The old woman's hair was neatly combed, with no stray hairs falling around her ears or fluttering in the wind; occasionally, one or two silver strands would peek out from her gray hair.
Although the old woman was short, she was lean and looked very strong and powerful. She had no excess fat on her body, and even the wrinkles on her face were just right, neither too many nor too few. She was also in good spirits and looked very shrewd.
This is a testament to years of dedicated maintenance and a high degree of self-discipline.
She stood ramrod straight, like a statue.
"Sect Master, Mingyue has been captured. Shall we interrogate her now?" Zheng Ningxiang asked, bowing as she stood before the old woman.
Zheng Ningxiang felt that the Pavilion Master was the most powerful woman she had ever met in her life. Whenever she met the Pavilion Master, she sincerely admired her cold temperament and decisive nature.
Naturally, when facing this Pavilion Master, Zheng Ningxiang knew that he was a good person, but she still couldn't help but feel a little afraid, especially when the Pavilion Master ordered people to be killed, his unwavering demeanor was terrifying.
"Bring the person up here." The old woman in the main seat was none other than Granny Xue, the head of the Plum Blossom Pavilion, which she had founded.
Initially, Plum Blossom Pavilion was a refuge located in a remote mountain village, used to house girls, young women, and women who had escaped from being violently beaten, tortured, or abused by their husbands, or who had been sold into brothels.
As time went on, more and more women suffering misery were taken in, while the perpetrators remained at large. Granny Xue decided to address the issue at its source, otherwise, the wooden hut on the hill would not be able to accommodate the growing number of women suffering.
She will use the eyes of the women in the pavilion as a yardstick and the power of the Plum Blossom Pavilion to punish the evildoers of the world.
Zheng Ningxiang was the first assassin she trained.
...
Grandma Xue still remembers it. It was a rainy night five years ago. The moon was dark, and the rain fell like large beads on the eaves and the ground. The rain seemed to be trying its best to wash away the humiliation and hatred in the world.
After settling the woman who had fled to the mountain and was covered in wounds, Granny Xue was about to rest fully clothed when she suddenly heard a noise outside the door.
It sounded like someone was knocking on the door, but the sound was drowned out by the heavy rain and couldn't be heard clearly.
She pushed open the door, held up a brown-yellow oil-paper umbrella, and went outside. There stood a thinly dressed girl at the door.
The girl was only wearing an inner garment, her outer robe was torn and scattered on the ground. She was soaked to the bone, standing barefoot in the heavy rain, her eyes revealing despair and indignation.
"Come in quickly, it's chilly outside."
The woman followed Granny Xue in, looking rather wooden.
"If anything happens, feel free to tell me." Granny Xue led the girl into the house, gave her a clean set of cloth clothes, and handed her a bowl of hot ginger and brown sugar water.
"Quickly drink the ginger and brown sugar water in your hand. The ground is damp and cold. If you catch a chill, it won't be good."
Seeing that the woman did not speak, Granny Xue placed her hand in the woman's hand, conveying the warmth of her palm.
"May I have your name?"
There was still silence. Granny Xue, fighting off her drowsiness, sat quietly with the woman.
After a long silence, the woman slowly spoke, gritting her teeth as if she had mustered up a great deal of courage.
"My name is Zheng Ningxiang." She picked up the bowl and drank the ginger and brown sugar water in one gulp.
The fiery ginger tea stung her throat, making her even more alert.
"I killed someone." The girl's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her hands were clenched tightly together, as if she was trying to control her nervousness.
“I killed him.”
Grandma Xue didn't speak, she just listened quietly, neither surprised nor taken aback, as if a woman killing someone was a perfectly ordinary thing.
“I have no family, I don’t know what to do, I wish I could do something.”
Zheng Ningxiang's words were short and seemed to form no sentences. Granny Xue stared at her intently, hoping to learn more.
How did you kill him?
“He was strangled with a rope. Even if Yanran hanged herself, I want him to experience what it feels like to be strangled and suffocated.”
[It turns out her best friend was murdered, and she was seeking revenge.]
Granny Xue guessed, having witnessed too many tragic things in the world.
"Why didn't you report it to the authorities?"
"Hmph, what's the use of reporting to the authorities? It's better to take matters into my own hands." Zheng Ningxiang clasped her hands together, her eyes resolute.
Granny Xue remained silent for a long time, staring at the girl as if searching and thinking.
If you could turn back time, would you regret it?
Zheng Ningxiang's gaze was firm, her eyes fierce, and she said through gritted teeth, "No, if time could turn back, I would still kill that heartless dog!"
Grandma Xue pursed her lips slightly.
She was different from other women.
Most of the other women were fearful, panicked, and like birds startled by the mere twang of a bow, but she, Zheng Ningxiang, was someone who would take the initiative.
This is exactly what I need.
Granny Xue knew that no one who came to the Plum Blossom Pavilion would open their heart so quickly, but she believed that one day she would tell her her story.
And she intends to train Zheng Ningxiang to become her own weapon.
"Stay here for now. I have something to tell you tomorrow." Grandma Xue poured her another cup of hot water and gently patted her hand.
"Thank you for taking me in, Pavilion Master." Zheng Ningxiang bowed her head slightly.
From then on, Granny Xue trained Zheng Ningxiang every day. Zheng Ningxiang didn't ask any questions, but calmly and earnestly learned, going in and out of a small ice cellar in the pavilion every morning.
Ultimately, he taught her a method to kill silently, without leaving a mark or bleeding, yet still to bring about death.
Zheng Ningxiang was very grateful to the Pavilion Master. It was the Pavilion Master who taught her this method, which gave her the ability to kill without leaving a trace. As long as someone died at her hands, even if the Dali Temple came, they would not be able to find any evidence of the murder.
Later, the number of assassins in the Plum Blossom Pavilion gradually increased, but Zheng Ningxiang remained the only one who entered and exited the ice cellar.
Others simply use different methods to kill, but every assassin from the Plum Blossom Pavilion has a plum blossom mark on their shoulder.
...
A series of hurried footsteps approached, and Liu Mingyue, with disheveled hair, wearing coarse cloth clothes and a pale face, was brought up.
Granny Xue focused her gaze on everything before her again.
Liu Mingyue glared defiantly at Zheng Ningxiang, then walked forward with dissatisfaction, struggling to break free of the ropes binding her wrists.
"Sect Master! What does this mean, Sect Master?!" Blood trickled from the corner of Liu Mingyue's mouth, as if she had just been tortured.
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