Everyone awoke early the next morning, ate breakfast, and headed out under the watchful eyes of Yu Chenguang and his two wives.

Because Long Pass was so narrow, they were unable to take their carriage and had to walk. Hou Jingshu and Zhou Lihua were at least afforded horses. Yu Mao was allowed to ride with the princess, though that was because she had complained about walking. Wu Jian walked alongside the two horses while Yu Chenguang, Li Hua, and Liu Heifeng walked in a formation with Yu Chenguang taking point.

They weren’t the only group traveling through this pass. At least several dozen other groups were walking alongside them. Every one of them belonged to a sect. Some had as few as three people and other groups contained as many as twenty. It was easy to tell which groups belonged to a sect, which belonged to a clan, and how powerful they were based on both numbers and the average cultivation base of their members.

One thing Wu Jian noticed was that he did not see the Ice Phoenix Sect anywhere. Had they not come yet?

Hou Chāo and the Burning Hand Sect walked just behind their group. Their positions normally would have been reversed because Hou Chāo ’s status ranked higher than Hou Jingshu’s, but she was representing the Shang Kingdom Imperial Academy, which was founded by the Shang Kingdom itself as a part of their military endeavors. That made her an extension of the emperor’s will, placing her position higher than Hou Chāo , who was attending the tournament as a member of the Burning Hand Sect.

Wu Jian could feel the prince drilling a hole into their backs. If looks could kill, they’d have been corpse already.

“Your brother really hates you, huh?” Wu Jian muttered. “I kinda thought he would… but it’s still shocking to see.”

Hou Jingshu took a deep breath, then released it in a long, tired sigh. “Yes.”

“Correct me if I am wrong, but he hates you because he believes you’re responsible for his mother’s death?” asked Zhou Lihua.

The princess smiled at her, then said, “That’s right. You know my mother died when I was young. She died of a rare illness just a few years after giving birth to me. I don’t remember much about her because she died when I was little, but Hou Chāo was very close to our mother. He took her death much harder, and he blames me for her death.”

“It is very stupid to blame you for what happened to your mother,” said Wu Jian.

Hou Jingshu’s smile was full of bitterness. “From what I understand, my mother became very vulnerable after having me. The doctors said giving birth to me destroyed her dantian. That was why she succumbed to illness. Had she not given birth to me, she would have remained strong enough not to get sick in the first place.”

Wu Jian frowned. He did know things like that could happen, but it was exceedingly rare. He also didn’t know if he could believe this would happen to Hou Jingshu’s mother. She was the emperor’s wife, which meant she had access to wealth and should have been able to afford a cure. He did not believe Emperor Hou Jun would let his wife die.

Zhou Lihua snorted. “That is not how childbirth and illness work. You understand the basics, I’m sure. When a woman is pregnant, a lot of her chi goes into nourishing the baby while it’s still in the womb. However, it is almost never enough to put stress on a woman’s dantian. If that were the case, death would be much more common among peasants and those who don’t have access to alchemy pills. Children are also not born with fully formed dantians and meridians. This is a natural phenomenon designed to reduce the stress placed on the mother, and it’s also the reason children cannot cultivate until they turn sixteen. There are only two ways a woman’s dantian can be damaged during childbirth. The first and more common cause is caused by external factors like if someone damaged a mother’s meridians before she delivered her child. The second is caused by internal factors like when the child has a unique physique.”

Wu Jian and Hou Jingshu had been taught this, of course, but it hadn’t been this in-depth. They had only learned the basics to explain why children weren’t allowed to cultivate until they reached the age of majority. Zhou Lihua knew so much more than they did. It must have been because she was an alchemist. While that was very different from a doctor, it was important for alchemists to understand how the human body worked since alchemy pills interacted with the body. There had been occasions where an alchemist misdiagnosed someone and refined a pill that harmed a person instead of helped.

“I do have a unique physique, though,” Hou Jingshu pointed out.

Zhou Lihua agreed on that point. “You do, and there is a possibility that was the cause… but I doubt it.”

“Are you saying giving birth to me isn’t what damaged my mother’s dantian?” asked Hou Jingshu.

With a shrug, Zhou Lihua said, “All I’m saying is that the chances of her death being your fault are very slim. Emperor Hou Jun has access to the best doctors and alchemists in the Shang Kingdom, and all of the pills needed for a successful birthing are low-tier and easy to refine. There’s no way your birth should have damaged your mother’s dantian… unless someone purposefully damaged it.”

“I don’t think I like what you’re implying,” muttered Hou Jingshu.

“Neither do I,” said Zhou Lihua.

Wu Jian remained silent, but his thoughts were traveling at the speed of light.

What Zhou Lihua’s words implied was indeed serious and had the potential to leave the Shang Kingdom in upheaval. Her mother’s death might have happened more than a decade ago, but that meant little. Implying someone who helped deliver her child had been responsible for her death could cause mass hysteria. Rumors would fly and the kingdom would experience a time of unrest, which would leave them vulnerable.

If someone was responsible for her death, there’s no way the emperor didn’t know about it, which means he put up a gag order to keep everyone silent. Of course, that’s only if what Zhou Lihua’s saying is true. And sadly, there’s no way for us to know that with the state Emperor Hou Jun is in.

Wu Jian looked at the sky and wondered if they would ever find out the truth.

***

They had left Jiànkè City early that morning, and the sun was setting by the time they arrived at their destination--a massive gate. It in many ways resembled the gate that led into the White Tiger Sect Ruins. There were a few key differences, however, the biggest one being the murals that decorated the surface. The White Tiger Sect Ruin’s gateway had depicted tigers. This one bore the depiction of swords.

Several people were there to greet the giant group when they arrived. Wu Jian recognized Húndàn Wang, but there were two other people whom he did not know.

Standing at the very front of this three-person group was an older man with fine white hair that descended down his back. His hair might have looked like snow, but his face retained its youth, so it wasn’t from age. He did not look like he was older than maybe his early or mid-thirties. He wore a silver hanfu that matched his hair and had blue accents. Strapped to his waist was a simple, unadorned dao that nonetheless gave a feeling of possessing great power.

The other person was a young man dressed in a white and blue hanfu. A gleaming sword was strapped to his waist, his long brown hair was tied into a ponytail, and his purple eyes brimmed with ambition and intelligence in equal measure. Several bangs framed his face, which only served to further bring attention to his sharp eyes.

“Yu Chenguang! It has been a long time!”

The man at the front of this group greeted their bodyguard with a wide smile and held out his hand. Yu Chenguang smiled as well, clasping the hand with his own.

“That it has. I see you’re as hardy and hale as ever. You’ve gotten a little stronger as well. Congratulations.”

“Ha ha ha. Hearing you acknowledge my strength is always something I look forward to, though I can see you’ve always grown since our last meeting. It is unfortunate that we are here for a purpose. Otherwise, I would ask you for a spar.”

Wu Jian watched the two only for a moment before asking, “Is that the Saintly Sword Sect’s sect master? He seems awfully friendly with Yu Chenguang.”

The one who answered him was Li Hua. “Yu Chenguang and Húndàn Qie had at one point fought for the position of the Shang Kingdom’s strongest cultivator. Their battle lasted for three days and was a clash so epic that it rearranged some of the landscape. Our husband was the victor of that battle. However, every two or three years, they will get together and battle for the title of strongest again.”

“Our husband wins every time,” Liu Heifeng added with a smile.

Yu Mao puffed up her chest. “Daddy’s the strongest!”

Hou Jingshu patted the little girl on the head, but her eyes were locked on the young man behind Húndàn Qie. Wu Jian did not know him. However, he could easily deduce his identity.

“Your brother?” he asked.

The princess nodded. “Yes. That is Hou Gun, my eldest brother.”

Wu Jian only knew what Hou Jingshu had told him. Hou Gun was currently crown prince and would be emperor once his father died or passed on the title. He was cunning and burned with the flames of ambition. Between Hou Gun and Hou Chāo, he was the one they needed to be most wary of. His mother was also the daughter to one of the Heavenly Sword Sect’s elders.

Yu Chenguang and Húndàn Qie finished their conversation and stepped away from each other. The Saintly Sword Sect’s sect master turned to the group as a whole and spread his arms in an inviting gesture.

“Welcome, everyone who has come to participate in this tournament. We have already prepared accommodations for all of you. I would like it if you could all follow me. We are about to enter the Saintly Sword Sect’s domain. Be sure not to push and do not stop walking once you reach the other side.”

His words boomed across the pass, reaching everyone, even those far in the back. He had quite the voice.

Everyone began moving, with Hou Jingshu’s entourage at the front, followed by Hou Chāo and the Burning Flame Sect, then the others. They were just about to enter when a bird’s song caused everyone to stop. A shadow passed by overhead, and the group looked up to find a blue and white ice phoenix circling overhead.

“Is that really an ice phoenix?! What’s it doing all the way out here?!”

“Could it belong to the Ice Phoenix Sect? It’s gotta, right?”

“Who else could make one of those come all this way. They hate the heat. It would only travel this far out if someone else was in control.”

While the people around them began speaking, Wu Jian focused on the bird as it slowly flew down. It was quite large and had a massive wingspan, so it could not set down in the pass itself. It landed on the cliff edge.

Several people alighted from it.

“Look! Look! It’s the Three Ice Fairies!” someone shouted and pointed at the group.

There were four people. One of them was Hua Xue. The other three were young women with skin like jade, eyes like jewels, and hair like a frozen lake. None possessed the otherworldly beauty of the veiled woman, but that was like comparing diamonds to emeralds.

Many of the men standing down below looked like they might go into heat at the sight of them. Wu Jian almost grimaced when his sharp hearing picked up several pants and wolf whistles, but he didn’t blame them. They were pretty. Even he could admit that much.

Zhou Lihua leaned down to whisper in Wu Jian’s ear. “Is it just me, or is that woman looking at you?”

“… It is not just you,” said Wu Jian.

Hua Xue was staring right at them, though he thought her attention was mostly on Hou Jingshu.

The woman patted the Ice Phoenix’s plumage and whispered something in its ear. The magical beast released a beautiful bird song, flapped its wings, and took to the sky. As it disappeared into the distance, Hua Xue stepped forward as if she were about to walk off the ledge. A crystalline platform composed of ice appeared before her, then another, and another. Even Wu Jian gawked as the woman created a staircase that led into the ravine. The three young woman followed her.

Everyone watched as the group walked down the stairs, which stopped beside Hou Jingshu. The woman placed her left fist into her right palm and bowed.

“Your Highness, I am glad to see you. I have brought the items you requested for our exchange. Do you have the Fifteen Thousand Year Spirit Spring Water?”

Right to the point, this woman. It’s like she doesn’t know how to make small talk…

“I do.”

Hou Jingshu looked at Wu Jian. He stepped forward under the watchful and wary eyes of three young disciples. Hua Xue didn’t even bat an eye as he stood before her, summoned a beautifully shaped jar, and held it out for her to inspect.

“This is indeed the Fifteen Thousand Year Spirit Spring Water. Then, as requested, here is the Ten Thousand Year Spirit Spring Water and a high-grade spirit-rank profound spirit weapon.”

The first thing Hua Xue brought out was the spring water. It was contained in a jar similar to the one they had used for the item they were trading. The water retained the same crystal clearness as the Fifteen Thousand Year Spirit Spring Water, though it would not have much chi. She handed it to Wu Jian.

Then she summoned the weapon.

Gasps and whistles of admiration echoed all around them as the woman held out the greatsword to Wu Jian. It was a work of art. A sword that looked like it had been carved from ice. The blade was a pure white that glistened in the sunlight, while the guard and hilt were a gleaming silver. Its shape resembled a dadao, but it was several times larger. The blade alone was roughly the same height as Wu Jian if not a few jin smaller. Its extended hilt could be used for either single-hand or double-hand wielding. While it lacked any form of decoration, the pure simplicity of its creation was enough to leave even Wu Jian breathless.