Shen Guan’s hand resting on the door frame abruptly clenched. After a long while, a trembling sound squeezed out of his throat: “Shizun…”
The porcelain bowl in Xiao Ning’s hand trembled, and the next moment he stepped forward to shield Shen Guan, his fingertips revealing a three-inch willow-leaf dagger glinting with cold light. Shen Guan pressed down on Xiao Ning’s wrist with his palm and urgently said, “Don’t!”
Jiang Lingxin merely stood still outside the door.
Shen Guan’s face was pale. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, and said steadily, “Shizun, please come in.”
Shen Guan pulled Xiao Ning aside to make way. Jiang Lingxin stepped in and found a chair to sit in without even being invited.
Under his red-flowing sleeves, Shen Guan firmly squeezed Xiao Ning’s hand to reassure him before walking to Jiang Lingxin’s side, pouring him wine, and kneeling to offer it to him.
Jiang Lingxin did not accept it. He only glanced faintly at Xiao Ning and after a long time, lowered his gaze to Shen Guan and said, “Now, do you feel complete?”
Shen Guan’s fingertip shook, spilling wine onto the back of his hand, but he held the bowl steady, met Jiang Lingxin’s gaze, and spoke in a deep voice, “I have failed Shizun’s expectations in this life, but I hope Shizun can forgive me and grant me a way to live.”
Jiang Lingxin sighed almost inaudibly: “Which path Master gave you was not a path to live? Have you ever understood my painstaking efforts?”
Shen Guan remained silent, but there was no wavering in his eyes. Having reached this point today, he had no intention of turning back.
Jiang Lingxin reached out his hand, pinching the rim of the bowl with his fingertips, and said, “You should know that no one leaves Tianyi Division alive. That is the rule. If you insist on leaving, you must sacrifice your physical strength and internal energy, destroy your spiritual foundation and intellect, and end up as a fool for the rest of your life.”
As soon as Jiang Lingxin’s voice fell, a killing intent, along with a cold flash, struck suddenly. The shadow of the blade was swift but extinguished in an instant. The subtle crisp sound of bone cracking could be clearly heard even in the night. In that very instant, Shen Guan’s face turned instantly ashen. Without thinking, he struck with his palm like a knife, aimed directly at the side of Jiang Lingxin’s neck, but stopped just short.
There was dead silence in the room. Xiao Ning’s willow-leaf dagger was obliquely stuck in the table seam, the fine wine spilled, and the porcelain bowl shattered into several pieces, one of which was pinched between Jiang Lingxin’s thin fingers, stained them with a smear of blood. At the same time, a line of blood snaked down Xiao Ning’s wrist.
If the porcelain shard had gone in another inch, it could have severed Xiao Ning’s tendons. The most precious thing to the Ghost Hand of the Xiao family was, after all, his hands.
Jiang Lingxin’s usually indifferent face changed slightly. He looked at Shen Guan and said, “You actually raised a hand against Master?”
Shen Guan’s heart was both cold and aching, his face bloodless. The palm knife was poised by Jiang Lingxin’s neck, trembling slightly, but he refused to back down, only saying, “Don’t hurt him.”
Jiang Lingxin chuckled softly. The momentary surprise was gone, replaced by calm indifference instead: “Even together, you are no match for Master.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sound of mocking laughter came from outside the door. The night wind howled as the wooden door burst open, and a wine jar flew in, its internal energy aimed directly at Jiang Lingxin. Jiang Lingxin flicked his finger, sending a porcelain shard to strike the wine jar. It shattered with a crash, spilling wine and rising in a fragrant mist.
As the mist cleared and the wine spilled, a person leaned against the door, clothes disheveled and hair loose, but his gaze, sharp as a knife, was fixed on Jiang Lingxin.
Old Zhou spoke: “What about adding me?”
