Chapter 864: The Way of the Sail Swordsman (11)

By the time Qing and Daoist Master Gillyeon sprinted to the VIP room, Daoist Master Gilun had already started speaking in front of the Diancang Sect warriors lined up in formation.

“Long ago—no, earlier than that.”

Long ago, earlier than that—very, very long ago—was the kind of opening Central Plains people commonly used when telling an old legend.

“Ten suns rose in the sky, and the earth burned without day or night. In that chaos, countless monsters ran wild, and the world fell into misery. Everyone offered rites and begged for the aid of the Heavenly Immortals, but no immortal answered. Because those ten suns were not mere suns—they were the sons of the Heavenly Emperor.”

A hint of confusion settles over the faces of the Diancang Sect warriors listening.

Because if you were Diancang, it was a story no one didn’t know.

“Then one righteous immortal stepped forward with a bow. His name was Houyi.”

Because this was the tale of Houyi Shoots the Sun—the immortal who shot down nine of the ten suns.

“Houyi shot down nine suns, and pierced and slain the great monsters that ravaged the earth. Only then did the world find peace.”

Something swells in the Diancang martial artists’ expressions—something close to pride.

Since Diancang claimed themselves Houyi’s descendants, it was only natural.

But Gilun wasn’t done.

“Yet what fate awaited Houyi after he saved the world? It was—truly—something cruel and unbearable.”

After that, Houyi became pitiful indeed.

He had killed nine suns—nine of the Heavenly Emperor’s sons—so of course the Heavenly Emperor raged and cast Houyi out.

Houyi, once an immortal of the heavens, was driven down to the earth and became human.

And for the crime of marrying the wrong man, his wife Chang’e—the most beautiful woman in the heavens—was exiled with him, reduced from an immortal couple to a human couple.

Unlike immortals, humans age.

One day, shocked by the lines at Chang’e’s mouth, Houyi immediately sought out the Queen Mother of the West and begged for an elixir of immortality.

It was a treasure that should never have been given to a human, but the Queen Mother of the West handed over two divine pellets anyway—old ties, old affection.

The intent was simple: one each. Live forever, happily, together.

Except the effect of those pellets was outrageous.

One pellet granted immortality—

But if you ate both, you could become an immortal again. A treasure among treasures, made by pouring in heavenly peaches.

And Houyi’s wife, Chang’e, swallowed hard when she saw them.

She’d already been sick to death of living in this horrifying lower world after being kicked out of the pleasant heavens, so the moment she saw two pellets, her eyes lit up.

And then—

She shamelessly stuffed both into her mouth by herself and ran.

Houyi was betrayed by his wife and lost the medicine in one stroke.

And because of that, Houyi fell into despair and spent his days doing nothing but drinking.

Then one day, a boy came and asked to be taken as his disciple, and Houyi—who had nowhere to place his affection—accepted him and raised him.

But that disciple’s dream was grand.

To become the greatest archer under heaven.

And how did you become the greatest archer under heaven?

You killed the current greatest archer under heaven.

Instead of thinking about improving his own skill, the disciple only thought about killing his master—until, one day, he hid and sniped Houyi.

Houyi caught the arrow with his teeth and stopped it.

Even drowning in drink, Houyi’s former strength as an immortal hadn’t died.

Seeing that, the disciple burst into tears, begged forgiveness, and pleaded for mercy.

Houyi’s heart ached, too—this was the disciple he’d raised with his own hands—so he forgave him, saying, Let’s pretend it never happened.

Meanwhile, the disciple truly regretted it.

Ah. I did something terrible. I tried to oppose my master with a bow—I can’t beat him like that.

So—

I should oppose him with a club instead.

A thought worthy of the Central Plains.

So the disciple snuck in at night and smashed in Houyi’s head as he slept.

The succession of the greatest archer under heaven.

A succession worthy of the Central Plains.

You could even say it was eight thousand years(?) ahead of that famous bastard who later became known for “inheriting” thrones.

“Houyi saved the world—yet he met a miserable end. Betrayed by the wife he loved, beaten to death by the disciple he raised like a son.”

Qing tilted her head.

Daoist Master Gilun was speaking—how could she cut in there?

And he was speaking in front of Diancang warriors. If Qing interrupted, it wouldn’t just be disrespect to Gilun—it would be trampling Diancang’s face.

So she listened.

But... why were you stopping the story there?

If you stopped there, Houyi only became pitiable.

In truth, there was more after this.

Houyi returned to the heavens after death.

The Heavenly Emperor thought it over and realized it was all his own fault for raising his sons wrong.

So he called Houyi back in and granted him an office.

You died, so you’re basically a ghost, aren’t you? Ghosts understand ghosts. From now on, you’ll govern ghosts.

With power in his hands, Houyi set ghosts on that bastard disciple, chasing him for the rest of his life.

The disciple fled in torment until he died miserably in the street.

And Chang’e, the wife who ate the pellets alone and ascended, had long since been punished for her crime—exiled to the moon.

So the bad were punished, and the good lived happily ever after.

Well—immortals were immortal by default, so if you wanted to be exact, the “setting” was that Houyi was still living well in the heavens even now.

“Yet even so—Houyi is a hero. No one denies Houyi just because his end was tragic. Instead, knights-errant rose, claiming themselves his descendants. Houyi’s will passed to his descendants—his arrow that pierced the sun has continued into us, the Sun-Shooting swordsmen.”

Daoist Master Gilun’s voice fills the space.

A Manifest Realm voice wasn’t loud—but it had a demonic pull, digging into your ears with force.

Because it was a voice that used qi, an otherworldly mystery.

“I ask you—if only such a horrifying future awaited you, would you refuse to save the world?”

“No!!”

“Would you turn your eyes away from the world’s groans and cries—resenting the future where your own body will be hurt and in pain?”

“No!!”

“Right there, Blood Cult human trash have built their nest. The Five Poison Sect has fallen and colluded with the Blood Cult—so within the main hall of the Five Poison Sect, those vile bastards are surely plotting a heaven-defying conspiracy that will drown the world in grief.”

Daoist Master Gilun’s voice gradually takes on heat.

“Of course it will be dangerous. We, too, know well what defenses an old sect piles up in its own nest—because we have long history ourselves. And they use poison. So while we purge the Blood Cult, someone here may die. Someone may be poisoned and meet a horrific end.”

Tension gathers on the faces of the Diancang Sect warriors.

“Perhaps we could wait for the Martial Alliance’s support.”

But they didn’t know the Blood Cult’s intent.

They didn’t know what the Blood Cult was trying to do right now—or what they might do after realizing they’d been cornered.

While they waited for Martial Alliance support, how many innocent commoners would die?

What kind of atrocity would sink the world into sorrow?

They didn’t know.

“So I ask again. Would you turn your eyes away from the world’s groans and cries—resenting the future where your own body will be hurt and in pain?”

“““No!!!”””

“Yunnan is the land of our great Diancang—and the history of our great Diancang. Blood Cult insects have crawled into the land and history we must protect—so who must be the ones to exterminate those pests!”

“Us!!” “Diancang!!” “I’ll do it!!” “Me!!”

“Yes—this is the way of Houyi’s descendants, the Sun-Shooting swordsmen, isn’t it.”

Ah.

So that’s how he was building it.

She’d thought he was just saying whatever came to mind, but he was a real orator.

At the roaring answer, Gilun smiles.

It was a handsome smile on a face that truly looked like a mature man in his prime.

Mm. I wanted to grow old like that.

Now I’m doomed forever....

Anyway, it was an impressive speech even for Qing.

And she understood why Daoist Master Gilun insisted they had to strike immediately.

Because they didn’t know what the Blood Cult would do.

A cornered rat bites the cat—who knew what the Blood Cult would do once they realized they were surrounded?

Honestly, if they thought they were going to die, it wouldn’t be strange for them to slaughter the entire city on the way out.

No—if it was the Blood Cult, they were exactly the sort who would do it.

So Diancang would bleed.

Even if a future like Houyi’s awaited them—an unfortunate end, mm, no, was it middle age? Either way—

Diancang would gladly be loosed like an arrow, even if it broke.

That was chivalry, wasn’t it?

Mm. Suddenly it made her feel deeply respectful.

But—

If that was chivalry, then I can’t be a knight-errant.

If this weren’t Yunnan, but Hubei—

If it weren’t Diancang, but the Priestess Order—

And if I were standing where Daoist Master Gilun stood—

I would never, ever, let the Priestess Order charge in.

And even if it were Diancang, it would be the same.

The Diancang warriors sharpen, in an instant, like arrows—spilling killing intent.

“Tonight, we loose the bowstring. Prepare.”

Daoist Master Gilun turned, trying to hide his satisfaction, and Qing hurried after him.

“Um, Elder, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“You, too, mean to say we should wait for the Martial Alliance’s support?”

“It’s—”

“I know what you’re worried about. Even though it isn’t your sect’s matter, I’m grateful and proud of you for caring. But even so, I can’t change my mind. This is also for Diancang. If we wait for support and nothing happens, that would be best—yet what if those Blood Cult bastards unleash a blood calamity?”

“No, that’s not what I—”

“Sometimes, even if you bleed, there are times you must protect your soul—your spirit. If we pretend not to see a catastrophe we could have stopped, just for our own safety, then Diancang can no longer call itself Houyi’s descendants.”

“Elder, please just let me—”

“And that would be a grave sin against Diancang’s disciples—and against the descendants of the future who will carry Diancang in as the greatest pillar of the Righteous Sect.”

He was cutting Qing off with nothing but cool lines.

Somewhere along the way, Diancang had even quietly become the greatest pillar of the Righteous Sect.

“No, what I’m saying is—”

“And there’s no need to worry so much. Do you think I would shove my disciples into a death trap? I’ll go in first and smash whatever I meet. If I do that, I can definitely break the formation, and even if I can’t destroy everything, I’ll smash as many mechanisms and traps as I can.”

So he wasn’t planning to tell his disciples to jump into the fire—he meant to take the danger on himself.

“Right. This is a request that makes me ashamed before Afterglow—no, before Matriarch Senior. But won’t you watch over Diancang’s disciples? If you watch them, I can be at ease.”

No—he wasn’t letting her speak at all.

So Qing fired the main point out fast.

“Cannons!”

“Hm? Cannons? Why cannons all of a sudden? Don’t tell me the Blood Cult even uses cannons?”

“No. Elder—we’re the ones firing them. The Blood Cult isn’t only our martial world’s enemy, right? I went to the magistrate’s office and the Forward Command Post and explained the situation, and they agreed right away.”

“The government said they’d fire cannons?”

“Yes. The Blood Cult might come rushing out, so we block the main routes and handle them—ah, and I borrowed Grand General Cannons too.”

Gilun’s eyebrow twitches.

Qing tensed a little.

Mm. Is he going to scold me for violating whatever ‘civil and martial don’t cross’ rule? Still, isn’t the safer option better, if it means no one gets hurt?

And then Gilun’s furious voice spills out.

“If there was such a good method, you should’ve said so sooner—why are you only telling me now? I didn’t need to spend days wringing my brain over how to convince them. I even gathered every scrap of style I had to spit out a bunch of cool lines.”

“I—because I didn’t know if it would work. And if you stepped up, there’s a chance it could cause trouble.”

Gilun, about to have to retract his declaration of going to war the moment he’d made it, let out a long sigh.

Because he’d said it so coolly, so solemnly—how they would bleed.

Qing was the one saying she’d live as a martial artist, saying Yeonsul wasn’t her, saying she’d live as the Heavenly Flower Sword—

And yet she shamelessly kept selling off the power she’d gained as a princess.

But for Diancang’s greatest master to ask the government for cooperation... that was a brutal picture.

Either side “bowing” would be troublesome in the extreme.

Still—mm. She’d said his oratory was incredible, and it turned out he’d been thinking about it for days.

No wonder every time she came to feed the Blood Cultist and went to see him, he’d hurriedly hide his writing....