Chapter 61 - 57: This One Sword Splits the River
Chapter 61: Chapter 57: This One Sword Splits the River
"I’m Zhong! Yum Zhong!"
Su Chen didn’t react.
"Master Su, on the first day of the second month, Lord Xu took me to the Library Pavilion. I was new to the Imperial Palace back then, and I was the one who brought you your meals..."
And then, Su Chen remembered.
Indeed, there had been such a Little Black-robed Eunuch.
He was clumsy.
"Everyone says you died on the Night of Celestial Change, that you fell to Long Xuanjun’s sword during the Battle of Liang’s Destruction..."
"I never thought you’d still be alive..."
When Yum Zhong snapped out of it, he was overcome with emotion, tears streaming down his face. He flicked his robes aside, preparing to kneel before Su Chen in front of everyone and pay his respects, just as he had in the Library Pavilion all those years ago.
Su Chen stopped him.
"So it was you."
"You’ve aged quite a bit."
Su Chen recognized him. ’So it was him, no wonder he looked familiar. His name is Yum Zhong?’ He was learning it for the first time.
Sixteen years had passed.
He was already in a Blue Robe and had reached Third-Grade Gang Condensation. ’How the world has changed.’
"Please, sit!"
Yum Zhong scrambled to his feet. Su Chen accepted without ceremony, taking a seat in the very center of the main hall. ’The view from here really is great,’ he thought.
The esteemed guests in the hall exchanged glances.
’Weren’t they about to fight?’
’They’re not fighting anymore?’
And another thing.
’Who is this person?’
’He looks like a servant on this Painted Boat, but how could a mere servant be treated with such reverence by Eunuch Yum?’
’If he were a noble from the Imperial Palace, that would make more sense.’
"He’s so handsome, I don’t remember him. He really doesn’t seem like a servant on the Tower Ship!"
"Wait."
"That’s not a servant’s black clothes, it’s a Standard Eunuch Robe from the Imperial Palace? A eunuch from the palace?"
*HISS!*
’I think I kicked him, didn’t I?’
The Steward wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his legs trembling. Just as he was debating whether to kowtow and beg for forgiveness...
From the private room upstairs, the youth in magnificent brocade robes, the Marquis of Jiangling, glared angrily at the Steward and roared.
"The auction should be over by now!"
"The two thousand Golden Flowers will be delivered tomorrow!"
"Now."
"Bring Cyan Sparrow up to me! I’ve got some fire to vent today, and I’m going to let a certain dog eunuch—one of the Great Liang Remnants—get a good earful!"
"HAHAHA!"
The Marquis of Jiangling was laughing loudly. His words were directed at the Steward, but the ridicule was aimed at Yum Zhong and Su Chen.
The hall fell silent. No one dared to laugh along. They all cursed their luck for coming to this Tower Ship today when they had nothing better to do.
"Courting death!"
Yum Zhong was furious. His Gang Qi surged, and he was about to strike again.
’He can insult me, whatever.’
’But daring to insult Master Su? He’s courting death.’
"Calm down."
"By the way."
"I want this woman to dance another piece and sing another song for me. Her dancing is indeed quite good."
Su Chen pulled Yum Zhong back and pointed to the young woman named Cyan Sparrow on the high stage.
He hadn’t had his fill just now.
From this very spot, he wanted to hear another song and watch another dance—for himself, and for his friend as well.
At that moment, Cyan Sparrow’s face was filled with humiliation, tears welling in her eyes. Her nails dug into her palms, and faint traces of blood could be seen.
’Cultivation!’
’No matter what, I must achieve cultivation!’
’If... I even have a tomorrow...’
"What are you standing there stunned for?"
"My Master Su wants to hear a song and see a dance!"
"I would like to see who here in Jinjiang City dares to lay a finger on the girl on that stage before this dance is over."
"Think very carefully if your entire families are enough for me—and the Military Supervision Bureau behind me—to slaughter..."
Yum Zhong was submissive in front of Su Chen, but in the blink of an eye, his Blue Robe billowed, his eyes glared furiously, and he once again became the ruthless Jinjiang Supervisor who killed without batting an eye.
SHING!
Inside the Tower Ship, all the guards Yum Zhong had brought drew their sabers.
"Heh."
"So what if I do?"
"Jinjiang is my fiefdom. My adoptive father is the Great Zhou Longxuan Lord. You, a Great Liang Remnant, dare to touch a single hair on my head?"
The Marquis of Jiangling sneered.
The guards he brought, not to be outdone, also drew their swords, their eyes fierce, ready to fight at any moment.
The tension in the air was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"This..."
The Steward was caught between a rock and a hard place. He couldn’t afford to provoke or offend either of these two titans.
Just then, behind the Marquis of Jiangling, a grim man in black armor with a Long Saber at his side stepped forward.
"It’s just one dance."
"My lord Marquis, why not indulge him?"
"This person can sense my presence."
"Perhaps."
"He is a Second Grade expert."
The Marquis of Jiangling’s pupils constricted. Though arrogant, he was no fool. A Second Grade was already a master, of which there were only a handful in Jinjiang City.
Most importantly, such an expert could threaten his life.
"Of course."
"Among Second Grades, I am the strongest. If we really fight, it would take me no more than three strikes to kill him."
The Black-armored Man stared at Su Chen, his expression arrogant—or perhaps, just confident.
"HAHAHA!"
"Fine!"
"I grant you one dance, Great Liang Remnant."
The Marquis of Jiangling recovered his swagger. With his hands behind his back, he was still sneering, but he no longer dared to mock them so openly.
A Second Grade expert, even a Great Liang Remnant, had to be shown some deference. There was no other reason than the fear of death.
But that was as far as it went.
"Dance!"
"Being able to perform for Master Su is a blessing you must have spent years cultivating to earn."
Yum Zhong looked towards the plainly dressed young woman on the high stage.
Then, he trotted back to Su Chen’s side, removed most of the pastries—leaving only the ones he knew Su Chen liked—and prepared a bottle of White Confucian Wine.
Sixteen years had passed; it was remarkable he still remembered so clearly.
However, White Confucian Wine was too bitter.
Su Chen had stopped drinking it long ago.
"I’ve always been clumsy, but thankfully, I’m good at rote memorization. I still managed to remember Master Su’s preferences."
Yum Zhong smiled good-naturedly.
"Han."
Su Chen seemed to be in a daze.
’The man from the past is still here.’
’But it’s a pity...’
’My old friend is gone.’
On the high stage, moonlight spilled down, illuminating Cyan Sparrow’s slender form.
This was a sword dance. The melodious sound of a pipa, laced with a hint of deadly conflict, began to play. Cyan Sparrow’s graceful figure began to move, as if she had truly become a lone sparrow swaying on a battlefield. The sword in her hand was her wing, yet it could never seem to sever the shackles that bound her.