Embers of Sword

Chapter 696 Untying the Knot
Xie Xuanyi slowly recounted what had happened during this period.

The demons are vanquished in the southern borderlands, and the imperial city marches south...

These two major events are truly astounding.

Jiang Miaoyin's expression was initially calm, but gradually became shocked, and finally her eyes were filled with disbelief.

"what do you mean……"

"The true traitor of Sword Palace is not Qingzhu, but the senior brother?!"

I heard the part about swords and forests.

Jiang Miaoyin's expression was extremely complicated.

For so many years, she has blamed herself for the tragedy in Beihai.

If it weren't for my carelessness, if it weren't for my gullibility in trusting Qingzhu... the ending of Beihai might have been rewritten.

In a sense, this is where her "heart knot" lies.

Hear the news.

The shadow that had been weighing on my heart suddenly shattered.

The woman sitting in the chair felt the immense weight on her shoulders dissipate like smoke. She slumped back in the chair, feeling an unprecedented sense of ease, and two streams of clear tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

Xie Xuanyi remained silent.

He silently handed over a silk handkerchief.

"So...it wasn't me..."

Jiang Miaoyin's voice trembled, yet carried a smile: "For so many years, I've always thought it was my fault... that you took your own life in Beihai..."

"In any case, what happened back then is not your fault."

Xie Xuanyi shook his head and said seriously, "You sent Qingzhu out with the intention of rescuing her."

"Not long ago... I stopped Qingzhu..."

Jiang Miaoyin's voice was still trembling slightly: "I want to find her and ask her what happened... In fact, I've already asked her many times in this dream..."

that day.

She confronted Qingzhu on the mountaintop.

Jiang Miaoyin wanted to know who was manipulating Qingzhu behind the scenes.

"And then?" Xie Xuanyi asked.

"Then... she exploded."

Jiang Miaoyin shook her head and said self-deprecatingly, "She didn't leave me any useful clues."

"Self-destruction?"

Xie Xuanyi's eyes narrowed: "Did you capture the scene at that time with your divine sense?"

"Well……"

Jiang Miaoyin fell into thought. After a moment, she took out a jade slip and reenacted the scene she had seen that night.

Xie Xuanyi took the jade slip, glanced at it, and already knew the answer in his heart.

Qingzhu exploded on the mountaintop.

Countless drops of blood splattered everywhere, mixed with traces of frost.

"The Way of the Paper Dolls!"

Xie Xuanyi coldly said, "As expected, it's related to Lu Yuzhen!"

"The Way of the Paper Dolls?"

Jiang Miaoyin's expression turned serious as she said, "Isn't this sect something that only appeared in the last ten years...? Is Qingzhu a member of the Paper Doll Sect?"

"Given Lu Yuzhen's style, he either remains silent or makes a stunning statement."

Xie Xuanyi suppressed his anger and slowly said, "The Paper Doll Dao was meticulously planned before it came into existence... If Lu Yuzhen really wants to infiltrate the Great Sui Sword Palace, Qingzhu and Zhou Zhiren are both excellent candidates for the 'Paper Doll'."

Qingzhu is Jiang Miaoyin's personal maid.

Zhou Zhiren is the senior disciple of Lianhua Peak.

With these two "paper figures" working for her, Lu Yuzhen managed to grasp the intelligence and movements of the entire Da Sui Sword Palace at almost the lowest cost.

Every rustle of grass, every little thing, is captured in my sight.

"I can understand Qingzhu."

Jiang Miaoyin gritted her teeth: "But Senior Brother... how could Senior Brother betray the Sword Palace and join the Paper Doll Path?" After all, Qingzhu had a blood feud with the Jiang family.

Everything she did was a facade, all for revenge.

Zhou Zhiren is different.

This is a disciple of the Sword Palace personally brought back by Zhao Chunyang. He is the senior disciple of Lotus Peak and there is absolutely no reason for him to betray the Sword Palace... For him, staying in the Sword Palace is the best choice.

"I also want to know the answer."

Xie Xuanyi's tone turned cold: "Actually, it's not hard for you to guess that there's a second 'traitor' in the Sword Palace... isn't it?"

Jiang Miaoyin was stunned again upon hearing this.

Yes.

She understood what Xie Xuanyi meant.

As a variable in this "great calamity," killing Qingzhu was tantamount to changing the course of the North Sea... However, even without Qingzhu as a traitor, Xie Xuanyi's whereabouts were still leaked. Every time she arrived in Yusang City, a great battle had already broken out.

obviously.

Within the Great Eagle Sword Palace, there exists another leaker, whose existence is even more deadly than that of Qingzhu!

"you're right."

Jiang Miaoyin lowered her eyes and said sadly, "Even now that I know the 'truth,' I still can't accept it. I really don't want to believe that my senior brother would do such a thing..."

"..."

The teahouse returned to silence.

After a moment, Xie Xuanyi picked up his teacup and said gently, "Alright, there's no point in overthinking. Since we're here, let's see some things for ourselves."

Steam rises from the teacup.

“I never imagined that I would experience the ‘Great Calamity of Beihai’ again here.”

Xie Xuanyi kept raising his cup, smiled, and then said seriously, "I hope I can survive, and I hope even more that I can untie your 'knot'... I want to apologize to you for what happened in the previous life."

Jiang Miaoyin's heart trembled violently.

She looked up at the handsome face in front of her, as youthful as ever.

Xie Xuanyi's arrival was nothing short of a "lifesaver".

Alone in this cycle of dreams, she doesn't know how many failures she will have to endure before she can end this "mental tribulation."

"I……"

With a thousand words stuck in her throat, Jiang Miaoyin raised her teacup and gently touched it with Xie Xuanyi's.

A clanging sound.

The crisp sound of teacups echoed in the private room.

The next moment, the walls of the teahouse shattered with a crash, and a giant snake emerged from the ground of Yusang City. It leaped out of the ground like a fish, hovering high in the air, and then slammed down heavily with its tail!

Screams, cries, and roars erupted at this moment!
Xie Xuanyi stepped forward and pulled Jiang Miaoyin, who had no time to react, into his arms. The two of them were struck by the snake's tail and sent flying.

"Boom!"

The entire city of Yusang was engulfed in an earthquake. Countless dark clouds and malevolent energy rose from the cracks in the ground, condensing at the top of the sky and transforming into a colossal palace that inspired awe and fear.

The city is truly under siege by dark clouds, threatening to collapse!
The entire long street where the teahouse was located was shattered and reduced to ruins by that attack.

A thick cloud of smoke and dust enveloped the area.

The old man carried the child and fled quickly, while the boys and girls scattered in tears, turning Yusang City into a living hell.

However, wherever the Yin energy shrouded, black walls rose up from the ground. When the fleeing crowd touched the Yin energy walls, they were instantly swallowed up and fell silent... In just a few breaths, the once noisy and bustling town became completely silent and deathly still.

"Fizz!"

The giant snake flicked its tongue and slowly raised its head.

On its flat head sat a cross-legged, eerie child dressed in snow-white robes, with a languid expression.

Due to various changes in cause and effect, this great calamity in the North Sea has undergone earth-shattering changes...

Beside the strange child, there were two figures, one in red and one in green, hanging like blazing suns.

White Ghost, Red Immortal, Blue Owl.

The Three Saints of Yinshan appeared together.

(End of this chapter)