The Tale Never Ends

Just as soon as Zhang Zhigui finished, I spied Lu Bugong’s smile fading as he extracted a little wooden box from his pocket.

“What do you mean, Zhigui?” I asked, ignoring that while trying to look cordial. “I have scoured through many ancient manuscripts and documents. This is not the only era in which the Shiyan Blade has reappeared. Even during the times of the Warring States, the Northern and Southern dynasties of Wei and Jin, and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the Shiyan Blade has continually reentered the fold to cause havoc across the land. And each ripple that it caused mostly involved the dragon leys; ripples caused by the sons of Yan Di of the South wielding the Shiyan Blade!”

The smile had all but vanished off his face when he reached this point and the look he cast at me was fierce and penetrating. Suddenly, the air screamed with a wood projectile wheezing right past my nose and drilled deep into the wooden pillar beside me.

Behind me, everyone sprang to their feet, brandishing their weapons with their backs arched like they were ready to pounce! Lin Feng was the fieriest of my companions. Seething with rage, he lunged at Lu Bugong who shot the wooden bolt at me, swinging his whip at him! Yan Jishi growled in response and Lu Bugong was suddenly yanked away by a shadowy figure as Lin Feng’s whip smashed the wooden stool that Lu Bugong was just sitting on before! As he avoided Lin Feng’s attack, I saw what he was holding in his hand: a wooden crossbow!

I quickly raised my arm to stop Lin Feng from unleashing another attack and I looked back, signaling my companions to cool down. Despite the hesitant looks from them, Lin Feng and the others relented. With one calm look from me, I managed to have my companions put away their weapons, although they sank back into their chairs, glowering at Zhang Zhigui and his friends.

“What is the meaning of this, Zhigui?” I asked, sighing. He looked at me, saying nothing. “I do not know from where you heard such nonsense,” I said, “But I can be certain of this: I am not as bad as you might believe me to be. You might not even believe what I’m saying now, but…” I paused to look at the wary Lu Bugong and Yan Jishi. For all we knew, both of them could be the ones who had been whispering lies into Zhang Zhigui’s ears, although I would find that hard to believe. Because they were as surprised and shocked as we were when Zhang Zhigui divulged his discovery about the Shiyan Blade. They were evidently none the wiser as we were before this.

That would make them both unlikely candidates to be our true enemy and we would need to look further and be more careful. I said again, “I don’t know what you want. But I am not your enemy and I mean you no ill will. In fact, whatever dangers or harms that you might be feeling might have come from your own eyes and ears.” I stopped again and took a deep breath. “So, what do you want?”

“I would expect no less from you, Shiyan. Truth be told, I have no wish for a feud against you either. I ask only this: leave your sword, Shiyan. Leave it here for the good of all mankind.”

Apparently, Zhang Zhigui, or the person who had been poisoning his mind did not know that the Shiyan Blade needed me to be completely whole. Making use of this knowledge, I smiled and nodded, “Very well… So…” I turned to Big Sister and gave her a tacit signal. She waved her hand and conjured the Shiyan Blade from her earring, allowing it to fall into my hand. “I leave you to decide: to trust me or to trust whatever is it you are hearing. But at present, you seem more inclined to fall for the latter. So, here’s the Shiyan Blade.”

“NOO!” Lin Feng, Chongxi, and Edelweiss howled in unison. They understood the significance of the Shiyan Blade to me and why Jin Qichen and his cohorts wanted me and the sword. Without the Shiyan Blade, I would be without almost all of my powers and I would be defenseless.

I turned back at them and flashed them a smile, motioning for them to relax.

Zhang Zhigui’s forehead instead creased with doubt, visibly surprised by my compliance. He obviously did not expect me to so easily surrender the Shiyan Blade and deeply confused and shocked. I turned the sword over, offering him its hilt and my head bobbed encouragingly at him, gesturing him to take it. Slowly, his hands inched closer as he drew nearer until he finally grasped the sword. I let go as soon as he held it and he almost fell suddenly with zero anticipation that the sword could weigh so heavily.

In truth, the Shiyan Blade weighs far from a tonne. The Shiyan Blade possessed a will of its own; it identified strangers and warded them off by making itself many times heavier if any stranger tried to take it. But Lin Feng and Chongxi had been frequently playing with it with hardly any difficulty, for the Shiyan Blade deferred to me to who it viewed as strangers or enemies.

Zhang Zhigui’s face creased into a grimace as he struggled with the weight. I spun on my heels and began walking out. Waving over my shoulders to the Champions of Yishui, I shouted, “I’m sure the real truth would be made clear before long. Anyway, I’ll take my leave for now and there’s no need to see us out.” With that, I pushed past the doors and left the house.

As we were leaving Dongyubu Village, Chongxi griped angrily, “I’m particularly angry about that fool Zhang Zhigui! I know he’s been tricked, but I’m just angry! For all we know, he might not even realize that we do not wish to get into a fight against them! He might be under the impression that we’re the guilty party since we’re willingly surrendering that sword!” I placed an arm around him, “Come on, relax! There’s nothing to worry about. The Shiyan Blade is as good as a useless piece of iron in their hands. Zhang Zhigui will realize that he’s been trick in no time. So we will only need to wait.”

Edelweiss coiled an arm around mine, shaking with frustration and fear. “But how about you, without the Shiyan Blade?” “Don’t worry, my dear,” I said to her, shrugging my shoulders, “There’s more to the definition of “Spirit of the Blade” than a mere 4 words. It’s true that most of my magic and power hinges upon the Shiyan Blade. But that’s not the same as being completely helpless without it.” Big Sister formed up beside me and poked gently at Chongxi’s head, making him scowl at her. “Don’t worry, Ala. Little Brother’s sword telekinesis magic might be far from perfect. But he can just easily summon it back to him. He only needs to say the words and the Shiyan Blade will come flying back to him.”

On that note, Edelweiss breathed more easily this time. “Not only that,” I added, “Zhigui did mention that someone will use the Shiyan Blade to cause havoc upon all mankind. But no matter how, there’s something he’s seriously mistaken.”

“What thing?” Everyone asked incredulously as one. I grinned at every pair of eyes watching me and chuckled. “You guys still haven’t noticed it, have you? The Shiyan Blade alone doesn’t cause any havoc. Only the person who uses it. And in this case, Zhigui thinks I am the user of the Shiyan Blade. But I am not the possessor of the Shiyan Blade. I AM the Shiyan Blade!”

For a heartbeat, no one moved. Lin Feng and Big Sister were the first ones to react. Lin Feng slapped at his thigh, screaming, “Oh my gods! You’re right! You are not the wielder of the sword! You are the sword! So technically, they did not have the Shiyan Blade yet!” Big Sister giggled. “So, taking either you or the sword is useless. This is why the prince had wanted to badly to have you on his side. He wants you together so that he could be the true owner of the Shiyan Blade!”

I nodded at him approvingly. “But wait,” Lin Feng asked, “You said something about ‘the real truth would be made clear before long’ just now. What do you mean?” I looked at everyone imploringly, hoping that someone could answer in my stead. Then Big Sister said, her eyes narrowing, “The prince had been anxious to have Shiyan working with him. In fact, not only him, but also those with whom he is working with. Zhang Zhigui will quickly inform the stranger about his procurement of the sword and the stranger will appear to try to use it. The truth will be out then.”

I showed another grin at Big Sister and took out my phone and tapped on it, showing to everyone the map of Yi County that I had downloaded. “The express bus terminals are here…” I muttered but Lin Feng stopped me. “We should make the most of this trip. Look, Chongxi is already feeling hungry salivating at that mule meat barbeque restaurant!”

We looked back and saw Chongxi staring at the direction of a restaurant. It said “Old Dong’s Meats and Innards” on the signboard and there was a long menu list just below. The first being on the menu was an “Exotic Mule Meat Barbeque.”