Chapter 134: They Really Are a Pair of Exquisite Friends

Xingyunzhuang, inside the small pavilion, lantern light flickered, all silent.

Li Xunhuan, Lin Shiyin, and Long Xiaoyun all fixed their gazes on Gu Qing, scanning him up and down, trying to discern what state he was in to utter such words as wanting to marry Lin Shiyin.

"Madam Long."

Gu Qing bowed and said: "Long Xiaoyun took all the money and fled, leaving you to cling to an empty house, pawning belongings to survive. Yet you are still in your prime, and this entire Xingyunzhuang needs a man to manage it. I won't boast about much else, but I know how to make money!" Gu Qing sat there, introducing himself.

Both Li Xunhuan and Long Xiaoyun felt something deeply strange… as if Gu Qing was serious.

Lin Shiyin finally sorted through her tangled thoughts, looked at Gu Qing, and said coolly: "Since you call me Madam Long, you should know I am a married woman."

Lin Shiyin refused with decisive clarity.

Li Xunhuan grew gloomy as well.

Years ago, Li Xunhuan committed a grave mistake, letting Lin Shiyin and Long Xiaoyun come together—this caused immense pain to all three, and nothing could be undone.

"What a coincidence!"

Gu Qing clapped his hands and said: "I know an official, and I asked him about your situation. He said, according to Great Ming law, if a husband steals the family fortune and flees, the wife may remarry—the law supports us."

The Passionate Swordsman, the Heartless Blade is set in the Great Ming era; if one examines the timeline closely, it even overlaps closely with Lu Xiaofeng's time.

Gu Qing had come prepared, and he patted Li Xunhuan's shoulder as he said: "Madam Long, I know you have no close kin left, so I brought your cousin along—he'll preside over our wedding."

Li Xunhuan could only smile bitterly… truly, thank you for your peculiar invitation.

"There's too great an age gap between us."

Lin Shiyin spoke softly yet sharply: "In two years, I'll be old and faded. If you marry me, it's like taking a mother into your home—you can't touch her, yet you must care for her till her death. Why bother?"

Lin Shiyin herself possessed martial skill, and Long Xiaoyun had regained his martial ability due to the Lianhua Treasure Mirror. Now, as Lin Shiyin spoke to Gu Qing, Long Xiaoyun rose restlessly, unconsciously drawing closer to Li Xunhuan.

Long Xiaoyun hated Li Xunhuan—most of all, he hated that Li Xunhuan wasn't his father. Long Xiaoyun also knew that if Li Xunhuan's acupoints were freed, Li Xunhuan could protect them.

"Older is better—he knows how to care."

Gu Qing didn't care at all, continuing to speak to Lin Shiyin.

At that moment, Long Xiaoyun had reached behind Li Xunhuan and asked: "Uncle Li, are you and Gu Qing good friends?" As he spoke, Long Xiaoyun pressed multiple acupoints on Li Xunhuan's back, masking the sound of his movements with his voice—but Li Xunhuan's locked acupoints remained sealed, unbroken.

Li Xunhuan felt Long Xiaoyun's fingertip force, slightly surprised, yet inwardly relieved… Two years ago, Li Xunhuan had crippled Long Xiaoyun's martial ability and had carried guilt ever since. Now, that guilt could finally be laid to rest. He replied, shielding Long Xiaoyun: "Do you have friends who can press acupoints like this?"

Gu Qing turned around, pretending not to notice their small actions, and said: "Long Xiaoyun is still young and hasn't met such people—but you, Li Xunhuan, have had such friends."

Li Xunhuan shook his head—he would never consider Gu Qing a friend.

"Long Xiaoyun!"

Gu Qing reminded him: "Two years ago, right here in Xingyunzhuang, you were pinned by acupoints and hung here, while Long Xiaoyun poured wine in your face… Didn't you still treat Long Xiaoyun as a friend?"

Li Xunhuan, Long Xiaoyun, and Lin Shiyin all fell silent.

Indeed, Long Xiaoyun had acted like a beast in this matter.

"Was Long Xiaoyun your friend?"

Gu Qing asked Li Xunhuan.

Li Xunhuan looked up at Lin Shiyin and Long Xiaoyun, and said seriously: "He did it to protect this family. I've never blamed him. The fault lies with me."

Li Xunhuan could forgive Long Xiaoyun for everything.

Gu Qing couldn't help but laugh—Li Xunhuan and Long Xiaoyun were truly a pair of exquisite friends.

"I'm doing this to protect Shiyin and Xiaoyun, to protect this family too!"

Gu Qing called them both by their given names—this familiarity made Lin Shiyin and Long Xiaoyun deeply uncomfortable.

"Look, there's this incredibly powerful little woman—remarkable, truly remarkable. She has the ability to deliver letters from hundreds of miles away straight into my hands."

Gu Qing pulled out a letter and spread it open.

"On the night of the fifteenth of September, a great treasure will appear at Xingyunzhuang. I hope you won't let this opportunity slip away."

The letter's contents were plain to see.

Only then did Li Xunhuan understand why so many martial artists had suddenly appeared outside Xingyunzhuang.

"That powerful little woman deceived you—Xingyunzhuang has no treasure at all."

Lin Shiyin finally understood why Gu Qing wanted to marry her, and said coolly: "Don't think that after marrying me, you'll become master of Xingyunzhuang and seize everything for yourself."

Gu Qing laughed and said: "Though I've never met Lin Xian'er, I've heard that when she sleeps with a man, every part of her body responds to him, bringing him supreme pleasure—this reminded me of the Yunmeng Immortal from years ago."

The Yunmeng Immortal once was the concubine of the Happy King. Together, they orchestrated a great martial world calamity, slaughtering countless martial masters, then stealing their secret techniques, elevating themselves to a level far beyond all others.

"The Yunmeng Immortal's martial skill had reached its peak, but there was another ability—ten times greater than martial skill, the true number one in the world. That was how the Yunmeng Immortal, once a lonely, destitute girl, rose to her supreme position: bed technique."

Gu Qing said: "I suspect Lin Xian'er inherited the Yunmeng Immortal's knowledge. And since Lin Xian'er lived in Xingyunzhuang and sent the letter hinting at its treasure, I suspect Xingyunzhuang truly holds something."

Gu Qing had shot first, then drawn the target.

Li Xunhuan's expression darkened—he did not want martial world affairs to reach Lin Shiyin's ears, let alone have her discuss bed technique with Gu Qing.

But Lin Shiyin and Long Xiaoyun felt a flicker of panic—Gu Qing's reasoning was entirely wrong in process, yet correct in outcome.

"I was merely speculating just now."

Gu Qing said: "But Long Xiaoyun's actions just now confirmed it for me. So, Madam, I must marry you!"

"After marrying you, I'll have this vast estate, this beautiful wife…"

Gu Qing suddenly reached out and ruffled Long Xiaoyun's hair, saying: "And this big child—everything I could ever want."

Gu Qing had come to join this family.

But to Lin Shiyin, Gu Qing held her cousin in one hand and Long Xiaoyun in the other—her one weakness had been fully seized.

"Gu Qing, you're still young—you don't know how painful a marriage of compromise is, nor how dull a marriage fueled by fleeting passion can be."

Lin Shiyin avoided mentioning the Lianhua Treasure Mirror and instead spoke to Gu Qing about marriage.

Gu Qing simply shook his head: "How many times have I been married? You're lecturing me on this?"

Gu Qing was the one who had been through it all!

(End of Chapter)