Changchun Peak, the ninth heaven.
At dawn, the mountain was shrouded in mist, resembling a fairyland. Jiang Chuting, dressed in a narrow-sleeved blue robe, holding a long sword, and wearing a silver mask that covered half his face, stepped out of his wooden hut. As he was descending the stairs, his young apprentice Wei Jia, who had come to deliver food, bumped into him. Wei Jia's perpetually sleepy eyes widened slightly as he looked at him blankly and asked, "Master, are you going down the mountain?"
Jiang Chuting smiled slightly, her eyes behind the mask curving upwards, and said, "Okay, I'll be back in a couple of days. Go have fun by yourself."
"So you're not going to have breakfast?"
"You eat it."
Wei Jia, who loves all kinds of food, loved to hear this. He immediately beamed with joy, grabbed some cakes from the plate and stuffed them into his mouth. While eating, he mumbled to him, "Master, remember to bring me back some good food."
Nine Heavens, a major sect in the martial arts world, has over a thousand disciples, but only two are formally apprenticed under Jiang Chuting. One of them despises and loathes him, yet desires to learn his unique swordsmanship, and thus must feign respect. Seven years ago, he betrayed the sect and his whereabouts are unknown.
The other was Wei Jia, who had only been in the Ninth Heaven for half a year. This twelve-year-old boy had poor physique and was clearly not cut out for martial arts. He couldn't do any other work well either, and he didn't want to go home because he wouldn't get enough to eat. The reason he became Jiang Chuting's disciple was because one time he accidentally wandered into the back mountain and got lost. He was crying loudly by the roadside when Jiang Chuting, who was practicing swordsmanship nearby, heard him, took him back to his small wooden hut, and gave him food. From then on, Wei Jia kept his eye on him and successfully infiltrated his sect.
He can eat a lot of delicious food here. He only needs to be served tea and water occasionally. Even if he is lazy and doesn't want to practice martial arts, he won't be scolded.
He was young and didn't care at all whether his master was the shameless homosexual that others talked about.
Perhaps only children are this innocent. Jiang Chuting smiled and tapped her little apprentice's forehead with her finger. "Okay, I will definitely remember."
Since his reputation was ruined more than sixteen years ago, Jiang Chuting has been living alone in a wooden house in the back mountain. He only attends occasions that his sect requires him to attend. Otherwise, he either stays in the back mountain or disguises himself and travels the martial arts world under another identity.
He didn't disguise himself when he went out today; he was going to find his good friend Jiang Xian.
The two met at a martial arts tournament and have maintained a close friendship for over ten years. Every year on each other's birthdays, they would drink and chat together.
"Junior Uncle." To descend the mountain, one must pass through the mountain gate. Regardless of their inner grumbling, the disciples of the Nine Heavens guarding the gate all bowed respectfully to Jiang Chuting and addressed him as Junior Uncle.
Back then, the affair between Jiang Chuting and Yun Zique was known to everyone in the martial arts world, causing great disgrace to the Nine Heavens. However, due to his master's favor and the protection of his fellow disciples, Jiang Chuting was not expelled from the sect.
The current leader of the Nine Heavens Sect is Chonghua, Jiang Chuting's senior brother. He is a deep and stern man, but extremely protective of his own. Anyone who dares to speak ill of that matter behind his back will be severely punished without mercy. Furthermore, Jiang Chuting lives in the back mountains and always wears a mask when he does appear, keeping a low profile and treating others with gentleness. Therefore, almost no one in the sect talks about him behind his back. Even if they have any thoughts or are curious, they might only murmur a few words to themselves. After all, his status is undeniable.
Jiang Chuting nodded in return and went down the mountain alone, her graceful figure quickly disappearing into the white mist.
When they arrived at the agreed-upon tavern, Jiang Chuting happened to witness Jiang Xian tricking a child into eating candied hawthorns, causing the child to burst into tears.
"Cry, why are you crying!" Jiang Xian was shamelessly fooling the child, chewing on the empty bamboo stick with a sweet taste in his mouth, and waving it around, saying confidently, "Wasn't my magic trick good? Look, it all disappeared in the blink of an eye!" Jiang Xian couldn't possibly be short of money; he just had a mischievous streak and liked to tease children.
The little boy squinted and cried even louder.
Jiang Chuting took out her money and bought another skewer from a roadside vendor, handing it to the little boy. "Here you go."
His voice was soft and pleasant. The boy looked up at him with teary, misty eyes. Although he wore a mask that covered half his face, the corners of his mouth curved up, like a gentle breeze. He was much kinder than Jiang Xian, and he even bought him candied hawthorns. The boy sniffed, took the candied hawthorns, turned around and ran away, as if afraid that the big bad guy squatting in front of him would snatch them away again.
Jiang Xian stood up, crossed his arms, and snorted at him, "You're so boring!"
Jiang Chuting asked, "Why do you always like to snatch food from the children?"
"You don't understand, this is how it smells good."
Jiang Chuting truly didn't understand. Jiang Xian sighed, "I'll never have any children in this life, so I can only play with other people's kids." Like Jiang Chuting, Jiang Xian liked men. However, even though they had known each other for over ten years and knew each other inside and out, they could only be friends, not a couple.
Jiang Xian naturally took Jiang Chuting's wrist and checked his pulse. Although the pulse was steady, he still frowned. "What kind of poison did that old hag from the Lin family force you to take back then? How come there hasn't been the slightest reaction all these years?" The lack of reaction only fueled suspicion and led to many speculations. After all, that woman from the Lin family was not a soft-hearted person.
Jiang Chuting had thought about this for a long time but couldn't understand it. He shook his head and sighed, "I don't know either."
The reason why the incident between Jiang Chuting and Yun Zique caused such a stir back then was because it involved the Lin family. The Lin family was powerful and renowned, and unlike other large families, it revered women, with each patriarch being a woman. Moreover, each generation was more cunning than the last, especially the previous patriarch, Lin Xuan, who was extremely insidious and ambitious. If given the opportunity to seize power, she would undoubtedly use her schemes to become an empress, ruling the entire world and making all men grovel at her feet.
Lin Xuan was indeed a formidable person, but she had one major weakness: poor health. Despite consulting countless renowned doctors, purchasing numerous precious medicinal herbs, and spending a fortune, she was still unable to recover. She had only one daughter, Lin Xi.
Yun Zique is Lin Xi's fiancé.
Although Jiang Chuting was orphaned, he grew up under the loving care and protection of his master and senior brothers. He was a master swordsman and martial arts expert, becoming famous in the martial arts tournament. However, he was clueless about love and romance, like a blank sheet of paper. By chance, he met Yun Zique and realized that men could also love each other.
When he was with Yun Zique, he only had pure and passionate feelings for him. He had no idea why Yun Zique was always preoccupied, or why he could not hide the melancholy in his eyes even when he was smiling.
He later learned that Yun Zique was the son of a servant in the Lin family, the man that Lin Xi, the young lady of the Lin family, had taken a liking to, and was her fiancé.
If it weren't for his master's intervention back then, it wouldn't have been just a matter of his reputation being ruined and him being scorned by others; his life would probably have been lost in Lin Xuan's hands.
Eight years later, Jiang Chuting disguised himself and traveled the world under the alias "Chu Ran." He encountered a little boy with a face full of sores and, feeling sorry for him, took him in. The boy clung to him and, since his name was similar to that of his former lover, Jiang Chuting took pity on him. He was only six or seven years old and had no one to rely on, so he kept him by his side and took care of him for a while.
One day, the child suddenly disappeared. Jiang Chuting, who had spent time with him day and night, had also developed feelings for him. Anxious, he went to search for him and, without realizing it, wandered near the Lin family's residence. At that moment, the disguise pill had just worn off, revealing his true appearance, which was discovered by the Lin family's spies. Lin Xuan had many skilled men under his command, and Jiang Chuting was no match for them. He was captured, and Lin Xuan forced him to take a pill. He immediately experienced unbearable abdominal pain and broke out in a cold sweat.
"Don't you like flirting with men?" Lin Xuan smiled at him, her sickly pale face filled with a chilling and sinister look. "Believe me, after taking this pill, you'll enjoy it even more."
Lin Xuan released him. Jiang Chuting lay on the ground in pain for more than three hours before he recovered. At first, he thought it was poison, but after consulting a doctor, Jiang Xian also examined him carefully and found no signs of poisoning.
This is not something Lin Xuan would do at all.
Therefore, Jiang Xian has been very worried about Jiang Chuting all these years. Lin Xuan is dead, and there's no way to confront him about what he ingested back then. He's afraid that the poison was lurking in his body, catching him off guard, and that there wouldn't even be time to prepare an antidote—that would be terrible.
The two walked side by side into the tavern, sat down at their usual spot, and began drinking to celebrate Jiang Xian's birthday. They chatted as they drank.
Jiang Xian wasn't exactly a member of the martial arts world. His father was a minor official in the imperial court, and he was his only son. In his early years, Jiang Xian's homosexuality caused a great deal of trouble. Frustrated and distraught, Jiang Xian simply ignored family matters and wandered around aimlessly. He went to watch the martial arts tournament and happened to meet Jiang Chuting.
“My father gave in and said I could just have a child to carry on the family line. How could I possibly go and deceive some girl?” Jiang Xian propped himself up on one leg, peeling and chewing peanuts. He was handsome, but dressed in a neat and tidy outfit, exuding a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) air, not at all like a young master. He chuckled and said, “I told him to have another one, but he said I was talking back. Tch, old stubborn.”
Jiang Chuting listened with a smile. Every time they met, Jiang Xian would always mention his father, and he had gotten used to it.
Jiang Xian paused, then said, "But lately, he hasn't really had much time to care about me..." He glanced around casually, continued peeling peanuts, and said in a low voice, "The court is getting more and more turbulent. My old man is afraid of accidentally choosing the wrong side, so he's on tenterhooks every day. I'm not so anxious about whether my sleeve will break or not."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chuting put down his wine cup and sighed silently.
The current emperor has many children, nearly twenty sons alone. The path to power is inevitably fraught with bloodshed. His friend's father is caught in the middle, and a single misstep could bring ruin upon his entire family. He is deeply worried about this.
After drinking, both of them were a little tipsy. Although they had booked a room at the inn, they ended up spending the night on the roof, each lost in their own thoughts. The next morning, Jiang Xian bid him farewell, saying that he wouldn't come to see him for a while, as he was still worried about his family.
After exchanging farewells, Jiang Xian rode away.
Jiang Chuting and Jiang Xian would always go out for a few days at a time. Now that Jiang Xian had left, he had no plans to go out for the time being, so he returned to the Nine Heavens ahead of time.
Unexpectedly, they were attacked by men in black on the road.
The newcomer was young, but his martial arts skills were not low. Jiang Chuting parried a few moves with his bare hands and realized that he had underestimated him. Just as he was about to draw his sword to meet him, the cloth that the young man had loosely covered his face suddenly fell off due to the fighting, revealing his entire face.
The familiar face made Jiang Chuting almost instantly lose his senses, and his movements froze. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration, the young man seized the initiative and stabbed him with his sword.
Jiang Chuting staggered back two steps and fell to the ground, his chest stained crimson, his face a mess. The pastries he had brought for his little apprentice were scattered on the ground.
His face was pale, tears glistening in his eyes, as he stared blankly at the boy standing before him. It was as if he were looking through him at someone who had already passed away.
The person whose life he personally ended.
The young man was tall and handsome, with bright black eyes and a stern and heroic air about him. He looked down at him, pointing his sword at him, "Hey, you're the gay slut who seduced my father back then?"
The boy used his blood-stained sword to remove the mask from his face. The mask fell to the ground, and the bright red blood droplets from the sword tip splattered onto his fair, jade-like cheeks, like red plum blossoms reflected in snow.
Jiang Chuting's eyes were slightly moist as she looked at him calmly.
The boy was stunned for a moment, then scoffed, "You don't look that great. How could my dad be so bewitched by you?"
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