Chapter 204

Spring thunder rumbled, a sudden gust of wind rose, but no rain came for a long time. Inside the house, light and shadow mingled, and no human voices could be heard for a long time; it was almost as if you could hear a pin drop.

The two fell silent, each staring at the other with a different expression.

"Why?" After a long silence, Man Jiangxue was the first to ask.

Xie Yijun's hair, which was tied up, was still a little damp, with a few water droplets hanging at the ends. She calmly walked to the dressing table, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped it.

"Why what?"

Man Jiangxue watched her stroll leisurely and nonchalantly, and the back of Ning Shuang's hand, which was holding hers, tensed up.

Why did you kill your senior sister?

Xie Yijun stared at herself in the bronze mirror, momentarily stunned upon hearing these words.

The seemingly calm surface was easily shattered by these words. Although there was only a desk between the two, it suddenly felt as if a distance between heaven and earth had been created.

Xie Yijun remained silent. She leaned closer to the mirror, reached out and plucked a few gray hairs from her temples, and after a moment said, "Do you want to avenge her?"

Man Jiangxue said, "Before that, I need to know the reason."

Xie Yijun twirled a strand of white hair between her fingers and chuckled silently: "Why don't you take a guess?"

Man Jiangxue dropped her pretense, her eyes revealing a complete murderous intent. She said, "I'm not in the mood for that."

“But I want to hear,” Xie Yijun turned her head to look at her, “In your opinion, what would make me want to harm Mandong?”

The frost was trembling, and it seemed to understand the conversation between the two. Man Jiangxue did not make any rash moves. She suppressed the various emotions in her heart and tried her best to act as usual.

Man Jiangxue said, "You have no grudges against your senior sister, you don't have much contact with the Ruyi Sect, and I don't see any connection between you and anyone from the Shen family." She paused, "Then the only thing left is the position of sect leader."

Xie Yijun lowered her arm, and strands of white hair fell to the ground, blown away by the gentle breeze. A hint of sarcasm crept onto her lips as she said, "You could say that, but that's not the whole story."

“Then what is everything?” Man Jiangxue asked.

“Even if I told you everything, you wouldn’t understand,” Xie Yijun turned her head and looked at Man Jiangxue. “You and Man Dong, such privileged girls, would never understand me.”

“I have no interest in understanding anything about you right now,” Man Jiangxue said. “I just want to know why you killed her.”

Upon hearing this, Xie Yijun suppressed her smile and said, "That's right, no one understands me. You are like that, Mandong is like that, and so are Wen Chaoyu and Master. None of you have ever thought highly of me."

Man Jiangxue frowned.

Several figures flashed past the window, and soon after, many familiar faces appeared. Xie Yijun watched as Meng Jing led his men to surround Mingguang Hall, yet she remained neither flustered nor surprised. She said gently, "You know everything about Mandong, and you know everything about Wen Chaoyu, but you don't know me," she paused briefly, "You don't know where I came from, nor what I think. In your eyes, I'm just a dispensable person. You've never asked a single question about my background or experiences in all these years. Of course, it's not just you; you and Master are the same."

Man Jiangxue looked at her indifferently: "What exactly do you want to say?"

"Do you remember that house in Weicheng?" Xie Yijun suddenly changed the subject. "Have you ever wondered why I bought a house so far away in Weicheng?"

Man Jiangxue certainly remembered and had thought about the question, but she did not dwell on it.

After Yin Qiu received the invitation to the Ice Pursuit and the Mechanism Conference from Meng Wugui in Yao Dingcheng, Man Jiangxue personally returned to the palace to discuss the matter with Xie Yijun. On the day they met, Xie Yijun mentioned that she had a house in Weicheng that she had bought many years ago. She knew that Man Jiangxue preferred quiet and also knew that the inn where Jiuxiantang entertained guests was bound to be a mixed bag, with people from all sorts of factions. Therefore, she took the initiative to tell Man Jiangxue about this and gave her the key, hoping that she would have a comfortable place to stay after arriving in Weicheng.

It must be said that the house was a good place. It was there that Man Jiangxue and Yin Qiu confessed their feelings to each other, and it was also there that Wen Chaoyu and Ji Wanshu had a long-awaited reunion.

"Are you from Weicheng?" Man Jiangxue asked.

“Yes,” Xie Yijun said, “Now when people mention Weicheng, the first thing that comes to mind is Jiuxiantang, but when I was a child, Weicheng was associated with our Xie family.”

After she finished speaking, she looked at Man Jiangxue and smiled faintly: "Since you have never asked about my past, I will tell you about it now."

"The story begins twenty-five years ago..."

·

Twenty-five years ago, although the Nine Immortals Hall had already established its sect in Wei City, they kept a low profile and were not famous. Not far away, Cang County was not yet under Nangong Min's control. The only family that was known throughout the city was the Xie family.

The Xie family had been in the business of escorting goods for generations. Besides transporting goods, these escort agencies also provided services such as shop security, property protection, and night watch. Shop security involved shops selling valuables like gold and silver jewelry, where escorts were hired to guard against thieves. Property protection, as the name suggests, was used by wealthy families who hired escorts to watch over their homes and property, also for the purpose of preventing theft. Night watch involved guarding places that were busy during the day but deserted at night. In short, these were all duties of fire prevention and theft prevention, protecting the property and valuables of the owners.

The Xie Family Escort Agency was a large and successful business, and almost every order they handled was flawless. As a result, almost every shop and wealthy family in Weicheng had an inseparable business relationship with them. Compared to the government, the Xie family was the true guardian of Weicheng. With them around, Weicheng was a renowned good place, free from bandits and thieves. Doors were left unlocked at night and lost items were not picked up. It was a truly peaceful and prosperous era.

Unfortunately, this period of prosperity was short-lived. By the year Xie Yijun was born, numerous martial arts sects had flocked to Weicheng. The disciples of these sects were renowned for their martial arts skills, far surpassing the bodyguards and thugs trained by the Xie family themselves. To solidify their position and win the favor of the people, they not only voluntarily maintained order in the city for the officials but also apprehended thieves for merchants and civilians free of charge. As a result, who would bother to hire a security escort agency? The Xie family gradually declined and could only make a living by transporting goods for others.

But even their only business, transporting goods, was snatched away by various sects in the following years. Although they also charged money, they were half the price of the Xie family. Unless people were stupid, they would never waste money. From then on, the Xie family's escort agency completely declined.

That year, Xie Yijun was thirteen years old. Everyone knew that the head of the Xie family had a son and a daughter. The second young lady was more outstanding than the eldest young master, excelling in both literature and martial arts, and was also quite beautiful. Although Madam Xie had passed away early, the Xie family was still relatively wealthy when she was pregnant with Xie Yijun, and a marriage was arranged for the child even before she was born. When Xie Yijun grew up, the Xie family's escort agency was neglected, business failed, and they could no longer afford to support so many escorts and thugs. Master Xie had no choice but to dismiss everyone and earn money by carrying goods at the docks using his brute strength.

People live to earn a living. As long as they can make money, they don't care about the status of others. Master Xie was able to take things in stride. He went from being the head of a security escort agency to working as a servant. He didn't feel ashamed or afraid of being laughed at. But even though he thought this way, he couldn't prevent others from thinking the same way.

One day, after returning home from work, Master Xie found the courtyard in a mess and there was a pool of blood. He asked around and learned that the He family, who had been betrothed to Xie Yijun since childhood, looked down on the marriage after learning that Master Xie was working as a cargo carrier at the dock. So they sent several servants to the door to try to break off the engagement.

That day, Xie Yijun went to school, leaving only her elder brother Xie Jiaping at home. Upon hearing that the other party was looking down on the poor and wanted to break off the engagement, Xie Jiaping was furious and started fighting on the spot. Xie Jiaping used to be a playboy who only knew how to have fun, neither good at academics nor martial arts. He was pinned to the ground and beaten so badly that he vomited a large pool of blood.

The servant swaggered around and said, "What kind of family is our He family, and what kind of family is your Xie family? If you want to marry your second daughter into our family to climb the social ladder, how much dowry can you afford? I bet you can't even come up with a single tael of silver. You'd better get lost!"

Xie Jiaping, having suffered a beating and a humiliation, hid in his room and wept upon hearing that his father had returned. He said bitterly, "I know I'm a useless piece of trash. I used to have everything I wanted at home, and I was used to squandering it all without any ambition. Now I'm being beaten because I'm incompetent! But Yijun... Yijun is my sister. How can I let her suffer like this? The He family is going too far. I'll risk my life to make them give me an explanation!"

Master Xie stood in the corridor, covered in sweat and ravenous, unable to utter a single word.

The father and son kept the matter a secret from Xie Yijun.

But even though they didn't say anything, Xie Yijun heard the rumors in the school. The young master of the He family shared a classroom with her, and the next day he told her about it in a very convincing way. Her classmates burst into laughter, fawning over the young master of the He family, and mocking Xie Yijun, belittling her and saying the most nasty things they could.

That evening, Xie Yijun stormed home in a rage. Before she could even ask a few questions, her father, Mr. Xie, exclaimed joyfully, "Good days are coming! Yijun, I landed a big job today. The price they offered is enough to keep us from ever having to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives! My brother and I have terrible handwriting, but yours is quite good. Come and help me write a few letters so I can invite those old acquaintances back. Once we close this deal, no one will look down on us anymore!"

Hearing this, Xie Yijun suppressed her anger and asked, "The escort agency has collapsed, so where is the business coming from?"

Master Xie gestured for her to lower her voice and replied, "I've told you, but you mustn't tell anyone. Let me ask you first, is there a sect in Liaoping County called Ruyi Sect? Have you ever heard of it?"

Xie Yijun was still quite young at the time, and she learned martial arts at home from her father. She focused all her attention on her studies, and her knowledge of martial arts sects was limited to the small sects in Weicheng. She had never even heard of the Ruyi Sect.

"You must know about Yunhua Palace, right?" Master Xie said. "Yunhua Palace is the number one sect in the martial arts world, with a prestigious reputation that everyone knows. Besides Yunhua Palace, there is also Ruyi Sect in the martial arts world today, which can be considered the second largest sect. Their founder built the sect on Liucang Mountain. Although the scenery there is beautiful, it is not as easy to defend as Yunhua Mountain. Therefore, Sect Master Shen spent a lot of money to make a deal with Jiuxian Hall to build an underground mechanism and bury it under Liucang Mountain."

The fewer people who know about this, the better, especially the Ziwei Sect must not know. The Nine Immortals Hall had already completed the mechanism several days ago, but how to transport these scattered parts to Liucang Mountain was a problem.

"Jiuxiantang took the money, but they won't even help transport the goods?" Xie Yijun didn't understand. "If they don't send anyone over, how are the mechanisms supposed to be built?"

Master Xie said, “Nine Immortals Hall has always been low-key and mysterious. Of course, they won’t make a fuss about this. If word gets out, wouldn’t everyone know what kind of trap Nine Immortals Hall built and sold to Ruyi Sect? Sect Master Shen didn’t want too many people to know about this, so he secretly did business with Nine Immortals Hall. It’s a good thing they’re not helping with the transport. This way, it falls on my shoulders. As for how to build the trap, that’s not our business. I just need to deliver the goods to Ruyi Sect safely and I’ll get a generous reward. Your dowry will then be secured!”

Upon hearing the words "dowry," Xie Yijun flew into a rage, saying, "If I had that money, I'd rather give it to the beggars in the city than send a single penny to the He family!" She looked at her bruised and swollen older brother and then at her elderly father, gritting her teeth as she said, "I, Xie Yijun, hereby swear that I will make a name for myself in this life, and I will never marry!"

Whether she would marry or not was another matter. Her father and elder brother knew she was angry, so they didn't take her words seriously. In fact, the father and son had already grown disgusted with the He family, and even if they earned a dowry, they wouldn't marry Xie Yijun off to them. With this unexpected good news, the family of three quickly forgot about their anger at the He family's broken engagement.

Five days later, the original team from Xie Family Escort Agency reunited and set off for Liaoping County with a large amount of goods.

Master Xie led the team, with Xie Yijun and Xie Jiaping also in the process. The three of them went out to escort goods for the first time, and the atmosphere was very harmonious along the way.

Xie Yijun used to dislike Xie Jiaping, thinking her older brother was useless and good-for-nothing who spent his days frequenting brothels and was drunk for about six out of twelve hours a day. Whenever Xie Yijun went to school or went out, if she heard about Xie Jiaping's "glorious deeds," she wished she could immediately sever her sibling relationship with him.

However, after the He family broke off the engagement, Xie Yijun's impression of Xie Jiaping improved. She thought that although her brother was neither talented nor virtuous, he still cared for her, his younger sister, very much. Therefore, the two siblings got along very well and affectionately during the delivery trip, and they didn't even quarrel.

The goods were heavy and attracted attention, so they had to be wary of bandits and thieves along the way. This delivery was particularly difficult, especially since the Ruyi Sect had given orders not to take the official roads. They could only take detours through the mountain paths. Even after arriving at their destination, they could not go directly up the mountain. They had to wait until night to deliver the goods, avoiding the cities of Liaoping County.

That night, the caravan waited outside the city for an hour before someone came to meet them. The other party led them up Liucang Mountain, where a couple who claimed to be surnamed Yin checked the items against the list given by Jiuxiantang. After confirming that nothing was missing or omitted, they welcomed the group into the Ruyi Gate reception hall and served them a good meal.

Xie Yijun woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of someone banging on the wall next door. She ran over and saw Xie Jiaping lying on the ground, vomiting blood and crying out in pain, "Quick...quick, go see Dad! The food is poisoned!"

Xie Yijun fell ill on the way due to the change in environment and went to rest in the guest room early after arriving at Ruyi Gate, without eating a single bite of the food. When Xie Yijun saw Xie Jiaping's appearance, she was terrified and at a loss. Just as she was about to run to Master Xie's room to check on him, a burst of light suddenly appeared outside.

The heatwave arrived quickly, thick smoke filled the air, and the fire almost instantly climbed onto the roof.

"Run...run!" Xie Jiaping saw the fire and hurriedly pushed Xie Yijun, saying, "I should have known...there's no such thing as a free lunch, you have to run!"

Xie Yijun was completely disoriented, tears welling up in her eyes. She held Xie Jiaping's hand and asked in a trembling voice, "...Where to?"

Xie Jiaping gripped her hand tightly, his voice hoarse as he said, "Before the fire completely ignites, as long as we can live, we'll go anywhere! Father might already be gone; he drank even more than I did. Yijun... I'm so sorry. I was so immature before, making you a laughingstock from a young age. It's a pity I realized it too late. If I had known there would be a day when our family would fall on hard times, I would have been so devoted to you, caring for you in every way. I... I would have been just like everyone else's brother..."

Blood and tears welled up in his eyes, and blood began to flow from his seven orifices. Xie Yijun stared at him blankly, but dared not cry out loud. She could only call out in a low voice, "Brother...!"

Xie Jiaping's eyes were still open, but he was already lifeless.

Hurried footsteps came from outside the door, accompanied by repeated kicking sounds. Xie Yijun was so frightened by the noise that she trembled all over and hurriedly let go of her older brother's hand and hid under the bed.

The next moment, several disciples of the Ruyi Sect kicked the door open and entered. They stabbed Xie Jiaping in the chest several times with their swords. Seeing that he was indeed dead, they then left and went to the next room.

Xie Yijun covered her mouth and lay on the floor under the bed, looking at Xie Jiaping. She stretched out a hand with tears streaming down her face, but she couldn't touch him no matter what she did.

"elder brother……"

The author has something to say: I learned about the business of the escort agency after watching the TV series "Longmen Escort Agency" and became interested in it. However, I can't remember where I learned about it after so long, so I'm just noting that it was quoted from Baidu.