Chapter 51: Favors and Grudges

Sword Dynasty

Volume 1: Great Rebel

Chapter 51: Favors and Grudges

Jing Mozong shook his head.

The gangs on the streets had more tactics and spies than the cultivators in the temples and courts. It was more important for them to remember everyone who made a living on the streets. But none of these people, such as the cultivator skilled in using seals, the man from the Yan Dynasty, and even those assassins with the bamboo staffs, were people he had seen before.

These people seemed to be hired assassins who had come from far away.

This day held too many surprises and puzzles for him.

But who was the person who wanted to kill Ding Ning?

And had he even spent so much effort to bring in assassins from so far away?

Needless to say, he was also shocked and suspicious of Ding Ning's strength and knowledge.

If he had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have dared to believe that Ding Ning was capable of such swordsmanship. Previously, the name he used in Changling, Zhou Sansheng, had been given to him by Wang Taixu. When he was driving Ding Ning's carriage, Ding Ning had already learned his name. But at that moment, Ding Ning asked his name with some seriousness, and seemed to realize that he was from the Yuezhi Country.

Did he sense the sword essence in the form of the sword he had used before?

Or did he deduce it through the rather special medicinal pill in his hand?

Ding Ning did not indulge in Jing Mozong's reverie. He pondered for a moment, took a deep breath, and then rose.

He glanced at the corpse of the black-robed seal master and said quietly to Jing Mozong. “These people… don't touch them. Until the people from the Bureau of Divinity or other bureaus arrive, try to keep the scene as is; don't touch anything.”

“Why?” Jing Mozong was even more surprised when he saw Ding Ning. He also rose. “Didn't even search their bodies?”

Ding Ning shook his head. “There's no need… Going to all this trouble just to kill a minor character like me, then the person behind them is no ordinary person. It would be futile even if we investigated. Only people from the court would yield results if they investigated.”

“Tell Wang Taixu, unless there are any other incidents elsewhere, it's best for the Two Level Tower to stay out of tonight's events.” Ding Ning coughed and began walking. After a few steps, he turned slightly and added. “You'd better not let anyone know of your involvement in this matter.”

Jing Mozong, startled, looked at Ding Ning, who was moving calmly but with difficulty. He registered Ding Ning's words but still could not grasp their meaning. “Where are you going now?” he asked worriedly.

Ding Ning response was simple. “Home.”

“Home? Who knows where your home is?”

 

“I told you long ago, you left too quickly and in too much of A hurry. If Wang Taixu hadn't left a Yuezhi swordsman willing to commit suicide near you, I would have had to take your corpse.”

When the cold autumn wind had dried his blood and he gently pushed open the door of the wine shop, a cold and angry voice came from behind him, “How many days has it been since you joined the White Goat Cave? You’ve already caused such trouble?”

Ding Ning closed the door of the wine shop and stared at Zhangsun Qianxue in the darkness. He said tiredly. “Today’s matter is very strange.”

Zhangsun Qianxue said coldly. “I don’t care if it’s strange. I only care about the outcome. I only know that this Changling has countless favors and grudges; everyone has favors and grudges. Even those Yuezhi men. Currently, it seems like the Yuezhi Country is a country protected by the Qin Dynasty. But who doesn’t know that the Tiger-Wolf Army of the Qin Dynasty had killed one hundred and thirty thousand Yuezhi’s people before Emperor Yuanwu ascended the throne? If you hadn’t entered the world of cultivators, you might have been able to avoid these people and their favors and grudges. But if you encounter them, you can’t avoid these favors and grudges.”

“But the outcome is that I’m still alive.”

Ding Ning sat down, ignoring Zhangsun Qianxue’s increasingly cold gaze. He pretended not to hear her. “That masked cultivator disguised himself as an assassin for hire from the start, but I'm certain he's a cultivator from the army. Although he used some of the seal tactics of the Yan Dynasty, I'm sure he's most skilled with the sword,” he said softly.

Zhangsun Qianxue fell silent.

Most of the time, she focused solely on cultivation, and was used to listening to Ding Ning talk about outside matters.

“In his final moments, he only considered using the sword, not the seal. This revealed some of the things he wanted to conceal.”

“That black-robed man possessed great power… he even possessed enough power to kill me and Jing Mozong. He wasn't someone who feared death, but he didn't even want to be injured. Most of the time, he was restrained and in a hurry to leave, especially when Jing Mozong appeared. What he wanted to do wasn't kill me and Jing Mozong, but to kill me as quickly as possible and escape. If he hadn't bound himself with so many restrictions from the start, we wouldn't have been able to kill him so easily.”

“People who kill for money are truly unscrupulous and wouldn't act like this. They don't care about being discovered because they live in the shadows. His behavior is proof that he possessed a special identity, as is the case with his master.”

“So, even though he came from far away, he and his master were probably among the armies of the Qin Dynasty.”

“If this matter is related to the backers behind Jinlintang, and they're trying to treat me, a weak cultivator who has influenced the Two Level Tower, like this, then I'd be worried about whether Wang Taixu can live until tomorrow.”

“If that's the case, why didn't you warn that Yuezhi man?” Zhangsun Qianxue could not help but ask.

Ding Ning looked at her and said seriously, “If it's as I imagined, the warning was too late.”

Zhangsun Qianxue looked at him wordlessly and coldly extended her hand.

Two soft pops sounded.

Her fingers moved away from Ding Ning's waist, and his two broken ribs were realigned.

“Perhaps next time, you won't be so lucky,” she said with a cold smile, looking at the blood remaining in Ding Ning's mouth and the Last Flower Remnant Sword hanging at his waist.

 

“Guan Qiqi, He Fu, Guo Yuhua… and the young wine shop owner who entered the White Goat Cave and attained Profound Understanding in half a day should be dead by now.”

Within an old two level tower, a black-robed cultivator with a similar mask looked at Wang Taixu, who was sitting across from him, with pity. He spoke contemptuously. “You should know you're no match for me. Why didn't you run when I entered this tower?”

“Because this is Two Level Tower, my home. And in my home, even the strongest cultivator can't easily kill me.”

Wang Taixu, still pale and looking extremely fragile, stared at the masked cultivator who had killed a dozen guards and appeared before him. He said, “I waited here to say a few words to you and see what kind of person you really are.”

The masked man sneered. “Is this the principle, that even if you must die, you must die with knowledge?”

“The other gangs in Changling can't afford to invite someone like you. And the method of killing several of my brothers in one night and me in one go, to behead and defeat the Two Level Tower requires a much stronger cultivator. Those gangs don't have that kind of abilities.”

Wang Taixu stared into the cultivator's eyes. “So, the information I received back then was correct. It must be a key military figure behind Jinlintang.”

The cultivator's eyebrows raised slightly. He neither admitted nor denied it. In his eyes, Wang Taixu was already a dead man.

But Wang Taixu stared at him and whispered in a very sincere tone, “Have you ever thought… what if you can’t kill me? If you can’t kill me, and have killed so many of my brothers in one night… I cannot treasure Two Level Tower any longer. I will do everything I can to fight you at all costs.”

“I will find out who you really are.” Wang Taixu’s tone suddenly darkened. He spoke slowly. “You must have brothers, relatives; I will be ruthless to every one of them.”

The masked cultivator’s face suddenly changed. “So, I can’t let you live past tonight,” he said.

A fist-sized copper ball flew out of his sleeve accompanied by a terrifying burst of vital energy.

As the copper ball flew out, its seemingly plain surface glowed with numerous golden seal lines.

In the next moment, all the golden seal lines exploded, and the copper fragments began to burn.

A golden fire lotus bloomed in this room.

Boom!

Countless metal lotuses flew toward Wang Taixu at an unimaginable speed.

As the copper ball flew out, Wang Taixu's expression became strange, and he said, “This is the face of the Two Level Tower, its most important property. How could I allow myself to be easily killed by you here?”

The floorboards beneath him suddenly exploded.

As a golden lotus flower bloomed, a thin blue sword light, resembling flowing water, silently flowed from the masked cultivator’s pants and flew close to the ground toward Wang Taixu…

This masked man knew that these street people were skilled at escape tactics and had been prepared in case Wang Taixu had a secret underground passage.

If Wang Taixu really went down, he would be sliced in half by the prepared flying sword.

In the next moment, he roared in shock and anger.

The floorboards beneath Wang Taixu exploded. It was not the underground passage he had expected, but another explosion.

An explosion even more powerful than the copper ball that had formed beneath Wang Taixu's feet.

The blast of air, like a volcanic eruption, propelled Wang Taixu into the air and through the roof.

Amidst the masked man's furious roar, countless fire lotuses exploded on the wall behind where Wang Taixu had previously been. At the same time, the force of the explosion caused the entire tower to begin to collapse.

His flying sword trembled amidst the fragments and air currents from the explosion. His mental power was immediately damaged.

The masked man was thrown backward. When he looked up, he saw that Wang Taixu's body was higher than the range he could control his flying sword with his mental power.

As he watched, Wang Taixu spread his arms and black wings seemed to sprout from them.

It was a strange gliding cloak hidden beneath his robes.

Woosh!

In the next moment, a rustling sound rang through the air, and Wang Taixu's body quickly disappeared into the dark night like a bat.

The masked man immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

 

Notes:

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

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