Firmament Sword

”No, don’t... Don’t kill me!” Lin Chi’s terrified voice pleaded. By now, even a fool could tell that the white-robed, white-haired man was a powerful figure not to be trifled with.

”This is all a misunderstanding... a misunderstanding!” Lin Chi’s voice trembled. Facing death, he was far less composed than he had ever imagined he would be.

”Grandpa!” Just then, a shrill, mournful scream erupted from behind Lin Chi.

The little girl, who just moments before had been innocently shouting ”Grandpa, I’m home!”, was now screaming as she threw herself at her grandfather lying in a pool of his own blood. She collapsed onto the man who doted on her most—the only person in the world who truly loved her—and burst into sobs.

”Grandpa, wake up! Please wake up, Grandpa!”

Lin Chi was deaf to the little girl’s cries. He watched in utter horror as the sword in his own hand... slowly... slowly... began to slice into his neck.

”Wait!” The little girl cried out a few times before realizing her grandfather was already dead. Though she was young, a look of immense hatred flared in her eyes.

The sword moving toward Lin Chi’s throat immediately stopped.

The terror in Lin Chi’s eyes didn’t lessen one bit, but he let out a long sigh of relief.

The experience was worse than being killed with a single strike. In just a few moments, the torment had nearly scared him out of his wits.

”Why did you kill my grandpa?” The little girl’s eyes, which should have been full of innocence, now blazed with hatred as she stared daggers at Lin Chi.

Lin Chi’s mouth twitched, his throat dry and his heart pounding. He desperately wanted to say, ’Because you all deserve to die…’

If the white-robed, white-haired man hadn’t been there, he would have uttered those words with a cold expression before mercilessly cutting the little girl down with his sword.

But now...

Lin Chi’s gaze was fixed on the white-robed, white-haired man’s placid face. He said nothing.

”Speak!” the little girl shrieked in fury. ”Why did you kill my grandpa!”

”There’s... no why,” Lin Chi forced out the words. He thought for a moment, cautiously glancing at the sword at his neck and the terrifyingly calm man, then added, ”I’m from the Cangqiong Kingdom. I... Our entire village was slaughtered by you people from the Cao Kingdom. I... I have to avenge them!”

As he spoke, Lin Chi seemed to have finally found his justification. He appeared to be talking to the little girl, but he was actually explaining himself to the white-robed, white-haired man. ”That’s right, I have to avenge them. Those people... those people were civilians... they were...”

Lin Chi trailed off as he saw a flicker of deep mockery in the depths of the man’s seemingly calm eyes. He couldn’t continue.

’Those people were civilians, but wasn’t the old man from this tavern one, too?’

’When you possess great power, enough to trample on others’ dignity and even reap their lives... you never think about their suffering.’

’Only when a greater power appears and threatens your own life do you begin to seriously reflect.’

”Who killed those people? Was it my grandpa?” the little girl shrieked through her sobs. ”Go find the ones who killed them! Why did you kill my grandpa? Why did you kill him? Yaya’s mommy and daddy are dead, and my grandma is dead too. Besides Grandpa, I don’t have any family left in this world! WAHHH... He was all I had left, so why did you kill him? Why, why, why!”

Lin Chi’s body shuddered violently. Deep in his eyes, a flicker of guilt finally appeared.

Then, he gritted his teeth and said, ”If you want to blame someone, blame the armies of your Cao Kingdom!”

”Ignorant. Foolish.” The white-robed, white-haired man finally spoke a few cold words, then snorted.

The Long Sword at Lin Chi’s neck made a sickening SQUELCH as it sliced deep into his still-youthful throat.

Blood immediately began to gush out.

Lin Chi let out a short, bloodcurdling scream, but it was cut off abruptly, like a rooster with its neck wrung. He couldn’t make another sound.

He could only watch, wide-eyed, as his own hand, holding his own sword, slowly... severed his own head!

THUD!

Lin Chi’s head fell to the ground, his eyes wide with terror and a hint of regret.

Perhaps in the moment of his death, he understood that what he had done was wrong, but it was too late.

His life ended there.

The little girl stood frozen for a long moment, then let out a terrified scream and fainted, slumping to the floor.

The white-robed, white-haired man frowned, seemingly contemplating something. After a long hesitation, he sighed, walked forward slowly, and gathered the little girl into his arms.

Stepping outside, he found that night had completely fallen. The events inside the small tavern had not affected the outside world at all.

For some reason, no one had heard any of the sounds coming from within the tavern.

The white-robed, white-haired man raised a hand, then pressed it down, palm facing the ground.

Then, an astonishing scene unfolded...

The small tavern, though dilapidated, had been sturdy. Now, it silently collapsed and disintegrated, as if rapidly weathered, turning to dust in an instant.

Eerily, the entire process... made not a single sound!

Then, the pile of rubble and broken tiles began to sink into the ground.

In a matter of moments, where the tavern had once stood, only a flat patch of foundation remained!

Then, like ice melting away, the flat foundation began to sink again...

A moment later, a massive pit nearly ten meters deep occupied the spot where the tavern had been!

Yet the houses on either side were completely unaffected!

Anyone who didn’t know there had been a tavern here would assume this terrifying pit had always existed!

The bodies of the old man and Lin Chi were nowhere to be found, having vanished completely from the world.

The white-robed, white-haired man made a grasping motion with his hand toward a mound of earth in a nearby clearing. The seven- or eight-meter-tall mound was lifted from the ground as if by a giant, invisible hand, and it floated leisurely toward the deep pit.

Once it was over the pit, the mound rumbled and broke apart. A massive amount of dirt poured silently into the hole, quickly filling it to the brim.

The white-robed, white-haired man glanced at the spot one last time, then turned and left, still holding the little girl.

One step... two steps... and he vanished into the town.

...

Er Niu felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest. He was incredibly tense, terrified that the white-robed, white-haired man would look toward his hiding spot.

Luckily, from beginning to end, the man never once glanced in his direction.

’Did he not notice me, or did he just not care?’

Er Niu was an orphan who had grown up being fed by the whole village. He was strong, powerful, and honest to a fault, never slacking off on a job. Whenever a family in town needed manual labor done, they would usually come looking for him.

So, even though Er Niu was all alone, he managed to live a decent life.

Er Niu’s greatest daily pleasure was to finish his work, go to Elder Uncle Zhang’s place for a plate of beef, and drink two small cups of wine.

It was the happiest part of his day, just as happy as when he visited the pretty little widow at the east end of town.

Today, Er Niu had just finished a job. His employer had been generous and paid him well, so he planned to stop by Elder Uncle Zhang’s place for a quick drink to celebrate before bringing the little widow some wine and food to make her happy, too.

But he never expected to witness a scene that would be seared into his memory forever!

”That terrifying white-robed, white-haired man was like a god! He raised his hand, pressed down like this, and Elder Uncle Zhang’s tavern just collapsed! And it didn’t make a single sound!” Er Niu gestured wildly with his calloused hands.

”Then, a giant pit appeared!”

”And then, that big mound of dirt across the way just flew up by itself, floated over the pit, and WHOOSH, it all fell apart! All the dirt fell into the hole, and then the man just left...” Er Niu’s eyes were wide with terror.

”Hahaha, Er Niu, you’re just spinning tall tales! If that Immortal was so powerful, why didn’t he take you as a disciple?” someone in the crowd mocked, drawing a wave of laughter from the others.

Although the situation at Old Man Zhang’s tavern was strange, people didn’t really believe Er Niu’s story.

After all, it was just too bizarre.

”It’s true! If I’m lying, may I never see the little widow again!”

Er Niu swore up and down, spitting as he spoke, taking a solemn oath about what he had seen last night.

A pretty young woman in the crowd blushed, spat lightly, and ran away, covering her face.

Another wave of laughter rolled through the crowd. While they didn’t quite believe Er Niu’s tale, they all knew about him and the little widow. Seeing him swear on something like that, they started to think it must be true.

And so, the story of how Old Man Zhang had angered a white-robed Immortal, who then brought down punishment, killing him and destroying his tavern, quickly spread throughout the entire town...

...

”A white-robed Immortal suddenly descended upon Senhai Town... and flattened a tavern with a single slap of his hand?” Cao Tianyi frowned, looking at the subordinate reporting to him. ”What is this nonsense!” he said, displeased.

Xu Luo stood to the side, dressed in tight-fitting martial attire with a black cloak. His handsome face also showed a hint of surprise; he didn’t believe it either. However, it did make him think of the white-robed, white-haired man he had seen that day.

”My Lord, the story is true. I went to see the tavern’s location personally. I then brought in the witness, Er Niu, and scared him a little. The kid confessed everything, including his affair with the town’s little widow. I believe he’s telling the truth.”

”White robes? Could it be him?” Cao Tianyi muttered.

Standing below, his face still a little pale but mostly recovered, Jiang Han said in a low voice, ”Based on the timing, the person who appeared there could very well be Qiushuiduan.”

Cao Tianyi shook his head and frowned. ”Qiushuiduan is cold and incredibly arrogant. Why would he bother with a mundane little tavern?”

The reporting subordinate said, ”My Lord, I looked into it. The tavern was run by an old man named Zhang, and he had a granddaughter. After the incident, both of them vanished. When I questioned Er Niu, he said the white-robed man seemed to be holding a little girl. But he claimed he was too scared at the time to get a good look...”

”This whole affair is rather strange,” Cao Tianyi said gravely. ”Alright. Let’s go there and see for ourselves.”