An hour later.
Inside the dilapidated temple, Old Wu revealed a satisfied, yet sinister, smile.
"Young Master, this matter has finally come to a close."
Pei Su looked at the completely unconscious Zhao Lan, who was bleeding from all seven orifices. He said nothing, his eyes dark with thought.
Within the Soul Search Array, every memory from Zhao Lan's life had surfaced.
Including his childhood, his youth, and the recent memory of Xiao Lin entrusting the blade to him before death.
That Xiao Lin had spoken for a long time, covering his origins, how he rose step by step to become the Imperial Guard Commander, how he escorted the Dragon Sparrow to the Northland, and how he faked his death to escape and remain hidden for twenty years...
In the end, Xiao Lin had breathed his last. Following his final instructions, Zhao Lan had set the thatched hut ablaze, burning Xiao Lin's body to ashes to prevent the poisonous fumes from spreading.
In other words, even at the very end, Xiao Lin never mentioned a second drop of the Emperor's blood.
"It seems the drop of the Emperor's blood on that captured Imperial Court official was the only one."
Old Wu chuckled lowly.
"According to Xiao Zhongyong, the moment he saw the Emperor's head, he was so terrified he nearly lost his wits and wished he could flee instantly... Young Master?"
Old Wu turned to find Pei Su's brow furrowed, a dark light glinting in his eyes. He looked up and spoke.
"It's nothing. Just a guess. Let's not discuss it for now."
Old Wu's brow remained furrowed. *A guess? For now...?*
"This Zhao Lan is truly lucky to be alive..."
Pei Su walked to Zhao Lan's side, examining his injuries.
Undergoing a soul search could, at best, result in spiritual trauma, and at worst, leave one a drooling imbecile. But this Zhao Lan possessed a remarkable will; the damage wasn't severe.
Had he not encountered Pei Su, with his talent for the blade, the tutelage of an Imperial Guard Commander, and that faint aura of fortune about him, he might have actually made a name for himself...
"For this boy to survive a strike from you, Young Master, even with the Dragon Sparrow's help, already makes him better than ninety-nine percent of the young bladesmen in the Imperial Capital."
"Contact our family's hidden agents in the Bingzhou region. Take Zhao Lan away and forge him into a deathsworn warrior. His codename..."
Pei Su paused for a moment before saying, "Ghost Blade."
Old Wu nodded, took out a dark-colored transmission token, and walked to the side to whisper into it.
Pei Su knelt, taking the black and white token from Zhao Lan's waist. It glinted coldly in the dim temple.
"A Northland command token! Zhao Lan's biological father might just be a big shot..."
Banxia's lips curved into a smile as she examined the token along with Pei Su. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
After the soul search, they both knew that Zhao Lan's mother was a songstress from a high-class brothel in Yuzhou, while his father's whereabouts were unknown. He had only left a token for his mother.
A smile played on Pei Su's lips.
"Perhaps he's Chen Mang's illegitimate son."
Banxia immediately burst out laughing.
"If that were true, King Chen would be overjoyed. This Zhao Lan may be mediocre, but he's still better than that debauched, philandering Heir of King Chen..."
Pei Su smiled faintly without replying and put the token away.
They were only joking. King Chen was a man of great stature, rumored to be deeply in love with his wife. How could he have an illegitimate son wandering about? It was likely just the result of some Northland general's affair.
But what did it matter? The Pei Family never feared retaliation for their actions.
Then, Pei Su's gaze fell upon the ancient blade standing upright on the ground.
"The Divine Blade, Dragon Sparrow!"
Pei Su stepped forward, took it in his hand, and held the blade level, observing it closely.
Banxia's eyes also shone with curiosity as she marveled at the Dragon Sparrow.
"Worthy of its name as a divine blade renowned for a thousand years. This sharp aura is truly astonishing. With this blade, even Zhao Lan could survive a strike from Your Highness," Banxia praised from the heart. "Truly extraordinary!"
Pei Su examined it for a while longer, then let out a soft sigh.
"A dead blade."
"What?"
"What a pity. Could it be that the Dragon Sparrow had already lost its Sparrow Soul by the time the Imperial Court acquired it?"
Banxia finally understood what Pei Su meant.
The Divine Blade Dragon Sparrow earned its name because it contained the spirits of a dragon and a sparrow. The Dragon Soul had long since vanished—in fact, not a single wisp of a remnant Dragon Soul could likely be found in the mortal realm anymore...
But what made the Dragon Sparrow a treasure among blades was the slightly inferior Sparrow Soul that still resided within it. A single strike could unleash the might of a divine sparrow.
"Back then, when King Chen's wife left the blade in the Imperial Capital, everyone in the Imperial Court witnessed it. How could the Sparrow Soul be gone?"
The Divine Blade Dragon Sparrow was famous throughout the world for being stolen, but few knew that the blade had not originally belonged to the Imperial Court. In fact, before it was stolen, it had been in the Court's possession for no more than three years.
It was originally the treasured heirloom of the Duan Yue Valley, a sect in the Martial World. Later, the sect was annihilated in the "Blood Chrysanthemum Enshrouding Case," an event that had shocked the Martial World decades ago. The valley master's youngest daughter escaped with the blade.
By a twist of fate, that young daughter met Chen Mang before he had achieved his great deeds, and later, she became his wife, the consort of King Chen.
Then, twenty-three years ago, certain individuals within the Imperial Court somehow heard that King Chen's wife possessed a world-renowned treasure. Using old grudges between the Imperial Court and the Martial World as a pretext, they lured her to the Imperial Capital and coerced her into surrendering the blade.
At that time, on the training grounds outside Jinluan Hall, all the great clans of the Imperial Capital were present. Civil and military officials gathered, all verbally attacking a slender woman in white, using their collective power to intimidate her.
There were those who sneered, those who scoffed, those who watched for sport, and those who made snide remarks...
Dressed in white and carrying the heavy, ancient blade, King Chen's wife faced the entire aristocracy of the Imperial Capital with a calm expression, her aura as cold as ten-thousand-year-old snow.
She made a pact: if anyone from the Heavenly Palace could defeat her, she would leave the blade and depart.
The Deputy Commander of the Imperial Guard, Xiao Lin, was the first to fight, but was unexpectedly defeated in ten moves.
He was followed by the General of the Right Capital Guard, Liu Wan; the Governor of the Xuanwu Pacification, Wang Yi; and the General of the Tiger Might Border Defense, Xun Si...
All of them were the Imperial Court's finest generals, yet one after another, they fell to this seemingly frail wife of King Chen. The Imperial Court lost all face, and the onlookers could not help but sigh in astonishment.
In the end, it was a young master of the Pei Family, Pei Jun, then serving as a Longxiang Martial Guard and not yet famous, who stepped forward.
After a hundred moves, he struck the king's consort in the abdomen with a single finger. She coughed up blood and was sent flying backward, severely wounded. She left the blade and departed.
Only later did the people of the Imperial Court learn that King Chen's wife had been pregnant at the time. It was heard that less than a year after returning to the Northland, she gave birth to a son and then died from her grievous injuries.
No one knew if the death of King Chen's wife was related to that strike from Pei Jun.
Because the matter was indeed rather shameful, the Imperial Court secretly suppressed the news. The world knew of the Dragon Sparrow, but not of its origins...
"It seems the king's consort must have used some method to strip the Sparrow Soul from the Dragon Sparrow before she even came to the capital..."
In the dim, dilapidated temple, the ancient blade glinted with a chill that spoke of ages past.
Even without its Sparrow Soul, based on its material and sharpness alone, the Dragon Sparrow still surpassed 99.9% of all other famous blades and sharp weapons in the world.
Pei Su let out a cold sneer.
"Hmph. Without its Sparrow Soul, it's not even as good as my Fengyan!"
And with that, the divine blade sought after by every bladesman in the world was tossed by Pei Su to Banxia.
PS: ① [Blood Chrysanthemum Enshrouding Case]: A bloody incident that shocked the Martial World sixty years ago. Dozens of renowned orthodox sects were massacred by a demonic cult. The bodies of the deceased were all found covered in lushly growing blood chrysanthemums, a horrifying sight. The enraged Sect Master of the Taiyi Sect, Qingyan Zhenren, personally investigated the matter. However, half a month later, he returned to Lianhua Peak to enter seclusion and never spoke of the case again.