To Travel by the Edge of a Creek - CH 30

Content warning (a little spoilery, click the footnote to see them): [1]

____________

“Jiang Ling.” So it was her.

Jiang Ling reached out and grabbed He Xi, pulling her up onto the horse. Jiang Ling was a little smaller in stature than He Xi, and in an instant, she fell into He Xi’s embrace. The two of them were stuck closely together, “I just knew something was going to happen.”

“Hurry, return to the Manichaen Sect.” He XI needed to return and inform Luo Zhu. The uneasiness in her heart deepened. The journey back was fraught with danger, but she could only try and investigate whether this battle had erupted from Shahai VIllage or had already started to burn within the Manichaen Sect prior to this. Jiang Ling spurred the horse on, and the two of them disappeared into the night.

The Ferghana horse was truly a thousand-li wonder. Under the moonlight, the horse flew across the desert, clouds of sand in its wake.

“When did you come?” Their bodies were stuck together. He Xi’s warm breath brushed against Jiang Ling’s ear. Her scalp went numb, and she turned her head, “I was coming to see you at dawn this morning, but I couldn’t sleep and heard some movement. I came over to check.”

“What do you plan to do about the central plains?” He Xi pressed closer again. Jiang Ling had nowhere to escape to. She clenched her jaw, enduring the strange feeling, “Zhuo Zhuo will inform Shen-shixiong and the others about the febrile disease and tell them not to worry about me, that I am well.”

“All will be well.” He Xi’s voice drifted into her ear like a dream.

As the sky grew brighter, the two of them reached the city. Jiang Ling haltered the horse beneath a small tree for concealment, then made to follow He Xi over the wall.

“Wait here for me. I’ll go investigate.” He Xi blocked Jiang Ling.

“No, that won’t do. Don’t worry about me. I am very skilled in escaping.”

“You didn’t escape from me before.”

“…”

Jiang Ling ended up following He Xi over the wall. Helplessly, He Xi brought Jiang Ling to the rooms she would normally stop in when she was in the city. She pulled out a set of clothes from the wardrobe, “Change into these.”

“What are they?” Jiang Ling took the clothing.

“My clothes. Your central plains outfit is too eye-catching.” As she spoke, she removed Jiang Ling’s hairpin. Her raven-black hair tumbled down. Long fingers lightly combed through her hair, and in no time, He Xi had plaited Jiang Ling’s hair into a Xiyu style. A few wisps of hair hung over her forehead, and the handsome youth had transformed into a beautiful young woman.

“There are some veils in here. If you put one on, ordinary people will not see your features. Do not walk around recklessly and wait for my return.”

He Xi availed herself of the remaining darkness to disappear into the night.

Jiang Ling held the clothing, stroking it lightly.

He Xi scaled the cliffside and hid behind the dome of the main palace, overlooking the entirety of the sect. The followers on night watch duty were still standing at their guard posts peacefully, as if nothing major had occurred. He Xi kept her guard up, crossing the rooftop until she found Luo Zhu’s Jingshi Palace. She quietly lifted up a glazed tile but did not see Luo Zhu or the rest of his people in the palace. Uneasy, and without more time to think, she went to grab an important item.

She snuck over to Liuli Palace and grabbed a fine, wooden box and placed it in her lapel. Just as she made to leave, wind brushed by her ears. She dodged, and a meteor hammer[2] slammed down just where she had been standing.

“You dare come back here, traitor!” It was one of the Protectors of the Manichaen Sect, Wu Ji. In his hands, the meteor hammer was wielded with near perfection.

Traitor? He Xi figured that everything must be over within the Manichaens, and she and Luo Zhu were both branded as traitors. She did not know how he was doing now.

Wu Ji pulled the iron chain in his hands, numerous tile fragments lifting up in the process. His meteor hammer was covered in long, sharp nails; so long as the hammer made contact with someone, flesh would instantly be broken to bits. Without halting his movements, Wu Ji lifted the hammer up and brought it pounding down onto the roof. As he struck the roof, a hole opened up in the roof, tiles flying everywhere. The hammer’s chain was nimble and flexible, and just as He Xi avoided one of the hammers, the other landed right before her. In the face of the hammer, her needles were like mere decorations. She could only delay him for a short time. He Xi was out of weapons and kept retreating. Her limbs were sliced by the flying tile fragments. Hearing the fight, the Manichaen followers surrounded He Xi and, little by little, she was forced to the cliff’s edge. Her amber-colored eyes flickered without a trace of emotion, then her pupils constricted and she lept backwards, jumping into the abyss.

“…”

…

“She actually escaped!” Zhu Li smacked the table, “The Guardian King underestimated her. She’s not some kind of sheep, easily cowered.”

“Left Protector…my lord, it was this subordinate who underestimated the enemy.” It was truly unforeseeable that He Xi would use this kind of suicidal method to escape. The cliffs are completely smooth. Even someone with good qinggong skills would lose half of their life on them. “This subordinate has already ordered some followers to go and search for her.”

“Don’t bother. She will show herself.” Zhu Li said darkly, “I’ve heard that the Guardian King’s archery is superb. Hitting a target at one hundred paces is beneath mention.”

…

Jiang Ling put on the clothing and waited for He Xi to return until the sun was high in the sky, when she heard a commotion outside. She covered her face and walked out. With the veil, half of her delicate face was concealed from view, and the wisps of hair dangling onto her forehead added to the obscurity. Without careful observation, no one would see that she was from the central plains.

Many people were gathered around an official notice, chattering noisily. Jiang Ling could not understand the words written on the notice, so she asked an older girl that looked like she may speak Han, “What’s written on it?” The older girl gave her a disdainful look, and Jiang Ling explained that she was from Xiyu but could not speak the language as she was born within the Pass and could not speak her mother tongue.

“It says that the acting leader of the Manichaen Sect, Luo Zhu, poisoned the leader to take power for himself! Also, he ordered the Saintess to poison Shahai Village and create a fake febrile disease so he could secretly feed the patients’ blood to the leader!”

“What?” How could it have turned into He Xi’s poisoning, “What else does it say?”

“Left Protector Zhu Li has investigated thoroughly. The leader was just about to come out of seclusion, and Luo Zhu was afraid that he would take away his position. He poisoned the leader, making him crave blood so he would become more and more dependent on him. Fortunately, the Lord Left Protector investigated and informed the leader. Luo Zhu learned that he’d been discovered and added a toxin to the blood, planning to murder the leader. Order has now been restored in the sect. The two Guardian Kings and the Left Protector have captured Luo Zhu, and the Saintess has fled.”

The information was like a blow. None of it felt real to Jiang Ling. He Xi had gone back by herself. Did something happen to her? How she should help her now, Jiang Ling did not know.

“The Manichaen traitor and apostate, Luo Zhu, for his murder of the leader, shall henceforth be displayed in the marketplace, to console the Holy Father and to warn all mortal creatures.” A Manichaen follower cried.

“Look, the traitor’s being hanged!” The older girl pulled Jiang Ling along with the crowd to go spectate.

Two followers dragged Luo Zhu, his body covered in blood and his arms bound by iron shackles, to the market square, leaving a trail of blood behind him. He was hauled upward, hung up on high. His hair was clotted with blood and extremely disordered, the mess covering the greater portion of his face. Blood dribbled out of his lips, his breathing slight. The wounds on his body exposed his flesh, without a bit of skin intact. His clothes were utterly ruined, and they hung off his body as blood stained rags. Both his wrists and ankles were shackled. Blood trickled from his legs, dripping onto the ground below. The scene was entirely harrowing.

Jiang Ling stood amongst the crowd, gazing up at the hung Luo Zhu. She gulped. He was He Xi’s shifu. Jiang Ling clutched at her chest and took some deep breaths. The din and clamor surrounding her seemed to be cut off. She felt overwhelmed by dizziness.

The older girl saw that Jiang Ling looked unwell and pulled her out of the crowd, “Miss, you do not look well. You should go back.”

Jiang Ling returned to He Xi’s secret space, completely out of sorts. She did not know where to find He Xi, she did not know how to help her, and, even more so, she had no idea how to save Luo Zhu.

“Bang—” The door was pushed open as He Xi bumped into it. Jiang Ling, who had been sitting on the stool, was startled.

He Xi’s clothing was torn and bloodstained, her body covered in wounds and her hair in disarray. She clutched her right arm with her left as she held a curved dagger in her right hand. She was in dire straits.

Jiang Ling hurriedly pulled He Xi inside, inspecting her wounds, “He Xi, you’re injured!”

He Xi dropped the knife on the ground and sat on the bed. She held Jiang Ling’s hand to reassure her that she was alright, “The sect has already fallen.”

“I know.” Jiang Ling held He Xi’s hand back.

“I brought something important back, but I didn’t find my shifu. He might’ve been caught. I don’t know where he is.” He Xi took a deep breath, “I don’t know how to find him.”

He Xi’s voice trembled. Jiang Ling had never seen this fragile side of He Xi before. She held He Xi’s hand even tighter, as if she could transfer her own strength to her.

“He Xi, your shifu…” Jiang Ling pressed her lips together. Having mustered the courage, she said, “Your shifu was hung up in the marketplace by the Manichaens…”

Suddenly, Jiang Ling’s hands were only clutching air. He Xi stood up, looking to rush out of the door. Jiang Ling charged forward and wrapped her arms around her from behind, “He Xi, calm down, they want to lure you in!”

“…” He Xi choked out, her amber-colored eyes misty, “He’s my shifu. I have to save him.”

“You will, we’ll both go and save him. I’ll go bring the horse to the wall closest to the marketplace. Once you rescue your shifu, you’ll use the horse to escape. You’re familiar with Xiyu. Find somewhere to stay.”

“What about you?” He Xi asked.

“They won’t recognize me in my current state. After you flee, I’ll just follow another caravan back to the central plains.” Jiang Ling saw He Xi move to leave again and held her back, “Don’t be anxious. First, I’ll help you see if there are people set for an ambush. Once we are sure that there aren’t, then we’ll act. We must not go over there recklessly.”

“Why are you helping me?” He Xi’s eyes glistened.

“You’ve saved me so many times, I want to repay you. We’ll settle the rest later.”

Waiting until the night grew quieter, He Xi treated her wounds rudimentarily. The both of them put on night clothing. First, Jiang Ling soundlessly brought her horse to a tree close to the city’s walls. She subconsciously scanned the area around the marketplace for places where people could hide, scouring the elevated places to ensure that no one was there. Even if they were discovered rescuing him, with their qinggong skills, there would still be time for them to flee.

Jiang Ling returned to He Xi, “I looked around, and there’s no one, but you should still be careful. They’ll definitely have other ways to catch you both, and this could also be a trap.” Jiang Ling was still anxious.

“Thank you, Jiang Ling. I have to save my shifu today, or else…” He Xi did not dare finish that thought. When she was seven years old, Luo Zhu rescued her from the hands of human traffickers[3], and from then on, she became an ordinary person. She was no longer their mongrel, their slave. Luo Zhu brought light to her world. She entered the Manichean Sect with Luo Zhu and became the Saintess, embracing the Lord of Light.

What bullshit ‘Father of Light.” The Holy Father had never blessed, nor protected Luo Zhu. Her Father of Light was Luo Zhu.