Wearing the glorious helmet of the young mistress of Cangya City, she openly steals other people's trust and treasures. But once the helmet is stripped off, she is actually just a drab, gray mongrel.
But she just wouldn't tell him; she just wouldn't tell him the truth.
How wonderful it was when he was around! Besides having lots and lots of money, she also had lots and lots of happiness.
She revealed a sly smile, a smile that was both despicable and helpless.
She's no good at all, not at all.
He clearly has nothing, he's penniless inside and out, and can only race his own shadow with his bare hands, yet he still thinks he's the richest person in the world.
The Chaotic Scroll, Chapter Eight: If You Like It (Part Two)
Updated: 2008-10-04 15:09:29 Word Count: 4776
It's the last day of September, and the book is probably going to be released tomorrow, so I'll post two more chapters today. This is the first one.
***************
Embroidering a picture only takes half a month.
As Xiaoman spun off the last thread, the lady holding a flower on the silk was smiling gently at her.
If you look closely, this embroidery might not be as exquisite as the one she made for the round fan, because she ran out of colored thread and had to use other colors instead. But from the bottom of her heart, she felt that this was the best piece of embroidery she had ever made in her life, one she had never made before and would never make again.
The lady who smiled while holding a flower was so lifelike, with her pointed chin, looking both cunning and unapproachable, lacking any of the quiet gentleness of a well-bred lady, more like a wild little fox. But she was happy now, or at least she appeared to be happy.
She promised Yelü Wenjue that she would embroider a new round fan for him, with her mother on it, but as she embroidered, it seemed that she had embroidered the wrong person.
This person looks like...
Xiao Man lay on the straw mat, held the piece of silk cloth up to her eyes, and examined it carefully.
How could she give it to him like that? Yelü Wenjue would definitely be angry if he saw it, and when he was angry, he would grab her by the neck, and she would definitely die. It's better not to give it to him; seeing him never brings good things anyway. She's not a rag doll that can be slapped around like that; she'll die sooner or later.
Suddenly, a hand snatched the piece of silk cloth away. Xiaoman was slightly startled and saw Zexiu sitting beside her, looking down at the embroidery carefully. For some reason, she felt particularly guilty and quickly tried to grab it back, saying, "Give it back to me! Don't look!"
Ze Xiucai ignored her, pressed her down with one hand, turned around to take a closer look, and finally smiled slightly, stuffing the piece of silk into his pocket: "It just so happens that I'm short of a handkerchief, so this will be mine from now on."
Xiao Man was so anxious that she kicked and thrashed about like a turtle unable to flip itself over, shouting, "I never said I'd give it to you! You're such a liar!"
Zexiu shook his finger: "Something this ugly can't be circulated, it's too embarrassing. I'll keep it for you, hmm, consider it as you embroidering an unparalleled beauty for me in advance, how about it, isn't this a good deal?"
"You're the one who's shameful and disgraceful!" Xiao Man suddenly jumped up and kicked him.
Zexiu grabbed her ankle, and Xiaoman lost her balance and fell down again, crawling and crawling on the straw mat, looking as disheveled as could be.
“It’s a deal, that embroidery is mine.” Zexiu took out the piece of silk from his pocket, waved it in front of her, and walked out with a smug smile.
Xiao Man slowly got up, hugged her knees, sat on the straw mat, and began to stare blankly again.
No one knows what she's thinking, whether it's sweet or sad thoughts.
Being alone is nothing more than eating, drinking, sleeping, and occasionally feeling a little lonely and sad. But being with someone doesn't just make it twice as boring; instead, it transforms into endless thoughts and worries, things you can't stop thinking about. How wonderful is that?
The wind started blowing again outside, howling like ghosts and wolves. The cloak hanging at the cave entrance was being blown about, and snowflakes were getting in through the gaps. Xiaoman shivered and quickly covered herself up. Suddenly, she heard someone talking in a low voice outside. She thought it was Lianyi and the others who had come looking for her, so she hurriedly lifted the cloak and peeked out.
I heard someone yell, "Don't come out!"
Xiao Man was suddenly startled. A cold light shot straight towards her. In a panic, she threw off her cloak and took several steps back. With a "thud," the cold light pierced through the cloak and went straight in—it was an iron sword. Fortunately, the cloak was thick and absorbed most of the force; otherwise, her face would have been stabbed.
Are they enemies?! Is it Mount No Return or the Ten Directions of Heavenly Fiend? Xiao Man composed herself, moved closer to the cave entrance, and listened to their conversation.
But then they fell silent, and all she could hear was a jumble of wind and the occasional clanging of metal against metal, each impact feeling like a sharp blow to her heart. Xiaoman clutched her chest, her palms drenched in sweat. Unable to resist any longer, she quietly lifted a corner of her cloak and peeked outside.
The snow fell fiercely, like dense goose feathers, trampling the white snow on the ground into a chaotic mess. Two figures were locked in combat, rising and falling like cranes about to take flight, yet with a fierce and swift movement. Xiao Man couldn't see who Ze Xiu was, so she peeked out again. The taller one suddenly swung his hand, sending another flash of cold light flying. The other man quickly used his sword to block, and with a clang, sparks flew as a willow-leaf-sized throwing knife fell to the ground.
In that instant, Ze Xiu's weakness was exposed, and the man kicked him squarely in the ribs. Ze Xiu staggered back several steps, turning back and shouting sharply, "Go back! Don't look!"
Before he could say anything, Xiao Man had already pulled her head back in.
She couldn't help him at all; she would only cause him trouble. She clenched her fists tightly against her chest, feeling as if her whole body was on fire, unsure whether it was fear or worry.
She recognized the man; it was Yelü Wenjue. He had been following her relentlessly. He was from the Heavenly Fiends Ten Directions, and his martial arts were so formidable. What if Zexiu couldn't defeat him? She would surely be killed…
No, whether she lives or dies, we'll think about that later.
She didn't want Zexiu to die!
If he dies...
Xiao Man closed her eyes, unable to imagine what would happen next.
After an unknown amount of time, the sounds outside gradually subsided, until only the sharp wind remained. Xiao Man nervously pulled back her cloak. The snow was falling heavier, and the two figures that had been locked in combat had vanished. Only one person lay on the snow, covered with a thin layer of white snow. Beneath him, a large, shocking patch of blood spread out, like a blooming red flower.
Xiaoman held her breath and slowly walked out. The wind and snow came crashing down on her. She wasn't wearing a fox fur cloak, and she felt the gentle snowflakes scraping against her body and face like knives, so she couldn't help but shiver.
A chill ran through her as she slowly walked to the man's side, knelt down, and gently wiped the snow off his face.
Zexiu.
His face was as pale as the snow on the ground. He remained motionless, as if sculpted from ice and snow.
Xiaoman felt a buzzing in her head, and suddenly she couldn't hear anything. She knelt down with a thud, pushing him with her hands and calling his name: "Zexiu! Zexiu! Wake up!"
He remained motionless, a few snowflakes clinging to his eyelashes, slowly melting into water and condensing at the corner of his eye, like tears that wouldn't fall.
Xiaoman burst into tears, grabbing his collar and shaking him violently: "You're dead?! How could you die, you idiot! You always brag about how great you are, and yet an old man can kill you! How could you be so useless!"
He looked like he was dead; his face grew paler and paler, and even his lips turned blue.
Xiao Man tore open his collar, grabbed the pile of valuables around his neck, and cried, "Since you're dead, these things are useless to me. We've been on the same path, and you've always taken good care of me. I'm sure you won't object if I take these things and sell them for money. I'll definitely repay your kindness to me after I die."
His face gradually turned pale, and his body became increasingly stiff. The snowflakes on his eyelashes stopped melting and instead condensed into tiny ice pellets.
Xiaoman suddenly stopped crying, slowly lowered her head, and saw that the snow on the ground was already soaked with blood. She pressed her hand against it; the snow was cold, the blood was hot. Startled, she abruptly pulled her hand back, then placed it under his nose—icy cold, without a breath. She continued downwards, pressing her hand against his chest—his heartbeat was so weak she could barely feel it.
She jumped up, grabbed his arm, and dragged him into the cave. He was heavy and she couldn't move him at all, but Xiaoman didn't care. She had only one thought: to drag him back. No matter what, she wouldn't let him die.
The cave was still warm as spring. Xiaoman had dragged him in, falling countless times along the way, and was soaked to the bone, covered in mud and water. She reached out to unbutton his clothes to check his wounds. Just as she reached his waist, two hands suddenly grabbed hers, followed by a soft voice: "You little rascal, what are you doing?"
Xiao Man suddenly turned her head and saw Ze Xiu open his eyes, looking at her with a mocking smile, revealing a row of white teeth.
"You actually tried to assault me while I was unconscious. You really have ulterior motives towards me."
He sat up with a smile, his expression unchanged, showing no sign of anything amiss.
Xiaoman suddenly burst into tears, covered her face, and made no sound.
Even if he jumped up and beat her up, it wouldn't matter at all, it really wouldn't matter. Because he wasn't dead, he was alive and well.
When Zexiu was pretending to be dead in the snow, he had imagined countless possible reactions from her, such as jumping up and hitting him, cursing him, or fainting from fright. He never expected that her final reaction would be to cry like this, as if she were crying out all the water in her body.
She was only wearing a thin dress and was barefoot, her feet already blue and purple from the cold. Her dress was covered in mud and ice, filthy and disgusting. She looked even more disheveled than him, like a dirty beggar. And she was crying so hard, tears dripping from between her fingers. Only a child would cry so recklessly.
He opened his arms and pulled her into his embrace, wrapping her in his cloak, and whispered, "I'm sorry, I was just joking."
She lowered her hands, her eyes red from crying, her eyelashes wet. She tried to wipe her face with her sleeve, but couldn't get it clean because tears were still streaming down her face. Ze Xiu couldn't help but lower his head to kiss her eyes. The place where his lips touched was initially cold, but suddenly became hot, as if she wanted to get away quickly.
He tightened his grip on her, holding her close for a long, long time, unwilling to let go.
******
"Here's what happened."
Zexiu changed into clean clothes, sat on the straw mat, and solemnly recounted what had happened to her.
“He was following us, waiting for a chance to strike, but he didn’t dare to come in because he saw you were embroidering a fan. He only made his move after you finished embroidering the fan. Although he is one of the Ten Heavenly Fiends, he is old and definitely can’t beat me. If you hadn’t been in my way, I would have killed him long ago.”
Xiao Man sat by the fire with her back to him, stirring the soup without saying a word.
Zexiu had no choice but to continue, "The blood on the ground is naturally not mine. It's the blood that flowed from his severed arm after I cut it off. This is equivalent to crippling half of his skills, so you don't have to worry about him coming to bother you again. Speaking of which, you're really stupid. If I were really dead, Yelü Wenjue would have rushed in and killed you long ago. How could you have dragged me into the cave? You don't even observe your surroundings. You're really stupid."
Xiao Man remained silent, only bringing him a bowl of soup, while she herself sat against the wall, lost in thought.
Zexiu sighed, "It was my fault, I was just teasing you. Didn't you say those things to annoy me before? We're even now, aren't we?"
She remained motionless.
Zexiu put down the bowl and spread his hands: "Alright, I'll let you vent your anger. Come here. You're welcome to hit, scold, kick, or stomp on me anytime."
Xiao Man suddenly looked up at her and whispered, "You really want to take revenge on me?"
"certainly."
She scrambled to her feet and kicked him, hitting him squarely in the shoulder. Zexiu pretended to fall, grabbed her ankle, and the two rolled onto the straw mat together. Xiaoman grabbed his hair, still kicking and hitting him. Zexiu cried out, "Stop pulling! Okay, okay, I give up." Just as he finished speaking, he felt her grab his arm and bite him hard.
This time he was truly in pain. With a hiss, he pressed down on the back of her neck and gently pinched it. Her mouth involuntarily opened, with a look of bewildered surprise on her face. It seemed as if her consciousness was still veiled and had not fully recovered. Her eyes shone with an eerie light.
He watched her for a while, then reached out to touch her face. His fingers brushed against her moist lips, only to be bitten by her. This time, he didn't cry out in pain. Instead, he inserted another finger, pinched her soft tongue, and gently caressed it.
Xiao Man was startled, as if she had finally come to her senses. Her face flushed red, she pushed him away, grabbed her disheveled hair, stood up and said, "I'll settle the score with you later!"
She hurriedly left him, fumbled for a hairpin in her bundle to re-tie her hair, and then a tattered piece of cloth fell out of the bundle—it was a map of the Five Corners.
Zexiu, lying on the straw mat, coughed and said in a serious tone, "Your injuries are almost healed. Isn't it time for us to leave this place and go find the Five Corners?"
Xiao Man chuckled, then turned and glared at him: "You hypocrite."
That made him laugh.
**********
Tianquan and Gengu chased Yelü Wenjue through the woods all night, but not only did they fail to catch him, they also got lost. Gengu rubbed his eyes and sighed, "That old man is amazing. One touch from him and I was completely out of it. I don't even know when my sister and the others left."
Tianquan looked around and said calmly, "Although we are forced to separate, we will all eventually go to Mount Taibai. Just head in that direction."
Gengu looked him up and down: "Why should I listen to you? Are your words an imperial edict?"
Tianquan didn't bother with him at all and turned to leave.
Gengu called out from behind, "Hey, aren't we going to Mount Taibai? Where are you going?"
Tianquan still ignored him, but hesitated slightly, looking around, unsure if he was heading in the right direction.