Edited by Elanor
It was sometime later that everyone gathered in the dining room again. The sky was dark outside and Aunty Yu was making a fire, preparing to cook pickled vegetable hot pot. She seemed a little restless, and almost burned her hand with charcoal when she was adding firewood.
“Aunty, be careful.” Yun Yifeng quickly helped her and asked with concern, “What’s the matter, are you not feeling well?”
“Master Yun.” Aunty Yu replied uneasily. Seeing that no one around paid attention to what they were talking, she asked in a very small voice, “Was there an explosion in the mountain this morning? I also saw a huge cloud of black smoke. Did something happen to Old Zhang?”
“No.” Yun Yifeng helped her put the firewood in the stove in place and then said, “We are also investigating what exactly that explosion was. Aunty, don’t let your imagination run wild. However, you have to be more careful in the future. Don’t leave Snow View Pavilion alone, do you understand?”
Aunty Yu nodded repeatedly, “Okay, I will not be going anywhere. I’ll stay in the kitchen.”
The ingredients in the pot were bubbling and boiling very hot, in sharp contrast to the silence in the room. Compared to when they first arrived and dined with wine and laughter, today’s meal was more sombre. It was just to fill their stomachs, so even if they had no appetite, they just had to close their eyes and swallow hard. After all, if someone really attacked Ethereal Peak in the middle of the night, fighting and breaking through was also a matter of physical strength and would require energy.
“Cough!” Qi Ran choked on the hot soup, put down his chopsticks and coughed for a while.
Liu Qianxian patted his back and sighed, “We can’t keep going on like this. We’d better think of a solution.”
“There are explosives buried everywhere on the mountain, which only means that the other party doesn’t want us to leave Ethereal Peak.” Jin Huan said, “But what is the reason for trapping us here? There is no way to find out. And since we are all confused, what should we do?”
Yue Zhihua was already feeling awkward and couldn’t put forward any amazing and brilliant suggestions. He could only sit listlessly and stared aimlessly at Yun Yifeng. He looked extremely downtrodden and pitiful.
Yun Yifeng: “Since the other party has not shown themselves yet, we can speculate by ourselves to see who has courted trouble.”
Jin Huan didn’t understand what he meant: “How should we go about guessing?”
“When wandering in the Jianghu, it’s hard to avoid having grudges with others. You might as well think about what enemies you might have provoked.” Yun Yifeng said, “Who knows, we might be able to find out who’s behind this mess.”
Jin Manlin shook his head when he heard this and said, “Naturally there are enemies, but at most we don’t interact with each other, or they’ll try to make some small obstructions secretly. It would be very flattering for me if they made a special trip to come all the way to this Ethereal Peak in order to assassinate me.”
Liu Qianxian retorted: “You can’t say that. There are many people in the Jianghu who are narrow-minded, vindictive and black-hearted. You never know when you have offended someone. Just as Master Yun said, we should be forthcoming with our past and analyze them one by one. Anyway, being trapped in this snowy lonely mountain and having nothing to do is better than being nervous and staying alone in the courtyard.”
Ji Yanran echoed: “I also agree with Master Yun’s proposal. Everything in this world has a cause before it has a consequence. There is absolutely no reason to kill someone for no reason. Why don’t we let Miss Liu go first?”
“Why should I go first?” Liu Qianxian asked in a charming voice, feeling upset, “With this kind of thing, you men should go first. Chief Jin is the oldest. I think it’s good to start with him.”
Although Jin Manlin didn’t have much status in the Jianghu, he was still an elder. By this time, he had already been bossed around by this little girl twice. It was inevitable that he would feel unhappy. Jin Huan sensing the situation was getting sour, decided to come out and round the court, and took the initiative, saying, “Let me start first.”
Yun Yifeng smiled, “Brother Jin, please.”
Jin Huan recalled, “I have always been kind to others and rarely quarreled with my friends. When it comes to hurting people or having grievances, the most serious situation happened three years ago, when I accidentally hurt Brother Yue Ling’s right leg in a Martial Arts competition, causing him to live with a chronic injury.”
“Yue Ling, is it Uncle Yue’s son?” Qi Ran asked.
Jin Huan nodded: “It’s him.”
Hearing this, Qi Ran’s servant boy opened his eyes immediately and yelled, “That’s it, isn’t it?! You hurt someone else’s son. No wonder they want to trick you up the mountain and try to blow you up with thunderbolts…”
“Presumptuous!” Qi Ran scolded, “The Chief is talking. Why are you interrupting? You are really getting more and more unruly. Apologize to Brother Jin quickly!”
“I… I’m worried about the Young Master and I want us to leave this damn place quickly.” Qi Ran’s servant boy muttered low, reluctantly knelt down to Jin Huan, “Master Jin, I said the wrong thing. Please be magnanimous and don’t remember this villain. Please forgive me.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Jin Huan waved his hand, motioned him to stand up, and said to Yun Yifeng, “Because of this incident, I feel extremely guilty. Fortunately, Uncle Yue’s family has been magnanimous and didn’t pursue any further.”
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Jin Huan sighed, “It’s a pity that Brother Yue’s legs can’t be completely recovered no matter how much money is spent. I feel really sorry for uncle Yue.”
Yun Yifeng asked, “Is this the only thing?”
Jin Huan said firmly, “This is the only thing.”
Yun Yifeng said, “I’ve heard one more thing though. Brother Jin made a marriage engagement with Miss Mo’s family in Shuiyao City a few years ago, but then it was suddenly cancelled. I wonder what the reason was?”
Before Jin Huan could answer, Liu Qianxian gave out a condescending laugh as she said with interest, “I thought Feng Yu Sect only cares about big issues in the Jianghu. It seems like even information on romantic entanglements are being inquired as well. Did you even have to inquire about these long-standing disputes one by one?”
Yun Yifeng said, “At that time, people of Feng Yu Sect happened to be working in Shuiyao City, and they mentioned it when they came back.”
Jin Huan was a little embarrassed: “I didn’t expect this matter to reach the ears of the Sect Master Yun. Indeed, I had a marriage engagement with the Mo family and went to Shuiyao City with my father to set a specific wedding date. Later, I found that Miss Mo already had a sweetheart and she refused to marry into the Jin family. Since I don’t want to make things difficult for others, I cancelled the marriage engagement. It’s just a small matter.”
“I see.” Yun Yifeng said, “It turned out that Brother Jin was just fulfilling someone’s wish. It really shouldn’t be resentment, but kindness.”
“That’s all about me.” Jin Huan looked at Liu Qianxian, “Miss Liu, please.”
“Me?” Liu Qianxian said, “In Xuhui Palace, my Master dotes on me the most, so it attracts a lot of jealousy from my fellow disciples. They usually group up to shun me out. They would steal my gold hairpins or jewelries and add itching powder to my bath water. They would always pull mean tricks, it’s really terrible.”
Yun Yifeng said with a smile, “These are all little tricks and pranks a little girl would do, surely they don’t need to chase you and hunt you down all the way to the Northeast, right?”
“Bah, if they want to kill me, they have to possess an exceptional ability.” Liu Qianxian said, “As for the grievances and resentment in the Jianghu, since this is the first time I ventured out on my own, I am not familiar with most people.”
She was the least suspicious, so they didn’t ask her any more questions. The next one was Qi Ran. He racked his brains, thinking from all angles, but what he said was nothing more than his grievances and resentment while living in a big house. The first wife hated the second wife, and the third wife’s son put a snake in the fourth wife’s room. He discovered it himself and reported it to his father. While the stories were exciting, and were materials for after-dinner idle chit-chat, it obviously had nothing to do with the current strange situation. Qi Ran’s little servant was even more insignificant. He has just been scolded and this time he felt very wronged, thus he spoke badly.
When it was Yue Zhihua’s turn, he said, “I grew up in the Escort Agency since I was a child and I never even stepped out of Han Wu City until the year before last that I went beyond the border for my first escort assignment. My uncle has many sons, so those big escort cases were never delegated to me. I can only pick up some meat scraps that my cousins didn't want to eat and those could barely fill my stomach. Let’s not talk about offending a very powerful person, I couldn’t even meet one even if I wanted to.”
On the face of it, he was saying that he had no grudges with others, at the same time, he wanted to show that he was clearly a Young Master only in name. In fact, he was only the adopted son of his mother’s family, and he was not close to his uncle. He knew nothing about all the conspiracies and was indeed wronged.
Jin Manlin suddenly said, “It should be a good job for the Yue family to receive and entertain the Sect Master Yun, right?”
“Ah?” Yue Zhihua was taken aback when he heard the comment and wasn’t able to react for the time being.
Ji Yanran commented: “Since Brother Yue is not valued at home, how did this great job of receiving Sect Master Yun fall onto your lap?”
Yue Zhihua hesitated for a moment and pondered over the meaning of this remark. What fell on his lap was not a great job at all. He thundered: “So is it true that my uncle does have bad intentions? That he arranged for me to come up the mountain because if I die…if I die. I will die for nothing?”
Everyone acquiesced, but only Liu Qianxian watched as he suffered a mental breakdown, so she kindly said, “At least it shows that you are also innocent. Drink some water first. By the way, Swordsman Ji, you haven’t spoken yet. ”
Ji Yanran put down his tea cup: “I’m just a businessman. My family has rich properties and is wealthy enough. My father is kind and I respect him, my brothers and sisters as well as my friends are respectful. We open warehouses to release grains and other provisions every year to help the poor. We try to do good and accumulate virtue. As for resentment and grievances, I think it’s absolutely impossible.”
Jin Manlin said, “If I may take the liberty to ask, this time, Swordsman Ji and Master Yun came to the Northeast to find something?”
Ji Yanran said without changing his expression, “Seven-colored Glazed Ginseng.”
Yun Yifeng: “…”
You made that up pretty fast.
Liu Qianxian was surprised: “Just hearing the name, it seems like it is something amazing. Is it really seven-colored?”
Ji Yanran replied, “I’ve never seen it before. It is because of its rarity that I want to find it for my mother’s birthday celebration. Now, I haven’t even dug one of its roots yet so that it would warrant my early death.”
Liu Qianxian nodded and said, “Hey, Chief Jin, we have finished. Now it’s your turn.”
Jin Manlin really couldn’t figure out why this little girl had set her eyes on him the whole day. It was as if he had offended her or something. Although he was already getting annoyed, he couldn’t really attack her. He just ignored her and said, “Except for the small conflicts when going on escort jobs, I’ve been honest and forthright all my life and never wronged or caused suffering to others.”
Liu Qianxian said discontentedly, “Chief Jin, are you being too perfunctory? Who in this world can be honest and upright all his life? I’ve never seen anyone.”
Jin Manlin said, “Then from today on, you’ve seen one. What about it?”
Seeing that there was already a smell of fire in his words, Liu Qianxian hid behind Yun Yifeng and whispered, “Right, I’ve seen it now. I will boast about you when I meet people in the future. Why are you so fierce? At an old age, how can you still argue with a beautiful little girl? Master Yun…” she deliberately prolonged the ending, which came out as coquettish. And the way she held onto Yun Yifeng, if a newcomer comes in the hall, she would look like she have been hiding in the arms of Mr. Right.
Yun Yifeng quietly stepped to the side, aiming to avoid her, but Liu Qianxian insisted on sticking on his side, dragging his jade pendant and she refused to let go. Although children in the pugilistic world were not as reserved and dignified as those born in aristocratic families, few could be so enthusiastic and energetic.
Jin Manlin, had gotten old in his life and he can clearly say that he really didn’t like this demon cult witch, so he took Jin Huan and left the hall first.
Then Qi Ran also returned to White Plum Pavilion with his servant boy.
Yue Zhihua ran away faster.
For a moment, Ji Yanran was the only “person in the way” in the dining room.
Liu Qianxian said, “Why are you still here?”
“I also want to go….” Ji Yanran said innocently as he looked down.
Yun Yifeng was gripping his sleeve tightly with one hand, and looking at those slender jade-like fingers and white knuckles that were prominently showing, he was about to tear off Ji Yanran’s sleeve.
Liu Qianxian stamped her feet and said, “Master Yun, what are you doing with him?”
“Little girl, I just want to say.” In order for Ji Yanran to get out of this severe cold and go back to his room to keep himself warm, he had to personally win the Jade Pendant back, “Have you never liked a man before?”
Liu Qianxian disdainfully said: “Except for Master Yun, all the other men in the Jianghu are dirty and smelly. Who wants to like them?”
Ji Yanran suddenly said: “No wonder.”
Liu Qianxian asked, “What do you mean?”
Ji Yanran carefully explained: “Whether it’s a little boy rolling in the mud pit or an Immortal like Sect Master Yun, they like quiet and gentle ladies, not some barbaric girl. As I had mentioned last time, winning someone’s heart is not like a female bandit stealing a husband, wherein the greater the strength, the better the advantage.”
Liu Qianxian looked at Yun Yifeng and saw that he didn’t seem to have any intention to refute, so she had to say angrily, “Oh.”
Ji Yanran said with a good attitude: “Can we go back now?”
“I have something else to say.” Liu Qianxian looked out the door and said seriously in a low voice, “You’d better pay more attention to the Jin father and son. At noon today, I caught them sneaking, like plotting something.”
Yun Yifeng frowned: “Sneaking?”
“Yes.” Liu Qianxian said, “I didn’t dare to approach. I didn’t hear what they were talking about, but looking at both of their expressions, there must be a problem.”
“Thank you for reminding me.” Yun Yifeng said, “There are many strange things in the mountain. You should be more careful.”
After Liu Qianxian left, Ji Yanran straightened his crumpled sleeves and asked, “I am ninety nine percent this thunderbolt incident is aimed at me, but you want everyone to express their grievances in order to judge who is lying and find Yue Mingwei’s spy?”
“Yes, but with little effect.” Yun Yifeng said, “Everyone told the truth, but I also think that everyone hid something.”
Ji Yanran said, “It’s not the most critical moment yet. Even if they’ve really broken through a great disaster and had a deep blood feud, they won’t be willing to tell the truth. It doesn’t matter if people try to hide it once, twice or thrice, but there will always be a time when you will be exposed.”
It was cold and chilly outside. They walked through the corridor. Yun Yifeng retracted his hands into his sleeves and the tip of his nose was red due to the cold. Ji Yanran asked, “Where’s the cloak I gave you before?”
Yun Yifeng said, “I forgot.”
“…”
His Highness Prince Xiao had to take off his cloak again and wrapped him tightly from head to foot. After the bleak crescent moon disappeared, the courtyard became dark. The torch lights on both sides along the corridor had long been extinguished by the strong wind. Yun Yifeng had just taken a step forward, when a white shadow suddenly floated on his feet followed by a crisp sound of metal crashing, “Ding“, a fleeting spark, the furry animal “squeaked” and climbed up the wall before disappearing into the wilderness and snowy field.
Ji Yanran explained, “It’s Jin Huan’s ferret.”
He released his grip on Yun Yifeng.
Ji Yanran said, “Master Yun is so fast with hidden weapons.”
Yun Yifeng looked at him: “The Lord was not slow to stop me.”
Ji Yanran lit up the fire box and picked up two darts from the snow. One of the smaller darts was the frost dart used by Yun Yifeng. Just as the white ferret jumped up from the ground, his concealed weapon had been released. The other dart was a little bigger. It was Ji Yanran’s thin blade thrown between his fingers. He recognized the ferret in a very short time and shot down the flying frost dart, saving the ferret from being pierced through.
Yun Yifeng asked, “Did we drive away Jin Huan’s pet?”
“It was said that ferrets are spiritual animals, they are intelligent and can find their way, so don’t worry.” Ji Yanran returned to the Piao Piao Pavilion with Yun Yifeng and turned up the fire again. “After that cool breeze, come and warm yourself over the fire first. ”
Yun Yifeng took off his cloak, covered his cold ears with his fingers and rubbed them. The whole person shrank into the soft cushion next to the fire.
Ji Yanran said with a smile, “There is also a hat in the Imperial Palace Treasure Hall which was made of the best snow-capped mountain silver fox skin. Next time I’ll find a chance to get it out and give it to the Sect Master to protect against the cold.”
Yun Yifeng stirred the tea soup with a silver spoon: “En.”
Ji Yanran brought out two white porcelain cups: “I have another thing to ask.”
Yun Yifeng looked up at him: “What’s the matter?”
Ji Yanran said, “Just now in the dining room, everyone has to say their past grievances. Why only the Sect Master didn’t say his?”
“Is that what you wanted to ask?” Yun Yifeng said: “No one can kill me, and no one dares to kill me.”
Ji Yanran was puzzled: “Why?”
Yun Yifeng handed him a cup of hot tea with a smile in his eyes: “Because this is… the rules of the Jianghu.”
———–
Zaki~ yayy!! I’m back from the holidays 🙂 Thank you for waiting 🙂 HAPPY 2022 everyone..
Ahh this story has me in a grip!!! It’s so interesting to read all the developments. And the last line….wow sect master really a powerful protag. Wonder how he got poisoned then. Thnx for the update!
Thanks for the chapter ❤️ Happy New Year! 🎉
»Liu Xianxian looked out the door and said seriously..« Liu Qianxian
I think that that LQX is still sus. Didn’t she found the explosive powder on their way up the mountain? Aside from the fact that she’s annoying and rude af :3
Did that ferret tried to attack our prince (since he gave his cloak again to YYF, YYF was attacked) or was it just running around for fun? Naa, I don’t think so lol But who knows xD
Thx for the ch ٩( >ヮ<)۶
And HNY guys~ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ✲ﾟ｡⋆
Thank you dear for picking that up 🙂 re: ferret, I was thinking on the same line, I’m not too sure if the ferret was just playing around..or…might have been sent… hmmnn
This novel is very interesting. Thabk you for the chapter!
oooooooohh…. I wonder why they can’t kill him?
Can’t wait to binge read, my thanks to the translators and editors, you guys did a great job ~ 😊
Thank you for the translation – easy reading 🙂
Why didnt the girl told about the smell of kerosine and explosive on the rock?? Yun is mighty strong as well.. so does that mean that there are other ways to cure the poison? And not just the red sumthing?since no one can kill him in jianghu
Thanks ya!❤️
Why are these chapters so long 😭😭