Chapter 84 – Senior Brother and Junior Brother

"Why didn’t you listen to me!" Yang Lu squatted beside Baili Gucheng and grabbed his collar, her charming face full of anger. "Baili Gucheng, do you realize you are courting death!"

Impending Sword Baili Gucheng ignored the woman beside him and looked thoughtfully in the direction where Ah San had left.

"He—"

"He is nothing but a filthy animal!" Yang Lu spat. She grabbed Baili Gucheng's wrist again to assess his condition. "You forcefully activated your inner qi, further agitating the sword qi within your body.

"Luckily, I helped regulate your meridians before, so there hasn't been any fundamental damage." Yang Lu paused, staring into Baili Gucheng's eyes, her expression serious.

"I'll help seal the sword qi in your body again, but before you fully recover, you must not forcibly use your inner qi.

"Otherwise, not only will you fail to kill anyone, but you can also forget about advancing your Concealed Sword Art in this lifetime."

Baili Gucheng knew Yang Lu wasn’t joking and nodded seriously.

"Then... how long will it take for my injury to heal? The soldiers and refugees at the border don't have much time—"

"Is that my fault?!" Yang Lu frowned at Baili Gucheng and berated him, "Why didn’t you think of them when you were fighting earlier? Who told you to forcibly activate your inner qi? Your injury was almost healed, and now you do this to me!"

Baili Gucheng was speechless, not daring to argue.

"Let’s head into the city first." Yang Lu looked toward the distant capital with a distant expression. "As for how long it will take for your injury to heal and the matter of killing Qi Zongbi, we can only let fate decide."

***

Not long after Baili Gucheng and Yang Lu entered the capital.

In the Listening Storm Pavilion, Ye Fan sat in his study, absentmindedly tapping the table. His face was dark and stormy. A secret letter lay open on the table, having just been delivered by the Listening Storm Pavilion’s spies.

"Impending Sword Bailu Gucheng has come to the capital too..." Ye Fan furrowed his brow, muttering to himself, "Yes, Qi Zongbi is planning to sacrifice those refugees on the border, and that certainly touched Baili Gucheng’s reverse scale...

"But how did he find out about Qi Zongbi's plan? The capital was already rife with hidden currents before his arrival... Does he think the waters aren't murky enough?!"

"Damn it! Dealing with Stormqueller Ye Beizhi alone is troublesome enough, and now we have Impending Sword Bailu Gucheng as well. They're a bunch of lunatics!" Ye Fan picked up the tea on the table and drank it in one gulp.

In the northwest corner of the capital stood a lonely seven-story tower.

This building was neither a temple nor a Taoist monastery. It was an ancestral hall.

This ancestral hall was located in a remote corner of the capital. The stone steps in front were covered with moss, and the roads on either side were overgrown with waist-high weeds. It was so rarely visited that merely describing it as deserted would be an understatement.

The hall did not enshrine gods. It was dedicated to and housed the spirit of a deceased forefather, Li Xun, who was famed for his unparalleled wisdom.

Decades ago, he was the Prime Minister of the Ruen Dynasty. His skills in overt and covert strategies, state governance, and national affairs made him the Emperor's most trusted right-hand man.

He devised the plan that secured the crown prince's position as the Emperor, that allowed the Emperor to successfully sit upon the throne.

A second plan forced Northern Qiang to relinquish a thousand miles of territory and created the North Watching Pass that exists today.

A third plan that dulled the sharp threat of the jianghu under the Ruen Dynasty, allowing the court to secretly control the world's top assassin organization, the Ghostbane Association.

The world called him the Unerring Machinator.

Li Xun had only two students in his lifetime, one of whom was Qi Zongbi, the current External Prime Minister.

At this moment, Qi Zongbi was on the top floor of the tower.

The top floor of the tower was sparsely furnished. However, bookshelves lined the walls, scattered books and sheets of paper were strewn like snowflakes on the floor. This left only the center clear, where a small shabby wooden table stood.

Qi Zongbi climbed the stairs, carefully stepping around the scattered books and crumpled paper on the floor, and sat down by the small table.

After a long silence, Qi Zongbi finally spoke. "The emperor has agreed to send troops." Sunlight streamed through the broken roof tiles and shone on his face. "But he has conditions..."

"

Hmm?

" A low voice came from the cluster of shadows directly across from the small table. "What conditions?"

Qi Zongbi looked at the shadowy man, his expression complicated.

"The emperor wants me to swap out the fifty thousand commoners and refugees with soldiers. That way, it won't—"

"Impossible." The person in the shadow interrupted Qi Zongbi before he could finish. "The difference between soldiers and civilians is too obvious.

"Northern Qiang army aside but even anyone with a little knowledge could tell the difference. If you want this plan to succeed... those fifty thousand refugees must die there."

Qi Zongbi lowered his eyes, looking at his knees.

"If that’s the case, the Emperor will definitely not agree."

"But you know what to do, don’t you?" The person in the shadow chuckled. "You can verbally promise the Emperor, then keep those fifty thousand refugees at the border as bait.

"It's just defying imperial edicts and deceiving the Emperor... are you still afraid?

"You're a dead man walking. Forming factions and opposing the court, no matter the outcome of this war, you won’t escape death. So, what are you afraid of? Could you die twice?"

Qi Zongbi's expression shifted, as he struggled internally.

"I'm not afraid to die... I feel guilty for those fifty thousand people—"

"What are you thinking?!"

The person in the shadows lunged over the table and violently grabbed Qi Zongbi’s collar.

"Qi Zongbi! Lord Prime Minister! My dear senior brother! What are you thinking?! Your name will be remembered in history! Expanding territories! Avenging our teacher! As long as we win this war! We will have everything!"

A beam of sunlight streamed through the broken roof, enveloping both of them in its light.

Motes of dust swirled and settled in the sudden sunlight.

Qi Zongbi looked at the person in front of him, his expression now calm.

This person had long, disheveled hair cascading down his back, a withered face, a deathly pale complexion, and wore a tattered gray robe.

Beneath the robe was an emaciated body that looked like a skeleton and appeared even older than Qi Zongbi. Nevertheless, he called Qi Zongbi his senior brother.

"This was never my task to begin with." Qi Zongbi showed no anger despite the grip on his collar. "Don't forget, our teacher only taught me the ways of governance and statecraft. The arts of scheming and plotting... he taught those to you."

"

Hmph

." The man snorted coldly and released Qi Zongbi's collar. "Until Northern Qiang is destroyed and our teacher is avenged, I swear I won't step foot from this tower!"

"You've stayed in the tower for years... look at what you've become! You look like a vengeful ghost!" Qi Zongbi sneered. "At this rate, you'll die before I do!"

"Do you think I would die so easily before I see Northern Qiang destroyed?"

The man sank back into the shadows.

"As for you, you should know what to do. Fifty thousand lives to avenge our teacher... That's quite a bargain, isn't it?"

The man in the shadows paused for a moment.

"One last piece of advice... This plan is extremely treacherous. Once news gets out, there will be no end to the people who want to kill you. So remember to bring along those Ghostbane Association brats with you wherever you go these days."

Qi Zongbi slowly stood up, supporting himself on his knees. Looking deeply at the shadows before him, he said, "After this battle, I won’t be able to escape death. The remaining matters will be left for you to handle when you come out of seclusion. Only then, will I have the face to meet our teacher."

After saying this, Qi Zongbi descended the stairs without looking back.

The tower fell silent again. The man in the shadows looked down at his hands, and after a long time, a barely audible murmur drifted through the dilapidated tower.

"Northern Qiang...

heh

, they’re not so easy to destroy... Teacher, when you chose to teach me these dark arts, had you already foreseen that this day would come?"