Chapter 32

Chapter 32

The moment Old Master Zhao appeared, the Old Madam’s sword hand began to tremble.

They had been husband and wife for many years. Though the Old Madam could be willful at times, in the Old Master’s eyes, that had always been part of her charm. Most of the time, he indulged her.

But today was the first time he had shouted at her in public, in front of so many people.

The Old Madam was utterly humiliated, and the chill in her heart only deepened. Since things had come to this, she threw caution to the wind. “Zhao Fanhua, don’t you always claim that it is your duty to eliminate demons and defend the righteous path? This woman is a Yaoguai, and you still won’t kill her?”

Zhao Zhiyi held Mu Yunshu’s hand and said, “Grandmother, Yunshu is not a Yaoguai.”

Old Master Zhao stood in front of the young couple, his face cold. “I have killed countless demons in my lifetime. Do you think I can’t tell whether Yunshu is a Yaoguai or not?”

“You can’t tell!” The Old Madam advanced step by step with the sword in hand, even more aggressive than before. “All of you have been deceived by this woman. She approached Zhiyi on purpose, entered the Zhao family on purpose. Her goal is to take revenge on the Zhao family, to take revenge on me!”

Old Master Zhao’s brows drew tight. With only the slightest movement of his hand, his fingertip touched the blade. The long sword in the Old Madam’s hand shuddered violently, numbing the web between her thumb and forefinger, and the sword clattered to the ground.

In a low voice, Old Master Zhao said, “Enough, Song Zhenzhu. If Yunshu were truly a Yaoguai, the Qingshuang Sword would have cut her down long ago. You’re old now, and your mind is muddled. You need rest.”

“No! I am not mad!”

Old Master Zhao swept his gaze over the people around them.

The Old Steward stiffened from head to toe. He lowered his head, but still waved a hand. At once, several people stepped forward, seized the Old Madam by the wrists, and moved to escort her back to her room to “rest.”

The Old Madam struggled, but it was useless. “Zhao Fanhua, you will regret this! You will regret this!”

The Old Master then looked at everyone else. “Who started the rumors in the estate?”

Everyone his gaze passed over felt an invisible pressure descend on them. Fear forced them to tell the truth.

“I heard it from Aunt Wang!”

“Yes, I heard it from Aunt Wang too!”

“She was the one who said the Young Madam was a Yaoguai!”

“She was also the one who said the Young Madam was a monster who harmed people!”

With just a few scattered accusations, Aunt Wang was so frightened that she fell to her knees. When she saw the pile of white bones on the ground, she trembled uncontrollably.

“I… I didn’t want to either. It was the Old Madam who gave me money and told me to spread the rumors through the estate!”

Zhao Zhiyi was furious. He kicked Aunt Wang to the ground. “You slandered my wife as a Yaoguai. Truly despicable!”

The Old Madam had actually hired someone specifically to frame Mu Yunshu as a Yaoguai. In that case, this pile of bones under the bed was probably her doing as well.

Zhao Zhiyi said, “Men, send her to the authorities! And everyone who spread these rumors-drive them all out!”

In an instant, a dark mass of people knelt across the ground, begging for mercy.

Mu Yunshu took Zhao Zhiyi’s hand. “Aunt Wang was only following orders. The others did not know the truth either and were merely misled for a moment. They have served the Zhao family for many years. Even if they have no great achievements, they have worked hard. Let it go this time.”

Zhao Zhiyi was still very angry, but since Mu Yunshu had pleaded for them, he finally relented.

The others immediately kowtowed to Mu Yunshu again and again, thanking her repeatedly.

Among the crowd, Aunt Wang, who had always loved gossiping, kept her body lowered and trembled, as though she had already humbled herself into the dust.

When Qiao Ying looked back again, the little boy was gone. She folded her arms and said, “Looks like Miss Mu’s days in this estate will be much better from now on.”

Ming Caihua shook his head and clicked his tongue twice. “The Old Madam really brought about her own ruin with this stunt.”

Just then, Mu Yunshu walked over with Zhao Zhiyi accompanying her. She smiled at Qiao Ying. “Thank you, miss, for speaking up for me earlier.”

Zhao Zhiyi also said, “Thank you, miss.”

Qiao Ying waved a hand. “I didn’t really do anything. You don’t need to be so polite.”

Mu Yunshu removed the jade bracelet from her wrist and slipped it onto Qiao Ying’s hand. “This isn’t a thank-you gift. I simply want to be friends with you. If I have leisure time in the future, may I come find you for a chat?”

Qiao Ying instinctively looked at Shen Qingyu first.

Shen Qingyu smiled. “Congratulations, Qiao Ying. You have a friend now.”

Only then did Qiao Ying accept Mu Yunshu’s bracelet. Looking at the bracelet on her wrist, she thought it definitely couldn’t have been cheap. A smile appeared on her face. “All right. It is my honor to be friends with Miss Mu.”

Unlike the others, Qiao Ying did not call her Young Madam, but still addressed her as Miss Mu. Mu Yunshu liked that form of address.

However, because Zhao Zhiyi was weighed down by the fact that his grandmother had targeted Mu Yunshu, and because he was worried about Mu Yunshu’s health, he did not let her stay outside for long. Holding her hand, he took her back first.

Qiao Ying watched the young couple leave and sighed sincerely. “They really do look well matched. Even though several elders of the Zhao family don’t like Miss Mu, it seems Zhao Zhiyi still stands firmly on her side. Her days shouldn’t be too difficult, then.”

Shen Qingyu asked with a smile, “You think Zhao Zhiyi is very good?”
Qiao Ying nodded. “He’s handsome, and he knows how to protect his wife. That’s wonderful.”

Shen Qingyu said, “But his grandmother doesn’t like his wife.”

Qiao Ying said, “So?”

“If he were truly good, he should kill his grandmother.”

Qiao Ying: “…Shen Qingyu, killing people is wrong.”

“How is it wrong?” Shen Qingyu smiled. “Don’t all people die? It’s only a matter of sooner or later.”

“By that logic, I’ll die one day too, but I still want to live well before I die.”

For a moment, Shen Qingyu said nothing.

With a rather grim expression, the Old Steward brought over her wages. Qiao Ying weighed the money pouch in her hand. “Steward, didn’t you give me too much?”

The Old Steward said, “The Old Master said to pay you double.”

Qiao Ying sighed with feeling once again. “The Old Master really is such a good man.”

Now that she had been paid, there was naturally no reason for her to linger at Zhao Manor. Seeing that Shen Qingyu was still standing there as if lost in thought, she took his hand and led him back along the way they had come.

Qiao Ying silently calculated the new addition to her savings. Delighted, she began muttering under her breath.

“The weather’s getting colder and colder. We need to buy two thicker quilts.”

“Oh, right. We also need a few sets of winter clothes.”

“Shen Qingyu, do you like cyan? Then I’ll have another cyan winter outfit made for you!”

“But if people always see you wearing cyan, will they suspect you don’t bathe every day or change your clothes?”

At this point, Qiao Ying couldn’t help laughing out loud. “Maybe everyone will talk behind your back and say you’re dirty. Hahaha.”

The young man said, “Am I dirty?”

A sinister wind blew past. In the middle of getting carried away, Qiao Ying shivered. “No, of course you’re clean. The cleanest person in the whole world is you.”

That day in the Water Yaoguai Lair, amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, not a speck of dust had stained the hem of his clothes. There absolutely could not be anyone cleaner than him.

She tried to let go of the hand she was holding, only for him to turn his hand over and hold hers instead. She failed.

No one knew what pleasant thought Shen Qingyu had while he was silent, but a faint smile curved his lips, as warm and gentle as a spring breeze. “Qiao Ying.”

She looked up. “Hm?”

“You were right. All people die. Sooner or later, one day, you will die too.”

Qiao Ying’s scalp prickled slightly. “…Mm.”

“I know you’re afraid of pain, so after you die, I’ll eat your corpse and bones, and then we’ll become one. All right?”

Every time he made some perverted declaration, he often tacked on an “all right?” at the end, as if he were thoughtfully asking for her opinion. In reality, whether she agreed or not, he would simply do as he pleased.

Qiao Ying glanced at him once, then again, looking as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

Shen Qingyu lightly swung the hand he was holding. “What do you want to say to me?”

Then he smiled with anticipation. “Do you want to call me a lunatic? Or a monster? Or perhaps you want to wait until I’m asleep tonight, then secretly take a knife and stab it into my heart?”

The more he spoke, the more excited his tone became.

“Qiao Ying, I’ll leave the door open for you tonight. Come kill me.”

It seemed that Qiao Ying’s refusal to run away, choosing instead to give up and stay by his side, had left him with one great regret: he had never gotten to play a cat-and-mouse game with her where they fought to the death, one chasing while the other fled.

Qiao Ying still couldn’t hold it in. In a heavy tone, she said, “Shen Qingyu.”

“Hm?”

“Everything you eat eventually disappears into the latrine.”

Shen Qingyu: “…”

Qiao Ying brought another piece of dried plum she had filched from the kitchen to his lips. When it came to food she offered him, Shen Qingyu had always eaten it all without caring whether it was poisoned or not.

He felt the sourness spread through his mouth and pressed his lips together, silent.

Qiao Ying suddenly said, “This thing you’re eating will also disappear into the latrine in the end.”

Shen Qingyu stopped chewing.

The farce at Zhao Manor vanished with the Old Master’s return.

The Old Master’s expression was indifferent. Just as he turned to leave, Xue Heting walked over.

“Master.”

Ming Caihua did not want to deal with the Old Master, so he merely stopped beneath a tree not far from Xue Heting, idly playing with a green leaf in his hand.

Facing his young disciple, the Old Master’s expression softened somewhat. “Heting, is there something you need me for?”

“This disciple has something he would like to ask Master.” Xue Heting took out an illustrated catalog of swords and opened it to one page. “This is a catalog I found in an artisan workshop in Phoenix Town. According to its records, Master’s Qingshuang Sword came from an artisan workshop in that town.”

The Old Master frowned slightly and accepted the catalog. “Phoenix Town… That name sounds somewhat familiar.”

Xue Heting continued, “The Qingshuang Sword should have a paired sword, the Bai Xue Sword. Master, do you know where the Bai Xue Sword is?”

“Qingshuang, Bai Xue…” the Old Master murmured to himself. Looking at the names of the twin swords on the catalog, his expression turned blank, almost childlike. “Why do I have no memory of this at all?”