Chapter 140 An Old Acquaintance at the Beitian Almshouse

It must be admitted that Xie Lingjiang's gaze was very intimidating.

The Jade Cup Fairy unconsciously softened her breathing, and even the frequency of her breaths almost became disordered.

At this moment, she was certain of one thing.

Xie Lingjiang has reached the seventh rank and has been promoted to a mid-level Qi cultivator. If I remember correctly, a seventh-rank orthodox Confucian Qi cultivator is called a "book-turner".

The Jade Cup Fairy noticed the crimson aura emanating from Xie Lingjiang, perhaps due to the dramatic fluctuations in her emotions.

The only thing she could do at that moment was to carefully conceal the fluctuations of spiritual energy on her body, and absolutely not give herself away.

The atmosphere between the two remained silent for a while.

finally.

"I've never been there."

Xie Lingjiang slowly withdrew her gaze, looked down at the red string on her wrist, shook her head, and spoke.

The heavy weight on the Jade Cup Fairy's heart was temporarily lifted.

Xie Lingjiang frowned slightly and asked again:

"By the way, wasn't Senior Brother supposed to be inspecting the Beitian Nursing Home? Did you finish the inspection so quickly?"

The Jade Cup Fairy carefully selected her words and said:

"I went to check, but there wasn't much to investigate. I couldn't bear to leave you, so I came back..."

She paused, glanced at Xie Lingjiang, and spoke more and more fluently:

"Get ready to go down the mountain. Go change your clothes first."

Xie Lingjiang looked at "Ouyang Rong" for a while longer before nodding and looking away from his face.

She then sought out Master Shandao, borrowed a waiting room in the back hall, and went to the back of the hall to change back into men's clothing.

The Jade Cup Fairy let out a long breath.

Afterwards, he responded to Master Shandao's conversation as if he were sparing with words.

When she caught a glimpse of a hidden figure outside the main hall, she turned and went out.

Taking advantage of Xie Lingjiang's absence, the Jade Cup Fairy went straight to Liu Liu's side, turned her back to him, gazed at the scenery outside, and asked in a cold voice:

"How's it going over there?"

"The female immortal is incredibly resourceful. As expected, Ouyang Lianghan went to the Beitian Aid Home and is now in the trap. There's no way he can escape. Liu Qi is keeping an eye on things there, just in case. The female immortal is truly..."

The Jade Cup Fairy frowned and interrupted:

“Ouyang Lianghan has a thing called the Skirt Knife. Go and fetch it. I am not carrying this knife. Xie seems a little suspicious.”

Liu Liu raised his eyelids and glanced at the tall, slender figure of "Ouyang Rong" dressed in official robes in front of him. The more he looked, the more amazed he became. He replied respectfully:

"A skirt-shaped sword? It's a sidearm, isn't it? I think I vaguely remember it. I'll go get it right away."

"If you're going to be so slow, then forget about getting it."

The Jade Cup Fairy glanced at the sky, her brows furrowing further, and said impatiently:

"Alright, you should hurry up and leave. Xie Lingjiang is coming out, and I'll go deal with her."

"We'll take her and the constables at the gate down the mountain to pick her up later."

"Go to the Beitian Nursing Home now to collect Ouyang Lianghan's body. Everything will proceed as planned."

The Jade Cup Fairy left behind a single sentence, then turned and re-entered the hall.

Liu Liu glanced inside the hall and quietly left.

...

The changes at the Beitian Nursing Home have been quite significant.

"Your Excellency, this way please, this way please."

A middle-aged monk with a bulbous nose, dressed in a yellow robe, greeted Ouyang Rong with a familiar slap on his palm and welcomed him into the courtyard.

As soon as Ouyang Rong entered the gate, he was warmly greeted by the senior brother Xiu Du, whom Xiu Fa had mentioned.

Ouyang Rong entered the room with his hands behind his back, looking left and right along the way.

This time, the county government's funding for the renovation and expansion of Donglin Temple has indeed brought many positive changes to the Beitian Charity Home.

For example, the dry well in the underground palace next to the bamboo grove in the courtyard has been surrounded more and more tightly by railings and wooden planks.

It's unlikely that we'll see a repeat of the scene where several elderly, weak, disabled, and mentally ill people fall in together and start playing house.

Ouyang Rong nodded in satisfaction.

"Has the magistrate been here before?"

Seeing that the young magistrate hardly needed his guidance and could skillfully turn left and right to enter the building, Senior Brother Xiudu asked with a curious expression.

I guess so...

Ouyang Rong gave a perfunctory reply.

Am I supposed to tell you about how I used to sneak over every night to "jump into the well" while I was recuperating?

Senior Brother Xiudu slapped his forehead, looking dazed; he seemed to have a bad memory.

"Oh, I remember now, the magistrate once accidentally fell into a well... My apologies."

Ouyang Rong couldn't help but turn around and glance at the red-faced, bulbous nose of the monk in charge of the Beitian Aid Home.

He could faintly smell the alcohol and glanced at the water stains on the cuffs of Xiudu's yellow monk's robe.

Hmm, something seems off about the monks at Donglin Temple.

People who aren't family don't enter the same door.

It seems like only her hair is somewhat normal, but she's probably, maybe, perhaps... about to be led astray by Master Shandao?

Ouyang Rong saw through Xiu Du's minor transgression but kept quiet about it.

Drinking is fine, just don't engage in promiscuous behavior.

"Why is there hardly anyone here?"

Ouyang Rong turned around and asked.

He remembered that the courtyard used to be full of patients running around, and now it was so quiet and orderly, which made Ouyang Rong feel a little uncomfortable.

Xiu Du hurriedly said, "They are all waiting for the magistrate in the inner courtyard. This humble monk will take you there now."

"Okay, I've wanted to come and see this for a long time."

Ouyang Rong smiled and followed the monk Xiudu through the front building to the back courtyard.

The inner courtyard is surrounded by white walls and bamboo groves, with a three-room hanging flower gate tower and covered corridors on all four sides.

It is not a single courtyard, but rather several adjacent courtyards separated by white walls, with different disabled patients moving about in different courtyards.

With a soft sound, the wooden courtyard gate was pushed open from the outside in.

At Xiu Du's invitation, Ouyang Rong entered first.

He looked around curiously.

There were many stone tables, benches and chairs in the courtyard, and many elderly, young and disabled people with missing arms or legs were sitting or lying in the courtyard sunbathing, probably waiting for lunch.

Unbeknownst to Ouyang Rong, among the injured and disabled people in the distance, a one-armed young man was sitting at a stone table.

The one-armed youth slowly raised his eyes, which had been lowered for a long time, and cast a quiet gaze upon him.

It's finally here.

A-Jie remained silent.

He tightened his grip on the scabbard of a sword, which was wrapped in cloth and disguised as a long staff.

He watched as Ouyang Rong slowly approached.

A-Jie suddenly remembered.

That year in Chang'an, his first sword was apparently obtained by killing someone for a wealthy man.

Back then, he was just a disabled beggar with only a wretched life.

Ah Jie still vividly remembers the muffled sound of the sword piercing the target's lung, and occasionally hears it again in her dreams.

But at that time, he had people he wanted to protect, and the target of his assassination was no saint either.

His thrust was unwavering.

And now...

If Gui Niang knew, she probably wouldn't make me osmanthus wine anymore...

Ah Jie thought to himself, his eyes lowered as he watched Ouyang Rong's footsteps getting closer and closer in the distance.

Yes, "Guiniang" is not only the name of the sword that Ajie was holding captive in Peach Valley of Yunmeng Sword Marsh.

It is also the name of an ordinary deaf-mute woman who was his companion.

They were all beggars who were crippled and forced to beg on the streets of Chang'an back then.

So... when exactly did his heart begin to turn cold?

A-Jie remained silent, clutching the sword tightly in her arms, offering no answer.

All A-Jie knew was that ever since she lost the "Gui Niang" sword, she had fallen from the sixth rank to the seventh rank.

He could no longer let go of the new sword in his arms.

I can't let go anymore.

Just then, the sound of children playing came from nearby.

A little boy with a missing arm and a deaf-mute girl with a runny nose ran past A-Jie, who had only one arm.

Two disabled children are riding a bamboo pole together as if it were a horse, seemingly playing a bamboo horse game popular among children in the countryside.

The cheerful laughter reached A-Jie's ears as she held the sword.

A-Jie's eyes didn't look at them, but silently fell on someone in front of her.

"Your Excellency, this way please..." "Alright..."

The young magistrate had already entered within ten zhang of him, and even Ah Jie could clearly hear the young magistrate's voice through the surrounding noise.

That voice... there's no mistake, it's the same young man who slipped him coins and offered advice in the dark alley back then.

A-Jie sat on the stone bench, silently holding her sword, and confirmed it once again.

Just then, A-Jie saw that the young magistrate named "Ouyang Rong" seemed to have noticed him as he approached. A look of surprise and delight appeared in the young magistrate's eyes. He turned and strode towards A-Jie, who was about to draw his sword, and even waved to him casually.

"Oh, you...you really are here. By the way, do you remember me? We've met once before."

Having only met him once, how could this busy young magistrate still remember him...? A-Jie pursed her lips.

He sat on the stone bench with increasing tension, clutching the sword tightly to his chest.

The swordsman's gaze seemed to waver for a moment as his body trembled.

But the next second.

A-Jie's body suddenly slumped down, her eyelids drooping like a sick tiger.

Before a top-tier Qi cultivator gathers strength to unleash a sword or strike, they are never as tense and stiff as a street performer.

Instead, the whole body is in a relaxed state that is neither too tight nor too loose.

One strike is a full-force, deadly blow.

He's a good official, A-Jie decided...

No beheading

Leave the body intact.

With her hesitation gone and her decision made, A-Jie relaxed completely, and the cloth-bound sword she was holding became increasingly loose.

He nodded slightly to Ouyang Rong, who was walking towards him, as if waiting for Ouyang Rong to come to him.

finally,

Ouyang Rong closed to within three steps, which was the optimal distance for striking with his sword.

However, slightly strangely, A-Jie noticed that Ouyang Rong's footsteps turned slightly to the left, bypassing the stone table. It seemed that... he recognized that what he was holding was a sword, so he realized the danger and wanted to run away.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

Ah Jie, his muscles relaxed and his face utterly calm, easily raised his hand and pulled…

In an instant, a look of fear and astonishment suddenly flashed in the eyes of the one-armed swordsman, like a thunderclap on a calm lake, stirring up wave after wave of monstrous waves.

His muscles, which had been relaxed, suddenly tensed up.

Like a fully drawn bow, full of tension, the arrow is about to leave the bow and fly away in the next second.

That's right, it's running away, running away without regard for anything else!

Even though A-Jie was terrified, her body dared not move an inch.

With his aura locked on by someone at close range, he sat obediently on the stone bench, his face and body resembling a newly carved marble statue, both vibrant and stiff.

A-Jie watched helplessly as Ouyang Rong walked past him and headed towards another stone table very close to his side and behind him.

Under the warm midday sun, Ouyang Rong stopped at the table, smiled broadly, and asked in a clear voice:

"Long time no see, you should still remember me, right?"

Before this stone table, a slender young woman dressed in a plain blue and white dress sat alone.

She had eyes as clear as autumn water streams. At that moment, her long, curled eyelashes fluttered, and she tilted her head slightly, seemingly lost in thought, without replying.

And...I couldn't speak.

The slender girl's right hand, resting on the stone table, was missing a little finger.

After Ouyang Rong arrived, she tucked her slightly bent four fingers, which had been resting on the table, into her plain white sleeves, as if trying to hide them.

It turned out that when Ouyang Rong entered the courtyard, he did not immediately recognize A-Jie, the one-armed youth he had only met once in the dim alley.

Instead, he recognized another old acquaintance from the Beitian Nursing Home—the mute girl with a severed finger whom he had spent time with at the Pure Land Palace.

"By the way, do you...do you have a name?"

At the stone table, Ouyang Rong bent down slightly to ask, then paused, as if realizing that asking a mute woman her name was a bit too much.

He smiled apologetically, straightened his back, looked around curiously, and muttered to himself:

"Hmm, that old Taoist priest in the crane-feather cloak should be here too..."

Faced with Ouyang Rong's close approach and conversation, the slender mute girl lowered her head. For a moment, she didn't know what to do with her hands. She pulled them back from the table and let them hang down at her sides.

He seems somewhat introverted and reserved.

At this moment, behind the gentle and kind Ouyang Rong, a swordsman from Chang'an stood frozen, not daring to move an inch.

The slender, mute woman never even glanced at the latter.

He was met with Ouyang Rong's curious and scrutinizing gaze.

The mute girl lowered her head deeply, not daring to look at her beloved.

Beside another stone table.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, A-Jie finally dared to move a little.

He slowly turned his head, his face stiff as he looked at the slender, mute woman beside the stone table to his side and behind him.

He didn't know when the woman appeared, but she was sitting not far behind him.

He hadn't noticed anything amiss before.

As a swordsman who had once barely touched the threshold of a superior swordsman, the area within ten steps around him was an absolute domain that would make enemies tremble.

But at that moment, someone came in uninvited.

Or rather, he is now in her absolute territory.

They came to visit, but ended up taking the initiative instead of being the guests.

A-Jie broke out in a cold sweat.

I saw it clearly out of the corner of my eye.

The slender, mute woman carried no sword, nothing at all.

But the one-armed swordsman, who had fallen to the seventh rank but was almost invincible among his peers, had his hand trembling as it hovered in mid-air.

He dared not touch the bronze hilt of the sword in his bosom.

Ouyang Rong probably couldn't see anything.

He even found the slender, mute woman's profile in the sunlight to be quite delicate and clean, pleasing to the eye. She was the kind of woman who wasn't particularly stunning at first glance, but whose gentle and enduring beauty made men want to look at her more and more.

It also evokes a strong protective instinct in people, without any sense of threat or lethality.

But in the eyes of the swordsman A-Jie.

Just by sitting there quietly, she is like the sharpest sword in the world.

No scabbard in the world can contain it.

My junior sister wasn't without suspicion... Please don't call her stupid, everyone, call me stupid instead.

(End of this chapter)