“It was revenge!”
“Ain’t that just it?! The Kingdom of Xianle had fallen, so he had to ruin Yong’an too. The Yong’an people killed his own royal parents, so he had to murder the royal parents of the Crown Prince of Yong’an. An eye for an eye. It’s pure vengeance!”
“But the ones who wiped out Xianle weren’t from Lang Qianqiu’s generation. Such retribution was completely unreasonable…”
“And here I thought the Laughingstock of the Three Realms was just a fool; turns out he’s actually quite an aggressive character. Becoming a State Preceptor in an enemy state as his cover, slaughtering the entire monarchy in one go. Incredible…”
Xie Lian could feel Jun Wu’s eyes on him and closed his own.
He heard Jun Wu say a moment later, “Tai Hua, you firmly believe Xianle to be Fangxin, but do you have proof?”
“The State Preceptor Fangxin was the one who taught me swordsmanship. How could I not recognize him the moment he struck?!” Lang Qianqiu replied.
The hushed whispers grew even more excited.
“Even if he needed to keep his cover intact, wasn’t teaching the crown prince swordsmanship a little unnecessary?”
“Since his third ascension, we haven’t seen him touch a sword even once. It’s no wonder, he’s afraid to blow his cover…”
Lang Qianqiu stated, “I recently went to Ghost City and faced Crimson Rain Sought Flower…”
As the crowd listened to him explain what transpired in Ghost City and about Hua Cheng, many of the officials shuddered just hearing him mentioned. Lang Qianqiu continued his story.
“When I was twelve, I was once kidnapped during an outing. The kidnappers dragged me into the streets, and when the guards caught up, there was a violent brawl. A street busker was dragged into the chaos and, bruised as he was, he broke up the fight with a mere tree branch. With it, he easily parried two swords and rescued me.
“The kidnappers and the guards had all suffered grave injuries, and so it was this busker who helped me escape and escorted me all the way back to the palace. Out of immense gratitude, His Majesty my father and my mother the queen fervently tried to retain him and discovered his tremendous ability in swordsmanship. So he was ultimately invited to become our State Preceptor. He taught me the art of the blade for five years, and I’m more than familiar with his style. How could I be mistaken?”
“Your Highness Tai Hua,” Mu Qing said quietly, “you said yourself that what you saw was only a fleeting image. No one has confirmed it except you. Thus, these accusations are only by your word.”
Mu Qing’s argument sounded like it was in Xie Lian’s favor, but the truth was more complex than that. Mu Qing must’ve determined that Lang Qianqiu was quite convinced of his take on the evidence, and the more he doubted the truth, the more adamant Lang Qianqiu would be to prove himself. This was not the least bit helpful to Xie Lian’s situation.
Sure enough, Lang Qianqiu demanded of the crowd, “Fine. Bring me a sword, please!”
There were many martial gods within the hall who carried swords, and hearing his call, a sword was immediately thrown in his direction. Lang Qianqiu caught it and thrust it in front of Xie Lian.
“Take it. We’ll duel right now, no holding back, using everything we’ve got. We’ll see whether we have the same style and whether you taught me!”
Everyone thought demanding a duel in the Palace of Divine Might was insolent, but when they thought of the Gilded Banquet Massacre and how a dignified crown prince’s entire family was slaughtered in cold blood, they could understand his provocation.
Xie Lian’s injury was still on Shi Qingxuan’s mind, and Shi Qingxuan tried to reason with Lang Qianqiu. “Qianqiu, His Highness blocked that attack from Hua Cheng for you and injured his right arm. How can he duel with you?”
Hearing this, Lang Qianqiu suddenly reached out with his left hand and struck down heavily on his own right arm. There was a loud crack, and a mist of blood erupted from his right shoulder. Blood spurted profusely as the limb fell limp. Onlookers could see with no inspection that it was a severe injury, and everyone was shocked.
Xie Lian was also taken aback. He finally lifted his eyes. “What are you doing?”
“Lord Wind Master is right,” Lang Qianqiu said. “You did injure your arm saving me, and so I return an arm in kind. But just as it’s true that you saved me, your murder of my clan is also the undeniable truth. I know of your dexterity and that you can use a sword in either hand without the slightest effect on your skills. We’ll duel with our lefts. If you’re a man, pick up the sword!”