Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 24: A Sword Drawn, Brothers No Longer

Back at the stronghold, no one knew whether the group that had bumped into a heroine was wiped out. They clamored about, discussing any and all new developments.

“Have you heard? Branch Master Fang was punished by Venerable Vermillion Bird for not putting enough effort. He almost lost his head.”

“I just heard about it... He deserves it. Fucking hell. He wants to look for something on this mountain but he doesn’t trust anyone in the stronghold. He won’t even tell us what he’s searching for and only lets the few formal disciples search in secret. What can they find at this rate? Does he know how fucking huge this mountain is? With so few disciples, this is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack. Does he think this mountain is his own low-grade brothel where he can have his way with anyone who enters?”

“Shhhhhh. Quiet down, dumbass. If the Branch Master hears you, you’re finished.”

“Why do you care so much about him? The idiot had his ass kicked by Venerable Vermillion Bird. Maybe he’s already dead.”

“That said, it turns out the Blood God Cult is really a subsidiary of the Four Idols Cult. I thought we were just vassals to them. From the looks of it, the Blood God Cult is clearly a branch of the Four Idols Cult and under the direct command of Venerable Vermillion Bird.”

“We were their vassals anyway, so how much effort do you think it took them to just make us one of their branches? The Four Idols Cult is too strong...”

“That’s why the strong are so generous. The reward for anyone who finds whatever they’re looking for is the Blood God Art. They might even let them join the Four Idols Cult as a core disciple!”

“Pretty amazing, yeah. In other words...whatever they’re searching for is something out of this world. Whoever finds it will probably get some huge fortune. See, this is the generosity of a real leader. Compared to being exploited by that bastard Fang...”

“Branch Master Fang isn’t letting everyone search because he’s afraid his reward will be snatched away...”

Amidst the bustling discussions, the ones cursing Branch Master Fang started to become more vigilant as they looked at their other friends conversing. They only just realized that there was only one reward to strive for. Everyone here was a competitor.

“Tch.” Zhao Changhe sneered as he surreptitiously pulled Luo Qi around the crowd and headed for the pool behind the mountain.

If he wasted any more time, he was afraid that someone would go there to search around. They needed to move with haste.

It was good he had bumped into Yue Hongling. Otherwise, he would have to beat around the bush to no end while asking Instructor Sun about anything related to the Azure Dragon Constellation Array Art. With Yue Hongling’s clues, however, they could break the array this time. After all, Luo Qi knew a thing or two about arrays.

The two of them rushed behind the waterfall. As expected, no one had come here yet. The star chart was still there. Zhao Changhe heaved a sigh of relief and asked, “Which one is the Heart Mansion?”

Luo Qi glanced at him before silently pressing one of the stars.

Zhao Changhe realized that the star she pressed was the brightest one in the entire chart. He could not help but throw a glance at her. If it’s this simple, wouldn’t Luo Qi have figured it out earlier? Or was it that one couldn’t trust the most obvious hint. Was she just being careful?

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As the thought flashed in his head, Luo Qi swiftly tapped the remaining stars in the constellation.

The star chart slowly split open, revealing a small cave that could only fit a single person.

“We did it!” Zhao Changhe had an excited expression, and carefully said, “Don’t enter just yet, I’ve heard that once such places are exposed to air and oxidation takes place... Eh, there might be poison gas inside. Let’s see if we can light a match first...”

“There’s no need,” Luo Qi sighed. “I practice internal arts. I’m more sensitive to the air than you. We can enter, but there’s no telling whether there’s any guardian spirit in there. We need to keep our guard up.”

Zhao Changhe unsheathed his saber and entered first. “I see. In that case, I’ll take the lead.”

Luo Qi’s mouth twitched as she followed along.

There were no strange spaces inside, nor was there anything like guardian spirits, zombies, or skeletons.

The space was cramped, about the size of a small room. It was even smaller than the room shared by Luo Qi and Zhao Changhe. It was circular, like the previous space with the stars. At the center of this room was a piece of azure-colored jade that looked like a seal, and its handle consisted of a white bead the size of a goose egg. Looking at the bead, Zhao Changhe noticed the faint image of a dragon slowly swimming within; it looked alive.

“A place of the circular firmament. A dragon drifting about the nine heavens... It really is the Azure Dragon Seal...” Luo Qi muttered incomprehensibly to herself.

Zhao Changhe did not hear what she said clearly and turned to ask her, “Do you know what this is?”

Luo Qi looked entranced by the Azure Dragon Seal as she quietly answered, “How should I know?”

Zhao Changhe replied, “Whatever the case, the Four Idols Cult must regard this thing as very important. Even the Azure Dragon Star Chart corresponds to one of the idols in their name. They must have a deep connection to this place. If we bring this thing back to Venerable Vermillion Bird, we two should have no problems joining the Four Idols Cult. Even if that’s not possible, it shouldn’t be too big of an issue to exchange it for the Blood God Art, right?”

Luo Qi grunted in approval.

Zhao Changhe crouched down and carefully reached out with his saber to touch the seal.

Only heaven knows why it had to be hidden in such a secretive place. Is this some kind of forbidden item? Zhao Changhe was feeling uneasy as he attempted to probe the seal with his saber.

Behind him, Luo Qi tightly bit her lower lip and slowly pulled out a dagger from her sleeve. As she looked at Zhao Changhe’s back, she had an indescribably complicated look in her eyes.

Zhao Changhe could clearly see what was happening with his Back Eye. His heart skipped a beat and his expression changed.

This is...

Luo Qi wants to kill me?

Luo Qi... wants to kill me...?

This...

“Don’t trust anyone. Including me.”

Luo Qi’s words replayed over and over again in his head. Zhao Changhe until now could not believe what he was seeing. He even thought that there might be something wrong with the Back Eye. Is it showing me the wrong footage?

If she wanted to kill me, there were many nights where she could’ve simply stabbed me to death. Why wait until today?

Just yesterday, she was even helping me soothe my pain. How could she be a murderer?

It doesn’t add up... Is it because a treasure appeared and she wants it for herself?

Just now I was just sneering at the people in the stronghold. Once the sword is drawn, brothers are no longer brothers—are Luo Qi and I no exception to this?

Zhao Changhe’s heart sank to the lowest depths of a valley as he gripped his saber tighter and tighter. Until the moment Luo Qi struck, he would not accept any of this.

Who would have thought that this Back Eye was not for peeping at people bathing, but for this moment. The Returning Slash he had practiced for countless days and nights was about to be used on Luo Qi...

He didn’t know how much time passed—perhaps a lifetime, perhaps not even a second?—when Luo Qi’s stiff hands finally made their move.

Zhao Changhe’s heartstrings suddenly snapped and he slashed backward.

However, Luo Qi did not thrust her dagger toward him, but firmly threw it on the ground.

Zhao Changhe urgently stopped his saber. The blade stopped just short of meeting Luo Qi’s neck on the way, with barely any distance between them.

Luo Qi was stunned as she looked at Zhao Changhe. He returned her gaze with an expressionless look on his face. They looked at each other for a long while before Luo Qi finally laughed. “Not bad. Not bad... It turns out that you trained days and nights to acquire such fine control over your saber so that you could spare me. How strange. With your current cultivation, how are you able to see behind yourself?”

Zhao Changhe said softly, “You... Just now...”

“I wanted to kill you.” Luo Qi relaxed completely. “But I couldn’t do it. There was no way I could. Who asked Boss Zhao to confront Yue Hongling for me? I’m not such a cruel person.”

“Even if... Even if the incident with Yue Hongling didn’t happen...” Zhao Changhe said with some difficulty, “I couldn’t have imagined that you’d want to kill me... Why do you want to kill me... Don’t tell me it’s because of this treasure.”

Luo Qi quietly looked at Zhao Changhe’s dejected expression. The pain in his eyes was even more unbearable than that of being devoured by ten thousand ants during his breakthrough. Distress flashed across her eyes as she answered, “Why can’t it be because of this treasure?”

Zhao Changhe shouted, “Don’t lie to me! You’re absolutely not that kind of person!”

“You think you understand me? Just because we’ve slept together?” Luo Qi asked loudly. “I’ve been lying to you from the start, you know?”

“You...”

“I could’ve broken the array yesterday, but you were there. So I pretended that I didn’t know how to! Did you know, I’ve been lying to you all this time!”

“...”

“I originally wanted to come here in secret today and take this thing for myself, but I needed to complete my mission first. Before I could do that, it was enough that Yue Hongling had to come and mess things up, but even Venerable Vermillion Bird ended up coming here! She’s the reason everyone in the mountains is searching right now!” Luo Qi got angrier the more she spoke. “Does everything in this world want to make things difficult for me!?”

Zhao Changhe’s mouth twitched. “Alright. Quiet down. It’s like we’re a quarreling couple. How stupid.”

Luo Qi’s expression turned strange as she tilted her head and said in a low voice, “Indeed. Everywhere outside, there are people looking for this thing. If we were to draw them over here, the treasure you’ve obtained would really slip from your hands.”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

“This is something you really need.” Luo Qi said softly. “Whether it’s using it to join the Four Idols Cult or obtaining the Blood God Art to extricate yourself from your current predicament, in fact...it can even be used to wash away the impurities in your body. Like this, your disadvantage of beginning your cultivation too late would vanish. You’ve always thought of this as belonging to yourself. But have you ever stopped to consider that I want it as well?”

Zhao Changhe’s eyes quivered. He quietly replied, “No. I’ve always wanted to share it between us.”

“Sharing it between us? Is that so?” There was disappointment and frustration in Luo Qi’s tone. “You’ve only ever thought about what benefits you’d be able to gain. Have you ever thought about what it could do for me? Changhe, I’ll have you know, I came to Beimang just for this thing. It’s been something I’ve longed for since I was a child... If I just stand here and look at you taking it, then just what have I been doing my whole life...”