A Wandering Youth

Chapter 7

"Is that right, Young Master Nie?"

Ruan Si was startled and looked closely. There was a figure standing swaying under the poplar tree outside the window.

The visitor coughed lightly a few times: "Well said, first day of the month."

Ruan Sigang also saw the sick young master standing under the tree. As soon as he finished speaking, he somehow came to the window.

"It's windy outside, please come in, young master."

The sickly young master floated in like a piece of paper. His skin was deathly pale, yet in the pitch-black night, it seemed to gleam with an eerie, cold light. His gaze remained fixed on Chu Yi's face: "Chu Yi, who do you think I'm warning?"

“That is precisely what I don’t understand. I have only made some slight speculations about the affairs of the martial world. Please enlighten me on the rest of what I don’t understand.”

The sickly young master's lips twitched slightly, his gaze fixed on Chu Yi's eyes.

"On October 10th, I received a message from the Lord of Lonely Town, asking me to meet at Azure Dragon in ten days to organize the escort of a box."

"With your abilities, young master, escorting the box would be a piece of cake. But why did you keep making noises to warn the assassins along the way?"

"I will act in accordance with the town lord's wishes."

Nie Wuyou looked at the young man in blue before him, his expression calm, his eyes clear and unwavering. His smile deepened.

8. Box

Chu Yi lowered his eyelids, appearing dull and calm, but several thoughts were rapidly turning in his mind.

This is like a gamble for me, to see if the Ruan Si I recognize is trustworthy; there are two groups of men in black involved in today's melee, each with different motives; this sickly young master, whose smile is more cunning than a fox's, coughed during the day, attracting the constant assassination attempts of the men in black, as if he was worried that others wouldn't know the whereabouts of the box, and even his words couldn't be completely trusted; the Lonely Town Lord seems to run his business independently, but he has countless connections with the Evil-Repelling Manor...

The sick young master coughed lightly, his face still smiling: "Chu Yi, rest well. I witnessed Chu Yi's skills for the first time today, and they are truly unfathomable. It's safer for me to stay with Chu Yi..." His voice gradually softened, and he fell down, floating lightly onto the bed where Chu Yi had been resting.

Chu Yi pursed his lips noncommittally, leaning back quietly in his chair. "This fox was afraid that Xiao Si wouldn't be able to keep an eye on me, so he actually came in person."

In the darkness, Ruan Si suddenly spoke: "Young Master Nie, why did the Tang Clan kill the previous group of people today?"

This is also something that Chu Yi didn't understand. It's a pity that Nie Wuyou changed the subject and refused to answer. It seems that Xiao Si couldn't hold back and asked earlier.

"They originally intended to kill everything by using whistles to drive away the snakes, but after the fire, the Lonely Town Lord invited a little girl, and that little girl was incredibly powerful."

The sickly young master, with his hands behind his back, spoke calmly, a slight smile playing on his lips, his gaze glancing almost imperceptibly at Chu Yi.

"Who is that girl?"

"I don't know," Nie Wuyou answered readily.

Chu Yi recalled Yang Wan's superb lightness skill and agile swordsmanship, which were indeed not the routine he was familiar with, and Nie Wuyou did not need to tell him everything truthfully.

"He is no ordinary person, so why is he not mentioned in any of the classic texts of the martial arts world?"

The sick young master chuckled softly: "In these turbulent and chaotic times, heroes are rising up and masters are everywhere. People who were originally living in seclusion in the mountains have all come out to protect themselves amidst the flames of war."

"Is this the reason why the young master appeared?" Chu Yi, who had been silent until now, interjected.

"Chu Yi is really cautious in his words and actions. He doesn't speak at all, but once he does, he starts probing questions."

Chu Yi smiled slightly after hearing this, all his smiles turning to his face, only the corners of his lips subtly curving upwards: "It's alright if you don't want to say, young master."

"It's very simple, Xiao Si. You, me, everyone I know or don't know who's here has a reason." The sickly young master's gaze shifted slightly, landing on Chu Yi's face. "Why did Chu Yi come here?"

Chu Yi lowered his head and pondered for a moment, realizing that it would not be easy to dispel the doubts of these two people.

"It's fine not to mention it on the first day of the lunar new year."

"I am a superfluous person, and I am not worth dying for. I only ask to die knowing why."

Nie Wuyou and Ruan Si both looked up at the young man in blue before them. His body remained motionless in the evening breeze, his hair was gently swaying, and his face was uniformly calm, but his voice contained boundless weariness and disgust.

A strong wind howled past the window, and there were even faint sounds of fighting mixed in.

Chu Yi remained motionless, sitting quietly by the window. Since Chu Yi was still, Ruan Si naturally didn't move either. Then, looking at the sick young master Nie Wuyou, he simply closed his eyes and lay down comfortably.

The room fell silent. The three men remained calm, but Old Master Zhao in the left courtyard was frantic: "Are they all dead? Someone go check on them!" No one answered. The sounds of fighting gradually moved to the village entrance where Chu Yi and the others were staying.

"Little Four!" Master Zhao roared.

Ruan Si silently got up and slowly walked towards the door.

After a long while, Ruan Si slowly returned, and Zhao Laoye's voice was no longer heard.

Ruan Si stood at the doorway, looking at the two people sitting and lying inside. "Don't you care what happened?" he coldly glanced at the air.

"The box is fine," the sickly young master, who seemed to be asleep, replied indifferently.

What's inside the box?

Nie Wuyou resumed her posture of closing her eyes to rest.

"Yu Xue led dozens of people and stole the Green Feather Whip." Ruan Si used these few words to describe what had just happened.

In contrast to Chu Yi's silence, Nie Wuyou immediately stood up and looked directly at Ruan Si: "Where is the Dragon Pattern Sword?"

Ruan Si suddenly shut his mouth as well.

"A major event occurred in the martial world a few months ago. Are you two aware of it?" Nie Wuyou suddenly asked.

“We’ve always been overseas and have never heard of it,” Chu Yi answered on behalf of Ruan Si.

"Young Master Bixie, along with Zhuge, the successor of the Medicine King, the Divine Calculator, Shadow Leng Qi, Silver Light Young Master, and a group of ten, massacred the Tang Clan."

"In that battle, the Tang Clan's poison was ineffective. The disciples were all tortured to death by the young master Bixie, who dislocated their meridians and broken their bones. The century-old Tang Clan was destroyed in an instant, leaving no successor. After the battle, the cruel and evil young master Qiuye was so terrifying that people were terrified. All of this was for the Tang Clan's treasure, the 'Glazed Fire'."

"Glassy Fire?" Chu Yi repeated softly.

"Small and light as a raindrop, it is incredibly powerful when detonated. The explosion is continuous and the surrounding area is razed to the ground. Its colors are extremely beautiful, like the top of a glass tower in the sky, hence the name Glass Fire."

Nie Wuyou seemed to have guessed what Chu Yi was thinking, and continued calmly, "The box contains the Glazed Fire." In an instant, Ruan Si was stunned, while Chu Yi remained seated calmly in his chair. He also seemed to gradually understand a thought: why had this unremarkable-looking boy, Chu Yi, attracted his attention? Not only that, but the people from the Bixie Sect had also been keeping a close eye on him.

It was his composure and quietness, his restrained and imperceptible aura, that made him so calm that he was easily overlooked.

Ruan Si looked at Nie Wuyou, still unable to recover from the shock. He suddenly remembered Chu Yi's question earlier: Ruan Si, why did you come here? The tone of that question was more of a sigh than a question.

It turns out that Chu Yi had already understood the treacherous nature of Bixie Manor, which treated human life with contempt.

Even though he didn't know exactly what was in the box, he carefully lifted it, avoiding the grass, without grabbing or kicking, which showed how cautious he was.

This man is so quiet and intelligent, no wonder Master Zhao always wanted me to accompany him and keep a close eye on him.

Ruan Si remained silent for a long time, then looked at Chu Yi with a slight glint in his eyes: Was this person truly confident or, as he said, not worth the thought of dying?

Before Ruan Si could remain silent, Nie Wuyou spoke slowly and deliberately: "Dragon Pattern Sword."

"Young Master Xue's men attacked the end of Qingshui Village in three groups, but were repelled by Qingyu Whip in the courtyard and the people of Qinglong Town who rushed to the scene. Young Master Xue suddenly struck Qingyu with his sword, grabbing him along with the brocade box behind him. The little girl and the boy surnamed Yang were entangled, and Shadow Leng Qi suddenly appeared and snatched the brocade box in mid-air. Young Master Xue then swept away Qingyu, leaving only the corpses of the two groups behind. The Dragon Pattern Sword is still inside the brocade box and is now in Leng Qi's hands."

“It seems Leng Qi has been staying with the group all along; he hasn’t left these past few days.” Chu Yi looked at Ruan Si. “He’s been watching us the whole time.”

"I wonder why the Lonely Town Lord didn't come to escort them personally?" Ruan Si was also speculating about the purpose of the group.

Chu Yi looked at Nie Wuyou's indifferent and happy smile and said calmly, "No, I'm afraid the Lonely Town Lord is also here."

After a day and a night of fierce fighting, the first-year students were probably thinking the same thing: this endless battle is unlikely to stop.

Everyone performed their duties diligently, acting as if walking on thin ice.

No one knew who lived next door, whether it was of any benefit to them, or the purpose of the mission; they could only speculate on some clues.

For example, Zhao Qian, the head of the Changfeng Escort Agency, gradually became impatient to leave after losing six of his agents during the night.

A strong wind blew all night, causing the escort flags to sway wildly. A thin layer of yellow dust settled on the Changfeng Escort Agency's wagons, but Zhao Qian didn't care at all. In the early morning, while everyone was asleep, he called on the remaining men to secretly set off.

Qian Er, one of the underlings, straightened up from his crouching position after everyone had gone quite a distance and praised the deputy head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) profusely: "The head镖师 is so thoughtful, he wrapped the horses and cart wheels with yellow grass, making them walk more smoothly."

Zhao Qian seemed preoccupied, but still bent over and strode forward, saying, "Hurry up, hurry up. We haven't left the foothills of Qingshui Mountain yet."

As dawn broke, the desolate village walls along the roadside were tinged with a cold and gloomy hue, stretching out into the distance. In the distance, the autumn waters were sparse, the cold mountains were desolate, and the obscure forests were silent.

"Tang Shiyi, do you think you can escape?"

Hearing the bleak and cold voice echoing eerily in the morning forest, the members of Changfeng Escort Agency all showed expressions of terror.

A dark shadow hovered lightly on a poplar branch.

His dark eyes gleamed with a sharp, cold light, narrowed slightly, and combined with his pale face, conveyed an indescribable sense of sarcasm and mockery.

Qian Er looked up at the handsome young man who resembled a demon from hell, swallowed hard, and mustered his courage to ask, "Who are you? Why are you blocking our Changfeng Escort Agency?"

The boy in black revealed that mocking smile again.

"Leave the box, and leave the person behind," he said coldly.

"What box?" Qian Er looked around and saw that everyone looked confused, while the only head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) Zhao Qian kept his head down and remained silent.

A sharp rustling sound came from the woods, like the wind blowing through the broken wood and bushes. As the sound of the wind subsided, the bodyguards around the caravan had disappeared.

Zhao Qian reacted swiftly, his tall frame leaping into the air, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Just now, in that gust of wind, countless tiny, barely perceptible spider webs stretched out from the forest, the grass, and the ground. Like spiders snatching food, the bodies that were caught were dragged into the shadows before they could even groan.

As Zhao Qianpu moved, a short melody slowly flowed from the boy's lips in the tree. Zhao Qianpu shifted his position several times in the air, and upon hearing this flute music, he suddenly fell heavily to the ground. Anger, fear, and hatred surged into his eyes in an instant, like a trapped beast howling in a net.

The boy standing on the tree branch didn't move an inch; only his clothes fluttered gently in the changing light of dawn and dusk.

Zhao Qian's bloodthirsty face gradually twisted: "Leng Qi, you're quite cunning, quite..."

Leng Qi stared coldly at the body lying prostrate on the ground, his voice devoid of any warmth.

"Tang Shiyi, how does the Blood Gu taste? I don't need to lift a finger to kill you."

Zhao Qian felt as if his internal organs were on fire, and the rising heat in his blood made him suffer unbearable pain. He struggled to control his curled-up body and asked in a trembling voice, "How did you know I was Tang Shiyi?"

“Your figure, voice, martial arts, and preferences are all flawless. After the Tang Clan incident, you actually managed to infiltrate the Changfeng Escort Agency to launch a counterattack. How could the young master not know about Tang Wu, Tang Qi, Tang Shiyi, the Twin Tang Sticks, and others who escaped? A single box could lure you all out and capture you all in one fell swoop!” A cold glint flashed in Leng Qi’s dark eyes. “Yesterday, Li Jingtang’s former subordinates disguised themselves as men in black and attacked. Your Tang Clan disciples followed and attacked from both sides, aiming to find the Glazed Fire and steal the box. But you overlooked one thing.”

Zhao Qian's face twitched and contorted in immense pain. He roared hoarsely, "What is it?"

Leng Qi's mocking and indifferent smile reappeared: "Yesterday you stood guard by the wooden box, but you couldn't hold on for more than thirteen moves before you showed signs of defeat. The real Zhao Qian could last at least twenty moves. You were too impatient, Tang Shiyi."

Zhao Qian, lying on the ground, had unfocused eyes and seemed to be gradually losing his mind. He lay prone, his back trembling slightly.

"The moment you let your guard down, the Tang Clan knew where the box was. And last night, Yu Xue launched a night attack, and you took advantage of the chaos to steal the box and try to send it out overnight. You didn't even glance at the corpse of the tragically killed镖师 (bodyguard/escort), which only proves that you are not Zhao Qian! Relying on the Tang Clan's ability to cure all poisons, you thought you could escape by switching the boxes? How could you have known that what you were given earlier was not poison but Miao Gu? This blood Gu dances upon hearing the sound, devouring the host's blood, and the toxins travel into the internal organs. You will die instantly."