A sword through the heart
Yunwei unfolded the letter, and familiar handwriting came into view:
I buried a jar of newly brewed osmanthus wine.
When the snow falls on the plum blossoms, let us drink together.
Her fingertips brushed over the words on the letter, but past warmth was of no use in the face of her current predicament.
Thinking of this, she gently put down the letter and unfolded another one:
Today, the ginkgo leaves in the mountain villa have fallen, turning the ground golden and as splendid as brocade.
I was resting in a tree when I suddenly realized how beautiful the scenery was.
There must be many towering ancient trees in Guiyun Sect. I wonder if you ever climbed trees to raid bird nests or went down to the river to catch fish and shrimp when you were young, just like I did.
I think it's not true.
From a young age, you knew that the path of cultivation was difficult, and your only wish was to become stronger as soon as possible and gain your father's approval and respect.
What's so important about the old man's judgment?
Yunwei's gaze froze instantly.
The three characters "Guiyun Sect" in the letter were heavily circled in crimson cinnabar.
When Xu E wrote the letter, he was in a peaceful state of mind, reminiscing about the past with concern, and would never have so abruptly circled his own words.
Who was it that became curious about her origins through Xu E's letters?
Yunwei continued searching, and in a hidden drawer beneath a desk, her fingertips touched a thin, yellowed notebook.
She pulled it out and slowly read aloud:
"In the third year of Qing'an, the lady gave birth to a son, named Xu E. However, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. That night, a blood-red phenomenon suddenly appeared in the sky above the manor. A thick black aura descended along with the newborn's blood and entered E's placenta."
"This is an evil spirit formed from the malevolent energy of heaven and earth, extremely ferocious, and likely to bring disaster to all living beings. My wife and I exhausted our life's cultivation to barely separate it from E'er's body. However, this thing took shape by borrowing blood energy and transformed into another infant, looking exactly like E'er. My wife and I could not bear it, so we regarded it as E'er's twin brother, named it Xu Yi, hoping that it could inherit the beauty of 'virtuous conduct' and dispel the malevolent energy."
"However, Yi'er's inner malevolence is deep and difficult to suppress, which may eventually lead to disaster. To avoid future troubles, and because I really cannot bear to kill her myself, I have no choice but to seal all her meridians and imprison her deep in the dungeon, chained with ten-thousand-year-old black iron chains, and order my loyal servant Xu Fu to guard her strictly. I can only hope that with time, the pure energy of the earth's veins may be able to dispel her malevolence and allow her to see the light of day..."
Xie Lanchen's pupils contracted sharply. He quickly took the note and scanned it, his expression turning extremely ugly.
Yunwei pondered for a moment, and all the clues instantly connected.
Xu E should have been completely unaware of this, but the letter was hidden in a secret compartment in his study.
All the suspicious points flashed through her mind: the resemblance was not the same, the jade was worn incorrectly, the unusual attention to the Lone Goose Sword but no action was taken, the parents died tragically but there was no grief, the sudden appearance of the book of strange tales and the childish doodles, the mysterious disappearance of the three people in the restaurant, the trap in the cold pool, the clumsy excuse of the soul-separation disease...
Before Yunwei could finish her thought, a soft click of a mechanism came from behind the desk.
Behind the desk, the smooth wall slid silently inward, revealing a dark secret passage.
The stone steps were slippery, and a few dim yellow oil lamps on the wall flickered, barely illuminating the small area underfoot.
Yunwei exchanged a glance with the boy beside her.
Yesterday, deep within this secret passage, she had clearly heard the heavy sound of chains being dragged, and now her ominous suspicion was almost certain.
The one imprisoned inside is probably the real Xu E.
"Shall we go in?" Xie Lanchen asked in a low voice.
Yunwei hummed in agreement and stepped into the deep, dark entrance first.
The young man followed closely behind, his brows furrowed slightly.
The secret passage wound downwards, and the air was filled with the smells of mildew and rust.
Yun listened intently, relying on her vague memory of the direction of the sound of the chains from yesterday, and carefully chose a path in the dim light.
Xie Lanchen followed silently, her sharp gaze sweeping over every dark corner, her mind churning with complex emotions: She was still so stubborn. Knowing the dangers of this place, she insisted on wading into this mess. If she truly encountered Xu E, would it be a blessing or a curse? Her remnant soul resided in the sword, her power not yet restored; if she encountered Xu Yi…
After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a faint light began to emanate from the end of the passage.
The two quickened their pace and approached silently.
A dimly lit dungeon came into view, its rough wooden door ajar.
By the dim light of the oil lamp on the wall, a figure could be seen curled up on the ground.
The man's hands and feet were firmly locked by thick iron chains, each as thick as a child's arm, with the other end of the chains deeply embedded in the hard stone wall behind him.
He wore a tattered robe whose original color was no longer discernible, stained with dirt and dark bloodstains. His hair was disheveled like withered grass, obscuring most of his face, and his breath was so faint as to be almost imperceptible.
Yun Wei's expression shifted slightly, and she strode forward, recognizing him at a glance:
"Xu E?"
The person on the ground seemed to be startled by the sound, and struggled to open their heavy eyelids, revealing a pair of dark eyes that, though dim, still shone with an indomitable spirit.
He struggled to sit up, the chains rattling loudly, but due to extreme weakness from long imprisonment and the heavy restraint of the chains, his body only swayed in vain.
"Hurry up..." he said hoarsely.
Yun Wei paused, glancing out of the corner of her eye at several hardened, blackened steamed buns scattered beside Xu E's feet.
The fake Xu E mentioned "it's lunchtime"... Could it be referring to this?
"Yunwei!" Xie Lanchen's sharp shout rang out almost simultaneously with the sound of something cutting through the air.
A sharp, incomparably cold light suddenly appeared from behind, striking Yun Wei's right shoulder and neck, a vital spot, clearly intending to kill her on the spot.
Yun Wei did not move.
Without turning around, one knows that the sword is no more than half an inch away from the flesh.
Just as the blade was about to strike, she brought her right index and middle fingers together and parried diagonally upwards, forcefully meeting the spine of the sword.
"Zheng—!"
A deafening clang of metal suddenly rang out, echoing through the narrow dungeon and making everyone's ears ring.
The long sword that was slashing down with such force was actually stopped in mid-air by her.
The boy's outstretched hand froze halfway, his heart easing with relief, followed by an inexplicable surge of emotion: she had been prepared all along.
Yun Wei remained calm as spiritual energy from her fingertips rapidly spread upwards along the cold blade, instantly penetrating the hilt.
"Ugh!" A suppressed groan of pain came from behind, accompanied by the sound of staggering footsteps.
Yunwei then slowly lowered her hand, her movements calm and unhurried.
She turned around coldly, her gaze falling on the attacker.
The one wielding the sword was none other than Xu Yi.
He was dressed in a moon-white brocade robe, but the hem of the robe was stained with the dirt of the dungeon. In his hand he held a long sword with a broad blade and hidden mountain patterns.
That was Xu E's sword, "Chen Yue".
Yun Wei's face darkened.
At this moment, Xu Yi's face was devoid of any languid smile; his voice was icy: "Miss Yun, look at my face. Isn't it exactly the same as my 'good brother'? To look even more like him, I even personally drew a line on my left eyebrow, the old scar he had when we were practicing swordsmanship as children," he raised his hand and pointed to a faint scar on his left eyebrow with the tip of his sword, "in front of the bronze mirror. How about that? Isn't it very meticulous? As long as we have the same face, you wouldn't care who it is, would you?"
“Xu Yi,” Yun Wei said, enunciating each word clearly.
"You imprisoned your brother and murdered your relatives, deceived the world and stole a reputation, and you are unworthy of wearing human skin."
Hearing this, Xu Yi chuckled softly: "Is that so? But what right does Xu E have? What right does he have to be born with everything?" He pulled down his shirt, revealing several deep, bone-revealing, blackened old wounds below his collarbone, clearly the result of repeated biting and gnawing. "Look! These were bitten alive by those filthy rats in the dungeon. Day after day, year after year. Why should I endure this? Why should I be trapped in this dark, bone-chilling place like a rat in a sewer?"
“So,” his tone shifted abruptly, tinged with an almost naive, cruel glee, “those two old bastards who pushed me into the dungeon, I dealt with them myself and threw them into the icy pool. As for Xu E… I locked him up here just to let him taste this living hell. Watching him crawl around like an animal eating those rotten buns is quite amusing, isn’t it?” He tilted his head, a purely malicious smile on his face, as if sharing a delightful anecdote.
Yunwei's hand, which was hanging in her sleeve, suddenly tightened.
In her eyes, Xu Yi was no longer a person, but a malevolent spirit shrouded in resentment.
Her eyes turned cold, and a sword aura was already circulating on her wrist. This kind of evil thing could only be shattered with a single sword strike.
Xu Yi took two steps forward, his tone carrying a hint of regret at having his plans ruined, yet also a morbid interest in meeting a worthy opponent: "Speaking of which, you're the first one to survive me. I thought the ferocious beast in the icy pool could take care of you for me, saving me the trouble. But I didn't expect you to fall for it so easily. It's rare to find an opponent who can make me put in so much effort."
"Oh, right, remember those three foul-mouthed idiots who slandered you in the restaurant? After you entered the secret passage, they 'couldn't hold their liquor' and fell into a deep sleep forever. I solved your problem for you, wasn't that thoughtful?"
"Smack!"
He was met with a sharp slap.
A red mark suddenly appeared on Xu Yi's face, her eyes filled with astonishment, as if she hadn't expected her to make a move, and for a moment she forgot how to react.
Yun Wei withdrew her hand and coldly rebuked, "This slap is a punishment for your unworthy human skin and despicable behavior."
She paused, then continued, "You hid that notebook, didn't you? You're unwilling to face the reality that you're just a stripped-out, malevolent spirit? Or is it that you hate the person who gave you this body, yet greedily want to possess everything that belongs to Xu E, and you can't even face the final truth left by his parents, so you can only hide it?"
"Shut up!" Xu Yi said, enunciating each word clearly.
Xie Lanchen stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Yun Wei, his anger mixed with murderous intent surging: "You dare to tell her to shut up?"
Before he could finish speaking, he continued sharply, “Twenty years ago, you should have been annihilated. Xu E’s parents, out of a moment of compassion, adopted you as their second son and named you ‘Xu Yi,’ hoping that you would inherit ‘virtue’ and transform your malevolent nature. They couldn’t bear to kill you, so they sealed your meridians and placed you in the pure energy of the earth’s veins, cleansing you day and night and guiding you toward goodness. But you went against the grain, murdered your parents and imprisoned your brother, treating ‘virtue’ as dust and discarding it like worn-out shoes.”
He conjured a bright sword aura at his fingertips, not to attack Xu Yi, but to slash at the black iron chains binding Xu E's hands and feet.
"Clang! Clang!" Two ear-piercing metallic clangs rang out as the thick black iron chain snapped in response.
Xie Lanchen frowned, strode towards Xu E, and bent down to grab his arm.
The movement wasn't exactly gentle; he half-supported, half-dragged Xu E up and pulled him to his side.
"Today is the day you are executed." The young man looked up at Xu Yi and said coldly.
Xu Yi's dark eyes narrowed suddenly, his intense killing intent almost tangible. He flashed and blocked the dungeon exit.
He raised his longsword, the tip pointing directly at Yun Wei's brow: "You want to take him away? Have you asked the sword in my hand?"
Although Xie Lanchen is strong, she needs to be distracted protecting Xu E. Letting her deal with Xu Yi is the best solution, Yun Wei thought.
Before she could finish her thought, a cold light lashed out at her.
She didn't move an inch, but instead took half a step forward to meet the sword's edge. Her right hand shot out and grabbed Xu Yi's right wrist, which was gripping the sword. Spiritual energy surged from her fingertips and penetrated his meridians.
Xu Yi felt a numbness in his wrist, and his strength vanished instantly.
Yunwei reached out with her left hand and snatched his sword.
The whole process took only a moment.
"Yunwei! How dare you..." Xu Yi saw the Shenyue Sword fall into her hands, his eyes filled with murderous intent, and he couldn't help but call her by her full name.
Before he could finish speaking, a poisoned needle shot straight into his back sternum.
"Did I tell you to call her Yunwei?" Nangong Ya's clear voice rang out, and the girl's petite figure appeared from around the corner.
"What...what did you do to me?" Xu Yi struggled to twist her stiff neck, trying to see who had attacked her from behind. Her voice was hoarse and distorted from shock, anger, and the effects of the poison. "Weren't you...just a useless burden? Who exactly are you?"
Nangong Ya walked past him to Yun Wei's side, coldly glaring at the immobilized Xu Yi, her small face full of arrogance: "Listen up! I am the current Valley Master of Ten Thousand Poisons Valley, Nangong Ya!"
Aya had been waiting outside, but perhaps she had been waiting too long and hadn't seen her and Xie Lanchen come out, so she came looking for them. Yun Wei thought to herself.
Her eyes narrowed, she gripped the Chenyue Sword tightly, and with her left hand she gathered a point of azure spiritual light, pointing it at the spine of the sword in mid-air.
Buzz—!
The sword emitted a low hum.
She lightly touched the ground with her toes and stabbed straight into Xu Yi's heart.
Xu Yi's pupils contracted sharply, and he forgot to dodge, only watching helplessly as the azure sword light pierced through his body.
He looked at Yun Wei's face, so close to his own, and forced a weak smile: "Now I finally understand... why my brother likes you..."
Yun Wei remained calm. To like or dislike? What did it matter to her?
She acts solely according to her conscience, clearly distinguishing right from wrong. Xu Yi murdered his own family and imprisoned his brother; his crimes are heinous, his wickedness deep-seated, and his nature difficult to change. If he is not eliminated today, he will surely bring calamity to the people in the future, leaving endless troubles.
Those who deserve to be killed will be dealt with without mercy; matters that must be resolved will be handled decisively without hesitation. Indecisiveness and womanly compassion will only harm oneself and others.
Just as she was about to draw her sword, Xu Yi raised his left hand and gripped Yun Wei's wrist tightly.
What is he trying to do? A desperate counterattack?
Xu Yi curled his lips into a smile, grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. The sword blade pierced deeper into her body, and warm blood stained Yun Wei's sleeve.
Self-destruction?
Did he finally recognize his incorrigible nature as an evil spirit and choose complete liberation? Or... did he want to leave a trace in her heart in this way at the last moment?
No matter the intention, it cannot change the outcome.
Xu Yi fell backward, all the resentment, unwillingness, and madness on her face completely disappearing, leaving only relief.
"So what if I saw the notes?" he thought.
The truth came too late... His path was already destined from the day he was forcibly stripped away and locked in this boundless darkness.
Let that hatred and resentment flow into his blood, drain his soul, leaving only an empty shell.
Yun lowered her eyes, flipped her wrist, and inserted the Chenyue Sword into the ground beside her. The sword trembled slightly and emitted a low hum.
Even if Xu Yi repents or remains obsessed, his crimes of murdering his parents and imprisoning his brother cannot be erased.
If we indulge them today, they will surely bring disaster to the people and cause endless harm in the future.
Killing them is the only way.
Yun Wei remained calm. As the sword fell, she knew there was no other way.
She turned to the remaining three and said, "Let's go."
Xie Lanchen looked at Yun Wei's blood-splattered clothes and her swift back view, his heart filled with complex emotions.
Decisive and ruthless, cold and powerful... This figure instantly overlapped with the image of the senior sister of Guiyun Sect who saved him from dire straits six years ago amidst countless demons and monsters with a single, chilling sword.
That power still made him look up to it, and even... feel a chill in his heart.
Just then.
"Miss Yun!" Xu Fu stumbled and rushed to Yun Wei, clutching her clothes and pleading, "It's all my fault! I thought he just wanted to go out and see the world... that's why I softened and let him go... I'm the one who harmed the old master and his wife... I'm the one who harmed the eldest young master..."
Yun Wei let him tug at her clothes, her eyes showing no emotion, only giving him a faint glance:
"Besides you, does Xu Yi have any accomplices?"
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