Embers of Sword

Chapter 2 Getting married
"Thank you, Master Immortal, for saving your life!"

"Here are eight hundred taels of silver, one hundred taels of gold, and three catties of jade. The Deng family has fallen on hard times, and these are all they have left..."

"And here's this box of jewellery."

The candlelight in the mourning hall flickered, and more than twenty people knelt on the ground, getting wet in the rain. The head of the family, Deng Chicheng, stood at the threshold of the mourning hall and bowed deeply to the inside.

The old man had gray hair and his voice was trembling uncontrollably.

Having just been to the gates of hell, it would be hard for anyone to remain calm.

But now he is even more nervous...

Because the young man in the coffin is much stronger than the previous big monster, he can be killed instantly with just a peach wood sword.

But judging from his appearance, this young man looks approachable, quiet and gentle, not like a cruel and violent killer.

Show your sincerity and a gift of thanks and you should be able to get rid of him.

"..."

The young man stood in the mourning hall with his back to everyone.

He paced slowly, as if thinking about something, or looking for something.

After a while.

"I don't need these things."

Xie Xuanyi stopped and turned around slowly. He was indeed looking for something.

Something that I never leave.

"If you have any instructions, just tell me!" Deng Chicheng responded quickly with fear and trepidation.

Xie Xuanyi said calmly: "Have you seen... my sword?"

The words came out.

sword?
Deng Chicheng was a little confused. He subconsciously looked at the banyan tree behind him. The peach wood sword that had previously killed the big monster had been hung up again and was now dripping with monster blood.

"Or rather, have you... seen my sword?"

Xie Xuanyi looked at the people kneeling in front of the hall.

When he woke up from the coffin, he found himself wearing plain white clothes.

The person in the coffin is dead.

Since you are dead, you must cut off all ties with the mundane world.

"After his death," someone bathed him and changed his clothes.

That man took his sword.

In the silence, a woman's weak reply suddenly rang out.

"The sword you're looking for...is not here."

The door of the wing room not far away was pushed open.

Deng Baiyi changed her clothes and put on new makeup to conceal her pale face, but she still looked haggard.

She leaned against the wall and said in a hoarse voice, "No one has opened this coffin since it was delivered to the Zhou Mansion. If you can't find what you want, it means it was taken away before it was placed in the coffin."

Xie Xuanyi frowned and looked at Deng Chicheng: "Where did you buy this coffin?"

"..."

Deng Chicheng was stunned, not knowing how to answer.

"Don't ask him. My father knows nothing."

Deng Baiyi said softly: "I actually bought this coffin. If you believe me, follow me..."

After saying that, she picked up an oil-paper umbrella from the corner and walked out of the house.

……

……

Yuzhu Town is located outside Jiayong Pass in the northern border. It is remote and sparsely populated.

It was late autumn, and the weather was cold with every autumn rain. A frail woman led the way, holding an oil-paper umbrella and walking in small steps on the muddy road in the wilderness. Xie Xuanyi followed behind her, strolling leisurely.

The north wind was like a knife cutting through the face, making the oil-paper umbrellas tremble with crisp sounds. The two oil-paper umbrellas were flying against the wind, one in front and one behind.

Xie Xuanyi looked at the mountains on both sides that were painted like thick ink and praised them lightly: "The scenery here is nice."

Deng Baiyi said quietly, "In the past few years, there have been frequent monster disasters in the Jiayong Pass area. Many people in Beihuang County have chosen to move south. There are not many people living here anymore... Places without people usually have great scenery."

"Demon plague..."

Xie Xuanyi certainly heard the irony in the words. He frowned and asked, "Didn't the Dachu royal family send a 'garrison envoy' to be stationed there?"

"Guardian?"

Deng Baiyi felt as if she had heard a huge joke.

She subconsciously turned around to look at Xie Xuanyi, but when she saw the latter's serious and solemn expression, Deng Baiyi was stunned for a moment.

The other party is not joking.

"The year before last, Da Chu abolished the 'garrison commander' system. The 108 garrison commanders who were originally responsible for guarding the northern border were dismissed and recalled to the imperial city to wait for new orders." The woman was silent for a few breaths, lowered her eyes and said self-deprecatingly: "Where are there garrison commanders now? The Jiayongguan area has long been out of the control of the law. In a few years, this place will completely become a dead place."

"The garrison commander system has been abolished... Why?"

"Who knows? The emperor passed away, and the four borders were in turmoil. The vitality of the northern border has been exhausted in recent years. Practitioners have no way to practice. Perhaps this place has been abandoned?"

After a long silence, Xie Xuanyi asked again: "What about the Sword Palace? Didn't the Sword Palace send anyone?"

"Jian Palace, are you talking about Dasui Jian Palace?"

Deng Baiyi turned around, sighed, and asked with emotion: "How long have you slept in the coffin?" "The Sword Palace has been closed for nearly ten years... All the disciples who were out were recalled, and the Lotus Peak has been in seclusion for ten years. The sword cultivators in the world have disappeared."

Xie Xuanyi was a little surprised when he heard this.

He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but remained silent.

"Here... this is it."

Deng Baiyi stopped and took Xie Xuanyi to a desolate mountain ridge. The place was overgrown with weeds and there was only a broken wooden tablet with scribbled words engraved on it. It was severely eroded and worn by time.

"Is this the place where you bought the coffin?" Xie Xuanyi squatted down, looked at the wooden tablet, and reached out to wipe the mud.

"Half a year ago, several great demons came to Yuzhu Town. One of them set his sights on me and wanted to marry me."

"I wanted to escape...but I tried many ways and failed every time."

"Just when I was completely hopeless and ready to commit suicide, a wandering Taoist priest came to Yuzhu Town."

Deng Baiyi squatted beside Xie Xuanyi, his eyes blank, and murmured, "The Taoist fortune teller was very accurate. He told me my birth date and also my thoughts. He asked me if I wanted to live and if I wanted to have a great opportunity. I said... yes."

"Then?"

"He asked me for three thousand taels of silver."

"And then?"

"I gave."

"The Taoist priest told me that if I didn't want to get involved with the big demon, I should go and 'marry someone in the underworld.' He pointed me to a place, which is here. There is a coffin here, and there is a person in the coffin." Deng Baiyi slowly moved his head and looked at Xie Xuanyi with sincere eyes, full of apology, and said, "I'm sorry, I thought you were dead at that time."

So here comes the following story.

An "innocent" girl spent three thousand taels to buy a Taoist priest's prophecy to tell her fate, and bought a coffin back home.

"you were fooled."

Xie Xuanyi looked at Deng Baiyi and said helplessly: "For practitioners, gold and silver are external things... If you are a true Taoist, how can you use money as a bargaining chip to exchange for the secrets of heaven?"

There was a pause.

Xie Xuanyi rubbed his brows and said, "Besides, the matter of Yin marriage is pure nonsense."

"I know." Deng Baiyi said, "We haven't gotten married yet, nor have we kowtowed. We are not husband and wife yet."

"...We are not even husband and wife." Xie Xuanyi said with a headache: "Between you and me, at most we have only met once. Apart from that, there is no more relationship."

"According to the customs of the Northern County, the moment the coffin is brought back to the hall, it is considered a marriage of the underworld. If a young woman marries the underworld king, she will never marry again for the rest of her life, and will be buried with him after death."

Deng Baiyi, who has a top-notch figure and appearance, held her chin with one hand and looked at Xie Xuanyi seriously: "Don't you have this rule over there? Or do you dislike me?"

"Old customs..."

Xie Xuanyi's face was full of black lines, and he said coldly: "I am still alive, so this marriage is not valid. You can marry whoever you want in the future. Where is my sword?"

This is a desolate and deserted place with no human habitation. The coffin has been dug out, but there is not even a trace of sword scent.

"you were fooled."

Deng Baiyi took a deep breath and said seriously: "I don't know where your sword is..."

Xie Xuanyi frowned, and a hint of murderous intent appeared in his eyes.

"If you want to kill me, then go ahead!"

Deng Baiyi closed his eyes, straightened his chest, and acted as if he was ready to die with a noble spirit: "These great monsters in Yuzhu Town will take revenge for any slight, and they all have their own life tools to suppress their souls. The moment Tu Fei died, the other monsters received the news. If killing me alone is not enough to vent your anger, I beg you to kill all these monsters and leave no innocent people harmed!"

This is why she brought Xie Xuanyi to this remote place.

Xie Xuanyi stood up slowly.

Although Deng Baiyi closed his eyes, he could still feel the murderous intent that was almost condensed into substance in the air.

It rained heavily.

After waiting for a few breaths, nothing happened.

Xie Xuanyi said faintly: "You are still too young."

Deng Baiyi was stunned for a moment, then opened her eyes blankly.

The young man in plain clothes holding an oil-paper umbrella stood in front of the empty wooden tablet and whispered, "Accepting three thousand taels of silver is indeed very vulgar and does not conform to the rules of the Taoists. But I believe that the Taoist really saw through the secret, because I really lie in the coffin. The reason why you brought me here and said those words just now must have been his idea, right?"

"..."

Deng Baiyi seemed to want to speak but hesitated, having nothing to say.

"Give me the clue of the Taoist priest, and I will not kill you. I can also guarantee that you will live well and gain a great opportunity."

Xie Xuanyi asked calmly: "How?"

Deng Baiyi was a little hesitant.

"Think about it carefully first."

Xie Xuanyi smiled and said, "After I kill these guys, you need to give me an answer."

Deng Baiyi raised her head in a daze.

Only then did she understand where the murderous intent that was lingering in the air came from.

"Boom, boom, boom."

Thunder gradually rose, and in the night of the remote and desolate mountain engulfed by the wind and rain, suddenly, one after another, captivating dim lights lit up.

This is certainly not light.

But a pair of eyes.

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(End of this chapter)