"Understood!" Ling Hu assented.
Zhong Yang Xu turned and approached Shao Deng Yun, who held the Zhanmadao with trembling hands. He pondered for a moment before finally speaking:
"Their deaths are connected to the eldest young master."
Shao Deng Yun asked with trembling lips:
"Have you dealt with him yet?"
"No!" Zhong Yang Xu said with a sigh:
"Now is not the best time to kill him. Perhaps he might even survive all this!"
"Not dead?" Shao Deng Yun turned his head, as if he had heard something unbelievable. His family was under the protection of Dachang Mountain, and one could say their lives were in Dachang Mountain's hands. If Dachang Mountain wished to kill them, it could do so at any moment!
Yet, as it turned out, this only applied to ordinary people, not to his son.
He had already believed he had lost all his sons in a single day. But Shao Deng Yun hadn't imagined his eldest son was still alive!
Hope dawned in his eyes, and he asked: "Why?"
Zhong Yang Xu, staring intently into his eyes, slowly said:
"He said that the death of Ruan Shi and his sons would make him the sole surviving son. And if Dachang Mountain were to kill him, it would mean depriving the Shao family of its progeny..." Zhong Yang Xu recounted everything Ling Hu had told him.
Shao Deng Yun's eyes widened, and he looked utterly crushed.
Until this moment, he had harbored doubts. But now, he was certain who had murdered his wife and children!
He knew it, but some truths were better left unseen. For once one knew them, they became unbearable.
"Clang!" The sword slipped from his grasp.
Shao Deng Yun smiled, then let out a grim laugh:
"Why didn't I centralize all power? Now I'm without hands and feet. I'm still alive, but do I deserve such sins? Is this all because I took a second wife? Bring him, bring that worthless wretch!"
Zhong Yang Xu turned and waved a hand to Ling Hu:
"Bring him!"
"Understood!" Ling Hu assented. He turned and departed.
"Everyone, get out!" Shao Deng Yun roared furiously, and all the people in the palace began to scramble about.
Everyone was terrified and retreated one after another. The palace became quiet and serene. Only Zhong Yang Xu, Shao Deng Yun, and a few other disciples from Dachang Mountain remained.
Shao Deng Yun raised his head to the sky and slowly closed his eyes. He stood there, unmoving.
Not long after, Shao Ping Bo arrived, escorted by Ling Hu and Huang Dou on either side.
Shao Ping Bo appeared calm, as if nothing had happened. He still carried himself like that exceptional eldest young master.
Zhong Yang Xu looked at him with mixed feelings.
Shao Ping Bo first approached Zhong Yang Xu and cupped his hands in greeting. Then he walked to his father and, cupping his hands, said:
"Father!"
Shao Deng Yun remained motionless, then slowly asked:
"Did you do it?"
Shao Ping Bo, clearly understanding the question, rephrased:
"I don't know what Father is asking about?"
Shao Deng Yun's eyes bulged, and he stared intently at his most intelligent son:
"Did you kill your stepmother and your brothers?"
Shao Ping Bo: "It was Niu You Dao." He added:
"It truly was Niu You Dao. If not for him, none of this would have happened."
Shao Deng Yun trembled and asked through gritted teeth:
"Then why didn't he kill me too?"
Shao Ping Bo was speechless. Father and son stared intently at each other.
Shao Deng Yun laughed bitterly:
"Am I, an old man, worthless? Or were you afraid that without me, you would lose control of Beizhou? Scoundrel, you promised me you wouldn't touch them! You promised me you would leave them a means to survive!"
Shao Ping Bo retorted:
"I did promise Father. But how could I keep that promise while under house arrest? How could I leave them a means to survive if I were killed? They tried to kill me. Where were you then, Father? Why didn't you stop them?"
"Smack!"
A loud slap echoed.
Shao Deng Yun delivered a resounding slap to his son.
A red handprint appeared on Shao Ping Bo's face, yet Shao Ping Bo did not flinch.
"Thwack!"
Another slap landed on Shao Ping Bo's face.
Another mark appeared on the other side of his face.
Shao Deng Yun regretted that he couldn't take his sword and cut him down. But out of respect for his mother, he didn't. He constantly recalled the face of Shao Ping Bo's mother. Especially the promise he had made to her before her grave. His heart bled from it!
He pulled at his son's robes, and when they were face to face, Shao Deng Yun said with a ferocious expression:
"Scoundrel! What good is it that you survived? You are responsible for the murder of your stepmother and brothers. This is a brand on you for life. With such a brand, you will never rise. What's the point of such a life? Wouldn't it be better to die?"
With the slap marks still on his face, Shao Ping Bo calmly said:
"Only a living person can have the last laugh, which is why I could not die. On the contrary, I will now fight even harder. And the defeated are criticized differently from the victorious. One who stands atop a mountain does not ponder or hear what thousands below are shouting. They only stand there and hear countless people come, bow before them, and wish them many years of life and health!"
"Lost! Completely lost!" Shao Deng Yun looked at his son in despair.
After his mother's death, his son's character began to change and gradually transformed entirely.
Shao Deng Yun shook his head:
"How could you have changed so much? I shall see how you manage to have the last laugh!"
It was as if only on this day had he truly understood how much his son had changed.
Shoving his son away, Shao Deng Yun shouted:
"Guards!"
People rushed in from outside. Shao Deng Yun pointed at his son and furiously said:
"Throw him into the underground prison! Let him await instructions from Dachang Mountain!"
Several people exchanged glances. But Shao Ping Bo, without waiting for them, turned and walked towards the prison himself. He did not make things difficult for them.
Shao Deng Yun turned and left as well. He was hunched over, as if he had aged several decades.
Watching the father and son depart, Zhong Yang Xu walked to a spot and picked up the dropped Zhanmadao. Then he called a disciple to him and said:
"From now on, we will prepare our own food. We cannot rely on outsiders. Inspect and examine everything!"
"Understood!" The disciple agreed.
When Shao Deng Yun returned to his quarters, he entered a quiet room where no one disturbed him.
Inside, an incense burner held lit candles. A painting hung on the wall. The painting depicted a valiant man seated on a horse. He looked distinguished and warlike.
Below was a plaque with the name of the deceased, and above it, an inscription: *Advisor on Military Affairs of the Yan Kingdom, Ning Wang Shang Jian Bo!*
Approaching it, Shao Deng Yun lit several candles and placed them in the incense burner. Then he stepped back, knelt, and bowed!
After three bows, he trembled and began to sob:
"Retribution! Retribution! Prince, I was wrong..."
When he raised his head, his tear-streaked face was visible.
Just moments ago, before the brutal deaths of his wife and children, he hadn't wept, but now, before the portrait of Shang Jian Bo, he broke down in tears...
That night, with the city gates closed, numerous warriors scurried about, searching for the assassin. It was said that an assassin had infiltrated the governor's palace...
Beneath the moonlight, a black boat glided calmly across the river's surface.
Inside the boat, a small table stood, and Lu Sheng Zhong, seated before it, took out a wooden box. He began to arrange food and drinks.
Tao Yan Er, sitting across from him, helped him set out the provisions. Lu Sheng Zhong waved a hand:
"Before, you always looked after me; now, allow me to look after you."
Tao Yan Er sat down and remained silent.
When everything was arranged, Lu Sheng Zhong poured the wine himself and, raising his cup, said:
"Between heaven and earth, it is only you and I. A clear moon and a river, the wind propels the boat. Let us drink together!"
Tao Yan Er took the cup with both hands and drank. Then she asked:
"Brother, is the deed done?"
Lu Sheng Zhong smiled and said:
"One could say so."
Tao Yan Er quietly asked:
"Am I also to be finished?"
Lu Sheng Zhong's eyes gleamed:
"You think too much."
Saying this, he pulled a slip of paper from his sleeve and handed it to her:
"This is your indenture agreement. You are free now. You may do as you please."
Tao Yan Er took the slip and put it away. Then she quietly asked:
"Where are we sailing?"
Lu Sheng Zhong: "Somewhere. Tomorrow we will dock, and you may go your own way!"
Tao Yan Er: "I don't know where to go. Can we go together?"
Lu Sheng Zhong shook his head negatively.
The two drank some wine, then spoke a little under the moonlight.
That night, they both shed their clothes, and Tao Yan Er herself chose to offer Lu Sheng Zhong warmth and tenderness. The boat rocked, but after a while, it stilled.
Tao Yan Er looked at the sleeping man and quietly rose. She went to the stern and, clinging to the boat, silently lowered herself into the water. Then she dived and disappeared.
After a while, Tao Yan Er's head appeared on the water's surface. She resurfaced to gasp for air. Just then, a gleam flashed under the moonlight, piercing the water and then the girl's back. Scarlet blood spread across the water.
Tao Yan Er moaned. She looked back and saw Lu Sheng Zhong standing on the boat, one hand clasped behind his back. He was propelling the boat with magical force.
Tao Yan Er clung to the boat and whispered:
"Save me, save me..."
Lu Sheng Zhong crouched before her and asked in surprise:
"So you can swim? I told you you were free. Why did you run?"
Tao Yan Er shook her head in agony:
"You wouldn't agree to take me with you... I just wanted to live."
Lu Sheng Zhong grabbed her neck:
"You shouldn't have run. If I wanted to kill you as a witness, I would have done so long ago. I wouldn't have brought you this far. I truly hadn't made up my mind yet. I thought, perhaps I really would take you with me. Do you believe me?"
Tao Yan Er nodded, breathing rapidly, showing that she believed him.
"No, you don't!" Lu Sheng Zhong shook his head.
He squeezed his hand tighter, as if crushing a nut, then released it and put his sword back. He stood alone on the boat and, catching the favorable wind, sailed onward.
And beneath the moonlight, a single human corpse drifted on the river's surface...