Chapter 327
Chapter 327
The Saintess Xue Yin had always been gentle and beautiful. During their time together, Shen Lang had never seen her angry. Even when facing death or when the monks of the Snowy Mountain Temple viciously provoked her, she had remained incredibly calm. But now, she seemed like a completely different person. The moment she saw Jiang Ming, she drew her sword and thrust it at him with all her might. Her sword was filled with killing intent and a resolve to see him dead.
*Shwick, shwick, shwick.*
A short while ago, when she killed the Ascetic Kuhai, Xue Yin's swordplay had been as graceful as a celestial fairy's dance. Now, it was like a raging storm, a furious flame soaring into the sky. All her resentment and fury poured into her blade as she stabbed madly at Jiang Ming. She truly looked as if she wanted to tear him to shreds. This was the most intense battle between top-tier masters that Shen Lang had ever witnessed.
The two moved so fast across the ground, like shadows, that their forms were barely visible. All Shen Lang could see were two blurs and the glint of sword light filling the air. In the span of a mere minute, Xue Yin had thrust her sword a thousand times, and Jiang Ming had dodged a thousand times without once retaliating. His body remained consistently half a chi (about 15 centimeters) from her blade, yet the Saintess Xue Yin never managed to land a single blow.
Shen Lang watched, mesmerized, forced to reconsider his previous assumptions. He knew very well how formidable the Saintess Xue Yin's martial arts were. Her rank as a grandmaster was higher than Zhong Chuke's, and she had killed the Ascetic Kuhai with a single strike. Even if her power was slightly diminished from having just recovered from poison, her skills were still extraordinary. But if even she, after a thousand strikes, couldn't touch the man before her—a man who wasn't even fighting back—then how powerful must his martial arts be? And this man looked incredibly young.
The Saintess Xue Yin sheathed her sword and spoke coldly.
"Wuming, do not dare call yourself a Jiang in my presence. You are not worthy!"
*Wuming?*
Shen Lang finally realized who he was. After the fall of the Great Qian Kingdom, its territory was fractured. A portion was taken by the Great Yan Empire, and another by the state of Jin. The rest was divided into four nations, the largest of which was still called Qian, known as the New Great Qian Kingdom. The New Qian Kingdom was still far larger than the State of Yue. This alone was a testament to how powerful and vast the old Great Qian Kingdom had been.
The current king of the New Great Qian Kingdom was named Ying Guang, and the man before them, Wuming, was the crown prince, Ying Wuming. So why had he called himself Jiang Ming? There was a secret hidden there that Shen Lang did not know.
The great king of the New Great Qian Kingdom, Ying Guang, was once known as Jiang Guang. The former king of the Great Qian Kingdom, Jiang Ye, father of the Hegemon Jiang Li, had found an abandoned infant on his way back from a visit to the Great Yan Empire. The baby had been abandoned because he was born with a strange, horn-like protrusion on his forehead. Believing that heaven cherished all life, Jiang Ye showed compassion, took the child in, raised him to adulthood, and named him Jiang Guang.
Jiang Guang grew up alongside Jiang Li, like a brother. He excelled in both literary and martial arts, earning the trust of the former king, Jiang Ye, who adopted him as a son. Of course, for several decades, it was Jiang Li's world; his brilliance outshone everyone, casting them all into shadow, and Jiang Guang was no exception. The two were not blood brothers, but they were closer than most.
From his time as crown prince, Jiang Li radiated brilliance, achieving magnificent military victories. After ascending the throne, he became even more dominant, pacifying all lands. He was victorious in every battle he fought. The surrounding nations trembled at the mere sound of his horses' hooves. In less than a decade, Jiang Li conquered the states of Liang, Qi, Zhongshan, and Wei in succession, expanding the territory of the Great Qian Kingdom several times over. The entire Eastern world seemed to be eclipsed by his radiance. And his sworn brother, Jiang Guang, was always by his side, his most trusted confidant and his foremost personal warrior.
When Jiang Li declared himself Hegemon, his three blood brothers were enfeoffed as dukes, but Jiang Guang alone was made a king. Jiang Guang, who was once an abandoned child who nearly froze to death, had been made a king in one fell swoop after meeting the Jiangs. Such fortune was a once-in-a-century occurrence.
Twenty years ago, the Great Qian Kingdom fought a decisive war against the Great Yan Empire—a battle that would determine the fate of the entire Eastern world and decide who would rule half the continent. Jiang Li won battle after battle, leading his elite soldiers to the very gates of Yanjing, the capital of Yan. But overnight, the Hegemon Jiang Li and his wife died suddenly. The event remains a great mystery to this day.
Jiang Li was the number one master in the world, and his wife, the queen of Great Qian, was ranked third. Who in the world could have killed such a formidable couple? But their sudden death was a fact, and after they died, Jiang Guang became the supreme commander of the Great Qian Kingdom's forces. He was supposed to honor Jiang Li's will and either continue the war or lead the troops back to the Great Qian Kingdom to find a worthy heir from the Jiang royal family to succeed the throne. He should have loyally assisted the successor to protect his benefactor's legacy. Instead, he chose betrayal and pledged allegiance to the Great Yan Empire.
Jiang Li and his wife died suddenly, and Jiang Guang betrayed them. With the combined forces of the Great Yan and Great Jin Kingdoms attacking, the million-strong army of the Great Qian Kingdom was nearly annihilated. The emperor of the Great Yan Empire was the one who smiled last, becoming the supreme ruler of the world, the master of the Eastern continent, and the emperor revered by all kingdoms. The once-invincible Great Qian Kingdom was shattered into four nations. The traitor, Jiang Guang, became the king of the New Great Qian Kingdom. The abandoned infant who should have frozen to death had reached the pinnacle of his life, becoming the ruler of a nation. The emperor of the Great Yan Empire bestowed upon Jiang Guang a new surname, Ying. From then on, Jiang Guang became Ying Guang, and his son, Jiang Ming, became Ying Wuming.
But why did Ying Wuming call Jiang Li his royal father? Because he was not only Jiang Li's direct disciple but also his adopted son. It was no wonder Ying Wuming possessed such profound martial arts despite his youth; he was Jiang Li's disciple. Xue Yin was Jiang Li's sworn sister, and the people she hated most in her life were Ying Guang (Jiang Guang) and his son.
*If not for the former king, Jiang Ye, you, Ying Guang, would have frozen to death long ago. How much did His Highness Jiang Li trust you? He not only made you his confidant but treated you better than his own blood brothers. And yet you shamelessly betrayed His Highness? To so brazenly become the king of the New Great Qian Kingdom, a loyal dog to the emperor of the Great Yan Empire.*
"Ying Wuming, you and your father are both traitors and rebels. Never speak the name 'Jiang' again."
Xue Yin's face was stained with tears. The ever-powerful Saintess showed a moment of weakness. Ying Wuming sighed and said,
"Aunt, the Jiang royal family has already been slaughtered. If I do not call myself a Jiang, there will be none left in this world."
His words were not a lie. After Jiang Li's death and the fall of the Great Qian Kingdom, the emperor of the Great Yan Empire had the entire Jiang royal family exterminated. Even the most distant relatives were hunted down and killed. No official count was ever made, but it was estimated that the emperor had killed at least twenty thousand members of the Jiang clan. Since then, not only were there no Jiang royals, but there was not a single person left with the surname Jiang. The emperor not only banned the *Annals of Dongli* but also forbade the use of the character 'Jiang'. The greatest tragedy was that Jiang Li's only son had died in his mother's womb, never to be born.
With hot tears welling in her eyes, the Saintess Xue Yin said in a hoarse voice,
"Traitor Wuming, since you inherited the essence of His Highness's martial arts, I... I cannot kill you. Get out. Do not appear before me again and defile my sight."
Ying Wuming bowed respectfully, then departed for the capital of Yue. He had not come to see Xue Yin, of course, but to seek an audience with the King of Yue on an important matter.
In his day, when Jiang Li dominated the world, he had countless followers. The current King of Yue, Ning Yuanxian, had also been a follower of Jiang Li in his youth. Jiang Li had once said that when his son was born, he would take all the princesses in the world as his son's wives. As it happened, Ning Yuanxian had a daughter, Princess Ning Han. When Ning Han was five, Ning Yuanxian took her to visit the Great Qian Kingdom. He had asked with a laugh, "Your Highness Jiang Li, is the joke you made before still valid?"
This was shortly after Jiang Li's wife had become pregnant. Jiang Li had held Ning Han and saw that the girl was not only beautiful but also possessed an astonishingly powerful bloodline. He then declared with his characteristic bravado that he would definitely have this child marry his son. And so, a marriage was arranged between Ning Han and Jiang Li's child, who was still in the womb, its gender yet unknown.
This was why the tigress Ning Yan always said she was envious of Princess Ning Han. To become a widow so easily—she wished she could be one, but her husband refused to die. However, it was because of this very engagement that Ning Han had chosen to leave the country, to escape being the subject of gossip.
Ning Yuanxian also paid a heavy price for that verbal agreement. After Jiang Li's sudden death, Ning Yuanxian's queen was deposed and soon after took her own life. The Zhu Clan's daughter then became Ning Yuanxian's new queen, and her son became the crown prince. The Zhu Clan was not only a prestigious family in the State of Yue but also in the Great Yan Empire. Making a Zhu the queen was Ning Yuanxian's compromise with the Great Yan Empire.
* * *
After Ying Wuming left, the Saintess Xue Yin looked at Big Dummy and said,
"Sturdy, remember that man and beat him to death later."
Big Dummy looked at Shen Lang, as if asking if he should obey, and Shen Lang nodded vigorously.
"That's right, beat him to death."
Big Dummy nodded emphatically and committed it to memory. Xue Yin said in a sorrowful voice,
"Lang'er, your aunt isn't strong enough to kill that father and son, so I had no choice but to hide on this snowy mountain, escaping reality. All while clinging to a baseless hope."
Those were words Shen Lang couldn't understand.
"Enough. I must go now. For the time being, do not provoke Ying Wuming."
Shen Lang nodded. Honestly, he was worlds apart from the current Ying Wuming, and their interests did not overlap in any way.
Xue Yin said to him,
"Don't worry. I will take care of the matter with the Marquis of Lang for you."
Shen Lang asked apologetically,
"Saintess, you are so pure and kind. Wouldn't that be crossing a line for you?"
Xue Yin shook her head.
"No. This aunt of yours is not pure at all. The reason I go around saving people isn't because I'm a good person, but to atone for my sins and accumulate merit. It's because I cling to the hope of fulfilling a vague dream. I am truly a wicked woman who can do anything."
Shen Lang was stunned.
*A wicked woman? The Saintess is as pure and warm as a saint. How could she be a wicked woman?*
"Lang'er, you are very clever, but you must never be deceived by beautiful things. There is nothing perfect in this world, and that is especially true for women. The more perfect a woman seems, the more likely she is to be fake, and this aunt is no exception. Twenty years ago, I was a wicked woman. Not noble at all. I only changed to what I am now to atone for my sins and accumulate merit!"
After saying this, the Saintess Xue Yin leaped away into the distance, leaving Shen Lang completely frozen. This was by no means Shen Lang's fault. As if to prove her words, before she left, the Saintess Xue Yin had slipped her hand inside Shen Lang's robes and squeezed something. Shen Lang's hair stood on end.
*No way! This can't be! Is that the Xue Yin I knew? Did she just... grope me?*
It was only then that Shen Lang realized the Saintess Xue Yin he knew was just the tip of the iceberg.