WJ Chapter 17

The Flowing Waters of Yang (1)

The waters of Yang flow freely, unbound by reed or cord.

Trust not the words of the faithless, for such men deceive you.

——

Several days later, one clear morning.

The sky was bright and clear, cloudless for miles.

“What, you’re leaving just like that, without even bidding farewell to the Sect Leader?”

In the stables at the Left Envoy’s residence of the Zhuyin Sect, a tall, spirited horse with a red mane stamped its hooves twice on the ground, snorting energetically through its nostrils. Guan Wujue tightened the bridle at his beloved horse’s neck and casually answered the person beside him. “I didn’t inform the Sect Leader when I came back, so now that I’m leaving, why should I bid him farewell?”

Xiao Donghe leaned against the wooden stable door, watching with considerable interest as the Four Directions Protector fussed with his red-maned horse called “Huo’er.” He asked, “Are you still planning to go out and make the rounds of those branch halls one by one?”

Guan Wujue was half-kneeling at that moment, checking the condition of the horseshoes. At these words, he looked up, and the line from his jaw to his neck became particularly distinct. “Of course not.”

Xiao Donghe then assumed an “I knew it” expression. “Then where are you going?”

“To the south, Wanci Manor.”

“Wanci Manor?” Xiao Donghe’s eyebrows jumped. “The Duanmu family, one of the three great martial arts clans? That medical family that dares to boast they can ‘toy with the King of Hell’? How did they provoke you?”

“It’s not that they provoked me, it’s that I—we,” Guan Wujue thoughtfully corrected himself, “we of the Zhuyin Sect provoked them, and now they’re coming to settle the score. Do you understand?”

Xiao Donghe was puzzled. “I don’t understand.”

But soon he added, “Could it be another old enemy from the Old Sect Leader’s past?”

No wonder he had this reaction. The Yun Guyan of those days had been truly fierce. To marry Lady Lan, he turned against the Lin family of Yulin Hall, to whom she had been betrothed, causing an uproar in the martial world. To save Yun Changliu, he searched everywhere for antidote methods, and when pressed, would stop at nothing—seizing by force, deceiving and swindling—causing another uproar.

Now this man had finally settled down, shutting himself away in Yanyun Palace and managing nothing. But the mountain of debts he’d accumulated back then still remained unpaid—and even the old Sect Leader himself couldn’t quite figure out exactly how much he owed.

So much so that the people of the Zhuyin Sect had an unspoken consensus: those enemies of the Zhuyin Sect who suddenly appeared from who knows where were nine times out of ten people the old Sect Leader had beaten up back in the day.

…Or schemed against.

“More or less.” Guan Wujue sighed, and as he stood up, he gave Huo’er’s head a rub. “It’s a long story, and not many people in the sect know about it. I’ll make it short. So, back in the day, our Old Sect Leader Yun…”

Xiao Donghe, hooked by his mysterious tone, was also somewhat curious and quickly asked, “What about the old Sect Leader?”

Guan Wujue said rather melancholically, “—stole a child from the Duanmu family.”

“…”

Xiao Donghe stood dumbfounded for quite a while before reacting. “What!?”

“Wait, I… hold on?”

“Stole… a child? The old Sect Leader!?”

This single statement threw the Left Envoy into complete confusion. What do you mean stole a child? Stole what child?

Is it… is it the kind of child-stealing he’s thinking of!?

A thousand chaotic thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, but he didn’t have the courage to connect these scenarios with that person in Yanyun Palace. Finally, Xiao Donghe patted his forehead. “Why don’t you just give me the long version, will you?”

“Sure.” Guan Wujue raised an eyebrow carelessly. “So basically… back in the day, the old Sect Leader, in order to treat the Young Sect Leader’s—that is, our current good Sect Leader’s—illness, invited my foster father, that immortal old bastard, out of retirement. In the end, they chose the method of extracting medicine person blood to alleviate the poison.”

Xiao Donghe urged. “Right, and then?”

“Being a medicine person isn’t that easy, Left Envoy Xiao.” Guan Wujue spoke unhurriedly, his hand idly tugging at Huo’er’s ear. The horse was truly close to its master—it didn’t even dodge as he played with it, but instead happily nuzzled its master’s palm.

“Medicine persons need to be cultivated from childhood. Children around six or seven years old must take large amounts of specially formulated potent medicines daily, which already places an extreme burden on the body. The Young Sect Leader’s poison also required them to have their wrists cut for blood extraction every few days, or even have their heart cavity pierced to extract heart’s blood. This is very hard to endure.”

“At that time, that crazy old man of mine killed at least a dozen or so children, and the few who were lucky enough not to die were pretty much ruined. He told the old Sect Leader that he needed a child with a strong constitution, preferably one who had practiced martial arts from childhood—for example, a child from the Duanmu family, who from young age consumed medicinal meals, bathed in medicinal baths, and practiced superior internal cultivation methods. That kind would be very suitable.”

Guan Wujue stroked his chin, sighing with admiration. “I heard that the old Sect Leader nodded his head just like that, and half a month later, the youngest son of the Duanmu family head was abducted into the Zhuyin Sect.”

The muscles on Xiao Donghe’s face twitched, thinking to himself that he was truly worthy of being the old Sect Leader… truly a remarkable person indeed.

He asked again, “And then?”

Guan Wujue said flatly, “There was no ‘then.’ That little child was used a few times and died.”

“…Died?” Xiao Donghe cast an extremely suspicious look at the Red-Robed Protector.

He knew Guan Wujue’s character very well. He seemed unrestrained and carefree, but in reality, his thoughts ran very deep. Once he encountered something he didn’t want to tell the truth about, he would mix seven parts truth with three parts falsehood to deceive people, and basically no one could figure it out.

Xiao Donghe almost immediately thought of that docile medicine person Guan Wujue had brought back, thinking privately that it couldn’t possibly be the little master of the Duanmu family, could it? But thinking it over, he felt it was truly impossible—someone with that kind of status, how could they be so easily exiled to a branch hall?

Guan Wujue gave a “mm-hmm” sound. “Actually, this matter used to be a secret. The head of the Duanmu family always thought his youngest son had died young in an accident. But now… this secret has been leaked, and Wanci Manor is investigating this matter.”

As he spoke, the Protector’s tone suddenly became sinister. Grinding his teeth, he pressed his hand on the sword at his waist, sneering to himself. “Damn it, at such a troublesome time… if I find the one who leaked the secret…”

His features were naturally sharp-lined, and when truly angry, even the corners of his eyes and brows carried a chilling killing intent, like a beautiful yet dangerous blade.

Xiao Donghe had no doubt that Guan Wujue’s unspoken words were “if I find that bastard who leaked the secret, I’ll definitely flay him alive.” He helplessly pulled his friend’s hand away from the sword, advising, “All right, all right, I roughly understand what you’re going to do. I must warn you—traveling with an injury is extremely taboo. This isn’t like the branch halls. If something were to happen to you out there, no one could save you…”

“It’s nothing, I know my limits.” Guan Wujue smiled slightly at the Left Envoy. “How about we have a match to compare?”

“Get lost.” Xiao Donghe rolled his eyes at him. “Just keep doing as you please. One day your comeuppance will arrive.”

Guan Wujue said lightly and easily, “No rush, no rush. I’ll deal with it when it comes.”

With this person being so stubborn, Xiao Donghe had no way to deal with him. The Left Envoy let out a long sigh. “Fine, I won’t say anything else. Wanci Manor is quite far from here, and with New Year approaching, who knows when you’ll be able to return from this trip. I think you should still go and bid farewell to the Sect Leader.”

Guan Wujue immediately turned back to embrace his horse, pressing his face against Huo’er’s neck side, saying in a muffled voice, “Why would I go? The Sect Leader gets troubled every time he sees me now, can barely speak, and in the end I still have to be the one to comfort him. Why would I rush forward and add to his distress…”

But as he said this, the firmness in his tone diminished somewhat. As if he himself was also wavering in uncertainty.

How could Xiao Donghe not hear it? He helplessly patted him. “Go on. If you leave without a word like this, that’s what will truly add to the Sect Leader’s distress.”

Guan Wujue played with a tuft of mane on top of Huo’er’s head, somewhat uncomfortably averting his eyes.

After a long while, he finally said as if casually, “…That’s true. I shouldn’t let the Sect Leader misunderstand that I, the Four Directions Protector, am abandoning the sect and betraying it, and add another crime to my list.”

These words were an all-too-obvious excuse. Even if everyone in the entire Zhuyin Sect believed that Guan Wujue would betray them, Yun Changliu would never believe it.

In the end, it was he himself who couldn’t let go. He wanted to make a clean break, yet couldn’t help but maintain those lingering connections. Since he didn’t know when he could return, didn’t know when he could see him again, he still wanted to cherish it, to be greedy for one more moment if possible, to look one more time if he could.

After all, those four words “we have all the time in the world” were no longer applicable between him and Yun Changliu.

So Guan Wujue thought with self-abandonment that at worst, he wouldn’t meet the Sect Leader face to face—he would just look at him from afar, then ask Wen Feng to pass along a message.

…..

—But unfortunately, even the best-laid plans cannot compete with fate.

When Guan Wujue actually arrived before Yangxin Hall, he didn’t see Yun Changliu or Wen Feng, but instead saw two other familiar faces.

“How truly unexpected—even a lowly medicine person can have their day of flying up to the branches and becoming a phoenix. What, do you actually dare to use your master’s favor to act arrogantly before this young lady?”

At a corner of the winding corridor, Yun Chanjuan stood with one hand on her slender waist, her lotus-pink skirt swaying gracefully, the floral mark between her brows lending her an air of charming allure.

Ah Ku was forced to retreat by her, his back already pressed against the white stone carved railing, yet he still respectfully bowed his head and said, “Young lady, please calm your anger. Ah Ku wouldn’t dare.”

“Wouldn’t dare?” Yun Chanjuan’s willow-like eyebrows shot up, and she hummed haughtily. “This young lady just asked you a question, and you, a lowly slave, actually dared to refer to yourself as ‘I.’ You still call that not daring?”

Ah Ku pressed his lips tightly together, his delicate face lowered. “It is because the Sect Leader has already removed my medicine person slave status and forbids Ah Ku from calling himself ‘slave.’ I hope the young lady will understand…”

This did surprise Yun Chanjuan. She stepped closer to examine him. “Oh, removed your slave status. It seems Sect Leader Brother is quite attentive to you…”

Ah Ku lowered his head without speaking.

Seeing him like this, Yun Chanjuan giggled. The charming young woman proudly raised her head, looking at Ah Ku with eyes like she was looking at a little kitten she could tease at will. “—But so what? Here in Xifeng City on Mount Shenlie, whoever this young lady says is guilty, is guilty!”

“You, slap yourself. This young lady wants to hear it ring out loud.”