SS CH10

This secret passage led straight to the back mountain of the Duanshui Manor. By this time, the wind and rain had grown even fiercer, striking the body with stinging pain.

The dimming light of the sky actually made Ye Fusheng breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, although his eyes could see clearly, his old leg injury, provoked by the icy rainwater, began to act up again. Just as he frowned, a dozen or so people rushed out from the mountain forest. They were holding umbrellas and tarpaulins, shouting and calling out as they hurried over to meet them.

Leading them was none other than Xue Chanyi. The moment this girl saw them, without saying a word, she immediately used a thick cloak to cover Xie Wuyi and Xie Li completely. Only then did she spare a glance for the outsiders, exclaiming in shock and doubt, “Gongzi (Young Master) Chu, your eyes…”

Tsk, look at the difference in treatment.

Ye Fusheng took an umbrella, deeply feeling like a pathetic little yellow cabbage left out in the field. Chu Xiwei draped a cloak over his shoulders, turning his head to smile without speaking. Instead, it was Xie Wuyi who spoke up: “The wind is fierce and the rain is heavy. Let’s return to the Manor first.”

Upon receiving the order, Xue Chanyi and her group surrounded them like stars orbiting the moon, escorting them back to the manor. The people she brought were all guards of Duanshui Manor; they might not have had incredibly profound martial arts, but every one of them was quick and capable. In no time at all, they delivered the four drenched, drowned-rat-like figures back to the manor, causing Sun Minfeng—who had been waiting under the long corridor—to spit out a massive mouthful of tea.

He rushed up, shouting and causing a scene, and said to Chu Xiwei, “I say, Master, Miss Xue told me you ‘ran out in the middle of the night to watch the excitement, and ended up watching yourself right into a ditch.’ So it turns out it was actually true!”

Chu Xiwei: “…”

Xue Chanyi: “That’s not how I…”

Ye Fusheng turned his head, letting out a puchi laugh, his shoulders shaking.

With that single shout of “Master,” Sun Minfeng completely blew Chu Xiwei’s cover. In this world, perhaps very few people had ever seen the Sect Master of the Hundred Ghosts Sect, but there were many who recognized the Ghost Physician.

Those who had been treated by him always thought about coming back to settle scores, and those who had been turned away at his door were even less stingy about using his portrait for target practice. Sun Minfeng’s face could easily be considered a major signboard for the Hundred Ghosts Sect.

Thinking of it this way, the seemingly nonsensical exchange between Chu Xiwei and Xie Wuyi earlier finally made sense.

Sun Minfeng peeled back Chu Xiwei’s eyelids to take a look, then checked his pulse, saying, “You won’t die, and you won’t go blind, so I won’t waste any idle effort on you. I’ll just find a medicated cloth to blindfold you for three days, and you’ll be fine.”

Chu Xiwei felt that the very fact he hadn’t yet butchered this incredibly insubordinate subordinate proved just how benevolent and kind-hearted he truly was.

After washing up, Xie Wuyi casually punished Xie Li with an hour of the horse stance before inviting Chu Xiwei and Sun Minfeng into the inner chambers.

With the young boy keeping a stiff face while holding the horse stance under the corridor, Ye Fusheng had nothing better to do. He brought a bowl of hot ginger soup and stood guard nearby, sipping his soup while running his mouth: “Young Manor Lord, if you squat down just a bit more, it’ll be a perfectly executed ‘Wild Geese Alighting on Flat Sand’ stance.”

“…”

“Your lower foundation isn’t stable! Your calves are wobbling a bit. Are you shivering with ague?”

“…”

Just as he was having fun, Xue Chanyi walked over carrying a basin of water. Ye Fusheng immediately stood up straight. Peering through the flickering lamplight, he could only vaguely make out a patch of red in her hands. “This is…”

Startled by his voice, Xue Chanyi instinctively pulled the bronze basin closer to her side. Seeing that Xie Li still had his back turned to them, she instantly breathed a sigh of relief and hurried away.

Ye Fusheng squinted his eyes to look, but all he saw was a tightly shut door. That was the inner chamber where Xie Wuyi and the other two currently were, and Xue Chanyi had just carried a basin of bloody water out from there.

“Young Manor Lord, I’m going to go wash a bowl. Keep practicing!”

With that, without waiting for Xie Li to respond, Ye Fusheng tailed Xue Chanyi. He watched her avoid anyone else’s eyes and pour the entire basin of bloody water into a flowerbed. Then, she pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her hands dry, turned into the kitchen with an expressionless face, and picked up a food box, heading toward the back courtyard.

Duanshui Manor covered a vast area, but with its population now withered, many of the courtyards sat empty. Ye Fusheng downed a bowl of strong ginger soup and massaged his injured leg for a good while. Finally feeling somewhat recovered, he relied on his superior qinggong to follow Xue Chanyi through a series of twists and turns, eventually entering a small courtyard.

It was late autumn, the vegetation withered and dying. Combined with the windy, rainy night, the atmosphere felt exceptionally gloomy. However, although the courtyard was deserted, a candle was still burning brightly inside the room. The two people guarding the corridor were a manor guard and a rough-labor servant woman.

Upon seeing Xue Chanyi, they immediately bowed, but didn’t utter a single word. Xue Chanyi handed the food box to the servant woman and instructed, “The soup inside needs to be stewed for another half an shichen (hour). Once it’s ready, bring it over while it’s hot.”

The servant woman made a few gestures with her hands in sign language and respectfully took the box. Ye Fusheng, hiding up in a large tree, guessed that these two were likely mutes.

Xue Chanyi knocked on the door, and the sound of something smashing instantly rang out from within. Unbothered, she pushed the door open and casually shut it securely behind her.

Moving like a drifting willow catkin, Ye Fusheng instantly passed through the curtain of rain, silently slipping past the guards. He landed in a corner outside the room and carefully poked a small hole in the window paper.

The weather was damp and freezing, yet there was no fire basin inside the room. Even the lighting was limited to a single candle. Such a dim environment made it perfectly convenient for Ye Fusheng to spy.

Inside the room, the tables, chairs, and cabinets were all carved from sandalwood, and the curios and decorations were impeccably refined. Even Xie Li’s room didn’t boast such high-grade furnishings. However, sitting by the table, all of Xue Chanyi’s usual delicate arrogance had faded away, leaving nothing but an unruffled calm.

Her expression right now looked exactly like Xie Wuyi’s, only much more tragic and mournful, resembling an unwilling female ghost harboring deep grievances.

There was a person lying on the bed, and a shattered medicine bowl lay on the floor, its dark liquid and dregs splattered everywhere.

“Shizu (Grandmaster), you’re refusing your medicine again. If Shifu finds out, he’ll be worried.”

Xue Chanyi rested her chin on one hand, her bright eyes and white teeth looking like a painting. In the next moment, the person on the bed agitatedly tried to sit up, only to tumble off the bed. He accidentally cut his hand on the broken porcelain pieces, but could only force out a string of broken, wordless screeches from his throat.

This person was actually a mute as well. Ye Fusheng narrowed his eyes and saw that it was an old man nearing sixty, his hair completely white and his figure haggard and withered. If he were dressed in tattered rags, he would look even more pitiful than an old beggar on the street.

Yet, just a few years ago, Ye Fusheng had coincidentally seen the high-spirited, commanding presence of this very old man.

With a blade in hand, ten thousand men could not match him.

He was the previous Manor Lord of Duanshui Manor, Xie Wuyi’s biological father—Xie Chongshan.

“Aiya, you’re being so careless. If this startles Shifu, he’ll blame me for failing to look after you properly.” Xue Chanyi watched the old Manor Lord struggling on the floor, yet she actually smiled, her gaze bottomless and dark. “No, he hasn’t come here in almost a year, and right now his life is hanging in the balance. Why would he think of you?”

Xie Chongshan desperately waved his hands, but everything below his waist seemed rooted to the floor, completely paralyzed. Ye Fusheng’s heart jolted—this man was a cripple.

“I didn’t expect him to truly have the courage to accept the Duel for the Edge challenge letter. And I especially didn’t expect… that he would actually choose to pull the needles.”

Hearing this, the old man crawling wildly on the floor shuddered violently. He tremblingly raised a hand, pointing at Xue Chanyi with violent shakes.

“Don’t look at me like that. The choice you personally made back then—are you really unclear about what the outcome would be? The poison had seeped into his lungs and organs for years. Even scraping the bones couldn’t remove it. Only by changing his sinews and exchanging his blood could he have a silver lining of survival. But he… he actually chose to pull the needles.” Xue Chanyi muttered incessantly. Her cold expression gradually loosened, looking like she was both crying and laughing. “Three years! The neigong that was sealed away for three years breaking through its confinement… He’s dead for sure. He’s absolutely dead!”

Xie Chongshan babbled and grunted for a long time without managing to form a single word. Xue Chanyi seemed to have gone mad, repeatedly muttering the words “dead for sure.” The wildly fluctuating emotions on her face sent a chill down Ye Fusheng’s spine.

Thinking it over, he used the cover of the night and the rain to drift back to the front courtyard like a ghost. Xie Li was still holding his horse stance under the corridor.

Coincidentally, Chu Xiwei had just come out.

A piece of white cloth, about the width of a palm, was now tied over his eyes, exuding a bitter medicinal scent. His ears, however, were incredibly sharp. The moment Ye Fusheng popped his head out, Chu Xiwei turned sideways to face him: “Brother Ye.”

Ye Fusheng replied with perfect politeness, “Gongzi Chu.”

Both of them were sharp as foxes. Without another word, they abandoned the ignorant child in the corridor and walked shoulder-to-shoulder toward a quiet spot.

Chu Xiwei said, “Mister Sun thought I was getting in the way, so he kicked me out. I thought the long night would be lonely with no one to keep me company. I didn’t expect Brother Ye to return at such an opportune moment.”

Ye Fusheng rubbed his chin and kicked away a stone blocking Chu Xiwei’s path. “The servants in charge of sweeping this manor are slacking off. They should be punished.”

Hearing the movement, Chu Xiwei smiled. “Receiving Brother Ye’s assistance, I wonder how I should repay this kindness?”

“As for being called ‘Brother’ by the MenZhu of the Hundred Ghosts Sect, I’m afraid no one but King Yama himself could bear it. I am but a common mortal of flesh and blood; I truly dare not accept.” Ye Fusheng shrugged. “I have a question, though. I wonder if the MenZhu could clear up my doubts?”

Chu Xiwei was very quick on the uptake: “Regarding what Mister Sun is doing inside?”

Ye Fusheng gave a sound of agreement, and Chu Xiwei smiled. “At this point, there’s really nothing that can’t be said. I assume Brother Ye knows about the rumors in the Jianghu regarding Manor Lord Xie’s three years of silence?”

“If it wasn’t rumored that the tiger had lost its teeth, why would wild wolves come to pluck its whiskers?”

“What if it isn’t a rumor, but the truth?”

Ye Fusheng raised an eyebrow. “I am willing to hear the details.”

“Since Brother Ye knows my identity, naturally you have no doubts about Mister Sun either. Three years ago, he was invited by Duanshui Manor to treat Manor Lord Xie’s poisonous wounds. He discovered that Xie was afflicted by a bizarre poison and had also suffered severe injuries. To save his life, his wugong had to be crippled… Unfortunately, martial artists value their wugong even more than their own lives. Manor Lord Xie would rather die than become a cripple.

“In the end, Mister Sun had no choice but to take a step back. Using the method of sealing acupoints with golden needles, he trapped all the poison in his body within three major vital points. As long as the needles weren’t pulled within seven years, his life would be safe. However, these three major acupoints are critical pathways for neigong. Sealing them meant Manor Lord Xie lost eight-tenths of his internal energy. If he forcefully used his qi, he would suffer excruciating pain, making life worse than death.”

Ye Fusheng’s expression was calm, and Chu Xiwei continued speaking on his own: “A month ago, Burial Soul Palace sent a challenge letter to Duanshui Manor. Manor Lord Xie sent Miss Xue to our branch sect to seek the Ghost Physician again. The Ghost Physician originally intended to refuse. However, I have an interest in the Duanshui Dao, so I ordered him to accept the task—as long as Manor Lord Xie exchanged the Duanshui Dao for it, the Ghost Physician would act one more time.”

Ye Fusheng asked, “What couldn’t be done three years ago can be done now?”

Chu Xiwei smiled. “Precisely because it couldn’t be done three years ago, the Ghost Physician devoted himself to study and research over the past three years. He finally devised the method of ‘Changing Sinews and Exchanging Blood.’ Using neigong, the accumulated poison is guided into the strange meridians, then forced out by piercing the acupoints with golden needles. Finally, by choosing a blood relative to exchange blood with him, Manor Lord Xie could be restored to his former glory.”

“And what happens to the person who exchanges their blood?”

“The bizarre poison has been accumulating for a long time. The poisoned blood in Manor Lord Xie’s body has become a deeply rooted disease. The amount of blood required is naturally immense. That person will, nine times out of ten, die.” Chu Xiwei reached out to catch a few drops of freezing rainwater, muttering, “I originally thought he would choose this method. Yet, he actually asked to pull the needles… Removing the three golden needles sealing the bizarre poison, and supplementing it with medicine to completely restore his martial power within seven days, just like a normal person. But it will also drive the poison straight into his bone marrow. Even with life-prolonging medicines, it will only allow him to live for exactly seven days.”

So that was it.

So, that was it.

Ye Fusheng let out a long sigh. Hearing it, Chu Xiwei felt puzzled and asked, “What are your thoughts?”

“Every person has their own fate. What thoughts could I possibly have? It just satisfied a bit of my curiosity, so it doesn’t itch like a cat scratching at my heart anymore.” Ye Fusheng curled his lips. “Many thanks to MenZhu Chu for clearing my doubts. We’re even again… Eh, trading a kicked stumbling block for an answer—this is a deal that doesn’t lose out.”

“If you’re willing, we can continue making deals like this. After all, the Hundred Ghosts Sect never lacks for stumbling blocks, but there aren’t many who know where to step.”

Ye Fusheng replied, “Unfortunately, I have a chronic illness in my leg. I fear the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Chu Xiwei smiled. “Yet when you kicked that stone just now, you seemed quite relaxed.”

Ye Fusheng tilted his head. “With a beauty by my side, one naturally must be a bit more attentive.”

Chu Xiwei: “…”

Knowing when to stop, Ye Fusheng put away his teasing smile and asked seriously, “Does MenZhu Chu plan to wait seven days to observe the grand spectacle of the Duel for the Edge Assembly?”

“I have no interest in an outcome that can already be guessed. Since the transaction is complete, once Mister Sun finishes removing the needles, we should leave. I wonder what Brother Ye’s plans are?”

“Entrusted by others, loyal to the matter. I accepted an ingot of silver from Miss Xue. Naturally, I have to ensure the Young Manor Lord survives these seven days with all his arms and legs intact.”

“Then… we shall meet again if fate permits.”

Reaching the end of the long corridor, the area was brightly lit. Unfortunately, one of them was blind in the light, and the other was blindfolded. The two shared a faint smile, offered a high-five, and brushed past each other.

The two hands touched for less than a moment before swiftly pulling away.

The moment Chu Xiwei turned his back to Ye Fusheng, the smile on his face completely vanished. His lips pressed together into the shape of a blade’s edge, incredibly sharp and harsh.

Ye Fusheng was very much like that person—whether it was the tone of his voice that made one’s teeth itch with irritation, or the teasing remarks that would slip out every now and then.

If this were a month ago, he definitely wouldn’t have parted ways with Ye Fusheng so cleanly and decisively.

But he had already been to Jinghan Pass. He had seen the mountain walls riddled with countless holes. He had seen the lonely grave standing beneath the withered tree, and he had seen the nameless tombstone.

He had even dug up the grave with his own hands, looking at the pale ashes inside the box.

The person who seemed so tall and grand in his childhood—after death, there wasn’t even enough of him to fill two cupped hands.

That person was dead. No matter how many similar people he met, it would never be him.

Chu Xiwei suddenly felt somewhat grateful that he couldn’t see right now. Otherwise, he would definitely turn his head to look back.

If he turned his head for the sake of someone similar, it would be the greatest insult to that person.

Ye Fusheng—a floating life is like a leaf, and a person’s death is like a lamp extinguishing…

The dead have passed away. That is all there is to it.

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