Chapter 13

The man in the white robe lightly pursed his lips, the corners of his mouth slightly curling upward, his expression truly arrogant to the extreme. Leaning against the large locust tree and slowly sitting down, he finally spoke a few words in a faint voice.

"Wuguan, Dugu Qiubai!"

Buzz, Zhao Yougong felt a surge of blood rush to his head, almost fainting on the spot.

The Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai? Although the Northern Song Dynasty of this timeline was already in shambles, hearing this name still made it hard to believe.

His eyes wide open, his heart almost leaping out of his chest, he had never thought that he would one day meet the real Dugu Qiubai. The Sword Demon Dugu Qiubai, obsessed with martial arts all his life, no wonder he was so arrogant, for Dugu Qiubai had the capital to be arrogant. The gentle breeze carried the fragrance of locust flowers, and the dew of midnight wet the grass leaves, but his heart felt no coolness. Zhao Yougong was excited, but he did not dare to show it too obviously, for at least until now, he did not know why Dugu Qiubai had found him.

"Dugu Qiubai? Is what you seek failure?"

Zhao Yougong instinctively asked, but received no response. Dugu Qiubai lightly squinted his eyes, his neck tilted upward, as if he had not heard at all. Zhao Yougong suddenly felt very powerless. In front of Dugu Qiubai, all his words seemed to dissipate into the air. Was Dugu Qiubai so indifferent to everyone? What a strange person, truly a strange person.

Zhao Yougong was not discouraged. Swallowing his saliva, he continued to ask, "Who sent you to challenge this prince?"

"Win, and I'll tell you!"

A total of five words, as if forced out from between his teeth, devoid of any emotion. Zhao Yougong was so angry that his forehead almost turned black. His pupils constricted, and he sneered, "Wanting to win you, isn't that simple?"

"Hmm?" Dugu Qiubai's squinted eyes finally opened a bit, but there was more mockery in his gaze, as if he was disdainful of Zhao Yougong's words.

In fact, Dugu Qiubai should not have been disdainful of Zhao Yougong. Zhao Yougong had lived for so many years under the shadow of Emperor Zhezong, how could he be an ordinary person? Zhao Yougong's body leaned forward slightly, and then his right hand clenched into a fist and swung out. The fist opened, and a grayish dust clouded toward Dugu Qiubai. For a moment, Dugu Qiubai only saw a gray haze, unable to see anything.

It was wood ash. Dugu Qiubai did not expect that a prince like Zhao Yougong would use such a despicable means. No matter how much he wanted to beat Zhao Yougong up, he had to dodge the sudden wood ash first. Swinging his sleeve in front of his face, his body shot up straight, and with a kick against the locust tree, he tried to jump out of the range of the wood ash. Although Dugu Qiubai reacted quickly, it was not enough to match Zhao Yougong's preparedness. A gust of wind whistled past his ear, and a chill ran down Dugu Qiubai's neck.

The dust settled, and Dugu Qiubai coldly looked at Zhao Yougong, who had a dagger pressed against his neck, making it impossible for him to move. At this moment, Zhao Yougong's lips curled upward, his eyebrows raised, and a smile spread across his face, as if he wanted to return all the disdain he had just received to Dugu Qiubai.

"You lost, you can tell this prince now!"

"Despicable!"

"Despicable? Ha ha," hearing these two words, Zhao Yougong's smile grew even wider. His laughter seemed to mock Dugu Qiubai, or perhaps it was self-mockery, "What is despicable? Can you explain? Maybe you're right, this isn't what a master does, but I never claimed to be a master, and I'm not a good person either. Dugu Qiubai, besides practicing martial arts, what else do you know? If not for that, I would have been dead for many years. Despicable? Ha ha... As long as I can win, I don't care what means I use!"

Zhao Yougong's face was flushed, from excitement. His voice was a bit high, and it seemed he was speaking more to himself than to Dugu Qiubai. These years, he had suffered too much, and was too tired. Every day, he had to pretend to be ignorant and foolish, and sometimes even act crazy. He did this to make Emperor Zhezong underestimate him, ignore him, and mock him. Over the years, he had hurt many people, and the one who pained him the most was Sakura, the poor woman who managed everything in the Prince of Chu's mansion but still had to face his cold words.

Listening to Zhao Yougong's somewhat scattered words, Dugu Qiubai deeply frowned. He could tell that Zhao Yougong was very bitter, and that he was venting more than anything. But putting himself in Zhao Yougong's shoes, he could somewhat understand him. A prince, who seemed to have everything, but was not truly respected by the nobles of Bianliang. A prince, who had only danger and no friends for over a decade, was truly laughable and pitiful. If it were someone else, they might have already broken down, for living like this was too exhausting, and death would be more merciful.

For some reason, Dugu Qiubai thought of himself. Lonely people all had the same pain, that of not being understood. At thirteen, Dugu Qiubai began his journey, traveling from the northern deserts to the southern rain, challenging and offending many people. Many thought he was inhuman and extremely arrogant, so he had no friends, only many enemies.

Frowning, Dugu Qiubai lightly smiled, "Are you afraid?"

Afraid? Zhao Yougong sniffed, and coldly smiled, "Yes, I am afraid. I am very afraid of death. My father saved my life with his own, how can I betray his kindness? I must live, and I must take revenge!"

Sighing, Zhao Yougong gently shook his head, "I've said too much, things you shouldn't have heard. Dugu Qiubai, I'm sorry, these secrets cannot be revealed, so this prince must kill you!"

With the thought of killing, Zhao Yougong's entire demeanor changed. His face was resolute, his lips curled, and he looked unbearably ruthless. For self-preservation, even Dugu Qiubai could not be spared, though he revered Dugu Qiubai, they were not friends, so Zhao Yougong did not dare to take the risk.

Faced with this sudden killing intent, Dugu Qiubai seemed unaware. Leaning against the locust tree, his face returned to its usual calm, "You can't kill me!"

"Who says?"

What a Dugu Qiubai, still so calm at this moment. Did he really think Zhao Yougong wouldn't dare to kill? Gripping the dagger, just a little more, and he could take Dugu Qiubai's life. At this moment, Zhao Yougong's heart raced, and he felt a bit hesitant, but what could he do? The dagger slowly moved forward...

The spring breeze stirred in the forest, filled with a coldness and a fragrance. Under the dim moonlight, the two lonely men still stubbornly stared at each other.

Kill, or not kill?

Dugu Qiubai finally smiled, knowing that Zhao Yougong couldn't bring himself to do it, though he didn't know why. As Dugu Qiubai thought, Zhao Yougong was still hesitant. Just as he couldn't decide, a slow and old voice echoed in the forest.

"Jiulang, stop!"

Jiulang, in this world, only three people would call him that. One was his late grandmother, Empress Zhu, another was his father, Zhao Si, and the third was his mentor, the nameless old man. Jiulang was a name given by Empress Zhu, with "Jiu" being the largest number in the yang sequence, symbolizing the most noble, and "Jiu" carrying the grandmother's hope for him to reach the pinnacle of power.

Zhao Yougong put away the dagger and slowly turned around. Not far away, an old man in a gray cloak slowly approached. The old man was thin and frail, with a long white beard and eyebrows that seemed to cover his eyes. The wrinkles on his face were clearly visible, making him look eighty or ninety years old. But no one dared to underestimate him, for neither Dugu Qiubai nor Zhao Yougong had noticed his presence until now.

This frail old man was Zhao Yougong's mentor, the nameless old man. If there was anyone in this world who could make Zhao Yougong listen, it was this old man. The old man's kindness to Zhao Yougong was deeply ingrained in his heart, so he respected his mentor greatly, sometimes even more like a family member.

"Mentor, why are you here?"

The old man looked at Zhao Yougong and smiled kindly, "Of course, I had to come, or Dugu would have died at your hands."

"Mentor, did you bring Dugu Qiubai here?" Zhao Yougong looked at the old man suspiciously, not understanding why he would bring Dugu Qiubai, who was such a troublemaker.

The old man did not answer immediately but turned to Dugu Qiubai and asked, "Dugu, can you now tell this old man your choice? Will you stay, or leave?"

"Old sir, Dugu will stay!"

Dugu Qiubai's respect for the old man was truly unexpected by Zhao Yougong. At this moment, his mind was filled with one question: what was going on? What did it mean to leave? What did it mean to stay?

Satisfied with Dugu Qiubai's answer, the old man nodded. Turning away from Dugu Qiubai, he sighed in a somewhat unhappy tone, "Jiulang, I have warned you many times not to reveal your martial arts before leaving the capital. Why didn't you listen?"

The old man was clearly displeased. Zhao Yougong lowered his head and said softly, "Mentor, I'm sorry. I did not mean to. This time, the flower queen incident might be my chance to leave the capital, so I..."

"So you disobeyed my warning and revealed your martial arts on your own? Sigh, Jiulang, I know your pain, but you must understand the risk of revealing your martial arts now!"

"Mentor, I know I was wrong, please punish me!" Zhao Yougong knew the old man's kindness, so he knelt on the ground.

Looking at the kneeling Zhao Yougong, the old man closed his eyes gently. After a long while, he reached out and touched Zhao Yougong's head, "Enough, enough, you have grown up and have your own thoughts. I cannot force you. But Jiulang, remember, no matter what, you must live. As long as you live, everything else will fade away. Otherwise, wouldn't you be letting down your poor grandmother?"

"Thank you, mentor, for your teachings!" Zhao Yougong bowed his head, but his heart was not as he said. Living was important, but what about avenging his father? Could he just let the humiliation he had endured for so many years go to waste?

No, he, Zhao Yougong, could not do it. The pain inflicted by Emperor Zhezong, he would return a hundredfold.

Fate is endless, death is like the wind, in this vast world, who could hear his cries?

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