Wind and Thunder Cleaver
Seeing her turn around, the old woman shouted in a strange, hoarse voice, "Where did this little wretch come from! How dare you trespass into the forbidden area of Qiwu!"
Just as A-Qiu was about to offer a fawning explanation, the old woman moved before she could speak.
It is a palm.
The palm is shaped like a slash, sharp as a knife.
With over sixty years of accumulated skill, his palm strike possesses the speed and power of lightning.
The palms are calloused and brimming with energy; even the most renowned ancient weapons might not possess the same ruthless blade intent as these palms.
When the two palms are crossed and overlapped, they form a net that covers the sky and the earth.
Perhaps it was just a misperception, but A-Qiu seemed to hear the sounds of wind and thunder rising from all directions.
The old woman's vertebrae, rising one by one, crackled slightly, as if fire were erupting from the water and the roar of tigers and leopards could be heard.
Once the old woman's palm strike was complete, it created a cage within a radius of about ten feet in all directions. A Qiu had a feeling that even birds that flew inside would not escape being struck and their feathers and claws torn apart.
Assassins always avoid direct confrontation. This is because the essence of assassination is to kill the enemy, not to engage in combat.
Master once said to A Qiu with a smile, "If you add up all the young heroes in the martial arts world today, they probably wouldn't be enough to kill you with a single finger." He added, "Because what we learn is the art of killing."
Ah Qiu also asked his master what the difference was between the art of killing and the martial arts tradition.
The master smiled and said, "Assassins have countless methods; even a flying flower or a plucked leaf can kill. Their principle is only one sentence: in the shortest time and at the fastest speed, find the flaw and put the assassin to death."
The senior disciple on one side asked, "What about the martial arts family's heritage?"
The master initially smiled but did not answer. Only after being pestered by his disciples did he reply, "The martial arts school emphasizes distinguishing between close and distant relatives and maintaining an orderly lineage. We should stop when we have made a point, without hurting anyone's feelings."
The people of Lanling burst into laughter.
However, his senior brother, Gongyi Xiu, kept his master's words in mind. His lineage differed from A Qiu's; he was the sect's foremost strategist, known as "Jade-Faced Marquis Liu." From then on, his motto was "Making friends through martial arts," meaning he would avoid fighting if possible. Now, he held a very high official position.
Since becoming famous as "Jing Ke", A Qiu has once entered thirteen provinces at night, easily taking the heads of high-ranking officials. He can enter mansions, noble residences, government offices, and military camps as if they were empty.
Her most sensational feat was taking the heads of the governor, prefect, and military commander of Qingzhou in a single night, causing Qingzhou to become a terrifying place in the hearts of officials, with no one daring to take up their posts.
It was after that incident that the master ordered A-Qiu to retire and prepare to enter the palace as a dancer and musician.
He said, "My expectations of you are not just that of an assassin."
People in Lanling have always respected their teachers' orders. A Qiu listened, and being highly skilled and daring, she didn't take the imperial palace too seriously.
Now she finally understands that the reason she could come and go freely in the past was because she had never met a true martial arts master.
The way of the assassin is to flee far away if the first strike misses.
But before the absolute strength honed through more than sixty years of immersion day and night, the move is already locked in, every direction is sealed off. There is simply no room for changing moves, using tricks, or escaping.
A Qiu suddenly realized that her senior brother was the smartest.
It turns out that it's best not to take action if possible. Because taking action carries the risk of death.
She hadn't thought of this part before because it was always bystanders who died.
Ah Qiu is facing the greatest danger since his debut.
She gathered her energy and focused her body, her eyes suddenly becoming as bright as lightning. She slowly separated her palms in front of her, one in front of the other.
His aura also became incredibly powerful and profound.
Like a wild beast that has suddenly encountered a powerful enemy, its fur stands on end and it stands there glaring at its predator.
A direct confrontation is not her forte, but given the circumstances, she made the only wise choice at the moment: there was no way to avoid it, so she had to fight head-on.
The result of a hard-fought battle is a decisive battle of life and death, with the victor determined immediately.
On the walls of Qiwu Palace, hidden atop a giant paulownia tree, Gu Yi's pupils narrowed slightly, his sleeves fluttering as he prepared to strike.
But when he sensed someone coming from the doorway, he immediately lowered his sleeves again.
With such a commotion, it's impossible not to alert others.
A Qiu's delicate, snow-white hand clashed with the old woman's palm, which resembled a chicken claw with distinct joints.
The two passed each other. An extremely domineering and powerful internal force struck A Qiu directly from his palm. A Qiu felt as if his meridians were about to burst, but before he could catch his breath, he immediately gathered all his strength into his other palm and fought back with all his might.
The palm strike they just exchanged was merely a preliminary test between them.
The next palm strike was the real life-or-death decision.
A sword, as bright as moonlight, suddenly sliced between the two of them.
The sword was as thin as paper, seemingly capable of cutting through a hair with a breath. Its timing was impeccable, perfectly precise. Just as the two men's palms met and they passed each other.
Just before the decisive, life-or-death blow.
The sword is engraved with two beautiful seal characters: “Xiuyi”.
The sword came without warning, because the two combatants were completely focused on each other and had to keep quiet so that no one noticed the sudden appearance of a stranger.
A Qiu immediately dodged back several feet before raising his head to look at the person wielding the sword.
She had originally thought that someone who wielded such a famous sword must be a hero.
The one who could sever the vital connection between two top masters with a single, exquisitely skillful sword strike must be a refined, elegant, and unrestrained young swordsman.
However, she was terribly wrong.
Under the moonlight, the other person stood with their back to her, their bright yellow dress embroidered with phoenix patterns hanging low, their jet-black hair cleverly coiled into a snake bun, adorned with a jeweled phoenix hairpin that glittered, revealing a swan-like long neck, slender shoulders like jade, and a graceful figure more beautiful than water.
Not a hero, but a beauty. And an extremely beautiful one at that.
She gently sheathed her sword and said softly, "The young girl has only wandered in by mistake. It's not worth your anger, Aunt. I'll take her out now."
The old woman, still reeling from her clash with A-Qiu, gasped for breath and shouted, "The ruined Qiwu Palace is a forbidden area; everyone in the palace knows this. Yet she insisted on barging in. How can we be sure she wasn't sent by that person to deliberately oppose us?"
The beautiful woman in the bright yellow dress replied softly, "If so, Lan Xiu will punish and discipline you. Aunt only needs to remain hidden here and not let others discover your whereabouts. After the forty-year agreement is fulfilled, you can leave the palace and be free."
Hearing their conversation, A Qiu was horrified. She suddenly remembered who this woman in yellow was.
The Four Constellations of Tianji were the emperor's hidden guards who had been hidden in the palace since previous dynasties. Strictly speaking, they protected the Sima imperial family of the previous dynasty. The current dynasty was named Dayan, and the new emperor was installed by Grand Tutor Gu Yi after the execution of the traitors of the previous dynasty. He was from the Xie clan of Shanyang. Xie Lang also followed the system of the Four Constellations of Tianji of the previous dynasty and set up a secret guard in the palace specifically for the emperor's safety, called the Flying Phoenix Guard.
The four guards, namely the Crimson Ibis, White Crane, Blue Luan, and Black Swan, are all female.
The person before them, who called himself "Lanxiu," was undoubtedly Consort Chen, the first lady of the harem who held the Xiuyi Sword bestowed by the emperor and now commanded the six palaces of concubines. She was formerly the leader of the Flying Phoenix Guards, known as "Crimson Ibis."
The old woman glared at A-Qiu one last time, spat, and turned to disappear into the shadowy buildings of the abandoned palace.
A Qiu was filled with unease, unsure whether she should pay her respects to Consort Chen.
Consort Chen still stood with her back to her, and said softly, "Aunt Yuanyi has a strange temper and does not want to be disturbed, so I specially sealed this palace as a forbidden area, leaving her a quiet place to live in seclusion."
She acts impulsively and without restraint; don't come here again.
A Qiu mentally repeated the two characters "Yuan Yi" several times, feeling that they were very familiar, but he just didn't know where he had heard them before.
Consort Chen said slowly, "I know nothing about what happened tonight, and you were not here either. Let's go."
The tone of the sentence was particularly emphasized, as if it were being spoken to someone else.
After saying this, she suddenly rose up and passed away without even touching the ground.
A-Qiu stared blankly at the yellow hem of her dress disappearing into the moonlight, thinking to herself that this noble lady truly kept her word, keeping her back to him from beginning to end and not even glancing at him once.
Therefore, A Qiu had never met Consort Chen.
Just now, Consort Chen was quite humble in front of Aunt Yuan Yi, saying that A Qiu had only wandered in by mistake and that she would take her out. That was mostly just a polite remark, meaning that she would take full responsibility for offending Yuan Yi.
The truth is that she left on her own, without caring whether or how A-Qiu left.
A Qiu braced herself with her hands and spat out a mouthful of blood. Aunt Yuan Yi's palm strike had seriously injured her. Looking at the crimson bloodstains under the moonlight, she thought to herself that it was fortunate it wasn't black blood, which showed that although the palm strike was powerful, her internal organs hadn't been damaged thanks to her strong inner strength.
She struggled to her feet, circulated her qi for a moment to regulate her breathing, and then walked out of the abandoned palace.
As soon as she stood outside the gate of the ruined Qiwu Palace, she gazed at the monotonous rocks, trees, pavilions, and towers under the vast starry sky and couldn't help but drift into a daze.
Although she had memorized the palace map before entering the palace and secretly studied the terrain from the palace gate to Tangli, this was only her second night in the palace, and Qiwu Palace was a remote and abandoned palace with no inhabitants, not an important location.
Therefore, she only skimmed over the map at the time and did not deliberately try to memorize it.
so……
A faint whistling sound of black clothing cutting through the air came from behind. This time, A Qiu didn't need to turn around to know who was coming.
She knew that with Gu Yi's cultivation level, she wouldn't be able to detect him if he deliberately concealed his presence. However, Gu Yi never considered himself a thief when traveling at night in the palace, so he never made any deliberate attempts to hide.
Sure enough, Gu Yi's calm voice sounded behind her: "You...don't know how to get back, do you?"
So, Lanling's chief assassin, Master Qiu, really did get lost in the palace tonight.
If Consort Chen hadn't appeared to stop it, Gu Yi would have taken action.
He could see very clearly that A Qiu had the strength to fight Chu Yuanyi head-on, but there was no need to fight him to the point of losing half his life.
However, when Consort Chen, who held the "Cultivation Ritual" and was known as "Golden Goblet Moonfall," arrived, he naturally avoided her.
The current emperor Xie Lang's first wife died early. Consort Chen and Xie Lang were childhood sweethearts and had served as palace guards in the previous dynasty.
After Gu Yi quelled the palace turmoil through violence, he installed Xie Lang, a member of the prestigious and long-established Shanyang Xie family, as emperor.
Xie Lang lived up to his expectations, first promoting Li Lanxiu, a highly respected general in the palace, to the position of commander of the "Flying Phoenix Guard," bestowing upon him the sword "Xiuyi" to ensure his safety. Thereafter, Li Lanxiu swiftly and decisively purged powerful clans, eliminated dissidents, and eradicated potential threats in the court.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
