Chapter 171 Why Don't You Stab My Heart?
The altar was opened... Guan Ye gripped A Jiu's hand tightly. Before leaving the island, in the Pei family's ancestral hall, the altar was opened to worship the Pei family's ancestors. One by one, the people who were about to leave dripped their blood into wine and made an unbreakable blood oath.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the ancestral hall in the neighborhood was ready. The group moved from the main hall to the ancestral hall, where incense and candle smoke rose and the ancestral tablets of the Pei family were shrouded in smoke, the characters gradually becoming blurred.
"Pei Cangyu!" Pei Bi shouted, "Kneel down now!"
Lou Cangyu knelt down with a thud, plunged his sword into the crack in the rock, and raised his proud neck. By this moment, his panic had gradually subsided, and he only hoped to quickly understand everything. Apart from his life, he could leave everything to the Pei family.
"Those who swore the blood oath that day, all of you, step forward." Pei Bi glanced at the crowd surrounding them.
The people of Xingguo Ward were also unsure of Pei Bi's intentions. They looked at each other hesitantly, not daring to step forward. Seeing that no one made a move, Pei Yuan angrily shouted, "Are you all deaf, or are you all about to rebel? Why don't you step forward!"
The voice was deafening. Several forging masters squeezed out of the crowd and lined up in a row. The old blacksmith with gray hair also stood in the queue. More and more people stepped forward. Pei Yuan's ambiguous eyes were fixed on the face of the swordsman who was standing still. "Have you all stepped forward?"
Ji Fang's eyes were red-rimmed. He hesitated and took a few steps forward. Just as Feng Shisan was about to turn around, Pei Bi called out to him, "Feng Shisan, are you also going to defect to Xingguo Ward?"
Defection? Feng Shisan stood rooted to the spot, gritting his teeth, and said, "I was once brothers with Lou Cangyu, and from now on, we'll sever all ties. As for the rest... I beg the shopkeeper and manager... not to force me." As he spoke, he picked up his beloved sword, "My sword... will not lay a hand on my brother."
"Who forced you to take action?" Pei Bi waved his sleeve. "Step forward first."
Feng Shisan reluctantly entered the queue. Ajiu, seeing this, gently patted Guan Ye's palm and followed him out. Guan Ye silently counted. Excluding Pei Yuan, Pei Bi, and Cang Yu, there were forty-seven people who had sworn a blood oath that day. Forty-seven people… were they going to each slice Lou Cang Yu to death? Lou Cang Yu seemed to have anticipated what would happen. His thin face was completely bloodless, and his cloudy eyes looked at Ajiu and the others, a bitter, sorrowful smile squeezing out from the corners of his lips.
Seeing that everyone was present, Pei Yuan gestured to Pei Bi that they could begin. Pei Bi cleared his throat, rolled up his sleeves to reveal the scars on his wrists, and said loudly, "When we left Canglang Island, we all swore an oath in blood, promising to go through life and death together and never betray each other, right?"
"We will walk together through life and death, never abandoning each other! We will walk together through life and death, never abandoning each other!" The crowd's shouts were deafening, as if they were about to shake the roof of the ancestral hall.
"What if someone betrays us, betrays Xingguofang?" Pei Yuan asked in a deep, hoarse voice, pressing each of the various faces with his question.
The shouts ceased instantly, plunging into a chilling silence. Cui Jin's lips curled into a sinister smile. "If I remember correctly, it was... that everyone could kill him?"
"Kill me." Lou Cangyu raised his neck. "I have no face to stay in Xingguo Ward any longer. As long as you can't kill me, I will still enter the inner ward. Since no one is willing to grant my wish, just kill me."
"Little Stone says no one is willing to grant his wish?" Pei Yuan nodded to Pei Bi. "And who would grant this old man's wish..."
Pei Bi drew a dagger from his sleeve, its cold light gleaming and its sharpness intimidating. The blade swept past the eyes of the forty-seven people in the ancestral hall. Pei Bi raised the dagger and said, "According to the blood oath, all of you may kill Lou Cangyu and use his blood to commemorate his betrayal of the oath. Who will go first?"
"Who wants to go first?"
Kill Lou Cangyu… Guan Ye gasped. Lou Cangyu was the prime suspect in Song Mian’s murder, but even so, Guan Ye had never intended for him to die. Now, forty-seven daggers were pointed directly at Lou Cangyu. Could it be that… Lou Cangyu was going to die here today?
"Who wants to go first?" Pei Yuan flung his robes sharply. "Then I'll go first!"
Pei Bi stepped aside to block Pei Yuan's path, "I'll go first."
"Steward Pei..." Ji Fang almost cried, "Steward Pei...please spare Cang Yu..."
Pei Bi glared at Ji Fang, "You still consider him a brother? Why don't you take the blame for him?"
Just as Ji Fang was about to speak, A Jiu grabbed his wrist and pressed it down hard. Ji Fang was finally a little scared, and his knees buckled, causing him to kneel on the ground.
Pei Bishou walked up to Lou Cangyu with his dagger in hand. Lou Cangyu looked sadly at the man's weathered face. Her mother said that as long as you call Pei Bishou "uncle," he will definitely be loyal to you. But "uncle Pei"... can't save her, nor can it fulfill her wishes. Lou Cangyu's eyes were filled with sorrow. She only hoped that Pei Bishou would be ruthless and give her a quick death.
"Uncle Pei," Lou Cangyu murmured, his voice barely audible to himself, "thank you."
A flash of light, but instead of the expected splatter of blood, a crisp sound rang out, and Pei Bi had already knocked off Lou Cangyu's hair ornament. Her high-tied hair fell loose over her shoulders. Lou Cangyu was stunned and couldn't believe it. After a moment of shock, she realized that Pei Bi had shown her mercy. In a blink, tears of gratitude welled up in her eyes. "Uncle Pei..."
“Pei Bi, you…” Pei Yuan sighed and turned around, as if he had expected something. “Fine, fine, what a way to sever ties by cutting your hair. The rest of you, come one by one. Blood for blood, cut your hair and tendons, it’s all up to you.”
"Who's next?" Pei Bi handed a dagger to the line.
“I’ll go.” “I’ll go…” Several smelting masters stepped out of the queue one after another.
Guan Ye recognized them as the master chefs who had clashed with Lou Shitou that day. Back then... Lou Shitou smashed the leader's head, and he himself was also hit with a shovel and bled... Would they hold Lou Cangyu responsible for this?
The moment this thought crossed Guan Ye's mind, she wanted to slap herself. Such petty thoughts! One thing at a time. It's true that Lou Cangyu had selfish motives, but he hadn't actually harmed Xingguo Fang. Did these people really need to harbor murderous intent towards him? Pei Bi's actions had already reminded everyone that Lou Cangyu wasn't necessarily going to die. Past favors still existed; who would want anyone to die?
The simmering master tugged at Lou Cangyu's clothes one by one, slashed off a piece with a dagger, turned around and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Pei Bi, "Now that we've cut off Xiao Shitou's clothes, we have no more feelings for him."
Pei Bi nodded slightly. The dagger was passed from hand to hand, all calloused, and finally landed in Ji Fang's hands. Ji Fang got up and approached Lou Cangyu. He knew that Cangyu could save his life, and he also knew that... Lou's little stone would die today, in Xingguo Ward. After today, there would be no more Lou's little stone.
"Ji Fang." Lou Cangyu, his black hair disheveled, lay on the ground amidst shattered pieces of ink brocade. "Give me a knife; it's what I owe you."
Ji Fang raised his dagger, intending to stab Lou Cangyu hard. To hell with the inner quarters! The most beautiful place in the world was Canglang Island, a thousand miles away. They shouldn't have left the island. Ji Fang had dreamed that one day, after experiencing the outside world's splendor, everyone would return there, warming themselves by the fire in their own courtyard, eating fish. Ah Yuan's stewed fish…it smelled so good! Why would anyone not like it?
"You're really stupid." Ji Fang squeezed out the words, as if laughing at Lou Cangyu, yet also as if talking about himself. As soon as he finished speaking, the tip of the dagger had already cut his palm. Ji Fang clenched his fist and squeezed out bright red blood, which dripped onto Lou Cangyu's feet. "You don't owe me anything. My blood is shed willingly. If one day we meet on the sword-testing platform, even without brothers, you can come at me. No matter how cowardly I, Ji Fang, am, I will not be afraid of your sword."
Lou Cangyu stared at the blood droplets at her feet, which had solidified into a pool. When she looked up again, she saw Ji Fang squeeze out of the wall of people and disappear into the distance.
Feng Shisan stared blankly at the dagger Ji Fang had handed him. He strode forward, his wrist flicking with a graceful flourish. Before anyone could even blink and see clearly, a few strands of Lou Cangyu's black hair fell to the ground, landing squarely in Ji Fang's blood.
“Cutting hair is like cutting off a head.” Feng Shisan crossed his arms and lowered his eyes. “I’ll just consider you dead at my hands.”
"Thank you very much, Thirteenth Young Master." Lou Cangyu's eyes showed gratitude.
"Ah Jiu, it's your turn." Feng Shisan handed Ah Jiu a dagger. "Don't let him off easily."
Ajiu, holding a dagger, approached Lou Cangyu step by step, the deep scar on her brow bone becoming more and more clear. Lou Cangyu pointed to her left eyebrow, smiled and said, "Don't hold back. Today, I won't stop until blood is drawn. If you insist on seeing blood, I'd rather it be you."
"If it were just half an inch lower, I'd go blind," Ah Jiu said with a half-smile.
“I would gladly give you my eye.” Lou Cangyu straightened his back. “Don’t let me off easily. If I leave Xingguo Ward today, then as Ji Fang said, we will no longer be brothers when we meet again in the future.”
Ajiu's moves were as fast as the wind and as swift as lightning. The blade flashed like a fleeting shadow, aiming straight for Lou Cangyu's left eye. Amid the screams of the crowd, she suddenly stopped her wrist, the tip of the dagger just a hair's breadth away from Lou Cangyu's eyeball.
"Why not stab?" Lou Cangyu showed no intention of dodging, facing Ajiu's dagger without fear. "If you miss this chance, there won't be a next time."
Ajiu lowered the dagger, "It's not about repaying each other with kindness. If we meet again in the future, we won't be strangers. Even if we can't be brothers, we won't be enemies. You'd better take care of yourself."
Pei Bi realized that Xiao Ma was not among the group. The incident happened so suddenly that he couldn't find Xiao Ma for the time being. Everyone was showing leniency to Lou Cangyu, but there was still one person... who would not be let off easily.
"Master," Pei Bi cautiously probed, "everyone has severed ties with Lou Cangyu, shouldn't we seal the jar now?"
"Everyone?" Pei Yuan's voice was like thunder, making everyone tremble. "Do you all think I'm not human?"
"Your subordinate wouldn't dare," Pei Bi hurriedly knelt down. "Lou Cangyu, aren't you going to await Master Lou's judgment?"
Lou Cangyu tossed his disheveled hair, revealing a sharp and distinct face. "My life and death are in the hands of the workshop master. My mother and elder brother are also on Canglang Island. The Lou family has received great favors from Xingguo Workshop. Even my great-grandfather was willing to die for Xingguo Workshop. I, Lou Cangyu, am also willing to die in the hands of the workshop master."
"You haven't forgotten, have you?" Pei Yuan's eyes flashed coldly as he raised his dagger at Lou Cangyu. "They might spare you, but I can kill you right now. And what about your family left on the island? Aren't you afraid..."
"I said, the Lou family has received great kindness from Xingguo Warehouse. If I, Lou Cangyu, can die, my mother and elder brother are my life. If I were to ask them to die, they wouldn't even flinch. Just like..." Lou Cangyu confronted Pei Yuan's inscrutable eyes, "On the day the Imperial Preceptor first landed on the island... on that day of fierce winds and torrential rain, who uttered a single word of fear?"
Guan Ye clenched her fist. Things had come to this point. Lou Cangyu was only one sword away from Pei Yuan. He had no way out. If he couldn't defeat Pei Yuan, he would only face death. Life and death hung in the balance. Lou family's little stone had to take his life into his own hands.
"Good, good!" Pei Yuan laughed wildly, "Well done, Lou Cangyu, well done, little stone. Your ambition was never just to be a mere swordsman. It's an insult to you to be my adopted son. You have your own path to follow, but unfortunately, you won't live to see it." Pei Yuan gripped his dagger and thrust it straight at Lou Cangyu's throat.
"—Azure Jade…"—"Little Stone…"
"Lou Cangyu!" Guan Ye shouted until her voice was hoarse.
Amidst the terrified screams of the crowd, Ji Fang scrambled into the ancestral hall. He saw... saw Lou Cangyu gripping the hilt of a dagger with both hands, half of the blood-dripping blade protruding from his chest. Blood seeped from the wound, mingling with his own blood to form a gentle flow that trickled down to his feet.
"Cang Yu..." Ji Fang was dumbfounded. "You..."
Just as Pei Yuan was about to kill Lou Cangyu, Lou Cangyu swiftly snatched the dagger from Pei Yuan's hand and, without hesitation, plunged it into his own heart. Blood and flesh tore open, flowing like a river. This was the last time he had acted for Pei Yuan. With the dagger plunged in, Lou Cangyu no longer owed Xingguo Fang anything. The Blood Alliance... there was no more Blood Alliance.
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