Chapter 75: Setting Sun Tower
“No way!” The two Black Rank guards hurriedly exerted all their strength, raising their weapons to block those two silk-like saber glows!
‘Clang!’ Sparks flew in all directions, their weapons flew from their hands, blood burst from their palms, and their arms instantly lost sensation!
The twin saber wielder’s long saber did not stop, the saber glow drawing two elegant arcs as it flashed past their necks.
Two jets of blood spurted up, the two Black Rank guards’ heads separated from their bodies with faces full of fear…
In the blink of an eye, Lu Feng’s seven guards were left with only one. Seeing their companions fall without any power to resist, he dropped Lu Feng and turned to flee!
The twin saber wielder snorted coldly, ignoring the fleeing guard. He twirled his twin sabers again, pointing them at Hu San and Lu Feng. Locked by his powerful qi aura, the two felt as if their blood had solidified, unable even to move their fingers, let alone escape.
As for the fleeing guard, before he could rush out of the woods, two black shadows blocked his path. He hurriedly used his family’s kung fu, trying to carve out a way through, but those two both had Black Rank strength, their saber techniques fierce and lethal, clearly from the same lineage as the twin saber wielder!
Under their pincer attack, the guard soon revealed a flaw. He was struck in the abdomen by a long saber, shattering his protective true qi, then stabbed from behind by another blade, piercing his heart!
After dealing with that guard, the two black-clothed men vanished their figures, standing alert beside the twin saber wielder.
“Lu Xin! How are you here?” How could Lu Feng not know he had encountered an Earth Rank Grandmaster? Moreover, one at the peak! “Weren’t you attending the banquet?”
“I’m not Lu Xin,” the twin saber wielder said in a hoarse voice: “I’m just the one sent by my young master to take your life.” With that, he flicked his left hand, severing Hu San’s head.
“Don’t kill me!” Lu Feng screamed in terror: “My father is Lu Jian, you can use me to exchange for money that would last a lifetime!”
“Heh,” the twin saber wielder sneered mockingly: “Unfortunately, I don’t care for money.” With that, the saber glow flashed, severing one of Lu Feng’s arms: “This is the price for kidnapping Lu Ying…”
“Ah!” Lu Feng screamed miserably, clutching his spurting shoulder, and hurriedly begged for life in another way: “Then you can make him do anything for you, he’s an Earth Rank Grandmaster, the Lu Clan’s steward!”
“In Lu Jian’s eyes, position is far more important than a son.” The twin saber wielder shook his head, then severed Lu Feng’s other arm with another saber stroke, saying coldly: “This is the price for attempting to assassinate that mother and her two sons…” With that, the third saber, the fourth saber came down, chopping off Lu Feng’s legs…
Even more cruelly, after severing Lu Feng’s four limbs, the twin saber wielder used his saber tip to seal several of his acupoints, preventing him from fainting, forcing him to stay conscious and feel the pain of his severed limbs, as well as the approach of death!
Lu Feng thudded into the pool of blood, overwhelmed by boundless pain and fear. With a ferocious expression, he roared: “My father won’t forgive you!”
“You’ll soon meet under the springs.” The twin saber wielder gave a cruel smile without concern, raising his saber to strike at Lu Feng’s head!
“Ah!” Lu Feng completely broke down, tears and snot streaming down his face.
But that death-bringing long saber halted the instant it reached his neck. Lu Feng heard the other say in a voice only he could hear: “Right, my young master wants you to remember, he is Lu Yun. He says if you turn into a vengeful ghost, don’t find the wrong target…”
“Lu Yun…” Lu Feng was instantly stunned. This name was naturally not unfamiliar, but from beginning to end, he had never taken that milky-smelling brat seriously, not even meeting him once…
The twin saber wielder gave him no chance to ask, flicking his wrist to sever Lu Feng’s head.
After the twin saber wielder wiped the blood from his long saber on Lu Feng’s body, his two black-clothed subordinates silently emerged, efficiently cleaning up the corpses on the ground, loading them into Lu Feng’s carriage, and transporting them to the valley in the east for burial.
The twin saber wielder confidently let them handle the aftermath. These dead soldiers were far more capable than those by Lu Yun’s side, so there was nothing to worry about.
.
Summer Palace.
Lu Yun waited idly for another two days, and the opportunity finally appeared…
That evening, as usual on the Flower Viewing Platform, he read a book while peeping at Yaoguang Hall. He saw the First Prince go to pay respects to the Initial Emperor, but instead of staying indoors as usual, he descended from Yaoguang Hall in a carried sedan, without attendants or guards, and strolled alone in the garden.
How could Lu Yun miss this heaven-sent opportunity? He immediately hurried down from the Flower Viewing Platform to the Setting Sun Tower a hundred steps away… He was already intimately familiar with the Summer Palace’s Outer Palace. Seeing the First Prince’s path, he could determine that the destination was definitely this tower for viewing the setting sun!
Upon reaching the Setting Sun Tower, Lu Yun sat upright, holding a scroll and pretending to read, quietly waiting for the First Prince to appear.
Sure enough, after the time for a cup of tea, footsteps came from the stairs—someone was coming up…
It was none other than the current crown prince Huangfu Xuan. His hands were clasped behind his back, his upper body slightly leaning forward, his steps heavy and slow beyond his years. He was only twenty this year, tall and slender with clear brows and handsome eyes, but thick, unsolvable worry hung between his brows, and his melancholic eyes were full of troubles.
The First Prince Huangfu Xuan ascended the Setting Sun Tower with heavy thoughts, only then noticing someone already reading on the tower. Instinctively, he wanted to turn and go down, but that person looked up at him.
Seeing the other had noticed him, to maintain the prince’s poise, Huangfu Xuan dispelled the thought of going downstairs immediately, slowly ascending to the platform. He gave Lu Yun a calm glance, seeing a upright-looking, honest and kind young man who seemed harmless, which slightly eased his guard.
Seeing Huangfu Xuan in casual clothes, Lu Yun pretended not to know his identity, smiling as he stood to greet: “This brother is also here to view the sunset?”
Huangfu Xuan was taken aback, but seeing Lu Yun’s age and attire, he immediately understood—the other probably didn’t recognize him. His heart relaxed a bit more…
Huangfu Xuan nodded slightly without replying, walking to the edge of the tower, hands on the railing, gazing into the distance. At this time, the sun was setting in the west, dusk spreading hazily, and in the distant Luojing City, cooking smoke rose gracefully from ten thousand households.
One could imagine those thousands of families finishing a day’s labor, gathering for dinner, enjoying that warm family affection. Huangfu Xuan’s mood sank even lower—this family affection that ordinary folk took for granted was something he yearned for but could not have…
“Dusk suddenly adds green to a hundred li, the setting sun idly casts a pile of worries…” Just as he was lost in melancholy, he suddenly heard the youth slowly recite a line of poetry by his ear.
‘What a ‘setting sun idly casts a pile of worries…’ Huangfu Xuan couldn’t help nodding lightly—one line captured his exact state of mind.
Lu Yun had somehow come to his side, saying softly: “It seems brother is also full of worries…”
“…” Huangfu Xuan frowned slightly, glanced at Lu Yun, and finally spoke: “You’re young, what troubles could you have?”
“Worries and troubles have nothing to do with age or status, only with one’s situation.” Lu Yun smiled at Huangfu Xuan, saying: “Brother is also here by imperial order to accompany the Emperor, right? We’ve been at the Summer Palace for many days, yet never summoned by the Son of Heaven—our hearts must be in turmoil.”
“I see…” Huangfu Xuan said noncommittally, but suddenly thought of someone. He looked deeply at Lu Yun, realizing: “You’re Lu Yun, right?”
“How does brother know?” Lu Yun said with feigned shock: “Have we met somewhere?”
“Heh…” A faint smile finally appeared on Huangfu Xuan’s face: “Though we haven’t met, I’ve long admired your name.”
“Oh?” Lu Yun was stunned, then realized: “At the previous Grand Court, brother was present!”
“You’re indeed very sharp.” Huangfu Xuan nodded, confirming it. “How is it, Your Majesty still hasn’t summoned you?”
Lu Yun nodded bitterly, countering: “Isn’t brother the same?”
“My situation is different from yours…” Huangfu Xuan gazed into the distance, saying wistfully: “I’d rather never be summoned my whole life…”
“Oh? Why is that?” Lu Yun asked curiously.
Huangfu Xuan shook his head, not wanting to answer, and instead asked: “Was that poem you just recited your own composition?”
