Shu Ke peut regagner une fortune perdue

Chapitre 9

"If you keep going on and on about refusing, we won't reach a conclusion even by tomorrow. Why don't we have a martial arts contest to determine the leader? Whoever is the best in the world will be the leader!" Seeing this situation, someone immediately shouted. In an instant, many people echoed his sentiments, and the Zixiao Palace was thrown into chaos.

"Please be quiet, everyone!" Liu Junru used his inner strength to suppress the noise. "The alliance leader will naturally choose those with high martial arts skills, but in addition to martial arts, their strategies must also be outstanding." As he said this, the surrounding noise gradually subsided. He turned to discuss with Abbot Xuanzhen and Sect Leader Tianyan for a while, and continued, "You have all come from afar and must be tired from your journey. It is not suitable for you to have a martial arts competition. Please do us the honor of attending the Yuzhen Palace the day after tomorrow."

"We are deeply grateful to all of you for coming from afar. Please rest in the other courtyard." As soon as Master Tianyan finished speaking, a group of people rushed out of the Zixiao Palace with shouts.

"There are many uncouth people in the martial world, it's too much for you, Master." Rong Wanci stood up and bowed. "Yesterday, Lian Ning accidentally wandered into the Sword Washing Pool. I hope you will forgive him."

Master Tianyan smiled and said, "The rules of this Sword Washing Pool should have been abolished long ago." He paused slightly and then said, "I wonder if Palace Master Rong has anything important to tell Lian Ning right now? I have some things I want to say to her."

Rong Wanci shook her head and instructed, "Lianning, you may go with the True Person." She bid farewell and, followed by a group of disciples and palace servants, headed towards Chunyang Palace. Yin Han followed for a few steps, then couldn't help but ask, "Master, Longteng Post Station has never had any connection with us, so why..." This was the question several disciples wanted to ask. Xu Lianning, standing at the back, naturally heard this as well, and took a few steps forward, but was stopped by True Person Tianyan: "Come with me."

Xu Lianning was unwilling, but had no choice but to join the Wudang disciples and head north. The long bamboo path through the mountains was truly awkward and stifling. Not to mention the curious glances that kept coming her way, the few people she had met at the Sword Washing Pool that day hadn't given her a friendly look.

"Do you remember what this mountain is called?" Master Tianyan suddenly asked.

Xu Lianning said calmly, "Tianzhu Peak."

He smiled slightly, turned to the disciples behind him and said, "If you can't keep up later, don't force yourself." After speaking, he gently pulled her arm and led her onto the steep mountain path. Xu Lianning thought it was a test of her martial arts skills and paid even more attention. She moved with ease, leaping lightly over rocks and thorns, and was the first to reach the top of the mountain.

Master Tianyan arrived a few steps later and praised, "Lian Ning's lightness skill is excellent."

Standing atop the mountain, looking down, one is enveloped in clouds and mist, as if immersed in the heavens.

"This is the highest peak of Wudang Mountain, but during the Yongle era, skilled craftsmen had already built a golden hall here." Master Tianyan stood against the wind, his Taoist robe fluttering. "Our ancestors also liked to come here to cultivate in seclusion. The higher one's martial arts skills, the harder it is to control one's inner demons and greed."

Xu Lianning gave a soft "hmm," feeling slightly guilty.

Sure enough, Master Tianyan looked at her and asked, "Is what you cultivate the Blood Demon Restriction?"

Xu Lianning involuntarily took two steps back, behind her loose rocks rolling and sliding down the cliff silently. She composed herself and said, "...Yes."

Master Tianyan closed his eyes slightly: "Are you willing to return to Wudang Sect? Your senior uncle will plead for you with Palace Master Rong."

"Return to Wudang Sect?" Xu Lianning paused for a moment, then understood. "If the first thing they do upon joining Wudang is to strip me of my current martial arts skills, should I agree or refuse?"

“Lian Ning, you should know the consequences of practicing the Blood Demon Restriction. You will gradually change your temperament, become bloodthirsty and ruthless, and even have your meridians broken.” Tianyan Zhenren’s originally gentle voice gradually became stern. “Now only the Marrow Cleansing Classic can remove the martial arts in your body.”

“I’ve always known what the consequences would be, and I’ve never regretted it.” Xu Lianning lowered her eyes, her tone gentle. “Now, I can only disappoint you, senior. Lianning will take her leave.” She turned and walked towards the mountain path. Occasionally, she would look back and see Tianyan Zhenren standing there, his back desolate.

They descended the mountain via stone steps. Tianzhu Peak was steep, indicating the immense scale of the project that must have been undertaken to open it. Even though he had no affection for Lingxuan Palace and Wudang was currently enjoying considerable favor, there was no turning back. Xu Lianning reached the bottom of the mountain and, seeing the person leaning against a tree, still politely asked, "Young Master Zhang, what brings you here?"

Zhang Weiyi frowned slightly and casually brushed away the fallen leaves that had gotten on her sleeve: "I think my master has something to tell you, so that no one will come up and disturb you."

"Actually, it's nothing serious. It's just that my senior uncle told me that if anything happens in the future, I can rely on you, Young Master Zhang." Xu Lianning was in a bad mood, so he just said it casually.

Zhang Weiyi was taken aback, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips: "As long as I can do it, just come and find me."

Xu Lianning was annoyed, but her smile became even gentler: "If I relied on others, how could I have survived until now?"

"Why can't we try again?" Zhang Weiyi's expression was very calm. "Since I promised you, I won't go back on my word. Why not start by trusting me?"

Xu Lianning was taken aback, unsure how to respond: "Young Master Zhang, your words are truly misleading." She paused, then smiled slightly: "Do you say this because I am the daughter of your most respected martial uncle, or because of Zhi as a person?"

Zhang Weiyi smiled faintly, half-jokingly asking, "I wonder how you want me to answer?"

Xu Lianning turned her head and smiled slightly, "Let me think about it." She turned around, determined the direction, and walked towards Chunyang Palace. Zhang Weiyi accompanied her for a while, and casually asked, "What are you holding in your hand? It's not a hidden weapon, is it?" She raised her hand, revealing a carefully folded square knot in her palm. "I wanted to see it, but the master took me away, and I haven't had a chance to open it yet." She didn't hide anything and opened the square knot in front of Zhang Weiyi, only to find a few words on the paper: "Temporarily avoid the south for one year."

Xu Lianning frowned slightly: "I don't know who wrote it, or why they gave it to me."

Zhang Weiyi glanced at it and said thoughtfully, "It looks like the handwriting was deliberately concealed. It's probably someone you know."

"If you know each other, why would you deliberately hide it?"

“I think so too. After all, it was advice, so it was well-intentioned. As for deliberately concealing the handwriting, I suppose it was to prevent it from falling into the hands of others.” Zhang Weiyi raised his hand and pointed to the character “避”. “This last stroke contains the intent of a sword and has a slightly murderous aura. It probably belongs to someone who uses a sword.”

Xu Lianning gave a soft "hmm": "Young Master Zhang, do you have a tinderbox?"

Zhang Weiyi lit a tinderbox, brought it close to the note, and the flame flickered, licking away two words in the blink of an eye. Xu Lianning released his grip, watching the entire piece of paper turn to ashes, before saying, "Now you can rest easy."

"But will you consider the advice on this?" Zhang Weiyi asked after walking alongside her for a while.

Xu Lianning turned her head to look at him: "You have bamboo leaves on you." Zhang Weiyi was about to reach out to brush them off when he saw her raise her hand and smile faintly: "You can't see them, so I'll do it." He lowered his eyes, and out of the corner of his eye, he could see her slightly trembling eyelashes. When she smiled, there was a shallow dimple on her right cheek, and then the corners of her mouth were habitually pursed, as if the smile had not yet ended.

"I thought Master Xu was such a refined person. As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked too. What kind of master you are will produce what kind of disciple you will teach."

Xu Lianning's eyes flashed with annoyance. Following the sound, she saw Li Qingyun standing not far from another woman.

Where has that face gone?

She frowned slightly. The woman looked unfamiliar, but her clothes were from Guanghua Palace. She ignored her and smiled at another woman, saying, "Miss Li."

Li Qingyun looked at her and said politely, "Miss Xu, so you're with your senior brother."

Xu Lianning, being tactful, said, "I originally had some things I wanted to ask Young Master Zhang, but there's nothing now, so I'll take my leave."

"Asking for advice is just a nice way of putting it, but secretly they use some cunning tricks, which is truly admirable."

Xu Lianning knew that Guanghua Palace and Lingxuan Palace had a deep-seated grudge, so she was naturally in a difficult position. She replied softly, "Do I recognize you, young lady? I've probably been busy lately and don't remember you."

The other party paused, then said angrily, "Has the Pavilion Master forgotten so quickly the friendship between my Guanghua Palace and your sect?"

"Is that so? I really didn't know," Xu Lianning said leisurely. "I only learned of Guanghua Palace's great name today."

Enraged, the other party drew her sword with a clang: "Pei Yan, a disciple of Guanghua Palace, humbly requests guidance from Pavilion Master Xu." Seeing the situation was turning sour, Li Qingyun immediately advised, "Sister Pei, don't be angry."

Pei Yan snorted, sword tip pointing downwards: "I'm not angry, I just can't stand the way she acts. Do you dare say you feel comfortable watching her pester Young Master Zhang?" Li Qingyun's face flushed red, and she said softly, "It's not worth arguing with her like that."

These words were spoken lightly, presumably Li Qingyun's attempt to quell Pei Yan's anger, but to Xu Lianning, they sounded incredibly sarcastic. While she wasn't particularly outstanding among the four from Lingxuan Palace, her ability to deliberately cause trouble was at the sect leader level. She smiled slightly and said, "Miss Pei, if you want to make a move, go ahead, but don't regret it later."

Pei Yan pointed her long sword at her: "Draw your sword."

Just as Li Qingyun was about to speak, he saw Zhang Weiyi standing there without any intention of stopping them, so he walked over and stood next to him: "Senior brother, aren't you going to stop them?"

Zhang Weiyi chuckled slightly: "It's not difficult to stop them, but even if we can stop them this time, we can't follow them around every day, can we?" The two have just had a secret battle. Whether they win or lose, they won't have the face to report to the sect leader. As long as there are no casualties.

Xu Lianning slowly drew her Flame Breath sword. Sunlight shone on the pale red blade, creating a flowing luster that made the short sword seem almost alive. Pei Yan twirled her longsword and struck downwards with graceful movements, executing the move "Flying Phoenix Arrives." Xu Lianning took a step back and returned the strike with a measured and disciplined movement, not relying on her agility to advance recklessly.

Li Qingyun was horrified. It was the same at the Sword Washing Pool; her opponent hadn't revealed a hint of killing intent, yet had cornered her at the edge of a cliff. Just then, she saw Xu Lianning suddenly move like smoke, her swordplay unpredictable, advancing and retreating. If not for the sunlight, she would truly appear like a ghost. A chill ran through her; she felt that despite Xu Lianning's gentle smile and elegant demeanor, she was terrifying, as if she had been dead for a long time and returned from the underworld.

“It’s Blood Demon’s Forbidden Law…” Zhang Weiyi frowned slightly and murmured to himself.

Pei Yan was already struggling to stay afloat when she suddenly saw her opponent rise into the air, a pale red sword light carrying an earth-shattering force as it hurtled through the air. She was terrified. She heard Li Qingyun shout, "Attack her ribs!" Confused, she instinctively pointed her sword directly at her opponent's ribs.

Before Xu Lianning could finish her move, Li Qingyun suddenly pointed out the flaw in her sword technique. Even with her quick reflexes, she immediately withdrew her attack, only to feel the sword energy return and her breath catch in her throat. The jade hairpin that held her hair up immediately fell to the ground and broke in two. She braced herself with one hand, but the crimson stain on her right sleeve gradually spread, even the flames reaching two feet away.

Pei Yan struck her target with a single blow. After a moment of confusion, she felt relieved and asked insincerely, "Sect Leader Xu, are you alright?" As soon as she spoke, her tone trembled and her breath became unsteady, startling herself.

Xu Lianning straightened up, picked up the Flame Breath sword with her left hand, sheathed it, and then pressed her right arm to the wound: "I'm fine." She glanced at Li Qingyun, her eyes dark and filled with murderous intent. Li Qingyun was unaware that she had already decided to kill him, and stepped forward, saying: "I'll get you some medicine later, Wudang's medicine is very effective."

Xu Lianning laughed in exasperation, her tone gentle: "No need for such trouble, it's just a minor injury, a simple bandage will suffice." In the blink of an eye, half of her sleeve was already crimson, but she merely raised her hand to press two acupoints: "Miss Li, you are so kind and forgiving, how can I possibly repay you?"

Li Qingyun was stunned for a moment, then quickly said, "I didn't think much of it before I blurted it out, Miss Xu, I didn't mean to hurt you." She wasn't stupid, and immediately realized that Xu Lianning was being sarcastic.

She said coldly, "Luckily it wasn't intentional." She glanced at Zhang Weiyi, then turned and left. How could Li Qingyun have broken her swordsmanship? She had sparred with Zhang Weiyi several times, and it wasn't surprising that he had figured out how to counter a few of her moves, but she never expected him to tell Li Qingyun. If she hadn't immediately stopped her attack, her sword-wielding arm would have been broken, and she felt extremely resentful.

By the time Xu Lianning reached the west wing of Chunyang Palace, she was already slightly unsteady on her feet. In the courtyard, He Wan and Ruan Qingxuan were drinking tea, and they were both startled to see her like this.

"Junior Sister Xu, how did you get hurt?" He Wan's concern seemed genuine as she reached out to support her. Xu Lianning followed up, saying, "It's Pei Yan from Guanghua Palace."

“Junior sister, don’t be angry. We’ll find a way to deal with them when we find out what’s wrong.” He Wan smiled slightly. But Ruan Qingxuan slowly said, “I’ll help Lian Ning bandage her wounds. We’ll talk about Guanghua Palace later.”

Upon returning to her room, Xu Lianning staggered and vomited a mouthful of blood. Ruan Qingxuan was startled and whispered, "Who could have injured you like this? No one in Guanghua Palace has that kind of ability."

Xu Lianning shook her head: "I forcibly stopped the move myself, and the Blood Demon Restriction backfired, which is why I was injured. I'll be fine after a while of recuperation."

Ruan Qingxuan hesitated for a moment, then turned around and said, "I'll go fetch a basin of clean water and wash the wound first." When she returned with the water, she saw that Xu Lianning had already changed his clothes. The wound on his arm was quite deep, but the bleeding had stopped. "You didn't cut yourself when you finished your move, did you?"

Xu Lianning's face turned pale, and she endured the pain as she said, "I originally wanted to use the move 'Stunning the City,' but Li Qingyun suddenly pointed out the flaw in my sword technique, and I had to dodge it in a very awkward manner."

Ruan Qingxuan gently bandaged her wounds, and lowered her eyes slightly upon hearing this: "This move is inherently difficult to master, let alone you, I'm not necessarily good at it either." She reached out and hugged Xu Lianning's shoulder, and said softly: "It's nothing serious, just don't use this move in the future."

Xu Lianning remained silent for a while, then suddenly asked, "Do you think Young Master Yujian cares about me?"

Ruan Qingxuan was taken aback, then laughed and said, "Of course. He was like this in Hangzhou. I just don't know what you did in the capital that angered everyone. He's looking at you very strangely now."

"What I mean by caring is admiration," Xu Lianning said earnestly.

Ruan Qingxuan looked at her, her expression becoming serious: "You can't really be...?" She paused for a moment, then said, "It seems that you care more about Miss Li right now."

Xu Lianning smiled faintly: "That would be a bit tricky."

After leaving Xu Lianning's room, Ruan Qingxuan couldn't help but sigh.

When did I start to realize that right and wrong were no longer so clearly defined?

"Senior Sister Ruan, why are you sighing like that? Is your junior sister seriously injured?" He Wan looked over, her smile so dazzling it was almost blinding.

"It's an external injury. Although the wound is a bit deep, it didn't hit any vital organs." She smiled slightly. "It's rare for Junior Sister He to be so concerned."

He Wan wasn't angry: "We all know how we became the leaders of this pavilion back then. I just don't believe that you and Junior Sister Xu are really that close. If you are, you should tell her your background and intentions."

Ruan Qingxuan's face was covered by a veil, making it impossible to discern her emotions, but her voice turned cold: "Background and intentions? What do you mean?"

"That's what I wanted to ask just now, but Junior Sister Xu interrupted me. Why don't we find a quiet place to talk about it slowly?" She turned and walked towards the bamboo forest not far from Chunyang Palace. Ruan Qingxuan was sure that she wouldn't use any tricks against him in Wudang, so he followed her.

Li Qingyun took the Jade Spirit Powder and walked towards Chunyang Palace.

Earlier, Zhang Weiyi watched her go to get the medicine, and only said lightly, "Doing anything now will be of no use, why bother making a fool of yourself?" His tone was extremely indifferent, revealing no emotion. Li Qingyun turned to look at him in confusion, but could only see a tall, slender back.

Sometimes Li Qingyun would think that, despite having known each other for over ten years, he still couldn't understand what his brother was thinking. Especially after his brother returned to the capital and spent less time in Wudang, they gradually became estranged.

"Senior sister, why deny it? I just happened to overhear you chatting with Master Shang. Actually, I've been wondering, you originally came with your own skills, so what sect did you join before, and why did you choose to join Lingxuan Palace?" A woman's voice suddenly came from the bamboo forest.

Li Qingyun stopped and looked into the distance. There seemed to be a person whose back looked exactly like Ruan Qingxuan.

“Even Master doesn’t care about these things, why are you so concerned?” the other party immediately replied.

Li Qingyun heard it clearly and recognized that it was indeed Ruan Qingxuan, so he took a few more steps closer.

"Why bother now?" another voice sneered slightly. "I heard Master Shang call you Miss Shen. The Shen family of Jinling was wiped out overnight, with no one escaping. It seems that's not the case now!"

"So what if I am a descendant of the Shen family?" Judging from the voice, Ruan Qingxuan was a little angry. "If you want to complain to Master like that, then go ahead and do it. Let's see if Master cares about it."

"Let's be frank. There have always been rumors that Lingxuan Palace destroyed five great families, including the Shen family, back then, but they just blamed it on Tianshang Sect."

"Just a rumor? Why don't you ask your master to verify it?"

Neither of them spoke for a moment. Suddenly, two sharp clanging sounds rang out, like weapons clashing. Li Qingyun sensed something was wrong and took a few steps forward, only to feel her arm tighten. She was about to cry out when she heard someone say in her ear, "Go ahead and scream if you don't want to live." She turned around and saw Xu Lianning. She couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

Xu Lianning's expression changed slightly. The sound of metal clanging in the bamboo forest suddenly stopped. He pulled her over the back wall and landed in the courtyard of the west wing. He then pushed open the door and said, "Don't make a sound later." Li Qingyun walked into the guest room and asked in confusion, "Even if they find out, it's not a big deal. Besides, they are your senior sisters."

Xu Lianning looked at her and chuckled, "It's Senior Sister who's the most important."

In the blink of an eye, footsteps approached, and He Wan asked softly at the door, "Junior Sister Xu, are you asleep yet?"

Xu Lianning asked lazily, "Is there something you need, Senior Sister?"

"You're injured, so rest more. I'm leaving now." Then the footsteps gradually faded into the distance.