Chapter 17 The Returning Geese: You've Come
Zhou Ziheng raised his wine bowl, smiled at Xu Yi sitting opposite him, and ignored Xu Yi's gloomy and wary gaze, drinking the wine in the bowl in one gulp.
"Who exactly are you?" Xu Yi's fierce gaze vanished in an instant. He suppressed his irritation, picked up his wine bowl, and concealed his expression.
“Xu Yi, you may not remember me, but you should at least remember the last half of the Broken Goose Saber Technique.”
The light, airy voice sounded like muffled thunder in his ears, making Xu Yi's ears ring. He could no longer hide his astonishment.
He put down his wine bowl, about to grab Zhou Ziheng and demand an explanation, but found that Zhou had already gone upstairs, leaving behind only a fleeting invitation:
"After returning to Zhuanglan, we will go into the mountains and visit Wangyue Cliff. I invite you to come with me."
The night was deep. Xu Yi stood up weakly and sat down again, letting the heavy darkness engulf him. As if he were paying for a mistake he made in his youth, his breathing quickened slightly, and finally he painfully covered his missing right ear.
Memories returned to that night of raging flames. Xu Yi closed his eyes, and the pleading gazes of his parents appeared in his mind's eye.
...
The next day, when Zhang Yuanhan went downstairs, he saw Xu Yi sitting alone in the inn's lobby and asked curiously, "Brother Xu, have you been sitting here all night?"
Xu Yi did not answer. He silently poured himself a cup of tea, and after a while, as if he had made up his mind, he asked, "Second Young Master, have you finished your business?"
Zhang Yuanhan was bewildered: "Is it over after selling the goods today? Is there something wrong, Brother Xu?"
Xu Yi nodded: "Yes, we should go back soon, otherwise your older brother will worry."
Zhang Yuanhan's expression darkened for a moment, but he concealed it well and quickly reverted to his arrogant second young master self. Unable to refuse Xu Yi's request, he changed the subject, asking curiously, "Brother Xu, who tampered with your ship?"
Xu Yi remained silent, calmly rejecting the question. He put on his bamboo hat, got up, and left the post station, as if he had only been sitting there today to persuade Zhang Yuanhan to make the decision to go home earlier.
Zhang Yuanhan gritted his teeth.
Huo Qin had seen everything. He had just returned from boxing and his gaze lingered on Zhang Yuanhan for a while.
Zhang Yuanhan also saw Huo Qin, who was dressed in shorts and was steaming hot. He forced a smile and said, "Brother Huo, we should go."
Huo Qin nodded, without any particular thought.
He had nothing to do in Xiheqin, so naturally he had no objection to returning to Zhuanglan now.
Zhang Yuanhan's gaze shifted to the outside of the post station, his voice carried away by the wind: "I still have one last thing to do, Brother Huo, go and call Brother Zhou and Sister Mei to pack up."
As he spoke, he grabbed a straw hat, put it on his head, and went out into the wind and snow.
Huo Qin watched his departing figure, stroked his chin, and for a moment couldn't figure out what the other party was up to.
Just then, Zhou Ziheng, who had been listening to the opera from upstairs for a long time, also floated down to Huo Qin's side and clicked his tongue in amazement: "One by one, they all said they wanted to leave as soon as possible, but they all went off to do their own things."
Huo Qin glanced at him, as if to scold him for being a busybody.
He chuckled to himself, "Stop looking, go and wake Xi Bingyi up."
The two went upstairs and were about to go to Xi Bingyi's room when they saw her yawning and pushing open the door.
"Hey—" Xi Bingyi swallowed her unseemly pose. "Senior brother, Brother Huo, what are you two doing here?"
"We're getting ready to go back," said Huo Qin.
"I need to talk to you about something," Zhou Ziheng said.
Huo Qin glanced at him.
Zhou Ziheng remained calm: "After returning to Zhuanglan, I will probably disappear for a while."
"I have cleverly calculated the secrets of heaven and glimpsed the future..." He mumbled incoherently, shaking his head and pretending to be a charlatan, "I estimate that the Zhang family may be in trouble."
"You two be careful."
Xi Bingyi and Huo Qin were not interested in Zhang's troubles, but they were very interested in what Zhou Ziheng was going to do.
Xi Bingyi asked, "What are you going to do? Wasn't it your idea to come to the Zhang family? Why don't you want to join in the fun now?"
Zhou Ziheng simply smiled and said, "I have more important things to do."
Huo Qin was more worldly-wise than Xi Bingyi, and saw through his intention to seek revenge at a glance. He did not stop him, but only said: "The Zhang family is in trouble, what is your attitude?"
He exchanged a glance with Zhou Ziheng, and the other knew that he was talking about pirates.
Zhou Ziheng mumbled, "Let's take another look."
Huo Qin was somewhat surprised. He had an enemy, Xu Yi, and had been tricked by pirates before. He thought Zhou Ziheng would stand by and kick him while he was down without hesitation.
Perhaps Huo Qin's expression was too blatant, Zhou Ziheng sighed helplessly: "I'm not that pathetic, am I?"
On the other side, Zhang Yuanhan went out, but not to look for Xu Yi.
His trip to Zhuanglan was merely a side matter; his more important purpose was to find a special kind of rope.
He had intended to wait for the Xiheqin merchant to weave the ropes into a net before leaving, but since Xu Yi was in a hurry to return, he had no choice but to buy bundle after bundle of rope, intending to weave it after returning to the Zhang family.
Hopefully, it's not too late.
He thought to himself.
...
That afternoon, Xu Yi and Zhang Yuanhan finished their own business and led a group of people to the port, ready to set sail at any time.
Compared to Zhang Yuanhan's ships, Xu Yi's fleet was larger and more fully equipped. The golden "Zhang" flag fluttered in the wind and snow, showcasing the prestige of the coastal trade hegemon.
The group split into two groups. Before boarding the ship, Zhou Ziheng took one last look at Xu Yi and happened to see that the other person was also looking at him.
Zhou Ziheng smiled, his gaze cold in the heavy snow.
Xu Yi's expression was also gloomy, but he still nodded politely and then boarded the ship and left without looking back.
Huo Qin stood beside Zhou Ziheng, clicking his tongue in amazement: "It's hard to imagine that such a person with a tragic background, quiet, honest and well-mannered, is actually the arrogant young master you described."
Zhou Ziheng hummed in agreement: "I find it hard to imagine either."
The two briefly touched on the topic, then stopped talking after glancing at Xi Bingyi waving from the boat.
The return journey was smooth, perhaps because they were eager to get back to Zhuanglan. In just two days, the two giant ships arrived in Zhuanglan and docked at the port.
Xi Bingyi was still a bit seasick, so she had hardly seen anyone for the past two days. When she saw the ship stop, she walked off with a pale face and weak legs, took a deep breath of fresh air, and didn't even care about the fishy smell of the coast. She just felt that she had finally come back to life.
"Finally back!" Xi Bingyi exclaimed. "This trip was truly unpleasant."
Zhou Ziheng stood at the bow of the ship, sword in hand, gazing into the distance. Upon hearing this, he simply said, "True strength lies in adapting to the environment."
Xi Bingyi angrily lashed out at the ghost, and the sharp wind of the whip lashed past him. Even though it didn't hit him, Zhou Ziheng could feel the pain.
"What did you say?"
Zhou Ziheng: "..."
Xu Yi disembarked long ago, but he did not leave. He stood guard by the side, watching Zhou Ziheng from afar.
Unable to ignore the probing gaze, Zhou Ziheng waved his hand, as agreed, and told Huo Qin and Xi Bingyi to return to the Zhang family first, while he would come back later.
Xi Bingyi rolled up her sleeves and sneered, "Xu Yi is not what he used to be. You'd better not lose to him and ruin the reputation of the Three Heroes, and drag us down with you."
Zhou Ziheng was speechless: "He only has half a set of sword techniques, how can he be my enemy? You should worry about yourself, who knows what will become of Zhang Shi."
The two spoke very softly, and Zhang Yuanhan heard nothing, only catching faint syllables in the wind.
He gave Xu Yi and Zhou Ziheng a strange look, but said nothing, and left after making the arrangements.
After Zhang's workers finished their work and left, the bustling port seemed to be paused, and everything became quiet, with only the gentle sea breeze rippling the surface of the sea.
Everyone had left, except for Xu Yi, who remained standing at the port, watching Zhou Ziheng slowly approach.
"At midnight tonight, at Wangyue Cliff, I await your arrival." Zhou Ziheng narrowed his eyes, no longer wanting to pretend, and revealed a cold smile.
It was almost evening, not too close to midnight, but not too far either. Xu Yi had no objections. He stood in the shadows, like a lone shadow about to disappear, stealing a moment of peace in this world.
After Zhou Ziheng finished speaking, he left, brushing past Xu Yi without stopping or caring whether the other had anything to say.
Arrogant, conceited, and disregarding him.
Xu Yi silently watched Zhou Ziheng's departing figure. He was in a daze, and when he opened his palm, he found that crescent-shaped marks had been pinched into his palm without him realizing it.
After much deliberation, he felt that his chances of survival were slim, so he went to a pen and ink shop, intending to write something to Zhang Yuanqian.
He sat quietly at the table, his wrist suspended for a long time, until the ink fell from the brush and spread into a dark dot on the paper.
What should I write? Xu Yi suddenly felt a little lost.
When he was in Xiheqin, he did not not think of killing Zhou Ziheng first.
Even on the return journey, he thought countless times about killing Zhou Ziheng first.
As long as he is killed, life will not change. As long as he is killed, he can still keep Zhang Yuanqian's promise.
But mixed within this intense killing intent was an undeniable sense of guilt and pain. He had lived with those eyes that could never close for many years, and this time, he didn't want to run away again.
Xu Yi finally put down his pen.
...
On the other side, Huo Qin, who had returned to Zhang's residence first, keenly sensed the unusually tense atmosphere.
Zhang Yuanqian was extremely busy. Compared to his indifference when they first met, he was now much more gloomy and anxious, making the terrible scar look like a ferocious centipede.
Zhang Yuanhan also sensed something was wrong. He felt a little flustered and had a bad feeling about it.
He wanted to call out to Zhang Yuanhan to ask what had happened, but his elder brother was too busy to hear Zhang Yuanhan's calls. Left with no other option, Zhang Yuanhan grabbed a servant who looked flustered and quickly asked, "What happened?"
"Second Young Master! You've finally returned!"
"During your absence, many people in our family have died inexplicably!"
"I'm afraid only you and the eldest son are left in the entire Zhang family. All the cousins and distant relatives have packed their valuables and fled!"
Zhang Yuanhan thought he was joking. More than being shocked, he was puzzled: "People die, so what? Why abandon the Zhang family? Our century-old business is all about profit. How can you just leave like that?"
The servant looked around, lowered his voice, and said in a trembling voice, "It's...it's someone from the imperial court!"
Zhang Yuanhan's mind exploded.
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