Chapter 35: A Gentleman Does Not Save

Were the new policies promoted by my father and brother truly wrong?

Jiang Zhuo did not understand, and had once asked Bai Feijun this question in private.

"Nothing can be judged simply as right or wrong; it can only be weighed by its pros and cons," Bai Feijun sighed and told her. "Just as every policy has both advantages and disadvantages, it is unwise to blindly magnify either the drawbacks or the benefits. The weighing of these depends on one's own position. A-Zhuo, I have my own position as well, and I can only tell you that my judgment aligns with that of your father and brother."

Jiang Zhuo nodded, feeling a strange sense of relief.

"Is there truly no room for mediation in the strife between the new and old factions at court?" she asked further.

"There will never be," Bai Feijun shook his head, perhaps recalling the fierce words Su Yanqing had used that day. "The way of the world is such that if someone tries to please everyone and is unwilling to discard or abandon anything, then that person will surely accomplish nothing."

Jiang Zhuo nodded, as if she understood, yet not quite.

The candlelight flickered. Jiang Zhuo possessed a pair of almond-shaped eyes that seemed as clear as spring water, looking particularly moving in the night. Seeing that this young girl, who had only just reached her fifteenth year, was about to be dragged into such complex court politics, Bai Feijun could not help but feel a surge of pity. He reached out and gently stroked her dark, neat hair bun.

"Do not worry. No matter what lies ahead, I will protect you."

"Mm." Jiang Zhuo lowered her long, dark lashes, hiding the dancing flame in her eyes, and gave a muffled response. "I trust you, Brother Feijun."

With the journey gradually nearing Quzhou, Bai Feijun, skilled in martial arts and tactics, and Su Yanqing, adept at rhetoric and negotiation, would both be able to assist Jiang Zhuo in the affairs of Quzhou, regardless of their future status. Even if the conflict between the factions could not be reconciled, these two men—Bai Feijun and Su Yanqing—must not continue to quarrel.

She needed to find a way to mediate between them. Jiang Zhuo secretly resolved this, and just as she was about to rise and take her leave, someone smashed through the window. In an instant, the window frame shattered, and debris rained down upon the floor.

The intruder was a man of thick-boned, brawny build, his arms and shoulders bulging with corded muscle—clearly a formidable martial artist.

"Young Master Yi-Bai, someone has paid me to take your life today. Do not blame my 'Steady Star' Zhao Pan for the ruthlessness of my iron hammers."

Zhao Pan brandished a pair of black iron meteor hammers in the air, smashing the inn's furnishings to pieces. The wind pressure from the attack, mixed with gravel and tiles, caused Jiang Zhuo to stumble to the floor.

"Go! Leave now!" Bai Feijun drew his sword and roared at Jiang Zhuo.

Only then did Zhao Pan notice the frail young girl collapsed in the room.

"What a pitifully beautiful girl; I didn't realize you had such good fortune, boy." Zhao Pan laughed heartily, assuming he had stumbled upon a secret affair. "It is a pity that I, the Steady Star, never kill women. Leave at once!"

"Zhao Pan! What is the point of fighting in this cramped room? Why not step outside and have a proper battle with me?" Seeing that Jiang Zhuo was too shocked by the sudden turn of events to react, Bai Feijun leaped out the window and shouted at Zhao Pan.

"Brat! Don't run!" Zhao Pan followed, swinging his meteor hammers.

The night air was cool as water, spilling into the room. A moment ago, the inn room had been quiet and tidy, but now, with a hole torn in the wall and the bright moon hanging overhead, Jiang Zhuo broke out in a cold sweat.

"What happened?" Su Yanqing, hearing the massive commotion, arrived quickly. He was stunned at the sight of the ruins.

"...Someone is trying to kill Brother Feijun!" Jiang Zhuo, gradually recovering, grabbed Su Yanqing's sleeve and pleaded, "We have to save him!"

"Don't be rash." Su Yanqing frowned. Without answering, he first brushed the dust off Jiang Zhuo and comforted her, "Let us go and see the situation first."

Su Yanqing was calm, but Jiang Zhuo was anxious. After a frustrated gasp, she hurried downstairs.

Bai Feijun and Zhao Pan were already locked in combat in the open space before the inn. Zhao Pan swung his meteor hammers, the air whistling with every move. Bai Feijun held a shimmering silver sword, reflecting the moonlight like a stream. The two clashed repeatedly, sparks flying from the impact of metal on blade, startling the horses in the stable into frantic neighing.

However, Bai Feijun’s sword relied on agility and sharpness, while Zhao Pan’s hammers were heavy and brutal. Bai Feijun could only parry while observing, trying to find a flaw in Zhao Pan’s movements, but he was gradually losing the upper hand.

Seeing the stalemate, Jiang Zhuo grew even more frantic. Suddenly, she saw Su Yanqing descend the stairs and begged him, "Brother Yanqing, are you not skilled with the bow? Can you not lend Brother Feijun a hand?"

Zhao Pan called himself the "Steady Star." Although Jiang Zhuo knew nothing of martial arts, she figured that while his hammers were powerful and fierce, his stance should be relatively fixed. If Su Yanqing, who was outside the fray, could find an opening and land an arrow, it would be their only hope.

Xiao Ruo, the attendant accompanying Su Yanqing, took the initiative to fetch his master's bow and arrows.

"...Brother Bai and Brother Zhao are engaged in a fair, face-to-face duel. To shoot a cold arrow from the shadows is truly not the act of a gentleman," Su Yanqing refused, looking troubled.

A gentleman? Jiang Zhuo’s eyes widened. What kind of reputation for being a gentleman could possibly be more important than a human life?!

Realizing she could do nothing to help, Jiang Zhuo stomped her feet in desperation. Just then, Zhao Pan turned and swung his hammer with immense force, knocking the silver sword from Bai Feijun’s hand.

*Ding—*

The sharp sword let out a mournful cry as it spun through the air, fell, and embedded itself half a foot into the earth.

"Young Master Yi-Bai, are you not accustomed to using a halberd?" Zhao Pan lowered his hammers and laughed. "Why not show me the power of that Phoenix-Wing Gilded Halberd of yours today?"

"...The hardships of travel make it impossible to carry a war-halberd everywhere," Bai Feijun explained with a bitter smile, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

It turned out that in their previous exchanges, Bai Feijun had been parrying with his sword, absorbing the brunt of Zhao Pan’s brute strength; he was now at the end of his tether.

"It is fate! It seems that you, Zhao Yi-Bai, hero as you may be, are destined to die today under the iron hammers of the Steady Star!" Zhao Pan sneered, raising his twin hammers.

Seeing Zhao Pan about to deliver the final blow to Bai Feijun, Jiang Zhuo, losing all sense of reason, rushed toward them without a second thought.

The startled cry of Xiao Ruo, the distressed neighing from the stables, Su Yanqing’s reaching out to restrain her, the shock on Bai Feijun’s face as he looked at her, the sound of the meteor hammer cutting through the air—the night was deafeningly noisy, yet Jiang Zhuo felt as if everything had fallen into absolute silence.

Bai Feijun must not die.

This was the only thought in Jiang Zhuo’s mind. Beyond this, she could no longer care about anyone or anything else. She threw herself over the fallen Bai Feijun, attempting to shield him from the meteor hammer with her own body.