Chapter 192 - News in Liangzhou

"Why?" In the attic of the Suantian Shrine, Fu Yiran stood quietly behind Sikong Yan while asking, "How could you do this? She is your sister-in-law..."

"This is not something you should ask," Sikong Yan replied, holding a cup of tea and gazing quietly out the window.

Fu Yiran fell silent for a moment but was unwilling to give up. "You wanted to kill Qi Zongbi... and I didn’t say anything. But, but... the innocent should not be dragged into this. What you are doing—"

Crash!

Sikong Yan hurled his teacup at Fu Yiran, dousing the old man's head in hot tea.

Sikong Yan squinted at him and snapped, "Shut up."

"My old master would not want to see you like this," Fu Yiran said softly, not looking away from Sikong Yan.

"Wrong! Completely wrong!" Sikong Yan's lips curled into a cruel smile. "If the teacher saw what I’ve done today, he would surely feel proud of me!"

"How—"

"What do you understand!" Sikong Yan waved his sleeve. "How can human calculations surpass the will of heaven? My teacher spoke the most about the ability to adapt to change! What is adaptability? This is adaptability!"

Sikong Yan suddenly turned to look at Fu Yiran.

"What do you understand!? Human calculations cannot surpass the will of heaven! It is impossible to calculate every coincidence. This is the only certainty! Just like how I couldn’t predict that Stormqueller would slaughter the Ghostbane Association branch.

"Or that the Transcendence Stone would be stolen halfway, or that Stormqueller would return to confront Qi Zongbi head-on. However, it is precisely because of these unpredictable events that people like me are needed to prepare for sudden changes, isn't that right? Didn’t Teacher do the same back then?

"So, what are you blaming me for?"

Sikong Yan frowned, tilting his head as if puzzled, and looked at Fu Yiran.

"Sending people to kill Stormqueller was adapting to sudden changes, sending you to stop him from climbing the mountain was another contingency plan, and forcing Qin Qin to her death today is also a way to keep my plan in motion.

"What did I do wrong? If I didn’t do this, how could I push Qi Zongbi into complete desperation? If I don’t drive him mad, who will stir up the clash of nations?!"

Fu Yiran's cheeks trembled as he growled in a low voice, "I think you’ve already lost sight of what you’re doing!"

"Of course, I know!" Sikong Yan roared back defiantly, his eyes bloodshot, "I am more aware than anyone else! I’m avenging my teacher... and I will make both the Ruen Dynasty and Northern Qiang accompany him in his grave!"

***

On this day, Ye Beizhi and his group of four finally arrived in Liangzhou Prefecture. After following the road north for half a day more, they reached the prefectural city of Liangzhou.

The journey to Liangzhou was far from easy. In the first half, Yang Lu and Baili Gucheng remained unconscious, relying entirely on Ye Beizhi and Chi Nanwei to care for them.

In the latter half, Baili Gucheng recovered, but Yang Lu showed no signs of waking up. The three of them maintained a slower pace to look after her, which is why they only reached the borders of Liangzhou today.

"So, that’s more or less the situation..." Inside the carriage, Baili Gucheng leaned against the window and calmly recounted his story.

"She must have done something to my meridians at the last moment."

He turned his gaze toward the woman lying on the soft couch at the back of the carriage.

"When I went to the capital that time, I already had hidden injuries," Baili Gucheng said, closing his eyes slightly.

"She had been suppressing my injuries for me all along, and she kept urging me not to use my qi. She even promised to heal me before the assassination of Qi Zongbi... but unfortunately, it was too late."

"So, what exactly did she do to you?" Chi Nanwei asked curiously.

Frowning, Baili Gucheng thought for a moment before saying, "I remember she said... that the meridians throughout my body were like a sieve full of holes, which is why my sword qi leaks out and harms others.

"To heal me, she used her own inner qi to block the holes in my meridians. But because the sword qi inside me is too wild and chaotic, if I actively use my inner strength, it would be like a flood breaching a dam, breaking through her restrictions and worsening my injuries..."

"

Heh

..." Baili Gucheng shook his head. "So, what I am now is essentially just..."

"A cripple." Ye Beizhi's voice drifted in from outside the carriage, where he was seated at the reins.

Baili Gucheng froze for a moment, then shook his head and sighed. "That's right."

Chi Nanwei bit her lip, hesitating before asking, "Other than her... is there no one else who can heal your injuries?"

Baili Gucheng stared blankly at Yang Lu's face.

"I don't know... I'm not even sure if she can truly heal me."

"Dummy said there's something that can cure her," Chi Nanwei whispered, glancing cautiously outside the carriage.

"I'm not sure," Ye Beizhi responded, "But we can try."

Baili Gucheng's expression flickered with hesitation before he finally decided, "Let's return to the North Watching Pass first... settle her there, and then look for more medicine. Her remaining supply should sustain her for a while longer. In any case... we need to hurry."

After speaking, Baili Gucheng's gaze drifted through the carriage window into the distance.

"I wonder... How are things at the North Watching Pass?"

***

Ye Beizhi and his group of four finally reached Liangzhou's prefectural city.

They stopped at an inn, Chi Nanwei and Baili Gucheng stayed in the carriage to care for Yang Lu while Ye Beizhi entered by himself.

A waiter greeted him.

"Sir, would you like a meal or a room?"

Ye Beizhi glanced at the waiter, looked around the inn, and replied, "Two superior rooms."

"Got it." The waiter flung his towel over his shoulder and called out loudly, "Two superior rooms! This way, sir!"

But Ye Beizhi remained still and pointed outside. "The carriage..."

The waiter peeked outside. "Of course! We will prepare the finest hay for your horses!"

"......there are still people."

Chi Nanwei and Baili Gucheng got off the carriage. Baili Gucheng carried Yang Lu in his arms while Chi Nanwei walked beside him, keeping an eye on the comatose woman.

Seeing the waiter approach, Chi Nanwei instructed, "Take us to the rooms first."

Once the waiter led Baili Gucheng upstairs, Chi Nanwei approached the counter and said, "Innkeeper, I need to ask about something." As she spoke, she slipped a small silver ingot across.

The innkeeper glanced up at Chi Nanwei, deftly swiped the silver into his sleeve, and said, "Ask away, miss. I know everything there is to know about Liangzhou."

At that moment, Ye Beizhi arrived, carrying a bundle from the carriage, and stood behind Chi Nanwei.

Chi Nanwei glanced upstairs, saw that Baili Gucheng hadn't returned, and asked, "Has fighting broken out in the north?"

"Oh... asking about that, are you?" The innkeeper gave Chi Nanwei an exaggerated waggling expression. "That's old news by now. Word came down some days ago!"

"Hurry up and tell me!" Chi Nanwei urged him impatiently. "How bad is it?"

The innkeeper sighed, shaking his head. "It’s not good... apparently, four cities have already fallen."

"Which four cities?" Chi Nanwei asked urgently.

"Which ones do you think?" The shopkeeper sneered. "The North Suppressing, North Defending, North Watching, and Yanchi Pass. You wouldn’t believe how tragic it was. On the first day the cities fell, everyone was slaughtered... and not a single person survived. They say the sun that day was blood-red, and the wind howled like ghosts wailing..."

Chi Nanwei didn’t catch the rest of what the innkeeper was saying. She involuntarily swallowed and turned to look at Ye Beizhi.

Ye Beizhi lowered his gaze, his eyes deep and unreadable.

"W-What do we do..." Chi Nanwei said hoarsely. "How do we tell him... Are we still going to the North Watching Pass?"

Ye Beizhi's fingers brushed the hilt of his blade. After a long pause, he finally spoke.

"We go."