Ximen Chuixue gazed at his sword with sincerity and determination.
The black-sheathed sword is ancient and serene, exuding a chilling aura.
He once regarded the sword as his life's destiny, dedicating everything to it.
If he were to die, it could only be from the sword.
Ye Gucheng is the opponent he has chosen. He postponed the decisive battle before because of his wife, and this time, the decisive battle may be postponed again because of Ye Gucheng.
Ximen Chuixue was lost in thought, which was a major taboo for those who wielded the sword, especially for swordsmen about to face a decisive battle.
Ximen Chuixue picked up his sword and silently headed towards the place where the two had agreed to fight.
Ye Gucheng was already waiting there, and Ximen Chuixue looked at him. The man's face was pale, and his breathing was rapid; he was clearly injured.
Ximen Chuixue paused briefly for a moment, staring intently at Ye Gucheng, whose face was deathly pale, and gripped his sword tightly.
Lu Xiaofeng had already told Ximen Chuixue that this Ye Gucheng was not the same Ye Gucheng. Ximen Chuixue was angry because, in his view, this person's behavior was a smear against Ye Gucheng.
How could Ye Gucheng be so weak and pathetic as to show his disheveled side to everyone?
Ximen Chuixue looked coldly at Lu Xiaofeng. He had come to the capital for the decisive battle, but now he had to waste his time on this insignificant person, which made him somewhat impatient.
Lu Xiaofeng met his gaze, a smile hidden in his eyes.
He shouldn't be happy, but he couldn't help feeling happy.
This decisive battle is impossible to take place, and even if the two were to challenge each other after the incident, it would likely be a considerable amount of time later.
Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng were both his friends, and Lu Xiaofeng absolutely did not want to see either of them lose their lives.
Ximen Chuixue turned to look at Ye Gucheng, whose face was pale, and became angrier the more he looked at him. He remained motionless with a cold expression.
The scene was truly bizarre. The person impersonating Ye Gucheng was waiting for Ximen Chuixue to speak, but Ximen Chuixue was unwilling to talk to this imposter, resulting in a stalemate.
The onlookers were puzzled, but no one dared to break the inexplicable silence.
Just then, a loud whistle suddenly rang out in the silence, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
Suddenly, a group of men in black appeared from all sides, subduing the twelve strange masked figures with lightning speed. Ximen Chuixue also made his move upon hearing the whistle. The white-clad man wearing Ye Gucheng's face was filled with shock and disbelief. His movements were far slower than Ximen Chuixue's sword, and he only had time to cover his neck. Even though he realized something was wrong, he was unable to dodge.
Everyone was stunned. The duel was over before it even began. Judging from what they saw, all they knew was that Ximen Chuixue had killed Ye Gucheng unexpectedly. They were confused and shocked.
Ximen Chuixue blew away the blood droplets from the tip of his sword, and a hint of melancholy suddenly appeared on his face that others could not understand.
Lu Xiaofeng stepped forward and removed the mask from "Ye Gucheng's" face, revealing a gaunt man.
"I hope everyone present will refrain from making any rash moves. I will then be able to answer your questions."
Lu Xiaofeng calmed down the martial arts practitioners who had become agitated when Ye Gucheng's true identity was revealed. Yin Xian and the others also tried their best to maintain order. Fortunately, Sikong Zhaixing was not doing his job when selling the silk and only sold half of the silk he was given. Most of the people who came were quite composed and quieted down after a while when they saw the strange situation.
Yan Liang stroked his chin. He wasn't really enjoying the show; it was too fast for him to even react. However, he did understand why Ximen Chuixue was called the "Sword God."
Ye Gucheng was known as the "Sword Immortal," and Ximen Chuixue was known as the "Sword God." If the two were to truly compete in swordsmanship, it was impossible to say who would win. Yan Liang looked at Lu Xiaofeng, whose brows were slightly furrowed as he gazed at the emperor's palace, feeling somewhat uneasy.
At this moment, Ye Gucheng had already killed Chief Steward Wang, leaving only the Prince of the South, who bore the same face as the Emperor, sprawled on the ground.
"Master...?"
The Prince of the South never expected Ye Gucheng to betray him. Had he forgotten the citizens of Baiyun City who had been poisoned?
The emperor remained calm and composed. Although he was about the same age as the Prince of the South and even had a similar face, their personalities were completely different.
"Lord Ye, thank you for your hard work."
The emperor knew the cause and effect of Ye Gucheng's threat. He knew this because the Prince of Taiping requested an audience with him last night before he went to bed.
Although the Prince of Taiping and the Emperor were cousins, their relationship was not close. The Emperor still remembers meeting the Prince of Taiping when he was young and being looked at with the eyes of someone who looked at an idiot. At that time, the Emperor was neither the Emperor nor the Crown Prince. He was young, but he remembered that incident very well.
The Crown Prince of Taiping's visit in the middle of the night clearly indicated that he had something extremely important to discuss. The emperor, who was about to go to bed after his bath, silently dressed again and mustered his energy to receive the Crown Prince of Taiping.
They were told something unexpected.
Gong Jiu shifted all the blame for things that the "Crown Prince of Taiping" shouldn't have known to Ye Gucheng and Lu Xiaofeng. As for why the "Crown Prince of Taiping" got to know Lu Xiaofeng, Gong Jiu blamed Yan Liang for that.
Isn't it perfectly normal to get to know a friend of a friend through a friend of a friend?
The emperor didn't pay much attention to this. He stayed up all night discussing how to solve the problem. Time was of the essence, and even though he had planned carefully, there were still some oversights. After Gong Jiu told the emperor this earth-shattering news, he went outside to meet up with Lu Xiaofeng and the others. He was busy running around all night, only managing to close his eyes for a short rest before dawn.
Gong Jiu couldn't help but feel a surge of pleasure watching Lu Xiaofeng spinning like a top. Therefore, even though having many men under his command would have made things easier for him, he didn't lend them to Lu Xiaofeng. Instead, he leisurely watched Lu Xiaofeng bustling about for his friend until the very end, when he finally lent them out. Of course, he didn't say they were his men, only that they were assassins hired at great expense.
Those people were the same men in black who had dealt with the twelve people atop the Forbidden City.
Meanwhile, Ye Gucheng flicked the blood off his sword and lowered his eyes after hearing the emperor's words of comfort: "I originally intended to assist the Prince of Nan in his rebellion."
"The city lord was coerced, but he cares deeply for the people of the city. This matter is not the city lord's fault," the emperor comforted him calmly.
Ye Gucheng looked at the Prince of the South. The usually elegant young man was now pale, and his eyes were pleading as he met Ye Gucheng's gaze.
The Crown Prince of the Southern Kingdom was weak and lacked resilience, making him unsuitable to be emperor. However, he had an ambitious father. It's usually the son who ruins the father's life, but here it's the father who ruins the son.
Ye Gucheng closed his eyes, sheathed his sword, and stopped looking at the Prince of the South: "Your Majesty can decide what to do with me."
The emperor, of course, would not punish Ye Gucheng. Although he lived deep within the palace, he was quite fond of the affairs of the martial world, as evidenced by his agreement to let Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue fight on the summit of the Forbidden City. However, the rebellious Prince of the South and his heir must be dealt with. Secretly raising private armies and plotting rebellion were serious crimes.
In short, regardless of the circumstances, the Southern King's dream of ascending the throne was shattered. After detaining and disposing of all those involved, the Emperor summoned Lu Xiaofeng to his study.
Lu Xiaofeng was momentarily stunned. Logically speaking, Gong Jiu had contributed the most to resolving this matter, and if anyone was to be summoned, it shouldn't be him. Lu Xiaofeng was unaware that Gong Jiu had shifted the blame onto him, and he went to the Imperial Study in a daze.
A group of people followed to the outside of the Imperial Study. Most of them were people who had a relationship with Lu Xiaofeng. On the one hand, they were worried about Lu Xiaofeng, and on the other hand, they wanted to find out the truth.
Lu Xiaofeng went in alone, and then came out with two other people.
The one in white is Ye Gucheng, and the one in bright yellow robes is obvious...
—It's the emperor!
The emperor came out this time just to catch a glimpse of Ximen Chuixue. He first said some official words to clear Ye Gucheng's name, saying that Ye Gucheng had endured humiliation for his sake and that the decisive battle could not be held as scheduled. Then he apologized to Ximen Chuixue.
"I hope the master will forgive me."
Ximen Chuixue maintained a cold expression, showing no sign of nervousness despite the fact that the person before him was the emperor. The emperor, unperturbed, smiled and spoke of other matters, displaying a remarkably good temper.
Yan Liang thought to himself that this emperor was quite carefree.
The duel between Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue was impossible. After the emperor left, most people left, partly because they couldn't contain their excitement at witnessing such a major event, and partly because they were eager to spread the word.
Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue chatted for a while, but no one heard what they said. The atmosphere between them wasn't exactly harmonious, as both had icy expressions, making it impossible to discern anything. Lu Xiaofeng listened from the side. After their conversation, the two went their separate ways. Lu Xiaofeng stood there silently, looking quite helpless. Yan Liang leaned closer and asked, "What did those two say?"
“We’ll fight again another time.” Lu Xiaofeng sighed. “Should I be thankful they’re not fighting tomorrow?”
"Yes." Tang Tianzong confirmed his idea.
Lu Xiaofeng: "..."
He suspected that Tang Tianzong and Yan Liangxue were deliberately trying to ambush him.
This incident has come to a relatively good end. Lu Xiaofeng, after reviewing the events, suddenly realized that Yan Liangcai was the person who had been involved throughout the entire affair.
He even found Ye Gucheng earlier than Lu Xiaofeng.
Gong Jiu was also an accident.
Speaking of Gong Jiu, Lu Xiaofeng looked around and asked Tang Tianzong, "Where are your two elder brothers?"
Tang Tianzong's face darkened: "He left with Gong Jiu!"
Lu Xiaofeng silently shut up.
Yan Liang said in a low voice, "My brother was taken away by Gong Jiu, and he's not happy."
Sikong Zhaixing interjected, "Don't say anything more, he's already taken out his hidden weapon."
Yan Liang quickly pulled Sikong Zhaixing in front of him to block Tang Tianzong's glare.
Sikong Zhaixing: "Hey!"
Author's Note: Yan Liang: Am I really the main character? I have too little screen time.
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