SS CH32

The most grueling road Gu Xiao had traveled in all his sixteen years was this journey back to Jinshui Town with Chu Xun.

The assassins from the Soul Burial Palace were seemingly endless. After escaping death several times, even with Gu Xiao’s exceptional martial prowess and bold temperament, he had practically become a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. At night, even the sound of a slightly louder gust of wind was enough to jolt him awake.

It had taken him only two days to get there, but five days to return. Those assassins were utterly omnipresent; even passing a slightly larger old tree by the roadside risked a sudden net of heaven and earth dropping down upon you.

Having seized a blade from a dead man, Gu Xiao spent the entire journey playing a deadly game of hide-and-seek with Chu Xun. He dug up every trick he had used to dodge trouble and disasters during his childhood, yet they were still pursued relentlessly. Over the course of those five days, Chu Xun sustained new injuries, and Gu Xiao was pushed to the absolute brink of exhaustion.

He had never been more grateful for the relentless, unyielding training his master and master’s wife had drilled into him over the years, nor had he ever felt his own limitations so profoundly.

All his past playful arrogance and dismissive attitude were thoroughly trampled underfoot by his own realization. Like a piece of dry cotton dropped in water, he desperately absorbed every ounce of practical experience from his opponents, forcing himself to grow rapidly in the shortest possible time. He learned not to rely solely on raw force when facing a crisis, but to seize any given opportunity to spot a weakness and break through.

By the time he finally shook off their pursuers temporarily and brought Chu Xun back to Jinshui Town, it was already dusk five days later.

Exhausted to the bone, Gu Xiao still dared not let down his guard. His entire body was taut as a stretched bowstring, wary of every single person brushing past him. Instead of taking Chu Xun directly to the inn, he looped through the town for most of the night. Only after confirming that no suspicious shadows were following them did he change his attire and lead Chu Xun to find Chu Yao.

After inquiring with the innkeeper, he learned that nothing unusual had happened over the past few days, save for a sword-bearing woman who had arrived three days ago and had been staying in the inn ever since.

Gu Xiao let out a sigh of relief. He led Chu Xun upstairs and walked to the room marked with his symbol, where the faint glow of candlelight was visible from within.

Knocking on the door, he forced a smile and mimicked the tone of an inn waiter: “Freshly brewed Apricot Blossom Wine, paired with sugar-preserved plums. Would the guest care for some?”

With a sharp click, the door swung open. A slender, elegant hand shot out like a bolt of lightning, accurately pinching Gu Xiao by the ear. With the sheer force of a bandit and the unruly aura of a rogue, she dragged him into the room and slammed him face-down onto the table with a single hand.

Outside the door, Chu Xun was startled out of his wits, standing frozen like a wooden block.

“You outside, what are you gaping at? Get in!” The one who spoke was a woman clad in dark crimson robes. His hair was bound high in a bun, adorned with nothing but a sleek ebony hairpin. One of her hands held a pitch-black long knife, while the other gripped Gu Xiao’s collar. Her left leg was hoisted up, resting flat on a stool. A single glance from her was sharper and more intimidating than any imperial guard Chu Xun had ever seen.

Chu Xun hesitated for a moment, but seeing the look Gu Xiao shot him, he obediently slipped inside and shut the door behind him.

Only upon entering did he notice a small mound huddled beneath the bedsheets, revealing only a tuft of dark hair. It was Chu Yao, currently sleeping like a log.

Having braved the wilderness and lived in constant terror, the elder brother finally let out a sigh of relief upon seeing his young cousin’s innocent, carefree sleeping posture. Turning his head, he saw the woman ignoring him entirely, instead gripping Gu Xiao to deliver a stern lecture: “Splendid lad, your courage has grown fat indeed! There is nothing you dare not stick your nose into!”

Gu Xiao’s ears burned with such pain that tears welled up in his eyes: “Ouch, ouch, ouch! Master, don’t—don’t pull my ear! It’s going to rip off!”

“An disobedient ear is useless anyway. I might as well slice it off to pair with my wine,” Gu Qifang sneered. However, she loosened her grip and cast an unreadable, slight smirk toward the two brats—one standing, one lying down.

Gu Xiao scrambled three feet away instantly, rubbing his bright red ear while hissing and grimacing in pain: “Saving a life is better than building a seven-storied pagoda! Shiniang taught me that! Was I wrong?”

“He certainly didn’t teach you to overestimate your own capabilities,” Gu Qifang said, grabbing the wine flask from the table to take a swig. She slammed the flask down with a thunderous clatter, instantly plunging the room into a deathly silence.

“As the old saying goes, ‘The Jianghu and the Imperial Court do not mix; their waters run separate and distinct.’ Have you completely forgotten the rules after being down the mountain for a mere half year?” She fished the letter out from her robes, flattening it onto the table before shattering it to powder with a burst of internal energy. Her gaze looked as though she wanted to chew Gu Xiao to pieces. “If you have the guts to do it, don’t wimp out now! Was the courage for your actions conjured up by packing fat into your dantian?”

Seeing his master—who usually laughed and cursed without any pretense—truly furious, Gu Xiao dared not utter a single word. He stood silently as Gu Qifang chewed him out thoroughly in front of the two children. It felt as though his master had diluted two drops of ink with water into two massive vats, spraying them out along with her saliva. Every single word was a profound truth that struck his ears like thunder, leaving him unable to even raise his head. This long, uninterrupted string of reprimands entered Gu Xiao’s left ear and exited his right, filtering down to two core points: first, he had acted recklessly and beyond his abilities; second, he had disturbed her retirement with Shiniang, which was truly an act of filial rebellion.

Only after Gu Qifang ransacked her vocabulary and spat out the very last syllable did she gesture with her eyes for him to stand in the corner. She turned her gaze toward Chu Xun and Chu Yao.

It was only then that Chu Xun realized Chu Yao wasn’t merely asleep, but had his sleeping acupoint struck. He quietly unblocked the acupoint, fully expecting his delicate cousin to throw a tantrum upon waking. To his surprise, before Chu Yao could even open his eyes, he caught the escalating roar of Gu Qifang’s scolding. The boy had masterfully intuited the Turtle Breathing Technique out of nowhere, remaining entirely motionless as if he were dead to the world.

Chu Xun: “…”

Gu Qifang let out a cold huff: “Since you’re awake, stop playing dead. The children of the imperial family possess this sort of demeanor? Truly a case of a weasel giving birth to mice—each generation worse than the last!”

The two brothers were stunned rigid on the spot by this bold, audacious commoner. Gu Xiao stopped facing the wall, turning his head in shock: “Master, you know who they are?”

Gu Qifang looked at Chu Yao with a mock-tender expression, her smile not reaching her eyes: “I am a ferocious female bandit, after all. If he didn’t tell the truth, I was going to gouge his heart and liver out to eat.”

Chu Yao finally couldn’t hold it in any longer, bursting into a loud, wailing sob.

Chu Xun: “…”

Remembering his own casual fabrication back then, Gu Xiao felt that as a rebellious disciple who had slandered his master, he was likely about to be purged from the sect.

Whether Gu Qifang possessed courage that defied the heavens or simply as a rustic martial artist held the imperial family in absolute disregard, she hooked her fingers. While Chu Xun stood frozen, Chu Yao scrambled out of bed with alacrity. Moving his rolling, plump pace, he ran over and submissively hugged her calf.

She casually pinched a handful of soft flesh on the child’s cheek before gesturing for Gu Xiao to come over and explain the full sequence of events. After listening to the whole story, she asked, “So, you plan to make another trip to Yuzhou?”

Gu Xiao froze, nodding his head instinctively. Before his nod could fully land, Gu Qifang smacked him so hard his head tilted, instantly giving him a stiff neck.

Master must be experiencing those uncomfortable days of the month! Her temper is absolutely atrocious!

Gu Qifang poured herself a full cup of wine, asking in a slow, casual tone, “Young and promising Hero Gu, do you believe your martial arts are peerless and unrivaled under heaven? Do you think you can take on a hundred men alone, punching the Soul Burial Palace and kicking the heroes of all eight directions?”

Gu Xiao was stunned. He wanted to argue a few points, but Gu Qifang continued as if reading his mind: “You think that because a blind cat ran into a dead rat, allowing you to bring someone back from the Yanhui River to Jinshui Town without any mishaps, that it counts as an incredible feat? Do you think if a few more waves come, you can just follow the same formula to deal with them?”

Gu Xiao choked on his words, saying, “Master, if you ferry a Buddha, you must ferry him all the way to the West. I can’t just abandon them like this, can I? If something goes wrong later, not only will all previous efforts be wasted, but I’ll also be a criminal condemned for eternity.”

Gu Qifang slowly drained her wine, lifting her eyelids to look at him: “Where did you get such a thick face?”

Gu Xiao: “…”

“Gu Xiao, who do you think you are?” She set down the wine cup. When she wasn’t smiling, her plain countenance lost all vividness, turning as stiff and dead as a coffin board, pressing down on people until they could barely breathe.

She stared quietly at Gu Xiao, her sharp, distinct eyes stripped of all humor and gentleness, turning as piercing and cold as a blade. Her mouth, which usually cracked jokes and spoke crudely, was now delivering cold words one by one. There was no mockery in her voice, only a strange sense of absolute certainty.

Gu Xiao’s body trembled involuntarily. He clenched his hands into fists, wanting to call out to his master, yet he found himself entirely at a loss for how to even open his mouth.

He murmured, “Was I wrong?”

Gu Qifang smiled, neither confirming nor denying it. She patted Gu Xiao’s shoulder with a moderate force and said, “Let’s leave the question of right and wrong aside for now. Let’s talk about you. Do you truly believe that because you’ve gained some perspective over this half-year down the mountain, and rolled through a few rounds of life, death, victory, and defeat, that you are genuinely capable of fearing no great storm?”

Gu Xiao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

“Heh, at least you aren’t completely beyond saving.” Gu Qifang looked deeply at him. “Xiao’er, tell me. While you were fleeing for your lives along the way with him, what occupied your mind the most?”

This question made Chu Xun hold his breath. Though Chu Yao didn’t entirely understand, he was frightened by the heavy atmosphere, not daring to interject as he obediently hugged Gu Qifang’s leg.

After a long pause, Gu Xiao finally spoke: “I was thinking… what if I fail? What should I do?”

“Exactly. What if you fail? What are you going to do?” Gu Qifang smiled, her expression laced with sharp irony. “You aren’t even seventeen this year. You haven’t established a family or a career. If you fail, it’s nothing more than losing a single life; apart from me and your Shiniang, no one else will mourn you. But… what about these two children? If the children of the imperial family fall into enemy hands, what will happen to the military and civilians of the north?”

Her tone was rare in its severity. As Gu Xiao listened to her break it down piece by piece, all the fear he had forcefully suppressed came rushing back, leaving his limbs ice-cold.

“You believe that shouldering the heavy matters of the state on your own is acting righteously, that it is boundless chivalry! But have you ever considered whether this frame of yours is made of copper and iron? Can it bear such burdens? Where on earth did you get such immense confidence to think you could remain unhindered by wind and rain?” Gu Qifang said in a frigid voice, “Gu Xiao, right now, you are merely a child just a few years older than them!”

Gu Xiao’s heart stalled. His nearly bewildered and helpless gaze swept over Chu Xun and Chu Yao one by one. For a moment, he found himself utterly speechless.

Seeing that this little brat had finally suppressed his reckless bravado, Gu Qifang thoroughly let out a sigh of relief.

Maintaining a heart of righteousness is a given for how one conducts oneself in the world. However, if one lacks the capability to bear the consequences, it amounts to nothing more than squandering opportunities, harming both oneself and others.

Chivalry is not a reckless gamble fueled solely by bravdo; it is a meticulous exercise of walking on thin ice, draining one’s heart and soul.

She had learned of Gu Xiao’s recent deeds from Chu Yao, and from their meeting today, she discerned the mixture of tension and excitement lingering in his eyes. She was both gratified by her disciple’s growth and worried about the excessive pride brewing within him.

Though Gu Qifang was a woman, she had done and witnessed a great deal throughout her life.

In this world, three types of people die the fastest: those who do not recognize the reality of a situation, those who do not know when to advance or retreat, and those who overestimate their own abilities.

Gu Xiao was the successor she had raised with half a lifetime of effort. He possessed an excellent foundation in martial arts and a temperament that mirrored her own early years. Precisely because of this, she could not allow him to fall into the very same pits she had once stumbled into.

Seeing that Gu Xiao had taken her words to heart, shifting away those restless impulses, Gu Qifang finally asked, “Do you know your mistake?”

Gu Xiao gathered the hem of his robe, knelt on both knees, and respectfully bowed his head to the floor: “Your disciple knows his mistake. Thank you, Master, for your guidance.”

As his words fell, Gu Qifang smiled. This smile was no longer cold and severe; it was like the initial thawing of a frozen river, revealing a gentle, flowing current that caused Chu Xun and Chu Yao to let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Since you know your mistake, return and accept your punishment,” Gu Qifang’s fingers tapped against the table. “Practice ten thousand sword swings every day, and copy books for your Shiniang when night falls. He is waiting for you at home.”

Gu Xiao raised no objection, only asking, “Then what about the two of them…”

Gu Qifang’s gaze drifted over the two children, her features adopting a gravity that hadn’t been seen in a very long time: “Tomorrow at dawn, I will personally escort them there.”