Бессмертие, Бессмертие - Глава 18
Half a day later.
Their boats traveled down the Han River, which turns eastward from Shayang to join the Yangtze River near Wuhan. Shengxiang and his boats then turned into the Dongjing River, a tributary of the Han River, and continued until they reached Xigou. Xigou was not far from Honghu Lake. Honghu Lake and Dongting Lake are collectively known as the Two Lakes, both surrounded by the Dahong Mountains to the north, the Dabie Mountains to the northeast, the Mufu Mountains to the southeast, the Xuefeng Mountains to the west, and the Wuling and Wudang Mountains to the west.
Xigou was a place of moderate size. One day, a sedan chair and a brightly colored carriage arrived. In front of the sedan chair was a matchmaker with a large black mole beside her nose, and a strikingly beautiful young woman with a charming smile. Seeing this large, well-dressed group, the people of Xigou knew they were either a wealthy family's daughter passing through on her way to her wedding, or returning to her parents' home for a visit. The only question was: where was the groom?
The quick-witted, smiling girl in the pale yellow dress was a maid. She said her mistress was incredibly beautiful, possessed great wealth, and was well-read – practically flawless. She had been rescued on her journey by a镖师 (bodyguard/escort) from Changsha, and out of gratitude, she wished to repay his kindness by marrying him. However, she had heard that the镖师 had gone to Junshan to meet someone and had since disappeared. Her mistress was extremely worried and was searching everywhere for him. She offered a thousand pieces of gold to anyone who could provide information about her fiancé.
At this time, it was said that the wealthy and beautiful young lady had already checked into the "Wanhu" Inn in Xigou. Many busybodies, having nothing better to do, curiously surrounded the pretty girl, asking, "What is the young master's name, and how old is he?"
The pretty girl in the yellow dress was exquisitely beautiful and incredibly charming. The crowd gathered at the entrance of the Wanhu Inn was mostly there to see her. If this girl was already so talented, one wondered what kind of stunning beauty the young lady in the courtyard must possess.
"Young master?" The pretty maid called herself "Xiang'er" without blinking. "The young master's surname is either Rong or Yu. This young master... well, Xiang'er doesn't know much about him either."
"Isn't Xiang'er a maidservant in the young lady's dowry? How come you don't know the groom's name?"
The woman in yellow, nicknamed "Xiang'er," replied casually, "The young master is highly skilled in martial arts. He ran so fast when he rescued the young lady that I didn't even get a chance to speak. The young lady was too shy to talk to me."
The audience chuckled. "Miss Xiang'er doesn't even know her husband's name or appearance. How is she supposed to find him?"
“I know what the young master looks like,” Xiang’er said, raising her eyebrows high. “The young master is probably like this…” She first feigned a pitiful look, curtsied, and said shyly, “Thank you for saving me, young master.” Then she straightened her face, trying to appear serious and indifferent, and with a slight flick of her sleeve, said, “No need.” Then she turned and took three steps away, gesturing to the scene of the young master turning away after saving someone. Her eyes were quick and her expressions varied; she portrayed this curtsy and the flick of her sleeve vividly and convincingly.
The crowd burst into laughter, "Xiang'er is dressed up so well..."
Just as they were laughing and talking, a Taoist priest sitting at a table in the Wanhu Inn glanced at them with a slight surprise, his brow furrowed as if he were pondering something.
Xiang'er became increasingly excited as she spoke, completely forgetting that she had just said she hadn't spoken to the "son-in-law" and didn't know his name. "That son-in-law is about this tall," she gestured to someone a third taller than her, "Hmm... he doesn't like to talk, his voice is intimidating, and he might have white hair, but it's fine if he doesn't have white hair..."
"Miss Xiang'er is quite tall. If someone were taller than her, they would be a truly burly man," someone in the crowd laughed.
The Taoist priest's brow twitched again, and he smiled slightly.
Xiang'er said seriously, "The young master is a bodyguard, not a bandit, so how could he be so burly?" She emphasized, "Bustling only makes people think of someone wielding a five-ringed broadsword..." She obviously meant to say "robber" or "bandit," but suddenly there was a "clang" in the inn, and a big man in blue picked up a weapon that was on a chair and put it on the table. It was a five-ringed broadsword.
"...a hero." Xiang'er didn't even blink, and said with a smile.
"Xiang'er, Miss is calling you." A younger girl emerged from the inn's inner room. Dressed in white, her features were elegant and gentle, unlike a maid. She leaned against the wall as she came out, her steps unsteady and her frail body making one feel sorry for her.
"Ah Wan." Xiang'er rushed over to support her, grumbling as she led her inside, "You're still not better..."
The crowd at the door was dumbfounded. They wondered whose young lady this was, with each maidservant more outstanding than the last. The woman in white had only flashed slightly, yet she had already captivated the souls of several people.
Two more people sat at the Taoist's table at Wanhu Inn: one was the one who had spoken up in the crowd earlier, and the other was the burly man wielding a five-ringed broadsword.
The Taoist priest was about forty years old, with delicate features and clean, simple clothes that exuded a Taoist aura. He nodded to the two men and whispered, "Did you both hear that?"
The man who spoke in the crowd was also extremely tall and thin, but not like Gu Yinfeng, whose entire body resembled a skeleton. He was very tall, yet he had a free and easy demeanor. He raised his cup and took a sip of tea. "That little girl in yellow is clearly looking for the husband of Fuyun Gushe, the White-Haired Hero Bai."
The burly man in blue nodded, but seemed reluctant to speak and remained silent.
“These girls have suspicious origins; I don’t know if they are friend or foe,” the Taoist priest pondered. “I think it’s best to keep Bai Daxia’s whereabouts a secret for now.” After a pause, he added, “I heard that Furong Manor has also been taken in by Li Lingyan. Furong Manor is famous for its beautiful women, and these women seem extremely suspicious.”
“I don’t see it that way,” the tall, thin man interjected. “Using the pretext of looking for a son-in-law to search for our whereabouts is a ridiculous scheme. There are many cynical women in Furong Village; they wouldn’t make such a joke. In my opinion, it would be better to try to get some information from Miss Xiang’er and test whether she is friend or foe.”
The burly man in blue nodded again. "Her portrayal of the White Knight is extremely similar; perhaps she's someone I know."
"I've never heard of any old friends of Master Bai besides Gu She..."
This "Xiang'er," who is excellent at singing and talking nonsense, is of course none other than Sheng Xiang. Wan Yuyuedan was resting in her room when she heard him talking and getting happier and happier, and the more he talked, the more outrageous it became. She went out and called him back, and smiled and said, "If Qiu Han knew that you were finding a son-in-law for him outside, he would be so angry that his injury would relapse."
Shengxiang said with a smile, "Don't worry, Xiao Bi will definitely be satisfied with the son-in-law I found. When he meets me, he'll absolutely give me a thank-you gift and call me a god. He definitely won't be so angry that he'll die; I guarantee all his ailments will disappear." After a pause, he asked, "How's your injury?"
“He should be fine in about three to five days.” Wan Yuyue frowned slightly. “It’s just that Anan’s high fever won’t go down and he’s not lucid. I guess he’s usually very healthy and never gets sick, so this is why it’s so serious.” He coughed twice. “Old Weng has already removed his disguise and gone out to gather information. If we can stay here safely for three to five days, things might start to look up.”
"So, Princess Awan wants me to stay out of trouble?" Shengxiang saw through his ulterior motive and said with a grin, "What if I don't listen?"
Wan Yuyue didn't even blink, "Those who are obedient are not Shengxiang."
Sheng Xiang patted him hard on the shoulder and praised, "You really are a good brother, you really understand me."
“Of course… the one who pays the money has the final say.” Wan Yuyuedan stumbled slightly from his slap.
"Ah Wan is indeed clever," Sheng Xiang said with a smile.
At this moment, on the table outside.
"I feel that Miss Xiang'er looks very familiar." The Taoist priest was Qinghe, a junior brother of Qingjing, the head of Wudang Mountain. "But I haven't been down the mountain for more than 20 years. Given this young lady's age, it's unlikely that I've seen her anywhere before."
"Whenever there's a pretty girl, Qinghe Laodao will find her familiar. Thirty years of cultivation haven't gotten rid of your lecherous ways." A voice suddenly came from nowhere, and someone said coldly, "That girl has bewitching eyebrows and eyes; you can tell at a glance that she's no good."
The tall, thin man frowned. "Even after thirty years of solitary cultivation, the Copper-Headed Monk's mouth is still so vicious. It seems thirty years isn't a very long time. Enough with the nonsense, where did Tianyan Yuxiu and my three brothers hide?" This man surnamed "Fu" was Fu Guan, the leader of the Four Friends of Qilian, the Moon-Gazing Guest. The other three friends were Mo Dan, the Cloud-Sweeping Guest; Ke Qing, the Flower-Singing Guest; and He Ju, the Chess-Picking Guest. At the Junshan gathering, Li Ling's banquet had set up an ambush, not only planting explosives but also leading a large group of masked men in black to carry out a brutal attack. If it weren't for the quick thinking and skillful response of the White-Haired Man and Tianyan Yuxiu, who dispersed the group on the spot, everyone would have been reduced to ashes by the explosives. In the chaos, Fu Guan and the White-Haired Man's group fought their way out, while Mo Dan, Ke Qing, and He Ju were nowhere to be found, having been taken away by Yuxiu. Fu Guan had known them for decades, and they cared deeply for each other.
“Although Yu Xiu entered the profession relatively late, he is indeed quite capable,” the Copper-Headed Monk said in a low voice. “Guess where he took us?”
Fu Guan chuckled, "I'm not a god, how would I know where he hid you?"
"Of the sixty-three of us, about ten are probably injured or poisoned," said the Copper Monk. "Yu Xiu said that although breaking up into smaller groups would give us more chances to escape and make us less likely to be killed by the explosives, our forces are scattered, making us too easy for Li Lingyan to defeat one by one. So, hiding for now is the best course of action." He whispered mysteriously in Fu Guan's ear, "He took us to the residence of the Prefect of Jiangling Prefecture."
Fu Guan was startled. "What? You've gone to hide in the government's residence?"
"I heard that Prefect Long of Jiangling is a friend of Yuxiu," Copper Monk whispered. "I also find it strange, but that Prefect Long is truly righteous; he didn't say anything."
“This Tianyan Yuxiu is indeed no ordinary person; he’s a close friend of the Prefect.” Fu Guan shook his head and said in a low voice, “We’re very close; we’re right at the foot of Wudang Mountain.”
"That's extremely dangerous. Li Lingyan has many henchmen here," the fat, burly copper-headed monk said in a low voice. "Especially those girls. Don't let their beauty fool you and make you forget who your fathers are. I heard that Liu Jiecui from Furong Manor has fallen for a man surnamed Luan, and all the women under her command are under Li Lingyan's control. There are girls everywhere here. You could easily fall into Li's trap. You know what a honey trap is? The more you like someone, the more careful you have to be."
Master Qinghe interjected, "The reason why the monk is so cautious is because you are very fond of the two female benefactors just now..." Before he became a monk, he and the bronze monk were good friends. He had been away from home for more than 20 years, and his carefree and unrestrained personality in his youth had been greatly restrained, but he had not changed his habit of joking and teasing each other with the bronze monk.
"Nonsense!" Copper Monk's eyes widened, "Such a tiny girl is too young to be my granddaughter!" After a pause, he added, "These women are definitely not good people. Who knows what they're plotting by inquiring about the whereabouts of the White-Haired One?"