My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 1

August 7th, Capital City

The weather after the summer heat had subsided was no longer oppressively hot.

After curfew, the city gates were tightly shut. The autumn wind carried a bleak atmosphere, causing citizens to tacitly close their doors, watching over their chickens, dogs, and children. Only the unlit lanterns swayed gently in the wind.

The koi fish lantern hanging in the Jinyiwei office was carefully taken down by a servant, and the originally lively koi fish projection on the ground gradually disappeared into the black night with the servant’s lantern.

The originally slightly ajar door was pushed open. With a heavy wooden creaking sound, two squads of people wearing dark-colored flying fish uniforms and dark metal masks silently entered. Though numbering only about ten, they instantly spread an austere and chilling atmosphere.

They gripped the embroidered spring knives hanging at their sides, with more than half of their exposed faces melting into the darkness.

Flying fish uniforms, embroidered spring knives.

——Jinyiwei’s Zhenfu Division.

The world has a difference between day and night, and the Jinyiwei also has its light and dark sides.

The light envoy monitors officials, visits various states, and judges clear-cut cases.

The dark envoy wears iron armor over their faces, stained with blood like demons, quelling hard-to-trace chaos.

The main gate was closed. The daytime servants of the Zhenfu Division were nowhere to be seen. Only dark envoys roamed at night, these Jinyiwei members mysterious in appearance, coming and going without a trace, beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

Not to mention that the mansion’s steward had specifically instructed earlier that Commander Yan would personally arrive tonight, and all others should disperse.

Rumors spoke of Commander Yan as blood-stained, with a fierce face and cold-blooded in nature. Even those serving in the Zhenfu Division were just ordinary people who wouldn’t dare to show themselves.

Lu Gang walked out from the corridor, looking towards the screen wall.

He was a Jinyiwei commander known to the world, the head of the Zhenfu Division, and a trusted senior official of the current Emperor.

But only a few knew that the seemingly nameless dark envoys who carried out covert arrests and killings for the Jinyiwei actually gathered the core elite, those truly expected by His Majesty. The leader of the dark envoys was the Emperor’s most trusted confidant.

The newcomer slowly walked between the silent rows of Jinyiwei, wearing a red python robe, but without any weapons at the waist. Wearing the same dark mask that covered half the face, with sharp, cold edges.

Lu Gang looked and curved his mouth, standing in place with a smiling expression.

The person’s footsteps paused, and they lightly waved their hand.

The Jinyiwei immediately melted into the darkness and left.

“Senior Brother.”

The person’s voice was hoarse, with a slender build, wearing a vermilion cloak. Only a pair of long, white, and lustrous hands—comparable to moonlight—and half a face beneath the mask were exposed.

A black leather collar was fastened at the neck, covering the last possible area that might reveal emotional fluctuations, and blocking the only exposed vital point.

Lu Gang laughed. “Every time you return, it’s all dark and gloomy. Aren’t you afraid of walking into a wall?”

The koi fish lantern was usually not taken down. Dark envoys always wore masks to hide their identities, and only when the Dark Division Commander Yan Hongyin arrived would the mask be removed.

“I’m used to it.”

Yan Hongyin walked to Lu Gang’s side, and they walked together towards the inner room.

The room was lit with candles, and night pearls were embedded in the wall behind the screen. The arrangement seemed ordinary, but a discerning eye would know it was almost everywhere against regulations.

Rather than saying this was the residence of a first-rank official, the level of understated luxury was already close to that of a prince.

Lu Gang sat down in the outer room and reached to take a tea cup, but frowned before drinking. “Look, we agreed you’d return at midnight, and you only show up at dawn. The tea has gone cold.”

Yan Hongyin, who had circled behind the screen, removed the cloak and draped it aside, reaching to undo the collar around the neck. With a light click, the collar opened, revealing alabaster skin and the red marks left by long-term constriction.

A smooth, slender neck.

Yan Hongyin’s fingers traced through various clothes in the wardrobe, hesitating before catching one.

“Ping Luo and the Sea Sand Gang have been colluding for years. They wouldn’t talk unless pushed to the brink. The interrogation took some effort.”

The red python robe still carried a bloody scent. Yan Hongyin glanced at the few dark droplets splashed on the boots and frowned slightly.

She had always despised those martial artists who violated prohibitions and treacherous court officials who plotted rebellion. In previous years, they had maintained a peaceful coexistence, but in recent years, many martial sects had become ambitious, wanting to extend their claws into the court.

The residence of Ping Luo, the Ministry of Personnel, was the chicken killed as an example to those martial artists.

Lu Gang poured tea for himself: “Sea Sand Gang? Sounds like they don’t have much reputation.”

Cold tea is cold tea. Lu Gang didn’t mind the cold tea.

The tea smelled slightly medicinal, obviously brewed by Yan Hongyin before leaving. Even the current Emperor might not get to drink tea brewed by Yan Hongyin, so Lu Gang was grateful to have some.

“The Sea Sand Gang makes a living on the sea. They shouldn’t have any reason to become assassins in the capital. The person behind this still needs careful investigation.”

The voice from behind the screen, previously hoarse and ambiguous, now turned elegant and gentle, like a mountain spring, beautiful and ethereal.

Lu Gang’s eyelids twitched, and he looked up.

He saw a beautiful woman in a pure white dress, wearing an embroidered wide-sleeved cloak, walking out from behind the screen. Her almond-shaped eyes slightly lowered, appearing cold and otherworldly, with soft, black hair cascading freely over her shoulders.

“What… what are you doing now?” Lu Gang stammered.

With a beauty before him, Lu Gang was momentarily startled and stammered.

“Isn’t there any task lately that requires the esteemed commander to go undercover?”

Lu Gang rarely sees Yan Hongyin on weekdays. His martial junior sister, who studied under the master’s guidance when she was a child, was exceptionally talented. After inheriting the master’s legacy, she became even more aloof and detached. However, due to her unbreakable blood ties with the imperial court, she has done many bloody deeds for His Majesty over the years

Sometimes Lu Gang truly felt that his junior sister should sit high above, untouched by worldly dust, rather than bearing such infamy.

He wondered why the Emperor would make her part of the Jinyiwei.

He thought about it, then quickly sighed.

The Jinyiwei’s dark envoys were diverse – some were noble sons on official missions, some were orphans raised from childhood, some were recruited martial artists. To control such people required skills, abilities, martial arts, and status. Looking around the court, there was indeed only one person who could do this – Yan Hongyin.

Because of this, when not on missions, Yan Hongyin typically resided in the imperial palace, protecting His Majesty’s side.

“I’ve taken a long leave from the Emperor,” Yan Hongyin said, her fingers touching the side of the tea cup, glancing at Lu Gang who was drinking cold tea. “How is the hidden injury you received some time ago?”

When Yan Hongyin looked at someone, she would restrain her expression, her eyelids slightly lowered, inexplicably creating a sense of oppression.

Even now, without the python robe and mask, dressed in clean, ethereal white, she was still that ruthless Jinyiwei commander who could make anyone talk.

Lu Gang was speechless, awkwardly saying, “Almost… almost recovered…”

When he went to pour tea again, the tea was now warm.

Lu Gang felt slightly warmed and laughed. “My injury is nothing. I’ll be fully recovered in a few days. But tell me, why have you suddenly taken leave? Are those old men in court nagging about your marriage again?”

The world only knew that the Emperor’s eldest daughter, Princess Qu Ya, was frail from premature birth and kept in the deep palace, unmarried even after turning twenty. They didn’t know that this Princess Qu Ya secretly controlled all of Great Ming’s dark intelligence, holding the lifeline that could move everything with a single pull.

“If not for His Majesty’s prohibition, that identity would have been gone long ago. Such trouble,” Yan Hongyin frowned, taking a sip of tea, seeming to think of her somewhat unreliable Father Emperor, feeling a headache. “My cultivation has been unstable this year. I’ve failed to break through several times. A few days ago, I went through my master’s notes and thought of trying ‘breaking and rebuilding’.”

“Breaking and rebuilding?”

Lu Gang hesitated.

This wasn’t a good phrase.

“Gold needle sealing acupoints,” Yan Hongyin said. “I’ve practiced martial arts for a long time. If I want to place myself among ordinary people, this is the only way.”

Sealing acupoints with gold needles wasn’t just talk. With seven needles, Yan Hongyin would truly become just a slightly stronger ordinary woman before breaking through her level, with no martial arts, completely vulnerable.

Lu Gang frowned. “Have you chosen the person to protect you?”

If this person wasn’t chosen well…

Yan Hongyin spoke softly, “No need. I’ll go alone.”

After a moment of contemplation, Lu Gang said, “That’s fine.”

An unknown Yan Hongyin was the truly safe Yan Hongyin. Zhenfu Office isn’t truly a unified whole either.

“The martial world has been unstable in recent years, with many talented people emerging. Be careful on this journey,” Lu Gang raised his tea cup. “May you achieve your goal and return triumphant.”

A smile flickered in Yan Hongyin’s eyes as she raised her cup, creating a crisp sound when they touched.

After putting down the cup, Lu Gang seemed to remember something. “What are your plans for that scholar you brought back?”

Before Yan Hongyin returned, a messenger pigeon had already informed him that she had rescued a scholar and settled him in a stronghold in the city’s outskirts.

“Well… him,” Yan Hongyin’s expression paused. “After he wakes up, I’ll assess him. If there are no issues…”

Lu Gang perked up his ears.

The Jinyiwei sometimes did bring back children with good potential or martial artists willing to defect, but this was the first time Yan Hongyin had picked someone up.

And supposedly a scholar with no martial skills.

“A woman traveling alone and not being a martial artist faces many inconveniences. I need a husband, and he’s suitable,” Yan Hongyin said this without any change in her expression, as if discussing something utterly ordinary.

Lu Gang’s expression was strange. After hesitating, he asked, “…Suitable how?”

Yan Hongyin poured some tea, thinking of the glimpse of stunning appearance she had seen before, and said flatly:

“Good-looking.”

Lu Gang was silent for a long time before weakly saying, “I must have misunderstood. You don’t mean to actually… do that, right?”

Yan Hongyin looked at Lu Gang with an expression that said, “How could you think otherwise?” and matter-of-factly stated, “To break and rebuild, I must enter the mortal world and experience the emotions of male and female love. Passionate emotions are naturally part of this.”

Lu Gang: “……”

How could such a detached, emotionless face say something about “male and female love”?

Lu Gang rubbed his forehead, knowing Yan Hongyin’s mind was made up and no one could change it. He simply said, “Be careful, don’t let yourself be schemed against.”

This concerns a bedmate. If something happens to Yan Hongyin without her martial arts, it would be troublesome.

Yan Hongyin raised an eyebrow. “In the martial world, there are hardly any who can hide from me after crossing the realm of Great Grandmaster. If it’s an ordinary scholar, I’ll just kill him if he harbors ill intentions.”

Lu Gang thought about it and agreed.

Although Yan Hongyin had sealed her martial arts, she still had medical and poison skills to protect herself.

And taking a step back, if Yan Hongyin misjudged someone…

It’s impossible that she randomly picked someone with a good appearance who, just like her, is a martial arts fanatic willing to risk losing all martial arts through the dangerous gold needle method to return to simplicity, right?

****

Outskirts of the Capital · Thatched Cottage

The moment Yu Luocha opened his eyes, his turquoise pupils were filled with sharp killing intent.

Surveying the nearly empty room, the man slightly narrowed his eyes, using his arm strength to sit up and lean against the bedhead, breathing with difficulty.

He had been stuck at the Grandmaster level for ten years without progress. Recently, he had used the gold needle sealing method to hide his identity, hoping to return to basics and find a way to break through his level.

Unexpectedly, he had lost contact and been pursued by the sect’s elders, nearly losing his life.

Returning to the sect was now impossible.

Western Regions’ demonic sect was a mix of fish and dragons, full of evil people.

When he was at the peak of his martial arts, he was revered as the sect leader. Now that his martial arts were gone, the people in the sect would only turn into vultures, trying to replace him.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

Martial artists were typically sharp-eared and keen-eyed. Even without martial arts, Yu Luocha’s perception was far beyond ordinary.

He closed his eyes, quietly adjusting his breath.

The person entering had clear footsteps, not seeming like a martial artist. The moment the door opened, Yu Luocha seemed to smell a faint medicinal fragrance.

Yan Hongyin, wearing her plain white clothes, removed her veil and held it in her hand, approaching the bed step by step.

The man sitting on the bed was tall and lean, with a high, straight nose and extremely beautiful features. His turquoise pupils were green with a hint of gold, a very rare eye color.

His long, slightly curly hair was scattered, his appearance stunningly beautiful.

The woman’s veil concealed poison needles.

The man’s hand hidden in his sleeve gripped a hidden weapon.

One step, another step.

Yan Hongyin reached out, her cool fingers touching the man’s wrist.

The man on the bed seemed startled, instantly drawing back his arm and grabbing Yan Hongyin’s wrist.

Their eyes met.

——Weak pulse, this person has no martial arts.

This thought flashed simultaneously in both Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha’s minds.

Yan Hongyin looked down at the hand gripping her wrist.

Yu Luocha suddenly recalled the strange fragrance he had smelled when first waking up, after which he had uncontrollably fallen asleep again…

Yu Luocha, who had navigated the treacherous waters of the Western Regions’ thirty-six countries, quickly loosened his hand and retreated into the bed. When he looked at the newcomer again, his expression was full of panic and fear.

Yan Hongyin, observing his appearance and wondering if the room’s sedative incense was too strong, suddenly saw the man’s expression change. He turned his head and vomited a mouthful of dark blood, completely passing out.

Yan Hongyin: “……”

Is this… playing dead?

TN:

锦衣卫 (jǐn yī wèi): The Jinyiwei, or “Embroidered Uniform Guard,” was an elite imperial military and secret police organization in the Ming Dynasty, responsible for espionage, enforcement of the emperor’s will, and handling secret missions.

镇抚司 (zhèn fǔ sī): The Zhenfu Division was a sub-branch of the Jinyiwei (Embroidered Uniform Guard), responsible for maintaining law and order, suppressing rebellions, and dealing with criminal activities within the empire.