Chapter 474 The Servant in the Knife Hut
On the 28th of the first month of the lunar month.
There were three days to go before the designated date of the Nangong family forcing the marriage upon Countess Huanzhu arrived.
The situation was chaotic in the new capital of the Northern Song located hundreds of miles south of the basin where Lin’an City originally was. The peace the Northern Song had enjoyed for nearly two years was now broken by Nangong Chunliang, the master of the Nangong family, as he came to the new capital. The calm water began to boil. All the forces, as well as the ministers and royals, were all in a rush to visit the emerging hegemon and build good relations with him.
The Nangong family stationed their guards directly in the imperial palace.
The master, Nangong Chunliang, sat as equals at the same table with the emperor of the Northern Song and kept an extremely high-profile.
Everyone in the royal family of the Northern Song was angry, but no one dared to say anything.
The Nangong family was now superior to imperial power.
However, Nangong Yu, the number one cultivator in the world, did not show up.
“The G.o.d of War in our Nangong family is busy raising his Sword Intent and preparing to enter the universe. Of course, before leaving this world, he will remove some obstacles.”
The Nangong family declared to the outside world with pride.
And everyone understood who the so-called “obstacles” referred to.
Time flew by.
All the people started to feel the tension in the air.
In the manor of Lord Virtuous the Eighth.
“Yu’er, run for your life.” Lord Virtuous the Eighth was trying to persuade w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu.
Years ago, too eager to settle the matter about Li Mu, he let his greed get the better of himself and exploited his adopted daughter. He had felt guilty since then. Now, all he wanted was that his adopted daughter could get out of there safely. Even if that was at the expense of the whole royal family of the Northern Song, he would not regret. At that time, the Northern Song had existed in name only. Therefore, he decided to let go.
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu, clad in a white imperial dress, was sitting in front of the dressing table, combing her hair softly.
Although two years had pa.s.sed, time did not seem to have left any trace on the top beauty in the Northern Song. Instead, it made her even more appealing. The 18-year-old beautiful girl was in the prime of her life. In particular, after returning from the trip to the Tomb of the G.o.d of Sin two years ago, w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu had gained a kind of inexplicable charm.
“Stepfather, don’t worry.” w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu looked back with a smile and said, “You don’t need to be bothered by this matter. I have my own plans.”
While they were talking, footsteps were heard from outside.
A servant bustled in the room and delivered a message in a panic. It turned out that Nangong Chunliang, the master of the Nangong family, had arrived in person and forced his way into the manor without waiting for the approval. He was now in the back garden where w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu was cultivating meditation.
“Ah, you are really a peerless beauty,” exclaimed Nangong Chunliang. He appeared to be a middle-aged man in his 40s, and his face was fairly handsome. The moment he laid eyes on w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu for the first time, amazement crossed his face. “She is 1,000 times more beautiful than in the portrait, no, 10,000 times more beautiful!”
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu gazed at the overbearing master of the ancient family and sighed, “Why don’t you appreciate being alive?”
At that, Nangong Chunliang was taken aback for a moment, but then he laughed out loud.
“Are you saying that Li Mu will come to save you again? Haha, sugar, things have changed now. Li Mu is already frightened. You can’t rely on him. Do you still have feelings for him? Well, it doesn’t matter. Anyway, all I want is your body, not your heart. Taking a woman who longs for another man is indeed the most exciting thing in the world for the male kind.”
He did not even try to hide his arrogance. Instead, he seemed to be deliberately displaying it.
w.a.n.g s.h.i.+yu said mildly, “The master of the Nangong family is just a rude upstart. Two years ago, your Nangong family still s.h.i.+vered with fear before Li Mu. You didn’t even dare to meet his eyes. But now, you became so arrogant and domineering. But you should know that you will be punished if you acc.u.mulate too many sins. Your cleverness might ruin you one day.”
Her way of speaking was like that of a G.o.ddess in the highest Heaven, who was looking down at a country b.u.mpkin that had no manners.
Nangong Chunliang had been in charge of the Nangong family for nearly a century, and so could be considered a person used to be in a high position. However, for some reason, when this young woman who knew nothing about martial arts darted a look at him, Nangong Chunliang felt a sense of anxiety for no reason.
“Haha, good, very good. I hope you can still talk like that at our wedding night.”
Nangong Chunliang screwed up his eyes and sneered.
“She is just a woman. No matter how beautiful she is, she was still a va.s.sal of a man.”
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Two days later.
Over the clouds, the moons were s.h.i.+ning brightly.
A magnificent flying shuttle was drifting among the white clouds.
“Brother, why do you have to follow the winding path? Why don’t you go straight to Taibai City and kill that coward, Li Mu?”
A young man dressed in fine clothes, whose appearance somewhat resembled Nangong Yu’s, was standing on the deck, looking at the cyan-clad Nangong Yu at the bow of the shuttle with fanatical admiration in his eyes.
Nangong Yu frowned slightly. He glanced at his younger brother, and said, “There is a Divine Way Deployment in Taibai City. I can’t see through it. If we rashly break in, I’m not sure what will happen. Li Mu is not someone to be underestimated.”
Nangong Yun countered, “But, brother, you’re already in the Void-breaking Realm. You’re invincible in the world…”
“Invincibility cannot be proved by words but by battles. Entering the void-breaking doesn’t mean I’m already a G.o.d.” Nangong Yu said with a calm look, “Brother Yun, since Li Mu and I haven’t battled before, we should never think slightly of our enemy. I personally don’t hold any grudges against Li Mu. The reason why I’ll force him to get out of Taibai City is just that I want to completely uproot this unstable factor for our Nangong family before I leave for the immortal realm. Only when Li Mu is dead can the Nangong family really rule the Divine Land.”
Nangong Yun curled his lips in disbelief.
At that time, he was already full of himself, thinking that he was above all the others. Given that the golden-winged roc, one of the only two experts in the Void-breaking Realm on the Divine Land, had already lost to his elder brother, Nangong Yun certainly thought Li Mu was beneath him. As Li Mu had not even entered the Void-breaking Realm, it was certain that he would die sooner or later.
“Brother, after you finish Li Mu off, can you give me that Taibai City?” Inquired Nangong Yun, who became thrilled again.
Nangong Yu looked at him, feeling speechless. But he still nodded and said, “Fine.”
Since Nangong Chunliang, the master of the Nangong family, had numerous wives and concubines, he already had countless descendants. Among all the children, only Nangong Yun and Nangong Yu were brothers born by the same concubine. Therefore, Nangong Yu was Nangong Yun’s birth brother. And they had been close since they were kids.
Nangong Yu had always taken good care of Nangong Yun, and sometimes indulged him.
It was a pity that Nangong Yun was a playboy and didn’t want to work hard. He was just a loser that could not be saved.
“Brother, what if Li Mu doesn’t show up tomorrow?” Nangong Yun asked again.
Nangong Yu smiled and said, “He’ll definitely show up.”
He was sure that Li Mu would come to face him. As Li Mu’s opponent, he thought quite highly of Li Mu, because Li Mu was a man with pride who would not cringe even if he had to die in the battle.
The credit he gave Li Mu was quite high, even higher than that of the golden-winged roc.
This was a kind of intuition he had gained after breaking through to the Void-breaking Realm. It was also the reason why he had prepared for such a long time and even chose to sharpen his skills with the golden-winged roc before dealing with Li Mu.
Tomorrow, an unparalleled battle was bound to take place.
Nangong Yu was quite expectant for that battle, and he was also very confident about the result.
Therefore, on the night before the battle, he took his good-for-nothing brother on a night trip to chat, relax, and adjust his state.
After all, how many times could a man have the honor to stand at the pinnacle in his lifetime?
After leaving that world, he would embark on the unknown Path. In the vast universe, everything would start from the beginning. The upcoming battle was just the beginning of his glory on the journey to the Path.
The flying shuttled zoomed in and out of the clouds in the dark sky.
In the blink of an eye, the dawn would soon arrive.
Suddenly, Nangong Yu’s expression changed and he looked up at the void ahead.
“Brother, what’s wrong?” Nangong Yun asked subconsciously.
At that precise moment, a piece of melodious but peculiar music played by an erhu fluttered to their ears without warning, as if the music had crossed countless mountains and rivers and the endless void before reaching them. The music sounded as if someone was sobbing, complaining, and choking with resentment.
The instant the erhu rang, everyone on the flying shuttle felt their hearts skip a beat. It was as if someone had forcefully tossed a stone in their peaceful hearts and created layers of ripples.
“Who’s that?”
Nangong Yu fanned his qi all over the flying shuttle for protection. His face became stern.
To his surprise, the sound of that erhu inflicted a sense of pressure on him.
The bizarre music went on and on.
The white clouds ahead quickly dissipated like snow melting in a copper cauldron. Those on the flying shuttle were dazzled by some light. And then they saw a figure so lanky that it looked like a bamboo pole was supporting those clothes slowly stepped toward them in the air.
“There is a broken heart in this sad song. Where in the world can I find my bosom friend?”
The lanky man spoke. He was riding on the wind, his sleeves fluttering behind him, giving him an immortal-like demeanor.
“Here comes the flying shuttle of the Nangong family. Why is there a wild dog getting in the way and playing spooky tricks?” Nangong Yun, who could not hold his tongue, swore directly.
Nangong Yu cursed inwardly. But it was too late to stop him.
“Hey, you, a maggot who doesn’t know how high the sky is and how thick the earth is, what’s so great about the Nangong family?” A cold smile spread on the lanky man’s face. The erhu string vibrated slightly and made a m.u.f.fled sound.
Nangong Yun only felt that his heart suddenly shuddered violently, as if it was going to burst out of his chest. An incomparable sense of suffocation and horror washed over him. The sense of death invaded his body. If Nangong Yu had not pressed a hand on his bosom, his heart would have burst open and his souls dissipated.
As if having been pulled out of the water, Nangong Yun was drenched in a cold sweat, still in a state of shock. After a moment, he shouted angrily in a broken voice, “You… How dare you attack me? You… Brother, kill him for me. I want him to die a terrible death.”
Nangong Yu stood in front of him, his face grim, and his eyes filled with killing intent. He demanded, “Who are you, sir?”
He had never heard of a powerful expert like him in Jianghu. The mysterious man’s strength even put him under pressure.
“I’m just a small servant in the Knife Hut of Taibai City.” The lanky man smiled insidiously. That was the kind of wicked smile only the bad guys put on. He said, “My master heard that the Nangong family has violated the ban and is going to conquer the world. So, he specifically asked me to send you a wisp of Broadsword Intent for entertainment. It will make you know how high the sky is and how thick the earth is.”
“The Knife Hut in Taibai City?”
“Li Mu?”
Nangong Yu immediately realized who he was dealing with.
But what surprised him was that even the Nine Superbs were far inferior to the man in front of him. Yet, the man claimed to be just a servant of the Knife Hut in Taibai City?
At that moment, a ray of broadsword light shot out from a jade medallion the lanky man was holding.
The broadsword light was dazzling, as though landing on the mortal world from the farthest galaxy in the universe. It rushed straight toward the flying shuttle.
On the bow of the shuttle, the long sword Nangong Yu carried on his back clanged furiously and emitted a dazzling divine radiance.
He drew his long sword backhanded, as if he had heaven and earth in his hands.
In a flash, Nangong Yu was already hovering in midair. The fierce sword intent swirled around him, which was so bright that it could overshadow the sun, making him look like a G.o.d. He laughed out loud and bellowed, “You want to fight me with only a wisp of Broadsword Intent? Li Mu is too complacent, isn’t he? Well, today I’ll kill one of his servants to make him know what is the power of the Void-breaking Realm!”