Chapter 48
Her skirt was lifted, and her vision cleared again. Yin Qiu's acupoints were untied by Ding Lianzhen, and she was casually tossed to the ground. She saw several men in black standing around her, staring at her and laughing incessantly.
"After all that fuss, the child still ended up in our hands, didn't he?"
"That's right, Yunhua Palace is full of good-for-nothings!"
"Our Dharma Protector can come and go freely in Yunhua Palace; if word gets out, he will be renowned far and wide!"
...
A burst of loud laughter erupted, and several men laughed so hard they were bent over, clearly in high spirits.
Upon hearing them address Ding Lianzhen as "protector," Yin Qiu's eyes widened in shock, and she exclaimed, "You...you're from the Ziwei Sect?!"
Ding Lianzhen looked down at her and said, "Exactly."
So she was the spy in the palace!
Yin Qiu was shocked, as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her head, chilling her to the bone.
Unexpectedly, Ding Lianzhen was a spy planted in the palace by the Ziwei Sect. Now that she has fallen into her hands, her chances of survival are slim.
"Are you going to take me to the Ziwei Sect?" Yin Qiu couldn't suppress the fear in her heart, and her whole body trembled.
Ding Lianzhen's eyes were playful. She squatted down and approached Yin Qiu, pointing to her own face and saying, "Does it look like her?"
Yin Qiu's face was deathly pale, and she took a step back: "What...?"
Then Ding Lianzhen raised her hand to her jawline and suddenly tore off a mask, revealing a familiar face. She looked at Yin Qiu and said, "I asked you if it looks like her." After saying that, she shook the mask in her hand and grinned, "Is her name Ding Lianzhen?"
As if by magic, the person in front of her instantly transformed into a handsome and radiant face. Yin Qiu was shocked and speechless, exclaiming, "You... how could it be you?"
Wen Chaoyu casually tossed the mask aside and said, "Why can't it be me?"
Yin Qiu looked at her and the mask over and over again before she suddenly realized what was going on.
She disguised herself as Ding Lianzhen to sneak into the palace!
"Look, what's this?" Wen Chaoyu raised a hand and held it out in front of Yin Qiu.
Yin Qiu looked at her with a mixture of fear, wariness, and helplessness.
“Speak up,” Wen Chaoyu said, maintaining her outstretched hand gesture. “I’m asking you what this is.”
Yin Qiu's mind went blank for a long time before she finally stammered, "Hand..."
Wen Chaoyu said, "What else could it be but hands?"
Yin Qiu's hair was disheveled and she looked disheveled. She said, "Five..."
Several subordinates burst into laughter behind them.
"You were praising me earlier for making me look at you in a new light, but now you're acting stupid again," Wen Chaoyu said patiently, moving the hand closer to Yin Qiu's eyes. "Think about it again?"
Yin Qiu's eyes were unfocused, and she said in a trembling voice, "I...I don't know..."
Wen Chaoyu then made a few gestures with her five fingers together and said, "This is called a hand chop, remember that?"
Yin Qiu looked blank and was speechless.
Wen Chaoyu glanced at her and saw that Yin Qiu was stunned and dazed. He found it amusing, so he swung his hand and chopped Yin Qiu on the neck, knocking her unconscious.
"What kind of nonsense is Yunhua Palace teaching? They don't even know how to use a hand chop," Wen Chaoyu turned around, raised his chin at his subordinates, and said, "Go, carry her on your back, and run away as fast as you can!"
One of his subordinates immediately scooped Yin Qiu up and hoisted him onto his back. Wen Chaoyu looked at him and said, "You come with me. The rest of you, go your separate ways."
The subordinates exchanged glances, then turned and left, each heading into the mountains in different directions.
·
A sliver of light shone through the window paper onto the ground, outlining a small, bright space. Beneath the window stood a low table with a chessboard on it, black and white pieces falling back and forth, but only one hand held the pieces.
Man Jiangxue knelt down and, having nothing to do, picked up a Go board and played a game with herself. She looked up at the sky outside the window and saw that noon was almost over and 11 PM was approaching. She then got up, washed her hands, and planned to go to the disciples' courtyard to bring Yin Qiu over.
Yesterday, while reading in the pavilion, Yin Qiu asked Man Jiangxue to give her some pointers on swordsmanship after the written exam so that she could prepare for the martial arts exam. Man Jiangxue readily agreed, and now that the time was almost up, she was going to go herself.
The palace gates opened, and Man Jiangxue walked slowly out of the courtyard. A disciple of the secret guards walked towards her and bowed, saying, "Uncle-Master, I have something to report."
Man Jiangxue continued walking without stopping, asking as she went, "What is it?"
The disciple replied, "Just now, Senior Sister Xu from the disciples' courtyard sent someone to say that Junior Sister is missing, and they have searched the entire disciples' courtyard but have not found her."
Man Jiangxue paused, glancing sideways as she asked, "Gone?"
The disciple nodded: "It is said that a patrolling disciple saw Senior Sister Ding of Tianyin Peak in the back mountain and found that she was trying to sneak towards the disciples' courtyard. The patrolling disciple was worried that Senior Sister Ding had sneaked out to cause trouble for Junior Sister and the others, so he secretly informed Senior Sister Xu. However, when Senior Sister Xu rushed there with her people, she could not find Senior Sister Ding. Junior Sister Fu and Junior Brother Meng were both in their rooms and claimed that they had not seen Senior Sister Ding. Only Junior Sister was not in her room and no one knew where she had gone."
Man Jiangxue frowned slightly, pondering, "Ding Lian really should be confined to Tianyin Peak to repent. Without the sect leader's order, she is not allowed to leave without permission. How could she have sneaked out without the guards' knowledge?"
The disciple said, "I don't know. Senior Sister Xu has already gone to Tianyin Peak to question Senior Sister Ding, but she said she never left her room. The disciples guarding the gate can also testify to this. However, the patrolling disciples all said they saw her appear in the back mountain with their own eyes. Both sides have their own version of events, and neither of them seems to be lying. Senior Sister Xu can't make up her mind, and she can't find Junior Sister, so she can only ask me to come and inform you."
Man Jiangxue asked, "Have you searched anywhere else in the palace?"
The disciple said, "We're looking for it."
Man Jiangxue's eyes flickered slightly, and after a moment's thought, she said, "Let's go check out the disciples' quarters first."
The two left Jingyue Peak one after the other, heading towards the new disciples' courtyard with ease. From afar, they could see many disciples searching around, calling out Yin Qiu's name loudly.
"Uncle-Master!" Fu Xiang was also in the search party. Upon seeing Man Jiangxue, she quickly came forward, her brows furrowed, and said, "Xiao Qiu is missing!"
When Man Jiangxue first heard the news, she didn't take it seriously. On the way here, she only guessed that Yin Qiu had probably gone off to play somewhere. It just so happened that the patrolling disciples saw Ding Lianzhen appear in the back mountain, so it was inevitable that people would suspect that she had been taken away by Ding Lianzhen. However, seeing the disciples' formation like this now, Man Jiangxue couldn't help but feel a little flustered and asked Fu Xiang, "What exactly happened?"
Fu Xiang said, "I'm not quite sure either. After the written exam, Xiao Qiu and I had dinner together, and then we went back to our rooms to rest. Halfway through my sleep, I saw Senior Sister Xu leading a group of people to find me. They asked me if I had seen Senior Sister Ding. After that, we went to Xiao Qiu's room together. She wasn't there, and the door was open. At first, we thought she had gone somewhere else, but it was already past noon and she still hadn't come back. Xiao Qiu never runs around like that. Senior Sister Xu felt something was wrong, so she asked us to come out and look for her."
Man Jiangxue said, "You mean you haven't seen her since lunch, and she hasn't returned to the disciples' quarters until now?"
Fu Xiang hummed in agreement, somewhat worried: "At first I didn't think it was a big deal, but I'm a little worried after hearing that Senior Sister Ding came to the disciples' courtyard. Uncle-Master, could it be that Senior Sister Ding has hidden Xiao Qiu away?"
Ding Lianzhen is barely able to protect herself right now, so why would she risk going out to find Yin Qiu?
Man Jiangxue neither agreed nor disagreed with Fu Xiang's words, and the group went together to check on the situation in Yin Qiu's disciple's room.
Upon hearing the news, Meng Jing was also helping to search for people everywhere. When he saw Man Jiangxue and Fu Xiang, he immediately followed in their footsteps.
Along the long corridor, all the disciples' rooms had their doors and windows tightly closed, except for Yin Qiu's room, which had its door wide open. Man Jiangxue entered the room and looked around. She saw that there was nothing unusual inside, except that the bedding on the bed had some wrinkles, as if someone had slept in it. There were also some books and pens on the table, which looked almost the same as usual.
Man Jiangxue frowned as her gaze fell on the small wooden table.
Noticing the change in her expression, Fu Xiang asked softly, "Did you see something wrong, Martial Aunt?"
Man Jiangxue pointed to the table and said, "The books and pens are scattered around the table. Knowing Yin Qiu as I do, unless there is something urgent that requires her to leave quickly, she usually puts her things away neatly and doesn't just leave them lying around like this."
Fu Xiang had come many times but never noticed what she was talking about, so she couldn't help but ask in surprise, "That means she left in a hurry and didn't even have time to pack her things properly."
Man Jiangxue hummed in agreement, turned to look at Fu Xiang, and asked, "When you were with her, did she mention that she was going to see anyone?"
Upon hearing this, Meng Jing, who was standing by the door, lifted his eyelids, a hint of unease flashing across his face.
Fu Xiang thought for a moment, then shook her head and said, "She didn't mention it, but now that Martial Aunt has mentioned it, she seems a bit restless today. She kept looking around while we were eating in the dining hall, and she walked very fast on the way back to the disciples' courtyard. But at the time, I just thought she was tired and wanted to get back to her room to rest quickly. Now it seems that she is hiding something from me." At this point, Fu Xiang guessed, "Could it be that Senior Sister Ding came to see her early this morning?"
Man Jiangxue did not reply.
That's not right. According to the report from the patrolling disciples, Ding Lianzhen appeared at noon when she appeared at the back mountain. At that time, Yin Qiu should not have returned to her room yet. Judging from the time, even if they were to meet, it should have been after Yin Qiu returned to her room. Moreover, if Ding Lianzhen really wanted to sneak into the disciples' courtyard, she would have deliberately taken a detour through the back mountain. There is absolutely no way she would have contacted Yin Qiu in advance. No one would be so stupid as to do that.
Furthermore, it is still unknown whether Ding Lianzhen has actually come to the disciples' courtyard. Currently, only people have seen her appear in the back mountain, but no one has seen her appear in the disciples' courtyard. Moreover, the guards of Tianyin Peak have also testified for Ding Lianzhen, saying that she has not stepped out of her room. So who is the Ding Lianzhen that the patrolling disciples saw?
As for Yin Qiu, she couldn't have known that Ding Lianzhen would come. The reason she left in such a hurry was probably to find someone else.
Who did she want to see? And who did she see that she hasn't come back yet?
Besides, with so many disciples searching for her everywhere, even if she went to the most secluded place, they should have heard the commotion and rushed back by now. Why hasn't Yin Qiu shown up yet?
Various speculations surfaced in Man Jiangxue's mind, and the more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt. Just as she was about to go out and look for Yin Qiu herself, she saw Xu Lianzhi leap over the wall and come running, holding up a letter in her hand, saying, "Uncle-Master, something bad has happened!"
Man Jiangxue's brows furrowed, and she quickly walked out the door.
“This is a message sent by carrier pigeon that was just received by the disciples on duty at the mountain gate,” Xu Lianzhi said. “Someone deliberately kidnapped Yin Qiu!”
Upon hearing this, Fu Xiang and Meng Jing's expressions changed, and even Man Jiangxue looked surprised. She took the letter, unfolded it, and saw several neat characters written on it: "Sword for man."
Upon seeing the handwriting, Man Jiangxue's face turned cold, and she abruptly crumpled the letter.
Xu Lianzhi asked with suspicion, "Who could have done this? The letter only says to exchange a sword for a person, but it doesn't say what kind of sword it is or where the exchange takes place."
Who else could it be? And what kind of sword could it be?
Man Jiangxue tossed the letter aside and said in a deep voice, "Report this matter to the sect leader immediately."
After she finished speaking, she took the dagger from her waist, flicked it, and leaped onto the roof beam with her sword. She flew away like the wind and was out of the disciples' courtyard in the blink of an eye.
Xu Lianzhi was stunned and shouted in the direction Man Jiangxue had left, "We haven't even finished talking! Where are you going?!"
Without receiving a reply, Man Jiangxue had vanished without a trace.
·
"Senior sister, everything has been arranged in the city. Should we send someone to keep watch outside the city?"
Ji Wanshu stood on the city wall, gazing at the distant mountains and forests outside the city, and said, "How were the arrangements made when Huaiwei was on duty before?"
The female disciple beside him smiled and replied, "In the past, when Senior Sister Lu was here, there were people both inside and outside the city. However, nothing usually happened outside the city. I think it's better to keep things simple this year. Just patrolling outside the city will suffice."
Xie Yijun's stern words flashed through Ji Wanshu's mind. She frowned and waved her hand, "We still can't let our guard down. If something really happens this time, the sect leader will definitely send me back to Jincheng and continue to follow Huaiwei's arrangements from previous years."
The female disciple replied, "Then I will do as you say, Senior Sister. I will go and do it right away."
As the year drew to a close, Shangyuan City was bustling with activity, with pedestrians and merchants coming and going in an endless stream, and carriages and horses coming and going. Ji Wanshu divided the disciples who came down the mountain into several teams to set up guard posts at various key points in Yunhua Mountain. She and a few accompanying disciples lingered in the deep mountains for a while. When she heard the disciples complaining of hunger, she sent them back to have lunch. She then took a stroll in the forest by herself.
There was no snow today, and the weather was exceptionally good. The sky was clear, and the sunlight shone brightly, warming up the snow clinging to the branches. Rain began to fall in a steady drizzle.
Ji Wanshu chose a dry, large rock and sat down, staring blankly for a while. Then she lay back down with her arms as a pillow, looking at the melting snow water falling around her, her gaze slightly distorted.
A breeze swept by, carrying a few water droplets that gently patted her cheeks. Ji Wanshu reached out and touched them, raising her wet fingertips to shield her eyes from the light. Through her fingers, she looked at the intertwined branches above, and a radiant smiling face appeared before her eyes.
It was a sunny summer day, the sun blazing down. She held a dark red banner with gold trim in her hand, standing in the center of the spacious training ground, her forehead covered in sweat. The cheers and applause of her disciples filled the air. Her grandmaster, who was still alive at that time, sat on the high platform, looking at her with boundless love. Man Jiangxue, Shen Mandong, Wen Chaoyu, and even the current sect leader Xie Yijun were all sitting on that platform, casting admiring glances at her.
Ji Wanshu looked up at the people on the stage and immediately saw Wen Chaoyu, whose posture was extremely improper.
She wondered, who is this person? Why don't I remember him?
The grandmaster asked her, "You were only seven years old when you won first place in the new disciple competition, making you the youngest disciple in the history of Yunhua Palace. Who would you like to choose as your master?"
Ji Wanshu looked back and forth among her several promising young martial uncles, pondering in her heart, when she heard Wen Chaoyu laugh and say, "Since ancient times, there has never been a saying that disciples choose their masters. Even the top scholar has to pass the palace examination to be considered truly qualified. How could it be her place to choose?"
Ji Wanshu had been in the palace for a year and was very unfamiliar with the people there. She had devoted herself to practicing swordsmanship. She had only met Wen Chaoyu a few times, and she felt uncomfortable after hearing this. She said indifferently, "Since I am the number one, I have to choose my own master."
Wen Chaoyu laughed heartily and asked, "So, who have you taken a fancy to?"
Ji Wanshu straightened her back, raised the banner in her hand, pointed it at Wen Chaoyu, and said, "You."
Wen Chaoyu looked at her with great interest and said, "I appreciate your kindness, but I don't take on apprentices. You should find someone else."
Ji Wanshu said, "I won't change. I want you."
Wen Chaoyu feigned surprise, covering her mouth and saying, "You're not very old, but you're quite domineering. If you want to be my apprentice, can you beat me?"
Ji Wanshu said, "If I can beat you, then you should become my apprentice."
Wen Chaoyu's expression was quite interesting. Shen Mandong next to her laughed and put her arm around Wen Chaoyu's shoulder, saying, "Senior sister has met her match. This little disciple has a sharp tongue. It won't be easy to manage him if you take him under your wing."
The grandmaster was amused by their conversation and asked Ji Wanshu, "Do you really want her to be your master?"
Ji Wanshu nodded.
The grandmaster sighed softly: "That's a pity. Your Uncle Man and Uncle Shen are both outstanding. Only your Uncle Wen has only learned half of it. If you were to become her disciple, I'm afraid you would surpass her in less than two years."
Wen Chaoyu was deeply hurt and immediately put her arm around Xie Yijun, saying, "Master's words are so hurtful. I'm still a little better than Yijun, aren't I?"
In reality, Xie Yijun was the weakest among them. Now that she had been innocently implicated, she shoved Wen Chaoyu aside and said, "Don't try to name names. You just defeated me yesterday, don't deny it."
The master and his disciples were having a good time, joking with each other. Ji Wanshu got a little impatient and asked Wen Chaoyu directly, "Are you going to be my master or not? Give me a straight answer."
Wen Chaoyu tilted her chin up and glanced at her with a look of disdain: "No, no, I like clever and intelligent children. Your personality doesn't suit me." After saying that, she pulled the silent Man Jiangxue to her side, "Your Uncle Man is also a man of few words and doesn't like to smile. Why don't you become her disciple? No one will mind who is noisy. It's wonderful."
Man Jiangxue calmly pushed Wen Chaoyu's hand away and said indifferently, "I have a love for talent, but I have no intention of taking on disciples. Wan Shu, she is just playing with you."
After being rejected repeatedly, Ji Wanshu lost face and her childish temper flared up. She said with a sullen face, "Take it or leave it, who cares?"
After speaking, Ji Wanshu was about to leave in front of everyone when Wen Chaoyu changed her mind and stopped her, saying, "You kept saying you wanted me to be your master, but is this all the sincerity you have? You didn't even kowtow, you don't respect me at all, why should I take you in as a young lady?"
Ji Wanshu turned around and said calmly, "I'll kowtow to you, but you have to show me your sword skills first."
Wen Chaoyu found it amusing, so she took off her sword and walked onto the field, turning back with a smile: "Then you'd better watch carefully."
The disciples present started shouting again. Ji Wanshu stood there expressionlessly, watching Wen Chaoyu wield her sword and dance like a free and unrestrained eagle. Every move she made was exceptionally beautiful. As Ji Wanshu watched, her eyes gradually filled with a bright light.
A drop of water fell into her eye, rippling out tiny waves and blurring the bright smiling face in her memory. Ji Wanshu closed her eyes briefly and sat up.
She silently stared blankly, the images in her mind vanishing instantly, along with Wen Chaoyu's features.
Thoughts come and go quickly, like spring rain in March. Ji Wanshu sat for a while, feeling inexplicably irritable. She jumped off the stone and was about to rush back to the city when a light, dark blue figure suddenly entered her field of vision.
Ji Wanshu's heart skipped a beat, and she frowned, frozen in place.
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