SS CH82

Ye Fusheng stared into the mirror, deep in thought for over half an hour.

He was not a vain young lady or a new bride. He always felt an indescribable awkwardness regarding the act of admiring himself in a mirror. Yet, standing before the bronze mirror right now, not only had he not moved, he hadn’t even blinked.

He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, and his hair was as messy as a grass nest that had been dug through by cats and dogs. However, since Ye Fusheng wasn’t exactly a well-behaved sleeper, that was nothing to mention. Except…

His lips were far too red, and the corners were broken, looking slightly swollen.

As a veteran who had passed through tens of thousands of flowers without a single leaf sticking to him, he had frequented brothels and pleasure boats more times than he could count. Although it was mostly just acting for the occasion, even if he hadn’t eaten pork, he had seen pigs run. Looking at this appearance, Ye Fusheng wasn’t foolish enough to simply assume he had been bitten by a mosquito.

Resting his chin on his hand, his expression became incredibly profound.

After talking with Senior Shen last night, he paced around the Fuxue Courtyard before running over to A-Yao’s adjacent courtyard to drink. And then…

Before Ye Fusheng could manage to piece together his chaotic memories, a familiar female voice rang out from outside the courtyard, yelling and screaming loudly enough to disturb the entire neighborhood: “Uncle! Uncle!”

His train of thought interrupted, Ye Fusheng rolled his eyes and pushed the door open. He heard the Eldest Miss Qin banging on the courtyard door with loud thumps, yet when he glanced sideways at the master bedroom, Chu Xiwei didn’t emerge for a long while, nor did he even utter a word of reprimand.

Although the kid used to try every trick in the book to slack off when Ye Fusheng taught him qinggong back in the day, times were different now. Miss Qin was about to tear down his courtyard gate; it made no sense for Chu Xiwei to remain silent.

Ye Fusheng frowned. Instead of opening the gate for the Eldest Miss first, he stopped in front of Chu Xiwei’s door. Just as he raised his hand to knock, he suddenly felt a wave of inexplicable stage fright.

His hand freezing in mid-air, Ye Fusheng’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. He thought to himself: Strange. What am I so nervous about?

Thinking of this, he slapped his hand flat against the door and called out, “A-Yao, the sun is already roasting your backside. Are you still hiding under the covers acting as a live-in son-in-law for old Master Zhou?”

Not a single sound came from the room, politely feeding him a closed door.

Mustering his patience, Ye Fusheng adopted the nagging tone of an old auntie trying to persuade a student to study. “As the saying goes, ‘a year’s plan starts with spring, a day’s plan starts with morning.’ You’ve nearly slept until the sun is three poles high…”

He nagged for a long time, but the room remained utterly silent. Sighing, Ye Fusheng pushed the door open.

He didn’t go in, merely casting a cursory glance inside, immediately realizing the room was empty.

Where did Chu Xiwei go?

Rubbing his chin, Ye Fusheng heard the groaning sound of an overwhelmed door behind him—Qin Lanshang had kicked the courtyard gate open and was marching in with fiery haste.

“Uncle, I…”

Seeing Ye Fusheng, her expression looked as if she had seen a ghost. “Why are you here?”

Leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, Ye Fusheng raised an eyebrow. “Is there a sign here that reads ‘Ye Fusheng is forbidden to enter’?”

Dumbfounded, Qin Lanshang’s gaze lingered on his lips. Her words stumbled out incoherently: “You, you, you… he, he, he… you two… last night… here… the whole night?”

Ye Fusheng let out a long sigh and said, “Girl, letting your imagination run wild too much will turn you into an old, yellow-faced woman prematurely. Pay attention.”

Qin Lanshang: “…”

“What were you smashing the door down for?” Ye Fusheng stood up straight. “Your uncle has gone off wandering somewhere unknown. Is it urgent?”

Qin Lanshang hesitated for a moment. “I… want to ask him for a token.”

Ye Fusheng glanced at the cloth-wrapped Suolong Spear on her back. A thought clicked into place. “Scholar Lu is leaving? You want to go with him?”

“I thought about it all night in front of Grandmother’s spirit tablet, and I feel I should go.” Qin Lanshang exhaled heavily. “So what if I’m a girl? So what if I’m young? After all, I am still a descendant of the Qin family.”

“Aren’t you afraid of the danger?” Ye Fusheng chuckled lightly. “You nearly lost your little life out there this time.”

“I am afraid, but I don’t regret making the trip.” Though lingering fear remained in her eyes, her tone was unwavering. “Cowering in the four corners of a courtyard will only turn me into a fool who doesn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth. I don’t want that.”

Ye Fusheng looked at her for a moment and said, “Then go.”

Qin Lanshang froze. “But the token…”

“You were shouting and screaming for so long. It’s impossible for Senior Shen not to know, yet he didn’t send anyone to stop you, which means he’s tacitly consenting.” Ye Fusheng smiled. “As for A-Yao, don’t mind his cold face; he’s actually very soft-hearted. If you’re really afraid he’ll scold you, I’ll put in a good word for you later.”

Overjoyed, Qin Lanshang didn’t even have the chance to thank him before she saw Ye Fusheng hold up two fingers. “However, you must agree to three conditions.”

“Name them!”

“First, you may not act recklessly or casually stir up trouble. Second, you may not play the foolish hero and treat your life lightly. As for the third…” Ye Fusheng paused, speaking with earnest sincerity. “You’re still young. Wait until you’ve come of age to think about marriage, or else A-Yao is going to break that silly scholar’s legs.”

“…” Qin Lanshang flushed bright red. “What nonsense are you spouting?!” Spitting in mock disgust, she kicked Ye Fusheng in the calf, turned around, and bolted.

Everyone experiences the budding feelings of youth, especially young boys and girls of this age. Although Ye Fusheng had made a joke, it wasn’t baseless. Based on this reaction alone, he was almost certain that Lu Mingyuan would inevitably suffer a severe beating from Chu Xiwei in the future. Who knew, maybe Shen Wuduan and Sun Minfeng would even join in to make it a three-man table.

Rubbing his nose, Ye Fusheng walked out of the Liufeng Residence.

Although a night of drunken sleep had calmed his chaotic thoughts, he still didn’t dare return to the Fuxue Courtyard, so he simply began wandering aimlessly through Netherworld Valley. Perhaps Chu Xiwei had issued orders in advance, for all the sentries he passed treated him like thin air. Perfectly content with the freedom, Ye Fusheng strolled leisurely over mountains and streams, occasionally stopping to tease the sparrows flying overhead.

It wasn’t until he entered the back mountains that he heard unusual sounds cutting through the wind in the pines.

Lightening his steps, Ye Fusheng followed the sound and stopped at a moderate distance. Ahead, beneath a massive pine tree, someone was indeed practicing martial arts, but it was a ten-year-old boy.

Xie Li was wearing a plain linen robe with a thin strip of hemp tied around his forehead, the customary attire for mourning. Holding a wooden saber, he was currently battling the large tree.

During the catastrophe in Guyang City, the Duanshui Manor’s generations of foundations were destroyed in a single day, leaving behind only two children, one older, one younger. Being older, Xue Chanyi returned to the Xie family’s ancestral home in Mingzhou to take over the crumbling estate. She had wanted to take Xie Li with her, but the boy had absolutely refused.

Before the Seizing-Blade Challenge, Xie Wuyi had entrusted this child to Ye Fusheng. He didn’t ask him to take responsibility for Xie Li for his entire life, only hoping he would take care of him for the sake of his father. Ye Fusheng had solemnly agreed and indeed managed to help him escape with his life. However, when the Southern Scholar incident occurred later on, he lacked the time and energy to care for him. Fortunately, Chu Xiwei ordered Sun Minfeng to take the boy back to the Hundred Ghosts Sect first.

At this thought, he carefully evaluated Xie Li. After nearly a month of not seeing him, the boy hadn’t grown taller, but he had lost a significant amount of weight. His originally somewhat chubby cheeks were probably so thin you couldn’t pinch any meat off them now. His complexion looked poor, with dark, bruised circles under his eyes.

Compared to before, Xie Li’s footwork was much faster, and his saber strikes were sharper. The hacking marks left on the tree trunk were deeper with each strike, no longer inferior to a real blade of steel.

Normally, this would be a gratifying improvement, but Ye Fusheng frowned deeper and deeper. Hooking his foot, he kicked a stone over. Hearing the sound of rushing wind behind him, Xie Li threw his saber back to guard the back of his head. Unexpectedly, the stone was infused with internal energy, numbing the webbing between his thumb and forefinger so fiercely he nearly dropped the hilt.

“Footwork should seek speed within stability. Yet right now, yours is floating and frivolous, severely lacking in control. In a real fight, even if you are faster than your opponent, you’ll only end up getting knocked to the ground one step earlier.” Stepping out from the shade of the trees, Ye Fusheng asked, “Why are you so impatient for success?”

Xie Li stared at him blankly before suddenly pouncing forward and tightly hugging his waist.

“What’s wrong?” Facing Xie Li, Ye Fusheng couldn’t help but feel a surge of tender pity. Rubbing the boy’s head, he smiled and said, “I’m back. If anyone bullied you, I’ll take you to get revenge. If we beat them until they’re injured, I’ll pay the medical fees; if we beat them to death, I’ll pay for the burial.”

“I thought you weren’t coming back…” Xie Li didn’t cry, but his voice trembled. “Just like my father, my mother, and… my Second Uncle. They’re never coming back.”

Ye Fusheng froze upon hearing this. Gently prying the boy’s hands away, he crouched down and looked directly into Xie Li’s eyes. “You know?”

“At that time, I saw my mother…” Xie Li’s eyes grew red. “Later, I went and asked Xue-jiejie, and she… told me.”

Overnight, a grand estate was destroyed, and a family ruined. In a single day, the faces of friends and family became unrecognizable.

Ye Fusheng finally understood why he was so heartbroken.

After a moment of silence, he asked, “Do you hate them?”

Xie Li froze and mumbled, “I… I did hate them.”

“You should.” Ye Fusheng stroked his cheek. “When I first learned the truth about my own origins, I hated too.”

As Xie Li stared at him in shock and doubt, Ye Fusheng continued, “When I was young, my Shifu always told me she rescued me from a bandit den. That my parents protected me until the very end, and even though I couldn’t grow up by their side, I shouldn’t be sad about it, because looking down from heaven, they wouldn’t like seeing me cry.”

Xie Li’s eyelashes fluttered as the story took a sharp turn. “My Shifu treated me extremely well, giving me double of everything my parents couldn’t, right up until the day she passed away… It was only then that I learned from others that when I was very young, because I was sick and my family was desperately poor, I was abandoned by my biological parents. If my Shifu hadn’t passed by and picked me up, I don’t even know how many times I would have reincarnated by now.”

Xie Li’s eyes widened. “You…”

“At that time, I thought to myself: So Shifu lied to me.” Ye Fusheng looked directly into his eyes. “But in the end, she did it for my own good. What right did I have to hate her kind intentions?”

Xie Li finally understood what he was trying to say. His lips parted and closed for a long time before he finally said, “But…”

“Your father failed your mother and you, and your mother also failed you, but they loved you.” Ye Fusheng wiped the budding tears from the boy’s eyes, his voice softening. “You know what kind of hopelessly good man your biological father was. At that time, he couldn’t make any other choice. And your mother… ultimately, she traded her own life for yours.”

Pausing, Ye Fusheng smiled. “As for your Second Uncle, his temper was terrible, and he didn’t know how to dote on people. But after all, he raised you as his son for three years—over a thousand days and nights. That isn’t something that can be erased in a single moment.”

Xie Li finally buried his face in Ye Fusheng’s chest and broke down, crying uncontrollably.

“Your Second Uncle entrusted you to me. If you don’t mind… from now on, it’ll just be the two of us making our way together, right up until the day you become a grown man.” Ye Fusheng waited for him to cry for a while before putting on a smile that looked like a child trafficker’s. “I’m a man without much capability. My qinggong and blade skills are just passable. Listen to me: don’t be impatient. Plant your feet firmly on the ground and climb up step by step. One day, they will be proud of you.”

“…Okay.”

Ye Fusheng gently patted the boy’s back, but his gaze suddenly grew vacant. Looking through this child crying his heart out, he suddenly thought of the young Chu Yao from all those years ago.

Ten years ago, when that child suddenly lost everything, did he cry like this too?