Chapter 16
“…”
Under Shen Yu's gaze, Yao Liuliu had nowhere to escape. She clenched her fists tightly, and finally all her strength turned into a bitter laugh: "You can be quite perceptive sometimes, but what if you run into someone with a bad temper with this straightforward personality?"
"My mother said so too, so she's glad that I'm good at martial arts."
"...Auntie, you are quite forward-thinking."
Yao Liuliu sat on the bed and completely relaxed: "I didn't fake my death to escape in the chaos; I faked my death and was thrown out."
"...Is there a difference?"
She had said before that as an assassin organization, Moonshadow Gate could not let anyone leave alive, so the matter of their escape must not be known to anyone.
“The difference is that when I faked my death and was thrown out, there was still someone who knew I was still alive.” Yao Liuliu paused for a moment, then continued, “But I didn’t ask him to do it; he did it on his own. He injured me during the trial, making people think I was dead, and then saved me after we came out.”
"Who is it?" Shen Yu asked, intrigued.
"You knew that most assassins from the Moonshadow Sect work in pairs, right?"
"I remember it being the new moon and the waning moon, the waxing and waning crescent, and then the most powerful is the full moon, which can travel alone. And you are...?"
“Huiyue,” Yao Liuliu replied, “I have another partner.”
"Huh? You're the one who's Shuo and Hui?" Shen Yu was very skeptical.
"...I'm not that keen on advancement. To advance, you have to do more work. I'll just stay at the bottom and do my job." Yao Liuliu said, half-lying on the pillow, utterly dejected.
"Doesn't that mean your partner has to be at the same level as you? Then he can't do that either."
"...He's doing fine."
Yao Liuliu stared blankly at the bed frame, but subconsciously defended him: "He probably figured out what I was thinking, so he stuck with me at the bottom, always teetering on the edge of elimination, just trying to survive. But later, there was no way to avoid it..."
She suddenly stood up: "You know that kind of tactic, right?"
"What?"
"It means... only one of the partners can survive, and then they can advance to the next rank."
"You've given up?"
Yao Liuliu's gaze suddenly darkened: "We've never talked about this. We're mortal enemies, why would we talk about this? The thing I talk to him about most is what to eat today."
"So, you're not as good as him?"
"...Actually, I've never known who's better between him and me. But we're both pretty good actors. But right now, he's definitely stronger. I haven't practiced in ages."
Shen Yu listened, blinking her eyes, and asked, "Then what are you afraid of?"
“…”
To be honest, Yao Liuliu didn't know either.
Just thinking about the places I used to live makes me feel uncomfortable.
Before, when I was in that situation, I could still get by, but after living a normal life for a while, I never wanted to have any connection with the past.
Whoever it is.
"You said you saw your partner, but there was only one person?" Shen Yu asked.
"It seems...to be..."
"He's already a month old!"
"...Why do you seem a little excited?"
"Think about it, if he rises to the top, he'll be even freer. If he let you go back then, he can't possibly stab you a few more times a few years later. But if he has ill intentions, there's still me. I've never met anyone from the Moon Shadow Sect."
"...Meeting them isn't a good thing either, so don't even think about it."
After talking to someone, Yao Liuliu felt less uneasy.
The situation doesn't seem so bad, and it seems predictable.
"I need to sleep, sleep. Only when I'm unconscious and my brain isn't working can I finally stop being bothered."
After a quick wash, Yao Liuliu crawled into Chen Yu's bed.
As usual, when she was alone, Shen Yu sat quietly in meditation for a while to regulate her breathing.
But suddenly there was a knock on the door.
The sound was soft and very gentle; it was clearly not Gong Er's doing.
"Shopkeeper, are you asleep?" Qiu Chiyan's voice came from behind.
"Not yet, please wait a moment!" Yao Liuliu answered for her.
After a short while, Shen Yu stopped exerting his strength, put on an overcoat, and went out.
Qiu Chiyan stood under the eaves, his clothes half-open, his gaze quickly sweeping over her, silently pointing downwards.
"What's wrong?" Shen Yu asked softly, following his unsteady steps downstairs.
Hiding behind the counter, Qiu Chiyan finally spoke: "Just now, it seemed like there was someone on the roof."
"Oh, I know."
"...You noticed and you're still so calm?" Aren't you going to go out and check on things?
Qiu Chiyan didn't know what to say next.
"It seems that Ye Wushuang also climbed out of the window."
"Yes, I heard it. They might be chasing after someone." Although Shen Yu had just closed her eyes to rest, she hadn't missed any of the commotion outside.
"...There are bad guys attacking, shopkeeper, be on high alert!" Qiu Chiyan, who had been quickly listing countermeasures in his mind, was now thrown off balance by her calm demeanor.
"Let's wait until he barges into the inn before we get nervous," Shen Yu said calmly. "However, in your backyard, there's not a single person who can fight, and one of them is even practicing horse stance. This is a bit troublesome..."
"I."
"…Um?"
"I'm fine," Qiu Chiyan said abruptly.
“He’s still injured, so he doesn’t count as a combatant.” Shen Yu skipped over him.
Some of them are hurtful.
Qiu Chiyan felt a pang of pain in his heart for a moment.
"It seems the shopkeeper knows who's spying on us in the shadows?" Judging from Shen Yu's reaction, this was no longer just confidence based on force.
"I don't know, I just feel that maybe it's harmless?"
"But shouldn't this feeling be based on some evidence?"
"I wouldn't say I have a reason or evidence, I just feel like I can handle it," Shen Yu said with a simple smile.
Whenever Qiu Chiyan saw this expression on her face, he knew he wouldn't get anything out of her.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Shen Yu patted his forearm.
As she spoke, she looked toward the backyard.
Ye Wushuang lifted the curtain and entered silently.
"Good evening, shopkeeper." He bowed and greeted them. Despite having run around outside, he was still impeccably clean.
"Go to sleep. You're making a fuss so late at night. I'm tired even if you're not." Shen Yu no longer showed him the courtesy one would show to a guest; all she felt was impatience with the trouble.
"Doesn't the shopkeeper want to know what I did?"
"You can do whatever you want as long as you don't demolish the house."
Ye Wushuang chuckled: "In that case, I wish you a good night's sleep, shopkeeper."
After saying that, he went upstairs to his room.
"Did he tell you the truth?" Qiu Chiyan asked.
"I guess so. They didn't even say hello before they came up and started whipping me. That was rude."
Qiu Chiyan's face darkened: "Are you alright?"
"Of course!" Shen Yu raised his head. "Would I let a whip hurt me?"
"Then stay away from him. It's rude."
"Exactly! I can't be bothered with him."
A peaceful night.
Yao Liuliu's fears did not come, and in fact, nothing happened for the next few days.
Even so, she still stayed in Shen Yu's room and refused to leave.
Putting everything else aside, the innkeeper's room was indeed quite comfortable.
The bedding was soft and clean, the pillow was just the right firmness, and it even had a faint medicinal scent. The scent wasn't overpowering; instead, it made me sleep more and more soundly. Every morning when I woke up, I felt as if I had been enveloped in clouds all night.
So she went out for the first time in a long time to buy the same materials. This trip was quite long, from the cloth shop in the south of the town to the needlework shop on the north street, and she didn't return until late at night.
When she returned, she saw Zhou Siyao sitting alone in the corner, drinking alone, with a few strands of her hair disheveled.
"Why is she here again?" she asked Gong Er as she entered the kitchen.
"I'm so sad because my little brother couldn't be rescued."
"Still not out? Is Mo Yuntang involved in organized crime?"
“I think that’s about right.” Gong Er shrugged. “The murder has nothing to do with Zhou Sinian, but the business dealings do. Changfeng Manor is a prestigious place, and Moyuntang said they would like to invite the young master of Changfeng to stay for a few more days to calm his nerves.”
Yao Liuliu clicked her tongue in disbelief. It was too blatant; she couldn't bear to watch and felt a little sorry for Zhou Siyao.
Perhaps for this reason, no one urged her to leave as it was nearing closing time.
After seeing off the last guest, Gong Er glanced at her, hesitated several times as if he wanted to say something, and then left her there.
But out of the corner of my eye, I saw another person enter.
"Sorry, we're closed...wait...wait?"
Ignoring Gong Er's attempts to stop him, the man walked straight in and sat down at their table.
Who is this person? So overly familiar?
Gong Er was so shocked that he couldn't speak. Just then, Yao Liuliu came out of the kitchen with dishes. When she looked up, she saw that face clearly, and her steps froze on the spot. She almost dropped the plate.
"Did you make this? Let me try it."
He pointed to the dishes in front of him, picked up his chopsticks, and put them in his mouth.
Gong Er moved closer to Yao Liuliu: "Your friend?"
The man also looked up, expectantly watching how Yao Liuliu would respond.
Yao Liuliu's throat tightened, forcing herself to breathe, her voice a little dry: "You just walked in like that?"
She felt incredibly pathetic; her legs felt weak and she wanted to sit down, but she couldn't be completely careless.
"Otherwise, how would you get in? You think you can just crawl in?" the man laughed, nodding as he ate. But the moment he lowered his head, the smile in his eyes faded considerably.
"What's wrong?" Qiu Chiyan and Xu Dahe also came out of the kitchen. They had finished cleaning up and it was time to eat, but everyone in the hall was standing.
There were few people today, only a few from the inn. Gong Er's two junior brothers had gone back to forge swords, and Zhao Ze hadn't come to join the fun either.
Shen Yu went out to buy some candles and hasn't returned yet.
Qiu Chiyan looked at the man. The man's hair was casually tied up with an ebony hairpin, and he wore a close-fitting black outfit. The fabric was not luxurious, but it exuded a sharp and shrewd aura. The short sword at his waist was exquisitely crafted and did not appear to be an ordinary item.
But a finely crafted short sword was tucked into his waistband. Its length reminded him of recent events.
"...If you came here to eat, you've already eaten, so leave now." Yao Liuliu's face was grim, and she wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends? How heartless of you."
After speaking, he placed his hands on his hips, his gaze sweeping over everyone at the table before finally settling on Yao Liuliu. His smile vanished completely at that moment.
"At least I let you get out alive."
While the others were still confused, Gong Er paused for half a second, then his mind went blank, and he realized what was happening.
He quietly took a step forward, blocking Yao Liuliu's path.
"You, get out of the way." The young man had naturally noticed this small movement and said to Gong Er without any politeness, almost in a commanding tone.
"Although I do not know why you have come, if you intend to cause trouble here, I hope you will think carefully."
Qiu Chiyan didn't know who he was, but he was sure he came with ill intentions.
The man raised an eyebrow and smiled mockingly: "Aren't the two tough guys you have here gone?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he pointed his finger, and the sword was drawn half an inch from its sheath, its cold light flashing.
Qiu Chiyan's gaze sharpened, and almost instantly, he leaned forward slightly, his right hand quietly pressing down under the table. If the other party were to make a move, even if he was physically disabled, he would protect the person behind him.
However, before the sound of the sword could be heard, the wind moved first.
The man's wrist suddenly sank, and the sword that was about to be drawn was forced back into its sheath by an external force, making his hand go numb.
Shen Yu was already standing in front of the boy, his plain clothes swaying slightly. He pressed two fingers against the artery on the side of the boy's neck, his strength neither too light nor too heavy, enough to make the boy unable to move.
“There’s no reason for them to beat my people on my turf.”
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