Meister der Mehrdeutigkeit

Kapitel 73

Xiao Xiao nodded, gazing at the large ship. The East Sea… that must be the ends of the earth…

She took a few steps, just catching up with Wen Su, when she heard him speak coldly, "I told you long ago, didn't I? The Lian family are high-ranking officials in the court, they will definitely look down on your background... You and him are from completely different worlds, there's no way things can go on..."

Xiao Xiao was stunned for a moment. She couldn't help but recall the things that had happened with the Lian family before. That plate of scrambled eggs placed among the delicacies was probably the warmest acceptance she had ever received. She remembered that gentle and refined man smiling and saying to her: "It's okay to keep lying like this..." These scenes flashed through her mind, making her laugh uncontrollably.

"What are you laughing at?" Wen Su asked, looking at her with some displeasure.

Xiao Xiao looked up and smiled, "Uncle-Master, you lost..."

Wen Su frowned, remained silent for a moment, and then asked, "Then why did you come here?"

He took a small step, turned around, and walked backwards, "...because I despise myself..."

At that moment, she smiled, speaking with the utmost honesty. Her smile was beautiful. Her eyes curved like crescent moons; the corners of her lips rose gently, neither too high nor too low, at the most tender angle. Her smile always carried gentleness and contentment, even gratitude. It was as if she had never been hurt…

Seeing her smile, Wen Su lowered his eyelashes and said, "...No matter what, it's good that you're back..."

Xiao Xiao nodded and said, "Yes, Master..."

Upon hearing those words, Wen Su abruptly raised his head.

At that moment, she turned around and ran lightly onto the boat.

Wen Su watched her retreating figure and whispered, "...I'm not your master..."

...

Nine Provinces and Four Seas

Xiao Xiao boarded the ship, lay sprawled out in the cabin, and stared blankly at the ceiling. Whenever she closed her eyes, somehow, the person who appeared in her mind was always Lian Zhao.

I remember his gentle smile, his sincere eyes when he spoke, and his habitual habit of pinching his earlobe when he was shy...

She shook her head and sat up. The sound of the waves continued incessantly, constantly disturbing her thoughts.

She had already spent the whole day huddled in the haystack, so how could she possibly fall asleep now?

Helpless, she picked up her belongings and left the cabin.

A vast expanse of moonlight gently enveloped the sea. This was the first time Xiaoxiao had ever seen such a sight. She looked up; the moon, shrouded in a melancholic haze, was a magnificent sight. She smiled and sat on the gunwale.

Without realizing it, she reached into her bosom and took out the bone buckle. She had intended to return it, but in the end, she brought it out anyway… She stroked the buckle, hesitated slightly, and then slipped it onto her thumb. As she expected, the buckle was a bit too wide, hanging loosely on her thumb. She raised her hand, holding the buckle up to the moonlight, examining it closely.

"Junior nephew?"

Suddenly, someone called out to her.

She was startled to see Lin Zhi standing under the sail, smiling at her.

“…Hmm…” Xiao Xiao thought for a moment and said, “Uncle Lin…”

Lin Zhi leaned against the mast and said, "What's wrong, can't sleep?"

Xiao Xiao nodded and put away the bone box. "What about you, Uncle Lin?"

Lin Zhi sighed and pointed behind him. Xiao Xiao then noticed that, besides her, there were several other East Sea disciples on the deck, clearly sailing.

"By the way, junior nephew, I've been wanting to ask you this for a while now." Lin Zhi looked at Xiao Xiao Fang Gu Xia and said with a smile, "What exactly is your relationship with the Lian family? Last time you told me that you owed the young master of the Lian family something, what exactly did you owe him?"

Xiao Xiao was a little flustered by the question, "Master... Uncle Wen Su didn't tell you?"

"Senior brother?" Lin Zhi looked around and lowered his voice. "Wouldn't asking him be suicide?... Actually, I've always found it strange. Senior brother is always incredibly cold, except towards you..." He smiled and said, "You don't know, those few days you were at the Lian family, he was so cold it could freeze you to death. If you hadn't come back, he was preparing to challenge the Divine Arrow Lian family... Hehe... Speaking of which, what exactly did you go to the Lian family for?"

After hearing this, Xiaoxiao looked Lin Zhi up and down. Seeing his bright eyes and curious expression, Xiaoxiao decided that she absolutely refused to reveal that she was going to meet her future in-laws!

"I...I just went to return some things..." Xiao Xiao said.

Lin Zhi was somewhat disappointed. "That's it?" He looked up at the sky with a hint of boredom. "...There are still at least two hours until dawn..." Suddenly, he saw something and became excited. "Junior nephew, you can play the sanxian?"

The little boy nodded blankly.

"Perfect timing! The brothers are all bored and about to fall asleep. Come on, let's play a tune!" Lin Zhi clapped his hands and said.

With a slight sense of helplessness, she untied the sanxian from her back. At that moment, she suddenly remembered that she had once sat on the gunwale of a boat, holding her sanxian and singing.

At that time, people listening to the song told her: This doesn't sound like a song for street performers.

Then she replied: If you want to hear some romantic tunes, I'll sing another one.

The kind-hearted young master of an official family naturally stopped him immediately.

Unfortunately, he never got to hear her signature song.

She smiled, tuned her strings, and began to sing: "Young lady, your song under the silver lamp is so enchanting. Raising a cup amidst the flowers, I wish to invite you, but before you speak, you laugh. What's the point of chasing fame and fortune? What's the point of rushing down the road to Handan? It's a pity the spring is so beautiful, the willow catkins by Xie Bridge, the willow catkins by Xie Bridge. The young lady is angry..."

Lin Zhi and his disciples listened with great interest, completely unaware that Wen Su had already come out of the cabin.

Wen Su stood at the cabin door, listening quietly. Like an ordinary little tune, the song was cheerful and frivolous, with affected sentimentality seeping into the lyrics, solely for a laugh. To put it bluntly, the singer was unintentional, and the listener was indifferent…

Suddenly, another sound mixed in, alerting him. Strange noises, like flutes and pipes, were mixed in with the waves, accompanied by faint bell sounds—it was incredibly eerie.

"The Enchanting Sound of the Sea!" Wen Su exclaimed, looking up. He drew his sword, walked to Xiao Xiao, and said, "Go back to the cabin!"

Startled, Xiao Xiao nearly bit her tongue. She nodded frantically, jumped off the ship's side, and was about to retreat when she heard the strange noise grow louder, accompanied by a woman's silvery laughter.

"Stabilize your inner energy and don't recklessly use your internal force!" Wen Su shouted.

The disciples immediately complied.

Xiao Xiao then noticed that everyone was sweating profusely; the sound was clearly extraordinary. Xiao Xiao immediately felt secretly relieved—not having internal energy was indeed a good thing!

At this moment, several women jumped out of the small boat and landed on the deck.

"Hehehe, as expected of a disciple of the East Sea, you were able to defend against my Enchanting Sea Divine Sound!" The leading woman laughed charmingly, her voice like a silver bell, melodious and pleasant to the ear.

By the moonlight, Xiao Xiao carefully observed the women. They were all dressed in light gauze robes, which, when the sea breeze blew, gave them an ethereal, otherworldly air. She noticed silver bells adorning their wrists and ankles; it seemed the eerie sound from earlier had come from them. As Xiao Xiao looked, she suddenly understood. This fairy-like attire and mysterious martial arts—could this be the legendary, mysterious sect of the martial world: the North Divine Palace of the South Sea?! Thinking this, Xiao Xiao immediately recalled that Wei Qi had mentioned the seemingly strained relationship between the Southeast and North Seas!

"Hmph, besides sneak attacks, what other tricks does your sect know?" Wen Su said coldly, holding his sword.

The woman in the lead shook her head. "Not at all, Master Wen, you're too kind. No matter how skilled we are at a sneak attack, we can't compare to how your sect seized our six islands during the hurricane!"

"You flatter me." Wen Su said without any politeness.

The woman wasn't angry. "Then I'll learn from you again today!"

After he finished speaking, everyone on the ship started fighting, and the scene was quite chaotic.

Clutching her sanxian (a three-stringed plucked instrument), Xiaoxiao huddled behind the mast, on the verge of tears. "Why...why is there no place of peace in this world?" she thought. Sighing, she shook her head, then crouched down on all fours, carefully crawling towards a more secluded corner. Suddenly, a pair of beautiful legs appeared before her.

Xiao was slightly startled. Following the legs upwards, she saw it was indeed the woman from the South China Sea who was leading the group. She froze on the spot and gave an awkward smile.

The woman looked down at her.

Without even thinking, Xiao Xiao immediately shouted, "Heroine, spare me! Don't kill me!"

In an instant, silence fell. Only the small figure remained, its voice a soliloquy: "Please don't kill me! I have an eighty-year-old mother, an eight-month-old baby, and... uh... nothing else..."

The woman burst into laughter, "Hahaha... I never expected that such a cowardly person would emerge in the East Sea!"

"Xiaoxiao, get up!" Wen Su roared.

Xiao Xiao blinked and looked around. The disciples from the East Sea all showed disdain on their faces, while the women from the South Sea laughed mockingly.

"This young lady is very sensible. I won't kill you," the woman leading the group from the South China Sea said approvingly.

Little Xiao opened her innocent eyes wide and asked, "Really?"

"Of course it's true." The woman reached out to help Xiao Xiao up and said, "However, you probably won't be able to establish yourself in the East Sea in the future. Why don't you join my South Sea sect instead!"

"Nonsense!" Wen Su leaped forward, brandishing his sword and forcing the woman back. He then pulled Xiao Xiao behind him, protecting her.

"Hmph! Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, we'll only know after the competition!" After saying that, the woman attacked with her palm.

Wen Su drew his sword to meet the challenge, and in the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of blows. The woman was only around eighteen years old, but her skills were by no means lacking, and she showed no fear in her fight against Wen Su.

Xiao Xiao stood to the side, somewhat relieved. Just as the woman had said, although the ship was in chaos, not a single member of the South Sea Sect attacked her.

Xiao Xiao secretly pondered, "Why don't we just join the South China Sea?"

As she was thinking this, she heard a deep voice say, "It's only been a few days, Miss Luo's 'Enchanting Sea Divine Voice' has improved so much, I truly admire it."

The woman deflected Wen Su's blade, stepped back a few paces, and looked out at the sea.

By the moonlight, several warships slowly sailed in, and a man stood at the bow, his hands behind his back. He was about fifty years old, thin, and had a beard. His long robe fluttered in the sea breeze, giving him an air of otherworldly elegance.

The man leaped onto the boat, smiled slightly, and said, "Miss Luo, if I remember correctly, this is the East China Sea. May I ask what brings you here, Miss Luo?"

The woman glanced at him and said, "Just wandering around since I have nothing better to do. What, you really think the East Sea is yours?"

"I dare not. Under the whole heaven, all land belongs to the king..." the man smiled and said, "However, the ship that the young lady is standing on truly belongs to my East Sea."

The woman scoffed, "Fine, I won't stand then. Do you think I care?"

After she finished speaking, she leaped down and landed on the small boat. Seeing this, the other women in her sect also disembarked.

"Wen Jing, we have a long future ahead of us. One day, I will take back what belongs to me in the South China Sea!" After the woman finished speaking, the small boat quickly turned around and sailed away on the waves.

Just as the disciples of the East Sea were about to give chase, the man raised his hand to stop them, saying, "It's alright, let her go."

Xiao Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. This South China Sea is quite interesting; it came quickly and left just as fast. It didn't seem like someone deliberately seeking revenge; it was more like… “just wandering around aimlessly”…

"This must be Miss Zuo."

Just as Xiaoxiao was sighing, the man suddenly spoke to her.

"Huh? I..." Xiao Xiao glanced at Wen Su.

Wen Su frowned and said, "This is my master, the chief island lord of the seventy-two islands in the East Sea."

The man smiled gently and said, "I am Wen Jing."

"Greetings, Island Lord..." Xiao Xiao immediately clasped her hands in a respectful gesture.

Wen Jing nodded slightly, "I'm sorry you were frightened, young lady."

Xiao Xiao shook her head. "Not at all, the heroes of the East Sea are all highly skilled in martial arts. I admire them!"

As she read this passage, you could almost hear the disdainful snorts around her. She remained unmoved, thick-skinned.

“Once we reach the island, and the young lady has joined the sect, she will naturally acquire excellent martial arts skills.” Wen Jing seemed unconcerned. After saying this, he turned and waved, “Set sail! Back to the island!”

As soon as he finished speaking, all the ships turned around and continued eastward.

She scratched her head slightly. Entering the gate? Why didn't she remember entering the gate of the East Sea? ...Oh well, whatever...