“But on the day we met, Master only told me that my surname was Su, and my name was Su Baiyi. As for who my real parents were, and why those people came to kill me, he did not tell me.” Su Baiyi looked at Nangong Xi’er. “I wonder if senior sister can tell me the answer?”
“Since Xie Kanhua said that you are surnamed Su, and he took you as his disciple and raised you with all his heart, then you are either the son of the Grand Palace Master Su Han, or the son of the Second Palace Master Su Dianmo. As for the real answer, we can only rely on ourselves to find it.” Nangong Xi’er stood up. “And I came down the mountain because I also want to know what happened that year. Heavenly Gate Sacred Sect is definitely not a demonic sect, and it would never do things like invading the martial world and killing innocent people. There must be something hidden behind the events of that year.”
“What about the Second Palace Master Su Dianmo? How come I never heard Senior Sister mention her?” Su Baiyi asked.
“According to my mother, Su Dianmo is Su Han’s younger sister. She has mediocre martial arts, ordinary appearance, and a bad temper. She holds the position of the second palace master, but she hasn’t done anything remarkable.” Nangong Xi’er replied.
“Senior Sister, I asked you a question last time, but you did not answer me directly.” Su Baiyi suddenly sat up straight, his expression serious. “If, as the rumors in the martial world suggest, there truly exists a deep-seated vendetta between us for the murder of our parents, then…”
“Then what? I don’t know about the others, but my mother had a very high evaluation of Su Han. She believed that Su Han and my uncle died in battle at the same time, and there must be someone who plotted against them. And even if the people of the Su family killed my uncle, or my uncle killed the people of the Su family, you and I were not old enough to know anything at that time. What does that have to do with our relationship?” Nangong Xi’er smiled. “I am your Senior Sister, and you are my Junior Brother. Our relationship is that simple.”
“Senior Sister,” Su Baiyi chuckled, “I suddenly find you a bit…”
“A bit what?” Nangong Xier asked, puzzled.
“A bit cool,” Su Baiyi complimented. “Your reasoning is simple, direct, seemingly unconventional, but upon closer inspection, it’s flawless.”
“This is the reasoning of the Academy.” Nangong Xi’er’s tone was filled with pride. “You didn’t see the Confucian Sage this time, it’s a pity. If you had seen him, you would also reason like this in the future.”
“What kind of person is the Confucian Sage?” Su Baiyi asked.
“Like jade.” Nangong Xi’er only said two very simple words.
“Like jade.” Su Baiyi carefully pondered these two words.
Nangong Xi’er sat back on the bed and began to meditate and circulate the true qi in her body. After a stick of incense, she sighed lightly, “Your martial arts are really strange, they really sucked up most of my inner strength. I can only recover up to 60% of it before we reach the shore. It seems that you were right to ask the Mu family for help. Now any assassin from the Clear Sky Courtyard can kill us. By the way, Su Baiyi, why are your martial arts so bad?”
“Are my martial arts bad?” Su Baiyi patted his waist-long sword. “My swordsmanship is so fast that even I can’t see myself clearly!”
“You can fool Feng Zuojun and the others, but don’t bother fooling me. You don’t know how to see through the mist, you haven’t drawn your sword once since I met you in Yelan City.” Nangong Xi’er said. “I guess, you don’t even know how to use your sword.”
“Of course, of course, senior sister, but you believe me, I don’t draw my sword, because every time I do, it’s very precious.” Su Baiyi pointed at himself with his thumb. “When I swing my sword, it’s when I decide the outcome.”
“How impressive. Then, can you use the power you absorbed from me?” Nangong Xi’er suddenly thought of this crucial question.
“The inner strength I’ve absorbed will slowly scatter into my eight extraordinary meridians, and won’t stay in my dantian. It cannot be considered as my own strength, but it will temper my muscles and bones, making me more resilient,” Su Baiyi raised his eyebrows. “Of course, for now, this strength is still mine to use, but once used, it’s gone. The finger technique I used against the monk earlier consumed a lot of this strength.”
“What a powerful martial art.” Nangong Xi’er’s expression was not relaxed, Su Baiyi knew what she was thinking, after his description, his Book of Immotrals was even closer to the demonic martial art that everyone talked about back then, plus the matter of the green-clothed youth, the rumor from back then gradually became real.
In the room, suddenly, no one spoke. The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment.
After a long time, Nangong Xi’er said hesitantly, “Did you say earlier that we’re staying in the heaven section, and we can have many requests fulfilled?”
“Yes, senior sister, you just tell me, and I’ll go find Nailuo.” Su Baiyi replied.
“I want… to take a bath.” Nangong Xi’er’s face turned slightly red.
Su Baiyi immediately jumped up from the stool, his face instantly turned red, he was a bit shy and a bit nervous, “Okay, okay, senior sister, I’ll go arrange it right now.” After saying that, he quickly pushed the door and walked out.
Half an hour later, the two guards, Xiao Ding and Xiao Yi, who were in charge of guarding the door, carried a large bucket of hot water into their secluded room. There were also rose petals in the bucket.
“Such a big bucket of water?” Nangong Xi’er was a bit surprised.
“For two people, it’s not too spacious,” the usually silent guard Xiao Ding said indifferently.
Xiao Yi even looked at Su Baiyi coldly and said unhappily, “Taking a bath at this hour? Isn’t it too early?”
Su Baiyi’s face turned red to the roots of his ears, he waved his hands repeatedly but didn’t dare to say anything.
Nangong Xi’er’s face also turned red, then she glanced at Su Baiyi, there was a lot of meaning in that look, but the first thing Su Baiyi noticed was that trace of killing intent.
Xiao Ding and Xiao Yi closed the door of the secluded room, then turned around and saw that Su Baiyi was also standing next to them. The two asked in unison, “Why are you here too?”
“I remember you two never talk, right? I didn’t treat you as mutes, but why are you so talkative today?” Su Baiyi asked helplessly.
“When you see a beautiful girl, you always talk more.” Xiao Ding said lightly.
“If you hadn’t spoken, maybe I could have been lying behind the screen, watching the mist rise, chatting with Senior Sister about old martial world stories, scholars of the academy, or even talking to her about apricot blossoms and wine. But now, here I am, guarding the door? You two!” Su Baiyi exclaimed angrily, “Bring me a stool over here!”
Adjacent to the heaven section was another enormous room, larger than the four heaven section rooms combined. It was filled with various gold, silver, and jade artifacts, ancient paintings, and numerous beautiful women dressed in white.
This was naturally Mu Nianhua’s room. He tapped his fingers lightly on the table, frowning slightly, as if thinking about something.
“Master…” A woman next to him whispered.
“Why hasn’t he returned yet?” Mu Nianhua spoke quietly, “It’s been an entire night already.”
Thank you for translating.