Wang Chong was startled. He quickly said, "I definitely will not cultivate this technique."
Chu Qiuzi gave a charming smile and said, "This classic sets a high bar. Unless one is a figure like Ronaqi Shangdi, Yuecang Jixiangzhi, or a fourth-generation patriarch of the Xuanhuang Sect, no one can fathom its mysteries. After the Xuanhuang Sect fell, this classic was circulated, and it is not that no one has cultivated it—only that no one has ever succeeded."
Wang Chong said sheepishly, "I originally wanted to invite Fairy Chu to study it together, never expecting to almost bring harm to Fairy Chu. I, Wang, am deeply apologetic, but I do not know how to make amends."
Chu Qiuzi returned Correct Explanation of the Four Aspects to Wang Chong, smiled brightly, and said, "Qiuzi trusts herself to hold firm and not fall into demonic possession because of this. It did, however, open my eyes to what this Western demonic classic actually looks like."
After this, their relationship subtly turned strange. Wang Chong took Correct Explanation of the Four Aspects, casually picked another book, and occasionally asked Chu Qiuzi a few questions. This Second Senior Sister of Qingcheng truly lived up to her reputation as a talented woman, well-read in poetry and books. Wherever Wang Chong encountered something he could not understand, she could cite classics and explain it in detail.
The two read through the night, and before they knew it, day had broken. Chu Qiuzi suddenly said, "Brother Wang Chong has mentioned wanting to go to the capital to study and seek an official position, but being alone without a personal attendant, it is terribly inconvenient. I have a junior from Qingcheng—ordinary talent, unable to succeed in martial arts, but sharp-witted, with some strength and very diligent. How about letting her serve as your attendant?"
Wang Chong was now somewhat familiar with this world. Martial artists came in all ranks; those with strong martial arts needed no mention—they could prosper even in businesses requiring no capital. But some disciples had poor talent; after years of training they made no progress, at most developing some strength and knowing a few ordinary techniques. Such people had to rely on their sect's recommendations to find a decent livelihood.
Qingcheng was a major sect of the current age, one of the Nine Meridians of the Mysterious Gate. Even disciples of Qingcheng with mediocre martial arts were not ordinary people to be employed.
Chu Qiuzi was willing to recommend her junior: first, out of some selfish interest; second, because she was optimistic about Wang Chong's future; and third, to find a path for her sect's junior.
Wang Chong hesitated slightly and said, "My family circumstances are ordinary. If she becomes my attendant, I fear she will have to endure hardship."
Chu Qiuzi smiled faintly and said, "If we cannot share weal and woe, how can we become family?" Her words carried a double meaning, which Wang Chong understood. He smiled faintly and said, "In that case, I cannot refuse."
Chu Qiuzi felt a slight sweetness in her heart, thinking to herself, "With a junior from our sect as an attendant, the two of us will surely be able to visit each other often, and our relationship will grow closer day by day."
The two left the bookshop. Chu Qiuzi deliberately gazed into the distance and saw that her several junior sisters had already left long ago. Though the female disciples of the Qingcheng Sect were martial artists, they were not spoiled and delicate, nor did they needlessly seek hardship, and none had the refined taste of truly loitering outside Second Senior Sister's wall at night. They had all withdrawn by midnight.
Wang Chong had quite a bit of money, so he generously treated Chu Qiuzi to breakfast. After eating, they wandered nearby for a while. As Wang Chong was enjoying his leisure time, he suddenly heard someone exclaim softly, "So it is Young Master Wang Chong."
The voice was exceedingly pleasant, but Chu Qiuzi's expression suddenly turned unpleasant.
Wang Chong hurriedly turned back, only to see a woman with a complexion like pale snow, extremely beautiful, making a slight curtsy and bowing.
Chu Qiuzi also saw the woman, her expression growing even more displeased. She asked indifferently, "Is this sister someone you know?"
Wang Chong replied, "I have met her once. Su Luo Yan of the Ten-Thousand-Year Fox House, Fairy Su."
Chu Qiuzi's expression immediately softened. From afar she bowed and said, "Chu Qiuzi of Qingcheng. I have met Chess-Sword Linglong."
Su Luo Yan smiled charmingly and said, "So you are the Purple-Green Jade Maiden! Truly a fairy maiden of Qingcheng, with radiant beauty."
Chu Qiuzi was very pleased in her heart, especially since Su Luo Yan praised her in Wang Chong's presence, which felt different. Casually she asked, "Fairy Su, have you also come for the lecher White Chrysanthemum?"
Su Luo Yan smiled and said, "I am going to Chang'an, just passing through."
Su Luo Yan was born of an eminent family, of exalted status, and was not a jianghu woman. How could she be willing to have anything to do with a lecher? She would rather seek out Xuan Gang, the great monk who had already become a disciple of the Empty Zen Sect, to help her capture White Chrysanthemum, than mingle with the people of the Chrysanthemum-Killing Alliance. Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi stood side by side, like pearls and jade. But Chu Qiuzi did not know that she herself had killed "White Chrysanthemum," and so she felt yet more favor toward Wang Chong, thinking to herself, "Surely he is a man who keeps his word; he has not revealed that matter."
Chu Qiuzi was slightly suspicious, but then secretly laughed to herself, "I was addled. Su Luo Yan is not of jianghu origin; she is a daughter of the Luoyang aristocracy. How could she marry into a humble scholar's family? Moreover, Chess-Sword Linglong and Wu-Hook Frost-Snow stand side by side, their vision unmatched under heaven. She would not compete with me for Young Master Wang."
Wang Chong's heart stirred slightly. He thought to himself, "This Miss Su seems to be of extremely high status, even surpassing Chu Qiuzi. Coming to Pengshan County, she cannot be merely passing through..."
Wang Chong quickly understood Su Luo Yan's background and said, "White Chrysanthemum has already been killed by Brother Qin Han, and two wronged young ladies have identified him. The jianghu is rid of one scourge; truly the seas are calm and the rivers clear."
Su Luo Yan smiled faintly. She knew Wang Chong was saying this for her benefit, and she indeed worried that relying solely on martial arts to identify this villain might lead to a mistaken identification.
After all, there were still many doubts surrounding Sun Yanqi. Hearing Wang Chong's words, she was greatly relieved and said, "It is rare to meet on the road. How about this humble one plays host and invites Sister Chu and Young Master Wang Chong for a small drink? That would be delightful."
Chu Qiuzi also wished to befriend Su Luo Yan and said, "Sister Su is treating us. How could Qiuzi possibly refuse?"
She deliberately took Wang Chong's arm with her pale hand, and they walked side by side.
The place Su Luo Yan chose for treating them was not a tavern, but an ancestral garden of a local scholarly family known for its literary heritage. The master had long since moved to another residence, and the garden was full of sturdy servants brought by Su Luo Yan, sweeping everywhere.
As the three had just entered the garden, a girl with brows and eyes like mountains and water, a fragrant neck and shoulders, a slender waist that startled the wind, and a low coiffure like gathered mist, came gracefully forward, curtsied, and said, "Miss, I have already instructed Uncle Wang to prepare a table of land-and-water banquet; only two hot soups remain, and the dishes will be complete."
Su Luo Yan pointed to Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi and said with a smile, "This is Young Master Wang Chong I mentioned to you before, this is Lady Chu, the Purple-Green Jade Maiden of Qingcheng, and this is one of my eight maids, Jiang Zhu'er!"
Jiang Zhu'er bowed again to Wang Chong and Chu Qiuzi. Wang Chong was secretly astonished: "This is a genuine Old Money Aesthetic—bringing such high-class maids when going out, and seven more maids of this caliber. Sister Chu seems too much like a jianghu woman by comparison and is outshone."
Wang Chong laughed and said, "Osmanthus unfallen in the jade palace; Jiangzhu gathers fragrance, her pendant tassels hanging! Your reputation is truly well deserved."
Jiang Zhu'er had been courteous but cold and unenthusiastic. Now, hearing Wang Chong quote this line from Li He's Heavenly Ballad, her beautiful eyes rippled with emotion, and she said, "Young Master Wang speaks in elegant phrases; surely your writing is not vulgar. Why tease this lowly servant?"
……Chu Qiuzi: Old Wang is truly unsettling...
Chapter 22