Between Your He Clan and Me, We Are Even

Li Guanqi looked up at the young man. The young man narrowed his eyes, turbulent primal energy surging around him—clearly a cultivator at the middle Void Refining Realm. "Speak! Who are you?" "What is your purpose here?" Li Guanqi did not answer. Instead, he asked in a raspy voice, "And why are you here? What purpose does it serve?" The young man slowly drew a longsword from his storage ring, its blade glinting with a chilly glint, and said coldly, "What does my presence here have to do with you! Since you refuse to speak, I have no choice but to capture you and interrogate you!" Li Guanqi adjusted his aura, keeping it at the middle Void Refining Realm, then bent down and picked up a withered branch from the ground. *Boom! Boom! Boom!* The young man's gaze chilled. In an instant, he lunged forward, thrusting his sword! A piercing sword light and fierce sword momentum shot straight for Li Guanqi's neck! Li Guanqi raised the three-foot branch and tapped it directly against the spine of the opposing blade. *Clang!* The trajectory of the longsword was deflected. Seizing the momentum, the young man spun around and slashed horizontally, the cold gleam arriving the very moment his body turned! Yet to Li Guanqi's eyes, the variations in the young man's swordplay were as clumsy as a child's, and painfully slow. Without rushing, Li Guanqi took a step back. The branch in his hand moved like a sharp sword, striking three times in rapid succession! Afterimages flashed, and the branch instantly pierced the young man's wrist and shoulder! The third thrust drove clean through his shoulder blade, stopping just short of piercing his heart. The young man stood frozen in place with his back to Li Guanqi. The branch trembled faintly, vibrating with the powerful thumping of his heart. Li Guanqi slowly lowered his hood. The young man remained rooted to the spot, a complicated look in his eyes. An emerald-green bamboo flute was still tucked into the back of his waist, and the back of his white robe was soaked red with blood. Blood trickled down the blade held in his right hand, dripping steadily onto the ground. The young man's lips trembled slightly, his eyes brimming with tears. His throat worked for a moment before he spoke in a hoarse voice. "Long... time no see." A sharp light flickered in Li Guanqi's eyes. He replied softly, "Long time no see." Indeed, the newcomer was none other than the young sect master of the Taixuan Sword Sect, He Yuning. Back then, when Cang Lu's scheme had left He Yuning with a sword through his heart, He Yuanting had tried to kill Li Guanqi without discerning right from wrong. In the end, it was Chu Jingze, Pavilion Master of the Taiqing Domain's Tianji Pavilion, who had arrived with the Heart of the Ancient Kiln to save him. It was also at that time that Ye Feng had raised his sword to storm the execution grounds, and Li Guanqi had been reunited after a long separation with Meng Wanshu. He Yuning was in utter turmoil. He had imagined countless times whether he and Li Guanqi would ever cross paths again. Yet never in his wildest dreams had he imagined they would meet under such circumstances. Self-blame, remorse, and helpless confusion. In an instant, a swirl of conflicting emotions flooded He Yuning's heart. Suddenly! He Yuning gritted his teeth and violently shoved himself backward! Li Guanqi's brow furrowed. He abruptly yanked out the branch and snapped, "What do you think you're doing?!" A flicker of despair crossed He Yuning's eyes. Turning around to face the man who was both familiar and a stranger, he whispered, "Why didn't you just kill me?" Li Guanqi frowned. "Why would I kill you? Your father is your father, and you are you. No matter how you look at it, it isn't your place to settle that debt." Hearing this, He Yuning snapped his head up and looked intently at Li Guanqi. "Then will you seek vengeance against my father?" Those words were a thorn embedded in He Yuning's heart. He had heard all the rumors about Li Guanqi. He also knew that Li Guanqi's current strength was worlds apart from before. If Li Guanqi wanted to kill He Yuanting, it would be no harder than crushing an ant. Li Guanqi took a deep, lingering look at He Yuning, then said softly, "If your father comes looking for me on his own initiative, I will certainly kill him. But... out of consideration for you, I do not wish to kill the father of a friend I once shared drinks with." He Yuning's eyes lit up. "Then... do we still count as friends?" Li Guanqi shook his head. Turning his back to He Yuning, he murmured, "No longer. It is not that I refuse to acknowledge you, but the moment you asked whether I would kill your father, we ceased to be friends." He Yuning's shoulders sagged. He parted his lips and raised a hand, wanting to say something, but found himself unable to utter a single word... Every scene of reunion he had envisioned in his dreams seemed to shatter completely in that moment. Li Guanqi raised a hand and obliterated what remained of the Yao Clan ruins. Having done so, he pulled his black hood back up and said quietly, "The jianghu is vast and we are unlikely to meet again. Take care." Li Guanqi departed, leaving He Yuning standing alone in a daze beneath the pale moonlight, unable to recover his senses for a long time. *** Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Li Guanqi pulled a flask of strong liquor from his storage ring, tipped his head back, and drained it. A suffocating gloom seemed knotted in his chest—he could barely breathe, yet he could not vent it! The more it weighed on him, the more a persistent trace of hostility refused to dissipate from his heart! He Yuning, that gentle, refined, gentlemanly fellow from the past... Meeting again, everything had changed. Neither of them could have anticipated that their reunion would turn out like this. Li Guanqi had thought they might laugh off old grudges. What had happened with the older generation was He Yuanting's fault—and if He Yuanting was in the wrong, then that was where the blame lay. If He Yuanting were willing to lower his head and apologize, the matter would be put to rest; Li Guanqi would not have gone out of his way to cause him trouble. Yet now... The only reason He Yuning had stood guard here was out of fear that Li Guanqi would seek vengeance against He Yuanting. The friendship Li Guanqi had treasured so much was, in He Yuning's heart, still less important than his father's safety. Even when his father was clearly in the wrong! After all these years, when He Yuning met him again, he still had not offered a single word of apology! *Buzz! Boom!* Within the He Clan's domain, inside the study of the clan master's private courtyard. He Yuanting's entire body suddenly stiffened! Turning around, he saw a man cloaked entirely in black robes sitting calmly in his own seat. An incomparably powerful spatial force enveloped the entire study. He Yuanting's face turned deathly pale. Before the terrifying pressure radiating from the black-robed man, a suffocating sense of helplessness welled up within him. Li Guanqi slowly lowered his hood, his eyes fixing on He Yuanting with icy detachment. *Thud!* He Yuanting's legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the floor. Seeing this, Li Guanqi sneered. "It seems you, He Yuanting, still remember me." He Yuanting knelt limply on the ground, his eyes filled with terror as he swallowed hard with great difficulty. "This old man... admits his wrongdoing. If Little Friend Li wishes to take my life, I have no complaints whatsoever. I only beg... that you do not take out your wrath on my son and clan..." With those words, the man willingly bared his heart, lowering all his defenses. Closing his eyes, he appeared resigned to death. *Clang!* Seeing him like this only fueled the flames of fury in Li Guanqi's chest! Rising abruptly, Li Guanqi unleashed a four-foot lightning sword that shot forward like lightning! *Swoosh!* The blade instantly pierced He Yuanting's throat, pinning him firmly to the bookshelf behind him. Li Guanqi stepped close to his face and said in a chilling voice, "Do you truly believe I wouldn't dare kill you?" Blood overflowed from He Yuanting's mouth. Using primal energy to transmit his voice, he said bitterly, "You dare. I know you do. Over the years, whenever I heard news of you, my heart shuddered; I was utterly terrified. I foresaw that you would come today long ago... What happened that year... was my fault. I was simply desperate to save my son. But... after all these years, to tell you the truth, back then I was like a madman possessed—my head was filled with nothing but the thought of killing you." Li Guanqi, his expression previously fierce, paused slightly. *Something isn't right...* *Could it be... that He Yuanting back then was also manipulated by the chess player behind Cang Lu?* *Otherwise, it makes no sense why he was so hell-bent on killing me!* Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes. His left hand suddenly clamped onto He Yuanting's skull as he commanded coldly: "Soul searching!" *Buzz! Boom!* A moment later, a look of realization dawned in Li Guanqi's eyes... Sure enough, that particular period in He Yuanting's memories was completely chaotic. Though there were no signs of tampering, Li Guanqi detected a familiar aura. "Faith gu!" No wonder so many people back then could not understand He Yuanting's actions, bewildered as to why he insisted on executing Li Guanqi. Li Guanqi let out a soft sigh. Raising his hand, he severed He Yuanting's right arm and dispersed the lightning sword. He Yuanting slumped beside the bookshelf. Li Guanqi turned, placed the severed arm upon the desk, and spoke softly as he walked out the door. "Between your He Clan and me, we are even."