Asesino sin nombre

Capítulo 14

A tortoise was crawling on the deck, its shell clattering against the deck. As soon as it got close to the gunwale, the big fat rabbit would bite its tail and pull it back—this was a stupid tortoise; it couldn't retract its tail.

Wan Yuyue was hanging clothes out to dry. He couldn't see her, and she was the master of Biluo Palace, yet she hung the clothes out to dry very well.

He seems to be able to do everything perfectly, like fishing; even if he casts the wrong line, he can still catch a turtle.

"Awan, have you ever done anything ungentlemanly?" Shengxiang naturally didn't do anything. He changed into a pale yellow robe, leaned on the deck, and didn't care that his priceless clothes were being ruined so casually.

Wan Yuyue finished hanging the clothes out to dry, put away the basin containing the dried clothes, and groped to fold the clothes neatly. "No."

Shengxiang looked at him with interest. "What would you do if I tripped you up with a rope right now?" He glanced at the clothesline next to Wanyu Yuedan's feet, clearly having some bad intentions.

“Hmm…” Wan Yuyue thought for a moment, “The rope might be cut by the knife in my shoe.” He smiled and said in the gentlest and most amiable tone.

Shengxiang looked at his shoes with disappointment, "How much stuff are you carrying? Isn't it heavy?"

“I have thirteen hidden weapons on me in total.” Wan Yuyuedan smiled gently as always, explaining patiently and with a good temper, “They’re not very heavy.”

“Awan, you are a wolf,” Shengxiang said, “a big gray wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Wan Yuyue folded the clothes, turned around, smiled slightly at Shengxiang, and winked, "Before I met Shengxiang, I thought so too."

"What does this sentence mean?" Shengxiang asked.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Wan Yuyuedan said with a smile. “I just really like meeting someone like me.” He slowly walked into the cabin with the folded clothes in his arms. Shengxiang could still hear him smiling and saying to Weng Laoliu, “Senior Weng, you’ve worked hard.”

"A fellow kind...?" The rabbit scurried up to Shengxiang's side. Shengxiang flicked its nose with her finger, watching it squeak and hop away defiantly, glaring at Shengxiang with resentment.

The young master was still playing with the rabbit. Old Man Weng peeked out of the cabin, unimpressed. "Dinner's ready." Although Sheng Xiang's clever net-catching scheme had earned him some respect for the young master, making him realize he wasn't entirely a useless spoiled brat, he still couldn't help but mutter to himself whenever he saw Sheng Xiang's extravagant and carefree games. He always looked down on these young masters who didn't know what hunger or hardship meant; even if they had some cleverness, so what?

At the stern, Nan Ge and Bi Qiuhan conversed quietly, their expressions unchanging. While discussing martial arts, they used telepathy to say, "We are surrounded by enemies."

Bi Qiuhan nodded, speaking of the Emei Sect's acupoint striking technique, but transmitted his voice saying, "We are only a hundred miles from Dongting Lake, and there are people living there after that. If the Blood Sacrifice Society wants to make a move, they only have tonight and the thirty miles to go."

“That small boat behind ours has been following us for a long time,” Nan Ge said with a smile. “If it weren’t for your patience, I would have told Old Weng to turn around and jump onto the boat several times over.”

"Don't be reckless." Bi Qiuhan smiled faintly. "That ship is under surveillance; there's no way Li Lingyan could be on board."

"Are you still hoping Li Ling will personally intervene at tonight's banquet?" Nan Ge sighed. "What if he doesn't come tonight?"

Bi Qiuhan looked deeply worried and sighed slowly, "I'm just worried that he won't come." He turned his head to look at the river, "If he doesn't come this time, not only will all my efforts be in vain, but I will also really drag Brother Nan into danger."

Nan Ge raised an eyebrow, standing tall and straight at the stern with his hands behind his back. "In the martial world, what's the point of talking about danger? If you want peace, you might as well go home and hold your baby." He took a step forward, his back to Bi Qiuhan. "Even if we don't lure Li Lingyan out tonight, witnessing a great battle would be a blessing in itself. I don't care whether Li Lingyan comes or not; seeing a master who wounded Qiuhan with a single sword strike is enough. I'm only worried about your palace master who doesn't know martial arts..."

Bi Qiuhan smiled slightly, "Brother Nan, there's no need to worry. Although the Palace Master doesn't know martial arts, he's capable of protecting himself." He looked up at the sky, seemingly calculating when the ambush would arrive, "It's just that Shengxiang insisted on coming with me, and I really don't have the confidence to ensure his safety... Today's battle will surely be a battle that shakes the martial world in the future. Although Shengxiang's martial arts are quite good, but..."

“There’s no need to worry about that young master Qiu Han.” Nan Ge laughed. “You only see Qiu Han acting silly, but do you know what’s really going on in his head?”

Bi Qiuhan was slightly startled. What exactly was Sheng Xiang thinking? Those eyes that were sometimes like glass, that sometimes desolate back, even that sometimes completely unfamiliar sigh... "What he's thinking, maybe only that rabbit knows?" he said firmly but calmly. "In any case, it's not anything good."

"Is he thinking about something painful?" Nan Ge gazed at the bright moon reflected in the river. "I find it strange, but I always have this feeling."

“But he always had a big smile on his face,” Bi Qiuhan said coldly. “He also seemed to enjoy playing pranks on people.”

“That’s why I said I have absolutely no idea… what is Shengxiang thinking?” Nange sighed, then let out a long howl, causing the vegetation along the riverbank to rustle, as if scaring away many birds and beasts. “He’s just like your Palace Master, a strange person…” His ears twitched slightly, and the topic of Shengxiang was interrupted. “Four ships are blocking our way from all sides, they’re here!”

"Time to eat!" A voice suddenly interrupted their conversation, and a person tapped the mast with a rice spoon. "Do you want to go to Junshan tomorrow to eat for free, and then start going hungry tonight? Time to eat!"

When Nan Ge and Bi Qiuhan turned around and saw Sheng Xiang's unhappy expression, they both had a momentary illusion, as if the Sheng Xiang they had just talked about was just a misunderstanding, and that Sheng Xiang was just Sheng Xiang, nothing more than the Sheng Xiang in front of them.

Unable to suppress a slight smile, Bi Qiuhan said in a rare gentle tone, "No dinner tonight..."

With a "thump," the three turned around and saw Wan Yuyue Dan release the turtle he had "fished" into the river. Kneeling by the side of the boat, he held one hand outstretched in the water, as if enjoying the cool river water flowing through his fingers.

"Qiu Han! Ahead...a ship is coming!" Old Man Weng, still holding a pair of chopsticks, rushed onto the deck, his face changing color. "It's a big ship, hiding in the seaweed. It was premeditated!"

“There’s one on the left too.” Wan Yuyue knelt on the gunwale and closed his eyes, his hands still in the water. “It’s probably a medium-sized fast boat. It’s coming very fast, the current is swift, but the boat is long and narrow.”

"You didn't even tell me you weren't going to have dinner." Shengxiang sighed. "Look," he pointed with his rice spoon to a spot not far behind the stern, "what's that dark, indistinct thing over there? Don't tell me it's another boat."

Nan Ge smiled and pointed to the right, "I really want to tell you no, but there are still some over there."

A pale yellow lantern was hanging from the bow of the boat on the right. The four boats slowly closed in, surrounding their own boat in the center.

A man dressed in black stood at the right bow of the boat, carrying a lamp lit by a short candle.

“A candle…” Bi Qiuhan said softly, “A white candle, two inches and two fen long.”

“Don’t say that the mountain is too deep to find, and the flowers bloom in the mist only by holding a candle.” Wan Yuyuedan was still kneeling by the ship’s side with her eyes closed. “Indeed… Li Lingyan used the power of Bingzhu Temple.”

The two great enigmatic palaces of the martial world, Biluo Palace and Bingzhu Temple, unexpectedly met on this dark and windy night of murder. However, Biluo Palace only had Bi Qiuhan and Wan Yuyuedan, while Bingzhu Temple had a full four boats, making the disparity in strength quite obvious.

"Besides seeking out renowned doctors, is the Palace Master of Biluo Palace's trip also related to the fact that Bingzhu Temple, which is also considered a mysterious place, has joined the Li Ling Banquet Blood Sacrifice Ceremony?" Nan Ge asked.

Wan Yuyuedan still did not open her eyes, but smiled gently, "Yes, Bingzhu Temple and Biluo Palace are linked by marriage, and the abbot of Bingzhu Temple is my brother-in-law."

"Huh?" Old Man Weng and Nan Ge were both surprised. Bingzhu Temple and Biluo Palace were related by marriage? What a mysterious family!

“Brother-in-law…” Wan Yuyue sighed, “His surname is Yu, and his given name is Cuiwei.”

"The Ghost-Faced Demon Jade Cuiwei!" Old Man Weng's expression changed. "How could Biluo Palace marry their daughter to such a genderless freak? I've heard that this demon has ruined hundreds of young men and women in the martial world before he fled to Bingzhu Temple. Your sister is of noble birth; how could she marry such a scoundrel?"

Wan Yuyue remained silent for a while, then smiled slightly and said softly, "But my sister loves him." He opened his eyes and slowly raised his head, looking at the moon, which might have been blurry in his eyes. "You all know that Bingzhu Temple is a place where the wicked and evil, who are not tolerated by the martial arts world, seek refuge when they have nowhere else to go. I also know that it's a beast's den. Whoever has the highest martial arts skills becomes the temple master... The temple master's orders are absolute and no one disobeys, because the position of temple master is earned through strength. Disobeying means death." He said slowly, "In Bingzhu Temple, living is hard, and living with dignity is even harder. I don't know how my brother-in-law became the temple master, but whoever sits in that position represents a brutal battle, as well as endless provocations and sneak attacks."

At this point, everyone couldn't help but feel a little sympathy for the once extremely hateful masked demon. If they had known it would be so painful, why did they have to do evil in the first place? Wan Yuyue continued, "My brother-in-law has been in the position of abbot of the temple until now. In the third year of his tenure, my sister met him out of curiosity." He sighed softly, "Five months later, my sister married him."

"Why didn't you stop her from jumping into the fire pit? Since Bingzhu Temple is such a place, how can you feel at ease letting your sister marry there?" Old Man Weng found it unbelievable. The actions of Biluo Palace were indeed beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. Marrying their daughter to a demon and a villainous leader who was hated by everyone in the martial arts world showed that they didn't care about their daughter's lifelong happiness at all.