Chapter 42 – The Pit in the Sword Lodge

The odd smile flickered and disappeared, but consternation kept surfacing in the eyes of this Grand Master. According to reason, the Grandmaster had experienced many earth-shattering events in his life, and even if the Eastern Mountain had collapsed before him, it wouldn’t have made him blink, but the shock was so clear.

Fan Xian had been looking at Si Gu Jian’s eyes, so he accurately grasped the big man’s inner thoughts, and while he secretly laughed bitterly, he couldn’t help but feel a little bit pleased with himself.

The reason why he kept looking at Si Gu Jian’s eyes was because there was no place left to look at on Si Gu Jian’s body at this time.

This short old man, sitting on top of a wheelchair, the left half of his face was shattered and deeply sunken, his left arm was also broken, his sleeve was empty and swaying with the wind, although the broad hemp clothes covered his body, not knowing how the injuries were inside, but thinking about it was also extraordinarily alarming.

This was the first time in his life that Fan Xian had seen the Four Gu Swords, met this toughest man under the sky, the Sword Saint Lord who had guarded Dong Yi City for decades.

In his imagination, this master level figure who was extremely skilled in swords, if not floating like an immortal, should at least have a few senses of being out of the dust, however, how could he not expect that the Four Gu Swords that appeared in front of his eyes, was actually this appearance.

Very miserable, very pitiful, only that pair of eyes covered with the innate hostile meaning and unyielding heavenly sword intent, so Fan Xian had to stare at his eyes for fear of being rude.

The atmosphere in the room was very delicate, facing a mythical figure, Fan Xian should have shown more excitement, but he couldn’t, perhaps because he knew that the other party was going to die in a few days, perhaps because he had been living with Uncle Wuzhu since he was a child, or perhaps because both of his parents were superb cowards no less than great masters.

The sword boy pushed the wheelchair under the morning light, and the pale light illuminated the horrible wounds on Si Gu Jian’s face clearly. The sword boy retreated peacefully, and it was Four Gu Swords who was the first to break the silence, staring at Fan Xian for a long time before sighing hoarsely, “Admirable, admirable.”

This great master had the reputation of being an idiot since his childhood, and after his sword Dao had become a great success, he had crisscrossed between heaven and earth, never having any thoughts of bending his back, stabbing the heavens and caving in the earth with such arrogance, and even when he was on top of the Great Eastern Mountain, he was badly injured by the combined attacks of Emperor Qing and Ye Liuyun, he was still as stubborn and ruthless, crying and laughing indulgently, refusing to bow down.

He was the strongest person under the sky, and to make him feel admiration for someone was basically an impossible thing. So when he even said admiration to Fan Xian, Fan Xian’s face couldn’t help but redden, quite a bit embarrassed.

Fan Xian knew exactly what this admiration was talking about; the other party didn’t admire Emperor Qing or Ye Liuyun, but he admired himself, naturally because of those voices that came out last night.

“You’re welcome.” He coughed, hiding his embarrassment, and half-turned his body.

The morning light struck down, enveloping the bodies of this old and young duo. Fan Xian stood beside the wheelchair naturally and habitually, gazing slightly at the scene, a strange feeling welling up in his heart.

This poor short, thin, injured man in the chair was the legendary domineering and murderous Four Gu Swords?

The sunlight penetrated the Four Gu Swords’ eyebrows, glistening and radiating white light, as if his eyebrows had suddenly turned white. Fan Xian stared blankly at that spot, looking at the still intact half of the other party’s face, and suddenly realized that this Grand Master was not as old as he thought.

Three years ago, when Fan Xian fled from the Great Eastern Mountain, only Ye Liuyun was on the boat, whether it was the Bitter Lotus or the Four Gu Swords, he didn’t come across it, of course, if he had come across it at that time, I’m afraid he wouldn’t have been able to escape back to Kyoto later on, so he didn’t know clearly what had happened on the mountain at that time, and he didn’t see the mournful scene of a single sword chilling Duo Yu Peak, chopping off all of the tiger guards, and spreading the paths of the mountain in blood.

But this did not affect his hidden fear of the Four Gu Swords, because he knew that this great master also really had a few crazy intentions, and that someone who was able to kill a hundred tiger guards could naturally kill himself with ease.

Fan Xian has not met with the Four Gu Swords in the past, but he is no stranger to this Great Master, because since he entered Kyoto, the Dongyi City Sword Lodge has become the role of the Supervisory Yuan, the Princess, and even the court of the State of Qing and even His Majesty, the role of the black pot that he likes to use to take the blame for, and anyway, this Great Master does not come out of the Sword Lodge, and also has to let the shameful people of the State of Qing splash dirty water on him.

Because of the Princess’s sake, Fan Xian led the Supervisory Yuan and Dongyi City’s Sword Lodge, in those years in the fight to the death, starting from the battle of Oxford Street, each other as the enemy, each means, until the last Fan Xian went down to the south of the Yangtze River, with the shadow of the force, only to Yun Zhilan a set of people drove back.

However, Fan Xian knew very well that this was because the Four Gu Swords had not been bothering to deal with himself, and if the other party really wanted to kill him, perhaps he would have died many years ago.

And after this, Fan Xian successfully inherited the inner treasury, and the Four Gu Swords acted extraordinarily like a mature politician rather than an idiot with superhuman force in vain at this moment, and he put aside past grudges and sent his favorite shut-in disciple, Wang Thirteen Lang, to express his attitude to Fan Xian.

So Fan Xian was very familiar with the Four Gu Swords, or rather, he thought he was very familiar with the Four Gu Swords, but it was only after meeting him today that he realized that the other party was still a stranger to him, an unfathomable, terrifying stranger who didn’t know his temperament.

There seemed to be an invisible pressure within the sword hut that was emanating from the injured man in the wheelchair, making it a little hard for Fan Xian to breathe.

“I didn’t kill you back then, not because I despised you.” The Four Gu Swords suddenly hissed and scoffed, “The reason I didn’t kill you was very simple, only that you yourself weren’t clear about it.”

As soon as the Four Gu Swords opened their mouths, the sense of oppression that permeated the courtroom weakened slightly. Fan Xian’s heart was relieved and he hurriedly said, “Please enlighten me.”

“Your mother’s surname is Ye, isn’t that reason clear?” Si Gu Jian’s brows furrowed, as if he hadn’t expected Fan Xian to be so stupid, and he cursed with some annoyance.

Fan Xian shrugged his shoulders, still really somewhat unable to figure out this reason, but today’s deep dive into the Sword Lodge wasn’t to catch up with Four Gu Swords, but rather to talk about the future of Dong Yi City, the future of the world.

Characters who are qualified to talk about the world have gradually become fewer, Bitter Lotus has died, Ye Liuyun has really disappeared, after the Great Eastern Mountain incident, a lot of people have died, within the Sword Lodge today, there is the Emperor of Northern Qi, there is Fan Xian, and there is the Four Gu Swords, and all of them are characters who are qualified to sit down and talk about the world.

“I believe that you have already read the planning book that I had Thirteen Lang bring back.”

The first planning book was a very new term, in the fourth year of the Qingli calendar, Fan Xian had once had Fan Sicheng write a copy of the first planning book for the opening of the Tanya Bookstore, and then this year, he had written a copy of his own and sent it to the Four Gu Swords, wanting to persuade the great master, who was of a strange and hostile temperament, to accept his own proposal.

“I didn’t read it.” Si Gu Jian said indifferently.

When these words came out, Fan Xian’s heart was like a heavy blow, not knowing exactly what the other party thought in his heart, his own hard work to draw up the article program, originally thought that he could at least be able to impress the other party a little bit, but if the other party didn’t even take a look at it, then how could he talk about it?

“The Southern Qing’s mission hasn’t arrived yet, what’s your hurry?” Si Gu Jian looked at him mockingly.

Fan Xian fell silent and suddenly spoke, “In my letter last year, I reported to you that I was certain of controlling Northern Qi, and if you trust me, I can also allow for the greatest degree of preservation of the independence of Dong Yi City.”

Si Gu Jian looked at him silently, his twisted and sunken horror cheeks lined with those calm eyes, appearing extraordinarily serene, but within the serenity there was a chilling hint of madness caught in the middle of it.

“That kid is actually a female, I really didn’t expect that, that’s why I said I admired you earlier. But if you say that with this, you’re going to convince me that you’re capable of controlling the entire situation, it seems that you’re still a bit short.” Four Gu Jian sanded his voice and said mockingly, “That father of yours, he’s not an ordinary person, if you can’t satisfy him, how can you bluff your way through?”

What Emperor Qing asked for was naturally to swallow Dong Yi City within the boundaries. Four Gu Jian is also clear in his own death, Dongyi City and the surrounding small vassal states, no longer able to protect themselves, only waiting to be swallowed by the fate, but now since there is the North Qi out of the horizontal one, Dongyi City lineage, of course, to sell, hoping to be able to try to save their own.

This itself is two completely different directions, and to make the emperor satisfied, but also four Gu sword satisfaction, for Fan Xian, is almost a difficult task, as the saying goes, the brother lost sister-in-law’s will, the building of the girl left and right, it is difficult to play to such a realm.

The key now is still the Four Gu Swords, as long as he nods, everything is fine. Fan Xian thought in his heart, and naturally pushed the wheelchair, and started walking on the loess road around the sword mound, pushing the severely injured Si Gu Jian to start basking in the sun.

Si Gu Jian closed his eyes, enjoying the sunlight shining on his body, and suddenly said: “You are quite skilled at pushing the wheelchair, better than those children. Why don’t you stay and take care of me for the next few months?”

Fan Xian smiled and replied, “There’s no harm in taking care of you for a few months. It’s just that you have to take a look at those things, the millions of people in Dongyi City are all watching and waiting for you, so you have to have some ideas.”

“As for pushing a wheelchair, I’m used to pushing it in Kyoto.”

“Oh, come to think of it, that old black dog’s leg was broken a long time ago.” Four Gu Jian suddenly sighed, “The biggest mistake I made during these twenty years is actually getting the target wrong, I have always taken your emperor as my biggest target, but I have never thought that if I had killed Chen Pingping in the beginning, perhaps right now your emperor would not be so arrogant to this extent.”

The very plain words hid a very powerful confidence, as if a terrifying figure like the President of the Supervisory Academy could be killed if the Four Gu Swords wanted to.

For some reason, the sea breeze around the sword mound was slightly stuttering, and with the sword intent in Si Gu Jian’s words, it was hard to move. Fan Xian’s heart was viciously stabbed, and his face turned pale, and only then did he feel the true realm of a great master. As soon as he thought about it, his surroundings even sensed it, and his killing intent was so great that it was difficult to bear the burden.

His hands pressed down hard on the back of the wheelchair, forcing himself to support himself, and with extreme difficulty, he said, “With your cultivation, if you focus on killing Dean Chen, he naturally won’t be able to live for too long, but the problem is that if you kill him, Ye Liuyun will naturally come to kill your people in Dong Yi City.”

He breathed hard for a moment before slowly saying, “Even if everyone in your family is dead, but you still have disciples, Dongyi City still has the City Lord’s Mansion …… Lord Sword Saint, just as His Majesty said, monsters like the Great Master should not have existed in the world in the first place, and since you all appeared, you can’t make a reckless move anymore, just a dead thing that maintains the balance.”

“Hmm, that makes sense.” Si Gu Jian said with his head lowered.

Fan Xian continued to say with a hard smile, “Sometimes I’m glad for the people of the world, whether it’s Master Bitter Lotus or you, there’s always something tied to your heart, such as Northern Qi, such as the city of Dongyi, if you’re really an idiot who acts according to his preferences, yet you have the power of a great master, I’m afraid that the entire world would be in chaos.”

“Of course.” He said in an aggravated tone, “If that were the case, I wouldn’t presume to convince you of anything.”

Four Gu Swords was silent for a long time before suddenly speaking, “Last night, you brought me a lot of shock. It turns out that your so-called bottom card is in that little emperor. I admit that you have the qualifications to negotiate with me, and I also admit that I do care about the future of Dongyi City …… This may be a habit, a habit that I have to bring under the earth even if I die, I am used to protecting the people of this city.”

He turned back to me and said in a hoarse voice, “So you just need to satisfy me, and I will satisfy you.”

“Nominal submission, garrison, fifty years unchanged.” Fan Xian’s heart beat faster as he looked him in the eye and threw out a few words unusually quickly. These words had already been spoken to Wang Thirteen Lang when he was in Qingzhou, and today he was just repeating them in front of Si Gu Jian.

“Garrison?” The Four Gu Swords laughed out loud, his laughter seeming extraordinarily shrill, piercing Fan Xian’s eyes with a sharp pain that no amount of true qi protection could resist.

His face turned pale as he stifled a grunt and cursed, “It’s not like you’re going to kill me, so what’s the point of torturing me like this?”

Four Gu Swords couldn’t help but be stunned at these words, shrugging his shoulders, he said, “It’s just a habitual laugh or two, what does it have to do with torture?”

“The Emperor of Northern Qi is actually a woman, tsk tsk.” The Four Gu Swords didn’t seem to have listened to Fan Xian’s offer at all, and still remained immersed in this fact, seemingly delighted to have finally learned a certain secret before his own death.

Fan Xian finally realized the eccentricity of this Grand Master’s disposition, and in a split second, his face turned odd when he thought that War Doudou was still in his room catching up on his sleep at this time, and that it was hard to believe that this Grand Master had been listening to the wall for the whole night last night.

He subconsciously went to look under Si Gu Jian’s eyes, whether there were deep dark circles under his eyes, whether there were long chicken eyes. At that exact moment, Si Gu Jian also looked over, looked at the green circles on Fan Xian’s eyes, frowned, and said, ”Even if you’re a female emperor and only get it once every few years, you still have to take it easy. If you want to die from indulgence, I can’t promise you even if I want to.”

When these words came out, while Fan Xian was greatly embarrassed, he had a flash of insight and heard that last sentence clearly, his lips trembling slightly, not knowing how to answer.

The morning light grew, reflecting the shadow of the wheelchair in the mound of swords, as if it was worn on those countless swords, looking pitiful. Fan Xian quietly looked at the shadow there, and suddenly thought of the familiar figure he had seen behind the second door when he entered the Sword Lodge and was chased by Wolf Peach and Yun Zhilan.

At that time, he even thought that it was that person who had come, but at that moment, looking at the shadow in the sword mound, he realized that his guess had gone wrong, and that what had appeared behind the second door at that time was none other than the Sigu Sword himself, only that it had not occurred to him that the feeling of him sitting in a wheelchair was so similar to that of Chen Pingping.

Seemingly guessing what he was thinking, Four Gu Swords said coldly, “Under my watch, no one can touch you.”

However, Fan Xian did not feel the slightest bit safe, quietly looking at Si Gu Jian, analyzing quickly in his mind, he suddenly spoke, “Just because no one can, doesn’t mean no one dares. Yun Zhilan dared to put Thirteen Lang under house arrest, dared to make a private deal with the Qi people, and dared to hunt me down and kill me in front of you ……”

His heart was still shocked. Although the Four Gu Swords had expelled Yun Zhilan and Wolf Peach from the Lodge with a light touch, shocking the entire audience, but with his understanding of the Grand Master realm, the Four Gu Swords would not have needed to appear behind the Second Gate, and that outburst at that time only proved one point of truth, that the Four Gu Swords’ strength nowadays was indeed not as good as it had been at its heyday.

“I can’t get out of the Lodge now, because no one dares to push me around.” Si Gu Jian’s eyes became a bit strange, once again guessing the thoughts in Fan Xian’s mind, “Your old man and Ye Liuyun hurt me too badly, originally I was a person who should have died a long time ago, and I was lucky enough to survive until now, but I can’t move any more, and I can only sit in this damned wheelchair, and even though I want to kill someone, I can’t run any more… . well, those who want to be killed by me, as long as they stay away from me, there’s not much I can do.”

Fan Xian’s heart suddenly flashed with a hint of gloom, such a great master, in the end, had ended up in such a field, sealing himself in a sword hut and not being allowed to come out.

“Of course, no one dares to try it.” Si Gu Jian said with his eyes closed, “You are still safe as long as you are by my side.”

Fan Xian suddenly spoke, “How many days do you have left to live?”

Four Gu Swords snapped his eyes open, seemingly enraged by this bold question, and his gaze pierced straight into the deepest recesses of Fan Xian’s heart like a heavenly sword.

Fan Xian’s eyes stung and he hurriedly closed them.

After a long time, the Four Gu Swords said quietly, “There’s about a hundred days left.”

Fan Xian opened his eyes, somewhat afraid to look at this Great Master whose joy and anger were hard to suppress.

The Four Gu Swords stared blankly at the deep pit at his feet, looked at the sword branches swaying in the wind in the pit, and listened to the crunching sound of the nails as they were nailed, not knowing what he was thinking. Perhaps he was thinking about the countless magnificent moments in this life, the countless sword strikes, the countless victories, thinking about those who died under his own sword, his expression gradually becoming gloomy.

He had only lost once in his life, on top of the Great Eastern Mountain, yet he had lost so completely that now he had to engage in such a humiliating conversation with a junior, beside this sword pit.

“I once relied on the sword in my hand to control Dong Yi City and the countless vassals and small states around it.” The Four Gu Swords suddenly spoke indifferently, “But it was only in the last period of my life that I realized that what I could control was still only this grass hut and this pit.”

Fan Xian bowed his head in a deep salute, knowing that the other party had finally made up his mind, and said, “This worship, on behalf of the people and army of Qing Guo as well as the people of Dongyi City, I would like to thank Lord Sword Saint for his mercy.”

“No need to thank me.” The Four Gu Swords suddenly laughed to himself and said, “If the person coming from Southern Qing wasn’t you, I would have flatly refused to agree.”

Fan Xian smiled, thinking to himself, “The young Emperor of Northern Qi came from a long distance, and you avoided seeing him, indicating that you already had a plan in your heart, so why do you still have to make such a statement? Today’s situation is doomed, if Si Gu Jian wants to save Dong Yi City from the disaster of the sword, there is only this path.

Four Gu Jian looked at this pleasant young man beside him, his mood was also a bit strange. He must admit that although this kid’s strength was rather poor, but his luck was really good, he actually managed to solve a large portion of the biggest problem – the pressure from Northern Qi – in just one night’s time. He smiled again in his heart, thinking to himself that this young man, still didn’t know why his attitude had to be laid on him all the time.

Four Gu Jian would love to see what Fan Xian s greatly enraged look was like when he broke the question at that last moment, just …… then he might have already died, right? He thought somewhat grimly, then turned his head and looked at Fan Xian and said, “You have to believe me, if it wasn’t for you, even if it was your emperor’s old man who personally came to kneel and beg me, I wouldn’t have agreed to your Southern Qing’s conditions.”

Fan Xian was puzzled.

Sigu Jian lowered his head, laughed strangely, and said, “Ye Qingmei’s household registration has still been in the city of Dongyi, so to put it mildly, you’re at least half of Dongyi. It just seems that you never knew this.”