Before the protagonists of this particular drama could continue their performance, another person reached the absolute limit of his patience.
Sun Puhe’s gaze toward Jiang Ziqi was thick with murderous intent. He had never encountered someone so incredibly long-winded. It was beyond irritating.
"Kill them," he uttered two cold, indifferent words. Wasting no more time, he slowly raised the blade in his hand.
"Ye Zhao!"
"My son!!!"
Jiang Ziqi, who was also about to be executed, scrambled to use his final moments for a parting word. He wailed, "Father, Mother, take care of yourselves! Ye Zhao, we’ll head out on this road together. Let’s be brothers again in the afterlife!"
"So noisy. It truly grates on the ears."
Almost the instant those words rang out, Ye Zhao suddenly reached up, grabbed the blade pressed against his throat, and vaulted upward. With an unexpected flick of his wrist, he snatched the weapon from Sun Puhe’s hand and hurled it outward.
In the next heartbeat, a man collapsed beside Jiang Ziqi. The entire sequence had unfolded in the blink of an eye.
*Thud—*
The grounds fell into a deathly silence. Sun Puhe shifted his gaze from the dead soldier and slowly looked toward the man who had struck.
Ye Zhao stood in his black robes, slowly stretching his arms and neck. The corners of his narrow eyes tilted upward slightly as he scanned the crowd. His gaze was nonchalant, carrying a hint of the lethargy one might feel upon just waking from a nap.
Something... was very wrong.
"Heh... A dark moon and high winds—a perfect night for murder. You all certainly have fine taste."
The sense of wrongness reached its peak when Ye Zhao smiled and spoke those words.
Sun Puhe shifted his stiff feet, his expression gradually becoming solemn. "You..."
"Me?" Seemingly drawn by Sun Puhe’s voice, Ye Zhao turned to look at him with a half-smile. "What about me?"
Wrong. Everything was utterly wrong.
Sun Puhe stared into those eyes for a long time before finally forcing out a question. "Are you... Tianshu?"
His tone was half-certainty, half-doubt.
"You know me?" Ye Zhao’s face displayed a perfect blend of confusion and curiosity. "And yet, I don't seem to know you."
His gaze drifted across the crowd behind Sun Puhe until it landed on a specific person. First came a flash of bewilderment, followed by a hesitant call: "Shi'an?"
"Is that you, Shi'an?"
The atmosphere turned eerily still. Pei Shi'an’s throat felt parched as he responded blankly, "It is I."
Ye Zhao walked slowly toward him and asked, "How did you get so old?"
Turning to look at the others nearby, the confusion on his face deepened. "And you all... why have your appearances changed so much?"
*Boom—*
It was as if a bolt of celestial lightning had struck their ears, leaving them rooted to the spot like wooden chickens.
It... it really was... Lord Tianshu!
"Lord... Lord... Lord Tianshu???"
Ye Zhao tilted his head, frowning in apparent incomprehension. "How did you develop a stuttering problem?"
Song He’s eyes instantly filled with tears; he looked as though he wanted to let out a loud wail.
"It... it really is you? You’ve returned?!"
Evidently, however, the other party felt none of the warmth of a reunion. Instead, Ye Zhao turned back to look at Sun Puhe’s surrounded group and jerked his chin toward them. "What are you doing? Are those three prisoners to be executed? Why choose such an hour for the sentence?"
Ye Zhao’s parents were stunned. Jiang Ziqi was equally dumbfounded.
Song He, being the one questioned, looked at Pei Shi'an and then at the other two ministers. "Uh... no."
Anyone with eyes could see that Ye Zhao acted as if he didn't recognize Jiang Ziqi and the others. He seemed entirely ignorant of what had just transpired, as if he had forgotten it completely.
Before Song He could elaborate, Ye Zhao’s father called out in a daze, "Son?"
"?" Ye Zhao remained indifferent, standing leisurely as if looking at a stranger. He asked those beside him, "Is he looking at me?"
*Yes! He’s calling you!*
Nearly everyone present knew this fact, yet Ye Zhao himself seemed completely unaware of it.
Ye Zhao’s father grew visibly frantic. "Son, what’s wrong with you? I’m your father!"
"Ye Zhao?" Jiang Ziqi also called out in confusion.
To their surprise, Ye Zhao realized who they were addressing, but he merely let out a light chuckle. He turned to Pei Shi'an and said, "Shi'an, would you say this man has lost his wits? He’s actually calling me his son."
As if he had heard the world’s greatest joke, he laughed. "How is it that the moment I open my eyes, I encounter something so hilarious? Could it be that you all are putting on a play for me?"
He asked the question, but Pei Shi'an did not answer; his heart was in a state of total chaos.
Song He’s throat tightened. He swallowed hard and asked, "Do you not remember?"
"Remember what?" Ye Zhao looked at him. "Though you all have changed greatly, it’s not as if I wouldn't recognize you."
At this point, everyone was almost certain: Ye Zhao had completely forgotten who he was. Or rather, he had regained one set of memories while losing another life entirely.
"Tianshu..." A sinister smile spread across Sun Puhe’s face. He stepped slowly toward Jiang Ziqi and turned to face Ye Zhao. "Why play these mysteries? If you truly remember nothing of Ye Zhao, why did you bother to save him?"
As he spoke, his blade came to rest against Jiang Ziqi’s neck.
Jiang Ziqi froze, not daring to move. "Ye Zhao! Save me, quick!"
Li Yunrong’s heart leaped into her throat.
Everyone looked at the man being called upon for help. Ye Zhao remained unmoved, appearing as though he didn't even realize the plea was directed at him.
After a long moment, he seemed to grasp the meaning. "Save him?"
He answered his own question. "Oh. I just had a headache from all the noise, and seeing this little fellow crying so piteously, I simply threw a blade his way."
Having said that, he narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning dangerous as he looked at Sun Puhe. "To be honest, I am more curious about how I ended up under your boot."
*You're the only one who doesn't know. We all saw exactly how you were beaten down...* many people thought to themselves.
"Ahem..." Minister Song and the others lowered their heads awkwardly, pretending they hadn't heard.
"They aren't prisoners. That man," Pei Shi'an steadied his mind and looked toward Sun Puhe, "is a remnant of the Zhang Clan."
"Oh..."
Two seconds passed. Ye Zhao looked as if he had remembered something. In the next moment, he spat out two words: "Kill him."
Just like Sun Puhe’s earlier order, these two brief words carried a bone-chilling coldness.
But before anyone could move, he changed his mind.
"Wait," the corners of his mouth curled into a slight arc. He said slowly, "That one, I want to slaughter personally."
It seemed he felt that taking revenge himself would be more satisfying.
Song He stepped forward to advise him tactfully, "Lord Tianshu, we have so many people here. Perhaps you shouldn't trouble yourself?"
If the outcome turned out to be disastrous, it would be a massive loss of face. Although they didn't understand why Ye Zhao had suddenly awakened Tianshu’s memories, this body... wasn't it still the same one? Could the current Lord Tianshu actually fight?
They were highly skeptical.
As if reading Song He’s thoughts from his face, Ye Zhao tilted his head slightly. "Your heart doesn't seem to match your words. What? You think I’ll lose?"
"I! How would I dare!" Song He shrank his neck, refusing to meet Ye Zhao’s eyes. His body almost instantly recalled the heart-pounding dread of lying in front of Lord Tianshu.
"Heh..." Ye Zhao said nothing more, only letting out a soft laugh.
Suddenly, he reached out and drew the saber from Wei Feng’s waist before stepping forward.
Wei Feng was slightly startled. One had to know that no one usually dared to touch his weapon. He had been observing the man since the beginning; he truly seemed like a different person.
*Could it... really be Tianshu?* He still wasn't entirely sure.
"What? Are you trying to threaten me?"
Sun Puhe held Jiang Ziqi as a shield. Hearing Ye Zhao’s words, he scoffed. "Would the famous Lord Tianshu allow himself to be threatened by me?"
Ye Zhao held the long saber, his slender, pale fingers slowly tracing the flat of the blade. He lifted his eyelids. "Naturally not."
The moment the words left his lips, the saber lunged straight for Sun Puhe’s face, fast as a lightning strike.
"Ye Zhao!" Jiang Ziqi was terrified. He was in the front; he was the one facing the danger directly, while Sun Puhe was behind him.
When Ye Zhao said he wouldn't be threatened, he truly meant it. He showed no mercy, his blade nearly skewering Jiang Ziqi several times.
His moves were wide and powerful, a suicidal style of fighting. His ferocity forced Sun Puhe to retreat step by step. Compared to before, the difference was like heaven and earth.
In truth, Ye Zhao really was fighting as if his life didn't matter. His strikes were incredibly swift, leaving no room for his opponent—or himself—to retreat.
*Clang—Screech—* The two weapons collided, sending out a shower of sparks.
Jiang Ziqi was dragged along by Sun Puhe through one narrow escape after another. He screamed incessantly, terrified that the two of them would accidentally kill him.
Sun Puhe, having to deal with Ye Zhao while trying to keep Jiang Ziqi as a shield, finally felt the strain as his focus wavered. In his distraction, he inadvertently left an opening.
*A chance!*
Ye Zhao’s eyes sharpened. He lunged forward. Sun Puhe couldn't react in time and pulled Jiang Ziqi directly in front of him to block.
Yet Ye Zhao’s movement didn't slow in the slightest.
"Ah!"
"My son!"
"Jiang Ziqi!"
The scene fell silent, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
Finally...
Sun Puhe looked down at the blade piercing his chest. His expression was blank, as if he didn't understand what had happened.
In the crowd, Jiang Ziqi’s parents suddenly rushed out, dragging their son away from where he had collapsed between Ye Zhao and Sun Puhe.
"Son, son, how are you? Where are you hurt?"
"Say something!" Jiang Ziqi’s mother looked panicked, checking him over frantically.
"Speak!" Jiang Ziqi’s father frowned at his son, who was sitting dazed on the ground.
"Why are you shouting?! Can't you see the child is scared out of his wits!" the mother snapped back. The father choked on his words, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say, feeling quite wronged.
"I'm... I'm fine..." Jiang Ziqi seemed to regain some of his senses, patting himself all over. "I'm fine! I'm okay!"
"Hehehe..." A look of wild joy appeared on his face. "I'm not dead! I'm fine!"
Li Yunrong retracted the step she had taken forward, a smile appearing on her face. That last scream had been hers.
Heaven knew that when Ye Zhao’s blade had passed under his armpit, Jiang Ziqi’s heart had nearly stopped. Even now, his face was pale, showing just how badly he had been frightened.
"You..." Ye Zhao pulled the blade out. Sun Puhe stumbled back, his gaze toward Ye Zhao a mix of shock and resentment. He let out a hoarse, shrill cry: "Tianshu!"
"My Lord!" The soldiers beside Sun Puhe finally reacted and rushed forward.
Wei Feng and the others seized the opportunity. An arrow flew, killing the soldier standing near Ye Zhao’s parents, and the rest of the guards surged forward.
The battle officially erupted.
A man charged at Ye Zhao. With a backhand stroke, Ye Zhao’s blade kissed the man’s throat. In an instant, another corpse lay at his feet.
"Leave none alive." These three chilling words were not spoken loudly, yet they echoed deeply and clearly in everyone’s ears.
In the flickering firelight, the man in black stood tall, his head slightly tilted as he looked askance at the crowd.
Fresh beads of blood slowly dripped from the tip of his saber, each drop vivid and bewitching. The bright glow of the fires reflected in his deep, dark eyes, which looked like a bottomless abyss—utterly still, without a single ripple. It was enough to make one feel a chill from head to toe for no reason at all.
The Yulin Guards swarmed forward, clashing with Sun Puhe’s soldiers.
The sounds of slaughter filled the air, and blood splattered everywhere.
"Tianshu! You will die a horrible death! I will wait for you in hell!" Sun Puhe cursed shrilly, his eyes wide as he gasped for breath.
Suddenly, a very soft laugh was heard.
Ye Zhao answered him with a gentle smile, his voice soft and slow. "Hell is empty, for I have returned to the world of men. Between the vilest of men and the foulest of ghosts, who can possibly contend with me?"
"Heh... Hahahaha..." Ye Zhao started with a low chuckle, which then turned into a loud laugh.
"My Lord!"
Sun Puhe finally drew his last breath, his eyes refusing to close even in death.
The moment he died, Ye Zhao’s laughter ceased. As if he had lost all interest, he stood leisurely in the center of the battlefield, quietly watching the bloody massacre with a calm, rippleless expression.
In reality, Ye Zhao was thinking that his adaptation of that quote had been quite successful.
*Mhm, not bad, not bad at all.*
When he heard the man mention "hell," a classic line had flashed through his mind: *Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.*
At some point, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky.
The dawn came late today, and the slaughter finally drew to a close.
Ye Zhao turned back to look at Pei Shi'an and the others, only to realize another person had joined them.
The moment they met Ye Zhao’s gaze, the three Ministers—Song, Qian, and Li—all felt their hearts leap. They bowed in unison and cried out, "Greetings, Lord Tianshu!"
Grand Duke Yin was startled but quickly recovered, likewise bowing in salutation. "Greetings, Lord Tianshu."
The Yulin Guards in front also realized what was happening. One after another, they followed the lead of the four high officials, bowing low. "Greetings, Lord Tianshu!"
Though the soldiers brought by Grand Duke Yin were utterly confused, some began to follow suit.
In the end, aside from the few who were still dazed, only Pei Shi'an and the newly arrived Wei Xiyang stood staring at Ye Zhao in a stupor. Everyone else was bowing to him.
Silence fell over the area as the fine rain landed on Ye Zhao’s face and clothes.
He did not move. He merely swept a cold gaze over them, while a single thought remained in his mind: *...I think I might have overacted.*
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
天枢 | Tianshu | Literally "Heaven's Pivot" (the star Dubhe). Ye Zhao's hidden identity/persona.
枢大人 | Lord Tianshu | Formal address for Tianshu.
羽林卫 | Yulin Guards | The Imperial Forest Guards; elite palace guards.
世族章氏 | Zhang Clan | An aristocratic family/clan mentioned as rebels or enemies.
殷国丈 | Grand Duke Yin | "Guozhang" refers to the father of an Empress; a high-ranking noble.
卫西扬 | Wei Xiyang | A character who arrives late to the scene.
