Chapter 20: Daughter Of The Old Master
“Sister Chun Tao! Sister Chun Tao… I’ll kill you!”
“After I’ve had my fill, let’s see if you still have the strength to kill me.”
“Hiss—”
Inside the room, the sounds of crying, curses, and tearing fabric grew louder.
Through the thin window paper, Xiao Yi’s gaze was as cold and sharp as ice.
He told himself once more that the people of this era were not his concern; there was no need for sadness or pity. The harder his heart, the better he could survive in these chaotic times.
“Hiss—”
“Kill me! Beast!”
“Let me smell… you’re so moist, my old man is dying. Good Qiu Shuang, you’re so tender… I’d be content to die on you…”
“Hiss—”
Xiao Yi felt annoyed.
He couldn’t be bothered to listen to Xie Hui’s despicable words anymore, so he casually grabbed a clump of snow and stuffed it into his mouth. The snow, entering his throat, iced him from chest to abdomen.
He stepped lightly, sidestepped, crossed the threshold, one step, two steps… He walked very slowly, his eyes fixed on Xie Hui.
Xie Hui’s leather armor hadn’t been removed yet, but his saber had been unbuckled and placed with his hand crossbow on the nearby low table, within easy reach.
Xiao Yi had only one chance; the dagger needed to go directly into the neck.
He was very calm, his gaze as meticulous as if he were checking the props for each of his wire-work scenes, allowing no room for the slightest error.
Holding his breath, he concentrated, and took the final step lightly.
He struck!
“Thud.”
The dagger plunged down, piercing flesh and blood. Xiao Yi’s palm felt the resistance from Xie Hui’s bones.
But it wasn’t the collarbone, it was the shoulder blade.
In that instant, Xie Hui happened to be leaning in to take a deep inhale of Qiu Shuang, tilting his head up high to savor the girl’s scent.
It was this tilt of his head that caused the near miss.
“Ah!”
A scream erupted.
Xiao Yi raised his hand to stab again, but Xie Hui dodged by two inches. The dagger pierced the leather armor, getting stuck and unable to be pulled out immediately. He was then pushed by Xie Hui’s shoulder and fell to the ground.
“Hehehe…”
Xie Hui bled from his neck and shoulder. He couldn’t curse, his triangular eyes glaring at Xiao Yi with a murderous look, pouring out his rage and killing intent.
Xiao Yi was pinned by Xie Hui’s heavy armored body. Seeing Xie Hui reach for the saber on the table, he kicked out, knocking the table over. The saber, hand crossbow, and other items clattered to the other side.
He brandished the dagger again.
However, Xiao Yi’s wrist was grabbed. He struggled, but Xie Hui’s grip was stronger, forcefully pressing the dagger towards Xiao Yi’s neck.
He immediately wrapped his left arm around the back of Xie Hui’s neck and pressed hard on the wound he had just made.
“Ah!”
Xie Hui cried out in pain.
The dagger, which had been inches from Xiao Yi’s throat, was now pressed towards Xie Hui.
Both of them exerted their full strength, trying to stab the dagger into the other’s throat.
Suddenly, the sound of dense footsteps approached from outside the courtyard.
A troop of Imperial Guards, confiscating property, was passing by.
The two men struggling on the ground dared not make any sound, yet dared not lessen their strength, fighting silently.
In the silence, the dagger trembled, sometimes stabbing towards Xiao Yi, sometimes towards Xie Hui.
“Squeak—”
From inside the room, a faint but sharp metallic scraping sound could be heard, like a sword being drawn, followed by the sound of rope being cut.
Afterward, a soft thud indicated a knife piercing flesh.
“Thud.”
Xiao Yi felt a warmth on his face. The resistance on his wrist vanished, and blood gushed down, splashing all over his face.
His peripheral vision caught sight of a pair of dainty embroidered shoes, elegant ankles, and a shattered pale apricot colored skirt revealing a section of a well-proportioned lower leg.
Xiao Yi instinctively closed his eyes, took a moment to compose himself, and immediately thought of finishing the job.
Pushing Xie Hui away, he realized the man still had a breath of life left. He quickly grabbed the dagger to slit his throat.
“Get out of the way!”
Qiu Shuang actually took the knife and stepped forward, looking down and swinging the blade.
The knife struck the leather skirt armor below the crotch. Xie Hui could no longer make a sound, spitting blood from the pain.
After a few more blows, the skirt armor was hacked to pieces.
Qiu Shuang continued to hack away with the knife in her hand, again and again.
This girl was delicate and thin, her eyes filled with tears. She was clearly terrified but still pressed her lips tightly together, trying hard not to make a sound.
It was like chopping meat.
Only when Xie Hui’s hips and face were mangled, and his neck was broken, did she finally stop.
This was the most gruesome sight Xiao Yi had witnessed in both his lifetimes.
He also witnessed the prevailing custom of using violence to counter violence in the Five Dynasties.
He didn’t know what to say. Recovering his senses, he first got up and peered out the door.
The Imperial Guards had not searched this courtyard; they had likely gone to secure other parts of the Shi Residence first.
Only then did the tension of not daring to breathe loudly subside.
“Damn it.”
Xiao Yi cursed casually, cupped snow to wash his face, and wiped off the bone and flesh fragments from his body. Only then did his spirits lift.
He turned back into the room and saw Qiu Shuang squatting beside Chun Tao, weeping silently. He went over and reached out to feel. Chun Tao had already breathed her last, her skin ice-cold.
She was finished too.
Thinking this, Xiao Yi walked away directly to search Xie Hui’s corpse. He took out a guard captain’s waist token, two gold ingots, and a red cloth packet from his robes.
An Imperial Guard Military Tally?
He opened the red cloth. There was no Military Tally, only three pearls.
He was slightly disappointed. Just as he was about to put the pearls away, the red cloth was snatched away.
With a few “tap tap” sounds, the pearls fell to the ground.
Xiao Yi looked up. Qiu Shuang, her tear streaks still wet, clutched the red cloth tightly and said nervously, “They’re mine.”
It turned out to be her bodice, no wonder it had a faint fragrance.
She was clearly offended at this moment.
Xiao Yi then went to pick up the pearls from the ground.
“Those were Sister Chun Tao’s savings… her dowry,” Qiu Shuang choked again, crying, “He came to our room and snatched them.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yi’s fingertips couldn’t quite grasp the pearl. It rolled, and rolled into the pool of blood.
He picked it up, wiped it clean, and asked in a hoarse voice, “Do you know if Xie Hui killed Zhang Mantun or Shi Deyu?”
“No,” Qiu Shuang controlled the tremor in her voice. “That beast didn’t get them; he was chased away and came to bully us instead.”
Xiao Yi picked up the waist token, then thought better of it and discarded it. He picked up the hand crossbow; there was only one bolt left.
As for the saber, its edge was completely blunted, making it useless and likely to draw unwanted attention.
He picked up his luggage and continued to detour towards the west wall.
After walking for a while, he looked back and saw Qiu Shuang standing behind him, hastily adjusting her clothes.
“Xiao Yi, you don’t recognize me?”
“Should I recognize you?”
“I… I am your mistress.”
Xiao Yi frowned, too lazy to bother with her, and quickened his pace.
Qiu Shuang followed, saying, “I am a daughter of the Li Residence. You were a servant in my household since childhood. We were confiscated and brought to the Shi Residence together. Do you recognize me now?”
“I am no longer a servant.”
“You’re looking for a way out? Can you take me with you?”
“No.”
Xiao Yi refused decisively.
He himself could barely survive; how could he bring such a burden? It was the same saying: the harder his heart, the better he could survive.
He quickened his pace and walked through a small path. He looked back and saw that Qiu Shuang was actually not slow and was still following closely.
“Don’t follow me anymore.”
“I… I haven’t thanked you for saving my life yet.”
Qiu Shuang bowed formally and looked up.
Her eyes were red from crying, her tears not yet dry, as if veiled by a light mist, yet still bright. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her pupils held a trace of timidity, like a startled fawn looking at Xiao Yi.
As if she wasn’t the female butcher who had just been hacking people.
However, Xiao Yi had seen too many beautiful women with good acting skills. He knew she was deliberately trying to soften his heart, and he still said, “Don’t follow.”
“But I might be able to repay you.”
“You already have.”
“I won’t be a burden to you. Although I am weak, I am not pampered. You know best that my family was destroyed and I have suffered all sorts of hardship since childhood. Let me flee with you; what if I can be of help? At the very least, I can watch out for danger.”
Xiao Yi was surprised by her will to survive and looked back at her, assessing her.
Perhaps sensing his scrutiny, Qiu Shuang no longer put on a pitiful act and became more sincere.
“Please, I don’t want to die. I still want to get revenge.”
“The Shi family has already fallen, and Xie Hui has been chopped to pieces.”
“Su Fengji and Ge Yanyu are not dead yet.”
Xiao Yi glanced at the bloodstains on Qiu Shuang’s skirt hem and asked, “Who is Ge Yanyu?”
“My father’s steward. He colluded with outsiders to frame my father. Don’t you remember?”
“I don’t remember anything from the past.”
As he spoke, Xiao Yi’s footsteps did not stop. He passed through a courtyard gate and finally entered the Bamboo Garden by the west wall.
Qiu Shuang suddenly tugged at his sleeve, her eyes shining, and said in a low voice, “Take me with you, I can protect you.”
“You?”
“If we can escape this wall, Duke Xin Chen across the street is my distant relative. We can hide in his home.”
This coincided with Xiao Yi’s plan.
He didn’t believe it was such a coincidence and secretly thought Qiu Shuang had likely guessed his intentions and was deliberately tricking him.
“Really?”
“Indeed. Duke Xin Chen is a descendant of Prince Xun of the Great Tang, and my ancestors were descendants of Duke Anping of the Great Tang. We share the same lineage, and our two families have always had a good relationship.”
Xiao Yi didn’t understand and couldn’t be sure she wasn’t making it up. He asked, “If that’s the case, why didn’t Li Tao save you sooner?”
Qiu Shuang lowered her eyes, looking a little sad, and murmured, “What separated me from my kin wasn’t a high wall? It was the Shi family’s power.”
The two looked at the vaguely visible wall tops within the Bamboo Garden. The Shi family’s power had collapsed overnight, yet the high wall before them still blocked their path to survival.
