A Wandering Youth

Chapter 58

31.Old friend

In the warm spring of March, when grasses grow and orioles sing, Yangzhou is in the season of misty willows and apricot blossoms in spring rain. Plum and willow trees cross the river, and the sunlight has turned the duckweed green; the Jiangnan region is also a scene of magnificent spring. It is said that time is the panacea for all wounds, and this irrefutable truth is first proven in Cheng Xiang, for at this moment she sits in the Luoying Pavilion in Yangzhou, smilingly facing the indifferent and lonely triumph.

As the old saying goes, "In the third month of spring, one goes down to Yangzhou in the fireworks," and the beauty of Yangzhou needs no further explanation. Just looking at the first building in Yangzhou, with its falling petals and fragrant paths, is enough to make one sigh with admiration. It is as if all the beautiful scenery in the world is here. However, the lonely triumphant man sitting by the window is still quietly surrounded by the colorful background. His handsome face is like a willow with light smoke, and his expression is reserved and indifferent.

“I know you’re unhappy because Chu Yi avoided you again.” Cheng Xiang looked at his face and slowly began to speak: “For the past month, she has been sending Wu Sanshou to Chu Xuan’s place to treat her injuries, set Ruan Ruan’s leg bone, and given you acupuncture to dispel your coldness. She’s been so busy that she hasn’t had a single day to spend with you in private. Now she has left Luoying Pavilion in a hurry, and no one knows where she went.”

Lonely Triumph's gaze wasn't fixed on any particular place; he simply looked ahead: "No, from the day we left the Ye residence, we stayed together the whole time."

Cheng Xiang's face darkened, but she still smiled and said, "What made you reminisce so much?"

Gu Du Kaixuan lowered his eyes and thought carefully before telling Cheng Xiang about the time he spent with Leng Shuangcheng.

At midday, Leng Shuangcheng, Wu Sanshou, and Gu Dukaixuan left the Ye residence. The Bian River Rainbow Bridge was teeming with people, shoulder to shoulder. The Imperial Street of Tokyo was bustling with activity, a constant flow of carriages and horses. Leng Shuangcheng, holding Wu Sanshou's hand, walked ahead like an excited child rushing to buy candied hawthorns. Gu Dukaixuan followed leisurely, his gaze fixed on the figure in blue.

"Young master, aren't you going back?" Leng Shuangcheng turned around and asked.

Lonely Triumph coughed lightly and walked up: "We've been apart for long enough this past year. I've thought it through. Since it's so difficult to see you again, I'll stick with you as much as possible. You don't need to pay attention to me; it's enough that I can see you."

Leng Shuangcheng was somewhat caught off guard by Lonely Triumph's directness and persistence. After calming down, she said, "Young Master, Princess Changping is my benefactor. Even for her sake, I will not get entangled with you any further."

Leng Shuangcheng's words were quite direct, and it was the first time she had expressed her determination in front of Gu Dukaixuan. However, Gu Dukaixuan seemed not to hear her, took a sugar figurine from the side, and held it out: "Take it, be happy."

Leng Shuangcheng looked at the eccentric and lonely Kaze, sighed inwardly, and smiled as if breaking through ice: "I thank you on behalf of Wu Duo, young master."

Lonely Triumph gazed at her face and said softly, "I have a few questions for you."

"Young master, please."

Lonely Triumph's gaze lingered on Leng Shuangcheng for a long time before he asked, "Where are the two coats I gave you?"

Leng Shuangcheng slowed her pace, recalling the past, and felt somewhat surprised and suspicious: Why did the two young masters like to focus on her clothes and accessories?

"I can tell just by looking at you." Lonely Triumph's eyes darkened slightly: "Nine times out of ten, you've just left it aside and ignored it."

Leng Shuangcheng gave an awkward laugh.

"You didn't even glance at Young Master Bixie from beginning to end, and you left so resolutely. What is the reason for this?"

Leng Shuangcheng's heart sank, and he thought to himself, "They're here." Then he smiled bitterly and said, "Some things are unpredictable... For example, the fatal wounds of the two Seven Stars who died suddenly a few days ago were the same as those on Young Master Qiuye's body. I deduced that the secret weapon must be incredibly powerful. Since even Young Master Qiuye couldn't avoid it, you can imagine what happened to those two..."

"So you want to investigate this matter for Young Master Bixie?"

Lonely Triumph remembered that Leng Shuangcheng's eyelids would always twitch when she mentioned the name "Nan Jingqi" before. Now, he stared at her face nervously, but Leng Shuangcheng's expression remained normal, and he couldn't tell that there was anything unusual about her when she said "Young Master Qiuye".

"Not entirely, I have other very important things to do."

What is so important that you can't stop for even a moment?

Leng Shuangcheng smiled slightly and changed the subject: "Before I leave, I have to see someone."

"who?"

"Nan Jingqi".

This time, Lonely Triumph noticed Leng Shuangcheng's expression, because she seemed more natural and composed than when she mentioned Qiu Ye. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Even though she had evaded the question earlier and only used an analogy, given her cautious nature, she did treat the three of them differently.

Leng Shuangcheng noticed that the person behind her hadn't followed and turned around in surprise. Dugu Kaixuan, dressed in a sky-blue brocade robe, stood calmly amidst the bustling crowd, his handsome figure extremely conspicuous. He was like a graceful leaf drifting on a babbling brook, elegantly swirling, its melody echoing the flowing water: "In that case, I must follow you even more."

The name "Inn" was indeed fitting. At the end of a winding, shabby alley stood a wooden house leaning precariously, with a dilapidated piece of black wood hanging crookedly on the fence gate. It didn't look much better than the inn.

However, the owner of this inn is said to be surnamed "Jin," the Jin of Jinzi, who is the richest man in Bianjing and is known as Old Jin.

When Leng Shuangcheng entered, there were two people engrossed in a game of chess in the courtyard. They didn't even look up when they heard her footsteps. One of them was probably Old Jin, the innkeeper. She looked closely at the other one and saw his handsome profile, dressed in white robes and wearing a jade crown. He was none other than the young man she had bumped into Zhao Yingcheng on the Zhou Bridge that night during the Lantern Festival.

When Leng Shuangcheng saw the Go board, her eyes lit up, and she quickly went over to it, seemingly throwing all her worries and troubles to the winds. Of course, she also saw clearly that the Go board was actually just a broken board with several gaps in the corners, and what's worse, the table was actually a water vat with a hole in it.

The young man in white carefully avoided a hole and placed his white piece: "You lost again, Old Jin."

Old Jin yelled and grabbed his hand as he was about to put the piece down: "That doesn't count, that doesn't count, let's play another round."

"A guest has arrived." He smiled slightly, his gaze sweeping over Leng Shuangcheng. "And the person I've been waiting for has also arrived."

Leng Shuangcheng was startled and looked up from the chessboard, asking, "Young Master knew I was coming? Could you perhaps be Yuwen Xiaobai?" Nan Jingqi had mentioned that to find him, one had to go through Yuwen Xiaobai at an inn, which was why Leng Shuangcheng was so certain.

“Without a doubt, I am the third son of the Yuwen family of Lingnan, named Yuwen Xiaobai.” Yuwen Xiaobai stood up and bowed to the three of them. “I have been looking for you, Miss Leng.”

Lonely Triumph's gaze immediately focused on Yuwen Xiaobai's face.

Leng Shuangcheng reached out and touched her face. She was indeed a little surprised. There were several people, including Yuwen Xiaobai and Nan Jingqi, looking for her. Could it be that a great change had occurred in the martial arts world in the past year, or that she had become so famous that everyone on the street knew her now?

The young man in white slightly curled the corners of his mouth, his smile as pure as water: "You may be surprised that I know so much about you. Actually, this was not told to me by General Nan, but by my grandfather. In addition to protecting Young Master Nan, I was also instructed to find a young woman who knows the Parting Sword Technique. Her name is Leng Shuangcheng."

Leng Shuangcheng moved, staring intently at Yuwen Xiaobai's face. Yuwen Xiaobai had a handsome face and a childlike, innocent smile that instantly made people feel close to him. Moreover, every time he smiled, a very nice dimple would appear at the corner of his lips.

"Why does the esteemed young master seek me out?"

"Because Grandpa said he once owed you a favor and asked me to do something for you." Yuwen Xiaobai asked with a smile, "Miss Leng, is there anything you want me to do?"

Leng Shuangcheng looked at his innocent, childlike smile, her body trembling slightly, for she had already recognized him. Lingnan, located in the southern part of Jingxiang Kingdom, was the foremost of the five elements of the land's gateway. Apart from Nan Jingqi, only one other person knew the secret of her past life—Senior Medicine King.

Yuwen Xiaobai turned out to be Yang Wan, whom she found kind and respectable.

Leng Shuangcheng gazed at the radiant, peach-blossom-like smile before her. The icy stillness in her heart seemed to melt away, a tremor rising from her very core to her fingertips. She stared intently at the smiling Yuwen Xiaobai, then grasped his hand in return, choking back tears, unable to speak. After a long while, she lowered her head and leaned on Yuwen Xiaobai's shoulder, her voice trembling with sorrow: "Finally, I've seen you… I've been looking for you all this time."

Yuwen Xiaobai asked in surprise, "You're looking for me too, young lady? Do you and Grandpa really have an agreement?"

"Yes." Leng Shuangcheng was still sobbing uncontrollably, and said in a choked voice, "Can you call me Shuangcheng? I'll call you Xiaobai."

The silent Lonely Triumph stepped forward, stripped Leng Shuangcheng of her body, and pulled her several feet away from the astonished Yuwen Xiaobai: "Chu Yi, why are you crying?"

Lonely Triumph led Leng Shuangcheng to a tree and looked at her calmly. Yuwen Xiaobai curiously tilted his head to look at Wu Sanshou. Perhaps it was the first time he had seen such a tall and imposing scholar, who was blankly holding a sugar figurine in his hand.

“Young Master, Xiao Bai is an old friend of ours.” Leng Shuangcheng’s voice trembled with tears in it.

“That wouldn’t make you act this strangely.” Lonely Triumph looked into her eyes and said calmly, “I know you’re taking this opportunity to vent. Are you feeling better now?”

Leng Shuangcheng remained silent. Gu Dukaixuan slowly reached out to wipe her eyelids, but she deftly avoided it.

“Yuwen Xiaobai is Yang Wan.” Leng Shuangcheng pondered for a long time before raising his head to announce this secret.

Gu Du Kaixuan was startled and hesitated before saying, "So it's true... Zhao Yingcheng never believed that Yang Wan was dead and searched for her for a whole year."

"Why are you still looking for her? The Yang family case is closed. Do you want to kill her again?"

“I don’t know either. He kept me under house arrest for a year in order to get information about Yang Wan, but he treated me well. However, I always believed that Yang Wan was dead, so I couldn’t explain anything.”

Leng Shuangcheng said somewhat desolately, "I just took her pulse. The cold poison in her body is under control with medication, but it seems that she has lost her memory. Senior Medicine King has painstakingly arranged this identity for her, which is not necessarily a bad thing. We should keep her past a secret and not let her fall into Zhao Yingcheng's hands again."

"First year of junior high, tell me the truth, what other things are there that I don't know?"

Since Leng Shuangcheng had previously believed in the camaraderie between Gu Dukaixuan and Yang Wan, she no longer concealed anything and told them everything, including her background. She remained silent about her own entanglements and thoughts, as she was not good at expressing her emotions in front of others.

Lonely Triumph stood there for a long time. The tree rustled a few times in the wind, and many leaves fell. He seemed oblivious, letting the leaves fall on his black hair and body, as if he were a rock standing by the sea, waiting for his husband. His face, bathed in sunlight, was so handsome and slender. The lush green shadows of the tree concealed his body, so that Leng Shuangcheng could only see the determination in his eyes and the emotion mixed with pity.

"Why didn't I take you with me when we arrived in Youzhou? Otherwise, I could have reduced some of your setbacks and suffering!" He remained silent for a long time before finally closing his eyes and speaking slowly.

"And then you broke up?" Cheng Xiang asked, her voice steady, after listening to Gu Du Kaixuan's account.

"Yes, it is said that Xiaobai took her to see Young Master Nan, but she asked me to send Wu Sanshou to Yangzhou first." Due to Leng Shuangcheng's previous instructions, Gu Dukaixuan did not reveal Yuwen Xiaobai's secret.

“I understand now.” Cheng Xiang sighed. “When she left the Ye residence that day, she asked me to visit Luoying Pavilion in Yangzhou when I had time. It turns out she was trying to bring us together.”

Lonely Triumph shut his mouth and fell silent again.

Cheng Xiang stretched out her fair wrist to support her head, and then suddenly said in a low voice, "She clearly heard about all the major events that have happened in the martial arts world in the past month, but she was like a block of wood, and didn't react at all when tested."

The most talked-about news in Yangzhou's teahouses and taverns was the most important event: Prince Qiuye had been betrothed to Princess Linghui, who was the emperor's favorite, and a grand wedding ceremony would be held after the New Year next year.

"After the deaths of Elder Mu and Young Master Qingxi of the Seven Stars, several other famous figures in the martial arts world have been ambushed. What are your thoughts on this?" Lonely Triumph asked thoughtfully, seemingly oblivious to Cheng Xiang's forlorn tone.

Cheng Xiang scoffed, "What could I possibly think? What I'm most curious about is where Chu Yi went? What is she thinking?"

Seeing that she ignored the topic he brought up, Lonely Triumph shut his mouth again.

Cheng Xiang propped her head up for a moment, seemingly deep in thought: "I subtly asked her if Qiu Ye really had amnesia, and she calmly said, 'I accidentally ate daylily before, and it did indeed erase all memories of my past life.' Judging from her expression, she didn't seem to be making things up... I also learned that Qiu Ye had previously taken 'Forget-Me-Not Powder,' so I somewhat believe that he has truly forgotten his past."

Cheng Xiang stood up, took a few steps back, and said, "This month, the fortune teller has entrusted Ling Hui to follow him closely. It is extremely difficult for me to meet him in private. An Jie, the three elders, and Yin Guang have all been placed by the fortune teller in the Ye family mansion in Kaifeng to await orders, so I have not been able to find out any information."

"There's no need to speculate anymore. Young Master Bixie has truly lost his memory," said Lonely Triumph, frowning as he watched Cheng Xiang pacing back and forth.

How did you know?

"I'm a man too, how could I not know?" Lonely Triumph said calmly.

Cheng Xiang looked up, surprised, at Gu Du Kaixuan. Gu Du Kaixuan turned his gaze to the window and said, "Today is the birthday ceremony of Prince Qiuye. Yangzhou will set off colorful fireworks tonight to celebrate. If you still don't believe me, just go and see who's standing next to him."

Cheng Xiang walked out of the house in a daze, muttering to herself all the way, her expression shifting between light and dark: "Am I just asking for trouble? Logically speaking, everything would be fine if Linghui married that devil, so why am I still holding onto this?"

The wind was unsettled, and all was quiet. The air was filled with the fragrance of fallen petals from the embroidered pavilion. A young girl in white hurried along the path, her face showing undisguised surprise. Seeing Cheng Xiang deep in thought, she exclaimed with delight, "It's so good to have someone I can talk to!"

Cheng Xiang looked up, glanced at her, and asked, "Ruan Ruan, what happened?"

“Mr. Wu is missing.” Ruan Ruan took a slight breath and opened her doe-like eyes wide as she said, “I went to serve him tea as usual and found his window open and his usual books on the table, but he was nowhere to be seen.”

32. Genius Xiaobai

After the rain, a high mist hangs in the air, the sky is like a white silk ribbon, the misty path brushes against the flowers, and the warbling of orioles is chaotic. This is the ultimate beauty of Yangzhou, the dreamlike city, a magnificent scene that is hard to describe in books. Wu Sanshou, as a scholar who likes to indulge in refined pursuits, often says that "it is rare to see something like this even if you have heard about it a hundred times." He would naturally seize the opportunity to appreciate it, but he doesn't seem very happy.

"Young Master Yuwen, can't you visit me in person like a normal person?" Wu Sanshou asked with a stern face.

Yuwen Xiaobai chuckled: "Don't be angry, sir. You'll be overjoyed when you see the silver later."

"What silver?" Wu Sanshou asked blankly, even someone as quick-witted as him couldn't keep up with Yuwen Xiaobai's changing thoughts.

Yuwen Xiaobai stood on the willow embankment, his figure as graceful as a willow by the water, his waist elegant and handsome, barely able to hold up his clothes: "Sir, you may not know this, but after this matter is accomplished, it will earn a lot of money, and it will also require your skillful assistance. Otherwise, with Xiaobai's audacity, how could Xiaobai dare to have even the slightest idea about Shuangcheng's esteemed disciple?"

Wu Sanshou had met Yuwen Xiaobai before and knew that his master trusted him greatly. Perhaps it was because of the saying "love me, love my dog," he didn't pay much attention to Yuwen Xiaobai's rudeness. After hearing the words that warmed his heart, he said "Oh" and then said reservedly, "What is it that I can't do without? Tell me."

"Are you going to do it or not, sir?" Yuwen Xiaobai asked with a smile. "The matter is a bit tricky, but the reward is one thousand taels of silver. I also have a young master here as an assistant. If you participate, you can get one-third of the shares."

Wu Sanshou pondered for a moment, then answered firmly, "Do it!"