Chapter 11: Hero

Sword Dynasty

Volume 1: Great Rebel

Chapter 11: Hero

A woman dressed in red sat in the dark room. In front of her was a zither, and next to her was an incense burner. Several black bamboo stalks, like black jade, were placed on either side of her.

“Only a weak woman from a deceased family would know such life-saving tricks. Fourth Mister Zhao, I have embarrassed myself before you.”

Black smoke swirled within the incense burner. The figure of the red-robed woman seemed to sway in the air like a ghostly shadow. However, her voice was surprisingly clear, gentle, and inscribable polite. Her tone was soothing, and the dark room felt warmer.

The handsome young man’s furrowed brow eased slightly and his anger slowly dissipate.

“We are all fallen people. Eldest Miss Shang, you don't need to be so humble.”

He bowed to the woman in the room, then walked into the dark room to sit down opposite the woman dressed in red.

There was a thin black silver curtain in front of the zither of the woman dressed in red. He looked through the curtain to meet the woman’s gaze.

The thick-browed young man who had always followed behind him bowed to the woman dressed in red from outside the door. However, he did not enter and turned to stand beside the door.

The woman dressed in red returned the bow from behind the curtain, then asked slowly, “Fourth Mister Zhao sent a messenger, saying you have matters to discuss with me. What are they?”

Her voice was thin, but her speaking speed and tone made people feel comfortable.

The handsome young man looked at the woman dressed in red behind the curtain; she was the one who controlled most of the illegal businesses in the Fish Market. He nodded. “My junior sect brother, Zhao Zhan, was killed by Ye Celeng. I believe Eldest Miss Shang is aware of this matter.”

The woman dressed in red said softly, “Seventh Mister Zhao was one of the rare heroes of the world. His death was a tragedy.”

The handsome young man's eyebrows raised slightly.

Just as Zhao Zhan had begun to exude an indescribable aura and charisma when Ye Celeng entered the courtyard, he too began to exude a similar presence with a sharpness that was hard to describe.

“In a few days, the world will know of the death of my junior sect brother,” he said calmly. “However, not many people know why my junior sect brother was hidding in Changling for so long, or why he died in Changling.”

The woman dressed in red said, “This weak woman is stupid and doesn’t understand what Fourth Mister Zhao means.”

The handsome young man looked at the woman dressed in red behind the curtain. He said, “The cultivators of the Qin Dynasty have always been pursuing the people of the Sword Furnace closely. Not just in Changling, if the people of the Sword Furnace stay for a long time in any city of the Qin Dynasty, we will be detected. My junior sect brother knew this but did not fear death. He hid for three years in Changling, not to assassinate anyone, but to search for things that person left behind.”

The woman dressed in red remained silent, but her body began to tremble slightly. The black bamboo around her seemed to tremble in pain.

Even though she was one of the most powerful people in the Changling underground, someone who everyone who entered the Fish Market had to respect and fear, when she thought of that person's name, she still felt pain.

Most of the time, she was reluctant to mention that person's name due to her helplessness and pain, because she did not want to recall such painful matters.

Just like this strongest person from the Sword Furnace in front of her.

The people of the Zhao Sword Furnace would not be afraid. However, the Sword Furnace was destroyed because of that person. Even now, they still wanted to rely on the things that person left behind to fight back against the cultivators of the Qin Dynasty. This was a tremendous pain to bear alone.

The handsome young man said coldly and calmly, “My junior sect brother would not fear death. However, if there were any hints or clues at all, I would not have allowed him to casually lose his life in Changling. His life is more precious than most people in the world.”

The silk curtain trembled slightly. A few deep breaths later, the woman dressed in red said, “Is it true, as the rumors say, that that person’s disciple has appeared?”

The handsome young man looked at the red figure behind the curtain and said slowly, “You know that person had many enemies, but also many subordinates loyal to him. After his death, most of those subordinates loyal to him died tragically, and not many of the old, weak, women and children survived. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but the people of the Sword Furnace discovered a traitor who had been killed. The traitor didn’t die immediately. He died from excessive blood loss after escaping into the wilderness. The traitor was completely covered in shallow wounds, a ring of sword scars encircling his body.”

The woman dressed in red shook again. “Stone Grinding Sword Art?”

The handsome young man said coldly, “I personally checked it later. It’s the Stone Grinding Sword Art. The Stone Grinding Sword Art was created by that person. The method was specifically designed to counter cultivators who skillfully use their vital energy to protect their bodies. From the sword marks, the attacker should have only had a realm one cultivation, while that traitor already had realm four first-class cultivation. The attacker must have used the Stone Grinding Sword Art because of the difference in cultivation. After that, we investigated the tracks of the traitor before his death. We discovered that this traitor wanted to rob a certain mansion near the capital. That mansion housed several women and sick people who were relatives of those former subordinates.”

The woman dressed in red was silent for multiple moments. “I believe Fourth Mister Zhao’s judgement, but for me, death ends all grudges. Whether that person left behind disciples or not has nothing to do with me.”

“But we can live better lives,” the handsome young man said mockingly, “Even though many people fear us, we know that we are lonely and wild ghosts who cannot see the light of day.”

The young man paused for a moment, looking at the woman dressed in red behind the curtain, and then added coldly, “No one will refuse power, and no one will refuse to live in better days.”

“It seems Fourth Mister Zhao wants me to help and search for some clues from relatives of that person’s former subordinates.” The woman dressed in red was silent for a long moment. She said sincerely, “I respect you, Mister, but I am one of the people of Qin.”

The handsome young man shook his head and said, laughing at himself, “What’s the difference between a person of Qin and a person of Zhao now? My dynasty has been destroyed for so many years. Are the words of Emperor Liu of Zhao, spoken when the dynasty was overthrown, still of any use now? These are all personal grudges. The momentum of the world has already been set. Am I so foolish as to think I can rebuild my dynasty with just the broken swords from the Sword Furnace?”

The woman dressed in red thought for a moment.

She knew that the legendary fourth person from the Sword Furnace, called Fourth Mister Zhao, was considered to have the highest skill among all the Sword Furnace direct disciples. Now, she knew that the skill was not just in terms of cultivation. She wanted to have a serious discussion and see this person clearly.

The bamboo stalks around her swayed slightly as if blown by the wind. The black silk curtain in front of her also swayed and then moved to the side.

The young man detected that weak wave of primal energies of the universe on the black silk curtain. His gaze stilled and he said sincerely, “So Eldest Miss Shang is also skilled in formations.”

“Mister Zhao, I have embarassed myself again.”

The woman dressed in red’s voice made people feel more comfortable. She looked at the handsome young man’s face. To her surprise, the rumored Fourth Mister Zhao was younger than she had expected.

The handsome young man also took in her appearance and was equally amazed.

Her face could not be considered attractive. Her skin was pale white, but her aura was very calm and peaceful. Her eyes were very special, extremely black and bright. Her red dress was very long, hunging to the floor and covering her feet.

Her eyes contained no hatred. Her gaze was like that of the Buddha statues in temples, looking down on the world with compassion.

The two of them studied each other, and the room fell silent.

“I am willing to hear what you have to say.” The woman dressed in red made no pretense, speaking first, breaking the silence.

“There are two matters.” The handsome young man’s expression turned serious.

He sat up straight and took a deep breath. He said slowly, “The first matter, I have already told Eldest Miss Shang the truth about my junior sect brother’s death in Changling. I only hope if Eldest Miss Shang find that person’s disciple, you will inform the people of the Sword Furnace. In my conversation with Miss, I learned that Miss is open-minded, respects that person, and has no hatred for that person's disciples.”

The woman dressed in red nodded. “I will promise Mister on this matter.”

The young man nodded in thanks and said, “The second matter, I want to ask Eldest Miss Shang to pay attention to the movements of the Wei. This one has received news they may have found clues to the Lonely Mountain Sword Hoard.”

“Cultivators of Cloud Water Palace have also appeared in Changling? The Lonely Mountain Sword Hoard?” The woman dressed in red was a little in disbelief.

The young man bowed deeply and said solemnly, “If we can obtain something from that person or the Lonely Mountain Sword Hoard, the Sword Furnace is willing to share them with Eldest Miss Shang. In the future, the broken swords from the Sword Furnace will be willing to do everything they can to protect Eldest Miss Shang.”

The woman dressed in red understood the weight of this young man's words.

She said nothing more and returned a deep bow.

Notes:

This novel is not my work... I just translated it from a Chinese web novel written by Wu Zui

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