CH 3

Half a month ago, at the Tingchao Pavilion, the headquarters of the world’s number one assassin organization, the Rakshasa Gate sect.

The pitter-patter of rain dripped through several layers of black gauze and stirred up ripples, carrying a chill into the building and causing the old man sitting at the head of the desk in the darkness to cough a few times.

The white-haired, youthful-looking elder sat at the head of the darkened table, wiping the corners of his mouth with a handkerchief. He looked down at the kneeling crowd below and chuckled, “So you’re saying that he alone managed to take the sword, yet none of you knows where he went?”

Except for the alive Shuo Feng and the dead youth, all the Demonic Sect’s disciples had completed their missions and returned to the sect. Currently, there were still seven disciples left, both male and female, all of them rare assassins who were the foundation of the Demonic Sect.

At this moment, the sixth-ranked disciple stepped forward.

He is different from the other assassins because he has a scar on his face and always wears a bronze ghost mask. ‘Leader, we only received news that he accidentally fell into the Canglan River. We failed in our mission,’ he said.

“Sixth, you are not his match. Seven died in his hands, not in vain,” the old man said, not angry or sad, but rather smiling as he asked the other assassins to help the sixth up. “Someone, go and fetch the Jianghu token.”

The Jianghu token was a symbol of alliance held by the four major forces in the Jianghu world and could only be used in times of crisis.

The sect leader was really angry this time, and the assassins exchanged glances with each other. Unexpectedly, the old man at the head had already spoken, his tone very kind.

“Children, there are always times when one deviates from the norm. Only when they suffer outside can they think of the good at home,” the old man said, extending his aged hand to stroke the black gold token presented to him. He continued, “This token is to inform the heroes of the world that the Divine Sword is in the hands of Shuo Feng.”

Upon hearing the words “divine sword,” the assassins all had a dramatic change in expression. They did not know that the sword they were going to retrieve was the “divine sword.” But they all knew the legend of the divine sword that descended from the sky.

So the Jianghu token of the sect leader was originally meant to mobilize all the power in the world, to make Shuo Feng a target of public criticism.

The Sixth spoke with unexpected calmness, “Leader, this will surely draw the attention of the court to our Rakshasa Gate .”

The old man waved his hand and dismissed the concern, “This little dynasty of Nanliang won’t last much longer.” He glanced at Sixth and continued giving orders, “Eight, have someone keep a close eye on his subordinate, Seventeen. Shuo Feng will go to him. This boy is still too softhearted.”

For an assassin, being softhearted is not a good thing.

The group of Rakshasa Gate sect, including the Sixth, bowed and retreated as instructed by the old man.

The quiet chamber was illuminated by a small bean-sized lamp, casting a half-light on the old man’s face. His decaying flesh and wriggling maggots were exposed, while his eye sockets revealed his bony skeleton.

In the quiet pavilion, a small bean-sized lamp illuminated half of the old man’s face, where rotting flesh grew and maggots wriggled, and the eye sockets were filled with stark white bones.

“The world will be in chaos, and that’s when my Rakshasa Gate can break through the siege and profit from it.” The old man turned his wheelchair and leaned over to look at the surging river below, smiling, “This sound of the tide is still not loud enough.”

*

“The sound of the tide is loud tonight.” Shuo Feng sat on a reef by the riverbank and looked up at the moon. Today was not the fifteenth, so it was not a full moon.

He carried the sword, Ji Hua, on his back, appearing relaxed, but his back was tense as he constantly surveyed his surroundings.

Outside the city of Lanzhou, it was very quiet. The sky was completely dark, and stars twinkled. The countryside was vast, and there were occasional barks from dogs in the distant villages.

“Ji Hua sword, many people are going to come and bully me tonight, I feel really wronged,” Shuo Feng adjusted his posture to make himself more comfortable lying down.

Finally, a gentle female voice came from within the Jiu Hua sword, “Shuo Feng, I won’t sit idly by and do nothing.” She paused for a moment, “Also, I have a name, my name is Zhou Yue.”

Her name.

It was the first time in over a dozen days that he heard her mention her own name.

Shuofeng’s eyes lit up, but he continued to speak in the same spoiled tone, “If I die, will you become someone else’s sword?”

His tone was cautious and could not hide the disappointment in his words, but his eyes remained calm and cold.

However, seeing Shuo Feng’s appearance still made Zhou Yue think of the spirit beasts that were raised by the disciples in the sect — soft and fluffy. She earnestly said, “Shuo Feng, I am your sword, now and always.”

Her tone was flat as if she was making a solemn promise. “You won’t die. No matter how dangerous it is, I will protect you.”

The tension in Shuofeng’s shoulders slowly relaxed as he looked up at the crescent moon hanging in the starry night, shining so brightly that it warmed his heart and reminded him of the girl whose face was even more radiant than the moon.

He sensed the fatigue that Zhou Yue was trying to hide in her words and said softly, “Zhou Yue, you should rest well. When you wake up, we’ll go to Qiongzhou to see the tides next month. it’s a lot of fun.”

The wind was blowing quietly, and the river tide was rolling up milky white foam, crashing against the rocks, surging mightily like thousands of troops fighting.

The sound of wind in his ears mixed with the buzzing of weapons. Shuo Feng jumped off the stone and held his soft sword in his right hand, turning around and saying, “Are you all here to play with me?”

Sure enough, a continuous stream of dark shadows emerged from below the horizon, like a mountain range rising from the ground, quietly surrounding the cold-eyed young man in the center.

The young man’s eyes were clean and clear, and the smile at the corners of his mouth was also clean and clear. He said, “Everyone came to play with me, I’m very happy.”

Although it was clearly a killing spree, the young man seemed to regard it as a game.

He was too young and reckless, he needed to know how powerful the hidden Divine Sword was.

So the swarm of dark shadows rushed towards the young man, and they engaged in close combat, sparks flying and splashing like thunder in the spring night, white and bleak.

The young man moved like a ghost, taking the lives of several people in just a breath. He frowned as if regretting that these people could not have played with him for a longer time.

Seeing that the young man was holding his own against them, and the situation was not good, someone shouted, “Let’s all attack together! Whoever gets the divine sword first, it’s theirs!”

Countless greedy eyes fixed on the cloth bag behind the young man.

Shuo Feng heard this and said softly, “My sword is tired and resting. If you disturb her, she won’t be happy, so I won’t be happy either.”

He wore a narrow-sleeved black robe and was unbelievably delicate. He held a soft sword in his right hand and moved as if he were a black butterfly, fluttering through the chaos of swords and knives. The soft sword in his hand looked like a pair of flapping butterfly wings, and every time he struck, a corpse would fall. Thick red blood splashed onto his neck and spread towards his fair and smooth jawline. However, his dark pupils, reflected in the sword light, remained transparent and indifferent.

As the pile of corpses behind Shuo Feng grew, he casually kicked away a severed arm and took a shallow breath. “More? I’m having a great time today.”

This time, there were countless masked figures, and he naturally saw some familiar figures among them.

Shuo Feng seemed to see his close friends and family, smiling as he said, “Oh, so it’s family.”

The assassins stood at the forefront, each holding their most handy killing tools. They had all fought against Shuo Feng before. Although he was ranked ninth among the assassins, his strength was the highest in the gang, and they had all been defeated by him.

But today, the assassins looked at each other in silence. This was not a fair fight, and even the most powerful person would eventually be outnumbered.

They rushed forward together, like driving away and hunting down a young beast that had just revealed its fangs.

In the pitch-black night, cold glints scattered through the air. The young man appeared to be at the end of his strength, with his hand bleeding and his palm split open.

“Shuo Feng, why do you always get injured?” The figure of a young girl appeared out of the Jiu Hua sword, moving with the wind, deflecting a hidden weapon aimed at him.

While blocking the attacks of the crowd, Shuo Feng laughed and said, “Because I’m an assassin. Zhou Yue, are you awake now?”

The people surrounding them saw the young man seemingly talking to someone else, and their hearts trembled as they cautiously surveyed the dark surroundings.

But they saw nothing.

However, the next moment, they widened their eyes. The divine sword behind the young man broke free from its wrapping on its own, flew into the air, and seemed to be held by someone in mid-air. Then, a golden sword light tore through the sky in an instant, like the roar of boundless lightning descending on the world.

But the sword light did not harm them, only forcing them to retreat towards the young man. The ringing in their ears passed, and this time, they finally heard the clear voice of a girl within the lightning.

“I do not wish to harm mortals, please leave.”

Someone in the darkness spat, “Stop pretending to be a god, everyone, don’t be fooled by that bitch.”

The crowd began to hesitate, but when they thought of the unparalleled divine sword, their hearts became increasingly restless.

Finally, the first reckless man raised his broadsword and swung it at the young man.

The young man didn’t move, only looked at the girl in the sword light and said, “Zhou Yue, they’ve killed many innocent people. Bad people should be killed.”

At the moment when the broadsword was about to cut the young man’s neck, the sword light struck again. The broadsword shattered inch by inch, and even the body of the burly man shattered inch by inch.

The girl whispered, “Forget it, since they’re bad people, the will of heaven says they should be killed.”

Whether it was the sword light or the thunder light, it rang out again and again, piercing through the blood and flesh piled up in the wilderness like the bright daylight.

The bloody remains instinctively stirred up the fierce killing intent in the crowd of savages, and they continued to pursue the boy, but the divine sword seemed to have divine assistance, crushing the bodies of the crowd time and time again.

But no one was holding that sword!

The panicked people turned their backs and began to flee to the periphery in a steady stream.

But it was too late. The Jiu Hua sword waved continuously, with simple slashes and cuts, like a child learning basic sword techniques in a rigid manner. The corpses under the sword gave rise to increasingly thick blood, which coiled around the sword, gathering at the grip.

Under the cold moon, blood began to coagulate into a soft and fair hand at the hilt. Then flesh and blood continued to shape, first with the arm, then the chest, and finally the curvaceous body of a young girl wrapped in white silk and a green skirt emerged.

So there really was a “person” wielding the sword!

The people looked at the young girl holding the Jiu Hua sword in horror.

Her face was as pure as ever in the moonlight and the sword light, untainted by dust, like a goddess giving the world a casual glance.

She said, “This is my promise.”