"Huh? What, you're not going to join anymore?"
"As long as Rong Lian is in our hands, we are not afraid that he will not come."
“Rong Lian? So you are Rong Lian, no wonder… then there’s no problem.” This time it was Zhi Yu’s turn to look me up and down.
"Um... it doesn't seem right for you to discuss kidnapping in front of the hostage. Why don't you find another place, somewhere more discreet?"
"Who said we were going to kidnap you?" My senior sister looked at me amusedly. "Come with us and you'll have plenty of good food and fun. And after we're done, we won't sell you to Ling'er. How about it?"
They thought I was running away, but I was just curious about who was following me.
Where are you planning to go?
Anting.
"...I must still be dreaming." I pulled hard on my hair; it still hurt. "What's your relationship with Martial Venerable?"
"Of course, it's a master-disciple relationship."
"You call Nangong Ling 'Junior Brother,' so he's also a disciple of the Martial Venerable?"
"That's right."
I stood there for a moment before I remembered that there was such a thing.
Speaking of the Martial Venerable of Anting, he's a mischievous old man, still going strong even in his seventies or eighties. He's the only one I wouldn't mess with. I certainly couldn't beat him, but that's not the main reason. Once, it was my father's birthday, and we finally managed to coax and trick him into coming. This old man had a full head of white hair and a very long white beard, but his eyes were bright and his body was incredibly strong. I was young then and couldn't understand why everyone both respected and feared him. I couldn't stand it, so I grabbed some scissors to try and cut off his white beard. Of course, I failed, and he even tricked me. I don't know what kind of powder he used, but the next day when I looked in the mirror, my face was swollen like a pig's head and covered in red spots. I was so scared that I never bothered with him again, and from then on, I never looked in the mirror again.
Looking back now, it's unbelievable how scared I was. The strange powder I got on me went away in a few days, but maybe it's because I had such a deep impression of myself in the mirror when I was little that it left an indelible mark on me. Even though I don't think it's anything serious, I just can't bring myself to look in the mirror anymore.
Chapter 34
It's not exactly close to Anting from here, so the two of them had to hurry to save time. Otherwise, if Nangong Ling caught them first, they wouldn't be in good shape either.
It was tough on me though. Having gotten used to riding in carriages and sedan chairs, riding a horse was almost killing me.
"No, no, I need to rest. Even Nangong Ling didn't put me through this much trouble!"
Lying on the horse's back, I breathed heavily and roared in a very unrefined manner.
"How could my junior brother possibly torment you? He's too busy doting on you to even think about it." Zhi Yu pouted, her gaze now filled with disdain.
"What a lame joke, it's not funny at all, and I can't even laugh at it... How come you guys aren't tired?"
"You're the pampered young lady, and you can't even walk this short distance? Aren't you supposed to know kung fu? How come your stamina is so poor?"
"Rong Zhi only teaches her fancy moves; if she uses real kung fu, she'll hurt herself." The senior sister handed her water, seemingly speaking quite objectively.
I drank a couple of sips of water and felt a little better. It's so hot... I should have just enjoyed a nice carriage ride instead of coming here to suffer.
"There's an inn about a mile ahead. Let's rest for the night."
The senior sister gave the order, tugged on the reins, and started walking forward.
Zhiyu glared at me fiercely before pulling my horse over and following me.
Just before sunset, I finally saw the inn. I couldn't wait to dismount and rush inside, even though I didn't care about my two senior sisters.
"Waiter, bring a room upstairs and prepare the best wine and food!"
...I was met with complete silence.
I took a breath; my vision was still blurry, and my head was throbbing and dizzy.
"Didn't you go back to Wuyue Palace with Nangong Ling?"
My throat tightened; that sound was dangerous. Well, the best course of action is to flee.
"Stop!" A tight feeling of being bound by a long whip came from my arm.
You're haunting me! Since I can't escape, I won't. I'm dying of thirst.
"Water, give me water!" I opened my eyes wide and tried to see more clearly, but all I could see was a hazy yellow blur.
In the blur, a hand handed me a glass of water, which I took and gulped down in one go.
"What's the rush? Nobody's going to take it from you. What if you choke?"
"Little imp, you're running so fast..." Zhi Yu's voice followed, clearly pausing when she saw someone's voice.
"Why has Master Jun come to this poor, remote county?" Senior Sister followed her in.
The long whip on his arm loosened, and he pulled me down to sit. A glass of water made me feel much better.
What's wrong with her?
"She escaped; we'll take her back to Anting."
"Just a side effect?" Jun Guan sneered, causing Zhi Yu's face to flush red. "At first, I didn't quite believe it, so I made a special trip to see for myself, but your actions now prove that Wu Zun is indeed in trouble. You couldn't find Nangong Ling, so you kidnapped Rong Lian, forcing him to come?"
"Master Jun is wrong about two things. First, Master is healthy and well. Who in the world could possibly harm him? Second, we didn't kidnap her; she came with us willingly." The senior sister remained calm and composed.
Jun Guan gave a vague "oh" and didn't say anything more before turning to look at me.
"You can't stand being there anymore?"
He sat on a soft chair made of a straw mat, wearing a white robe made of the finest brocade from Suzhou and Hangzhou, which was both cool and comfortable, but also quite expensive.
I ignored him, took the pastries from his table and started eating. He just smiled and sat down to pour me tea.
Chapter 35
When I felt better and fully recovered, the stars came out.
"You little vixen, you're quite the charmer." That was the first thing Zhiyu said to him as he climbed into bed.
Because the inn was small and there were many guests, I had to share a room with Zhiyu.
During that time, Jun Guan offered to give me his superior room, but I refused outright. Who knows what he was really up to?
"Hey, that's enough. I hate it when people call me that."
"Whatever, I'm just telling the truth and I'm not wrong." She squeezed in a little. "Speaking of which, why did you run away? Your junior brother was so good to you."
"If he were really good to me, even pigs could fly. This is just appearance, don't you understand? Someone who beats me when he gets angry is someone who's good to me? What's wrong with your eyes? Didn't you see that he single-handedly destroyed the Rong family? Now I'm homeless and have to put up with his temper... I'm not going to say anymore, the more I talk about it, the angrier I get."
"You don't know anything?" Zhiyu gave me a strange look.
"Know what?"
"No wonder Qionghua always said you were beyond saving; today I've seen it for myself."
"What's the meaning?"
"You don't even know who's good to you and who wants to harm you."
I sat up, veins bulging on my forehead. "Can't you just finish what you're saying?!"
"Have you ever thought about changing your temper? You're spoiled and domineering; if things don't go your way, you're capable of murder and arson. Just cleaning up after you is enough to drive anyone crazy. Aren't you afraid you might do something irreversible? Your junior brother never objected to the Rong family spoiling you, because he thought it was only right. But your father's constant pampering never taught you what you could and couldn't do. Back then, your junior brother was still young, and Rong Zhi didn't take him seriously at all. Do you think your father really cared about you?" She looked at me with pity in her eyes. "You were just being used by him. Because before Master retired, he said he wouldn't take on any more disciples, but at first sight..." When it came to your junior brother, the old man kept calling him a prodigy. He not only made an exception to accept him as a disciple but also intended to pass on all his life's knowledge to him. Originally, only a few of us, the most trusted disciples of our master, knew about this, but as the saying goes, walls have ears, and your father found out anyway. The reason the Rong family became so powerful and arrogant in the years that your father's so-called self-created swordsmanship, saber techniques, and even fist techniques intimidated the martial arts world for a while, right? Didn't your father say he would go into seclusion for several months every year to cultivate? Actually, he was waiting in Anting for his junior brother to teach him martial arts. Are you going to say that's impossible, that someone like Nangong Ling would never be manipulated like that?
"Are you thirsty?" I asked with a long face.
She was taken aback, wondering why I had suddenly blurted out such a sentence, and then she suddenly realized what I meant.
"As expected, you don't believe it. No wonder your junior brother wouldn't tell. But the truth is the truth, and you can't deny it." She smiled rather sinisterly. "Perhaps your junior brother's way of expressing it was wrong, but I think it was because you angered him. He was afraid that you wouldn't be able to control your temper and might accidentally get yourself into trouble. Your junior brother has really had a tough time. He's surrounded by enemies, and your father is also pressuring him. Rong Zhi had already reached his peak and couldn't go any higher. The internal energy your junior brother was practicing was also at its most crucial stage. Rong Zhi was afraid that people would find out that his skills were taught by your junior brother, so he wanted to kill him to silence them. So it's all your father's fault. He started it and completely angered your junior brother, which is why your junior brother took action."
Her voice was moderate, and she spoke at a steady pace, but listening to her made my head throb, as if all the blood was rushing to my head, and my limbs felt terribly cold.
If this is the so-called truth, then I'd rather know nothing at all. It overturned all my long-held beliefs and perceptions, as well as all the things I took for granted. All the reasons that could have been justified became the most ridiculous things, shattering my beliefs of more than a decade in a single instant.
"Hey, are you alright?" She asked rather urgently, probably because I looked rather unwell.
"Thank goodness, yeah right!" I glared at her, grabbed my coat, put it on, and left without giving Zhiyu a chance to speak again.
Chapter 36
In the dead of night, I sat in the lobby downstairs watching the candles, with Zhiyu sitting opposite me, looking helpless.
"...I didn't expect it to be such a blow to you. No wonder Junior Brother insisted we not tell you, but seeing your carefree attitude, I couldn't help myself..."
"Of course you'll speak up for him, since you're his senior. How much of your opinion can I trust?" I raised my eyes expressionlessly.
"You!" She glared at him, then, both angry and speechless, exclaimed, "You're hopeless!"
"That's right."
In the dead of night, a third voice drifted through the lobby where there were only two people, and the candlelight flickered on and off in an unusually harmonious manner.
"My poor little apprentice, the Yue family's daughters are so much better than this girl, why is Xiaoling so stubborn?"
"Master, Master!" Zhiyu stood up abruptly.
With white hair, graying eyebrows and beard, and a long white beard, the old man, with bright and piercing eyes and a ruddy complexion, was thin yet robust.