Chapter 27
“Just strike the knot holding up their trousers. Their trousers will naturally fall.”
Wen Wanxi rolled her eyes at Song Qi as though she were looking at an idiot.
Song Qi had only been considering Yu Mingshun’s dignity. If the sect leader’s trousers fell in front of everyone, he would probably enter seclusion for a year out of shame and refuse to face anyone.
Naturally, Wen Wanxi did not care about Yu Mingshun.
She did not care whether he embarrassed himself before his disciples.
She cared only about the result.
This way of doing things was, admittedly…
Actually rather satisfying.
Hutu: 【…As expected of you.】
Song Qi: 【As expected of Sister Wen.】
“Fine. I’ll strike the knot holding up their trousers. Then, City Lord Wen, would you…”
“I can teach you, but taking something from me requires a price.”
Naturally, Wen Wanxi would not kindly teach her without asking for anything in return.
Only then did Song Qi feel somewhat embarrassed.
She was penniless and possessed practically nothing she could offer in exchange.
“What does City Lord Wen want?”
Wen Wanxi had just opened her mouth when Song Qi continued, “I don’t have any money. As for my body… I suppose you could make do with it.”
Wen Wanxi: “…”
A breath became trapped in Wen Wanxi’s throat.
Seeing Song Qi’s hesitant, suggestive expression, she somehow could not release it.
What exactly went through this person’s mind?
“I don’t want your body.”
Song Qi was indeed somewhat attractive.
She was an exceptionally refined and pretty young woman, the sort who naturally drew people’s attention.
But Wen Wanxi had seen her own reflection before. Naturally, she did not consider Song Qi overwhelmingly beautiful by comparison.
She remained extremely confident in her own appearance.
“I need you to handle one more matter for me.”
“…”
Song Qi felt that the pit she was digging for herself was becoming deeper and deeper.
She had no idea whether she would ever manage to fill it.
“What matter?”
Song Qi did not dare agree recklessly.
The system had tricked her so many times that it had made her cautious and traumatized.
Agreeing without asking would be the equivalent of jumping into a pit and burying herself with her own hands.
“I want you to investigate whether Bing Qi and Yu Mingshun have any dealings with one another, such as exchanging letters.”
That was not particularly difficult.
Compared with inspecting their thighs for a flying-eagle tattoo, it was much easier.
“Fine. I agree.”
Song Qi accepted readily.
Wen Wanxi, however, gave a mysterious smile that concealed emotions Song Qi could not understand.
Wen Wanxi extended a hand toward her.
“Let me see your hand.”
Song Qi did not react immediately.
Instead, her gaze instinctively fell upon Wen Wanxi’s hand.
Her fingers were long, slender, and pale, like spring onions. Her nails had been neatly trimmed, making them an extremely beautiful pair of hands.
For martial artists, keeping long nails was impractical.
They frequently handled blades and swords, and long nails broke easily.
Still, some women kept their nails slightly longer, stopping at a manageable length and painting them with red nail dye to satisfy their love of beauty.
Song Qi had never examined Wen Wanxi’s hands carefully before.
Now that she did, she found the long fingers, neatly trimmed nails, and clean pale skin somewhat surprising.
She had assumed Wen Wanxi would be the type who cared greatly about beautifying herself.
Then again, Wen Wanxi’s hands were like her face.
Even without cosmetics or nail dye, they were already beautiful.
She was simply someone favored by the heavens.
“Your hand.”
Seeing Song Qi become distracted again, Wen Wanxi patiently repeated the instruction.
Only then did Song Qi return to her senses and hold out her hand.
Song Qi’s nails were also neatly trimmed and clean.
Her slender fingers had clearly defined joints and were quite beautiful.
Wen Wanxi looked once and said, “The first requirement for learning concealed weapons is that you cannot keep long nails.”
Perhaps fearing Song Qi would not understand, she explained further.
“Long nails interfere with the accuracy and force of concealed weapons.”
“Understood.”
Wen Wanxi reached into a hidden compartment inside her sleeve and took out a flat, diamond-shaped concealed weapon.
The moment Song Qi saw it, her eyes widened.
“It’s Sunset Over the Yellow Springs!”
Seeing it in person was far more impressive than hearing about it.
The design of Sunset Over the Yellow Springs was not especially complicated.
It appeared to be an ordinary flat, diamond-shaped weapon.
However, several nearly invisible holes surrounded its edges.
Those were the mechanisms that fired poisoned needles.
“You’re quite knowledgeable.”
Wen Wanxi demonstrated several methods of holding concealed weapons.
There were two ways to hold Sunset Over the Yellow Springs.
One was to grip it between the index and middle fingers.
The other was to pinch it between the thumb and index finger.
Silver needles also had two possible grips.
One was likewise between the index and middle fingers.
The other used a flicking motion.
“To use a concealed weapon freely, you must first channel internal force into it.”
“However, you cannot use too much. The internal force must be fine and sharp. That is the key to concealed weapons.”
Song Qi understood.
If too much internal force was infused into the weapon, an opponent could easily notice it when she attacked, especially someone stronger than herself.
But using only a small amount while controlling it until it became fine and sharp required exceptional precision.
Wen Wanxi replaced the concealed weapon with a silver needle.
She held the needle between the nail of her middle finger and the pad of her thumb, preparing to launch it with a flick.
She aimed at a white porcelain vase in the room.
Her middle finger snapped outward.
The silver needle immediately flew through the vase and embedded itself in the shelf behind it.
The vase was left with only a tiny hole.
While Song Qi was still marveling at Wen Wanxi’s control, cracks began spreading outward from the opening.
The entire porcelain vase shattered where it stood.
Song Qi’s body trembled.
A chill ran across her neck.
It felt as though the object that had just shattered was not the vase but her throat.
The force had been sharp and possessed lingering power afterward.
That degree of control was extraordinary.
Wen Wanxi’s concealed-weapon methods were clearly designed to take lives.
They were useful, but far too powerful.
Song Qi feared that if she failed to control her aim, she might accidentally strike…
Ahem.
After all, the knot holding up their trousers was dangerously close to that area.
“When facing a moving object or person, you must rely on your judgment. That requires constant practice.”
Although Wen Wanxi was a genius, even geniuses needed to put in the appropriate effort to reach this level of mastery.
Song Qi naturally understood that very few things in the world could be achieved instantly.
“Practice makes perfect. I know.”
Song Qi wore an expression that said, I understand everything.
Wen Wanxi could not help smiling.
“It’s naturally easy to say.”
She then explained the force and internal-energy control required when launching concealed weapons.
Song Qi carefully memorized everything.
Wen Wanxi handed her a silver needle.
Song Qi was unfamiliar with it at first.
No matter how she positioned the needle, the grip felt awkward.
“Like this.”
Unable to bear watching any longer, Wen Wanxi reached over, held Song Qi’s hand, and corrected the way she gripped the needle.
Wen Wanxi’s fingers were slightly cold.
Regardless of the weather, her body temperature was never high.
Part of the reason was her cultivation technique.
The other was that she had suffered serious injuries, leaving her body weaker than it appeared.
Song Qi watched Wen Wanxi’s long fingers rest upon her hand.
Her heart began beating slightly faster.
The cool sensation against her fingertips made her strangely reluctant to pull away.
“You have good talent, but your hands are rather clumsy.”
Wen Wanxi could not resist criticizing her.
Song Qi’s face immediately fell.
She pursed her lips.
“My hands simply aren’t as skillful as yours. Happy now?”
Wen Wanxi laughed again.
Song Qi did not know whether it was because of the compliment or because she found Song Qi childish.
Still, Song Qi felt that Wen Wanxi seemed considerably gentler at this moment.
“Perhaps killing so many people made my hands more agile.”
Song Qi: “…”
She took back what she had just thought.
This woman remained completely unhinged.
While practicing the grip, Song Qi remembered the disappearance of Perfected Qing Shang.
She looked at Wen Wanxi and asked timidly, “Did you kill Perfected Qing Shang?”
“I did.”
This time, Wen Wanxi admitted it directly.
She also wanted to see whether Song Qi could truly be trusted.
“I used Sunset Over the Yellow Springs. One strike killed him.”
At present, the martial world knew only that Perfected Qing Shang had disappeared.
If news later emerged that he had died and included his exact cause of death, then Song Qi could not be allowed to live.
Wen Wanxi had disposed of his body that same night.
Members of the Taixu Sect had indeed gone to Wucheng and caused trouble, but they had no evidence that Perfected Qing Shang had ever been there.
Later, they refused to leave and remained in the city in disguise, gathering information.
That was how the rumor that the Taixu Sect members had disappeared in Wucheng began.
False stories truly spread quickly.
“You’re really ruthless.”
Song Qi knew Wen Wanxi was ruthless.
If she were not, she might already have been killed long ago.
Wen Wanxi offered no explanation.
She disliked explaining such things.
No matter what she said, the world would always circulate a different version of the story.
Therefore, she did not waste her strength.
Song Qi suddenly remembered something she had overlooked.
Why had Perfected Qing Shang gone to Wucheng in the first place?
“Did Perfected Qing Shang go to Wucheng to settle accounts with you?”
“Is that important?”
“Of course it is!”
Song Qi was curious.
More importantly, the answer truly mattered.
Thinking carefully, she realized Perfected Qing Shang could not have gone there with good intentions.
“He intended to kill people from Wucheng.”
“That bastard was even more ruthless.”
Song Qi felt Perfected Qing Shang had genuinely lost his mind.
He had offended Wucheng for Xu Yan’s sake, then allowed Wen Wanxi to catch him in the act.
What was that if not stupidity?
As the saying went, as long as the green mountains remained, there would always be firewood to burn.
Such a foolish method of revenge was truly astonishing.
Was this some kind of plot where a vicious supporting character was forcibly made stupid?
Hutu: 【You’re genuinely so noisy!】
Song Qi: 【What about it? Hit me.】
Hutu: 【…I’ll endure it.】
“You believe me?”
Wen Wanxi had not expected Song Qi to accept everything she said without question.
Seeing the genuine anger on Song Qi’s face, it did not appear to be an act.
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Song Qi considered it.
Perfected Qing Shang’s journey to Wucheng certainly had something to do with Xu Yan.
That man had probably acted aggrieved and pitiful until Perfected Qing Shang became furious and went to seek revenge.
He was practically a green-tea bitch among men!
“That bastard Xu Yan is no good either. Ptui!”
After cursing him, Song Qi still felt unsatisfied.
She flicked the silver needle in her hand.
It flew straight toward a pillar and embedded itself in the wood as though the pillar were Xu Yan.
The needle sank deeply inside, leaving only its tip visible.
“The force is correct. Your internal energy still requires control.”
After watching, Wen Wanxi leisurely took a sip of tea.
“Why do you hate Xu Yan so much?”
“He’s a scumbag! Ptui!”
Song Qi became emotional.
She nearly blurted out everything she had read in the novel.
But remembering that Wen Wanxi was one of the people directly involved, she immediately stopped herself.
“You seem to know something.”
“…No. I simply dislike him.”
Song Qi felt she had spoken too much again.
Why did she even have a mouth?
“What is a scumbag?”
Wen Wanxi was eager to learn.
She genuinely wanted to understand this unfamiliar and interesting term.
“It refers to a man who is irresponsible, insincere, and betrays a woman who trusted him.”
Wen Wanxi gave a cold laugh.
“That is quite fitting. However…”
Her gaze sharpened, while the smile at the corners of her lips deepened.
“He should be called a scumbag who hides needles within soft cotton.”
Song Qi considered it.
That description did seem accurate.
Still, why did she feel that Wen Wanxi had somehow emphasized something strangely specific?
Author’s Note
Another update!
Today was the day Sister Wen and Song Qi held hands!
Sister Wen: I don’t want your body.
Later…
Everyone, guess what happens next! Hahahahahaha!
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