Chapter 450 One Step, One Kill (Happy New Year)
As noon approached, the autumn sun shone overhead, casting its light directly on the slightly crowded, old courtyard below.
In everyone's sight, sunlight shone on the face of this uninvited guest, a bronze mask that reflected a metallic glow.
Just like the ancient, blood-stained bronze artifacts waved during human sacrifices in tribal rituals during the primitive era of mythology, now, spanning thousands of years, they appear within the walls of this antique Jiangxi-style courtyard.
It feels like a lifetime ago.
The young man was tall and thin, dressed in a dark blue scholar's robe and wearing a bronze fox mask on his head.
It was a familiar figure to Rongzhen.
She could never forget it, not even if she were beaten to death. Ever since their parting at Dagushan, she had been awakened countless times in the middle of the night by the image of that calm yet arrogant fox-faced youth, which lingered in her mind and even seemed to be becoming a nightmare, affecting the young girl's Dao heart.
“Who’s looking for me?” he asked.
Everyone fell silent; no one answered.
The young man with the bronze fox mask walked into the courtyard with ease. Under everyone's gaze, he suddenly stopped three steps behind the threshold of the courtyard gate and looked down.
There seemed to be a dividing line in front of us, like the Chu River and the Han border.
The bronze fox-masked youth stood at the edge of the Moon Array below the pond, just a step away. He turned his head left and right, seemingly observing the people in the courtyard and the array nodes with great interest.
Rong Zhen narrowed her eyes.
Yan Zhang and Lian Qing looked serious and remained silent.
The young man with the bronze fox mask pointed to a young female Taoist priest in Confucian robes who was bound by ropes and unable to speak, next to a female historian in white robes in the courtyard:
"I have a connection with this little one. Please give me some face and let her go. In return, I will spare your lives today."
His tone was friendly and conciliatory, yet he spoke the most arrogant words.
The atmosphere in the courtyard was quiet for a while.
Yan Zhang stared at him for a moment, then suddenly chuckled and shook his head:
"Are you out of your mind? We didn't even go looking for you, but you delivered yourself right to our doorstep, and now you dare to negotiate with our Imperial Observatory? What are you barking about?"
The bronze-faced youth kept his eyes on Rong Zhen, completely ignoring him.
Rong Zhen, who stood in the center of the courtyard as part of the formation, remained silent for a while, then suddenly turned to the little girl in the red coat beside her and asked:
"Who is he? Did you see his face clearly?"
From the moment the young man with the bronze fox mask entered, Huang Xuan kept turning her head to look at his face, her little face blank with surprise.
At this moment, Rong Zhen stared directly into her clear, bright eyes as he asked his question.
Huang Xuan snapped out of her daze, glanced at her, and lowered her head: "I've looked closely, I don't recognize her."
The young man with the bronze fox mask glanced at the little girl in the red jacket.
Rong Zhen withdrew her gaze and asked coldly:
"What did you do to Prefect Ouyang?"
The young man with the bronze fox mask immediately raised an eyebrow, but unfortunately the bronze mask concealed his expression.
Rong Zhen's words were as cold as ice:
“Assassinating the Chief Secretary is an even more serious crime. Today, both the old and new crimes will be considered together.”
Ouyang Rong nodded: "I like your businesslike tone. After hearing it, I really feel that I deserve to die."
He paused, then suddenly asked:
"Did you leave something behind last time? By the way, shouldn't this little thing also be used to charge me with a capital offense? For example, for being immoral or disturbing public order?"
The young man with the bronze fox mask held up a wad of wrinkled, faded purple fabric in his hand as a gesture.
It wasn't unfolded, but the mandarin ducks faintly visible on the thin fabric clearly indicated its intimate nature to the sharp-eyed people in the courtyard.
Inside the courtyard, Yan Zhang, Lian Qing, and other Qi cultivators from the Imperial Observatory, along with Miao Si and Huang Xuan, all stared blankly at the small bundle of clothes in the palm of the bronze fox-faced youth.
The courtyard was unusually quiet.
Even the crescent-shaped cauldron sword hanging high above their heads went unnoticed for a moment.
"How could that be? What nonsense are you talking about..."
Yan Zhang's first reaction was disbelief; it was impossible, absolutely impossible.
How could the aloof and pure Lady Rongzhen's personal undergarment possibly be in the hands of this petty thief? Besides, this style of wearing red and purple is completely inconsistent with Lady Rongzhen's pure white attire.
Yan Zhang wanted to sneer and mock her, to defend Rong Zhen's innocence, but in the next instant, he turned his head and caught a glimpse of the palace maid in the center of the courtyard, a high-and-mighty flower of the Imperial Observatory, who was as unapproachable as an iceberg and snow lotus. Her originally cold and fair neck was now covered with a blush like lipstick and rouge, as if red ink had been dripped into a glass of water.
Rong Zhen wore a golden mask with four fierce eyes and remained motionless, making it impossible to discern her specific expression. However, the skin around her ears and neck appeared fair and rosy under the bright sunlight, exuding an exceptionally charming and vibrant red.
Everyone in the courtyard, except for Huang Xuan who was a little clueless about human affairs, immediately understood.
Yan Zhang was stunned, staring wide-eyed as if something was rapidly collapsing in his large, round eyes.
Unfortunately, the bronze-faced youth continued to ask with feigned curiosity:
"Why aren't you saying anything? Hmm, aren't you the sir?"
"Alright, I'll ask around. I didn't see many people at Dagushan that night, so I should be able to find the owner."
He sighed with relief:
"It seems that I can be spared the crime of being immoral and corrupt for the time being. It's a pity that my honesty in returning lost money will not be rewarded by the Lady Historian, nor will it be punishable by death."
As he spoke, he shook his head and put away the crumpled purple bib, standing with his sleeves rolled up.
Rongzhen's neck and earlobes turned even redder, and her delicate, round earlobes, which were not adorned with earrings, were a deep, almost dripping red.
At this moment, Yan Zhang's delicate and handsome face turned blood red, like a wilted eggplant, with bluish-purple discoloration.
"You...you...you arrogant little thief!" he roared.
The bronze-faced youth, who was just a step away from the formation, suddenly turned his head and looked coldly at Yan Zhang.
At the same time, the clear blue arc ten feet above Rong Zhen's head, directly above the courtyard, suddenly moved.
Like the moon falling into a great river, like a comet shooting towards the sun, crashing into an old courtyard.
The situation was urgent, and everyone was terrified. Yan Zhang was so frightened that he bent over and covered his head.
However, those who were terrified of the power of the sword immediately discovered that after the [Arc] entered the courtyard area three zhang above Rong Zhen's head, it quietly stopped in the air.
It's like being stuck in a quagmire, unable to move forward.
The misty fog emanating from the cold, palace-dressed girl's skirt grew thicker and thicker, filling the courtyard like the steam rising from a bathroom during a bath.
In mid-air, the clear blue light surrounding the [arc] slowly contracted and weakened considerably.
Its curved body trembled and vibrated slightly.
It wasn't that it wasn't sharp enough to cut through the formation and the heads of the ants below.
Instead, it lost the supply of spiritual energy from the sword wielder.
The connection between the human and the sword was severed by the Moon Array beneath the pool.
"Return Home" failed for the first time.
After Yan Zhang saw it clearly, he burst into laughter:
"You little thief, the Cauldron Sword is nothing special. How stupid of you to have allowed it into the formation. Now you're trapped. Without the Cauldron Sword, what will you use to kill people?"
Everyone, like Yan Zhang, breathed a sigh of relief.
Lian Qing sneered, "Stop talking nonsense, activate Earth Escape Technique and take his head."
Rong Zhen, who had kept his head down and remained silent throughout, quickly crushed the red paper with a punch, took out a wisp of literary energy, closed his eyes, made a hand seal, and locked onto the person's aura.
Although the bronze fox-masked youth was only a step away from Ikeshita Tsuki, using earth magic to trap him would prevent him from escaping.
Yan Zhang and the others were eager to fight, but to their surprise, the bronze-faced youth at the courtyard gate showed no sign of panic and instead gently shook his head.
In the next instant, the invisible literary energy in Rong Zhen's hand suddenly exploded.
Suddenly, the arc above everyone's heads burst forth with a bright blue light, piercing through the hazy mist.
It moved, like a fish that had been struggling on the shore re-entering the water.
With a "whoosh," it disappeared.
Before it could even catch its breath, it reappeared, accompanied by a scream that echoed throughout the courtyard.
"ah--!"
The white-robed Qi cultivator guarding Miaosi was cut in half at the waist, the cut clean, split in two, with blood spurting out.
He bent over, swayed, and fell to the ground.
Miao Si, who had been bound and gagged, suddenly felt a sense of relief. She sat on the ground, opened her mouth wide, and looked around in a daze, as if she could speak again and the gag had been removed.
Although she was still in the same position as Huang Xuan, closest to Rong Zhen, she was protected by Yan Zhang, Lian Qing and other Qi cultivators from the Imperial Observatory.
At this moment, everyone inside and outside the courtyard was utterly shocked.
"How can he still have spiritual energy?!" Lian Qing asked shrilly.
Yan Zhang suddenly realized:
"Could it be driven by literary energy? This works too?" He hurriedly shouted to his fearful companions on either side to reassure them: "No, don't be afraid, attack together! He has no spiritual energy now, only a wisp of literary energy. He can't kill us all!"
But before he could finish speaking, the bronze-faced youth at the courtyard gate reached into his right chest and pulled out a handful of blood-stained red leaves.
The cluster of red leaves looked very familiar to Huang Xuan and Miao Si. Upon closer inspection, they noticed that the ink marks on the leaves had disappeared, replaced by bold and unrestrained blood-written characters.
That's right, the crooked characters on the red leaves were written in blood.
The bronze-faced youth, clutching a handful of blood-stained red leaves, calmly walked into the Moon Array beneath the pool.
They walked towards Rongzhen, Huang Xuan, and Miaosi, who were in the very center.
Every time he passed a white-robed Qi cultivator, he would pull out a red leaf from his hand and toss it behind his shoulder.
Blood-red leaves fluttered in the air, gradually crumbling into leaf ash.
As the blood-stained red leaves crumbled into dust, the [Arc] appeared beside each of the corresponding white-robed Qi cultivators.
Caught off guard.
As the bronze-faced youth walked, countless severed heads fell to the ground behind him.
Miao Si stared blankly up at the hastily written blood characters on the fallen red leaves floating in the air, and she couldn't help but murmur:
I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon... then lower it to think of my hometown...
"The moon sets, crows cry, frost fills the sky... River maples and fishing lights accompany my sorrowful sleep..."
"I left Baidi City amidst colorful clouds at dawn... and returned to Jiangling, a thousand miles away, in a single day..."
One after another, the stunning poems, elegant in style and remarkably fluent, were recited by the young female Taoist priestess in Confucian robes, a natural scholar with a natural affinity for literature, her expression growing increasingly stunned with each reading.
"A clear autumn sky stretches across a thousand miles of Chu, the water flows with the sky, the autumn is boundless... At sunset, atop the tower, amidst the cry of a lone wild goose, a traveler from Jiangnan. He examines his Wu hook sword, pats the railing repeatedly, but no one understands his feelings upon ascending this height..."
"Silver saddle shines on white horse, swift as a shooting star... Kill one man in ten steps, leave no trace for a thousand miles... After the deed is done, dust off your clothes and leave, concealing your identity and name... Leisurely passing through Xinling, drink, with your sword laid across your knees!"
The poem speaks of taking ten steps, but the bronze-faced fox-masked youth killed one person with each step in the courtyard.
He walked with a light and casual gait, and the Qi cultivators from the Imperial Observatory who passed by lost their life force and collapsed to the ground with a "thud".
Suddenly, Miao Si burst into laughter, clutching his chest and giggling uncontrollably.
"Hahaha, what a poem! You, the swordsman, are quite something! You can use literary energy like it's free, and it can even be used as sword energy. What kind of supernatural power is this? In that case, wouldn't the great sword immortals become great poets in the future? Hahahaha."
Rong Zhen turned her head: "Shut up!"
Miao Si, who was grabbed by Yan Zhang in a hurry, ignored her small body that was almost crushed and danced around and laughed heartily.
"Shut up! The immortal who excels in both poetry and swordsmanship has come to save this fairy maiden. You're all just waiting to die. All you know how to do is bully the weak. Now try barking like a dog, hehe."
Little Ink Spirit tilts its head, makes a funny face, and sticks out its tongue.
Within the formation where Yan Zhang was observing the face, two words suddenly rang out:
"Miao Si!"
The young woman in Confucian robes screamed in agony, her head lolled to the side, she coughed up blood, and fainted.
But a smile still lingered at the corners of her mouth.
As long as you're happy, that's all that matters.
The young man with the bronze fox mask quickened his pace, breaking through layer after layer of defenses, and walked towards Rong Zhen.
He passed by Lianqing.
Before the woman with the mole on her eyebrow, who was about to kneel and lower her head, could speak, her head was severed cleanly and swiftly.
Finally, the bronze fox-faced youth paused briefly beside Yan Zhang, not listening to him speak, but simply patted Yan Zhang's shoulder lightly, and then casually pushed over his headless corpse.
Yan Zhang's head had rolled down to the feet of the bronze fox-faced youth at some point.
The severed head bore a delicate and handsome face, its eyes wide open, filled with disbelief.
Even in death, he couldn't understand why, despite both being isolated from spiritual energy and losing their spiritual cultivation, this bronze fox-faced youth could still control the cauldron sword, still possess so many unparalleled poems, and why... he could touch the private undergarment of the Ice Mountain Goddess Rong Zhen.
He died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
Inside the courtyard, a silent massacre was nearing its end.
Finally, the bronze fox-masked youth, carrying an arc, walked up to the palace-dressed girl wearing a golden mask.
He had one last red leaf in his hand.
Rongzhen's almond-shaped eyes widened as she saw a line of still-wet blood-red words faintly visible on the last red leaf:
Emerging from nowhere, the rugged Kunlun Mountains have witnessed all the beauty of spring in the world.
Three million jade dragons soared into the sky, stirring up a chilling atmosphere throughout the heavens.
She slowly turned her head.
The two, both wearing masks, exchanged a glance.
Before Ouyang Rong could speak, Rong Zhen suddenly removed the golden fierce mask. Her hair was already wet, with a few strands falling in front of her dark eyes, which were fixed on his face.
"It's just death, so don't hide anything. Take off your mask and let me see you, just one look."
The bronze-faced youth ignored him and turned to look at the heavily injured, unconscious female Taoist priestess in Confucian robes lying on the ground beside him.
His eyes, visible through his fox mask, narrowed, and he tilted his head slightly, seemingly quite displeased.
Rong Zhen smiled sadly, closed her eyes, and raised her head high like a swan. She neither begged for mercy nor bowed her head in remorse. Her beautiful face was facing the arc in the air.
The bronze-faced fox-masked youth silently watched the palace-dressed girl await her execution.
The azure light of the arc suddenly intensified, approaching the pretty face of the girl in palace attire. The sword energy severed the wet, black hair in front of her tightly closed eyes, pointing directly at the tip of her nose.
Just then, a "crack" sound came from outside the courtyard wall.
The young man with the bronze fox mask turned his head instantly.
Inside the carriage at the courtyard gate, a proud longsword, freed from the suppression of the Dingjian sword, burst out of its scabbard, a splash of snow-white, shining brightly!
In an ordinary alley, a sword flashes across the sky, its aura soaring to the heavens.
Thank you for your support. Let's embark on a new journey together in the new year!
(End of this chapter)
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