Chapter 1822
by 林方方Chapter 1822 No Mercy
Under the watchful eyes of Zhou Ping, Shen Qingzhu, and Lin Qiye, An Qingyu maintained that posture for several seconds before slowly withdrawing his hand.
He placed his chopsticks on the lunch box, his expression returning to its usual calmness:
“Let’s begin then.”
Silence.
The howling cold wind of the desert, like a roaring beast, swept past the Sword Hut, swirling in the darkness.
By the swaying fire stove, four silhouettes remained motionless like clay sculptures, not uttering a word.
Zhou Ping looked at An Qingyu beside him. On the latter’s face, he could not see any hesitation, as if he had already accepted his fate.
Lin Qiye and Shen Qingzhu sat in place, feeling somewhat disappointed, angry, and confused… but in this Sword Hut, An Qingyu’s life was not for them to decide.
Here, only Zhou Ping could determine An Qingyu’s fate.
Sword drawn, An Qingyu dies; sword sheathed, An Qingyu lives… everything depended solely on Zhou Ping’s true heart.
Zhou Ping looked into An Qingyu’s eyes, those pure eyes like clear water, revealing unprecedented disappointment… at this moment, even the Sword Immortal Zhou Ping, who could kill the Supreme with one strike, suddenly appeared much more haggard.
He silently picked up two broken chopsticks of uneven length and shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. As he chewed, the area around his eyes uncontrollably reddened.
After some time, he finally spoke indistinctly:
“…Let’s eat.”
The sword intent lingering around An Qingyu’s neck gradually dissipated.
By now, An Qingyu’s back was soaked with cold sweat, his tense body finally relaxing.
He picked up the chopsticks and empty lunch box in front of him, his fingertips still trembling slightly. Just as he was about to get up to scoop rice from the electric rice cooker on the other side of the stove, a hand extended before him.
“I’ll get it for you,” Lin Qiye said slowly.
An Qingyu paused, then handed over the lunch box. Shortly after, a steaming bowl of white rice was returned to his hands.
“…Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Qingzhu, didn’t you buy some alcohol?” Zhou Ping suddenly asked.
“Yes… but Teacher, can your body handle it?”
“If I can withstand the Supreme Law, can’t I handle some alcohol?” Zhou Ping took the bottle of white liquor, filled the small cup in front of him, and drank it all in one gulp!
“Puh-cough cough cough…” The fiery liquid flowed down his throat into his stomach, causing Zhou Ping, who had never tasted alcohol before, to frown and cough repeatedly.
“Take it slow… that’s not how you drink it.”
“Teacher, we’ll drink with you…”
“Qingyu, pass your cup over.”
“…”
As night deepened, in the howling cold wind, the light from the fire stove cast a red glow on the four men’s faces.
Cups clinked against cups with a tinkling sound. The four men didn’t talk, just faced each other in silence, drinking cup after cup… their cups held spiciness and bitterness, as well as memories that could only remain in the past.
That night, the Mortal Realm Sword Immortal fell drunk in the Sword Hut.
The flames in the stove burned out completely,
The once warm atmosphere gradually sank into cold and darkness.
By the stove that still retained some warmth, Lin Qiye slowly stood up… his gaze fixed on An Qingyu as he calmly said:
“It’s time to go.”
An Qingyu silently rose from the ground, following behind Lin Qiye.
Except for Zhou Ping, none of the three—Lin Qiye, An Qingyu, and Shen Qingzhu—were drunk… or rather, they didn’t allow themselves to get drunk.
An Qingyu made no extra movements, nor did he try to escape. He simply followed behind Lin Qiye, opened the door of the Sword Hut, and walked out.
At that moment, Zhou Ping’s drunken voice sounded from inside the Sword Hut:
“An Qingyu…”
An Qingyu abruptly stopped.
“You were once my student… today… I won’t kill you… but next time… my sword will show no mercy…” Zhou Ping lowered his head, sitting alone in the center of the Sword Hut. In the dim starlight, his expression was unclear.
An Qingyu turned back and gave him a deep look, didn’t answer, then turned and disappeared along with Lin Qiye.
…
Great Xia.
Under the quiet night, a mountain peak nestled in an uninhabited mountain range suddenly began to tremble!
The earth rumbled, birds took flight in flocks,
Boom—!!
An earth-shattering roar suddenly echoed through the skies.
The mountain peak visibly split from the center, prismatic light illuminated half the sky, and numerous shadowy figures shot up from within the mountain!
“Hahaha!! We’re out! Finally out!!”
“Seventeen years!! A full seventeen years! I couldn’t stand another day in that cave!”
“Sky! Earth! Pineapple buns! I’m back!!”
“Seventeen years in seclusion, from entering the ‘Cup’ realm to becoming half-step human ceiling… we should be nearly invincible in the world now, right?”
“Where’s Brother Fang Mo? I couldn’t beat him before, but now I think I can!”
“…”
These figures, both crying and laughing, fell from the sky and excitedly embraced each other.
They all appeared to be around twenty-five or twenty-six years old, tall and robust, with eyes bright as stars and tangled, matted long hair, like a group of wild men emerging from Shennongjia.
These figures numbered exactly eleven.
“Everyone calm down! Listen to me!” one voice rose above the rest, immediately silencing all others. Judging by appearance, he was the oldest among them.
“Have you forgotten what the Heavenly Venerable said twelve years ago? We should diligently cultivate ourselves and quickly improve our strength… If I’m not mistaken, some serious changes must have occurred in the outside world, forcing the Heavenly Venerable to extend our seclusion period. Only this way would we have the ability to protect ourselves before finding Master Qiye.
Seventeen years have passed inside the mountain, equivalent to more than five years in the outside world. In five years, many things can happen…
Now we don’t know the situation outside, so we can’t act rashly, understand?”
Everyone exchanged glances and nodded:
“Second Brother, what should we do?”
Luan Lie pondered for a moment, then said: “Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth Brothers, you carry the souls of Jingwei, Blue Bird, and Bifang, making you the most agile. Fly out of these mountains first and scout the situation in the cities and villages at the edge. The rest of us will wait here.”
“Understood!”
Three figures stepped forward from the group, transformed into three distinctly shaped divine birds with a flicker, and flew off in different directions.
“Second Brother, I’m so hungry…” a round, chubby man squeezed next to Luan Lie, pleading pitifully.
“Fifth Brother, hold on a bit longer… Once we find Master Qiye or Brother Fang Mo, they’ll surely treat us to a meal,” Luan Lie said seriously.
“Really? Will I be able to eat my fill?”
“…” Luan Lie’s mouth twitched. “Fifth Brother, if you eat your fill, the entire Great Xia might face a food shortage…”
“Well, alright then.”
Just as Luan Lie was about to say more, his peripheral vision caught something in the sky, and he froze.
“What’s wrong, Second Brother?”
“Damn… Have I been in that cave too long that my eyes are playing tricks?” Luan Lie muttered, staring at the starry sky above. “Where’s the moon???”