Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The night was deep.
Ziyan was sleeping soundly.
Around midnight, on a rooftop not far from the Drunken Immortal Residence.
A figure in white fluttered, while another in a Black Stealth Outfit was continuously leaping and moving across the rooftops. Ling Yuxuan had long noticed that there was a follower behind him.
And with his intuition, he realized that this person's skills were quite formidable as well.
He began to deliberately leap around the city walls and teleport here and there, wandering aimlessly in this manner to probe the true nature of this person.
Before long, he discovered that this person's lightness skill was not much inferior to his own.
In fact, he had already roughly guessed this person's identity because after he separated from his Beloved Child and entered their respective rooms, after a while, he pretended to sneak out alone from the Drunken Immortal Residence.
Then he deliberately left the city, strolled around outside, and re-entered the city. Along this route, he had already discerned that the one following him was someone he was somewhat familiar with—Grandmaster Qi Yu.
Next, he remained completely unperturbed because he firmly believed that to uncover the true identity of Head Innkeeper Qi Yu, he needed to take the initiative—luring the snake out of its hole.
Thus, there had been a scene earlier that seemed like a cat chasing a mouse.
Yes! That's right! The one following Ling Yuxuan all this time was indeed Head Innkeeper Qi Yu.
During this period, it wasn't just Ling Yuxuan who harbored suspicions about him; Head Innkeeper Qi Yu also held great curiosity towards Ling Yuxuan.
Moreover, both of them had an unspoken secret in their hearts over the years.
That was the great secret that Ling Yuxuan and Qi Yu had tightly buried in their hearts for many years: many, many years ago, when Ling Yuxuan's father, Ling Jianyu, was still alive, and the three of them were enjoying a harmonious family life together.
At that time, during Ling Yuxuan's sixth birthday party, there were quite a few guests who came to celebrate.
Among them, a special guest arrived at their home the day before—the family of a Young Heir from Hafan Kingdom, who had four members. This Young Heir happened to share the same birthday as Ling Yuxuan—born on the same day, in the same month, and in the same year.
The father of this Young Heir was a prince in Hafan Kingdom who was not very favored, but he had a strong friendship with Ling Jianyu.
In fact, they came to Nanchu Kingdom at the invitation of Ling Jianyu to seek refuge with the Ling Family. Therefore, the birthday party was technically held for both Ling Yuxuan and that Young Heir.
Ling Yuxuan was quite happy to have a friend who shared the same birthday and was also an Heir.
Thus, the family of the Young Heir stayed hidden in the Three Princes' Mansion of Nanchu Kingdom for nearly a year.
During that time, while they played together very well, they were often followed by a frequently crying and sniffling Little Princess.
That Little Princess even seemed to like Ling Yuxuan more than her own brother. After living together for nearly a year, the family of the Young Heir was eventually taken back by someone sent by the king of Hafan Kingdom.
In the following years, both families often exchanged letters and sent small gifts to each other during festivals and holidays.
Moreover, the adults from both families half-jokingly and half-seriously arranged a betrothal between Ling Yuxuan and that Little Princess.
However, beautiful lives sometimes take unexpected turns! When Ling Yuxuan turned eight, an accident occurred at home, and from then on, they lost contact and communication.
For many years, Ling Yuxuan had always wanted to believe that his young companion must be living very happily.
But how could he have thought of that? All royal families share a common truth: the sons of royalty often sacrifice familial bonds in their ruthless pursuit of the Supreme position, fighting to the death against one another.
Thus, the family of the Young Heir of the Hafan Kingdom—Yuwen Yu—was no different.
At the same time that the incident occurred at the Ling Family Third Prince's Residence, the royal family of Hafan Kingdom, specifically its largest family—the Yuwen Family—was already in turmoil, shaken by unrest and fraught with danger.
Some brothers had completely torn off their last layer of ‘Golden Mask’ and were ruthlessly slaughtering each other.
Speaking of which, Yuwen Yu’s father, Yuwen Jing, was sixth in line at home, originally having more than ten half-brothers. However, many of these brothers were privately fighting to the death for that position.
Yuwen Jing only wanted to protect his small family and maintain a low profile. No matter which brother came to him seeking an alliance, he would decline with various excuses and reasons.
But who knows! The more he declined, the more those people suspected he had ulterior motives or thought he wanted to claim kingship for himself.
As a result, several brothers who initially intended to win him over ended up temporarily setting aside their grievances and collaborating to eliminate Yuwen Jing’s family.
In a deep winter night some years later.
The cold wind howled, and the weather turned suddenly frigid, as if heralding some ominous sign.
A fierce fire broke out at Yuwen Jing’s residence. Just before the flames engulfed everything, countless assassins stormed in from all directions, attacking anyone they saw without mercy. They showed no intention of leaving even a single survivor.
In this critical moment, knowing they could not escape disaster, Yuwen Jing and his wife entrusted their two highly skilled bodyguards to secretly take the temporarily disguised Yuwen Yu and Little Princess—Yuwen Jing—to break out and flee from the royal palace.
Ultimately, the two bodyguards took Yuwen Yu and Yuwen Jing away from Hafan Kingdom, fleeing towards Nanchu Kingdom.
As they fled, during yet another attempt to escape their pursuers, one of the guards unfortunately fell victim to an arrow and died.
However, after days and nights of relentless travel, the three of them finally managed to escape into the Nanchu Kingdom.
In order for Yuwen Yu to fully integrate into the culture and life of the Han People, the guard did everything possible to help Yuwen Yu adopt the alias Qi Yu, claiming he was an orphan. This allowed him to enter the renowned Heavenly Pivot Sect in the martial arts world by selling himself, and subsequently join the Death Warriors Group located in the back mountains.
Meanwhile, Yuwen Jing became a Geisha, also quietly immersing herself in the Heavenly Pivot Sect's Qingfeng Tower.
The Heavenly Pivot Sect required all potential successors and high-level managers to first sign a life-and-death contract before they would begin rigorous training to develop that individual.
Ultimately, among these individuals, those with exceptional abilities were selected for deeper cultivation and development—becoming candidates for high management or successors.
As the saying goes, one cannot catch tiger cubs without entering the tiger's den. If Yuwen Yu did not change his identity or find a solid backing, how could he carry out his revenge plan after growing up?
Thus, under the alias Qi Yu, Yuwen Yu settled in the Heavenly Pivot Sect. With his intelligence and bravery, he impressed the top figure of the Heavenly Pivot Sect at that time, his master Yan Laoguai.
From then on, he truly established himself within the Heavenly Pivot Sect.
On this particular night, he was following the sect leader's fiancé. Just like Ling Yuxuan had developed great suspicions about him, he too had begun to harbor doubts.
While Ling Yuxuan secretly vowed to uncover his identity, Qi Yu was also planning something similar—he was determined to investigate every detail about the other party.
This led to the scene at the beginning of this chapter: two young men with their own agendas tracking each other back and forth.
The two circled around as Ling Yuxuan led his childhood friend, who was only about ten paces away from him, on a large loop outside the walls of Chu County.
Finally, on the rooftop of a residential building not far from the Drunken Immortal Residence, he suddenly went into hiding in the darkness. His entire body concealed itself within the narrow gap of a beam in a courtyard.
Behind him, Qi Yu arrived at Ling Yuxuan's hiding spot with a sudden teleportation and carefully observed the surroundings.
He immediately realized that his presence had been exposed.
That person was likely hiding somewhere, waiting to ambush him.
Thinking of this, Qi Yu quickly grasped the hilt of his sword at his waist and called into the night, "Come out! Let's see who is superior!"
With a crackling sound of tiles breaking, a tall figure leaped from beneath the beam onto the rooftop.
Unintentionally stepping on a broken tile, Ling Yuxuan stood firmly in front of Qi Yu, just a yard apart.
In the darkness, their eyes met.
This was the first time they had met alone in such a manner since their reunion, although there had always been a strange familiarity between them.
However, after so many years apart, neither dared to confirm it!
Thus, the two young men stared at each other in silence for a while.
Qi Yu broke the silence first, slowly drawing his sword from his waist and pointing it at Ling Yuxuan, saying, "I seek your guidance!"
"Glad to accompany you!"
Ling Yuxuan smiled coldly and calmly, then drew his own sword as well.
Thus, in the deep of night, two elegant and skilled Young Swordsmen began a contest and duel.
The two fought fiercely, sometimes leaping into the air, sometimes standing on the rooftops. In the darkness, the two swords clashed continuously, emitting dazzling flashes of cold light and sparks, creating a mesmerizing scene.
In this manner, they fought for nearly an hour.
Perhaps it was because neither had encountered a worthy opponent for a long time, or perhaps both harbored certain concerns in their hearts. In any case, the atmosphere of their duel was neither one of life and death nor merely a simple sparring session.
It seemed that both were giving their all, yet in reality, they were only exchanging techniques.
After a little over an hour, the two exhausted young men finally stopped.
Once they ceased fighting, almost simultaneously, they both gazed up at the crescent moon and the twinkling stars in the sky.
The night was beautiful, but neither could truly appreciate it.
Each had their own worries and burdens. Having experienced such cruel separations and losses, both young men carried a lock in their hearts—a scarred lock that could not be easily opened to others.
Although they both began to realize that the person before them might very well be the childhood companion they once knew,
neither dared to speak first out of fear that their longing might lead to a mistaken identity, thus exposing themselves to potential enemies.
So, both of them drank with their faces turned toward the vast sky above, yet their hearts were secretly pondering!
"Qi Zhanggui truly has excellent swordsmanship."
Ling Yuxuan smiled lightly and took the initiative to ask.
"No, no, no, Ling Gongzi is the one with true swordsmanship. May I ask who your master is, Ling Gongzi?"
Qi Yu picked up the conversation and began to probe.
"Hehe! My master is a hermit who does not concern himself with worldly affairs, so it is inconvenient for me to disclose that. But may I ask about Qi Zhanggui?"
Ling Yuxuan could see through Qi Yu's intentions at a glance.
"I see. No wonder I couldn't discern Ling Gongzi's swordsmanship style. As for me, my master is Elder Yan!"
Qi Yu also smiled gently, believing he had spoken candidly.
"That shouldn't be the whole story! It seems that Qi Zhanggui's martial arts techniques also incorporate some methods from the western tribes, right?"
Ling Yuxuan began to turn the tables and question Qi Yu.
Of course, this statement caused Qi Yu to pause for a moment.
Comment 0 Comment Count