Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Fugitive

The City Governor stared at her incredulously. "You will even slander the Crown Prince?"

Xu Yingshan laughed manically. "Slander him? Why not? Everyone criticized the Seventh Prince for being sickly, saying he could never become Heir Apparent. Even when he was originally named Crown Prince, everyone said he wouldn't live to be Emperor. I helped him get a step closer to the throne and threw away my morals in the process. And how does he thank me? By threatening the lives of those I hold most dear to me. By sending assassins to kill me. By ordering my arrest and public execution. Tell me, do I have reason now to slander him?!"

Fury blazed in her eyes. Her hands clenched into fists, still sitting on the armrests of the wheelchair.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Old Li roared. "You have disgraced this family over and over again! Now, even the Crown Prince wants you dead!"

I never should have saved him that day at the Spring Hunt.

Li Yingshan turned to look at her father. "Old Li, from this day forth, we will have nothing to do with each other! Qiu Ling, let's go."

Qiu Ling nodded and began to wheel her away. Xu Haoran stood, and he and Zhang Fangong followed them. AS they were passing by the City Governor, he caught Qiu Ling's arm. Li Yingshan snarled.

"Let go of her this instant, or don't blame me for being rude."

"Ch, you? What can you do, Disgraced Third Young Lady of the Li family?"

It wasn't the title that bothered her, but the disregard for her capabilities that sent her fury raging.

"What can I do?" she repeated. Then, she whistled.

Immediately, twenty men—all dressed blood red Shuhe uniforms—surged into the room and surrounded the guests, hosts, and the City Governor.

He roared, "What is the meaning of this?!"

But some of the martial artists were smarter. They breathed in shock, "These are the elite martial artists from Moonlight Pagoda. The Bloodmoon Guardians."

Xu Haoran's eyes widened. Qiu Ling, too, was surprised. She had only met her Lady's Bloodmoon Guardians once before. Old Li and Mrs. Li sat forward in their seats.

The City Governor scoffed, "Bloodmoon Guardians? Ha! There's no way you could actually mobilize Moonlight Pagoda's Bloodmoon Guardians. Would the Moonlight Pagoda actually accept someone like you?"

"Tell me, City Governor, what am I? Disgraced? Invalided? Incapable? A woman? Isn't the leader of Moonlight Pagoda a woman? A Goddess?"

Old Li cut in, "The Goddess of Moonlight Pagoda is rumored to be the best martial artist in the Jianghu. She reportedly never leaves its headquarters. Mystery surrounds her. No one knows who she is or where she comes from."

Xu Yingshan let a knowing smile spread across her lips as she looked down. "Indeed. Very few have the honor of knowing who she is."

The Bloodmoon Guardians remained silent and still. They would only move on orders. Xu Yingshan had picked them personally and knew they were loyal only to her. And each Bloodmoon Guardian had soaked in the medicinal hotsprings behind the headquarters to increase their martial arts skills and internal force. The were on equal levels with the twenty Black Phoenixes and Xu Yingshan. But almost no one outside of Moonlight Pagoda knew about her Black Phoenixes. They were meant for stealth and assassination missions whereas the Bloodmoon Guardians were meant for more in-the-public-eye missions.

"Mei mei," her brothers called out. "Acknowledge your wrongs and go with the City Governor."

She scoffed dryly, "The only wrong I committed was backing the Seventh Prince."

Her eyes met the General Bloodmoon Guardian's. He was the leader of the Bloodmoon Guardian and fiercely loyal to her. A smirk twitched at the corner of her lips. He remained stoic, waiting for her orders.

"Falling Stars Against a Black Night."

Upon her command, he bowed. The other nineteen followed him in bursting out, surrounding Xu Yingshan, Qiu Ling, Xu Haoran, and Zhang Fangong. Their dao swords were raised to the outside.

Guardians. Their main job was to guard the Goddess of Moonlight Pagoda. But... no knew that.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Old Li roared.

Xu Yingshan turned her wheelchair to face him. "If anyone dares to try and kill me, have fun dealing with my Bloodmoon Guardians first. General Qing, lead us out."

He tipped his head in acknowledgement and waved for them all to move. Qiu Ling pushed Xu Yingshan's wheelchair and leaned down.

"My Lady, since when have the Bloodmoon Guardians been in Longxin City?"

Xu Yingshan chuckled, "A while now. After the Crown Prince's failed assassination attempt, I summoned them here. Don't worry, the Black Phoenixes are guarding headquarters."

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"What happens now, my Lady?"

"We'll lay low for a while. Wait out the Crown Prince's patience. Though I have enough records to destroy him, I need to gather the support of others in court."

"How will you do that?"

Pain flickered in Xu Yingshan's eyes. "Simple. By returning to Dream House."

Qiu Ling's jaw dropped. "My Lady, you aren't serious?"

"I am. I'm a fugitive now, so the best way to become invisible is by blending in. And at Dream House, I can gather information easily."

"But what about Young Master and Fangong?"

Hearing Qiu Ling's desperate words suddenly made Xu Yingshan realize her selfishness. "Don't worry, Qiu Ling. They'll be safe as long as I'm not with them."

I can't let Qiu Ling be hurt because of me.

She made a reluctant decision after falling quiet.

Just as they were almost out the door, Old Li suddenly jumped to his feet. "You think you can leave so easily?!"

The Bloodmoon Guardians suddenly moved. But still, they weren't fast enough to block her father's dagger. Flying up out of her wheelchair, Xu Yingshan spun around to face her dumbstruck father and mother. Eyes blazing, she summoned her full internal force to counter the attack.

Her small knives flew out from the sleeves of her cornflower blue and gold Wei and Jin Ruqun. Her father swiped his Shenyia Hanfu pattern from the Spring and Autumn Period sleeve, knocking the knives away. Xu Yingshan landed on her feet and tilted her head innocently.

Behind her, Xu Haoran made to lunge forward and join the fight, but Qing Gang青刚 qīng gāng - given name meaning "Strong" hit his consciousness acupoint. Xu Haoran slumped in Zhang Fangong's arms.

"You seem to take after Eldest Sister and Second Sister. Killing one's blood is looked down upon in the Jianghu, did you know? But seeing as I've already killed the First Prince, why not stain my hands red once again?"

She shot forward and the cornflower blue ribbon of Moonlight Pagoda whipped out towards her father. Old Li snarled and drew his sword. The ribbon wrapped around it, and Xu Yingshan pulled it taut until his yanked it out of his grasp entirely. She leapt up and caught the sword in her hand, holding its point out towards her father.

Old Li growled, "Since when did you recover your martial arts?"

"Let me walk you through a shortened version. Five years ago, I came into the possession of the recipe for the Peace White Tea. I cured myself and was able to walk again. Afterwards, I practiced martial arts again. End of story."

 "You colluded with Cloudless Night Sect?!" he raged. "You killed your own sisters!"

She scoffed. "I never colluded with anybody but the Seventh Prince. I stole the recipe from Cloudless Night Sect. I had nothing to do with Yingxue and Yingyu's deaths."

Xu Yingshan called back behind her, "General Qing, see Qiu Ling, Hero Xu, and Zhang Fangong out."

"As you wish, Goddess."

That caused an outbreak of exclaims. As the Bloodmoon Guardians escorted the three out, Xu Yingshan laughed.

"You all praise and worship the Goddess of Moonlight Pagoda. But Old Li, did you know, your very own once-beloved daughter founded it?"

He gaped at her in shock.

"Two years before my ambush, I founded Moonlight Pagoda in Ten Thousand Ways Restaurant. I grew it to what it is today. I am the Goddess of Moonlight Pagoda. Without it, how could the Seventh Prince become Heir Apparent? Without it, how could I have survived five years alone in Luoyang? Without it, how could I have known that you colluded with Cloudless Night Sect to kill me back then and then framed it on my sisters? Without it, how could I have known that you used Cloudless Night Sect to kill my sisters with their Nether Blades?"

"Slander!" her father cried nervously. "You lie! T- there's no way you're the Goddess of Moonlight Pagoda!"

To prove herself, she turned and rambled off a secret after secret of everyone present in the room. Shock filled their faces. Jaws dropped. When she had finished, she had proved her point.

"Without Moonlight Pagoda, how could I know everything about everyone? Do you think being away from the Jianghu for five years didn't mean I wouldn't keep an eye on it? Ha! You all underestimated. You all doubted me. Now... who are the ones that are disgraced?"

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