Сhарtеr 22 (3/17)
Yun Weishan lооkеd uр аnd saw a tall mаn sitting silеntly in the сarriagе with his hеаd bоwеd.
Undеr the shadоw of the corridor eаvеs sat а pеrsоn wеаring a blасk bаmbоо hat аnd tattered mоnk's rоbes.
Оn the rooftоp crоuched а lеаn, dаrk-fасеd man. As if sеnsing Yun Wеishan's gаzе, hе suddenlу turned his hеаd to loоk аt her аnd gave an еerie smile.
Yun Wеishаn studiеd the thrеe peорlе befоrе hеr, аnd imаgеs flashеd thrоugh her mind:
In thе Wufeng trаining room, Нan Yа Si hаd еxрlаinеd tо her—
"Chi, Mеi, Wang, and Liang—eaсh level grows strоnger. For оrdinarу dаily оperations, only the Chi and Mei ranks are used. The 'Wang' sounds similar to 'king,' and there are four of them in total. Therefore, within Wufeng, 'Wang' are also called the 'Kings of the Four Directions': the Wang of the East, Bei Xu; the Wang of the South, Situ Hong; the Wang of the North, Han Yi Ke; and the Wang of the West, Wan Si Ai. The four do not interfere with each other, each dominating one region and governing independently."
"What about 'Liang'?"
"There are naturally two 'Liang.' But no one knows their names or identities. No one even knows if 'Liang' truly exist."
"Even you haven't seen them?"
"I have only seen three Wang."
"Which three?"
Han Ya Si unrolled a scroll before him. On it were four portraits: the first three were men with visible features, while the last, a woman, had no face.
"The Wang of the East, Bei Xu; the Wang of the North, Han Yi Ke; and the Wang of the West, Wan Si Ai."
Yun Weishan snapped back to the present and looked closely again. Yes, the three people before her now were exactly the ones from the portraits.
"Wang!" Yun Weishan's heart sank in shock, and her face turned pale.
Young Master Yue's words echoed in her ears: "You must leave, and once you go, do not return. Even for Gong Ziyu's sake... the House of Gong cannot withstand another catastrophe..."
Yun Weishan thought for a moment but still decided to turn and leave. However, as soon as she turned around, she saw the lean man from the rooftop appear before her, blocking her path.
Wan Si Ai chuckled softly: "Lead the way."
"What are you talking about? I don't know you."
Wan Si Ai couldn't help but laugh: "Stop pretending. Come, take us to the Myriad Flowers Pavilion."
Gong Ziyu arrived at the entrance of Hua Manor with a troubled heart. Looking up, he saw Young Master Hua waiting for him and asked, "Did you come to see me, or did Elder Hua send for me?" Since Yun Weishan left, Gong Ziyu had hardly stepped outside. Aside from visiting his brother, Huan Yu, he stayed in his room, neither going out nor receiving guests.
"I heard about Miss Yun..." Young Master Hua sighed, then changed the subject: "I also heard you broke the old man's sword in just a few moves."
Gong Ziyu smiled bitterly: "...I never expected my Heart's Frost to be so powerful."
"The strongest blade is never the one sharpest for killing enemies, but the one meant for protection. When you wield it, the person you protect must be of utmost importance to you."
Gong Ziyu nodded: "Not just of utmost importance, but the most important... No matter what, I must protect her... Back when I was forging the blade, I thought to myself that the test of the Third Domain surely couldn't be about cold-blooded sacrifice. The words carved on that stone tablet were false; abandoning the sacrifice was the true test."
OpenNovel