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The Red King glanced at his fellow ruler and simply asked, “What did the Grand Master say?”

“The Grand Master?” The White King shook his head, “It is said that he is not in the palace at the moment.”

“What? He’s actually not in the palace at a time like this?” The Red King was truly taken aback this time, the Grand Master was their ally in the Imperial Capital, and to not actually be in the palace during such a critical time was really…

The White King whispered, also greatly confused: “The Grand Master left the Imperial Capital temporarily three days ago, and only told me that he was heading to the Jiuyi Temple on an urgent matter, and would be returning within a few days – I wonder what kind of medicine he is selling in his gourd.”*

“This old guy…” the Red King was slightly irritated, “How come he never informs us about things?”

The two Vassal Kings were discussing in hushed tones, each with some apprehension in their hearts, not knowing what kind of situation they would face once entering the court today. The White King secretly pointed to the pines and cypresses beside the Purple Pavilion and whispered, “When you came in, did you notice those few men hiding in the shadows of the trees? There is a swordsmanship aura, as if they are under the Sword Saint’s discipline.”

“You are also sure it’s someone from the Sword Saint Sect? I thought I was wrong.” The Red King took a breath and whispered, “Wasn’t their appearance in the world absent for quite a long time?”

The White King nodded muttering, “So today is a very unusual day indeed.”

The Sword Saints have a long history, having existed since the time of Empress Bai Wei, Queen of the Xingzun Emperor. Each generation of Sword Saints consisted of a man and a woman, each of whom inherited a different style of swordplay, and were so skilled that they were considered on a par with the world’s most highly trained magical practitioners.

However, although the Sword Sage Sect often took in talented youngsters from the six royal families as their disciples, they always remained detached from the royal power and did not participate in any disputes in the court of Kongsang. But why would a disciple of this school suddenly appear in the Imperial Palace?

Could it be that this admission to the palace is actually a Hongmen Banquet**?

The two Vassal Kings murmured for a few more moments, but the chamberlain stepped outside and announced that the people were to be summoned to an audience. The White King and the Red King could not speak any further, therefore they could only take their families inside.

Just as they walked in, the doors of the Palace closed behind them.

In that moment, Zhu Yan gasped in shock and subconsciously took a step forward to shield her father – inside the hall, behind the heavy curtain, there were countless blades shining with a chilling light!

They were in danger! At that moment, Zhu Yan pushed her hand to the ground with a quick movement, and in an instant, countless trees broke out from the ground of the deep palace, intertwining across the floor, and instantly shielding herself and her parents inside, making them completely sealed. The White King and his son looked at her, but remained silent.

“Ahem… A thousand trees? Good stance…” A voice suddenly emerged from depths within the curtain, weak and muffled, belonging to the Bei Mian Emperor, “Red King… your young daughter… ahem, is truly outstanding…”

“Ah-Yan, you must not be rude in front of the emperor.” When the Red King first saw the formation, his heart was also startled, and he whispered to his daughter who was on the edge of fighting, to stop, “Remove the barrier.”

Zhu Yan hesitated for a moment and took a look around at the men holding swords, but she could only withdraw her spell for the time being and take a step backwards, standing behind her father, not moving an inch.

The Red King and the White King looked at each other, both stepping forward and bending down to kneel, “Greetings to the Emperor.”

Everyone joined in the prostration. Zhu Yan had no choice but to kneel down together with Bai Fenglin, yet her back was tense, alert to her surroundings at all times – the depths of the palace were filled with eerie sword Qi, and she couldn’t tell how many experts were lurking in the shadows.

“Cough, cough…”

While she was busy inspecting left and right, she heard the Bei Mian Emperor coughing from the depths of the curtain, “At such a young age, you are able to master such profound arts… Excellent, excellent!”

“I am most grateful to His Majesty for the compliment.” The Red King whispered, “May the Dragon Emperor be in good health.”

The curtain moved slightly, being lifted to the left and right and pulled up on the jade hook. The light penetrated beyond the heavy shade, and the Emperor could be seen being helped up, leaning back on his reclining bed, coughing incessantly, his voice extremely weak, as if it was a candle in the breeze, nodding slowly: “The marriage between the White and Red clans… is a good thing… can make Kongsang become more stable. I… agree with it.”

“We are deeply grateful to the emperor for making this possible!” The White King and the Red King had been a little anxious, fearing that something might happen today, but now that they heard these words, a massive weight fell from their hearts and they hurriedly bowed on their knees in gratitude.

The Emperor strained to move his hand, “Rise at ease.”

The two Vassal Kings stood up, but their faces appeared somewhat confused. The Bei Mian Emperor had been in an intermittent coma in the past few days, and everyone thought that his death was imminent, but instead, when they came here today, they found the Emperor in a clear state of mind and talking properly? He seems to have recovered considerably compared to the previous days? Could it be that… the Emperor’s illness earlier was just a bluff?

In that case, who was it meant to fool?

With apprehension in their hearts, the White King and the Red King exchanged glances, only to hear the Emperor cough a few times from his sickbed from within the curtains, saying, “Ahem… the two of you… step forward alone to have a word.”

What? The two Vassal Kings’ hearts skipped a beat, but they were obliged to step forward.

Zhu Yan became anxious in her heart, but without a direct order, she was prevented from following her father up. She lifted her eyes and surveyed the surroundings wordlessly – the imperial chamber of the emperor of Kongsang was carved out of a massive splendid sunken wood, with a magnificent and gorgeous bed frame, and surprisingly, it was also divided into three compartments: the first was for guests to stop over, the second for servants to serve, and the third for the emperor’s bed. In between each of these, a sumptuous curtain was draping down.

Looking beyond the curtain, there were two people standing behind the Emperor’s sickbed. A man and a woman, whose faces were not discernible, but standing in silence at a distance, they already startled her.

These two individuals were both supreme masters, probably even more powerful than herself!

She was just on the edge of her thoughts when she suddenly heard a short cry of surprise coming from the Red and White King, who had just reached the Emperor’s sickbed and who, for reasons unknown to her, had suddenly blurted out a short exclamation in unison!

“Father!” Startled, she recklessly rushed forward.

However, as soon as she moved, all she heard was a swish of wind and two bolts of lightning struck from the darkness with unparalleled force. With a movement of her fingers, she instantly formed a shield – however, only a crack could be heard as the two bolts of lightning came slashing from left to right, and with just one impact, the shield of golden soup was actually pierced through with a bang!

Zhu Yan staggered back, only to feel a mouthful of blood rapidly rushing up into her throat.

“Princess Zhu Yan,” Bai Fenglin on one side pulled her back and whispered, “Don’t make any more foolish moves!”

Although he was only a few years older than her, he had grown up in the midst of power and scheming, and was much more experienced in managing the situation.

By this moment, he could already see that something was not right, and even though his own father was in the middle of it, he did not dare to act rashly. Zhu Yan angrily shook off his hand, touched her face and found a very thin cut on her cheek, blood seeping out and staining half of her face with crimson.

That blow was actually from a sword Qi! In the land of Yunhuang, there was someone who could actually use sword aura to defeat her golden shield! Who could be so skilled?

She raised her head abruptly and spotted the two people hidden behind the curtain – the two figures who, though standing in the deepest recesses of the shadows, had flashing lightning sword rays shooting from their hands, dazzling like the rising sun and so bitterly cold that one would not dare to approach them even slightly. This is…

“Ah-Yan, quickly retreat!” The Red King turned around in a hurry and scolded sternly, “Stop messing around!”

“It’s okay…” the emperor on the sickbed instead, coughed and waved his hand brokenly, “Let… her come along too… Fei Hua, Liu Meng, you two don’t need to stop her.”

As soon as the words ended, the swords light instantly vanished.

Fei Hua? Liu Meng? In that instant, Zhu Yan was stunned and could hardly believe her ears – wasn’t these… the names of the two Sword Saints of the current generation? Could it be that right now, the ones protecting the emperor in the Purple Pavilion Hall were actually the two Sword Saints of Kongsang?

Zhu Yan was shocked and hurriedly took a few steps forward to get behind her father, fearing any further mishaps.

However, as soon as she emerged, someone else quietly appeared on either side of the sickbed and pulled up the curtain for the Emperor, isolating the three of them from the others who were waiting outside. In the blink of an eye, even Mother Consort and Bai Fenglin disappeared from sight.

*Chinese saying: “what kind of medicine is sold in the gourd” which means: the man is unpredictable and scheming, unsure of what one is up to.

– In ancient times, Taoists commonly used gourds as containers for their elixirs. For example, Tie Guan Li, one of the Eight Immortals, used to carry a gourd with “magic elixirs” on his back to travel around the world and heal people. However, one could never be sure if inside the gourd was a healing potion or a strong poison.

** Hongmen Banquet 鸿门宴 – Perhaps the most famous of all Chinese dinner parties is the Hongmen Banquet, which is recorded in detail in the Records of the Grand Historian (《史记》), a history of ancient China by Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) scholar Sima Qian (司马迁). It took place in 206 BCE at Hongmen Gate, outside Xianyang, the capital of the Qin dynasty (221 – 206 BCE). At the time, Liu Bang (刘邦) and Xiang Yu (项羽) were the leaders of the two strongest rebel armies in the country, and they met each other across a vast spread of dishes.

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