Su Xiaoying stared at him and said calmly, "She's dead. She died at Banshao Manor. We deliberately brought her body back."
Yi Mei rushed forward angrily, lifted Han Guang up, and stabbed him hard into his body.
The roads outside Ganzi City were well-connected and in excellent condition. Yi Mei bought two fast horses, chose a wide official road, and rode with Su Xiaoying. In reality, they had no destination in mind; they were simply riding at high speed to vent their frustrations.
As dusk fell, knowing they wouldn't make it to the next inn, they lit a campfire in a sheltered spot and prepared to spend the night there.
As darkness fell, Yi Mei sat by the campfire. She glanced up and saw Su Xiaoying tossing branches into the fire. In the firelight, his face appeared surprisingly handsome. For the first time, Yi Mei found Su Xiaoying quite dashing, and she was momentarily stunned.
Yi Mei asked, "Su Xiaoying, where exactly are you from? Your swordsmanship is excellent, but you're not famous at all."
Su Xiaoying said, "I am one of those legendary reclusive masters."
Yi Mei straightened her face and said, "I'm serious. Who is your father? Who is your master?"
Su Xiaoying said, "I don't have a master."
Yi Mei said, "If you don't have a master, do you also not have a father? Could it be that your kung fu was innate?"
Su Xiaoying smiled faintly and lowered her head without answering.
Yi Mei said, "Tell me! Tell me, what exactly is your background?"
Su Xiaoying suddenly looked up, met Yi Mei's eyes, and said calmly, "Yi Mei, I didn't ask about your background, so don't ask me either."
Yi Mei's face immediately changed, and she shouted, "My background? What background do I have? I'm just an assassin, nothing mysterious about me! But you, your origins are unknown, who knows who sent you, huh? Why are you getting so close to me, what are you up to?"
In the firelight, Su Xiaoying's expression seemed to change, but his tone remained calm as he asked, "Who do you think sent me?"
Yi Mei said, "Perhaps you've been practicing the wrong flower pattern! Otherwise, how could your swordsmanship be so good?"
Su Xiaoying stood up and said, "You're getting more and more outlandish." His tone had begun to turn icy.
Yi Mei became even more agitated and stood up, shouting, "Maybe your father, your whole family, have been practicing the wrong flower pattern! You're just too embarrassed to say it!"
Su Xiaoying was startled and abruptly looked up, staring into Yi Mei's eyes. He said nothing, but turned and left in a flick of his sleeve. Before Yi Mei could react, his figure had already disappeared into the vast night.
Yi Mei paused for a moment, stood there for a long time, and then slowly sat down. Unbeknownst to her, tears had already filled her eyes.
Yi Mei suddenly realized that she had never been a woman who could cry, yet she had cried twice in front of Su Xiaoying. The first time was in front of him, and the second time was for him.
risking his life to save
Yi Mei waited by the campfire for a long time. Of course, she wouldn't admit that she was waiting for Su Xiaoying, but all she could think of was Su Xiaoying's image. She remembered how he laughed, how he spoke, how he blocked Fu Daiyue's sword, and even how they struggled on the mountain that night when there were only stars and no moon.
She still wouldn't admit that she was waiting for Su Xiaoying. In her mind, during the brief moment between one Su Xiaoying falling and the other not yet getting up, she thought that as soon as it got light, she could take the two horses and leave far away. Then she thought that Su Xiaoying had neither horses nor money, a situation that often led to misery. She felt a little schadenfreude and then sighed softly.
Without realizing it, she had grown accustomed to having Su Xiaoying around. People find it hard to adapt to loneliness, but they often find it easy to enjoy the company of others.
Yi Mei stuffed a lot of branches into the campfire, then lay down on the ground, her eyes wide open, gazing at the vast night sky.
In the desolate wilderness, apart from the crackling of burning branches, there was no other sound. Occasionally, an unknown small animal would pass by, darting past the distant flames without lingering. Everything seemed so peaceful.
Suddenly, the hairs on Yi Mei's hands stood on end. She lay motionless on the ground. However, all her senses were heightened to their most acute state. As if a thousand lives were at stake, in the instant that hair was severed, she was able to completely dodge and safely avoid the attack.
Yi Mei is an assassin. Assassins often have very accurate intuition.
Five piercing sounds of hidden weapons rang out. Yi Mei lay on the ground, her body seemingly motionless, yet she moved three feet in an instant. Her Han Guang sword was drawn from its sheath, and she swiftly executed a dazzling sword dance. A series of clanging sounds followed as the hidden weapons were swept away. Then, another clear and powerful clanging sound rang out.
Yi Mei's pupils suddenly contracted. It was a sword! Such a fast sword!
Using the recoil from the clash of the two swords, Yi Mei staggered backward more than ten steps, performed a light somersault in the air, and landed gracefully. The Han Guang sword was almost invisible in the darkness, yet it faintly emitted a sharp sword aura.
In the dim light of the campfire, two figures, a man and a woman, dressed in white and blue, stood gracefully in the foreground. Their posture was extremely elegant, showing no sign of the murderous intent that had just been unleashed. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to have returned from a stroll through the blossoming spring or enjoyed a drink in the crisp autumn air. Wherever these two stood, they seemed to lend a sense of tranquility and elegance to the place.
Unfortunately, their names are the kind of names that make people turn pale at the mere mention of them.
Mingji's legend is adorned with gold foil; she awaits the moon with a laugh that could kill!
Yi Mei suddenly gripped the sword tightly. "Fu Daiyue," she said coldly, "is it you?"
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "I've been searching for you for a long time, and I've finally found you. Your helper, Su Xiaoying, isn't here, so I guess I'm quite lucky."
Yi Mei leaped into the air, her Han Guang sword, dark and dull, held a significant advantage in the darkness. Unfortunately for her, Fu Daiyue's sword was also incredibly fast. Han Guang and Wu Ming, the two longswords, clashed at an almost imperceptible speed, their brief, powerful clashes blending into a long, metallic ringing. After a dozen or so moves, both women became fierce, their attacks so fast that they couldn't process the movements in their minds, relying entirely on instinct and experience.
Suddenly, a series of loud "whoosh" sounds rang out as hidden weapons pierced the air, flying straight towards the target. Judging from the sound, it was a technique called "Rain of Flowers." Yi Mei's heart tightened. Han Guang was already entangled with Fu Daiyue. To avoid this barrage of hidden weapons, she had to force Fu Daiyue back in one move.
However, how could the assassin's first strike be so easily repelled?
The time for a single move passed in the blink of an eye, and Yi Mei seemed to already hear the sound of a hidden weapon scraping against the hem of her clothes.
Suddenly, a gray shadow darted out from the corner, and a sword light shot out instantly! Both Yi Mei and Fu Daiyue were renowned swordsmen, yet they were still startled by this fierce sword light. In a flash, a dark gray object rose into the air, and with a "whoosh," it spread out extremely flat and hard in the air. At that moment, countless hidden weapons shot out at lightning speed, enveloping the object and making a series of muffled sounds.
Fu Daiyue reacted swiftly, shrinking back a foot on flat ground and lightly touching the ground with her toes, taking more than ten steps back.
Yi Mei's forehead was already covered in cold sweat. She thought to herself that she was lucky. When she looked again, Fu Daiyue's expression was calm, but his demeanor was completely different from before. He looked very serious.
The gray figure laughed and said, "Ming Ji can not only pass on gold foil, but her skill with the five-pointed plum blossom nails is also getting better and better."
Mingji remained calm and humbly bowed her head, saying, "Thank you for your praise, Young Master Su."
The gray figure said, "I'm just a helper hired by Yi Mei, you're too kind."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "The night is just right. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing to talk around the fire? I won't disturb you two any longer, so I'll take my leave now."
Mingji moved gracefully and slowly walked to Fu Daiyue's side.
Yi Mei sneered and said decisively, "But I still have something to ask you."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "Please speak."
Yi Mei coldly said, "Assassins are ruthless when they kill, but why was there such deep hatred in your sword just now? Did I have a grudge against you before?"
Fu Daiyue's face was hidden in the shadows and could not be seen clearly. He paused for a moment, and then said in his usual calm and indifferent voice, but with a resolute tone, "Our enmity is irreconcilable."
Yi Mei was taken aback. She thought for a long time but couldn't recall any grudge against him. When she looked again, she saw that Yue Mingji had already disappeared into the night.
Su Xiaoying said, "Don't just stand there, go see if they've really left?"
Yi Mei turned around, looked at him, and said, "Of course he really left."
Su Xiaoying looked tired and smiled, "If I really leave, I won't be able to hold on..." Before she could finish speaking, her body suddenly went limp and she collapsed to the ground.
Yi Mei's expression changed, and she rushed to his side, picked him up, and asked, "Su Xiaoying, what's wrong with you? Are you scaring me?"
Su Xiaoying said weakly, "How could that be... She... Mingji's hidden weapons are much more powerful than I thought..."
Yi Mei asked, "What happened? Did I hit you?"
Su Xiaoying gave a soft "hmm" and said weakly, "On the Du meridian... it seems to be the shunching point... the middle of the spine..."
Yi Mei's face suddenly turned pale. She quickly unbuttoned his shirt and saw that there was a five-pointed plum blossom nail on each of his two acupoints, Xuan Shu and Ji Zhong.
“Su Xiaoying,” Yi Mei said in a panic, “How could you be so careless!” As she spoke, her nose tingled and tears streamed down her face. “You almost died under the plum blossom nail! Even if you hadn’t died, who knows if you would have been crippled! How could you be so careless? Why did you rush up like that for no reason? Huh?”
Su Xiaoying's face had turned very pale, but he still smiled and said softly, "It's alright. These two nails went through my clothes and the force has lessened. It's just... it's just that the places they hit were too bad... It'll be fine in a few days."
Yi Mei wiped away her tears forcefully, her nose stinging as she asked, "Really? Really?"
Su Xiaoying hummed in agreement again and said, "How could I dare to lie to you..."
Yi Mei nimbly picked him up and rushed towards the village ahead, saying, "Is there anything you're afraid to do?"
The town ahead was fairly large, named Guo Family Town because many of its residents shared the surname Guo. When they arrived, it was still dark. Yi Mei, drenched in sweat, kicked open the door of the town's clinic and rushed in, shouting, "Doctor! Where's the doctor!"
After calling for a long time, a waiter finally came out in a panic, wearing a coat. He saw Yi Mei looking spirited and sweaty, with a black-sheathed sword hanging at her waist and an old-fashioned longsword in her other hand. He stammered, "The doctor hasn't arrived yet."
Yi Mei angrily said, "What kind of clinic is this if there's no doctor! Call a doctor right now, or I'll burn down his house!" She looked around and saw a couch on the side, so she carefully placed Su Xiaoying face down on the couch.
Su Xiaoying's breathing was still even, but her breath was slightly weak, and it was unclear whether she was asleep or unconscious.
The owner of this clinic was also surnamed Guo, with the given name Shaotang. He had a dignified appearance, with a small tuft of black beard on his chin, which gave him a very authoritative air. When he entered, unlike the waiter, he only glanced at Yimei and said coldly, "Miss, please sit for a while. There's no need to shout here. Where is the patient?"
Yi Mei was taken aback, but seeing his extraordinary demeanor, she was pleased, thinking that he must be a skilled doctor. So she smiled and said, "Yes, yes, come and take a look, he is badly injured."
Guo Shaotang snorted and approached the bed. However, he visibly stopped in front of the bed, an expression of disbelief on his face. He then hurriedly examined Su Xiaoying's face, and the instant he saw her features, all color drained from his face. He stammered, "He...he..."
Yi Mei jumped up, crying out in a panic, "He's alright! He's perfectly fine! What happened to him!"
Guo Shaotang's shocked expression subsided slightly. He reached out and took Su Xiaoying's pulse, then pressed his forehead. He then decisively said to the waiter, "Two qian of Chuanxiong, two qian of Danggui, eight fen each of Chishao, Shengma, and Fangfeng, four fen of Honghua and Ruxiang (oil removed), five fen of Chenpi, and two fen of Gancao. Decoct half a bowl."
Yi Mei breathed a sigh of relief.
Guo Shaotang, with a solemn expression, asked Yi Mei, word by word, "What is this young man's name, and how did he get injured?"
Yi Mei said, "His name is Su Xiaoying. He... he got into a fight and accidentally got shot in the spinal column with a hidden weapon. Is he alright?"
Guo Shaotang murmured, "Su Xiaoying... Su Xiaoying... it really is him..." Then, so angry that his mustache almost bristled, he cursed, "Xuanshu and Jizhong acupoints, those are extremely important acupoints! How could he have injured them! If anything happens to him, I will never let you off the hook!"
Yi Mei asked in surprise, "What, you know him?"
Guo Shaotang said, "It's more than just knowing him, he's my savior! What are you to him?"
Yi Mei stared wide-eyed at him, looking him up and down, then said in an extremely nonchalant tone, "Me? I'm his wife."
Guo Shaotang's mouth dropped open, his jaw almost drooping, and his eyes widened several times over. Then he snorted softly and said slowly, "How could that be? Humph, would he even be interested in you?"
That's a powerful statement. If it weren't for the fact that this doctor was treating Su Xiaoying, Yi Mei would have pounced on him and given him a good beating.
After taking his medicine, Su Xiaoying slept soundly for the entire day. Guo Shaotang instructed several staff members to prepare an elegant bedroom in the clinic for him to rest. Then he hung up a sign in the clinic that read "Closed Today," seemingly intending to devote himself entirely to caring for Su Xiaoying's injuries.
Yi Mei breathed a sigh of relief. Su Xiaoying was sleeping soundly, and even his complexion was gradually improving. Yi Mei reached out to stroke his cheek, and suddenly, her heart warmed, and a deep blush rose on her face.
Su Xiaoying woke up at dusk that day and saw Yimei resting with her head propped up and her eyes closed. So he gently called out, "Yimei, Yimei."
Yi Mei immediately opened her eyes, rushed to his bedside, and asked, "Are you alright?"
"It can't be that fast."
"Oh—" Yi Mei hurriedly tucked the blanket around him and said, "Then you can sleep some more, sleep some more."
Su Xiaoying laughed and said, "Can't you sleep? Why don't you go and get some sleep? You look exhausted."
Yi Mei said, "It's not tiring at all. People in our line of work never feel tired. We're like mules, extremely hardworking and enduring."
Su Xiaoying laughed and said, "Then why don't you just change your name to Dong Yiluo?"
Yi Mei raised her eyebrows and said angrily, "Su Xiaoying, why are you always so annoying! Let me tell you, no matter what, I am your boss's wife now."
Su Xiaoying quickly replied, "I know, I know." Then she changed the subject, saying, "You're quite capable. Where is this? This room is quite nice."
Yi Mei thought for a moment, and was about to start telling him from the beginning when the bedroom door creaked open.
Guo Shaotang strode in, walked to the bedside, and with a thud, knelt down on the floor. His stern and scholarly face seemed filled with sorrow, his eyes brimming with tears, and his lips trembling slightly.