Chapter 57 - Ten Years Ago in North Watching Pass

As they returned south, the amount of greenery gradually grew, proving that they had reached the edge of the Gobi Desert.

Two feared members of the Ghostbane Association, Impending Sword and Alluring Elegy, walked in silence. They were busy ignoring each other like two quarreling children.

"Sor-sorry," Baili Gucheng whispered. His voice was very soft, his apology was immediately blown away by the wind as soon as it left his lips.

Yang Lu's ears twitched, slightly raising her beautiful eyebrows, she teased him, "What was that? I didn’t hear it~"

"..." Baili Gucheng took a cursory glance at the woman from the corner of his eye. "It’s nothing, if you didn’t hear it then forget about it."

Alluring Elegy scowled. "

Tch

... So petty."

Before Baili Gucheng could get angry, Yang Lu took the opportunity to ask, "Hey, what happened at the North Watching Pass? You care so much about them, so why did they treat you like that?"

Baili Gucheng's expression darkened as he growled, "Don't you know a lot? Why are you asking me?"

"I’m not an immortal. How can I know everything?" Yang Lu turned her face away. "

Hmph

~ If you don't want to tell me then forget about it."

Baili Gucheng looked at the yellow silt beneath his feet and then turned to glance back at the North Watching Pass, frowning like there was a bitter taste in his mouth.

***

In a small courtyard at the North Watching Pass.

"Here's a question." A middle-aged man in a coarse linen outfit handed a wooden sword to the boy in front of him and asked, "In swordsmanship, what kind of sword is the strongest sword?"

The boy took the wooden sword, caressing it lovingly. With barely a thought, he answered, "I know! It's the unity of man and sword!"

The middle-aged man shook his head, "Wrong, try again."

The boy thought for a moment and said, "Then it must be using all of creation as a sword!"

The middle-aged man frowned. "What kind of nonsense is that! I told you to stop listening to those storytellers," he said as he reached for the rattan whip as if to strike the boy. "All they do is make stuff up!"

The boy ducked and ran, shouting, "Master, don't hit me! I got it, I got it!"

The middle-aged man stopped chasing and said angrily, "You got it? Then tell me!"

The boy’s eyes sparkled with longing and recited, "It is... having the immaterial surpass the material, having a sword in hand but no sword in the heart, having no sword in hand but a sword in the heart!"

The middle-aged man was dumbfounded, and after a moment, he slammed the rattan whip onto the ground with force and shouted, "What on earth are you talking about! Damn it, if you can actually do what you say about having a sword and not having a sword, I'll worship you as my master!"

The boy quieted down, sensing that his master was genuinely getting angry. He cautiously asked, "Then Master, what kind of sword is the strongest sword?"

"The sword that can defeat another is the strongest sword!" the middle-aged man said with a glare.

"...Is that it?" The boy seemed unsatisfied with his Master's answer.

"What did you expect!?" The middle-aged man picked up the rattan whip again, ready to strike the boy.

A person entered the courtyard, saw this scene, and couldn’t help but laugh as he said, "Oh, Old Guo, disciplining your disciple again?"

The middle-aged man, Old Guo, turned towards the voice and replied with a smile, "

Haha

, Captain Qi! What kind of wind blew you here?"

A man walked over dressed seriously in military uniform, he seemed to be just over forty. He waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, I happened to pass by when I heard the commotion, so I came in to take a look." He then pointed at the boy and asked, "What’s the matter? Has Xiao Cheng angered you again?"

"

Hai

... this damn kid doesn't practice martial arts properly. He's always running off to listen to the storytellers’ nonsense, and comes back spouting nonsense too. He needs to be disciplined!" Old Guo then glared at the boy and shouted, "Why haven't you paid your respects yet!?"

"Qi, Uncle Qi..." the boy lowered his head and called softly.

"

Aye

... that's a good boy," Captain Qi said with a smile as he patted the boy's head, "Listen to your master and practice martial arts well. The North Watching Pass will need you to help safeguard it in the future."

"Yes!" The boy nodded vigorously, his face full of determination.

***

"Hey!" Yang Lu shoved Baili Gucheng and asked, "What are you thinking about now?"

Baili Gucheng snapped out of his reverie and looked at an irritated Yang Lu. "What? What’s wrong?"

Yang Lu placed her hands on her hips. "I was asking you which way we should go!"

Baili Gucheng pondered for a moment before he said, "To the Liangzhou Prefecture branch first."

"

Mm

?" Yang Lu looked at him in confusion. "Why do we need to go to a Ghostbane Association branch?"

"To find out the whereabouts of a person." Baili Gucheng pursed his lips together. "With his help, we’ll have a better chance."

"Who?"

The Impending Sword narrowed his eyes. "Stormqueller... Ye Beizhi."

"Stormqueller~" Yang Lu thought for a moment. "I’ve heard of him, but I’ve also heard he’s not very easy to talk to... How are you sure he’ll help us?"

"

Heh

... He owes me a favor."

***

"Master... Is this ‘Concealed Sword Art’ really that powerful?" the boy asked. He looked at Old Guo with some doubt.

"Naturally! If it weren’t powerful, would I teach you?" Old Guo replied to the boy whose eyes were full of expectation.

"Then why don’t you practice it?" the boy asked.

Old Guo was taken aback, and after a while, he patted the boy's head and sighed. "I’m too clumsy... I could never practice the Concealed Sword Art."

"Master, you can do everything! If you can’t practice it... then can I, I, succeed?"

"You must succeed!" Old Guo looked at the boy solemnly. "You must master it..."

The boy was startled by his master’s intensity and nodded numbly.

"Remember, before mastering the Concealed Sword Art, you must not draw your sword," Old Guo sternly warned, "Drawing the sword even once will have serious consequences. Not only will it shorten your life by five years but it may also lead to cultivation deviation or even threaten your life."

The boy swallowed and nodded solemnly.

Old Guo went back into the house and took out a long cloth bundle, gently opening it in front of the boy.

The cloth bag was opened, revealing an ancient sword.[1] The scabbard was intricately carved with various flying birds and beasts.

Old Guo picked up the sword and handed it to the young man, saying, "This sword was left to me by a lost friend. From now on, it belongs to you."

From then on, the North Watching Pass had a young man who carried a sword but never drew it from its scabbard.

"Master, the Concealed Sword Art is too difficult!"

"If you’re afraid of some difficulty, why practice the sword at all!"

"Master, I don’t understand this sentence."

"You still don't understand such a simple sentence? Rotten wood cannot be carved!"

"Master, I lost to Zhang Daniu in sword sparring today..."

"Shameful! Scram back home and keep practicing!"

"Master! Today I won the match against Zhang Daniu!"

"Boastful and complacent! Go and practice the sword!"

"Master, I can feel sword qi!"

"Not enough, practice more!"

"Master, I can project sword qi now!"

"Still far from enough... Keep practicing."

"Master, is this controlling the material with qi?"

"Good... it looks a bit like it."

"Master, I can channel the qi throughout my body now."

"Good, keep practicing!"

"Master... I won."

"Being able to beat me is nothing. There are many who are far stronger than your master. You are still far from that level."

Baili Gucheng nodded silently. His shoulder-length black hair swayed gracefully as he silently practiced with the sword.

Not long after Baili Gucheng left, Old Guo sat quietly in the small courtyard.

Old Guo suddenly started laughing, gradually laughing louder until it turned into a hearty laugh.

A tear fell onto Old Guo's knee. Looking again, his wrinkled face wore a huge smile even as tears flowed down his face.

Old Guo's eyes were filled with uncontrollable excitement as he muttered, "The Concealed Sword Art hasn’t been cut off... the Concealed Sword Art hasn’t been cut off!

Ha

! The heavens have eyes! I no longer have any regrets in this life... Master, I have finally lived up to my promise—Who?!"

A shadow flashed out from behind the door and asked, "Are you Guo Tianfeng?"

Guo Tianfeng narrowed his eyes. "So it's the Ghostbane Association... Your intelligence network is truly everywhere. Even though I've hidden here, you were able to find me."

"It seems we haven’t found the wrong person," the shadow said sinisterly, "In that case, I will gladly accept your life."

"

Heh

... That will depend on whether you are strong enough!"

Guo Tianfeng leapt up as he spoke, drawing his sword mid-air and unleashing a burst of radiant sword qi at the figure dressed in black!

The black-clad assassin let out a light laugh, not dodging or avoiding, and raised a hand to block the incoming sword light.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang through the courtyard as the iron sword struck something solid.

"That's useless." The black-clad man lowered his arm, revealing a layer of impenetrable steel armor that extended from his palm to his forearm.

"Steel claws..." Guo Tianfeng’s eyes twitched. "I remember you, you must be—"

"Heaven Ranker Plum Blossom, Xiong Huaifang." The black-clad man’s tone was full of mockery. "The same Xiong Huaifang who killed your younger brother ten years ago..."

"Bastard!" Guo Tianfeng screamed. With bloodshot eyes, he thrust his sword at Xiong Huaifang and shouted, "I'll kill you!"

Xiong Huaifang casually deflected the wild thrust.

"Ten years ago, you were at this level. I didn’t expect you to have made no progress since then..."

Xiong Huaifang’s steel palm struck Guo Tianfeng’s chest, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Your fate was sealed the moment you betrayed the Ghostbane Association. If He Wenxian hadn't died so early, I would have liked to see how powerful his Concealed Sword Art truly is..."

"

Ha...

just with your skills?" Guo Tianfeng’s clothes were stained with blood, but he spoke valiantly. " There is no need for my master to act. In his eyes, you are less than a wild dog..."

"You're all talk and no skill," Plum Blossom said lightly, unbothered by the insult, "Once I kill you, no one will be left to know about He Wenxian’s lineage. Your era is over."

As she finished speaking, Plum Blossom flicked her hand, releasing a green flash that buried itself into Guo Tianfeng’s chest.

Old Guo looked down to see a throwing knife embedded in his chest up to the hilt. The knife was poisoned, and black blood was trickling from the wound.

Old Guo smiled slightly, his strength fading, and he collapsed.

Plum Blossom took a final look at the fallen Guo Tianfeng and then leapt onto the roof.

"Master! I won't let that scum escape!" someone shouted from outside the door.

It was Baili Gucheng.

Guo Tianfeng, who was still barely breathing on the ground, changed color upon hearing the voice and began to struggle violently.

Plum Blossom crouched on the roof and said, "Oh? Guo Tianfeng, you have a disciple?"

"Master!" Baili Gucheng threw himself on Guo Tianfeng, desperately trying to staunch the bleeding with his hands. Tears flowed uncontrollably as he cried, "Master, what happened to you!"

Guo Tianfeng reached out tremblingly and grabbed Baili Gucheng's forearm, and whispered hoarsely, "Disciple... quickly leave..."

Baili Gucheng shook his head desperately. "I won’t leave! Master... I haven't graduated from your teachings, you... you can't—"

"Leave?

Heh

, nobody is allowed to leave today!"

Baili Gucheng pointed at Plum Blossom on the roof and yelled, "Shut up!"

"Disciple... quickly leave, you... you have graduated... you don't need your master any more."

Cough cough—

Guo Tianfeng wheezed weakly and his eyes began to unfocus, but he had a smile on his face.

"Your master... I am very pleased."

The hand gripping Baili Gucheng's arm went slack and fell to the ground.

Baili Gucheng bowed his head, and felt like there was something tearing at his chest. He couldn't breathe at all.

"Leftover scum!" Plum Blossom leapt down at the kneeling Baili Gucheng. "Go accompany your master!"

Bang!

The steel claws were blocked by an iron sword.

"You"—Baili Gucheng stood with his sword, his eyes full of hatred—"Who exactly are you!?"

"Enough nonsense!"

Having failed in her attack Plum Blossom made a move again.

Baili Gucheng didn’t dodge, he concentrated the sword qi in the scabbard and delivered a downward strike.

Plum Blossom deftly avoided it, clawing Baili Gucheng and leaving four deep bloody grooves on his chest.

Plum Blossom softly sniffed the blood on her steel claws.

"Is this all you’ve got? It seems your master couldn't teach you much. If this is all..." she leapt towards Baili Gucheng and shouted, "Then it's time to end this!"

Baili Gucheng struggled to rise from the ground. Seeing Xiong Huaifang flying toward him, he gripped the sword handle with his trembling right hand. He set his jaw and his eyes became resolute.

Grasp the sword, unsheathe everything.

Baili Gucheng closed his eyes, and his face instantly lost all expression.

It seemed as if the world fell silent in an instant.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw Plum Blossom’s terrified expression as she charged through the air.

Plum Blossom saw the person in front of her stare into her soul with a pair of blood-red eyes. His black satin-like long hair turned snowy-white before her eyes.

Plum Blossom felt a gale rushing past her ears, and then a tremendous wind pressure erupted from the young man in front of her!

No, that isn't wind!

It’s sword qi!

Xiong Huaifang instinctively ducked and rolled away. At that moment, she thought she was undoubtedly going to die. Plum Blossom instinctively raised her arms to shield her head and face.

In the next instant, countless strands of sword qi swept past her!

There was only a single thought in her mind: escape.

Xiong Huaifang was covered in countless lacerations, some flaying off her skin, others cutting deep to the bone.

Even the steel claws on her forearms were covered in sword marks.

Plum Blossom looked back and saw the crazed young man closing in on her, with a swirling storm of sword qi constantly eviscerating everything within ten zhang around him!

She saw a stray dog accidentally enter this radius, and the frenzied sword qi instantly sliced it into ribbons!

However, Baili Gucheng’s eyes saw nothing but the escaping figure ahead.

I have to catch up to her, I have to kill her!

That day became a nightmare that the North Watching Pass would never forget.

Baili Gucheng chased Plum Blossom through most of the city, leaving behind severed limbs and mutilated bodies torn apart by sword qi.

The sounds of wailing continued late into the night.

After that night, the North Watching Pass lost the black-haired diligent disciple, Baili Gucheng. A lone, snow-haired Baili Gucheng took his place.

"Is this the story you wanted to tell me?" Flowerless Butterfly looked at the man in front of her, puzzled. "What are you telling me this for?"

"

Heh...

because Xiong Huaifang..." Forsaken Phoenix Tang Jinnian exhaled a puff of smoke and said, "was killed by me. Impending Sword owes me a huge favor. Let’s find him and have him help us snatch that gourd from that beggar."

1. The raws the author says that it is a 长剑 longsword, but throughout the rest of the story, Baili Gucheng's weapon is only referred to as a sword, and a longsword is generally expected to be wielded by two hands, which Baili Gucheng also does not do, so we changed this translation to a sword for consistency. ☜