The sky tonight was clear, the stars laid bare to the eye.
As Qin Jiuye poled the sampan, she looked up at the sky, her mind inexplicably drifting back to the stranger hidden among the lotuses at dusk. He certainly knew how to pick his time, choosing a rare, clear night.
The sound of the sampan cutting through the lake water was light and soft, like a folk song sung by fishermen returning at dawn or dusk.
Qin Jiuye gazed into the distance by the moonlight, still able to make out the faint silhouette of the small island behind them.
When they had arrived, her mind had been elsewhere, so she hadn't noticed. Now that her business was concluded and her heart had settled, a careful observation revealed that the deserted island Li Qiao had taken her to was actually very close to Qionghu Island, where the assembly was to be held—so close that if one stood on the island and looked out, every movement on the eastern side of Qionghu Island would be clearly visible.
Thinking of this, Qin Jiuye suddenly felt uncertain. Was the youth’s choice to stop at that shrine merely a coincidence, or were there deeper reasons hidden beneath the surface?
The sound of the water continued its monotonous rhythm, instantly drowning out the slightly quickened beat of Qin Jiuye’s heart.
It was late, and the city gates had long since closed. They couldn't pass through the city and would have to take a detour back to Dingweng Village. By the time they arrived, it would likely be dawn, and they would have to head back to the lakeside shortly after.
As the boat neared the shore, Qin Jiuye thought it over and laid out the mat she had prepared earlier. She intended to call out to the youth, who had been silent for some time, telling him to stop being so suspicious and that getting some rest was the priority.
She called twice but received no response. Just as she was about to call a third time, a hand suddenly clamped over her mouth from behind.
Half of his body pressed against hers, and his voice was kept very low, right against her ear.
"Don't make a sound."
Having gained some experience with the winds and waves of the Jianghu lately, Qin Jiuye immediately quieted down and nodded.
Li Qiao slowly withdrew his hand. Before she could react, he grabbed her and leaped, hiding them within the reeds along the shore.
Qin Jiuye watched helplessly as her half-spread mat was left on the boat, part of it slipping into the lake and getting soaked. At the thought of sleeping in a wet bed tonight, she couldn't help but lament in her heart.
However, before she could save any of it, a faint whistling of wind came from the side. A dark shadow swept over her small sampan like a giant, nocturnal bird of prey.
This time, she didn't dare move.
She pressed tightly against the person beside her, crouching in the marshland that was damp from the rising tide. Broken reed stalks were pressed beneath her, pricking through her clothes with an unbearable itch, but she still didn't dare breathe heavily. Like a water bird sensing a predator, she only wanted to curl herself into a corner where she couldn't be perceived.
The dark shadow vanished in an instant. The lake water rippled slightly, and the reflection within it could no longer be seen clearly. A moment later, several other black figures swept past, so fast they didn't even disturb the reed leaves. The one in the lead held something glittering in his hand, though it was impossible to tell what it was.
Qin Jiuye blinked anxiously in the darkness.
What was to be done? Could the small noise she made while spreading the mat have disturbed these Jianghu experts practicing their skills in the middle of the night? Why were these people so petty? She was just passing through and wanted to camp for the night, yet they couldn't tolerate it and had to chase her down...
As if knowing what she was thinking, the youth beside her comforted her in a low voice.
"They aren't looking for us."
Qin Jiuye let out a long sigh of relief.
She had lost count of how many sighs she had released today; her only wish was to leave this den of trouble as quickly as possible.
"Since they aren't looking for us, let's hurry and pole the boat away..."
"Wait, we can't go out yet."
The youth nudged her shoulder with his elbow, signaling her to look toward the lake.
The bright moon hung high, looking from afar like a giant sky lantern floating on the water.
The only sound was the rhythmic lapping of the lake against the shore. It seemed as if that string of black shadows had been nothing more than an illusion.
However, in the next moment, a loud *clang* rang out from the mudflats to the southeast, instantly tearing through the surrounding silence.
It was the sound of clashing metal, the most common sound in the Jianghu. The surrounding night made the noise exceptionally deafening, as if a bolt of lightning had struck right beside them.
Even though she had anticipated encountering scenes of slaughter and combat, Qin Jiuye hadn't expected this scene to appear before her eyes so soon.
A figure in monk's robes with white hair flew out from the nearby reeds, landing on the waterlogged stony beach. He stumbled back four or five steps before steadying himself, and then a curse followed.
"Fuhu, you shameless old thief! It was enough that I marked the location, yet you actually thought to move it right in front of you. Why don't you just hide it in your disciple's crotch?!"
The next moment, the vigorous voice of Heavenly Master Fuhu rang out from the reed marshes.
"In this dark and windy night, none of you even dare to light a lamp. Which eye of yours saw me tampering with anything? Saying such things... aren't you afraid of being laughed to death?" Fuhu paused for a moment, then continued shamelessly, "How is Abbot Kongyin so easily defeated? Could it be that you spent the last few nights passing thirty percent of your internal power to your favorite head disciple, and now you're feeling weak?"
Qin Jiuye squinted her eyes. By the faint moonlight, she could barely make out that Fuhu was holding a slender object. It looked like a sword, but it was an inch or so shorter than a regular one. It seemed to have just been fished out of the lake, as it faintly shimmered with water.
Qin Jiuye mimicked Li Qiao's low voice and asked, "What are they fighting over?"
"The Jade Sword," Li Qiao's voice sounded briefly in her ear, causing a slight stir. "The Jade Sword that is to be seized when the gong sounds."
Only then did Qin Jiuye recall that after the various sects had made their appearances during the day, there had indeed been a tedious ceremony of "sinking the Jade Sword into the lake." She had heard that finding this sword would be the key to winning the competition the next day. However, at the time, she had been dizzy from the sun by the lakeside and was anxious about meeting Lu Zican in the city, so she had only caught a glimpse and hadn't made much of it.
"But isn't the competition for the sounding of the gong supposed to start tomorrow..."
She got halfway through her question before she suddenly understood. She looked into the night with an expression of utter disbelief.
The previously repelled Abbot Kongyin of Qingshi Dharma Temple wiped the blood from his mouth. He swung his long staff behind him at a tricky angle, using ten-tenths of his power to strike directly at the Heavenly Master hiding deep in the reeds.
"If you have the ability, don't let that precious disciple of yours use the internal cultivation techniques of the Luohe Sect tomorrow! You took your entire sect to dig up someone's ancestral graves overnight to steal their secret manuals, and then you had the gall to announce to the world that your disciple found them by chance after falling off a cliff. I'll be damned if I believe a word of it!"
Heavenly Master Fuhu, caught in a moment of joy that turned to sorrow, couldn't dodge in time. He took a solid hit to his ribs, and the hard-won Jade Sword flew from his hand, looking as if it were about to fall back into the lake.
Kongyin was overjoyed and surged forward to catch it, but in the next instant, a shadow darted out from the side. Fast as a streak of rosy clouds, the figure intercepted him in the blink of an eye.
Kongyin looked closely; the Jade Sword had fallen into the hands of Daoist Master Zhuiyun, the head of Xuyu Plum Peak.
With the item in hand, Zhuiyun didn't stop. In an instant, he had drifted ten paces away. Kongyin gave a low shout and gave chase, but then came the sound of weapons unsheathing from the grass. Several disciples of Xuyu Plum Peak charged at him with swords drawn. He couldn't help but curse loudly.
"Thirteen against one? Where is your shame?!"
The members of the Lingxiao Sect seemed deaf to his words, relentlessly pursuing and entangling Kongyin.
Relying on his superior leg techniques, Zhuiyun took the opportunity to run in a curve along the lakeshore. He looked as if he were about to break through the encirclement and leave everyone in the dust, but for some reason, he suddenly let out a miserable scream.
"Ah!"
The next moment, Zhuiyun was seen limping onto the shallow beach, clutching the sole of his foot.
"Which son of a bitch dared to plant poison needles on the shore!"
A figure stood up from the reeds, hands on hips, laughing loudly. It was Sect Leader Hanchu of the Xuanjin Gate.
"Old man Zhuiyun, how does the taste of my Bone-Piercing Needles suit you? Back during the Qiongqi Mountain competition, you secretly lent your Yuan-Swallowing Sword to your disciple, who then crippled fourteen of my sect members. Consider this a return of that grand favor. No need to thank me!"
Zhuiyun was too busy worrying about the sole of his foot to talk back to Sect Leader Hanchu. He specialized in leg techniques; his feet couldn't be ruined! Just then, the sound of wind and water rose behind him. A pitch-black figure emerged from the water and, taking advantage of his distraction, used a "Monkey Stealing the Moon" move to snatch the Jade Sword into his own hands.
"You elders can continue your reminiscing. I'll take care of this item for now."
Having spoken, Guanyu Tongzi didn't linger. He turned and dove back into the lake, vanishing from sight.
A moment later, two figures—one in red and one in white—arrived at the shore. Seeing this, they both sneered.
"What's so arrogant about being able to hold your breath? You're just a turtle decked out in gold and silver! If I don't show you the might of my Shenpu Cult, you'll really think I don't know about you scuttling seven of my cult's large ships to rob us three years ago!"
As Dragon King Suiyin finished speaking, he instantly pulled out three Heavenly Thunder Fires, lit them, and threw them into the water. Three earth-shattering explosions followed, and the vast, quiet waters were instantly blasted into three towering columns of spray. Guanyu Tongzi was caught in the middle and blown onto the shore like a fat porpoise.
Dragon King Suiguo took the opportunity to channel his qi and leap through the air, landing beside the boy. He picked up the Jade Sword, but before he could even warm it in his hand, he heard a faint whistling of wind from behind. He hastily took a step back, narrowly avoiding a venomous insect, and turned to see Sect Leader Hanchu already upon him.
"Don't run, you long worm! Take a palm strike from me!"
Being called a "worm" when they were "Dragon Kings," the two Dragon Kings fled while protecting the Jade Sword, not forgetting to turn back and shout in fury.
"Poisonous hag! Using such underhanded tricks is an unfair victory. You are truly shameless to the extreme!"
Hanchu didn't care at all about their accusations. Breaking character, she turned to her old enemy.
"Old monster Zhuiyun, help me! Let's slap these two to death first, then we can decide the winner between us!"
Before her voice had even faded, Fuhu and Kongyin charged out from the side again. Guanyu Tongzi, who had been blown onto the shore, had also recovered by now. His gold saber, inlaid with gems, swung out in a blur of multicolored reflections under the moonlight.
For a time, a group of martial arts supremos in their seventies and eighties, all white-haired, were chasing and fleeing, hacking and slashing, using every means possible to engage in a group brawl. As the saying goes, after betrayal comes more betrayal, and after a surprise attack comes another. It was one round of poisonous hands followed by another of old fists; they were just short of resorting to rolling on the ground like common brawlers.
Qin Jiuye watched this "shameless grand play" performed personally by a generation of grandmasters with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. She had long since forgotten to speak. After a long while, she slowly turned her head.
"When I saw them during the day, they didn't look like this..."
The youth's gaze was cold, and his voice was flat when he spoke.
"They have always been like this. In this Jianghu, those who can keep words like benevolence, righteousness, and fairness on their lips must at least be alive. Those who have lived to this age must have done plenty of filthy, wretched, and despicable things in their youth."
Thinking of the sign at Guoran Residence that could never be polished bright despite years of painstaking effort, Qin Jiuye felt as if some belief she held was slowly collapsing.
"When one is in the Jianghu, how can the things they've done leave no trace? If they've done guilty or wicked things, does no one remember?"
The youth was silent for a good while before he spoke in a low voice.
"Of course people remember. But the longer a person lives, the fewer people there are who remember the things from their youth. Once they've outlived everyone who knows their background, they naturally become cleaner and purer as they age." He paused, then continued, "So-called legends and swan songs happen every year; it won't be long before they are rewritten or forgotten. The Jianghu dream that most people long for isn't a moment of brilliance, but how to endure."
Qin Jiuye fell silent. She stole a glance at the youth's expression as he spoke, and for some reason, a question suddenly surfaced in her mind.
What about him? What kind of person was he?
Did he long for a moment of brilliance, or was his heart set on enduring for a long, long time? Was he willing to stubbornly hold onto his beliefs, or would he navigate the ways of survival?
But though the words were on the tip of her tongue, she didn't ask.
She knew that the answers to some things would change with the passage of time. Those grandmasters who knew how to endure, calculate, and drift along weren't born that way. They might have been young once, impulsive once, upright and honorable once, and lived by a code of vengeance and gratitude once.
It was just that later, the Jianghu taught them another law of survival.
To stay alive, a person can turn into any shape.
There was another loud bang. She didn't know which master was exerting their power, but Qin Jiuye was startled and instinctively looked back toward the lake.
On the water, the hundreds of large ships from the various sects were still floating quietly. Not only was there no movement, but a few ships had even extinguished their lights, looking for all the world as if they were turning in for the night.
The Jianghu travelers, who in the past would have thrown a hundred hidden weapons if someone so much as crouched outside their door for a moment, were now acting as if they were both deaf and blind. They all pretended not to see this late-night brawl. After all, no sect was entirely innocent; everyone was waiting for their own sect leader to return in triumph, adding a bit of an edge to their performance at the Sword Appreciation Assembly the next day.
Was this truly the Jianghu? Or was this the *real* Jianghu?
The Jianghu was also a place where people gathered. And where there were many people, the rules of survival were mostly the same.
Qin Jiuye sighed, suddenly feeling that although she had treated so many Jianghu people in the past, she had never truly understood the so-called Jianghu.
She nudged the person beside her with her elbow and asked with some emotion, "Who do you think will win in the end tonight?"
The youth raised an eyebrow, his tone carrying a trace of subtle contempt.
"Hard to say. Perhaps before they can determine a winner or a loser, the Jade Sword will break first."
Qin Jiuye pursed her lips, her words tinged with a bit of lament and disappointment.
"Isn't it said that this Sword Appreciation Assembly has gathered the top experts of the current Jianghu? Is there no great hero who can command the field, fight all the masters, and take the top prize? Where is that Di Mo? Why doesn't he come out and take charge..."
The person beside her fell silent again. When he spoke again, his tone and voice seemed to have drifted far away.
"If my master were here, none of them would be a match for her."
"Your master?" Qin Jiuye repeated the words, looking at him with some confusion. "You never mentioned before that you had a master."
"She is already dead."
Qin Jiuye shut her mouth.
Even if she had ten thousand curiosities in her heart, the moment she heard the tone in which he said those words, she knew she couldn't ask that question right now.
Wait... since when had she started to feel curious about him? She shouldn't be curious; she should avoid him, walk around him, and stay far away from everything related to him...
The ground beneath her feet vibrated slightly—the result of dozens of Jianghu experts stirring up trouble on the lake.
In the next moment, Dragon King Suiyin threw a Heavenly Thunder Fire toward Fuhu, only for the latter to use a "Cloud-Dispersing Palm" to push it back with a move of "Four Ounces Deflecting a Thousand Pounds." The thunder fire exploded between the two parties, and the splashing water shattered into a mist, instantly obscuring everyone's vision. To hold their respective positions, the various experts almost simultaneously chose to retreat toward the shore. Guanyu Tongzi was the last to land, and as luck would have it, he headed straight for Qin Jiuye's hiding spot.
Qin Jiuye sensed the wind approaching and turned pale with fright. She instinctively wanted to flatten herself against the ground, but the youth beside her grabbed her and pulled her up, retreating a dozen paces in an instant.
After a loud bang, Qin Jiuye looked back belatedly and found that the patch of grass where she had been hiding had turned into a large crater. The pit was bare, without a single blade of grass left. Dragon King Suiguo had appeared at the bottom of the pit at some point, a long whip in his hand swinging up and down, striking directly at the spot where Guanyu Tongzi had just landed. Wherever the whip landed, not a blade of grass remained.
Qin Jiuye stared at the large pit, unable to recover her senses. Amidst the shock, her mind actually found some spare room to think of strange things. For instance, if Lord Fan had been able to invite these energetic grandmasters when he was digging the pond at the Commandery Governor's estate, why would it have taken ten days or half a month? It would have been dug in an hour.
While her mind wandered, a flash of sword light rose from the rear left. It was Zhuiyun, leading the thirteen disciples of Xuyu Plum Peak as they also charged over.
"Who is hiding in the shadows watching the fun? Careful you don't catch a cold and get the runs!"
It seemed the Lingxiao Sect usually kept its reputation in the Jianghu most pristine and spotless. Now that they had been caught in the act of this wretched business, they became the party with the strongest killing intent. Zhuiyun swung a sword strike down from above, slicing Qin Jiuye's sampan floating by the shore in half.
Even when she first saw this sudden display of blades and swords, Qin Jiuye had only been a bit disheveled. But this scene made her heart begin to bleed.
She gazed sorrowfully at her sampan, which was now spinning in the middle of the lake. Suddenly, she drew a lesson from this blood and tears, reaching a new level of enlightenment.
There was a reason those Jianghu sects were playing dead. If one saw something, they would have to provide an attitude and a judgment. But how could the messy affairs of the Jianghu ever be explained clearly or settled fairly? It was better to pretend not to see, and in the end, settle everything with a "never heard of it," saving oneself endless trouble.
It was just that by the time she understood this principle, it seemed a bit too late.
Those Jianghu elders might not fear death after living all these years, but they feared ruin and infamy most of all. How could they allow others to catch them in a weak spot or see them as a joke? In their shame and rage, it wasn't impossible for them to kill her to silence her.
Li Qiao pulled her, and in the blink of an eye, they had retreated a hundred paces. But the indistinct sound of the wind, like a ghost's wail, still lingered around them.
The words "disaster is imminent" wouldn't leave Qin Jiuye's mind. She worried that even losing her fortune wouldn't avert the calamity. Holding the youth's hand, her voice began to tremble.
"W-what do we do now?"
Li Qiao spoke the truth. "There are people on all four sides. There's nowhere left to hide."
"Then what?"
"Fight our way out and leave this place."
When he said this, his tone was no different from usual, as if he were simply telling her: *The accounts for today are settled; we're still short thirty-nine wen.*
Qin Jiuye grimaced, showing a smile that looked worse than crying.
"How do we leave? The boat is broken..."
The youth didn't stop moving. His gaze swept over the bushes behind the rocky beach not far away, and he had already reached a conclusion.
"Ride a horse."
Ride a horse? But she didn't know how to ride a horse!
***
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