Chapter 448: 448. Sheng Yue visits

Translator: 549690339

Time flew by, and before they knew it, it was the day before Ying Ying and Lian Shun’s wedding.

Ying Ying was to get married out of Su Mansion, and everything had been prepared. Ren Dong was the last one to get married from here, so the Qi Yan and Qi Jun brothers had a good amount of experience in wedding preparations. Furthermore, the next event should be Nangong Qian’s wedding with Qi Yan, awaiting the return of grandpa and grandson Qiao Cong and Qiao Jing to the capital.

At times like these, kids are always the happiest. Ji Xiaoshu rode on Ying Ye’s neck, hanging the last red lantern on a lofty tree branch. Clapping his hands, he joyously declared, “Done!”

Ying Ye put Ji Xiaoshu down, stooping over to give him a high five.

Hearing Ji Xiaoshu say, “Uncle Xiaoye is the best!” Ying Ye’s eyes narrowed in delight.

Zhengzheng ran over with a plate of fried fish nuggets which Gu Ling had just made. the three of them went to the pavilion by the lake and quickly finished eating. Ying Ye then ran out of the pavilion carrying the empty platter, “I’ll go get another plate from beautiful brother!”

Ji Xiaoshu turned around, sitting with his back to the stone table. He looked up at the floating clouds in the sky through the corner of the pavilion and sighed, “It’s already the twelfth lunar month, the New Year will be here soon. Why hasn’t my dad come back yet? If he doesn’t return soon, I’ll start calling master ‘Dad’!”

Zhengzheng knew that although Ji Xiaoshu usually complained about Ji Yuebai, he cared for him a lot. Ji Yuebai had been away for a long time and Ji Xiaoshu missed him; he just had a peculiar way of expressing it.

So Zhengzheng comforted Ji Xiaoshu, “He might be back tomorrow. We still have half a month before the New Year, just wait a bit longer.”

“Didn’t you hear Master and Mistress say? That big bad guy Sheng Yue probably went north, if he runs into my dad, he’ll definitely capture him!” Ji Xiaoshu frowned.

Zhengzheng spoke sternly, “You shouldn’t think like that. By that logic, everyone in the north is in danger. In my opinion, Sheng Yue is very cunning, if he needed a hostage, he could just capture one after he arrives. He wouldn’t need to bring a hostage all the way from afar. Besides, your master is a martial arts master, he will protect your dad.”

“Big brother, you make a good point! But my dad is not just anyone. Even though I always say he’s not important anymore, but what if he’s important in the eyes of the bad guy?” Ji Xiaoshu sighed, “Honestly, why did he have to go so far away? Even if Master and Mistress are taking care of me, he has to take care of my little brother.”

Ji Xiaoshu’s stepmother had given birth to his little brother. Although he didn’t like being close to his stepmother, he loved his little brother very much. Occasionally, he would return to King Yin’s mansion to visit his brother. In fact, three days ago during his last visit, he told his stepmother that if she ever ran into any trouble, she could come to Su Mansion to inform him. At that time, his stepmother couldn’t help but laugh, patted Ji Xiaoshu’s head and agreed. Ji Xiaoshu then ran off.

“Well…maybe we could go to the Huguo Temple to pray for your dad? Pray for Buddha’s blessing for your dad to safely return!” Zhengzheng suggested after some thought.

Ji Xiaoshu’s eyes lit up, “Great! It’s still early, let’s go now. Let’s get Master to come with us!”

Just then, Ying Ye came running over with a second plate of fried fish, nibbling while running.

As Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu left the pavilion, the three of them shared the delicious fried fish nuggets as they dashed towards the kitchen.

It was midmorning and still not time for lunch. It was only because Ying Ye tasted the fried fish Gu Ling made last time and fell in love with it, he’d been pestering Gu Ling since morning saying he wanted to eat it.

“Master, master, take us to Huguo Temple!” Ji Xiaoshu hugged Gu Ling’s leg.

Gu Ling picked Ji Xiaoshu up and tossed him out the door, then fished the last piece of fried fish out of the frying pan.

“Master, Little Tree is worried about his dad, he wants to go to Huguo Temple to pray.” Zhengzheng explained the situation.

Gu Ling glanced at Ji Xiaoshu, “I don’t believe it.”

Ji Xiaoshu coughed lightly, “Master, you’re free at home anyway.”

“What does my free time have to do with you?” Gu Ling countered.

Ji Xiaoshu fully understood Gu Ling’s meaning. Covering his face, he yelled, “Yes, I miss my dad! OK?”

Gu Ling tapped Ji Xiaoshu’s head with a cooking spatula, “You are still young, but you always say one thing and mean another. You should change.”

“Didn’t I learn this from master? Master obviously likes me, but he refuses to admit it!” Ji Xiaoshu posed with a cheeky face.

“One of the biggest false impressions in life is thinking that someone else likes you.” Gu Ling remembered a joke that Su Liang shared earlier.

Ji Xiaoshu looked a bit disappointed, until he heard Gu Ling continue, “But in your case, it’s not a false impression. Perhaps a little one.”

Zhengzheng laughed and asked, “What about me?”

“More than Xiaoshu,” Gu Ling replied.

Ji Xiaoshu shook his head, “I don’t believe you!”

Ying Ye joined the fun and asked, “What about me? Does the handsome brother like me?”

“The same as them,” Gu Ling replied.

Ying Ye happily picked up Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu and said, “Let’s go to Huguo Temple!”

Gu Ling took the fried fish to Su Liang. She was discussing with Weng Ming about the treatment plans for Ying Ye. Several plans had been suggested and were being tweaked.

When she heard that Gu Ling was taking the kids to Huguo Temple, Su Liang asked him to borrow the medical books from Master Pu Hui’s Scripture Pavilion. Su Liang and Gu Ling had previously returned the books after reading them, but didn’t have time to copy them, and now Weng Ming wanted to read them.

This time, Zhengzheng and Ji Xiaoshu didn’t ride horses. One rode with Gu Ling and the other sat in front of Ying Ye. Although Ying Ye had the mind of a child, he could ride a horse and knew martial arts, and he was very skilled. As long as he did not speak, he looked like a handsome young gentleman.

At Huguo Temple, Gu Ling lit incense with the kids, and then went to find Master Pu Hui.

Pu Hui readily agreed to lend the books, and asked how Cheng Yun was doing.

Gu Ling said that Cheng Yun had gone to Jiaye City and was doing well. He would come back once he was finished with his work.

Master Pu Hui sighed, “That child has a connection with you. Please take care of him. His innocence makes it hard for him to distinguish between good and evil.”

Gu Ling nodded slightly, and then left.

He retrieved the books from the Scripture Pavilion, took the children to see the Cloud Sea at the back of the temple, ordered several vegetarian dishes in the temple, and then went down the mountain.

Su Mansion.

Nangong Qian was showing Ying Ying around the mansion, looking at the decorations in each place. The once aloof and spacious mansion which felt rather cold due to fewer people was now decorated with festive cheer all around. The couplets were written by Gu Ling and the children, even the characters for celebration were cut by them. There were various styles of lettering, some of the paper-cuts on the window were fairly complex and intricate, all were done by Gu Ling.

While looking around, Ying Ying marvelled at how creative Gu Ling was, a trait that Su Liang had previously praised. She remembered the cold and reticent Gu Ling she had first met. At first glance, the Gu Ling of today didn’t seem much different, but in reality, both his actions and speech had changed greatly, becoming warmer. Ying Ying believed that this was Su Liang’s doing.

Nangong Qian also liked these things; even though they were present at the time when Ren Dong was married, she and Qi Yan were not yet engaged. Now that they were officially betrothed and she was making her wedding dress, seeing these decorations evoked completely different feelings.

As the two women came to the front gate, they saw the brothers Qi Yan and Qi Jun also coming from the other direction. They were heading out to a restaurant to confirm the food for the next day. Currently, the food of Su Mansion was mostly supplied by Wan Family Restaurant.

Nangong Qian shared a smile with Qi Yan, and Qi Yan asked her if she wants to go along.

Qi Jun smiled, “Sure, Big Brother, take your wife along. I’ll go find Ren Dong.”

Nangong Qian hurriedly declined, “I don’t know anything about this.”

Ying Ying laughed and pushed her a little, “You’ll understand once you see it.”

Just as Qi Jun was about to turn around and go back, he heard the sound of horse hooves outside the main gate. Thinking that Gu Ling and the children had returned, he rushed to open the gate.

However, when Qi Jun and Qi Yan pulled open the gates together, they were not greeted by Gu Ling and the kids, but by Ji Yuebai.

Qi Jun laughed, “Prince, if you didn’t return soon, Xiaoshu would have gone to look for you.”

Ji Yuebai alighted from his horse, his face full of smiles, “Really? Did Xiaoshu say he missed me? I don’t believe it.”

“He didn’t say so before, but he particularly misses you today and was worried that Sheng Yue had captured you. We had to take him to Huguo Temple to pray for blessings,” said Qi Yan.

Ji Yuebai was surprised, “Really? Haha! My son has really grown up! Have they not returned from the temple yet?”

“Not yet, they should be back soon. Prince, would you like to come in and wait, or return to King Yin’s palace first?” Qi Jun asked.

“I’ll wait here and bring Xiaoshu back with me later. Are you guys holding a wedding celebration at your mansion? Who’s getting married?” Ji Yuebai asked.

Ying Ying replied, “It’s me and Lian Shun.” However, her gaze passed over Ji Yuebai to a man who was still on his horse behind Ji Yuebai.

“Congratulations! I suppose you are Su Liang’s big sister, Ying Ying!” Ji Yuebai turned around and called to the man behind him, “Brother Cheng, get down, we’re here. Let me introduce you to Divine Doctor Su.”

When that man dismounted, Ying Ying stared at his hanging right arm sleeve and the empty space where his hand should have been, lightly swaying in the wind. Her gaze hardened, she drew Qi Jun’s waist sword, and in a swift move, her foot turned, and the sword was aimed at the man’s throat!

Ji Yuebai was startled, and both Qi Yan and Qi Jun also realized something was wrong with this man.

“Do you know him?” I Ji Yuebai was confused.

Ying Ying grabbed the man’s right arm, which was lacking a hand. She snorted coldly, “Sheng Yue, you really have guts, to just walk right up to us in broad daylight!”

The expressions of Ji Yuebai and his master, who was now standing beside him in a protective stance, changed at once. They knew the name Sheng Yue, but had never met him and didn’t know about him losing a hand to Gu Ling. This had happened after Ji Yuebai had left the capital to head north.

The man who called himself Cheng Feng was someone Ji Yuebai had encountered on his way back. On this trip, he did encounter remnants of the Situ Imperial Family and was pursued by them for half a month. These people had quite a few skilled fighters, and in one dangerous situation, Cheng Feng happened upon them and stepped in to help, leading to their acquaintance.

Cheng Feng claimed that he had contracted a strange disease and needed to seek treatment from Divine Doctor Su in the capital city. At first, Ji Yuebai didn’t trust him and didn’t travel with him. However, they bumped into each other twice more, and after some enjoyable conversation, they decided to travel together.

Now, the man who had introduced himself as Cheng Feng to Ji Yuebai was being held at sword point by Ying Ying, but his expression didn’t change. His thin lips parted slightly, and he said four words, “I am Sheng Yue.”

Ji Yuebai’s heart sank! He had almost let a wolf into his house! But on second thought, something didn’t seem right. Given Sheng Yue’s cunning, he couldn’t have hidden his hand. He should have known that the moment he entered the Su Mansion, he would have been exposed. Moreover, he chose to follow Ji Yuebai in broad daylight. With his martial arts skills, he could have easily dodged Ying Ying’s attack earlier, yet he did not move an inch. Even now, he had not made any attempt to deny his identity. Something was amiss.

Ying Ying also sensed that something was off. She asked coldly, “Don’t tell me you came here to surrender?”

Sheng Yue shook his head. “Su Liang and Gu Ling invited me to discuss a cooperation.”

Ji Yuebai stared intently at him, “Did you deliberately approach me?”

Sheng Yue shook his head again, “It was a coincidence that I ran into you. Saving you was a way to demonstrate the sincerity of my visit.”

Qi Jun frowned, “You didn’t bring Yan Shiba back. What kind of sincerity are you talking about?”

“She’s following behind.” Sheng Yue said, “I just wanted to get here as soon as possible.”

Qi Yan had already run off to inform Su Liang.

Just as Ying Ying was preparing to escort Sheng Yue into the mansion, the sound of horse hooves could be heard in the distance once again.

Ji Yuebai looked over, and saw a little kid sitting on horseback waving at him, “Dad!”

Ji Yuebai’s spirits lifted, and he ran to greet his son. He then saw Gu Ling pick up Ji Xiaoshu and toss him over.

In the meantime, Gu Ling had spotted the person being held at sword-point by Ying Ying, and from his figure, he instantly recognized him to be Sheng Yue.

As he dismounted, Gu Ling asked Ying Ye to take Zhengzheng into the mansion first. Ji Yuebai also went into the mansion with Ji Xiaoshu in his arms, to avoid any danger to the child in case Sheng Yue suddenly broke free. Sheng Yue’s escape from Ying Ying’s grip was not entirely impossible.

“Xiao Gu, your return is timely. He says you invited him to discuss cooperation. Yan Shiba is following behind,” Ying Ying told Gu Ling.

Gu Ling had already opened his bag, took out a medicine pill, and held it in front of Sheng Yue, “Eat it or I’ll kill you.”

With Ying Ying and Gu Ling surrounding him, and missing a hand, Sheng Yue didn’t have much of a chance to escape.

Sheng Yue glanced at the sword in front of him. His left hand was blocked, so he couldn’t reach for the medicine. With a calm expression, he said,”You feed me.”

Qi Jun frowned. That sounded strange.

Sheng Yue opened his mouth, and Gu Ling accurately tossed the medicine pill into it. Soon, Sheng Yue began to feel weakness in his limbs.

Gu Ling gave Ying Ying a look. Ying Ying sheathed the sword and handed it back to Qi Jun, “You go check on the food.”

Qi Jun was stunned for a moment, then remembered what he had initially stepped out to do. He was supposed to let Qi Yan take Nangong Qian, but after Ying Ying pulled out her sword, Qi Yan ran off with Nangong Qian to find Su Liang.

Sheng Yue walked into Su Mansion shoulder to shoulder with Gu Ling. After Qi Jun took the horse to the stable, he left the mansion.

“About what happened before, I’m sorry. I had no intention of harming any child, nor did I intend to kill you,” said Sheng Yue.

Gu Ling was nonchalant, “Now that you’re here, it means that on Xingluo Island, your real objective was to avenge your mother’s death?”

Sheng Yue nodded, “Yes. I won’t deny that I also wanted to see the place you came from, so I never made a move on Mo Yan. Another reason is that he has a magic treasure. From the food supplies, you should have guessed it. I want it but haven’t found the chance.”

“How do you wish to cooperate?” Gu Ling asked.

Sheng Yue replied casually, “I admit, I was very arrogant before and vastly underestimated your capabilities. Now, the only viable option is to cooperate so that we can achieve our respective goals in the safest possible way. My plan is to first seize the magic treasure, then let Mo Yan jump into the deep pool that has drowned countless people and see what happens.”