Estranged

Feng Suhuai was startled. She raised her hand to cover her temples subconsciously, and in a moment, a sharp pain shot through her palm!

She seized an opportunity to dodge to the side, and looked right at her opponent.

It was a man.

At a single  glance, she could not determine his age. He might have been twenty-something, thirty-something, or even over one hundred.

It was precisely like this for cultivators: until the last moments before their demise, no one could guess their age.

But this person even rose above the crowd of highly gifted cultivators.

He was as refined and outstanding as an immortal, but one could see countless  years shining within  the depths  of his eyes, scattered there like starlight, making him seem even more graceful.

Feng Suhuai did not pay attention to his looks, and concentrated on his immense cultivation and experience that could be seen in his every  gesture, his every smile or frown.

In a moment, Feng Suhuai struck back, but her opponent handled it with ease.

Feng Suhuai’s heart fell. She felt that her enemy was like a tough thug; he was not easy to deal with.

As this thought crossed her mind, she took out her zither and started playing it.

She was performing “Wind Rustling Through Pines Under the Moon”.

It was a popular song beloved by everybody. It had a rather simple melody, but the meaning of it was sublime, reaching far above all mortal affairs.

The bright moon shines upon the pine forest with crystal-clear babbling springs, and even a stone pillow rings; a red-crowned crane listens carefully.

Stone pillow: a symbol of a secluded area where hermits live

But, performed by Feng Suhuai, this originally lofty and elegant melody turned into a fervent and impassioned one.

Like shining spears and armored horses, like a ferocious tiger, her qi had spread out over  thousands of li!

Rather than a song played under the moon, it resembled an  army of numerous armoured warriors spurring on their horses.

Her spiritual power was infused into the music, expressed through the zither strings. Just like metal and stone falling down to the ground, her voice was sonorous and forceful, obtaining corporeal form and transforming into blades that flew towards her opponent from every direction!

The greatest music has the faintest notes; it flew  forward with ease, as if it was splitting bamboo!

The greatest music has the faintest notes: from Tao Te Ching

Feng Suhuai never went down her mountain on a whim.

As its name implies, the Zhuhai Spiritual Shelter was a secluded sect. But, at the same time, it was quite famous, because a remarkable woman had come from this sect one hundred years ago. She was Feng Suhuai’s shifu.

Feng Suhuai’s shifu had only two direct disciples, Feng Suhuai and her shixiong, Lu Zhiyuan.

The two of them were not daoist partners, but rather considered each other blood-related siblings. Afterwards, Lu Zhiyuan had left the sect to travel far away, and settled on the Qingbei Mountain. He had been living there since then, and rarely returned to the Zhuhai Spiritual Shelter. However, they exchanged letters regularly. This time, Lu Zhiyuan asked her to go down the mountain to help him escort envoys to Luo and assist him in a competition if needed, explaining the whole matter clearly. Feng Suhuai was reluctant to get involved in mundane affairs, but she could not decline her shixiong’s request.

But at this moment, after starting a fight against this mysterious man, Feng Suhuai suddenly regretted her decision.

She regretted agreeing  to his request too easily. If she died here, perhaps, the Zhuhai Spiritual Shelter would have no qualified successors.

As soon as Feng Suhuai thought of it, she realised she had lost.

The first drumbeat raises the fighting spirit, the next one depletes it, and the third one extinguishes it.

If her will to fight was exhausted, the outcome of this battle would become obvious in a short matter of time! 

Feng Suhuai flew away.

Her five-string zither fell out of her hands, and split  into several pieces in the air.

She knocked over a table, falling to the ground. Her appearance no longer resembled that of an immortal anymore.

On the other side, Changming was like a graceful swan, his feet unstained by worldly dust.

Everybody had been  subdued by only one of his hands.

Only Song Nanyan got up to his feet excitedly, and shouted out, afraid that the others would misunderstand.

“Shifu, you finally came!”

You: this you is especially polite!

Grow up already!

Changming glared at him silently.

Xie Chunxi and Yue Chengbo moved. They stood in front of the empress dowager, blocking her from view and shielding  her from Lu Zhiyuan.

It was not hard for them to bring Lu Zhiyuan under control if they worked together.

After Kuhe had reached the garden, he subdued  the cultivators brought by King Hui one by one.

King Hui had not anticipated Changming and Kuhe to appear suddenly and turn the situation  around.

Originally, he was not going to act rashly. If the empress dowager was ready and gained the upper hand  today, he would not have taken action. And, if something happened to the empress dowager, he intended to use it for his own gain, becoming that fisherman who reaped the benefit from a battle between a sandpiper and a clam.

Sandpiper and clam fight: …and the fisherman catches the both

Before this, everything had been going  fine, as if the rumors about the problem with the emperor and the empress dowager, which had stemmed from Zhaoyue, were true.

Not only did that mother and son pair have a problem, but even the formidable Kuhe, who was supposed to be near them, had disappeared without a trace.

Heaven was helping him.

King Hui did not hesitate anymore and cooperated with You’s ambassadors to show his trump card.

But who would have thought that Kuhe would rush back all of a sudden, and another person, who was even more troublesome, would appear as well.

Those envoys from Zhaoyue had assured him that the two of them were trapped in the Treasured Celestial Library Pagoda. Even if they got lucky enough to leave it, it would be a matter of three days and three nights.

After three days and three nights, the dust would have already settled, and many important things would have taken place.

The dust would have already settled: everything would be sorted out

King Hui could not help directing his  gaze to  the Zhaoyue ambassador, his rage flaring up to the sky.

The empress dowager was shocked once again, and looked at Changming and Kuhe, hopefully.

As if Kuhe knew what she wanted to ask, he slightly shook his head.

The empress dowager’s heart almost froze.

Kuhe’s gesture meant that they had not found the emperor’s life soul.

If they were not in the Treasured Celestial Library Pagoda, where could the emperor’s fleeting souls have gone to?

Could it be that her son would just turn into a fool without a reason?

The You ambassador did his best to maintain an unperturbed exterior. He tried to tilt the scales in their favour once  again.

“Being inferior in skills, we weren’t going to object to anything, and simply came to this uneventful state banquet. His Majesty is occupied with numerous affairs on a daily basis. It’s fine if His Majesty doesn’t come, but why would you send a puppet instead to deceive us? Do you regard my You dynasty and Zhaoyue as weak countries that can be pushed around easily?!”

Song Nanyan laughed coldly: “You almost hurt our people just now, but my dynasty still hasn’t settled the score for this. And now, you, esteemed envoy, are trying to gain the upper hand by taking the initiative? Actually, I want to ask, why did Feng Suhuai move towards our empress dowager, could it be that she was trying to help? Moreover, your dynasty and King Hui echo and support each other, and, obviously, King Hui came all prepared—could it be that he had anticipated the mishap?!”

King Hui immediately tried to prove himself innocent: “I led the troops into the palace today because I was afraid of You and Zhaoyue plotting against His Majesty, or just in case something unexpected happened! If His Majesty turned into paper, anyone would be flabbergasted. I wanted to question the empress dowager solely for the sake of  the public interest. Prime Minister Song, please be prudent in your speech!”

Changming was not paying attention to their exchange at all. He turned towards Feng Suhuai.

Feng Suhuai was looking at him too.

“Thank you very much for showing mercy, daoxiong. This one is Feng Suhuai of the Zhuhai Spiritual Shelter.”

She had been wounded internally, and her meridians had been damaged, but her opponent had not killed her. She thought that Changming had a reason for this, but in reality, he was also an arrow at the end of its flight. He had been  wounded heavily in the Celestial Library Pagoda, and, although his culativation had advanced, his body was still weakened. His every attack meant spending his vitality, and immense spiritual power could, on the contrary, aggravate the wounds of its owner.

An arrow at the end of its flight: exhausted

Feng Suhuai thought him to have the heart of a gentleman. In a few words, it was only a beautiful misunderstanding.

Changming stopped.

“The Zhuhai Spiritual Shelter? I know your shifu, Ning Wuyi. She is a very interesting person.”

If Changming proclaimed someone interesting, then that person was interesting indeed.

Feng Suhuai said mournfully: “It’s the honorable name of the master of the older generation in my sect.”

Without a trace of politeness, Changming said indifferently: “You are talented and have bright prospects. If you enter the secular world now, you will waste several decades’ worth of time.”

Feng Suhuai did not doubt his identity as her shifu’s old friend, and said most respectfully: “Thank you for your guidance, Senior. After this junior returns, she will definitely enter seclusion, and won’t partake in secular affairs again. Since the Senior is my master’s old friend, can this junior be fortunate enough to hear your honorable name?”

Changming went to the Zhaoyue princess, dropping a few words lightly.

“Your shifu stole my dog, and I chased her for three days to kill her. But she was running quickly, and so, she managed to save her life. Remember this well, my name is Jiufang Changming.”

Feng Suhuai: …

If she knew their relationship was that peculiar, she would not have asked.