WJ Chapter 58

Mayfly (3)

Guan Wujue hadn’t yet made a sound when Yun Guyan’s face darkened as he said, “Wait! He cannot leave.”

Yun Changliu plucked a qin string with a sharp “zheng” sound and said coldly, “Why not?”

Just hearing the Sect Leader’s tone, one could tell his emotions were off. Yun Changliu was already someone who rarely truly lost his temper, and he had always been respectful and filial toward his father. To speak with such obvious barbs, the last time was when Yun Guyan had deceived him into returning to the sect halfway through his journey.

In truth, he still didn’t know exactly what had happened—only that the atmosphere inside Yanyun Palace was clearly unusual, and Yun Changliu had long suspected that Yun Guyan and Guan Wujue were hiding something from him. At this moment, he almost immediately concluded that the two had been “conspiring” together.

Looking again at Guan Wujue kneeling on the cold ground with a deathly pale face and unstable breathing, when he raised his head to gaze blankly at him, his eyes seemed to be soaked with a layer of water. Yun Changliu suddenly felt both heartache and anger.

…He knew this person was restless! Released for just a short while, yet somehow he’d managed to torment himself into such a state—who knew where he’d been injured now.

Over there, Yun Guyan and Wen Huan exchanged glances. Neither had expected Yun Changliu would happen to come out and disrupt their plans at this exact moment. The Zhuhuo Guards outside the palace gate hadn’t even made an announcement—they must have been stopped by the Sect Leader. If not for Yun Guyan’s profound internal energy and early perception, they truly would have fallen short of success.

After stroking two more qin notes, Yun Changliu continued his questioning. “I wonder why Wujue cannot leave? What did Father just say to him?”

“…Oh,” the old Sect Leader straightened his robes and suddenly smiled. “That’s right, come to think of it, Liu’er still doesn’t know what Father and the Protector were just chatting about.”

His gaze swept across Yanyun Palace as he said rather wistfully, “Alas… This lord has been sitting idle in this Yanyun Palace for decades now. Suddenly I feel restless and want to leave the city to wander the rivers and lakes and mountain waters.”

The old Sect Leader glanced at Guan Wujue, then said to Yun Changliu, “I’m asking the Protector to accompany me. Liu’er wouldn’t be unwilling to part with him, would you?”

Yun Changliu naturally didn’t believe such a ridiculous excuse and refused without hesitation. “Indeed I am unwilling. Wujue still has injuries and illness—I’m afraid he cannot accompany Father. If Father needs an attendant, Liu’er will make other arrangements.”

Though he said this aloud, Yun Changliu’s heart grew heavy. His talk of acquiring a new melody was naturally nonsense—just a random excuse grasped in desperation. He’d thought his father might give him face and let Wujue withdraw accordingly…

But looking at the current situation, it seemed that wouldn’t work.

Sure enough, Yun Guyan’s gaze sharpened.

“What if this lord insists on having him?”

Yun Changliu said, “No.”

Yun Guyan raised an eyebrow and pointed at his own nose. “What’s this about? Could it be Liu’er would actually clash with Father over an outsider?”

Yun Changliu said, “I would.”

“You!” The old Sect Leader’s eyes immediately widened. Looking at his eldest son who stood immovable as a mountain before him, he ground his teeth in exasperation and muttered under his breath, “Fine, fine, a grown son is like water thrown out…”

“……”

Wen Huan silently put his hand to his forehead.

Guan Wujue lowered his head, unable to look directly.

Yun Changliu furrowed his brow, feeling that something about that saying seemed not quite right. However, he’d never known much about folk sayings and colloquialisms—the strange feeling flashed through his mind and passed.

“Sect Leader…” Guan Wujue took two steps forward, his fingers hooking onto Yun Changliu’s sleeve. Being able to see the Sect Leader one last time, he had no regrets. “Please let Wujue go. This subordinate wasn’t suited to staying long in Xifeng City anyway. Following the old Sect Leader would be far better than going to the branch hall alone…”

Unfortunately, it would have been better if the Protector hadn’t spoken at all. The moment he opened his mouth, the frost on Yun Changliu’s face visibly deepened another layer. “You be quiet.”

“Sect Leader, I beg…”

Yun Changliu said coldly, “Say one more word and I’ll have you locked in Yangxin Hall with chains later.”

Guan Wujue was immediately frightened into silence, thinking to himself: This is bad, this is bad—the Sect Leader is truly angry this time. But with things having reached this point, how should this situation be resolved?

Then he saw that Yun Guyan showed no panic. Instead, he relaxed his brow, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked at Yun Changliu, saying, “Very well. Since it’s come to this, does Liu’er have the courage to make a wager with Father?”

Yun Changliu didn’t understand his meaning. He watched as Yun Guyan walked back with hands behind his back to stand before the desk, pulling out a short dagger from it and flinging it with a wave of his sleeve!

The dagger flashed with a cold gleam, spinning as it flew toward the ground at Yun Changliu’s feet. The Sect Leader’s expression didn’t change—he didn’t dodge at all.

There came a tearing sound. In the blink of an eye, the short dagger had carved a deep mark in the ground before his feet.

Yun Guyan held up two fingers and narrowed his eyes. “Come, let’s exchange twenty moves.”

“Within twenty moves, if Liu’er’s feet don’t leave that line, you win. Conversely, if they do, then Father wins.”

“If you win, you take him away. If you lose, the Protector must listen to this lord’s words.”

Yun Changliu hesitated for a moment.

Twenty moves—it seemed simple, but he knew this wasn’t a favorable wager.

If there were no line drawn, exchanging even fifty moves with his father would be no problem. Now with this restriction, the difficulty multiplied exponentially. Yun Guyan’s power was domineering, grand and sweeping—a single palm could push someone back several zhang. Wanting to hold fast for twenty moves in such a narrow space would be far from easy.

However…

Yun Changliu glanced at his Protector and said, “Besides that… If I win, Father must tell me what you’ve been hiding. If I lose, I’ll never ask about this matter again.”

Yun Guyan laughed in surprise. “Oh? Raising the stakes? Liu’er has fine courage—agreed.”

“In that case,” Yun Changliu stepped forward into the line, lowered his eyes, and bowed. “Please instruct me, Father.”

“Very good.”

Yun Guyan’s smile faded as his aura condensed and sank. The ground where he stood rumbled and cracked, sinking several inches as his vast internal energy burst forth from his body.

This wager had already begun!

Yun Changliu flicked his toe up and hooked up the Qing Ku qin that lay on the ground. He cradled the qin horizontally in his arm, infused it with internal energy, and plucked the strings.

Instantly, internal energy followed the sound waves, spreading in surging tides layer upon layer, colliding with Yun Guyan’s force in the center and canceling each other out perfectly.

The air trembled with a faint humming.

Both men were pushed back by the energy wave, each retreating a step.

In terms of pure internal energy depth alone, Yun Changliu naturally couldn’t match Yun Guyan’s decades of accumulated power. At this moment, he was borrowing the vibrating force of the qin strings to barely match his father. This way, the first move was evenly split.

The next moment, Yun Changliu tapped his foot lightly, holding the qin before him, white robes fluttering. Always calm and steady, he now rarely took the offensive as defense, seeking to gain the initiative before Yun Guyan!

Yun Guyan laughed heartily, his eyes flashing. “Well done! Liu’er be careful—Father won’t hold back anymore.”

With that, the old Sect Leader leaped into the air, five fingers forming a claw, descending toward Yun Changliu’s head with mountain-splitting force. Yun Changliu blocked horizontally with his qin, the angle exquisite as he used the Qing Ku qin to catch Yun Guyan’s wrist, saying coldly, “Second move.”

Yun Guyan remained unhurried. Following the momentum, he gripped the head of the qin, exerted force with a twist, and directly dragged Yun Changliu through half a circle, pushing him toward the line. “This is the third move.”

Yun Changliu made a decisive choice. Pressing his palm on the qin body, he borrowed the force to flip through the air—he was already above and behind Yun Guyan.

Rather than choosing to retreat and open distance, he used a Thousand-Pound Drop technique, his feet stepping directly toward the old Sect Leader’s chest.

Yun Guyan showed a trace of gratified expression. He released the qin and raised both fists to meet the attack. Immediately there came a series of “bang bang bang bang bang” sounds as fists met feet in a thoroughly satisfying exchange.

In the blink of an eye they’d reached the eighth move. The old Sect Leader seized the opportunity—his palm like a giant clamp suddenly locked around Yun Changliu’s ankle!

Yun Changliu’s eyes tightened—this was bad. Sure enough, the next moment a tremendous force accompanied by pain came from his ankle bone. His entire body was actually “flung” outward by his father.

“Sect Leader!” “Sect Leader!”

Guan Wujue and Wen Huan on the side both cried out in alarm. Yun Guyan truly meant what he said about not holding back. The wager’s outcome was secondary—what if the Sect Leader was actually injured!?

But Yun Changliu showed no panic. He adjusted his posture in midair, and when landing, he spun with one hand on the ground, using minimal force to redirect maximum power and dissipating Yun Guyan’s force.

The old Sect Leader gave his eldest son no time to catch his breath, closing in again, one palm sweeping toward him carrying fierce wind.

Yun Changliu knew that if he retreated now, it would be difficult to advance again. He didn’t dodge or evade, gritting his teeth as he exchanged several solid, hard palm strikes with Yun Guyan, steadily receiving his father’s offensive.

For a time, white and black robes tangled and flew through the air, dull thuds echoing continuously within the spacious Yanyun Palace!

Both father and son’s martial cultivation had reached a level rarely seen in the martial world. Their fighting momentum was also quite terrifying—under the surge of vigorous energy, cracks appeared in the ceiling and floor from the shaking.

It was fortunate that Yanyun Palace had few furnishings and objects. Otherwise, it would surely already be a complete mess.

In just a brief moment, both father and son withdrew and paused. This wager had reached the nineteenth move—victory or defeat was about to be decided!

Yun Guyan showed no urgency at all. Instead, he first praised with full satisfaction, “Knowing when to advance and retreat, understanding motion and stillness, calm in the face of danger, stable yet adaptable… Very good.”

Yun Changliu breathed gently, calming his slightly disordered breathing from the continuous exchange of offensive and defensive moves, saying seriously, “There is still one move.”

Yun Guyan suddenly focused intently, his black robe moving without wind. He pushed out a palm plainly and simply, pressing toward Yun Changliu.

This palm was straight and level, seemingly without any flourish, yet it embodied the principle of overwhelming skill with force. The oppressive force it contained made Yun Changliu’s pressure surge dramatically.

He didn’t dare be careless. His gaze swept to the Qing Ku qin lying not far from his feet. His thoughts moved and he snatched up his beloved qin again. His right palm supported the tail of the qin while the head pointed forward, smashing toward Yun Guyan.

BOOM! BOOM!!

Two massive sounds came in succession. It turned out that after Yun Changliu threw out Qing Ku, he himself flew up as well. Just at the moment Yun Guyan received the qin body’s impact force, he raised his palm and struck the qin’s tail!

The timing of this palm was captured brilliantly—old force not yet exhausted while new force was born again, actually forcing Yun Guyan to retreat several steps.

If at this moment Yun Guyan were forced to withdraw his palm, this twentieth move would be considered complete, and this wager could determine a victor!

However, the old Sect Leader was after all the old Sect Leader. Yun Guyan exerted force with his foot, stamping down, and abruptly halted his retreating momentum.

Immediately after, his arm shook. Yun Changliu felt a tremendous force transmit along the Qing Ku qin, causing his snow-white sleeves to flip wildly up and down, half his body going numb.

Father and son stood like this in the center of Yanyun Palace—palm pressed to qin, qin pressed to palm—opposing each other, neither yielding.

Even though the Qing Ku qin’s material was already the rarest and finest treasure wood, how could it withstand such terrifying collision of internal energies?

This qin that the Sect Leader had treasured since childhood could bear it no longer, emitting waves of weeping laments.

Qing Ku’s master remained unmoved. Instead, it was Guan Wujue whose face went white as he urgently said, “Sect Leader, quickly withdraw, the qin…!”

Yun Changliu’s black hair surged backward in the air current. He didn’t withdraw—instead, he added another layer of internal energy.

Not only that, the Sect Leader also thought rather inopportunely: Good, he spoke up—when we return I can lock him up with chains.

Finally, Qing Ku began trembling violently.

Hideous cracks spread across the slender, beautiful qin body. The Qing Ku qin emitted one last desolate, clear cry before exploding with a bang into scattered wooden fragments!!

“No…!”

Guan Wujue felt as if struck by lightning. He watched the splashing wooden debris, his chest surging with blood and energy. A mouthful of blood sweetness welled up his throat without warning.

Why, why did it come to this…

…Years ago, he had endured the pain before the old Sect Leader and personally smashed Yun Shu, vowing to sever past ties, sever attachments, this life only wishing to protect and support the Sect Leader.

He had thought that destroying Yun Shu would at least preserve Qing Ku. Who knew that at this moment, the Sect Leader would actually for his sake…

Guan Wujue struggled to swallow back that mouthful of foul blood, feeling his heart pierced as if by knives, black mist spreading before his eyes.

Over ten years ago, Young Master Changliu and the medicine person Ah Ku, the twin qins Yun Shu and Qing Ku playing in harmony. Now the qins were destroyed and people scattered—only the Zhuyin Sect Leader Yun Changliu who had forgotten old memories remained, along with the Four Directions Protector Guan Wujue who had abandoned the past.

Round and round, muddled and confused—truly like fate’s cruel joke.

Only the snow-white figure blocking before him remained unchanged as always.