Yin Zhangzhang choked, both anxious and angry, and said, "Isn't it all for a woman? You... if you care about her so much, why did you obey your master's orders to kill Mi Meng?"
The man stiffened: "Who said I care about her!"
Yin Zhangzhang sneered: "You don't care about her? Then what are you doing now? Yin Bitong, the number one assassin of 'Traceless,' killing a few people makes you so upset? Isn't it all because of that woman! She...she doesn't want you to kill, does she?"
"It's not that she doesn't want me to kill, it's that she doesn't want me to die in a dream."
"What's the difference?"
Yin Bitong paused for a moment, then said, "You wouldn't understand."
Mr. Yin stamped his foot: "I don't understand. But at least I understand that if you like someone, you should indulge her, go along with her, and only do things that make her happy. You... you're making her sad, and you're making yourself sad too. Why are you doing this?"
Yin Bitong then turned her head and glanced at her lightly: "How can you be soft on someone who clearly must be killed?"
Yin Zhangzhang was stunned: "Then... what if one day the master asks you to kill Yin Wuxiao? What if..." She gasped, "What if the master asks you to kill me? You wouldn't hesitate either?"
Yin Bitong did not answer, but seemed to laugh with contempt.
Yin Zhangzhang said mournfully, "You really listen to your master like this? Aren't you the most free and unrestrained Yin Bitong in the world? Don't you never put your master in your eyes?"
"Who said I killed for my master?"
"Yes, you killed for yourself. You always said you liked killing, but you just didn't know what else you could do besides killing! Brother! How could you become like this? If you became like this because of me, how can I face our parents in the afterlife..."
With a "smack," a bright red handprint appeared on Mr. Yin's face.
“I’m not your brother. And I didn’t become like this because of you.”
"Brother!" Yin Zhangzhang covered his face, and two lines of clear tears slowly flowed down his cheeks.
"You can get lost now." Yin Bitong had a casual smile on her lips, but her eyes were as cold as ice.
Mr. Yin glared at him fiercely, kicked over the basket he had brought, and jumped over the wall.
A rough porcelain bowl lay overturned in the overturned basket, half of the braised noodles spilling onto the ground, filling the air with a strong odor.
Yin Bitong's expression froze for a moment.
Memories flashed back, and there was the little beggar, wearing a crooked hat and covered in dirt and stench, holding a bowl of braised noodles in front of him, eating with great relish.
How could she eat so happily?
Having lost everything that could prove her worth, lost all her self-respect, and even lost her future, how could she still eat so happily?
His eyes gradually dimmed.
He recalled the moment his fingertip pierced Yuwen Cuiyu's brow. The triumph and pleasure that came with the bloodshed did not surge into his heart as usual.
Because he saw that Yin Wuxiao's eyes were filled with disappointment.
Yin Wuxiao may have genuinely hoped that Yin Bitong was a good person.
At the same time, Yin Wuxiao straightened his neck and glared angrily at a woman who was not a good person.
"Do you really think that by getting rid of me you can get Brother Fenglang? That night was an accident, an accident, do you know that?" Based on her observation, Qiao Fenglang should have feelings for Yuwen Cuiyu, and the subsequent changes were really not what she wanted.
"All I know is that if I don't get rid of you, I won't have a single chance." Yuwen Cuiyu looked at her calmly.
So, her relative, her Aunt Nan, was brutally murdered for such a ridiculous reason?
Anger gradually gathered in her eyes.
Yin Wuxiao slowly sat up, then suddenly sneered. At this moment, all she wanted to do was to wound the venomous woman in front of her with sharp words.
"Actually, you're imitating me, aren't you?"
Yuwen Cuiyu finally changed her appearance.
"What did you say?"
“I’m telling you, all these years you’ve spent just trying to become another version of me,” Yin Wuxiao repeated as she wished.
Seeing Yuwen Cuiyu's pale face, she added insult to injury: "No need to deny it." She got off the bed and looked down at Yuwen Cuiyu like a proud phoenix: "Three years later, look at yourself. You are covered with traces of Yin Wuxiao from back then. You study poetry and compose couplets, and you practice your zither skills. What is it for? If Sister Cui hadn't reminded me, I really wouldn't have noticed that your every word and action is exactly like another Yin Wuxiao."
"I didn't!" Yuwen Cuiyu was completely enraged.
"Then tell me, what was the purpose of you lurking by my side for two whole years? Did you want to see what I, Yin Wuxiao, have done to deserve such favor from Brother Fenglang? Your painstaking schemes have only proven that Brother Fenglang only likes me, and only me."
"Shut up!" Her calm, watery eyes turned frenzied and furious. Yuwen Cuiyu's jade-like hand grew out of control, transforming into a demonic claw that fiercely gripped Yin Wuxiao's neck.
"You're sharp-tongued, I could never match you in my entire life. But I can kill you right now!" Her beautiful face drew close to Yin Wuxiao's eyes, like a vengeful ghost seeking death.
Yin Wuxiao looked back at her fearlessly: "You're afraid, afraid that I'll tell you the truth. The truth is, you simply don't have the confidence that Brother Fenglang will fall in love with the real you!"
A crisp "snap" sound.
A thin line of blood trickled from the corner of Yin Wuxiao's mouth as he gently turned his face, which had been struck to the side. Thank goodness, Yuwen Cuiyu must have used all her strength; half of her face was flushed.
“This,” she said, enduring the sharp pain in her cheek, “is the real you. How pathetic.”
The pressure on her neck suddenly tightened, and the air she needed to survive instantly disappeared from her body.
"I've changed my mind. Now, I'm willing to pay any price to kill you." Yuwen Cuiyu's ferocious smile appeared before her eyes, then gradually blurred in the tears that flowed from her as she suffocated.
Yin Wuxiao heard himself coughing violently and the sounds of his hands and feet struggling and colliding, but his consciousness gradually faded.
"If you don't stop, I will refuse to cooperate with a stupid woman." A low, hoarse voice, as cold as an ice cave, suddenly descended.
Yuwen Cuiyu turned around sharply. The owner of the voice was already standing behind him, holding something in her hand—or rather, a woman dressed as a maid who was frantically dancing.
The woman puffed out her cheeks and stared wide-eyed, but she couldn't make a sound; it was obvious at a glance that she had been silenced by acupressure.
"You can keep holding on like this and see what happens." The man who spoke seemed completely unconcerned about Yin Wuxiao's life or death, yet his threat was very powerful.
Yuwen Cuiyu couldn't help but shudder. She gritted her teeth and finally obediently let go, letting the unconscious Yin Wuxiao fall heavily to the ground.
"I know what I'm doing." She turned her face away and snorted. For some reason, she never dared to look this person in the eye, as if his gaze was filled with many mysteries she couldn't understand.
"But what are you doing?" She glanced at the ordinary little maid who was still struggling.
"This is the trouble you caused because of your clumsiness." The man casually threw the maid on the ground.
The maid pretended to roar a few times to protest the rude treatment, even though she knew she couldn't make a sound.
Yuwen Cuiyu smiled disdainfully: "She's just a little maid from the Qiao Gang. You can do whatever you want with her. Can she really be called a source of trouble?"
The man sneered: "Take a good look at who she is."
“She…” Yuwen Cuiyu looked at the maid’s simple and pretty face, which was unremarkable.
Suddenly, those features stirred up some kind of memory in her.
"Shi Mansi!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling strangely.
Legend has it that Miss Shi was the most unconventional and extraordinary woman in the martial arts world. Her martial arts skills were incredibly poor, but her disguise skills were unparalleled. Moreover, this woman maintained a buddy-buddy relationship with the leaders of various gangs. Her lover—or more accurately, Cen Lu, the head manager of Huanyi Study, who had been openly and secretly in love with her for more than ten years—was said to have an unparalleled powerful background.
In short, this woman is the biggest trouble for anyone who wants to do bad things.
"Kill her?" After a long pause, Yuwen Cuiyu asked tentatively. This was the only solution she could think of. She had interacted with Shi Mansi a few times when she was with Yin Wuxiao, but she still had to work very hard to recognize her.
The man remained silent, seemingly frowning in thought. He looked down at Shi Mansi on the ground, her face radiating innocence and purity, clearly conveying the message: I will be good.
"Keep her," the man finally said.
Shi Mansi breathed a sigh of relief. It was obvious who had the final say here.
"But……"
“Killing her would be a huge mistake for us.” The martial arts gangs were one thing, but Cen Lu… he still couldn’t figure out his background.
Chapter Twenty: How Many Green Lotuses Lean Against Each Other in Sorrow (Part Three)
No one likes to be choked unconscious and then, after finally waking up, have to face a menacing interrogation.
Yin Wuxiao was in the same boat, but she had to face the harsh reality.
Although Shi Mansi simply tossed out a sentence:
"I need to know everything. You decide what to do."
"Can I have a drink of water first?" Yin Wuxiao asked with difficulty, her lips dry.
Shi Mansi glared at her fiercely, then her eyes reddened, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Heartless... He only asked for water... He actually dared to drink water..."
"...Fine." She wouldn't drink it, was she? Even getting a sip of water was so difficult. Yin Wuxiao thought bitterly.
"You!" Shi Mansi gasped, staring intently at her with her face covered in snot and tears. Then she suddenly stood up, stomped her feet, and paced back and forth by the bed, looking utterly grief-stricken.
"Here we go again..." Yin Wuxiao rubbed his forehead, unable to bear the sight. She was a patient.
Sure enough, after walking around for no less than ten laps, Shi Mansi suddenly stopped, turned around to face the bed, and fiercely set up a teapot.
"Where do you expect me to begin? Where do I even begin?"
...How about we just not ask?
“You’ve been missing for three whole years, three whole years! Not even a single hair of yours has been brought back. I even thought you were dead, do you know that?”
"...Don't you often pack your bags and go out for months without a word?" Yin Wuxiao really wanted to retort to her like that.
"You could have come to find me! Even if you couldn't, why didn't you acknowledge me when you were at the Yuwen Manor? You even met Cen Lu! Yet you didn't come to see me! First, I heard you were seeking medical treatment at Baiwen Manor and had become Baili Qingyi's fiancée, but less than a month later I heard you were getting married, to that cousin you used to refuse to marry! But from beginning to end, did you send a single message back? Did you? Such a big event as getting married and you didn't even tell me? Do you consider me a dead friend?"
...Actually, I'm afraid I might accidentally die, so I don't dare to give you false hope.
"Yin Wuxiao! If you want to end our friendship, just give me a straight answer. I will never care about your life or death again!" Shi Mansi's eyes began to well up with tears again, but her gaze was so venomous that it seemed she wanted to tear a piece of Yin Wuxiao's flesh out.
"It was my fault, it was my fault..." Yin Wuxiao could only barely prop herself up, her body still somewhat limp, and reach out to pull Shi Mansi into her arms. Although Shi Mansi was a few months older than her, she had been fatally dependent on her since childhood. In their youth, the two precocious girls comforted each other and grew up together; their bond was no different from that of family.
There's nothing she can do; she's been relied on since she was little, so she's used to it and won't miss out on one more.
Yin Wuxiao's eyes slowly welled up with tears. She hugged Shi Mansi tightly, thinking: Yes, no matter what, there is still a Shi Mansi in this world.
Shi Mansi seemed to sense her feelings, so she reached out and hugged her back.
"Xiao'er, you've suffered so much," she said in a hoarse voice to Yin Wuxiao.
"Mansi, you don't hate me? You really don't hate me?" Yin Wuxiao became uneasy.
Shi Mansi punched her: "I'm already thankful that you're alive, why would I hate you?"
A fatal warmth instantly seeped into Yin Wuxiao's heart. Only Mansi could forgive and accept her under such circumstances, without even hearing her explanation.