Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Many years later, when the thirteenth disciple of the Sword Hut Wang Xi stood in front of the cavalry, he would certainly remember that clear afternoon Sang Wen had taken him to pick out girls. The same impatience and headache.
At that time, Baoyue Brothel had become the foremost money spending establishment. A number of courtyards that looked like they were side courtyards to kingly manors were scattered on the two banks of the thin lake. On the lake there was a thin layer of ice, and on the ice there was snow. In the snow were countless red petals blown from the plum blossoms beside the lake.
It looked like blood on snow. Icy cold but also incomparably fiery, just like the thoughts of the young noble figure who wrote the notice. However, this was more like a bowl of noodle soup. White and tender noodles swayed in the beautiful soup. The dozen of hot peppers that had been cracked open with the point of a knife were bright red and stimulated the diner’s eyes, heart, mouth, and nose.
Wang Xi took a deep breath, rubbed his nose, and shook his head with slight discomfort. He tapped the point of this chopstick on the table twice and brought them through the soup to pick up a chopstick-full of noodles. Carefully and elegantly, he began to eat them. He ate them with great refinement but very quickly. In just a moment, all that was left in the bowl was a white noodle soup.
He didn’t hesitate. Picking up the bowl, he drained it in one gulp.
Sang Wen, who had come with Deng Zi Yue from Suzhou back to the capital to debrief, looked at this fortune-teller with gentleness on her face. Although she didn’t understand why Sir had made such arrangements, she was certain this fortune-teller was a normal person.
He was indeed unusual, and very good-looking with thin lips and brows like swords. His eyes were kind and spirited, and he also had an air of peace. Even as he was drinking the noodle soup, he appeared attractive.
Sang Wen had long watched Jingdou’s romance scene with cold eyes. She knew that such an act as eating soup noodles could show one’s inelegant side. She didn’t think the rough and crude mean who slurped their noodles deserved to be looked down upon, however, seeing this fortune-teller change noodle eating into something as elegant as reciting poetry, she felt a strange emotion in her heart.
Wang Xi placed the noodle bowl on the table. He furrowed his brows and sighed. Between his breaths, his brows carried a self-ridicule and impatience. He turned toward Sang Wen, looking at her with a slightly wide chin but exceptional gentleness. He evenly said,
Where is the girl you picked for me?
Between the girl and noodle soup, you can only pick one.
For some reason, Sang Wen felt that this young man in front of her was very cute. She laughed and said,
Since you picked the noodles in the soup, we’ll forget about the girl.
Wang Xi put on a pained expression and said,
Even if I’m just working temporarily, there has to be pay.
Sang Wen peaceably said,
You’re not here to work temporarily for Sir.
Wang Xi suddenly became quiet. A moment later, he quietly said,
I’ve already drunk this noodle soup, however, I don’t understand. Given your status, why would you personally make me a bowl of noodle soup?
Sang Wen was slightly startled. Immediately, she smiled slightly and said,
Even Director Chen likes my noodle soup.
Hearing his name, Wang Xi couldn’t help but be startled. His expression changed.
That is my good fortune then.
Sang Wen gently bowed and finally said,
However, please note one thing. Although the noodle soup is too hot and cannot be drunk in a rush…if you wait until the soup is cold, it will not taste good.
The girl did not know what these words meant. She was only following Fan Xian’s orders and lightly said them. However, Wang Xi understood clearly the meaning of them. In their original agreement, it stated that before Fan Xian entered the capital, he had to bring the little archer’s head to Fan Xian. However, at this time, Fan Xian had already been recovering in Jingdou for a while, yet there was still no news from him. Furthermore, there was also that attack in the valley.
The young and handsome fortune-teller sighed with unspeakable discomfort and sadness. He turned his hand and raised the green banner beside the table, muttering,
But I…really don’t like killing people.
Sang Wen didn’t say anything more. She did not know anything about the specifics of this matter. Her meeting with this self-titled iron masked fortune-teller was purely because Fan Xian wanted to borrow her eyes, which had long gazed on human affairs, to see just what the other party’s personality and character were like.
Real and pure. This was all Sang Wen saw in his eyes.
Wang Xi shook his head and sighed. He walked like a little old man with his body bent toward the outside of the courtyard. When he reached the door, he suddenly tilted his head to ask,
Calling me here, are you not worried people will suspect you after the event?
You are clever, so you came to find me,
Sang Wen peacefully said.
Because you are clever, naturally, you know how to avoid the eyes and ears of others.
Wang Xi once again shook his head and left the Baoyue Brothel.
Sang Wen returned to her room. After sitting quietly for a long time, the courtyard door was pushed open and a young man came in with furrowed brows.
You just came back yesterday, so how come you are here at this broken-down building again?
This man wasn’t someone random, he was the guard that Fan Xian had sent flying with a punch back when Fan Xian had investigated Baoyue Brothel at night. This jianghu person was infatuated with Sang Wen and always had a loathing for the Baoyue Brothel.
Sang Wen raised her eyes to look at him and smiled slightly. Although she was moved in her heart by this man’s infatuation, he could not know of any details concerning the Commissioner. She smiled and said,
I am now the shopkeeper of Baoyue Brothel. If I don’t come here, where would I go?
The man looked at the big bowl on the table. Smelling the light fragrance that came from it, his brows couldn’t help but relax. He chuckled and said,
Make a bowl for me too. I haven’t had it in a long time.
Sang Wen glared at him and said,
I don’t have that kind of leisure time right now.
The man said, unhappily,
You made it for someone else.
Sang Wen replied without good humor,
Do you really think this bowl of noodles is so good? If you really ate it, you would probably die of discomfort.
…
…
Wang Xi wanted to die. He sat at the stall in front of the city gate and looked in a gaze at the bowl of noodles in front of him. His soft eyes were wide and round. No matter how good noodles were, if they were eaten for three meals a day, they would eventually make one want to throw up.
Thus, he had not touched the bowl of noodles at all. He only drank the tea beside it, one cup after another, as if he was extremely thirsty.
To the side, the tea seller looked down with cold eyes on this fortune-teller, thinking, This guy could do whatever he wanted, yet he chose to pretend to be spiritual. Look at how poor he is. He can only use tea to eat with his noodles.
With a belly full of tea, dusk finally fell in Jingdou, where the wind and snow had already stopped. Wang Xi lifted the green banner, coughing a little, he went through the city gates before they closed and became the last person to leave the city.
Seven li to the north of the city, he stopped at the top of a hill and sat down on a large stone. Raising his head, he looked at the snow covered branches in the woods. Lowering his head, he raised a large fistful of snow and brought it to his mouth to chew. He then placed the green banner in the snow and gazed without focus at the army camp on the other side of the hill.
The Jingdou garrison’s Yuantai Camp.
Wang Xi suddenly turned his head to the side. Opening his mouth and with a choking sound, he threw up. Once he started, there was no end. He threw up the noodles and noodle soup he ate as well as all the tea he had chugged into his stomach.
A puddle of mixed and disgusting things was vomited by him onto the clean snowy ground. It looked disgusting, particularly the faint fishy smell hidden in it. It was even more of a surprise to the nose.
Wang Xi did not throw up again. He only ate another handful of snow and then stared at the mess on the ground closely. A moment later, he sighed.
What a powerful medicine to be able to raise the zhenqi in one’s body to such an aggressive realm in just one day.
He shook his head and sighed in admiration. Fan Xian had used Sang Wen’s hand to put this medicine in the noodle soup. Presumably, Fan Xian wanted to him to act but also hoped nothing would go wrong.
This medicine was the little yellow pills that Fan Xian had taken the year when he was in Northern Qi and faced off against Liang Tiao and Friar He. Other than feeling slightly weak afterward, there were not any major side effects.
Wang Xi had noticed this, yet he still laughed bitterly and said,
The gentleman is honey while I am arsenic. This medicine is poison to me. It almost killed me.
Fan Xian certainly would be so kind-hearted as to help Wang Xi better his chances of success. As for what he had planned, Wang Xi was also not sure.
…
…
The night gradually became dark. Wang Xi rose, he didn’t glance at the green banner beside him. Taking advantage of the cover of darkness, he moved toward the Jingdou garrison’s Yuantai Camp. The target he needed to kill had long been hiding in this camp, using on the identity of a military officer. The defenses around him were not very tight.
However, Wang Xi truly did not like to kill people. After leaving home, his hands had never touched blood. He took pity on people and respected all life. Under Fan Xian’s powerful pressure, he had tried countless to times but could not truly assassinate a person that he had no grudge against.
This was why he had delayed his show of loyalty until now.
The condiment Fan Xian added to the noodle soup was actually a stimulant. He wanted Thirteenth Wang to be a bit braver and a bit more aggressive. He had not expected that this condiment would not have any effect on Thirteenth Wang and, on the contrary, do him harm.
Thus, Thirteenth Wang remained coldly calm and benevolent. However, he had not become crazy. He knew that the most powerful thing about the archer was his eyesight. In the darkness, it was the easiest time for archery to be useful. Why did he still chose this time to make a move?
…
…
In the barracks of an isolated corner of Yuantai Camp, Yan Xiaoyi’s son, Yan Shendu was carefully using feather scissors to fix arrows. His hands were incomparably steady as he made the long feathers on the tail of the arrow strangely smooth. Good tools were a prerequisite for a successful job. He had a pair of hands that a god-like archer should have. He was able to repair his arrows so they flew faster and more accurately.
Governor Yan had always believed in one philosophy. Only children that were far from their parents could truly make something of themselves, just like how he had lost both his parents at a young age and had to hunt in the mountains to live. Only then could he have cultivated such ruthless and vicious will. Only then was he chosen by the young Eldest Princess, who had traveled into the mountains, and was then brought out of the mountains and placed into the troops. With his martial skills, he accomplished countless acts of military merit and earned a high position.
When Yan Shendu was only 12 years old, Yan Xiaoyi chased him out of his home and sent him to the Eldest Princess. She understood the thoughts of her leading general. Although she was gentle to Yan Shendu, she did not go easy on him. After he was trained, she secretly sent him into the Jingdou garrison, which was controlled by the Qin family.
Other than a few high-ranking generals and the Eldest Princess’ trusted aides, no one knew that the Northern Governor’s son, Yan Shendu, was currently being an unremarkable military officer in the Jingdou garrison.
Yan Shendu was like his name. He didn’t like to communicate with others. He only liked to communicate with his arrows, so he didn’t have any friends in the military except a group of subordinates he had personally trained that were loyal to the Eldest Princess.
The day that the Second Priests of the Temple, Great Master San Shi, was killed outside Jingdou, was Yan Shendu’s first mission. He thought the mission was very successful because he didn’t know what happened later. The self-confidence that had long been suppressed deep in his heart rose. He believed that other than his father, no one could stand against his long-distance attack, even a ninth-level ace couldn’t escape. The effective range of a weapon decided life and death on the battlefield. This was a paramount truth that Yan Xiaoyi never forgot to teach his son.
Because of his self-confidence, he became arrogant and egotistical. When he heard that his father and the Jiangnan Road imperial envoy Fan Xian had been summoned back to Jingdou at the same time and that the two sides might need to duel in the martial conference that had not been hosted for many years, Yan Shendu could no longer sit still.
He worshipped his father, but for that dazzling Sir Fan junior, he actually also had a glimmer of worship and envy hidden deep in his heart.
All the young people under heaven were like this, Yan Shendu could not avoid it. He wanted to test just how powerful Sir Fan junior was. For one, he wanted to test his depths for this father. For two, it was difficult to resist the temptation of having the world-shaking Fan Xian under his arrow. Regardless of whether it was for his father or the Eldest Princess, Fan Xian’s death was, without question, a difficult to suppress honey.
But, he would not act on his own initiative. Since he was a soldier, he would not do anything of his own accord to ruin the larger picture. He had to wait for his seniors’ orders.
The seniors’ gave their orders, but what was strange was…the person who gave him the order was the elder in the military whom he deeply respected and feared and knew the truth about him.
Yan Shendu was hesitant and confused, yet he had no time to inform the Eldest Princess. He could only head out on his own. However, the arrow he sent through the snowy night was blocked by that green banner.
In the night, after the incident, only then did he helplessly realize that Fan Xian’s defenses were flawless. He secretly watched from within the snowy woods and could not find any possible change. In particular those damn Black Knights were always near the Overwatch Council carriages. At any moment, they could turn this mountaintop upside down.
Only now did he know he had underestimated Fan Xian and the Overwatch Council. He didn’t dare act on his own initiative, so he continued to retreat. After firing only one useless shot, he retreated constantly from the valley to Jingdo, back to the Qin manor to debrief. Yet, he was not criticized.
After returning to the camp, he sunk into deep thought. The elders in the army all looked after each other. His entry into the Jingdou garrison had been approved by the old Qin Master, and not too many people knew about it. Why would the old Qin Master have him do something that seemed like trouble?
Then, the news of the attack in the valley came.
He was a soldier. His political sense was not very acute, but he knew that his father seemed to have been dragged down by the old Qin Master. In other words, the old Qin Master had also been dragged down by the Eldest Princess.
The seniors finally drew together while he was like a hostage that the elders did not speak of to each other but who shone brightly.
Yan Shendu shook his head and did not feel irritation at the role he was playing. He was only thinking that under such great pressure, Sir Fan junior shouldn’t be able to live much longer.
He placed the small scissors in his right hand on the table and stoked the arrow shaft with steady hands. He narrowed his eyes to measure it and nodded with satisfaction. Taking out the longbow beside him, he placed the beautiful feather arrow on the string and gently pulled the bow, aiming at the empty ground of the room.
His arm moved slightly to the right. The tip of his arrow now pointed at the thick curtain that was the main door of the room.
Yan Shendu’s face was calm as he said,
Come out.
…
…
The curtain was slowly lifted. Wang Xi walked out with an apologetic expression. Under the threat of that longbow, he didn’t come any closer. He only stood at the door and sighed,
Sorry.
Yan Shendu’s pupils constricted as he looked at the person in front of him who was about the same age as him. His gaze was startling. He had already recognized that this person was the man with the green banner who had blocked Fan Xian from his soul-stealing arrow that snowy night in front of the school.
He knew that although his identity in the garrison was a secret, and he did not have many guards protecting him, to get through Yuantai Camp’s many layers of defenses in such a dark night and come near his room without a sound was an extraordinary skill.
According to Yan Shendu’s past personality, at this moment, the arrow on the bow would have already shot out. When it came to people who wanted to attack him sneakily, Yan Shendu would always make them lose their lives.
However, it was very strange. Faced with this strange figure, Yan Shendu did not release the arrow. He only coldly said,
Who are you?
Wang Xi slowly lowered his head and said apologetically,
I am Thirteenth Wang. I am here on orders to kill you. It is not my wish. I am true unwilling.
Yan Shendu used the point of his arrow to aim between the man’s eyes. His hands were steady. The bowstring did not shake at all, as if he could pull on it for 10,000 years and not show a glimmer of tiredness.
The murderous intent carried in the point of the arrow was still reflected in the other person’s heart. He did not think there was anyone under heaven who could escape this shot. When heard the other person say he was here to kill him, not only did Yan Shendu not panic, on the contrary, he showed an extra layer of sternness.
Fan Xian?
Wang Xi bowed and said helplessly,
Other than him, who else in this world could force me to kill?
Outside the room, the snow had long stopped. As the night grew darker, the wind rose. The whistling of the wind sounded like the tragic cries of wild beasts in the mountain. It passed through the thick curtain and drilled into their ears. Yan Shendu looked at the person in front of him whose face was filled with regret, and a chill rose in his heart. Why was there not a glimmer of nervousness or murder to be seen on this Thirteenth Wang’s face? Rather, there was only boundless sorrow and guilt.
What did an assassin have to feel guilty about? Guilt about killing him?
Yan Shendu did not panic, rather, he calmed down. If the other party was not pretending to be mysterious, then they must have the ability to kill him.
It was like hunting in the woods and facing a child with an arrow. A thick-skinned bear would continue to calmly scratch on the tree bark with incomparable comfort because the bear knew the arrow could not kill him.
Could his arrow kill this Thirteenth Wang in front of him?
For the first time in his life, Yan Shendu developed doubts about the arrow in his hand because in that snowy night, the green banner had moved.
Can we talk?
Wang Xi sighed and licked his strangely dry lips.
I don’t have to kill you. If you’re willing to coming with me and no longer participate in the affairs of the world, destroy your martial powers, cut all of contact with the world, and make everyone think you’re dead…this way, Fan Xian will have vented his anger. His goal would have been reached, and I won’t need to kill you.
Yan Shendu didn’t smile. He only felt it was very absurd, so he released his hand.
The arrow was like a black line abruptly flying out. The previous moment, it seemed to still be on Yan Shendu’s bowstring. In the next, it had already reached Wang Xi.
Yan Shendu suddenly saw a sight that shocked him greatly. He saw Wang Xi’s feet move slightly and take three continuous steps. After the three steps, his entire person had returned to where he stood earlier.
Where did the arrow go?
That arrow that moved like the wind brushed Wang Xi’s face as it passed. It went through the thick curtain and shot into the endless darkness with a whoosh. It melded with the whistling wind outside and could no longer be heard.
The three steps looked simple, but Yan Shendu’s pupils still constricted. He could see the profoundness in them. To be able to dodge his very fast arrow at such a short distance needed not only terrifying reaction speed but also had to be matched with an extremely high level of zhenqi control.
Who exactly was this person? Where did such an ace appear from? Why would he throw his life in for Fan Xian?
These three questions surged into Yan Shendu’s mind, however, his hands did not slow at all. He had already fired out three arrows. They dissolved into three shadows and flew in three paths toward Wang Xi’s head, middle, and legs. Meanwhile, he had picked up a small knife and flipped it up. Slicing through the back of the tent, he fled into the darkness. This series of actions and three arrows in rapid succession had drained most of his energy. He did not have anything left to call for help. Furthermore, he knew that even if the soldiers in the camp rushed over, they wouldn’t be able to rescue him from this mysterious fortune-teller.
After the tent, Yan Shendu had his bow nocked but had not yet fired. He looked at Wang Xi in front of him like he was looking at a ghost. He didn’t know how the other person had dodged those three arrows gotten ahead of him to block his escape.
Fortunately, Yan Shendu’s eyes were sharp. He saw that Wang Xi’s sleeve was dripping blood. The other person had been hurt. This reality made Yan Shendu’s heart thump. It was impossible even for the seemingly mysterious steps to completely dodge the Yan family’s god-like arrows.
It was not snowing. The wind whistled by and picked up the fallen snow. It was no different than falling snow.
Wang Xi lowered his head and looked at the sleeve soaked with fresh blood. He shook his head and said,
I truly don’t want to kill people.
Then why are you here?
Yan Shendu narrowed his eyes and asked coldly.
Because…
Wang Xi gazed hesitantly at the sky above his head,
because I have to help Fan Xian for the peace of this world, for the balance of this land, for my home, and what else? I have to help him.
The peace of the world rests on one person? Fan Xian isn’t the Emperor…
Yan Shendu’s left leg bet slightly backward. He lowered his quiver. As he talked, he secretly prepared.
There is no one left in my family.
Wang Xi sighed.
For there to be peace in the world, I have to help him, so I’ll have to do wrong by you…whenever there is a major era, there needs to be the sacrifice of minor figures.
Minor figure? Yan Shendu had never thought of himself like this. He was the son of a governor and the inheritor of Yan family’s archery skills. In the future, he would be an influential figure. At this moment, he had only killed the Second Priest of a temple. His glory had not completely been demonstrated yet, so how could he die?
Wang Xi once again raised his head to gaze at the sky. It was as if he was trying to see the starry sky through the thick clouds. Faintly, he said,
Hopefully, I am not helping the wrong person.
Gazing up at the sky, how could he pass up on such a good opportunity?
Yan Shendu suddenly straightened and fired. He fired seven arrows in succession and then felt for his quiver with one hand. He pulled out the final arrow, placed it on the string, nocked it, and fired.
Seven arrows were in front while the arrow filled with the most concentrated murderous intent hid in the back.
Yan Shendu had never been as pleased with his cultivation as he was today. To be able to fire seven and then one arrow, it was already the peak of what he could reach in this lifetime. He was even slightly better than his father back in the day. Such a terrifying attack, he believed that even if it was Fan Xian in front of him, he wouldn’t be able to dodge it.
However, he forgot one point. Everyone’s fighting style was not the same. If Fan Xian wanted to kill him personally, he would certainly sinisterly poison him again and again, and stab him again and again close to his body. He would not give him any chance to fire arrows.
If it was Fan Xian that had come to kill him, it would be impossible for Yan Shendu to have a complete body. He would die very stupidly and nastily.
While this Thirteenth Wang seemed gentle and kind, the battle style he picked was aggressive and terrifying, completely unlike his exterior appearance.
Wang Xi directly leapt forward like a huge bird in the night. He spread his wings and was injured by the strong wind. He ignored the seven arrows piercing into his body. His eyes gave off a sharp light. Stretching out with his right hand, he caught the most terrifying arrow at the end.
A number of whooshes sounded. Those arrows went through Wang Xi’s body, only his body was moving in the air. Nothing major was injured. They only passed through above and below his shoulder.
With a screech, the last arrow in Wang Xi’s right hand slid along like a carriage wheel bearing a large weight pressing down on a rough road. It carried a horrible sound of friction.
A faint burning smell seemed to rise into the night sky. Wang Xi’s right hand was blurred by the arrow’s lightning speed. What kind speed was indicated by this heat?
Right before the arrow was about to pierce into Wang Xi’s eye, it stopped, only 2 centimeters away. Just like this, he used his flesh and blood hand to hold onto the arrow. He swept like a bird to a stop in front of Yan Shendu, only 30 centimeters apart.
Wang Xi gave a muffled grunt. Turning his wrist, he pushed the tip of the arrow into Yan Shendu’s heart. His hand moved like lightning. It was impossible to dodge.
Yan Shendu staggered and fell. He looked at the blood and arrow on his chest and the assassin in front of him covered in blood. He opened his mouth but was unable to speak. Just like this, he sat in front of his tent. His body weakly twitched a few times.
He had forgotten what his father had once taught him. As an archer, the effective distance of a weapon determined life and death. He was still too close to the person in front of him.
Wang Xi stood panting in front of him. He looked at the archer, whose breaths were gradually weakening, and said,
Little archer, go peacefully.
It was not until the moment he died that Yan Shendu realized he truly was a minor figure in this major era. However, for a man specializing in archery to die by his own arrow, was that not a good end? However…he was not satisfied…he pointlessly pulled on all the power in his entire body and stretched forward. He wanted to grasp this assassin and kill him. He wanted to kill the imminently arriving death.
His finger touched Wang Xi’s belt. Where he touched, it felt bloody and icy. Hooking onto one thing, the little archer Yan Shendu finally ran out of strength. A gurgling sound came from his throat. His head tilted, and he died.
Wang Xi straightened his body and loosened his right hand. He looked at the long and terrifying burn mark on his palm, and then lowered his head to look at the seven arrows sticking out of his body. Looking at the fresh blood all over his body, he resisted the pain. Muttering to himself in a trembling voice, he said,
Ah, it hurts so much…
He resisted the pain. Using the night snow and wind, he escaped out of the Yuantai Camp. Returning to the mountaintop, he picked up the green banner and once more disappeared into the dark night.
Many months later, Fan Xian learned about what happened in this attack. After a moment of silence, he shook his head and sighed,
Thirteenth Wang, you are ferocious and stupid.
