Snowy Night
The harsh winter was intense, and the heavy snow pressed down on the bamboo forest, making a "crunching" sound. Jiannan took out a mink cloak and draped it over her shoulders. Gu Youan turned around and glanced at him.
She handed her a roast duck, the fire crackling and sparking, and she looked at the person opposite her through the firelight.
"When does the next level start?" she asked casually.
"It has already started!"
Gu Youan frowned as she looked at her. "Is this a tradition of the Emperor's Ship? I never know about it before it starts."
Jiannan tore open the roast duck in his hand and handed it to her, saying, "This is to train your reaction time. You will be notified in advance of any assassination attempts, and you will know when the time is right."
"So when does it start?"
Jiannan took a bite of roast duck, his eyes fixed straight ahead. "It's already begun."
Jiannan suddenly disappeared, and the falling snow resembled something else. Then a man in black came walking through the snow.
A man in black on a snowy night—you'd think they were filming a blockbuster movie.
Gu Youan threw down the roast chicken in her hand, stared blankly at him, and drew the soft sword from her waist. "Please instruct me."
The man in black drew his sword and charged forward. Gu You'an couldn't dodge in time, so she flipped over and leaped onto a tree. The snow on the tree fell heavily to the ground. She looked at the man in black; his skills were far superior to hers. Gu You'an sighed. Snowflakes drifted down to earth. Could this snowy night enhance her skills? A snowflake landed on the man's eyelashes. She reached out and caught a snowflake, which instantly melted into water. She stared at the water in her hand. She practiced an extremely subtle and yin-like martial art.
A flash of white light illuminated her face as the white silver knife reached her right neck. She had no choice but to raise her sword to defend herself. The man in black grabbed the silver knife and pressed it down forcefully. Gu You'an's right leg went to her knees. Suddenly, her soft sword broke. She closed her eyes slightly as the broken sword flew out and embedded itself in a tree.
The man in black exerted force little by little, and the silver knife cut through his clothes, causing blood to seep out slowly.
Faced with absolute power, Gu Youan appeared so weak.
She took out the poison from her bosom and scattered it.
The woman in black suddenly closed her eyes. Taking advantage of this moment, Gu Youan struck the woman in black in the chest with a palm strike, escaping from her knife.
The woman in black was wearing a mask, so Gu Youan couldn't see her expression. The sword was broken; was she now going to have to fight her hand-to-hand?
Gu Youan glanced down at her own body; she didn't have the ability to escape from a man's clutches.
"Host, I can conjure a knife."
"Didn't you say you were unwilling to conjure up props?"
"Host, this is a critical moment, and I don't want you to get hurt."
Gu Youan reached out, and a knife appeared in front of her. The blade flashed, and Gu Youan retreated step by step. The black-clad man's knife skills were fierce, and she was no match for him. However, there was no way to retreat behind her. The two fought with bloodshot eyes.
The man in black struck Gu Youan in the right shoulder, and kicked her away. Her back slammed into a tree, and the knife slipped from her hand. She spat out a mouthful of blood. The man in black strolled up to her and said, "I heard that a person with extremely high talent has come to the back mountain, but it seems that's not the case."
Gu Youan staggered to her feet, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were filled with stars. Her scimitar was planted on the ground, and she shifted her weight onto it. "I will not admit defeat."
She picked up the scimitar and disassembled it into darts. "You underestimate me."
The dart was already coated with poison. She smiled at the man in black and threw the dart away.
The man in black chuckled and said, "I am also a mountain dweller; this poison is useless against me."
Gu Youan looked at him and said, "This is not poison, it is bone softening powder. This medicine is compatible with your internal energy cultivation method. As long as you exercise, you will lose all your martial arts skills in a short period of time."
"Miss Xuanji, do you know that this bamboo forest tonight was designed specifically for you? Do you think you can escape by trapping me?"
Gu Youan shook her head. "I don't think I have the ability to make you people pay for my affairs, but I believe that if you can get out, I can get out too."
In the vast snowy night, people quickly lose their body temperature. Gu Youan couldn't get out, but the person in front of her would be more sensitive to the outside temperature after losing her internal energy. She could maintain her body temperature through her internal energy, but the man in black couldn't.
Gu Youan clasped his hands in a fist and asked, "May I ask your honorable name?"
The man in black slid to the ground. "Don't ask."
Gu Youan's mind was buzzing. The person who would become Xie Daoqing's master many years later was actually here. She slowly walked forward and placed her hand on Mo Wen's mask.
Mo Wen grabbed his arm, "What are you doing, young lady?"
"I want to see the face behind the mask."
Mo Wen chuckled lightly, "Miss Xuanji, no one has seen my face yet."
Gu Youan hesitated for a moment, and Mo Wen placed her hand on his mask. "Miss Xuanji, you just need to understand that everyone has to pay the price for their actions."
Mo Wen handed the choice to her. Gu Youan remained silent for a moment, but finally removed his mask.
Beneath the mask was a delicate face. She paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's surprising that someone with such strong internal energy and ruthless techniques is so young."
This person was about the same age as her. Gu Youan took a deep breath and put the mask back on him. She didn't dare to look into his eyes.
"Do you know how we get out?" She looked up at the lush greenery above her.
"You can't go out alone, Xuanji. Do you know that after this assessment, you will have to go out on a mission?"
"So what?" Gu Youan didn't think it conflicted with his own affairs.
She slowly squatted down and looked into Mo Wen's eyes, "I will definitely carry out the mission, and I will definitely become an excellent assassin."
Mo Wen's eyes showed emotion. "Only poor people would join the Emperor's Company, but you, a lady from a prominent family, why would you let your hands be stained with blood?"
Gu Youan looked at him calmly and smoothed the snow in his hair. "You are highly skilled in martial arts, so why are you willing to stay in this formation?"
"Mo Wen, my name is Mo Wen. I can't give you the answer to this. You'll only find out from me when you become the best assassin." He looked up into her eyes. "Are you really willing to leave the back mountain?"
"Do you know that an assassin cannot disobey orders?"
"Do you know that after you left the Emperor's ship, you were just Xuanji?"
Gu Youan's eyes flickered. She knew what Mo Wen meant by those words, but she had no way back. From the day she entered the Emperor's Ship, she knew she had no way out.
"Does it matter who I am? Whether I am Xuanji or Gu Youan, as long as I can work for the Emperor and complete my mission, isn't that enough?"
"No need to say anything more, just take me out. I won this round." Gu Youan stood up and looked at the scenery in the distance, a strange emotion rising in her heart.
“Win? Once you enter the Emperor’s Ship, you will never truly win in this life.” Mo Wen waved his hand, and snowflakes formed a huge archway in front of Gu Youan.
"Xuanji, your real training only truly begins after you step out of this door!"
Gu Youan paused for a moment, then said, "Wherever there is profit, there will be struggle. Neither you nor I can escape it."
She turned to look at him, "Do you think you can hide in the formation and be a carefree monk and be safe? When the Emperor's ship is attacked in the future, will you be able to escape unscathed?"
Snow fell all over the ground as she walked toward the door. Everyone has their own choices, and she chose to forge ahead.
Jiannan stood outside the door waiting for her. The snow inside the formation was even heavier than outside. He quickly walked forward and carefully examined her.
"Young Miss, are you alright?"
Gu Youan shook her head; she saw a strange emotion in Jian Nan's eyes.
"Jiannan, you don't want me to leave the mountain to gain experience either?"
Jiannan chuckled, "Although you have now reached the intermediate level of Celestial Master, you are still unable to control a power. I hope you will stay here and focus on your cultivation."
Gu Youan shook his head. "I still need to leave here. Jiannan, only real combat can improve cultivation. If I stay here, you won't be able to bring yourself to attack me. The world outside the mountains is my battlefield."
Jiannan held her arm and said, "I will go with you to the outside of the mountains, don't worry."
Gu Youan sighed. "I am no longer Gu Youan of the Gu family. I am now Xuanji of the Emperor's Ship, the Xuanji Girl in the mountains."
“You’ve never left me, so how can I let you go out into the mountains to carry out a mission alone?”
Gu Youan looked at him with a very strange expression. "You're too good to me. This is something every assassin has to go through. Only through constant training can I become the best in the world."
"There is no such thing as the best in the world. If your obsession is to be the best, you will eventually be controlled by your own obsession. This is an assassin organization, where there is only endless killing. When you leave the Emperor's Ship, your life will be controlled by killing."
Gu Youan looked down at him, "Is this why you stayed in the back mountain?"
Jiannan was suddenly stunned, not expecting Gu Youan to ask such a question. He took her hand and said, "Xuanji, one day you will understand that there is no one or nothing in this world worth sacrificing your life for."
Gu Youan shook her head. "There are things I want to do."
Only by becoming the strongest in this world can no one bully her.
"Jiannan, just consider me a newborn calf that is not afraid of tigers. Mo Wen told me what I will face in the future, but if I always think about going out and making my own way, no one can make decisions for me." She looked ahead firmly. Now that she was here, there was no reason to turn back.
Jiannan looked behind Gu Youan and said, "Let him stay with you."
Gu Youan turned her head in confusion, and a familiar figure appeared before her. The figure looked at her with tenderness, "Qingyang, have you recovered?"
Qingyang nodded. "I heard you've passed the final test, so I came to find you."
Gu Youan paused for a moment, then smiled softly. The answer was almost obvious to her, like a venomous insect leaping in her heart.
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