Chapter 647: Chapter 350: Shi Jie’s Severed Arm, Nianjun’s Shock and Suspicion, Li Xian Exposed—Or the White-Faced One?
Zhou Shijie let out a miserable scream and was flung backwards. Gu Nianjun swung the red whip, wrapping it around Zhou Shijie’s waist, and pulled him back onto the boat. Zhou Shijie was in unbearable pain, looking at his miserable right hand, thinking it would be disabled in the future, was extremely hard to accept, and let out an "ah" as he fainted.
Gu Nianjun channeled Inner Qi into him, helping to circulate his blood and energy. He soon regained consciousness. Zhou Shijie lamented, "My right hand... Nianjun... is my right hand crippled?" Gu Nianjun’s face looked grim as he saw Zhou Shijie covered in blood, his appearance wretched, with an arm injury too ghastly to behold. Once graceful and elegant, now in such a sorry state. Though he didn’t understand why Zhou Shijie suddenly went mad earlier, his act of hunting down the Flower Thief was overall righteous and selfless. It wasn’t the time to blame him, so in a deep voice, he said, "This hand, for now, I’m afraid won’t be easy to save."
Zhou Shijie resentfully said, "Nianjun, avenge me, avenge me. This thief is cruel and vicious, he... he crippled my right hand."
Li Xian said loudly, "You charged up on your own, why blame me? That woman intended to guard you with good intentions, yet your inferiority took over, wanting to show off. Resulting in a crippled hand, only adding to your ridicule. I’m afraid the beauty won’t be fascinated, and the heroes will secretly despise you. The scholarly and martial genius, now half-crippled, half-wrecked, a major failure." His eyesight was extremely sharp, observing Zhou Shijie’s numerous changes in expression just now—resentment, anger, inferiority... deliberately provoking him with random guesses.
Zhou Shijie’s face turned pale suddenly, every word was piercing, feeling a pain in his chest and a sweetness in his throat. He spat a mouthful of fresh blood. Reflecting on recent events:
Zhou Shijie and Gu Nianjun arrived at Flying Dragon City to visit Fu Haoran and his disciple, Li Xiaofan. Initially making acquaintances with the Sword Sect members, young heroes befriended them, indeed an exhilarating feeling.
Later, he gradually felt his martial arts slightly inferior, with a sense of inferiority. Yet, by relying on fortune, there were still plenty of admirers. Then, when Gu Nianjun disappeared, Zhou Shijie followed the Sword Sect into the tomb to search.
The women of the Sword Sect gathered and uncovered He Wentian’s identity. Zhou Shijie made several embarrassing mistakes, his name already plummeted, his prestige completely lost, his grace gone entirely. The women scolded Zhou Shijie constantly, without restraint. Wang Dezhong, Hua Wu, Yue Kai, and other former friends silently kept their distance.
Zhou Shijie considered leaving several times. But to survive, he had to endure. The elders of the Sword Sect, seeing this situation, all thought, "This Zhou Shijie, though not a figurehead, appears decent at first glance, but upon closer inspection is quite ordinary. But he joined us in rescuing the women. His original intention wasn’t bad. If we drive him away, causing him to die here, it would reflect poorly on our Sword Sect."
Xiao Wanjian, Hu Yueyue, Duan Yixin, and other leading elders, though misled by He Wentian due to him, found it unreasonable to shift all the blame. So they conferred in private, secretly spreading small hints to the Sword Sect disciples not to treat Zhou Shijie disrespectfully.
The female disciples, although feeling indignant, also obeyed. Zhou Shijie could catch his breath a little, able to follow the Sword Sect for safety. But the cold stares along the way stabbed at his heart. Until later, when He Wentian’s complete defeat was evident.
Gu Nianjun apprehended He Wentian and regrouped. Zhou Shijie immediately ran over, delighted, "Nianjun, you’re unharmed!" Gu Nianjun saw Zhou Shijie was there, guessing it was to find her, smiled and said, "Of course, nothing happened, sorry to have worried you."
Zhou Shijie said, "No, no. It’s good that you’re back, it’s good that you’re back." He thought, "The matters in the tomb, indeed I didn’t appear well. If Nianjun knows of these things, even she would despise me. What should I do then? I absolutely cannot let her find out."
So he always followed closely behind Gu Nianjun. The elders of the Sword Sect had already instructed the disciples not to offend Zhou Shijie with words. The Sword Sect disciples disliked Zhou Shijie, and naturally disliked Gu Nianjun. Rarely seeking conversations with the two, "Li Xian" was like a needle, stabbing both the Sword Sect and Zhou Shijie. Thus, neither his merits nor harm were discussed.
Gu Nianjun wanted to inquire clearly about the events, but Zhou Shijie always stayed close. Even if Sword Sect disciples spoke, considering the elders’ instructions, they spoke in roundabout, delicate ways, departing with just a few words. Gu Nianjun, not perceiving their intention, remained unaware of the entire situation. With Zhou Shijie’s interference, seeing the full picture was even more difficult.
Later, they returned to the city. The Five Mountains Sword Alliance kept matters concerning the tomb under wraps, absolutely not speaking of it.
The encirclement of the Flower Thief in Flying Dragon City, how the women were rescued, the siege of Wen Caishang, Li Xian’s fight with the Sword Sect... Gu Nianjun knew none of these. Visiting the Sword Sect multiple times to inquire about relevant matters, she was soon asked to leave, hoping not to publicize or leak any information.
Zhou Shijie suggested, "Nianjun, this matter involves the Sword Sect’s scandal. They, the Five Swords Alliance, lost the women, which is utterly ridiculous. I know about these incidents too. If you want to know, just ask me, no need to uncover their scars."
"We’ve been in Flying Dragon City for quite a while, why not leave soon. I can slowly explain to you on the way."
Gu Nianjun thought it reasonable, so she stopped probing further. Yet one thing still weighed on her mind, saying, "But we’ll need to wait a bit more." Thinking, "I need to ask that lady again if she knows the identity of that... that young master. The Jianghu is vast, if there’s no news, then... it will indeed be difficult to ever see again."
So she went to visit the Bixiang Pavilion. Zhou Shijie witnessed the events in Flying Dragon City and, with a little reasoning, realized the "White-faced Red Bow" was Li Xian. He dared not inform Gu Nianjun of this. Seeing Gu Nianjun return empty-handed from visiting the Bixiang Pavilion, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
But noticed Gu Nianjun had no intention of leaving. Zhou Shijie thought, "If we stay in Flying Dragon City longer, sooner or later we’ll encounter Sword Sect disciples, or cross paths with Wen Caishang and Li Xian. The matters of the tomb will surely be known to Nianjun. I need to find a way to lead Nianjun away."
Pondering deeply, he suddenly spotted "An Weicheng" being detained in a prison. It turned out that the events of that day, An Weicheng failed in his attempt, and was immediately captured afterwards.
