Peaceful Jianghu

Chapter 1

Everyone's just drifting through the martial world, but you're the only one getting hurt.

"Brother!"

Xue Fu, who was sweeping fallen leaves at the base of the wall with a broom, heard a very pleasant call. Thinking that he was only in his early twenties and deserved the melodious "young man," he raised his head somewhat awkwardly.

All he could see was a bare wall, with withered and drooping ivy piled on it, its branches and leaves scorched. Xue Fu was standing there in a daze when someone gently poked him on the shoulder, a light, painless touch.

He quickly turned around to look.

Suddenly, a smiling girl appeared behind me. She looked about eighteen or nineteen years old, of average height and charmingly pretty. She wore a pale yellow dress with a unique little brocade vest adorned with plum blossoms, which must have been quite expensive. Her hair was neatly styled, with a single strand falling down in a slight curl.

nice.

Xue Fu blushed slightly, keeping his eyes down and trying to appear composed. "Is there something you need, Miss?"

The girl stretched out her hand, her delicate palm holding a silver ingot, which looked to be about two taels. Xue Fu guessed that she wanted him to do something for her, and given her generosity, she must have some connections.

Xue Fu quickly said, "Just give the instructions, Miss. There's no need for a reward."

Seeing that he was polite and not uncouth, the girl smiled slightly and asked him, "Young man, could you help me get it fixed?"

Xue Fu was taken aback. "Unblock?" But in his heart, he thought, "That 'brother' sounded really nice."

The little girl didn't say anything, but turned around and pointed to the long queue in the distance.

Far from the base of the wall, there are tall houses and spacious courtyards, with a plaque above the imposing mountain gate that reads "Beihai School" in three large characters.

The two guards in front of the gate, with their fierce expressions and imposing presence, looked even more ferocious than the stone qilin on either side.

Two long tables were placed in front of the left-hand side gate, pushed together to form a row. Behind them, three old men sat upright, reading the faces of the men and women who were queuing up.

If the old man glanced at the door and said "pass," the maid would give the person a wooden plaque with their name written on it and lead them through the side gate. If the old man waved his hand, too lazy to even say "pass," the person would be chased away from the other side.

This isn't a palace selection of concubines; it's the Beihai faction choosing maids and servants.

The Beihai Sect is the largest sect in the martial arts world. Its leader, Xue Beihai, is famous throughout the land. With his vast wealth and powerful family, it is normal for him to have such a grand display when selecting his servants.

Xue Fu scratched his head. "Miss, they're hiring servants for odd jobs."

"Your Beihai Sect leader, Xue Beihai, is getting married, so you're short-handed and looking for people to do odd jobs, right?" This girl seemed to be playful and generous. She stared into people's eyes as she spoke, and her eyes were bright. This made Xue Fu even more flustered, and he stammered, "Yes...yes, we're hiring servants to do rough work."

“I want to work as a servant in your household, but I’m afraid of waiting in line and I’m also afraid they won’t accept me, so I’m coming to you to get in through the back door.”

The girl spoke with ease, but Xue Fu was dumbfounded. He mustered his courage and looked her up and down. She looked like a pampered young lady, not someone who would do manual labor.

"Miss, please stop joking." Xue Fu grinned, feigning embarrassment. "You're not good at manual labor!"

"Yes, yes!" The young girl held the silver closer to Xue Fu's face. "Young man, please help me out!"

Xue Fu pondered for a moment, then pointed to the side gate not far away, where a middle-aged man stood with his hands behind his back, looking arrogant. He told the girl, "That's the steward, Xue Zhong. He's in charge. I'm just a lowly sweeper; I can't make decisions. Why don't you go and ask him for help?"

The young girl remained unmoved and shook her head, "Among the servants of the Beihai Sect, you are older than them all, you are sure to be in charge!"

"How...how did you figure that out?"

"If I'm right, you'll take this money and help me smooth things over, okay?"

Xue Fu nodded.

“Those stewards and servants are all so arrogant, but you're honest and unassuming, so no one bullies you.” The girl said, glancing at Xue Fu’s hands. “Among all these servants, your hands are the most delicate, your skin the fairest, and your clothes are made of the finest material. So you must not do any rough work; you must serve the master of the manor, right?”

"What a meticulous young lady." Xue Fu was convinced and, true to his word, accepted the money and led her into the mansion through the back door.

As they walked, Xue Fu asked, "You look like a girl from a good family, why did you choose to be a maid?"

"I want to see the red paper umbrella."

Xue Fu then understood.

This red paper umbrella is one of the heirlooms of the Beihai Sect. The sect leader is getting married in a few days, and they plan to bring it out for good luck. According to legend, the red paper umbrella has the power to attract good fortune and marriage. If a girl can walk a few steps while holding this umbrella, she will surely have a wonderful marriage that falls from the sky.

"By the way, what's your name?" Xue Fu asked. "My name is Xue Fu."

"Yan Xiaodao".

"It sounds like a boy's name." Xue Fu went to the steward's office to register her name and surname, then took a set of maid's clothes and handed them to her. "Just help clean the courtyard. You're good-looking, neither the inner quarters nor the main courtyard will want you."

When Yan Xiaodao saw Xue Fu leave after speaking, he couldn't help but click his tongue twice. The servants of the Beihai Sect are really generous. They are not afraid of being bad people and can walk around with brooms.

After that, Yan Xiaodao began sweeping the courtyards one by one, while also searching for the red paper umbrella, wanting to broaden his horizons.

As soon as I reached the entrance of the first courtyard, I heard two servants whispering in a corner.

"Tonight?"

"Tonight!"

"When the time comes, let's pretend to be asleep and not worry about anything!"

"Okay."

Xiao Dao decided it was best not to go in, so he went to the second courtyard. This seemed to be the kitchen. He had just walked to the window to see what the food was like at the number one sect in the world when he noticed someone lurking around suspiciously.

The cook was seen taking a packet of medicinal powder from a young man dressed as a martial arts performer.

"Put it into the sect leader's soup?"

"right."

"Will we be discovered?"

"Since the lady feeds him herself, he won't be on guard!"

Obediently squatting under the windowsill, Xiao Dao decided to go to the yard for the third time to continue sweeping. This time, Xiao Dao moved even lighter, like a cat, quietly sweeping along the base of the wall.

Sweeping towards the doorway, I saw the window was ajar. Peeking out curiously, I saw a young noblewoman sitting casually on the lap of a martial arts performer, having a private conversation.

"Look at you, you're still so unserious! I'm practically your teacher's wife now!"

"But after tonight you will be a widow."

"You're so wicked, causing someone to become a widow!"

"So I will take good care of you for Master..."

Xiao Dao shuddered, covered his ears, and slipped away from the wall—don't listen to what you shouldn't hear!

Upon reaching the courtyard for the fourth time, she found it quiet with all the doors and windows closed. Xiao Dao breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to sweep in peace. Unfortunately, she had some martial arts skills and excellent hearing, so she could clearly hear the people inside talking in hushed tones.

"Xue Beihai's head will roll tonight!"

"At that time, I will be the new leader of the Beihai Sect."

"Remember to force him to reveal the whereabouts of the Five Dragon Bone Diagrams, and find the Moon Sea Golden Boat and the Holy Martial Emperor's Register."

"If he won't talk, then let him suffer a fate worse than death!"

Xiao Dao picked up the broom, walked to the gate of the yard, grabbed his ears, and muttered, "I told you to listen! Can't you just disobey?"

The girls passing by all covered their mouths and laughed at her.

Finally, when she reached the fifth and last courtyard gate, Xiao Dao was stopped. A fierce-looking gatekeeper told her, "This is the courtyard where the sect leader rests. You are not allowed to enter casually."

Yan Xiaodao stood outside the shared room where the maids were resting, wondering whether to stay and wait to see the red paper umbrella, or to leave quickly and avoid getting involved in this mess.

Unfortunately, before he could figure it out, it got dark, and there was lightning, thunder, and torrential rain.

A bolt of lightning struck, and it looked as if half the sky had collapsed. Just then, a scream came from the fifth courtyard of the Beihai Sect, while the first four courtyards remained completely silent, as still as if they were dead.

Yan Xiaodao stood under the eaves, watching the large raindrops roll down from the roof, wondering whether he should meddle in other people's business.

At this moment, Xue Beihai, poisoned and stabbed several times, ran out despite his injuries, but in his panic, he lost his footing and tumbled down the cliff behind the mountain. He still couldn't believe that the person who had harmed him was the one he trusted most. Just before he lost consciousness, he saw someone approaching him. A pale yellow floral dress, a pair of beautiful embroidered shoes…

When Xue Beihai woke up again, he found himself in a cave. His wounds had been treated, but he was still weak all over. Firelight flickered in front of him, and beside the campfire, a pretty girl was fiddling with the red paper umbrella she had been clutching tightly when she tumbled down the cliff.

"You're awake?"

"Who are you?"

"The one who saved you."

Upon hearing this, Xue Beihai suddenly burst into laughter, "I never imagined that everyone I know would try to harm me, while someone I don't know would save me."

Yan Xiaodao walked up to him and said, "So you need to reflect on your actions."

"I should reflect on my actions?" Xue Beihai seemed unable to accept this. "Why should I reflect on my actions when others have harmed me?"

Yan Xiaodao pointed the tip of his umbrella at his nose and said seriously, "My mother often taught me that when you're out in the world, you can't avoid getting hurt, but if you keep getting hurt, that's your fault! If you don't reflect on your actions, who will?"

Xue Beihai stared in disbelief, “I…”

“At least ten people in the Beihai Sect knew someone was trying to harm you tonight, so why didn’t anyone warn you?” Yan Xiaodao rubbed salt into his wounds. “Just how annoying are you normally?”

Xue Beihai was already seriously injured and had lost a lot of blood. Hearing her say that made him so angry that he almost fainted.

Just then, someone outside shouted, "Master! Master!"

"It's Xue Fu!" Xue Beihai was about to answer when Yan Xiaodao covered his mouth and extinguished the campfire with a flick of her sleeve. Fortunately, it was raining heavily outside, and they were in a cave two zhang above the ground, so they were not discovered.

"Xue Fu is the person I trust most; he wouldn't harm me!"

"Forget it, that guy betrayed you too."

"What?"

"The fact that someone of unknown origin like me could easily enter the Beihai Sect shows that he is not worried that I would harm you, because he knows that you will die sooner or later."

Xue Fu shouted for a while, but received no response, so he led his men to continue searching. "He must be seriously injured. Capture him alive!"

The two people inside the cave heard everything clearly. Yan Xiaodao raised an eyebrow at Xue Beihai—"See!"

Xue Beihai slumped down in despair, looked up at the sky and sighed, "I never thought that I, Xue Beihai, would be abandoned by everyone. Why is this?"

Xiao Dao ignored him, letting him languish there in despair, while he himself sat on a nearby rock, touching the red paper umbrella and sighing inwardly at how beautiful it was, lamenting that he had to return it.

Xue Beihai suddenly asked, "What's your benefactor's name?"

When Xiao Dao heard the words "benefactor," his scalp tingled, and he replied, "Call me Xiao Dao."

"Little Knife, do you like the red paper umbrella?"

I love it!

"I'd like to offer this umbrella as payment and ask Miss Little Knife to do me a favor."