Chapter 84 Plum Blossoms Stain Green Robes (Part Two)
Chu Jianshan was too fast. Before the vines had burned out, a figure rushed towards Jiang Yan. Overwhelming hatred condensed into a sword, piercing through Jiang Yan's left shoulder and pinning him to the plum tree.
Blood gushed out, splattering across the ground. Like paint falling into a dye vat, it spread out in a vibrant red.
“No wonder Master dotes on you…” Jiang Yan’s throat trembled, but a self-deprecating smile appeared on her lips: “I can’t even last three moves against you.”
“But junior brother,” he said, slowly raising his hand and gripping Mo Yang tightly. The sharp blade instantly cut a gash in his palm, but he pulled the sword out as if he felt no pain. “You still can’t learn to be ruthless.”
Chu Jianshan's eyes were red, and he could no longer hold the sword steadily. Drops of Jiang Yan's blood dripped from the blade. "I want to hear your explanation."
"An explanation?" As if she had heard something absurd, Jiang Yan lowered her head and laughed. "What explanation could I possibly have? From beginning to end, I have always been such a heinous person."
Chu Jianshan looked at him, and the person in front of him became more and more unfamiliar.
“I became your apprentice a few years earlier than you,” Jiang Yan’s expression suddenly turned serious. He let the wound bleed and began to talk about the past. “Back then, Xie Yin was already a recognized young genius. He became famous with his sword and was Master’s favorite student. Qing Yuan, do you know how much I envied him?”
He turned to look at Chu Jianshan, trying to see his former self reflected in his eyes. "I was just a wild child that Master picked up from the foot of the mountain. I only became Master's disciple because I insisted on it. I knew from birth that people should strive upwards, and I refused to accept my fate! So I knelt before Master's door, kowtowing again and again, begging him to accept me as his disciple. I don't know how long it took, but finally!"
Jiang Yan suddenly turned her head, looking at him with a crazed expression, "Master finally agreed. He opened that door, looked down at me, and said, 'Fine, do as you please.'"
"Isn't it ridiculous?" Jiang Yan's eyes were bloodshot. "After all this pleading, all I got in return were these five words: Fine, whatever. Hahahaha..."
“For those years, I went to pay my respects and serve him every day, but I never got a proper look in return. His gaze was always fixed on Xie Yin. Nobody knew who Jiang Yan was. They only gossiped behind his back, saying, ‘He can be the sect leader’s disciple? Never heard of him.’”
“Until you came,” Jiang Yan reached out, the icy touch lingering on Chu Jianshan’s face, “you and I were both poor children picked up by our master. How happy I was back then! When our master scolded or beat you, I protected you no matter what you did wrong; when it was too cold in winter, I would light a charcoal fire for you all night; when you got sick, I would stay by your bedside night after night… Qingyuan, I really treated you like a younger brother. I thought you would stand on my side.”
A tear fell onto Jiang Yan's finger, and Jiang Yan gently wiped it away, but with her other hand, the blade of the sword was already pressed against Chu Jianshan's chest.
“I know that fate should not be forced, but since we have already come this far,” Jiang Yan raised his sword, his gaze resolute: “Qingyuan, there is no turning back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the plum tree beside Chu Jianshan twisted in a strange way, its branches growing longer and longer, all heading towards Chu Jianshan. At the same time, Jiang Yan's sword came at lightning speed.
Chu Jianshan stood still and released his sword. Mo Yang, as if she had her own mind, circled around Chu Jianshan, cutting down the vines and deflecting Jiang Yan's sword back at the same time.
Chu Jianshan said in a deep voice, "The story is touching, but unfortunately, that cannot be a reason for you to harm the innocent."
Jiang Yan laughed and said, "Of course you can think that way. After all, you and Xie Yin are born to be loved and respected, so you naturally like these noble yet hypocritical things."
"Qingyuan, let's finish this quickly. Cheng Yuan and the others probably won't be able to wait much longer."
Chu Jianshan's eyes trembled slightly. He was right. Cheng Yuan and the others didn't know how much longer they could hold out. If he didn't go back, they were likely to meet with bad luck.
Seeing his expression, Jiang Yan couldn't help but smile even more, "Chu Qingyuan, you see, you can never have it both ways."
Chu Jianshan was unwilling to waste any more time with him. Saving Cheng Yuan and the others was the priority. As he turned to leave, he was suddenly stopped by an invisible barrier. The barrier gleamed with a cold light, completely blocking his way.
Jiang Yan's voice drifted from behind, carrying a hint of nonchalance: "I didn't lie to you, there really is a barrier in Dongshan."
Chu Jianshan turned around abruptly, his brows furrowed: "What exactly do you want to do!"
“The mirror gives birth to all things, and the mirror with its reflection will perish.” Jiang Yan’s voice was broken by the wind, but every word was clear. “The other barrier that is associated with it is the Temple of the Sun God.”
Chu Jianshan paused slightly, his gaze darkening, and he murmured as if to himself, "The Mirror-born Barrier requires a life as its bond."
Jiang Yan smiled at him without saying a word.
Chu Jianshan closed his eyes, his brows furrowed, and thought to himself that this man was definitely a madman.
Jiang Yan had bound his life to the Mirror Life Barrier. If he wanted to leave, he would have to forcibly break the barrier, but that would mean Jiang Yan's certain death, and Cheng Yuan and the others would also suffer from the barrier's backlash. With Jiang Yan's powerful backlash spiritual energy, it was impossible for anyone down the mountain to survive.
“Two choices,” Jiang Yan’s voice rang out. “You can forcefully break through the barrier and kill me to avenge Xie Yin and the others; or you can obediently accept your death, and my people will be there to meet Cheng Yuan, at least ensuring that most people can survive. Of course, you can also choose to stall for time, but whether your disciple can survive is entirely up to fate.”
Chu Jianshan did not answer.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Yan spoke again: "You should learn from Xie Yin. Why not take such a good opportunity to be remembered by the world?"
"You dare mention him again!" Chu Jianshan's sword whistled through the air, but stopped abruptly just before piercing Jiang Yan's neck.
"What? You want to kill me?" Jiang Yan sneered, her tone laced with mockery. "Are you really going to gamble?"
Chu Jianshan froze on the spot, completely unprepared for Jiang Yan's actions. The next instant, a brute force slammed into his chest, and he was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.
He didn't dodge.
The next punches and kicks landed on his body, and a dull pain shot through him, but he didn't even raise his hand to resist.
He only trembled almost imperceptibly when the final sword pierced his abdomen. Jiang Yan had clearly calculated the location precisely—this sword strike was designed to kill him quickly and painlessly.
"It seems you've made up your mind." Jiang Yan stopped what she was doing and looked at him fiercely.
“Just like Xie Yin, you both like to do such stupid things,” he said, pinching Chu Jianshan’s chin and forcing him to raise his head. “Don’t worry, my good junior brother, countless people will sing your praises in the future!”
Just before the next sword strike, Chu Jianshan finally spoke, his voice weak: "No wonder..."
His gaze slowly shifted to Jiang Yan's hateful and ferocious face. "No wonder I didn't get a reply to the letter I sent to Changjin Mountain. No wonder Qiao Yi didn't kill me. It turns out... it was so that you would kill me with your own hands."
“It is fate,” Jiang Yan said in a deep voice, “You are destined to die by my hand.”
"Fate?" Chu Jianshan murmured softly, his gaze shifting downwards to the sword in Jiang Yan's hand—the Xuan Tie Sword.
After the Xuan Tie Sword blocked Qiao Yi's palm strike, it stood in the Sun God Temple. In the subsequent battle, Cheng Yuan used the Liu Yin Sword. At some point, Jiang Yan brought it over.
Chu Jianshan's expression remained unchanged: "Murder and framing, your usual excellent methods."
"As long as it works." Jiang Yan held the sword against his chest, applying slight pressure. The blade cut a gash in his skin, but it wasn't fatal.
Chu Jianshan frowned, biting his groans into his teeth. The blade sliced into the wound on his lower abdomen, and Jiang Yan ground it hard, causing the wound to bleed continuously.
"Ugh..." Chu Jianshan finally couldn't help but cry out in pain, "Senior brother..." He swallowed the blood in his mouth, gripped his clothes tightly, and called out to him again in a trembling voice.
Upon hearing the word "senior brother," Jiang Yan's eyes grew even darker. "Don't call me that, it's disgusting."
He gripped Chu Jianshan's elbow, his face grim, and slowly tightened his grip. "Back then, you used this hand to defeat me at the Martial Alliance Tournament. How impressive you were back then."
With a sharp crack, Chu Jianshan's arm was broken.
"ah--!!"
Screams echoed through the mountains and forests. Chu Jianshan felt so much pain that his vision went black. The excruciating pain at the broken bone felt like a thousand needles piercing him, making even breathing difficult.
"Can't even take it?" Jiang Yan still wouldn't let him go, and seeing his hair, wet with sweat from the pain, sticking to his face, she actually felt a sense of pleasure.
"Can someone who can't even lift a sword be called a genius?" As he spoke, he looked at Chu Jianshan's wrist. A flash of cold light appeared, and his tendons were severed.
Chu Jianshan bit his lip hard, unable to suppress the taste of blood in his mouth. This time, he didn't cry out, but instead laughed, a laugh that was both desolate and manic.
"Hahaha... Senior brother, oh senior brother," he struggled to move his body, using the plum tree to steady himself, "Do you know why Master doesn't value you?"
Jiang Yan didn't make any further moves, as if waiting for his explanation.
Chu Jianshan spat out the blood in his mouth and said in a trembling, hoarse voice, "Because you are stubborn and arrogant, looking down on everyone. You are clearly a frog in a well, yet you insist on trying to become a dragon and trying to get what does not belong to you."
"Shut up." Jiang Yan's face suddenly darkened.
Chu Jianshan continued, struggling to sit up, and whispered in Jiang Yan's ear: "Actually, it's not just Xie Yin, I'm the same as him, I've never respected you."
"I told you to shut up!" Jiang Yan could no longer hold the sword steady and it pierced through Chu Jianshan's chest.
The sword was less than half an inch from his heart, barely grazing it.
Chu Jianshan trembled as he propped himself up, his blue robes soaked with blood, yet he still managed a weak smile. "Senior brother, can't you be ruthless either?"
“You’re wrong,” Jiang Yan said with a dark look in her eyes. “I’ve always been ruthless towards you.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he gripped the hilt of the black iron sword tightly and spun it violently. The sword, which had originally been vertically inserted into Chu Jianshan's body, was now forced to lie horizontally inside him. The spiritual power attached to the sword instantly shredded his heart.
Blood gushed out, sliding down the hilt of the Xuan Tie sword. Jiang Yan released his grip, slowly stood up, his snow-white clothes splattered with blood. As he turned to leave, he didn't spare him another glance.
"I will keep my promise and ensure that Cheng Yuan and the others do not die."
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