Too lazy to pretend anymore
Wan Qiqing finally lost his patience and said coldly, "It's because you don't know what's good for you that you don't understand how to pity orphans and widows!" He shook his palms repeatedly, and the wind from his palms caused the air to whistle sharply, turning into a sky-covering palm shadow that firmly trapped Sima Yao within it.
Knowing that his master was about to kill him, A Qiu immediately shouted, "Master, wait!"
With his back to her, Wan Qiqing slowly lowered his raised left palm and said, his expression unreadable, "So you do know that I am your master."
His other palm strike, however, was swift and deadly, sending Sima Yao flying.
Sima Yao slammed his back against the carriage, coughing up a mouthful of blood. He stood up, leaning on the carriage shaft, but his face remained as calm as ever.
Wan Qiqing slowly turned around, his eyes filled with a sinister and ruthless light, and said calmly, "You have quite the nerve."
No one has ever been able to save anyone from his clutches.
Whether as the Northern Qiang National Preceptor, the invincible Tuoba Han on the battlefield, or the most mysterious and witty Lanling Hall Master in the martial arts world, no one has ever been able to order him to do anything, let alone in such a way as to verbally stop him.
But in any case, he did not kill Sima Yao.
A-Qiu's first thought was, "Master still listens to me."
Of course, it is also highly possible that Wanqiqing was unwilling to kill Sima Yao, a member of the former royal family, and A Qiu's appearance gave him a way out, so that he would not have to kill anyone unjustly.
Wan Qiqing was decisive and ruthless, but he was by no means a bloodthirsty maniac. Sima Yao was the tomb keeper of the Shangguan family and a member of the former imperial family. Although he had no real power, he had complex connections behind him. If possible, he did not want to make more enemies.
A Qiu had no time to think. She immediately reached out and held the "Assassinate Qin" weapon across her neck.
The assassin, with a chilling aura, pierced her skin, causing a dull ache.
Upon seeing A Qiu's actions, Wan Qiqing's originally stern eyes narrowed slightly, and A Qiu immediately sensed the subtle change in his expression.
A hint of shock and bewilderment crept into the coldness.
She immediately spoke, each word clear and distinct: "Please, Master, spare us, or A-Qiu will commit suicide here today."
As she expected, Wan Qiqing's expression instantly turned furious. This anger was mixed with cold indifference and gloom, creating a sense of oppressive tension, even more so than when A Qiu first saw him.
The atmosphere in the entire space froze instantly, like thunder pressing down, restrained yet everyone could sense that a torrential downpour, with lightning and thunder, was imminent.
Ah Qiu held the dagger horizontally, showing no sign of backing down.
The blade of the assassination attempt had already pierced her skin, and blood was seeping out and slowly dripping.
At this moment, both Sima Yao outside the car and Gongyi Xiu and Shangguan Yuqi inside were on tenterhooks, because provoking Wan Qiqing was an extremely risky thing, and if they were not careful, they would be doomed.
After what seemed like an endless, dark wait, a cold, cruel smile finally appeared on Wan Qiqing's handsome and perfect face as he said, "Have you overestimated yourself?"
A-Qiu was prepared and replied without hesitation, "This disciple dares not. But this disciple is prepared to risk my life. If I fall into Master's hands again, it will be worse than death."
Wan Qiqing's face changed from cold to disdainful, and finally, as if he had thought of something, a strange smile spread across his lips.
He raised his palm as if to strike, then leaped up and pounced straight at the carriage, completely disregarding A-Qiu's threat!
His accumulated aura shifted constantly in the air, his palm power gathering like thunder and rain clouds, as if he intended to indiscriminately annihilate everyone in the car!
He coldly said at the same time, "Then go die!"
"Not only will you die today, but they will too!"
A Qiu never expected that Wan Qiqing, who was completely enraged, would react in this way, disregarding all consequences and wanting to kill everyone in the area, without caring that even the Eastern Palace Flying Phoenix Head, Shangguan Yuqi, and his eldest disciple, Gongyi Xiu, were among them.
But at this point, it would be pointless for her to think about anything else.
The assassin of Lanling never hesitated to speak her mind; having made a gesture of mutual destruction, she was naturally determined to achieve it.
She gripped the weapon tightly, as if trying to pull the "Assassinate Qin" weapon across her throat.
Since they've staked their lives on it, they're determined to accept defeat.
It only dragged others down with it.
A sudden, sharp pain shot through my brow.
"Stop!" A familiar voice roared in his mind. Startled by the sudden sound, A Qiu trembled instinctively, and the "Assassinate Qin" fell from his hand and hit the ground.
She saw someone in a purple robe, like a cloud, swiftly pass before her eyes, and then, as fast as a ghost, leap onto the roof of the carriage. A snow-white whisk emerged, its silver threads radiating auspicious energy, and it met Wan Qiqing's double palm strike head-on.
Someone else leaned in closer, and in the next instant, she was leaning against a warm and broad chest.
The familiar fragrance of grass and trees, mixed with the scent of ice and snow, gently approached her nose. It was the scent that had haunted her dreams since childhood.
Knowing who it was, her nose stung with tears, and she couldn't say another word.
The usually cold and gentle voice above him had lost its composure and became urgent: "You must not do anything foolish!"
A Qiu's body stiffened, and he could no longer move.
She had imagined the scene of reuniting with him a thousand times.
But she didn't dare face him.
So many things, things that should and shouldn't have happened, have happened between them.
In the end, he chose to give up on her and told her to leave.
If this is his decision, she respects it. But that doesn't mean she feels good about it.
Wan Qiqing's attack was blocked, and he flew back to the ground, landing five zhang away from A Qiu.
Almost simultaneously, Gu Yi rushed out, turning from behind A Qiu to stand in front of her, firmly protecting her figure so that Wan Qiqing could not see her.
On the roof of the carriage, Rong Yuexian, dressed in a magnificent purple robe and now in the attire of a noble official, was Rong Yu, the Grand Palace Eunuch of the current dynasty. He stood solemnly, holding a whisk in his hand.
Beneath her long, snow-white eyebrows, a fleeting red glow appeared on her withered face, indicating that she was suppressing her injuries.
Wan Qiqing missed his attack, but laughed loudly to the sky, displaying extreme arrogance.
Gu Yi and the others remained silent, waiting for him to finish laughing.
Although she was referred to as "the rest of the people," A Qiu could sense that quite a few more people were coming from behind her, but because of Gu Yi's appearance, she didn't even have time to turn around and look.
After Wan Qiqing finished laughing, he said coldly, "Young Master Gu, you've finally come!"
A Qiu's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. It was as if Wan Qiqing had already anticipated that Gu Yi would arrive.
Gu Yi gently pushed A Qiu back, took a step forward, then another. His golden feather cloak fluttered without wind, adding to the chilling atmosphere. He said in a deep voice, "If I had arrived a moment later, what would have happened here? Venerable Wanqi, even tigers don't eat their cubs. Why do you have to kill all your own disciples?"
After their battle at the top of the Jinshui Tower in the South Square of the Palace, Wan Qiqing and Gu Yi finally faced each other again.
Wan Qiqing coldly laughed: "You only know that they are my disciples, but do you know what they have done to me?"
Gu Yi said in a deep voice, "Even if they betrayed you, they don't deserve to die! Even though A Qiu was disobedient, she only wanted to save her companions and senior brother, not your life. Why do you insist on taking her life?"
Wan Qiqing looked at Gu Yi with a gleam in his eyes as if he didn't recognize him, then sneered, "So what people said was true. Young Master Gu really is a gentleman who respects his ruler and his subjects, and his father and son." His tone was full of sarcasm, mocking Gu Yi's pedantic kindness.
Gu Yi remained unmoved and said, "Do you want to see what you look like right now?"
Although A Qiu hid behind Gu Yi without saying a word, she knew what Gu Yi was referring to.
Throughout history, whether in front of the world or in Lanling Hall, Master has always been elegant and refined. Although he possesses the charisma and decisiveness of a grandmaster, he is by no means a demon king who is outwardly aggressive, cold-blooded, and regards human life as worthless.
On the contrary, his personality is as magnificent as the sunrise over a snow-capped mountain, and he also possesses a magnanimous spirit that embraces all things.
But at this moment, Wan Qiqing's white clothes were tattered, and his appearance was ruthless. His eyes, which were once as deep and calm as a lake, seemed to have lost the last trace of human emotion, leaving only endless coldness and ferocity.
That was a cold abyss that made even someone as sharp-tongued as her tremble at the sight of it.
Recalling how her master had ruthlessly killed her and the others, leaving no one alive, she couldn't help but shudder.
This was indeed different from the master she remembered; it was almost as if he had become a completely different person.
Even if Master did have a pragmatic, rational, and impartial side in the past, with clear rewards and punishments and an inviolable authority, this should never be his consistent approach. Because offending the Shangguan family and killing A Qiu and Gongyi Xiu for personal pleasure would not benefit his pragmatic endeavors in the slightest.
Upon hearing this, Wan Qiqing laughed loudly, then coldly said, "I've simply lost patience with fools and am too lazy to pretend anymore!" He pointed at A Qiu, then pointed to Gongyi Xiu, Shangguan Yuqi, and Sima Yao in the room—by this time they had all left the carriage and stood up.
Those he pointed at all felt an immense and sharp sense of oppression.
He said coldly, "They are all so stupid, huddled together, indulging in self-pity, risking their lives, but for what?" He then pointed at A Qiu and Gongyi Xiu and hissed, "Look at the Divine Weapon Hall Master and One Word Hall Master that I have painstakingly trained over the years, what are they doing?"
He then pointed at Shangguan Yuqi and roared, "Shangguan Yuqi, the sword immortal of the Southern Dynasty, why did you use a move that would kill us both?"
He laughed wildly and fiercely, "Do they challenge me like this for the sake of the great cause of the world? For the sake of the eternal stability of the country? Neither. It's for a strange reason, which is the so-called loyalty and righteousness!"
After laughing, he said fiercely, "But they have disappointed me so much and provoked me. Have they ever considered the kindness I have shown them all these years of raising them!"
Only now did A-Qiu realize that his master's narrow-mindedness seemed to have been brought to its extreme by today's events.
He blamed them for everything that led to this outcome, and they were indeed at fault. But no matter what, this was neither in line with his usual tolerant and magnanimous attitude towards his disciples, nor with his consistent principle of prioritizing goals in his actions.
Gu Yi said in a deep voice: "Some people used to say that the burning and massacre of several major cities in the Central Plains were all at your behest, Hall Master. At the time, I did not necessarily believe it, because the Hall Master of Lanling that I heard of did not seem to be such a heartless and insane killer, but rather a noble and unrestrained scholar, as well as a capable person with considerable political achievements."
When Wan Qiqing heard what he said, his gaze was casual and seemingly indifferent as he looked around at everyone in the room, even landing on A Qiu's back.
Gu Yi continued, "Seeing the Hall Master's drastic change in temperament today, and how he treats the lives of his loved ones like dirt, I am finally convinced that what happened back then was your doing."
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