SS CH11

That night, Duanshui Manor remained brightly lit until morning. It was not until the hour of the Mao (5:00 AM–7:00 AM) that Sun Minfeng finally pushed open the door. His plain robes were splattered with bloodstains, leaving him looking utterly disheveled.

Ye Fusheng held a hand up to block out the morning light, teasingly remarking, “My, did you go in there to heal a patient or slaughter someone?”

“Slaughter a pig!” Exhausted to his limit, Sun Minfeng sneered back, pushing past the crowd waiting outside in annoyance. “I’ve done everything I can, so don’t any of you bother me now!”

With that, he bumped straight into Chu Xiwei, leaning against his master’s back like he had no bones left, instantly falling fast asleep and snoring.

Chu Xiwei handed him off to a subordinate standing behind him, offering an apologetic smile: “In that case, we shall take our leave.”

Xue Chanyi quickly handled various arrangements, settling everyone in their respective places before leading Xie Li to open the door and step carefully inside.

Ye Fusheng possessed enough self-awareness to remain outside. He caught the faint whiff of a thick medicinal aroma mixed with a heavy metallic scent of blood. Xie Wuyi’s voice carried through the door panels, sounding rather weak, yet his spirits seemed remarkably high.

It was impossible to tell what was being said, but moments later, Xue Chanyi and Xie Li emerged. The young boy’s eyes were slightly red, sniffling every now and then.

Ye Fusheng rubbed his sore, weary eyes and was just about to lead the Young Manor Lord back for a nap when Xue Chanyi called out to stop him: “Ye Fusheng, my shifu wants to see you.”

Her brows twitched as she spoke, her face filled with complete perplexity. She could not fathom what connection a wanderer newly arrived in these parts could possibly have with the Lord of Duanshui Manor. She winked her bright eyes at him, gesturing for him to come clean and confess.

Who knew this half-blind man would pick this exact moment to act up? He completely ignored her meaningful glances and casually pushed open the door, stepping inside and leaving the pair staring blankly outside.

Stepping into the room, the medicinal aroma grew even thicker. Fortunately, only a single candle burned inside, the dim glow allowing his eyes to quickly adapt. The bed stood empty, but steam drifted up from behind a privacy screen.

A low, raspy voice sounded from behind the screen: “Come here.”

Hesitating for a second, Ye Fusheng walked over. Xie Wuyi was submerged up to his chest in a large bath barrel carved from yellow rosewood, filled with dark brown liquid that emitted a potent medicinal stench.

His lips were split and broken—likely from biting down on them to endure the unbearable agony when the needles were pulled—with a trace of residual blood clinging to his skin.

The moment Ye Fusheng reached his side, Xie Wuyi opened his eyes and said, “Add some hot water for me.”

“Did the Manor Lord call me in just to use me as an errand boy?” Ye Fusheng chuckled, lifting the kettle to pour a stream of scalding, dark brown liquid into the barrel. Yet Xie Wuyi did not seem to feel the heat at all, his expression unshifting.

This was only Ye Fusheng’s third time meeting him. He knew Manor Lord Xie’s temperament was not the refined and gentle persona described in rumors, but rather sharp and formidable, proving how unreliable rumors could be. Yet right now, Xie Wuyi resembled a famous blade returned to its sheath, all sharp edges withdrawn, giving Ye Fusheng a sudden illusion.

An illusion of looking through Xie Wuyi and seeing another person entirely.

In that brief moment of distraction, Xie Wuyi’s hand shot out of the water like lightning, instantly clapping down on his wrist pulse point. After feeling his pulse for a moment, he said, “Your internal energy cultivation does not originate from my Duanshui Manor.”

Ye Fusheng put on an innocent face: “I never was a member of Duanshui Manor to begin with.”

“Is Ye Fusheng your real name?”

“It is now.”

“Before this, I suspected you were lying. Now…” Xie Wuyi let out an ambiguous chuckle. “How did he die?”

Ye Fusheng asked, “Who is this ‘he’ you speak of?”

At those words, Xie Wuyi’s grip tightened, his three fingers pressing into Ye Fusheng’s wrist so hard they nearly dug into his flesh. Knowing better than to suffer immediate harm, Ye Fusheng instantly corrected himself: “Ah, you mean the person who gave me that jade pendant.”

Xie Wuyi repeated, “How did he die?”

“Pierced by a thousand arrows. It was quite gruesome.”

Xie Wuyi froze for a moment, giving Ye Fusheng the opportunity to slide his wrist back out of his grip. “He died beyond the border pass, his bones buried in a desolate mountain wilderness. If the Manor Lord wishes to seek revenge, you may abandon that thought.”

“Revenge… Heh.” Xie Wuyi curled the corner of his lips. “He… what did you call him?”

Ye Fusheng smiled: “Where we come from, no one has a name. It wasn’t until death approached that he entrusted that jade pendant to me. Only when I saw the character carved on it did I realize he used to bear the surname Xie… Tsk, he really shared quite a bit of fate with you, Manor Lord. Perhaps five hundred years ago, you were part of the same family.”

Xie Wuyi asked, “Do you want to know what his name was?”

Setting down the kettle, Ye Fusheng said, “Please enlighten me.”

Xie Wuyi answered, “His name was Xie Min, courtesy name Wuyi.”

The room fell into a terrifying silence.

After a long pause, Ye Fusheng uttered a confused “Huh?”, looking troubled. “That answer leaves me quite bewildered, Manor Lord. The Number One Blade Under Heaven stands renowned across the Jianghu, and your great name is known to all. Could he really have had the audacity to impersonate you? Ah, if that were truly the case, I suppose I should be glad he died beyond the border; otherwise, being sliced in two by the Duanshui blade would have been even more pitiable.”

Xie Wuyi sneered, “How do you know the one dying under the blade would have been him?”

Ye Fusheng replied slowly, “Because the tendons in his right hand were severed. On this point… shouldn’t the Manor Lord be clearer than anyone else?”

“Then do you want to know why I severed his wrist tendons?” Xie Wuyi raised his eyes. “First, tell me who you really are. What was your relationship to him? Where did he drag out his lingering existence these past three years?”

Ye Fusheng answered smoothly without hesitation: “He and I were both wretched wanderers at the edge of the world, sharing a bond forged through surviving life-and-death trials together. Unfortunately, neither of us possessed names or lineage, so we could only earn a bite to eat by doing shady work behind the scenes for others.”

Xie Wuyi stared at him, mulling over these nonsensical words for a long moment. Suddenly, his body moved; his left hand gripped the edge of the barrel, his knuckles emitting a faint creaking sound.

Across the vast mountains, rivers, and seas, wherever people gathered, there was a Jianghu. With so many eyes and ears in the secular world, how could a person erase every single trace of their existence so thoroughly, leaving not a single ripple behind?

Unless… all beneath heaven belongs to the Emperor.

“Heh, so he became an imperial shadow guard. He certainly had skills…” Xie Wuyi smiled mockingly. “Though you have even greater skills than him. As the saying goes, ‘Entering the halls of court is as deep as the sea; one leaves only through death or ruin.’ He died because of it, yet you managed to come out alive.”

“The imperial net is vast, but there are always oversights. I merely got lucky.”

“Since I said you have skill, there is no need to be modest. Do you think I praise people easily?” Xie Wuyi’s expression turned icy cold. “However, a shadow guard remains a shadow guard, unable to change their nature of eavesdropping and prying… Using Chanyi to sneak into the manor, then taking advantage of the chaos to trespass into the forbidden grounds of Wanghaichao with A-Li—what is your true objective as an outsider meddling so deeply?”

Ye Fusheng let out a sigh: “Why must someone helping out of goodwill always be suspected of harboring ulterior motives?”

“Treating good intentions as foul intent is still far better than taking a blade to the back.”

Ye Fusheng offered comforting words: “Once bitten by a snake, twice shy of a rope. Your sentiment is entirely understandable, Manor Lord.”

“So you really did meet Rong Cui,” Xie Wuyi sneered cold. “What did she say to you?”

Ye Fusheng wore a weary expression: “I originally thought this Manor Lord’s wife, who was supposed to have passed away two years ago, would discuss some bizarre tale of a spirit returning in another body. Regrettably, it seems women naturally love gossip and domestic affairs, so she ended up forcing an earful of grievances and grudges onto me instead.”

“What grievances and grudges?”

“The grace of raising a child, the resentment of abandonment, the affection shared through hardship, and a life-and-death vendetta.” Ye Fusheng stepped back two paces and spread his hands. “If the Manor Lord is interested, please allow me to recount it slowly.”

Xie Wuyi let out an ambiguous smile.

“Roughly thirty years ago, a senior martial artist of the Jianghu was in the prime of his youth. Not only was his martial arts prowess admired by all, but he also married the drop-dead gorgeous female poison master of the Western Regions, making him the envy of everyone. Unfortunately, the poison master had spent years immersed in toxic arts, damaging her constitution, leaving her unable to bear children three years into the marriage. Believing that ‘there are three ways to be unfilial, and having no heir is the worst,’ that senior began frequenting pleasure boats and brothels. He not only carried on an ambiguous affair with a famous courtesan of the time, but also got her pregnant before his lawful wife, reaching six months of pregnancy. Heh, people of the Jianghu value reputation above all, while the poison master was proud and arrogant. Predictably, the backyard caught fire, causing a massive uproar, didn’t it?”

As he spoke, he glanced at Xie Wuyi, who reached out his slender arm to retrieve the outer robe placed to the side.

“The poison master disdained to kill a defenseless woman, but she refused to let the courtesan who seduced her husband off easily either. She splashed a cup of poisoned tea onto her face, turning a beauty into a scarred demon. Her husband was both ashamed and enraged, but just as he was about to strike his wife in punishment, he received the shocking news that his wife had also become pregnant. He swallowed his anger, using soft words and gentle affection to finally coax the poison master into dropping the matter. The couple reconciled, leaving the courtesan near her time of delivery unattended—after all, how could a wild child born from a low-born woman compare to a legitimate heir?” Ye Fusheng shook his head. “Unfortunately, perhaps karma truly exists under heaven. The poison master ruined the courtesan’s appearance, effectively destroying half her life, yet she met no good end herself either. To win that breath of pride, she had consumed forbidden drugs that drained her foundation just to conceive, but the toxins within her body transferred to the unborn child through their shared blood and flesh. Her child was born with a strange ailment; despite possessing exceptional martial talent, odd red marks broke out across his body. As the years passed, the marks multiplied and deepened in color. By the age of seven, the skin over the darkest areas began to rot. Diagnosing him herself, the poison master discovered her own son was deeply afflicted by toxic disease, destined to rot entirely and die within two or three years.”

Xie Wuyi slowly stood up, pulling the outer robe draped over the screen around his shoulders. His internal energy instantly dried the water droplets on his body, his long hair falling loose behind his back.

“Seeing the long-awaited heir turn out like this, the senior could not accept it at all. In his shock and rage, he fought fiercely with the poison master. Ultimately, in her fury, she took her son and left home, returning to the Western Regions to find a way to save her child.”

Xie Wuyi tied his belt and picked up a hair ribbon embroidered with begonia flowers, slowly tying up his hair. He bound his long hair high, causing the last trace of sickness on his face to fade, replaced by a domineering presence.

Looking at such a person, one felt like an ant gazing up at a towering tree; yet if he were to glance at you, he would treat you like the most insignificant dust in the dirt.

Yet Ye Fusheng was still smiling, his smile as warm as a spring breeze, sweeping away the surrounding mist.

He continued: “After returning to the Western Regions, the poison master hid her identity and immersed herself daily in poison arts. Fearing her son would feel lonely and sad due to his past enemies, she bought a girl three years older than him to serve as his servant and companion. The girl was cute and pleasant, treating him like a true sibling. She risked her life several times to protect him, even losing half a finger to a wild wolf to save him once. Grateful for her sacrifice and unable to bear seeing her remain a servant, the boy begged his mother to take her as a disciple to teach her poison arts and martial arts. Seeing her eyebrows arched like distant green mountains, he named her ‘Rong Cui.’ A year later, the poison master discovered a toxic herb called ‘Hundred-Day Poppy,’ using poison against poison to suppress the toxins in his body. Unfortunately, after succeeding, she lost all her martial arts due to testing poisons on herself. In the end, former enemies tracked her down, chopped her into minced meat, and fed her to livestock. The two children could only secretly gather her remaining bones, hiding their identities as they wandered through the cities of the Western Regions, practicing martial arts while enduring a life of displacement.”

Draping the outer robe over himself, Xie Wuyi picked up the Duanshui blade from the rack, slowly drawing it from its sheath and gently wiping it with a cotton cloth.

“Time flew by. The girl grew into a beautiful woman, while the boy became a sixteen-year-old youth. Unfortunately, because his body was covered in scars from toxic sores, he kept himself wrapped tightly year-round, leaving only his face exposed to pretend to be an elegant gentleman. Naturally brilliant since childhood, the youth had memorized his family’s inherited blade manual by heart. Though he lacked formal guidance, he discerned its principles, creating a blade style of his own. Over the next five years of revenge and challenges, he gradually perfected this style—thirteen forms in total—becoming virtually matchless across the Western Regions. Many asked for his name, prompting him to remember that when he left home at seven, aside from his mother, only one thing had truly belonged to him: the name his father had chosen for him before his birth—’A gentleman is like jade, his name shall be Min.’ ” Ye Fusheng smiled slightly. “He said his name was Xie Min, a reputation that quickly spread from the Western Regions into the Central Plains. When mother and son left home years ago, his father had publicly claimed they went to the Western Regions to cultivate for the sake of reputation, so old acquaintances praised him for having a worthy successor upon hearing the news. His father, absent for nine years, finally sent a letter inquiring about his experiences and urging him to return home swiftly.”

Ye Fusheng glanced at Xie Wuyi, watching him unhurriedly set down the cotton cloth, his fingers tightening around the hilt of the blade.

“Thinking his mother’s final wish was to be buried in the ancestral tomb, and wanting to demand an explanation for his years of displacement, he brought Rong Cui back to his hometown. The martial arts heroes of the Central Plains sang his praises, and the father he hadn’t seen in nine years even rode out personally on horseback to welcome him home. Reunited, blood proved thicker than water; even deep grievances could be set aside temporarily. They shared wine and conversation, with the senior expressing remorse and promising to make amends… Yet after several rounds of drinks, he saw the hideous scars exposed on his son’s arms.” Ye Fusheng took a deep breath. “Though his toxins were suppressed, there was no telling when they might flare up again. His life hung by a thread, and with deep-rooted ailments racking his body, no matter how extraordinary his martial arts were, he could never fulfill the duty of carrying on the family line. How pitiable, how unfortunate?”

Xie Wuyi stood up, curling his lips into a smile at Ye Fusheng.

“And so, after night fell, the senior led him into the family’s forbidden grounds. Inside that sunless secret chamber, he saw a person—someone of similar age and appearance to himself. The moment he saw this person, he was struck dumb with shock. And in that split second, his father, standing right beside him, suddenly struck, knocking him unconscious…”

Before the words fully left his mouth, Ye Fusheng felt his vision blur. Xie Wuyi was already right before him, the Duanshui blade slashing down diagonally from above with the force of a roaring waterfall, shattering stone and rending cliffs!

It was the very same move Xie Li had used—”Feiliu.”

The same move and the same blade, yet executed by different people, proved as different as heaven and earth.

No one could see how fast this slash was; even if one saw it clearly, dodging it was nearly impossible.

Ye Fusheng did not dodge. His left hand moved up along the momentum; before even touching the edge of the blade, his skin was sliced with fine cuts by the invisible blade qi. Yet that hand was like a lady in a red pavilion delicately plucking a flower—his fingertips lightly brushed over the blade as his wrist flipped. Blood flowed from his wound down to his thumb joint, yet the sharp edge was caught right between his fingers, stopping a hair’s breadth from his neck and shoulder.

Ye Fusheng met Xie Wuyi’s eyes, continuing smoothly: “Before he lost consciousness, he only heard his father say one sentence to that man—’From this day forth, you are Xie Min.’ “