SS CH102

“Life and death,” naturally, did not refer to the life and death of the gambler.

After Yingxiu spoke those words, she stood up and rotated a vase on the wooden shelf next to her. With a soft click, the seemingly seamless wall across from Ye Fusheng slid open to reveal a doorway.

Yingxiu gathered her robes, picked up a new candle and lit it, then gestured with her hand: “The final round requires a change of scenery to gamble properly. Please, follow this servant.”

After a pause, her breath fragrant like orchids, she added, “If the gentleman is afraid, we can change the method of gambling. However, the question… must also be changed.”

Ye Fusheng gave her a look. Without saying a word, he followed Yingxiu into the secret passage.

The secret passage wasn’t very long, but it twisted and turned like intestines. There were many forks along the way; a slight misstep would lead one astray, and it was unknown if one could ever find their way out alive.

Ye Fusheng followed Yingxiu down one of the corridors. Shortly after, they reached the end.

At the end was another secret room.

A man was suspended in the room, hung mid-air by iron chains that pierced directly through his shoulder blades. His body was covered in wounds, and many of the torture instruments on the wall were stained with blood.

The man was barely clinging to life, his face completely devoid of the will to live. Yet, Ye Fusheng only noticed three things—

First, the prajna flower tattoo on his chest; second, the ordination scars on his bald head; and third, the bizarre wound on his abdomen.

The wound was only about three inches long, located on the left side of his abdomen. It had been sutured with catgut and treated with medicine to barely stop the bleeding.

With Ye Fusheng’s sharp eye, he could tell that this incision must have been made by an exquisitely sharp and delicate weapon—likely a curved blade or a hook that pierced the body and then hooked the flesh open upon extraction. If handled with skill, it could probably hook the intestines right out.

A master. A rare master, and an incredibly ruthless one at that.

“To be honest, this servant doesn’t know the answer to the gentleman’s third question.” Pausing, Yingxiu’s beautiful eyes swirled. “However, there happens to be someone right here who can resolve your doubts.”

Ye Fusheng raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“The gentleman appears to be a veteran of the martial world. You must recognize the prajna flower of the Burial Soul Palace.” Seeing Ye Fusheng nod, Yingxiu smiled softly. “Half a month ago, five suspicious individuals arrived in Jialan City. As the local powers, we naturally paid them extra attention. Trailing them, we discovered they came here to secretly meet with this monk. Unfortunately, before we could find out why, these blind fools ran into trouble… Aside from the three who had already headed toward Mount Wenshan before the incident, the remaining two were decapitated. Their major arteries were slashed to drain their blood, and their empty, stinking corpses were sunk in the river. Even this monk wouldn’t have survived if we hadn’t acted quickly.”

Ye Fusheng narrowed his eyes. “Who made the move?”

“A woman of considerable age, wearing a curved saber at her waist and blue ribbons in her hair. She appeared to be dressed somewhat in a foreign style. Her identity is unknown; she hasn’t shown her face in the martial world for at least ten years.” After a pause, Yingxiu continued, “After our investigation, we confirmed this monk hails from Wuxiang Temple. The gentleman should be able to get the answer to your question from his mouth… Unfortunately, this bald donkey is incredibly stubborn. No matter what we do, he refuses to speak. The information we’ve gathered so far is very limited.”

Ye Fusheng asked, “Since that’s the case, how do we gamble?”

Yingxiu’s lips curled up. “The third round gambles on life and death. Naturally, his life is the wager. If the gentleman can take him out of here alive, you are naturally free to use your own methods to achieve your goal. If the gambling den uncovers any further intelligence regarding this matter, we will provide it to you as compensation… However, if the gentleman loses, this man dies tonight, and you will have to find another way to answer your final question.”

Ye Fusheng glanced at the man and nodded. “Fine.”

Before the word fully fell from his lips, Yingxiu spun around.

As she spun, she whipped her hair, sending three needles as thin as cow hair flying straight toward the immobilized monk. If Ye Fusheng hadn’t possessed such sharp hearing and keen eyesight, he probably wouldn’t have noticed until the man’s fatal acupoints had been pierced.

The tiny needles were incredibly fine, and it all happened in a flash. Ye Fusheng could only tear off his outer robe, swinging it in an arc to block the three needles. However, accompanied by the sound of rushing wind, a sword pierced through the robe, thrusting straight toward him.

He had to either retract his hand and retreat, or take a sword strike for the monk.

Ye Fusheng naturally had no interest in taking a sword strike for a monk suspected of colluding with the Burial Soul Palace. However, with a ready-made clue right in front of him, he refused to just throw it away.

A chilling gleam entered his peach-blossom eyes. Turning his head, the blade practically grazed his face. In that split second, Ye Fusheng executed a “Plucking the Flower” maneuver, his fingers wrapping around the blade to snatch the weapon from Yingxiu’s hand.

However, at the same time, Yingxiu braced a hand on his shoulder. Using the momentum, she flipped over him and stepped onto the monk’s back. Because the man was suspended by iron chains, the sudden downward pressure caused the chains to grind violently against his bone and flesh. In agonizing pain, he let out an irrepressible scream.

Holding her hairpin, Yingxiu forcefully stabbed toward the monk’s temple!

The sharp tip pierced the skin, and a bead of blood seeped out, sliding down the monk’s face along with his sweat.

But it could not advance another inch.

Ye Fusheng had flipped upward. He hooked his legs around another chain on the ceiling, hanging upside down, perfectly intercepting Yingxiu.

While controlling her right hand holding the hairpin, he clamped his other hand around her throat.

The murderous intent he had previously suppressed erupted abruptly. Even though Ye Fusheng harbored no direct hostility toward her, the terrifying aura forged from a lifetime of licking blood from blade edges and tossing between life and death completely intimidated her.

In that moment, Yingxiu felt that if she made a single reckless move, her wrist would be snapped, and her throat would be crushed.

Ye Fusheng chuckled lowly. “This round… should be counted as my win, right?”

Yingxiu’s lips curled up. “If this servant insists on making a move, will the gentleman truly kill?”

“I’m a very reasonable person, especially toward beautiful women.” Ye Fusheng’s eyes crinkled. “However, I dislike people who intentionally break rules and ruin my plans. Fortunately, beautiful women are usually very smart and know how to read the situation.”

Yingxiu smiled. “Very well. The gentleman wins. Let’s go down and talk.”

She voluntarily dropped the hairpin, and Ye Fusheng released his grip. Both utilized their footwork to land back on the ground.

Just then, Yingxiu suddenly curled a finger. Using the momentum of her descent, she hooked it diagonally upward toward the slash on the monk’s abdomen. The wound was already horrifying, only barely stopped from bleeding by catgut sutures and high-quality medicine. If she swiped it with her finger strength, it would instantly burst open, and the man would likely be beyond saving.

Ye Fusheng landed a step faster than her, but it was too late to turn back.

Fortunately, he had brought his blade.

With a sharp shing, Jinghong was drawn. The blade flashed like a white rainbow piercing the sun, slashing diagonally upward without holding back, aiming straight to sever Yingxiu’s finger.

Her movement was undeniably fast, but Jinghong’s startling sweep was faster.

Before her finger could touch flesh, the cold blade pressed against it, slicing through the skin nearly to the bone. If she hadn’t retracted her force in time, her entire finger would likely have been split in two.

In agonizing pain, Yingxiu changed her finger to a palm and slapped heavily against the flat of the blade. With a twist of her body, she arrived beside Ye Fusheng, her left sleeve whipping toward his face like a blade. Even though he retreated incredibly fast, the rushing wind swept his mask off.

Blood splattered the ground, and the mask fell.

Ignoring her injured finger, Yingxiu simply stared at Ye Fusheng’s face, and then at the blade in his hand.

“The startled swan’s fleeting shadow… it truly is… fast.” Looking at Ye Fusheng, her lips curled up. “After parting ways ten years ago, I thought Jinghong had sung its final swan song. I never expected there would be a day we’d meet again.”

As she spoke, she flicked a finger, sending a burst of wind to strike the monk’s sleeping acupoint. Only then did she say, “He won’t die anytime soon. Let’s talk first.”

Ye Fusheng sighed. “What is there left for us to talk about?”

Yingxiu smiled. “How about talking of romance and the wind and moon, just like ten years ago?”

“Yingxiu, you are no longer the top courtesan of the Zuichun Brothel from ten years ago, and I am no longer the Gu Xiao who played along with you.” Ye Fusheng pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her to wrap her wound. “Back then, we agreed that once the matter was resolved, you would take control of ‘Anyu’ and fade into the Jianghu, while I would take ‘Lueying’ and join the imperial court, staying out of each other’s way from then on… Whether it’s romance or right and wrong, saying anything more is useless for both of us.”

As soon as these words left his mouth, Yingxiu’s eyes rimmed red.

She was very beautiful. Even as a woman in her thirties, she was more alluring than many sixteen-year-old girls. Now, stripped of her deliberate seduction, with tears brimming in her eyes, she looked more pitiful and heart-wrenching than pear blossoms bathed in rain.

A beauty shedding tears that ruin her makeup should be considered a man’s sin. If it were ten years ago, whether acting or not, Gu Xiao would have raised a hand to wipe away her tears and coaxed her with gentle words.

But the Ye Fusheng of today merely stood right where he was, unmoving.

Yingxiu’s tears did not fall; she forced them back.

Her voice was slightly hoarse: “But you are the successor of Jinghong. Whether it’s ‘Lueying’ or ‘Anyu¹,’ they were both supposed to belong to you.”

Although the Jinghong Blade only made fleeting appearances with each generation, its song had never truly been severed. Especially during Gu Zheng’s generation. Dissatisfied with the tyranny of the previous dynasty, rebel armies had risen up. Possessing meticulous thought and outstanding methods, Gu Zheng had befriended the Grand Ancestor of Great Chu during times of shared adversity. Disregarding the boundary between the martial world and the imperial court, he had dedicated himself entirely to the nation.

During its turbulent collapse, the previous dynasty had fought like cornered beasts. Because they already had marital ties with foreign tribes beyond the pass, after the rebel armies rose, they resisted stubbornly with military force on one hand, while recruiting foreign masters and unrighteous martial artists to conduct assassinations and intelligence gathering on the other. It was impossible to defend against; many rebel generals died at their hands, and even the Grand Ancestor only narrowly escaped death multiple times under Gu Zheng’s protection.

Fortunately, turbulent times produce heroes, especially when both the martial world and the imperial court were a chaotic mess.

During that time, Gu Zheng also began searching for capable martial artists who could be of use. Carefully selecting those with skill and character, and with the full support of the Grand Ancestor, he recruited a very substantial force over the years. Because they sneaked through the dark night under Gu Zheng’s leadership, engaging in secret, bloody battles against the previous dynasty’s assassins—moving like drifting catkins and treating their lives as light as flying feathers—they came to be known as “Anyu.”

Anyu suffered many casualties over time, with new blood constantly joining their ranks. When the previous dynasty was finally overthrown and Great Chu was established, the Grand Ancestor proposed taking these people into the royal family as shadow guards.

Gu Zheng had dared to disregard the boundary between the Jianghu and the court, but not everyone under his command shared his mindset.

People of the martial world were ultimately born of the martial world. Some, like Gu Zheng, were willing to tie their flesh and blood to the royal ship, serving as oars in the stormy seas. But others refused to be bound by the imperial court, wishing only to banish themselves back to the three mountains and four seas.

From then on, Anyu split into two. Half returned to the Jianghu, hiding away as a path of retreat should Gu Zheng ever return to the martial world. The other half changed their name to “Lueying” and followed him into the imperial court, becoming the sharpest blade of the Great Chu Emperor.

Gradually, Lueying shook the world, while Anyu vanished into legend.

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Author’s Note:

To put it plainly, the Mingzhu Gambling House belongs to the Anyu’s sphere of influence. Ten years ago, Yingxiu disguised herself as the top courtesan of Zuichun Pavilion to work for Ye Fusheng, successfully retiring once the job was done.

This time, Fusheng noticed something unusual and had no choice but to gather intelligence through the Mingzhu Gambling House, though he had no desire to reunite with the people from Anyu.

Yingxiu didn’t recognize him at first. It wasn’t until he resorted to martial arts and drew his blade that she made a move to test him… Yeah, two master actors stripping off each other’s disguises.

By the way, Yingxiu does indeed harbor a bit of that kind of interest in Fusheng, but Fusheng doesn’t feel the same. However, Yingxiu is not the type to pester him endlessly like a bitter, cannon-fodder supporting female character lol.

As for Fusheng’s entanglement with Anyu, why he hasn’t mobilized their forces for so long, and why he still had to hide his identity when visiting the gambling house—please look forward to the next chapter’s explanation.

1. Means: Dark Feather ↩︎