《Bat》


 CH 1

    The depth of winter, sunset.


    The only customer had been sitting by the fire, rubbing his hands together with his head down.


    The weather was cold, there were not many people who were willing to set foot outside. There would probably be no customers today.


    *da, da, da, da*¡­Just at this moment, the sound of horse hooves clattering on the floor floated in the air.


    ¡°Ahhh£¡Customers are coming!¡± The waiter returned to his senses.


    Li lao-ban leaned his neck out to look outside.


    A fast horse was galloping in the wind. Two people were riding on two separate horses, one in front and one following behind, and as expected they actually stopped in front of the restaurant. There was a girl who had a face that had been reddened by the cold whilst riding on top of the horse, who asked candidly: ¡°Hey, how do we get to the Bai family manor?¡±


    ¡°Gu-niang, are you going to Bai Manor to offer Bai laoye birthday wishes?¡±


    ¡°Yes, which way do we need to go?¡±


    ¡°Turn left up ahead, and then go forward for another three li2 and you will be on the Bai family land, and you¡¯ll be able to see the Bai Manor courtyard.¡±


    ¡°What! We still need to ride for another half a shichen? How lavish are the Bai family!¡±


    She turned her head towards the young man behind her and smiled: ¡°Shixiong, don¡¯t you agree?¡±


    Zhou Rouwen smiled.


    He had just turned twenty this year, he had an upright demeanor about him that made people feel calm. He was the most outstanding disciple of the Huashan Sect, as well as the only worthy candidate that his shifu would betroth his beloved daughter to. He looked at Fang Nihong, his shimei and the person who his shifu and shimu had tacitly betrothed to him and said: ¡°Shimei, the Bai family are the most prestigious families amongst the largest four families in Jianghu. We have come specifically to offer birthday wishes, I think it would be better to speak more respectfully.¡±


    ¡°Pfff, amongst the Feng, Bai, Sima and Xu families, Bai family has not produced a single worthy individual in the last few years, in terms of influence upon Jianghu, the Bai family would be considered coming last.¡±


    Zhou Rouwen sighed as he shook his head: ¡°Shimei¡­.¡±


    ¡°This is what my father told me.¡± Fang Nihong stuck out her tongue and then smiled sweetly at Zhou Rouwen: ¡°Shixiong, I can be discreet, I definitely won¡¯t talk like this in front of Bai lao-taiye.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, let¡¯s go! It¡¯s Bai Qianbei¡¯s 50th birthday, most of other¡¯s from Wulin have already arrived two days ago. Tomorrow is his birthday, and we only managed to arrive today, it may already be a little disrespectful.¡±


    ¡°What are you afraid of? It¡¯s not like we¡¯re late. Is it a crime to not come early to offer birthday wishes?¡± Fang Nihong replied, fished out some loose silver and threw it to Li lao-ban, then whipped the horse to advance, facing in front towards the road, when they heard a stranger¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Could I ask the two of you to wait a moment.¡±


    Just with a few words from this gentle male voice was enough to penetrate into the minds of these two people upon their horses. The tone and rhythm of his voice seemed to make the cold and stagnant air rise up with it, making the two people instantly turn their heads back.


    The only customer in the restaurant, who was sitting quietly by the fire, was suddenly standing at the restaurant entrance.


    Black robes, black hair, thick black felt shoes, he was dressed like an ordinary scholar?


    ¡°Yes?¡± Fang Nihong asked, her gaze fell upon a pair of shockingly beautiful eyes, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.


    That pair of eyes were unbelievably beautiful, unbelievably calming and even unbelievably deep. Just from one look, one would feel like one had innumerable words to say but at the same time, these words were stuck in one¡¯s throat, unable to be fully expressed.


    After the second glance, she realised that he shouldn¡¯t only be called ¡°beautiful¡± ¡ª- It turned out actually to be a good-looking man who was standing at the entrance of the restaurant, plus he was better looking than all the men she had ever seen in her life.


    Impressive eyebrows, straight nose, a gentle smile that made people gasp from astonishment.


    ¡°Excuse me, gongzi, but why have you asked us to wait?¡± the usually coarse and loud Fang Nihong, was suddenly soft and refined.


    The warm smile spread a little wider, the man in black cupped his hands together: ¡°Are gu-niang and gongzi headed to Bai Manor?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Zhou Rouwen answered: ¡°We are going to offer birthday wishes to Bai Qianbei, in place of our shifu.¡±


    All the way they galloped quickly, Fang Nihong was constantly looking back at her shixiong¡¯s horse which was carrying Bai Shaoqing, her heart beating mercilessly. By the time they dismounted at Bai family manor, her face had flushed red.


    Bai Shaoqing jumped unsteadily from the horse to the ground: ¡°Thank you Zhou-xiong.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing at all.¡± Zhou Rouwen cupped his hands together and then smiled, he turned around to see the famous Bai family manor.


    Amongst the four great families in Jianghu, the Bai family were the wealthiest. Not to mention their land that stretched out for hundreds of li4, just looking at this building on the shore of Luoxi Lake, as well as the two real gold solid rings on the front door and the stone lions that had precious stones for eyes, already told the full story.


    The servant of the Bai family who was in charge of welcoming guests quickly came to the door ¡°Ah! Esteemed guests have arrived, gongzi and xiaojie. Could you tell me your names? I¡¯d like to report to laoye.¡± He said with a smile, as if he was unaware of Bai Shaoqing who was beside them.


    ¡°I am Huashan Sect¡¯s, Zhou Rouwen. My shifu is not well, so he is unable to come personally. He sent my shimei and I to come and send well wishes in his place.¡±


    The servant was courteous and well-trained, ¡°So it¡¯s the heroes of the Huashan Sect, come in, come in. The rooms for Huashan Sect are ready. He smiled at the two and turned to lead the way.


    ¡°How about you?¡± Fang Nihong was unwilling to move forward and instead turned to ask.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s graceful and proper lips raised slightly, ¡°I will first go and greet my mother, Fang gu-niang take care of yourself.¡±


    Seeing Bai Shaoqing turn around seemingly without any tenderness, Fang Nihong suddenly pursed her lips, ¡°Wait, I¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Fang gu-niang is here to offer birthday wishes, and I imagine you will stay here for a few days right?¡± Bai Shaoqing stopped walking, from the back he looked tall and calm: ¡°Well, I¡­.. I will definitely come to see you, and thank you for your previous kindness.¡±


    Fang Nihong finally smiled, she said with timid delight: ¡°Really?¡± She looked up to see the back of Bai Shaoqing, and couldn¡¯t resist asking: ¡°How are you going to thank me?¡±


    ¡°I will treat you to a meal, how¡¯s that?¡± His tone was a little mocking, but not too frivolous.


    Bai Shaoqing then quickly left, his gentle laugh still ringing in Fang Nihong¡¯s ears.


    Zhou Rouwen turned around and discovered that she was still standing in the same spot: ¡°Shimei, why aren¡¯t you coming?¡± Gazing over at her, he already knew the answer but still asked: ¡°The Bai family¡¯s san-shaoye, has he left already?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he said he¡¯s going to see his mother,¡± said Fang Nihong with some disappointment.


    ¡±Let¡¯s go. There¡¯s someone waiting to show us to our rooms to rest! Bai Qianbei is busy today, we will offer our well-wishes tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    Zhou Rouwen looked at his delirious shimei, the corner of his mouth turned up into a smile, ¡°Shimei, come, I want to tell you something.¡±


    Fang Nihong threw a pebble into the lake which scared off a school of red and white koi carp, she looked up, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°That Bai Shaoqing, it would be better if we keep our distance from him.¡±


    Fang Nihong was stunned: ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°His¡­.. his family background is not good.¡±


    ¡°How can that be, he¡¯s a young master of the Bai family?¡± Fang Nihong was shocked.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard of the rumours in Wulin?¡± Zhou Rouwen sat on top of the handrail of the walkway, and hiked up his sleeves: ¡°Come, shixiong will tell you about it.¡±


    ¡°Well go on then.¡±


    ¡°The current patriarch of the Bai family, Bai Moran¡­.. Who is the Bai laoye that we are here to offer birthday wishes to, well, the love story between him and Bai fu-ren, who was considered the number one beauty of Wulin back in the day, Song Xiangli, is actually a really moving story.


    Fang Nihong looked deflated as she waved her hand and said: ¡°Boring, I thought it was going to be a new story! My father has already told me this story. Back then, Bai Moran had been ambushed by his enemy, Song Xiangli saved his life, she got her leg broken, and her beautiful face destroyed. Bai Moran swore to the heavens on his sickbed that he would never ever betray her, and he even married her, after several decades, he has treated her with much love and respect, and he¡¯s even known as the number one husband in Wulin.


    ¡°Ohhh! So I guess you know everything then?¡± Zhou Rouwen waved his hands, ¡°Well let me ask you then, who is Bai Shaoqing¡¯s mother, do you know?¡±


    ¡°Well ¡­¡­ so it¡¯s not Song Xiangli?¡±


    ¡°So? You don¡¯t know, right?¡± Zhou Rouwen nodded and said: ¡°In fact, it isn¡¯t. In Jianghu, everyone knows that Bai fu-ren only has two sons, the eldest is Bai Shaoxin, the second is Bai Shaoli. This third son, his mother, is a blind woman who lived in Shen Mountain.


    Fang Nihong frowned: ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean Bai Moran is actually a heartless rat?¡±


    ¡°No, we can¡¯t say that.¡± Zhou Rouwen shook his head slowly, ¡°After Song Xiangli gave birth to her two sons, a few years later, Bai Moran was ambushed again, he was thrown down a cliff and nearly fed to the tigers, but he was saved by a blind girl who lived on Shen Mountain. The two of them were alone, with just each other for company day in and day out, with nothing to do. Anyway, by the time the Bai family found Bai Moran, that girl was already pregnant.


    ¡°Ahh! That must have made Song Xiangli so mad.¡±


    ¡°Not only that, I heard Shifu say¡­..¡± Zhou Mouran lowered his voice, and leaned closer to whisper in her ear: ¡°Song Xiangli was inconsolable and heartbroken, and even tried to commit suicide several times but was stopped by servants. Back then, the Bai family¡¯s lao taiye was still alive, he was unwilling to let an offspring of the Bai family be left to live outside, Bai Moran was aggrieved for his beloved wife but he also had to think about his own reputation. In the end, the situation came to blows and Song Xiangli was made to allow the third son to live in Bai Manor with them, and take him in as one of her own. Even the blind girl who had saved his life was taken in to live at the Manor, under the pretense that she was a distant relative, and that was how the situation was resolved.


    He took a deep breathe in after saying all that and then continued: ¡°So, Bai Shaoqing is not well regarded in the Bai family, everyone is well aware that he is the b*stard son. Did you not see the way the servant reacted to him before? Plus, when he got on the horse, he was not particularly steady, it seems that Bai laoye has not passed on the family¡¯s martial arts to him. Shimei, we are not at home, we mustn¡¯t poke at the family¡¯s sore spot.¡±


    Fang Nihong had just undone her braids and was combing her hair, when she heard Zhou Rouwen say this, she tied up her hair again into a casual bun, and snorted: ¡°What do you mean poke their sore spot? Even if Bai Shaoqing isn¡¯t Bai fu-ren¡¯s son, he is still a member of the Bai family, so why can¡¯t I talk to him? Humph, I still want him to treat me to a meal!¡± Thinking about the rudeness of others towards Bai Shaoqing, her heart felt some sorrow, and she turned towards Zhou Rouwen to say: ¡±Shixiong, you wouldn¡¯t be that self-interested right? If you can¡¯t be friends with him just for this, then I won¡¯t talk to you ever again!¡± After she finished speaking, she suddenly stood up.


    No one knew, mysteriously and inexorably, once the string of fate has been tied ¡ª it¡¯s hard to remove.


    In the depths of Bai Manor, the cold winter seemed even colder.


    The sun had passed, and this corner, where not many people wanted to come, was even colder and lonelier than the others. A few servants who were cleaning the flower garden looked up at the figure walking in front of them, and their eyes flashed with a hint of admiration and regret.


    Graceful, calm, handsome¡­.. San gongzi.


    All the admiration and regret went away in a flash, the servant quickly remembered himself and his identity, immediately bowed his head deeply and concentrated on his own errand up.


    Counting from the entrance of the manor, this was the 112th time.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s gaze remained unmoving, and he gently looked at the house in front of him that was so small that it shouldn¡¯t have appeared withinin the wealthy Bai Manor, his lips turned into a sneer.


    The one hundred and twelfth servant who knew his existence, but regarded him as non-existent.


    San-gongzi does not exist ¨C this had become the default rule of the Bai family. Bai Shaoqing remembered that the few servants who used come by the window calling him out to play together had been ruthlessly driven out of the Bai family.


    With a slender finger, he rubbed the familiar yet unfamiliar door for a while, and Bai Shaoqing sighed.


    The sun retired as the stars shifted5, the leaves on the trees had long fallen, it had been another year.


    Pushing open the creaky wooden door, there was a lonely figure sitting by the window in the house.


    Bai Shaoqing pondered. If he stayed, it would only annoy others and cause trouble for his mother.


    He raised his head and wanted to sigh loudly, but suddenly remembered that his mother was still asleep and swallowed the sigh hurriedly.


    The sky was bright outside the window. He had put a little calming medicine in the tea last night, he didn¡¯t want his mother to see him leave.


    Once gone, I am afraid it will be another year.


    The wooden door creaked open once more and the sun poured in. Bai Shaoqing regained his former indifference and stepped out of the house.


    The main hall of the Bai Manor was far away from here. Bai Shaoqing walked slowly. On the way, he kept bumping into happy and excited guests who had come for the birthday celebration, their eyes full of surprise and admiration were also mixed with jealousy, from his face to his slender neck, it was simply more slender and graceful than a lady¡¯s.


    ¡°Bai gongzi!¡± A clear shout came from behind, and a figure dressed in pink rushed over, ¡°Bai gongzi, are you going to wish Bai laoye birthday wishes?¡± Seeing Bai Shaoqing nod very slightly, Fang Nihong laughed, ¡°Shixiong and I wanted to ask you to lead the way. Shixiong, hurry up!¡± The excited tender face turned around, and shouted at Zhou Ruowen who was deliberately dawdling.


    ¡°Hmmm, okay.¡± Zhou Ruowen sighed secretly, and had no choice but to walk forward and smile to Bai Shaoqing: ¡°Bai-xiong is up early.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t smile, but there was an unconcealable smile in his eyes, ¡°It¡¯s not early.¡±


    Anyone who saw such a friendly gaze could not help but feel warmed.


    Together, the three of them went on their way.


    Before arriving at the main hall, the music was already wafting into their ears. It wasn¡¯t necessary to go inside to know how lively and bustling it was.


    Fang Nihong tutted: ¡°There are so many guests.¡±


    ¡°Bai laoye is well known in Jianghu, so on his birthday, there are certainly many people who admire him and have come to offer him well wishes.¡± Zhou Ruowen looked at Bai Shaoqing beside him and made a point of praising the Bai family.


    Bai Shaoqing glanced at Zhou Ruowen and chuckled, ¡°Brother Zhou-xiong travelled a long journey to wish my father birthday wishes, I, Shaoqing, am incredibly grateful.¡±


    ¡°No need, no need.¡±


    The sound of suona, gongs and drums, the sound of guests exchanging pleasantries, the footsteps of servants moving from place to place, and the sound of the opera troupe outside the hall preparing for the birthday dedication, became deafening the closer they got.


    It was a lively birthday celebration, and could probably be considered as one of the biggest joyous events for Wulin this year.


    Just as the three of them were about to step into the main hall, it went silent.


    The sound of suona stopped, the sound of gongs and drums stopped, and the talking voices stopped, there was not even the sound of footsteps or coughing.


    A complete and sudden silence.


    Zhou Ruowen and Fang Nihong looked at each other, unable to comprehend. Both wanted to ask questions at the same time, but before they opened their mouths, they heard a surprised Hong Zhong laugh: ¡°Please! Please come in!¡±


    As if these words unlocked the silent spell, all kinds of lively sounds suddenly could be heard again, and the servants were noisier than they were before.


    There were hundreds of guests in this main hall, tall, short, fat and thin, from all walks of life, but all of a sudden a red-faced Bai laoye suddenly came out.


    ¡°Who is such an outstanding person to even make the master of the manor come out and greet personally him in person?¡±


    Zhou Ruowen lowered his head and pondered, and the corners of his lips raised slightly: ¡°To have such an imposing manner, there is only one person in Jianghu¡ª Feng Long.¡±


    ¡°The Feng family¡¯s eldest son?¡± Fang Nihong quietly glanced at the silent Bai Shaoqing, and said disdainfully: ¡°Obviously relying on his family¡¯s reputation to put on a show, I despise these kinds of men the most.¡±


    Whilst they were talking, the sound of people¡¯s voices began to rise again, the so-called man that Fang Nihong despised had been welcomed in by a crowd of people.


    Green robes, blue sash, Bilu6 sword ¡ª¡ª Feng Long.


    He had pitch-black hair, sparkling eyes and his slender and powerful hands were lightly pressed on the hilt of that famous Bilu Sword.


    Fang Nihong had just been cursing his name for being unsophiscated, as well as cursing him for being too arrogant; but now, she couldn¡¯t utter another word.


    If he couldn¡¯t use the word ¡°Long7¡± then no one else was worthy either. If he wasn¡¯t arrogant, who else could qualified to be arrogant?


    Splendid and understated, the famous weapon had been hidden, but it was impossible to hide the beauty of someone so outstanding.


    ¡°It¡¯s only my birthday, how could I dare to be granted with the presence of Feng da-gongzi?¡± Bai laoye was glowing and brimming with smiles.


    ¡°The Feng, Bai, Sima, and Xu families have long had a good relationship from generation to generation, as it¡¯s uncle¡¯s birthday8, as your nephew, I should come personally to give you well wishes on your birthday.¡±


    That being said, out of the Feng, Bai, Sima and Xu families, which family had produced such outstanding talent. There was only the Feng family, in just a few years, with the Bilu sword in hand, he had become a legend in Jianghu.


    The two Bai family sons thriving with heroic spirit were standing behind their father, when they looked at Feng Long with envy and jealousy.


    Feng Long glanced around the hall, then slowly sat down, he took the fragrant tea respectfully served by the maidservant and took a small sip, every action was impeccably perfect in every respect.


    What a blessing for the Feng family to have a son like this.


    Translator Note:


    Hmmmmmm¡­. I couldn¡¯t sleep and kind of translated this first chapter on a whim. I have never read this novel ¨C and literally just started, out of pure curiosity because I¡¯m also reading the Taizi manhua atm that is based on another book by the same author.


    Oh, and I have a thing for Mao Yijun ? Can¡¯t wait for the live-action!


    P.S This definitely NOT an official pick-up. Alright alright ¨C I¡¯m going to do it.

 CH 2

    Feng Long had long been regarded as the number one martial artist in Wulin by his fellow martial peers since he killed the Monster of Tiannan1 Mountain who had been terrorising Jianghu for thirty years with one strike of his sword. He was young, deeply resourceful, had fine elegance and excellent martial art skills, and he was praised by all without exception. But what had made Feng Long, who was known for not often making appearances in public, suddenly come out to the Bai Family¡¯s birthday celebration?


    ¡°You¡¯re too courteous, thank you.¡±


    ¡°This painting of the Heavenly Lake and Swooping Swallows is a treasure that came out from the Royal Palace. Bai laoye-zi please take a look, does it please you?¡±


    The hall was full of noise, and everyone¡¯s gifts were piled up like a mountain. It¡¯s no wonder that although the Bai family had no outstanding descendants, in Jianghu, they still held a certain status, and they could also be counted as the wealthiest family in Wulin.


    ¡°*Qiang, Qiang*¡­¡± The gongs and drums changed suddenly, before the sound of crisp bells rang successively.


    Behind the bead curtains, the two maids advanced forward and brought out a noble lady in brocade robes.


    Her head ornament was impressive and colourful, she was wearing a gold-threaded brocade robe, she was both poised and luxurious, it was a pity that there was an obvious scar on her face, which had ruined this outstanding beauty¡¯s appearance.


    Song Xiangli upheld her position as the matriarch of the household, smiling at the guests: ¡°Our Bai family is extremely grateful for all of your generous hospitality. I invite you all to enjoy yourselves, today.¡± She is not afraid of others¡¯ eyes falling on her mutilated face. This scar represented her eternal favour to the Bai family; it was a sort of medal to her.


    On the other side, Bai Moran had already personally got up from his seat, and went to carefully support his beloved wife.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you are tired? I am able to take care of the guests along with Shaoli and Shaoxin, why did you come out in person?¡±


    ¡°Today is your birthday, I cannot be idle.¡±


    After exchanging greetings with the guests in the hall, Song Xiangli¡¯s eyes fell upon Feng Long. Without waiting for Bai Moran¡¯s introduction, she gently opened his lips, ¡°The eldest son of the Feng family?¡±


    ¡°It is indeed I, your nephew2, greetings fu-ren.¡±


    Although her appearance had been ruined, her commanding demeanor had not disappeared. Song Xiangli nodded and praised: ¡°Feng gongzi is too kind.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your praise, fu-ren.¡±


    Then, after the guests had all offered their birthday well wishes, next, it was the turn of the Bai family¡¯s children and disciples to offer their well wishes.


    Bai Shaoli and Bai Shaoxin led a group of Bai family disciples and knelt down in a line.


    ¡°This child wishes mother and father¡¯s happiness to be as great as the East Sea3 and to live as long as the Zhongnan Mountains4!¡±


    The Bai family naturally were accustomed to wearing white5.


    Looking down at those dressed in snow-white robes, all his sons and nephews had grown up to become outstanding individuals, Bai Moran laughed aloud successively, stroking his beard whilst smiling and looking at his wife.


    That smile suddenly stopped.


    Although Song Xiangli was smiling, it was not a natural smile. Bai Moran had been with her for decades, and he could naturally tell, his eyes immediately followed her gaze.


    Inside the hall, the Bai family sons and disciples were knelt down in a line, but beside the door outside the hall, there was a person who was also knelt down silently and alone.


    Black robes, black shoes, pitch-black hair.


    Bai Shaoqing.


    Taking advantage of no one having noticed him, he reluctantly kowtowed once outside the hall. Bai Shaoqing had completed the etiquette of his father¡¯s birthday celebration. He was of the mentality that if seeing him was to start a fight then it was better for them to not greet each other, Bai Shaoqing quietly got up from the ground, and turned around to leave.


    Everyone sat down, all of their inquisitive eyes fixated on Feng Long.


    Fenglong took a sip of tea without saying a word, and then solemnly ordered: ¡°Bring them in.¡±


    His companion servants walked into the room one after the other, four servants were carrying a wooden box together, there were a total of five boxes, everyone looked on solemnly and respectfully.


    Bai Moran looked at it, and couldn¡¯t help but secretly be suspicious: In terms of its size, the wooden box looked like a coffin. Was the one surnamed Feng here to bring him bad luck?


    Feng Long did not explain, waiting for the wooden box to be put on the floor, he ordered: ¡°Open them.¡±


    All the servants began to open the wooden boxes, only to have a vile stench waft out. Several people from the Bai family took a look inside. It turned out that the inside of the box contained a corpse.


    Bai Moran¡¯s face dropped, the eldest son of the Bai family, Shaoli couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and shouted out: ¡°Feng Long! Today is my father¡¯s birthday, what is the meaning of this?¡±


    What he asked was what everyone was thinking, as soon as he said it, all the eyes naturally fell back upon Feng Long.


    Feng Long was not alarmed in the slightest, his fair fingers lightly tapping the green scabbard of his sword, and he slowly sighed, ¡°Uncle Bai, today is your birthday, I originally didn¡¯t want to present these things; but the matter is too urgent, there is no time to delay.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Please explain?¡±


    ¡°Could uncle first look at these people, do you recognise any of them?¡±


    Bai Moran got up from his seat, and looked in the boxes one by one.


    Although the people had already been dead for two or three days, it seemed like they had gone through some sort of preservation, their head didn¡¯t have the slightest amount of decay. After looking over the corpses, he nodded: ¡°I know them. This is Lu Heyuan from Dian Cang8 who seemed to have good swordsmanship, and had once sparred with Shaoli against our Bai family sword technique, ah, my son is not skilled and the other won by half a move.¡±


    He pointed and spoke again: ¡°This is Mo Jiasheng, last month, he was making trouble at our Bai family¡¯s silverware shop. When I heard that he did it to save the starving people of his county, and he was pressed for money, I immediately asked my employees to give him five thousand liang, and told him he didn¡¯t need to pay it back. Oh, this person¡¯s martial arts was so-so, his personality contrary to what¡¯s expected was actually very friendly and hospitable, I¡¯m surprised that he has been killed. And this one¡­.. Eh! How come it looks like all of these victims seem to have had some small interactions with the Bai family?¡±


    Feng Long nodded and said: ¡°It¡¯s exactly that. These are all the weird cases that have arisen in Wulin in the last month. Each one of them can be connected to the Bai family, it¡¯s made things difficult for me.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t suspect us right?¡±


    Bao Shaoli butted in: ¡°I greatly admired Lu Heyuan¡¯s sword technique, after our sparring match we even spent a night out together drinking, why would we kill him?¡±


    Song Xiangli glanced over at her son, then corrected: ¡°There¡¯s no need to say so much, let¡¯s listen to Feng gongzi finish.¡±


    Bai Shaoli seemed to be afraid of his mother, he lowered his head not daring to say another word.


    Bai Moran frowned and said: ¡°It¡¯s already been a month, well the bodies¡­.¡±


    ¡°Uncle Bai, these are just a few of the people that I have found on the road. As for the previous bodies, most of them have been stored at the Feng family¡¯s Mo Tianya9. Human life is beyond value, and this matter involves Wulin¡¯s four greatest families, so that¡¯s why I had not taken into consideration uncle Bai¡¯s birthday, and had to clarify the situation.


    Feng Long looked at everyone around the room, paused for a while and then continued: ¡°Honestly, if he had only taken a few lives, then the matter would not be so urgent. When does someone not die in Jianghu? But uncle, please take a look at these people¡¯s wounds, each person has died under the secret masterstroke of our own sects and all of the bodies had large characters written next to them: This sect¡¯s martial arts is no more than thus. He¡¯s clearly trying to humiliate each one of our sect¡¯s martial art skills.¡±


    Everyone was shocked: ¡°How could this be?¡± Not only did it involve human life, it also involved the reputation of each sect.


    Bai Moran¡¯s beard trembled: ¡°They died by the Bai family¡¯s martial art¡¯s technique? That means that the killer knows the masterstroke of each one of our sects like the back of his hand?¡±


    ¡°This killer has become the public enemy of Wulin, being chased by every sect.¡±


    Song Xiangli opened her mouth to ask: ¡°Feng gongzi has been investigating this whole time, so I imagine you have made some headway.¡±


    I¡¯m ashamed to say that until now I have only found one clue, that the killer seems to often leave a dried bat near the scene of the crime. I suspect that this is the killer¡¯s calling card, so for now we will call the killer ¡°Bat¡±.


    ¡°Bat? There are not many in Wulin who use a bat for a symbol, unless¡­..¡±


    ¡°Everyone who has some renown has already been investigated in detail, there isn¡¯t anyone suspicious, and according to the evidence left at the crime scene, everything points to the Bai family. Who could have such a huge hatred and desire for revenge against the Bai family, to use such venomous methods.¡±


    Bai Shaoxin humphed in anger, he cupped his hands together and said: ¡°This person is so hateful, Wulin should pool together to eliminate him, Feng da-ge if you need any assistance, do not hesitate to ask.¡±


    Feng Long swept a glance at him unflustered: ¡°What¡¯s most troubling right now is that all the clues left by the killer are pointing towards the Bai family. Not only did all the victims have interactions with the Bai family, but¡­¡­¡± He took out from his sleeve, ¡°One of the victims was clenching this tightly in his hand.¡±


    Everyone stared at it, it turned out to be the corner of an extremely creased letter paper, nothing was written upon it, except for a very delicately small ¡®Bai¡¯ character stamped on it.


    ¡°This is a letter paper often used by the Bai family.¡± Bai Moran¡¯s face exhibited his anger: ¡°This letter paper can be used by anyone in the Bai family, and there is quite a lot circulating outside as well. If you are suspecting the Bai family just based on this ¡­.¡±


    ¡°I also thought that there was someone who was maliciously framing the Bai family. Feng Long waved his hand and said: ¡°Feng, Bai, Si Ma, Xu are the four great families in Jianghu. If someone is trying to harm the Bai family, the Feng family will absolutely not neglect this matter. This is also why I have ordered everyone to keep the news a secret and why I have come personally here.¡±


    Hearing him say that, everyone felt a bit more relieved, and immediately a lively discussion arose.


    Bai Shaoqing had been standing in the corner the whole time, listening to them count out all of the Bai family¡¯s enemies, discussing methods on how to trap the killer, from the beginning to the end, not one of them said a word to him or even looked over at him.


    He didn¡¯t want to attract anyone¡¯s attention but someone had been paying attention to him the whole time.


    Feng Long¡¯s gaze suddenly fell upon Bai Shaoqing: ¡°Bai san-gongzi, do you have anything to say about this?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing, who had been deliberately left out by the others, suddenly found that they were all looking at him, hate and disdain was clearly evident from most of their eyes.


    ¡°I have not studied martial arts and I don¡¯t understand any happenings in Wulin so naturally I have nothing to add.¡± Bai Shaoqing thought he might as well stand forward and he bowed towards Bai Moran: ¡°I would like to return to my teacher¡¯s side, please could father give me permission to leave immediately.¡±


    Feng Long immediately urged him to stay: ¡°Immediately? But I have not even had the opportunity to chat with Bai-xiong, what harm could it do to stay another day.¡±


    Translator Note:


    Now I know why this novel is only like 30 chapters ¨C each chapter is soooo long ¨C had to chop it.


    I didn¡¯t expect this to get so interesting already! ?


    I¡¯m so curious as to why Feng Long is so drawn to Bai Shaoqing¡­.


    WARNING ¨C Depictions of inc*st in this chapter (latter half of the chapter). Proceed with your own discretion.


    There¡¯s a type of person that no matter what they say seems like heaven¡¯s law and earth¡¯s principle1, whilst appearing elegant and appropriate to the occasion. Feng Long was such a person. Thus, since he had asked him to stay, Bai Moran immediately said: ¡°Well why don¡¯t you just leave tomorrow then!¡±


    Although Song Xiangli was not particularly comfortable, she also lightly added: ¡°Since Feng gongzi has come here, why don¡¯t you stay and keep our guest company for a day!¡± Her gaze secretly glanced over at her two sons. She sighed internally even if she had exhausted every possible means and exerted endless effort, her own two sons still couldn¡¯t compare to the blind woman¡¯s son.


    If Bai Shaoqing had even been the slightest bit inferior, she would not have been so heartless towards him; but it was because Bai Shaoqing was just too outstanding, so outstanding that at just three years old he had made Song Xiangli apprehensively fearful.


    That face, that aptitude, that innate talent ¨C there would definitely be a day that he would surpass Shaoli and Shaoxin leaving them in the dust. She couldn¡¯t bear it but she also could not not bear it.


    The Bai family had been a renowned family in Wulin for a hundred years, the family¡¯s customs were strict. She had no way of kicking out a son that Bai laoye-zi had already acknowledged. If Bai Shaoqing had an accident, she¡¯d be the prime suspect.


    She could only not stop him from learning the martial arts of the Bai family, so that he would have no place in Wulin. She also did not allow him to wear white robes, to let everyone know that this san-shaoye existed in name only, he could not obtain any care or concern from the Bai family at all.


    But the admiration from others could not be controlled, which made Song Xiangli worried.


    ¡°Okay, I will stay for another day.¡± Bai Shaoqing swept a glance over to Feng Long, looked away and then said with much reverence: ¡°Mother, I¡¯m tired, can I go and rest?¡±


    Song Xiangli didn¡¯t want Bai Shaoqing to stay anyway, her face was expressionless and she nodded: ¡°En, you can go now!¡±


    The sound of Bai Shaoqing¡¯s footsteps as he left were light and elegant, like a God stepping over clouds. Song Xiangli couldn¡¯t help secretly sighing to herself: I¡¯ve tried every method in the book to suppress him and for what? He was only kowtowing outside the hall, and that already made Feng Long go over to him to personally ask for his name. And since coming to the Bai family manor, Feng Long had only exchanged a few conventional greetings with her own two sons.


    When he arrived back at his own desolate courtyard, a flash of pink suddenly floated down from the tree.


    ¡°Bai Shaoqing, did you finish discussing with Feng Long?¡± Fang Nihong had already waited for a long time. But as soon as she spotted Bai Shaoqing, her face still carried an extremely sweet smile.


    Bai Shaoqing replied quietly: ¡°He¡¯s the number one master in Wulin, what qualifications do I have to chat business with him?¡± He looked up at the sky, it was a bit gloomy. Yesterday there was a bit of sunshine, but it looked like the sun would not come out today.


    ¡°Everyone says that Feng Long is the number one master of Wulin, I finally saw it for myself today.¡±


    ¡°Not bad, without speaking about his martial arts, his character and demeanour are faultless, his appearance can also be counted as good-looking, someone like that, must be every Wulin daughters dream husband.¡± Bao Shaoqing pursed his lips lightly, suddenly expressing a bit of humour.


    A little joke that struck the young lady¡¯s heart.


    Fang Nihong looked at Bai Shaoqing, ¡°What about you? You don¡¯t think you are better than him?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing only laughed at himself, but did not reply.


    ¡°You said that you wanted to express your thanks. Well I¡¯m here now, how are you going to thank me?¡±


    ¡°Do you want to eat something?¡± Bai Shaoqing muttered to himself: ¡°The Bai family¡¯s customs are strict, if my mother and father see me with a female guest, they will not be happy. Why don¡¯t we wait until we have left Bai Manor, and then I¡¯ll thank you properly? When you get back home, I¡¯ll come find you in Huashan.¡±


    Fang Nihong¡¯s eyes sparkled: ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t lie to you.¡± Bai Shaoqing looked behind Fang Nihong, and couldn¡¯t help laughing, he said: ¡°You must have come to find your shimei. Zhou da-ge is so considerate. Fang gu-niang, why don¡¯t you go back now.¡±


    Fang Nihong turned around, and indeed saw Zhao Rouwen looking around everywhere as he approached, as soon as he saw Fang Nihong, he immediately smiled and rushed over.


    Fang Nihong¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Pfff, shixiong is so annoying, well¡­ I¡¯ll go then, otherwise shixiong will blabber on again endlessly.¡± She couldn¡¯t resist taking another look at Bai Shaoqing, thinking about meeting up in Huashan, her heart began to beat faster.


    After seeing Fang Nihong and Zhao Rouwen off, Bai Shaoqing was in deep thought for a long time, before finally leaving his room.


    After telling his mother that he was going to stay for another day, he suddenly saw a person flash by outside the window, Bai Shaoqing understood and whispered: ¡°Mother, the room is too study, I¡¯m going out for a bit.¡±


    As soon as he left the room, his wrist immediately tightened, and he was led by the hand into a remote rock garden.


    ¡°No one will come here.¡± The originally resonant and bright male voice had become anxious at this moment.


    Bai Shaoxin was still holding onto Bai Shaoqing¡¯s wrist: ¡°You only come back once a year, if that guy surnamed Feng hadn¡¯t said anything you would have slinked off without a trace again.¡± He hurriedly and hastily went to kiss him on the mouth.


    Bai Shaoqing said coldly: ¡°You still don¡¯t know contentment? I heard that Song Xiangli has already selected you two little concubines?¡±


    ¡°What concubines? There¡¯s no amorous feeling there at all, just nagging me all day to go practice and cultivate, to practice carefully my sword technique, exactly like school teachers. How could they measure up to san-di?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing seemed a little helpless, he frowned and said: ¡°Have you done what I asked you to do?¡±


    ¡°*tut tut*,¡± san-di is becoming more and more arrogant. We haven¡¯t seen each other for so long, but you have such a bad attitude towards me. Fortunately I¡¯m here, you know what your old mother wears and eats is still quite costly.¡± Bai Shaoxin fondly caressed his wrist that was as translucent as jade. ¡°But, you¡¯re getting more and more refined.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing squinted and looked at his own wrist which was still being held tightly by Bai Shaoxin, he¡¯d originally wanted to struggle free, but decided to resist the urge, and instead smiled coldly: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, the thing that I¡¯ve promised you, I¡¯ll definitely do it. Let go, stop tugging at me.¡±


    Bai Shaoxin snorted: ¡°Don¡¯t treat me like an idiot, as soon as I let go, I won¡¯t know when I¡¯ll be able to see you again. Plus it¡¯s calm here, there¡¯s no fear of anyone seeing us, can¡¯t you just grant me that one wish this time?¡±


    ¡°Grant your wish?¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s handsome face showed a hint of disdain: ¡°If I grant your wish, who¡¯s going to grant mine?¡±


    His face was completely cold, there was not even a smile,


    Bai Shaoxin said: ¡°What else do you want? All these years, I¡¯ve been carrying out your requirements, helping you take care of your mother. If it wasn¡¯t for me secretly helping her, would my mother have let her be?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not the only thing I want.¡±


    Bai Shaoxin understood what he was getting at and sighed: ¡°You still haven¡¯t let that go? Even if I gave the Sword Manual to you, you have already passed the age to begin training, it would be almost impossible to succeed.¡±


    ¡°The way I see it, father hasn¡¯t actually passed down the entire manual to you!¡± Seeing Bai Shaoxin leaning closer again, and his hands caressing further and further down, from his waist slipping down to between his legs. Bai Shaoqing felt a burst of loathing, he pushed him away and then turned around: ¡°Your skills are far from da-ge, father was right not to give it to you. But why hasn¡¯t Song Xiangli voiced her concerns, doesn¡¯t she dote on you the most?¡±


    ¡°Mother naturally dotes on me, I will find a way to get it to you.¡±


    ¡°We can speak again when you¡¯ve got it.¡±


    ¡°San-di, stay a little longer, the past two years you¡¯ve only let me touch you once, at least give me two more kisses. Bai Shaoxin approached and embraced Bai Shaoqing in his arms.


    ¡°Let go!¡± Bai Shaoqing couldn¡¯t move a muscle in his arms, his fair jade face exposed his anger, slightly turning red, making him even more handsome.


    ¡°Only an idiot would let go.¡± Bai Shaoxin joyfully kissed him on the lips twice, exerting much force on his thin light red lips, watching gleefully as his graceful lips became inflamed and swollen because of him, but he was still not satisfied, he used one hand to pin both of Bai Shaoqing¡¯s hands behind his back, and the other hand to undo his belt: ¡°I see that your body is even more beautiful, just looking at it seems such a shame, why don¡¯t you let me stick it to you.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing had both his hands held down, originally he had decided on just bearing it and letting him kiss him twice, and treat it as being bitten by a dog, but hearing Bai Shaoxin talking like that, the depths of eyes suddenly became cold, not the least bit afraid, instead he sneered: ¡°Okay, so it turns out Hero Bai¡¯s martial arts is actually specifically used for these kind of situations.¡±


    His tone was angry and cold, his words produced a murky and eerie chill, making Bai Shaoxin who was originally burning with desire, have a cold chill run down his spine, he let go of Bai Shaoqing, and smiled brightly: ¡°I was kidding, don¡¯t take it seriously.¡±


    His body had been trained in martial arts, it wouldn¡¯t be hard for him to overpower Bai Shaoqing who couldn¡¯t even truss a chicken2, but based on his younger brother¡¯s strong personality, if he forced himself on Bai Shaoqing, he didn¡¯t know what the consequences would be so he didn¡¯t dare to try it.


    Bai Shaoqing was released by him, he unhurriedly fixed up his robes and said: ¡°If I¡¯d known how useless you were, I would have gone to beg da-ge. He probably received the Bai family sword manual long ago.¡±


    Bai Shaoxin saw that he was unable to forget about the Sword Manual, and he shook his head, ¡°Didn¡¯t I already write out half of the Bai family Sword manual for you?¡±


    ¡°I want it all, even the masterstroke ¡®Ten styles of white dew in the clouds¡¯3.¡±


    Bao Shaoxin was stunned for a moment, ¡°You haven¡¯t studied martial arts, so what do you want that for?¡±


    ¡°Never you mind. Since I¡¯m a son of the Bai family, I naturally have the right to see the Bai family sword manual. Plus, I can¡¯t practice martial arts but does that mean I can¡¯t leave it for my son to learn?¡± Bai Shaoqing stood up, and without the slightest bit of reluctance he walked out of the rock garden. ¡°Take good care of my mother, if someone makes things difficult for her, don¡¯t think that you¡¯ll be able to touch another hair on my head!¡±


    Behind him, all that was left was an aura of coldness and lack of regard.


    ¡°Ten styles of white dew in the clouds¡­¡± Bai Shaoxin looked at his back reluctantly, sighed, and murmured: ¡°The thing you want, I will definitely get scolded by mother and father.


    Translator Note:


    Oh okay, I was not expecting the second big bro to be like that¡­.. nor Bai Shaoqing to be so manipulative¡­ hm¡­¡­


    13/09/21 ¨C Ok I just added a warning at the beginning of the chapter from a suggestion by a reader. As I have mentioned multiple times I have not read this novel so I don¡¯t know what¡¯s coming up but I can tell you if you have not read any of this author¡¯s other novels ¨C she does often use the tropes ¨C inc*st and r*pe. Also feel free to add it to the tags if you¡¯re coming from NU ¨C I don¡¯t know if it needs to go in there.

 CH 3

    Cold snow suddenly fell during the night, waking up in the early morning, the world was already a landscape of white.


    For example, Feng Long.


    Feng Long was feeling relaxed and comfortable, he picked up some snacks that the Bai family¡¯s chef had made with the utmost care for him, he drank from the Bai family¡¯s collection of good wine ¡ª¡ª which had said to have been collected over a hundred years, he was wearing robes made from the finest silk in Zhejiang that the silk shop boss personally came to deliver to the Feng family every year. He glanced over at the delicate shutter window in Duanxu Pavilion, the place specially prepared for the most esteemed guests at Bai Manor, and appreciated the new layer of white snow that had covered the landscape overnight.


    The only thing missing was the women.


    No, it wasn¡¯t missing, because what he was thinking about right now was not women.


    ¡°Feng Jun.¡±


    As soon as Feng Long called out, a square-faced large male flashed by behind the beaded curtain.


    ¡°Yes.¡± His movements were like a ghost, making no noise whatsoever, his manner was also incredibly calm, he suddenly appeared, not even exposing a single thread of panic.


    ¡°Did the Bai family come over?¡±


    ¡°Early this morning, Bai Moran brought his two sons over to see you, I did as you asked Ò»Ò» turned them away and said that you had had a long and tiring trip coming here so you would sleep a bit later today.


    In this world, there were really not many guests who would stop the master of the manor from visiting in the early morning. But Feng Long¡¯s status had reached the point where even if he was rude, people would have no choice but to still grin and bear it without making a fuss.


    ¡°En.¡± Feng Long nodded, and then had another cup of the good wine and then praised: ¡°This wine is indeed mellow and rich, it seems the Bai family have some good stuff here.¡± His slender fingers were playing with the small wine cup, he seemed to be particularly interested in the wine cup that was specially used by the Bai family to greet the distinguished guests.


    Feng Jun bowed and then calmly awaited further instruction.


    Indeed, Feng Long quickly cast aside the wine cup, turned his head and said: ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡±


    If he said he was leaving then he leave. Feng Jun knew his master¡¯s character deeply and quickly followed him out.


    The Heavens were not as prejudiced as Song Xiangli, the great snowfall that covered the front of Duanxu Pavilion, naturally also fell over at Bai Shaoqing¡¯s desolate little courtyard.


    The white snow was as picturesque as a painting.


    Bai Shaoqing was not in the mood to appreciate the snow. There were only two people in this small courtyard. His mother couldn¡¯t see the picturesque snow scene, and could only feel cold. So, because of this fact, he did not like the snow.


    Plus, he had fallen ill today. He was so ill, he had no energy whatsoever, he felt weak all over, and he didn¡¯t dare to let his mother know in case she got worried.


    So, Bai Shaoqing waited in his room all alone, not even daring to get some medicine.


    Feng Long turned up uninvited and opened his bedroom door, and immediately spotted Bai Shaoqing leaning against the head of the bed, his bright eyes were half-open half-closed, with a flushed face.


    ¡°Are you ill?¡±


    He was surprised that a guest had spoken, Bai Shaoqing was stunned, he opened his eyes, ¡°Feng gongzi?¡±


    Feng Long came towards the bed, touched his head to see, ¡°What is it, a cold?¡± Without asking, he had already put graceful but powerful fingers upon Bai Shaoqing¡¯s wrist.


    Bai Shaoqing was startled, he retracted his hand and hid it under the covers.


    Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t seem to want to have anything to do with Feng Long, he averted his gaze as soon as the other came close. Feng Long examined closely for a moment, and then his lips slowly exhibited a hint of a smile, ¡°One must have a companion in order to appreciate the snow, I came especially to come see you. Yesterday, didn¡¯t we agree that you would spend the day with me, how did you become so ill today?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing smiled bitterly: ¡°I haven¡¯t practised martial arts, so how could I compare to you?


    ¡°Oh really¡­..¡±


    Feng Long seemed to be lost in thought, and fell silent. His dark eyes collected a dim light, he wasn¡¯t sure ¨C how many people of Wulin had he made flinch and cower? But at this moment staring at Bai Shaoqing for quite a while, Bai Shaoqing still remained completely unmoved with his head on the pillow, bowing his head down slightly, leaving Feng Long to eye him up and down.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that.¡± Feng Long smiled, turned around and walked towards the window, his gaze fixed upon the Bai family banner that was hung high up at the top of the main hall, he said softly: ¡°It seems that as a guest I¡¯m quite annoying!¡±


    ¡°No, Feng gongzi is an esteemed guest, I¡¯m very regretful that I am unable to keep you company¡­¡­¡±


    It was as if his gaze could see beyond the facade of all living things on this earth, his gaze moved to Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face again. This time, Feng Long looked very attentively, even extremely attentively. His thick black eyebrows were a little taut, the corners of his lips were not raised. When he didn¡¯t smile, his handsome face would give people a sense of breathless oppression.


    Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t try to cower away, he calmly looked into Feng Long¡¯s eyes.


    Like a sword Ò»His gaze was sharp, meeting Bai Shaoqing¡¯s limpid pupils, it was as if he was looking into a pool of water ¡ª¡ª utterly penetrating, but calm without any rippling waves.


    It was not known how long had passed, but Feng Long retracted his gaze and a slight smile appeared, ¡°I didn¡¯t spy, it was the servants who told me.¡±


    He smiled very candidly, and with much elegance, like an intoxicating spring breeze that blew across this low-ceiling house.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday after meeting, my admiration for you grew, so I asked the servants to find out more about you.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing still used the same indifferent word. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re tired, I¡¯ll take my leave.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t see you out.¡±


    The old dilapidated door squeaked and then closed behind Feng Long.


    Bai Shaoqing was leaning against the headboard, he closed his eyes and then silently counted thirty breaths. After thirty breaths, his regular breath suddenly quickened, his flushed face became pale.


    He took out the hand that he had hidden under the covers.


    He was grasping a sharp knife. And that hand could not stop trembling.


    ¡°That person can¡¯t be provoked, it won¡¯t be possible to get the Bilu sword.¡± He flipped over and got out of bed, Bai Shaoqing muttered to himself: ¡°Leave immediately, as far away as possible.¡±


    He took out a brush and some ink, hurriedly wrote a few words, and left the note on the table. The cloth bag that he had already prepared was firmly tied on his back, and then he looked out the window hopefully to survey the area.


    As expected, outside the courtyard, there was a figure dressed in purple who was anxiously rushing over.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s lips moved into a slight smile, a mischievous flame lit in his bright eyes.


    ¡°Oh you¡¯ve come, but I¡¯m leaving now. It seems that today I won¡¯t be able to see for myself Huashan sect¡¯s sword technique. How annoying, it¡¯s all because of the one surnamed Feng.¡±


    A tall figure flashed out the window and then disappeared.


    A fragrant desire, the thread of fate coiled around tighter.


    Prior to becoming sick, luckily he had already laid on his romantic intention, with infinite warmth.


    ¡°Bai Shaoqing?¡± The sharp and clear voice relaxed a little, Fang Nihong stood outside the door and waited for a while before she boldly pushed open the door, ¡°I heard that you were sick, I¡­¡±


    The room was empty, with only a hint remaining of the owner¡¯s unique scent.


    Fang Nihong pursed her lips, walked into the room, her disappointed eyes wandered around, and finally fixed upon a letter on the table¡ª¡ª


    Fang gu-niang, thank you for coming to see me. But my status is low, and I am afraid of damaging your reputation, so I have decided to depart carrying my illness.


    If you have not forgotten about our plans to meet in Huashan Sect, in three months, I will definitely come personally to see you, in order to thank you for your kindness.


    Note: This room is deserted all year round, no one will come here. If gu-niang does not come, this letter will be kept here until the day I return and I will pick it up myself.


    The calligraphy was tall and straight, and the strokes were round and full, reminiscent of the handsome eyebrows of the letter¡¯s author.


    Fang Nihong read the letter over and over again, exclaiming in marvel and delight, her heart was sour and sweet, in the sweetness there was also bitterness, she really couldn¡¯t tell what she was feeling.


    After exclaiming in joy several times, she realized that more than a shichen had already passed. Knowing that shixiong must be looking for her everywhere around Bai Manor at this moment, she hurriedly hid the letter in her robes and quietly closed the door of the room.


    She didn¡¯t know that the onset of Bai Shaoqing¡¯s sudden illness was a ploy especially carried out for her.


    The situation was getting worse and worse, and even the four great sects of Jianghu could not continue to cover it up, so they had to declare the world the killer- Bat.


    But what was even worse was that this murderer had become more intense. The last time, he actually marked his symbol upon the corpse ¡ª¡ª Ninth Heaven1, Bat.


    A bat flying over the ninth heaven, black wings fluttering, transcending the clouds.


    Also, there was all kinds of evidence against the Bai family, making them hard-pressed to deal with the aftermath. Fortunately, the Bai family had status and position in Jianghu, plus Bai Moran had announced that he would definitely deliver justice to the victims, which temporarily quelled the angry masses.


    Translator Note:


    Wow wowww.. I just re-edited the previous chapters ¨C I¡¯m impressed by those of you who weren¡¯t deeply perturbed by my 3am translation mistakes. That or you¡¯re all really polite silent readers ~


    Bai Shaoqing squinted whilst looking up at the blue sky.


    In the middle of the third month of the lunar year, he had secretly returned to the Bai Manor. The Bai family had treated his mother badly, but she was not lacking in terms of clothing, food, and shelter. They had also sent two maids to add coal to the furnace for his blind mother. Just for this, it was worth letting Bai Shaoxin take advantage of him that time.


    No one knew that he had gone back. Bai Shaoqing recognised the Bai Manor like the back of his hand, not to mention his qinggong couldn¡¯t even be matched by Bai Moran now. Bats are flying animals, so naturally his qinggong was exceptional.


    The ox cart stopped suddenly.


    ¡°Gongzi, we need to split up here. My ox cart needs to take this road, as you are going up to Huashan, you need to go down that road.


    ¡°Thank you sir, this is the money as agreed for the trip.¡± Taking out a string of copper coins from his sleeves and throwing it to the old man, Bai Shaoqing slowly got down from the ox cart.


    Cang Mountain Range was towering, with dense forest, there was a well-maintained road that led up the mountain. Not far away from the peak, there were also imposing gateway arches.


    ¡°It¡¯s so lavish.¡± It didn¡¯t matter if this was praise or sarcasm in these words, Bai Shaoqing¡¯s voice was still gentle and pleasant to listen to.


    He saw that the old man who was driving the cart was no longer in sight, and then glanced all around him, his figure suddenly moved, shooting into the forest like a bow and arrow.


    Going up the mountain on the main road was too obvious, he had to avoid it.


    After maintaining the movement for a while, his ribs suddenly began to ache. Bai Shaoqing frowned, holding his breath to not aggravate the wound.


    The wound was new, as soon as he took off his robes, it was evident to see on his smooth as silk skin. Bai Shaoqing still remembered Hu Yanluo¡¯s incredulous eyes as he struck out with his palm¡ªthe handsome young man who had just smiled softly at him would actually use the technique that he had only taught him the day before to kill him.


    ¡°You must know why I have done this, right?¡± Bai Shaoqing looked at him coldly, and spit out a mouthful of blood.


    He was indeed worthy of being the outstanding talent that the Sect Leader of Kongtong Sect was willing to pass on the secret martial arts of their sect to. Given time, he would surely have become a first-rate master of Jianghu.


    Unfortunately, he would not have this opportunity.


    Bai Shaoqing replied to his own question: ¡°Because I don¡¯t like being suppressed by others.¡±


    When he finished speaking, Hu Yanluo had already stopped breathing.


    Hundreds of birds chirped in the forest, the disciples of the Huashan Sect who were patrolling the mountains did not detect Bai Shaoqing¡¯s presence. He sneaked into the Huashan Sect like a rabbit, his dark but bright eyes darted around nimbly.


    After sunset, in a secluded place at the foot of the mountain, he had already set up a table with his zither. Bai Shaoqing slept comfortably for an afternoon, then freshened up in the stream, he looked up at the red clouds in the sky, and then turned and sat in front of the zither.


    Fingers began to move whilst the strings trembled.


    The cold sound of the zither was like a phoenix with wings, rising slowly into the sky, hovering without dispersing.


    One piece was already over, Bai Shaoqing had a calm expression on his face, his eyebrows were straight and he was clear of mind.


    He said lightly: ¡°You¡¯ve arrived?¡±


    A figure dressed in pink and blue appeared from behind the tree, and a beautiful woman stepped out.


    ¡°How did you know I was here?¡±


    ¡°A zither player has a clear mind, I heard you stepping on the dead branches.¡±


    Fang Neon smiled sweetly: ¡°You play the zither really well.¡±


    ¡°Really? Bai Shaoqing smiled slightly, then turned to her and smiled, before sighing, ¡°Unfortunately, playing without accompaniment is like the loneliness adding to the melancholy.¡±


    ¡°How about I accompany you?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes lit up, as bright as stars, and said in surprise, ¡°Fang gu-niang, are you able to dance?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Fang Nihong shook her head.


    ¡°Fang gu-niang is a good singer?¡±


    ¡°Haha, I¡¯m tone-deaf, the other disciples usually cover their ears as soon as they hear me singing.¡±


    His eyes, which were as bright as stars, darkened a bit. ¡°Urmmm¡­ Is Fang gu-niang playing with me right now?¡±


    ¡°You jerk! You¡¯re just a moody scholar that knows how to dance and sing.¡± Fang Nihong stomped her feet, revealing her spoiled attitude. ¡°I am standing here and listening to you playing the zither, isn¡¯t that keeping you company? It is often said that it is hard to find a soulmate. You already have a soulmate and you are still not satisfied?¡±


    ¡°Yes, yes, Fang gu-niang is right.¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s handsome face smiled in defeat, ¡°Ancient music twists and turns, making one feel melancholic. If one could be born in ancient times, how good would that be?¡±


    The slender fingers began to pluck once more, the gentle sound was mixed in with harsher tones, making them feel more fired up.


    ¡°Oh, what¡¯s so good about the ancient people?¡±


    ¡°The ancient times had Zi Long and Guan Yu1, if one could meet them, how lucky would one be?¡±


    ¡°Zhao Zilong and Guan Gong were heroes, but now there are also many heroes throughout Jianghu. Putting aside the Bai family¡¯s laoye-zi, what about Feng Long? And, my father, the head of the Huashan Sect, is also a hero!¡± Fang Nihong sat beside Bai Shaoqing and retorted sharply.


    ¡°Fang gu-niang wants to have an intellectual debate with a scholar today?¡± Bai Shaoqing turned his head, grinned at her, and slowly said: ¡°In ancient times, Gongsun da-niang2 performed the most peerless and graceful sword dance.¡±


    Fang Nihong applauded and laughed: ¡°Speaking of sword dancing, you will really have to admit defeat.¡± Jumping from the ground, she drew out her sword and danced to the sound of the zither.


    Her movements were light and graceful, delicate like a dancing dragon, fast and slow movements, light music matched with a graceful dance, allowing the enemy a decisive opportunity.


    Bai Shaoqing was stunned and smiled heartily, suddenly picking his fingertips and plucking all four strings, immediately becoming majestically powerful, before ending within the five notes of the pentatonic scale.


    With the sudden odd note, the piece was finished.


    One set of the Huashan Sect Sword Technique had also finished at the same time. The sound of the zither and the sword strokes were in perfect harmony.


    Fang Nihong flicked her wrist around with the sword, smiled at Bai Shaoqing, and said triumphantly: ¡°Does my sword dance measure up to Gongsun da-niang?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing did not answer, but the admiration in his eyes made Fang Nihong more filled with joy than anything else.


    ¡°Fang gu-niang, could you still continue to dance?¡±


    ¡°Naturally.¡±


    ¡°Maybe a different dance for a different piece?¡±


    Fang Nihong raised her chin, ¡°If you play a different piece, I will perform a different dance.¡±


    ¡°Okay!¡±


    Bai Shaoqing began plucking the strings again, and the sound of the zither rang out once more.


    Fang Nihong¡¯s desire for victory had risen, and she had used twelve sets of Huashan swordsmanship in a row for twelve pieces of music. The last one was the Huashan sect¡¯s secret sword technique ¡ª¡ª Silent Magnificence.


    The sound of the zither finally stopped.


    Bai Shaoqing stood up, and walked over to Fang Nihong who was sweating profusely, he took out his handkerchief.


    ¡°Fang gu-niang, I admit defeat.¡± His youthful eyes were gentle and honest.


    Fang Nihong had completely forgotten that she was arguing with him at this moment, and received the handkerchief in a daze.


    ¡°I am not a member of Wulin, and I¡¯m not clear on the customs of Wulin. However, it seems that each sect of Wulin has their own secret technique that must not be seen by outsiders.¡± Bai Shaoqing said with a hint of panic in his voice, ¡°The dance you just did, it wouldn¡¯t be the sword technique that I shouldn¡¯t have seen, right?¡±


    Fang Nihong couldn¡¯t help screaming secretly when she was reminded by Bai Shaoqing.


    Oops! If father finds out, I¡¯ll definitely be punished¡­


    But when she looked up and saw Bai Shaoqing¡¯s scholarly appearance, she was reassured.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Those are the most common moves seen in Wulin. Ordinary practitioners will also know how to throw out one or two of those moves. How can it be counted as our sect¡¯s secret technique?¡± Fang Nihong¡¯s mouth was slightly raised, exposing a cheeky smile that was like that of a child.


    ¡°Furthermore, it doesn¡¯t matter even if it was Huashan Sect¡¯s secret Sword Technique. I only performed it once, how could you learn it just like that? Da-shixiong is so talented, but it still took him more than half a month to learn one set! But, you must never tell anyone that I showed all of it to you, otherwise, I¡¯ll be scolded by my mother and father for being careless.¡± She repeatedly warned Bai Shaoqing.


    Bai Shaoqing nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I swear I will never tell anyone.¡±


    ¡°En, I believe you.¡±


    The setting sun had already fallen, a beautiful pair of eyes were shiny and translucent, the silhouettes of the two people got closer and closer, with boundless thoughts, in the midst of the silence.


    When their faces were about to touch, Bai Shaoqing suddenly shook, as if only then did he remembered men and women are distinguishable3.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting late, Fang gu-niang, you should go home.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not a good idea. You and I are alone here, how could we be so improper?¡± Bai Shaoqing sighed, ¡°I love and respect you, how could I bear to ruin your reputation?¡±


    Fang Nihong was moved, looked at him for a long time, and then said softly: ¡°Well¡­¡­ do you have anything else to say to me?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing sighed, turned and walked to the zither, bowed his head and clenched his fists.


    ¡°If I have earned the right to marry you in the future, I will naturally go up the mountain to propose marriage. If I do not succeed to earn that right, then today never happened, please forget about me!¡±


    ¡°Well¡­ Well ¡­¡± There was an inaudible sob. ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait for you to earn that right.¡±


    She hid the handkerchief filled with warmth into her robes, Fang Nihong then picked up her sword, stared deeply at Bai Shaoqing¡¯s back, and turned away to leave.


    It was a pity that she left in such a hurry, that she was not able to see Bai Shaoqing¡¯s limpid eyes, which hid a thread of satisfaction that his scheme had succeeded.


    Three days later, Zhou Ruowen, the head disciple of the Huashan Sect, was ordered by his master to deliver a letter to Bai Manor, but he never returned to Huashan Sect.


    His corpse was found lying near Bai Manor. The injuries that he had sustained were unexpectedly from Huashan Sect¡¯s secret sword technique ¡ª¡ª Silent Magnificence. And upon the corpse, there was a flat, dried bat, which had the three words ¡°Ninth Heaven, Bat¡± written with a needle dipped in gold on its head.


    The matter shook the entire Huashan Sect, and the Sect Leader ordered an investigation. Aside from being sad, Fang Nihong did not suspect in the slightest Bao Shaoqing, who she believed had never practiced martial arts. And naturally, in order for Bai Shaoqing to not have to suffer from any great injustice, she kept her lips tightly sealed regarding that night.


    Translator Note:


    What the f***? I was not expecting that the MC was the villain hahahahaha. I was highly misled by the synopsis for the Live Action ¨C I also thought that Feng Long was the MC but I guess he¡¯s the ML??


    The only thing that slightly niggles me is how did she think he got a note into her room up in the mountain? Loool. And ¡®I love you¡¯ after a couple of encounters three months ago¡­. Let me just go throw up.

 CH 4

    In this world, if you ask anyone which restaurant was the most magnificent, everyone would answer ¡ª¡ª Tan Xiao1 Pavilion in Luoyang.


    His plain and simple black robes were a partner that would never betray him. He lowered his head, just because of his handsome appearance, which would always make the passersby suddenly look at him in surprise. But the arrogance that was hidden in his eyes was actually well-concealed.


    ¡°Well, look who it is?¡± An arrogant voice was suddenly heard, and a hand holding a fan came from beside him teasingly poking at Bai Shaoqing¡¯s chin. The handsome silhouette with the resplendent sparkling eyes suddenly became the centre of attention.


    The person who came up to him was elegantly dressed and handsome, accompanied by a few stocky men standing behind him, showing his noble status.


    Seeing Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face, his eyes instantly brightened, and he laughed and said, ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯ve bumped into san-gongzi! I was ill during uncle¡¯s 50th birthday and never went to offer my well wishes. How is my aunt2?¡±


    As soon as he heard this voice, Bai Shaoqing was filled with annoyance.


    This Song Xuelan was Song Xiangli¡¯s most beloved nephew, and he was even more disgusting than Bai Shaoxin. Why did you have to run into him here?


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t Shaoqing didi come to find me after arriving in Luoyang?¡± Song Xuelan advanced forward and grabbed Bai Shaoqing¡¯s wrist, ¡°Look at you dressed in tattered rags, if others saw this, they¡¯d think that my aunt is mistreating you!¡±


    Bai Shaoqing said indifferently: ¡°I travel around for my studies, I¡¯m only staying in Luoyang for a day.¡±


    So unfortunate that we had to meet in full view of others; if we had bumped into each other in a secluded place, I would have already made minced meat out of this hand.


    ¡°Just for one day? Well, you can keep me company for one day then. Let¡¯s go eat at Tan Xiao Pavilion.¡± Song Xuelan dragged Bai Shaoqing into Tan Xiao Pavilion, without paying any attention to Bai Shaoqing¡¯s reluctance. ¡°Looking at your appearance, you probably don¡¯t even have enough travel money. Don¡¯t be afraid, after dinner, gege will give you some.¡± That obscene face, it was as if he thought Bai Shaoqing was a plaything that had landed on his doorstep for his amusement.


    It was not actually difficult to get rid of Song Xuelan. One move of the ¡°Fortune of the East Sea¡± was enough to push him down on the ground and make him fall flat on his face; or another move, ¡°Dance of the Black Dragon¡±, could kick him up in the air and over the golden banner of Tan Xiao Pavilion. Otherwise, he had recently learnt ¡°The flying pair of Swallows¡± which could pierce an invisible hole through him with one swipe of the sword.


    He was the Bat afterall, so how difficult is it to kill a mere brat with a silver spoon in his mouth3?


    Unfortunately, he was Bai Shaoqing at the moment ¨C Bai Shaoqing who didn¡¯t know any martial arts.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving Luoyang now, my teacher¡­¡± Bai Shaoqing said quietly whilst he was seated in an elegant private room.


    After entering the private room, Song Xuelan became even more presumptuous.


    ¡°The fun hasn¡¯t started yet, where are you going?¡± Sitting beside a completely rigid Bai Shaoqing, Song Xuelan no longer tried to conceal his frivolous behaviour. ¡°I know you have been treated badly by the Bai family. But who taught you not to find a backer? If I were to look after you in front of my aunt, would you have been so badly treated?¡±


    The handle of the fan poked at Bai Shaoqing¡¯s chin, and Song Xuelan sighed: ¡°The older you get, the more handsome you become. Since you¡¯ve been out studying, everytime I have visited Bai Manor I have missed you. Haha! Today, you fell right into my arms yourself.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing secretly clenched his fists, shifted his gaze towards the couple of stocky men who were standing with their hands behind their backs in the middle of the room, and he slowly loosened his fists again.


    In the centre of the city, upstairs in Tan Xiao Pavilion, how could Bai san gongzi, who didn¡¯t even have the strength to truss a chicken, kill anyone?


    Song Xuelan was not aware that his life was hanging on by a thread, he smiled and stroked Bai Shaoqing¡¯s rigid back. The obscene behaviour brought only annoyance and anger to Bai Shaoqing, but his facial expression and eyes clearly showed fear and timidness.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be like that ¡­¡­¡±


    The weak resistance seemed to create a greater pleasure for Song Xuelan, and his mouth suddenly covered the other¡¯s thin pink lips and sucked. ¡°So sweet. Those sweet ladies at the br*thels don¡¯t taste as sweet as you. My little didi, be obedient and with my help, the Bai family will treat you well.¡±


    This kind of talk was completely meaningless to him. Bai Shaoqing yawned in his head, but his body deliberately trembled under Song Xuelan.


    ¡°What is it? Have you thought clearly about it?¡± He reached deep into his collar and twisted at the small and nimble protrusion. Song Xuelan said triumphantly: ¡°If you p*ss me off, it¡¯s hard to guarantee that my aunt won¡¯t find a way for your blind old mother to suffer.¡±


    He deserves death, Bai Shaoqing was furious.


    Anger was burning in his heart, but Bai Shaoqing suddenly smiled, it was a graceful and charming smile. He said softly, ¡°Song da-ge is outspoken and straightforward, with your protection, who would dare to bully Shaoqing? It¡¯s just¡­¡± He moved his gaze to the side, ¡°Song da-ge is not thinking about performing in front of an audience, right?¡±


    ¡°I have no choice.¡± Song Xuelan glanced helplessly at his servants. ¡°Recently, Jianghu has become a mess. Even the head disciple of Huashan Sect was killed inexplicably, and the Bai family were implicated in the murder. My father strictly ordered them not to leave me for even half a step, I can¡¯t even relieve myself in peace.¡± He touched Bai Shaoqing¡¯s pale face, and laughed: ¡°They¡¯ve got used to it for the past two days. Two days ago, over at Sai Chun Pavilion, the night of passion with their twelve beauties really opened up their eyes!¡±


    If he was to make a move, he¡¯d have to kill all seven of the people in this private room. The people who had seen him walking into Tan Xiao Pavilion were numerous. How would he deal with the aftermath? Whilst Bai Shaoqing was reflecting over this, when his belt was removed.


    The front of his robes came completely undone, exposing half of his bare chest, it was blindingly fair that those who looked had trouble opening their eyes, even the servants were staring in a daze.


    ¡°Such a tender body.¡± Song Xuelan impatiently kissed him in a boorish manner.


    Bai Shaoqing sneered. If he wasn¡¯t taken advantage of, then he would be exposing his identity, this really was a hard choice.


    The strong but slightly slender thighs were rudely pulled apart, whilst the hem of his robes were lifted up to his waist. Amidst the panic, there was the slight sound of footsteps in the next room, it was obvious that the guests who had booked the private room next door had arrived. It must be a person of high-rank to be able to be taken care of in a private room of the Tan Xiao Pavilion.


    Bai Shaoqing concentrated his ears, his heart sank, the footsteps were steady and unhurried, it seemed to be a strong practitioner of martial arts. If so, it was even more inappropriate to make a move at this moment.


    Did he really have to just endure it?


    Suddenly, his lower body was frivolously captured, Bai Shaoqing moaned very quietly, and turned his head to look at Song Xuelan.


    Those so-called righteous martial artists loathed matters of the flesh, and would not just stand by and ignore these kinds of matters. Once the guests next door discover the situation here, they should come forward to stop it.


    Thinking of this, Bai Shaoqing¡¯s groans became even louder.


    ¡°Please let me go!¡± His eyes were already filled with tears, like a lamb before the slaughter.


    Seeing him look like this, who would ever agree to let him go? Sure enough, Song Xuelan smiled obscenely: ¡°Wait a moment and then beg for mercy.¡±


    ¡°Song da-ge, please don¡¯t be like this.¡± Bai Shaoqing suddenly shouted, ¡°Although, I am not the son of Bai fu-ren, I can still be considered part of the Bai family. If you insult me like this, I¡­I would rather die.¡± He yelled. He listened very carefully and noticed that the private room next door was really silent, they were obviously paying attention to what was happening in there.


    ¡°Hehe, suddenly becoming resistant? Great, I like a stubborn horse.¡±


    Song Xuelan got even more excited, and ripped off the remaining clothing on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body, crushing him heavily underneath his own body, and then grabbed ahold of one of his ankles which was as pale as snow.


    Bai Shaoqing let Song Xuelan pull apart his b*ttocks and estimated the time it would take for his ¡°saviour¡± to rush in and save him. At that time, it was unavoidable not to weep some bitter tears and then allow the rumour to spread across Jianghu that Bai san-gongzi was powerless to protect himself.


    ¡°You are really so slim and tender, even smoother than my new concubine at home.¡± Song Xuelan laughed.


    ¡°No¡­ don¡¯t¡­¡± Bai Shaoqing frowned and glanced at the other¡¯s repulsive face.


    Translator Note:


    Well¡­ that family¡¯s got some serious issues¡­


    Wonder who came to save him? Haha, I¡¯m guessing you already know (>¦Ø^)


    This chapter is massive ¨C will try to update the rest of Chapter 4 this weekend ~


    Green robes1, blue sash, emerald coloured sword.


    Feng Long¡¯s gaze was not that fierce, but he casually swept that non-fierce gaze over and the six servants immediately flinched backwards, and Song Xuelan jumped up off of Bai Shaoqing as if he had been stabbed.


    ¡°Feng¡­Feng da-gongzi?¡±


    ¡°And to think that someone from the Song family would do such a disgusting thing in broad daylight?¡± Feng Long turned his head and looked at Bai Shaoqing, ¡°As a member of Wulin, as well as Tan Xiao Pavilion being a property of the Feng family, I cannot ignore this matter.¡± He coldly ordered: ¡°Come here, take care of Song Xuelan, and wait for Song Qianbei¡¯s instructions.¡±


    Everyone behind him acquiesced, flocking up towards Song Xuelan and his men and tying them up neatly.


    ¡°Feng Long, you dare to tie me up? My Song family shouldn¡¯t be taken lightly.¡±


    Song Xuelan shouted loudly like a wolf in sheep¡¯s clothing2, and the person who tied him up immediately rewarded him with a few vicious slaps.


    ¡°Shut up! Shameless animal. After doing such a disgusting thing, you¡¯d still dare to open your mouth in front of our master!¡± The direct hits to the face turned Song Xuelan¡¯s face into a pig¡¯s head3, he didn¡¯t dare to speak up again.


    ¡°You all, go outside.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± In a blink of an eye everyone had filed out of the room.


    Bai Shaoqing watched everything play out before slowly standing up from the side bench. He moved extremely slowly, as if he was physically and mentally exhausted; the slower he moved, the more he could let this indescribable languor escape. If he appeared weak, then his helpless and feeble character would make the other feel sorry for him.


    He stood up and covered his half-exposed pale chest with one hand.


    In the silence, there was an endless cold arrogance.


    ¡°Bai san-gongzi, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you, Feng da-gongzi.¡± These few words were expressed perfectly, clear and cold, tragic but not too sad. No one who heard these words would have been able to detect even a hint of annoyance.


    Feng Long said, ¡°Are you angry?¡±


    ¡°How could I be?¡± Bai Shaoqing glanced at him in surprise, turning his face away, and said: ¡°I¡¯m really fine, thank you, Feng da-gongzi.¡±


    Feng Long was silent, and took two steps forward. His eyes were deep, not allowing people to see the mystery inside. Bai Shaoqing retreated two steps backwards, thinking to himself: Is it possible that he is also a beast like Song Xuelan? Ha! Everyone in Jianghu is shameless, how would the Feng family be any better than the Song family?


    Unexpectedly, Feng Long walked up to him, took off his outer cloak and gently covered Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body with it, using an extremely gentle motion. Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t avoid him or try to hide, and wrapped his outer cloak around his body.


    What was even more surprising was that Feng Long actually crouched down and then bowed deeply to Bai Shaoqing.


    ¡°Feng da-gongzi, what is the meaning of this?¡± Bai Shaoqing pretended that this must have been an error, and added some additional surprise.


    ¡°Shaoqing doesn¡¯t dare to accept your bow.¡±


    ¡°I must apologise to Bai san-gongzi. In fact, we were in the next room just now, and had long heard what was happening in here but I prevented the others from lending a hand which caused Bai san-gongzi to be humiliated by Song Xuelan.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing said in his head: I already knew that, but he feigned surprise again: ¡°You¡­ if you knew, then why¡­¡±


    Feng Long fixated on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s limpid eyes, and said in shame, ¡°It¡¯s just because of me¡­ so¡­¡± He took a deep look at Bai Shaoqing and apologized: ¡°So you really don¡¯t know any martial arts.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing suddenly realized. Feng Long had actually been suspicious of him! If he had really made a move just now, it would be overtly admitting that he was the Bat causing trouble in Jianghu.


    Feng Long had made a big mistake, he sighed three times, and said sincerely to Bai Shaoqing: ¡°Bai-xiongdi, I was wrong to suspect you and have caused you harm. I am willing to offer you my life to make it up to you.¡± He flipped up his two hands and unexpectedly offered up his Bilu Sword.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes sparkled, but fortunately Feng Long was bowing his head to admit his mistake, so he could not see this. After careful consideration, Bai Shaoqing said lightly: ¡°I am useless, what does that have to do with Feng da-gongzi? Who in Jianghu doesn¡¯t know that Bai san-gongzi exists merely in name, and can be humiliated by anyone. But for someone like Feng da-gongzi to be suspicious of me for knowing martial arts, well that is incredibly rare.¡±


    ¡°After hearing Bai-xiong say this, I feel even more ashamed. I am willing to do anything to make up for my sins.¡±


    He wanted to say to Feng Long: If you really want to make up for it, then give me the world-renowned Bilu Sword and the ¡®Heart of Bilu Sword¡¯ technique with it.


    On Huangtu Road, the tall figure gradually faded away into the distance.


    Jianghu is dangerous, Jianghu is ugly, but who was actually willing to part with Jianghu.


    The sun was scorching, the pedestrians slowly walked around, occasionally looking up at the majestic fireball in the sky, then hurriedly lowering their heads, continuing their journey accompanied by sweat.


    But not everyone was in a hurry.


    There were lush greens and willow trees all around.


    The bright green buds stretched lazily onto the surface of the lake, swaying with the breeze. In the shaded areas, there was someone playing the flute.


    Black robes, black shoes.


    A green flute that was sparkling and translucent, warm yet cool, made of the best jade from Lantian.


    A fair body, fair hands, fair neck, red lips ¡ª¡ª white teeth.


    ¡°The green flute of Taihu is merely thus.¡± After finishing the piece, he threw the rare and precious Lantian jade flute into Taihu Lake.


    The ripples spread out rapidly, inspiring no more than a cold smile on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face.


    Last night, he killed another person. The green flute of Taihu4 was a well-known gifted scholar in Jianghu. Bai Shaoqing had not done it because of that green flute that didn¡¯t even catch his eye. This time, he did it for a woman.


    Emei Sect¡¯s Zhang Qingyi, a secular disciple, and an infatuated woman.


    She was so infatuated that she was willing to teach Emei Sect¡¯s untransferable techniques to her lover who she didn¡¯t even know the name of, so infatuated that even after marrying Xiao Zhengyan, she still couldn¡¯t forget him.


    Zhang Qingyi had become a widow last night. She obtained the family property of Taihu Lake¡¯s Xiao family and earned the title of his widow, but she had also suffered neglect and humiliation from Xiao Zhengyan.


    Looking into the clear translucent lake water, Bai Shaoqing laughed.


    Bai Shaoqing could torment Zhang Qingyi but Xiao Zhengyan could not.


    The laugh affected the new injuries on his chest, causing him to frown slightly. He put pressure on the left side of his chest and sneered.


    He still got injured, the green flute of Taihu could not be considered as any martial art¡¯s master, he could only blame himself for being too useless. Although each sect had their own techniques which were awe-inspiring to the eye, they were still lacking in any real deep internal energy5


    ¡°But when haven¡¯t I taken a risk all these years?¡±


    He stood up, his slender body leaned against the willow tree trunk, his lips parted, and he bit into the emerald green willow leaf that had floated down to his mouth.


    ¡°Bai Shaoqing, are you really willing to spend another few more years to slowly increase your cultivation level?¡± He asked himself. ¡°Are you willing to continue to endure those insulting gazes, never to come out of the shadows?¡±


    Humiliation and anger suddenly appeared in his eyes, but he suppressed it again in a blink of an eye.


    He sighed, ¡°Even if I can wait, my mother can¡¯t wait any longer. Alas, I must not let my mother remain at Bai Manor.¡± He seemed to have made up his mind, he picked up his cloth bag, turned around, and step by step, continued down an unrecognisable road.


    A few days later, a huge unused manor in Jinling had an elegant and handsome male guest.


    The manor was very large, but not vacuous, with many pavilions and kiosks, which had been laid out with much thought. Although it was largely unused, it was very clean.


    Bai Shaoqing stood outside the door for a long time, as if he was very interested in the pair of old copper knockers on the door. He stood for a whole shichen before he took a deep breath and took the first step forward, as if this step was not to step into this beautiful lonely Manor, but instead it was to step into the depths of the frightening Underworld. Just one unstable step, and he would fall into the burning flames of hell.


    Pushing the door open, he was met with the song of birds and the fragrant flowers.


    The garden was a picturesque sight, it was obvious that it had once been home to a wealthy family, filled with conversation and laughter and elegant, fair ladies.


    Now, there was no one. As it was empty, this place where the birds would sing and the flowers were fragrant, made visitors feel terribly cold, making his body straighten up like a pole, he walked slowly, walking up the path that was so clean that there were no leaves, he went up the stairs, and straight into the main hall. The expression on his face was relaxed, but his whole body was on guard, and his internal energy was constantly circulating to resist any hidden attacks.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± A soft voice floated out in the air.


    Bai Shaoqing stopped and walked to the middle of the main hall. There was no one in the room, but there was no shortage of tables, chairs, tea sets, paintings and calligraphy, and there was not a speck of dust upon them. It seemed as if the master of the manor had just left temporarily and would eagerly come back to entertain his guests soon. Bai Shaoqing knew that five years ago, there was a massacre of two hundred and seventeen people here. None of the Rong family, including the servants, escaped, and even the dog was hanged in front of the Manor¡¯s entrance.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± The lazy male voice floated out again, ¡°Do you know what this place is?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing smiled, looking all around, and listening out everywhere.


    ¡°I know that this is the Jinling holding of the devilish sect. I also know that you are the Junior Sect Leader of the devilish sect, Xiang Lenghong.¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± Xiang Lenghong chuckled, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since anyone said devilish sect out loud. Do you know why this Manor is so quiet?¡±


    ¡°Of course, it was all because Rong laoye received an old friend in the middle of the night, but he didn¡¯t know that this old friend had criticised the Zhengyi Sect6 as a devilish sect at the Martial Arts Conference, which greatly offended the Zhengyi Sect. As a result, the Rong family¡¯s two hundred and seventeen members were also affected by this matter and they were all hanged to death upon the Chinese Pagoda Tree in the garden near the Manor entrance.


    ¡°Those who dare to insult this sect, of course, must be eliminated along with nine generations of their family, in order to show our dignity. Not only the elimination of the nine generations of their family, but also the nine generations of their friends will not be spared.¡± Xiang Lenghong laughed. ¡°What¡¯s more, as soon as I got here, I fell in love with this big yard.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing nodded, ¡°Now in Jianghu, even if there are people who are still defiant, for the sake of their wives and children, no one would not dare insult the Zhengyi Sect.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there someone who just insulted us?¡±


    ¡°I have neither wife nor children.¡± Bai Shaoqing smiled, ¡°It was originally a devilish sect so why bother using such an awkward name such as Zhengyi Sect? Isn¡¯t Xieqi7 more appropriate?¡±


    Xiang Lenghong was silent for a moment, ¡°Are you done talking? You are quite interesting. I will let you finish and then let you choose how you wish to die.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing said unhurriedly: ¡°Since you find me so interesting, why don¡¯t you watch me throw out a few tricks?¡±


    He drew his sword and gently kicked away the tables and chairs that were blocking him in the middle of the hall.


    The wind from the sword rose.


    Bai Shaoqing was like a fox spirit, displaying his skills with confidence.


    ¡°Hmmm, this is ¡®Gentle return of the Spring Smile¡¯ of the Jiangnan Wanhua Valley.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, this is ¡®Silent Magnificence¡¯ of the Huashan Sect.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, this is the ¡®Veiled Sword technique¡¯ of the Wujian Sect.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm, this is the ¡®Yin Yang Sword technique¡¯ of the Taishan Sect¡­¡­..¡±


    Xiang Lenghong successively recited more than a dozen martial arts skills and sword techniques, and then suddenly sighed, ¡°Stop now!¡±


    Bai Shaoqing really did stop. Anyone who knew him would know that he was rarely so obedient.


    ¡°Are you the Bat?¡±


    ¡°Correct.¡±


    Xiang Lenghong said softly, ¡°Although your clothes are black, you are very pale.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s cold eyes suddenly became more charming.


    ¡°Do you want to take a closer look?¡± He asked with a smile, as if Xiang Lenghong was standing in front of him.


    ¡°No I don¡¯t.¡±


    Xiang Lenghong said coldly, ¡°If I take a closer look, I¡¯ll probably be found dead on the side of the road one day, killed under my own expert technique ¨C ¡®Lingering Palm¡¯.¡± He paused, then asked calmly, ¡°Have you decided how you wish to die?¡± he asked as if he was asking someone what they were going to wear today.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± Bai Shaoqing said boldly, ¡°I¡¯ve come to become your formal apprentice.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to accept any apprentices. The apprentices of this sect have no teacher.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing stared at the landscape paintings hanging in front of the main hall.


    He asked, ¡°Have you ever met a person who has mastered the martial arts of so many sects?¡±


    ¡°I have never seen a person who has mastered the martial arts of so many sects,¡± Xiang Lenghong said: ¡°But your internal strength is terrible.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t seem to hear, and asked again, ¡°Have you ever seen anyone with such great aptitude to learn martial arts?¡±


    ¡°Although your aptitude is impressive, your foundation is insufficient.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡­..¡± Bai Shaoqing smiled sweetly, ¡°Have you ever had a son of one of the four great families of Jianghu, and the sworn brother of the Alliance Leader of Jianghu come to ask for help from Zhenyi Sect?¡±


    This time, Xiang Lenghong was silent for a moment.


    After a while, he slowly sighed, ¡°No.¡± He added honestly, ¡°Such people would often die before they entered the door.¡±


    ¡°I want to become your apprentice.¡± Bai Shaoqing was also very honest. ¡°Because my internal strength is insufficient, my practice is too shallow.¡±


    ¡°You want to learn from my ¡®Lingering Palm¡¯ technique?¡±


    Unexpectedly, Bai Shaoqing shook his head, a faint sneer escaped from his lips, and said leisurely: ¡°I want to learn ¡®Horizontal Heaven opposing Sun¡¯.¡±


    This time, Xiang Lenghong was silent for even longer, it seemed that Bai Shaoqing¡¯s ambition had startled him.


    ¡°¡®Horizontal Heaven opposing Sun¡¯ is the supreme martial art skill of this sect. Aside from the Sect Leader, there is no one else who has mastered it.¡±


    ¡°Then I want to become an apprentice of the Sect Leader.¡± Bai Shaoqing said softly: ¡°I know, you must want to kill me now.¡±


    ¡°Me, why?¡±


    ¡°Because of my unrivalled aptitude, if I become the apprentice of your Sect leader, your position will be difficult to maintain.¡±


    Xiang Lenghong was stunned, and suddenly laughed, ¡°Although you use aggressive methods, you are also very clever. If I decided to kill you rashly like this, wouldn¡¯t the Sect Leader then be suspicious of me?¡±


    ¡°At least let me see the illustrious Sect Leader of Zhengyi Sect just once.¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s mind was calm, although his hands still couldn¡¯t help but tremble slightly.


    He really could not be blamed, even the boldest people would still make a half-circle in front of the gates of hell, so a little tremble was inevitable. ¡°I heard that his martial arts are unrivalled, no one in this world can beat him. He has never revealed himself, but no one dares to go against his Zhengyi Sect.¡±


    Hearing him talk about his Sect Leader, Xiang Lenghong¡¯s low voice was no longer lazy. It seemed that as long as it was related to the Sect Leader, there could be no negligence.


    ¡°In that case,¡± a wisp of wind in the air hit Bai Shaoqing¡¯s acupoint. Xiang Lenghong said: ¡°You can wait for the decision of our Sect Leader!¡±


    His eyes went dark, Bai Shaoqing had a smile on his lips whilst he fell down.


    The moon shone above the branches, a subtle fragrance drifted in the air.


    The silk curtain was hanging low, fluttering in the cool breeze.


    Long, thick eyelashes began to tremble lightly.


    Bai Shaoqing opened his eyes.


    The moment he opened his eyes, he was confused. At this moment, he was even a little innocent and cute but he was already thinking that his own situation right now was bright and promising.


    The bed was beautiful and the room was beautiful. It was probably the bedroom of Rong xiaojie back in the day.


    Outside the door, a person walked in slowly. Wearing top-quality silk robes, specially made boots from Beijing¡¯s Lao Liji, he was holding a faintly scented folding fan in his hand.


    It¡¯s a pity that his face was unimpressive.


    It was the unsophisticated face of a wealthy countryman.


    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± He had a voice that didn¡¯t match his face, low and gentle, with an indescribable air of laziness. ¡°This used to be Rong xiaojie¡¯s room. For her, Old Man Rong invited skilled craftsmen from the East China Sea to make this bed for her. Because in one¡¯s lifetime, one spends the most time in bed.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing was a little bit stunned. He never thought that the Junior Sect Leader of Zhengyi Sect would actually be like a wealthy countryman.


    ¡°It is indeed a comfortable bed. It is a pity that Miss Rong didn¡¯t sleep in it for long.¡± Bai Shaoqing asked candidly, ¡°Junior Sect Leader Xiang, is the Sect Leader willing to accept me as his apprentice?¡±


    Xiang Lenghong¡¯s narrow eyes swept a glance across Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face. ¡°To become an apprentice, you must at least offer an apprenticeship gift.¡±


    ¡°What gift would the Sect Leader like?¡±


    ¡°Within one month, Feng da-gongzi¡¯s Bilu Sword.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing was stunned, ¡°Bilu Sword?¡±


    ¡°Are you not Feng Long¡¯s sworn brother?¡±


    Xiang Lenghong said, ¡°Sect Leader is very generous to give you this opportunity, isn¡¯t it just because of your strange identity?¡± To say that Bai Shaoqing had a strange identity was indeed the truth.


    Within Wulin, how many people were more pitiful than him?


    Bai Shaoqing sighed. He remembered the Bilu Sword that Feng Long had offered up to him with both hands in Tan Xiao Pavilion that day. It was really a delicious snack; unfortunately, it was also a poisonous snack. With Bai Shaoqing¡¯s scheming, how could he not know that it was another one of Feng Long¡¯s tests.


    What use does a scholar have with the Bilu Sword? Only the Bat would covet the Bilu Sword.


    Bai Shaoqing sighed twice and nodded, ¡°Within one month, Feng Long¡¯s Bilu Sword.¡±


    ¡°Hehe! To be able to enter the sect with a mere Bilu Sword is already looking kindly upon you.¡± Xiang Lenghong smiled and patted Bai Shaoqing: ¡°Why don¡¯t you head off now! Don¡¯t blame me for not reminding you, if within a month If you can¡¯t deliver the Bilu Sword, then you are not a member of this sect. You trespassed on my territory a few days ago, this junior Sect Leader will naturally have to settle that matter with you.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing was as cool as a cucumber, as if he did not heed Xiang Lenghong¡¯s warning.


    He walked out of the courtyard.


    The bright moon shone brightly in the sky, as the little person under the moon advanced slowly step by step.


    It was a fresh and comfortable night, the insects were making quiet noises, this should have been the most relaxing environment, but every step Bai Shaoqing took was cautious.


    He couldn¡¯t not be careful, couldn¡¯t a gentle song and dance become a bloodbath in the blink of an eye? The nicer the place, the greater the danger.


    Like him, he looked weak and vulnerable, but he could viciously murder someone with one strike.


    Translator Note:


    Awwww he needs the sword, so I guess he¡¯ll have to go running back to Feng Long hahaha.

 CH 5

    Let¡¯s all drink and sing our song ¡ª In your life could you live years long1.


    The wine was Luzhou Laojiao, and the song was a Huangmei Opera.


    The person was a dragon amongst men.


    In the enormous hall that had been lavishly decorated, an opera singer was performing to an audience of one. Sitting in the centre of the hall, there were a few fruits placed beside him, they were grapes that looked like sparkling translucent gems that were enough to make people drool. Underneath the grapes, there was a thin layer of crushed ice.


    In the sixth month of the lunar calendar, the ice was even more sparkling and translucent than the grapes.


    Although the Feng family were not as wealthy as the Bai family, they had a more noble air about them. There was no one who was dissatisfied with this newly elected Alliance Leader of Wulin. The Feng family¡¯s restaurants were abundant across the land, and earned quite a bit each day, what did it matter to be so decadent? Plus this person was born to enjoy the lavish pleasures.


    ¡°A sleepless night plagued with worries, I set aside the hidden traces. In the past, the sun toyed with the flower blossoms¡­..2¡±


    The footsteps on the stage were light, Feng Long stood up.


    ¡°Gongzi?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m annoyed, going out for a walk.¡± Feng Long said whilst walking out, ¡°There¡¯s no need to follow me.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    The actors and musicians on stage stayed in their place.


    Winding through the fragrant flower garden full of fluttering butterflies, then walking towards the little stream, Feng Long was feeling carefree and content, as well as less bored, it seemed that his mood had improved.


    He suddenly stopped.


    There were some muted moans coming from the other side of the wall. Sweet-sounding and enticing, it was enough to make anyone fantasise.


    Feng Long¡¯s eyes lit up brightly, and he jumped up and flew over the three meter high wall, landing into the green bamboo forest on the other side.


    Sure enough, there was someone, who happened to be by Feng Long¡¯s foot.


    His clothes were intact, but his hair was messed up. His face was flushed, his tender white fingertips tightly tugged on his own chest, his white teeth biting his bloodless lower lip, as if he was in pain.


    ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Feng Long was startled, and knelt beside the person who had been moaning, ¡± Shaoqing, xiandi, what¡¯s wrong with you?¡±


    ¡°No, don¡¯t come near me.¡± Bai Shaoqing frowned.


    How could he not frown? He had been waiting here for three days. It turned out the eldest son of the Feng family did not visit the garden often.


    ¡°Shaoqing, are you injured?¡± Feng Long grabbed his slender wrist, calculated his pulse, and raised an eyebrow, ¡°You were drugged?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know that person.¡± Bai Shaoqing seemed to be unable to endure the suffering, rolling and struggling in Feng Long¡¯s arms, his white face flushed so red it was as if it was bleeding. He suddenly grabbed Feng Long¡¯s hand and asked in a trembling voice, ¡°Da-ge, why are they doing this to me? I¡­I¡­ What have I done to them to deserve this?¡±


    ¡°Love philtre?¡± The effect of the potion has already taken effect. Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body was burning hot as if on fire, and his eyes were even more coquettish. With his soft waist constantly moving and rubbing on Feng Long¡¯s body, he couldn¡¯t help groaning, ¡°Then¡­what should I do?¡±


    Feng Long shook his head in embarrassment, ¡°This medicine is very strong, I¡¯m afraid it is no ordinary love philtre.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing was impressed. This was a sacred product of the Yunnan Huanxi Sect, and he had specially found it for Feng Long. After taking it, the stirring of amorous feelings were indeed hard to bear even for himself.


    ¡°Da-ge, help me!¡± Bai Shaoqing wailed, whilst leaning pitifully on Feng Long. His black hair was soaked in sweat.


    A flirtatious beauty, shaking one to the core.


    If you still don¡¯t take advantage of me, I will die from blood overflow.


    Although Bai Shaoqing had always hated the lust of men, but at this moment, he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little afraid that Feng Long was too much of a gentleman and would refuse to take advantage of the situation; if he was unable to get rid of the effects of the medicine, wouldn¡¯t it be trying to clever and ending up with an egg on his face and actually harming himself?


    Fortunately, Feng Long did not hesitate.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, da-ge is here.¡± He picked up Bai Shaoqing in his arms, using his qinggong he jumped up and down a few times before rushing towards the bedroom.


    He pushed open the door, and there was a big gorgeous bed that Bai Shaoqing had already laid down upon.


    Bai Shaoqing stretched out his hand, seemingly unintentionally but intentionally pulling on Feng Long¡¯s belt, ¡°Da-ge¡­¡± His lips had already been so bitten that they had lost their colour, but at this moment they were so beautiful that they were a plump and tender red.


    Feng Long¡¯s ever piercing eyes also began to become a little dazed, and he lowered his head. The hot heat from his breath spread from Bai Shaoqing¡¯s cheeks to his lips.


    ¡°Shaoqing, you have a fever.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing felt disdain, but he smiled even more brightly, moaning, he said: ¡°Yes, I feel hot all over, da-ge, don¡¯t go.¡±


    ¡°The love philtre you had is very strong, I am afraid that there is no cure for it except for c*pulation.¡±


    Well if that¡¯s the case, come on!


    Feng Long couldn¡¯t see the impatience in Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes, and continued to say in a deep voice, ¡°The most powerful love philtres are those in Chinese medicine which restrict the yin and yang qi3. Whether it¡¯s a man or a woman, both need more yang qi to detoxify. Even if I find a woman to c*pulate with you, it would not help. The poison you have needs a man to cure it.¡±


    The more he listened, the angrier Bai Shaoqing became. The sacred product of the Yunnan Huanxi Sect was not a small matter. It was not easy for him to endure it till now since swallowing it, and Feng Long was still here explaining in detail the things he already knew.


    He reached out putting his arms around Feng Long¡¯s neck, Bai Shaoqing held back his anger, and begged in a low voice, ¡°l understand clearly. In that case, please da-ge lend me some of your yang qi. I am asking you for it so da-ge does not need to feel bad about it.¡± This was the first time that he had begged someone to take advantage of him.


    He gritted his teeth, if it weren¡¯t for the Bilu sword on your waist, I¡­


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly do that.¡± Feng Long actually shook his head, ¡°Xiandi is clear as ice and clean as jade4, how could I do such a thing?¡±


    Feng Long was right. As soon as the blood lotus seeds entered his body, it ignited into a burst of hot energy, which began to repeatedly strike against the lustful energy in his body, and the two seemed to offset each other, which made him much more comfortable.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body, which was originally twisting around endlessly, gradually stopped moving.


    ¡°There are two blood lotus seeds. One has just been used to detoxify you, and this one, I will leave with xiandi.¡± Feng Long took Bai Shaoqing¡¯s hand and placed a blood-red lotus seed in the palm of shimmery and lustrous palm, ¡°Shaoqing, da-ge needs to say something that might not be pleasant to hear. You are too outstanding. In Jianghu, there are many people with evil hearts. You are travelling whilst you study all year round, but you have no martial arts, so you will inevitably encounter bad people. Keep this blood lotus seed on you to prevent people from drugging you.¡±


    It was an utter waste of a love philtre that he had worked hard to obtain, and Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face turned red for a while, and it took a long time before he said awkwardly, ¡°Thank you, da-ge.¡±


    ¡°Da-ge knows what¡¯s in your heart.¡± Feng Long patted the Bilu Sword on his waist and said with hatred: ¡°What happened today, da-ge will definitely help you get revenge. Do you remember what he looks like?¡±


    Things didn¡¯t go to plan, Bai Shaoqing was in a terrible mood, so the expression on his face did really match the fact that of someone who had just been drugged.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡± He hung his head in a daze. ¡°That person covered his face and didn¡¯t speak.¡±


    The cloud of sorrow suddenly arose, hovering for a while over his handsome face, before darting off under the eaves, and lingering behind the bright window.


    Who wouldn¡¯t pity such a person?


    Feng Long stared for a moment, and said softly: ¡°Shaoqing, stay in Feng Manor for a few days, okay?¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Bai Shaoqing was still looking down. ¡°I¡¯m used to wandering around, I would be uncomfortable here.¡±


    Just stay!¡± Feng Long stretched out his hand and gently pressed his shoulders, his eyes were sincere and full of kindness, which made people feel that even if the world¡¯s biggest and heaviest burden was handed over to this person, there would be no need to worry at all.


    Feng Long sighed, ¡°I know that you are tired.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s heart suddenly shook in an unknown place.


    Years of living a double-life, years of humiliation, years of living between life and death, years of living solitary in the wilderness helping himself to bandage up his own injuries. He didn¡¯t dare to believe that his heart could also be moved.


    He suddenly raised his head, his limpid eyes fixed on Feng Long. What he saw was another pair of eyes that were clearer than his own.


    Not only were they clear, but they also contained perseverance and composure, understanding and open-mindedness.


    ¡°Da-ge.¡± He suddenly wanted to cry.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s tears had never fallen easily, and only when he needed it most, he would shed a single drop. His tears were never wasted. Every time a drop fell, it was bound to accomplish a great feat, to learn a new martial art skill, or to kill a person he hated.


    Feng Long smiled, ¡°Shaoqing, aren¡¯t you tired?¡± He used both of his hands to place Shaoqing¡¯s pale hands together, ¡°Stay, it¡¯s not too late to go on the road again after you¡¯re fully rested.¡±


    A slight breeze came in through the window.


    Bai Shaoqing quietly resisted the teardrop, although his eyes were a little moist, the tears did not flow from his eyes.


    ¡°Thank you da-ge.¡±


    His heart was tired. People who are tired of heart cannot rest. The more they rest, the more tired they become. The more they rest, the less they don¡¯t want to go and think about those dark and bloody places.


    Bai Shaoqing understood that he had slept extremely well these three days. He was surprised that even the nightmares that had plagued him since he was a child had not occurred at all.


    The Feng family wasn¡¯t bad, it was just the Bilu Sword that was the problem.


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± He sighed.


    There was also a sigh suddenly behind him. Bai Shaoqing was startled, and turned around to see that it was Feng Long.


    ¡°Da-ge.¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing, you are sighing again.¡± Feng Long said, ¡°For the past three days, as soon as you are in front of these weeping willows, you will keep sighing. I have begun to wonder whether to uproot them.¡±


    ¡°Da-ge must be joking.¡± Bai Shaoqing turned his head and pulled the willow branch through the slender fingers, and smiled softly: ¡°Such a great willow tree should not be up rooted. Am I even worth all that?¡± He was extremely handsome and when he smiled, it was as if his whole body was faintly radiant.


    Feng Long looked at him, already bewildered to some degree.


    Bai Shaoqing suddenly said, ¡°Da-ge, I want to leave.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Feng Long was surprised, ¡°Why? You have only been here for three days?¡±


    Three days was already long enough. If I stay any longer, I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be willing to leave.


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to become frugal after becoming accustomed to luxury.¡± Bai Shaoqing said lightly: ¡°Da-ge is too kind, I do not dare to stay any longer.¡±


    Staring silently at Shaoqing for a moment, Feng Long sighed and said quietly, ¡°Shaoqing, oh, Shaoqing¡­¡± He said softly, ¡°You are outstanding and elegant, and open-minded. There is no one in the world that can compare to you. Someone like you should have brocade garments and jade meals6, being doted on by others.¡±


    ¡°Haha, da-ge over praises me.¡± Bai Shaoqing shook his head. ¡°I, Bai Shaoqing rely on my own two feet to travel thousands of miles, travelling and studying across the land, free and independent. What would I want with brocade garments and jade meals?¡±


    Feng Long was taken aback, staring into Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes, he seemed a little unwilling to let him go, ¡°Are you really going to leave?¡±


    ¡°En. I¡¯ll drink with da-ge again tonight and leave tomorrow.¡±


    I need to take advantage of being drunk to steal the sword, no matter whether I succeed or not, at least this matter will draw to a close.


    ¡°Drinking again?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing smiled cordially, ¡°da-ge, don¡¯t be stingy with your good wine in Mo Tianya.¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing, drinking is damaging to the body. You are weak, so it¡¯s better to drink less. Listen to the da-ge, we won¡¯t drink any wine.¡± Feng Long suddenly lowered his head, untied the Bilu Sword on his waist, and gave it to Bai Shaoqing: ¡± This sword is called Bilu, da-ge is giving it to you.¡±


    The emerald sword body was crystal clear and warm.


    Bai Shaoqing was shocked, he couldn¡¯t believe it: ¡°Bilu?¡±


    ¡°You are not involved in the affairs of Jianghu so it is not surprising that you don¡¯t know this sword.¡± Feng Long said softly: ¡°But this sword has a great reputation in Jianghu. Although it is not a magic weapon, it is extremely sharp. You should keep it with you in case you encounter any issues in Jianghu, you just need to take out this Bilu Sword, and the people in Jianghu will definitely help you in the name of Feng family.¡±


    ¡°No, no, this sword is too important, I would never dare to take it.¡±


    As he refused, the precious sword was pushed into Bai Shaoqing¡¯s hands. As his hands made contact with the sword, he felt its warmth, it was indeed crafted from a thousand-year-old warm jade.


    ¡°Take it, just think of it¡­¡± Feng Long hesitated for a moment before turning around, his tall figure exhibited a sense of desolation. He sighed, ¡°Think of it as da-ge accompanying you.¡±


    The Bilu sword in his hand suddenly became heavy.

 CH 6.1

    The night was as cool as water1.


    He smiled coldly in the darkness, all heart¡¯s were cold anyway.


    A passionate warm heart? He didn¡¯t believe it, he absolutely wouldn¡¯t believe it.


    The splendid sun rose again the next day, and Bai Shaoqing was already walking alone on the main road.


    Leaving without saying goodbye was the style of a bat. He had changed back his original black robes which were made of coarse fabric, and put back on those black shoes that were a bit rotten.


    Although he was long accustomed to these black robes and black shoes, they were uncomfortable. After having worn the silk robes and nice shoes that Fenglong prepared for him, how could these cheap things from the street make him feel comfortable? Bai Shaoqing sighed silently, it had only been a few days, but his body would remember the feeling of those nice things.


    What about his heart? His body had been seduced, but what about the heart.


    Walking alone under the scorching sun, his hands were also empty, the Bilu sword was nowhere to be seen. It had stayed in Mo Tianya, in that room where the distinguished guest had already departed, left there feeling lonely and empty just like Bai Shaoqing.


    However, soon its owner would see it and put it back in its place upon his waist where it belonged, just like Bai Shaoqing had retrieved his own black robes and black shoes.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want you to give it to me.¡± Bai Shaoqing placed the Bilu Sword on the bedside and muttered softly: ¡°I will give you three days, the bat will not take the sword. After three days, whether I have to snatch it or steal it, I will definitely have this sword in my hands.¡±


    Originally he had planned to steal the sword three days later, but only one day after leaving Mo Tianya, the sound of Feng Long¡¯s candid laughter kept surfacing in his mind from time to time.


    ¡°Why do I keep thinking about him?¡± Bai Shaoqing was annoyed: ¡°He¡¯s the Alliance Leader of Wulin. After I¡¯ve stolen the sword and entered Zhengyi Sect, we will be mortal enemies.¡±


    The less he wanted to think about it, the more confused his mind became. He just wanted to be as far as possible from Feng Long. He headed north without hiring a carriage or buying a horse. He was so upset that he didn¡¯t even want to use his qinggong, so he just walked hurriedly along the main road for three days.


    Three days later, he found out during the hardships of his travels that he was far away from Mo Tianya.


    Bai Shaoqing faced the south and forced a smile: ¡°Forget it, I haven¡¯t fully repaid you for your kindness. I¡¯ll wait till the end of the month before stealing the sword.¡±


    He thought that he might as well take advantage of being in the North by taking in the scenery and relaxing, if he was bored he could play his flute by the lake, or go into the forest to play his zither. Since he had plans to enter the Zhengyi Sect, he had no intention of continuing to secretly learn the other sect¡¯s martial arts. Over the last few days, he just wandered around casually as a scholar who did not know martial arts.


    On this day, he had nothing to do so he went to a br*thel.


    ¡°Are you looking for work?¡± The mama-san2 glanced at him, and said shrewdly: ¡°Little gege is quite good-looking, but we only need girls here. You should go search elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re mistaken.¡± Bai Shaoqing smiled softly: ¡°I am a travelling scholar who is lacking funds. I want to play the zither for your guests here and earn some funds.¡±


    ¡°Play the zither?¡± Bai Shaoqing had an outstanding aura about him, indistinctly revealing a slightly noble air, so the mama-san did not dare to ignore him so easily, thinking for a while and saying: ¡°Then wait here for a moment, I will ask around.¡±


    In the br*thel, there were one or two of the ladies who knew how to play the zither, and when they heard that Bai Shaoqing was a master in the art of the zither, how could they not admire him.


    A gloomy cold light flashed across his eyes, Bai Shaoqing smiled and said, ¡°What¡¯s the use of fair hands? I¡¯m just a little zither master, I can¡¯t compare to the son of the Prefectural Magistrate.¡±

 CH 6.2

    The next day, Bai Shaoqing left some money to thank the farmer for allowing him to stay the night, and his mood was more excited than ever.


    After another seven days of wandering around, the money he had earned that day by playing the zither in the br*thel had been almost used up. Although Bai Shaoqing was skilled in martial arts, he was very noble and virtuous, he abhorred theft and robbery aside from of course stealing martial arts techniques.


    He weighed the light money pouch in his hand, and then bought a steamed bun, and sighed, ¡°I don¡¯t have any more money. I won¡¯t rent a room tonight. I will go to the suburbs to find a family who might let me stay over for the night.¡±


    After leaving the city centre, he found that he was surrounded by the romantic scenery of the mountains and flower blossoms.


    Although Bai Shaoqing was cold and arrogant, there was also a kind of soft-heartedness in his bones. Seeing the wildflowers blooming in the mountains, he was actually like a child, wandering around the mountains for a long time in wonder. By the time it was necessary to go ask a family if he could stay over for the night, he had already passed all of the villages and would have been unable to find anyone.


    ¡°There¡¯s no place to stay.¡± Originally with his qinggong, he could find the next village in about half a shichen. But he knew that someone was secretly stalking him. How could he be willing to reveal his identity, he said to himself with a smile, ¡°I¡¯ll use the heavens as my blanket.¡±


    He looked for a clean section of the grass next to the stream, and really laid down and slept all night.


    The next day Bai Shaoqing woke up to the fragrance of flowers and the song of the birds, and suddenly felt different. When he got up, he saw that the money pouch around his waist was heavy, and there was a paper bag on the grass beside him.


    Bai Shaoqing opened it. There were two steamed buns and a half a roast chicken inside. They were all steaming hot. It was obvious that someone was afraid that he would not be able to eat breakfast, so they had bought it specially for him from the city.


    Bai Shaoqing knew very well what had happened, but deliberately feigned suspicion: ¡°Why is there food here? Huh? Why is my money pouch so full? Oh gosh, have I bumped into the Mountain Gods.¡±


    Whilst he was smiling internally, he bowed all around him and said: ¡°Last night, Shaoqing disturbed the Great Mountain Gods¡¯ cultivation, please forgive me. I dare not accept these things. There are many people in this world who are worse off than I. If the Great Immortals wish to do good deeds and accumulate virtue, I will help carry it out on your behalf.¡±


    He picked up the food and the money pouch, and headed all the way back into the city, and unexpectedly, he gave everything to the little beggars at the city gates. The little beggars cheered for a moment, before immediately gathering together to divide the half of the cold roast chicken. Bai Shaoqing watched them gobbling down the food, he smiled slightly and then turned to leave.


    He had given everything away and he had spent everything that he had earned. Not to mention paying for accommodation, he didn¡¯t even have enough to buy food. When Bai Shaoqing passed by the restaurants, he couldn¡¯t help but think of the good wine and food in Luoyang¡¯s Tan Xiao Pavilion, he laughed bitterly inside: This joke had gone too far.


    He shook his head a few times, looked at the restaurant¡¯s wooden signboard, held back his drool and was just about to turn around, when he suddenly heard a hearty laugh: ¡°Isn¡¯t this Bai xiongdi?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing turned his head in amazement and saw Feng Long rushing out of the restaurant. Feng Long grabbed his hand and said with delight: ¡°Xiongdi left without saying goodbye and for some reason left behind the gift I offered. Da-ge has been chasing you all this way and has finally found you.¡± He thrust the Bilu sword into Bai Shaoqing¡¯s hands and then pulled him into the restaurant.


    ¡°Why is da-ge here?¡±


    ¡°I have a matter to deal with around these parts, I knew that you travel around a lot, and thought that I might bump into you, so I brought the Bilu Sword with me. Unexpectedly, I managed to really bump into you.¡±


    Feng Long asked Bai Shaoqing to sit down at the table with many delicious plates upon it and then hurriedly called the waiter over to order some more delicacies and good wine.


    Bai Shaoqing was even more angry. He had always been calm and collected, but today he seemed in competition with Feng Long. He said coldly: ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask who was bullying me? Da-ge once said that you would teach a lesson to all those who bully me, are you going back on your word?¡±


    *Bang*! Feng Long smacked his chopsticks on the table.


    His handsome face was dark, he brooded for a long time before he said coldly: ¡°How could I not know? These last few days, I have been following you. Watching you play the zither in the br*thel, watching you fearlessly provoke that hedonistic son of the Prefectural Magistrate, watching you dare to sleep outside alone in the middle of nowhere, Shaoqing, you have too much courage.¡±


    ¡°Why did da-ge follow me?¡± Bai Shaoqing straightened his neck: ¡°Does the Wulin Alliance Leader like to sneak around?¡±


    ¡°You left without saying goodbye, wasn¡¯t it because you didn¡¯t want to see me?¡± Feng Long said angrily: ¡°If I jumped out to save you, would you be happy? I wanted to give you the Bilu Sword back and leave, but seeing your troublesome appearance, how could I not worry about you?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing shook slightly, his eyes sparkled suddenly, and he lowered his head hurriedly.


    ¡°If you knew that I didn¡¯t want to see you, then why did you suddenly come out and pretend to invite me to dinner?¡±


    The two of them walked leisurely. In the beginning, it was Feng Long who was following Bai Shaoqing, but unconsciously, it gradually turned into Bai Shaoqing who was following Feng Long around visiting the sights and scenery everywhere.


    Feng Long enjoyed seeing wonderful scenery, and the places he yearned to see were either deep in the mountains or over steep cliffs.


    ¡°There is Yuzhi Mountain1 nearby. On the 20th of every month, on the peak of the mountain, the spring water flowing down reflects perfectly the moonlight from the heavens. It is a truly beautiful sight.¡± Feng Long pointed to a spot not too far away


    Bai Shaoqing turned his head, the mountain really did look like a finger, although it was thin and long, it stood very much upright.


    Bai Shaoqing smiled and said nothing.


    Feng Long¡¯s gaze suddenly froze. His eyes were always deep and astute, at this moment they looked a little disoriented, after looking at Bai Shaoqing for a long while, there seemed to be an additional gleaming ray of light in his eyes.


    A calm hand came slowly as if breaking through layers of obstacles, gently pressing on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s thin shoulders.


    Bai Shaoqing was feeling a little numb, as if his shoulder had been touched gently by someone for the first time, as if this was the first time that someone had looked at him in this way. In his haziness, he seemed to have an urge to deliver himself.


    He had delivered himself quite a few times, only this time, he was actually very nervous.


    Under the moonlight, Feng Long was incredibly handsome with his slightly tanned skin and thick eyebrows which revealed a strong personality; it was as if he had been meticulously sculpted by the heavens.


    His throat felt dry, Bai Shaoqing moved his lips, suddenly he felt that he didn¡¯t want to wait any longer.


    ¡°Da-ge¡­¡­.¡±


    An indistinct noise, it was like a pebble skimming on the surface of a calm lake, as if disturbing the impeccable reflection cast by the moonlight. Feng Long suddenly shook, as if he¡¯d suddenly come back to his senses, his face looked panicked and ashamed, but all this quickly faded away, and then he smiled: ¡°Shaoqing, your clothes are all wet, although the weather is warm, you will still catch a cold like this.¡± With his hands still pressed on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s shoulders, he quietly used his martial arts to dry the other¡¯s clothing.


    A burst of warmth came over him, and Bai Shaoqing stared at Feng Long: Although he likes me, he doesn¡¯t dare to tell me. Oh right, he believes me to be of noble character and unquestionable integrity, someone of pure innocence, how could he know that I¡¯ve been sullied long ago?


    A night of unparalleled scenery, with the addition of some unspeakable thoughts between the two of them. The sky was gradually getting brighter, Feng Long glanced at Bai Shaoqing and said softly, ¡°Shaoqing, close your eyes.¡± His words were not as clear as yesterday evening.


    Bai Shaoqing secretly smiled internally and opened his eyes: ¡°Da-ge, although I don¡¯t know martial arts, I have always longed to be like the people of Wulin flying here and there. If you hold me and perform qinggong, I won¡¯t be afraid.¡±


    ¡°Do you like qinggong?¡± Feng Long asked, ¡°I will teach you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too late to learn now, such a pity.¡± Bai Shaoqing sighed, ¡°As long as someone is willing to show me a taste of qingqong that¡¯s enough.¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s eyes flickered again, then he lowered his head and smiled for a long time: ¡°Then I¡¯ll carry you up the mountain everyday.¡±


    ¡°Great, We saw Yuzhi Mountain last night, where are we going tonight?¡±


    Feng Long frowned, then his eyes lit up suddenly, and he said excitedly: ¡°I¡¯ll take you to a place. There is a place where no one is allowed to go, the scenery there is very unique.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask, just follow me.¡±


    He stretched out both his hands, grabbed Bai Shaoqing and headed down the mountain.

 CH 7.1

    As soon as they entered the city, Feng Long immediately retrieved his horse, as if where they were going was far away.


    Ten guards revealed themselves successively from the depths of the forest, and surrounded the two of them, all bright eyed, it was obvious that they were all martial arts masters. It was not known which sect¡¯s forbidden place it was to have such heavy security.


    Feng Long leisurely replied: ¡°It¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s the Alliance Leader.¡± Everyone bowed, seeing the handsome man beside Feng Long, they couldn¡¯t help to look a few more times over.


    ¡°Is everything well here?¡±


    ¡°In response to the Alliance Leader, outside there are seventy-two iron guards, and inside there are three elders, everything is in order.¡±


    Feng Long nodded gently, and then praised: ¡°You¡¯ve all been working hard, this is the forbidden place of Wulin, you mustn¡¯t be careless. This is my sworn brother, Shaoqing, he is the san-gongzi of the Bai family, he is chivalrous and knowledgeable, as well as honest and considerate.¡±


    Hearing Feng Long praise him so highly, Bai Shaoqing pursed his lips into a smile.


    ¡°We are not going into the forbidden land, we¡¯re just headed to Butterfly Spring to take a look around.¡± As the Alliance Leader of Wulin, naturally no one would stop Feng Long, they all made way for the horse.


    Feng Long turned around and smiled and then advanced forward with Bai Shaoqing.


    The mountain forest was vast, twisting and turning for a long while, when suddenly a small narrow and winding road appeared in front of them. Feng Long led Shaoqing slowly up the steps, after about thirty steps, there was another fork in the road. Heading up this fork in the road for a long while, they seemed to have arrived at another smaller forest.


    Feng Long turned around: ¡°Are you tired? We are nearly there.¡± He paused and then suddenly smiled: ¡°Or¡­¡­ da-ge could carry you.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing couldn¡¯t help laughing: ¡°I¡¯m not tired.¡± But his body had unconsciously leaned over to him.


    His body suddenly felt light, he¡¯d already been picked up by Feng Long.


    So it was really close.


    Bai Shaoqing was placed back on the ground and he looked up. So it turned out that in the middle of the little forest there was an empty space of no more than three zhang1, where upon the grass there were purple, white, yellow and red flowers.


    ¡°Da-ge did all that so that I could see these little flowers?¡±


    ¡°Have you seen in the grass there is the mouth of the Spring?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing took another look. In the middle of the grassland there was indeed the mouth of the Spring. It was very small and not much water, but water was babbling out and irrigating the grass around it.


    ¡°Since it¡¯s called Butterfly Spring, there must be some connection with butterflies right?¡±


    Feng Long nodded: ¡°In the evening, this place becomes a butterfly kingdom.¡± At that time, it was still daylight, but as he spoke, there was movement upon the sky.


    An indistinct fluttering noise was heard from within the forest.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyebrows twitched: ¡°It must be the butterflies coming.¡±


    Not long after, the sudden sound of the wind could be heard.


    An ordinary mottled butterfly seemed to come out from nowhere and fly over, hovering around the mouth of the Spring. After a while, there was another white butterfly that arrived.


    Bai Shaoqing suddenly exclaimed with shock: ¡°Indian Violet!¡± He stretched out his finger, pointing towards a butterfly that had just flown out of the forest.


    The butterfly was as big as the palm of his hand, from afar it resembled a violet in full bloom, it was a very rare species of butterfly.


    Amidst his joyful surprise, the sound of the wind got louder, a rumbling and fluttering came before their eyes. Their eyes became blurry, when tens of thousands of butterflies suddenly flew out from the forest at the same time, all heading towards the mouth of the Spring.


    What extreme magnifence, the most awe-inspiring sight.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes were bright and full of expression, watching the sky fill up with dancing butterflies. Feng Long stood by his side silently and smiled slightly.


    After a while, it was as if they had decided in advance, all the butterflies suddenly dispersed just like that, and flew off into all different directions. In a cup of tea¡¯s time2, all had left, with not one remaining.


    ¡°So beautiful¡­¡­.¡± After a long while, Bai Shaoqing finally uttered out. He turned to look at Feng Long and then lightly spit out two words: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°There is no luck to be had, each brass ring has a different marking upon it, so each one of them could be the right one.¡± Feng Long forced out a smile: ¡°In order to avoid reckless people randomly missing with the contraptions, we¡¯ve had to heavily guard the entrance.¡±


    The sky had already gradually become darker, Bai Shaoqing looked as if he was cold and began to lean closer towards Feng Long.


    ¡°Cold?¡± Feng Long put a hand on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s shoulder, secretly transferring some energy, to help his body expel the cold, as he continued to speak: ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not completely hopeless, before this heartless master died, he left behind a blueprint, and in it detailed the method on how to deactivate the contraption, as long as there is this manual, opening up the treasure is as easy as a hand¡¯s turn.


    ¡°I guess many people are trying to find the whereabouts of this book.¡±


    ¡°A lot of evil deeds have been done, just to gain this book.¡± Feng Long sighed.


    ¡°In the end, did someone manage to get it then?¡±


    Cang Ping of the West Mountains Sect, but by the time we found him, his corpse was already rotting.¡±


    ¡°What about the manual?¡±


    Feng Long shook his head and said: ¡°Even if someone got ahold of the manual it would be useless. It is heavily guarded, who could get in here without making a sound and open the treasure?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing agreed with him on this.


    Especially, regarding the three white bearded old men who were placed at the entrance of the treasure, their martial arts were unparalleled, if Bai Shaoqing had got close to them, his whereabouts would have immediately been revealed.


    Fortunately on that day he had made the prompt decision to make his exit.


    Just now when Feng Long had taken him on the horse into the forest just before, he thought that he had been exposed, and was dragged here to be identified by the three old masters.


    Bai Shaoqing suddenly sighed.


    ¡°Da-ge, are you really giving me the Bilu Sword?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    Under his bright gaze, Bai Shaoqing immediately felt his heart beat faster. Bai Shaoqing lightly glanced over at him as if he had decided on something, he nodded and muttered quietly: ¡°Ok¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Feeling better?¡±


    ¡°En?¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you cold?¡±


    It was the middle of summer, so how could he be cold? Bai Shaoqing could surreptitiously detect the warmth that Feng Long was transferring over to him, which was at length and undulating, magnanimously thoughtful without even a hint of concealment.


    Thinking about deceiving Feng Long in every respect, he was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable,


    The two of them left the forest in the middle of the night and looked for a nearby bank by the lake to spend the night.


    When the morning arrived, there was only Feng Long left, Bai Shaoqing¡¯s cloth bag and the Bili Sword, along with Bai Shaoqing were no longer there.


    Feng Long wasn¡¯t surprised either. His gaze glanced around and landed on a letter on the grass beside him.


    He opened it to see Bai Shaoqing¡¯s neat handwriting. I have inconvenienced da-ge for a long time and it is time for me to go on my way to study alone. The contraption manual that you mentioned yesterday, Shaoqing once had a chance to catch a glimpse of it. I am not a member of Wulin and never knew what it was. Hearing da-ge mentioning it, I realised it¡¯s importance. I have drawn from memory what I have seen of it, I don¡¯t know if it is of any use so please forgive me da-ge.


    At the bottom densely packed, he had actually written out the set up of the contraption, he¡¯d also drawn out the order of the thirty brass rings, as well as what would happen once each brass ring had been turned.


    Feng Long looked at it with much focus for a long time, committing it to memory, and then suddenly laughed lightly. He always had an imposing manner about him, but as he laughed, it revealed a very cold-hearted side of his soul.


    Originally he wanted to waste a bit more time, but he surrendered so easily.


    ¡°This little bat¡­¡­¡­¡± he said very quietly, his tone had a very slight unconscious intimacy about it.


    After Bai Shaoqing left the note and left, he was feeling very confused on the road.


    To write out the contraption manual from memory was not particularly rational, if Feng Long decided to investigate in detail the chain of events in the future, he would have to waste some effort in finding a way out. The one month deadline was already here, he had to deliver the Bilu Sword to Zhengyi Sect, just thinking about this made him feel incredibly guilty.


    He had betrayed many people in his life but he had never betrayed his mother. He would have never thought that today there would be another person that he couldn¡¯t bear to betray ¨C Feng Long.


    At that time, he was elated when he finally got hold of the contraption manual, especially when thinking about those pills that could increase his martial arts, he couldn¡¯t even wait another night and pounced over to the hidden treasure.


    Although he had the contraption manual in hand, he could not get past the old grand masters, and almost lost his life in the forest, at that time, he had truly despised the Wulin Alliance Leader¡¯s orders.


    Since the manual was essentially useless in his hands, why not have Feng Long owe him a favour, it could also be compensation for the Bilu Sword.


    These thoughts circled around in his mind as Bai Shaoqing shook his head violently trying to forget the sight of the Milky Way under the moonlight and the unparalleled sight of the dancing butterflies before the Spring.


    It was exchanging one thing for another, that was it. The Bilu Sword for the hidden treasure.

 CH 7.2

    He did not even notice that he had already arrived in Jinling1.


    ¡°Junior Leader Xiang seems to have known that I would come with the sword?¡±


    Xiang Lenghong laughed like a wealthy nobleman who was welcoming his fifth concubine.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been pacing back and forth in front of my door for three days, whilst holding the Bilu Sword in your hands.¡± Xiang Lenghong laughed again and said: ¡°If I didn¡¯t even know that, then I¡¯d really lose face. Bat gongzi congratulations you¡¯ve succeeded in becoming an apprentice.¡± He reached out with his hand.


    Bai Shaoqing coldly twitched his lip, and lowered his head to look at the warm Bilu Sword in his hand. From his gaze, it looked as if he was reluctant to part with it: ¡°Don¡¯t I need to personally present it to the Sect Leader?¡±


    ¡°I will take a look, check its authenticity and then you¡¯ll be a member of Zhengyi Sect.¡±


    Xiang Lenghong grabbed the Bilu Sword with force. Bai Shaoqing gritted his teeth, and released his pale fingers one by one.


    Xiang Lenghong picked up the sword, and began to look over it in detail: ¡°It is indeed the Bilu Sword, from now on the Feng family¡¯s Mo Tianya is nothing to be feared.¡± He turned around, waved with a finger, and immediately a man came out from behind the curtain. His face was expressionless and simply awaiting orders.


    ¡°The youngest son of the Sima family has just become a skilled master. Deliver this sword to the Jiangnan branch, and ask the Left Branch Master to intercept him on Jiangnan Road and kill him with this sword.¡± Xiang Lenghong casually handed the Bilu Sword to his subordinate: ¡°Deliver his body back to the Sima family.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Bai Shaoqing was slightly taken aback, he frowned and said: ¡°Junior Sect Leader, what is the meaning of this?¡±


    ¡°Out of the four great families in Jianghu, the Feng family and the Sima family have produced the most exceptional youths.¡± Xiang Lenghong said: ¡°Naturally we need to take some precautions.¡±


    ¡°What you¡¯re saying is that Zhengyi Sect wants to set up the Wulin Alliance Leader?¡±


    He sat down unhurriedly and took a small sip of the Longjing tea, it was indeed fragrant.


    ¡°I heard that Feng Long and Bai Shaoqing are sworn brothers,¡± Xiang Lenghong revealed a strange smile of miscomprehension: ¡°Perhaps Bai san-gongzi doesn¡¯t have the heart for this to happen?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing stared silent, only his lip twitched slightly, and then quickly turned his head pretending to appreciate the art on the wall.


    Bai Shaoqing noticed that the person who had taken away the sword was no longer behind the curtain, he was confused, but still kept a smile on his face. He cupped his hands together and said: ¡°Since I¡¯ve delivered the sword, tomorrow at this time, I will come again to pay my respects to shifu.¡±


    He didn¡¯t wait for Xiang Lenghong to respond and turned away to leave the main hall.


    After leaving the manor, he immediately hurried up the road.


    His qinggong was outstanding, he weaved left and right and went round the whole mountain forest, as if he was trying to find a trail, after a while, he discovered that the person he was looking for was just up ahead, he took out a purplish red pill from his sleeve.


    ¡°This xiongdi in front, please could you wait a moment.¡±


    There was indeed someone in the forest, who was making haste on his journey, hearing someone call him, he cautiously turned around.


    ¡°What is it?¡± Seeing that it was Bai Shaoqing who he had just seen at the branch, he lowered his guard somewhat.


    Bai Shaoqing swept a glance over him and saw that the other had a long wrapped up object on his back, it was clearly the Bilu Sword was inside wrapped up to not attract unwanted attention.


    ¡°Junior Sect Leader Xiang has some more orders,¡± Bai Shaoqing leisurely advanced forward, he stretched out his hand to reveal the purplish red pill, then smiled and said: ¡°Xiongdi, you are transporting a precious item, and the road is dangerous, this pill is from Junior Sect Leader Xiong, for your protection¡­¡­.¡±


    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.


    Xiang Lenghong was smiling as he appeared before Bai Shaoqing.


    ¡°This is what¡¯s called the mantis in front and the oriole in the back3. Xiang Lenghong said: ¡°You were reluctant to part with the Bilu Sword, pacing back and forth for three days before delivering it, how could I not be vigilant?¡±


    ¡°When Junior Sect Leader Xiang called a nobody to deliver the Bilu Sword, it was all part of your plan.¡±


    ¡°A nobody? He¡¯s actually my leading disciple. The poison you put on the Bilu Sword is indeed ruthless, what is its name?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing had no fear, his blank eyes glanced over at him indifferently: ¡°This drug was recently created by the Nanshan Sect, who knows what its name is? On my way here, I was afraid someone would steal the sword, so I put some on the sword, if I lost it, it would be easy to follow, and the thief would also be poisoned, it¡¯s all quite reasonable.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to quibble, you can explain it all to the Sect Leader.¡±


    The wind picked up again.


    Xiang Lenghong had hit his acupoint, and his eyes began to close.


    His chest felt limp and numb, it felt like his acupoint had been undone.


    Bai Shaoqing slowly opened his eyes.


    What was he going to see? Bai Shaoqing was incredibly calm, the Zhengyi Sect did not have any virtuous people, and plus Xiang Lenghong had said that he was going to turn him over to the Sect Leader to be dealt with.


    Why did you put poison on the Bilu sword in advance, why did you secretly want to take the sword back. He could make up some nonsense, but it probably wouldn¡¯t allow him to get away from the words ¡®harbouring unfathomable motives¡¯.


    He pursed his elegant lips together, thinking about the people who had once offended the Zhengyi Sect, not one of them had not suffered intensely before their deaths. Apparently, Zhengyi Sect even had a torture chamber specifically to torture people. The Chamber Master, Hu Yang, was rumoured to be ruthless and cruel as well as having a penchant for torturing people and making them suffer.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±


    The gentle voice entered into his ears, Bai Shaoqing was suddenly shaken, his eyelashes slightly trembling, with much surprise he called out: ¡°Da-ge?¡± He was about to reach out to shake hands with Feng Long, but he felt something was wrong, and his gaze immediately moved downwards.


    On Feng Long¡¯s waist, was the Bilu Sword suspended there calmly.


    As soon as his eyes fell upon that warm jade, Bai Shaoqing felt waves and waves of distress and his body suddenly stiffened up.


    His astute eyes, which were normally sparkling and translucent, closed tightly, as if he couldn¡¯t bear to look at the world¡¯s most cruel thing happening in front of their eyes. But he had already seen that flash of green, it was like a poison that had already entered his system, entering through his eyes, and spreading through his body by travelling through all his veins and arteries, and slowly corroding his heart.


    His handsome face twitched and twisted.


    His long slender fingers closed tightly into a fist, his palm, which had been pricked, was dripping blood, drop by drop, drip dropping down.


    Feng Long stood in front of the bed: ¡°Are you surprised? His tone was calm, except for an additional kind of resolution and prestige that Bai Shaoqing had never heard in it before, but it was still as mellow as before.


    Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t answer.


    ¡°Shaoqing, why did you take the Bilu Sword from Xiang Lenghong?¡±


    He suddenly sighed softly.


    As if he¡¯d been touched by a branding iron, Bai Shaoqing suddenly looked up. Those pitch-black eyes were opened very wide, as if his eyeballs were about to pop out of the sockets.


    Looking at Bai Shaoqing¡¯s angry stare, Feng Long smiled, ¡°I understand.¡±


    What do you understand? What do you understand? Bai Shaoqing¡¯s heart screamed: Don¡¯t imagine that one¡¯s love is reciprocated. Why did I take the Bilu Sword, even if there are a thousand reasons, not one of them is for you!


    He tightly clutched onto the bed sheet at his side and stared firmly at Feng Long.


    Wave after wave of anger stirred around in his eyes before he slowly lowered his head.


    ¡°The Great Sect Leader Feng, is indeed incredible.¡± These were actually the first words to come out of his mouth, his usually clear voice, was already hoarse.


    ¡°Shaoqing, you should call me da-ge,¡± Feng Long smiled slightly: ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to acknowledge me as your da-ge anymore, then you should address me as shifu. Unless¡­.. You have already given up on learning the Horizontal Opposing Sun Technique?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing gritted his teeth, he fiercely closed his eyes and took two deep breaths.


    When he calmed down he opened his eyes, and surprisingly even his face was looking a lot calmer.


    ¡°Shifu already knew for a long time that I was the bat.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Shifu already knew that I was in possession of the contraption manual?¡±


    The Cang family of Xishan has the most outstanding qinggong in Wulin, the mysterious bat¡¯s qinggong was virtually the same as the Cang family¡¯s technique.¡± Feng Long said quietly: ¡°Since you were able to obtain their family¡¯s martial arts manual, then naturally the contraption manual was also in the bat¡¯s hands. Otherwise, why would someone as busy as me go all the way to the Bai family for an insignificant bat?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s pale face was just as pale as before but at this moment, his body was no longer stiff.


    He suddenly smiled and got up: ¡°If shifu wanted the contraption manual, why go through all that trouble? If you had asked, this disciple would have immediately offered it to you?¡±


    ¡°And if you didn¡¯t?¡± Feng Long cocked his head, his deep eyes stared at Bai Shaoqing then he said lightly: ¡°You are someone who is stubborn, and could do something unexpected. Plus¡­¡­ I actually kind of like it when you call me da-ge.¡±


    ¡°Thank you shifu for looking upon me favourably.¡± Bai Shaoqing gave his thanks fluidly, and had already got up from the bed.


    ¡°The ceremony to become your apprentice has not been completed¡­..¡± He treated the place like his own home, and walked over to the window and picked up a small cup and poured half a cup of hot tea.


    He walked up to Feng Long without the slightest ounce of awkwardness, and unhurriedly kneeled before him.


    He held the cup of tea up above his head: ¡°This is a cup of tea from this apprentice to shifu, please could shifu accept it.¡±


    Feng Long towered above him, smiling slightly without saying a word.


    ¡°Why does shifu not drink? Unless shifu regrets his decision and doesn¡¯t want to take me as a disciple anymore?¡± Bai Shaoqing looked up, his cold eyes glanced up: ¡°Unless shifu is worried that there is poison in the cup?¡±


    Feng Long frowned ever so slightly and then stretched out his hand.


    ¡°Thirty-four families.¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± Bai Shaoqing coldly raised his lips: ¡°Well more than thirty-four people.¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s face tightened instantly, and the corners of his lips twitched again.


    ¡°Thirty-four¡­¡± Feng Long sat down on the bed and looked down: ¡°So there are already thirty-four. It seems that all those who have tasted you, have already arrived in the underworld.¡±


    ¡°There have been more than thirty-four who have tasted, and more than thirty-four that have been killed.¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes were cold: ¡°There are a few that I let go for now, I¡¯ll kill them in the future.¡± He stared fiercely at Feng Long: ¡°If you touch me, you will end up like them.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d be willing to kill me?¡±


    ¡°It will happen sooner or later.¡±


    Feng Long seemed to smile but not smile, his all powerful hand gently caressed Shaoqing¡¯s face.


    Someone who looks like this, could really have such a filthy body?¡± Feng Long lowered his voice, blowing warm air into Bai Shaoqing¡¯s ear, ¡°I will make you recover your nascent purity.¡±


    Shaoqing felt that something was odd, and his bright eyes turned to Feng Long¡¯s handsome face.


    Feng Long stood up, his fingers moved and he sealed upon a few more acupoints on his body.


    The little bit of blood flow that he had just been secretly slowly opening was completely sealed again in an instant, Bai Shaoqing couldn¡¯t help but give Feng Long a ruthless look.


    ¡°Obediently stay in bed.¡± Feng Long said: ¡°You will regret it if you try to forcefully undo the Feng family¡¯s acupoint method.¡±


    Seeing Feng Long¡¯s back disappear, naturally Bai Shaoqing would not listen to his words, and immediately tried to circulate his energy. The heat flowed to the sealed acupuncture points on the chest. After circulating twice, the acupuncture points still could not be forced open. Instead, a slight numbness rose from the acupuncture points and gradually turned into an aching itchiness in his heart.


    Gradually, his entire body was in pain as if he¡¯d been continuously bitten by ants all over.


    A sweatbead started to roll down silently from his forehead.


    ¡°I guessed that you would try to force open your sealed acupoints.¡± His chin was lifted up lightly. It was not known when Feng Long had come back. ¡°Trying to use your meager internal strength to break my acupoints?¡± His eyes flickered with ridicule and mocking.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s pitch black eyes coldly looked to the side.


    He¡¯d already been caught, there was no need to pointlessly argue with him.


    ¡°Shaoqing, have you ever heard of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew?¡±


    Shaoqing suddenly trembled, ¡°Countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew from Miaojiang4?¡±


    ¡°Countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew is the panacea of Miaojiang, beautiful women regard it as life. If one¡¯s face has been destroyed, one just needs to put some of the dew upon it, the skin will appear like it is slowly corroding, but then there will be new skin that is as tender and as smooth as a new-born to replace it.¡± Feng Long said quietly: ¡°Of course, when the dew corrodes the old scars, it can be a little uncomfortable. If one wants to be beautiful, one must suffer a little.¡±


    In reality, using the Countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, was not only suffering a little pain?


    He felt a cold shiver down his spine.


    ¡°You¡­¡­.¡± Bai Shaoqing pursed his lips then asked vigilantly: ¡°What do you want to do to me?¡±


    ¡°So it turns out that you¡¯re not so courageous.¡± Feng Long reached out and flipped Bai Shaoqing over who was powerless to resist. He jeered, as he easily tore apart the black robes. And then he separated his pale thighs, to reveal his pink chrysanthemum cave.


    His face displayed his humiliation, as Bai Shaoqing was being controlled by the other, unable to resist, he gritted his teeth and didn¡¯t say a word.


    Although he had used himself to tease people, he had never really had his body defiled. He didn¡¯t expect that the words he had said in anger would actually incite Feng Long, leading to some truly awful consequences.


    However, he was very stubborn, since they had arrived at this point, he was not willing to offer an explanation either. He lifted his head, closed his eyes and submitted to the will of the heavens.


    ¡°Such a beautiful colour.¡± Feng Long caressed his tender smooth thigh, ¡°What a shame that it¡¯s been played with by everyone. Shaoqing, how could you not know how to cherish yourself?¡±


    In the next moment, there was the sound of the popping off of a bottle cork. The cold mouth of the bottle was resolutely and slowly inserted into Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body.


    The countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew slowly dripped down the long narrow passageway and entered, as soon as it encountered flesh, it dissolved into traces of watery blood, to go as far as to want to melt off an entire layer of skin.


    ¡°Ummmmm¡­¡± He bit down with force and fresh blood flowed from his lips. The sharp pain of being eroded by the medicine went from the most sensitive area to eventually run through his entire body like a hurricane. If his acupoints had not been sealed, Bai Shaoqing would have already been twisting around on the bed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t hurt yourself.¡± Feng Long stared at him, and then pressed down solidly on his shoulder, he flicked his finger lightly and sealed another acupoint at the back of his head.


    His teeth relaxed, now he no longer even had the right to clench his teeth.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes revealed an inconcealable resentment.


    Feng Long smiled slightly, ¡°If I said that I¡¯m doing this for your own good, you¡¯ll definitely feel indignant.¡± His slight smile remained, he slightly raised his butt*cks, to make the corrosive liquid enter more deeply into his body.


    The body in his hands began to tremble more violently, but those pitch black pupils emitted an unyielding ray of light.


    ¡°Shaoqing, starting from today, you¡¯ll be the same as a newborn, completely pure.¡± His two hands supported his face on both sides, Feng Long towered over him and then leaned in close, with bright eyes he said: ¡°From now on you belong to me, from head to toe, every strand of hair belongs to me.¡±


    A pair of hot lips covered over his, his lungs did not have much air left, and he was beginning to lose consciousness.


    ¡°Although the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew is precious, I won¡¯t be stingy. Since you dare to boast that thirty four people have touched you then I will use it to clean you thirty four times.¡±


    In the darkness, the sound of Feng Long came as if coming from the edge of hell.


    Every word cutting into his soul.


    Translator Note:


    Oh gosh¡­. That really gives new meaning to tearing someone a new one¡­ WTFFFF¡­


    On a less grim note, I saw that the LA has made Xiang Lenghong a girl when he¡¯s a middle-aged country hick here.. lol..


    Well I guess the drama had to change quite a bit.. wonder if it will actually see the light of day¡­.

 CH 8.1

    Feng Long was a man of his word.


    Bai Shaoqing had never been a stubborn person who didn¡¯t know how to adapt to a situation. He rolled his eyes ever so slightly and then looked at Feng Long, ¡°Shifu, do you really have the heart to treat Shaoqing this way?¡±


    ¡°Haha, now you are willing to recognize me as your shifu?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t Shaoqing kneel down yesterday and serve shifu tea as part of the apprentice acceptance ceremony?¡± Bai Shaoqing pursed his lips, and his pale face was covered with an invisible halo. ¡°Shifu is renowned across Jianghu and shifu is unbeatable. So how could you be afraid of the Hu family¡¯s knife? Shaoqing just wanted to see how powerful shifu is.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Feng Long squinted, ¡°Am I that great?¡±


    ¡°Of course you¡¯re amazing.¡±


    Feng Long seemed very happy, and began to laugh out loud. That deep laugh reminded Bai Shaoqing of the days when they were together travelling around in Jianghu.


    The Milky Way under the waterfall and the fluttering butterflies flying all over the sky.


    An indescribable sorrow flooded from the bottom of his heart, and he unconsciously looked towards Feng Long with a strangeness in his gaze. He raised his head to look at this man with the imposing and impressive presence, Bai Shaoqing suddenly became on guard again.


    ¡°Shifu, those bottles of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew¡­¡± He questioned whilst putting on an act, ¡°Don¡¯t you need to save a few? Thirty-four times seems a bit of a waste of time.¡±


    The dizzying pain forced him to half-close those eyes filled with hate, and then they were instantly overwhelmed by helplessness. It was not only his slender and fair hands that trembled, but also his entire body that was unable to fight the torment any longer.


    It was the first time he met someone who would torture him so cruelly since beginning to learn martial arts.


    Li Weitian of the Kongtong Sect seemed like a noble gentleman on the surface, but had a concealed lustful side that was truly disdainful. Bai Shaoqing used a few tricks, and it took only two days to learn Kongtong¡¯s nine fists from him. On the third day, Li Weitian died by his hand.


    ¡°You must think I¡¯m too cruel.¡± An elegant smile came to his lips, Feng Long released Bai Shaoqing¡¯s acupuncture points, and locked the person who started to struggle as soon as he was free in his arms. ¡°Seeing you like this, I almost don¡¯t have the heart to continue.¡±


    He carefully stroked the delicate skin of his thighs.


    Bai Shaoqing knew what he was going to do and struggled fiercely.


    His stubborn struggle didn¡¯t even merit a sneer from Feng Long.


    His butt*cks were firmly lifted, and the liquid medicine poured into the depths of the body again as it did in the previous few days. Although it was not his first time experiencing this, the hoarse groan of pain escaped through his gritted teeth.


    His silky black hair was stuck on his face soaked with sweat.


    ¡°Just kill me!¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing, how do you want me to treat you?¡± Feng Long asked in a deep voice, ¡°Is there anyone you won¡¯t just arbitrarily accept? Is there anyone you won¡¯t throw away like worn shoes?¡±


    ¡°How can I get their martial arts secrets if I don¡¯t arbitrarily accept people? If I don¡¯t abandon them, should I give myself to them and be bullied by them all my life?¡± Bai Shaoqing had a pitiful look on his face, his eyes widened: ¡°You are the Feng family¡¯s eldest son, everyone flatters and admires you. Do you know how they bullied me and my mother when I was young?¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s sturdy chest seemed to become more rigid.


    ¡°Utter impenitence.¡± He said after a long while. Feng Long said: ¡°No matter how much you suffer, it is not an excuse for such absurd behaviour.¡±


    Although his handsome face was distorted with pain, Bai Shaoqing still laughed loudly, ¡°Absurd? Can I be more absurd than you? I just struggle to survive. But you are the Alliance Leader of Wulin and the Sect Leader of Jianghu¡¯s largest non-orthodox sect. This world is truly upside down, there is no distinction between black and white.¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s face gradually darkened, whilst Bai Shaoqing laughed more and more freely, just like the sorrow and grief in his heart, growing stronger and stronger. He laughed and coughed, and raised his hand to wipe the blood on his lips, seeming to have completely forgotten the severe pain in his lower body.


    Feng Long suddenly reached out, hitting an acupuncture point on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body, and the sound of his mad laughter came to an abrupt end.


    ¡°You¡¯re tired.¡±


    Before falling into the silent darkness, he heard those words from Feng Long.


    Bai Shaoqing closed his eyes peacefully.


    You¡¯re right, I¡¯m tired.


    Too tired.


    Translator Note:


    Sowweeee for the slow update on this one! I have been busy this week, as I¡¯m changing jobs¡­ kinda nervous because it¡¯s my first day on Monday so I¡¯m kinda feeling antsy this weekend. This chapter has been questionably proofread, I¡¯ll try to update the rest of it maybe this weekend but I¡¯m having trouble concentrating .????(£¯¦Ø£Ü)????.


    Urmmmm¡­ also for those who were wondering ¨C I¡¯m like 99% pretty sure that this is a HE lol.

 CH 8.2

    When he woke up again, Bai Shaoqing felt a noticeable difference in his body. The pain that he had been constantly feeling seemed to have disappeared, as well as that feeling of constant confusion and general weakness all over his body. It was as if his entire body seemed to have improved.


    ¡°Originally, based on your nature, using one trick thirty-four times in a row would be far too boring.¡±


    ¡°My nature?¡± Feng Long advanced forward and sat on the side of the bed, ¡°I originally wanted to tell you, that for the sake of my only apprentice¡¯s health, the remaining twenty-two times will be temporarily postponed.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing seemed to be in a daze, ¡°Oh, it turns out that shifu is so considerate to this disciple? That¡¯s right, it would be a pity for the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew to be entirely wasted on me.¡±


    ¡°If you let others touch you again, not only will you be punished, but you will also have to suffer all the times that have been postponed.¡± Feng Long warned in a low voice.


    Why would Bai Shaoqing misbehave at this moment? He immediately lowered his head, ¡°Yes, this disciple understands.¡±


    Feng Long thought that it was quite laughable. ¡°Now you have become a good disciple again? How did you know that I was going to start teaching you martial arts?¡±


    ¡°This disciple has no internal strength in my body now, and shifu has stopped the usage of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew.¡± Bai Shaoqing raised his lips into a slight smile, ¡°From these two points,I was able to guess.¡±


    Feng Long stared at Bai Shaoqing with a terrifying gaze, but suddenly smiled ever so slightly, ¡°Your internal strength is a mess, it¡¯s easy to get rid of but it takes a lot of thought to get rid of it without hurting your foundation.¡± He placed two fingers on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s wrist to take his pulse, he listened quietly for a while, ¡°The medicine that I have given you these past few days have been effective. Although you have no internal strength, your blood flow is better than before.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, shifu.¡±


    Feng Long sneered, ¡°Someone said yesterday that one day they will kill me.¡±


    ¡°If I can kill the shifu, it means that I¡¯m able to make green out of blue1.¡± Bai Shaoqing also sneered, ¡°Shifu should be happy to have a successor.¡±


    Their eyes suddenly collided and sparks flew all around.


    ¡°You¡¯ve only got a bit better and you¡¯re already unruly.¡± Feng Long nodded and grabbed him, pulling Bai Shaoqing from the pile of silk sheets, and said with a wicked smile: ¡°As your shifu, I need to receive some form of payment.¡±


    The smile on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face was suddenly full of charm, ¡°This disciple has always been obedient and docile to any shifu who is willing to teach me something.¡±


    ¡°*Pah*!¡± With a fierce slap, Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body was slanted to the side.


    Feng Long¡¯s face was gloomy, ¡°Shaoqing, don¡¯t go overboard.¡±


    ¡°Shifu, when did Shaoqing go overboard? Is it bad to be obedient?¡± Bai Shaoqing slowly sat up from the bed, his left cheek already swollen. Wisps of blood began to drip and dribble down onto the spotless white silk.


    ¡°If you mention anything about you and those men again, I will immediately use the remaining twenty-two bottles of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew on you.¡± His fierce gaze rested on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face for a while before Feng Long slowly reduced his anger and recovered his calm. Pulling Bai Shaoqing towards him again, he touched his smooth chin, ¡°Obedient and docile? Sounds good. Well, I don¡¯t like you calling me shifu, Shaoqing, let me hear you call me da-ge.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you look at me?¡± He twisted his chin, forcing Bai Shaoqing to face him, Feng Long said, ¡°When you used to call da-ge, your eyes were always looking at me.¡±


    His fist clenched by the side of his body.


    Bai Shaoqing gritted his teeth so hard, it was as if he was using all his force to crush his own teeth.


    ¡°Say it again.¡±


    ¡°Da-ge.¡± Although his chin was raised and his face was facing Feng Long¡¯s direction, his gaze still evaded him, unconsciously looking downwards.


    ¡°Again.¡±


    ¡°Da-ge.¡±


    ¡°Again.¡±


    Just like a string that had been stretched so tightly suddenly broke, Bai Shaoqing couldn¡¯t help suddenly turning his gaze back to Feng Long¡¯s face, and he looked directly into Feng Long¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°I, hate, you.¡± He paused between every word, his voice was soft and slow.


    Feng Long sneered, ¡°So that¡¯s why you swore to kill me?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing was silent.


    Silence sometimes equaled acquiescence.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Feng Long suddenly sighed faintly, and embraced Bai Shaoqing in his arms. ¡°For the bat who abandoned everyone like old shoes, your most hated person is me. Then that means you¡¯re putting all your eyes and all your thoughts on me!¡±


    Because hate will always be more carved in the bones and engraved in the heart2 compared to love.


    Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique was the most yang and the firmest technique, it was also the oddest technique in Wulin. Its oddity lay in the fact that within Wulin, few had ever experienced it.


    Things that rarely appeared, were therefore more mysterious and precious.


    The white robes looked like snow.


    His long and slender body with the addition of his handsome eyebrows always attracted people¡¯s attention.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s incomprehensible eyes were always sparkling and moving to see, he leaned over towards Feng Long slightly, revealing a smile. ¡°No wonder there are many places that don¡¯t make sense, please could shifu explain.¡± He unexpectedly stood up and bowed properly.


    At this moment, he looked exactly like an eager disciple.


    Feng Long sat in the chair and accepted his bow, but changed the subject, ¡°The treasure, I got it out.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations, shifu¡­¡± There was no shock on his face, but his heart was aching slightly. ¡°No, congratulations, da-ge.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing raised his eyes and secretly glanced at Feng Long. Why did he unexpectedly write out from memory the contraption manual that he had worked tirelessly to retrieve that day, and left it silently with Feng Long?


    ¡°Aside from a lot of gold, silver and jewels,¡± Feng Long said, ¡°The two Heaven and Earth shaking pills have also been obtained.¡±


    ¡°Congratulations, da-ge.¡±


    He calmly stared at Shaoqing who was dressed in snow-white robes, Feng Long suddenly sighed, ¡°Shaoqing, you look so good in white.¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing still prefers black clothes.¡± Bai Shaoqing replied lightly, ¡°Aren¡¯t bats always black?¡±


    ¡°Do you hate white?¡±


    ¡°Who is worthy of wearing white in this world?¡±


    ¡°What about you?¡± Feng Long asked.


    Bai Shaoqing sneered without hesitation, ¡°Of course I¡¯m not that clean. doesn¡¯t da-ge already know Shaoqing¡¯s previous behaviour?¡± He turned his eyes to his white robes, and suddenly squinted his eyes, as if this pure colour was hurting him.


    Feng Long suddenly snorted.


    ¡°Luo Wenlong, I had him killed this morning.¡±


    He originally thought that this might affect Bai Shaoqing a little, but the latter didn¡¯t care at all. He just turned around and sat down again with a smile. ¡°Wasn¡¯t he an able subordinate of da-ge?¡±


    A pair of hot lips slowly approached, and pressed against his pale lips, and passed through a burst of pure energy.


    Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique, the firmest and the most Yang technique.


    The warm current flowed down from his throat and passed through his heart before continuing through his veins.


    ¡°Did you let him touch you?¡± Feng Long asked in a deep voice after the kiss.


    Bai Shaoqing desperately wanted to lie. He had lied countless times in his life. However, because of the other¡¯s eyes, he couldn¡¯t lie. What¡¯s more, making Feng Long angry was a brand new pleasure that Bai Shaoqing had gradually begun to enjoy.


    But ¡ª¡ª


    ¡°No.¡± He still told the truth.


    Feng Long smiled, ¡°I believe in you.¡±


    ¡°You believe me?¡± Bai Shaoqing was stunned, and then a cold self-mocking statement escaped from his lips. ¡°That¡¯s right! Just like I believed you that day.¡± He looked at Feng Long firmly, and suddenly said with hatred: ¡°Don¡¯t think you can treat me as a toy just for you! You disdain that I am a broken flower, a withered willow3 and want me to become clean again. I can tell you now, although I, Bai Shaoqing, am not a peerless beauty, there are many men fighting over me.¡±


    He expected Feng Long to be furious, but Feng Long smiled even more gracefully.


    ¡°Shaoqing, your behaviour is so inconsistent. If you want to learn my martial arts, you should flatter me and be an obedient disciple. If you want to irritate me, you should not listen to me and be unwilling to address me as da-ge.¡± Feng Long pressed against Bai Shaoqing on the chair, and from above, he asked leisurely, ¡°Do you want to leave? Or do you want to learn the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique? Or do you want to steal the Heaven and Earth shattering pill?¡±


    ¡°I want to kill you.¡± Bai Shaoqing raised his head and looked up, as if he was sure Feng Long would not attack him. ¡°I want to leave so I can practice hard my martial arts and then kill you; I want to learn the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique to kill you; I want to steal the Heaven and Earth shaking pill to increase my martial arts skill, so that I can kill you.¡± He stopped, and suddenly smiled gently, and his eyes glistened with the haughtiness of a child. ¡°I suddenly discovered that staying here as your apprentice means that I can carry out a sneak attack and I can piss you off.¡±


    Feng Long looked up to the sky and laughed heartily. After laughing, he looked down at Bai Shaoqing and said solemnly: ¡°Remember this. If you dare to seduce my subordinates, I will teach what it means to be unable to survive but unable to even wish for death.¡±


    ¡°What does me seducing people have to do with you?¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes were unyielding. ¡°As long as you immediately give me the real Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique, I will do whatever you want. If it¡¯s not for my body, why would you spend so much effort on it?¡± He stretched out his hand, and actually pulled down his shirt to reveal his smooth delicate chest.


    ¡°If I wanted to have you, it¡¯s as easy as a hand¡¯s turn.¡± Feng Long¡¯s eyes swept over the other¡¯s fair skin and immediately turned his gaze to Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face. ¡°Shaoqing, just for your body, why would I do so much?¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s deep gaze made his heart tremble, Bai Shaoqing said, ¡°Then what do you want?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand?¡± Feng Long asked back. He closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them and said, ¡°You can hate me, but you must learn to love yourself.¡±


    Hate can keep you from leaving; love can keep you alive.


    When Bai Shaoqing heard the most ridiculous joke in the world, he suddenly laughed crazily, ¡°Love myself? Why should I love myself? What do I have to cherish? What good is it to you if I love myself?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± Feng Long looked at him calmly, his eyes were full of pity: ¡°Only when you know how to love yourself, will you know how to love me.¡±


    ¡°Absurd!¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face changed, and he gritted his teeth and said: ¡°You won¡¯t be able to trick me again! I¡­I will never believe you in this life again.¡±


    He closed his eyes, he had already forgotten the warmth of those few short days.


    People¡¯s hearts were like metal, there is only hate that can outlast love.


    Only hate can conquer every obstacle.


    He was a bat that was surnamed Bai, he didn¡¯t have the wings to face the wind, but he dreamt of flying up to Ninth Heaven.


    In the dark world of the Ninth Heaven Bat, the flame of love shouldn¡¯t exist.


    Nor should there be the Milky Way, colourful butterflies, or that warm ¡ª¡ª Bilu Sword.


    ¡°I hate you.¡± Bai Shaoqing said coldly.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°I want to learn Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°I want to learn Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique to kill you.¡±


    Feng Long sneered. ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you kill me quickly to avoid future troubles?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s useless to tell you the reason.¡± Feng Long smiled bitterly, without losing his unrestrained elegance.


    ¡°Whatever I say, you would never believe it in this life.¡±


    For the bat who despises love to the bone4, forgive me for using the poison of ¡°hate¡± to keep you by my side forever.

 CH 9.1

    > > Torture


    Richly ornamented buildings and light screen windows.


    It turned out that the base of the unorthodox sect was not always heavily gloomy.


    Bai Shaoqing was under the tree, he had his hand leaning against the trunk and had been standing there for two shichen.


    When he was quiet, his eyebrows would always exhibit a faintly visible worry, as well as looking as if his thoughts had floated up into Ninth Heaven. The breeze swept up his sleeves, giving anyone who saw the impression that he might just be swept up by the wind at any moment.


    His eyebrows were like distant mountains1, and his eyes as dark as ink.


    The unending chirp of cicadas, abruptly quietened into nothingness.


    His lustrous pitch black hair was suddenly picked up in the hands of another.


    He didn¡¯t need to turn around, he already knew who it was. After Feng Long began to behead all of his capable subordinates in the sect, who was left at Zhengyi Sect, who would dare to touch him?


    ¡°Da-ge.¡± He had now got used to it, now he no longer felt any embarrassment or frustration addressing him this way.


    Feng Long continued to play with the silky strands of black hair in his hand in silence and then he asked seriously: ¡°Did you memorise last night¡¯s book?¡±


    ¡°Yes I have.¡± Bai Shaoqing turned around, ¡°Is da-ge trying to check my homework?¡±


    ¡°Are you trying to ask me again when I¡¯m going to teach you the real Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique?¡±


    There was a hint of disregard that floated up from those deep and immeasurable eyes, Bai Shaoqing turned around again and fixed his gaze upon the willow branch, and said unhurriedly: ¡°You¡¯ll have to teach me some day so why should I be in any hurry?¡±


    ¡°How do you know?¡± Feng Long had a smile on his face and stood next to him, shoulder to shoulder. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯m purposefully wasting time by using the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique to force you to stay here?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t answer and instead asked back: ¡°The roots of these willow trees are a little strange as if they¡¯ve been recently replanted here.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Feng Long calmly said: ¡°I know that you like willow trees.¡±


    ¡°I understand your feelings.¡± Bai Shaoqing turned his head and looked deeply into Feng Long¡¯s eyes: ¡°You want me.¡±


    An almost undetectable smile revealed itself from the corner of Feng Long¡¯s lips.


    ¡°You want me, you want to make me accept you wholeheartedly. Since you¡¯d even make the arduous effort of bringing the old willow trees from Jiangnan to here, why would you break your promise and not teach me Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun right? If you want something from someone, you need to first offer up some benefits.¡± Bai Shaoqing said quietly: ¡°When I wanted to learn something from others, I always paid up.¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing, I¡¯ve already said before, don¡¯t talk about the past.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to use the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew on me again?¡± Bai Shaoqing frowned, ¡°I¡¯ve only recovered for one day and you would have the heart to do this to me again?¡± Yesterday, it was completely useless to bump into the Leader of the Luoyang branch, one move from Feng Long was enough to smash his heart. And under the fury of Feng Long, he was obliged to suffer that torture once more.


    Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t turn his head. The side profile of his face resembled a bronze statue, with that kind of unspeakable and unswerving determination as well as that hidden story behind it all that could stir up emotions in others.


    Feng Long placed him lightly on the bed, Bai Shaoqing suddenly opened his eyes, ¡°I know, you are deliberately tormenting me, because you already love me. Haha, the great Sect Leader Feng would actually fall in love with an unchaste man!¡± He laughed as loudly as possible and then ruthlessly stared at Feng Long.


    Feng Long laughed lightly then shook his head and sighed, ¡°If you are so afraid of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, why must you incessantly try to seduce men who are completely useless to you? Unless they have a rarer manual than the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique in their possession?¡± He sighed as he flipped his hand and a familiar agate bottle appeared in the palm of his hand.


    The blood red bottle was almost like thorns sticking into his eyes, Bai Shaoqing abruptly turned away.


    ¡°I said before that if you dare to try and seduce anyone else, all of the remaining times of punishment will be carried out.¡± Feng Long said quietly: ¡°But because you are currently practising martial arts, it¡¯s not good to get injured. I won¡¯t successively use the medicine, every time I will let you have one day off and then continue.¡±


    ¡°Da-ge¡­¡­¡± Bai Shaoqing was lying face up on the bed, watching quietly as Feng Long approached with the bottle, ¡°Are you afraid that I will run away so you purposefully want to injure me?¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing, what the hell are you thinking?¡± Feng Long frowned but he did not halt his actions, he sat down beside the bed, and calmly took off Bai Shaoqing¡¯s clothes, ¡°Are you afraid that I am not aware of your abilities and want to try and seduce all my subordinates?¡±


    The ice-cold neck of the bottle disappeared into the nude coloured entrance. Even if he had been prepared and was already biting his tongue, Bai Shaoqing still couldn¡¯t resist groaning out loud. Even if it had been ten times, even if it had been from birth, if one had to endure this type of torture everyday, one would still never get used to it.


    Bai Shaoqing shook violently, his forehead soaked with sweat, running into his jet-black hair.


    ¡°Da-ge¡­¡­¡± He suddenly quietly pleaded. ¡°I¡¯m in a lot of pain.¡± If he could move, he would have tugged on Feng Long¡¯s robes long ago.


    Feng Long looked at him silently, there was a flicker of light in his eyes but it was not clear what he was thinking about.


    ¡°Da-ge, hold me.¡± Bai Shaoqing was trembling so much that his lips had already lost all colour, with a mournful voice he said: ¡°Can you really be that cruel?¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s eyelids fluttered and he leaned in closer, he flicked his hand and undid the acupoint on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body and then lightly pulled him into his arms.


    ¡°Shaoqing, Shaoqing,¡± he stuck himself close to Bai Shaoqing¡¯s ice-cold face, ¡°Could the unruly and rash bat ever feel sincerity towards one person for life?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing did not respond and only closed his eyes, enduring the torture of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew.


    He didn¡¯t answer but Feng Long already knew the answer.


    Ninth Heaven Bat, if he couldn¡¯t fly up to Ninth Heaven; his heart was still pointing to Ninth Heaven. He liked Liu Mulian of Jiangnan, liked Zhang Qingyi of Emei Mountain, he¡¯d once loved Rong Wei-da of the Rong family of Hebei. When he liked them, he would play the zither for them, recite poetry, paint¡­..


    After that night had passed, this flimsy love would be nothing more than the dewdrops at sunset, disappearing without a trace.


    He always left unfettered without a worry.


    Bai Shaoqing, being too affectionate, is in fact the most heartless.


    Feng Long grabbed the person in his arms and asked: ¡°If I had kept on being your stupid Feng da-ge, would you have stayed with me forever?¡±


    The person in his arms did not speak, but his unyielding personality had already silently revealed itself from his bones.


    ¡°So it¡¯s like that.¡± Feng Long¡¯s tone was cold, ¡°Even with the virtuous Wulin Alliance Leader, it would still have been one night of charity and then you¡¯d suddenly leave.¡±


    ¡°Pfff, why does everyone think that they can make me stay? I don¡¯t need anyone to look after me or protect me, what¡¯s so wrong with being alone?¡± Bai Shaoqing was shivering from the pain, the corners of his mouth curved stubbornly. ¡°I¡¯ll kill all those who wrong me, those that I want something from, I¡¯ll lie and cheat, what can anyone do to me?¡±


    Speaking up to here, it seemed like he couldn¡¯t take the pain anymore, he stopped talking and breathed more deeply, staying silent for a moment, and then he opened his eyes and said: ¡°Da-ge, you and I are not the same, you¡­¡­.¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s heart beat slightly faster. ¡°What about me?¡± He couldn¡¯t help drawing closer.


    There was a tiny laugh, Feng Long felt the danger but it was too late.


    The powerless slim fingers which ordinarily did not have any energy, at this moment were filled with energy jumping onto Feng Long. The distance was so close and the change was so abrupt that Feng Long, who had Bai Shaoqing in his arms, did not have the time to react. In a blink of an eye, he felt his chest go numb.


    His attack went smoothly, Bai Shaoqing did not dare to dilly-dally, he flew up, fingers moving as quick as lightning to seal all of Feng Long¡¯s acupoints.


    In a split second, the situation had reversed.


    Having turned the tide, Bai Shaoqing smiled slightly at Feng Long, and frowned as he pulled out the agate bottle from himself.


    Blood mixed with the medicine began to leak from the bottom half of his body. He was in so much pain that he was trembling all over, and then he looked at Feng Long who could no longer move and he laughed. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep this bottle. I will carry the agate bottle on my person and dress nicely.


    He turned around, and then used the previous method to seal the acupoints over Feng Long¡¯s entire body.


    ¡°Your martial arts is good so I obviously need to be more prudent.¡±


    Feng Long sighed very lightly: ¡°I should have known, Zhuo Quan of Luoyang has the best acupoint technique.¡±


    ¡°Although other men do not have anything such as the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique, there are some other techniques that are also useful. Bai Shaoqing laughed again, ¡°Just like this sect¡¯s acupoint technique, even the great Sect Leader Feng can be sealed, isn¡¯t that interesting?


    ¡°Shaoqing is an innate talent to master a technique in one day and then put it to use at the appropriate time.¡± Feng Long did not exhibit the slightest worry on his face. ¡°But to be able to have this kind of deep internal energy, did you use the Disintegration Celestial Skill?¡±


    ¡°According to my abilities, I have still not mastered the Disintegration Celestial Skill. I just forced myself to retrieve some internal force to use.¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes were glowing. ¡°You don¡¯t need to frighten me. I know that the Disintegration Celestial Skill harms vital energy. After pushing through today, I will slowly recover.¡±


    ¡°Are you leaving, so you don¡¯t want to learn the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique?¡±


    ¡°I have the pills so I should go.¡± Although Bai Shaoqing was still in a lot of pain, he was still brimming with smiles and said: ¡°It¡¯s getting dark, I¡¯m afraid of getting lost.¡±


    Feng Long calmly shot a glance over at him and sighed: ¡°Naturally the map of place is on me.¡±


    His slender fingers began to explore the inside of the other¡¯s robes. Bai Shaoqing had a smile on his face, and even deliberately caressed that sturdy chest.


    ¡°Is it this one?¡± He pulled out the map and then opened it in front of Feng Long. ¡°Da-ge wouldn¡¯t possibly carry around a fake map on him right?¡± Bai Shaoqing rapidly looked over the map, and memorised the escape route in his mind, before turning his gaze upon Feng Long¡¯s lower body.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to leave?¡± Feng Long was sitting rigidly by the bed, with a calm smile on his face: ¡°If you want to leave, leave quickly, otherwise, if you wait for me to unseal my acupoints, it¡¯ll be too late.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, my Disintegration method won¡¯t last much longer.¡± Bai Shaoqing nodded: ¡°But before leaving I need to settle something.¡±


    Feng Long was not particularly surprised: ¡°Oh, you want to keep your word and kill me?¡±


    ¡°Why would I let you die so easily? But I cannot repay Sect Leader Feng¡¯s benevolence towards me.¡± Bai Shaoqing lowered his head to Feng Long¡¯s ear and laughed, and then reached out to the front lapel of Feng Long¡¯s robes, and took out another agate bottle: ¡°Sect Leader Feng sure has a lot of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, this one was probably prepared to use at impromptu moment on me?¡±


    ¡°If you were disobedient, I would have used another bottle.¡±


    ¡°This bottle is better left to be used on Sect Leader Feng.¡± Bai Shaoqing popped open the bottle, and the scent of the countenance of the flower, face like the moon dew dispersed out, ¡°There is probably no one who dared to touch you there, so I think you don¡¯t need to be washed there. You forced me to call you da-ge, so let¡¯s wash your mouth.¡± After he finished speaking, he smiled coldly, and then opened up Feng Long¡¯s and poured the whole bottle of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew inside.


    As soon as the medicine entered his mouth, it began to roll down, nibbling at his throat and creating blood bubbles. Feng Long¡¯s entire body shook, and frowning very deeply but just as before, even his face had been pulled in tightly, he still didn¡¯t make a sound, and just watched Bai Shaoqing without moving.


    The depth in that gaze made Bai Shaoqing¡¯s heart shake.


    He retracted his proud smile, and then humphed once: ¡°I said that I won¡¯t kill you but I can¡¯t let such a hateful person live well.¡± He silently gathered his energy and then hit his palm on Feng Long¡¯s ren meridian.


    Feng Long finally groaned and fell onto the bed.


    ¡°You¡¯re removing my martial arts abilities?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t remove your martial arts, should I leave the number one martial arts practitioner to come and seek revenge on me?¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes rolled: ¡°In reality, I don¡¯t need to be afraid of you, I already have the two Heaven and Earth shattering pills. Even if your internal energy was strong, it wouldn¡¯t be stronger than mine. But seeing you suffer makes me feel great pleasure.


    Feng Long suddenly opened his mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood. The fragrance of the countenance of a flower, face of the moon dew filled the room temporarily.


    Feng Long sneered and said: ¡°I¡¯ve suffered and I no longer have any martial arts abilities, so why don¡¯t you kill me?¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t kill you. Wait until my martial arts is the best in the world and then I will come back and slowly torture you.¡± Bai Shaoqing gazed at Feng Long silently for a while, and then took the Bilu Sword from Feng Long¡¯s waist, looked at Feng Long whilst he trembled and he proudly turned to leave.


    The sound of the footsteps became further and further away, and then the tall figure disappeared behind the door.


    In the room, all that was left was Feng Long who was unable to move a single step. This room had been classified as forbidden, so naturally without his orders, no one dared to enter.


    The day came to a close, whilst the birds flew back to the nest.


    Feng Long, who had been lying on the bed, finally slowly sat up. He grabbed the silk white bedsheet and wiped his mouth with it, a muffled laugh could be heard from the middle of the room.


    ¡°What are you afraid of, you¡¯d actually not want to learn the number one martial art technique in Wulin and instead run off.¡± He laughed, the blood came up and he spat it out.


    Because of the erosion from the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, it was almost impossible to discern what he was saying, but the smile on his face was radiant: ¡°Although you were ruthless with me, you said that you would come back. Not bad, not bad¡­¡­¡±

 CH 9.2

    And at this moment, Bai Shaoqing was desperately trying to get to a safe place before the Disintegration Skill started to exhibit a negative effect. The Heaven and Earth shattering pills, the map, and the Bilu Sword were all in his possession. Feng Long was no longer the number one martial arts artist in the world and was now just a miserable wretch that he could easily take his revenge upon. It stands to reason that there were no longer any threats standing in his way.


    It was the most yang and the firmest technique, completely undiluted but multiplying without end.


    In fact, just a hit smashing the scapula was not enough to remove the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun Technique.


    So that meant that in reality, he had actually gone easy on Feng Long with just that one hit.


    Bai Shaoqing escaped free and easy. In the end, he stopped at a rundown temple at the foot of the mountain in order to meditate and recirculate his energy.


    The gold-coloured pill was in the palm of his translucent pale hands that were almost transparent.


    ¡°There are some that devote their lives to practising martial arts but it¡¯s all worth nothing compared to one Heaven and Earth shattering pill.¡± Bai Shaoqing stared at the pill in the palm of his hand, and continued talking to himself: ¡°The noble princess who made these two pills probably had ill-intentions.¡±


    He suddenly felt his pulse become more erratic and understood that the effects of using the Disintegration Skill were about to reveal themselves. Bai Shaoqing threw the Heaven and Earth shattering pill into the air whilst lifting his head and opening his mouth.


    The pills fell into his mouth, sliding down his throat and immediately beginning to dissolve, like the highest quality silk sliding smoothly downwards. Immediately his entire body felt much better, his erratic pulse also returned to normal.


    Knowing that there was no time to lose, Bai Shaoqing immediately sat cross-legged and began to meditate.


    In a flash, he had gained sixty years of martial art¡¯s abilities.


    An ice-cold energy gradually filled his dantian1. An ice-cold but not rigid energy that was incomparably deep. Bai Shaoqing silently integrated this new internal energy into his body, he did not open his eyes for a long while and took in deep breaths.


    A moving smile appeared that made his handsome face even more radiant and awe-inspiring.


    He sprang up extremely proud of himself and looked into the distance, ¡°I¡¯ve finally done it.¡± A free and easy look came from his radiant sparkling eyes, as if a massive weight that he had been carrying had finally been lifted off his chest.


    In a blink of an eye, a piercing pain radiated out from his dantian, like a viper that suddenly attacked, so painful that it made Bai Shaoqing twist up his face.


    He was extremely surprised. What was going on?


    The pain came in an instant and then suddenly disappeared. But as he focused his energy, he could find no abnormality.


    Bai Shaoqing thought carefully for a while but couldn¡¯t find a cause.


    ¡°Perhaps the Heaven and Earth shattering pill is like this.¡± He muttered to himself and then continued to talk to himself out loud: ¡°How could I gain sixty years of martial arts abilities without suffering a little anyway?¡±


    He calmed himself down a little, and his thoughts began to drift towards the lofty and cold Bai Manor.


    ¡°Feng Long no longer has any martial arts abilities. Even if his position isn¡¯t usurped by someone else, he will still have some troubles to deal with. I must take advantage of him being preoccupied with other things and go and get mother.¡± Having decided on a course of action, Bai Shaoqing turned around to pick up his cloth bag.


    Black robes, black shoes, black cloth bag.


    From today, no one will ever touch one hair on my head again.


    Thinking about being able to pick up his mother and keep her by his side, Bai Shaoqing hurriedly went on his way. He had already secretly purchased a house with a courtyard in the mountains of Yangzhou. He¡¯d also purchased two maids and another servant.


    He could be by his mother¡¯s side, chat with her, when he was free, he could play his zither, he could paint, and he could occasionally still go out and travel as well as study. When his mother¡¯s birthday arrived, he would fill the table with wine, learn the twenty-four Filial Exemplars2 and put on some coloured clothing to amuse his mother3. All he wished for was this.


    But without the capability, this was all just a pipedream.


    Without the protection of others, how much bullying and humiliation would she have suffered, Bai Shaoqing understood it fully.


    He saw that familiar lofty external wall from afar, even though he detested Bai Manor, Bai Shaoqing still revealed a slight smile.


    A perfect silhouette, just as his smile began to take form, he exhibited a valiant and unconscious elegance.


    The Heaven and Earth shattering pill did not seem to be completely absorbed, and was still circulating around his body when it suddenly attacked. It was like his body had an undetected enemy hidden inside, and would slice him with its sword at any moment. After having suffered several sharp pains from his dantian, Bai Shaoqing understood that the issue was not so simple.


    But he preferred to sort everything out after he had picked up his mother.


    He sneaked into Bai Manor just like a shadow, the servants were running here and there, cleaning the courtyard and delivering food to everyone.


    The low standing house was still remote and desolate as it always was.


    He pushed open the wooden door, hearing the creaking noise, a familiar feeling arose. That lonely figure came into view.


    Bai Shaoqing quietly went over to the woman who had her back to him, half running he was bursting with emotion.


    ¡°Mother.¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing?¡± His mother was a little shocked, her unfocused eyes opened.


    She reached out her hand into thin air, and Bai Shaoqing carefully grabbed it.


    ¡°Shaoqing, why did you suddenly come back?¡± His mother sighed, ¡°If fu-ren and your father learn about this, it will probably cause unwanted trouble.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes glowed. ¡°Mother, I came back to take you away.¡±


    ¡°Leave?¡± His mother shook her head, ¡°No, we can¡¯t leave. Why would they let a blind woman leave here and cause the great Bai family to lose face4 on the outside? Shaoqing, did you forget what happened last time?¡±

 CH 10.1

    Bai Manor appeared relaxed on the outside but was stressed on the inside, running here and there to try and find the ¡®thief¡¯. Who knew that the bat had already flown far away, leisurely returning home.


    ¡°Yes, the willow tree is so beautiful. My mother always said that she wanted to plant willows in front of the entrance.¡±


    Slender fingers stroked the tree trunk lightly, and the woman smiled, but was also uneasy, ¡°Is there any news from the Bai family?¡±


    Thinking of everyone in the Bai family, Bai Shaoqing sneered, but his tone of voice was still gentle. ¡°No.¡± Probably afraid that the family¡¯s scandals would be exposed, the Bai family only mentioned a thief.


    What a band of cruel and unscrupulous b*stards.


    ¡°Mother, let¡¯s go inside!¡± Seeing the scorching sun, Bai Shaoqing carefully helped her up for fear that his mother might get heat stroke under the sun.


    The maidservant, Xiao Cui came over to help, ¡°Master, let me do it.¡±


    ¡°No need.¡± Bai Shaoqing shook his head and asked, ¡°Is the food ready?¡±


    ¡°Almost. It¡¯s the lotus root soup that fu-ren likes to eat. It will take a while to simmer a bit longer.¡±


    ¡°Well, go ahead! Sweep the yard, over by the stone that the mother normally sits, under the willow tree, find a cushion to cover it, shade it from the sun.¡± He ordered lightly, he really looked like a true young gongzi.


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯m going now.¡± The smart girl looked at the gongzi with admiration and wonder, and then went back to work.


    The summer insects croaked quietly, with the cool breeze bringing a refreshing wind.


    The wooden door was personally selected by Bai Shaoqing, and it would not creak when opened.


    Who truly knew how much he had suffered to obtain this ordinary lifestyle?


    ¡°Mother, you need to eat more of the freshly picked lotus roots from the lake.¡±


    ¡°Mother can¡¯t eat so much.¡± His mother smiled happily, ¡°Shaoqing, when are you going to find a wife to show mother?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face changed slightly. In front of his mother who had no eyesight, the only relief was he did not need to hide his facial expression.


    Daughter-in-law¡­ Does the mother know how many ladies of Wulin I have ruined, Am I qualified to be a husband anymore?


    ¡°Shaoqing, mother has two wishes. First, I hope you can find someone intimate. Second¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°Second? What is the second?¡± Bai Shaoqing asked. Even if it¡¯s the treasures of the Imperial Palace, I can still get them.


    ¡°Mother, don¡¯t say that.¡± Bai Shaoqing held his mother¡¯s hand: ¡°Without mother, Shaoqing would not have lived until now.¡±


    ¡°Nonsense!¡±


    Bai Shaoqing stared at his mother. He was telling the truth, life was so painful, especially when he was under the control or tortured by others, he really almost wanted to commit suicide.


    ¡°Yes, yes, Shaoqing was talking nonsense, don¡¯t get angry, mother.¡±


    A slight smile just escaped from the corner of his lips, and then suddenly disappeared. With his delicate eyebrows frowning tightly, Bai Shaoqing pressed his hands against the table, his blood boiled from the sudden attack from the internal energy inside his meridians.


    It was a severe pain, spreading through all his internal organs.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± She asked as if she sensed the abnormality, and his mother¡¯s face turned to face Shaoqing.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing, the soup is too hot.¡± Biting his lip, he spat out a calm response, but Bai Shaoqing¡¯s hands were beginning to tremble slightly.


    The pain was getting more and more severe, but he could not find the reason. The hidden attacks just kept coming and going without a trace making him uneasy. Exactly how could the Heaven and Earth shattering Pills be absorbed without causing a backlash?


    Who knew the reason?


    Feng Long¡¯s natural smile appeared in front of him. Bai Shaoqing immediately shook his head and pushed that image to the back of his mind.


    Why would you think about him! If you want to see him again one day, it¡¯s only to settle old accounts. To torture him severely, beat him severely, bully him¡­


    After thinking about countless ruthless methods, he unconsciously bit his lower lip.


    ¡°Shaoqing?¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± Bai Shaoqing suddenly raised his head.


    The woman groped around and then stood up: ¡°I should go and rest.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mother should take a nap. Wait until the sun is not too strong, then go and sit by the lake.¡±


    After helping his mother back to her room, Bai Shaoqing turned to go back to his own room. The room was clean and elegant. Although it was not luxurious and expensive, it was much better than their damp house in the Bai family manor.


    With a *pa*, Bai Shaoqing slapped himself and said with a solemn face: ¡°Bai Shaoqing, are you crazy? Actually thinking of so many excuses to restore his martial skills. He is the person you hate most in this world. You should wish that he becomes a beggar on the side of the road, being looked down on by everyone, and bullied by everyone. May he taste all the suffering you have felt and feel all the suffering you have suffered!¡± He yelled angrily and then sat down again.


    After a long while, he finally calmed down.


    ¡°I must be too idle at the moment to be thinking of such nonsense.¡± Bai Shaoqing laughed. ¡°It looks like I need something to do. Now, let¡¯s get rid of those villains one by one! The first one is the vicious Bai fu-ren. Hmph, you dare to force me to call you mother, I want you to beg me and call me father.¡± A mischievous smirk appeared on his face.


    He picked up the Bilu Sword once more that he had previously thrown on the bed, caressing it and sighing, ¡°You are his sword, I should have destroyed you already. But¡­ but I can¡¯t bear to. You are also a famous precious sword in the world, you must be reluctant to be used to chop off that woman¡¯s head.¡±


    As night fell, Xiao Cui lit a candle and put it in the dining room.


    Four dishes and one soup were placed on the table which were all very ordinary dishes, but they were also very fragrant.


    ¡°Mother, eat some of this. Is it delicious?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it tastes great.¡±


    ¡°Mother, I have something I must take care of, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll have to leave for a few days.¡±


    The Bilu Sword had already been wrapped up.


    ¡°Shaoqing, you need to leave?¡±


    ¡°Just for a few days.¡± To kill Song Xiangli and then come back. Mother, that woman made you suffer so miserably.


    ¡°Well¡­. When are you leaving?¡±


    ¡°Tonight¡­¡­.¡± Turning his gaze to the outside of the house, Bai Shaoqing was shocked.


    Under the dark curtain of night, a figure stood silently in the courtyard.


    ¡°Shaoqing?¡± The woman was surprised, ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He said lightly, his whole body began to tremble, and his dark eyes stared fixated on the figure approaching step by step.


    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m going to leave now.¡± Bai Shaoqing lightly patted his mother on the shoulder and then gave Feng Long a look, ¡°My bag is in my room, come and get it with me.¡±


    ¡°Ok.¡±


    ¡°Mother, I¡¯ll be back in a few days.¡±


    His mother nodded: ¡°Ok, the weather is warm, don¡¯t hurry and be careful on the road.¡±


    ¡°Yes, your son understands.¡±


    He nodded slightly towards Feng Long, and the two of them walked out of the dining room one after another.


    True energy circulated around the body, his sleeves shook, but he didn¡¯t react, and just walked quietly towards the room.


    ¡°You still have your martial arts?¡±


    ¡°Did you really think you could remove it?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s fight outside, okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you are so filial, I will grant you this wish.¡± Feng Long sighed lightly: ¡°If the force from my palm hurts your mother, you will definitely fight me to the death.¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t want your blood to stain my place.¡±


    He took the baggage and walked towards the door of the courtyard. It was a bright starry night, the two were clearly preparing for a battle, but they were also walking very closely, as if no one was planning to make a surprise attack. Bai Shaoqing did not want to. Although Feng Long¡¯s skills were not weak, he had received a strike from him before after all; moreover, Bai Shaoqing had also already taken the Heaven and Earth shattering pill.


    The two silently walked towards the suburbs with the cool breeze blowing gently, unexpectedly there was a sense of indescribable harmony.


    Bai Shaoqing stopped.


    ¡°Just here is fine.¡± He sighed, ¡°I really don¡¯t want to kill you.¡±


    Feng Long said mockingly: ¡°Could you kill me?¡±


    ¡°But if I don¡¯t kill you, I¡¯m always ill at ease.¡± Bai Shaoqing raised his head and said coldly: ¡°Settling all accounts with one strike seems to be going too easy on you. What you owe me, you won¡¯t be able to repay even in the next life.¡±


    As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of true energy from his entire body was already concentrated in the palm of his hand. Bai Shaoqing bellowed in rage, his body moved sharply, and he hit Feng Long in the chest using Emei Mountain Sect¡¯s in the same boat under wind and rain technique2 technique.


    Feng Long didn¡¯t try to avoid him but struck back, he smiled slightly, as the two palms met. Both palms had concentrated a very strong internal force, and a loud noise resounded when the palms met each other.


    Bai Shaoqing understood that Feng Long¡¯s skill was profound. He had never really competed with Feng Long before in martial arts, and when he tried it now, he immediately discovered that he had underestimated Feng Long by a lot.


    Unexpectedly, even with the addition of the Heaven and Earth shaking pill¡¯s 60 years of martial arts, he still only tied with Feng Long.


    But it was too late to retreat at this moment. Bai Shaoqing secretly re-circulated his internal energy, trying to force a win with this one strike of the palm. The energy from his Dantian slowly rose up the abdomen, but he suddenly felt pain, as if someone was stabbing the internal organs with a knife.


    Backlash again? Bai Shaoqing was shocked, and his internal energy became immediately chaotic. The force of the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun encircled him entirely, and immediately became overwhelming.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Unable to bear the torment from the internal energy, Bai Shaoqing groaned, then withdrew his palm and backed away. His blood was beginning to boil in his internal organs.


    He fell ten feet from mid-air and landed heavily on the ground. He was just about to stand up, when he suddenly opened his mouth and vomited blood all over the floor *Urrrrr*. All of a sudden, every inch of his black robes were soaked, and he was emitting a strange glow under the moonlight.


    Men¡¯s boots appeared before his eyes.


    Bai Shaoqing raised his head and looked at Feng Long fiercely, ¡°If you want to kill, then kill me! If it weren¡¯t for the sudden backlash from my internal force, could you really defeat me?¡±


    ¡°Such a bad temper. I don¡¯t know how many times you need to suffer before I can hear you beg and call me da-ge again?¡± He flicked his hand and had already sealed several major acupoints.


    Feng Long bent over, and picked up Bai Shaoqing, and suddenly said with an affectionate tone: ¡°Shaoqing, do you know why you got backlash from your internal energy?¡±


    He¡¯d long foreseen that something was not right, Bai Shaoqing was even more angry when he saw Feng Long¡¯s smile: ¡°Huh, isn¡¯t it something you did?¡± Who knew what Feng Long had done to the Heaven and Earth shattering pill. Bai Shaoqing hated himself; he thought himself as quite intelligent but was still deceived by Feng Long.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t do a thing to the Heaven and Earth-shaking pill. It¡¯s just that the martial arts that Princess Bingji practiced were the coldest and the most yin in nature.¡± Feng Long fumbled around under Bai Shaoqing¡¯s robes, and then took out something, and said jokingly, ¡°You keep this on you and then took the Heaven and Earth shattering pill that is cold and yin in nature, how could things not go wrong? There cannot be negligence in the matters of internal energy.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing calmly saw that what Feng Long was holding was the blood lotus seed that Feng Long had given him that day! Suddenly he remembered that Feng Long had said that blood lotus seeds were very yang in nature, so all aphrodisiacs could be restrained by it.


    ¡°If you had thrown it away, I would have fought you bitterly today to beat you.¡± Feng Long smiled nastily. ¡°Fortunately, you¡¯re still thinking about me. You can¡¯t bear to throw away the things I gave to you and carry them on you. The mix of the power of the Heaven and Earth-shaking pill, and the blood lotus seed made you neither yin nor yang, neither hot nor cold, it could only hurt you. Then you also encountered my Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique which is also yang in nature, so how could you not lose?¡±


    Feng Long laughed softly, whilst Bai Shaoqing gritted his teeth: ¡°You¡­you despicable vile person!¡± He secretly hated himself for not having thrown away the blood lotus seed long ago.


    Today¡¯s defeat was actually just due to the mere presence of a tiny blood lotus seed.


    Feng Long stared at Bai Shaoqing¡¯s handsome face, slowly the smile disappeared off his face, and then said in a deep voice: ¡°Little Bat, you were cruel to me. After falling into my hands this time, you should hurry up and think about how to make me happy.¡± With a flick of his finger, he sealed Bai Shaoqing¡¯s sleeping acupoint. Then he turned around and hurried off into the darkness.

 CH 10.2

    The sky became gradually brighter.


    Bai Shaoqing still had his eyes closed. His nose was very sensitive, and he could distinguish different people by their scent, no matter whether it was a man or a woman. He wasn¡¯t sure if this ability was innate or developed slowly?


    There were many men and women who had lay by his side; but only the scent of Feng Long was the most peculiar.


    His scent was like him ¨C domineering and awe-inspiring; but also incredibly warm, reassuring to the point it made him grit his teeth.


    You hate him and you hate him so much you can¡¯t wait to kill him, but when you go to make a move, you feel that killing him with a single stroke was going too easy on him.


    You are afraid, scared witless. He can just put his arms around you to sleep like this without any fear, said the little bat repeatedly.


    He is sleeping peacefully and sweetly at the moment, but he wakes up the next second, you don¡¯t know what tricks he has up his sleeve to torment you and wish for your own death.


    Bai Shaoqing thought desperately, his entire head filled with thoughts of this hateful and ruthless person beside him; but he couldn¡¯t decide whether to escape as far away as possible from this person, or to stay with him and fight to the death?


    Personal entanglement was originally his speciality.


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you had enough of pretending?¡± A low voice came from beside him, lazy but with indescribable magnetism. ¡°I¡¯ve already told you before that I hate people pretending the most.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing sighed. He opened his eyes, turned his head, and faced Feng Long¡¯s deep pitch-black eyes.


    ¡°When did you wake up?¡±


    ¡°When you woke up.¡±


    The situation of the two being so close in bed suddenly made Bai Shaoqing uncomfortable. He turned his head away, ¡°I want to get up.¡± But he¡¯d just got up when he fell back down again.


    Feng Long watched playfully as he struggled, unable to get up. ¡°You swallowed the blood lotus seed yesterday, if you can get up today, I will call you shifu.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing glared at him. He was indeed weak; but it was not from tiredness, and his limbs had no strength at all, not even an ounce.


    Shui Yun¡¯er was not afraid of Bai Shaoqing¡¯s mocking remarks, she covered her mouth and laughed: ¡°With the Sect Leader here, how could Bat gongzi do anything?¡±


    Fenglong laughed loudly: ¡°You quick witted thing, as long as I am around how could this little bat misbehave?¡± He originally had one elbow holding up his head whilst lying on the bed, at this moment, he lifted up Bai Shaoqing¡¯s chin and leaned over and kissed him lightly.


    Bai Shaoqing was weak all over, and could only slightly shake his head reluctantly, andonly watch him with wide eyes whilst Feng Long toyed with him.


    The corner of Shui Yun¡¯er¡¯s lips curled up, and she tactfully retreated behind the curtain.


    ¡°I already accepted fate, why must you even use my mother to threaten me?¡±


    ¡°How have I? Xiao Cui is a wild country maiden, how can she compare to Feng Yue¡¯er¡¯s service?¡± Feng Long felt that just biting his lips had not satisfied him, he turned to the side, and suddenly bit ferociously on the side of Bai Shaoqing¡¯s ear, ¡°Besides, do you really accept your fate?¡±


    The bell is not frightening, but the frightening thing was the weird smile on Feng Long¡¯s face.


    The rough hands comforted Bai Shaoqing¡¯s naked lower body again. The body that was hinging on the edge of desire shook like a leaf to welcome his caresses and fondles.


    ¡°Do you want me to touch you?¡± Feng Long smiled, ¡°Then beg me!¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­Hmm¡­¡± Bai Shaoqing groaned, each moan becoming more desperate, but he did not beg him.


    ¡°It¡¯s been two days, can you really hold for three days?¡±


    ¡°Ooo¡­oooo¡­¡±


    Feng Long shook his head, with a lazy look, a light suddenly flashed across his eyes. He smiled and said, ¡°No matter whether you beg or not, first take the things da-ge gave to you!¡± He grasped his extremely upright member.


    The beautiful member was not curved at all, it was a pleasing colour just like the rest of Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body, flawless in every way. From the head, the transparent liquid slowly seeped out.


    Feng Long gently touched the head with his fingers, and the naked body in his arms immediately shuddered.


    ¡°So sensitive.¡± His magnetic laughter resonated through the room.


    In the next second, the laughter was interrupted by the sound of pain and gasping for air.


    ¡°Ahh! Ooooh oooh¡­¡± Bai Shaoqing tensed up his body, tilted his head back with all his strength, his slender and graceful neck was delightful, making one unable to resist.


    A copper wire thinner than a strand of hair had been pierced through the head of his member, threaded with a bell. The trembling body caused the bell to shake, releasing a pleasing ringing sound.


    *Ring, ring*¡­


    Although Feng Long¡¯s smile was gentle and handsome, there was an evil that was even more frightening than any devil. ¡°Does it hurt? Don¡¯t be afraid, the da-ge is here.¡± Leaning over, he pressed against the little Bat¡¯s lips.


    Weirdly, this strong kiss was sweet enough to make someone become addicted, Bai Shaoqing was unwilling to yield. Why was it that the pain really felt a little lessened when being kissed by him?


    Two days later, he felt like a lone boat at sea, with Feng Long¡¯s emotions changing all the time, it would be sudden unspeakable tenderness, and then sudden unspeakable torture.


    He didn¡¯t know how long Feng Long had had the palm of his hand on his back, but a warm flow slowly dispersed. Bai Shaoqing knew that he was helping him unblock du meridians.


    It was the wish of every martial artist to open up the two channels of Ren and Du. Only in this way could one rise above even the martial arts experts, and reach an even higher level. It was just that innate talent was rare, many people spent their entire lives in pursuit but were unable to achieve this step.


    And those who were able to reach this stage, had gone through countless hardships, were extremely cautious and trembling in fear.


    However, he was lying naked in Feng Long¡¯s arms, being played with and teased frivolously whilst also having martial arts passed on to him.


    Feng Long chuckled lightly, he put one hand on Shaoqing¡¯s back, but with the other he caressed his upright member. With a light flick, the bell made a crisp sound, and the body in his arms immediately trembled fiercely due to stimulation and humiliation.


    His little bat must hate him to death.


    However, he was not surprised by the stubbornness of the little Bat. He used at least seven secret techniques on him. He had used these seven secret techniques separately before but no one had ever been able to survive for such a long period of time.


    ¡°Little bat, you are so strong-willed.¡±


    Hearing this, Bai Shaoqing could barely open his eyes and looked at Feng Long, wondering ¨C was this was sarcasm or a compliment?


    Feng Long sighed, ¡°Did you know that the more strong-willed a person is, the easier it will be for him to die prematurely?¡± If he hadn¡¯t been secretly protecting Bai Shaoqing¡¯s heart meridian with the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique, Bai Shaoqing would not even be able to pass the first four secret techniques.


    It was necessary to take into account that Bai Shaoqing, who had taken the Heaven and Earth shaking pill and the blood lotus seed, was already badly injured.


    A warm hand held onto Bai Shaoqing¡¯s scorching organ, whilst the other palm was on the small of his back, the heat gradually rose. Bai Shaoqing felt the impropriety whilst he gasped involuntarily, his watery eyes full of fear.


    What torture was it going to be this time?


    Feng Long stared at him gloomily. That slender chin was just as stubborn as before, and those moist eyes were pitiful as if he could no longer withstand another trace of stimulation. Two completely different traits, blended on the same face in contradiction, were unexpectedly coordinated.


    ¡°How did the Bai family produce a third son like you.¡± Feng Long shook his head, his heroic eyebrows frowned, and he suddenly changed his mind. The scalding palm that he¡¯d secretly been transferring energy with, gradually returned to a normal temperature, and he gently stroked Shaoqing. He smiled and said, ¡°We¡¯ve been at this for two days and nights straight, even if you are not tired, I am tired too.¡±


    He put a confused Bai Shaoqing to lie flat on the silk quilt, and looked down, ¡°How beautiful! Everywhere has the seal of the Feng family.¡±


    Because of this sentence, Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes began to turn fierce.


    ¡°Let¡¯s rest! Tomorrow is the third day, let Shui Yun¡¯er massage you to unblock the meridians.¡± Feng Long said casually, lying down next to Bai Shaoqing, pulling him into his arms, and then sunk into a deep sleep.


    [End of Volume 1]


    Translator Note:


    Yeh¡­ so I kinda cocked up the naming of the chapters and the URLs, as you can see it¡¯s the end of the first volume. Hm¡­ not really sure if I should call the next chapter, Chapter 11 or Volume 2 Chapter 1. Mehhh¡­


    Do let me know if you guys are actively following this novel and want me to keep translating it ¨C I¡¯m like I kinda want to know what happens next but at the same time, the torture stuff makes me cringe¡­.

 CH 11

    The hands moved along his body, showing hidden strength and soothing his muscles and bones.


    The hand that was massaging him immediately stopped.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake?¡±


    ¡°Where is Feng Long?¡±


    ¡°The Sect Leader has gone out.¡± Shui Yun¡¯er started to massage him again, starting from his slender shoulders and moving down to the small of his back.


    The weak candle flame reflected in his bright eyes as it flickered. Bai Shaoqing pondered deeply and then suddenly asked: ¡°Shui Yun¡¯er, who is it that you are worrying about?¡± If it was about Feng Long then that would be incredibly useful to him.


    Woman would often do stupid things for love. And if the one they loved had fallen for someone else, this would easily make the woman go mad.


    Shui Yun¡¯er didn¡¯t answer and instead asked: ¡°Bat gongzi, do you know how many scars you have on your body?¡±


    ¡°Not too little nor too many, exactly sixty-six.¡± Shui Yun¡¯er said coldly: ¡°In Zhengyi Sect, sixty-six is nothing. If you dare to go against the Sect Leader, you will suffer unspeakable misery, you will beg for death but it will not be granted.¡± Her tone of voice became cold, but her small hands were still tender and soft, whilst they continued to lightly massage his back.


    Bai Shaoqing secretly sighed. He hadn¡¯t expected that there could be such a powerful maidservant by Feng Long¡¯s side. That meant that her sister, Shui Yue¡¯er who was serving his mother wasn¡¯t easy to deal with either.


    Meaning that if he wanted to save his mother it would be even more difficult?


    Shui Yun¡¯er attentively helped Bai Shaoqing relax his entire body, seeing his naked body, she was not embarrassed in the slightest. Seeing the little bell on his lower body, she even lightly flicked it and laughed and said: ¡°Bianfu gongzi is so fortunate, I have never seen the Sect Leader treat someone with such high regard.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s handsome face turned red, inwardly, he was feeling ashamed and angry, and said to himself: I can¡¯t be made fun of by a little maidservant. So I¡¯m going to smile back at her.


    As he smiled, it was as if a thousand pear blossoms suddenly bloomed, it was mesmerizingly beautiful. He was completely naked with scars all over his body but he still looked like a pure and holy immortal that had just descended from the heavens completely unsullied.


    Shui Yun¡¯er couldn¡¯t help staring blankly and then coldly said ¡°Put more effort into smiling, the more beautiful you are, the less the Sect Leader will tire of you.¡±


    She hit the nail on the head, piercing through his sweet and innocent smile.


    ¡°Then, how can I make the Sect Leader grow tired of me?¡± Bai Shaoqing seeked advice humbly.


    Shui Yun¡¯er said: ¡°Whatever he says, you should do. Treat him with a pure heart, that¡¯s enough.¡±


    ¡°Docile and obedient?¡±


    ¡°Totally submissive, respect him, love and adore him.¡±


    ¡°Just like that?¡±


    ¡°If you are docile and completely obedient, in less than three months, the Sect Leader will grow tired of you.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing smiled again, ¡°Have you ever heard the story of the mule? The mule had a strong personality, when the owner asked him to go east, he would go west, when the owner wanted him to go west, he¡¯d go east. After changing many different owners, there was finally one that was able to control him.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°When the owner wanted to go east, he told the mule to go west and the mule wanting to go against the owner naturally went east, which was exactly what the owner wanted. If the owner wanted to go west, he¡¯d use the same trick.¡±


    Shui Yun¡¯er frowned: ¡°And why¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°What I mean is I am not that mule.¡± Bai Shaoqing smiled and said: ¡°Maidservant Shui Yun¡¯er how many people have you tricked into obedience for your Sect Leader Feng?¡±


    He¡¯d hit the nail on the head, she suddenly jabbed him on the shoulder.


    He hadn¡¯t imagined that Shui Yun¡¯er, who looked too weak to stand up to the wind, actually had an incomparably strong internal strength. Bai Shaoqing actually cried out loud in pain.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to be hard on you. The Sect Leader said that when you wake up if you are still being disobedient, I should teach you a lesson.¡± She lifted up Bai Shaoqing¡¯s chin, and laughed heartily before saying: ¡°Let me tell you now, He Yang, the master of the torture chamber of Zhengyi Sect, is my disciple.¡±


    The night sky was getting darker, there was utter silence.


    Feng Long leisurely picked up the hanging screen to enter.


    He was a little tired, but as soon as his line of sight fell upon Bai Shaoqing, he immediately smiled.


    ¡°Did you offend Shui Yun¡¯er?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing had already put on his black silk robes, making his fair skin even more snow-white. He didn¡¯t lie down on the bed but instead was leaning against the reclined chair as if he needed to lean against the back of it to be able to hold himself upright.


    ¡°She said that she is He Yang¡¯s shifu.¡± Bai Shaoqing sneered, ¡°So turns out it¡¯s true.¡±


    His translucent and sparkling skin was covered with a thin layer of sweat.


    Shaoqing jumped off the bed, circulated his energy, the tonic pill had indeed unlocked the internal strength in his dantian, with a flick of his hand he had already travelled a few feet across the air.


    ¡°Da-ge, I¡¯m going.¡± When he was so excited, it was unexpected that he could call out ¡®da-ge¡¯ in such a natural way.


    He¡¯d barely spoken but he¡¯d already travelled far away.


    Feng Long was standing in the middle of the room, watching him silently as he left with a slight smile on his face.


    With Bai Shaoqing¡¯s personality, once he was set free, he would never return. If he returned, it meant that he had already figured out a way to deal with Feng Long, that he had found a weapon that could put him in an invincible position. He would at least take advantage of the moment of freedom to get rid of Shui Yue¡¯er, who was guarding his mother, and hide his mother where no one can find her.


    But the next day, during the break of dawn, Bai Shaoqing had already returned.


    The timing completely matched up to Feng Long¡¯s expectations.


    In the next moment, he was laying on the bamboo carrier completely devoid of strength, and was carried back to Feng Long.


    Feng Long saw the hatred in his eyes.


    ¡°Are you displeased?¡±


    ¡°Why must you toy with me?¡±


    ¡°You hate Song Xiangli, I presented her head to you. You missed your mother, I let you see her.¡± Feng Long asked: ¡°Aren¡¯t I treating you well?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing gritted his teeth.


    ¡°Unless you didn¡¯t hate Song Xiangli?¡±


    ¡°Unless you didn¡¯t see your mother?¡±


    ¡°So why are you still displeased?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing did not answer, his teeth were clenched more and more strongly.


    Feng Long sighed: ¡°I¡¯m being this way to let you know that you can never escape. There¡¯s no need to run, you¡¯re not allowed to run, you can¡¯t run¡­¡­.¡±


    He lifted up Bai Shaoqing¡¯s chin and lightly planted a kiss.


    Hot lips began to ravage Bai Shaoqing¡¯s lips, a weak moan escaped, feeling that Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body was starting to tremble, Feng Long lightly flicked his fingers hitting his acupoint.


    Seeing the little bat close his eyes and drift off to sleep, a tender smile appeared upon his lips.


    Shui Yun¡¯er entered from the outside.


    ¡°Have you prepared everything?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°He took the tonic pill yesterday, and then used his full strength to circulate the medicinal properties. After sleeping, Shaoqing¡¯s vitality will be fully restored.¡± Feng Long laughed and said, ¡°With the aid of a thousand year ice bed, he should be able to attain the first level of Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun.¡±


    ¡°Sect Leader has put in strenuous thought3, making me feel deeply moved.¡±


    ¡°Put in strenuous thought?¡± Staring deeply at the beautiful sleeping face, Feng Long smiled bitterly: ¡°He can¡¯t wait to cut me up into a thousand pieces, I merely seek not to fall into his hands one day.¡±


    The effect of the tonic pill was very obvious, and when those bright eyes opened again, the colour had returned to his pale handsome face. Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes slowly surveyed the room, and finally settled on Feng Long¡¯s face, which seemed to be forever smiling.


    ¡°Has my strength returned?¡±


    Feng Long said gently: ¡°Your strength won¡¯t come back, how have you been practising? Don¡¯t forget, I said that I would teach you Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique on the fourth day.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing sighed gently: ¡°You have always kept your word to anything you have said.¡±


    He got out of bed.


    The feeling of having his feet firmly on the ground and not floating felt a little strange. Bai Shaoqing coldly glanced at the black robes on his body. Under Feng Long¡¯s ambiguous gaze, he fixed his lapel.


    His smooth pale skin was fully covered by black robes, making Feng Long sighed regretfully.


    ¡°Follow me.¡±


    One after the other, they left the bedroom, turning the corner, heading behind the magnificent loft; they were greeted with an imposing and steep roof.


    Feng Long opened the contraption, and the stone door exhibited a heavy groan.


    ¡°Go in then!¡± He entered with Bai Shaoqing.


    The corridor was lined up with different odd as well as precious items, including yellowing martial arts manuals, half a human skeleton, a scorched plank of wood that had been struck by lightning and blades that exuded a cold light. There was also a blood-stained kasaya, a treasure chest that was full of gold, silver and precious gems, there was also a stick of candied hawthorns which were found everywhere in along the Heaven Bridge of Beijing, there were even the embroidered shoes of some unnamed ladies of Jiangnan, and an old and broken baby¡¯s crib.


    These were things that shouldn¡¯t be placed together, but they all appeared here in a disorderly manner, exuding a gloomy musty smell, which makes people feel fear and trepidation.


    ¡°This is the forbidden place in Zhengyi Sect, each Sect Leader and protector will choose one important item to leave here.


    Bai Shaoqing glanced at the dried candied hawthorn, and couldn¡¯t resist sighing out loud, ¡°And what has the great Sect Leader Feng decided to leave here?¡±


    Feng Long suddenly stopped walking, Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t notice immediately and almost bumped into him from behind.


    ¡°To learn Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun, one must sit and meditate upon this.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing walked closer, the cold air enveloping him and he immediately shivered.


    He turned around, ¡°Thousand year ice bed?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,when the cold air enters the heart, it makes you use your utmost effort to exhibit your internal strength.¡± Feng Long asked: ¡°Are you afraid?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing shook his head, he touched the ice bed, the cold that had penetrated his fingertips made his body shiver slightly. He sighed: ¡°One cannot achieve glory and wealth without having been through trials and tribulations4. Did you also once sit upon this and meditate to practise your martial arts?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± Feng Long said: ¡°One must be completely naked, when you first start, you can meditate for three shichen and then rest and try again. After a year, you can meditate for three days straight.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing nodded, and stayed silent for a moment and then began taking off his robes. Exposing his fair translucent skin. Feng Long watched silently as he peeled off all his clothes, his eyes exuded admiration and appreciation. The delicate bell was still hanging on his lower body, bringing out the full beauty of the thing between his legs, making Feng Long¡¯s heart skip a beat.


    Feng Long instructed: ¡°Silently ruminate on the Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique. Don¡¯t think about anything else, merely guard your heart meridian, the colder your body gets, the more your heart will feel like a smelting furnace.¡±


    His warm skin and bone-chilling ice came into contact. Within a few breaths, Bai Shaoqing¡¯s entire body became rigid and his teeth were chattering. He must circulate the energy from his dantian and guard his heart meridians with utmost effect. In case the cold enters, perhaps he will not die but he will be severely injured and there would be no hope of becoming an expert in martial arts. The Zhengyi Sect was worthy of its name as an unorthodox sect, because even their method of practicing martial arts was overly unorthodox.


    If I don¡¯t succeed, I¡¯ll at least die trying.


    He closed his eyes and focused, every second was unbearably long. Even though Bai Shaoqing was utterly naked, he was able to bear it.


    Feng Long was standing next to him the whole time with his hands clasped behind his back. Bai Shaoqing¡¯s body was rigid from the cold, but the palms of Feng Long¡¯s hands were sweaty.


    The little bat was hovering at a critical juncture between life and death. If something went wrong, he must immediately intervene to save him. Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun can attack the three truncal cavities passing through the lungs, the spleen and the heart.


    He was secretly circulating energy the whole time, watching over Bai Shaoqing, taking the utmost precautions, not daring to relax at all, so how could his palms not be sweaty?


    ¡°Shaoqing, it¡¯s already been one shichen, do you need to rest for a bit?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing had his eyes closed, his crystal-like skin began to emit traces of cold air, as if he was an ice carved jade statue.


    ¡°Shaoqing, it¡¯s been two shichen, do you need to rest?¡±


    Those bright eyes had still not opened but the cold air had entered even more deeply.


    When those magnificent gleaming eyes opened once more, Bai Shaoqing was already lying on a comfortable bed.


    A light breeze blew past, it was splendid and bright outside.


    ¡°How long was I meditating there?¡±


    Feng Long sighed: ¡°Do you think that everyone can sit there for three shichen their first time?¡± If he hadn¡¯t been guarding over him the whole time, how could he be there in time to save this reckless bat?


    Feng Long asked: ¡°If you couldn¡¯t take it, why didn¡¯t you get off?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t reach the end, how do I know I can¡¯t take it?¡±


    Feng Long stood up and looked down at him, he suddenly reached out with his hand and gave him a slap across the face.


    *Slap!* A red handprint appeared on his fair tender face.


    Bai Shaoqing lifted his head and stared at Feng Long.


    ¡°You are reckless.¡± He said very seriously, the two of them stared at each other as if sparks were flying, he said through gritted teeth: ¡°You are really reckless.¡±


    A mature masculine scent entered directly into his nasal cavity.


    Bai Shaoqing felt dizzy.


    ¡°Shaoqing, why do you act so recklessly? If you forcefully practice you will only enter qi deviation.¡±


    ¡°But I want to master it quicker.¡± And then I can go back to the lakeside in Yangzhou, to play the zither, to paint, to recite poetry and ro keep my mother company. I don¡¯t want to see you again, I don¡¯t want to be distraught with anxiety.


    ¡°Why is martial arts so important?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing turned his head over and pursed his lips. His eyes, which were as clear as water, but emitted a complicated radiance.


    Feng Long sighed.


    In the next few days, Bai Shaoqing continued to practise upon the thousand year ice bed.


    To achieve Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun, one must defy the icy coldness.


    Feng Long seemed unexpectedly carefree, standing at the side everyday, silently watching Bai Shaoqing meditate. When Bai Shaoqing slept, he held him in his arms. When Bai Shaoqing was practising martial arts, he watched over him. When Bai Shaoqing ate, he occasionally picked up some good food and put it into Bai Shaoqing¡¯s mouth.


    In one month, Bai Shaoqing had already achieved the first level of Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun technique.


    ¡°Did you know that there have only been two people in the last hundred years who have been able to master Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun in a month.¡±


    ¡°I hope that the other one wasn¡¯t you.¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s lips twitched, and revealed a crafty smile, ¡°It was me.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing coldly stared at him and then suddenly asked: ¡°Why do you treat me this way?¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve been secretly using Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun to assist me, why?¡±


    Feng Long looked at him deeply in a special way, he broke off a piece of the weeping willow and tossed it into the middle of the lake


    ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°You are my xiongdi.¡±


    ¡°Only in oath.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re my disciple.¡±


    ¡°I was tricked into it.¡±


    ¡°I told you before that I would never let anyone harm you. Feng Long said in a deep voice: ¡°


    Bai Shaoqing stood under the tree, staring at the piece of weeping willow that was floating in the middle of the lake for a while, and finally spat out the words ¡°More like harbouring unfathomable motives.¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s facial expression changed slightly, he resisted getting angry and instead turned around to head back to the bedroom before suddenly stopping his footsteps.


    ¡°Tomorrow you can leave the main base.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to practice?¡±


    ¡°Horizontal Heaven Opposing Sun is different from other techniques, once you have achieved one level, you need to rest for a while.¡± Feng Long said: ¡°You should go and relieve your boredom.¡±


    ¡°Go where?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the disciple of the Sect Leader, so you naturally need to help your shifu to shoulder some responsibility. Feng Long took out a gold badge and a human skin-like mask, ¡°You can go and inspect each branch of the sect in my place, if there is something out of place, you must immediately report back. If you want to go out and play as the bat you must wear the mask. Also, don¡¯t go looking for trouble.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing looked suspiciously at the gold badge and the face mask, and didn¡¯t not accept it until after a long while.


    ¡°Are you letting me go?¡±


    ¡°Anyway you will come back.¡±


    ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡±


    Feng Long laughed lightly, a coldness streaked across his eyes. ¡°Even if it¡¯s to the ends of the Earth, I will catch you and bring you back.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing also laughed. ¡°If it¡¯s that much trouble, why let me leave? Just go and find a cage and put me in, that¡¯d be much simpler.¡±


    Feng Long asked: ¡°Have you seen a cage that keeps bats?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing was speechless. Those who wanted to keep him locked up were numerous, there were men and women, old and young, it was just that they didn¡¯t have the power to do so, and instead they had lost their lives in his hands.


    But Feng Long clearly had the power to do so, but he chose not to. He was clearly letting him go but he was also not letting him go completely.


    ¡°Aside from going back to your mother¡¯s, you can go wherever you wish.¡± Feng Long said unhurriedly: ¡°If you dare to approach your mother, Shui Yue¡¯er will immediately deal a deadly blow.¡±


    ¡°Got it.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know the people from the other branches of the sect, Shui Yun¡¯er will set off with you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing¡± Feng Long looked deep into his eyes and sighed before pulling him into his arms and whispering: ¡°My bat should be free and unfettered right?¡±


    Intimate, gentle, making one¡¯s heart flutter.


    Bai Shaoqing suddenly clenched his teeth and swallowed up the word ¡®yes¡¯.


    He sneered: ¡°Wherever I am, I¡¯ll still be within grasp of the great Sect Leader Feng, how could I ever be free and unfettered?¡±


    He raised his head to look up at the colour of the sky, unknowingly, the sky had already turned a shade of blood red.


    Translator Note:


    Ok, I¡¯ve decided to go with Chapter 11 but its technically Volume 2 Chapter 1 ¨C this volume has 9 chapters.


    Seems like this novel has a small following so I¡¯ll keep translating it. I preferred this chapter ¨C gave us a break from all the grim stuff ~

 CH 12.1

    Scholars have often used words to incite fear. For example, ¡°Hear the sudden Lion¡¯s Roar of Hedong1, the cane falls into the water ¨C helpless and at wits end¡±, was enough to scare many people in Wulin.


    Naturally, there were exceptional cases.


    For example, today.


    Today, the weather was still very hot. The ice blocks had been brought up and placed in the corner to cool the area. The backyard was still cooler and more comfortable than the outside. The grapes were still soaking in ice water and chilled sweet grapes made one¡¯s mouth water.


    Lei Ming, however, was not lying down on his favourite chaise longue.


    His maids were not there, nor was his newly-acquired concubine.


    Someone was lying on his chaise longue, with a rigid human skin mask covering his face, but Lei Ming knew that this person must be a rare beauty. Because for someone to have such a pair of eyes, they could never be ugly.


    Eyes that were crystal clear, cold, but with floating wisps of arrogance.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe that such a small place, also has an ice cellar.¡± Bai Shaoqing lay leisurely on the chaise longue, and propped up his head on one hand, ¡°Branch Lord Lei, you really know how to enjoy yourself.¡±


    ¡°This subordinate does not dare.¡± Lei Ming stood there, breaking out into a cold sweat. His Lion Roar was renowned in Wulin, but at this time his voice was quieter than that of a mosquito.


    ¡°As the guardian of Zhengyi Sect, you have a lofty status. Why do you flatter me so much in front of others?¡± Bai Shaoqing asked, ¡°Serving tea and pouring water, just like a maid.¡±


    Shui Yun¡¯er pursed her lips and smiled, and asked softly, ¡°Don¡¯t you understand?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face darkened: ¡°He¡¯s the one who wants you to do this?¡±


    ¡°Apart from him, who else can order me to do this?¡± Shui Yun¡¯er said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you think about it, why is he doing this?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing pursed his lips and groaned, the glimmer in his eyes turned to darkness, and he said indifferently, ¡°Treacherous intentions, I won¡¯t bother dwelling on it.¡±


    He turned around and pushed open the doors. The pond in the courtyard reflected the bright sunlight, creating a dazzling effect.


    ¡°I feel much more comfortable in the afternoon.¡± Bai Shaoqing stretched at the waist and said, ¡°The song and dance at the brothels are different in each place, I wonder what they are like in Shanxi.¡±


    That night, Bai Shaoqing roamed the brothels with Lei Ming in tow.


    Brocade clothing and gourmet delicacies, soft-spoken words and auspicious events, everything was the best in the world. As long as he asked, someone would respectfully deliver.


    Sitting amongst a large group of dolled up maidens, listening to the most renowned songstress in Shanxi sing, Bai Shaoqing was absent-minded, staring at the emptiness downstairs outside of the window.


    ¡°It was a true master who designed this brothel, but unfortunately, there are two willow trees missing over there.¡± The slender fingers pointed to the open space.


    Those beauties who had had a few cups of the good wine, felt a little drunk.


    ¡°Gongzi, are you satisfied with the song that your servant just sang?¡±


    ¡°Come, drink some more.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing didn¡¯t check on the sect¡¯s affairs. He took advantage of everything Feng Long had given to do the things he wanted to do unscrupulously.


    Under the guise of Bat gongzi, he broke into Shandong¡¯s Wanren Manor2 and stole the Yeye Bixin Elixir3, which had been hidden there for hundreds of years. Wearing a mask, he led a band of Zhengyi Sect¡¯s top martial artists and marched into Bai Manor, destroying Song Xiangli¡¯s ancestral tablet, he then incapicitated Bai Moran and his two sons by hitting their acupoints and then set fire to the curtain of the ancestral hall right in front of their eyes.


    He watched the raging fire devour the place where he grew up.


    Before leaving, Bai Shaoqing leaned in towards Bai Moran¡¯s ear and said, ¡°You never regarded me as a son, and I never regarded you as a father. But from now on, only I can represent the Bai family. Everything that Song Xiangli tried to keep for her two sons is now mine.¡±


    The most vicious resentment and extreme despair flashed across Bai Moran¡¯s eyes.


    Bai Shaoqing coldly looked back at him for the last time and walked out. Behind him was a raging flame that consumed his father and brothers.


    He killed the people he wanted to kill, burned the places he wanted to burn, stole the things he wanted to steal, and then found the most beautiful places to relax. He abandoned himself in a life of pleasure under the watchful eye of Shui Yun¡¯er, an incomparable martial artist who appeared as delicate as a flower. Everyone fawned on him with paramount veneration.


    However, he felt no joy.


    Tonight, after drinking the flowery wine from Shanxi, he felt the drunkenness surge up, but it was unexpectedly sour and astringent, he didn¡¯t know how to describe it.


    After indulging arbitrarily, there was nothing left but hollow emptiness.


    Bai Shaoqing sighed.


    He was already drunk and didn¡¯t want to sleep. Wandering around his room, he finally took out his zither.


    Holding the zither with both hands steadily and looking closely, his lips slightly lifted slightly, as if he had seen an old friend.


    He lit some incense, and put down the zither, calmly staring for a moment, before gently strumming with his fingertips.


    The sound jumped out from the trembling strings and circling up to the roof beams. Hidden bitterness and resentment slowly filled the room, lightly flitting past Bai Shaoqing¡¯s lonely figure.


    Outside the window, there was suddenly the sound of a flute, like stones skimming the surface of the lake, creating layers of ripples, quiet like a lover¡¯s whisper, touching like a sad song.


    Bai Shaoqing raised his limpid eyes, he pressed down on the strings with his right hand, and the sound of the zither stopped.


    The sound of the flute also stopped immediately. For a moment, everything was quiet.


    Someone pushed open the door.


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡±

 CH 12.2

    Feng Long was holding a flute and standing just outside the door, just as handsome and elegant as ever. He smiled and said, ¡°Of course it is me.¡±


    ¡°I burned him and his two sons alive.¡± Bai Shaoqing said with a harsh tone and sneered: ¡°Your disciple is cruel and shows no mercy to his relatives. Imagine how I will deal with you in the future, I will naturally not go easy on you.¡±


    Feng Long slowly pushed his body upon Bai Shaoqing, pressing Bai Shaoqing against the chair, looking at him from above, staring silently.


    The heavy feeling of oppression came from those deep eyes. Bai Shaoqing felt like he had nowhere to hide when Feng Long looked at him like this.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it good that the Bai Manor has been burnt to the ground?¡± Feng Long smiled and said, ¡°If you wanted to burn it down, there must have been a reason to do it. You must be delighted that you were able to do it. Being that happy, you must really want to share it with others.¡± His smile made people feel liberated and at ease.


    Hearing him repeat the word ¡°must¡± in a low voice, Bai Shaoqing suddenly burst into tears.


    Feng Long said softly: ¡°You can tell me anything.¡±


    Sparkling ripples appeared in his cold eyes, and the sadness on Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face made his beauty even more thrilling. His trembling gaze looked up and stared at Feng Long for a moment.


    Feng Long swept him up easily and put him against his chest, as if Bai Shaoqing was a fledgling in need of nurturing. As the wind howled, he leaped onto the roof with Bai Shaoqing, enjoying the fresh breeze on his face under the bright moonlight.


    At this moment, Bai Shaoqing seemed to have lowered his guard and pretensions, as he lay on Feng Long¡¯s lap, looking up at the bright moon in the sky.


    He stared numbly at the sky, as if he wanted to see through the boundless sky. Feng Long lowered his head and gently began to caress him.


    After a long while, Bai Shaoqing let out a long sigh. ¡°I burned down Bai Manor.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid that only you would praise me for this. Regarding this matter, even my mother would not tell me that I have done well.¡± Bai Shaoqing smiled bitterly. But very quickly, he became excited as if the hidden memories from the depths had risen up once more in that instant. He gritted his teeth: ¡°But I don¡¯t regret it, even if it was wrong, I will never regret it. I once made an oath to myself that I would burn down Bai Manor one day.¡±


    Feng Long continued to nod gently, ¡°You don¡¯t have to regret it. Besides, you have done nothing wrong.¡± Although his tone was light, there was a sort of hegemonic certainty in it, as if as long as he said so, it was correct and there were no doubts about it.


    ¡°Song Xiangli was very cruel, she wanted to kill me but never did. Instead since I was a child, she would always used invisible methods to torture me.¡± Bai Shaoqing said softly, ¡°Bai Moran said that I was a child with poor health, so I could not learn the martial arts of the Bai family. But in fact, I was ordered by Song Xiangli to kneel in the ice and snow, which was the beginning of my poor health.¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s hand has been there for a while, patting Bai Shaoqing¡¯s shoulder from time to time but his gaze never left Bai Shaoqing for a moment.


    ¡°They all bullied me and tried all kinds of unimaginable methods. Sometimes my clothes suddenly turned into rags, and sometimes my shoes suddenly had a big hole underneath. When Bai Moran looked at me, it was like looking at venom that he could not tolerate. My existence had ruined their legendary love and ruined his reputation of being the number one loving husband in Wulin . Sometimes, I really doubt whether I am really his son.¡±


    Feng Long sighed, ¡°Even a vicious tiger will not eat its cubs, but some people are worse than a tiger.¡±


    ¡°As for Bai Shaoxin and Bai Shaoli, hmm, they are both sanctimonious and beastly, if I hadn¡¯t endured all that silently, they¡­they long would have¡­¡± Bai Shaoqing suddenly closed his eyes and gritted his teeth.


    Feng Long enclosed that clenched fist light with his own hand. There was a smile on Feng Long¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, Bai Manor no longer exists.¡± Feng Long said cheerfully, ¡°You are the only descendant of the Bai family. Bai Shaoqing now represents the Bai family in Wulin.¡±


    ¡°I am the Bat, not Bai Shaoqing.¡±


    ¡°You are my bat, and the Bai Shaoqing of Jianghu.¡±


    ¡°Absurd!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not absurd.¡± Facing that fragile and beautiful face, Feng Long lowered his head and kissed him without hesitation. The sweet fragrance was as intoxicating as in a drunken dream.


    ¡°I promised that you will never be bullied. You are the son of the Bai family, the Bat of Zhengyi Sect, the sworn brother of the Alliance Leader of Wulin, and the disciple of the Sect Leader of Zhengyi Sect. Everyone in the orthodox sects admires you and everyone in the unorthodox sect fears you. I will make everyone dote on you, respect you, make you live lavishly, and do whatever your heart desires.¡±


    ¡°Live lavishly, do whatever my heart desires?¡± Bai Shaoqing stared blankly at Feng Long.


    Feng Long looked back at him tenderly, ¡°But you are truly, just my Bat.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing looked at him and said foolishly, ¡°Feng Long, why are you like this?¡±


    ¡°Because,¡± Feng Long sighed, ¡°You have truly suffered too much.¡±


    The ripples in Bai Shaoqing¡¯s eyes suddenly trembled, as if a storm was imminent. His lips pressed lightly together, making Feng Long just want to kiss away the helpless bitterness. His face was lit up by the moonlight, making it even more beautiful.


    Translator Note:


    Woooow, I can¡¯t say that I don¡¯t like this novel but I¡¯m not loving it, lol. Like I fully went into this, thinking it¡¯s a wuxia novel with lots of action and some case-solving and it turns out to be more of just a toxic love story haha.


    What I want to know though is what are Feng Long¡¯s motivations, why does he like BSQ so much..¡­ Hmmm, I really hope that¡¯s explained¡­.


    Anyway¡­ lots of blah blah ¨C just a heads up, this is the last chapter I¡¯m posting for this novel this year. Sounds weird to say that haha. Time for me to get some real rest and spend time with the family. Happy holidays, my lovelies! ~

 CH 13

    Good wine, delicious food.


    ¡°Yes! Xiao Wu, don¡¯t prepare the private room, go to the cellar and bring up the wine!¡±


    Feng Long and Bai Shaoqing sat down.


    The food and wine was quickly delivered to the table. Bai Shaoqing picked up the wine pot and poured out a cup for himself and Feng Long.


    ¡°Shaoqing, do you remember¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°What if I remember?¡± Bai Shaoqing sneered: ¡°Of course I remember, you made a detour on purpose to Luoyang, is it because you want me to go up Yuzhi Mountain to see the butterflies again?¡±


    Feng Long stared at him in silence, he raised his head to down the cup of wine and poured another.


    Bai Shaoqing said: ¡°I just don¡¯t know what reason you have to use your old methods on me once again.¡± He also raised the cup of wine in his hand and threw it back without leaving one drop.


    The two of them drank the wine in silence, one cup after the other, the pot of wine was very quickly emptied. Feng Long hadn¡¯t said a word, when Director Li had already come over to deliver a fresh pot.


    ¡°I still remember¡­.¡± He drank half a cup and then Bai Shaoqing cocked his head and stared at Feng Long and suddenly smiled in a sly manner: ¡°Last time when I met that guy surnamed Song, you were in the next room.¡±


    Feng Long said in a deep voice: ¡°Shaoqing, aggression brings you no benefit.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing downed a few more cups, his face already reddened from the alcohol. ¡°Wait till I¡¯m actually aggressive and I burn down this Tan Xiao Pavilion.¡±


    Feng Long looked deeply at him and then sighed ever so slightly and silently downed another cup of wine.


    Their table fell silent, the two of them ate their food in silence and continued to drink the wine.


    In the great hall of the Tan Xiao Pavilion, if you are quiet enough and you have good hearing, you¡¯d be able to find out quite a lot just by listening. Bai Shaoqing was not only quiet, but under the instruction of Feng Long, his martial arts had improved greatly, his hearing was also better than the average person.


    There were two guests by the window who were drinking together.


    ¡°What¡¯s been going on in Wulin lately?¡±


    ¡°The sun setting isn¡¯t exactly news, but Wulin can never be separated from bloodshed. Lately, it¡¯s the turn of one of Wulin¡¯s great families, the Bai family.¡±


    ¡°The person you¡¯re talking about, is it the woman who was once the number one beauty in Wulin, but then had her face destroyed to save her husband, Bai fu-ren?¡±


    The man who was wearing blue robes shook his head, ¡°Sun da-ge¡¯s news is not too up to date, it¡¯s not just Bai fu-ren, haven¡¯t you heard? The entire Bai family is gone, Bai Manor was completely burnt down overnight, Bai laoye and his two sons were killed. Ah, a great family like the Bai clan unexpectedly went down just like that.¡±


    The figure sitting not far away seemed to move but not move.


    Bai Shaoqing listened calmly, his lips turned into a moving smile. His eyes slightly wavered, which made Feng Long notice an ephemeral hint of grief and sorrow.


    ¡°Aside from what happened to the Bai family, there is also something else. The man in blue seemed to be very much in the know. ¡°Sun da-ge are you familiar with the Sect Leader Fang of the Huashan sect?¡±


    ¡°Sect Leader Fang of Huashan Sect? Hehe, you¡¯re making fun of me. Although I don¡¯t often go out, I still know all those old leaders of the main sects. The one you¡¯re talking about, I met him twice before, his martial arts ability isn¡¯t bad, and he is also of moral character.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s correct, Sun da-ge is skilled in martial arts, naturally you are respected by all of the great sect leaders.¡± After praising him a few words, the man in blue continued: ¡°Have you seen the daughter of Sect Leader Fang before?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡­ ha, she¡¯s just a young maiden, nothing more.¡±


    ¡°The latest news is about Sect Leader Fang¡¯s daughter. Apparently, Maiden Fang is young and beautiful, and was well-matched with Huashan Sect¡¯s eldest disciple Zhou Rouwen since they were children. Sect Leader Fang had long decided to entrust his daughter to him.¡±


    ¡°But Zhou Rouwen, I heard¡­. Wasn¡¯t he supposedly killed by the Bat?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! When Zhou Rouwen died, Maiden Fang was heartbroken and aggrieved. Sect Leader Fang seeing his daughter had come of age, he knew that he couldn¡¯t let her not marry just because his eldest disciple had passed so she was matchmade with Kongtong Sect¡¯s Nian Ming.


    ¡°Not bad! Nian Ming is also a worthy son in Jianghu, his father doesn¡¯t have the best martial arts ability but their reputation has always been good.¡±


    The man in blue sighed: ¡°But who knew that Maiden Fang was still so infatuated with her old love and rejected the marriage. Sect Leader Fang was impatient with his daughter and forced her too hard, so Maiden Fang took a knife and disfigured her own face.¡±


    Sun da-ge was shocked: ¡°Maiden Fang was way too impulsive. Oh gosh! With a disfigured face, how is she going to marry anyone now?¡±


    The two of them were both sighing and shaking their heads when they suddenly heard a touching low voice.


    ¡°Excuse me¡­¡­.¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing gritted his teeth, ¡°But you have so much of it.¡±


    ¡°But to some people, it is incredibly rare.¡± Feng Long smiled leisurely.


    ¡°I¡¯ll exchange something with you for it.¡±


    ¡°Exchange?¡± Feng Long looked at him playfully, ¡°with what?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing stared back at him, and suddenly smiled. His smile had the ability to move people¡¯s hearts, and made people want to fall over themselves to get to him.


    It was a mesmerising smile.


    He said: ¡°Don¡¯t you want me? Although, you have restrained yourself, but I know that you do.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re using your body in exchange?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    Feng Long¡¯s face suddenly turned dark. When he smiled, he looked amiable and kind, but when his face was dark it was enough to make even a child too scared to cry.


    But Bai Shaoqing was smiling, and his smile was even more beautiful, even more charming, as if seeing Feng Long¡¯s dark face was something that he enjoyed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want much, just one bottle of the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew.¡± Bai Shaoqing laughed and said: ¡°I know you must have one on you, I can smell it¡¯s sweetness.¡± He sniffed the air.


    Feng Long finally answered.


    His answer was to strike.


    He sealed three of Bai Shaoqing¡¯s major acupoints, and before the latter fell over, he swept him up in his arms. He leapt up and left the street, jumping onto the rooftops and headed towards the outside of the city.


    The sound of the wind was whistling in his ears, Bai Shaoqing was lying in Feng Long¡¯s arms but unexpectedly he was still smiling.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to seal acupoints, whatever you want, I¡¯ll be obedient.¡± Bai Shaoqing said: ¡°When I¡¯m obedient, there isn¡¯t any need to seal my acupoints.¡±


    Feng Long lowered his head.


    Using his exceptional qinggong to glide, the feeling was like standing on a flat surface, without a single trace of movement.


    ¡°Using your body as the exchanging asset?¡±


    ¡°Having my body as an exchanging asset is a rare opportunity. How many people would covet this opportunity?¡±


    The landscape continued to roll and fly by.


    Feng Long soared with him in his arms into the foggy mist, gliding freely.


    ¡°Despising yourself, betraying yourself, how could you not be upset?¡±


    ¡°Upset?¡± Bai Shaoqing blinked, not caring at all, and instead a sweet smile appeared on his face. ¡°I discovered that the more I despise myself, betray myself, the more someone else will feel uncomfortable. Haha, who knew that under the heavens, there could be such a way to enact revenge.¡±


    Feng Long seemed to have had enough and ruthlessly dropped Bai Shaoqing from his arms to the floor.


    ¡°En¡­¡­.¡± Bai Shaoqing who still had his acupoints sealed frowned, he lifted his head from the grass with much difficulty, showing a shocked expression on his face.


    The surroundings were marvellous, just like a d¨¦j¨¤ vu.


    Fresh blood dripped into the pool, and in a blink of an eye it was engulfed in the water, dying it a deep red.


    ¡°After that day, Bai Moran no longer came to see mother.¡± He said in daze: ¡°Sigh in the name of a beauty destroyed, just like a bleak and desolate tomb, the purple jade melts into the depths4.¡±


    He suddenly felt Feng Long¡¯s warm hand on his shoulder.


    Bai Shaoqing slowly cocked his head, his eyes already becoming moist.


    ¡°Mother¡¯s face is actually a human skin mask.¡± Bai Shaoqing said: ¡°She doesn¡¯t want me to know so I pretend like I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°I can see that.¡± Feng Long sighed. The first time he caught sight of Bai Shaoqing¡¯s mother, he already knew that her face was covered by a human skin mask.


    ¡°Mother actually¡­.. Really loved Bai Moran.¡±


    ¡°But all these years, mother has not said one word to me about it.¡±


    ¡°The more deeply one loves, the more penetratingly painful, it¡¯s better not to talk about it.¡±


    ¡°If she finds out that I killed Bai Moran, she will definitely be very sad.¡±


    Feng Long lifted Bai Shaoqing¡¯s chin and enunciated each word: ¡°Shaoqing, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong. From beginning to end, you did nothing wrong.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing looked at him profoundly, something seemed to boil up in his cold eyes, emitting layer after layer of helpless splendour.


    ¡°I was wrong, really wrong, do you think I don¡¯t know?¡± He laughed and cried, ¡°But I¡¯ve already gone down the wrong path. Pity, shame, and punishment, I unexpectedly wasn¡¯t able to flee from even one. In this world, there is nowhere for me, Bai Shaoqing, to go.¡±


    Feng Long calmly looked at Bai Shaoqing.


    He had never looked at Bai Shaoqing in this way, using such a tolerant and lovely gaze to look at Bai Shaoqing. Because he had never seen anyone in such despair, and he had seen such a devastating beauty.


    At that moment, it was like time had halted.


    They forgot about the waterfall, about the sound of the water, about Zhengyi Sect and Jianghu, about the secret treasure and the Heaven and Earth-shattering pill, the warmth of Bilu sword and about the hurt and betrayal that they had done to each other.


    It turned out that there was a split second in this world where they could forget it all.


    This moment had already become eternal.


    ¡°If she knew that Bai Moran had died, mother probably won¡¯t live for much longer either.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±


    ¡°By killing Bai Moran, I have personally sent my mother to her grave.¡±


    ¡°Perhaps.¡±


    ¡°But I¡­.. I really hated him, hated to death, I had to kill him.¡±


    ¡°Shaoqing,¡± Feng Long said: ¡°Just let it out and cry!¡±


    Bai Shaoqing threw himself into Feng Long¡¯s arms, crying loudly.


    He cried until the world had turned upside down, until his throat was hoarse, until Feng Long¡¯s lapel was soaked.


    She thought that she was strong enough and that she would never regret it. When she had taken the knife and cut across her face, at that moment, she had done it in the name of loyalty and devotion.


    But at this moment when she was sitting in front of the mirror, she was afraid that she was actually not as strong as she had imagined.


    Fang Nihong sighed out loud.


    One cut of the knife had destroyed her love and her future.


    She thought about Bai Shaoqing, thought about her father and her fiance. At the time, why had she been so determined to cut herself? She hoped herself to be unwavering but now she was starting to slightly regret it.


    Appearance for a young woman could sometimes be more important than her life, and sometimes it could also be more important than affection. In the middle of the night, she was still unable to sleep. This cut had decided her fate, at that moment, she was starting to wonder whether it was worth it or not.


    Perhaps, Bai Shaoqing was as loving as his father, and she would have the same luck as Song Xiangli.


    This was pretty much her last shred of hope.


    She had no idea that Bai Manor as well as the man that she dreamt about had already been reduced to ash.


    A low sigh flowed into the house, just like the loneliness that had spread everywhere.


    The sound of the wind suddenly picked up and entered.


    It was a summer¡¯s night, how could there be such a strong gust of wind?


    ¡°Who is it?¡± Fang Nihong turned around, looking everywhere, she¡¯d already gone a little madd.


    A handsome man stood at the doorway, it was him.


    Her heartbeat suddenly picked up.


    ¡°You¡­¡­¡± She said with a hoarse voice and then suddenly paused. Fang Nihong¡¯s red lips trembled, she covered her face in terror, leaning over her dressing table.


    Bai Shaoqing¡¯s voice was just like before ¨C deep, elegant and warm. ¡°Fang gu-niang.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t come over here!¡± Just by hearing these words was enough to make anyone¡¯s heart ache. Fang Nihong said extremely flustered: ¡°Don¡¯t come over here, I¡­ I¡¯m really ugly¡­.¡±


    ¡°Silly girl.¡± He said softly, but his tone was unquestionably resolute, Bai Shaoqing picked up her chin and looked at the scar on her face, and then gave her his most moving and warm smile.


    He laughed, ¡°how is it ugly?¡±


    ¡°I¡­¡­..¡± She wanted to hide but Bai Shaoqing was blocking her.


    She was unable to move Bai Shaoqing¡¯s hand, Fang Nihong gritted her teeth and said: ¡°Why have you come? I¡¯m already so ugly, why would you come now?¡±


    ¡°Such a pretty face, why did you cut it?¡± Bai Shaoqing shook his head, ¡°unless you knew that I had the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew and you did it on purpose to make me come here?¡±


    ¡°Countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing took out the agate bottle from his bosom, ¡°where there is countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, naturally there is countenance of a flower, face like the moon5.¡±


    ¡°What is it for?¡±


    ¡°Put this onto your scar and you¡¯ll know.¡± Bai Shaoqing paused, ¡°it will hurt a lot, you need to endure it and not touch it. Once the pain subsides, the skin will grow back slowly, and you will be even more beautiful than before?¡±


    Fang Nihong stared at Bai Shaoqing with her big pitch-black eyes, ¡°really?¡±, her slender hand gripping the agate bottle.


    ¡°Of course it¡¯s true.¡±


    A pleasant surprise came over her. Even though she could be ruthless for a moment and destroy herself, how could she be ruthless for a lifetime and not regret it?


    ¡°Fang gu-niang.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still addressing me as Fang gu-niang even now?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing smiled, this time it was a forced smile. She watched this young girl who was looking back at him stupidly, and he couldn¡¯t help stroking on the head.


    ¡°Nihong, I have something to ask of you.¡±


    ¡°Tell me.¡± Fang Nihong gritted her teeth. ¡°I will do anything for you.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing sighed, ¡°If you have someone that you like, you should marry him.¡±


    Fang Nihong was taken back and nearly dropped the agate bottle. She opened her eyes widely and asked: ¡°Why? Unless it¡¯s because¡­..¡±


    Bai Shaoqing shook his head: ¡°It¡¯s not that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re a good maiden.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because I really do like you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯ve already made this mistake, I hope that you won¡¯t continue down this path.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because one day you will have a husband and a child.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s because¡­.. I can¡¯t marry you.¡±


    Fang Nihong curled up her hand into a fist: ¡°Why?¡±


    Bai Shaoqing easily came up with a reason. ¡°Because Bai manor has been destroyed, the Bai family are now destitute. I need to seek revenge and cannot think about the matters of love.¡±


    ¡°I can wait.¡±


    ¡°If you wait, you will make my heart ache for you.¡± Bai Shaoqing¡¯s face turned cold, ¡°If I ache for you, I will be distracted.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°If I am distracted, I will lose.¡± Bai Shaoqing looked at her and said quietly: ¡°If I lose then I will die.¡±


    Fang Nihong trembled. Naturally she didn¡¯t want Bai Shaoqing to die, she was a little moved, she didn¡¯t expect that she was so important to Bai Shaoqing.


    She remembered the love stories that had been passed down through the ages in Wulin. At this moment, nothing was as touching as their story.


    So, she forcefully nodded her head.


    ¡°Okay, I promise you.¡± She thought about the beauties of ancient times who had endured silent humiliation for their lovers.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Bai Shaoqing stood up, looking like he was deep in thought, he stooped over and left a light kiss on her forehead.


    ¡°Use the countenance of a flower, face like the moon dew, only in three days¡¯ time. If anyone asks you where you got it from just say that it was a vagrant martial expert who gave it to you. Bai Shaoqing said: ¡°Remember, you must only use it in three days¡¯ time.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± She didn¡¯t even ask why and had already agreed.


    It was the dead of night, Bai Shaoqing waited until Fang Nihong had fallen into a deep sleep before he stealthily departed.


    Fang Nihong¡¯s destiny had been restored, she would recover her beauty and she would find herself a husband and a new life. She was young, when one is young, one has hope and one must change. She will find one day someone who is worth loving and will fall in love with him.


    She had a first love that she could hide forever in the depths of her memories, a hazy incomplete love, which would make her life complete.


    Bai Shaoqing was tired, all the blood in his body seemed to have coagulated due to hurrying on his way here. He had put his utmost effort in to travel as quickly as possible from Yuzhi Mountain to Huashan, and did not even take a break. But he was confident that he had got rid of all the spies of Zhengyi Sect and he had bought himself three precious days.


    Feng Long would estimate that it would take him another three days to arrive at Huashan.


    So he could use these three days well.


    ¡°Mother, I¡¯m back.¡± Bai Shaoqing suppressed down his surging qi and blood and then hurried on his way.


    This time his destination was Yangzhou, to see the person living by the lake.