SC Chapter64

“We grew up together since we were young…” The Eldest Senior Brother could not bear to look at the blood-red ground.

Jiang Lingxin sighed as he slowly got up, and stood with his back to his Eldest Senior Brother before saying, “Eldest Senior Brother, many things cannot accommodate human emotions. If I hadn’t been one step ahead, I would be the one lying in the pool of blood tomorrow. How could I not want to be brotherly, supportive, and helpful with my senior brothers? But you also understand that when Master took the three of us as disciples back then, it was to select the best and use them, the winner takes all.”

The Eldest Senior Brother remained silent, watching as more and more shadow guards gradually appeared and surrounding him.

“Eldest Senior Brother, Master told us when he left the three lots that day: we could choose them or not.” Jiang Lingxin gently raised his hand, his sleeve slipped down, revealing his slender wrist bone. “The moment each of us, senior and junior brothers, took one, today was already set in motion.”

When Jiang Lingxin’s hand gently fell, the murderous intent of the surrounding shadow guards surged, and cold blades all went toward his senior brother!

“Ah Ling!” His senior brother frowned, his eyes holding sadness, but the hand drawing the saber was steady. Jiang Lingxin turned around, looking at his senior brother he had grown up with since childhood, his expression calm.

He truly was worthy of being the Head Disciple of the Tianyi Division. Even the shadow guards’ tactic of exchanging life for injury could not damage his foundation at all. The saber shadows were like a waterfall, and he moved with ease. Perhaps the killing intent and the sword wind disturbed the little one in his belly, and Jiang Lingxin couldn’t help but slightly frown and press his hand against his faintly aching abdomen.

His senior brother sliced across the throat of a shadow guard with his saber, blood splattered, while the shadow guards’ swords only cut a bloody wound on his arm. He seemed to notice Jiang Lingxin’s discomfort, and when he saw this cold-hearted and emotionless junior brother of his swaying precariously while holding his rounded belly, he couldn’t help but be shocked.

Jiang Lingxin raised his head to look at his senior brother, his face pale as he said softly, “I must consider the child of Master and me, even if not for myself. Don’t blame me, Senior Brother.”

The senior brother’s saber paused, he suddenly looked up at Jiang Lingxin, and said hoarsely, “What did you say?” The remaining shadow guards around were most able to sense the timing, their swords and blades viciously heading toward the senior brother.

“I said…” Jiang Lingxin raised his hand and took a Dragon Tongue Bow from Mao Si’s hand, nocked an arrow, and drew the bowstring taut like a full moon, aiming at his senior brother who was unable to escape the pincer attack of the shadow guards, saying, “Senior Brother, your heart is in turmoil.”

The arrow flew, and blood immediately splattered.

A white jade leaf hanging around his neck fell and shattered into two halves.

Jiang Lingxin slowly walked forward, watching as the last trace of light in his senior brother’s eyes gradually scattered, and he knelt heavily on the ground.

“Senior Brother.” Jiang Lingxin picked up the broken jade from the ground. Master had personally engraved his disciple’s name on the jade. “Why pretend to like me? From the moment Master brought me to you when I was seven, I knew you didn’t like me at all.” No one would want the affection they desired to be divided.

The painted pleasure boat returned to silence. Jiang Lingxin looked tired, muttering to himself softly: “A person who has developed feelings will have a weakness. Fortunately… fortunately, you didn’t leave with me that day.”

“Master.” Mao Si held a paper lantern in his hand.

Jiang Lingxin recovered his senses: “Tattoo the dead with the totem of the Gonglian Sect, and burn the boat. Send a letter to my master, saying that the Gonglian Sect is lurking in Jinling City with ill intentions, disturbing the area under His Majesty’s direct rule. Eldest and Second Senior Brothers died in the line of duty to stop the remnants of the evil cult and should be buried with honors.”

Above Luoxian Lake, the fire soared into the sky, concealing a bloody scene.

Jiang Lingxin, bathed in the firelight from the opposite bank, gazed at the chessboard, pausing before making a move. Not until a drop of sweat fell onto the board did he look up at Mao Si, point to his abdomen, and say, “It’s moving violently, is it going to die?”

Mao Si: ……

Mao Si was the only one of his shadow guards who had studied medicine. After carefully checking his pulse, he said, “The fetal vital energy is a bit unstable. It is best for Master to rest in bed quietly until the little master is born.”

Jiang Lingxin gently placed his palm over his belly, ignoring Mao Si’s words, and looked down at the frightened, restless little one inside, saying, “You have to rely on yourself.”

“Live on strongly. I don’t have time to look after you.”

The power of the Tianyi Division was divided into several parts. Jiang Lingxin had just taken over and naturally needed to expend tremendous mental effort to slowly consolidate power for his own use.

The matter of pregnancy care could only be left to fate. The weather was getting colder and colder. Jiang Lingxin wrapped himself in a large cloak early on. Concealed under layers of fur, his increasingly prominent abdomen was barely prevented from showing any obvious sign.

The room had a charcoal fire burning all night. Only when he was alone did Jiang Lingxin half-slip the light fur cloak on his body down to his elbows, occasionally reaching out to support his heavy, aching waist. The desk was piled high with documents. The sound of the watchman’s drum outside had sounded for the fourth time. The night was at its deepest.

“It’s the fourth watch[mfn]2-4 AM[/mfn], Master.” Mao Si hesitated for a moment before reminding him.

Jiang Lingxin ignored him, and only after finishing the document he was reviewing did he look up and glance at him faintly.

Mao Si forced himself to ask, “Does Master want to rest for a while?”

Jiang Lingxin raised his hand and added a handful of refreshing incense to the ancient lotus censer beside him, saying, “No need.”

Mao Si could only lower his head, not daring to say more.

Perhaps due to the interruption, after Jiang Lingxin recovered from the complex affairs, he suddenly felt a sour ache in his lower back, and the little thing in his belly was moving non-stop.

Mao Si poured a cup of warm tea and handed it over.

Jiang Lingxin took it, and after just a sip, he couldn’t help but frown.

Mao Si said, “I added a little bit of bee pollen. Master, please endure the sweetness. It is beneficial to the fetus in your belly.”

Jiang Lingxin did not put down the cup directly after all, instead freeing one hand to place on his abdomen, seeming a little lost in thought. After a long while, he looked up again and said, “I want news from Xu Shiyi.”

Mao Si understood. After leaving for a moment, he returned and handed Jiang Lingxin a slender scroll from his sleeve.

Jiang Lingxin opened it and poured out the half-sheet of thin paper inside. He carefully unfolded the paper roll with his fingers and scrutinized it. The paper spoke entirely of one person.

Zhou Yan.

The foremost disciple under the Medicine King Valley betrayed his sect one morning and entered the martial arts and the mundane worlds. In just half a year, he stirred up trouble known to everyone in the martial arts world. Wherever he goes, everyone shouts and calls for him to be beaten. There is no other reason, they just heard to the rumors.

Zhou Yan stole the Peacock Plume from the Tang Family Fortress.

Zhou Yan injured Long Shisan, the helmsman of the Chain Dock.

Zhou Yan poisoned the Right Envoy of the Hengshan Sect’s branch.

Zhou Yan killed a disciple of the Bashan Sect.

Zhou Yan owed silver to a Kongtong Sect elder and refused to pay it back.

Zhou Yan solicited prostitutes in a brothel and didn’t pay.

Zhou Yan stole the limping old mother of the Qingcheng Mountain Master and hasn’t returned her yet.

……

Could anyone provoke most of the martial arts world in half a year?

Yes, Zhou Yan.

He causes trouble and commits all sorts of evil.

A wisp of smoke rose as the thin paper burned on the candle lamp. The corner of Jiang Lingxin’s lips curled up slightly, it was a smile that wasn’t quite a smile. For a moment, he forgot the mountains of documents piled on the table, and leaned slightly against the back of the chair. His mind entirely occupied by one person.

Zhou Yan, if you don’t come back with me, I will leave you nowhere to go.

“Hmm…” Jiang Lingxin suddenly let out a muffled groan, the little thing in his belly unexpectedly gave him a few hard kicks. He stroked his high, rounded abdomen with his slightly cool palm. Jiang Lingxin lowered his head, his eyelashes long and dense like crow feathers, concealing the cold light in his eyes. He thought to himself, Zhou Yan, even your little one is fighting for you.

Will you come back?

When the sky was about to dawn, Jiang Lingxin finally finished handling the documents on the desk. The cold incense in the censer had burned out, and a hint of fatigue finally appeared in his eyes.

Mao Si had guarded him all night and promptly offered a warm, damp handkerchief soaked in water.

Jiang Lingxin pressed the handkerchief against his brow to cover the fatigue, his thin lips were pale. After a long silence, he said, “Send a message to Xu Shiyi, tell him to spread news in the martial arts world, saying that… the Wulin Alliance’s treasure map is on Zhou Yan.”

Mao Si understood and replied, “Yes.”

Jiang Lingxin’s fingertips gently rubbed his abdomen, he added, “Tell the shadow guards following Zhou Yan to be careful; they are not allowed to let others hurt him too badly.”

Mao Si paused and said in a deep voice, “Yes.”

Jiang Lingxin tossed the handkerchief aside, slowly stood up supporting his lower back, and walked toward the bed. He took off his light furs one by one until only the snow-white satin robes remained underneath. After removing the thick and luxurious robes, Mao Si felt that his master had become much thinner in the past few months. His shoulder blades were thin, his neck was long, and his waist, viewed from the back, appeared narrower instead of wider, with only his abdomen being prominent. While walking, the wind filled his sleeves, surprisingly giving him an appearance of fragility.

Mao Si lowered his gaze as his fingers tightened, not daring to look again.

Jiang Lingxin did not notice. He lay down fully clothed, closed his eyes, and whispered, “Wait outside, wake me up in one hour.” Time was not on his side. He needed to consolidate the Tianyi Division into his palm before his master returned, and he also needed to get rid of the little thing in his belly.

Both matters were imminent.

When the first snow fell in Jinling, the little thing in Jiang Lingxin’s belly was already over eight months old. His already fatigued body felt even more strained. Sitting too long caused aches, standing caused aches, and sleep came fitfully.

Mao Si advised Jiang Lingxin to go to a hot spring mountain manor in the suburbs for quiet recuperation for a period, but these words were useless.

“Should I lie down and wait to die?” Jiang Lingxin held a cup of hot tea. Through the mist, his eyes were still bright, cold, and severe. “If I can’t firmly control the Tianyi Division, what good will it do to comfortably give birth to this child? How many days can I protect its life?”

Mao Si lowered his head, speechless.

Jiang Lingxin slowly turned the white porcelain cup in his palm and said, “Master is returning to Jinling in the middle of next month…” He looked down at his highly protruding belly and firmly decided: “Little thing, I will give you a maximum of twenty days, not even one day more.”

Jiang Lingxin did not expect that he wouldn’t even last twenty days.

A few days ago, a treasure, the Blood Jade Flowing Kite, which the Wumeng Kingdom had offered as tribute, was intercepted before it reached Jinling. The envoys were killed, and the treasure’s whereabouts were unknown. The Emperor entrusted the matter to the Tianyi Division for investigation. Now, the suspect has been captured and imprisoned in the Ministry of Punishments’ water prison. They had interrogated him for several days but failed to discover the treasure’s location.

Jiang Lingxin’s patience wore thin. He braved the heavy snow to the Ministry of Punishments and personally led people to conduct the interrogation. After thirty-six methods of torture, with blood staining the water prison, they finally extracted the whereabouts of the treasure as night was falling. Perhaps the screams in the prison that day startled the child in his belly, or perhaps the cold in the prison was too much. When he walked out of the Ministry of Punishments, the attendant standing behind Jiang Lingxin clearly saw his master stagger two steps and use his hand to support himself on the door frame.

The attendant was shocked and tried to reach out to help, but Jiang Lingxin steadied himself first, his expression unchanged, as said, “Let’s go.”

The attendant withdrew his hand, not daring to think further. Jiang Lingxin’s hand, tucked beneath the white fox fur cloak, pressed down slightly on his lower abdomen. He calmly stepped over the snow-covered ground and entered the carriage. It was not until the warm curtain fell that a look of unbearable pain surfaced between Jiang Lingxin’s eyebrows.

The wind and snow persisted, the road glazed with ice. The horse’s hooves slipped, forcing the carriage to move slowly. It took a full half hour to travel from the Ministry of Punishments to Tianyi Division. The carriage remained completely silent along the way.

When they arrived at the gates of Tianyi Division, the coachman respectfully said, “Young Division Master, we’re home.”

There was no response from inside the carriage.

Jiang Lingxin was biting his teeth to endure the contractions. There were deep scratch marks on the ebony window lattice. In the dead of winter, the carriage was like an ice cellar without a charcoal basin, yet Jiang Lingxin was drenched in a cold sweat from the pain. His loose hair was damp and stuck to his pale face. The soft, floral-patterned backrest was useless now. The pain below his waist caused him to tremble uncontrollably.

The coachman called out again: “Young Division Master?”

Jiang Lingxin withdrew his cold, trembling hands from the window lattice and wrapped his fox fur cloak around himself, concealing his tightly contracting abdomen. He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse: “I understood.”

The carriage door was the  opened as the warm curtain was lifted. Jiang Lingxin ignored the outstretched hand of the attendant and descended from the carriage himself. His palms were full of cold sweat. The long hood of the cloak covered his sweat-soaked forehead, revealing only half of his pale, slender face. The snow was crunching underfoot. But the night was deep, so naturally no one noticed the footsteps were of varying depths, indicating how difficult the short walk was for the person.

When he reached the courtyard and pushed the door to the room, Jiang Lingxin used one hand to brace himself against the wall. With the other hand supporting his waist, he slid down to sit on the ground by the door. After a few deep breaths, he closed his eyes, frowned, and called out, “Mao Si…”

Mao Si appeared from outside the window like a shadow and lifted Jiang Lingxin from the ground.

Jiang Lingxin opened his eyes, took a black jade token from his sleeve, and threw it to Mao Si. He panted heavily with difficulty and said, “All shadow guards are to withdraw from the courtyard… all of them will guard the outer courtyard tonight… kill anyone who takes a single step into the inner courtyard.”