Chapter 243 The Sword in the Underground Palace?
Halfway up the mountain, in front of the ruins of the Jiazi Sword Furnace House.
Liu Zilin and a dozen servants in blue surrounded A Qing and interrogated her fiercely.
Ah Qing was speechless.
"Playing dumb?"
Liu Zilin sneered.
A sharp blade was placed against the girl's delicate neck.
“Give it to him.” Ouyang Rong, standing at a distance, suddenly said, “Aqing, if he brought it, then give it to him.”
"But sir, the old man told us to keep it safe..." Ah Qing said weakly.
"Idiot, this is the source of all evil."
Ouyang Rong closed his eyes and murmured, then opened them again to look at the nearby ruins and the fierce fighting on the mountaintop and below.
And in the distance, in the direction of Digongzha, there are mournful plumes of smoke rising from the mountains.
He took a deep breath:
"Only now do we realize that most of the disasters in our Dragon City were caused by this cauldron sword. Now that the sword is complete, we... are better off without it. Let them fight over it, let them fight until they are bloodied and bruised. Take it away from Dragon City and let's go home, Ah Qing."
Ah Qing stared blankly at the old man, whose face seemed tired, and nodded gently, "Yes, sir."
Ouyang Rong immediately turned to Liu Zilin and said:
"Liu Zilin, I can give you the things, but you must release her. Anyway, she has no use to you anymore."
Liu Zilin glanced sideways and said:
"Trying to negotiate with me? Ouyang Lianghan, are you mistaken? I have her in my hands now. Even if she refuses, I have ways to get her back."
Ouyang Rong smiled and said:
"No, no, no, you've got it wrong, Liu Zilin. This isn't a condition, it's a favor I'm doing you, a chance to get out unscathed out of mercy."
"If I'm not mistaken, you've come back carrying that Young Master Wei, haven't you? Carrying him here to find the True Cauldron Sword left behind by the old master?"
Liu Zilin's expression changed for a moment, then quickly returned to normal. "What nonsense are you talking about? I don't understand."
Ouyang Rong glanced at Liu Zian's corpse in the distance, raised his chin, and gestured:
"You didn't belatedly realize that there was really no sword in the sword box that the old master gave to Wei Shaoxuan, so you rushed back to retrieve the real 'illusion item' to present to him, did you?"
"Heh, why didn't you remind Wei Shaoxuan earlier? Why did you sneak back alone now?"
"Besides, I was just wondering why you hesitated and delayed when Wei Shaoxuan asked you to carry out the execution. Now it seems that you were afraid that if A Qing died, you would never be able to find the clues to the True Ding Sword again."
"Liu Zilin, ninth rank, sword technique, true name, without realizing it, you're just one step away. You've really gone to great lengths to plan this."
Ouyang Rong sighed.
Liu Zilin stared straight at him, not replying, and said coldly, "What exactly do you want to say?"
"I'll give you two choices now."
Ouyang Rong remained calm and raised two fingers:
"One way is a dead end. I'll turn around and run down the mountain right now to call my junior sister and Liu Lang for reinforcements. It'll take about 15 minutes round trip. During that time, do whatever you want, run as far as you can."
"Whether you can escape the encirclement of a seventh-grade Qi cultivator, thousands of pursuers, and the wrath of the Wei family who may discover you've been tricked at any moment... it all depends on your fate."
"I'll give you one more way out. If you get the item, release Aqing, get out of here, and never return to Dragon City, I might even be merciful and not tell the Wei family about your interception of the Dingjian."
Liu Zilin suddenly grabbed A Qing's hair, a thin line of blood faintly visible on the skin of her neck where the sword had cut. His expression was vicious.
"The hostage is in my hands, why should I choose? Ouyang Lianghan, are you out of your mind?"
"So this is a dead end? Fine."
Ouyang Rong didn't even look at him, and turned to leave.
He hadn't taken more than a few steps when Liu Zilin's slightly hurried voice came from behind him:
"Ouyang Lianghan, her brother died in your place! Aren't you going to save her?"
Ouyang Rong didn't turn his head, and casually waved his hand:
"Ah Shan made his own choice. Please leave him a whole body so I can put together a proper burial and give him a grand funeral with his brother. I'll shed a lot of tears at the funeral, and he'll still be seen as a kind and righteous official in everyone's eyes."
"It's just a pity that your reputation is too bad, Young Master Liu. Crying for your funeral won't improve your reputation. Wait, publicly whipping your corpse is not bad. Hmm, good idea."
"You hypocrite! You despicable scoundrel!"
"Thank you for the compliment."
"You...you stop right there!"
Ouyang Rong reluctantly stopped. Having gained the upper hand, he didn't smile but asked seriously:
"Has Young Master Liu thought it through?"
Liu Zilin's Moonlight Sword remained firmly pressed against A Qing's neck, but his expression was uncertain. Suddenly, he said:
"You really don't care about this girl? I don't believe it."
Ouyang Rong nodded calmly:
"I do care, but it would be best if I could save him. If I can't, it would cost me my life, which isn't worth it."
"Make a decision quickly, Liu Zilin. Stop hesitating. If you think you can break down my defenses by torturing her, feel free to try. Or how about giving me a public demonstration of skinning her? Remember to start from the top of her head."
Liu Zilin lowered his head and said to Aqing, whose face looked haggard, "You heard everything he said? Don't you have anything to say?"
"I heard you." Aqing lowered her head and said, "My life is cheap, of course it's not worth exchanging for it."
Liu Zilin's eye twitched slightly, his pupils darting around with a skeptical expression.
For a moment, he was unsure whether the two guys, one big and one small, were acting, or how much of their acting was real and how much was fake.
However, he still has other options, so there's no need to gamble for now.
“The second option isn’t impossible, but why should I trust you?” Liu Zilin suddenly stared into Ouyang Rong’s eyes, looking suspicious.
Unexpectedly, Ouyang Rong's next words left him and his subordinates speechless.
"Is my reputation no better than that of the Liu family?"
Ouyang Rong looked Liu Zilin up and down with a strange expression, then, seemingly amused, made a direct suggestion:
"Why don't we choose the first option? After you go down there, ask your older brothers about my reputation. When have I ever dealt with them without following proper procedures? Also, ask who's behind all the conspiracies and underhanded tactics?"
Liu Zilin was speechless.
When Liu Ziwen was assassinated in the street, Liu Zilin's first reaction was to suspect his second brother and others, subconsciously eliminating Ouyang Lianghan.
Sometimes, even mortal enemies have to admit that the other party does uphold worldly justice.
You can verbally mock someone for being a hypocrite, but you can't deny their actions all along.
"I'll believe you for now," Liu Zilin said with a cold snort, his eyes lowered.
The two reached a temporary consensus and swore an oath to the heavens. Although it had no binding force, it was still a necessary formality.
After the oath was sworn, Ouyang Rong and Liu Zilin both looked at A Qing.
“Give it to him.”
Aqing glanced at the calm-faced master, unaware that beneath Ouyang Rong's composed demeanor, his palms were sweaty, and he was constantly watching Liu Zilin's subtle expressions.
The girl lowered her head, her small hands rummaging in her sleeves, and finally, under Liu Zilin's burning gaze, she silently took out a blue paper butterfly flower.
It was the very flower that the old swordsmith had entrusted someone to send to Meiluyuan.
Aqing kept it close to her body.
"Is this the thing the old man gave you? A real 'empty shell'?"
Liu Zilin snatched it away, his eyes fixed intently on the blue butterfly paper flower.
“Yes,” Aqing said softly, “The old man also asked someone to say that this item is called ‘craftsmanship’.”
"I know about this!"
A flush rose to Liu Zilin's face as he struggled to control his tone, seemingly speaking to himself:
"It was precisely because this gift was exactly the same as Dingjian's real name that I suddenly remembered this 'trivial matter' that my subordinates had reported when I was supervising the Deer Park! I didn't suspect anything at the time, but now it seems..."
"Old sir, who would have thought that the Ding Sword was not forged today? You hid it long ago and secretly sent it out!"
"You gave the Ding Sword to this little girl not only because she's a hot-tempered person, but also because you wanted to repay the favor from Yunmeng Sword Marsh, right? Not only did you return the Ding Sword, but you also sent her a Yue girl with unlimited potential. It's truly killing two birds with one stone."
"Old sir, you've really hidden your true intentions well. You've fooled both Liu Zi'an and Wei Shaoxuan. You chose the first master of this cauldron sword long ago..."
Liu Zilin muttered to himself, reaching into his robes to retrieve Buddhist scriptures while letting out a hoarse, low laugh.
"Hahaha, but what's the use of all this? In the end, it's all for nothing. But it did me, Liu Zilin, a great favor..."
"Old sir, the only mistake you made was revealing Dingjian's real name to this girl too early. There are no secrets that stay hidden forever."
"But then again, you probably didn't expect that this little girl would actually come to her death with Ouyang Lianghan today. You were so angry at the time, but you pretended not to care. I bet you wanted to kill Ouyang Lianghan on the spot."
"Later, he even kindly gave Wei Shaoxuan the 'Humble Scholar' sword manual. It seems he wanted him to accept the benefits and give you face so that he would obediently send this girl down the mountain. But I didn't expect him to be such an ungrateful person... Tsk tsk tsk."
"Fools, all of them are fools. The fortune Wei Shaoxuan drew that day was really interesting. It said that he was a 'harmful woman's needlework, only to make wedding dresses for others' benefit...' Hehe."
Liu Zilin turned his head and ordered his subordinates to draw their swords and be on guard. He was surrounded by people and focused on opening the blood-stained Buddhist scripture in his arms.
The Buddhist scripture was covered with translation annotations, which Liu Zian had translated in advance after receiving it a few days earlier. It was yet another "harmful person to needlework".
Liu Zilin chanted the sword incantation while chuckling softly.
Ouyang Rong's cold voice came: "Have you forgotten something, Liu Zilin?"
Liu Zilin glanced at Ouyang Rong, then looked down at the direction of the sword shop at the foot of the mountain. He raised an eyebrow and nodded slightly to his subordinates.
"Go to the middle and wait until I've inspected the goods and given my approval before letting people in."
"Yes." Two servants in blue robes escorted Aqing forward slowly, placing her between Ouyang Rong and Liu Zilin, awaiting the latter's next instruction.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, lowered his eyes, and remained motionless for the time being.
Liu Zilin stopped looking at Ouyang Lianghan, carefully holding the blue butterfly paper flower in one hand and opening the Buddhist scripture in the other, earnestly reciting the mantra.
There was actually one more thing he hadn't reminded Ouyang Lianghan of.
The swordsman and the sword are of one mind, like the flying sword of a celestial being in a myth, and can easily take the head off an enemy within a certain range.
Ouyang Lianghan and this girl named Aqing could lose their heads in the blink of an eye.
This is the swordsman who has severed the mythical bloodline!
Liu Zilin tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth.
In the next instant, everything was ready, the incantation was finished, and the third young master of the Liu family calmly closed the Buddhist scripture, staring intently at the blue butterfly paper flower, and softly uttered its two-word true name:
"Craftsman, to make."
The entire room fell silent.
Before everyone's eyes...
Everything is as usual.
The expected appearance of the Dingjian did not occur.
Of course, there may be another explanation—the sword can become invisible, and only wise people can see it.
Unfortunately, the third young master of the Liu family had never heard the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, nor would he be foolish enough to believe it.
Liu Zilin's old face froze for a moment. He called out several times, but the atmosphere remained awkward. In the next instant, his entire face visibly turned a deep liver color.
"Bastard! Liar!"
The blue paper butterfly flower crashed to the ground. Liu Zilin rushed forward like a madman, grabbed Aqing by the collar, and growled at her:
"You fucking lied to me!"
Ouyang Rong frowned: "Are you crazy?"
"You dare to play me!" Liu Zilin drew his sword. "Ouyang Lianghan, you broke your promise and deceived me first! This is not a Dingjian sword at all, it's just a broken flower!"
Ouyang Rong was speechless, just about to speak.
"Your Excellency!"
From the woods behind them, the shouts of Yan Liulang and his men could be heard in the distance. A group of constables appeared and rushed to their aid.
Ouyang Rong thought to himself, "This is bad! Stop! Don't come any closer!"
He quickly turned around, and sure enough, Liu Zilin's eyes were blazing with anger: "You secretly called for reinforcements?!"
"No, I..." Ouyang Rong didn't have time to explain.
"ah--!"
A long sword pierced straight through the delicate hand of the pretty young girl, and through the damp, black mud beneath her palm.
"You! Liu Zilin, how dare you!" Ouyang Rong suddenly became furious.
"What wouldn't I dare! You despicable and cunning bastard! I'll fight you to the death, and none of you will live!"
The third young master of the Liu family, once known as the "Mad Tiger," flew into a rage. With a mad roar, he rudely rummaged through A Qing's sleeve and found only a cumbersome oil paper package. He hurriedly opened it and found that it contained only two cold, hard sesame cakes, nothing else.
Liu Zilin was instantly enraged. He threw two sesame cakes on the ground and stomped on them several times, yelling, "How dare you play me!"
Aqing knelt on both knees, her hands covered in blood, yet she desperately tried to pull them away. She crawled forward, her mouth agape, and tremblingly gathered up crumbs of sesame cake, striking his feet with them.
"Don't step on my brother's cake, waaaaah..."
Ouyang Rong felt as if his heart was being torn apart.
But in this chaotic and impulsive moment, he suddenly relaxed his shoulders, regained his composure, and nodded to Ah Qing:
"Aqing, don't hide it, tell the truth."
"The truth? What truth!" Liu Zilin, his eyes red and panting, frowned and paused for a moment.
Aqing's face froze.
Ouyang Rong said seriously, "Aqing, have you forgotten? The old gentleman gave you two gifts last time, and you gave me one of them at dinner."
The field fell silent.
"Where is the other one?" Liu Zilin asked with elation.
"Master, what are you saying? I don't understand. The old man isn't..."
Ouyang Rong interrupted him directly, his tone firm:
"Silly girl, there's nothing to hide. Last time you asked me to choose, but I thought this paper flower was too cheap and didn't take it. Instead, I took another thing that looked expensive."
"Now that I think about it, I don't have any sword techniques, so why should I hide them?"
"Ouyang Lianghan, you're so greedy!" Liu Zilin laughed angrily.
Ouyang Rong turned to Liu Zilin, somewhat embarrassed, and said:
"I really didn't expect that thing to be the 'illusion-containing object' of the Dingjian. I apologize for interrupting your plans."
"Also, calm down and stop being so suspicious. My junior sister isn't here. And don't waste any more time. Release Aqing right now, and I'll take you there. I'll be her hostage. You should believe me now, right?"
Liu Zilin frequently glanced at the woods behind Ouyang Rong, but now he turned his gaze away, narrowed his eyes, and quickly calmed down.
“Where is it?” he asked.
"It is... in an underground palace."
Ouyang Rong chuckled.
"I'll take you there."
(End of this chapter)
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