Duan Hui remained motionless and continued, "Sir, you promised to kill that wicked lord in your lifetime. Now you have fulfilled that promise. Aren't you happy?"
Mr. Xue's brow twitched suddenly, and his lips moved as if he wanted to speak.
Duan Hui's voice was very gentle: "Sir, is the incense cold?"
He suddenly closed his eyes, his expression complex and pained. Xiaoman watched him with trepidation, guessing that when he opened his eyes again, he would be filled with helplessness. The spring rain outside the window fell intermittently, pattering softly, everything was shrouded in mist. Xiaoman could clearly hear her own heartbeat, also rising and falling. She looked coldly at Duan Hui, but he acted as if he didn't see her, not even twitching his eyebrows.
After an unknown amount of time, Mr. Xue suddenly rubbed his temples wearily and said in a low voice, "Duanhui, don't say these things anymore."
Duan Hui's eyelids twitched, and her voice trembled slightly: "Why? Sir, won't you let me tell the truth?"
Mr. Xue looked at him indifferently and said coldly, "What are you hoping for? That he will come out? You're probably going to be disappointed." He stood up, looked out the window, and after a while, said, "Go away, and don't you dare show your face in front of me again. I'll let you off this time, but there won't be a next time."
Duan Hui said softly, "Where do you want me to go, sir? From beginning to end, I've only served you, haven't I?"
Mr. Xue said coldly, "He won't come out again. I won't let him come out again. You leave."
Duan Hui sighed, "Sir, it's too late. The eldest master is dead, and the second master of the fan and the others are trapped by you. You said you would exterminate the clan, but exterminating a clan is more than just two words."
The wooden windowsill cracked slightly, and Mr. Xue's hand pressed against it, feeling as hard as iron.
Duan Hui continued, "Sir, you know perfectly well that the Guanxing family has never had twins; that's just an excuse you're making up..."
His words trailed off as Mr. Xue abruptly turned around, staring at him coldly, and uttered only one word: "Go."
Duan Hui's eyes slowly reddened. He lowered his head, smiled, gripped his umbrella, and turned to leave.
Suddenly someone outside the window said, "Third brother, are you in there?" It was the voice of the fan.
The three people in the room were all moved. Xiaoman stood up abruptly, while the other two remained motionless with different expressions. After a while, Mr. Xue finally responded softly, "...Yes, I'm here."
The man with the round fan seemed relieved and asked, "Are you alright?"
Mr. Xue gave a wry smile: "It's nothing... How about you?"
"I'm fine. Come out and we'll talk. Bring those two little devils out of the house too."
Mr. Xue stared intently out the window, where he saw only two figures—Tuan Shanzi and Zexiu. He took a deep breath, his heart filled with complex emotions. He glanced back at Xiaoman, who was also looking at him, her eyes filled with anxiety and concern. She whispered, "Mr. Xue...you don't look well. Are you feeling unwell?"
He didn't speak, then looked at Duan Hui with a calm and deep gaze, and softly asked, "Sir, shall we go back?"
Mr. Xue let out a long sigh, rubbed his temples, shook his head, and then strode out. Xiao Man followed behind him, while Duan Hui remained motionless, standing quietly in the room.
The Scroll of Splendor, Chapter Fourteen: Twins (Part Two)
Updated: 2008-11-01 15:48:39 Word Count: 3460
Second update.
The fan-wielder stared intently at Mr. Xue, whose clothes and hair were soaked, and rainwater dripped down his chin. He said in a low voice, "Third brother, you have to come with me."
Mr. Xue nodded without saying a word.
Zexiu walked over slowly, his long eyelashes wet. He glanced at Xiaoman first, then turned to look at Mr. Xue. Raindrops dripped from his eyelashes like tears.
"Third Uncle," he said in a low voice, "I apologize for offending you."
He suddenly took the wine pouch from his waist, tilted his head back and took a big gulp, then handed it to him: "Want some?"
Mr. Xue shook his head: "No need, let's go first..."
Zexiu hummed in agreement, took another sip of wine, put down the wine pouch, and with a "plop," sprayed the wine in his face. Mr. Xue was startled for a moment, then rolled his eyes and collapsed to the ground with a satisfying laugh. Zexiu took out a pair of bright red handcuffs and shackles from his pocket, cuffed his hands and feet, then hoisted them onto his shoulder, took a couple of steps, and suddenly turned back: "Come on, silly boy."
Xiao Man nodded blankly. When she saw him extend his free hand, she immediately handed it to him, and he grasped it tightly.
“And Duan Hui,” she said softly.
Zexiu didn't turn around and said calmly, "Ignore him, someone will catch him."
Xiaoman glanced back. Duan Hui stood quietly at the door, like a statue, motionless. Through the rain, she couldn't see clearly if his eyes held the same pain as they had that day in front of the peony field. A pain she could never understand.
A carriage was parked under a willow tree by the lake, and along the willows stood a row of people dressed in red and white robes, their faces veiled, making their features impossible to see. Apart from them, there wasn't a single pedestrian on the road, and all the houses in the village had their doors tightly shut. Two people dressed in red and white stood motionless guarding each door.
Xiao Man was a little stunned when she saw this. Ze Xiu squeezed her hand and said, "Get in the car, we'll talk about it when we get back."
The carriage traveled smoothly towards Hangzhou. The woman with the round fan supported the unconscious Mr. Xue, looking down at him quietly. She didn't utter a single word from beginning to end.
Xiao Man never expected that they would return to Xiangbuleng. Unlike her last visit, Xiangbuleng was now filled with people dressed in red and white, patrolling in large groups. The handsome young men were nowhere to be seen. As soon as she entered, Jia Tan greeted her and took her hand. His eyes reddened again, and he whispered, "It's all my fault. He asked me to stay and look after Xiao Man. But I had something urgent to attend to that afternoon and had to leave. Otherwise, my sister wouldn't have suffered like this..."
Xiao Man sighed inwardly. She didn't have the energy to deal with her tears. She just made up a few words. Ze Xiu pulled her hand and walked forward without saying a word, while Tuan Shanzi carried Mr. Xue to the main hall. There were many figures inside, and after a moment, the door was closed.
“He…” Xiaoman hesitated before speaking.
“They are the elders of the clan. Don’t worry, Second Uncle will handle it.”
Xiao Man said "Oh," feeling full of questions but not knowing how to ask. Ze Xiu dragged her away quickly, passing through the backyard. Xiao Man glanced at it hastily and saw blood everywhere. The black iron gate had been opened, and several people dressed in red and white were guarding it.
She was secretly surprised. Before she knew it, he suddenly turned and pushed open a door and rushed in. Xiao Man was pulled by him and almost fell. She crashed into his arms and was held tightly by him.
Zexiu said nothing, only held her tightly. It seemed that he had been suppressing his emotions for too long, and his calm facade could no longer be maintained. Xiaoman felt as if all the bones in her body were about to be crushed by him. She remained motionless, resting her head against his chest, clearly hearing his frantic heartbeat and rapid breathing.
But he said nothing. Perhaps it was better that he didn't, because he didn't know what to say.
Xiao Man whispered, "I'm fine, I'm very good, really good."
He took a breath, and his tense body finally relaxed. He held her on his lap, stroking her hair intermittently, but still didn't say anything.
Xiao Man asked softly, "Mr. Xue... what's going on?" Ze Xiu remained silent for a long time before saying, "There are two people inside his body, one is Mr. Xue, and the other is Wu Nai He. They actually know about each other's existence, but neither of them is willing to admit it."
"...You knew about this a long time ago?"
Zexiu thought for a moment: "I vaguely guessed something, but my second uncle always knew. I'm certain he was the mastermind behind the extermination of the clan; it was on the night he left Kaifeng Prefecture. When I was fifteen, my mother died, and I left my father's branch of the family to make my own way in the world. I met my third uncle there, and his expression was very different from usual, but unfortunately, I didn't realize it at the time. When he heard about my mother's tragic death, he only said one sentence: 'A corrupt family.' Then he told me that he would kill all of them sooner or later and to wait. Later, my second uncle came and forcibly took him away, and I left as well. I didn't take it to heart until he came to Kaifeng Prefecture and suddenly came to find me that day, saying that he had to leave for a while..."
That night, even now, still sends chills down my spine. The same face, the same clothes, but completely different eyes and expressions, filled with a sharp, malevolent aura—exactly the same Mr. Xue from nine years ago who had boasted of killing everyone.
He said: Good boy, your third uncle did not break his promise, did you see that?
Zexiu paused for a moment, then stopped talking and said, “As soon as he left, I went to find my second uncle. He notified the people in the clan, while I searched everywhere for news of my third uncle. I originally asked my second aunt to stay with you, but she was away for only one afternoon, so Duanhui took you away. Fortunately, you are quite clever. The Helpless One inside my third uncle… is extremely ferocious, very different from his usual self. One careless move and you could lose your life.”
Xiao Man shuddered at the thought of his master and Yelü Wenjue, who were locked up in the backyard: "That Yelü Wenjue..."
“He’s dead.” Zexiu touched her ear. “He was afflicted by the Death Curse. All the blood on his body has congealed into black lumps. There’s also a headless corpse. I don’t know who it was, but they were also afflicted by the Death Curse.”
Headless... It seems Yunwu cut off that man's head and took it to Tianquan. That old man had only two disciples in his life: one was schizophrenic, whom he imprisoned, making him wish he were dead; the other was plotting to kill him. His life was quite tragic.
"Duanhui said that twins in your family are an unlucky omen, is that true?"
Zexiu hesitated for a moment, "There is such a saying, but it is not what the common understanding means." He took a breath and said in a low voice, "Third Uncle is like this, which means he is a twin."
Having two people living inside one person's body is called twins, but it doesn't mean that giving birth to twins is unlucky.
“When my grandmother was pregnant with my third uncle, the clan elders told her that she was carrying twins. Everyone thought she would have twins, but after she joined the outlaws, she only had my third uncle. My grandmother was depressed about this and passed away very early. He will have twins, which must have had some influence on this.”
Xiao Man looked down at her feet, which were dangling in mid-air. A pom-pom on her shoe trembled precariously, unsure whether to turn left or right, and looked quite troubled.
"So... what will you do with Mr. Xue? Lock him up? Or kill him?"
Zexiu stared intently out the window, his gaze deep: "We will not let Uncle San get hurt in any way, but the premise is that he keeps the brother inside him under control."
Xiao Man didn't say anything; this was his family's business, and she didn't really want to get involved.
Zexiu said softly, "Why didn't you ask me?"
Xiao Man looked up at him: "What are you asking?"
He shrugged and didn't reply. Xiao Man smiled and scratched her head: "Well, I don't think you like talking about these things, so I won't ask. Besides, they look... kind of scary." This solemn and guarded atmosphere easily reminded her of Mount No Return, and she instinctively felt repulsed.
Zexiu teased her on purpose: "You're not afraid I'll sell you or chop you up if you don't ask anything?"
Xiao Man blinked: "If you wanted to sell or chop me up, you could have done it a long time ago. Why wait until today? Besides, I'm not worth much. It's not worth it for you to sell me."
Zexiu scratched her chin, hitting a spot that tickled her, making her feel so good she wanted to meow, and she rubbed her head against his chest.
“How can you say you’re worthless? You’re the granddaughter of the master of Lianfang City. You’re worth a fortune.” He laughed.
Xiao Man pulled out a piece of red paper from her sleeve. It had only three characters written on it—her mother's name. She had been forced to write a keepsake, and having no other way to escape, she could only write her mother's name.
She gently tore the red paper and said calmly, "I am not his granddaughter, not before, and not in the future."
Zexiu touched her hair, then suddenly lifted the long hair near her right ear, revealing the newly placed earring. He stroked it with his fingers for a long time, his expression indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger. After a long while, he softly said, "The earring... suits you quite well."
Xiao Man smiled slightly and opened her arms to hug him: "I am yours."
He pulled her close, kissing her cheek. "I'm yours too." Fu, the unscrupulous merchant, is determined to use deceit and wealth to control all the unscrupulous merchants in the world, striving to become the richest man in the Ming Dynasty, all the while setting up a street stall! Please support him in November!
Yuanzi's comedic talent is top-notch; she always manages to make people laugh until they cry, and this time is no exception!
Those who like it should definitely support it.
The Scroll of Splendor, Chapter Fifteen: Twins (Part Three)
Updated: 2008-11-11 12:15:00 Word Count: 3835
I'm back. I'm so sorry for the long delay.
First update.
This was a world dappled with light and shadow, and he seemed to see another version of himself. The same face, the same clothes, but a completely different expression.
The person chuckled softly, their voice seeming to echo from a distant dream: "Twins? Then who are you? Who am I?"