Разные пути ведут к одной и той же цели (жениться на человеке равного социального положения)

Глава 16

It's actually quite simple. That day, after Li Yiyao slipped out to urinate, fearing being seen and reported, she changed out of the Thousand-Year Sect's clothes. However, she was instead targeted by several disciples from Qinghong Manor, who mistook her for members of a small gang and harassed her. Li Yiyao's martial arts skills were too poor to defeat them. Just as they were about to commit their acts, Lu Wen appeared. This gentleman, a true gentleman, not only didn't harbor any lustful thoughts towards Li Yiyao's beauty and participate, but also rebuked several fellow disciples, angering them. One of them was supposedly the son of an elder. Li Yiyao initially thought this seemingly dull-witted Lu Wen was trying to win her favor, but after a few words, she realized he truly was a blockhead. Thus, the usually unmoved Li Yiyao developed a strange feeling towards Lu Wen.

“You’re not really in love with him,” I said helplessly. “It’s just that you think, wow, this guy isn’t even attracted to my looks. How interesting and intriguing. It’s just that kind of pointless thinking.”

"Is that really all?" Li Yiyao looked disappointed. "I thought spring had arrived and my heart should be fluttering with romantic feelings."

I rolled my eyes and said, "It's already summer, your spring fever has long since withered and rotted in the east wind. Actually, it's very simple to prove it. If you feel your heart skip a beat when you see Lu Wen again, then you may really have fallen for him."

Li Yiyao scratched his head. "A sudden thud? How did it happen—"

—With a bang, a sword was thrown and stuck into the wooden table between me and Li Yiyao.

Li Yiyao and I turned around at the same time and looked at the entrance of the inn. We saw a woman with an almond-shaped face and peach-like cheeks, but with an angry expression, and Lu Wen chasing after her.

Before I could even speak, Li Yiyao suddenly grabbed my hand and exclaimed excitedly, "Gu Yi, my heart really skipped a beat just now! I really like him!"

I immediately covered my throbbing lip and gritted my teeth, saying, "Anyone would have been startled, okay? I was startled too!"

"What?" Li Yiyao's expression changed instantly. "You're not allowed to compete with me for her. You're already Yin Xuan's woman!"

The veins on my forehead nearly shot skyward. I took several deep breaths before I could barely calm myself down.

Before Li Yiyao and I could even acknowledge the woman's sullen face, she became even angrier. She slammed her hand on the table where we were having breakfast, glanced at us, and finally looked at Li Yiyao with hatred: "You are Qing Guyi?"

At that time, the platform was some distance from the audience, so it was normal that they couldn't see my face.

Li Yiyao waved her hand impatiently: "Yours?" She turned around and looked at Lu Wen with bright, sparkling eyes.

Lu Wen didn't even look at her. Instead, he stepped forward and grabbed the woman's arm. Then, realizing he had grabbed it inappropriately, he awkwardly let go and stammered, "Junior Sister Qu, stop fooling around."

The woman waved her arm and said to Lu Wen with a look of disdain, "Don't meddle in other people's business." Then she turned to Li Yiyao and asked, "I'm asking you a question. Are you Qing Guyi?"

Seeing the woman's rude attitude towards Lu Wen, Li Yiyao sneered. Just as she was about to speak, a disciple from Youlong Tiangong who was also eating breakfast interrupted her, "Qu Qingqing, this is an inn that Youlong Tiangong has booked. How dare you act so insolently here?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the Youlong disciples sitting in the hall stood up, grabbed their weapons, and moved towards the area.

Qu Qingqing... isn't she the only daughter of Qu Chunran, the current female head of Qinghong Manor? It's said that she has an arrogant personality and terrible martial arts skills, and now that I see it, it's true.

Seeing this, Naqu Qingqing was somewhat frightened and subconsciously took a step back.

Lu Wen reacted quickly, immediately pulling Qu Qingqing behind him and bowing to the crowd, saying, "Junior Sister Qu was impulsive, but she meant no harm. Please forgive her."

"No malicious intent whatsoever?" Li Yiyao's expression turned cold as he looked at Lu Wen protecting Qu Qingqing. Pointing at the sword stuck in the table, he sneered, "Throwing mindless swords at us like this, and you call it no malicious intent? Do you think I, Qing Guyi, am easy to bully?"

She really called herself a courtesan... I weakly leaned on the table, hoping that Li Yiyao wouldn't ruin my reputation.

Lu Wen was taken aback, opened his mouth but couldn't explain himself. He obviously knew he couldn't beat me and was afraid I would make a move. Lu Wen quickly retreated with Qu Qingqing, his hand already on the hilt of his sword at his waist. He said with a wary look, "It's just a misunderstanding. I'm very sorry to have disturbed you two. We'll leave now."

The oblivious Qu Qingqing shoved Lu Wen aside and sneered, "Who gave you permission to apologize?" Her eyes darted around to the leading disciple of Youlong Tiangong, "Since you say this is Youlong Tiangong's inn, why are these two people from the Thousand Years Sect here?"

The disciple looked at Qu Qingqing with disdain and said, "Miss Qing was brought back by our young master, so there's nothing wrong with her. That girl is Qing Guyi's good friend, so what's wrong with her coming to visit? Qu Qingqing, you should go back to Qinghong Manor and stay there. Stop causing trouble. Or you can come back when you're as powerful as Miss Qing."

As soon as he finished speaking, the disciple bowed to Li Yiyao with admiration. Li Yiyao, displaying the demeanor of a master, remained calm and gestured to the disciple that he did not need to.

Looking at Li Yiyao's inscrutable expression, I subconsciously covered my mouth again and quickly handed her a cup of tea. "Senior Sister Qing, have some tea." Li Yiyao nodded and accepted the tea with great poise.

Qu Qingqing's face flushed red and then turned pale. Suddenly, she laughed loudly, raised her head, and looked at Li Yiyao with a sidelong glance: "Let me tell you, I am engaged to Yin Liuchuan. Don't you dare have any improper thoughts!"

So all that trouble they went through to come all this way was to reunite with their love rival! What a great achievement! But no matter what, they mistook the person for someone else... Speaking of which, the fact that Youlong Tiangong, their longtime enemy, has a marriage agreement with Qinghong Manor is truly shocking.

"What?" Li Yiyao subconsciously started worrying about my marriage again, and quickly looked at the Youlong disciple beside him, "There's such a thing?"

"No, no," the Youlong disciple quickly explained, "It was just that more than ten years ago, when the relationship between my Youlong Heavenly Palace and Qinghong Manor had improved, Manor Lord Qu jokingly suggested that our young palace master and this Qu Qingqing be betrothed. At the time, our palace master casually agreed. Later, our relationship with Qinghong Manor deteriorated again, and the matter naturally faded into oblivion. However, this Qu Qingqing always brings up this old story. Miss Qing, you must believe our young palace master Yin."

So that's how it is. It seems Qu Qingqing is deeply in love with Yin Shaxing. But why were his last words so jarring...?

Li Yiyao sneered after hearing this, her disdainful expression making her face even more cold and beautiful. She looked at Qu Qingqing with extreme contempt: "Let me tell you, Yin Liuchuan promised to marry me when he was eight years old. We even exchanged tokens of love. You saw it yesterday too. As soon as I was injured, he rushed to take me to the hospital. It's clear that he is deeply in love with me. You have no chance."

The disciples of Youlong on the other side actually thought it was a matter of course, "That's right, I heard our young palace master call Miss Qing 'little lady' yesterday. I asked you if you could have lost to the young palace master after so many moves. Only this Miss Qing is worthy of our young palace master. You should leave as soon as possible."

Li Yiyao, didn't you say you'd keep it a secret?! My hand went limp and I almost fell to the ground...

Qu Qingqing's face changed upon hearing this, and she pointed at Li Yiyao, saying, "You, you, I never thought you really had something going on with Yin Lang..."

Li Yiyao smiled smugly and boasted, "Let me tell you, no matter what, I, Qing Guyi, will always be the wife of Youlong Tiangong. As for you, go back to farming and selling sweet potatoes." What do you mean by "no matter what"? Li Yiyao, you weirdo, do you really think I'm going to marry Yin Xuan, who's old enough to be my father?!

Qu Qingqing had clearly gone into a frenzy. She snatched Lu Wen's sword and lunged at Li Yiyao, yelling, "You little bitch, I'm going to kill you—"

Li Yiyao was startled and instinctively stepped back. I quickly drew my sword from the table to block.

With a ding, a small pebble struck Qu Qingqing's wrist. Qu Qingqing screamed, her hand loosened, and the sword fell to the ground.

"How dare you! People from Qinghong Manor dare to injure someone in front of me!" A dignified and cold voice came from the entrance of the inn.

Everyone looked towards the main entrance, where Yin Xuan walked in with a cold expression, followed by Yin Liuchuan.

I suddenly had a bad feeling...

Sure enough, upon seeing Yin Liuchuan, Qu Qingqing immediately rushed over, grabbed his sleeve, and tearfully said, "Yin Lang, that Qing Guyi just said that you promised to marry her when you were eight years old, and you even exchanged tokens of your love. She also said that no matter what, she would always be the wife of Youlong Tiangong. Tell me this isn't true! That woman is full of lies! Tell me quickly, waah..." As she spoke, she actually started crying, wiping her face with her sleeve, looking incredibly sorrowful and pitiful.

Yin Liuchuan narrowed his eyes, glanced at me who was staring in disbelief, his expression a half-smile, the dragon painted at the corner of his eye gleaming in the sunlight, and suddenly lowered his head and said in a low voice, "Since my wife has said so, naturally every word is true."

Qu Qingqing's face turned pale, and she trembled as she took several steps back.

Just when I felt like my heart, liver, lungs, kidneys, stomach, and intestines were all mixed up and about to turn into a mess, Yin Xuan came over, patted my shoulder, and said with the kind expression of a father-in-law looking at his daughter-in-law, "I'm sorry to have startled you."

The entire inn was completely silent. Qu Qingqing, Lu Wen, and a group of disciples from Youlongtian Palace all stared at me with wide eyes.

My face turned deathly pale, and I staggered back several steps, trembling...

Twenty-one cups of French wine

The wine of the Dharma harmonizes the spirit, the clear zither enters the soul. It draws in Tao Yuanming, and intoxicates Ruan Ji.

...

The weather in the height of summer is indeed unpredictable. As soon as Li Yiyao and I stepped onto the street, dark clouds began to gather, and as soon as we entered the inn that Qiansui Gate had booked, a torrential downpour began.

The rain tapped on the tiles, sometimes heavy, sometimes light, as it approached from afar, carrying streams of water that trickled down the gutters and eaves.

Li Yiyao and I both felt relieved. We smiled at each other, forgetting our previous grudges about Yin Liuchuan and Qu Qingqing, and walked into the inn's lobby. There were quite a few people in the lobby, but they didn't talk much. The sound of rain made it even quieter. When they saw someone come in, they all looked over. Perhaps because it was getting dark, their expressions seemed a little strange.

My heart suddenly sank.

"Oh, our heroine Qing Guyi is back! She's really brought great honor to our Thousand Years Sect. Shouldn't everyone give her a round of applause?" Xu Shiren's sarcastic voice rang out.

No one spoke up.

Li Yiyao, clearly unaware of the change, laughed wildly and said, "That's right, Matchmaker Xu, you can forget about ever surpassing us Gu Yi in this lifetime!"

“Of course,” Xu Shiren said, not annoyed. He slowly turned around, his voice suddenly becoming sharp, “—who told her to steal the Duijun Sword Technique!”

"What do you mean by stealing? The Duijun Sword Technique has always been passed down orally to the sect leader and the successor. Gu Yi couldn't steal it even if she wanted to, could she?" Li Yiyao's voice also grew louder.

"Well said. Isn't the Sovereign Sword Technique only for the sect leader and his successor? Why should this little bitch be allowed to learn it?"

"Stop calling her a 'little bitch' all the time, you piece of trash! Gu Yi has amazing talent and practices swordsmanship diligently. Who else but her could be the leader of the Thousand Years Sect? Could it be you, this matchmaker who only knows how to curse and scream all day?"

"—You!" Xu Shiren sneered, "I can't be bothered to argue with you. Who is the successor is not for you or me to decide, but must be determined through a public trial!"

Xu Shiren looked at me with a jealous and malicious expression: "Qing Guyi, you have not undergone the trial and have privately learned the Duijun Sword Technique, which is a serious crime. Why don't you destroy your dantian and sever your meridians to await the sect leader and elders' judgment?"

Looking at Xu Shiren, who was spewing harsh words, and my silent senior brothers and sisters, I suddenly felt very tired. Perhaps it was the sudden change in weather, but my injuries started to ache again.

"Senior brothers and sisters, why aren't you saying anything? Do you share the same thoughts as this venomous woman?" Li Yiyao shouted angrily. "Didn't you see yesterday that Gu Yi fought a bitter battle with Yin Liuchuan for the honor of the sect? Even when her internal strength was insufficient, she insisted on not admitting defeat, even at the cost of self-harm. Now, not only do you not offer any condolences, but you also question her like this. It's too disheartening."

While we were talking, Li Yiyao held my hand tightly. Seeing her earnest expression, as if she was willing to offend people for my sake, I suddenly felt much better. I held her hand back and shook it to signal her not to speak anymore.

"Shut up! Everyone knows you're an accomplice, and you won't escape punishment when the time comes! Didn't you hear me, Qing Guyi—?"

"Who is forcing their fellow disciples to destroy their dantian and sever their meridians? Truly a fine daughter raised by Zhou Xuande. It seems I don't need to be the sect leader anymore; I should just hand over the position to you, Xu Shiren!" A voice, authoritative yet not angry, came from the second floor of the inn.

Everyone quickly looked up and saw a figure with an air of otherworldly grace standing with his hands behind his back on the second-floor corridor.

"Sect Leader, you misunderstand. I had no such intention," Xu Shiren quickly explained. "It's just that this Qingguyi—"

“She has already passed the trials within the sect,” Yu Buzhou said calmly, giving me a reassuring look.

This old man, a grandmaster of his generation, is lying to his disciples like this...

An uproar erupted in the hall, and the familiar faces all wore expressions of surprise and disbelief.

“How is that possible…” Xu Shiren involuntarily took a step back. “But Sect Leader, aren’t the trials in this sect always public, and the requirement is to be at least eighteen years old? Qing Guyi was expelled from the mountain two years ago, so if she passed the trials, wouldn’t that mean she was before she was thirteen? How is that possible! And we knew absolutely nothing about it…”

"Do you want me to tell you that Qing Guyi passed the sect's trials at the age of thirteen and successfully learned the first move of the Duijun Sword Technique, and is the future sect leader? Then how can you have the confidence to continue learning swordsmanship? It's all been for nothing that Guyi and I went to great lengths to keep this a secret for your own good, yet you're here doubting your fellow disciples, even going so far as to say such vile things as destroying your dantian and severing your meridians. You've really disappointed me!"

So, I ended up being the innocent victim...?

The master's face was cold. He waved his sleeve and said, "If you are still not convinced, when we return to Luowu Mountain, Qing Guyi will put you through another trial. Alternatively, you may challenge her at will. Guyi will not use the Duijun Sword Technique. If you win, the winner will become the sect leader. Now, except for Guyi and Yi Yao, all of you go back to your rooms to reflect on your mistakes!"

Everyone in the lobby stood up, heads bowed, and walked upstairs. Many of them glanced at me apologetically, and I nodded to them in understanding.

Old Man Yu jumped down and patted my shoulder reassuringly, saying, "Don't blame them. Young people are always ignorant. If anyone is to blame, it's me for not being able to resist teaching you the Duijun Sword Technique."

“I understand, Master.”

"But it's also thanks to me for teaching you the Sword Technique of the Monarch," Old Man Yu suddenly changed his tone and became smug. "You have no idea, after your battle with Yin Liuchuan yesterday, all the major sects have looked at my Thousand Years Sect with new respect. Some even think that my Thousand Years Sect can be compared with the Three Heroes of the Martial World. Those old guys all came to ask your name, and the tone of their voices when they spoke to me was full of jealousy. Your master was so proud, hahahaha."

Me, Li Yiyao: "..."

Old Man Yu patted my shoulder excitedly again and said kindly, "Alright, it seems Yin Liuchuan didn't make things difficult for you. He even found someone to properly bandage your wound. Now you and Li Yiyao can go upstairs and rest—"

“No, Master,” I suddenly said, “I want to go out for a walk.”

"Why did you go out for a walk in such heavy rain?" Old Man Yu exclaimed in surprise. "You're still injured."

I had already gone to the shopkeeper and asked for a blue oilcloth umbrella, saying, "It's alright, let me go."

Old Yu said helplessly, "Why are you still the same as before? You like to run around everywhere when it rains. Be careful."

Li Yiyao knew I was feeling down, so she didn't stay with me. She just gave me a few words of advice, and I nodded, opened my umbrella, and went outside.

...

The rain has gradually subsided, but the feeling of rain is still strong, with endless drizzle slanting against the ivy wall.

A town shrouded in mist and rain, like the blurring of time, the past is lost in the water vapor and thin fog, only the merciless and selfless rain can be seen, washing the roofs of thousands of houses.

I walked slowly, holding a blue cloth umbrella, and left the town, gradually ascending Qishan Mountain.

Holding an umbrella amidst the overlapping shadows of the verdant, wet mountains, I walked uphill. The sound of the rain, a gentle patter, filled my ears, and my heart calmed down, as if every ounce of grime in my heart had been washed away by the rain. This is probably why I like to run around when it rains.

The battle platform that Yin Liuchuan and I destroyed has now been replaced with a new one, but the competition has been postponed due to the rain. The place that was bustling with people yesterday is now silent in the rain.

I walked across the flat ground and continued up the mountain. The branches that had been stretching out haphazardly were now drooping gently from the rain, the raindrops brushing against the umbrella like a gentle brushing away raindrops from an oilcloth.