WJ Chapter 19

The Flowing Waters of Yang (3)

Yun Chanjuan cried so miserably that her voice quickly became hoarse and she had no strength left to struggle. Only then did Yun Changliu ease the pressure of the sword scabbard slightly against her, saying, “Apologize.”

“I was wrong! Wuu…Chanjuan was wrong, I shouldn’t have deceived Brother!”

In the jianghu, there were many heroic women who were no less capable than men, but unfortunately, Miss Chanjuan of the Zhuyin Sect could definitely not be counted among them.

Yun Chanjuan, spineless as she was, immediately gave in and begged for mercy, pitifully grasping one end of the sword scabbard, “Wuuwuu, I was wrong….I’ll never dare again… Brother Changliu, please spare Chanjuan this once…”

Yun Changliu remained unmoved. With a surge of internal strength, he flung his sister away. “I am your blood brother—do you think I care about a mere ‘I was wrong’? What else?”

Even at this point, Yun Chanjuan was still trying to avoid the important issue. If he forgave her easily this time, who knew what she would do next.

The Sect Leader raised his sword high, about to strike down again. Yun Chanjuan’s face turned deathly pale with fear as she shrieked, “I, I shouldn’t have bullied Ah Ku! But I just wanted to play a joke…”

Yun Changliu said in a deep voice, “And what else.”

Guan Wujue had been watching from the side, but suddenly spoke up at this moment. “Sect Leader, that’s about enough.”

He knew which words Yun Changliu wanted to hear.

Actually, there was no need to push this far. If he really tore apart his relationship with the young lady, in the end it would be the Sect Leader’s heart that suffered. How unworthy.

Yun Changliu acted as if he hadn’t heard, glaring coldly and angrily at Yun Chanjuan. “And what about your framing of the Four Directions Protector?”

Yun Chanjuan stammered, tears gathered at the corners of her eyes rolling down her powdered cheeks: “I, he… I…”

Yun Changliu simply repeated, “Apologize.”

“—I won’t!!”

Yun Chanjuan’s eyes were already red from crying, but when she heard this demand, she raised her head and shouted, her voice like weeping blood. She pointed at the red-robed Protector and cursed with resentment:

“I won’t! What is Guan Wujue anyway? He’s clearly just a dog of our Yun family, yet he dared to kill my Brother Danjing to death! This young lady apologize to him?—Ptui! Does he deserve it!? He only deserves to die, to be cut into a thousand pieces and die—”

“You truly refuse to repent!” Yun Changliu was so enraged by her tirade that he raised his hand to strike again. From the other side, Guan Wujue’s leisurely voice interjected, “Miss, don’t get it wrong. Wujue is a dog, but only the Sect Leader’s dog. What does it have to do with the Yun family?”

“What nonsense are you spouting! Shut up!” Yun Changliu’s heart burned with even more fury. This fellow—just now when he called on him to speak, he couldn’t even be bothered to explain one more sentence, but at a time like this, he spoke so readily!

“Brother Changliu, you’re still protecting him!?”

Yun Chanjuan’s eyes were red as she cried out in disbelief, her beautiful face contorting. “Brother Danjing is your blood brother even if he did wrong. He was burned alive to death by this Guan, yet you not only don’t avenge him, you’re entangled with his killer!”

She burst into tears with a wail, crying like a child. “You’re not my brother at all! You bastard, you’re not even human!”

Yun Changliu’s face turned ashen, his whole body trembling, unable to speak for a moment.

How laughable… the sister he had always cherished in the palm of his hand, whom he had never let suffer even the slightest grievance since childhood, whom he had raised like precious jade all these years—today she turned around and cursed him as “not even human”!

Guan Wujue’s eyes turned cold and fierce. His long legs strode forward several steps, and without a word he was about to kick Yun Chanjuan—he himself could take any amount of cursing as just wind passing by his ears, but whoever dared to show disrespect to the Sect Leader in his presence was tired of living!

“Wujue!” Yun Changliu grabbed his arm and forcefully pushed Guan Wujue behind himself, saying in a low voice, “Don’t get involved.”

Yun Changliu blamed himself inside. Previously, no matter how willful Yun Chanjuan had been, she at least knew her limits. However, on that winter night a year ago when flames soared into the sky, she lost her blood brother Yun Danjing and cried until she fainted several times. Lady Lin lost her son and from then on doted on her daughter like her very heart and lungs, spoiling her without any bottom line. And he, feeling pity for this sister, indulged her wishes in small matters.

He never expected that in just one year, she would be spoiled to this extent.

An elder brother is like a father—it was his failure in discipline. Since that was the case, naturally he should be the one to personally teach her a lesson.

Yun Changliu said in a deep voice, “Very well. Since you won’t admit your mistake, then accept your punishment. You are the young lady of the Zhuyin Sect. The punishment enforcers probably wouldn’t dare punish you, so this lord shall do it personally.”

The Sect Leader turned his wrist, and the Pixing sword, carried by forceful wind, struck toward Yun Chanjuan’s back.

He gauged his strength very precisely. Each strike was fast and harsh, appearing like a violent storm, but in reality each one landed on soft flesh that would hurt but wouldn’t damage muscle or bone.

Yun Chanjuan’s air of dominance immediately vanished. She cried and reached out her hands to block, but the sword always managed to land where she couldn’t block. The young lady finally began to sob and beg for mercy again. “Don’t… Brother Changliu, don’t hit me anymore!”

“Wuuwuu… it hurts so much! I can’t take it anymore, please spare me…”

“Don’t, ah! Don’t hit me anymore, wuuwuu…”

“Ah! Brother—Brother save me!”

Yun Changliu’s movements suddenly froze.

When Yun Chanjuan called to him, it was always “Brother Changliu” or “Sect Leader Brother”; only when calling to Yun Danjing did she call out “Brother” without a prefix.

His expression became extremely complex for an instant, and he asked coldly, “Do you know your mistake now? Will you dare again?”

Yun Chanjuan had already been beaten until her whole body ached and trembled, but when she heard this question, her tear-stained face filled with hatred once more.

She stared deadly at Guan Wujue and screamed heart-wrenchingly, “I just wish I could kill him, so what! If you have the guts, really beat me to death!”

“—You!!”

Yun Changliu was furious to the extreme, his chest heaving violently, staring intently at Yun Chanjuan curled up on the ground sobbing. How could he have anticipated that the wholehearted love and cherishment he once gave would one day become the capital his sister used to threaten him?

This young girl—her martial skills were inadequate, only learning showy but useless moves, yet in the art of stabbing people’s hearts she had already mastered it thoroughly, piercing people until their hearts ached to the core.

“You…!”

Yun Changliu only felt that the inexpressible rage had surged until his temples throbbed with pain. He gasped several rapid breaths, his face suddenly turning deathly pale, his fingers gripping the sword scabbard suddenly convulsing in pain, exerting so much force that his knuckles turned white.

With a clang, the Pixing sword fell heavily to the ground.

Yun Changliu’s body swayed, and unable to stand steady, he staggered a step to the side, struggling to support himself on the white stone railing beside him.

“Sect Leader!?”

Guan Wujue’s heart suddenly lurched. An ominous premonition slithered through his mind like a venomous snake, cold and sinister, and his heart instantly went half cold. When the sudden change occurred, his body moved faster than his brain—he rushed forward to support Yun Changliu into his embrace before belatedly realizing this terrible thing—

—The Fengchun Sheng poison had flared up.

“Sect Leader!” Guan Wujue called out again. He himself remained relatively composed, but this time his voice was already trembling.

When the Fengchun Sheng poison flared up, the pain spread to all four limbs and hundred bones, like being subjected to lingering death by slicing, making life worse than death. Cold sweat dripped from Yun Changliu’s forehead as he breathed with difficulty, completely unable to respond.

The Protector bit his tongue tip, forcing his mind to calm down, and suddenly turned around to shout furiously, “Still standing there!? Quickly go call people from the Medicine Gate!!”

Yun Chanjuan had already been frightened senseless by the sudden turn of events. Instead, it was Ah Ku who reacted first, breaking into a run desperately toward the Medicine Gate.

Yun Changliu exerted all his willpower to squeeze out a trace of clarity from the excruciating torture of pain, gripping Guan Wujue’s hand and struggling to form words, “It’s… nothing serious…”

…Actually, he wanted to say more: It’s nothing serious, nothing will happen. Once this episode passes, it will be fine. Don’t be afraid.

However, another bout of trembling, severe pain swept through all the meridians in his body, as if billions of iron blades were slicing consecutively at his flesh and bones. Beyond pain, nothing else remained in his mind. His limbs went limp as if all strength had been suddenly drained from them. This time, Yun Changliu truly could only avoid falling by relying on Guan Wujue’s strength supporting him.

His pulse beat violently, sharp ringing sounded in his ears, and black spots swam before his eyes.

For a brief moment, Yun Changliu nearly lost consciousness, then gradually regained a bit of awareness.

His consciousness seemed to be split in half—one half was tormented by the continuous poison-induced pain until everything was dark and chaotic, life worse than death; the other half dimly perceived that he was being lifted up. He heard Guan Wujue’s anxious and angry voice, even the slightly hurried footsteps falling on the stone steps could be heard.

Through his closed eyelids, he sensed the alternation of light and dark.

It was his Protector carrying him through the sunlight and shadows along the way.

Yun Changliu’s consciousness was gradually slipping away.

His five senses began to dull. He knew he was about to fall into unconsciousness, yet only the firmness of Guan Wujue’s hold on him remained clear and distinct.

At this moment, he once again felt reassured knowing that no matter how cruel and harsh fate might be, no matter what thousands of hardships and ten thousand sufferings befell him, there would always be this one person who would forever steadfastly support him, accompanying him to push aside all the desolation of this mortal world, and continue walking forward together.

Until the very end of this fated journey.