The Beauty’s Blade
Written by Feng Ren Zuo Shu
Original Chinese work (c) 2016-2017
Unofficial translation (c) 09/29/20 - 04/17/21 by Huang “Chichi” Zhifeng
Both versions are protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Reposts are not permitted in any capacity. (No, not anywhere, not even if you’re the copyright holder for the original novel. That’s not really how it works.)
If you have found this translation anywhere except chichilations.home.blog, ko-fi.com/chichilations, or the huangzhifengtheosprey Google Drive, it has been stolen. There is absolutely no authorization for it to be posted anywhere else, especially not any site that charges money for access to those translations. I have never required payment to access any translations that I do.
Anyone else claiming my translation as theirs is fraudulent. Check the dates.
People have tried to sell fanworks that weren’t theirs before. Spoilers: It resulted in a lawsuit that the fan creator won. Don’t try it. Ain’t worth it. Just do an MTL and be done with it if you’re going to be lazy, yo.
The original work was published on jjwxc.
This translation was published originally on Wordpress.
Translator Contact Information
chichilations.home.blog ~ ko-fi.com/chichilations ~ huangzhifengtheosprey@gmail.com
The blog is the source site, and the ko-fi has plans for further translations, though it’s going to be a space for my original works otherwise, at this point.
Please send any inquiries, bug reports, typos, etc. regarding the translation to my email.
Ancient Chinese Units of Measurements, for your reading convenience
shichen: one of the 12 two-hour time periods ancient Chinese folks used instead of hours
cun: equivalent to 3⅓ cm
li: equivalent to ½ a km
chi: equivalent to ⅓ m
zhang: equivalent to 3⅓ m
catty: equivalent to 604.79g
tael: equivalent to 37.8g
Translator’s Foreword
Welcome to the fanmade translation of The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua!
This was originally an EPUB. I retired those originally, hoping that would prompt more official ebooks and translations. That didn’t quite go as planned, so now I made them hard to copy. Lessons learned, yadda yadda yadda.
It’s not perfect, is less interactive than the blog (I like seeing comments :( ), and is missing translator/author notes (for now), but GDocs does prevent copying and downloading. It’s the most I can do.
(Don’t request edit access. Those emails go straight to the trash.)
FYC is too massive for GDocs to handle, so I had to split it into four ‘Tomes’. Why did I name them Tomes instead of Parts? Because my name’s Chichi and the definition of chichi is ‘pretentious and overelaborate refinement’. That’s your explanation, bye.
Here is a content warning for the whole book: pretty much every arc involves one or more dead bodies, so you can imagine the details surrounding it are not pleasant, and this time period is rife with sexism and double-standards.
Be sure to buy the work from JJWXC, or donate directly to the author.
If you lack in money, you can still contribute to author’s works by viewing all the chapters that you can, liking everything, giving high ratings, and commenting (in Chinese only, or it’ll be auto-deleted). This helps their algorithms on jjwxc. It’s free to do this, so please do.
JJWXC Raws — In-Depth English JJWXC-buying Guide
That was a pair of beautiful hands.
Their skin was as fair as tallow, their fingers like scallions.
Those were the hands of a Lady, able to be used for playing the qin, able to be used for embroidery… yet, they were instead used for wielding a sword.
They were pretty hands, and their owner was even more shockingly so. Those young, dissolute, rich sons needed not even be mentioned, as even when children and the elderly caught sight of her smile that was as bright as spring flowers, their breaths would inevitably catch, and they would be ensnared within those charming eyes of hers. Such a beautiful person smiled at nearly every given moment, and her smile was just like fine wine, truly making one wish they could drink themselves dizzy in it.
Those in jianghu that advertised themselves as lofty heroes wanted to obtain her. Those who never backed down from committing any sort of evil and believed themselves to be unparalleled in martial arts wanted to obtain her, too. In their minds, only true heroes like them could be worthy of this number-one beauty in the land. However, those who came to possessively covet her and then put that into motion had all died. Who let that dazzling beauty, Fu Wanqing, be like this?
In order to stand against those foreign-path Fiends in jianghu, some alleged agents of righteousness had once forged the Whitepath Alliance. A hundred years later, only the Manor of Chivalry, Skytouch School, Flying Falcon Fortress, Divine Mystery Sect, and Soaring Might Protectancy were the remaining five families of above-grade power, and of them, the Manor was the most powerful. Its present owner was the number one person in the Martial Forest, Fu Hui, and his only daughter was precisely the nationally-recognized Fu Wanqing. While that world-upheaving change in the righteous-path Forest had been happening, the demon-path had been going through a spat, as well; all that remained was Jadeite Water Creed as its sole dominating family, and every single one of the demonic side’s followers were under its command.
The wind caressed Fu Wanqing’s hair, revealing a pair of starry eyes filled with smiles. The gray-clothed old man standing to the side in attendance felt a chill in his heart, hurriedly lowering his head and averting his gaze. He began to speak deferentially to her. “My Lady, there’s—”
“Throw him out.” Fu Wanqing chuckled. Her hand but slightly moved, and then a blue light streaked through the air, her longsword going into its scabbard a few zhang away. It wasn’t the slightest bit off, and she hadn’t even turned to glance behind her. “Do you still not know me, Uncle Rong? All of those Young Masters that come to pay a visit to the Manor get thrown out.”
“It’s not that.” Fu Rong shook his head, removing his gaze from that sword. He gulped before he spoke again. “The Head of Jadeite Water Creed has come to our Jiangnan.”
“Yu Shengyan!” Fu Wanqing’s eyes suddenly gleamed. She licked her lips and smiled captivatingly. “I know what she came here to do. Three years ago, her sect-sister, Lou Kexin, came to the Central Plains, and I severed both of her heel tendons. If she wants to cure those legs properly, then she’s still missing the medicine for it, which is in my Manor. No wonder she’s come in person.”
Yu Shengyan was a legend-like figure. Even though she was the Creed Head, almost no one in jianghu slandered her. They cursed all those that followed the demonic path in an infinite amount of ways, but they refused to say one bad thing about her. Due to her sword — and her face — the only person capable of comparing to Fu Wanqing happened to be Yu Shengyan. Of jianghu’s men, one-fifth of them had fallen in love with their own beloveds, two-fifths were fond of Fu Wanqing, and the rest were worshippers of Yu Shengyan. Calling all that to mind, a wave of some emotion arose in Fu Wanqing’s heart, and she couldn’t tell whether it was yearning or envy.
“Where is she right now?” Fu Wanqing asked indifferently, stroking the jade thumbring she wore.
Fu Rong paused for a good moment before he whispered back, “Goldmelt Grotto.”
The visions within Goldmelt Grotto were famed for their allure. No matter what someone’s path was, they would all make a trip there upon arriving at Yangzhou, becoming lost and entranced within a pile of rogue and perfume. That hardly-faltering smile on Fu Wanqing’s face was curbed when she heard those two words, the imposing aura she carried suddenly becoming as intense as a sword. Reason being, she had recalled a little rumor pertaining to Jadeite Water Creed around jianghu; was it a deep feeling, or a wanton nature, in the end? After letting out a cold huff, that smile returned once more. “She’s not worthy of Yu Shengyan.”
She was referring to Lou Kexin.
She had never seen Yu Shengyan before, but she could roughly imagine her poise and looks from jianghu folks’ descriptions of her. She had seen Lou Kexin before, and she knew that chick was rude, impulsive, spoiled, and had an exaggerated view of her own abilities. Those jianghu men weren’t worthy of Yu Shengyan, but Lou Kexin was a grade unworthier than even them.
“From information that came through next, Yu Shengyan had been misled there after helping up an elder that had fallen to the ground. She seemingly isn’t aware of what kind of place it is. News has already been conveyed from the Grotto that states that a world-unrivaled beauty had come, and tonight, they’re inviting everyone in the whole city to go over there, with the highest bidder getting to have her.” Fu Rong’s voice gradually got smaller, and he was forced to draw back a couple of steps from the intensity of the aura coming off of Fu Wanqing’s body. His Young Miss was still smiling, but, based on his understanding of her from these many past years, he knew she was mad.
“Yu Shengyan is mine! No one is allowed to touch her!” she shouted brattishly, striking out with a palm to make the surrounding rock remember to shatter into pieces. Fu Rong looked at the pile of rubble and shook his head slightly. Nowadays, people only knew that his Lord was number one in the Forest, and when discussion came to the Young Miss, they would always crown her with the epithets ‘Number One Beauty’ or ‘Eldest Lady of the Manor of Chivalry’; they were unaware, though, that she had long since become a brighter hue of indigo than the blue that made her. Understanding what she meant, he was about to leave and instruct some subordinates to take care of it, yet he surprisingly heard another bratty shout.
“Hold it! Order people to prepare a horse! I’m going there myself!”
The speeding steed turned past a road gate, black hair and red clothes splitting apart beautifully in a flashy display. People walking on the street successively made way once they heard the thudding hoofbeats, and the one that didn’t have enough time to scatter away instead held his head and crouched on the ground, awaiting his imminently-descending rotten luck. The wild wind whistled, a neigh was heard, and then both horse and beauty jumped over his head, only leaving behind one scarlet afterimage that dazzled the eyes. The crouching guy stood up, gazing foolishly in the direction of the departing red figure.
“What are you looking at? That fire-red-rose-like woman is the Manor of Chivalry’s Eldest Lady, and you’re deluding yourself about her?” Suddenly getting clapped on the shoulder by someone, that dumbfounded man gradually snapped out of it amidst loud yells and roaring laughter, and his face immediately billowed deep red. He gathered up his stuff that was randomly scattered, incessantly mumbling to himself in response, “How could I be deluded? There likely isn’t a single man in this world that could be deserving of her.”
Fu Wanqing had gone towards Goldmelt Grotto. She swiveled over, jumped off her horse, threw the reins to the stablehand at the entrance, then, ignoring the uproar of those people, straight-up walked inside. Who in Yangzhou City didn’t know her grand name, and who would dare to stop her in her tracks? It was merely that, in a few days’ time, there would probably be a rumor circulating jianghu that she was solely fond of beauties, and un-fond of heroes.
The smell of greasy cosmetics floated within the shoddy foyer. Drunk men peered on intently, holding a beauty in one arm and going to hook the one pouring wine with the other. The first floor of the Grotto was entirely a couple of abnormal characters contrasted with the lowest-ranking beauties in the building. Fu Wanqing crept up along the mahogany-made stairs, bursts of gasps and frail cries transmitting from within siderooms.
She nabbed a boyservant that was passing through there, but as soon as she had the thought to question him, she heard the peal of a drawn-out, swelling qin sound out from a sideroom at the very end locale. It’s her! It’s Yu Shengyan! Fu Wanqing wasn’t sure why she had a feeling like that in her heart, and was so strongly convicted of it, moreover. She flung the one that was in her way away, walking briskly towards the place the qin was coming from. Hand already fastened upon the zhennan door, she hesitated all of a sudden. If it was Yu Shengyan, what should she do? If it wasn’t Yu Shengyan, then what should she do? Idiot; she actually didn’t know what she was doing looking for Yu Shengyan at all! Comparing swordplay, just like how she had severed Lou Kexin’s tendons three years prior? Once that idea arose, it was like a ball of fierce flame ignited within her, burning with an uncontainable momentum.
Right. She was looking for Yu Shengyan merely to duel. Between them, only one could survive. She, Fu Wanqing, wouldn’t allow anyone to tack Yu Shengyan on whenever they spoke of her.
She pushed open the door and walked in. The one in the room wasn’t a shred astonished, and her qin wasn’t the least bit congested, either. Fu Wanqing couldn’t see what she looked like, as there was a length of light muslin curtain partitioning them. Wind blew in from the latticed window, and incense spiraled up out of a jeweled duck censer, making the one in the curtain seem both real and imaginary.
Both calm and crisp, its inquiring sound reached subtlety, like a deep abyss that could not be gauged, and a tall mountain that could not thrive. If there was any internal energy mixed within it, it would likely be capable of easily taking someone’s life. Fu Wanqing was alarmed, murderousness fully appearing in her pupils. Her hand was already pressed against the hilt of her sword, but at that moment, the sound morphed; like a lazy spring wind, it rushed and slowed in alternation, cutting off and then replenishing anew. Her mood fluctuated in the qin’s wake, and she was unexpectedly taken into it. By the time the song ended, the inside of her hand had since been clenched into a cold sweat.
“Yu Shengyan! You’re Yu Shengyan!” She quickly stood up. No longer giving a care for any sort of etiquette, she brusquely lifted the curtain and barged right in.
Sitting beside the qin table was a woman wearing white, the distance in her expression as frigid as snow.
Fu Wanqing had never before believed that she would perceive her own inferiority in front of a woman, but she also felt that anyone ought to be that way in front of Yu Shengyan. Even so, that logic existed in her skull for barely one moment before it was annihilated. Her swordlight contrasted with her eyes and her smile. “Three years ago, your sect-sister suffered a defeat beneath my sword. Aren’t you going to take revenge for her?”
—
The author says: The protagonist is really really pretty. The protagonist is really really rotten. The protagonist is really really strong. The writing style is really really weird. Don’t ask me about the logic, there is none.
The translator says: Here's a wuxia glossary that explains stuff like internal energy and swordlight.
Yu Shengyan lowered her head to look at the longsword pressing against her neck. It was quite sharp, and but a slight movement would be enough to puncture her throat. Her expression remained indifferent as she raised her eyes to view the woman with a bright smile hung on her face, voice mild. “Revenge? It was she whose skills were inferior to another’s. Why would I want revenge?” She already knew who this profoundly hostile lady before her was, but, in her opinion, everyone was no more than a passing guest no matter who they were. As soon as she swept out her sleeve, her entire person had since drifted several zhang away.
Disaffected and detached, just like a woman with no heart. Placed beneath her disdain, Fu Wanqing was suddenly a bit angry, and, disregarding whatever Yu Shengyan thought, the tip of her sword jolted. In but the blink of an eye, seventy-two attacks had already been sent outwards, firmly sealing off every way out Yu Shengyan had. She had to compare skills with her! She had to fight to her heart’s content with her! That train of thought in her head, Fu Wanqing’s moves came even more rapid and harsh.
Yu Shengyan only defended, never attacking. Within the sky-filling swordlight, her steps were dexterous and sleek, and however many moves Fu Wanqing stabbed out was however many moves she avoided. In a fit of bang-bang-bang breaking sounds, the interior of the room had scarcely any things remaining in it that were any kind of intact. Intense sword energy shone out from the window, and the flowerpot hanging next to it was soon about to be destroyed by Fu Wanqing’s sword. Yu Shengyan swiftly outdistanced it to take the pot in hand ― and, at that very instant, Fu Wanqing’s relentless strike had since been delivered. Yu Shengyan twisted her body around, just barely evading the maneuver, though not enough to avoid getting a strand of her hair cut off.
The room descended into silence, like even a pin could be heard if one was dropped. Yu Shengyan smoothed out her hair without the least bit of care. Finding a place to set the pot down, she then turned to Fu Wanqing. “Okay, I lost, Miss Fu,” she said, indifferent. “You can leave.”
Fu Wanqing’s chest was congested with a gloomy current of energy, and she discovered that, in Yu Shengyan’s presence, even her pretend smile couldn’t be expressed. Tugging at the somewhat stiff corners of her mouth, she tightly gripped her sword’s hilt. “This doesn’t count!” she shouted. “You still haven’t taken out your sword! Where is your Huaixiu?!”
“Miss Fu.” Yu Shengyan’s voice contained a few degrees of exasperation all of a sudden. “We have no grudges nor animosity. I won’t fight with you. I also won’t contend for any fame or gains, or duel with you. Too many things in this room have been damaged, and I’m afraid I can’t compensate them. The owner here will be heartbroken.”
Angry fire emitted from Fu Wanqing’s pupils. She walked up to Yu Shengyan, gazing fixedly into her undisturbed eyes. Her two hands were clenched into fists, and gathered up into her sleeves; if they weren’t, she feared that she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from seizing Yu Shengyan’s lapels. This woman, following her appearance, would often get on her nerves; following her appearance now, that state went even more out-of-control. “I’ll compensate the stuff here! Who says there’s no grudges or animosity between us? You’re the Head of the Demonic Creed, I’m the only daughter of the Whitepath Alliance’s leader; we were born to be against each other! Duel with me!” She nearly squeezed out that heap of words from between the gaps in her teeth.
“In that case, I should duel with you even less so.” Yu Shengyan shook her head, sighing. “The figures of the Forest have quite some bias against my Jadeite Water Creed. If I fight with you, it would be all the more difficult to redeem its reputation. You should go. I won’t draw my sword.”
“M-Miss?” A trembling voice sounded in. The one whose hands tightly clutched the door frame was examining the miserable-looking interior of the room, shaking with fear. “O-Our Master… i-invites you over.” After their stammering speech, and without looking to see who was in the room, they speedily ran away like a tiger was chasing them from behind.
In that moment, a plan formed in Fu Wanqing’s mind.
“I have an errand, do as you may.” Yu Shengyan left that sentence behind, then walked out of the room.
Fu Wanqing watched her back as she departed, the corners of her mouth hooked up into the wisp of a gorgeous smile.
A day of roaming in Goldmelt Grotto was better than getting a lofty rank in the human world.
They hadn’t even seen the appearance of that legendary beauty yet, and those dissolute Young Masters were already the picture of insanity.
Fu Wanqing was seated inside a small pavilion on the second floor. Once she expelled the mass of people with ingratiating smiles, she gazed downstairs. Of those who could get into Goldmelt Grotto, the majority were warrior errants from jianghu. Those of immense wealth or officialdom — even if they held money and power — still feared that cold, pitiless, sharpened sword; in regards to jianghu characters, the attitude of the vast majority of ordinary folk was to avoid them if they could. Whether whitepath or blackpath, there were quiet and unknown little bandits, as well as figures whose names came out on the roads.
A woman being treated as an item for auction was seriously the absolute of despicable! Fu Wanqing smiled, but the chilliness in her eyes could nearly give someone frostbite. She looked at the flock of crazed people that threw money out recklessly, all for the sake of buying a beautiful lady’s smile. She looked at the bawd that had heaps of fat lumped together all over her face. Her gaze also penetrated through that heavy curtain, looking at Yu Shengyan, the one who was being sold yet had no idea!
“A thousand taels—” A young rich boy stood up. Among the crowd’s whisperings, he waved his folding fan, the plume of an easygoing smile on his face. He gestured with his hand, proceeding to say: “—of gold.” After those two words came out of his mouth, everyone present hushed up. Fu Wanqing recognized him; he was the only son of Magnate Jin Guo Dayong, Guo Caifei. Guo Dayong had originally been the Chief Sentry of Soaring Might Protectancy, but later switched professions to take up the gold mining business, and his family accumulated enormous wealth in short order. He had friendships with people in jianghu, but this son of his was the spitting image of a profligate heir.
“Is there anyone else still?” Guo Caifei revealed a proud expression.
“This papa raises one copper coin!” With a mad laugh, someone that was both short and fat swept into the building like a gust of wind. His hand gave Guo Caifei’s shoulder a mere light pat, and the guy went flying off like a kite with its string cut, fell down to ground, and started crying in pain for a long time without getting up. This bloke’s hair resembled a clump of grass, and when he smiled, a row of black and yellow teeth was exposed, which was quite unseemly. Ugly, lecherous men relied on their own decent martial arts to rape women — and he was exactly the type of person being spoken of.
There was no evil the Four Rats of Black Mountain didn’t commit; everyone there already recognized him as one of them, Thiefbrow Rat. His martial arts were mediocre, with many folks ranking above him, but the Rats were always as inseparable as shadows. One could surely be dealt with, but four was difficult to claim, and beyond that, Black Mountain was supporting their backs. For a moment, everyone observed, not daring to act rashly.
“Bah! I say, Old Four, you want to embrace someone on a kang with one copper? Dream on, why don’t you!” Another spell of strange, piercing laughter came, and a thin, short man wound down against the rooftop. With a couple more noises, the other two Rats rolled out from lateral sides. They didn’t have the least bit of care for the filth on themselves, casually patting it off as one bellowed, “Still not hurrying out? Could it be that y’all want to fight over a woman with papa?”
Looking left and looking right, practically everyone slipped away until no one was left all of a sudden; a group of spineless wimps. Fu Wanqing saw the direction they were departing in and swore. With Yu Shengyan’s outstretched hand, wrangling these few people would be an easy matter, but when she thought of those scumbags being able to look upon the woman’s features, she felt uneasy from head to toe. She swept down from upstairs to directly face the ugly quartet, her lips raised in a smile. “What if I say yes?”
That smile of hers caused the Four Rats’ bodies to all go limp. Thiefbrow Rat gazed at her obsessively, laughing weirdly. “Come with papa, pretty lady! Papa doesn’t want whatever hookers are in this Grotto!”
“You’re nuts, Old Four! Your horniness is clouding your mind! Can’t you see who this woman is?” There was one among the Rats that still had his brains. Emerging from a split second of dizziness, he hurriedly restrained the expression he displayed, then cupped his hands in greeting. “Miss Fu, let’s be as well water not encroaching upon river water. You can play with yours, and we men will play with our woman.”
“Heh.” She chuckled, tilting her head with a blink. “And if I want that woman, too?”
The Rats’ expressions went stiff, a few traces of ferocity showing on their surfaces. Thiefbrow Rat was most unable to control himself, roaring like mad. “Piss off, bitch! You don’t give face, and you have no face! Do you actually take your Manor of Chivalry seriously?! You need to think clearly; an offense against our Black Mountain is an offense against Jadeite Water Creed!”
Fu Wanqing’s hand moved. It flung through thin air to slap him, soaring him directly into a pillar and making him see stars. Watching her movement, the Rats couldn’t hold themselves back, either, flashing weapons in succession. It was simply that they kept hesitating, like they were secretly assessing her martial arts.
“Our Whitepath Alliance and your Demonic Creed have never coexisted peacefully. Did you all forget?” She smiled gently. None of these degenerates were worthy of her drawing her sword.
“Go, brothers! Take her down, and we’ll have a lot of fun!”
Death was looking down on them, but they were still muddled by lust. She blinked, leaning against a table as if she didn’t take those obscenities to heart. Weapons chopped down at her from four directions, and she didn’t move one bit. It wasn’t at all that she couldn’t escape, but because the four that made this maneuver were already dead. What deterring force were the weapons of dead people capable of having? It was just a shame that a couple drops of blood stained her clothes. Without much thought, she straight-up tore off the outer robe covering her and tossed it to the side.
“A thousand taels of gold. I’m the one that’s going,” she spoke as she looked at the trembling bawd.
“B-Bring Miss Fu… t-to—” Before the bawd’s words could finish, Fu Wanqing flitted up the staircase.
The inside of the room was clean and elegant.
With a creak, Yu Shengyan pushed the door open and came in. When she saw Fu Wanqing, her eyes contained no sort of fluctuation, as if she had long anticipated her gathering here. Sitting opposite of her, she spoke in a mild tone. “There’s the smell of blood. You’ve killed people.”
“They deserved to die!” Fu Wanqing huffed coldly. Once she met Yu Shengyan’s eyes, a smile swept across her face. She stood up, circumvented the table, then placed her hand on Yu Shengyan’s shoulder. Plainly detecting the tremor of the one under her palm, she smirked, sat her butt down in Yu Shengyan’s lap, and hooked her arms around her neck. “Goldmelt Grotto, Goldmelt Grotto,” she said with a charming grin. “Do you know what kind of place Goldmelt Grotto is?”
There were very few people in the world that were capable of not being infatuated by Fu Wanqing’s seductively enticing smile, but Yu Shengyan managed it. Aside from her minute tremor at the onset, she didn’t make any sort of movement afterwards; even when Fu Wanqing sat on her lap, her eyes didn’t ever blink.
It wasn’t because she was a woman that she had resistance to Fu Wanqing’s beauty, but because she was Yu Shengyan.
She was world-famous Demonic Creed Head Yu Shengyan, and the Huaixiu Sword unparalleled in jianghu Yu Shengyan.
Fu Wanqing was hooked around her neck, their light and shallow breaths intermixing with each other. Her face was close to hers, the distance between them no more than a little over a cun. Hot as fire and cold as ice — two entirely different women were gathered together, which turned out to be incomparably wonderful and harmonious. Yu Shengyan looked into Fu Wanqing’s smiling eyes, but, rather than saying that she was looking at Fu Wanqing, it would be better to say that she was looking at herself via her eyes.
She didn’t answer Fu Wanqing’s words. She didn’t know what kind of place this was, nor did she care at all what kind of place this was. That old lady hadn’t been hurt by her, but she accidentally made her fall again when helping her up, so she was staying a night in this Goldmelt Grotto to compensate her.
The sky outside darkened, and string-ups of all kinds of small lanterns began to shine.
Seeing Yu Shengyan’s bearing of being above the commonfolk, Fu Wanqing’s pent-up emotions started to swell. The Head of the Demonic Creed… ought to have a cruel, merciless, vicious, and sinister bearing. Were Yu Shengyan to stand on the street, so long as she didn’t speak out about her identity, absolutely no one would suspect that she was the terrifying Creed Head, but would instead believe that she was the valued Lady of a rich family, or a banished immortal that had fallen from Heaven.
With her own heart out of sorts, Fu Wanqing wouldn’t allow those around her to have a good time, either. That was how she was. What a shame that she had been born into the Fu family; her father was praised as a Hero by everyone in jianghu, and she wore the label of ‘justice’ on her head from birth, so, under everyone’s watchful eyes, she couldn’t do a single thing that was beneath her status. Due to being repressed for too long, she was always thinking of how to indulge herself at every single given moment. She had wondered, more than once; what would’ve happened if she had been born into the Demonic Creed? Would the righteous-path Forest of the Central Plains have already been disturbed into a world-upended mess by her?
She thought and thought about this, then giggled, and, forgetting that she was currently seated on Yu Shengyan’s lap, leaned back. Seeing as she was about to fall to the floor, there was suddenly an extra pair of hands on her waist that brought her plunging body back. Fu Wanqing subconsciously reached out her own hands to press them forwards, and the soft feeling under them startled her somewhat.
Retracting them like she had gotten a static shock, she got something resembling a guilty conscience.
She wouldn’t admit as much, of course, and placed her hands on Yu Shengyan’s shoulders again. Sticking close to her ear, and with a bit of ridicule inside of allurement, she said, “Ah, this Goldmelt Grotto is a place where men come to seek pleasures. Naturally, a woman could also come in to find a moneyboy, but, like the followers of your Jadeite Water Creed, that’s a little different.” Light flowed from every corner of her eyes, the look in them resembling feathers ruffling human hearts.
“What do you mean?” Yu Shengyan lowered her lashes, some bewilderment displayed in her pupils.
Fu Wanqing gently inhaled by her ear, smelling the cool fragrance coming off of her, and became a smidgen reluctant to part from her body all of a sudden. Simply put, it was rare for Yu Shengyan to be unaware of something, so she definitely had the obligation to give an explanation for her.
Fu Wanqing frequented Goldmelt Grotto, in fact, but she was different from those that sought pleasure — she came here purely for the sake of killing people. Even so, in the midst of those comings and goings, she had still gotten familiar with a couple of things. Slipping off of Yu Shengyan’s lap like a fish, she walked to a closet, reached out to open it, and pulled out a stack of illustrated books from inside. With a bang, she threw them down in front of Yu Shengyan, then leisurely sat down across from her like nothing was amiss, waiting to enjoy her visage that was on the eve of burning red.
Yu Shengyan reached her hand out.
Fu Wanqing’s eyes then shortly slid to the other’s fingers.
There was a thin callus on her hand, left behind due to wielding a sword year-round, whereas her own hand did not have one. Having discovered a small defect on Yu Shengyan from such a comparison, Fu Wanqing grinned proudly and cheerfully. The sound of swoosh-swoosh-swooshing came with the turning of pages as Yu Shengyan read at rapid velocity, taking no more than cup of tea’s worth of effort to finish one book. Her countenance didn’t change in the slightest, the light in her eyes as cold and indifferent as before.
Fu Wanqing reminisced on when she herself had peeped into a spring palace book as a child; still possessing a bit of a little lady’s bashfulness in her heart, she had been afraid of someone finding out… but Yu Shengyan was flipping through these like she was reading the four books and five classics. Did she get it wrong?
She wound around to be behind Yu Shengyan, and what promptly rammed into her eyes was a picture of ‘mandarin ducks’ joined together.
Only the noise of page-turning and breathing remained in the still sideroom.
“I finished reading,” Yu Shengyan said mildly, after flipping to the final page and putting the book down.
“…” Fu Wanqing wasn’t sure how she ought to pick up the conversation for a second. After a minute of silence, she suddenly became enraged, glaring at Yu Shengyan. “Do you understand what kind of place Goldmelt Grotto is now? Do you know what you staying the night in it signifies? No one could stop you if you want to leave!”
“I have already promised that old lady, though,” Yu Shengyan replied indifferently.
“Great, then!” A bonfire emitted out of Fu Wanqing’s eyes. She honed in on Yu Shengyan, her words very slow. “I already gave that woman gold. You were bought by me for tonight. I want to duel you, so you’ll go out to the rear courtyard with me! I know what you left the Demonic Creed for. If you win, I can send you the medicine you want.”
Yu Shengyan’s eyes lit up when she heard ‘medicine’; she knew the stuff was in the Manor of Chivalry, as well as that Fu Wanqing was precisely the Manor’s Eldest Lady. However, she had her own standpoint and principles, and would acquire it using another method that didn’t include dueling with someone. Ultimately, she just shook her head. “That won’t do. I can’t duel with you.”
Fu Wanqing stared her in the eyes. “Why?” She had clearly moved her, so why was she restraining herself again?
Yu Shengyan’s indifferent expression morphed at last. The inside of her eyes was shrouded in a layer of deep haze, her hands that were pulled back into her sleeves clenched into fists, and she enunciated each and every word of her reply. “Huaixiu will inevitably see blood once drawn, and I don’t want to kill people.”
What that person told her was that bloodthirstiness would consume someone’s nature, and she absolutely must not take another’s life in vain due to a moment of emotion.
Fu Wanqing huffed coldly. “You think that you can beat me for certain?”
Yu Shengyan didn’t answer, but made such a sound in her head. She had already witnessed how skilled Fu Wanqing was when she struck out at her; she was yet more tremendous than what the rumors of jianghu people claimed, but still couldn’t compare to her. Yu Shengyan had never been a conceited person, but those calm eyes of hers couldn’t ever miss anything.
Under her gaze, Fu Wanqing felt like she was getting pressured by a huge mountain, making it difficult to breathe. Her sword had since come out of its sheath and gone to press against Yu Shengyan’s jade-like neck, slicing out a bloody mark. Was it that Yu Shengyan didn’t dare to, or looked down on her? No matter which one it was, both were enough to drive up Fu Wanqing’s fury — though, she did have her own principles, and wouldn’t strike at someone unarmed.
The torrential flame of her anger put out beneath peaceful eyes, Fu Wanqing dejectedly put her sword back into its scabbard, then sat her butt down on a stool, not caring about her image in the least. “I don’t care. I bought you for the night, so you definitely have to listen to me.” Such sore-loser-esque words hadn’t come out of Eldest Lady Fu’s mouth for a good many years, and she pursed her lips with a face full of annoyance once she finished saying them.
Yu Shengyan didn’t pay her any mind, only saying indifferently, “I promised the old lady I would stay here for the night, but I didn’t promise her that I would duel with anyone.”
Fu Wanqing stood up with a ha. “What if it was a man that came?” she shouted. “You refuse to duel with me, so would you ‘make clouds’ with a man, then? Would you be willing for that?”
Yu Shengyan shot a glance at her, responding as dully as ever. “The one that came was you.”
Because of that phrase, Fu Wanqing’s heart twitched, but she quickly came back to her senses and smiled gently. “Yu Shengyan, there must be a stronger and a weaker between us, regardless of what you—“
“My Lady—“
Before she could finish, she was cut off by a gray-clothed man that busted into Goldmelt Grotto. Wiping sweat off of his forehead, he took in a breath, continuing on. “My Lady, the Manor Lord knows that you got into a huge fight with people inside the Grotto, and he’s very mad right now! He wants you back at the Manor straightaway!”
A trace of impatience streaked across her eyes. She wasn’t in the mood to say anything more to Yu Shengyan, anyways, so she glared at the boyservant. “You still haven’t hurried up and left?!” she yelled lowly.
In but a couple of shichen, gossip traveled far across Yan Province, alarming even her old dad. She could entirely imagine what preposterous things the mouths of that crowd would spread outwards; they’d be none other than ‘Lady Fu loves beauties but not heroes, throwing a thousand gold away to win a woman’s smile’, or ‘Lady Fu fights with people over beauties, not hesitating to get in a huge scuffle.’
That hearsay was truly humiliating enough!
With that thought, she instead turned her head up to the sky and laughed out loud.
—
The translator says: Fu Wanqing is way too thirsty, and Yu Shengyan... is naive. At best.
'Making clouds' is a euphemism for The Sex.
Inside the grand hall hung paintings of the four seasons. The soft cushions on the wooden chairs of either side were slightly indented, and faint white mist still emitted from the tea cup on the pearwood table — it appeared that a guest had just left. A middle-aged man in the attire of a Confucian scholar twirled his beard as he stood with his bad to the hall’s doorway. All of a sudden, his ear twitched, and he abruptly turned around. “You still know how to return home?” he bellowed harshly. “What does all this trouble look like? You’ve let people see a comedy to no purpose!”
The harsh bellows were akin to a thunderclap exploding in the ears. The very first thing that sailed into the room was a spate of spoiled laughter, followed by that fireball-esque, red silhouette.
Fu Wanqing faced her fully angry-looking old dad without a trace of trepidation on her face. She reached out to grasp the blue-and-white porcelain cup, and her brows creased suddenly. With a sweep of her sleeves, the teacup went flying towards the door.
There was no one simple in the Manor of Chivalry, as even the standing-by servant was equipped with extreme skill; he was seen to kick out his legs, nimbly flip around in midair, used a Monkey Fishes Up the Moon, then firmly took the cup, not a drop of liquid splashing out of it. On top of that, a maid wearing pink clothes had already appeared carrying a brand new tea set, filling it up for Fu Wanqing.
She took a light sip and narrowed her eyes, a brisk smile decorating her face. “Dad, you called me back with such urgency. What actually happened?”
Fu Hui’s eyes widened to stare at her, his firmly clenched fists illustrating that his fury had already reached its peak. The imposing aura surrounding his body abruptly morphed, his green robes moving without wind, and the dissipating true qi incited the teacups to audibly jingle. Fu Wanqing wouldn’t scared by this appearance of his, so she stretched out her legs, still having the mood to hum a tune she heard from Goldmelt Grotto. Ages later, she asked with composure, “Is it because of the Goldmelt Grotto business? That little affair wouldn’t make you this mad, right, dad? I noticed that a guest had come here; has anything major happened in jianghu, then? I say, you have to be really tired being the Leader of the Whitepath Alliance, having to care about this, having to care about that, and having to get mad over a trivial food-scrap matter—“
“Shut it!” Fu Hui shouted, massaging his temples. His expression gradually softened up thereafter, and he stroked his beard with a light sigh. “Wanqing, this matter is not insignificant. You should know that Demonic Creed Head Yu Shengyan has come to our Central Plains, and heard that it was for the purpose of finding medicine to treat her sect-sister’s legs. However, by quite some coincidence, at this juncture, someone murdered your Uncle Zhong of Divine Mystery Sect, quietly and without a breath; seeing the wounds, he died under Huaixiu! And only Yu Shengyan has that sort of martial arts!”
Fu Wanqing put away her frivolous smile, her expression slowly becoming grave. “Dad, you mean that she came to Yangzhou for some other secret machination? Has the Demonic Creed had unusual movement? At what time did Uncle Zhong die?”
“A shichen ago,” Fu Hui answered deeply.
She sighed in relief, shaking her head. “It wasn’t her.”
“How do you know?”
She hooked up her lips and chuckled. “She was with me the whole time. However, this having nothing to do with her doesn’t prove that it has nothing to do with the Demonic Creed. The Four Rats of Black Mountain suddenly showed up in Yangzhou and got struck dead by me. Maybe their Creed genuinely has some kind of conspiracy, eh?” But what does this have to do with me? She had originally wanted to say the latter half of that sentence, but upon looking at her dad that had spared no effort for the sake of the whitepath and Forest, she swallowed it back down. She covered her lips and let out a yawn, pretending to be sleepy. “I’m tired, dad,” she said lazily, “Let’s talk about this stuff again tomorrow.”
How could Fu Hui not know how his daughter’s personality was? Shaking his head in exasperation, he waved his hand, freeing her to go. Counting on her to take over his enterprise? He might as well hope that she does less shameful stuff in secret. Some of the variably-sized disturbances in the Forest came from her own penmanship!
The cool moon was like a hook, the chilled stars like specks.
Rustling autumn wind blew in from the cracked window, lightly brushing away a strand of cut hair away from before Fu Wanqing’s forehead. The smile on her face widened all the more, and a cluster of sharp stars flashed out of her fingertips, every one of them gone into the back of the folding screen.
There was extreme quiet in the room, and she could only sense her own breaths. Her brows knitted, a thread of astonishment streaking across her heart, and she slowly pressed in on the landscape-painted screen — all of a sudden, a figure flashed out from behind it.
Fu Wanqing suddenly released her pent-up breath, but she went on alert again a split second after. The Manor of Chivalry had guarding disciples all over it in addition to confusing arrays, so it would be quite difficult for an average person to break in. How did she get in? Had her martial arts really reached the level of perfection? Fu Wanqing bit her bottom lip, revealing a trace of indignance.
She sat at the vanity with a swish of her sleeves, fingers smoothing out the hair hanging by her face, and looked at the serene face reflected in the bronze mirror, letting out a delicate laugh. “Why are you here? Could it be that you hate to be apart from me? There’s rumors in jianghu about the women of Jadeite Water Creed all being highly affectionate, and it looks like they’re not wrong.”
Yu Shengyan’s sleeves had several tiny holes in them, caused by the hidden weapons Fu Wanqing shot out. The bloodstains on her neck were faint, the seeping blood already congealed. Fu Wanqing’s eyes slowly slid from the sleeve to her neck, and finally stopped lightly pursing her lips. Taking out a piece of white silk fabric from a drawer, she got up, walked over to be before Yu Shengyan, and brushed the silk over her neck. A vile smile rose on Fu Wanqing’s lips as she deliberately put more pressure to her hand. “So long as I wanted to, I could wring your neck.”
Yu Shengyan’s eyes remained on Fu Wanqing’s face for only a short instance, then shifted them somewhere else. “Mn,” she answered lightly.
In the face of such a mild-as-mist person, a quite rare sense of powerlessness arose in Fu Wanqing’s heart. “What did you come here for?” she asked again. “Are you wanting to steal the Millennium Turtle Gall to heal your sect-sister? Or did you just come to see me?” With the last sentence said, her eyes shortly became bewitching, and she placed her hand on Yu Shengyan’s shoulder, her entire person leaning on her. In that moment, she forgot that Yu Shengyan was the Demonic Creed Head, and that she was a woman.
Yu Shengyan reached out and pushed her away, coming to standi several chi away from her. “You said you bought me. I will go when dawn comes, but… I won’t duel with you,” she replied indifferently. “As for the medicine, I will visit another day to request it, not steal.”
Hearing what she said, Fu Wanqing felt a bit amused. “Did you forget what kind of place the Manor is? This is where the Leader of the Whitepath Alliance stays, and it cannot coexist with your Demonic Creed. Not one ordinary Creedman could even be able to slip by easily, to say nothing of you, the Leader. Before you come by to request the medicine — would our Manor give it to you? It’s likely that the medicine won’t get to be requested, and this life of yours, ah… it’d have to remain here.”
Yu Shengyan furrowed her brows, having apparently never thought of that problem before.
How did someone like this come to be the Creed Head? Fu Wanqing secretly pondered, her smile not lessening in the least. “There is one thing; maybe you know of it, maybe you don’t. Right when you came to Yangzhou, the Leader of Divine Mystery Sect, Zhong Tian, was murdered, and the wounds on his body show that he died under Huaixiu. A lot of people suspect that it was your evil doing, but, eh, you don’t need to be worried. His two sons, Zhong Shiling and Zhong Shixiu, are your admirers, and they’ll vouch for you in front of the crowd.”
“I wasn’t aware of this,” the other said indifferently.
Fu Wanqing chuckled. “You didn’t kill him, of course, but whether it was ultimately incited by the Demonic Creed’s Communal Shrine isn’t so certain. The Four Rats of Black Mountain had suddenly appeared in Yangzhou; why was that? Black Mountain is one of the four Halls of Jadeite Water Creed, right? I heard Right Envoy Lou Kexin was in charge of it? You’re the acting Head, but instead of handling incidents in the Creed, you ran out the doors and far away. Aren’t you afraid that the Creed’s followers would seize the chance to do something?”
Yu Shengyan raised her brows. “The Four Rats?”
There were altogether four Halls in Jadeite Water Creed; the Black and White Mountain Halls belonged to Right Envoy Lou Kexin, while the Red and Yellow Mountain Halls were under Left Envoy Wei Xian’s control. She herself practice in closed seclusion all year round and never got involved in internal Creed affairs, so she had never heard the name of these Four Rats before.
Fu Wanqing covered her lips and giggled, her nimble pupils roaming over Yu Shengyan’s austere face. “Relying on the reputation of Jadite Water Creed, they traveled over here, and wanted to buy you for a night at Goldmelt Grotto with one copper coin. Thinking about it like this, I really suffered a great loss… a thousand taels of gold isn’t a paltry sum.” She paused, looked Yu Shengyan up and down, and showed a bit of regret. “A seriously huge loss, that I wasn’t able to do anything on this spring evening.”
Yu Shenyan nodded earnestly. “What you’ve said is highly true, Lady Fu. I can order someone in the Creed to send the gold to your Estate when I return?”
Fu Wanqing stared blankly at her. Was this chick a genius, or an idiot? There wasn’t the slightest trace of worldly know-how on her, like she was a mountain hermit that didn’t eat grains; since she realized this detail, if she didn’t exploit it, then she wouldn’t be Fu Wanqing.
Whether she was pretending, or if this was her real personality, Fu Wanqing didn’t care; she had suddenly found an amusement within her unending boredom that would be just as interesting as dueling with Yu Shengyan. She minutely looked upwards, smiled exceedingly flirtatiously, and licked her lips. “I don’t want gold now,” she said, pauses between each word.
Yu Shengyan hadn’t expected that she would answer like this, and a slightly awkward look showed on her face.
Fu Wanqing hooked her hand towards him. “I want you to stay by my side for a little while, just three months. The Creed’s business isn’t managed by you, anyways, so you wouldn’t be holding anything up. As for the medicine you want, I’ll offer it up with both hand afterwards. Your sect-sister’s been lame for three years and clearly won’t miss another three months.”
After pondering for only a moment, Yu Shengyan nodded.
—
The translator says: Hanging out with Thirst Incarnate for three months... what could possibly go wrong?
At first hear, Divine Mystery Sect was believed to be a mysterious place mastering in wonder-gate divination and capable of surveying divine mysteries, but, in reality, that wasn’t so. Its leader, Zhong Tian, wielded a broadaxe, and his two treasured sons used broadsabres; despite the weapons being different, their martial arts both walked the same path.
Dim and dismal candlelight illuminated the mourning hall.
The Zhong brothers had grief all across their faces, bitterly cursing out those shameless, sinister, deceitful people. As for Creed Head Yu Shengyan, not even a word of her was brought up — they had clearly forgotten that, under the universal sky, only she used the perfected Huaixiu art. If she had been a man or an ugly woman, they likely would have already cussed her out, but since she was gorgeous, almost every man that saw her got a sharp jolt in their heart, the same as when they caught sight of the flourishing, fiery beachrose that was Fu Wanqing.
Huaixiu was quick, its speed like a shooting star, or even faster than one.
Huaixiu was mild, its dilution like a burst of river mist, or even lighter than one.
Apart from Yu Shengyan, who else was capable of using the Huaixiu technique? With one hand on her chin, Fu Wanqing sank into contemplation as she sat in a pavilion at the heart of a lake. She had originally asked that directly to Yu Shengyan behind her, but she was positive that the woman wouldn’t answer, and maybe even genuinely wasn’t aware of the question. A gust of wind curled up blazing maple leaves, and they fell onto the surface of the water while a few of them went into the pavilion. Soon, there was practically no image of them as they were chopped to pieces, resembling a handful of dust sprinkling through the air.
“Good swordplay!” A loud shout came through to the pavilion.
Fu Wanqing lifted her eyelids, a slightly coquettish smile showing at the edge of her lips, and tossed her hair back while her gaze only lightly swept over the two in mourning dress. Naturally, she knew who the young men standing on the red bridge were, and she also knew that they had been secretly watching her for a long time. She really enjoyed admiring gazes like this, but when she remembered that Yu Shengyan was at her side, a few threads of discontent arose in her heart again.
The Zhong brothers had since come over with a smile. Beneath a beauty’s smile, they forgot all of their grief, so much so that they forgot that their dead dad’s coffin was still resting in the hall. They were born of the same mother, but their appearances were widely different. Older brother Zhong Shiling was elegant and refined, strongly resembling his mother, while younger brother Zhong Shixiu was tiger-backed and bear-waisted like a barbarian, thus strongly resembling his father, Zhong Tian.
They closed in on the pavilion, but didn’t dare to enter it.
Fu Wanqing was pretty, but it was a thorny, wild kind of pretty. They understood their own value clearly, and knew that they wouldn’t be able to manage a beauty like her. It was merely that, with loveliness facing them, wanting to control their own eyes was not a very easy thing; they were flowing away, leaving her aside to then bump into the chilling eyes of the white-clothed Yu Shengyan standing beside her.
Shock and surprise interwove in their eyes. Since the Zhong brothers were admirers of Yu Shengyan, they naturally couldn’t be any clearer on how she looked. Such a beauty had now appeared before them in real life — how could they not be surprised? They determined that it was her, but the good deal of misgivings they had caused them to overthrow their own conjecture. They cast their doubt-filled gazes at Fu Wanqing, expecting her give them an answer.
The looks they had put into her eyes, she hooked her lips. “Looks like her?”
They nodded shortly in comprehension.
“Eldest Lady’s face-changing technique has advanced a step again,” Zhong Shiling said, making himself out to be smart. She had always behaved fractiously and surprisingly, so he maintained that she had deliberately face-changed her own personal maid to look like Yu Shengyan. She and her were apparently incapable of tolerating each other, and with Fu Wanqing’s pride, she would eliminate each and every person of equal fame to her, ferociously crushing them beneath her soles; the one standing on top could only be her alone. He really wanted to give a few words of praise, but he could not speak poorly of Yu Shengyan, so all he could ultimately do was lower his head and stay silent at the side.
The brothers’ sights stopped on Yu Shengyan for obviously longer than they had on her; even if they resolved in their hearts that she wasn’t Yu Shengyan, the identical bearing and countenance still entranced them. They looked at her, and her eyes were cast towards the misty, remote mountains.
All of a sudden, Fu Wanqing wanted to gouge the men’s eyes out. She smashed her tea cup onto the stone table, alarming them back to their senses. Seeing their puzzled looks, she chuckled. “You brothers haven’t gone to the front hall to deal with Divine Mystery Sect’s major affairs, so what are you stopping here for? Could it be that you’ve taken a fancy to the beauty beside me?”
Who would dare to touch a woman by Fu Wanqing’s side? Despite the brothers having such an inkling, they didn’t dare to reveal that lightly. While hanging stiff smiles on their faces, they cupped their hands, turned, and left, though their loitering steps demonstrated the enormous reluctance inside of them.
“Both the junior and the senior are good-for-nothings, with not a one of them promising.” Fu Wanqing watched those retreating figures, laughing coldly.
Bleak wind caressed the water’s surface, leaving loop after loop of ripples.
Fu Wanqing suddenly read a bit of lonesomeness from within this autumn breeze. Yu Shengyan stood silently behind her, but she was too mild a person, nearly making others unable to sense her existence. Even when she watched you with her indifferent eyes, you would think that her line of sight had long since pierced through everything and landed on a far-off place.
Fu Wanqing had power, wealth, fame, and good looks that a myriad of people envied, but she still felt an emptiness in her heart, like she was missing a piece. What could she still be lacking? An opponent? There was someone in front of her, but she unfortunately refused to draw her sword this whole time.
Standing up, she turned to Yu Shengyan. “I heard that the best sword in jianghu is Huaixiu,” she probed with a smile. “I also heard that the most awesome swordsperson is, in fact, Demonic Creed Head Yu Shengyan.”
The other raised her eyelids and glanced over Fu Wanqing’s smiling face. “I agreed to stay by your side, but I won’t duel with you,” she said coldly.
“I already changed my mind, I won’t duel with you. However, it’s not me alone in jianghu that hasn’t seen your Huaixiu sword before.” Her fingers that were caged in her sleeves reached out, and she lightly lifted Yu Shengyan’s chin, leaning forward a step as if she were about to plaster onto her lips. She then turned her face and chuckled. “Me keeping you at my side is only to let you see a good show. Three months’ time is enough.”
Yu Shengyan turned, avoiding Fu Wanqing’s warm breath, but her lips lightly rubbed against the other’s face. She didn’t take this trivial thing to heart, only following along with Fu Wanqing’s words to dully ask, “Good show?”
Fu Wanqing narrowed her eyes, took her fingers back from her chin, then unconsciously landed them upon the side of her own face that Yu Shengyan had brushed against, an unexplainable emotion now arising in her heart. She was quite capable of controlling her own facial expressions, so she didn’t expose her thoughts in the slightest. “This is the scene of a very good show, of course. Within three months, the so-called Whitepath Alliance will collapse bit by bit, and your Creed will also start to rot from the inside. Isn’t that an immensely great show to watch?”
If anyone else said those words, others would merely see her as a lunatic, but since she said them, they had a force that made people unable to do anything but believe them. Despite her being the daughter of Alliance Leader Fu Hui, no one knew what she ended up wanting to do, nor what she ended up doing. If her surname wasn’t Fu, they would have likely treated her as a to-the-letter demoness.
An incredibly alluring demoness, of course.
She carefully focused on Yu Shengyan after saying that, but slowly became disappointed. No extra expression was on the other’s face, and only a dull “oh” was spat out of her mouth. It was like the Whitepath Alliance had no relationship with her, and that Jadeite Water Creed had nothing to do with her.
An enemy like this that put nothing in their eyes or mind was awful. Even if she was faking everything, she would still be awful. Fu Wanqing felt a wave of terror rise in her heart as she observed Yu Shengyan, then abruptly wanted to eliminate her, murderous desire appearing in the span of such a thought.
Yu Shengyan detected it, but only took a tiny step forwards, reached out, and picked a maple leaf off of Fu Wanqing’s shoulder. At exactly that small moment, this simple action eradicated all of Fu Wanqing’s murderous aura. The latter was a bit discouraged, feeling that she had lost without even taking out her sword. How could she, Fu Wanqing, have the word ‘lost’ in her life? Every single thing about her should be flawless.
“Why does this world have me, and also one Yu Shengyan?”
She sighed softly.
Looking at the light glinting off the lake, and the fiery maple forest, she wanted to play the xiao all of a sudden.
She remembered the sound of the qin when she had first met Yu Shengyan.
Would she be able to perform a song together with her?
—
The translator says: *fwq voice* what is this feeling... must be Hate
An uninvited guest arrived at Divine Mystery Sect.
It was a woman donning a mask and wearing black robes.
Even though she deliberately lowered her voice, and even though she called herself ‘Third Young Master’, anybody with eyes could tell that she was a woman; bundled beneath those heavy, lifeless robes was a pretty, svelte figure. She was labeled an ‘uninvited guest’ because she had broken in, and, despite holding no sort of bladed weapon in her hands, the Sect’s disciples were already collapsed to the ground in front of her.
“Which path has your distinguished self come out of? State your name!” Zhong Shixiu’s face was sullen as he stomped once forward, bellowing loudly.
“Your excellency dares not to show your true identity to people. Could it be that you have something to be ashamed of?” Zhong Shiling shouted, taking a diagonal step to stand beside his brother.
The Zhong brothers were always as inseparable as shadows to bodies, never parting even when facing a foe. Robes getting blown upwards by the wind, their hands were already grabbing the broadsabres across their backs. Their expressions were overcast, resembling omens of storms about to arrive, as they weren’t under the impression that the one that had barged into the Sect at this juncture was coming to offer her condolences.
Third Young Master had indeed not come to do that; she had come to seek revenge. Sullen gaze sweeping over the two brothers, one thin and one robust, a wisp of ridicule skimmed past her features. The disciples of the Sect had never seen her before, nor had the brothers. The Sect’s guests had long since dispersed, stating that they were going to the Manor of Chivalry to discuss how to deal with the major Jadeite Water Creed incident — what was left in the Sect was a group of rubbish disciples, along with these good-for-nothing, lecherous brothers!
Sorrow and fury flitted inside Third Young Master’s eyes.
Ignoring the sabres that the brothers were shading the top of her head with, she went to go directly inside the main hall. The harsh momentum of the blades brought strong wind with it, yet, when they were on the verge of splitting her head open, they suddenly stopped. The two broadsabres were held back by a pair of slender white hands; even though they looked as delicate as wild rice shoots, they gripped with the strength of thirty-thousand catties. The faces of the brothers swelled thoroughly red, and they began to complain bitterly on the inside, because Third Young Master’s true qi had rushed along their blades and into their internals.
With two bangs, the Zhong brothers were thrown to the ground.
In that exact same second, Third Young Master had since darted into the funereal hall.
Her fists clenched tightly, the gaze that she viewed the coffin with going from indignance to extreme tranquility.
Arranged on both sides were praying cushions. She knelt down on one with soft knees, then kowtowed respectfully three times.
The brothers had already come to a stand, having entirely not foreseen that Third Young Master would give such a motion of respect. Their tensed faces eased, smiles beginning to amass in their features, and they cupped their hands. “That you’re a friend is fine. Just now, we needed more—“ Before their words of guilt could be said, they shut up, smiles stiffening at the corner of their lips as their complexions quickly went ashen once more.
That was because Third Young Master had since gotten up, and her eyes that were brimming with vigor now rippled with a sky-soaring murderous aura. One of her hands was pressed down on the coffin lid, and with only a slight bit of effort used, Zhong Tian’s remains were revealed. Tears were in the corners of her eyes, and it wasn’t clear whether they were due to grief or way too much joy. Not concealing her voice that sounded like jewels clinking onto a plate anymore, she said, “What’s owed has already been repaid. Now is the time the debt ought to be collected.”
The Zhong brothers hollered and moved in unison, one coming from the left and one from the right. The robust wind picked up by their sabres whipped at people’s faces, causing pain, and their true qi circulated through their hands, as they desired to use a lifetime’s worth of force to strike this vile person dead. Third Young Master did not return the maneuver; within the swordlight coming from all directions, her nimble figure was like a butterfly passing through petals, flying fast until she landed a couple of zhang away. With a light flick of her fingertip, the brothers were disarmed of their sabres. They were stunned — not at all because they were no match for this woman, but because the skill she displayed, Miracle Flick, was an undisclosed secret of their Zhong family.
“Who are you?” Zhong Shixiu’s voice was strained.
“How do you know Miracle Flick?” Zhong Shiling cried out in disbelief.
This art was something they knew of, but shamefully hadn’t learned. They had believed that not learning it would be the end of the line, and, in the worst case scenario, the skill would die with them, but they hadn’t expected that an outsider could use it. Immense shame surged up, turning into high-flying fury, and they clenched their fists until their bones cracked. However, they understood well that this Third Young Master was acting mercifully; if she wanted their lives, they would have died an unknown amount of times over.
“Young Master!” A disciple of Divine Mystery Sect frantically entered the hall.
“Go! Go to the rear courtyard and ask for Lady Fu!” Zhong Shixiu yelled.
“Go! Go inform the people of the Manor of Chivalry that someone of the Demonic Creed came to the Sect!” That was Zhong Shiling’s voice.
They didn’t know who this woman was, nor whether she was affiliated with the Creed or not. Remembering Fu Wanqing, and that she was still there, their tightening hearts relaxed. There were almost no women under this sky that Fu Wanqing couldn’t win against. They raised their heads up, some self-satisfaction called upon their faces. They looked at Third Young Master with slight pity starting to exist in their gazes. The instant Fu Wanqing’s name was called out for, they determined that the other was a dead woman.
“Young Master, Lady Fu left long ago!” That disciple shouted, pained.
The brothers’ smiles vanished, some dread showing in their eyes.
Now, it was Third Young Master’s turn to grin.
Why had Fu Wanqing just left without a sound like this? The brothers lowered their heads, pondering so on the inside. That was, however, what kind of person she was; coming and going without an afterimage, absolutely never greeting and farewelling her host. The Divine Mystery Sect… if not for her regard to Fu Hui’s reputation, she would perhaps never be willing to come here.
She could show up in Goldmelt Grotto, or Heavenly Fragrances, or Bamboo-Watch Pavilion… she could show up anyplace, but it was impossible for her to stay in a mourning hall for long.
She didn’t like those much, so she left.
Upon taking a bath and burning incense, she changed into clean clothes.
Bright, fresh, and prestigious — she couldn’t bear any sort of flaws about herself, especially in front of Yu Shengyan.
The sky had already gotten dark. The moonlight and lanternlight shined in mutual complement, illuminating the pitch-black river water and suffusing it with layer after layer of crystalline light in the wake of the undulating autumn wind. Delicate voices sung like the cries of yellow orioles; these were all big sisters of total skill and beauty that had been brought out of Goldmelt Grotto by wealthy individuals. The smell of makeup interwove with the scent of alcohol, and the sound of gasps intermingled with loud laughter, forming a wanton, rapturous scene.
From an exquisite pleasure boat on Slender West Lake, the sound of a qin and a xiao suddenly came through.
The rest of the noises of the world stopped in a flash, only the instruments’ performance echoing on the lake’s surface.
The qin’s sound had a beautiful resonance. The xiao’s sound was mellow and nostalgic.
They could not be enjoyed to their fullest, as they came to an abrupt stop.
Fu Wanqing had a smile suspended on her face, but she had already crushed the xiao she held to pieces. Yu Shengyan sat across from her, tilting her mild countenance downwards, and had since withdrawn her hands from the strings to conceal them in her sleeves. All those who had been listening thought that the performance was extraordinarily splendid, but only Fu Wanqing knew that she had constantly been getting taken away by the sound of Yu Shengyan’s qin, enshrouded in it, and brought into the other’s world of aloof distance.
Not wanting to admit defeat, Fu Wanqing licked her lips and smiled to her heart’s content. “Yu Shengyan, for these three months, you’re not allowed to play the qin near me again.”
So long as it wasn’t for dueling, she knew that Yu Shengyan would agree to any of her requests. How could Jadeite Water Creed, famed as the top of the Demonic crowd, have raised up such a wondrous person? She had the sudden urge to go to the Creed’s location on Thousand Jadeite Island and behold it, but swiftly dispelled the idea; she still had much more important work she had to do. How could she throw her own comprehensive plan into disarray because of one Yu Shengyan?
“If someone else proposed these requests to you, would you do them?” she then asked.
Yu Shengyan swept a glance at her. “There isn’t anyone else,” she replied flatly.
Fu Wanqing smiled again, laughing at herself this time around. Was she really still hoping for Yu Shengyan to say something pleasant on the ears? To put it somewhat nicely, the other was simple-living and removed from the mortal world. To put it somewhat harshly, she was also absolutely inflexible and dull. Huaixiu Sword Yu Shengyan, Demonic Creed Head Yu Shengyan — what kind of person was she, really?
Would no other emotion ever show upon that unchanging appearance of hers? Fu Wanqing didn’t believe that hex. Slowly, she swayed to Yu Shengyan’s front, and slowly, she sat on her lap again, both arms hooked around her neck with the weight of her entire person placed on the other’s body. She could clearly see Yu Shengyan’s hanging lashes. The latter’s eyes were as calm as ever, but Fu Wanqing’s heartbeat suddenly skipped a beat. She was humiliated into a rage, and, under impulse, did something that she herself couldn’t even believe.
Her lips sealed upon Yu Shengyan’s cold ones.
Yu Shengyan’s expression remained without change, and it was she, Fu Wanqing, whose face instead pasted up a deep blush.
When she parted from Yu Shengyan’s lips, she couldn’t grin anymore.
She wanted to leave her lap, but a sudden extra force tightened quick around her waist. Yu Shengyan’s face drew near, and, in the span of a second, the distance between them wholly disappeared. Then, like a dragonfly glancing the water, she quickly drew her body away and blinked. “Is that how it is?” she asked.
Meanwhile, Fu Wanqing’s enraged voice was resonating out. “What are you doing disrespecting me?!”
“Disrespecting?” Yu Shengyan chewed carefully on that word, gaze staying on Fu Wanqing’s face for a short moment as she spoke somewhat innocently. “Didn’t you do it first?”
—
The translator says: You two are....... something else. Perfect. You're perfect for each other.
Conversing with Yu Shengyan was a very angering affair, but getting interrupted by some unknown little hooligan while conversing with Yu Shengyan was even more angering. Fu Wanqing was not an even-tempered person, and could even be described as an irritable and cruel one. For a long time prior to this, whoever made her mad was who she would make not alive.
She separated from Yu Shengyan’s body, the dark red on her face that was akin to sunset clouds vanishing to nothing. Now, only murderous intent remained in that charming smile. She plucked off dust that simply didn’t exist from her clothes, eyes instantly fixed upon the big, sturdy man standing on the aft.
He was in his forties, his chin covered in a black beard, and on his right cheek was a cut scar that looked extraordinarily fierce and terrifying. A section of chain was coming out of his short, dark-gray clothes. His eyes slanted inwards, seemingly capable of spurting fire from within them.
“Bitch! You’ve no shame!” The man spat viciously onto the floor, then looked up, pupils full of spite.
Yu Shengyan turned to Fu Wanqing. “Do you recognize him?” she asked dully.
Fu Wanqing had met the man before, but recognizing him was completely out of the question. He was one of the rare men in the world that wasn’t confounded by her, and that was naturally only because his heart was currently crammed full of hatred, having previously suffered a major defeat at her hands.
The sturdy man was famed on the streets; everyone called him ‘Iron Arhat’ Ma San. He used to be a disciple of Shaolin, but later left it to return to the common world, then became a Chief Sentry at the Guanxi Protectancy under Soaring Might Protectancy’s coalition. No matter who it was on the road, all had to give him face, and he could even claim to have never been defeated over the then-previous fifteen years — last year, however, he was. Losing his job was a trifling matter, but he also lost his reputation. The scar on his face had been left behind by the one that had robbed his escort, a constant reminder of his shame from a year before.
On that escorted trip from the Guanxi base, a jade Guanyin was being transported that had been personally carved by a number one expert craftsman, Lu Qi. Not only did it not get delivered to the hands of the Manor of Chivalry’s Eldest Lady, but it didn’t even leave Guanxi — in Ma San’s own domain, he had to watch helplessly as someone plundered his convoy. That incident wasn’t limited to just Ma San losing his face, but Soaring Might Protectancy’s, as well; because of it, their Head Chief Sentry couldn’t even raise his head in Fu Hui’s presence.
Losing Lady Fu’s birthday present was genuinely too disgraceful, too embarrassing.
Yet, no one had guessed that the one who robbed the convoy had been Lady Fu herself.
Due to the disgrace, he had been investigating the incident all this time, but the outcome as eternally unexpected as this.
He removed his consciousness from the inside of his memories, then drew those chains out from his lapels; it was a chainblade that he had specially ordered someone to forge. He had amalgamated the quintessence of Shaolin’s Dharma Fist and Arhat Palm into a blade technique, thus walking his own path. “Everyone venerates you as the Eldest Lady of the Manor, but I, Ma San, am not fooled!” he shouted loudly. “Everyone is bewitched by that skin of yours, but I, Ma San, am not fooled! Lady Fu, you are truly snake-hearted and evil! That jade Guanyin washing out of my hands was you deliberately wanting to ruin my name and reputation!”
Fu Wanqing messed with her fingernails, raising her head to slam a gorgeous smile into Ma San, which nearly flushed away the hatred in his heart. She opened her mouth, and her voice was very soft, precisely as much as a silk, embroidered quilt covering oneself. Ma San had never before enjoyed the gentle intonation of women in his life. His expression began to morph, and he was no longer a man filled with enmity, but a man wanting to be filled with manliness by possessing this thorny rose.
What had Fu Wanqing actually said? It was: “The Guanyin was mine to begin with. I wanted to have it a bit earlier. What’s wrong with that?”
Ma San grinned, spurring that terrifying scar until his face became somewhat warped. “Right, there’s nothing wrong with that,” he laughed coldly. “I changed my mind. I don’t want revenge; I only want you, Lady Fu, to walk with me.”
What did it signify, to obtain Fu Wanqing? It signified that power, wealth, and beauty were all in one’s hold. The young, handsome talents that went to the Manor nearly wore out its doorsill, but not one of them had been able to receive her favor. Ma San of course didn’t believe that he’d be able to get her appreciation, but he did believe in the chainblade he held. No matter how powerful she was in hearsay, she was still nothing more than a woman.
His gaze swept across her body, then landed upon Yu Shengyan’s face. Stroking his solid beard, he nodded in satisfaction. He looked at the two women before him that were enough to cause great change in jianghu like he was looking at merchandise that was about to belong to him. Some people had grown eyes in vain, and he was exactly such a person.
Fu Wanqing was still smiling. From those tender, beautiful, glistening lips of hers, an exceedingly malicious and vulgar set of words were spat out. “What are you, even? Haven’t you ever taken a look at yourself in the reflection of your own piss? Did you forget about that scar on your face?”
Ma San’s robust body shook. He hadn’t forgotten, of course; he simply hadn’t seen that sword clearly at all, only sensing a green light flashing past before his eyes, and then an indistinct patch of bloodstains on his face. He had traversed jianghu for many years and had hardly ever come across a situation like that before, so he mentally concluded that the other employed some kind of devilish technique. He was someone who sought reputation — getting disdained and ridiculed by Fu Wanqing like this, his tenderness and pursuit of loveliness instantly turned into heart-filling fury. Roaring like mad, he swung the chainblade out to hack at her; the blade was bound in a strong wind, violently smashing down like the weight of Mount Tai was pressing upon the head.
Someone collapsed with a bang.
The chainblade crashed noisily, its sharp edge directly piercing through the ship’s hold.
“My Lady, the Lord requests that you return.” A respectful voice echoed from outside the cabin.
Fu Wanqing swept out her sleeves, looked at the man that had fallen into a pool of blood, and smiled. “Seriously disappointing.” With a brief touch of her toes, her entire person was like a burst of light smoke zipping out. A gust of palm wind struck a paper lantern on the pleasure boat, and, in an instant, the exquisite vessel was buried in a raging blaze. From within the fire that illuminated half the sky, a figure in white clothes flitted out, unperturbed and unhurried.
Yu Shengyan carefully observed her own promise, following by Fu Wanqing’s side.
Thankfully, Fu Wanqing had always behaved bizarrely, so almost all of the people in the Manor believed that Yu Shengyan was a face-changed forgery, aside from the two torch-like eyes of that cunning old fox, Fu Hui. She returned to Fu Wanqing’s room to wait, while Fu Wanqing herself was called to the study by Fu Hui, stating that there was a matter of importance that they needed to discuss.
‘Matters of importance’ were nothing other than major jianghu events that she hated.
She hated this jianghu, and hated Fu Hui’s status as the Whitepath Alliance Leader; that was something everyone in the Manor knew. However, they didn’t dare to get involved in it, let alone meddle. The stories included in that conversation were really too many, and, ultimately, only a peal of hems and haws remained.
Fu Hui’s brows were creased tightly. There always appeared to be melancholy enveloping his face. Seldom did he stay in the Manor, as he was always going back and forth between jianghu sects, and his hands were always busy with unfinished business. Raising his sights, he tried hard to make his own icy words become gentle. “That woman you brought back is the Demonic Creed Head, Yu Shengyan?”
Fu Wanqing chuckled, blinking as she answered. “So what if she is? So what if she isn’t?”
Fu Hui’s anger would forever be provoked by her irreverent attitude. He took in a deep breath. “The two factions of righteous and evil have always fought in jianghu. If Creed Head Yu Shengyan has appeared at our Manor, then the Creed is certainly plotting something. She’s dared to come cast herself into the net, so we, of course, cannot let her go easily. You brought her back, which is a great thing.”
Fu Wanqing raised a brow. “Who said I had to have nabbed her?” she asked with a smile. “She’s following me. When have you ever seen someone with the guts to touch the one beside me?”
Even if her words acknowledged the woman’s identity, they still only meant that she was going to protect Yu Shengyan, and not permit anyone to touch her. Fu Wanqing had always been one that did exactly what she said she would; in regards to this element, Fu Hui could less than understand it. She resembled her dead mother, but it was unclear who her personality took after.
Understanding via reason and acting via compassion simply went nowhere with her.
His expression sank. “If the people of jianghu learn that she’s peacefully staying here, they’ll absolutely believe that we’re colluding with the Creed! The Manor’s reputation is on the verge of collapsing in a day! This matter is not a joke, Wanqing, put your little temper away — I’m not counting on you to be capable of making any contributions for the Alliance, I’m just begging you not to cause trouble here! Otherwise, don’t blame me for being merciless! The Forest is chaotic enough right now. You might not know it, but in addition to the Alliance and Creed, another strange power has come about.”
She laughed coldly, her smile curbing a little. Pushing the bangs in front of her forehead aside, a cold blade’s tip flashed past in her eyes, and she answered softly, “Dad, if you had strangled me when I was just out of the womb, none of these incidents would have happened. You had a lot of opportunities for it, but you’ve missed them all. What can you even do, with how you are now?”
The world-famous Fu Hui was no longer her match.
Others weren’t aware of that, but the father-daughter pair understood it clearly.
Within the study, there was laughter that rippled like silver bells. Like a puff of faint smoke, she floated away.
All that remained behind her was a spurt of ping-pong sounds, as a pitiful inanimate object became the target of Fu Hui’s venting anger.
The moon of the fifteenth was round, like a silver dish hung in the sky. The pack of stars also lost their brilliance under its bright rays.
Yet, it was currently not the Moon Festival, but rather September.
The rustling wind swept past the forest branches and roof eaves, leaving a wooshing sound behind.
The stone bench was cold, a bone-piercing kind of cold. Only after waiting for a maidservant to place a thick wool cushion down on it was Fu Wanqing willing to sit. Those who practiced martial arts shouldn’t fear the cold, and she didn’t, but she was too lazy to put her true qi into motion to warm her limbs.
As she was smiling, she was sighing. She viewed the full moon, suddenly thinking of the cold, bleak winter. A space heater wasn’t enough heat; she would need a fire to warm her up.
Fu Wanqing lowered her head to look at her own hands. “Great moonlight tonight,” she said, relaxed.
Yu Shengyan nodded. She was still as mild as a puff of dense, misty smoke.
Fu Wanqing had already not been expecting to hear any sort of response come out of her mouth. She slowly raised her head, casting her gaze towards the interior of the forest. There was a fine peal of noise, and then several birds were scared into flight, like a streaming light brushing across the remote horizon.
Yu Shengyan had long detected that there was someone in the trees, but she didn’t move. Where Fu Wanqing was present, she didn’t need to take any action. She didn’t understand why this woman was keeping her around, and she didn’t want to know the reason, either. In her view, this was nothing more than swapping the inside of a mountain forest for an area with slight excitement, and if she wanted to, she could block out all clamorous noise.
A sharp whistle ripped through the vast sky.
The Manor’s disciples looked to have fallen into a deep sleep, not reacting whatsoever. A lightning-quick figure flitted down from the treetops, their ability to conceal their silhouette quite high, and their movements quite fast, though they couldn’t escape the eyes of the two women here. Not a single person went into action, and everything was quiet, as if this third person was supposed to be there to begin with.
The black-clothed person was hidden in those black clothes, and those black clothes were wrapped within the black night. There was no murderous aura coming off of them. Gaze hurriedly passing over Yu Shengyan, their knees went soft, then bent and knelt before Fu Wanqing.
So, it was someone from the Manor. Yu Shengyan sighed on the inside, but in the next instant, her brows creased tightly. What importance did this person’s identity have? She had no reason to care about this. Her mind ought to be like water in a deep river, calm and without ripples whatsoever.
Fu Wanqing opened her mouth to say only one word, and that one word displayed her bearing as a top-seater in vivid detail. Yu Shengyan had no thought to scout out their conversation, and after Fu Wanqing finished speaking, she sealed off her own sense of hearing. Her aimless gaze suddenly skimmed to Fu Wanqing’s face, and then could no longer separate from it.
The other’s bearing was extraordinarily similar to her sect-sister, Lou Kexin, but the latter lacked a certain something about her; likely due to her background, trashiness was eternally engraved into her bones. Following her legs being crippled by Fu Wanqing, her arrogance and ruthlessness caused by this trashiness was all the more exposed in its entirety.
Fu Wanqing was like a flame; a raging flame burning with an intensely gorgeous air.
In this moment, Yu Shengyan instinctively sensed that danger had come.
Her wrist was gripped hard by someone. That black-clothed person had left at some unknown point in time.
A brilliant smile flooded Fu Wanqing’s face. Her lips moved in the motion of speech, saying, “The moonlight tonight is beautiful. It’s really quiet in this courtyard.”
Yes. Quiet.
Everything then returned to silence, only the sounds of nature inundating the ears.
Nevertheless, jianghu was not at peace.
In just one night, carnage upsurged inside of it once more.
Within a tavern outside of Yang City, a big man wearing short robes suddenly smashed his bowl and chopsticks down onto the table, stepped up on the stool with one foot, and cried out weirdly, “If jianghu is able to be called ‘peaceful’, then it wouldn’t be called jianghu!”
After shouting that, he sat back down again like nothing had happened, and picked up a large bowl of spirits like that sentence hadn’t just exploded out of his mouth. A broadsabre was put aside in the big man’s right hand, and five iron hoops were strung in his hair, clanging as they knocked together.
Fu Wanqing sat behind the corner of a pillar, a smile held within the edges of her lips. According to reason, a noble jianghu family’s descendant like her wouldn’t show up at this dilapidated, noisy little tavern, but she had shown up anyways. Her thoughts were not ones anyone could guess. “Do you know of the couple of incidents that have happened in jianghu recently?” she asked with a grin as she peered at Yu Shengyan, who was seated quietly.
She had been wanting to answer this herself, but Yu Shengyan actually spoke up.
“There were two major incidents. The craftsman Lu Qi was murdered by someone, and rumors say it’s because a secret treasure map was hidden in a jade Guanyin. The brothers of Divine Mystery Sect fought with a woman of unknown origin that only called herself Third Young Master.” She had heard both of these things from what those passing jianghu travelers said on the road from the Manor.
Fu Wanqing let out a delicate laugh, replying, “Not bad. Those two incidents were enough to disrupt jianghu, which hadn’t been calm to begin with.”
Only Yu Shengyan had heard Fu Wanqing’s words, but her laughter caused the heads of everyone in the whole tavern to turn and look at her. In their gazes was either adoration or greed, and occasionally some disdain.
Two pretty women had appeared at a run-down tavern, with no man at their side whatsoever.
That point alone was enough to make these foul mens’ imaginations go wild.
Those with a bit of scope were still capable of controlling themselves and remaining motionless, while those blinded by greed itched to paste both their hands and eyes onto the womens’ bodies. With a bunch of clanging sounds, the short-robed, big man stood up. As a swordsman, he would never forget his own blade, but he was afraid that his frightening appearance would scare the little ladies at the neighboring table, so, after hesitating for a minute, he dropped his sabre.
The big man grinned, his spear-like beard trembling together with the spread flesh across his face, and revealed two rows of scraggly teeth, looking sinister and terrifying. “Where are you two little ladies going? Need someone to see you off on the road?”
His voice had just fallen when a small-statured, skinny man resembling a monkey jumped out. He merely flung his hand out, and that sturdy-looking man was sent away by him. “These little ladies may as well walk with me.” He narrowed his eyes, stroking his own tiny beard cluster.
Having lost face in the presence of beauties, the big man immediately became enraged. He picked up his broadsabre, jangling as he hacked down at the small man.
With a bang, a stool was chopped into two by the massive force, and the thin-monkey-looking man had already leapt far away, smoothing his beard with a faint smile. All of sudden, a fight broke out in the tavern, the waiter and proprietor having long since oiled their soles and slipped away at first opportunity. Cowardly folk had also fled without a trace left, leaving only those of jianghu to stay and watch the excitement there. Perhaps they were still waiting for the appropriate time to play the hero saving the beauty, winning a beautiful woman’s affection.
Fu Wanqing didn’t even cast one glance at these people.
Her heart had gotten quite elated due to Yu Shengyan being conversational. If her eyes could talk, just one roam of them would hook out one’s soul. The tavern got all the more bustling, with the people brawling not limited to just the two. As for the two women that had stirred this commotion, no one had noticed that they had already drifted away.
“Who was that woman in the red clothes?” Someone eventually shook off the chaotic battleground to ask.
“She looked to be Lady Fu of the Manor of Chivalry!” Someone else eventually recognized.
Following a stretch of bizarre stillness, there was a spell of laments and sighs.
Slowly traversing the streets of the tiny town, and looking like she was interested in everything, Fu Wanqing walked here and observed there. It even got to the point that she bought a bead-made flower from a tiny stall and stuck it in the hair near Yu Shengyan’s temple. Common objects shouldn’t be cropping up in that spot, since that would destroy Yu Shengyan’s beauty. Fu Wanqing even got a bit miffed seeing how she looked, but she still wouldn’t permit her to remove things that she had personally gifted her.
“Lu Qi’s skilled hands would be able to make a bead flower suitable for you,” she said out of the blue. “Too bad he’s dead.”
Yu Shengyan didn’t reply, and Fu Wanqing raised her head to the sky and laughed; that laughter transmitted a coldness that reached peak apathy.
The other lifted her eyelids, then took out an ugly bamboo whistle from her lapels. “A gift for you.”
Availing herself of the split second where Fu Wanqing was stunned, she stuffed the whistle into her hands.
“A gift for me.” Fu Wanqing carried the whistle like she was holding some kind of precious treasure, smiling quite happily.
The object appeared to be incomparably better than even the jade Guanyin.
The same jade Guanyin that, a year prior, had slipped out of Guanxi’s number one convoy.
Only Ma San knew that it was in Lady Fu’s hands, but he was dead. A dead man couldn’t open his mouth to talk.
Where was the jade Guanyin, in the end? What secret was concealed within it, in the end? Those things were what the people in jianghu currently wanted to know the most.
“Thankfully, it didn’t fall into Lady Fu’s hands, or else this would be a thorny issue.”
“It’d be great if it had gotten delivered to the Manor back in the day. That way, I could come to its door to propose marriage, and get both her and the Guanyin.”
“You said Lu Qi died, so he’s dead. Why would such info get leaked?”
“A map to hidden treasure, treasure that’s hidden — who doesn’t want to get famous? Who doesn’t want wealth?”
…
All sorts of voices echoed in Fu Wanqing’s ears.
Nobody suspected that the Guanyin would be in her possession.
—
The translator says: No wonder FWQ hates jianghu, everyone in it is on crack.
Where was Fu Wanqing thinking of going? Where would she be showing up? These things were never planned for. She could show up in any place, given that she was willing to. She had previously walked alone, a ball of fire that no one dared to rashly provoke, but now, she had an extra chunk of frigid ice beside her. The two collided together; like two completely different flavors mixing, a fine balance emerged.
She actually wasn’t that frightening anymore, people secretly thought when they saw her.
Yet, it would genuinely be a colossal mistake to believe that Fu Wanqing was no longer Fu Wanqing. Those that provoked her would still not have any sort of good end, like right now — there were five people lying on the ground, covering their wounds, and crying out in pain.
This was a run-down temple. A bonfire was already burning before the sky went dark.
Although she was smiling, as far as those people were concerned, she was undoubtedly an Asura that came from the underworld. The roasting air of the bonfire forced them to sweat, but their hearts seemed to have gotten thrown into an ice cellar, being horribly cold. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to flee, but that they were enveloped by Fu Wanqing’s aura, and simply had no opportunity to whatsoever.
The one that was the least injured cast his gaze towards Yu Shengyan, whose eyes were closed in composure. He clenched his fist, understanding that he would only be able to fight to the death here. The cold beauty going along with Fu Wanqing didn’t seem to be her maid, but like somebody that was close to her. Following the linkage of jianghu rumors many days ago, he had determined that it was Yu Shengyan that was Fu Wanqing’s companion, and her sweetheart. A sinister smile hung on his lips, he created a streak of sabrelight that hacked towards Yu Shengyan.
Fu Wanqing looked unconcerned, and didn’t move a bit.
The man suddenly gave up hope. It wasn’t because he had miscalculated the cold woman’s place in Fu Wanqing’s heart, but rather because of the suffocating, frightening force coming off of her body. Her martial arts had already reached perfection, and as a result, she was able to entirely restrain her internal power, appearing to be an ordinary person that couldn’t do martial arts. He believed that he was going to die, but didn’t expect that he would merely tumble back to his previous spot, with not even the state of his injuries made any worse.
Going from despair to inward delight was a split-second affair. Going from pleasant surprise to falling back down into the abyss of despair was also a split-second affair. Fu Wanqing didn’t act, merely saying three syllables that made the faces of the men on the ground instantly become daubed with white.
“Yu Shengyan,” she called with a smile.
What did the three simple syllables of ‘Yu Shengyan’ represent in the Demonic Creed? The Head of Jadeite Water Creed, a supreme authority that could not be encroached upon, just like Fu Hui’s position in the Whitepath Alliance — no, it was even higher.
The chances of survival for these couple of injured people were shortly extinguished; not by Fu Wanqing’s actions, but by themselves. She had deliberately cut them some slack, but who made them be disciples of Black Mountain Hall? In order to avenge those so-called Four Rats of Black Mountain, they impinged upon the godlike existence of the Creed Head. The Creed’s dogma was strict, not allowing anyone to offend her.
Fu Wanqing looked at the rigid, unmoving people on the ground, then softly sighed. “Truly stupid, truly pitiful. Why didn’t they think that you were an impersonator?”
Yu Shengyan didn’t make a peep, though she already secretly made the decision to alter the dogma a bit after she returned.
Fu Wanqing’s gaze stopped on Yu Shengyan for a short moment, and then she reached a hand towards her, smiling mildly. “C’mon.”
She wasn’t about to stay in this bloody area filled with filth in any way.
Slaughters happened at all times in jianghu. Enemies that sought to drop by her door, or enemies walking on the road, couldn’t even enter her eyes.
The sound of the bamboo whistle reverberated across the desolate autumn plain. The fluttering weeds were fuzzy, and faraway geese alternated their formation, leaving a peal of honks behind. Tightening her clothes, Fu Wanqing gazed at the vast space, some threads of loneliness cropping up again in her heart. In that moment, she suddenly wanted to grip Yu Shengyan’s hand hard, but she still couldn’t let go of her own pride right now.
Lin’an Prefecture was a good land.
Thirty li from the beautiful towers, there was Lone Hill in the middle of nowhere.[1]
Viewing snow was fitting at West Lake. Therefore, viewing plum flowers was fitting at Lone Hill.
It was simply that there was currently no snow, and no plum flowers, only a clump of swishing reeds lightly rustling in the fall breeze.
Her decision to go south was completely instantaneous, yet when she arrived at Lin’an Prefecture, she didn’t want to leave.
The Manor of Chivalry was far away, while Thousand Jadeite Island was nearby.
She disliked drinking wine and tea, even though she loved to fiddle with all sorts of dainty cups.
Beside West Lake stood a forest of towers, and from a second story private pavilion, beautiful landscape could be seen in the distance.
The mist of mountain water was different in every season, and this autumnal mountain was as bright and clean as makeup.
Fu Wanqing exhaled gently. “Do you know where the most interesting spot in Lin’an Prefecture is?” she asked with a grin.
Yu Shengyan shook her head.
The other smiled in understanding. She placed a hand on Yu Shengyan’s left shoulder, whirled around her, then sat down on her lap. Arm hooking around her neck, her lips drew in to the cup Yu Shengyan held, and she took a light sip.
She had a weird personality. She didn’t want things that others had touched before, and yet sometimes, she wouldn’t have that weirdness.
Licking her lips, she resembled a lethargic cat, contentedly nested in Yu Shengyan’s arms. Women that seduced women were rare, but that was what she was doing. “The most fame belongs to Spring Wind Grin,” she proceeded to say. “Do you want to come take a look with me, Yu Shengyan?”
It appeared like an inquiry, when she had in fact already resolved to it.
For the purpose of acting freely, they both changed into men’s clothing. They were a good pair of handsome beaus, burning like fire and chilling like steel.
Spring Wind Grin was not beside the most lively West Lake, but in a desolate and remote alley. On one side of it was declining thatched cottages with emaciated citizens, and on the other, the embellished clothes of bigwigs.
All at once, this Spring Wind Lane became jam-packed. There was a group of people in rags that were crowded around a couple refined, pink-clothed women.
“The Limitless Empress has come to give again!”
“May the Empress live for a thousand years!”
The moved-to-tears poor put their hands together in prayer, kneeling tall without getting up. If they were somewhere else, no one would care about what they were doing, but they were stopping up Spring Wind Lane.
A Young Master called for his boyservant to step forward and investigate. Upon hearing the name ‘Limitless Empress’, eight out of every ten people withdrew, the two parts remaining being either drunkards or supporters.
“Nothing serious would happen to those pink-clothed ladies when acting against them, but fight the citizens in the alley, and they’d be done for.” A spectator shook their head and sighed, clearly quite familiar with all of this.
“Limitless Empress, Limitless Palace. Those cannot be provoked.”
“When did this Limitless Palace show up? Can’t say it’s an evil sect, because it’s charitable and popular with the commoners. Can’t say it’s on the righteous path, because the number of named, upright sects ruined in its hands aren’t few.”
“Its Palace Lord is a mysterious character. Even Bai Xiaosheng can’t scout them out!”
“What do you care so much for? This has nothing to do with us, anyways. Can’t you avoid them, if you don’t provoke them?”
Fu Wanqing listened to the hearsay of the crowd, shutting her folding fan. Eyes narrowing, something of a smile slowly appeared on her face, and she silently mouthed the words ‘Limitless Palace’.
A burst of petals spilled into the air, as if spring had come again. The sound of a flute and pipa interweaving, a palanquin flew out of the alley, and the four young ladies carrying it, at first glance, were experts that trained both internally and externally. In the wake of the palanquin getting farther away, that floral fragrance also gradually thinned.
“Who’s in the palanquin?”
“The Limitless Empress, of course, though she isn’t the owner of the Palace. I don’t know who the Palace Lord is, but I’m positive the one in the palanquin isn’t them. They ought to be a seventy to eighty year old guy! Heh, the Palace has so many gorgeous ladies, he—“ Before he finished speaking, he collapsed straight down.
Under the plain light of day, he naturally hadn’t died, but had been given a lesson that made him mute.
Fu Wanqing turned to Yu Shengyan and chuckled. “Jadeite Water Creed, Limitless Palace. Interesting. Seriously interesting.”
Yu Shengyan blinked, voice mild. “The move that person showed just then was a fused maneuver of Shaolin’s ‘Picking Flowers with a Smile’ and the Tang Sect’s ‘Heavenly Woman Scatters Flowers’.”
Fu Wanqing lightly huffed. “Curious.” She paused, then narrowed her eyes. “The most curious thing isn’t that, though. It’s going to Spring Wind Grin.”
How did the place compare to Yangzhou’s Goldmelt Grotto? No one brought up a comparison, and Spring Wind Grin looked down on being compared. It could be Goldmelt Grotto, but Goldmelt Grotto absolutely couldn’t be it.
Anything went in Goldmelt Grotto so long as there was silver, but Spring Wind Grin was different. Not only did you have to have silver, but you had to have honor, talent, and intuition. Many men took pride in being able to enter it, and in order to uphold that glory, they didn’t hesitate to stand off against those that destroyed and made trouble. For that reason, over time, no one dared to behave badly in there.
—
The translator says: Take a shot for every time FWQ sits on YSY's lap.
random guys: *commit mass suicide*
ysy: well, that's a little weird.
Spring Wind Grin had wine, swords, poems, and the ‘Spring Wind Grin’, Chun Fengxiao. Mention the first thing, and the second would inevitably also be mentioned.
In this building, the most heady wine was called Chun Fengxiao, the best dish was called Chun Fengxiao, and the prettiest person was called Chun Fengxiao, too.
However, Chun Fengxiao… never ever grinned.
Though a thousand gold could buy a grin, in Spring Wind Grin, all that would be able to be bought was a jar called ‘Chun Fengxiao’.
Everyone that went inside wanted to tease Chun Fengxiao into opening up, but most of them never even got the chance to see her face.
There were refined talents that had deeply studied literature, knight-errants whose swords could create terrifying wind, and wealthy merchants with ten thousand strings of coins in property, but they were all born with outstanding appearances, too. Point at any of them at random, and they might be comparably more beautiful and charming than the young woman in Spring Wind Grin.
Few women strolled into Spring Wind Grin, yet Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan were two of them.
The rich fine wine that poor folk would never be able to enjoy their whole lives did not pour into someone’s mouth, but was instead dumped into a censer. The aromas of wine and agarwood blended together, fermenting into a different kind of scent.
Yu Shengyan sat beside the table, like an ice-cold sculpture.
This room originally had accompanying women; they got confused by Fu Wanqing’s bewitching smile, then frostbitten by Yu Shengyan’s frigid aura. All the women in the building had experienced disturbances before, and they only needed one look to know that these two shockingly beautiful ‘men’ were not ones anyone was capable of approaching. For that reason, they had withdrawn, vacating a small world for them in this exquisite side room.
Fu Wanqing wound around to be in front of Yu Shengyan, then sat in her arms like this was a matter of course, and as if Yu Shengyan’s embrace was set up for her alone. Even though she was in men’s clothes, that couldn’t cover up the innate romanticism and seductiveness in her looks. Fingertip curling around a lock of black hair hanging beside Yu Shengyan’s face, she giggled as she asked, “Someone who never smiles suddenly opens up — what happens, then?”
Yu Shengyan knew on the inside that Fu Wanqing wasn’t referring to Chun Fengxiao, but herself.
With no audible answer, she merely hooked her lips up into a shallow smile.
It passed in a wink, like the brief bloom of orchid cacti.
Fu Wanqing was infatuated, and felt like she was going mad. She believed herself to be attractive enough, yet Yu Shengyan was cool and composed before her; she believed herself to be calm and self-controlled enough, yet she lost her way within Yu Shengyan’s one shallow smile. Grinning obsessively, she tightly pressed her body close to her to come beside her fine earlobe, and exhaled lightly. “If you were a man, I’d kill you.”
In truth, her words hadn’t been said to completion.
Yu Shengyan was a woman, a woman able to be compared to her — she would only be able to kill her after defeating her.
However, a woman visiting a whorehouse wouldn’t need a woman’s accompaniment.
Why would one want to visit a whorehouse? That was likely to lead to other’s curiosity, and Chun Fengxiao was precisely such an exuberantly curious person.
The tranquility inside the side room didn’t last very long. With a creak, a white-clothed woman carrying a pipa pushed the door open and came in.
Fu Wanqing was still nested in Yu Shengyan’s arms, the look in her gaze as enticing as ever. In the eyes of others, they were two men wrapped around each other in disheveled clothes. In Chun Fengxiao’s eyes, they were a pair of stunning women.
That’s right; the cold-faced woman in white that had walked into the room was Chun Fengxiao.
Fu Wanqing sized her up out of the corner of her eye. The woman’s indifference was either a deliberate disaffection to isolate herself from the world, or could be described as a sort of showing off — her expression cold, yet her heart burning. Chun Fengxiao had a good bearing, but it was far and away inferior to Yu Shengyan’s. Maybe, in her eyes, there was no longer any beauty that could be compared to the latter. She sighed faintly on the inside, then took back the gaze she had placed on Chun Fengxiao’s form.
Spring Wind Grin, Chun Fengxiao… they weren’t as interesting as the rumors said.
Right when she retracted her eyes, Chun Fengxiao plucked at the pipa, and grinned.
She didn’t get to see it, but Yu Shengyan did.
There were a couple sounds of plucking and tuning, the foremost feelings of a not-yet-complete melody. It was similar to pressing rain and jumping waves, yet also seemed like jade clinking onto a plate of silver.
The smile at the corner of Yu Shengyan’s lips floated up again, aimed at Chun Fengxiao this time. Fu Wanqing, however, was not pleased, as she felt that Yu Shengyan could only smile at her, so she sat up straight and blocked the other’s line of sight. Their foreheads gently bumped together, the smell of their breaths intertwining, and one look downwards would catch sight of red lips. Her heart seemed to get grabbed by a hand; as if she had drunk herself into intoxication, she suddenly wanted to kiss her.
Accompanied by the sound of the pipa, and right in front of Chun Fengxiao’s face.
She was akin to a traveler that had traversed the desert for ages, thirsting for that sweet spring in an oasis.
Yu Shengyan was a piece of white paper, so Fu Wanqing was going brush some of her own color on her.
She was entranced, feeling like she was sinking bit by bit into a hell of infinite calamities that she would never get out of; but if she was going to fall into that endless abyss, how could she not drag Yu Shengyan into journeying it with her? Like mist rising, those eyes suffused with light would be full of the ambiguous charm of post-falling in love, no longer that ice-like chilliness.
The sound of the pipa suddenly stopped. The look on Chun Fengxiao’s face froze, while Fu Wanqing smiled more and more happily. She was like an alluring snake that itched to tightly coil around Yu Shengyan.
Chun Fengxiao was fond of men. She was also fond of women… no, it ought to be said that she was fond of all beautiful faces. Confident in her own charm technique, she was under the impression that no one could resist being absorbed in it.
Regardless of whether they were a man or a woman, so long as she was willing to go fishing for them, they had to take the bait.
And yet, what about old hats of the Martial Forest? Even to the very end, they still wouldn’t lose themselves in a land of tenderness.
“Chun Fengxiao, why aren’t you someone that doesn’t smile all the time? You shouldn’t smile,” Fu Wanqing’s giggling voice echoed out. She used her hand to conceal Yu Shengyan’s slightly-opened lapels, tilting her head to stare at Chun Fengxiao. “You can elevate the appetites of those men outside, but you can’t elevate mine. Someone that’s entranced by the sound of your pipa is no more than someone who had notions towards you in the first place. Don’t you understand that this isn’t what they call a charm technique?”
Chun Fengxiao’s face was very cold. No one had ever criticized her before, and there was no one that didn’t love her upon coming to Spring Wind Grin. She placed herself in the same position as jianghu beauty Fu Wanqing; more than one person had spoken of her beauty beside her pillow, saying that she far surpassed Fu Wanqing of Yangzhou, making her quite self-confident thereafter.
Fu Wanqing shot an enchanting smile at her. As if mumbling to herself, she said, “I should have you watch and see what a real charm technique is.”
After a split second of dizziness where it was like her mind took a tour around the nine levels of Heaven, Chun Fengxiao shook her head forcefully. “Who are you?” she shouted.
Fu Wanqing softly wiped at the corner of her mouth, and spat out one word. “Guess.”
Who else could have this grade of peerless magnificence? Chun Fengxiao’s expression began to morph, a trace of trepidation streaking across her eyes, along with a grievance born of a lack of resignation. Any man that saw her expression would feel heartache, but Fu Wanqing wasn’t a man, nor was she a regular person.
“Fu Wanqing.” The woman that was supposed to be staying in Yangzhou had surprisingly ran off to Lin’an Prefecture.
Chun Fengxiao raised her head up to the sky and laughed, her features seemingly warped due to jealousy. She didn’t want to live this life anymore, so she threw caution to the wind. Recalling some rumors in jianghu, she slowly stated, “You won’t allow me to smile, but I want to smile, anyways. Are you beautiful, Fu Wanqing? You can’t compare to the woman next to you! You being with her does nothing but enhance her with the contrast!”
With Fu Wanqing’s arrogance, she wasn’t allowed to be compared to anyone. Previously, those who had said such things in front of her had all died, but now, her smile held no murderous intent, nor did she have any traces of anger. She merely cast a minor glance at Chun Fengxiao, answering, “What does you wanting to smile have to do with me? As for Lu Qi, he must be pretty sorry to not be able to see your Chun-Fengxiao smile.”
When she heard the name ‘Lu Qi’, Chun Fengxiao’s complexion turned gray.
Lu Qi had been to Spring Wind Grin before, and that was something suddenly everyone in jianghu knew about. Those who came to this place were not solely ones that sought pleasure, but also ones inquiring about the whereabouts of the jade Guanyin, as well as the secret of the hidden treasure map. It was seriously ridiculous. Lu Qi had already given the Guanyin away, how would she know anything about the map? A year prior, there had been no noise whatsoever, so why was a pea of commotion showing up now? Did every single person in jianghu believe it?
Ridiculous! Ridiculous! Jianghu folk were the most ridiculous in the world.
Chun Fengxiao had an expression like a dead fish, issuing a wooden voice that didn’t seem to come from her mouth. “Are you also here to ask for information on the Guanyin?”
She was capable of dealing with a great many fighters of jianghu, but she knew that she couldn’t deal with Fu Wanqing. If that really was her aim, then Spring Wind Grin was done for.
Those young, warm-hearted heroes that protected the place would not be willing to brave the danger of offending the Manor of Chivalry in order to come help her. Beyond that, because of Lu Qi, the mind of many heroes had already begun to undergo a subtle change.
Fu Wanqing hooked up her lips in a smile, her posture unspeakably languid. “The Guanyin had been a gift for me from Lu Qi, so I care for it, of course. However, I came to Spring Wind Grin to help you. I know a lot of people are asking you about the map. I can openly tell you that it’s real, and the location of it is actually easy to guess. When Ma San had never made any mistakes before, and when Soaring Might Protectancy had never broken people’s trust before, why did that worthless thing disappear without a trace?”
Chun Fengxiao nodded, her mood undergoing several major changes. “I understand.”
What that convoy had been entrusted with delivering was not a ‘Guanyin’ at all, but the scroll of a hidden treasure map.
The people of jianghu didn’t know that, but the Manor did.
And the Manor knowing it meant that the other four families in the Whitepath Alliance likely also knew.
—
The translator says: The original name for Spring Wind Grin is chunfengyixiao. Disgusting. Get these puns out of my face.
Word from the tavern spread quickly, as did word from inside the whorehouse.
Stealing what one was in charge of protecting was a shameful accusation. Head Sentry of Soaring Might Protectancy, Yang Yifei, couldn’t swallow his anger; on one side, he personally went to the Manor of Chivalry to explain things clearly to Fu Hui, and on the other, he sent his son and daughter to go to Lin’an Prefecture, investigate thoroughly, and see who it actually was that was smearing their Protectancy’s name.
Lin’an Prefecture was really getting livelier.
And the more chaotic jianghu got, the happier Fu Wanqing was.
A tiny skiff toured around West Lake, the withered and yellow weeping willows on either shore lightly rustling in the setting sun.
Half of the sun’s disc sunk into the Western Hills. The pavilion in the center of the lake, decked in the gorgeous color of the sun’s setting glow, looked marvelous.
Fu Wanqing, hands in her sleeves as she stood on the bow, chuckled. “I want to snow-view in that pavilion, but this winter is too cold. Even if I wrap myself in a fur coat, I feel the chill. I heard that out of what stoves are used for, keeping people warm is the most useful.”
“Those that practice martial arts shouldn’t fear extreme cold or heat,” Yu Shengyan answered blandly.
Brows pinching together, Fu Wanqing turned to face her directly, her smile a bit curbed. After circling around the beauty that was standing ramrod-straight a couple times, she lightly humphed. “Yu Shengyan, you’re really boring. Even more boring than those old pedants in schools. What purpose does a life like that have?”
Yu Shengyan huffed, and asked, “What would count as a purpose? Plotting how to break up the Whitepath Alliance and calculating how to deal with the Demonic Creed all day long, like you?”
She shouldn’t have cared about these matters, but those were the words that had come out of her mouth, and what had been said could not be taken back. Her expression had a subtle change, though she was still doing her utmost to maintain the unaffected loftiness in her features. At what time had the stone thrown by Fu Wanqing made a swathe of ripples? Yu Shengyan couldn’t understand it, so she simply stopped thinking about it.
Fu Wanqing was taken aback, having not expected that the other would say something like that. Her expression morphed strangely. Yu Shengyan was a seriously weird person; what she said was actually even more righteous than those that flaunted themselves as being chivalrous. She was the Head of the Demonic Creed, so the destruction of the Whitepath Alliance should make her happy, yet she wasn’t. “I’m going to deal with Jadeite Water Creed, starting with Black Mountain Hall. Are you going to stop me?”
“If it’s destroyed, then that is just their fate,” Yu Shengyan replied mildly. Her words were callous and unfeeling. She didn’t want her to do those things, but if she was going to set them into motion, then she wouldn’t stop it. In the Creed, she, as the Head, was never required to do anything, as all the planning was done by the two Protectors. They were on their own in handling Fu Wanqing. All she needed to do was abide by her promise and stay by Fu Wanqing’s side for three months.
Fu Wanqing huffed lightly; an answer like that had been within her anticipations. Rolling her eyes, she asked again with a grin, “What if I’m going to kill that woman, Lou Kexin?”
Yu Shengyan’s expression changed slightly. “I won’t let you kill her.”
Fu Wanqing laughed coldly. “Looks like you still have someone you care about. Right. If you didn’t, why would you take the trouble to run off to Yangzhou to seek out medicine for her?”
She had been joking, at first, because she felt it beneath her dignity to fight her in view of already defeating her, but Yu Shengyan’s words ignited her desire for murder once more. She understood well that this emotion was known as jealousy — in this world, no one was worthy of Yu Shengyan’s eyes aside from her. “The more something can’t be done, the more I’m going to do it. If I go to the Creed to kill her, you’ll assumedly unsheathe your Huaixiu. That really is a great way to motivate you into a competition. What a shame that I still have more important things to do right now.”
Yu Shengyan was silent.
Lou Kexin… her reciting this name instead made her think of another person’s face. She had sensed the murderous desire coming off of Fu Wanqing, but she had once promised that she would protect Lou Kexin well. This wasn’t a personal matter; it was solely because she was someone that attached importance to promises. She had wanted to explain herself, lips slightly moving in a mumble, but before she spoke, her gaze became somewhat out-of-focus. What was she doing? Why was she about to give an explanation to her?
Fu Wanqing had a clever mind, and others couldn’t guess at her thoughts.
Yu Shengyan had a pair of cold eyes that could pry open the affairs of the world, but she refused to see them clearly.
Placing a boat down in jianghu, how could it lack the sound of a xiao?
It sobbed, low and soothing. As the skiff approached, the sound also gradually came to be before it.
A pretty girl wearing blue clothes threw herself at Fu Wanqing like a hungry tiger pouncing on a sheep. Within her big, limpid eyes was the flame of wrath and determination. Her weapon was bizarre, resembling the talons of a furious hawk as it came towards the weak spot of Fu Wanqing’s face. The latter didn’t move, nor did she plan to make a move at all. She held in a grin and gazed leisurely at Yu Shengyan, as if she didn’t know danger was fast approaching.
Those steel talons swept up strong winds as they drove forth, their vicious momentum looking like they were going to tear her apart. The blue-clothed girl suddenly hesitated, because from what she understood about Fu Wanqing, she was absolutely not like this. Could it be that she was keeping a counter-move hidden? What crafty trick was awaiting her? Merely bringing a few past events to mind had her shouting in rage again, the weapon piercing towards Fu Wanqing’s eyes.
The blue-clothed girl had caught sight of the white-clothed beauty at the other’s side long ago. She just didn’t care.
Right when she was on the verge of success and getting a feeling of joy, the woman in white moved. She didn’t get a clear view of her movements in the least, yet the weapon she held was taken from her.
Fu Wanqing turned to Yu Shengyan, whose brows were lightly creased, and smiled faintly. “As expected, you won’t just sit back and watch. Seems like I won’t need to do any fighting myself these three months. You only said that you can’t unsheathe your sword, but you never said that you can’t do martial arts. Am I right, or no?”
The look Yu Shengyan had cooled down. “I only promised that I would follow you for three months. I didn’t promise that I would protect you. Furthermore, with your arts, you don’t need me at all,” she said impartially.
Yu Shengyan smiled mischievously. “But I don’t want to fight, all of a sudden. If I’m killed by an enemy, your three months will eternally go unfinished. Are you going to come keep me company in the underworld?”
Fu Wanqing had always been a headstrong person. After following her for no more than a few days, Yu Shengyan had some understanding of her childish personality. Not knowing how she ought to refute her words, she huffed indifferently, then turned her head to view the distant mountains that were gradually getting covered in a layer of purple.
“Yu Shengyan! She’s Yu Shengyan!” A shriek rang out from the mouth of the girl in blue. “Fu Wanqing, you’re actually mingling with that Creed witch!”
Men would believe Fu Wanqing’s words and think that this was simply someone made up to look like Yu Shengyan, but women wouldn’t. Their innate intuition could tell when something was a disguise. Appearances could be altered, but Yu Shengyan’s personality was not something others could imitate well.
Fu Wanqing swept a look at the girl, who was vivacious and very adorable. She didn’t like ladies like this, especially since her name was Yang Wumin, and she was Yang Yifei’s daughter. “So, it’s Yang Wumin, huh. But, if you’re here, where’s your big brother, Yang Wugong?”
Everyone in jianghu knew that the Yang sect-siblings had come in a pair to Lin’an for the sake of investigating the ‘jade Guanyin’ matter.
Yang Wumin shrieked again, the sound particularly ear-piercing. “You still have the face to mention my brother, Fu Wanqing? How dare you speak of him!” Her shrill voice eventually turned into sobs and whimpers. To those that didn’t know, they would believe that something bad had happened to Yang Wugong.
“Min’r, come back.” A call floated out from a small, approaching boat.
A twenty-four-ish man with a crippled leg stood on its bow. He wore only a blue changshan, his elegant features appearing exceedingly haggard. Although his leg was lame, he definitely went moving about quicker than the majority of folks. Yang Wumin’s dejected gaze fell upon her brother’s leg, and then she glared hatefully at Fu Wanqing, leapt away, and landed on her own small boat steadily.
She loathed Fu Wanqing. Her hatred was not without reason.
Yang Wugong’s leg was Fu Wanqing’s bestowment, after all.
Fu Wanqing watched the boat drift far away, a smile emerging on her lips.
The sun had already disappeared into the Western Hills. The dark blue sky covering was dotted with cold stars in perfect randomness.
A night of quiet yet mixed with clamor descended.
The number of little boats grew fewer, while the sounds of singing and pleasure boats with flickering lanterns slowly increased.
“This is a really lively jianghu,” Fu Wanqing sighed lazily.
Yu Shengyan looked up. “The Yang siblings of the Protectancy?” she questioned.
“What, you want to learn about them? The male one views himself as outstanding. The female one is a spoiled tyrant. Of course, that was all before I taught them a lesson.” The trace of a malevolent smile emerged on her face.
In jianghu, particular attention was still paid to matching up appropriate families. The Manor of Chivalry’s Eldest Lady, with Soaring Might Protectancy’s Eldest Master — they were suited no matter how one heard it.
If that Eldest Lady hadn’t been Fu Wanqing, then everything would have gone as logically planned.
Those of jianghu had no idea, but those of the Manor and Protectancy knew incomparably well that the two families used to have an engagement. It was just a pity that it all was ruined by Goldmelt Grotto; Yang Wugong had been a young and handsome talent, but he had gotten addicted to beauty.
His leg got broken by Yang Yifei.
And, the one that let the Protectancy know about it was, of course, the Manor’s Eldest Lady.
Yang Wugong’s leg was broken, and that marriage was thus left permanently in the air.
Nobody wanted to betroth their daughters to a man that spent the whole day indulging in debauchery.
—
The translator says: What... 'Wumin' and 'Wugong' literally translate to 'no smarts' and 'no arts'. What's wrong with their parents??? And she wasn't even the one that broke his leg? His dad did? What is going on.
“Lift m’ drink, sing a song! Who knows if life’ll be long? We’re morning dew, past days many, future few. Who can solve troubles mine? Only Du Kang, god of wine.”
A drunk Daoist leaned against the railing and sang loudly at the top of his lungs, head raised to face the sky. Unfiltered wine trickled down his neck from inside his wine gourd, dampening his weathered, gray, and old Daoist robes.
“Wine! I want to drink wine!” He shouted. A palm chopped towards the wine pot at the side. The alcohol didn’t flow down to the floor, but rather turned into a fountain under the force of his strike, the entirety of it rushing into his mouth.
“What’s this about drinking wine?! Come eat rice!” A fat Buddhist monk roared while baring his teeth, a wooden bucket packed full of white rice in front of him. With iron tongs in both of his hands that he was using as chopsticks, he pulled rice out of the bucket at flying speed; he ate at an extreme velocity, and all that could be seen was his fleshy cheeks undulating nonstop. His eating didn’t even interfere with his speech one bit.
The drunk Daoist was named Yuan Jiulang, ‘Gentlman of Nine’, a very elegant and distinguished name. When young, he was an accomplished figure and disciple of Wudang, though he was contrarily fond of unconventional moves. The Taiji Sword was gentle, and he wanted to be rough! Disciples of Wudang wanted chivalry, and he wanted evil! After bullying his own junior sister, he was finally expelled from the sect.
The fat monk was called Fan Dai, after Mount Tai, and it was a very fitting name. He liked to eat, probably due to being too poor in his childhood. His family couldn’t support him, so they sent him to a monastery to be a monk. Monks… always had those seven abstinences and eight precepts, but he contrarily didn’t want to abstain from anything. He visited brothels and killed people, though he loved eating the most. The abbot expelled him from the monastery. Believing the former was afraid that he would eat the temple out of house and home, which was really too stingy, he killed everyone in the temple in a fit of rage.
A duo like this could not enter the eyes of upright knight-errants, to the extent that many wanted to kill them.
For that reason, them joining the Demonic Creed was a matter of course. They were two characters of Black Mountain Hall, and absolutely weren’t to be confused with the same grade that the Four Rats had been in. Jianghu folk addressed them as ‘Wine Sack and Rice Bag’, which they accepted with a laugh — though, after they were done laughing, they went to kill them.
A couple of minor scoundrels of the Hall dying was really not an event of any importance.
However, the Four Rats dying by Fu Wanqing’s hand actually was a big deal. Creed Protector Lou Kexin hated her — she had ordered someone to paint a portrait of Fu Wanqing and hang it in her practice room so that she could hit it with a hundred-thousand darts every day. This hatred of having one’s legs crippled was not something the average person could tolerate, to say nothing of the hardly magnanimous Right Envoy.
“That woman has no skills! She’s only relying on being the sect-sister of the Head!” Yuan Jiulang suddenly bellowed.
“Right!” Fan Dai finally stopped eating, his cheeks bulging out. He nodded, yet also shook his head. “But we have to listen to her.”
Yuan Jiulang’s face abruptly became gloomy. He threw the wine gourd towards the outside, just in time to block a flying dart. His words seemed to get squeezed out from the gaps of his teeth. “It’s not just us. A lot of people have to listen to her.”
“If you didn’t listen to her, would you listen to the Left Envoy, then?” A somber laugh sounded in. Drifting out from the railing was a black-clothed woman with unkempt hair; half of her face was just hideous scars, while the other half was as sleek as water. There were several darts stuck at her waist, their red tips exposed.
This woman had been an outer disciple of Shuzhong’s Tang Sect. Her name was Hu Qing, but people in jianghu now only called her the nickname of ‘Ugly Mother’. In spite of being a woman, she was the Hall Master of Black Mountain, and her skill was far and above Wine Sack and Rice Bag’s. In fact, she hadn’t been this hideous to start with, and might have even been called a fresh, blossoming, and exceedingly pretty beauty. She could have originally enjoyed that appellation for a long time, but she had sought out Fu Wanqing, because she had heard that she was a very pretty person with a very quick sword, and wanted to measure against her. Ultimately, she lost, ruined half of her own face, then placed that debt on Fu Wanqing’s head. The Tang Sect wouldn’t offend the Manor of Chivalry on her behalf, so she joined the Creed, becoming the beloved lieutenant of Lou Kexin.
They came to Lin’an Prefecture for only one goal, and that was to kill Fu Wanqing.
They had already scouted and found out that she was in this inn, or possibly in the side room above their heads.
There was a maid beside her that couldn’t do martial arts, but aside from that, she no longer had anyone else attending to her — that was the information they had found out, and also the reason they decided to get to it. Without the protection of the experts at the Manor, what ability did one woman have?
Wine Sack and Rice Bag believed so, but Hu Qing did not. Her heart was as filled with vigilance as ever. The event of her defeat by Fu Wanqing’s hand was a few months ago; a brief couple of months, in the opinion of a Forest expert, was very crucial.
No matter how secure the window was, it couldn’t withstand that palm strike of sweeping, robust true qi, and the candles atop the table were also forced to go out from it.
Even if there was merely a split second of darkness, that would be sufficient for doing a good many things.
Sinisterly cold air seemed to come from the inside of purgatory. Yuan Jiulang thrust out with a thundering sword, Fan Dai struck out a heaven-frightening palm, and Hu Qing sent out every poisoned dart she had on her.
The candles reignited. Fu Wanqing was still sitting there, a faint smile kept upon her lips. Next to her was a seated woman in white clothes that looked like jade.
Yuan Jiulang’s sword got redirected at some unknown point in time, piercing towards Fan Dai’s palm, and Fan Dai’s palm also got redirected, instead striking down the entirety of Hu Qing’s flying darts. Their faces all turned ashen, the true qi inside them billowing, and they forcibly kept down the blood-reeking qi that was rushing towards their throats.
Fu Wanqing’s arts were high, even higher than Fu Hui’s, the number-one figure in jianghu — that was the thought that streaked across their minds. They had no idea that Fu Wanqing hadn’t taken any action at all, as they had overlooked the one that was as light as a puff of smoke, due to the information they had saying that she was merely an ordinary maid with no understanding of the arts.
“These people ought to be familiar to you, right?” Fu Wanqing said aloud, smiling. “Don’t let them kill themselves this time around and dirty up the room. We still have to switch rooms after midnight.”
Only then did the three take notice of the profile of the woman in white.
Just one profile was enough to make them lose themselves out of fright. Knees going soft, a series of plops rang out, and they knelt on the floor with ash-white expressions. They could not figure out why the Creed Head had now appeared at Fu Wanqing’s side, nor why they looked to be interacting on very good terms.
“This has to be a fake! It’s this slut Fu Wanqing using someone to confuse us!” Hu Qing was the very first to get up from the ground, and she pressed on her chest as she spurted out a mouthful of fresh blood. With both new and old enmity, a moment of hot fury attacked her heart. She glared dead at Fu Wanqing, wanting to go kill her, but the most important thing she had to do in this instant was ponder over how to escape. She didn’t want to die in this place.
“Right! A fake!” Wine Sack and Rice Bag stood up and bellowed in unison with confidence once they heard Hu Qing’s shout. Yuan Jiulang felt for the gourd at his waist in want for a drink of wine, but he felt empty air. Remembering that it had been destroyed by an evil woman’s flying dart, he glared ferociously at Hu Qing. Delicate pastries were arranged on the table, and Fan Dai’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed down his saliva.
Fu Wanqing chuckled at Yu Shengyan, stroking the hair hanging down the side of her face. “Speak of a fake too much, and no one will actually believe it when the real comes.”
She slowly stood up. Those three instantly raised their guard, bodies as taut as bowstrings ready to fire their amassed power. Yet, she did not move towards them, as in her eyes, they simply didn’t exist. She just shifted a couple steps over to sit in Yu Shengyan’s arms.
She felt herself getting lazier and lazier; it was now autumn, and she refused to move anymore. Yu Shengyan was cold as a person, but her embrace was warm. If she had known that earlier, she would have switched the three-month time period to three, thirty years… though, would Yu Shengyan have accepted it like so?
Her mind was wandering — that much, anyone could tell. Yu Shengyan’s brows furrowed just a bit, while the other three suddenly made their moves. This was a good opportunity to snatch a human life, and they weren’t any sort of benevolent nobles, so taking advantage of someone’s peril was a good way to get the mission done.
Fu Wanqing being out of it was because she knew that Yu Shengyan wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
In addition, this three-person pincer attack wasn’t anything.
If they had elected to flee in the moment her mind had gone, it would have been a very easy thing to accomplish. Now that they had acted, however, before they could touch her, they witnessed the right hand of the one in white wave, fixing them immovably in place. This was jianghu’s ‘Parting Air to Hit Acupoints’; a lot of people could do it, but sect-unique variations in technique meant that a thousand different people did it a thousand different ways. Yu Shengyan’s way of hitting them was not something an ordinary person would come across.
The three’s hearts had now sunk to the bottom of a valley.
One Fu Wanqing was difficult to handle, to say nothing of the unfathomable woman next to her.
The Head of Jadeite Water Creed should have a command emblem representing her status. Fu Wanqing lowered her head and reached her hand into Yu Shengyan’s lapels; she didn’t find an emblem, but she did discover something intriguing. No wonder those terrible men that were fond of women, who were as softly aromatic as warm jade, included her in their fondness, too.
She was a bit reluctant to take back her hand that was scoping out Yu Shengyan’s chest, but, unfortunately, Yu Shengyan wasn’t allowing her to move about randomly anymore. With a light sigh, she came in close to her ear and asked, “Where’s your command emblem? The followers of your Creed are so narrow-minded. They have to be taught a lesson, right?”
Yu Shengyan lowered her brows, though her hand reached into Fu Wanqing’s lapels.
The latter was somewhat caught off guard, not understanding what she was about to do, and thought that she was going to imitate her. Right when she was about to open her mouth and say something, Yu Shengyan had already drawn back; in the center of her palm was a bamboo whistle. She put it up to her lips and blew out a very weird sound.
The complexions of the three morphed again.
Fu Wanqing seized the whistle from her, slanting her a look. “You gave this to me. Are you trying to take it back?” she pouted coquettishly.
When her voice had only just fallen, the three’s faces got all the harder to look at.
—
The translator says: Fu Wanqing Gets Away with Touching a Boob; More News at 10
That unassuming bamboo whistle was the token of Jadeite Water Creed’s Head, yet Yu Shengyan had so easily given it away.
A command emblem had been in the hands of her predecessors, but she disliked such conventional things. She rather seldomly showed up in the presence of the Creed crowd, and once she did, it signified that she had some important business that she was going to announce. Yuan Jiulang remembered that when he entered the Creed, he just so happened to witness the Head coming out of seclusion — that peerless magnificence made one afraid to look right at her. She gave only one order, and that was for the command emblem to be destroyed, as well as to make that whistle and its unique tone the token of the Head’s identity.
“We subordinates pay respect to the Creed Head!”
The three shouted in unison, but because their blocked acupoints made them still, they couldn’t bend their bodies in bows.
Offending the Head was a mortal crime in the Creed, but none of them wanted to die; they were brighter than those below them, after all, and upon seeing that there was no murderousness on her face, they didn’t bring that detail up. She brushed aside her sleeve and flicked her fingertips, sharply shooting out powerful true qi. The three’s bodies went stiff some, and then they right about collapsed onto the floor.
“You can all go,” she dully ordered, obstructing the words blocked up in their throats.
Swishing, cold wind poured in from the broken window.
Fu Wanqing shrunk in, her entire form nestled in Yu Shengyan’s arms like a lazy cat. Her expression was relaxed and content, with some frivolity and impishness also mixed in. She kissed Yu Shengyan’s face, her right hand slowly caressing from her ear to the corner of her lips. “I really like you,” she said, exhaling softly.
Yu Shengyan lowered her gaze. “There’s a desire to kill in your eyes,” she answered, indifferent.
“That doesn’t at all keep me from liking you, though,” Fu Wanqing objected. “You know, in my opinion, liking is a very troublesome thing. I like you, and that’s because you’re outstanding enough. I want to kill you, and that’s also because you’re outstanding enough. But if I killed you, I would definitely be very lonely in this stretch of jianghu.” She let out a despairing sigh; for herself, and for Yu Shengyan, too.
“You can’t kill me,” the other replied mildly.
Hearing that phrase, Fu Wanqing was somewhat annoyed, but she didn’t get mad, only able to give a huff. “Do you think my arts are inferior to yours? If I can’t kill you, then I’ll just die by your sword!”
“You can’t best me.” Yu Shengyan completely disregarded the look on her face, pausing before she spoke again. “I won’t kill you, either. That competition between us won’t ever even exist.”
“Yu Shengyan!” Fu Wanqing shouted angrily, hooking herself around the other woman’s neck. “Why are you so annoying?!”
Yu Shengyan didn’t answer, pulling Fu Wanqing’s hand down.
The candle flame flickered in the breeze, as if in the next instant, the room would be swallowed up by darkness.
Fu Wanqing didn’t want to release her, using her internal energy to shake Yu Shengyan’s hand off, then winding tightly around her again. She pressed in close to her face, using an incomparably charming voice to say, “I like you. Don’t you like me?”
She was an arrogant person, and her arrogance foreordained that hegemony would exist within her personality. ‘I like you, so you should like me’ was her line of thinking. Yu Shengyan was as quiet as ever, merely sweeping a light glance at her, and that indifferent, completely emotionless look in her eyes suddenly made Fu Wanqing ashamed and furious. She viciously bit her on the face like a volatile barbarian.
“You have to like me too,” she said. “Apart from me, no one in this world is capable of being worthy of you.”
“Mn,” Yu Shengyan answered calmly.
The stone on Fu Wanqing’s heart fell off, the thread of a carefree smile arising around her eyes.
A faint tooth imprint was left on Yu Shengyan’s porcelain-like cheek.
Fu Wanqing lightly licked the mark, but a flavor like this was addictive, and she felt like she couldn’t stop herself. Scenes of intimacy she had once seen in illustrated books rushed into her head all at once. Her lips slowly slipped down, wanting to lead Yu Shengyan into experiencing that alleged feeling of ecstasy together.
However, from being within Yu Shengyan’s icy pupils, Fu Wanqing shortly snapped out of it with a start.
Her heart felt like it had been abruptly grabbed. Even her breathing had gotten somewhat disordered.
She reached out to cover Yu Shengyan’s eyes.
“What are you doing?” the other questioned.
Fu Wanqing’s emotions calmed, and her lips curled into a smile. “Take a guess.” She didn’t start thinking about the meaning in Yu Shengyan’s words, and took back her hand.
The two looked nonchalant, as if nothing had happened beforehand.
It was simply that the phrase ‘I like you’ had taken root without them knowing it.
The most valueless things in the world were promises. At the time great calamity was imminent, mercilessly turning about-face was the instinct most people had.
Yet, the most valuable things were also promises, because one was worth a thousand gold.
Fu Wanqing was the former, while Yu Shengyan was the latter.
Lin’an Prefecture was lively. Yu Shengyan had believed that Fu Wanqing would go exploit that liveliness, but she actually didn’t.
Either she slept nesting in an inn, or she took skiffs to appreciate the novelty of West Lake, as if she could never get enough of seeing that picturesque landscape.
Fu Wanqing did not join the liveliness, because she knew that the liveliness would come to her door.
With a bang, the door that had been shut tight was rammed open. The room’s window had just been fixed, and now the door was off its frame. A trembling inn attendant shouted from behind, but when he saw the fiendish face of a jianghu-goer, he was scared into rolling back down the stairs.
It was a woman that had barged into the room, and one that Fu Wanqing was familiar with. As for the one following after her charge, that face was also somewhat familiar.
Yu Shengyan was seated cross-legged on a couch, holding a book in hand and flipping through it earnestly. She didn’t even raise her head upon hearing the commotion. Fu Wanqing laid back onto her lap, her hand curling up a lock of her hair and lazy eyes passing over the flock of men and women wearing homicidal auras on their faces.
“What about the treasure map? What all did Lu Qi say to you?!”
“Lady Fu, please save me!” No matter who they were, one would be incapable of imagining that the mouth that ear-piercing shriek came out of had previously produced a suave singing voice that was like the calling of birds.
It was Chun Fengxiao — a crying one.
She completely understood that all men were fickle. She had always considered that men that were in the midst of applauding her playing would take out their blades and want her life! Now, the only one that could save her was Fu Wanqing; only that languid-eyed, smiling woman!
“How could Lady Fu ever be willing to show up Lin’an Prefecture?! Keep dreaming! Miss Chun Fengxiao, if you tell the secret of the map, this humble one can treat you with warmness like I did before!”
“Who killed Lu Qi? What did he come to Spring Wind Grin to talk to you about? I don’t want the Guanyin, I just want to know who killed him!”
…
This ‘you say one word, I say one word’ resembled a lawless vegetable market. Fu Wanqing sat up straight, took the book out of Yu Shengyan’s hand, then shot her a sideways look. In that instant, the turn of her eyes held an overflowing seductiveness. Chun Fengxiao was entranced seeing it, and those uninvited guests were entranced seeing it, but Yu Shengyan slightly raised her brows, as if asking, What do you want to do, now?
Fu Wanqing smiled leisurely. “Yu Shengyan, tell me; should I save Chun Fengxiao, or no?”
“Yu Shengyan? The Demonic Creed Head, Yu Shengyan? Chun Fengxiao is someone from the Creed?” Someone shouted loudly at this moment, their voice booming in spite of their person aristocratically taking a step back.
Yu Shengyan was a beauty as equally famed as Fu Wanqing.
The latter was the burning sun, whilst the former was the frosty aura of the moon. One was raging fire, one was frigid snow.
They were the women the men of jianghu wanted to possess, but also the women those men dreaded the most. The swords they held were not for considering reason, but for murder.
If they couldn’t subdue the two women, then they could only die beneath their blades.
Chun Fengxiao despaired, because she saw the apathy in Yu Shengyan’s eyes. However, Fu Wanqing opened her mouth to say something, giving her hope. “Could Lu Qi have known the whereabouts of the jade Guanyin?” she asked her. “He was the one that made it. He would have reason to care when it went missing.”
Chun Fengxiao was a smart person, so she quickly understood what Fu Wanqing meant. Without delay, she nodded, answering, “He did! He did! He once mentioned it when he visited. It was precisely because of that issue that he was always moody and coming to Spring Wind Grin. It was entrusted to Soaring Might Protectancy, but unfortunately, those folk didn’t work according to standards; they said it was lost, when it was in fact pilfered. As for Chief Sentry Ma San, he had been someone in the know, but disappeared all of a sudden.”
It had only been one lost convoy. There was no need to banish someone that worked hard and had high merits. Was the Protectancy hiding a little something?
In an instant, a subsequent conjecture arose in everyone’s hearts.
“Rubbish!” A tender rebuke came from outside, and a silhouette in blue pierced through the crowd like lightning. The blue-clothed woman looked at Chun Fengxiao with disdain, huffing coldly. “Are the words of a baseborn woman believable?”
Chun Fengxiao’s face quickly turned wan.
Women in prostitution had always been looked down upon.
Fu Wanqing glanced at the blue-clothed one, a trace of chilliness floating in her eyes as she grinned. “You, Yang Wumin, were born of the Protectancy. Does that give you a noble status? Do you really believe that your good mother is Yang Yifei’s principal wife? Come to speak of it, you’re nothing more than a concubine-born daughter.”
That was the secret of the Yang family. Jianghu folk weren’t aware of it, and even Yang Wumin herself had almost forgotten about it. Her mother was a concubine — despite her aunt having long turned into a pile of withered bones, and despite her mother having always been called Madam, she was still a concubine that was not to be seen in public.
She hated Fu Wanqing, and when she revealed this fact to the world, she hated her even more.
Taking nothing else into consideration, she brought out her talon-hooks and rushed at her.
—
The translator says: You two need to get a room... oh, wait, people keep barging into it.
Yang Wumin’s figure froze. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to move, but because a sword suffused with cold light was against her neck.
The tears in Chun Fengxiao’s eyes had long since disappeared, a couple traces of blood remaining at the edge of her mouth. She had been lying prone on the floor, yet had gotten up from it in an instant, stabbing out with the flexible sword that had been wrapped around her waist this whole time.
She was a woman of martial arts; how else would she have been able to support Spring Wind Grin? How would she have been able to escape a group of big men surrounding her to go beg Fu Wanqing for help? It was simply that her arts weren’t considered brilliant, so she couldn’t save herself by breaking out of this predicament. However, at this moment, everything was sufficient, and her longsword was on the neck of the woman that had insulted her. Her expression was frosty, and it wasn’t the type of cold where one was detached from the world, but the sinister sort of chill akin to a viper flicking out its tongue.
“Chun Fengxiao!” Yang Wumin squeezed that name out from between her teeth, roaring angrily. “What hatred do you have for our Protectancy to slander us like this?!”
Chun Fengxiao smiled again at last, licking her lips. “Lu Qi was my confidante, and your lot killed him. You tell me if there’s animosity between us. Don’t act without thinking, Eldest Lady Yang, or else I, a baseborn woman, might inadvertently hurt you.”
“Fu Wanqing, did you incite this?” Yang Wumin abruptly asked, lifting her head to glare at her.
Fu Wanqing lightly huffed, smiling noncommittally. “What do I have to do with Chun Fengxiao? Why would she listen to what I say? Yang Wumin, ah, Yang Wumin. You’re still so stupid, just like that concubine mother of yours!”
Fu Hui cared about their relationship with the Protectancy, but she didn’t. She detested Yang Yifei the same way she did Fu Hui — those two sworn brothers were seriously the best, sending both her mother and aunt down to the Yellow Springs!
Upon thinking of some past events, Fu Wanqing’s features swiftly chilled, a bit of ferocity appearing in her eyes. Right when she was about to move, an arm suddenly looped around her waist, making her vicious aura vanish to imperceptibility all at once.
With a crisp bang, the longsword in Chun Fengxiao’s hand was struck down by somebody. Yang Wumin sighed in relief, promptly bending her body to hack a palm down at the other. However, this move of hers missed the mark, because Chun Fengxiao had since been hurriedly grabbed by the same someone, and darted to a place beyond the reach of the palmstrike’s area of effect. Right as Yang Wumin went to get mad, she looked up to see a familiar face.
Stamping her foot, she pouted brattily. “Brother! What are you doing?! This lowly woman wanted to kill me, yet you still save her? She’s precisely the one that slandered our Protectancy!”
The arrival was Yang Wugong. He walked along with a limp, resembling an elder with sluggish movements, but everyone had witnessed how swift his figure was just then. He had a tired smile on his haggard face, cupping his hands towards Fu Wanqing. “Qing… Lady Fu.”
He stopped that nearly-blurted appellation of his just in time. Lowering his head to look at his lame leg, a trace of sadness streaked across his features. “This matter is closely tied with the century-long reputation of our Protectancy. I’d like to take Miss Chun Fengxiao away.” That phrase went towards Fu Wanqing, as well as the Forest folks on scene.
“So, it’s you, the distinguished and elegant Young Master Yang. We have no objection to whoever you want to take away, but… the lady herself might not be willing to go with you.”
A peal of coquettish laughter came from behind the crowd. Right as the sound fell, the one in question had already pushed aside the crowd blocking the space before the door and come to its front. It was a woman wearing men’s clothes; she waved a gold-lined folding fan, her gaze scanning across everyone as she stopped in her tracks.
“Hermaphrodite!” Yang Wumin gave a light huff of disdain upon sighting her. In the next instant, someone swung a slap at her through the empty air, swelling her cheek up massively.
How could she ever just bear with mistreatment of this grade? After getting away from Yang Wugong, who was blocking her in front, she charged towards the woman to teach her a lesson. The cross-dresser still waved her fan, as unperturbed as ever, while two figures flashed out from behind her, holding Yang Wumin’s fierce maneuver back.
“Zhong Shiling! Zhong Shixiu!” Yang Wumin chided, halting in her steps. The twinkling of near-tears in her eyes, she turned to look Yang Wugong in the face, tone wronged. “Divine Mystery Sect’s people are here, too! What do you think the Zhong brothers mean by this, brother?”
“Presumably, this lady is the ‘Third Young Master’ that has been frequently spoken of in jianghu as of late. This humble one is Yang Wugong, and this is my little sister, Yang Wumin. If we have offended you in any way, please find it in you to forgive us.” He took a step forward, putting Yang Wumin behind him, and swept reproachful eyes over the slightly embarrassed cheeks of the Zhong brothers. The friendship of the Whitepath Alliance was not over just one or two years, as they could be considered as having grown to adulthood together; yet, because of one woman, the Protectancy had lost face. The Zhong brothers weren’t feeling great on the inside.
Third Young Master’s expression suddenly went cold. She closed her fan, rebuking, “You’re noisy!”
Yang Wugong laughed faintly, turning to the Zhong brothers to question them. “Big Brother Zhong, Second Brother Zhong, you know that this matter is of extraordinary importance, as well. Carelessly destroying the affections of several families is not a good thing at all. You all arriving here can’t be that you want to intervene, right?”
Zhong Shiling’s face went through bursts of red and white. He raised his head slightly, snorting. “Our Divine Mystery Sect came here for the same exact thing you did. Lady Fu thought to come for it, too. Our Whitepath Alliance doesn’t distinguish between ‘you’ or ‘I’. It can work together to settle disturbances, can’t it? Or are you saying that your Protectancy has an ulterior motive, and our Sect isn’t allowed to get involved in it?”
Yang Wumin had lesser self-restraint than her big brother. As soon as she heard that, she couldn’t sit still, jumping out from behind his back to curse loudly, “Bullshit! Stop your malicious slander, Zhong Shiling! Has your Sect and the Manor of Chivalry joined forces to bully us?!”
Zhong Shixiu’s face was unpleasant-looking. Clenching his fists, his line of sight lingered on Third Young Master and Fu Wanqing, and then he ultimately furrowed his brows. “So we’re always bullying you, given that our opinions differ?”
Fu Wanqing, who had been giggling at the side all this time, didn’t have these jianghu-goers in her sights, apparently only able to tolerate Yu Shengyan being so. She sat in her arms with a book held before her to read, lightly flipping the pages. Every once in a while, she would say some either cheerful or angry things into Yu Shengyan’s ear, manifesting the entirety of a woman’s charming posturing. The latter was taciturn the majority of the time, very seldom responding to her in a quiet voice. Their attitude of acting like no one else was around made one both angry and fearful.
Third Young Master shot a look at Fu Wanqing, pursed her lips, then turned to Chun Fengxiao. “Miss, who will you be going with?”
Chun Fengxiao was leaning against one of the pillars in the room, expression aloof and unaffected. “I, Chun Fengxiao, can only be in Spring Wind Grin. As for the Protectancy and Divine Mystery Sect, I won’t go to either!” she answered.
The other clapped, nodding. “Very good, very good. Young Master Yang, did you hear that? She won’t go to the Protectancy with you two.”
“She’s not going to your Sect, either!” Yang Wumin huffed coldly.
Third Young Master didn’t even give her a look out of the corner of her eye, merely smiling and saying, “Miss Chun Fengxiao, go on back to Spring Wind Grin. I’ll send someone to protect you so that certain people won’t have the chance to silence you.”
Yang Wugong finally couldn’t suppress his anger. Looking towards the Zhong brothers that were busily nodding along with Third Young Master’s words, he asked sternly, “Is your Sect going to oppose our Protectancy to the last over this? Are you two ignoring the friendship our families have had for years?”
Controlling his expression, Zhong Shiling shouted, “Third Young Master isn’t someone of our Sect.”
Zhong Shixiu nodded. “What does her wanting to protect Chun Fengxiao have to do with us?”
Yang Wumin laughed mockingly. “Since she has nothing to do with you, why are you both following her?”
The brothers laughed, saying at the exact same time: “We want to woo her.”
“…Don’t you admire Yu Shengyan?” Yang Wugong asked, slowly.
Their expressions went stiff. Subconsciously, they looked to where Fu Wanqing was. That woman bore a striking resemblance to Yu Shengyan, but she was actually someone of Fu Wanqing’s.
“Don’t you like Lady Fu, Yang Wugong?” Zhong Shixiu raged. “But didn’t you still end up visiting whorehouses?”
He regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Secretly sneaking a look at Fu Wanqing, he saw that she wasn’t paying attention, and let out a sigh of relief. Carefree as he was, Yang Wugong’s complexion became quite ashen, as if it could give off a puff of smoke.
One of the easiest channels for inciting someone’s fury was to expose their scars without cease. His scar was his leg; in other words, his marriage to Fu Wanqing. He had been just short of able to break off the arrogant woman of those days. What a shame that that had been ruined by a bout of heedless drunkenness.
Fu Wanqing spoke all of a sudden, her eyes yet remaining on the book. “Have you all made a decision? Caused enough of a fuss? Shouldn’t you be leaving?”
Silence shortly settled over the room, leaving only the rustling sound of turning pages.
Third Young Master was the first to take the lead, supporting Chun Fengxiao out of the room. The Zhong brothers followed her departure.
Fu Wanqing, Yu Shengyan — two women not to be provoked. The other Martial Forest brawlers saw that circumstances were off, so they shuffled their feet and left. Only Yang Wugong, caught up in his painful memories, couldn’t suppress the heat in his eyes. He almost wanted to take big strides over to Fu Wanqing, only to get called back to his senses by Yang Wumin’s loud shout.
“What are you still doing there, brother? Looking at that woman that’s an affront to public decency?”
Livid, Yang Wumin turned and jumped out the window, while Yang Wugong walked out of the room with a face full of misery.
Fu Wanqing flung the book away, looped around Yu Shengyan’s neck, and laughed aloud. “Public decency? She said we’re an affront to public decency.”
—
The translator says: You kind of are. PDA, gurl
With betrothal rites, one became a wife. With eloping, one became a concubine.
A Lady from an influential family secretly eloping with someone that already had a wife was a very contemptuous, immoral thing; however, because that someone was a major hero, no one in jianghu dared to say anything. This brief, insignificant moment in the family’s history slowly faded from peoples’ memories. A rumor could be ended in the span of a few months, let alone fifteen years, and apart from those involved in the event, nobody remembered it.
When Yang Wugong had his incident, someone had said a few things about how his character followed that of his old man’s; what was good on the ears was the bits where he was elegant and romantic, what was bad on them was that he was fickle and unfaithful. Because of those words, the beating Yang Yifei gave Yang Wugong was even harsher than usual, on account of the scar on his heart getting exposed.
Those speaking of the Protectancy’s Madam, Liu Wei, would probably praise her as having the air of a well-born woman that was worthy of being a pearl in the palm of Skytouch School’s old Leader. However, few people knew that she had long been expelled from the sect by the old Leader himself, starting from the very instant she eloped with Yang Yifei. It was not until the Leader’s death the she could return to the School once more and try to persuade her older brother, Liu Zhishang.
She was a concubine, despite having birthed a son for Yang Yifei prior to him bringing her back to the Protectancy, and despite having birthed him a daughter after entering the sect. Yang Yifei’s original wife had died, angered to death by them; that became a knot in his heart that couldn’t be undone, and because of this, he did not dare to, and could not, promote Liu Wei to the status of wife. In reality, the treatment she enjoyed was no different than that of a proper Madam, but Liu Wei still minded this status to an extreme degree.
Twenty years ago, the two most beautiful people in jianghu were the Dual Divas of Haze Island. Everyone wanted to get a peek at the pair of peerlessly gorgeous sisters, but they were plucked by brothers of the opposite sex, Fu Hui and Yang Yifei.
Pretty flowers not cherished were likely to wither.
Yang Yifei’s wife was Xie Huarong, a pretty and delicate woman, like an ill Xi Shi-type. Yang Yifei treasured and loved and respected her, but couldn’t be intimate with her; she was too fragile, making him afraid to touch her rashly. On account of this, the young Yang Yifei became immersed in loneliness, where Liu Wei was then like a fire intruding upon his line of sight.
How could Xie Huarong, who had been frail and bedridden to begin with, be able to endure such an upset?
She died, but Yang Yifei was still living peacefully.
The only one that was heartbroken about this was Xie Qiurong, who had married into the Manor of Chivalry.
Fu Hui and Yang Yifei were sworn brothers, so the Manor and Protectancy were also in alliance. How could the young Leader of the Whitepath Alliance allow his wife to destroy that relationship? Hence, he sent people to stop her. Who could have known that she would apparently go insane, risking injury to herself to kill her way to the Protectancy? Who could have known that Fu Hui’s enemies would ambush her halfway through the journey? With only one breath remaining, she arrived at the Protectancy, but before she could take even one look at her little sister, she fainted completely, and died.
If someone had granted her a helping hand, she wouldn’t have perished from her injuries.
If Fu Hui had rushed over to the Protectancy first thing, Xie Qiurong’s wounds could have been contained.
What was he doing right then, though? He was at Skytouch School, trying hard to convince the daughter of the School Leader to marry Yang Yifei. He was safeguarding his allegedly indestructible Whitepath Alliance.
The twin flowers of Haze Island withered like so, and were forgotten like so.
Fu Wanqing leaned against Yu Shengyan, her smile brimming with sorrow. Extracting herself from her memories, she held onto the other’s shoulders and whispered, “I’ve told you my past. What about yours?”
She knew that Yu Shengyan didn’t care about any of this stuff. She simply wanted to convey the message that everything she did was for a reason. The darkness hidden beneath the sun’s rays, the ten-plus years of never-erased hatred buried in the heart — those so-called heroes of righteousness were all one real-life joke. They were dissolute, they were lustful, and they had no idea how much blood was splattered beneath their hands!
“Me?” Yu Shengyan chuckled. “Apart from practicing martial arts, what else could there be?”
“Is there no one deserving of being remembered by you?” Fu Wanqing asked, curious.
The other was taken aback for a minute, her eyes becoming enigmatic in short order. Then, she sighed lightly. “Just take it as a proper exchange. There’s no harm in telling you.”
Seeing her expression, Fu Wanqing felt her heart skip a beat. She curled her lip and feigned indifference. “If it’s Lou Kexin, then you don’t need to say anything. I don’t like hearing her name.”
When would Fu Wanqing ever reveal an expression of fine weather on her face? This was a rare, one-time opportunity to scout out Yu Shengyan’s past, and maybe that would be the key to winning against her in the future. Fu Wanqing wasn’t an upright person; if she wanted to know this stuff later on, she wouldn’t have another story to exchange.
Thousand Jadeite Island was a small islet on the blue sea.
It was overgrown with vegetation, and rugged with odd rocks.
What made people most terrified, however, was the disciples of Jadeite Water Creed.
The name of the Demonic Creed had always been present. As for why it was called such, everyone in jianghu had long since forgotten, and only remembered them as villains that righteous warriors found difficult to tolerate, who had all escaped to Jadeite Water Creed to seek asylum.
“Why are you the Creed Head?” Fu Wanqing suddenly asked. “You don’t look like someone who could teach while doing unimportant stuff.”
“My father was the Creed Head.”
A faint voice rang in her ears, and in that instant, Fu Wanqing suddenly felt herself to be unbelievably stupid. Pursing her lips, she continued to ask, “You call Lou Kexin your senior sect-sister. Is she also a disciple of your father’s?”
“No.” Yu Shengyan lowered her head, voice suddenly a bit dismayed. “She’s my paternal aunt, Lou Lan’s adopted daughter. My aunt had taught me a few things, so I call her my sect-sister. Aunt Lou Lan was a good person, but, unfortunately, young women have unlucky fates. It was her that asked me to protect my sect-sister. I can’t let her die in your hands. She’s not a bad person, but she’s had a hard life, which makes her personality a bit different from regular peoples’. Back when she was set on dueling with you, I wasn’t able to stop her…”
Yu Shengyan rarely talked at length like this, truly immersed in her recollections. However, the more Fu Wanqing heard, the unhappier she got. Lou Kexin wasn’t a bad person? Yu Shengyan really did think too simply.
Holding back her anger, she listened to the end of Yu Shengyan’s words, then smiled. “I want to deal with Jadeite Water Creed. How could I not come to confront her? She hates me to the bone, so can I allow her, someone that wants to kill me at all times, to exist in this world? Swords alone dance in this jianghu. Peace is only temporary, just like between you and me; it looks harmonious, but there will inevitably come a day where it breaks. You’re a respectable, lovable, and admirable opponent; I can respect your wish, but she isn’t worthy of it.”
“Why are you wanting to compete with me?” Yu Shengyan asked, exasperated.
“Because you’re Yu Shengyan, and I’m Fu Wanqing!” A bundle of flames ignited in Fu Wanqing’s eyes.
She was a prideful person that cared to have the title of ‘number one’, wanting to seize it with her own hands.
Yu Shengyan… was like a barrier before her.
Everyone had an opponent they respected on the inside, and wanted to completely eliminate. Yu Shengyan happened to be hers.
“Without me, you would still be you. But, without you, how lonely would I be?” she sighed. “I’m itching to duel you, but lately, other ideas have slowly cropped up within me. I am also someone that takes promises seriously… three months. For these three months, I won’t act, and this’ll probably be the last time between us. What do you say, Yu Shengyan?”
Fu Wanqing wasn’t at peace with this. She discovered herself to have already placed Yu Shengyan in her heart, but what about Yu Shengyan herself?
Aloof to the mortal world, like no one existed in her eyes.
Leaving Yu Shengyan behind would simply be a moment of whimsy, but that instant of impulse brought too many shifts with it.
Between heroes, there was envy, and there was mutual appreciation.
The same went for beauties.
“I want to tear apart your indifference to the world. I want to pull you into an abyss of sin that you will never see the bottom of, making you taste the flavors of love and hate,” she said somewhat malevolently, though a trace of confusion arose within her; she knew what hate was, but… what exactly was love?
“Would you be willing to stay in that abyss, then?” Yu Shengyan gave a light smile, blinking at her. Her expression was no longer cold and indifferent, but rather a touch more facetious. Someone like this only now resembled a person of the human world — possessing of feelings, and not invariably frigid.
Fu Wanqing smiled, too, and shook her head. “No.”
A busted door, with furniture in disarray.
People passing by the front of the room would occasionally cast a quick glance inside, and then couldn’t move their feet after sighting the two beauties. One person, two people… more and more came, like a close-knit wall. They admired the prettiness, and longed to obtain that prettiness, but their abilities to detect danger caused them to stop in their tracks.
Contentedly basking under those either adoring or jealous gazes, Fu Wanqing’s lips swiped across Yu Shengyan’s face so that she could whisper a question into her ear. “Yu Shengyan, tell me; do you think it’s fine to be observed like this?”
Yu Shengyan leaned back a bit. “No.”
The other huffed. Getting off of the couch, she stepped on the floor with her bare feet, spread her arms out, spun in a circle, and brushed her sleeves away, smiling. “If you say it’s not, then it’s not. This round will all depend on you.”
Inside a residence on the western streets of Lin’an Prefecture, the sunshine was like fragmented gold, sprinkling down between the gaps in the leaves of a parasol tree.
Fu Wanqing reclined upon a rattan chair, eyes squinted in content.
She was the one that had bought this house. She had the silver in hand, but wasn’t someone fond of extravagance; were it not for Yu Shengyan’s love of quiet, she wouldn’t have had the thought to spend on this.
“Does this count as buying a beauty’s smile with a thousand gold?” she suddenly asked. Yu Shengyan’s line of sight only stayed on Fu Wanqing’s face for a short moment, then went back to her scroll.
The books she read were mixed. Whether it was the Four Books and Five Classics or vernacular stories about ideal pairs of lovers, she read them all with a calm mind, even having a serious face while flipping through spring palace books. Fu Wanqing had long known about this, but was still dissatisfied that this book could wrest away Yu Shengyan’s attention, huffing coldly.
Yu Shengyan’s eyes were laid upon the mosquito-sized characters, but her mind had long floated off to a world of fantasy. She had been looking at Fu Wanqing, but the more she looked, the more she realized that she couldn’t take her eyes away. That was an odd emotion. She instinctively wanted to evade it, relaxing her feelings in result.
“Yu Shengyan, only you could—“
Before Fu Wanqing could finish, a man in gray clothes lightly hurriedly into the courtyard. She frowned, sweeping a look at Yu Shengyan. The other sensed her state of mind and made to get up and leave, yet got her sleeve grabbed by surprise.
Shooting a glance at Fu Wanqing, she sat back down again.
“Eldest Lady, Uncle Rong had sent me here,” the man said respectfully.
“What’s up?” she asked casually, lips hooked up.
“The Manor Lord knows that you’re in Lin’an Prefecture. He says for you to not make a disturbance, and also that it would be best if you could help Young Master Yang of the Protectancy find the jade Guanyin.”
“He thinks that should have been our Manor’s. Looks like he’s lost faith in the Yang family over a treasure map.” She chuckled.
“This is a letter passed on from there.” The man in gray took a sealed letter out from his sleeve, presenting it before her deferentially.
She took it, opened the seal, and hurriedly glanced through it. A couple traces of appreciation appearing in her eyes, she nodded with a smile. “Very good. Go tell ‘Cosmos-Sleeve’ Gui Li that the time he’s needed has come, and have him go help me with something.”
The man explained a lot of other things to her, and her smile got all the wider.
This was ultimately a jianghu in disorder, and one worthy of her exploitation.
“Ah, right; Eldest Lady, Shen Shengyi of Skytouch School has also arrived in Lin’an,” he turned his head and said right when he was about to leave, suddenly remembering this fact.
Yu Shengyan could detect that when the name ‘Shen Shengyi’ was spoken aloud, Fu Wanqing’s breath slightly hitched.
Warm as jade, with clothes whiter than snow — the Junzi Sword, Shen Shengyi, was the most outstanding disciple of the Skytouch School’s younger generation. A year ago, he had dueled Fu Wanqing, and only lost by half a move. His reputation in jianghu was good, and just as Fu Wanqing was a ray of moonlight in the hearts of jianghu fighters, he was similarly a casanova that those in boudoirs sought out in their dreams. He was a refined and erudite man controlled in his propriety; it would be better to say he resembled a scholar rather than a swordsman.
He was also one of the few men in jianghu that Fu Wanqing wasn’t disgusted by.
Because of that, he was hated by most male warriors, especially Yang Wugong.
“Everyone’s here. How very lively. Looks like the Whitepath Alliance is taking this pretty seriously.” She watched a wutong leaf float off of a branch up above, smiling slightly. “Have you ever met Shen Shengyi before, Yu Shengyan? Such a glorious man. I’m afraid that when you see him, you’ll fall in love with him just like Yang Wumin did.”
She questioned her while grinning, resentful jealousy growing as madly in her heart as weeds. If Yu Shengyan nodded, she would very likely be unable to resist going and wringing her jade-like neck.
Yu Shengyan peered at her with narrowed eyes. “Do you like Shen Shengyi?” she asked. Her expression was distant. The wutong leaf, swaying with the fall wind, reflected in her eyes.
With a wave of her hand, Fu Wanqing crushed the leaf in her palm, a heap of fine powder trickling down through the cracks in her fingers to disperse in the head-on breeze. Her smile was soft, the look in her eyes enticing. She got in close to Yu Shengyan, lips hooking upwards. “Even though he’s marvelous, you are the only one under the whole sky capable of entering my sights. I said I like you, so I only like you! And you, Yu Shengyan, can only like me!”
“Hm,” the other lightly huffed.
Fu Wanqing nodded in content. “Do you know what was written in that letter?” she asked, but before Yu Shengyan could respond, she kept on talking. “Those people from your Black Mountain Hall are really beyond hope. They’ve already been captured by my subordinates. The silk shop that had originally been under your Creed’s name has also been taken over by us. If Lou Kexin got news of that, she’d definitely cuss out her underlings a hundred-thousand times.”
Jianghu warriors had to deal in business as well, else they wouldn’t have money to confidently squander. In the eyes of those in the Martial Forest, Jadeite Water Creed was a demonic, wayward path, but ordinary citizens didn’t care about all that; upon visiting a shop, all they looked at was what goods there were and how much they cost. There was no harm in the shop’s owner going through numerous changes of face, either, so long as the stuff was unchanged.
There were a lot of stores under the Creed’s name, which far surpassed some jianghu sects’ numbers. Some of them were seized by extraordinary means, while some were transferred to it above-board. The Creed was considered Demonic from peoples’ resentment of it, and among that were bits about them forcefully thieving things and bullying the benevolent; but where was that benevolence, really, in this crowd that lapped up the blood off the tips of their blades?
The benevolent people had long since transformed into a pile of yellowed dust.
Softly, like withered wutong leaves, they fell to the ground without a sound.
“Who’s there?!” she shouted loudly, launching fierce swordlight from her hand.
“Shen Shengyi.” A warm voice came from the gate of hanging flowers. A young gent wearing white robes was keeping a jade pin-crown on his head, which had nearly been sliced off by her sword qi.
Yu Shengyan gave him only a look, then took back her gaze.
Clean, serene, fresh, handsome, elegant.[2]
Meanwhile, Fu Wanqing wasn’t snapping out of looking at him.
“Last year, the jade Guanyin was lost. Suddenly, after Lu Qi gets murdered, it gets brought up anew, and also involved an alleged hidden treasure map. Warriors started scrambling like ducks in an instant, but this Shen doesn’t believe in it. I came to Lin’an firstly on Master’s orders, and secondly to win Lady Fu’s smile by finding the Guanyin, making it return to its rightful owner.”
She smiled gently, some cynicism appearing in her eyes. “Young Master Shen gets his info quickly and efficiently.”
Shen Shengyi apparently didn’t understand what she meant. He stood in place, cupped his hands, and shook his head with a smile. “This event has extended across jianghu, and the Whitepath Alliance has gotten roped into it. I can’t not know about it. Now, out of the five families of the Alliance, disciples from four have come. All that’s missing is Brother Guo Ju from Flying Falcon Fortress, and when the time comes, we’ll gather together to discuss.”
She smiled. “I don’t care about the Guanyin, I simply came here to view the scenery. Your Alliance hasn’t a thing to do with me. The Yang siblings are here and they’re pretty interested in this, so you may as well have a talk with them. Yang Wumin will probably be delighted. As for whether Yang Wugong will fight you or not, that’s up to the will of the gods.”
“It’s rare for us to get together all at once for a cup of tea, and the Longjing in Lin’an is actually—“
“Heh.” She laughed, turned, and faced him, a fingertip swiping across her red lips. “I only like drinking blood.”
His expression changed. He didn’t see her sword, but he could already sense its bloody light. He quickly retreated along the white wall that was overgrown with vines, sword qi brushing his cheeks, and then stood steady, wiping dust off his clothes with a smile. “Your arts have gotten even more profound, Eldest Lady. There’s likely not a quicker sword in the world.”
When he said this, his eyes landed upon the noiseless Yu Shengyan. He recognized the woman and was astounded on the inside, though his face retained the same calm as ever.
“Is Young Master Shen still not leaving? Do you see who this is next to me?” Fu Wanqing lightly smiled.
An icy smile, a smile hiding murder — like a sword, like a sabre.
He wasn’t someone that didn’t know when to draw back, but today, upon seeing the two women, his heart instead grew a rushing feeling of ill acceptance. Striding a step forward with a bright, kindly smile hung on his face, he asked, “If this Shen likes her, would you be willing to part with her, Lady Fu?”
“What are you taking her as? You should be asking her that.” She pouted at Yu Shengyan.
He took another step forward.
Fu Wanqing’s eyes were partly cold, but she didn’t take her sword out.
His eyes lingered on Yu Shengyan. Everyone claimed that Fu Wanqing had a maid that she had disguised as the Creed Head, but was that the truth? He was going to find out that answer today. Under the pressure of Fu Wanqing’s sharp gaze, he advanced step by step, then reached out, his hand nearly clasping Yu Shengyan’s shoulder. “Miss, I—“
He shut up, as he felt a forceful sword qi attacking his face, though he saw no sword, nor any swordlight — he saw a book coming at him. Its thin pages appeared to be folded together into sharp knives. Pushing off on his toes, the dexterity of his figure resembled a swallow’s, and in an instant, his sword was drawn in hand, stabbing out forty-nine times towards the book.
His blade was quick enough.
He landed on the ground. The destroyed bits of paper flew through the wind.
Frowning, he reached up and felt his face. It was full of fresh, red blood — at that very moment, the sting of having his skin sliced open came through. He had jabbed out forty-nine moves, and the scraps of paper had also left forty-nine small, fragmentary little wounds on his face, although they only looked like one single wound.
He left, heart heavy with depression.
Fu Wanqing laughed in delight. She embraced Yu Shengyan, whispering into her ear, “All men act one way: in their eyes, all women are commodities. No matter how well-groomed he is, there might be a beast hiding inside him.”
—
The translator says: All Men in Ancient China Sucked, and Not in a Good Way: The Novel
Fu Wanqing would never like Shen Shengyi, nor would she ever give Yu Shengyan the opportunity to like Shen Shengyi.
In her heart, Yu Shengyan was quite an important person.
An admirable person, an enviable person, a likeable person, a rival person.
Fu Wanqing had no friends. If she did, only Yu Shengyan would fit for it.
Descendants of the Whitepath Alliance’s five families had all arrived. In order to manifest the Martial Forest’s position and convince the populace, they often threw Forest contests, inviting a good deal of fighters to participate. When Fu Wanqing received an invite, it was already early October. Its large, gold-printed couple of characters were quite garish. Gently sliding her hand across the bright red invitation, her lips hooked up into a smile.
All participating in this contest were younger gens from every possible sect. It wasn’t that the older folks didn’t care for it, but rather that the Alliance had set its location at Spring Wind Grin this time around, and elders conceited about their dignity wouldn’t go there. Gossip swirled through the air of jianghu, so that was nothing more than dissolution waiting to happen.
“Those old farts in Yangzhou must be raving mad,” she said with a smile.
Yang Wugong would have never dared to choose somewhere like Spring Wind Grin, but the matter was beyond his control since Chun Fengxiao refused to leave it, and his people also had no way to snatch her away. Third Young Master had kept her word in sending folks to defend her, which the Zhong brothers had permitted her to do. Amongst the Alliance’s young talents, no one conformed to anybody.
Familiar places, familiar faces. The prostitutes had long since completely fled, and there were only a few jianghu warriors on scene. Fu Wanqing brought Yu Shengyan to sit in a very subdued spot, then gathered close to her ear and whispered, “See the looks on those fighters’ faces? They’re so disappointed. There’s no warm spring wind in Spring Wind Grin, only a blade-like chill.”
Clink, clink, clink — the sound of hanging pendants resonated.
Chun Fengxiao didn’t show up. Who did walk out was Third Young Master changed into women’s clothes, as well as the two brothers behind her that were ashen-faced as they glared at each other.
“Where’s Chun Fengxiao?”
“Where’s the jade Guanyin?”
The people sitting below all questioned impatiently.
“Get lost!” Zhong Shiling suddenly bellowed, but not at the other warriors. He was glaring viciously at Zhong Shixiu as if looking at his father-murdering enemy, his handsome face horrible due to the distortion. “I’m the eldest, I go first! It’ll be your turn after I get married!”
“Quit your bullshit! Zhong Shiling, don’t think that being older means anything!” Zhong Shixiu roared. “You’ve long been an eyesore to me! You always use your age to push me around! This time, no matter what, I won’t give in to you!”
“Then let’s just see which of us has the real skill here!” The two shouted in unison, gnashing their clacking teeth. “Whoever wins is the one that will marry Third Young Master!”
With those words said, they drew their weapons and fought without a care.
It was clamorous spectacle. People either sighed or laughed.
Two brothers, quarreling over a woman.
“See?” Fu Wanqing nabbed a handful of peanuts and tossed them into her mouth, chewing as she spoke. “They had gone on and on about admiring you, but now they’re fighting over some other woman. Their old man’s only just died, yet they’re not even seeking out their foe, wanting to slaughter each other instead. Is that ridiculous, or what?”
“Mn. It is.” Yu Shengyan replied indifferently, reaching out and moving the dish in front of Fu Wanqing away. The latter grabbed empty air, but then turned and clutched Yu Shengyan’s hand tightly.
“Come over here a little,” she whispered, “I’m kinda tired.”
Yu Shengyan peered at the sky outside, then compliantly sat beside Fu Wanqing, allowing her to pillow her head on her shoulder.
She didn’t think to care about this trivial Forest affair, to say nothing the fact that Fu Wanqing was the one actually invited for it.
Sabres thrown onto the ground, the Zhong brothers brawled into a big ball.
Yang Wugong shut his eyes in recuperation, while Shen Shengyi coolly observed the farce.
Third Young Master gave a captivating smile, the look extraordinarily similar to Fu Wanqing’s. “Have you two made enough of a racket? Don’t you feel ashamed?” she asked, gently.
The black-and-blue faced brothers froze, then promptly separated, doing backflips into their standing positions on either side of her, heads lowered. When Zhong Tian was alive, had they ever dared to be so unbridled? The men that had been so strictly controlled for over twenty years suddenly broke free of their binds, and their hearts were like feral horses shaking off their reins, never to come back.
A trace of revulsion flit past Shen Shengyi’s eyes. “Miss Young Master, where is Chun Fengxiao?” he asked mildly.
Third Young Master whirled around, walked up to the table edge across from Shen Shengyi, poured a cup of wine, and brought it to his lips herself, blinking at him with a smile. “Young Master Shen, are you calling me a Young Master, or a Miss?”
He took the offered cup right in front of the Zhong brothers’ man-eating gazes, downing it in one gulp. “Don’t they both apply to you? Is there a difference? The most important thing right now is to call Chun Fengxiao over.”
“Gu Yu.” She chuckled, then turned to Yang Wugong to pour another cup of wine. It really looked like she was the host of Spring Wind Grin, politely entertaining guests that harbored evil intentions.
‘Gu Yu’ happened to be her name.
Zhong Shiling had never asked, nor had Zhong Shixiu, yet she readily gave it to a young man whose face she had seen only once. The first couldn’t hold his anger, and the second couldn’t contain his emotions. They took single steps forward and abruptly slapped the table, rattling the cups until they almost fell over. At this moment, they were enemies turned to comrades, shouting out at the same time, “Shen, what’s the meaning of this? Do you want to contend with us brothers, too?”
They had injuries on their faces, so them putting on fearsome looks had no menacing power, instead looking pretty comical.
“Shen, you dared to drink that wine?” Zhong Shixiu yelled.
“It isn’t some sort of love potion. Why would I not dare to drink it?” Shen Shengyi chuckled. “Why so angry, Second Brother Zhong? You know that I have only Lady Fu in my mind. As for certain other people…”
He said nothing, shaking his head, then placed his sights on Fu Wanqing and Yu Shengyan in their remote corner. The light in his eyes darkened. He felt at the wounds on his face, losing his calm and easygoing demeanor for a split second.
Yang Wugong stood, his sword-like brows scrunched. He took Third Young Master’s wine, then merely placed it at random to the side, completely ignoring the profound and meaningful grin she had. Scanning his surroundings coldly, he shouted, “Enough.”
Seeing everyone’s gazes come to focus in on him, he covered his mouth and lightly coughed. “Where is Chun Fengxiao? What’s her location? I need some clarification in regards to the Protectancy’s name.”
“Why don’t you go seek out the escorter, Ma San?” Third Young Master asked frostily.
“Right, where is Ma San? He was the one escorting. How about him?”
His face turned green, lips pursed. “Ma San is dead,” he answered a long time following.
“I just saw him not too long ago. He was a bit dispirited, but why did he die?”
“How about we talk about why he got expelled, Young Master Yang? Wasn’t it over the Guanyin? He had toiled strenuously and achieved high merit in your Protectancy for many years, never once letting you down, and people on the road even gave him respect. Was the escort ‘robbed’ just because you claim it was?”
“It has to be someone from the Demonic Creed’s doing!” Yang Wumin stood up and shouted. “I saw the Head, Yu Shengyan! She had left Thousand Jadeite Island to come to our Jiangnan! There has to be some sort of conspiracy abound, because I saw her with Fu—“
“There’s no proof! Don’t randomly slander people! Miss Yu is not the kind of person you’ve described!” A young fighter now spoke up on Yu Shengyan’s behalf. “Creed people are the utmost of terrible, but none of this has anything to do with her! She’s… she’s a good person!”
“Yeah, yeah! How could she be equated with the devils of the Creed? Eldest Lady Yang, did you see her kill Ma San with your own eyes? Did you see her steal the Guanyin?”
“Y-You all…” She trembled with anger, the provocation causing her words to no longer pass through her brain first. Wholly disregarding her brother’s obstruction, she started yelling loudly. “Yu Shengyan is the Creed Head! Are your heads all gunked up with lard?! Uncle Zhong, leader of Divine Mystery Sect, has been murdered, and even Uncle Fu said that he had died beneath the Huaixiu sword! Who else in this world can wield that besides her? The proof exists, you’re all just acting like you don’t see it! How is she a good person?! Hah, maybe you all don’t know yet! She’s consorting with Fu Wanqing, who had been the original intended of the Guanyin! With all these secrets coming about all of a sudden, maybe she and the Creed have joined hands to frame our Protectancy!”
There was a crisp smack. Yang Wumin covered her face, face full of disbelief as she stared at her brother.
“Enough!” he scolded her. “The Manor has had good relations with us for generations! How can you speak so recklessly? This doesn’t have anything to do with her!”
“Brother, all you know how to do is protect that bitch!” she raged with hatred as she pointed at Fu Wanqing, who was resting against Yu Shengyan’s shoulder. “Then let her explain today, to the faces of so many jianghu folk, whether the woman in white next to her is Yu Shengyan herself!”
—
The translator says: This party blows.
Why would Fu Wanqing ever miss out on such an interesting spectacle? Her eyes were shut for a little rest, but the noise of her surroundings still fell upon her ears in its entirety. Yang Wumin’s loud shout caused all eyes to focus in on her, and her lips hooked up into a light smile.
Suddenly, a pressure came from her waist. She turned her head to gaze at Yu Shengyan’s slightly creased brow.
“Fu Wanqing! Do you dare to say before everyone here that that woman isn’t Yu Shengyan?!” Yang Wumin flipped around to land in front of Fu Wanqing, hate filling her stare.
“So what if she is? So what if she’s not?” Fu Wanqing answered casually, playing with her fingertips as she gave Yang Wumin a look out of her peripheral. “Did this pain in the ass Whitepath Alliance invite everyone over today just to have us watch the Zhong brothers fight over a woman? Or to see the Yang siblings posture themselves? The Guanyin was something of mine that your Protectancy lost. My old man doesn’t mind, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to look into it. I don’t care if there’s a treasure map, I just want the Guanyin. I dare ask you, Lady Yang of the Protectancy — where is it?”
Getting swept over by her smiling eyes, Yang Wumin abruptly felt a chill run through her heart. She took a step back. “H-How would I know?! Why aren’t you asking Yu Shengyan? Maybe it’s in the hands of her Creed people!”
“Yang Wumin, has Yang Yifei never taught you how to behave? All things need to have specific proof. You can’t just place everything on Jadeite Water Creed’s head. Since everyone’s already here, let me make this all clear.” She chuckled, stood up while supporting herself on Yu Shengyan’s shoulder, and covered her mouth as she yawned, looking extremely tired. “The Guanyin had been lost a year ago. Why was there no investigation made at the time? Your dear father had been willing to humble himself to my dad, but the Alliance Leader didn’t have any thoughts about it. You’ve found Ma San’s corpse, right? You all dare not say that you have, because your murderous Yang escorts killed him.”
“H-How did you…“ Yang Wumin choked her voice back in time, staring wide-eyed with a face full of incredulity. It was true that they had already found Ma San’s body, but they hadn’t killed him. Similarly, the assassinated craftsman Lu Qi’s corpse had been looked over, and the technique used looked like the work of their own disciples.;
“You want to ask me how I knew, right?” The other smirked. “Is this not just what your own people told me? Do you siblings still remember someone named ‘Cosmos Sleeve’ Gui Li?”
“Him?!” Yang Wugong’s face sunk, and he hobbled over to be in front of Fu Wanqing. “A scumbag that betrayed us isn’t to be trusted. We truly do not have the Guanyin. If one word of what I, Yang Wugong, have said is false, then may the Heavens strike me down with lightning!”
“Pledges are the most useless thing ever!” A delicate-sounding rebuke echoed; the pipa-holding Chun Fengxiao was late to the party. She leaned against the mahogany banister of the stairs, refusing to take another step. “People about to die will speak the truth, and everything points to you! The Guanyin had been in your hands; why would someone risk the danger of offending the Manor of Chivalry just to steal an ordinary jade piece? It had been a birthday gift for Lady Fu, and what’s hidden inside it is a treasure map that Alliance Leader Fu wanted! This here is a letter Lu Qi had left behind for me!”
She shook out her hand, and a display of messy handwriting appeared before everyone’s eyes.
As a craftsman, Lu Qi’s writing had been one of a kind in jianghu, made of hard and flowing-together strokes that couldn’t be replicated.
“Nonsense!” Yang Wumin leapt over to wrest the thing away from her. All of a sudden, two pale silhouettes flew down from the second floor railing, and she hastily drew back from their soaring palms. They were two masked women in pink clothing; no one was sure when they had come to hide upstairs, nor if they had been there the whole time.
“Miss Chun Fengxiao, could you pass the letter over so that this humble one can take a look?” Shen Shengyi asked mildly.
One pink-clothed woman presented the letter to him, then withdrew back to Chun Fengxiao’s side.
As his gazed slashed across the words, his complexion grew darker and darker. He shot a look at Yang Wugong. “Within this year, the Protectancy has expelled ‘Iron Arhat’ Ma San and ‘Cosmos Sleeve’ Gui Li; the former for losing one escort, and the latter for lecherously harassing Madam Yang. Both of them had been cast out only one month apart. When the Creed Head came to jianghu, Uncle Zhong was suddenly murdered, and Lu Qi died as well. These things appear to have no relation, but—“
“What ‘appear to’? They flat-out aren’t related.”
Shen Shengyi’s speech got interrupted by someone else. From the roofbeams dropped a young man in black who randomly threw chicken bones all about, then rubbed his greasy hand on Shen Shengyi’s shoulder, drawing his lips back in a grin. “I say, Brother Shen, your guess is a little lacking, there. Ma San lost cargo, Gui Li perved on a woman — what’s wrong with them getting expelled? As for the timing, it’s nothing more than a coincidence, eh? It’s possible that a Creed disciple did Uncle Zhong in, but Lu Qi? He was probably guilty of not keeping his mouth firmly shut and blurting out the secret of the Guanyin. Did it come out only after his death? No! Obviously, it got out first, and that’s why he died.”
The youth in black happened to be the Young Leader of Flying Falcon Fortress, Guo Ju.
Shen Shengyi wrinkled his brow as he stared at that filthy mitt. “What is your wise opinion, Brother Guo?” he questioned softly.
“Wise opinion? No such thing.” Guo Ju happily brought the wine up off the table for a sip, smacking his lips in content. “In fact, whether the Guanyin’s in the Protectancy’s hands or no, what does it have to do with us? That’s something that Lady Fu ought to worry about. It was her thing that got lost, after all.”
“This matter concerns the Protectancy’s reputation, as well as connections between the Whitepath Alliance,” Yang Wugong answered.
Guo Ju waved him off, huffing coldly. “You all still have a reputation, with your loose father and his loose son? How many of the Alliance’s shops have you lot lost in this year alone? No wonder that old man Yang Yifei never dared to compete with Fu Hui over the position of Leader. Don’t even talk about the Alliance with me, either. My pops says that it won’t hold up sooner or later!”
Shen Shengyi slapped the table. “Guo Ju, you’re too impetuous!” he bellowed.
Guo Ju cracked his mouth open, showing off his neat white teeth. “This Young Lord has always been impetuous. I’m not like you, Shen Shengyi, where I’m burdened with everything in order to hold my fame in jianghu.”
Third Young Master smiled carefreely. “Is this the very Whitepath Alliance that has joined forces to wipe out the Demonic Creed?”
He turned around to see her, and then his eyes shone. In a flash, he came up before her, laughing as he spoke. “A dogshit Alliance, really. It’s nothing more than a bit of a drag. All it knows is Jadeite Water Creed; why isn’t it turning its sights on the recently-emerged Limitless Palace, huh? How could this bunch of idiots have my intelligence? If the Alliance is capable of surviving this, then it’ll be my turn to be its Leader. Fu Hui had sat in that chair at a young age, too, y’know. By the way, pretty big sister, do you want to be my Alliance Madam?”
She snorted softly, gaze casting over to the Zhong brothers.
Guo Ju rolled his eyes, grinning. “Don’t look at those two wimps. They still have to keep up with their mourning period, there’s no way they can marry you.”
She nodded, smiling back. “Makes sense.”
Zhong Shixiu went and threw a palm at Guo Ju’s chest, gray-faced. The latter yelped in surprise, flying backwards like a dried-up leaf. Right as people believed that he would fall violently onto the floor, he did a twist, landing stably. “Lady Fu, look at what Zhong Shixiu did,” he called out in grievance. “Won’t you help your li’l bro?”
“Guo Ju!” Zhong Shixiu shouted angrily, clutching the hilt of his sabre and rushing forwards. Suddenly, a slender, pale hand was placed in front of him, shortly mesmerizing him. He tilted his head with a grin, wanting to touch it, only for a pow to ring out as someone slapped him on the face. He wasn’t even mad.
“Sister Fu, that sister next to you is really pretty. Can she be my Alliance Madam?” Guo Ju asked cheerfully, eyes entranced as he came up before Fu Wanqing.
She shook her head with a smile. “Nope.”
He covered his chest. “Do you hear the sound of my heart breaking, Sister Fu?” he exclaimed, completely over-the-top fashion.
“We aren’t here to watch this farce!” some of the jianghu fighters sitting below finally shouted, unable to take it anymore. In an instant, more echoes started sounding out.
“Who you lot want as wives is your business. We all want to know: does the Protectancy have the Guanyin? Is the treasure map monopolized by Lead Sentry Yang?”
“So what if it is? So what if it isn’t?” Yang Wumin was really getting annoyed. Nearly everyone’s eyes came in on her, which made her feel a little hesitant, but she persisted in speaking. “If we did have it, would any of you dare to come snatch it from us?”
Shen Shengyi sighed. “Wumin, you can’t just say whatever you want. Do you actually?”
Tears filled up her eyes. “Of course not,” she trembled out. “Don’t you believe us, Brother Shen?”
He shook his head, looking down. “I’m also hoping that you don’t. The enemy we face is great, and there can’t be any incidents happening in the internals of our Alliance.”
“Enough, enough. Look at all your faces! Allow me to inform you all of what I’ve scouted out,” Guo Ju’s strange call sounded out again. Putting his hands behind his back, he paced around the hall. “For this affair, we need to speak about the year prior. Lu Qi had always been one of the Manor’s, and was ordered to make an incomparably gorgeous jade Guanyin statuette for its Eldest Lady. The thing is worth as much as a city, but it’s still far inferior to the map hidden inside it. You’ve all heard of Haze Island, yes? There’s a lot of treasures hidden on it, natch, but its most treasured things had been the pearls in the Island Owner’s palm. Two heroes were selected for them, but they also wanted the treasure map, eh? The two of them conducted a little something in secret; but our Alliance Leader’s methods are terrifying, and his feet were quicker to get ahead. To keep this secret concealed, he used the cover of the Guanyin to make Lu Qi put the map inside it. Yang Yifei isn’t common goods, so he’s long found out—“
“Guo Ju, you liar!” Yang Wumin shouted admonishingly.
With a flick of his finger, he straight-up sealed her muting acupoint, huffing coldly. “I wasn’t done talking yet, what are you shouting for? What do you even know?”
“Dare we ask how you know this, Young Lord Guo?”
“Me?” He pointed at his own nose with a grin. “My dad told me, of course. Fu Hui and Yang Yifei thought they had hidden this perfectly, but is there any wall in the world that wind doesn’t pass through?”
“So, you’re saying that the Protectancy has the map?”
“Nay, nay. Right now, it’s…”
His voice abruptly came to halt.
Because a spinning, blood-red throwing knife had come whirling in, cutting off a strand of his hair.
—
The translator says: who's crashing this blow-y party now???
“Why don’t you go on, Young Lord Guo? This old man still wants to hear the story.” A bizarre cackle resounded throughout the hall, together with an eerie voice.
A thin elder in red buddhist robes walked in, looking all about with shifty eyes.
The hall quieted down in an instant, only the sound of breathing remaining.
That was because they already recognized him: the Blooddevil Sabre of the Western Regions, Zhang Zongyi.
He walked a crooked, nefarious path alone, unaffiliated with the Demonic Creed, yet ten times worse than its villains. A hundred times, even. He killed when he was happy, and killed when he wasn’t, too. He was a monk that drank no wine, but human blood, and ate no vegetables, but human flesh.
He narrowed his eyes, grinning evilly. “Back during Haze Island’s son-in-law selection, I had also gone to join in the fun, but didn’t expect that two young brats would beat me to it. Those pretty sisters really had been seldom-seen beauties of the world. The treasure trove and rare books of the Island’s Master are all what people of jianghu yearn for day and night. The women were had, and the precious objects were also had — how could something so easy ever happen? Am I right, Young Lord Guo?”
Blanking his face, Guo Ju nodded. “That’s reasonable.”
Zhang Zongyi gave a sinister grin. “Those two punks had each given me a hit. Now, I’ve achieved remarkable feats, and have come to get revenge. I had heard that the Whitepath Alliance was convening for a contest, but I didn’t expect that there would only be a group of kids!” He licked his lips here. “This isn’t bad, though. The taste of young folk is always better than old bones!”
Expression suddenly twisting, he extended a shriveled palm and sucked Yang Wumin over.
A bizarre smell bubbled forth. She got strangled by the neck, eyes illuminated with tears. “Fu Wanqing is more beautiful than her mother!” she struggled out with effort.
Long before Zhang Zongyi had come through the door, Fu Wanqing had heightened her alert, hand already on her sword. When she heard Yang Wumin’s statement, her face cooled down, and she blocked Yu Shengyan’s countenance, shooting out cyan light with a swoosh. “Blooddevil Sabre?” she asked, unworried. “How about letting me experience the master moves of a senior, then?”
Fu Wanqing didn’t want to rescue Yang Wumin at all, even wanting to strike her dead, but Zhang Zongyi’s depraved gaze had already landed on her, unfortunately. The Blooddevil Sabre would need to see blood before it withdrew, and she could feel her own boil.
The thin man was an expert hand from the Western Regions. The disciples of every sect in jianghu had their own sneaky tricks, but they were ultimately inferior to those in the West.
Man or woman, young or old, pretty or ugly… none of that mattered anymore. All that fell upon her eyes was a sabre — a very thin, very quick sabre — while she herself was a sword — an even lighter, even quicker sword. In the span of a breath, she had turned into a band of swordlight, fighting together with him.
Those of low courage and humble martial arts had long since slipped away.
Yang Wumin had fallen onto the ground, feeling her neck as she panted loudly.
Yang Wugong was leaning against the table, ready to act.
Shen Shengyi leisurely picked up his cup and took a sip of warmed wine.
The Zhong brothers were gazing in infatuation at Third Young Master, who brushed her sleeves out. Gaze colliding with the two women in pink around Chun Fengxiao, her worry vanished in a flash.
Guo Ju was nervous, roughly leaving a pair of palmprints behind on the table. He stared hard at the completely indifferent-looking Yu Shengyan, some traces of entreaty in his eyes.
The red light from the sabre intersected with, then separated from the cyan shadow of the sword. A figure whirled out of the overlapping images.
Fu Wanqing coughed lightly while covering her lips, and Zhang Zongyi faced the sky to laugh maniacally.
Long sword shaking, Fu Wanqing once again turned into swordlight to attack him, and a bit of rosiness flushed his face that was as gray and withered as a dead tree. Surrounding tables were jolted to pieces, the remnant wood particles getting swept up by a hurricane to become a small maelstrom in the hall. The one that tumbled to the ground this time around was him, but she didn’t seem to be much better off, either.
Yang Wuming glared unwaveringly at Fu Wanqing, whose self-protecting true qi had been broken up. With a swipe of her right hand, a collection of starry lights shot out towards the latter.
Yu Shengyan’s eyes suddenly sharpened. All that was seen was a white image flashing past along with a series of clinks, and then those life-seeking throwing darts were all struck back, slashing open Yang Wumin’s skin and sticking all over her body. Yu Shengyan gave her a cold glare, then turned to get the weak Fu Wanqing.
Propping himself back up into a stand, Zhang Zongyi laughed loudly. “Very good! Very good!”
His sabre was saturated with a layer of bewitching, blood-reeking red light.
“Yu Shengyan, draw your sword!” Fu Wanqing berated.
The other paid no mind to her shout, going to meet Zhang Zongyi’s sabre with her bare hands. Long hair fluttering all around because of the strong qi coming off of her, her momentum changed greatly. Fu Wanqing had already gotten pushed away by her and over to the dazed Guo Ju’s side. Her silhouette darting, she appeared to be calculating each and every move and style of Zhang Zongyi’s, directly forcing him to retreat step after step.
Guo Ju was dumbstruck as he watched, but Fu Wanqing’s heart was jumping in fear.
“If Shen Shengyi does anything, stop him,” she softly ordered into Guo Ju’s ear. Pushing off with both hands, she then used the opportune momentum to flit over to where the two were battling.
After her fight with Zhang Zongyi, she knew that there were altogether eight styles of the Blooddevil Sabre, each move more formidable than the last. Now, he was on the eighth.
As she watched them closely, she saw a slight smirk show up on Zhang Zongyi’s face, and her heart abruptly sank.
Following the eighth form, the sabre’s momentum didn’t slow in any way. Yu Shengyan was nearly pressed onto the floor, and if she still didn’t draw her sword, she would be getting cleaved in two by that covert blade!
Fu Wanqing took a deep breath, then flew diagonally towards Yu Shengyan, raising her sword and nearly exhausting all the true qi in her body.
The Blooddevil Sabre had no ninth form, only the eighth’s sabre within a sabre!
Yu Shengyan had a sudden moment of comprehension. Right when she intended to dodge the blade, Fu Wanqing stepped in and resolutely took over with a move.
Her sword broke into cun-sized pieces from the shock. Scarlet blood flowed down along the grotesque red sabre, trickling to the ground.
Yu Shengyan furrowed her brow, caught Fu Wanqing, then swept several zhang away.
The inside of Zhang Zongyi’s mouth was full of wildly surging blood. Wiping his lips off, he looked in disbelief at the sword tip that had nearly stuck through his heart, then sprang away and disappeared.
“What did you rush in for?” Yu Shengyan’s cold voice slightly wavered. Her hands that held Fu Wanqing shook, as well.
“You’re awesome, Sister Yu!” Guo Ju flipped and landed before Fu Wanqing, but with one look at the wound on her shoulder, his expression swiftly changed, and he reached out to seal her major acupoints. “The Blooddevil Sabre is poisoned!” he shouted in alarm.
Yu Shengyan’s expression changed, too.
“Miss Yu, there’s an empty room upstairs! Bring her there, quick!” Third Young Master rushed over, voice panicked. “Liu Hong, go get—“
“No need!” Yu Shengyan cut her off. She picked Fu Wanqing up, then leapt a few times up the railings to the second floor.
“Yu Shengyan! Creed Head Yu Shengyan!” Yang Wuming shouted loudly, the look in her eyes like she was about to go and tear her apart.
“Shut up! What kind of woman gave birth to a daughter like you?!” Guo Ju bellowed, clenching his fists. He itched to go and throw a slap at her face.
The door to the room shutting tightly, Yu Shengyan’s face was as cold as frost.
Fu Wanqing leaned against the bed, grinning with narrowed eyes.
With the wound on her right shoulder, the clothes on her upper body got unfeelingly peeled away by Yu Shengyan.
The other looked at her heaving chest, then focused her gaze on the wound.
“Are you going to use your hand strength to help me suck out the poison? What if there’s some left over?” Fu Wanqing questioned with a grin, one of her fingertips placed in her own mouth.
Yu Shengyan gave her a look. “What would be done, then?” she asked mildly.
Fu Wanqing didn’t answer, only getting up into a slight sit on the bed, extending her arms to loop around Yu Shengyan’s neck. The slight bit of movement, however, pulled at her wound, causing her to let out a muffled grunt.
Yu Shengyan knelt beside her on the bed. Bracing her arms on either side, she swept over the messy-clothed Fu Wanqing, and the spring palace book the latter had tricked her into reading suddenly echoed in her head. In a split second, her eyes went foggy.
Sweeping her own fallen hair away, she slowly got in close to the wound on the other’s shoulder, placed her lips lightly on the bare skin, then sucked the poisoned blood out.
Fu Wanqing tilted her head back, pressing her shoulder in closer to her lips, either chuckling or groaning. Her hooded, limpid gaze held a myriad of sensualities.
Yu Shengyan wiped the blood off of her lips, not parting from Fu Wanqing’s body at all. “How’s that?” she gently asked.
Yu Shengyan’s misted eyes resembled the river fog of early winter, and the blurred drizzle of spring’s arrival.
She bent down and kissed Fu Wanqing’s delicate collarbone, both sucking and biting.
Fu Wanqing felt like her soul was going to be hooked out. She embraced Yu Shengyan, smiling brilliantly and openly.
Yu Shengyan’s hand slipped into Fu Wanqing’s lapels, stroking across her brocade-esque skin. Her fingers jumped like she was plucking the strings of a qin. Fu Wanqing grinned, a bit of tears flashing in her eyes, and called her name out lowly.
Yu Shengyan sighed lightly, took back her misbehaving hand, then fixed Fu Wanqing’s lapels.
Plain white silk was wrapped across the wound, layer by layer.
“You shouldn’t have stabbed out with that sword,” Yu Shengyan said placidly.
Fu Wanqing’s face curved up as she chuckled. “It broke. Shouldn’t you pay me back?”
The sword Fu Wanqing wanted was the one called Huaixiu.
Burning gaze landing upon Yu Shengyan’s face, a lazy, charming smile hung on her lips, the scarlet atop them that was akin to flying red clouds still not waned. The air fermented with faint seduction, just as ever. The pads of her fingers swiped across that white silk to ultimately stop somewhat on her collarbone. “Are you paying me back, or not?” she asked again, like a spoiled little girl.
A strong and complicated emotion brewed in Yu Shengyan’s inky eyes, like a jar of aged and inexhaustible flavors therein. Withdrawing from Fu Wanqing’s side, her line of sight fell to a celadon vase placed on the small nearby sidetable.
“Huaixiu won’t be given to you,” she said mildly, tone normal. How could she not understand the woman’s thoughts?
That was the answer the other had expected, as well. She didn’t continue to nag about it, only covering her mouth as she yawned. “I’m sleepy. Come over here, sit and keep watch for me. You’re not allowed to leave.”
Yu Shengyan obediently sat on the edge of the couch. Her sleeve got pressed down on by Fu Wanqing, as if she was afraid of her running off all of a sudden.
The latter genuinely was tired. That slice, and that scene, could make even the strongest person unable to keep from being so. The red clouds on her face that had emerged due to passion retreated bit by bit, revealing a haggard, pale visage as white as paper. Yu Shengyan tilted her head to view her sleeping look, her line of sight gradually shifting to her collarbone, where red marks were dotted like blooming plum blossoms. Finger gently lifting a strand of Fu Wanqing’s hair, then slowly caressing her bloodless lips, Yu Shengyan softly sighed. The frost amidst her features melted, becoming gentle as water.
The door was lightly pushed open.
She recovered her indifferent look once more.
Third Young Master’s eyes were filled with concern. “How is she?” she asked, voice hushed.
Yu Shengyan swept her a look, then lowered her eyes. “Fine,” she answered mildly.
Her thoughts weren’t spoken of.
Third Young Master felt herself to be an uninvited guest that had barged into someone else’s home. She glanced at Fu Wanqing, who was sleeping peacefully on the couch, then left the room quietly.
Even after experiencing this turbulence, people still came and went in a steady flow at Spring Wind Grin.
Jianghu folk had abruptly woken up to realize that the place’s support was far more formidable than it had been at the start. Who was Third Young Master? Some people replied that she was of Divine Mystery Sect, but that was wrong; the two young heads of the Sect were nothing more than tagalongs at her side. No one knew where she had come from, but what they did know was that her skill was outstanding, as after that giant mess at Zhong Tian’s funereal hall, she had trained his two degenerate sons into obedience.
All who came to Spring Wind Grin were people who lived it up.
Were there any rich descendants of jianghu that didn’t?
Fu Wanqing was one such jianghu-goer that lived it up. Her attendants weren’t with her, but she did have Yu Shengyan beside her. Since she had been injured, she had all the more reason to order the latter around. She anticipated that she would be willing for it, as she also knew that she was softhearted.
“Do you know Third Young Master?” Yu Shengyan suddenly questioned, peeling off an orange segment and then passing it to the one skewed into a recline on a rattan chair.
The other narrowed her eyes, sucking on the tips of Yu Shengyan’s fingers. She shook her head, but nodded afterwards.
“Mn…” Yu Shengyan huffed slightly.
Sweet flavor sliding down her throat, Fu Wanqing licked at her fingers.
Yu Shengyan took them back, somewhat absent-minded.
“You don’t understand,” the other sat back up and said, “but I know you won’t ask again.”
Yu Shengyan looked down, then peeled off another segment of orange. Lifting her eyes to see Fu Wanqing’s expression that carried some expectation and excitement, she suddenly got a different thought, took her extended hand back, and put the piece into her own mouth. Hopes betrayed, Fu Wanqing huffed unhappily, then threw herself at Yu Shengyan to bite on the piece.
One piece of orange, two people sharing it.
The arm wrapped around her waist seemed to burn her skin through her clothes.
Fu Wanqing sucked on Yu Shengyan’s lips.
This feeling of ecstasy was addictive, and even the former couldn’t help but wallow in it.
“Absolutely shameless! Completely indecent!” a high-pitched rebuke came from the scenic wall.
Fu Wanqing knit her brows up tight, directly swiping a handful of silver needles at the source of the sound. She sat upon Yu Shengyan’s lap, glaring at the Yang siblings that had burst into their courtyard with chilling eyes.
Yang Wugong pulled his little sister behind him, face full of deep helplessness and exhaustion. He hadn’t wanted to bring Yang Wumin along, but he had no way to commandeer her. He lowered his head to view his own right leg, concealing the deep emotions and longing in his heart. “Lady Fu, regardless of whether you believe it or not, the jade Guanyin isn’t in our Protectancy. I will certainly track down its whereabouts, offer it up to you, and return our innocence. I don’t wish for this incident to cause damage in the friendship between the Protectancy and Manor.”
Fu Hui had only this one daughter, so she was destined to inherit the Manor later. In truth, what Guo Ju had said wasn’t wrong in the least; the Whitepath Alliance could still be maintained in the hands of the senior generation, but in the hands of this generation, it was likely finished.
Fu Wanqing gave him an irreverent look. “Is this idea Yang Yifei’s, or yours, Yang Wugong? The friendship between my old man and him is still around, but as for the Manor and Protectancy… heh. They’ll cease to exist soon, so what friendship is there to talk about?”
“What do you mean?”
She smiled lazily. “Do you not know? Jadeite Water Creed is already prepared to contend with the Alliance. Zhong Tian is dead, so Divine Mystery Sect is finished for real. Will the next one be your Protectancy, or Skytouch School? Who knows?”
“Fu Wanqing, you’re the Eldest Lady of the Manor, yet you’re colluding with the Creed Head, bringing disaster to your fellows of the Martial Forest!” Yang Wumin exclaimed.
Fu Wanqing laughed coldly. “Why do you think it’s me, and not the Manor itself that’s colluding with the Creed? My old man’s been discontent with Yang Yifei for a long time, and adding that in with the Guanyin thing… tsk, tsk. One could say that he’s going to give him a bad end.”
Yang Wugong stared at her in shock, practically unable to tell what was true and false within her words. “Lady Fu, you—“
She licked her lips, sight falling to the orange on the table, and recited one verse: “Blades from Bing as sharp as water, salt from Wu as white as snow. Tender hands break apart a fresh peach.”[3] The words lingered on her lips without cease, like she had some regrets.
Yu Shengyan reached out to take the orange. “Are you also thinking about ‘brocade curtains beginning to warm, the censer’s fragrance constant, as we sit across and tune our shengs’?”
Fu Wanqing rested against her shoulder, laugh muffled. “We didn’t pick a good time; we should’ve peeled a fresh orange at night. That way, I could’ve leaned into your ear and said, ‘your horse will slip on the thick frost, so you should stay and rest.’”
They laughed together with bowed heads, not paying a bit of attention to their visitors.
Yang Wumin was so mad, her charming face flushed thoroughly red. She twisted her head away, unable to keep watching this scene. Yang Wugong, however, had eyes packed with sadness; he stared at Fu Wanqing in hesitation, heart like dead ashes.
“Brother, do you still not get it? Fu Wanqing doesn’t like men at all! She’s willingly lowered herself to hang around that Creed fiend! Let’s go! We’ll go back to Yangzhou and ask dad about the Guanyin. As for the Manor, if they really want to contend with us, that won’t be good.”
Yang Wugong shook his head, smiling miserably. “Uncle Fu would never.”
Because Fu Wanqing was Fu Wanqing, nothing she did was representative of the Manor.
“You know about the affairs of jianghu like the back of your hand,” Yu Shengyan stated calmly. “Or… perhaps many of those affairs came out of your schemes?”
The other grinned, proud. “Correct.”
“What are you wanting to do?”
Fu Wanqing didn’t answer, affixing her gaze to her indifferent face, and placed her hand over her heart.
It was like one-hundred-thousand stars were gathered in Yu Shengyan’s eyes, deep and remote, causing one to uncontrollably pry into them.
“You’ve started caring about me.” Fu Wanqing licked the corner of her lips, smiling like a sly fox.
“Mn.” The other nodded.
“What is it that I’m wanting to do?” She cast her gaze to the distant sky, expression shortly becoming blank, and disappointed. Sighing, she continued on. “I want revenge. I want to capsize jianghu. I’m not a good person, Yu Shengyan. Compared to you, I’m much more suitable for being the Creed Head.”
“Mn.”
“Can you say anything other than ‘mn?” Her anger had surged up in a split second, then vanished once she said that. She brushed Yu Shengyan’s hair away, cupped her face, and smiled. “Your Creed’s followers probably already know that you’re beside me, but they still need to go about contending with the Alliance. Tell me, does your good sect-sister have extreme confidence in your skill, or does she want you dead with help from me?”
Yu Shengyan shot her a look. “I don’t know.”
“You’re in jianghu, so don’t even think about being distant from it,” Fu Wanqing answered, shaking her head. “The authenticity inside a human heart is the most difficult to guess at. Perhaps, one day, I’ll renege on this, and take advantage of a time you’re unprepared to kill you.”
“You won’t.” Yu Shengyan’s expression and tone were quite certain.
“You’re wrong. I will.” Fu Wanqing leveled out a hand, then made a slicing gesture across her neck. “Should I discover that anything has gone out of my control, I’ll erase that unstable element. Your existence, Yu Shengyan, has started to trouble me. You’ve shaken me up. I really, really want to kill you, but I’m also too reluctant to. Tell me, what should I do?”
Her murderousness had been aroused yet again.
Yu Shengyan casually peeled an orange, as if she couldn’t sense it at all.
—
The translator says: ysy doesn't believe her shit for a second.
Swordlight pressed in on the lashes.
A small orange piece flew up into the air.
Yu Shengyan still did not lift her head.
Fu Wanqing used her ice-cold fingers to pick up her chin, then ferried the sweet juice into her mouth. Her merciless, punishment-like bite made Yu Shengyan’s lip break open, the taste of blood permeating both of their mouths.
“I want to kill you,” Fu Wanqing coldly said, suddenly raising her head.
“I know,” Yu Shenyan said mildly, nodding.
The callous Fu Wanqing — the unruly, spoiled Fu Wanqing — was a Fu Wanqing that could not contend with Yu Shengyan.
She turned and left, leaving her alone to feel at the wound on her lips.
The orange set aside had since been sliced all across into several bits by sword qi. Its juice flowed out slowly, dripping onto the yellowed dirt of the courtyard.
Spring Wind Grin hadn’t been this unfrequented in a long time, nor as lively.
Those veiled, pink-clothed women could be run into at every corner, apparently.
The place also had Chun Fengxiao, Fu Wanqing, and Yu Shengyan, making it a man’s biggest dream.
Yet, they were too afraid to.
Pleasure-seeking, opening jars to drink themselves drunk; yet their intoxication was without wine.
There was a man in a short, blue-sleeved coat. His hair was as messy as wild weeds, and beneath his dark stubble was quite the attractive face. Wine gourd in hand, he burped, then began to dance about with drunken fists in the main hall. They swiped perilously past visiting jianghu warriors and incurred countless angry looks, but he didn’t care at all. He laughed and shouted loudly, looking like a lunatic.
One drunk-eyed, dim-witted, sloppy man wasn’t enough; there was also one drunk-eyed, dim-witted Guo Ju.
He stepped on a small table, raising his wine cup high as he shouted. “That which has abandoned me, the day of yesterday cannot stay; that which befuddles my heart, the day of today is more worrisome… more worrisome!”[4]
After convening for that so-called assembly, several Young Masters of the Whitepath Alliance had busily departed this romantic locale. Only Guo Ju still steeped in this land of tenderness.
The sloppy man side-eyed Guo Ju, guffawing. “What can a kid even be worried about? Actually, what’s a girlie like you doing at Spring Wind Grin?”
“‘Girlie’?!” Guo Ju bellowed, glaring wide with his drink-reddened eyes. “This Young Lord is the Junior Fortress Lord of Flying Falcon Fortress! Go fuck yourself with that!”
“Flying Falcon Fortress? The Whitepath Alliance?” The man’s face swiftly changed. He sprinted up to Guo Ju, snatched him by the lapels, and bellowed. “You’re from the Alliance?”
“The Alliance can go fuck itself, too! I am who I am! I don’t have anything to do with that bunch of oldies!” Guo Ju chopped the man away. Gaze going up the stairs, a trace of joy swept past his face, and then he no longer cared about the sloppy guy anymore, directly leaping a couple steps up while beaming. “Sister Fu, Sister Yu! You’re both here, but where is that pretty sister? How come I haven’t seen her today? Could it be that she’s left with those two good-for-nothings, Zhong Shixiu and Zhong Shiling?”
Fu Wanqing shook her head with a giggle. She pointed at the man that was seated downstairs and drinking his fill. “Little brother, do you know who that drunken man is below?”
Guo Ju blinked, then shook his head, too. “I don’t. Who is he, Sister Fu?”
“Ah, there’s nothing under this sky that he can’t steal. He could even pull the old Emperor’s belt off of him.” She huffed gently, grinning. “Thankfully, the Yang siblings aren’t around, else he wouldn’t have had the good fortune to return to Yangzhou.”
“Cosmos Sleeve!” A glint flashed across Guo Ju’s eyes as he laughed. “He’s Gui Li, who got expelled from the Protectancy! No wonder he hates the Alliance so much. How does he have the guts to show up in front of people, though? I’ve heard it said that Yang Yifei not only ousted him, but even put a hunt-to-kill order on him, saying that Protectancy disciples were to just kill him on sight, no discussion. I’ve also heard people say that he harassed Yang Yifei’s little concubine, Sister Fu; is that the truth?”
“The false cannot be real, and the real cannot be false.” She snorted lightly. “He’s right down there. Why don’t you go ask him yourself?”
Sticking his tongue out, he pulled a face. “Forget it, then, I’ll just go look for that pretty big sister. I’m going to protect her from those groping paws of the Zhong brothers.” While he spoke, his entire person leaned backwards, then fell straight down from the railing. Right as people were thinking that he would crash tragically, his body twisted like a fish swimming in water, and he rushed out the main gate.
Yu Shengyan glanced at him. “Beautiful lightness skill,” she said mildly.
“In Flying Falcon Fortress, falcons fear streams. All of the Guo’s youngers are…“ Halfway through her words, Fu Wanqing suddenly cut herself off with a huff, turning her head away and paying no more mind to Yu Shengyan.
She was angry; at Yu Shengyan, but herself more so.
Yu Shengyan didn’t understand her, but Lady Fu had always done as she pleased, so she didn’t bother with her.
The crazed-looking man downstairs was drinking merrily and singing loudly.
The singing stopped, but his voice wasn’t yet gone.
“I, ‘Cosmos Sleeve’ Gui Li, have never had a time where I’ve made a mistake, and I only steal stuff, not women. That old fellow, Yang Yifei, wanted me dead, and he didn’t even hesitate to sacrifice his own wife’s honor for it! Hilarious! Just hilarious!” Gui Li tilted his head back and laughed. “Liu Wei is a pretty lady, but not a tempting one. She’s far and away behind Xie Huarong! Yang Yifei is really blind, and nothing less than that! Now he’s taken fancy to yet another family’s young lady, and is hiding her away in a Yangzhou residence!
“It can be said that I’m a villain, a thief that would steal even chickens, but it can’t be said that I’ve stolen women! I can’t take that bull! Is leaving the Protectancy that big of a deal? Hahaha… but, if I haven’t ever taken something of the Yang’s, then I wouldn’t be me!” That indignant voice echoing the hall suddenly became tender and loving. “The Guanyin… it’s a beautiful statuette, but it can’t compare to the real one, in the end. The Dual Divas of Haze Island… have actually turned into the biggest pity of jianghu! Yang Yifei should die, and so should Fu Hui!”
“He’s drunk.” Fu Wanqing snorted, smiling casually.
“In whose image is the Guanyin molded after?” Yu Shengyan questioned again after nodding in seeming thought.
“It’s—“ Right as the other went to answer, she suddenly remembered that she was still angry, She gave Yu Shengyan a vicious glare, but didn’t say anything like ‘I want to kill you’ or whatever.
The other cooled her expression. “You’re angry,” she stated calmly.
“I’m not. Is there anything in this world that’s worth my anger?” Fu Wanqing forced out a smile. Yu Shengyan’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, but was nevertheless harsh on her eyes.
Fu Wanqing grabbed Yu Shengyan’s hand, then pulled her next to her, their bodies stuck extremely close together. The former bit the latter on her lobe. “It was a gift for me. Who do you think it was modeled after? I’m not about to wait around for you to guess, so I’ll just tell it to you; it’s in my mother’s image. The words of ‘jade Guanyin’ apply to only her and my aunt, since they looked really similar on account of being sisters with the same parents. It’s just a shame that they were defiled by two old bastards,” she jeered in a hushed voice, as if overlooking the fact that one of those ‘old bastards’ was her father.
The words of a drunkard weren’t necessarily true, but they were likely to be taken seriously.
Within Spring Wind Grin, fights were not dared to be done out in the open, but that wasn’t for certain outside of it. Fu Wanqing followed the drunk Gui Li out of the main gate of the place. In an instant, around a dozen people jumped out, tightly hemming in on him — their target was none other than the Guanyin.
They didn’t dare to take it from the Protectancy, but things were different, now. News had already circulated that said that the item had been stolen by this man.
Most street hoodlums were thieves, but thievery wasn’t just for them. Gui Li was a very skilled man that had once been the topmost divine of thieves in jianghu, and that was saying nothing of the fact that very few could match up against his footwork; he was regarded as resolute in arts, and a top-notch expert. Yang Yifei had appreciated him previously, disregarding his notoriety to summon him into the Protectancy, but this time around, it was that same man that was forcing him step-by-step into a dead end.
Yu Shengyan shot a look at the group fighting. “Gui Li is one of yours.”
Fu Wanqing nodded.
A portion of fictitious rumors had wildly grown in the hearts of those in jianghu, like a wildfire spreading on grasslands.
Fu Wanqing had no intention to make a move. She believed in Gui Li’s skills, because if he didn’t even have the ability to get away from a mob, he would be useless. Her heart was ice-cold; even when facing her subordinates, no compassion would be ignited within her whatsoever. In that aspect, she was quite similar to Yu Shengyan.
Within this lonesome alleyway, three more waves of breath appeared, as did three gray-faced, white-clothed men.
Yu Shengyan’s face twisted a bit, which Fu Wanqing caught immediately.
The breathing of the three was restrained, no murderous aura about them, but there was dense hostility amidst their features.
“The Creed’s White Mountain Hall,” Fu Wanqing murmured, a brilliance streaking past her eyes. Curving up a playful smile, she fixed her gaze upon Yu Shengyan.
“Creed Head. Please return to the Creed with your subordinates,” the thin man walking in the middle said respectfully, cupping his hands.
“No,” she answered coldly.
The man showed a look of awkwardness. “This is what Right Protector Lou wants. She said to have you stop searching for that medicine, as she only wants to get you back to the hall.”
“No,” she repeated, wrinkling her brows.
—
The translator says: "you have to go back to work" "no"
There was no need to speak of a mere few White Mountain Hall followers; even if Lou Kexin had come in person, she wouldn’t be able to make Yu Shengyan go.
Fu Wanqing had confidence that she wouldn’t leave her side, just as she had confidence that Gui Li wouldn’t be defeated. In the alley up ahead, a couple jianghu fighters had fallen to the ground, clutching their wounds and crying out in pain. Howling wind poured into the narrow lane, and then Gui Li was like a gust of wind, disappearing before everyone’s eyes.
When Fu Wanqing retracted her gaze, she happened to meet with Yu Shengyan’s insipid eyes. She stared, enchanted, at that white, slender hand that was reaching towards her own, and it wasn’t until a chill came from her fingertips that she returned from that hazy state. The other led her along by it, and she curved her lips into a smile.
Upon brushing past those three in white that were just like stone statues, a burst of sharp points shot out from Fu Wanqing’s left hand.
Once out of the tiny alley, a bright, wide mainstreet was before the eyes. The autumn wind was desolate, towing parasol trees that lined the road down until they dipped into the gutters. Yu Shengyan had no idea where Fu Wanqing wanted to go, simply leading her along aimlessly with the flow of the surging crowd.
The rich scent of wine came from a small tavern facing the street. Fu Wanqing shot a glance at its burning, fiery oven, then suddenly stopped in her tracks. “I want to drink,” she stated.
“Okay,” Yu Shengyan nodded.
Within this tiny tavern, there were no other workers aside from a nodding-off shopkeeper and a boyservant simultaneously stoking the fire and delivering wine. There were scant scattered people within, no more than about six. The tables and stools looked to have not been wiped down in a long time, as they were all splattered with oil and wine stains. Shouting clamor was on the street, while in the tavern, a big man in short clothes wielding a sabre was on a stool, panting heavily and shouting for more wine.
Fall breezes were cold, but the strong liquor entering the throat was burning.
Fu Wanqing narrowed her eyes in content. “Those White Hall three won’t be going back,” she said slowly.
Yu Shengyan nodded tranquilly, the wine before her giving off steam.
“Among the four Halls of Jadeite Water Creed, followers of the White one have the most skill, and Black comes in second. Lou Kexin sent White ones, so it looks like she really wants you back. I’m pretty curious; the Right Protector has set into motion, but why is the Left Protector still nowhere to be seen?”
“I don’t know,” Yu Shengyan answered, shaking her head. She really didn’t; even in the capacity as the Creed’s Head, she had never cared about what went on in it. Regardless of whether someone subordinate to her did good or evil things, it had not a thing to do with her. Indulging or restricting her underlings was a right the two Protectors had to consider between themselves.
“Oh?” Fu Wanqing grinned, bowing her head to look at the wine cup. “Is the wine no good?”
Her countenance, corrupted by the smell of alcohol, was akin to a gorgeous peach blossom. Her eyes were focusing on Yu Shengyan, hand caressing the edge of her cup. That concentrated look in her eyes, those soft, slow movements — they were like feathers tickling Yu Shengyan’s heart. She was distracted, until the hot wine scalded her throat.
With a bang, the cup crashed upon the tabletop, the wine spilling in its entirety onto her white clothes.
“Your thoughts are elsewhere.” Fu Wanqing wiped off the wine stains on Yu Shengyan’s lips, gaze landing upon her slightly dampened clothes. She sighed with full regret. “I had been wanting to watch a show here, but your clothes are dirty, so let’s go back.”
Saying so, she stood, leaving a few copper coins on the table.
They had been pleased and relaxed when coming, yet anxious and hurried when leaving.
She took Yu Shengyan by the hand, ferrying them with light footwork like a gust of wind dashing past.
The water vapor was dense. The figure concealed behind the screen was svelte and alluring.
As her clothes slid off her shoulder, her hands lightly covered that wound not yet healed. There came the rustle of shedding clothes, then the crashing of splashing water. Yu Shengyan was seated at a table, back facing the screen, and had not flipped the page of the book she held in a long time. Perhaps the residual scent of spirits on her clothes had made her slightly tipsy from the fragrance, as her limpid eyes suddenly became misty.
“Come here, Yu Shengyan.” Fu Wanqing’s voice was accompanied by a chuckle.
Putting down her book, she turned to see those red clothes hanging on the screen, and then didn’t move until the call came again. The landscape screen had been dampened by the water splashing out of the wooden tub; long, inky hair hung before the chest, and half of a round, faintly-wounded shoulder was visible. Within the dense vapor, Yu Shengyan paused in her tracks, emitting a soft sound. “Hm?”
“Get over here.” The other’s voice changed, seeming to carry some pain.
“Is it your wound?” Yu Shengyan frowned, and with one step, she was already at the side of the tub, getting directly splashed with hot water — plus further enticing, springly feelings. Water running down her face, she couldn’t move another step, nor could she move her sight away, simply gazing remotely at Fu Wanqing.
The latter appeared to be completely indifferent to her gaze, eyes brimming with an attractive smile. She arranged her fallen hair back behind her, reached out, and pulled the dazed Yu Shengyan into the tub.
Water sprayed all about, and the originally small tub shortly became cramped. Thin clothes were soaked through, only half-hiding skin. Creasing her brow, Yu Shengyan looked at Fu Wanqing’s shoulder.
The drop of blood that fell into the tub was like a roving burst of light smoke.
“Your wound split open.” “Your clothes got soaked.”
They spoke at almost the same time.
Narrowing her eyes, Fu Wanqing didn’t care about her own injury in the slightest, and simply appreciated the view that had appeared before her in a good mood. This had been an inexplicable impulse, an event beyond planning, but she wasn’t upset; she was thinking that this was beautiful, even. Her left hand reached out, slowly sliding down from Yu Shengyan’s neckline, along her wet clothes, and immersing bit by bit into the water.
The other grabbed that hand, a slight flush to her face. “What are you doing?” she quietly rebuked.
‘Bashful.’ Fu Wanqing suddenly brought that word to mind, but… she was Yu Shengyan. How could that fit her?
That faintly-angry glare was extraordinarily pretty, in Fu Wanqing’s view. I’m liking you more and more, Yu Shengyan, she softly sighed to herself, meeting her stare with a coquettish smile. “Since your clothes are wet, you may as well take them off.”
Yu Shengyan’s body jolted slightly, eyes immediately looking like they were smudged with dense ink, and then she hooked her lips into a faint smile. Fu Wanqing had been staring at her with no good intent, but this time, she was the one whose attention was absorbed by that smile.
The other stood up slowly, droplets dripping down into the tub with ripple after ripple spreading out. Her beaded flower was taken off, then held between her teeth as her fingers combed through her damp black hair. Once released, it all cascaded down like a waterfall.
Clothes sliding off of her smooth and sleek right shoulder, half of her chest was barely visible.
White and red clothes overlapped atop the screen, swayed by a strand of autumn wind that blew in from a crack in the window.
Smoke from the censer floated and curled along with the light muslin curtain.
The water in the tub rose again when Yu Shengyan entered. As the soft waves caressed her shivering skin, Fu Wanqing shuddered. “You…”
Her heart was evidently filled with a million different words, but she couldn’t speak even one of them out right now. She lowered her head to stare at the floating ripples, but while shifting her legs, she abruptly trembled when she bumped into Yu Shengyan.
The word ‘withdraw’ had never been present in Fu Wanqing’s life, but right now, she suddenly wanted to escape. Others would all say that she was enticing, but how could she compare to Yu Shengyan? When the other woman smiled, she felt like she had lost her soul. It was crowded and hot, a sort of heat that came from the depths of the soul; Fu Wanqing wanted to get out of the tub, but Yu Shengyan held her down by the shoulder.
Not a bit of lust tinted her eyes, which were as calm as a pool of deep, clear water, yet even that look made Fu Wanqing burn up from head to toe.
“I—“ she started, only to get cut off.
“Don’t move around wildly. Your shoulder is still injured.”
Caught off guard, Fu Wanqing glanced at her own shoulder.
It sure was. It seemed like a long couple of months had passed since that day, but in reality, it had only been a few days. She was a human being of a flesh and blood body; even with the best of medicines, wounds wouldn’t heal up immediately. “You want…” She felt the tip of her own tongue tremble, making the voice that came out also tremble.
“Is this not what you told me to do?” Yu Shengyan asked mildly, hand sliding down from Fu Wanqing’s shoulder to her chest. She took the towel that had been placed onto the side of the tub, then gently wiped her skin that was hidden in the water. Her expression didn’t contain a thread of profanity, making a slight bit of shame arise in Fu Wanqing’s heart.
The latter was quiet. Her calling Yu Shengyan over had only been because she had wanted to mess with her, yet she was ultimately the one that had fallen into a predicament. Her skin was heated, as if she had downed a few jars of strong wine. Some tears seeped out of her eyes, and she bit down hard on her lower lip, disallowing even the slightest whimper from flowing out of her mouth. Her hand was pressed upon the edge of the tub, which had to clench.
“Your wound’s cracked open. Don’t use strength in your right hand,” Yu Shengyan’s placid voice sounded out, her hand gently patting Fu Wanqing on the butt.
As soon as Fu Wanqing’s right hand loosened up, her toes promptly scrunched up. She stared at Yu Shengyan in amazement, shame and grievances intertwining; the all-powerful Lady Fu actually exhibited a look of wanting to cry.
With a crash, she dashed out of the tub, swept up the separate clean clothes hung on the screen, and quickly fled.
Yu Shengyan dipped her head, lips curved into a faint smile.
Heart in a messy knot, Fu Wanqing bundled herself up tightly in the embroidered blanket.
A long time seemed to pass, but it also seemed like one second.
A burst of footsteps sounded out, and she shot out a stealthy look. After the bath, Yu Shengyan’s visage was like a peach blossom, passion kept within the stars of her pupils. The damp hair draped over her shoulders instantly soaked her thin clothes once again.
“Don’t come near me,” Fu Wanqing commanded.
“Okay.” Yu Shengyan gave a light nod.
The fifteenth of October was yet another full moon evening.
Some folks were drunk and entranced. Some found it hard to sleep the whole night.
The gossip in jianghu teahouses was nothing more than who had offended which expert, thus falling into a tragic end where their body and head were in different places, or who had believed themselves to have exceptional skills and then got thrown off a cliff by someone in a duel… every once in a while, they would also mention Jadeite Water Creed and the up-and-coming Limitless Palace, either shaking their heads or sighing.
However, today’s teahouse information was a little different.
Almost everyone in jianghu was talking about the jade Guanyin.
Since it wasn’t in the Protectancy’s hands, but those of a lone wanderer, that meant that as long as one had the ability, they would be able to take it for themself. Some people only wanted the Guanyin, while others wanted both that and Fu Wanqing, daydreaming about sending it back to the Manor of Chivalry, then thereby obtaining the good graces of its Lord and Eldest Lady. If one could become the Manor’s son-in-law, they would have everything: fame, a beauty, and the riches buried on Haze Island.
The formerly-deserted little tavern suddenly became lively.
The waiter let the stoked stove burn as he animatedly recounted his experience from yesterday. He pointed at a splotch of bloodstains in front of the store, hands dancing. “There! Right there! When Gui Li’s sword was about to stick through Eldest Master Yang’s heart, darts suddenly flew straight out to force him into a retreat. Look at our stove — there’s still some throwing knives stuck in it! Eldest Yang wasn’t Gui Li’s match, and even with the addition of the Eldest Lady, they couldn’t beat him. There was a noisy scuffle, and Gui Li didn’t get the least bit injured, even managing to steal the Lady’s belt.”
“Speak clearer, you brat. Don’t talk about one thing and then another. What happened to Gui Li? Who threw the darts?”
“Shopkeep, bring the wine over now! This guy’s been waiting for a long time! Don’t you lot want to do business?!”
“Very well, good customer, please wait a moment! I’ll bring it over!” the waiter yelled, though his legs didn’t move a bit. He tilted his head to look at the jianghu-goers that wanted to hear the tale, smiling wordlessly.
“You stupid punk!” someone cheerfully chided, taking a wine jar and bringing it to the one that wanted it.
“Hehe.” The waiter raised a brow, then continued on. “Guess who came? Our famous Junzi Sword, the elegant, graceful, and pretty man, Hero Shen. He readily brought up his sword to confront Gui Li head-on. Their swordlights were like swimming dragons tangling together; it was really too marvelous! Hero Shen shouted out, then struck out with eighty-one thrusts at once, where his sword was shifting about between both hands, forcing Gui Li to retreat! Ah, but Master Yang ended up being far too unkind, as he took advantage of when the two were fighting to suddenly stick his sword into Gui Li’s chest! See, see — that bloodstain was left by Gui Li!
“Master Yang yelled out, ‘Deviant! You’ve ruined our Protectancy’s name! You hold the Guanyin, but why did you say that you pilfered it from us?’
“Gui Li was a stout man, covering his wound without collapsing, and laughed coldly. ‘Don’t push everything onto me! Yang Yifei dares to act, but doesn’t dare to own up!’
“‘Don’t speak drivel!’ said Master Yang, ‘I’ll kill you!’
“But then, Hero Shen opened his mouth. ‘Hero Gui, regardless of wherever you got the Guanyin from, this Shen wants to ask that you return it to Lady Fu.’
“Gui Li shifted his eyes all about. He probably knew that he wasn’t going to escape from their clutches easily, and let out a loud laugh. ‘You want the Guanyin? I’ll give it to you!’… and he suddenly threw a jade statuette out. Hehe, I’ve never seen such a looker in all my life. It was even prettier than Lady Fu! Seeing such a beauty really leaves me with no regrets…”
“What about the Guanyin? Did it land in Shen Shengyi’s hands?” someone questioned.
“Nope. After Gui Li threw it, he seized the time when the other two were zipping out to escape. Hero Shen was as quick as lightning, but someone else was even faster! A green ribbon suddenly spun out in midair, then wrapped the Guanyin up, snatching it away! Following that, Hero Shen and Master Yang gave chase. I don’t know anything else.”
“Ooo…”
A peal of chatter happened, and then the crowd slowly dispersed.
“Who was that woman? Who was she?!” Yang Wugong had been caressing the parasol tree in the courtyard when he suddenly chopped out with a palm. Withered yellow leaves fluttered down, swishing. His brows tightly knit, he turned to Shen Shengyi, who was sitting to the side and casually sipping fragrant tea. “She was versed in Skytouch School’s Crazed Steps,” he snarled.
Shen Shengyi laughed coldly, setting down his cup. “You think she’s one of ours, Brother Yang? Why aren’t you bringing up that she’s versed in your Protectancy’s Life-Seeking Darts? Or Mount Hua Sect’s Stair-Cloud Leap? Or the Manor of Chivalry’s Ode to Chivalry?”
Yang Wumin angrily glanced at her big brother, then spoke up softly. “Brothers, don’t fight. I believe that she’s not from any of our sects, but from the Demonic Creed.”
“If the Guanyin’s fallen into a Creedperson’s hands, how would it be retrieved?”
“If it’s in their hands, isn’t it in Fu Wanqing’s hands, then? You’ve seen her hanging with the Creed Head all day long, not having a bit of propriety! She simply has no shame at all!” she derided.
“Yu Shengyan is Yu Shengyan. Jadeite Water Creed is just that,” he answered languidly.
“She’s the Creed’s Head!” She slapped the stone table, furious. “Everyone in jianghu has been confounded by two pretty women! It’s practically absurd!”
“Wumin, calm down,” Yang Wugong said unhappily. “Yangzhou sent word back. My dad said that there never was a treasure map, all of this has been a fabrication, and the object was never secretly hidden inside our Protectancy. It had indeed been snatched last year.”
“No map? Did Elder Fu say that?” Shen Shengyi asked.
“Yes,” the other nodded.
“Who’s actually lying, here?” Shen Shengyi chuckled. “No matter who it is, jianghu’s already been drawn into this game. We’ve seen the Guanyin with our own eyes, so the most important thing right now is to steal it back. As for the map, if it truly does exist, ordinary people presumably won’t be able to figure it out. It had been a work by Lu Qi, after all.”
Yang Wugong creased his brow. “Are we going to barge into Jadeite Water Creed?”
Shen Shengyi grinned and shook his head, restraining the thread of cynicism amidst his features. “Not us, but the Whitepath Alliance is. The righteous warriors of jianghu have wanted to eliminate the Creed for a long, long time.”
“Heh. Do you lot know who the woman that got the Guanyin was?” A laugh full of mockery sounded out.
Red clothes, like fire. White clothes, like snow.
Yang Wumin stood up and shouted, “Fu Wanqing, who let you in here?!”
Yang Wugong pulled her by the sleeve. “Don’t be rude,” he whispered.
Shen Shengyi got up, then cupped his hands towards Fu Wanqing with a smile. “News in jianghu spreads quickly, for it to alert even you, Lady Fu. As for the Guanyin, do you also have an idea?”
Fu Wanqing lightly huffed. “It was my old man that asked me to find it. It has a very special meaning to our Manor, after all.”
“Didn’t you say earlier that Uncle Fu wasn’t looking into this?” Yang Wumin sneered.
“That was nothing more than a lie for some idiots.” Fu Wanqing grinned in derision, seeing Yang Wumin’s face pale. She stroked her own hair. “How about you hurry on back to Yangzhou? Your mother might not even be able to maintain her position as a concubine.”
“Fu Wanqing, you—“ She pointed at her, eyes filled with an anger that flourished with the desire to fight. Suddenly, her mouth hooked into a smile. Her anger seemed to disappear all at once. “This Wumin thanks you for your reminder, Lady Fu.”
A vicious glint suddenly arose in her pupils. By the time Yang Wugong detected them, the hidden weapons concealed at her fingertips had already been sent out.
Yu Shengyan’s emotions seldom stirred on account of strangers. She rarely liked people, and wouldn’t loathe them. In her eyes, outsiders were as plants in a courtyard, the only difference being that they could probably walk around.
Towards Yang Wumin, however, a hint of disgust showed on her face. She could have easily taken her life in Spring Wind Grin previously, but had stayed her hand.
People should not be injured rashly. The evil of murder should not be done at will.
She recited those words in her mind, yet she didn’t obey them.
Fu Wanqing didn’t avoid them, as if she were an ordinary person of no martial arts, while Yu Shengyan stepped forward. Those hidden weapons were shaken by her swelling true qi, after which they shot back at Yang Wumin, leaving several deep wounds on her face. The latter covered her face and shrieked; Yang Wugong was also filled with alarm.
Shen Shengyi shot her an indifferent look, then turned to Fu Wanqing. “Who is the one that stole it? She possesses the unique skills of various sects.”
Fu Wanqing smiled casually, focusing her gaze on Yu Shengyan. The latter creased her brow. “Yue Qingtan. She’s Yue Qingtan,” she whispered.
That woman was indeed a member of the Creed. She was formidable, but also didn’t belong to either the Left or Right Protectors.
She was the Master of Blue Mountain Hall, and also the only person in it. For that reason, jianghu folk only knew of the Four Halls, having never heard the Blue one’s name.
Where had she come from? When had she entered the Creed? Yu Shengyan had no idea. The young woman had already been staying there when her father was still the Head.
Jianghu-goers had no time to look into the Protectancy’s embezzlement. All they knew was that right now, the Guanyin was in the hands of a Demonic Creed disciple.
In the Yang’s opinion, that was great, because there was no need for people to point fingers at them with things like this. However, that didn’t mean that the matter had been forgotten by all.
Fu Wanqing was very lazily reclined on a wicker chair and basking in the sun. Meanwhile, Yu Shengyan held the same blue-covered book as ever.
“Jianghu folks are going to act against your Jadeite Water Creed. As its Head, do you really not have to go back and preside over things?”
Yu Shengyan glanced indifferently at her. “It isn’t jianghu, but you, Lady Fu.”
Fu Wanqing leaned to the side, then slapped the book out of the other’s hands, huffing in unhappiness. “Lady Fu? Why does that title seem to change its taste when coming out of your mouth? Don’t call me that. From now on, call me Wanqing. Or, if you want, either Wan’r or Qing’r would be fine.” Some evil delight appeared in her eyes. “What should I call you, then? Creed Head Yu? Yu’r? Yan’r?”
The woman looked at her, then picked up the book to cover her eyes with. “As you will.”
Fu Wanqing wouldn’t be calling her Yu’r or Yan’r, anyhow. After being silent for a long while, she chuckled, seized the book the other held, and tossed it far away. “Is looking at me a bad thing?”
Yu Shengyan rubbed the space between her brow, showing a bit of a helpless expression. “What are you actually trying to do?”
“Guess,” she answered leisurely, eyes turning. “The Creed was handed over to you by your father. Aren’t you concerned at all? Your Creed followers, don’t you care about their lives and deaths at all? With a Head like you, they might be disappointed.”
“Could I alter your schemes if I did care?” the other countered.
Fu Wanqing licked her lips, smiling lazily. “No. The Demonic Creed will vanish from jianghu, and that so-called Whitepath Alliance will also be broken up. I don’t like trivial jianghu stuff, but I’m very concerned about big jianghu stuff. Plus, I’m not afraid of you knowing my schemes. You don’t care about anything, anyways.”
“Do you think that everyone will be applauding from getting toyed with by you?” Yu Shengyan asked coldly, restraining her expression.
“No.” She shook her head and chuckled. “But, if the people I want to deal with get caught in the pitfall I’ve arranged, that’ll be enough. Fu Hui, Yang Yifei, hah… I sent a letter back to the Manor, letting the old man know that I had Lu Qi implant the treasure map into the Guanyin, which was an inheritance my mother left behind for me. He believed it. Since my mother knew of it, that meant that my aunt also could have possibly known of it, so Yang Yifei intercepting the Guanyin is a normal thing. I also told him that I was secretly searching for news all this year, and the reason that hadn’t been made public was because it was no longer in the Protectancy, but stolen away by Gui Li. Since I feared of people knowing the secret, I had always acted covertly.
“But, the Guanyin has now fallen into the hands of Yue Qingtan. Having the grandiose pretext of taking the map, those that flaunt themselves as righteous warriors will inevitably join hands to deal with the Creed. I don’t think Lou Kexin will be able to contend, with her abilities.”
Yu Shengyan huffed. “That’s a pretty good strategy.”
“Were the fighters of jianghu to really start collaborating, it wouldn’t be good. They’d have suspicions between each other and act alone due to fighting over the map, but with the Alliance still around, just the fame of Manor alone will make them cast aside their doubts for the time being to join up. The Manor of Chivalry has always been widely known for that word of ‘Chivalry’, but I want to destroy that word now.
“Jianghu people state that the Demonic Creed is no good, but they never bring you up, Yu Shengyan. That’s because they want you. Once something more important appears in their minds, you will no longer be the Goddess of Luo River to them, but change into a foe, a devil.”
“Do you want them to believe that the Manor and Creed are in collusion?” the other questioned mildly. “Are you waiting until both sides have suffered in the fight to eliminate them all in one swoop?”
Fu Wanqing shook her head, then nodded, smiling and saying no more.
This was someone complicated.
This was someone temperamental.
This was…
As she watched her, many descriptive phrases popped up in Yu Shengyan’s head.
Fu Wanqing… was like an intense flame. Wherever she walked, there would be a raging blaze alongside her.
Fire and frost were always incompatible.
Retracting her gaze, she lightly sighed on the inside, and blinked a bit. “There’s still two months. I won’t interfere with however you deal with the Creed, but I can’t idly stand by and watch you attack my sect-sister.”
That was a promise, and she refused to be someone that violated promises.
She had never cared about the lives of the Creed’s followers, nor had she ever cared about the Creed’s ability to exist in jianghu. She was Yu Shengyan, and only Yu Shengyan, just as Fu Wanqing was only Fu Wanqing.
“Yu Shengyan,” the other suddenly called out. She curbed the grin around her features, the playfulness and frivolity on her face vanishing. Her expression became a rarely-seen seriousness. “Yu Shengyan, am I important to you, or your promises?”
Yu Shengyan pursed her lips, shook her head, and didn’t answer.
Fu Wanqing gently smiled, giggling. “Were you to be tossed into the deep mountains again, I think that you wouldn’t be able to bear the loneliness. Your heart has fallen into the red dust of the mortal world, Yu Shengyan.”
The latter glanced at her, snorting lightly. “Has it?”
She stood, then stooped over a lethargic-looking Fu Wanqing. Her hand, caged by her sleeve, reached out like it was going to caress the latter’s face. She stared at her in earnest, eyes not shifting for one second.
Fu Wanqing didn’t understand her sudden bout of movements. Confused at first, she then slowly sank into her focused look. As she saw herself in Yu Shengyan’s eyes, she wondered how she must look in her heart.
Her eyes moved to the movement of Yu Shengyan’s left hand. Right when it was about to touch her face, her breath slightly hitched.
The other gently touched her hair, then entirely stepped back, brushing off her sleeves. Withered yellow leaves slowly fluttered down. “It’s a cold fall,” she said indifferently.
“You…” Fu Wanqing knit her brows, about to get up from the chair, but ultimately nestled back down. She laughed silently at first, after which her laughter got louder and louder, the corners of her mouth curving up higher and higher. She had no calculations or plots whatsoever, just a pure desire to laugh.
“What’s so funny, Sister Fu? Maybe it’ll make your little Brother Guo happy.” Another laugh sounded out, which turned out to be Guo Ju waveringly flipping over the courtyard wall. He was probably still a bit drunk, as his steps were unsteady, and he stumbled into a fall into a corner. Quickly getting back up off the ground, he patted the dirt off of himself, then smiled stupidly.
Fu Wanqing sat up straight and looked at him. “Who did you get beat up by, Brother Guo?” she asked languidly. “You’re filthy. If you snuck into a beggar’s union, nobody would suspect you.”
He pouted as if he was about to cry. Upon hearing her question, he complained on end. “It was that pretty sister. Why can Zhong Shiling touch her, but I can’t even smooch her? Don’t you think that I’m a lot better than those two idiots, Sister Fu? Why does she think so highly of those good-for-nothings? She’s the one that smacked this bruise onto the corner of my eye. She doesn’t cherish me at all, she just tells me to scram as soon as possible.”
She gave him a meaningful smile. “Maybe you need to switch out your clothes.”
Taken aback, a hint of struggle flashed past his eyes. He tugged at his own garment, unhappy. “This is what I sought out a master of the best store in Lin’an for to make. Does it not look good? Besides, how can someone only judge based on appearances? I’m the magnificent Young Lord of Flying Falcon Fortress, the future Leader of the Whitepath Alliance! Am I not worthy of her? Also, also — I live clean! I don’t have any bad habits, aside from drinking wine and eating meat.”
“You’ve known her for too short a time, Brother Guo.” She propped her chin up with a hand. “You have to let her learn how great you are. See what she likes, then gift it to her.”
He rubbed his head, nodding with vigor. “By the way, what’s her name? I forgot. Someone doesn’t actually exist with the surname Third, first name Young Master, right?”
“Gu Yu. From ‘enough spiritual qi births good children.’”[5]
“Okay, thanks, Sister Fu. Your little brother is going now,” he shouted, then leapt away. After a little while, though, he wound back around to shout at her again. “I almost forgot, something happened! That Yue Qingtan showed up at Spring Wind Grin, but no one can catch her. She hasn’t left yet, so how about you go take a look soon?”
As soon as he was finished, he had already darted away.
Yu Shengyan stared at the wall of the entrance for a long time. “He’s the Fortress Lord’s son?”
“He’s Guo Ju. He’s himself,” Fu Wanqing answered with a snort.
The other shook her head. “As I see it, he might not be able to act as himself.”
For either fame or benefits, there would forever be all sorts of things weighing on one’s body.
In jianghu, it was easy to be a great hero in the words of others, but to act as a real hero was very, very difficult.
Yue Qingtan was quietly sitting to the side and drinking tea. She was dressed in blue clothes, gentle and refined, like the dainty Lady of a rich family.
She had no weapons; her cloud-and-water sleeves were her weapons.
Surrounding her was a flock of jianghu warriors. Their faces were full of vigilance, and they either grasped sabres or carried swords at their waists. Inside Spring Wind Grin, the defending veiled women in pink acted like they hadn’t seen anything.
At last, she put the cup she held down, then tidied up her sleeves. The atmosphere in the building shortly became tense. She swept her eyes over the crowd, covering her lips and smiling lightly. “You all don’t need to be so nervous. I’ve already sent the Guanyin back to Jadeite Water Creed’s Communal Shrine. As for me, my goal in coming to Spring Wind Grin is the same as yours; pleasure-seeking. If I could see Chun Fengxiao’s smile, it would be worth a toss of a thousand gold.”
She appeared to be the unmarried daughter of a rich family, yet also acted like a wanderer amongst the flowers. Two entirely different qualities fused together on her.
The jianghu men didn’t move, nor did they leave.
“Even if the Guanyin isn’t in your hands, you’re still a Creed member. Every follower of the Demonic Creed needs to be beheaded!”
It was unknown who had thrown out the first shout, but all sorts of echoes immediately started resonating.
She lightly snorted, then pointed at a young, frontmost disciple. “What about Yu Shengyan, then?”
The youth’s face went thoroughly red in an instant, the longsword in his hand slowly relaxing. “Miss Yu is the Creed Head. How could she be the same as you followers?” he argued.
“Shouldn’t the Creed Head be the Head of all evil?” she casually countered.
“Miss Yu i-is different. She doesn’t care about things… right, she doesn’t care about what happens in the Demonic Creed. You lot menace her and treat her like a puppet! If she knew that you were doing so much evil, she would definitely put a stop to it!” he continued to fight, saying a few good things on Yu Shengyan’s behalf. Everyone in jianghu knew that the Creed Head never oversaw the affairs of said Creed.
“She is different. She would never be like anyone else.” Yue Qingtan chuckled, then turned to the one that was hidden behind a pillar. “Wouldn’t you agree, Lady Fu?”
“Yep.” Fu Wanqing walked out, then sat opposite her. It was like they were friends that hadn’t seen each other in a long time, as opposed to a Creed follower and righteous heroine that were against each other.
“When will you return the Head to us?” Yue Qingtan had a gentle smile. She stroked her sleeve, pouring a cup of tea for Fu Wanqing before continuing. “If she doesn’t return to Thousand Jadeite Island, I’m afraid that Lou Kexin will go mad. You’re aware that her legs don’t work; it would certainly be a tedious thing for her to go out and search herself.”
“Whether your Head is coming back or not is something you should ask her herself.” The other faintly smiled, picking up the cup and taking a sip.
“Okay, then.” She turned around. “Creed Head, do you want to return to the Island with this subordinate?”
Yu Shengyan, who had been quietly sitting behind a pillar this entire time, walked out, then came to Fu Wanqing’s side. “No.”
After a moment of pondering, she said something else: “Tell the Creed followers that they don’t need to look for me.”
“You know that with how Lou Kexin is, it’s impossible for me to persuade her.” The other huffed. When she said that name, a trace of disdain swiftly flashed past her eyes.
Yu Shengyan’s brows creased, the corners of her lips slightly pursed. After a long time passed, she only sighed. “Let her follow.”
She couldn’t control that woman even if she wanted to. Beyond that, her promise had only been to protect her life.
“Lady Fu, I came to Spring Wind Grin for some fun. Is there no beauty accompanying you?” Yue Qingtan raised a brow in a somewhat coquettish look.
“You’re seeking out the wrong person.” Fu Wanqing shook her head with a grin. “You should ask for Spring Wind Grin’s owner, Chun Fengxiao, not me.”
Between the two of them, they looked to be old, very familiar friends; that thought slashed across Yu Shengyan’s mind, and she abruptly became a little unhappy. Shooting a mild glance at Yue Qingtan, she reached out and tucked a strand of Fu Wanqing’s hair behind her ear.
Yue Qingyan gave her a look of profound meaning, crossed over the Forest folk with their drawn blades, then walked upstairs. Her hands were enveloped by her sleeves, the smile she had mild and warm, but even so, those martial fighters didn’t dare to approach her, as if Creedpeople were people-eaters.
“In her eyes, you’re not the Creed Head,” Fu Wanqing chuckled, hauling Yu Shengyan into her arms.
“In her eyes, there has always been only herself,” the latter answered mildly.
Yue Qingtan had never submitted to the former Head, so she would naturally never submit to her.
“She went up to find Chun Fengxiao. Does she like women? Is Jadeite Water Creed actually like the tales say?” Fu Wanqing asked with a grin.
Yu Shengyan frowned, then shrugged off her embrace. “Yue Qingtan and the rest probably only like themselves, just like you.”
The other peered at her, biting her own lip. “What do you mean?” she asked softly. “I don’t just like myself. I like you, too.”
Yu Shengyan smiled again. It arose with a hint of mockery.
Fu Wanqing was almost always smiling. The day she suddenly stopped would be an utterly frightening event.
Yu Shengyan, however, was like the frost atop Kunlun, bone-bitingly icy. She was cold. She should be expressionless, like a beautiful statue; and yet, she had smiled. It entranced everyone’s eyes. In that moment, they all had the same thought: Chun Fengxiao who? She was nothing more than a shadow to Yu Shengyan.
Yue Qingtan stayed in Spring Wind Grin for three days. Those allegedly-upright jianghu fighters stood watch there for three days, as well. Once she stepped out the door, they attacked all at once, as if they had agreed to ahead of time. Cyan sleeves unfurled, clinks sounded out, and then all those weapons were returned to sender. A sneer appeared on her face, after which she disappeared from their view with a couple of bounds.
“Creed followers are too powerful. We aren’t her match at all.”
“We need to join forces to fight her together!”
“Didn’t we just do that? And yet we were still defeated…”
“The Whitepath Alliance! Right, the Alliance!”
“Lady Fu just had a happy chat with her in Spring Wind Grin. Why would she help us?”
“Are you dumb? Lady Fu is Lady Fu, the Alliance is the Alliance. Let’s go find Hero Shen.”
Whether more restless over eliminating Creed followers, or more heartbroken about the whereabouts of the Guanyin, the martial artists of every sect suddenly found one direction. The Manor of Chivalry, the Whitepath Alliance — that mental spark, once extinguished, suddenly began to burn fervently.
They knew that Shen Shengyi would get involved, just as they knew that Fu Wanqing wouldn’t move to help.
Descendants of the Alliance’s five families were present, and they had come here to find the Guanyin, Fu Wanqing aside. What surprised everyone was that in the middle of their discussion on how to deal with the Creed, she showed up, and not alone; she had brought the Creed Head with her. Some subtle emotions were in the hearts of those present, but only Yang Wumin, whose face was covered with a veil, raised her disapproval. Her rancor-filled eyes looked at them with hatred.
Her face had been ruined by Yu Shengyan’s hands. Or, her own, as it could be said.
Fu Wanqing grinned casually. “Why don’t you go on? Have you all figured out a way to get into Thousand Jadeite Island?”
“You must be joking, Sister Fu. What plans could these wood lumps be capable of making?” Guo Ju, nested in a chair, yawned lazily, covering his lips as he did so. “Where’s that pretty sister? Why didn’t she come with you?”
Zhong Shixiu glared ferociously at him, those fiendish eyes seeming to want to swallow him whole. Zhong Shiling pressed down upon his little brother’s shoulder, masking the eagerness in his own words. “That’s right, Eldest Lady; where’s Third Young Master? Why didn’t she come?”
“How should I know?” she chuckled. “Gu Yu isn’t from our Manor, either. Don’t you brothers follow her around all the time? How could she have suddenly vanished?”
“This damn punk Guo Ju is to blame for that!” Zhong Shixiu shouted, unable to control his anger. “If it hadn’t been for his disrespectful actions angering her, she wouldn’t be refusing to see even us!”
Upon seeing Guo Ju’s completely uncaring look, he got angrier and angrier, then abruptly chopped down towards the other’s seat with his blade.
The sharp wind of the sabre hit the face. Guo Ju quickly shot off like an arrow that had been let loose. With a touch at his waist, a flexible sword came into his hand, shaking out like white silk. “Do you want to fight, Zhong Shixiu?” he roared. “This Young Lord will keep you company until the very end!”
Amongst the five younger gens of the Alliance, Fu Wanqing had the highest skill, while the Zhong brothers were classified as late bloomers. Zhong Shiling watched the activity with a cold eye; Zhong Shixiu, whose fury had clouded his mind, was not Guo Ju’s match at all.
Shen Shengyi’s gentle visage was dark, as if it had gotten thick ink dumped onto it. Fists clenched, he shouted at the wrangling men. “Haven’t you two made enough trouble?!”
The ever-elegant Hero Shen had been angered. With one motion, he seized Zhong Shixiu’s sabre, then firmly gripped the tip of Guo Ju’s sword with the other.
“Bah! I’ll tell you this, Shen Shengyi — meddle less in our Sect’s affairs!” Zhong Shixiu yelled, spitting on the ground.
Guo Ju coldly huffed, then withdrew his sword.
Fu Wanqing turned to Yu Shengyan to ask a question that was full of ridicule. “Aren’t they ridiculous?”
Within this utterly disordered scene, the jianghu warriors had their heads full of fog, but in regards to the Whitepath Alliance’s face, they had to restrain themselves.
Shen Shengyi was a higher disciple of Skytouch School, and he was considered superior amongst martial artists, yet he still couldn’t make everyone submit to him from the bottom of their hearts; jianghu folk respected him, but the Zhong brothers did not.
Zhong Shixiu had had his sabre wrested away, with no other weapons to be had; this was a disgrace. Furious with embarrassment, he cared about nothing else, raising a fist to slam it into Shen Shengyi’s face.
Zhong Shiling moved as well — not to console his brother, but to aid him with fighting an enemy. They could quarrel or even come to blows with each other over a woman, but when it came to anyone else, they were one unit.
Guo Ju, the one that had originally made Zhong Shixiu angry, had since withdrawn from the scene. He merely tilted his head, smiling at the chaos.
The brothers were not Shen Shengyi’s match, as was easily seen. After no more than a dozen moves, they had already gotten struck on their acupoints by Shen Shengyi, unable move from the spots they stood at. All they had left were their mouths, which were cursing nonstop.
Shen Shengyi looked to be perfectly fine, fixing his sleeves and smiling warmly. “Pardon my poor performance, you all. Let’s continue discussing Jadeite Water Creed.”
“No matter how Miss Yu is as a person, she’s still the Creed Head. Is having her listen in okay?” a jianghu man finally spoke up in a very low voice, though everyone could hear him clearly anyways due to being martial artists.
Shen Shengyi shot a glance at Fu Wanqing. Right as he thought to talk, he got interrupted by her chuckle.
“Your discussion over how to deal with the Creed isn’t something we care about,” she answered lazily, grabbing Yu Shengyan’s hand. “We only came here to call on Brother Guo.”
Once Guo Ju had bounded up to her, she pat him on the shoulder. “Gu Yu’s been injured,” she stated, seemingly casual. “Aren’t you going to take advantage of this to put on a good display?”
He was startled. “She was hurt? By who?” he asked, alarmed.
She swept a look at the Zhong brothers that were rooted in place. “Her subordinates are everywhere in Spring Wind Grin. Who do you think would be able to hurt her?”
“Is it… is it herself?” His face was full of astonishment. Staggering backwards a step, he then turned to run for Spring Wind Grin.
Fu Wanqing glanced over the group of jianghu warriors, then brought Yu Shengyan away.
“When will the Great Heroes Fu and Yang come to Lin’an?” a fat monk holding prayer beads shouted as he jumped out. Following a disturbance like that, some folks really couldn’t settle down. “Master Zhong of Divine Mystery Sect is no more, but where’s the other four? The Alliance Leader won’t come out to oversee things, instead handing it over to you youngsters to handle? How about you all handle your interpersonal affairs, first?! Really, what a sight!”
“Don’t say that, Great Monk. Hero Fu is more anxious about this than any of us. The Guanyin is something of the Manor’s, after all. As for Hero Yang… hehe. The reason for its disappearance has already spread all across jianghu.”
“What do you mean?”
“Not a thing. How many juniors did the Whitepath Alliance send? Once Master Zhong died, what ‘brilliance’ has Divine Mystery Sect become? Is there any hope still left for the Alliance?”
“Everyone, please be quiet and hear out this Shen’s words.”
Soaring Might Protectancy was getting fingers pointed at it, and the Zhong brothers only had women in their eyes. Only Shen Shengyi’s words could be heard, as he had no such poor reputation in jianghu.
Thousand Jadeite Island was not somewhere that was easy to get into. Yue Qingtan claimed that she had sent the Guanyin back there — regardless of whether that was true or false, they were going to have to make a charge.
Succeed, and they would be famed in jianghu, which would be a glorious act to speak about. Lose, and that would get shirked to the Alliance, where everyone would say that it hadn’t been a good idea since the younger gens had quarreled.
Some people were fretting over trivial stuff of all sizes, while some people were leisurely strolling all around.
Within a small pavilion beside West Lake, Fu Wanqing was leaning into Yu Shengyan’s arms, breaking osmanthus cakes into pieces and feeding them to her.
“How will they get into your Island? How many will go in together? I’m guessing that every one of them that goes in won’t be coming back out. Relying on them to deal with the Creed is far from enough,” she said breezily, eyes narrowed. In her view, Yu Shengyan was just a woman, not someone with the identity of a Creed Head. She could confess all of her schemes to her, and not be worried in the least that she would announce any of it publicly.
Her inexplicable trust in her had taken root from the moment she first saw her.
Yu Shengyan was an aloof person, but Fu Wanqing didn’t want someone so faint as smoke — she had to snatch that plume, then knead it into bones and blood, bit by bit.
She sat face to face with her now, swiping her fingertips at the corner of her lips to wipe pastry crumbs off. “Seems like I haven’t gotten the thought to duel with you in a long, long time,” she brought up.
Yu Shengyan lapped the crumbs off of Fu Wanqing’s fingers, looking down. “That’s good.”
“No it isn’t.” The other shook her head, blinked, then grinned. “Can you guess what I’m thinking about right now?”
“No.”
Fu Wanqing looped her arms around her waist, then buried her face into her chest, listening to her steady heartbeat. After a while, a muffled laugh leaked out of her mouth. “I’m suddenly thinking that three months is too short. I want to keep you by my side until I’m tired of you.”
“Three months,” Yu Shengyan answered indifferently. She sighed on the inside; Fu Wanqing was still Fu Wanqing, and the first person in her heart would forever be herself.
“Your heartbeat just sped up. What were you just thinking about?”
Fu Wanqing’s perception was very keen. She lifted her head to stare into Yu Shengyan’s eyes, as if she was about to pry open some mystery. The other’s face remained unchanged. “No such thing. It’s probably just your imagination.”
The other giggled, eyes turning harsh. “Over a month has passed. The time allotted to us is getting shorter and shorter. Why, though, are there always some people that like to come out and bother us?”
Several figures rushed out from the ice-cold lake water, their faces covered in black cloth. The longsabres they held reflected chilling light, uniformly greeting Fu Wanqing. Before they could even get close to the pavilion, a couple more figures darted out, intercepting their blades.
Fu Wanqing gazed steadily at Yu Shengyan. “Do you know either of these groups?”
“There’s White Mountain Hall followers,” the other replied. “The ones with covered faces are likely enemies you’ve made, Lady Fu.”
Many liked Fu Wanqing, and those that loathed her were the same. Enemies? If she had to remember each and every one of those, she would have long been exhausted half to death from that alone.
A couple oofs sounded out, and several people got kicked into the lake, splashing up water. The dark green liquid was gradually dyed with blood, but a sabre thrusting out from within it managed to chop off the left leg of a white-clothed person.
“Your Creed’s followers have decent martial arts,” she praised.
“I’ve heard that the arts of Haze Island developed from a fusion of many teachings. You mainly learned those, right?” Yu Shengyan suddenly asked, looking at her. “The Manor of Chivalry’s swordplay has too many flaws in it. You’ve likely already abandoned it.”
“Why do you ask that? Do you want to duel with me?” A hint of interest appeared on the other’s face. She sighed softly, curling a lock of Yu Shengyan’s hair around her fingertips. “Haze Island actually left a lot of martial tomes behind, but my old man doesn’t know about them.”
The faint stench of blood wafted about the air; jianghu’s carnage never really ceased. Those with their faces covered had all been struck into the lake, but the Hall followers were in various states of injury, especially the one with the cut leg. They hadn’t wanted to rescue Fu Wanqing — they couldn’t wait to murder her, really — but alas, she was seated in their Head’s arms.
“Creed Head, the Alliance has initiated talks over how to fight our Creed. Please return to head off the situation at large.”
Yu Shengyan glanced at them coldly, not making a sound.
Fu Wanqing released her, her swift figure resembling lightning, and sealed up the major acupoints of the person with the chopped leg. She took out a porcelain bottle from her lapels, then tossed it into their hands. “Take the medicine and go,” she said with a lazy smile. “Your Head won’t be returning. Also, do go back and tell Lou Kexin to make a proper setup for our match, else she’ll never have the chance to meet me, let alone take personal revenge.”
“You…”
“Return. Do as Lady Fu has ordered,” Yu Shengyan said.
The Creed Head’s words were the greatest authority. Even if their hearts were full of indignation, there was nothing else they could do.
Fu Wanqing watched their disappearing figures, giggling. “With a Head like you, it’s little wonder that the Creed is about to be destroyed.”
“Are you not happy?” Yu Shengyan countered. Seeing astonishment streak past Fu Wanqing’s face, she continued on. “With you around, Fu Wanqing, how could jianghu not be in chaos?”
The other smiled. “Are you criticizing me for bringing disaster to it, Yu Shengyan?”
Yu Shengyan shook her head.
She knew that Fu Wanqing wanted revenge, and she didn’t approve of it, but that didn’t mean that she was going to stop it.
Guo Ju knew himself to be a drunkard, but today, he clearly hadn’t touched a drop of drink.
A vein of green hills connected distant colors, the borderless sunset causing one grief.
He sat upon the banister, surveying the red clouds that burned like fire.
Red as blood. Fresh as blood.
“Being forlorn, Brother Guo?” A spell of chuckles were heard — it was Fu Wanqing. She maneuvered herself onto the railing just as he had, watching people coming and going on the faraway streets.
Guo Ju laughed bitterly. “Sister Fu… I actually don’t want to be ‘Brother Guo’ at all.”
Her gaze softened up, and she nodded. “I know.”
He sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I saw blood on the pretty sister’s wrist. She had line after line of scars on her arms… why would she treat herself like this? I don’t understand. Does she have someone hidden in her heart? I don’t have a chance, then, right?”
“Those scars are indeed to remind her to remember someone heartless.” Fu Wanqing also softly sighed. “But the one that’s heartless is not her sweetheart. This is the anniversary of her mother’s death, so she just ends up hurting herself. Br—… you can go try to persuade her, later.”
Many things could not be fully explained in just a few words. Heartless people… there were a lot of those in the world, just like the divinely-famed Fu Hui. Thinking of that, a hint of frost glinted in her eyes.
“I’m afraid that I won’t have the chance to,” he said quietly, lowering his head, crystalline eyes filled with melancholy. He then tilted his head to look at her. “Do you like Head Yu, Sister Fu?”
“I do,” Fu Wanqing automatically nodded. “Only she is worthy of my liking. But… I’m still going to kill her.”
“Is that because she’s the Head of Jadeite Water Creed?” he asked, shocked on the inside. “You’ve never paid any attention to the so-called ‘good and evil’ of jianghu.”
“Yeah. I do ignore that.” She laughed, casting her gaze off into the distance. The slanted rays of the setting sun fell upon her face, as if plating it in gold. “I like her because she’s Yu Shengyan. I want to kill her because she’s Yu Shengyan, too. Between her and I, only one can exist. Do you get it? Only one is able to stand on the summit of jianghu.”
“I don’t get it.” Guo Ju shook his head. “When you like someone, shouldn’t you want to dig out your own organs for her? If you’ve really fallen in love with her, how could you be willing to kill her? If you do that, how lonely will you be, remaining behind in this world? You’ll definitely go mad. You don’t like Head Yu, Sister Fu. You’re just gabbing out your mouth.”
“Wrong.” She also shook her head, vigor permeating her eyes. “I like her. I want to do a lot of things with her. I can block swords for her, get injured for her. If she wants, I could leave a path for the Creed’s survival. But I still want to kill her — she’s mine.”
“You always put yourself in first place. Do you really want to kill her? This is probably just an obsession of the heart. You want to fight over first place with Head Yu, but she’s such an indifferent person, she doesn’t place importance upon ‘first place’ at all. This makes you even more uncomfortable than defeat would. You wanting to ‘kill’ her would better be described as you wanting to duel with her. Experts exchanging moves are all feints and empty words; between two people, there’s only life and death.”
Guo Ju seemed to be able to see through everything. He wasn’t afraid of her in the least. “Sister Fu, you keep going on about wanting to kill Yu Shengyan, but it’s very likely that when the time comes, you won’t be able to do it. She’s a dangerous person, Sister Fu. You should stay further away from her.”
The most dangerous people in the world were often the unfeeling. They were unfeeling towards others, and also themselves.
“No can do.” She shook her head with a smile. “You’re worrying over this, but wouldn’t it be better for you to go see Gu Yu? Don’t you remember what I said to you last time?”
“Sister Fu, I…” he lowered his head, gaze full of dejection and upset.
“You need to take the first step. How many years have you lived for someone else? It’s nothing more than fetters of identity, and those shackles will be unlocked very soon. Have you not thought about that at all?”
“I have. How could I not have…” Guo Ju’s eyes shortly floated off to somewhere far off. How many years had he longed, and envied? Everyone knew him to be the Young Lord of Flying Falcon Fortress, but who knew that ‘he’ was a to-the-letter woman?
She once had a mother that had acted to retrieve her own husband’s emotions, a mother that hadn’t hesitated to sacrifice her own daughter’s life for the sake of love. The father was aged and mother dead, but as the alleged ‘son’ that was to carry on the family line, she had stayed in the Fortress, and in jianghu’s crowd. Young Fortress Lord, Young Master — what kind of ironic titles were those?
A tiny tear came from her eye. She clenched her fists tightly. As soon as she looked up, Fu Wanqing’s encouraging look was reflected in her eyes.
“I don’t know if Gu Yu likes men or women, but I do know that if she likes you in your male identity, with how unyielding she is, you two won’t have an end together once the truth is revealed.
“She currently has no one on her mind. If you want to be remembered by her, you can only confront her with your true self.”
Guo Ju left, half-understanding. Perched upon the railing, Fu Wanqing looked towards the gradually-darkening curtain of the night, and sighed deeply.
Just as Guo Ju had said, she didn’t understand fondness, nor what love was.
“Gu Yu is one of yours.”
Yu Shengyan’s voice came through — who knew how long she had been sitting there, or how much she had heard. There was a slight flush to her face, like she had drunk a few cups of light wine. Her eyes were fogged up, too. “Guo Ju… is a really pitiful person.”
“When did your iron-clad heart melt? You learned how to sympathize with others?” Fu Wanqing slid off the banister to stand in front of Yu Shengyan, chuckling. “You’ve been drinking, but didn’t think to invite me to drink with you?”
“Wine… makes people drunk. It’s not good.” Yu Shengyan pursed her lips, lightly laughing.
“But I want to drink it with you,” the other answered mildly, fixing her gaze upon her.
“Okay,” Yu Shengyan nodded, few words of rejection coming from her mouth. Fu Wanqing stared at the look on her face, beginning to wonder; did Yu Shengyan respond so bluntly, not knowing how to refuse, in the presence of anyone else? Laughing in mockery, she shook her head again.
Who would those people even be? Yu Shengyan could only remain by her side.
The fragrance of wine, the fragrance of women. Wasn’t that intoxicating?
Dense, curling smoke, lightly-fluttering gauze — this was similar to the haze of a dream world. Fu Wanqing hooked around Yu Shengyan’s neck, pouring clear wine into her mouth, bit by bit.
The candle flames flickered, as if they could be blown out by the wind the next second. A silhouette was cast upon the entryway, graceful and svelte.
With a bang, a jar of wine crashed to the ground, making a clamor.
“Who is it?” Gu Yu shouted. A freshly-bloodstained hairpin was firmly stuck into the table, and her sleeves covered up wounds both shallow and deep. She opened her drowsy pair of drunken eyes, then staggered to open the latch.
The one standing at the door was familiar, yet not. She hid her lips and chuckled. “What the heck are you doing, Guo Ju? Have you gone crazy? It’s no good for you to be a perfectly good Young Master, so you insist upon pretending to be a precious Lady?” She pulled her inside, then flung the door shut. Her hand brushed over Guo Ju’s handsome face, the scent of alcohol overflowing. “Every man in this land is heartless. Only my mother could have been this stupid. Men like the taste of women, but do women like the taste of men? Young Lord Guo… you came just in time.”
Guo Ju’s face was thoroughly red, and even her eyes seemed to be ignited. She grabbed Gu Yu’s hand; it was slippery, sticky, and an astonishing blood-red color. Upon rolling up her sleeves, there were new wounds added onto old ones. She was so anxious that she near about cried, only for Gu Yu to clutch her by the lapels, smiling. “Come on, now. This little bit of wounding isn’t anything.”
The strong smell of liquor rushed into the mouth and nose. Guo Ju pulled her lapels out of Gu Yu’s hands; seeing that the other was the same as she had been before, a wave of anger suddenly sparked within her. Helping Gu Yu onto the bed, she calmly stated, “You’re drunk.”
Pulling out the wound-filled arm, she patiently applied medicinal powder on it for her.
Drunk people seldom were self-content; at the very least, Gu Yu was no such person. She abandoned tearing up Guo Ju’s clothes, only to shed her own.
“Weren’t you putting on a story of wanting to marry me, Young Lord Guo?” She laughed like an imbecile.
Guo Ju glanced at her, managed to retract her gaze with extreme difficulty, then chopped onto Gu Yu’s shoulder with a knifehand, causing her to pass out. Only then did she lightly breathe out in relief, closing up her front for her.
In jianghu, ointment for eliminating scars was hard to buy, even with a thousand gold. However, Guo Ju had a trick — as the Young Fortress Lord, she was able to obtain what many jianghu-goers could only dream of.
Once the cool ointment was dabbed onto the fingertips, it became a bit heated. She already couldn’t distinguish between the ointment’s fragrance, and Gu Yu’s.
She resembled a statue of the Buddha, sitting up tall in the room until daybreak.
A groan came from the drunken one’s mouth, and she held her aching head. A long while after, she cried out in alarm, “Guo Ju, you…”
“You sobered up?” Guo Ju asked, rubbing her dry, heavy eyes.
Gu Yu sat up, then slowly laid back down again, laughing. “I might be dreaming still, right?”
The memories from last night poured into her brain little by little. Her face got a bit hard to look at.
“I’m not any kind of ‘Young Lord’,” Guo Ju said, laughing bitterly. “I want to be an ordinary woman.”
Thousand Jadeite Island was a truly awful place. Nearly all the boatmen that heard the name refused to ferry them into the sea.
Only one white-haired old man agreed to it. He stroked his beard as he took a deep sigh, his pitying eyes looking at them like they were a group of dead folk. It was this very look that made many back out. Shen Shengyi pondered for a long time, then dispatched a few Skytouch School disciples that had come over; no information whatsoever was returned from their departure, however.
In the quiet dead of night, all that could be heard was the rustling sound of pages being turned.
The one who pillowed her head on Yu Shengyan’s lap appeared to have already fallen asleep, yet a long while later, a chuckle came from her mouth. Within this room, apart from Yu Shengyan and her, there was a black-clothed person kneeling on the ground. Fu Wanqing curled up her dangling hair, speaking lazily to the one in black that had been kneeling in wait for a response all this time. “Just let those that snuck onto Haze Island do what they will. Even if they have immense abilities, they won’t be finding any sort of treasures.”
“There is another thing, which is related to Thousand Jadeite Island.” The one in black snuck a look at Yu Shengyan, showing a slight bit of hesitation. “Its Left Protector has appeared. The store that we took from Jadeite Water Creed has been taken back by them, and we siblings are still somewhat injured.”
“That’s fine. Allow them to take their time recovering.” She lightly huffed, then paused for a time. “No one was willing to get those righteous warriors across the sea; get someone to prep a big boat to transport them. Since they’re in a rush to deliver themselves right into death, we don’t need to obstruct them.”
“Understood.” The one in black nodded, took her order, and departed.
Left Protector Wei Xian, while no sort of ‘wise person’ as the ‘Xian’ in his name would suggest, was much more formidable than that woman, Lou Kexin. Fu Wanqing narrowed her eyes; right as she thought to interrogate Yu Shengyan, she saw the indifferent look on her face, and did away with the idea. Sitting up, she took the textbook out of the other’s hands. “Do you want to go back to the Creed?” she asked.
“What if I do? What if I don’t?” Yu Shengyan answered blandly, sweeping a look at her.
“If you want to, we’ll go. If you don’t…” Fu Wanqing paused, grinning brilliantly. “We’ll still need to go.”
“Do as you will.”
“The Whitepath Alliance depends on its younger generation. The Creed can’t be moved at all, and I’m not sure what those old foxes are setting up in the dark, so let’s go join in on the excitement. How could I not be present for the moment when the Alliance falls apart?”
She had always been plotting to disband the Alliance, and was more eager for it than the elimination of the Creed.
November, on a winter night.
A gigantic ship was moored at sea, dancing with lights, and caused the splendor of the stars and moon above to lose their shine. Its five sails gradually fully unfurled, and the massive ship was akin to an arrow released from a bow, heading for the middle of the pitch-black ocean. Large waves surged, the sound of their crashing coming from all directions. Where the Zhong brothers had found such a huge ship was something none of the jianghu folk knew; all they understood was that it was going to carry them to a faraway place where hope and despair intermingled.
Inside the hold, there was a party going on. Warm, romantic feelings expelled all the chilliness of winter days.
“It’s like we’re in Spring Wind Grin again. Where did you two find this big ship, Brothers Zhong? Where’s the ship-owner? Why isn’t he coming out so that us guys can meet him?”
“The owner… is probably busy with something.” Zhong Shixiu snickered, turning to look at Gu Yu.
A roasted peanut landing in her mouth, Yu Shengyan furrowed her brow. She grabbed Fu Wanqing’s hand. “Gu Yu was the one who found this boat?”
“Mmhm.” Fu Wanqing lightly huffed, gaze shuttling over those dancing women.
This was a ship traversing the turbulent sea, but those of jianghu were immersed within the entertainment, forgetting where exactly they were.
What if it sunk right now? These alleged young talents would all be buried in the bellies of fishes.
Rays of light turned a hundred times in Fu Wanqing’s pupils. Her hand gently tapped against the table, keeping with the rhythm of the singing and dancing as she lightly hummed the tune. She looked to be immersed inside a tender world where spring winds blew everywhere.
Yu Shengyan’s brows were constantly creasing up tight. Grabbing a few pieces of roasted peanuts and throwing them in her mouth, they knit even tighter.
How much happiness one had would be how many worries one had, as was always the case.
Not everybody could be taught to be jointly happy about the same thing.
Guo Ju sat beside Shen Shengyi. She had no idea what the guy was talking about at all; her eyes simply glared dead at the Zhong brothers opposite her, as well as Gu Yu, who was sitting between them and guzzling alcohol non-stop. The other was flushed red from intoxication, resembling a peach blossom’s first bloom, containing passion and focusing her gaze, having a thousand different kinds of flirtatiousness — yet, none of that was directed at her, but at the Zhong brothers.
“Brother Guo, your hand is bleeding,” Shen Shengyi stated mildly, brows furrowed.
Her crushed wine glass had sliced open her palm, the vibrant red of blood reflecting in her eyes. Restraining her infuriated look, Guo Ju hid her hand behind her back.
Yu Shengyan pushed the blurry-eyed Fu Wanqing. “Your Brother Guo’s hand is bleeding,” she said coldly.
“It’s just blood. It’s not lethal.” Fu Wanqing chuckled, then pointed at the women who were dancing loftily. “Isn’t their dance pretty?”
Yu Shengyan smiled coldly, concealing a piece of shrewd sharpness in her eyes. “Pretty. Very pretty,” she answered with a nod.
Fu Wanqing also nodded, then reached out to loop around Yu Shengyan’s neck, her eyes as unfocused as a drunk person’s. “They say that Creed Head Yu has a perfect memory. Could you dance alone for me?” Uncaring about the other’s face that was getting colder and colder, she nestled herself into Yu Shengyan’s neck, mumbling. “Their grace is far behind yours. When I watched them, I thought of how great it would be, were you the one fluttering around so quickly. Thankfully, you’re not, because no one is allowed to watch aside from me.”
The woman was silent for a long time. “You really want to watch?” she asked softly.
Fu Wanqing nodded again.
Yu Shengyan abruptly got up and left the party, under everyone’s watching eyes. Fu Wanqing slowly stood up, too, stretching out her back with a roguish grin. With a pull of her hand, a white ribbon fell into her palm, and then, inside all the jianghu people’s confused gazes, she followed after her.
The rest were startled for but a moment, then became absorbed in the song and dance again.
Lady Fu had always behaved duplicitously. Why not add the Demonic Creed Head into that?
Only Shen Shengyi had pensively cast his sights to the beyond of the hanging curtains, which billowed along with the wind.
Moonlight shone in from the window’s lattice, illuminating this small and narrow, yet not cramped, cabin. A jade xiao twirled around Fu Wanqing’s hand, and once it came up to her lips, it began to sob out a melody that sounded like weeping. There was a frostiness about Yu Shengyan’s looks, making her the spitting image of an immortal on the moon that tread upon waves. She moved her body along with the sound of the xiao, but it was unlike the dance of those women at the feast — robes and sleeves twirling like falling snow, she spun to the left and the right in a whirlwind.[6]
They had acted on a moment of whimsy together. Once the melody was done, they stared wordlessly at each other.
The jade xiao fell to floor with a burst of clangs. A faint smile passed by Fu Wanqing’s lips, a speck of bitterness seeming to be included inside it. “What can you do, Yu Shengyan? What can you not do?”
Grabbing her own sleeve, Yu Shengyan wiped the sweat off of her forehead. “What do you hope that I can do? What do you hope that I cannot?”
Fu Wanqing was taken aback, smiling. “I’m hoping that you can do everything. That way, you’ll be worthy of being my opponent. But, I also hope that you can’t do anything, because then only I will stand in that spotlight.”
“I’ve never had the thought to contend with you.” Yu Shengyan let out a long sigh. “If you want first place, you can have it. I won’t duel you, so you can just tell jianghu that I lost.”
The other’s complexion changed. Her eyes quickly turned unfathomable, fists clenching tightly. “You’re dishonoring me, Yu Shengyan,” she said, enraged.
Yu Shengyan really couldn’t understand her thought process. That so-called ‘first place’ was nothing more than a title; what use did it have? Fu Wanqing was currently in a position where everyone in jianghu admired and envied her. Was this for the sake of preserving her own pride?
Fu Wanqing noticed the perplexion in Yu Shengyan’s eyes, pursing her lips. “You don’t have anything in your sights, but I’m not that kind of person. There’s lots of things in this world that I want to pursue. I want to duel you and I want to defeat you. That’s the pursuit for reputation, the pursuit for the way of the sword. There will come a day that your Huaixiu will be unsheathed at me, and we will have a bout.”
Yu Shengyan shook her head. “No we won’t. I won’t draw my sword at you. Huaixiu’s unsheathing is only for…”
“Only for what?” Fu Wanqing chased after.
The woman hooded her lashes, a trace of sadness streaking across her eyes. “Huaixiu’s unsheathing is only for punishing the heart! You don’t have a heart, Fu Wanqing. How could it be unsheathed towards you?”
Fu Wanqing didn’t have a heart. She was akin to a fire, hot-seeming, yet actually more bone-bitingly cold than the snows of Kunlun.
She knew as much in her own mind, as did Yu Shengyan.
“There’s still over a month’s time,” the latter muttered quietly. Her gaze moved away from her, then landed on the moonlight-filled floor.
“You’re really thinking of leaving my side?” Fu Wanqing asked, face cold.
She had read an emotion of distance out of Yu Shengyan’s words, and when she thought deeply on that, there was a sharp sting in her heart, as if a needle had pricked it.
“That isn’t important,” the other indifferently replied.
“Heh.” She laughed lowly. With a brush of her sleeves, she stomped on the jade xiao, turned, and left the cabin, leaving some statements behind. “You’re right. That’s not important, not important at all. As soon as the three-month period passes, I’ll duel with you, and if it isn’t you that dies then, it’ll be me. If you refuse to, you’ll be watching your dear sect-sister die right in front of you!”
She was pissed.
Yu Shengyan bent over and picked up the xiao, rubbing her dry eyes, and sighed deeply.
—
The translator says: "what do you mean I have to have a heart to get a girlfriend. that's bullshit."
The huge ship moved forth on the calm, tranquil sea.
After the sea fog had been dispersed by the wind, all that filed into the eyes were islands of all sizes.
The freezing wind, cold and harsh, was slightly piercing. Yu Shengyan stood on the bow, gazing somewhere far away.
Lady Fu had forever been inseparable from Head Yu. The jianghu folk had already gotten used to them showing up in a pair, but all of a sudden, the Creed Head had been left standing all by her lonesome. It was quite puzzling.
Fu Wanqing was drinking and making merry in the hold, which Yu Shengyan was aware of.
The other woman just wasn’t someone resigned to solitude; she, in Fu Wanqing’s opinion, wasn’t anything much at all. Thinking so inwardly, a sigh, brimming with disappointment, automatically spilled from her lips.
Fu Wanqing got mad easily, but her anger would vanish as quickly as it had came. This time, however, it had sustained for two days, and might go on even longer.
A lot of seagulls swept past the water. Yu Shengyan suddenly darted out like an arrow released from its string, only a white shadow of her to be seen, and then she returned to the boat. In her hand was held a delicate golden arrow, the character for ‘Fu’ engraved on its head. She lowered her head in a mocking laugh, then flung it into the sea with a wave of her hand.
“Sister Yu,” a hushed call sounded out.
Yu Shengyan turned, catching sight of the confused-looking Guo Ju as she held a wine gourd and leaned against a railing. “Sister Fu is mad. What’s going on between you two?”
“Nothing.”
“You seem to not want to deal with me, Sister Yu?” Guo Ju chuckled, taking a sip of alcohol. “You drinking?”
Yu Shengyan mildly shook her head.
With a bang, the gourd Guo Ju held broke apart, the fragrance of wine mixing together with the salty sea breeze.
A sword, a quick one, was not thrusting towards Guo Ju, but charging at Yu Shengyan’s heart.
Its wielder was a middle-aged man dressed in light blue Daoist robes. He had a face of cold concentration, eyes filled with abhorrence. Who even knew how many times priests such as him had come to be amongst Skytouch School’s disciples?
Guo Ju’s reaction was speedy. She had drawn her flexible sword as soon as she flipped away, and it entangled his like a swimming serpent. Waving his hand, he swiped out another sword from his sleeve and stabbed it at Yu Shengyan; it went straight forward, as if it wouldn’t draw back if it didn’t reach its target.
Wanting to kill Yu Shengyan with one sword was not enough. The Daoist evidently knew that much, as well; he had two arms and two legs, so he could send out four swords.
His blade was sharp, and dispatched very quickly.
Yu Shengyan moved, leaving the position she had been standing in, forced to retreat from the incoming longsword. Given that she could draw her sword, none of this would be anything to her, but she was someone who refused to do so lightly. It was hard for her two palms, made of flesh, to compare with a sword that cut iron apart like it was mud.
The Daoist wasn’t alone; he had a helper that was currently tangled up with Guo Ju.
Nearly everyone was in a drunken stupor in the hold. There was only the glint of blades on the desolate deck.
That longsword was akin to a venomous snake, twisting its body to pursue its enemy. Yu Shengyan had since withdrawn from the bow to the aft, her gaze landing upon the hoisted sails above.
“Sister Yu, draw your sword!” Guo Ju turned and shouted.
The light in Yu Shengyan’s eyes darkened.
Huaixiu was used to punish the heart. Was it for punishing others’ hearts, or her own?
The last time it had been unsheathed… had it been a few years ago?
Moss had flourished upon the stone tablet. A downpour had washed away dried, dead, yellow leaves, and flushed out that red bloodstain.
“My final regret in life is the unjust sin of killing. Remember that unless out of absolutely necessity, you cannot take life. No one lives beneath Huaixiu — once it’s drawn, it will see blood, and you are not to do so casually.
“You are apathetic by nature. It stands to reason that you shouldn’t get drawn into jianghu disputes, but the ways of the world are hard to predict.
“For so many years, I have suffered torment. You don’t have any strictures. Do it, and set me free of it all.
“I don’t ask anything of you but to protect Kexin. She… she’s had a hard life. Her temper will get the best of her.”
…
Drawing back from her memories, she had already flitted over to the sail above, her hand tightly pulling on the rope overhead as the Daoist’s sword pointed at her heart. Two of her fingers pinched the blade, and she turned to the side, that thin edge paring off a strand of her hair and causing her to bite her cheek.
Right then, a sword on the Daoist’s leg shot up from down low. She smacked it with a palm, causing it to collide with another sword that was rushing diagonally at her — clanking, they both fell straight to the ground. A burst of sinister wind swept up from behind her, and an intense, murderous aura came to coat everything, as the other guy had escaped from Guo Ju’s clutches.
Yu Shengyan lightly sighed.
She still didn’t draw her sword.
“I really don’t know what you’re so stubborn for!”
A hushed admonishment was heard, following by a scream sounding out. Yu Shengyan peered at the priest’s face before her, which was contorted like he had seen an evil spirit.
He could not retake his sword, so in a split second’s time, he made the decision to dash for the surface of the sea like light and shadow put together. His lightness skill was quite good, but even with how quick he was, Fu Wanqing’s moves were even quicker. That longsword brought with it a sharp edge, and then a bitter shriek came from him. Both his legs were uniformly chopped off, a bloody mess falling to the ship’s boards.
The people inside the hold were alarmed at last, getting a view of this blood-reeking scene as soon as they came out. Of the two middle-aged Daoists, one’s arms were neatly cut off, and one had no legs. Fu Wanqing’s smile was cold, and she reached out to slowly wipe off the blood from her sword. “Disciples of Skytouch School?” she asked with a chuckle.
The Daoist was overflowing with cold sweat from the pain. Upon hearing Fu Wanqing’s question, he spat upon the ground. “Fu Wanqing, demoness!” he cursed loudly. “Even as the daughter of Alliance Leader Fu, you don’t give thought to confronting the enemy, and keep mixing up with the Demonic Creed Head! Where are you placing the Manor of Chivalry’s reputation?! This Yu Shengyan is of the Demonic Creed! Why aren’t you all coming to deal with the Creed’s followers?! Why aren’t you all killing this demoness right now? You’re a mob preoccupied with lust! Cowards!”
Fu Wanqing clapped her hands, grinning. “Well berated. Very well berated.” She swept over the jianghu crowd, whose faces betrayed hesitation, and chuckled delicately. “Didn’t you all hear what he said? Why aren’t you getting to it?”
“Uh… um… Miss Yu is a good person. She’s only the daughter of the previous Head, and has nothing wrong with her apart from that identity. We’re people of chivalry, how could we slaughter the innocent?”
“Right, right, right! Miss Yu is an innocent. She hasn’t done anything that she would need to apologize to us for.”
“You bunch of bastards! Useless!” the Daoist fiercely cursed.
Shen Shengyi shot a glance at Fu Wanqing. “These two are not from our Skytouch School. I don’t know how they wandered onto this ship.”
“Who sent you to sow discord? Who sent you to stir up trouble?” some then roared. A few slaps sounded out, which had been ruthlessly flung at the Daoist’s face. “Who is it?! Who’s the instigator? If you refuse to tell, you’re getting thrown into the ocean to feed the fishes!”
It was very animated on the boat. Amidst the clamorous noise, Fu Wanqing nabbed Yu Shengyan’s wrist, then pulled her into the hold. She wasn’t smiling, face gloomy, and looked like an occasion of dark cloud cover before an imminent rainstorm. “Your refusal to draw your sword is you not wanting to kill people? You won’t kill anybody else, but lots want to kill you! Since you’re this unwilling, why not just abolish your martial arts? That way, there’s no need to talk about drawing your sword — you won’t even have the chance to hurt anyone!” she stated with a mocking laugh, shoving Yu Shengyan down onto a bench. There was a flame nesting in her heart, and if she didn’t vent it, she would fall into madness, sooner or later.
Yu Shengyan gripped the bedding, smiling faintly. “That’s a good idea.”
“You—!” Fu Wanqing pointed at her, hand trembling the whole time. She suddenly had no idea what to say.
Estranged, frosty; Yu Shengyan was just eternally like this!
Without realizing it, she had come to regard this woman as too important. A feeling of crisis emerged in her heart. She quickly restrained her fury to put on a dazzling smile, then knelt into a sit upon Yu Shengyan, one hand pressing upon her shoulder while the other brushed her cut-off strand of hair. On the side of the other’s ear was an exceedingly light wound, which she leaned over and licked, biting said ear afterwards. “I don’t wish for you to be injured. It isn’t that I care about you, of course, but that I want to duel with you. When you die, it can only be by my hands.”
Yu Shengyan blinked. “I understand.”
Anger flashed past Fu Wanqing’s eyes, then died. She laughed coldly. “It’s good that you do. I hope that the Yu Shengyan that duels with me when the time comes is an intact one that doesn’t have a trace of damage!”
“I won’t duel with you.”
That was probably the sentence Fu Wanqing had heard come out of her mouth the most often.
That about-to-overflow rage could no longer be suppressed. She bit Yu Shengyan viciously on the face, until the taste of blood filled her mouth, yet the other didn’t move, not even making a grunt. Feelings of anger and defeat surged together; as soon as she looked up, she saw Yu Shengyan gazing intently at her. That look in her eyes resembled a mysterious, heart-bewitching power, causing her to shudder.
Fu Wanqing kissed her over her eyes. It was a kiss as light as a butterfly’s wings; pure, and with no amount of teasing. She then embraced her, gritting her teeth angrily. “You really make things difficult for me! I both love and hate you!”
There were a lot of people that wanted to kill Fu Wanqing, and those that wanted to kill Yu Shengyan were not any lesser.
That was because, in jianghu, in addition to the lust-controlled men, there were women.
“How very interesting.” Fu Wanqing masked the pointed look in her eyes, pursing her lips as she mumbled. “We’ll be able to reach Thousand Jadeite Island by the evening, yes? In all likelihood, the followers of the Creed have already received the news. I wonder what array they’ll be using to welcome us?”
“Lou Kexin hates you to the bone. Her hatred likely won’t be lessened until your bones are crushed into dust and blown away in the wind.” Gu Yu chuckled, then continued on. “She’s also Yu Shengyan’s senior sect-sister. Are you not even a little worried that Yu Shengyan will go against you?”
Fu Wanqing sighed faintly. “If she was willing to draw her sword towards me, there would be nothing better.”
Gu Yu shook her head, then pointed at the center of Fu Wanqing’s chest. “You’re looking forward to her drawing her sword at you right now, but when the day comes that she does, you’ll definitely be in so much pain, you’ll want to die. You view her as too important. If you don’t keep your emotions in check, you’ll likely forget yourself, and only remember her.”
Falling in love was the most irksome thing. How could Fu Wanqing, someone loveless, be disturbed by something like that? She curled her lip. “There’ll be no such day. In my eyes, she’s already a dead woman, no different from any of my past opponents.”
“Heh.” Gu Yu shook her head again. “I’ve never seen any bite marks on the faces of those opponents, though.”
Features covered in a layer of smiles, Fu Wanqing pointed at her to berate her. “You’re one to poke fun. Why not take a look at yourself? Guo Ju is from the Fortress, but she’s still one of us, unlike the Zhong brothers. If you don’t feel the same, reject her outright. I don’t want a capable helper of mine to be dead drunk all day long with only some woman’s name coming out of her mouth.”
The grin on Gu Yu’s face vanished, and she sighed. “‘Love’ is the most intolerable word. Why is there no drug in this world that can completely cut off the roots of love?”
That was something very many people would like to know.
Being trapped by love was suffering. Because they had seen too much of such suffering before, they refused to touch the word ‘love’.
On Thousand Jadeite Island, there were a lot of miserable people. They couldn’t get what they had loved, so they chose a path of cutting off all ties.
The crashes of ocean spray struck against the shore’s rocks, frigid sea wind blowing against the face like cutting blades. The noisy jianghu folk were constantly shouting about eliminating the Creed, but their pumped-up looks disappeared when they saw an array of stones. Twenty-four gray boulders were standing tall and upright, dark red bloodstains at their heads and corpses with fragmented bones beneath them.
“This is the Creed’s Megalith Array!”
“Bah. Isn’t it just a couple of big rocks?”
One fearless tough guy strode over to the array, meteor hammer in hand. With a rumbling, thunder roll-esque sound, the megaliths speedily started moving, and there was a thump as the man’s meteor hammer went flying off, along with one crushed, badly mutilated arm. Said arm had been cleanly cut off — the array appeared to have a mountain’s worth of blades inside of it.
“Fiends!” A thin man shouted, face scrunching up. He dared not step over to the array, no matter what. “This island is so big, do we absolutely need to walk into this? It’d be better to take a detour somewhere else.”
Upon saying this, his figure had already dashed away at flying speed. However, after no more time than a half-cup of tea would take to brew, he returned with an ashen face. “There’s mountains of rock and maze-like forests everywhere, with poisonous creatures inside it all. There really is only this way we can go.”
“How do we break through it?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then are we just going to sit and wait here? Why don’t we go on back to Jiangnan?!”
“Go back? The ship already left! Aside from this island, there’s the sea. If we don’t break past the array, we’re going to die from being trapped here!”
“Right! Why did the ship leave? Who was its owner? Why does it seem like he had never shown up?”
“Isn’t it too late to think about that? We need to think up how to get past!”
“Hey, didn’t Head Yu come with us? She’s from the Creed, so she has to know a way! She’s a good person, she won’t just stand by and watch us be stuck here.”
…
As the Creed Head, Yu Shengyan did indeed know how to break this stone array, but why would she share that with these jianghu folk? She stood upon a black rock on the shore, seagulls perched upon her shoulder and hand. The sea’s breeze was billowing her long hair and white clothes, looking like a calm and pretty painting that one couldn’t bear to disturb. Alas, the array needed to be broken, and Yang Wugong, who had been collected since the start, stood up.
Fu Wanqing had been keeping her eyes narrowed at Yu Shengyan this whole time, and Yang Wugong’s sudden arrival ruined her good mood. With a jab from her sword, fine sand flew over like a wall, blocking the way in front of him. She said nothing, but everyone present understood her intent; she wasn’t allowing anyone to disturb Yu Shengyan.
“We are going to the Creed. This array needs to be broken,” he said gravely, staring at her.
She grinned uncaringly. “What does all that have to do with us? Me coming here was only to represent the Manor. Eradicating the Creed is your business, not mine.”
“Yu Shengyan is the Creed Head,” he said coldly, glancing over. “If we can’t break through, we’ll have no choice but to capture her to make the Creed’s followers personally come out and greet us.”
With the Protectancy’s reputation having reached an all-time low, Yang Wugong’s face had no sort of luster, either. He already cared about nothing, coming to this plight. His heart, once softened due to love, had run into layer upon layer of hard ice until it ultimately froze solid, like an iron chunk.
She looked upwards and smiled. Her figure darted, swordlight flashing, and then a drop of fresh blood fell upon the sand. “Eh, Yang Wugong? Who do you think you are?” She laughed in mockery. “Could you even be her opponent?”
The blood flowing from his cheek was blown by wind, cooling down into being like ice. His face was blank. “I couldn’t by myself, of course, but there’s others of jianghu here. I believe that everyone here wishes to get through this, yes?”
“Very nice, very nice.” She laughed coldly, glancing over at the hesitant-looking people. “You want to get through? It’s actually quite simple, as long as you have six people to send to their deaths. The stone array is nothing; it’s the array inside the array that’s terrifying. The twenty-four megaliths are changing constantly, and so are the six blade arrays inside of them. The six sent to die will be able to clarify the way for everyone else, as wherever they die, so will a blade array be.”
No one was willing to sacrifice themselves, but there would always be others that would make them do it.
“He Laosan, you don’t have parents to worry about. You go!”
“I think you should go! Aren’t you always gabbing on about how you want to be washed clean of your sins? This is a good chance for that! It’d be for the well-being of jianghu.”
“Do you still remember that girl you raped and killed sixteen years ago? If you refuse to go, I’ll bring that to light and ruin your name. You’ll be in a dead end either way, so you may as well valiantly sacrifice yourself so that we’ll all give you the name of a great hero.”
“Bull! Go take your shit to your grandma!”
“I’m loaded, I can’t die lightly. You all can go, I’ll make arrangements for your wives and children for you.”
…
The six selected were those that had no other paths to take.
Evil deeds once hidden in the darkness had been revealed. The self-righteous warriors of chivalry wore expressions like they were going to eat someone. A smile had been upon Fu Wanqing’s lips from beginning to end; she looked on coldly as those six walked into the array, and those that rashly headed over in want to break through. The shifting sounds of the megaliths intertwined with cries of suffering.
No one was able to get out.
The disciples of the Alliance didn’t move. Several astute people didn’t move, either.
Shen Shengyi’s face was darker than the sky. “What is the meaning of this, Lady Fu?” he turned and shouted.
She smiled lightly. “They were too stupid, is all. I just casually said something. Why would I know how to solve the array? Was I the one that I invited them in there? Was I the one that forced them to sacrifice themselves? Didn’t you also coldly watch them go on their road of no return, Shen Shengyi?”
The stone array parted into a path. Multiple mashed-up corpses appeared in view.
Two rows of people — one black, one white — passed through between. They looked straight ahead the entire time, never even giving peripheral glances to these jianghu warriors. The sharp peal of a whistle sounded out, and then the two rows simultaneously knelt upon the ground, shouting in unison at Yu Shengyan as she stood on top of that rock. “We respectfully welcome the Creed Head’s return! May you live for a thousand autumns!”
The seagulls flew away from her. She turned around, looked at the followers that were kneeling, and then nodded slightly.
“Sister, you’re finally back!” an elated voice sounded out. A woman in her prime was seated atop a wheelchair that was getting pushed, and at either of her sides stood handsome men carrying longswords.
This was the Right Protector of the Creed, Lou Kexin. Her legs had been crippled by Fu Wanqing before.
“We’re all guests that have traveled far. Will you not express as much, Protector Lou?” Fu Wanqing asked, smiling lazily.
That voice was one Lou Kexin would not be forgetting in her lifetime. Her hands quickly clutched her armrests, the ire in her eyes almost unable to be stifled.
Yu Shengyan walked a few paces out, then stopped at Fu Wanqing’s side, which pissed Lou Kexin off even more.
The latter forced out a smile. Lightly dangling her legs, she spoke as softly as clouds and wind. “I told you not to run all over the place for me, Sister. My legs being useless is no big deal, and I’ve long grown accustomed to them after three years. My skill was inferior to another’s, so there’s no need for you to take revenge for me.”
Yu Shengyan looked at her, then nodded. “Very well,” she replied in earnest.
That she had been left alive was already a mercy from the gods.
Lou Kexin hadn’t expected for Yu Shengyan to answer like that. She was stunned for a minute, then smiled. “As you are all guests that our Head has brought back, you may follow me.”
There was only one winding road on the island, and the forests surrounding it were filled with miasma; as soon as one walked inside one, they would never be able to walk out easily. The stone path was overgrown with moss, and every half-a-li segment had two Creed followers standing guard, who all held their swords motionlessly, resembling the dead.
There was a palace hall that was exquisite beyond compare, similar to an imperial one. On the horizontal signboard above were the three words of ‘Jadeite Water Creed’, written in strong, freestyle calligraphy, its wild aura quite threatening.
This main hall was where the Protectors of the Creed would discuss official business. Following along the tortuous, meandering veranda, the Whitepath warriors were led directly to the back of the hall, where there was a huge garden with rows of buildings on either side. Paper lanterns, hanging before the porches, swayed to the left and right in the cold wind.
Fu Wanqing followed after Yu Shengyan, and didn’t stop until they passed through this garden. The back of the hall had been built along a sheer mountain cliff. Looking into the distance, on a mountaintop that had clouds curling around it, there appeared to be a building.
She raised her head to look up, then sighed; Yu Shengyan really was a hermit. Were she herself to live on a cliff that was cut off from the human world, she would probably go crazy at some point.
Upon ascending a thousand steps, the building was close at hand, but even closer than it was was a steep cliff, its bottom unable to be seen. Inside the cloudy mist, there was only a length of iron chain rocking from side to side, hung straight out.
Yu Shengyan lightly jumped, landed upon the chain, and then looked dead ahead, as if she was walking on level ground.
From her side of the cliff, Fu Wanqing rolled her eyes, then abruptly grabbed the chain and shook it vigorously. Yu Shengyan did not stop in her tracks, nor did she even look back, merely walking forward. Her white clothes were concealed inside the swirling mist, making her the spitting image of a flying immortal.
Boring!
Fu Wanqing grumbled to herself, then stepped onto the chain.
The wind whistled in her ears. Yu Shengyan was in front of her, looking so close, yet so far.
Distracted, she nearly tread on air and plummeted into the infinite zhang of the cliffs below.
“Be careful!” Yu Shengyan’s voice resounded in her ears.
Within a flash of consciousness, she had since arrived at the other side of the precipice, held tightly across her waist. Smiling gently, right as she thought to say something, her line of sight was drawn to that tiny wooden building.
The house was plain aside from some sharp swords that dangled from its eaves, which made clanging noises as they swayed in the breeze. Seeing them, she could almost imagine the scenario of Yu Shengyan shuttling through them to practice her martial arts.
The interior layout of the home was simple. There was one bed, one table, one stool, and hardly anything else.
“People rarely come here,” Yu Shengyan said quietly.
Fu Wanqing lightly laughed, wiping the dust off of the table. “At the base of the mountain is a gilded palace hall, while on top of it is only a run-down wooden hut. If I didn’t know that you were the Creed Head, I would’ve thought that you were a prisoner being confined here.”
“What place is not a cage?” the other answered mildly, walking into the house.
On one side was a billowing mountain range, and on the other was a vast sea whose borders could not be seen. The frigid mountain wind sent a chill right down to the bone. Fu Wanqing tightened her clothes around her, quickly following in Yu Shengyan’s footsteps.
There was not just the one home on top of the cliffs, but also an old pine tree with strong branches beside it. Only when close to it did Fu Wanqing see that there was a small burial mound beneath it, its speckled stone tablet completely empty, not a character in sight.
Who was buried here? A thread of speculation arose in her heart, but before she had time to ask any questions, Yu Shengyan opened her own mouth to explain.
“The one buried beneath is my aunt, Lou Lan. My senior sister’s Master, in other words. I once promised her that I would not allow harm to come to my sect-sister’s life.”
“You brought me to see this… just to tell me that I’m not allowed to kill Lou Kexin?” Fu Wanqing asked, expression cooling down. “You promised her, not me. If you really wanted to protect her right now, why did you allow her to leave the Creed to duel me three years back? If I hadn’t let her go back then, she likely would long be a broken piece of jade.”
“That was my fault. I couldn’t stop her, so I have to find that last bit of medicine for her,” Yu Shengyan said softly, looking resigned.
Had she not said as much, Fu Wanqing would have nearly forgotten about that.
Yu Shengyan had been willing to stay by her side for three months because of the Millennium Turtle Gall hidden away in the Manor of Chivalry.
Who was playing with whom, in the end? Who was baffling who, in the end?
Fu Wanqing laughed frostily. “Once the three-month time period is over, I will give you the Gall.”
She reached out to lift Yu Shengyan’s chin, staring right at her serene face. Her heart suddenly twanged. Mysterious feelings swelling, her hand tightened its grip until a red mark was left from her pinching, and then she abruptly let go, looked up, and smiled, leaving with a brush of her sleeves under Yu Shengyan’s confused gaze.
Within the floaty mist, her red clothes were fiercely beautiful.
“Lady Fu,” Yu Shengyan called out with extreme helplessness, rubbing her eyes. Upon seeing that the other woman wasn’t stopping, she hurried to catch up, then snatched her wrist. “Fu Wanqing!”
“What do you want?!” Fu Wanqing yelled, displeased. The look she had was akin to an angry child’s.
Yu Shengyan sighed. She held her hand in her palm, gazing calmly at her.
Fu Wanqing didn’t understand what Yu Shengyan was wanting to do, but she did know her own heart. The woman’s gaze was extraordinarily prone to causing one’s downfall.
She’s Yu Shengyan, the only one in the world that can stand side-by-side with you, Fu Wanqing.
As she thought up those words, her heartbeat suddenly picked up in speed.
“Yu Shengyan, you—“
Before she could finish her statement, her chin was grabbed. The light in Yu Shengyan’s pupils was concentrated and profound; beneath such a look, as if scorched from head to toe by fire, Fu Wanqing’s face began to suffuse with blush, the settling anger in her heart slowly transforming into humiliation.
Her pulse was fast, but her breathing was slow.
Yu Shengyan kissed the corner of her lips. When Fu Wanqing thought that she was going to part from her, her tongue suddenly bored into and pried open her tightly-shut mouth. Heated breath smacked her in the face, that faint, orchid-like fragrance lingering about. The ground beneath her feet seemed to collapse in an instant, and she had nothing to hold onto, forced to hold onto Yu Shengyan’s waist, submerging together with her, descending together.
“What are you doing?” Pressing against Yu Shengyan’s forehead, Fu Wanqing’s breaths were a little gentler, and one her hands was clutching the other’s lapels. She had never given a single sentence of explanation whenever she had done like this to Yu Shengyan, merely acting according to her heart’s desire, yet her legs were now weak, heart beating madly — an intense feeling she had never experienced before. As she asked, she held a faint eagerness for Yu Shengyan’s answer.
There were traces of a red tide on Yu Shengyan’s face, as well. She smiled coolly, then reached out and wiped off a thread of silver from the corner of Fu Wanqing’s lips. The latter curbed her expression, covering up a tiny bit of disappointment, then reached out and incrementally smoothed out the other’s lapels.
“Not everything can fall within calculations,” she quietly sighed out. “I didn’t want to be a traitorous prig right to your face, but now, it seems like I’ll have no choice but to be so.”
Her hand pressed against Yu Shengyan’s chest. The woman had no defenses up; what if she had a sharp sword? “Why do you trust me enough to not be on guard against me?” she asked, taking back her hand.
“I don’t know,” Yu Shengyan said softly, shaking her head.
Fu Wanqing huffed. “It’s actually because you don’t care about anything. In your eyes, there’s no life, and no death. Your martial arts are great, Yu Shengyan, but you definitely won’t be a match for me when unarmed.”
Yu Shengyan stared at her for a long time, then quietly sighed. “Why are you so set on that?”
Fu Wanqing smiled lightly. “Why are you so unyielding?”
Each of them had their own insistences. Each of them had their own roads they were going to walk. They both understood that, in their hearts.
Fu Wanqing realized that she had already fallen into dire straits, and there was no road forward for her.
“If I haven’t guessed incorrectly, those old guys of the Alliance have secretly sent experts to infiltrate Jadeite Water Creed. They’ve always wanted to get rid of the Demonic Creed all in one go. The Guanyin was sent here by Yue Qingtan, but it’s going to end up still falling into the hands of the Manor,” Fu Wanqing said. “Lou Kexin is one of yours, but she doesn’t necessarily obey you. The eyes she looks at you with have hatred in them, and Wei Xian is still in Jiangnan right now. Your situation is a bit treacherous.”
“She’s right to hate me.” Yu Shengyan’s mouth curved up, hooking into a powerless smile. “Aunt Lou Lan died under my sword, even if it was at her own request.”
Fu Wanqing was startled, having not expected that information.
“The fiendish qi of the sword is too heavy. Kill too much, and you’ll fall into the demonic path. Lou Lan couldn’t control her own desire to kill, and many human lives were cut short by her hand. She said that she had dissolved her own martial arts countless times, yet it had done nothing; she killed both people of the righteous path, and followers of the Creed. They called her the Devil. As someone immersed in slaughter with rare instances of being clear-headed, she begged me to kill her.”
“Is that why you refuse to draw your sword?”
Yu Shengyan nodded. “Yes, but not entirely.”
“Why don’t I see any guilt or sadness on your face? No matter how you say it, she died under your sword.”
The other blinked. “It was by her request. I got rid of her worldly woes for her. What’s wrong with that?”
Fu Wanqing went quiet. After a very long time, she laughed.
She herself was someone without a heart. Wasn’t Yu Shengyan the same? How could two people that were like this not be a perfect match?
They were labeled as guests, but in reality, those trapped inside the guest rooms had lost their freedom. They could move about the area, but there were Creed followers standing guard in every direction of the courtyard, whose martial arts were high above their own. For Shen Shengyi, escaping from here wouldn’t be something difficult, but even if he left the palace hall, there was no boat. Where could he even go?
Conceited, impulsive, impetuous. Their power was inferior to the Creed’s, yet they just had to have taken this trip because they wanted to demand so-called justice. Whitepath warriors were always fond of using their own reasoning to convince others — or, at least, show as much on their surfaces.
Shen Shengyi sat upon a stone bench beneath a tree to meditate. They had come here to seek out the Guanyin, wanting to eliminate the Creed, but they had lost the majority of their people to that stone array. He slowly raised his head, that profound gaze sweeping over the guarding Creed followers. Was there going to be a chance to survive this?
He knew well that so long as Fu Wanqing said something, so long as Yu Shengyan said something, they would be able to return to Jiangnan unscathed. That was why so many of the Martial Forest had agreed to come.
“I really don’t understand you jianghu people, who flaunt yourselves as warriors of chivalry. Have your hands not been stained with blood? Have you not done terrible things? Don’t all those stores belong to the disciples of your famous sects? Must all of us of the Creed bear every kind of infamy?”
A series of questions were flung out. He lifted his head to see a woman leaning against the railing — a familiar woman.
“Yue Qingtan,” he said, slowly.
The Guanyin had been stolen by this woman, and it was in her presence that he had lost face.
“I said that I would drink with you, Yue Qingtan. Why are you here?”
Another familiar voice was heard; only, it was Gu Yu’s.
Was Gu Yu a member of the Creed? Shen Shengyi felt a shock in his heart.
She had come followed by the Zhong brothers. Whether they were leading her around, or she was leading them around, was hard to say for the time being. Her reputation had spread across jianghu during the disturbance at Divine Mystery Sect, where she had used some unknown method to entrance the Zhong brothers. Many knew of her title of ‘Third Young Master’, but not a one knew where she had come from. If she was a member of the Creed, and if she had killed Zhong Tian, then she had planned this step by step… and all of jianghu was in peril!
“Zhong Shiling! Zhong Shixiu!” he shouted at the two brothers, who were standing in the courtyard and looking at Gu Yu, infatuated. He didn’t wait for them to walk over, quickly lifting up his robes and advancing towards them without delay.
Gu Yu’s figure had gone far way, and Yue Qingtan had also vanished without a trace.
“Do you two know what kind of person Third Young Master is? Who found that big ship?”
“She’s a pitiful person with no parents,” Zhong Shiling answered. He suddenly became vigilant, looking at him with some wariness. “What are you asking this for?”
He looked like a lone wolf guarding its prey on the grasslands.
A trace of disdain streaked across Shen Shengyi’s eyes. “She was the one that found that ship, right? Do you two actually know her true identity? Yue Qingtan is a Creed demoness, and they were walking together. What does that signify? Sect Leader Zhong was killed by someone from the Creed, and it wasn’t long after that that she showed up to fight! Do you not think that’s too much of a coincidence? Have you forgotten the hatred you have for the one who murdered your father?!”
“You’re implying that she’s from the Creed? That’s absurd!” Zhong Shixiu laughed in mockery, glaring at him unhappily. “If she was, why would she help us by finding that ship? As for our dad’s revenge, that’s our business, not yours! I’ll tell you this, Shen Shengyi; you need to quit with your plan to fight Yu’r. Her showing up at the Sect and causing a scene was only because she was looking for some wicked person that threatened her!”
Shen Shengyi smiled coldly. “Threatened? Who threatened her?”
Zhong Shixiu grinned in self-satisfaction. “We already killed them!”
“It’s true.” Zhong Shiling nodded. “They died under our sabres, and no one can threaten her anymore. She’ll be with us. Don’t trouble yourself with the worry.”
The Zhongs were enraptured by Gu Yu, as was Guo Ju. Shen Shengyi clenched his fists, his face dark, as if splashed with thick ink.
“Brother Shen, as I see it, this Third Young Master isn’t a good person. She’s even gotten mixed up with that bitch, Chun Fengxiao!” A voice brimming with resentment was heard, and then Yang Wumin stepped out from the side. A charming smile was on her face in an instant, but her facial wounds were all crowding together, which looked really terrifying. “She might have found that ship for us because she wanted to send us to our deaths! While we’re at it, that woman Fu Wanqing has been mingling with a Creed demoness, too, offending morality and being vile to the utmost!”
Loathing flitted across Shen Shengyi’s eyes. He avoided her gaze. “Has Lady Fu ever done anything evil? She doesn’t care about what happens in jianghu, but that’s not an evil deed. Sister Yang, our five families of the Alliance have always been inseparable. I think it would be best to clear up the misunderstanding between the Protectancy and Manor as soon as possible, which will be a boon to both you all and jianghu. As for the Guanyin, Alliance Leader Fu hasn’t followed up on it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s slipped everybody’s minds. You should just avoid Lady Fu if you see her.”
“Brother Shen…” she pouted, obviously somewhat dissatisfied.
Her older brother was fond of Fu Wanqing, and Shen Shengyi was, too. How could she not hate that? Where was the Fu Wanqing that everyone was imagining? She was a nasty, snake-hearted woman; what about her was worthy of fondness?
Yang Wumin madly hollered all of that on the inside, then took a step forward, twisted her foot, and made a posture like she was going to fall onto him.
An insipid smile was hung upon his face, as gentle and refined as a spring breeze. He reached out a hand, brushed a dead leaf off of his own sleeve, then took a step back. “Be careful with how you walk.”
She wouldn’t actually fall onto the ground, of course. Gritting her teeth, she smiled at him. “Thanks for your concern, Brother Shen.”
By the time she stood up steady, he was already gone. She fiercely kicked the nearby tree. A bird’s nest on a branch above fell down, and she was off-guard for but a second, getting her hair covered in dirt, dead branches, and withered leaves.
She was in a sorry state, but there was no one around for Lady Yang to vent her anger onto. She could only brush her sleeve out and quickly return to her room.
The wintertime courtyard was cold and lonesome. A raven cawed as it swept across the horizon.
The setting sun was sorrowful, the nighttime, dismal.
Two followers of Black Mountain Hall died, and quietly.
There were very thin sword wounds on their bodies, which could only have been created by Huaixiu. However, those of the Creed did not believe that their own Head had done this. They silently buried their passed siblings.
Some of the Whitepath warriors also died in their rooms, never to wake up again.
There wasn’t the slightest bit of a clue, nor had there been the slightest bit of noise. Not even one wound could be found on their bodies.
Once would be a coincidence, but would twice be?
“Those shameless Creed followers must have poisoned us! Despicable! The Demonic Creed truly is nothing good!”
“If they poisoned us, why would they also kill followers of their own Creed? Those that died were all experts of Black Mountain Hall!”
“Who the hell knows how they think! Tell me, then, apart from them, who else could quietly sneak in here for murder?”
“I think… it might not just be us that got onto the island!”
…
After listening to them talk about this for a minute, Fu Wanqing quietly withdrew.
Yu Shengyan was standing in the courtyard, casting her serene gaze into the distance. Fu Wanqing didn’t know what she was actually looking at. Maybe… she wasn’t looking at anything.
“You left?” Yu Shengyan quietly asked, turning to stare at her.
Fu Wanqing hooked her lips into a grin, answering with disdain. “Is there anything to ever be discussed with those people? Is your Creed really unconcerned about this? The followers you lost were both experts of Black Mountain Hall, right? And this actually had nothing to do with me, this time.”
Yu Shengyan nodded in response.
“You don’t appear to care about those followers at all?”
“Do you care about those jianghu people?”
“No.”
She smiled as she looked at Yu Shengyan. A very long time ago, she had believed that she would never find someone that fit with her mindset for all her life. Now, she had found her, but why did she have to be her rival?
The other looked at her brilliant smile, and her own lips had to hook up. Her hand briefly touched the center of Fu Wanqing’s chest as she sighed. “You really don’t have a heart, Lady Fu. The righteous folk of jianghu follow the Manor of Chivalry blindly, but I’m afraid that it no longer suits the word ‘Chivalry’.”
Fu Wanqing licked her lips, pressing down on the woman’s hand. “Have you only just seen through me? When did you start caring, Head Yu?”
Yu Shengyan was too enticing, making one itch to swallow her down, bite by bite.
Fu Wanqing was a master of being headstrong, and cared nothing about the gazes of others. She never did anything for the sake of anyone else seeing it; everything she did was for her own satisfaction.
From the corner of her lips to her eyes that shined like stars, she kissed gently along. “You can only be mine, Yu Shengyan.”
Even if you die, you can only die in my hands.
This was not the first time Yu Shengyan had heard her say those words. She raised a brow. “Is that out of like, or is it merely your desire to own acting up, Lady Fu?”
Fu Wanqing huffed, caressing her face with a lazy laugh. “Doesn’t liking something mean I want to own it? Whatever I like, I won’t be willing to share with anyone else. I want to hide your everything away so that only I can look at you. Tell me — is that not a type of like?”
—
The translator says: Can the Zhong guys die sometime soon? I'm pretty sick of them LMAO
The night… was cold and quiet.
Those warriors dared not doze off rashly. Nearly all of them had congregated into one building, guarded from head to toe, terrified of the unknown danger hidden somewhere in the dark.
Fu Wanqing quietly entered the building, then quietly withdrew from it, alerting nobody. The faces of the Creed followers standing guard were as emotionless as ever, and upon seeing her strut out of the courtyard, they remained unconcerned, as if they hadn’t spotted anyone at all. They understood well that she alone was the guest of their Head.
Yu Shengyan had not returned to that small wooden house on the mountain.
Fu Wanqing dashed into the hall she was at like a burst of cool wind. Red curtains of muslin hung on all its sides, gently moving along with the breeze. Faint yellow candlelight made the place hazy, the muslin appearing to be brushed away by the flames, and the environs were quiet, with only some words faintly coming through.
The other sat to one side, a book in hand. She didn’t even lift her head up.
Lou Kexin sat in a wheelchair, her hands tightly gripping the armrests, looking like they were about to crush them to pieces. When she bowed her head, she was firmly biting her lower lip, but once she raised her head, the bitterness and smog in her eyes were entirely dissipated, making her look like an entirely different person from her self that had bowed her head. Her voice was very soft, and very gentle.
“Junior sister, Fu Wanqing is member of the Whitepath Alliance, and her father is its Leader. That is a position she should be inheriting in the future. You brought her back and have been much too close with her, which our followers have had quite some words about. Those Whitepath warriors have come to contend with us, and we’ll need your guidance on what our next step should be.”
“Haven’t the Creed’s affairs always been handled by you and Protector Wei?” Yu Shengyan replied indifferently, not even bringing up Fu Wanqing. Her concentration was set upon the book, and she had since flipped through several pages, making a rustling sound.
“Why are you staying by her side, sister?” Lou Kexin chuckled. “If it’s for my medicine, then you don’t need to. Even if I won’t be able to stand for all my life, I still won’t want anything of hers. Were there to be anything that could dispel the hatred in my heart, it would probably be her head. Would you be willing to help me fetch that?”
The other creased her brow, finally putting her book down to look at Lou Kexin. “You didn’t listen to my advice in the first place, senior sister, and insisted on dueling with Lady Fu. Should there be any mistake there, it would be because I failed to obstruct you, and have thus failed Aunt Lou Lan’s entrustment.”
Lou Kexin’s voice suddenly sharpened, and she could barely maintain her external tranquility. “‘Aunt Lou Lan’? You still have to face to bring up my Master, sister? If you haven’t forgotten about her, you should be standing at my side and helping me kill Fu Wanqing! That woman really needs to die! What about Huaixiu, sister? Since you could use it against my Master, why can’t you use it against Fu Wanqing?!”
“It’s late, sister.” Yu Shengyan ignored what she said, eyes glancing at the heavy red curtains behind her. There was a person hiding there… no, maybe it should be said that there were two people. She was not in the mood for further discussion.
Lou Kexin gave a heavy huff. She wheeled away, her speedy figure dissimilar to someone with legs that didn’t work.
The red curtains still rippled, but they fell to the ground in chunks, resembling a spread layer of fallen flowers. A silver-white flash abruptly shot out from the curtains; in addition to a longsword, there were also a good deal of silver needles as thin as cow hairs.
Yu Shengyan seized the book upon the table and directly burst it into pieces, the sky-filling scraps dancing under her strong true qi, looking like gently-falling snowflakes. The needles pierced the pieces and then landed on the floor, but the sword was already coming up before the eyes. The masked person in black had eyes filled with a vicious tinge, like they would never give up if they were unsuccessful.
Fu Wanqing had been concealed behind a curtain this whole time; seeing the black-clothed person’s sword, her gaze sank. She quickly tore a strip off of the curtain, then whipped it forward to wrap it around Yu Shengyan’s middle, pulling her into her arms.
The black figure flitted through the red cloth like they were passing through an expanse of bloody mist. Candles were extinguished, one after the other, ultimately enveloping the large hall in darkness. The piercing sound of the longsword came, and that breathing, originally barely audible, suddenly got heavier, like a bull gasping for air.
Fu Wanqing was motionless, her hands that gripped the sword shaking, a cold light suddenly shining in her eyes. The one in black struck again, profound inner force steadily flowing off their sword’s tip. She felt like her right hand weighed a thousand catties. As if attracted by a magnet, her sword couldn’t move no matter what — this person’s martial arts were great.
There came a clang, like a small stone had struck against a sword. Taking this time, Fu Wanqing swept the other’s sword away from their hand. The black-clothed person’s swordsmanship was inelegantly heavy, pressing down like Mount Tai, so if she wanted to contend with them, she couldn’t do so head-on.
A Zhao warrior’s rough, plain tie in hair, hooks of Wu shine like snow. A saddle of silver complements a white horse, which sped as fast as a shooting star.[7]
This was the swordstyle of the Manor of Chivalry, light and dextrous, each one of its moves avoiding the one in black’s strength. With an exhale, the person suddenly took back their sword, and before her own could stab them, they had already flown away from the hall.
She did not pursue them, taking out a flint and lighting up the candles.
A few drops of fresh blood were upon the muslin curtains, soaking them. Fu Wanqing looked Yu Shengyan up and down, saw that there wasn’t the slightest trace of a wound on her body, and faintly sighed in relief. “Who were they? Their sword gave me a powerful feeling of repression.”
“Someone wanting me dead,” the other answered placidly. “They’re from your Whitepath circle. They used ‘Crazed Steps’ when they left.”
“So it’s him! I never expected that his arts would reach such an extent.” She laughed coldly. “He flaunts himself as a Whitepath hero, always wanting to do something useful for the Martial Forest, but who knows what shady things he’s done in secret, if he’s cruel enough to slaughter his own sworn brother.”
Yu Shengyan looked at the debris on the floor, then sighed. “That may be so. You’ve led people to Jadeite Water Creed — what are you wanting to do next?”
“Why do you care about this stuff?” Fu Wanqing lightly snorted, smiling.
“Too much killing will not have good results.” Yu Shengyan looked down. “I don’t understand what you want to end up accomplishing. Since you know that the Whitepath warriors don’t have the power to wipe out our Creed, why did you draw them here? It would be better to let them leave so that the Island can be peaceful again.”
“It wouldn’t be peaceful.” The other chuckled. “Those who have died on your Island have siblings, parents, children, and friends that will come for revenge in obedience of Fu Hui’s order. This is no longer something that can be concluded by returning the Guanyin. Jianghu people already hate your Creed, and now they’ll hate it even more.”
Fu Wanqing was not a good person, which she had stated clearly to her at the very beginning. She had also trapped her at her side at the very beginning, for the sake of exploiting her for her goals.
She went to smooth out Yu Shengyan’s furrowed brows. “I said before that in three months’ time, I would eliminate Jadeite Water Creed, as well as the Whitepath Alliance. You should be just as uncaring towards this stuff as you used to be, Yu Shengyan. You know that I won’t change any of my plans for anyone else, even if you urge me otherwise.”
Yu Shengyan smiled. “You’re so confident in that, Lady Fu?”
The other nodded, grinning arrogantly. “The Alliance has long been destroyed, actually. Guo Ju is one of mine. When it comes to Divine Mystery Sect, those brothers have no use whatsoever, and Gu Yu has taken control there. Of the three leftover, my old man and Yang Yifei have gotten grudges in their hearts, and Skytouch School’s Sect Leader? Heh…
“As for the Creed, Head Yu… are you not aware that your two Protectors have been fighting in secret?”
Indeed, Yu Shengyan had known nothing of these things. Despite being the Head, she was inferior to Fu Wanqing in understanding her own Creed’s affairs. The Left Protector, Wei Xian, was a man she was extremely unfamiliar with, while Lou Kexin would likely not be anything more than an acquaintance she nodded to, were it not for their connection as sect-sisters.
“Yu Shengyan,” the other woman suddenly called out. “Why don’t you transfer your position over to me? I’m more suitable to be Head of the Demonic Creed than you are.”
There was a full-blown smile across Fu Wanqing’s face, and a bit of slyness streaking across her eyes, making her look like she was both speaking seriously and telling a joke. Yu Shengyan swept over her mildly, then nodded in response. “Okay.”
She had never cared about her position as Creed Head, and her staying had been for no other reason than that she had lived here since she was a child. She had even already given Fu Wanqing the token that represented her status.
“Such a pleasing answer.” Fu Wanqing shook her head, giggling. “One aspect would be the Eldest Lady of the Manor of Chivalry, one aspect would be the Head of the Demonic Creed, and… heh, I couldn’t handle that. You should stay in your post. This way, we’ll still be a great match, even in regards to rank.”
“Hm.” Yu Shengyan nodded, pulling off hand that was misbehaving on her face.
Fu Wanqing huffed, slightly miffed. Her eyes looked about a couple times, and then she leaned against Yu Shengyan with a coquettish grin. “I just heard you tell your sect-sister that it’s late. Is our Head Yu ready to go to bed?”
Her smile was extremely unbridled, looking like a gorgeous flower in full bloom. Her hand had been slowly rubbing Yu Shengyan’s waist this whole time, and she could feel a burning warmth beneath that layer of clothes.
With one night of peace, the unscathed Martial Forest fighters eventually sighed in relief. However, they weren’t at ease for very long before their hearts became heavy once more.
That was because they had remembered their aim, and their situation. This was Jadeite Water Creed, and they were a group that was under house arrest. They hardly ever saw any Creed members, aside from the few followers that guarded the courtyard. Say that they were to find someone; would they demand the Guanyin back? Who should they seek out, though? What would their position be, too? Could they just sneakily steal it back? That would be even more ridiculous, since they didn’t have any freedom.
“This old man has had enough! Wouldn’t it be better to pick up our blades and kill our way out of the Creed?! We’ll take them down with us! We still want to destroy them, right? Our side is about to be completely annihilated, so as I see it, no one should be concerned with the Guanyin, but with preserving their own little lives first!”
“Who came up with the terrible idea of coming to Thousand Jadeite Island? Look at us now, we’re all trapped here! Were they not wanting to kill us?”
“This is because you all stupidly trusted the Whitepath Alliance! Didn’t you see how close Lady Fu is to the Creed Head? She’s never stayed together with us! Her behavior as an Eldest Lady isn’t the same as others’! And for that Third Young Master, of Divine Mystery Sect? Hasn’t she been staying with Yue Qingtan of the Creed all day long? I’m thinking that the Alliance has long been colluding with the demons, and drew us here to catch us like turtles in jars!”
“Since things have gotten to this point, what’s the use of arguing here? I think it would be better catch a Creed follower as a hostage to persuade them to send us back to Jiangnan, since we can’t cross again. This stupid island stinks of the sea everywhere!”
Typically, whenever major matters were discussed, none of these people would make a peep, yet they were actually quite nimble-lipped in shirking responsibility and cursing out others.
Third Young Master had left, as had the Zhong brothers alongside her, of course, while Guo Ju sat by herself, drinking wine and paying no attention to the nearby commotion. Shen Shengyi sat in the middle of the jianghu warriors, his expression indifferent, as if he hadn’t heard their slander and criticisms of the Alliance.
Yang Wugong was sitting upright with a grave expression, and Yang Wumin was veiling her face, revealing only a pair of eyes filled with rancor and jealousy.
“Eldest Master Yang,” a bizarre-sounding voice rang out. “Now that we’re talking about it, wasn’t all of this incited by your Protectancy? Why have you not given any suggestions?”
Were it not for the greedy hearts of those in the Protectancy, the Guanyin would never have been lost, and the treasure map would have been safe and sound at the Fu’s with no one giving an extra thought about it. Maybe the secret regarding it having a hidden treasure map inside wouldn’t have even been spread around.
That was all what the jianghu crowd had guessed on the basis of all sorts of clues; they weren’t considering what the truth was at all.
“Suggestions?” Yang Wugong smiled coldly. “Are we not waiting for the Creed’s people? Did they not come?”
As soon as he said that, the door was pushed open by someone, creaking.
Lou Kexin gazed at the jianghu-goers with a wisp of a smile on her lips. “You all have been in our Creed for a few days, so there’s presumably a lot you want to ask about us. I have neglected you all because a few things held me up beforehand; do forgive me!”
Seeing that they were thoroughly angry, she laughed again. “Please, come follow me.”
The fine wine, no one dared to drink. The good food, no one dared to eat.
The group of jianghu folk were like mutes whose tongues had suddenly been pulled out, sitting in their seats and not saying a word.
A beauty in dark clothes entered the main hall in slow steps. She swept her eyes over Lou Kexin, then took a seat at her right hand side. Raising up a wine cup and taking a sip, she tsked through her teeth with a smile. “Protector Lou, why didn’t you have anyone call for me if there was wine and meat?”
Lou Kexin stared at her, smiling insipidly. “You are a dragon that shows her head, but not her tail, Hall Master Yue. The Creed’s followers couldn’t find you at all. You’ve happened to catch up this time to me entertaining these guests from far-off, on behalf of our Head. It wasn’t easy for them to make the trip here, and we can’t let them return to Jiangnan without enjoying themselves to the fullest.”
Yue Qingtan nodded. “This is a good thing.” After a pause, she proceeded to ask, “Where is the Head? Why don’t I see her figure?”
Lou Kexin and Yu Shengyan were sect-sisters, so, in the Creed followers’ minds, Lou Kexin was the one closest to their leader. But, in reality? Yu Shengyan was distant with everyone.
Witnessing Lou Kexin’s gradually darkening face, Yue Qingtan’s lips hooked up into a playful smile.
Yu Shengyan wasn’t here, and neither was Fu Wanqing. Even the followers knew that the two were inseparable. Their Head rarely got close to anyone, but now she was close to a woman — and not just any woman, but the Eldest Lady of the Whitepath Alliance.
“In the blink of an eye, November has almost halfway passed.”
Fu Wanqing valued time, but she had never been as preoccupied with counting every moment as she was right now.
Yu Shengyan and her seemed to be slowly getting closer, yet also seemed to be drifting apart.
The former was standing on the beach, the surging tide dampening the hem of her robes. The seawater was freezing cold during this frigid winter season, yet she appeared to not feel a thing. A seabird was perched on her hand, honking, but when Fu Wanqing drew near, it immediately flapped its wings and flew away.
She huffed coldly. “Do these birds think you’re more beautiful, too?”
Yu Shengyan laughed lightly. “They fear becoming a meal on your plate, Lady Fu.”
That was indeed what Fu Wanqing had been plotting. She didn’t want to use martial arts to catch seabirds; she wanted to wait for them to deliver themselves to her. “Is it because you’ve lived here since you were a child that they don’t fear you?”
The other shook her head. “It’s because I am harmless, in their minds.”
To be without machinations… that’s something Fu Wanqing probably wouldn’t be able to achieve all her life.
The vast ocean merged with the remote horizon. The sea wind picked up waves, noisily slapping them against the shore’s rocks.
Fu Wanqing reached out to grab Yu Shengyan. “You shouldn’t be called the Creed Head. You’re clearly an Island Lord. The Lord of Thousand Jadeite Island… that title resounds further than Head of Jadeite Water Creed.”
“Whether it’s ‘Creed Head’ or ‘Island Lord’, they would be no more than names people have added onto me,” Yu Shengyan quietly answered, grabbing her hand. “Without them, I would still be me, not different in the slightest.”
Yu Shengyan was Yu Shengyan. It wasn’t like she would have nowhere to go, were she to leave the Creed.
Fu Wanqing was enjoying the sensation of being together with Yu Shengyan, so the voice of a sudden intruder made her brows tightly knit. Had the other not still been clutching her hand, she likely would have sliced this man’s neck open with her sword. A glance at his black clothes told that he was from Black Mountain Hall.
“Creed Head, the Right Protector has requested that you go to the great hall.”
A shallow smile flitted past Fu Wanqing’s mouth, but her eyes were the utmost of chilly. “I was under the impression that you, as the Creed’s leader, didn’t actually care a bit about what happened to it.”
Yu Shengyan shook her head powerlessly. “Let’s go.”
The food had since gone cold, but the nice wine was being warmed up by the pot; though, the majority of it was going into the stomachs of Guo Ju and Yue Qingtan. The pair of them looked like they had nothing to do with any of this, taking only their own happiness into consideration. This was no more than a few aspects of fate — they couldn’t be considered friends, but in front of wine, they were confidantes to each other.
Yue Qingtan wanted to get drinks, while Guo Ju wanted to get drunk. People that got drinks would get a little drunk, while people who wanted to get drunk would just get more sober the more they drank.
Some were yelling about the Guanyin, while some were remembering their tremendous grudge.
“Did you Creed people kill my dad?!” Zhong Shixiu suddenly stood up and bellowed.
Zhong Tian had died under Huaixiu — that was something everyone in jianghu knew. Yu Shengyan was the only one under this sky that could use Huaixiu, yet the Zhong brothers had already rejected that possibility. They firmly believed that it had been a follower’s act, not the Head’s.
Lou Kexin pursed her lips. “You should ask the Head that, Young Hero Zhong.”
Yu Shengyan heard exactly that sentence when she stepped into the hall, looking over coldly. “I didn’t kill Zhong Tian.”
Zhong Shixiu’s face flushed thoroughly red, fists clenching. “I know that H… Head Yu is not a malicious villain. Your followers would do anything! Don’t shove things onto her!”
Lou Kexin nodded. “My followers of the Black and White Mountain Halls have never done anything like this. You should ask Left Protector Wei, but he’s unfortunately not in the Creed right now. I must ask for your understanding, Hero Zhong.”
“We came to the Creed to get the jade Guanyin back!”
“Jade Guanyin?” A trace of confusion appeared in her eyes. “I’m afraid that you all are mistaken. Is that not in the hands of Soaring Might Protectancy? Why did you come to our Creed to look for it?”
“It was stolen by your Yue Qingtan!”
Hearing someone mention her name, Yue Qingtan’s drunk eyes peered over, and she slowly grinned. “It’s true, the Guanyin’s in my hands. But… what does that have to do with any of you? Isn’t it Lady Fu’s? Where do you get off asking for it? When it comes to returning the object to its original owner, that should be her doing so.”
“She’s from the Manor of Chivalry, so her business is the Alliance’s business, and the business of all of jianghu! Tell me, should we not have come to demand it?” a young man yelled.
She shook her head and sighed, turning to Fu Wanqing. “Should they have, Lady Fu?”
“Nope.” The other gently laughed.
“What about the Guanyin, then?”
“It needs to be returned to the Alliance!”
Following that loud shout, a middle-aged Daoist in blue cloth robes charged into the hall.
The eyes of this Daoist were bright, and his average, square face was overflowing with a righteous air. He frowned, swept his gaze over Lou Kexin in the host seat, then ultimately set it upon Yue Qingtan.
When Shen Shengyi spotted him, he promptly stood up. “This disciple greets you, Master,” he respectfully said.
This man was Liu Zhishang, Sect Leader of Skytouch School. In jianghu, he was also known as the ‘Daoist of Inertia’.
The head of Skytouch School had arrived in person. The jianghu-goers seemed to have swallowed a heart-steadying pill, even getting amply courageous.
Liu Zhishang was the older brother of Liu Wei, the uncle of the Yang siblings, and, of course, someone Fu Wanqing loathed. She stared at him, the wisp of a sneer flitting over the corner of her lips, then cast her gaze outside the hall — aside from fallen leaves dancing in the strong wind, there was nothing.
“The Sect Leader of Skytouch School has come himself? Will the other higher-ups of the Whitepath Alliance be coming, too?” Yue Qingtan asked, taking sip after sip of wine. She stood up unsteadily, supporting Guo Ju. “Yet, even though the Daoist of Inertia is here in person, I still can’t hand the Guanyin over to you, because it’s something of Lady Fu’s, not your School’s.”
The man nodded. “That would have been correct before, but Leader Fu has since attributed it to the whole of the Alliance, and the treasure map within it has also been granted to the whole of Whitepath’s jianghu. It is no longer the sole property of the Fu’s.”
Yue Qingtan looked at Fu Wanqing. “Eldest Lady, is that the truth?”
Fu Wanqing smiled. “I know nothing of this.”
Liu Zhishang’s expression cooled, and he turned to her with a gentle tone. “This was your father’s idea, Wanqing. He didn’t have time to inform you yet. When the map is taken out of it, the Guanyin will certainly be returned to you.”
“I understand.” She grinned insipidly. “So long as it’ll benefit the Alliance, my dad will do it. He really dedicates himself to the stability of this stretch of jianghu. Did he come here, Uncle Liu?”
He smiled wordlessly, slowly lowering his head. The sharpness streaking past his eyes was as thin as a needle.
Freezing wind blew noisily into the hall, instantly chilling the warmed wine. Guo Ju raised her head to look at the drunk-hazed Yue Qingtan, then at Gu Yu, who was sitting between the Zhong brothers, chatting and laughing. “Wine’s cold,” she mumbled.
But, what did that matter? It entered the throat like it was burning the bottom of the heart, anyway. Her wine pot was empty, so she reached out to search the nearby table, only to get ruthlessly slapped on the hand by someone.
Another person had arrived in the hall at some unknown time. He chopped the wine pot apart with a palm, then lifted Guo Ju up and swore at her. “You wily brat! How old are you? All you know to do is drink! Do you know what you look like drunk?! I feel ashamed to say that you’re my son!”
The Lord of Flying Falcon Fortress, Guo Lintian, had also come.
Yang Yifei, gloomy-looking, slowly appeared within the sights of the jianghu folk.
It had been easy for these great heroes to overcome the Megalith Array.
Fu Wanqing’s grin flourished more and more. She ignored all of this, instead latching onto Yu Shengyan’s hand and saying a few bits of chatter to her.
What could be within the other’s disaffected eyes? Fu Wanqing gave it careful consideration, then finally found an answer — her own figure was reflected within them, as if she was her entire world. Such a feeling made her rather joyful.
Those of Whitepath’s jianghu were determined to get the Guanyin, while Yue Qingtan had no desire to possess it.
The enmity between Jadeite Water Creed and the Alliance was not something of merely a few years; were it able to be resolved right now, that would be more than great. Still, neither side dared to act rashly. The Creed was nervous about these long-famed heroes, while the Whitepath warriors were nervous about the Creed’s experts that hid in the dark.
Yue Qingtan laughed lightly. “It could be returned to you.”
Everyone was waiting for her to keep going, but she didn’t say anything else, instead returning to her seat and ordering the servants to replenish the wine. Cup after cup entered her mouth, her drunkenness getting all the more heavy. Some, when drunk, would look like they had become crazed, while some would peacefully sink into a dreamworld; she was the latter.
Guo Lintian knitted his thick brows. He reached out to shove her, but was suddenly blocked by Guo Ju. “You mustn’t disturb her, dad. She might be your daughter-in-law someday,” she said cheerfully, secretly glancing at Gu Yu.
Guo Lintian was stunned, taking back his hand, and returned to his senses with a shout. “What nonsense are you saying, you li’l bastard?!”
She huffed. “I don’t talk nonsense. Besides, don’t you usually say that heroes aren’t to be asked their origins? A wife one’s going to marry doesn’t need to be asked, either. I’ve been chatting happily with her, and take a look at her appearance; can you still say she’s not a match for me? After she marries into the Fortress, she’ll be one of us, and there would be no need for questions.”
“That makes sense.” Guo Lintian stroked his chin, nodding in response.
Yang Yifei, donned in green clothes, resembled an erudite scholar. No signs of age appeared to be carved into his face, and he was a lot younger in comparison to Liu Zhishang. Upon walking into the hall, he didn’t spare a glance at his son or daughter, merely gazing with his two deep eyes at the one sitting above. Once Guo Lintian’s voice had gone, he began to speak. “The one in the host’s seat is Right Protector Lou, yes? We have come to the Creed for no other reason than to retrieve the Guanyin. I believe that you’re sensible, and won’t hold onto it with a refusal to give it back, hm?”
Lou Kexin’s expression quickly cooled down as she smiled. “Where do those words come from, Great Hero Yang? This young woman has simply never seen the Guanyin before, and I’m afraid that Hall Master Yue needs to be asked about its whereabouts. Our Creed is on the faraway Thousand Jadeite Island, and has not a sliver of interest in the treasures everyone of the Central Plains’ Martial Forest fights over. This action of Hall Master Yue’s has also caused me immense confusion.”
Yue Qingtan was drunk and put on no airs, genuinely immersed in her dreams. The Creed followers were unwilling to wake her up, and the Whitepath followers were too afraid to do so hastily, only able to helplessly watch her peaceful and tender sleeping countenance.
“How about this; all of you can stay in our Creed for the night, and wait until she wakes to discuss the Guanyin,” Lou Kexin suggested.
“Demoness! Who knows whether you have the mind to harm us!”
“That’s right! A few of our brothers died for no reason! Are you not giving an explanation for that?!”
“What are you saying, Young Heroes? If our Creed sincerely did want to harm you, would any of you have been able to live until now? You are guests that our Head brought back, so how could I dare to harm you easily, if I’m afraid of even inciting your displeasure? Speaking of that event from before… a few followers of our Creed were also killed. Can we not suspect as well that you all have done something in secret?”
Again came an endlessly clamorous scene, which ended with Guo Lintian’s impatient shout.
Yang Yifei and Liu Zhishang were maintaining their statuses and would not move to touch Yue Qingtan, while Guo Lintian had a comparatively more bullish temper, yet had also been persuaded by Guo Ju. Not only did he refuse to wake her up, but he would glare coldly at others that called to do so. The Creed followers wished to send Yue Qingtan back to her room, not expecting that Guo Lintian would holler out, “This is my son’s wife, so Ju’r must take her away.”
It wasn’t a strenuous thing for a martial artist to carry someone away, but Guo Ju felt like there were thirty-thousand catties of weight in her hands. Gu Yu had long since left with the Zhongs, and hadn’t even given her one look. Her heart ached, the wine she had drunk seeming to transform into tears, which she eventually held back. Yue Qingtan was returned to her room, and the instant Guo Ju turned around, she withdrew with quick steps, rubbing her eyes as she suddenly entered Fu Wanqing’s line of sight.
“You really have luck with the beauties, Brother Guo,” the other chuckled.
Guo Ju sighed. “Don’t mock me, Sister Fu. My dad is stubborn, and he’s probably going to remember this. He’s always pressuring me to take a wife and have kids. I’m pretty worried that the Guanyin won’t be found, but that I’ll be marrying Yue Qingtan and taking her back home.”
“You know how he is, so why are you still talking like that?” Fu Wanqing asked, curious.
Yu Shengyan, who had been quiet this whole time, suddenly raised her head. “She glanced at Gu Yu.”
Guo Ju was going for Gu Yu, but, unfortunately, the other didn’t feel the same.
Fu Wanqing sighed, sounding rather powerless. “You’d best give a clear explanation to your dad, because if he runs off to Yue Qingtan and calls her his daughter-in-law to her face, that probably won’t end well,”
Yue Qingtan looked to be a gentle person, but that was only her surface. She was a member of the Creed, yet Yu Shengyan did not understand her thoughts, nor did the Creed crowd.
She was akin to a plant without roots, having no sense of belonging wherever she went.
Guo Ju sighed as well, nodding. “If not for the Creed’s instruction, why would she go steal the Guanyin?” she then asked.
Fu Wanqing grinned lazily. “She probably thought it would be fun. Some people only do things out of a moment of whimsy, and won’t think about the consequences at all. She randomly stole the Guanyin, so she can also randomly give it away.”
“…Really?” The other gave her a look, eyes full of disbelief.
Guo Ju didn’t believe that sentence, Yu Shengyan didn’t believe that sentence, and even Fu Wanqing herself didn’t believe that sentence — as soon as she had said it, she laughed.
The reason Yue Qingyan had stolen the Guanyin was perhaps something that only she herself knew.
Legends told of a type of wine called ‘Thousand-Day Drunkard’, which could make someone drunk for a thousand days — but, that was just a legend. Yue Qingtan wasn’t going to be drunk for a thousand years, but she didn’t really wake up the next day, either.
The wine had been so strong, she slept for a whole three days. Those three days appeared to be long, yet they weren’t enough to make a round trip between Thousand Jadeite Island and Lin’an Prefecture. If they seemed short, though, then they were enough to cause an earth-overturning change in jianghu.
The several experts of the Whitepath Alliance hurriedly left, while the Left Protector, Wei Xian, returned. In the view of those righteous jianghu warriors, this was a huge blow, but it was lucky for them that he had come back with injuries. He didn’t even have the time to greet anyone face-to-face, quickly going into seclusion to recuperate.
“Do you know why they went back?”
A smile raised upon Fu Wanqing’s face. She let the snow-white carrier pigeon she held fly, then walked to the edge of the hanging cliff whose bottom could not be seen; the instant she relaxed her hand, fragments of paper wafted through the harsh mountain wind like snowflakes. She had never expected Yu Shengyan to answer, chuckling. “No matter how important Jadeite Water Creed is, it’s inferior to the Martial Forest of the Central Plains. Furthermore, Yue Qingtan is willing to hand over the Guanyin. Your Creed’s Left Protector returned with injuries, seemingly having encountered some enemy. As for your dear sect-sister, she’s probably ecstatic on the inside, since she’s able to monopolize power over what happens in the Creed.”
“This is your doing?” Yu Shengyan asked blankly, looking up to shoot her a look.
“What do you think?” Fu Wanqing asked back, winking.
Fu Wanqing was someone that did what she said she would. The three month time period was almost up; how could she not have set into motion at all?
“After three months, you’ll be free. You won’t need to be by my side.” She looked at Yu Shengyan’s indifferent expression with a playful grin. “This last chunk will probably be spent in the Creed. When the time comes, will you follow me to the Manor to fetch the Millennium Turtle Gall, or will I be sending someone to deliver it to the Creed, Head Yu?”
“I’ll follow you,” the other answered without thinking. Her expression went stiff for a second, lips pursed, and she lowered her head, dodging Fu Wanqing’s alluring eyes. These three months seemed to have gone by in a wink. Her originally-empty heart had unwittingly become crammed full, so how could she ever return to her initial self? She had changed; that much, she had noticed.
Fu Wanqing held a proudness within her gorgeous smile, her gloom of imminent parting swept away by the other’s words. As per usual, she was seated in Yu Shengyan’s hold, as lazy as a little fox that had eaten her fill; she hadn’t forgotten their duel, but as of right now, she didn’t want to bring it up at all. “Three months is too short. I really want to stay with you for the rest of my life, but it’s a shame…”
She had no need to speak to the end, believing that the two of them could not understand any better.
What’s a shame? You having the clamor, fame, and profit of jianghu in your eyes? And I, only having the lonely wilderness remaining in my heart? It’s a shame that you want to duel with me, where only one of us can survive?
What type of person would take teasing and jokes seriously? Whether these were real feelings or fake, Yu Shengyan couldn’t distinguish between them. She pursed her lips, then suddenly shoved Fu Wanqing away, flitting into the sword array next to the house like a puff of faint smoke, leaving not a single sentence behind.
The edges of blades collided, making clanging sounds that snapped Fu Wanqing out of her running stun.
Yu Shengyan shoving her away was something that rarely happened. The light in her eyes dimmed, a couple traces of displeasure flashing past, while the one in the array’s footsteps fluctuated so fast, only afterimages of them could be seen. She couldn’t see Yu Shengyan’s face, but she faintly detected that she seemed to be angry.
With a boom, one of the ropes of a sword broke, falling to the ground.
Yu Shengyan herself had since floated out from the array. She reached out and caught a strand of falling hair. Was this the first time one had been cut off by a sword in years? What did this signify?
Her heart was not calm, so it was impossible for her to remain unaffected. She shut her eyes, thinking back to the final step she had just taken — suddenly, Fu Wanqing’s grin swept across the incident before her eyes, beautifully passionate, and as unbridled as a flame.
“Head Yu has good movements.” Fu Wanqing clapped, a fake smile hung upon her lips.
Yu Shengyan opened her eyes, having already sunken all of her emotions. She turned, saying to Fu Wanqing, “I seem to understand your obsession with dueling me.”
Her eyes were bright, different from her former pure solitude, with a lively vigor. Taken aback for a short moment, Fu Wanqing then snapped out of it, licking the corner of her lip. “You’ve come around to it? Do you want to duel me? It won’t be about winning or losing, but rather a contest between life and death.”
The other suddenly sighed, shaking her head. “No.”
This beautiful rose had thorns, so why would she want to reach out and pluck it? Fu Wanqing’s appearance had already thrown her life into disarray. They should be standing on opposite sides, so why would they be close?
Thankfully, these three months would soon come to an end.
A very light sigh spilled out of her lips; she seemed to not sense it, herself, but Fu Wanqing heard it.
For what was this disappointment? For the tragic fate of the Creed that was about to come up? Or the separation after three months? Fu Wanqing opened her hand, wind blowing through the seams of her fingers. She was unable to grab it tightly. Looking at Yu Shengyan’s expression, she suddenly felt a wave of cold, like the other was also a cold wind above the cliff. All warmth vanished without a trace in an instant, leaving only the chill and alienation from when they had first met.
“You want to keep away from me, Yu Shengyan?” she murmured, though no one answered.
Sometimes, both nearness and distance were painful.
Who was Yu Shengyan? An opponent, a friend, and the only one in this world that could compare to her.
Fu Wanqing gave a huff, but there was a distinct voice deep in her heart that was sweating madly about this being far from enough. She intentionally ignored it, and also intentionally overlooked the pain and unwillingness she got from Yu Shengyan’s estrangement.
The sky was glum and the wind was frigid. It looked like a heavy snowstorm was imminent.
Fu Wanqing was reclined on a bed in light sleep, the cold breeze blowing in from the window causing her to shrink into a ball.
Pursing her lips, Yu Shengyan’s gaze went from her book to land upon Fu Wanqing’s figure. She had rarely spoken to begin with, and on account of her deliberate distance from her, she had not made one word known to Fu Wanqing in days.
The latter feared the cold. During the late autumn, she had incessantly brought up how terrible the winter chill was, and how she needed someone to warm her freezing hands.
She wore thin clothes, and because she was tossing and turning, her blanket had already fallen to the ground.
Yu Shengyan’s heart softened. She went over to the side of the bed, picked up the blanket, and covered Fu Wanqing with it.
The other’s brows were knit, and she shuddered constantly in her sleep. Yu Shengyan felt her fingertips — they were as frozen as December frost. She stood in place for a long time, then took off her shoes and socks, climbed onto the bed, and took the curled-up Fu Wanqing into her arms. As she slept, the other appeared to be very well-behaved, not having the slightest bit of harshness or flamboyance as she nestled into Yu Shengyan’s chest, subconsciously seeking out the warmest spot.
They were in a palace hall at the foot of the mountain; people with no tact were liable to come disturb them, but it was even colder in the wooden house on top of the mountain, in the end. Yu Shengyan shot a bland look at the man entering the hall, and made a gesture to keep quiet.
Wei Xian had been in the Creed for many years, having nearly watched Yu Shengyan grow up. Aside from distance and indifference, he had never seen any other expression on the Creed Head’s face before. Warmth like this getting directed at a Whitepath woman struck him dumb for a long time, after which he snapped out of it, then knelt on the floor with a plop.
“What is the meaning of this, Protector Wei?” she whispered, somewhat unhappy.
He glanced at the deeply-sleeping Fu Wanqing. “Creed Head, please reconsider. This woman is Fu Hui’s only daughter, the future leader of the Whitepath Alliance. Beyond that, Protector Lou had her heel tendons cut by her. She’s the enemy of our Jadeite Water Creed!”
Yu Shengyan shook her head. “She’s not mine.”
She was the Creed’s and Lou Kexin’s, but not hers.
Wei Xian mumbled, swallowing down all of his words. Yu Shengyan had never cared about Creed matters, and if she had been in the mountain house, he would have never gone to bug her. However, on the seldom occasions where she stayed at the hall down the mountain, he would report everything that was going on in the Creed, no matter the importance. It was just a pity that their Head had always had this uncaring look.
“Are you still not returning to recuperate from your injuries, Protector Wei?” Yu Shengyan asked coldly, frowning. She was obviously intending to chase her visitor away. This man — even if he had been in the Creed for years, and even if he had once been her father’s competent assistant — was nothing more than a stranger to her.
“This subordinate came with something to report,” Wei Xian continued, creasing his brow. “Another power has come to jianghu, called Limitless Palace. They are unlike the Whitepath Alliance, but they also oppose our Creed. Those shops and smaller sects, which once either belonged to us or the Alliance, have all been issued with the Palace’s banner. The woman I met this time around was called the Limitless Empress, and her skill is tremendous.”
“Hm.” Yu Shengyan nodded indifferently, not concerned in the least.
He sighed, then finally withdrew from the hall.
The Limitless Empress. That was a title she had heard while in Jiangnan.
Apparently, Liu Zhishang, Yang Yifei, and the rest of them had hurried back to Jiangnan because all the small sects under their control had turned traitor.
Yu Shengyan chuckled, lowering her head to gaze at Fu Wanqing’s still face.
—
The translator says: fwq: i want to kill you
ysy: ok bye then
fwq: wtf. why doesn't she like me. makes no sense
Fu Wanqing had rarely ever slept so peacefully. On this freezing winter’s day, her hands and feet weren’t bitten to the bone with cold.
She sat up on the bed. After a long period of being dazed, she then set her gaze upon Yu Shengyan, who was standing still by the window.
Wasn’t she wanting to keep away?
Fu Wanqing was going to get closer to her instead, then.
Curling her lips into a grin, she quietly slid off of the bed.
What was Yu Shengyan looking at? Nothing, really. She was distracted, and thus didn’t even notice the other’s approach. Once arms wrapped around her middle, she snapped out of it, body jolting. She pressed on Fu Wanqing’s arms — not to be gentle with her, but to pry her fingers off until the force on herself lightened, after which she sighed in relief.
Fu Wanqing was really not happy, a feeling that was even greater than the one she got whenever a subordinate reported that they had failed their mission. She grinned no longer, not wanting to conceal her emotions in front of Yu Shengyan; wouldn’t that just get seen right through, anyway?
Yu Shengyan was refusing to turn around, so she wound around to be in front of her. Lady Fu’s face was dark, resembling an omen of a violent storm approaching.
Looking into her eyes, Yu Shengyan appeared to be able to sense the burning inferno that was in her heart.
“You’re running away! You’re staying away!” Lady Fu shouted, dissatisfied.
Before, it had only ever been her, Fu Wanqing, that stayed away from others. How often had she ever suffered this amount of grievances?
The other had no denial towards her accusation, nodding frankly.
“Why?” Fu Wanqing asked.
“I don’t know,” Yu Shengyan faintly answered. The corner of her mouth twitched, and she released a chuckle of derision.
Why were there so many whys? Lady Fu never allowed anyone to know her own reasonings, but she herself would often get to the bottom of things.
Such expressions rarely showed up on Yu Shengyan’s face — that was to say, there was pretty much never one. At the beginning, she had been like an ice-cold statue, someone above mortals, and Fu Wanqing had always wanted to drag her down into the abyss, wanted to dye her with some of the color of the world of the living.
And she had done so. Such a mocking smile should not have shown up on Yu Shengyan, yet she didn’t feel the slightest bit of delight, instead feeling slightly sad. She squeezed out a smile to cover up how disconcerted she was. “Don’t you think it’s too late to stay away now, Head Yu? The closeness between friends, the intimacy between lovers, everything else possible… we’ve already done it all. Our bones and blood have fused together. We can’t be apart.”
What ought to be done? What ought not to be done? Yu Shengyan had no such distinction in her mind, nor did Fu Wanqing; as long as it would make them happy, as long as it was something that could make themselves feel better, it ought to be done. There would be no regret when those things were done, and further still, they would not be burdened because of them.
Yu Shengyan sighed. “I thought you understood.”
Fu Wanqing’s eyes were painfully stung by her aloof, unconcerned expression, quickly flushing with some red. “What should I understand? That all of this is just a moment of fun?”
“Did you not think exactly that at the time?” the other answered, lips drawing up.
Fu Wanqing went quiet.
In a moment of whimsy, in a moment of fun, she had pulled Yu Shengyan into an abyss. She couldn’t refute her words, because she had indeed thought so, once upon a time. The mocking look in Yu Shengyan’s eyes was getting deeper and deeper, as if saying, “Look at that. Aren’t you admitting it to yourself, Lady Fu? What are you even still searching for?”
Fu Wanqing tightly clenched her fists, avoiding her eyes in distress. “That’s… but now—“
“But nothing. There is no difference.”
Yu Shengyan’s indifferent voice sounded out. With that rare command and power, Fu Wanqing unwittingly yielded to her words.
It shouldn’t be like this, though. Why had she lost her dominant position, and allowed Yu Shengyan to control everything? Abrupt resistance and arrogance attacked her heart, and she raised her head with pride. “Right. There’s no difference,” she answered, unyielding. “I’m just afraid that you’ve fallen deep into a trap.”
Anybody could have detected the change between them. Only a few were worried, while way more people were joyous — the two had been on opposing sides to begin with, so this present distance was no more than them coming back to their respective positions. The Creed people were happy because their Head had returned to her spot, and the jianghu warriors were delighted because Lady Fu was no longer being unruly.
On the shore of Thousand Jadeite Island was a row of boats hung with demonic-sound flags. They had been left by Whitepath’s jianghu; ever since Liu Zhishang and the rest’s departure, they had been moored on the coast.
Yue Qingtan woke up from her drunken dream. She was someone that was as good as her word, but it was a shame that Lou Kexin had a different idea.
Perhaps it was for a feast of Goose Gate, some of jianghu figured. But what was to be done about this? To get the Guanyin, they had to attend the assembly. Very soon, they would be able to leave the Creed, which had danger everywhere.
Yet, they had simultaneously let out a sigh of relief only to have a feeling of vigilance resurface.
Yu Shengyan was the Creed Head, and yet she was sitting amongst the line of Whitepath people with Fu Wanqing. She was looking downwards, eyes never staying upon anyone, while Fu Wanqing was lazily leaning into her arms — her face was filled with smiles, but they were as cold as knives. In her hand, she toyed with a carved jade sculpture of a beautiful person, who was the one she yearned for the most. She brushed over its features, then softly sighed. “Mother.”
This was the jade Guanyin, which Yue Qingtan had returned.
Some were looking at Fu Wanqing’s face, and some were staring dazedly at the jade statuette, hearts beating like drums. The person and the statue were the biggest dreams of the righteous warriors of jianghu, and yet they were now being held in Yu Shengyan’s arms. The only thing that comforted them was the fact that they looked close, yet were now actually far apart.
In the end, Yu Shengyan was a woman — a woman of the Demonic Creed. Lady Fu loved to mess around, but she was still the Eldest Lady of the Manor of Chivalry, and part of their Whitepath Alliance.
This world had no lack of people that pursued those uninterested.
The limpid wine in the cups swayed. The incense in the censer swirled with the wind.
Fu Wanqing was pressed against Yu Shengyan; very warm, yet also very cold. Her body trembled, and then she noticed that the strength of the arms on her waist increased, causing her to smile very slightly.
Murderousness flowed all around.
“We’ve disturbed you for many days. Thank you for your hospitality, Head Yu and Protector Lou.” Shen Shengyi raised his wine cup, then drank it all down in one gulp.
Anybody could be a guest of Jadeite Water Creed, aside from these so-called Whitepath people. Left Protector Wei Xian pulled an awful face, huffing coldly, while Lou Kexin was brimming with a warm smile on the outside. She rolled her wheelchair over to Fu Wanqing, soon after which a black-clothed attendant brought over two cups of wine.
“Thank you for looking after our Creed Head for this time, Lady Fu. I hereto offer you this cup to express my gratitude.”
Fu Wanqing wasn’t fond of drinking, especially not Lou Kexin’s wine. She didn’t even bother to raise her head.
Lou Kexin’s smile slowly went stiff, the wine in the cups shaking. Shooting a look at her, she laughed painfully. “I thought… that we would be able to expel our grudges with the smile of a meeting.”
Saying so, she drank the wine cup from the left-hand side. The right-side one was still held level, as if she wasn’t going to rest unless Fu Wanqing gave her an answer.
“Can the hatred between the Creed and Alliance be bought off so easily?” Fu Wanqing laughed languidly, tossing the Guanyin into Guo Ju’s hands. “Do none of you understand why you’re able to sit here right now? You’re all simply too scared of each other to dare to do anything. Your Creed has many followers, but so long as our Alliance gives the word, those experts on the boats will immediately barge in here.”
She loved to break all walls of delusion.
All of a sudden, a slender, unmarred hand reached out, then took the wine from Lou Kexin’s hand. “She won’t drink, so I’ll drink it all for her.”
Lou Kexin’s expression twisted up. Before she had time to say anything, Yu Shengyan tilted her head back and downed the wine into her stomach.
Stunned for a second, Lou Kexin suddenly shouted, “Put out the incense at once!”
Having the most malicious womanly heart in the land, Lou Kexin was unable to do anything to those Whitepath people for right now, but she wanted Fu Wanqing’s life. Since Yu Shengyan had refused to help her, she could only rely upon herself — Fu Wanqing being in the Creed was a great opportunity that she wouldn’t tolerate missing.
The poisoned wine’s effects were temporarily suppressed by internal force.
Once Fu Wanqing heard Lou Kexin’s shout, she slipped out of Yu Shengyan’s arms. The other was as pale as snow, with terrifying bloodstains at the corners of her lips, and her eyes were misting, gradually becoming unable to see anything clearly.
“You’re poisoned!” Fu Wanqing shouted loudly. Figure quick as lightning, she didn’t wait for the Creed followers to come protect Lou Kexin, already fiercely gripping her neck. “What’s the antidote?!”
Lou Kexin was lifted out of her wheelchair, legs kicking wildly, face turning bluish-purple. Fu Wanqing’s face was filled with murder; if she hadn’t been waiting for an answer, she would have straight-up broken Lou Kexin’s neck. The jianghu people were tittering, while the Creed followers were suddenly experiencing a huge upset, dumbstruck for a time.
Very faint force covered Fu Wanqing’s wrist.
She turned to look at Yu Shengyan with reddening eyes, her smile getting colder and colder.
All you care about is remembering your promise! All you care about is protecting this cruel woman!
Yu Shengyan’s body went limp. Fu Wanqing caught and held her in her arms, right hand viciously flinging Lou Kexin away. With a resounding crack, the table was broken into several pieces. Lou Kexin put a hand on her chest, spat out a mouthful of blood, and held her throat, unable to speak.
“Red String’s Lead,” Wei Xian’s voice rang out.
Red strings led the heart — this one wasn’t leading her into a destined love, but her fate!
Upon entering the body, Red String’s Lead would make one lose their five senses and extinguish the mind’s capacity.
It had no antidote; at least, the Creed didn’t have one.
Fu Wanqing stuffed the anti-poison medicine that she had brought into Yu Shengyan’s mouth, but she still did not wake up.
Jadeite Water Creed holding the label of ‘Demonic’ was not an injustice. It had poison, so it using it on others was natural.
Who should be most content with Yu Shengyan getting caught up into this death-like state? The disciples of jianghu, of course. With their eyes shot red, they had clearly already forgotten that this place was the Creed.
She, when not poisoned, was still the intended of those jianghu men, but once she was poisoned, once she was no longer pretty, her identity returned to being the leader of the Creed. They might feel some heartache for the demise of a beautiful woman, but definitely wouldn’t sink into long-term pain because of it.
Everything in jianghu changed too rapidly, yet not nearly to the same speed as people’s hearts did.
“People of the Creed reap what they sow! The Heavens really are helping us!” One man stood up and laughed madly, only to quickly collapse straight downwards, unable to make any further sounds.
The one who had struck was Lady Fu. That monstrous-looking smile, and that deep will to kill, were not only for the Creed’s followers, but for these so-called jianghu warriors. For an instant, everyone else made not a peep, inwardly rejoicing their own sensibilities. Nobody was under the impression that Lady Fu was only putting on a display; her sword was still dripping blood.
She had sunken into pain. She didn’t want to believe this truth. She was going to kill, and she wanted to kill. All who tried to block her path became corpses.
Wei Xian was holding a weapon, a trace of hostility suffusing his eyes. Yu Shengyan was the Head of his Creed — how could he allow her to be taken away by someone from the Manor of Chivalry? Right as he thought to act, Yue Qingtan was heard to call out. “Protector Wei.”
She then shook her head. The Creed followers all withdrew to the side.
No one cared about Lou Kexin, who was collapsed upon the ground.
Fu Wanqing walked out of the grand hall carrying Yu Shengyan, her lips curled into a sob-like smile. The jianghu fighters followed after her, while the Creed followers gripped their weapons and gave chase. They dared not get too close to Fu Wanqing, cowering and truly lacking even a bit of spirit.
“The three month deadline hasn’t yet been reached. For every day you sleep, it’ll be extended another day.” Fu Wanqing stroked Yu Shengyan’s face, laughing lightly.
She wanted to duel her. In other words, she had long accepted the situation of one of them dying, and the other living.
She had thought before about dueling, thought before that she would win, and believed that she would be able to accept Yu Shengyan’s death — now, though, her heart was filled with panic, as if someone had grabbed it and squeezed hard. This feeling of near-suffocation was drowning her.
How could Yu Shengyan die of poison? She was going to duel her. She couldn’t die.
Fu Wanqing mentally chanted those words over and over again. All of a sudden, she threw her head back and laughed loudly.
The confronting sea wind was like an icy knife, unfeeling and frigid.
Fu Wanqing, your heart’s been moved, a voice said in her head. Who was speaking, there?
Moved? How was it moved? How could she, Fu Wanqing, be tangled up by love? She laughed coldly. I just can’t accept her dying in the hands of others. She’s mine. Her life is mine. She can only die by my hands.
A sigh sounded out. How would Lady Fu know that she was just deceiving herself to convince everyone else?
Fu Wanqing walked from the hall to the shore while carrying Yu Shengyan, flanked on the left and right by jianghu-goers and Creed-goers.
“That’s the ship! The big ship that’ll take us back to Lin’an!”
Someone was full of excited shouts. The longing to return home suppressed the fear deep inside his heart, making him forget everything around him, and after stepping over the clusters of skeletons in the wide-open Megalith Array, used lightness arts to dart onto the big ship while laughing wildly.
There appeared to be nobody aboard the ship, other than deathly silence. A short moment later, the man’s corpse was thrown back out, bobbing up and down in the water.
The stench of blood spread outwards. Was that big ship really going to take them back?
The ship’s flag lowered, then rose again.
“Is it the Creed’s? Is the Creed going to act against us?”
“This is the ship that came from Jiangnan, isn’t it? Isn’t it going to take you lot back? Why aren’t you going?”
Shen Shengyi stared at the ship, brows creased.
The Zhong brothers wanted to rush on ahead, but were blocked by someone. Gu Yu, who had been standing stock-still between them, walked out, took out a short flute, then played a bizarre melody on it. Guo Ju also walked out from the jianghu crowd with the Guanyin, standing quietly next to Fu Wanqing. Inside this row of large ships, a familiar sail arose.
“You’re really amazing, Yu’r!” Zhong Shiling praised with a smile. He shot a raised-brow look at Guo Ju, then darted away while dragging Zhong Shixiu towards the familiar ship.
“Come back.” Gu Yu gave a smile, then pointed at an extremely unremarkable little boat that was attached to that big ship. “That’s the one, but it can only ferry five people.”
Zhong Shixiu cackled, rubbing his hands together. “Yu’r, that’s a—“
“Who are you?” Shen Shengyi suddenly asked, having been silent all this time.
“I’m a member of Divine Mystery Sect,” she answered frankly.
The brothers were happy, but Guo Ju went pale. She turned to Gu Yu, seeming to ask, Is this you agreeing to their courtship? Who are you going to marry?
“Guo Ju, bring the Guanyin back to the Manor,” Fu Wanqing softly ordered.
The gloom on Guo Ju’s face disappeared instantaneously, but her eyes were still filled with grief. She nodded, jumped into the small boat, and then, without waiting for anyone else, drifted it out into the sea.
“Hey, didn’t you say five people? Why did Young Lord Guo run off like that?” a jianghu guy stomped and shouted loudly.
“Forget it. Aren’t there still a lot of big ships here? What are we looking at that lousy boat for?”
“You blind? If you have the skill, get up there! We don’t know whose ship is whose, and I don’t want to die!”
Wei Xian stood up, cupping his hands towards the calm-faced Fu Wanqing. “Lady Fu, our Creed could have boats send you jianghu people away, given that you comply with returning our Head.”
She raised her head and smiled lightly. “What do their lives and deaths have to do with me? Do whatever you want, by all means.”
“Lady Fu, this is Thousand Jadeite Island! Your martial arts may be strong, but we of the Creed are not to be trifled with!” he shouted as his face sank.
She grinned sarcastically. “Go ahead! You’re all going to die, anyways!”
The sound of a xiao and pipa suddenly came off of the one huge ship, with sky-filling, wafting petals seeming to make spring days descend. A procession of charming, agile, pink-clothed women came out of the deathly-quiet vessel, and in no more than the blink of an eye, they landed upon the shore. Among them, a woman was holding a jadeite xiao, and nodded at Wei Xian.
“Limitless Palace!” he nearly squeezed out from between his teeth.
The jianghu people sighed in relief; they had no enmity with the Palace.
“Protector Wei still recognizes us young ladies.” The veiled woman beamed.
“What grudge does our Creed have with you?” he shouted.
The woman looked at him lightly. “Grudges need to be asked about in jianghu? Would we need to be enemies for me to want to kill you? I must say this; you’re blocking my way, Wei Xian, as your Creed’s Hall Master Yue is the one that’s offended me!”
It was only at this point that Yue Qingtan lifted her head to look over at the veiled woman. She chuckled. “Yue Honghua,” she tenderly called out.
“Shut up!” The woman was furious, shooting several silver needles outward. Yue Qingtan lightly leapt to dodge the weapons, and those that hadn’t the time to dodge immediately collapsed to the ground upon getting struck — both Creed followers and jianghu ones alike.
Yue Honghua really hated when others called her like that, yet Yue Qingtan just had to purposefully stomp on that sore spot every time.
“You won’t let me call you little sister, nor will you let me call you Yue Honghua. What do you want me to call you, then?” Yue Qingtan’s eyes were gentle, as if water was about to overflow from them.
“I don’t have a way to deal with you, Yue Qingtan, but I can wipe out your Creed!” the other bellowed.
“Miss Yue, we and the Creed are also enemies. As the common saying goes, the enemy of an enemy is a friend. W—“
“It is beneath our Palace’s dignity to be friends with the likes of you!” Yue Honghua coldly shouted, turning to Gu Yu. “Third sister, are you still not hurrying up?!”
Gu Yu’s sword was placed against Fu Wanqing’s neck, her face ice-cold.
“Yu’r, y-you’re a member of Limitless Palace?” the Zhong brothers called out, wholly in disbelief.
She did not answer, merely raising her brows to look at the two in full mockery. Seizing Fu Wanqing, she boarded the ship, but the other did not give any sort of resistance, only staring at Yu Shengyan, distracted, as she held her. She strictly guarded her, fearing that the sword’s tip would cut Yu Shengyan’s skin.
Lady Fu had been entranced by the Creed Head, even getting captured by another without resistance.
That was no more than a misperception in the eyes of others, though.
Limitless Palace, Limitless Palace… what kind of place was it, actually? What kind of people did it have?
Slaughter and fresh blood dyed the sea of Thousand Jadeite Island red.
“The Zhong brothers won’t be able to get back to Divine Mystery Sect for a short time; the net can be tightened. They will not die on Thousand Jadeite Island, but once they return to the Sect, their reputations will be destroyed.
“Shen Shengyi is a man that thinks deeply. After he returns, he won’t make random remarks in jianghu.
“Yang Wumin has already guessed correctly, but everybody knows that she hates and is jealous of the Eldest Lady, so likely only Yang Yifei will believe in her words. The relationship between the Protectancy and Manor has split, and will be difficult to mend.
“Don’t bother with those of the Creed, but that Lou Kexin needs to be locked up and tormented for a good time. She can’t die so easily, though.
“Thousand Jadeite Island is nothing. Haze Island is our ultimate battlefield.”
Limitless Palace was a terrifying sect; such was the rumor going about all over jianghu. Apart from Guo Ju, the young disciples of the Whitepath Alliance had been injured or killed, where even Lady Fu of the Manor was reported to have suffered wounds.
Yue Honghua, the veiled woman, was oppressive, resembling a blood-soaked Asura. She needed only a light tap to be able to split apart armor and break ribs, unfeeling — it was heard that Yue Qingtan was her older sister, and yet she had still viciously moved against the Creed’s followers. Such was what the surviving disciples had said; upon recalling that frightening spectacle, they had continuously trembled and shaken their heads.
“The jade Guanyin! This is it!” Fu Hui caressed the jade statuette, unable to control the tremor in his speech.
Fu Wanqing was curled into a ball as she nestled in her chair, eyes full of coldness as she smiled at him. The Guanyin had the face of her mother, and yet this emotionless man was unmoved, excited solely about the treasure map hidden inside; maps, martial tomes, and endless wealth.
He toyed with the Guanyin, then suddenly knit his brows. “Where’s the mechanism to open it?”
She smiled lazily. “I don’t know.” Pausing, she went on to say, “Didn’t you promise to give the map to all of Whitepath’s jianghu? Why not seek them out to discuss this together? Uncle Yang might know how. Don’t look into that one thing anymore, dad. He’s never admitted to it, so just take it as having never happened. There’s no need to be estranged from the Protectancy because of that. Now that your major enemies are not only the Creed, but also the Palace, you need to drum up strength.”
His expression went stiff. It was a good minute before he split open a smile. “Wanqing, you’ve become more sensible these recent days. Is it because Yu Shengyan is in our Manor? As long as you don’t cause trouble in secret, I won’t make that public knowledge.”
She smiled and nodded. “Everything will be as you say, father.”
Who in jianghu didn’t already know that she had taken Yu Shengyan away? Who didn’t already know that the latter was in the Manor? It was simply that no one dared to ask after it.
Were it not for her drawn-out breaths, the one lying on the bed could have nearly been taken for a corpse. Her complexion was as white as paper, no traces of poisoning to be seen. Each and every person that had claimed to be a miracle doctor of jianghu had been thrown out upon Fu Wanqing’s orders; there was no need to speak of any antidotes, as they couldn’t even name the type of poison Yu Shengyan had.
Fu Wanqing was not omnipotent. Confronted with this poisoned woman, at least, she had her hands tied.
“Eldest Lady, this subordinate has found out that there is a miracle doctor that can cure hundred of poisons living in Million-Flower Valley, in the outskirts of Yangzhou.” Fu Rong wiped sweat off of his forehead. Seeing the dark face of his Lady, he was scared witless as he spoke.
She chuckled. “You lot have searched out all kinds of ‘miracle doctors’, but none of them have had any talent. Is this one in Million-Flower Valley another quack?”
“U-Um…” he stammered, too afraid to give a positive answer.
“Go make preparations. I’ll go there myself in a day or two,” she said quietly. Turning to look at the one on the bed that hadn’t moved a bit, she sighed on the inside.
How could she be willing to give up? Even if there was only a slight possibility to, she had to save her life. Yu Shengyan, the Creed Head — how could she be defeated by some insignificant drug?!
In winter of the twelfth month, northern wind whistled. The overcast sky was about to collapse, pressing down upon faraway trees. Heavy snow fluttered down upon Yangzhou.
The inside of the pub was still lively, and people from jianghu came and went, warming up pots of hot wine to drive away the chill.
A notice had been disseminated from Divine Mystery Sect; three months ago, the former Sect Leader had reached his end, and it was unknown what had been stirred up this time around. Jianghu held no respect for the Zhong brothers, but seeing that it was the Sect’s and Alliance’s face at stake, they had to make the trip.
The wind and snow were cold. The air in the great hall was even colder.
Sitting in the host’s seat was a pretty woman. Three months ago, she was the one who had made trouble at the funereal hall here.
Gu Yu lowered her head and sipped the hot tea. Not even a glimpse out of the corner of her eye was given to the jianghu people.
Disciples of the Sect were standing in wait beside her, faces full of respect.
She was seated where only the Leader of the Sect would be able to sit, and a token of command was placed near her hand, which happened to be the Sect Leader’s emblem. Was the Sect undergoing a change of rule? The jianghu-goers had that suspicion on the inside, but none spoke it aloud.
“All of you heroes have been invited here today because there are two major things to announce.” A man with a short beard lightly coughed, walking out. He had once been Zhong Tian’s assistant, and handled many things pertaining to the Sect. Sweeping his gaze over the silent jianghu folk, he continued. “Ever since the former Leader’s sudden demise three months ago, that position at our Sect has been unoccupied. On this day, it has finally found its owner; Miss Gu Yu is the newly-appointed Leader. As for the second thing? The Sect is withdrawing from the Whitepath Alliance, and will no longer interfere in the affairs of jianghu. The former Leader has offended too many people on account of things, so Sect Leader Gu hopes to keep away from disputes and return to tranquility.”
“Where are the two Young Masters of the Zhong family? Why isn’t the position being succeeded by one of them?”
“Right! How could it be passed on to an outsider? How could it be passed on to a woman?”
“Where are the Junior Leaders? Why don’t we see a trace of them? Could it be that they were unable to return from Thousand Jadeite Island? All of this makes sense, then, but why has there been no news from the Sect getting out?”
“The Sect’s withdrawal from the Alliance needs to be carefully thought over. We’re facing huge enemies right now, with Limitless Palace now on top of Jadeite Water Creed. We need to work as one to get rid of them, not generate internal strife!”
…
“Do be quiet, heroes. We sent people to go look for the two Young Masters, and there’s already news that they’ll be arriving soon.”
Gu Yu’s head had been lowered this whole time, a faint smile at the corner of her lips. Her fingertips gently tapped against the token of command.
He said that they would come soon, and they did indeed come soon.
Two men walked into the hall, withstanding the wind and snow. They shook off all the snowflakes on them, which made a wet patch on the ground.
They had haggard faces and wounds that had not yet gone; given that they did not speak them out, no one would know what torments the brothers had suffered.
As soon as they entered, their gazes were honed in on Gu Yu, never once glancing at anyone else. They knew that she was from Limitless Palace, but what did that matter? Zhong Shiling took a step forward, fists clenched tight. “I do not care about your identity, the position of Sect Leader can be given to you, and we can withdraw from the Alliance, disregarding the disputes of jianghu. You just have to marry me so that you can be someone of the Sect, and of righteousness.”
“Shut up! Why would it be you?” Zhong Shixiu shouted, grabbing Zhong Shiling’s hand. A wrathful flame burned in his eyes; he had seen jianghu disciples fall to the Palace’s hands, one after the other. The women of the Palace were demons! He was going to kill them!
However, when he saw Gu Yu’s face, all of his murderous thoughts receded. Gu Yu had done nothing; she had merely taken away Lady Fu, who was now safely staying in the Manor. Lady Fu had never pursued the matter, so why would he be angry about it? All sorts of thoughts flowed into his heart, which ultimately turned into jealously of his older brother. “Yu’r, don’t listen to him. I’ll be good to you! I can give you the Sect Leader’s position!”
“I’m your older brother! Why would the title ever get to you?!” Zhong Shiling raged, not caring at all that he was making an idiot of himself in front of jianghu.
“Dad said that you wouldn’t be able to stand the huge responsibility when he was alive, so how would you get it?” Zhong Shixiu sneered in response.
Gu Yu smiled as she watched them endlessly argue. Once there was the loud bang of a chair being bumped into and broken, she casually interjected. “The position is not for you brothers to give to me, but has belonged to me from the start. As for what you’ve both said about marrying me… are you not afraid that Zhong Tian’s eyes will open in death?”
The brothers paused in their brawl. “What does that mean?”
She stared at them, the smile on her lips a tiny bit cold. “‘Enough spiritual qi births good children;’ Zhong, Ling, Yu, Xiu,” she enunciated. “Do you still not understand?”
The Zhong brothers didn’t get it, but the jianghu people suddenly did.
“Wh-what does that mean? Yu’r, you…?” Zhong Shixiu stared at her blankly.
Gu Yu stood up abruptly, smile cold. “Do I have to call you both my big brothers for you to understand? Zhong Tian was a fickle man! What sort of righteous hero was he? Only someone like him could sire two morons like you!”
Her mother had not been Zhong Tian’s former wife; she had just been a woman with the misfortune to fall onto hard times, and after she had met Zhong Tian, that misfortune had fiercely intensified. He had not been a good man, nor had he been a good father; Madam Zhong had been very beautiful, but once he had caught sight of Gu Yu’s mother, his heart had still become entranced… or, maybe it should be said that he had been solely engrossed with beauty. Madam Gu once had only him as the man she could rely on, while he had many, many women he could be tender to.
What was true? What was false? As if struck by lightning, the Zhong brothers took a step backwards, too afraid to believe this. Their eyes were blown wide as copper bells, the veins of their hands already bulging out. Even with things like this, Zhong Shixiu managed to force out an ugly smile. “Yu’r, you’re joking, right?”
Gu Yu loathed Zhong Tian. The fuss she had made at the funereal hall had not been prompted by him, and the few kowtows she had given before it could be viewed as a resolution. Once the kowtowing had been over, the kindness of being given life had also been concluded, and all that was left was strong, unchangeable hatred. As cold as being placed within a cave of ice, Zhong Shixiu shuddered beneath Gu Yu’s absolutely hateful eyes.
“Zhong Tian was a lecher, and his two sons are also lechers! Have you warriors seen this? These two were fighting over their own sister! They wanted to violate proper human relationships to marry their sister!” As if disdaining that the brothers had not suffered from enough irritants yet, she raised her head, smiling maliciously. “Tell me, all of you. The Leader of Divine Mystery Sect — should that not be me?”
With an ashen face and dimmed eyes, Zhong Shiling dropped into a sit upon the ground, while Zhong Shixiu appeared to have lost his soul. Some hot tears in his eyes, he suddenly covered his head and screamed madly, then pulled Zhong Shiling up to rush out into the great snowfall.
Why would the brothers pay attention to the pointing of the jianghu people? They ran in desolation, this time; all of their infatuation had been nothing more than hopes that would come to null, a malicious vengeance scheme another had set up.
Gu Yu had won. She laughed very animatedly, but as she laughed, she began to cry. Pulling up her sleeve, she stared at the lines of scars upon her wrist.
The brothers were running away, Zhong Tian was dead, and her mother was long gone.
From beginning to end, she had been alone.
Heavy snow sealed up the mountain, its vast expanse seen in the distance.
Upon a winding mountain road, a carriage traveled slowly.
“Eldest Lady, the carriage can’t go anymore. Million-Flower Valley is just a bit further ahead.” The driver said to the rider, hopping off of the carriage.
“Mn.” A hand reached out of the curtain.
Freezing wind blowing against her face, Fu Wanqing shrank back. She gazed at the huge mountain landscape, then sighed.
After a few leaps and bounds, her red figure speedily sank into the land of snowy white.
The faint scent of herbal medicine came out of the Valley. Knitting her brows, she looked ahead; wind chimes swayed gently, as if greeting the guests, and there were two small wooden houses connected on two sides of a medicine garden. There were no colorful flowers at this time, just pure white snow.
This place was cold and quiet. Aside from the sound of the wind chimes, there was no other movement. Holding Yu Shengyan, Fu Wanqing knocked on the door. Her inner force flowed through Yu Shengyan’s wrist and into her form, but this was making her own body quickly about to freeze, as she was shivering constantly in the strong wind. Nearabout when she was getting impatient, she thought to break the door in, only to hear a creak.
A woman in purple clothing came out from within the house.
Fu Wanqing glanced at her, then smiled. “You’re the miracle doctor? You can’t even treat your own eyes. How could you treat anyone else?”
Even with a smile on her face, Fu Wanqing was callous and aggressive. It was like the heavy snow had suddenly begun to fly around again.
The woman was smiling gracefully, which didn’t change at all due to Fu Wanqing’s attitude. She turned sideways to allow her into the house.
There were various kinds of bottles and jars arranged inside the cabinets, as well as half-ground herbs; she at least appeared to be more reliable than than those jianghu quacks. Fu Wanqing said nothing else, eyes darkening, and placed Yu Shengyan onto a clean bed.
The woman passed by her without inquiring anything, sitting right at the edge of the bed and reaching out to take Yu Shengyan’s pulse.
Looking, listening, asking, taking the pulse — Fu Wanqing knew of all that, but didn’t understand it one bit, so she could only stand by and worry. In the wake of the woman’s sighing, her heart slowly became heavier. Was Red String’s Lead actually incurable? She remained calm on the surface, even though the woman wouldn’t even be able to see her expression.
“This is Jadeite Water Creed’s Red String’s Lead.” The woman stood up and flattened out the hems of her clothes, sighing ruefully.
Fu Wanqing nodded. “Yeah.”
“It’s not incurable. Stamping out her martial arts, or your own — which would you choose?”
The other softly laughed in derision. “I’d choose neither.”
The woman smiled, nodding. “You gave her a lot of antidote, but those medicines either stimulate or inhibit each other. She hasn’t died because they’ve worked, but she also hasn’t woken up because of them. Now, the poison within her has been forced into her chest, and could attack her heart without proper care.”
Fu Wanqing frowned. “How can she be saved?”
“The Ghost Doctor’s Thirteen Pins. I’ll need you to uphold order for me, however. Don’t let anyone barge in and disturb me.”
Making the distinguished Lady Fu stand guard outside the room, like a watchwoman? This was something that ordinary people would never dare to even think up, yet since this woman had said so, Fu Wanqing nodded in agreement. Not worried about what the other would do to Yu Shengyan, she turned and walked out.
Dreary wind and snow swirled before her eyes. She had bundled herself fully in furs, yet she still felt the cold unbearably stinging her skin. She remembered facing a furnace, nestled in Yu Shengyan’s arms with soft words and light laughs, but that was all empty air, now.
Three months was too brief, not nearly enough. Once Yu Shengyan woke up, she would use this life-saving grace to blackmail her. In other words, she would extend the deadline to three years, or thirty; by that time, would they be two old grandmas dueling at a cliff face? New people would have shown up in jianghu by then, and the titles of number-one sword and number-one beauty would both be gone. She chuckled, shaking her head to expunge this notion.
The desolate Valley looked to be disappearing within this snowfall.
A woman draped in a straw crape, sword in hand, slowly came for the wooden house. She hadn’t come to seek medical attention; there was a strong murderous aura around her. Fu Wanqing quickly detected her, leaping over to block the cold-faced woman’s path.
The other’s conical hat was flung away, and her head full of long, snow-white hair came loose, which contrasted badly with her young face. She stopped in her tracks, staring at Fu Wanqing as she asked coldly, “Who are you to Ye Xueqing?”
Ye Xueqing? Tha was the Ghost Doctor? Fu Wanqing had heard that name before, she just hadn’t expected that she would be such a young woman. Furthermore, there had been rumors in jianghu saying that she had died long ago with no successor.
Fu Wanqing didn’t much care about that gossip, though. She only knew that Yu Shengyan would be saved.
Eyes sinking, she stared at the white-haired woman with a playful smile. “I’m the one blocking you.”
The woman suddenly raised her head, looking mournful. “She wants you to guard her? Is it the Thirteen Pins? Didn’t she say that there was no need to ever use that acupuncture technique? Who are you saving?! Ye Xueqing!”
She was screaming madly. That shouting was mixed with strong internal force, causing her voice to echo throughout all of the Valley.
What was she being so pitiful about? Whatever grudge was between her and Ye Xueqing, Fu Wanqing didn't care. She just knew that she had to block the path of this woman that was on the verge of losing her mind. The falling snowflakes were cut into six petals from getting jabbed with the frigid swordlight; the woman spread out her hands, then quickly backed away.
Fu Wanqing gave her no opportunity to draw her sword, her own pressing right in on the other’s face. The woman could only push it way — if she made any other movements, her throat would definitely be getting pierced.
The snow piled up on the surrounding trees fell in a stream.
Fu Wanqing’s sword qi was getting all the more vigorous.
There came a clang.
Fu Wanqing took a step back, returning her sword to its sheath. She blinked and smiled. “That’s a good sword.”
The woman’s face was extremely pale. She wiped sweat off of her forehead, huffing. “Good swordplay!”
After that, she paid no more attention to Fu Wanqing, only gazing at the house in indignance, then darting for the outside of the Valley.
Fu Wanqing looked at her own palms that were coldly sweating, the smile on her lips gradually vanishing. As she watched that disappearing back, she sighed extremely lightly.
That woman had great martial arts. She had been able to draw her sword, but she still lost, unfortunately.
She coughed gently, eyes dazzled by the graceful snow. She curved her back like a stooped elder as she slowly tread through it, the string of footprints she left behind quickly being buried by the wind. All that hit her in the face outside was cold, but her heart was warming up slightly.
With a creak, the door opened. Ye Xueqing came out of the house.
“She’s awake?” “She’s gone?”
Facing the direction of the Valley’s exit, Ye Xueqing mumbled, “It’s snowing?”
Before Fu Wanqing could answer, she turned and went back inside. She was quite familiarized with the set up of the furnishings here, not appearing to be blind at all. Fu Wanqing followed her in, then glanced at the shut-eyed Yu Shengyan. “When will she wake up?” she asked again.
“When it’s time for her to wake, she’ll naturally wake,” Ye Xueqing mildly answered. “You can take her away. That woman will come again.”
Fu Wanqing nodded, giving a laugh. “Ghost Doctor Ye Xueqing shouldn’t be this young-looking. Are you really her?”
“Would she have a fake?” The other faintly smiled.
“That woman’s swordsmanship is great,” Fu Wanqing said, sitting opposite her.
“Yes, it is.” Ye Xueqing nodded, expression extremely soft. “What a shame that she’s inferior to you. More than ten years have passed where she’s been trapped by an inner demon, and she’s had no dedication to forging ahead.”
This woman was someone with a story.
“Who is she?”
“Jiang Huailuo.”
Jiang Huailuo. That was someone who had circulated jianghu more than a decade ago. Following the death of the hero Jiang Feng, she, too, had gradually faded from view. No… it was less that she had faded away following his death, and more that she had faded away along with the Ghost Doctor. Anyone associated with the words ‘ghost’ or ‘demon’ would inevitably not be a good person in the eyes and minds of righteous jianghu people, but Ye Xueqing differed from others; she had perfected medical skills, which made everyone have to lower their noble heads in her presence.
Jiang Huailuo had been the descendant of a famed sect, as had Jiang Feng, yet they had gotten acquainted with the Ghost Doctor.
Jiang Feng had died at the hands of a Creed follower; Yu Shengyan’s father had been the Head at the time. The Whitepath Alliance had been full of chutzpah, and Jadeite Water Creed had not been outdone.
“The Thirteen Pins could have saved Jiang Feng. He didn’t have to die back then.”
“Why didn’t you save him? Are you a member of the Creed?”
“No, he just wasn’t worthy of my help. In the eyes of jianghu, he was a long-famed hero, and in Jiang Huailuo’s heart, he was a good man that was as gentle as water, but in my eyes, he was nothing more than a hypocrite that bullied and disgraced orphans and the weak. Death couldn’t even wipe out his crimes.” Ye Xueqing’s voice sharpened. The gentleness on her face drew back, leaving only some hysterical frenzy. “Why am I the only one left in this Valley? The rest were all forced away by him! What a pity it is that I am not the weak girl he saw.”
Fu Wanqing glanced at her. “Jiang Huailuo hates you.”
The other nodded. “Yes, she does, else her hair wouldn’t be white, and my eyes wouldn’t be blind.” Pausing, she added, “Over ten years have passed, and she has never stopped wanting to kill me. I’m not sure what she’s persevering for, but once she stops persevering, I’ll likely feel empty inside again. She still places herself into the position of a follower of righteousness, while I can only be the word ‘demoness’ that comes out of her mouth.”
Listening to what she was saying, Fu Wanqing’s gaze unconsciously turned to Yu Shengyan. Would she and her come to that plight? Two women, one righteous and one evil in the eyes of bystanders; within Ye Xueqing’s descriptors, she appeared to see Yu Shengyan and her’s future. “No death, no rest?” she softly asked.
“Yes. No death, no rest.” Ye Xueqing nodded. “Jiang Feng has not existed between us for a long time. We only have each other in our sights. This obsession may be painful, but it’s joyous, too. She hates me, but I will never hate her.”
Fu Wanqing nodded, half-understanding, and blurted our her next question: “Do you love her, then?”
“Love?” The woman chuckled, a soft look emerging on her face. “Love… what is love?”
Fu Wanqing wasn’t sure how love was defined inside herself, but she believed that in Ye Xueqing’s world, she had already found her own answer.
“Red String’s Lead… is a really awful poison.” Ye Xueqing sighed softly.
Fu Wanqing nodded with a smile. “Yes, it is. Thankfully, you were here, Ghost Doctor, and she’ll wake up.”
Yu Shengyan had woken up earlier, actually. She had distinctly heard the conversation between the two, yet had not opened her eyes.
Inside her coma, she had had a long, long dream. She had dreamed that her hands were stained by Aunt Lou Lan’s blood. She had dreamed of Lou Kexin as she had been brought back by the Creed’s followers three years ago. She had dreamed of Fu Wanqing recklessly flying around, as well as the tenderness between them.
Those weren’t really dreams, but recurring scenes of the past.
“Wanqing…”
She quietly recited that name, hand over her chest.
Fu Wanqing dashed over to the bed and squeezed Yu Shengyan’s hand, deliberately faking calmness. She blinked, chuckling. “What did you just call me?”
“Lady Fu.” Yu Shengyan blinked back. “What day is it today?”
“You care about what day it is?!” Fu Wanqing snorted coldly. Staring at Yu Shengyan’s face, she suddenly had a realization, released her hand, and took a few steps back with a mocking grin. “The three-month period has passed, but you’re not getting the freedom you want! You need to make up for the time you slept twofold!”
Yu Shengyan lifted the blanket off of herself and slid off the couch, the cold wind making her shudder. She slowly walked over to Fu Wanqing, then took her hand. “I’m sorry,” she softly said, “for making you worry.”
Fu Wanqing drew back her hand. Unable to break away from the other’s strength, she turned her head away, biting her lip as she sneered. “Who’s worried about you? I’m just afraid that if you croak, no one will duel me. A tiny bit of poison doing you in would make me lose face!”
“Mhm.” Yu Shengyan nodded, looking at her with a smile.
Fu Wanqing’s ears were a bit red. She pulled her hands back into her sleeves, stiffening her neck. “‘Mhm’ what? The Alliance has lost, and so has your Creed. Don’t you care about the whereabouts of your dear senior sister?”
“She isn’t dead,” the other answered, smile fading a bit.
“Right. She isn’t dead. I want to make life worse than death for her,” Fu Wanqing answered viciously. “No one in this world can impinge upon me and come out unscathed. She wants to kill me, so why can’t I fight her? As for your promise, that has nothing to do with me. I’ll tell you now that she’s confined in Limitless Palace, so if you have the skill, you can go save her yourself. Of course, if we meet up in there, I’ll kill you.”
Yu Shengyan smiled softly. “You’ve always been wanting to kill me.”
Fu Wanqing was suddenly angered. “Do you have a heart at all, Yu Shengyan?” she shouted. “I-I…”
Her lips were pressed against by a hand, lashes minutely trembling, teary eyes making one’s heart feel pity; Yu Shengyan had seen this look of hers more than once, but never had she been as moved as she was this time around. Did taking a detour around the netherworld’s gates get rid of the ice inside her?
“Even though I was in a coma and not clear-headed, I could hear you talking the whole time,” she softly said. The pampered and uncomfortable Lady Fu looked kind of cute like this. “Thirty years actually isn’t that long of a time, but I’m afraid you’ll be first to renege on it.”
Fu Wanqing snorted, not answering.
Ye Xueqing had been quietly sat to the side, making her existence almost undetectable.
“Many thanks for your life-saving grace, Ghost Doctor,” Yu Shengyan said to her, fully thankful.
“You should be thanking her.” Ye Xueqing shook her head and laughed. “The so-called righteous-evil dichotomy in jianghu is a sham. As long as you don’t lose your true self in all these conventional things, you’re on the right path. Being born of a famed sect, or the Demonic Creed; what does it matter? You two just need to be yourselves. Go on, don’t follow in my footsteps…”
Her final soft mumble vanished into the freezing air.
Fu Wanqing bowed towards her. Not saying much, she led Yu Shengyan by the hand into the snow.
The small wooden home was far behind them. The world was vast, and lonesome.
She released her hand, bent over, picked up a handful of snow, then threw it at Yu Shengyan’s face.
Having just woken up, Yu Shengyan was still a bit weak. She staggered a step to avoid the snowball, and nearly faceplanted into the snowy ground. She held Fu Wanqing by the waist, a sly smile flitting past her lips, and pulled her down into the snow together.
Wiping the snowflakes off of Fu Wanqing’s face, she chuckled. “Aren’t you afraid of the cold?”
Forget everything else. They were just themselves.
Plum flower stems held snow, slanting against the window. Freezing wind blew inside.
Fu Wanqing mumbled to herself, bundled up tightly in her furs, and nestled in Yu Shengyan’s arms.
The old year had come to an end, while the new one arrived within the sound of firecrackers.
A delicate box was arranged before Yu Shengyan, a small lock hanging from it.
“This is the Millennium Turtle Gall. It’s now yours, but you definitely don’t need Lou Kexin anymore.” Fu Wanqing’s finger lightly traced Yu Shengyan’s features, smiling lazily. “Whatever. For the sake of fulfilling your promise and making you not hung up on this, I ordered someone to fetch some medicinal materials out of your Creed, then decoct a prescription with the Gall for her to fix her legs.”
Yu Shengyan grabbed Fu Wanqing’s misbehaving hand with a light huff. “Do you really have such kindness, Lady Fu?”
The other twisted around, leaned so that she was up against her ear, and vilely puffed out a breath. “You know the answer, so why bother to ask? Don’t worry, though. She won’t die. Her legs will recover, but as for anything else, I can’t guarantee. You saw as well that when I was in your Creed, I didn’t attack her — she forced me.”
Yu Shengyan was quiet, because every word she had said had been the truth. Her senior had instead been the one with the heart of a snake.
“Head Yu, I still have some confusion in my heart, and I need you to clear it up. This departure from the Creed has been so long for you; why have you never asked about how it’s doing? Rumors are lingering in jianghu, with most of them pertaining to the Whitepath Alliance. The lives and deaths of your Creed followers are not things anyone cares about.” Fu Wanqing grinned, lips sliding from her ear to her smooth and fine cheek. Her pressing, ice-cold hand also drew back, slipped into her lapels, and stuck snug against Yu Shengyan’s scalding skin.
“It’s irrelevant,” Yu Shengyan answered mildly.
“You’re really no fun.” Fu Wanqing huffed in dissatisfaction.
“Haven’t you known that for a long time, Lady Fu?” The other smiled lightly, incrementally pulling Fu Wanqing’s hand out.
Looking at the gaze that was gradually turning profound in Yu Shengyan’s eyes, Fu Wanqing could only feel unbearably moved. She slid out of the woman’s arms, then pulled her onto the nearby bed; its light cotton curtain draped downwards, concealing the intertwining figures within. She pressed against Yu Shengyan, laughing as she nibbled her fingers, the charm emitting from her bones extremely seductive. The other only gazed quietly at the one all over her, a faint blush on her white-jade-like face.
“What are you doing, Lady Fu?” Yu Shengyan asked, suddenly smiling.
Fu Wanqing both really hated and really loved that look of hers. Her hand landed upon Yu Shengyan’s lips, stroking gently, and when she bumped into her wet tongue, she shuddered, glaring with shame and anger. That hand slowly slid down her neck, coming to linger about her delicate collarbone in many ways.
The atmosphere within the curtain quickly turned ambiguous and tender.
“Fu Wanqing,” Yu Shengyan called in a low voice, which was followed by Lady Fu’s bashful, unwilling whimper.
The harsh northern wind seemed to refuse to interrupt this intimacy, shortly turning gentle. It blew away the light smoke curling from the stove, brushing against the overlapping curtains.
Tiny snowflakes rustled down into the muddied alley, as did a tree’s worth of plum blossoms flutter away.
Within this freezing winter landscape, some good news blew into jianghu like a spring breeze. The jade Guanyin, now returned to the Manor of Chivalry after being lost by Soaring Might Protectancy, had had its internal mechanism solved, meaning that the treasure map inside it had appeared. Fu Hui, the Alliance Leader, was a man of his word; he had said that he was going to share the map with all of jianghu, and that absolutely hadn’t been a lie. Not long after news about the Guanyin being opened had spread out, he invited everyone to a feast.
Divine Mystery Sect had broken off of the Whitepath Alliance. Even thought Fu Hui had sent an invitation over, it still did not send anyone over for participation.
Skytouch School’s Leader Liu Zhishang, plus his disciple Shen Shengyi, the father-son pair of the Protectancy, the father-son pair of Flying Falcon Fortress, and some minor sects that were difficult to name all sent people. They wanted a share of the spoils, so this assembly of the Martial Forest would become witness to that.
The assembly, hosted by the Whitepath Leader himself, was not at all like that absurdity back in Spring Wind Grin. The Protectancy had incessantly stated that the Guanyin hadn’t been in their hands at the onset, but what was the result of that? The jianghu-goers inevitably sighed faintly whenever they saw Yang Yifei; compared to Fu Hui’s devotion to justice and mighty mind, they felt that the Protectancy’s flag was not as bright red as it had been before.
“The reason why this Fu invited you all must be already understood,” Fu Hui said loudly, standing up from his tiger-skinned seat. “The Guanyin was lost a year ago, but after several twists and turns, it has been returned to my Manor. This is truly a great blessing. Of course, this matter does not only concern us, but also closely concerns all of jianghu. As you all are aware, the Guanyin has a treasure map that was left behind by this Fu’s father-in-law. This treasure trove is something dispensable to my Manor, but for all of Whitepath’s jianghu, its significance is not the same. You are also aware that jianghu’s current major enemies, apart from Jadeite Water Creed, now have the addition of Limitless Palace. The Palace is quite loathsome, even swindling the vulgar masses into worshipping them as gods! With this treasure cache, we have better odds of success against them.”
“Alliance Leader Fu, when this Guanyin came about last year, why did your Manor wait until after Lu Qi was dead and the secret of the map was leaked out to decide to speak out?” someone suddenly jumped out to ask. “If Lu Qi hadn’t divulged it, would you have planned to keep it quiet for a lifetime?”
Fu Hui was caught off guard, then smiled. “Not at all, not at all. The reason why this Fu never said anything about the map earlier was because the Guanyin was not at the Manor. I feared that there would be false hope, so I kept this hidden. It is by my negligence that I’ve made my Martial Forest fellows misunderstand.”
Had Lu Qi not died, Fu Hui wouldn’t have known about the map, either, but how would anyone believe that answer?
Yang Yifei’s eyes were gloomy. He stared at Fu Hui, fists clenched. Everyone in jianghu believed that his Protectancy had secretly hid the Guanyin away; did even Fu Hui believe so, as well? Perhaps this was a plot by the Manor, its goal being to put the Protectancy into a place of no return? His expression turned grave, and he twisted his head to look at the silent Liu Zhishang.
“I have yet another thing to announce.” Fu Hui smiled, motioning for the jianghu people to quiet down before he continued. “The most precious thing in my heart is not the domain of my Manor, but my only daughter, Wanqing. The child’s mother passed early, and she’s developed some spoiled bad habits, but surely there’s a warrior that can endure that? I’ve been worried about this for a very long time; now, taking advantage of this chance, I wish to choose an ideal gentleman for her. Do any of the young heroes seated here admire her?”
She was the jewel of Fu Hui’s palm, and the dreamtime lover of many young heroes, but when he said this, no one dared to speak out first.
Guo Ju nonchalantly stood up, then glanced at the crowd. “Why is Sister Fu not here today? Who knows which young, romantic warrior is hidden in her heart?”
“Ju’r, sit down.” Guo Lintian glared at her, pulled her down, and whispered into her ear, “Don’t imitate other people’s indecisiveness. Didn’t you say you were going to marry Miss Yue when we were in the Creed? How can you be tempted by Lady Fu? Furthermore, how could you even withstand her?”
“What you mean, papa, is that only Shen Shengyi or Yang Wugong would be worthy?” she lazily answered.
Guo Lintian shook his head. “Those boys are okay, but they’re not good enough for her.”
“Who do you think is, then?”
He pondered for a good while. “If Yu Shengyan was a man, Niece Fu and her would really be a pair arranged by the Heavens. As I see it, there’s no other people as remarkable as them to be found in jianghu. I’m not sure what ol’ Brother Fu is thinking, seeking a marriage right now.”
His gaze was extraordinarily shrewd. He was a member of the Alliance, yet was not as passionate about it as Fu Hui, Yang Yifei, and the rest. The boundary between the righteous and not was not as distinct in his eyes as it was in Fu Hui’s; he seemed to have left the opposing forces entirely. As soon as he turned his head, he saw Guo Ju’s own lowered in thought, so he pat her on the shoulder. “Don’t be sad, Ju’r. Let’s not think about Lady Fu,” he comforted. “I saw that Miss Yue was decent. I can get Ming’r to send someone to request a marriage at the Creed? Though, I don’t know how the place is right now, nor if she’s there. I blame that on us few leaving early, giving Limitless Palace a chance to grab.”
Guo Ju blinked, then said helplessly, “Dad, Miss Yue and I really don’t have anything to do with each other. I was just talking nonsense.”
She wasn’t sure how many times she had given that explanation, but her old dad… completely acted like he had never heard it.
“Ah, Ju’r, a man that dares to act, dares to take responsibility. How will you be inheriting the Fortress if you’re like this?” He frowned, quite unhappy.
Guo Ju nodded powerlessly. Once her line of sight moved away, she suddenly noticed that Liu Zhishang was standing up. Was he going to request marriage for Shen Shengyi?
There were only four families opposite the Fu’s. The brothers of Divine Mystery Sect had since disappeared without a trace, and Yang Wugong had previously been relieved of his engagement before, meaning it was impossible for any other progress to be made for him. In all considerations, only Shen Shengyi would have the opportunity.
If Lady Fu learned of this, what would she think? Or, what would Yu Shengyan think? Guo Ju was suddenly getting a bit curious.
Yu Shengyan had vanished, like a puff of smoke dissipating in the wind.
The guards inside the Manor had never seen her. The snow-sweeping servant had never seen her, either. She had vanished like she had never existed in the first place.
The anger in Fu Wanqing’s heart was nearly pouring outwards. She raised her head and smiled gently. “Her wanting to leave is naturally not something anyone can stop.”
She had nearly forgotten; the three-month time period had long passed. That three, thirty years thing had been nothing more than a joke that only she had taken seriously. Yu Shengyan… had reverted to her original self, where she had no restraints whatsoever.
Her vanishing had made Fu Hui, owner of the Manor, very happy. The Manor colluding with the Demonic Creed would have been an awful accusation that would have caused the ruination of his reputation, and now its Head had left at last. His gaze fell upon that exquisitely-carved Guanyin; it was a peerless beauty, but still just an inanimate statuette, in the end.
His eyes slowly softened, some guilt emerging in them. He thought of his wife — if he had been a step earlier, would there have been a different outcome?
“You really look like your mother, Wanqing.” He sighed.
Fu Wanqing’s expression went cold as she looked at him with a light smile. “Whatever you want to say, say it straight.”
She stood up, took the Guanyin out from under his eyes, and held it like it was a rare treasure. “Word has already circulated jianghu. Are you still not going to say anything, dad?”
His face went stiff, and he stroked his chin, squeezing out a smile. “You’ve reached marriageable age, Wanqing. There’s many young and handsome talents in jianghu. Which one is in your heart? There’s hundreds of sects of all sizes, but the ones worthy of our Manor are just a few. Ah, how good it would have been if Nephew Yang hadn’t done that… now, the two Zhong brothers are good-for-nothings, and the Guo boy is too mischievous. After adding things up, there’s really only Skytouch School’s…”
“The parents’ order, the matchmaker’s word. You should be in charge of such things.”
The look in her eyes was cold, as was her heart. Her unusual attitude made Fu Hui, who had been planning to exhaust his mouth persuading her, suffer a shock, soon after which he nodded in satisfaction. Daughters were to be married off, in the end; no matter how good the martial arts of his own were, nor how temperamental she was, she would still inevitably have a daughter’s shyness.
She hadn’t hated Shen Shengyi at the start, but that didn’t mean that she would be happy with him.
Lady Fu suddenly getting married nearly created a stir over all of jianghu. According to their thought processes, Shen Shengyi’s proposal ought to have been rejected by her; who would have expected things to have developed to this day? There must have been a slip-up in the Alliance, where this was just going to be a marriage connection — though, in truth, Young Master Shen and Lady Fu were a talented-man-pretty-woman couple, and thus were a good match. Since she, one of the two highest beauties in jianghu was going to marry, who was going to be winner of Creed Head Yu?
“You want to get married, Sister Fu? You actually agreed to your dad?” Guo Ju cried in alarm, clearly disbelieving of this truth. Seeing the lazy smile on the other’s face, she continued to shout, “Wouldn’t it have been better for you to agree to marry me? How could Shen Shengyi be better than me?”
“Brother Guo,” Fu Wanqing huffed, smiling, “you’ve sure got high hopes!”
“Isn’t this just letting that joker get something for nothing?” Guo Ju exclaimed in unhappiness. Noticing that the other had no desire to talk about that, she asked, “Sister Yu really left? Did she go back to the Creed, or some other place?”
Fu Wanqing’s expression cooled down. Her fingers made rapping sounds against the table, and two words were spat out of her thin lips: “Limitless Palace.”
“She knows where that is?” Guo Ju asked, fully surprised.
Yu Shengyan had always seen everything with unbelievable clarity.
Fu Wanqing had never concealed anything from her, even placing her plan to deal with the Creed out for her to see. The other had never cared about that stuff, but that didn’t signify that she knew nothing. Fu Wanqing had no regrets about this; even if she had to do it again, she would still refuse to lie in front of Yu Shengyan. There should be openness between them.
Why had Yu Shengyan gone to the Palace? Fu Wanqing knew why.
“She’s going there to rescue Lou Kexin?” Guo Ju’s brow knit. “Doesn’t she not fight? She won’t be able to bring her away then, right?”
Fu Wanqing lightly smiled. “She isn’t without fighting power, she just refuses to draw Huaixiu.”
Even if she didn’t draw it, few would be her match.
Guo Ju was Fu Wanqing’s friend. She knew about Limitless Palace, but wasn’t a member of it. Staring at the other for a long time, she sighed. “You’re going there yourself, Sister Fu?”
Fu Wanqing grinned meaningfully. “I want to see Huaixiu’s grace.”
There was another on Yu Shengyan’s mind; thinking of that by itself was unacceptable to her. Had the woman verbally asked, would she have let Lou Kexin go, though?
She didn’t quite have an answer to that, but now that Yu Shengyan had left without a single word, her desire to kill was flourishing to a nearly inflated state.
Like a burst of mountain mist floating past stone steps, a white shadow drifted by before there was time to see it clearly.
Yu Shengyan turned her head to look towards the foot of the mountain. There, there were villagers crawling in worship, as well as a group of pink-clothed women distributing food and clothing to them. The bleak wintertime, in the opinions of impoverished commoners, was truly difficult to endure. With a very light sigh, she turned to gaze at the towering cliffs, after which her lips hooked up, as if she had just seen Lady Fu’s bright smile.
What sort of machinations were hidden behind it?
Three months already passed. It would have been better if the original time set was longer, came the sigh from her heart.
“Head Yu,” came a call that was similar to a flower falling to the ground; very light.
She turned around. She had vaguely met this woman before; back within her haze, there seemed to have been someone calling her Yue Honghua. She should be Yue Qingtan’s little sister, yes? Their eyes looked extraordinarily alike.
Coming back to herself, she nodded. “Miss Yue.”
Yue Honghua said nothing, turning her head up and darting up the mountain, while Yu Shengyan just followed her unhurriedly. They likely had the same destination.
There were women wearing pink all over the place inside the Palace, the veils that covered their faces removed at the moment. No one barred Yu Shengyan’s way, as if they didn’t see her at all.
Inside the vacuous, grand hall, there was a table with delicate, steaming pastries placed on its surface. Yu Shengyan stood before the entrance with her hands in her sleeves, indifferent eyes gazing at the woman inside.
She had a face of criss-crossing scars, which resembled a spiderweb.
Yu Shengyan’s eyes were placid, yet Yue Honghua’s heart rose and fell for an instant, expression as unchanged as ever. “My older sister went mad. All of this was caused by her.”
“Does she know?” Yu Shengyan asked. She could not make out a trace of hatred on Yue Honghua.
“She does.” The other nodded. “I don’t actually hate her at all, but I have to put on a show that I do, because that’s the only way that she can feel better, and alleviate the feeling of guilt she bears. I forgave her long ago, but she refuses to forgive herself.
“Why would she go mad? I’m still not sure, to this day.” She chuckled, those unsightly scars crowding together, which looked awfully horrible. Still, her eyes were soft, and there was frustration and helplessness mixed within that softness.
“She’s from the Palace,” Yu Shengyan quietly added.
“Yes, she is.” Yue Honghua sighed. “Yu Shengyan, you shouldn’t have come here.”
“Where is Lou Kexin?”
“Did the Eldest Lady never tell you?” The other tilted her head, then repeated, “You shouldn’t have come, but you can still choose to turn back now.”
Yu Shengyan shook her head, then took her sights back from her. She knew where Lou Kexin was locked up, of course; Lady Fu had never kept anything from her.
What would she do, knowing that she had left? She would be angry, but her smile wouldn’t go away.
Yu Shengyan turned, leaving only her backlit figure for Yue Honghua.
“You’ll regret it. You’ll definitely regret it,” Yue Honghua whispered.
Yu Shengyan didn’t hear it.
Even if she had, she would have never looked back.
No one stopped her, allowing her to take several twists and turns in the Palace until she came to a prison.
There were two pretty-faced, pink-clothed maidens squatting nearby and playing with hay. Upon sighting her, they only shot her a glance, then lowered their heads back down to immerse themselves in their joy.
Limitless Palace was really weird. Such a thought came to her mind, but, thinking of Lady Fu’s personality, she also felt that this was all par for the course.
The inside of the prison was dark, with only a couple candles gently swaying in it. Drops of water seeped out of the stone walls, falling to the ground with dripping sounds. Going in further, the tops of the stairs were covered with moss, where it was dank and shaded. The place was empty; its instruments of torture looked like decorations, with apparently no one being kept here.
However, since Lady Fu had said that this was where Lou Kexin was imprisoned, she definitely had to be around.
She slowly walked down along the corridor.
Suddenly, things brightened up before them. There were two paths: one to the left, and one to the right.
She stopped in her tracks and listened closely — there was no sound of movement from either side. A very faint scent of herbal medicine was coming from the right path, so she turned and darted down it.
The inside of the cell should have had damp straw and vermin running amok all over it — Jadeite Water Creed and the path here had been so, at least — but what appeared before her was a tiny, considerably clean stone room.
Loud Kexin was not as bloodied as she had imagined she would be.
“Junior sister, you came?” Lou Kexin stood upon hearing the footsteps, full of jubilation. She forgot that her own drug had caused Yu Shengyan to almost fall into a permanent sleep, and also forgot to inquire after her injuries. “Sister, quick, open the cell door and save me! All the women in this Palace are devils! Help me kill them, now!”
“You’re able to stand up,” Yu Shengyan said faintly, “but your martial arts and arms have been ruined, senior.”
Once that was brought up, Lou Kexin remembered the incident. Her joy at Yu Shengyan’s sudden appearance was extinguished, face filled with resentment and hatred. Hands forever dangling at her sides, she walked towards her step by step, but because she hadn’t moved her legs for so long, she fell to the ground and was unable to get up after a few steps.
Yu Shengyan sighed, no trace of fluctuation at all inside her calm eyes. The lock on the cell door wasn’t even shut, and a light shove would have opened it wide, yet the other didn’t have the ability to do even that.
She walked into the stone room, then reached out in want to pick Lou Kexin up, only to suddenly have Lady Fu’s face streak across her mind. She started to hesitate.
With a clack, the lock on the door suddenly latched.
There was another that could hide her breathing really well. She looked to be no more than thirteen years old, and was smiling sweetly. “Sister Fu is coming. She’ll certainly be delighted to see you two.”
With that, she bounded away without waiting for anyone inside to respond.
Yu Shengyan frowned, then lowered her head to stare at Lou Kexin, who was struggling on the ground, unable to move. Her cold expression was like she was facing a stranger she didn’t recognize.
“Junior sister, where’s your sword? Where’s Huaixiu? Go unlock it, quick!” Lou Kexin shouted anxiously. Seeing that Yu Shengyan wasn’t moving, she yelled, “You’ve been by Fu Wanqing’s side this whole time, so you’ve known about this the whole time too, right? You helped her to fight our Creed, didn’t you? Yu Shengyan! Who have you treated fairly?! You promised Aunt Lou Lan that you would protect me! Do you think you’ve done that?”
That frantic, hysterical screaming made Yu Shengyan’s brows scrunch up tight, but they quickly relaxed. “You’re still alive, aren’t you?” she asked softly.
Lou Kexin was indeed alive, but she would die soon, since she had offended Fu Wanqing.
That was because Yu Shengyan had left the Manor for her without saying a word.
Aside from food delivery, practically no other human figures were seen here for days. Wherever Yu Shengyan went was much the same, but that wasn’t so for Lou Kexin; she was a prisoner, on edge at all times, and too afraid to even rashly taste the Palace’s sent food. She speedily became haggard, face pale and withered.
The name that Yu Shengyan heard Lou Kexin recite the most was Lou Lan, which made her faintly impatient. She simply sealed up her own sense of hearing and sat to the side in meditation.
Fu Wanqing was coming. Yu Shengyan’s premonition was quite accurate.
Through the door’s partition, Yu Shengyan couldn’t resist shuddering when met with those chilling eyes. Standing beside Fu Wanqing was Yue Honghua, whose mocking expression seemed to say, Wasn’t I right? I said that you’d regret this.
Regret? What was that? Yu Shengyan had no idea. Her eyes turned to stare at Fu Wanqing, as soft as a stream of spring water.
“You want me to let her go?” Fu Wanqing smiled softly. With a wave of her hand, she ordered someone to open the door.
Lou Kexin couldn’t run away, and Yu Shengyan wouldn’t.
Fu Wanqing walked in to stand with the latter, while the former was mercilessly carried out.
“I know you place heavy importance on your promise, but I’m going to do what I said I would.” Fu Wanqing’s smiled was extremely captivating. She blinked, then reached out to gently caress Yu Shengyan’s face. “I’m going to break each and every one of your promises. Don’t you want to protect her? Now, I’ll let you look on as she dies.
“I said before that I was going to kill you, Yu Shengyan, but before that, let’s watch a good show.”
Smiling brilliantly and cruelly, she was not joking at all.
She kissed Yu Shengyan’s face, hand occasionally passing over her pretty eyes.
Lou Kexin’s screams never rested, bright red, bloody mist pervading the air. Yu Shengyan shoved Fu Wanqing away, traces of wrath appearing in her eyes. Her fists clenched tightly, as if she was doing all she could to bear with it.
After getting shoved, Fu Wanqing did not stand steady until her back was leaning against the wall. She stroked the corner of her own lips with a grin. “The door is locked, but it’s an ordinary one. Don’t you want to save your sect-sister, Head Yu? Unsheathe your sword, then. Draw Huaixiu, and let me see its grace.”
A mangled face. Mournful wails, one after another.
Yu Shengyan walked step by step towards the door. Fu Wanqing watched her retreating figure, smile getting all the dimmer.
A gleam of swordlight appeared to dart over from the horizon, illuminating the entire prison.
Yu Shengyan was but one person.
Lady Fu had already drawn her sword with a shing. Yu Shengyan did not turn her head, allowing the other to pare off a strand of her hair.
Fu Wanqing’s hand was shaking. The force of her sword drew back, and her qi and blood shortly surged sharply, making her grunt. Yu Shengyan turned, but at this moment, Fu Wanqing’s left hand that had been hidden in her sleeve shot out a cluster of bright lights.
Whoever she wanted dead would not be able to survive.
Yu Shengyan stopped in her tracks. A trace of loss shot across her eyes.
“You can only think of me, Yu Shengyan.” Fu Wanqing grinned. “Since Huaixiu is unsheathed, wouldn’t it be better if we go a bout?”
Not answering, Yu Shengyan walked over to Lou Kexin, who was collapsed in a pool of blood. With a light sigh, she then turned and left, not looking back.
Her white figure gradually left Fu Wanqing’s line of sight. She went resolutely, as if she would never be back again.
“Will you chase her, Eldest Lady?”
“Chase? Who could chase and catch Yu Shengyan?” Fu Wanqing laughed coldly, then shot a glance at Lou Kexin in utter disgust. “Notify Qingtan to have her act quickly. The map in the Guanyin has already been taken out by Fu Hui, so the lonely Haze Island will be getting lively again. He and the rest will be going there in person. This is a great opportunity.”
“Got it.” Yue Honghua nodded. “The Blooddevil Sabre of the Western Regions that you injured before, Zhang Zongyi, is back in the Central Plains now. He’s recuperated, his sabre has advanced a level, and he’s looking for you everywhere, wanting revenge. You need to be more careful with how you act these days.”
“Zhang Zongyi?” Fu Wanqing chuckled, nodding.
It was very quiet in the prison. Yue Honghua hesitated for a long time, then asked, “Jianghu rumors say that there’ll be a marriage between you and Shen Shengyi. Is that true?”
The other’s smile grew and grew.
The true could not be false, and the false would never become true.
Goldmelt Grotto was a place Yang Wugong would never forget. Not because there was a beauty he cherished here, but because he had once lost his beautiful future here.
Alcohol. It could make one drunk, make them forget all their worries, but once they sobered up, the pain would come up double again.
Eldest Master Yang of the Protectancy had an extremely handsome face, but he was a cripple, leg once broken due to him engaging in debauchery. He was loose man; in other words, he was not worthy of being someone anyone’s daughter could rely on. Aside from those that wanted the Yang’s power, no parents were willing to push their daughters into a pit of fire.
A wine jar rolled across the ground. He was limp across the table, like a puddle of mud. A pair of hands gently brushed across his wan, haggard, stubbly face. As if a feather had tickled his heart, he opened his eyes, apparently seeing Fu Wanqing smiling at him — that gentle sweetness was akin to a smile from a wife to her husband.
This dream resembled the truth of many years ago. He sighed, knowing well that this was false, but still unable to withstand the draw.
He reached out to the one in his dream, but she walked away all of a sudden.
“Don’t marry Shen Shengyi! Don’t! Wanqing…”
This was a call from the bottom of his heart, a heart-rending one.
“Okay.”
That gentle laugh and whisper made him confused as to what was a dream and what was real.
The crackling sound of fireworks came from the end of the alleyway.
This was a happy event for the Manor of Chivalry, as well as for those of jianghu. No one was thinking that Lady Fu was being married off too hastily; they even felt a little sorry, thinking that after her marriage this year, it would be a little too late. Fu Hui had promised them that, as long as his daughter got married, he would immediately lead them to Haze Island to look for that treasure trove.
Spring’s beginning gradually expelled the chill of wintertime.
The inside of the Manor was full of joy, red curtains and fortunate words everywhere. The groom, Shen Shengyi, had changed into bright red wedding robes, and was chatting with the jianghu people that came to congratulate him. Liu Zhishang and Fu Hui had been sworn brothers to begin with, so this made them even closer.
The Protectancy’s disciples were sitting away in a corner. Yang Yifei had an extremely forced smile on his face, and every once in a while, a few people would come up to him and express their condolences.
“It would have been great, had Eldest Master Yang not done that back in the day. Really, young people… a bit of romanticism is okay. A full harem bears a lot of offspring, which would be up to scratch…”
This liveliness had originally belonged to the Protectancy and Manor. Yang Yifei paid no attention to the speaker, beckoning towards his subordinate. “Where is Yang Wugong? Where did he run off to?”
The man hesitated for a minute before answering. “I haven’t seen the Young Lord in many days.”
Yang Yifei’s brows creased even tighter. “Then why aren’t you rushing to bring that little bastard back for me! Why do I have a son like this?!”
“Why would you say such a thing about Gong’r, Brother Yang? That’s done and over with! It was obviously Lady Fu that made such a big fuss over nothing!” Liu Wei, seated beside him, said with displeasure.
“Yeah, papa! That wasn’t big brother’s fault at all, it was Fu Wanqing, that bitch—“
Before Yang Wumin could finish, Yang Yifei glared fiercely at her, and she quietly lowered her head, grumbling nonstop on the inside.
“Shut up!” he shouted, turning to Liu Wei to scold her. “Look at what a good pair of children you’ve brought up! Both of them are trash!”
Having been berated, Liu Wei’s temper surged. She slammed on the table and stood, bellowing, “Yes, yes, yes, we’ve all lost face for you, Hero Yang! Don’t think that I don’t know what you’re thinking! You’re still hung up on your original wife, right? What a shame that she was so angered by you, she breathed her last, and it was too late for her to even lay an egg!”
Her voice was loud, and her remarks were ugly to hear, so nearly everyone had turned towards them.
“We commonfolk can’t compare to the sister flowers of Haze Island.” She wasn’t done, coldly side-eyeing Yang Yifei as she continued to make cutting remarks. “You lot reaped so much from Haze Island, but look how you ended up treating them! I really was blind, to have thrown away my reputation as a woman in following you!”
She was cursing at Yang Yifei, yet had brought Fu Hui’s deceased wife into it in passing. Upon hearing the commotion, he had rushed over — he still had a slight smile, but it looked gloomy and awful. This Liu Wei had been brought here by Yang Yifei, and was Liu Zhishang’s little sister, too, so he could only restrain his anger with clenched fists.
“Wei’r!” Liu Zhishang rebuked, exasperation all across his features. “Today is Shengyi’s good day, so please give your big brother some face.”
“Brother, let me bring Wumin and Wugong back to Skytouch School so that I can be spared mistreatment from Hero Yang! I’ve been with him for so many years, yet my remaining children have no titles, nor rank! Everyone in jianghu jokes about it whenever it comes up! Fancy that I’ve undertaken both the burden and the criticism for these years — look at the Protectancy’s people! ‘Madam’ comes out of their mouths, but who knows what they’re thinking on the inside! The ‘Madam’ in their eyes is probably that long-dead Xie Huarong! See how Hero Yang both has no feelings, yet feels too much? What am I regarded as at the bottom of his heart? Oh, by the way, Hero Yang, don’t think that I don’t know that you’ve been keeping a couple young women on the side! What’s wrong? They can’t give you a prodigy child?”
“What nonsense are you saying?!” Yang Yifei’s face flashed red and white. He pointed at her and cursed for a good long while. “Hurry and go back to the Protectancy! Quit disgracing me here!”
“Why, have I spoken of the pain in your heart, Hero Yang?” Liu Wei screamed, tears in her eyes as she straightened out her neck. “Reach into your conscience and explain — did you not swindle me with sweet words back then? Did you not despise how frail-bodied Xie Huarong was, and say that she was inferior to Madam Fu? The oaths of love you gave were nicer to hear than songs! What happened to what you said about me being the primary wife once she died? What happened to you saying you wouldn’t treat me poorly? What was the result of that? She died, angered to death by you! Don’t you forget that in addition to killing her, you caused Madam Fu’s death, as well! Do you really believe that no one knows about those good deeds you’ve done? Did you believe that I wouldn’t dare to speak out?”
“Enough!” Fu Hui reprimanded upon hearing Liu Wei bring up his wife again. “Today is my little girl’s wedding. Your Protectancy’s familial matters can—“
This side’s excitement was not yet concluded before another burst of clamor came from the doorway.
“Get out of here, Shen Shengyi! I, Yang Wugong, will tell you that Wanqing will never marry you! She doesn’t love you, she won’t marry you!”
The drunken Yang Wugong staggered towards the main gate while holding a wine pot. His figure was unstable, looking like it was going to run into the doorframe. Two boyservants beside him wanted to help him, but he forcefully pushed them to the ground. He supported himself on the doorframe, then abruptly smashed the pot onto the floor with a bang, the aroma of wine spreading outwards.
He pointed forwards, showing an expression that resembled both crying and laughter. “Wanqing told me that she won’t marry you! You’re just stubborn! Even if I forfeit my life today, I won’t let you marry her!”
Seeing this drunkard, the smile on Shen Shengyi’s lips faintly receded. He stood a few steps away from him, cupping his hands towards him. “You’re drunk, Brother Yang.”
“No, I’m not! Shen Shengyi, you’re a bastard!” Yang Wugong threw his head back and laughed, abruptly throwing a fist at Shen Shengyi’s face.
The other stood motionless, allowing the punch to land at the corner of his mouth. He lightly hissed, wiping the bloodstains away. “Brother Yang, you really are drunk,” he said warmly.
“Wanqing won’t marry you!” Yang Wugong was the spitting image of a lunatic. Seeing the bruise on Shen Shengyi’s face, he brandished his fists and rushed over. As long as this guy was beaten to death, this marriage would be ruined — as his muddled mind thought of this, murderous desire swept over his features.
However, this punch landed on air. He was flung away, knocking into the doorway with a loud bang. Yang Yifei stood in front of Shen Shengyi, eyes filled with anger. Yang Wugong struggled to get up, and failed, several times, then simply curled up on the ground, shouting without rest.
“Good Nephew Shen, this dog son of mine is lacking in courtesy. I apologize for his offense on his behalf,” Yang Yifei said guiltily, cupping his hands.
Shen Shengyi shook his head, voice tender. “Where did those words come from, Uncle Yang? He’s just drunk.”
“It’s terrible, it’s terrible! The Eldest Lady is missing! There’s only bloodstains and her veil left behind in the room!”
On this joyous day, rotten things kept happening in succession. Everything else had been fine, but the bride disappearing without a trace was a big problem. Forget Fu Hui and them — even the guests that had been invited or had just come to watch the show were disturbed.
Where was Lady Fu? Who took her away?
“As I said, I won’t let Wanqing and Shen Shengyi marry!” Yang Wugong shouted happily, bright red blood leaking out of his mouth. Yang Yifei’s slap had really been too ruthless, for him to straight-up injure his own son this seriously.
The gentleness on Shen Shengyi’s face could no longer be maintained. He dashed over to Yang Wugong, snatched him up by the collar, and bellowed in rage, “Do you know where Wanqing is?!”
Yang Wugong pushed away Shen Shengyi’s hands. Wiping the blood from his lips, he looked up and laughed loudly. Disregarding how any of the guests looked, he stumbled as he ran out.
“Shen Shengyi, I won’t let you marry her unto my death! Hahaha!”
Shen Shengyi clenched his fists, veins on his forehead jumping up. He abruptly stood and reached out to grab him. He turned impatiently, but when he saw Liu Zhishang’s profound look, the anger within him slowly settled down.
Yang Wugong was Yang Yifei’s son, so the latter had to give an explanation, with such a big event happening. Restraining his anger, he apologized while asking for his servants to quickly bring Yang Wugong back. His own hand was grabbed by Liu Wei, but he heavily huffed and flung her away.
A wedding ceremony had instantly turned into a farce. Fu Hui was already not in the mood to investigate anything, but sent people to search around for Fu Wanqing’s whereabouts.
What did those bloodstains in the room indicate? That the kidnapper’s skill was extremely high, or that they had been unexpected, catching Lady Fu off guard.
In the eyes of jianghu, the uniquely omnipotent sword arts of Lady Fu had now had a moment of failure, for her to have been forcibly taken from the Manor. Fu Hui was walking around the bridal chamber hung full of red curtains. He picked up the veil, swiped with his left hand, and brushed away the fine white powder on it.
“Leader Fu, as I see it, we need to ask that Yang kid about this. Wasn’t he going on and on about not letting our Senior Brother Shen get married?” a disciple of Skytouch School really couldn’t resist calling out. “It’s too much of a coincidence that he showed up to make trouble here, and then Lady Fu vanished in a wink! He must have been diverting our attention!”
“That makes sense to me. The Manor has traps everywhere, so how could any old person get inside? It had to have been someone that was super familiar with the terrain! It might have even been something one of their own did; love begets hate, and mania. This old man has seen a lot of that in my lifetime. Young Master Yang is, well, young, so he likely couldn’t withstand the anger, eh? Had nothing happened back then, Lady Fu would be his wife. How could it be anyone else’s turn to get her?”
“I don’t really think so. Couldn’t this have been done by someone from Jadeite Water Creed, or Limitless Palace? Maybe they don’t want our Whitepath Alliance to form inner marriage connections, so they did something like this on purpose to break up the wedding?”
“Alright, alright, what’s the point of these wild guesses? Hurry up and go find Lady Fu! As soon as this marriage is tied up, Leader Fu will do what he promised and take us to Haze Island, right?”
Fu Wanqing had genuinely been abducted by a thin old man that had hauled her over ten li away in one go, then confined her in a mountain cave.
It was getting dark, with only a bonfire flickering in the cave. Fu Wanqing was still in her wedding robes, her countenance lightly applied with cosmetic adornments that made her look like a gorgeous peach blossom beneath the firelight. The firewood Zhang Zongyi had busted up was tossed into the fire, emitting crackling sounds — he smiled sinisterly, face distorting out of shape.
This was no ordinary cave; it looked like it had been set up for a long time. Her limbs were shackled by chains, making her unable to move, yet she looked at his expression with no fear, only an increasingly dense grin.
He stood up abruptly, trembling. The red kasaya slipped off of his body as he slapped her on the face, smiling nastily. “Today is great day. Those jianghu people are going mad, hm? I want to make Fu Hui taste the flavor of bereaving a daughter.”
“Blooddevil Sabre, the number one expert of the Western Regions?” Fu Wanqing cocked her head, chuckling. “You were defeated, so you had to use an underhanded method such as this.”
“Hahaha!” He laughed, throwing his head back. “Lady Fu, this old one is of a nefarious path, and I do evil things. The method doesn’t matter, given that I can achieve my aim. Don’t you understand that logic?
“You were struck by me, eh? That must have left an ugly scar? Let me inspect it for myself.”
His gaze turned extremely malevolent, grinning as he approached her. His hand slowly slid from her brows down to her neck, and with a ripping sound, that red wedding dress was torn open, exposing the brand new inner clothes within.
Fu Wanqing’s eyes were still full of smiles, and she looked calm, like a bystander. The anger in his chest flourished all the more. Tugging viciously, her inner clothes were opened, revealing those sleek and tender shoulders.
“Tonight was supposed to be your night of pretty candles and the bridal chamber. That prettyboy won’t be able to enjoy it, but that’s no matter. This old one can stand in for him…” His face was hung with lecherousness. “And that fool Fu Hui will become my father-in-law.”
“Zhang Zongyi,” she called with a grin. “Lust hangs a knife over the head, don’t you know?”
His hand that was going for her shoulder paused in midair. After a time, he let out a disdainful sneer from his nose. “Have you forgotten where you are right now? You’ve been reduced to a prisoner. Aren’t you unable to act against me? You should accept your fate. If I’m feeling rejuvenated, I might be able to spare your life.”
That dried-up, eagle-claw-like hand landed on her shoulder. She didn’t make a sound, disgust quickly flashing through her eyes. “Right. I can’t save myself, but someone will be coming to save me.”
“Hahahaha! You’re waiting for Fu Hui to bring people? I’ll have long become his son-in-law.”
He was very arrogant, disbelieving that jianghu’s group had any capabilities, just as she had no hope for them, either. Lowering her head, she allowed those fully filthy hands to roam her shoulders, suppressing the urge to vomit as her eyes got darker and darker.
There were countless people that had lost themselves, and then their lives. She had spoken the truth, and yet he had treated it like a joke. Swordlight overcame the flames of the fire. His arrogant Blooddevil Sabre did not even leave its sheath. He glared as he slowly turned his head, apparently wanting to get a look at this person, but the swordlight stung his eyes, forcing him into blindness.
Like so, a generational expert of the Western Regions collapsed into a pool of blood, not even getting to see the face of his enemy.
Fu Wanqing was still held by chains, her clothes were in disarray, and there was bruising at the corner of her lip. She looked more bedraggled than she had before, though the smile in her eyes hadn’t diminished in the least. She raised her head, saw the figure in white, and grinned in infatuation. “You said that Huaixiu would never be unsheathed. You also said that it would be used to punish the heart. So, have you come to avenge your senior? Have you come to kill me?”
Yu Shengyan would never keep away. She had known that all along.
“Yes. I’ve come to kill you.” The other’s eyes looked to be frozen over with frost. She approached, step by step, gaze landing upon her unmovingly. With some clinks, sparks splashed out everywhere, and the chains fell to the ground. Before Fu Wanqing could sigh from the freedom, her acupoints were suddenly sealed up.
That bright red wedding dress was burning Yu Shengyan’s eyes. The already-torn clothes were broken completely into pieces beneath her palm. When the freezing wind blew over, goosebumps started appearing on Fu Wanqing’s skin that was exposed to the outside; she pulled at the corners of her mouth in a want to smile, but pain came through, making her lightly hiss. “Cold,” she mumbled quietly.
Yu Shengyan ignored what she said, picked Fu Wanqing up into a bridal carry, then swept out of the cave without looking at the corpse.
Beneath the rays of the cold moon, the bizarre branches of the forest slanted across. She sped very quickly, only able to hear the whirr of the wind in her ears.
With her acupoints sealed, the wind cut like a knife as it swept against Fu Wanqing’s face, freezing it bloodless.
Was she angry? Such a thought emerged in Fu Wanqing’s mind, and she immediately tossed all that unhappiness and chill to the back of her head.
She heard the sound of water, which started far away, then came close. Right as she thought to inquire, Yu Shengyan had already stopped at a pond.
The deep pool gave off steam — just looking at it made one shiver. Her acupoints getting unsealed, Fu Wanqing walked a few steps over to the side of the pool, crouched down, and cupped a handful of water. That biting cold made her shudder. “Why did you come here?” she asked with a grin, rubbing her hands as she went to the other’s side.
“Get in,” Yu Shengyan said coldly, frowning. There was no indication of facetiousness on her.
The other startled, drawing out the wisp of a grin. “The water in this pond is ice-cold. This is just the beginning of spring…”
“Get in,” Yu Shengyan repeated, laughing in mockery. “You have such profound skill, Lady Fu. You’re still afraid of this bit of cold?”
Her face was frosty. Fu Wanqing peered at her for a long while, then cracked open a lovely smile.
The cold stars were like dots, the cold moon, a hook.
Those white inner robes gradually slipped off her shoulders.
She grinned seductively while removing the cover on her body. Yu Shengyan’s gaze fell straight to it, her frigid observation not changing in the slightest. There came a splash, which was the sound of her jumping into the water; she submerged within the pool like a fish, its surface ripples gradually returning to tranquility.
Yu Shengyan watched the calm, nearly deathly-still pond, then lightly sighed.
It was like no one had ever entered the pond. The abnormal silence almost made Yu Shengyan believe that the other had since drowned. She walked a few steps forwards, looking at the cold water with dense steam, then suddenly stopped again. Softly laughing, she turned, feigning the look of being about to leave.
There was a crashing sound as the one that had dived in now popped up like a silver carp. Black, dripping-wet hair draped across her bare shoulders, she opened her eyes while one arm covered the front of her chest. “Where are you going, Yu Shengyan?!”
The anxiety in her words was no longer concealed. She truly was afraid that the other would toss her aside in this unfamiliar forest.
Yu Shengyan turned, then lifted her chin. “You’re clean?”
Fu Wanqing was taken aback, not understanding what she meant. All of a sudden, she heard her say, “You shouldn’t steep in the pond water for too long.”
As if she had received an imperial decree, the naked Fu Wanqing jumped out of the pool, then stood before Yu Shengyan.
Drops of water followed down her hair to run across her soft chest, then slid down along her beautiful curves to glide across her slender legs.
Yu Shengyan’s eyes slipped down from her face to her toes. Water puddles spread across the ground. The chilly night wind blew, and Fu Wanqing huddled in, her red nose severely pitiful to see.
The other calmly took off her own outer robe, then bundled her tightly in it.
“I’m cold,” the other faintly muttered.
Yu Shengyan picked her up, then used her lightness skill to run like mad through the dark woods of slanting branches. The chatter of flying squirrels sounded like ghosts wailing, the howls of wild beasts both near and far. Fu Wanqing nestled into her arms and closed her eyes in content.
It was warm, warming her until the not-sleepy-at-all Lady Fu instantly sank into her dreams. She dreamed of the cut-short wedding at the Manor; her veil slid off, and as she raised her head, she was met with Yu Shengyan’s eyes that were abundant with smiles.
“We are married. You are me, and I am you. There is no need to duel, now.”
Words of the dream — or, words said from the heart — flowed out of Lady Fu’s mouth while she was unconscious.
Yu Shengyan sat against the headboard, smiling lightly. Were they still dueling? The Eldest Lady’s obsession really ran deep.
Stuffing Fu Wanqing’s hand under the covers, her own hand gently brushed past the other’s nose. All of a sudden, she remembered a little something, which made her brows tightly furrow again. She stood, walked out of the room, and closed the door gently.
Beneath the dim light, a figure with her back facing her appeared to have been waiting there for a long time.
“We meet again, Head Yu,” Yue Honghua chuckled, turning around.
“Miss Yu.”
“The Eldest Lady being in your hands makes me feel at ease.”
“You…” Yu Shengyan rubbed her brows, sighing. “You all should just act according to plan.”
“Thank you, Head Yu.” The other cupped her hands.
“No need to thank me.” Brushing away her sleeves, Yu Shengyan turned and went back into the room while Yue Honghua watched her back, a growing grin on her face.
If Lady Fu hadn’t willed him to, how could Zhang Zongyi have ever succeeded so easily? Limitless Palace’s people had been trailing in the dark all this time, up until Yu Shengyan had appeared.
Had Lady Fu used this just to force her to show up? She looked at that quietly sleeping face, shaking her head.
Following Lady Fu’s abduction on the day of her marriage, another piece of news came to jianghu: Eldest Master Yang of the Protectancy had gone mad.
After getting drunk, Yang Wugong had made a fuss at the wedding ceremony, then suddenly vanished without a trace, until he had finally been located in a cave. His clothes had been disheveled, he had passed out on the ground, and by his sides had been several chunks of chains, as well as fragments of wedding clothes. From just that scene alone, people had inferred many things.
Shen Shengyi of Skytouch School had beaten him up, no one ever coming over to stop him. Right after that, Eldest Master Yang went mad.
Yang Yifei’s face was ashen. No one dared to bring up the name ‘Yang Wugong’ in front of him.
“What did the Manor of Chivalry say?” he asked, worn-down.
“Leader Fu s-said that the most important thing right now was to find the whereabouts of Lady Fu. Only then could this be repaid, and make the Young Master innocent.”
“What innocence?! That evil beast! He’s truly ridiculous!” Yang Yifei pounded his fist upon the table, standing abruptly, after which he fell back into his seat. “Go back and say that our Protectancy will definitely look for the Eldest Lady. Also, in regards to Haze Island… we won’t be participating. They can go on.”
“Head Sentry, that’s—“
“That’s what?! Do as I say!” the man roared.
“Yes! This lowly one will go.” The one who knelt upon the floor hurried out of the hall due to getting yelled at.
Yang Yifei’s sword-like eyebrows twisted up, hand slowly rubbing his forehead. The heap of chaos in his head hadn’t yet cleared before another shouting subordinate came running in, then knelt upon the floor while panting. “Master, there’s bad news! The Madam and Lady h-have gone to the Manor!”
“What?!” Greatly shocked, Yang Yifei quickly stood up. “Get someone to prepare horses, now! We’re going there!”
What could Liu Wei and Yang Wumin do? They were heading to the Manor to make nothing more than a fuss. The Protectancy’s reputation had already been thoroughly lost, so how could he ever meet people again with them making such a scene? The anger in Yang Yifei’s heart had already been accumulated to a great degree; once he fiercely thrashed his whip, the fine steed whinnied in pain, then quickly scrambled forth.
Liu Wei and Yang Wumin had left with a bunch of subordinates, but what use had any of them had? The ground was covered in diagonally-laying corpses, while the two horses had long fled; only the two women remained, fallen within a pool of blood, trembling as they watched the veiled person gradually approach.
“Wh-who are you? My dad is Yang Yifei of the Whitepath Alliance! If you dare to touch us, he’ll definitely—“
Yang Wumin didn’t get to finish, as a bloody whip mark got thrashed onto her face. The whip had tiny barbs on it, making its slashes scorchingly painful, to say nothing of the strong internal force it held.
“Yang Yifei?” The veiled person looked up and laughed. “He’ll be accompanying you two soon.”
“Wh-who actually are you?!” Liu Wei kept drawing back, as if she was looking at a demon.
“There’s no harm in letting you know, really,” the other huffed lightly. “The world is limitless, you understand?”
Whip shadows and swordlight overlapping was the last thing the mother and daughter ever saw.
By Yang Yifei’s prompt arrival, the veiled person had concealed themselves in a tree while his horse rode in. He had no need to worry about the mother-daughter pair going to the Manor to cause trouble, because there was nothing but two ice-cold corpses before him.
His only son had gone mad, and now his wife and daughter had died on the road. Eyes fully bloodshot, he looked up at the sky and roared wildly, then knelt beside them, reached out, and closed their eyes.
Their faces were horrified and distorted. Who was the final person they had seen?
“You showed up, Yang Yifei,” the veiled person said cheerfully, hopping down from the tree with a whip in hand.
“You did this?” he shouted crazily. He stood, but then his knees went soft, and he fell back to the ground, looking in disbelief at his palms that had turned dark. “You poisoned me?! Despicable!”
“The method used doesn’t matter, as long as I can achieve my goal.” The other laughed.
“Who are you? When did my Protectancy ever offend you?” He acted quick to seal up his own major acupoints, half-kneeling on the ground as he spoke without resignation. “Were you framing us against the Manor from the start? Are you a member of the Demonic Creed? Are you going to destroy the Whitepath Alliance?!”
The veiled person ignored his series of questions, merely raising her head and giggling. “Do you remember this place, Hero Yang?”
“This place?” He frowned.
“This is the only road going from the Manor to the Protectancy. Years ago, Madam Fu was galloping down this path when she was hit with an ambush! Have you no shame? Were you worthy of your wife? Of your brother, Fu Hui? Were you still thinking that this matter was well-hidden, and that no one would find out? You killed your wife, and fearing that Madam Fu would highly criticize you, you waylaid her partway through her journey, causing the sisters to die together! You are cruel, Yang Yifei!”
“Y-You—“ The color quickly drained from his face. “Who are you? How do you know all that?!”
“Hahaha. No need to be concerned with who I am, you just need to remember that I’m here for revenge!” The veiled person laughed icily, whipped out her whip, then swiped her hand across her belt, unsheathing her flexible sword.
Bright red blood flowed down along the sword’s tip.
She turned and left, not looking back.
“Soaring Might Protectancy.” The three words on the white paper were powerful and brash. Hearing footsteps, Fu Wanqing smiled, then ruthlessly erased the words in one stroke.
“Yang Yifei is dead,” Yu Shengyan said, indifferent. “As are his wife and daughter.”
“The Yang’s aren’t wiped out yet. Doesn’t Yang Wugong remain?” Fu Wanqing chuckled, throwing down the wolfhair brush. She looped around Yu Shengyan’s waist. “Soon, this will all reach a conclusion.”
“You said it would be in three months’ time,” the other mocked.
Her smile froze, and she huffed softly. “According to reason, it would have been. But I ran into someone that was outside my calculations.”
Yu Shengyan shook her head, pulling her off. “I have always been inside your calculations, Lady Fu.”
The other giggled. “Creed Head Yu, would you be mad if I exploited you?”
“No.”
The Protectancy’s reputation had long been ruined. The most those in jianghu did was sigh, with no one going to investigate the cause of death of this once-great hero. Fu Hui was the Alliance Leader, and even the man’s sworn brother; his unhappiness with the Yang father-son pair had been old, and now that Fu Wanqing’s location was unknown, that unhappiness had gotten even more prominent. Still, he had to behave properly in front of jianghu.
“There’s whip wounds, sword wounds, and—“
“Manor Lord! The Eldest Lady’s been found!”
Fu Hui angrily glared at the delighted disciple. “Impudent! Who told you to shout in here? Get out.” With that rebuke, he turned to the jianghu crowd, face grave. “Yifei was poisoned, but that wasn’t what killed him. It was those sword wounds.”
“These wounds are really familiar. They’re exactly the same as those on Sect Leader Zhong Tian’s body, like Huaixiu! The perpetrator is a Creed follower!” someone shouted.
The cause of Zhong Tian’s death had never been traced back. The Zhong brothers didn’t care, so those of jianghu had steadily forgotten about it, only now remembering upon seeing Yang Yifei’s corpse.
Fu Hui shook his head, voice solemn. “This isn’t Huaixiu. Back then, I was narrowly hoodwinked by someone evil, and almost all of the blame was pushed onto the Creed.”
Who else could forge such wounds in jianghu? Fu Hui glanced at Liu Zhishang, feeling his heart to have fallen into a cave of ice.
“Who is the killer?” Liu Zhishang then called out. He lowered his head to look at Liu Wei, eyes filled with pain and the hatred of grievance.
Those types of wounds could be created by your Skytouch School’s ‘One-Line Sky’.
Fu Hui shook his head and sighed, swallowing those words back down. Pondering for a moment, he then asked, “Where were they found?”
“Blackwood Forest.”
Upon hearing that name, Fu Hui abruptly took a few steps back, until he was holding himself up on a chair to stabilize his figure. Blackwood Forest… was the place where Madam Fu had been ambushed, and now the Yang family had been murdered there, too.
“In truth, Manor Lord, we also found a note of blood on Head Sentry Yang.”
“Bring it here!” Fu Hui shouted.
The spattered blood upon the white paper looked to be flowing downwards. He gave it a quick once-over, then suddenly crumpled it into a ball, his face full of shock and panic.
“Brother Fu, what’s written on it?” Liu Zhishang asked anxiously.
Fu Hui shook his head. It took him a long time to squeeze out two words: “Haze Island!”
“Did the people of Haze Island do this? But the Island Lord passed on long ago. Furthermore, Brother Yang was his son-in-law, so even if they had anyone left, they wouldn’t have hurt him.” Liu Zhishang looked disbelieving, reaching out to Fu Hui and taking the paper ball. “Could it be that somebody forged this? When Zhong Tian died, he didn’t have a blood note on him, and there was no animosity between him and the Island, right?”
“No,” Fu Hui answered in a shaky voice, face paling. “On here is the unique insignia of Haze Island. Yifei and I had each married the daughters of the Island Lord. We swore an oath before him that we would cherish our wives for a lifetime, never straying in love, but Yifei, he… Brother Liu, have you forgotten how Xie Huarong died?! They’re here to seek revenge! And there’s Qiurong! She died in Blackwood Forest, and now Yifei’s been killed there. Does that not indicate something?”
This was the thing he was most guilty over, causing him to forget himself and lose his cool before jianghu.
The paper was crumpled into bits by Liu Zhishang. “Even if it’s Haze Island’s insignia, I don’t believe that its people have come in person.”
“Don’t get excited, brothers.” The Flying Falcon Fortress Lord, who had been about to fall asleep this whole time, now spoke. He walked up to Fu Hui, sighing. “There is no way for the dead to be resurrected, even if the murderer is known. No one has existed on Haze Island for a long time. Are you not clear on that, Brother Fu? Now that the map has shown that there’s a cache on the Island, we’ll have to make a trip there in person, and then it will be crystal clear who the murderer is. By the by, our highest priority is to bring the Eldest Lady back. Who knows what kind of torment she’s suffered from her abduction.”
“Right, right, there’s a treasure trove on the Island! For the sake of jianghu, we should look for that, first. Speaking of which, all of this was caused by the Protectancy; Leader Fu is highly principled to speak on Yang Yifei’s behalf, but them? Look at all the things they’ve done! It isn’t nice to hear, but even death really doesn’t clear their sins.”
“Let’s rescue the Eldest Lady, then go find the hoard.”
No one brought up the marriage between Lady Fu and Shen Shengyi again, as if they had all forgotten about it. Perhaps they did remember on the inside, but just didn’t want to squander time on it; nothing was as important as treasure.
Fragrant teas, pastries, beauties.
Fu Wanqing laid on Yu Shengyan’s lap, squinting her eyes with a contented smile all across her face.
“Yue Qingtan is from Limitless Palace,” she lazily supplied. “Your Jadeite Water Creed is too crude. I’ve ordered people to go clean it up; honestly, it’s only natural that you’ve all gotten notoriety over these years. Who made the Creed allow just anyone to enter the ranks, given that they could be counted on? It harbors even those that are beyond evil. When the former Creed Head was around, he could suppress those types with tricks and boldness, but you? You’ve had no thoughts whatsoever, and the Creed has long been stirred into turmoil by Lou Kexin.
“Jadeite Water Creed will still be Jadeite Water Creed. I’m simply helping you get rid of the scum inside it. The stores originally seized from you all have now been entirely handed over to Qingtan. Would you say that I treat you well, or no, Head Yu?”
“You do,” Yu Shengyan answered idly.
The other grinned. “Then are you going to repay me?”
Yu Shengyan raised a brow, staring into Yu Shengyan’s eyes. “What do you want?”
“I want…” Fu Wanqing grinned ambiguously, then straddled Yu Shengyan’s lap. Her hand slipped down from her lips to her neck, slowly, as if it was going to go into her collar. The room’s atmosphere quickly turned alluring, and Lady Fu, whose flirtatious eyes were like silk, gave an enchanting grin. She came up against Yu Shengyan’s ear, whispered a few things into it, then drew back, pursing her lips into a laugh.
“You once showed me a lot of drawings at Goldmelt Grotto.” Yu Shengyan raised her brows, expression unchanged. “You want to try all of them out, Lady Fu?”
“You…” Lady Fu’s face immediately flushed bright red, moisture gathering in her eyes. She pointed at her, unable to say anything for half the day.
Taking in the shyness and anger on her face, Yu Shengyan pulled her hand down. “Don’t mess around. Didn’t you have someone go make a report? Those jianghu people will be here soon.”
They moved quickly indeed; the bang-bang-bang of a knock came from the door.
“Come in,” Yu Shengyan lightly called out.
Fu Wanqing was huddled in her arms, body trembling, hands gripping her sleeve like a cub with no sense of security.
As soon as Fu Hui entered, he was blocked by the look in Yu Shengyan’s eyes, some concern showing on his face. Following close behind him was Shen Shengyi — he was no longer gentle and refined in appearance, slightly anxious.
However, in those indifferent eyes of his, there was no love for Fu Wanqing to be seen at all.
“You don’t need to say anything, nor do you need to ask anything, Alliance Leader Fu,” Yu Shengyan said frostily.
Fu Hui sighed, lowering his voice. “Wanqing, is she… is she okay?”
“If I say she’s not, she also is. If I say she is, she’s also not,” she answered blandly, freeing a hand so that she could smooth it down Fu Wanqing’s inky hair. “The Yang’s have gotten what they deserved. There was no need for me to sully my sword for that.”
“The Yang’s incident wasn’t your Creed’s doing, Head Yu?” Fu Hui asked.
“No. As for who did do it, aren’t you fully aware on the inside?” Yu Shengyan let out a cold huff. “Isn’t there one member left of the Yang’s? I really want to dig it up by the roots.”
“You absolutely must not.” Fu Hui waved his hand. “Despite Nephew Wugong having done such a thing, he’s already gone mad. Allow him to keep his life. He is their sole descendant, after all.”
“What if I’m resolved to do it?” She smiled.
His face darkened, voice cooling down. “My Manor will protect the Yang’s. Since time immemorial, the righteous and evil have not coexisted in jianghu. If you decide to act, Head Yu, this Fu will have to accompany you to the end.”
“You are truly awe-inspiringly righteous, Leader Fu.” She sneered. “I’m taking revenge for Wanqing, yet you’re going to stop me? Your Manor has forgiven Yang Wugong, but have you ever considered what Wanqing thinks?”
“She will understand,” he answered, unaffected.
“D-Don’t come over here! Kill him, kill him, kill him!” Fu Wanqing, huddled into Yu Shengyan’s arms, suddenly let out a shriek. She beat on her, sobbing in a quiet voice, which soon turned into silence, only her shoulders slightly shaking.
Fu Hui opened his mouth, only to end up giving a long sigh. At the time of the Dragon(7-9a) tomorrow, we’re leaving for Haze Island. The ship will be waiting on the coast. I’ll have to trouble you with Wanqing, Head Yu, though I hope that you won’t bring any Creed followers along.”
They left. There was silence in the room again.
Fu Wanqing grinned slightly from her position, a trace of mockery appearing therein. “See? That’s my dear father.”
“Your acting is very lifelike, Eldest Lady. However, with things like this, your reputation is completely ruined. Will Shen Shengyi still marry you?” Yu Shengyan asked softly.
“What? You want to marry that man?” the other huffed, unhappy.
“Heh.” Yu Shengyan smiled, a coldness emerging in her eyes. “I told you long ago that Huaixiu is used for punishing the heart. If you dare to get married, I’ll…”
“You’ll what?” Fu Wanqing asked, playing with her hair.
The other’s hand pressed against the center of Fu Wanqing’s chest, her eyes as deep as the ocean. “If you’ll be willing at the time, I’ll duel with you. Huaixiu will not punish your heart; it will terminate my own.”
Fu Wanqing didn’t like being threatened, but she rather enjoyed those words. She pulled down her hand, lips pursing into a smile. “Everything will conclude soon.”
“Who was the one that sneak-attacked people in the Creed? Was it really someone from the Alliance?”
Yu Shengyan had suddenly remembered something and wanted to verify her own guess, thus why she had asked. Fu Wanqing just shook her head. “That wasn’t me, but I do know who it is. The good show coming up is closely related to him; I just hope that he doesn’t get stage fright on the eve.”
Haze Island, like Thousand Jadeite Island, was a sea-locked isle. The ships lining the shore were filled with the Manor’s flags. A group of jianghu folk were excited-looking, jumping up onto the decks with their lightness skills. Salty sea wind greeted the face, while several seabirds swept over the ocean of calm waves, a couple of live fish held in their beaks.
Fu Wanqing was in the hold and refused to see anyone, where even the people that brought her food were all getting their arms sliced open by her crazed sword. People stated that she had gone mad like Yang Wugong had, but even if she was insane, her peerless appearance was still there, and there were always people that wanted to take advantage of that.
This one was very bold, because he knew that no one else would be coming here, and that Yu Shengyan was still up on the deck right now, being held up by Fu Hui as he urgently wanted to know the condition of his daughter.
Lightly pushing the cabin door open, a strike wrapped in potent internal strength came at him.
A few drops of bright red blood dripped onto the wooden door. The man squeezed his right hand, departing with an ashen face.
He had forgotten that Fu Wanqing was still Fu Wanqing, the one that could defeat Fu Hui in just a few moves.
With his hands behind his back, Fu Hui gazed at the white figures that were flying to and fro, then sighed. “These seabirds are very free.”
“They are,” Yu Shengyan blankly answered.
“Do you wish to have such freedom, Head Yu?”
She didn’t answer, not even turning to look at him.
Freedom like this was not something anyone could give. She had always been like seabirds and did possess such liberty, but others had no idea, wanting to use that to confuse her.
That darting silhouette was like white silk. Fu Hui watched the figure that was disappearing into the cabin, then retracted his palm that was gathering true qi.
Yu Shengyan was the Creed Head; there was no way she could survive in this world. His plot to sneak attack her had failed, and he hadn’t the face to attempt for a second time. Faintly sighing, he looked at the flying seabirds and whispered, “Everything… will conclude soon. Haze Island, huh… this is the first time I’ve walked this road in over a decade.”
When Yu Shengyan returned to the cabin, she saw Fu Wanqing sitting to the side while carefully wiping down her sword. “It smells of blood. Who came?” she asked.
“Probably some pervert who overestimated himself.” Fu Wanqing narrowed her eyes, grinning. After a momentary pause, she went on to say, “Haze Island is close. We’ll be able to arrive by nightfall.”
“Who’s the overestimator?” Yu Shengyan asked again.
“See who has a slice on his right hand. That’ll be him.” The other put down her sword and stood in front of her. “Why? Are you going to take revenge for me? That guy could be said to be innocent. He didn’t even get past the door. In fact, I don’t think he has any ideas towards me. We’re just coming in close to Haze Island, so he might have remembered some past happenings, and felt slightly indignant. The Dual Divas of Haze Island were only two women, but there are many alleged talents in the Alliance. There’s always some that will be full of resentment.”
Yu Shengyan nodded. “It’s him again.”
“You guessed who? The other narrowed her eyes with a laugh. Seeing Yu Shengyan nod, she said, “Who did you come across? I can smell someone else’s aura on you.”
With that, she came in close to her and sniffed for a time.
“It was Fu Hui.”
“What did he seek you out for?” Fu Wanqing asked, raising her brows.
“He wanted to kill me,” the woman quietly answered. “I’m slightly confused, actually. He thinks that you’re akin to a lunatic right now. Why would he want to bring you with?”
“He thinks that I’m unable to relax my mind for the time being.” She laughed sarcastically. “That’s not the most important reason, though, of course. He brought me along because I’m the only successor to the Island. My maternal grandfather passed on over a decade ago, but a group of people were left behind there, and they only obey their Lord’s orders. Even though my dad is his son-in-law, who doesn’t know what happened way back when? He’s ultimately an outsider, and doesn’t qualify. Taking me is just to prevent any random old hands from getting in the way. Also, the treasure hoard shown on the map is in the Haze Ghost Region, so only the Island’s successor can open the door of the trove.”
“I don’t believe that,” Yu Shengyan said, shaking her head.
The other licked her lips, grinning proudly. “But they do. They believe in the existence of a cache, and also that only my blood can open it.”
“There’s many from jianghu that came. Do you want all their lives?”
Coldness flashed past Fu Wanqing’s eyes. She shot a look at the sharp sword placed nearby with a cold laugh. “Those that think that life is more important than money will flee when confronted with danger, and I won’t stop them. If they are wholeheartedly committed to seeing this through to the end, they shouldn’t wonder why I won’t give them a chance to live.”
Haze Island was lonesome, not one human figure to be seen anywhere. Some arrivals had previously gone to Thousand Jadeite Island and witnessed the might of the Megalith Array, so they refused to barge in, no matter what.
Fu Hui and Liu Zhishang were at the forefront; they had been here before, and still had some memories of its every plant and tree. After going a few steps, the former abruptly looked back at Fu Wanqing, but she was shrunken into Yu Shengyan’s side, a slight bit of terror on her face.
Liu Zhishang’s hands were kept inside his sleeves. He sighed. “Seeing how Wanqing is, her marriage with Shengyi can only be dropped.”
“What’s your opinion on that, Nephew Shen?” Fu Hui turned to ask the one in question. “With something like this having happened, if you aren’t willing, I won’t make things hard for you. I’ll just blame it on you two having no affinity.”
Shen Shengyi’s gaze was on Liu Zhishang this whole time. He frowned, not saying a word, and Fu Hui understood his implication. “That’s that, then.”
The Whitepath Alliance was in peril. Divine Mystery Sect had fallen into Gu Yu’s hands, while Soaring Might Protectancy was completely in shambles. Flying Falcon Fortress’s father-son pair didn’t look like they could take charge, and now not even Skytouch School’s desires could be fathomed.
The lonely island was uninhabited. At the fall of night, it was naturally pitch-black without lanterns. There was not a trace of alarm upon Fu Hui’s face; he merely kept striding forwards.
The trees on either side of the path shook in the wind, the sound of crashing waves coming in from behind. All of a sudden, he stopped in his tracks, then threw a palm at the remote forest. Two separate sounds of cleaving wind were subsequently issued, followed by two hiding people rolling out.
From behind the illumination of a torch he took, Fu Hui exclaimed in surprise, “How is it you two?”
The two that abruptly appeared happened to be the two brothers that had vanished from Divine Mystery Sect. They were dressed in rags, faces thin, and looked like men fallen on hard times.
“Why are you all here, Uncle Fu?” they both shouted, faces full of shock, when they got a clear look at who was before them.
“Shiling, Shixiu! How did you get to Haze Island? Who brought you here?” Fu Hui asked in a solemn voice, gaze scanning their surroundings. From his impressions, these good-for-nothing brothers had always shown up following Gu Yu of Limitless Palace. It was hard to say whether the Palace’s people had infiltrated the Island.
Zhong Shiling shook his head. “We don’t know, either. When we left Divine Mystery Sect in full dismay, we ran into a couple veiled people on the road, and they knocked us out. By the time we woke up, we were already here. We’ve stayed for a long time and have found traces of people living in the Island’s heart, but for some reason, no one’s here.”
“Could it be that Haze Island’s people brought them here? But there’s clearly no one else here… Brother fu, did you speak the truth?” Liu Zhishang asked.
Fu Hui’s face sank, as if he was thinking deeply about something. He had sent people to this island before; no traces of anyone had been there at the time, except for a few remaining elders and invalids that then reached their ending together. Seeing Liu Zhishang’s fully suspicious eyes, he smiled. “I won’t hide it from you all; this Fu did indeed send people to Haze Island before, but its people had vanished by that time.”
“Maybe they evacuated? Still, the Central Plains’ Martial Forest has never heard of the Island’s reputation before. The last time they appeared in jianghu’s rumors was because of that tragedy of the Yang’s,” Liu Zhishang said, pained. “If they wanted revenge, they could have acted earlier. Why would they bear with it for so many years? I’m still thinking that someone else was in disguise, and they deliberately drew us into this situation. Could even the treasure map be a lie?”
“That’s…” Fu Hui muttered to himself, shaking his head. “I don’t know.”
It was like someone had been leading them by the nose. He now wanted to declare the secret inside the Guanyin to be fake, but it was too late; no one would believe him. Slightly alarmed at heart, he quickly turned to Fu Wanqing, only to see her curling into Yu Shengyan’s embrace with a face full of dread, daring not to look at anyone else.
“You don’t want to misappropriate the trove for yourselves, do you, Manor of Chivalry and Skytouch School? We all get to Haze Island, and all of a sudden you say it’s a sham? Do you really take us for idiots you can jerk around?”
“Right, right! The map exists, so how could it be a lie? Daoist of Inertia, you’re not trying to be selfish, right?”
This building on Haze Island was covered in dust and cobwebs; one glance told that no one had lived in it for a long time. The treasure trove indicated on the map was somewhere around here. Fu Hui was in no hurry to find it, intending to spend the night here; even though the jianghu folk were restless at heart, they couldn’t say much.
Liu Zhishang’s face was ashen, the hearsay tidbits of jianghu incessantly entering his ears — with just one reasonable guess, he had been senselessly charged with cowardice and greed. In the quiet night, as shouts and sleep-talk bubbled up in places, the more he thought about this, the more he felt that this was a trap. His somber, viper-like gaze slowly slid from Guo Lintian to Fu Hui, and then a brazen conjecture arose in his heart — could all of this have been caused by the Manor? Yang Yifei had never admitted that his Protectancy had ever had the Guanyin, but was that actually not a lie?
They were sunken into dreamworlds while cherishing pretty hopes of wealth, but a few of them could wake up no longer.
When the sky was only just glimmering with dawn, a scream resounded throughout the house. Martial artists were always said to be keen and on the alert, yet none of them had heard any commotion last night, as if they had slept like the dead. Fu Hui crouched down to look over the corpses; they appeared to be just sleeping, no wounds to be found on their bodies. Brows scrunched up tightly, he said, “There’s no wounds, nor signs of poisoning.”
“That’s impossible!” someone shouted. His body went rigid as he suddenly remembered something. “Back in the Creed, we had disciples that died just as quietly, too. Is it someone from there? No, that’s not right. Some of their followers died, as well.”
“No, the Creed people suffered from sword wounds, very thin ones.”
“But the wounds weren’t from Huaixiu. Could they be Skytouch School’s One-Line Sky, then?”
“Is it Limitless Palace? When we were on Thousand Jadeite Island, its people suddenly appeared and took huge advantage of us.”
“No. How would they know where Haze Island is?” Fu Hui shook his head. He patrolled around, voice cold. “The Island’s people might not have all died.”
“Whether it’s the Palace or the Island, someone is clearly murdering us on the sly. We’ve fallen into an evil plot.”
“Does this map actually have substance, Brother Fu? Does the Island really have a treasure cache?” Liu Zhishang asked. “In addition to the Manor’s, all the elite disciples of our Alliance have been brought here. Were something to happen to the Martial Forest right now…”
There were overtones to his words, and all eyes momentarily congregated upon Fu Hui. The latter’s face sank, but right when he went to say something, another burst of panicked shouts was heard.
“Oh no! Leader Fu, somebody scuttled our ships!”
This was, obviously, a trap.
No ships would be passing by. They were stuck on this isolated landmass.
“It isn’t that there are no wounds, but that the wounds are subtle and difficult to find,” Yu Shengyan suddenly said. No one had noticed when she and Lady Fu had entered the building.
Feeling a chill, Fu Hui immediately went and felt the back of the man’s skull, gently smoothing out his hair with his fingertips. In a flash of white light, the weapon buried in deep was sucked out via his internal strength, then stuck into the ground.
“This is a Funerary Soul Nail,” he said while looking at Liu Zhishang.
“It doesn’t matter what that is! What should we do, now? How do we get back to Yangzhou if the ship’s sunk?”
“What’s the panic? There’s wood all over this island, and you’re still afraid of not returning? I think our main objective right now is to find the trove and take its treasure!”
“It’s really lively here.” Guo Lintian tugged at the drowsy Guo Ju, chuckling like he didn’t care. “Ju’r, do you recall the register of jianghu weapons you were supposed to remember? Do you have any memory of that Funerary Soul Nail your Uncle Fu just took out?”
“Of course I do.” She quickly became clear-headed, smiling happily. “Is this you trying to test me, dad? The Nail conforms to acupuncture methodology, yet is the unique weapon of Skytouch School. However, since the object does not complement the School’s traditional gentlemanly conduct, it is rarely used, meaning that everyone in jianghu has forgotten about it.”
“What nonsense are you saying, Guo Ju?!” Shen Shengyi reprimanded, face full of rage.
“I only said that the Nail is your unique weapon, not that you killed anyone. What are you antsy about?” Guo Ju tsked a few times.
“Enough!” Fu Hui heavily shouted, sweeping his gaze at everyone around. “Bury these brothers. Let’s go to the treasure stash.”
He had been to the Island before, but not to many areas of it. Xie Qiurong had rarely spoken of the interesting things upon it, too. The path wound, and were it not for the map, they would likely have straight-up gotten lost. At the onset, the jianghu people had still been utterly on guard in case some trap suddenly activated, but they gradually relaxed their alert after hearing no sounds other than the cries of birds and panting of humans.
A dead, yellowed wisteria that concealed a stone door appeared in front of them. Fu Hui gave an eye signal, and somebody promptly stepped forth to remove the obstruction. Peering up at the sky and their surroundings, he prudently stowed the map away, then looked at the palm-shaped indentation on the door, stepped forward, and pressed it.
There was no response whatsoever.
Others from jianghu also tried it out, but the stone door didn’t budge.
“How do we open this door, Leader Fu?” someone shouted impatiently.
Fu Hui did not answer. With a wooshing sound, he drew out a dagger, then walked towards Fu Wanqing, who was standing behind a bunch of people. Explaining nothing, he pulled her left hand over, then brandished the blade, about to slash her across the palm.
Yu Shengyan’s face darkened. The dagger was knocked over to the stone door with a clang, shooting out a string of sparks. Hit by her inner aura, Fu Hui took a couple steps back. “Head Yu, what is the meaning of this?”
She stared at the red on Fu Wanqing’s wrist, some annoyance in her eyes. “I should be the one asking you that, shouldn’t I?”
“If this door is to be opened, Wanqing’s blood is needed,” he answered with a frown.
“You think you can just take her blood because you want it? Have you never cared about her feelings?”
“I’m her father. My decision alone is fine,” he replied, as if that was obvious. “This has nothing to do with you, Head Yu. I’m grateful to you for bringing her here, but—“
“There is no treasure cache in this cave at all,” she mocked, “just a scam of Fu Hui’s. If any of you want to live, leave this island immediately.”
“You’re deluding the people with lies!” he rebuked.
Fu Wanqing moved, swordlight flashed, and then dark red blood came. Beneath Fu Hui’s proud gaze, she slowly walked over to the stone door, then placed her palm against the indentation. The door suddenly opened with a rumble.
Shaking off dust, she waited until all the jianghu people had filed in one by one, then blinked at Yu Shengyan, revealing a brilliant smile.
“Your palm…” the other said, concerned.
“Faked.” She smiled triumphantly. “Why would I cut my own palm open for this?”
Saying so, she relaxed her hand, dropping the blood bag concealed in her sleeve to the ground, which left a puddle.
The dark grooves of the handprint mark had a mechanism for the door; on an inconspicuous nook, there was a slightly concave stone that was the location of the switch. This cave was a winding labyrinth, roads leading to either life or death everywhere.
“In truth, with just the press of a button, those in the cave can die with a thousand arrows piercing their heart.” She giggled like she had just told a lighthearted joke. Seeing the disapproval in Yu Shengyan’s eyes, she blinked. “That method is too bloody and cruel, of course. I’ll give them a chance, so long as they choose the path of survival themselves.”
“Limitless Palace’s people are inside?” Yu Shengyan asked.
“Yep. The Palace and this Island were originally one and the same. There never was a treasure trove, and the rumors pertaining to the map were full of holes. Tell me, why did they believe them, to the extent that they walked right into the snare in accordance with my weaving?”
The woman laughed faintly, sighing. “Greed is enough to blind the eyes.”
“It’ll be over soon. I’ll let them become aware of what the truth is.” She licked her lips, hooking her arms around Yu Shengyan’s neck. “After all of this is over, is there going to be a division of superiority between us?”
Yu Shengyan’s smile went stiff. She pulled Fu Wanqing’s arms off of her, then took a few steps back. “You’re still wanting to duel, Lady Fu?” she chided. “An ending where only one of us can live is what you really want? That flame of obsession in your heart is still not extinguished.”
“Huaixiu is clearly already out of its sheath. Why do you still refuse to duel me?” Fu Wanqing showed traces of confusion. “We can just swap pointers, glancing ’til we stop. We won’t get injured unto death.”
Yu Shengyan sneered.
Competitions between experts would undoubtedly need the full extent of their strengths, and situations after expending all of one’s strength would not be easy to control; therefore, only the winners of such duels would be able to survive. Even if they as a pair would be fine, would Lady Fu, after their swords were compared, leave without looking back?
As if her heart was getting squeezed by a hand, Yu Shengyan discovered that she was unable to accept this fact. She stared deeply at Fu Wanqing, then brushed her sleeves out, intending to get away from this place.
“Hey, wait.” Fu Wanqing saw her turn like she was going to leave and felt a bit panicky, quickly grabbing her hand and babbling. “I want to see who’s better between us, but not in dueling… I don’t want to duel with you. You don’t like it, so I won’t bring it up to you anymore. Don’t leave.”
“I’ll ask you again, Fu Wanqing.” Yu Shengyan stopped in her tracks, speaking earnestly. “Is you being together with me just because you want to lure me into dueling? You only want to fight for the title of number one?”
Engrossed in her eyes, Fu Wanqing’s heart beat like a drum, and she was stunned speechless for a long time. Yet, Yu Shengyan’s heart sank little by little; she took her silence as a tacit agreement, and started prying her fingers off.
“No.” Fu Wanqing shook her head, flustered. Seeing that Yu Shengyan’s eyes had gone resolute, she drew her own sword and shouted, “I won’t bring up dueling with you again! If you still don’t believe me, I’ll grip my fingers on this blade until they’re cut off!”
Longsword flying out like a beam of light, fresh blood dripped from her thumb. She looked at Yu Shengyan’s tightly-furrowed brows, then raised her head and smiled noiselessly; she knew that she wouldn’t leave.
The anger in Yu Shengyan’s heart was not yet dissipated. She was angry at Fu Wanqing, and also herself. After bandaging the wound for her, she took in a deep breath and walked into the cave. Fu Hui had been leading the jianghu crowd for a while now, and Lady Fu wouldn’t want to miss that excitement.
Partway through their journey, she witnessed a few people scrambling away like there were ghosts inside. True to her word, Lady Fu turned her body to the side and allowed them to flee.
The cave was similar to a labyrinth, having twists and turns all over the place. The walls were splashed with fresh flood, and there were a few carcasses lying on the ground, still warm. The map from the Guanyin had not illustrated the route inside the cave, and many jianghu-goers would scatter at forks in the road; many had approved of that proposal, because they hoped that the first to come across the treasure hoard would be them.
At the end of the cave was a cliff.
“Who’s waiting there?” Yu Shengyan asked.
“Gu Yu.” Fu Wanqing giggled.
Not just Gu Yu, but Yue Qingtan and Yue Honghua, too.
The mountain wind was freezing. Once the end was reached, there was no treasure to be seen, and they had lost plenty of people. Fu Hui’s face was dark — he had heard all sorts of pained cries in the cave, yet had never turned his head. This was a trap, but the treasure of this trap was too enticing, and no one wanted to turn back due to the steep price they had paid.
Gu Yu was not Fu Hui’s match, to say nothing of the fact that Liu Zhishang and Guo Lintian were in his party.
“Don’t hit her, dad!” Guo Ju suddenly grabbed Guo Lintian’s sleeve and cried out, after staring at Gu Yu in a daze for a while.
“He drew back his hand, some surprise on his face. Looking to the left and the right, he asked, “Ju’r, which one is my dear daughter-in-law? I’m a bit confused.”
“Limitless Palace and Jadeite Water Creed have colluded together?!” Liu Zhishang hollered madly. “Why are you still hesitating, Brother Fu? Kill these demonesses!”
Caring about nothing else, he directly jumped in front of Gu Yu, animating his sword. Neither Yue Qingtan nor Yue Honghua moved, nor did the jianghu people.
Liu Zhishang was considered an elder of jianghu, yet he was calling people to help him while he contended with a junior; would that getting out not make people laugh their teeth out?
Fu Hui sighed glumly. “She’s Zhong Tian’s daughter.”
Those words made his stance clear — he would not be attacking.
Liu Zhishang moved to take life, while Gu Yu’s moves were just as fierce; swords danced, and he couldn’t attack her for a moment, face flushed red. Refusing to lose reputation in front of jianghu, he banged around wildly, longsword trapping her like a mad wind stirring up dead leaves. A few wisps of silver light flashed at his fingertips. Right as he was going to stab Gu Yu, two figures suddenly attacked from the left and the right, harsh sabrewind coming at his face. His figure darted, and he slammed his palms into the chests of the two sneak-attackers with two bangs; meanwhile, Gu Yu’s sword had since pierced him through his own chest.
“Good! Very good!” he laughed loudly. Using strength, he twisted and broke the sword she held, and what had sunken into his body was jolted by his powerful internal force, shooting outwards to stick itself into the cliff wall. Bright red blood poured out of his mouth. He pushed away Shen Shengyi, who had rushed up to support him, and yelled, “Zhong Tian really made a couple of good kids!”
His enraged palm strikes had not been light. Zhong Shiling struggled for a long time on the ground, unable to get up, and stroked his chest as he spat up blood. “Yu’r is our little sister, Uncle Liu! You can’t kill her!”
“Sister?” Liu Zhishang laughed. “Have you asked whether she sees you two as elder brothers? Good-for-nothing trash, you’re getting in the way! Gu Yu is the demoness that wrested everything away from Divine Mystery Sect! She’s a demoness from Limitless Palace! You idiots!”
He was so incredibly angry, he staggered backwards and fell down.
“No matter what, she’s our sister! Even if we die, we have to protect her! Regardless of whether it’s you or Uncle Fu, if you want to kill her, you’ll have to tread on our corpses, first!” Zhong Shixiu shouted. He turned to look dully at Gu Yu, and then spat up a mouthful of blood out of immense grief.
“Very well! Today, I will clean up the sect for my dead brother by killing you two morons!” Liu Zhishang roared. The silver lights at his fingertips shot out, but another figure was even faster, a roll of his sleeve sweeping the weapons away.
Guo Lintian beamed. “What is it that you’re doing? They’re the sons of Brother Zhong Tian. Are you wanting to wipe out the Zhong’s to the last? Also, these are Funerary Soul Nails. Don’t use them anymore, they’re quite malicious.” He lightly walked over to Liu Zhishang, pat him on the shoulder, then walked back.
“You’re here for the treasure, right?” The veiled Yue Honghua took a few steps forward. “I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you all. It’s already been brought back to Limitless Palace.”
“No treasure?! We’ve lost so many brothers! Let’s kill them now to avenge them!”
“Yeah! Kill them! Kill them!”
“Your Palace has killed us?” Fu Hui asked, solemn. “You scuttled the boats? We hold no animosity, so why did you do that?”
“We did scuttle the boats, but if you’re wanting to say that we killed people that night, that wasn’t our doing.” Yue Honghua chuckled. “You’ll have to ask your dear brother Liu Zhishang about that. He killed a lot of people back in the Creed — even Lady Fu nearly suffered an attack from him! Look at his right hand holding the sword, does it not have a wound? Where did that actually come from? Do you not want to know, Leader Fu?”
“What nonsense are you saying?!” Liu Zhishang shouted angrily, hiding his hands.
“I’m saying nonsense?” She sneered. “When the young Alliance disciples came to the Creed, you lot were also following close behind. The Creed’s followers and righteous path’s disciples died bizarrely; that was just you wanting to incite them into slaughtering each other, a tactic that would be pretty beneficial to your Martial Forest. In regards to Lady Fu and Head Yu, you had the mind to kill them, too, didn’t you? What a shame that you were imperfect at your arts, and failed to succeed. The Alliance’s affairs were all managed by Leader Fu and Yang Yifei, but were you, Daoist of Inertia, willing to be without drive? Your disciple, Shen Shengyi, marrying Lady Fu was likely your idea, yes? Was that for the purpose of strengthening the Alliance, or dividing it?
“You had believed that she was refusing to marry, so you used this to incite disharmony in the relationship between father and daughter, but that was unexpectedly simple, right? One Yang Wugong thankfully showed up! Speaking of which, he’s your little sister’s son, yet you exploited him so cruelly! Furthermore, the ones ordered to ambush Madam Fu years ago had been your School’s disciples, hadn’t they? That was to provoke discord between the two families, but how could you have anticipated that Leader Fu would be so deeply honorable?
“Oh, and I almost forgot. This all started with Zhong Tian’s death, didn’t it? Your School’s One-Line Sky really painstakingly imitates Head Yu’s Huaixiu, but you hadn’t predicted that she would be by Lady Fu’s side at that time, huh? Whether it was framing Jadeite Water Creed or framing Haze Island, in order to achieve dominance over jianghu, what was the sacrifice of couple of family members and fellows to you? Is that not right, Daoist of Inertia?”
“Liu Zhishang!” Fu Hui bellowed, eyes gone crimson. “The Nail is the unique weapon of your School, and the wounds on Zhong Tian’s body were not from Huaixiu, but One-Line Sky — does that have anything to do with you?!”
“Why would I kill him?! It wasn’t me—“ Liu Zhishang shouted, face turning extremely ugly.
“Today, I will eliminate evil from the Martial Forest!” Fu Hui abruptly struck out at Liu Zhishang. Right as the other thought to resist, he suddenly realized that his internal force had been locked up by someone. He stared at the wordlessly-smiling Guo Lintian, full of disbelief.
Fu Hui’s palm only brought a few bits of his strength with it, but Liu Zhishang was gravely injured, and could not dodge at all. He fell from the cliff like a tattered rag, while Shen Shengyi’s anguished cry echoed off of its walls.
“Uncle Fu, my Master isn’t that sort of person! He wouldn’t have killed anyone!” Shen Shengyi shouted, glaring hatefully at Fu Hui. “He was at the Manor when Uncle Yang was murdered! How could he kill them?!”
“He was at the Manor, but you were not, and your swordsmanship was passed down from him.” Gray-faced, Fu Hui lowered his head to look at his own palm, face full of disappointment. “Does your School really not have the slightest bit of ambition?”
Shen Shengyi’s breath hitched. He grit his teeth. “Yang Yifei wasn’t killed by one of us, and what happened back then was definitely not my Master laying an ambush!”
“What about the rest?” Guo Ju asked, grinning. “Is this an admittance that the Creed stuff was your School’s doing?”
“Is this not exterminating kin for the sake of the greater good?” Yue Honghua mocked. “When it comes to the righteous path of the Martial Forest, you, Leader Fu, are a mess. Liu Zhishang hadn’t spoke wrongly; I was talking nonsense. No… it should be said that it was half nonsense. We didn’t do the thing with the Creed, but on Haze Island, my Palace did indeed act.”
Fu Hui clenched his fists. The muscles on his face appeared to be stiff, and it took him a long time before he squeezed out a sentence from his teeth. “How much do you know about what happened in Blackwood Forest?”
“It genuinely was someone of your Alliance that did that, it was just the Protectancy.” She laughed coldly.
“My good sister, what are you gabbing on with him for? Now that the Martial Forest has been subdued, only these few are left. Let’s finish this all up quickly and report to the Lord,” Yue Qingtan said lazily. She sat to the side, then held a few red flowers in hand, their petals falling to the ground. Before Yue Honghua could say anything, the other stood up and whipped her sleeves out like a rolling gale — the petals on the ground flew through midair like a rain of flowers.
“Hold your breath!” Fu Hui shouted, reacting in time.
This was a type of poison called ‘World of Floating Red’. It wouldn’t kill, but it would make one lose all their internal strength for a short amount of time.
Behind them was a maze where an unknown amount of experts were hiding, and in front of them was a cliff. He discovered that there was no escape route whatsoever.
He, once regarded as the number one swordsman in the land, was no longer a legend, nor was he the match for this many. Swordlight intermeshed into a fine net, and flitting figures were as light as butterfly wings. He had only one pair of hands, while three people opposed him — three that didn’t shy away from underhanded tactics. Getting hit with a poisoned dart, his true qi quickly leaked out, and the power in his sword also vanished. He fell to the ground, covering his shoulder.
“People that flaunt themselves as righteous heroes like you, Leader Fu, are the easiest to deal with. You look down upon schemes, but we’re different.” Yue Qingtan smiled languidly. Her eyes were on Yue Honghua from beginning to end, brimming with tenderness, but upon a closer look, one could discover the immense pain hidden within them.
He said nothing, hearing footsteps coming up from behind him.
Two figures, one red and one white, drew near.
There was a casual smile on Fu Wanqing’s face, completely unalike the fearful look she’d had before.
A glint of hope arose in Fu Hui’s eyes. He laughed at Yue Qingtan. “This Fu is not defeated, nor is the Manor. Whitepath’s jianghu won’t be.”
Fu Wanqing was his pride. Her martial arts alone would be enough to deal with everyone here, to say nothing of the fact that Yu Shengyan, whose skill was unfathomable, was at her side.
“Creed Head.”
Yu Shengyan nodded at Yue Qingtan, looking indifferent.
His smile froze a bit. He had almost forgotten that the Creed was colluding with the Palace. “Wanqing,” he called out warmly, “you are Whitepath jianghu’s final hope.”
“Is that what you cherish, dad?” she asked with a sneer. “You all broke your heads fighting over a nonsense treasure map.”
“The map is fake?” he asked incredulously, startled.
“Oh, dad. When you had Lu Qi make the Guanyin, was there ever any map, then? It was all a lie, a lie with holes all over it, and yet the people of jianghu believed it. Even you did.”
“Whether it’s real or fake isn’t important.” He shook his head, voice stern. “Wanqing, kill these people that are causing disaster for jianghu.”
She chuckled, then walked around to come before Yue Honghua.
“Eldest Lady,” Gu Yu and the other greeted respectfully.
“What reason would I have to kill them?” Fu Wanqing countered.
He opened his mouth, unable to say a word. As the realization slowly dawned on him, his face was as gray as death. He listened to the one that was so familiar, yet also incomparably unfamiliar, speak.
“What am I going to do? I’m going to destroy this jianghu that you so cherish.”
Limitless Palace had come from Haze Island.
Following Xie Qiurong’s death, Fu Wanqing had one conviction holding her up. This was the game she had been arranging for many years. Had Fu Hui treated her better, and fulfilled his duty as a father, this might not have happened.
Many had gone to Haze Island, but only a few returned to Yangzhou.
Fu Hui lived, but his heart was dead. The Manor of Chivalry naturally fell into Fu Wanqing’s hands. The weather had changed in jianghu, but aside from those in it, who cared?
Within the performance veranda beside Slender West Lake, the sound of songs was akin to the cries of yellow orioles.
“Tell me, should those captured on Haze Island be released, or killed?” Fu Wanqing swirled the wine cup she held, laughing languidly.
“Shen Shengyi can’t remain,” Yu Shengyan mildly answered, seizing the cup from the other’s hand. The wine stains encroaching upon her lapels were really annoying to look at.
Fu Wanqing turned around in Yu Shengyan’s embrace, sighing. “All of a sudden, my heart feels a little empty.”
“Do you need to find someone else to fill your empty heart, Lady Fu?” The other laughed coldly, raising a brow.
“With you by my side, why would I need anyone else?” Fu Wanqing quickly answered, blinking.
The sound of bells from distant mountain temples was ethereal and obscured.
A gust of wind blew, lifting the curtains of the pleasure boat. Her gaze fell upon the calm surface of the lake.
How would things ever be any sort of calm in jianghu? With one thing destroyed, another arose.
The next instant, she was met with Yu Shengyan’s soft and tranquil eyes.
She smiled knowingly, suddenly feeling that all the restlessness of jianghu was irrelevant to her.
—
The translator says: Rocks Fell, Everyone Died: The Novel
Thanks for reading, y'all. This novel was really easy to translate, which I'm pretty grateful for. I have an annoying tendency to pick hard projects...
In any case, remember to buy the novel on jjwxc if you liked it, or leave a review on NU.
Falcons feared streams, and this was a deep mountain stream that falcons would fret about once they saw.
Two figures darted past, one in front and one in back, then ultimately landed steady upon a protruding rock.
“I’ve never been held up by anyone for that long! Those little ladies from Limitless Palace really are something! And Lady Fu, really, what was she thinking, stirring up such a big mess? Ah, jianghu… this old man already can’t understand it anymore. It’s time to retire.” Guo Lintian plopped his butt on the ground, wiping the cold sweat off of his forehead. He glared at Guo Ju, who looked a little pale, and huffed out a laugh. “What, couldn’t take the rush here? You brat—“
“Dad, I have something to say,” she answered gravely, abruptly kneeling on the ground.
“Are you wanting to say that you helped calculate things with Lady Fu?” He pulled her into sitting on the ground together with him, guffawing. “Do you think I didn’t know about all your sneaky deeds? I clearly saw what plans you all had in your hearts. Your dad’s never believed in that mess about the treasure map. The Whitepath Alliance’s name has long become misrepresentative; in jianghu, there’s the righteous and the evil, where the righteous will become the evil, and the evil will become the righteous. Those that are actual heroes will go and uphold justice, while those that do untold evil will ultimately suffer the Heavens’ wrath. When was the Alliance ever needed?
“Feel like a dragon’s head for too long, and anyone would change. The mistakes made and shady stuff done in youth has now had retribution come for them, see? It’s just that Lady Fu’s means were too vicious. Liu Zhishang and the rest’s crimes weren’t worthy of death at all, and that old guy, Fu Hui — have you seen how he is now? Death would be better for him.”
“Dad, you…” she raised her head, eyes twinkling.
He waved his hand, indicating for her to not get excited, and let out a long sigh. “Ju’r, your papa did some assholish things when young, too. I didn’t treat your mother that well because of some stuff in jianghu. I’m also an unfaithful man, and once loitered about those ‘lands of happiness’. I even said cruel words to your mom, saying that she had violated the Seven Ousts,[8] and that I was going to divorce her. I hadn’t thought that this would harm her, and also harm you all your life. I know a lot of things, but can only treat them as if I don’t; my child, I’ve wronged you for many years.”
“Papa, you knew?”
“I’m not blind. How could I not even tell the difference between a boy and a girl? I had just wanted to see how long you two were going to hide it, but, in the end… well, it’s all my fault. Ju’r, you’re grown up now. Go and do what you want. I know you don’t want to carry the burden of the Fortress.”
She had never wanted to be the Young Fortress Lord. Once, she had thought that after all this got resolved, she would completely change her name and hide in jianghu, never considering that her old dad had always understood what was on her mind. She hadn’t tasted tears in a very long time, but now, she only wanted to ugly cry in her dad’s arms like this.
Guo Lintian’s palm-fan-like hand gently pat her on the back, some tears in his own eyes. His son— no, his daughter had grown up. “Ju’r, I know you like Gu Yu of Limitless Palace. Go pursue her, papa won’t stop you.” With that, he sighed for a good while again, and then his words turned around. “Actually, I think Miss Yue Qingtan isn’t that bad. If you can’t get Gu Yu, taking her as a wife would be a good thing.”
Guo Ju broke out of his hug, laughing as she cried. “How could that be so simple?”
Gu Yu had no heart — or, it should be said that she refused to be moved. She had disconnected from everyone, placing them outside her mind’s gates.
Flowers bloomed as spring warmed, and the peach blossoms resembled brilliant sunset clouds on the horizon. Fine drizzle flew about, dense above the distant surface of the lake.
This was Lin’an Prefecture. Walk a certain distance forward, turn into an alleyway, and then there would be Spring Wind Grin.
A thousand gold would find it hard to buy a smile like a spring wind.
Guo Ju was holding up an oilpaper umbrella. She had changed into women’s clothes; she felt the switch weird at first, but had slowly gotten used to it.
The one she was waiting for strolled over, but there were two obstacles beside her.
The Zhong brothers had simple-minded smiles all across their faces. The dense affection in their eyes had already dissipated, and their hearts full of enmity had also dispelled. Once, they had fought brutally and jealously over her, inciting the mockery of all of jianghu; now, they were keeping watch at her side, for the sake of protecting their only sister. With her skill, though, how could she ever need their protection?
Guo Ju looked at the brothers unhappily, but when she heard Gu Yu speak, she felt as happy as if she had drunk straight honey.
The one she yearned for day and night, standing not too far away, softly said, “I’m here.”
—
The translator says: At least there's one good, not-dead parent in this fucking house.
[1] This is a standalone sentence from an unknown author, taken from a generic collection of Song poems titled All Song Poems. Very helpful, I know.
[2] A quote from A New Account of the Tales of the World, section Appearance and Manner. Used to describe Ji Kang, who was apparently a hunk way back in the day. (His picture… leaves a lot to be desired, imo, but that’s probably the old art style.)
[3] From “Youthful Travels”, by Zhou Bangyan. (English version here.)
[4] From Li Bai‘s Bidding Farewell to Secretary Shu Yun at Xie Tao Tower in Xuanzhou. (Read in full here.)
[5] Purportedly, if you condense enough spiritual qi from the heaven and earth, you’ll birth refined children. More interestingly, the characters that make up the idiom, 钟灵毓秀/zhong ling yu xiu, have parts of Zhong Shiling and Shixiu‘s names in it, too.
[7] From Li Bai’s poem, title typically translated as ‘Ode to Gallantry’, even though I can’t find an english version. The poem describes the appearance and conduct of wandering warriors; ‘hooks of Wu’ are severely curved, scimitar-like weapons: I also can’t find a safe site to link for a picture, so just google ‘wugou sword’, and you’ll see it.
[8] The Seven Ousts were the possible grounds for a man to divorce his wife in ye olde times, some being more reasonable than others: disobedience to parents, lack of sons, adultery, envy, being beset with plague, talking too much, and theft.