Chapter 24: A Malady of the Heart, A Reunion of Old Friends

"Wait a moment."

Just as Zhang Sanfeng was about to depart, Changsun Wangqing suddenly spoke up. "Master Zhang, please forgive our previous rudeness. However, His Highness has long admired your great reputation and wishes to meet you. Would you be willing to grant him the honor?"

Zhang Sanfeng desperately wanted to refuse. Yet, looking at the four land-god-level experts surrounding him, along with the hostile gazes of the military officers at the Heavenly Phenomenon, Profound Point, and Vajra realms, he felt that if he could meet that young sword immortal during this journey to the border, it would not be a wasted trip.

Zhang Sanfeng stroked his beard and laughed heartily. "Haha, this old Daoist has long heard of the Prince of Su and has always regretted our lack of an encounter. Since His Highness has extended an invitation, I am naturally overjoyed and would never dream of declining."

"Please, Master." Changsun Wangqing nodded and led her people away quickly. Although it was a pity not to have captured the big fish from the Mongol-Yuan, bringing back Zhang Sanfeng was an unexpected gain. She was certain that His Highness would be pleased to hear this.

"Huh?" Changsun Wangqing suddenly noticed a group of people brushing past them. "What are they doing going outside the pass at a time like this?"

...

Outside Jiayu Pass, as the fighting ceased, the gates were opened to travelers. A bearded man was driving a carriage slowly toward the pass.

"Cough, cough."

Hearing the coughing from within the carriage, the bearded man said anxiously, "Young Master, please hold on a little longer. Jiayu Pass is not far ahead; perhaps we can find a skilled physician there."

"The Divine Doctor Xue of the Northern Song already said it: my illness is of the heart. If the heart-sickness is cured, the body will heal without medicine. But if the heart-sickness remains..."

"Cough, cough."

The bearded man’s face was filled with worry. "Young Master, are you alright?"

"I am fine! It is just an old ailment." The sickly middle-aged man inside the carriage sighed. Of all the sufferings in the world, none was more unsolvable than the word 'love.' His flying daggers could pierce through the Profound Point and Heavenly Phenomenon realms, yet they could not sever the threads of affection; otherwise, he would not have spent years wandering far away before finally returning to his homeland.

"Stop!"

A sharp, clear voice rang out before the carriage. The next moment, several graceful figures descended like falling petals.

"Whoa! Who is there? How dare you block our path?" Tie Chuanjia glared, but with just one look, he was stunned, standing frozen on the carriage as if he had seen a ghost.

"Young Master..."

"Hmm? What happened?" As Li Xunhuan spoke, he reached out to lift the curtain and looked outside. He saw several breathtakingly beautiful figures perched upon the treetops on either side of the road.

What was most striking was not their appearance, but their lightness skills. To walk on the wind was a feat of the Heavenly Phenomenon realm. While not all of them had reached that level, their mastery of movement was certainly not inferior to any Profound Point master Li Xunhuan had ever encountered.

Li Xunhuan cupped his hands. "Young ladies, you have blocked our path; may I ask what your intentions are?"

Lian Nishang drifted down, her toes lightly touching the head of one of the carriage horses. Looking down at him, she asked, "Li Xunhuan, you heartlessly left years ago and entrusted Shiyin to that despicable scoundrel, Long Xiaoyun. What have you come back for today?"

Hearing the names Lin Shiyin and Long Xiaoyun, Li Xunhuan’s breathing became erratic. "Cough, cough... I have returned... to seek the truth."

"The truth?" Lian Nishang laughed loudly upon hearing this. "For the sake of your 'brotherly loyalty,' you disregarded Shiyin’s feelings, selfishly betrothed her to Long Xiaoyun, and walked away without a second thought. Now, three years later, you come back seeking the truth?"

"What truth? The truth that the man you considered the epitome of loyalty and righteousness, Long Xiaoyun, was actually a vile and shameless villain who orchestrated a scheme to save you, staged a show of heartbreak, and manipulated everything just to steal your cousin? Or is it the truth that he was hacked into pieces and fed to the dogs?"

Tie Chuanjia’s eyes lit up. What kind of wonderful news was this? That scoundrel Long Xiaoyun was actually dead? And he had been hacked to pieces and fed to wild dogs? Good, marvelous, wonderful!

"What did you say?" Li Xunhuan’s expression changed in horror. He asked in disbelief, "Are you saying... Big Brother Long is dead?"

A sneer appeared on Lian Nishang’s cold, beautiful face. "Three years ago, on the second night after you left—the very day of their wedding—he was already dead. He died on the night he was at the height of his triumph."

"You..." Li Xunhuan glared, a three-inch blade sliding from his right sleeve.

"The Little Li Flying Dagger never misses. When I returned to the martial arts world, everyone who spoke of you praised you to the skies." Lian Nishang said this with a mocking glance at the blade in Li Xunhuan’s hand. "Your name carries great weight, but unfortunately, in my eyes, you are nothing but a coward."

"Big Brother Long... did you kill him?" Li Xunhuan’s expression turned icy. For a man who was always courteous to everyone, his sudden flare of anger seemed to make the very air stagnate. Li Xunhuan’s flying dagger technique had reached perfection; although his cultivation was only at the Profound Point realm, even Grandmasters of the Heavenly Phenomenon realm dared not underestimate him.

"You misunderstand, Cousin."

A sudden voice—a figure so familiar it felt like a lifetime ago—floated down from behind Lian Nishang. However, unlike the frail woman Li Xunhuan once knew, Lin Shiyin now wore a flowing green gown, looking ethereal and spirited. Her display of lightness skill was not in the least inferior to the women Li Xunhuan considered formidable foes.

"Shiyin?"

The killing intent on Li Xunhuan instantly dissipated. He turned his head away in shame, unable to meet her gaze. But thinking of Long Xiaoyun’s death as mentioned by Lian Nishang, and the news he had received while in the Great Song, he had no choice but to look at her.

Lin Shiyin looked back with a faint smile. "Sister Nishang, sisters, would you mind stepping aside for a moment?"

"Very well, we will wait for you over there." Lian Nishang pointed to a spot not far down the road. She then soared into the air, drifting off a few dozen yards, and the other women followed.

"Cough, cough... well, Young Master, I have an urgent matter to attend to." Tie Chuanjia, possessing the tact to recognize the situation, promptly used an excuse to leave Li Xunhuan and Lin Shiyin some private space.

"Shiyin, Long..."

"If Cousin wishes to ask about Long Xiaoyun, there is no need."

"I was the one who had Sister Nishang and the others kill him."

Li Xunhuan’s pupils constricted. He asked with a pained heart, "Why?"

"There is no 'why'."

"If there must be one, perhaps it is simply..." Lin Shiyin thought of what that person had told her that night. She shook her head calmly. "I suddenly realized I did not want to accept my fate. I did not want to be a mere appendage to you men, tossed around like an object, and I certainly did not want to be possessed by a scoundrel like Long Xiaoyun."

"Why?" Li Xunhuan asked again. This time, his voice carried a clear note of anger.

Lin Shiyin’s gentle eyes grew cold, filled with disappointment as she looked at him. She then raised her hand and threw a stack of papers into the air.

"These are the verified documents from the Dragon-Protecting Villa, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Bai-Xiao Hall, and the Black Armor Secret Guards. As for what kind of man the 'loyal and righteous' Big Brother Long you admired actually was, you will understand once you have finished reading them."

"And furthermore..."