Chapter 99

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In which negotiations sort of happen.

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Wenren Heng was quite cooperative, not resisting from beginning to end, having been carried by that monster the entire way into the depths of the forest.

After regaining steady footing, he calmly straightened out his lapel before lifting his head to look at them

Wei Jiangrou and the Alliance Leader simultaneously startled.

Wenren Heng didn’t wait for them to speak. Completely ignoring Wei Jiangrou, he actually took the initiative to greet the other person politely with, “Alliance Leader, have you been well since we last met?”

The Alliance Leader blurted out, “Wenren Heng!”

The elderly man’s footsteps paused, and he asked, “What? This isn’t the Ah-Xiao all of you were speaking about?”

The Alliance Leader shook his head and said, “No, he’s Wenren Heng, the Sect Master of Shuangji Sect.”

The elderly man’s expression darkened, and he looked towards Wenren Heng. “You dare to trick me?”

“This young one knows all about the matters that elder wants to ask about. What difference does it make to have this young one here instead of someone else?” Wenren Heng unhurriedly unraveled the bandages on his face, revealing an eminently handsome face, while smiling at that monster.

The elderly man’s figure flashed, and in an instant, he arrived in front of the other.

Wenren Heng had long already prepared some surreptitious defenses, and at practically the same instant the other moved, he jumped backwards, quickly dodging the attack. He asked, “Elder doesn’t want to ask any questions?”

The elderly man said coldly, “No one dares to trick me.”

“Then elder wants to kill this young one and then go capture that person?” Wenren Heng looked at him and asked, calm and tranquil, “How will elder be able to confirm that the next person captured will definitely be my Junior Brother?”

The elderly man said, “I can just continue to capturing people.”

Wenren Heng laughed and said, “Naturally that can be done, but this young one can guarantee that when elder captures the second person, there won’t even be corpses left of the people all of you want to save.”

The elderly man said, “You’re threatening me?”

“No,” Wenren Heng said, “This young one is simply speaking the truth.”

The two’s conversation proceeded very rapidly, and it was only now that the Alliance Leader and Wei Jiangrou managed to react. The former hastily went over to advise that monster, while the latter didn’t dare to move forward but still opened her mouth to say in a trembling voice, “Don’t… don’t hurt Brother Heng.”

The elderly man’s expression changed minutely, and after a glance at Wei Jiangrou, he indeed stopped his attacks. At this time, Manor Lord Wei had also doubled back and, upon seeing the person standing here, said in astonishment, “Xiao-Heng?”

Towards the fact that the other had returned only just now, Wenren Heng wasn’t the least bit surprised.

They had long already analyzed the situation.

Although the monster didn’t recognize his Junior Brother, everyone knew that his Junior Brother’s face was wrapped with bandages, so the person was extremely easy to identify. Thus, that monster was entirely capable of going to capture the person alone. But since everyone in the righteous faction wanted to attack this monster, if the Alliance Leader and them were feeling uneasy, then one of them would definitely follow along. And since the Alliance Leader’s martial skill wasn’t high, Manor Lord Wei then became the most suitable choice, and the person would also be able to attract the righteous faction’s attention — so when he saw that Manor Lord Wei wasn’t around just now, Wenren Heng didn’t even need to guess to know where the other had gone.

Manor Lord Wei glimpsed the bandages on the ground and said with certainty, “You disguised yourself as Ah-Xiao.”

Wenren Heng said, “It’s simply asking a few questions anyway. Isn’t it the same no matter who answers.”

Manor Lord Wei said, “Spoken like that, so Jiangyue really is in your hands?”

Wenren Heng said, “He is. Sir Zhong is as well.”

The Alliance Leader thought of how he had originally fled in panic, like a bird easily frightened by the sound of a bow, and his expression immediately turned unsightly, but he had no choice but to suppress his anger and ask a word about how his son was. The corners of Wenren Heng’s lips slightly rose, and he didn’t reply. Manor Lord Wei understood his temperament quite well and said, sighing, “Xiao-Heng, just say outright — what will make you let them go.”

Wenren Heng said, “Let me go back today, and then we’ll decide on a time and place to return those two to you.”

The Alliance Leader said, “But I think that kidnapping you, and using your life to force your Junior Brother to do a hostage exchange, would be far more reliable.”

Wenren Heng laughed and said, “Alliance Leader, before I came, I already spoke about this with my Junior Brother. If I don’t return within two hours, his side will immediately make a move, so you’d just end up waiting to receive corpses back then.

The elderly man interrupted in a flat voice, “Two hours is enough time for me to also capture your Junior Brother.”

“Did elder forget what this young one said earlier? Why is elder so sure that the next one he captures will be my Junior Brother?” Wenren Heng gently looked at him. “Even if you let me return, how will anyone be certain that, in the following days, the one beside me will definitely be my Junior Brother?”

Manor Lord Wei and the Alliance Leader both fell silent.

Wenren Heng’s words could be the truth and a hint to them that Ah-Xiao had long already gone into hiding, with the one left behind a body double. But these words were also likely to be a ploy to mislead them on purpose. However, with two lives in the balance, if they acted blindly without thinking, the other party would perhaps truly kill those people, so they really couldn’t gamble on this.

The elderly man didn’t think too deeply, and he didn’t harbor as many cunning plans besides.

He simply felt unhappy looking at this appearance of Wenren Heng’s — since he became famous, he had never seen a youth this calm and collected in front of him before, and he couldn’t help but ask, “Brat, speaking to me like this, you aren’t afraid of death?”

Wenren Heng said, “My one life in exchange for two people’s lives. What would I be afraid of?”

The elderly man narrowed his eyes. “You’re threatening me again?”

Wenren Heng said, “This isn’t a threat, elder. Why don’t you simply ask the Alliance Leader and Manor Lord Wei if they’d be able to find a reason that ‘after I die, my Junior Brother won’t kill Sir Wei and them.'”

The elderly man swept his eyes over to the two people nearby, and upon seeing the two completely silent, not speaking a word, he then became aware that this person was speaking the truth.

“Oh, I misspoke. It’s not only two people’s lives,” Wenren Heng said cheerfully, “Whenever my Junior Brother gets angry, he doesn’t much like reasoning with other people. When the time comes, the death count will be even greater, and he’s definitely capable of doing so.”

There was no need to ask. One of the first targets would definitely be the Wei family.

Manor Lord Wei inwardly sucked in a breath.

He had long been able to judge that Ah-Xiao had faked madness that year, most likely for the sake of not going with him to Fengxian Manor. And after he left, Ah-Xiao had left on his own, disappearing for ten years. Over these ten years, they were utterly ignorant of what this person had done or where this person had gone.

Having lived until now, he dared to do both good and wicked things in equal measure, and he had always believed that he’d experienced much in his life, bearing knowledge of countless different types of people, but this was still actually his first time seeing someone’s innate ability reach Ah-Xiao’s level.

Ten years ago, he had been unable to see through Ah-Xiao’s scheme, and ten years later, they had even fallen into this person’s hands.

This person Ah-Xiao was capable of enduring, was exceptionally intelligent with a ruthless heart, and, most of all, was still this young, making the person formidable indeed.

He was silent for a while before saying to the elderly man, “Let him go then.”

He added, “We’ll decide the time and place.”

Wenren Heng knew that this sentence was spoken to him, and the heaviness in his heart lifted. He said a word of, ‘all right,’ before turning around and leaving.

Manor Lord Wei said, “Xiao-Heng.”

Wenren Heng stopped.

Manor Lord Wei stilled for a moment before saying, “There are many things that aren’t like what they appear on the surface.”

Wenren Heng looked back. “For instance?”

Manor Lord Wei waved a hand, indicating that he could leave. Wenren Heng looked at him and didn’t ask any further, walking forward once again.

Wei Jiangrou couldn’t help but chase two steps after him. “Brother Heng…”

Wenren Heng’s footfalls didn’t stop, as if he hadn’t heard her.

Wei Jiangrou’s eyes reddened, and she unconsciously moved forward another step. Before she could even open her mouth, she saw a person’s figure flash by, and the elderly man had already moved in front of Wenren Heng to stop him.

The elderly man felt even more displeased looking at him and coldly said, “She’s calling you. Are you deaf?”

“Naturally I’m not,” Wenren Heng said, “But there’s nothing I can say to her.”

The elderly man shot a glance at Wei Jiangrou. The latter had run over in this interval of time. Biting her lips and looking at Wenren Heng, she said in a low voice, “Brother Heng, could I speak with you?”

“Are there still things to talk about between us?” Wenren Heng lowered his eyes to look at her. “That matter with Ah-Xiao, he said that he wouldn’t blame you, so I didn’t inquire about it further. Right now, you should know that your father is the white piece, so I’ll tell you one more thing — me and Ah-Xiao are the black piece, and your second brother was kidnapped by us.”

Wei Jiangrou’s eyes turned even redder. “My dad has some hidden hardships.”

Wenren Heng asked, “What hidden hardships?”

“I don’t know, but he still… he still has hidden hardships,” Wei Jiangrou said, choked with sobs, “Brother Heng, towards… towards you, I…”

“I know,” Wenren Heng interrupted her, “but I’ve never thought of you in that way.”

Wei Jiangrou turned blank, and her tears immediately slid out uncontrollably.

The elderly man’s expression chilled, and with a hand, he grabbed Wenren Heng’s neck and pressed the other against a tree. “You dare to make her cry!”

Wenren Heng frowned for a moment before his expression immediately cleared, fading back to normal — if he was able to feel threatened from such a thing as this, then he wouldn’t be Wenren Heng. Calmly, he asked, “So elder means that he wants me to lie to her?”

The chilly atmosphere around the elderly man deepened.

At this time, Wei Jiangrou regained her senses and frantically had him let go. Upon seeing Wenren Heng covering that neck with a hand, she hastily asked, “Brother Heng, how are you?”

Wenren Heng didn’t answer and instead asked, “Is there anything else?”

“You… you’re this unwilling to speak to me?” Wei Jiangrou asked, crying, “Is it because of Ah-Xiao? If he wasn’t here…”

“Even if he wasn’t here, it’s still impossible between us,” Wenren Heng once again interrupted her, his tone still as gentle as usual. Wei Jiangrou had always liked this about him, but today was the first time she realized that this kind of gentleness could actually be so ruthless.

She ferociously shook her head. “N-no. We just didn’t have the opportunity to interact.” She bit her lips and, making a firm resolution, said, “Then what about if I become your concubine? I won’t beg you for an official marriage, so is it all right to just become your concubine?”

Wenren Heng felt as if he was practically listening to a fantasy and asked, “You want to become my concubine?”

Wei Jiangrou nodded.

Wenren Heng laughed. “The kind who forever lives in the side courtyard, who gets only enough money from accounts to live every month, who’ll never see me for an entire lifetime, and who’ll come out only once a year during new years’ celebrations to kowtow[1] at the main house? That kind of concubine?”

Wei Jiangrou’s face instantly turned deathly pale. “…What?”

“Not every house is as harmonious as yours,” Wenren Heng said, “Return to your dad and have him show you how those unfavored concubines live their lives.”

Wei Jiangrou collapsed. “Why?”

Why is he treating me this way?

Why does he not like me?

Which part of me can’t compare to Ah-Xiao?

Why!

Wenren Heng didn’t hear her unspoken words, but he was able to see the frenzy suppressed in her eyes. Stowing away some of his smile, he turned resolute. “I’m saying these things for your sake. If you can’t appreciate this kindness, then just forget it.” He walked forward a step. “Xiao-Rou, I’ll say one last thing. If Ah-Xiao lives, I live; if he dies, then my life will also lose all meaning.”

Wei Jiangrou’s entire body trembled, and the pain in her heart felt like a sword slicing her in pieces. Almost vacantly, she looked at him, “What do you mean by that? I’ve never thought of harming him. I was just scared last time.”

Wenren Heng assessed her for a while before once again laughing. “It’s my fault for avoiding you all these years, so that only now do I see…”

As he finished speaking, he looked at that monster and said sincerely, “Elder, you should pay a bit more attention. Other than this face that looks like your dearly departed person, where else does she resemble that person, and how is she deserving of your protection.”

Manor Lord Wei’s heart skipped a beat.

He hadn’t interrupted for such a long time solely because he wanted to let Wenren Heng say a few more vicious things so as to let Xiao-Rou thoroughly give up. But Wenren Heng was still Wenren Heng after all. While he had reached this conclusion only after many years of observation, Wenren Heng conversely had seen through Xiao-Rou’s true nature this quickly.

He said, “That’s enough, Xiao-Rou. Let him go.”

He walked over to hold back his daughter, and Wei Jiangrou, no longer able to endure it, leaned against his arm to cry violently.

Wenren Heng glanced at that monster, who, as apparent from that cold face, wanted to move against him but was resisting, before then turning around and leaving, not giving them another look.

When he returned, it was already nightfall. The fort was still brightly lit, and there were even a few people pacing back and forth in front of the gates, seemingly on guard, but also seemingly waiting for people. He walked slowly to the riverside and was just about to use his lightness skill to cross the river when he saw two people standing nearby. Then, upon seeing who they were under the weak light of the moon, he immediately went over.

Ye You and Xie Junming weren’t clear on where he would return, so they simply decided to keep watch nearby. At this moment, upon seeing him, the two simultaneously let out a sigh of relief in their hearts.

Wenren Heng walked a few steps before holding out a hand to his Junior Brother.

Ye You didn’t even think before he was running over, throwing himself into the other’s embrace.

Wenren Heng smiled while hugging him. “They’ll decide the time and place.”

“That’s fine. Let’s think of a way to delay it for a month, and that’ll be enough time to prepare.” As Ye You spoke, he straightened himself up in the other’s arms and immediately saw the marks on the other’s neck. His expression suddenly darkened. “Who did this?”

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[1] Kowtowing involves kneeling on the ground and then bowing down until your head touches the ground. This action is usually repeated thrice, since three is a powerful number (or something). It’s one of the deepest shows of respect in Chinese culture, and is usually done to late ancestors during funerals/qingming or to elders during the new year. It’s also often used to show respect for (or to beg mercy from) the Emperor, so you’ll see this mentioned a lot in imperial court drama novels. Nowadays, a lot of Chinese folks go their entire lives without having to kowtow once. <del>Though unfortunately I had a strict grandmother, so I always kowtowed once a year during the new year. :T</del>

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Still not a fan of how the characters (and the author) seem to be characterizing Wei Jiangrou as inherently a Bad Person, but eh, what can you do.

Manor Lord Wei still wins the prize for most dickish character in this series though imo.

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