Meister der Mehrdeutigkeit

Kapitel 15

Yue Huaijiang looked her up and down. "Is this the first time you've seen a corpse?"

This wasn't the first time Xiaoxiao had seen a corpse. She remembered when she was little, traveling the world with her master, they often had nowhere to stay at night. Staying at mortuaries was a common occurrence. Her master said, "Dead people aren't scary; what's scary is having a guilty conscience." Over time, she got used to it.

But now that Yue Huaijiang has asked, she can only nod.

"Then you should go back to your room and rest. I still need to go to Le'er's place," Yue Huaijiang said.

Xiao Xiao nodded again and turned to go back to her room.

As she walked, she kept her head down, lost in thought. Just now, a man in black had passed by, and then Yin Xiao had given chase. Then, disciples of Hero's Fortress died. What was the connection between these events? And the murder weapon was a famous weapon of the Qi family, which was even more perplexing. If the murderers weren't Shi Le'er and Mo Yun, then that meant there was a third Qi family sword within Hero's Fortress?

Sigh... it seems a conflict within Hero's Fortress is inevitable. She can't leave today, and I'm afraid that later...

"Miss Zuo." Lian Zhao's voice suddenly came, startling her.

She looked up and saw Lian Zhao standing at her door, looking worried.

Lian Zhao walked quickly to Xiao Xiao's side and said with concern, "Miss Zuo, I was worried when you weren't in the room..."

"Uh... Thank you for your trouble, Master Lian. I'm fine," Xiao Xiao said, taking a few steps back.

Lian Zhao looked at her and said, "Miss Zuo, your outfit..."

Xiao Xiao then remembered that she had brought all her belongings with her. This disguise was absolutely bizarre; how come Yue Huaijiang didn't suspect anything earlier? Well, Yue Huaijiang is naive... But what should she make up now?

Suddenly, a thought struck her. This young master Lian Zhao before her seemed truly determined to marry her. Although she felt a little guilty, in the current situation, taking advantage of him a little wouldn't be considered deceiving his feelings, right? That's right, they were complete strangers; there was no affection involved. Besides, she was determined to be the bad guy anyway. A powerful and influential young man from a respectable family—who else could it be?

Thinking of this, Xiao Xiao lowered her head and said, "Master Lian... I was originally going to find you."

Lian Zhao was somewhat puzzled, "Looking for me?"

"Hmm..." Xiao Xiao struggled to find the right words, "Xiao Xiao has thought about it for a long time, and I'm willing to accept what Master Lian has said. However, marriage is a major life event, and parents always have to give their approval. Xiao Xiao is an orphan, but Master Lian comes from a prestigious family... so, at least we should meet... uh..."

Lian Zhao blushed slightly upon hearing this. "Miss Zuo, you don't need to worry about that. My parents are both reasonable people... However, what you said makes sense. Marriage is a major life event and should be decided by one's parents."

Xiao Xiao raised her head and said, "Then, without further ado, let's go see your parents!"

Lian Zhao was taken aback. "Now?"

Xiao Xiao scratched his head, chuckled awkwardly, and said, "Tomorrow will be better..."

Lian Zhao readily nodded, "Okay. Then we'll leave Hero's Fortress first thing tomorrow morning."

Hearing this, Xiao Xiao was deeply moved. Indeed, if she had known this earlier, she wouldn't have gone to so much trouble. With Lian Zhao by her side, neither Shi Le'er nor Yin Xiao could stop her anymore. As for Lian Zhao's parents… what kind of status did the Divine Arrow Lian family have? They were officials of the imperial court! A wandering orphan girl like her would never be allowed into their home. She wouldn't even need to refuse; Lian Zhao's parents would definitely not agree. Hehe, killing two birds with one stone!

Seeing her smiling happily, Lian Zhao smiled too. "Miss Zuo, you should get some rest. I'll come to see you tomorrow morning."

"Ah? Oh! Thank you, Master Lian!" Xiao Xiao replied.

Lian Zhao shook his head. "Just call me Lian Zhao."

Xiao Xiao blinked and looked at him, "Lian... Lian Zhao..."

Lian Zhao smiled and said, "Then I'll call you Xiao Xiao?"

"Okay." Xiao Xiao nodded.

"I'm leaving now, Xiaoxiao." Lian Zhao smiled gently, turned around and left.

Xiao Xiao suddenly felt a little uncomfortable. It's fine to be any kind of bad person, but it's still very uncomfortable to take advantage of others.

"I'm not exactly harming him by doing this, am I..." she murmured to herself.

She sighed, pushed open the door and went inside, but was immediately grabbed and had her mouth covered.

"Mmm..." Xiao Xiao was quite surprised.

"Don't make a sound."

The voice was familiar; Xiao Xiao recognized it as Yin Xiao. She immediately nodded frantically.

Yin Xiao released her.

Xiao Xiao cried out in a low voice, "Grandpa Yin, please don't kill me..."

“Who wants to kill you…” Yin Xiao glared at her and sat down at the table.

Xiao Xiao glanced at him. His face was pale, and his breathing was slightly rapid, unlike usual.

"Uncle Yin...you...you're injured?" Xiao Xiao asked timidly.

Yin Xiao glanced at her disdainfully, "Don't worry, even if I'm injured, killing you will be a piece of cake."

"You just said you wouldn't kill me..." Xiao Xiao said, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I'm a notorious bandit, and you expect me to keep my word? What a joke..." Silver Owl sneered. He stopped mid-sentence, his breathing becoming uneven. He had to circulate his internal energy to regulate his breathing.

Internal injuries… Xiao Xiao understood. She hadn't practiced internal energy since childhood and couldn't offer much help. Moreover, her master had said that internal energy in the world was divided into Taoist and Buddhist schools. Buddhist internal energy was all orthodox Buddhist practice, only for inner disciples. Therefore, most people in the world practiced Taoist internal energy. Within Taoism, there were four schools: Taiyang, Taiyin, Shaoyang, and Shaoyin. Anyone practicing internal energy who suffered internal damage had to adjust their breathing according to the methods of their respective school. If one didn't know the other's school of internal energy, one should never casually impart one's skills, otherwise it would do more harm than good.

So Xiao Xiao stood obediently to the side and watched him practice his internal energy.

After an incense stick had burned, Silver Owl opened his eyes and said, "Why don't you go and get someone to arrest me?"

"Huh?" Xiao Xiao was stunned for a moment. "Uncle Yin, how could I possibly have that kind of courage..."

"Whether you're bold or cowardly, I really don't know..." He looked at Xiaoxiao, "How did you release the pressure points I applied?"

She froze for a moment, "Huh? Someone happened to pass by and helped me solve it!"

Yin Xiao didn't ask any more questions, he just smiled.

Xiao Xiao felt a chill run down her spine from his laughter. After thinking for a moment, she timidly asked, "Master Yin...Master Yin, would you like me to escort you back to your room?"

Yin Xiao glared at her, "If I could go back to my room, why would I be hiding here with you?!"

"oh……"

“My identity has been recognized by those men in black, so I can’t show myself for the time being,” Silver Owl frowned.

"Wow? They're that good?" Xiao Xiao exclaimed in surprise.

"Hmph. They only managed to injure me with one palm strike. But I struck two of them with the Refined Snow Silver Light. Within three days, we'll know who the culprit is." Yin Xiao poured himself a cup of tea and took a sip. "There's also someone with an injury on their left shoulder. With careful investigation, they won't be hard to catch."

Xiao Xiao listened for a while, but then started to feel strange. Logically speaking, this Silver Owl was a notorious bandit who robbed and plundered; it would be one thing if he didn't steal anything. Why was he so enthusiastically helping to catch a culprit? How strange…

Yin Xiao noticed the suspicion on her face and guessed what was going on. He said, "I just want to get rid of those who are competing with me for the Nine Emperors' Divine Artifacts. What's so strange about that?"

"I understand! Master Yin, you are wise, meticulous, and skilled in both literature and martial arts! I admire you greatly!" Xiao Xiao immediately said with a smile.

Silver Owl snorted contemptuously, "Alright, alright. Aren't you tired of flattering me for so long? I won't kill you then."

"Thank you so much, Master Yin, for sparing my life..." Xiao Xiao said gratefully, tears welling in her eyes.

Yin Xiao sighed and continued drinking his tea. He glanced at Xiao Xiao, his gaze falling on the sanxian she was carrying on her back. He put down his teacup, frowning in thought.

“I feel like your sanxian looks familiar… I’ve seen it somewhere before…” he said slowly.

Xiao Xiao chuckled, "Uncle Yin, you flatter me. Don't all traveling singers use the same kind of sanxian?"

Silver Owl lowered his head, "Is that so..."

Little Xiao was still smiling. A sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument). How could there possibly be two identical sanxian in the world…?

No… right now, the sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument) isn't the problem. The problem is, given the situation, will she be able to leave tomorrow?

A silver needle

That night, Xiaoxiao slept with her head on the table. When she woke up in the morning, her entire right arm was numb, and her neck was so sore she couldn't move it. She reached out and rubbed her neck, then gently pressed her right arm with her left hand to relieve the numbness.

She looked up at Yin Xiao, who was sleeping on the bed, and sighed softly.

As expected, she wasn't destined to sleep on a soft bed...

She stood up, ready to wash her face.

"Where are you going?" Silver Owl suddenly asked, startling her.

Xiao Xiao immediately stopped and bowed, saying, "Replying to Master Yin, I'll wash my face."

Silver Owl sat up and said, "Come here."

Xiao Xiao reluctantly moved over. Yin Xiao reached out, took her hand, and checked her pulse.

“You have no internal energy.” Yin Xiao raised his eyes and asked.

Xiao Xiao had a vague feeling that something was wrong, but she still nodded.

Yin Xiao's lips curled slightly as he raised his right hand and gently tapped his small left wrist.

The stinging pain made Xiaoxiao jerkly pull her hand back. She took a few steps back in surprise, looking at her wrist. Underneath the skin, a thin, silvery-white ray could be faintly seen.

“Snow-quenched Silver Light…” Xiao Xiao immediately knelt down with tears in her eyes, “Grandpa Silver… how could you do this to me… you promised you wouldn’t kill me…”

Yin Xiao lay down. "Don't worry, you won't die. The silver light will travel through your meridians, and it will take at least ten days to become fatal." He reached out and pressed the Tianquan acupoint on the small arm. "It's not too late to beg me when the needle reaches this point."

Xiao Xiao stared at her wrist, heartbroken. No wonder he asked her if she had any internal energy; without it, she couldn't force out the silver light flowing through her meridians… How tragic…

Silver Owl smiled and continued, "That way, you won't climb the roof at night anymore, right?"

Xiao Xiao pulled up her sleeve to cover her wrist, looked up at Yin Xiao, and asked, "What do you want me to do for you?"

Upon hearing this, Yin Xiao's eyebrows twitched slightly. He smiled and said, "You're not stupid."

She wiped away her tears and didn't answer.

"The Nine Emperors' Divine Artifacts..." Yin Xiao had just uttered these four words when Xiao Xiao took a few steps back in shock. He shook his head, "Don't worry, I won't let you go looking for the Nine Emperors' Divine Artifacts. I'm just asking you to examine Young Master Wei's wooden box."

Xiao Xiao frowned slightly. "Oh. I will certainly do my utmost, even unto death!"

Seeing that she answered quickly, Yin Xiao became suspicious, but couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong. He sighed, "Alright. Go wash your face. Remember, every midnight, the Yin Guang meridians circulate, causing excruciating pain. No one but me can help you with the acupuncture. If you don't come back by midnight, you're just asking for trouble."

Xiao Xiao nodded immediately, "I understand!"

Yin Xiao glanced at her, then lay back down. "Take care of yourself."

Xiao Xiao sniffed innocently, then turned and sheepishly went to wash her face. She finished washing quietly and was about to leave when she remembered that the person in the room was a stranger. So she carefully picked up her valuables before pushing open the door.

Investigating Mo Yun's wooden box would be the last thing she'd do; touching something like the Nine Emperors' Divine Artifact would bring bad luck. She glanced back at her room, then at her wrist.

She looked up; it was early morning, and no one was around. She sat down on the veranda, watching the gleaming silver light in the meridians. The silver light traveled along the Hand-Qiu Yin-Xin Pericardium Meridian, which Xiao Xiao examined carefully. She raised her hand and pressed the Neiguan, Jianshi, and Quze acupoints, then severed the Qi flow at the Shenmen and Taiyuan acupoints. Instantly, her entire left forearm went numb, and she couldn't move her fingers. However, the tiny silver light was firmly blocked and unable to move.

Who says you can't handle the silver needle's meridian manipulation without internal energy? She chuckled slightly. Now, for this quenched silver light to reach the Tianquan acupoint, it would take at least half a year. Half a year! The world is vast and unpredictable.

She recalled the scene of herself crying and begging Silver Owl for mercy, and a helpless smile appeared on her face. She remembered how her master had always done this when she was little—regardless of the opponent's strength, begging for mercy first. She was too young to understand. Her master smiled and said, "Do you understand, Little One? When fire is fierce, people look upon it with fear, and thus few die; when water is weak, people become familiar with it and play with it, and many die. The martial world is the same. If you show weakness, the opponent will underestimate you. Underestimating you will lead to ignoring you. In battle, they won't fight with their full strength. And at that moment, victory is most likely."