Immortalis

Tong Xue

Seventeen

Five days later.

After that farce, staying at Boundless Sword Manor was naturally out of the question.

For the past few days, Shen Qingshi, Yang Wujian, and Zhou Huai had been staying at an inn at the foot of the mountain, waiting for Yang Wujian’s “distant relatives” to come and take Yu Qiao away.

The incident on the mountain had caused quite a stir. It was said that after sending everyone down, Boundless Sword Manor had even imposed a lockdown on the entire manor, a testament to the severity of the situation.

As the parties involved, the three of them now drew frequent sidelong glances whenever they walked down the street. Zhou Huai endured it for two days before he could no longer stand it. He sought out Yang Wujian and complained, “Miss Yang, when exactly are your relatives coming? I haven’t dared to carry my White Rainbow Tower token these past two days… I can’t stand staying in Westwind Town for another moment.”

“Young Master Zhou, why are you so uneasy? We solved the case—we’re the heroes here.”

Yang Wujian continued eating without looking up. She, too, wished for someone to arrive sooner.

Even before going up the mountain, she had sent a message to Longevity Palace, asking them to send two disciples disguised as a couple to take Yu Qiao away.

However, saying it was easy, but carrying it out proved difficult.

Over the years, to conceal their whereabouts, Longevity Palace had adopted convoluted methods of communication. Even carrier pigeons had to be relayed, and then they had to wait for someone from Longevity Palace to arrive, which would take at least several days.

For her, stirring up such a commotion while investigating these old cases of Longevity Palace was only a matter of time. She paid little mind to the stares from people on the street.

The real trouble was the person sitting across from her.

After descending the mountain, Shen Qingshi had been following her for several days, and Yang Wujian knew that he had already grown suspicious of her back when they were still on the mountain.

During the act they put on together, Shen Qingshi didn’t need to go to such lengths, yet he had suddenly struck her with a palm in the room—the force of it sharp and fierce, clearly testing her.

It seemed he had already begun to suspect her identity as a descendant of the Crescent Moon Blade.

Yang Wujian sighed inwardly. She knew Shen Qingshi had been following her since they came down the mountain, and Shen Qingshi knew she was aware of it. Yet he continued to follow her, as if performing in a play.

In the past, Longevity Palace only dealt with martial artists—most of whom were shameless, but not exactly frightening.

In comparison, the Zhaoming Division was a truly terrifying entity.

Shen Qingshi rarely spoke under normal circumstances. At first, Yang Wujian had assumed he was just expressionless, but it turned out he was also skilled at acting and lying.

Precisely because he usually maintained such a serious demeanor, no one would suspect him when he lied.

Yang Wujian glanced at Shen Qingshi sitting across from her. He ate without making a sound, even setting down his bowl and chopsticks gently, as if long accustomed to such habits.

What was he planning these past few days while following her?

Was he trying to keep her on edge, waiting for her to let her guard down before catching her off guard?

Yang Wujian could only assume the worst. After all, Longevity Palace was about to send someone to pick up Yu Qiao. If anything went wrong, the entire organization’s whereabouts would be exposed.

After a moment’s thought, she suddenly said, “I reckon they’ll arrive in the next couple of days. Young Master, you must be quite reluctant to part with Yu Qiao, right? How about you go in my place to see her off?”

“Me, go in your place?”

Zhou Huai widened his eyes. “Your relatives, and I should go?”

Yang Wujian smiled playfully at him. “Don’t you want to meet my relatives?”At those words, Zhou Huai belatedly flushed, his cheeks reddening: "Of course I can go, but... aren't you coming along?"

"If I see them, they'll just nag me about marriage until my ears callous over."

Yang Wujian sighed. "Perhaps because they have no children of their own, they've always been overly invested in my affairs. When I was young, they even arranged a marriage prospect for me. If I meet them now, I have no desire to endure their lecturing for no reason."

With just a few words, Yang Wujian had convinced Zhou Huai. But she knew perfectly well that while this excuse was sufficient for Young Master Zhou, it fell far short of convincing Shen Qingshi.

If he suspected her origin, then with these two distant relatives showing up at their doorstep, Shen Qingshi would naturally not pass up the chance to investigate.

She needed to find a way to completely dispel his suspicions.

Another day passed, and Yang Wujian received a message via carrier pigeon informing her that the visitors had arrived at Westwind Town.

She arranged to meet them at the inn but had no intention of seeing them herself, choosing instead to remain in her room and observe how things unfolded.

To Zhou Huai's surprise, at the last moment, Shen Qingshi also expressed a desire to see Yu Qiao off, saying that with the long and arduous journey ahead, they might never meet again in this lifetime.

Shortly after the hour of the monkey had passed, an elderly couple entered the inn, followed by a slender young man. He was strikingly handsome, but Zhou Huai could tell at a glance that the fabric of his clothes was of poor quality, the sword on his back lacked a tassel, and he bore no resemblance to the jade token of White Rainbow Tower hanging at his waist that signified status... He was undoubtedly a poor fellow.

The elderly couple spotted them from a distance and approached with kindly smiles. Upon inquiry, they revealed themselves to be Yang Wujian's maternal aunt and uncle—practically the ones who had watched her grow up. They knew that after inheriting the Crescent Moon Blade, she had been drifting from place to place, solely to avenge her cousin.

After exchanging pleasantries, just as Zhou Huai was about to introduce Yu Qiao, the poor young man suddenly let out a cold snort.

"So you're the two clinging to Wu Jian?"

The newcomer wore a hostile expression, looking as if he wished nothing more than to drag the two outside for a fight right then and there.

"We're clinging to her?"

Shen Qingshi raised an eyebrow. "And who are you to her?"

"Where is Wu Jian? Why isn't she here?"

It seemed he couldn't be bothered to exchange even one more word with Shen Qingshi. After a fruitless search on the first floor, he immediately headed upstairs, his voice softening as he went from door to door calling, "Wu Jian, please talk to me. I just want to speak with you. We can discuss the marriage later."

"Marriage?"

Zhou Huai's eyes widened as if struck by lightning. "What do you mean? Has Miss Yang gotten engaged?"

"This Luo Yi is a relative on my sister-in-law's side—you could say he's Wu Jian's childhood friend. They grew up together and even had a marriage arrangement discussed when they were young. But after Wu Jian grew up, she rarely returned. This time, upon receiving the letter, Luo Yi insisted on coming to see her. We had no choice but to bring him along."

Yang Wujian's aunt finished with a smile, then shifted her gaze to Zhou Huai and Shen Qingshi, her face beaming. "You two young masters look quite impressive. Are you... interested in Wu Jian?"

"......"

It was only then that Zhou Huai finally understood why Yang Wujian had been unwilling to see her aunt and uncle.

Before he could speak, the young man named Luo Yi, after knocking on a door upstairs for a while, discovered that Yang Wujian's room was already empty, leaving behind only three characters written in tea on the table: Don't look for me.

"Where have you hidden her?"Luo Yi stormed down furiously, nearly drawing his sword at Zhou Huai and Shen Qingshi on the spot.

"Do you have any idea who I am, shouting at me like that?"

Zhou Huai could tolerate Yang Wujian, but not this childhood friend of Yang Wujian's. As the two were about to come to blows in the inn, the aunt and uncle hurried over to mediate. After a chaotic commotion, they finally managed to lead Yu Qiao away, with Luo Yi glancing back repeatedly as they exited the inn.

"He didn't follow us."

Only when they reached the outskirts of the city did Luo Yi finally confirm that Shen Qingshi hadn't trailed behind them.

He breathed a soft sigh of relief: "Just as I thought. Once it involves these trivial domestic matters, that guy loses interest in investigating."

"Elder Guanshui, who was that person? And the one in the inn..."

While Yu Qiao played in the distance, the couple finally had a chance to speak with Luo Yi... or rather, Yang Wujian.

An endless stream, without rest or interval.

Since long ago, Luo Yi had been the alias Yang Wujian used while roaming the martial world.

The reason for bringing out Luo Yi this time was that if they didn't perform this scene of petty squabbles, it would have been difficult to explain things to Shen Qingshi.

Still wearing the human skin mask he'd taken from Yu Qiao, he stretched his joints that had been tightly constricted for days, speaking in his long-unused male voice with irritation: "Someone from the Zhaoming Division, and another... ah, it's complicated. Don't worry about the details. Take the medicinal herbs I found earlier back to Gu Yun. Don't tell her I'm with people from the Zhaoming Division - I'm afraid she'd worry."

"Understood. Elder Gu Yun asked us to give you these Blood Replenishing Pills. She also said that even if your bones are naturally flexible enough to withstand prolonged Bone Shrinking, you should still use some nourishing medicine to prevent future pain. Additionally, Elder Gu Yun gave you a bottle of autumn pear syrup for your throat. She said since you change your voice year-round, your throat must often be dry and hoarse. Taking something to moisten your lungs and nourish your throat will help prevent giving yourself away."

As "Uncle" spoke, he respectfully presented three jade bottles. Yang Wujian couldn't help but smile wryly.

If there was anyone in this world who worried about him most, it was undoubtedly Gu Yun. Though her martial skills surpassed his by a margin, she had practically become like an old nursemaid around him.

"I've been Miss Yang for so long now, I'm used to Bone Shrinking and voice changing. I could even shrink back in my sleep."

Yang Wujian tore off the human skin mask, revealing his true appearance.

In this martial world, aside from members of the Longevity Palace, everyone who had seen his male form was dead.

The reason was simple - Yang Wujian's male and female appearances were nearly identical. Only now, without makeup and with his limbs elongated, he instantly transformed into a handsome young man with rather feminine features.

He breathed a long sigh of relief, then accepted his usual red garments and Golden Rings from "Aunt," saying helplessly, "I can't stay out too long, or that person will become suspicious. Be careful on your journey. I'm entrusting Yu Qiao to you. After much consideration, I still believe that given his origin, even if practicing the Longevity Heart Sutra will shorten his lifespan, it's better than him drifting alone in this martial world."

Before Yu Qiao returned, Yang Wujian went to change clothes. When the heavy Golden Rings were finally in place, no one would suspect that his weight was considerably greater than that of an ordinary woman.

This should count as temporarily dealing with the situation regarding Shen Qingshi.Yang Wujian thought that since this person had close ties with the authorities, he might prove useful again in future investigations of Longevity Palace. Therefore, she needed to maintain her "Miss Yang" persona in front of him for a while longer.

However, thanks to his paranoia, he had even bought a shabby set of clothes just for this act...

On the way back, the more Yang Wujian thought about it, the angrier she became.

Earlier at the inn, just one look at Zhou Huai's condescending attitude told her he looked down on the cheap male attire she'd casually purchased. His face practically screamed "where did this pauper come from?"

Yet this fool couldn't even distinguish between male and female - his judgment of people was completely blind, though his eye for judging the value of objects was sharp indeed.

At this thought, Yang Wujian couldn't help rolling her eyes dramatically.

By the time she returned to the inn, it was already dark outside. Both Zhou Huai and Shen Qingshi had lights on in their rooms. After some consideration, Yang Wujian decided it would be better to confront Shen Qingshi directly to prevent him from following her again... After all, Shen Qingshi must have known he would be discovered eventually.

"So you're allowed to catch me off guard, is that it?"

Yang Wujian sneered coldly. This time, she didn't even bother knocking, pushing open Shen Qingshi's door directly. But the moment she entered, she froze.

Shen Qingshi was in the bathtub behind the screen. From Yang Wujian's position, she could only see a corner of his slender back.

"You..."

"What is it?"

Shen Qingshi's back was to her, his voice calm as usual, but Yang Wujian couldn't remain so composed.

By the candlelight in the room, she had clearly seen an extremely deep brand mark below Shen Qingshi's right shoulder blade. In her memory, everyone with such a mark had died - except for one.

Yang Wujian was momentarily speechless when she heard a splash. Shen Qingshi actually stood up directly from the bathtub. Her heart leaped, and she immediately turned her back.

"What exactly do you want?"

Even while emerging naked from the bath in someone's presence, Shen Qingshi's voice showed no fluctuation, as if he felt no shame about it.

Yang Wujian's mind was in turmoil. After a long silence, she finally said, "Why have you been following me these past few days?"

"You noticed."

Rustling sounds indicated that Shen Qingshi was putting on his clothes behind her. He said calmly, "In your speech, you've shown much dissatisfaction with so-called orthodox sects. I was merely curious about where this dissatisfaction comes from."

"Of course it's because after my cousin was abducted, those orthodox sects claimed they would eradicate Longevity Palace and retrieve her, yet they've delayed for so many years."

Yang Wujian knew perfectly well that if she kept her back turned to avoid meeting Shen Qingshi's eyes, he would only grow more suspicious. So when the sounds behind her ceased, she turned around to find Shen Qingshi standing there barefoot, wearing only his inner garment, his hair still dripping - but without any steam at all.

Indeed, for a man, Shen Qingshi was rather too slender.

Though belatedly realizing this, Yang Wujian couldn't show any surprise. She could only tease as usual: "Young Master Shen, regardless of anything else, men and women should maintain proper distance. I admit it was my fault for not knowing you were bathing, but emerging naked in my presence - that's your fault, isn't it?"

"I thought you deliberately wanted to embarrass me."

Shen Qingshi stared at her unblinkingly, his eyes black like two deep wells. Yang Wujian instantly recalled the pair of eyes she had seen years ago in the Black Iron Cage, and couldn't help but feel her heart palpitate.He dared not continue confronting Shen Qingshi like this. Casually offering a few excuses, he told Shen Qingshi not to suspect him anymore, then turned and left the room.

How could this be?

Even after returning to his own room, Yang Wujian found it hard to believe. He drank three cups of tea in succession before barely calming down.

The mark on Shen Qingshi's back was the exact same symbol Old Palace Master Guanri had branded on the Flesh Conduit abducted fifteen years ago.

No one had ever walked out of that Alchemy Room alive—except one, just one... whom he had personally released.

But if Shen Qingshi truly was that Flesh Conduit...

Yang Wujian drew a sharp breath.

Then... could it be that he was actually a woman?