Trigger warnings: Rape mentioned (on a very minor side character's past, it doesn't concern any character we know at the moment, don't worry)
This night is a night without snow or moon.
Dark clouds cover the entire sky, yet it isn't willing to let the snow fall and even when the wind has come to a stop, allowing one to feel hot and impatient, flipping around in bed and finding it difficult to fall asleep.
Duan Qigu could not sleep.
He has relocated his wife and children to the manor in the back as he himself sits peacefully in the front hall. He orders all his servants to surround the manor, turning it into a nigh impenetrable fortress. Duan Qigu doesn't look too different compared to usual, but in reality, he is relaxed on the outside and tense on the inside.
Duan Qigu bends his index finger and taps on the table from time to time.
He has been waiting.
He has been waiting for Housekeeper Lin's report of bringing those fifty soldiers to assault the Xing manor.
He has also been waiting for that 'vengeful ghost' to come to his doorsteps once again.
Actually, between Duan Qigu and Xing Mao, there isn't any real vengeance awaiting to be avenged, but a mountain will never permit two tigers to rule over it, and both of them knew that Qiemo would eventually only allow one ruler. So both parties have actually been accumulating their manpower and strength to kill the other in a final showdown.
Now Duan Qigu could not wait any longer. The incident at the party only made him feel like his life is in danger.
Xing Mao needs to be removed. In fact, this cannot be delayed any longer.
When one thinks too much, it also invades their dreams. One would choose to act sooner rather than later. Instead of sitting here and waiting to be killed, why shouldn't he make the first move?
Tonight, victory or failure will ultimately fall upon one decision.
He orders someone to check out the hourglass - the night was approaching eleven o'clock.
Yesterday, it was also around this time that the ghost had appeared, and tonight… Duan Qigu snickered coldly in a bitter laugh.
At the present, the Duan manor has been lit with candles at every corner and people have been stationed everywhere. He refuses to believe that not even one person would be unable to see where the ghost would be coming from.
Outside, the cold wind gathers, bringing leaves and flowers with it into the hall. A sudden chilly breeze brings a sharp coldness that pierces ones bones. The men who are stationed at the gates could not help but sneeze.
The lanterns above his head flicker and the candles suddenly went out and everything in front of his eyes turns pitch black.
"Ah!!!!"
The scream came from the northern corner of the Duan manor, the place where all the women were located.
The voice sounds familiar to his ears - it sounded like the daughter of Duan Qigu, the one who had just come of age.
Duan Qigu rises to his feet and leaps out of the hall, heading towards the direction where the cry came from.
As if everything has been scheduled, one by one, the lanterns have been going out as he moves along the manor.
"What is happening!"
"Someone is here!"
The voices of the guards are like continuous ramblings, yet they could only hear the sound of the wind and could not determine where the enemy has been hiding.
The ominous wind is everywhere, as if someone has been whispering in their ears.
It is as if they are far, yet it is as if they are near.
Duan Qigu...Repay blood with blood...
A few people recall the rumour of the ghost last night and once they remembered the vengeful ghost who has been spreading across the entire city, he couldn't help but feel anxious and scared.
"A ghost!!!!!"
Someone suddenly screamed within the darkness.
It is unknown what they have seen or what they have encountered.
The rising panic slowly quietens down, and the gasps and shouts turn into background voices.
These guards are still considered well-trained, so their ranks did not scatter even in a situation like this.
Duan Qigu brings a few people with him, heading towards the northern corner of the manor. He arrives just in time to hear his daughter's scream.
Duan Qigu's heart stops.
In the next moment, he watches his daughter fall on the ground and her neck was painted with a pool of red - her eyes are still wide open and filled with shock as if she has not died a peaceful death. Her servants have been running around, screaming non-stop within the manor.
Duan Qigu's wife approaches from the adjacent manor, and once she sees her daughter's condition, she faints immediately.
Duan Qigu has never seen how a ghost could commit murder, but he knows that the wound on his daughter's neck, caused by a sword, is not the deed of a ghost.
"If you have the guts, come for me! What are you trying to prove by killing innocents and the weak!?"
He looks like a wounded lion, screaming into four walls of darkness in fury.
"Xing Mao! I know it's you! Come the hell out!"
As his voice dissipates into the air, a strong, cold wind lashes against his face, bringing along a heavy killing intent.
Duan Qigu immediately leaps away and draws his weapon to initiate pursue to his enemy.
Everyone in this world only knew of his incredibly powerful JinGangZhi technique, but very few of them knew that his weaponry skills were also incredible; for those who knew of it were mostly already dead, and had no opportunity to inform the world about it.
He originally anticipated that his weapon would be fast enough and that even if the enemy could dodge his attack, they would still be injured. Who knew that the black shadow suddenly stops in the middle of the air and vanishes all of a sudden, making his weapon land on thin air and thrust into the trunk of a tree that stood close by.
Could it really be a ghost?!
It is impossible for ghosts to exist in this world!
Duan Qigu's heart skips a beat and his back hurts as he helplessly falls from the air.
All his guards rush forward to help him, but they are no match for the enemy.
Some of their necks twisted and they died on the spot, and some of them are wounded heavily before falling to the ground. Everywhere, everyone's screaming could be heard.
But still, the enemy's target from the very beginning has been Duan Qigu, so once the man touches the ground, he quickly dashes towards him! It is too quick for the human eyes to even follow and no one is able to stop him!
A force as heavy as falling mountains and rolling waves licks both sides of Duan Qigu's ears - like a very wrong judgement which is wild and unkind.
At this moment, Duan Qigu already understands that the enemy is not some vengeful ghost, but a real person instead. It is even an incredibly highly skilled martial artist who is superior to him in more ways than one! If his own martial art skills were enough, he might have been able to escape from the fight, but now—
His wife and children are all here. He cannot run away, and he also cannot choose to run away either.
"To die a swift and painless death is indeed too good for you. I want you to open your eyes and take a look at everyone you love as they die one by one."
A soft and faint voice rises into the air, riding along the lines of the wind, a fierce palm sounds, like a coordinated attack. There is no use for the JinGangZhi technique at the moment, so Duan Qigu could only pour all his inner strength into his palm and take the risk of attacking instead.
"I, alone, am responsible for my own actions. Spare the innocent as well as my wives and children!" He grinds his teeth while gathering all his strength and wanting to see the other's face. Duan Qigu inhales a sharp, strong breath. He hasn't lost his mind yet, but his meridians are already injured, and he is already like a tiger without his teeth.
"You! Who are you?! Did Xing Mao send you?!"
"I am Yan Xuexing." The man in front of him, wearing long black robes, stares at him.
"You? The one from the Linchuan Palace Academy?!" Duan Qigu recalls, "The one who poisoned that cup of wine at the party, was that also you?! What are your motives?!"
Duan Qigu is positive that he has never seen the other man before and he definitely has not offended anyone from the Linchuan Palace Academy from the Southern Chen Dynasty. Both parties have never had enmity between each other.
Yan Xuexing laughs coldly, "The one who poisoned the wine wasn't me. You can only blame yourself for having too many enemies. The number of people who want you dead are innumerable! As for Peng Xiang, he was indeed murdered by me, because just like you, he deserves to die!"
Duan Qigu, "I have no business with the Linchuan Palace Academy, there is nothing between us!"
Yan Xuexing, "This has nothing to do with the Linchuan Palace Academy, you only need to remember me, Yan Xuexing, and it will suffice."
Duan Qigu's guard could not hold him back. The bodyguards by his side also aren't Yan Xuexing's match. The name of a disciple of the Linchuan Palace Academy is indeed worthy of its fame. This man's martial art skills are high, and people who are nobodies are not his match at all.
The women and children in the manor are all being brought out by him one by one and tossed into the courtyard. Their meridians are sealed, so they could only cry and allow tears to stain their cheeks, but they could not make any sounds. Duan Qigu hates himself for sending out the Housekeeper Lin and his fifty soldiers, otherwise he could still stand a chance against Yan Xuexing even now.
"Who do you want to see dying first?" Yan Xuexing walks towards the Duan family, "To people like you, women are like clothes, if they are gone, you can just get a new one, so why don't I kill your beloved concubine first?"
Duan Qigu feels a sharp pain in his chest, as if he can practically spit out the blood. He looks at the corpse of his daughter lying on the ground and shouts, "Even if you want me dead, at least let me know why! You helped Xing Mao, do you really think that Xing Mao is any better than me? He will definitely betray you one day!"
Yan Xuexing shakes his head, "I do not know Xing Mao. Nobody can command me."
"Master Yan, since you have made your decision, then why are you still wasting your breath on him? Just kill them one by one, and he will understand it eventually.", a short and light laughter follows and on the rooftop, a woman in yellow robes appears and in her hands held a string of beads. Once Duan Qigu sees her, his eyes are wide in shock.
Those beads are craved from jade and within its hollowness, two more layers of jades reside - so the worth is equivalent to three jade beads within one. It is said to be the treasure of the Western Jin Palace, but it fell into the common people's hands for a few hundred years before it fell into Duan Qigu's hands. Almost as valuable as the Jade of Heaven's Lake, the beads have been a beloved treasure to Duan Qigu, so he hid it in his secret vault and occasionally took it out to play with. Even his wife does not know about his personal vault, yet this woman could seek it out!
The woman in yellow robes wraps her fingers around the beads in her palms and turns it into dust. As the remains fall from within her fingers. From her fingers, the remains fell and taken away by the wind.
Once she sees how Duan Qigu's eyes crack at the sight, she cannot help but laugh, "Why, does your heart ache? These are treasures you took in the name of robbery, so they were never yours to begin with."
"It has been twenty years. The blood you owed in that year, do you remember?" The woman parts her lips and the voice changes immediately. She has been the ghost which haunted him last night.
Duan Qigu now understands that this woman can mimic voices of all kind.
Yan Xuexing walks towards his beloved concubine, whose face is white with fear, yet she is unable to move. She looks absolutely pitiful, yet he is unable to feel pity for her. Instead, he reaches out to grab the other's neck. Suddenly, the colour on Yan Xuexing's face changes and he tosses the woman down to avoid something that tries to attack him from behind. Even the yellow robed woman who sat on the roof has also disappeared, and is nowhere to be found.
Everyone only sees a flash in front of their eyes and suddenly, someone else stands where Yan Xuexing has just stood a few moments ago.
Feng Xiao snickers and laughs, "It's all the fault of my husband for dilly-dallying. It seems like I've come a moment too late and missed the grand show."
He has never been someone who takes matters discreetly, even though he is still wearing the disguise of a woman at the moment, his presence is still bombastic. The wind is caught in his sleeves, causing it to bellow in the air. There is an ambiguous air around him, making it impossible to tell whether he was a man or a woman. Even Yan Xuexing cannot withstand the pressure and has to take a few steps back.
"Who are you?!"
Feng Xiao laughs, "This gentleman, I heard that you have enmity with Duan Qigu, then you may just kill him. Why have you been procrastinating instead? But since I am here now and you have yet to act, if you want to kill him now, then you need my permission."
Yan Xuexing refuses to waste time on him, so he does not say another word before moving in to attack Feng Xiao. The two of them fight at an incredibly fast speed and in the blink of an eye, they have already crossed hands more than ten times.
People who are watching on the side lines can only see the fluttering and swishing of clothes; they cannot see their movements at all!
Finally, Cui Buqu has also arrived.
He has no martial art skills, so he cannot descend from the air like Feng Xiao and he can only use both his legs and walk into the scene like a normal person.
All the guards at the Duan manor have been put down by the yellow robed woman and Yan Xuexing, so there is no one to stop him. He could walk inside in a relaxed manner, and walks all the way from the gates to the courtyard. Then he notices the woman in yellow robes.
"Lady Bing Xuan, long time no see." Cui Buqu greets.
"Master Daoist Cui, it hasn't been very long." Bing Xuan returns with a smile.
They meet each other again in the manor of Duan Qigu, yet they do not feel awkward at all. It is like seeing an old friend again - familiar and natural.
Cui Buqu, "I had no idea that the Hehuan Sect and the Linchuan Palace Academy are allies?"
Bing Xuan, "Master Daoist Cui, you have mistaken. Master Yan has already betrayed his sect to go on a journey of avenging a personal grudge. He intends to join the Hehuan Sect afterwards, so naturally, I am happy to recruit a talented martial artist. Hence why I am here, helping him out."
Cui Buqu, "A personal grudge?"
Bing Xuan smiles, "Do you want to hear a story?"
Cui Buqu, "Make it brief."
Bing Xuan, "Twenty years ago, a family was following a group of merchants as they passed by Qiemo. They met some bandits on the way and not only did those bandits rob them, they even murdered them all. Everyone in the merchant group were slaughtered, even that family could not escape that fate. Only a pair of siblings – a sister and a brother – managed to run free, but they had nothing to protect them, not even a little bit of martial arts. So they could not run very far. The young sister could only bring an even younger brother to seek shelter at a hunter's lodge."
Cui Buqu, "You speak as if you were there yourself. Could it be that you are the sister?"
Bing Xuan, "Nay, Master Yan is the younger brother. As for the sister, she was raped to death by those heinous men. As for the hunter, after he discovered the younger brother, he did not show kindness and hide them. Instead, he lusted after the sister and held her down as he raped her. As he committed that crime, those bandits caught up to them and as they saw what was happening, they joined in as well, taking the sister for their spoils of war. They were high when a walking merchant passed by, so they invited the merchant to join in the fun as well. The merchant originally refused to do so, but he was afraid of being killed by the bandits, so he suppressed his disgust and joined in as well and became one of the men that hurt the sister. These people had the sister for themselves and could not care less for the brother, so he managed to escape alone and hide in the dark, but in the end, he saw everything from the beginning to the end."
Cui Buqu immediately understands, "And Duan Qigu, is among one of the group?"
Bing Xuan smiles, "He isn't just one of them, but he is the one who initiated and led the rape. Tell me, don't you think he deserves to be unforgiven? Shouldn't he be left to be the last one to die? Shouldn't he be killed in the most terrible, cruel, and gruesome way possible?"
Cui Buqu is not the only one who heard her words, even Duan Qigu has been listening. He had already guessed this incident that happened twenty years ago, otherwise the colour on his face would not have changed so abruptly.
It is just that he always thought that no one would know of this matter which happened twenty years ago. And those who were his accomplice two decades ago could not have given themselves away. Who knew that the younger brother had managed to survive and that he even joined the Linchuan Palace Academy and has trained himself into someone with enough skills to seek his own revenge.
Cui Buqu nods, "If what you say is true, then he indeed deserves death."
Once Duan Qigu hears the words, he shouts loudly, "That year, I wasn't the only one, why should it be me—" His voice suddenly stops and it turns into fear. Li Fei, Chen Cheng, Peng Xiang, and him. They were the merchant, the hunter, and those bandits respectively. They were originally people who did not know each other, but they shared such a past.
After the sister died, they went their separate ways and did not remember this incident at all.
All of them have died one by one.
Even some of Duan Qigu's older subordinates who participated all died quietly.
Once Duan Qigu recalls everything that has happened and connected the dots, only then did he realize that—
Indeed, none of them have escaped death.
Author's Notes:
There are three things happening here.
The brother taking revenge is one thing. Yu Xiu and third in charge allying to kill Duan Qigu is the second thing. Duan Qigu and Xing Mao's relationship is the third thing.
Originally, these three things share no relationship between them, they all just coincidentally all involved Duan Qigu.
In the end—
Feng Xiao: Step aside everyone, I want to act dumb now!
Cui Buqu: "…."