WJ Chapter 26

Che Lin (3)

Once they entered the small town, it became lively. Though it was nighttime and snowing, there were still quite a few passersby hurrying along wearing bamboo hats, and some small stalls and vendors hawking their wares despite the wind and snow.

Yun Changliu and Guan Wujue each led their own horses, spotting from afar the two large red lanterns hanging at the town’s inn.

Guan Wujue tugged at his horse’s reins and turned to Yun Changliu, saying, “Young Master, in a moment… could you agree to do something for Wujue?”

Yun Changliu was walking right beside him. Upon hearing Guan Wujue’s vague words, he immediately knew there must be some trap waiting for him to fall into.

But the Sect Leader still remembered how he’d nearly made his Protector cry on the road earlier. Just thinking about it made him feel guilty, and once he felt guilty, he secretly told himself to just let Wujue do whatever he wanted. So he nodded. “Alright.”

Guan Wujue pointed to the inn’s entrance, now close before them, and said, “Then when you go in, ask for a room.”

“……” Yun Changliu suddenly stopped in his tracks, his usually icy expression cracking for an instant.

——He had never liked speaking with strangers. This was due to being locked in a room and isolated from people for too long as a child, something he still hadn’t been able to overcome.

The Sect Leader cleared his throat lightly and said, “Choose something else.”

The Protector remained unmoved. “You just agreed.”

After a brief moment of silent standoff, Yun Changliu began walking again, his tone revealing neither pleasure nor anger. “……Compared to when you first returned a few days ago, you’ve certainly become much bolder.”

Guan Wujue asked with a smile. “When we get inside the inn, shall Wujue kneel for you for another two hours?”

Yun Changliu’s expression darkened slightly. He swung his sleeve and struck Guan Wujue’s arm with moderate force, saying in a low, annoyed voice. “You dare bring that up!”

As they spoke, they had already reached the inn’s entrance, with the bright red paper lanterns hanging right above their heads. A sharp-eyed attendant came out to greet them and led their horses to the back.

Guan Wujue took the opportunity to move closer to the Sect Leader, saying innocently, “At that time, I thought you would never want to see me again. I was terrified……”

Yun Changliu pressed his thin lips into a line and furrowed his brow.

He said nothing, but instead walked ahead into the inn——this counted as yielding.

……

At this hour, there were quite a few people eating in the inn’s outer hall. The sound of conversation buzzed throughout, with two attendants weaving between the tables.

Guan Wujue, having originally been one of the Yin Ghosts from Ghost Gate and later personally appointed as one of the Four Directions Protectors by the Sect Leader, frequently traveled through the martial world and had long since become accustomed to concealing his presence. However, Yun Changliu, as the lofty Zhuyin Sect Leader, was not well-versed in such matters. As soon as he walked in, just like at the Yuan Lai Tavern that morning, he drew admiring gazes from the crowd.

Moreover, the Yuan Lai Tavern was located near Mount Shenlie, on a treacherous road, so those who dared pass through were basically all people who mingled in various corners of the martial world. The tavern’s owner, Du Si’er, was well-traveled and experienced, even familiar enough with the mighty Four Directions Protector of the Zhuyin Sect to recognize his face.

——This small town was quite different. When guests saw someone carrying weapons, most couldn’t help but tremble; and seeing someone with the bearing of imperial nobility made them feel even more fearful.

The innkeeper was a plump middle-aged man. He watched helplessly as that white-robed young master, as cold and aloof as a celestial being, walked over, his gaze sweeping this way like ice from a deep, frigid pool. His calves went numb, and his hand working the abacus unconsciously stopped.

“Uh, this… this honored guest……”

Under the innkeeper’s uncertain and suspicious gaze, Yun Changliu stood before the counter, slowly parted his lips, his voice like ice. “I need two rooms……”

“…..Cough.”

Suddenly, someone coughed lightly from the side.

The portly innkeeper stiffly turned his head to look. This glance startled him even more——he saw that beside a table a few steps from the counter, a young man in red robes with twin swords had somehow appeared, leaning casually. His handsome features were sharp and striking, his bearing extraordinary, in no way inferior to the white-robed young master before him.

The innkeeper’s heart skipped a beat, realizing that tonight two distinguished guests had arrived. He saw that the red-robed young master wore a smile containing both playfulness and helplessness, raising one index finger to his curved lips and waving it, saying softly, “One room.”

“……”

Though the white-robed young master appeared extremely cold and difficult to get along with, after the red-robed young master spoke, he merely glanced at him indifferently, then readily changed his words. “Mm, one room.”

After saying those two words “one room,” he closed his mouth and said no more. However, the portly innkeeper had already been awed by these two distinguished guests whose bearing far surpassed ordinary people, and had no time to ponder why the two only wanted one room, responding repeatedly, “Ah, yes yes… does the honored guest want our finest Tianzi room?”

The white-robed young master nodded coldly and indifferently. “Yes. For one night.”

The innkeeper immediately produced the room key and handed it over, calling to the inn’s attendant, “Quickly escort these two guests to Tianzi Room Number One!”

Hearing the attendant respond with an “Aye,” he then asked with a smiling face. “You two honored guests must be weary from your journey. Would you like to eat something?”

But Yun Changliu didn’t answer. He took the key, turned around, walked back a few steps and stuffed it into Guan Wujue’s hands, frowning and saying in a low voice, “Is that enough?”

The Sect Leader’s meaning was: he had only agreed to book the room initially, and now that the room was secured, he was washing his hands of the rest!

“Yes, yes, that’s enough……” Guan Wujue walked forward with an expression of deep distress, pushing Sect Leader Yun behind himself. “We two will depart at the hour of Chen tomorrow morning. Tonight, remember to feed the horses well. Send the food upstairs. My young master prefers quiet, so manage your guests well and don’t disturb my young master’s rest.”

“Yes, yes, yes… the honored guest can rest assured!”

The innkeeper nodded repeatedly, catching from the corner of his eye that cold-faced white-robed young master hiding behind the red-robed young master as if nothing had happened, actually seeming relieved.

“What are you looking at! Don’t want your eyeballs anymore?”

Guan Wujue slammed his palm on the counter with a “bang,” frightening the innkeeper so much that the fat on his face trembled. “I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare, this lowly one wouldn’t dare……”

“Send someone else to buy something for me. I need a set of silver needles like those used in medical halls. Go to the best shop in this town to buy them, and there absolutely must not be the slightest error. Do you hear?”

“Yes, yes, yes, I hear, I hear……”

……

Inside the inn’s Tianzi Room Number One, Guan Wujue stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the door. Yun Changliu sat on the edge of the bed, complaining in a cold tone. “……You call me young master, refer to yourself as subordinate, yet still make me speak.”

“But Young Master, this won’t do……” Guan Wujue sighed with a headache, looking as if he felt disappointment in him. “You also can’t always stay in Xifeng City without coming out. In the future when you travel the martial world, you’ll have to deal with many people.”

Yun Changliu felt this reasoning made no sense.

He thought privately: where was there any future for him?

Seeing the Sect Leader’s distraction, Guan Wujue guessed what he was thinking. The Protector’s eyes dimmed, and though he had much more to say, the words stuck in his throat and wouldn’t come out.

——Heavenly fate was always so unfair.

His Sect Leader was clearly so good, so very good. In Guan Wujue’s eyes, whether judging by natural talent, character, or even appearance, looking across the entire martial world there was no second person who could compare to the Sect Leader… yet this Fengchun Sheng poison had to be planted in his body.

Other young men could freely ride fine horses in fresh clothes through spring flowers, showing off their courage and pride, shooting arrows and hunting with dogs, laughing and cursing freely. But some people could only sit withered in the mountains day after day, year after year, enduring their life through rounds of painful torment, from being Young Sect Leader Changliu back then to becoming Sect Leader Yun now, yet still unable to escape the clutches of fate.

Guan Wujue sighed, his thousand thoughts becoming a single sentence:

“How can this subordinate feel at ease leaving……”

Yun Changliu could normally ignore however much his Protector rambled on, but this one sentence made him alertly sensitive. He frowned and asked, “Leaving? Where are you going?”

Just then, the door was knocked on, and an inn attendant came in to deliver food, a bathing tub, and the silver needles Guan Wujue had requested.

Guan Wujue happened to be right at the door, so he received the needle case, watching as the attendant brought things in and then left. Once the door closed, he discovered that Yun Changliu was still staring at him, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

The Protector could only smile bitterly. He inspected the silver needles once through, carefully storing them by the bed, then looked up helplessly. “Not going anywhere… this subordinate now doesn’t even dare pick out a good set of needles himself! Afraid that when your poison flares, you won’t even know how to call for a physician! Where could I possibly go?”

Hearing Guan Wujue’s almost reproachful words, the Sect Leader’s face remained impassive, but his heart strangely settled down. He shook his head. “You only wanted one room for this reason too? The poison won’t flare up that quickly.”

“Even so… one must prepare for any eventuality.”

When it came to Yun Changliu’s matters, Guan Wujue felt that exercising ten thousand times the caution still wasn’t enough. If he really let loose with his instructions and admonitions to Yun Changliu, he couldn’t finish even if he talked for three days and nights——but thinking of Wen Feng far away in Xifeng City, the Protector still firmly believed that the old nanny’s duties were better entrusted to a personal attendant.

Afterward, the two simply had some food. Naturally, the fare at such a small-town inn couldn’t compare to what was available within the Zhuyin Sect, but fortunately neither was picky, and moreover they’d eaten quite a few snacks here and there along the way, so they were soon full.

While Yun Changliu was still leisurely sipping from a small cup of soup, Guan Wujue had already set down his chopsticks. Seeing that it was getting rather late, he said casually, “Young Master, will you bathe later? I’ll have them bring up hot water.”

Yun Changliu made an affirmative sound and took a sip of soup. “You go first.”

Unexpectedly, Guan Wujue said, “This subordinate doesn’t need to. I’m not dirty, so I won’t wash tonight.”

Yun Changliu frowned. “You should still wash.”

Guan Wujue smiled. “I don’t want to.”

“……”

Sect Leader Yun lowered his eyes.

He slowly swirled the soup that was only a little over half remaining, then carefully touched his lips to it to confirm the temperature was indeed neither cold nor hot, and then——

With a composed expression, he tossed it up.

Splashing the soup across Guan Wujue’s chest.

“Will you wash or not?”

“——!?”

Guan Wujue was dumbstruck.

“No, wait… Sect Le….Young Master, you——!?”

The Protector’s brain instantly short-circuited. Feeling the soup water trickling stickily down along his collar, he simply couldn’t believe what had just happened——

This, this, this—how could anyone do such a thing!?

Who was this person before him with that utterly calm face turning his eyes away!

Where was his Sect Leader who had always been pure-hearted and upright!?

And Yun Changliu simply acted as if nothing had happened, letting the Protector’s stare at him grow increasingly horrified.

After a long silence.

“……Fine then.”

Guan Wujue stood up with a dark expression, “Then please excuse this subordinate’s rudeness in using the bath first——may the Sect Leader please step aside?”