WJ Chapter 70

Yanyan (4)

Days later, Yun Chanjuan left the sect.

During this time, Lin Wanxia had also tried to intervene, but this time Yun Changliu seemed to have suddenly withdrawn all his softheartedness toward his younger sister, directly ordering the Zhuhuo Guards to blockade Shuiyue Hall. His threatening intent was unmistakable, clearly suggesting that Xiaoxiang Palace would be next.

And so, though Lin Wanxia wanted to keep her beloved daughter, she was powerless to do so, while Yanyun Palace remained silent throughout—Yun Guyan showed complete indifference to his daughter’s impending departure.

As for the young miss herself, she surprisingly didn’t cry or make a fuss, which was quite out of character. When the day came, surrounded by Zhuhuo Guards, she left Xifeng City along the mountain road.

……

Meanwhile, at another hidden location partway down the mountain, a black-canopied carriage slowly made its way downward.

Though the carriage appeared plain and understated on the outside, it was actually quite spacious inside. At least spacious enough that two people sitting within didn’t feel crowded at all.

“Sect Leader, are you managing all right?” Inside the swaying carriage, Guan Wujue looked worriedly at Yun Changliu. “Perhaps we should still stop the carriage and let you rest before…”

“You’ve already said this several times, Wujue.”

Yun Changliu sat beside him. The Sect Leader patted the Protector’s back and shook his head with a sigh. “This lord is truly fine. Settle down a bit and be good.”

Though he said this, there were obvious dark circles under his eyes, which against his pale complexion made him painful to look at.

Ever since the Fengchun Sheng poison had completely spread last time, fine threads of pain had begun ceaselessly eroding Yun Changliu’s meridians throughout his body, wearing away at his stamina.

His physical condition could no longer endure long-distance horseback riding, so after descending from the steep mountain peak, he had switched to a carriage.

However, in truth, even just enduring the jolting of the carriage as he was now caused him tremendous suffering.

These past two days, Guan Wujue had been so distressed he wished he could directly cut open his own major meridian and pour several large bowls of medicinal blood into the Sect Leader. Yet he was also afraid that revealing the truth would undo all their efforts, so he only dared to bleed himself a little and secretly mix it into medicine to feed Yun Changliu when he was unconscious.

……The effect was merely to let the Sect Leader’s brow relax somewhat, allowing him a slightly more comfortable rest during his slumber.

At such times, the Protector would think bitterly—if only the Sect Leader were more callous and cruel toward him, ideally to the point of remaining completely indifferent even seeing him swaying and about to collapse from excessive blood loss, then things would be so much simpler.

Or rather, if the Sect Leader could be like most ordinary jianghu leaders, delighted to praise a subordinate’s loyalty upon learning they were willing to sacrifice their life—then he wouldn’t need to spend so much effort concealing and deceiving!

Alas, things didn’t go as wished.

The carriage continued forward. In the cramped compartment, it was difficult to sense the passage of time—one could only hear the sound of the wheels rolling.

This inevitably became quite boring.

Since there was no one else here, Yun Changliu relaxed and leaned against Guan Wujue’s embrace with his eyes closed to rest, holding the Protector’s fingers in his palm and idly playing with them. “Will the Protector chat with this lord?”

Guan Wujue knew the Sect Leader wanted to distract himself somewhat as a way to endure the pain, so he smiled and said, “Do you want to hear proper conversation, or improper conversation?”

Since this journey still had a long way to go, Yun Changliu thought for a moment and said, “Then… let’s start with proper, then move to improper.”

“Very well. Let Wujue think…”

The Four Directions Protector couldn’t help but laugh, then composed his expression, considered briefly, and actually began discussing serious matters with the Sect Leader:

“Oh right, if we truly manage to eliminate the Hunting Geese this time, you must still remain vigilant against Madam Lin taking desperate measures.”

“The sect’s Zhuhuo Guard defenses have already been reinforced by one layer. That should be sufficient,” Yun Changliu said calmly. “The one who needs to be most careful is actually you.”

Now that Guan Wujue’s blood meridians were sealed and he couldn’t use his internal energy, wouldn’t this be the perfect opportunity for Lin Wanxia to avenge her son’s death?

Yun Changliu’s expression shifted, as if he had something he wanted to say but hesitated, finally releasing a soft sigh. “This lord has placed Yin Ghosts around you. Protector, remember to summon them if anything happens.”

“……” Guan Wujue took in the Sect Leader’s expression completely. His features softened gently as he leaned down to Yun Changliu’s ear and asked in a low voice, “Sect Leader, do you… still think about Young Master Danjing now?”

Yun Changliu’s face showed no particular joy or sorrow, maintaining that same indifferent and unfeeling appearance, though there was a moment of dimness in his eyes. “Before New Year’s, I would still think of him occasionally. These past days I’ve been too exhausted—where would I find the time to mourn the deceased?”

“……In any case, it won’t be many more days before we meet again beneath the Yellow Springs. There’s no rush.”

Guan Wujue put on an obviously fake expression of melancholy and dejection, embracing the Sect Leader from behind and shaking his head with a sigh. “When that time comes and you brothers are reunited, what will become of Wujue?”

“……Please don’t cast me aside. In the next life, Wujue still wants to serve as your subordinate.”

This was already the start of improper conversation. Yun Changliu knew the Protector was trying every way to make him happy. A hint of a smile touched the corners of his eyes. “You still have to remain in the mortal world for a long while yet. Don’t rush—this lord will patiently wait for you.”

Guan Wujue smiled without speaking.

With a trace of melancholy in his emotions, Yun Changliu continued softly, “After you reach a hundred years of age, when you and I are reunited, Danjing will have long since entered the cycle of reincarnation and been reborn.”

“At that time, the brotherly bond between this lord and Danjing in this life will also have… run its course……”

……

“Sect Leader, wake up. Sect Leader?”

Who knows how much time had passed.

The sleeping Yun Changliu frowned and turned his head slightly in the Protector’s embrace, opening his eyes with visible difficulty.

His vision changed from blurred to clear. He saw Guan Wujue passing him a water pouch, asking worriedly, “Steady yourself first… Does it still hurt terribly?”

The water pouch contained not water but medicine. Yun Changliu drank two mouthfuls, feeling his mind was still somewhat muddled. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, asking, “……Have we arrived?”

His body had truly weakened excessively—he couldn’t even remember when he had fallen asleep again, nor how long he had slept.

The carriage had already stopped. The curtain swayed gently in the breeze, and crimson and dusky yellow evening light filtered through. Outside, the sharp sounds of clashing weapons could faintly be heard.

“We arrived long ago.” Guan Wujue helped Yun Changliu sit up and reached out to lift the curtain for the Sect Leader. “Not only have we arrived, it’s already… almost over. We can return to the sect now, Sect Leader.”

As the carriage curtain was opened, a glaring expanse of red burst into view.

Magnificent blood-red light interwoven with the remaining rays of sunset.

Below Zhuiri Valley, corpses lay everywhere.

Just as Guan Wujue had said, the battle was in its final stages.

The black-canopied carriage had stopped at one corner of the high cliff. From here looking down, one could overlook the entire Zhuiri Valley. Ten Yin Ghosts knelt in waiting around the carriage, silently awaiting orders from the Sect Leader and Protector.

“Why didn’t you wake this lord earlier?”

Yun Changliu looked at Guan Wujue with displeasure, rose and walked out of the carriage compartment. The crimson-gold patterns on his white robes were immediately bathed in another layer of setting sun’s red light.

Guan Wujue smiled slightly, supporting the Sect Leader as they both emerged from the carriage, saying matter-of-factly:

“You can’t fight right now anyway, so what would be the point of waking you? If you want to watch people being killed, you might as well remove the Meridian-Sealing Origin-Suppressing Needles from Wujue’s body. Your subordinate will go down right now and kill for your viewing pleasure—guaranteed to do it more beautifully than the people from Yu Family Fort.”

Atop the mountain cliff, beneath the setting sun.

Two tall figures in white and red stood side by side.

At first glance, Zhuiri Valley appeared like a mass of roiling dark clouds; however, looking more carefully, it was actually the fierce battle between two groups of black-clad fighters.

That group of black-masked Hunting Geese assassins had already been forced into a desperate situation and would clearly be completely annihilated soon.

However, those fighting the Hunting Geese killers were not the Zhuyin Sect’s Yin Ghosts, but another group of black-clad blade wielders!

If you asked who had the best blade techniques in the jianghu, there might be debate; however, if you asked which family had the best blade techniques in the jianghu, there would absolutely be no second answer.

One of the great martial families—the Yu family.

Everyone in the jianghu knew that Zhuiri Valley was a dangerous place for ambushes, but few paid attention to the fact that the nearest force to Zhuiri Valley was precisely Yu Family Fort.

This group of black-clad blade wielders were the elite disciples of Yu Family Fort. Their numbers were extremely large—appearing to be five or six hundred people.

As the saying goes, with every strength comes a weakness. The Hunting Geese assassins had been specially trained to counter the Zhuyin Sect’s Yin Ghosts, but now facing the completely different style of Yu Family blade techniques, and being overwhelmed by sheer numbers, they had no power to resist whatsoever.

Their complete slaughter was only a matter of time.

As for the hundred Yin Ghosts Yun Changliu had dispatched, they had taken up a defensive formation gathered in one corner somewhat removed from the battlefield, currently…

Watching the show.

Yes, watching the show.

And surrounded by those hundred spectating Yin Ghosts in the center was a “young lady” in a pink dress with a charming countenance—her build, appearance, and temperament were all identical to the Chanjuan young miss of the Zhuyin Sect!

Guan Wujue observed that “Yun Chanjuan” with interest and said to Yun Changliu, “What does the Sect Leader think of the Right Envoy’s disguise arts?”

Yun Changliu showed undisguised admiration. “She could even deceive Lin Wanxia, the birth mother. Who would dare say it’s not marvelous?”

Mountain winds swept past, clouds surged.

In Zhuiri Valley below, “Yun Chanjuan” revealed a smile both proud and alluring. Suddenly her bones made a series of “crack crack” sounds, and she grew an entire head taller out of nowhere, her figure also undergoing obvious changes.

She wiped her hand across her face and actually peeled off a thin layer of human skin. As for the face hidden beneath—who else could it be but the Zhuyin Sect’s Right Envoy Hua Wan?

The Sect Leader and Protector exchanged a smile.

This was the true face of this scheme.

If there was still anything that could draw Lin Wanxia out, one option was to exploit her love for her biological daughter, Young Miss Chanjuan, and the other was to exploit her hatred for her enemy Guan Wujue.

But Yun Changliu was unwilling to risk the lives of either of these two people.

However, this didn’t prevent him from creating a convincing false scenario to deceive Lin Wanxia into believing it was real—then everything could still proceed perfectly smoothly.

Vacate Xiao Donghe’s position.

Send Yun Chanjuan away to a branch location.

Bury a large number of Yin Ghosts in ambush at Zhuiri Valley……

Without needing to say a word, simply wait for the clever to outsmart themselves, wait for Lin Wanxia—who had never believed there was any true affection between these half-siblings—to dispatch all the Hunting Geese into Zhuiri Valley.

When Hua Wan disguised as Yun Chanjuan entered Zhuiri Valley, the long-ambushed Yin Ghosts would pretend to attack, drawing out the Hunting Geese.

Then secretly borrow a large net from another family and cast it from behind……

In the end, no unexpected events occurred.

Everything was under control.

……

“Young Fort Lord, the Hunting Geese assassins have all been annihilated!”

At the entrance to Zhuiri Valley, Yu Family Fort’s Young Fort Lord Yu Kun wore black robes and a black shirt, a long blade on his back.

He had eagle-like eyes and a naturally imposing countenance. Now his face was filled with triumphant pride. “Good! Very well done.”

A Yu Family Fort disciple bowed before him to report. “Please instruct us, Young Fort Lord!”

Yu Kun said, “Tally the casualties and reorganize the numbers. Once we’ve received Miss Chanjuan, we can return.”

One Yu Family Fort disciple wiped the blood from his blade clean and asked in confusion, “Young Fort Lord, why exactly did we make this trip? And why must we take the Zhuyin Sect’s young miss back with us? This is clearly the Zhuyin Sect’s private matter……”

Yu Kun snorted through his nose, regarding the piles of corpses in the valley with a half-mocking expression. “Private matter? Ridiculous! In jianghu conflicts, where are there any private matters?”

“If Yun Chanjuan succeeds as Sect Leader in the future, Lin Wanxia will control the Zhuyin Sect. In that case, the next fifty years of the jianghu will inevitably be dominated by Yulin Hall alone. Where would that leave any room for Yu Family Fort to survive?”

“Now that Sect Leader Yun wants to eliminate Lin Wanxia, if we don’t help, who will?”

That disciple remained quite unwilling, saying indignantly, “But we’re… are we just working for the Zhuyin Sect for free? Young Fort Lord, look at those Yin Ghosts—heh, they’re practically honored guests here to watch a show!”

“Haha, what do you know!”

Yu Kun looked up and laughed loudly, then raised one index finger smugly and wagged it. “Debts of gratitude are the most valuable debts in this world…… tsk tsk, a debt of gratitude from Yun Changliu—that’s not something just anyone can collect.”

That disciple seemed to understand yet not understand.

He thought of the scene he’d occasionally glimpsed when looking up, feeling secretly puzzled: That young white-robed Sect Leader who looked like an invalid—he appeared to have less presence than the Four Directions Protector beside him……

Besides being rather good-looking, what abilities did he have?

“What a pity.”

Yu Kun suddenly narrowed his eyes and drawled slowly, “……Heaven envies the talented. Such a pity.”

……

Just before the sunset was about to completely sink into the earth, Yun Chanjuan, with her hair piled high and her lips painted with rouge, guarded by two Yin Ghosts, walked before Yu Kun.

She lowered her eyes, her heart a jumble of mixed feelings.

It wasn’t until before departing today that she learned… the place she was going had never been a Zhuyin Sect branch location from the start, but rather Yu Family Fort.

She was truly, genuinely leaving home to travel far away. Wen Feng, who came to deliver the orders, told her that from now on, she would be a guest at another family under the title of Zhuyin Sect’s young miss.

She would be safe and secure, well-fed and well-clothed.

Only no one would indulge her anymore, dote on her, pamper and protect her.

If she did something wrong, she would lose face for the Zhuyin Sect; if she caused trouble, she would implicate the Zhuyin Sect’s interests.

The fierce mountain valley wind lifted her cherry-pink skirts. Miss Chanjuan properly performed a salute to Yu Kun—the clasped-fist bow of jianghu people, not the curtsy commonly used by women.

Yu Kun smiled amiably and returned Yun Chanjuan’s salute, then turned to look toward the heights opposite.

Zhuyin Sect Leader Yun Changliu and Four Directions Protector Guan Wujue were looking in this direction.

Sect Leader Yun clasped his fists from afar, and Young Fort Lord Yu immediately returned the gesture with a bow. Their gazes met at a single point.

——This lord’s younger sister is hereby entrusted to Young Fort Lord Yu.

——Sect Leader Yun may rest assured, I will not fail this trust.

A moment later, Yu Kun shouted out an order and led the Yu Family Fort disciples in turning and withdrawing from Zhuiri Valley.

Yun Chanjuan followed behind Yu Kun. Among the crowd surrounding her, aside from two Yin Ghosts she’d never met before, all were disciples of Yu Family Fort.

She walked forward in a daze for five or six steps, then suddenly stopped.

As if the next moment she would turn around.

But ultimately, she didn’t.

After hesitating for a long while, Yun Chanjuan once again lifted her feet and continued walking forward.

That young miss in pink dresses who wielded a pink whip, that proud and willful young miss, that innocent yet incompetent young miss, that young miss who loved to rage and loved to cry……

……That foolish young miss who even until this very moment still hadn’t managed to sort out the tangled web of love and hate between her father, mother, eldest brother, and second brother, who had never truly touched the darkness.

She walked farther and farther away beneath the setting sun, all alone.