bookrebus Chapter 811 Crimson Sunset and the Unfinished Road (Page 12)
Chapter 811 Crimson Sunset and the Unfinished Road (Page 12)
The setting sun, like blood, painted the vast northern wilderness with a poignant hue. Lin Xue stood beside Zhao Kang's headless corpse, her chest heaving violently, her knuckles white from gripping the long sword so tightly. The blood-soaked blade hummed, as if whispering its own tale of belated revenge.
Warm blood splattered all over her leather armor, the sticky, sweet-smelling odor filling her nostrils. The smell almost made her vomit, yet strangely, it brought a chilling excitement. She looked down at Zhao Kang's head at her feet, his eyes wide open in death. Those eyes, once filled with arrogance and cruelty, now held only frozen astonishment and an overwhelming, unyielding resentment.
It's been ten years.
A whole decade.
It all began on a romantic afternoon in a Jiangnan water town, when her father—Lin Xiaotian, a renowned sword-making master—was accused of "treason" and his entire family was executed. It began when she, the sole survivor, crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood under the protection of a loyal servant, witnessing Zhao Kang—her father's most trusted disciple—smirk as he accepted the Lin family's ancestral copy of "Tiangong Kaiwu: Sword-Making Chapter." It began when she lived in hiding, navigating darkness and the edge of a blade, all for the day she could personally behead this wolf… The seeds of hatred took root in her heart, growing into the sole pillar that sustained her.
Now, the pillar has collapsed.
Lin Xue slowly released her grip on the hilt of the sword, letting it fall with a clang onto the blood-stained ground. She felt an unprecedented weakness, as if all her strength had been released with that single strike. The boulder that had weighed on her heart for ten years was lifted, and a tremendous emptiness surged forth like a tidal wave, instantly overwhelming her sense of vengeance.
She thought she would burst into tears or laugh uncontrollably, but she didn't. She just stood there quietly, the faint smile of relief on her face quickly freezing and then being replaced by a deeper sense of bewilderment.
has it ended?
Zhao Kang is dead, and the Lin family's blood feud has been avenged. But what about the father's injustice? What about the stolen sword manual? What about those accomplices who participated in framing the Lin family and dividing up their assets? Zhao Kang was just the most conspicuous and direct among them.
Her gaze swept over Zhao Kang's corpse, over the desolate wasteland that had just witnessed a brief but brutal battle. This was the route Zhao Kang had secretly taken to transport a batch of privately forged weapons, and also the place she had carefully chosen for revenge after months of lying in wait. Apart from a few guards she had killed, there was no one else. Silence, a deathly silence, broken only by the howling of the wind through the withered grass of the wasteland.
“A completely new battle story…” she repeated the thought that had just flashed through her mind, her voice hoarse and dry, “But what is this battle for?”
To clear her father's name? Easier said than done. Ten years have passed; the evidence of his crimes has long been destroyed, and those involved have either risen to high positions or vanished without a trace. How can she, alone, fight against that deeply entrenched dark force?
To retrieve the sword manual? Zhao Kang is dead, and the manual's whereabouts are unknown. Would he carry something so important with him? It's unlikely.
To eliminate all her enemies? That would mean another long and dark decade, or even longer. Could she endure it? And if she did, what would she gain?
Lin Xue felt a wave of dizziness. She staggered and grabbed onto a cold rock beside her. The afterglow of the setting sun cast a long, long shadow of hers, making her appear exceptionally lonely against the blood-red earth.
Just then, the faint sound of horses' hooves approached from afar, breaking the silence of the wilderness.
Lin Xue's heart skipped a beat, instantly snapping her out of her daze. Her remaining vigilance made her immediately bend down to pick up the long knife from the ground, quickly disappearing into the shadow of a huge rock. Holding her breath and focusing her attention, her eyes sharp as a hawk's, she looked in the direction from which the sound came.
There were only two riders among the few who arrived.
The sound of hooves stopped a few dozen paces from where Lin Xue was hiding. In the dimming light, Lin Xue could make out who it was. It was two men dressed in black, close-fitting outfits, each with a uniform curved sword at their waist. They were agile, their eyes wary; they were clearly well-trained martial artists, or… members of some organization.
"Boss, look ahead, there seem to be signs of a fight." One of the younger men reined in his horse, pointed in the direction of Zhao Kang's body, and whispered to his companion.
The man referred to as "the leader" was a middle-aged man with a stern face. He didn't approach immediately but instead narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the surrounding environment. "Be careful, go and take a look," he said in a deep voice, with an unquestionable tone of command.
The two men dismounted, drew their scimitars, and cautiously approached Zhao Kang's corpse. When they saw the gruesome scene on the ground, they couldn't help but gasp in horror.
"It's...it's Zhao Kang!" The young man recognized the deceased, his voice trembling slightly, "'Black-hearted Wolf' Zhao Kang! How could he..."
The middle-aged man crouched down, examining Zhao Kang's wounds and the surrounding marks. His brow furrowed. "A clean and swift decapitation. The attacker was no weakling and clearly harbored a deep hatred for Zhao Kang. The guards were all silenced; no one was left alive." He stood up, his gaze sharp as he scanned the surroundings. "The person who did this shouldn't have gone far!"
Lin Xue's heart leaped into her throat. She didn't want any unnecessary trouble here, especially in her current unsettled state. She gripped her long knife tightly, ready to break out immediately if discovered.
The middle-aged man seemed to sense something and suddenly turned his gaze to the boulder where Lin Xue was hiding: "Who goes there? Come out!"
Lin Xue knew there was no escaping it. She took a deep breath, suppressed the turmoil in her heart, and slowly walked out from behind the rock. Her long sword pointed diagonally at the ground, and blood dripped from the tip, spreading into a small, dark flower on the dry earth.
"It's you?" The middle-aged man's eyes flashed with surprise when he saw Lin Xue, but then his expression returned to its usual coldness. "A woman?"
Lin Xue remained silent, merely watching them coldly, her muscles tense, ready to fight at any moment. She could sense the powerful auras of both men, especially the middle-aged man, whose inner strength was steady and clearly not someone to be trifled with.
The young man appeared somewhat nervous, gripping the hilt of his knife tightly, and shouted with a fierce but weak voice, "Did you kill Zhao Kang?"
Lin Xue remained silent; sometimes silence is more intimidating than words.
The middle-aged man looked Lin Xue up and down, his gaze lingering for a moment on her blood-stained leather armor and the long knife in her hand. He then looked at Zhao Kang's corpse on the ground and slowly said, "Zhao Kang committed many evils and had enemies all over the world. You killed him, which can be considered as ridding the people of a scourge. We are not his people, so you don't need to be nervous."
Lin Xue frowned slightly, remaining vigilant. The world was treacherous, and people's hearts were unpredictable; it would be naive to think that a few words from the other party would make her lower her guard.
“We are from ‘Shadow Pavilion’.” The middle-aged man seemed to sense her doubt and took the initiative to introduce himself.
"Shadow Pavilion?" Lin Xue's heart skipped a beat. She had heard of this name before. It was an extremely mysterious organization in the martial arts world; no one knew where its headquarters were, nor its true purpose. Some said it specialized in intelligence gathering, some said it was a righteous assassin organization, and others said it had a connection to the imperial court, handling difficult cases that couldn't be made public. Shadow Pavilion acted mysteriously, blurring the lines between good and evil, but its strength was not to be underestimated. How could they be here?
Seemingly guessing Lin Xue's thoughts, the middle-aged man continued, "We have been tracking Zhao Kang for some time now. This man is using the sword-making skills he tricked from the Lin family in his early years to secretly forge weapons, collude with the barbarians of the Northern Border, and has ulterior motives. Our original intention for this trip was to capture him alive and obtain evidence of his treason. Unexpectedly... you beat us to it, young lady."
Lin Xue was deeply shocked!
Colluding with the barbarians of the North? Privately forging weapons?
She had always believed that Zhao Kang only coveted the Lin family's sword manual and wealth, which was why he had so cruelly murdered her father. She never imagined it would involve treason! This was far more serious than she had imagined! If this was true, then her father's charge of "treason" back then would be...
An absurd yet chilling thought arose in her mind: Could her father's wrongful conviction be a massive conspiracy meticulously planned by Zhao Kang to cover up his own treason? He first framed her father, completely ruining the Lin family, and then naturally took over the Lin family's sword-making technology and resources to serve his own treasonous acts!
This thought sent a chill down Lin Xue's spine, as if she had fallen into an ice cave. If that were truly the case, then her revenge had only just begun!
"You're saying... Zhao Kang is a traitor?" Lin Xue's voice trembled slightly.
The middle-aged man nodded, his expression grave. "We've gathered some clues, but we lack crucial evidence. With Zhao Kang dead, this lead has gone cold." He looked at Lin Xue. "Miss, after you killed Zhao Kang, do you know if he carried anything special? Like... an account book, letters, or... a sword manual?"
Lin Xue's heart sank. A sword manual! They really did know about the *Tiangong Kaiwu: Sword Forging Chapter*! She subconsciously touched her chest, where she found a small jade pendant engraved with the Lin family mark, hidden close to her body; nothing else. She had just examined Zhao Kang's body and hadn't found the sword manual.
"I don't know." Lin Xue shook her head, her tone indifferent. "I killed him only for revenge. The rest is none of my business." She didn't want anyone to know about her relationship with the Lin family, especially not in front of a mysterious organization like Shadow Pavilion.
The middle-aged man gave her a deep look, as if trying to read something from her face, but Lin Xue's expression remained calm and composed.
“In that case, let’s leave it at that.” The middle-aged man didn’t seem to intend to pursue the matter further. “This place is not safe to stay long. Zhao Kang’s men discovered his disappearance and will send people to look for him soon. Take care, young lady.” After saying that, he winked at the young man, and the two prepared to turn and leave.
"Wait!" Lin Xue suddenly called out to them.
The middle-aged man stopped and turned to look at her, a questioning look in his eyes.
Lin Xue took a deep breath. The confusion and emptiness in her heart seemed to be injected with a powerful stimulant after learning about the new clues. She knew she couldn't just leave like this. The conspiracy behind Zhao Kang, her father's true injustice, the missing sword manual... all of these were like invisible chains, tightly binding her to this path full of unknowns and dangers.
"You just said that Zhao Kang needed the Lin family's sword-making technology in order to privately forge weapons and collude with the barbarians?" Lin Xue asked.
"good."
"Then my father... Lin Xiaotian, was he falsely accused of treason back then? Was it related to Zhao Kang?" Although Lin Xue tried her best to keep her voice calm, the slight tremor at the end of her sentence still revealed her inner excitement.
A hint of surprise flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes, seemingly not expecting that the woman before him was actually a descendant of Lin Xiaotian. He remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "Our Shadow Pavilion has also paid attention to Master Lin Xiaotian's wrongful conviction. The case files from back then were full of doubts, but unfortunately, due to the passage of time and the involvement of court officials, the truth has never been cleared up. However, based on the clues we have recently obtained regarding Zhao Kang, what you said is very likely...
Upon receiving confirmation, Lin Xue felt a surge of emotion rush to her head, and her eyes instantly welled up with tears. Father! I knew you were innocent!
A surge of grief and renewed hatred instantly filled the emptiness in her heart. She understood that her battle was far from over. For her father's innocence, to expose the greater conspiracy behind Zhao Kang, and to prevent the Lin family's skills from falling into the hands of villains and endangering her family and country, she had to continue!
“Shadow Pavilion… since you are also investigating this matter,” Lin Xue raised her head, her gaze becoming firm and sharp again, looking directly at the middle-aged man, “can I join you?”