Beggar Travels the World

Chapter 33

It really was Aunt Yun.

"knew."

Yin Wuxiao casually took the apple, but her beautiful eyes widened suddenly when they met the eyes of the little maid Gu Li.

"you……"

The maid smiled and was about to speak when she heard the door open again.

This time, it was Yuwen Cuiyu who walked in.

Yuwen Cuiyu didn't even glance at the obedient maid who quickly lowered her head, and went straight to Yin Wuxiao.

"Miss Yin, the young master in blue is right outside. Do you... really want to continue the wedding?"

Yin Wuxiao glanced at the maid's gently trembling back, seemingly unintentionally, and said coldly, "You can go out now."

"Yes." The maid obediently stepped out the door.

Yin Wuxiao turned to face Hua Jing.

"So Miss Yuwen came to observe the ceremony with the young man in blue?" Her fingertips wandered among the neatly arranged ornaments, finally landing on a phoenix hairpin.

He was already outside.

...Does he really intend to witness her marriage in person?

The phoenix hairpin was held tightly by her delicate hand, almost bending it.

"You...you really don't care? Don't you care that I have the Azure Robe Absolute, and that the Azure Robe Young Master will marry no one but me?" Yuwen Cuiyu's aura was tinged with a hint of impatience.

Yin Wuxiao shouldn't be like this. She shouldn't be so resigned to fate and so submissive. She should be greedy, proud, and arrogant, but she shouldn't be submissive.

“Oh right,” Yin Wuxiao smiled gently, “I forgot to ask, where did Miss Yuwen get that Qingyi Juejue?”

“Naturally, it was my own opinion.” Yuwen Cuiyu’s face froze.

"Oh?" Yin Wuxiao's lips were still curved, but a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes.

“That man in blue was definitely the one I was facing.”

“You…” Yuwen Cuiyu looked at her in disbelief, as if she had expected her to say this, but still couldn’t believe she would actually say it.

"Hmph, do you think only you, Yin Wuxiao, are worthy of being called a talented woman, and only you, Yin Wuxiao, can compose couplets?" She suddenly turned her face away, her breathing disordered.

Yin Wuxiao smiled, her smile as beautiful as a spring flower.

The crisp sound was like a jade ring being thrown into a deep pool.

"I dare not speak for other couplets, but this one for the blue-robed woman is absolutely perfect. No one else in the world but me can match it."

Yuwen Cuiyu looked at her in surprise, and for the first time, she was at a loss.

With one hand, Yin Wuxiao slowly inserted the phoenix hairpin into her temple, and quietly looked at Yuwen Cuiyu's astonished face in the mirror.

"Jiu'er, you've made a mistake because this Qingyi is absolutely not something that can be matched by just having poetic talent."

She gently gathered a few strands of her soft hair.

"The two verses of 'Qingyi Jueju' were both written by me personally, and only I know their meaning."

Yuwen Cuiyu lowered her head and remained silent. After a long while, she leaned down and whispered in Yin Wuxiao's ear, looking into the mirror.

"I see. But Miss, you're the one who's been caught this time."

Suddenly everything went black, and Yin Wuxiao was plunged into boundless darkness.

Outside the door, the maid in plain clothes wrinkled her nose, revealing an annoyed expression.

"Yin Wuxiao! You woman who keeps everyone in suspense!"

※ ※ ※

As soon as he regained consciousness, Yin Wuxiao felt a burning pain in the back of his head.

However, she was overjoyed because she knew she had won her gamble—she had boldly won—she had bet that Yuwen Cuiyu wouldn't dare kill her this time.

Although it was Yuwen Cuiyu who threw away Qingyi Juejue, she did not suspect that she was Jiu'er at first, because it was not impossible for Qingyi Juejue to fall from Jiu'er's hands to outsiders, and the Jiu'er she knew did not fall in love with Baili Qingyi.

However, Yuwen Cuiyu's every word and action afterwards felt strangely familiar to her. She was proficient in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; her words, though not ostentatious, always carried an air of certainty; she excelled at negotiation and maneuvering, and was adept at witty sarcasm; when quiet, she appeared arrogant and aloof, yet when laughing and joking, she was poised and graceful. Until one day, Cui Shenghan reminded her that Yuwen Cuiyu's mannerisms were strikingly similar to her own.

This woman seemed to possess all the virtues she had, yet she also had a beauty that was unmatched by anyone else.

What alarmed her even more was Yuwen Cuiyu's familiarity with her—a deadly familiarity. She always knew how to use words to disturb her mind, and she also knew when to stop.

The only people who could understand her so well, besides her few remaining relatives, were Jiu'er, who had been by her side for two years.

If Yuwen Cuiyu is indeed Jiu'er from back then, then everything makes sense.

Why did Yuwen Cuiyu, who clearly had no feelings for Baili Qingyi, still throw out the "Qingyi Absolute"? It was because she attracted that person's attention, making that person jealous. That person's most hated person in his life was the exceptionally talented Baili Qingyi.

Why did Yuwen Hongying get so agitated that she injured Yin Wuxiao in Baili Mansion in the capital? It was because of Yuwen Cuiyu’s seemingly unintentional instigation and incitement.

Why did Cui Shenghan become so flustered when she saw Yuwen Cuiyu playing the zither? It was because she recognized that there was a faint scar on the fingertip of Yuwen Cuiyu's right hand, left from practicing acupressure techniques. It was exactly the same as the one who taught her the Qiongjiao acupressure technique to assassinate Lady Yun. The disguise technique covered the whole body, but not the fingertip.

In Hundred Questions Valley, the person who threw Yin Wuxiao into the battle between Rongju Peak and the Poisonous Scorpion Old Ghost was naturally Yuwen Cuiyu. She first harmed Yin Wuxiao, then turned to Baili Qingyi for help, attempting to use the injured Rong siblings to hold them back. However, Baili Qingyi keenly sensed something was wrong and arrived in time to save Yin Wuxiao.

Along the way, Yuwen Cuiyu had too many opportunities to kill her silently, so why did she only secretly push things along a few times?

She didn't want anyone to suspect that she had anything to do with Yin Wuxiao's death. She still needed to use the identity of Yuwen Cuiyu to get to know and befriend that person.

As for why she repeatedly helped Baili Qingyi and Yin Wuxiao get together, it was simply because she couldn't bear to watch Yin Wuxiao form a marriage alliance with that person.

That person was Qiao Fenglang, the leader of the Qiao Gang.

On the day of the wedding banquet at Chuxiu Manor, Yuwen Cuiyu was probably certain that Yin Wuxiao was no longer alive, and she also knew that Qiao Fenglang would definitely attend the wedding banquet. That's why she boldly took out the Qingyi Absolute, which shocked the martial arts world. However, she did not expect that Qiao Fenglang had been angered and left before she even took the stage. Later, she even saw Yin Wuxiao, who should have died a violent death, in the capital.

Yin Wuxiao just couldn't understand why Yuwen Cuiyu, with her background and beauty, would be so fixated on Qiao Fenglang, whom she should have never known well.

"Awake?" A soft female voice drifted over.

Yin Wuxiao slowly opened his eyes.

“Where is this…” She reached up and touched the back of her slightly swollen head, opening her eyes to stare at the eerie ceiling carved with red crows. This unfamiliar place had an irregular structure, simple decorations, and dim lighting. Two of the walls were natural stone walls, making it look like a secluded dwelling built against a cliff in the mountains.

"You're so smart, tell me?" Yuwen Cuiyu sat with her back to her at a table a few feet away, seemingly sipping a sip of tea.

"This is... 'Wuhen'?" Yin Wuxiao's eyes darted around.

“Clever. I think you guessed it, but I still don’t understand how you guessed it?” Yuwen Cuiyu’s voice was full of interest.

"If you don't kill me, you must be trying to use me to exchange for something. And who else but 'Wuhen' would value me so much?"

"...Truly a merchant's nature, you guessed it right away." Yuwen Cuiyu snapped her fingers, smiled, and turned away. "Don't you want to know what I'm trading you for?"

"There are too many things I want to know, it all depends on whether you're willing to tell me readily," Yin Wuxiao replied honestly, a rare occurrence for her. She had long anticipated that Yuwen Cuiyu wouldn't allow her to marry Qiao Fenglang, and her plan was simply to uncover the truth once and for all, to avoid going through so much trouble.

"Yesterday, I and Miss Yin, the most talented woman in the world, were kidnapped by 'Wuhen' before Qiao Bang's wedding banquet. After today, everyone in the world will believe that you, Miss Yin, have died at the hands of 'Wuhen's' master. Although I was seriously injured, I escaped danger with your help, told the world your last words, and to repay your kindness, I will take care of your unfulfilled husband for the rest of my life."

Yin Wuxiao frowned at her strangely: "What a clumsy lie."

“But the world will believe it,” Yuwen Cuiyu said confidently.

“Brother Fenglang wouldn’t be so easily fooled.” And Baili Qingyi.

“He will believe it. He will find your body soon.” Yuwen Cuiyu looked at her inscrutable.

"So you still intend to kill me?" Yin Wuxiao stared at her in astonishment, finally unable to hold back his question: "What exactly did I do to offend you? To be fair, how did I treat you during those two years when you were Jiu'er?"

Yuwen Cuiyu looked at her: "You... treat me very well." Suddenly she turned her face away, "But I hate you."

Yin Wuxiao choked, then smiled bitterly, "It's true... there's nothing we can do about it being hated."

As if she could read her mind, Yuwen Cuiyu raised her eyebrows slightly: "The first time I heard your name, I decided to hate you."

A light mist veils Yin Wuxiao's delicate eyebrows.

"I have had irregular meridians since childhood. According to the orthodox martial arts world of the Central Plains, I am not allowed to practice martial arts. However, I was born into a martial arts family, which made me a disgrace to the Yuwen family. But when I was eleven years old, I met a master by chance. He was a traitorous member of the Northern Desert Qiong Sect. He cured my congenital disease and taught me martial arts."

“No wonder… Brother Fenglang only found out that Aunt Nan and the others died from the martial arts of the Qiong Sect.” Yin Wuxiao smiled bitterly.

Yuwen Cuiyu sighed suddenly: "But my master has a strange temper. That day, I offended him slightly, and he was determined to kill me to prevent him from revealing his whereabouts. I escaped with injuries and was rescued by someone at the foot of Yunshan Mountain."

Yin Wuxiao gasped, "I remember. So you were... the woman in black that Fenglang and I rescued back then!"

The night is still young

That year, Yin Wuxiao was fifteen years old.

That year, she met a strange young man who seemed like a celestial being by the Songlu Pool at the southern foot of Yunshan Mountain. From then on, she was in a daze and her thoughts drifted away.

Even after Qiao Fenglang found her, a smug yet slightly shy smile still lingered on her lips.

A handsome man in a blue brocade robe and a bright young woman with red lips and white teeth walked hand in hand on a rugged mountain path, while the slender, proud branches on the cliff swayed slightly with the laughter of the couple.

"Fortunately, I haven't sent news of your disappearance for three days back to the capital, otherwise Mother and Aunt Nan would definitely be worried sick about you again." The man's eyebrows were broad and his slightly curved eyes revealed a doting affection that made him reluctant to blame you.

"Brother Fenglang is incredibly insightful and calm in the face of adversity. He truly has the demeanor of a great general..." Yin Wuxiao chuckled guiltily.

"You slippery little thing, trying to dodge the question again." Qiao Fenglang shook his head helplessly. "This time, I won't let you get away with it so easily."

"Brother Fenglang..." Knowing that she was doomed, she quickly put on a begging face.

Qiao Fenglang's expression changed, and he adopted a serious demeanor: "I let you wander alone on the mountain, but you strayed from the safe zone and your whereabouts were a mystery for three whole days. When you finally reappeared, your clothes were..." He blushed slightly as he said this, "...your undergarments were torn to shreds, and you were wearing a man's outer robe..." To be honest, if it weren't for his cousin's rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and mischievous look as if she had just bullied someone, he would have gone mad and searched the mountain until he found the owner of that outer robe and then executed him by slow slicing.

"Also, why is the bottle of Fragrant Jade-Returning Ointment that I gave you before you left gone?" Qiao Fenglang's brows furrowed even more. All of this combined made him uneasy.

Yin Wuxiao chuckled and scratched her head. After Qiao Fenglang said that, she really felt as if she had been... well... thoroughly ruined, and then bitterly waiting for the overwhelming criticism from the world to come.

It seems that it will take quite a bit of effort to dispel Qiao Fenglang's doubts this time.

"Um..." Yin Wuxiao glanced nervously at Qiao Fenglang, then hurriedly lowered his head. "I...I rescued someone on the mountain. The clothes...I tore them off myself to bandage his wounds, and I used the medicine on him too." Seeing the doubt on Qiao Fenglang's face, Yin Wuxiao quickly added, "Don't worry, that person was unconscious the whole time and had no idea who rescued him..."

Yeah, right.

Yin Wuxiao understood that hiding his heinous acts was the wisest choice.

"really?"