Chapter 29
A cold wind howled through the forest, carrying the frost unique to winter. Yin Qiu looked at Man Jiangxue, jumped down from the rock, grabbed Man Jiangxue's hand and said, "That was before. Uncle-Master is not alone now. I'm here for you too."
Man Jiangxue smiled knowingly, knowing that Yin Qiu was comforting her, but said sarcastically, "You? You'll be moving into Mingguang Hall next year, and it has nothing to do with Jingyue Peak."
Yin Qiu's good intentions were met with a cold shower, and he immediately pouted and said, "Then why don't you just take me as your disciple... Uncle-Master is so stingy!"
“I’m not the kind of person who teaches disciples,” Man Jiangxue laughed. “You’re so eager to follow me because you don’t know how good the sect leader is.”
Yin Qiu frowned and said, "I don't even know if I can get first place next year. You just don't want to care about me and want to push me to someone else."
Man Jiangxue said, "You're throwing a tantrum again. You don't even have this much self-confidence, yet you want to be my apprentice?"
Unable to argue with her, Yin Qiu could only say in frustration, "Even if you're confident, you still won't take me. Even if I get first place, I still have to become the sect leader's disciple. You're always the one talking. I'm not going to compete with you anymore!"
Man Jiangxue was amused by Yin Qiu and kept laughing. She pinched Yin Qiu's nose and said, "I am your senior sister, you have to listen to me in everything, what's there to argue about?"
Yin Qiu said, "I can't beat you!" After she finished speaking, a mischievous look flashed across her face. She squatted down, grabbed a handful of snow, and secretly rolled it into a snowball. When Man Jiangxue wasn't paying attention, Yin Qiu threw the snowball onto Man Jiangxue's skirt.
Man Jiangxue saw everything she did, but didn't dodge. She just stood there and took Yin Qiu's blow, shaking her head and chuckling, "You've even learned to hit people now."
Yin Qiu laughed loudly, cupped the snowflakes in her hands, looked up at the snow-covered river, and said, "Uncle-Master, play with me! Shall we have a snowball fight?"
Man Jiangxue's gaze shifted, staring at Yin Qiu's sleeve, and she asked, "What are you doing hiding a bamboo twig in your sleeve?"
Yin Qiu withdrew her gaze and glanced down at the bamboo branch. It was a bamboo branch that Gongzi Fan had casually broken off for her in the bamboo forest at the foot of the mountain the night before he taught her swordsmanship. After the incident with the medicine bottle, Yin Qiu knew she couldn't show anything unusual, so she took out the bamboo branch openly and twirled it a few times with a practiced air, saying, "The iron sword is too heavy. My wrist gets so sore after just a few strokes that I can't lift it. I'm using this as a sword."
Man Jiangxue hummed in agreement and said, "Then show me the sword techniques you've learned these past few days."
Yin Qiu obediently began to practice her swordplay. She was not foolish enough to perform the sword techniques taught by Gongzi Fan to Man Jiangxue. Instead, she practiced them meticulously, just as her instructor, Sister Shi, had taught her.
The sky after the rain was spotless, a slightly overcast blue. Yin Qiu was focused, her two long braids swaying in the wind with her movements. She wore a well-fitting snow-white disciple's robe, her figure light and upright, her rosy face still showing a touch of childishness, but her expression was firm.
Yin Qiu was very familiar with the moves and had practiced the basics diligently. Her more than a month of practicing the horse stance had been effective, and her lower body was stable. However, she was not strong enough and lacked strength. Although her swordsmanship was beautiful, it lacked power. Nevertheless, among the new disciples, she was considered to have good comprehension.
After finishing her sword dance, Yin Qiu was somewhat out of breath. In addition, she admired Man Jiangxue and felt embarrassed to show off in front of her. She asked shyly, "Uncle-Master, did I do well?"
"Not bad," Man Jiangxue clapped her hands seriously and commented, "You can tell she put in the effort, not bad."
Looking at the bamboo branch in her hand, Yin Qiu said breathlessly, "I'm still far from being as good as my master." She smiled gently and looked at Man Jiangxue again, "I wish I could grow up faster."
Man Jiangxue said, "Then eat more and practice your skills more, so you can grow faster."
Yin Qiu said, "Really? But I have a small appetite. Fu Xiang always says I eat slowly, but I really can't eat that much."
“Eating too much will make you a little fatso,” Man Jiangxue said, holding Yin Qiu’s waist with both hands. “Your martial uncle has a way to help you grow taller quickly.”
Yin Qiu asked with delight, "What method?"
Man Jiangxue then lifted Yin Qiu up forcefully and said, "Like this."
Yin Qiu's feet immediately left the ground as Man Jiangxue lifted her above her head. She laughed heartily and exclaimed, "Then I'm even taller than my martial uncle!"
Man Jiangxue smiled without saying a word, then hugged Yin Qiu in her arms again, and flew up on the top of the maple forest with her in her arms. The two of them were like a pair of white geese, circling among the white snow and red maple leaves. The whole Jingyue Peak was filled with Yin Qiu's joyful laughter.
·
After lunch, Man Jiangxue was invited away by the disciple sent by Xie Yijun. Yin Qiu took a nap in her room. When she woke up, she didn't forget to recite her lessons and practice calligraphy. With Man Jiangxue gone, the main hall seemed very deserted, and Jingyue Peak was unusually quiet. Yin Qiu played in the snow in the courtyard for a while, then suddenly remembered something she hadn't done, so she ran back to the disciples' courtyard.
Today was a holiday, so there weren't many people in the disciples' courtyard. Most of them had gone out to play. Yin Qiu found Fu Xiang's room with ease, but Fu Xiang was nowhere to be seen. After waiting for a while, she still didn't return. Yin Qiu stood at the door for a few more moments, and was about to go out to look for her when she saw Fu Xiang carrying a wooden basin turning out from the corner of the corridor.
“Fu Xiang!” Yin Qiu shouted.
Seeing Yin Qiu rushing towards her, Fu Xiang was slightly surprised. She grabbed Yin Qiu and said, "What are you yelling about? I haven't seen you since yesterday. Where did you go?"
Yin Qiu took the wooden basin from Fu Xiang and said, "I'm going to my martial uncle's Jingyue Peak."
"No wonder I couldn't find you," Fu Xiang snorted. "You're so heartless. You didn't even say goodbye before you left."
Yin Qiu smiled sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry, I forgot... Um, I... I have something I want to tell you."
Fu Xiang stepped into the room, gesturing for Yin Qiu to come in, and asked as she closed the door, "What is it?"
Yin Qiu stammered for a moment, then said softly, "Yesterday...didn't my martial uncle come to see me at the disciples' courtyard yesterday?"
Fu Xiang casually agreed, hung the washed clothes by the window, and said, "I know, she took you to Jingyue Peak, you must be very happy, right?"
Yin Qiu scratched his head, looking somewhat dejected, and said, "I'm happy, but my martial uncle saw those medicine bottles."
Fu Xiang said "Oh": "Did you tell her? Anyway, we can't find out anything, it would be good if Uncle Man found out, she can find out who that person is."
Yin Qiu paused for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I didn't tell her, I... I lied to her."
"Lying?" Fu Xiang finished hanging the clothes, poured herself a cup of tea, and raised an eyebrow. "Why would you lie?"
Yin Qiu picked at her fingers: "I just didn't want my martial uncle to worry if he found out."
“It’s a good thing that someone is worried about you,” Fu Xiang said, looking puzzled. “If I had such a good senior uncle, I would definitely tell her about it immediately. Why are you doing the opposite?”
“I can’t tell her,” Yin Qiu said, looking down at her shoes. “My aunt is already very tired. She has so many things to do. I don’t want her to worry about me. Besides, that person was just bringing me medicine and didn’t mean any harm. Think about how much effort it would take to find out who that person is. How can I bear to let my aunt worry about this?”
Fu Xiang thought for a moment and said, "That's true. There's no evidence, just a few medicine bottles. It's not easy to investigate without any clues." After she finished speaking, she asked Yin Qiu, "So what did you come to me to say?"
Yin Qiu lowered her eyes, looking at Fu Xiang with deep apology, and said in a high-pitched voice, "When my martial uncle saw the medicine bottle, he asked me where I got it from, and I said, I said..."
Fu Xiang craned her neck: "What did you say?"
Yin Qiu hesitated for a moment, then stammered, "I said, you gave it to me."
Fu Xiang was taken aback at first, then realized what was going on and laughed, "I get it, you're using me as a scapegoat."
Yin Qiu quickly grabbed Fu Xiang's hand and said very sincerely, "I was in a hurry and didn't know how to answer, so I brought you up. I'm sorry, Fu Xiang, I had no choice. Please don't be angry with me."
Fu Xiang chuckled: "What's there to be angry about? When you encounter trouble, the first person you think of is me, not anyone else. That means you consider me a good friend. I should be happy about that."
Seeing how understanding she was, Yin Qiu felt extremely guilty and could only apologize repeatedly: "It was my fault for talking nonsense and dragging you into this. I'm so sorry."
"Alright, stop nagging. I'm not blaming you," Fu Xiang picked at her ear. "I know. You came all this way to talk to me. Don't worry, if Uncle Man asks me about this someday, I'll cover for you. Don't look so sad. It's not a big deal."
Hearing her words, Yin Qiu finally felt relieved and smiled, saying, "Thank you."
“If we’re good friends, there’s no need for thanks,” Fu Xiang said, leaning back in the wooden chair and suddenly whistling at Yin Qiu. “But if you’re really grateful to me, don’t just say it. Can you do me a favor?”
Yin Qiu immediately replied, "What kind of help is it? Just tell me, as long as it's within my power, I'll definitely help you!"
Fu Xiang grinned, a forced smile, and said, "This busyness is really not difficult for you, but for me, it's a real hassle."
Yin Qiu asked curiously, "What trouble?"
For the first time ever, Fu Xiang stammered. She seemed to have thought of something, and her expression became somewhat strange. After a long while, she finally said, "Do you know a senior sister named Ding Lianzhen?"
Yin Qiu recalled for a moment, then shook her head: "Never heard of it."
“She is a disciple of Tianyin Peak,” Fu Xiang said. “Tianyin Peak is in charge of the palace’s weapons. Even kitchen knives have to be obtained from them. The last time I was pulled into work, the one you didn’t go to, I went to Tianyin Peak to clean the sewage ditch. At that time, it was Senior Sister Ding who supervised us.”
Yin Qiu indicated that she understood: "And then? What happened to her?"
Fu Xiang cleared her throat and said, "You didn't go, so you don't know. This Senior Sister Ding is not only beautiful, but also very approachable. After we finished our work, she gave each of us some sweet soup. I had a pretty good impression of her. Later, when the senior sisters in the courtyard led us back, Senior Sister Ding specially escorted us all the way and even followed us into the disciples' courtyard to check on our accommodations, telling people not to mistreat us."
Yin Qiu became interested: "Sounds like a very nice person, and then what?"
Fu Xiang crossed her legs, looked up at the roof beam, and said in a dry voice, "Then we got to know each other. She would come to the courtyard every few days. At first, I didn't take it seriously. I just thought she cared about us new disciples. But the night before last, she suddenly came again and said that Tianyin Peak needed to deal with a batch of useless swords and was short of manpower, so she picked me to fill in."
Yin Qiu speculated: "So you went to Tianyin Peak and encountered the trouble you mentioned earlier?"
Fu Xiang rubbed her forehead, nodded with a troubled expression, and said, "If it were just a simple task of assisting, I wouldn't have anything to say. But after I went with her, it wasn't like what she said at all. She took me to a deserted little garden, first asking me to practice swordsmanship with her, then inviting me to her room for snacks, and finally..." At this point, Fu Xiang pinched the bridge of her nose, "Do you know what she said to me in the end?"
Yin Qiu shook her head.
"She told me!" Fu Xiang jumped up and paced back and forth, "She said she likes me!"
Yin Qiu paused for a moment, then asked in surprise, "Huh?"
"What do you mean, 'Huh'?" Fu Xiang scratched her head and said, "I was completely dumbfounded! Tell me, what should we do now?"
Yin Qiu was stunned for a long time before she understood what she had said, and slowly asked in surprise, "No way...you mean, Senior Sister Ding likes you?"
"That's right!"
"Which one do you like...?"
"Who else could like him?!"
Now it was Yin Qiu's turn to be dumbfounded.
“At first, I thought she was joking. We're fellow disciples, there's nothing wrong with being affectionate,” Fu Xiang said. “But she kept telling me that her feelings for me weren't based on friendship, but rather… but rather…”
"And what is it?" Yin Qiu's gaze was blank.
"Do you have to ask a question you already know the answer to?" Fu Xiang rolled her eyes.
"This..." Yin Qiu was caught off guard, as if listening to a story, "So, did you agree to her request?"
"I'd agree to anything!" Fu Xiang rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky. "I'm being targeted this time. You have no idea how good Senior Sister Ding is at handling people. She just pours her heart out to me without asking for any response from me. She just comes to the courtyard to see me every day and then finds an excuse to take me out to play with her. I can't refuse. And now, she came again last night, asking me to go to Tianyin Peak to see her after the monthly exam. She even made sure to tell Senior Sister Ye beforehand. If I don't go, Senior Sister Ye will definitely think I'm being lazy. How can I stand this for long?"
Yin Qiu held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help but burst out laughing, saying, "It's over, Fu Xiang, you're finished."
Fu Xiang pounced on her and hit her, angrily saying, "You're still gloating! Don't you dare laugh!"
Before coming, Yin Qiu was a little uneasy, afraid that Fu Xiang would blame her after finding out about the medicine bottle. But after hearing what Fu Xiang said, Yin Qiu's mood had already brightened up. She couldn't help but tease Fu Xiang, "Don't get upset. It's a good thing that someone likes you."
Fu Xiang loosened Yin Qiu's collar and pouted, "What's so good about her? I don't even like her."
Yin Qiu laughed heartily: "Then who do you like?"
Fu Xiang paused for a moment, then said irritably, "I don't like anyone."
"Alright then," Yin Qiu said, "I understand everything, so how do you want me to help you?"
Upon hearing this, Fu Xiang's eyes darted around a few times before she immediately put on a smiling face. She hugged Yin Qiu and playfully pinched Yin Qiu's chin, saying inscrutably, "Then remember this well, after the monthly exam, you do just this..."
·
When Man Jiangxue left Mingguang Hall, it was already dark.
"Uncle-Master," Ye Zhilan followed behind and asked, "Wan Shu has been found. Shall we have her come to see you?"
Man Jiangxue waved her hand: "No need. Tomorrow, the two of you will go together to investigate the group of disciples who went to Jincheng. Remember, don't be too deliberate. Just ask them indirectly."
Ye Zhilan accepted the order and then asked, "What about dinner?"
Man Jiangxue said, "Let's continue as we did yesterday, with desserts as the main course."
Ye Zhilan smiled faintly and said, "Uncle has never liked sweets. Junior Sister is so lucky to be loved and cared for by Uncle."
Recalling the banquet last night, Yin Qiu was all smiles and very happy. Man Jiangxue sighed softly: "If Senior Sister were here, Yin Qiu would have had whatever the other children had. Now that Senior Sister is gone, and that child has suffered so much, we should all pay more attention to her."
Ye Zhilan nodded and said, "What Martial Uncle says is right. Don't worry, I've prepared the new clothes and bedding for Junior Sister and will deliver them to her room tonight."
Man Jiangxue nodded: "Very good, thank you for your hard work."
Ye Zhilan bowed and took her leave. Man Jiangxue adjusted her robes and headed straight for Jingyue Peak. Halfway there, she heard hurried footsteps approaching from behind. She turned around slightly and saw Yin Qiu running towards her under the bright palace lanterns, calling out intermittently, "Master, Uncle... wait for me!"
Man Jiangxue stopped and turned around to take Yin Qiu's hand, saying, "Slow down, it just rained, what if you fall?"
Yin Qiu had just said goodbye to Fu Xiang. Seeing that it was already so late, and afraid that Man Jiangxue would worry, she ran very fast. She was out of breath and leaned against Man Jiangxue's chest, saying, "I went to play with Fu Xiang this afternoon. Did you just finish your business, Uncle?"
Man Jiangxue patted Yin Qiu's back to help her catch her breath and said, "I just finished talking to the sect leader. What about you? What were you doing with Fu Xiang?"
The two walked slowly hand in hand. Yin Qiu thought of Fu Xiang and that Senior Sister Ding, and her surprise only increased. She pondered for a while and then asked Man Jiangxue, "Uncle-Master, how old are you?"
"How old?" Man Jiangxue raised her eyebrows and replied, "Twenty-five. Why did you ask that?"
Yin Qiu opened her mouth wide in disbelief and said, "Twenty-five? But Martial Uncle looks about the same age as Senior Sister Ji."
“Wan Shu is only eighteen,” Man Jiangxue said. “How can I compare to her?”
“But if she’s twenty-five,” Yin Qiu said innocently, her eyes clear, “then why isn’t my martial aunt married yet?”
Manjiangxue paused slightly in her steps.
Before Man Jiangxue could answer, Yin Qiu muttered to herself, "Girls outside can get married at twelve or thirteen. How come my aunt is twenty-five and still not married? The old lady at the Su residence told me that when I grow up, Madam Su will arrange a good marriage for me. She said that if a girl is over twenty and still not married, she is an old maid. So, has my aunt already become an old maid?"
Man Jiangxue: "..."
Man Jiangxue: "Who taught you to ask these questions?"
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