Jiangnan's Listening to the Rain Pavilion.
It was late spring, a time of year when soft drizzle would usually be accompanied by the gentle Wu dialect and the lingering strains of the qin. Yet today, within three li of this renowned tavern, the area had been sealed off by heavily armed black-clad guards, preventing even a drop of rain from escaping.
Inside the hall, the patriarchs of the Six Great Families of Jiangnan were assembled. Though the tables were laden with delicacies and the air was thick with the rich aroma of fine wine, neither could dispel the almost palpable deathly stillness hanging in the air.
Clackety-clack.
The heavy clatter of black boots on the wooden staircase sounded like a sledgehammer, striking the very core of everyone present with each blow.
Xiao Wuchen appeared at the top of the stairs. Today, instead of his black armour, he wore an extravagantly opulent crimson dragon robe. The pure white fox fur collar accentuated his face, making it appear even paler and more otherworldly. He surveyed all below him with a sickly, aristocratic air of superiority.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting," Xiao Wuchen remarked, lifting the hem of his robe as he settled into the seat of honour with all the leisure of a man who knows he is the centre of attention.
"The presence of Master Xiao graces us all; it is a great honour for Jiangnan." Seated in the foremost position was Su Huaian, patriarch of the Su family and leading figure in Jiangnan's literary circles.
At the sight of this man, Xiao Wuchen's fingers tightened slightly around his cup.
Su Huaian was the only friend Xiao had ever shared wine and confidences with. They had lain awake conversing through the night back in the days when Xiao served as a companion reader in the capital. He was the man who, when Xiao was bloodied and broken after being castrated, had stood outside his prison cell and played him a melody on the transverse flute. He was Xiao's 'elder brother'.
"Brother Huai'an, after all these years, your reputation as a 'gentleman' has only grown louder." Xiao Wuchen swirled the jade cup in his hand, his tone icy.
Su Huai'an smiled with scholarly grace and raised his cup. 'Wuchen, bygones are bygones. Today, we have met again, and we should be catching up. But this misunderstanding between the Jiangnan aristocracy and the imperial court — I implore you, Seal Keeper, to spare us a path to survival for the sake of our past bond."
"Bond?"
Xiao Wuchen let out a low, cold laugh. His voice sounded eerily hollow in the silent tavern.
"Twenty years ago, seventy-two members of the Xiao clan in the capital were consumed by flames in a single night. I hid at the bottom of a well, watching the fire burn for three days and nights. I cannot fathom it — the Xiao family lived lives of integrity. Whose path did they obstruct?'
Xiao Wuchen slowly drew a yellowed scroll of secret correspondence from his sleeve and slammed it onto the table.
'I've spent twenty years investigating. I looked into Lin Canghai; I looked into the late Emperor. But I overlooked you, Su, Huai and An!"
The documents were unfolded, revealing irrefutable evidence of the Su family's collusion with the former dynasty's remnants. The distinctive red-clay seal stamped upon them was the private seal of the Su family's direct lineage.
Su Huai'an's smile froze.
"Why?" Xiao Wuchen rose, his eyes bloodshot with two decades of pent-up despair. "I held you as the last glimmer of light in this darkness. When I was at my lowest and most wretched, you told me that as long as one lives, there is hope. Yet in the end, the man who slaughtered my entire family and tortured me was you!"
In that moment, the all-powerful Chief of the Ceremonial Bureau seemed to revert to the child weeping amidst the ruins. The agony of being betrayed by someone he trusted most tore at his heart more cruelly than the backlash of the 'Sword Intent of Birth and Death'.
"Since you discovered it," Su Huai'an gently set down his wine cup. The scholarly composure on his face shattered instantly, replaced by twisted greed. "Wu Chen, you don't understand. How can the Su family ascend unless the Xiao family falls? Unless you are crippled, how can I rest easy knowing that you are serving as my regent?"
He slammed the cup down violently.
'Attack!'
The screens surrounding the banquet hall shattered explosively. Dozens of assassins who had been lying in wait, along with three reclusive reverends, charged forth simultaneously. At the same time, the entire Listening Rain Pavilion was enveloped by a colossal 'God-Binding Array', attempting to contain Xiao Wuchen's sword energy.
"Hahahaha!"
Xiao Wuchen laughed wildly; his laughter was so intense that a tear of blood slid from the corner of his eye.
"Well done, "gentleman" Su Huaian! Today, this sovereign shall turn the rain of Jiangnan utterly crimson!"
Sword Intent of Birth and Death — All Things Return to Void!
Xiao Wuchen didn't even draw his sword. He formed a sword with his fingers and slashed at the void.
The 'Binding God Array', powerful enough to suppress a Grandmaster, tore apart like paper under that sliver of pitch-black sword intent. The assassins charging forward froze within three feet of Xiao Wuchen, then shattered and dissipated like antiquated relics.
"What... what manner of power is this?!" Su Huai'an recoiled in terror.
Xiao Wuchen advanced step by step. With each step, the floor beneath his feet dissolved into nothingness.
"Was it not your wish for the Su family to advance further?"
Xiao Wuchen seized Su Huai'an by the collar and hauled him to the window. Outside, the Black Robed Guards had already brought every member of the Su household to this spot.
'Today, I will not only take your life, but also destroy your family's century-old reputation, lands and foundations. You will be branded a 'traitor to the state' in the annals of history for all eternity!"
His fingers flickered and the sword of birth and death slithered into Su Huaian's body like a serpent. It destroyed his qi sea, but left him clinging to life. He was forced to endure the excruciating agony of his marrow being corroded bit by bit.
"Since this world knows no light, I shall become its darkest shadow."
Xiao Wuchen flung aside the limp body of Su Huaian and resumed his seat of honour. He lifted the cup of dregs that Su Huaian had poured and drained it in one gulp.
"Issue the decree. Any of the Six Great Families of Jiangnan who participated in the Xiao family case twenty years ago shall have their entire clan exterminated."
Su Huaian is to be spared. On the day I ascend the throne, he will see with his own eyes how the "castrated eunuch" he once threw away like rubbish now rules over the splendid lands of Great Qian!"