Chapter 97: The Confrontation
Everyone had been too tense to have a proper night’s sleep. Even little Xiao Yi had sensed something was wrong, refusing to go to sleep and sticking to Ru Yi’s side.
A knock came like a threat before sunrise. "Open the door in the name of the village head!"
Inside Madam Xiao’s house, the air turned brittle.
Ru Yi’s fingers tightened around Xioa Yi’s sleeve as the boy instinctively pressed closer to her. Yexue was already on her feet, hand hovering near her sword.
Lieyin moved toward the door, expression darkening, while Qingyue remained seated—
Calm. Too calm.
"They’re here," Yexue muttered. "Already?"
Lieyin scoffed. "Of course they are. We broke into his house and stole the records."
Another knock came, harder this time. "Open, or we force entry! You’re harbouring fugitives in your house!"
Madam Xiao’s face had gone pale. "Fugitives..." for the first time she questioned the intentions of the women she let live in her house. "What have you all done?"
"Nothing that wasn’t already rotten," Lieyin cut in.
Ru Yi’s heart pounded. "What do we do?"
Yexlue looked ready to fight. Lieyin looked ready to burn the entire village down. But Qingyue—
She finally stood up.
"They won’t get the chance to do anything," she said.
Yexue frowned. "What are you—"
The sound of boots interrupted her. Not from the door, but from outside. Many of them, their steps ordered. Heavy and disciplined.
It was unlike the scattered movement of village guards. Something else...the shouting outside faltered. Confusion replaced authority.
"What is it? Who are you people?"
A new voice, calm and commanding, answered. "Imperial guards, stand down."
Silence crashed over everything.
Ru Yi blinked in confusion. "Imperial guard?"
Yexue turned sharply to Qingyue. "Tell me you didn’t—"
Qingyue didn’t look at anyone. "Stay here," she stayed simply, then walked out.
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The village head’s residence had never felt so small. The courtyard was now filled with armored figures bearing the imperial crest. Their presence alone crushed the arrogance that Zhou Wen once ruled the place with.
At their center stood a woman, tall and poised. Dressed in deep indigo robes lined with silver thread, her posture straight as a blade.
Her gaze was unforgiving as she stared in distaste.
The village head stood across from her, his composure cracking beneath the weight of her presence. Lin Guowei lingered just behind him, his face tight and calculating.
"You dare storm my residence?" Zhou Wen snapped, though the edge in his voice betrayed him. "On whose authority?"
Han Shuying didn’t even blink. "The Empire’s."
There was a pause, then Qingyue stepped forward from the silence and control. Yexue and Lieyin followed shortly after, flanking her.
While Ru Yi remained behind, watching them with her heart racing. To say she was scared would be an understatement.
First it was Zhou Wen’s men, and now...Han Shuying. She was the last person Ru Yi had expected to see.
The last time Ru Yi had seen her was when they’d been running out of the city. When she’d come to get rid of her, probably on the Empress’s command.
Her gaze shifted to Han Shuying’s wrist and sure enough that same bracelet was still there. It made something in Ru Yi crack.
From the moment they’d arrived at Madam Xiao’s door to when they’d walked the distance to the village head’s residence, Ru Yi had avoided eye contact. Not that Han Shuying had bothered to spare her a glance.
"I believe you sent your men to look for us," Qingyue said calmly. "We’re here now."
"Seize them!" The village head barked instantly.
His guards moved but stopped just as quickly. Imperial blades were already at their throats.
Han Shuying didn’t raise her voice. "Anyone who moves without my command," she said, "will be treated as a traitor to the crown."
Stillness, total and absolute.
Qingyue reached into her sleeve and pulled out the records they’d stolen. She stepped forward and presented them to Han Shuying with both hands.
"Correspondence," she said. "Payments, trade routes and names of all the children they’ve kidnapped."
Han Shuying took them without a word and read through them quietly. The longer she scanned through the documents, the heavier the atmosphere became.
Everyone held their breath— this was the moment of truth.
"This proves nothing!" Zhou Wen yelled. He was too loud and desperate, his composure shattering completely.
"They forged those documents, they’re all liars and fugitives trying to save themselves—"
Han Shuying shifted her gaze to him, and that was more than enough to silence him. "Do you take me for a fool?" she asked quietly.
Zhou Wen’s face twisted. For a moment he hesitated, his expression changing into something darker and unhinged.
"If the Empire insists on abusing its power on the innocent, then I have no choice but to defend myself!"
Qingyue’s eyes narrowed. "Be careful," she warned. "There’s no need to be irrational if you’re truly innocent. The records in her hands will prove whether you’re lying or telling the truth."
But it was already too late.
Energy surged, violent and unstable. The ground beneath them cracked slightly as the village head released his cultivation—far stronger than he had ever shown before.
A hidden blade finally unsheathed.
Lin Guowei stepped back instantly, avoiding the storm.
"Kill them all, since they insist on barging into my home and threatening me with their authority. Let it be known today that the imperial guards sided with the very fugitives that they exiled!"
Chaos erupted after that.
Imperial guards moved first, steel clashing, the energies on both sides colliding.
Lieyin’s blade flashed first—fast, lethal, and precise. She was like fire unleashed, her grin sharp and her strikes merciless. This was the fight she’d been begging for, and she wasn’t going to back down until Zhou Wen and his men were subdued.
Qingyue didn’t move immediately. She watched, calculated, then stepped forward into the storm.
Meanwhile Ru Yi stood frozen for half a heartbeat, before forcing herself to move back, with her pulse roaring in her ears.
This was war and it had finally begun.
Steel rang out like thunder.
The courtyard shattered into motion—imperial guards clashing with armed men, the sun reflecting on blades and the bursts of spiritual force.
Dust rose from cracked stone as the village head unleashed strike after strike, his power no longer restrained.
It was Lieyin that met him head on.
"Finally!" she snapped, grinning despite the danger, her blade colliding with his in a shower of sparks.
Yexue slipped through the chaos like a ghost, silent and precise, taking down two men before they could even react. One fell before he could scream, the other before he could breathe.
Qingyue didn’t rush. "Left flank!" she called out of habit.
The imperial guards shifted instantly, responding without hesitation—closing ranks, tightening formation. The disorder began to turn into control.
Ru Yi was trying to keep up, trying not to be in the way, trying not to freeze from fear.
One of Zhou Wen’s men lunged toward her from the side, blade aimed straight for her, but there was a flash of indigo just before the blade made its target.
Han Shuying was suddenly there. Her sword intercepted the strike with effortless precision, knocking the attacker back in one clean motion before she stepped in front of Ru Yi.
A sea of emotions flooded her face, but no sooner had Ru Yi registered it before it morphed into that familiar cold expression.
"Stay behind me," Han Shuying told her, calm as still water.
Ru Yi stared, breath caught in her throat. "Thank you." Even though what she really wondered was why Han Shuying had saved her even though she’d wanted to kill her days before.
Han Shuying didn’t respond...already moving again, cutting down another attacker with terrifying efficiency. There was no wasted motion in her strikes, no hesitation. Just judgement and execution.
Nearby, Zhou Wen staggered under Lieyin’s relentless assault. His earlier arrogance had twisted into fury.
"Do you think this changes anything?" he roared.
Lieyin’s grin sharpened. "No. I think this ends you."
Their blades clashed again, but this time Yexue joined from behind. A precise strike—but the village head barely twisted in time, but it wasn’t enough.
Steel bit into his side. He staggered.
Lieyin didn’t miss the opening. Her blade slammed into his shoulder, forcing him to his knees. The entire courtyard seemed to pause.
"Seize him!" Han Shuying ordered.
Imperial guards surged forward, forcing the remaining men into submission. One by one their weapons clattered to the ground.
Lin Guowei tried to retreat but Qingyue stepped into his path. Her expression was no longer calm. It was cold, allowing the fury she felt to slip out.
"You should have run sooner," she said quietly.
He lunged, desperate and reckless.
Qingyue easily stepped aside, and in a single movement...clean and decisive, she drove her blade straight through him.
Lin Guowei choked, eyes wide, the strength leaving his body almost instantly as he collapsed to the ground.
"Search the residence," Qingyue barked. "There are hidden tunnels beneath." She looked at the imperial guards. "Move fast, there are lives at stake."
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