Chapter 402: Another apprenticeship?

Of the four palaces in the valley, only the Heaven Palace truly has a master; the other three palaces are usually left vacant. After Mu Yuanzhi and company arrived, they stayed in the Earth Palace, while Pei Si and company were assigned to stay in the Mysterious Palace.

The Mysterious Palace is the farthest of the four palaces, located in a remote spot, but the setting is tranquil and secluded. Legend says the first palace master of the Mysterious Palace was versed in Xuanmen arts; this palace was the place he meticulously designed, from site selection to architecture, down to every detail inside, all strictly following feng shui and xuanxue.

Pei Si didn't understand these things; he only felt that after moving here his mood had calmed considerably, his worries seemed fewer, and it was a good place to spend one's twilight years.

Cao Cixiu, however, felt the opposite: the nearer he got to this place, the more irritable and restless he became; living here made his mood unpleasant, he often felt uncomfortable all over, and he grew noticeably more agitated.

Perhaps it's because the feng shui here clashes with his eight characters, after all he is a coffin child.

But he never told Pei Si any of this; as long as Pei Si was comfortable living here, that was enough.

Although he lived in torment, it was still within the range he could control.

Fortunately, today there was an extra guest here—Xiao Yichen.

For safety's sake, Cao Cixiu bound Xiao Yichen with iron chains in the cool pavilion of the side hall.

This place was originally a spot for summer cooling and escaping the heat, but staying here in winter has its own unique charm.

"Young Master Xiao, have you been well?"

Cao Cixiu stepped in, lowered his head; Xiao Yichen slowly lifted his head, gave him a mocking laugh, and then said nothing more.

"How is it staying here? If it's not to your liking, you can bring it up; the Valley Master originally intended to lock you up in the swamp bottom." Seeing Xiao Yichen not reply, Cao Cixiu went on talking to himself, strolling leisurely as if walking through a courtyard, admiring the scenery.

Of course, this scenery isn't much.

"If you hadn't given me this neighbor, I might have thought it was all right." Xiao Yichen sneered, glancing sideways at Ruo Hua, likewise chained with iron not far away.

Ruo Hua looked hardly different from a corpse, unable to move a muscle, yet still had a faint breath; however, the stench was unbearably foul, like a thick miasma, and up close it smelled like a rotting corpse.

Xiao Yichen once suspected this was a living corpse—though it appeared alive, it had actually been dead for a long time, rotting and reeking.

Cao Cixiu also glanced at Ruo Hua and said with a smile, "She is my test subject; I hope Young Master Xiao will bear with her a little. If you don't want to live with this neighbor, you might as well come clean—confess and be lenient—and my lord can give you better treatment afterward."

Xiao Yichen scoffed: "I have nothing to say."

"It seems you still have a trump card—could Andeluò come to rescue you? Or charge into the valley for your sake?" Cao Cixiu raised his brows, "Or perhaps you're colluding with that madwoman? Or maybe you're just a useless pawn that's already been discarded."

Xiao Yichen looked at Cao Cixiu and laughed: "And what about you? As Pei Si's lackey, what do you pursue?"

Cao Cixiu showed no irritation at all: "My pursuit is naturally far superior to your scheming all around a woman who hates you to death, only to be scorned."

Hearing this, Xiao Yichen's face instantly darkened, his eyes gloomily fixed on Cao Cixiu.

"If you won't speak, it's no matter; I have plenty of ways to make you talk."

"Oh? Besides not fearing death, what other tricks do you assassins have?" Xiao Yichen asked mockingly.

"I am a coffin child, this is Juechen Valley, and I have plenty of methods."

"A coffin child?" Xiao Yichen's eyes flickered.

He noticed that Cao Cixiu had somehow approached him like a ghost.

Pei Si, just on the other side of the wall, was utterly bored and didn't want to watch Cao Cixiu's interrogation, so he went outside for a stroll in the flower garden.

Having been in Juechen Valley for some days now, he was left idle every day, aside from handling the urgent matters sent from the capital, and thus he had plenty of free time.

At that moment, he heard a disturbance and instantly went on alert: "Who?!"

"Oh no, we've been discovered!"

"It's all your fault—how could you kick the ball flying in here!"

Obviously, it was a child's voice.

Could it be Mu Yuanzhi's two children?

"Come out, Young Duke, Young Heir." Pei Si said without turning his head.

Thus, the two little rascals who had sneaked in to fetch the ball appeared, somewhat embarrassed, smiling apologetically, and in unison greeted: "Greetings, Third Prince!"

Pei Si turned around, looked down at the two tiny tots who barely reached his waist, crossed his arms, and asked doubtfully: "How did you manage to sneak past the guards and get in?"

Gu Yutong puffed out her chest proudly: "I beg your pardon, but frankly, Your Highness, your guards here are pathetic; my martial arts let me waltz right in!"

Pei Si asked interestedly: "You little girl, do you know martial arts?"

"Of course! I will become a Grand General someday! I will revive the Mu clan! Naturally, I've been practicing martial arts since childhood!"

"That's me!" Mu Yumo hurriedly corrected his sister: "You're supposed to bring glory to the Pingnan Wangfu!"

"We're both our parents' children; there's no distinction between us!"

"Each craft has its specialty; as a girl, going onto the battlefield to kill enemies is too dangerous!"

"All right, all right, you two kids, stop arguing here; wanting to be a general isn't that easy—are you interested in becoming my disciple?" Pei Si asked with a smile.

Hearing this, the two little tots exchanged a glance.

Inside, they both thought: if they hadn't known this person was the Third Prince, they'd have taken him for a kidnapper who'd come from somewhere—his smile was too much like a child-abductor's.

Mu Yumo hesitated and asked: "Your Highness, do you know martial arts?"

"Naturally, don't I look like I do?" Pei Si countered.

Hard to say; that was Mu Yumo's inner thought.

Gu Yutong said: "How strong is Your Highness's martial arts? Is it as strong as my father's? How does it compare to your attendant?"

"Do you think I'm inferior to Your Highness or to A Xiu?" Pei Si countered Gu Yutong.

Gu Yutong nodded honestly: "My mother says Master Cao is very formidable."

"That's because your mother hasn't seen Your Highness's martial arts."

"How about compared to my father? My father is the number one martial artist in the capital!" Gu Yutong said proudly.

"That's because your father hasn't sparred with Your Highness."

Gu Yutong naturally didn't believe it; she and her brother exchanged a look, and Mu Yumo, also unconvinced, suggested: "Why don't you, Your Highness, perform a set of fist techniques for us to see?"

These two brats had obviously forgotten why they'd come here in the first place.

Pei Si, however, gave a mysterious smile: "No can do—our sect's martial arts cannot be casually shown; unless you become my disciples."

"But we've already taken our uncle as our master!" Mu Yumo said.

Gu Yutong nodded, "If your kung fu isn't as good as our uncle's, we won't become your disciples."

"You two little brats are really hard to handle—did your father teach you to be so sharp‑eyed?" Pei Si asked, amused.

"We're stating the facts, Your Highness—if you have nothing else, our mother is still waiting for us outside!" Gu Yutong said.