Chapter 17 — Sword God Appears

As soon as Bach Trinh finished speaking, both sides were ready to go into battle, the atmosphere was as tense as a string about to break. But To Nhat Hac suddenly stepped forward, raised his walking stick between the two of them, his voice rang out majestically even though his body was shaking due to old age: "Wait! Before the two of you decide on a life and death battle, this old man wants to ask Thien Ba something, and you must answer honestly, as the last debt you still owe to the sect."

The subordinates standing around the courtyard, even though they did not dare to speak, could not help but stir at this unexpected scene. They only knew that their master was a powerful, cruel person who never surrendered to anyone, but now they saw him standing silently in front of the questioning of a weak-looking old man, which made many of them begin to doubt what they had always believed in for so long.

Thien Ba frowned, but still lowered his sword a little, perhaps because in his heart he still retained some respect for the elder who had taught him since childhood. "What do you want to ask, elder?" To Nhat Hac looked straight into his eyes: "That night, at Vong Hon Alley, do you know why Thanh Phong insisted on coming to see you alone, without bringing anyone, including Bach Trinh, whether it could help you avoid danger or not?"

Thien Ba remained silent, as if that question touched on something that even he had never thought through thoroughly in the past eighteen years. To Nhat Hac continued, his voice was low, carrying with it the long-hidden pain: "Because Thanh Phong not only discovered your plot, it also discovered that the group of evil people colluding with you is waiting for an opportunity. As long as the sect has an internal chaos, even for a moment, they will immediately take the opportunity to attack, taking advantage of the moment when the Tang Phong Mon is at its weakest to avenge the hatred from many generations ago."

When Bach Trinh heard this, his whole body froze, the last pieces of the picture eighteen years ago suddenly appeared clearly in his mind. To Nhat Hac continued: "Thanh Phong has planned very carefully. If he publicly denounces you in front of the entire sect, those evil cults will definitely know the news immediately through you or through the spies planted around them, and they will not miss the opportunity to attack when everyone is still confused and divided because of the shocking betrayal incident. Therefore, he chose to quietly come to meet you, wanting to convince you to voluntarily leave quietly, while saving your face. while not revealing any signs of instability that could cause outside enemies to perceive a vulnerability."

"He sacrificed himself not only because of his brotherly love for you," To Nhat Hac said, his voice choked, "but also for the safety of thousands of disciples of the Tang Phong Mon, of countless civilians who have lived under the protection of the sect for many generations. He clearly knew the danger of coming to meet you alone, but still accepted to bet his own life, just in exchange for a chance to resolve it peacefully, without causing shock, without creating loopholes for outside enemies. That is the sacrifice of a person. The person who not only thinks about himself, but also thinks about everyone around him, including the person who betrayed him."

Bach Trinh remembered every little detail of that rainy and windy night in the past, the short note Thanh Phong left before leaving, the way he deliberately did not state the level of danger so that Bach Trinh would not worry too much and miss another task being assigned, the way he chose the hour of the pig, when the whole mountain gate had fallen asleep, so that no one would discover his absence and raise suspicion. All those details now appear clearly like a complete picture, pieced together from countless fragments of memories that over the past eighteen years he has never had the courage to fully acknowledge.

Hearing this, Dieu Vy couldn't hold back anymore, she burst into tears, not because of sadness, but because of a deep pride welling up in her heart when she learned the true stature of her father that she had never had the opportunity to understand. Bach Trinh also felt a lump in his throat. The image of Thanh Phong in his mind was now not simply a kind brother, but also a true hero, willing to put collective interests above his own life.

Thien Ba stood still, his face showing a real waver for the first time, no longer the cold and defiant look like before. "I... I don't know these things," he said, his voice somewhat broken. "I just thought it was coming to corner me, to force me to choose between committing suicide in shame or being blamed in front of the entire sect. I panicked, I was scared, and I took action before I could hear everything it wanted to say."

"So you killed it even before it had a chance to fully explain its intentions?" Bach Trinh asked, his voice shaking with anger mixed with pain. Thien Ba nodded, his eyes seemed to blur for a brief moment before regaining their inherent coldness. "That's right. It came, started talking about knowing everything, about wanting to give me a way out. But I only heard half of the first sentence, panic overcame my reason, I pulled out my sword and stabbed it before it could finish."

Dieu Vy looked at Thien Ba, tears still lingering on her eyes, but her eyes were no longer purely hatred, but mixed with an indescribable sadness for both men in this tragic story, one who sacrificed out of tolerance, the other who lost everything out of panic and jealousy. "My father must have been very heartbroken," she said softly, "to have to die at the hands of the very person he still wanted to save until the last moment." That sentence was like a small but sharp needle, piercing straight into the little conscience left in Thien Ba's heart.

That harsh truth made the air in the stone yard become heavy and suffocating. Such a noble sacrifice ultimately ended in a moment of selfish panic for the recipient of the favor. Bach Trinh tightened his grip on the sword hilt, the pain and anger that had been pent up for eighteen years now blended into an unshakable determination.

"You had the opportunity to become a better person, Thien Ba," To Nhat Hac said, his voice full of regret. "Thanh Phong gave you that opportunity with his life, yet you chose to continue on the dark path, building an organization of assassins that has spread misery to innocent people for the past eighteen years. This is no longer a private feud between two brothers, but a debt you must pay for all the lives that have fallen at the hands of the Demon Shadow Police Department."

Thien Ba was silent for a long time, then suddenly burst out laughing, a dry and bitter laugh: "Perhaps you are right. But things have come to this point, I have no way to retreat anymore. I will not kneel down to accept my sins, nor do I want to resolve this matter here, in front of my subordinates." He glanced around the yard, where the guards were still standing and watching from afar, then continued, his voice filled with bitter nostalgia: "If it has to end, let it end right where it began. Vong Hon Alley. I will wait for you there, Bach Trinh, when the moon is at its highest tonight. Come alone, like a duel between two swordsmen, without involving anyone else."

He paused for a moment, his eyes swept over Dieu Vy standing behind Bach Trinh, his voice suddenly cold again: "But listen clearly, little brother: tonight will be the only time, there will be no second time. If you fall by my hands, I will personally deal with that girl and anything left of that notebook, and from then on no one will be strong enough to expose what I have done, because the only person who ever knew enough to resist I also lay here, just like Thanh Phong eighteen years ago. And if you win, let your elders bring my body back, expose whatever you want, I have nothing to hide anymore."

That threat caused the entire stone yard to sink into a heavy silence. Dieu Vy clenched her hands so tightly that her knuckles turned white, understanding that tonight was not simply a matter of victory or defeat between two swordsmen, but the boundary between whether the truth of eighteen years was fully revealed or buried forever along with her own life. To Nhat Hac sighed heavily, and Bach Trinh only responded with a short sentence, his voice never wavering: "You don't need to remind me, Thien Ba. I understood the price of tonight before I set foot here."

Thien Ba did not respond any further, just turned and walked into the valley, ordering his subordinates not to stop or attack Bach Trinh's group, as the last remaining code of honor in a man who had lost almost all his conscience. Bach Trinh stood silently watching the back of the enemy disappearing into the valley, his heart was both heavy because of the truths that had just been revealed, and at the same time filled with fierce determination for the final battle that was about to take place at the very place where all the tragedies began eighteen years ago, a battle that now not only carries with it the blood debt of the past, but also carries with it the survival of the present and the future.

To Nhat Hac put his hand on Bach Trinh's shoulder, his voice low and filled with worry: "Are you sure you want to go alone? I can go there with you, although my strength is somewhat limited, at least there will be one more witness." Bach Trinh shook his head, his eyes looked towards the valley where Thien Ba had just disappeared: "No, this is a matter between me and him, it has been going on for eighteen years, it needs to be closed by just the two of us, without anyone else intervening. Please take Dieu Vy back to a safe place, wait for news from me." Dieu Vy wanted to protest, but looking at his steadfast eyes, she understood that this was something he needed to accomplish on his own, and she could only quietly pray for his peace tonight.