Death… and me

Jing Meng Hun and Yin Wu Tian suddenly opened their eyes wide. They sucked in a mouthful of cold breath. They looked at that pile of jade fragments utterly bewildered. Their bodies were drenched in cold sweat.

[This… was this done by Prime Minister?]

[Wasn’t he supposed be lacking in martial arts?]

[This… how could this be?]

[This is purple jade ah! Its hardness is ten times that of granite!]

Jing Meng Hun was a Ninth Grade King Level Expert. His palm attack would surely break the table to pieces is he were to attempt the same. But achieving Diwu Qing Rou’s level of disintegration was impossible.

In fact, the difference was too big to compare.

[Is the Prime Minister… a peerless expert? Maybe an Emperor level expert?]

However, Jing Meng Hun and Yin Wu Tian didn’t dare to utter a single word when they looked at Diwu Qing Rou’s angered face. They just stood there with their heads lowered. In fact, they didn’t even dare to breathe in such an atmosphere.

"Humph!" Diwu Qing Rou coldly snorted. He stretched his body. Then, he suddenly started to laugh furiously. He then said in a thunderous voice, "To think that I — Diwu Qing Rou — was played for a fool! And that too so thoroughly! Young Master Yu, you really are the number one trickster in the world!"

He was panting heavily. There seemed to be purple electricity strafing back and forth his eyes. It seemed to be bombarding through in his eyes. It had an extremely intense piercing power. Jing Meng Hun and Yin Wu Tian felt as if their flesh would be cut-open by this sharp gaze.

A long while passed. Diwu Qing Rou finally restrained his imposing aura and slowly sat down.

"Prime Minister… are you… are you all right?" Jing Meng Hun gently and cautiously asked.

"I am fine," Diwu Qing Rou replied in a dull voice. He immediately faced upwards and heaved a deep sigh as he said, "A golden opportunity that rarely appears even once in ten thousand years… I let it slip from my hands so easily… what a pity! What a pity ah!

"A golden opportunity that rarely appears even once in ten thousand years?"

"That King Level Expert Jun… wasn’t the real King Level Expert Jun…" He grabbed the chair’s handle so tightly that blue veins bulged-out in his hands. He coldly snorted as he continued, "It was the Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master!"

"Ah?" Jing Meng Hun and Yin Wu Tian suddenly felt as if they had heard the ear-splitting sound of a thunderclap near their ears. Their complexions changed in confusion. Even their bodies began to sway.

"Nine… Nine… Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master…" Yin Wu Tian said stuttering. The mere thought of it had made him dizzy.

[Good gracious! Have I actually been escorting the Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master all this time? Moreover, he scolded me as well…]

The anger built-up inside his heart had disappeared. In fact, he felt a sense of honor and glory deep in his heart. [Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master, ah, holy m*ther. So that was the Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master ah…]

[That extremely mysterious master of the Nine Tribulations Sword… who is said to someday dominate the entire Nine Heavens Continent… wow…]

"He wasn’t looking for Nine Joints Lotus Root! He was looking for Nine Tribulations Sword! The third fragment!" Diwu Qing Rou almost spurted out his saliva on Yin Wu Tian, "He managed to take away the third fragment of Nine Tribulations Sword from right-under-your-nose. And a fool like you didn’t even notice!"

Diwu Qing Rou’s self-control had reached the pinnacle. So it wasn’t easy to make him lose control like this. However, he had turned sinister at this moment.

The cause wasn’t Yin Wu Tian!

It was the Nine Tribulations Sword! It was the Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master!

The destiny of the nine super clans of the Upper Three Heavens was related to the Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master.

He had appeared in front of Diwu Qing Rou out of nowhere, and had then vanished. Moreover, he had also taken away the third fragment of Nine Tribulations Sword.

"It seems that the person you brought to the treasury that day… the so-called Young Master of the Ye Clan… was undoubtedly the Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master!" Diwu Qing Rou was rapidly pacing inside the room, "This was radically planned by Young Master Yu and Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master!"

Jing Meng Hun and Yin Wu Tian looked at each other in dismay.

"Or… Prime Minister, there’s a way… if you would like to consider it. You can go to the Middle Three Heavens to look for Young Master Yu. You can then ask him to give an explanation…" Jing Meng Hun mustered his courage and cautiously gave a suggestion.

"What sort of an impudent remark was that? Nine Tribulations Sword’s birth foretells that there will be a great change in the dominion from the current to the new one in the Upper Three Heavens. Young Master Yu has been looking forward to the quick downfall of the nine super clans. He wants that other clans such as his own… to obtain the top ranks. Why would he ever tell me? Moreover… Young Master Yu has already become a lapdog of Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master. Young Master Yu will sooner or later succeed in obtaining top seat as long as Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master doesn’t die. Do you think he ever disclose any information to me? Aren’t you basically telling me to go to a person who has slapped me on my left cheek? You want me to give him a chance to slap me on the right as well? Wouldn’t that be making the same mistake twice?”

Diwu Qing Rou thundered in rage.

Jing Meng Hun lowered his head and didn’t say anything. However, his heart was pounding loudly. He had been shocked by a certain piece of information that had been revealed by Diwu Qing Rou’s words. [My m*ther, Prime Minister is from one of the nine strongest clans of the Upper Three Heavens…]

This revelation made him feel more reverence towards Diwu Qing Rou.

Soon time lapsed in silence. Diwu Qing Rou’s mood had turned completely calm. He said, "Well it’s in the past now… what’s happened has happened…"

Then Diwu Qing Rou raised his head and glanced somewhat powerlessly at Jing Meng Hun. He then said, "You go outside and wait for a while."

Jing Meng Hun and Yin Wu Tian quickly nodded and went out.

Diwu Qing Rou closed his eyes and tried hard to pacify the great waves of his innermost feelings. Then, he picked up a pen. He wrote a letter and then sent it out.

He remained quiet for a while. Then, he stood up and said, "You two can come in now." The usual elegance and calm had been restored in his voice.

This matter about Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master had left a great impact on Diwu Qing Rou. However, the strength of his determination and his forbearance couldn’t be underestimated. His mental state had returned to normal in a very short period of time.

However, Diwu Qing Rou didn’t know that there was one little error in his conjecture.

Others might not know who King Level Expert Jun really was. But Young Master Yu knew that it was Chu Yang! King of Hell Chu!

However, Young Master didn’t know that Chu Yang was the Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master.

No one was aware of this fact. The only person to figure out that Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master had appeared was Diwu Qing Rou. However, he ended-up harboring a wonderful misunderstanding that the Nine Tribulations Sword’s Master was friends with Young Master Yu…

Chu Yang's identity would be exposed if this matter were to be pursued. If not exposed… it would no longer remain a secret to Young Master Yu at least.

This secret should’ve been exposed by this freakish combination of strange coincidences. However, it still hadn’t come to light… Moreover, it could possibly stay concealed since Diwu Qing Rou now harbored extreme animosity towards Young Master Yu. This had certainly ensured that this secret would remain as such for a time…

Jing Meng Hun and Yin Wu Tian quickly entered the study. Diwu Qing Rou prudently said, "Your Golden Horse Riders Department is going to play a major role in the upcoming war. The two of you must be prepared, so that…"

The heavy rain had covered-up the entire sky by now. Chu Yang was stealthily approaching Diwu Qing Rou’s Prime Ministerial Palace in its cover.

Chu Yang was clad in black clothes, and was floating westward under the curtain of rain. His figure seemed like a non-tangible ghostly apparition in such a heavy downpour. His body didn’t seem to have the least bit of weight.

The wall, the trees, every falling leaf… every drop of rain had become his cover.

He was secretly sneaking into Diwu Qing Rou’s territory, but he knew that Prime Minister’s Palace’s security would be tight. There were experts stationed everywhere in the radius of several thousand feet surrounding the Prime Minister’s Palace. And they were keeping a close watch in every direction.

Each person in the close proximity of Prime Minister’s Palace was their ‘monitoring object’.

There were experts stationed at every hundred feet! Moreover, there was one defense perimeter after another. They were set-up in a scattered, yet organized manner. The experts in each defense perimeter would keep a watch on the area which fell in the ‘blind-spot’ region of the previous one.

From top to bottom — from outside to inside — it was an all-round monitoring.

If not for this sudden heavy rain — it would’ve been impossible for Chu Yang to sneak his way into Diwu Qing Rou’s Prime Ministerial Palace without anyone taking note of it.

This heavy rain had turned this ‘impossible matter’ into a ‘possible’ one.

Diwu Qing Rou’s Prime Ministerial Palace was a very safe place. Not a single incident had occurred here. Who would be willing to get drenched in such a heavy rain to pull something off?

Therefore…

Chu Yang carefully avoided the obstacles in his way. His ghostly figure floated forward until he finally arrived near the perimeter wall of the Prime Minister's Palace. The Sword Spirit had been constantly reminding him about the most important factors.

Several people had neglected their duties. However, there were more who adhered to them faithfully.

"How shall I go up?" Chu Yang anxiously looked at that 50 feet tall wall.

He could obviously jump over the perimeter wall using his martial power. However, the problem lied in the fact that… this wall was being watched by many experts. Therefore, it was fairly easy to get noticed.

"You have no other choice but to take risk," Sword Spirit sympathetically replied.

"…" Chu Yang cursed in his heart. There was no other means. He had to take a risk out of desperation.

His body appeared like a thin poster as he attached it to the wall. Chu Yang’s body seemed almost motionless as it silently crawled up the wall in the curtain of rain.

The raindrops issued ‘popping’ sounds as they pounded on the ground and his body. Chu Yang’s head had already appeared at the wall’s top. Yet, he ‘pasted’ his head close to the wall’s peak.

His body ascended onto the wall’s top bit-by-bit as he remained ‘pasted’ to the wall.

It seemed as if his body didn’t have any bones in it. His body wriggled on to the wall’s top like a snake, and then lay down on top of the wall.

He hadn’t made the slightest sound until now.

There came a rustling sound from nearby. It seemed as if some people were walking towards him.

Chu Yang’s body instantly loosened up. He even held his breath as he turned deathly quiet.

"Who will dare to come on such a rainy night? Can’t we take a short break? " a person suddenly muttered in an apprehensive tone.

"We should be more vigilant because the weather is like this. The wind is stealth; the moon is not. The rain can drain — the snow cannot! (1) This rain is the best opportunity for an intruder to roam about. He will remain unseen in the night!" The other person said in a scolding tone, "If you and I neglect our duties… it may turn into a big deal… and even if we have ten thousand heads — they still wouldn’t be enough to keep us from getting beheaded."

"Yes, yes… Third Brother Ning. This little brother of yours complies with your reasoning," the other person replied in an ‘unconvinced’ tone. The two kept on walking side-by-side, and kept a vigilant watch on the surroundings. They walked past Chu Yang… unaware that their intruder was lying down on the wall.

Chu Yang was motionless. He was listening to the sound of those two people walking away amidst the sound of the beating raindrops. He then quietly raised his head and looked at a house located not far away. [I will have infiltrated the Prime Minister’s Palace as long as I can get on that roof over there.]

[There is only this wall in my way.]

The author is basically trying to convey that it’s easier to disappear like the wind; but the moon remains permanent in the sky. The rain can wash away the traces but snow retains footmarks.