Shui Wu'er chuckled, "That's for sure."
Baili Qingyi pursed her lips and suddenly changed the subject meaningfully: "My fourth brother took on a little apprentice at Chuxiu Manor last time."
Shui Wu'er was bewildered; where was she?
"The boy was seriously injured at Chuxiu Manor, and both his legs were crippled. Fortunately, he survived, so I handed him over to my fourth brother and took him back to Jiangnan."
Shui Wu'er gave a nonchalant "oh".
"Don't you want to know how this young man is doing now?"
Shui Wu'er slowly said, "The fourth young master of Baili Prefecture is also a person with difficulty walking, but he has still mastered excellent martial arts. With his guidance, even if he has crippled his legs, he will not be without prospects in the future."
Baili Qingyi's eyes turned cold: "...It seems that you are indeed a cold and aloof person."
"Only the ruthless can recognize the truth." Shui Wu'er chuckled and removed her tightly clenched hands from the table.
"Even if a heartless person is learned and knowledgeable, wouldn't they feel lonely? Young lady, Baili Prefecture has always been willing to provide a place for the ill-fated. If you don't mind..."
Shui Wu'er sighed inwardly. It is said that when a man reaches his peak, he will want to bring everyone under his protection, especially women, regardless of their beauty or ugliness.
Is this what they call masculinity?
She never expected to meet such an exceptional man today.
"Young master, do you know how beggars catch field mice?"
Baili Qingyi was slightly taken aback.
"When a beggar encounters a field mouse, he doesn't catch it at first. Instead, he tracks it to its burrow, then lights a fire there and uses the smoke to drive the whole family out. If one comes out, he cuts it with his knife; if two come out, he cuts them both."
“Young master, I’m just like that little field mouse who’s been suffocated by the smoke. Whether I stick my head out or not, I’ll die anyway. Just let me stay here as I please.” Shui Wu’er stood up unsteadily, about to wave goodbye to Baili Qingyi, when she suddenly remembered something and took out a small bag from her body: “Young master, I found something outside your Baili residence. I don’t know what it is, maybe it was lost from inside. I’m returning it to you now, consider it a token of my admiration for you.” Her tongue was almost tied in knots.
Baili Qingyi didn't even glance at the small bag; her gaze remained fixed on her.
"Huh, he's not appreciative at all?" Shui Wu'er chuckled dryly. She proactively placed the small bag on the table in front of Baili Qingyi.
"Don't forget." She waved her hand haphazardly, turned around, stumbled every three steps, and stopped every two steps as she left the tavern.
Catching field mice requires skill.
Shui Wu'er was squatting in the small temple, roasting and eating field mice. This young man in blue only offered her wine, but not food; he was so stingy. His Baili family deserved to be poor for a hundred years.
As she roasted field mice, she hummed and sang: "When we see each other, seeing is not seeing; seeing is still separate from seeing; seeing cannot reach." The sentence was originally from the Surangama Sutra, but the tune was the "Spring Mud Ballad," a popular love song among men and women in the countryside. If the great monk who translated the sutra in the previous dynasty could hear such a strange combination, even the relics would probably be furious.
After singing the Surangama Sutra, she began to sing "The late emperor passed away before his great undertaking was half completed," but the aroma of the field mouse attracted a hungry fellow.
The guy was hanging upside down from the roof of the dilapidated little temple, his head drooping right in front of Shui Wu'er: "I want to eat field mice!"
Shui Wu'er was startled by him and rolled around while hugging the field mouse.
In the flickering firelight, Shui Wu'er saw the person's face; it was none other than Yin Bitong's breathtakingly beautiful and bewitching face.
"I want to eat field mice!" Yin Bitong exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks.
Shui Wu'er shuddered.
"Go get it yourself if you want to eat it."
"I want to eat the one you're holding!"
"Yin Bitong!" Shui Wu'er gritted her teeth.
"If you don't give it to me, I'll kill you!"
Shui Wu'er suddenly calmed down. She sat down cross-legged: "Then kill me."
Yin Bitong was taken aback: "Aren't you afraid of dying?"
Shui Wu'er smiled and pointed: "□Dang, your hair is on fire."
Yin Zhangzhang, disguised as Yin Bitong, cried out and quickly jumped down from the beam, snatched off the hood, and revealed her true face.
"How did you know it was me?" Yin Zhangzhang asked angrily.
Who would be so stupid as to hang upside down from a bonfire? The flames were burning his scalp, yet he felt nothing, which shows it wasn't his real scalp.
With a "clang," Yin Zhangzhang pulled out a small sapphire-encrusted dagger from somewhere and held it to Shui Wu'er's neck.
"I'm asking you, was the person you were with just now Baili Qingyi?"
Shui Wu'er exclaimed in surprise, "You actually followed me?"
Yin Zhangzhang blushed: "Stop talking nonsense! Did you give him the thing Yin Bitong gave you?"
Did Yin Bitong give me anything? No.
"Hmph, Yin Bitong came to the Baili residence today for this very thing. I watched as you personally gave it to Baili Qingyi!"
“Yin Bitong shoved that thing into my hands without asking if I wanted it or not. So, it’s none of his business who I give it to.”
"You...you're just being unreasonable!" The dagger pierced a few inches deeper, and blood dripped from Shui Wu'er's neck. "I'll have Yin Bitong kill you!"
Shui Wu'er sighed: "Dang, if you want, you can kill me now."
Mr. Yin retorted angrily, "Of course I can!"
“It’s understandable that you’re afraid of having to explain to Yin Bitong if you kill me. But you don’t need to worry. I’m just a scapegoat that Yin Bitong picked out on a whim. If you kill me, Yin Bitong will not say a word.”
Yin Zhangzhang stared intently at Shui Wu'er, bit his lip, and suddenly sheathed the dagger with his other hand.
I won't kill you.
Shui Wu'er was somewhat disappointed: "Why are you all like this? Is your reputation for killing without blinking an eye just a lie?"
Yin Zhangzhang sneered, "You woman, so you really aren't afraid of death. Hmph, I'm not killing you because I'm afraid of Yin Bitong. I just feel that killing you would be falling into your trap. This old lady hates falling into other people's traps the most!"
Shui Wu'er shook her head with amusement.
Yin Zhangzhang's expression changed very quickly. He snatched the roasted field mouse from Shui Wu'er's hand and said while eating, "What song were you singing just now? I just heard someone sing the exact same song yesterday. It was really beautiful. Teach me too."
Shui Wu'er didn't even look at her: "Didn't you go to kill Shi Mansi? Did you succeed?"
Mr. Yin's eyes widened: "Yin Bitong even told you this?"
Shui Wu'er muttered to herself, "Of course they didn't succeed in killing them, otherwise they would have started shouting already."
"Sui Wu'er, do you really think I'm afraid of you?!"
"Sigh, I'm afraid you've suffered a loss at their hands. I've heard that Shi Mansi has many capable people around her, any one of whom could easily beat some people to a pulp."
"..." Yin Zhangzhang felt that she really couldn't stand it anymore. Today she was going to beat this woman surnamed Shui to a pulp.
She gripped the dagger hilt, then released it. Suddenly, she chuckled, "Shui Wu'er, even if I don't kill you, I can still make you wish you were dead!"
"Oh?" Shui Wu'er cooperated by feigning curiosity.
Mr. Yin chuckled sinisterly.
Shi Mansi herself wasn't difficult to deal with; the real challenge was the cold-faced beast in black beside her. That man was impervious to both soft and hard tactics, and he'd attack anyone who wasn't a stranger, causing her to suffer a great loss! Hmph, she refused to believe that Shui Wu'er could be so eloquent in front of that Cen Lu! She would make Shui Wu'er taste the bitter pill she had suffered tenfold, a hundredfold.
And so, Shui Wu'er fainted with great anticipation.
Chapter Six: Why Bother with Idle Thoughts of the Past (Part One)
A dark shadow drifted into the lush shade of the Yin mansion, as eerie as a ghost.
He lightly touched several ancient pine trees in the courtyard and gracefully landed at the door of a side room.
The courtyard was eerily quiet, with a dim candlelight emanating from the side room. The man in black ripped a hole in the paper window to make sure everyone inside was asleep before deftly pushing open the door and slipping inside.
A woman dressed as a maidservant was kneeling by the bedside, while the woman lying asleep on the bed was none other than the legendary Lady Yun, who had just awakened. Her face was radiant and dignified, as pure and elegant as a peony bathed in snow.
The newcomer extended a finger and silently pressed it against the maid's vital point. Her body went limp, and she lost her breath. Then, he turned to Madam Yun, intending to do the same, but hesitated for a moment, letting out a barely audible sigh. After a while, he muttered something to himself, then mercilessly delivered the fatal blow.
Just as the man in black's fingers were about to touch Madam Yun's body, a hand that appeared out of nowhere accurately grabbed his wrist, and force instantly flowed into his meridians.
He cried out in pain, breaking free of his restraints and leaping back ten feet. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the one who had just subdued him was the maid he thought was dead.
No, not a maid! This person has disheveled hair, a tall stature, and deep-set features. His face still carries a hint of irritability and dissatisfaction; he is clearly a man!
We've fallen for their trap!
The man in black was terrified. Ignoring Madam Yun's reaction, he turned and smashed the window to leave.
The disguised maid didn't chase after them. She frowned and shouted, "For someone like this, you actually made me, the Iron-Clad Young Master, dress up as a woman! Brother, you owe me one!"
He swaggered out of the room and, as expected, saw that Baili Qingyi and Baili Hanyi, who were waiting outside, had subdued the man in black. At that moment, he was seriously injured in the shoulder, and a large patch of crimson blood was spreading rapidly.
Baili Qingyi smiled and said, "Third brother has delicate features, so it would be more believable if he dressed up as a woman."
Baili Tieyi snorted coldly, intending to say: You try dressing up as one, it will definitely be more believable. However, thinking of his respected elder brother dressed as a woman, he could only accept his bad luck: "In short, I am born to be a busybody. The injured little beggar is assigned to me, and the job of dressing up as a woman is assigned to me as well."
Even if his elder brother is handsome, and the upright and righteous young man in blue robes transforms into a delicate and beautiful woman, can he still look good?
Baili Hanyi squatted down with his usual friendly smile: "Tell me, who sent you?"
The man in black stared blankly at Baili Qingyi: "No, it's impossible, you should be right now..." Her voice was clear and melodious; this assassin was actually a woman!
"At the Yan residence, is that right? It's quite remarkable that you knew Yan Xundao invited me to the banquet, but you couldn't have predicted that I would leave halfway through." Baili Qingyi did not step forward to remove her veil, because he already knew what kind of face was behind the veil.
"But..." The man in black was about to ask another question, but Baili Tieyi had already become impatient. He stepped forward and lifted the man in black's veil with one hand, revealing a face as cold and jade-like as jade. He couldn't help but be stunned.
A person with such a face should not have blood on their hands.
Knowing that the situation was hopeless, the man in black smiled bitterly: "The young master in green spared me the first time, but he certainly won't spare me a second time, will he?"
That face was clearly that of Cui Shenghan, the most beautiful courtesan from the Jue Se Lou (Peerless Beauty Pavilion) back then.
Baili Hanyi looked at Baili Qingyi suspiciously, and then said, "Miss, please tell me the name of the person who sent you here."
She gave another bitter smile: "Young Master in blue should know that someone like me, who takes money to solve problems for others, will not know the name of the customer."
"Then, Miss Cui, do you know whether the person who hired you to kill is male or female, how old they are, and what they look like?"
Cui Sheng's cold eyes showed a struggle: "I don't know if he is a man or a woman, how old he is, or what he looks like."
Baili Qingyi's eyes turned slightly cold: "Then who taught you the acupressure technique you used in the room just now?"
Cui Shenghan stared at him in horror: "It's...it's that person. How did you guess, Young Master in blue?"
Baili Tieyi angrily said, "This woman is so talkative. Tell the truth quickly, or you'll suffer."
“Young Master Ironclad, you may simply kill me.” Cui Shenghan tilted her beautiful neck back, her skin glowing a deathly pale light in the moonlight. The “Traceless” assassins, when carrying out any mission, must be prepared to die.