Chapter 202 - A Blade is Meant for Killing

The waterside pavilion stood silent.

Xu Yuan was just about to help the man up when he suddenly noticed that the body of this scholar before him was trembling almost imperceptibly.

After a moment of silence, he narrowed his eyes. He looked at Yuan Hao, still bowed with hands clasped in salute, and dismissed the thought of helping him.

The man was probably smiling. Trying very hard to keep his face under control, so that his perversion would not frighten Xu Yuan.

Sure enough, a madman would always be a madman. No matter how gentle and refined he appeared on the surface, the moment something touched his point of excitement, he could never quite hide it.

Xu Yuan turned slightly and looked at the koi drifting through the pond. Casually, he said, “Don’t get happy too early. When a blade is pressed to someone’s neck, very few people will still choose to drag everyone down with them.”

“Of course, I understand that.” Yuan Hao finally composed his expression and straightened again, staring at Xu Yuan’s back. “But it gives one something to look forward to.”

Xu Yuan glanced sideways at him, his gaze strange. “Killing people really excites you that much?”

Yuan Hao lowered his eyes slightly. His handsome face carried a clear, clean smile. “Does Third Young Master not find the sight of flesh and blood spraying through the air beautiful? That warm blood, those looks of despair. Think of that wonderful feeling, how could it not be excit—”

“Stop.” Xu Yuan cut Yuan Hao off and withdrew his gaze.

He understood. There was no reason for it. Yuan Hao was simply, thoroughly, completely insane. Exactly the same as he had been in Azure Point. The only difference was that back in Azure Point, the man had only been a 2.5D pixel sprite. Now he had become a real, living madman.

He was obsessed with killing the way artists were obsessed with music and painting. And Xu Yuan had no interest in exchanging insights on that subject with him.

At his words, Yuan Hao immediately shut his mouth, though his eyes looked a little forlorn.

Xu Yuan turned around and looked at him, enunciating each word. “Do not make any little moves because of your personal hobbies.”

Yuan Hao’s eyes sobered. He spread his hands. “Third Young Master may rest assured.”

Xu Yuan raised an eyebrow. “So you follow my father because he can give you what you want?”

Hearing this, Yuan Hao lifted his eyes, and a figure surfaced in his mind without warning. A damp, dark prison cell. A calm gaze looking down from above. A treasured blade tossed before him. And the words, “Become my blade, and I will give you what you want.”

After a brief daze, Yuan Hao smiled and gave an ambiguous answer. “Killing prisoners back then affected the larger campaign to suppress the rebellion. By law, I should have been executed. But His Excellency the Chancellor saved me.”

“Oh? Is that so?” Xu Yuan murmured, but a moment later, the look he gave Yuan Hao carried the faintest trace of pity.

At 17 years old, the man had already won merit on the battlefield. In the future, he ought to have been a man destined to be granted a marquisate, perhaps even a seat among the ministers. But now, no matter how great his future achievements might be, Xu Yinhe would never let him live long enough to see the day rewards were handed out.

Even if everything went smoothly, Yuan Hao would die on the eve of victory. The one who struck might be the enemy. It might also be one of their own.

The instant Yuan Hao saw the look in Xu Yuan’s eyes, he grinned outright. “Third Young Master, there’s no need to look at me like that. Those who kill are always killed in turn. How could someone like me ever come to a good end?”

Xu Yuan was silent for a while, then said very seriously, “You see things clearly enough.”

“That is my nature,” Yuan Hao said.

Xu Yuan chuckled. “Fine. If possible, give me a copy of the detailed intelligence on the Myriad Manifestations Sect.”

With that, he walked straight out of the pavilion.

“Of course.” Yuan Hao agreed at once. Then, after a brief pause, he suddenly called out to him. “Third Young Master, please wait a moment.”

Xu Yuan stopped and looked back.

Yuan Hao took a box from the Sumeru Ring used to store military supplies and tossed it over.

Xu Yuan raised a hand and caught it. It was half a foot long, with the sheen of metal. It looked like expensive work.

He asked softly, “What is this?”

Yuan Hao shrugged. “The Blackscale Guards asked me to bring it to you. Seems to be a new human-skin mask made by the Institute of Natural Studies. They want you and the Fourth Miss to wear these when you go to negotiate.”

Xu Yuan fell silent for a moment. “Wear these? Was this Father’s idea?”

Yuan Hao thought for a bit, then nodded. “Probably. The Blackscale Guards wouldn’t have the authority to meddle in something like this.”

Xu Yuan stood where he was and thought for a long while before giving a slight nod. “All right. I understand.”

From a distance, Yuan Hao cupped his hands. “Third Young Master, take care. I won’t see you out.”

Xu Yuan waved a hand, put the box into his Sumeru Ring, and left the courtyard without looking back.

Watching the courtyard gate close, Yuan Hao stared at it darkly for several breaths. Then he silently returned to his seat, picked up the wine pot, and made to fill his cup, only to find it already empty.

He laughed, then he glanced toward the direction of the Imperial Capital.

ᯓ➤

The glow of the torchlight flickered.

The dungeon was dark and silent.

“Give me what I want?” His pipa bones had been pierced through by shackles meant to bind cultivators. Slumped on the ground, Yuan Hao looked up at the middle-aged man whose face was hidden in shadow and laughed softly. “Lord Chancellor, do you know what I want?”

“To kill,” the man replied, his voice low and without a ripple. “To kill on a massive scale.”

Yuan Hao stared into that calm gaze. “Since you know that, you still dare to use a madman like me?”

“You have never killed commoners,” Xu Yinhe said.

“Hah.” Yuan Hao laughed twice, the sound sharp with mockery. “Xu Yinhe, I don’t kill commoners because if I slaughtered them on a large scale, I’d have no one above me to cover it up. I’d be exposed. It has nothing to do with mercy.”

“I know.” Xu Yinhe paid no mind to his laughter. “At the very least, you understand fear.”

Yuan Hao’s eyes narrowed, and his fists clenched slightly. “Fear? You think someone like me is afraid to die? Lord Chancellor, what I’m afraid of is not being able to kill more people in the future.”

“It is all the same.”

Yuan Hao took a deep breath and asked, “Then why should I trust you?”

Xu Yinhe’s eyes were as still as an ancient well. “A blade is naturally meant to kill.” ℴℴ𝘮

“Kill who?” Yuan Hao’s voice had gone a little hoarse. “Killing only one or two people would be no fun.”

Xu Yinhe watched him quietly, then spoke two words. “The sects.”

“What?” Yuan Hao froze for a moment. Astonishment surfaced in his eyes before he could stop it.

Xu Yinhe did not repeat himself. He only stared at him in silence with that deep, unfathomable gaze.

For a time, the only thing moving in the dark dungeon was the wavering flames of the torches.

They stared at one another for a long while.

Yuan Hao’s heartbeat quickened, bit by bit. He looked at the man across from him, and finally, he grinned. “Xu Yinhe, you’re a madman. A madman even crazier than me. The number of people who have died under my hand is only a little over 10,000 at most. The number you want to kill is more than tens of millions!”

Xu Yinhe ignored his words. He only looked at that young face and asked, “So, what is your answer?”

ᯓ➤

Yuan Hao pulled his gaze back from the direction of the Imperial Capital. On his own, he took a long blade from his Sumeru Ring and gently stroked the body of the weapon, murmuring softly, “I hope this blade can last a little longer. I hope it doesn’t break too soon.”