Wang Yu: Me Again?

Li Yunxiu's expression chilled. Wang Yu had only just gained internal force, and shallow at that. All he could see was the two blue-robed men displaying lightness skills straight out of a television drama, skimming over the ground like dragonflies skimming water. Swords flashed in their hands, the blade patterns blurred beyond recognition. The imperial guards by the carriage drew their sabers. Song Yong, the guard decurion, drew his blade and spurred his horse to charge forward. "Get back! You're no match for them!" Li Yunxiu barked softly. Song Yong hesitated for a fraction of a second, and in that instant the two blue-robed men were already upon him. Though he dodged in haste, he saw only a flash of sword light before sharp pain stabbed his shoulder and ribs, sending him tumbling from his mount. "What fast swords!" Horrified, Song Yong wrenched his head around, only to see the pair already in front of the carriage. The Twin Swords of Nanhai paid no heed to the handful of guards barring their path. With a single leap, they vaulted into midair, their gazes locking onto Wang Yu and Li Yunxiu inside the carriage. Wang Yu could plainly see the killing intent in their eyes. Yet he felt no fear. Though newly transmigrated, he was no fool. Li Yunxiu had told him moments ago that an expert was watching over them. Now, she showed no sign of terror and was even conversing with him calmly. What did he have to be afraid of? Sure enough, the expert made their move the very next second. It was not someone hidden among the guards as Wang Yu had imagined, but the gray-haired old coachman. Just as the Twin Swords vaulted over the carriage guards and soared above the two draft horses, the old coachman gave them a sidelong glance. He even found the leisure to tap his long pipe against the carriage frame before sweeping it upward at an angle. A pipe a foot longer than ordinary tobacco pipes suddenly thrust between the two swirls of sword light, lodging precisely between the men and their blades. A parry, a strike, a twist, a tap. The Twin Swords of Nanhai were struck with dismay. Snapping their wrists, they pulled their swords back to defend themselves, but they were still too slow for the shifting pipe. Pain flared in both their Hegu and Shenmen acupoints; their hands went numb, and their longswords flew from their grips. *Thwack! Thwack!* The two blades drove diagonally into the earth, trembling and shimmering with reflected light. Disarmed, the Twin Swords looked shaken to the core. Yet they were seasoned veterans of the jianghu and reacted with incredible speed. Suspended in midair with nowhere to pivot, one thrust out his left palm and the other his right, striking each other's palm in midair to fling themselves apart to the left and right. Quick as they were, the old coachman's pipe was quicker. Having knocked aside their swords, it pursued them like maggots clinging to bone, afterimages slithering like serpents as it flicked left and right—one man conjuring the presence of two. Ascending all the way through their Chize, Tianfu, and Yunmen acupoints, then descending through Shencang, Juque, and Zhangmen, before finally tapping the Dubi acupoint on their knees. The old coachman retrieved his pipe and settled back onto the driver's bench. Meanwhile, the Twin Swords landed on either side of the carriage. Yet the moment they tried to stand, weakness flooded their limbs. Their knees buckled, and they collapsed into the dirt. The old coachman tapped his pipe against the carriage frame once more, drew a puff, and exhaled a neat smoke ring, never sparing another glance at the paralyzed Twin Swords. *He really is an expert!* Wang Yu stared at the old coachman, having failed completely to follow his movements. At the same time, he understood why the expert was the coachman. By rights, his impersonation of Zhao Yu was a state secret known only to the emperor, himself, Princess Consort Li Yunxiu, and the maid Zi Ling. Yet the two women had discussed the situation with him openly inside the carriage. The guards rode at a distance and could not overhear their conversation, but the driver steering the carriage certainly could. If the coachman were an ordinary man, how could he be allowed to learn such a secret? Even if he swore to take it to the grave, he would inevitably be silenced. But if he was a supreme master protecting Wang Yu, everything made sense. Furthermore, stationed outside, he could prevent outsiders from eavesdropping on the carriage. "Elder Yan, thank you for your trouble." While Wang Yu was lost in thought, Li Yunxiu offered her thanks and stepped lightly down from the carriage. She first helped Song Yong up, sealing several acupoints to staunch his bleeding, then summoned two guards to bandage his wounds. "You dodged in time. They are merely flesh wounds; nothing serious." "Thank you, Princess Consort!" Song Yong hurried to express his gratitude, darting an evasive look at Wang Yu. He retreated instinctively, not daring to linger near Li Yunxiu. He knew how erratic the Prince of Zhenxi's temperament was. If the prince took it into his head that Song Yong harbored designs on his princess consort, having him executed would be well within character. Li Yunxiu paid it no mind, strolling over to the blue-robed man on the right. Spotting a scar beneath his left eye, she asked, "Yun Jian?" Yun Jian answered with a question of his own. "Who is that man?" Li Yunxiu countered, "On whose orders did you come to assassinate my husband?" Yun Jian gave a cold sneer. "If I tell you, will you let me go?" "I can make you wish you were dead," Li Yunxiu said mildly. Before the words faded, she seized Yun Jian's arm with a twist and wrench, executing the Bone-Dislocating Hand. Yun Jian felt as though the two primary sinews stretching from his fingertips to his toes had been wound into hemp ropes. Excruciating agony racked every inch of his body. Yun Jian grunted. Though sweat poured down his face, he did not cry out. "A stout fellow." Li Yunxiu nodded. Raising her sleeve, she swept it gently across Yun Jian's throat. His eyes bulged, a strangled rattle escaped him, and with a sudden stiffening of his limbs, he died. In that light brush of her sleeve, Li Yunxiu had flicked a finger, crushing Yun Jian's windpipe. Then, as if nothing had happened, she walked toward Feng Jian on the left side of the carriage. Before she was even ten feet away, Feng Jian had already opened his mouth. "Zhao Yu drugged and violated our sect master's daughter in the capital!" "Hm?" Every pair of eyes turned toward Wang Yu, who was poking his head out of the carriage window. Wang Yu pointed at his own nose. "Me again?" Feng Jian spilled everything in a frantic rush. "The wife of the Left Vice Minister of Personnel is our sect master's younger sister. Half a year ago, Mu Zhiqiu came to the capital to visit her aunt and went missing. Three days later, she was dumped at the back gate of the vice minister's residence, covered in bruises and robbed of her chastity. When she woke, she hanged herself. "Mu Zhiqiu was not only the daughter of our Nanhai Sect Master, but she was also betrothed to the eldest son of the Lin family. She had come in person to invite her aunt home to attend her wedding feast. "Vice Minister Xu and his wife sent riders galloping back to Guangnan Circuit to deliver the news. Because the matter was deeply shameful and damaged Mu Zhiqiu's reputation, our sect master suppressed the news and only sent the two of us to the capital to investigate. "Half a month ago, we finally uncovered the truth—Zhao Yu had ordered his men to drug and abduct her. We intended to report back to the sect, but then we learned you were returning to take charge of the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor, and word spread through the capital that someone wanted you dead. "After discussing it, we decided to take the bounty—both to avenge Mu Zhiqiu and to earn some silver." Panting, Feng Jian looked at Li Yunxiu and pleaded weakly, "It was Old Yun who offended you. I even praised you earlier. Princess Consort, please spare my life. I swear to return to Nanhai and never set foot in the Central Plains again." Li Yunxiu nodded. "Thank you for clearing that up." "Then..." A flicker of hope lit Feng Jian's eyes. Then he saw Li Yunxiu raise her hand, brushing lightly against his chest. Watching Li Yunxiu kill two men in the blink of an eye and return to the carriage with an unruffled expression, Wang Yu could not help the twitch of his lips. The last time he had witnessed killing was on a movie screen. ... The guards dragged the bodies of the Twin Swords of Nanhai deep into the dense woods with practiced familiarity. After quite a while, they returned, and the carriage rolled onward once more. Rumble, rumble... Wang Yu watched Li Yunxiu lift her teacup and take a sip. Her slender jade hands were fair and delicate as scallion shoots, bearing not the slightest trace of someone who had just taken two lives. Noticing her glance his way, Wang Yu naturally shifted his gaze away from her hands and pointed outside. "Who is that elder?" "Even if you knew his name, it wouldn't do you any good," Li Yunxiu said, shaking her head. Zi Ling chimed in, "All you need to know is that in his youth, he charged into Mount Taiheng alone and shook both the northern and southern banks of the Great River. With a single short staff, he struck all seventy-two major acupoints across the human body, unmatched in his day. That's enough for you." "Oho—" Wang Yu cupped his hands toward the outside, wearing an expression of deep respect. "Impressive, truly impressive!" "Is he a Xiantian master?" Wang Yu asked. Zi Ling blinked without answering, and the atmosphere grew slightly awkward. From outside the door, the old coachman's raspy voice drifted in. "My dantian was heavily damaged by an enemy, knocking me down from the Xiantian realm." Li Yunxiu picked up the thread. "Even so, Elder Yan possesses profound internal force, and his vision and experience remain intact. An ordinary Xiantian master might not be your match." Outside the carriage, Elder Yan chuckled twice and said no more. Inside, Li Yunxiu set down her teacup and murmured thoughtfully, "To think you actually drugged and violated the daughter of the Nanhai Sect Master." Wang Yu's face fell. "It wasn't me!" Zi Ling nodded earnestly. "It was you!" Wang Yu sighed. "Is the Nanhai Sect Master a Xiantian master?" "Of course he is, and no ordinary one at that," Zi Ling said seriously. "If your father were still alive, you naturally wouldn't need to fear him." "Well, my father is dead," Wang Yu replied, having finally slipped into Zhao Yu's role. "Rest easy. You still have fifty thousand troops, and there are experts in the prince's manor. Mu Tianxiong won't easily step into the Northwest." Li Yunxiu's tone was relaxed. "Really?" Wang Yu asked. "Really," Li Yunxiu said. "Then my mind is at ease." Wang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. "Mine, however, is not," Li Yunxiu sighed. "Why aren't you at ease now?" Wang Yu asked. *You were just comforting me!* "Because I don't know who else you've crossed besides the Nanhai Sect Master," Li Yunxiu said wistfully. "If you also slept with the daughter of the Taihua Sect Master, I fear we won't make it out of Hexi Circuit alive." Wang Yu was speechless. "What kind of power is the Taihua Sect?" "The Taihua Sect is one of the seven great sword sects of the Central Plains," Zi Ling explained. "Though Sect Master Hua Ziqing isn't quite the paramount figure among the seven sects, Taihua has recently produced the Little Sword Immortal, Fang Shaobai, who is expected to reach the pinnacle in the next generation." Wang Yu sighed right along with Li Yunxiu. "Why didn't you tell me any of this?" Li Yunxiu said, "Time was too short. Besides, returning to the Prince of Zhenxi's Manor is about taking control of the border army and governing the region. We never planned to meddle in the affairs of the martial world, so we didn't tell you much." Wang Yu was an impostor. Even if he learned the basics of martial arts, it was merely for show—how could he possibly meddle in the martial world? At this point, Wang Yu felt a bit uneasy. "I didn't actually sleep with the daughter of the Taihua Sect Master, did I?" Li Yunxiu gave a faint smile. "No, you didn't." "How do you know?" "Because Hua Ziqing has no daughters."