Chapter 66 Part 1

The man in black’s face had been devoid of either shock or joy.

He turned around. Seeing Chu Shao bathed in moonlight, even though he had long anticipated it, he still lost his composure for an instant.

Then he said expressionlessly, “You should not have appeared here tonight.”

In truth, the man in black had only met Chu Shao once, many years ago.

But the other’s facial features were simply too similar to Rong Lian’s. That was how he could deduce, based on a very distant memory, that the other party was the Yao Kingdom princess, Chu Shao.

Chu Shao didn’t immediately answer the man in black’s words.

Instead, she lowered her gaze and looked at Qin Xueyi, lying collapsed in the pool of blood.

Her gaze was gentle and focused. It was unclear what she was thinking.

After staring at the small figure lying in the crimson for a long while, Chu Shao grasped the blood-stained short blade in her hand and asked with a smile, “Why should I not appear here?”

The man in black: “Because the intelligence report stated you would not appear here.”

Chu Shao thoughtfully said, “So, your intelligence likely encountered a problem.”

The man in black had also considered this point.

He frowned deeply, seemingly recalling exactly who had infiltrated Blood Rain Pavilion’s intelligence division, causing them to make a faulty judgment.

But even if the judgment was wrong, the man in black wouldn’t be overly surprised.

Because even if Chu Shao appeared here, it couldn’t change the situation.

Furthermore, he was only responsible for killing the designated targets for his employer. He wouldn’t be so foolish as to bring trouble upon himself by opposing the Qi Kingdom’s royal family, stupidly killing Prince Yan or the Princess Consort Yan.

Chu Shao’s eyes had initially been rather gentle.

But when she saw the bamboo leaf floating on the pool of blood, she froze for a moment.

Because Chu Shao remembered the pleasure boat that had drifted past Spring Pond Street.

The wind had been blowing softly as Qin Xueyi stood at the prow, holding a bamboo leaf, playing a tune for the young lady seated in the wheelchair.

Exactly what tune Qin Xueyi played, Chu Shao could no longer recall. She only remembered that when the music was at its most melodious, Xiao Jin had told Qin Xueyi a story.

In the story, there was a princess whose title was Snow White, and seven little dwarves.

It was a very satisfying lie.

Now, looking at the fresh blood everywhere and the pale wrist that had fallen into the pool of blood, remembering that very beautiful scene from the past, Chu Shao’s mood could not be described as joyful.

Detecting her own mood, Chu Shao said to the man in black, “You killed her. Therefore, I should kill you.”

The man in black was silent for a very long time.

After a while, he frowned and asked, “For a stranger girl, you want to kill me?”

His tone revealed coldness.

Chu Shao replied with a smile, “As far as I’m concerned, compared to Qin Xueyi, perhaps you make me feel like even more of a stranger.”

The man in black held the Nameless Sword, looking expressionlessly at Chu Shao. His words carried arrogance: “You think you can kill me?”

Chu Shao also held a weapon in her hand.

A short blade stained with blood.

The tip of the short blade flickered with silver light, from which one or two drops of dark red blood were falling.

The smile at the corner of Chu Shao’s lips lifted, just like her voice as she raised her head: “If I don’t try, how will I know?”

The words had just fallen when the short blade arrived with them.

Watching the sharp blade approaching his face, the man in black’s expression was cold. He took up the longsword in his hand and clashed against it.

“Ding—”

Sword tips collided, cold light interlaced.

In just the span of a breath, the two had exchanged over ten moves, repeatedly thrusting toward each other’s vital points, clearly holding nothing back.

Observing Chu Shao’s moves, the man in black sensed something was wrong.

Blocking an attack, he sternly questioned, “From where did you secretly learn this swordsmanship?”

Chu Shao held the short blade, her posture poised and elegant. But the moves she unleashed were extremely deadly.

As if she had heard a particularly interesting joke, she laughed even more happily: “What sword art I’m using, can it be that you, Sir, don’t recognize it?”

The man in black certainly recognized it.

Looking across the Nine Provinces and Four Seas, apart from the direct disciples of Shen Manor, no one else could possibly execute the Flying Stream Sword Art.

In his view, Chu Shao was clearly not included among those people.

Although Chu Shao was Rong Lian’s child, she was not material for learning the sword.

Even if she had suddenly had all her meridians cleared and become a martial arts prodigy, it was absolutely impossible for her to have cultivated such formidable swordsmanship in just a few short years.

The man in black was somewhat surprised. But it was merely surprise.

Even if Chu Shao was here today, he and Shen Lan would still carry out the assignment. It was only considering Rong Lian that they wouldn’t deliver a killing blow to Chu Shao.

Right now, what he needed to do was naturally kill the two people inside the house.

Otherwise, once Prince Yan’s reinforcements arrived, matters would likely become much more troublesome.

The man in black did not want Chu Shao’s life. Several times before, he had opportunities to put her to death, but ultimately held back.

Because of Rong Lian. Also because Chu Shao had injuries on her hands, and the weapon she was using was not a suitable one.

But continuing like this was not a solution either.

He needed a swift resolution.

The man in black thought this in his heart, and in practice, he acted accordingly.

In the next move, the longsword in his hand swam like a white silk ribbon, like a white dragon bursting from the water’s surface. Over ten sword shadows rushed toward Chu Shao’s face, leaving her nowhere to dodge.

Chu Shao, disadvantaged by her weapon, could only just manage to evade the majority of the sword light in that instant.

Then she raised her short blade and flew up into the air.

Slashing out several arcs of sword light, she countered that white dragon leaping from the water.

“Ding—”

The white blades clashed again. The man in black brought down several strokes of his sword, but merely succeeded in cutting Chu Shao’s sleeve.

Chu Shao’s sword momentum was like a white rainbow piercing the sun. If her opponent were not the man in black but someone else, that person would likely have already been riddled with holes.

But at this moment, her opponent was the man in black. So, she only managed to sever a few strands of his hair.

Dust and smoke filled the air, then dispersed.

After exchanging several rounds of sword strikes, the two simultaneously withdrew their blades, standing on opposite sides of the courtyard.

Judging by the situation, it was actually a draw.

The man in black was silent.

Though he couldn’t believe this fact, the fact remained the fact.

He was already one of the top masters in Blood Rain Pavilion. Yet, in a situation where he couldn’t use lethal moves against Chu Shao, defeating her still seemed somewhat difficult.

And Chu Shao was so young. This was completely unreasonable.

The man in black didn’t know exactly when Chu Shao had become this formidable.

He thought everything might be related to Rong Lian, or perhaps related to that mad Imperial Preceptor.

After a long silence, the man in black looked at Chu Shao and said slowly, “Chu Shao, you are indeed Rong Lian’s daughter. Rong Lian wanted to help her own enemies, and you also want to help Great Yao’s enemies. You are both truly something.”

Chu Shao shook her head: “Even without Qi, without Prince Yan, other nations would have invaded Yao. Great Yao was doomed to fall sooner or later.”

The man in black gave a cold snort: “Sophistry.”

“Sophistry?”

A difficult expression appeared on Chu Shao’s face: “But, Hero Shen, aren’t you also working for an enemy nation right now? Which nation’s organization Blood Rain Pavilion is, surely you know better than I do?”

The man in black’s face changed slightly. He seemed somewhat angered.

“If we hadn’t submitted to Blood Rain Pavilion, Shen Manor would have long ceased to exist. You… you and your mother are both calamities. Now what right do you have to criticize me?”

Chu Shao was no stranger to the word “calamity”. Thus, she only smiled, offering no words, not answering the man in black’s remark.

Moonlight flowed, illuminating everything.

The wind blew. Within Chu Shao’s sleeves, a clean silver light shimmered.

Under the man in black’s watch, she walked forward step by step, but not towards him. She brushed past the man in black and stopped before Qin Xueyi’s corpse.

Then she reached out.

Chu Shao untied the fastening ribbon and removed the plain cloak draped over her shoulders, covering the girl’s small body with it.

The smile in her eyes was still gentle. It was a reasonless, almost jarringly abrupt tenderness.

The plain cloak covered up that blood.

Chu Shao turned around and said to the man in black, “It’s March now. The weather is still very cold. A little girl like her, falling asleep in the courtyard, would catch a chill.”

The man in black said nothing.

Chu Shao looked at the man in black and sighed softly: “I have no interest in criticizing you. Nor do I care what choices you ultimately make. Whom you want to kill originally had nothing to do with me either.”

“But why did you have to kill Qin Xueyi?”

The man in black countered, “Why couldn’t I kill her? What does she have to do with you?”

Chu Shao smiled: “You killed her. My Prince will be sad. If My Prince is sad, I will feel very troubled.”

“I will want to kill you.”

…

Only after hearing this whole string of words did the man in black realize that the reason Chu Shao had fought him, and had declared she wanted to kill him—

was simply because of Prince Yan Xiao Jin.

This reason wasn’t sufficient to convince the man in black. So he asked coldly, “If it is only for Prince Yan of Qi, why did you drape your cloak over this girl’s corpse?”

The man in black would rather believe that Chu Shao had genuinely felt a moment of compassion than believe she had done this deed for Prince Yan.

Having spoken too much, Chu Shao was beginning to grow impatient: “I already explained it very clearly earlier. Do you still not understand?”

“If Xiao Jin finds out this little girl is dead, he will be sad.”

“If he sees her corpse, Xiao Jin will also be sad.”

Even as she spoke such words, Chu Shao didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate about them at all.

Because her thinking had, consciously or unconsciously, fixated on a certain strange level.

Chu Shao could recognize that Xiao Jin would be sad upon learning of Qin Xueyi’s death. But she wouldn’t perceive that the various actions she had taken, when traced back to their source, were simply because she didn’t want Xiao Jin to be sad.

She only knew that the man in black had made Xiao Jin unhappy. Therefore, she should kill him.

Chu Shao thought her own behavior was perfectly normal, without anything inappropriate.

However, the man in black was already furious.

He should have hated Rong Lian, yet he truly couldn’t bring himself to hate her.

But he was utterly disappointed in Chu Shao.

Because of Chu Shao, Rong Lian had chosen to remain in the Imperial Palace and not escape with him. That was why she had ultimately died in the Glazed Palace.

Chu Shao was the child Rong Lian had fought to the death to protect.

Now, how could she be so foolish as to wholeheartedly side with the enemies who destroyed their nation?

Thinking of this, the man in black said coldly to Chu Shao, “Since your heart is set on the enemy, today I have no further reason to spare you.”

With those words, he flew up, sword thrust toward Chu Shao.

It had to be said, the man in black had been completely led astray by Chu Shao. He had long forgotten that his mission tonight was to assassinate those three.

Now, all he wanted was to eliminate Chu Shao. The orders to carry out his master’s commands were thrown to the back of his mind.

Chu Shao was very satisfied with this situation.

So satisfied that her mood became extremely joyful. A smile curled on her lips. Even the moves she executed were swifter and more vicious than usual.

What’s more, the wound on her palm was bleeding and hadn’t yet been treated with medicine.

With every swing and slash, the hilt constantly rubbed and scraped against the wound. The uncoagulated wound tore open again and again.

The blood was moist, sticky, warm, carrying the scent of rust.

She was simply too happy.

So happy that she knew perfectly well that in her current state, she absolutely couldn’t beat the man in black, who had not yet restrained his full edge.

But Chu Shao’s sword still grew faster and faster. As the white blade cut open the man in black’s elbow, she completely failed to notice that her own neck had also been cut with a line of blood.

Alas, the short blade in her hand was indeed somewhat unsuitable.

After a hundred moves exchanged in the courtyard, though the man in black showed slight signs of fatigue, he was still in much better condition than Chu Shao, who was at the end of her strength.