The suspended blade reappears
The inky darkness inside the shed was torn apart by the muffled thud of crossbow bolts driven into the earthen walls. Xiao Yuxuan's back pressed against the cold, damp wall, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, each beat tugging at his still-healing wounds with sharp, piercing pain. In the darkness, his senses were heightened to their limit. He could clearly hear the creaking of Sheng Guo's muscles, tensing like a bowstring on the corner of the straw mat, his own suppressed breathing, and even the faint rustling of rats crawling through the sewage ditch outside. The Hanging Blade! Like a leech, it had actually tracked him down to this filthy corner of the enemy's border town!
"Don't move!" Xiao Yuxuan hissed, stopping Sheng Guo's instinctive urge to attack. The enemy was lurking in the shadows, their strength unknown; rash action would mean certain death.
In the darkness, time seemed to stand still. A faint rustling sound came from the thatched roof, like a venomous snake slithering through withered leaves. A moment later, the subtle sound vanished completely, leaving only a deathly silence and the lingering smell of sulfur and grease, characteristic of crossbow bolts.
After a full incense stick's time had passed, and confirming that there was no further movement on the roof, Xiao Yuxuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He fumbled and relit the oil lamp that had been kicked over. The dim yellow light once again filled a small space, illuminating the black crossbow bolt on the earthen wall, still trembling, its tail marked with a ferocious barb and a bronze beast head, and also illuminating Sheng Guo's face, contorted with extreme anger and tension.
"General!" Sheng Guo roared, his tiger eyes wide open, his only remaining right hand already on the short sword at his waist.
"Let's go!" Xiao Yuxuan didn't hesitate at all. This place had been exposed, and every moment they stayed would increase the danger. He quickly stuffed the wooden board with the information into the hidden wooden box and carried it on his back. Sheng Guo grabbed the tattered sack containing the remaining medicinal herbs, and the two of them flashed out of the stall like ghosts, instantly disappearing into the chaotic and filthy maze of dark alleys in the West Market.
The night was bitterly cold, and Beishuo City was deathly silent. They chose the most secluded and filthy paths, moving swiftly like wounded beasts fleeing their hunters. Sheng Guo's burly body was taut, like a volcano about to erupt; every step he took on the frozen, hard ground carried a suppressed killing intent. Xiao Yuxuan forced himself to remain calm, his mind rapidly replaying the details of the crossbow bolt—black and dull, barbed, the precise angle of fire…this was the work of a top-tier assassin. The power of the Hanging Blade in Beishuo City far exceeded expectations!
Just as they were walking through a dead end filled with garbage and reeking of foul odors, another strange event occurred!
At the alleyway ahead, a beggar's figure, huddled in a tattered sack and trembling, suddenly sprang up without warning! His movements were lightning fast! A chilling blue light pierced Xiao Yuxuan's throat! The angle was cunning and ruthless, precisely at the turning point when his old strength was exhausted and new strength had not yet arisen!
At the critical moment! Sheng Guo roared, neither dodging nor avoiding, but instead thrusting his scarred arm shield forward and to the side! His imposing figure stood like a city wall between Xiao Yuxuan and the assassin!
"Pfft!"
The dagger pierced the arm shield with a piercing scraping sound as the steel plates rubbed together! The dark blue blade tip actually pierced through the outermost steel plate and deeply embedded itself in the inner leather lining! A strong sense of numbness instantly spread from the arm shield to Sheng Guo's entire arm!
The "beggar" assassin, having missed his first strike, didn't linger. With a bizarre twist of his body, as if boneless, he slid past Sheng Guo, his dark blue dagger flashing towards Xiao Yuxuan's ribs! At the same time, he let out a sharp whistle!
"You're asking for death!" Sheng Guo's eyes were bloodshot. His numb right arm couldn't exert any force, so his left fist, accompanied by a gust of wind, slammed into the assassin's back! The assassin seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, ducking to dodge. Sheng Guo's iron fist slammed heavily against the earthen wall beside him, sending shards of stone flying!
The instant the dagger was about to strike, Xiao Yuxuan instinctively leaned back, simultaneously kicking off a nearby overturned wrecked basket! The basket tumbled and crashed into the assassin's lower body! The assassin's movements faltered slightly, and the dark blue dagger grazed Xiao Yuxuan's clothes at his ribs, leaving a gash!
A whistle echoed through the deathly silent alley! Suddenly, two ghostly gray figures appeared on the low rooftops on either side! In their hands lay those gleaming, black crossbows! The cold glint of the bolts flashed in the pale moonlight!
Desperate situation!
At this critical moment of life and death!
"Bang! Bang!" Two dull thuds, like striking rotten wood, came almost simultaneously from the darkness behind the assassin!
The "beggar" assassin, who was about to pounce on Xiao Yuxuan again, suddenly froze! He looked down at his chest in disbelief—two rough wooden sticks, dripping with blood, pierced through his chest! The force was so great that it pinned him to the earthen wall behind him!
At the same time, the gray-shadow assassins who had just raised their crossbows on the rooftops on either side were struck as if by an invisible hammer. With a muffled groan, they tumbled off the rooftops, crashing into the garbage heaps, splashing up filth. They twitched a few times and then lay still. Several slender iron caltrops with edges gleaming with a ghostly blue light (a potent paralyzing agent) were embedded in their backs, vital organs!
Everything happened in the blink of an eye!
Xiao Yuxuan and Sheng Guo, still shaken, looked in the direction from which the wooden stick had flown. A tall, thin figure slowly emerged from the shadows at the end of the alley—it was the middle-aged man in gray robes who had coldly observed from the corner of the West Market and scrutinized Xiao Yuxuan during the riots among the displaced people! In his hand, he weighed several other poisoned caltrops. The moonlight illuminated his ordinary face, which possessed a calm, rock-like demeanor.
"Good reaction, just a bit too much noise." The gray-robed man's voice was not loud, with a hint of northern accent. His gaze swept over the assassin pinned to the wall and twitching, then landed on Xiao Yuxuan. "Come with me, this place is not safe to stay." His tone left no room for argument.
There was no choice. Xiao Yuxuan and Sheng Guo exchanged a glance, suppressing their surprise and doubt, and quickly followed the gray-robed man. The three of them, like ghosts blending into the night, quickly traversed the maze-like alleys, finally disappearing into the backyard of a large courtyard with a dilapidated "Inn" sign and a strong smell of livestock.
Inside a simple mud hut piled high with hay and filled with the smell of cow and horse manure, an oil lamp flickered dimly. The gray-robed man deftly bolted the door shut. Only then did he turn around, his sharp gaze sweeping over Xiao Yuxuan and Sheng Guo once more, as if it were a tangible presence.
"From Hexi?" the gray-robed man asked bluntly, his tone flat. "Being chased and bitten by Legalist dogs and ghosts with hanging knives?"
Xiao Yuxuan felt a chill run down his spine; the sallow pretense on his face seemed to crumble under that sharp gaze. He remained silent, neither admitting nor denying, simply meeting the other's eyes calmly.
The gray-robed man seemed unconcerned by his answer, and walked to a dusty, dilapidated manger in the corner, reaching into the bottom for a moment. With a soft click, he pulled out a square bronze box, wrapped in oilcloth, from under a loose wooden plank at the bottom of the manger!
The box had a simple, ancient design, its surface devoid of any ornamentation, only bearing the mottled patina of time. The seam between the lid and the body was exceptionally tight, almost imperceptible. Only in the very center of the lid was an extremely ancient, simple seal script character engraved—"工" (gong).
The shape of this character "工" is exactly the same as the tiny mark next to the bronze beast head brand that appeared in the clues of the black stone fortress craftsmen's blood letter and the Luoshui hanging knife!
The gray-robed man placed the bronze box heavily on the only broken wooden table in the room, making a dull thud. His gaze was fixed intently on Xiao Yuxuan: "This item has been guarded by us for many years. What the imperial court seeks, what the barbarians fear, what the Di and Rong tribes dread—all reside here! Today, I entrust it to you!"
Xiao Yuxuan's pupils suddenly contracted! He stepped forward, his fingers tracing the cold surface of the bronze box, feeling the unevenness of the ancient "工" character engraving. The gloomy Black Stone Fortress, Ji Zhai's withered hands, Luo Shui's blood-written accusations, the relentless pursuit of the Hanging Blade... all the clues, at this moment, seemed to be drawn together by invisible threads, ultimately converging on this small bronze box! A tremendous sense of historical weight washed over him.
"What is this thing? And who are you?" Xiao Yuxuan's voice was more solemn than ever before.
The gray-robed man didn't answer directly, but slowly rolled up the sleeve of his left arm. On that strong arm, there was a slightly blurred old brand, exactly the same shape as the "工" character on the box! However, the edges of the brand had obvious burn marks, as if someone had tried to destroy it with a scorching hot iron!
"My name is Gong Xi." The gray-robed man's voice was deep, carrying a sense of vicissitude and sorrow that had traversed countless ages. "Our ancestors were the originators of 'Hanging Blade,' and also its prisoners!"
He suddenly flung open the bronze box lid!
Inside the box lay no divine weapons, nor any gold or silver treasures. Only an ancient, yellowed, tadpole-like parchment scroll lay quietly within. The scroll was densely covered with extremely ancient, tadpole-like characters (a variant of bronze script or even earlier oracle bone script), interspersed with equally ancient star maps, mountain and river diagrams, and… various exquisitely crafted, far-from-its-time mechanical designs! One diagram, depicting a water-drawing cart, bore a striking resemblance, seven-tenths, to the core design of Ji Zhai's manuscripts, which Jing Zhi had guarded! And at the beginning of the scroll, several larger ancient characters were clearly visible:
**The Lost Records of Gongzheng: The Secret Collection of the Zhou Dynasty**
**In the year of the Quail Fire, dragons and snakes rise from the land, and hanging swords cleave the formations, thus restoring order to the heavens.**
Gongzheng! Zhou Dynasty's Secret Treasure! Suspended Blade Splits the Formation!
Every word was like a thunderclap, exploding in Xiao Yuxuan's mind! He seemed to see an underground river that ran through the ages, hidden beneath the dust of history! This underground river connected the ancient Zhou Dynasty, the origin and transformation of the "Hanging Blade," and also the blood and tears of the Black Stone Fortress artisans and Ji Zhai's distorted dream!
Gong Xi's voice seemed to come from the depths of history, carrying endless sorrow:
"The 'Hanging Blade' was not originally the name of an assassin. It originated from the 'Gongzheng' (工正), a department established by the Zhou emperor to oversee the skills of all crafts, observe the workings of heaven and earth, and maintain the balance of the feudal lords, thus upholding the 'Way of Heaven.' Their aim was 'righteousness,' not 'killing'! However, the Zhou dynasty collapsed, and the rites and music crumbled! The Gongzheng split! One faction dispersed among the common people, adhering to ancient precepts, hiding in the mountains, guarding the lost records, and using their skills to benefit the people, like us. The other faction… became henchmen of power, eagerly engaged in court intrigues, using their skills as weapons to slaughter dissidents… This is the 'Hanging Blade' of today! They hunt us down, hunt down all those who might awaken the 'Gongzheng Lost Records,' threatening their authority, and even more so, they want to seize this box, completely obliterating its origins and true mission!"
He pointed to the exquisite diagrams of instruments on the parchment scroll, his fingers trembling slightly with excitement:
"This is not a diagram of murder weapons! It is a technique for irrigating fields, dredging rivers and canals, observing stars to determine the calendar, improving boats and vehicles, and benefiting all people! What Ji Zhai sought, what the Mohists upheld, and what the General sowed with the 'shade of the locust tree'... all their origins can be traced back to this! The Hanging Blade fears it, and the court is wary of it, not because it can kill people, but because it can... give life to the people! It can shake the foundations built on killing and intrigue!"
Gong Xi's gaze was like a burning torch, fixed intently on Xiao Yuxuan:
"This box, this record, is both a beacon of hope and a death warrant! We, in our weakened state, are powerless to protect it. Observing what the general did in the West Market, though he was in the mire, his heart yearned for a glimmer of light; though he was in dire straits, his will was for the people. This heart and this will are in perfect harmony with the 'Righteous Way of Heaven' recorded in the 'Records of Gongzheng'! Therefore, I entrust my life to you today!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the thin wooden door of the earthen house was suddenly smashed open from the outside by a tremendous force! Splinters of wood flew everywhere!
"It's inside! Take it!"
A burst of fire erupted! Several soldiers dressed in Di Rong patrol uniforms, their eyes unusually fierce and cold, charged in with knives! Behind them, a man in an inconspicuous fur coat, with a scarred face and eyes like a venomous snake, coldly watched the room—it was the scarred-faced man who had stood by coldly in the crowd when Xiao Yuxuan treated the old Di Rong herdsman! In his hand, he was toying with a dart with a bronze beast head mark on its end!
"Hanging Blade! It's Hanging Blade's men who have infiltrated the patrol team!" Sheng Guo roared, drawing his sword and standing in front of Xiao Yuxuan!
"Go!" Gong Xi shouted resolutely! He shoved the bronze box into Xiao Yuxuan's arms and grabbed the oil lamp on the table, smashing it hard at the Di Rong soldiers charging at the front of the door!
"Boom!" The oil lamp shattered, splattering oil everywhere! Instantly, it ignited the dry hay and the soldier's clothing! A scream rang out!
Chaos erupted instantly! The soldiers who rushed in were blocked by the flames! Gong Xi, like a mad tiger, grabbed anything available—pitchforks, sticks, even burning clumps of hay—and fearlessly lunged towards the door, using his body to buy Xiao Yuxuan and Sheng Guo a last chance for survival!
"Go! Take the box! Go find that thread of hope!" Gong Xi's roar echoed amidst the flames and carnage, carrying his final words and resolute determination!
Xiao Yuxuan gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot! Without further hesitation, he clutched the bronze box tightly to his chest, its icy touch feeling like an immense burden! Under Sheng Guo's protection, the two crashed through the rotten window frame of the back wall of the earthen house, tumbling into the cold, filthy mud outside!
Behind him, the muffled thud of weapons piercing flesh echoed from the earthen house, followed by Gong Xi's final, defiant roar! Then came the crackling explosions of the house bursting into flames!
Flames soared into the sky, illuminating a desolate corner of Beishuo City, and also the bronze box in Xiao Yuxuan's arms, bearing ancient origins, a bloody destiny, and a sliver of hope. The shadow of the suspended blade had never loomed so clearly and heavily. Was the road ahead one of deeper darkness, or the legendary… glimmer of the "corrected" Heavenly Dao?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
