Chapter Fifteen of the Crimson Butterfly Scroll said I'd wait for you (Part 3)
Updated: 2008-10-21 14:36:30 Word Count: 3789
Third update.
“Xiao Kong is exceptionally talented and never makes a mistake. Besides, I had a premonition.” Ze Xiu smiled. “He has offended too many people.”
Xiaoman had never heard him talk about his own life before, but seeing that he seemed to be in the mood to talk today, she rested her chin on her hand and leaned over to listen.
"He was a stubborn and self-willed man, but also surprisingly timid. Because he had obtained his position of power too easily, none of his brothers were willing to compete with him. As the eldest among his brothers, he naturally inherited the family business. A person who does not have much talent but holds a high position will always feel uneasy. Therefore, he is more suspicious and more paranoid than the average person."
His tragedy lies in his dual nature: doubting his own abilities while arrogantly believing that no one else can do it.
"Over the years, relying on his large family fortune, he has done many bad things and offended many people. I don't know who asked him to settle accounts this time, but it must be a mess there now." It's probably a fight over the inheritance, or a falling out, but that's none of his business anymore.
He touched his face, looked up at the sky, and said, "It's getting late, let's go."
"Where are we going?" Xiaoman asked curiously.
He remembered what Xiao Kong had said last night, hesitated for a moment, and finally said, "Let's go to Mount Taihua and I'll introduce you to my master."
Xiao Man immediately smiled and said, "What kind of person is your master? I've never heard you mention him before."
Zexiu stroked his chin and thought for a moment: "Hmm... he should be a good person. Apart from some unbearable bad habits, he's not bad at all."
Bad habits? Like the round fan's fondness for collecting large fans, or Mr. Xue's fondness for androgynous transvestites?
He pinched her cheek: "You'd better keep an eye on your valuables, or don't cry to me if they get stolen."
Xiao Man was shocked: "He can steal things?!"
Zexiu deliberately scared her: "That's right. He especially likes to steal from little girls like you."
She fumbled for her purse, looking down left and right, unsure where to hide it. Zexiu laughed heartily. He pinched her cheek again and was about to get up when Xiaoman suddenly grabbed him: "Wait, let me see your face."
She cupped his face in her hands, looked at him carefully, and said softly, "Zexiu, you haven't been sleeping well lately, have you? There are dark circles under your eyes."
He rubbed his eyes: "It's nothing. I just have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar beds."
A person who is picky about beds? Would someone who lives off government bounties and wanders around be picky about beds?
Xiao Man wouldn't let him leave, and said sternly, "Don't talk nonsense. I don't want you to travel like this. Get off at the station. There's a bed in the house. We're not going anywhere today. You'd better get some sleep."
He shook his head: "Why sleep in the middle of the day..."
Xiaoman dragged him by the sleeve and pulled him into the house, shoving him onto the bamboo bed. Zexiu didn't resist. He let her do as she pleased, then suddenly laughed, "What are you doing? Trying to molest a respectable young man in broad daylight?"
Xiao Man pulled the cloak over him and patted his face. "What, you won't let me molest you? Come on, sir. Give me a smile."
Zexiu glared at her, but he was indeed exhausted. Not only physically, but also mentally. He lay on the bamboo bed, then suddenly turned over. Xiaoman was squatting beside him, her hair exuding a faint fragrance that enveloped him. He closed his eyes and whispered, "Give me your hand."
She had already placed her hand in his palm, and he held it tightly, placing it beside his face.
"Xiaoman, you..." he said something in a low voice, but didn't finish.
She hummed in agreement and waited a while, but he didn't say anything more. After a while, he let out a deep breath and fell asleep holding her hand.
He slept for two whole days. When he woke up, he felt dizzy with hunger. Lying in bed, he covered his eyes and muttered, "I want to drink, I want to eat meat..."
Xiao Man's voice sounded from above: "Okay, but drink some water first. You can really sleep."
He moved his hand away and saw Xiaoman sitting on the edge of the bed with a bowl of water. He drank most of the water from her hand, and then suddenly smelled a fragrant aroma. His mouth watered, and he asked, "What delicious thing have you made?"
She chuckled, "They sell rabbit meat here, so I made some spiced rabbit. There's only one small pot here, and it was taken up, so I bought the sweet potato puree and peanut cake from outside. There's also rock sugar cooked pear, it's so delicious."
Zexiu almost drowned his own saliva. He got up and went to the pot, where he saw rabbit stewing inside. He didn't even have time to grab chopsticks; he just grabbed a piece with his hand and threw it into his mouth, scalding himself. Xiaoman took a jar that had been soaking in hot water: "Here's some wine for you."
In his eyes, Xiaoman was simply a shining Guanyin Bodhisattva. He opened the jar and drank most of it in one go before letting out a long sigh of relief, as if he had finally woken up.
Xiao Man munched on sweet potato puree beside him, chuckling, "You slept for two days and two nights without moving. I thought you were sick." She leaned closer to look at his face; the dark circles under his eyes had faded. She touched them with her hand, "You need to get enough sleep from now on, otherwise even an iron body can't hold up."
He smiled and continued eating and drinking, when suddenly he smelled the alcohol on her breath. His eyes widened: "You've been drinking too?"
"Why can't I drink?" Xiaoman glared at him. "You didn't drink too much, just a little bit."
He turned around and saw an empty wine jar in the corner of the yard. Was this what they called drinking a little bit? Her eyes were unusually bright. He should have noticed sooner that this child was different from ordinary people. When she had a fever or drank too much, her eyes would become brighter and her spirits would become better and better.
"That was meant to be drunk slowly over two days. You were asleep, and I didn't dare go out to play, so I just drank to relieve my boredom," Xiaoman explained seriously.
Zexiu glared at her fiercely. Xiaoman shrank back, blinking her eyes, intending to get up and run away at the slightest sign of trouble. But then he suddenly reached into his pocket, pulled out four dice, and threw them on the ground.
"From now on, you have to call me when you drink. You're not allowed to enjoy it all by yourself."
So that's what he was angry about! Xiao Man chuckled, picked up a die and played with it, saying, "What are you doing with the dice? Want to gamble with me?"
Zexiu held up one finger: "No money. We'll bet on drinks." He took out two empty bowls, poured two bowls of wine, and said, "One bowl for you, one bowl for me. Whoever loses can't drink and has to give their wine to the winner. Want to play?"
"Let's play!" Xiaoman grabbed the dice. "I'll go first!"
She tossed the dice in her hand, blew on them, and laughed, "I'm sure I'll win."
With a snap, the dice landed on the ground, not even rolling. Sure enough, it was another clean sweep by Supreme Treasure. Xiao Man cheered. Just as she was about to grab the bowl, Ze Xiu grabbed her wrist and shook his head, saying, "Tsk tsk, this kind of cheating won't work on me. You arrange the dice in your hand first, then just put them on the ground, and you get whatever cards you want. Only a kind old man would count it as a win for you. I'm a bad old man, so this doesn't count. Let the dice roll first."
Xiao Man's cheating method was exposed. She remained calm and collected, but inwardly she was seething with anger. She had no choice but to pick up the card and roll it again. This time, it was indeed a terrible hand, without even a single card.
Zexiu chuckled. Raising an eyebrow, he said, "Then I'll roll? Don't cry."
He shook the dice in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, the four dice spun rapidly on the ground. Quick and steady, he said, "Let me show you what real cheating is. You're still too green."
As soon as he finished speaking, the dice stopped rolling, revealing four sixes—a perfect hand. Xiao Man's jaw nearly dropped as she watched him take her wine and down it in one gulp.
This man is a gambling addict! She was shocked. She reached out and grabbed his hand, touching it from his fingers to his wrist, feeling both envious and jealous.
"Teach me, okay?" Her eyes sparkled. If she learned this trick, would she ever have to worry about money again?
Zexiu grabbed her hand, about to tell her how to apply force and how to twist her wrist, when he suddenly heard a faint footstep outside. He frowned and pulled her up, saying, "Go inside, don't come out."
Xiao Man was puzzled, but seeing his solemn expression, she had no choice but to obediently go inside and look out through the crack in the wooden door.
Four men in black, their chests embroidered with red and white cross-shaped knife patterns, had appeared on the high wall at some unknown time. "Tian Sha Shi Fang!" Xiao Man exclaimed in surprise, recalling Tian Quan's previous statement that someone within Tian Sha Shi Fang was dissatisfied with their actions at Bu Gui Shan and was therefore hunting them down. Could it be true?
Ze Xiu drew his Dragon's Roar, remaining silent as he waited for them to attack.
To everyone's surprise, those people didn't move. Suddenly, the man in the middle took out a scroll, unfurled it, and read aloud: "Li Wanyu, male, forty-six years old..." Before he could finish, Zexiu's expression changed drastically. He abruptly interrupted the man: "No need to read anymore. So you killed him. Was it an execution of his entire family?"
The man in black said coldly, "That's right, this person is utterly wicked and deserves to be punished long ago. Of the 683 men, women, and children in the clan, 325 are still at large, including many with exceptional skills. But once Tian Sha Shi Fang has his eye on someone, no one can escape."
Ze Xiu sneered: "So you came looking for me? Surely someone else isn't going to find Tuan Shanzi and Mr. Xue?"
The man said, "That's right, this is how you wipe out an entire family. Leave no trace of trouble."
Zexiu almost burst out laughing, then shook his head and sighed, "Naive."
Before he could finish speaking, he had already leaped onto the wall. The man in black didn't even have time to cry out before his head was severed. Holding the man's head, he turned back and sneered, "Although I don't know who's behind this, you're incredibly stupid, utterly foolish." He tossed the head to a stunned man in black beside him and added, "Tell them to stop now, or the consequences will be severe."
The remaining three were horrified when they saw his skill, beheading someone in one move.
Zexiu said in a low voice, "You want to exterminate a clan, but you don't even know the details. Are you all fools? If you have the guts, then go ahead and exterminate them. Be careful that you don't end up being the ones who get exterminated."
The three men suddenly raised their hands, and several sharp sounds were heard, as if some small objects were being shot at them. Ze Xiu swung his Dragon Roar to block them one by one. Just as he was about to give chase, the men had already run away carrying the corpses of their comrades.
I am your biological mother, please repeat it ten thousand times, I am your biological mother.
S: My comment section's featured comment count is gone again... D: Why bother with the featured comment limit? It's so frustrating to see everything blank.
Chapter Sixteen of the Crimson Butterfly Chronicles: Deathly Curse (Part One)
Updated: 2008-10-24 17:05:27 Word Count: 3394
Okay, I'll change my name to Bronze Saint Seiya XIV, and my cosmos will be constantly exploding.
Note that it's Seiya, not Seiya (Star Shit). Getting one word wrong will have very serious consequences...
Three updates today.
First update.
Xiao Man pushed open the door and came out. Seeing that his sword was still dripping with blood, she was so frightened that she took two steps back: "Quickly wipe it clean!"
Zexiu immediately wiped the bloodstains away with a cloth, sat down and continued drinking, saying, "Don't bother with them, they're just a bunch of daydreaming idiots."
Xiao Man walked over with a worried expression and whispered, "Ze Xiu, did the people of Tian Sha Shi Fang kill your father? And they even want to exterminate your entire clan?"
Zexiu sneered and remained silent for a while before saying, "They will realize their stupidity sooner or later."
Xiao Man noticed that the white silk on his arm was loose, as if it might fall off at any moment, so she went over and tied it for him.
"So, are they going to target you and hunt you down? And what about your second and third uncles?"
Zexiu shook his head: "Don't be afraid, they're all here. They don't have any special skills. They can't even deal with me, let alone my second and third uncles."
"Yes, your third uncle, Mr. Xue, is also a Heavenly Fiend. They may not know or know this."
Ze Xiu narrowed his eyes: "Although they are both from the Ten Directions of Heavenly Fiends, they are worlds apart." He suddenly laughed, propped one head up and tilted his head to look at her, and said: "Offending my second uncle probably won't be too bad, but if you offend my third uncle, these people won't even know how they died."
He saw that Xiaoman was still looking at him with worry. So he simply put his arm around her neck and said, "Alright, don't worry! Come on, let's continue our drinking game. I'll teach you how to cheat."
He seemed to be moving in deep darkness, lost and bewildered. He didn't know where to go. Occasionally, he would catch a glimpse of light, a blinding light, and at the same time, he could feel pain in every inch of his body, from skin to blood vessels. From muscles to bones, it felt like being pricked by needles, a pain that drove him almost mad.
The pain seemed to contain a fire, scorching his mind, so often the moment he saw the light, he would fall into endless darkness again, no longer feeling any pain.
He woke up again and again, each time with a little less pain. Sometimes he would see a gray beard flashing before his eyes. But he couldn't see who it was. When he tried to speak, the man would stop him: "Child. Don't speak. You're very poisoned. Rest well."
He quickly lost consciousness again. He vaguely remembered some past events. It seemed he had indeed been poisoned, but his strength was limited. He couldn't think of much more. Sometimes, a young girl's face would vaguely appear before his eyes, sometimes smiling at him with feigned affection, sometimes glaring at him in anger, sometimes weeping bitterly, sometimes gazing at him with tender melancholy. In the end, she would always have her face reddened by the wind and snow, her tears freezing on her face, and she would cry out his name.
Yes, his name is...
He couldn't think any further and finally sank into deep darkness.
As expected, the journey from Kaifeng to Mount Taihua was fraught with ambushes and surprise attacks from the Ten Directions of Heavenly Fiends. Xiaoman's initial tension and fear gradually turned into complete indifference. Those people were as fragile as paper in front of Zexiu; they were either killed or injured in no time, and in the end, they all fled. But they would return in a couple of days. Their tenacious vitality and indomitable will were truly admirable, yet their foolishness was also quite remarkable.