Chapter 14 And this thing he considered a trophy…
Ruan Lin felt as if he had been struck on the head. "You tricked me!" His tone was filled with disbelief and even more anger. He never expected that the person in front of him, whom he had easily fooled for more than ten years, would one day be able to play him!
"If that weren't the case, how could I have seen my uncle's true feelings? But I don't understand, why? What exactly has Qingchen done wrong to my uncle all these years?"
"Why?" Ruan Lin lowered his head and repeated in a low voice, "Why exactly?"
Suddenly, he burst into wild laughter, his expression one of madness: "You ask me why? Because it's enough that I, the only one with the blood of the Ruan family, am alive in this world! Everyone else must die! The old man must die! Your mother, your sister, and you—no one will live!"
Looking at the young master's face, which suddenly turned as dark as ink, he felt a sense of satisfaction: "That's right, I made great contributions to the destruction of the Ruan family eighteen years ago. Didn't the old man always think I was incompetent? Well then, I'll do something big for him before he dies!"
"Seeing his humble abode, the culmination of his life's work, destroyed, and his beloved daughter hang herself before his eyes, he must have felt immense regret! Hahaha!"
"Why?" It was still those three words, but the question that should have been powerful came out of the young master's mouth this time as fragile as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.
However, sometimes the more vulnerable the victim is, the more ruthless the abuser becomes.
Ruan Lin's smile grew wider and wider, his once refined face now contorted into a ferocious and terrifying expression: "I'd like to know why too! Why is it that from childhood to adulthood, the old man only had eyes for your mother? He was completely unconditional towards her, treating her like a precious gem, afraid she might break if he held her in his hands, afraid she might melt if he kept her in his mouth. He even said he would find her a husband and pass on the humble dwelling to her. And me? To others, I seem like a golden prince, but only I know that I'm nothing but an unwanted bastard!"
"How ridiculous! It's a pity your mother was determined to marry that coward Chu Panfeng, and even gave birth to two Chu brats."
"At that time, I thought that I was the only one left by the old man's side, and that the future of Hanlu would always be mine. But he just wouldn't let me have my way!"
"He brought Chu Mingyue back and kept her by his side every day, teaching her how to forge swords! Why? My talent for forging is clearly not bad either, and I am the one with the surname Ruan, while Chu Mingyue's surname is Chu! Yet he would rather give the Humble Abode to the Chu family than pass it on to me!"
"Why? Someone tell me why??"
Ruan Lin had completely gone mad. His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was a mix of crying and laughing: "He forced me to do this! He forced me to do all of this! If anyone is to blame, it's him for not killing me, this bastard, as soon as I was born."
"Just for this, you're going to join forces with the Five Evils of the Jianghu to destroy the Ruan family? You won't even spare my older sister, who was just a child at the time? For the past ten years, you've been lying to me, saying it was all my father's doing." The young master's eyes were red. He couldn't imagine how cold-blooded and selfish a person could be to betray their family so easily. And the injustice he spoke of was nothing more than not inheriting the family business.
"Your uncle didn't lie to you about this. The massacre of the Ruan family was actually orchestrated by the Chu family to obtain the secret method of forging swords in the Cold Pavilion. After Chu Panfeng proposed to your mother, he kept suggesting to the old man that the two sects be merged into one, but the old man was stubborn and refused to agree. Later, seeing that he was incapable, the three elders of the Qingyang Sect contacted me privately, hoping that I could lend them a hand."
"Then how could I not help?" The young master's pain was like a cup of fine wine to him, greatly pleasing him, but he was still not satisfied and only hoped that the wine would be stronger.
So he stared intently at the young, innocent face before him, like a viper locking onto its prey: "As for your older sister, didn't she die because of you?"
"What do you mean by this?!" The young master's sword-wielding hand suddenly bulged with veins. Meanwhile, Hengbo, hidden in the shadows on the beam, frowned deeply, seriously considering whether to kill the man before he revealed Ruan Wangshu's identity.
Since Ruan Wangshu is unwilling to explain, this person is not qualified to say it.
"What a foolish child!" Ruan Lin looked at the young master, her eyes seemingly filled with pity, but mostly with ill intent. "Your elder sister, Chu Mingyue, didn't die back then. In fact, she was... pfft—"
Before he could finish speaking, a dart pierced his chest and lungs, yet he still struggled, coughing up blood as he tried to show the young master the tragedy he had orchestrated: "She is...she is..."
However, fate did not grant his wish.
Finally, he died completely, his eyes wide open in death.
And this secret, which he regarded as a trophy, was subsequently condemned to eternal damnation.
However, this dart that suddenly appeared did not come from anyone in the room, and none of the people in the room even saw where it came from.
Hengbo looked towards the doorway and saw it, but felt there was no need to stop it.
Sure enough, the door with a hole in it was pushed open.
The newcomer was not particularly tall or muscular, but the strength hidden in his muscles could be seen from his movements, suggesting that he was a skilled martial artist.
After martial arts reach the Earth Rank, the five senses of martial artists become far more acute than those of ordinary people. In order to avoid being exposed, Hengbo dared not stare directly at people.
But judging from the young master's reaction, this person must be the Third Elder, who shouldn't be here in the first place. And also, the person she's here to fulfill her mission.
Her hands, gripping the sword, trembled slightly as the desire to fight him scorched her patience.
The young master recovered from the shock of Ruan Lin's death. After all, Ruan Lin was his uncle who had raised him for more than ten years. Although he now knew that it was all a carefully planned conspiracy, he still found it hard to accept seeing Ruan Lin suddenly die in front of him.
His voice trembled as he asked, "You...you just killed him like that?"
The Third Elder snorted through his nose: "Otherwise what? What's the point of keeping such a troublemaker around?"
Presumably, Ruan Lin's collusion with the Third Elder went beyond this, otherwise the Third Elder wouldn't have been so eager to kill him to silence him. However, the young master will never learn anything about his sister, Chu Mingyue, from Ruan Lin.
He composed himself, pulling himself together to face the mess before him: "Third Uncle shouldn't be here right now."
The Third Elder ignored his mockery, squatted down and retrieved his dart from Ruan Lin's body, then took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped away the bloodstains: "Hand over the seal, and you will still be the wealthy young master of Hidden Sword Manor."
"Heh," the young master sneered disdainfully, "Let whoever wants to be the young master of this disgusting Hidden Sword Manor have it."
As he spoke, he suddenly stretched out his right hand and made a gesture. Before the Third Elder could react, a long sword shaped like autumn water and as beautiful as spring flowers came flying towards his face.
In his panic, the Third Elder stumbled back several steps, crashing straight into the chair behind him. However, true to his experience as a geomancer, he used the chair to block Hengbo's longsword, while simultaneously throwing three darts with lightning speed. The three darts were fierce and cunning, forcing Hengbo to abandon his excellent offensive and dodge.
Unfortunately for him, Yokobo had anticipated that he would retaliate with a dart and pretend to dodge, so his move was exactly what Yokobo wanted.
Although Hengbo really wanted to have a match with him, she always remembered the task that the young master had given her. She darted to the left, pretending to attack from the left, but actually turned her feet slightly, grabbed the Second Elder who was still in a daze, and threw him to Acai.
So, by the time everyone realized what was happening, the Second Elder had already been transferred from under the noses of his two guards to Ah Cai.
The Second Elder's martial arts skills were not inferior, but the horizontal wave's killing intent was too fierce, and he did not have time to defend. When he was pulled in front of Ah Cai, he immediately struck Ah Cai's chest and abdomen with a palm.
Unfortunately, for some reason, the scene that everyone expected—that Ah Cai would be forced to retreat by his palm strike—did not happen. Instead, the Second Elder seemed to have touched an impenetrable wall, and his hands went numb from the shock.
Ah Cai took the blow without getting hurt, but it ignited his anger. He no longer cared that Ah Cai was an elder with a high status in the village. He lowered his head and used his Iron Head Technique to smash his head against Ah Cai's head, which was about chin level.
The Second Elder suffered a severe blow to the head, causing him to feel dizzy and his ears to ring. He lost consciousness in less than two breaths.
At the young master's command, Ah Cai reluctantly dragged the Second Elder's body, keeping an eye on the two guards while protecting the young master as they retreated.
The two guards weren't unwilling to give up, but they simply couldn't understand how this woman, who had suddenly fallen from the roof beam, could deal with the Third Elder alone while also having the ability to stop them from leaving.
Whenever they tried to break free from the two's battlefield, either a sword would thrust at them from an extremely tricky direction, or a hand would suddenly appear and pull them away to block the dart.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the two men, both riddled with bloody holes, exchanged a glance, their hearts numb. They realized that this woman wasn't incapable of defeating them; she was simply using them as human shields to buy time…
Their desire to escape the inn grew weaker and weaker, and their movements became increasingly perfunctory. Finally, when they each had another bloody hole in their bodies, they seemed to have made up their minds, delivered a chop to each other's hands, and collapsed to the ground.
In the midst of the battle, the Third Elder had completely exhausted his darts. He was taken aback, not expecting this young girl to possess such profound martial arts skills at such a young age. His competitive spirit was instantly ignited. He tore open his cumbersome outer robe, tossed it to the ground, and shouted, "Again! Let this old man see your true abilities!"
Hengbo knew that he was about to get serious. Although this person always used darts as weapons, the power contained within his body was far greater than that of external weapons.
So, should we accept the challenge?
Before the question even surfaced in Hengbo's mind, her body had already chosen the answer for her.
She slowly sheathed her sword, not because she underestimated her opponent, but because experienced fighters know that within five steps, a fist is faster than a sword.
However, putting away the sword doesn't mean she's lost her weapon; after all, she is her own sword.
The Third Elder followed the path of physical cultivation, which emphasizes body refinement, hence his strength was profound and powerful. Among physical techniques, he chose fierce fist techniques, and the punch he was throwing at Hengbo's face seemed to contain the power of metal and stone, sharp and heavy.
Hengbo, however, didn't look at him; instead, she closed her eyes. There was no need to recall it in her mind anymore; thirteen years of arduous training in the mountains had already allowed her to execute the first move of the Startling Spring Sword Technique, Shadow Chasing the Wind, with effortless grace.
A note from the author:
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Have a great weekend everyone! Hope you can discuss the plot with the young author. Looking forward to it!
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