Chapter 108

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In which we find out what the deal is with Ren Shaotian.

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Ren Shaotian twisted his lips. “Sir Xiao, there seems to be a slight misunderstanding.”

Ye You said, “There’s no need to explain. I can tell that you seem to care a lot about me.”

After a short pause, as if he felt it wasn’t enough, he added, “My Senior Brother can also tell.”

“…” The smile that Ren Shaotian always maintained had frozen stiff on his face.

He had actually followed because he had been urged by his young master.

Before at the Sheng family residence, the young master had seen Sir Xiao leave alone, with a back that seemed to carry a faint trace of loneliness, and so had thereupon wanted to chase after. They had followed the other all the way onto the street, and when the young master had seen Sir Xiao walking aimlessly alone, the young master had guessed that the other maybe had some discomfort in his heart and so had wanted to go over to keep him company.

But since the matter of the other falling into the water at Wanping Weir, Ren Shaotian had already learned that Sir Xiao was even less simple than the other ordinarily appeared, and might still retain those martial arts, so this time the other had perhaps left for the sake of attending to some business. Thus, he used the fact that “Sir Xiao maybe wants some peace and quiet by himself” as an excuse to advise the young master.

His thoughts were that since Sir Xiao was the black piece, he should let the black piece advance more smoothly in order to finish this chess game quickly so that everything could be resolved. But his young master was thinking of who-knew-what and looked towards him at once, proposing that he follow Sir Xiao with the reasoning that, “Sir Xiao’s body is that weak, while the white piece is constantly after Sir Xiao’s life, so going outside on his own like this is too dangerous!”

He was left unable to respond.

His young master said again, “Shaotian, I know that if we return now, you also definitely won’t feel at ease.”

At that time, he really wanted to refute, but he wasn’t able to get it out, because he really… was somewhat uneasy.

Thus, he obeyed the order and followed Sir Xiao, even following the person the entire way out of the city, but it turned out that this person hadn’t had any business from the start and had simply wanted to discuss matters of the heart with him.

He was completely full of regrets.

If he had known ahead of time that he’d fall into such a pit, he wouldn’t have followed.

Ye You saw that he was silent and added another blow, “It’s because I knew that you were concerned about me that I was certain that you’d follow me.”

Ren Shaotian’s heart was full of grievances, but out loud, he said, “You should’ve noticed that we were following behind you and guessed that the young master would send me then.”

Ye You said, “Then why didn’t your young master send Wei Jin and wanted to send you directly?”

Ren Shaotian said, “He isn’t able to order around Wei Jin.”

Ye You let out a faint sigh, appearing as if he had given up, and said, “Whatever you say then. If you say it isn’t like that, then isn’t.”

Ren Shaotian surrendered, deciding not to argue semantics with him, and asked, “You came out today just for the sake of asking me about this?”

Ye You said, “Of course not. There’s something I want to request from you.”

Ren Shaotian immediately felt more comfortable, feeling that it truly was better to discuss proper business. He was just about to open his mouth to ask when he heard this person say, “Could you take off your mask and let me see what you look like?”

He startled and unconsciously touched his mask. “My face is injured.”

Ye You said, “See? Sure enough, you’re concerned about me, not wanting to let me see your ugly appearance…”

Before he even finished speaking, Ren Shaotian couldn’t take it anymore and hurriedly took off his mask.

Ye You saw it very clearly, and his pupils abruptly contracted, the rest of his words catching rigidly in his throat, the blood in his entire body feeling as if it had frozen solid in an instant.

Since he wore a mask year-round, Ren Shaotian had clear tan lines on both his cheeks, and from the space between his brows to his left cheek, there was a scar, truly an injury, which looked like it was already many years old. But this didn’t prevent other people from looking at the side of his face that was perfectly fine and seeing how outstandingly handsome he used to be.

Ren Shaotian took it off for only a moment before once again putting it back on. He asked, “Why exactly were you looking for me?”

Ye You didn’t reply.

He felt his hands shaking minutely, feeling stifling emotions fill his mind and overflow into his chest, very quickly drawing up the remnants of the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison. He felt only a dull ache in his heart before he vomited out a mouthful of blood, completely caught off guard.

Ren Shaotian’s expression changed slightly, and without even thinking, he rushed over.

This person was far too clever and, in the space of a conversation, was able to set a trap for someone. Just now, he hadn’t dared to get too close, but at this moment, he wasn’t able to endure. This feeling was exceedingly familiar, since he had also panicked the last two times Sir Xiao had encountered mishap. He was completely averse to seeing this person unwell.

He thought that perhaps it was possible that he really did like this person.

So, towards the young master’s words, he had never really refuted it with any intensity.

“You…” He quickly rushed close and, upon discovering that this blood was actually black, said, “You were poisoned?”

“Yes, by the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison.” Ye You leaned against the tree, taking off the blood-stained bandages and throwing it aside. He said in a low voice, “A few days ago, me and Senior Brother set a trap for that monster, and I was hit with a palm strike from the monster.”

Ren Shaotian’s expression once again changed. “What?”

Ye You said, “I don’t have very many days to live, so I have something to request from you.”

Ren Shaotian looked at his deathly pale face and once again felt a great panic rising, origins unknown. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Say it.”

Ye You said, “Don’t tell my Senior Brother about me being poisoned, and just bury me in secret. It’d be fine to bury me in your hometown. Where is your hometown? When you were little… where did you live?”

Ren Shaotian said, “In a small village in the south.”

Ye You said, “What was the village called?”

Ren Shaotian was distraught with anxiety, completely distracted, and, upon hearing this, had to force himself to turn some of his attention back. After a moment of thought, he said, “It was called Xiaoshi Village[1]. I lived there when I was very young. Later, there was a disaster, and I fled with my parents. They passed away on the road and left only me by myself. Finally, I was picked up and taken in by the people of Lingjian Pavilion.”

Ye You said, “What kind of disaster?”

Ren Shaotian said, “Perhaps a flood… I can’t remember.”

Ye You said, “Which province and which county was that Xiaoshi Village in, do you know?”

Ren Shaotian said, “Why are you asking these things?”

Ye You coughed several times and furrowed his brows in pain. “I at least need to know about the place where I’m going to be buried in the future.”

Just thinking of the other’s current state made Ren Shaotian uncomfortable, and so he could only think back and give him an approximate county name. Immediately following, he felt that it wasn’t good to continue like this and said, “I’ll take you to Shaolin to find Miracle Doctor Ji. Wait for me to say a word to the Pavilion Master and them, and I’ll come back as soon as possible.”

In an instant, Ye You wasn’t able to control his temper and used a hand to hold the other back, gritting his teeth and forcing out a full sentence, “From today onward, don’t let me hear you call that surnamed Ding by the title ‘Pavilion Master’!”

These words were said extremely rudely, even carrying with it clear loathing.

Ren Shaotian’s heart sank, and he immediately had a kind of bad premonition, but by the time he was able to react, his chest’s acupoints had already been sealed. He looked at the person in front of him and, upon seeing that Sir Xiao’s face was completely cold, said, “You…”

Ye You took off his mask and stared at him, saying, only after a long moment, in a low voice, “This scar, who caused it?”

Ren Shaotian suddenly found this all somewhat absurd.

A moment ago, they had seemed to be in a state of mutual hostility, but in the next moment, this person could actually ask him this question as if the other was concerned. However, the emotions in Sir Xiao’s eyes were too dense, heavily enveloping him, pressing him down so he was practically unable to take a breath.

He straightened out his senses. “Release me.”

Ye You continued asking, “Who caused it?”

Ren Shaotian could only reply, “It was an accidental injury from one of my missions. Release me.”

Ye You moved towards him a step. “Look at my face, is it familiar? You’re concerned about me because you’ve seen me before, right? Two days ago, I heard my Senior Brother say that when I fell off the cliff at Shaolin, you saw my true appearance.”

Ren Shaotian wanted to refute, but he very quickly became aware that he truly did start becoming concerned about this person after seeing the other’s face.

He frowned. “What do you want to do?”

Ye You said, “You’ve definitely already heard about the fact that if a child takes the white piece’s drug, then his memories will slowly become hazy.”

Ren Shaotian stared at him. “What are you saying? You want to say that I’ve also taken that drug?”

Ye You said, “Do you believe me?”

Ren Shaotian said, “No, I don’t, if I had taken the drug, why would I enter ‘Moon’s Shadow’? The Pavilion Master also couldn’t possibly give the young master… ah…”

He had spoken only halfway when Ye You directly grabbed his mouth, fiercely shoving a medicinal pill into it.

Ye You said, “I’ll say it again, don’t let me hear you call him ‘Pavilion Master’!”

Ren Shaotian finally started feeling somewhat angry this time. “What did you give me?”

“A drug that blocks your internal energy.” As Ye You spoke, he turned to the forest to say, “Come out.”

Elder Mei soundlessly jumped out from her hiding place and arrived at his side.

Ye You pulled out two bottles and handed them over to her. “There were only two left of the drug to block internal energy, and I’ve already fed one to him. Here, take this other one. When half a month is over and the efficacy fades, feed him this again.”

Elder Mei said, “Understood. Then that other bottle?”

Ye You said, “It’s the antidote that Miracle Doctor Ji made. Take it, and decide whether to use it or not based on the situation. Otherwise, look into what’s in his mouth. If he’s hidden some poison, get it out.”

Ren Shaotian said, “Where are you going to take me?”

“Don’t you not believe me? I have a way to get you to believe. Right now, go to that Xiaoshi Village of yours and see if a flood has ever happened, and if you ever actually lived there! See if you’re really surnamed Ren or surnamed Yang!” Ye You replied in a cold voice, his chest once again giving off a tearing pain. He slowly breathed out a few breaths and then told the location of Xiaoshi Village to Elder Mei. He said, “He’s quite clever, so don’t leave him alone no matter if he’s eating, drinking, shitting, pissing, or sleeping. If you let him run away…”

Elder Mei immediately raised her hand and pledged, “Don’t worry, Sect Master, this subordinate will definitely watch over him well. Even if he goes to the toilet, I’ll follow closely behind him.”

Ren Shaotian already didn’t know if he should be asking this person what he knew or if he should be asking Elder Mei why she was referring to this person as ‘Sect Master’. With his mind in chaos, his first question was, “Could you find me a man instead?”

Ye You said, “Who told you that she was a woman?”

Ren Shaotian, “…”

Elder Mei wasn’t very happy, but looking at the Sect Master’s appearance, she didn’t dare to speak too much in the end.

Ye You said, “After you’ve finished investigating, take him back to Xiaoqing Mountain and lock him up. Don’t let him out without my orders.”

Ren Shaotian suddenly looked at him and saw that he was coincidentally looking back, those eyes carrying some extremely dense emotions, even appearing to carry a layer of wetness.

The anger in his heart suddenly seemed to vanish, unbidden, and he let out a sigh before attempting to talk reason, “Sir Xiao…”

“I’m called Ah-You. In the past, you always called me this.” Ye You gave him one final look before leaving without looking back.

The two remaining people mutually looked at one another. Elder Mei waited for a while and, upon determining that the drug had taken effect, unsealed his acupoints before grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward. Ren Shaotian had an entire pile of things he wanted to say and couldn’t help but look at the person next to him.

Elder Mei said, “I’ll advise you not to play any tricks because they won’t be of any use. If you really provoke me, then I’ll strip you naked and throw you into a carriage, only returning your clothes when we reach our destination.”

“…” Ren Shaotian looked at her flat chest and then examined her beautiful face. Remembering what Sir Xiao said, he forced a smile as he said, “I say, big brother…”

Elder Mei said, “Call me Lady Mei. I’m a woman.”

Ren Shaotian said, “All right, Lady Mei. Could I first take a small trip back?”

“No,” Elder Mei said, “Don’t worry. Even if you suddenly disappear, our Sect Master will definitely find you a good excuse.”

Ren Shaotian said, “He’s poisoned. You aren’t worried?”

Elder Mei said, “I’m worried, but the Sect Master still wants to live on together with the Madam, so he’s definitely keeping count in his heart. Even if it’s for the Madam, he wouldn’t simply throw his life away as a joke. Martial Hero Ren, I’ve followed the Sect Master for this many years and I’ve never seen him this angry, so if you return to help that surnamed Ding, the Sect Master might actually start vomiting blood out of anger; then things would become truly terrible.”

Ren Shaotian closed his eyes and said with difficulty, “The Pavilion Master is also the white piece.”

Elder Mei said, “Yes.”

Ren Shaotian said, “How much do all of you know?”

Elder Mei said, “I know only a bit more than you, that’s all.”

Ren Shaotian said, “For instance?”

Elder Mei said, “For instance, that Pavilion Master Ding is the white piece, and that you’re probably a very important person to the Sect Master. You heard what he said just now. If you truly had been fed that drug, then you aren’t Ren Shaotian. You don’t want to investigate clearly?”

Ren Shaotian fell silent.

 

When Ye You returned, the sky had already turned completely dark.

Before he returned, he ripped off some cloth from the sleeves of his inner clothing, turning them into bandages and winding them around his face. The Sheng family’s household servant had a deep impression of his “lantern” appearance and, knowing that he was an important guest, hastily let the person inside.

The Sheng family residence was built to be quite big, with pavilions and pagodas and such all present.

Lanterns hung along the courtyard, swaying gently in the ice-cold night wind.

With this small amount of light, Ye You followed the stone pathway to the guestrooms. Right as he arrived at the gardens, he saw Pavilion Master Ding standing in front of the lotus pond. His expression turned cold, and he went over.

Pavilion Master Ding heard the footsteps and turned around, asking, “You just returned?”

Ye You said, “Yes, my mood wasn’t good, so I went on a walk.”

Pavilion Master Ding said indifferently, “Every wrong has a wrongdoer, and every debt has a debtor. It’s the fault of that fatty; it has nothing to do with Wei Jiangyue. Handing over those letters to us was not an easy thing to do.”

The emotions in Ye You’s eyes turned even colder, and he calmly asked, “Why isn’t Pavilion Master Ding resting in his room and is instead standing out here?”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “I’m thinking about a few things.”

Ye You said, “Oh? Thinking about what? Thinking about whether or not Manor Lord Wei has some hidden hardships?”

“Those two letters are not easy to dismiss. That fatty truly did something wrong,” Pavilion Master Ding said coldly, “I just don’t understand why he did such a thing. What’s more, according to his personality, these kinds of letters should’ve long already been burned. Why didn’t he burn them?”

“Does the Pavilion Master really not know? Do you still not know why he keeps maintaining that appearance of having hidden hardships?” Ye You walked forward a step. “I’ll tell you — it’s because you’re here.”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “What are you saying?”

“What an easy thing to understand. He’s already been pulled down into the mud by me, but you haven’t been yet.” Ye You stared at him. “For a long time now, you two have believed that me and Senior Brother were taking revenge on him for the sake of our master and were completely unaware that you’re also the white piece. After ensuring your safety, he’d then disappear, and after a few years, with one in the open and the other in the dark, you two would kill off me and Senior Brother before then finding a few beautiful excuses, producing some sufficient evidence, and then throwing everything onto another person’s head. He could then return with his head held high, while taking the time while he’s in hiding to conceal his identity to do some good deeds. Then upon his return, his reputation would actually grow instead of fall, and he could even still be praised for having endured humiliation for the sake of justice, isn’t that right?”

Pavilion Master Ding’s expression darkened slightly.

“When me and Senior Brother set the trap for Wei Haide earlier, his subordinates managed to hurry over very quickly,” Ye You said, “At the time he left, Wei Haide had left in a hurry, and there was no one of any use by his side. Before he left, the only one he had contact with was you. During the time you two were exchanging blows, you two definitely managed to discuss quite a few things, so you sent out the information the moment he left. That’s why that group of people was able to hurry over to cause us trouble so promptly.”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “These are all just your own conjectures.”

“Stop quibbling, I can’t be bothered to listen,” Ye You said, “Since I suspect you, naturally I wouldn’t rely only on as small a thing as this to determine your guilt. I’m just bringing up something that happened recently in passing.”

Pavilion Master Ding coldly looked at him.

“Oh, regarding those two letters, it’s even easier to explain,” Ye You said, “From the start, that was something that Wei Haide had purposely left behind for Wei Jiangyue. He’s that cautious, so he’s naturally thought of what to do if he’s one day exposed. Those letters then are one solution. Because he needed to pass down Fengxian Manor to Wei Jiangyue, and according to Wei Jiangyue’s disposition, the person would definitely hand over those letters, thereby receiving a reputation for righteousness. And with Fengxian Manor’s foundation, it’d be enough to give Wei Jiangyue firm footing in Jianghu, isn’t that so?”

He said, mocking, “But this matter wouldn’t have worked if it was changed to you or the Alliance Leader, since your two families’ children don’t have that kind of ability. Oh, but this also reminds me, regarding why all of you still raised those drugged men over the years even after all of you achieved your desired positions and reputations, I’m guessing that either you wanted to destroy all that power slowly before handing everything down to your children, or you wanted to find some loyal and devoted people to take over that power before retiring. It wouldn’t matter then if your children didn’t have the ability; as long as that power was helping them in secret, they wouldn’t be too badly off. But did all of you believe that I’d let you fulfill your wishes? Right now, the drugged men are almost entirely gone. After you die, guess how long that darling son of yours will live in the hands of me and my Senior Brother?”

He slightly paused and then said, “Oh, that’s right. You’re standing here right now because you heard that Ren Shaotian was following behind me, so you wanted to wait for him and ask him where I went, right? There’s no need to wait anymore. I’ve already killed him. I also killed Fuping. Who do you think the next one will be?”

Pavilion Master Ding’s expression finally had a slight change. “The things between us, don’t pull in Xilai.”

Ye You let out a laugh. “Pavilion Master Ding, aren’t you quite familiar with those words?”

Pavilion Master Ding said, “What?”

“Over these years, how many people have cried and begged for you to spare their children? How did you answer them?” Ye You looked at the killing intent in this person’s eyes and said, smiling, “What? When it’s your turn, then you can’t take it anymore? All of you really disgust me. Did you know, over this period of time, every time I had to speak with all of you, how much I especially wanted to, one cut at a time…”

His figure flashed, and in an instant, he moved in close to the other party.

Pavilion Master Ding had yet to receive news from Manor Lord Wei and hadn’t at all expected this person to still retain those martial arts. In a blink, his pupils contracted, and he unconsciously retreated a step. However, at this moment, he was already standing right at the edge of the pond, and with this one step, half his foot ended up suspended in the air.

Practically at the same time as he retreated, Ye You simultaneously moved ever slightly closer, reaching out a hand to push very lightly at his chest before finally finishing those words just now, “Chop all of you to pieces.”

This moment caught Pavilion Master Ding almost completely off guard.

His body lost its balance and immediately fell into the pond, sending out a large crashing splash.

Those living at the Sheng family residence were all Jianghu people, and upon hearing this, they all hurried over.

At this time, Wenren Heng was just about to head outside to wait for his Junior Brother and so had practically seen the entire course of events, being the first one to arrive. He held his Junior Brother and sighed at the questioning adventurers before saying, “Just now, Pavilion Master Ding was thinking of things too deeply, so he accidentally fell in.”

He looked at his Junior Brother and tenderly asked, “Were you scared?”

With his hand held by the other, Ye You slowly curbed his chilling air. Shaking his head, he saw a certain person crawling out, dripping wet, and so walked over to ask in concern, “Pavilion Master Ding, are you all right?”

In these twenty years, Pavilion Master Ding had never been as unlucky as this, and his expression was ashen. Suppressing his anger, he said coldly, “Nothing’s wrong.”

The adventurers said one after the other, “It’s good that nothing’s wrong. Hurry and return to the room then, Pavilion Master Ding, we’ll let the kitchen make some ginger soup…”

The group of people crowded around Pavilion Master Ding and quickly left together. The pond gradually turned quiet.

Wenren Heng looked at his Junior Brother. “What happened? You found out what the issue was with Ren Shaotian?

Ye You’s voice was extremely soft, “Senior Brother, I don’t want to stay here. If you really let me stay here overnight, I definitely won’t be able to hold back my desire to rush over and kill some people in the dead of night.”

Wenren Heng’s pupils slightly darkened. “I’ll go outside with you.”

Ye You said, “I want to go drinking.”

“No, you can’t. We still don’t know if the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison in your body has completely dissipated or not. You shouldn’t drink for now.” Wenren Heng gave him a glance. “You changed the bandages on your face?”

Ye You said, “Yes, I tore them off.”

Wenren Heng said, “Because of Ren Shaotian?”

Ye You fell silent for a moment before saying the truth, “I still have some poison in my body. Today, when anger filled my heart, I vomited blood, so I tore off the bandages.”

Wenren Heng suddenly tightened his hold on the other’s hand and said in a way that brooked no refusal, “In a while, send someone to deliver a letter to Shaolin and let Miracle Doctor Ji and them hurry over.”

Ye You didn’t refuse and once again said, “I want to go drinking.”

Wenren Heng said, “You might as well just directly drink my blood then.”

Ye You said, “But I really want to drink.”

He held his head and couldn’t help but start laughing lowly, “Senior Brother, our guess was right. Ren Shaotian really is my big brother. He didn’t die. That surnamed Ding bastard fed him that drug and made him into a servant, ordering him around for twenty years. Oh, that’s right, my big brother’s face also had a scar. I don’t know if it’s something that surnamed Ding contrived, since after all, my big brother looks a lot like my dad…”

Wenren Heng felt his entire heart aching at the sound of this laughter, and he grabbed the other’s waist, pulling the person tightly into his embrace.

Ye You continued laughing, “Last time, we managed to undo the drug’s effects purely on accident. What if this drug truly doesn’t have a cure, and so he might remain loyal and devoted to that surnamed Ding for his entire life. But he’s obviously my big brother, he’s the Yang family’s eldest young master. Why is it that he’s become like this…”

Wenren Heng said in a hoarse voice, “Stop laughing, Ah-You, I’ll go drinking with you.”

Ye You felt a tang in his throat and, grabbing the clothes on his Senior Brother’s chest, stiffly swallowed back a mouthful of blood.

He hated, truly hated, hated to the point that he wanted to end those people in a show of mutual self-destruction.

Wenren Heng couldn’t hear his answer and said in a low voice, “Ah-You?”

Ye You used his internal energy to suppress his raging inborn energy and said, “Let’s go.”

Wenren Heng pinched his chin and assessed him.

Ye You said, “Nothing’s wrong with me.”

Wenren Heng pulled aside the bandages to feel the other’s forehead. Upon feeling all the cold sweat, his heart sank. “You call this ‘nothing’s wrong’?”

Ye You said, “Then I still don’t want to stay here.”

Wenren Heng gave him a look before pulling him along to leave the Sheng family residence, going outside to pick out an inn. He then instructed his subordinate to go buy some wine before pulling the person into his arms and softly patting the other’s back.

Feeling this familiar warmth, Ye You felt his nerves begin to calm little by little.

He closed his eyes and then immediately felt his acupoint being hit, at once sending him into unconsciousness. Wenren Heng lifted him and carried him onto the bed, unraveling his bandages to look at his complexion before letting out a sigh.

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[1] 小石村 lit. Little Rock Village. Another name that I was really tempted to just translate, but consistency!

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So re: Ren Shaotian’s identity, some of you guessed it! This was actually the most surprising reveal for me, haha…

As for Elder Mei’s gender, I’m going to talk about it next chapter, since I’m not a huge fan of how the author is going about it.\n

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