Somewhere at the back of the mountain, in the Inner Yard.
Su Qianqian and Rao Yinyin sat on a huge, comfortable bed in a charming room decorated in pink and red.
“Sister Rao, do you have any idea why the dean told the Inner Yard disciples to go into hiding?”
“Something strange is going on with the Spirit Palace’s array. It appears we’re under attack again.”
Su Qianqian held her huge white sword in her arms and stared at the ceiling with a dazed look in her eyes.
Her spiritual sense extended out and beyond the roof. She could see the array’s occasional shimmer and waver. It was clear that a powerful force was attacking it viciously, and she even suspected there might be more than one assailant.
The array had protected the Tiansang Spirit Palace for many years. It had rarely displayed such violent fluctuations of energy.
The masked man had been the one who violently ripped the array apart the last time.
“There’s always someone trying to infiltrate the Spirit Palace and attack it. They have always been stopped outside our gates.”
“The Holy Vassal could not breach the Inner Yard during their last attempt too.”
Rao Yinyin’s eyes shone with indulgence as she patted Su Qianqian’s head.
Her eyes slid over Su Qianqian’s blade discreetly. She sighed inwardly.
The famed sword…
Who cared if it were a famed sword!
It was nothing but a curse that brought its master bad luck. If she could, she would abandon the cursed blade in the wilderness. Let those madmen kill themselves over it.
Perhaps the young woman before her could finally enjoy a good night’s rest.
Rao Yinyin’s heart twinged as she combed her fingers through Su Qianqian’s hair. Su Qianqian appeared to relish the touch. She lay down on the bed and released her hold on the sword temporarily.
“Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you weren’t the master of this sword…”
Rao Yinyin couldn’t help but murmur to herself when she saw how relaxed the young woman was.
The responsibility of carrying a famed sword wasn’t something someone as young as Su Qianqian could bear. One had to pay the price for such power.
The young child had lost the chance to experience the typical joys of childhood from the moment she took the sword.
“No.”
Su Qianqian shook her head and replied solemnly. “I’m going to do my duty as a custodian of this sword. Someday, I’ll make the Su family rise again.”
“If that day truly comes…”
“Yes,… he’ll… probably be thrilled…”
Rao Yinyin cupped Su Qianqian’s cheeks with her palms. She could sense the young girl’s sorrow.
Her father had died in battle for this sword. Was it really worth it?
“Alright, let’s not worry about the future. We should have a good rest tonight. When we wake up tomorrow morning, your master would have fixed everything.”
Rao Yinyin decided they were going to stop talking about this upsetting subject and smiled.
She slipped her hands under the young girl’s armpits and tickled her. Su Qianqian burst out into giggles and begged for Rao Yinyin to stop.
It didn’t take long before the two young women were tussling around on the bed.
BOOM!
A fearsome, jarring sound emerged from the back of the mountain and startled the two young women.
No outsiders ever entered these residences from the back of the mountain. The most recent arrival and addition to the group of residents was none other than Xu Xiaoshou. Was he back?
“Brother Little Beast, is that you?” Su Qianqian called out tentatively.
Rao Yinyin frowned. Regardless of how urgent Xu Xiaoshou needed to return here, they would still have expected him to enter the residence through the main gate.
But from the back of the mountain? He wouldn’t have the gall to do that!
Yet, the sound had come from the hot springs at the back of the mountain and it was the deepest and most remote part of the residence. Why would anyone be out there?
“Who is it?”
The air was still and heavy with tension. The sound of their heartbeats appeared almost deafening.
Su Qianqian was a little nervous. Was it another assassin?
She grabbed the Epitaph of City Snow. It seemed to give her strength. Something cold flashed across her eyes as calm came over her.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A series of polite knocks came from the door. Moments passed in silence before the door creaked open.
“My apologies. I think I’m lost again. Excuse me… do you know the way to the Inner Yard?”
The man spoke in a raspy voice that sounded like his throat had not known water for a decade. It was as grating as the buzzing of a chainsaw and sent panic spiking through one’s blood.
The stranger was dressed in a long black robe. His face was concealed and his hands gloved. It was as if mere contact with a slight breeze would turn him to dust.
The only parts of him exposed were his deep, murky eyes. They appeared like the clouded eyes of the dead, and the very white of his eyes was yellow.
“The masked man?”
The hearts of the two young women sank when they saw the man.
So, the Holy Vassal was attempting to infiltrate the Spirit Palace again.
The masked man had sneaked into the Inner Yard to hunt down Su Qianqian while a fierce battle was going on outside.
Rao Yinyin instinctively stepped forward and shielded Su Qianqian and her sword. She was alarmed, and her voice was trembling. “Who are you? Why have you barged into my room?”
The masked man did not spare her a single glance. Instead, his eyes looked right past her and fell on the huge white sword. They were bright with joy and surprise.
“Step aside.”
Rao Yinyin stood stubbornly before Su Qianqian. With a wave of her hand, a pink mist appeared in the room.
“An illusion?”
A strange look appeared in the masked man’s eyes. He finally stared Rao Yinyin straight in the eye. “You will not fool me with such a minor illusion. I’ll say it again. Step aside.”
Rao Yinyin did not utter a word. Her eyes were cold as her hands moved in a flurry and went through a series of seals.
Before she could unleash her attack, the sword in Su Qianqian’s hands shook violently. Then suddenly a torrent of cold energy surged forth. It struck Rao Yinjin and blood streams from her lips as the force blasted her toward the masked man.
Without batting his eyelid, the masked man smacked her away and sent her crashing straight into a wall.
BOOM!
The wall collapsed and fell apart.
Panic seized Su Qianqian, and she could only stare at the sword in her hands in shock and bewilderment. The blade had been like family to her, and she couldn’t understand why it had suddenly spiraled out of control.
“I didn’t do it…”
“Run!”
Rao Yinyin hollered with everything that she had. She already knew that Su Qianqian hadn’t unleashed that attack.
It was the masked man’s fault for being too powerful. They were worlds apart. No matter how strong the bond between Su Qianqian and Epitaph of City Snow, he could easily wrestle control of the sword from Su Qianqian with a single glance.
“Is that Epitaph of City Snow?”
Something changed in the murky depths of the masked man’s eyes. They glinted with fondness as he stared at the sword in Su Qianqian’s hands.
“Can I… have a look at it?” He stepped forward and reached for the sword.
Su Qianqian stared at the gloved hands, and a strange sensation of trepidation seized her.
His hands did not resemble the hands of an ordinary person. Instead, the masked man’s hands…
… were exceedingly flat, like they had no thumbs!
“No.”
Su Qianqian took one step back as she clutched onto her sword tightly and stared at the man before him. He might be the most powerful enemy who had descended upon the Spirit Palace tonight.
She couldn’t run. What would happen to Rao Yinyin if she ran?
“Don’t worry. I harbor no ill will. I just want to look…”
Su Qianqian couldn’t take the screams ringing in her ears any longer. She held the sword before her. Winds suddenly whipped up and wailed as the surrounding temperature plummeted.
The masked man’s eyes gleamed again. The desire in them now intensified.
“A famed sword indeed. I…”
“Don’t come any closer!” Su Qianqian hollered. The fear and rage churning inside her exploded simultaneously as she swung her huge white blade down.
“Heavy Tomb!”
The black shadow of a tomb descended from the heavens, falling upon and melding with Su Qianqian’s enormous sword so suddenly that the air rumbled from the rush of its descent.
Then the blade stopped abruptly about ten feet away from the masked man.
A terrifying force flung Su Qianqian back. The young woman smashed through brick and mortar as she flew out the roof before finally landing in a field of flowers behind the house.
The web of her thumb had split open and blood gushed out. But she kept her grip on the sword.
The masked man looked heavenward, appearing to be caught in a bitter memory. After a long time, he turned his eyes towards Su Qianqian, who had fallen to the ground, and shook his head.
“Don’t be a fool. You’re only going to get yourself hurt…”
“No sword in this world dares to attack me. Not even a famed sword would dare to do so!”