Chapter 248: The Imperial Sword

After a while.

After playing for several months, Yu Lin now stands in the dormitory, watching the countdown of the Myth Book slowly reach zero.

He murmurs, "Enter."

Accompanied by a flash of WhiteLight, he vanishes instantly.

【Myth: Seventh Fairy Maiden Descends】

【Task: After the Seventh Fairy Maiden returns to the Heavenly Court, help Dong Yong go to the Heavenly Court to meet the Seventh Fairy Maiden】

【Reward: Sleeve Universe】

Boom!

A thunderclap booms, the lead‑gray sky seeming to tear, pea‑sized raindrops pouring down without warning, instantly cloaking a forest in Qingzhou Qiancheng County in a white, blinding rain curtain.

On the muddy, slick forest path, a gaunt figure is shouldering a tall bundle of firewood, stepping unevenly through the rain.

The icy rain runs down the edge of his bamboo hat, soaking his thin coarse‑cloth shirt.

He mutters softly, his voice almost drowned by the pattering rain: "I need to find shelter quickly; otherwise the cold will set in, and I won't know where to save the money for herbs…"

The fleeting mutter fades before it travels far, scattered by the relentless rain.

He shakes his head helplessly, trying to brush the rain from his face, then tightens the rope on his shoulder and trudges on.

When he reaches a bend in the mountain trail, his steps suddenly halt.

In his line of sight, among the grass by the roadside ahead, a human silhouette seems to be lying there!

A shock rises in his heart, hesitation and struggle instantly flashing across his rain‑soaked face.

In this desolate wilderness, the downpour pours; fewer complications are better… Yet if it's a person lying there, won't they freeze or drown to death?

After inner turmoil, he finally sighs deeply, as if resigning, and carefully unloads the bundle of firewood that sustains his livelihood, placing it by the road.

Then he hurries forward, crouches, and with effort lifts the man lying unconscious in the mud, hoisting him onto his not‑yet‑broad back.

He struggles to step forward, wading back into the mud.

He can't help muttering a low complaint, as if persuading himself: "Alas… just when things were fine, why did I have to run into this… selling the firewood money, I'm afraid I'll have to… "

"Never mind, never mind, I won't say any more…"

"Let's go."

Carrying the strange, heavy man on his back, he grits his teeth and staggers forward through the thickening rain, his figure gradually blurring, finally vanishing into the stormy depths beyond the mountain bend.

Yet unseen, the seemingly unconscious man on his back has the corner of his mouth subtly lifted at an angle invisible to anyone, sketching a faint smile.

"Brother, brother, wake up, wake up…"

The gentle calls echo, rousing the sleeping silhouette.

Yu Lin slowly opens his eyes, adjusting to the dim light in the room, and props himself up from the hard board bed.

Instinctively he shakes his drowsy head, his face showing just the right mix of bewilderment and weakness, his voice hoarse from just waking:

"I… where am I?" his gaze, searching, lands on the face of the person at the foot of the bed:

"And you are?"

Standing at the bedside is a youth of about twenty, not extraordinarily handsome but quite good‑looking for a rustic area, with healthy wheat‑colored skin and a simple, slightly earnest smile.

Seeing Yu Lin awaken, he visibly sighs in relief and quickly replies:

"Brother, this is Dongjia Village, I am Dong Yong."

He says earnestly, "Yesterday when I was chopping firewood in the mountains, I saw you collapsed by the road, feared you might be attacked by beasts or ruined by the rain, so I carried you back."

"Where are you from? Why did you collapse on the desolate road? Did you encounter some trouble?"

The man does not answer immediately, but struggles to rise, then gives Dong Yong a solemn bow, his tone full of gratitude:

"I am Yu Lin, thank you, Brother Dong, for saving my life!"

"Had you not rescued me, I fear I would have perished in the wilderness; I will engrave this debt in my heart and repay it someday!"

Dong Yong, seeing this, hurried forward to steady him, a slightly embarrassed grin on his face, waving his hands repeatedly:

"Hey, Yu brother, no need to be like that, no need!"

"Please rise quickly! It's only a trivial effort; anyone who sees would not stand by, you truly needn't worry about it."

He gently presses Yu Lin back onto the bedside, sincerely saying, "Sit calmly; you've been unconscious all night, you must be thirsty, I'll fetch you some water."

After speaking, Dong Yong turns and walks out of the modest bedroom.

When Dong Yong leaves, Yu Lin's gratitude and weakness subside slightly, and his gaze begins to survey the surroundings.

The room is very simple: earthen walls, thatched roof, and inside only a broken wooden table and a few stools, almost nothing else.

The most noticeable feature is near the corner, where a piece of the roof is missing, still unrepaired, merely patched with thatch, clearly unable to fully keep out wind and rain.

No need to ask further; the situation alone shows how impoverished Dong Yong's family is.

Finally, Yu Lin's gaze passes through the open door, landing on a hunched figure sitting on a low stool in the courtyard outside.

It is an elderly man, presumably Dong Yong's father.

Yu Lin realizes, thinking to himself, "It seems it's not yet time to sell oneself to bury father…"

"Alright."

He shakes his head, his gaze on Dong Yong, about to reach for the water offered.

But suddenly he turns his head outward.

"Hm?"

"Chi Xiao?"

Eastern Han ruled the world with filial piety.

Now is the era recorded in later histories as the reign of Emperor Xianzhong and Emperor Xiaoming—during Liu Zhuang's rule (Dong Yong's exact period is uncertain, set by the author).

At this moment.

Liu Zhuang was in the Great Hall, reviewing the mountain‑high stack of Bamboo Slips and silk memorials.

As the histories explicitly record him as an emperor of "magnificent appearance," his looks are naturally outstanding, his brows bearing both heroic spirit and majesty.

At this moment, he is concentrating on a memorial, a cold chill gradually gathering in his eyes.

He puts down the memorial, his knuckles lightly tapping the imperial desk, murmuring softly, his voice light yet unmistakably decisive: "Dou Lin… originally, because of Dou Rong, I spared you one transgression."

His gaze sharpens: "I never imagined you would not only fail to restrain yourself but also intensify your offenses…"

"We must find a suitable moment to completely eliminate this disaster."

He gently sets aside the memorial containing evidence against Dou Lin, as if a decision has already been made.

Just as he reaches for the next memorial, a sudden anomaly erupts!

Liu Zhuang leaps to his feet, abruptly turning to look at the sword rack a short distance behind him!

There, a plain‑styled long sword, its blade faintly glowing crimson, is quietly displayed—Chi Xiao Sword!

The usually composed emperor shows a look of startled uncertainty for the first time.

Why does this imperial Dao sword, which the great ancestor used to slay the White Snake and establish the Han Empire's foundation, move of its own accord?

At the instant he fixes his gaze—

Buzz!

Chi Xiao Sword emits a clear, resonant sword sound.

On the blade, a brilliant crimson light surges, like a red dragon awakening from slumber!

In the next moment, under Liu Zhuang's and the stunned attendants' gazes, the Chi Xiao Sword levitates from its rack, its tip trembling and pointing outward beyond the Great Hall!

Whoosh—!

A sound of tearing through the sky erupts! The Chi Xiao Sword transforms into a streak of scarlet brilliance, instantly bursting through the Great Hall's dome and soaring into the heavens!

In the sky it leaves a lingering crimson trail, like a meteor racing backward, speeding toward the distance!

Inside the Great Hall, only the dumbfounded attendants and Liu Zhuang, staring at the sky, his expression shifting, lost in deep thought, remain.

He furrows his brow and says softly, "Why is this?"

"Just go take a look and you'll know!"

He immediately orders a carriage to be prepared and departs the Imperial City, pursuing the trail of Chi Xiao.

Supplement:

After Liu Zhuang's enthronement, he harshly punishes the in‑law relatives and ministers who wield power to oppress.

For example, Colonel Dou Lin, a relative of Grand Minister of Works Dou Rong, is both a son of a meritorious official and a member of an in‑law family.

In the second year of Yongping, Dou Lin was imprisoned and sentenced to death for "deceiving the emperor, embezzling, and perverting the law."