Yi Mei sneered and remained silent.
The carriage stopped in front of the post station in a short while. Next to the post station, there were three thatched huts, and a middle-aged man was inviting passing travelers to eat.
Aunt Guo helped Yi Mei down from the carriage. Yi Mei looked up and her eyes suddenly lit up. She never expected that she would be so lucky.
In one of the thatched huts, a young man in blue robes sat, pouring himself a drink. He looked calm, as if nothing around him concerned him.
Aunt Guo's expression suddenly changed. She whispered, "Master?" Uncle Guo jumped off the carriage after Yi Mei. He still had a smile on his face, but it was a cold smile.
"Fu Daiyue," Uncle Guo said. His voice sounded both like he was talking to himself and like he was greeting Fu Daiyue.
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "Do you want to do business with me?"
Uncle Guo said, "No."
Fu Daiyue poured himself another cup of wine and slowly drank it down. He didn't speak again, nor did he turn around. He didn't even see Yi Mei. Let alone offer a single gesture of goodwill.
Yi Mei said, "Fu Daiyue, you're too heartless. You should at least have said hello to me."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "Why should I greet you?"
Uncle Guo laughed and said to Aunt Guo, "Little Guo, go buy some food and drink, let's hurry on our way."
Yi Mei said, "I want to rest here for a while."
Uncle Guo said coldly, "Now I've changed my mind."
The atmosphere became tense for a moment. Uncle Guo grabbed Yi Mei's hand and shoved her back into the carriage. Yi Mei angrily cried out, "Let go of your hand! You..." Uncle Guo ignored her and turned to Fu Daiyue, saying, "Mr. Fu, until we meet again."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "I am just an assassin. You don't need to call me 'sir,' and I don't want to see you again."
Uncle Guo smiled but remained silent.
Aunt Guo bought a bag of dry rations and filled a teapot. Clutching the food, she slowly walked over, saying to Uncle Guo, "Sir, the horses at this post station aren't quite there yet..." The word "wrong" was already on her throat, but suddenly caught in her throat, unable to be uttered. Her eyes suddenly bulged, her body paused in mid-air for a moment, and then she fell face-down with a "thud."
There was a wound on her vest, and blood gushed out of the wound when she fell.
Fu Daiyue had stood up at some point, a sword in his hand, blood dripping from its blade onto the ground. Fu Daiyue's sword was known for its speed; before anyone in the teahouse could react, the sword flashed and swiftly pierced towards Uncle Guo.
Uncle Guo was startled and drew his weapon.
But he didn't catch the sword. Suddenly, with a loud crash, the two horses pulling the cart fell to the ground, dust rising slightly. Blood gushed from their heads, forming streams that mingled with the dust and flowed towards the roadside. Only then did the horses' heads slowly slide off along the sword wound. In that instant, Fu Daiyue had swiftly severed the heads of both horses, leaving them no time to even neigh!
Uncle Guo brandished his weapon and said, "Why do you have to make things difficult for me?"
Fu Daiyue said, "Unfortunately, she is my friend."
Yi Mei had already climbed down from the carriage, but she was still a little weak and had to lean on the carriage to stand up unsteadily. However, when she stared at the weapon in Uncle Guo's hand, an incredulous expression suddenly appeared on her face, and she blurted out, "Double fans!"
Uncle Guo narrowed his eyes, and in a flash, he was already in front of Fu Daiyue. The flashes of swords and the shadows of fans were so intertwined that it was almost impossible to tell where the two were. The middle-aged man who was guarding the tea stall had just witnessed the killing and was about to shout when he saw them fighting. His head spun, and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Suddenly, a short "clang" rang out, and the two figures immediately separated, each taking five steps back.
The two stood still, and a moment of silence followed.
Uncle Guo suddenly burst into wild laughter. There was a wound on his chest, from which blood gushed out rapidly, staining the area red. However, he seemed not to feel the injury at all, squinting at Fu Daiyue, his gaze steady, yet revealing a faint hint of smugness.
Fu Daiyue raised his right hand. A small cut was made on the back of his right hand, the cut was dark black, and this dark color spread rapidly inside the skin, soon spreading to the entire back of his hand.
Fu Daiyue stared at the back of his hand, his expression so calm it was as if this right hand didn't belong to him. For a moment, even Uncle Guo couldn't help but wonder if this was the only calm expression Fu Daiyue could have!
Uncle Guo sneered, "There is no cure for this poison."
Fu Daiyue suddenly laughed too! He laughed as if he were about to kill someone! He gripped the longsword in his left hand, the blade pressed against his right wrist, and with a sharp slash, his right hand fell to the ground with a thud. After landing, his hand bounced slightly, and his fingers were still trembling!
Uncle Guo's expression changed drastically.
Fu Daiyue calmly pressed the acupoints around the wound to stop the bleeding. Uncle Guo stared at his calm face, and suddenly, a hint of surprise appeared on his face. He couldn't help but ask, "Don't you think it's a pity?" Fu Daiyue replied calmly, "What's a pity?"
Uncle Guo looked at him, then suddenly snorted coldly and raised his double fans.
Fu Daiyue calmly tended to her severed wrist, not even looking up at him. His life hung in the balance.
Yi Mei gripped the carriage handle tightly, then suddenly cut in, saying, "Didn't you want to know about the wrong flower pattern? I can tell you now."
Uncle Guo gave a slight, disdainful smile and said calmly, "You should have said this a long time ago."
Yi Mei sighed and said, "I didn't expect things to turn out this way, and I didn't expect you to be in Guojia Town. I really didn't expect it. I've always been very careful when I kill people."
Uncle Guo smiled and said, "I am indeed dead. If I were not dead, how would I have settled the grudge between me and Master Wuyou?" As he said this, he seemed quite melancholy.
Yi Mei sighed and said, "I should have suspected you back then that such a proud woman as Liu Xingxing would be willing to live in your house, but people are always prejudiced."
Uncle Guo said, "Xingxing doesn't know I'm not dead. The reason she wants to live in my house is probably because she thinks my figure looks a bit like her father." As he spoke, he sighed.
But Yi Mei heard no sadness or regret in his sighs, only a hint of remorse. Suddenly, the image of Liu Xingxing's body, broken into pieces, and her repeated screams appeared before Yi Mei's eyes.
Yi Mei suddenly laughed and said, "The antidote only treats the symptoms, not the root cause. You're worried sick about that prescription, aren't you? Didn't you steal that half of the prescription from Master Wuyou?"
Uncle Guo's eyes flashed sharply, and he said in a deep voice, "You know about this?"
Yi Mei said, "Of course I know, Master Wuyou has already told me about this."
“Master Wuyou,” Uncle Guo stared at her and said, word by word, “why would I tell you?”
Yi Mei said, "Because I made a deal with him, I told him the secret you wanted to know."
Uncle Guo's expression suddenly changed.
Yi Mei said, "Don't you already have the prescription? Why are you asking me? Could it be that you don't have the prescription either, or that the prescription is fake?"
Uncle Guo's expression changed drastically. He lunged at Yi Mei and grabbed her by the throat. Yi Mei's face flushed crimson, but her eyes remained resolute and fearless as she stared straight at him. Uncle Guo slowly released his grip, then suddenly smiled and said, "You're right. After stealing the prescription, I stayed in Guo Family Town, prepared all the ingredients, and drank it for two whole months, but it had no effect. I realized what had happened and showed the prescription to Doctor Guo in town. It turned out it was just a prescription for chickenpox."
As he spoke, he peeled back the edge of the disguise skin on his chin, skillfully tearing it outwards to reveal his true appearance.
Yi Mei sneered, "Master Liu of the carved beams and small building, his disguise skills are so high."
Liu Tianyi chuckled and said, "Since Master Wuyou told you, you should know that Fu Wuqing is a very clever woman. These disguises were also made by her, using real human skin. The effect is excellent; you can even tell from the complexion."
He raised his right hand and slowly peeled off a piece of flesh-colored skin from the back of his hand, revealing a bright red scar. The scar was about two inches long, a shocking sight. "A mark left by the Thousand Corrosion Ointment," Liu Tianyi said calmly. "When the Lord of Worry-Free Pavilion hired you to kill me, he mentioned this scar, didn't he?"
Liu Tianyi grabbed Yi Mei's collar with his right hand. He sneered and looked around. The people who had been at the tea stall had all fled. Only a thin, masked man in black was still sitting at the table in the thatched shed of the post station, slowly sipping a bowl of tea.
The man in black seemed indifferent to everything that had happened before.
Liu Tianyi narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Friend, are you perhaps an old friend of the number one assassin, Sword Master?"
The man in black glanced at him and said slowly and calmly, "The person you should be worried about is probably not me."
Liu Tianyi was slightly taken aback. His right hand was still tightly gripping Yimei, but a sudden chill ran down his back. It was the coolness of touching metal. A sharp glint flashed in Liu Tianyi's eyes, and he raised his ever-present fan. Blood gushed from the wound on his chest, and just then, with a "thud," an ancient longsword pierced his heart.
Liu Tianyi's eyes widened, and he stared in the air for a moment before collapsing heavily to the ground. His mouth was half-open, as if he wanted to say something, but he had already breathed his last.
Su Xiaoying was soaked in sweat and was still breathing heavily when he pulled Yi Mei into his arms, avoiding the fallen Liu Tianyi. Then he hesitated for a moment and said, "Fu Daiyue, I'm a little late."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "It's not too late at all."
Su Xiaoying looked at his severed wrist with a guilty expression.
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "I only realized today that cutting off one's own hand can bring the same pleasure as cutting off someone else's."
The masked man in black glanced at them, a cold glint in his eyes. But he only looked at them once before standing up, taking his horse, and riding away.
Revenge
Twenty days later, Huahua was full-term.
Hua Hua's full moon celebration was a grand affair. Everyone in Guojia Town said that no girl's full moon celebration had ever been so splendid. Yi Mei and Su Xiaoying, however, knew that this celebration wasn't just for Hua Hua, but also for Fu Daiyue. That night, after the guests had all left, the three of them drank in silence for two full hours. Later, Yi Mei got drunk, and Su Xiaoying also got drunk, so much so that they didn't know when Fu Daiyue left Guojia Town.
When they woke up, the nameless longsword that had been on the table had vanished along with its owner.
Yi Mei persisted in chasing Fu Daiyue all the way to the edge of town, but of course, Fu Daiyue was nowhere to be seen there. Yi Mei sighed deeply and shook her head.
Su Xiaoying suddenly asked, "What would happen to the assassin's first swordsman if he couldn't use a sword?"
Yi Mei thought for a moment, then uttered a single word: "Death."
Su Xiaoying said, "Then, should we bring him back?"
Yi Mei shook her head.
Su Xiaoying said, "He might not die. He might go to find Mingji."
Yi Mei said, "A person who doesn't love anyone is in great pain; he might even want to die."
Su Xiaoying said, "Our Huahua has a lot of influence. Fu Daiyue actually came back specifically to drink her full moon celebration."
Yi Mei said, "Fu Daiyue just wanted to taste the flavor of a friend."
Su Xiaoying said with a wry smile, "The price of this flavor is too high."
Yi Mei said, "Don't you think he did it willingly?"
Su Xiaoying also sighed.
They walked slowly back to their house, shoulder to shoulder. The early summer sun wasn't too harsh; its warmth felt wonderful on their skin. Their shoulders drew closer and closer until they were practically pressed together.
Suddenly, Yi Mei remembered something and asked sweetly, "Xiao Ying, what would you do if... that day... I died out there?"
After thinking for a long time, Su Xiaoying honestly replied, "She'll probably cry..."
Yi Mei was dissatisfied and said, "Is it just crying?"
Su Xiaoying said, "Take your ashes to that place called Peach Blossom Field."
Yi Mei sighed and could only prompt him, "After I die, will you still find other women? Hmm?"
“This…” Su Xiaoying suddenly stammered.
Yi Mei suddenly stopped in her tracks, then jumped up angrily, yelling, "Su Xiaoying! Can't you even speak properly? What's wrong with you? Are you deliberately trying to argue with me!"
Su Xiaoying said, "I don't want to lie to you..."
Yi Mei's expression changed drastically. She glared at him, put her hands on her hips, and was about to start cursing.
Su Xiaoying laughed loudly and disappeared in a flash, only to hear Mei shouting behind her: "Su Xiaoying! Are you tired of living! Su Xiaoying!..."
Yi Mei caught up with him and grabbed Su Xiaoying, who was still chuckling. Yi Mei looked at him, sighed, and said seriously, "Su Xiaoying, I'm here to repay your debt in this life. I became your wife for no reason. Not only did I become your wife, but I also have to be bullied by you all the time. And not only do I have to be bullied by you all the time, but it always seems like you're the one who's at a disadvantage."
Su Xiaoying hummed in agreement and said, "The debt you owe me in your past life, you'll never be able to repay in this life, nor in the next, nor in the life after that..."
Yi Mei shouted, "Su Xiaoying, are you looking for death?!"
Su Xiaoying just chuckled.