Chapter 222: Retribution

"Yes!" Lin Hu acknowledged.

Zhong Yangxu turned toward Shao Dengyun, whose hands were faintly trembling around the Saber. He hesitated, then finally said, "I'm afraid their deaths cannot be separated from the Eldest Young Master."

Shao Dengyun's lips pressed tightly together. Then, his voice trembling, he asked, "You dealt with him?"

"No." Zhong Yangxu sighed. "It is difficult to make a move against him. He may actually escape this calamity."

He isn't dead? Shao Dengyun snapped his head around, seemingly unable to believe it. Nor did he quite trust what he had heard. Although his entire family lived under Dachan Mountain's protection, looked at another way, their lives were also in Dachan Mountain's hands. If Dachan Mountain wanted someone dead, there was basically no possibility of escape. Of course, that applied to ordinary people. When it came to that son of his, perhaps nothing was certain.

He had thought all his sons would die within a single day. He had not expected his eldest son to still be alive!

An inexplicable glimmer of hope rekindled in his eyes. "Why?"

Zhong Yangxu looked directly into his eyes and slowly said, "He said that with Madam Ruan and her sons dead, he is Brother Shao's only son. If Dachan Mountain kills him, it will have exterminated Brother Shao's entire line..." He then slowly recounted everything Lin Hu had reported.

Shao Dengyun's eyes gradually widened. Boundless grief slowly welled up in his eyes and spread across his face. Before, he had only suspected it. Now there was no longer any doubt: Madam Ruan and her sons truly had died at the hands of that rebellious son!

He regretted asking why. Some things were better left without an answer. Knowing the truth only made it impossible to accept.

Clang! The Saber slipped from his trembling hand and struck the ground. Shao Dengyun actually laughed, a miserable laugh. "Do you know why I never dared completely hand over power? Brothers killing brothers! I'm still alive, yet every one of them was already so impatient. What sin have I committed to deserve this? Bring him here. Bring that beast here!"

Zhong Yangxu turned and waved to Lin Hu. "Bring him over."

"Yes!" Lin Hu answered and quickly left.

"All of you, get out!" Shao Dengyun suddenly erupted, roaring at the people moving through the courtyard.

Everyone jumped in fright and hurried away. The courtyard soon fell quiet, leaving only Shao Dengyun and the Dachan Mountain disciples with Zhong Yangxu. Shao Dengyun lifted his face to the sky, slowly closed his eyes, and stood motionless. After they had waited for some time, Shao Pingbo arrived, held between Huang Dou and Lin Hu on either side.

Shao Pingbo's expression was placid, as though nothing at all had happened. He was still the same elegant, jade-like Eldest Young Master. Zhong Yangxu turned his head and watched him approach, his expression complicated.

Shao Pingbo first cupped his hands respectfully toward him. Then he walked up to Shao Dengyun and gave a proper salute. "Father."

Shao Dengyun remained motionless for a while before slowly asking, "Was it you?"

Shao Pingbo knowingly asked, "I don't know what Father is referring to."

Shao Dengyun slowly opened his eyes and stared at him, at the son he had valued above all others. His eyes were full of grief. "Your second mother. Your two younger brothers. Did you kill them?"

"Niu Youdao did it," Shao Pingbo replied. After a slight pause, he added, "It truly was Niu Youdao. If not for him, none of this would have happened."

Shao Dengyun's cheek twitched violently. Through clenched teeth, he asked, "Why didn't you kill me too?"

Shao Pingbo remained silent. He met his father's eyes calmly, unwavering and unafraid.

Shao Dengyun gave a hollow laugh. "Is it because this old thing still has some use? Because you're afraid that if you kill me, you won't be able to control Beizhou? Beast, do you remember what you promised me? You promised to leave their mother and sons a road to live!"

Shao Pingbo countered, "What I promised Father, I would naturally have done. At worst, someday I would have kept them under house arrest! But if I die, how am I supposed to fulfill that promise? How am I supposed to leave them a road to live? They wanted to kill me. Let me ask Father one question: did you stop them? Could you have stopped them?"

Smack! The slap rang sharp and clear. Shao Dengyun struck him hard across the face. A bright red handprint instantly rose on Shao Pingbo's cheek. His head snapped to one side, but he remained silent and did not dodge. Smack! Shao Dengyun swung his hand and slapped him again. A second bright red handprint appeared on his other cheek. Shao Pingbo still stood there without evading.

Shao Dengyun truly wanted nothing more than to hack him apart with one stroke of his saber. But when he saw that face, so like his mother's, he remembered his first wife, long since deceased. He remembered the charge she had entrusted to him on her deathbed. Every detail remained vivid. His heart clenched until it felt cut apart by a blade.

He seized his son's lapels and dragged him close until they were face-to-face. His features twisted savagely. "Beast! Even if you've gotten what you wanted, so what? Burdened with the infamy of killing your mother and slaughtering your own brothers, you will never be able to hold your head high for the rest of your life. If all you can do is drag out an ignoble existence, what meaning is there in living? Why don't you die?"

With two slap marks bright on his face, Shao Pingbo calmly replied, "Only those who live can laugh at the end. That is why I cannot die. On the contrary, I must strive harder, grow stronger, and fight my way to the top. People judge losers differently from winners. Praise and blame are decided by the victor. The man standing at the mountain summit cannot hear the stray noise from below. All he can see is a sea of people prostrate in worship, ten thousand voices crying as one: Ten thousand years! Ten thousand years! Ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Disappointment. Nothing but disappointment filled Shao Dengyun's eyes as he looked at this son. It seemed that after the boy's mother had died, the clever, lively son's temperament had gradually begun to change. Slowly, Shao Dengyun shook his head. "How did you become like this? I want to see whether you truly can laugh at the end!"

It seemed only today that he had finally recognized what kind of man his son truly was.

He shoved his son away and shouted, "Men!"

Several people outside hurried in to receive their orders.

Shao Dengyun pointed at his son and said through clenched teeth, "Lock him in the dungeon. He will await Dachan Mountain's disposition!"

Several subordinates exchanged glances. Before they could move, Shao Pingbo had already turned and walked away on his own, sparing them the difficulty.

Shao Dengyun also turned and left. But his shoulders and back had collapsed inward, his expression desolate, his whole figure like withered wood. His steps were heavy and slow. It was as though he had aged decades in an instant.

Watching father and son leave in opposite directions, Zhong Yangxu extended a hand and used spiritual power to draw the Saber up from the ground into his grasp. Then he called a disciple over and instructed him, "From now on, when it comes to our own food and drink, don't always rely on other people. Be careful and inspect it yourselves."

"Yes!" the disciple answered.

After returning to his room, Shao Dengyun entered a quiet chamber that he normally forbade others to enter without permission. An incense altar stood inside. On the wall above it hung a portrait of a heroic man in battle armor, seated on horseback with the reins in hand, his bearing imposing and martial. Beneath the portrait stood a memorial tablet inscribed: Memorial Tablet of Shang Jianbo, Prince Ning and Grand Marshal of the State of Yan.

Shao Dengyun walked to the incense altar, lit several sticks of incense, and placed them in the burner. He slowly stepped back, looked up at the portrait, then gradually bent his knees and knelt upon the prayer cushion. He kowtowed.

After three kowtows, he left his forehead pressed to the floor. His shoulders shook, and a choked sob escaped him. "Retribution! Retribution... Your Highness, I was wrong..."

When he raised his head again, an old man's tears streamed down his face. He had not shed a tear even before the brutal deaths of his wife and sons, yet now, facing Shang Jianbo's memorial tablet, grief surged from his heart and he wept until he completely broke down...

Under the night sky, Beizhou City sealed its gates. Troops searched everywhere, leaving the populace anxious and afraid. Word was that assassins had infiltrated the Provincial Provincial Inspector's Residence to carry out an assassination... Beneath a bright moon, a black-canopied boat drifted slowly along the river.

Outside the canopy, beside a small table, Lu Shengzhong sat cross-legged and opened a food box. He took out wine and dishes bought along the journey and set them out one by one.

Tao Yan'er, kneeling opposite him, reached out to help. Lu Shengzhong raised a hand to stop her. "You've been the one serving me all this time. Now that the matter is finished and we can relax, let me serve you once."

Tao Yan'er, who had started to rise, slowly settled back onto her calves and fell silent.

Once the wine and dishes were arranged, Lu Shengzhong personally poured wine for her. Then he raised his cup. "Between Heaven and Earth there are only the two of us. A bright moon, a great river, a fine night and beautiful scenery, with the river breeze cool and pleasant. Come, drink a cup with me."

Tao Yan'er held her cup in both hands. After drinking, she tentatively asked, "Brother, is the matter you had to handle finished?"

Lu Shengzhong smiled and nodded. "More or less."

Tao Yan'er lowered her head and softly asked, "Have I reached the end of my life too?"

Lu Shengzhong's gaze flickered. "You're thinking too much."

As he spoke, he reached into his sleeve, took out a sheet of paper, unfolded it, and handed it to her. "Your indenture. Take it. From today onward, you're free."

Tao Yan'er accepted it, looked it over, and silently put it away. Then she asked quietly, "Where are we going?"

Lu Shengzhong replied, "Wherever the road takes us. When the boat reaches shore tomorrow, find a place for yourself."

Tao Yan'er said, "I don't know where to go. Take me with you."

Lu Shengzhong shook his head. They ate and drank as they admired the moonlit river, chatting idly.

That night, their clothes came off beneath the black canopy and they entwined together. Tao Yan'er offered him endless tenderness of her own accord.

The rocking boat eventually grew still. It remained still for a long time. Then Tao Yan'er looked at the sleeping man beside her, gently climbed up, and quietly made her way to the stern. She slowly lowered herself over the gunwale into the water and slipped beneath the surface without a sound.

When she surfaced again to breathe, cold light flashed beneath the moon. A long sword came shooting through the moonlight, splashing water as it drove straight through her back. Blood bloomed through the river around her.

Tao Yan'er let out a muffled grunt and swallowed a mouthful of water. As she thrashed on the river's surface, she saw Lu Shengzhong standing at the bow of the black-canopied boat beneath the moonlight, his hands clasped behind his back. Driven by spiritual power, the boat drifted toward her.

When it reached her, Tao Yan'er grabbed the gunwale and gasped in terror, "Save me. Save me..."

Lu Shengzhong crouched down in front of her and asked in surprise, "You can actually swim? I told you I was setting you free. Why did you run?"

Tao Yan'er shook her head in pain, her face pleading. "You wouldn't take me with you... I only wanted a chance to live."

Lu Shengzhong reached out and gripped her throat. "You should not have run. I did want to silence you, but I truly could not bear to do it. Otherwise, there would have been no reason for me to take you this far. I genuinely had not made the final decision yet. Do you believe me?"

Tao Yan'er whimpered and nodded hard to show that she did.

"No. You don't believe me." Lu Shengzhong shook his head. His hand twisted with a sharp crack. He pulled the sword free and rose, standing at the bow with one hand resting on the sword hilt, his jaw clenched tight as he guided the boat away.

Under the moonlight, a corpse rose and sank with the river's current...

[End of Chapter 222]