Asesino sin nombre - Capítulo 23
"Is the martial world fun?" Copper Monk muttered to himself, bewildered. "Fun?" He turned to look at Qinghe Daoist. "We've been wandering the martial world for decades, how come we don't think it's fun? You're more knowledgeable than me, old Daoist, tell me."
Master Qinghe could only smile wryly, stroking his beard, unsure of what to say. Only a wealthy young man, unaware of the harsh realities of the martial world, would think such a thing.
At this moment, Yu Xiu came out of the room. He knew Bi Qiuhan, and Bi Qiuhan cupped his hands to him, saying, "Brother Yu."
Yu Xiu nodded, but remained silent.
"Where is the sacred incense?" Wan Yuyue asked.
Yu Xiu nodded again, but still didn't say anything.
The crowd looked at each other blankly, wondering what his nod meant.
Wan Yuyue smiled, slowly reached for a cup of tea on the table, took a small sip, and looked quite content and at ease.
Chapter Seven: Eternal Spring Returns, Dreams Never Return
A courtyard with green bamboo, a small pond, and a tiny bird's nest in a willow tree.
A young man in plain clothes carefully climbed the tree. In his pocket was a soft cloth with a pale yellow fledgling inside, the species of which was unknown.
"Ling Yan, what exactly are you doing?" A woman in green under the tree looked up at him as he placed the chicks into the nest with great interest, her eyebrows slightly furrowed. "You can have as many of these beasts as you want. If they fall and die, so be it, it's their fate. Why do you care?"
The young man peered down; his chin was slightly pointed, but the lines were even, and his skin was incredibly soft and delicate, making him look like a doll at first glance. "Accumulating good deeds," he said, carefully climbing down the tree. He slipped and fell backward, but the woman in green caught him in time, scolding, "Accumulating good deeds? You've killed thousands upon thousands of people. If you really want to accumulate good deeds, don't cause so much trouble."
The person with exceptionally soft and clean skin, who looked like a doll, was none other than Li Lingyan, whom everyone in the martial arts world wanted to kill. He carefully got down from the woman in green's arms and stood up straight. "I killed the person, but the good deeds are for my mother and Shuangli. It's the same thing."
The woman in green was pretty, but a sharp aura about her diminished some of her charm. She was Liu Jiecui, the head of the Thirteen Flowers Society of Hibiscus Manor. "Lingyan, you're really strange. Human life is worthless, but animal lives are. You send people to kill and set fires everywhere, causing Shuangli to break ties with you, yet you're happy that she's against you." She stared at Li Lingyan. "I really don't know what you're thinking."
Li Lingyan tidied his clothes with a refined air. “My father was killed without a clear explanation, so as his son, I naturally want to avenge him; my mother is sick and needs to eat human hearts, so as her son, I naturally want to fulfill my filial duty; my sister has followed a reputable sect and become a good person, so as her older brother, I am naturally very happy.” He said slowly, “And my eldest brother likes to practice martial arts and become the best in the world, so as his younger brother, I naturally want to help him find a way.”
Liu Jie Cui frowned slightly as she looked at him, watching him explain those contradictory things one by one clearly. "You want revenge, so you kill and set fires everywhere? Your elder brother wants to be the best in the world, so you kill people with higher martial arts skills for him... Ling Yan, your thinking is very strange."
“Is it strange?” Li Lingyan said slowly. “I killed thousands of people to establish my authority, and others will be afraid—then they will naturally find out who my enemies are… As for my elder brother,” he exhaled a long breath, “if I don’t help him kill those people, he will find a way to kill them himself. That’s too dangerous, so it’s better for me to kill them all for him from the beginning… I killed them all.”
"And what about yourself? Haven't you ever thought about doing anything for yourself?" Liu Jiecui suddenly became agitated, sneering, "You treat your family like treasures, you value even a single hair on their head more than the sky! Aren't they just like everyone else, treating you like a demon, a monster, and fearing you from the bottom of their hearts? You've had this strange illness for so many years, when have they ever truly cared about you? Why... why do you have to become a demon for those people? No one will be grateful to you, they'll only see you as a born monster, what have you gained?"
“Me…” Li Lingyan squatted down, closed his eyes, and sniffed a small fern blooming on the ground, “I don’t need to get anything…”
"Does their happiness make you happy?" Liu Jiecui raised her voice, sneer, "Everyone says Li Lingyan is a great demon, committing murder and arson without restraint, but it turns out—it turns out—you are actually such a selfless and great saint!" She flicked her sleeve and stormed out.
A selfless and great saint? A faint smile appeared on Li Lingyan's lips as he opened his eyes. "Is it the Sorrowful Moon or the Fallen Moon?"
A person pushed open the door to the small courtyard and entered. "The Master's eyes and ears are still so sharp. Your subordinates, Beiyue Envoy, Xingxing, and the Attendant have returned."
Li Lingyan didn't turn around immediately. After a while, he smiled and asked, "Failed?"
Bei Yue's brows furrowed with anger. "The abbot of Bingzhu Temple has betrayed us! He actually injured the attendant and Xingxing with great force, causing chaos in our group, and then escaped on a ship with Bi Qiuhan and the others. We treated Yu Cuiwei as an honored guest, and he actually resorted to such tricks!"
Li Lingyan smiled casually, "Bi Qiuhan needs someone on his ship who can persuade him to defect... Cui Wei isn't someone who changes his mind so easily. Never mind..." He sighed and muttered to himself, "Who told him to hurt my elder brother and Xingxing? Beiyue, let's burn down his Bingzhu Temple—ah, doesn't he also have a brother-in-law who is the master of Biluo Palace? Let's kill him too."
Bei Yue bowed with both hands and said, "Yes, sir."
"Are Big Brother and Xingxing alright?" Li Lingyan asked again.
"The attendant's injury is not serious, but Xingxing may need to recuperate for three months."
“Cui Wei, Cui Wei…you really…went too far.” Li Lingyan muttered to himself, then asked, “Besides Nan Ge and Weng Laoliu, who on Bi Qiuhan’s ship could persuade Yu Cuiwei to defect?”
Beiyue hesitated for a moment, “According to Xingxing, it was a young man carrying a rabbit who only spoke three sentences to Yu Cuiwei before Yu Cuiwei attacked and seriously injured Shi Yu and Xingxing. He boarded the ship with Bi Qiuhan and the others at Xie Niang Ferry. In addition, there was another young man on the ship who did not know martial arts. He was blind, but he relied on his hearing to launch hidden weapons. The ‘Three Venerables of Shangyuan’ of Bingzhu Temple were injured by his hidden weapons and have been unconscious ever since.”
"When did these two young people get entangled with Bi Qiuhan?" Li Lingyan smiled, gently flicked a blade of grass off the small fern's fluffy surface, and blew lightly to make the pale red fluff fly around in front of his finger. His expression was very calm.
Bei Yue Shi said in a deep voice, "I have already inquired about the young man who persuaded Yu Cuiwei to rebel. He is the son of Prime Minister Zhao of the current dynasty in Bianjing. Bi Qiuhan's uncle, Bi Jiuyi, is the chief steward of the Zhao family. The two have some connection, but they haven't seen each other for at least twenty years. As for the young blind man, I haven't found out much yet. I heard from those who returned from the Battle of Hanshui that he is the Palace Master of Biluo Palace, Yu Cuiwei's brother-in-law, and also the head of Bi Qiuhan's sect."
"Oh?" Li Lingyan released the small fern and slowly stood up from the ground. "Biluo Palace is so nosy. Why don't we burn it down too—do we have enough gunpowder?"
The Moon-Sorrow Envoy nodded, "More than enough."
"I've heard that Biluo Palace is located on the Luo River, with oil floating on the water..." Li Lingyan murmured.
The Moon Bearer smiled slightly: "Understood. Immediately purchase a hundred barrels of cooking oil and prepare to set it on fire."
“Amitabha, Heaven cherishes life, this method is not my idea.” Li Lingyan murmured, then sighed, “Go.” A trace of pity flickered in his eyes before slowly fading away.
At this moment, the young master Shengxiang, who is being plotted against, is causing trouble on Wudang Mountain, making everyone feel insecure.
For example… that day, when Young Master Shengxiang was in a good mood, Master Qinghe was tidying up his room when he suddenly discovered a picture of a beautiful woman pasted on the wall. Copper Head Monk also cried out – Shengxiang had branded three ancient characters onto his crescent-shaped shovel. When he asked someone to look, he learned that Shengxiang had inscribed the words "Painful Head Monk" on it, which enraged him. This was his weapon; how could he easily discard it? But leaving those three characters on it was truly unsightly, so he took it and angrily berated Shengxiang. Shengxiang shrugged, saying that he had always thought Copper Head Monk's name was "Painful Head Monk," and that he had kindly branded the name to prevent it from being lost. Copper Head Monk, who was dull-witted and inarticulate, was made to feel as if Shengxiang had acted entirely out of kindness and that he had been wronged, leaving him speechless. In the end, he could only go back and pray to the Bodhisattva to bless him with fewer learned people, and fewer people who could understand the ancient characters on his shovel.
These past few days, Rong Yin and Yu Xiu have been seriously discussing and speculating with Daoist Qinghe about the location of Li Ling's Blood Sacrifice Society's hideout. Those injured in the Battle of Junshan are gradually recovering, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, it will be time for a counterattack. Sheng Xiang is bored, and being quite lazy, he refuses to expend any more effort on this matter as long as Rong Yin and Yu Xiu are involved. Therefore, he's busy every day—busy playing.
Moreover, he had a good playmate named Awan. Wan Yuyuedan had been quite free these past few days. He was young, and Bi Qiuhan was unwilling to publicly reveal that he was the famous Lord of Biluo Palace. Therefore, although everyone saw that he was quite close to Bi Qiuhan, they just treated him as a child. Now that he was busy and no one paid attention to him, he was able to take a great break and spend his days with Shengxiang.
He didn't actually enjoy causing trouble; he was a person who knew how to enjoy life. Without Shengxiang, he might spend his days sleeping in his room or strolling along the paths of Wudang Mountain to admire the flowers and plants, living a very comfortable life. But with Shengxiang, it was different; he enjoyed watching Shengxiang cause trouble.
Shengxiang is a lot of fun. Wan Yuyue often watches Shengxiang prank people with a smile, his eyes that make people feel incredibly comfortable. Watching Shengxiang act silly makes him feel very good, although... he actually knows that Shengxiang may not be as happy as he appears.
But Shengxiang was behaving too well. Wan Yuyue considered himself a very observant person with a good mind. But from Shengxiang's flawless laughter and scent, he couldn't detect anything unpleasant or anything with deeper meaning.
But that's true. What Wan Yuyue Dan has always admired about himself is that he knows his intuition has always been very accurate.
The sacred incense... remains a mystery.
"Ah Wan, it's very impolite to daydream in front of me, you know that?" Then, with a "smack," the extremely flamboyant folding fan struck Wan Yuyuedan on the head. Shengxiang's face loomed large in front of Wan Yuyuedan. Although Wan Yuyuedan's eyesight was poor and he was almost blind, he could still see Shengxiang's eyes, which were as wide as a bull's. "Daydreaming makes you an easy target for enemy ambushes. Wudang Mountain is not a peaceful place. If you are accidentally captured by the likes of Li Lingyan, wouldn't Xiao Bi have to fight me to the death? That would be a huge loss."
As Wan Yuyue listened to his rambling, she smiled calmly and said, "If you, Shengxiang, hadn't offended so many heroes, Wudang Mountain would have been a very peaceful place."
"What do you mean by that? Are you lecturing me?" Shengxiang rolled his eyes. "I'm just trying to be helpful, reminding them every day that even in peaceful times, they should be vigilant. How can you say that to me?" His expression changed faster than turning the pages of a book, and in the blink of an eye, he had a tearful look on his face. "I thought only Awan understood me, but it turns out even you don't understand me..."