Chapter 163
The sky darkened completely, as if night was about to fall. The wind and rain ravaged the trees and grass on the mountaintop, turning the snow left over from this winter into a cloud of flying sand.
A series of steady, powerful footsteps sounded behind her, and an invisible, chilling aura spread in the wind. Ye Zhilan turned around in the swirling rain and snow, her eyes flashing with a cold light.
At the edge of their line of sight, several familiar figures appeared one after another. The disciples with bows no longer hid and stood openly in the clearing in the forest. Arrows were drawn back, producing a neat twang, and aimed at the lone figure on the cliff edge.
Frost trembled, tugging at her dress. Man Jiangxue slowly emerged from the crowd, her black hair covered in snowflakes, which were quickly wiped away by the rain. Her eyes were icy, and her usually calm and composed face was tinged with a rare melancholy. She stared intently at Ye Zhilan, her sharp gaze seeming to be able to slowly torture her from afar, sending chills down one's spine.
The two looked at each other silently, exchanging glances. Ye Zhilan smiled slightly and said softly, "You've come."
Man Jiangxue's voice was low and deep: "What do you want?"
"Don't rush," Ye Zhilan said gently, her posture dignified and upright, her demeanor somewhat resembling that of Man Jiangxue at this moment. "When old friends meet, they should always catch up."
“I have no past to reminisce with you,” Man Jiangxue said, looking down at Ye Zhilan as if she were about the same height as the two. “Enough of this idle talk.”
Ye Zhilan twirled her bamboo flute, standing on the edge of the cliff like a fragile green bamboo. Even though she stood so straight, she still gave people the illusion that she would shatter in an instant.
“She really came alone,” Wen Chaoyu said, crossing her arms and looking around. “That’s terrible. If she had brought someone with her, it would mean she still wanted to live. But she didn’t bring anyone. It seems she’s planning to go down in flames.”
Ji Wanshu observed the situation on the other side for a moment, then frowned and said, "Troublesome."
"Jiang Xue, you must stay calm," Xie Yijun said in a low voice as she stood beside Man Jiangxue. "Yin Qiu's life is in her hands. If we make the slightest move, she can loosen the rope and throw Yin Qiu off the cliff. Even if we can injure her with arrows, she can still do it before she dies. You must be patient and not provoke her!"
She spoke very softly, but Ye Zhilan heard every word and sneered, "Master is absolutely right. Let me remind you again, even if you can hurt me or push me off the cliff, I can still force myself to activate the Gu poison. Yin Qiu will die in my hands no matter what. So you should think carefully about your every move."
Xie Yijun's expression was complicated, a mixture of regret and hatred. She looked at Ye Zhilan with a dark gaze, but she couldn't bring herself to call her "wicked disciple."
During this standoff, Wen Chaoyu had a sudden inspiration and thought of the last remaining option. She took two steps back without making a sound, hiding behind Man Jiangxue, and whispered to Bai Ling behind her, "Take a few people and retreat. See if there's a way to climb the cliff and get close to Yin Qiu."
Bai Ling's eyes lit up. She gave Wen Chaoyu a look, then quickly concealed herself and retreated behind the crowd, leading a few disciples silently into the forest.
Ye Zhilan could see the crowd, but she didn't know if she had seen Bai Ling's movements. After hearing Xie Yijun's instructions, Man Jiangxue suppressed the murderous intent in her heart and tried to remain calm as she said, "What do you want to reminisce about?"
Ye Zhilan looked thoughtful and said, "There are too many old stories, I don't know where to begin." She tapped her palm with her bamboo flute and finally said, "I'm not wearing a mask right now, do you recognize me?"
Man Jiangxue answered decisively: "I don't recognize him."
“It’s normal not to recognize you,” Ye Zhilan said. “But I recognize you. I saw you once many years ago, and even though it was only once, it was enough to make me remember you.”
Man Jiangxue frowned slightly and asked, "When?"
A light rain was falling, a cold wind was howling, and snow was falling in the air. On any other day, this scene would have been quite picturesque. But at this moment, only a profound sense of desolation and loneliness remained.
“When you entered the palace at the age of nine,” Ye Zhilan said, “I was sitting in the sedan chair and witnessed your heroic act when you protected the banners and saved a group of officials. I still remember it vividly to this day.”
Man Jiangxue wasn't surprised by her words, and Wen Chaoyu simply looked knowing. Xie Yijun, however, asked in surprise, "Are you the heir of the Western Feather Clan?" She looked back and forth between Ye Zhilan and Man Jiangxue, "Then you and Jiangxue are not..."
“Yes, we are sisters,” Ye Zhilan said. “We share the same father, but we did not grow up in the palace together and have never had a formal meeting.”
Before Man Jiangxue could speak, she continued, "I know that your father was executed by the King of Yongye before your marriage alliance. I have not placed the blame for the fall of the kingdom on you. I seek revenge on you for other reasons. Man Jiangxue, you are very clever. Why don't you guess?"
Man Jiangxue pondered for a moment, then raised her eyes and said, "Nangong Min calls you Xiao Qi, so your identity is not hard to guess. The Crown Prince of Xiling is the seventh princess who lost her mother at a young age. It must be you."
Ye Zhilan nodded: "And then?"
"And then?" Man Jiangxue sneered for no reason. "Since you didn't pin the blame for the fall of the country on me, then there's only the matter of a marriage alliance left. Now that I've come to the Central Plains, whether the rest of you live or die is not my concern, and how the King of Yongye will deal with you is also beyond my control. But as the crown prince, you still have some value, so he will naturally keep you and let you come for the marriage alliance."
Ye Zhilan gripped the bamboo flute tightly, the smile on her face vanishing instantly. She said coldly, "Is it laughable?"
"Isn't that ridiculous?" Man Jiangxue took two steps forward, stood tall in the drizzling rain, and said, "The world blames me for the fall of the country. I have carried this blame for so many years and I don't mind. But if you want to blame me for the marriage alliance, then don't even think about it. I will never admit to this blame no matter what."
Ye Zhilan suddenly felt a surge of anger and said resentfully, "Why do you deny it! If you hadn't fled to the Central Plains, would the King of Yongye have turned his spear against me? As the heir of the Western Feather Kingdom, you have enjoyed wealth and honor and received the blessings of the imperial family. From birth, you have naturally shouldered the responsibility of protecting your country. Marrying into a foreign land is your duty!"
"My duty?" Man Jiangxue's voice was cold and sarcastic. "If we're talking about enjoying wealth and luxury, I'm not as happy in the royal villa as you are in the palace. You are also a royal heir, the crown prince who is second only to the emperor. It's only natural for you to be close to me, while you suffer all kinds of grievances. You use moral shackles to bind me, while absolving yourself of all responsibility. Where do you get the audacity to stand in front of me and spout nonsense?"
Ye Zhilan gritted her teeth, her eyes flashing with a fierce light: "If you hadn't made a scene at the sacrificial ceremony, the King of Yongye would never have heard of you, and there would have been no marriage alliance at all! You caused this mess, but I have to clean it up for you and bear the consequences that you should have borne. Isn't that your fault?"
“Well said,” Man Jiangxue said coldly. “As the Crown Prince, you should know the state of Xiling better than Mude himself. You are well-versed in Confucian classics, yet you have done nothing while sitting in the Crown Prince’s seat. Mude is wasting a lot of manpower and resources on holding a grand sacrificial ceremony to pray to the true god for the protection of the people of Xiling. This move is extremely foolish. With that money wasted on extravagance, it would have been better to allocate it to the generals who defend the border. He is a foolish ruler, and you have followed him into a daze. As the Crown Prince of Xiling, you should have stopped him in time and given him some pointers, but you did nothing.” "You feast on delicacies and drink fine wine on the stands during the sacrificial ceremony, and when the storm comes, you flee in your sedan chair faster than anyone else. I, a princess raised outside the palace and forgotten by my father, have very few opportunities to enter the palace. I only did what I could that one time, and yet you call it a source of trouble. Afterwards, Mude summoned me to the palace to see him, and I offered him my suggestions in person. He was so angry that he wouldn't even glance at me. Then, when the Western Ling Kingdom fell, he suddenly wanted me to go and make peace through a marriage alliance. In your eyes, father and daughter, am I so worthless?"
"How dare you!" Ye Zhilan shouted, "How dare you address my father by his name? You are a traitor!"
“It’s not that Heaven wants to destroy Xiling, it’s that you high-ranking officials want to destroy Xiling,” Man Jiangxue said disdainfully. “The fall of a country can be stopped, and the will of Heaven can be defied. I’m afraid you don’t dare to fight back, and you only dare to complain about Heaven and others. I have the ability to escape from Yongye, but you don’t, so you can’t blame me. If you were willing to think about Xiling and assist Mude, Yongye, though powerful, is not invincible. The enemy only launched an attack the following year. What did you and Mude do that year? What did all the ministers do? You only waited to die, and you only found a scapegoat to vent your resentment on after you became prisoners.”
A sudden gust of wind arose, followed by a clap of thunder. Two silver dragons tore open the horizon, illuminating the gray world for a moment before extinguishing themselves just as quickly.
Ye Zhilan staggered, her steps faltering, her face pale, speechless at Man Jiangxue's words.
Seeing that Man Jiangxue's words were sharp and showed no mercy, Xie Yijun broke out in a cold sweat and quickly said, "Jiangxue! Bear with it, don't provoke her!"
“She’s the one who provoked me.” Man Jiangxue showed no sign of backing down, staring intently at Ye Zhilan.
"You, you..." Ye Zhilan's expression was filled with grief. Her once youthful face suddenly showed an incongruous signs of aging. She almost crushed the bamboo flute in her hand, and said sharply, "Do you know what kind of life I spent in the Eternal Night Palace? Do you know what the rest of us went through? Do you know..."
“I have no interest in knowing,” Man Jiangxue interrupted her ruthlessly. “Aside from our inseparable blood ties, we are no different from strangers. Even if I had accepted the marriage alliance, you would still have faced certain death. Besides, I was only ten years old then. It was a near-death experience to escape with my mother. If I couldn’t even save my mother, how could I save you? I wasn’t the one who caused all of this. You came to me seeking revenge simply to find someone to vent your anger on. And the fact that you could harm Xiao Qiu proves that this isn’t the first time you’ve done something like this. The destruction of the Ruyi Sect must also be related to you! I didn’t settle accounts with you because you were hiding well. But now that you dare to show your face so openly, don’t even think about living to see tomorrow.”
Ye Zhilan suddenly threw her head back and laughed loudly: "What, you want to kill me?" She tugged at the rope around her waist, and Yin Qiu, who was in mid-air, immediately began to sway. "Do you dare to kill me? And how are you going to kill me?"
Man Jiangxue touched Ning Shuang, gripping the hilt of the sword so tightly it cracked. Wen Chaoyu beside him couldn't help but curse, "Madman! You're no better than a maggot in the gutter! Everyone has their own grievances and debts. Go find whoever wronged you. What does it have to do with Man Jiangxue? What does it have to do with Yin Qiu? If you really have the ability, go and wipe out the entire Yongye Kingdom to avenge your father and yourself. Haven't you harmed enough people already!"
"Stop talking!" Xie Yijun said anxiously. "If you really anger her, who among you can save Yin Qiu?! What's the point of arguing at a time like this!"
Ye Zhilan glanced at Wen Chaoyu and sneered, "You're a great philanthropist, and I'm a despicable scoundrel. How can I compare to you? After all, you were abandoned by your parents and have no home to return to, yet you're still willing to take care of the adopted daughter for those two old geezers, treating her like your precious darling. You're all upright gentlemen; how can I be worthy of being compared to you!"
Wen Chaoyu never expected that Ye Zhilan would also know about her background. Upon hearing this, she was stunned. Ji Wanshu was standing beside her, but Wen Chaoyu's limbs were stiff, and she didn't even have the strength to turn her head to look at Ji Wanshu.
Ji Wanshu was also caught off guard. She hadn't expected Ye Zhilan to know about this. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wen Chaoyu standing there silently. Ji Wanshu gritted her teeth, unable to contain her anger, and drew her sword, saying, "Enough nonsense! What do you want today!"
"How can I..." Ye Zhilan sneered, meeting Man Jiangxue's gaze without fear. "You're the one who harmed me, so I'm going to seek revenge on you. I poisoned the old emperor of Yongye Kingdom long ago, and now it's your turn. I can't kill you, but I can find every way to torture you."
She shifted her feet slightly, moving closer to Yin Qiu, and said in a sinister voice, "You're right, the Ruyi Gate incident was indeed related to me. I anonymously sent the blueprints for the underground mechanism to Nangong Min, which is why she was able to attack Liucang Mountain so quickly. Your dear senior sister was killed by your indifference, and Yin Qiu today was also brought to this state by you. Man Jiangxue, you must atone for all the mistakes you have made, you must pay the price!"
Upon hearing this, the disciples present couldn't help but show expressions of astonishment.
"So it was her! She was the one who tipped off the Ziwei Sect!"
"What a vicious and cruel person! This person is utterly wicked and cannot be tolerated by Heaven!"
"So many people from the Ruyi Sect have died. Judging from this, Uncle Shen must be gone too. Now she's trying to harm Senior Sister Yin. She's truly despicable!"
...
Unable to bear it any longer, Wen Chaoyu moved her arm, which had been hanging by her side, slightly back and held several small throwing knives in her palm. Xie Yijun quickly gave her a look and said in a deep voice, "Why are you making trouble? Don't be impulsive!"
Wen Chaoyu said, "I'll take her life with one stab!"
“Killing her isn’t difficult, but what about Yin Qiu?” Xie Yijun pressed her hand back down. “Even if you slit her throat or stab her in the heart, she won’t die instantly. As long as she has a breath left, she can loosen the rope and throw Yin Qiu down. Can you take that responsibility?!”
Wen Chaoyu said, "At worst, I'll..." She remembered that she had lost an arm and immediately changed her mind, "At worst, I'll just have Man Jiangxue jump off the cliff with her! We'll catch Yin Qiu!"
"Foolish! Absurd!" Xie Yijun said, "That's a cliff! Not some roof beam or wall, you can just jump off like that! Besides, Yin Qiu has Gu poison in her body, can you take the hit for her?"
"I refuse to believe she can still play a tune on that flute when she's on her last breath!" Wen Chaoyu looked to the side and urged, "Man Jiangxue! You make a decision!"
The rain suddenly intensified, and the drizzle quickly turned into a torrential downpour amidst thunder and lightning. Bai Ling, who had just painstakingly climbed up the cliff to Yin Qiu's side, was forced back by the sudden downpour.
Bai Ling slipped and swung around in mid-air, thankfully she had tied a rope to a tree trunk on the cliff edge beforehand. She couldn't help but curse, forced to climb back up, and angrily exclaimed, "Why did it have to start raining now of all times? Just what I feared most has happened!"
The disciples who lagged behind also grabbed the ropes and climbed up one after another, saying anxiously and angrily, "When it rains, the mud and water flow everywhere. Let alone finding a place to stand, we don't even know where to put our hands!"
Bai Ling had no choice but to return empty-handed. When Wen Chaoyu saw her, she naturally knew that the worst-case scenario wouldn't work, so she urged Man Jiangxue again, "Quickly think of a way!"
Thunder and rain engulfed the mountaintop and covered the entire world, dimming the light and blurring visibility. Man Jiangxue took the dagger from her waist, swung it into a longsword, and threw it to the side, where it clattered into a tree. She slowly approached Ye Zhilan, and as the distance closed, she pressed her acupoint, saying, "I am unarmed and my inner strength is sealed. Release Xiao Qiu, and I will be at your mercy today."
Ye Zhilan was soaked through by the downpour. She smiled coldly and waved for Man Jiangxue to stop.
“If you dare take another step closer,” Ye Zhilan loosened the rope around her waist and gripped it tightly in her hand, “I will take her life immediately!”
She was weak and exhausted, and she used almost all her strength to pull Yin Qiu, but even so, Yin Qiu still fell a bit down the moment she untied the rope, and Man Jiangxue's heart sank.
"Just tell me—" Man Jiangxue stared intently at the unconscious Yin Qiu, suppressing her turbulent emotions, "What exactly do you want me to do!"
Ye Zhilan observed the expression on Man Jiangxue's face, and then she laughed again, a laugh so wild and unrestrained. She moved back slightly, turning her head to glance at the cliff behind her. The rain was so heavy that the view at the bottom of the cliff was obscured by the dense rain, and even the river was no longer visible. Ye Zhilan looked at Man Jiangxue triumphantly and sneered, "I want you to commit suicide in front of me. Do you dare?"
Upon hearing what she said, Xie Yijun's pupils contracted, and she immediately shouted at Man Jiangxue, "Jiangxue! Don't agree to her!"
The disciples also quickly tried to dissuade him—
"Uncle-Master! Absolutely not!"
"This person is cunning and treacherous. If you agree, she will definitely go back on her word!"
"Uncle-Master, come back quickly!"
...
Amidst the urgent words, Man Jiangxue stood quietly, her gaze still fixed on Yin Qiu.
Ye Zhilan threw her sword at her without saying a word. Man Jiangxue caught it and touched the sharp blade with her fingertips.
"What, scared?" Ye Zhilan said calmly. "As long as you are willing to commit suicide, I will not only release Yin Qiu, but I will also jump off the cliff to end my life. From then on, there will be one less scourge in the martial world, and your Yunhua Palace will no longer have any spies from the Ziwei Sect. Isn't that a good deal?"
Man Jiangxue looked up at her: "Are you sure what you're saying is true?"
Ye Zhilan's eyes narrowed mischievously: "Of course."
Man Jiangxue feigned hesitation, subtly placing her left hand behind her back and making a gesture where Ye Zhilan couldn't see.
Seeing the movement in her hands, both Wen Chaoyu and Xie Yijun's expressions turned serious.
In the past, the sisters often practiced swordsmanship together. The hand gesture was their master's usual one. Only when their master showed this hand gesture would the sisters, who were ready to fight, officially begin their battle.
This was Man Jiangxue giving a signal to her two senior sisters behind her.
Wen Chaoyu immediately gripped the throwing knife in his hand, waiting for Man Jiangxue's next move. Xie Yijun also put her hands behind her back, signaling her disciples to remain calm and not to fire arrows.
"Even someone as upright and honest as Man Jiangxue has a day when he's afraid of death?" Ye Zhilan seemed a little impatient. "My patience is limited. I don't have that much time for you to think. Make a decision quickly!"
Man Jiangxue wiped the rain off her face, glanced at Yin Qiu again through the rain, and after a moment, she turned her gaze to Ye Zhilan's face.
"I hope you will keep your word."
Upon hearing this, Man Jiangxue hesitated no longer and decisively placed the sword against her neck, cleanly and neatly cutting through the skin there.
In an instant, a large amount of blood flowed out, like a drop of red ink falling onto rice paper. The clean white clothes were instantly stained with blood, which spread at an extremely fast speed.
The disciples, unaware of what was happening, were thrown into disarray and cried out, "Uncle-Master!"
Ji Wanshu's expression changed, and without thinking, she went to help the person. Xie Yijun pulled her back in time, and as Ji Wanshu stumbled, a gleaming throwing knife grazed her ear and flew out.
Man Jiangxue swayed precariously and collapsed with a thud under Ye Zhilan's focused gaze. Ye Zhilan's face lit up with joy, but before she could even let out a laugh, Man Jiangxue suddenly rose into the air again in the next instant.
The white figure suddenly approached, and Ye Zhilan's expression changed drastically. She decisively released the rope in her hand and brought the bamboo flute to her lips. A figure flashed before her eyes, and Man Jiangxue, without even looking at her, rushed straight down the cliff.
At the same time, a throwing knife slashed through the raindrops and suddenly came into Ye Zhilan's view.
The throwing knife was too fast for Ye Zhilan to dodge. She felt a sudden, sharp pain in her hand. When she looked down, she saw that the bamboo flute had been shattered into pieces and was now a pile of scraps at her feet.
Several bloody fingers were scattered on the ground.
"Capture alive!"
At Xie Yijun's command, Wen Chaoyu and Ji Wanshu took to the air at the same moment, and Bai Ling immediately followed with her disciples.
Ye Zhilan stared blankly at her mutilated hand. Her expression turned cold, but she laughed three times at the crowd that quickly gathered around her. Then, she lightly touched the ground with her toes and, in front of everyone, tilted her head back and fell off the cliff.
"We can't let her die!" Xie Yijun, lagging behind the crowd, shouted hoarsely upon seeing the situation, "Pull her back!"
Ji Wanshu casually pulled the rope from Bai Ling's body and swung it with great force, precisely wrapping it around Ye Zhilan's neck. Just as she was about to pull Ye Zhilan back with all her might, at this critical moment, a stray arrow suddenly shot out from the forest behind them, carrying a chilling killing intent. It barely passed through the rope and, with lightning speed, pierced into Ye Zhilan's chest!
Blood splattered, the rope snapped, and Ji Wanshu's hands went empty. Everyone stood on the edge of the cliff, watching helplessly as Ye Zhilan fell into the abyss, beyond saving.
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