Chapter 6

“No,” Shen Yao Xing almost reflexively denied.

“But…”

“I said no.” Shen Yao Xing was a bit impatient and turned to enter the inn.

Meng Xin Yi sized up the youth and followed into the inn.

“Do you know him?” Meng Xin Yi sat across from the young woman and pointed her chin at the person who had followed them in.

Shen Yao Xing yawned and lazily said she didn’t know him.

“Oh?” She didn’t believe it. Look, the person had even followed them in and had a hesitant expression. Meng Xin Yi narrowed her eyes and stared at the youth’s face for a while before suddenly realizing, “Isn’t this one of the ten winners from today’s competition? Heh, he’s the only male participant who can enter the second round in this grand competition.”

The apricot-robed youth who had just entered heard the woman’s words. His fair face reddened slightly, and his hand subconsciously touched the long whip coiled around his waist as he silently walked over.

Shen Yao Xing propped her face with one hand. Seeing him approach, she naturally switched hands, leaving the back of her head facing him.

The youth smiled somewhat shyly at Meng Xin Yi. Meng Xin Yi was slightly stunned, her face relaxing into a faint smile. “May I ask what brings this young master here?”

“I…” The youth secretly glanced at the back of that head, his fingers grasping the whip at his waist. His voice carried the unique clarity of a young man, the tail end mixed with a hint of softness. “I just came to express my gratitude for the young lady’s rescue last time…”

“I see…” Meng Xin Yi’s gaze bounced between the two with interest. Suddenly, the corners of her lips curled up, and she raised her hand, gesturing for him to sit. “If the young master doesn’t mind, you can join us at our table.”

Shen Yao Xing, who originally had a bored expression, furrowed her brows, glaring at her in clear disapproval.

The youth also appeared somewhat hesitant, lowering his eyes as if engaged in an internal struggle. After a good while, he slowly sat down.

“Young master, feel free to order whatever you’d like to eat. This meal is our treat.” Meng Xin Yi was quite hospitable, directly placing the menu in front of him.

Shen Yao Xing promptly interrupted her, “Hey, it’s your treat, not ours.”

“It’s alright!” The youth hurriedly spoke, but his voice was too agitated, drawing the attention of the two. His fair face turned even redder as he hastily explained, “I… I mean… this meal… let me treat you…”

Shen Yao Xing tilted her head, her indifferent gaze falling on his reddened hands. That shy expression was a bit like a neighbor’s little brother, rare enough to be considered pleasing to the eye. She shrugged, indicating she didn’t mind.

Seeing this, the youth’s pink lips curved into a smile, his courage seeming to grow a bit. “I… I’m Lin Luo Sheng. Thank you for lending a helping hand that day.”

“Tsk,” Shen Yao Xing pouted, her gaze slowly drifting to the face of the woman pouring tea. A flash of inspiration crossed her mind, and she slowly sat up straight, turning to him with a sincere expression. “Actually, that day it really wasn’t me, but… her!”

Her sinful finger pointed at the dumbfounded Meng Xin Yi without any guilt. She then sighed, putting on an honest and forthright appearance. “In fact, I don’t know martial arts. That day, it was only because she brought me along that I was able to climb onto that roof.”

“But… I clearly only saw you up there, and I recognize your voice…” Lin Luo Sheng obviously wasn’t so easily fooled.

A series of scenarios had already formed in Shen Yao Xing’s mind. She spoke vividly, her expression so genuine that even Meng Xin Yi almost believed her.

“That day, the two of us were out of the city on business. When we came back, we saw that scene. She’s the type of person who will always draw her sword to help when she sees injustice. That day, she was even injured. After saving you, she couldn’t hold on and fell from the rooftop!”

Fearing he wouldn’t believe her, she even walked over and poked Meng Xin Yi’s injured shoulder. Meng Xin Yi inhaled sharply from her poke, clutching her shoulder and coughing very cooperatively.

“You see, now do you believe it?” Shen Yao Xing raised her chin somewhat proudly, her little expression looking as if she was about to win a battle.

Sure enough, Lin Luo Sheng was left stunned by her series of explanations, blinking his eyes. He opened his mouth with some difficulty, “You… you really don’t know martial arts?”

Shen Yao Xing nodded affirmatively.

The youth lowered his head, his dark hair obscuring his expression. After a good while, he raised his head, his eyes slightly reddened, looking at the woman clutching her wound. He asked, “It was you who saved me that day?”

“Ah? Ah!” The pain in her toe caused Meng Xin Yi’s expression to twitch slightly. Under the pressure of her good friend, she had no choice but to nod and admit, “Yes…”

“Thank… thank you.” Though he spoke to her, his gaze still intentionally or unintentionally drifted toward the young woman.

This matter was temporarily settled.

That night, just as Shen Yao Xing was about to eat a late-night snack, Meng Xin Yi suddenly barged into the room, even wearing black clothing.

Shen Yao Xing looked her up and down, asking in confusion, “What are you doing?”

“Tonight, you will accompany me to the Four Directions Association again.” Saying that, she placed the night clothing in front of her.

“…” Shen Yao Xing blinked, somewhat in disbelief as she raised her voice, “No way, sis! Your wound hasn’t even healed yet, and now you still want to go there!?”

This person must have a death wish. Last time, her blood hole hadn’t even closed up, and now she was rushing to have people continue stabbing blood holes in her. Couldn’t she just eat more and sleep more when she had free time instead of having to sneak into someone’s place in the middle of the night?

The black clothing wrapped around the woman’s curvaceous figure, accentuating her front and back. Coupled with her mature features, if placed in modern times, she would undoubtedly be a mature beauty. However, the words coming out of that mouth made Shen Yao Xing want to slap her across the face.

“That day, I snuck into the Four Directions Association, but unexpectedly entered the wrong place. I didn’t even have time to investigate, so I plan to go again tonight.”

Shen Yao Xing wanted to kneel before her. “What exactly do you want to investigate? Can’t you go during the day?” She had a heavy sense of guilt about breaking into someone’s “home” in the middle of the night.

Meng Xin Yi automatically ignored the irrelevant chatter, frowning and saying in a heavy voice, “I suspect the Four Directions Association has some unspeakable dealings with the Eternal Life Pavilion.”

Since the news of the grand competition came out, she had felt something was off. Perhaps she didn’t know much about the Eternal Life Pavilion, but the Four Directions Association was not as righteous as it appeared on the surface. Behind the scenes, their methods were definitely no better than the Eternal Life Pavilion’s. Suddenly holding such an event for no reason, there must be some unspeakable reason behind it.

“No,” Shen Yao Xing rubbed her temples, then remembered that her hands had just grabbed a chicken leg and were greasy. She quickly put them down and gestured in exhaustion, “Even if they have some unspeakable dealings, it has nothing to do with you. Why do you have to stick your nose into it?”

Meng Xin Yi didn’t want to say more to her. She used her sword hilt to push the black clothing in front of her. “Are you going or not?”

What else could Shen Yao Xing do? If she didn’t go, she was afraid Meng Xin Yi would end up lying inside, covered in blood holes, unable to come out.

The outer perimeter of the Four Directions Association was heavily guarded. The two seized the opportunity during the change of shifts to sneak in. However, after entering, a new problem arose. The Four Directions Association was as big as a maze. How would they know which room those in charge were in?

Just as Shen Yao Xing felt this was not feasible and was about to persuade her to go back, she saw Meng Xin Yi pull out a cloth map from who knows where.

“What is this?”

“A layout map of the Four Directions Association.”

“… Where did you get it?”

“I bought it from a jianghu sorcerer.” She responded as if it was a matter of course.

Shen Yao Xing rubbed her temples, truly wanting to kneel before her.

Not to mention whether this map was accurate or not, it was difficult to clearly distinguish which building and which room was which in the middle of the night. Shen Yao Xing had already given up and could only follow her in leaping across the rooftops.

This place seemed to be composed of pavilions of varying sizes. The paths were winding. Truthfully, let alone at night, even in broad daylight, she wouldn’t be able to find her way.

After searching for a good while under the moonlight, Meng Xin Yi stopped on the tiles of a pavilion roof. She turned her head to signal the young woman to be quiet, then crouched down and lifted two tiles beneath her feet. A beam of light shone on her face, clearly indicating she had found the right place.

Shen Yao Xing shrugged and turned in another direction. She spread her arms and tiptoed, her figure agile and light. She leaped over and sat leaning against the main ridge of the roof, dangling her legs, looking at the round moon leisurely, occasionally glancing at the woman who was eavesdropping with great interest.

Sigh, she thought, sleeping would be so nice in the middle of the night, but they had to run here and sneak around.

As she was thinking, Shen Yao Xing squinted and yawned. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a black shadow not far away. Startled, she hiccuped and quickly covered her mouth, pointing it out to Meng Xin Yi, who had looked over.

Meng Xin Yi looked in the direction she pointed. There, a black cat was standing on the highly raised wingtip of the eaves, its glowing feline eyes staring fixedly at them.

Shen Yao Xing raised her index finger to her lips, which were concealed behind a black cloth, signaling the cat to be quiet. She slowly moved her feet closer, but unexpectedly, the black cat suddenly launched an attack on Meng Xin Yi, who was eavesdropping. A cat’s cry tore through the silent night sky.

“Who’s there?”

A sharp rebuke came from beneath the eaves.

Shen Yao Xing quickly grabbed Meng Xin Yi’s arm and ran. More and more sounds came from beneath their feet, and they could even see human figures leaping across the rooftops like them. Shen Yao Xing hurriedly pulled her to jump off the eaves and ran along the bluestone path.

There were people on the roofs and people below. The two of them were like running in a maze, with the light of torches approaching from every direction. Shen Yao Xing cursed under her breath and pulled the other person behind a rockery covered in shadows. “You stay here. I’ll lure them away. When you see an opportunity, get out of here quickly, you hear me?”

“No way! What about you?” Meng Xin Yi grabbed her.

“Enough, enough.” Shen Yao Xing kicked her back. “If you die, I won’t die. When I tell you to go, hurry up and go. It’s easier for me alone.”

Having said that, she no longer paid attention to her and directly leaped onto the rooftop, intentionally passing over the heads of the searching people. The crowd was successfully led away from the direction. Shen Yao Xing was always particularly grateful at times like this that she had focused on learning qinggong well.

After successfully evading those people, Shen Yao Xing discovered a serious problem. She was lost.

She wanted to curse.

She thought this was already unlucky enough, but the next moment, there was something even more unlucky. The eaves that should have been solid shattered under her angry stomp.

Shen Yao Xing fell from the rooftop into the room, landing steadily in a cool pose. She couldn’t help but raise her hand and stroke her hair in a narcissistic manner. Since learning martial arts, she had never stumbled again.

Then Shen Yao Xing discovered that there was a lot of smoke in the room. At first, she thought it was the dust from the fall, but the next moment, she rejected this idea because the smoke also carried a hint of moisture. She casually fanned her hand in front of her face and squinted to observe the situation in the room.

When she turned around and saw that scene, Shen Yao Xing’s entire body froze.

Only then did she realize that this was actually a bathing room. What was floating around her wasn’t smoke but steam. In front of her was a bathing pool that was at least ten square meters. The water level just covered the man’s buttocks, hiding the alluring sight. His fair skin was delicate and flawless, his waist and abdomen without a trace of excess flesh, slender and elongated. Undried water droplets slid down the lines of his body, appearing even more seductive in the haze. Above that was his maddening, handsome face.

The hazy steam added a sense of mystery to him, like a heavenly god in a fairyland, staring at her with a terrifying expression…

Shen Yao Xing stiffly turned her back, but before she could speak, an overwhelming chill rushed toward her. The strong murderous intent behind her caused her to abruptly bend over, narrowly avoiding it. The ends of her hair that fluttered up were sliced off. She used force to stomp on the ground with her feet and spun around to distance herself.

“Wait…” I didn’t fucking mean to look!

Shen Yao Xing wanted to say this to him, but he didn’t give her a chance at all. The thin white clothes fluttered as he advanced step by step, his hand ruthlessly striking as if he wanted to chop off her head. Shen Yao Xing had no weapon in her hand and couldn’t even counterattack. She could only retreat and dodge continuously.

Jiang Ming Yue’s frosty eyes were fixed on that slender, white neck. Only by cutting it off could he resolve the hatred in his heart. He swung horizontally toward the woman’s direction, the cold sword qi carving a deep dent in the wall.

“Hiss,” Shen Yao Xing inhaled a breath of cold air. Fortunately, she had dodged quickly, otherwise her head would have been relocated.

Seeing the man’s sharp blade approaching again, Shen Yao Xing quickly spat some water on her hands, clasped them together, and forcefully clamped down on the incoming sword. Taking advantage of this gap, she hastily explained, “I accidentally fell down, it wasn’t intentional!”

As soon as she finished speaking, she saw ice forming on her hands. The bone-chilling coldness made her unable to let go of the sword even if she wanted to. The sharp blade rotated between her two hands, instantly cutting her palms.

The freed sharp sword stabbed directly toward her skull. Shen Yao Xing instinctively tilted her head, but she was still a second too slow. The sharp blade left a bloody trail under the corner of her eye. She quickly swept her foot toward the man, but unexpectedly, he easily dodged it by leaping back.

Shen Yao Xing tremblingly touched the area below her eye. The sharp pain made her unable to restrain from cursing, “Fuck! You dare to ruin my face?!”

Jiang Ming Yue held his long sword, coldly looking at her, exuding an air of superiority.

Shen Yao Xing covered her face with her bloody hand, her teeth aching from anger. Although she wanted to return the favor and go over to cut his face, it was obviously an impossible task. Her other hand secretly reached for her waist, where there was a bag of flour she had stolen from the inn’s kitchen before coming. This was for situations like this!

“Chua!”

Shen Yao Xing abruptly scattered the flour toward the man, even adding sound effects with her mouth.

Jiang Ming Yue clearly hadn’t expected her to have this move. He swiftly raised his sleeve to cover his face. In the blink of an eye, the figure in front of him had disappeared.

Realizing he had been tricked by a little trick, Jiang Ming Yue’s expression turned extremely ugly. He suddenly swung his sword, the fierce sword qi rushing toward the water pool, splitting the green bricks on both sides with a deep crack.