Chapter 73

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In which Ye You is very happy that Wenren Heng is now calling him by his name.

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Mid-Autumn had already passed, but the moonlight was still very full, and the entire mountain was layered with that faint white light.

A party of people were hidden in a place close to Shaolin, waiting quietly for any news. After an unknown amount of time, the leader wrinkled his brows. “What time is it, why are there still no movements?”

“According to the plan, they should be moving right about now.” The person next to him guessed, “I heard that, while leaving, Shaolin and Wudang sent many people to protect Miracle Doctor Ji. Maybe they haven’t been able to find an opportunity?”

The leader fell silent, not speaking.

The person next to him said, “Before, they were sent in while still tied up, so perhaps they haven’t been freed yet. Or it could be that Shaolin’s watching too closely and they couldn’t find a way to approach Miracle Doctor Ji.”

The leader nodded.

The person next him said, “Why don’t we forcefully break through ourselves?”

“We can’t. When we’re not sure about the actual situation inside, any rash moves we make will simply alert the enemy,” the leader said, “unless we have complete certainty.”

The person next to him said, “Then we…?”

The leader said, “Continue waiting. If we still can’t, then retreat.”

The person next to him made a sound in acknowledgment and continued patiently waiting.

At this moment, Elder Hei had also brought a crowd of people to guard nearby.

A shadow guard noiselessly returned to tell him that the other side of the forest appeared to have some people’s silhouettes.

Elder Hei said, “Ah, sure enough, they’re here.”

Their Sect Master had returned two days prior and had said speculatively that the white piece would definitely surround Shaolin once more. Thus, he had them prepare the stage and wait. For two days, Elder Hei had waited, and finally the people had come.

He instructed, “Keep a good watch on them.”

The shadow guard said, “Understood.”

Elder Hei said, “It’s very possible that they have experts in their midst. If they retreat, follow them if you’re able; if you’re not, just return. Remember to not keep too close and also to not let them hear any movements. The Sect Master says that he wants to catch some big fish this time.”

The shadow guard once again said a word of understood before ducking back into the forest.

The night gradually stilled. The white piece’s men waited for a long while but never saw the signal to move, and so the only thing they could do was retreat.

The Demonic Sect’s shadow guard tried following for a period of time, until he saw someone turn back with eyes sweeping in his direction. Although it wasn’t certain whether the other party had perceived his presence or not, just in case, he didn’t continue following in light of the circumstances, instead returning to report.

Elder Hei stood up and said, “Since they’ve retreated, let’s also retreat.”

As he finished speaking, he looked towards the sky above Shaolin, remembering that his Sect Master had said that even if the white piece’s men had come, they weren’t likely to make any moves. He immediately felt immense respect. Their Sect Master had, as always, seen through every scheme, truly incredible!

At this moment, their truly incredible Sect Master had already been carried out of the bathtub and brought to the bed.

This was the Demonic Sect’s headquarters at the small county town. Everyone in the surroundings were on their side, and there was no white piece, so there was no need to plan and scheme, and there was also no important matters waiting to be done. Time was in abundance, so Wenren Heng had collected on all the debts accumulated over the years, as well as some earned recently. In happy fulfillment, he saw that moisture had started seeping out of the corners of his Junior Brother’s eyes.

He looked at this person’s aroused appearance and leaned over to bestow a kiss, saying in a rough voice, “Ah-You.”

Ye You’s face heated up, and he couldn’t stop himself from gasping out a breath, even more moisture coming out of the corners of his eyes.

Wenren Heng pulled the person into an embrace. “You like that?”

Ye You honestly said, “Yes.”

He had originally been called Ah-You, and Ah-Xiao was something he had simply picked at random.

Truthfully, since a long time ago, he had especially wanted to hear his Senior Brother call him by this name, but at the time, he had decided not to tell his Senior Brother about his wish for vengeance, and he had also been deliberately avoiding his Senior Brother. And as his Senior Brother couldn’t comprehend his feelings, while also having been fiercely angered by him, the other would politely call him only Sect Master Ye, making him feel regretful to no end.

But right now, at long last, he heard it.

Wenren Heng held the person even tighter, murmuring right beside his ear, “Ah-You, I like you.”

Ye You asked, “Spoken from the heart?”

Wenren Heng said, “Spoken from the heart.”

Ye You asked, “If you like me this much, then let me rest for a while?”

Wenren Heng looked at him, smiling.

Ye You intuitively felt that this wasn’t good, and before he could even struggle, he was pressed down once again. His Senior Brother understood him too well and was far too clever. None of his tricks were at all useful, and while at first he had wanted to think up some schemes, afterwards, he ended up not wanting to think of anything at all.

The next morning, at the breakfast table, Elder Hei carefully relayed all that had happened the night before. Seeing how lazy his Sect Master was, he asked, “Sect Master didn’t rest well?”

Wenren Heng was listening on the side, joyfully ladling a bowl of porridge and handing it to his Junior Brother.

Ye You took it and said, “I slept quite well.”

Elder Hei examined him for a moment and, not doubting him at all, asked him what the next step was.

Ye You said, “Continue keeping watch.”

Elder Hei asked, “Will they make a move?”

Ye You said, “I won’t give them the opportunity.”

Hearing this, Elder Hei felt his spirits rise, and he focused on eating his meal. Midway, he saw the Madam grabbing side dishes for the Sect Master. Suddenly feeling as if he was superfluous, he hurriedly finished eating and left. Wenren Heng looked at his Junior Brother, “In a while, do you want to rest for a bit?”

Ye You said, “There’s no need, Madam.”

Having received some material benefits, Wenren Heng didn’t bother to argue over terms of address at this kind of time and changed the topic to proper business. “Going to Shaolin?”

Ye You also turned serious and said, “Yes, I’m going to take a look.”

Wenren Heng said, “I’ll go with you.”

Ye You didn’t have any objections. After eating, he disguised himself as Elder Hei and got on the carriage with his Senior Brother who was disguised as a shadow guard. They went up the mountain, neither too quickly nor too slowly.

Because of Elder Miao’s presence, the people of Shaolin all recognized Elder Hei and so easily let the person in.

With practiced ease, Ye You arrived at Miracle Doctor Ji’s small courtyard. Before he had even entered, he heard some people trying to justify themselves by saying that they had no recollections of what happened last night and so had no idea about what exactly they did. With a beaming smile, he thereupon interrupted with, “These words sound quite familiar.”

The people in the small courtyard simultaneously looked over and saw Elder Hei along with a shadow guard enter the room.

Ye You hadn’t bothered to disguise his voice, so Miracle Doctor Ji, Young Miracle Doctor Fang, and Elder Miao instantly knew his identity.

Those other people’s positions weren’t low, and they had been in contact with Sir Xiao a few times before. At first, they simply thought he sounded familiar before slowly managing to react, their expressions immediately changing. Only a few of them were unaware of the reason and asked, with faces filled with astonishment, “What do you mean by this, Elder Hei?”

“What Elder Hei, he isn’t Elder Hei,” one person said, looking closely at the person who just entered, “You’re Sir Xiao?”

Ye You said, smiling, “Adventurer Zhang has a good memory. You only had to try killing me once and you already remember.”

Adventurer Zhang was the second disciple of Qingcheng Sect’s Sect Master Han and had listened to Sir Xiao’s countless loud and arrogant proclamations while following behind his Master; as such, he had been able to recognize this person. He said, “Sir Xiao has misunderstood. That night, we had been drugged.”

Ye You looked at Miracle Doctor Ji. “Were they drugged?”

Miracle Doctor Ji said, “The examinations didn’t yield anything.”

Adventurer Zhang hastily moved to explain, “Perhaps it was a different drug than the one used on those drugged men.”

“That’s right, Sir Xiao.”

“This is all purely a misunderstanding. It was also only after we awoke that we knew what we had done. It’s fortunate that nothing happened to you.”

Wenren Heng sized them up.

These people had their hands tied behind their backs as they sat on the floor, and although there were no ropes on their feet, none of them stood up. After a careful examination, it became apparent that they actually had no way to move at all, and presently, they were most likely able to move only their lips and eyelids.

He guessed that this was most likely Elder Miao’s work. Taking off his disguise, he walked over to sit down at the stone table.

Those people had not looked in his direction at all, and it was only now that they suddenly saw him, resulting in all of them sucking in a deep breath.

Wenren Heng waved a hand at a nearby small monk who looked to have been startled to foolishness by the proceedings, indicating for the other to search these people’s bodies. The latter still remained staring vacantly for a moment before finally regaining his senses when he heard a second call. He obediently walked over, quickly finding a delicate concealed weapon on their bodies and handing it over to Wenren Heng.

A Wudang Sect member was also among those captured, and the Wudang disciples who had been left behind by Sect Leader Xuanyang to guard Miracle Doctor Ji couldn’t endure it upon seeing this, asking, “Sect Master Wenren, Sir Xiao, what is the meaning of this?”

“This needs to be explained starting from the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival…” Ye You was very patient and recounted all the events of that night to them. Smiling, he said, “Afterwards, Senior Brother told me that they didn’t remember anything, and I didn’t think that I’d hear these kinds of words again when I had just arrived today. What did they do last night?”

Miracle Doctor Ji said, “They almost kidnapped my disciple. Fortunately, Elder Miao had drugged them beforehand. The moment they used their internal energy, they all fell unconscious.”

Elder Miao was currently fiddling with some herbs and, upon hearing these words, silently looked at the Sect Master.

Ye You sincerely said, “Worthy of being a Demonic Sect Elder, how incredible.”

Elder Miao felt very content upon hearing this praise, feeling as if the pain from being left behind by the Sect Master had received the slightest bit of comfort. With a tense face, he said a simple, ‘you flatter me,’ before once again immersing himself in his work.

Ye You laughed and turned back his gaze, looking at the people on the floor. “The thing the white piece relies on most is the drug. Miracle Doctor Ji and the drugged men are all at Shaolin, so to him, this place must feel like a fish bone stuck in his throat. He’d truly be expending a lot of capital by moving all of you, who had long been secretly planted in all the major sects, but the end result would also be very good for him. If it had been successful, he would be able to not only kill me but also obtain Shaolin on the way. And after burning down the Alliance Leader’s house and destroying all the evidence, he’d be able to find a scapegoat, and then everything would be over. Did I guess correctly?”

Adventurer Zhang pressed down the fear in his heart and said, “Sir Xiao, you misunderstood. We’ve truly been wronged!”

“That’s right, Sir Xiao. Besides, with only the few of us, how could we possibly succeed at doing anything?”

“If we really were trying to do something here, then we’d definitely not be able to get out of it alive.”

“How about if there are people on the outside to provide support?” Wenren Heng spun the concealed weapon in his hand. “This is the signal that all of you are using to get in contact, right?”

Adventurer Zhang said, “It really isn’t.”

Wenren Heng said, “Then don’t tell me it’s all a coincidence?”

Adventurer Zhang fiercely shook his head.

Wenren Heng said gently, “So yesterday night, that troop of people appearing outside of Shaolin Temple was also a coincidence?”

Adventurer Zhang felt his heart suddenly tremble, feeling as if all the cold air was crawling directly to his head. He controlled himself, forcing his voice not to shiver, “That troop of people?”

Wenren Heng said, “Yes, last night, we and the Demonic Sect’s Elder Hei were guarding outside Shaolin and saw a troop of people. Immediately, we brought people to surround them. If you want to meet them, I can let all of you see them.”

All the color immediately drained out of Adventurer Zhang’s face.

The remaining people also startled. “That’s impossible!”

Ye You added, “It was during the second night period[1].”

Even more color drained from the faces of those on the ground. No matter how foolish the people of Shaolin and Wudang were, at this moment, they were also able to see that those people’s expressions weren’t right, and all of them looked over in disbelief.

Ye You said, “There’s no need to report this matter to Abbot Ciyuan and Sect Leader Xuanyang for now, in case the white piece also receives the news and has a backup plan.”

The people of Shaolin and Wudang had almost unknowingly entered the gates of hell last night, and so they naturally had no objections towards the words of their life-saving benefactor, agreeing one after the other.

Ye You said, “Let’s first lock them up, and when things are over, let’s hand them all over for the elders to handle in one fell swoop.”

The people of Shaolin and Wudang nodded and pulled those people away.

Taking the opportunity while the people of Shaolin were off keeping busy, Ye You went to sit in front of Miracle Doctor Ji and asked in a low voice, “Elder, what was your relationship with your oldest disciple?”

Miracle Doctor Ji gave him a look. “What?”

Ye You said, “I think that he might come here personally.”

Miracle Doctor Ji furrowed his brows.

Ye You looked at him. “Elder, I think…”

Miracle Doctor Ji returned the gaze, unconsciously thinking that he’d say some insightful words, but who could have guessed that he’d say, “I think that the people of Shaolin are about to return.”

Miracle Doctor Ji immediately didn’t know whether to laugh or cry and said, helplessly, “Our relationship is still all right.”

Ye You smiled and made a sound in acknowledgment before saying, “I just knew it. If he had really been expelled as your disciple, then he would’ve never needed to fake his death. He probably also understood that you wouldn’t be able to accept the things he did, and he was afraid that you’d be angry after you heard about them.”

Miracle Doctor Ji closed his eyes and said, “When he died that year, I took it as if he really died.”

Ye You didn’t comfort him.

Miracle Doctor Ji had lived this many years and so had long been able to see through many things. There was no need for him to give any comfort, and no comfort given would be at all helpful.

Sure enough, Miracle Doctor Ji quickly calmed and asked, “What do you want to do?”

Ye You stroked the disguise on his face and asked, all smiles, “What does this elder think of using a honey trap[2]?”

Miracle Doctor Ji, “…”

The Wenren Heng who had been drinking tea on the side, “…”

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[1] 二更 9-11pm.

[2] 美人計 lit. beauty trap. From the Thirty-Six Strategems. Using a beautiful person to entrap someone.

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I’m giving up on lecturing fictional characters on safe and consensual sexual practices. Instead, I’m going to focus on the more important things in life, like finally beating the recent cat update in Another Eden. Cats are justice! <del>I’m more of a dog person, though.</del>

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