Chapter 942: The Iron Sword Remains, the Face Unchanged
Turning right into a small alley called Sanhe Lane, walking to its end, and pushing open a slightly worn wooden door, one would find the small courtyard where he had lived for several years.
The courtyard was very small, only about ten feet square, but it was extremely clean. The ground was paved with white stones, and among the white stones grew a green pine tree less than a man's height, standing out beautifully against the gray walls and black eaves.
Surrounding the courtyard were the Heavenly Tree Servant Temples of Song Town, making it very quiet. Apart from the bell tolls at dawn and dusk, no other noise could be heard.
It could be said that this small courtyard was the finest building in Song Town, though not many people knew it.
Xuan Yuan Po walked across the ground paved with white stones, sat down on the wooden floorboards in front of the house, took off his shoes, and put on a clean pair of white socks.
Before entering the house, he glanced at the woodpile by the door.
The woodpile was not tall, but it was stacked very neatly. If one looked closely, one would even notice that every piece of firewood was almost identical in length and thickness.
Xuan Yuan Po was silent for a moment, then reached out and slowly pulled an iron rod from the woodpile.
That iron rod had no edges, let alone any sharpness. It looked utterly ordinary and unremarkable.
In fact, it was a sword.
No matter how the Hundred Weapons Ranking was arranged, this sword would definitely rank in the top ten.
Who could have imagined that the legendary Shanhai Sword was now in a small courtyard in the slums of White Emperor City, casually stuck into a woodpile by its owner?
Although its treatment at the National Teaching Academy had been similar back then—it had to endure kitchen smoke and even stir the charcoal in the stove.
Xuan Yuan Po carried the iron sword and pushed open the door to enter the house.
The interior of the house was also very small. It held a low table and several cushions, with a paper door in the middle separating the living area.
Xuan Yuan Po stared at that paper door, his left hand gripping the iron sword tightening slightly. His breathing remained steady, but his expression turned extremely solemn.
The paper door was very thin. Even without using the Shanhai Sword, with his burly and robust physique, he could probably blow it down with a single breath.
What exactly was he wary of? Was he even vaguely afraid?
Suddenly, a voice came from the other side of the paper door.
"I don't know who you are, but since you could sense our presence as soon as you entered the courtyard, you must be a cultivator. Please come in and speak."
Xuan Yuan Po showed no surprise. He looked at the paper door and said in a deep voice, "Who are you?"
...
...
On the other side of the paper door.
The room was somewhat dim. Occasionally, light from a flying carriage in the sky passed through the high window, illuminating it for a moment.
There were traces of blood on the wall, faintly tinged with gold, but no longer any fluctuation of energy.
A Daoist nun sat against the wall. Her face was delicate, her age impossible to tell. Her brows were filled with ferocity, but her eyes were full of fear.
A scholar sat beside her. His face was slightly pale, but his expression was calm as usual.
They were Bie Yang Hong and Wu Qiong Bi. If not for the fact that the Shepherd Lady had to maintain the barrier over White Emperor City and the Black Robe had to conceal the heavenly secrets, they would not have been able to escape alive today. Even so, they had been severely wounded by those two angels, paying a tremendous price.
Hearing Bie Yang Hong's words, Wu Qiong Bi was shocked and angry. "Kill him quickly! Why let him in?!"
"Since he is the master of this place, how can we, as guests, refuse him entry?"
Bie Yang Hong looked calmly at the figure on the paper door. "We cannot move and cannot welcome you. Please come in."
...
...
Hearing these words, Xuan Yuan Po was silent for a moment, then carried the iron sword forward and pushed open the paper door.
The first thing he saw was a pile of crystals on the floor, along with two small pagodas and several pieces of spirit wood.
Clearly, this was a formation, ensuring that not a trace of energy inside leaked out and would not be detected.
Then he looked up at the two people sitting against the wall.
It wasn't that the mischievous child from the National Teaching Academy had naturally become much more careful as he grew older, but rather that so many things had happened in White Emperor City today. The Red River demon guards were still searching everywhere, and flying carriages were still crossing the night sky. He had to be cautious.
Seeing the pale-faced, wary Daoist nun, Xuan Yuan Po was momentarily stunned.
When he saw the severed arm at her shoulder and her body covered in blood, he couldn't help but feel dazed, thinking, could this be the cycle of heaven?
That night years ago, this Daoist nun had come to the capital, cruelly killed a stray dog, and was stopped by Guan Bai, so she cut off one of his arms.
Then she came to the National Teaching Academy, broke through the wall, and tried to kill him, just to vent her emotions.
If not for Su Li's letter, he would have died that night, and the National Teaching Academy would have been destroyed.
In his eyes back then, this Daoist nun was like a true demon—powerful and ruthless.
Who would have thought that when they met again years later, she would be severely wounded and missing an arm...
Xuan Yuan Po said nothing. He looked at the man in scholar's robes.
This man had no wounds on his body, not even a speck of dust, and his expression was very calm.
But Xuan Yuan Po sensed a hint of death.
Clearly, this man was even more gravely wounded, deeper inside his body.
Thinking of this, Xuan Yuan Po suddenly felt a pang of sorrow.
Since the Daoist nun was Wu Qiong Bi, this man was naturally Bie Yang Hong.
Who in this world could wound Bie Yang Hong and Wu Qiong Bi like this?
Back when they were chatting idly at the National Teaching Academy, Tang San Shi Liu had once discussed this question with them.
The only ones who could defeat this pair of sacred domain powerhouses were that other pair of sacred domain powerhouses—the White Emperor and the Empress.
The problem was that the White Emperor was in seclusion, and who was the Empress's helper?
While Xuan Yuan Po was thinking about these things, Bie Yang Hong's gaze fell on the iron sword in his hand.
The Shanhai Sword had slept for many years in the Zhou Garden Sword Pool and had always been at the National Teaching Academy without ever appearing. Even he had never seen its true form. But he could sense that the energy contained in this iron sword was extraordinary. And what about the person wielding it?
This person must be a powerful demon clan expert.
Bie Yang Hong sighed inwardly, thinking that fate was as it was, and there was nothing to be done.
But Xuan Yuan Po did nothing. He neither attacked nor raised an alarm.
He was silent for a moment, then said, "What medicinal herbs do you need?"
...
...
Hearing this, Bie Yang Hong was stunned.
But Wu Qiong Bi said hatefully, "What are you trying to do? Don't think you can harm us!"
Clearly, she had already recognized Xuan Yuan Po's identity.
When she and Bie Yang Hong had left the cliff platform, they were already severely wounded. They had no strength left to fight, let alone stand steadily.
The barriers on both sides of the Red River were activated, and they could not conceal their tracks. They had risked entering White Emperor City, hoping to find a sliver of life amid the chaos.
At that time, White Emperor City was indeed in chaos, but soon many demon clan experts began to appear, clearly hunting them.
They fled everywhere, eventually reaching the outer city along the river, where security was relatively lax. Entering Song Town, they sensed some kind of spiritual energy in a certain alley, followed it to find a small courtyard, and sneaked in. But before they could investigate where that spiritual energy was, their injuries flared up, and they hastily set up the formation.
Then Xuan Yuan Po returned.