SS CH108

The “ghost” Xue Chanyi referred to was an incident that had occurred two nights ago.

She had arrived at the Wuxiang Temple three days prior. Because the martial arts assembly was drawing near, if not every single seat was filled by various Jianghu figures, at least seven or eight out of ten had already arrived. This turned the otherwise peaceful Buddhist sanctuary into a murky pool mixed with dragons and snakes.

These people came from diverse backgrounds, each harboring different intentions. Learning that the temple did not forbid martial arts duels, and having witnessed a few altercations firsthand, Xue Chanyi weighed the weakness of her own faction and decided not to meddle in these troubles. After settling her subordinates, she stayed quietly in the Luhua Courtyard, waiting for the assembly to begin.

However, two nights ago, trouble had found her.

Although the Luhua Courtyard housed female guests, friction was bound to arise between women living under the same roof. This was especially true considering that the disciples of the Qingbo Sect shared the courtyard with her.

The Qingbo Sect accepted only female disciples. Though they followed the orthodox martial path and had enjoyed a period of brilliance in their early years, the sect was now in decline, its talents withering. Consequently, they gradually strayed onto a crooked path, resorting to marriage alliances to entangle other sects and prominent families, relying on external power to maintain the illusion of their former glory.

It is said that “serving others with beauty does not last long.” Furthermore, Miss Xue possessed a strong, unyielding temperament. Both Xie Wuyi and Xie Min were men of unyielding pride who would rather break than flatter others, with Xie Min being especially disdainful of even feigning hypocritical politeness. Influenced by them, Xue Chanyi deeply despised this practice of using others to rise. When she encountered them, she would offer a few perfunctory words, unwilling to associate deeply.

But the Shimei of the Qingbo Sect was the Sect Leader’s only daughter. Spoiled and unreasonable, even the Shijie leading their group couldn’t rein her in. How could she not be infuriated by Xue Chanyi’s cold treatment?

After she deliberately caused trouble time and again, Xue Chanyi proved she wasn’t some soft dough to be kneaded at will. When the Shimei pretended to slip and splashed a cup of hot tea at her, Xue Chanyi simply turned and sidestepped, letting the girl crash solidly to the ground, knocking out one of her front teeth.

The bystanders saw the whole incident clearly. Out of concern for the sect’s reputation, the Shijie of the Qingbo Sect forcibly restrained her Shimei from attacking, but she directed a mocking barb at Xue Chanyi: “My master once said that Manor Master Xie was a gentleman like jade, gentle and upright, and we all admired him. I didn’t expect that upon meeting Miss Xue today, I would realize that seeing is not as good as hearing.”

Her words concealed a dense cluster of poisoned needles. First, she accused Xue Chanyi of being ignorant of the bigger picture and bullying the weak. Second, she insulted Xie Wuyi for being incapable of teaching his disciples properly, implying that his reputation exceeded his reality.

Infuriated, Xue Chanyi stroked the Chixue silk at her waist and retorted, “My shifu’s bones are not even cold, yet Your Excellency opens and closes your mouth to insult the Duanshui Manor. I wonder where your upbringing comes from? Anyone whose eyes aren’t blind can see clearly what your Shimei just did. Forcefully trying to invert black and white is useless. Why not draw a line and spar with me, so everyone can witness the capabilities of the Qingbo Sect?”

People in the Jianghu can lose anything but face. Xue Chanyi’s words completely blocked her retreat. Forced to fight whether she wanted to or not, the Shijie had no choice but to draw her sword and, suppressing her anger, accept the challenge.

Thinking of Xue Chanyi’s Chixue silk, which moved like a swimming dragon and a slithering snake, and recalling his own intelligence on the Qingbo Sect, Ye Fusheng said, “If it came down to real ability, she shouldn’t have been a match for you.”

“I disarmed her and forced her to admit her mistake.” Xue Chanyi narrowed her eyes. “In doing so, I defended the face of the Duanshui Manor, but the Qingbo Sect lost immense face. Naturally, they wouldn’t just let it go.”

With the senior disciple defeated and humiliated, the junior sisters were overwhelmed with depression and indignation. However, since the Luhua Courtyard housed other sects as well, their conflict had already been seen by others. Unable to let the situation escalate further, they had to lay down their banners and temporarily swallow their anger.

However, not everyone possessed such tact.

That very night, the troublemaking Shimei of the Qingbo Sect threw stones at Xue Chanyi’s window, challenging her to a private duel at Eagle Beak Rock. Though too lazy to deal with her, Xue Chanyi disliked flies buzzing in front of her face, so she went.

There is a saying: “One must not harbor the intent to harm others, but one must not lack the intent to guard against them.” Judging by the Shimei’s behavior, it was obvious there was a trap. Xue Chanyi had no intention of foolishly plunging into it. Instead, she deliberately delayed her arrival, planning to sneak over and investigate the situation.

Her qinggong was excellent, and dressed in dark, plain clothes, she blended into the nocturnal mountain forest like a shadow, making it very easy for others to overlook her.

What she didn’t expect was that when she arrived at Eagle Beak Rock, she would stumble upon the aftermath of a murder.

Eagle Beak Rock was a cliff on the back mountain of Wenchang, overlooking a deep ravine and a secluded valley filled with lush vegetation, birds, and beasts. If a person fell from here, nine times out of ten they would be smashed into a meat patty and fed to the animals.

Hearing the voices of unfamiliar men, she turned and hid in a large tree, peeking through the gaps in the leaves by the moonlight.

The girl who had been picking on her all day was now a corpse, sporting three bloody holes in her chest and abdomen, pouring out bright red blood.

Two men dressed in black with masked faces stood beside the body. One of them, still holding a dripping short knife, kicked the gradually stiffening corpse and said, “This place is very well hidden. Why would this little wench come here in the middle of the night?”

“Earlier I wanted you to keep her alive so we could interrogate her, but I didn’t expect you to use a killing move right off the bat.” The other man flipped through the pouch searched from the corpse and sneered disdainfully. “So it’s the little slut from the Qingbo Sect. She probably either got lost or was secretly meeting a lover.”

“A major event is about to begin; it’s best to avoid complications.” The first man wiped the blood from his knife. “I’ll peel off her face to find Hall Master Xiao, and instruct the sentries to keep an eye on the surroundings. You go search along the path to see if anyone came here with her.”

Xue Chanyi’s hands and feet turned ice-cold. She hid in the tree, not daring to move a muscle, watching the man peel off a bloody face skin, take the girl’s sword and ornaments, and kick the corpse off Eagle Beak Rock.

Carrying the human skin, the man formed a whistle with his lips and emitted a sharp bird call. Various bird calls echoed from all over the mountain in response, before he walked off down a side path.

Xue Chanyi waited until the remaining man also vanished into the darkness. She held her breath for a while longer before carefully avoiding the directions from which she had identified the bird calls. Slipping away silently under the cover of night, her limbs were weak and cold sweat soaked her clothes by the time she returned to the Luhua Courtyard.

“The next morning, I deliberately practiced martial arts in the courtyard, waiting for the people from the Qingbo Sect to come out. And I saw that ‘shimei’ again. Her appearance, figure, speech, and behavior were all flawless without a single mistake.” Xue Chanyi’s eyes turned cold. “But I clearly saw her corpse fall into the deep valley with my own eyes… Tell me, is this not a ‘ghost’?”

She had watched with her own eyes as a person whose corpse should have been obliterated reappear, her voice, smile, and demeanor exactly as usual, even carrying the same grudge on her face, as if everything she had seen the night before was just an absurd nightmare.

But Xue Chanyi never joked about such things.

Xie Li shuddered. Tales of demons and ghosts were usually tricks to stop children from crying. He instinctively tugged at Ye Fusheng’s clothes, only to look up and see a thoughtful expression on the man’s face.

Unable to hold back, Xie Li asked, “So it wasn’t a ghost?”

“This ‘ghost’ is not that kind of ghost,” Ye Fusheng chuckled lightly. “Although it’s said that ‘Confucius did not speak of strange forces and chaotic gods,’ even if there were wandering souls and wild ghosts, they wouldn’t dare act recklessly in a Buddhist temple burning with incense. What Miss Xue saw… was naturally someone playing the ghost and acting out a farce—people who cannot bear the light of day.”

Xue Chanyi hummed in agreement. “But I don’t have enough people, and my own skills aren’t enough. I wanted to warn my fellow martial artists, but first, I was afraid of alerting the enemy, and second, no one would easily believe me.”

Ye Fusheng’s gaze narrowed. “Then, have you ever met Abbot Sejian?”

Xue Chanyi shook her head. “The Abbot is busy with affairs. Recently, he has been coordinating with the managers of the major sects. As I am now just a lone orphan girl, how would I have the ability to meet him?”

Ye Fusheng said cryptically, “Is that so…”

As he spoke, the light rippling in his peach-blossom eyes looked exactly like a stone tossed into a lake, creating subtle ripples. No matter how one looked at him, he seemed to be harboring ill intentions. Xue Chanyi felt an itch in her hands and couldn’t help but say, “What kind of ghostly idea are you plotting?”

Feeling quite wronged, Ye Fusheng looked as if he wanted to beat his chest and stomp his feet in grievance. “In Miss Xue’s eyes, am I really that kind of person?”

He was adept at feigning a pitiful appearance. That single glance made him look like a heartbroken, abandoned cat. Xue Chanyi reached out, wanting to pinch his cheek, but a faint noise from behind—like a snapping twig—startled her into stopping.

Xie Li jumped in fright. Ye Fusheng dropped his deliberately quirky expression, pushed off the ground, and dashed over. He saw a stray cat dart out from behind a large tree about fifty feet away, scurrying off the moment it saw him.

Beneath where the cat had been were broken twigs. Ye Fusheng scanned the area; the leaves were still, the wind had died down, and there was no other human silhouette.

Xue Chanyi hurried over, holding Xie Li’s hand. She gripped her Chixue silk, her expression grave, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the situation. “So it was just a cat.”

Ye Fusheng shook his head. “No, it was a person.”

The breath Xue Chanyi had just exhaled immediately caught in her throat.

Ye Fusheng stroked a piece of bark on the tree trunk. When Xue Chanyi and Xie Li looked closely, they saw a shallow depression in the bark, as if it had been struck by a fist, yet the surrounding bark was undamaged, and not a single crack had spread.

He rubbed the edge of the depression and said, “This was left just now.”

A distance of fifty feet was already dangerously close for a martial artist, yet none of the three had noticed when the person arrived. Had the individual not accidentally made a noise, they might have brushed past them without ever knowing, even after leaving.

A chill crept up Xue Chanyi’s back. She tightened her grip on Xie Li’s hand, only to receive a reassuring hook of a finger from the child.

“For these people to create a flawless counterfeit overnight shows that they have a deep understanding of the sects participating in this assembly, precise down to every single individual among them.” Ye Fusheng withdrew his gaze and looked at Xue Chanyi. “Without preparing for a rainy day, do you think that’s possible?”

Xue Chanyi’s face paled. Xie Li, however, caught on, hesitating as he asked, “Are you saying… there are hidden spies within the various sects?”

Ye Fusheng smiled. “The child is teachable.”

Xue Chanyi’s expression darkened. “The people I brought were all raised by the Xie family since childhood. There won’t be any problems with them!”

Ye Fusheng shrugged and said nothing, while Xie Li tugged at her clothes and pointed out, “Xue-jie, over the past three days, you haven’t been watching them constantly.”

The Shimei of the Qingbo Sect only went out once, and upon returning, she was replaced by someone wearing her skin, yet her former sect members couldn’t even tell. Xue Chanyi had already been confined to the Luhua Courtyard for three days; how could she be certain her subordinates hadn’t been replaced in a similar bait-and-switch?

The moment Xie Li said this, Xue Chanyi felt a massive shock in her heart. She clenched her hands into fists, the knuckles turning white, and only slowly relaxed them after a long while.

“Young Master Ye, you… take A-Li and leave,” she said in a low voice. “I’m afraid those people have already noticed me. Leaving rashly now will only alert them. The two of you just entered the mountain gates today. Take advantage of the chaotic crowds to leave now, while there’s still time.”

His heart warming, Xie Li couldn’t help but look at Ye Fusheng, who crossed his arms and shook his head. “I’m afraid that won’t work anymore.”

As Xue Chanyi frowned at him, Ye Fusheng explained, “I haven’t been entirely clear with you before, but it’s best I lay my cards on the table now… My seniors belong to the Taishang Palace. Today, A-Li and I came with them.”

The Eastern Dao and the Western Buddha—the Taishang Palace and Wuxiang Temple. Even if the former had been living in seclusion for years while the latter was at the height of its power, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Furthermore, with the Taishang Palace’s reputation still intact, how could they not attract the attention of all parties?

When Xue Chanyi first brought him into the Duanshui Manor, her intention was simply to find someone to cause trouble for Xie Min, preventing him from focusing on exchanging blood with Xie Li. Although the subsequent events had many twists and turns, she had never truly grasped Ye Fusheng’s background.

Hearing this suddenly, Xue Chanyi was dumbfounded. Ye Fusheng continued, “In my view, the Luhua Courtyard is no longer safe. Anyway, Miss Xue is A-Li’s older sister. If you don’t mind, why not use this as an excuse to move to the left wing? The members of the Taishang Palace are all ascetic Daoists, so I imagine it won’t harm the Miss’s pure reputation.”

“We are all children of the Jianghu; we don’t care for such coy rules,” Xue Chanyi recovered her wits. “I’m only afraid that moving out so suddenly, even with A-Li as an excuse, will attract the attention of those harboring ulterior motives.”

“If they don’t pay attention, I’ll be the one suffering.” Ye Fusheng curled his lips. “Rather than letting poisonous snakes lie dormant waiting for an opportunity, it’s better to lure the snakes out of their holes, so we can strike them at their weakest point.”

—————

Author’s Note:

Since it’s 521, let’s have a warm and cute short snippet—

Xie Li: QAQ I got a 59…

Biological Father Xie Wuyi: Don’t cry, it’s just one point, you’ll definitely pass next time!

Second Uncle Xie Min: Useless, couldn’t even get that one point. Next time you need to get a 95!

Biological Mother Rong Cui: You two go argue on the balcony! I still need to sign this report card!

Xue Chanyi: I feel like you three stole all my lines…

(Duanshui Manor: Eldest Miss Xue expresses mental exhaustion.)

_

Xuan Su: I failed my exam this time. 

Master Duanya: You need to work harder. 

Martial Uncle Duanqing: Do not slack off. 

Martial Uncle Duanheng: Make-up exam tomorrow. 

Xuan Su: …………Understood. (Honestly, the Taishang Palace definitely selects people based on their faces. Oh, except Duanheng… I feel Elder Duanheng’s murderous aura.)

_

Qin Lanshang: What the heck, I failed again! 

Shen Wuduan: Worthy of being my granddaughter! Back in the day, I only graduated after kneeling on a rolling pin. 

Sun Minfeng: Who’s your teacher? I’ll slip him some hallucinogens during the makeup exam. I guarantee you’ll get a perfect score even if you hand in a blank paper. 

Chu Xiwei: Hehe, it’s me. 

Sun Minfeng: …Girl, hurry up and go review. 

Qin Lanshang: Uncle Sun, you’re such a coward!!!! 

(Your Hundred Ghosts Sect really is a case of the upper beam being crooked causing the lower beam to be crooked too.)

_

Lu Mingyuan: Teacher, I failed my exam… 

Ruan Feiyu: Bring the paper here. I’ll explain it to you, and you’ll take it again tomorrow. (Why is my teacher’s method Spartan education… bitter tears.)

_

Gu Xiao: I freaking failed the exam again this time. Sigh, time waits for no man, heaven is jealous of heroic talent. 

Gu Qifang: I spit on that! Failing an exam and handing in a blank paper are two totally different things, okay?! 

Duanqing: Actually, he didn’t hand in a blank paper. He wrote an essay on the math exam. 

Gu Qifang: What essay… You little brat, stop right there! Don’t run! Read me the essay! 

Gu Xiao (Looking like a martyr going to his death): “…My shifu is a brutal female bandit who is as quiet as a normal person but acts like a mad dog, specializing in curing all sorts of disobedience. Carrying regulated weapons, she holds the steady number one spot on the blacklist of urban management everywhere, contributing her non-existent youth to the enterprise of smashing, looting, and burning. It is evident this person is no longer bound by the distinction of gender, punching the South Mountain Nursing Home and kicking the North Sea Kindergarten… Fortunately, heaven had eyes, and thirty years ago, a Daoist as beautiful as a flower and jade willingly went up the mountain to become the bandit chief’s wife, purifying the Mountain King’s vicious nature, guiding her toward kindness, abandoning the dark and turning to the light. He is truly a model of ‘If I do not enter hell, who will?’ As a youth of the new era—with thoughts, culture, morals, and ambition—I, Gu Xiao, the good successor of the people, will certainly rise up to become the master in the near future, overthrowing the bandits, distributing the land, and fighting my whole life for the cause of the people’s freedom and liberation…” 

Gu Qifang: …………………………………….. 

Duanqing: The teacher’s comment was, “Commendable courage and high ambitions. Unfortunately, I teach math, so I cannot give a perfect score. Also, do you need me to call the police?” 

Gu Xiao: …Shiniang, please don’t kick me while I’m down at a time like this. 

Duanqing: I just feel you didn’t study language arts well either. For example, the idiom “as beautiful as a flower and jade” shouldn’t be used here. 

Gu Qifang: …A-Shang, go to sleep. I’ll sign it for him. 

Gu Xiao: I don’t believe that! Shiniang, don’t leave! (Erkang hand reach) 

Duanqing: Hit him lightly. He still has classes tomorrow. 

Gu Xiao: My life is over… 

(Your Jinghong style is unique… but the closest to my great Spartan rough-man education.)