Bamboo Chest Chapter Twenty-Five: The Bright Moon and the Sword

An Luo shielded Shui Ze behind him, staring fixedly at Chang Qi before them.

"You're actually not dead?!"

Chang Qi sneered, "How could I possibly die? You didn't really think I would be stupid enough to join Yuan Bai in risking my life to kill an Ascension-stage sword cultivator, did you?"

An Luo was helpless against Chang Qi at the moment, for standing behind Chang Qi was his ancestor. The old man possessed a hulking frame and an intimidating aura. Neither the elder nor his descendant had chosen to join the fray.

After being beaten by Lu Yun, Chang Qi had undergone a realization. Once he learned from Yuan Bai that the target of the siege in Qianjing City was an Ascension-stage sword cultivator, he decided to stay out of it. After much persuasion, his ancestor finally agreed to bide his time. As it turned out, an Ascension-stage expert toyed with them as if they were nothing! Yuan Feng and Yuan Bai were merely trying to use them as cannon fodder. Was a mere princely title worth dying for?

Thus, Chang Qi had begged his ancestor for a magical artifact that could house a wisp of his soul, creating a clone indistinguishable from himself. Even now, Chang Qi remembered the sense of helplessness his soul felt when facing that moon.

"You wanted to play the oriole waiting behind the mantis, hoping to secure a princely title after the great battle, but you never expected me to be waiting here like a rabbit by the stump, did you?" Chang Qi laughed hideously. "I've liked little sister Shui Ze for a long time. How about this: you come with me, and I'll let your brother go."

Shui Ze looked at Chang Qi with disgust, hiding behind An Luo in silence. An Luo gritted his teeth. If his own ancestor hadn't foreseen the disaster in Qianjing City and chosen not to enter, he wouldn't be subjected to such humiliation by Chang Qi!

"Hmph, it seems you don't intend to accept my kindness. No matter, taking you by force will be the same, hehehe..."

Chang Qi pressed forward, forcing An Luo to take a step back.

"Aren't you afraid of our ancestor settling the score with you later!" An Luo roared.

"Settling the score?" The hulking elder behind Chang Qi burst into laughter. "If that Ascension-stage sword cultivator wins, your ancestor will be too busy running for his life! And if Yuan Feng wins, do you really think he'll allow what little combat power he has left to kill each other off?!"

An Luo's face turned pale. He knew there was nothing more to say; these two would not stop today.

"Shui Ze, I can probably buy you two breaths of time. Run, find our ancestor—no, find Lu Yun!" An Luo whispered to her.

"Brother..." Shui Ze said with a choked sob, clutching his sleeve. "I won't leave. I'm staying with you!"

"Such deep sibling affection," Chang Qi chuckled. "Too bad I'm not interested in men, otherwise..."

An Luo snorted. He gripped Shui Ze's wrist and said, "I have remembered your face, Chang Qi!"

"Then you had better remember it well, and don't forget it in your next life."

The elder behind Chang Qi raised his hand to seize An Luo. An Luo pulled Shui Ze aside to dodge, but to his horror, he found himself suddenly appearing within the elder's palm. The elder slowly bowed his head, peered at the tiny figure in his hand, grinned, and opened his mouth wide, intending to devour An Luo.

Chang Qi continued toward Shui Ze with a savage expression. "Little sister Shui Ze, did you ever imagine it would come to this?"

Suddenly, the elder shouted, "Get out of the way!"

But it was too late. A sword aura abruptly tore through the walls, grazing Shui Ze's hair and cleaving straight toward Chang Qi. Chang Qi still wore that sinister grin, but in the next instant, he was split in two.

The hulking elder immediately tightened his grip on An Luo, staring intensely at the youth walking slowly toward them. In the youth's hand, a wooden sword slowly crumbled to dust. The elder let out a sigh of relief, ignoring his dead descendant entirely, and burst into laughter.

"Such a treasure, and you waste it so casually? Truly foolish beyond compare!"

"Oh?" The youth smiled and asked, "What makes you so sure that I only have one?"

Instantly, the youth pulled a second, miniature wooden sword from his sleeve. The elder froze, squeezing An Luo, and threatened, "If you dare to strike, I'll kill him!"

"Brother Lu, do it!" An Luo shouted.

Lu Yun curled his lips and took a step forward. The ruined house, the ground beneath their feet, and everything else vanished in the blink of an eye. There was only the vast, watery sky and a single bright moon hanging high above. The hulking elder roared, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the moon.

"Sever."

The youth's clear voice rang out. The moon plummeted from the sky, obliterating all things.

"Merging Sword Immortal Dong's sword intent with my own is still a bit of a stretch..." Lu Yun watched the second wooden sword shatter in his hand, then tucked his sleeves and looked at An Luo, who had broken free from the elder's grasp. He smiled and said, "Brother An, long time no see."

"Brother Lu, I thought you were with that Sword Immortal senior..." An Luo looked back at the elder's corpse, which stared blankly in death, and kicked it a few times, spitting on it to vent his frustration.

"Brother Lu, thank you." An Luo bowed solemnly to Lu Yun. Shui Ze wiped the dust from her face and thanked him as well.

Lu Yun shook his head and smiled. "We are friends, after all; helping each other is only right."

"Can... can the Sword Immortal senior win?" An Luo asked, looking at Lu Yun with great excitement.

Lu Yun nodded. "He said he was certain to be the one who wins, so he told me to go do what I needed to do. I came to find you first."

The youth scratched his head and reached out a hand to An Luo. "Two promises, we might as well settle them both at once. Brother An, want to join me? I feel very strong right now." Fearing An Luo wouldn't believe him, he repeated with emphasis, "Very strong!"

An Luo smiled and grasped Lu Yun's hand. "Of course."

...

Yuan Bai looked up at the two figures entangled in the sky and muttered, "How is this possible? Isn't he severely wounded?"

"Your Highness..." Zhi Que approached Yuan Bai. "I just detected Chang Qi's aura, and also..."

"Shut your mouth, you useless thing!" Yuan Bai turned and roared at Zhi Que. "What use are you? You couldn't even kill a mid-five-stage cultivator like Yuan Mo! Don't think I don't see it—you still harbor old feelings for him and let him go on purpose!"

Zhi Que remained silent.

Yuan Bai snorted, muttering to himself, "Once Father wins, I'll replace you. I'll have that new immortal from the Hundred Flowers Pavilion serve me instead. I will ascend the throne, kill Lu Yun, and slaughter Zicui City..."

"Oh, the Prince-hostage has quite the ambition."

A familiar voice suddenly appeared in Yuan Bai's ear. Yuan Bai froze, then spun around to look at the youth.

The youth smiled and said, "Too bad your father won't win, your servant doesn't like you, and the immortals would never look your way..." As he spoke, the youth's expression gradually turned fierce.

"Me? You can't kill me. And Zicui City? You'll never even have the chance to set foot there!"