Chapter 103: I will kill you by provoking you!
This made her feel sad and she felt something was wrong.
My heart felt like it was soaked in warm bitter water, full and heavy.
She had saved many people, the wicked, the good, the poor, the rich. She was used to seeing life and death, and also to the filth of the world.
But there had never been a man who, like him, would reveal his rotten inner self to her so calmly, even with a self-deprecating smile.
What is the master of Tianji, what is the young master Jinsheng.
This was also an abandoned child. From birth, he had been immersed in a cold pond of hatred and calculation, and even the slightest spark of warmth had to be forced to approach him.
Whatever. Qing Guiyu sighed inwardly. What's the point of dwelling on the past?
He had deceived her, but she had also truly saved him from the brink of death. This account had probably long since become a tangled mess, impossible to settle.
...Though I think so,
Unfortunately, Qing Guiyu is not a sentimental girl. She has always remembered both food and beatings.
He made a heartfelt confession, turning a despicable conspiracy into a tragic drama of a lovesick young man who could not get what he wanted, and put himself in the most pitiful, innocent and sympathetic position.
Just as he was about to say something to put the matter behind him, Qing Guiyu suddenly had an idea in a flash.
Wait a minute.
The warmth that had just risen in my heart was broken by her with a "snap".
"wrong."
Qing Guiyu raised her head, meeting his confused and shimmering eyes, and asked suspiciously:
"If you were really so determined to get me to save you, then why did you write those two words in blood on the ground?"
She leaned forward and asked word by word.
“—No.”
"What do you mean?"
If he really had a plan that was so well thought out, how could he do such a contradictory and stupid thing as to push her out?
As soon as these words were spoken, the expression on Master Jinsheng's face suddenly became brilliant.
The sorrow and guilt that were carefully constructed to strike a chord with the audience froze in an instant, like a meticulous painting that was splashed with water halfway through, leaving an awkward blur of ink.
The remaining sadness and confusion that I had just struggled to escape from the memories were shattered by this sudden question.
Young Master Jin Sheng was completely stunned. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word.
"I……"
Then, boundless panic spread from the skin on his neck upwards. His face, which had just blushed and caused heartache, suddenly turned pale. Even his eyes wandered with guilt, not daring to look at her again.
The wind in the yard stopped, and the tabby cat stopped purring. It raised its head lazily and glanced at the young man in black clothes who suddenly became uneasy.
"I..." He took a step back, leaned against the beauty, and said "I" again, as if he had finally made up his mind. He raised his head suddenly, then lowered it quickly, his hands entangled with gold threads, and his voice was as thin as a mosquito.
“…I thought…”
"Thought you liked it."
Qing Guiyu: “?”
She thought she might be hallucinating.
"What did you say?" she asked again, raising her voice.
Shen Juansheng trembled when she shouted at him, and his already red face looked even more like it was about to bleed.
Finally, he seemed to have given up, and simply closed his eyes and said to her:
"I see you're usually the most impatient with those who plead and cry. The more Elder Meng pushes you, the more you contradict him. The more others try to persuade you, the more you refuse to listen. You... your temper..."
"If I write 'save me', you might just ignore me and walk away."
"But if I wrote 'no rescue'..." He paused, a hint of grievance still lingering in his voice, "you'd probably stop and take a look. If you did, you'd be curious. And if you were curious, you might... have some pity on me."
The whole yard was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.
The tabby cat in the yard jumped onto the wall again at some point and yawned with its mouth wide open.
Qing Guiyu also wanted to yawn, or hit someone.
All of his twenty-four years of life, all his arrogance and intelligence, were crushed to pieces by these two words at this moment.
He was a master of heaven's secrets and understood the hearts of the people. It turned out that in his eyes, she was Qing Guiyu, a "soft-hearted person who would not tolerate hardship, a rebellious person, who would not move when led and would only retreat when beaten."
The sympathy and sadness that had just risen in my heart were ignited by this nameless anger, mixed with the frustration, worry and anger of these many days, and suddenly burned into a blaze.
Good job.
What a good guy!
Even when asking her for help, one has to guess her personality first and use such a sinister trick to anticipate the enemy's intentions!
"A deep, engraved sound!"
Qing Guiyu bit out these three words from between his teeth.
The tabby cat was so frightened by her shout that its fur stood on end. It meowed and flew onto the roof, never to be seen again.
She turned around suddenly, grabbed the collar of the young man in black clothes, and pulled him up from the beauty's side.
"I kill you!"
She was so angry that she spoke without thinking and raised her hand, wanting to slap that pretty face.
Shen Juansheng stumbled and almost fell into her arms. He seemed to be really frightened by her. His body trembled violently, his eyelashes drooped, and his face alternated between "don't hit me" and "hit me first", with increasingly sincere expressions.
He even shrank into her arms, and a layer of mist quickly filled his clear eyes.
Qing Guiyu was so angry at his appearance that he felt dizzy.
She finally understood.
What calculations, what conspiracies, what blood feuds.
She pushed him away, picked up a bench nearby, and wanted to smash it on his head.
His hands were raised, but stopped in mid-air.
no.
If it's broken, she has to fix it.
Qing Guiyu would never do any business that would result in a loss.
She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and threw the innocent bench back to its original place with a clang.
Looking at the person in front of her, the beautiful troublemaker whom she rescued with her own hands.
A venomous snake that can never be tamed. When hungry, it coils up and wags its tail at you. When full, it turns around and bites you. No, even the way it wags its tail is calculated, knowing she's soft-hearted and can't bear to see that pitiful look.
"Okay," she said, smiling angrily, nodding, "very good."
"You are amazing, Shen Tianji, you are really amazing."
"If you have any difficulties from now on, I will listen to you."
Hearing her say this, Shen Juansheng's eyes suddenly lit up.
Qing Guiyu gave him the kindest, gentlest, and most genuine smile she had ever seen in her life.
"Now, Master of Heaven's Secret, you tell me,"
Her hands were shaking a little from anger, but it didn't matter. She patted his shoulder and said calmly,
"How can I make my senior brother calmly drink at the same table with the son of his family's exterminated enemy and discuss the matter of borrowing the ancestral secret manual?"
*
The head of Tianji Pavilion seemed to be afraid that she would really get angry, so this matter happened incredibly quickly.
That evening, she met Chaofeng at the door of the inn.
The hunchbacked old man appeared silently at the gate of the courtyard.
He was wearing a gray shorts and had a hideous four-pronged iron hook on the broken part of his left arm. Under the dim light of the lantern at the door of the inn, it was flashing a dark and cold light.
As soon as he appeared, the inn suddenly became filled with a sinister, bloody smell. Chaofeng's gaze first swept over Qing Guiyu, then landed on Shen Juansheng. He arched his shoulders slightly, and his figure floated down in front of the two of them like a dead leaf.
"Pavilion Master."
Qing Guiyu's heart trembled and he stood up subconsciously.
"Chao Feng," Shen Juansheng nodded and said, "Get ready and follow me to meet someone."
Chaofeng lowered his head, his gray beard trembling slightly, and replied respectfully, "Yes."
"Go see Lu Guiyan." Shen Juansheng said with a smile.
As soon as these words came out, Chao Feng's skinny body suddenly stiffened. His eyes were filled with horror.
"Pavilion Master!" he said hoarsely, "Lu... Lu Guiyan from the Snow Mountain Sect?"
"Yeah." Shen Juansheng responded and glanced at Qing Guiyu.
"Pavilion Master, you... you are trying to kill me!" The hunchbacked old man's voice trembled. "That... that Lu Guiyan... your subordinate... your subordinate once followed the old Pavilion Master to the snowy mountains..."
He didn't say anything else, but the meaning of his words was clear.
The Snow Mountain Sect was wiped out, and he was one of the butchers.
"I know." Shen Juansheng lowered his eyes and looked at the gold wire wrapped around his wrist.
"I let you go precisely because you were involved in what happened back then."
These words were simple and indifferent, yet they were colder than the sharpest blade. Chao Feng's face turned as pale as paper.
This young man in front of me, with his moods changing and his mind as deep as the sea, I don't know whether this is a test or a reckoning.
"What are you afraid of?" Shen Juansheng suddenly chuckled, "I'm not asking you to die."
After hearing this, Chaofeng's black rat eyes rolled around, he nodded, and his figure quickly disappeared into the night.
Qing Guiyu then walked forward, and the uncomfortable feeling in his heart came up again.
"What do you want to do?" she asked.
Chen Juansheng turned around and faced her, regaining his gentle and harmless look, even with a smile that seemed to be asking for credit.
"Didn't Miss Qing ask me for advice?"
"Lu Guiyan is a lofty man who values friendship and loyalty, and he values the Snow Mountain Sect's legacy and reputation even more. If you were to ask him directly for the Ice Stream Meridian Cleansing Technique to save me, the son of, well, your enemy, even if he wouldn't turn hostile on the spot for your sake, there's no way he would agree."
Qing Guiyu nodded. This was indeed her biggest headache.
"What does Brother Lu want most right now? First, to avenge himself and kill Chen Yan. Second, to revive the Snow Mountain Sect and live up to the reputation of our ancestors."
"The swordsmanship he acquired at the cost of his lifespan is indeed exceptional, but it is difficult to maintain. If he wants to defeat my father, he will need even greater skills. And you have already seen this skill."
Qing Guiyu's heart moved, and he thought of the black ice jade disk.
"That's right," he continued in a deep voice. "We need to join forces to deal with my father. The two combined cold skills on the jade disk are a unique bargaining chip in the world. Brother Lu is proficient in the Ice Stream Cleansing Meridians Technique, and I," he pointed at himself and smiled, "coincidentally, I also know a thing or two about the Cold Marrow Technique."
"Look, Miss Qing," he said with a gentle smile, "this is not the way he gave you the Meridian Cleansing Technique."
Young Master Jin Sheng continued, "But I will give him the Cold Marrow Skill."
"I want Chaofeng to tell Lu Guiyan the whole truth about the Snow Mountain Sect's annihilation. What kind of person is Shen Yan? What methods did he use? The orders Shen Yan gave personally, the traps he set to cover up his crimes. Only those who experienced it firsthand will know the details."
"Brother Lu must know what his enemy's martial arts are like. He must also know that Shen Juansheng is just a chess piece in Shen Yan's hands that he has used for seventeen years and has long since abandoned."
"Of course," he said to her with a smile, "Given Brother Lu's temperament, if I intervene, it will be a dead end. Chaofeng is a sinner, and it would be quite dangerous for him to repent. Miss Qing is here and can protect Chaofeng's life. Someone must also take the jade slip. I need Miss Qing's help in this matter."
"That's fine." Qing Guiyu touched his chin, "But if he doesn't believe you, why would he believe Chaofeng?"
"He will believe it, Miss Qing," Shen Yan paused and said indifferently,
"Brother Lu has worked so hard for so many years, so he must have weighed the pros and cons repeatedly."
"And the truth of this world, expressed through the remorse of a criminal or the justification of an executioner, is something that easily convinces people."
*
Young Master Jin Sheng's analysis was reasonable and logical, and he also contributed his cold marrow skill implicitly, so Qing Guiyu was not polite to him.
It was late at night and the town was quiet. The hustle and bustle of the day had long since died down in Fu'ao Town, leaving only the night watchman's clappers ringing a few times in the distance on the long street.
Qing Guiyu folded his arms, leaning on the porch at the backyard of the inn, waiting for Chaofeng.
Shen Juansheng made it clear that this matter was dangerous. If he were present, Lu Guiyan would be wary and Chaofeng would be afraid, which would be unfavorable. Therefore, he stayed in his room.
But she knew that he was not afraid of disrupting the situation, but was clearly afraid that his junior brother would see him and lose control of himself, and would kill Chaofeng with a sword first, and there would be no room for turning back this plan.
She felt somewhat at ease handling this herself, but also agitated. This was all very much in the style of Young Master Jin Sheng, with its daring moves and intertwined complexities. Although she had agreed, she still felt uneasy.
As the night deepened, the hustle and bustle of Fu'ao Town gradually died down, leaving only the sound of waves crashing against the shore in the distance and the lazy chirping of insects in the nearby grass.
The Chaofeng has not arrived yet.
Qing Guiyu, clutching her old bamboo flute, paced impatiently at the door. The head scout from the Tianji Pavilion was known for his stealthy ways; he wouldn't come in openly from the main road. She patiently focused her attention, letting go of her six senses and carefully listening to the sounds around her.
The moon was at its zenith, its clear light like water shining on the pomegranate tree in the yard, making its branches look a bit desolate.
Half an incense stick of time had passed at the appointed time, but Chaofeng still hadn't appeared.
Qing Guiyu frowned slightly, feeling even more uneasy. Given the Tianji Pavilion's style of doing things, they wouldn't be late for no reason, unless...something unexpected happened.
She glanced around. The night was dark and silent, with only a few insects in the corner still chirping in the summer night breeze.
Then his eyes focused on the opposite side of the courtyard gate.
Under the low eaves of the inn's kitchen, a dark shadow was curled up. It looked like the lazy tabby cat from the daytime, looking for a sheltered place to take a nap.
I didn't pay attention to it at first, but after a while, the black shadow seemed to move.
It wasn't the lazy stretch of a cat, but rather a soundless expansion and contraction, as if a ball of darkness were slowly breathing.
Qing Guiyu's heart moved and he looked intently.
The black shadow suddenly swelled and shrank, sometimes large and sometimes small, and the changes showed no pattern that a living thing should have.
Just as she was wondering, a very low, almost imperceptible "clicking" sound came faintly towards her, mixed with the night wind and the chirping of insects.
The sound was fragmented and dull, not like a broken bone, but rather like someone was slowly and methodically taking his bones apart and putting them back together inch by inch.
She had also set bones before, and the sound was so strange that she suddenly remembered something.
Many years ago, in the bone-dissecting hall of Yaowang Valley, Master Chen pointed to a strange skeleton that had been brought from outside the domain and explained it to her.
The joints of the skeleton are very different from those of ordinary people and can actually bend inward.
Master Chen then brought up a strange martial arts anecdote. He said there was a unique skill in the Western Regions called "shrinking bones and changing shape." While it wasn't as miraculous as rumored, capable of transforming a person into formless form, its essence lay in removing all joints, then constricting the internal organs through breath-holding, and forcibly folding the skeleton through the muscles.
Those who have mastered the technique can stretch and contract their bodies with ease in a single breath, reaching heights of over ten feet or barely reaching the knees. However, this technique is inherently detrimental, with each movement excruciatingly painful, requiring only immense willpower.
The master sighed at the time, "This skill, when used for stealing and hiding, is undoubtedly effective. If used for assassination, it would probably be the most advanced method in the assassination world. However, it is extremely cruel and against the harmony of nature, and has long been lost."
It goes against the will of heaven...
The dark shadow under the eaves suddenly grew a little bigger silently at this moment.
It can grow or shrink, stretch or shrink freely, and make no sound at all.
Qing Guiyu felt his hair stand on end. This wasn't a shadow at all, it was a living being, curled up in a ball, lurking in the darkness, with all its bones torn apart!
She was horrified and alert, slipped the bamboo flute into her palm, and used the internal force of the Qing Nang Jue.
Almost at the same moment, the dormant black shadow suddenly expanded.
The speed of his movement and the strangeness of his movements were simply unbelievable.
The torso suddenly stretched out in the air, the limbs popped out, and a sharp thorn, carrying an unparalleled murderous aura, was already at her face.
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