The blade was three feet three inches long, the hilt two feet two inches. At the crossguard, where the blade met the hilt, a white tiger glared fiercely; when propped, it reached his eyebrows, and when wielded, it surged like a tide.

Chen Ji slowly withdrew the blade before him. The Whale Blade bore not a single drop of blood, gleaming like a mirror. Under the moonlight, he saw his reflection in the “mirror.” Withered leaves from the mountains were swept by the mountain wind behind him, and the strands of hair by his ears fluttered slightly in the breeze, each clearly visible.

The wind ceased. A withered leaf slowly descended from the air, landing on the Whale Blade, silently splitting into two before lightly floating to the ground. This blade, having traversed ten thousand years, had finally returned to his hand.

Chen Ji suddenly wondered, if this blade were real, and if the inexplicable sense of familiarity he felt when holding it were also real, then everything Xuanyuan had said must also be true.

But Guixu, peach blossoms, friends, teachers, students, the stars in the sky… How could he not remember any of it? Who was he, really?

A rustling sound came from dozens of paces away. Chen Ji calmly surveyed his surroundings, but saw no one in the dark mountain forest. The opponent seemed not eager to encircle and kill him, merely hiding in the shadows of the woods, and asked, “Mr. Feng asked me to ask you, have you made your decision?”

Chen Ji took a deep breath: “What decision?”

The questioner calmly replied: “Mr. Feng asks if you intend to flee back to Luocheng, or return to the military town to save your friends?”

These black-clad assassins, who had appeared so suddenly, were like solitary wandering spirits, posing soul-piercing questions.

Chen Ji did not need to answer; he merely dragged the Whale Blade and began walking towards the military town, accelerating his pace. As he passed a large tree, a black figure emerged as if shedding its bark, silently striking a blade towards Chen Ji’s back. However, Chen Ji had witnessed such methods of ambush using light and shadow far too many times from Feng Huai. In an instant, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, he turned and struck with his blade. A spray of blood splattered onto the ground, and the black-clad figure slowly collapsed. Swift and decisive, leaving no room for error.

As Chen Ji continued forward, he noticed the shadowy figures in the mountain forest retreating.

Someone whispered, “Not like Post-Heaven Realm. It’s Pre-Heaven Realm.”

Someone responded, “Not Pre-Heaven Realm, it’s the blade.”

“Mr. Feng has ordered, kill without mercy.”

“Kill without mercy!”

The shadowy figures no longer retreated; they immediately converged, weaving a net around Chen Ji. Chen Ji moved left, and the net moved left. Chen Ji moved right, and the net moved right, tightening with each shift. These four black-clad figures, afflicted by the Yansheng technique, far surpassed ordinary military elites. Even Chen Ji, who had entered the path of cultivation, could not shake them off, as their physical prowess was nearly identical.

When the four black-clad figures were just five paces from Chen Ji, all of them simultaneously erupted with unparalleled flashes of blade light. Four blades, overwhelming.

Chen Ji suddenly lunged forward like a tiger, his Whale Blade swinging wide to meet them. He paid no heed to the blade lights from his left, right, or behind, focusing only on killing the person directly in front of him. The black-clad figure before him was startled and immediately retreated. But as he retreated, Chen Ji immediately ceased his pursuit, turning to face the other three. The blade followed his body, and his body drove the blade forward, the narrow Whale Blade tracing a brilliant arc in the moonlight.

Clang, clang, clang went three sounds. Three long blades snapped in response, and the black-clad figure he had startled away lunged forward again, swinging his blade in support, attempting to force Chen Ji to turn back. But Chen Ji, without turning his head, half-knelt on the ground and, with a backhanded upward slash, wielded the Whale Blade like a halberd, severing the black-clad figure’s wrist at the joint.

Chen Ji remained half-knelt on the ground, quietly surveying them, like a fierce tiger crouching in the wild. The four black-clad figures exchanged glances, and just as they were about to discard their broken blades and fight to the death bare-handed, a faint, ethereal flute sound suddenly drifted from afar.

The flute melody was lingering and graceful, as if a small shepherd boy was sitting sideways on the broad back of a black water buffalo, slowly crossing a stone arch bridge, with a small winding stream nearby and white cloud-shrouded cliffs in the distance.

Mr. Feng!

For some reason, Chen Ji had not seen the flutist, yet he instinctively uttered the person’s name in his mind. It was as if, no matter how or in what form the person appeared, one would simply know it was him.

One black-clad figure, holding his severed right wrist with his left hand, said calmly: “Mr. Feng wishes to see you. Whether you meet him or not, that is your decision.” With that, the four black-clad figures retreated, disappearing into the shadows of the mountain forest.

Chen Ji rose and looked towards the source of the flute music. He pondered for a moment, then, holding the Whale Blade, actively walked towards the flute music. As he drew closer, the flute music suddenly transformed, becoming like bamboo-shadow sword energy, overflowing with murderous intent. Chen Ji instinctively scanned his surroundings, almost expecting hundreds of blade-wielding warriors to burst out of the forest. However, there was nothing around. He suddenly realized that the other person had somehow played the flute to create the illusion of ‘Ambush from Ten Sides’.

After walking a few dozen steps, he saw Mr. Feng, clad in a green robe, sitting on a low bluestone, holding a shepherd’s flute. The fisherman, who had appeared on the covered boat before, stood quietly to the side.

Chen Ji cupped his hands and bowed: “Mr. Feng.”

Mr. Feng slowly lowered his shepherd’s flute, smiling as he looked at Chen Ji: “Why didn’t you take the opportunity to escape?”

Chen Ji calmly replied: “I couldn’t escape.”

Mr. Feng clapped his hands in admiration: “Clever. But since you are a clever man, why return to the military town? You should know that as a mere Post-Heaven Realm official, returning would be useless. Moreover, you haven’t known the Prince and Princess for long; why sacrifice your life for others?”

Chen Ji leaned wearily against a tree trunk and sighed deeply: “Perhaps I’m not clever enough.”

Mr. Feng sighed emotionally: “It’s not that you’re not clever enough, but that you’re driven by what’s called ‘youthful chivalry’.”

Chen Ji remained silent.

Mr. Feng handed his flute to the fisherman beside him, then rose from the bluestone with a smile and slowly walked towards Chen Ji. “Someone once said that he used fame and fortune as a blade, capable of severing nine-tenths of the chivalry in the world. Over the years, all the jianghu wanderers have been recruited by the imperial court, and various sects have vanished without a trace. All cultivation paths in the world have been set aside, gathering dust. The jianghu has become a boring place.”

He scrutinized Chen Ji and said: “But seeing you today, I suddenly discerned another layer of meaning to his words. It turns out there’s still one-tenth of chivalry left in this world, which even he couldn’t sever. It’s admirable, lamentable, stirring, and laughable!”

Chen Ji was puzzled, wondering who Mr. Feng was referring to. Fame and fortune as a blade, severing nine-tenths of the world’s chivalry. What an arrogant boast.

Chen Ji asked: “Mr. Feng, why do you find it laughable?”

Mr. Feng replied with a smile: “What is called chivalry is the courage to do what one knows cannot be done. But if one knows it cannot be done, why still do it?”

Chen Ji said: “I don’t understand what chivalry is, nor do I consider it chivalry; it’s simply courage. I make decisions merely to have a clear conscience. Since Mr. Feng is a clever man, why did you choose the Liu family?”

Mr. Feng stood before Chen Ji, letting out an interested ‘Oh.’ “Tell me, why shouldn’t I choose the Liu family?”

Chen Ji pondered for a moment and said: “Although the Liu family are imperial relatives by marriage, and their power is substantial, with the Empress Dowager and Grand Secretaries above them, and prestigious families of Yuzhou below, His Majesty has harbored resentment towards the Liu family for a long time. Their decline is only a matter of time. His Majesty ascended the throne at eleven years old and has now reigned for thirty-one years. Thirty-one years ago, they couldn’t even contend with that eleven-year-old child. Do you think they can contend now, thirty-one years later?”

Mr. Feng smiled: “Continue.”

Chen Ji continued: “Not to mention His Majesty and the Directorate of Ceremonial, let’s talk about the prominent aristocratic families of the realm: Xu, Hu, Chen, Qi, Liu, Yang – six families, entrenched like fierce tigers. Among them, the Liu family ranks last. While their power might have been immense in earlier years, they can no longer compare to the other five families today. Am I right?”

Mr. Feng nodded: “Precisely. The other families now largely look down on the Liu family. Their diminished power is indeed due to being gradually encroached upon by them.”

Chen Ji looked up into Mr. Feng’s eyes: “Since you see through these risks so clearly, why not change your allegiance? As the saying goes, ‘A good bird chooses its tree to nest in, and a wise minister chooses his lord to serve.’ It’s a pity for a clever man like you, Mr. Feng, to remain with the Liu family.”

Mr. Feng threw his head back and laughed loudly: “Hahahaha! No wonder you dared to confront me directly! So you wanted to trick me into joining the Chen family! Young man, you are truly audacious. Your courage is commendable. However, you’ve managed to carve out a path to survival for yourself from a situation of certain death. Not bad, not bad at all.”

Chen Ji stood leaning on his blade, calmly stating: “I am not finding a path to survival for myself, but rather finding one for you, Mr. Feng.”

To be continued…