Chapter Seventeen: The Fish’s Mouth

In the courtyard, Chalu sat with his eyes focused on his nose, his mouth focused on his heart, but his ears were perked up. Lin Suyun, in a tone of annoyance, said, “Are you eavesdropping on the children’s conversation too?”

Chalu shook his head. “This isn’t eavesdropping. How could it be called that when I’m so openly listening?”

Lin Suyun continued, “So what did you hear?”

Chalu furrowed his brows. “I didn’t understand. At first, Jin’er asked Luzhou not to do anything related to scorpions, but Luzhou changed the subject. Now he’s telling her something about fish mouths, whatever that means.”

“Fish mouth?”

Lin Suyun was confused as well. “Today’s fish mouth is no different than usual, is it?”

A gentle breeze stirred, and the sleeping moon hung high.

Chalu yawned and stopped listening; after all, none of it made sense to him. Lin Suyun, feeling bored as well, picked up her needlework and sat beside him, embroidering as she said absentmindedly, “Jin’er was with Lady Qu, wasn’t she? Did she suffer any bullying?”

Chalu paused, alert. “No, at first Jin’er wasn’t used to it, but Luzhou taught her well, and she gradually adjusted. This time, nothing much went wrong with the task.”

He glossed over the details with a couple of sentences.

“You seem to know quite a lot.” Lin Suyun shot him a glance.

Chalu suddenly felt the day a little colder. “Jin’er told me herself when she got back.”

“She probably mentioned not wanting to be a scorpion just on a whim. As long as Luzhou keeps doing it, she’ll follow him.”

Lin Suyun sighed. “When a daughter grows up, she can’t be kept.”

Chalu, however, was more open-minded. “There’s no point worrying. Our daughter with Luzhou is good—there are fewer people struck by lightning at the gates of Shenzhou City now. If Jin’er and Luzhou end up together, and she gives us a grandson, that would be even better.”

“Shameless!”

The two fell silent, for Luzhou and Chao Jin’er had emerged from the house.

The pair greeted Chalu and Lin Suyun, then returned to the Spring Pavilion.

All the way, Luzhou walked quietly in front, Chao Jin’er followed peacefully behind. Not a word was spoken.

Until they reached the rear courtyard of the Spring Pavilion, just as they were about to open the door.

Chao Jin’er suddenly asked, “Senior Brother Lu, who did Yu Zui end up with in the end?”

“Lin Jingyu,” Luzhou replied honestly.

“Oh, I see!” Chao Jin’er seemed to understand something.

Luzhou was taken aback, somewhat bewildered. What did I say that made her grasp it so quickly?

...

...

South of Youguan, the mountain roads stretched endlessly.

Huang Yisheng sat atop a steep cliff, letting out a long breath. The anxiety that had gripped his heart these days finally eased.

After leaving the tavern that day, the first thing he did was not to hide, but to spread the news that the Thousand-faced Poison Lord had killed Withered Leaf.

Because if he didn’t, the suspicion of Withered Leaf’s murder would fall on him.

He refused to bear that burden.

Then began the thousand-mile flight—he had too many enemies to hide from. He ran a great distance in circles, finally returning to Youguan, convinced that no one would expect him to come back here.

Now, all he needed to do was wait for nightfall to cross the pass.

Then he would enter the Northern Wilderness, conceal his name, and survive for ten years or so before returning to the Central Lands.

After his news spread, the Thousand-faced Poison Lord was removed from the Azure Cloud Rankings, though he still held the top spot on the Villain Rankings. No one knew who the Thousand-faced Poison Lord was, himself included, but now every sect in the realm knew that the Arhat Golden Body was in his possession.

Moreover, news from the King Kong Temple revealed that Dantai Mingjing had delivered a fake Arhat Golden Body.

Now Dantai Mingjing was also searching for the Thousand-faced Poison Lord.

That was enough to prove that all previous events had nothing to do with him, Huang Yisheng.

Suddenly.

Footsteps sounded behind him, and he spun around.

A gleaming bald head appeared in his line of sight.

Huang Yisheng’s legs trembled.

What kind of sinister wind had blown this monk, Dantai Mingjing, here?

“Are you Huang Yisheng?” Dantai Mingjing asked.

Huang Yisheng countered, “Are you here to kill me?”

Dantai Mingjing shook his head. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so in the tavern that day. You were without your cultivation, and my staff would have easily ended you.”

Huang Yisheng sized him up, noticing his empty hands.

“Too bad you don’t have your staff now.”

Dantai Mingjing replied coldly, “Without the staff, I still have these hands. Without hands, I have feet. As long as I draw breath, whether I have the staff or not makes no difference.”

Huang Yisheng sighed, knowing Dantai Mingjing spoke the truth. The monk’s most frightening aspect was not his cultivation or staff techniques, nor his tough martial arts.

It was his resilience.

Like an indestructible monster—if you couldn’t kill him, he would wear you down until you perished.

But why was he here?

A flash of inspiration hit Huang Yisheng; he suddenly guessed the monk’s purpose.

He grinned at Dantai Mingjing, baring his yellow teeth. “Since you have hands and feet, why not kill me? The number two on the Azure Cloud Rankings wants to kill me—there’s no way I’d survive.”

“Oh, I misspoke. You’re now number two, since the Thousand-faced Poison Lord is off the list.”

Dantai Mingjing’s brow twitched, then he smiled. “The Buddha says I must not take life.”

...

...

Huang Yisheng laughed. “If you won’t say it, I’ll say it for you.”

“You were deceived by the Thousand-faced Poison Lord, ended up with a fake Arhat Golden Body, so now you want to find him. But no one in the world knows where he is, so you came to me, since I was the last to see him.”

A shadow of sorrow flickered in Dantai Mingjing’s eyes. After a long pause, he sighed. “I always thought myself clever, but now I realize there are too many clever people in this world.”

Huang Yisheng continued, “Pity I don’t know where the Thousand-faced Poison Lord is either.”

“I know you don’t,” Dantai Mingjing said.

“Then why seek me out?”

Dantai Mingjing looked at Huang Yisheng. “I just want to know, besides Withered Leaf, who else knew of Huang Sanshi’s hidden illness?”

Huang Yisheng was taken aback, then shook his head.

“No one. A man with such an ailment would never tell.”

Dantai Mingjing’s eyes held disappointment.

“But...”

Huang Yisheng paused. “The women he slept with might know.”

Dantai Mingjing’s brows furrowed, but he asked no further, knowing nothing more would come of it. He turned and descended the mountain.

Huang Yisheng breathed easier, though now he felt that fleeing to the Northern Wilderness might not be so safe after all.

Looking at the looming Youguan below, he gritted his teeth and left.

...

...

Southern Zhou, Jinling City, the State Preceptor’s Residence.

A chill wind swept through, causing the candles before the memorial hall to flicker.

An elderly man sat upright in a chair, gazing at the densely packed memorial tablets. The foremost bore the inscription: “Memorial Tablet of Gu Changfeng.”

“Who would have thought that useless Withered Leaf lost the Arhat Golden Body.”

“Seems the Embroidered Historians are nothing but fools.”

At this moment, a cold, clear voice arose beside him. “Father, was Withered Leaf Monk one of the Embroidered Historians?”

“A chess piece hidden for so many years, lost just like that. Shen Ruoxu must be beside himself with rage right now, I suppose?”

The old man looked at the youth beside him with rare tenderness in his eyes. “Whether Shen Ruoxu is furious, I don’t know. What I do know is that the one who killed Withered Leaf is the same person who killed your brother years ago.”

“The Thousand-faced Poison Lord!”