Dragon's Edge: Blood and Conspiracy: Dragon's Edge: Blood and Conspiracy, #9

By Rob Reynolds

When the seventeen-year-old Ling Feng was falsely accused of patriarchal murder and expelled from home, the Seven-Star Dragon Abyss Sword in his hand suddenly resonated, and he realized that what his family had guarded for generations was not only the sword manual, but also the shocking secret that subverted the dynasty. From a despised bastard to an avenger with a magic weapon, he rose in the cracks of mechanical mechanisms and poisonous conspiracies. He not only had to uncover the truth about the tragic death of his parents, but also had to use the sword as a blade to cut off the mastermind behind the fate of the dynasty. This work will take you into a world where martial arts and political intrigues are intertwined, and see how the useless man breaks the situation with a sword and rebuilds the family's glory in the test of blood and fire.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rob Reynolds
• Release date: Jun 16, 2025
• ISBN: 9798231147199

Book preview

Chapter 401: Bandits Rob the Escort Car

As dusk fell, the official road at the foot of Taihang Mountain was dyed blood red by the afterglow. Murong Xue lay on the old pine branches at the edge of the cliff, her fingertips stroking the cracks on the escort flag where the word Weiyuan was cut by a sharp blade. In the strange robbery of the escort three days ago, all seven escorts were killed by their own crossbows, but the sword of the chief escort leader was missing - at this moment, the scabbard was hanging on the waist of the black-shirted man thirty steps away, tapping the gold-inlaid wolf head with the mountain breeze.

Second boss, this shipment of red goods is enough for our brothers to eat for half a year! The bearded bandit kicked away the tung wood box that had rolled to his feet and grabbed a handful of old rice mixed with husks. Even this disaster relief grain mixed with sand is too cruel. The Qingzhou prefect is even more evil-minded than us!

Murong Xue's pupils shrank slightly. Through the cracks in the box, she saw the faint indigo pattern on the bottom sack - that was the exclusive seal of the Ministry of Industry for the grain tax. Her fingertips quietly clasped the three bone-piercing nails, but she saw the second in command suddenly draw his sword and chop at the grain bag. The sharp sword light picked out a half-cut black iron token between the rice grains, and the six characters Jizhou Military Equipment Supervision were engraved on it.

Idiot! The second in command kicked his subordinate over. These are the crossbow parts to be shipped to Mobei! He grabbed a handful of grains mixed with iron filings. It's smeared with Liaodong charcoal ash, and it swells when it comes into contact with water - quickly lift the waterproof tarpaulin on the shaft!

The silver bell on Murong Xue's wrist rang suddenly, and a seven-foot white silk shot out from her sleeve, wrapping around the oilcloth that was about to be lifted. As she flipped in the air, she caught a glimpse of black mucus oozing out of the secret compartment under the car - it was clearly asphalt water that would ignite when it came into contact with air!

What a great skill! A teasing female voice came from the top of the cliff, and Bai Feng's eyes under the black iron mask reflected the setting sun. Miss, do you know that these twenty carts of 'relief grain' are enough to blow up the entire Niangzi Pass? She flicked a bronze coin with her finger, and the coin was accurately embedded in the mortise and tenon of the axle, and the escort carriage that was about to overturn was barely stabilized.

Murong Xue touched the startled horse's back with her toes, and wrapped the second-in-command's sword with a white silk and threw it into the secret compartment: You robbed the escort in Black Wind Village just to help the government destroy the evidence?

The moment the sword sank into the car board, Bai Feng's long whip came through the air, and the iron lotus on the whip tip bit the hilt of the sword with a click. The two forces collided, and the secret compartment popped open, exposing the winches of thirty improved divine crossbows in the twilight - the crossbow slot actually had the carved feathers of the standard arrows of the Imperial Guards left in it!

Half a year ago, Qingzhou Prefecture lied about the sinking of a grain ship and took away 300 powerful crossbows from the imperial court. Bai Feng's whip was like a net, sweeping all the bandits who came over and fell off the cliff. Yesterday they wanted to transport this batch of murder weapons away again. Do you think we should rob them?

Murong Xue turned to avoid the second in command's poisoned dagger, and wrapped a white silk around his wrist, slashing it hard: Then why did you leave the chief escort's sword alone? She tore open his clothes, revealing a tattoo on his collarbone by a craftsman from the Ministry of Industry, What a bandit second in command - is your name on the list of martyrs from the fire in the Military Equipment Bureau last year?

Bai Feng suddenly threw out three whistling arrows, and huge rocks rolled down from the mountain wall to seal the valley entrance. She took off her mask, and the scar on her cheek sneered fiercely: Miss Murong, why don't you guess why the Ministry of Industry destroyed the evidence through the Black Wind Village? She used a long whip to roll up a corpse on the ground and threw it over, Look at what this 'dead man' has in his arms!

Murong Xue opened the corpse's jacket, and five thunder bombs with the seal of Guanglu Temple rolled down. The bright yellow silk wrapped around the fuse was the tribute silk from Jiangnan given by the emperor on the birthday of the emperor a few years ago!

boom—!

Suddenly there was an explosion outside the valley, and the second in command took advantage of the chaos to cut off the shaft of the cart. Bai Feng turned the tip of his whip quickly and hooked Murong Xue's belt, using the force to pull her to the top of the cliff: Be careful of landmines! They have already been on this official road...

Before he finished speaking, twenty escort vehicles exploded at the same time. In the sky-high flames, Murong Xue saw iron hooks extending from the bottom of each vehicle, throwing the burning crossbow parts into the grooves reserved in the mountain wall - they were actually using the power of the explosion to reassemble the giant crossbow!

This is a true robbery. Bai Feng pulled off his cloak to put out the sparks from Murong Xue's sleeves. The Ministry of Works has used the Black Wind Village to set up a killing spree. When the crossbow is ready, the first arrow will be fired at a place eighty miles away...

Report! the bandit who was galloping down the mountain road said hoarsely, The beacon tower at Niangzi Pass has raised a signal!

Murong Xue threw out a white silk to wrap around the crossbow arm that was being assembled, and turned to look at Bai Feng: The range of the bed crossbow is only sixty miles, unless... She suddenly grabbed the unburned crossbow machine fragments and drew a map of Taihang Mountain on the stone wall, Use the reflection of the Eagle's Beak Cliffs on both sides of Niangzi Pass!

Bai Feng wrapped his long whip around the vines on the mountain wall and jumped down: Follow me! The crossbow's scope must be hidden in...

The sound of breaking air interrupted his words, and the second in command screamed while covering his right eye which was bleeding profusely. The dagger he had just thrown desperately was now stuck in the bronze cylinder between the cracks in the rock - the dragon pattern on the cylinder was exactly the pattern of the three fish symbols of the Minister of Works!

Murong Xue snatched the cylinder, and the afterglow of the setting sun reflected by the mirror cast a spot of light on the ground, and the center of the spot just covered the Caoyun Wharf ten miles away. She gasped: What they want to shoot is not Niangzi Pass at all, but the five hundred barrels of gunpowder stored at the wharf!

Bai Feng whipped and smashed the last assembled crossbow gear. Tie Lianhua bit the second in command's throat and said, Tell me! Where is the next target after igniting the gunpowder?

A dying grin mixed with blood foam spilled out: Of course it is... ahem... the nine gates of the capital...

Murong Xue suddenly pulled off his bloodstained wrist guard, revealing a tattoo on his wrist that was exactly the same as the second in command of the Cao Gang. She turned to look at Bai Feng, only to see that he had already opened the interlayer of the third escort vehicle - twenty sets of imperial guards' armor glowed blue in the firelight, and the inside of the heart guard was uniformly branded with the flying fish pattern of the Guanglu Temple.

Chapter 402: Female Hero's Sword Like a Rainbow

The rain poured down on the bluestone slabs of Zhuque Street. Murong Xue's white silk wrapped around the copper bell under the eaves of Zuixian Tower, and swung across the five-meter-wide street. The lanterns on the eaves reflected the flying fish pattern on the armor of the pursuers behind her - it was the imperial guards' uniform found in the escort car of Heifengzhai.

Young lady, why are you trying to get involved in this mess? The leading captain held his sword in his hand to block the way. The jadeite Pixiu embedded in the scabbard shone dimly in the rain. The gambling game of the Minister of Works is not something that can be solved by a gangster.

Murong Xue tapped the water with her toes and the white silk wrapped around the opponent's knife handle like a snake's tongue: The game where military pay is used as a bet must be broken even if it has to be. She turned around and threw out three bone-piercing nails. The tips of the nails pierced into the lintel of the gambling house, bringing out strands of dark red rust - that was hematite powder mixed with saltpeter, which would ignite when it came into contact with water!

Qian Hu retreated three steps, and the smell of burning oozed out of the gaps in his armor. Suddenly, the sound of a pipa string was heard from the second floor of the gambling house, and the carved window lattice shattered in response. Blood was splashed on Bai Feng's black iron mask, and he jumped down with a long whip in his hand and a red sandalwood box wrapped around it: Miss Murong, take it! This box does not contain dice—

The wooden box exploded in mid-air, and twelve gold cakes engraved with the seal of the Ministry of Revenue flew everywhere. Murong Xue's white silk swept across the rain curtain and caught all the gold cakes, but she saw that on the back of each gold cake there was a river map as thin as a hair - it was the nine-gate sluice structure that the Ministry of Works had kept secret!

Good eyesight. A lazy male voice came from the gambling house. A young man in brocade clothes appeared from behind the gilded screen, twirling two black iron dice with his fingertips. Not many people in the world can recognize hematite powder. Could the girl be the one who ran away from marriage in the Murong family? He suddenly threw the dice, and the sound of iron breaking through the air was like the sound of a powerful crossbow arrow!

Bai Feng whipped his long whip, and Iron Lotus bit one of the dice, but the other was blocked by the Ministry of Revenue gold cake wrapped in white silk by Murong Xue. The concave part of the gold cake revealed the silk in the interlayer, which recorded the salt and iron transactions between Guanglu Temple and Mobei.

Master Yan has practiced the 'Double Dragons Playing with a Pearl' move for ten years, how come he can't even protect a box? Bai Feng pointed his whip at the corridor on the second floor, where twenty accountants who were tied up like dumplings were struggling. You, the masters of forging accounts, are much more obedient than dice.

The young man in brocade clothes sneered and clapped his hands. The gambling floor suddenly cracked and ten fine iron cages rose up. In each cage, there was a man dressed as a canal worker, with the iron shackles on his ankles branded with the emblem of the Ministry of Industry. Miss Murong, why don't you guess, he picked up a gold cake and threw it into the air, Are the lives of these 'human sacrifices' worth exchanging for the account book in your hand?

Murong Xue's white silk suddenly cut through the rain like a sharp sword and entangled the padlock of the nearest cage: Yan Shifan, does your father Yan Song know that you raise private soldiers in the gambling house? She used her fingertips to tear off the iron lock, and the festering wrist of the canal worker revealed the same tattoo mark as the second in command of the Black Wind Village. Using the military guards to pretend to be refugees, this play has been rehearsed for three years, right?

Suddenly, a mechanical sound was heard in the rainstorm, and ten improved divine crossbows emerged from the dark corner of the street. Bai Feng turned around and swung out a long whip, and the iron lotus bit the load-bearing column of the eaves of the gambling house: Murong Xue! He wants to bury him alive—

Before he finished speaking, the tiles of the entire street collapsed. Murong Xuebai quickly wrapped her white silk around the cage bars and snatched the jade pendant from Yan Shifan's waist while falling. The five-clawed golden dragon carved on the jade body was clearly visible in the lightning - it was actually a token from the Eastern Palace!

No wonder you dared to mobilize the Imperial Guards privately. She stepped on the fallen stone slabs and threw the jade pendant at Bai Feng. The relief money from the Yellow River bursting its banks last year must have melted into this golden dragon, right?

Bai Feng used her long whip to wrap around the jade pendant and drew a circle in the air, removing the impact of the crossbow arrows: Master Yan, why don't you explain why the Ministry of Works' river engineering map is hidden in the cellar of the gambling house? She threw three whistling arrows, and suddenly twenty canal boats loaded with sand and gravel rushed out from the end of the street. The trap you carefully laid out saved us the effort of blocking the crossbow carts!

Yan Shifan finally changed color and retreated to the secret door. Murong Xuebai Ling followed him like a shadow and wrapped around his right foot, but he felt his hand lighten - it was actually a substitute wearing a human skin mask! The real body had already escaped, leaving only a brocade robe embroidered with peacock patterns falling in the rain.

Chase! Bai Feng split open the secret door, and the tunnel was filled with a pungent smell of sulfur. Murong Xue's white silk swept across the wall lamp, and the firelight reflected the newly engraved mark on the wall - exactly the same as the trajectory of the grappling hook at the bottom of the Black Wind Village escort car!

Suddenly, a muffled sound came from the ground. The two retreated hastily, and saw a giant gambling table made of fine iron rising at the end of the tunnel. The outlines of the nine gates of the capital were engraved on the table, and each gate was embedded with a thunder bomb, and a gilded dice cup was placed at the convergence of the fuses.

What a great bet on the mountains and rivers. Murong Xue cut her fingertips and dripped blood on the edge of the dice cup. The blood flowed along the groove to the fuse of the thunder bomb at Deshengmen, but was blocked by some transparent grease. Using stone fat water as a bet, does the Yan family want to use the Forbidden City as a bargaining chip?

Bai Feng split the dice cup with her iron whip, and twenty ivory dice rolled out. The number on each dice corresponded to the size of the waterway in the Yingzaofashi. She suddenly tore open the interlayer of the dice cup and took out a roll of yellowed silk - it turned out to be the imperial edict of Emperor Jiajing's imperial handwriting on the canal diversion!

Miss Murong, do you know why the Ministry of Works insisted on blowing up the Nine Gates? Bai Feng opened the silk cloth, and next to the red seal were Mobei characters. After the canal was diverted, the new waterway happened to pass through the ancestral mausoleum of the Mobei royal court. Our emperor has long been betting on the country.

The sound of heavy rain was mixed with the sound of horses' hooves. Ling Feng led the Jinyiwei to break into the room. He lifted the silk with the tip of his sword, and his pupils shrank suddenly: This is not the emperor's handwriting! The sword scraped off the cinnabar surface, revealing the private seal of the Minister of Works underneath. The unjust case of the Yellow River's diversion three years ago has finally found evidence.

Murong Xue looked at the fresh bloodstains deep in the tunnel: The real gamble is not over yet - the direction Yan Shifan fled to, is it directly leading to the Guanglu Temple ice cellar?

Bai Fengxuan raised the corner of his lips under the iron mask: Why not make a bet? I bet he won't survive past three o'clock.

The official seal that I hold as the Minister of Works will change hands tonight. Murong Xuebai rolled up the thunder bomb and threw it towards the ice cellar. The explosion startled the crows all over the city.

Chapter 403: Hostages Hidden in the Gambling House

The sound of the clappers at midnight was swallowed up by the rainstorm. Murong Xue leaned against the brick wall of the back alley of Zuixianlou, picking up the half-dried hematite powder between the cracks in the wall with her fingertips. Two hours ago, she and Bai Feng tracked Yan Shifan here, but lost the clue in this dark alley. At this moment, in the fresh wheel tracks at the base of the wall, there were a few grains of unburned Liaodong charcoal, and the charcoal ash faintly revealed the unique sandalwood scent of Guanglu Temple.

The owner of this gambling house is really generous with the materials. Rainwater flowed down Bai Fengxuan's iron mask, and the tip of his whip lifted up a loose brick. Even the mortar for building the wall is mixed with saltpeter. No wonder the Ministry of Works chose this place to hide people.

The brick wall burst open, and the stench of mold hit her face. Murong Xuebai swept away the cobwebs, and the curled figures in the iron cages on both sides of the corridor made her pupils shrink suddenly - 17 or 18 men dressed as canal workers had iron chains pierced through their collarbones, and fake silver ingots engraved with the seal of the Ministry of Revenue were scattered at their feet. In the innermost cage, Liu Ruyan was wearing a plain dress stained with blood, and the golden bell on her wrist was silent.

Sister Murong... She raised half of the jade pendant with a weak breath, They forced my father to stamp the canal transport account book... That account book... is in the interlayer of the dice cup...

Before he finished speaking, the floor of the gambling house suddenly shook. Twenty gambling tables sank at the same time, and a cage made of fine iron rose up, trapping the three people in the center. Bai Feng's long whip wrapped around the iron bars on the top of the cage, and the scales on the whip scraped sparks: Yan Shifan, this old fox, even made the cage into the shape of a dice.

Murong Xue wrapped the white silk around Liu Ruyan's chain, and blue flames burst out when the silk brushed against the lock - the keyhole was filled with lithotripsy, which swelled when exposed to heat! She quickly withdrew her strength and turned to look at the second floor of the gambling house: Miss Bai, please take a look at the bronze crane lamp in the southeast corner.

Bai Feng threw out three iron lotus seeds to smash the lampshade, and a gilded dice cup rolled out from the lamp holder. The six dice in the cup were attracted to each other by magnets,