Chapter 23: We

Another late-returning sunset.

The setting sun slants across, the countryside quiet and desolate.

A slender youth came from the narrow winding path, walking against the light, his silhouette stretched thin.

He wore a plain‑colored robe, wide sleeves drooping, swaying lightly with his steps.

Only when he came close did one see that the hem of his robe was specked with dust, and his black boots bore a thin layer of soil.

He walked slowly.

When the wind blew, his robe brushed close to his body, revealing his slender waist; a few loose strands of hair floated over his cheeks, he slightly tilted his head and lifted a hand to sweep them away, his knuckles distinct, the back of his hand so thin the blue veins could be seen.

The slanting sunlight came from behind him, outlining the profile of his face.

His nose bridge was straight, his jaw slender, his eyelids drooped, making the expression in his eyes unreadable.

Du Shanü greeted him, but he seemed unaware, his face showing no expression, merely walking, his shadow inch by inch moving from behind him to in front.

They passed each other, the last streak of rosy light falling on his shoulder before fading away.

His figure slipped into the shadow behind Du Shanü, like a drop of ink merging into the night.

Du Shanü had been squinting, looking back at him; seeing this, she spoke up:

"Master Liu, do you have anything you want to say to me?"

The question came out of nowhere; the slender youth, who was only a few steps from the thatched hut, seemed to suddenly realize and abandoned his path forward.

He also turned back, speaking solemnly:

"……Miss Du, do you know that the blind man inside the house is the former dynasty's Young Emperor?"

Du Shanü: "?"

I'm convinced.

Truly convinced.

She had only found his demeanor odd and casually bluffed, yet ended up guessing that he already knew Yu Baobao's identity.

How could Yu Baobao's identity leak everywhere like a sieve?

His exile surely couldn't be the kind everyone knows about, could it?

Du Shanü's mind raced a thousand turns, yet her face showed only a fleeting moment; she smiled and said:

I didn't know before, but I knew as soon as you spoke.

Vague talk—Du Shanü has always been best at it.

Such an answer neither confirms whether she knew earlier nor requires her to explain how she found out.

But Du Shanü never expected that he would not continue sparring with her verbally, nor wait for her to probe, but instead drop another thunderbolt.

In the boundless sunset, the slender youth asked her:

Do you know……when do you plan to eliminate the Young Emperor?

Du Shanü was still wondering what was up with this person; hearing this, her smile didn't fade, and she laughed as she asked:

And you? When do you plan to kill the Young Emperor?

The slender youth blinked, then also laughed and replied:

……Long ago, I already had this thought……

But I don't know why, every time I act, I'm obstructed.

Their question‑and‑answer flowed smoothly and naturally.

At that moment, the crescent moon gave way to the sun, the time when yin and yang meet.

A man and a woman, beneath the blood‑like setting sun, chatted about the Young Emperor's life as if it were casual banter.

They smiled at each other, then in an instant suddenly struck—

The slender youth drew a folding fan from his sleeve, its tip cool, a faint chill flashing.

Du Shanü was even more direct, pulling out the already‑strung crossbow from behind her and releasing the trigger.

A bundle of ten bolts, all ready.

The ten bolts fired together, their tearing‑through‑air whine like ghosts wailing.

The youth's form suddenly turned insubstantial, his toe touching the ground, his whole body drifting back three feet like a paper kite; his sleeve's fan snapped open with a swish, silver light flowing across its surface, deflecting the first three bolts entirely.

The remaining seven bolts, however, seemed to have eyes, clinging on relentlessly.

He shifted his stance again, twisting his waist almost double, two bolts grazing his chest and embedding into the ground behind him, sinking three inches.

The fourth bolt grazed his left arm, tearing his robe and drawing a string of blood beads that splattered onto the blue stone slab, shocking to behold.

The youth's brow furrowed slightly; he stepped right foot sideways, shifting his body within a small space, his afterimages flickering.

The ninth bolt whistled past his cheek with a sharp wind, leaving only an ultrafine blood trace that seeped a faint hue.

The tenth bolt was flicked off its shaft by a finger of his, veering off course and disappearing into the side path.

Du Shanü narrowed her eyes, instinctively reaching to re‑string, only to find her waist empty.

She hesitated not at all, clutching the crossbow as she rolled to the roadside to seek the buried bolt……

However, the youth whose face showed a sinister glare was a step faster, moving with ghost‑like footwork to tread on that bolt lying in the grass.

Du Shanü cursed under her breath, then rolled with the momentum, hiding behind a withered tree at the roadside.

With such skill, by now what else could she not understand?

Du Shanü clung to the crossbow, panting, recalling the bolts' positions while seeking a counter, and asked:

You are Chinu?

You actually are Chinu?

Wrong.

Everything is wrong.

A Chou's mind was slow before; he only said he sensed Chinu's presence on the street.

Don't forget, at that time the street wasn't just the people in the carriage, but also those nearby!

Perhaps the people in the carriage glanced at them again, and those outside were also looking at the carriage?

Moreover, the opponent's skill, and when just mentioning the Young Emperor, that undisguised, even hostile killing intent......

The aloof scholar is a fake.

This movement technique is mysterious and unpredictable; the ruthless Chinu who takes life with every move is likely the real one.

A Chou mistook the person.

A Chou mistook the person!!!

Originally I thought the other side would get tangled up with people and horses coming, at least buying some roundabout time, but they actually stayed right by our side!

What should we do now, how to inform Yu Baobao?

A Chou should still be beside Leitie?

It's some distance from home here; can you hear it?

Du Shanü was devising countermeasures in her mind, when an extremely cold and gloomy voice sounded from the surroundings:

"I want to kill the Young Emperor, you also want to kill the Young Emperor, what are you doing attacking me?"

That voice wasn't loud; it could even be called a whisper.

But it makes one unable to discern its exact location.

Front, back, left, right—surrounding and attacking from all sides.

It penetrates every opening, eerie and terrifying to an extreme degree.

Ghosts, not scary.

People, not scary.

What is neither human nor ghost is the scariest.

Du Shanü felt cold sweat trickle down her forehead for the first time; she simply clung to the crossbow mechanism and rolled around, seeking a sturdier tree trunk to lean against:

"What 'I want to kill the Young Emperor'? Don't spout bloody nonsense! I am clearly loyal and devoted to the Young Emperor!"

From beginning to end, the only one who wanted to kill the Young Emperor was Chinu.

The questioner's words carry bias; once the asker utters the intent to kill the Young Emperor, it already shows some resolve.

What else could Du Shanü say to make the other party alert?

Nothing more than avoiding a direct answer, going along with the other's words, then seizing the moment when they're off guard to strike......

Wait a moment.

This feels somewhat familiar.

Du Shanü felt a strange sense of familiarity rise in her heart, but before she could figure out what it was, that almost all-pervasive gloomy clinging sensation slowly faded from her.

Above the vaulted sky, a final sliver of sunset remained.

Yet behind her, she again fell into a deathly silence.

Du Shanü narrowed her eyes, popping half her head out from behind the large tree.

That gaunt, wraith-like figure still stood not far away, complexion pallid, devoid of sorrow or joy.

Perhaps sensing Du Shanü's gaze, Chinu murmured:

"Exactly, exactly; if you want to kill the Young Emperor, you ought to be overjoyed like that county magistrate and chief clerk, and wouldn't lift a hand against me."

"If you don't kill...... it's fine, I'll go look for someone else."

No, that's wrong.

What strange people, what strange words!

Yu Baobao is so laid-back; with this person's skill, if they wanted to kill, how could the still-confused A Chou be a match? How could those people at home be a match?

How come this person says 'go find someone else' rather than 'I will go kill the Young Emperor'?

The gaunt figure turned and left, wide sleeves swaying; the arm grazed by an arrow dripped blood drop by drop, falling to the soil and forming a deep mark beneath the vault.

If Du Shanü sensed something, she rose and asked:

"Do you want to kill the Young Emperor?"

That figure didn't even turn its head:

"Yes."

"Then will you do it yourself?"

"No, he is not worthy of my hand."

"Then will you have someone else do it to kill the Young Emperor?"

"......"

That figure stopped, beneath the vaulted sky, the last glimmer of daylight vanished behind the mountain.

A sound of gongs and drums came from outside the village; the voices of Village Chief Huang and his own son could be heard clearly half a village away:

"Villagers——!!! Good news! Good news!"

"Last night, some unknown hero, unwilling to tolerate the newly appointed magistrate who took office on horseback and imposed heavy taxes, killed the county magistrate!"

"The chief clerk of the county office announced that this season, the grain and labor tax could be temporarily suspended!!!"

?? 27th entering V, after entering V start double updates for Baobao's fans (*^▽^*) hope everyone shows support~

? These past two days' plot is really exciting!