Chapter 870: At the Dim Light, The Lone Figure Sitting on the City Wall

Night had fallen, and lamps lit up every home in the capital of Western Chu. Some were joyful, some sorrowful.

The palace gates, which had been locked for the night curfew, opened one by one. An unconventional and improper carriage slowly drove in, from which alighted a gaunt old man not dressed in official robes. The new Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, who had just been appointed, was about to step forward to assist him but was waved off by the old man.

The old man followed the Grand Eunuch, who had inexplicably become the chief eunuch of Great Chu. The latter’s heart was filled with trepidation, unsure why the Grand Tutor insisted on visiting the palace late at night to see His Majesty, and even more puzzled why His Majesty chose to meet this Grand Secretariat in the Taiji Hall.

The gates of Taiji Hall were wide open. Sun Xiji ascended the steps with difficulty, one laborious step at a time. Inside the hall, lights flickered, and the old man could vaguely discern the Emperor's figure.

The Grand Eunuch sensed a heavy, foreboding atmosphere. The Emperor of Great Chu was neither seated on the dragon throne awaiting the old man nor had she emerged from the hall to greet this stabilizing force of the Great Chu dynasty.

She stood beyond the hall's threshold, clad in a dragon robe.

With her hands clasped behind her back, she displayed an arrogant posture, keeping people at bay.

Sun Xiji stopped some ten paces from the hall entrance, gazing at her. The old man's weathered face grew even more bitter. It wasn't just because of the insidious assassination attempt at the Grand Secretariat's residence today; it was more because of the frank rejection this woman now displayed for the first time, leaving the old man both disheartened and guilty.

After the Grand Eunuch bowed and retreated away from the hall, Sun Xiji slowly said, "Your Majesty, the Song family has failed Great Chu so grievously, and disgraced its scholars. This old subject, Sun Xiji, with my dim eyes, cannot escape responsibility..."

The woman, her face obscured by the lights from within the hall, interrupted Sun Xiji, "When meeting the monarch of a nation, should not a subject kneel?!"

The old man, whom even the former Emperor of Liyang had treated with courtesy, showed no sign of anger or embarrassment. Instead, he felt a sense of relief. Sun Xiji clapped his hands together within his sleeves and knelt without hesitation. "Your subject Sun Xiji, Grand Secretariat of the Chancellery of Great Chu, respectfully greets Your Majesty!"

She sneered, "Grand Secretariat, you entered the palace to meet the emperor tonight without your official robes. Given your advanced age, I shall not punish you. Speak your mind; I am all ears!"

Sun Xiji kept his head bowed, speaking with all his might in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the Song family cannot be trusted, nor can the officials at court. Even this old subject, Sun Xiji, may not be trustworthy. But I implore Your Majesty to trust the two hundred thousand soldiers on the front lines. I implore Your Majesty not to take out your anger on all the valiant heroes who died for Great Chu; do not..."

Empress Jiang Si of Great Chu, for the second time, unceremoniously interrupted the old man. "Take out my anger? Don't forget I stand before you right now, just ten paces away! If I truly wished to take out my anger on you all, do you really believe you would live past sunset?"

She raised her voice, "The Song family may be blind, but I can tell you, Sun Xiji, even if there were no Cao Changqing in the capital, no Imperial Guard loyal to me, I could still slaughter all rebellious ministers and traitors who dare to betray the Jiang clan of Great Chu!"

Sun Xiji pressed his palms to the cold ground, his hands cold, his heart even colder.

After a moment of silence, the old man heard only her voice filled with immense sorrow, "I alone possess ten thousand swords, originally intended to kill the Liyang army, not the subjects of Great Chu, and certainly not..."

The mumbled words that followed were too faint for the elderly man to hear clearly.

Sun Xiji remained kneeling there, speechless.

The large doors suddenly closed. Through the closed doors, the Empress of Great Chu sneered, "Leave now. Please be assured, Sun Xiji, and please let Great Chu be assured, since I am the daughter of the former Emperor, I shall die in the imperial palace, just as he did!"

The old man slowly rose with difficulty, looking at the closed doors.

The Grand Secretariat, now shut out, turned and departed. He walked down the steps of the imperial path, which was carved with golden dragons and auspicious clouds. The subservient Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial, like a night owl, stood quietly, having waited there for a long time.

It was only then that this old man, who had entered the heart of Great Chu's power in his twenties, realized that over the years, he had exchanged pleasantries with eunuchs only a handful of times. He gave a self-deprecating smile, and still, tonight, he uttered no polite words before silently leaving the imperial palace.

In a secluded courtyard, where the lights were dimming, she sat alone on the threshold in her dragon robe. A pair of Southern Barbarian silk boots were neatly placed by her feet, and the knife rested across her knees. She lowered her head and carefully arranged precious copper coins, collected over many years, from one end of the scabbard to the other.

She was regarded as the ruler of Great Chu, yet she always felt that her true possessions were merely these copper coins.

The two elders she trusted most in her life—the old man in the sheepskin robe and Uncle Qi Daizhao—both regarded her as a once-in-a-century swordplay genius. Yet, on her last, and only, journey through the jianghu with him, she was always reluctant to practice swordplay with Li Chungang. Sixty years ago, countless martial arts masters yearned for a few words of guidance from Sword God Li, but she herself didn't know why she hesitated. Perhaps she had seen that person practice with a knife and found it too arduous and terrifying, so she dared not practice swordplay. All she knew was that she was so timid, had been timid for so many years, and had been bullied for so many years. Why should she practice swordplay and engage in fighting when she could easily study and earn money? In truth, at that time, she dared not admit one thing: if, by some chance, she truly became an Earthly Immortal through sword practice, would she really stab him to death with a single strike?

Regardless of the traitorous actions of the old scoundrel Song Wenfeng, who today shed his gentlemanly facade, one of his remarks did voice the feelings of many old loyalists of Great Chu: even if Northern Liang was her (Jiang Ni's) temporary home, it would never be her place of peace.

The Xu and Jiang families did not have the typical squabbles of ordinary neighbors. Rather, the Xu family's iron cavalry had trampled over the lands of Great Chu, Xu Xiao himself had forced the former Emperor and Empress of Great Chu to their deaths, and Xu Fengnian's father had personally killed Empress Jiang Si's parents.

However, if that were the only reason, she, whose memories of Great Chu were already vague, and who was accustomed to hiding from problems, could have left the capital.

Northern Liang, sandwiched between Liyang and Northern Mang, was already facing such difficulties. If the man who took over his father's burden, not only had to confront the million-strong Northern Mang army but also had the wary central plains and court at his back—if he were to take her away today, take away the Empress of Great Chu—how would he then face the world?

And how would the world revile him?

In the first great battle, over a hundred thousand Northern Liang iron cavalry had already died. Should many more Northern Liang cavalry, who could have gloriously perished on the Liang-Mang battlefield, die merely because of her, a vixen who brings ruin to the country and its people? Could he truly bear no guilt for this?

She was a coward who was very afraid of taking responsibility, once just a maid who would secretly curse while washing clothes. Even if she could be heartless and carefree, pretending to be at ease while staying behind you, your place of peace, Xu Fengnian, would cease to exist.

She knew that across the entire territory of Great Chu, over the past twenty years, many common people privately claimed that Great Chu's downfall was caused by her mother, whose face she could no longer recall. Otherwise, how could a vast Great Chu, with a wise monarch, an assembly of brilliant civil officials, skilled military generals, and contented people, have lost to the Northern barbarians of Liyang, who didn't even understand the courtesies between ruler and subject? She was unwilling to believe this, but sometimes she still feared becoming his femme fatale.

If she were the same person she was three years ago, knowing nothing, believing that a man and woman should be together if they simply loved each other, then she would have gone with him.

But after entering Guangling Road, although she understood none of the grand world affairs, she thought about it again and again, envisioning countless scenarios of their long-awaited reunion, only to realize in the end that she dared not go, could not go.

Countless times she had secretly cried under the covers; countless times her palms had been sweating when meeting her subjects; countless times she had wanted to fly on her sword directly to the northwest pass to catch a glimpse of him, or a distant glimpse of Qingliang Mountain, or that small vegetable garden on Wudang Mountain.

She clutched her chest, but her heart still ached.

In the fading lamplight, she missed him terribly.

When he came to find her, she was actually very happy.

She desperately wanted to tell him that she deeply regretted stabbing him with that sword.

In the years to come, you may hate me.

But please, do not dislike me.

She looked up, her face streaked with tears, and sobbed softly, "Even if you dislike her, you can only dislike Jiang Si of Western Chu, not Jiang Ni."

From the city walls, myriad lights twinkled below.

A young man, like a wandering ghost with nowhere to go, sat quietly on the city wall. His back was to the outside of the city, his face towards the inside.

Every now and then, his body would sway, and his hastily bandaged chest wound would seep blood.

A tall woman in white hesitated for a long time before finally approaching him. She said sorrowfully, "Why go through all this trouble? You are fighting a nation alone."

The young man remained silent.

The tall woman with the exquisite face sighed, "Although Western Chu's destiny is waning, it is still not something one person can easily contend with, especially after your life-or-death battle with Chen Zhibao on Guangling River, which left you injured. Since things have come to this, why stay here and make matters worse?"

In the eyes of a Grandmaster of Qi Cultivation like her, one could see the colossal pillar of destiny standing at the center of the Western Chu capital, continuously sending out white flood dragons that surged towards him, crashing into his body.

This was Western Chu's true killing move against an Earthly Immortal; as for the two city guardians, they were utterly insignificant.

The young man continued to gaze at the imperial palace, saying calmly, "Tantai Pingjing, I actually know that, according to destiny, there are two people fated by Heaven to be my (Xu Fengnian's) bane. Besides Xie Guanying, who nurtures flood dragons in a bowl, there is also you, the Sect Master of the Guanyin Sect. However, after the battle at Qintian Directorate, Xie Guanying was beaten like a drowned dog, and Patriarch Lu Zu, who chose to be an Earth Immortal instead of a Heavenly Immortal, reappeared. Unfortunately, Hong Shixiang still refused the second summons from Heaven. So I also know that after Xie Guanying's cosmic fortune was severely damaged, you were actually the one who benefited the most in this world. That's why I'm waiting for you to make your move. Rather than eventually turning against each other, rather than constantly worrying that you will harm Northern Liang's destiny in the future, it's better for us to have a clean break now."

Tantai Pingjing's expression was complex.

Xu Fengnian coughed a few times, then slowly said, "Before you decide to act, we do have some acquaintance. Would you like to chat with me?"

Tantai Pingjing nodded, "Alright."

Xu Fengnian, with his feet dangling over the city wall, smiled slightly, "Guess among all the martial artists I've met, who do I envy the most?"

Tantai Pingjing pondered for a moment, then countered, "Isn't it Li Chungang?"

Xu Fengnian shook his head, "No."

Tantai Pingjing hesitated, a faint smile playing on her lips, "Xuanyuan Jingcheng of Huishan?"

Xu Fengnian suddenly turned, a little exasperated, and laughed reproachfully, "Are you looking for death?! Respect is respect, but I certainly don't want to be Xuanyuan Jingcheng!"

Tantai Pingjing smiled knowingly.

Xu Fengnian looked into the distance again, at the twinkling lights across the city, as if gazing up at the brilliant summer and autumn starry sky. "I envy Deng Ta'a the most. He cares not for the ebb and flow of the jianghu, nor for the treacherous currents of the imperial court. He left the Wu family's sword mound and thereafter had no grudges, no attachments, completely unburdened, riding his donkey and viewing the rivers and mountains. I believe that if one day, this Peach Blossom Sword God were to suddenly fall in love with a woman, he and she could surely live a life of perfect freedom."

Tantai Pingjing mused, "I truly didn't expect it to be Deng Ta'a."

Xu Fengnian clasped his hands together on his knees, "Indeed."

Tantai Pingjing sat beside him, actually a bit taller than him. "Why didn't she leave?"

Xu Fengnian thought for a moment, "Perhaps she has grown up. I'm actually not as sad as you might think."

Tantai Pingjing said, "But you are still very sad. Giving a loved one a sword-stab to the heart — it would be strange not to be sad."

Xu Fengnian snorted, neither refuting nor admitting.

Tantai Pingjing narrowed her eyes and softly said, "Everyone has their destiny in this life. Some are lucky enough to always do what they want. Some are happy enough to always do what they love. And some can only do what they ought to do. Some, even, can only do what others think they ought to do."

Xu Fengnian let out a wry laugh, which tugged at his wound, causing him to cough heavily a few times. Tantai Pingjing hesitated, seemingly wanting to raise her hand to pat his back, but in fact, she didn't move a single finger, her mind locked in an internal struggle.

Xu Fengnian, with a slight shake of his head, as if being overly sentimental, chuckled, "I didn't expect you to comfort people. Will the sun rise from the west tomorrow?"

Tantai Pingjing remained expressionless, but even if she wasn't angry, her mood was probably not much better.

So, she didn't sit for long before rising again.

Xu Fengnian looked up with some curiosity.

She said irritably, "I'm hungry, going for a late-night snack. Gotta eat to have energy for a fight."

Tantai Pingjing leaped from the city wall into the city.

Xu Fengnian chuckled softly behind her, "Big dummy, although your master's memories are very fragmented, I can tell you one thing: he cared a lot about you. At least when he passed away, he was still worried that you might go hungry."

Tantai Pingjing instantly flushed red, nearly falling to the ground.

After she left, he continued to gaze at the imperial palace.

Gazing at her.

Wishing for eternity.

It seems a Daoist sage once said, "It is better to forget each other in the martial world than to cling to each other."

He didn't know how long he had been sitting there. Drowsy, Xu Fengnian suddenly stood up on the city wall, between the city's outer and inner sides.

The next day, someone was found napping contentedly on a large beam.