Chapter 88 Such a deep-seated hatred is something neither you nor I can avenge.

He gently closed the door, leaving only A-Jiu in the large courtyard. Inhaling the lingering fragrance of the young girl on his clothes, A-Jiu stretched out his arms contentedly, facing the night breeze without feeling sleepy. Looking up, he saw the sword hilt left outside the tree trunk. A-Jiu smiled, gripped the hilt tightly with one hand, and, still slightly intoxicated, gathered his strength, twisting his wrist. With a low roar, the sword was in his hand, causing leaves to fall like a torrential rain.

Ah Jiu blew away the slag from the blade, stroking the cold edge inch by inch with her two fingers. This was an old weapon forged in Xingguo Workshop, a truly rare and fine sword. Ah Jiu hoped even more that she could see Guan Ye forge an even better weapon.

Rongdu West Street

As midnight approached, the night market gradually dispersed, leaving only a few passersby hurrying along the long street. Weary vendors counted their earnings for the day, satisfied smiles on their faces. Inside the fried cake shop, Song Mian squatted on the threshold, counting the greasy copper coins in his money box. He occasionally glanced at the tavern across the street. The Western Region man had been drinking for days, several empty jars at his feet, always completely drunk. Song Mian worried he wouldn't have enough to pay, but the man always seemed to have the money. Song Mian poured the counted coins into his money box, thinking that if he had some free time the next day, he would go to the tavern that night and wait for the Western Region man. Once he was tipsy, he could find out what kind of business he ran—frying fried cakes for years… Song Mian sniffed his clothes, his expression contorted with disgust. This smell was so strong, even his clothes could be squeezed for oil. It was time to change professions.

But tonight, Song Mian noticed the tavern was closing, and the Western Region man still hadn't appeared. All night, the tavern owner and his staff had glanced towards the street corner several times. The Western Region man was annoying, but he could really drink; one person could finish the equivalent of ten tables' worth of drinks in half a night. He was also very generous with his money, never giving change. Seeing that he wouldn't be coming today, the owner even looked regretful. Song Mian saw this and silently cursed him in his heart.

Outside Xingguofang, in a corner, a figure had been standing for a long time, looking up at the rising smoke from the furnace, like a stone statue.

"—The young master is indeed here."

The man in black robes moved silently like a ghost in the night. Under his cloak, his sinister single eye glanced coldly at the tightly closed vermilion gate of Xingguo Ward. "The ward has just quieted down. It seems that the Pei family was in high spirits tonight and must have drunk a lot."

The withered leaves swirled in the wind and drifted down to my feet. Wanqi Xi hid in the depths of the night, as if searching for something, but finding nothing.

"A mere Heavenly Furnace can take up space in the Heavenly Swan Workshop?" Wan Qixi sneered. "I don't believe this thing can melt meteorite."

Cui Jin brushed aside his black robe. "I personally delivered the meteorite, and what I brought back was indeed a meteor sword. Whether you believe it or not, the meteorite was indeed forged on Canglang Island."

Wan Qixi had been listening to the jubilation for half the night, and his heart was already filled with resentment. "How could these islanders possibly accomplish what my sister couldn't? I went to see the furnace. It's made of Yunnan red bricks, nothing special. It's fine to fool the world, but it can't possibly compare to the craftsmanship of Tianhu Workshop. This furnace could never have melted meteorite."

"Perhaps, it's a master hiding on Canglang Island?"

"You mean Guan Xiaotian's daughter?" Wan Qixi sneered. "Guan Ye? It's even less likely to be her. Guan Xiaotian is a skilled blacksmith, but he doesn't have a thorough understanding of the 'Casting Classic.' Without his sister, he can't achieve anything great. Only my sister can forge the meteorite."

"Back then, it was just a hair's breadth away."

"Just a little bit short."

That was the only time in Wanqixi's life that he had ever seen white flames burning to their fullest extent.

"Sister, it's white fire, it's white fire!"

"Xiaojun, what does that white flame look like?"

Lu Chaoge picked up her dumbfounded younger brother. Wan Qixi still remembers that there was a fire in her sister's eyes, and that fire burned brighter and brighter, about to burst out of her eyes.

"Like..." Lu Xiaojun racked her brains, "Like a big cloud, a really big cloud."

"Silly." Lu Chaoge poked her younger brother's forehead. "Did you study all those books for nothing?" Lu Chaoge, dressed in fiery red, stood proudly in the center of the foundry. All the blacksmiths stopped what they were doing and stared at their remarkable young lady as if in pilgrimage, the first blacksmith in the world who could produce white flames.

"Doesn't it look like thousands of pear trees in full bloom?" Guan Xiaotian was so engrossed in looking at it that he didn't even notice the iron hammer slipping from his hand.

"Thousands of pear trees bloom, their blossoms blazing down from the sky and scattering across mountains and seas." Lu Chaoge's eyes suddenly lit up. "You're absolutely right."

"Master Guan's words are similar to those of the young master." Ah Jing pondered the words, "It's the sentence that Miss added after that that's good. When the two sentences are connected, they make a difference."

"How is it different?" Lu Chaoge raised an eyebrow at A Jing.

Ah Jing scratched her head, blushing, and said, "Miss, don't you know me? I haven't read as many books as the young master, so naturally I can't explain it clearly, but..." Ah Jiu raised her head, "What Miss said is really true. And this white fire is burning really well."

"Sister," Lu Xiaojun shook Lu Chaoge's hand, "what are you going to do with the white fire?"

Lu Chaoge remained silent for a moment, then glanced at Guan Xiaotian with her bright eyes, "Now that the white fire is complete, shouldn't we give it a try?"

Guan Xiaotian's exposed skin was scorched to a bronze color by the raging fire, and large beads of sweat dripped down his arms and into the soil. He casually wiped away the sweat from his brow, sucked on his dry lips, opened his mouth several times, and then swallowed it back down.

"You're still not confident?"

Guan Xiaotian tugged at the coarse clothes that were sticking to his body, revealing the scattered burn scars. "It's worth a try."

“The Casting Classic says that white fire is formed and all things are melted. If we burn it into white fire, we will definitely be able to melt the meteorite.” Lu Chaoge revealed his full confidence. “In a few days, he will send the meteorite over.”

"Sister," Lu Xiaojun leaned on Lu Chaoge's shoulder, "that person? Is it the one who gave me the candied fruit?"

Ah Jing, with his sharp ears, clearly heard Lu Xiaojun's childish words, and his face suddenly darkened. Lu Chaoge put down her younger brother and pinched his arm, "Don't talk nonsense."

“I’m not making this up.” Lu Xiaojun hid behind A Jing. “Sister, when he brought the meteorite, you asked him to bring the honey lychees too. I’ve been waiting for days, but I haven’t received his honey lychees.”

"All you ever think about is eating," Lu Chaoge said, pretending to beat her younger brother.

Lu Xiaojun wasn't afraid of her. She pinched her nose, made a funny face, and laughed as she circled around the casting plant.

"I want to eat honey lychees! If you don't give them to me, my sister won't let him melt stones anymore..."

However, Tianhufang never received the meteorite, Lu Xiaojun never got to taste the honeyed lychees she longed for, Lu Chaoge never had the chance to create white fireworks like thousands of pear blossoms, and Guan Xiaotian never had the chance to forge the meteor sword he dreamed of…

The rebellion at Xiguan was unstoppable, having captured ten cities of Jin in succession. It was already approaching the last northern barrier of Rongdu—Eagle Ridge Road. If Eagle Ridge Road were lost, the Rongdu imperial city would be exposed to the 100,000 rebels along the hundred-mile-long open road, making it easy to capture the city.

With the nation in peril, Tianhu and the other workshops were rushing to produce weapons. The man said that after defeating the rebels, he would have Lu Chaoge forge the Meteor Sword for him. He also said that seven days later, he would lead his troops to the battlefield, which was Eagle Ridge Road.

Lu Chaoge forged a sword for him by hand. She said that Tianhu Workshop was to forge weapons for the country, and since she could not accompany him through dangers, she would let this sword stay by his side in her place.

Lu Xiaojun no longer remembered what the sword looked like, but as long as the sword appeared in front of him, he would definitely recognize it. This was because on the eve of his sister giving the sword to that person, he secretly saw his sister carefully carving something in the groove of the hilt. He even secretly went to see it when his sister was not around.

The sword hilt was engraved with "Chaoge," which Lu Xiaojun recognized as her sister's name.

"What are you thinking about, young master?" Cui Jin suddenly spoke, pulling Wan Qixi out of his memories. "Are you thinking about that person?"

Wan Qixi remained calm. "I was just thinking of my sister, and that white flame." Wan Qixi looked meaningfully at Cui Jin. "Why does the Imperial Preceptor keep asking about that person? Could it be that the Imperial Preceptor thinks... he's also related to the Tianhufang Blood Crossbow Case?"

“I told the young master that the Blood Crossbow Case was not something Guan Xiaotian could accomplish alone.” Cui Jin scrutinized Wan Qixi’s face, which was flickering in the darkness.

Wanqi Xi saw through Cui Jin's thoughts. "He was the one who led the army to fight the enemy at Eagle Ridge back then. He was lucky to escape with his life. No one would risk their life for a slim chance of survival. Grand Preceptor, do you care about this person for Tianhufang, or for my sister?"

"Ah Jiu, you have received the fish-shaped tally bestowed by the Emperor."

"A fish-shaped tally?" Wan Qixi seemed somewhat unfamiliar with this object.

Cui Jin leaned down, his body shrouded in black robes. "Although the fish-shaped tally isn't an official seal, it's equivalent to a fifth-rank military officer, granting free access to the palace gates. A-Jiu, a swordsman who just came from Canglang Island, has only been in Rongdu for a few months and has only met the Emperor a few times, yet he's already obtained this..."

Ah Jiu, Wan Qixi saw his face again, which was almost identical to that of Crown Prince Shen Bi. "It seems that he is very much favored by the Emperor."

"Is that all?" Cui Jin asked again, his single eye revealing a sinister glint.

Wanqi Xi avoided the sharpness in his eyes, "The Imperial Preceptor has been by the Emperor's side for many years, so you naturally know the Emperor's thoughts perfectly well. I am just a wanderer, why are you asking me?"

The Lu Xiaojun before him, now nearly thirty, was no longer the naive young man who had excitedly rushed over to him years ago when they reunited, calling him "A-Jing." He was decisive and deep in thought. Even after he pressed him for answers, Lu Xiaojun remained steadfast and tight-lipped.

Cui Jin looked up at the crescent moon, its tip peeking through the clouds. "Young Master and his elder sister were deeply in love. To protect his sister's reputation, he kept many things to himself. The dead are gone, but the living bear the burden of hatred. If this hatred is not avenged, I, Cui Jin, will not die in peace. Now that A-Jiu has already appeared in the capital, is Young Master still unwilling to tell us what happened back then?"

"—You and I both know that A-Jiu isn't..."

“I, Cui Jin, am the Grand Preceptor of the Great Jin Dynasty, an immortal whom the Emperor personally invited from Cangshan Mountain. Whoever I say he is, he is. Even if we know he cannot be, he can still be the person we want him to be.” Cui Jin waved his sleeves and roared softly at the moon.

"Why does it have to be Ajiu?" Wanqixi gritted her teeth. "Why should we rely on him to avenge the Lu family?"

“Because,” Cui Jin’s voice cut through the air, “this deep-seated hatred cannot be avenged by you and me alone. A-Jiu’s face is the key to unlocking the door to hatred, and today, he has already knocked on that door.”

Wan Qixi drew his sword and pointed it straight at the sky, "Is there anyone my sword cannot kill, or any revenge I cannot avenge?!"

"Your blade can kill one person, ten people, a hundred people, but can it kill a thousand people, ten thousand people, and even charge into an army of thousands? Charge into the Zetian Palace, not pointing to the sky, but pointing at the person sitting on the dragon throne in the palace?"

"It's him?" Wan Qixi froze in mid-air, his sword held high.