On the day when we were about to leave Zong Tian Shrine, I received a letter from Xing Jiu that he had written from Ren Xue Cheng; the wind bird sent it. This was what the letter said, “My king, I had read from the stars that all of you had already pa.s.sed Zong Tian Shrine of the North Guardian. I’m feeling exceptionally consoled and I hope all of you can come back soon. My king, please take care for Xing Gui for me. The stars seem to show that she is going to a faraway place alone. Please don’t let her walk the journey alone. She has always been afraid of loneliness so please stay by her side.”
My hand couldn’t hold the letter while the wind came; blowing the paper away, flying towards the pale blue sky; flying towards the unknown world, drifting in the direction of the west territory.
I had a vision in my heart about thousands of possible appearance of the west territory, but when I set foot in the west world, I was still shockingly speechless. Because of what I saw, it was actually in the look of a mortal world.
When we entered the territory of the West Guardian, the sun has just risen; the scent of the mortal world was exceptionally strong, a little girl was carrying flower baskets; basket was filled with fresh jasmine flowers that was stringed up in bunches, she was walking along the dew-filled green stone road, selling her jasmine flowers. Bustling and hustling of noises were coming from the roadside taverns. The roadside peddler, selling pancakes, was smiling at every crowd to sell his pancakes and his cheap smile. There was a young man with sword standing behind him and his hair was bundled up, his eyes were sparkling bright and arrogant. There was another young lady standing at the bridge; her hair was black in colour and it looked exceptionally light in the wind.
But what really surprised me was that when we entered the city, no one seemed to be panic or stunned when they saw several silvery white haired persons. They just maintained a calm smile on their faces and the waiter of the tavern ran out to ask if we needed an accommodation to rest. I looked back at Yue Shen; now that Xing Gui was no longer with us, we could only rely on Yue Shen’s killer ability to avoid all the possible dangers ahead of us.
“My king, this is not an easy mortal world because I can feel a lot of murderous aura here.” Yue Shen said.
“I understand. A normal person won’t have no reaction when they see us.” I replied.
We moved forward carefully, being so focused to the extent that we could even distinguish the shattering sound of the snow under our feet. Yue Shen joined me by the side, whispering to me that some of the hawkers were professional killers, which grannies were highly skilled illusionists with unpredictable high spiritual powers and which beggars were the real beggars.
When we walked to the end of the long street, we saw a luxurious inn and there was a little pretty looking boy with dark black eyes playing with a white ball that was almost like a s...o...b..ll. I walked over and squatted next to him. “Little boy, can gege playing with you?” The little boy smiled at me, like the clearest spring water, so clean and calm. He handed me the ball and my face changed when the ball was in my hand. It’s because the ball was a real ball and that’s to say everything in this mortal world was real. I’ve never thought that the spiritual power of the West Guardian could be so powerful to the extent that it could materialized everything in this mortal world. I let out a sigh, wanted to tell them to stop and continue tomorrow.
When I turned my head to tell them that time, I saw Liao Jian’s empty eyes. He was looking at me without any expression, his face was showing a strange blue, and then he fell dead all of a sudden, dying at the place where we first entered the West territory.
I did not give any response when Liao Jian went down, and Pian Feng has already taken a step forward to catch hold of him. But it was already too late; Huang Tuo went on to check his breathing and his hand stopped stiffly, unable to move.
Huang Tuo curled up his left ring finger and traced down Liao Jian’s body, running above his skin then he raised his head to look at me with a stern look and said. “My king, Liao Jian died from poisoning, chronic poison.”
Huang Tuo told me that the person must be a master a.s.sa.s.sin because he had already predicted that Liao Jian would die the moment he entered the West territory. But the incubation period of this chronic poison was very long, and it would have meant that Liao Jian had been poisoned even before we entered the West territory.
Suddenly I saw a faint and creepy light flashed past Huang Tuo’s eyes, but he recomposed himself back to his calm and almost cruel expression very quickly, saying. “My king, who has the best chance to poison Liao Jian during our earlier journey?”
The look on everyone’s face changed, and I knew they all understood Huang Tuo’s meaning, but no one spoke.
I spoke after a long time. “Everyone has a chance to poison him. Yue Shen, Chaoya, Pian Feng, you and myself.”
“Huang Tuo, you shouldn’t suspect any one of us.” Pian Feng said.
“If I were to kill him, he would die a perfect death and you wouldn’t even have a chance to see the cause of his death.” Yue Shen replied coldly.
Chaoya did not speak, her head was hanging low; the wind blew past and her tangled hair flew, covering her face and making her looked extremely weak. I knew she had depleted quite a lot of her spiritual power during her battle with Die Che so it’s definitely not Chaoya.
“I didn’t suspect anyone. I was just saying a fact, and I believe that none of us here will a.s.sa.s.sinate Liao Jian. I just want everyone to know that the a.s.sa.s.sination technique of this person is superb.” Huang Tuo told us.
That night we stayed at an inn, and that inn has particularly luxurious décor and architecture; pavilions, bridges, streams; the few of us were staying at Ting Zhu Xuan. They were several delicate wooden houses that were situated in the midst of the dense bamboo woods. There were acc.u.mulated snow on the green bamboo leaves, and when the wind came, these snowflakes would fall down one after another like flowers among the bamboo.
Chaoya liked this place a lot; she said Ren Xue Cheng only has tall and majestic palaces, towering basalt pillars and those impossibly high zeniths. Never seen such small little house before.
Liao Jian was buried at the ground behind the house; at first Chaoya wanted to play a soul resting song for him, but her spiritual power could no longer do it anymore. She smiled at me and I could sadness in her smile.
Chaoya went straight to sleep the earliest after dinner. I watched her walk into her room and I could see the tiredness from her back.
That night I lied on my bed, unable to sleep; my mind kept repeating the scene when we entered Huan Xue Shen Shan to the present picture, one after another, kept emerging from the darkness and disappearing into the night. I have to admit that the West Guardian was the most powerful opponent that I have never met before; we didn’t even have the strength to fight back his attacks. Suddenly I realized that a.s.sa.s.sination technique was the most difficult skill to fight against among the illusion skills.
I rolled over to face the window, watching the moonlight shining into my room through the window. Then I got up from my bed all of a sudden, and went towards the back of the window.
Because I saw Yue Shen appeared at the back of my house suddenly, the moonlight made the contour of her face to be exceptionally clear. Yue Shen’s back was against me, standing at the open s.p.a.ce behind the house, standing in front of Liao Jian’s tomb. I couldn’t imagine what was Yue Shen doing at Liao Jian’s tomb at night. Suddenly the cloud drifted across the sky and hid the moon behind it, the moonlight went dim all of a sudden when I saw the moonlight in Yue Shen’s hand. I wasn’t sure what illusion skill Yue Shen would be using, there wasn’t any enemy around here and not even a single soul appeared.
Just when I was wondering, Huang Tuo appeared quietly behind Yue Shen. With the cold wind blowing, Huang Tuo’s robe didn’t seem to move at all and I knew he has planted a defensive enchantment all over him.
But Yue Shen could still feel his presence, she cried out “who” in a m.u.f.fled voice and turned around quickly. Her moonlight blade shot out and stabbed obliquely at Huang Tuo. From the time she spoke and turning around to attacking, it was less than a second. I have finally known about Yue Shen’s a.s.sa.s.sination’s speed and strength. I have been underestimating her in the past.
But Huang Tuo seemed to know that she would attack, so he used his hand to block off her attack calmly.
Yue Shen retreated her head and said, “It’s you.”
“Why can’t it be me? What are you doing here?” Huang Tuo asked coldly.
“Then what are you doing here as well?” Yue Shen sneered.
“It’s none of your business.” Huang Tuo replied.
“It’s none of your business too.” Yue Shen said and turned around to leave after that.
Just before Yue Shen left the open field, Huang Tuo spoke with his back against her. “Yue Shen, there’re only a few of us in Ting Zhu Xuan. Is it necessary for your to use such powerful attack?”
Yue Shen stopped on her spot, but she didn’t turn around. She stood there for a moment and left the place without saying a word.
Huang Tuo stood under the night sky; I looked at his back and his defensive enchantment has been removed, the wind filled his robe and his silvery white hair was flying in the moonlight.
That night I did not sleep; I got up and went to Liao Jian’s tomb again. I didn’t know when but Huang Tuo has already gone back and there’s nothing at the open field except moonlight.
The next morning, I opened the door of my room to see Yue Shen and Chaoya already up; Yue Shen was standing in the bamboo forest, Chaoya was sitting on the stone bench, playing her zither. I saw their silhouettes among the snow and bamboo; their long robes and hair were flying in the wind, it was like a piece of beautiful picture. I could see many men were already at the attic afar, looking at them. I knew their beauty was something rare and stunning in the mortal world, no women in the mortal world could be compared with them at all.
Huang Tuo and Pian Feng came out of their rooms as well. The look on Yue Shen’s face when she saw Huang Tuo remained the same, and so did Huang Tuo. It was as if there was nothing happened between the two before and I didn’t ask them as well.
Huang Tuo walked towards me and said. “My king, we seem to have forgotten about one important thing.”
“What is it?” I asked him.
“Xing Gui’s second dream.” He replied.
When I entered into Xing Gui’s second dream, I discovered Xing Gui’s dream was exceptionally simple because there wasn’t anything inside, it was surrounded by thick grey fog and there’s only Xing Gui’s voice. She kept telling me to look for someone with the nickname called Tai Zi (prince) and his name was called Shang Lie.
I asked the waiter if he knew anyone called Shang Lie, he scratched his head and smiled back at me, shaking his head. “Then what about Tai Zi?” Then I saw his eyes showing this fearful expression.
“Why are you looking for Tai Zi?” There’s a man in the lobby with straw hat asked. His straw hat was very peculiar in a way that it covered his face and I could only see his bright eyes through the gaps of his straw hat; I could see a sharp light flashing past and he was wearing a dark grey robe, eating his bowl of noodles.
“You know Tai Zi?” I said.
“Yes.” He replied.
“What kind of person is he?”
“He is an inhumane human.”
“Then he is G.o.d.”
“You can say that too. Because he is the G.o.d of this city.”
“Why?”
“Because his status, wealth, illusion skills, looks, and intelligence are something that no one can surpa.s.s.”
“Can you bring us to him?” I asked.
“Cannot.”
“Why?” Pian Feng asked.
“Because I’m unhappy.”
I was about to walk over when Yue Shen touched my back and told me to keep a distance of six feet from that man. I look at Yue Shen; she kept staring at that man, I knew her feeling would never be wrong because I could also sense the unusual aura from that man.
Yue Shen walked over, leant down and whispered something to the man’s ear then she smiled at the person; the person looked at me and said. “Fine. I’ll bring you there.”
“Why are you willing to bring us there now?” Pian Feng asked.
“Because I’m happy.” He said.
With that he turned around and left the inn, so we followed him out. “What did you say to him?” I asked Yue Shen.
Yue Shen smiled and said, “I had my moonlight blade on his back and I just told him if he didn’t bring us there, he would see the blade going through his chest.”
That man walked very briskly on the street of the mortal world, and now I had finally realized he wasn’t a normal man because his speed was amazingly fast; no matter how fast we moved, he was still able to keep a distance ahead of us.
He led us through a number of streets; some were bustling and hustling with people walking around while some were eerily cold and he seemed to know every place very well.
After walking for some time, a huge manor appeared before us and the man turned to tell us. “Enter this main door and walked all the way straight to the end, you will be able to see Tai Zi.”
I looked inside the door and there was a long green stone path extended to the far end; the stone path was covered with snow and at the end of the snow, there was an exquisitely crafted heavy door with bronze buckle and ring on them.
“Tai zi is in there?” I turned around to ask him.
But the man had disappeared.
“When did the man teleport away?” Pian Feng asked.
Yue Shen replied. “That man can’t teleport because when I entered the West Territory that time, I had tried teleporting once but it seemed like this world had sealed our ability to teleport.”
“Why did he disappear suddenly?”
Yue Shen’s expression darkened suddenly, saying. “Because his speed is fast enough.”
