Chapter 767 Killing with a Bowl, Saving by Putting Down the Bowl [Monthly Ticket Lottery in Progress]
Beside Xunyang Ferry, in the woods.
The atmosphere around the luxurious carriage was deathly silent.
Eight tall maids stood still, looking at the young man carrying a bowl down in front of them with a mixture of surprise and uncertainty.
Wei Jin, dressed in a green robe and holding a sharp blade, squinted at the young man carrying a bowl whose style was somewhat eerie.
Wei Anhui stared blankly at Li Dalang, whose gait and demeanor seemed quite different.
If Li Dalang was previously seen as an honest and easy-to-bully person, now he gives the impression of being like a calm and tranquil pool.
Yes, it was quiet, as quiet as... a dead person.
Li Dalang stepped down from the carriage, carrying a bowl of water in one hand.
He was wearing a white cloth strip on his head, which Wei Anhui had given him not long ago.
Even though Wei Jin and the other eight tall maids were also wearing white cloth strips, the scene had a somewhat somber, funeral-like atmosphere.
However, compared to the current "Li Dalang", he is far inferior.
"Li Dalang" looks more like a dead man than they do.
Wei Jin stared at this good-for-nothing heir of the Xunyang Prince's Mansion for a while, and then sneered.
"Pshaw, playing tricks."
The man in the green robe shook his head, somewhat bored, and sheathed his knife back at his waist.
Wei Jin turned around and walked out of the woods, leaving behind a casual instruction:
"Go bury him, cover the princess's eyes, don't frighten her."
Eight tall maids stood on all four sides of the carriage shaft. Upon hearing this, they quickly and tacitly surrounded the carriage.
"Li Dalang" glanced at the people who came to his left and right, then looked down at the bowl of water, in which a stubble-faced, pale face was reflected.
He seemed to be staring at the face in a daze.
Unbeknownst to those around him, the water in the bowl in the young man's hand had remained perfectly still since he stepped out of the car.
Seeing the skilled assassins and maids left behind by Uncle Wu surrounding her again, Wei Anhui regained her composure and showed a worried expression.
Wei Jin's back was cold; he walked forward without looking back.
At the same time, some noises came from the rear of the carriage.
Eight tall maids seemed to surround her.
A maid said, "Princess, I have offended you."
Don't hurt him!
Wei Anhui called out anxiously.
Wei Jin sensed a hint of despair in her tone.
The next instant, a scream came from behind, faintly revealing Wei Anhui's fear.
"ah--!"
Almost at the same time that Wei Anhui screamed.
“Thump—thump—thump—thump—…”
The green-robed man who was the first to leave heard eight consecutive thuds of people falling to the ground behind him.
There were eight in total, not one missing.
One after another, with consistent gaps between them.
They were only supposed to catch "Li Dalang," but eight people were lying on the ground, and no other sound was made. Coupled with Wei Anhui's scream, the atmosphere in the grove was a bit eerie.
Wei Jin did not turn around after hearing this.
Before the series of eight thuds of people falling to the ground had even ended, Wei Jin had already charged in during the second-to-last thud.
He didn't rush back to the carriage to protect the princess.
Suddenly, the green-robed man, who had been walking calmly just moments before, was fleeing desperately, abandoning his armor and weapons in a panic.
Wei Jin channeled all his red spiritual energy into his legs and fled.
Soon, he ran out of the woods, covered in sweat, but dared not stop for a moment.
They realized that there seemed to be no pursuers behind them.
The young man carrying the bowl, who had terrified him the moment he stepped out of the carriage, did not chase after him.
Wei Jin took a deep breath, but dared not slacken his pace in the slightest, desperately running towards the dawn at the exit of the woods ahead.
He wished his mother had given him two extra legs when she gave birth to him.
Three breaths later, he burst out of the forest exit.
But instead of the river breeze from Xunyang Ferry, what greeted us was... the gentle rustling of leaves.
Seeing the scene before him, the man in green robes was terrified.
Trees on all sides, an open space in the center, fallen leaves covering the ground, a noble carriage shaft, and a princess sitting alone.
Eight corpses, neatly arranged, lay scattered around the car, their hands clutching their necks, their eyes wide open in death.
The young man carrying the bowl has vanished without a trace.
Wei Jin is back again!
He was clearly running straight ahead.
Is this forest some kind of sphere?!
Like the green-robed man whose face was gradually turning despair, Wei Anhui was looking down at the eight corpses on the ground.
Ten breaths ago, these eight tall maids were still alive.
At this moment, however, they all covered their necks with their hands and stared with dead fish eyes.
Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that each of them had a white cloth strip around their neck, with very obvious red marks.
At that moment, Wei Jin was horrified to discover that the white cloth strips were the ones they had originally worn on their heads, but had been inexplicably removed...
Wei Anhui seemed to have seen the whole scene, her little face blank.
At that moment, she slowly turned her head and looked in the direction of Wei Jin... no, in the direction where Wei Jin was.
The moment Wei Jin met her gaze, his heart skipped a beat.
At this moment, there was no wind in the forest, and all was quiet.
The man in the green robe trembled all over and slowly turned around.
"Li Dalang" was standing behind him.
He held a bowl of water level in one hand and a strip of white cloth loosely in the other. However, he did not look at the green-robed man who could not escape in front of him. Instead, he tilted his head slightly, his dark eyes as calm as the surface of the water in his hand, as if he were watching the direction of the Xiushuifang where the Prince's Mansion was located.
Wei Jin knelt down with a thud, frantically kowtowing to the young man holding the bowl, begging for mercy in remorse:
"Your Highness, please spare my life! Your Highness is magnanimous, please spare me! I'll do anything, even be your slave..."
The next instant, Wei Jin, with snot and tears streaming down his face, felt the white cloth strip on his forehead slide down silently, passing before his eyes, and then he saw only darkness.
Apart from the wind rustling through the leaves, all other sounds in the forest disappeared.
Silence fell once more.
The white cloth slipped down her forehead, and all that remained was darkness ahead.
These were the last sensations of Wei Jin, the head of the assassins in the Prince of Wei's mansion.
Wei Anhui, sitting upright inside the carriage, clenched her fists tightly in her sleeves, glancing down at the green-robed man lying dead beside the carriage with his eyes wide open.
A white cloth was covering his eyes, but it couldn't hide the look of terror and pain on his face before he died.
The young man carrying the bowl turned around, looked straight ahead, and walked around the corpses, returning to the front of the cart.
Wei Anhui couldn't help but shrink back, but there was no way to retreat.
The young man holding the bowl seemed to be carefully examining her, remaining motionless for a long time.
Wei Anhui's face was pale. After waiting for a moment, she broke the deathly silence with a soft voice:
"Su Fu, are you a human or a ghost now?"
The young man holding the bowl didn't answer, but said softly:
"The old Taoist's surname is Yuan, he is a Taoist from Maoshan, and may the princess be well."
He paused, gazed at Wei Anhui's pale face for a moment, and said apologetically:
"Excuse me, Princess, as a prince, I do not possess the aura of purple, which would be somewhat inappropriate."
Wei Anhui knew what he meant by "indecent."
She glanced around at the corpses, took a deep breath, and processed the information for a moment.
"No wonder his tone was off when he spoke just now; it felt like Su Fu was a completely different person..."
Wei Anhui's face still showed a puzzled expression, but she used a respectful term:
"Excuse me, Master, did you possess Dalang's body using supernatural powers?"
The old Taoist priest did not answer, but sighed:
“I dare not accept the title of ‘real person.’ This old Taoist is just a dead man who does not want to wake up. Because if I wake up, it means either something is wrong with the Prince’s Mansion, or something is wrong with the Three Pure Ones Ancestral Hall, or I am being schemed against and used by someone, or my descendants will ask me for help… No matter what it is, it is not a good thing.”
Wei Anhui looked puzzled, but she understood roughly, and she immediately said:
"Master, you must take Dalang back to the Xunyang Prince's Mansion immediately. You are so powerful, you should be able to save them. It's very dangerous over there."
The old Taoist priest remained completely calm, looking down at the surface of the water in the bowl, and said calmly:
"Not for now. The situation is better than I expected. There's a very capable young man by the side of the Prince and the Princess. The Prince's residence is safe for now. The main problem is that my disciple might be in trouble soon..."
He stared at the surface of the water in the bowl, and sighed again:
"If it weren't for the young master's willfulness, that young man's plan would have been fine, and I wouldn't have needed to intervene. However... willfulness is understandable; some calamities are unavoidable. How can one completely predict such a thing? Just like the strange purple mist around that young man, which I find difficult to see clearly and cannot fathom... It's truly a major variable, a major variable. Whether it's a good thing or a bad thing that he's ended up by the little princess's side is unknown..."
"A calamity? A major variable?" Wei Anhui asked in confusion.
The old Taoist priest looked up and stared intently at her.
While counting on his fingers, he looked down and glanced at the still surface of the water in the bowl.
It's unclear what he saw, but the old Taoist priest let out a sigh of relief:
“Princess, if you truly wish to be with him, I will give you a brocade pouch. Take it and return to the capital immediately. Do not peek at it on the way. Wait for him in the capital. If you encounter danger together later, then you can open it.”
"What the real person means is that Su Fu and I can really be together..."
Before Wei Anhui could finish asking her question, a white cloth strip tied in a knot floated down onto her skirt.
The old Taoist priest disappeared.
A bowl of water, about seven-tenths full, sat quietly on the small tea table in front of Wei Anhui.
The old Taoist priest acted as if he had never been there.
Only a lingering echo remained, gradually fading into the distance:
"May the Heavenly Venerable of Boundless Salvation grant you salvation. Thank you for your kindness, Princess. But you cannot drink this bowl of water, for it is easy to fall into karmic entanglements, and such entanglements should not be formed lightly."
...
"Aren't you coming back with me, my love? We can pick up the Buddhist prayer beads on the way."
Zhao Qingxiu didn't ask Ouyang Rong why he wanted to take the string of Buddhist beads, but she made a suggestion.
Ouyang Rong shook his head seriously: "I need to find the Xunyang King's family and my junior sister. That true sound that reveals one's identity shouldn't be played again for a while. It's a good thing that they know I'm waiting for the [Emperor Wen] sword technique. If I go to find them, I won't expose the Xunyang King's whereabouts."
After a pause, Ouyang Rong suddenly asked, "Embroiderer, you said the Crimson Lotus Sword Seal can sense the sword energy of the Eyebrow Style Cauldron Sword and track the corresponding cauldron sword... Is it only sword energy? Can something else be used as an equivalent substitute?"
Zhao Qingxiu seemed to lower her head and think for a moment: "[That's possible. I heard from my senior sister that anything related to that cauldron sword will do. But the cauldron sword is a mythical object, and very few things can be associated with it. Sword energy is relatively easier to obtain. Tanlang's cauldron sword was originally made by the old craftsman who sent a portion of sword energy to the Lady Queen in advance, which is why he has been chasing after it so many times.]"
Ouyang Rong lowered his head, his face deep in thought.
Ouyang Rong already knew that the old craftsman who died in the sword furnace wanted to complete the Lotus Tower Alliance, but that wasn't what he was thinking about.
Ouyang Rong reached out and picked up the luminous pearl from the sword box, stroking it gently.
He thought of something related to it, but it wasn't in the sword case right now. He had given it to his junior sister that morning, along with the three portions of spirit ink, for self-defense...
Zhao Qingxiu couldn't see the "Red Lotus Sword Seal" and the luminous pearl in Ouyang Rong's hand. Ouyang Rong regained his composure, put the two items back, and took the Mo Family Sword Box from Zhao Qingxiu's arms. He was going to take it to the Prince's Mansion.
Ouyang Rong took out a clean sky-blue ribbon and covered Zhao Qingxiu's face again. The latter did not turn around, but faced Ouyang Rong's embrace, as if he were holding her in his arms.
A pretty young girl with a ribbon covering her eyes suddenly hugged him tightly around the waist.
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, then gently lowered his arms and embraced her slender and lovely body.
So thin and frail.
But who could have imagined that this thin, blind, and mute girl was the future Yue maiden, the first successor to the Yuanjun?
Just as no one on the high platform today could have imagined that this frail scholar was the master of Butterfly Love Flower and the legendary swordsman.
Wang Caozhi, sitting opposite, had his eyes closed, seemingly asleep, his body swaying with the speeding carriage.
My love, you're so wonderful, you're amazing!
Ouyang Rong felt the embroiderer gently writing words on his back.
He couldn't see her expression, but he could feel her tight embrace, like a small stove warming him.
Ouyang Rong tilted his head and whispered near her bright red earlobe:
"You were first my family's child bride, and then the so-called Yue virgin. I said I would take you home and I would never let them take you away. Whatever the matter is, you should talk to me like you did this morning, and we will solve it together."
Whether it was because he was holding her tightly in his arms or because they were too close, Zhao Qingxiu's heart raced as she heard the undeniable words uttered from his lips.
"If we don't choose the two options your senior and second senior sisters mentioned, how will we live? It's not up to outsiders to decide. If I can disarm your senior sister once, I can disarm her a second and a third time..."
Zhao Qingxiu's face was burning hot as she buried herself in his arms, nodding as if she were trying to force her way out.
Ouyang Rong held his submissive child bride tightly, yet maintained a domineering demeanor, continuing to press for answers:
"Do you know?"
"Hmm~"
Her voice was soft and weak, and she was very obedient.
After a brief moment of tenderness, Zhao Qingxiu suddenly wrote on his chest:
I want to go with my lover; I don't want to be apart from him for even a moment.
Ouyang Rong rested his chin on the head of the little beauty in his arms and gently shook his head.
"No, it's my duty to take you on this risk. Go back to Huaiye Lane and wait for me. Also, keep an eye on your aunt and the others. I'll feel at ease with you by their side."
Zhao Qingxiu heard him continue his calm and rational analysis:
"You just said that your second senior sister will come to see you. You can tell them about the Donglin Buddha incident and tell them to be careful. Although I don't like them, since they are your senior sister, it's only a matter of courtesy to remind them."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingxiu's expression turned slightly strange, mixed with a hint of admiration and emotion.
"What happened to the embroiderer?"
Thank you for your suggestion, Tanlang. You are truly magnanimous. However, there's no need to worry about Senior Sister. Once I return home, I will take good care of Aunt Zhen and Wei Lai, and then I will go to see Second Senior Sister again to give her an answer and put her mind at ease. Also, regarding the matter of the Great Buddha, they were unkind to Tanlang, so it's no wonder they were unjust. Tanlang doesn't need to do anything; I'll handle it. I can confidently help with that matter.
"What does the embroiderer mean by this?"
Zhao Qingxiu tilted her head:
[Those who know Tanlang's identity as the swordsman, will they harm him? Then I will not spare them. I will no longer persuade my senior sisters to be lenient.]
Ouyang Rong was speechless, unsure how to respond for a moment.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
