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Co-translated and edited with yuruzuru
Chapter 07. Live Show (现场版走光秀)
Hearing Lei Lei’s question, everyone froze, they might not welcome her help with the chores, but chit chatting is fine, besides she is not like the other maids, who only talks about their husbands and gossips all day long, occasionally with her they can talk loudly, inquire about interesting happenings in the martial arts world, hence they don’t exclude her.
Wang Cong was surprised: “The longevity nut is such a huge matter, and you don’t know about it?”
Lei Lei shook her head.
She is far behind the times! Everyone looked at her with contempt, even Aunt Hong who wholeheartedly works in the kitchen knew about it.
Lei Lei sat down hurriedly: “Explain explain.”
Wang Cong looked at everyone, and said: “This matter has a long story to it, you should know of Ba Xian Mansion’s Physician Bu Yao Qian, a good-natured old man, with high medical expertise, but led a very poor life.”
Lei Lei nodded, his name is “Don’t Want Money”, of course he was poor.
[T/N: The physician’s name Bu Yao Qian (卜耀谦) is read with the intonations bǔ yào qiān which is similar to “不要钱 (bù yào qián)” which means don’t want money/for free. So MC is making a wordplay on the physician’s name.]
Wang Cong said: “One night half a year ago, Old Mister Bu was murdered in his house.”
Lei Lei said: “There must be some sort of benefit to killing him.”
“According to his younger brother Bu Yao Ming, it was because of a certain treasure called longevity fruit,” Wang Cong lowered his voice, “Old Mister Bu had mentioned it to his brother not too long ago before he was killed, he then sorted out the remnants of the old man’s belongings, but there was no such thing.”
The older brother doesn’t want money, and the younger brother doesn’t want his life! Lei Lei was wondering: “What exactly is the use of the longevity nut?”
[T/N: Similarly, the MC is making another wordplay on the name. Bu Yao Ming (卜耀明) is read with the intonations bǔ yào míng which is similar to “不要命 (bù yào mìng)” which means don’t want his life.]
Wang Cong had a thought came to his mind: “A person who lives for a hundred years, will inevitably die, it is said that the longevity nut is very peculiar, if you are over seventy, eating it can let you be born again, and you’ll have another hundred years in your life span.”
“Really?” Shocked.
“Old Mister Bu is known as a medical nerd, painstakingly studied medical skills all his life, so what he said can never be false.”
Longevity, an emperor’s dream since ancient times, being able to live a century longer than others, an enticement like this is perhaps hard for anyone to resist, Lei Lei finally understood, as to why everyone is willing to spend a large sum of money to purchase its whereabouts: “The longevity nut must have been stolen by the murderer.”
Wang Cong said: “Not just yourself, everyone thought so too, Old Mister Bu’s martial arts skills are not too bad, yet he died by a normal outsider’s palm move, it can only be someone he absolutely trusted and made the attack when he was defenseless, coincidentally there were only three people who went to see him that night, they are Dong Shan Sect’s Sect Leader Yan Wen Dao, Xi Sha Sect’s Sect Leader Wen Ting, and Nan Hai Sect’s Sect Leader Leng Ying.”
Dong Shan, Xi Sha, Nan Hai, just look at these names, Lei Lei became more suspicious of the intelligence of that person from the R&D department: “In this case, they are most likely to be the murderers.”
Wang Cong nodded: “All three were best friends with Old Mister Bu, and have good reputation in the martial arts world, Old Mister Bu is very honest, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he told them about the longevity nut.”
Lei Lei said: “A treasure like that, would surely ignite the greed in them.”
Wang Cong said: “Exactly, Old Mister Bu only died half a month ago, then there was news coming from the Nan Hai Sect’s territory saying the longevity nut is with the Leng Family, and just so happens that Sect Leader Leng Leng Ying was also the last person to see Old Mister Bu, and so it seems, the suspicions naturally fell onto him.”
Lei Lei quickly added: “So who was the one to spread the news?”
Wang Cong sighed: “It was a servant of the Leng Family, not just that, when they finally found the servant wanting to confront him, he was nailed to death alive with a sword pierced into his heart, everyone knew it was Sect Leader Leng who silenced him, Sect Leader Leng can no longer prove his innocence.”
Lei Lei suddenly said: “Since the longevity nut is that great, why didn’t Old Mister Bu eat it himself?”
Wang Cong laughed: “What you don’t know is, the longevity nut may be great, but if a person before the age of seventy consumes it, it only strengthens the person’s body, no other benefits, Old Mister Bu was even sixty yet.”
So that was the case, Lei Lei thought for a moment, and said: “It’s highly possible that Sect Leader Leng was framed, he might have been the last person to see Old Mister Bu that night, but someone else could have waited for him to leave and committed the murder, stole the longevity nut, then spread the news about the longevity nut being with the Leng Family, easily done by bribing a servant, afterwards killing that servant, to frame Sect Leader Leng.”
Everyone said: “Who doesn’t understand this reasoning!”
.
Wang Cong laughed: “Leader He is wise, he had long found this matter strange, so he naturally would not rashly convict Sect Leader Leng, who knew that another huge matter would pop up afterwards.”
Lei Lei asked quickly: “What?”
Wang Cong said: “The three big sects had a good relationship all along, but ever since this incident, they started suspecting each other, hence the three sect leaders met up in private at Hua Mountain Peak, to clarify things once and for all.”
People in the martial arts world place a lot of emphasis on loyalty, Lei Lei sighed on the inside: “Then?”
Wang Cong said: “That day the three sects had their disciples waiting at the foot of the mountain, however only two sect leaders descended, Nan Hai Sect’s Sect Leader Leng Ying was nowhere to be seen, so Nan Hai Sect’s disciples went up the mountain to investigate, only to find him dead on the mountain path, killed by Xi Sha Sect’s unique palm force.
Lei Lei immediately recalled the purplish black handprint on the beautiful male back at the guest house: “Leng Ying’s martial arts skills are not as good as Sect Leader Wen’s?
Wang Cong said: “Of course not, but on that same mountain was Dong Shan Sect’s Sect Leader Yan, if he joined hands with Sect Leader Wen, it won’t be hard for them to kill Sect Leader Leng.”
Lei Lei said: “They will definitely deny that now.”
“Exactly!” Wang Cong clapped his hands, “Now that Sect Leader Yan has repeatedly clarified himself, saying at that time the three only had a verbal dispute, in the spite of a moment Sect Leader Leng left first, the two of them had no choice but to go down the mountain, but Sect Leader Wen lagged behind; his words held doubt towards Sect Leader Wen, yet Sect Leader Wen is denying till the end, but the wound on Sect Leader Leng remained, very clearly showing it was Xi Sha Sect’s palm force, Nan Hai Sect’s new sect leader Leng Sheng Yin wanted to take revenge for his father, luckily he was stopped by Leader He, hatred most likely formed between Nan Hai Sect and Xi Sha Sect.”
Originally the plan was to investigate the death of Old Mister “Don’t Want Money” and the whereabouts of the longevity nut, yet such a thing happened, and so now an investigation into former Sect Leader Leng’s death is also required, no wonder Leader He Tai Ping is so busy!
Lei Lei recalled the young man’s words, and felt suspicious: “Knowing very well that killing Sect Leader Leng would invite trouble, why would Sect Leader Wen use a skill unique to the sect, could he have been framed? Like the demonic cult perhaps?”
Wang Cong shook his head: “Xi Sha Sect’s palm force follows the tough route, the core teaching is unique, and cannot be easily imitated, besides to make a person suffer from internal organ injuries yet keep the bones intact, to have trained till such a level, there is only Wen Ting.”
Could it really be Wen Ting? Of course he would not admit to such a thing, Nan Hai Sect’s leader died innocently, how would Leader He deal with the killer, everyone knows clearly, humans are all afraid of death.
Lei Lei secretly thought, and asked casually: “There’s Dong Shan Xi Sha Nan Hai, why is there no Bei?”
[T/N: Dong in Dong Shan (东山 dōng shān) means East; Xi in Xi Sha (西沙 xī shā) means West; Nan in Nan Hai (南海 nán hǎi) means South; so the MC is asking why is there no North.]
Everyone despised her.
“Our Bai Sheng Shan Manor has the reputation of being a martial arts big dipper, with this Xiao Xiao Feng Ming Dao, the demonic cult would not dare to create trouble, allowing for peace in the martial arts world.”
[T/N: Big Dipper here was translated from the chinese term 北斗 (běi dǒu), which 北 when standalone means North.]
“Even the three big sects have to make way, let alone the smaller gangs and sects.”
“You don’t even know this!”
……
As of now, Lei Lei finally fully understood the position of the Xiao Xiao Feng Ming Dao, admiring it in her heart, and started to inquire about another important matter: “Then what is the issue with Qian Yue Cave?”
Everyone turned pale.
.
Lei Lei nudged Wang Cong: “Say it.”
Wang Cong looked left and right, and said softly: “Would have to start with the demonic cult back then, a hundred year ago the demonic cult’s Cult Leader Nan Xing He went on a rampage, Leader Wu gathered various sects to eradicate him, and he died under Xiao Family’s ancestor Xiao Min’s Feng Ming Dao, so after Nan Xing He’s death, the demonic cult was in ruins, so it split into two sects, Qian Yue Cave and Chuan Qi Valley.”
Lei Lei said: “Chuan Qi Valley?”
Someone snorted coldly: “Chuan Qi Valley’s Valley Master Fu Lou is vicious, not only did he abandon the justice route and turned to the demonic cult, he even murdered his teacher, and forcefully married his wife.”
Wang Cong said: “That aside, Qian Yue Cave’s Cave Master Shang Guan Qiu Yue is even more scheming, Old Master never kills women, so he purposely sent his sirens, and poisoned Old Master to death, hence ‘Qian Yue Cave’ these three words, you can never mention them in front of Caretaker Zhao.”
Using an upright method to deal with the demonic cult, surely would be taken advantage of, Lei Lei was not surprised, thinking that she could possibly be related to that devil Shang Guan Qiu Yue, she dared not continue this topic, and shook her head: “The three big sects were well, but ended up in such a state because of a longevity nut.”
Everyone sighed as well.
Wang Cong said: “Even now there are many people who would go to all lengths to find out its whereabouts, and I heard that the longevity nut fell into the hands of a mysterious person, there would be an auction in a few days!”
Everyone was shocked: “Really?”
“Definitely!”
“Looks like Sect Leader Leng was wronged.”
“Exactly.”
“……”
Everyone kept asking questions, but Lei Lei already knew of this, so she was not interested, and got up to leave, that person is selling this information as ten thousand taels, the longevity nut auction is on the night of New Year’s Day in Bi Shui City, today is only the beginning of August, still a long way to go.
.
At night, the moon hung high, the floor of the court was white, and it was completely silent. Unknowingly ten days have passed, everything was as per usual in the manor, as tomorrow would be the Mid Autumn Festival, everyone in the manor was getting ready for the festival, working non stop in the day, so they would be tired by night and get into bed early.
As planned, Lei Lei quietly sneaked out of her room.
The manor was built on mountain terrains, in a corner behind the manor was a hot spring.
The pool was not considered big, its surface is steaming, spring water gushes out from the grounds, then gets flushed away by the long canal, ensuring the cleanliness of the pool of water; there were many pebbles of uniform size on the bottom of the pool, obviously placed by someone on purpose, but Lei Lei could not care less, this place was originally extremely hidden, with a few tall rocks blocking, plus it was not night time, she was not worried that she would be seen by someone.
After hanging the lantern, and removing her clothes, Lei Lei carefully slid into the water along the sloping stone surface, feeling relaxed immediately.
These days she got used to staying here, the only disadvantage was that the weather is getting colder, making it less convenient to take a bath, luckily she was free to wander around, and found this good place by chance.
This body should be an adult, it is well developed, has creamy skin, colder than snow, and when soaked in the warm spring water, the attractive pink lustre becomes more obvious, Lei Lei drooled over herself, she was getting more comfortable, and slowly began to feel drowsy.
But at this moment, the sound of footsteps was getting close.
Lei Lei alertly opened her eyes, before she could react, she heard a cold voice: “Who is there!”
The tone was unfriendly, her originally drowsy mind became awake, and straightened up subconsciously, only to find the young man standing calmly on the back of the pool.
.
Lei Lei was both awkward and surprised: “It’s late, why are you here?”
The young man did not answer, in this half a month or so, his self-cultivation constantly gets challenged, most of the time it’s not nice to keep lashing out at her, but suppressing for too long, makes his anger at the moment soar to the top, because this woman always touches his limits intentionally and unintentionally.
Lei Lei quickly understood, and kept nodding her head: “At once, I will let you right away.”
The young man clenched his teeth: “You, get up!”
Hey, having seen a lady taking a bath, his reaction could be this calm, the men here are very open, or is it this scene that is lacking in shock and seduction? Lei Lei looked down at herself, then looked back up at him, winking embarrassedly: “This…...is not such a good idea?”
The young man turned a blind eye: “Are you not getting up!”
Lei Lei felt defeated, and helpless:” Okay okay, I’ll get up, but shouldn’t you first……”
Seeing her dillydallying, the young man finally couldn’t help but raise his voice: “Get up!”
Lei Lei was speechless.
Turns out the young man has an obsession with cleanliness, seeing his personal pool being used by others, how could he not be annoyed, but he did not consider the consequence of his order.
Lei Lei was slightly troubled, there was no sign on the top that wrote whose personal pool this is, how would I know it was yours, you came over for no reason and saw a lady exposed, but you actually forced her to get out of the water in front of you? Pfft, if you really want me to get up, doesn’t matter to me, this body is not mine anyway, just afraid that big brother you cannot take it!
Thinking of “Xiao Bai’s” blushing face, she raised her face maliciously, and raised her eyebrows at him: “Fine fine, I’ll get up! I’ll get up!”
After that, she really stood up from the water slowly.
Her jade-like neck.
Her scented shoulders.
Her chest!
A beauty coming out from the bath, the spring scenery slowly revealing in front of his eyes, the young man finally realised that something was off, his handsome face turned red, and quickly looked away, then regained his composure: “No need…...you…...get down!”
Lei Lei was quite pleased, and asked on purpose: “No need to get up?”
“……”
The young man was at a loss, in his impression, only sirens of Qian Yue Cave are capable of such behaviour, and when facing them, he did not have to hold back, usually killing in one move, but this lady had no malicious intent, he just could not figure it out, which decent lady would have such thick skin, to think she’d tease a man!
Lei Lei knew that she should not go overboard, and resubmerged herself, splashing the water: “Alright alright, wait outside first, and I will make way.”
Who needed her to remind him, the young man had already turned around with the intention to leave, who knew that from the corner of his eye, he froze on the spot, first was an expression of surprise, then he looked at her pensively.
Seeing how bold he became, Lei Lei felt strange.
After a long while, the young man was still staring right at her, his expression getting complicated.
That line of vision seemed to stop below her neck…...Lei Lei was on guard, and immediately coughed, hugging her chest she lowered herself deeper into the water; could it be, “Xiao Bai” really became a pervert?
The spring scenery was gone, the young man returned to normal, and realised that his actions earlier were too rude, his face was red as he tried to explain: “Actually…...not……”
Playing is playing after all, although Lei Lei has a good mentality, and held out on this situation, but having been seen by him for so long, her heart couldn’t help but beat faster, looking at him innocently——do you think this is a good time to explain?
Realising that he was making matters worse, the young man said no more, then he turned around and left.
The sound of his footsteps disappeared.
He is gone? Lei Lei probed: “Hey, Xiao Bai?”
After a long while, words floated from behind the rock: “Are you still not getting up.”
.
A beauty in a bath accidentally runs into a man, this scenario is so contrived, getting more and more shocking! Lei Lei sensibly, got up ashore and wore her clothes, picking up the lantern and went around the rock, only to find the young man standing silently in the moonlight, out of habit maintaining an upright, and complete posture, free and detached, like as if in a painting, a little lonely, but no decadence.
This is as relaxed as his standing posture could get, poise! Maintaining demeanor anytime and anywhere, how much training must one go through to achieve this, no wonder he would develop a rigid personality.
Lei Lei could never learn such deportment in this lifetime, secretly envious, she walked up to him and pushed him hard.
The young man did not budge, he only looked at her questioningly.
Lei Lei pushed again.
The young man couldn’t help but ask: “What are you doing?”
Lei Lei gave up, trying to hold in her laughter: “Your stance is too upright, I’m trying to see if I can make you fall.” Purposely emphasising on the three words “make you fall”.
Under light, the young man’s face turned red again after much difficulty in restoring it back to normal, then he walked away without a word.
Lei Lei got addicted to the teasing game, feeling largely pleased, she chased after him: “Hey, are you not going in for a bath anymore?”
“……”
“Xiao Bai Xiao Bai?”
“……”
Obviously a shy young man, why was he acting all mature, Lei Lei enthusiastically teased him, and almost ordered him to “give this lady a smile”; the young man turned on deaf ears, and dully walked straight ahead, Xiao Xiao Feng Ming Dao is so renowned, meeting a girl that he likes and respects is not surprising, but who would dare to make fun of him like this!
Finally, he stopped: “We’re here.”
Lei Lei then realised that she was already standing in front of the door to her room, suddenly feeling regretful: “That’s fast!”
The edge of the young man’s mouth twitched.
With a beautiful male by her side, Lei Lei had no intention of sleeping, so she tried to come up with a topic: “Mid Autumn Festival is here, the moon sure is full……” Suddenly mentioning the moon and stars to this person seemed like a stupid thing to do, she immediately stopped herself, disappointedly she said: “Then I’ll go to bed first.”
She turned around, almost entering the room.
The young man suddenly called her: “You……”
Lei Lei had one foot past the door, upon hearing the beautiful male speak, she retracted her foot: “What is it?”
The young man hesitated for a long while, then he said: “Why did you want to……” Then he stopped.
Lei Lei felt strange: “Want what?”
The young man did not answer, he looked at her for some time, and suddenly asked: “You really lost your memory?”
Aiyo, could it be that “Xiao Bai” has started to suspect that she was spinning lies in order to freeload? Lei Lei was on alert, as she showed sincerity that even she herself could not believe: “Really, I did not lie to you, I don’t even know who I am, Lei Lei is a name that I casually mentioned, once my identity is known, I will leave immediately.”
There was more hesitation on his handsome face, then he looked away quickly: “Not an issue, please stay here with a peace of mind.” He paused then continued: “Don’t go out alone at night anymore.”
He did not look at her again after finishing his words, and then he left.
It was rare that “Xiao Bai” expressed concern, Lei Lei felt complacent, watched his back view disappear, then as she was about to return to her room to rest, the back of her head went cold suddenly, following her vision started to blur.
Unsure of how many pairs of hands were holding onto her, and there was even a male’s voice from the side of her ear: “Quick!”
She slowly lost consciousness, just before she blacked out completely, Lei Lei’s last thought was——what the, she casually fabricated a story about being hunted, and now she really became a target!
T/N: You may or may not have noticed, that a lot of commas are being used. We try to stick to the original novel's punctuations hoping to preserve the original author's style. But it was getting a bit too excessive in one sentence by English standards so in the recent two chapters or so, including this one, we have switched some commas to semi colons to indicate if there is a switch from inner thoughts to third person or vice versa. We also wanted to follow the original novel's punctuations so that if anybody who knows English and wants to learn Chinese, or the way around, can easily compare the translated parts to the original. Please continue to bear with us as we try to come up with a much better way to translate the novel without losing the essence in the original content. But changes, if any, will be subtle and will not affect the meanings. Thank you!