Chapter 130 Murder Today, No Drinking (Seeking Monthly Tickets!)
If you look down from a high place.
The Liu Family Mansion on Xiaogushan Mountain is a rare classical architectural complex in Longcheng County that is brightly lit all night long.
However, not all the rooms and halls of the Liu family mansion could be kept lit up until dawn.
The quiet grove of trees to the west of the mansion was mostly shrouded in deep darkness.
It is clearly distinct from the main residential area to the southeast.
Not long ago, the Nanxuan Courtyard, which suddenly welcomed guests from Chang'an, was one of the former.
At dawn.
Nanxuan Courtyard.
Outside the red walls, on a dark path.
The Jade Cup Fairy wore a bronze mask shaped like a fox's head and was completely concealed in a wide black robe as she walked along the path.
Even though she was in the dark, she still habitually hid herself inconspicuously.
This is the low-key vigilance that has been cultivated over the years of "being active" under the nose of Yunmeng Jianze.
These were the experiences gained by the ancient alchemists who were active on the coast of several northern routes of the Great Zhou Dynasty and were keen on going out to sea to seek immortality. They learned from their bloody lessons time and time again.
The Jade Cup Fairy never treated it lightly.
Without witnessing firsthand the swordplay of those reclusive female cultivators from Yunmengze, who wore Wu clothing and spoke Yue language, one can never truly understand the difficulty and terror of the Yue Maiden Sword.
What kind of good person could be so enigmatic that even eloquent and manipulative sorcerers would keep quiet about such matters?
The Jade Cup Fairy had heard such a saying.
In this era, beneath the mighty Dingjian sword, there are only two kinds of swords.
One is the Yue Maiden Sword, and the other is something else.
Regarding this point, the Jade Cup Fairy felt that a certain one-armed swordsman in the dark and quiet courtyard beside her understood it more profoundly than she did.
"Clang!"
The Jade Cup Fairy stopped in front of the courtyard gate.
Looking back, I saw rows of blazing sword furnaces standing on the distant riverbank, their flames mingling with the rosy, orange, and dark blue hues of the morning glow above.
From her perspective,
On the distant horizon, those sword furnaces seemed to be striving to nurture something—perhaps the rising sun, or perhaps something else entirely.
It hadn't yet peeked out to reveal its true form, but the colorful sunrise it had just shown had already spread across a corner of the southeastern horizon.
The bronze fox-faced creature silently gazed at the dawn scene, which seemed to foreshadow something.
A hoarse murmur came from beneath the jade cup fairy mask:
"This is an auspicious sign."
The Jade Cup Fairy, who was about to go out today to join forces with the naturally annoying sword cultivator to do a dangerous thing, looked a little more at ease with the strange patterns painted on her face under her mask.
This is not only an opportunity for the Liu family of Longcheng, but also for her, the Jade Cup Fairy.
No one expected that this small Longcheng County would actually harbor a legendary and rare swordsmith.
The ability to transcend the craftsmanship lineage of swordsmiths is an existence with an ancient origin, just like the Yue Maiden lineage and the Divine Sorcerer lineage.
The pre-Qin period, as described in ancient books,
It belongs to one of the nine mythological lineages.
However, it differs from the numerous branching lines of mythological lineages such as scholars and sorcerers, which flourish like a lush tree.
It is even rarer than the Yue Nu Dao lineage, which has been passed down for thousands of years and is a single lineage.
As for the reason, some say it is divine retribution that shortens one's lifespan, while others say that the swordsmith is doing the work for others and has no power to protect himself, thus he is guilty of possessing a treasure.
Others said...
Over the course of a thousand years, almost all of the single-digit number of tripods have been forged into swords.
Naturally, there is no longer a need for swordsmiths.
Once all the cauldrons have been fused into swords, what meaning will the existence of the Craftsmanship Lineage still hold?
Outside the gate of Nanxuan Courtyard.
The Jade Cup Fairy was silent for a while before pushing open the door and entering the courtyard.
She was summoned here by the Liu family, but it seems she arrived a little early.
The main house facing the courtyard had its door tightly closed, but looking through the window, a candle was lit.
However, after the commotion in the courtyard, the main house showed no intention of opening its doors to welcome the guests.
The Jade Cup Fairy gave a cold snort and waited quietly by a stone table in the courtyard.
The main house was still not quiet.
Before long, the sky gradually brightened a little. Although it was still dawn, the sky took on a bluish-green hue.
Just as the chirping of insects grew louder in the morning, Liu Ziwen, Liu Zian, and Liu Zilin arrived in the courtyard one after another.
A lame butler followed behind Liu Ziwen.
"master."
Liu Fu held a tray in both hands, his palms motionless.
Besides a jar of wine and three wine glasses, there was nothing else on the tray.
There was also a dagger about seven inches long lying quietly.
After the five people in the courtyard arrived, they exchanged glances and finally turned their gazes to the main house with its door tightly closed.
Liu Ziwen glanced around, then tried calling softly towards the main house:
"Your Mightiness?"
He paused, then continued:
"It's time to go... The servants should have delivered the message to you last night."
Suddenly, a one-armed young man's voice came from inside the main house: "Do you think you could just walk in like this if no one had notified you beforehand?"
Liu Ziwen and his two younger brothers exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a mixture of bewilderment and helplessness, though they seemed to have grown accustomed to the eccentric swordsman's personality.
Ah Jie's voice continued to drift from the main house:
"You send some charlatan, shady character to supervise me? Is this how the Liu family does things?"
"You misunderstand."
Liu Ziwen shook his head, "The Jade Cup Fairy is not going to supervise you, but to assist you."
"Heh, should we go over and check the situation? If we find that the target has no guards and is easy to deal with, then we won't let the young master do it. Let her handle it herself, and we can save this new sword."
"Your Liu family really knows how to do business."
Liu Ziwen frowned, then relaxed his brow and smiled:
"Your Excellency has truly misunderstood. This operation at Donglin Temple is led by Your Excellency, with the Jade Cup Fairy assisting. Those who should be killed are to be dealt with by Your Excellency."
"The Jade Cup Fairy is mainly here to help you out and handle any potential troubles. After the beheading, she has other important things to do and will stay behind to clean up the scene. You may take your beloved sword and leave on your own."
"The terms we agreed on by the pavilion that day still stand. The Liu family keeps its word."
The main house door remained closed for a while, and for a moment, no sound came from it. The atmosphere in the courtyard was somewhat tense.
The Jade Cup Fairy frowned. She had been somewhat annoyed ever since Ah Jie inside the house called her "trinkets," and now she was seeing that there was no response from inside the house for a long time.
The Jade Cup Fairy glanced at the silent Liu Ziwen and Liu Zian, then removed the bronze fox mask, revealing a cold smile playing on her painted lips:
"Forget it, Patriarch Liu. I think this person is just pretentious, he's so indecisive and slow."
"You've already fallen from grace, yet you still consider yourself a genius swordsman. You're probably afraid that if I follow you, I'll see the truth about your current situation—that you're all bark and no bite, and you'll be too guilty to deceive the Liu family's swords."
The swordsman inside said, "Please shut your mouth. If you can't, get out."
"You think I'll shut up just because you tell me to? You think I'll get lost just because you tell me to? What are you anyway?"
The fairy with the jade cup sneered, but beneath her black robe, the stance of her right foot subtly changed, with the ball of her foot on the ground and the heel arched.
The swordsman inside clicked his tongue: "He deserves a slap in the face."
"Slap yourself? Is one hand enough for someone? Don't even think about..."
"Bang! Clang!"
The main house door was opened from the inside with two consecutive thuds.
The three Liu brothers noticed the Jade Cup Fairy beside them and suddenly stopped talking, but before they could react...
The next second, their entire field of vision was instantly filled with a silvery-white light.
The light was very much like moonlight.
If someone were to look down from above at this moment, they would see that the entire Nanxuan Courtyard is filled with moonlight.
It makes one wonder if a bright moon has fallen into the courtyard.
This scene was like a bright moon suddenly appearing in a dark courtyard at night, its silvery light instantly filling every corner.
Before Liu Ziwen and the other two could close their eyes, they were immediately plunged into intense blindness and blurred vision.
Before they could even feel panicked, they heard a loud "cang" sound, like the long roar of a blue dragon, right after the moment the moonlight filled the courtyard.
The sound of a sword being drawn came late.
It turns out the moonlight was the light of a sword.
The flash of the sword travels through the air faster than the sound of the sword being drawn.
No sooner said than done, several more strange sounds rang out in the small courtyard at dawn, which was filled with moonlight.
After Liu Ziwen and the other two rubbed their eyes or lowered their sleeves to cover them, their vision gradually returned.
I turned my gaze to look.
The Jade Cup Fairy who had been speaking beside him was nowhere to be seen.
The main house door was wide open, but no one was inside.
The ten-foot-long green tiles on the wall closest to them were all shattered into dust.
I wonder what exactly happened in the courtyard during that brief moment of blindness caused by the moonlight.
Liu Ziwen and his two companions looked on in surprise, turning their heads to search for the figure. Immediately at the entrance of the Nanxuan courtyard, they saw a strange scene of confrontation... or rather, suppression:
The Jade Cup Fairy, with her hair disheveled, stepped out of the courtyard gate with one foot, while most of her body remained inside, pausing in place.
It wasn't that she didn't want to leave, but rather that her neck, just a hair's breadth below her chin, was directly facing a gleaming, horizontally placed longsword.
This longsword, its blade seemingly flowing like moonlight, was held in the hand of a young man in plain clothes whose right sleeve was empty.
The moonlight that had just nearly blinded everyone and caused temporary dazzle seemed to originate from it, as if it had been forged from countless fine luminous pearls.
If the Jade Cup Fairy were to take even a hair's breadth further ahead, her head would be severed.
She didn't even dare to swallow hard.
A-Jie nodded, as if chatting casually:
"I've fallen to the seventh rank, but killing you is still more than enough. Not to mention, I still have a good sword in my hand. What's wrong with a sixth-rank opponent?"
"Is that enough to shut you up?"
The Jade Cup Fairy's face, adorned with strange patterns, was obscured, but her expression was clearly swollen to a deep liver red, and her body was stiff in place.
She didn't reply, her gaze fixed on the one-armed young man in front of her with a complex expression.
His sword was too fast, almost unbelievably fast.
Now, a new Moonlight Longsword has appeared, which can help it move even faster.
It's like adding wings to a tiger.
Having confirmed these things, the Jade Cup Fairy didn't look at the sword blade in front of her neck, but turned to look at Liu Ziwen and the others not far behind her.
But before the others could gather around, A-Jie suddenly said:
"Next time, I don't care whether you're testing my background for them or not."
He paused for a moment, looking into her eyes, and said:
"Next time, your head will fall."
"Haha, your skill is truly like that of a sword immortal descended to earth. With a single sword strike from the west, you astonish even ghosts and gods."
Liu Ziwen, along with his two younger brothers and Liu Fu, who had been dutifully serving dishes the whole time, came forward together.
He clapped his hands, smiled and praised, helping the Jade Cup Fairy out of her predicament.
A-Jie didn't look at Liu Ziwen, and silently sheathed the slender sword that emitted a hazy moonlight.
Liu Ziwen glanced at the sword and said with a smile:
"A fine sword is a match for a hero; the ancients were right."
A-Jie turned around first and walked forward:
"Let's go, stop talking nonsense."
"By the way, you can send someone along, to supervise or to assist, it's up to you, but absolutely not an idiot."
"According to the agreement we made in front of the pavilion that day, I must kill that person; no one else can take it from me."
At this point, A-Jie muttered softly:
"Besides, I really like this sword. I've already chosen a name for it: let's call it Moon Maiden."
He once possessed a sword called Gui Niang, which was taken by the Great Queen of the Female King's Palace when he was asking for swords in Peach Valley, and left in Yunmeng Sword Marsh.
"No problem, please feel free to do as you please."
Liu Ziwen nodded and said:
"Let the Jade Cup Fairy go with you. You only need to draw your sword; the Jade Cup Fairy will handle everything else."
A-Jie held her sword silently.
Liu Ziwen glanced at Liu Fu behind him.
The latter, carrying a tray, stepped forward. Liu Ziwen rolled up his sleeves, gently picked up the dagger from the tray, handed it to the Jade Cup Fairy, and carefully explained:
"Take this. The dagger is coated with a rare poison. First, switch it with another dagger. Then, when there are the most people at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, plunge it into Shen Xisheng's chest, then jump into the water and escape. Lord Wang and I will take care of the rest for you."
The Jade Cup Fairy took the poisoned dagger, hid it in her sleeve, and nodded.
A-Jie stood alone at the edge of the crowd, seemingly oblivious to what was happening.
Liu Ziwen turned his head to look at the vibrant sunrise on the horizon, and gave the two Qi cultivators in front of him a hearty smile:
"It's getting late, we can set off now. I'll wish you both a safe journey and a smooth return."
"Here, this is your favorite osmanthus wine. I'd like to offer you a toast!"
Liu Ziwen smiled and pinched the slender stem of the wine cup, gesturing to A-Jie and the Jade Cup Fairy.
However, only the Jade Cup Fairy nonchalantly picked up a wine cup from the tray and followed suit.
The one-armed swordsman, who used to live a life of debauchery and drunkenness, shook his head:
"If I kill someone today, I will not drink alcohol."
Liu Ziwen paused slightly, exchanged a glance with Liu Zian, straightened his head, and said:
"I did not expect you to be so dedicated and principled. I have no worries about today's trip."
After saying this, he raised his cup to the Jade Cup Fairy.
The two symbolically drank a farewell toast.
The three brothers, Liu Ziwen, Liu Zian, and Liu Zilin, escorted Ajie and the Jade Cup Fairy all the way to the archway at the foot of Little Lonely Mountain.
Before descending the mountain, A-Jie asked the Jade Cup Fairy without turning her head:
Where are we going again?
Without a second thought, the Jade Cup Fairy replied:
“Donglin Temple on Dagu Mountain, and the Compassionate Relief Home.”
"The Beitian Nursing Home, huh? That sounds familiar... What a coincidence, we'll meet there..."
On the mountain path at dawn, the one-armed swordsman sighed.
I'm here. I didn't sleep. It's 4,000 words, so it took me a while to write. Sorry, my brothers... Finally, it's the end of the month, so I'm shamelessly asking you all for some votes... (bows)
(End of this chapter)
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