Moonlight Dagger

Yichen stood in the middle of an empty training ground with a sword in his hand. Even though he lacked talent for swords, he liked to practice alone when no one was watching. He raised his sword and began practicing his techniques till he could no longer raise his arms. As he stood breathless from his training, he raised his head to look at the lonesome moon illuminating the skies.

"Have I done the right thing?" He whispered to himself. Even the thought of cooperating with that girl who ruined his life left a bitter taste in his mouth. However, he had to put up with it for his plan to be a success in the future.

Yichen had never imagined that it would be so easy to get the Princess to work with him. He sometimes forgot that she was only thirteen years old. Even though he did not like this method, there was no other way of achieving his goal. He just had to wait long enough for her to clear out all the competition for him and he could reap the fruits of her efforts once he had successfully disposed of her. Neutralizing a Poisonous Qi Insect was child's play for someone like him.

He looked forward to seeing his mother smile warmly at him again the way she did when he was a child. She had completely changed after his father had brought that lowly servant in as his concubine. After that day, his mother's obsession with the woman and her daughter had eaten her up inside.

'I will make you the next Heavenly Demon, no matter what happens. You must succeed the throne, Yichen.'

He recalled his mother's desperate words as she clung to him and sobbed twelve years ago. He was only six years old but the memory had left a deep impression in his heart.

"Yes mother." Yichen whispered as he closed his eyes and felt a cool breeze trickle his skin. "So please smile at me again."

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"Agh, you stupid nitwit, how will you explain the technique you used to that master of yours?" Zihan had sent a message that he would be visiting Daiyu the day after tomorrow right after she had the meeting with Yichen.

"I honestly don't know…" Daiyu smiled sheepishly and Haoran became more agitated after seeing that.

"Ugh, go get some spare notebooks, brush and ink. Write what I'm telling you as I'm telling you. Just tell that master of yours that you found this manual in the training hall." Haoran sighed and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe that he was being worked like a dog even after his death.

The two spent an entire night and day filling the notebooks and using Qi to make them look aged. Haoran ended up adding two more martial arts to the collection, saying that he wanted Daiyu to learn them later on.

"You can't find these in the Cult Library. I made those martial arts myself. More like, modify the current techniques to make them better." Haoran clicked his tongue and sighed wistfully.

Zihan finally appeared at the crack of dawn and gasped when he took a look at Daiyu.

"My word, did you… go through Body Metamorphosis?" As an experienced grandmaster, Zihan could sense the vast amount of Qi flowing through Daiyu and her stronger and more mature outer appearance made the Body Metamorphosis obvious.

"Yes, Master Zihan." Daiyu answered, hoping that he wouldn't ask any further questions. She had decided to tell him that she consumed some elixirs her father had gifted her throughout the years on her birthday, which wasn't false. She had a reservoir of some incredible elixirs. However, even they paled in comparison to what the Jade Demon Physician had given her.

"I heard about what happened with Prince Yuanjun." Zihan changed the topic to Daiyu's surprise and moved over to the next most important agenda. "I also heard about the sword technique you used to beat him. I could figure out that it was the illusionary sword technique, the Thirty Two Movements Violet Butterfly Sword Technique from the description. How on earth did you learn that?"

"So umm…" Daiyu placed the three martial arts manuals she had written the day before on the table and began narrating the story that Haoran had come up with.

"So you found it hidden inside the training hall?" Zihan picked up the manuals and skimmed through them one by one.

"My word, these were written by the Fourth Heavenly Demon himself. I have heard that he was a very odd man but why did he ever hide these manuals in the Azure Protection Hall." Zihan was somewhat correct. Haoran had a reputation for being an eccentric tyrant as well as being the most powerful Heavenly Demon in the Cult's history. His martial prowess and genius was unparalleled in the entire Central Plains and even beyond it.

"You truly are a genius, Princess. I am impressed by your thirst for knowledge." Zihan's eyes were twinkling with pride. Even though he became her teacher reluctantly, he was glad that things had worked out the way they did. Daiyu felt guilty and undeserving of such praise but she gave a sheepish thank you anyway.

"Now then, Princess. We will be leaving the Ten Thousand Peaks next week on this day. I have to wrap up my work here so I will see you on the day we depart. Please pack lightly and…" Zihan lowered his voice to a whisper before continuing. "Here are your bank details. You had a considerable amount of balance left from your allowance. You may withdraw money at any Taiwei Bank Branch." Zihan passed a slip of paper with the information and straightened his back.

"Ahem, I shall see myself out then." Zihan left in a hurry before Daiyu could get any word out.

"What a strange man, seriously." Haoran snorted and shook his head. He wondered why he was the only one who was called eccentric when people like Zihan existed.

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The day before her departure, Daiyu found herself sitting face to face with her father. She had never expected for him to come see her off personally.

"I'm very proud of you, my daughter." Cheon Jie had a rare smile on his face when he said that. Daiyu felt blood rush up to her face when she heard those words.

"Thank you, father. It is all because of the opportunity you have given me."

"No, it is all your effort. I wish I could have provided you with a better environment…" His voice trailed off and a melancholic expression flickered on his face. "Anyway, where do you want to travel first, considering it is your first trip outside the Cult premises?"

"Umm, I wanted to go to the Northern Sea Ice Palace first. I have heard it is beautiful and covered with snow in winters, and they also have the mysterious ice crystal everyone raves about." The Ice Crystal was one of the treasures of the Northern Sea Ice Palace and it was always sold in the black market for an exorbitant price. The crystal had many uses in creating weapons, medicines or even in performing rituals. It was the item that Daiyu had to procure for the Jade Demon Doctor.

"What?" Cheon Jie's eyes widened when he heard Daiyu say that. "Did someone say anything to you?"

Daiyu was baffled by the underlying urgency lacing her father's voice. She had never seen him get so flustered before. Was he hiding something from her?

"I was just curious about the place so I wanted to visit it. Is there a problem, father?" Daiyu looked at Cheon Jie with suspicion. She was certain that her father was not revealing the full truth for some reason.

"I was just surprised that you wanted to visit Northern Sea Ice Palace instead of Chengdu or Xian. They are way more famous and lively, after all." Cheon Jie was a master at concealing his emotions but this was the first time he had such a slip up. He had no idea why Daiyu wanted to visit those cold desolate lands but it was best if she remained unaware about it.

'Perhaps this is what they call fate, after all.' Cheon Jie concealed his inner thoughts and came up with a sufficient justification. He could see that Daiyu was not fully convinced but she didn't question him any further either.

"Here, I couldn't give this to you earlier but…" He pushed a closed box in Daiyu's direction with a nervous expression. Daiyu carefully opened the lid and gasped when she saw the contents. It was a beautiful dagger with a black blade and it had her name engraved on it.

"Things can get dangerous and the Jianghu is full of conceit, bloodshed and petty revenges. I hope this dagger can help you get out of a tricky situation one day, although I do wish you would never have to use it."

It wasn't an ordinary dagger but one of the famous Moonlight Daggers that were crafted by the master blacksmith of the Cult. They were extremely rare and worked well as concealed weapons. The blade was said to be sharp enough to cut through diamond since it was made with Cold Steel, a rare mineral mined in the North.

"Thank you, father. I shall make good use of it." The dagger was light and small enough to fit inside her sleeve. It was truly a priceless gift.

After some small talk, Cheon Jie took his leave and Daiyu went into her room to see a beautiful hawk tapping on her chamber's window. She carefully opened the window and let the hawk inside. A small letter was attached to the hawk's leg. Daiyu knew that Yichen had sent it to her.

[Poison for the Crow sent by Snakes on Red Hawk's request.]

The message was cryptic but Daiyu knew what it meant. The Crow was a codename for her, Snakes was a codename for the Poison Sect and Red Hawk was the codename for Yichen's uncle. He had carefully explained all the codenames in detail when he had come to strike a deal with her. Ah Duo was going to mix poison she procured from the Poison Sect into her food.

"How typical." Daiyu clicked her tongue and burned the paper instantly. She fed some jerky to the Hawk before sending him back. Daiyu had already gained immunity to a thousand poisons so she doubted that it could affect her.

"He really disappears at the most important times." Daiyu sighed and decided to wait for Haoran to come around so she could plan on how to deal with the situation.

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"A message has come for you, sir." A young martial artist passed a sealed envelope to a threatening looking man who was busy sharpening his blades. The man had a rough appearance with a scruffy beard and unkempt long hair. He looked more like a mountain bandit than a martial artist.

The man snatched the envelope and tore it open without an ounce of grace. He read the contents of the letter and began laughing hysterically.

"Hah, I can't believe I'm finally getting this opportunity." The letter crumpled in his large hands and he went back to sharpening his blade with even more vigor.

"Get ready. We are leaving for Guizhou tomorrow. I can finally kill that girly bastard with my own hands now." Boqin, who was also known as the Dual Sword Martial, had a deep seated grudge against the Crimson Dragon Guardian for having humiliated him in the Phoenix Martial Tournament more than ten years ago. His animosity was well-known in the entire Jianghu but he had never gotten the opportunity to confront Zihan again. After training for so long with a single person in his mind, he was finally close to getting his lifelong revenge.