Chapter 74 Ah Jing's long-awaited reunion, we should be happy

"It's going to be a disaster!" Feng Shisan's burly body slammed against the foundry gate. "Someone's trying to destroy our furnace!"

"What's the panic?" Ajiu pulled Feng Shisan away, drew her sword, and went to fiddle with the door bolt. "That one Western Region man, how could he escape our grasp?"

Feng Shisan found this reasonable and waved his fist, saying, "Once we find him, we'll beat him half to death."

"Use this." Guan Ye took out a short sword from her bosom. "It's better than your sword."

Ajiu rolled her eyes, staring intently at Guan Ye for a moment, "Compared to the horizontal sword that person wielded?"

Guan Ye's face flushed. She sheathed her short sword, biting her lip, and said, "If you don't want it, then forget it."

"Take it out." A-Jiu's dark eyes sparkled. "Who said I didn't want it?"

Feng Shisan was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, wishing he could rush in and capture the Westerners. Guan Ye pressed the short sword hard into A Jiu's hand, and deliberately bumped him with her elbow, making him sway.

Ajiu drew her short sword. Guan Ye was right; skillful tools are essential for fine work. If you can use something well, you can get things done quickly. The door bolt was halfway turned when the door suddenly opened from the inside. The three of them crowded by the door. Caught off guard, one of them cried out and fell into the doorway. Feng Shisan was just about to charge in when he leaped out and was thrown more than a meter away, his sword slipping from his hand.

The short sword in Ah Jiu's hand flew far away, plunging straight into the sand, with only the small hilt pitifully sticking out.

Guan Ye stumbled and fell flat on her face. She spat out the dirt in her mouth, then turned and grabbed Wan Qixi's clothes, saying, "Don't even think about escaping."

"Escape?" Wan Qixi pulled out a corner of his robe with disgust, brushing off the dirt that Guan Ye had rubbed against him. "I came here to broaden my horizons. I'll leave as soon as I see the Heavenly Furnace. Why would I escape? The imperial court's money hasn't been settled yet. If I escape, I'll be a fool."

Feng Shisan scrambled to pick up the sword, rubbing sand into his eyes with one hand and making a fighting gesture with the other, shouting, "Come on, come on!"

"If you don't come, I'll leave." Wan Qixi shook his head, then suddenly noticed something stuck in the sand. He steadied himself from turning around, his hawk-like eyes fixed on the exposed hilt of the small sword. He strode forward and pulled it out.

How could Ajiu tolerate anyone trying to steal Guan Ye's treasure? She pointed her sword directly at Wan Qixi's heart and said, "Give it back to me."

Wanqixi touched the unsharpened blade, showing no fear in the face of Ajiu's sword, and asked in a deep voice, "Is this yours? Where did you get it?"

“What Guan Ye gets, belongs to Guan Ye.” A-Jiu’s sword drew closer. “Give it back.”

Wan Qixi remained silent, his eyebrows drooping and his lips tightly pressed together. He stared at the short sword in his hand, and a layer of mist welled up in his arrogant, cold eyes. He was frozen in place as if someone had struck his pressure points. After a long while, he slowly raised his head, and a fierce look surged in his eyes as he stared at Guan Ye a few steps away.

"This is yours?" Wan Qixi sneered. "Just because you got it doesn't mean it's yours. Is there any logic to that? Now that I've picked it up, doesn't that mean it's mine?"

Guan Ye confronted him. She had dealt with Wan Qixi several times before. This man seemed to love money more than anything and spoke madly, but his demeanor was languid and lazy, as if he didn't really care about anything. However, holding a short sword, his narrow eyes were sharp and his whole body was full of vigor. His words were aggressive and an uncontrollable aura burst forth. A thought flashed through Guan Ye's mind: if she really angered this man, there would probably be bloodshed under the Heavenly Furnace.

Just as Guan Ye was about to speak, Wan Qixi suddenly burst out laughing, tossed the short sword into the air, and, taking advantage of the three people's momentary lapse in attention, darted out of the foundry gate like an arrow. A Jiu leaped up and caught the short sword, but when she tried to chase after him, Wan Qixi was nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it!" Feng Shisan was furious. "He cheated again. If there's a next time, I'll beat him to a pulp. I'm not worthy of wielding this sword."

Ajiu picked up her sleeve, wiped the dust off the sword, and handed the short sword back to Guan Ye. Guan Ye carefully put it into her bosom. Feng Shisan peeked at it and saw that it was just an ordinary thing with the blade not even sharpened. He curled his lip and lost interest.

When they went back into the courtyard, Wanqixi and the oxcart were gone. Jiannu was picking up pebbles from the ground with a winnowing basket. Feng Shisan asked angrily where the Western Region man had gone. Jiannu stopped and said that the Western Region man had left with the oxcart. He had even exchanged pleasantries with the shop owner before leaving. The shop owner was all smiles after a few words and even invited him to come for drinks another day.

"This Wan Qixi." Guan Ye vaguely felt that this person was strange, but she knew from the first day she met him that he was crazy and frivolous, and could never say anything decent. His behavior today seemed strange, but it was also something he could do. "He actually takes on business with the imperial court?"

“He can sell corundum and Kunwu stone, so he must have some connections.” Ajiu’s eyes darkened. “It’s not surprising that he can be a royal merchant. At least the iron ore he delivers is genuine, and that’s enough. But you…” Ajiu’s eyebrows rose again, her gaze towards Guan Ye full of meaning, “That handkerchief, did you wash it clean?”

A handkerchief? Guan Ye blushed instantly. This A-Jiu, even while talking about others, still couldn't forget her own affairs. Guan Ye swallowed hard, "But I haven't seen him yet, and besides, maybe I'll never see him again?"

A hint of anger flashed across Ah Jiu's face. "Even if it's just to get his things back, he'll definitely come to see you again."

“It’s just a handkerchief, Mu Chenbi isn’t that stingy,” Guan Ye blurted out.

The scene Wan Qixi described seemed to flash before Ajiu's eyes, his eyes churning with complex emotions. A hint of jealousy stirred within him, but not wanting Guan Ye to see it, he turned away and remained silent. Guan Ye wanted to call out to him, but the words caught in her throat. She hadn't done anything wrong, so why should she give in to him?

"Mu Chenbi? Who is that?" Feng Shisan asked, puzzled. "What did you take from him? Will he come knocking on your door to ask for it back? Ajiu, don't go! The debt isn't settled yet, don't leave it to me, I... I don't know many words! Guan Ye, Guan Ye, why are you leaving too..."

With a loud bang, the doors to the east wing and the quiet room slammed shut simultaneously, making Feng Shisan's ears ring and leaving him completely bewildered.

The night was deep, the sky seemed to be stained with ink, and the stars and moon were nowhere to be seen. It was late autumn, and the cold wind howled, shaking the old trees standing alone on the street, scattering withered leaves all over the ground. It was almost midnight, and the night market was sparsely populated. Only the stall owners, yawning from exhaustion, were listlessly tidying up their stalls. The fried cake shop had sold out again today. Song Mian leaned against the door, scooped up a ladle of cold water and gulped it down, wearily watching the few passersby.

Song Mian saw that in the tavern diagonally opposite, a man from the Western Regions was already drunk and weak. The man was wearing an old crimson robe, his face was flushed and his eyes were unfocused. Several jugs on the table had already been emptied. He reached out to call the waiter to bring more. The waiter gave him a disgusted look at his dreadlocks, shrugged off his towel and pretended to be deaf.

The owner and waiters of that tavern were notoriously fierce. The Westerners had eaten and drunk quite a bit, and if they didn't have money to pay the bill, they would be dragged to the yamen tomorrow. Song Mian frowned. What did this have to do with him? Thinking that he had to get up early the next morning to grind beans, he got up again, panting, and started working.

The hustle and bustle of the streets and alleys had dissipated, the wind whistled through the air, and the night was like a spell. In the tavern, Wan Qixi stared blankly at the wine jug beside him, his eyes half-closed. He couldn't remember how many jugs he had drunk tonight—five, or three? Today he had made a big deal: nearly two thousand catties of iron ore. The Salt and Iron Bureau not only gave him a fixed price but also paid him generously. Wan Qixi touched his pocket, where there was a thick stack of silver notes, equivalent to a year's worth of business in the Ghost Market.

Wan Qixi laughed at the thought of the wine jar, picked it up and took a big gulp. He drank too fast and choked, his crimson robe getting soaked. He choked so hard that tears welled up in his eyes. After coughing for a while, he tilted his head back and drank it all down. The spicy wine went straight down his throat and into his heart, making his chest feel burning hot.

Seeing that the tavern waiter was about to kick him out, Wan Qixi swayed as he stood up, not forgetting to pick up the sword at his feet, take out a piece of silver and put it on the table, and walked into the street reeking of alcohol. His eyes were a little hazy, but his steps were still strong, with the sword on his shoulder, and he walked straight.

Reaching a secluded spot, Wan Qixi felt increasingly sleepy. Suddenly, he heard light footsteps approaching from behind. His unfocused gaze immediately sharpened, and he pressed the thick wad of silver notes in his pocket. He stood still, staring at the hilt of his sword, his right hand slowly and impassively raising it. He would turn around and strike with deadly precision as soon as the person got closer.

Under the cover of night, a crescent-shaped scimitar slashed down from the sky, its blade piercing the inky darkness and startling a flock of crows. Wan Qixi revealed a cold smile as if he had expected it, and with a step and a twist like a ghost in the night, he swung his scimitar, stirring up a carpet of yellow leaves. The two scimitars clashed, their force shaking the heavens.

Wan Qixi let out a low growl and saw a man in black robes holding a curved sword. Although he had only made one move, he could already feel the ferocity of the sword's aura. He had drunk too much tonight, and Wan Qixi saw double. He rubbed his eyes with his left hand and took another half step forward. The man's body was wrapped in a wide robe, so he could not tell whether he was fat or thin. He wore a bamboo hat and lowered his eyebrows. When he saw Wan Qixi approaching, he raised his head slightly. Wan Qixi squinted at him, then suddenly took a few steps back and gasped for breath.

The man resembled an evil god, wearing a gilded mask on his left cheek, which made his gaunt face even more terrifying at midnight. Most frighteningly, he only had one right eye on his face; where his left eye should have been, there was only a withered hole. Walking on the cold streets at night, he was like a wandering mountain ghost. Fortunately, Wan Qixi was brave; anyone else would probably have been scared to death on the spot.

The man's right eye... Wan Qixi was jolted awake by the shock, his whole body feeling as if he had fallen into an icy lake, the chill penetrating to his bones. He gripped his horizontal sword tightly. Since this man was coming for him, there was nowhere to escape. Wan Qixi kicked off with his right foot, gathering strength in his horizontal sword, and no longer concealing the killing intent in his eyes, he swung it straight at the man in black robes.

The black-robed man's scimitar appeared out of nowhere like a crescent moon. Facing Wan Qixi's offensive, he unleashed a series of sharp and dazzling sword strikes. After more than ten moves, he was not at a disadvantage at all. His swordsmanship was swift and powerful, forcing Wan Qixi to grit his teeth and raise his horizontal sword to fight back desperately.

"Again!" The man in black robes spoke in a sinister and dangerous tone.

Wan Qixi's blade trembled slightly as he roared and slid across the black-robed man's lower body. His blade was as powerful as a mountain, cleaving through the night with a single strike. Just when the black-robed man thought he was about to miss, Wan Qixi withdrew his strength and spun around, unleashing a series of horizontal slashes at his body.

The black-robed man's lips seemed to curl into a smile. He moved with measured steps, steadily parrying Wan Qixi's series of attacks. With a heavy stomp, his black robe billowed down like Mount Tai, and his curved blade flashed with cold light like a venomous snake emerging from its hole. Wan Qixi gripped the blade with both hands, the veins on the back of his hands bulging. He gritted his teeth and resisted fiercely. The two blades clashed again, like a thunderbolt, sparks flying. Both of them were forced back several steps by the other. Blood trickled from the corner of Wan Qixi's mouth. He wiped it with the back of his hand and brought it to his eyes to look at it. He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood, smacking his lips as if he were tasting fine wine.

"Again!" The man in black robes raised his scimitar and, before Wan Qixi could react, swung it straight at his throat.

Wan Qixi focused his mind, holding his sword horizontally in front of him, poised to strike. His arrogant body swayed leisurely as if slightly tipsy, and his sword swept out of the light screen. Just as the black-robed man's curved sword was about to pierce him, Wan Qixi's figure suddenly moved like a willow branch in the wind, and in a flash, his sword broke through the waves. His sword technique was a mix of real and feint, and in the moment when the black-robed man was in a daze, the blade had already pierced straight into his heart.

Just as the two swords were about to pierce each other's bodies, their movements suddenly stopped. The blades pressed against each other's flesh, and both of them groaned and remained frozen for a long time.

"Many years have passed since we last met. Young Master's swordsmanship has improved considerably, which shows his daily self-discipline and self-improvement. If the Master of the Workshop were alive, he would be very pleased." The man in black robes looked up at the sky, greedily inhaling deeply. Then, seeing the tears glistening in Wanqi Xi's eyes, a look of sorrow welled up in his single eye. "We should be happy to be reunited after so long. Young Master... why are you so sad?"

Wanqi Xi held up the horizontal sword in his hand, his two fingers tracing its length inch by inch. Tears welled up in his eyes as he rubbed the cold blade back and forth. The blade tilted, and the tears fell to the ground, seeping into the cracked earth.

"Back then, I took your sword with me, and since then, it has been my only companion. If I don't study diligently, practice hard, and be self-disciplined and strong, how can I face you, and how can I face the more than one hundred members of my Lu family!" Wan Qixi laughed desolately. "Yes, we should be happy to see each other again. Why am I crying for no reason?"

Wan Qixi laughed a few times, then plunged the horizontal sword in his hand into the soil, like a small stone tablet. "A-Jing, your face..."

"My face? What's wrong? Appearance is an illusion. Even if I ruin this face, I'm still the person the young master knew. The one you see today is no different from the one from back then." The man in black robes shook out his wide robes, revealing his concealed body. For many years, he had wrapped himself in this cloak. Today, removing it brought a sense of relief. Or perhaps, he simply didn't need to hide himself from this Western Regions man. They had a life-or-death bond; they were all, after all, of one life.

"Ah Jing?" The man in black robes murmured the name, which was so ancient that he had almost forgotten it. "Ah Jing... It was only when the young master called me that I realized who I was."