First Immortal of the Sword

Lingxue? Ning Sihua was stunned. She suddenly realized that she’d misunderstood something right from the start. This guy isn’t infatuated with Zhu Guqing’s beauty! He’s here to save his little sister-in-law!

But didn’t he end things with Wen Lingzhao?

How could he possibly care so much about Wen Lingxue’s safety?

When she recalled how obviously concerned Su Yi had been back at the House of Waveswept Rocks, when he first learned what had happened, Ning Sihua’s expression unwittingly turned a bit strange. Don’t tell me this guy plans to kick Wang Lingzhao to the curb and marry her little sister instead?

“That old ghost captured Lingxue. She’s currently imprisoned in his manor. His adoptive son, Huyan Bao, is watching over her.” The newly-freed Zhu Guqing explained at top speeds, “Right, that ‘Huyan Bao’ is the son of the head of the Imperatorial Branch of the Deathbringer’s Gate, Huyan Hai. On our way back to the provincial capital, Huyan Bao took notice of Lingxue and—”

“You’re saying that Huyan Hai caused this entire incident?”

Zhu Guqing nodded, her eyes filled with pure hatred. “That’s exactly right. At first, I couldn’t discern that bastard’s origins…”

Su Yi was in no mood to hear any of that, so before she could finish, he just turned and grabbed the fallen Wuhuan Water Monarch off the ground. “Take me to your residence.”

The Wuhuan Water Monarch was already frail to the extreme. He had no power left to resist.

When he heard that Su Yi wanted to save Wen Lingxue, a plan instantly came to mind. “So long as you promise not to kill me…. Ah!”

Before he could finish, he convulsed in agony, as if enduring the torture of the fire pillar. It hurt so much, he wished he was dead.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk!” The Wuhuan Water Monarch wilted, and when he looked at Su Yi, his gaze now carried terror and dread.

“All of you, wait here.” Su Yi glanced at Ning Sihua, then directly left.

How could any of the ghosts and yao dare block his path now? All of them hurriedly got out of the way for fear that Su Yi would kill them too.

Boom!

One of the massive bronze doors sank into the ground, but as soon as Su Yi dragged the Wuhuan Water Monarch away, it rose back into its original position.

Seeing this, the guests’ hearts sank into despair.

……

In a room within an ornate manor lit with white lanterns blazing with terrifying and eerie green flames.

“Miss Lingxue, this is my adoptive father’s Ninebends City. Never mind your Master Zhu Guqing; even a god or emperor would die beyond a doubt if they showed up here.”

Huyan Bao sat there gleefully, watching the stunningly beautiful young woman nearby. Despite himself, his expression was heated.

But then, he grew somber, and he said seriously, “But you can relax. So long as you agree to become my wife, I guarantee that I’ll get you out of here. Furthermore, I’ll marry you openly and properly—you’ll be my proper wife!”

Wen Lingxue’s face was pallid, and she sat there in silence. She looked exhausted, lost, and grim.

“Argh, forget it.” Huyan Bao let out a long sigh. “I won’t force you. Just drink this tea, and tomorrow, I’ll take you away.”

As he spoke, he picked up a cup full of ginseng tea and passed it to her, looking pained. “You haven’t eaten anything in two days. Quick, drink up! That way, you’ll have the energy you need to leave this place tomorrow.”

Wen Lingxue remained silent.

When he saw this, Huyan Bao finally ran out of patience. He slammed the table and shouted, “You’re the woman I, Huyan Bao, fell for! There’s no way I’ll let you abuse your body!”

He picked up the teacup, then walked over and held it to her lips. “Do as you're told and drink it. Otherwise, I’ll have to feed it to you.”

It was as if Wen Lingxue couldn’t even hear him. She just ignored him completely.

Huyan Bao’s eyes flashed with vicious light, and he reached out to pry her jaws open.

But then—

Bang!

Someone kicked open the tightly-sealed doors.

“What the—? Who the hell….” Huyan Bao jumped in fright, and the teacup fell to the floor and shattered. He was so angry that he wanted to curse and shout.

But when he whipped around and saw who had come, he was stunned. “Ah? Adoptive Father? What are you….”

But then he realized that a young man in blue was dragging the Wuhuan Water Monarch along like a trussed chicken. For a moment, Huyan Bao thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

His adoptive father was the master of Ninebends City! He’d reigned over this place for over a hundred years, and he could disregard even Xiantian Martial Ancestors! How had this happened to him?

Despite this sudden change, Wen Lingxue still just sat there, as if she didn’t even notice. Her face was pallid. She looked numb and exhausted.

Su Yi’s heart twisted at the sight of her. “Lingxue, I’m sorry I’m late.”

He sighed. I just knew I shouldn’t have let Lingxue board that ship with Zhu Guqing.

Wen Lingxue’s delicate frame twitched imperceptibly, and she finally came back to her senses.

She instinctively looked over, then saw a familiar figure. For a moment, she was dazed, as if she dared not believe her eyes. “Brother-in-Law, is that really you?”

Su Yi nodded. “This is no hallucination. Don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out of here.”

His tone was gentle and pained.

“Brother-in-Law….” Wen Lingxue shot to her feet, her slender figure quivering as tears poured down her beautiful face in big droplets.

Su Yi found this hard to take. This was the first time since his marriage into the Wen Family that he saw this lively, vivacious, high-spirited girl crying like this.

Huyan Bao finally seemed to realize what was happening too, and his expression shifted dramatically. He reached for Wen Lingxue as if to take her hostage.

“Kneel.” Su Yi’s indifferent voice rang out, carrying the power of the “Great Void Soul Sword Incantation”.

An explosion went off in Huyan Bao’s mind, and his body went limp. His knees thudded to the ground; he had no power to resist at all.

“What did you put in that tea?” Su Yi walked over and picked up the teapot.

“Ginseng… It’s ginseng tea,” said Huyan Bao in a quavering voice. “Your Excellency, my father is the Deathbringer’s Gate’s Huyan Hai….”

“Drink it.” Su Yi poured another cup, then passed it to him.

Huyan Bao trembled from head to toe, and he looked troubled.

Splurt!

Guiding Mysteries flashed, and Huyan Bao’s right ear fell off with a spray of blood. The agony was so intense that he rolled on the ground, wailing in agony.

“This is your last chance. Drink it.” Su Yi proffered the cup once more.

“I’ll drink! I’ll drink!” Huyan Bao took the teacup, then drained it and said in a trembling voice, “Your Excellency, I beg you, don’t kill me! I did nothing wrong! Really! I can swear by the heavens themselves!”

But as soon as he said this, his cheeks flushed red, his eyes went bloodshot, and his breathing went ragged.

“An aphrodisiac….” Su Yi’s gaze was increasingly cold, but his heart surged with murderous intent. If I’d come even just a little later… The consequences would have been unimaginable!

Thud! Su Yi threw the Wuhuan Water Monarch to the floor, then tugged Wen Lingxue’s arm. “Lingxue, let’s get out of here.”

“Brother-in-Law, I…” Wen Lingxue had no strength in her body. After just one step, she almost collapsed.

“Rest first. I’ll carry you.” As Su Yi spoke, he picked her up and put her on his back, then left the room.

He paused outside the door. “If either of you dares take so much as half a step past this door, I’ll kill you.”

The Wuhuan Water Monarch lay there on the floor, unbearably weak. When he heard this, he was dazed. What does he mean by that?

But then, everything before him went dark as someone pounced and pressed him against the floor.

“Scoundrel! What are you doing?” exclaimed the Wuhuan Water Monarch. He recognized this person—it was Huyan Bao!

“Beauty, I’m hot… so hot….” Huyan Bao’s face was bright red, and his eyes blazed with passion and desire. His body burst with unprecedented power as he held the Wuhuan Water Monarch firmly in place.

“Damn you!” The Wuhuan Water Monarch’s heart thudded. He realized that the aphrodisiac Huyan Bao had just drunk was overly strong, to the point that he’d started hallucinating. “Scram! Get off me!”

He was frantic, and he shouted and struggled relentlessly, but he was severely injured. How could he possibly break free?

Worse, his struggles only made Huyan Bao giggle. “Beauty, your thighs are so strong! You’re going to snap my waist!”

The Wuhuan Water Monarch was on the verge of collapse. He shouted hysterically, “Bastard! I’ll kill you if it's the last thing I do!”

But Huyan Bao was in no state to listen to that. He was like a beast overcome with lust. All he wanted was release….

Meanwhile, Su Yi stood outside, calmly listening to this play out.

They'd brought this upon themselves. They had no one else to blame.

“Dammit! I won’t let you do this even if it kills me!” Before long, the Wuhuan Water Monarch’s infuriated, aggrieved roar emanated from within the room.

Bang!

Before he’d even finished shouting, there was a loud commotion followed by Huyan Bao’s piteous shriek. “Adoptive Father, why are you…”

His voice ended abruptly.

Su Yi kicked down the door and saw the Wuhuan Monarch, his hair in disarray and his body riddled with wounds. He looked terrible, and he was fading and illusory.

Huyan Bao’s corpse lay beside him, his eyes wide, his face still written with bewilderment and confusion.

The truly vile part was that his lower half was a mess of blood, and all his “important parts” were missing….

Su Yi raised his hand to cover Wen Lingxue’s eyes, only to discover that she was resting her head on his shoulder; she’d already dozed off.

How much torment must she have endured over the past two days for her to wind up so exhausted….? Su Yi sighed to himself.

The Wuhuan Water Monarch wasn’t far away, and when he saw Su Yi standing in the doorway, he roared with incomparable loathing and venom, “The Divine Monarch of Tragedy won’t let you get away with this!”

Su Yi’s hand stretched out, and with a bang, the Wuhuan Water Monarch’s already ragged soul body burst into roiling black smoke and dispersed into nothingness.

……

Back in the center of the ritual grounds, near the black altar.

Ning Sihua stood in silence. She inwardly sighed in relief. Zhu Guqing had already told her everything that happened in detail.

Luckily, since they saw Zhu Guqing as a “sacrificial offering”, she hadn’t suffered any abuse or defilement beyond a few superficial wounds. Otherwise, Ning Sihua feared she’d never recover from this humiliation.

Nearby, the surviving ghosts and yao knelt on the ground, too terrified to even breathe loudly.

They’d all witnessed Ning Sihua’s terrifying power, and they were well aware that even if they went all out, they’d be like ants attempting to shake a tree or eggs trying to break a rock.

Add that to the fact that the Nine Palaces Slaughter Formation had completely sealed the space off, and they had no way out. In the face of almost certain doom; all they could do was kneel and pay their respects….

Only Tao Qingshan and Teng Yong remained standing, but when they saw this, their hearts were shaken beyond words. A long time passed, but they still couldn’t calm down.

Seth's Thoughts

Extra long TL note to commemorate 200 chapters! Well, okay, it's a coincidence; I just had a lot to say. But still! 200 chapters! Whoot whoot!

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Hot pillar torture, or Paolao, is something I’d never heard of. There’s not very much information about it available in English, but it's cool, in a gruesome way.

It’s up for debate whether this torture method ever actually existed, but it’s attributed to Da Ji, the woman the famed tyrant King Zhou of Shang was bonkers over.

This article about Da Ji describes it in some detail: “On top of all those atrocities, Da Ji was best known for her invention of a device of torture called Paolao: a bronze cylinder heated like a furnace with charcoal until the sides were extremely hot. Then the victim would be bound on the cylinder and baked to death. Da Ji would take great delight in the painful cries of the condemned.”

Here’s an (old, not particularly graphic) illustration.

Here’s a fun (but not necessarily useful) gathering of images and descriptions from Har Par Villa in Singapore, which has statues of hell(s) and their various tortures. Paolao is mentioned, albeit just once. There’s a similar museum in Beijing, which I recommend visiting if you get the chance.

There’s a variant of paolao by the same name in which you’re forced to walk over the pillar instead. The idea is that you can’t, so you inevitably fall off and into the flame, where you promptly burn to death. (More images here, including of the variant.)

Again, not sure how much this actually happened, or if it ever actually happened, but if nothing else, Paolao exists in Chinese pop culture.

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“The truly vile part was that his lower half was a mess of blood, and all his “important parts” were missing….”

The last half of this sentence is a (non-literal) translation of the idiom 鸡飞蛋打.

鸡飞蛋打 is a relatively common idiom that means “a complete loss.” Literally, it means “The chicken flew (away), and the eggs are broken.”

However, in this case, it’s a bit different.

鸡, or “chicken” is slang for a certain part of the male anatomy.

蛋, or “egg” is slang for another, closely-related part of the male anatomy.

...You do the math.

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义父 means “adoptive father” but don’t interpret that as meaning that Huyan Bao has been abandoned by his biological father, that Huyan Hai is dead, or that the Wuhuan Water Monarch literally raised him. The word they’re using here is kinda like…. Well, you know how characters will become sworn brothers sometimes in these novels? To the best of my understanding, it’s like that, but with enough of an age difference that it’s a bit more parental.

义父 = Sworn/adoptive father. Can sometimes refer to the man who literally raised you too, but not always.

干爹 = Godfather

养父 =Adoptive father, but like, the person who actually raised you.

继父 = Step-father (standard term)

后父 = Step-father (informal term)