Ch 70-79

chapter 70

“ This corporeal world, this self, forgotten.1

— FOR THOSE WHO HAVE STUDIED WUGONG and reached the pinnacle of their art,

to wander alone2 with the knowledge can be harmful for them. This is why, when they

have reached a certain level, wugong technique becomes similar to that of a foreign

object—it is not necessarily the key to victory.

However, this certainly does not mean that technique is not essential. Just as words are

the voice of the mind, what is beautiful on the inside should be just as well on the

outside. If only one’s neigong is unparalleled their whole life, then it would be

tantamount to possessing a mountain of treasure with empty hands, yet not knowing

how to use it.

Qi Fengge was the most brilliant wugong master of his time. Those who have

thoroughly studied swordsmanship can be lost by the splendor of countless sword

techniques; they may not know how to apply each one. The better choice is to simplify

what is complicated; so Qi Fengge took the swordplay techniques of Xuandu Mountain

and consolidated them. In the end, he left behind two sets of techniques: of them, one

was the famous Canglang Sword Technique.

The sets of sword techniques from Xuandu Mountain combined the Daoist doctrines of

tranquility and inaction, as well as the Daoist practice of ziran3 theory. There is an

emphasis on moving as one with silence4 and striking only after one’s opponent has, as

well as on agility and elegance. As it happened, Shen Qiao’s personality worked well in

accordance with this skillset, so when he studied it, his approach often yielded twice

the results.

But when he had begun to cultivate the true qi from the Zhuyang Ce, his former

swordplay techniques gradually became less suitable for him, for the true qi of the

Zhuyang Ce did not only contain Daoist theory, but also the essence of Confucian and

1 The original chapter title isn’t on jjwxc anymore, so I just picked a line and put it here.

2 飛花落葉: fei hua luo ye. An idiom, literally translated, that means: a fluttering flower, a falling leaf. It is

used to describe Pratyekabuddhas (獨覺承人), or those who have achieved Buddhist enlightenment

alone, without teachers or guides.

3 自然: ziran. This is typically translated as ‘nature’, but ‘ziran’ also means simply ‘to be,’ or ‘naturally

occuring’.

4 以静制动 yi jing zhi dong: to move along with silence. often used to describe being as patient as one

can with a decision, not to act rashly; to move with one’s opponent instead of trying to move first.

Buddhist teachings combined into one. The capable and vigorous nature of

Confucianism, as well as the unwavering strength of Buddhism could not possibly be

embodied in the Canglang Sword Technique.

However, even if all things in this world had their differences, they will also inevitably

share some similarities. Earlier, when he had seen that performer dancing as he

practiced calligraphy, he noticed that the performer did not seem to perform for the

crowd of onlookers, despite being in a loud market and performing his art to turn a

profit. Instead, he was wholeheartedly immersed in what he was doing. He performed,

with unwavering concentration, a dance filled with joy. The dancing style of the

Western regions was bold and unrestrained; yet calligraphy was a meticulous art. By

bringing these two arts together, he created an exotic sort of harmony that bridged

both strength and gentleness. Though onlookers may simply think that his actions were

very beautiful, Shen Qiao had vicariously learned through the experience, and from it,

he had created an entirely new sword technique.

At this moment, his body rose as his blade fell. The light from the blade shined freely

as the winter sun fell behind the tops of the trees. Though much life has withered here,

this single person and his sword swept over the land, cleansing it. He turned his body

and began to move in such a way that it resembled the supple and yielding nature of

the spring breeze and rain, and other times, the firm and transcendent nature of the

Buddhist chu5.

The mild spring sun, the clear summer moon, all of it was within him.

The rustling autumn breeze, the cold winter grass, conceal, but do not harm.

The pure mountains and rivers, the torrential Jianghan river, their essence as though

heaven-made.

A divine light shines and departs,

and it would be suddenly light, suddenly dark.

He stood as though like a crane, bringing its lithe and graceful body to its feet,

preparing to fly, having yet to soar. 6

As his soul was in his sword,

his sword was in his person.

5 佛杵: fo chu. a Buddhist ritual object, referred to as a ‘vajra’ in Sanskrit, meant to symbolize both the properties of

a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force).

6 This is an excerpt from Ode to the Nymph of Luo River by Cao Zhi (曹植的《洛神赋》). Translation from Classical to

contemporary Mandarin here, and thank goodness for it, because I was not going to make heads or tails of it

otherwise.

The corporeal world, this self, forgotten,

and with this, he comes to a clear, transparent understanding.

The surrounding trees collapsed, one after the other, as the jian qi drew near it, as

though experiencing the effects of the jian qi upon itself. A narrow trail of jian qi

emerged from the soil beneath him, which was once cold and hard. The jian qi was

sometimes deep, and sometimes shallow; sometimes it was long, and sometimes it

was short. Occasionally, the dead leaves would part from their branches one by one, as

though in awe of the jian qi--yet before they touched the ground, they would be spun

around by the jian qi that encircled it.

Suddenly, the point of the sword would tremble, and the withered leaves would seem

to move somewhat with it, before each leaf suddenly shooting ahead with such force

that it plunged three zhang deep into the trunks of the trees—not revealing any more,

and not leaving any less.

That a master could pour true qi into flowers in the breeze or falling leaves to wound

someone was not unheard of; however, to use a sword to defend from the leaves was

at least a level beyond that.

The Shanhe Tongbei sword hummed a low vibration, as though fluctuating with its

user’s frame of mind. Concealed within it were the boundless mountains and rivers; the

sound of the wind, the thunder, the ocean waves. The light of the blade was not so

bright that it blinded the eyes, but only enough to produce a weak layer of illumination

to the body of the sword, having a much softer appearance than before. However, this

light could move with Shen Qiao’s will—appearing and disappearing intermittently,

rising and falling as he did.

With this technique complete, Shen Qiao stood and sheathed his sword. He exhaled a

slow, long breath. The excitement he experienced in his heart had not yet completely

subsided, while the blood had gone cold in the pit of his stomach, leaving him close to

nausea.

He understood that this was because he had understood the realm of jian xin, but his

nei li was not yet sufficient enough to manage jian xin, so the jian qi had retaliated

against him.

Those who study wugong only wish for a single thing in their lifetimes: to progress

without end, climbing each new level. Therefore, while the less talented look up to

these masters, it is these masters who, in contrast, wish to continue forwards and climb

over such obstacles, with no limits as to what they have yet to learn in this sea of

knowledge. How can wu dao ever have limits? Jian dao7 had four boundaries: jian qi,

jian yi, jian xin, and jian shen. To many people, jian shen was only something heard of

in legends. Outside of the couple Gan Jiang and Mo Ye sacrificing themselves and

7 劍道 jiandao: the ‘path’ of studying the sword, swordsmanship.

sacrificing their lives for their swords, having obeyed orders and achieving the

boundary of jian shen in this way8, from the past until now, nearly no other person

would ever reach this stage.

As far as those who have reached the stage of jian xin, one would scan all the land and

the past several decades, and they would only find that Tao Hongjing and Qi Fengge

were the only two people who had ever done this.

And they have passed on. Tao Hongjing and Qi Fengge, in the end, remain a part of

history.

While Shen Qiao lives in this moment.

Shen-daozhang sheathed his sword, and remained standing where he was. He slowly

relaxed his quick, chaotic breathing. He felt the contentment that had filled his heart

gradually disappear. And he suddenly remembered a very serious issue: he had

forgotten Yan Wushi back at the restaurant.

Shen Qiao said to himself, this isn’t good, and swiftly headed back to the city.

Yan Wushi didn’t have a fraction of a wen on him. Shen Qiao had even left. If the

restaurant’s keeper were to press for money for the meal, it would be difficult to

imagine what the other person would do, even if the near-harmless “Xie Ling” was the

disposition in control.

Once he thought of this, Shen Qiao’s pace quickened. In the blink of an eye, he had

returned to that very restaurant.

Sure enough, standing by their spot by the second-floor window were about seven or

eight people. Amongst them was the owner of the restaurant, as well as a few

customers.

Yan Wushi was surrounded on all sides by a crowd that fixed their gazes upon him.

However, he did not move. Beneath the mi li, one would be unable to make out the

expression he wore. At first glance, it would seem that he had just been scolded and

sat there, meekly, not daring to move.

Shen Qiao quickly approached them.

“I’m very sorry. Earlier, I had a brief matter to attend to and left for a moment. How

much is it together? I’ll pay for it!”

The owner of the restaurant was a Han person. The moment he laid eyes on Shen

Qiao, it was as though he had caught sight of his savior. Wearing a bitter look, he

began: “Langjun, we’re but a small business. It is difficult in many respects to carry on,

8 干將莫邪 gan jiang and mo ye: a swordsmith couple who were prominent in literature during the spring

and autumn period, and...yeah, they died as a result of forging these swords, named for them! you can

read this tale here.

“Are you still angry? I was wrong, I shouldn’t have left you there and went off the way I

did. So don’t be angry anymore. I wanted so much to try out that swordplay technique,

so I was careless. If you want something to eat or to play with, I’ll go and buy it for you.

How about that?9”

Yan Wushi was silent for a moment, before saying: “I want another tang ren.”

Shen Qiao was silent.

When the other person said he wanted tang ren, Shen Qiao suddenly felt a small

regret. But then again, he had been the one to dig his own grave and jump right into

it. He had stated the terms, so how could he not commit to them? Because of this, he

could only bring Yan Wushi back to the vendor from earlier that made tang ren. The

vendor still recognized them, and smiled curiously: “You two have come back again?

Perhaps you still want tang ren?”

Shen Qiao said, embarrassed: “Yes. Please give us another one.”

“Two more,” Yan Wushi said.

“...two more please.” Shen Qiao could only compromise.

Who could possibly regret business at their door? The vendor beamed with smiles, and

moved quickly. Two tang ren were immediately spun from sugar and produced.

Yan Wushi took one in each hand. He bit into one and crunched loudly, while Shen

Qiao could only pretend not to hear, and took him to the inn for a room.

Every time they had a room, always, one person would sleep in the bed, while the

other would meditate. Shen Qiao’s nei li was gradually recovering, so when they had

time, he would meditate instead of sleep. This was not only because the other person

would not practice wugong, but also because it served as a form of rest.

“Since we have that sheet of silk, you can heal your demonic core now. You had ought

to...” Shen Qiao said to Yan Wushi.

But halfway through, he suddenly stopped.

This was because Yan Wushi had removed his mi li and already finished one tang ren.

He was just starting on the other tang ren’s “head” and was licking it slowly. He licked

it so that the Shen Qiao tang ren’s face and head were glistening all over.

“...what are you doing?” Shen Qiao asked.

Yan Wushi said, innocently: “I’m a little full. So this one, I have to, eat slowly.”

9 I want Shen Qiao to be my boyfriend and I want him to say that he was sorry for leaving me behind ok

this just!!!!!!! THIS IS JUST!!!!!

Shen Qiao certainly could not say, ‘could you not lick it?’, because it would sound

rather strange. He was eating candy after all. If Shen Qiao were to say this, he would

seem overly sensitive.

He could only choose to put it out of sight and out of mind.

“The Central Plains is not like the Western Regions,” Shen Qiao said, finishing his

earlier thought, “The moment we enter the country of Zhou, our whereabouts will be

revealed sooner or later. Now that you have the sheet of silk, healing your demonic

core is imminent. Now that we have time, there isn’t any harm in refining it.”

One he said this, Shen Qiao could not help but shake his head and laugh, spitefully:

“Actually, if you were now the real Yan Wushi, you would not leave it to me to caution

you about this over and over.”

“If the demonic core is healed,” Yan Wushi said, suddenly, “Xie Ling might not be able

to be here.”

Shen Qiao’s smile faded. He was silent. A long moment passed, before he sighed,

lightly. “But you cannot possibly be like this for the rest of your life. Perhaps Xie Ling is

willing, but Yan Wushi may not.”

'Xie Ling’ was a part of Yan Wushi. However, Yan Wushi would never have returned to

save him after he had freed himself and left.

Perhaps it was that every person who had a heart of stone would always have a

fragment of tenderness deep within them. Though it was only a fragment so small it

was almost nothing, Xie Ling had gotten his share of this fragment. And he had poured

all of it into Shen Qiao, who he had deemed most worthy of his trust.

But now, one day, when ‘Xie Ling’ disappears, will this gentleness also disappear with

him and leave no trace?

And Yan Wushi, will he remain the selfish and cold Huanyue zongzhu, who would not

be swayed by any person?

The other person looked at him with deep, black eyes. He clearly devoted all of his

attention to him, possessing no sign of impurity. This was the first time that Shen Qiao

had ever seen anything like this in any of Yan Wushi’s other dispositions.

This was Xie Ling, and not Yan Wushi.

Shen Qiao told himself this, before approaching him, and softly caressing the top of

the other’s head.

The other person allowed him, only raising his chin slightly, as though rubbing against

Shen Qiao’s hand somewhat.

This was something that only Xie Ling could do.

Shen Qiao’s heart became soft at once. And within this softness emerged an

inexplicable, sadness.

With the use of the yu congrong herb, Yan Wushi’s head wound had gradually begun

to heal over. However, the damaged meridians within him needed to be repaired. It

was not something that could be done in a night, and Yan Wushi’s disposition, at

present, was fickle, and may not necessarily focus on healing himself, the way he was

now. When his body was being controlled by Xie Ling, the desire to heal fell to its

absolute lowest point, and his manner of thinking had also simplified somewhat. Even

a tang ren was enough to satisfy him.

“The sheet of silk is still with you, right? Let me see it,” Shen Qiao said.

The other person took it out and gave it to him.

Shen Qiao took the sheet of silk and narrowed his eyes, so as to read it. Upon it were

characters that were as small as a fly’s head that could have only been embroidered

with thread, not written with a brush. For this reason, it did not fade despite the

months and years that passed it by.

Written upon it did indeed concern the wugong of the demonic sects. Tao Hongjing, in

those years, perhaps had seen the Riyue Sect’s wugong records. The silk sheet was

filled with around one thousand characters, and most of it reflected his observations

and commentaries on the wugong style of the demonic sects. There was not a concrete

discussion about how the key to success with the wugong style of the demonic sects,

nor its secret methods. Shen Qiao’s vision was now inadequate; under the weak

candlelight, he was able to struggle to finish reading it. His eyes immediately felt so

sore that it was difficult to endure. Tears had nearly begun to shed from them.

“It doesn’t seem to say anything about healing the flaw in the demonic core, does it?”

he said curiously, handing the sheet of silk back to him.

“There is,” Yan Wushi said.

“Where?” Shen Qiao said.

Yan Wushi shook his head.

After a moment, he said once more: “I don’t know, but he does.”

The meaning of this was that Xie Ling didn’t know, but the original did.

Shen Qiao nodded, and did not ask any more. He waited for the other person to fall

asleep before finding a cotton mattress to sit upon and meditate.

Moonlight fell upon them like water, as the hours gave way to night.

Even the distant sound of dogs barking also disappeared. Heaven and earth became

immersed in sleep; tranquil quiet permeating inside and out.

The person in bed, however, did not sleep peacefully. Occasionally he would move

somewhat, as though he were struggling.

Shen Qiao noticed his movements and opened his eyes. He stood and approached

him, so as to look more closely.

“Xie Ling?” he called out in a soft voice.

The man’s brow was tightly knit, as though he were caught in some sort of nightmare.

Shen Qiao extended one hand to touch his forehead. Before he was able to, the other

man suddenly opened both of his eyes.

This wasn’t ‘Xie Ling’!

The moment their eyes met, Shen Qiao quickly became cautious. He pulled his hand

away and began to draw back.

However, Yan Wushi moved much more quickly than he expected. The other man sat

up, as though he were a demon, and grabbed Shen Qiao’s face.

“Yan-zongzhu, it’s me!” Shen Qiao shouted.

But it was to no avail. The other man did not care; his attack was ruthless and severe,

every move filled with cruel, killing intent.

Yan Wushi had certainly sustained heavy wounds; however, his wugong was not

completely destroyed. Shen Qiao suddenly realized this fact. Before, the man rarely

attacked anyone, which was why Shen Qiao had the wrong impression of him.

However, even if this were the real Yan Wushi, he would not attack someone the

moment he opened his eyes without caring who they were. He clearly wore a dazed,

confused expression...

Shen Qiao suddenly remembered when Banna had said that Yan Wushi had grabbed

her neck. However, after that moment, Shen Qiao had never seen the other man

exhibit such fierce and irrational behavior, so this incident gradually faded from his

memory.

Perhaps this was yet another one of his dispositions revealing themselves?

Shen Qiao was utterly helpless. The two of them exchanged several moves. The current

Yan Wushi was not Shen Qiao’s opponent, but how he attacked without regard for his

own life concerned Shen Qiao greatly. Shen Qiao absolutely could not kill him either,

so in order to prevent their movements from disturbing the other guests at the inn,

Shen Qiao searched for an opportunity to close his acupoint.

Yan Wushi fell over, unable to resist any longer. Shen Qiao caught him, and noticed

that the other man’s face had suddenly become red and congested. He quickly took

the other man’s pulse and found that the energy within him was in complete disorder,

However, many knew of the Zhuyang Ce’s advantages, but they did not know how it

was so advantageous, even going as far as to assume that its contents were about

some exceptional wugong that, when cultivated, would allow them to be the greatest

master in the world. Even the former Qi Fengge and present Yan Wushi did not see

through its contents in its entirety. Up until Shen Qiao had destroyed his wugong did

he know the unusual essence of the Zhuyang Ce, and with this essence did he

reconstruct his foundations. If one had, from the beginning, started to cultivate true qi

of the Zhuyang Ce—which combined the greatest aspects of Confucianism, Buddhism,

and Daoism—then their skills would surpass that of many other people right then. As

their foundations would be different, then the realm that they would enter afterwards

would naturally be different from them as well.

However, even if many of the great masters knew of this, they could not possibly

destroy their own wugong and begin to cultivate the Zhuyang Ce. Additionally, those

who had already read parts of the Zhuyang Ce would naturally have a sentimental

attachment to it, and most of them would not want to share their knowledge with

others. As a result, the number of people in the world who could truly understand the

Zhuyang Ce’s essence most likely was not more than a handful at first glance.

At present, Shen Qiao could be said to be solemnly standing halfway up a great

mountain and able to see that the world was great and vast, that everything was

possible. However, this was not quite as good as a person who stood at the peak of the

mountain. Though each volume of the Zhuyang Ce were independently written one

after the other, all of them were connected, to some extent, with one another. As a

result, Shen Qiao would now occasionally cultivate up to a certain point that he would

not necessarily understand, and be unable to find an answer, forcing him to fumble for

one on his own. Perhaps once he finished reading the other two volumes, this sort of

issue would be completely reversed.

The volume in the Imperial Palace of Northern Zhou was quite possible. But with the

last time that he had met Yuwen Yong, the man would perhaps be unwilling to allow

him to read it.

But the one hidden in Tiantai Sect would be much more difficult. The Buddhist and

Daoist sects have never shared friendly relations. As every sect in the world was

fighting to unite the world under their own systems, they already found their own

leaders to support. All of them fought amongst one another endlessly. The Tiantai

Buddhist Sect would not possibly give their own sect’s well-guarded treasure to

someone who had no relation to them without rhyme or reason.

Shen Qiao thought about this until the middle of the night. His head dizzied with this,

he gradually fell asleep.

Until the light of early dawn reached their room and thoroughly woken him up.

This moment of sleep was not very deep. However, Shen Qiao had studied the

practices of the Daoist schools ever since he was a child. His personality was such that

he did not desire great fame or wealth. He never had been met with any situation that

was so hopeless that he would bury it in his heart. Additionally, he had always resigned

to carry a clear conscience through all matters, so naturally he would not spend each

day filled with anxiety14. Though he did not think deeply on these things, he was able

to recuperate somewhat as a result.

However, this simple way of living carried with it a sense of naivete15. But after having

essentially experienced a series of falls16, this naivete had precipitated from his nature.

Admittedly, he still treated others with the same utter innocence and whole-hearted

devotion that he always did. Yet he had also gradually learned how to distinguish the

true intent of other people, and would not so easily be deceived by others any longer.

Though his eyes had not yet opened, he could still sense someone gazing at him from

the bed.

He did not need to see to be able to know who it was. However, he did not know

which disposition would greet him when he woke this time. If it were that ruthless and

cruel one from the evening before, he would have to knock him out again. Either that,

or hire a drawn carriage and toss him in there before carrying on with the journey, so as

to avoid any more inconveniences from then on.

Shen Qiao’s thoughts quickly came to a stop. He slowly opened his eyes. Though there

was some distance between them, he was able to make out the expression the other

man was wearing.

Though Yan Wushi’s complexion was calm, his gaze was unknowable. His heart beat

somewhat anxiously.

“Yan-zongzhu?” he said in a voice that did not sound especially happy.

Yan Wushi laughed thoughtfully. “What? You seem as though you didn’t want to see

me.”

“That isn’t it,” Shen Qiao said, his eyelids falling somewhat.

“It was most likely you that put this woman’s disguise on me, wasn’t it?” Yan Wushi

said.

“The situation was rather serious, and I needed to act quickly. This was to prevent

people from wanting to pay close attention to us, and allow Yan-zongzhu to return to

Chang’an as quickly as possible.”

14 king please cure my anxiety too

15 天真 tianzhen: this could also be translated as ‘innocence’.

16 跌宕起伏 : die dang qi fu: more literally, ‘a series of ups and downs’. Ups and downs is way too

light-hearted to describe what Shen Qiao has gone through, though.

Yan Wushi did not seem to mind. He even touched his hair and his sleeves as though

deeply interested in this fact, before saying to Shen Qiao: “If you’re going to disguise

me as a woman, then you should at least try to make me look like one. Most women

paint their fingernails. And if they don’t do that, then they’ll at least apply a little bit.

Otherwise, if someone observant were to notice their bare hands, then they would

immediately know that they were a man disguised as a woman.”

Shen Qiao frowned. How would I know something like that? he thought. It’s not like

I’ve ever been disguised as a woman before.

Instead, he said: “Yan-zongzhu is correct. If you would like some polish, then I will

certainly go out to purchase it for you.”

Yan Wushi raised one eyebrow and laughed. “You really seem like you don’t want to

talk to me at all, do you? What’s wrong? Xie Ling is but a fraction of some fragment of

my spirit. To think that he would win over your respect so much that you would even

wait on him with such gentleness, and yet refuse to even spare a word with me. Could

it be, Ah-qiao, that you’ve forgotten who the real Yan Wushi is?”

The day that Shen Qiao had decided to save Yan Wushi, he did not do this because he

wanted the man to repent for what he had done, much less try to win his favors. But

who would have known that Yan Wushi’s disposition would become fragmented the

way that it did, and that he would be met with ‘Xie Ling’ and ‘Ah-yan’? Such a thing

was completely beyond his expectations. Otherwise, he did not wish to quarrel with

the man at all. He could only eagerly look forward to the future where he would never

even see his face again.

“Xie Ling is Xie Ling. Yan Wushi is Yan Wushi. No matter what happens, I would not

dare to forget Yan-zongzhu,” Shen Qiao said, indifferently.

Yan Wushi’s gaze fell upon the wound on Shen Qiao’s lip. He laughed, taken aback by

the sight

“What, did Xie Ling lose so much of my memories that he even forgot how to kiss

someone, and instead bit you out of fear?”

Only after Shen Qiao had come to did he realize himself that a small pain spread

through his lips. However, he was never very good at answering back with sarcasm, and

could only remain silent and refuse to answer.

Yan Wushi did not seem to mind. He laughed once more and said, “Since we’ve

already found that sheet of silk, the day that the flaw of my demonic core will be

healed is imminent. This matter is, indeed, thanks to you. Had you not taken me into

Ruoqiang, I would never have been able to take the sheet of silk from Chen Gong.

Ah-qiao, to think that you’d return my cruelty with such kindness. You’re making me

feel somewhat remorseful for handing you off to Sang Jingxing that day!”

Though he said that he was remorseful, the truth was that his tone did not carry the

slightest remorse at all. This was the true Yan Wushi. With the way that he handled

matters, even if he had to bear the weight of all the people in the world, he would not

feel even the slightest guilt. Even if time could be reversed, it was quite likely that, in

order to push Shen Qiao’s boundaries, he would still pick the very same decision.

Simply, it was just as Yan Wushi said. He did not need friends. He only needed an

opponent, and his opponent was someone who would be matched in strength with

him, someone who was worthy enough to stand beside him. Everything else was

simply Shen Qiao’s miscalculations, having suffered from an unrequited affection17, and

nothing more.

How could Shen Qiao possibly not understand this up until now? For this reason, he

didn’t respond. Instead, he asked about the matter at hand.

“Once we have departed from Wang City and began to head towards the Central

Plains, the chances that your whereabouts will be leaked becomes greater still. With

your present cultivation, you would most likely want to avoid running into

Xueting-chanshi and the others for now, I’m sure. You are, at present, a target for all,

and completely surrounded by enemies. If you are discovered, then it would be

endlessly troublesome. However, the journey from here to Chang’an is not a short one.

Do you have any plans on how we should go about it?”

Yan Wushi, upon seeing how indifferent his expression was, clearly did not want to

keep chattering about on his own. Yet the sight of that wound on Shen Qiao’s lips

destroyed whatever self-restraint he had. He looked like the carved statue of an

immortal that had suddenly been stained with the smoke and fire of the mortal world.

His heart suddenly took interest in this, and he could not help but deride him further:

“You have never had any connection with Northern Zhou. It couldn’t possibly be

because you’d met Yuwen Yong that one time that you are suddenly so willing to stand

by him and help me, could it? Let me take a guess, then. Could it be that you had

some feelings for me early on? And then you became so heartbroken by the fact that I

had given you off to Sang Jingxing—but old loves are hard to forget. When Xie Ling

appeared, it must have reignited some former affection of yours, which compelled you

to dress me in women’s clothing. Perhaps you wanted to take advantage of me when I

17 自作多情: zi zuo duo qing. This does not necessarily mean that Shen Qiao was romantically in love with

Yan Wushi, but it could be interpreted that way. When you are 自作多情, you are engaging more in a

shared emotion than another person--you may have assumed that the other person has forgiven you

when they haven’t, or that they’re your friend when they don’t think that you are theirs. As 自作多情’s

more literal translation is that of ‘affection’, i kept it as such, because modifying it in any way to suit the

context of Shen Qiao and Yan Wushi’s relationship would have been me applying my own reader’s bias

to their relationship.

was unconscious, since it would be too late for me to do anything to you, and have me

offer myself to you?18”

Even though Shen Qiao was an honorable and decent man, he was still embittered by

the narcissistic nature of his words: “If Yan-zongzhu is unwilling to speak properly, I

could simply hit you unconscious and take you back to Chang’an just the same.”

Yan Wushi burst out laughing.

“Okay, okay. There’s no need to be angry. We won’t be returning directly back to

Chang’an. We will first go to Weizhou.”

He always had that sort of temperament that changed repeatedly. Before, when his

mood was good, he would talk and laugh in a soft, gentle voice19. That he would use

his gentleness to lure and deceive20 was also not uncommon.

“Why?” Shen Qiao frowned.

“It’s just as you said. My wugong has yet to recover,” Yan Wushi said, “and my

presence would attract too much attention. The Liuhe-bang, Buddhists, Hehuan Sect,

Fajing Sect, and even people of Tujue all want me dead21. And with your present

abilities, you wouldn’t be completely able to protect me either.”

Shen Qiao could only think, and who is to blame for that? You have enemies all over

the world. This isn’t something that a number of people, no matter how small, are

capable of doing. If it weren’t for the fact that I am considering the present situation

and deciding not to argue with you, then I’d have long ago joined them in chasing and

killing you myself.

Yan Wushi did not hear his thoughts, but Shen Qiao’s expression had already betrayed

them. Yan Wushi thought that it was deeply amusing. He gazed at him for a long time,

before asking: “Has there been any news from Chang’an?”

“I heard that Northern Zhou’s army drove directly into Northern Qi without any

resistance. Northern Qi did not have the strength to resist. If nothing unexpected has

happened, then they most likely have already taken Ye City. “

Yan Wushi responded with a soft en: “When I was by Yuwen Yong’s side, I had already

arranged a number of people to watch over him. Nothing should happen to him in a

18 以身相許: yi shen xiang xu. Pleco definition is: pledge to marry someone, devote their life to/give their

heart to, or, of a woman, to “have sex with a man of her own will.” I am taking this as an innuendo.

19 言笑晏晏 yanxiao yan yan: the last two characters, ‘yan’, is the same ‘yan’ in his name. it’s a common

surname, but in this idiom, means ‘quiet’ and ‘gentle’.

20 誘哄: you hong. not much a note but ‘hong’ on its own can also mean to amuse and comfort a small

child. together with ‘you’, baidu says that it means to allure and deceive.

21 not just them but us too old man!

However, after taking several steps forward, he seemed to resist from doing so and

instead hurried them inside.

“Please do come in first, we’ll talk once you do!”

Ah-qing followed Wu-bo from behind, scrutinizing the two men curiously.

He was not a member of Huanyue Sect; he was but a little orphan that Wu-bo had had

taken in. Ever since then, he remained at the residence and accompanied Wu-bo,

helping him tidy up the rooms. Wu-bo had never talked much about the subject, but

Ah-qing had the indistinct awareness that this house had a master. Wu-bo only helped

look after it. But where the master of the house was, no one really knew; nor did

anyone know when they would return. Perhaps after several years, they would; or

perhaps, for the rest of this life, they would not.

Ah-qing had thought that the master that Wu-bo said had “gone out traveling far

away” had already passed away in some accident. He never thought that there would

come a day that the man would suddenly appear in front of them, even disguised as a

woman.

“Ah-qing,” Wu-bo said, “go to the kitchen and prepare some zhou27, and then some

small dishes. Langjun has clearly returned from a long journey. He will need something

to eat so as to warm him.”

“Ai, I’ll do it right now!”

Ah-qing listened very well to Wu-bo. He acknowledged Wu-bo’s words and then

hurried off.

Yan Wushi watched Ah-qing as he ran off, before removing his mi li: “His foundations

aren’t bad. He’s just a little stupid. Huanyue Sect’s people must be able to think quickly,

and handle social matters with ease. He isn’t qualified the way that he is.”

“Xiaoren simply took him in to accompany him so as to lighten up these boring days. I

would never consider such a thing!” Wu-bo said, anxiously.

This residence was one of Huanyue Sect’s strategic locations. It was purchased under

Bian Yanmei’s name. Because the aliases of Huanyue Sect’s disciples were all surnamed

Xie, every single residence was unified as a singular Xie residence. Wu-bo was

responsible for keeping watch of this one. After having known him for several years, he

did indeed come to love Ah-qing as his own, and hoped that there would be an

opportunity for him to formally become a part of the Huanyue Sect.

However, he absolutely did not dare bring this idea up to Yan Wushi. He had

considered requesting it from Bian Yanmei or Yu Shengyan had they ever stopped by

the place, but who would have expected that neither of them would not only never

27 Zhou is congee, but i fucking hate the word congee (what the fuck is that?) so i’m calling it zhou. sorry!

of the Zhuyang Ce’s great power. However, with regards to his foundation as a result of

the reconstruction of his strength, it was made up of the strongest essences of the

Confucianist, Buddhist, and Daoist schools combined into one. This foundation could

be easily compared to the foundations of a house being significantly more secure than

that of many others. However, this did not mean that the building of the house itself

would be any faster. Shen Qiao had already reached the jianxin stage of the jiandao,

only a step away from jianshen. But his neili was hardly seven-tenths of what it was

before. There wasn’t any way for him to exhibit jianxin’s power in its entirety.

On top of this, having to face off with a master like Xueting was truly, completely

unlucky.

But Shen Qiao could not let him see these specific details. Otherwise, it would show

that there was no one at present capable of stopping him.

Shen Qiao lowered the point of his blade. He stood in the same place and said,

unhurried: “In the end, the Buddhist Sects and Huanyue Sect do not harbor any

personal grudges against one another. Da-shi, you have also already killed Yan-zongzhu

once. Why must you pursue him again like this, so mercilessly? Even if Yan Wushi were

no longer here, and even if Huanyue Sect no longer existed, so long as Yuwen Yong is

emperor another day, there will be some other party that supports him. With Da-shi’s

farsighted wisdom, I am sure you wouldn’t miss this understanding, would you?”

At that moment, despite finding himself two against one, Yan Wushi somehow found

the time to add: “Ah-qiao, those words of yours have really made progress under my

care, haven’t they? This bald ass here was so taken aback by your words that he’s

speechless! I’m sure he’s so ashamed he’s going to fly into a rage and torment you

more intensely now!”

If this had been before, ten Lian Shengs and ten Lian Mie’s wouldn’t have been fit to be

Yan Wushi’s opponents, let alone one of each. However, with the way things were now,

this sort of circumstance was impossible. Xueting had certainly anticipated this, which

was why he had brought these two disciples along.

Even if Lian Sheng and Lian Mie were unable to seize Yan Wushi within a short time,

they would at least be able to stall him.

Xueting was able to see Shen Qiao’s intentions. He shook his head and said:

“Shen-daozhang, you must know that this concerns the survival of Buddhism. It will not

do any good to say anymore. The reason why this poor monk has come here was

simply for Yan-zongzhu alone. If Shen-daozhang is willing to withdraw and not concern

himself with this, this poor monk would not be able to thank you enough.”

What an interesting man. Though he almost completely had the upper hand, he still

treated Shen Qiao with such courtesy. He was not indignant, nor was he angry; he was

as indifferent as a light breeze, truly possessing the presence of a great sect scholar.

Had their paths not run counter to one another, unlike this present moment—the two

of them with swords drawn and bows bent at one another, ready to go to war at any

second—Shen Qiao would have wanted to sit and have a long talk with him.

Yan Wushi, on the other hand, seemed to find Shen Qiao’s new perception of

Xueting-chanshi completely unbearable. Nevertheless, he found an opportunity to

break through Shen Qiao’s realizations: “Ah-qiao. That question you asked was really

just too stupid. Old bald ass knows very well that he just has to kill Yuwen Yong and all

his troubles would come to an end, yet here he is chasing me down relentlessly.

Naturally it’s because the Buddhist Sects want to maintain their just and honorable

image. They don’t want to dirty their hands with the sin of killing a king! Even if they

wanted to kill Yuwen Yong, then they’d rather have someone else go out and do it so

that they can stay nice and clean, without a speck of dirt upon themselves. Old bald

ass, just say it—am I right or am I wrong, ah?”

Xueting did not feel like wasting his words with Yan Wushi. He simply bowed his head

and chanted a brief Amitabha, before continuing: “Shen-daozhang. Since you are not

only unwilling to remove yourself and become an onlooker, but also insist completely

on protecting Yan Wushi until the end, then this poor monk has no choice but to wrong

you.”

Once he said this, he barely took a step before suddenly appearing right at Shen

Qiao’s side, accompanied by the sweet, unending ring of a small jade bell. The golden

staff lightly tapped against Shen Qiao’s chest.

Xueting’s movements were very slow; slow enough that someone could see every

single detail. But at the same time, it was so fast—so fast that one could not react in

time.

Shen Qiao came to the cruel realization that his own strength really was much too

inferior. Even though he was able to make out the direction Xueting was going to

extend his hand, he still could not react in time. The moment that he was able to raise

his sword, something in his chest had become numb before a sudden intense pain

spread within him. Shen Qiao flew backwards, his body unable to put up any

resistance. A sweet, raw taste rose up in his throat. He was at a loss for a moment

before he suddenly spit out a large mouth of blood, and was thrown against a pillar in

the veranda!

But Shen Qiao could not remain there for even a moment. He used all the strength he

had, and the blade of his word suddenly glowed like that of moonlight touching water,

billowing upwards with the lurching waves of a river. In a split second, it took on a

jade-like radiance—tens of thousands of times as beautiful as brocade, its light falling

layer upon layer and surging directly towards Xueting-chanshi. Even with Xueting’s

cultivation, in a moment, not even he could make out the sword from its user.

At that moment, both Lian Sheng and Lian Mie were working together in harmonious

and solemn coordination, as if they were a match fated to be. Their intentions were

mutually linked. Yan Wushi’s wugong was completely unlike that of before, and the flaw

in his demonic core had also yet to be fully mended. His attacks would inevitably leave

him somewhat vulnerable. The two monks took advantage of this opportunity. With

Lian Shen on defense and Lian Mie on offense, they surrounded Yan Wushi. However,

they did not intend to kill him; instead, they did not give him any room to escape,

surrounding him with a force like that of Taiji 42 and heaven and earth.

It seemed as though they were following some instructions Xueting had given them

beforehand. they knew that with their abilities, it would still be somewhat difficult to kill

Yan Wushi, even though his abilities had diminished significantly. They could only

search for a way to stall him and wait until Xueting had defeated Shen Qiao before

assisting them.

Such a shame that they ended up waiting around for so long. After exchanging several

moves with him, the two monks were starting to work up a sweat on their foreheads,

yet Xueting was still being held up by Shen Qiao and did not intend to separate from

him right then.

Lian Sheng was becoming anxious. He could not help but take advantage of the

moment that Lian Mie was attacking Yan Wushi and glanced in his shizun’s direction.

It was only a glance, and yet their circumstances suddenly changed so much!

Yan Wushi, who had been on the defensive this entire time, suddenly attacked them.

He used the tips of his fingers as though they were the point of a blade and struck the

center of Lian Mie’s palm. Earlier, Lin Mie had seen Yan Wushi’s indifferent expression,

and could not help but underestimate his strength. He had even thought, the great

zongzhu of Huanyue Sect is hardly anything to fear. In the end, just as he finished that

thought, he felt a sharp pain in the palm of his hand, as though a scalding hot iron bar

had stabbed right through him.

He could only give a horrible shout as he stepped away reflexively. In the center of his

palm was a bloody hole, with fresh blood gurgling up and flowing out. Within this

wound he could barely make out the sight of muscle and white bone.

Lian Sheng quickly ran back upon hearing this. Upon seeing the state of things, he was

completely taken aback. But before he could act in time, the light of a blade suddenly

flitted across his face.

“Let’s go!” Shen Qiao shouted harshly.

With this, he grabbed Yan Wushi’s arm and took off in the south-eastern direction.

Shen Qiao did not dare underestimate Xueting, so he used his Tiankuo Hongying

technique to its utmost power.

42 太極 Taiji: the absolute or supreme ultimate; the source of all things according to interpretations of

Chinese mythology.

Chang’an. If we were to take it, we would certainly run into countless obstacles and

ambushes.”

Shen Qiao responded with an en. He had thought of this matter already as well.

Yan Wushi sneered. “Did you really think that Xueting and the rest only mean to kill

me?”

“Their true target is most likely the Emperor of Zhou,” Shen Qiao said.

“That’s right,” Yan Wushi said. “I’d said it once before. The Buddhists want to broaden

their influence, and they can only do this through the means of a ruler. As a result, they

absolutely cannot stain their hands with the crime of regicide. Otherwise, even without

Yuwen Yong, it wouldn’t matter who would take up the throne. They would not place

the Buddhists in any important position. The same applies to Tujue, Liuhe-bang, Fajing

Sect and all the rest. If they were to do such a thing, not only would their titles be

illegitimately conferred, but they would run into trouble after trouble as a result. It

wouldn’t be as convenient as having someone close to Yuwen Yong laying their hands

on him.”

Yan Wushi’s words was like that of lightning, illuminating an area that Shen Qiao had

yet to explore: “Empress Ashina-shi 46 is a person of Tujue!”

“Look at that. A student worth teaching,” Yan Wushi teased. “Ashina-shi has been left

to the side by Yuwen Yong for so long, as he doesn’t trust her. Naturally she would

want to help Duan Wenyang add fuel to the fire. As for the prince, he hates to work

and prefers leisure. He spends his days entertaining himself and hardly thinking of

progress. He too understands that if he doesn’t take advantage of the fact that his old

man hasn’t yet the heart to remove him of his status and strike him down first, then

there’s a high chance that he won’t be able to hold onto his title as prince.”

Shen Qiao was shocked by his words. After a moment, he said: “The prince is his son.

He wouldn’t...”

He barely said half of his sentence, but could not say anymore. Shen Qiao had

suddenly thought of Yu Ai, and the affection he had towards him. It couldn’t be any less

than that of the prince and the emperor, could it? And yet the other man had poisoned

him with xiangjianhuan without any mercy. Royal families were known for their

ruthlessness. It wasn’t beyond the prince to be able to commit patricide.

Yan Wushi sighed.

“Ah-qiao, you aren’t stupid. You’re just soft-hearted, and that’s what holds you back.

When you approach matters and people, you almost always consider their good

points; you’re completely unable to anticipate the darkness in their hearts. Honestly,

what would happen to you if I weren’t around?”

46 氏：shi. a term of address often added to a married woman’s maiden name.

If you weren’t around, my days would go a hundred times smoother! Shen Qiao nearly

blurted out.

But he was a kind man of noble character. How could he possibly say such a thing?

Instead, he brought his focus back to their earlier topic at hand as a result.

If things continued like this, then the chessboard47 was truly becoming all the more

shocking with each play, each turn closely linked to one another.

As Yan Wushi had experienced such an incident, Huanyue Sect was lacking a leader.

The other two demonic sects almost certainly could not help but cause trouble for

Huanyue Sect, and Bian Yanmei would be busy dealing with them. He would certainly

be careless in watching over the empress and the prince—Yuwen Yong’s spouse, and

his flesh and blood son. Bian Yanmei was incredibly skilled. But he could not possibly

stay by the emperor’s side all hours of the day. If they wanted to do something to the

emperor, then it would certainly be much more convenient on their end than it would

be for a wugong master to directly assassinate him.

Shen Qiao coughed twice. “Then what of Hanzhong?”

“The prince of Qi48, Yuwen Xian, resides in Hanzhong. There are also military forces

there. First, we’ll go there and see what the situation is like, before heading to

Chang’an.”

Shen Qiao understood.

Yan Wushi believed that everything regarding Yuwen Yong led to disaster, so he

needed to find a different way out. The prince himself followed Buddhism and did not

see Huanyue Sect as being useful to him in any way. Yan Wushi also looked down on

the prince as well, which was why he would rather pledge his support to the Prince of

Qi, Yuwen Xian. Before this, Huanyue Sect had almost certainly put a lot of time and

effort in Yuwen Xian.

Xueting believed that they would go to Chang’an; as a result, the others most likely

thought so as well. It was very likely that no one would think that they would go to

Hanzhong.

The way that a crafty hare has three burrows, a sly person has more than one hideout.

No one could be better than Yan Wushi at this sort of crooked and dishonest practice.

Night came especially early in the mountains. As the sun set in the west, the dense

foliage overhead had absorbed the last few rays of light.

47 ...weiqi board....

48 This isn’t, interestingly enough, the country of Qi that’s been felled haha. It is just a part of his title.

And then to have a strange and sudden warmth spread up from his lips. It was like that

of something invading and wreaking havoc upon him. He struggled for some time,

making a soft groan as he did, before finally opening his eyes with great effort.

The fire had been burning for almost the entire night, and its light had gradually

weakened. He was being held close in the arms of someone else, only separated from

the warmth of the other person’s body by a layer of clothing. It was the sort of warmth

that would have settled into someone’s bones and emit a sort of indolence from them,

leaving them wanting to sink even deeper into sleep, and never wanting to wake.

Shen Qiao suddenly felt as though he were out of breath. However, this pressure was

not from his wounded chest, but rather from his mouth and nose.

“To think that the great zhangjiao of Xuandu Mountain can’t even inhale and exhale

right. If anyone found out about such a thing, then they’d probably laugh themselves

to death, wouldn’t they?” He could make out his teasing voice, which sounded as

though it were both far away and close by at the same time. But the truth was that it

was just by his ear, and that their faces were very close. The other man had pulled his

tongue from Shen Qiao’s parted lips before slowly kissing him once more. Only then

did he finally draw back somewhat and pinch both of Shen Qiao’s cheeks. “Surprised?”

Shen Qiao finally came to from his muddled state. He immediately struck Yan Wushi,

who shouted an aiyah! and pulled away. “Ah-qiao, it’s me, Xie Ling!”

Shen Qiao stopped and stared at him, frowning.

Yan Wushi once more held him close, speaking in a gentle voice: “It’s me, Xie Ling. You

don’t recognize me?”

Shen Qiao did not say a word. Instead, he raised his hand once more and struck him

again.

Yan Wushi was quick to react. He caught Shen Qiao’s arm and said, astonished: “You’d

even hit Xie Ling when you’re in a daze from sleeping?”

Shen Qiao was hardly in a mood to talk: “Why would Xie Ling call me ‘Ah-qiao’?!”

Yan Wushi burst into laughter. “That’s right, I forgot. He calls you meiren-gege. But you

know, I couldn’t get myself to say it! I didn’t think that, with your good looks, you’d

take advantage of me for so long. Every time you heard Xie Ling call out to you, you

never let it show on your face, but deep down, you were incredibly happy, weren’t

you?”

Shen Qiao turned around, refusing to face him: “Stop talking!49”

49 What he says here is 胡說八道, which roughly translates to ‘nonsense!’ but ‘nonsense’ sounds way too

light in this context. i don’t think sq would be rash enough to tell him to shut up or say ‘bullshit’ though

lol.

Yan Wushi kissed his cheek. He took advantage of the fact that the other man had yet

to react and stopped before provoking him any further, instead making sure there was

three chi of distance between them.

Shen Qiao wanted to stand. But because of his internal injury, he could only cough

while holding his chest, allowing the pain to slowly pass over him.

He could only shout angrily between coughs, “It’s this time of night, and you’re—still

acting like this—!”

Yan Wushi couldn’t help but break into laughter: “Ah-qiao, you’re just too cute! You

can’t even curse people right! What do you mean, acting—like—this—? Here, I’ll teach

you: this is what they mean when they say, lust is born from warming up and eating

well.”

The face of this beautiful man had turned red from both anger and his coughing fit. He

had coughed so much that there were tears in his eyes, blurring his vision. With the

fire’s soft brilliance spreading over them and his desire unfulfilled, Yan Wushi could not

take his gaze from Shen Qiao’s heaven-made beauty. A shame that he could only look

and not feast.

After realizing that Yan Wushi had purposely teased him so as to make him angry

simply for his own enjoyment, Shen Qiao gradually calmed down: “If you anger me

again, my wound won’t be able to heal over fully. If someone were to attempt to kill us,

I may not be able to protect you.”

Yan Wushi laughed. “That’s not a problem. I have my own plan around that.”

Shen Qiao was not convinced. “What sort of plan?”

“Last time, didn’t you dress me up in women’s clothing? That was quite smart. This

time, why don’t we both dress up like women, rent a carriage, and pretend we’re going

to Hanzhong to live with our relatives. That way, we’d practically be able to cross even

the sea with just a trick.”

Shen Qiao heard this, and knew at once that he was trying to get even for last time.

Though he had been unwell before, the person who had to dress up had been ‘Xie

Ling’. But they shared the same body, so Yan Wushi absolutely couldn’t have been

unaware.

Shen Qiao blinked. He completely avoided touching upon the subject any further and

asked, “How are you feeling?”

“Are you asking me, or are you asking how Xie Ling is feeling?” Yan Wushi asked.

Shen Qiao was silent for a moment. He responded with a soft en.

He suddenly remembered the dream he had before. The first half had been about his

shizun. Most likely it was because his chest was wounded that he had dreamt his shizun

had placed the rock on top of him. It was a strange and ridiculous dream. But the truth

was that, perhaps it was because he had, deep down, missed his shizun so intensely

that he had dreamed this. Before, on Xuandu Mountain, their wugong studies were

truly arduous. But their shizun had sheltered them from human cruelty like that of a

great tree. By the time that he had experienced the difficulties that he did, he

remembered those bygone years, and deeply missed them. Back then, shizun was still

with them; he and his shixiongdi were as close as brothers and loved one another

greatly. They did not think of anything else except for studying wugong, truly free from

all worries. They were hardly burdened with anything.

As for the second half of the dream, it was only flashes of people he had seen in the

latter half of his life. A blur of people appeared, one after the other. The last person

that had caused him to wake up, and the only one that he could remember seeing, was

Xie Ling.

Like this, Yan Wushi asked: “Ah-qiao, do you wish that Xie Ling were still here? Or that

he hadn’t been here?”

'Xie Ling’ was the disposition born from the fragments of Yan Wushi’s qi deviation. Any

moment that he existed naturally meant that Yan Wushi had yet to fully recover.

Seeing that Shen Qiao did not know how to answer, Yan Wushi smiled somewhat. “If

it’s the former, then I’ll have to disappoint you. Though I have yet to heal the flaw in my

demonic core, I have already suppressed the significant changes to my disposition that

occurred as a result of my qi deviation. From now on, Xie Ling will never again exist in

this world.”

Shen Qiao was faintly taken aback. He did not speak, but his eyes slowly betrayed a

sense of sadness from within them.

He wrapped his outer robe around himself more closely, wearing a blank look. He

looked so lonely and desolate, so pitiful and lovable.

However, Yan Wushi knew very well that, underneath this seemingly weak and delicate

appearance, was the unyielding strength of a man who would not yield to any

circumstance, be it harsh winds or rain.

Had it been before, malice would have surfaced from his heart. He would have

attempted to find a way to wear him away, layer by layer, so as to see the soft flesh

within him, to see whether or not he can experience what it meant to be destroyed,

and if he could remain the same as he did before.

But now, a faint, strange sensation had welled up within his heart.

Though he had smothered ‘Xie Ling’, was a trace of him still left, unwilling to leave?

If someone ordinary were to say something like this, one would think that they had

overestimated their own abilities. But before Yan Wushi experienced a qi deviation, he

did indeed have the qualifications to say such a thing, despite the fact that there was a

discrepancy between his wugong and the three other men.

“That’s right,” Shen Qiao said. “Wu dao is a path that never ends. So what can be

considered the peak? Though this poor daoist lacks talent, I know that there is no

correlation between a soft-hearted disposition and wugong. You, Yan-zongzhu, have

your own path—and I have my own. Do not do to others what you would not have

done to you. I am mourning an old friend who is no longer here; what does this have to

do with you? I must ask that you conduct yourself with some dignity.”

He had known him for a number of days, and met him sparsely. He did not even know

why Xie Ling was named Xie Ling; and yet he called him an old and departed friend?

Yan Wushi laughed bitterly in his mind. Yet his expression was as cold as frost. He

continued in a tender voice: “All right, all right. There’s only the two of us here, and we

are relying on one another to live. We were only having a chat. What are you getting so

angry for?”

Shen Qiao’s response to this was to pull his outer robe over himself so as to cover his

head, to express that he declined to discuss anything with him any longer.

Yan Wushi: “...”

The night passed without a word between them.

The day after, Shen Qiao woke early. By the time he had come to, Yan Wushi had

already come back washing his face by the stream. Upon meeting Shen Qiao’s eyes, he

said while smiling: “Ah-qiao, lend me your Shanhe Tongbei sword.”

His expression was warm and gentle, while his mood seemed good. It was as though

he didn’t even wear that unpleasant mood he had last night.

Shen Qiao responded, guardedly: “I got a stomach ache after eating yesterday. You

didn’t shave the birds’ feathers well enough.”

Yan Wushi responded: “Oh? That’s because I realized that it was better to pluck the

bird feathers by hand. This time I won’t use your sword to shave bird feathers.”

Shen Qiao was still concerned. “What are you going hunting for? Why not let me do it

instead?”

The moment he stood, a dull pain throbbed throughout his ribs.

Yan Wushi watched as he frowned. He said, gently: “You were wounded because of

me. I’ll go. In any case, I’m not taking your sword to shave any birds’ feathers.”

Shen Qiao did not believe that within the short span of a night, Yan-zongzhu would

suddenly possess a heart filled with gratitude. But because his wugong had

experienced such a setback, it would be better for him to carry a sword on his person,

just in case if he did run into any danger. At the very least, he would not lack the

capability to strike back. After much thinking, he decided to hand the sword over to

him.

Yan Wushi took the sword and headed out. Before leaving, he was considerate enough

to roll up some leaves to bring water to Shen Qiao to wash his face.

It was only the beginning of spring. The cool water against his cheeks cleared his mind

at once. The effects of the yu congrong fruits were truly extraordinary. Although his

chest wound had yet to completely heal, he felt that it had improved quite a bit after

waking up. Even the pain that had come with breathing had eased up somewhat.

He sat cross-legged to circulate his qi and heal his wounds. After quite some time, Yan

Wushi finally returned.

“You left the mountain?” Shen Qiao asked, astonished.

“I didn’t,” Yan Wushi said, “I just walked around to see what the situation was like for a

bit. If nothing out of the ordinary happens, I think that we should be able to leave the

mountain by this evening.”

Shen Qiao nodded. He noticed that he carried a long tree branch that acted as a

skewer for two fish. He then asked: “How did you get those two large fish.”

“There’s a lot of rain in the spring. Of course the fish are more delicious.”

Shen Qiao suddenly experienced a somewhat foreboding feeling rise up within him.

“How did you gut and scale them?”

Yan Wushi didn’t even raise his head. “I used the sword, naturally.”

“I did not give you the Shanhe Tongbei sword so that you could scale fish with it!”

Shen Qiao shouted furiously.

Yan Wushi sighed.

“Ah-qiao, you really didn’t reason anything out. You said that I couldn’t use it to shave

bird feathers, and I promised you that I wouldn’t. But now, here you are saying that I

can’t use it to scale fish. In any case, aren’t you getting half of these fish anyway? Or

are you saying that, now that your sword smells like fish, you won’t be able to use

jianxin on your opponents any longer?”

He wore an expression that said,  “You’ve gone and deliberately made trouble. You’re

lucky that I’m lenient and forgiving towards you.” Shen Qiao was so angry that he

nearly picked up a nearby rock and flung it at him.

chapter 77

“ She cursed him, hoping that his lover would remain unsatisfied with him.

—IF YOU BRING UP THE TOPIC OF FABRIC ALTERATIONS, across all of Tongsu

County, one would consider He Ji one of the most famous alteration business of them

all.

Any outsider would think this. And the owner of He Ji, Su-niang, would think this as

well.

She wasn’t very old—she hadn’t even turned thirty yet. Yet she lived as a widow for a

little over ten years. Back when she had just married into her husband’s family, hardly

two years passed before her husband died of an illness. At that time, Su-niang was

pregnant with his child; her parents-in-law felt deeply guilty, and gave her money to

open the fabric alterations business. Afterwards, when her parent-in-laws passed away,

their family property was passed onto her brother-in-law. A shame that he was

incapable, though. After several years, he’d squandered it all. On the other hand, it

was Su-niang’s fabric alteration business that became bigger the more that she worked.

She did not only open a business in Tongsu County, but she even had a branch of He Ji

in the capital of Fengzhou, Liangquan County.

But Su-niang did miss her homeland. Although she had property in Liangquan County,

she often remained in Tongsu. Today, Su-niang woke up bright and early to look over

one of her stores. The shopkeeper, upon hearing that the business owner was coming,

quickly came to welcome her.

At that moment, someone had come in from the outside.

“I’m sorry, keguan50. Our owner has come to audit accounts. For the moment, we

aren’t...” The shopkeeper quickly approached him and said, smiling.

However, he only said half of what he had wanted to say, before he found himself

awestruck by the other man’s facial features and imposing manner and unable to say

more.

Yan Wushi frowned. “You aren’t doing business today?”

Su-niang pushed the shopkeeper away and said, sweetly: “We’re open, and we even

came to greet you. Where does it look like we aren’t doing business? My employee

was improper; allow me to apologize to you on his behalf, langjun. May I ask, what sort

of fabric does langjun want to purchase today? We have ready-made clothes here, and

50 客觀 keguan: address to a customer. patron.

many different styles as well. If you’d like to choose the material first, then the fastest

we can have it prepared is two days.”

She had done merchant work for over ten years. Her first-hand knowledge and

speculations were not like that of usual married women; but who would have thought

that upon seeing this person, she felt as if she were looking at the sky from the bottom

of a well.

His features and mannerisms were extraordinary. No senior official in their prefecture

could even compare, let alone one of their county magistrates.

Merchants starting a business absolutely never have a reason to reject people at their

door, especially not such a remarkable character as this one. What young woman

would not feel a sudden rush of restlessness at sight of him, or even a sudden

affection?

Even Su-niang’s smile had become more distinct at that moment.

Yan Wushi had wanted to pick out two outfits at first, but after hearing her words,

instead had a change of heart: “In that case, you must have ready-made women’s

clothes, correct?”

“Yes, of course!” Su-niang’s smile did not change, though she couldn’t help but feel a

little disappointed deep down.

Such a handsome langjun as this looked quite proud and overbearing. Furthermore, he

did not look like someone who could be controlled by the likes of a gentle and docile

woman. Yet what was he doing here, personally buying clothes for some young

woman?

Half a month earlier, the two of them had left the cave in the mountains and headed

south. Up until yesterday, they had reached Tongsu County in Fengzhou, which was not

far from Hanzhong, and decided to rest there.

Shen Qiao was of a quiet temperament; if he were left to practice wugong at the inn all

day, he would not mind how dull it was. Yan Wushi, on the other hand, went out on his

own.

For the purpose of keeping themselves safe, they would naturally refrain from going

out at all before arriving at Chang’an. Anyone could see that this was the most

appropriate thing to do. But this was impossible right from the start. In order to eat and

room somewhere, you’d need to find an inn. If he was going to cower from fright at the

smallest possibility of danger, then that wouldn’t be Yan Wushi.

He had wanted to purchase two sets of clothes before, but upon hearing Su-niang’s

words, decided to change his mind.

Su-niang asked: “Does langjun wish to buy this for a lover, for his sister, or for his older

relatives?”

“Yan-zongzhu, your words are truly ridiculous. Someone could have even thought that

Huanyue Sect was noble and virtuous from just that. But the truth is that Huanyue Sect

is a slave of Yuwen Yong’s, isn’t it? What a pity that Yuwen Yong’s life won’t be very

long. Without your protection, I’m afraid that your disciples and subordinates must

seem even more wretched than that of a stray dog!”

A cold laugh accompanied her words. Before Yan Wushi, another person appeared.

If Shen Qiao were here, he would have recognized who it was with a glance.

“If they aren’t capable and need to rely on my protection for everything, then they

should save me the trouble and hurry up and die faster for me!” Yan Wushi looked at

Xiao Se and shook his head.55 “And you. My sympathies to Yuan Xiuxiu for taking in an

ingrate of a disciple who spends his days fooling about with Sang Jingxing. But Sang

Jingxing’s eyes aren’t anything special either. That disciple of his, Huo Xijing. Though

his behavior was completely mindless, at least his wugong was somewhat presentable.

And here you are. Not only do you have a completely useless brain, even your wugong

is completely worthless. Looks like Hehuan Sect is fated to get worse with each

generation.”

Xiao Se was enraged, yet he grinned: “Yan-zongzhu, you’re showing off your words so

quickly. Hopefully you won’t kneel and beg for forgiveness after!”

With Xiao Se and Bai Rong’s skills together, they could be considered first-class in all of

jianghu. If the two of them were to join forces, then with Yan Wushi’s present condition,

it would be quite difficult if he wanted to repel them. However, Yan Wushi’s present

objective was not fixed on either of them at the moment. Rather, it was on the person

slowly approaching him from behind.

“Were you all waiting here this long just for me?”

Bai Rong spoke in a sweet voice: “We heard that Xueting-chanshi met with you once in

Weizhou, and lost track of Yan-zongzhu afterwards. Yan-zhanglao56 said that

Yan-zongzhu must certainly have gone to Chang’an, but since you were avoiding your

enemies, you would surely not take the shortest route there. Therefore, we took the

long way around, and decided to wait a bit in Fengzhou. We didn’t think that things

would be just as Yan-zhanglao said!”

“However, Yan-zongzhu, there is no need to be upset. Even if you were to have taken a

different route, it would be no use. Hanzhong has the Liuhe-bang’s people, and

Yangzhou has Tujue’s people. You’re surrounded no matter where you go. There’s

nowhere you can escape to. If you have to blame something, then blame it on the fact

that your enemies are just too many. Everyone in the world wants to end you. Even if a

god were to come help, it would be no use.”

55 DAMN....LMAOOOOOOO SDJKNCSKJDKSBFKHDSKJH HE JUS SHOOK HIS HEADDDDD

56 Reminder that this is a different character for ‘yan’. No relation to Yan Wushi. : )

The person who said this was Yan Shou. He approached them step by step, his pace

incredibly slow, and quite firm. His eyes did not part from Yan Wushi even the slightest

bit, as though he were a cheetah, prepared and waiting for action from its prey. At any

time, he could pounce on him and use his sharp teeth to tear his enemies apart.

Yan Wushi burst into laughter: “God? I’ve never believed in any god!”

The moment he said this, he made his first move!57

chapter 78

“ His hair, raven-black; his clothes, sky blue. His silhouette, tall and elegant,

resembled that of an immortal.

—WHEREVER THE THREE CHARACTERS OF YAN WUSHI’S NAME WOUND UP, they

carried a frightening gravity—despite the fact that these three knew that the five great

masters had made an attempt on his life, and despite the fact that they knew that his

wugong was almost completely lost and his present strength was not as great as it was

before. They hardly needed Sang Jingxing to personally show up. The strength of

these three were more than enough to rely on to bring him down.

However, even as they thought this, not a single one moved at all. An undercurrent

surged up from within Hehuan Sect. From the movements of Xiao Se and the rest,

anyone would be able to see this.

Yan Shou once lost at Yan Wushi’s hands—additionally, he had lost in a completely

miserable state. This time, he arrived not because of the rumored lost volume of the

Zhuyang Ce in Yan Wushi’s possession, but because the day of his crushing defeat had

such a deep impression upon Yan Shou. Though he appeared composed and

undisturbed before Yan Wushi, something that suggested otherwise arose in his heart.

Xiao Se was Yuan Xiuxiu’s disciple. However, he wanted to take Yan Wushi’s head to

Sang Jingxing and take credit for killing him. However, seeing that no one else moved,

he did not move either.

All four people faced each other, creating a sort of strange situation. Hehuan Sect

clearly had the upper hand; however, they decided not to act first.

Yan Shou narrowed his eyes. He observed Yan Wushi closely, waiting for him to make

the smallest misstep.

Yan Wushi finally moved.

57 'His figure moved’ is the more literal translation but that also doesn’t sound that great either….idk its 2

am SOBS (hands to future nhi + bread for revision time)

support him by the arm. However, this way she could easily avoid facing Yan Wushi

head on, so she didn’t mind exhibiting a false sense of fraternal affection.

Xiao Se’s setback caused Yan Shou to delay his attack somewhat, despite the latter

having been prepared to strike earlier. However, he still chased the other man and

obstructed his path.

“Yan-zongzhu. For what reason are you running off in such a hurry? Don’t you want to

reminisce about the years past with your old friend?”

“I would also like to reminisce with Yan-zhanglao. I must ask Yan-zhanglao, are you

presently free?”

The person who responded was not Yan Wushi, but someone from behind Yan Shou.

Upon hearing these words, Yan Shou did not turn around. Instead, he leapt to the roof

of a building, so as to look down on this newcomer.

“If it isn’t the stray dog coming around once more,” he said with disdain.

Shen Qiao carried his sword on his back, walking towards them with an unhurried pace

from the other end of the street.

His hair, raven-black; his clothes, sky blue. His silhouette, tall and elegant, resembled

that of an immortal.

“Yan-zhanglao has yet to repay to this poor daoist the debt of the two lives he took at

Bailong Temple,” Shen Qiao said. “Do you still remember?”

“I had heard for a long time that the person to whom the former zhangjiao of Xuandu

Mountain, Qi Fengge, handed his legacy down to was a man whose wugong was

unrivaled in all of jianghu,” Yan Shou said. “A pity that he lost and fell from a cliff in his

battle with Kunye, and was never well-regarded since, and can only rely on Yan Wushi

to protect him. The way I see it now, it seems that the rumors are not necessarily

untrue.”

Shen Qiao said, indifferently: “Then I cannot help but wonder if Yan-zhanglao has

heard that Kunye, upon causing trouble at the Bixia Sect of Taishan mountain, met his

death by my sword?”

Yan Shou’s face betrayed a faint look of astonishment.

After Kunye’s death, the Bixia Sect suffered an almost total collapse due to the internal

disorder from before, and has been occupied with recuperating. The Tujue people

could not possibly take this matter and make it public. As a result, they concealed

Kunye’s death. Everyone still believed that he had returned to Tujue--no one could

have imagined that he was killed by Shen Qiao.

Bai Rong laughed sweetly: “It’s hardly been a few months, yet Shen-lang’s wugong has

progressed so! It’s truly something worthy of celebration! However, our zongzhu has

already ordered us to take the remaining volume of the Zhuyang Ce from Yan Wushi.

Sang-zhanglao and Baoyun-zhanglao are on the way here now. Shen-lang, your

wugong is certainly strong, but you’re certainly not yet capable of taking on all of

Hehuan Sect are you? And besides, this matter doesn’t even concern you. Why don’t

you just stand back and watch?”

“Hmph. Since you’ve already come, there’s no need to leave! You might as well stay a

while!” Yan Shou said coldly.

Yan Shou’s nickname was the “Bloodstained Monk”58. His wugong was the sort that

was both reserved and gentle, yet severe and ruthless. However, the sight of the

fingers of his right hand bent into those of a claw and thrust in Shen Qiao’s direction

sending a cold breeze into his face resembled that of a demon’s cry. All around him

were mountains of corpses and oceans of blood, no different from that of the

underworld. They were immediately submerged in a foreboding omen that filled all the

sky with a rush of dread and hopelessness.

Shen Qiao leapt backwards, unsheathing the Shanhe Tongbei sword at the same time.

Immediately his jianqi was like that of a rainbow, rising up to illuminate the clouds,

enveloping Yan Shou’s imposing figure in but a moment.

Yan Shou chased after him relentlessly. Both his hands rushed in the direction of Shen

Qiao’s attack as though to dispel it. He even performed three or four open palm

maneuvers, each one as fast as lightning, unable to be completely seen.

Each maneuver came down in torrents like that of an ocean, each wave stronger than

the other—there was no opportunity for his opponent to react!

Though Yan Shou was not considered one of the ten greatest martial artists in the

world, this did not mean that his wugong was ordinary. When Yan Wushi had gone into

seclusion for the past ten years, Huanyue Sect’s central focus was operating within the

imperial court of Northern Zhou, while Fajing Sect went further out into Tuyuhun. Only

Hehuan Sect remained in the Central Plains, having developed especially well under

the power of the country of Qi. And Yan Shou played a significant role amongst the

many members of Hehuan Sect, one that was equal to even that of Sang

Jingxing—clearly, this simply wasn’t because he happened to be pretty.

Shen Qiao carried his sword in his hand. The blade of the sword cut a length that filled

the sky, its light dazzling the eyes. In a moment, all was inverted like a reflection upon a

body of water, as stern and cold as ice and snow. Following it was the sense of

murderous intent, engulfing everything in its path, passing through like that of a chilled

wind brushing through trees!

Though this battle was only then becoming satisfying to watch, it wasn’t as though the

other was going at a leisurely pace. Xiao Se and Bai Rong, standing side by side at first,

58 It’s actually “The Monk with Blood on his Hands” but that is way too fucking long for a nickname in

English.

started towards Yan Wushi, before each one blocked him from in front and behind,

leaving him unable to escape.

As he fought with Yan Shou, Shen Qiao caught sight of Bai Rong and Xiao Se’s offense.

He could not help but knit his brow.

The two of them were the greatest masters of Hehuan Sect’s youngest generation.

Without considering that of the elders, it was quite certain that one would have to say

that their wugong was the best. Xiao Se and Bai Rong’s natural talent were similarly

great. Every time one would meet them, it would seem as though their wugong had

once more improved and reached yet another level unceasingly. Especially Bai Rong.

When Shen Qiao had first met her, the girl had only been one notch above ordinary;

but now, her skill had improved vigorously. Her signature move, Qinglian Seal, had

already attained its highest perfection. Her lithe and graceful figure concealed such

murderous intent that was difficult for anyone to guard against.

Shen Qiao was very aware that Bai Rong had been merciful to him several times.

Earlier, she had secretly clarified, with great intensity, that Sang Jingxing was on his

way, so as to force Shen Qiao not to pay attention to such matters that did not concern

him. However, this softness she treated Shen Qiao with was completely lost on Yan

Wushi. At that moment, she was cooperating with Xiao Se against him, their every

move filled with the intent to kill, more and more forming a tight encirclement around

him. They shared some implicit understanding of something they did not keep from

the other, and had simply cornered Yan Wushi all around.

Because Yan Wushi had suddenly inflicted such wounds upon Xiao Se, the two of them

were anxiously vigilant. They were unwilling to use all of their energy; however, only

Shen Qiao understood that Yan Wushi’s strength was limited. He had not yet

recovered, and certainly was unlike that of when his skill had flourished. To have been

able to seriously injure Xiao Se was already the limit of his skills. To face off with Bai

Rong, whose skill had improved significantly, was already something he would only

barely be able to do. If they lingered on for too long, the two of them would certainly

be able to sense out where everything exactly stood. They certainly would not hesitate

any longer and would use up all of their strength to deal with Yan Wushi. On top of

this, Shen Qiao also had to deal with Yan Shou, which made it so that he was inevitably

unable to manage both things at one.

Having thought up to this point, Shen Qiao no longer hesitated. His strength surged

up to its utmost point; he dismissed any other distracting thought, and immediately

entered the realm of jian xin.

In a split second, the light of his sword shone endlessly, changing all color of the sky

and earth as though filled with the fury of lightning. The clear light shimmering from

the rivers and oceans was condensed into this single sword.

His person outside of the sword, yet his heart lay within; once at jian xin, every living

thing was as though hollow and vacant!

Yan Shou’s stern expression changed quickly. He immediately pulled his hands away

and began to retreat, not daring to rush into the cutting edge. However, the moment

the sword’s blade shone, it cannot possibly be retracted. His jian qi rode upon this

white light and rushed towards Yan Shou mercilessly, firmly stopping him.

Accompanied with what sounded like thunder, like the endless waves of water, his

sword carried within it the power to disperse everything beneath the skies, despite its

unsteady first reveal.

The moment he brandished this sword, Shen Qiao did not advance, nor did he retreat.

Instead, he flew towards Bai Rong.

The three of them—Bai Rong, Xiao Se, and Yan Wushi—circled one another in a

deadlock, subtly in balance. Yan Wushi’s strength had almost certainly been reduced

over some time59, or else he would not have allowed for such an impasse. The longer

that time went on, Xiao Se and Bai Rong became inevitably suspicious. However, a teal

silhouette glided past them, and took Yan Wushi away.

After seeing this, the three of them naturally chased after them—however, because

Xiao Se had sustained such a serious wound that he was unable to pursue them

closely, only Yan Shou hung close to them from behind, unwilling to let the two of

them out of their sight.

“You go on first! Get to that forest we passed through before entering the city, I’ll hold

them back!” Shen Qiao spoke his words quickly before directly shoving Yan Wushi in

front of him. He did not wait for his reaction and turned around, rushing in the direction

of their three pursuers.

Yan Wushi turned around, and gazed deeply at him. He said nothing, before turning

back and leaving.

Yan Shou watched as his target faded further and further into the distance, becoming

more anxious as Shen Qiao stood in front to block him from advancing further. The

style of his palm maneuver was filled with bloody malice, every move aimed at Shen

Qiao’s body.

Shen Qiao’s stance, however, remained flawless. His sword technique became much

more steady. He went against Yan Shou with an offensive strength that resembled that

of strong wind and swift rain. Without Yan Wushi by his side, he was even more able to

concentrate on responding to the situation before him. The wind resonated against the

Shanhe Tongbei sword, while his figure, dressed completely in teal, fluttered with a

celestial essence. The Canglang Sword Technique was an infinitely majestic scene to

witness after having improved with Shen Qiao’s skill. It washed over the land with great

ease, like that of thousands of flowers in bloom; its light filled every corner of the sky,

completely engulfing the three of them within it, preventing them from approaching

any closer.

59 revise. page 13

Yan Shou scoffed lowly to himself. Suddenly, a human figure appeared with such

speed. One would be unable to tell the difference from the points of this person’s

slender fingers from that of a sharp blade. Wherever they went transformed into a sea

of blood and corpses—and suddenly, their hand broke through the sea of light from

the sword, before directly grabbing the sword Shen Qiao grasped!

Shen Qiao flew on his return. The blue of his silhouette resembled that of a dragonfly

skimming the surface of water—wanting to touch the ground, but always remaining just

above it. The tips of his toes seemed as though they never before did touch the

ground. The Tiankuo Hongying was Xuandu Mountain’s unique qinggong technique,

and Shen Qiao used it with such perfection. Had Qi Fengge been able to see this,

even he would not be able to suppress his praise for him.

The two rows of trees on either side of his body quickly faded behind him the longer

he used this qinggong technique, growing indistinct in the distance. Even his merciless

pursuers from behind disappeared temporarily without a trace.

But Shen Qiao would not lower his guard as a result. He took a sigh of relief. His robes

were lifted by the wind, untouched by the dirt beneath him. His grace resembled that

of a bird, though perhaps only somewhat inferior.

This route went quickly. He had to first pass by the mountains outside the city, so as to

deceive his pursuers. Afterwards, he had to follow the sheltered area beneath the

mountain, before reaching the small grove by the foot of the mountain that one would

need to enter if they were on their way to the city.

Although this grove of trees was certainly not large, it relied on its lush and green

position by the mountain. Its verdant color made it resemble a part of the earth. Had

any ordinary person entered this place, they would have almost seemed to have been

swallowed whole by the forest, with its long entanglement of vines and rugged terrain.

They would certainly not be able to find a way out of it.

Shen Qiao supported himself with the trunks of each tree as he went further into the

forest. Though he had slowed down greatly, he made sure that he did not leave even

the slightest trace of his steps. Even if their enemies were to chase them into this area,

they would not be able to determine whether or not they have entered it.

He walked for as long as it took a stick of incense to burn. Already, he could see that

he had entered the very depths of the forest, and would quickly reach the area by that

of the mountain. He finally could not bear it any longer, and stopped for a moment to

rest.

His wrist was grabbed by someone’s hand, which had extended past him without

warning.

Shen Qiao was vigilant and sensed this, before trying to pull his hand away and retreat.

However, after seeing the other man’s face, he stopped, and sighed.

“It’s me,” Yan Wushi said. He had grasped Shen Qiao’s wrist in one hand, while his

other was supporting his waist, helping him walk further into the forest. “Why did it

take you so long to get rid of them?”

Shen Qiao had exhausted all of his strength, and allowed Yan Wushi to support him by

the arm. He leaned half of his weight somewhat into the other man’s body.

“Of course, if it were only those three I had to deal with, there wouldn’t be any reason

for anxiety,” Shen Qiao said. “I had wanted to kill Yan Shou to avenge the Guanzhu

and Chuyi. I didn’t expect that behind him would be yet another person dressed as a

monk. They seemed younger than Bai Rong, yet their wugong was not beneath that of

Yan Shou. The longer we fought, the more unfavorable it became for me. I could only

find an opportunity to escape.”

Content Warning: Implied Sexual Assault (Highlight to read)

He did not know what the identity of this person was, but Yan Wushi knew at first

mention: “That person is most likely Baoyun. They are one of the elders of Hehuan

Sect. He likes to pretend to be a monk and spread Buddhist teachings all over the

country. That way, he can fool a number of worshippers that are women and sleep with

them. The Buddhists hate him for dirtying the good reputation of monks, and have

repeatedly hunted him down in recent years. He rarely shows his face to the outside

world, yet his wugong is hardly beneath that of Yan Shou’s.”

End of Content Warning

After hearing the actions of this man, Shen Qiao could not help but frown, his

expression filled with disgust: “Earlier, Bai Rong said that Shang Jingxing and Baoyun

were just behind them. If Baoyun is here, then Sang Jingxing is most likely not far from

them either. We need to get away from here as soon as we can. Otherwise, with how

many people are on their side, it’ll be unlikely that they’ll leave this place unsearched.”

“Are you able to move?” Yan Wushi asked.

Shen Qiao smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“I have a way,” Yan Wushi said.

“Hm?”

Yan Wushi stroked Shen Qiao’s face, which was ashen from having exhausted his

strength. Shen Qiao turned away, though the other man was able to have stroked it

once. Shen Qiao glared at him, but Yan Wushi laughed: “Sang Jingxing was heavily

wounded because of you, so naturally his hate for you is so deep that it reaches into his

bones. But Hehuan Sect’s other members don’t carry any similar grudge against you.

Rather, they greatly fear you. You should leave this place on your own. Don’t worry

about me any longer. You should focus on ridding yourself of them, instead of

burdening yourself even more with me.”

Shen Qiao sighed: “I thought that you were actually going to come up with a good

plan. Stop with your nonsense already. Let’s head up the mountain first.”

“Is this not a good plan?” Yan Wushi asked.

“If I had wanted to get rid of you from the start,” Shen Qiao said, “why would I wait

until now? If I am to save a life, I will go through with it completely, as one would escort

the Buddha to the west.60 If I lend my hand to you in the beginning, then I will naturally

do all I can for as long as I can.”

The two of them continued forwards. Shen Qiao, after having completely used his

qinggong to his utmost power, now felt that every step demanded too much effort. He

could not help but say: “I really can’t move anymore. You head up first, and I’ll cover

for you here.”

Yan Wushi laughed: “Ah-qiao, you’re really so cute. If I were to rely on you covering for

me with your present state, then once Sang Jingxing comes around, he’ll eat you right

up, bones and all.”

Before Shen Qiao could respond, he felt the ground disappear from beneath his feet as

the other man carried him on his back.

chapter 79

“ Ah-qiao, you’re so foolish. When have I ever treated you well?

—SHEN QIAO DID NOT EXPECT that he would do such a thing, so he was quite

startled.

The other man moved with lithe and graceful steps. A moment passed, and they had

already left the small grove and reached the foot of the mountain, following an

upwards path that led to the opposite side of the mountain.

Shen Qiao’s mind went blank for a good moment, before asking: “We’re going up the

mountain?”

60 This is an idiom from Journey to the West, referencing Sun Wukong and his shifu attaining

enlightenment after...heading west.

“On the other side is a temple, hidden within the mountain itself. It’s been abandoned

for several years,” Yan Wushi said.

Shen Qiao was suspicious. “You seem to be familiar with this place.”

“After I battled with Cui Youwang that year, I had entered seclusion in this mountain,”

Yan Wushi said.

Shen Qiao suddenly understood, but did not ask any more questions. He was indeed

very tired. Earlier, he had fought with all of his strength against four people. Bai Rong,

Yan Shou and Baoyun had all come at him, each one stronger than the other, and this

wasn’t including Xiao Se, who had been severely wounded by Yan Wushi. With Shen

Qiao’s present internal strength, even if he possessed the realm of jian xin, it still

wouldn’t mean that he could escape completely unscathed.

Though Yan Wushi’s pace was rather quick, it was also very steady. Shen Qiao could

feel the warmth of his body through the fabric of his clothing. Without the strength to

think much more, he fell asleep without realizing it.

The next time that he opened his eyes, he found that he was no longer surrounded by

a thicket of trees like earlier, but instead what looked to be a temple.

Due to how old it was, the incense sticks within the temple had already been broken in

half. They didn’t even know where the incense burner could have been. The statue of

Buddha had been severed at the head, and around them were large nets of dust.

However, where Shen Qiao had slept was clean. Beneath him was a curtain, pulled

down from two nearby pillars. Though it was rather old and tattered, it wasn’t nearly as

bad as sleeping on the cold stone floors.

He rested his back against the wall for a moment. Though he had not sustained any

heavy wounds from earlier, the internal wounds he sustained from battling with Xueting

had been somewhat irritated, which resulted in his present condition, leaving him

unable to utilize his full strength in battle. This was also the reason why he was unable

to kill Yan Shou. Afterwards, with Baoyun being added into the battle as well, this

opportunity was, in the end, lost to him.

Shen Qiao dizzily rubbed his head, and sighed softly.

A cool hand brushed past him. Shen Qiao was completely unprepared. A tremble

passed through his body as he felt the ice-cold fingers make contact with his skin.

“What are you sighing for?”

Yan Wushi was sitting beside him. He was reading the sheet of silk in his other hand.

Shen Qiao narrowed his eyes at the sheet, scrutinizing it. Sure enough, it was the lost

volume of the Zhuyang Ce that the man had taken from Chen Gong that day.

He wanted to speak, but could only watch as Yan Wushi turned over his hand and

placed the sheet of silk in the fire. In an instant, it was swallowed by the flames.

Shen Qiao was silent.

Yan Wushi turned and caught sight of Shen Qiao’s expression. He did not wait for the

man to ask, and instead spoke: “I’ve already memorized the contents. What use would

there be if I left it?”

“As a last resort, you could have given the sheet of silk to Hehuan Sect so as to escape

them,” Shen Qiao said. “Why won’t you even give yourself this way out?”

“Even if I did give them the sheet of silk, do you think that they’ll believe that it’s really

the last volume?” Yan Wushi asked.

Shen Qiao frowned and did not speak.

Yan Wushi smiled unkindly: “In the past, the Riyue Sect had a secret technique that I’m

sure even you haven’t heard about. In truth, it is simply the Moyin Shexin utilized at its

utmost perfection. If you can achieve this, then you can control the minds of others and

force them to speak the truth without their realizing it. If it were my choice to make, I

would much rather decide to use this method of getting information I want to hear,

rather than believe some characters written on a sheet of silk.”

“Then if Yan Shou and the others take advantage of your greatly reduced cultivation,

capture you and take you back to Hehuan Sect, they could easily have you recite the

contents of the lost volume of the Zhuyang Ce,” Shen Qiao said.

“That’s right,” Yan Wushi said. “My worth to them cannot even compare to that of a

corpse. Additionally, with possession of the Zhuyang Ce and my position as the

zongzhu of Huanyue Sect, they can easily control Huanyue Sect as they like if they

capture me.”

It was as Shen Qiao thought. Yan Wushi had read the lost volume of the Zhuyang Ce,

which means that he had already read three of the five available volumes. Most

significant was the one that they had found in the underground city of Ruoqiang, as it

had specifically corrected and further supplemented parts of the Fenglin Yuandian.

Sang Jingxing and Yuan Xiuxiu both studied the Fenglin Yuandian, and naturally

understood the effects of the flaws within the demonic core. Any day they went where

the flaw was yet to have been corrected was another day that they could not cultivate

the Fenglin Yuandian to absolute perfection. As a result, they would want the contents

of this volume more than anyone.

Had it been the Yan Wushi of before, so at ease and far above the rest of them, his

mere identity would have made them too afraid of the consequences of taking any rash

action against him. But the present Yan Wushi had just returned from the brink of death

after the five great masters made an attempt on his life. His wugong was significantly

inferior to what it was before. If they did not act now, then when?

Shen Qiao understood very well the methods that the members of the demonic sect

utilized.

Content Warning: Implied rape. Gruesome imagery (gore). (highlight to read).

The reason why Sang Jingxing wanted to ruin Shen Qiao’s wugong was because of the

day that Shen Qiao had killed his disciple, Huo Xijing. He wanted to cut off his limbs

and keep them as his trophies; and after recklessly toying with him, he wanted to give

him to the rest of Hehuan Sect to violate him. And considering the relationship

between Huanyue and Hehuan Sect in the past few years, as well as Yan Wushi’s

venomous words and overindulgent behavior, the treatment that Yan Wushi would

receive at the hands of the members of the Hehuan Sect wouldn’t be that much better

than that of Shen Qiao.

Content Warning End.

Upon thinking of this, Shen Qiao’s frown only deepened. “If that’s the case, then we

ought to hurry up and set out, so that we won’t get caught by them.”

“Are you being this considerate to me,” Yan Wushi started, laughing, “because you

want me to be moved to tears and devote my heart to you?”

Shen Qiao paid no mind to the derision in his tone, and instead responded solemnly:

“I know that Yan-zongzhu has never cared for anyone. But this is a matter of life and

death. Your flaw has yet to heal over, and your strength has yet to be restored. If it were

only Yan Shou and the others, then perhaps we could handle them. But once Sang

Jingxing comes, not even I will be able to ward him off. It would be best to be

cautious.”

However, Yan Wushi did not seem even the slightest bit disturbed. He simply fed a

nearby branch into the fire so as to make it brighter, and suddenly asked a question

that had nothing to do with anything: “If you could do everything over again, would

you still choose to let me save you at Banbu Peak61?”

This question caught Shen Qiao off guard. He simply shook his head: “I’m afraid that

such matters aren’t for me to decide.”

“In that case,” Yan Wushi said, “even if you knew from the beginning that you would

have become hopelessly entangled with me, and that I would have personally handed

you off to Sang Jingxing, you wouldn’t regret it?”

“There is no cure for remorse,” Shen Qiao said. “For as long as we live, we will never

be able to recover that which has passed us by. Rather than clinging to such

resentment and never allowing myself relief, it would be better to thank you for having

taught me how to see this world and the sentiments of its people.”

61 This is Half-step Peak, but I will refer to it as Banbu Peak from now on, since that is the way I’ve been

translating all the Chinese names of things.

The light of the fire illuminated his earnest expression, revealing a rare sort of

gentleness.

Yan Wushi suddenly began to laugh. He said in a tender voice: “Ah-qiao, you’re so

foolish. When have I ever treated you well?”

He extended one hand in Shen Qiao’s direction, as though wanting to stroke his cheek.

However, Shen Qiao backed away, evading from him, while raising one hand to ward

him off. Who would have thought that Yan Wushi drew his other hand over

him—however, it was not to attack him. He had merely brushed his sleeve past Shen

Qiao’s eyes.

Shen Qiao halted his breathing the moment he caught the strange scent from it.

However, it had already entered his nose. His body, which had already lost so much of

its strength already, became even weaker. The other man took advantage of this, and

closed Shen Qiao’s acupoint.

“When will you finally rid yourself of this ailment you have of letting your guard down?”

Yan Wushi shook his head. “Or perhaps you’ve already considered me to be someone

trustworthy deep down in your heart?”

After saying this, he did not pay any mind to how Shen Qiao stared at him, his eyes

wide. Instead, he bent down and kissed the tip of his nose, before taking Shen Qiao

into his arms and carrying him towards the Buddha statue.

Only then did Shen Qiao realize that the other side of the Buddha statue had a deep

recess within it. The space was not large, nor was it small. It was enough for a single

person to sit cross-legged within it.

Yan Wushi explained to him, as though he had all the time in the world: “It isn’t cheap

to cast a full-bodied statue of Buddha. Many temples will usually ask to have the statue

be hollow from behind, so as to reduce the cost. I had come by this temple before in

the past. This statue was turned out in large quantities without much regard for the

quality that it was in. Even the hollowed-out inside was so lazily put together. Whoever

made it seemed inclined to only carve something half-decent in the front. But lucky for

you, it’s to your benefit now.”

Shen Qiao frowned: “What do you mean to do?!”

“That year, I’d also seen the lost volume of the Zhuyang Ce stored in the imperial

palace of Northern Zhou. But we’re in a hurry now. There isn’t any time for me to recite

it to you. If you wish to see it, then look for Yuwen Yong in Chang’an. He has met you

once, and recognizes your worth. I’m sure that he will be willing to make an exception

for you. Also, you must tell Bian Yanmei. Tell him not to worry about me any longer, but

instead have him take advantage of the fact that Zhou has annexed Qi, and extend

Huanyue Sect’s influence over Qi before thinking of anything else.”

Shen Qiao’s expression suddenly darkened: “I’m not a member of Huanyue Sect. You

should be the one saying all of this yourself. What does this have to do with me?”

Yan Wushi laughed, but did not speak. He simply stroked Shen Qiao’s cheek. This

action he performed slowly, and with great care, as if he wanted to take in the

sensation of the tips of his fingers brushing the other man’s skin. The atmosphere took

on an indescribable ambiguity. He was unexpectedly met with the sight of both Shen

Qiao’s cheeks slowly becoming dyed a faint, soft red.

“Our Ah-qiao is ever so beautiful. No wonder even that girl Bai Rong has taken such a

liking to you. With her around, she will certainly help conceal your whereabouts just as

well. She won’t let you fall into the hands of Yan Shou and the rest.”

If Shen Qiao still didn’t understand what he meant to do after saying this, then he

would truly be too stupid.

“Yan Wushi! I did not go through the hardship of helping you escape this entire journey

so that you could give yourself up in the end!”

Yan Wushi laughed loudly: “I never regret handing you off personally to Sang

Jingxing—not then, and not now. Yet here you are with the opportunity to witness me

experience such misfortune, and wearing such a grief-stricken face! Ah-qiao ah,

Ah-qiao. You’ve really disappointed me! You should be rejoicing in my disaster, you

should be celebrating deep inside! How could you possibly wear such a pitiful look? I

can’t keep myself from wanting to draw closer to you!”

He said this, and he truly took Shen Qiao’s chin between his fingers before bending in

and invading Shen Qiao’s lips with his own, only stopping when he felt the other man’s

breath become ragged and his eyes glisten.

“All that I’ve ever done was for myself and no one else. I have never regret a thing, and

this is no different. This isn’t to atone for any crime, much less is it for anything as

ridiculous as guilt. There’s no need to think that you are indebted to me, or even

mistakenly believe that this is something it’s not62. That would only make me sick.”

He wiped away the glistening shine of Shen Qiao’s lip, before laughing in a low voice:

“I will wait for the day that you can honor your promise, and become my worthy

opponent. Perhaps that way, I will be able to gaze at you a little longer.”

Shen Qiao tried with all his strength to reopen his acupoint, but to no avail. Yan Wushi’s

methods were too sly. Every attempt he made to undo them were completely

unsuccessful. Instead, he had exerted himself so much that sweat appeared upon his

forehead and his face reddened even further, as though he were both humiliated and

filled with resent.

62 自作多情: its that one idiom that means ‘unreciprocated affection’, but it can also mean any

unreciprocated emotion—be it forgiveness, happiness, etc.

As he watched Yan Wushi pull away and prepare to leave, Shen Qiao was in such

distress that even the tone of his voice had altered greatly: “Stop!”

The other man paused for a moment upon hearing him, before extending one hand to

close his ya63 acupoint.

Shen Qiao’s chest rose and fell repeatedly with increasing urgency. His eyes seemed to

be filled to the brim with clear, smooth tears, shimmering with a glossy light that could

have moved any man.

Yan Wushi bent down to say this in his ear, before laughing softly: “You shouldn’t wear

such a face around other people. Otherwise, I won’t be able to hold myself back, much

less Sang Jingxing.”

After this, he pushed the statue in front of a wall, so that the area where Shen Qiao was

hidden seemed to have been joined with it, making him much harder to be discovered.

He then put out the fire and, with a wave of his hand, caused debris to fall upon the

area where Shen Qiao had been sitting, leaving no further trace that he was there.

Once he had done all of this, Yan Wushi experienced a sense of impending danger, as

though someone with a strong desire to kill were approaching them from far away.

But for those who have reached a certain point in their studies with wugong, the

reaction they have when confronted with danger is one that is incredibly mysterious

and abstruse.

A smirk slowly revealed itself upon his face. With great strides, he left the temple. His

silhouette flew forwards, and in a moment, disappeared into the night.

Moonlight spilled into the temple, illuminating the ruined walls and cracked tiles of the

temple, bringing a weak light to the person that hid within the Buddha statue.

His tears had finally condensed, and began to fall from his eyes.

However, only a short moment passed before he was able to hear the voices of people

from the outside: “With Sang-zhanglao’s wugong, how could he possibly be unable to

capture that insignificant Yan Wushi?”

“Insignificant Yan Wushi?” Bai Rong laughed coldly. “Xiao-shixiong, would you dare to

say such a thing to Yan Wushi’s face?”

“Stop talking!” Yan Shou, who had no patience for noise, frowned, and continued: “Yan

Wushi left on his own, and Shen Qiao was not by his side. It’s more than likely that he’s

hiding away nearby. And after having fought with us earlier, Shen Qiao had exerted a

63 啞穴: yaxue. the acupoint located at the base of your neck, underneath the back of your head.

great amount of energy. He couldn’t have gone far--search this place over, and then

we’ll discuss this later!”