Chapter 29
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Tell me! Where is Xiaoba?” Chu Qiao’s voice sounded out coldly. She pushed her dagger forward, inflicting a wound on the man. Crimson red blood oozed out of his neck.
“Who...who is Xiaoba?” The scheming man, no longer as arrogant as before, cowered in fear and stammered, “I don’t know any Xiaoba...I just work for people.”
“Xiaoba is the owner of this baggage. The child that you impersonated.”
“I...I don’t know,” the dwarf replied. “Someone under Fourth Young Master approached me. I am a guest of the Zhuge family. I don’t have any problem with you.”
“You don’t know?” Chu Qiao frowned and sized up the man. Seeing that the dwarf was nodding non-stop, she was overwhelmed with anger. With a few swift motions of her wrists, the man’s eyes widened, his pupils dilating. His limbs stiffened, unable to breathe. There was only one long, bloody wound on his neck.
“You are not suited to be a hitman. Since you will die sooner or later, you might as well do something good before you die.” Chu Qiao stared coldly at the man’s corpse. She squatted down and unfastened his clothes with a swift slice.
There was not to be a moment of peace in Zhen Huang City that night. Even though it was in the wee hours of the night, the eastern city gates were still brightly lit. The fourth young master of the Zhuge family was personally stationed there, requesting the mobilization of half of the troops in Zhen Huang to apprehend the servants who had escaped from the Zhuge Residence. A few waves of soldiers had departed, but there was still no news.
Zhuge Yue sat on his horse. The eastern gate behind him was like a giant lion in slumber. His servants followed behind him solemnly, not daring to make a sound for fear of agitating him.
“Fourth Young Master!” Zhu Cheng, wearing a grey robe, dashed swiftly to Zhuge Yue’s side, whispering in his ear, “Fourth Young Master, First Young Master wants you to go back to the house now.”
Zhuge Yue, pretending that he did not hear anything, continued to stare in front of him, his face devoid of any emotion.
Zhu Cheng hurriedly continued, “There is news that Yan Xun has escaped the city, along with people from the Zhi Zi Residence. The Wei family messed up big time. Wei Jing had two of his fingers chopped off and was taken hostage.
Zhuge Yue frowned upon hearing this. He thought for a long while before replying, “Yan Xun?”
“Yes,” Zhu Cheng rambled on, “It was at Jiuwai Main Street, between Bai Lan Temple and Zi Wei Square.”
The young Zhuge Yue replied deeply, “In what direction did they come from?”
“I think...I think it was from the direction of Chi Shui Lake.”
“How audacious!” Zhuge Yue sneered, his eyebrows raised up. It dawned on him why Wei Shuye had surrounded the Zhuge residence in Ba Xing alley and wounded the servants inside.
“In what direction did Yan Xun escape to?”
“Fourth Young Master, First Young Master specifically instructed you not to interfere in this matter. Please do not interfere!”
Zhuge Yue raised his eyebrows. Just as he was about to talk, he suddenly heard the sound of horses’ hooves approaching in the distance. A small, skinny man wearing a large hat approached on his horse. He threw a small corpse on the ground before he had even reached Zhuge Yue’s side. He was dressed in green leather armor, indicating that he had been murdered by someone from Yan Xun’s party.
A servant standing at the side exclaimed loudly, “Fourth Young Master, Hu Sheng is back.”
Zhuge Yue stared at the corpse that was sprawled on the ground. His body was stiff, his hair was messy, and his clothes were stained with mud and blood. It could be seen that he had been dead for many hours. Zhuge Yue was overwhelmed with rage. He slowly raised his head, staring sharply at the dwarf who was no taller than three feet. He uttered slowly, “You killed her?”
Hu Sheng got off his horse in an elegant manner, and lowered his head and kneeled on the ground. His voice was deep and inaudible amidst the strong northern winds. “I’m glad I had not disappointed you!”
“When did I tell you to kill her?” Zhuge Yue used his whip to lash Hu Sheng’s back mercilessly. He bellowed, “You deserve to die!”
“Young Master!”
“Ah! Assassin!”
A series of gasps sounded out. As Zhuge Yue’s whip landed on the person’s back, the person suddenly looked up. This person had a childish appearance and a fair complexion. How could he be a hardened hitman? The child sneered and took a hit from his whip, then sprung up swiftly, brandishing a dagger and holding it to Zhuge Yue’s neck. With a small motion, he had stopped struggling.
“You’re not dead yet?”
“As you wished, I’m still alive and well.” Chu Qiao stared at Zhuge Yue coldly with viciousness in her eyes. She replied slowly, “However, I’m not sure how much longer you will live.
“Let my sister go!” Chu Qiao barked. “If not, you can meet your family’s Second Grand Master in hell!”
The vast plains were snowy, the mountains majestically prominent. The northern winds scattered the snow about, causing snowflakes to land on everyone’s eyelashes. Chu Qiao was dressed in a steely grey cloak. Her giant hat covered her clean eyelashes. Her little, fair hands carried a dagger. She stood amongst tens of thousands of troops, not an ounce of fear or weakness visible.
Zhuge Yue sneered coldly, turning around and calmly saying, “Would you really kill me?” The wind blew in the gap separating both of them. Night owls in the sky howled, resembling the cries of spirits who had died wrongful deaths.
The look in Chu Qiao’s eyes became cold. That dilapidated firewood hut, the child’s innocent smile, that piece of fragrant roasted meat...those thoughts erupted in her mind like a bomb. She lowered her head slowly, staring the young man squarely in the eye. “You can try me.”
“Really?” Zhuge Yue smiled and half-squinted. He replied, “Okay then.” Finishing his sentence, he thrust his head downwards toward the sharp dagger, as if he had lost control of his body.
“Young Master!”
“Master!”
All the panicked voices sounded out in unison. In this instant, it seemed like time had stopped. The noise in the background was concentrated at one spot, making it seem amplified. Chu Qiao was taken aback, not expecting that this young man was decisive and determined to the point that he would rather commit suicide than be threatened. In a flash, countless thoughts ran through her mind. Before she had time to comprehend any of them, she subconsciously withdrew her dagger with agility, but it still made contact with his neck, leaving a long, bloody scar all the way to his earlobe.
Just as Chu Qiao withdrew her dagger, Zhuge Yue took advantage while she was distracted. Like an agile loach, he stuck out his body, took a step forward and turned the tables around! Everything happened at lightning speed. Before the gasps had ceased, the young man, who had initially been held hostage, had broken free, albeit with his extreme methods. However, at this moment, he stood opposite the child, pointing his long sword at her and remarked coldly, “You are not able to kill me.” Fresh blood trickled down his neck. Although the wound was not deep, large amounts of blood gushed out, flowing down his fair skin and mixing into his clothes.
Zhu Cheng immediately rushed forward, exclaiming in fear, “Fourth Young Master, you’re injured! Quick! Back to the house, back to the house!”
Zhuge Yue stared coldly at Chu Qiao, as if he had not heard anything that Zhu Cheng had said. He reached into his pocket, taking out a snow-white handkerchief. Blood oozed out from his neck and onto his handkerchief. The crimson-red stains were akin to a plum blossom in full bloom.
“Quick! Pass the medicine! Fourth Young Master, take a seat and let me bandage your wound!”
The young man, who appeared pale, stood on the vast, snowy ground. An unpredictable sharpness flashed past his eyes. He raised his right hand and clenched it, revealing bulging veins. After a long while, he opened up his hand, letting the wrinkled handkerchief be carried away with the wind. It made two loops in the night sky before disappearing into thin air, blanketed by the thick snow.
The white handkerchief had been used to wipe off a certain someone’s tears before. The young man, despite his unpredictable personality, had wanted to protect that certain someone too. With the wind, all of those thoughts had dissipated, signalling the end of the show. The party that had invested more into the act was bound to lose.
“Capture her!” Zhuge Yue turned around coldly, devoid of any emotion.
The guards of the Zhuge Residence surrounded Chu Qiao. She stood in the center of the crowd, wielding her long sword which mirrored the steely look in her eyes. In it, one could see her calmness, her thirst for revenge, her cautiousness, her unrivalled determination, but not an ounce of weakness or remorse.
From the start, she knew how to survive. She knew what kind of hatred she carried upon her shoulders. She knew exactly what kind of favors she owed. Hence, Zhuge Yue, when you severed Xiaojiu’s arm, when you put Linxi to death, we were destined to become worst enemies. One of us must kill the other. There is no other way.
“Advance!” A low voice suddenly boomed out from the crowd. No servant from the Zhuge family dared to underestimate this frail-looking small child. A group of agile big men rushed forward to attack her. In the bright night, the clanking sounds of sword fighting could be heard distinctly. The child, demonstrating unparalleled agility, pivoted on her left leg and kicked out with her right leg. With a flying somersault, her long sword was stained with blood. Her right hand ruthlessly clasped the neck of one of the men. As her fingers moved, she snapped the tendons of the man’s neck with a resounding crack. The man’s eyeballs popped out of his sockets and he collapsed softly on the ground.
Everyone in the crowd was shocked, but none of them retreated. A big and thick sword sliced through the air, destined for Chu Qiao. She raised her arm to block the blow, but was still knocked back two steps due to her small frame. Her clothes were stained with blood, showing that she had been injured after just one round of sparring.
Upon seeing this, the guards of the Zhuge Residence rejoiced. No matter how smart or ruthless this child was, she was, ultimately, still barely eight years old. Her strength was incomparable to that of those well-built men.
Everyone sensed an opportunity and advanced forward. Zhuge Yue stood outside the battlefield, appearing serious, his lips pale, while Zhu Cheng held a bandage over his wound. The heavy snow made the entire place appear desolate.
“Giddyup!” At this instant, a crisp shout suddenly echoed from the distance. Messy, unsynchronised sounds of horses’ hooves drifted over from the north.
Everyone turned around to look in the northern direction. From afar, hundreds of well-built horses were making their way towards the battlefield. The young man at the front of the party was dressed in white. He had jet-black hair and he held a crossbow in his arm. With a few arrows, he shot down some of the guards belonging to the Zhuge family.
“Lass!” The warhorses dashed rapidly, blending themselves into the crowd. The young man on the horse picked Chu Qiao up and placed her onto the back of the horse. With a bright look in his eyes, he laughed, “I saved you again! How will you repay me?”
With a brush, Chu Qiao deflected a spear with her sword. She turned back and looked angrily at Yan Xun, exclaiming, “Are you crazy? Coming back at this time, do you want to die?”