Chapter 48: An Assassination

Sword Dynasty

Volume 1: Great Rebel

Chapter 48: An Assassination

Autumn had arrived, and the frost on the vines looked more and more like snow.

In a stone room in the Green Vine Sword School, Nangong Caishu sat cross-legged with her head slightly bowed.

Invisible primal energies of the universe fluttered around her, some of it landing on her body and penetrating her clothes and into her skin.

This would happen to anyone sitting still, even non-cultivators. The omnipresent primal energies of the universe would surround them.

But tonight, there seemed to be an unexpected change.

The invisible primal energies of the universe landed on her skin, shining with tiny dots of light.

Nangong Caishu's entire body seemed to have turned into jade.

She had fallen into a deep sleep in her cultivation, her energy motionless like a still pond. So she could not see this scene, and did not know what had happened to her.

When the sky began to brighten, and birds flew among the trees, causing frost to fall, she slowly awoke.

When she woke, she did not feel any noticeable changes. However, when she activated her physical energy to move her blood and awaken herself, she felt that her physical energy had completely transformed.

The physical energy seemed to mix with countless water droplets, thickening, and becoming a special liquid.

She was shocked.

Then she became excited, extremely excited.

She knew what had happened, but she had not expected to complete this step in her dreams.

She had experienced a breakthrough.

In her sleep, she went from realm two: Energy Refinement to realm three: Vital Energy Realm.

She sat for a long time in her excitement and then leaped up. She did not immediately feel the difference between vital energy and physical energy, nor did she reflect on her new cultivation. She immediately went to her table, quickly ground her ink, and then earnestly held her brush to write a letter.

“Father, I've had a breakthrough. My cultivation speed ranks third among the first batch of disciples from the Green Vine Sword School… The weather is cold, so remember to wear more clothes… Also, have you had any success with the pill medicines I asked about last time that can increase cultivation? If possible, can it be accelerated.”

She did not like wasting words. After writing this, she prepared to put down her brush. Then, she thought about Ding Ning's health. Thinking about how Ding Ning did not have much time left in the future, and how he was only thinking about the present, she hesitated slightly. Then she added, “Since this is for a transaction, and not for my own use, as long as it's effective in increasing cultivation, it doesn't matter if there are side effects in the future.”

After writing this letter and sealing it, before she could begin to ponder the differences between the Vital Energy Realm and the Energy Refinement Realm, she could not help but stare out the window towards the White Goat Cave. She muttered, “So many days have passed, I wonder how you're progressing… the sword trial festival is approaching.”

For this young woman with a straightforward and chivalrous personality, if she simply used the pill medicines she requested as a transaction, she hoped to gain Ding Ning's friendship.

Nangong Caishu's letter traveled along the road.

 

After another night, Ding Ning walked out of the White Goat Cave and, as usual, entered the carriage waiting at the gate.

In the darkness within the shaking carriage cabin, Ding Ning's hand once again caressed the inky green remnant sword that usually hung from his waist and was currently resting in his lap.

More than two weeks had passed since Li Daoji had given him this sword. Less than ten days remained until the Green Vine Sword School's sword trial festival, but every time he looked at the green remnant sword, he still felt a different emotion.

The sword was called: the Last Flower.

In fact, this sword was originally called: Jasmine Flower because when this sword, which originated from the Ba Mountain Sword Field, was imbued with vital energy or physical energy, the sword's light would resemble numerous jasmine flowers blooming.

Originally, it was a beautiful and captivating sword.

However, when its previous owner wielded this sword, every strike was filled with unstoppable ferocity and despair. Every blow was like the last blow she would strike, every blow like the blow before her life ended, and every blow was like a flower that would never see another day.

The sword would be different in the hands of different people and have different fates.

Because the sword's owner's personality was straightforward and her temperament uncompromising, this sword ultimately became a mere remnant of a sword.

The appearance of this sword at this time, for Ding Ning, was more of a reminder of how much debt he owed and how much debt he had to collect.

The carriage moved through the night, entered the unwalled Changling, and then into a straight alley.

Compared to the mountain paths, the carriage shook even more violently when traveling on a straight road.

A strange noise came from beneath the carriage, and the carriage slowed down. The middle-aged driver looked apologetically at Ding Ning inside the cabin and said, “Perhaps the repairs weren't very good last time. And we were in a hurry, so some problems have occurred.”

Ding Ning asked if they could find a repair place so late, and if the carriage would be fine tomorrow morning. Seeing that it was not far from Falling Parasol, he thanked the man from the White Goat Cave who suggested renting a carriage to Falling Parasol. He had the others make repairs, and then walked towards the Falling Parasol.

The streets around Falling Parasol were filled with ordinary people. Residents who worked during the day were fast asleep, the lights occasionally shaking in the autumn wind.

Ding Ning was familiar with this kind of situation. Not even the coldest autumn wind was able to stir up his emotions any more. But when he walked through the dimly lit alley, his brows furrowed deeply.

He looked up at the rooftop to his left. His strong intuition that normal cultivators did not have caused him to immediately focus his attention.

The moment he raised his head, the silent alleyway emitted a flurry of tiny sounds.

More than a dozen arrows, the tips of which had been sharpened to muffle the sound they made when released from the bow, fell from the roof.

Ding Ning's expression turned cold. He quickly lowered his body and flashed under the eaves to the side, easily dodging the arrows.

Clink clink clink… a burst of explosions. The arrows landed on the ground and bounced.

The sound of footsteps then rang out.

A dozen figures appeared in the alley behind him.

These people carried cold lamps on their backs, but they all held sharpened bamboo staffs that were several feet long.

At the same time, a dozen figures also appeared in the alley in front of him, also carrying weapons on their backs and holding sharpened bamboo staffs.

Ding Ning's expression remained unchanged.

However, he took a deep breath and gripped the inky green remnant sword.

He did not know the origins of these people, but they were clearly experienced. He could not be merciful.

The distance to Falling Parasol was still quite far. Zhangsun Qianxue would not be so quick to discover he was fighting here and arrive in time.

So, this might be the end for him today.

He glanced at the Last Flower Remnant Sword, which had a straight crack running down its blade towards the hilt, and began to run.

His small body remained close to the roof as he transformed into a burst of black wind.

The four people in the alley in front of him saw his astonishing speed and the reflection of the sword blade. These people had not expected their assassination target to possess such strength, and their expressions were slightly frightened. However, in the next moment, they advanced, giving the people behind them more space.

A dozen bamboo staffs with sharpened tips were thrust around Ding Ning, not directly at him.

These crisscrossed bamboo staffs were the simplest of traps, dividing the area around Ding Ning into many small sections.

However, a small portion of these people felt their hands become lighter.

Their bamboo staffs had been cut.

Most of the bamboo staffs were still crisscrossed, but there was a straight path ahead of Ding Ning.

He did not stop running!

In the darkness, a man in his thirties with braids in front suddenly screamed.

Ding Ning lunged into his arms like a cat, the inky green remnant sword stabbing the man several times in the abdomen.

Blood sprayed onto the ground, and a ray of light from the sword shone.

An assassin next to the man reacted. He ignored the man with braids, who was certain to die, and swung his sword horizontally.

However, with a soft thud, a patch of wild grass formed in front of him.

This man retreated in shock.

The sword presence of the thin and small young man before him was extremely complex. He felt unable to stop the spread of the other's sword presence, even if the other person only had a two-foot-long remnant sword.

At this moment, he felt a chill on his wrist.

Then, he felt a soft puff coming from his wrist.

His eyes widened in horror. He watched as his hand and wrist separated, and blood gushed out.

Ding Ning's eyes did not show any change in emotion.

His body narrowed past the man. The remnant sword in his hand flashed out like growing grass, passing through the abdomens of the two assassins.

Pew pew… two spurts of blood in the cold autumn wind.

“What sword technique is this?”

“Such a complex sword technique… this young man uses it well.”

In the alley behind where the assassins were drowning in fear, a black-robed man with his face covered and his hair tied in a Daoist bun sat under an eaves on a step. He watched the spurts of blood and the inky green sword light that spread through the air. He frowned slightly and offered sincere praise.

 

Notes:

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

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