Chapter 571: Dugu Chou Has Come

Ji Lingxi remained low-spirited for an entire day before she slowly recovered. The reason she was glum for so long was due to the words that Yun Yang had uttered, "Actually, is there any difference whether you have parents or not?"

When Yun Yang laid out the truth that night, Ji Lingxi was mournful, unable to listen to any comforting words. It was deep in the night as well, so it was inconvenient for Yun Yang to linger on any longer. He bid his leave, also wanting to leave the girl to calm herself down.

However, when the next morning came, Ji Lingxi had lost her appetite for the entire day. She looked distraught, her dark eye circles evidence that she probably had not slept a wink last night. When dusk came, Yun Yang sent dinner personally, but she had rejected the meal, saying she was not hungry and she did not want to eat.

Yun Yang could no longer take it and had blurted out those terrible words.

Upon hearing him, Ji Lingxi was initially stunned. She immediately began to spill her heart out, as if she had been struck right at her core.

For the first time, Yun Yang's face which was normally indifferent expressed worry. He spoke slowly, "Lingxi, do you know that I'm an orphan as well? King Yun Xiaoyao isn't my biological father. I am the same as you and eighth brother. I don't know who my parents are either."

"This used to be my biggest regret in life, but as life went on, by living in the present, I realized that those days have to be spent living anyway. If they were still alive and they came for me, I would naturally be grateful to them. However, if they weren't here anymore, I would still live as well as I could."

"Actually, when you figure out some things, when you see right through them, they're just that. It's a fact that we're orphans. Why be miserable about it? We don't know who they are since we were young anyway, haven't we managed to live on till today?"

"Strictly speaking, aren't you so much better than I am? After yesterday's incident, we can confirm that your parents are still alive and that they are truly skilled. What's most important is that they care about you exceptionally, so much so that they've cast a magical restraint on you. Once you're in danger, it'll activate itself to defend you. Can't you see the sentiment behind this? Is it really a good thing to lament about?"

Yun Yang recovered his usual smile, watching Ji Lingxi with warmth, and said softly, "Lingxi, do you know, that after I've confirmed the existence of the guarding red light on you, how envious I am!"

"I'm jealous, even! Begrudging!"

Yun Yang inhaled softly and smiled, saying, "My parents... didn't even leave anything behind for me."

He went out quietly without another word after he said this, but Ji Lingxi was stunned.

If such a comparison were to be made, she was indeed much more blessed than Yun Yang. At least she had her elder brother and that red guarding halo. He, on the hand, truly had nothing!

Yun Yang had walked out with his back ramrod straight, but Ji Lingxi could feel the desolation he carried on his shoulders. Unable to hold the tiny stabs of pain in her heart, she called out, "Yun Yang."

"Yes?" Yun Yang turned around and smiled questioningly.

Ji Lingxi leaned against the doorframe and mustered up the courage to say, "You're not alone. You still have me!"

Yun Yang nodded and replied with a bright smile that was tinged with helpless self-deprecation before turning to leave.

Ji Lingxi was extremely sensitive at this moment, so she immediately sensed the strange expression behind Yun Yang's smile. Baffled, she finally understood after a long while of consideration. She could not help mumbling with a flushed face, "You bastard!"

Yun Yang was obviously saying, "What is the use of having you? I can't even touch you!"

"We can only treat each other like acquaintances."

...

Another handful of days passed by. The temperature was slowly creeping up, but the various forces in Tiantang City still remained oddly silent and discreet.

The definition of discreet was just a process of being relatively quiet. Even when it looked like nothing was going on, each one of them had actually begun their probes.

Coincidentally, a rumor gained heat at this time, rolling and spreading throughout Tiantang City.

"Hey, have you heard? The dark clouds the other day were really terrifying... It was a demon coming to Tiantang City to wreak havoc, but it unexpectedly met Young Master Yun who crushed it to smithereens!"

"Young Master Yun? That Young Master Yun?"

"Young Master Yun Yang, Yutang's top expert!"

"B*ll! What do you know? Don't spew nonsense. That Yun Yang is a popinjay. His reputation and achievements aren't anything to be proud of; have you forgotten his past popinjay reputation as the chief of Tiantang City's popinjays? Could that same fellow possibly be a master that can crush demons?"

"Look at you blabbering. Do you know the full story?"

"Of course I do. I really don't know where your ideas about Young Master Yun comes from, tainting the grace of the other masterly experts. Let me tell you the truth. The expert who killed the demon the other day was a mysterious assassin. Seeing that it had come to the world and was wreaking havoc, the mysterious assassin crushed the demon in a single strike !"

"Assassin? Are you saying that the expert the other day was a professional killer?"

"Yes, a killer. Absolutely right!"

"How could such an efficient killer possibly exist? Besides, don't assassins kill people as part of their transactions and business deals? The one who attacked that day must be an otherworldly expert who's kind and benevolent!"

"There are many types of killers. Some kill for gold and silver, some kill for justice. Why do you think that there is the existence of the Dictum of Death and its endless reputation up to this day?"

"That's correct as well. Hasn't the Dictum of Death emerged before? Did the masterly assassin come for the dictum as well? Did he kill the demon simply by coincidence?"

"Remember to keep this a secret. This is a big one, ordinary people have no right to know this."

...

"Do you know that the demon in the dark clouds was killed by a mysterious assassin with just a single strike?"

"Why do I hear that it was Young Master Yun who killed it?"

"Tsch! How could that popinjay be so skillful? Why don't you think carefully about it before you make such wild assumptions?"

"Right, that popinjay was a glutton. How could he bear such a huge responsibility?"

...

"I saw it with my own eyes the other day. I was in the restaurant then and was facing that street. I watched the dark clouds demon descending swiftly, charging towards the Residence of Yun like it was going to crush the place... but at this time..."

"What? Continue quickly! Stop leaving us in suspense!"

"On the street, there was an insignificant grey-clothed old man who was hunched over. Just when the dark clouds descended, the old man suddenly lifted his head! Whoa!"

"Whoa what? What? Was that old man dressed in black or grey? What clothes are you wearing?"

"Shut up, what are you butting in for? It's not important what clothes he wore. What's important is that the moment the old man lifted his head, the sky brightened! His gaze instantly dissipated the demon's dark clouds!"

"Wow!"

"Then the old man said, 'How could a demon be allowed to wreak havoc when the Dictum of Death greets the world now?' Then he sprung up and a beam of sword light spilled out, killing the demon in the air!"

"Then?"

"Then, the grey-clothed old man returned to his nondescript look. If I hadn't observed this carefully, I wouldn't have known that this senile man with one foot in the coffin was actually such a godly presence..."

"You saw it with your own eyes?"

"I swear upon my eight generations of ancestors that I'll die if there's any falsity in my words!"

"It's amazing, really amazing... Right, what clothes was the old man wearing? Is there a fixed concept to this?"

...

"Have you heard about it? The assassin, the dark-clothed old man who is unparalleled in skill?"

"I have heard about it. It's hearsay that it was Dugu Chou himself who was present. If it weren't for this senior, who else would have such skill?"

"Truly?"

"Why then did I hear that it was Jun Moyan?"

"That isn't right. I heard that it was the Unrivaled Expert Ling Xiaozui who broke his usual reticence and attacked to protect Tiantang..."

"Anyway, it was an elderly man dressed in dark clothes, that's for sure..."

...

"Have you heard? Dugu Chou has attacked! He killed the dark clouds demon in one strike. He is truly an absolute master, utterly valiant!"

"Of course I did. Aye, finally this masterly expert is heard of again. How comforting!"

"I hear that no one has ever met him, but that isn't surprising. A masterly expert like him has gone back to the purest life and is extremely low key. However, a lot of experts have analyzed that the black clothes were proof enough. Rumor has it that since Dugu Chou's wife passed on, he has been wearing that color..."

"Yes, yes. I'm aware of that too."

"Dugu Chou misses his late wife and sits before her grave every day, becoming haggard..."

"Yes!"

"However, what is most convincing is still his sword. That is one earth-shattering sword! Dugu Chou's sword, the sword that is called Dugu Sword!"

"That's right!"

"The Unrivaled Expert! How apt a title it is!"

"Wait, that isn't right. Ling Xiaozui is the recognized Unrivaled Expert. How can it be Dugu Chou now?"

"What matter if I say Dugu Chou is the Unrivaled Expert? It's Dugu Chou, Dugu Chou who, by virtue of a soulmate, halted just a step before the clouds! To me, he is the irreplaceable Unrivaled Expert!"

...

"Do you remember that day, the day when the dark clouds engulfed Tiantang City?"

"Of course I do. What about it?"

"That time, did you feel a sense of loneliness, of desolation? Did you?"

"Now that you mention it... I think I did!"

"That's right! Let me tell you, that was Dugu Chou making his move, using his Heartbroken Dugu Sword!"

"Heartbroken Dugu Sword? Well, the sword rings true to its name. The technique as well! I see now how that name would make a lot of sense..."

"But, I heard that Young Master Yun..."

"Tsch, how can you believe that when Young Master Yun has such a low cultivation base?"

"Fair enough, I guess. Young Master Yun excels in being a popinjay, but to fight a demon? I have my doubts about that."

"Indeed, heh heh heh..."

...

For some unknown reason, such was the misinformation that was being spread throughout Tiantang City. Almost everyone was discussing this topic - the ordinary Tiantang citizens, the martial world people, the assassins, the schools, the officials...

"Dugu Chou has reemerged!"

"Dugu Chou has come!"

"Dugu Chou has come for the Dictum of Death!"

"Dugu Chou is in Tiantang City!"

"Dugu Chou has killed the demon!"

It seemed like cold, hard facts.

Outside the city, a grey-clothed old man was walking into Tiantang City with a slight limp. He was hunched, covered in snow-white hair; loneliness was written all over him. However, if one were to look upon him, they would see an elderly senior who was near his end.

If one had to identify what made this old man stand out against other old men, it would probably be the long parcel he carried on his back. Anyone who saw it would know that it was a sword.

A sword?

The soldiers guarding the city gate showed deep respect and admiration once they saw the old man as if they had witnessed the appearance of an immortal.

"You've come... Please, senior, enter the city quickly."

"Permit? What permit, your presence itself is sufficient!"

"Please, please..."

The grey-clothed old man's bleary eyes widened from the unexpected care and respect he was being showered with.

What was going on? How could so many people still recognize him, when he had not come out to roam about for so many years?

He was rather baffled.

"May I ask if you are Senior Dugu?" the soldier at the gate asked respectfully and with all sincerity.

The old man was even more shocked than ever, thinking, 'They really know me?'

'Have they mistaken me for someone else?'

"Please, don't mind us... Senior Dugu, please enter..."

The soldier wiped away his sweat, his heart thumping wildly, his throat parched.

He had admitted it! The rumors were true...

'Oh my god, I've just seen a legend with my own eyes!'

The elderly man entered the city mystified, but he noticed the awed looks that were being directed his way. He felt even more bewildered. Some people of the martial world turned pale, faces draining of color, just as they saw him.

When he reached the city center and found an inn to stay, he was given the best room of the inn. The innkeeper asserted that no payment was needed and he could stay for however long he wanted. As for the person staying in that room, they did not say anything and moved out immediately, even inviting him in the room like he was their ancestor.

The elder dressed in gray was increasingly surprised by his encounters. This was far from the treatment he was accustomed to.

Due to his curiosity, he cultivated and eavesdropped on conversations that were being held within thousands of feet around him, and he immediately understood what was going on at once.

Dugu Chou had appeared here?

Crushed a havoc-wreaking demon with a single strike?

Saved the entire city?

The old man looked utterly lost.

"I... I didn't do anything..."

'I would expect that the martial world would still have legends about me, despite the fact that I have not been around for a long while, but still..."

'I didn't do anything! Is the martial world now starting to falsely add on to my reputation and mythical legend?'