Wuxia: Become the 100-Victory Sword King at the Beginning

Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade swiftly severed the head of the Liao general, displaying it on the tip of his blade. He then roared, "Liao dogs, your general is dead! Surrender now!" His voice echoed through the valley, and his black hair billowed in the wind and snow like an inky waterfall.

The remaining Liao cavalry were thrown into chaos upon seeing this. Some turned their horses around to try to escape, but were blocked by the fleeing Western Xia soldiers behind them.

Chaos erupted in the valley. At that moment, Li Tieniu on the cliff gave a signal, and Shi Feiyang unleashed the "Benefit to Cross the Great River" palm strike. The force of the strike, carrying boulders and snow, triggered a massive avalanche.

The Liao cavalry and the routed Western Xia soldiers were buried under the snow, their screams gradually swallowed by the wind and snow. Wolf Valley instantly became their graveyard.

Shi Feiyang stood at the mouth of the valley after the avalanche, gazing in the direction of Yunzhou City, where the lights flickered in the wind and snow. His Xuan Shuang Blade was stuck in the snow, the ice silkworm silk on the blade wrapped around the monk Duan's precept knife, the camellia mark on the blade soaked in blood and blurred.

Li Tieniu ran over excitedly and said, "Boss, we won!"

The bamboo cane moved merrily in the snow, the copper bell at its tip ringing out with a clear and melodious sound.

A smile played on Shi Feiyang's lips, but a hint of worry flashed in his eyes. He knew that the ambitions of the Liao, Western Xia, Dali, and Tubo would not be extinguished, and the borders of the Song Dynasty would not remain peaceful forever. But he was not afraid. As long as he had breath in his body, he would stand like a mountain, blocking these wolves from view, protecting this land and those he cared about.

The wind and snow gradually stopped, and a crescent moon peeked out from the clouds, illuminating the desolate scene of Wolf Valley. Shi Feiyang drew his Xuan Shuang Blade, the icy light of the blade reflecting on his face, his handsome features tinged with a chilling coldness born of ruthlessness.

He turned and looked towards Bianliang, where the people he cared about and the things he hadn't finished were.

Then, he said in a deep voice, "Li Tieniu, pack your things, we're going to Bianliang." Li Tieniu was stunned for a moment, then understood what Shi Feiyang meant. He nodded vigorously, his bamboo cane leaving a deep mark in the snow.

……

When the snow in Wolf Valley was trampled by horses' hooves, Shi Feiyang had already changed into an ordinary hunter's cotton-padded coat.

His coarse cloth clothes were stained with pine resin, and his Xuan Shuang Blade was wrapped in a tattered burlap sack and slung diagonally across his back, making him look like he was carrying a bundle of firewood.

His black hair was haphazardly tied with straw rope, covering half of his face, revealing only his sharply defined jawline—a spot that Li Tieniu had just smeared with soot from the bottom of a pot, saying it was to cover up his "soul-stealing flesh."

The two traveled day and night, their horses galloping like the wind. Early the next morning, Li Tieniu rode up and pointed ahead, saying, "Chief, the border of Fenzhou is just ahead." A wine gourd was hanging from his bamboo cane, and the copper bell at the end of the cane was wrapped in cloth and rang dully.

He glanced at the ice silkworm jade at Shi Feiyang's waist, which shimmered faintly under the coarse cloth, and then introduced, "The prefect of Fenzhou is a member of the New Party and has long-standing ties with the Western Xia Yipintang. We have to go around the city."

Shi Feiyang's fingertips twirled under his cotton-padded jacket, and the silver threads of his Heavenly Silkworm Skill quietly wrapped around his cuffs. He smiled and asked, "Take a detour?" A few strands of his black hair, tied with straw rope, slipped down, revealing a slyness in his eyes reminiscent of Yang Guo. He chuckled and said, "The more bustling the place, the better it is for people to hide."

He reined in his black horse, Ta Xue Wu Zhui, which snorted, and ice shards from its hooves splashed onto the worn-out shoes of a Beggar Clan disciple beside him—the disciple was disguised as a lame peddler, with twenty poisoned bamboo darts hidden in his carrying pole.

As the group of seven mingled with a caravan heading to Fenzhou City, the wind and snow suddenly intensified.

Snow fell with a "whoosh" from the old locust tree beside the official road, revealing three huddled dark figures.

Shi Feiyang's "Hidden Identity and Name" movement technique abruptly halted, and the Xuan Shuang Blade trembled slightly beneath the sack—the hem of the shadowy figure's robe was embroidered with the nine-petaled lotus of the Emei Sect. Therefore, Shi Feiyang decided to temporarily stay at the local temple, and then proceed with his actions after meeting with the other elders of the Beggars' Sect.

The earth god temple outside Fenzhou City had long since lost its incense smoke; the broken walls let in drafts that blew the fragments of the offering table onto the ground. Shi Feiyang's coarse cotton-padded jacket was stained with pine resin, and his collar was askew, revealing half of his collarbone, which was frozen by the cold wind and gleamed with a jade-like luster—the unique glow of the Mingyu Gong when it circulated.

The straw rope binding his hair was half-loose, and his long, dark hair fell down, obscuring his left eye, revealing only the vermilion mole at the corner of his right eye, which looked like a dying ember in the dim light. Li Tieniu ran over and warned, "Chief, this temple is very eerie." He leaned his bamboo cane against the threshold, the copper bell on its tip muffled by the snow.

Before the words were finished, a sudden clang of metal clashing erupted from within the temple, like someone scraping bone with a blade, followed by a woman's muffled groan, the breath tinged with blood. Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade trembled slightly beneath the burlap sack. The moment he lifted the tattered curtain of the temple door, he stumbled upon seven flashes of sword light surrounding a figure in pure white.

The peerless beauty Ling Shuanghua's Emei dagger was broken in two, one half still embedded in the throat of the Western Xia warrior. Her plain white robe was soaked black with blood, and the short arrow stuck in her left shoulder had bits of flesh hanging from its barb. It trembled slightly with her panting. Most glaring was the nine-petaled lotus pattern at her waist—mostly obscured by blood, yet still clearly the mark of the Emei Sect.

The bearded man cursed, "You little wench have some guts." His Blood River Whip lashed at her wrist with a whooshing sound, the barbs at the tip gleaming blue under the oil lamp. He then said wickedly, "Elder Duan said that your Nine Yang Skill Manual, combined with his Yin-Yang Harmony Technique, is perfect for practicing the 'Yin-Yang Harmony Technique'."

Ling Shuanghua's face was as white as the snow outside the temple, but she bit her lip and didn't utter another sound.

Bloodstains clung to her temples, clinging to her jade-like cheeks. A shard of ice even clung to her eyelashes. When she opened her eyes, the shard fell and landed on the jade pendant on her chest—the pendant was engraved with the words "Frost Splendor," and was warmed by her body temperature.

Shi Feiyang cursed, "The tongues of the Western Xia dogs stink more than whips." His straw rope snapped, and his dark hair cascaded in the wind, revealing a face more dazzling than a flickering candle in a temple. The silver ring on his left ear spun in the oil lamplight, perfectly reflecting the ferocious expression on his bushy beard.

Just as the warrior's Blood River Whip reached Ling Shuanghua's shoulder, Shi Feiyang unleashed the "Shocking Calamity" divine skill. A cold glint swept across, and the oil lamp crackled and popped. In that instant, the bearded man's body suddenly froze, his skin turning blue and freezing at a visible speed, and even the fierce light in his pupils froze into frost flowers.

With a few crisp "crack" sounds, the corpse shattered into ice shards scattered all over the ground, mingling with the ashes from the offering table and raising a cloud of dust, some of which even landed in Ling Shuanghua's hair.

Seeing this, the remaining Western Xia warriors cursed and charged forward, brandishing their swords. Shi Feiyang's sack suddenly ripped open, and the icy light of his Xuan Shuang Blade shattered the oil lamp, drawing a cold arc in the dim light. He lightly swung his left hand with the "Shifting Flowers and Jade" divine skill, but deliberately slowed down his right hand's sword by half a beat. When the easternmost warrior's curved sword was only three inches from his throat, he suddenly spun around and drew his strength.

The blade slashed open his companion's neck with a "thud," scalding blood spraying all over Shi Feiyang's face, but he seemed oblivious, even licking the blood from the corner of his lips. The last warrior cursed, "Such a handsome young man, what a pity." His poisoned arrow was already nocked, the "bone-corroding poison" on the arrowhead gleaming green in the moonlight.

Suddenly, Shi Feiyang grabbed the arrow shaft with his other hand, twisted the arrowhead with his knuckles, and as the poisoned arrow pierced the warrior's brow, he said mockingly, "It's a pity you've never seen a real way to kill."

Ling Shuanghua's Emei dagger clattered to the ground. She watched Shi Feiyang wipe his face with his sleeve; the exposed part of his wrist was even whiter than her jade pendant, with blood droplets rolling on it like red agate. This man's movement was exactly like the legendary "Leaving No Trace for a Thousand Miles." When the cold air in his palm swept over her wound, it suddenly caused the warmth of the Nine Yang Skill to surge up, like a fire being lit in the snow.

Suddenly, the broken window shattered, and twelve red figures rushed in, accompanied by a foul stench. The Tibetan Blood Knife Monk's copper bowl was filled with dark red liquid. The stench, mixed with the wind and snow, filled the temple. As the Beggar Clan disciples couldn't help but gag, the leading red-robed monk licked the rim of the bowl and laughed, "The fish that escaped from Yongle City are indeed hiding in such a filthy place."

Shi Feiyang sheathed his sword, but secretly channeled his Heavenly Silkworm Skill. A shimmering light flowed through his palm, and the powerful internal energy forming the Heavenly Silkworm Silver Threads suddenly surged, binding the snow on the temple beams. He then said self-deprecatingly, "It was my oversight that Wild Wolf Valley didn't cut off your tongue."

His dark hair billowed in the wind and snow, revealing a hint of mockery in his eyes. He quipped, "Today I'll show you, you bald monk, what 'Emperor's Thunderous Fury' really means." The moment his palm strike landed, the snow on the beams turned into ice particles, which, driven by his true energy, burst forth with dazzling lightning.

Ice Lightning struck the Blood Saber Monk's bronze alms bowl, causing the blood inside to suddenly boil and flow upstream along the monk's wrist.

The monks screamed and scratched their chests as flesh peeled away from their bones, revealing skeletons that quickly turned black. When they fell to the ground, they looked like burnt charcoal. Only the blood-stained knife remained stuck in the snow, gleaming with an eerie purple light.

Ling Shuanghua suddenly cried out, "Hero, watch out for the ground!" She grabbed Shi Feiyang's cotton-padded coat and used her Emei dagger to pry up a loose floor tile. The iron chains below were tightly wrapped, and the corpses of Song people in more than a dozen iron cages were emitting green smoke—that was the Western Xia's "bone-dissolving powder," which would ignite when heated.

Her plain robe was lifted by a corner by the wind, revealing a moon-white inner garment underneath. The hem of the garment was embroidered with tiny nine-sun patterns, which were now only faint outlines due to being soaked in blood.

Shi Feiyang unleashed the "Benefiting the Great River" move from the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, a powerful palm strike that blasted the snow into an ice wall.

The silver threads of the Heavenly Silkworm Technique enveloped the iron chain like a spider web. As the threads tightened, the iron chain snapped, and the iron cage, trailing green smoke, crashed into the remains of the Blood Saber Monk.

Amid the explosion, he dragged Ling Shuanghua out of the temple, then used his palm as a blade, the blade's energy cleaving through the snow to reveal the faces of twenty Dali warriors—their monk's knives were engraved with camellias, and the hilts were wrapped with Liao Dynasty wolf-patterned silk.

As the Earth God Temple collapsed in the flames, Shi Feiyang had already taken Ling Shuanghua and stormed onto the official road.

His coarse cotton-padded jacket had long been slashed by the knife, revealing a dark-colored close-fitting outfit underneath. The wet clothes clung to his body, outlining his smooth shoulder line, and his black hair was stuck to the side of his neck with blood, adding a touch of eeriness.

The hooves of the Snow-Treading Black Steed drew sparks across the ice, while the icy gleam of the Frostblade and the Emei daggers of Ling Shuanghua clashed, weaving a web of deadly traps.

The Dali warriors' "One-Finger Divine Skill" shot in from all directions. Shi Feiyang used his "Shifting Flowers and Jade" divine skill to guide the finger force in the opposite direction and penetrate the throat of the Western Xia pursuers.

Ling Shuanghua's Nine Yang Skill suddenly erupted, her white robe billowing in the snow like a blooming white lotus, the arc drawn by the Emei dagger perfectly filling the gap in his palm strike. Blood was still flowing from her left shoulder, droplets of blood falling to the snow and blooming into red plum blossoms, contrasting with the blush on her cheeks, creating a breathtakingly beautiful scene.

Ling Shuanghua exclaimed in shock, "Your cold energy can actually trigger my Nine Yang Skill!" Her eyelashes trembled, and she suddenly remembered her master's words about "yin and yang in harmony." Before she finished speaking, her ears were already bright red. She stole a glance at Shi Feiyang's profile and saw that the lines of his jaw were sharper than the icicles of Mount Emei, but when he turned his head, the cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye shone like a ball of fire.

At this moment, Shi Feiyang unleashed the "Dragon Fights in the Wild" move from the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, the fierce palm wind sending three warriors flying, the sound of the monk's knife hitting the ground ringing out.

Shi Feiyang chuckled again, "Are all the girls from the Emei Sect so easily embarrassed?" Xuan Shuang Blade flicked away the leader's secret letter, and the Liao wolf head seal on the wax was particularly glaring in the snow light—it turned out that Tubo, Dali, and Xixia had long ago colluded to force the Song Dynasty to cede territory in Yunzhou through this series of killings.

Ling Shuanghua's Emei daggers suddenly intensified their attack, as if trying to hide her embarrassment. The hem of her white robe swept across Shi Feiyang's boots, and the snowflakes on it were frozen into ice by the cold energy of his Mingyu Gong. When he raised his leg, the ice shards shattered, splashing between the two of them like a string of unspoken words.

When the morning light illuminated the snow at the end of the official road, the pursuers had already been left behind.

Shi Feiyang reined in his black horse, Ta Xue, and watched as Ling Shuanghua used a broken dagger to remove the arrow from her shoulder. Drops of blood fell onto her white monk's robe, like a painter accidentally spilling rouge. He suddenly untied the Ice Silkworm Jade from his waist and placed it in her hand: "This jade can counteract poison."

The moment Ling Shuanghua's fingertips touched the jade, the Nine Yang Skill resonated with the cold energy within the jade. When she looked up, she happened to see Shi Feiyang's back as he turned around.

His dark outfit had a tear, revealing skin that was as translucent as jade in the morning light. His dark hair was lifted by the wind, and the cinnabar mole on the back of his neck was faintly visible, more unforgettable than any snow scene she had ever seen.

Shi Feiyang unleashed his "Shocking Calamity" divine skill, shattering the three Blood Saber Monks into ice shards scattered on the ground, before suddenly stopping upon hearing this.

The snowflakes on her long hair fell onto Ling Shuanghua's monk's robe, instantly turning into white mist from the warmth of the Nine Yang Skill.

He suddenly remembered what Zhao Qingyi had said on the back of the Vermilion Bird: "Ice and fire are meant to be intertwined." His heart felt as if it had been slashed by the Frost Blade.

In that moment of distraction, the leader of the Xixia First-Class Hall suddenly sprang out from the snowdrift, his Blood River Whip whip whipping towards Ling Shuanghua's back with a poisonous wind.

Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade had no time to react, and he actually blocked the whip with his left arm. The moment the whip's barbs embedded themselves in his flesh, his Mingyu Skill suddenly activated, his skin becoming transparent as ice, and the venom on the barbs condensed into ice crystals from the cold air. Shi Feiyang roared, "You're courting death!" His "Evil Blood Calamity" divine skill activated in response. The blood of the Tibetan monk on the ground suddenly turned into blood arrows, piercing through the hall master's seven orifices.

The hall master's body quickly withered, shrinking to the size of a monkey, while he tightly clutched half a secret letter in his hand—it contained a map of Bianliang's defenses and bore the seal of the Southern King of Liao.

Ling Shuanghua's Emei thorn suddenly pierced Shi Feiyang's left arm, picked out the poisoned ice crystal, and said, "This poison needs to be forced out with the Nine Yang Skill."

Her fingertips pressed against his wound, a warm current flowing along his veins, and she said resolutely, "You saved my life, I'll give you my life in return, we're even."

Shi Feiyang stared at the blood on her pale fingertips and suddenly felt that the scene was very familiar—just like when Börte sucked out the "bone-corroding poison" for him back then, only the campfire back then was not as cold as the wind and snow today.

When the morning light illuminated the snow at the end of the official road, the pursuers were already ten miles away.

Ling Shuanghua's long robe was wrapped in Shi Feiyang's ice silk, and the two of them cast long shadows in the snow, like an unfinished ink painting.

Ling Shuanghua suddenly stopped and said resolutely, "There's a fork in the road ahead. I'm going south." She took off the jade pendant from her waist and stuffed it into Shi Feiyang's hand.

The jade pendant was made of warm jade, engraved with the outline of Mount Emei. After a slight hesitation, he asked with concern, "Yipintang has set up an ambush in Bianliang. This jade will make Emei's spies in the capital recognize you." Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang blade left a trail in the snow as he asked with a smile, "Where are you going?"

Ling Shuanghua said coldly, "Go to Luoyang to find Elder Qu." She twirled her Emei dagger in her palm and explained, "The Tibetans want to use Dali's 'Eight Heavenly Dragons Formation' to trap the Song army. I have to go and deliver the message." Looking at Shi Feiyang's black hair, she suddenly stood on tiptoe and touched his forehead with her blood-stained fingertip, teasingly saying, "Your ice, don't always freeze yourself."

Before Shi Feiyang could react, Ling Shuanghua had already used her lightness skill to dash towards Nanshan. Her white robe grew smaller and smaller in the morning light, like a snowflake blown away by the wind. He gripped the warm jade in his palm, still warm from her touch, which made his heart burn even more than the ice silkworm jade. At this moment, Li Tieniu rode up and urged, "Chief, it's time to go."

His bamboo cane made a thud in the snow, and he reminded everyone, "If we're any later, we'll miss the Lantern Festival in Bianliang."

As Shi Feiyang mounted his horse, the Snow-Treading Black Steed suddenly reared up.

He looked toward the horizon in the direction of Bianliang, where the clouds were glowing with an eerie red—resembling the Blood River Banner of the Western Xia First-Class Hall.

The Frost Blade trembled slightly beneath the sack, as if urging something on, or perhaps issuing a warning.

"Let's go." Shi Feiyang's voice carried through the wind and snow, and the sound of the black steed clattering in the snow rang out again, this time even more urgently than before, as if it wanted to reach Bianliang City, a place where love, hate, and conspiracy were hidden, before some kind of destiny.

The ruins of the local earth god temple beside the official road were still emitting smoke. Amidst the broken walls, the characters carved by Shi Feiyang with his Xuan Shuang blade were gradually being covered by snow—it was the character "Frost." The ice shards between the strokes had not yet melted, and they shimmered with tiny lights in the rising sun.

The Lantern Festival in Bianliang bathed the entire Imperial Street in a honey-colored glow.

Shi Feiyang mingled among the crowd watching the lanterns. He had long since changed his coarse cotton-padded jacket into a lake-blue silk shirt, and the jade pendant given to him by Ling Shuanghua hanging at his waist shone warmly and brightly in the lantern light. His black hair was tied up with a jade crown, and the silver earring on his left ear shimmered in the light and shadow. His handsome face attracted the attention of the girls selling glutinous rice balls, who frequently turned their heads to look at him. Their wooden spoons stirred sweet ripples in the copper pot.

Li Tieniu leaned closer and whispered, "Chief, the Emei Sect's spies are at 'Drunken Spring Pavilion'."

He disguised himself as an accountant, the abacus beads clicking away, but a bamboo leaf was tucked between his fingers—a secret signal agreed upon by the Beggars' Sect and the Emei Sect. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the sugar painting stall on the street corner, where the stall owner's copper spoon, used to shape sugar figures, traced eerie arcs in the firelight—the "Snake Tongue Technique" of the Western Xia First-Class Hall.

Shi Feiyang's fingertips traced the outline of Mount Emei on the jade pendant, and the chill of Mingyu Gong quietly flowed through him. He saw three women wearing veils walk by, the middle one's skirt embroidered with half a phoenix pattern, exactly the same as the petticoat Zhao Qingyi wore in Linzhou.

So he whispered, “Tell the brothers, the ‘fish’ has been caught in the net.” His voice was enveloped in the pipa music of the singing girl, his black boots rolled over the lamplight on the ground, and the silver threads of his Heavenly Silkworm Kung Fu spread along the bluestone slabs and wrapped around the ankle of the sugar painting stall owner.

The red lanterns of Zuichunlou swayed on the second floor. A woman in a blue Taoist robe sat by the window. On the table was a bowl of untouched almond tea, and the water stains on the rim of the tea bowl had formed the shape of a nine-petaled lotus.

Just as Shi Feiyang was about to go upstairs, three Liao warriors suddenly bumped into his shoulders, the wolf head patterns on their swords gleaming fiercely in the lantern light.

"A pretty boy from the Central Plains dares to come to a place like this?" The leading warrior roared and reached out to remove Shi Feiyang's jade crown, but screamed the moment he touched his hair—Shi Feiyang's Heavenly Silkworm Technique silver threads had pierced into his pulse points, and the excruciating pain of his internal energy flowing backward made him curl up on the ground, and blood beads seeping from his seven orifices gathered into small pools of blood on the blue bricks.

Shi Feiyang dusted off his wrinkled silk robe, and heard the crisp sound of a teacup shattering inside the building. The woman in the blue Taoist robe had already leaped out of the window, the silver threads of her whisk wrapped around the throats of two Western Xia assassins, while the handle of the whisk secretly made a "three" gesture—meaning that Emei's spies in the capital had been reduced by 30%.

……

The cellar of Zuichunlou was so damp you could wring water out of it; Shi Feiyang's lake-blue silk shirt was covered in cobwebs; and his jade pendant gleamed coldly in the torchlight.

The woman in the blue Taoist robe removed her veil, revealing a face scarred by a sword, the scar from her left eyebrow to her jaw resembling a ferocious snake.

She held one palm up to her chest and said respectfully, "This humble nun, Jingxuan, has come here to await the great hero at the request of my nephew, Ling." Her whisk pointed to a hidden compartment in the corner of the wall, inside which was a map of Bianliang's city defenses, with seven red dots circled in vermilion. Jingxuan then explained, "Yipintang has set up ambushes at Daxiangguo Temple, Jinming Pond, and Zhuque Gate, with 'Blood Shadow Guards' at each point—these are assassins who have practiced the 'Bone-Melting Palm' technique."

Shi Feiyang pointed his finger at the red dot on Jinming Pond, which was close to the royal villa. Zhao Qingyi would most likely go there to admire the lanterns tonight. He smiled and asked, "Where are the Tibetan Blood Knife Monks?" Suddenly remembering Ling Shuanghua's words, the torchlight flickered in his eyes, and he said slyly, "Their 'Heavenly Dragon Eight Trigrams Formation' can't be hidden in the shadows of the lanterns, can it?"

Jingxuan's whisk suddenly tightened, and he said seriously, "Does the young master know about the 'Lantern Festival'?"

She lifted the bottom of the hidden compartment, revealing half a human skeleton with Sanskrit inscriptions on it. She then whispered, "Yipintang will use the blood of thirty-six young boys and girls as a sacrifice at 3:45 PM to set up the 'Blood River Array' with the help of the sea of ​​lanterns. At that time, the entire Bianliang will be shrouded in poisonous fog."

A muffled thud suddenly came from the top of the cellar. Li Tieniu's bamboo cane pierced through the wooden plank, and the copper bell at the top of the cane vibrated rapidly. He whispered, "Chief, the Xixia dogs have surrounded the restaurant! The leader is Liang Yongzhi, the head of the First-Class Hall, who is carrying the head of a Beggar Clan disciple!"

Shi Feiyang drew his Xuan Shuang Blade, the ice silk on the blade wrapped around the Emei token handed to him by Jing Xuan. He whispered, "Tell Zhao Qingyi that the lotus lanterns in Jinming Pond are poisoned." After saying that, he used his peerless lightness skill, "Leaving No Trace for a Thousand Miles," and as his lake-blue silk robe swept out of the cellar, he ran into Liang Yongzhi's Mountain-Splitting Axe, which was about to strike the stairs.

Shi Feiyang said jokingly, "Master Liang, hasn't the snow in Wolf Valley frozen your bones yet?" But instead of fighting Liang Yongzhi, he drifted away. At this moment, he was extremely eager to see Zhao Qingyi, tormented by unrequited love!
……

In the twilight, the Nine-Bend Bridge of Jinming Pond resembled a silver chain soaked in honey. The candlelight from the lotus lanterns rippled along the water, turning Zhao Qingyi's pomegranate-red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) into flowing gold. Her phoenix palanquin stopped beside the vermilion pillars of the waterside pavilion. The luminous pearl pendant on her hairpin dangled at her cheek, trembling gently with her breath, dimming the surrounding lamplight—even the brightest "Dragon and Phoenix Auspiciousness" lamp paled in comparison to her.

"Princess, Young Master Shi has arrived." As soon as the maid finished speaking, the ivory fan in Zhao Qingyi's hand suddenly fell onto the bluestone slab. The phoenix embroidered on the fan was wet by the splashing water, and the gold thread at the tip of its wings gleamed with a pitiful light under the candlelight.

She gazed at the lake-blue figure at the bridgehead, her heart pounding faster than the bells of the waterside pavilion. Her fingertips unconsciously twisted the phoenix pattern on the hem of her skirt—it was embroidered by her own hands last night, with the words "Waiting for your return" hidden in the stitches.

Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade was slung diagonally behind his back, and the collar of his lake-blue silk shirt was slightly open, revealing half of his fair collarbone, which shimmered with a jade-like hue in the evening breeze.

The silver ring on his left ear shimmered in the lamplight. As he walked to the center of the bridge, a lotus lantern floated down to his feet. The candlelight made the contours of his profile even softer than white marble, causing the palace maids in the waterside pavilion to blush.

"Xiang Tiange, you actually dared to come back." Zhao Qingyi's voice was icy, but softened when she saw the pale pink scar behind his ear—it was from a stray arrow from Yongle City, and she had used her phoenix hairpin to remove the arrowhead. Her fingertips had just touched the Emei token at his waist when her fingertips suddenly felt an icy touch, like touching a red-hot iron, and she abruptly withdrew her hand.

Shi Feiyang's gaze passed over her shoulder and landed on the beam of the waterside pavilion.

There was a very fine black thread wrapped around it, the end of which was hidden in the carvings and tied to a pottery jar. The wisps of gas escaping from the jar's mouth shone with a ghostly green hue under the candlelight—it was the Western Xia's "Bone-Rotting Powder," which would ignite upon contact with heat.

Shi Feiyang teased, "The princess's composure has improved since last year." He suddenly chuckled, his lake-blue sleeves brushing against her hair, the wind stirring up the pearl hairpins at her temples, and then he laughed, "But this waterside pavilion probably can't hide too many people."

Suddenly, a child's scream rang out from afar, like silk being cut by scissors. Three Tibetan monks with blood-stained swords were dragging a little girl in red towards the altar in the center of the pool. The girl's embroidered shoes had fallen to the bank, and the tiger head on the shoe was mostly smeared with blood.

The leading monk held up a blood-stained knife, the tip of which was pierced with a string of skulls, each skull bearing the character "Song".

Zhao Qingyi suddenly called out Shi Feiyang's real name: "Shi Feiyang!"

Her Ding Song sword was instantly drawn, its tassel wrapped around his wrist with red silk. Tears welled up in her phoenix eyes, and she scolded, "If you ever try to abandon me again, I'll overturn all the lotus lanterns in this pond and let all your enemies know you're here!" Her nails dug into his flesh, but the force was as light as a feather, and she said firmly, "I can break into the secret camp in Linzhou, but I can't accompany you through the lantern array in Bianliang?"

The moment Liang Yongzhi's mountain-splitting axe shattered the beams and pillars, the carved window frames of the waterside pavilion collapsed with a "crash." His black iron armor was smeared with the brains of Song soldiers, and the barb on the axe blade held half a piece of his battle robe, the very piece that Shi Feiyang had previously severed in Wild Wolf Valley.

Liang Yongzhi cursed, "You little bitch, you're protecting him!" Axe Wind swept towards Zhao Qingyi with poisonous mist, then said mockingly, "Elder Duan said he'd offer you to the Southern King of Liao in exchange for ten cities!"

Shi Feiyang hurriedly used his "Shifting Flowers and Receiving Jade" divine skill to deflect the axe's momentum. In the instant his lake-blue silk robe spun around, the Xuan Shuang Blade was already unsheathed. The blade's light drew an icy arc in the lamplight. He said mockingly, "General Liang's memory is even duller than your axe." His "Shocking Calamity" divine skill was suddenly activated. His gaze swept over the seven Western Xia warriors who rushed towards him. Those men were instantly frozen into ice blocks. When they fell into the pool, they shattered into ice shards, staining the golden river of lamplight red.

Suddenly, the sound of bone flutes rang out from the opposite bank of the pond. Twelve Liao warriors, riding on lotus lanterns, swept in. Each of them carried a spiked club wrapped with dried human skin, and the copper bells at the ends of the clubs rang like funeral tolls. Yelü Hong, the leader, laughed wildly: "Shi Feiyang, when you killed my brother, did you ever think of this day?" His club-fighting technique incorporated elements of the Western Xia's "Blood River Whip," and the poisonous liquid from his spiked clubs ignited green flames on the water's surface.

Shi Feiyang sneered, "The barking of the Liao dogs is even more unpleasant than that of your Pishi army." Suddenly, he unleashed the "Dragon Appears in the Field" move from the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. The powerful palm wind swept through the pond water, creating waves ten feet high that shattered the Liao warriors' formation.

He seized the opportunity to grasp Zhao Qingyi's hand. Her Ding Song sword was poised to pierce the throat of a warrior. The red silk tassel of the sword intertwined with his lake-blue sleeves, weaving a strange light in the lamplight.

Zhao Qingyi cried out, "Watch out!" Suddenly, she grabbed Shi Feiyang and spun him around. A poisoned dart grazed his ribs and embedded itself in a pillar of the waterside pavilion. The camellia mark on the arrow's tail was particularly glaring in the candlelight—it was the "Shadowless Needle" of the Dali Duan family.

Suddenly, dozens of finger-like gusts of wind shot out from the painted boat on the west side of the pond, as dense as a torrential rain. This was the "One-Finger Divine Skill" of Tenryu-ji Temple.

Shi Feiyang suddenly activated his Mingyu Gong, and the water vapor around him condensed into an ice wall. The wind from his fingers struck the ice and turned into dust. He then said disdainfully, "Duan Zhengchun's disciples and grand-disciples dare to come to the Central Plains to cause trouble?" His Tiancan Gong's silver threads swelled up, covering the painted boat like a spider web. The moment the silver threads tightened, a muffled sound of bones breaking came from inside the cabin, followed by more than a dozen screams, mixed with the sounds of falling into the water.

Zhao Qingyi's Ding Song Sword suddenly pointed at the altar, where the Blood Blade Monk had already tied the little girl to a stone pillar, and the blood in the bronze bowl was bubbling. She angrily said, "Those scoundrels are about to activate the Blood River Formation!" Her phoenix eyes glared red, and the red silk tassel on her sword suddenly slipped from her hand, wrapping around Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade. She then solemnly said, "I'll go save the child. You hold off these bastards!"

Shi Feiyang reached out and embraced Zhao Qingyi, using his profound "Hidden Body and Name" lightness skill to skim across the water. His lake-blue silk robe and pomegranate-red skirt swept past the lotus lanterns, the candlelight forming a golden tail behind them. His Xuan Shuang Blade cleaved the oncoming poisoned arrows, the arrowheads turning into green smoke on the ice silk. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the pearl hairpin at her temple falling into the pool, like a fallen star.

He said tenderly, "Qingyi, I won't let you risk your life alone!" Suddenly, he pressed a cool kiss on Zhao Qingyi's forehead, pushed her away, and sent her toward the altar, while he himself turned to face Liang Yongzhi's mountain-splitting axe.

He said jokingly, "General Liang, why don't you try my 'Evil Blood Calamity' instead of your 'Bone-Melting Powder'?" He slapped the surface of the pool, and the corpses of the warriors killed by the ice silkworm silk suddenly rose from the water. Their blood flowed backward along the dark channel at the bottom of the pool, forming a blood circle at Liang Yongzhi's feet.

Blood suddenly seeped from Liang Yongzhi's black iron armor. He scratched his chest in terror, his flesh feeling as if it were being torn apart by an invisible hand, and his exposed skeleton quickly withered away. He cursed, "Sorcery! Shi Feiyang, you're using sorcery!" The Mountain-Splitting Axe crashed to the ground, his body shrank to the size of a monkey, and finally turned into a puddle of pus, leaving only the blood-stained battle robe behind.

When Zhao Qingyi's Ding Song sword severed the ropes binding the girl, the altar suddenly shook violently.

The skulls on the twelve stone pillars opened their eyes simultaneously, shooting out dark red light that enveloped the entire Jinming Pond in a blood-red hue.

The voice of the Tibetan National Preceptor came from the clouds, like countless steel needles piercing the eardrums: "Shi Feiyang, your Nine Yang Skill is perfect for the formation, helping my Tibet unify the world!" Shi Feiyang unleashed the "Regretful Dragon" move from the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, the palm wind colliding with the blood light, stirring up a rain of blood. His lake-blue silk robe was soaked in blood, yet it shone even brighter against the crimson, his black hair was blown by the wind, and the exposed eyebrows and eyes were more intoxicating than the strongest wine.

Shi Feiyang angrily cursed, "Wake up from your bald monk's daydream!" He then unleashed the "Emperor's Heavenly Thunder" divine skill, his icy mist transforming into lightning that struck the stone pillars of the altar. Amidst the explosion, Zhao Qingyi, clutching the little girl, threw herself into his arms. The hilt of the Ding Song Sword struck his chest, causing him to groan in pain.

Zhao Qingyi scolded, "You lied to me again!" Her tears fell onto his wound, burning his heart.

She huffed and puffed, "We agreed to go together, but you want to be a hero all by yourself again!"

Shi Feiyang wiped the blood from her cheek with his fingertips, the chill of Mingyu Gong freezing her tears into ice crystals. "Silly girl," his voice was as soft as water in a pool, lovingly saying, "If I don't push you away, how can I protect you?" His Xuan Shuang Blade suddenly pointed to the sky, where the bloody light was dissipating, revealing exceptionally bright stars, and he said excitedly, "Look, the lights are out, it's dawn."

The flickering lights of Jinming Pond resembled dying fireflies in the morning light, and Shi Feiyang's lake-blue silk shirt, draped over the railing of the waterside pavilion, was dripping water.

Zhao Qingyi's pomegranate-red dress was stained with mud, yet she carefully used her fingertips to wrap the ice silk threads on his Xuan Shuang Blade, her movements as gentle as embroidering a flower. She suddenly looked up and whispered, "Li Tieniu said that the New Party has already set up an ambush at the city gate." The bloodshot veins in her phoenix eyes were brighter than candlelight, and she said indignantly, "They say you colluded with the Demonic Sect and want to use you to exchange for peace in Xixia."

Shi Feiyang's fingertips traced the blood scab on her lips, the one from when she was cut by a poisoned needle while saving the little girl. He teased, "In exchange for peace?" He suddenly chuckled, the silver ring on his left ear making her dizzy. Then he said seriously, "If Zhao Xu's empire was obtained by sacrificing the people, it's useless to keep it."

His Xuan Shuang Blade gleamed coldly in the morning light, its blade reflecting the shadows of the two figures, nestled close together, like a painting that hadn't yet dried.

Zhao Qingyi suddenly drew her Ding Song sword, the red silk tassel of which wrapped around his wrist with a light touch, almost like a coquettish gesture. She said sincerely, "I have already sent someone to deliver the evidence of the Blood River Formation to the palace." Her phoenix eyes flashed with cunning, and she added domineeringly, "If Father Emperor still protects those treacherous officials, I will pry up the floor tiles of the Princess's residence and let the whole of Bianliang see how many secret letters from Xixia he has hidden."

Shi Feiyang's laughter startled the water birds by the pond. He looked at the new wooden hairpin in her hair—the one that had been pulled from his own head—and suddenly felt that the dim light of Jinming Pond was brighter than ever before.

He said affectionately, "Qingyi," his black hair falling across Zhao Qingyi's face, cool with morning dew, and his true feelings were evident as he said, "After this is over, I'll take you to see the snow on Helan Mountain." Zhao Qingyi's tears suddenly welled up again, but she laughed and punched him playfully, saying coquettishly, "Who wants to go see the snow with you?"

She gently touched his heart with her fingertips and said affectionately, "I want you to stay here, to be my consort, to be a general of the Song Dynasty, to guard the lamps of Jinming Pond, and never to run away again."

Shi Feiyang grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest, where his heart was pounding so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of his throat.

"Okay." He uttered only one word, yet it carried more weight than any vow. (End of Chapter)