Peaceful Jianghu

Chapter 3

A man in black, holding an oil-paper umbrella, stood behind her, watching her. He looked to be in his early twenties, tall and thin. Xiao Dao was certain she didn't recognize him. She thought for a moment; her mother, Yan Ruyu, was indeed a thief, but she wasn't! She'd learned some medicine from a doctor since childhood and some rudimentary martial arts from her mother; she'd always been law-abiding and had never done anything wrong. Thinking this man was probably calling someone else, Xiao Dao turned back to look.

By now, the big ship was almost at the bridgehead, and Xiao Dao was considering whether to call out to him or jump off.

Unexpectedly, the person behind him called out again, "Hey, you little thief."

Xiao Dao turned around and saw it was the same person again. "Did you call me?"

"yes!"

"How could I be a thief?!"

"You stole my family heirloom, and you still say you're not a thief?" The man stood with his hands behind his back. A river breeze blew, and his hair swayed gently in the wind. It was neither completely disheveled nor neatly arranged. Just like his face, it was neither entirely upright nor entirely sinister.

As Xiao Dao was wondering who this person was, he suddenly heard a furious roar from under the bridge, "You lecherous thief, where do you think you're going?!"

As soon as she heard the voice, Xiao Dao knew it was Hao Jinfeng. Instinctively, she turned and ran away. Coincidentally, the person who had just called her "little thief" also ran with her.

Xiao Dao was surprised, and so was the man.

Hao Jinfeng gave chase from behind.

Just as Xiao Dao was getting anxious, the man smiled and struck up a conversation with her, "What a coincidence, you're a lecher too? Nice to meet you!"

[Getting stabbed right after entering the martial arts world]

Yan Xiaodao called the man a "lecherous thief," which made him so angry he almost jumped up.

Then Hao Jinfeng shouted from behind, "Xue Beifan, you stop right there!"

Xiao Dao was surprised and looked at the person next to him, "You're Xue Beifan?"

Xue Beifan nodded to Xiao Dao, "Yes."

As they were talking, Hao Jinfeng had already caught up behind them. Suddenly, Xue Beifan grabbed Xiaodao's arm and jumped off the bridge. The large ship that had just arrived at the bottom of the bridge picked up Xiaodao and the others, and sailed through the archway to the other side.

Seeing this, the man in white holding a wine glass on the boat laughed and teased, "Xue Beifan, you managed to pick up a beauty on your boat in broad daylight? You truly live up to your title of lecherous scoundrel." As he spoke, he pointed at Hao Jinfeng, who was jumping up and down on the bridge shouting "Stop!" "Today is the sixth day of the month, a very unlucky day, unsuitable for any activity."

Xiao Dao was a little puzzled. Hao Jinfeng's kung fu was quite good. It wasn't far from here to the bridge. Why didn't he chase after them?

The white-clad man behind her seemed to read her mind and said, "Hao Jinfeng is a top-notch constable. In the martial arts world, he is also known as Flying Kick Inkstone because he has no lightness skills at all and relies on his two legs to run wildly."

Yan Xiaodao chuckled. Perhaps it was because Yan Ruyu was skilled in light-body techniques, and that heartless Hao Jiulong still held a grudge about what happened back then, so he didn't teach his son light-body techniques. Tsk tsk... So it's true that once a man's heart changes, he turns his back on you.

Just when everyone thought they had successfully escaped Hao Jinfeng's pursuit, he suddenly climbed onto the bridgehead and jumped forward with all his might...

With a "plop".

Hao Jinfeng lived up to his reputation; the inkstone had barely surfaced before sinking.

"Ah!" Many pedestrians on the shore saw this and, thinking someone had fallen into the water or was trying to commit suicide, called for help.

Yan Xiaodao hurried to the bow of the boat and saw Xue Beifan also coming over, making things lively. He said, "Go and save him!"

Xue Beifan pointed to the boatman rowing past, "Someone will rescue him. He's so skilled, it won't make a difference if he takes a little longer!"

Yan Xiaodao was furious. That hothead was her own brother, after all. If her mother found out, wouldn't she be devastated? Seeing that Xue Beifan was still watching the show, Xiaodao wanted to jump down to save him, but just as she leaned out...

Hao Jinfeng had already swum over and was clinging to the boat, trying to climb aboard, shouting, "You lecher! I'm going to take you to the authorities!"

Xue Beifan was so shocked that he took a step back, while the man in white behind him clutched his stomach and stomped his feet in laughter.

...

Hao Jinfeng tried to climb up for a long time but couldn't. The bottom of the boat was slippery, so the man in white used a rope to pull him up and took him into the cabin to change clothes.

Hao Jinfeng took off his wet clothes, but the man in white wouldn't give him dry clothes to change into, instead throwing him a blanket. Hao Jinfeng, wrapped in the blanket, no longer had hands to grab Xue Beifan, and finally quieted down.

Yan Xiaodao sensed something was wrong. As the saying goes, it's easy to get on a pirate ship but hard to get off. She was now on Xue Beifan's ship and had also run into Hao Jinfeng. What should she do?

"What is your surname, Miss? What is your name?" Xue Beifan, true to his reputation as a "lecherous thief," was completely interested in Yan Xiaodao, while glancing at the red umbrella in her hand.

Yan Xiaodao immediately understood why he called him a little thief. At first glance, this red paper umbrella did not seem special, but it contained a secret that only the Xue Beihai and Xue Beifan brothers could recognize.

"Huh?"

At this moment, Hao Jinfeng also noticed Xiao Dao. "Aren't you the girl who sat opposite me at the tea stall this morning?"

Xiao Dao opened his mouth, "Hmm..."

"Was it this lecherous thief harassing you?" Hao Jinfeng's sense of justice kicked in. He grabbed the blanket with one hand and reached for his knife with the other. "Don't be afraid, I'll arrest him right now!"

Xue Beifan was quick and moved his knife further away, so Hao Jinfeng couldn't reach it and couldn't make any big movements, so he had to stay in the cabin and gather his strength.

Yan Xiaodao estimated the distance to the shore. Should she shove the brocade box into Xue Beifan's hand and run away? Or...?

As they were pondering this, the man in white suddenly exclaimed "Oh!" and turned back into the room. He stood in front of the bookshelf, flipped through the pages, and pulled out a booklet. He took the booklet outside, flipped to a page, and showed it to Yan Xiaodao, saying, "I knew it looked familiar!"

Xiao Dao looked down and saw a stack of old portraits. The one in front of her was a picture of her mother, Yan Ruyu, being arrested. Yan Ruyu looked very similar to Xiao Dao.

"Who are you……"

Before Xue Beifan could speak, Xiao Dao ripped off the page with the illustration, tore it into pieces in a few quick movements, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the water. The yellow paper was soaked through in no time, and the ink was smudged.

Xue Beifan and the man in white stared at Yan Xiaodao in disbelief.

Xiao Dao glanced at Hao Jinfeng, who was frantically searching for clothes in the cabin, and warned the two men in front of him, "If you dare to tell anyone, you two are dead!"

Xue Beifan smiled, raising the corners of his mouth. "So the master thief Yan Ruyu has a daughter. What's your name again?"

Yan Xiaodao glanced at him and reluctantly replied, "Yan Xiaodao."

Xue Beifan frowned, "How could such a pretty girl be given such a terrible name? Your mother knows that her name is Ruyu."

"You're the one with the bad name! She said that 'Ruyu' sounds like 'entering prison,' which is unlucky, so she ended up with a heartless man." Xiaodao muttered to himself.

The man in white cupped his hands in greeting and said, "My name is Chonghua, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Yan Xiaodao also cupped his hands in greeting to him and carefully examined Chonghua. He was about the same age as Xue Beifan, and was refined and elegant. He was much more pleasing to the eye than Xue Beifan!

Seeing that Xiaodao seemed somewhat wary of Hao Jinfeng in the cabin, Chonghua said, "I'll go find him some clothes, you two chat." After saying that, he went into the cabin and took Hao Jinfeng upstairs to find some clothes.

Xue Beifan glanced at the red paper umbrella in Xiao Dao's hand and was about to reach for it when Xiao Dao quickly hid it behind his back, saying, "Mine!"

Xue Beifan laughed, "The red paper umbrella is a family heirloom of my Xue family, how could it be yours?"

"Your elder brother gave this to me!" Xiao Dao hid the umbrella, took out a brocade box from his bundle, and handed it to him. "Your elder brother was injured, but he didn't die. He asked me to give this to you, and also to warn you to be careful of the Beihai Sect." After saying that, he waved to him, "I'm leaving."

Xiao Dao had completed her mission and was eager to get away when Xue Beifan grabbed her arm from behind.

"Stop pulling and tugging!" Xiao Dao pulled his arm back and glared at him. "Your older brother and I have made a pact. I'll bring you the stuff, and the red paper umbrella knife is mine."

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you for the umbrella. This umbrella is for young ladies, I have no use for it." Xue Beifan shook the brocade box in his hand and asked, "What's this?"

"Your older brother said it's the Dragon Bone Five Diagrams."

"So, your elder brother asked you to bring me the Dragon Bone Five Diagrams?"

"Mm." Xiao Dao nodded.

Xue Beifan lowered his head and opened the brocade box.

Xiao Dao was about to leave, but curiosity killed the cat. She wanted to see what the five dragon bone diagrams looked like, so she went over to take a look. But there were no five dragon bones in the box. There was only a piece of white paper with five place names written on it: Nine Pearl Dragon Pool, Immortal Cloud Mountain Waterfall, Western Region Ghost City, Naihe Gate, and North Sea Sect.

Xiao Dao blinked, and Xue Beifan coughed and stared at her.

Xiao Dao looked up to meet his gaze, and after noticing his eyes, she gasped, "I didn't open the box to look at it!"

Xue Beifan raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Of course!" Yan Xiaodao was anxious. Her mind raced, and she realized—could it be that Xue Beihai was bluffing her?

"Sigh." Xue Bei expressed his doubt, "Could it be that you've embezzled my family heirloom, the Five Dragon Bone Diagrams, and are planning to go find the Moon Sea Golden Boat and the Holy Martial Emperor's Register on your own?"

Yan Xiaodao frowned. "If I had stolen it, I could have easily fooled you with five fake bones. Why would I have written this? Besides, look at the handwriting, isn't it your older brother's?!"

Xue Beifan laughed, "You're quite clever, girl."

Xiao Dao rolled her eyes at him, "I've delivered the goods, I'm not going to care anymore, goodbye forever!" She was about to jump onto the shore when she heard Xue Beifan slowly say behind her, "You haven't done what you promised my brother yet. You've already taken the payment, you can't go back on your word."

Xiao Dao stopped in his tracks. "The item has been delivered to you!"

"What did my older brother ask you to do?" Xue Beifan asked Xiao Dao, picking his ear with his little finger in a smug way.

"I'm bringing you this brocade box as a reminder to be careful."

"So what did my older brother say was in the brocade box?"

"In the brocade box..." Xiao Dao opened her mouth and stammered for a long time, then secretly stamped her foot—that Xue Beihai, how dare he deceive this young lady!

Xue Beifan leaned closer and said to Xiao Dao, "My elder brother asked you to bring me the Five Dragon Bone Diagrams, but he didn't ask you to bring me a blank sheet of paper. Since the location of the Five Dragon Bone Diagrams is written on the paper, you should of course help me find the diagrams. The Red Paper Umbrella is a priceless treasure. Where in this world can you find such a cheap deal? Hey, little beauty."

Xiao Dao's face turned bright red, and he was about to retort when Xue Beifan continued, "How about this, I'm easy to talk to, so why don't I take the loss and go with you to look for it?"

Xiao Dao was frustrated; she'd been tricked! That big turtle Xue Beihai—she'd saved his life, and he'd repaid kindness with treachery. Recalling her encounter with Xue Fu at the Beihai Sect's gate that day, Xiao Dao finally understood—she'd been set up from the very beginning!

"Well, I'll just give the umbrella back to you." Although Xiao Dao was reluctant, his life was more important than an umbrella. These five places were all dangerous places, and he couldn't go there! Besides, Xue Beifan was glib and scheming, and look at how well he and his brother worked together! He didn't want to get tricked by him again someday.

Xue Beifan glanced at the umbrella, clicked his tongue, and looked quite troubled. "My Xue family has a rule: once something is given away, it cannot be taken back. Besides, it took at least half a month for them to come here from Beihai. You've used it for so long; how can you just give it back?"

Xiao Dao knew he had fallen into a trap, a black market operation, and walked right into Xue Beihai's snare. His start was anything but smooth; he had initially thought receiving a lucky red paper umbrella would bring him great fortune, but before he could even truly begin his adventures, he had already been stabbed in the back.

Her mother always told her, "The more handsome a man is, the less you can trust him; the better a man is at martial arts, the less you can trust him; the higher a man's status, the less you can trust him; the sweeter a man's words, the less you can trust him... In short, don't trust any man." She has certainly learned her lesson!

"Hehe." Xue Beifan chuckled innocently, reaching out to put his hand on Xiaodao's shoulder, but Xiaodao quickly dodged. She thought to herself, since you're playing dirty tricks, I'm not going to be a lamb to the slaughter. I'm running away now and not playing along. Anyway, there shouldn't be many people in the martial arts world who can catch up with my lightness skill.

"Don't even think about running away." Xue Beifan sensed Xiao Dao's intention and, glancing out of the corner of his eye, saw Hao Jinfeng coming out from the second floor, already changed. He then warned Xiao Dao, "If he finds out you're Yan Ruyu's daughter..."

"You dare say that!" Little Knife retorted defiantly. "Don't forget you're a lecherous thief, he's going to arrest you! Believe me, I'll scream 'molestation' right now!"

Xue Beifan raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to frame me? I didn't lay a hand on you!"

Xiao Dao gritted his teeth, "Even framing someone is better than you two brothers teaming up to deceive people!"

Xue Beifan laughed heartily, "Anyway, you're definitely going to these five places. You have to go whether you want to or not!"

Xiao Dao covered her ears with her hands, took a deep breath, and was about to shout "molestation" when Xue Beifan quickly pried her hands off her ears. "Hey, are you serious?"

Xiao Dao glared back, "You think I dare?!"

"Alright!" Xue Beifan raised an eyebrow provocatively. "Then I'll tell everyone in the Central Plains martial arts world that my elder brother has handed over the Five Dragon Bone Diagrams to you!"

"Ha..." Xiao Dao gasped so hard he almost hiccuped, pointing his finger at Xue Beifan's nose, "You lecherous scoundrel, despicable and shameless!"

"Thank you for the compliment." Xue Beifan, with a face thicker than a city wall, smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Yan Xiaodao. "Shall we go to Nine Pearl Dragon Pool as our first stop?"