Book 20 Chapter 12

Is rebellion a privilege of youth?

-Drying doesn't mean curling

And the four of them left.

Only two young people, a boy and a girl, who could not yet control their youthful vigor and enthusiasm, remained in the Zhongyang Pavilion. As soon as the two masters, the Four Hundred, and the obnoxious Southern Palace Priest disappeared, Liu Lan looked at Yu Yunfei, whose cheeks had quickly puffed up and whose eyes were glazed over. Yu Yunfei had the same idea, and their gazes locked. His eyes, which had already lost their dullness, sparkled with life.

"What do you say, Mr. Yu?"

"Yeah, what do you mean?"

To Yu Yunfei's bewildered reply, Yu Lan spoke up in an irritated tone.

"You're asking me if I'm just going to sit here and kill myself."

Instead of answering, Liu Yunfei glanced up at the night sky.

"What, did you leave something in the sky?"

Only then did Yu Yunfei turn and look at Liu Lan.

"No, I just thought it was a nice night. There's no moon. You're such a dick for asking."

The two men's lips curled into a childish grin. It was the kind of grin often found on the mouths of disciples who rotted their masters' insides.

"Are you sure you're okay with that, even though your big white daddy might not approve?"

Liu Lan poked at Yu Yunfei's sore spot with a gruff voice. Yu Yunfei's face contorted slightly. The person he was most afraid of was his great-grandfather, the four-hundred-man Divination Sword Liu Yunsheng.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared, but that was then, and this is now, and I can't let a golden opportunity like this slip through my fingers. I'm worried about whether Ms. Yu will be okay. I've heard she's quite a disciplinarian."

Realizing that he couldn't be the only one getting beaten, Yu fought back.

"Ohhhhhhhh, don't worry, don't worry, don't worry at all, Master will surely understand."

She brought her hand to her mouth and laughed with her whole body, a loud, high, shrill laugh, but somehow it sounded very fake. It was only her voice that was laughing, her eyes weren't laughing at all; as it was, they were young, and rebellion was something of a youthful privilege.

"For some reason, you agree with me this time!"

But even if her heart was in the right place, her pace was too fast. As Liu Lan began to strip off the plain clothes she was wearing on the spot, Liu Yunfei cried out in anger at this sudden bold move.

"You Sojae… Mu, what are you doing! I'm not ready for this……."

But the young man's guard was already up, burning hot with passion. No matter how furiously he waved his hands, squeezed his eyes shut, and stammered unwilling words, he could not control the fire in his heart. The muscles around his eyes were no longer clenched tightly, and his blurry vision opened up.

"What kind of nonsense do you think you're doing, u.un.b.. Small?"

Unfortunately for the young man, what he saw before him was not the beautiful naked body of a woman.

"Huh?"

In the next moment, Yulan, dressed in a black night robe, was staring at him with strange eyes. She had already secretly worn a night robe under her robes.

"You should change your clothes quickly, too. He wouldn't be foolish enough to follow you two in those clothes, would he?"

It was an evasive accusation.

"That's……."

Liu Yunfei looked at his clothes. Long sleeves, blue scrolls fluttering in the breeze… It was the official attire of the Divination Sect, ubiquitous, but that was the problem. Such generous sleeves and rich scrolls would inevitably make noise as they moved, through the friction of wind and air.

This is why all experienced hunters always carry a separate pair of nocturnal shoes. It blends into the darkness of the night, clings tightly to the body and muffles sound, and the shoes are made of soft fur to minimize sound. It is the most basic tool for stealthy behavior, and for this reason, some sects of the Guangming School forbid wearing it at night, as it is a public declaration of one's intentions. As a result, changing into this garment could usually be very embarrassing if it was seen by others.

"You're so prepared," the nanny admired."

"Stop nagging and get changed, before I miss you two."

"Oh, I see."

After stumbling into his room, Liu Yunfei hurriedly changed into his nocturnal clothes and stepped out. The black silk nocturnal robe made it difficult to see below his neck, as if he had melted into the darkness.

"We'll think about that later, the important thing is now. Shall we go, Yu Xiaoqiao?"

"Let's go."

Without even the slightest sound of their feet on the dirt, they stepped over the wall and melted into the darkness.

Unaware of the consequences of their lax judgment.

* * *

"How dare you hassle this body!"

A man cloaked in darkness grumbled in a nervous voice. He had a distinctive head shape, with long bangs hiding his eyes, and five golden earrings dangling from his right ear. This was Ishigan.

"If I'd known this was going to happen, shouldn't I have gotten my guys to do it?"

He was now sneaking up behind a young man. Today, it wasn't for the kill. Today, it was because someone had shown up who wanted to throw a wrench in the works he'd been doing so neatly for the past few days.

If the culprit was caught, the crime would continue to happen. The charges against that bastard, Bi Ryuyeon, could be thinned out. If it had only happened once or twice, it could have been dismissed as a mere copycat crime, but to make matters worse, Namgungsang, a man whose name could be heard from a pagoda thousands of miles away from Namchang, had been struck down by the mysterious assailant. The situation had become more serious than he could have imagined, and he was once again forced to take matters into his own hands.

Ishigan muttered nervously, one hand stroking the gash on his cheek.

"Some time ago, I had a job……."

If it hadn't happened, I would have left it to my subordinates, but I was not at ease, so I showed up as a courtesy.

"Is that a sacrifice?"

Unaware that he is being followed, the poor bait is passing through the alleyways of Nanchang, dressed in a blood-red robe to ward off the night winds and carrying a single lantern with the word "Tianmu" in his hand. A golden armband can be seen on the man's left arm. Apparently, he was on patrol. He was bravely alone, even though the recent spate of raids had everyone hunkering down.

"Chet, just when you thought you were out of the woods for the night……."

A grumble escaped Ishigan's lips as he stalked behind the man, hiding in the shadows of the night. He was better suited to sit and give orders than to be out in the field like this.

"Follow him, he'll come out, and I'll gracefully chop you both to pieces on the spot!

Leaving evidence behind was unacceptable. It was time.

"Stop!"

The golden-armored man carrying the lantern stopped and looked ahead. Out of the darkness, a man in a blood-red robe stepped out with slow steps.

'That's him! I finally found him.'

Even though he couldn't see her face because of the fog, Ishigaki knew. He had dared to disrupt his perfect plan, and his debt could only be paid by a horrible death.

A cruel smile of conversion played on his lips as he crossed his arms in front of him and held up ten fingers. His response was impatiently swift, as if he didn't need to wait any longer.

"Dance in my hand, wind!"

Zun (purple cloud) dark wind.

Righteousness (奧義).

Killing (殺式).

Gale Slaughter.

"Torn to pieces and killed!"

"Don't let your guard down, because the moment you let your guard down is the day you die."

If he hadn't been warned, he might not have been able to avoid it. As soon as his sharpened senses picked up the faintest hint of flesh, he quickly struck out.

"Keep your senses as active as possible!

Despite his warnings to prepare and dodge, an invisible blade sliced through the hem of his robe, cutting sharply.

"If I had to guess, judging by the wound, it's a death sword!"

"If it's a sword, is that……?"

"Well, it's a million years away from this body, but it's pretty good."

"What should I do about it?"

"Don't look and try to avoid it, it's too late, and you can't even see it if you try."

"Look and don't run?"

"Yeah. It's hard enough to see during the day, much less at night, so give up trying."

"Then just die……."

Bam!

"Who says I have to die without permission, right?"

"So……?"

"Feel it!"

Just as the web of slender flesh was about to engulf them, Namgungsang and the other man threw themselves out of the way almost simultaneously. A fierce gust of wind swept over the spot where they had taken cover. The aftermath was more powerful than they could have imagined.

"This is dangerous!

Thunderbolt (雷電劍法) Lifeline (求命絶招).

Tabernacle Secrecy.

His sword drew countless lines in the air, forming a shield to protect his body.

Sshhhhhhhhhh!

The fence that stretched up and down the alley was carved with countless gaping wounds. But what should have been cut was not.

"There!

Taking his brother's advice and shielding himself with a sword membrane, Namgungsang launched himself upward, quickly sending his new form flying toward where he thought the assailant was.

"Oh, my God!

For a moment, Ishigaki was frozen in place, shocked that the attack he was so sure would never fail had failed.

"Now, why don't you reveal your identity?"

When Ishigaki regained his composure, he was already surrounded on both sides by the two men he had targeted. He panicked for a moment, but it was only a moment; his pride was strong and he recovered quickly.

"Chet, I can't do it. I tried to end it quietly."

He didn't seem too nervous being surrounded by two men; he was confident in his skills, but inside he was seething with wounded pride. He didn't want to admit that the men who had evaded his skills were here. He didn't want to admit that the people who avoided his skills were here. What could he do? The answer was simple. Make them disappear from the world, and it would be a clean sweep. In retrospect, it was a very, very good idea.

"You're going to die for avoiding my skills, but I'll remember your name and asterisks. Know it with honor."

It was the most he could do. After all, he was a very nice man himself. Though neither of them thought so at all.

"Are you sure you're not mistaken about something? If you want to know the name, I'll tell you! The name of the body that's going to capture you is Danzhu Namgungsang of the Heavenly Martial Academy, and people call it the undeserved name of the Thunderous Sword Dragon."

Namgungsang craned his neck and spoke in a commanding voice.

"What, what, you're the Namgung Sang!"

Ishiguro exclaimed in disbelief.

"You're dead, aren't you?"

"Who do you think that's because of!

"Yes, it was you. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be dead."

The culprit was Namgungsang, who naturally became more aggressive when he saw the culprit face-to-face.

"And your brother, why don't you take off the mask you're wearing?"

After a moment's hesitation, the masked man removed the 'hood' from his head, revealing a very slight face. It was the kind of beauty that made even Ishigaki, who was quite confident in his own beauty, flinch for a moment.

"I am Mo Yonghui. People usually call me the Seven Festivals Divine Sword."

Ishiguro's eyes widened when he heard the name.

"Why is the heir to the sword here?

It wasn't without its faults.

"Oh, shit, you mean I'm the one who got caught in the trap?"

"Do you realize that now? That's surprisingly obtuse."

Namgungsang sneered.

'To be bad luck…….'

But there was a part of him that still believed.

The fun isn't over yet.