Chapter 87: Who Are You?

The first possibility left Elder Shi utterly stunned. He was just about to speak and end the contest when Su Yi’s step suddenly faltered.

A feint?

Miss Nine sneered and drove the point of her sword in.

Even if one is skilled in both blade and sword, internal energy remains the greatest weakness.

With a sharp clang, the long saber was indeed pinned by the sword’s edge, and then...

The blade shifted, drawing the sword forward. Miss Nine lunged after it, only for her expression to change.

Su Yi had actually slipped to the side and in close, as though drawn by some inexplicable force. For an instant, Miss Nine lost her balance. Then she saw Su Yi turn with ghostlike speed to her rear and twist her left arm.

“You...” Miss Nine had just tried to resist. Her inner strength was far too powerful; how could she possibly be restrained by Su Yi? And yet, at that very moment, a strange chill pierced into her arm. Her body went suddenly numb and weak, as though struck by lightning. Before she could react, Su Yi’s slender fingers had already closed around her throat.

Cold. Ice-cold. Resting against the skin of her neck. Before her lay the saber and sword she had lost, behind her a voice cool and faint.

“You are stronger than I am, but you have lost.”

Those words made the numbness in Miss Nine’s body vanish at once, her frame stiffening. A sharp glint of cold fury flashed through her brows as she said icily, “I did indeed underestimate you. Where did you learn those moves of yours? Did you steal them from somewhere?”

Though only two possibilities existed, Miss Nine would rather believe Su Yi had learned those sword and saber techniques long ago.

“If I said I saw them on television, would you believe me?” Su Yi said lightly. Before Miss Nine could erupt, she added, “You schemed to bring me here, made me see all this, then forced me to spar with you. How can you say I stole anything?”

At those words, both Feng Sha and A A changed expression.

The former was astonished; the latter suspicious.

A A subconsciously thought of how he had come to this martial hall, and of the various oddities that had occurred along the way.

But how did she know that he and Su Yi had come to the hall today?

“You...” Miss Nine was about to say more, but suddenly did not want to. The more she spoke, the more it would seem as if she were cornered and desperate.

Cornered? That word must never be applied to her.

“Heh, I don’t think I’ve lost to you...” Her hand gripped the back of Su Yi’s hand, and just as she was about to wrench it away, she found the pressure around her throat easing. That cool, faint fragrance had already receded.

Only the back of her neck still retained the ghost of a fleeting touch.

She turned and saw Su Yi had stepped away, saying, “Whether you lost or not is meaningless to me. Believe whatever you like.”

So indifferent. So unconcerned with her victory or defeat. This infuriated the proud Miss Nine to the utmost. It was as though she had intended to stride effortlessly over a low hurdle, only to fall flat on her face; that alone was bad enough, but when she fell, she discovered she had landed in a heap of dog mess.

Miss Nine was livid. Yet when anger reached its peak, she laughed instead, her face all the more dazzling and radiant, so that those in the martial hall whom she had previously dealt with could not help trembling inwardly. This witch...

Before Miss Nine could flare up, Su Yi had already taken up the long saber and walked toward the weapon rack, saying, “Still, you did not truly lose, because my victory was not entirely honorable either. Borrowing a weapon in the midst of battle is a great taboo. That was my mistake.”

Her words were clear as spring water. With a crisp ring, the saber slid into its scabbard.

“So, the two of us may call it a draw.”

A draw, again a draw!

Feng Sha’s lips moved, but in the end he said nothing, only thinking that he had underestimated Su Yi after all.

Clearly, even his mistress, who seemed omnipotent, had underestimated her as well.

---

When A A heard Su Yi say this, he shook his head, then actually smiled and walked forward on his own to stand before Elder Shi.

Neither servile nor overbearing.

Elder Shi looked at him, his expression far from pleasant, his gaze hot and deep. “Do you know your fault?”

For a martial artist to seize a blade halfway through and launch an attack is a grave taboo, one that earns scorn.

“I know my fault,” A A nodded. Then he said, “But I do not regret it.”

To know one’s fault and not change?

And to say so in front of his master!

This boy... The people in the hall, seeing Elder Shi’s face darken, felt both admiration and helplessness toward A A.

They had disliked him before because he had arrived late yet risen so quickly. Now, after seeing him fight, and given the stubborn tenacity buried in his bones, any man would admire him by several degrees.

In other words, with so many fellow disciples present, who would dare speak to Elder Shi so brazenly?

Elder Shi remained silent for a long while.

Miss Nine, meanwhile, kept her eyes fixed on Su Yi, the light in her gaze impossible to read.

At last Elder Shi let out a long sigh and waved a hand. “You boy... do as you please.”

A A suddenly felt that in that wave of Elder Shi’s hand, he had gained something and lost something as well. But as he had said before, he did not regret it.

Seeing this, Su Yi frowned and glanced at Elder Shi.

Elder Shi also flicked a look at her, then turned back to Miss Nine and said, “Since the matter has ended thus, what does Miss Nine think?”

“What else is there to think? Let it be...” Miss Nine’s previous anger had vanished. The sheer unpredictability of her mood was astonishing, though it was not impossible that this woman possessed full mastery over both wrath and delight.

After speaking, she even smiled brightly at Su Yi, her breath sweet as fragrance. “But Su Yi, there’s still no end between the two of us.”

----------

Miss Nine left, taking Feng Sha and the others with her. She departed with a heroic flourish, coming and going with unrestrained brilliance, with not the slightest trace of defeat.

Yet she said nothing at all about having Su Yi go with her into the tomb.

Just as Su Yi had expected, the woman was far too proud. So proud that she would never ask a victor to do anything in the guise of a loser, even if it were merely cooperation.

Su Yi had intended to leave as well, but Elder Shi called her aside.

She had assumed there would be many people present, or at the very least A A. Instead, there was only Elder Shi.

As soon as they entered the rear courtyard pavilion, Elder Shi asked, “Who are you?”

“Me?” Su Yi lowered her eyes, then looked up at the embroidered riverbanks and landscapes of the south before her. “Su Yi.”

It was the second time she had spoken her name. Elder Shi turned to look at her, his eyes uncertain and doubtful, before they finally sank into the depths like a dark pool. “So, Su Yi... I was just wondering when a girl with such depth appeared in a place like Nanxun. Could it be that some martial lineage has been passed down here?”

To Su Yi, his words carried several meanings. She therefore asked in return, “In Nanxun, is Elder Shi’s family the only martial lineage?”

The waters of this world ran deeper than one could imagine. Compared with UFOs and the Loch Ness monster, the ancient Chinese martial families passed down through the generations seemed almost rustic and ordinary.

Perhaps Su Yi gave the impression of being cool and translucent, and perhaps she also seemed the type who would not bother to lie or deceive. Thus Elder Shi did not pursue her origins further. He only smiled and said, “Martial families are merely the old methods and techniques of military men from past dynasties. In earlier times they were common enough. It is only because the age has changed that so few remain, making them seem rare and peculiar. Yet rare as they are, they still exist. Our Nanxun, though small, has some heritage to it, which is why our Shi family has been passed down here.”

“Generally speaking, one place can keep only one martial family. One mountain cannot hold two tigers.” His tone made Su Yi think he was agreeing, but then he changed direction and said, “However, our place is a little special. In the inscriptions passed down by my ancestors, there is another family in Nanxun.”

“Hm?” Su Yi was surprised.

“Tan,” Elder Shi said only one word.

Su Yi immediately understood, and at once thought of Tang Hanyan.

No wonder. No wonder she possessed such overwhelmingly powerful magnetism... And since her ancestors were also from Nanxun, it was not strange at all.

Having come to a realization, Su Yi heard Elder Shi shift the topic, as though avoiding something: “I believe you only learned the Zhenguan Saber Technique and Miss Nine’s sword style today, which is why I judged your talent to be extraordinary beyond measure. With such talent, I am not really fit to be your master...”

Was this meant to send her away? Su Yi gave a small, wry smile and thought that perhaps she should ask for the tuition back.

“But since you have already paid the fee, then during this period, whatever you wish to learn, this old man will naturally do his utmost to teach you.”

Elder Shi’s smile was like that of an old fox, shrewd yet also bearably genial, and Su Yi could not help but laugh.

It was just as that couplet at the entrance suggested.

The writing was upright and generous, containing the breath of many rivers.

So too should the person be generous.

Elder Shi was such a man.

----------

When Su Yi saw A A, the fellow was as solitary as ever, standing off to one side with a toothpick in his mouth because smoking was not allowed inside the hall.

He looked thoroughly idle and insouciant.

“This was perhaps my oversight, which gave those people a chance to act,” A A said after studying Su Yi’s expression and confirming that she had not been reprimanded by Elder Shi. Then he continued, “But I still don’t understand how they knew I had arranged to bring you here today...”

And how they had happened to intersect with Su Yi’s arrival at the hall.

If Su Yi had not implied something in her earlier words to Miss Nine, leading him to make the connection, he would not have dared to be certain.

And what had the other side wanted with Su Yi?

“Either our phones were tapped, or someone nearby was eavesdropping when we made the arrangement. One of those, nothing else. But it’s no matter now. You needn’t put it on your mind.”

Su Yi spoke lightly, intending to smooth over the traces of the matter. She looked at A A again, her gaze casually brushing the toothpick at the corner of his mouth, then walked on. A A followed.

“Because of what happened earlier, Elder Shi has now given up on having you inherit the martial hall. For that, I’m sorry.”

She felt somewhat apologetic. After all, A A had acted as he did because of her.

Hearing this, A A instead laughed, flicked the toothpick away, and said, “I, A A, am nothing but a bug that can’t stand up straight. I don’t have the backbone of a real man, nor can I pretend to be righteous. Better to reveal the truth early... Master ought to thank you.”

He made it sound so easy.

Su Yi shook her head with a smile and said no more, only waving a hand. “I’m leaving.”

“Hm? You’re not staying...”

“To sweep the floor?” Su Yi tilted her head, smiling yet not smiling. When A A could not suppress his laughter, she walked away without looking back.

“Besides, it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to stay in the martial hall now. And there’s someone outside waiting for me.”

Waiting?