Chapter 111
Man Jiangxue brewed tea inside the house. After waiting for a while and not seeing Yin Qiu return, she drank a cup of hot tea herself. A moment later, Bai Ling pushed open the door and said, "Uncle-Master, I have investigated the matter of Senior Sister Cheng at Yao Dingcheng Post Station."
Man Jiangxue hummed in agreement and gestured for her to speak.
“I wrote this letter specifically to my master,” Bai Ling said, handing the letter to Man Jiangxue. “Actually, the reply arrived a while ago, but I’ve been traveling around and haven’t had a fixed place to stay, so the reply has been traveling for several days before finally reaching me. In the letter, my master said that there is indeed a female disciple named Cheng Xiu on Liuli Peak, and that her face was indeed burned by the Ziwei Sect six years ago. That Senior Sister Cheng was not lying.”
Man Jiangxue glanced through the contents of the letter, and Bai Ling followed up, saying, "After my master gave me special instructions that day, I also observed that Senior Sister Cheng for a few days. She usually stays in the boiler room and hardly goes anywhere else. Apart from her love of sleeping in late and drinking a little alcohol, she doesn't have any major health problems. Based on this, my master should be able to rest assured."
Man Jiangxue nodded slightly without saying anything. She casually threw the letter into the stove and burned it. She heard footsteps and voices coming from the front yard, as if someone had arrived.
Just as Bai Ling was about to go out to take a look, Yin Qiu arrived at that moment. The two of them stood under the corridor and watched as several young men and women walked in through the courtyard gate. They were all dressed in uniform gray-white robes and carried writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones in their hands.
The leader was a young girl, quite pretty and clever. She was clearly of higher status, wearing a light blue round-necked silk dress that distinguished her from the others, dressed beautifully, and carrying a small bow on her back.
"Greetings everyone. We are disciples of the Nine Immortals Hall, and we are here to register for the conference in four days," the young girl said, bowing to Man Jiangxue inside the house from the courtyard. She then smiled at Yin Qiu. "Please do us a favor, brothers and sisters!"
Although none of the disciples who came this time had ever participated in the Mozi Platform, they knew that this once-a-decade conference of mechanisms invited many heroes and attracted a large number of people. In such a mixed and chaotic time, the Nine Immortals Hall would register all those who came to Wei City for safety reasons, so that any unexpected situations could be dealt with promptly.
Bai Ling responded with an "okay," and immediately summoned all the disciples accompanying her to the front yard. After exchanging pleasantries, they quickly set up a table, lined up, and the disciples of the Nine Immortals Hall began to record the information one by one. The official business was carried out very smoothly.
Knowing that Man Jiangxue disliked noise, Yin Qiu specially closed the door. When she turned around, she saw Afu coming up to her with a warm smile and saying, "Is this all the people from your Yunhua Palace? Didn't I tell you that the Ziwei Sect will also be here? If you start fighting because of old grudges, you won't have the advantage if you have fewer people."
Yin Qiu looked at her and asked with a smile, "Then why don't you tell me how many people from the Ziwei Sect came this time?"
Afu smiled mischievously: "Anyway, we have more than you. The roster alone is several pages long, and there are still many people lying in ambush outside the city who haven't come in yet. There must be at least a hundred. I don't think you have more than thirty people here. You're underestimating us too much, aren't you?"
Yin Qiu smiled slightly and said, "We from Yunhua are here to participate in your sect's conference, not to seek revenge or cause trouble. Why bring so many people?"
"Why are you putting on airs when you talk to me? Is that necessary?" Afu said. "Your Yunhua Palace and Ziwei Sect have always been irreconcilable enemies. They're bound to be furious when they meet. Let's fight!"
Yin Qiu looked her over, her smile undiminished, and said, "So can I assume that you not only told me about my mother, but also told Nangong Min?"
Afu rolled her eyes and said with a grin, "It has nothing to do with me. I listen to my master very well. I do whatever she tells me to do. If you have any objections, go find my master to cause trouble."
No wonder Nangong Min also knew that Shen Mandong would appear in Weicheng; it turned out that Meng Wugui had informed her of this.
What did she tell Nangong Min to do?
Yin Qiu chuckled lightly: "Thank you for the reminder. I should indeed pay a visit when I have time. However, I'm not here to cause trouble. I haven't had a chance to thank Hall Master Meng in person since she saved me back then. Please pass on my message and ask Hall Master Meng to take some time before the conference so I can go and thank her."
Afu scrutinized Yin Qiu, the butterfly hairpin in her hair swaying as if it were about to fly away. She said casually, "I can't help you with this. Not only my master, but all nine hall masters of our Nine Immortals Hall refused to see any guests on the eve of the conference, just to avoid suspicion. If you really want to thank her, it's not too late after the conference. There's plenty of time."
“Then it seems you don’t want to see me,” Yin Qiu said casually. “You specifically asked me to come, but now that I’m here, you’re deliberately avoiding me. You two are quite interesting.”
Afu crossed her arms and leaned against the pillar: "There's a reason I invited you here, and you came of your own accord, didn't you? I already told you that the Nine Immortals Hall needs to avoid suspicion and won't have too much contact with any other sects. You're quite suspicious."
Yin Qiu glanced at her sideways: "Where is my mother?"
Afu said, "I don't know. I'm not her personal maid. You'll see her on the day of the conference, so what's the rush?"
Yin Qiu observed her expression, paused for a moment, and said, "Your acting isn't realistic enough. You know where she is."
“I only know that she is indeed in Weicheng,” Afu chuckled, “but I don’t know exactly where she is. You haven’t seen her for so many years, so there’s no rush.”
Realizing that she was playing games with him, Yin Qiu narrowed her eyes slightly, and after a moment, lifted her leg and said, "Alright, let's talk in private."
Afu looked on with a questioning gaze. She saw Yin Qiu turn his head and glance into the room, as if to remind her that there was someone else sitting inside. Afu's eyes darted around, and she quickly realized what was going on. She immediately straightened up and followed Yin Qiu's back.
·
The disciples were all gathered in the front courtyard, and naturally there was no one in the back courtyard. The two walked through the corridor and entered the courtyard. Afu looked left and right and asked, "There's no one here. If you have something to say that you can't tell anyone, just say it quickly. I still have to visit the next sect."
Yin Qiu stopped, her gaze falling on the empty courtyard. She didn't look at Afu, but asked again, "Where is my mother?"
Afu rolled her eyes and said helplessly, "How many times do I have to tell you? I don't know!"
Yin Qiu kept her eyes straight ahead, refusing to look at her: "I can give you time to think, but you have to think it through before you answer."
Sensing the enigmatic undertone in her words, Afu raised an eyebrow and gave a speechless look: "You're so annoying. I told you I didn't know, but you keep asking and asking."
After she finished speaking, she scratched her cheek with a slightly impatient expression, intending to leave. However, as soon as she took one step, the light in front of her suddenly dimmed, and a palm wind carrying a powerful aura immediately attacked her head, startling the butterfly hairpin on Afu's head, which was trembling and making a soft rustling sound.
Afu was startled and hurriedly raised her hand to block, but Yin Qiu quickly grabbed her, twisted her arms behind her back and locked them firmly, and then pressed her against the cold corridor pillar.
Afu was skilled in archery and had excellent light-footedness, but she was far inferior in hand-to-hand combat. Half of her face was numb and painful from the impact, and her teeth even choked on her tongue. Afu was shocked and shouted, "What are you doing!"
Yin Qiu held her tightly without any effort, her smile unchanged from before. She asked slowly, "Will you tell me or not?"
Afu spat and said, "If you don't let go of me, I'll call for help!"
"Shout it out," Yin Qiu said unmovedly, with a very pleasant expression, "Let your Nine Immortals Hall disciples know that you can't even withstand half a move from me, how impressive is that?"
"You—how could you be this kind of person?" Afu was genuinely stunned. "You're completely different from how my senior sister described you!"
Yin Qiu stared at her: "What's different?" Then she added, "And who is your senior sister? Does she know me?"
Afu struggled violently, deliberately ignoring Yin Qiu's question: "I really don't know where your mother is!"
“You don’t tell the truth,” Yin Qiu said. “Since you refuse to speak, I have no choice but to detain you. If my mother doesn’t show up on the day of the conference, or if all the information about her is fabricated by you and Meng Wugui, then I will invite you to visit Yunhua Palace and meet my master.”
"You have a master?" Afu asked in horror.
"The sect leader is half my master," Yin Qiu said. "She is my mother's senior sister, and she has always wanted to find my mother. Tell me, if she knew that your Nine Immortals Hall was playing tricks, what would she do to you?"
“No one dares to touch our Nine Immortals Hall,” Afu said, “not even the head of Yunhua Palace!”
“But you’re not some big shot,” Yin Qiu said. “You and Meng Wugui lured us here, and then you lured Nangong Min here. You’re just stirring up trouble, maliciously inciting conflict between our two factions. What are you, Jiuxian Hall, up to? I think if the sect leader finds out, she won’t let anyone who might endanger Yunhua Palace go unpunished. Don’t you agree?”
Afu, her neck stiff with anger, shouted, "No!"
"wrong?"
"Because my master and I didn't lie, your mother really is in Weicheng!"
Where is Wei City?
"I really don't know!" Afu was so anxious she was about to cry. "How could you be like this? I thought you were a gentle and generous person, and I always wanted to be friends with you! But you're actually so bad! And a really bad one at that!"
Yin Qiu's calm gaze lingered on Afu's gradually flushing cheeks. She tried her best to capture every subtle change in Afu's expression. However, to Yin Qiu's surprise, this girl really didn't seem to be lying to her.
Perhaps Meng Wugui only asked her to pass on a message and didn't tell her much else?
Come to think of it, with such poor kung fu skills, knowing too much, she'll eventually be caught and forced to reveal her secrets. She's not a tough guy; a young girl can't keep many secrets.
"I was just kidding you," Yin Qiu thought for a moment and then released the person decisively. "It's just that you wouldn't speak properly. There's no point in acting quirky in front of me. It only makes me suspect that you're deliberately trying to fool me. In the future, it's better to be more honest in your conversations."
Afu felt like she had been granted a pardon and quickly distanced herself from Yin Qiu. Her eyes were red with anger as she pointed at Yin Qiu and said fiercely, "You want to teach me how to be a decent person? I'd rather do it!"
“Then do as you please,” Yin Qiu said. “I apologize for my behavior just now, but you don’t need to ask why. I can only say that you and Meng Wugui are too mysterious, and I can’t regard you as good people for the time being. As for bad people, I have my own way of dealing with them. If you feel wronged, you can fight back.”
Afu said, "You're crazy! You bully people and then act so self-righteous! I'm going to tell on you!"
Yin Qiu asked, "Who did you tell on me?"
Afu glared at her, then leaped onto the roof beam, shouting angrily, "You just wait—!"
·
Fu Xiang helped Jiu Xian Tang register the names of the disciples in the building at the inn. She glanced at Steward Zhao and his attendants, then left the room without making a sound. She found a Jiu Xian Tang disciple and asked, "Young man, could you please tell me where the people from Yunhua Palace are staying?"
The disciple of Jiuxian Hall bowed and said, "Greetings, Young Master. Yunhua Palace did not stay at our Jiuxian Hall's inn, but instead went to a house in the west of the city."
West of the city? Fu Xiang understood and thanked the disciple. Just as she was about to find an excuse to ask Steward Zhao for permission to go out, she suddenly saw a green figure flying down from the corner of the corridor. Before she could see who it was, a small stone flying towards her hit her chest.
"Come here!" Afu shouted through gritted teeth in a low voice, hiding in the corner of the corridor.
Fu Xiang felt a headache whenever she saw her. Glancing at the group of people busy inside, she quickly led Afu around to the back of the corridor.
"What are you doing here? It wouldn't be good if someone saw you."
"I've been bullied!" Afu sobbed, raising her fist and pounding it into Fu Xiang's chest.
"Then why did you hit me?" Fu Xiang said irritably. "You were bullied, so you went to Master to take it out on me?"
"It was your Xiao Qiu who bullied me!" Afu accused. "She pinned me down and beat me!"
"Xiao Qiu?" Fu Xiang's eyes lit up. "You saw her? Is she alright? What is she doing?"
Afu was stunned by her barrage of questions: "Are you even human?! I already told you she hit me, and you're still so concerned about her!"
Fu Xiang smiled with her hands behind her back: "Even a fool could figure it out. You must have provoked her. Xiao Qiu has such a good temper, she wouldn't hit someone so easily. You liar, I don't believe you."
Afu clutched her chest and took a step back, staring in disbelief. "Who's the liar? I didn't lie! I didn't lie! Why won't any of you believe me?!"
"Oh, just go away," Fu Xiang said coldly, not having the energy to pay attention to her. "Don't come looking for me if you're busy. I'm busy. If someone sees you with me, I'll beat you up, not just Xiao Qiu. Go do what you need to do."
"You...you guys!" Afu was so angry she felt like she was going to explode. She kicked Fu Xiang in the leg. "I'm not talking to you anymore!"
After saying that, she leaped into the garden and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Fu Xiangping was kicked hard by her for no reason, and didn't even dare to make a sound.
What's wrong with this guy today?!
·
“I’ve tested her; she doesn’t know where my mother is right now.” Yin Qiu sat cross-legged beside the low table and accepted the tea that Man Jiangxue offered.
The disciples of the Nine Immortals Hall outside the gate had left one after another, and Bai Ling was instructing everyone to leave. The courtyard quickly became quiet.
“Meng Wugui will not tell anyone where Senior Sister is,” Man Jiangxue said, “regardless of whether Senior Sister is still alive or not.”
Yin Qiu remained silent for a moment, then placed the Zhu Bing sword at his waist on the table and said, "A Fu has repeatedly emphasized that my mother is in Weicheng, but I'm already here. Why won't she come to see me?"
Man Jiangxue's gaze fell on Zhu Bing's sharp, thin blade. After a short pause, she said, "Since she also said that she would be able to see her senior sister on the day of the conference, there is no need to rush things now. Let's just wait."
“I always felt it wasn’t that simple,” Yin Qiu said. “This time, the Ziwei Cult brought a lot of people, and there are still a large number of followers outside the city who haven’t entered. We don’t know where Nangong Min is, nor do we know what she wants to do with so many people. If the news that my mother is in Weicheng is just a lie spread by Meng Wugui, then what does it mean that she gathered us together with Nangong Min? What is her background?”
“One thing is certain: Meng Wugui is a former member of the Ruyi Sect,” Man Jiangxue said, tapping her cup lightly, her fingertips dabbing at the clear tea. “Her motives may be unclear, but she would never harm you. As for Nangong Min, even if she brings all the members of the Ziwei Sect to Weicheng, if she dares to harm us, I can make sure she doesn’t leave alive. What are you afraid of?”
If someone else had said this, Yin Qiu would have just laughed it off, but when Man Jiangxue said it, it was undeniable.
“It’s not that I’m afraid of Nangong Min,” Yin Qiu said, a little troubled. “I just…”
She was just worried about the flute player.
"Just what?" Man Jiangxue asked.
Yin Qiu looked away, trying to hide her anxiety. She said softly, "I just feel like everything is piled up at once, and I can't tell what's real and what's fake. I don't know what to do next."
“You’re confused,” Man Jiangxue said. “You need to understand why we’re here.”
Yin Qiu sighed: "It's precisely because I understand that I'm so suspicious... Am I being too impetuous?"
“If you feel that you are caught in a situation where you can’t distinguish between reality and illusion,” Man Jiangxue said, “you might as well look for the things that you think are real.”
reality?
Yin Qiu thought for a moment, then glanced at Man Jiangxue and asked, "What should I do?"
Man Jiangxue said, "Go touch, go feel, let the reality in your eyes shatter the illusions that surround you."
With the doors and windows tightly closed, the sunlight still shone clearly into the room. Yin Qiu appeared very transparent in that light, as if her body was being pierced by a thin light. Her expression revealed a thoughtful look, and then she slowly raised her hand to touch Zhu Bing.
But this sword can only represent itself; it can only prove Shen Mandong's past, not her present.
Chasing ice is not a realistic depiction.
The thin blade held a chill that could easily penetrate to the bone. Yin Qiu felt that chill, but she didn't think it could calm the turmoil in her heart, so she released Zhu Bing and instead took Man Jiangxue's hand.
It still had that faint body temperature, and that familiar touch that I could recall even with my eyes closed.
The coldness disappeared.
Yin Qiu suddenly realized something.
What does it matter? Meng Wugui, Nangong Min, Shen Mandong, and the flute player—who are they, or what does it matter if they are alive or dead?
Problems always have a way of being solved. Since these people are pushing her to passively drift through the foggy waves, then she might as well go. At least in those waves, there will always be someone accompanying her.
So what's the connection?
“Uncle-Master,” Yin Qiu said suddenly, seemingly out of the blue, while holding Man Jiangxue’s fingertips, “I really want to drink again.”
Man Jiangxue raised her eyebrows slightly, looking at Yin Qiu's brightened face, and said, "Want to drink?"
“Actually, things that are illusory can be wonderful sometimes,” Yin Qiu said with a meaningful smile. “They can give me things that I can’t get normally.”
Man Jiangxue looked at her and said, "For example?"
Yin Qiu didn't speak. She held Man Jiangxue's hand tightly, and the image of that snowy day when she was drunk floated before her eyes. This hand held her in its arms, making her unable to distinguish between reality and dreams.
“For example, right now, my Uncle-Master is real in front of me,” Yin Qiu said, lowering her long eyelashes and raising her hand as if she were about to kiss him. “But if I’m drunk, I’m in a dream. If I can truly feel my Uncle-Master in my dream, then from now on, I will no longer be afraid of any illusions.”
Even the illusion can become more beautiful because of this.
Man Jiangxue looked down at her, noticing the way the woman held her hands as if cradling something precious. Man Jiangxue asked, "What are you doing now?"
"Wine tasting." Yin Qiu was a little pleased, and a little bold. She deliberately let her lips lightly brush against the back of that plain hand, then disguised that intention.
“It’s just wine,” Yin Qiu said. “This doesn’t violate palace rules; I just smelled it.”
Soft lips, like a light feather, left a lingering, tingling sensation on the back of my hand. The sensation was like flowing water, continuous and persistent, or like the gentle, drizzling rain of March.
Man Jiangxue's eyes flickered slightly.
Her eyes were like a deep pool, and the usually calm surface was disturbed by the falling feather, creating ripples. Yin Qiu's bowed head was reflected in those ripples, and then, unnoticed, she was submerged by the slowly rising water.
"Are you sure you just want to smell it?" Man Jiangxue said, pinching Yin Qiu's chin with her hand, the two of them, one high and one low, looking at each other.
Yin Qiu was forced to tilt her head back, and for a moment she lost her balance, but Man Jiangxue supported her with her other hand.
Several figures passed by in the corridor, and Yin Qiu heard the laughter of her disciples. She felt a secret joy in those sounds.
"Is it not allowed?" Yin Qiu smiled calmly, her eyes clear and innocent. "You won't get drunk."
Man Jiangxue looked at her, seemed to smile slightly, and said in a normal tone, "Then you'd better not get drunk."
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