Chapter 7

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Whew, this chapter took some work.

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Suzhou’s Wang family wasn’t a Jianghu Sect.

Or one could say, that they used to be, but they weren’t anymore.

Since the time that Ye You learned that his Senior Brother was the Sect Master of Shuangji Sect, he realized that he had forgotten not only people but also the various Jianghu sects. The only thing he could do was sit lovably on the cart and wait for his Senior Brother to feed him information. Fortunately, although Wenren Heng was full of tricks, on the surface he still had to practice his martial arts. Not to mention that the other was his Junior Brother, so naturally he was also willing to explain things to Ye You.

“At this time, I’ve also heard this only from other people,” Wenren Heng said, “Around twenty years ago, a monster emerged in Jianghu. For the sake of a rare martial arts book, he slaughtered three entire clans. The Wang Patriarch’s eldest son happened to be friends with the head of one of those clans, so he happened to be present that day and was also killed at the hands of the monster. The righteous factions were infuriated, so they came together and eliminated that monster. In Jianghu, this became known as the ‘Demon Slaughter’ incident. The Wang family also participated, but after they got their revenge, they gradually withdrew from Jianghu. Standing aloof and isolated in these past few years, the family has passed their days smoothly and steadily.”

Ye You then asked, “Then is the one who gave the Wang Patriarch the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison an old enemy?”

Wenren Heng looked at him very tenderly, using an “even though you have amnesia, Senior Brother still loves you” expression to tell him that he had missed the main point. He said, “Lantern-Extinguishing Poison is precisely that monster’s specialty poison. When that monster died, this poison also vanished without a trace.”

Ye You, “…”

Wenren Heng personally poured him a cup of tea and added, “So that’s why now that the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison has reemerged, there’s an enormous fuss and people are alarmed.”

Ye You lowered his head to drink his tea, not wanting to look at the other.

The corners of Wenren Heng’s mouth lifted, before disappearing almost as soon as it appeared. He then finished explaining with, “Reportedly, many died during the ‘Demon Slaughter’ incident, so no one wants that monster to have a successor or there to be another. Right now there must be many people from Jianghu going to the Wang family. Remember to stay closely by my side, and don’t cause too much trouble.”

Ye You very sincerely said, “Yes.”

Wenren Heng looked at him. He knew that that time at the inn, his Junior Brother had definitely heard him mention the Demonic Sect. Now that he’s unexpectedly not taking this opportunity to ask if the demonic factions will sneak in to search for information, Wenren Heng was afraid that, when the conversation did turn to the Demonic Sect, the other would decide to investigate privately by himself.

Never mind, in any case, it was impossible for those from the Demonic Sect to never come searching for their Sect Master. It was only a matter of time. Right now, all he could do was delay it by even one more day.

Seeing the other’s silence, Ye You didn’t want to let the conversation simply end here, so he continued asking, “How does Elder Wang act towards other people?”

Wenren Heng said, “He’s very good-natured. I’ve never heard of him having any major conflicts with anyone.”

Ye You meaningfully said, “Then this is a bit strange.”

Wenren Heng nodded.

For those with ordinary vendettas, there were obviously some who would want to draw more attention. But even then, they wouldn’t stupidly use the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, which would likely involve all of Jianghu, this would be the so-called two fists couldn’t defeat four hands[1]. And it’s precisely because they had a grudge that the people would be able to think of a way to track them down and kill them[2] on the spot.

But the simple motive of fame also didn’t make sense. As long as they simply had the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, they could easily become famous. Why would they go to such great pains to sneak into the Wang family and poison an old man?

The way that the perpetrator was acting, it seemed like they were deliberately drawing people over.

Nevertheless, regardless of the reason, someone else would definitely take care of this matter, so Wenren Heng wasn’t at all concerned. Right now, all he cared about was quickly finding Miracle Doctor Ji and getting to the bottom of how his Junior Brother’s internal energy and memory were damaged.

Contrary to Wenren Heng’s thoughts, Ye You’s interest in this matter was especially large.

Because this was the first time since losing his memory that Ye You had a reaction to something. Even though it was only a split-second pinprick feeling in his heart, it was still enough for Ye You to attach some importance to this occurrence.

He had a feeling that this Lantern-Extinguishing Poison had a deep connection to him.

After turning it over in his head, he actually barely managed to remember something.

The Lantern-Extinguishing Poison had “people die like extinguished lanterns”. If used like a regular poison, it actually wasn’t very strong, but if the Lantern-Extinguishing Skill[3] was used to hit someone’s body with the poison, all of their bones and internal organs will instantly rot, their dying shapes becoming chillingly wretched, so terrifying that even an Immortal wouldn’t be able to save them.

But this poison had already been gone from this world for twenty years, so why was he so clear on the details?

Unless this was also common knowledge?

Ye You asked, “Senior Brother, what happens to those who fall prey to the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison?”

Wenren Heng said, “It’s said that they die miserably.”

Ye You refused to let it go, “How miserably?”

Wenren Heng shook his head. Everything happened twenty years ago and had already been settled for a long time. He had no interest in investigating further and said, “It’s not clear. Why?”

“I was just a bit curious,” Ye You replied, while thinking in his heart that, seeing as how not everyone knew this information, he probably did have a connection with this Lantern-Extinguishing Poison, either he knew some inner workings or he actually owned the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison himself. If so, then would he be able to discover some useful information on this trip?

He was immediately filled with excitement.

 

The Wang family were a prominent clan in Suzhou. Back in the days when Elder Wang was traveling throughout Jianghu, he was a famous adventurer[4], upholding justice for others, kind and charitable, and with many friends. After he left Jianghu, he began cultivating and became a famous calligraphy expert in Suzhou. Now, he’s a person of prestige and virtue, respected by both the martial artists of Jianghu and the common people of Suzhou, and invited to any significant events.

Thus, knowing that he was poisoned, everyone was ceaselessly worried.

Naturally, those in Jianghu who knew something about poison were showing some keen eagerness.

This was all an affair from twenty years ago, so a majority of the unseasoned youth couldn’t personally understand from experience the previous generation’s heavy hearts. They all wanted to cut down this new villain so as to make a name for themselves.

When Wenren Heng and Ye You arrived, they successfully managed to attract the attention of the surrounding group of people.

The reason was simply as follows, Ye You was wearing a “lantern” above his neck, looking extremely extraordinary, and also walking together with Wenren Heng. Upon seeing this, everyone couldn’t hold in their stares.

Ye You remained unperturbed, following his Senior Brother’s instructions to walk unhurriedly by the other’s side. After Wenren Heng finished greeting the man from the Wang family who came out to welcome them, they went inside to the reception room together.

The room was already occupied by eight or nine people. The seats on the right and left of the head of the table were both occupied by a man around fifty to sixty years old, with one fat and one thin, one short and one tall. The fat and short man wore some magnificent, colorful clothing, squeezed into his chair like a ball, but still sitting very properly. The thin and tall man wore a set of somber, black clothes, like an unadorned sword, with a faint feeling of sharpness.

Both men’s expressions were somewhat grave. The short, fat man had been knitting his brows, but when he saw Wenren Heng appear, his expression eased by no small amount. Although he wasn’t actually smiling, he gave off the feeling that he had smiled. Ordinarily, he was probably an extremely friendly man.

“Xiao-Heng also came.”

Wenren Heng first politely called, “Uncle Wei,” before saying, “This young one heard about what happened to Elder Wang and came over to see.”

The short, fat man nodded. Looking at the person at Wenren Heng’s side, he asked, “And this is?”

Wenren Heng said, “My Junior Brother. Uncle Wei has met him before, but I don’t know if you still have any impression of him.”

The short, fat man was startled, and after taking a moment to think through his astonishment, he asked, “So he’s actually the one from that time… Didn’t he wander off and get lost? You found him?”

“Yes. I recently found him, and his illness has been cured, but he’s been injured again by who knows what and now doesn’t recognize anyone.” Wenren Heng spoke as he looked at his Junior Brother, “This is Fengxian[5] Manor’s Manor Lord Wei. Come, call him Uncle Wei.”

Ye You said, “Hello, Uncle Wei.”

“Good, good.” Smelling the scent of Hundred-Grass Dew on him and seeing the bandages he was wearing, Manor Lord Wei asked, “Very heavily injured?”

Wenren Heng answered, “He’s been burned. Miracle Doctor Ji’s Hundred-Grass Dew has been applied.”

Manor Lord Wei said, “Luckily Miracle Doctor Ji’s also here. Let him reexamine those wounds.”

“Really?” Wenren Heng’s manner had just the right tone of mild surprise, as if he hadn’t come entirely for Miracle Doctor Ji and had come only to inquire after Elder Wang’s circumstances. He said, with fake courtesy, “That’s good. Let’s wait for an opportunity in these next few days.”

Manor Lord Wei nodded and glanced at Ye You once more. Sighing, he said, “It’s good that you’ve returned. That year when you were ill and couldn’t even eat by yourself, it was your Senior Brother who fed you spoon by spoon. For you, he never stops worrying.”

Ye You, “…”

Could it be that Wenren Heng wasn’t lying and that he had really turned into an idiot before?

However, investigating these things right now would obviously be untimely. Just looking at the atmosphere in this lobby, one can see that the circumstances were not optimistic. Being able to have even a few exchanges of idle conversation was already not bad. Wenren Heng naturally could also read the mood. And after he gave some simple greetings to the others who were seated, he prepared to leave first in order to find a place to stay for the night, only to be stopped by Manor Lord Wei’s words, “Stay behind, Xiao-Heng.”

Wenren Heng didn’t decline and, in a familiar manner, found a place to sit down.

Ye You looked around, finding that most everyone was older, with his Senior Brother being the youngest in the room. This meant that Wenren Heng’s position in Jianghu was fairly high. Ye You stood for a moment, and after hearing nothing interesting, he lowered his voice to ask, “Senior Brother, I want to go to the toilet.”

Wenren Heng gave him a look. “Go then. And hurry back.”

Ye You decided to play nice, at least on the surface, and said a word of agreement. He turned around to leave, only who would have thought that the moment he raised his head, a man dressed like a servant would madly rush into the room, almost causing a collision. He moved to the side, eyes following this man running to the head of the Wang family, hands gripping a few sheets of paper and shouting, “Master, it isn’t good!”

“Why so flustered!” The Wang family head asked, “What happened? What’s that in your hands?”

The servant ran to the point that he was sweating, and, as he’s panting for breath, he spoke a single, earth-shattering sentence, “It’s… it’s something left, left behind by the poisoner.”

Everyone was startled. “What?”

The Wang family head grabbed the papers over, and as soon as he finished reading, his entire face turned red with even the veins on his forehead popping out. He was Elder Wang’s second son, and his temperament was very similar to Elder Wang’s. With how exceedingly angry he was at this moment, everyone thought that it would not be surprising if, in the next, he went outside to spit blood.

The Wang family head gripped the papers tightly, voice trembling, “Ridiculous, just ridiculous…”

Ye You raised a brow and again returned to Wenren Heng’s side. As long as it was about the poisoner, Ye You was willing to first listen a bit before leaving.

Wenren Heng was very satisfied with his return. Although he knew that the other was simply curious about this matter, he still could not help but ask quietly, “Didn’t you need to go to the toilet?”

Ye You answered, “It’s not too urgent.”

Wenren Heng held back his laughter. He swept his eyes over the people presently reading and passing on those sheets of paper before turning his gaze back, patiently waiting, mouth saying, “In a moment, go quickly so you can quickly return, and don’t cause trouble. Whatever you want to know, how could I possibly not tell you?”

Ye You wasn’t the least bit surprised that this man was able to guess that he wanted to ferret out some information. He asked, “For instance?”

“At least for everything I’ve told you, nine-tenths of it is true.”

Ye You asked, “What’s the one-tenths that isn’t true?”

Wenren Heng said, “That you were an idiot for many years.”

Ye You immediately felt thoroughly relieved and thought these words were definitely trustworthy.

Wenren Heng immediately continued with, “You were only an idiot for a little over a month.”

Ye You, “…”

Saying this and that, but he had still been an idiot!

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[1] 雙拳難敵四手 Meaning, one person can’t defeat everyone. This is a saying/quote from Chinese lit, so I just translated it directly.

[2] Censored with the machine censor as □□ so I just made my best guess.

[3] 燈滅功 Probably the name of a (made-up) martial art skill.

[4] 俠士 is a figure from classical Chinese literature/history that does essentially the same thing as a “knight-errant”. For those who don’t know, knight-errants refer to wandering knights from medieval European literature that perform chivalrous deeds during their travels. Knight-errant is a bit too European, so here I went with “adventurer”.

[5] 豐賢, 豐 = abundant/plentiful, 賢 = worthy/virtuous person

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A chapter full of information! And lots of wuxia stuff I had trouble translating lmao. (Also quite a few words were censored in this chapter, so if something sounds a bit off, that’s why.)\n

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