Chapter 262: Chapter 221: Delicate Hands Stirring Soup, Please Kill Gu Yi (Part 2)
Chen Sujin set down her teacup, a look of bone-deep hatred suddenly appearing on her face. Then, she spoke, word by word.
"I want to ask you, Master Wu, to kill that man, Gu Yi!"
Wu Liangchen was momentarily stunned.
He truly hadn’t expected Chen Sujin to seek him out for something like this.
After all, one was a Martial Arts Grandmaster, the leader of a sect, standing above countless others.
The other was a mere courtesan from a brothel. Even with her high rank, she was still at the very bottom of society.
What sort of feud could exist between two people so far apart, one that would provoke such resentment in Chen Sujin?
As if sensing Wu Liangchen’s confusion, Chen Sujin said slowly, "I know you must be wondering, Master Wu, what could possibly have happened between someone like me and Gu Yi to make me hate him this much?"
"In truth, it’s not for myself. It’s for my sister!"
From Chen Sujin’s subsequent account, Wu Liangchen finally learned the whole story.
It turned out that Chen Sujin had been orphaned at a young age. After a life of displacement and hardship, she was sold into a brothel.
Such things were common in the Great Yan empire; in fact, a complete and sordid industry had formed around it.
From the human traffickers to the government officials, and even the madams who trained the girls—all of them grew fat and wealthy from the trade.
Only the girls sold into these brothels were left to face an incredibly tragic fate.
After all, in the eyes of these people, the girls weren’t human at all. They were cargo. They were commodities.
Countless died in the process.
But Chen Sujin was relatively lucky. She was taken in by a madam with a somewhat kinder heart. Though there were punishments, they were never as cruel as those dealt by others.
Furthermore, Chen Sujin had displayed astonishing beauty from a young age. Seen as a cash cow, she naturally received preferential treatment.
But none of this could fill the void in a child’s heart.
Countless times, she dreamt of her parents, only to wake up in tears.
It was in this state that she met a sister figure.
This "sister" had also been sold to the brothel, the only difference being that she was older.
The two of them became fast friends. The older girl doted on Chen Sujin, caring for her in every way and letting her feel a maternal love she hadn’t known in years.
And so, the two found warmth in each other’s company as Chen Sujin slowly grew older.
By then, her sister had begun to make a name for herself, but their bond remained as strong as ever.
She even told Chen Sujin that once she saved enough money, she would buy freedom for them both, and they would spend the rest of their lives together.
These words planted a seed in Chen Sujin’s heart. She began to long for that day with every fiber of her being.
But what came in the end was not freedom, but the news of her sister’s suicide by hanging.
Before her death, she hadn’t said a single word to Chen Sujin.
Seeing her sister, so vibrant just the day before, now a cold corpse, Chen Sujin refused to eat, drink, or speak for days.
She wanted to know why.
Why would someone as good as her sister choose to die so resolutely?
Why hadn’t she left even a single word for her?
At this point in her story, Chen Sujin’s eyes welled with tears. She looked up at Wu Liangchen and forced a smile. "Master Wu, do you know why she died?"
"Why?" Wu Liangchen asked slowly.
"Afterward, I investigated like a madwoman, but no one would tell me the truth. I wanted to see my sister one last time, but her body was cremated that very day. They even threw her ashes into the river, leaving nothing to be found."
"It wasn’t until the madam who had taken me in couldn’t bear my grief any longer that she secretly told me the truth. The last guest my sister entertained the night before she died was none other than the Sect Leader of the Broken Sword Sect, Gu Yi!"
Wu Liangchen didn’t ask any questions, just listened in silence.
"Gu Yi didn’t come to the brothel. He sent his men to fetch my sister and take her to the Broken Sword Sect, and then had her sent back in the morning."
"I don’t know what happened that night to make my sister take her own life that very day. But the madam told me she had secretly looked at my sister’s body... She said it was covered in wounds. In some places, the skin had even been... flayed off!"
As she finished, Chen Sujin clenched her jaw, struggling to control her emotions. She bit her lip so hard it bled. Tears streamed down her face, falling onto the tea table and spreading into dark, wet circles.
Wu Liangchen handed her the towel from the table. Chen Sujin bowed her head in thanks, took a moment to compose herself, and continued.
"And according to the madam, this wasn’t the first time. He’d tortured other girls from other brothels to death before."
"She warned me never to speak of this to anyone. She said that if I did, it wouldn’t just be me who suffered—she and the entire Rain Building would face a terrible catastrophe."
"From that day forward, I never forgot the name Gu Yi. Day and night, I prayed for his death. But the heavens are blind. Years have passed, and not only has Gu Yi not died, he has thrived."
"But the hatred in my heart has not faded for a single day. I dream of avenging my sister. But I know that with my own strength, killing Gu Yi is an impossible dream."
"I can’t even trust the Martial Artists here in the capital. Gu Yi is a Martial Arts Grandmaster. They’re scared to death at the mere mention of his name, let alone trying to kill him."
"And so, I waited in silence... until I met you!"
"Master Wu, when I heard that you had defeated the senior disciple of the Broken Sword Sect in a single move and intended to challenge Gu Yi himself, I was so overjoyed I couldn’t sleep for a whole night. I eagerly wrote you an invitation, but you didn’t come. That is why I have taken the liberty of visiting you today!"
"I know this was presumptuous, but I had my reasons. Please understand, Master Wu!"
With that, Chen Sujin moved the small tea table aside, knelt solemnly on the floor, and bowed her head to the ground.
"For the sake of my dead sister, Master Wu, I beg you to kill Gu Yi and bring peace to her vengeful spirit."
Wu Liangchen looked down at Chen Sujin kneeling at his feet, his expression unchanging. He simply watched her in silence.
The seconds ticked by. Chen Sujin remained motionless, but her heart began to sink into despair.
’Is it happening again?’
Over the years, Chen Sujin had tried to hire Martial Artists from outside the capital to deal with Gu Yi.
But no matter the roaming expert—even those who were boasting of their prowess one moment—they would all fall silent the instant they learned their target was a Martial Arts Grandmaster. Then, they would sheepishly slip away.
This was why she had been so thrilled to hear that Wu Liangchen was proactively challenging Gu Yi.
She had simply been waiting for too long.
So long that she had begun to believe she would never see her revenge in this lifetime.
But a challenge was not the same as an execution.
A challenge between Martial Artists could end with a clear winner without being a fight to the death. Injuries were possible, but fatalities were not the goal. An execution, however, was far more difficult.
The difficulty was unimaginable, especially when the opponent was a Martial Arts Grandmaster who had been renowned for years.
Just as she was about to give up hope, Wu Liangchen spoke.
"Are you sure everything you’ve said is true?"
Hearing this, Chen Sujin immediately lifted her head. Her face was a mask of resolve as she declared, "Every word I have spoken is the truth. If I have deceived you in the slightest, may the heavens strike me down!"
"Good. In that case... I’ll take the job," Wu Liangchen said calmly.
The moment he said this, Chen Sujin collapsed to the floor as if a great weight had been lifted from her. Tears streamed down her face, but she was smiling.
"Thank you, Master Wu!"
"No need for thanks. I was already planning to challenge Gu Yi. If what you say is true, then killing him is only right and proper."
Wu Liangchen spoke slowly, his tone so casual it was as if he were discussing something utterly mundane.
Chen Sujin’s heart overflowed with gratitude. After a moment’s hesitation, she crawled forward on her knees until she was before Wu Liangchen and reached for his sash.
But in the next instant, her hand met only empty air. Wu Liangchen had vanished.
At the same time, a calm voice drifted into the carriage.
"I agreed to kill Gu Yi out of a Martial Artist’s duty, not for your gratitude. And I certainly do not require repayment of this kind!"
"In ten days, at most, I will give you a result!"
His voice faded into the distance, eventually disappearing into silence.
Chen Sujin was stunned.
She had prepared so much for this moment. Offering her body was just one part of her plan; she even had a thousand Eagle Yuan ready.
It was her entire life’s savings, accumulated over many years.
’In the end, none of it was needed? It was all settled, just like that?’
A sense of unreality washed over her. She even suspected she might be dreaming.
It wasn’t until she bit her own finger that she confirmed it was all real. Then, she covered her mouth and began to weep, her sobs silent but full of pain.
’Sister... there is finally hope for your revenge!’
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