Chapter 25
After Yin Qiu finished bathing, she left the bathhouse with the other female disciples and returned to the courtyard. Fu Xiang was walking towards her carrying clean clothes.
It had been a while since it snowed, but the winter nights were still as bitterly cold as ever. Yin Qiu had just taken a bath and was all warm and cozy, so she wasn't wearing much. Fu Xiang had been forced to do hard labor in the palace that afternoon and was probably sweating profusely, so she was only wearing a thin shirt. She was walking alongside the others, but when she saw Yin Qiu, she left them behind and ran towards her, saying, "Goodness, thank goodness you got away earlier. This work is inhuman, it's exhausting."
Yin Qiu took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Fu Xiang's face, asking, "What have you been doing?"
Fu Xiang looked at her and smiled, saying, "Sweeping snow, sweeping the ground, cleaning the sewage ditches, I go wherever there's dirt. Hey, stay away from me, you smell bad, don't let the stench bother you."
In reality, after the new disciples entered the palace, they were pulled away to do hard work almost every few days. Yin Qiu had been there a few times as well. However, when the senior sisters came to select people today, Fu Xiang, with her sharp eyes, secretly pushed Yin Qiu out, thus preventing Yin Qiu from following.
Almost a month has passed since she entered the palace. During this time, Yin Qiu realized that Fu Xiang was indeed very kind and considerate to her. Seeing that Fu Xiang's breathing was still unsteady, Yin Qiu asked with concern, "Have you eaten yet? Don't go hungry."
"You're sweaty and smelly, take a shower before you eat," Fu Xiang replied casually. After the surrounding disciples had walked away a bit, she asked Yin Qiu, "How are things? Have you received any more medicine bottles these past few days?"
Yin Qiu's mind raced, but she remained calm and said, "No, there aren't any."
Fu Xiang took Yin Qiu's handkerchief and wiped her sweat, saying, "It's been quite a few days, so I guess they won't be coming back."
Yin Qiu nodded without saying anything.
"You," Fu Xiang slapped Yin Qiu on the forehead, "that night you swore you wouldn't fall asleep, and I ended up staring blankly in the room all night. When I asked you the next day, you were still fast asleep. What an idiot!"
Yin Qiu smiled sheepishly and said, "It's my fault. I didn't have enough willpower, and I kept you from sleeping."
Fu Xiang said nonchalantly, "That's fine. I was just worried that bad people might be targeting you. It's good that they're not coming. If anything seems amiss in the future, please remember to tell me."
Yin Qiu agreed, and Fu Xiang went into the bathhouse to take a bath. Yin Qiu returned to her room, quickly finished her homework, and went to bed early to sleep. In the middle of the night, someone threw a small stone onto the windowsill. Yin Qiu was immediately awakened, quickly dressed, and carefully pushed open the door to go out.
The biting wind blew relentlessly, dispelling the warmth that Yin Qiu had brought from under the covers. The courtyard was quiet and deserted, with only a few dim lanterns illuminating the surroundings. Yin Qiu kept an eye on the movements around her, and as she had done in the past few days, she quietly ran to a corner under the wall to wait.
She had only been there a short while when a tall figure landed on the wall. Yin Qiu looked up, and Gongzi Fan reached out and pulled her along. The two of them flew away from the disciples' courtyard silently, like birds in the night. After several ups and downs, they arrived at a secluded mountain forest.
"Are you used to the reversed day and night schedule?" Gongzi Fan asked.
"I'm used to it, but I just feel like there's never enough time, and I can't sleep well," Yin Qiu said.
“Learning martial arts is not easy; there is always a price to pay,” Gongzi Fan stepped aside. “Practice the sword techniques I taught you last night and show them to me.”
Yin Qiu then took out a smooth bamboo branch from her sleeve and began to wield her sword. Her movements were a little clumsy, and it was clear that she was not yet skilled, but fortunately, she had a good memory. After Gongzi Fan had only demonstrated it once, Yin Qiu had memorized it completely and made no mistakes.
"You have excellent comprehension; I knew I hadn't misjudged you." Gongzi Fan's tone was tinged with satisfaction.
Yin Qiu remained silent, practicing the sword technique several more times before finally stopping and saying, "I still don't understand, what is the purpose of you teaching me kung fu?"
Gongzi Fan said, "If you want to learn, I will teach you. What's so hard to understand?"
Yin Qiu looked at him and said, "Have you taught anyone else?"
Gongzi Fan said, "Of course there are, but for now it's just you."
Yin Qiu asked, "Who else?"
Gongzi Fan did not answer: "I cannot tell you that."
Since the two met that night and made an appointment for the next day, Yin Qiu had been struggling with her dilemma, but in the end she could not resist the temptation of learning martial arts. The next night, she still left the door open for him. That night, Gongzi Fan came as promised. He didn't say much, but brought Yin Qiu to this place and kept his promise to teach her martial arts. To this day, he does this every night.
In the past few days, apart from exchanging sword techniques, the two have not had much conversation. Gongzi Fan has not brought up anything on his own initiative. Even when Yin Qiu asks him questions, he always answers patiently. However, Yin Qiu is always uneasy and has a feeling that he is a little traitor who has been bribed by him.
The Valley Master traveled a long way to teach martial arts to other sects, yet claimed he had no ulterior motives. This seemed suspicious no matter how you looked at it, but Gongzi Fan behaved so gently and politely that he didn't seem to have any ulterior motives.
After much deliberation, Yin Qiu said frankly, "If you simply want to teach me kung fu, I am willing to learn from you. But if you want me to do something bad for you, you should find someone else as soon as possible. I will not agree to that."
Gongzi Fan laughed and said, "What bad things are you referring to?"
Yin Qiu said, "For example, I could help you investigate the secrets of Yunhua Palace, or do some shady things for you... In short, I am already a disciple of Yunhua Palace, and I was brought back by my uncle. I am fine on my own, but I would never implicate my uncle."
The mountains and forests were quiet, and the night sky was starless, but Gongzi Fan's eyes gleamed as he looked at her. He asked a very realistic question in a very gentle way: "So, do you think that, given your current status, if I really asked you to do something, you could do it?"
Yunhua Palace disciples are scattered throughout the martial world, numbering in great numbers. Yin Qiu is merely an ordinary and inconspicuous member among the new disciples. After thinking for a moment, she said, "I can't do it."
“That’s right,” said Gongzi Fan. “Don’t blame me for being blunt, but you are of no use to me. You don’t have any special skills to risk your life for me. I told you before that if you wanted to learn martial arts from me, I could teach you. If you were unwilling, I would leave and never come back. Wasn’t that what we agreed on at the beginning?”
Yin Qiu looked displeased: "I understand, but..."
“But you are uneasy,” Gongzi Fan continued, “because I asked you to keep it a secret, and things that need to be kept secret are usually things that cannot be seen by others. And because things that cannot be seen by others are often bad things, you can neither fully trust me nor worry that you will suffer unbearable consequences if you make the wrong choice. So you are eager to learn but also suffer from the torment of your conscience.”
At this point, Gongzi Fan chuckled softly and teased, "It's really tough. You're so young, yet you have to face such painful and agonizing things. I feel sorry for you."
Yin Qiu looked at him with a mournful expression: "Isn't it because you came to me? If you hadn't shown up, I wouldn't be in this situation."
“It wasn’t me who came to you,” Gongzi Fan said. “It was you who came to me.”
He gave Yin Qiu a choice and did not force her; ultimately, it was Yin Qiu's own choice.
"I just want to learn kung fu well..." Yin Qiu lowered his head, looking at the bamboo stick in his hand.
“Let me guess,” said Gongzi Fan, “do you want to learn martial arts to avenge your parents?”
Yin Qiuwei raised her eyes, but shook her head: "You guessed wrong, that's not the reason."
Gongzi Fan was not surprised and asked again, "Why is that?"
Yin Qiu seemed lost in thought and did not give an immediate answer, so Gongzi Fan asked again, "Is it because of the snow-covered river?"
The image of Man Jiangxue wielding her sword flashed through Yin Qiu's mind again, and she couldn't help but smile. She said, "My martial aunt is very powerful. I wish I could become like her, or even more greedy. I want to be even more powerful than my martial aunt. That way, I can repay her kindness and protect her when I grow up."
Gongzi Fan said, "She only took care of you for a few days, and that was only because you are a descendant of an old friend. How can you value her more than your parents?"
Yin Qiu said, "You wouldn't understand. Perhaps everyone thinks I should put my parents first and even seek revenge against the Ziwei Sect for them. But I've never met them since I was born. Besides, my father killed everyone in the Ruyi Sect when my mother gave birth to me, which shows he doesn't care about me at all. And my mother was able to abandon me so heartlessly, which shows she doesn't care about my life or death either. Since they have no feelings for me, but my martial uncle cares about me so much, why can't I value my martial uncle more than them?"
Gongzi Fan gazed at Yin Qiuzhen quietly before finally saying, "What you said makes a lot of sense."
Yin Qiu said, "I'm not an innocent child, nor am I particularly naive. I've seen a lot of the coldness and warmth of human relationships, and I have my own opinions. So, I'll say it again: I'm grateful that you're willing to teach me kung fu, but if you want me to do something harmful for you, I will never agree."
A mountain breeze swept by, ruffling the stray hairs on Yin Qiu's forehead, highlighting her serene yet resolute features. Gongzi Fan silently observed her, then smiled and said, "Good child, I admire your perspective. If you were willing to betray your sect for the sake of learning martial arts, I wouldn't teach you. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Yin Qiu nodded.
"That's enough for tonight. I won't come again in the next few days," Gongzi Fan suddenly said.
"Not coming?" Yin Qiu asked, slightly surprised. "Why?"
“Manjiangxue is returning to the palace tomorrow,” Gongzi Fan said. “It’s almost the end of the month, and the disciples’ quarters will have a holiday. You’ll definitely want to be with her, won’t you?”
Upon hearing that Man Jiangxue would be returning tomorrow, Yin Qiu was pleasantly surprised: "How did you know?"
Gongzi Fan said slowly, "I know everything." He paused, then added, "I also know that you feel very guilty towards your friend, so I'm giving you some time to make it up to her. When I come again next time, you'd better work even harder. I'm quite strict when I teach martial arts."
Remembering how Fu Xiang had gone to great lengths for her only to receive a lie, Yin Qiu felt truly guilty and nodded, saying, "I've got it. When will you come again?"
“As usual,” said Gongzi Fan, “I will give you a signal. Now go back first.”
·
As winter deepened and the year drew to a close, the snow stopped falling, but on this day it started to rain again.
Amidst the pattering rain, Yin Qiu buried herself in her writing, her expression focused. In the classroom, the teacher put down his book and addressed the students: "Tomorrow is the start of the holiday. At the beginning of next month, which is the day after tomorrow, the school will hold a monthly exam to test how well you have learned this month. After you go down, you must all study hard and not be playful. If you fail the monthly exam, you will have to stop your martial arts classes and spend all your time here studying with me. Do you understand?"
The students answered in unison, "Understood," and the teacher announced the end of class. Since there was no need to attend martial arts classes before the end of the month and the holiday, there was nothing to do in the afternoon. After the teacher left, the students cheered and gathered together to discuss how to steal half a day of leisure.
"Yin Qiu! We don't have classes this afternoon, shall we go out and have some fun?" Fu Xiang arrived with several classmates.
"You all go ahead, I won't go." Yin Qiu hugged the books and rubbed her dry eyes.
"Why not go?" Fu Xiang said. "Every day is just reading and practicing martial arts, it's so boring. We finally have a day off, we should at least take a stroll around Yunhua Palace and get familiar with the environment."
Several classmates chimed in, "Yes, we've been in the palace for so long, but we haven't even stepped outside the gates of the disciples' quarters yet."
"Absolutely, I'm practically growing weeds here every day."
"Yin Qiu, would you like to come with us for a walk? I just asked the Master, and apart from the main hall of the elders and the sect leader, we can go and see all the other places."
Their enthusiasm was so overwhelming that it would be a lie to say Yin Qiu wasn't swayed, but she was just too tired. She could only smile and say, "I want to go back to my room and sleep for a while. I'm not feeling well. You guys go ahead, I can come back tomorrow."
“You’ve looked quite tired these past few days,” Fu Xiang said with concern. “Are you not sleeping well at night? Don’t worry, you might have made yourself sick.”
Yin Qiu could only sleep for a few hours each day. He practiced swordsmanship with Gongzi Fan until dawn, and after washing his face in his room, he had to rush to the classroom to study. Of course, he couldn't hide his exhaustion.
Yin Qiu waved her hand and said, "I'm not sick, I'm just sleepy. You don't need to worry about me."
Seeing that she kept declining, her classmates didn't try to persuade her further. Fu Xiang said a few words of concern to Yin Qiu, and then led the others away. Yin Qiu looked at Fu Xiang's back and sighed inwardly before returning to her room alone.
Many disciples had already gone to stroll around the palace in groups, so the courtyard had become quiet. Yin Qiu walked through the corridor to the outside of the room, gently pushed open the door, and before she could even step into the room, she saw a young woman in a blue dress sitting at her small wooden table.
Upon first glance, Yin Qiu almost shouted "Uncle-Master" to the woman, but when she turned to look at Yin Qiu, it was a face he had never seen before.
This person was exceptionally beautiful. There was nothing particularly outstanding about her features, but when combined, they were so pleasing to the eye that they were even more stunning than Man Jiangxue.
What's even stranger is that her appearance suddenly gave Yin Qiu the illusion that she had seen her somewhere before.
It felt both strange and familiar.
"You're back?" the woman asked, looking at Yin Qiu.
Their eyes met, and Yin Qiu stood frozen by the door, scrutinizing her for a while before asking softly, "You are...?"
The woman beckoned to Yin Qiu: "Don't stand there, come over here."
Yin Qiu hesitated for a moment, then closed the door and walked up to her as instructed.
The woman grabbed Yin Qiu's hand and said, "Don't rush to ask who I am. Remember my face first."
Although Yin Qiu was puzzled, he boldly scrutinized her even more. The woman allowed Yin Qiu to look at her so directly. After a while, she asked, "Remembered?"
Yin Qiu nodded and was about to speak when he saw the woman raise her hand and tear off a mask from her face, instantly transforming into another face.
Upon seeing this, Yin Qiu was stunned and exclaimed in astonishment, "Uncle-Master? How could you..."
Man Jiangxue had anticipated her reaction and smiled, saying, "Don't panic." She placed the mask on the table, "What you saw just now was your mother's appearance."
Yin Qiu stared blankly at the mask, then looked at Man Jiangxue: "My mother?"
Man Jiangxue hummed in agreement and said, "It's just a disguise. I thought you didn't know what your senior sister looked like, so I came here specifically to show you. This way, I can prevent anyone from impersonating your senior sister and deceiving you in the future."
Yin Qiu was still in shock and said blankly, "My mother... so this is what she looks like."
Man Jiangxue observed her expression: "Have you remembered it clearly?"
Although it was a brief meeting, it was enough to leave a lasting impression. With mixed feelings, Yin Qiu nodded and said, "I'll remember."
Seeing that she didn't react excessively, Man Jiangxue felt a little relieved and asked Yin Qiu, "You don't look well, what's wrong?"
When Fu Xiang asked Yin Qiu the same question, Yin Qiu remained calm and composed. However, when it came to lying in front of Man Jiangxue, Yin Qiu was ultimately a little guilty and couldn't help but dart her eyes away as she said, "N-nothing, I just haven't been sleeping well these past few days."
Fortunately, Man Jiangxue did not notice her abnormality, and simply said, "The hospital is on holiday, what are your plans for the free time?"
Although she had something on her mind and had just been frightened, Yin Qiu was still happy to see Man Jiangxue, so she honestly said, "The monthly exam is the day after tomorrow, and I need to prepare carefully. Fu Xiang and the others have all gone to play around in the palace. I was thinking that I should also go and walk around tomorrow and see the scenery in the palace."
Man Jiangxue seemed to be in a good mood, and said with a smile, "You thought of everything, how come you didn't think of me, your martial uncle?"
Yin Qiu paused for a moment, then lowered her eyes and said, "I...I didn't know you'd be coming back today."
"Then tonight, shall we go to my Jingyue Peak?" Man Jiangxue said.
Yin Qiu's eyes lit up, and she quickly threw herself into Man Jiangxue's arms, looking up at her and saying, "Really?"
“Of course it’s true,” Man Jiangxue said, hugging Yin Qiu with a smile on her face. “You can come to my place every month during your holidays.”
Overwhelmed by this sudden surprise, Yin Qiu was so excited that she didn't know what to say, and could only nod vigorously, saying, "Yes!"
Author's Note: I've been busy moving these past two days and haven't had time to reply to comments or anything. I'd like to thank all the lovely people who left comments and sent me comments. Luckily, I had some drafts saved up, haha.
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