Rong Yi's 'new residence' was very modest. It was an ordinary private house with no hidden weapons outside the door and only two strong men with the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear. How strong were the men? Rong Yi took a visual check and described them as 'looking like a ridge when viewed on level, and looked like a barrel from the side'. They had a broad figure.
When Rong Yi saw the two guards standing side by side at the entrance, her world instantly went dark. The first time she saw them, she had already given up trying to escape by force.
In the blink of an eye, Rong Yi had already spent two nights in her 'new residence'. Today was the day of the martial arts meeting and Yun Ni's husband's selection. The champion would become the Martial Arts Alliance Master's son-in-law. In contrast, she could only dwell in this small, four-square courtyard on such a big day.
"Ah—" Rong Yi sighed. If it weren't for Liu Yidao, she would be by the stage during the martial arts meeting—standing outside of it, of course, picking the fat or choosing the lean husband of her choice. Darned Liu Yidao! He had kidnapped her at the wrong time, especially this time out of all time. Even worse, he acted as if he wanted nothing more than to kidnap her because the days were too long and uninteresting.
"Ah—" Rong Yi sighed one more time. If only someone had come to her rescue right now, she would have offered that person money. In fact, she tried to bribe the two strong men outside the door, but she didn't know if they were of noble character and sterling integrity or just couldn't understand human words that they totally ignored her enticement.
There was no telling when Fu Chengfeng would find her again. Rong Yi thought of how they brushed past each other in the woods that day and suddenly remembered that Fu Chengfeng had mentioned a 'martial arts meeting' when he left. He wouldn't be in the ring right now, shedding his blood and laying down his life only to have a beautiful woman in his arms, would he? The more Rong Yi thought about it, the more she thought it was possible, and her anger welled up that she couldn't help but curse him in a low voice, "He's a guy who pays more attention to a lover than his friends! He said he wasn't interested in Yun Ni but still went to the martial arts meeting!" [T/N]
"He didn't go to the martial arts meeting." A voice suddenly could be heard coming from outside the door.
Rong Yi followed the voice and saw that it belonged to Liu Yidao. Seeing her 'enemy', Rong Yi was furious and said in a pique, "Why are you hiding at the entrance and eavesdropping on other people's speeches instead of going to the ring to fight for the world's number one beauty?"
"I didn't eavesdrop. You spoke those words out loud yourself." Liu Yidao answered indifferently. His tone was much warmer than a few days ago.
Rong Yi turned away from him and didn't bother to pay attention to him; then she remembered what he said about Fu Chengfeng not going to the martial arts meeting and pouted. She asked him awkwardly, "How did you know Fu Chengfeng didn't go to the martial arts meeting?"
Liu Yidao: "Because he was busy looking for you."
Rong Yi instantly brightened up and asked incredulously, "Really?"
"Don't be too happy. I won't let him find you."
"......" I knew he wouldn't be so kind.
"But I will take you to him." Liu Yidao added.
Rong Yi frowned in confusion. "I don't believe you'd be so kind."
"It's up to you to believe it or not."
The next second, Liu Yidao carried Rong Yi on his shoulders with sealed movement acupoints.
"Hey, what are you doing? You like carrying people a lot, don't you? Quickly let me down......" When Rong Yi suddenly remembered what happened last time, she quickly covered her mouth and didn't even dare to breathe, fearing that her actions would offend Liu Yidao and cause him to turn her into a mute again.
*
The heroes' gathering was held in the martial arts training ground of Moon Manor. When Rong Yi was brought to the event by Liu Yidao, the meeting had already started, and the surrounding area was filled with people, three circles inside and three circles outside the place. If it wasn't for the advantage of being high up, Rong Yi wouldn't have been able to see the challenge ring at all. This was probably the only benefit she got from being carried on a certain Liu's shoulder. However, once she arrived on the scene, Liu Yidao put Rong Yi down.
After being put on the ground, Rong Yi, whose body was still underdeveloped at 14, could only see the back of the spectators' heads in front of her.
Depressed, Rong Yi secretly muttered: I should have carried a small folding tool with me at such a time.
As if he could see Rong Yi's frustration, Liu Yidao comforted her in a very compassionate manner, "Don't be discouraged. You will see it soon."
Rong Yi's eyes widened. So this iceberg could also comfort people?
Half a stick of incense later, Rong Yi understood the true meaning of Liu Yidao's comforting words and was determined to turn his sword into three kitchen knives even if she had to go against Heaven's commandments!
He had even thrown her into the ring!
Rong Yi growled all sorts of things in her mind but didn't move a muscle on her face. This time it wasn't that she wanted to act like a lady. It was that Rong Yi just didn't dare to be noisy. Because Liu Yidao was wielding a big knife at that moment, she was afraid that her rant would attract his attention. It was not a good thing to be noticed at this time.
Within three rounds, Liu Yidao defeated his opponent.
Rong Yi breathed a huge sigh of relief. Luckily, it was Liu Yidao who won. If it had been his opponent, he might have gotten overexcited and cut her down in passing.
"Can you put me down now?" Rong Yi asked in a low voice.
"Not yet." Liu Yidao didn't look at her as his eyes were fixed on a particular place below the ring.
Rong Yi followed his gaze, and when she saw the person's face, her heart burst into a frenzy of joy. But the next second, Rong Yi couldn't be happy anymore. Because Liu Yidao kept looking at Fu Chengfeng provocatively, with a look that seemed to say, 'come up here if you want to save her'. Fu Chengfeng kept a smile on his lips as usual so no one could tell what he was thinking.
Was he not going to save her? Rong Yi lowered her head in defeat. She had indeed overestimated herself.
After a few moments, the audience suddenly seethed with excitement. When Rong Yi raised her eyes, she saw Fu Chengfeng flying onto the stage. With his clothes fluttering around him, he looked like an exiled immortal from the nine heavens coming in with the wind. This look made Rong Yi tipsy, intoxicated by Fu Chengfeng's smiling expression and deep black eyes.
Fu Chengfeng landed beside Rong Yi, unlocked her acupoints and laughed lightly. "Rong Yi ah, Rong Yi, finding you was not easy at all."
"It's you who has been so stupid." Rong Yi said angrily, but somehow her eyes started to get wet.
"M-hm, it's me who's stupid." Fu Chengfeng stroked her head affectionately and said, "Go wait for me down there."
"Oh." Ring Yi knew she would only add to Fu Chengfeng's burden on the stage. She told him to 'be careful' and used her qinggong to fly down from the ring.
Seeing this scene, Fu Chengfeng and Liu Yidao's eyes showed surprise, and at the same time, they asked in unison, "You know qinggong?"
Rong Yi got out of the ring but did not go far. She stood firmly at the foot of the ring so she could see the surprise in their eyes. "How can you walk in the jianghu without knowing qinggong?" Rong Yi's face was proud, but her heart was ashamed. Her qinggong was just enough for her to fly out of the ring.
"Stand far away, and be careful of being hurt by their sword's qi." Qin Muzhi cautioned as he appeared behind Rong Yi at some point.
Rong Yi turned back and smiled gratefully at him, then took a few steps back.
By then, Fu Chengfeng had already started a battle with Liu Yidao.
While the swords were shining on stage and the spittle flew off stage, Yun Ni on the podium had her heart in her throat. Only Yun Hendong was stroking his beard with an old-fashioned smile of satisfaction. One was Liu Yidao, the 'One Blade of the Four Seas', and the other was Fu Chengfeng, 'Breaking Sword That Reaches The End Of The World', the two rising stars of today's martial arts world. Along with Qin Muzhi, the 'Elegant Gongzi' Qin Muzhi, and He Wenhong, the 'Talented Judge', they were known as the 'Four Heroes of Jianghu'. Either one of them would be his son-in-law.
"Do you want Fu Chengfeng to win?" Qin Muzhi asked.
Rong Yi looked nervously at the stage. Her heart was very conflicted. She wanted Fu Chengfeng to win but also did not want him to. She wanted him to win because he was her friend, so she naturally could not curse him for losing to someone else in the competition. She did not want him to win because if he did, he would have to marry Yun Ni, and she did not want to see him marry Yun Ni.
Seeing Rong Yi not answering his question, Qin Muzhi added, "He did not originally intend to go on the stage."
"I know." If not, Liu Yidao would not have kidnapped her to force Fu Chengfeng to go on stage. Suddenly, Rong Yi figured out the purpose of Liu Yidao capturing her: to force Fu Chengfeng to fight him on stage. But why would he do that?
"It is no secret in the jianghu that Liu Yidao is infatuated with the world's most beautiful woman." Qin Muzhi seemed to have seen Rong Yi's confusion and kindly mentioned it.
Rong Yi suddenly understood, then shook her head again. "That's not true. If he is obsessed with Yun Ni, he should have stopped Fu Chengfeng from entering the stage. What good would it do to him to have another competitor?"
Qin Muzhi: "It can make him win Yun Ni's heart."
Rong Yi raised her eyebrows in thought and guessed, "Does he want to prove his strength by defeating Fu Chengfeng in the ring?"
"Not bad."
"You don't need to defeat Fu Chengfeng to prove your strength! Just go and challenge Yun Ni's father alone." Rong Yi felt that Fu Chengfeng was innocent in this matter, and she was even more.
"Only by defeating Fu Chengfeng can he win Yun Ni's heart." Qin Muzhi said in a very lofty manner.
Rong Yi looked at Qin Muzhi in disbelief and quickly read the deep meaning in his eyes. Yun Ni liked Fu Chengfeng. Rong Yi remembered what she had inquired about at the inn. Her mind flashed back to Yun Ni sending Fu Chengfeng invitations, repeatedly, trying to find ways to compete with her and the 'threat' coming from Liu Yidao's mouth......
It finally dawned on Rong Yi. "What a clever Liu Yidao! He caught me forcing Fu Chengfeng to fight him on stage. No matter the final result, he will always be the winner. If he wins, he will be able to win Yun Ni's heart. If he loses, he can help Yun Ni marry her beloved and win Yun Ni's gratitude for the rest of her life."
A noob translator, きつね, translated this noob translation. Please read this chapter at xin-shou.site. If you read this in another location other than the site stated, it has been taken without the translator's permission. Please don't support this kind of act.
Qin Muzhi looked approvingly. "You've only missed one point."
"What did I miss?"
"Liu Yidao's purpose in capturing you in the first place was not to force Fu Chengfeng into the ring, but to 'eradicate' Yun Ni's 'love rival' for her."
"Love rival?" As if she had heard a big joke, Rong Yi laughed out loud a few times. "She wouldn't think I like Fu Chengfeng, would she?"
"Don't you like him?" Qin Muzhi asked rhetorically.
Rong Yi froze. She suddenly did not know how to answer. Did she not like him? Why didn't she answer Qin Muzhi's question if she didn't?
At that moment, a smell of blood wafted into her nose. Rong Yi looked up sharply, only to see that Fu Chengfeng's left arm had been slashed by Liu Yidao, and blood had stained his white shirt red. Rong Yi subconsciously wanted to jump into the ring but was pulled back by Qin Muzhi.
"Dangerous." Qin Muzhi warned.
"But Fu Chengfeng is injured." Rong Yi was so anxious that tears welled up in her eyes. She had heard many stories of jianghu's foul wind and bloody rain, but it was the first time she had actually seen human blood, and it was Fu Chengfeng's blood.
Qin Muzhi: "That little wound is nothing to him. Who never gets a few stabs in the jianghu? And he can endure that much."
Rong Yi calmed down a lot after hearing Qin Muzhi's words. When she saw Fu Chengfeng regain the upper hand by turning his defeat into victory with a methodical and frequently unexpected stance, he began pressing Liu Yidao step by step, and she was finally reassured.
"How did you know so much?" Rong Yi asked Qin Muzhi.
"I have my own means."
Rong Yi knew that Qin Muzhi was reluctant to say anything clearly. Hence, she stopped prying on other people's privacy and asked another question, "When did you know that the person who captured me was Liu Yidao?"
"From the time he captured you."
Qin Muzhi's voice was very gentle and elegant, as usual, but it made Rong Yi's heart skip a beat. He had known about Liu Yidao's plan from the beginning, yet he had just let it unfold. What was going on in this man's mind? Suddenly, Rong Yi felt that Qin Muzhi was so complicated, contradicting her impression of him.
Rong Yi subconsciously moved her feet to the side and stopped talking.
"I know Liu Yidao won't hurt you." Qin Muzhi said in a low voice as if to explain.
Rong Yi chuckled. "Congratulations, Qin Gongzi, for having incredible foresight."
Rong Yi knew she was in no position to be angry. Qin Muzhi was not her relative. It was his right not to save her; likewise, she had the right not to be associated with him. She didn't need to be friends with someone who only watched her jump into a trap. As for friends, having one Fu Chengfeng was already enough.
When Qin Muzhi heard Rong Yi's voice filled with the intention of restraining herself from being close to him, his heart felt lost. After contemplating, he explained, "I have my considerations."
Rong Yi responded, "There is no need for Qin Gongzi to be like this. I don't blame you, really. I'm not in a position to ask a stranger to save me, let alone have a grudge because he didn't save me. I'm not that unreasonable."
The word 'stranger' caused Qin Muzhi's expression to dim, and he raised his head to watch the battle, no longer saying anything.
Rong Yi also stopped speaking and nervously watched the match on the stage, with her heart torn between whether she should pray for Fu Chengfeng to win or lose.
Seeing that Fu Chengfeng was gaining momentum and Liu Yidao could not hold his own, Rong Yi's heart was pounding, and the voice in her head was getting louder and louder, chanting, 'don't win'. The result proved once again that Rong Yi had not been favoured by God recently as Fu Chengfeng won.
Sighs were coming from the audience as if they didn't want to see a winner so soon. So did Rong Yi.
There were always a few joys and sorrows in the world. Some were saddened by Fu Chengfeng's victory, while others rejoiced. Yun Ni on the podium was so happy that she stood up, looking as if she was dying to move her hands and feet about.
Liu Yidao gave Yun Ni a deep look and lifted his big sword to jump out of the ring.
Rong Yi stopped him and asked, "Why did you suddenly change your mind and use me to force Fu Chengfeng into the ring? I remember your initial statement was to let me go after five days. At that time, you should have only wanted to eliminate Yun Ni's 'love rival' so that she could successfully marry Fu Chengfeng and had not yet decided to win her heart."
"It was because I discovered that Fu Chengfeng was in love with someone else." With these words, Liu Yidao left indifferently. His back was like a wall that would never fall down.
Liu Yidao's words sent a shock through Rong Yi's heart. In the next moment, she pulled Qin Muzhi up and threw him into the ring with all her strength, and then ruthlessly said to Fu Chengfeng, "If you dare to win, I will wipe out nine generations of your family!"
きつね's Note
looking like a ridge when viewed on level, and looked like a barrel from the side
The author took the first line of the poem 'Written on the Wall at West Forest Temple' by Su Shi and changed the word 'peak' to 'barrel'. And I used the translation for the poem by Qin Dachuan.
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Black Belly Wife