Yet, she seemed entirely unbothered by his indifference.
Her smile remained soft, as if nothing he said or did could trouble her. She seemed to embody the ideal of beauty, grace, and tender understanding—gentle and delicate beyond compare.
“Will my lord still not share his honorable name?” she asked sweetly.
The black-clad youth slowly released the boy’s hand.
“My name holds no significance in the eyes of Han Shui Palace,” he replied.
“But if you truly wish to know, I am Zhan Ri Fei.”
He turned his gaze toward the green-clad man with lifeless, corpse-like eyes.
“Doesn’t the lady’s companion intend to join the fight?”
The green-clad man’s words, like his eyes, were devoid of any human emotion.
“Under Han Shui Palace, without the Grandmother’s command, it is always single combat. Are you afraid the Moon Envoy cannot handle you alone?”
Zhan Ri Fei did not answer.
He smiled.
He drew his sword.
–– At last, he unsheathed his sword.
The blade was drawn.
A flash of cold light leapt from his side. The energy of the sword surged to the heavens, its brilliance dazzling, even illuminating the overcast sky above.
The green-clad man’s eyes burned with heat.
The Moon Envoy’s smile froze. Even her breath faltered for a moment.
“What a magnificent sword! Is my lord’s name truly Zhan Ri Fei?”
Zhan Ri Fei smiled faintly. “Why does the lady ask such a question?”
The Moon Envoy’s eyes shimmered. “This sword is a peerless treasure. Such a divine weapon is always in the hands of the capable. How could it possibly belong to an unknown wanderer of the Jianghu?”
Zhan Ri Fei replied, “The lady overpraises me.”
The Moon Envoy’s smile returned, soft and alluring. “Such a legendary weapon—would my lord permit me to take a closer look?”
Zhan Ri Fei noticed her left hand sweep forward. She acted without further words.
A shadow, faint and almost imperceptible, moved silently and gracefully, like a celestial dragon. It drifted toward the longsword in his hand, ethereal yet precise.
Zhan Ri Fei’s heart sank, and he swiftly retreated.
Though he held a legendary blade, how could even such a weapon counter an attack that was formless and invisible?
“Everlasting Longing” was forged from the ice silkworm threads and the deepest black iron of Han Shui Palace’s vaults. Even while wielding a weapon of unparalleled might, he could not sever its strands.
The Moon Envoy had launched her attack with her left hand.
Her move was executed, but Zhan Ri Fei could not see her weapon clearly, nor could he hear the sound of its movement.
–– If he couldn’t see the weapon, how could he discern the trajectory of her strikes?
–– If he couldn’t hear the wind of its motion, how could he determine the direction of her attack?
The sky darkened further.
Her soft and refined voice from earlier seemed to echo in his ears:
“Everlasting Longing, Everlasting Longing—‘Longing leaves no trace, yet cuts to the bone.’”
What a fitting phrase—“Longing leaves no trace, yet cuts to the bone”!
In an instant, the Moon Envoy had seized the initiative!
Zhan Ri Fei’s thoughts raced like lightning.
In the blink of an eye, instead of retreating, he advanced. With a flick of his wrist, his blade flashed coldly as he thrust swiftly at the Moon Envoy.
The icy sword aura reached her brow in a heartbeat, the chilling sensation already penetrating her skin.
–– Even if she managed to disarm him, she would inevitably be injured by his boundless sword energy.
The Moon Envoy retreated rapidly.
Her right hand executed the technique “Entwining Softness,” while the index finger of her left hand hooked delicately. The faint shadow turned mid-air with a light “hiss,” still aiming for his longsword.
Once it latched onto its target, no one in the world could escape its entanglement.
–– It was named Everlasting Longing. Was it destined to fulfill its meaning: “Regret lasts until the journey’s end”?
Zhan Ri Fei did not alter his move. His wrist sank, maintaining his forward thrust.
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