Asesino sin nombre

Capítulo 24

“I didn’t understand to begin with,” Wan Yuyuedan said, unperturbed. “I never imagined you were training their vigilance.” He even smiled with a hint of gentleness and cunning. “If even I don’t understand, how can you expect everyone at Shengxiang to understand?”

"A pipe dream?" Sheng Xiang smiled faintly, then her face brightened and her eyebrows arched. "This young master is exceptionally intelligent and resourceful, with a hundred plans in one step. Naturally, he is not someone that ordinary people like you can easily understand. If he were easily understood by you, wouldn't he lose all face?"

Wan Yuyue couldn't see his faint smile, but she seemed to see it more clearly than anyone else. She frowned and stared at Shengxiang. "If it were me, I would rather not have this kind of cleverness."

"Ha!" Saint Fragrance laughed. "So you're just a mortal."

Wan Yuyue smiled faintly as he and Shengxiang sat on a hillside at the southeastern foot of Wudang Mountain. A mountain spring from Shennong Peak, adjacent to Wudang, branched off and flowed into the Yangtze River, passing through the southeastern foothills of Wudang. Looking up, he saw the boundless, bright blue of the sky. "Mortals—ah—"

Shengxiang lay down beside him, gazing comfortably at the sky. The sky was a clear, bright blue without a cloud, and a few transparent, reddish-brown dragonflies flitted low over the tips of the grass. "Awan, don't you feel like singing?"

“Singing?” Wan Yuyue thought for a moment. “The smell of this wind makes me want to sleep.” He said frankly, “It reminds me of when I was very young, when I didn’t want to study and would hide in the bushes in the garden.”

"Ah Wan, is your garden very big?" Sheng Xiang asked with interest. "Is it really full of treasures? Like mountains of gold and silver jewelry, martial arts manuals and the like?"

Wan Yuyue smiled without scolding, remaining noncommittal. After a while, he said somewhat willfully, "I won't tell you."

"So what if you're so great?" Shengxiang rolled her eyes at him. "It's not like I'm trying to share half with you."

“I told you, you wouldn’t have come if I had invited you.” Wan Yuyue smiled slightly, a smile that was both a little mischievous and a little happy. “After Qiu Han’s business is finished, I will invite you to my house to play.”

“I won’t go unless you give me half of your family’s treasures,” Saint Xiang declared.

Wan Yuyue chuckled, "If you want it, I'll share it with you."

"Really?" Shengxiang got up with great interest. "Great! Great! I'm too embarrassed to take your things for free. I'll introduce you to a good doctor to treat your eyes next time. It's settled then." He patted Wanyu Yuedan's shoulder generously.

"There are advantages to not being able to see clearly; I'm not in a hurry."

"I'm in a hurry to divide your inheritance..."

Fragrant grasses stretch for miles, and streams murmur—this is a world purely for enjoyment. When they don't need to worry or fret, both of them know how to best enjoy life. In a way, such people are the most likely to break your heart and are also the most heartless.

A mountain breeze blew by, and Wan Yuyuedan closed her eyes slightly, chanting softly: "All dharmas are empty, emptiness is emptiness, where is the Buddha? There is a cloud called Wonderful Purity, which can shield one from the heat and afflictions; there is a sea called Perfect Enlightenment, which can wash away the dust. Green bamboo is true suchness, yellow flower is wisdom, planted in the heart, blooming in the heart. When the teachings are thoroughly understood, Bodhi has no tree, and the bright mirror is not a stand."

Shengxiang chuckled as she listened.

"Stealing a moment of leisure, I wander here, recalling all the fleeting illusions of the world. Consider the heroes of Wuling, who enjoyed a hundred years of glory and wealth, how can they compare to this monk, with his simple life of a bowl? Looking up and down at the streams and mountains, swaying pines and cypresses, a cool breeze under my arms and a cup of tea. I take my boat and go, sweeping the dust off the east wall, enjoying this moment of leisure." Wan Yu finished singing the Yue Dan poem slowly, then smiled slightly.

“Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-” Shengxiang hummed along with the tune, softly singing a line, “I want to go back to the past, to keep the story going, so that I won’t let you leave me again…” He hummed these two lines over and over again.

"What song is this? It's really nice," Wan Yuyue asked with interest.

"The songs sung by great men are beyond the comprehension of ordinary people." Sheng Xiang categorized Wan Yuyuedan as an "ordinary person" and thus discriminated against him, making this declaration.

"Have you ever liked a girl?" Wan Yuyue asked.

"..." Shengxiang narrowed her eyes, "I can't tell you."

"Why?" Wan Yuyue asked curiously.

"Because you're very gossipy," Shengxiang announced again.

"What is Bagua? I'm not familiar with the principles of Yijing." Wan Yuyue frowned in confusion.

"Gossip is what gossipy women often do—they specialize in predicting other people's daily lives, their scandals, and their petty squabbles. I advise you, young master, to be a good boy at such a young age and not to pry into other people's private affairs," Shengxiang said with a smile.

Wan Yuyue chuckled, “A bad thing? Is liking girls a bad thing?” He sighed softly, “I’ve liked girls before, and I’ve never felt it was something shameful.”

"Wow!" Shengxiang tugged at his sleeve curiously. "Who is it? Tell me quickly, what does your favorite girl look like? Is she pretty?"

"Didn't you say not to pry into other people's private secrets?" Wan Yuyue gently brushed Shengxiang's hand away. "I won't tell you."

“I’m older than you, so I’m not a child at all. If you don’t tell me—” Shengxiang said without hesitation, “I’ll immediately tell everyone that you are the Palace Master of Biluo Palace, and you’ll be drowned by a bunch of girls who want to be the Palace Master’s wife.”

“I’m not afraid of you, young lady,” Wan Yuyue said with a gentle smile.

"Then I'll set fire to your Biluo Palace," Shengxiang said with a smile.

Wan Yuyue blinked. "Then let's talk about it after you light the fire."

Shengxiang continued with a smile, "I killed your most precious disciple, Xiao Bi."

“If he dies at your hands, it will definitely be suicide.” Wan Yuyuedan said with a smile, without even blinking this time, “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to kill him.”

“That blockhead Bi, I could kill him without breaking a sweat.” Xiang rolled her eyes. “I’d sell him out, and he’d be counting the money for me.”

“Because he is very upright, you, Shengxiang, will not plot against him.” Wanyu Yuedan smiled even more gently. “Because you are very arrogant… A gentleman does not deceive others by his own principles, so if you want to kill him, you will only choose what Qiuhan is best at and defeat him fair and square.”

“But I’m sure I’ll lose the fight, so I definitely won’t kill Xiao Bi, right?” Sheng Xiang continued to roll her eyes. “A Wan, don’t pretend you know me well, or one day I’ll sell you out too, and you’ll be counting the money for me.”

“I don’t know Shengxiang.” Wan Yuyue smiled. “I only know that Shengxiang is a good person.”

"Really? I'm not as confident as you." Shengxiang showed little interest in the topic of "good people" and casually replied, "I still don't understand what a bad person is. What if I'm a bad person?"

"Hehe, if Young Master Shengxiang were a bad person, everyone would be very surprised," Wan Yuyuedan replied with a smile, adding a thought-provoking remark, "including me."

Shengxiang wasn't interested in the topic and jumped up, yelling, "It's late, let's go back for dinner!"

Chapter Eight: The Stormy Night of Ye City

Yu Xiu and Rong Yin were busy investigating Li Lingyan's hideout, while Bi Qiuhan continued to investigate who killed Li Chenglou.

"This is the relic of Xiao Ji that Mei Niang of Bai Tao Tang gave me. Please take a look, seniors." Bi Qiuhan handed the sachet that Shi Shi Mei had given him to several martial arts seniors who had seen Xiao Ji back then. The only ones who had seen Xiao Ji back then and were still alive were Daoist Qinghe, Copper-Headed Camel, and Yang Zhen, the "Number One Blade of Hedong" from Hedong.

“Cold leaves and spring breeze, exhaling to form a tower.” When he was young, Master Qinghe was quite dashing and romantic. It was only after meeting Xiao Ji and being amazed at first sight that he became a monk. At this moment, he murmured to himself, “She is obviously different towards Li Chenglou.”

"Thirty years ago, Li Chenglou was known as the number one madman in the martial arts world. He had a baby face, and when he was arrogant, he was ruthless. When he was in a good mood, he wouldn't even step on an ant. His temper was very strange," Yang Zhen said.