"Awu, are you cold?"
"I... am not cold."
"I'm not cold either."
The wet nurse, Aunt Nan, smiled wryly. These two little girls are so cold, yet they're still trying to be brave.
Suddenly, the door slammed shut, and a tall, thin figure burst in.
"A-Lu!" the two little girls exclaimed in surprise.
Cen Lu didn't know why he had rushed back so quickly, ahead of everyone else, but upon seeing the scene before him, he understood why he had rushed back.
He took three steps forward, opened his outer garment, and warmed Shi Mansi's frozen feet in his arms.
"You stupid girl, can't you even take care of yourself?" he scolded with a nasty look on his face.
Shi Mansi pouted and stopped talking. She was initially quite happy to see him come back, but she didn't expect him to start cursing as soon as he walked in.
Everyone was stunned as they watched the young boy holding Shi Mansi's feet tightly in his arms, completely disregarding the fact that her feet were still covered in ice and snow.
Yin Wuxiao was also stunned.
After a while, a servant realized what was happening and hurriedly tried to cover Yin Wuxiao's feet with his own clothes. Yin Wuxiao, however, refused.
The hands that Shi and Yin had been holding tightly slowly loosened. Shi Mansi was so focused on staring at Cen Lu that she didn't even notice.
Yin Wuxiao suddenly remembered the feeling that Shi Mansi always told her, the feeling of "I am so superfluous".
At the age of ten, little Yin Wuxiao understood a principle: shoes may be shared, but some things and some people cannot be shared with a close friend.
Ten-year-old Yin Wuxiao met an old man with white hair and beard in his family's garden.
"Grandpa, are you a thief?" she blinked.
"Who said that?" The old man's face flushed slightly. "I'm here to pursue my apprentice."
"Huh? Is your apprentice disobedient?"
"Uh... no, my apprentice refuses to acknowledge me as his master. He says learning martial arts is useless." He only came here because he thought Cen Lu was exceptionally talented.
Yin Wuxiao surprisingly nodded in agreement: "I also think that learning martial arts is useless."
One sentence made the old man so angry that he glared and puffed out his beard: "How is it useless? My secret technique, the Heavenly Mystery Elder, is something that countless people in the world want to learn but cannot, and you two dare to disdain it?"
"Old Man Tianji... are you very powerful?" Yin Wuxiao's eyes darted around. She had heard her brother Fenglang say that there were many reclusive masters in the martial arts world, who were either called "old men" or something like that.
"Of course." The old man stroked his beard arrogantly.
"Is your apprentice named Cen Lü?"
The old man of heavenly secrets glared: "How did you know?"
Yin Wuxiao chuckled: "I have a way to make him your apprentice."
"What method?" The old man of the heavens hurriedly put his ear close to the mischievous little girl.
The old man and the young boy, sharing the same peculiar tastes, started whispering in each other's ears.
The next day, Shi Mansi announced that she had taken a master and would go to Tianshan Mountain with him to cultivate.
As expected, Cen Lu became furious and declared that he would follow Tianshan. The old man of Tianshan solemnly replied that only he and his disciple were allowed to go up Tianshan, and no one else was allowed to go up the mountain.
In the end, the old man of Tianshan was satisfied to have received two disciples.
However, what the old man of Tianshan did not foresee was that although he had gained a disciple with exceptional talent, he was also forced to bring a she-wolf cub into his home. From then on, Tianshan never had a peaceful day again.
Shi Mansi spent five years learning martial arts in Tianshan, during which time she was frequently sent back to the Yin family mansion in the capital to repent. In the fifth year, the old man of Tianshan simply set up the Seven Transformations Exquisite Array at the entrance of his residence, an array that no one could unravel, and shouted at Shi Mansi through the array: "You can graduate now!"
Shi Mansi effortlessly broke the Heavenly Mountain Elder's formation and then happily departed. Thus, the world gained another enigmatic Black Jade Goddess.
Three more years.
The situation is very favorable.
The Yin family's business empire expanded to the Jiangnan region, and Yin Wuxiao was also crowned "the most talented woman in the world" by the current prime minister, enjoying great success.
Meanwhile, Shi Mansi was dragged out of the brothel five times by Cen Lu, rescued three times from the secret passage of a certain clan of secret passage masters, and rescued seven times from the scene of a gang fight. Until one day, she dragged her injured leg back to the Yin residence and said to Yin Wuxiao:
"Awu, I'm famous now."
Yin Wuxiao shuddered.
"Awu, I want to retire from the martial arts world."
"Why?"
"It seems like all my friends in the martial arts world want to kill me."
Yin Wuxiao chuckled.
The heroes of the Nine Manors and Eighteen Societies of Jianghu are all kind and patient people. Although they always put on an act of wanting to kill Shi Mansi as soon as possible, all of them, after being visited by Cen Lu, wholeheartedly protect Shi Mansi.
"I want to take the imperial examination."
"Well?"
Three months later, Cen Lu dragged Shi Mansi out of the Ministry of Justice prison.
Shi Mansi, healthy and lively, bounced out of the prison: "A-Lu! You've lost weight from missing me so much."
Cen Lu pushed her away.
"Are you sure it's okay?" Yin Wuxiao asked Cen Lu somewhat nervously.
“The Emperor has already ordered that she be pardoned from all her crimes,” Cen Lu said without blinking.
Yin Wuxiao remained silent for a moment, then said, "Over the years, we've never asked what your family does. Now it seems you're definitely not from an ordinary family. A-Lu, how do you plan to explain this to Mansi?"
"I don't need to explain anything to her."
“…Alu,” Yin Wuxiao sighed, “do you know that Mansi’s dream is to travel the world?”
Cen Lu nodded.
"If you have responsibilities that you cannot abandon, do not try to tie her down."
Cen Lu nodded again.
Yin Wuxiao pursed her lips, wanting to say something more, but was interrupted by Cen Lu: "Yin Wuxiao, don't you think she's been spoiled a little too much by the two of us?"
"Is there?"
"Have you ever thought about what would happen to her if one day neither of us were by her side?"
"Would you and I not be by her side?" Yin Wuxiao said dismissively.
Cen Lu sighed.
Chapter Twelve: Sharing a Pillow, A Boat Listening to the Autumn Rain (Part One)
Longqian Town is an ordinary little town. Although it is located on a tributary of an important waterway, the river is narrow and cannot handle large volumes of freight. As a result, it did not become a prosperous metropolis like Yangzhou.
There is only one inn in Longqian Town, named "Longqian Inn". Its business is surprisingly prosperous. Although Longqian Town is not commercially developed, many martial arts practitioners often gather here. Even the innkeeper is not sure why.
At this moment, the innkeeper was working on his abacus behind the counter while also listening attentively to the conversations of the guests. Most of the people in the martial arts world were rough and unrefined, and when they were drunk and in high spirits, they would inevitably embellish the latest news they had heard about the martial arts world, which the innkeeper always listened to with great interest.
"Boss Long is here again this year, haha, may he have many more chances to come!" A loud laugh drowned out all the other voices present.
The one laughing was a burly man with a thick beard, sitting at the center of the table. His arms, completely uncovered, were covered in bulging muscles and countless scars—knife wounds, sword wounds, stitches, and even burns. He carried a huge chicken leg in one hand, and two large axes were tucked into his belt behind him. He was a truly gruesome sight.
There were three people at his table. One was a lean, middle-aged man with a stern face, as if the whole world owed him a fortune. Another was short and stout, always smiling, and didn't seem like a ruthless江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the martial arts world) figure, but rather like the benevolent owner of the rice shop next door. The one the bearded man called "Boss Long" was a dwarf with an unusual build. When he stood up, he only reached the bearded man's waist, so he had to squat on a stool to eat.
The combination of these four people was truly astonishing, but the innkeeper was not surprised at all, because these four people would appear on time every year at this time.
Boss Long slammed his fist on the table and roared, "If you, Mao Baixiong, can come, why can't I?"
The bearded man sighed heavily and said, "Boss Long, your short stature is due to natural causes. Even the most skilled physician, let alone a great immortal, couldn't cure you. I think you should just give up."
Boss Long's face flushed red: "How many times have I told you? This isn't congenital, it's poisoning! Poisoning! Back in the day, I was a tall, upright man..."
"It's been said for over twenty years, who knows if it's true or not?" the lean middle-aged man said sarcastically.
"you……"
The one who seemed like a nice guy quickly tried to smooth things over: "No, no, brothers, we all had no choice but to get to this point, didn't we?"
"You bald fool, you make it sound so easy. If it were you, would you be willing to withdraw from the competition and give the opportunity to the three of us?" Mao Baixiong laughed again.
"This..." The bald man's expression changed, and he fell silent.
"Hmph, I should have killed all of you long ago," the lean middle-aged man said viciously.
The bearded man's expression changed drastically: "Old devil Scorpion, if you dare to play dirty tricks, I, Mao Baixiong, will be the first to not spare you with my axe!"
Old Scorpion glanced at him sheepishly and then shut up.
Just then, a sinister voice rang out from the next table: "They're all about to die anyway, what does it matter who kills them?"
The four were all startled. They turned around abruptly, only to find that the speaker was a lame man with only one leg, and they couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"I wondered who it was, but it's just that lame scholar. Aren't you afraid of making a fool of yourself with your wild words?" Old Ghost Scorpion sneered.
The lame scholar showed no sign of unease: "You're about to die and you still don't realize it. You deserve to die at the hands of the Northern Desert Sect."
The laughter stopped abruptly.
The simple-minded bald man was the first to show a look of fear: "Scholar, what do you mean by this?"
"Hmph, what a bunch of ignorant and uncultured people. The Qiong Cult has invaded the Central Plains, and even You Antai, the lord of Huajian Fortress, died at their hands."
"Didn't the Qiong Sect disappear from the Central Plains thirty years ago?"
"Lame scholar, stop spreading your nonsense. Even if the Qiong Sect enters the Central Plains, what does it have to do with us?" Boss Long didn't take his words seriously at all.
"What does this have to do with us?" The lame scholar chuckled gloatingly. "The Qiong Sect's forces are heading towards Hundred Questions Valley. I'm afraid their goal is the same as ours. Tell me, with them around, do we still have a chance?"
The other four exchanged bewildered glances. Suddenly, Old Ghost Scorpion roared fiercely, "I refuse to believe that the four of us together can't defeat a few heretics from the evil cult!"
The other three quickly echoed.
The lame scholar burst into laughter: "You? Even the young master in blue from Baili Prefecture fell for their tricks. How can you compare to him?"
"..." The four people were speechless, and fear quickly appeared on their faces.