Volume One: Beacon Fires at the Border City Chapter Eighty-Eight: Blood Feuds as Deep as the Sea

The young man was taken aback, yet he did not dodge. Instead, he twisted the woman’s body so that her face was turned directly toward the point of his sword. If he did not alter the thrust, she would die at once.

The Nine Swords of the King of Qin prevailed by speed and angle. The strike had come like a bolt of thunder, and at such close range it was exceedingly difficult to halt a sword in time. Just as the tip was about to touch her face, he braced his feet and hurled himself backward, barely checking the force of the blow in the blink of an eye. Even so, the sudden reversal of power shook his chest until his blood surged and his arms went numb.

His Nine Swords of the King of Qin were already highly accomplished; in ordinary hands, a foe who could not block them would at least be forced to evade in haste. Though the black-clad youth was so young, he remained astonishingly composed, foiling that lightning strike with a mere shift of his body. His mental fortitude was truly remarkable.

The woman had been subdued by the black-clad youth; her whole body had gone limp, and she could not resist in the slightest. No one knew what method he had used. When his first blow failed, he dispelled all contempt and said with respect, “You have excellent movement. May I ask your name?” This was the second time he had demanded it.

The youth let out a cold laugh. “For the sake of your decent swordsmanship, I’ll tell you. My name never changes, and my surname never shifts. I am called Dugu Qiu Bai.”

A murmur of shock rose from the crowd, and their faces all showed troubled expressions. The Dugu clan had also been a branch of the Xianbei, but it had already been wiped out by the Tuoba tribe. This youth, Dugu Qiu Bai, was the son of the leader of the Xianbei Dugu clan; he had seized the woman precisely to avenge the blood feud of his people and family.

Steel-clad troops stood everywhere around them. No matter how formidable the youth might be, if he killed the woman, he would not escape. Clearly, he had come with the intention of perishing together with his enemy, and so there was not the faintest trace of fear on his face—only a tragic resolve.

When he heard this, He Yu’s heart lurched as well. Dugu Qiu Bai—the Sword Demon Dugu Qiu Bai. When he had once read the tales of Jin Yong, he had never been able to determine what age the man belonged to; it turned out that he had come from the Xianbei Dugu clan. And then another thought struck him: the Nine Swords of the King of Qin, and the Nine Swords of Dugu—could there be some subtle connection between them?

When Ran Yu had passed on the sword, he had once inspired He Yu to blend the Nine Swords of the King of Qin with the Supreme Spear and fuse them into one. He had pondered this problem for a long time. Though he had gained some insight, he had made no great breakthrough, partly because this was not his true passion and partly because worldly affairs had left him no peace. Could it be that this arduous task would ultimately fall upon the young man before him, this Dugu Qiu Bai?

With that thought, He Yu studied him carefully. Tall and upright, sword in hand, he stood amid the encirclement of many men, yet not the slightest trace of arrogance faded from his face. With every gesture, he exuded an indescribable grandmaster’s bearing. If this man were not Dugu Qiu Bai, then who in the world would deserve to be called the Sword Demon Dugu Qiu Bai?

By sheer force of presence, he held the crowd at bay, and none dared to advance. He Yu had missed his first strike, and he reckoned that Dugu Qiu Bai had surely become wary; a second surprise attack would not succeed. They could not defeat him by force and would have to rely on strategy. More than that, this youth was undoubtedly the very Sword Demon Dugu Qiu Bai, and some obscure intuition told him there was a mysterious link between them. It would not be fitting to strike a killing blow again.

Dugu Qiu Bai, seeing that no one spoke, laid his sword across the woman’s neck and stepped forward inch by inch. The crowd, fearing for her safety, retreated one after another, watching helplessly as he dragged her toward the gate. Two strange birds followed behind him, flapping their enormous wings and striding in step; the spectacle was truly alarming.

In the midst of battle, the woman’s sleeping quarters had been guarded as tightly as iron, so that not even a fly could have entered. Yet no defense could stop a sudden vertical attack from the sky.

Everyone understood that the reason Dugu Qiu Bai had subduing the woman so quickly was surely that he had ridden down from above on those strange birds and seized her in a single encounter. She was no weakling, so to subdue her at once only proved how formidable he was. He had clearly spent great effort taming those two bizarre birds from some unknown place, and with vengeance burning in his heart, the woman he had seized would surely be in grave danger.

He Yu and Cui Liang exchanged glances, each sensing how troublesome the situation was. For the moment they could think of no plan to save her. They had fought all day and already won a great victory, so their hearts had finally begun to relax—who could have imagined that just when joy was at its height, sorrow would descend in this fashion?

The woman had been restrained, and with her intelligence she did not dare speak rashly, fearing to anger the enemy and bring disaster upon herself. Seeing everyone anxiously helpless, she knew that if she were carried onto the back of those birds and flown beyond the city walls, the consequences would be even harder to predict. She had just witnessed the might of those two strange birds and had been truly shaken. She knew well that let alone two people, those birds could carry four as well.

Her whole body was numb and weak, but her mouth remained unaffected. Biting down on her silver teeth, she gave a bleak command: “Sect Master He, do not worry about me. Protect the city first. Kill this little thief.” In her desperation, she placed all her hope in He Yu, and so she called his name alone.

To kill Dugu Qiu Bai would take only a single order—an arrow volley from all sides, and even immortals could not escape. Yet such an order was one He Yu found difficult to give.

Seeing that the woman would rather die than submit, Dugu Qiu Bai tightened his grip and clamped her throat so she could no longer speak. She shook her head and struggled desperately, finally forcing out a few words: “Soldiers, shoot... shoot him dead...” Realizing that He Yu could not bear to issue the command, she had no choice but to give it herself.

At these words, the iron-clad guards stirred uneasily, but none dared draw a bow and loose an arrow. They could only watch as Dugu Qiu Bai dragged the woman toward the gate, and no one could stop him.

Just then, someone from the crowd called out, “Chief Secretary Linghu, you have returned... The princess, she...”

As the words fell, Linghu Xiao appeared, covered in the dust of travel, pushing through the crowd. For several days he had been leading cavalry to harass Murong Lin’s camp day and night, and today he had also taken part directly in the battle. Worn body and soul, yet deserving great credit, he had barely returned to the city when he heard that the woman had been taken hostage. Burning with anxiety, he came at once without even time to prepare.

He had no children and had watched her grow up, so though they stood as ruler and subject, in truth they were as father and daughter. When the woman saw Linghu Xiao at a glance, her heart eased somewhat, and she ceased struggling.

Linghu Xiao stood before Dugu Qiu Bai and sized him up from head to toe before asking, “Forgive this old man’s poor eyes, but is the young lord by any chance called Dugu Qiu Bai?” He had just come from outside, yet he could call out Dugu Qiu Bai’s name at once, which greatly astonished everyone.

Dugu Qiu Bai was also startled. He stopped and hesitated. “Indeed I am. May I ask your honorable name?”

From childhood he had been obsessed with martial arts. Though he was the youngest son of a tribal chief, he took little interest in the tribe’s mundane disputes. After coming of age, he had wandered far and wide to learn martial skill, so few people knew his name. For that very reason, when the Dugu clan was slaughtered, he was away in another land and escaped the massacre.

Hearing the youth speak thus, Linghu Xiao’s expression softened, and he smiled. “Then this is fortunate indeed. I am Linghu Xiao, Chief Secretary of the Princess’s Residence. I once paid respects to your father on behalf of the King of Wei. At that time, the young lord was only five or six years old, and this old man was fortunate enough to hold you in my arms.”

Linghu Xiao was using this bond of memory, naturally in hopes of easing the tense atmosphere.

After thinking carefully, Dugu Qiu Bai seemed to recall that such a thing had indeed happened. Tuoba Gui had ascended the throne while still young, and all major and minor affairs were decided by the Empress Dowager Helan. Linghu Xiao had won Helan’s great trust, and so he often went abroad to represent the King of Wei in negotiations, earning a favorable reputation among the Xianbei tribes.

Dugu Qiu Bai stopped and said bitterly, “Since Chief Secretary Linghu is here, I ask you this: my Dugu clan had no deep feud with your Tuoba clan. Why did you suddenly attack and destroy my people, killing my family?”

Recalling the tragedy of the past, his eyes flew wide open, as though fire were about to burst from them.

The vengeance for a slain father and the hatred for a destroyed clan were blood debts that could not be shared beneath the same sky. He Yu thought to himself that once those words were spoken, it was as good as a death sentence; no matter how eloquent Linghu Xiao might be, it would be useless.

“Haha, haha. The young lord is right, but you know only one side and not the other. The person you are holding now is not only not your enemy, but your benefactor,” Linghu Xiao said with a smile.

Hearing this, Dugu Qiu Bai gave a cold laugh. “They say Chief Secretary Linghu is wise and resourceful, yet you would deceive even me. Could it be that this woman is not one of your Tuoba princesses? Since your Tuoba clan destroyed my people, killing your princess would be the same.”

Linghu Xiao asked solemnly, “Young lord, you keep saying that my Tuoba clan destroyed your people. Then do you even know which person of my Tuoba clan wiped out your tribe?”

“Could I not know the one who killed my father? It was your Tuoba clan’s Tuoba Ku Duo, who by rank was still your princess’s uncle,” Dugu Qiu Bai said bitterly.

“Young Lord Dugu is correct, but what you do not know is that Tuoba Ku Duo was a rebel against our people and had already been executed by the King of Wei. In those days, he disobeyed the King of Wei and launched a surprise attack on your Dugu clan in order to strengthen his own power. This had nothing to do with the King of Wei. When Tuoba Ku Duo’s treachery was exposed and he was killed by the King of Wei, that was not only the suppression of a rebellion, but also vengeance on behalf of the young lord. So I say the person you hold now is not your enemy at all, but rather your benefactor. Every word I speak is true; you may ask anyone and verify it for yourself.”

Linghu Xiao spoke calmly, and in doing so he laid out the whole matter in such detail that it became the truth of the affair.

Dugu Qiu Bai was stunned. For a moment he could not tell whether it was true or false. The fact that Tuoba Ku Duo had been executed by the King of Wei was known to all, but whether his attack on the Dugu clan had been carried out under orders or on his own initiative was difficult to determine. By nature proud, Dugu Qiu Bai was unwilling to kill the innocent, especially if this woman might even be his benefactor. Yet he also feared that if he let the woman go, and later discovered that the destruction of the Dugu clan had indeed been the King of Wei’s intention, it would no longer be so easy to trouble the Tuoba royal house. Moreover, in the present situation, if he released her, whether he himself could escape remained an open question. He hesitated, neither advancing nor retreating.

He Yu thought to himself: Dugu Qiu Bai bears a sea-deep blood feud, yet he is unwilling to slaughter the innocent indiscriminately. If it were anyone else, who would care whose idea it was? So long as the surname were Tuoba, they would already have been killed to the last. It is rare indeed to be so scrupulous. From this, it seems Dugu Qiu Bai is of exceptionally noble character.