I would die without regret
Therefore, Shangguan Yuqi was still doing it for her. Even knowing that she was seriously injured, she rationally weighed the pros and cons and chose to risk her own life to ensure her safe rescue.
At that moment, A Qiu felt a complete emptiness in his heart. He grabbed her shoulders and cried out, "But if this continues, you will die!"
Shangguan Yuqi calmly said, "No one can escape death. The moment the sword is drawn, there is no distinction between life and death; this is the swordsman's awareness."
A Qiu cried so hard she could hardly breathe, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls. She sobbed, "But why, why did you do this for me? You..." She wanted to say that their social statuses were so different. She was a noble lady from the Shangguan family, the most powerful clan in the Southern Dynasty, while she was just a commoner, a wandering swordsman. Even her infiltration of the palace was with ulterior motives. So why would she be willing to risk her own life to save her?
But the words stuck in her throat. In this situation, every word seemed so hypocritical. Whether it was worth it or not, Shangguan Yuqi had already done all this; was she really going to say her actions weren't worth it?
Shangguan Yuqi remained upright as she sat, saying, "Didn't you ever save me? When you were in the fire at the Yeting Palace, didn't you ever think that it might be a trap set by Zhao Lingying? Yet you still went, just as resolutely. If you could do it, why can't I?"
A Qiu cried, "That's different. That was just a fire; it didn't necessarily mean death." She wanted to say that the price she had to pay for saving Shangguan Yuqi was different from the price Shangguan Yuqi had to pay for saving her now.
Shangguan Yuqi said, "If you were going to die, wouldn't you have gone?"
Ah Qiu was rendered speechless by her seemingly casual question.
She knew it very well, and Shangguan Yuqi knew it very well too. Given the circumstances, even if she were to die, even if she knew it was a trap, she would never turn around and leave, abandoning Shangguan Yuqi.
Because that's definitely not her personality.
Therefore, what Shangguan Yuqi did for her today is simply a reflection of her personality. Once she makes a decision, she will not regret it, nor will she look back.
Seeing Shangguan Yuqi so badly injured and Aqiu crying uncontrollably, Gongyi Xiu couldn't help but reach out to check Shangguan Yuqi's pulse.
Upon examining you, his expression also became extremely solemn. He said, "The blow to your back back then, although it shattered part of your heart meridian, was not fatal. Your master still held back. But because you then unleashed the full power of 'Sun and Moon Shining Together,' the cold and hot true qi in your meridians clashed and attacked your heart meridian, which is why you were so badly injured. Your internal energy path seems somewhat strange, irregular, and self-contradictory."
Normally, if Gongyi Xiu had commented on Fei Feng's head disciple and the internal strength of Shangguan Yuqi, the number one swordsman of the Southern Dynasty, in this way, A Qiu would definitely have retaliated with sarcasm.
But now she knew that Gongyi Xiu's words were true. She had known all along that Shangguan Yuqi's internal energy cultivation was unorthodox. After the fire in the Yeting Palace, she had used her internal energy to expel the bewitching powder from Shangguan Yuqi, and thus she realized that Shangguan Yuqi possessed two completely opposite internal energy cultivation methods, one extremely yin and the other extremely yang.
According to Shangguan Yuqi, it was because she was proficient in both lineages of Shangguan swordsmanship, the two unique skills of the male sword "Binghuang" and the female sword "Qixing", all of which she carried alone.
The tomb guardians of the Shangguan family possess two swords, one male and one female. Historically, only the soft sword "Seven Stars," which is cultivated with the power of Yin, has been inherited by women. However, the death of her uncle, Shangguan Jin, suddenly placed the burden of revitalizing the Shangguan family on Shangguan Yuqi's shoulders. Although she is determined to be noble and detached from worldly affairs, she has no choice but to take Shangguan Jin as her role model, or at least in part, to emulate his worldly actions, for the sake of the country and the family.
Therefore, she practiced the "Ice Bamboo" sword left behind by Shangguan Jin, because a masculine sword is more suitable for chivalrous deeds in the world than a yin sword. The "Seven Stars" sword is a sword of seclusion, more about protecting and returning to one's inner spirit than about pioneering and serving the world.
However, what A Qiu did not expect was that when Shangguan Yuqi used "Sun and Moon Shining Together," these two completely different mental cultivation paths would reverse each other and attack each other, thus aggravating the internal injuries that Shangguan Yuqi had suffered from being struck by her master.
Shangguan Yuqi said calmly, "When I first started practicing, I noticed that things were not going well. My teacher also told me that no one had ever done this before, and no one knew the consequences, but I still insisted on doing it and practiced 'Ice Bamboo' and 'Seven Stars' at the same time."
She sighed softly, "What in this world comes without a price? My uncle sacrificed himself to enter the world, thus ending his path to becoming a sword immortal. Since I have chosen to inherit my uncle's will and protect the peace of the Southern Dynasty with the Gentleman's Sword, I will not back down because of any cost."
Gongyi Xiu frowned and said in a deep voice, "This kind of injury is no small matter. Under heaven, I'm afraid there's no other way to help you except through the innate true energy of a pure Taoist cultivator. Hmm? Your condition seems to be improving!"
Although A Qiu was crying, the hand pressing on Shangguan Yuqi's back was still continuously channeling true energy, causing Shangguan Yuqi's body to be like a raging storm, and Shangguan Yuqi's face was constantly changing color, sometimes green and sometimes white.
A Qiu's true energy was obtained from the authentic Xuanmen mental cultivation method of the Guigu School of Daoist Gu Yi, which is why it has a strong healing effect on the internal injuries of others. Moreover, the feeling of A Qiu integrating his true energy into Shangguan Yuqi's meridians was even more extraordinary. It was as if there was an innate sense of harmony and resonance between their bloodlines, making it easy for Shangguan Yuqi to transform and absorb it.
Therefore, after operating in this way for a while, Shangguan Yuqi's injuries seemed to have recovered slightly, and her blood and qi no longer surged and churned repeatedly, but gradually calmed down. After merging with A Qiu's true qi, the two true energies of different natures seemed to have been soothed in some way, gradually balancing and merging, returning to their previous state of being mixed into one indistinguishable entity.
After catching her breath, Shangguan Yuqi's first words were: "Don't waste your energy on me. Save your strength to deal with... the enemy."
Before A Qiu could answer, Wan Qiqing's icy voice rang out from outside the carriage: "You traitors inside, get out of here!"
At this moment, A Qiu and Gongyi Xiu finally looked at each other in disbelief, feeling as if their souls had flown to another world.
Especially Gongyi Xiu, whose handsome face turned deathly pale in an instant, his usually eloquent thin lips trembled, and he lost his usual calm and elegant demeanor.
In his entire life, A Qiu had never seen Gongyi Xiu so panicked. This showed how important his master was to him, and how much courage and risk his life he had to help A Qiu escape.
Of the three Lanling disciples, A Qiu was the most distant from Wan Qiqing and the least affected by him. However, under Wan Qiqing's accumulated power over the years, even A Qiu, the number one assassin on the list of banished immortals, was still terrified, let alone Gongyi Xiu, who was like a father to him, had spent many years with him, and greatly admired and respected him.
Only Shangguan Yuqi was unaffected by him. Upon hearing his voice, she immediately drew her sword, intending to charge out at once.
A Qiu immediately held her down tightly, preventing her from going out to make a move no matter what.
Shangguan Yuqi was in a precarious state; if she were to attack again, even without Wan Qiqing's intervention, her old injuries would relapse within a few moves, leaving her beyond saving. And even if A Qiu were to die, she absolutely could not allow this to happen.
The woman in front of the car said calmly, "The seventeenth generation tomb keeper of the Shangguan family, the Sima clan of the Shangguan lineage, wishes to seek guidance from the master of Lanling Hall."
A Qiu was startled and realized that the driver was actually the tomb keeper of the Shangguan family, and a woman at that.
Then, she suddenly remembered that she had met this tomb keeper once before. It was when she was taken away by Wan Qiqing last time that Sikong Zhao stayed behind to intercept her and told her to do her best to escape to the mule cart on the other side. The driver of the cart at that time was this woman. She wore a bamboo hat at an angle, which concealed her face, but her red dress was very eye-catching.
The tomb keepers of the Shangguan family have been sword masters for generations, such as Shangguan Jin and Shangguan Yuqi. Therefore, this woman who claims to be from the Sima clan of the Shangguan family must also be exceptionally skilled in martial arts.
Shangguan Yuqi said in a hoarse voice, "Aunt Yao is no match for him, we can't let her go!"
A Qiu immediately remembered who this Lady Sima of the Shangguan family was. She was none other than Shangguan Yuqi's benefactor and mentor, and one of the three people in the Shangguan family who held profound significance for her, as mentioned by Shangguan Yuqi—Aunt Yao.
She also had another significant identity: the former Princess of Langya, and the cousin of the last emperor, Sima Yan. When the discussion was about who would go to the Northern Qiang for a marriage alliance, Lady Pei, Mu Huaying, mentioned this in public in the main hall, but Shangguan You angrily rejected it, saying that she was the widow of an elder of the Shangguan family and could not remarry.
During the reign of Emperor Qian Huan, the Sima and Shangguan families were closely related, so this marriage alliance was not surprising. However, when A Qiu heard the words "Sima family," a strange feeling welled up inside her.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, this Princess Langya, the current tomb keeper of the Shangguan family, is likely the only surviving member of the former Huan Sima imperial family.
But the thought flashed through her mind, and she stood up, gave Shangguan Yuqi a reassuring look, and said calmly, "I'll go!"
Although Gongyi Xiu was still flustered, his expression changed and he said, "If you leave, all our previous efforts will be in vain!"
A-Qiu replied to him, "It's alright! If I go out, I'll tell my master that rather than have him take me back, I'd rather die in front of him today."
Having said that, to the astonishment of Gongyi Xiu and Shangguan Yuqi, he lifted the curtain and leaped out.
She was fifty percent certain. Her master wouldn't watch her die in front of him.
At this moment, she had no bargaining chips or capital, but she knew that in front of her master, she herself was the biggest bargaining chip.
Perhaps Gongyi Xiu's words just now strengthened her confidence.
Using her own life to threaten her master and save the people in the carriage might seem shameless. But A Qiu wasn't just putting on an act. The assassination attempt she'd hidden in her right arm was now in her palm.
But if my master catches me and throws me in the Xingfeng Hall prison for three years, it will truly be a living hell.
If you come out already a cripple, what's the point of surviving these three years?
Therefore, if her master refused to let them go, she would really commit suicide right in front of him.
She had just jumped out of the car when she was stunned by what she saw.
Perhaps it was Wen Gongyi Xiu's betrayal, or the severe blow inflicted by Shangguan Yuqi's "Sun and Moon Shining Together" technique, that caused the master to lose his former carefree and elegant demeanor. Instead, he resembled a demon god, his every move ruthless, leaving the red-clad woman, Sima Yao, struggling to defend herself and showing signs of defeat.
He said coldly, "Princess Langya, considering that you are a former official of the previous dynasty and have survived to this day, it is not easy. I am in a very bad mood today, so you should stay away, lest I make a mistake and destroy the last bloodline of the Sima family in my hands, which would be a sin."
Although Sima Yao's sword strike had been defeated, her calm demeanor was just like Shangguan Yuqi's. She said indifferently, "Now that I have entered the Shangguan family, there will be no more Princess Langya in this world. As the guardian of the tomb is entrusted by the head of the family, I must protect these children in the carriage, even if it means my death."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
