My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 53

The man who abducted Lu Xiaofeng and the other two first used drugged handkerchiefs to knock the three children unconscious. In the carriage, he began examining their bones, his voice revealing clear excitement. “These three children are premium goods. The young master will definitely be satisfied when we bring them back.”

Another man laughed, but it was a sneer. “Little master? What kind of thing does he think he is!”

“Come on, none of us can stand that little brat, but what can we do when he has such good birth and obtained that secret manual? The higher-ups value him!”

“When this is all over, I’ll be the first to kill that arrogant little bastard!”

Lu Xiaofeng opened one eye and, under the cover of the bumpy carriage ride, nudged Hua Manlou’s hand. Hua Manlou nudged him back.

With Ximen Chuixue present, this low-grade drug could never truly knock them unconscious.

These two kidnappers seemed experienced in this business. Because they were children, they hadn’t even bothered to tie them up.

“If you ask me, we’d be better off going next door, enjoying soft fragrant bodies and good food and drink every day. I heard they recently got a fierce one who bit one of our brothers, so the higher-ups handed her straight down to the brothers.”

“Exactly! Although kidnapping and cleaning up afterward is troublesome, it’s still better than dealing with a bunch of little brats.”

“To be honest, I have a fellow townsman brother with some connections who could help smooth things out, but the payment…”

As they listened to the vulgar words of the two criminals outside the carriage, the three children’s faces were filled with anger and contempt.

Ximen Chuixue’s hand was on the dagger hidden in his boot, his eyes revealing murderous intent.

Hua Manlou was very sensitive to others’ emotions and immediately grabbed Ximen Chuixue’s sleeve. “We promised Aunt Yan, only investigate, don’t engage.”

Ximen Chuixue closed his eyes briefly.

He knew why Aunt Yan had instructed them this way. The three of them were too weak, so weak that confronting their enemies would be like eggs striking stone.

“Tell me… how terrifying is this badge with many faces?” Lu Xiaofeng asked.

Ximen Chuixue looked at Lu Xiaofeng, who was holding the radish badge carved with the seventy-two earth fiends of the Luocha badge.

After a moment of silence, he said, “It makes those who recognize it feel as if they’ve seen the Rakshasa.”

Hua Manlou frowned. “Lu Xiaofeng!”

But Lu Xiaofeng just chuckled softly, dipped the stamp in ink, and pressed a bright red mark onto the carriage floor.

He then tore off a piece of cloth from his clothes, stamped the Luocha mark on it, rolled it into a small strip, and quickly pushed it through a gap in the carriage window.

“We’re children, aren’t we? My master said children have special privileges to make mischief,” Lu Xiaofeng tucked the radish stamp away safely and found a comfortable position to lie down. “We may be weak, but if we can cause chaos among them, there’s much we can do in the confusion.”

“At worst, Uncle Yu, Aunt Yan, and my master will spank us afterward~”

Hua Manlou blinked and also found a comfortable position to settle in.

Ximen Chuixue remained silent.

He didn’t know what would happen if the Luocha badge marks appeared in large numbers throughout Luoyang city, but…

He was only ten years old, and he was tired.

Ximen Chuixue, who knew exactly what the Luocha badge represented, slowly leaned back against the carriage wall, pretending he hadn’t seen Lu Xiaofeng’s actions.

……

“Take the one who raised his head to look at me over to that cage! Put him in with Du Wei! I want to watch! Hurry up!”

This was a dark, damp cave. Cold wind blew in, causing the torches to flicker occasionally.

The speaker was a boy about ten years old with round eyes and face, wearing a short red coat with a snow-white fur collar. He should have looked like a charming and handsome little master, but the malice and viciousness revealed in his eyes and mouth made people frown involuntarily.

Lu Xiaofeng, who had attracted attention by merely raising his head to look, rubbed his nose bridge. “This is the first time I’ve felt that a good-looking face could be so annoying.”

Hua Manlou nodded in agreement. “I told you before, your habit of judging by appearances will get you in trouble.”

Ximen Chuixue looked at the wolf-dog in the cage, which had been starved for who knows how long and now had fierce green eyes. “Will this work?”

“Let’s try it.”

Without waiting for the burly man to grab him, Lu Xiaofeng stood up on his own, brushed off his clothes, and walked straight toward the cage.

“Hmph, at least you know your place,” Long Xiaoyun sat in a fur-covered chair, arrogantly lifting his chin. His face was somewhat pale, but his eyes flashed with malice.

Lu Xiaofeng was seven years old this year and hadn’t seen many wolf-dogs before, but he was quite familiar with wolves.

When he was six, his master took him out for the first time to the wilderness. In that desolate place, Lu Xiaofeng was chased by hungry wolves for two days and two nights before Wang Lianhua finally appeared.

After that, his master no longer specifically taught him to practice lightness skills.

Lu Xiaofeng’s lightness skill wasn’t from any particular school; it was a form of footwork that integrated various martial arts techniques and could be flexibly applied in life-or-death situations. Even he himself didn’t know how he would dodge or attack the next second, so naturally, neither did his enemies—even if it was a starving, impatient wolf-dog.

As the wolf-dog in the cage repeatedly missed its target and fell, until it began to cower, Long Xiaoyun, who hadn’t seen what he wanted to see, grew displeased. He raised his hand, letting the sleeve slide down his arm, revealing a gleaming sleeve dart aimed directly at Lu Xiaofeng.

Such a small child, yet he had the heart of a jackal, without any of the innocence and liveliness of childhood.

Hua Manlou heard the sound of the hidden weapon cutting through the air and exclaimed. “Be careful!”

However, the weapon didn’t hit Lu Xiaofeng; instead, it deeply pierced the wolf-dog’s throat. The already emaciated wolf-dog let out a miserable howl and collapsed heavily, foul-smelling blood slowly seeping out from under its fur.

“What a pity, you’re still alive,” Long Xiaoyun giggled.

“Little master, these three children have excellent bone structure. You should be more careful,” the masked man beside him seized the opportunity to speak up. Although his words seemed like advice, his tone was unyieldingly firm.

Long Xiaoyun’s face darkened.

Excellent bone structure?

What he hated most were children blessed by heaven with excellent bone structure!

He was tired of hearing elders say that although he was brilliantly intelligent, his bone structure was lacking!

Long Xiaoyun had delicate features and looked extremely attractive when he smiled. “Is that so? Then why don’t we start with these three and let me try the Mind Capturing Technique?”

Long Xiaoyun wasn’t one of the children they had kidnapped. Instead, he had witnessed their kidnapping operation but showed no fear. He had actually volunteered to join them, claiming he had cultivated a mind-control technique that could brainwash others.

Before today, he had already succeeded many times.

The masked man said nothing more, tacitly approving Long Xiaoyun’s approach.

Long Xiaoyun certainly noticed how the other two children subtly protected Hua Manlou, which quickly helped him determine his first target.

He had Hua Manlou tied up and brought before him. Standing in front of Hua Manlou, his cat-like round eyes gradually became deep and unfathomable. “Look into my eyes…”

Hua Manlou tilted his head in slight frustration.

Lu Xiaofeng burst into laughter from inside the cage.

Long Xiaoyun’s voice also became very ethereal as he commanded. “Kneel.”

Hua Manlou didn’t move.

Long Xiaoyun gritted his teeth and activated the Mind Capturing Technique again.

After a while, a hint of awkwardness appeared on Hua Manlou’s face. He smiled helplessly and said, “Whatever your Mind Capturing Technique is, it’s useless against me.”

“Impossible! The Mind Capturing Technique can control anyone in this world!” Long Xiaoyun retreated two steps in panic, crying out.

“But I’m blind,” Hua Manlou said slowly, as if stating something very ordinary. “How can I see your eyes?”

After saying this, Hua Manlou suddenly felt that only at this moment had he truly reconciled with his sightless eyes and this suddenly imposed fate.

Calm and composed.

Long Xiaoyun’s arm trembled. He wore hidden weapons from head to toe, and taking a child’s life would be too easy.

Just as he raised his hand, a gleaming dagger flashed past Hua Manlou’s side, heading straight for Long Xiaoyun’s throat!

Both Hua Manlou and Long Xiaoyun changed expression in shock. The masked man who had been coldly observing beside Long Xiaoyun grabbed his arm at the crucial moment and pulled him aside, dodging the dagger. But the sharp edge still cut Long Xiaoyun’s face, leaving a bloody mark.

“You—you dare to treat me like this?!” Long Xiaoyun glared hatefully at the white-clothed child below, looking as if he wanted to devour him.

“Why wouldn’t I dare?” Ximen Chuixue stepped forward, and the masked man saw he was still holding something in his hand.

The masked man had an ominous feeling. “What’s that in your hand?”

Ximen Chuixue’s ice-cold face suddenly smiled, with a kind of pity and mockery. “I’ve seen you before.”

The masked man’s eyelid twitched.

“Have you seen this?” Ximen Chuixue raised his hand, holding a snow-white crystalline badge carved with vivid images of the seventy-two earth fiends, showing a full seventy-two demonic faces.

The masked man’s eyes trembled, and he immediately released Long Xiaoyun’s arm. “This is impossible. He… he can’t possibly be in Luoyang… This must be fake! It’s fake!”

“The Tianmo Jade Law states that whoever holds the Luocha badge is the young leader. Do you truly not know who I am?”

The masked man knew the Luocha Sect had a ten-year-old young leader. Although he had infiltrated the Central Plains, he was aware of the rumors within the sect. He also knew that Yu Luocha greatly valued and doted on this child, denying him nothing. But for the sect leader to have passed down the Luocha badge as well…

“Luocha is everywhere. Did you really think your activities in Luoyang could escape Luocha’s eyes?” Ximen Chuixue said coldly.

The masked man’s expression changed dramatically. He pushed Long Xiaoyun away with one palm and disappeared into the dark passage.

The other black-clothed men guarding the cave also left one after another. In the blink of an eye, these servants under Long Xiaoyun’s command had unhesitatingly abandoned him as a sacrifice!

Long Xiaoyun’s eyes darted about. He pulled out a dagger and stabbed at Hua Manlou who was supporting him. When Hua Manlou retreated in pain, Long Xiaoyun ran toward the cave entrance.

Ximen Chuixue coldly pursued Long Xiaoyun and kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking him to the ground. “So vicious and poisonous. When grown, you will surely be a disaster to mankind.”

Long Xiaoyun’s dagger clattered to the ground as he cried out. “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill me! I know I was wrong! They forced me to do it. I was forced too!”

But Ximen Chuixue saw the hatred in those eyes and picked up the dagger Long Xiaoyun had dropped…

“Big brother! What are you doing?!” Hua Manlou, who had run over at some point, grabbed Ximen Chuixue’s arm, his expression panicked.

Ximen Chuixue said coldly, “If he lives to grow up, more people will die because of him.”

“But you don’t have the right to just kill a living person like this!” Hua Manlou gripped Ximen Chuixue’s arm tightly.

Ximen Chuixue looked at Hua Manlou, his eyes confused, “In your view, is such a despicable villain more important than those who would die because of him?”

“What’s important isn’t him, it’s you!” Hua Manlou pressed his lips together. “Good and evil in this world aren’t clearly black and white. How can you determine that he is purely an evil person who deserves death? If you kill him today, and someday learn he wasn’t the evil person you thought, what then?”

“I haven’t harmed anyone! I’ve never killed anyone! I only helped them brainwash people! I was captured too, really! My home is Xingyun Manor. My father is a famous hero in the jianghu!” Long Xiaoyun shouted immediately upon seeing his chance.

Ximen Chuixue asked, “Then how will you face the innocent people who may die by his hand in the future?”

“That’s something that hasn’t happened yet!” Hua Manlou also grew angry. “You kill a person because of what might happen—how are you any different from the villains you speak of?”

“To try to remedy the situation after it has already happened? By then it’s too late,” Ximen Chuixue said coldly.

Lu Xiaofeng scratched his head, also finding this situation troublesome. After thinking for a moment, he dragged Long Xiaoyun from under Ximen Chuixue’s foot, sealed his acupoints, and tossed him aside to interrogate, “Answer our questions, or else…”

Long Xiaoyun hastily responded: “I’ll answer! I can tell you everything I know, just don’t kill me!”

Lu Xiaofeng asked, “Why are you kidnapping those children?”

“I don’t know the specifics, I only know they want those children to forget their origins, then lock them up and train them in martial arts to be used by the people above.”

“What about this pear blossom imprint?”

“That—that was also ordered by them. It’s to be used as a mark. Everyone knows it represents the people above.”

Long Xiaoyun appeared extremely cooperative when under duress, his submissive posture when sensing danger completely unlike his previous arrogant and vicious demeanor.

However, a rift had formed between Ximen Chuixue and Hua Manlou. The two stood apart, neither acknowledging the other.

…….

Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha watched everything clearly from the shadows.

This child Lu Xiaofeng seemed to have an innate keen sense for investigation. Even when that child’s eyes darted around trying to divert Lu Xiaofeng’s focus, Lu Xiaofeng’s line of questioning never strayed.

Yan Hongyin almost had the idea of recruiting Lu Xiaofeng into the Jinyiwei.

But it was just a thought.

Lu Xiaofeng was too unpredictable, with a quality similar to Chu Liuxiang—like the wind. Such people were inherently unsuited to belong anywhere but were instead meant for the vast world.

“Young leader of the Luocha Sect?” Yan Hongyin asked.

Yu Luocha said, “To protect Ah Xue, I had someone randomly bring a child into the sect, only saying he was of my bloodline. As for the rest, it can be dealt with when Ah Xue grows up.”

“What does Ah Yin think?” Yu Luocha pointed toward Ximen Chuixue and Hua Manlou.

“Ah Lou walks the path of humanity, Ah Xue walks the path of heartlessness. The two are both complementary and contradictory,” Yan Hongyin said calmly. “When first establishing one’s martial path, the mind is unstable. They are no longer suitable to be raised together.”

“Ah Lou’s heart has been thrown into confusion by Ah Xue’s questions,” Yu Luocha pondered. “But that’s not a bad thing. To stabilize the mind while emotions are still raw is beneficial.”

“Those who know about the pear blossom mark number no more than five in the world, and only one is currently in Luoyang.” By the time the three children had decided to risk themselves to investigate, Yan Hongyin’s Jinyiwei had already traced the filthy business in Luoyang city to its source.

Because of the pear blossom mark that Long Xiaoyun had revealed, the mastermind was already clear.

This had originally been a trap set for Yan Hongyin.

If the Luoyang prefect continued the investigation, he would certainly discover the pear blossom mark. Then, when it reached the emperor’s ears, the crimes of trafficking women and children and conspiring with the second prince to rebel would be directly pinned on Yan Hongyin, who possessed the jade pendant.

“Lu Gang?” Yu Luocha asked.

“Yes. He was the one who ordered the use of the Ximen couple to intensify the Luocha Sect’s hatred for the imperial court,” Yan Hongyin looked at Ximen Chuixue, who stood there with a cold and stubborn expression. “The hatred has been planted too deeply and for too long; it’s too late to uproot it now.”

“Ah Xue is now under your guidance, and I naturally trust you,” Yu Luocha understood what Yan Hongyin wanted to do. He smiled gently, took Yan Hongyin’s hand, and lightly kissed those slender, cool fingers. “Thank you for your hard work, Ah Yin.”

****

The three brought out all the children imprisoned in the cave. Afterward, Lu Xiaofeng mischievously stamped several Luocha marks inside the cave before reporting to the authorities to have the children taken away.

However, the one who took Long Xiaoyun away wasn’t the heroic father he had mentioned, but Li Xunhuan and Ah Fei.

Hua Manlou and Lu Xiaofeng were each grabbed by the suddenly appearing Yu Luocha and taken away. Ximen Chuixue stubbornly stood there, his very spine proclaiming “I did nothing wrong,” until Yan Hongyin arrived, dressed in light armor and black clothes with half her face masked.

“Ah Xue, when he brought you that day, he promised you that you would have revenge with your own hands,” Yan Hongyin said.

Yan Hongyin walked up to Ximen Chuixue and reached out her hand.

“He is here in Luoyang city. Are you ready?”

A shocking heat burst forth in Ximen Chuixue’s eyes, carrying flames and madness that could burn everything, along with obsession and hatred.

He tightly grasped Yan Hongyin’s outstretched hand, knowing what he was about to face.

….

Lu Gang’s martial skills, though first-class in the jianghu, were not impressive before Yan Hongyin. This wasn’t just because Yan Hongyin had grown up with him and knew everything he had learned, but also because Lu Gang’s heart had long ago shifted away from the martial path.

But for Ximen Chuixue, a child who had just begun his path and had not yet cultivated internal energy, facing Lu Gang was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree.

When Lu Gang saw Yan Hongyin appear before him, his expression showed no panic, only a mocking calmness.

He felt that Yan Hongyin had degraded herself to become a blood-stained knife in the emperor’s hand, an obedient dog, always so obedient, a pitiful person who didn’t know how to break free from chains.

Yan Hongyin had nothing to say to Lu Gang. She had given him too many chances, but Lu Gang had not taken them.

So all that remained between the martial siblings was to clean the house.

(TL: expelling or eliminating disloyal or unworthy members)

In Luoyang’s winter, flowers and plants were dormant, and the mountains barren.

Yan Hongyin silently brought Lu Gang, whose dantian she had destroyed, and Ximen Chuixue to a desolate area between mountains.

She released Lu Gang’s acupoints and handed the sword she had specially brought to Ximen Chuixue.

Lu Gang realized what Yan Hongyin intended to do and laughed in extreme anger. “Is this how you humiliate me? By having me die at the hands of an unknown little boy?!”

“Your death by my hand would only soil my hands,” Yan Hongyin was better at stabbing people’s hearts than Yu Luocha when she was angry.

Because when she spoke, her tone, expression, and eyes were extremely calm, as if she were stating something ordinary and self-evident.

“But your death by his hand will awaken a superb sword,” she said. “Senior brother, you know I never make meaningless decisions.”

“I won’t interfere in your duel. If you win, I’ll let you go.”

“And if he dies by my hand, you’ll still let me go?”

“Yes.”

Lu Gang had no choice. He wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth with his palm and laughed coldly as he drew his Embroidered Spring Blade, sneering. “Then let’s see if this sword will break before you!”

Lu Gang had practiced martial arts for thirty years. Even with his dantian broken and internal energy destroyed, he was not an enemy that Ximen Chuixue, a child who had not yet truly learned martial arts, could handle.

But Yan Hongyin said to Ximen Chuixue—

“Ah Xue, kill him.”

Crows flew up startled from the forest, becoming swaying shadows in the evening glow.

Ximen Chuixue drew his sword.

His eyes were like stars in the winter night sky, shining as if burning with life.

He would win.

Because to lose was to die.

Perhaps he had not truly learned swordsmanship.

But—

He is the sword.