Jiangnan Gaiden - Kapitel 17
A man dressed as a servant, in his thirties, with an extremely ordinary appearance, was slowly walking towards us.
My face couldn't help but change color.
He was a servant, but he was the servant of the most powerful man.
He was Afu, a servant of Ye Zhi Qiu who held a knife to You Hua's neck at the time.
At this moment, Afu had no knife in his hand, but no one knew when or when he would draw it. At such close range, even if Shang Shaochang were present, he probably wouldn't have time to come to their aid.
Afu slowly walked up to me, lowered his sleeves, and respectfully said, "This humble servant, Afu, conveys my master's greetings to the White-Robed Minister."
"Oh?" I raised an eyebrow and said, "Does your master allow you to enter someone else's estate without prior notice?"
Afu looked up and saw my gaze growing increasingly somber, so he lowered his head again and replied, "I wouldn't dare. I originally intended to ask this young lady to announce my arrival." He pointed to Youhua, who was still trembling in my arms, and said, "I didn't expect this young lady to run away as soon as she saw me. I had no choice but to come in when I saw that there was no one else outside the manor."
What a joke! Youhua almost died at your hands; she would be a fool not to run away.
Seeing Afu's honest expression, I knew he wasn't lying. Although Guiyun Manor was somewhat famous in Shanxi, there weren't many people living there. The few farmhands they had left had gone to work in the fields. Only the elderly, women, and children remained to guard this desolate manor.
If they can't even stop one Afu today, how will they establish themselves in Jiangnan and Jiangbei in the future?
I pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Sect Leader Ye is so kind. How can I, in white robes, accept such a courtesy? May I ask what advice Sect Leader Ye may offer?" My voice was calm and my tone steady, but my heart was in turmoil. What was bound to happen was bound to happen.
Afu bowed his head and replied, "Pavilion Master Ye sent me to present a gift to the Prime Minister." He seemed not to notice that I was dressed as a woman, and still looked straight ahead, addressing me as "Prime Minister in White," showing great humility. After speaking, he took out a small brocade box from his bosom and respectfully handed it over with both hands.
I looked up at his face and saw that he was calm and showed no signs of distress. I put one arm around Youhua, took the brocade box from her, and said softly, "Go, go back and get some rest." I then opened the box. Upon opening it, I almost gasped in surprise—
There were no hidden weapons or poisons in the brocade box, nor were there any traps. Instead, on the finest satin inside, there was a crystal-clear white jade hairpin placed perfectly!
Yun Yiyang lay on the ground, panting heavily. In front of him stood the leisurely Shang Shaozhang. He was still wearing a clean blue robe, not a speck of dust had stuck to him, and he was tossing pebbles in his hand.
His clothes were so worn that their original color was almost indistinguishable. He was completely soaked in sweat. Even breathing felt like an effort that would take forever.
Exhausted! So tired! He's never been this tired in his entire life!
A deep voice came from Shang Shaochang's ear: "Trying to give up? Where have you forgotten all the lightness skill techniques I taught you? With your current mediocre skills, you think you can beat me?"
Yun Yiyang took a deep breath, slowly got up from the ground, wiped the sweat from his sweaty sleeves, and gritted his teeth, saying, "You...you don't be so smug...I...I don't believe I can't get out of this ghost formation!" He said each word clearly, but his body was already swaying uncontrollably, and his legs were shaking incessantly.
"Fine!" Young Master Shang's smile vanished, and he shouted, "Then come out and let me see!"
Yun Yiyang watched as Shang Shaochang's hand moved up and down. Just as Shang Shaochang tossed the pebble into the air, Yun Yiyang suddenly roared. His weary body seemed to be instantly filled with renewed strength. He pushed off the rocks, and like an arrow released from a bow, he soared into the sky—
As if guided by eyes, Shang Shaozhang flicked away five falling pebbles, sending them hurtling towards Yun Yiyang in mid-air. The angle of the shots was perfect, leaving Yun Yiyang with no way to dodge!
Yun Yiyang, still in mid-air, didn't retreat to his original position to avoid the stones as he always did. Instead, he suddenly gathered his energy and leaped into the air, his body spinning almost 180 degrees at an impossible angle. He spun past the four stones like a top, then shot out of the stone formation—
But the last pebble still hit his leg.
But Yun Yiyang had already rushed out.
Yun Yiyang sat on the ground, panting heavily like a dog, as if every breath was incredibly precious. After resting for a while, he slowly got up and did something he had long wanted to do—
He staggered up to Shang Shaozhang and suddenly punched him in the chest!
"Hmph... I'm not a coward, much less a wimp. If I say I can get out of the stone formation, then I mean I can!"
Surprisingly, Shang Shaozhang didn't dodge, but instead took the punch with a grin. Even though Yun Yiyang was exhausted, the blow still made him stagger. He helped Yun Yiyang sit up on the ground and said, "It's good that you're not so stubborn as to avoid every pebble you see. You're charging straight at the pebble. You should do the same when facing enemies in the future. Constantly dodging will only put you at a disadvantage."
Yun Yiyang wiped his sweat and smiled at the assassin in front of him, who was both his mentor and his enemy. "It was really tiring but exhilarating. I never thought that when I thought of fighting to the death, I would actually use this last move!" In his eyes, this assassin, who always had a smile on his face, suddenly became much more lovable.
Shang Shaozhang nodded approvingly and said, "I don't have time to instruct you too much. It's already quite good that you were able to master a set of palm techniques and a set of light footwork in a month."
"Not enough!" Yun Yiyang looked up at Shang Shaochang and said, "I don't think it's enough! Why won't you teach me your swordsmanship? Autumn Water Blade?"
Shang Shaozhang looked at his expectant face with a half-smile: "You want to learn my Autumn Water Blade?"
Yun Yiyang lowered his head immediately upon seeing this, and stammered, "This... I forgot that this is your signature skill, and you won't pass it on to others."
Shang Shaochang shook his head, turned around, and took the dark knife from his back. His left index finger slowly traced the blade, a gesture of utmost gentleness, brimming with affection, as if comforting a long-lost friend. It was hard to imagine that such a concealed blade could emit such a bright, autumn-water-like light—
“It’s not that I don’t want to teach you…” Shang Shaochang put away the smile that had been on his face, his eyes were vast and calm, as if he were talking to himself, or answering: “The Autumn Water Saber is a saber for killing, and the Autumn Water Saber Technique is a saber technique for killing…” He smiled slightly, turned around and said to Yun Yiyang: “What you need to learn is the skill of protecting people, not the skill of killing.”
It was late at night. A single lamp burned dimly inside.
I sat under the lamp, dressed in black, toying with a white jade hairpin in my hand.
Ye Zhi Qiu, Ye Zhi Qiu, now that you know I am a woman, why don't you make trouble for Guiyun Manor, but instead send me a hairpin to tie my hair?
The jade hairpin felt warm and smooth to the touch, its texture delicate and flawless. It was unadorned, only polished to a brilliant shine. I knew little of jade, but I knew this hairpin must be priceless, far more valuable than the one Youhua wore in her hair. I picked it up and put it down again, unsure what to do with it. But having already accepted it, I couldn't very well return it.
After thinking for a moment, I put the jade hairpin back into the box and couldn't help but let out a long sigh—
After the white silk curtains came into view, the figure of a young man appeared.
As I was deep in thought, a few knocks on the door broke my reverie. "Sister Bai, Sister Bai!" It was Yun Yiyang.
I opened the door, and Yun Yiyang walked in, holding a fine black mink cloak. "Sister Bai, the weather has turned cold these past few days. Mother was worried you wouldn't be able to stand the cold here, so she asked me to give you this cloak." He suddenly stepped forward, unfolded the cloak, and prepared to drape it over my shoulders.
A flash of cold light crossed my eyes, and I instinctively dodged his arm. I said, "No need, Yiyang, you can just put the cloak on the table." Seeing the disappointment in Yun Yiyang's eyes, I smiled and said, "It's getting late, you should go back and rest. You have to practice tomorrow, have you forgotten?" As I spoke, I walked to the door and opened it.
Yun Yiyang slowly walked to the door, stared at me intently, and suddenly said, "Sister Bai, can you come out? I have something to tell you..."
I did as he instructed and walked out the door into the courtyard. Suddenly, Yun Yiyang hugged me from behind, his young arms tightening around me so much I could barely breathe. The young man murmured in my ear:
"Sister Bai...I...I like you!"
"Ah—" My face changed drastically, and a thunderous roar seemed to echo in my ears. I had known for a long time that this boy harbored feelings for me that went beyond sibling affection, but I never expected him to say it out loud!