332 Hidden River Enters the Capital
"Such heavy snow. It’s been years since I’ve seen such heavy snow." The man in black was holding an umbrella as he looked up at the sky.
"Only you southerners will bring an umbrella when it snows." A big man who was standing next to him had a sabre on his back. He brushed off the snow that had fallen onto his shoulders. "Snow in the north is not like in the south that melts as soon as it lands. There’s no need for an umbrella."
The man in black continued to hold his umbrella and he shook his head. "I’m used to it."
The big man with the sabre laughed and clasped his fist. "Now that I think of it, I was a southerner too but after living in Heavenly Revelations City for so many years, I’ve come to regard myself as a northerner."
"Has the blade in your hand become dull? You were once Xie House’s most promising disciple." The man in black finally lowered his head and turned to look at the other.
The man was still grinning. He wasn’t considered a young man anymore, but when he laughed, he was still like a youth. "Law and order in Heavenly Revelations City is pretty good. I haven’t used my sabre in a very long time."
"Whether you’ve been using it or not doesn’t matter. As long as you haven’t forgotten how to sharpen your blade, the blade will not become dull." The man in black reached out a hand, watching the snowflakes falling into his palm. "It's really different from snow in the south." The man in black closed his fist and opened it again and the umbrella snapped shut. He waved a hand, drew a thin sword from his umbrella and stabbed it towards the big man with the sabre.
The wind and snow were instantly disturbed.
The big man narrowed his eyes slightly, but his sabre was already raised in front of him to block that thin sword. The big man sighed. "We haven’t seen each other for years and it’s rare for the Head of Su House to visit Heavenly Revelations but you’re already trying my sabre? That’s not very nice, is it?"
"You are Xie Qidao’s most outstanding disciple. Now that he’s dead, I’ve come to test your sabre on his behalf," the man in black spoke indifferently.
The big man sighed and looked up at the sky. "When I first heard the news, I thought it wasn’t true, but now that I’m hearing it straight from the Head of Su House, I have no choice but to believe it."
"Do you lie to yourself too?" The man in black asked.
The big man lowered his head. "It's been too long since I killed anyone. I almost thought that I’m really a blacksmith now." He closed his eyes and suddenly pulled out the sabre that he’d stuck into the ground. He swung the sabre violently, swiping up the snow that had fallen all over the ground.
The falling snow filled the air, and a sword pierced through, stopping right at the big man’s throat.
The big man's sabre was also leaning on the shoulder of the man in black.
The two withdrew their weapons at the same time and the man in black sheathed his sword back into his umbrella. He raised the umbrella and looked up at the sky, as if nothing just happened.
"You’ve come to Heavenly Revelations this time to participate in the battle to vie for the throne?" The big man asked.
The man in black nodded. "Have you guessed it?"
The big man chuckled. "Xiao Chuhe has returned to the capital and Mingde Emperor is seriously ill. The atmosphere in Heavenly Revelations City has become more and more tense. You chose to come to Heavenly Revelations now, presumably this is the only reason. It’s just that we’ve always lived in the dark, yet we’re getting ourselves involved in this conflict. Will we be exposing ourselves to the eyes of all under Heaven?"
"Who wants to live in the dark forever?" A gentle and charming voice came over, and the big man turned his head. A woman in a red dress was sitting on the roof eaves, slowly swaying her slender legs.
"Mu Yumo." The big man frowned slightly. "Suddenly, we have two Heads of Houses entering Heavenly Revelations. Looks like the Patriarch is determined to win in this endeavor."
"You’re wrong. We are not two Heads of Houses, we’re three." Mu Yumo waved a hand, and a scroll fell into the big man's hand. "I’ve brought a letter from the Patriarch. You’re now the Head of Xie House. Xie Jiucheng."
"This is really terrible news." The man called Xie Jiucheng shook his head.
"How many Xie House members are there in Heavenly Revelations?" The man holding the umbrella was naturally the Head of Su House, Su Muyu.
"Eleven," Xie Jiucheng replied. "Ten years ago, eighteen of them followed me into Heavenly Revelations. Five died, one was crippled, and one disappeared."
"Over the next three days, there will be another twelve members of Xie House entering Heavenly Revelations, thirteen from Su House and ten from Mu House," Su Muyu said.
"Is the Patriarch intending to move most of the Hidden River into Heavenly Revelations?" Xie Jiucheng chuckled wryly.
"The Patriarch actually arrived earlier than us. It’s time for Heavenly Revelations to bleed." Mu Yumo's words contained a gentle and charming smile.
Xie Jiucheng looked at the sabre in his hand. "Who is the Hidden River supporting? Yong'an Prince Xiao Chuhe?"
"He is the best candidate, but also the most difficult alliance to cooperate with," Su Muyu said.
"White Prince Xiao Chong?" Xie Jiucheng asked again.
Su Muyu looked at the falling snow. "Perhaps."
"Red Prince Xiao Yu? He’s a really detestable fellow, heh." Xie Jiucheng curled his lips.
Mu Yumo smiled, still shaking her legs lightly.
Su Muyu rotated the umbrella handle slowly, scattering the fine flying snow.
Xie Jiucheng knocked on the sabre in his hand. "I understand."
White Prince Residence.
The ninth prince, Xiao Jingxia, sat in the warm pavilion, warming himself by the fire, while the White Prince Xiao Chong sat quietly on a chair that was cushioned with tiger fur.
"I’ve received news. The ones who killed Tang Lian were indeed the killers of Hidden River," Xiao Jingxia said slowly.
Ling Shaohan shook his head. "At the time, we only sent a letter to Unrivaled City. We didn’t notify the Hidden River."
"Yes. In Lei Clan Fort, the Hidden River suddenly turned coat and attacked the Tang Clan without telling us in advance. This incident caused the Tang Clan and Snow Moon City to stand against us. You suspect that the Hidden River had been supporting us on the surface, but were hiding another purpose," Xiao Chong said.
"This time, the Hidden River killed Xiao Chuhe's shixiong, and he will pin this vengeance on us," Ling Shaohan said worriedly. "The Hidden River is harbouring evil intentions, but they’re really difficult to fathom."
"Moreover, they’ve entered Heavenly Revelations now." Xiao Jingxia warmed his hands over the fire. "Recently, a lot of people are entering Heavenly Revelations. I suspect a number of them are Hidden River killers, but they haven’t reported to us."
"Has da-shifu returned to Heavenly Revelations yet?" Xiao Chong asked suddenly.
"Wrath Sword Immortal… is not really someone we can control." Ling Shaohan sighed.
"How about second shifu?" Xiao Chong asked again.
"Grand Eunuch Jin Yu came a few days ago. He said that the little genius doctor indeed has the miraculous hands of a divine healer. His Majesty's illness is almost healed, but he has frequent episodes of malaise. He suspects that someone is instigating something behind the scenes," Ling Shaohan replied.
"Miraculous hands of a divine healer?" Xiao Chong tapped his finger on the back of the chair.
"What does the Prince mean?" Ling Shaohan frowned slightly. "Do you want to invite the genius doctor to…"
Xiao Chong didn't speak, but everyone who was present understood tacitly. All these years, White Prince Xiao Chong had never given up hope of healing his eyes. Now that a genius doctor had come to Heavenly Revelations, he obviously didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
"Presently, she’s being guarded by Eunuch of Sword, Jin Wei Gonggong at all times, and Lanyue Marquis seems to care for her too, often attending to her by her side. There’s also the Mu family’s third son, who seems to have taken her as his teacher," Ling Shaohan said.
"Ask second shifu to think of something," Xiao Chong said.
Xiao Jingxia nodded. "I'll talk to Jin Yu Gonggong."