Princess Hongzhuang and The Emperor raced out together upon hearing of Jin Wangsun's treason. There were two reasons the two took action: first, Jin Wangsun was a criminal; his escape was a serious problem. Second, Liu Shan Men was Shen Yiren's blood, sweat and tears. The two treated Shen Yiren as family. They couldn't turn a blind eye to the office's predicament. The two, therefore, led a large group of skilled combatants to Liu Shan Men.
Jingan was the only one who sat calmly in the palace. Only maids remained behind with Jingan, who maintained her calm demeanour. She always liked being alone, for the reason that few could match her thinking speed.
Jingan sat as still as a captivating ice statue. Her snow-white skin truly made her resemble a doll. Her long black hair was splayed behind her and swayed with the night breeze. If anyone was to look at her hair, their eyes would trace her hair's movement. That being said, she oozed a livid vibe. Her long eyes were long and up; they made her appear gentle when combined with her large eyes. Her body was petite for a girl, yet not tall. She just had superb proportions. Her torso was short, but her legs were long. Her long, soft, white and luscious legs were highlighted by her dress.
Jingan bore a striking resemblance to her mother, who was once the considered the most beautiful woman in the palace. She inherited her mother's perfectly slender proportions. One could make a strong case that she was her mother's spitting image. She had mother's narrow and prominent shoulders and elegant neck. The only difference was her oversized and voluptuous snow globes.
Jingan shut her eyes and sat still. Soon enough, she heard footsteps in the palace. She turned a deaf ear to the individual and only opened her eyes when he spoke to her.
"You were waiting for me?"
"You're also looking for me, no?"
The two conversed quiet enough to not need to fret about the maids overhearing them. However, it was impossible to avoid people conjuring up ideas when they saw Princess Hongzhuang's fuma candidate chatting with his future sister-in-law in the middle of the night.
"You have something to say to me?"
"It is only right for a wife to bid her husband goodbye, is it not?" rhetorically asked Jingan, giggling mischievously.
Ming Feizhen, to the contrary, was confrontational. Perhaps his blood was roiling. Jingan was always aware she'd see that expression of his if she mentioned his Fuma Jingan identity. She couldn't help feeling gleeful to see the man she failed to kill for three years reveal a look of concern.
Voice stifled, Ming Feizhen said, "It's not appropriate to speak here; let's go somewhere else."
Jingan stood straight up. She didn't know martial arts or Voice Transmission. Hence, she had no choice but to go somewhere else without a complaint. Ming Feizhen left the hall but headed elsewhere. Once Jingan found a desolate place in the imperial garden and nobody was around, Ming Feizhen appeared before her again.
"Jin Wangsun has lost, utterly lost. You also lost again," stated Ming Feizhen. "May I ask how you feel, Your Highness?"
"I can't believe you would dare bring it up. You ruined my plan. Isn't it all because of you, though?" Jingan glared at Ming Feizhen through the corner of her eyes: "Fuma, instead of helping your wife, you helped an outsider. Jing'er is not happy."
The two exchanged blows furtively for three years and never exposed each other. Neither of them mentioned their contest in the shadows. Ming Feizhen genuinely didn't know what to do when she suddenly put on the "You're my husband, so I'm going to involve myself with your affairs" act.
Fearful, Ming Feizhen stammered, "Y-Your Highness, please mind your manners. I am Ming Feizhen…"
"Manners? If you understand the concept of manners, would you go and participate in the fuma selection when you already have me?"
"What do you mean I have you?! You're not mine!"
Jingan subtly smiled. She had a sly and entrancing side underneath her refined exterior. The not-so-tall beauty leaned on her tall husband's chest. Voice muffled, she said, "What do you mean, Fuma? Ever since we got married, every inch of my body has been yours."
Ming Feizhen felt as though Jingan was biting his ear lobe due to her way of speaking while biting down on her bottom lip. He could feel her warm and fragrant breath graze his nose. He felt as though he had fallen into a vixen's tap as she lied on his chest. He desperately tried to back off. The scene resembled the scene of a big man forcing a young girl up against the wall except in reverse.
"Hey, hey, hey! What's this about? I wasn't supposed to be the one who married you! I just got dragged into shoulder the mess."
Jingan naughtily winked and laughed in her charming manner: "I don't care about that. You were the one who went through the rites with me that day, correct? That means you married me."
Ming Feizhen, who should've been boasting and carrying on after Jin Wangsun's complete defeat, felt things didn't add up. Scratch that, something was very wrong!
"What is this woman… planning…?" wondered Ming Feizhen.
When Ming Feizhen heard about Jin Wangsun's escapade from his place to Liu Shan Men, the latter had already vanished from the office. Ming Feizhen was relieved to hear everyone at the office was safe and sound. After the fact, nevertheless, he couldn't shake off the feeling that something was very wrong.
"The Emperor was the one who set Jin Wangsun to arrest with the text. The issue is why he needed to ensnare the latter in a trap. What role does Jingan play in this? There's something wrong with this entire script, but I can't put my finger on what it is exactly," thought Ming Feizhen.
"Since I have found and bid you farewell, Jing'er shall take her leave. Dear, will you occasionally visit me?"
Ming Feizhen's hairs stood up when he heard Jingan's deliberate smitten and gentle "Dear". He couldn't handle listening to another word from her in that tone but didn't dare to tell her off. He replied, "I would not dare have such thoughts. I wish you safe travels, Grand Princess."
"Scaredy cat," taunted Jingan, covering her small mouth with her luscious hand and giggling. She then left.
Ming Feizhen unquestionably won, yet felt as though he lost. He hurried back to Zhaixing Hall. He had figured out the riddle, but he couldn't inform the Emperor he deciphered the message. He had no choice but to pretend he never deciphered it. The duo wasted a lot of time pretending they were unconscious and waited for someone to find them.
Tang Ye was incredibly enamoured by the text. Ming Feizhen overcame the challenge with him, thereby enjoying it together with him at the same time. Since they shouldered the risk together, they shared the spoils. Tang Ye wasn't troubled by the sword spirit again after he witnessed Ming Feizhen beat it. As such, he did his best to view the sword spirit; he could retreat and separate himself from the sword spirit at any moment when he was overwhelmed by the flying swords. Learning the mental cultivation was his biggest catch in the fuma selection.
After Ming Feizhen came back, he stared at the wall and didn't utter a word. Eventually, he blurted, "Something doesn't add up."
Tang Ye inquired, "Big Bro, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing is wrong with me; it's the text on the wall that's the problem," replied Ming Feizhen. Touching his chin, he asked, "Do you still remember the Sword Howl we heard?"
"I do. You said the howl was the power of the power of sword soul progressed into a powerful sword spirit."
"Exactly. Look… you saw my great grandmaster's carving. The sword spirit was unparalleled. In addition, rarely anyone ever visits this building both in the past and now. It's reasonable to say that a sinister sword soul was developed over the course of two decades. The issue is that the sword spirit couldn't have just popped into existence without a trigger. It requires a sharp metal medium to manifest. I thought that it would be perfectly normal to find a sword, dagger or short sabre in here. If there was, then it would be possible to develop a sword soul via one of the blades. Sure, sword soul is wasted on ordinary metal. That being said, it's not unusual.
If you look at it on a deeper level, however, we're deep inside the imperial city here. Who would dare to bring a sharp weapon in here? Even if they used weapons designed exclusively for decoration, they'd use wooden swords. The question, then, is how was the sword soul developed? In other words, somebody left a weapon here with the intent of nurturing a sword soul after my great grandmaster carved the words."
Everybody the Emperor asked to enter and try to decipher the text "fed" the sword spirit's power. Accumulated over twenty years, the text on the white wall completely changed. It developed into something more sinister. Ming Feizhen didn't notice much malicious intent after he deciphered the text, nevertheless. It was as if it never existed.
Ming Feizhen elaborated, "Why has the Sword Howl completely vanished? Even if I deciphered the text, I should be the only one immune to the sword spirit. The sword spirit should still be there; therefore, the Sword Howl should also be there."
Ming Feizhen suddenly reached a conclusion… The only feasible explanation was that somebody had taken the sword soul.
"The individual who placed the weapon in here obviously wanted to develop a sword soul. Once the sword soul was ripe, they sent someone in to take the sword soul and text. Essentially, they killed two birds with one stone. That's one fucking sly schemer!"
Tang Ye finally understood where Ming Feizhen was taking it: "So, the person who took the sword soul was…"
"The one who left that scratch on the wall…"
Ming Feizhen began to think. There were lots of pieces that he couldn't explain. Fortunately, he finally had some clues. He thought long and hard. When he was done, he felt a chill down his spine. He asked, "Tang Ye, you're close with Huo Clan's eldest daughter, right?"
"I guess you could say that."
"I misunderstood you and her were having an affair, and then you told me you drank all night with her, so you're decently close, yes?"
"Yes… we're decently close."
"Tell me everything you two said to each other. Everything you can remember! Quick!"
Tang Ye was frightened by Ming Feizhen's reaction, but he promptly calmed down. He filled Ming Feizhen in on everything. He didn't know Huo Qing'er for long. Still, they did talk about quite a bit with each other.
Ming Feizhen had his eyebrows together the entire recount. He didn't find anything suspicious until he heard about the night Jin Wangsun flew off the handle and hit Huo Qing'er: "Wait! That's it! Miss Huo said she has someone she liked, which infuriated Jin Wangsun, and then she said he's heads and shoulders above Jin Wangsun in every department. Did I get that right? Was that exactly what she said?"
"Yes… it is."
"And then Jin Wangsun thought she was talking about you, which was the reason you two started fighting."
"Yes, that's correct."
"Okay, think again. Do you think the person she mentioned actually exists?"
Tang Ye had a think before replying. His answer clicked the piece in place for Ming Feizhen. The latter instantly figured out several things he couldn't wrap his head around before. Then, he delved deeper into the puzzle. The deeper he went, the more details he found.
"Jingan, what exactly are you after…?" wondered Ming Feizhen.
Ming Feizhen's legs began to take him toward Jingan without his command. He ran fast, but Jingan already left the palace. He decided to chase after her using qinggong whilst repeating to himself what Tang Ye just told him.
"When Miss Huo got drunk that night, she kept mumbling some Hu Ge, Hu Ge. I didn't know who she was calling for, so I ignored her. Is that a clue?"
It was a clue. A big-fat-juicy clue!
The name wasn't Hu Ge… His surname wasn't Hu as in erhu. The "Hu" was the character for tiger, and the "Ge" wasn't song, but "Ge" for brother. She was calling for Brother Hu!
'Jingan, how damn terrifying is this plan of yours?!'
=========
He pulled out a large and sharp blade from Jin Wangsun's chest. Jin Wangsun bled profusely from his chest. He couldn't believe who he saw when he turned his head to look. His heart shattered. He asked, "Why… is it you?"
Jin Wangsun looked at the titan who remained silent. He raised his voice: "Why is it you, Big Cat?!!"
Big Cat never changed. Never. He always served Jin Wangsun loyally and took care of him as a brother, yet he stabbed the latter in the back with a lethal attack whilst wearing the same expression.
"Why did you do this…? You're… you're my heroine's… you're…" wondered Jin Wangsun.
The titan remained emotionless. Calmly, he stated, "Young Master, you are truly… too foolish."
Glossary
* "The name wasn't Hu Ge… " – I elaborated on the original text a little within the text so that it made sense to you as English readers. You would’ve been completely lost if I didn’t. My addition was explaining what characters were mixed up.