Chapter 36: Growing Old
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“Commander, you’re old. Your blade has grown slow,” Bu Lei said.
By then, Zhu Zai and Bu Lei had been fighting as they ran, covering roughly a mile.
The thunderous explosions in the distance could still be heard.
But both men were veteran Embroidered Uniform Guards, no strangers to struggles between life and death. They knew all too well how formidable the other was; if either allowed himself to be distracted, he would likely die by the other’s hand.
Bu Lei spoke without pause, yet his hands never slowed. He suddenly brought his saber down toward Zhu Zai’s shoulder.
Zhu Zai raised his own blade to block it, refusing to yield with his tongue either.
“I may be old, but you’re still too tender. You’d hardly take any effort to chew.”
In an instant, the two men raised their sabers and attacked one another.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
In the darkness, sparks suddenly flared, flickering across their grim faces.
Both men had come from the Embroidered Uniform Guard. They had learned the same martial arts and carried out much the same duties. Even their cultivation was evenly matched, both having reached the pinnacle.
The difference was that Zhu Zai was older, with deeper internal energy and more polished techniques.
Bu Lei, being young, possessed greater vigor, and his spirit was fiercer and more relentless.
Moreover, each knew the other’s techniques inside and out. For a time, neither could gain the upper hand.
The victor would be decided by whoever revealed a flaw first.
Thus, both men attacked furiously with their hands while their tongues never ceased, each constantly assaulting the other’s state of mind.
“Commander, you are a member of the imperial clan and hold a position of great authority. How could you commit such a treasonous act!?”
Bu Lei rotated his arm and struck Zhu Zai’s blade directly with the hilt of his saber, intending to break it.
“You still remember that I’m a member of the imperial clan? If a clansman kills two servants of the Zhu family, what treason is there in that!?”
The long saber in Zhu Zai’s hand spun around, reversing its grip. He pressed his elbow against the back of the blade and suddenly slashed toward Bu Lei, forcing him to defend himself.
“What kind of bewitching potion did Li Miao give you, that you protect him so desperately!?”
“Protecting him is better than protecting an ungrateful wolf cub like you!”
“If you hadn’t protected him, I wouldn’t have done this!”
“Do I owe you anything? Who I choose to favor is none of your damned business!”
The two men collided in a furious exchange, then sprang apart and adjusted their breathing as they recovered their internal energy.
“His Majesty is already displeased with the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If you kill me and Deputy Minister Wan, you won’t be able to answer for it either.”
Bu Lei stared fixedly into Zhu Zai’s eyes.
Zhu Zai gave a cold laugh.
“I’ll answer to His Majesty if need be. You two dead men won’t be able to hear it.”
“Besides, His Majesty formed this intention months ago, yet I’m still doing perfectly well.”
“Do you think I held the post of commander for several decades by sheer luck?”
“You!?” Bu Lei roared.
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“Don’t assume you’re certain to survive. Once you and I cross blades, the outcome is still unknown.”
“Li Miao entered the sect at the same time as I did. You and I both know what his aptitude used to be.”
“I don’t know what crooked path he took to reach his current level, but his age is still there for all to see. He could never defeat Deputy Minister Wan!”
Bu Lei sneered.
“If you lose, I’ll kill you. If you win, Deputy Minister Wan will kill you.”
“Even if the two of you escape with your lives, His Majesty will kill you afterward.”
“Old bastard, you’re doomed.”
Now that all pretense had been cast aside, Bu Lei no longer showed Zhu Zai the slightest respect.
“His Majesty does not need an Embroidered Uniform Guard loyal to Zhu Zai. But he will need one loyal to me.”
“Once you and Li Miao are dead, Liu Zhe is useless, and both vice commanders belong to the Ministry of War.”
“The position of commander will be mine and mine alone.”
With an icy smile, Bu Lei drew the long saber beneath his arm, wiping the blood from its blade.
Both he and Zhu Zai had already been wounded. Bu Lei was young, his blood and vital force vigorous, so the injuries mattered little. Zhu Zai, however, was advanced in years. His vitality had begun to decline, and sooner or later he would be unable to hold on.
Zhu Zai had foreseen that Bu Lei would make this choice one day.
Bu Lei resembled Zuo Lishan in many ways.
Both were arrogant, ruthless, extraordinarily gifted, and regarded everyone else as beneath notice.
The difference was that when Zuo Lishan had practiced martial arts, he had not had a Li Miao beside him. If Zuo Lishan had grown up with an opponent like Li Miao—sharp-tongued, vicious at heart, and forever beating him as though he were beating his own son—perhaps he would not have died so hastily. Instead, he might have become much smarter.
And once one became clever, one learned to follow the rules, to endure, and to show respect.
Zhu Zai had seen through Bu Lei long ago. So long as he could keep Bu Lei suppressed, Bu Lei would be his loyal hound.
But if Zhu Zai ever revealed a weakness, Bu Lei would also be the first to pounce and sink his teeth into his throat.
Zhu Zai said coldly, “You’ve certainly thought it all through.”
“But first, you’ll have to survive my hands.”
Before the words had even faded, he flashed forward, his long saber cleaving downward.
To be honest, Zhu Zai could not be certain that Li Miao would win.
After all, the only information he had received was Wang Hai’s account and a few scattered words from Li Miao that night.
Zhu Zai could not even be certain that what he was doing was right.
Li Miao was always infuriating him, always acting against his wishes, always looking at him with that listless gaze, as though assigning him one more task would make him resign from office and retire to the mountains.
He was never respectful, constantly taking money from Zhu Zai’s treasury without so much as a word of warning.
Zhu Zai was a dignified third-rank official, a member of the Great Shuo imperial clan, and a pillar of the court. Not one of the gifts sent to him on his birthday had ever been worth less than a hundred taels of silver.
Only Li Miao had once sauntered in with his usual measured stride, walked straight into the rear hall, pulled a pastry from his robes, and said that he had found a small stall while wandering about that day. It tasted excellent, he claimed, and he had brought one for Zhu Zai to try.
Damn it, that day was not even a day off!
How dare he skip work to wander around, then come here and flaunt it before me!?
Furious, Zhu Zai had cursed Li Miao all over again, and the pastry had been hurled at him like a concealed weapon.
But perhaps precisely because of that, the more he cursed, the more he found himself unwilling to imagine a future without this person to curse.
Bu Lei was right. Zhu Zai was old.
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When people grew old, their thoughts multiplied.
Their hearts softened.
And when the heart softened, the blade grew slow.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
The long sabers continued to collide until their edges were chipped to pieces.
Fragments flew in every direction, cutting bloody furrows across both men’s faces. Neither dared close his eyes to avoid them. They could only remain wholly focused and strike at the vital points throughout the other’s body.
Zhu Zai was gradually falling behind.
In an instant, the long sabers clashed with a resounding boom.
Screeech—
The two Spring-Embroidered sabers broke at the same time!
Broken blades flew toward them. Bu Lei ignored them entirely, allowing one to pierce his shoulder.
Zhu Zai, however, could only turn his head and evade the fragment shooting toward his face.
That single movement exposed a flaw.
Bu Lei grinned savagely. The half of his Spring-Embroidered saber remaining in his hand slipped through the opening and drove straight toward Zhu Zai’s heart.
“Old bastard, die!”
Zhu Zai could only raise both palms, hoping to catch the blade between them.
But he knew very well that their martial skills were evenly matched. He did not practice an Iron Body technique, and the odds of catching a blade barehanded were exceedingly slim.
Just as Zhu Zai’s palms were about to clamp down on the blade—
Bang.
A soft sound.
Bu Lei’s head jerked to one side, blood bursting from it.
The broken saber lost all its strength and fell limply downward.
Zhu Zai’s hands closed on empty air.
“Commander, is this what you call ‘not being absolutely certain’?”
“I was only gone for less than half an hour. How did you nearly lose already?”
Li Miao strode over, seized Zhu Zai’s wrist, and circulated the Bridal Garment Divine Skill to heal his wounds.
Zhu Zai suddenly let all his strength drain away. He braced both hands against his knees and gasped for breath.
Between breaths, he said coldly,
“I—I left him an opening… to exploit. Hah.”
“If you’d arrived any later, I would have won—”
End of Chapter
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