SS CH54

A light drizzle began to fall from the sky once more.

Walking at the very front, Xiu’er headed straight toward the back of the house. This area directly backed onto a steep cliff, and the slope was treacherous. Loose stones regularly rolled down the incline; a single misstep would send a person tumbling head over heels down the slope, likely breaking a leg before they could even manage to stabilize themselves.

Chu Xiwei followed right behind Xiu’er, his expression so dark and menacing he looked like a malevolent ghost that had crawled straight out of the underworld. From the tips of his hair down to his toenails, he exuded an aura that screamed, “I’m in a foul mood; ghosts and gods keep clear.”

Currently considered a “wrongdoer,” Qin Lanchang did not dare get too close to him. Instead, she walked beside Lu Mingyuan with a face full of grievances, occasionally throwing sharp glares at the calm and composed Ruan Feiyu. Fortunately, the elderly gentleman did not deign to bicker with her; he merely rolled up the nameless, coverless old book in his hand with great care and tucked it away securely.

The first time Qin Lanchang had met Ruan Feiyu inside the carriage, he had been holding this exact book. Back then, she had caught only a fleeting glimpse and seen that it had no title or cover, and she hadn’t been able to see any of its contents. Seeing him act with such caution now, she could not help but feel curious. She tilted her neck, trying to sneak a peek, only for Lu Mingyuan to place his hand in front of her face, blocking her view.

The rigid scholar began his lecturing anew, whispering to her, “Peeking at another person’s belongings is a breach of propriety.”

Qin Lanchang was so exasperated by him that she had almost completely lost her temper.

Ye Fusheng found the sight amusing. Bringing up the rear of the group, he walked unhurriedly with his hands clasped behind his back. On this narrow, winding mountain path, his leisurely pace made it look like he was strolling through a quiet courtyard. He appeared entirely casual, yet in reality, any rustle of leaves or blade of grass within his surroundings was fully accounted for in his mind.

This path was indeed free of ambushes. The most harrowing incident they encountered along the way was when Scholar Lu accidentally stepped on a snake. Before the creature could even bite back, the fierce Miss Qin grabbed it by the tail, shook its body limp, deftly tied the brightly colored reptile into a perfect butterfly knot with her bare hands, and hurled it far away.

Having trekked along the rugged mountain path for an entire night, everyone bore signs of exhaustion from consecutive days of non-stop travel. This was even more true for Lu Mingyuan and Chu Xiwei, both of whom had unhealed injuries. Lu Mingyuan’s pale face was drenched in sweat. Chu Xiwei maintained an unbothered facade, but Ye Fusheng noticed that his pace had slowed slightly, and footprints were beginning to appear behind him on the ground.

Both he and Chu Xiwei practiced the Xiafei Footwork. Their movements were supposed to be silent and their steps traceless—a mastery described as “treading through snow to find red plums, walking through evening rain without wetting one’s clothes.” For Chu Xiwei to leave footprints on this soil only meant that he was truly exhausted to his absolute limit.

Earlier in the ruined house, there had been too many eyes and ears, so Ye Fusheng hadn’t found an opportunity to ask him about the severity of his injuries.

When Chu Xiwei was a child, Ye Fusheng used to tease and bully him constantly, thinking that driving the boy to the point of tears and tantrums was the greatest joy in the world. Yet now, seeing Chu Xiwei keep everything to himself without showing a single shred of grievance or pain, Ye Fusheng felt a delayed pang of heartache.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Xiu’er led them around a sharp bend and began heading downward. Within moments, the path beneath their feet widened, and the view ahead gradually opened up.

They made their way down the mountain, arriving at a valley basin at the foot of the hills.

Exhausted and parched, Qin Lanchang had long wanted to plant her backside on the ground and take root. Seeing flat land at last, she immediately collapsed onto the withered grass, only to leap straight back up with a violent jolt a moment later.

Chu Xiwei turned around and said coldly, “What are you making a fuss about?”

Qin Lanchang’s face was deathly pale. Because everyone was accustomed to this girl being eccentric and quick-witted, her current terrified state was exceptionally striking. She pointed her scabbard at the patch of ground where she had just sat and said, “There is… a hand underneath.”

“A hand?” Lu Mingyuan was startled. He bent down to push aside the foot-long weeds and indeed revealed a severed hand. It was in a semi-decomposed state, and the wound at the wrist was jagged and uneven, looking as though it had been gnawed off by a wild beast.

Looking closer, although this clearing was spacious, a dense, gloomy forest loomed not far away. Nearby, scattered beneath the wild grass, lay a chaotic mess of remains—birds, beasts, humans, and insects alike. Most of the skeletons were incomplete, likely carried off by wild animals.

Surrounded by mountains on three sides, the wind could enter this valley but could not easily escape, causing a foul stench to hang thick in the air. The light drizzle currently dampened the odor slightly, but while it had been easy to ignore before, once one consciously focused on it, the stench became utterly unbearable, making one want to retch.

Chu Xiwei, who possessed a streak of cleanliness, immediately covered his nose with his sleeve. His expression turned so terrible it looked worse than death. He turned his head to look for Xiu’er, only to find that the young girl had collapsed onto the ground at some unknown point, and a man was now standing beside her.

“I knew this little girl was unreliable. Fearing that she might botch the job, I kept watch here. I didn’t expect… that I would truly end up waiting for all of you.”

The man was in his forties and exceptionally fat—so fat that the sable fur coat wrapped around his body made him look like a ball of meat encased in skin. One look at him would make anyone wonder whether he used his feet to walk or simply rolled forward.

Yet, despite being such a short and stout man, he held a seven-foot-long halberd in his hand. The weapon easily weighed over a hundred catties. The halberd’s head was as bright and silver as snow, carved with faint phoenix patterns, and a string of golden bells was fastened where the head met the shaft. As the wind blew, the bells jingled crisply, echoing through the empty valley like the early cry of a young phoenix, though it carried an undercurrent of cold, stark violence.

The moment the bells chimed, Ruan Feiyu, who had been lacking energy all this time, opened his eyes. He focused his gaze, looking past the halberd to lock eyes with the fat man, and offered a faint smile. “May I ask your esteemed surname?”

The man spoke in a very affable manner. “You flatter me. My surname is He.”

Ye Fusheng and the others frowned, while Ruan Feiyu pressed further, “The ‘He’ from the vanguard camp of the Qin Family Army?”

Boss He beamed with joy. “That was my elder brother. His bones have been buried here for over thirty years. Does Chancellor Ruan wish to meet him?”

Ruan Feiyu bowed slightly toward the barren land that entombed countless bones and said, “Back then, Lieutenant He swept through the three armies with his Mingfeng Halberd; save for Duke Qin’s Suolong Spear, no one in the military could match him. It is a pity that this old man was confined to the imperial court and never had the honor of witnessing it.”

The moment the words “Suolong Spear” were uttered, Qin Lanchang’s expression changed drastically. Chu Xiwei turned his head as if he had eyes in the back of his mind, his gaze as cold as a blade, warning her not to make any reckless moves.

Boss He smiled and said, “Chancellor Ruan’s regret can be fully resolved today. Though I am incompetent, I have at least inherited a fraction of my family’s martial arts. While I lack my brother’s great capabilities, I believe I will not disgrace the name of the Mingfeng Halberd.”

“This is a fine place to bury one’s bones.” Ruan Feiyu cast a casual glance around. “I had forgotten… so that narrow path actually leads here.”

“Chancellor Ruan is a man of high nobility, and so many years have passed. How is it that you still know this wild mountain area like the back of your hand?” Boss He lifted his head. “Thirty-four years ago, a mudslide occurred at Mount Anxi. This place lies in a low valley; after the torrent of mud and water weakened, it surged into this area through a breach. Aside from swallowing two small villages that had long been evacuated, it did not harm the surrounding areas—except for the more than three thousand soldiers of the Qin Family Army who happened to be passing by on their return to the capital, none of whom survived. Chancellor Ruan, how could there be such a coincidence in this world?”

Everyone’s heart skipped a beat. In that flash of realization, Qin Lanchang figured something out. Her gaze swept rapidly across the earth that buried an unknown number of skeletons, her expression shifting from immense shock to roaring fury. By the time she looked back at Ruan Feiyu, her eyes were so bloodshot they looked ready to weep tears of blood.

Ruan Feiyu acted as though he didn’t care that his back was practically being pierced into a sieve by their glares. He merely looked at Boss He and said, “This old man remembers now. The two men leading the troops back to the capital that year were Military Advisor Zhou Xi and your elder brother, He Chong.”

Boss He said, “Chancellor Ruan has a fine memory. Relying on the continuous torrential rain and the terrain back then, you calculated the exact route the soldiers would take, blew up the hillside, and triggered a mudslide that swallowed three thousand lives… This matter, do you admit to it or not?”

Ruan Feiyu was one to boldly accept responsibility for his actions without hesitation. He offered a shallow smile and said, “It was my doing. I will not deny it.”

“Since Chancellor Ruan admits it, then this matter becomes simple.” Boss He planted the Mingfeng Halberd firmly into the ground. At that moment, his expression turned solemn and his tone grew deep. “With the radiant heavens above and the thick earth below, let the spirits of the departed serve as my witnesses. This grievance has a specific target and shall not implicate innocent bystanders. The rest of you have nothing to do with this; please leave.”

Lu Mingyuan was the first to speak. He bowed deeply toward the earth, then saluted Boss He, saying, “A teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime. If the master has sinned, the disciple shall share the punishment; if the master faces peril, the disciple shall face it alongside him. Therefore, I dare not leave.”

Ye Fusheng turned to look at Ruan Feiyu and asked with a smile, “Mr. Ruan, things are different now compared to before. If you refuse to change your mind, we will be powerless to help you.”

He was referring to Ruan Feiyu’s intention to spare the remnants of these old cases. If Ruan Feiyu remained stubborn about it, then even the Jade Emperor himself would find it difficult to escort him safely through this ordeal without death or injury.

Ruan Feiyu straightened his sleeves and said slowly, “Since this is a personal grievance belonging to this old man alone, the three of you have already shown extreme benevolence by escorting me this far. Please leave.”

Chu Xiwei did not speak. The air here smelled too foul; breathing it in felt like swallowing a piece of rotting flesh. His expression had turned so terrible it looked as though he harbored an irreconcilable hatred for this entire piece of land, and he didn’t even care to utter a single word. Hearing the old man’s words, he didn’t even bother with polite pleasantries; he let out a cold grunt through his nose, grabbed Qin Lanchang, and prepared to turn and depart.

However, Qin Lanchang, who had not dared to budge under his grip until now, suddenly wrenched herself free. She looked up directly into his eyes, placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, and said, “Uncle, I’m not leaving.”

Chu Xiwei said in a freezing voice, “Haven’t you thrown enough tantrums?”

“I’m not throwing a tantrum.” Qin Lanchang turned her head, her gaze sweeping across Ruan Feiyu and Lu Mingyuan before finally locking onto the Mingfeng Halberd in Boss He’s hand. “I… I just feel that I cannot leave right now.”

As an outsider, Ye Fusheng naturally found it inappropriate to interject in this situation. Chu Xiwei’s face grew even colder as he said, “When traveling the martial world, one must know when to advance and when to retreat. Do you not understand this?”

“If you retreat from certain things now, there will be no room left to retreat in the future.” This time, Qin Lanchang showed no fear of him. She stared straight into Chu Xiwei’s frozen eyes, pronouncing each word distinctly: “Uncle, this is what you told me.”

Chu Xiwei raised his hand, preparing to slap her across the face.

Lu Mingyuan’s expression shifted. He took a step forward, intending to intervene, but was caught by Ruan Feiyu’s hand. The usually gentle elder cast a gaze over him that instantly sent a chill down the scholar’s spine.

Knowing her own family’s temperament, Qin Lanchang had known since childhood that in her uncle’s eyes, there was no difference between men and women; thus, he had never abided by the rule of “a proper man does not fight with a woman.” Consequently, whenever she talked back, she always prepared herself to be beaten to within an inch of her life, and she smoothly closed her eyes in anticipation.

Yet, the slap never landed on her face.

“Ah-Yao, it’s no big deal for a child to talk back. Why resort to violence?” Ye Fusheng had caught Chu Xiwei’s wrist with one hand. Chu Xiwei glanced at him but did not pull away.

Ye Fusheng turned to look at Qin Lanchang, his face still bearing that casual smile, though his tone held a few fractions of gravity. “Girl, if you choose to stay, you must bear all the consequences yourself. No regrets.”

Qin Lanchang stared at him blankly for a moment, then nodded her head.

Chu Xiwei frowned, though he said nothing more. He cast a freezing glare over everyone present, flicked his sleeves, and walked away.

“Everyone, until we meet again.” Ye Fusheng smiled, cupped his hands in a parting salute, and followed after Chu Xiwei.

Boss He did not speak to interrupt them, waiting until he saw the silhouettes of the two men fade into the distance before retracting his gaze. He slammed the Mingfeng Halberd heavily onto the ground, smiling at Ruan Feiyu. “I have long heard that Chancellor Ruan possesses superb martial arts and is one of the eight great masters of the martial world. Today, I shall seek your guidance.”

Ruan Feiyu did not answer, but Lu Mingyuan took a step forward instead. The scholar was young and possessed a somewhat pedantic shyness. At this moment, he drew a white paper fan from his sleeve, closed it within his palm, and said, “When there is trouble, the disciple shall shoulder the labor on behalf of the master. This junior lacks talent, but I request to fight first.”