Chapter 115 The Giant Net: He Guessed His Sister's Secret

Lou Cangyu pressed his fingertips firmly against the hilt of the sword, and one could almost hear the trembling sound of the blade about to be drawn from its sheath.

"A-Jiu." Guan Ye covered the sword with one hand and supported Song Mian's slumped body with the other, "What if Song Mian sobers up tomorrow and still wants to report Xingguo Ward..."

“He won’t,” Ajiu said firmly. “He can speak out for the dead, so he would never harm innocent living people. He’s just angry that he can’t do anything. He’ll understand when he sobers up.”

Guan Ye pondered Ajiu's words. Every word he said made sense. After venting his anger, Song Mian would never rashly mock others. The explanation given to the dead must be taken back, but not now.

“Tell me about your situation.” Ajiu glanced at Guan Ye. “Today, Song Mian acted like he’d seen a ghost when he saw me. A few days ago, when he went to the neighborhood, he saw Mu Chenbi, right?”

He saw right through her? Guan Ye continued walking in a straight line, without even turning her feet. "Mu Chenbi treated it as if he was asking about you, and his answers were spot on. Don't worry." As she spoke, she looked at him like A Jiu, "Why don't you tell me about your situation too?"

Ah Jiu remained calm and composed, waiting silently for Guan Ye to continue.

Perhaps it was because of the wine, but she didn't feel cold in the winter night wind. Guan Ye pursed her lips and asked, "You go to the palace every few days and stay for most of the day. What are you doing?"

Ajiu lifted Song Mian's increasingly heavy body slightly, "Most of the time there's not much to do, just talk to the Emperor. He likes me..."

Guan Ye suddenly let go, and Song Mian's body sank so hard that A Jiu almost stumbled. Guan Ye walked behind A Jiu and carefully examined a certain spot. Suddenly, she exclaimed in surprise, "No way... the Emperor has this kind of fetish?"

Ajiu didn't quite understand at first, but then suddenly realized, and with a quick release, Song Mian slid softly to the ground like a lump of mud. "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Guan Ye skipped forward and, by the light of the lamp, examined A Jiu closely. Suddenly, she placed her palm on his cheek. "It's so hot, A Jiu. You blush too?"

"I haven't finished yet." For some reason, Ajiu suddenly became anxious. "The Emperor likes to watch me practice swordsmanship. He has a beloved ancient sword, and he said... the way I practice swordsmanship is just like his old friend."

"You have the looks of someone he knew?" Guan Ye chuckled. "Could it be that you're the son of someone he knew?"

Guan Ye slowly raised her hand, her warm fingertips touching the scar on his brow bone. She tilted her head and looked at it closely, her big eyes filled with regret. "It's been so long, but the scar is still so deep. Why won't it fade?"

Ah Jiu held her wrist, gently pulled it close to his lips, lowered his eyelids to look at her affectionately, and suddenly sucked on her finger when Guan Ye was not paying attention, his Adam's apple bobbing once, then once more, "So sweet."

Guan Ye pulled her finger out, put it in her mouth, and sucked on it, savoring the taste. "Is it sweet?"

"You're so silly." Ajiu looked at Guan Ye's serious actions, and before Guan Ye could react, he wrapped one arm around her waist, pulled her close to him, and turned his head to kiss her lips.

Guan Ye subconsciously sucked on his tongue, where the sweetness of Daughter Red wine still lingered, with a perfect balance of spiciness and sweetness. Guan Ye was already intoxicated after just a small taste. Their four lips pressed tightly together. Guan Ye stared blankly at A Jiu's closed eyes, then slowly closed her own eyes. Her body was burning hot as their lips and teeth intertwined.

After an unknown amount of time, Ajiu reluctantly released her lips, glanced at Song Mian on the ground, and seemed to sigh, "I'm leaving."

That's it...? Guan Ye sensed something was missing, but of course she couldn't let A Jiu see it. Guan Ye wiped the foam from her lips with the back of her hand and started to drag Song Mian away. A Jiu blocked her hand, picked up Song Mian on her own, and chuckled softly as she peered at Guan Ye, who was still unsatisfied.

“Song Mian seemed to have mentioned it once, that he lived in…” Guan Ye recalled, “the place where he sold steamed buns, in the third alley of the East Market, yes, right there.”

Dragging the heavily injured Song Mian, the two could barely walk. By the time they reached the entrance of the three alleys, it was nearly midnight. With over a hundred households in the dark, how could they know which house Song Mian lived in? They couldn't very well knock on every door and ask… leaving Song Mian at the alley entrance… Guan Ye looked troubled. Song Mian was so drunk; abandoning him would be incredibly unfair. Most importantly, her father had died from drunkenness…

"Why don't we..." Guan Ye wanted to suggest staying with Song Mian, but was suddenly startled by the dark figure deep in the alley. She gripped A Jiu's sword tightly with both hands and waved it wildly at the figure.

The shadowy figure chuckled and approached the sword step by step. "A sword that's not drawn is useless no matter how fancy you twirl it. Who are you trying to scare?"

"Wanqixi?" Guan Ye blurted out.

Seeing that the person who came was indeed Wan Qixi, Ajiu lowered her guard, pulled out her arm that had been numb from Song Mian's pressure, rubbed it, and said, "Now that the person has been delivered, we can leave with peace of mind."

Wanqi Xi glanced at the drunken Song Mian, a look of disgust on his face, and pointed at Guan Ye, saying, "You Guan girl are the worst. It's not enough that you're forced to work for me. Do you expect me to serve you? Drag her away, drag her away."

Guan Ye raised her head and said, "What are you doing at the alley entrance so late at night instead of sleeping? Aren't you waiting for your friend?"

"Huh?" Wanqi Xi sniffed, put his hands on his hips, and said, "Is it wrong for your Grandpa Wanqi to get up at night to use the toilet?"

“You’re running a big business with the Salt and Iron Bureau, don’t tell us you don’t even have a toilet in your house?” Guan Ye had never lost a verbal battle with Wan Qixi. “That would be unbecoming of Boss Wan Qixi.”

Wan Qixi was momentarily speechless, then pointed his finger at Guan Ye a few times before suddenly pointing at Song Mian and raising an eyebrow at A Jiu, "Drag him in and let him drink, drink, drink. Aren't you afraid of drinking yourself to death?"

Ajiu smiled at Guan Ye, hoisted Song Mian onto her shoulder, and headed in the direction Wan Qixi pointed. Watching Ajiu's retreating figure, Wan Qixi seemed to remember something, coughed, and asked in a low voice, "Who is this?"

"What do you mean, 'this' and 'that'?" Guan Ye said irritably.

Wanqixi cleared his throat. "Is this the junior swordsman, or... the Crown Prince?"

Guan Ye rolled her eyes at him. "You're quite well-informed. You know this and that. Who cares who he is?"

Wanqixi followed Ajiu for a few steps, then after a moment of thought, said with certainty, "He is Ajiu, the swordsman Ajiu, look." Wanqixi pointed to Ajiu's gait, "He walks with the steps of a江湖 (jianghu, a martial arts world) person, not someone of noble birth. The Crown Prince... he can't reach him."

“Ajiu is Ajiu. There’s only one Ajiu in the whole world. What’s the point of trying to curry favor with the Crown Prince?” Guan Ye said angrily. “You talk too much.”

After settling Song Mian in the house, Ajiu turned to face Wanqixi. Seeing Wanqixi staring at her in a daze, she straightened her clothes, walked past him, and reached out her hand to Guan Ye. Wanqixi was stunned to see the two of them leave hand in hand so calmly.

"The world is going to the dogs!" Wan Qixi exclaimed, making a gesture of utter despair.

Watching the two disappear into the alley, Wan Qixi's confused expression abruptly vanished. Under the night sky, his face hardened with a fierce intensity. He recalled Cui Jin's words: "Such deep-seated hatred cannot be avenged by you and me alone. Ajiu's face is the key to unlocking the door to hatred, and he has already opened that door."

When Lu Xiaojun met Cui Jin again in the fishing village, no matter how he probed and questioned her, she wouldn't reveal her sister's secret: her sister had a child, a child with that man. Her sister refused to mention that man again; she even readily gave the pearl pendant he had given her to Shouzheng of the Vermilion Bird Gate. Her sister's secret was Lu Xiaojun's secret. Lu Xiaojun had promised her sister that she would keep the secret buried in her heart forever, until her death.

The child was exquisitely beautiful, and showed no shyness towards Lu Xiaojun upon their first meeting. Perhaps it was a deep-seated blood ties, but Lu Xiaojun took a liking to him at first sight. After her sister disappeared, Lu Xiaojun had considered taking the child with her, until she caught sight of the child's foster mother. An old woman and a young boy were picking up seashells along the shore. Whenever they found a large one, the old woman would stop, peel off the shell, and put the meat into the child's mouth. The seashell meat was plump and delicious. Watching the child eat so happily, Lu Xiaojun, hidden in the morning mist, couldn't help but swallow hard. He also longed to... taste a fresh seashell.

What good would it do to take him away? Would he come back to the fishing village with her, or would he fly away and live a life of wandering...? Lu Xiaojun couldn't even protect herself, so how could she take care of a child who was only a few years old? Canglang Island was simple but peaceful, and the old woman genuinely cared for him. Perhaps... Lu Xiaojun finally made her decision to leave the child on Canglang Island.

Every year on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, as promised to his sister, Lu Xiaojun would arrive as agreed. He watched his sister's children grow taller and bigger each year. Then one year, the old woman disappeared, and on the long coastline, only one person remained... No... Lu Xiaojun rubbed his eyes hard, pulled up the sail, and tried his best to get closer. There was more than one person, there was also...

Lu Xiaojun saw a strange young man sitting on a green bamboo chair, with waves still lapping against his dangling legs. Lu Xiaojun suddenly felt a little nervous. He had brought the boat too close to see clearly and was afraid that others would notice him... But gradually he calmed down and realized that... from beginning to end, the young man on the green bamboo chair only had one person in his eyes, and nothing else in the world.

Even after I disembarked and stood right in front of him, he could only see one person.

Cui Jin guessed his sister's secret, but he couldn't guess everything. He guessed that his sister and that man had a lost treasure, but what he didn't know was that his sister had given birth to a girl.

Ajiu knocked on the door, but couldn't step inside. Revenge? Wanqi Xi sighed to the heavens, realizing he still had to rely on his own sword.

“This Wanqixi is a bit strange.” Ajiu looked back at the dark alley entrance and saw that the shadowy figure seemed to be staring at her as well.

“He’s quite pitiful.” Guan Ye held A Jiu’s hand.

"Pitiful?" Ajiu asked, puzzled.

After the effects of the alcohol wore off, a cold wind blew and it got a bit chilly. Guan Ye shrank closer to A Jiu. "He left his home and came to Rongdu from the Western Regions to make a living. Isn't he pitiful? He earns his living by selling iron ore through hard work. He is a merchant from a foreign tribe, and others only see him drinking and eating meat. Only he knows the hardships he has endured."

Ajiu seemed to be deep in thought, then raised her eyebrows and asked, "Why would the Imperial Salt and Iron Bureau want to do business with him?"

Guan Ye pinched Ajiu's hand. "Wanqixi can even get his hands on diamond sand and Kunwu stone. He must have some connections. It would be strange if the Salt and Iron Bureau didn't look for him. Why don't you think about where he got his connections?"

"Where did you come from?"

"You're so silly." Guan Ye stopped in her tracks, her face full of anger. "If you and I knew, would he still be Wan Qixi? Wan Qixi is the most shrewd person in the world. He would definitely keep his ways of making a living very secret. He would even bite his teeth in his sleep for fear of revealing the secret in his sleep."

Guan Ye couldn't help but look back at the alley. Wan Qixi's dark shadow loomed large, like a vast net, staring into the abyss. Guan Ye felt no fear.