Chapter 235 Removing Armor: You Still Have a Choice
Suddenly, Lou Cangyu saw Cui Jin's leaping figure flash before his eyes. Blood and flesh flew as his curved blade flashed. Cui Jin, the Grand Preceptor of the Great Jin Dynasty, was also a swordsman from the Tianhu Workshop. He had gouged out his eyes and disfigured himself for revenge, lurking by his enemy's side for years. Cui Jin had countless opportunities to kill Mu You, yet he chose a different path. Killing him wasn't enough; he also wanted to…sever the Mu family's dragon lineage. Ajiu was the one he had chosen. He himself was merely a small pawn in his game. And Wushuang… Lou Cangyu's heart ached. At the dock outside the city, Wushuang had bitten her lip and sworn a blood oath with him. He thought they could entrust their hearts to each other; he was willing to give his life for her. At the critical moment of life and death, she chose to drag him down with a group of traitors. Did she ever consider that one wrong step would lead to an abyss? His dream was to achieve great things, not to be doomed forever.
Lou Cangyu, if you make another wrong choice... even a god can't save you.
"Lou Cangyu!" Feng Shisan shouted, "Fight our way out!"
With you? Lou Cangyu's dark eyes suddenly revealed a strange look. When did you really take me with you? The blood oath had been broken, and he had killed Xiao Ma. Lou Cangyu had already made up his mind about what to choose.
Mu Lexiu grabbed Lou Cangyu's wrist, his nails digging deep into his flesh. The proud and aloof young man trembled with fear. Seeing people die one by one, he was certain that his father was not exaggerating. Today, in the palace, no one but his father could survive.
"Lou Cangyu..." Mu Lexiu had barely uttered his name when he suddenly felt a chill in his chest, as if an ice pick had pierced his flesh, making him shiver. Mu Lexiu looked down blankly and saw a sword hilt pressed against his chest. Before he could ask again, his chest churned, and he coughed up a large amount of blood. "This...this is..." Mu Lexiu fell to his knees with a thud, gripping the sword blade against his chest with both hands. "Crown Prince...Royal Brother, save me..."
"Le Xiu!" Seeing his younger brother pierced through the heart by a sword, Mu Chenbi swung his short sword, ready to rush forward, but was entangled by the black-clad assassins and unable to advance. "Le Xiu!"
Mu Lexiu's pupils gradually dilated. Lou Cangyu drew his sword with all his might, but Mu Lexiu gripped it tightly, refusing to let go. He was unwilling to die like this. He was the noble second prince of Jin, with a bright and limitless future ahead of him. How could he die today? How could he possibly die at the hands of this lowly sword slave? In his desperate search, his dim eyes suddenly overflowed with a final glimmer of light, "Wushuang..."
A soft, cicada-like call brushed past Wushuang's ear; Mu Lexiu was calling her name. Wushuang slit the throat of the eagle guard blocking her path with a single sword stroke, then lightly leaped to Mu Lexiu's side. With her left hand, she struck Lou Cangyu in the chest with the hilt of her sword. Lou Cangyu fell several meters away, drawing her sword with one hand, and blood gushed from Mu Lexiu's chest.
"It hurts!" Mu Lexiu collapsed to the ground. "Wushuang, it hurts so much."
Wu Shuang helped Mu Lexiu up from the ground. Seeing his anger gradually dissipate, she was filled with mixed feelings. Tracing back to the source, the arrogant young man in front of her should be her younger brother, her half-brother. Although they did not have the affection of growing up together, they were bound by blood ties. Blood relatives are blood relatives. Even if they did not want to admit it, it was really hard to erase it.
"Wushuang." Mu Lexiu's body had begun to go numb. He stopped crying out in pain and looked at Wushuang, who was holding him. His face showed a pure and childlike expression. "No wonder...no wonder I was so afraid of you. So you are...my...sister."
Wushuang pressed down on Mu Lexiu's bleeding wound, "Don't speak, don't say anything."
“Sister.” Mu Lexiu laughed. “Father shouldn’t have treated you like this…” As Mu Lexiu spoke, he tried his best to turn his head to look at his father, who had his back turned in the hall. Mu Lexiu was sure that his father knew he was injured, but even knowing that his son was about to die, he still did not turn around.
“Father shouldn’t have treated you like this,” Mu Lexiu repeated. “He shouldn’t… have treated me like this… We are his… biological children…”
"Stop talking." Wushuang whispered, telling him to shut up. With each word Mu Lexiu managed to squeeze out, blood gushed uncontrollably from his chest.
Mu Lexiu's voice grew softer and softer, "Your stories sounded so real... but only now do I believe... everything..." Mu Lexiu's head slumped, his withered lips moved one last time, but he died with his eyes still open, "It's all true..."
"Le Xiu!" Mu Chenbi pierced the assassin's heart with his sword and slid towards his younger brother, crying out, "Le Xiu, Le Xiu!"
Wushuang covered Mu Lexiu's eyes with her palm, carefully placing him on the ground. Following the direction of the blood spurt, the murderous intent in her eyes reached Lou Cangyu, who was several meters away. "Remember what you promised me?"
Lou Cangyu avoided eye contact. He remembered promising Wushuang that his sword would only be drawn for Wushuang, but why did he make that promise? The path to Qingyun was right beneath his feet. Why not take the path to the end with these people?
"You can't get out of here." Lou Cangyu finally spoke. "Wushuang, take off your weapons and beg your father for mercy. You are of one mind with him, he won't take your life. Wushuang... you are different from them, you have a choice."
"That's not your place to choose for me." Wushuang glared at Lou Cangyu, sword in hand. "You can betray those who have been kind to you, you can kill those who are in your way. Lou Cangyu, what else are you incapable of doing?"
Lou Cangyu swallowed hard, his sword-wielding hand trembling uncontrollably. Forcing himself to speak, he said, "Even if you manage to fight your way out of Zetian Palace, you won't escape the palace. There are still no fewer than a thousand Inner Court Eagle Guards outside the palace. None of you can escape. Stop resisting and surrender." With that, he turned and shouted to the palace, "Your Majesty, Lou Cangyu is willing to kill the traitors for you, even at the cost of his life."
Before she could finish speaking, the sword was already flashing like lightning, stabbing towards Wushuang's throat. Just as Wushuang was about to defend herself, Ajiu slid and pushed her far away, then held her sword horizontally to meet Lou Cangyu's attack. "What a fine line, 'I'll do anything to kill a traitor,' Lou Cangyu. I never knew you were so frivolous."
"Ah Jiu, you really are Ah Jiu." Lou Cangyu revealed a smug look of knowing everything. "You stole the dragon and switched the phoenix, which is a crime punishable by the extermination of your entire clan. Fortunately, you are all alone and have no clan to exterminate. You are getting off easy. Very well, today we will settle our old and new grudges together."
"New grudges or old grudges?" Ajiu feigned doubt. "What new grudges or old grudges do we have? I don't remember."
Lou Cangyu scoffed, "You're perfectly clear-headed, why are you pretending to be confused? Do you really want me to tell you about the old grudge of severing your eyebrows and the new hatred of breaking the Blood Alliance and killing Xiao Ma?"
"Hahaha." Ajiu laughed. "These words came from your own mouth. Killing your brother and betraying your master, you should pay for each of these crimes with your life. The people of Xingguo Ward should not have been lenient with you. If we could go back to that day, everyone would have a dagger in their hand and stab you to pieces."
Lou Cangyu wiped the blood off the sword with his fingertips, raised an eyebrow at Ajiu, and said, "If we were to return to that day, my sword should have slashed downwards a little further, gouging out your eyes, and then we'd see what you had to say. Ajiu, prepare to die."
The two swords clashed, neither gaining the upper hand. Lou Cangyu looked down and felt that the sword in Ajiu's hand was somewhat unfamiliar. "This is not your sword."
"I can kill you with any sword." Ajiu instantly withdrew his strength, flipped over and leaped straight above Lou Cangyu's head, transforming his sword into a blade and slashing down at him like lightning.
Lou Cangyu dodged the attack by rolling to the side, but the sword energy grazed his neck, sending chills down his spine. He couldn't help but touch his neck, finding his palm damp with sweat.
"You're scared," Ajiu laughed. "Don't you even have that much confidence?"
Enraged, Lou Cangyu brandished his sword and charged forward, each move aimed at Ajiu's vitals, determined to kill him to vent his anger. Ajiu, unhurried, countered each move, seemingly at a disadvantage, yet defusing the attacks perfectly. In contrast, Lou Cangyu's moves were hasty and disordered.
After blocking more than ten moves, Ajiu's eyes revealed disdain. He had no interest in wasting any more time on Lou Cangyu. Ajiu seized an opening in Lou Cangyu's defenses, his two dimples flicking towards Lou Cangyu's wrist. Lou Cangyu thought he was going to take the sword and retreated several meters away with a spread of his wings. Ajiu had already anticipated his move, sliding forward and pressing closer. Suddenly, he raised his hand slightly, and before his opponent could even blink, his two dimples had already switched from his right hand to his left. To Lou Cangyu, it was just a blur of the sword's speed. Before he could react, he saw the sharp sword already piercing towards his right eye.
Oh no! Lou Cangyu thought Ajiu was going to retaliate by gouging out his eyes, so he instinctively tilted his head to dodge. But Ajiu feinted with his sword, and the real blade had already pierced his shoulder. The blade withdrew, and with a hiss, fine blood spurted from Lou Cangyu's shoulder. He pressed his palm against it, and the fine blood seeped through his fingers and dripped onto the ground.
Ajiu didn't look at Lou Cangyu, but stared at the bloodstains on the sword blade, and said in a low voice: "Even after entering the inner workshop, you haven't made any progress. When we tested the Meteor Sword, I shouldn't have let you have that one strike. I made you think you had a chance to beat me, and you wouldn't have had another match with me today."
“A-Jiu…” Lou Cangyu’s face flushed red, his eyes blazing with anger, “You’re asking for death.”
"Isn't it clear enough who will win?" Ajiu pointed his sword at Lou Cangyu. "We've been brothers, and I never wanted you to die. Even when you defected to Xingguofang, we only wanted you to live. You could have lived." Ajiu choked up for a moment. "But why did you kill Xiao Ma? If you had killed him, you would have died."
Lou Cangyu roared and slashed away Ajiu's sword. He didn't believe that Ajiu could really kill him. The swordsmen ate and lived together on Canglang Island, followed the same master, and learned the same sword techniques. Their talents varied, but their efforts were different. Lou Cangyu worked hard from dawn till dusk, practicing even harder. He was the most hardworking and diligent swordsman. He didn't believe that Ajiu could really kill him. He absolutely didn't believe it.
Ajiu coldly watched Lou Cangyu's distorted moves, nimbly dodging by leaning back, and when she straightened up again, her calm black eyes could no longer conceal her murderous intent.
While catching his breath, Lou Cangyu had already unleashed his deadly sword strike, its momentum like a whirlwind, aiming to catch Ajiu off guard. Ajiu dodged the attack, parrying the sword with his right hand and slashing diagonally. The force of the blow made Lou Cangyu sway slightly, almost losing his footing. Lou Cangyu knew that he had to win within three deadly strikes, just like when he tested the Meteor Sword. Even if he wasn't confident of defeating his opponent, he had to make him bleed and lose his edge.
If he could kill Xiao Ma, he could definitely kill A Jiu.
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