Compendio de hombres apuestos en el mundo de las artes marciales

Capítulo 42

Zhao Ting and Zhou Yufei had also arrived. Hearing Liu Yichen's words, the three of them paused in surprise, then turned their gazes to Duan Chen. Duan Chen remained noncommittal, his wrist aching from being gripped so tightly, but his expression remained unchanged: "So, you know who he is?"

"Tell me first, is Yiyi still alive?" Liu Yichen's eyes welled up with tears as he stared intently at the woman before him.

"She didn't want to see you in life, and she doesn't want to see you in death either. What difference does it make?" Duan Chen raised his other hand to pry Liu Yichen's hand off his wrist, while Zhao Ting reached out and grabbed his forearm. Liu Yichen's eyes darkened, and his grip loosened slightly.

Zhan Yun's voice was slightly cold: "Young Master, now please tell us what exactly happened back then."

Liu Yichen slowly closed his eyes, remained silent for a long while, and when he opened them again, his eyes were already glistening with tears: "I can't talk about what happened back then." When he looked at Duan Chen again, his eyes were filled with deep sorrow, and the smile on his lips was particularly bitter: "She already hates me enough. I don't want her to feel even a little bit more disgust towards me."

Duan Chen pondered for a moment, then said softly, "Then tell me what you can say." He had made some guesses about the true identity of the person from last night, but he still wasn't entirely clear on his purpose in being here. His master had mentioned some things about what happened twenty years ago, but she mostly talked about the entanglement between those two people from Wanliu Manor. Duan Chen thought carefully for a long time, but he couldn't recall any other person from a different race being involved. However, given his master's status, it wasn't impossible…

Liu Yichen remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh and saying in a low voice, "Let me put it this way. In a moment of weakness, I caused the death of my brother and lost Yiyi. That Western Xia man appeared at that critical juncture, took Yiyi away, and then killed seven of my manor's most skilled henchmen. Before leaving, he used bee stingers to pierce several vital acupoints on my father's body and declared that he would never set foot in the Central Plains again. My father's health began to deteriorate from that time onwards, but he didn't even know who that man was."

As Liu Yichen spoke, he chuckled in a low, hoarse voice, raising one hand to cover his eyes: "So, I, Liu Yichen, am a despicable scoundrel who is disloyal, unfilial, heartless, and unjust! I harmed my father and brother, lost the most important person in my life, and now, twenty years later, I have killed my niece and implicated a group of my fellow martial arts practitioners..."

"Second Master Liu," Duan Chen interrupted Liu Yichen's murmured words coldly, "who exactly is that person?"

Liu Yichen lowered his eyes and answered in a hoarse voice, "Li Lingke, the younger brother of the current King of Western Xia, also known as 'Tuoba Feitian'."

Chapter Thirteen: Enduring Love • Seven Victories

Zhao Ting sneered, raised an eyebrow and exchanged a glance with Zhan Yun: "Wanliu Manor is indeed full of hidden talents. You've all messed with Li Linge!"

Liu Yichen's expression changed drastically, and he frowned as he replied, "Young Master, you are mistaken! What I just said refers to events from twenty years ago. Even if we cannot confirm that the disguised person was him, I swear I had absolutely no prior knowledge of his silent infiltration of the manor." Liu Yichen would not shirk responsibility for the lax security, but if Zhao Ting were to pin the blame for withholding information, it wouldn't be something that could be easily cleared up with a few words. At that point, Wanliu Manor would be in deep trouble.

"Li Lingke showed up at the manor back then because of Duan Chen's master?" Zhou Yufei curled one corner of his mouth, his smile somewhat wicked.

"Master?" A hint of confusion flashed in Liu Yichen's eyes. He then turned his gaze to Duan Chen and said with emotion, "Yiyi is your master?"

Duan Chen glanced sideways, gave Zhou Yufei a cold glare, and then answered indifferently, "Yes."

Liu Yichen looked Duan Chen up and down, his eyes filled with satisfaction. Just as he was about to speak, Duan Chen spoke first, "Don't look at me like that. I am me, and she is her." Then he slightly raised his chin towards Zhou Yufei, "Answer his question."

Liu Yichen couldn't help but grin: "Your personality is really a bit like hers." After he finished speaking, he saw Duan Chen's expression darken even more than before, a faint smile appearing in his eyes, but his brows furrowed more and more tightly: "I thought you knew him."

Duan Chen's expression changed slightly, and Liu Yichen continued to explain, "Back then, he took Yiyi away and said he would never set foot in the Central Plains again in his lifetime. I thought that he had been by Yiyi's side all these years. Until I heard what you just said, I realized... that Yiyi had been alone all these years?" Liu Yichen's voice was very tense, and his eyes were looking at Duan Chen cautiously.

Duan Chen remained silent for a long while before nodding slightly. Upon hearing this, Liu Yichen's eyes flickered, and his eyes gradually reddened. His face was conflicted for a long time, and it was unclear whether he was happy or sad. He just sighed deeply and stopped talking.

"Chen'er, it's rather impolite to ask that," Zhan Yun said gently, his crescent-shaped eyes fixed on Duan Chen. "If this person really is Li Lingke, is it possible that his return to the Central Plains is for your master?"

Duan Chen lowered his eyes and pondered for a moment before speaking: "It's unlikely. With his abilities, finding someone wouldn't be difficult for him if he wanted to. If he really came all this way for my master, there would be no need for him to come to Wanliu Manor again."

“Yes.” Liu Yichen nodded from the side. “Although he hasn’t been with Yiyi all these years, he should know your whereabouts very well.”

“He is well aware of our every move now,” Duan Chen said coldly, his brows furrowed. “Perhaps, his purpose in coming here back then wasn’t solely for my master.”

Zhao Ting stood to one side with his arms crossed, and chuckled softly upon hearing this: "That's absolutely right!" Seeing everyone looking at him, Zhao Ting raised his eyebrows and said, "Although I haven't had much dealings with them, Li Lingge's name is known to everyone in the Northwest. It's said that 'Tuoba Feitian' has unparalleled martial arts skills, but is also cunning and ruthless, definitely not someone who's sentimental. Young Master, it seems you're not entirely clear about what happened twenty years ago."

Liu Yichen looked ashamed and said in a low voice, "I've only met him once." As he spoke, he turned to look at Duan Chen, his expression showing a hint of hesitation.

Seeing that the three of them were looking at him again, Duan Chen curled his lips and said coldly, "If it's inconvenient for Second Master Liu to speak, then I will. These are extraordinary times, and my master won't blame me if he finds out." Duan Chen turned halfway around, his eyes meeting Zhao Ting's cold gaze, and said, word by word, "My master's surname is Xiao, and he has half Liao blood."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ting's gaze sharpened, and he slowly lowered his crossed arms. Zhou Yufei beside him also lost his smile, his face showing surprise. Zhan Yun tightened his grip on the jade-bone fan, his handsome brows furrowing slightly. Duan Chen's lips curled slightly, his smile deepening, but his eyes held a desolate look: "You'll all find out about this sooner or later. I'm only saying it now because I don't want to let the concealment of certain matters affect your judgment during the analysis of the case." After speaking, he turned to look at Liu Yichen, "Second Master Liu said he only met that person once. Did my master ever mention him back then?"

Liu Yichen nodded: "Before he came to the manor to look for someone, although I had never met him, I had heard Yiyi and my elder brother mention him quite a bit. Li Linke also traveled around the Jiangnan area for a long time back then. It seems that your master and him... knew each other since they were young."

Ignoring the complicated expressions on the other three people's faces, Duan Chen said coldly and expressionlessly, "The general situation is clear. Do you have any further questions?"

Zhao Ting's face was cold and stern, but there was a hint of confusion in his eyes: "Chen'er, you, then you..."

"I'm talking about the case." Duan Chen's small face was covered with frost, and his words silenced the three of them. Zhou Yufei, who was originally eager to make a move, also wisely shut his mouth. Zhan Yun's expression remained calm, but his brows were tightly furrowed.

Duan Chen glanced at the bronze water clock beside him, then turned back to Liu Yichen: "Second Master Liu, I suggest we immediately gather all the guests of the manor at the 'Hall of Gathering Righteousness.' During the day, everyone should try to stay together. The clues are currently somewhat scattered, and we don't know the killer's motives, so we can't deduce his next target. We can only try to get ahead of the killer and take all necessary precautions. Also, try to find that person. Although he may not be the killer, we are now certain that at least he stole those weapons."

Liu Yichen nodded upon hearing this. Indeed, the bee-needle acupuncture technique was bizarre; apart from Li Linge, no one else in the world could use such a technique. After exchanging a few more words, the group left the house one after another.

Once outside the house, Duan Chen ignored the others and continued walking quietly. The three men behind her gradually caught up, walking on either side of her as usual. Duan Chen suddenly stopped and glared at Zhao Ting. Zhao Ting was taken aback by Duan Chen's attitude. He glanced at the other two, then forced a bitter smile and said, "I have fought against the Liao people, but I'm not so ruthless as to kill every Liao person I see. This isn't a battle between two armies, and your master is just an ordinary citizen. I didn't intend to do anything to her."

Duan Chen frowned slightly, suppressing his intense emotions, and turned to look ahead. How long had it been since he felt this angry? Hadn't he already let go of everything after making that trip to Bianjing at the beginning of the year? Duan Chen felt a little annoyed at his chaotic state of mind these past two days; he really shouldn't have gotten involved with these three people.

On the other side, Zhan Yun said softly, "We were just a little surprised. We didn't expect your master's identity to be so special. Chen'er, don't be angry. We didn't mean anything by it." Zhan Yun still had a faint smile on his lips, but he couldn't help but sigh deeply in his heart. He had finally managed to let her guard down a bit and make her less tense when facing him, but after today's incident, he was afraid that they would become even more distant than before.

Duan Chen lowered his eyes slightly, and after a long while, he softly said, "I want to go to the plum grove again." Then he used his lightness skill to head in that direction. The implication was clear: do as you please.

Zhan Yun and Zhao Ting exchanged a glance, then quickly followed. Zhou Yufei touched his nose and muttered under his breath, "Sure enough, I'm completely invisible at times like this!"

But just as they had walked a short distance, several men came running out of a courtyard, shouting, "Someone's dead! Someone's dead! This villa is uninhabitable!"

Duan Chen turned and ran towards the group. Zhao Ting and Zhan Yun blocked their way: "Brothers, what happened?"

As they were talking, the steward and two guards caught up with them. Upon seeing Zhan Yun and the others, the steward slapped his thigh and shouted anxiously, "I was just about to inform the young master! You gentlemen have arrived just in time! You should go and see what's going on; this has really gotten out of hand!"

Upon hearing this, the four men's expressions changed drastically. What did they mean by "it's really gotten out of hand"? Two people had already died, one of whom was a junior member of Wanliu Manor. Hadn't things already gotten out of hand long ago?

Led by one of the guards, the four entered the courtyard. Just like the first time, before even entering the house, they were greeted by a strong stench of blood. The young man pushed open the door, then stood to one side with his head down. Upon closer inspection, his legs were trembling slightly, and his face was deathly pale.

Zhao Ting was the first to step into the house, but in the next instant, he turned around, put his arm around Duan Chen's slender waist, and carried her to the center of the courtyard in a few steps. Duan Chen was stunned by his sudden action. After her feet touched the ground, she reacted and quickly pushed Zhao Ting's chest away, taking several steps back and looking coldly at the man three steps away from her.

Zhan Yun and Zhou Yufei stood at the doorway, glanced inside, exchanged a look, and then turned to walk back to the two of them. Zhan Yun cleared his throat twice, his expression somewhat grave: "Chen'er, it's best if you don't look inside."

Duan Chen was slightly taken aback, then looked calmly at the door that Zhou Yufei had closed: "I've seen dismembered and shredded bodies too. Is this more horrifying than that?"

Zhao Tingjian frowned, and Zhan Yun and Zhou Yufei were also stunned by Duan Chen's words. Duan Chen straightened the fabric at his waist and walked into the house. The three had no choice but to follow. The man by the door was trembling and about to cry. Zhou Yufei waved his hand, indicating that he could leave first. The man bowed and disappeared in a flash.

Pushing open the door, Duan Chen lifted her skirt and went inside. Outside, the winter sun shone brightly, but inside, it was like a living hell, almost unbearable to look at.