Elegant Swordsman
"How are you feeling, young princess?" Tang Zhan came to visit Daiyu in her room the day she was discharged from the infirmary. His usual sharpness was gone and he had a rather soft expression on his usually stern face.
"Thanks to the Tang Family's excellent medicine and physician, I think I have more or less recovered." Daiyu politely thanked the patriarch. It was good that he had come to find her himself since they had things that needed to be discussed.
"Not at all. It is the least we can do for the Tang Family's guests. That being said, the Wudang Sect has withdrawn from the tournament and all the disciples as well as elders left yesterday." Tang Zhan informed Daiyu but she was already aware about that. It was a huge thing among people right now - the fact that the Wudang Sect was shamed and ran away.
"I see. I was not expecting that." Lies. She knew that they would leave. It would be far more shameless of them if they continued to participate in the tournament. A smile appeared on Daiyu's lips as she looked at Tang Zhan.
"So, why have you come to see me, Lord Tang? You could have summoned me to your office instead."
"There are far too many prying eyes there. I need to discuss something confidential with you."
"Is it about an alliance?" Daiyu sipped the tea that the servants had left for them and commented with a playful expression.
"Hoho, the young princess is indeed very sharp. That's correct. We are looking to form an alliance with the Great Demonic Cult. Hundreds of years ago, our ancestor Tang Fei, broke off from the Justice Alliance to side with the Demonic Cult, and was killed by the Justice Alliance members during the war." Tang Zhan paused and let out a sigh.
"There is a scroll that is passed down to each family head which was written by the great Poison Emperor Tang Fei himself. He wrote about how the Demonic Cult was falsely framed and hunted by the Justice Alliance. Even though the Justice Alliance is putting pressure on us to join them, me, as the Tang family head who knows the full truth, cannot ally with them. Which is why I'm willing to bet whatever I have to form an alliance with the Demonic Cult."
"Shouldn't you be writing to the Heavenly Demon about that? I am nothing but a mere princess, that too illegitimate." Daiyu tapped the rim of the tea cup with her finger.
"Princess, there is no one who is not aware about the affection that the Heavenly Demon holds for you. That aside, you have immense potential to even become the best under heaven one day. We know that the Princess lacks allies so we are willing to assist you while you take the throne. Tang Family has a vast network for obtaining rare goods, information and even forbidden herbs. In return, we want the Princess to give us the promise that you will assist the Tang Family and officially ally yourself with us." Tang Zhan's face remained calm but his heart was in a state of unrest. Even though he had an excuse to push back the Justice Alliance for a few years now, they were not going to stop pressuring the Tang Family until they got what they needed.
"There is not much we can offer to the Heavenly Demon, but we can certainly help you."
"Lord Tang, before I answer, I need to ask you. Why hasn't the Tang Family told the world about the atrocities of the Justice Alliance? A written statement left by the previous lord of the Tang Family himself must hold some value."
Tang Zhan sighed and rubbed a hand over his forehead.
"Princess, not everyone in the Justice Alliance was involved in it. Except for a few of the great sects and families, no one else knew the truth. You could say that even they were tricked in the end. The great sects can very well dismiss it and say that the scroll is fake, and that the Tang Family is just trying to drag their name through the mud because we are on bad terms. No one will refute if the leaders of the Shaolin Sect or Wudang Sect say that."
"I suppose you're right." Daiyu sighed and clenched her eyes shut for a moment. Haoran had vanished earlier that morning so there was no way she could ask him anything right now.
"I shall tell you my answer before the tournament is over. I need some time to think about it."
"Alright Princess. I hope the answer is positive."
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The fourth round was delayed by a few days because of the disgraceful accident that occurred during the previous round. People would begin whispering and pointing fingers the moment they saw Daiyu. Thanks to Jin Hyun, she became an even bigger sensation overnight. The matches progressed smoothly and Tang Xia ended up losing to a disciple of the Jaeglan Clan. The martial arts they used were very unique and peculiar.
Haoran had told her that an alliance with Tang Family was bound to reap fruits but she somehow felt uneasy about it. Could the Tang Family really be trusted? What if they stabbed her in the back? Such questions kept haunting her whenever she thought about it.
"Miss Daiyu! Young lady? Miss!" Daiyu jolted out of her reverie when Tang Bo waved his hand in front of her eyes.
"They are calling you, princess." Tang Bo frowned. "Please be careful."
"Yeah. Thank you." Daiyu calmed her nerves down and went to the main podium. The people in the audience continued to look at her and whisper among each other. That kind of attention made Daiyu very nervous.
"My name is Yahui Namgoong, from the great Namgoong family." Yahui was a tall girl with sharp and angular features. Daiyu had learned that she was the daughter of the Namgoong family's patriarch, and was considered one of the well-known prodigies. A cloud insignia could be seen on Yahui's sword, which was only given to the best swordsmen of the family.
"My name is Daiyu." After showing their respects, both of them took out their swords simultaneously. It was going to be a tough competition, considering that both of them were well-known for their speed and long range attacks with qi.
"You better not lose. It's going to be a battle of speed so do your best." Haoran, who was standing next to the podium, spoke with his usual dawdle. Daiyu simply gave a sharp nod to acknowledge his word and Haoran smirked as he looked at her serious face.
The moment the match began, both of them disappeared in a blur and their swords collided mid air. The two fell back a little before repeating the same pattern again and again. The Namgoong Family was famous for using their sword to create air pressure which had the ability to send the opponent flying back or inflict deep cuts from a distance.
"Can you see what's happening?"
"I can't tell what they are doing."
"So fast!"
The audience was left to guess what was going on since both of them were too fast for untrained eyes. Only high level martial artists could clearly see what they were doing. Both of them were pushed back again and the moment some distance was created, Daiyu began running towards Yahui using the Seven Star Steps. Yahui used the Namgoong family's trademark technique, the Twelve Movement Tempest Sword Technique to send sharp blades of qi towards her. Daiyu dodged all of them before bolting at Yahui like a sharp arrow with her sword pointed in her direction.
Yahui managed to dodge the attack but a deep wound appeared on her right arm. Her dominant arm had been cut by Daiyu's sword. Without wasting a moment, Yahui began swinging her sword and a gale of wind as well as qi completely surrounded Daiyu. Tiny blades of wind cut through her defenses and injured her in several places.
"Keuk!" Daiyu doubled over from the pressure and waited for the gale of wind to pass. After what seemed like an eternity, it finally faded and she dug her heels in the ground to propel herself upwards to launch an attack. Several violet butterflies appeared from her sword and the arena was drowned in their overwhelming presence. Yahui's eyes widened a little as she found herself mesmerized by the impossibly beautiful sight.
The butterflies continued to grow and began swerving in her direction, which finally made her snap out of her daze. Yahui used the sword movements to disperse the qi butterflies and at first, it looked like it was working. The dense cloud of butterflies starting breaking apart but then it began moving in the wind's direction.
"Huh?" Yahui tried to break the flow of the qi but it was rhythmically moving with the gale of wind that came from her sword. As the wind began dying down, Daiyu once again started running towards Yahui to close the distance between them. The butterflies followed her sword in a spiraling motion even after the wind had died and Daiyu twisted her body gracefully to deliver attack after attack. The spiraling storm of butterflies descended down on Yahui and Daiyu as they continued to parry and target each other's blind spots. Shallow and deep cuts began appearing on Yahui's body at numerous places, and even Daiyu was not safe from her sharp edged illusionary butterflies. However, she hardened her body with a thin layer of qi to avoid most damage while parrying with her opponent. Even in the middle of the fight, Daiyu couldn't help but feel impressed by Yahui's elegant swordsmanship
As the storm died down, Yahui's sword flew out from her hands after Daiyu struck her wrist as a way of subjugating her. Both of them stood facing each other with blood staining their clothes and sweat rolling down their forehead.
"I see I have lost." Yahui smiled a little, which made her cold and rigid face soften up a little.
"I learned a lot." Daiyu paid her respects to her opponent. She had prided herself in her speed but Yahui was on par with her if not better. She could have very well lost the match if she showed even a second of hesitation.
"I hope we meet again, Sword Butterfly Maiden." Yahui turned around after saying that to pick up her sword. The match might have felt short and anti-climactic to the audience but only Daiyu knew the feeling in her heart. She wanted to spar more with Yahui and learn from her swordsmanship. The elegance and strength that Yahui displayed was something she wished to accomplish.
"Ahem, get down, would you?" Haoran shook his head and Daiyu hurried off the podium in embarrassment. She was totally looking at Yahui with a stupid blank expression on her face.
"I understand." Haoran spoke softly when Daiyu left the arena to go to her room. She wanted to ponder over the match in solitude for a while.
"Understand?"
"The feeling of awe and respect. I understand." Haoran gave a short nod of acknowledgement. She smiled and hurried back to her room, excited to dissect each and every second of the splendid swordsmanship she had seen earlier.
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"Did you find out?" Jun Hie cocked his head when a young boy entered the room he was staying at in a cheap inn. The room was tiny and dark, with a damp and moldy smell. However, it didn't seem to affect either of them much.
"Cheon Daiyu will be facing off against Peng Hua in the next round." Jun Yu sat down on the small bed, across from the chair where Jun Hie was sitting.
"Where is he right now?" Jun Hie took out a sharp throwing knife and began wiping it with a rag.
"He is at the Dragon Pavilion, which is being rented out by the Tang Family. It seems like they didn't want to host the contestants at their main residence."
"When are you planning to take him out?"
"According to the documents I saw, the match will be held on the second day of the fifth round. I will switch with Peng Hua on the eve of the match." Jun Yu shrugged his hood off to reveal bright red hair.
"Gather the rest." Jun Hie's mouth contorted into a terrifying smile that looked more like a grimace. His teeth were completely bared and anyone could see a kind of madness flicker in his eyes. "The Central Plains will finally witness the rise of the Blood Demon Cult."