44: Ximen Chuxue's determination, the old monkey reports the news!

He looked at Ximen Chuixue, then at Sun Xiuqing, who was gentle yet shy.

"Her name is Sun Xiuqing, she is my wife, and as you can see, she is pregnant," Ximen Chuixue said calmly.

"Sister-in-law, don't stay outside, please sit, please sit! I'll arrange for more food!" Shangguan Xueer stood up and helped Sun Xiuqing to the inner hall.

With guests arriving, and both men and women, she could no longer eat at the same table as before.

Everyone took their seats.

"Ximen, where have you two been hiding this past month? There wasn't a trace of you?" Lu Xiaofeng changed the subject.

"Haha!" Speaking of this, Ximen Chuixue also laughed, as if a glacier had instantly melted:

"We were hiding in the Hefangzhai, making pastries. Who in the world would believe that Ximen Chuixue, who kills so cleanly, could make such delicious pastries when he put down his sword?"

As soon as Ximen Chuixue uttered these words, the hall fell into a strange silence.

The playful look on Lu Xiaofeng's face froze, his eyes widening, as if he was truly seeing his friend of many years for the first time.

You? Making pastries?

"Indeed, it's unimaginable! A great recluse hides in the city. Who would have thought that the Sword God, Ximen Chuixue, would wash his hands and make soup in the busiest pastry shop in the capital, quietly awaiting the birth of his child?"

"Why did you think of looking for me?" Lu Jiuyuan asked.

"He's looking for me!" Lu Xiaofeng corrected.

"He's looking for both of you!" Ximen Chuixue said, "I'm not confident about tomorrow's battle. You two can enter the Forbidden City, and I want to ask you for one thing!

If I lose, one of you will help me collect my body, and the other will help me take care of her and the child?"

"You won't die. Ye Gucheng was indeed injured by Ninth Master!

His appearance this time, killing with his sword in Chunfeng Yixiao Pavilion, was just a bluff!"

"He's really injured?" A hint of sorrow flashed in Ximen Chuixue's eyes.

"He is truly injured, by half a needle from me. Although he used other methods to conceal it, he couldn't hide it completely," Lu Jiuyuan nodded.

"I saw him in a broken cave in a beggar's den, but when I looked for him again, he was gone," Lu Xiaofeng added.

"Gone?"

"Gone!"

Ximen Chuixue was silent for a moment: "He shouldn't have died. I asked him to change the date from the fifteenth of August to the fifteenth of September."

"Because of sister-in-law's pregnancy?"

"Mm!" Ximen Chuixue nodded.

Lu Xiaofeng also fell silent for a while. Only a heartless Sword God could wield a sword art that did not belong to the human world.

Could a Sword God with feelings still wield a sword art that did not belong to the mortal realm?

If the duel had taken place on the fifteenth of August, Ximen Chuixue would probably be dead by now.

"Can't you spare him?"

Ximen Chuixue shook his head: "He and I are the same kind of people. We would rather die gloriously in a duel than live a Living a miserable life life because the opponent showed mercy."

"So he's definitely going to die?"

"Definitely!"

"I don't think so!" Lu Jiuyuan shook his head: "Although my half-needle struck his chest, the Sword Intent entered his heart, injuring his heart meridians.

But it wouldn't cause him to fall to the point of drilling into caves and fighting with beggars for territory.

This act is a bit over the top.

We both suffered similar injuries. Although I recovered a little faster, he also has various Spirit Medicines with him. Have you seen me that miserable?

He is the Lord of Baiyun City, not the Chief of the Beggars' Sect."

"You mean?" Lu Xiaofeng looked at Lu Jiuyuan.

"What he said about recovering from his injuries with the Great Rejuvenation Pill might not be false."

"But I saw his injury with my own eyes. There were marks on his chest. His injury is real."

"Sometimes, seeing is not always believing! It's deliberately shown to you!"

Lu Xiaofeng fell silent again, pondering for a long while: "Ye Gucheng wouldn't be that kind of person. That kind of person couldn't wield such a noble sword!"

"There's a conspiracy involved, and he's just a pawn! The ultimate chess player is hidden very deep."

"On the night of the full moon, at The Summit of the Forbidden City, a sword comes from the west, Celestial Flight! Ximen, did you choose the location?"

"I chose it!" Ximen Chuixue nodded: "The most Peak sword art should be fought at the most Peak location, in the most Peak battle."

"I considered various places across the world, the Peaks of the Five Great Mountains, Kunlun, Dongting, but ultimately, only this place can be considered the absolute Peak."

"This battle, unprecedented and unmatched, must shine for a hundred years!"

"You chose the time, you chose the location! Yet it's someone else's conspiracy.

Ximen, you are being played like a puppet."

"Played?" Ximen Chuixue's voice was clear and cold:

"You are wrong! The location was chosen by me, the time was set by me, and the opponent is Ye Gucheng. That is enough.

As for whether it's mixed with others' schemes, others' ambitions... what does that have to do with me?"

He stood up, his white-clad figure, whiter than snow, appeared aloof and resolute in the flower hall: "In my heart, there is only the sword, only that battle.

Regardless of whether Ye Gucheng's injury is real or fake, regardless of whether he is a pawn or a chess player, at midnight tomorrow, on the roof of the Hall of Supreme Harmony,

I will only ask if his sword is still at its Peak.

If it is, it will be the honor of my life; if it is not, then it is his fate."

His gaze swept over Lu Jiuyuan and Lu Xiaofeng: "In my life, I only have one and a half friends. Lu Xiaofeng is one, and Lu Jiuyuan is half a friend and half an opponent.

If I fall, Lu Jiuyuan will collect my body; Lu Xiaofeng will take care of her and her child."

After dinner, Lu Xiaofeng left. He intended to give away all six ribbons he wore.

But to whom he would give them depended on whom he encountered.

However, these matters were irrelevant to Lu Jiuyuan, and Ye Gucheng was not his friend either.

In the end, it was just a small rebellion.

Life is a grand dream, and one knows not when one will awaken, perfect for testing one's sword.

Whoosh!

A paper ball suddenly flew in, which Lu Jiuyuan immediately caught between his fingertips. Opening it, he saw a line of text:

"Ninth Master, I have something to discuss!"

Below the handwriting was a simply drawn old monkey.

"Since you're here, why are you afraid to show your face? Let's talk face to face!" Lu Jiuyuan couldn't help but rest his hand on his sword.

The window was opened from the outside, and a head peeked in, a playful smile on its face, like an old monkey.

"Ninth, I have serious business!"

"Hmm, I know you have serious business!" Lu Jiuyuan said with a smile, "Come, I also have serious business. Don't move, let me stab you with my sword."

This old monkey was none other than Sikong Zhaixing, the King of Thieves, and also the old scoundrel who had stolen a corner of Lu Jiuyuan's clothing and helped Jin Jiuling frame him.

"No, Ninth, listen to me. Jin Jiuling is the Chief Constable of Six Doors, he's a cat, and we're mice. The old man himself isn't afraid of him, but my disciples and grand-disciples, with a single word, he can decide their life or death.

The old man had no choice but to cooperate. Here, the old man apologizes to you."

"No, you have your stance, I have mine. Why apologize?

Stand firm, don't lose face, let me stab you with my sword." Lu Jiuyuan said with a smile, steadily approaching.

"Ninth, I came to you for serious business, precisely to repay my debt to you!" Sikong Zhaixing retreated repeatedly.

"Tonight, Tang Tianzong is coming to Listening to the Waves Garden to poison this place, to kill everyone, leaving no chickens or dogs alive."

Lu Jiuyuan instantly stopped. Tang Tianzong of the Tang Sect? The head of the three Tang Family prodigies.

"How do you know?"

"Hehe, my hands were a bit itchy. When I went to borrow some medicine from him, I overheard Tang Tianzong and Tang Tianyou talking," Sikong Zhaixing chuckled.

"You know, the Tang Sect's poisons are unmatched in the world, and the Tang Sect's medicines are equally unmatched.

I've already thought of what to compete with Lu Xiaoji next time! Who's harder, who's longer!

Hehehehe, whoever loses will dance the Hu Xuan dance in their underwear at Chunfeng Yixiao Pavilion for a whole day. Gahahahaha..."

"Is there such a medicine? What are its effects?"

"Corpse Powder. After taking it, your whole body becomes as stiff as a zombie. Eat a bit more, and you can stay hard for a day and a night."

"Talent! You truly are a talent!"

"Ninth, I've repaid what I owe you. You can't trouble me anymore! You can't stab me with a sword, and you certainly can't shoot me with needles!"

Sikong Zhaixing said, "The two Tang brothers are in Room Alpha Two at Donglai Inn. We're even!"

With that, he darted out with a whoosh, disappearing after a few leaps.

In the hall, the smile on Lu Jiuyuan's face slowly faded, replaced by a cold calm.

"This old scoundrel is so cautious, always ready to run, not even giving me a chance to stab him."

He twirled the paper with the monkey's head between his fingers, his gaze fixed on the seemingly serene and elegant courtyard outside the window.

"Tang Tianzong... Tang Tianyou! Tang Sect, you have already chosen the path of death."

Lu Jiuyuan murmured to himself, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

The Tang Clan of Shu, peerless in both poisons and hidden weapons, acted ruthlessly and had always been one of the most feared existences in the Jianghu.

If you don't kill the snake, you will be harmed by it. Kill one, and there's a whole group behind them.

Passive defense could not compare to proactive offense.