Chapter 26 Don't waste your tears on flowery stationery.
Huo Qin realized that he had been making some assumptions.
He originally thought that only Yu Xijun had come, so he was willing to let her sit back and watch the fight. However, he did not expect that so many archers would be lying in ambush at Zhang's place. It seems that they have great ambitions.
He glanced at the archers on the rooftops, bows drawn, and secretly stroked his own Moon-Inviting Bow.
The person in the very center was intimidated by Yu Xijun's threat, and for a moment no one dared to make a move. Only Yu Xijun, the shrewd one, was left leisurely admiring the glazed waterside pavilion.
Xi Bingyi stared blankly at the utterly unfamiliar person before her. She reached out to grab Yu Xijun's sleeve, but only grasped a wisp of fragrant air. "Aunt Yu, how did you get here... how could you..."
Yu Xijun stopped in her tracks. She remained silent for a long while, unsure how to explain to Xi Bingyi. In the end, she could only pretend not to hear and ignore the tears glistening in Xi Bingyi's eyes.
Seeing that Yu Xijun ignored her, Xi Bingyi disregarded the watchful archers and lashed the ground with her whip.
The loud noise drew everyone's attention. The archers on the rooftop all turned and pointed at her, but Xi Bingyi was fearless. Her eyes were blurry with tears as she walked step by step toward Xu Yuxijun, her voice trembling: "Tell me—answer me!"
In just one day, Xi Bingyi met Zhang Yuanhan and Yu Xijun, who had betrayed their family.
Her carefree life of more than a decade was shattered at this moment, revealing instead the unpredictability of human nature and the pain of betrayal.
Xi Bingyi had never been in such pain. The harmless, foolish Zhang Yuanhan she had imagined was a lie. She didn't even know if his approach to her was for ulterior motives, and she even suspected that the pirates on the ship back then were just part of a scheme.
The gentle and bright Aunt Yu in her memory was a lie. She led a large group of people to attack Zhang Shi and did the most despicable things in the martial arts world. Was her Plum Blossom Manor, her home, still real?
Xi Bingyi burst into tears, choking back sobs and unable to speak, yet she still firmly gripped the whip and walked towards Yu Xijun, stubbornly seeking an answer.
"Who sent you? Plum Blossom Manor? Did you come by yourself?" At Yu Xijun's command, none of the archers dared to move, and could only let Xi Bingyi approach Yu Xijun. "Aunt Yu, tell me, please... tell me why..."
Xi Bingyi cried so hard that tears welled up in Yu Xijun's eyes as well. She wanted to touch Xi Bingyi's head, she wanted to pull Xi Bingyi into her arms and comfort her and hug her like when they were little, but she couldn't, she couldn't, she had to.
So she said firmly, "There's no reason why, Bingyi, you should open your eyes and see for yourself."
"What are you looking at? How you manipulate people's hearts, how clever your schemes are, how you slaughter the entire Zhang family without any reason?"
Xi Bingyi's voice carried a barely perceptible hint of hatred as she pointed at the people in the courtyard, gritting her teeth: "So, after my mother died, you became this disgusting?!"
These words were too harsh, deeply hurting Yu Xijun. Anger and grief swept over her heart. She raised her hand and slapped Xi Bingyi hard across the face, making a loud slapping sound.
Yu Xijun was stunned. Her fingers twitched, and she tried to touch the red swelling, but Xi Bingyi forcefully pushed her hand away.
Xi Bingyi laughed silently, and as she laughed, tears streamed down her face. She cried so pitifully, her heart aching more than her face, but she still stood firmly in front of everyone and said fiercely, "You want to kill them? I won't allow it!"
Xi Bingyi had an incredibly happy family when she was young.
Her mother was a renowned beauty, a sharp rose. Her father was also a well-known "encyclopedia." The couple had a deep affection for each other, and Mei Zhiying personally crafted a "Xiang Wang" sword for Xi Ling to symbolize their profound love.
She grew up in a loving family with a strong sense of chivalry, yearning for a life of adventure and youthful exuberance.
Later, when Mei Zhiying sent her to the Holy Mountain, she never felt lost. This was because Lin Youbie treated her like a mother, and although Xie Yun was in poor health, he provided them with a comfortable life. Not to mention, she also had a loving senior brother who could reunite with her family every year during the Lunar New Year.
In the first half of her life, Xi Bingyi had a smooth and successful life, and she viewed the world with clear, beautiful, and loving eyes.
She knew there was suffering in the world, like her senior brother's ambiguous fate and her master's wife's deteriorating health, but she naively never truly understood it. She was a precious treasure cherished by everyone, and she heard all the world's hymns.
Lin Youbie hoped she could go down the mountain to help her senior brother, and she agreed. Although she didn't know what her senior brother's fate would be, she was willing to help him with the same love and repay the preciousness she received with the same love.
In Xi Bingyi's past, the only dark time was the passing of her mother.
Mei Zhiying was like a beautiful flower, her sudden demise only adding to the sorrow. Xi Bingyi lost the most beautiful flower in her life.
Now, this wound has been torn open by someone close to her, tearing open her wet memories, tearing open her naive fantasies, tearing open her perfectly protected world.
It turns out that even brothers can turn against each other for power, and that even gentle people can scheme against strangers out of greed.
It turns out that the world is never a still pond, and that people's hearts have a thousand faces.
"Xi Bingyi!" Yu Xijun looked at her tearful eyes, her own eyes burning, but she could only grit her teeth, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not..."
Yu Xijun looked deeply at Xi Bingyi, her eyes filled with unspoken words, yet she could not utter them. She could only weakly repeat that she should not misunderstand and should not despair.
Huo Qin arrived at Xi Bingyi's side at some point. He didn't want to get involved with Xi Bingyi, but he had promised Zhou Ziheng to take good care of his junior sister. So he gently patted Xi Bingyi's shoulder and said carefully, "The memories aren't fake. Perhaps your Aunt Yu really has her reasons."
He paused for a moment, then sighed and said, "The answers in this world are not always black and white. If you have the opportunity in the future, perhaps you can find the answers yourself."
Xi Bingyi took a deep breath, barely managing to calm herself down. Huo Qin's words had comforted her. She composed herself, her emotions crumbling, and said firmly, "Aunt Yu, do you still insist on killing everyone?"
Yu Xijun felt a pang of bitterness in her heart, but in the end, her favoritism towards Xi Bingyi prevailed. She said with difficulty, "As long as you hand over Xu Yi... I can spare your lives."
"Xu Yi?" Xi Bingyi frowned. "Why?"
Yu Xijun did not answer, but then she heard Xu Yi's voice coming from outside the door. Huo Qin turned around and saw that Xu Yi looked dejected and his clothes had many marks from being slashed by a sword.
Xu Yi, carrying the Broken Goose Blade, walked over step by step. He looked around, lingering particularly on Zhang Yuanqian for a long time. After briefly learning about the chaos within the Zhang family, he asked wearily, "Why kill me? Is it because I was the 'fish that slipped through the net' many years ago?"
His voice was questioning, but his eyes were firm, as if he had expected everything.
Yu Xijun spoke meaningfully, directing the archers to turn and aim at Xu Yi: "Of course, now that things have come to this, have you found the other half of the Broken Goose Saber Technique?"
"This is a gift from fate, and also a price to pay."
"Me?" Xu Yi chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Even if I'm not 'Xu Yi'?"
"It doesn't matter who you are. When you received half of the Broken Goose Saber Technique, you should have known that the gift had an expiration date."
Xu Yi remained silent. Of course, he knew what was in the half-finished sword technique. Back then, his parents had obtained half of the technique but were unable to cultivate it due to their own lack of talent. However, they also knew what kind of vicious poison lay behind this sweet gift.
Everyone who obtains the Broken Goose Saber knows that the very beginning of the saber technique contains the statement: "If you cannot master the complete Broken Goose Saber technique, I will take everything back."
That's why Xu's parents forced Xu Yi to master the Broken Goose Saber Technique as soon as possible, forcing him to practice day after day. This was both an opportunity and a poison.
So the person behind those words was actually the power behind Yu Xijun? Xu Yi pondered.
Although he also knew about the agreement, no one knew better than him that "taking back everything" meant slaughtering all his relatives.
Firstly, he had no intention of becoming famous in the martial arts world, and secondly, he was all alone, so even if he were to "exterminate his entire family," it wouldn't implicate anyone. Therefore, he had never thought of searching for the other half of the sword technique, nor did he expect that this "poison" would take effect so suddenly.
Little did they expect that this price would cause such a mess for the Zhang family.
Xu Yi's gaze lingered on Zhang Yuanqian's face for a long time.
He recalled Zhou Ziheng's sarcastic remarks before leaving, and thought of Zhang Yuanqian. His previously dead heart was rekindled with a yearning impulse. He whispered, "Even if I also have my own complete sword technique?"
Yu Xijun remained silent, but the full moon-like bowstring conveyed her attitude.
In the arena, Zhang Yuanqian clenched his fists, seemingly wanting to speak but holding back, while Zhang Yuanhan remained silent, observing the situation...
No one moved, but everyone was poised to strike. Xu Yi didn't want to sit idly by and wait to die, and Xi Bingyi didn't want Yu Xijun to kill people in front of her. The two exchanged a glance and reached a consensus. Xi Bingyi held the whip, and Xu Yi held the Broken Goose Blade. They looked at the archer, their whole bodies on high alert, like two wild beasts about to hunt.
At the critical moment, a soft cough broke the deadlock.
"Who said he doesn't have the other half of the sword technique?" Zhou Ziheng's voice came from above the open-air waterside pavilion.
As one act ends, another begins. Holding the Red Dust Sword, he looked down at the diverse crowd below, and yawned with a smile.
Huo Qin looked up in the direction of the sound and saw Zhou Ziheng dressed in red clothes that were so dirty it looked like he had rolled around in the mud several times. His clothes were tattered and his hair was a mess. If you didn't know better, you would think he had taken a nap in some remote corner.
Amidst the seemingly confident laughter, Huo Qin keenly sensed Zhou Ziheng's weakness and exhaustion. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Zhou Ziheng's hands, which were holding his sword, were trembling, and he could only forcefully toss a piece of jade to Xu Yi from the air.
"This is the half of the sword technique; I'm sure you'll recognize it."
From Yu Xijun's angle, she couldn't see Zhou Ziheng's face clearly, only the dazzling brilliance of the carved beams and painted rafters. She squinted, trying to ascertain Zhou Ziheng's condition, but ultimately succumbed to Xi Bingyi's wary scrutiny and pretended not to care about the newcomer anymore.
She smiled at Xi Bingyi and breathed a sigh of relief.
Is Yu Xijun here today to overthrow the Zhang family? No.
Were they here to kill Xu Yi? No.
No one knew that the grand show she was putting on today, whether it was slaughtering the entire Zhang family or just killing Xu Yi alone, the ultimate goal was to make Zhou Ziheng appear.
Let Zhou Ziheng, in his most exhausted and weakest moment, witness this drama of love, hate, right and wrong.
The entire Zhang family was offered as a sacrifice to him.
Yu Xijun's gaze towards Xi Bingyi became sincere. She breathed a sigh of relief in her heart, glad that Zhou Ziheng had returned earlier than expected, thus averting a tragedy. However, she maintained an unwilling demeanor on her face, revealing the regret that she had to return empty-handed today.
“Since that’s the case, I don’t seem to have any reason to stay any longer.” Yu Xijun waved away the archers, her gaze sweeping across the field before finally settling on Zhou Ziheng. Her lips moved slightly, a silent farewell escaping her lips.
Goodbye, little boat.
The woman flew away like a willow catkin; no one knew where she came from or where she was going. She was like a fleeting shadow, seemingly only there to add fuel to the fire of Zhang's misfortune.
Zhou Ziheng watched Yu Xijun leave, too exhausted to chase after her. In the mountains, he had gone through tremendous effort to escape the woman and reach Zhang Shi, and now he was utterly devastated and his mind was foggy.
As the fifteenth approached, he forcefully activated the Red Dust Sword Intent again. At this moment, he felt as if ten thousand ants were gnawing at his flesh. The dense and continuous pain made Zhou Ziheng's vision go black. He took one last look at Huo Qin and Xi Bingyi, and then let himself fall into a coma.
Huo Qin caught Zhou Ziheng as he fell from the sky, stared at his extremely haggard face for a while, and then handed him over to Xi Bingyi.
"Mei Le, take Zhou Ziheng to rest."
Xi Bingyi, without suspecting anything, quickly agreed and carried Zhou Ziheng into the room.
Huo Qin watched the two figures disappear into the distance until he was completely out of sight before he let out a breath. As he exhaled, he calmed down and looked at Zhang Yuanhan with a deep gaze.
"Zhang Yuanhan, you actually orchestrated the pirate attack, didn't you?"
Zhang Yuanhan smiled and nodded slightly.
"I thought you would agree to my invitation, and then the pirate raids would naturally be your way to make a name for yourself."
"pity……"
Before he could finish speaking, Huo Qin had already drawn his bow, and the arrow grazed Zhang Yuanhan's temple before disappearing into the building behind him!
"Why would the Three Heroes need such despicable means to gain fame?" Huo Qin's tone was arrogant and cold.
He drew the bowstring taut and aimed it at Zhang Yuanqian, and sure enough, he saw Xu Yi glaring at him like an enraged lion.
He then sneered at Zhang Yuan: "See, you really are a failure."
"Family, friends, power—what have you gained?"
Zhang Yuanhan's face darkened completely!
In order to realize his ambition, he feigned weakness to gain sympathy, persuaded Zhou Ziheng to work for him, and then arranged a large-scale "attack" to let everyone know that the Second Young Master had a knife that was no less powerful than Xu Yi's, thus using Zhou Ziheng to increase his bargaining power.
What a meticulously planned scheme, revealing the ugliness of human nature.
Zhang Yuanhan's gaze was gloomy, and when he looked at Zhang Yuanqian and Xu Yi, he looked bewildered.
His body was in pain, and his heart was in pain too.
On the day his elder brother rescued Xu Yi, it was he who first discovered Xu Yi floating unconscious at sea, but it was also he who advised his elder brother not to meddle in other people's business.
Every day after that, seeing his brother gradually control the Zhang family through Xu Yi, he was tormented by pain, regret, and resentment.
He resented his brother for seizing power so easily, resented Xu Yi for being willing to serve Zhang Yuanqian like a slave, and resented himself for being blind and missing a golden opportunity.
He had also fantasized about getting along well with Xu Yi and about giving up the fight for the Zhang family, but every time he saw the look in Xu Yi's eyes—disgust, revulsion, and hatred—he felt a surge of anger, and that intense hatred would overwhelm him.
Why are you looking at me like that?
Why are you judging me through other people's eyes? What kind of person do you take me for?
Zhang Yuanhan received no answer.
He hated Xu Yi, hated Zhang Yuanqian, hated that no one interfered in their relationship, hated that he was excluded, hated that he was Zhang Yuanqian's closest person, and hated that he was the first to discover Xu Yi!
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Author's Note: Doesn't anyone think the relationship between the three Zhang brothers is quite interesting?
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