Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi stood there with an ice-cold expression, glaring at the black-robed figure before him. His rage tangled with self-blame until he could no longer think straight. He had never imagined that a woman he’d met only once would die for him. They’d met once. Once.

“Why?!”

The figure stayed hidden beneath a black cloak. They stood there without a word, and their silence only enraged Li Guanqi further.

Clang!!

Boom!

A powerful aura burst from him. A blinding sword light flashed past.

The cloaked figure shot back nearly a hundred zhang, yet the blade still opened their chest. Blood streamed from the gash.

Li Guanqi stepped forward and roared, “Say something! Why did no one protect her?!”

After a long, stifling silence, a woman’s voice finally rose from beneath the hood. “The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion does not expose itself lightly.”

Li Guanqi’s fury spiked once more.“Expose yourselves? Even when someone is dying? She gave her life to the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion, and you let her die. What a joke! What a gigantic joke!”

Lightning and flame curled around him. His aura pressed down so violently that the woman could barely breathe.

Hidden under her disguise, she felt anxious, terrified that Li Guanqi might lose control and attack.

He was utterly disgusted by the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion.

A jade pendant appeared in front of him. He let out a sharp, derisive huff. The heavenly intelligence pendant shattered.

He turned, his gaze frozen over with frost.

“Tell me. Tell me who killed her.”

The woman hesitated.

Boom!

The surrounding pressure surged, slamming the woman, a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator, face-first into the dirt.

Boom!

The pressure drove her into the ground, carving out a crater. Blood seeped from all her facial orifices.

Terror filled her eyes. She bit her lip so hard it bled. “The Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion will handle this internally!”

Killing intent flashed in his eyes. Word by word, he growled, “Tell. Me. Now.”

Boom boom boom!

With each word, his aura surged. With each surge, she sank deeper. Her bones cracked audibly under the pressure.

She screamed in pain. Her pupils trembled violently. She was certain that if she refused, he would kill her there and then, even if it meant turning the Heavenly Intelligence Pavilion into his enemy.

“Chen Zhi! His name is Chen Zhi!”

Li Guanqi did not reply. He turned around and walked away.

As he did, he suddenly seemed to deflate.

He trudged past mountains and rivers, gaze empty, cradling Ning Xiu’s corpse. His eyes reddened as he looked down at her still form.

He lifted his head to the sky and murmured, “How can there be a woman this foolish… We only met once. Just once. If someone wanted to kill me, she could’ve just told them where I was.”

His reddened eyes brimmed with guilt.

“I’ll remember you for the rest of my life…”

That night, he walked past countless mountains and rivers until he found a mountain peak with beautiful scenery. A winding river lay at its base, and the slopes were covered in blooming cherry blossoms.

Li Guanqi leaned against the tombstone, drinking wine. Next to his feet was a generous spread of offerings and lit joss sticks.

On the tombstone, there was an epitaph.

Ning Xiu. Carved by Li Guanqi.

It was very simple. It did not describe what kind of person Ning Xiu was or what their relationship was. He’d wanted to write more, but he stopped after raising his hand.

He didn’t know her well enough.

He kept drinking, gulping down the wine as if only its fiery heat could ease the weight in his chest.

He stayed there until dawn. When sunlight spilled across the land, the meandering river shimmered beautifully.

A breeze swept through the cherry blossoms, sending a soft rustle through the air.

Li Guanqi spoke quietly. “What do you think? I chose a good spot, didn’t I?”

He lit another joss stick and pressed it into the ground. He poured some wine from his gourd over the earth.

“Let’s call this drinking together. There’s still some left in the gourd. It’s for you.”

He tied the vermilion-red gourd back at his waist. Half the wine remained.

“When I return, I’ll bring Chen Zhi’s head.”

His eyes flashed coldly. Ning Xiu’s death crushed him with guilt. It was the second time he had felt this way.

During the battle with the Purple Sun Pavilion, his sect brothers had died because of him. But that had been different.

Ning Xiu had no ties to him. They barely knew each other.

They were strangers who had met once. And that was exactly why he believed she had died because of him.

“Who is Chen Zhi? Why kill Ning Xiu? Could it be revenge for Miao Rongchang? No… If someone could kill her, they’d need at least Divine Transformation Realm cultivation.

“Someone from the Mo Family? No, they wouldn’t be able to hurt her.”

Then a raven’s cry echoed in his mind. Perhaps someone had seen the moment he and Ning Xiu shared beside the rock wall in Inferno Valley.

The Dark Raven Order might have learned of it and targeted her.

“But… it’s been too long. Why kill her now? It makes no sense.”

His thoughts were a mess. He ran through every possibility. Even the Dark Raven Order, the most likely culprit, had no reason to wait so long.

It felt meaningless. Only one name rose in his mind.

Chen Zhi.

Perhaps this person alone knew the truth.

He reached for his wine gourd, then lowered his hand and sighed. He looked at the lonely tombstone.

“Trust me. You won’t wait long.”

He stepped forward and rose into the sky. With a sweep of his hand, dozens of lightning sword lights enveloped the mountain.

They hovered in the sky, potent enough to last three years without fading.

He did not want anyone to disturb her rest. She had hidden her identity and worked hard her entire life. She deserved peace and quiet after death.

As for her true name, he didn’t care.