Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Man

"Understood, Big Brother." Mu Qingnan nodded and followed closely behind Yu Qi as they moved forward.

Following the footprints on the ground, the two navigated through the orchard until they reached its end near midday.

At the edge lay a precipice.

The cliffside was lush and green, with a single horse grazing on the grass. Not far from the horse stood a simple grave, built entirely of stacked stones. The headstone was a wooden plaque, bearing only a few scribbled characters: "The Grave of Huang Jingjing."

Sitting in front of the grave was a man entirely concealed in white robes. His eyes, devoid of any emotion, stared coldly at the sky in the distance. When he sensed Yu Qi and Mu Qingnan emerging from behind, his gaze shifted toward them. Beneath his wide sleeves, a sword shimmering with a chilling light slid into view.

Yu Qi met his gaze, and as their eyes locked, sparks of hostility seemed to crackle between them.

"A young master of the Mu family—what brings you here?" The man looked at Mu Qingnan, who had previously collided with him, his voice icy and merciless.

Mu Qingnan felt his hair stand on end, and he instinctively hid behind Yu Qi.

"Did you kill Huang Zaoze?" Yu Qi grasped the hilt of his blade, Frost, behind his back, a faint aura radiating from his body. He was tense; this was the first time he had faced an enemy of comparable strength.

"And what if I did? What if I didn't?" The cold light in the man's eyes intensified, and the sword beneath his sleeve was now fully drawn.

Yu Qi left Mu Qingnan behind and slowly walked toward the man. "I don't know your reasons for killing him, but the Huang family no longer has any masters left to protect them. His wife and son have no means to defend themselves. How could you have the heart to do this?"

"Have the heart?" The man laughed upon hearing this, his eyes filled with mockery. "Do people like you—scions of wealthy, powerful clans—have any right to speak to me about having a heart?"

The man stood up, the mockery in his eyes transforming into raw fury. "The owner of this grave was my sister. Four years ago, she went to serve as a maid in the Huang household to support me, but that wretch Huang Zaoze coveted her beauty and forced himself upon her."

The man’s body suddenly erupted with a fierce, overwhelming momentum. He roared, "My sister could not bear such humiliation and took her own life. If I hadn't met my master, I would have starved to death long ago. What do you pampered sons of the wealthy know? Living your whole lives under the glory of your fathers, what right do you have to talk about 'having a heart'? Do you even know how many people among the families affiliated with your Mu clan use your protection to commit heinous, cold-blooded acts?"

The man's eyes were consumed by rage. He raised his arm, pointed his sword at Yu Qi, and lunged forward with blinding speed.

Yu Qi, still reeling from the man's words, felt a sharp, piercing force and could only raise his sword to block.

The two clashed, and the sound of weapons colliding rang out across the field.

Behind them, Mu Qingnan seemed oblivious to the battle. A look of disbelief was etched onto his face as the man's words echoed in his mind. As a young master of the Mu family, he was treated with reverence wherever he went; even the heads of affiliated families treated him like an ancestor.

Always living securely under the radiance of Mu Wenfeng, the people he encountered were invariably kind and amiable on the surface. This had led him to believe that most people in the world were good—including those under his family's protection. But hearing that many of those affiliated families were using the Mu name to commit atrocious deeds left him feeling a profound, indescribable ache in his heart.

***

Yu Qi’s sword movements grew faster and faster; he had begun using the "Light" form of the *Whispering Sword* technique. Faced with such rapid strikes, the man could only barely defend himself, and his robes were soon shredded in several places.

A flash of cold light darted through the air as Frost swept across, sending icy currents toward the man’s body. The man narrowed his eyes and poured his inner energy into his blade. His sword became coated in layers of frost, emitting an even colder aura than Yu Qi's own weapon.

He parried horizontally, blocking the strike, and with a surge of force, sent Yu Qi reeling backward, creating distance between them. He then flipped his sword and drove it into the ground. Sharp pillars of ice erupted from the earth, starting from the point of his blade and snaking toward Yu Qi.

Seeing the ice pillars advancing, Yu Qi released a surge of malevolent energy. An invisible whirlwind whipped up around him and rushed toward the ice. The leading pillar cracked, fragments of ice falling away.

However, the wind lasted only a moment before dissipating, and the ice pillars continued their relentless advance. The surrounding malevolent energy was absorbed into Yu Qi’s body in an instant, and his black pupils began to fade into a ghostly grey. Ever since his malevolent energy had undergone a qualitative change, it had significantly bolstered his physical prowess.

Feeling a surge of immense power, Yu Qi swung Frost against the incoming pillars. The slender blade collided with the massive ice, and Yu Qi felt a tremendous impact that forced him back, while waves of bitter cold seeped into his arm. The ice pillar, however, was cleaved in two, crashing to the ground with a thud.

"You are strong," Yu Qi remarked, unable to hide his respect.

"You aren't bad either, but you are still going to die." The man pulled his sword from the ground. A chill, colder than any before, swept across the area, making both Yu Qi and Mu Qingnan shiver.

Yu Qi’s expression grew grave. Aside from being ruthless, this man was immensely powerful. Among his peers, he had never felt such a threat from anyone other than the late Yu Mo.

"Qingnan, be careful. If things go wrong, we might really die here," Yu Qi said, standing before Mu Qingnan with his sword drawn, steeling himself. "He is too strong. If something happens, run—don't worry about me."

"Big Brother!" Mu Qingnan looked at Yu Qi’s back and the man shrouded in frost, a sense of helplessness washing over him. He still didn't know if he was in the right or the wrong. He felt he had failed both the man and Lady Huang.

Just as Yu Qi braced himself for the man's final, most powerful strike, several figures completely cloaked in black robes leaped from the surrounding woods. With a flick of their fingers, a flurry of thin silver needles tore through the air, streaking toward the three of them.