practices and rebellious behaviors, as well as cruel and ruthless villains who harmed the common people.

Although the forces within the Feihua Alliance were mixed, they were all heterodox and heartless individuals. Some viewed human life as grass, and others took pleasure in killing, turning the Central Plains’ martial world into a chaotic, foul-smelling mess where peace was impossible. More than ten years ago, the Qian Yuan Sect single-handedly united many sects to surround and suppress the Feihua Alliance. Although they were not successful, they managed to drive them out of the Central Plains, causing the Alliance to hibernate in regions south and north of the Yangtze River.

In recent years, Long Chou had secretly infiltrated the Central Plains several times to meet his mistress. The Zhongwu Hall discovered traces of this, and in early February, Hall Master Mu gathered fellow martial artists to surround and kill him. Lou Jing’s martial uncle, Lu Yuanding, also participated in this—Lou Jing knew this much; she just didn’t know that anyone had escaped.

From the conversation, the black-robed man realized that these people before him had not come specifically to chase him. It was only because he was overly paranoid and had fled at the slightest sign of trouble that this misunderstanding occurred. However, looking at it now, fleeing was the right choice; these people recognized him, and even if they hadn’t come to capture him before, they wouldn’t let him go now that they had seen him.

Therefore, as soon as Cao Ruxu spoke, ordering both of them to be taken back, the black-robed man suddenly erupted, attacking a weak point in the encirclement. He thought: “If I let these people take us back, it’s death with no hope of life. It’s better to fight to the death and at least ensure the Madam’s safety.”

Cao Ruxu and the others drew their swords one after another. Cao Ruxu shouted: “Fine! Since he refuses to surrender, don’t hold back. Capture them, dead or alive!”

Cao Ruxu saw that if he returned to the Apricot Blossom Inn now, the thief who stole the Jade Buddha Hand would certainly be gone without a trace. Fortunately, what was lost on one side was gained on the other. The martial world elders had killed the Heavenly Martial Official Long Chou in early February, a fact known to all. It was only a pity that Long Chou’s trusted subordinate and mistress had escaped. If he could deal with these two and bring the February demon-slaying affair to a perfect conclusion, it would be a gratifying feat!

Cao Ruxu led the charge with his sword, and the other six were not far behind. The man wielded a ring-pommel saber, moving it like a whirlwind of black wind, swift and peerless. He blocked seven people simultaneously and still had the energy to counterattack.

However, after about ten moves, the situation reversed. The man seemed to have a leg injury and was not agile in his maneuvers. Furthermore, he had to prevent the pregnant woman from being harmed, which restricted his movements and prevented him from using his full strength.

Two people took advantage of the moment the man was looking after the woman to launch a sneak attack. They threw out chain-claws. Once the silver claws at the end of the chains touched the man, they immediately hooked into his flesh. The man was fierce and sliced the chains, refusing to be restrained, but the iron claws remained in his arm and shoulder, with blood flowing freely from the wounds.

Lou Jing leaned against a dead old locust tree in the derelict garden. She had originally come to catch a thief, but who knew she had followed the wrong person. Although she was a disciple of the Qian Yuan Sect and had the duty to eliminate evil, seeing Cao Ruxu surround the pair with a look of absolute determination, she didn’t want to interfere. Just as she was about to leave, she glanced at the grieving yet resolute figure of the woman who was protecting her belly and looking at it lovingly amidst the flashes of blades and swords. Lou Jing hesitated in her heart.

Precisely then, Cao Ruxu and the others spotted the man’s weakness—the woman about to give birth. If they attacked the woman, the man would be forced to defend her; as the saying goes, “attack what the enemy must save.”

Half of the seven people attacked the woman, and the other half attacked the man. The man repelled two people, but seeing that he was too late to protect the woman, he ignored his own defense and braced himself to take a sword strike from Cao Ruxu just to shield her.

The attacking posture of the Caoliu Mountain Manor people was not faked. Even if the man failed to save her, their swords would truly pierce through. In their eyes, this woman was also a member of the Feihua Alliance and naturally deserved to die.

The man parried two swords in front of the woman, but he was truly unable to save her from the two swords striking at her back. Seeing the woman about to be stabbed, her life hanging by a thread, his heart nearly burst as he cried out: “Madam!”

At that very instant, a cold and beautiful light flashed. A sword swept in from the side, knocking the two swords away.

Cao Ruxu focused his eyes and saw that the one interfering was none other than Lou Jing, who had been watching from the side. “Lou Jing! If you won’t help, why are you causing trouble!”

Lou Jing said indifferently, “I just can’t stand you bullying a woman about to give birth who can’t carry anything or lift a hand. Your Caoliu Mountain Manor’s way of doing things is a bit too unkind.”

Lou Jing frowned. “I won’t stop you from killing that man to settle a debt. If you can kill him, then kill him. But to use the life of a weak, pregnant woman is too despicable.”

Cao Ruxu pointed at the woman. “To be willing to live in sin with Long Chou—what kind of good person do you think this woman is?”

Lou Jing didn’t know the woman’s character or if she had done anything heinous after following Long Chou, so she only said Cao Ruxu’s methods were contemptible and did not refute his words. “At least the child in this belly is innocent. What heinous thing could she do? One sword strike would be two lives.”

Cao Ruxu said: “Dragons beget dragons, and phoenixes beget phoenixes. The son of that demon is naturally a demon seed!”

Hearing these words, Lou Jing felt an immediate surge of disgust.

She stood beside the woman. After she blocked that one sword, no one attacked the woman for the moment. The people of Caoliu Mountain Manor turned to surround the black-robed man. The man kept looking back to check on the woman’s safety. Although Lou Jing had intervened to save them, he still couldn’t feel at ease. It was only after Lou Jing spoke these words that he relaxed his guard against her. He knew that Lou Jing, at least, would not lay a hand on the Madam.

Cao Ruxu saw Lou Jing standing beside the woman, so no one attacked her. With the man no longer held back, he intended to seize this opportunity to break through. His saber strokes were fierce, using a suicidal fighting style that suppressed the Caoliu Mountain Manor people in momentum. That black-robed man had already injured one of Cao Ruxu’s men.

Cao Ruxu was irritated beyond endurance by Lou Jing’s interference. “Lou Jing, move aside!”

At this time, after hearing Lou Jing’s words, the woman felt a glimmer of hope. Looking at Lou Jing as if grasping a lifesaver, she said mournfully: “Miss, I am about to give birth. I know you are a person of justice. I deserve to die, and I accept it, but this child… this child is innocent. Please help me.”

Lou Jing said to Cao Ruxu: “Wait until she has given birth!”

Cao Ruxu’s sword lunged forward suddenly, his expression cold. “Whether born or not, he cannot be allowed to remain! To pull up weeds without removing the roots—leaving this child will surely be a disaster in the future. It’s not as if no young children have died at the hands of Long Chou. Today’s matter is his retribution!”

Lou Jing was supporting the woman and blocked the sword. With a circular motion, she struck back, saying angrily: “The people Long Chou harmed, go find him for revenge! Future events are uncertain. To take a life for such a reason—don’t speak so high-soundingly!”

Cao Ruxu narrowed his eyes. “Lou Jing, you keep protecting people of the evil path. What? Do you share their thoughts? Can you truly emphasize with their difficulties?”

Lou Jing deeply disliked the tone and expression Cao Ruxu used when saying this. “Did you pop out of a crack in a rock? Were you not born and raised by parents? To make things difficult for a woman in labor—have you no shame!”

Cao Ruxu’s face darkened. With the words reaching this point, both had anger in their hearts. It wasn’t necessarily that he had to take the woman’s life anymore; they were simply clashing out of spite.

As they exchanged moves, their sword techniques became more ruthless than before. Under the moonlit night, they were like two silver dragons flying. It was evident that Cao Ruxu had practiced hard since his last defeat, and his sword technique had become much more solid. Lou Jing, on the other hand, had never slacked in her practice since childhood. After her encounter with Cao Ruxu, she had broken down that battle in her mind. As the saying goes, “know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.” This was a habit she had developed while sparring with Yu Jingqiu—she would never let go of any small advantage that could help her surpass her opponent. Thus, after that battle, she had gained a certain understanding of Cao Ruxu.

In this exchange, Lou Jing was even more at ease than the last time, eventually flicking Cao Ruxu’s sword away with one strike.

Cao Ruxu had not expected that after many days of hard practice, his defeat would be even more pathetic than the last. After a moment of being stunned, his face flushed red, and veins bulged.

Lou Jing had underestimated Cao Ruxu’s self-esteem. Cao Ruxu was born noble, the young master of Caoliu Mountain Manor, and was somewhat talented. Favored by his parents, his life had been smooth without encountering setbacks. He prided himself on his martial arts and talent. Losing to Lou Jing twice, and recalling that phrase “nothing special,” he felt exceptionally humiliated.

He did not know that within that humiliation, there was another emotion called jealousy. Under the pressure of this intense emotion, his anger became extreme. His gaze turned sinister as he gritted his teeth and said: “Bastard!”

In the midst of these intense negative emotions, a sliver of darkness emerged in his heart. To save himself from the pain, he began to look for a way out by belittling her to elevate himself. He couldn’t beat her? It was because she wasn’t worthy of being compared to him.

Lou Jing’s footsteps paused. Her voice was like the night wind blowing over an icy pond, both heavy and cold. “What did you say?”

Cao Ruxu sneered: “It’s not surprising you sympathize with people of the Feihua Alliance. Who in the martial world doesn’t know your mother left the sect to mingle with Shen Zhongyin, and returned several years later with you? Adulterers and harlots… Lou Xuanzhi…”

Lou Jing turned her head suddenly. Her blood surged upward, filling every pore and making her whole body feel swollen.

Her eyes were bloodshot, her face dark with rage, as she stared at him. She looked like a cornered beast in a death match, filled with the fury of being struck in a wound, ready to kill the enemy regardless of the cost. She pointed her sword at Cao Ruxu; with the momentum of ‘Dragon Hibernation,’ her movement was like a crash of thunder, her killing intent so sharp it chilled the heart.

If there were any words in this world that could hurt her the most and make her the saddest, it was those. They were like knives and swords, stabbing into her heart, causing her pain and making her weep, leaving her to curl up in a lonely corner and lick these unhealable scars.