Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi sat looking down at the wine gourd in his hand, lost in thought. He laughed at himself. “Sorry it took me so long to come see you. Haha, I’m a bit pathetic right now, aren’t I?”

A colorful butterfly landed on the back of his hand and fanned its wings gently, as if Ning Xiu were telling him she didn’t think so.

A smile tugged at Li Guanqi’s lips. He tipped his head back and drained the gourd in one go. He sat on the mountaintop alone, talking to himself for a long time. He didn’t leave until deep into the night.

Once Li Guanqi left, an unseen force seemed to blanket the quiet summit, repelling anyone from approaching.

A four-chi sword of pure sword qi hung from the old tree, standing guard over that patch of holy ground.

Li Guanqi himself didn’t know why he had instinctively come here. Perhaps there were things weighing on his heart that he couldn’t share with anyone, not even Meng Wanshu. Telling her would only burden them both, but telling Ning Xiu was different. Here, he had nothing to hold back.

By the time he returned to the sect, it was late at night. He went to check on Tang Ru and found him silently practicing the Dragon-Elephant Subduing Sutra. Despite the painful training, Tang Ru gritted his teeth and persevered.

Tang Ru knew his own talent wasn’t exceptional, but Li Guanqi had given him a chance to turn things around, and he meant to seize it with everything he had.

Looking at Cao Yan and Xiao Chen, both badly wounded, Li Guanqi felt a whirlwind of emotions.

Gu Li was there too, though his injuries were minor. More than a hundred sheets of talisman paper floated behind him, shimmering with spirit light as talisman brushes flew across their surfaces.

The battle had clearly hit him where it hurt. He had burned through several million talismans, and every one of them represented cold, hard spirit stones. Still, Gu Li didn’t utter a single word of complaint about the cost.

Once everyone’s conditions had stabilized, Li Guanqi said to Gu Li, “Want to go get a drink?”

Gu Li shrugged and nodded. “Sure, let’s have a few!”

Before either of them could turn to leave, Cao Yan woke up and flashed to their side, his face expressionless. “I’m coming too.”

“Same here.”

“Count me in.”

Xiao Chen and Tang Ru had woken up too. They looked at Li Guanqi with complicated expressions.

Li Guanqi forced a thin smile. “Alright. Tonight, nobody leaves Jade Teapot Peak sober.”

No one bothered them after they left the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm. The group flew straight to the summit of Jade Teapot Peak.

They laid out jar after jar of strong liquor, and drank in silence, round after round. Not one of them used vital force to suppress the effects of the alcohol.

After a while, Cao Yan smashed his wine bowl on the ground and snarled, “Damn that Sha! He actually left a fail-safe inside Second Brother’s Ghost Arm!”

Xiao Chen glanced at the shards on the ground and frowned. “Third Brother! That’s enough. Don’t say any more.”

Li Guanqi kept his hand tucked in his sleeve, his fingers running over Ye Feng’s life jade slip. His eyes were lowered, and his thoughts were unreadable. When he spoke, his voice was calm. “Don’t worry. I will bring Second Brother back. Sha… is not someone we can handle right now. So… there are two things I want to say tonight.”

Cao Yan looked up at Li Guanqi and waited. Xiao Chen continued drinking, looking at Li Guanqi without a word.

Li Guanqi glanced around at everyone, his expression softening. “Tang Ru.”

“Hm?”

“Would you be willing to become our sworn brother?”

Tang Ru had grown noticeably thinner. He scratched his head and grinned sheepishly. “I’d like to, but… I’m too weak right now.”

Xiao Chen chuckled. “That’s perfect, though! Haha! What are you worried about? Brotherhood has nothing to do with strength or cultivation. Just look at Coward Li. When he takes someone as a sworn brother, all that matters is whether they click.”

Tang Ru grinned like an idiot and said nothing. His healed eyes glistened with tears.

Li Guanqi turned to Gu Li with a smile. “How about being number six?”

Gu Li shrugged and muttered, “Sixth Brother Gu? That ranking sounds a bit odd. How about Fifth Brother Gu instead? Sixth Brother Tang has a nice ring to it too.”

Li Guanqi smiled faintly, and Tang Ru laughed. “Either is fine with me.”

“Then it’s settled. Tang Ru is Fifth Brother, and Gu Li is the youngest!” Li Guanqi said.

Cao Yan gave a quiet nod of approval. Whether it was Tang Ru’s sacrifices or Gu Li’s unwavering loyalty from beginning to end, neither man had left him any reason to object.

Xiao Chen was delighted. With two new junior brothers, he suddenly had two more people beneath him in the pecking order.

They all raised their bowls and drank together. The atmosphere eased a little.

After a few more rounds, Li Guanqi spoke again. “This doesn’t count as the official ceremony. Ye Feng isn’t here, after all. Once he’s back, we’ll do it properly.”

Cao Yan nodded firmly. It didn’t feel quite right to swear brotherhood with Tang Ru and Gu Li while Ye Feng was gone.

Li Guanqi turned to Xiao Chen, his expression growing serious. Xiao Chen immediately sat up straighter. “Eldest Brother, do you have something to say?”

Li Guanqi nodded and said solemnly, “The Xiao and Ye families are both staying at the Daxia Sword Sect. We can’t let them see how worried we are about Ye Feng. He’s still alive, and we don’t know how this will end. I went to see the Ye family earlier today and told them everything. Second Brother isn’t here, so whatever is going on between you and Qing’er is your business. I won’t interfere or say a word about it. But until he returns, you need to step up and protect the Ye family. If anything happens to any of them, I’ll hold you responsible.”

Xiao Chen struck his chest with a firm thump. “Don’t worry. I’ll look after the Ye family. I was actually planning to bring Qing’er home to meet my family soon, but… the timing isn’t right. I’ll talk to her about it.”

Li Guanqi nodded. “You don’t need to tell me all of that. As long as you know what you’re doing, that’s enough.”

Gu Li was curious. “What was the second thing you wanted to say?”

Tang Ru’s eyes flickered, though he stayed quiet. In his eyes, whatever was going on between Xiao Chen and Ye Qing’er hardly amounted to anything, certainly not enough for Li Guanqi to single it out.

Li Guanqi looked from one person to the next, his gaze grave. For the first time, he felt truly helpless in the face of a powerful enemy.

His voice was heavy. “I’m going to… find each of you a master.”

The others froze, unsure of what he meant.

Cao Yan frowned. “Boss, you mean an alchemy master for me? Are you talking about Senior Gu?”

Gu Li pursed his lips. He could tell that his father’s plans to take Cao Yan as a disciple were dead in the water.

Sure enough, Li Guanqi said resolutely, “You all know I have ties to the Seventh Territory. I won’t deny that, though I can’t reveal the specifics. I’m going to arrange for the Eight Generals to become your masters.”

Tang Ru and Gu Li inhaled sharply, while Xiao Chen and Cao Yan showed far less reaction. Neither of them understood how formidable the Eight Generals truly were.

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