A Shui held Yu Tuan'er's hand and slowly retreated to the side while carrying Feng Feng. Several swordsmen from the Central Plains Sword Association guarded their safety. Yu Tuan'er craned her neck, looking around the crowd, hoping to catch sight of Liu Yan. A Shui, however, stood motionless, clutching Feng Feng tightly.
Hundreds of people had gathered here... every single one of them determined to capture Liu Yan. She stared straight ahead, her vision filled with swaying figures, yet she saw nothing—only remembering that moment... that day, the sorrow in his eyes.
Feng Feng's head rested on her shoulder as she slept. Only when she felt Feng Feng's warmth did A Shui feel safe, only then could she believe she could continue living normally. In the future she had envisioned for herself, there were no other men—only Feng Feng. So no matter how sorrowfully Liu Yan looked at her, she would not waver.
But he... was truly pitiful... Deep down, she hoped he wouldn’t come, that he would hide in any corner of the world—just not appear today. Yu Tuan'er tugged her hand and whispered, "These people are all cursing him." A Shui nodded. "He's done many wrong things, hurt many people." Yu Tuan'er asked softly, "Did they all get poisoned by him?" A Shui sighed. "Yes, many were poisoned. Whoever catches him can control all these people—everyone wants the antidote." Yu Tuan'er murmured, "He doesn’t have any antidote." A Shui paused. "How do you know?" Yu Tuan'er huffed. "I’ve even bathed him! He has nothing on him, no antidote at all." A Shui smiled faintly. "You’re so good to him." Yu Tuan'er grinned. "Of course! Because he’s been so good to me too." She pointed at her face. "He healed my face, saved my life." A Shui gently touched her cheek and whispered, "He really has been very, very good to you." Yu Tuan'er nodded repeatedly, radiating happiness.
If she weren’t strong enough, would she have shattered under such a smile, broken into pieces? A Shui felt dazed. People were always lenient and fond of innocent, kind things... But for a woman like her, who only knew how to endure, were they accustomed to nitpicking, to testing the limits of her patience, to wanting to see her collapse... and then take pleasure in it, proving that she was no different from anyone else—that beneath the surface, she was just as wretched?
People couldn’t be compared—she had known that for a long time. But sometimes... sometimes it was just... so hard to accept... hard to accept that she was a woman even far inferior to Yu Tuan'er.
She had always worked hard to live... hard not to appear pitiful, hard to carve out a life of her own, independent of anyone. Yet no one had ever respected her. They would cherish and indulge things far more fragile and ignorant than her, but they didn’t know how to treat her well—nor had they ever intended to.
They all expected her to be good to them and would feel hurt if she wasn’t attentive enough, warm enough, or sincere enough. Hao Wenhou, Liu Yan, Tang Lici—they were all like this. But... but... the rules of the world shouldn’t be this way. She knew deeply that this was wrong, absurd—yet reality was just like this.She had no one to rely on; the only thing she could hold onto was her own endurance.
"Sister A Shui?" Yu Tuan'er noticed her gazing silently into the distance. "What's wrong?" A Shui shook her head and smiled faintly. "It's nothing."
The second floor of Beauty Abode was unusually quiet, as if Lin Bu's kidnapping meant nothing to them. Dong Hubi and Wenxiu Shitai discussed the matter and divided the 639 people from the 26 sects gathered outside Beauty Abode into 20 small teams. Their task was to monitor the movements of the Dissolute Shop members while also watching for any approaching outsiders.
Yet as noon passed and dusk fell, the kitchen of Beauty Abode continuously sent dishes upstairs, but no one came.
Liu Yan and Xue Xianzi hid in the dense forest of the valley, where stray dogs roamed everywhere. Though unafraid of the dogs, being discovered would still be troublesome. Xue Xianzi sprinkled pollen all over Liu Yan. Known for his fondness for flowers and women, he always carried rare floral pollen to charm beauties—today, however, it was used on Liu Yan. The pollen's scent was subtle, exuding an unusual fragrance. Xue Xianzi hoped its aroma would mask Liu Yan's scent and confuse the dogs' sense of smell, though whether it worked remained uncertain. Watching Fang Pingzhai depart, they noticed the Demon Soul Death Warriors below had yet to regroup, leaving the area in chaos. Seizing the opportunity, Xue Xianzi sneaked down, captured two men, sealed their acupoints, stripped them naked, and buried them in the mountain weeds. Then, he and Liu Yan donned the black robes of the Demon Soul Death Warriors, put on their human-skin masks, and swaggered down the mountain.
Entering the enemy's stronghold, Xue Xianzi supported Liu Yan, whose limp drew no suspicion given the many injured by Fang Pingzhai. They slipped into an intact tent, where five men lay inside. Before they could react, Xue Xianzi knocked them out. The two then devoured the food and wine on the table, eating their fill before resting briefly. After the meal, Xue Xianzi boldly ventured out to gather news, returning with word that Lin Bu had been rescued—though by whom was unclear—and was no longer at Beauty Abode. Liu Yan fell silent for a moment before asking, "Are the poisoned ones still there?""Those from the sect who have been poisoned are all waiting at Beauty Abode. Although Dissolute Shop lost Lin Bu, they haven’t withdrawn. Seems like everyone’s waiting for you, the big fish. Since Lin Bu has already been rescued, why don’t you just slip away quietly? At most, I’ll secretly notify your disciple and have him search for you to the ends of the earth." Xue Xianzi shook his head. "There’s no benefit in showing up now."
Liu Yan replied slowly, "If I don’t appear, people will either think I’m dead or that I’ve gone into hiding, never to return. Then all those poisoned in the martial world will have no choice but to submit to Dissolute Shop, because only they possess the Ape-Demon Nine Heart Pill—the thing that prolongs life and enhances power. Dissolute Shop is desperate to capture me for two reasons: first, they themselves want what they call the 'antidote'; second, they fear I might actually have it. So if I don’t show myself, the balance of power in the martial world will tilt toward Dissolute Shop, and many of those waiting outside Beauty Abode will be forced to make choices against their conscience. All of this… is my sin."
Xue Xianzi nearly spat out the soup he had just sipped. "The rumors say Liu Yan of Dissolute Shop is a sinister, ruthless, lecherous, and wicked demon—Little Tang’s mortal enemy. But you seem like a decent person! And you and Little Tang are clearly life-and-death friends. For your sake, he even dared to drag this old man into trouble. Truly, martial world gossip can’t be trusted, sigh!"
Liu Yan remained silent for a while before speaking again. "I must go out and tell them that there is an antidote to the Ape-Demon Nine Heart Pill, that I’m not dead yet, and that they don’t have to yield to Dissolute Shop’s threats."
Xue Xianzi shook his head repeatedly. "Your intentions are noble and grand, but if you go out now, even two Xue Xianzis might not be enough to keep you alive. What use is a dead Liu Yan? Can your corpse turn into an antidote to cure the poison of the Ape-Demon Nine Heart Pill? Even if it could, one person’s body—counting even the hair—wouldn’t be enough for so many people to consume. And if you die, others will still accuse you of favoritism.""The antidote hasn't been made yet, so no one dares take my life," Liu Yan said gravely. Xue Xianzi laughed heartily, "That depends on whether you have the strength to oppose both sides. With just me alone, it's far from enough. The Dissolute Shop wants to throw you into boiling oil, and the righteous factions of the martial world want to capture you for execution by a thousand cuts. Unless you find an immortal as your backer, even if you make the antidote, you'll still die—and the antidote you create will just become someone else's stepping stone to the martial world's throne." Liu Yan's eyes flickered slightly, "An immortal?" Xue Xianzi nodded, "An immortal—the Jade Emperor, the Supreme Laozi, Erlang Shen, that sort of thing..." Liu Yan murmured, "What about Tang Lici?" Xue Xianzi rapped him hard on the head, "Are you trying to get Xiao Tang killed? No one knows what past ties you and he might have. He has no reason to stand up for you. If he does, everyone will assume it's not for you, Liu Yan, but for the martial world's throne. All his opponents would immediately seize the excuse to prove his sinister ambitions, and Xiao Tang would instantly become a target for everyone's hatred." Liu Yan fell silent. Whenever faced with a thorny problem, he habitually assumed A-Li could solve anything, clinging to illusions even when he knew it was impossible—but clearly, he was wrong. After a while, he said slowly, "I'll write a letter. Take it to Beauty Abode and give it to Cheng Yunpao." Xue Xianzi beamed, "Ah, brilliant, brilliant! Write it quickly!"
OpenNovel