At the sound of her voice, Fu Chengfeng looked back to see two escort guards standing behind Rong Yi, looking very unfriendly. He immediately realised something was wrong and shouted, "Yi-er, be careful."
Before he had finished speaking, Rong Yi was grabbed by two men and unable to move her arms. At the same time, a low, deep voice sounded from behind them. "Send the criminal wanted by the Imperial Court to the local authority."
Fu Chengfeng angrily snapped, "Chief Xu, what do you mean by that?"
The one who spoke earlier, Xu Qingshan, the chief of the escort agency, walked over to Fu Chengfeng and severely reprimanded him, "Fu Chengfeng, I was fortunate to have you as a friend, but I never thought that I had misjudged you. The news that you refused to admit to ruining Miss Yun's innocence at Moon Manor, causing her to take her own life because of the injustice, has spread throughout the jianghu1. Alliance Leader Yun was so generous that he even spared you from death. Not only have you failed to change your ways, but you have also committed the heinous crime of helping a prisoner to escape. Mansion Master Yun has issued a heroic order to the entire martial world to arrest your ungrateful self."
Fu Chengfeng threw his head back and laughed out loud. "What a way for him to tell the whole martial world! Yun Hendong is truly an old fox. He always plays the role of the good and bad guys to the extreme. He acted with great mercy by letting me leave the Moon Manor, but now he's become a champion of justice by ordering the capture of the so-called "scum" of the martial world - which happens to be me. He is truly worthy of being the Alliance Leader of the martial arts world. I, Fu Chengfeng, admire him from the bottom of my heart."
Upon hearing the sarcastic comment from Fu Chengfeng, Xu Qingshan remained unfazed and calmly responded. "Now that things have reached this stage, you should stop making excuses. For the sake of our past friendship, as long as you are willing to confess your guilt, I will beg Alliance Leader Yun on your behalf and leave your body completely intact." 🦊
Fu Chengfeng: "I appreciate your good intentions. It's unfortunate that I have no desire to lose my life for the time being. For the sake of our old friendship, I will back down. And if you release Yi-er immediately, I will let you live."
Fu Chengfeng's tone was full of confidence and arrogance. Xu Qingshan had only seen this kind of attitude from one person in his life. At that time, he was still very young and had followed his father to the Shaolin Temple to attend a martial arts assembly. He remembered that person saying something like this with a disdainful attitude and an arrogant look: "What I want most in my life is the antidote for the Soul Snatcher. As for the Great Leader position, to be honest, I don't want to surrender my status and associate myself with these 'gentlemen'."🦊
That confidence and arrogance were a height he could never reach because he did not have the courage to stand up to the world. And that man had. Now, he saw the same temperament in Fu Chengfeng, who was as unattainable as a god and as terrifying as a demon.🦊
But Fu Chengfeng was different from that man, for he had an aura of elegance. If that man resembled a devil, then Fu Chengfeng was a god.
As Xu Qingshan looked at the young man in front of him, who was twenty years younger than him, a feeling of awe suddenly came over him. He had admired him from the first moment he saw him. It was just that, at that time, this aura of his had not yet been revealed, so much so that he only thought of him as a new martial artist.
What had changed him?
Xu Qingshan suddenly remembered some recent jianghu1 rumours. He heard that Fu Chengfeng had fallen in love with a woman and would do anything for her, even jilting the world's most beautiful woman. He thought that the said woman must be the girl in front of him.
Xu Qingshan looked at Rong Yi for a long time, but he couldn't see anything in her that could surpass the number one beauty in the world. Suddenly, she looked into his eyes and smiled at him. Her smile was so pure that it took him by surprise. It was hard for him to imagine that a murderer wanted by the Imperial Court could still smile so genuinely when she was captured as if she were not a prisoner in his hands but a passer-by whom he had met by chance, and her slight smile showed her friendliness.
It dawned on Xu Qingshan that her smile was the reason for Fu Chengfeng's change. He feared that such a pure woman could no longer be found in the jianghu1. Even if she were sent to prison, she would still treat her difficulties indifferently.
"Such a pity." Xu Qingshan sighed as he continued, "You are both Dragon and Phoenix among men5, yet you have chosen the path of evil. I intend to let you both live, but I cannot let the entire martial world down."
"If going against the path taken by Yun Hendong is the path of evil, then I am very glad that I have chosen this path. I believe she has the same thoughts as me." Fu Chengfeng looked at Rong Yi.
Rong Yi countered, "Don't involve me in everything. I don't think like you do."
Fu Chengfeng felt a massive cloud of crows flying over his head. In the face of such a formidable enemy, couldn't she spare him a little dignity just for the sake of her little life depended on his ideas?
Xu Qingshan was also surprised. This girl was a stunning beauty when she didn't open her mouth, but when she did, she became a brainless flower vase6! How could she create a sense of internal strife when a great enemy was at hand?
So this girl isn't indifferent to the difficulties she faces. She just has yet to understand her actual situation!
Xu Qingshan silently lamented about his ageing eyesight, which made him less proficient in reading people. At that moment, he suddenly heard her add, "I never thought of myself as following an evil path. Both of my parents said that all the good virtues of my eighteen generations of ancestors had been concentrated in me alone, which made me the most upright and good person in our lineage. Whatever path I take, it must be the right one."
Xu Qingshan was awed by these remarks. Not the slightest bit of mindless temperament could be seen on her face. Instead, there was confidence, a very arrogant kind of confidence. But this kind of arrogance did not evoke a feeling of disgust at all. On the contrary, it gave others a sense of respect, as if she was born to be noble.
Fu Chengfeng was immediately relieved when he heard the end of Rong Yi's sentences and said with a smile, "Right, you are always on the right path, and I will gladly follow you. Let those demons and heretics go to hell!"
"No, that won't do. The Buddha said: deliver all living creatures from torment7. We are upright people. It is our duty to deliver those who even harbour evil intentions from torment." Rong Yi said earnestly.
"...... you are just too great."
"Eh, there's no need to adore me."
"......" No matter how you heard those words, there was a hint of stupidity in them. But why people couldn't find something to complain about when they came out of her mouth? It was so strange. Fu Chengfeng suddenly felt that Rong Yi had come down from heaven to give him insight. It turned out that the world was full of extraordinary things.
At this moment, Rong Yi added, "Chief Xu, can I discuss something with you?"
Xu Qingshan had still not recovered from his shock and slightly flinched when he heard her words. He then asked rather rudely, "About what?"
Rong Yi: "Can you send me to the capital?"
This... is obviously not possible. Xu Qingshan strongly felt the urge to convey his frustration at her question, knowing full well that she was already aware of the answer. Still, considering the warning taken from the overturned cart in front of him8, he replied seriously: "I must send you to the local authority."
"But I want to go to the capital." Rong Yi argued.
"......" Is this something you can do just by thinking about it? You are now a criminal wanted by the Imperial Court, girl!
Rong Yi: "How about this? Let's compromise. You just send me to the authorities in the capital. How about that?"
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.
"That...... is not impossible, but I'm just the chief of an escort agency. I don't have the right to escort you to the capital." Xu Qingshan said.
"That's where you're wrong." Rong Yi continued, "Everyone is responsible for catching the criminal wanted by the Imperial Court. You are a citizen of the dynasty and have the right to contribute to the country's long-term peace."
Xu Qingshan was stunned. What was going on in this girl's mind? It sounded like she didn't realise that the criminal wanted by the Imperial Court was herself!🦊
At this point, Rong Yi added, "Don't you realise the standard of the government officials? Since we both know it's a long way from here to the capital, there's no guarantee that something won't happen. If there is another prison break, how will you explain it to the people of the world?"
Xu Qingshan was tempted to say that he didn't need to explain anything to the people of the world. His main task was to capture Fu Chengfeng for Moon Manor. As for her, she would simply be handed over to the local authorities.
"You send me to the authorities in the capital, and I will pay for your escort fee. Just take it as a trip for the escort guards and do a meritorious service to the Imperial Court along the way." Rong Yi said.
Rong Yi's offer made Xu Qingshan's heart flutter. Sending her to the authorities in the capital was the same as sending her to a local one; after all, she was a criminal wanted by the Imperial Court, so there was nothing wrong with sending her there. "Why do you want to go to the authorities in the capital?" Xu Qingshan asked.
Rong Yi said, "I don't trust the local authorities. They never act according to the rules. The last time I was taken in, they so abused me that I almost died."10
That was a plausible reason. Xu Qingshan was well aware of the improper activities of the local officials, and if a prisoner's family did not send a red packet to the head of the prison, he would not even be allowed to eat.
When Rong Yi noticed that Xu Qingshan was moved by her words, she persisted, "You may not believe me when I say this, but I was wrongly accused. I thought the local authorities would clear my name, so I let them arrest me, but I never thought I would be mistreated. That's the reason why Fu Chengfeng acted impulsively and made the mistake of breaking into the prison."
When Fu Chengfeng heard these words, he immediately responded cooperatively, "There is no need to say such things. Now everyone in the jianghu1 thinks that I am a great devil. No one will believe you even if you say so."
Fu Chengfeng's words convinced Xu Qingshan even more that Rong Yi was the victim. He looked at her several more times and found that this unarmed girl did seem to look like a murderer. After hesitating for a while, he finally made up his mind. "Fine, I will send someone to take you to the authorities in the capital. But I must bring Fu Chengfeng to Moon Manor for him to admit his guilt."
Rong Yi said, "This is a matter between you, jianghu1 people, and I will not interfere. I believe the highly honourable and righteous Chief Escort Xu will not involve me, an innocent person, in this."
Xu Qingshan was at a loss for words. What a powerful girl. He had originally planned to take her as a hostage if he couldn't defeat Fu Chengfeng, but she simply cut off his retreat with that single sentence. If he went ahead with his plan, he wouldn't deserve the words 'highly honourable and righteous'.
"You're flattering me." Naturally, Xu Qingshan was unhappy to be tricked by Rong Yi, so he arranged for his escort guards to send her to the capital in a much deeper voice.
In response, Rong Yi hurriedly asked, "Can you let me say goodbye to Fu Chengfeng?"
Xu Qingshan: "I'll give you a minute."
"Thank you very much." Rong Yi smiled at him, then walked over to Fu Chengfeng and said, "Thank you for taking care of me all this time. When we came to the escort agency, we originally wanted them to send me back to the capital. Although the final destination will be different, it is still in the capital. Don't worry. My parents will get justice for me when we get there. You should let me go and do whatever you have to do. I'll wait for you in the capital......." As she said the word 'wait for you', Rong Yi's face blushed slightly and lowered her head shyly.
Fu Chengfeng stroked her head affectionately and promised, "I won't keep you waiting for long."
"Mmm." Rong Yi nodded slightly and hesitated momentarily before asking in a low voice, "You said earlier that you had family property. Is that true or not?"
Fu Chengfeng: "Of course, it's true. Why are you asking me this?"
"It's good to have property." Rong Yi breathed a sigh of relief, then reminded him, "Remember to bring all your properties with you when you come to see me."
Footnotes Full List
- lit. rivers and lakes - people who wander from place to place and live by their wits, e.g. fortune-tellers, quack doctors, itinerant entertainers, etc., as a social group
- Whenever I read the words 'completely intact', I remember a scene in the novel called 'Kunning'. A side character begged the ML, who she knew wouldn't let her eldest brother live, to let her brother die with his body completely intact. The ML smiled as if agreeing to the request, but then he simply chopped off her brother's head. 🤦🏻♀️Well, the FL did say the ML was crazy. 🤷🏻♀️Though, I don't know if that scene will be in The Story Of Kunning Palace.
- Guess who? The answer is in Chapter 40. 😏
- It has been said that most of the time, we humans like to find a partner similar to our father or mother. In this story, Murong Yi finds a man who is very much like her father. 😏
- Chinese idiom: prominent talent
- fig., just a pretty face
- Buddhism: help everyone
- Chinese idiom: learn from the mistakes of others
- Nah, she knows. She's just using you to get a free ride to the capital. 😏
- Wasn't it the other way around? 😏
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Black Belly Wife