It seemed to Li Shiyin that Danyang City lacked its usual festive atmosphere this year, even though the Spring Festival was approaching. The sprawling city was home to several hundred thousand residents, yet felt strangely quiet and subdued. There were many people coming and going in the streets, but few spoke loudly. There were sounds, but no sense of liveliness.
"Strange..." Li Shiyin frowned and asked Li Shiwen, who was looking at trinkets at a roadside stall, "Why is everyone so serious?"
"Hmm?" Li Shiwen picked up a hair accessory and turned to Li Shiyin, "What do you think of this? Does it suit Zhen?"
"Oh, it's nice, it suits her," Li Shiyin replied dismissively. Pointing at the people on the street, she asked, "Why is everyone so glum? The Spring Festival is almost here, shouldn't they be happy?"
Li Shiwen casually put the hair accessory on his own head and looked in the direction Li Shiyin was pointing. Seeing the worried expressions on the faces of people filling the streets, he of course knew the reason behind Danyang City residents' mood.
Because there was going to be a war.
The increasingly powerful and ambitious Xuanqin was about to attack the borders, taking advantage of North Chu's weakened state after its recent upheaval. Xuanqin had also drawn the neighboring countries of Great Yan and Yan Han to put pressure on North Chu. If mishandled, this Xuanqin invasion could spell the end for North Chu.
Li Shiwen smiled wryly without answering Li Shiyin's question. Instead, pointing at himself, he jokingly asked, "How do I look?"
The sight of this six-foot-tall burly man wearing a girl's hair accessory, striking coquettish poses, was as nauseating as it was terrifying.
"Ew, disgusting!" Li Shiyin grimaced and shook her head. She reached out and took the hair accessory off Li Shiwen's head.
Li Shiwen let Li Shiyin snatch away the accessory and continued rummaging through the stall. As he tried on other hairpieces, he casually asked, "When are you going back to the Dao Sword Sect?"
"Huh?" Hearing Li Shiwen ask this, Li Shiyin's brows furrowed. Over the past few days, her mother had also asked when she was going back. Usually they never questioned how long she stayed, because this was her home and she could stay as long as she liked. But this year, everyone was asking when she'd be leaving, which was rather strange.
"After the New Year," she replied, asking Li Shiwen again, "Why do you ask too?"
Li Shiwen was taken aback. "Someone else asked you too?" he questioned.
"Mother did. She also asked before when I'd be going back to the mountain," Li Shiyin explained.
"Oh..." Li Shiwen smiled. "Everyone cares about you, what's so odd about that?"
Li Shiyin shook her head. She picked up a purple hair flower from the stand and put it on. "Buy one for Zhen and buy one for me too," she told Li Shiwen.
"Ha!" Li Shiwen laughed coldly. "Pay for it yourself..."
But Li Shiyin ignored him. Clutching the hair flower, she immediately slipped into the crowd, leaving Li Shiwen alone in the wind.
...Looks like he'd still have to pay.
The siblings ambled around the streets, playing for the whole morning before finally returning home near noon.
As soon as they entered the door, they saw the anxious steward waiting in front of the memorial tablet. Before they could even ask, the steward hurriedly said to Li Shiyin, "Young miss, the Sword God has been waiting for you for a long time."
"Sword God?" The title sounded unfamiliar to Li Shiyin at first. Then she realized there was a North Chu Sword God called Jiang Xiaobai, so she was rather curious. "What's he waiting for me for?"
But it was pointless asking the steward such things of course.
The North Chu Sword God commanded tremendous prestige and awe among the common folk of North Chu. His presence made the entire Li manor solemn, permeating the air with a murderous quality.
Every person in the household was on high alert, even the veteran soldiers working as guards and servants gripped their weapons in fear.
Li Zhan was the commander-in-chief of North Chu's armies, on par with Cheng Lixue. But in the Sword God Jiang Xiaobai's presence, even he struggled to breathe freely in his own home.
As they walked towards the main hall, everyone they saw was preparing to confront a formidable foe, leaving Li Shiyin quite puzzled. She whispered to Li Shiwen, "Why are they so afraid?"
Having witnessed Jiang Xiaobai's prowess before, Li Shiwen had also turned serious. "He's the Sword God. Who wouldn't be afraid?" he replied.
To North Chu, the words "Sword God" said everything.
"Didn't I tell you he's useless?" Li Shiyin asked, confused.
"Never forget the sight of thousands of swords flying, killing hundreds of soldiers instantly," Li Shiwen shook his head. "That is the Sword God."
Hearing this, Li Shiyin rolled her eyes. "Are you afraid of me?" she questioned Li Shiwen.
"Why would I be afraid of you?"
"I'm much more powerful than him," Li Shiyin stated very seriously.
Li Shiwen scrutinized his sister. He knew she had some arrogance and complacency in her character, so he admonished, "Shiyin, you may have talent and managed to fight Jiang Xiaobai to a draw two years ago through a fluke. But remember to stay humble before stronger cultivators and seniors, and maintain respect and awe."
"There's no saving you," Li Shiyin sighed.
As the siblings talked, they arrived at the door to the main reception hall. Peering inside, they saw only their father Li Zhan and the Sword God Jiang Xiaobai. The two men were conversing.
Li Shiyin noticed her father Li Zhan was sitting in the master's seat, yet his bearing was very low in their discussion.
This made her frown in great annoyance.
In Li Shiyin's eyes, Jiang Xiaobai was just a nobody she could crush effortlessly. Yet now this nobody had swaggered into her home and won the respect and fear of her father and brother, people dear to her. How could anyone tolerate this? If the rest of the cultivation world got word of this, where would she put her pretty face?
So when Li Shiyin entered the hall, she had already assumed the imposing aura not of a young miss, but of an unrivaled female sword immortal.
Li Shiwen started to go in and pay his respects, when he suddenly sensed killing intent behind him. Before he could turn back to look, he was shoved aside by Li Shiyin who followed him into the room.
"What is the meaning of this?" Li Shiyin stepped forward, her manner extremely arrogant as she interrogated Jiang Xiaobai.
Sensing things were going awry, Li Shiwen hurriedly tried to smooth things over. Then he saw his father Li Zhan making gestures at him from the master's seat. After some hesitation, he withdrew.
"Our previous battle three years ago...was a draw," facing Li Shiyin's hostility, Jiang Xiaobai still refused to back down. Maintaining the dignity befitting a Sword God, he raised his chin at her and said, "Three years have passed and I've recovered my peak strength. Shall we fight again to decide things?"
Just listening to Jiang Xiaobai's words made Li Shiyin want to laugh. She was barely keeping up the cold and aloof sword immortal facade.
Firstly, their so-called "draw" meant that in an actual duel between adversaries instead of just sparring, she would have instantly destroyed him. Secondly, it had taken him three whole years to recover from that one setback, reflecting abysmal mental resilience. And lastly, while he may have regained his original strength after three years, just how many times stronger was she now after that same period? She couldn't even say.
And he still wanted to fight her?
Back at the Dao Sword Sect, cultivators of Jiang Xiaobai's level would have to line up from the Main Peak Debate Platform all the way to the sect entrance for a chance to challenge Li Shiyin. But since this was her family home, Li Shiyin decided to throw him a bone. "I'll give you a chance," she stated.
Li Shiyin's arrogance made Jiang Xiaobai frown deeply, but he still nodded. "No better time than the present. Let's have a match right now!"