Sept nuits de neige

Chapitre 44

Tang Di's old face flushed red: "However, the Tuanfu Heart Sutra is a crucial item in the martial arts world..."

Tang Shijiu interrupted, "Even if I had the Tuanfu Heart Sutra, what are you going to do? Just because your martial arts are better than mine, you're older than me, and you're more shameless, you brazenly try to steal it? Besides, I don't have any Tuanfu Heart Sutra at all. Why are you trying to extort me like this?"

The Tuanfu Heart Sutra had disappeared from the martial arts world for nearly twenty years, and many of the people present had never actually seen it. Shen Yuntan and Tianxiu only had a slight understanding because their master had briefly mentioned it, while Tang Diku was one of the few who had suffered from this technique. Because of his seniority and age, when he pointed out that Tang Shijiu's technique was Tuanfu, the martial arts crowd was initially astonished and somewhat convinced. However, now, after Tang Shijiu's explanation, they also felt that such a delicate young girl probably wouldn't possess a technique that had been lost for so many years. This made it seem as if Tang Diku was extorting them.

Tang Di was speechless for a moment.

But then Tang Shijiu said, "Everyone in the martial world says that Tuanfu was first obtained by Jinhu Manor, and now it may have been obtained by Shenyin. As far as I know, Tang Chongli, the eldest daughter of the Tang Clan, has a close relationship with Shenyin. Just now we only talked about Shenyin, and the eldest daughter of the Tang Clan became so excited. If the Tang Clan wants Tuanfu, it would be better to go directly to Shenyin than to entangle me here. It is a much better strategy."

After the chaotic fight, the martial arts practitioners had forgotten about how the fight started. But when Tang Shijiu brought it up, they remembered and all their eyes turned to Tang Chongli.

Tang Chongli was completely flustered and shouted, "Look! Look again and I'll gouge your eyes out!"

The louder she shouted, the more the onlookers felt she had something to hide, and several of them, unable to remain calm, had already gripped their sword hilts.

Tianxiu chuckled softly. Who said Tang Shijiu was stupid? He was the stupidest of all.

Looking at her flowing long hair and slightly pouting lips, she resembled Tang Weiqi when she was stubborn, and for a moment, my heart swayed and I couldn't control myself.

Chapter Twenty-Eight Temptation

The inn was bustling with noise and activity. Half of the people were staring intently at the Tang Clan members, while the other half looked at Tang Shijiu with suspicion.

Tianxiu sipped his tea politely the whole time, and no one saw his hand, hidden beneath his wide sleeves, subtly flipping over.

A burly man immediately let out a scream, clutching his buttocks and wailing. At first, people didn't pay much attention, but the man's screams became increasingly inhuman. He clawed and scratched wildly, tearing his clothes to shreds. He made a series of "heh heh" sounds, like the wailing of a wild ghost.

Someone exclaimed in alarm, "Poison! The Tang Clan's poison!"

His shout immediately put everyone on edge, drawing their weapons and rushing towards the Tang Clan members. Tang Chongli, still throwing a tantrum, was pulled behind Tang Zheyi. The tense atmosphere was instantly broken, and those who had been hesitant before immediately joined the battle against the Tang Clan.

Taking advantage of the flying pots and pans, Tianxiu led Tang Shijiu and the others out of the inn.

Tianxiu kept her hands tucked into her sleeves, frowning as she watched Tang Shijiu bustling around for Shen Yuntan, that bastard who was faking illness. She had just been unable to bear it any longer and had only said, "Maybe his illness isn't that serious," when she received a fierce glare in return, leaving her feeling utterly aggrieved.

Now that they had settled in his villa, Tianxiu tragically discovered that Tang Shijiu had actually taken his polite words to heart and genuinely treated her like an outsider.

"Tianxiu! Give me a hand and change Yun Tan's water!"

"Tianxiu! Come here and take Yun Tan's pulse."

The villa was uninhabited for a long time, and there were only a few maids, so Sang Tianxiu had to do everything herself.

Yun Tan, Yun Tan, Shen Yun Tan! Sang Tianxiu rolled her eyes, glaring at the patient lying on the bed who seemed half-dead. The patient, with flushed cheeks, sat up on the bed, slurping down a bowl of noodles with soybean paste—cooked by Tang Shijiu himself.

"tasty!"

Tang Shijiu was very proud: "Of course it's delicious! Of course it's delicious! This is what you call 'one bite and you know'! In the past, during festivals at Xiaoyao Manor, I was always the one in charge of cooking!"

Mentioning Xiaoyao Manor reminds me of my master. Mentioning my master reminds me of the poison administered by Jinhu Manor.

Tang Shijiuda's eyes darted around, then he looked at Tianxiu and asked, "Tianxiu, do you have connections with Jinhu Villa?"

Looking into those innocent, doe-like eyes, Tianxiu felt his bones melt and couldn't bring himself to say "no."

Tang Shijiu then recounted the whole story to him, as Xu Ziqing had told him. Tianxiu laughed so hard his nose almost crooked: "Shijiu, you're really easy to fool! To put it bluntly, who is your master? Xiaoyao Manor is such a tiny place, is it really worth Jinhu Manor poisoning him?"

Tang Shijiu's expression changed drastically: "What did you say?"

Tianxiu hurriedly coaxed, "I meant that your Xiaoyao Manor is a place of outstanding people and abundant resources, and that the quality of your disciples is more important than the quantity."

Tang Shijiu waved his hand: "I don't want to hear about that! I want to ask what exactly happened with Master's poison?"

Tianxiu took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped her hands: "I told you not to get angry. Your sect has neither fame nor profit in the martial arts world. Jinhu Manor wouldn't have nothing better to do than harm your master. But speaking of poisoning, your junior sister does seem to have some merit."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Tang Shijiu rushed out with his broadsword.

She was like a whirlwind, knocking over many things with a clatter.

Shen Yun was about to speak when Tianxiu stopped him: "No, don't apologize. How can you ask for compensation if you apologize?"

Tang Shijiu rushed out of the inner room and as soon as she entered the backyard, she saw Xu Ziqing and Gu Yan being affectionate under the grape trellis, their love so intense that the air itself seemed to be filled with ambiguity.

She suppressed her anger and slowly walked over: "Junior brother, is Junior Sister Gu alright?"

Seeing Gu Yan shrink into a ball because of her, Xu Ziqing said somewhat rudely, "It's alright, thank you for your concern, Senior Sister."

Tang Shijiu suddenly laughed, a sinister laugh: "Junior brother, are you enjoying being a sucker for your senior sister?"

Gu Yan stared with innocent eyes: "Senior sister... what you're saying..."

Before she could finish speaking, she saw the Xuanbei Blade come flying through the air, slashing straight at Xu Ziqing without any mercy.

Shen Yuntan stood with his hands behind his back, listening to the wailing and howling in the backyard, unmoved. Gazing at the setting sun, he sighed with deep emotion:

"The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it is nearing dusk."

Tianxiu said coolly, "Brother Yuntan, aren't you afraid that his body is the same as Chao Er's? Nineteen is probably going on a killing spree over there."

Shen Yun said expressionlessly, "She hates killing, and she would never kill her junior brother."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tang Shijiu stormed out of the backyard, carrying a Xuanbei sword in one hand and a bloodied ear in the other, her pretty face contorted with rage.

"He once said I cut off his ear, and today I'm making his dream come true!"

Xu Ziqing, whose ear had been cut off, and Gu Yan, terrified, slunk away that very day, their whereabouts unknown. Tang Shijiu locked herself in her room, refusing to come out no matter what.

It wasn't until the moon was high in the sky that she felt her stomach growling loudly. However, she had just made a resounding statement about not eating, and it wasn't appropriate to go out to find something to eat now. Tang Shijiu sighed heavily, pushed open the window, and gazed at the moonlight, lost in thought.