There is a Xiao Chan in the Jianghu

Chapter 41

Yun Chan's face was almost translucent with paleness. She had been mostly lucid these past few days, and even when she was awake, she dared not ask many questions. But not asking didn't mean she could control her thoughts; in truth, she had already guessed the ending and would now let them lead her away.

She came to Fusheng Valley only because she couldn't bear to hurt her parents any longer.

Lou Lou, however, had no intention of letting Yun Chan off the hook: "It's a pity that he went to so much trouble to protect you, but in the end he didn't even know that you had been poisoned by Canglan..."

With his longsword drawn, Qin Hu pointed it directly at Lou Lou's neck, his eyes filled with rage.

Lou Lou nonchalantly brushed aside the sword tip and smiled, "Madam Yun, are you trying to drive me away? Do you think you can even get into Floating Life Valley?"

Qin Hu's expression changed several times.

Yun Chan glanced at her mother, then turned to Lou Lou and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Mr. Hu has lived in seclusion in Fusheng Valley for over twenty years and has never left the valley. Anyone who wants to enter the valley to find him must pass through the Nine-Turn Exquisite Formation outside the valley," Lou Lou explained. "There are very few people in the world who understand this formation."

Yun Chan understood: "And can you get through that formation?"

Lou Lou glanced at her, her smile fading slightly: "But even if we meet Mr. Hu, he might not necessarily agree to save people."

"We must try as long as there is a glimmer of hope." Yun Tianhai stepped forward, pressed down Qin Hu's sword, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Lou Lou, saying, "I would be grateful if Pavilion Master Lou could lead my daughter through this battle."

---

The Nine-Turn Exquisite Array is incredibly complex, and Lou Lou could only guarantee that he could take Yun Chan inside. Everyone else had to wait outside.

Following Lou Lou into the valley, they found the fragrance of the flowers even stronger. As far as the eye could see, the mountains and fields were covered in blossoms, spanning thousands upon thousands of acres. The air was filled with a pleasant aroma, seemingly with a calming and pain-relieving effect; Yun Chan immediately felt relaxed.

They walked much faster, their steps quickening. The two headed towards the center of the flower field.

Unexpectedly, a small thatched cottage stood amidst the vast sea of flowers, seemingly concealed by some kind of illusion, only visible upon closer inspection. Lou Lou led Yun Chan into the cottage, where a gaunt old man with a rather fierce face sat, and beside him stood an ugly woman with a hunched back.

.

The old man glanced at the newcomer and said coldly, "What are you doing here again?"

Lou Lou led Yun Chan to him and asked, "Mr. Hu, can't you tell?"

Mr. Hu then glanced at Yun Chan: "Cang Lan?" He stroked his beard and said in a tone that left no room for negotiation, "I have already saved you once before, and the debt has been paid off. I will not save this person again."

Lou Lou frowned: "She is Xue Ren's grand-disciple."

"Then I definitely won't save him. Don't you know that I'm mortal enemies with that Xue guy?"

"Even the legendary physician Xue Ren was helpless against Canglan, which is why this poison is known as incurable. If you can save him, wouldn't you be surpassing him?"

"A provocation?" Mr. Hu sneered. "Kid, you can insist I save her, but you should know my rules: sincerity can only be exchanged for sincerity. Her life will be exchanged for yours. Are you willing?"

Lou Lou remained silent as expected.

Yun Chan tugged at his sleeve: "Hey, let's go."

Upon hearing this, he glanced at her.

Her features were exquisite, just as beautiful as when they first met. Yun Chan couldn't help but smile: "Let's go back."

Mr. Hu scoffed, "Yeah, kid, let's go, even this girl can tell you're not willing to risk your life."

Yun Chan corrected, "It's because I didn't want to."

Mr. Hu was taken aback. He looked her over carefully again and shook his head: "So young, yet there's no life in your eyes, no desire to live at all. Your parents have really wasted their time raising you."

Upon hearing this, the ugly woman inside the room stirred, seemingly also scrutinizing Yun Chan. Yun Chan, however, remained silent.

Lou Lou's face finally turned ugly, and he pulled her away.

Leaving the valley still involved traversing a long field of flowers, and the two remained silent. After a long while, Lou Lou finally spoke: "Let me take you to see Wangshu City. Didn't you want to go before?"

Yun Chan was somewhat taken aback.

She couldn't even remember how long ago she had mentioned Wang Shucheng to him, yet he still remembered.

"No need." She smiled and asked him in return, "Mr. Hu saved you before?"

Upon receiving the expected rejection, Lou Lou's smile was somewhat bitter: "When I was afflicted by the Soul Devourer, it was Mr. Hu who came to my aid; otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to hold on for so long."

Yun Chan thought for a moment: "He said his rule is to exchange lives for lives, so whose life was exchanged for yours that time?"

"The entire Mu family perished." Lou Lou's eyes finally showed some emotion. "Back then, it was Mr. Hu who told Xia Yue that the Ice Silkworm might be able to suppress the backlash of pure Yang internal energy."

Yun Chan remained silent. No wonder Mr. Hu said he owed Lou Lou a debt. He may have originally only wanted to save Xia Yue's life, but he didn't expect Xia Yue to use extreme methods to seize the Ice Silkworm, which resulted in the Mu family being wiped out.

Lou Lou didn't care: "He didn't have it easy either. First, Xue Ren died mysteriously, and then the Mu family was wiped out. Only then did Mr. Hu realize something was wrong. He was afraid that Xia Yue would also kill him, so he has been hiding in the valley ever since."

Yun Chan exclaimed in surprise, "But Xia Yue is long dead. Xia Ming Manor was also disbanded not long ago, so no one will silence him."

"Mr. Hu has been staying in the valley all along, how would he know about these things happening outside?"

Didn't you tell him?

Why should I tell him?

"..."

---

The return journey was even faster than the journey there. Before long, the two approached the exit of Floating Life Valley, but the henchman stopped in his tracks: "Do you want to hear what I said before we entered the valley?"

Yun Chan paused, looking up at him.

Lou Lou looked back at her and smiled: "The day we sent you to your parents, the major sects continued to search for the whereabouts of the Qingtu Sect members in Yanshan. When we found him, he had already been tortured to the point of death by his subordinates."

After pausing, Lou Lou observed her expression and continued, "He originally wanted to die at the hands of those people to save you. But those people were quickly wiped out by us, and I saw that he was still alive, so I told him that you had been poisoned by Canglan."

Yun Chan's body trembled.

"He was already so badly injured, yet upon hearing this, he still had the strength to escape the encirclement." Lou Lou sighed, shifting his gaze to the opposite side. "Even I admire him a little."

She followed his gaze.

A figure was standing opposite them, seemingly out of nowhere. Dressed in tattered black robes, the once flamboyant and unrestrained demeanor was nowhere to be seen. He stood motionless in the wind, even the peach blossoms at the corners of his eyes were blurred by the wind.

Yun Chan stared blankly, almost unable to distinguish between illusion and reality.

Lou Lou smiled at Xia Yi: "So you really did come here."

The Finale (Part 2)

The two figures looked at each other, and Xia Yi said calmly, "Go back to the valley, and I will have Mr. Hu save Xiao Chan."

"He's willing to trade his life for mine?" Lou Lou stared coldly at the person opposite him. He had once thought they were the same kind of people, but it turned out they were ultimately different. A surge of inexplicable resentment and anger welled up inside him. Lou Lou sneered, "What a coincidence, I also want your life..."

I really want it; I can't give it to Mr. Hu.

Having said that, he leaped forward, drawing his long sword, his posture clearly indicating his intention to take the other's life.

Xia Yi remained motionless. He had no weapon in his hand, and his body was battered and bruised, barely managing to stay upright. It seemed that he knew he could not avoid the attack, so he gave up resisting and only wanted to die on the spot.

The blade was instantly upon him, but unexpectedly, Xia Yi suddenly stretched out his right arm to block it. Lou Lou sneered; he actually wanted to use his flesh and blood to block the blade?

Just as the blade was about to sever the opponent's right arm, Lou Lou suddenly realized something was wrong and quickly changed his move, barely dodging the opponent's left palm that came out from under the right arm.

With the tip of the knife pointing to the ground, Lou Lou narrowed his eyes.

This Xia Yi is truly ruthless; she'd rather cripple herself than not perish with him.

Unfortunately, no matter how ruthless they are, it's nothing more than a last gasp of life after exhaustion.

With a sweeping right leg, he delivered a heavy kick to Xia Yi's chest. Xia Yi groaned and immediately collapsed to his knees. Lou Lou placed his long sword against Xia Yi's neck and turned to look at Yun Chan.

Yun Chan remained calm.

Seeing her like this, Lou Lou suddenly burst into laughter, his laughter as vast and desolate as the distant sea of clouds. Then the laughter subsided, and he turned to look at Xia Yi: "So what if I don't kill you? You can exchange your life for hers." With that, Lou Lou indifferently sheathed his sword and walked away alone.

He walked out of the valley.

Yun Chan hesitated for a moment, then struggled to take two steps after him: "Hey, wait a minute."

The man in white stopped.

Yun Chan looked at him earnestly: "Hey, please tell my parents that Mr. Hu agreed to save me, but on the condition that I stay in the valley with him from now on, so I can't get out. Tell them... not to worry about me anymore."

Lou Lou's body suddenly stiffened.

Her last words to him were, "Is this what you want me to say? To appease her parents with a lie?" How could he not understand the meaning behind her words? Yes, she was still going to die with him. To exchange one life for another—how wonderful, how wonderful.

Lou Lou smiled and walked away.

---

Inside the flower-filled cottage.

As Mr. Hu examined the man on the ground, he exclaimed in amazement, "I've never seen anyone so badly injured still able to breathe."

Xia Yi pushed his hand away and pointed at Yun Chan: "Save her, or I'll give you my life."

Mr. Hu snorted: "Your life is so useless now, it's not even half a life. If I were to trade it for her whole life, wouldn't I be losing out?"

Yun Chan immediately hugged Xia Yi: "We don't need you to save us, we just want to stay in your valley for a few days."

The old man immediately glared at him: "If you don't want me to save you, then get out of the valley."

The ugly-faced woman who had been silent in the room suddenly appeared from behind: "They need to be saved! They need to be saved!"

Mr. Hu glanced at her sideways upon hearing this: "What, are you going to save me with your life?"

The ugly woman chuckled and said, "I'll trade the ugly girl's life for Master Xia's life, and Master Xia's life for the ugly girl's life. That way you can save both of them and not kill either of them."

Yun Chan, who had been focused on Xia Yi, suddenly looked up upon hearing the voice and exclaimed in disbelief, "Qian Jun... is that you?"

---

It had been a long time since Floating Life Valley had seen two such difficult-to-treat patients. Mr. Hu was busy running around taking care of them, but an ugly woman kept leisurely following behind him: "Old man, so it turns out that getting treatment from you means risking your life? What about back then?"

Why did you save me?

"Hmph, you were brought here by Master Xia." Mr. Hu said indignantly as soon as he thought about it. "I thought you were that Xia brat's lover!"

Qianjun's face immediately contorted with rage: "So that's why you saved me? You owe him a life?"

"I owe his father a life," Old Hu exhaled, his voice filled with malice. "Therefore, he had one chance to ask me to save someone without paying a price. He used that one chance to save you, and I saw that you looked..."

"Because you're pretty, he assumed you were the one he loved."

Qianjun jumped up and down: "...If that's the case, why did you turn me into this state!"

"Hmph, that brat surnamed Xia was so arrogant. I didn't want to let him get away with it so easily, so I told him I could heal him, but after I did, I would disfigure him. I thought he would be in great pain, but he just said 'whatever.'"

"I'll just leave you here and go."