A Wandering Youth

Chapter 20

"What stranger has arrived?"

"A dark-faced man and a young man in brocade robes."

“Go on.”

"The dark-faced man inquired about Cai Laojiu, who loved to drink, and the boy gambled for two and a half days before leaving."

"Who is Cai Laojiu?"

"He's a mud maker from Liujie, and Xiaotaohong's old flame."

"I suppose Cai Lao Jiu has been to the prefectural government on business?"

"Yes, build the mansion."

Qiu Yeyi's expression remained calm as she coldly stared at the sky. "As expected. Find this person and kill him."

While Old Zhang was still trembling, he suddenly heard the young man in front of him speak coldly: "Is that the young man you've been hiding the truth from?"

"No... young master, I didn't know what was going to happen..." Old Zhang cried out urgently, "Winning money during the day is a common occurrence in gambling dens..."

Qiu Yeyi raised her eyes, and Old Zhang almost bit his tongue, muttering something to himself.

Tell me the details about that boy.

"He was quite strange. He lost everything for two consecutive days, but on the third day, he actually won against Scholar Wu by spinning the wheel of fortune."

Who is Scholar Wu?

"He's been a regular at the gambling den for the past two weeks, and he's quite good at Pai Gow. But everyone thinks Pai Gow is too fast and only gambles on dice, which he often loses."

"The dominoes game that teenagers played?"

"The last game was Pai Gow; the previous games were dice."

Did you win the dice game too?

"Yes, they even overturned the gambling den's mainstay, Agu."

"Agu?"

“Agu’s hands are as small as a child’s, so we call him Agu—the dealer always wins every time the dice are rolled.”

"That young man defeated both Agu and Wu Xiucai?"

"Yes."

"Describe in detail what these three people look like."

21. Legend

Silver Light Young Master followed closely behind the young master, their figures coldly sweeping through one winding corridor after another, gradually heading towards the waterside pavilion in the back courtyard.

Yin Guang cautiously looked up at the young master's face, only to feel that amidst the swirling snowflakes, the young master's face was colder than the snow itself.

Snowflakes drifted down, but before they could reach the young master, they scattered into the cold wind.

The waterside pavilion was desolate and silent, with only a lonely gauze lantern swaying in the wind and snow.

"Young master, please forgive my impetuousness, but the three elders are still missing. Should we send someone to search for them?" Yin Guang stood with the young master in the snow for a long time before finally mustering the courage to ask.

"Guang, when Leng Qi made a mistake tonight, did you notice?" Qiu Yeyi asked instead of answering, her tone as cold as ever.

"No, Silver Light is powerless."

Qiu Ye, facing the wind and snow with his sword at his side, appeared cold and noble. In a direction unseen by the silver light, a cold smile curved his lips.

"Tonight, it was Yang Wan who assassinated Zhao, and Chu Yi who stole the sword."

Young Master Silver Light suddenly looked up at the figure of light behind him, his voice trembling and intense: "Young Master, how is this possible!"

Qiu Yeyi gazed at the night sky and said coldly, "Chu Yi is not dead."

"Why do you say that, young master?"

"In the martial world, how many people possess martial arts skills and agility so advanced that I didn't even notice them?"

Young Master Yinguang lowered his head and pondered.

"That gambling den boy was Chu Yi. He faked his death and stole the Dragon Pattern Sword."

“Silver Light has examined Chu Yi’s meridians, and indeed there are no meridians,” Young Master Silver Light said cautiously.

Qiu Yeyi turned around to face the silver light, her face devoid of any emotion.

"No one knows how he escaped my sword and Leng Qi's blood curse, but one thing is certain: as long as Chu Yi is alive, we will not let our guard down."

"Imagine someone who isn't even afraid of me, how could their expression change drastically upon seeing Leng Qi during the twelfth move?"

Yin Guang pondered for a while and realized that this was indeed the case.

"So this person has enough guts to test me." Qiu Yeyi said calmly and without any emotion. Suddenly, she raised her right hand, and a surging palm wind howled out. The ground, which looked like a crystal-clear moon, was ripped open with a deep and blinding ravine.

Yin Guang suddenly felt his eyelids twitch. He quickly composed himself and asked cautiously, "Young Master, what exactly is going on?"

Qiu Yeyi's chest rose and fell slightly as he stared into the air, his voice icy: "The gambler's skills are certainly superb, but without profound inner strength, he cannot control the force just right. Therefore, the one in the gambling den must be Chu Yi. Since I can figure out that I would go to a crowded place to inquire about information, Chu Yi must be doing the same."

"Chu Yi deliberately lost for two consecutive days, which must have been to find out who he needed help from. After hearing about Cai Lao Jiu's matter, he immediately deduced that someone would assassinate him in the prefecture that night, so he hid in a tree and waited for an opportunity to act. I forced Chu Yi to reveal his true form. As soon as he made a move to test my skills, he immediately came up with a plan. In terms of military strategy, it is called 'putting them in a desperate situation so that they can survive.'"

Qiu Yeyijian seemed to recall the scene from that time, her narrow phoenix eyes narrowed, revealing a hint of cold light.

"The most direct purpose of coming to the prefecture on the first day was to steal the sword. There were two obstacles before stealing the sword: first, the Dragon Pattern Sword had been in my hands for a long time, and second, Leng Qi's Gu sound control. He attacked with twelve swords in total, each move was desperate, how could he be afraid? When Leng Qi appeared, he achieved half of his goal. This person really dared to gamble his life, risking his life to take a sword strike that killed him, and then endured Leng Qi's Gu sound. He is truly courageous."

"After being seriously injured, he would definitely target someone close to me who wouldn't be on guard. So he went to Leng Qi, whom he knew quite well. Despite being seriously injured, he dared to disguise himself as Leng Qi and come to my room, stealing the Dragon Pattern Sword when I wasn't looking."

Qiu Yeyi's eyes narrowed, and he grinned maliciously, saying, "Well done, Chu Yi. After I've dealt with the battle at the ancient well, I'll come and meet you in person!"

Young Master Yin Guang was a little worried. What kind of person was this person who had provoked him time and time again?

The Silver Light Prince took a step closer and carefully shielded the young master from the snowflakes.

"Young master, there are still a few things that Yin Guang does not understand. I hope you can enlighten me."

"explain."

Where are the three elders now?

"He went to see the real Zhao Yingcheng."

Is the Cold Guard safe?

"yes."

"Where is Guard Leng?"

"Since it was Chu Yi who came, he must have been kidnapped and stripped of his clothes by Chu Yi."

Who are the other two people in the gambling den?

"Whose hands are the most valuable in the world today?"

“Du Bing, the ‘Miraculous Hands’; Tang Xiaoshou, the ‘Skillful Hands’; and Wu You, the ‘Divine Hands’.”

“Agu and Wu Xiucai are two of them.”

Silverlight looked at the young master in disbelief: "Their appearances are so different!"

Qiu Yeyi stared coldly at Xue Kong and slowly said, "The art of disguise."

"Is Agu the unparalleled Tang Xiaoshou? And is Wu Xiucai the 'gambling-without-life' Wu Sanshou?"

"One more thing, Tang Xiaoshou is Tang Jingtian's only daughter—Tang Qi."

One thing Qiu Yeyijian didn't expect was that Leng Qi, whose acupoints had been sealed by Chu Yi, was released on her own the next day and returned unharmed.

Leng Qi was filled with shame and could not speak. She knelt alone in the wind and snow, her face pale and motionless.

After kneeling for a whole day, Yin Guang carried Leng Qi into the house that evening and found that his whole body was frozen stiff.

Wu Sanshou never imagined that after drifting through life for over twenty years, he would find himself hiding in a mass grave with his young master, surrounded by swirling snow and littered with white bones.

Facing this master, with his pale face, dim eyes, and thin body, he didn't look like someone who had stolen the Dragon Pattern Sword from the hands of the ruthless young master of the Evil-Slaying Sect!

Wu Sanshou's suspicious gaze kept scrutinizing Chu Yi. How could Chu Yi not have noticed?

However, after Chu Yi felt the wound become particularly painful, he silently leaned against the tombstone, carefully considering what to say.

"Master..." Wu Sanshou couldn't help but speak when he saw Chu Yi open his eyes.

Chu Yi gritted her teeth and forced a smile: "I've dragged you into this."

Wu Sanshou's eyes widened: "When I went to buy dry rations this morning, I heard that a group of people had caused chaos in the prefectural capital..."

After hearing this, Chu Yi forced a smile and said nothing.

"You're that fearless first-year student?" Wu Sanshou stared intently at the first-year student for a few moments.

"Wu You, let me tell you a story."

"Please, Master."

First-year student silently watched the snowflakes, and calmly began to speak—

When I was very young, I was taken away by a wolf king and raised. I finally grew up to be eight years old. I got lost in the snow and was about to freeze to death when I met a kind young man. He had a clean face and a warm smile. He gave me the only coat he had to keep warm. He was so kind-hearted.

I was raised by my master, who taught me deadly swordsmanship and unparalleled medical skills. My master discovered my constitution was weak and prone to illness, so from a young age he kept me immersed in a vat of medicine, impervious to any beatings or bruises. To learn Mr. Zuo's gambling skills (note: they weren't curious because they assumed it wasn't necessarily taught by Mr. Zuo himself), I accepted a bet and, at eighteen, traversed the Minghai and Mobei alone. To save someone's life, I willingly drank the poison 'Heavenly Secret Divine Water'.

I killed repeatedly to avenge my family, and God is punishing me by making me atone for my sins.

I twice disobeyed the orders of the young master of the Evil-Slaying Sect, and Leng Qi activated the Gu poison in me. Before I went there, I secretly resolved to make the Gu poison take effect so that I would be spared from future troubles. As I had guessed, the blood Gu devoured my poisonous blood and was poisoned to death, while I survived by sheer luck.

I encountered a boy who looked exactly like my savior. I guessed the boy was a relative of my savior, and the longsword he was holding was proof of that. That boy was Nan Jingqi, and that sword was the Dragon Pattern Sword.

Wu San clenched his fists tightly, suppressing the urge to strangle Chu Yi. He stared at Chu Yi in disbelief: "You'd risk your life for a mere possibility? You'd throw your life away?"

Chu Yi lowered his eyelids and remained silent.