Chapter 23

After about a quarter of an hour, the Northern Ugly Clan member returned to the secret room.

In his hands, he carried a long tray with a bundle placed on top.

The Northern Ugly Clan member placed the tray on the table and removed the bundle. On the tray lay more than a dozen masks of different complexions.

“Here, all the stock is here. There aren’t many women’s masks. Pick one.”

Lu Nanzhu chose a mask close to her own true complexion. Its appearance was very ordinary.

The Northern Ugly Clan member raised his brows, picked up another mask, and said, “This one should look prettier when worn.”

Lu Nanzhu shook her head. Skin was nothing more than an outer appearance. She only needed a new identity so she could go to the place she wanted to see.

The Northern Ugly Clan member curled his lips and put the mask back. “Fine. Here, don’t say I only recognize money. My Northern Ugly Clan still repays kindness when we owe it. This is something I prepared for you. No charge.”

As he spoke, he opened the bundle.

“This is a set of women’s clothing. And this!”

A sly look flashed across the Northern Ugly Clan member’s face. With a wicked smile piling at his lips, he stuffed two round things into Lu Nanzhu’s hands.

“This is…” Lu Nanzhu squeezed the two round packets in her hands. They felt very soft and elastic.

“This is made from cotton batting and special feathers. It won’t be too soft, and it won’t be too hard. It’s light and breathable…”

Lu Nanzhu looked at the round packets in her hands, completely confused. “What is this?”

The Northern Ugly Clan member winked and pointed at Lu Nanzhu’s flat chest. “This is a woman’s chest! I made it myself. Hurry and change into it so I can see whether it looks real!”

Lu Nanzhu’s hands shook, and the two round packets fell to the ground.

The Northern Ugly Clan member complained as he picked up the two round packets from the floor. “Even if I’m not charging money, you can’t treat them like this! If you’re going to dress as a woman, you have to make it convincing, right? Don’t ruin my reputation. There’s a room over there. Hurry and change!”

As he spoke, he stuffed the lake-blue women’s clothing and the two round packets into Lu Nanzhu’s arms.

Lu Nanzhu sighed. Seeing the Northern Ugly Clan member rubbing his hands and looking at her with eyes full of expectation, she could only walk toward the room.

She locked the door tightly, removed the two layers of masks, took off the Silver Dragon Inner Armor, and placed the Canglong Sword and the outfit she had changed out of into the wooden box. Then she put on the lake-blue long dress the Northern Ugly Clan member had given her. As for the two round packets, Lu Nanzhu stared at them with tangled eyes before finally putting them into her newly made wooden box as well.

Holding the woman’s mask, Lu Nanzhu walked to the bronze mirror by the wall. The Lu Nanzhu in the mirror still had her true face. That lake-blue long dress made her complexion appear even fairer.

Because Lu Nanzhu’s own features were too defined, what had originally been an utterly plain mask actually gained a few touches of beauty when worn on her face.

Lu Nanzhu came to the copper basin, sprinkled a packet of homemade medicinal powder into the water, then used a clean cloth dipped in water to wipe her hands and neck.

The places where she had applied the wheat-colored ointment also revealed their original complexion.

Lu Nanzhu looked in the mirror. Inside was a stranger’s face, and her clothes had also changed… She should not be recognized now.

The Northern Ugly Clan member waited for the Ugly Hero with great anticipation. When the door opened and Lu Nanzhu walked out, the Northern Ugly Clan member stared at her blankly, clicking his tongue as he circled Lu Nanzhu several times. In surprise, he said, “I didn’t expect that when you dress as a woman, you actually look quite convincing!” The Northern Ugly Clan member rubbed his chin and sized up Lu Nanzhu’s chest. Why did he feel… this size seemed a little bigger than what he had made?

Lu Nanzhu smiled. “Thank you for the outfit.”

“No problem, no problem! How is it? It feels pretty good wearing it, right? Doesn’t it feel no different from the real thing?”

Lu Nanzhu ignored the Northern Ugly Clan member’s excited gaze. “I’ll go first.”

“Hey, take care! Come find me again if you ever need anything!”

…

After more than three months of quiet recuperation, the injury on Xia Qinyi’s right shoulder had basically healed. It was only that the Third Old Master had spoken: Xia Qinyi was not allowed to take a single step out of the manor. He had doubled the number of maids serving her food and daily needs, and every day, he ordered the small kitchen to stew nourishing soup and send it over.

After recuperating in the manor for three months, Xia Qinyi felt somewhat bored. After lunch, she went to the garden to admire the flowers.

Behind her came the rumbling sound of wheels rolling over stone slabs. Xia Qinyi turned around, and when she saw the person coming, a trace of heartache flashed through her eyes.

“Sister.” Xia Qinxun’s legs were covered with a thick blanket. He turned the wheels of the wheelchair beneath him and came before Xia Qinyi.

Xia Qinyi crouched down and said softly and gently, “Xun’er, is your body a little better?”

Xia Qinxun was the legitimate grandson of the third branch, and also the third branch’s only bloodline. He was only a few months younger than Xia Qinyi, and was the best-looking person of Huaxia Manor’s generation. Since childhood, he had been like a porcelain doll, with sword-like brows, bright eyes, red lips, and white teeth. Among their generation, he was closest to Xia Qinyi.

Because they were close in age, the two had grown up together. Xia Qinxun had an obedient temperament. Xia Qinyi remembered that when they were young, she would often dress Xia Qinxun in her own clothes and style his hair like a girl’s. Occasionally, when she became mischievous, she would secretly take him out, and no one ever discovered that Little Xun was actually a boy.

Xia Qinxun was a man with a woman’s appearance. A fortune-teller had once told the Third Old Master that this child would be difficult to raise, but the latter had merely laughed it off.

However, when Xia Qinxun was fourteen, he suddenly fell seriously ill. From then on, his legs lost all feeling, and he could only rely on a wheelchair to move.

His physical condition declined with each passing day. He lived on medicine all day and rarely went out. Thinking about it, Xia Qinyi also had not seen this younger brother for a long time.

“Thank you for your concern, Sister. My body is much better.” Xia Qinxun smiled, and his smile was very clean.

A dull pain flashed across Xia Qinyi’s chest. She held Xia Qinxun’s hand where it rested on his legs. It was bony and cold.

“It’s been a long time since Sister saw Little Xun. How about Sister walks with you for a while?”

“Mm.” Xia Qinxun nodded. Xia unauthorized copy Qinyi walked behind him, held the handles of the wheelchair, and slowly pushed Xia Qinxun along.

“Sister, I heard from Mama Wu that you were injured some time ago?”

“Mm. I exchanged blows with people from the Demon Cult at Tianqiong Mountain and suffered a small injury.”

“Sister, is the jianghu fun?”

Xia Qinyi thought about it seriously, then replied, “The jianghu… cannot be explained in just a few words.”

The siblings fell into a brief silence. Xia Qinxun suddenly said, “Sister, I want to go out and play.”

“This…” Xia Qinyi was somewhat worried about Little Xun’s body, but seeing him lower his head, she also could not bear to refuse.

“Sister also cannot go out recently. Third Grandfather gave an order and forbade me from taking even one step out of the manor. How about this? Little Xun, take good care of your body these next few days. In a few days, once Sister’s ban is lifted, I’ll think of a way to take Little Xun to tour Yanbo River, ride a painted pleasure boat, and watch performances. How does that sound?”

“Thank you, Sister!”

After Xia Qinyi sent Xia Qinxun back, her heart felt heavy.

Third Uncle had married several concubines, yet he only had this one child, Little Xun. These years, the third branch had supported her with all their strength, which had caused much dissatisfaction in the other two branches. If she could not smoothly become the next manor master, Little Xun’s life in the future would be worrying.

His body was so weak that even if the servants made the slightest move against him, it could take his life.

Fortunately, this time, none of the disciples of her generation had obtained the Canglong Sword. And because she had rushed to Tianqiong Mountain at the first opportunity, she had received great praise from Sect Master Situ and gained some reputation.

If… things could keep dragging on like this, then by the time she turned twenty, she would also be able to take over the manor smoothly.

After returning from this trip, it was as if a heavy stone had been pressed onto Xia Qinyi’s chest. Although she and the Ugly Hero had only met three times in total, she had already formed grudges and favors with that person that could not be sorted out clearly.

The first time they met, he had come to the manor to steal things.

The second time was at Tianqiong Mountain, when he saved her.

The third time was that night, when he saved her once again.

Since ancient times, righteousness and evil had never stood together. Moreover, there was also the ancestral [bailiantales.com]teaching left behind by her forebear. Even if he was not someone from the Demon Cult, the masters of the Phoenix Blood Saber and the Canglong Sword were bound to have a battle.

But… that person just had to save her again and again!

Why did it have to be him?

That Jade-Faced Fox had spoken with such certainty. Xia Qinyi did not want to believe her, yet she also could not understand it.

Xia Qinyi did not like the Ugly Hero, and her first impression of the Ugly Hero had been extremely bad. But hearing those kinds of words from someone else’s mouth still caused her distress.

During that great battle, he truly had not appeared. Could it be… that just as Gongsun Qing said, he had been imprisoned?

Xia Qinyi felt a burst of vexation. In the end, she simply took the Phoenix Blood Saber and walked toward the martial arts practice field. Since she still could not decide whether to participate in seizing the Canglong Sword, she could only prepare for the worst. She would diligently cultivate her martial arts. If the Canglong Sword was seized by another disciple of the manor, she would simply have to defeat that opponent!

She had to become stronger and possess enough strength. This trip through the jianghu had made Xia Qinyi realize that her strength was insufficient.

Leaving aside everything else, she would definitely repay Gongsun Qing for that sword wound!

Even though Lu Nanzhu had saved wherever she could along the way, her travel money was still used up. Fortunately, she had already arrived before the gates of Fanli unauthorized copyCity. Looking at the three large characters on the city gate plaque, Lu Nanzhu felt a burst of excitement in her heart.

She had finally arrived!

Perhaps Xia Qinyi had described this city too beautifully. After returning to Shiyin Village this time, Lu Nanzhu would often feel longing for Fanli City. It was not that she had never come to Fanli City before, but last time, she had come and gone in a hurry, and it had been at night. She had not experienced what Xia Qinyi had spoken of.

Lu Nanzhu entered the city with a smile. Once she passed through the gate tower, her eyes brightened!

Fanli City truly lived up to its reputation. Shops stood row upon row, and standing at the street entrance, one could not see the end at a glance.

The city’s architecture also carried quite a Jiangnan charm: narrow alleys, gentle and graceful buildings, and bluestone-paved roads.

Yanbo River flowed through Fanli City, so half of this city was water.

Lu Nanzhu came to a higher place and looked out. On the vast, misty surface of the water stood a scenic tower pavilion, rising alone with nothing attached to it.

“This… must be Pear Blossom Autumn Water Tower.”

Lu Nanzhu’s heart moved. Xia Qinyi had once said that whenever she had free time, she would often sit in the tower. She had also said that if there was a chance in the future, she would bring Lu Nanzhu to the top [stolen content]floor, where all the scenery over Yanbo River could be taken in at a glance.