Su Xiaoying suddenly realized that Yi Mei's hobby was bringing up people and things that shouldn't be mentioned at times like these.
"An irreconcilable feud..." Su Xiaoying said, "It's either the father's revenge or the mother's revenge."
Yi Mei became agitated, tugging hard at Su Xiaoying's clothes, and resolutely said, "I have never killed his parents! No! I have never killed anyone surnamed Fu, nor have I killed anyone surnamed Fu's wife!"
Su Xiaoying pulled the clothes out and comforted her, saying, "He's probably mistaken."
"How could such a thing be mistaken?"
"……I don't know either."
"Now look what's happened! Fu Daiyue is seeking revenge on me, and Liu Xingxing is seeking revenge on me too. What did I do to deserve this?" Yi Mei shouted angrily. "Those people I actually killed have vanished without a trace. How can this be so strange?"
Su Xiaoying sighed and said, "Alright, stop thinking about these things. It's no use racking your brains."
Yi Mei said, "I don't want to. You need to think about it for me."
Su Xiaoying immediately fell silent.
Yi Mei gently nudged him a few times, saying, "Think for me, think quickly..."
Su Xiaoying suddenly started snoring.
Yi Mei was so angry that she pinched his arm and said, "Su Xiaoying! Su Xiaoying!"
Su Xiaoying had no choice but to open her eyes and sigh, "I can't think of anything either."
Yi Mei calmed down, paused, and said seriously, "Could Fu Daiyue and Liu Xingxing's revenge be closely related? Xiao Ying, my intuition is always very accurate, and I won't be wrong this time either."
Su Xiaoying said, "Go ask Liu Xingxing on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. Don't worry, I'll take care of those three sour 'phoenixes coming to pay homage'."
Yi Mei laughed and said, "That's right." Then she gently nudged Su Xiaoying and whispered, "Xiaoying, this time I'm going to ask you properly, who exactly is your master?"
Su Xiaoying smiled slightly and said, "If you answer one question for me first, I'll tell you."
Yi Mei asked, "What?"
Su Xiaoying asked, "Why are you so concerned about everything related to the wrong flower painting? What exactly is that mark on your body?"
Yi Mei's expression changed drastically, and she exclaimed, "You saw it!"
Su Xiaoying said, "How could you possibly hide it from me? Aren't you 'just an assassin, not mysterious at all'? How could you have so many things to hide?"
Yi Mei paused, then fell silent. She began to gasp for breath, the gasps growing louder and louder. Su Xiaoying was startled and touched her; she realized Yi Mei was truly crying. Su Xiaoying had no choice but to surrender on the spot.
"Don't cry," Su Xiaoying said.
Yi Mei sobbed, "I'll just cry for a little while."
Su Xiaoying said, "What kind of image would it have if word got out that the assassin Yi Mei was crying on the roof?"
Yi Mei sniffled and said, "Anyway, I've already cried. It doesn't matter whether I cry one more time or one less time."
The moon in the sky was cool and clear. A thin cloud covered half of the moon.
A life-or-death bet
The watermelon had been soaking in the icy well water for a whole day. When it was taken out, its rind was a vibrant green and glistening, seemingly radiating coolness—it was simply gorgeous. A slice was made with a knife, and with a "crack," it naturally split open, revealing bright red, translucent, and plump flesh.
Su Xiaoying sat in a corner of the courtyard, eating with food all over his face and head. After a while, even Yi Mei felt embarrassed to eat anymore, as if eating one more piece would deprive him of the greatest pleasure in life.
Guo Shaotang was overjoyed and said, "So Young Master Su likes watermelon so much?"
Yi Mei pouted and said, "Where? I bet you don't have to pay for this watermelon yourself, so why not eat it?" She then glared at him and said to Guo Shaotang, "Dr. Guo, Aunt Guo is the head of the household, so we'll have to trouble you."
Guo Shaotang said, "Of course, of course."
Su Xiaoying gnawed on the watermelon in her hand and said to Guo Shaotang, "Dr. Guo, I have another request."
Guo Shaotang hurriedly replied, "Please give your orders, young master."
Su Xiaoying said, "The watermelons you bought this time are really delicious. Could you give me one?"
Guo Shaotang quickly stood up and said, "Yes, yes, it's rare that you like it, young master. Please wait a moment, I'll go get it right away."
Yi Mei rushed forward and grabbed Su Xiaoying's arm hard, saying angrily, "You're still eating? You're still eating? Have you never eaten watermelon in your life? Huh?"
"Is it good...?"
Yi Mei grabbed his arm and pulled him out. Guo Shaotang chased after them and called out, "Are you two leaving? Let's talk after dinner!" Yi Mei said, "No, thank you."
Su Xiaoying was dragged along for a while, then suddenly broke free and said to her in a very serious tone, "Yimei, I have something very important to tell you."
Yi Mei said, "What do you want now? To go back and get the watermelon?"
Su Xiaoying shook his head and said, "No, I just ate too much and I need to pee." His serious expression made it seem like something really important had happened. Yi Mei couldn't help but laugh and said, "Go quickly, go quickly. I'll go to the tavern up ahead and get a pound of wine. I'll wait for you there."
The tavern in front was the only one in Guojia Town. It wasn't yet dinnertime, and only two of the ten or so tables were occupied. At one of the corner tables sat a young man and woman, both with elegant features and quiet demeanor. The man poured himself his own drinks, while the woman casually glanced at Yimei.
Yi Mei was taken aback for a moment, then greeted them nonchalantly, "Fu Daiyue, Ming Ji, you've found your way here. Are you ever going to stop?"
Fu Daiyue didn't look up, and said calmly, "It's not over yet."
Yi Mei was speechless for a moment, then sat down heavily at the table by the door. After a while, she said, "Fine, let's pick an open place and settle things today! That way you won't have to go through the trouble of looking for me!"
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "Very well. But you'll have to wait until I finish my drink."
Yi Mei sneered, "With Su Xiaoying here, neither of you has a chance of winning."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "If you have no chance of winning, you might as well die."
The tone of those words made it seem as if they weren't spoken to her. Yi Mei was startled and fell silent. At that moment, she noticed another table occupied by a single man, probably in his early twenties. There was wine on the table, but he wasn't drinking. His hands were tucked into his sleeves, and his eyes were as clear as spring water and as lustrous as ancient jade. Yi Mei remembered them especially clearly.
Yi Mei exclaimed in surprise, "It's you?"
The man smiled slightly and said, "Hello, Assassin Yi Mei."
Yi Mei said, "What are you doing here?"
The man said, "I'm visiting an old friend."
Yi Mei simply said "Oh," and didn't ask any more questions. However, all her attention was already focused; she seemed to be silent with her head down, but she was concentrating intently on the matter at hand.
Su Xiaoying never came.
Yi Mei suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. At the other two tables, Fu Daiyue was still slowly drinking, while the young man remained quietly seated with his sleeves tucked in.
Just then, a young woman dressed in mourning clothes slipped into the tavern like a ghost. She quietly sat down at a table near the entrance, without uttering a sound. Despite the hot weather, she was dressed in her full mourning clothes meticulously, which was quite striking at first glance.
The woman in mourning clothes faced the crowd, bowing her head and sitting quietly.
Fu Daiyue didn't even glance at her, maintaining his indifferent demeanor as he slowly poured himself a drink. However, Ming Ji suddenly widened her eyes, a look of disbelief flashing in her beautiful gaze as she stared intently at the woman in mourning clothes. Her expression instantly became incredibly complex.
"Who died?" Mingji finally spoke and asked.
The woman in mourning clothes did not answer, but sat silently with her head down.
"Why are you wearing mourning clothes?" Mingji asked again.
The tavern remained silent.
Even Yi Mei seemed to exude a strange, mysterious aura. As if it were perfectly natural, no one dared to break free from this mystery. Everyone was concealing themselves, waiting for others to emerge from the enigma and reveal themselves to the public.
Fu Daiyue had already finished his second jar of liquor. Surprisingly, he showed no signs of drunkenness. He slowly stood up and said to Yi Mei, "It's all the same wherever you are. You can choose the place." As he spoke, he appeared detached, as if it were none of his business.
Yi Mei stared at him, pondered for a moment, and was about to speak when a voice interrupted.
Su Xiaoying was already standing at the door at some point. He said, "Fighting is something we men should handle. Don't let women worry about it."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "What do you want to do?"
Su Xiaoying said, "I want to make another bet with you."
Fu Daiyue said, "You speak."
Su Xiaoying said, "Let's bet three moves. If I lose, I'll give you my life; if you lose, I won't take your life, but you have to tell us why you keep causing trouble for Yimei?"
Fu Daiyue thought for a moment and said, "I've gained a great advantage, so there's no reason for me not to gamble."
Su Xiaoying said, "Very good, let's go to the woods outside the town to avoid accidentally hurting innocent people."
Fu Daiyue said, "Please."
One gambled with gusto, the other with a swift acceptance, both seemingly extremely confident. Yet, the air suddenly seemed to sink, pressing down on their hearts, making it hard to breathe. Yi Mei's hand involuntarily rested on the hilt of Han Guang's sword. Glancing slightly, she saw Ming Ji's right hand slightly bent, presumably already gripping a plum blossom nail. Yi Mei gave a cold laugh and turned her gaze to Su Xiaoying.
Fu Daiyue and Su Xiaoying had already grasped the swords in their hands.
The duel was about to begin. Although Su Xiaoying's sword was not famous, everyone present knew that he was absolutely comparable to any swordsman of the time. He had even once blocked Fu Daiyue's powerful attack with a single strike. However, this time it was not a surprise block, but an attack, aiming to break through the assassin's sword move when the sword intent of his first strike was at its strongest.
They only bet three moves, but Yi Mei's back was already soaked with cold sweat. Yi Mei was not a timid woman.
Their confrontation was brief; it was as if the moment the swords were drawn, they had already launched into action. The duel was thrilling, but not particularly exciting, because they were simply too fast.
Two figures flashed past each other like lightning, a loud clang echoing like thunder. The two men stopped, sheathing their swords, and only after a very long time did the sound of their swords clashing gradually fade away.
Yi Mei and Ming Ji suddenly came to their senses; they had already exchanged three moves.
Too fast! So fast it doesn't feel like a life-or-death battle!
Fu Daiyue remained motionless, slowly sheathing her long sword. However, Su Xiaoying's sleeve suddenly twitched, and a tattered piece of cloth quietly fell to the ground.
Mingji almost cried out in surprise. Turning her head, she saw Yimei with a deathly pale face, but she didn't say a word, just staring intently at Su Xiaoying.
Su Xiaoying touched her sleeve, smiled slightly, and asked, "Did I lose?"
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "I lost."
Su Xiaoying said, "Very good."
Neither Yimei nor Mingji were ordinary women; they simply stared at their respective men, saying nothing. Everything appeared perfectly calm.
Fu Daiyue finally spoke: "Miss Dong killed my father."
Yi Mei came to her senses and sneered, "I have never killed your father, nor have I killed a single person with the surname Fu."
Fu Daiyue said, "My father's surname is not Fu, his surname is Liu, and his name is Liu Tianyi."
Yi Mei's expression immediately changed, and she said, "The number one assassin is actually the young master of the Carved Beam Pavilion?"
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "He doesn't know I have a son, and we've never met. I just know he's my father."
Yi Mei said, "Your feelings for him are very deep. When you killed me, your sword intent was filled with heavy hatred."
Fu Daiyue said calmly, "I don't know if I have feelings for him, but he certainly doesn't hate me, his son, so I don't hate him either. That's why I want to avenge him."