A Sword of Frost - Chapter 1

A Theft In The Palace (1.1)

Prologue

In the palace, at midnight.　　

The luxurious White Jade Pagoda stood solemnly on its own, as the Buddha relics shone with a faint brilliance. 

All was quiet and still when in the imperial garden, a dark shadow dashed through.

The guard on patrol paused in his steps with vigilance, his right hand pressed against the hilt of the sword at his waist, but before he could draw it out of its sheath, one side of his body trembled slightly, as a chill instantly swept through his brain. It was as though he was falling into a bottomless ice cave —the fear frozen in his eyes. The only warmth left belonged to the blood gushing from his neck. 

Right until the moment of his death, he was still wondering blankly what that pure-white flash had been. 

Had it really been… snow?

*

Kingdom of Daliang, Ninth year of the Tianren Dynasty　

Given the cold weather in late autumn, an unexpected detail about the Feng Yu Sect was that the location of their foyer, where guests were welcomed, was built right beside the valley creek. So, with the northwest wind blowing, the dried leaves flew everywhere as if wrapping the surroundings in gauze —Muddying the faces of those distinguished guests in the foyer. 　

The servant waiting on the guests, smiled and entreated, “Honoured guests, please have another drink. Our Master is on his way back, and will arrive soon.” 

Ji Yanran raised his eyes slightly as he looked towards the trembling white soft sedan, travelling at a speed comparable to that of a tortoise, in the middle of the mountain.

Feng Yu Sect had an illustrious reputation. So much so, that it was an extremely common occurrence for people with enough money, to pay the sect a visit. This was because they were the largest intelligence organisation in the pugilistic world. Whether it was an orthodox sect that had lost one of its plaques, or a female junior disciple of a demon sect that had gone missing, or a housekeeper who had absconded with money from a wealthy household; as long as one could afford it, one could buy information from Feng Yu Sect. For them, business was booming. 

Since he required help, Ji Yanran could only wait very patiently. Or at the very least, appear very patient on the surface.  　　

It took a full hour before the soft sedan finally appeared at the end of the valley. The servants were so relieved as they hurried forward to lift the sedan curtain, and greeted respectfully, “Master.”

Ji Yanran was still sitting at the table, drinking leisurely, but a few members of the entourage behind him were rather upset. The Master of Feng Yu Sect was well-known, so they couldn’t help but want to rush over to see what the person in the sedan really looked like. 

 Yun Yifeng said, “You’ve waited a long time everyone.”　　　　　　

His eyebrows were well formed, the corners of his lips were curved in a smile, and he was dressed in a gauzy brocade. Standing among the mountains, he cut a fairy-like figure —the wide robe and sleeves of his brocade were curled by the cool autumn breeze. However, this fairy looked frail. Before he could say anything else, he took out a handkerchief to cover his mouth and coughed for a long time.

The Ji Residence’s attendants thought to themselves that it was no surprise that Master Yun had a coughing fit. Seeing the horrible weather and the way he was dressed, even fitter men would not be able to withstand the cold. He should wrap himself with fur or a cotton padded mattress to keep warm. 

Ji Yanran asked with concern, “Has Master Yun caught a cold?”

“It is alright.” Yun Yifeng waved his hand, and finally took a sigh of relief, “Let’s not delay business.”

“That’s good.” Ji Yanran smiled, as he tapped on the table with his index finger. Immediately, someone presented two boxes of gold, “This is a thank you gift for being willing to accept my business. Thank you, Master Yun. As for the payment upon completion of the request, we can discuss it later.”

Yun Yifeng asked, “What do you wish to look for?”

Ji Yanran replied, “A few days ago, someone stole a relic from the White Jade Pagoda in the Imperial Palace, which is related to the destiny of the Kingdom of Liang. The emperor was furious and ordered Qing Weilie of the Dali Temple to arrest the culprit, setting March as the deadline.”

“Business with the imperial court?” Yun Yifeng shook his head, “I don’t like dealing with government officials and I have never heard of the theft of relics from the pagoda. I’m afraid I won’t be able to help.”

Ji Yanran asked, “What if I have something Master Yun wants?”

Yun Yifeng replied suspiciously, “Something that I want?”

Ji Yanran said, “I heard that Master Yun is looking for the Blood Ganoderma Lucidum and I happen to have one.”　　

Yun Yifeng frowned, “Who exactly are you?”　　

The attendant by the side was apt at reading Ji Yanran’s glance. Before Ji Yanran could speak, he took out the tiger plague and said loudly, “My master is the Great Liang’s Prince Xiao.”

“It turned out to be with the Crown Prince, no wonder I could not find a Blood Ganoderma Lucidum.” Yun Yifeng understood immediately, “Alright, let’s make a deal.”

Seeing that he promised so readily, Ji Yanran was a little surprised, “Is Master Yun not afraid that I could be lying?”

“I am not.” Yun Yifeng smiled, “In the pugilistic world, no one would dare to pretend to be His Highness.”　

People all over the country knew that His Royal Highness Prince Xiao possessed great martial arts skills, was vindictive and loved to bear grudges. When he was guarding the Northwestern Desert a few years ago, a group of bandits blindly killed a member of the Black Dragon Camp. Ever since, it had been as if that group of bandits had provoked their living ancestors. They were caught up in a relentless cycle of being chased and violently beaten up for three years; once they were caught, they’d be beaten up violently and released after. And the cycle would repeat itself. Life for the bandits was spent in fear —a fate worse than death. At that time, Ji Yanran was only twelve years old. Now that a few more years have passed, the Prince’s reputation could only have spread even further. Anyone who wanted to pretend to be the prince and deceived others, must truly feel that they didn’t want to live anymore.

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