Volume One: The Emperor's Sword Chapter 102: Declaring One's Resolve

The Northern Expedition signifies that the Great Yan army will once again cross the Coldwater River and set foot on the northern lands.

It signifies that the mystery behind the Yanmen Marquis’s years of seclusion is about to be unraveled.

It signifies that the anger Yun Que has buried deep in his heart for five years will finally be unleashed!

"The Northern Expedition..."

Yun Que was completely unaware that his palm had been pierced by the shards of his wine cup. He murmured in a daze, "I have finally waited for this day. Grandpa Lan, when the Northern Expedition begins, I wish to serve as a vanguard!"

Lan Yu retrieved medicinal powder to dress Yun Que’s wound, saying kindly, "Don’t worry, kid. There will certainly be a place for you in the Northern Expedition army!"

Lan Yusheng added excitedly, "Autumn is already here, and there are only two or three months left until the end of the year. I must hurry and heal my wounds so I can follow Grandfather to fight in the northern lands!"

"Good!" Lan Yu patted the shoulders of the two young men, sighing with emotion. "You shall both go! We shall all go! The three of us, grandfather and grandsons, will march out together. If we do not avenge our blood feud, we shall not return alive!"

"We shall not return alive!!!"

Yun Que and Lan Yusheng shouted in unison.

Their fathers had both died in battle five years ago, slaughtered under the iron hooves of the barbarians. Such a deep blood feud—how could it not be avenged?

Yun Que, in particular, had more than just revenge on his mind. He needed to solve the mystery of Coldwater City, clear his father’s name of disgrace, and demand justice.

After calming down, Yun Que considered the price of the Northern Expedition.

He looked at the Duke of Yu and asked, "Grandpa Lan, have you agreed to assist the Emperor in forging the Son of Heaven’s Sword?"

Lan Yu nodded and let out a heavy sigh.

This was the deal between him and the Emperor: he would assist in the forging, and in return, the Emperor would agree to the Northern Expedition.

"Forging the sword... Grandfather, you are going to help the Emperor forge the Son of Heaven’s Sword?" Lan Yusheng was shocked. "That sword has caused the deaths of countless people! If you help forge it, won’t your reputation be completely ruined?"

Lan Yusheng did not know of the pact between the Duke of Yu and the current Chief Councilor; he could not imagine his grandfather bearing such infamy.

"What use is a reputation!"

Lan Yu held up his strong liquor and looked toward the northern horizon. "I intend to have these old bones buried on the north bank of the Coldwater River. The tombstone shall be made of the finest bluestone, carved into a sharp point and buried deep underground, with the tip pointing north. Even in death, I will be a foul and stubborn rock. Even if I cannot pierce the barbarians, it would be satisfying enough to trip them up! Just thinking about it makes me happy, haha!"

To become a stone in death to trip the enemy’s feet.

It sounded like a joke, yet it commanded profound respect.

The old Duke had already declared his resolve.

His resolve to die!

As the sky gradually brightened, a streak of morning glow spanned the horizon, dispelling the night and illuminating the world.

When day broke, Yun Que prepared to take his leave.

Just as he was about to stand, someone arrived at the door with a message.

It was from the Ministry of Justice, bringing news: Mu Wan, who had been imprisoned in the Heavenly Dungeon, had died suddenly overnight.

The Duke of Yu had informants throughout the Imperial City, including many within the Heavenly Dungeon, but Mu Wan’s death had been so sudden and unexpected that no clues were left behind.

In the end, it was handled as a sudden death due to illness.

Mu Wan was linked to the barbarians; through him, many leads regarding them could have been uncovered. With his death, those leads were buried forever.

Dead men tell no tales.

"Grandpa Lan, outside the mines, there were people from the Misty Pavilion keeping guard, and the team was led by Iron Hand."

Yun Que informed Lan Yu of his encounter outside the Mu family’s mines.

"Could it be that the Imperial Preceptor is secretly colluding with the barbarians?"

Yun Que voiced his suspicion, though it was merely a suspicion without any evidence.

Lan Yu pondered for a long time before saying skeptically, "Wei Mocheng is a man of mysterious methods. The Son of Heaven’s Sword was the result of his own persistent promotion. He is suspected of being an accomplice to tyranny, but he has no reason to collude with the barbarians. He is already the Imperial Preceptor, second only to the Emperor and above ten thousand others. If the barbarians occupied Great Yan, what benefit would that bring him?"

Lan Yu’s deduction was not without reason.

The Imperial Preceptor had already reached the pinnacle of his career and held immense power; the entire imperial court feared and avoided him. If he were not satisfied with such status, the only thing left would be to usurp the throne and become the Emperor himself.

Lan Yu could not fathom a motive for Wei Mocheng to collude with the barbarians.

As an outsider, even if the barbarians conquered the lands of Great Yan, they would never let Wei Mocheng be their king.

Yun Que was also deeply puzzled by this.

Unfortunately, without further evidence or clues to prove the Imperial Preceptor’s connection to the barbarians, there was little to be done.

Leaving the Duke’s mansion, Yun Que felt a sense of urgency.

The Northern Expedition was now a certainty, and the war between the Great Yan and the barbarians was on the verge of breaking out. He had to improve his cultivation as quickly as possible.

In the midst of a battle involving thousands of troops, an individual cultivator would find no advantage.

The power of cannons was certainly nothing to be taken lightly.

The combined force of hundreds of cannons was enough to make even a Golden Core cultivator retreat.

Armies were filled with cultivators, and large-scale wars between two nations were nothing less than a slaughterhouse.

Only by exerting every effort to raise his cultivation could he kill more enemies and survive longer in the war.

The day was now fully bright.

After eating breakfast on the street, Yun Que headed straight for the Changliu Street market.

He was prepared to collect his defensive inner armor.

From the clues revealed by Yu Qingfu, he learned that the "wealthy person" was a woman, and since Si Ruonan was in urgent need of locust crystals, Yun Que could not help but suspect the true identity of that weapon smith.

While collecting the armor this time, Yun Que intended to take the opportunity to probe her.

He wanted to see if Si Ruonan was indeed the "wealthy person" treated as a distinguished guest by all the major shops.

Along the way, Yun Que prepared several ways to test her. By the time he stepped into the smithy, he had become calm and composed, his expression unreadable.

But there was no one in the shop.

The small courtyard was empty, and there was no sign of Si Ruonan.

Not at home?

Walking into the courtyard, a wave of chilling air rushed toward him.

The temperature in the smithy was significantly lower than outside, giving off an eerie, cold sensation.

Other than that, there was nothing unusual.

Yun Que assumed it was caused by some special artifact Si Ruonan had forged; after all, the artifacts here were strange and varied, with functions that were naturally diverse.

Some artifacts carried heat and contained the power of flame, while others were inherently cold and had the miraculous effect of emitting ice and snow.

Yun Que stood in the main room, examining the rows of artifacts on the wooden shelves.

He waited for a long time, but still, Si Ruonan did not return.

He had scanned every single artifact in the room, yet there was still no sign of her.

"Senior Si! Are you home?"

Yun Que walked out to the door and called out loudly in the courtyard.

No one answered.

Where had she gone?

If she wasn't home, how could she leave the whole room full of artifacts just like that? Wasn't she afraid they would be stolen?

Something was wrong...

Yun Que noticed something unusual.

The artifacts in the room were indeed dazzling, and there were three that carried an icy aura.

However, the chill of those artifacts was completely different from the gloom in the courtyard.

What the artifacts emitted was like a cold, crisp frost, while the aura enveloping the courtyard was a sinister chill that made one feel deeply uncomfortable.

"Ghostly aura!"

Yun Que’s pupils contracted.

The gloom in the courtyard bore a similarity to the ghost seed that had once lodged on his shoulder.

Recalling the black-faced doll that Luo Xiaoyu had once seen, Yun Que turned his head sharply toward the backyard.

Yun Que guessed where Si Ruonan had gone.

The backyard, that mysterious woodshed!

The last time he came, Si Ruonan had appeared from the woodshed, and at that time, her demeanor had been very strange; he didn't know what she was tinkering with in there.

Today, he had called out for a long time and seen no one. Could something have happened to her?

Filled with doubt, Yun Que went to the backyard.

The wooden door of the woodshed was tightly shut, and there was no sound from within, though the chill here was heavier than anywhere else.

"Senior Si, are you in there?"

Yun Que stood at the door and asked.

No one answered; it was eerily quiet.

After waiting a moment, Yun Que reached out to push the wooden door while simultaneously channeling his Strange Sword Soul.

Creak...

The wooden door opened slowly.

Inside, it was pitch black.

As Yun Que stepped inside, deep within the darkness, a pair of blood-red eyes lit up.