The desert remained intensely scorching, the dust whipped up by horse hooves blending with the searing heat of the air to leave a parched, dry sensation with every breath.
“This weather is going to be the death of me,” Fang Xu muttered, wiping a face soaked in sweat, feeling as though the howling gale had cracked and weathered his skin.
After leaving Yishui City, though the terrain differed from the barren desert they had previously crossed, the blistering winds and blowing sands persisted. Another full day of riding would bring them to the border of Yunchen.
Ying Laixian had wrapped cloth strips around his palms to prevent the reins from rubbing them raw, but by now those strips were thoroughly soaked through with sweat. “You’ve never been to this region before. Without proper preparation, adapting to it is naturally difficult.”
Riding ahead, Tan Congye turned his head at the remark. He wore a silver-ornamented mask covering the lower half of his face to avoid unnecessary trouble upon entering Yunchen, and he hadn’t even brought along his signature blade, Jingpo.
“So you’re saying you’ve been here before? When did Gentleman Liuyu sneak off to my territory?”
Ying Laixian’s cloak billowed in the wind. His voice was soft, yet carried clearly to the others. “A long time ago. I even crossed paths with you once back then, though you don’t remember it.”
Tan Congye felt Ying Laixian’s words were somewhat baffling. If he had genuinely laid eyes on that pair of cyan-tinted eyes before, he would have remembered them for the rest of his life. Yet what was the purpose behind Ying Laixian making such a remark? Was he simply teasing him?
Fang Xu pinched his chapped lips, calling out to Tan Congye, “Such a massive city like Yishui, how on earth was it built right in the middle of a desert? And living out here on the desert’s edge, don’t you all find the heat unbearable?”
Tan Congye chuckled. “There are some things even I naturally don’t know. Word has it that this place wasn’t originally a desert, but because it served as a vital crossroads connecting two borders, travelers gathered in large numbers until a city eventually formed here.”
Fang Xu swallowed a mouthful of blowing sand and asked, “Then how did Your Excellency become the City Lord?”
Rumors regarding Tan Congye ran rampant throughout the martial world; some claimed he possessed a bloodthirsty nature, while others swore his temperament was erratic and unpredictable. Yet how could someone capable of governing an entire city be as wicked as the tales suggested?
“Ten years ago, a rising star emerged in the martial world,” this time, the answer came from Ying Laixian. “Legend has it that he possessed extraordinary innate talent—a rare and exceptional talent rarely seen in the martial realm. Just like us now, that young man arrived in Yishui City. At that time, Yishui City had no city lord; in the eyes of the world, it was nothing more than a refuge where outcasts and drifters huddled together. That youth issued challenges to numerous martial seniors throughout the city one after another. As time passed, rumors spread far and wide, drawing countless swordsmen to Yishui City out of curiosity to see just who possessed such boundless arrogance. Naturally, this influx boosted the city’s renown and economy, propelling the youth into lasting fame as Yishui City’s very first lord. In the eyes of the world, such a small town headed by an upstart newcomer posed no major threat, so no one stood in his way, and the matter was permanently settled.”
“Why does this story sound completely different from what I heard?” Fang Xu frowned, voicing his confusion. “I heard the Senior Lord a previous master! Turns out there was never any master at all!”
Tan Congye’s gaze remained fixed entirely on Ying Laixian from the moment the youth began recounting the tale. “Gentleman Liuyu seems remarkably well-informed regarding my past. Anyone who didn’t know better would think you were right there in Yishui City at the time.”
A faint, fleeting smile touched Ying Laixian’s lips. Amidst the swirling sand, he met Tan Congye’s gaze before softly looking away. The smile vanished as quickly as it came, resembling a stray breeze that ruffled the water’s surface and left Tan Congye momentarily disoriented.
“Only the magistrate is allowed to set fires while the common people are forbidden to light lamps?”
Tan Congye’s eyes grew steadily darker. “It’s hardly a dark secret. If you wished to know, you had only to ask, why bother expending effort to investigate?”
“I! I want to know!” Fang Xu urged his horse forward, calling out, “I want to hear it.”
Tan Congye’s expression remained unchanged. “There are more than enough rumors in the martial world; aren’t those enough to satisfy your curiosity?”
“What about that fellow Chen who stays by your side?” Ying Laixian asked abruptly. “He isn’t traveling with you?”
Tan Congye shot him a scrutinizing look. “Yishui City has its own pressing matters requiring his attention. When Gentleman Liuyu asks like this, I have a feeling it’s nothing good.”
Sensing Tan Congye’s intuition was remarkably sharp, Ying Laixian replied, “Then you’re mistaken, it is a good thing indeed. It’s for the best that he isn’t going to Yunchen; ideally, he should never go at all.”
Reining in his mount, Tan Congye brought his horse to a halt. By now, the sun was beginning its descent, casting a golden, gilded sheen across the undulating dunes of the desert. Turning slightly in the saddle to face Ying Laixian, his handsome features took on a slightly roguish air, and just as Ying Laixian assumed he wouldn’t believe a word, the man suddenly spoke: “Are you waiting for me to question you?”
Ying Laixian: “…”
Noticing the hesitation, Tan Congye took it as confirmation, concluding inwardly that this fellow was endlessly cunning. The youth deliberately used alternative topics to divert his attention while keeping his true intentions shrouded in mystery, dangling him on a hook he could neither shake loose nor draw near.
“Jiang Ni, have the arrangements for the rest of the journey been settled?” Ying Laixian decisively chose to cut off the conversational dead-end with Tan Congye.
Tan Congye scoffed, “Though I cannot fathom how much truth lies in your words, with me around on the road to Yunchen, you won’t be dying anytime soon.”
“Arrangements are made?” Ying Laixian asked, turning to Jiang Ni. “You’ve worked hard.”
Ying Laixian had perspired profusely. Gifted with exceptionally fair skin, he showed no signs of tanning even under the punishing glare of the blazing sun; instead, his pale complexion stood out as a striking, luminous presence against the backdrop of the desert.
Tan Congye stared at him for a long moment. The dark crimson cinnabar mole contrasting sharply with his cyan-tinted eyes produced a striking, mesmerizing impact, lending an added layer of breathtaking radiance to the face recognized as the greatest beauty under heaven. When a stray drop of sweat tracked directly down toward Ying Laixian’s lips, Tan Congye found his gaze locked onto that glistening moisture, instantly feeling as though he had been engulfed by scorching flames.
“The people by your side are full of hidden talents. Could it be that your eyes and ears are already planted throughout Yunchen?” Facing the blistering wind, Tan Congye noted that unlike the coarse, weathered skin of locals accustomed to the desert, Ying Laixian remained remarkably pristine and fair, perhaps simply accustomed to the climate, as all residents of Yishui City tended to be.
Ying Laixian knew full well that Tan Congye had likely investigated Jiang Ni and Fang Xu in secret; while he wouldn’t uncover anything substantial, he would certainly realize neither belonged within these borders. “I am not blessed with City Lord Tan’s immense innate talent and mastery. If one wishes to survive in this chaotic era, they must inevitably seek out a few dependable backing pillars. Call my ambitions vast or label me reckless, whatever the case, since our ties run shallow, keeping our entanglements minimal is always for the best.”
“I’ve certainly recognized your vast ambitions, refusing to stay by Zhong Xiwu’s side, declining to seek an official post within the imperial court, yet dragging the affair of Changye Temple into the light to force me into clearing your obstacles. Even now, your true purpose upon entering Yunchen remains entirely opaque. Your ambitions are massive, yet what is it you truly desire? Gentleman Liuyu, you have never once made your intentions clear.”
“My lord,” Jiang Ni offered a water skin, effortlessly breaking the tense, adversarial standoff.
Ying Laixian accepted the pouch, lifting his cloak to let the breeze cool his sweat-drenched hair. The water was lukewarm, the weather made everything stiflingly hot.
“Last year,” Ying Laixian began slowly, “on my birthday, Master prepared a gift for me—an ordinary short blade. I disliked it, remarking that such an item would struggle even to slaughter a chicken.”
“Master told me that a sharp blade isn’t meant for self-defense. At the time, I thought to myself: if a blade’s edge isn’t pointed outward, it must be pointed inward. So I accepted it, though that short blade has never once left its scabbard.”
Growing weary of speaking, Ying Laixian took another swallow of water. “Tan Congye, not everyone is as fortunate as you. When you were driven to desperation, you stumbled into a vast desert and found the region’s sole water source. You successfully seized that rare opportunity to claw your way upward, and you succeeded. But as for me—I was blocked outside the gates of the desert from the very beginning.”
Fang Xu and Jiang Ni chose to maintain a quiet silence. Tan Congye found it difficult to extract his desired answers from Ying Laixian’s words, yet the youth’s meaning was paradoxically clear; he understood far too many of the past chapters Tan Congye preferred to leave buried.
Tan Congye’s voice remained steady and distinct as he looked at Ying Laixian. “Gentleman Liuyu seems remarkably well-acquainted with my history, yet I remain completely in the dark regarding yours. That hardly seems fair.”
Leaning sideways, Tan Congye reached out to snatch the reins directly from Ying Laixian’s grip, steering his mount closer until they rode nearly shoulder-to-shoulder. “You were taken in by Old Master Wei at age six and claim never to have left Yunhu, yet the people serving by your side are clearly not from Yunhu.”
Ying Laixian smiled toward the two companions flanking them. “People of the rivers and lakes are never confined to Yunhu alone. Much of what I leave unsaid has already been investigated by you; if you failed to find anything, that speaks simply to the limitations of Yishui City’s reach.”
Yet Tan Congye knew perfectly well that it wasn’t a matter of failing to find information, but rather that the harvest was far too meager. Information concerning Liuyu Shouxue Ying Laixian was scarce; the places he had walked and the people he had encountered were simply too few. And it was precisely this anomaly that aroused Tan Congye’s deepest suspicions.
“Fang Xu,” Ying Laixian coughed lightly as another gust of wind drove abrasive sand down his throat. “He talks far too much, why don’t you take over the conversation with him?”
The person accused of talking too much raised an eyebrow slightly, while Fang Xu looked momentarily caught off guard.
“Ah, well My lord, please rest for a while. If the Senior Lord is feeling bored, he’s welcome to converse with me.”
Tan Congye remarked casually, “Go ahead and speak. I’m listening.”
Fang Xu offered a dry, awkward chuckle.
“How many years have you followed him?” Tan Congye inquired.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Fang Xu replied, “I’ve been by the lord’s side since I was seventeen, that makes five full years.”
“Five years?” Tan Congye narrowed his eyes slightly. “That means he was only fourteen at the time. What kind of capability did he possess that made you willing to pledge your loyalty to him?”
Fang Xu glanced toward Ying Laixian, finding no sign of displeasure on the youth’s face before answering, “Because from the very beginning, I set out specifically to protect the lord.”
Tan Congye pressed no further, prompting Fang Xu to turn the tables instead: “What about the Senior Lord? Why did you choose Yishui City back then?”
For a prodigy like Tan Congye, who should have been the coveted prize of every major sect in the land, why choose to stand entirely alone?
It was a remarkably simple question, yet Tan Congye remained silent for a long stretch.
“Fang Xu,” Ying Laixian interrupted, “enough chatter. We’ll be arriving shortly.”
“Hm?” Fang Xu looked ahead, noticing that the endless expanse of the desert was finally giving way to solid terrain. In another half-hour, they would successfully cross its borders and finally escape this wretched environment.
“Indeed, we’re almost there. Once we reach the border, we’ll find a place to rest and recuperate,” Jiang Ni said, a hint of worry coloring her tone. “I’m afraid the lord’s physical condition won’t hold out much longer.”
Ying Laixian’s palms were slick with sweat. “It’s fine. We’ll readjust once we hit the border before pushing on.”