Thousand Dusts Ferry Me - Chapter 7

At first, Jiang Baiyu thought they were seeking revenge, but when he heard “Jiang Heigou,” he became uncertain. Perhaps he was overthinking things; these two people might simply be a bit mentally disturbed.

He looked at Fu Xue as if she were a thoughtless child. Yun Qing, fearing he might be scheming, put on a stern face and threatened, “Don’t try anything clever, or you’ll regret it!”

Jiang Baiyu then turned his gaze to seriously examine the woman before him.

Oval face, almond eyes with slightly elongated corners and rounded contours; her eyes clear and bright with distinct black and white;

A red mole between her brows, like a star upon the moon, gleaming brilliantly;

Straight nose, wide lips with smooth lines slightly tilted upward, thin upper lip, full lower lip, appearing delicate and soft, the color of rouge.

She was truly beautiful, and truly fierce.

Jiang Baiyu pursed his lips without speaking. He didn’t want to provoke them for now, not knowing what other issues they might have.

Yun Qing asked, “Do you know why we’ve brought you here?”

Jiang Baiyu shook his head.

Yun Qing: “Do you know Le Chenzi of the Longshou Sect?”

He shook his head again.

Yun Qing and Fu Xue exchanged glances. Jiang Binghe had repeatedly mentioned arranging a marriage, but after returning home never mentioned it again, and his own son knew nothing about it. Who would believe there wasn’t something suspicious going on?!

Seeing their expressions change, Jiang Baiyu softly asked, “Should I know him?”

Yun Qing didn’t answer but asked instead, “Has your father recently mentioned arranging a marriage for you?”

Jiang Baiyu silently looked at her without answering.

“Speak.”

Jiang Baiyu asked with some uncertainty, “Are you here for revenge? Or to kidnap me for ransom?”

Fu Xue snickered, “Kidnap? Even if we were kidnapping people, we wouldn’t take a pretty boy like you who wears scented powder even while sleeping.”

“I didn’t—”

“If my senior sister says you did, then you did.”

Seeing the topic drifting, Yun Qing tapped the ground with her scabbard—tok tok. Yun Qing: “Answer my question. Has your father mentioned arranging a marriage for you?”

“No.”

Yun Qing observed Jiang Baiyu’s expression as he spoke and believed he wasn’t lying. She stood up, holding her sword and slowly exhaled.

Seeing her preoccupied manner, Jiang Baiyu asked, “So you’re seeking revenge?”

“I won’t deceive you,” Yun Qing said, “Your father has likely kidnapped my master, so I had to kidnap you for an exchange.” She briefly explained the situation.

Encountering such a forthright kidnapper for the first time, Jiang Baiyu smiled and looked up at her. “Alright, I’ll cooperate.” His voice was like polished jade, gentle and serene.

Fu Xue asked curiously, “How can you still smile?”

“Should I cry instead?”

****

To prevent search parties, Yun Qing set up a formation outside the thatched hut, enveloping it completely.

The formation was called “Formless.”

The Formless formation was interesting; it could diminish the presence of things within it, making passersby largely ignore the area.

After setting up the formation, Yun Qing tore open the black cloth bag, ripped off a strip of cloth, said “Excuse me,” and then gagged Jiang Baiyu.

This was partly to prevent him from making noise that might attract attention, and partly because she feared he might try to sweet-talk Fu Xue.

“Fu Xue, guard him here. I’m going to confront Jiang Binghe.”

“Mm!”

Still concerned, Yun Qing added, “If anyone discovers you, don’t worry about him—focus on escaping yourself.”

“But he…”

“Don’t worry, if I could tie him up once, I can tie him up a second time.”

****

By mid-morning, the small town below the mountain had resumed its bustle. This town, backed by a famous mountain and sect, had become known as “Immortal-Seeking Town” after the sensational ascension of Wen Zhongming to immortality.

Most businesses in Immortal-Seeking Town were related to this theme. There were those seeking immortals and the Dao, those honing their skills, selling medicines and elixirs, healing the sick, swindlers, performers, entertainers—everything imaginable.

Finding the roads crowded, Yun Qing leaped from rooftop to rooftop like an agile ape, and soon stopped at a small inn.

This inn was where she and Fu Xue had stayed the previous day, with one Tian (Heaven) room, two Di (Earth) rooms, and six Ren (Human) rooms.

(TL: In traditional Chinese inns, rooms were often ranked as 天 (Heaven), 地 (Earth), and 人 (Human), with Heaven-class being the most luxurious.)

Now Yun Qing sat on the highest roof of the Tian room, one foot on the ridge, the other dangling over the tiles, holding her sword and watching the courtyard below.

In the courtyard, the innkeeper—a plump, spirited woman—stood with hands on her hips, cursing loudly.

The inn had been attacked last night, with three rooms damaged, more than a dozen furnishings broken, four or five guests injured, and two guests missing…

With such a disaster, business was certainly ruined. She needed to repair the inn and compensate the guests for medical expenses.

Although she had reported it to the authorities, she didn’t expect them to handle anything—it would be good enough if they didn’t use the opportunity to extort her!

So she simply gave her servants the day off and now cursed alone behind closed doors to vent her frustration.

“Damned bastards! My uncle-in-law’s great-grandmother was the junior sister of Huayang Zi! Just wait until Huayang Zi strikes you with lightning!” In the end, all that remained were helpless curses.

As she was cursing, someone suddenly leaped over the wall.

This person wore a purple robe with a jade belt, had black hair and beard, long eyebrows and narrow eyes that gleamed with intelligence. At his waist hung a sword with a pommel set with a ruby the size of a chicken egg.

He landed steadily and surveyed his surroundings.

The innkeeper was startled. Seeing his dignified bearing, she quickly put on a smile, bowed, and said, “Our humble inn is closed today. I hope the honored guest will forgive us.”

He didn’t even glance at her, instead looking up toward the roof.

The morning sun hung from the corner of the eaves. The woman sat with her back to the sun, looking down at him from her high position. The golden sunlight outlined her silhouette, making her appear like an immortal.

He frowned, flew up from the ground, and drew his sword to strike at the woman.

His sword intent came with the force of thunder.

Yun Qing dared not confront him directly. Setting aside their difference in cultivation level, his sword was made of far superior material than her steel sword, and she couldn’t guarantee hers would remain undamaged, so she didn’t draw it.

Yun Qing avoided the sword’s light, leaping to another roof, but the purple-robed visitor pursued her relentlessly.

His sword intent was much more ferocious and experienced than Yu Beiting’s. Yun Qing narrowly avoided several strikes, moving nimbly between rooftops.

The two moved so quickly they left afterimages, causing the innkeeper’s eyes to blur, preventing her from recognizing Yun Qing as the guest who had disappeared the night before.

Finally, Yun Qing seized an opening and called out loudly, “Jiang Binghe! Is this how you greet people, by attacking them? Don’t you want your son back?”

Jiang Binghe! The innkeeper turned pale with fright and fled through the back door.

Jiang Binghe stopped, sheathed his sword, and said coldly, “Where is my son?”

As he spoke, a palm-sized mercury mirror appeared floating above his right shoulder.

The mercury mirror was surrounded by a halo, with intricate patterns around its edges. Though the mirror surface was bright and clear, it reflected nothing, showing only emptiness within.

This must be the famous Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror.

Yun Qing answered, “First tell me where my master is.”

“How would I know where your master is? That letter you wrote is complete nonsense.”

The letter Yun Qing had left on Jiang Baiyu’s bed was naturally addressed to Jiang Binghe, primarily questioning why he had repaid kindness with enmity by kidnapping Le Chenzi.

“You repeatedly claimed you wanted to repay my master, yet no one in the Huayang Sect has heard of him. Is this your way of showing gratitude? And my master disappeared right after saving you.”

“I was injured while meditating on Fuzhong Mountain and have been recuperating in seclusion these days.

Because my sect has many disciples with complex relationships, I temporarily withheld this information to prevent unrest. You shouldn’t suspect me because of this.

If you couldn’t find your master, you could have sought my help directly instead of kidnapping my son, turning gratitude into enmity. I struck at you today also as a lesson on behalf of your master.”

“Is sending people to hunt down your benefactor how gratitude should be shown?”

“What did you say?”

Yun Qing deceived him, saying, “Stop pretending. Yu Beiting has already confessed.”

Jiang Binghe looked surprised, then his face showed sudden understanding. He said, “No wonder you thought I kidnapped your master; that’s the root of the misunderstanding.

I don’t know what Yu Beiting did, but since he’s a disciple of my sect, I will certainly punish him severely when I return, to give you satisfaction. How does that sound?”

“Not good enough.”

“If you don’t believe me, I can swear by my late master Huayang Zi.”

“That’s useless.”

Yun Qing had always been suspicious by nature, and now there were too many coincidences. When uncertain, she would rather be the villain than the good person.

Being the villain meant at worst being resented; being good might cost her life.

Now she said, “Even if you swore by Goddess Shengxi, it wouldn’t matter. I don’t believe bad people get what they deserve.

You keep saying you didn’t kidnap my master. Fine. Since my master is your benefactor, now that he’s in danger is precisely when you should repay him.

Please find my master within three months. How does that sound?”

“What if I can’t?”

“Then prepare to collect your precious son’s corpse!”

“You!” Jiang Binghe’s anger surged. His robes billowed without wind, and the Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror spun rapidly, disturbing the surrounding air and creating a powerful pressure.

Yun Qing clenched her fists, her expression unchanged.

Jiang Binghe: “I could very well capture you now to exchange for Baiyu.”

“That won’t work. If you capture me now, after three months you’ll need both my master and me to exchange for your son, which would be even more troublesome, wouldn’t it?”

The Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror spun faster and faster. Jiang Binghe coldly stared at Yun Qing. They faced off like this for a while, until Yun Qing placed her hand on her sword hilt. Finally, he snorted coldly and left.

After a long while, the back door of the courtyard was pushed open a crack—creak—the innkeeper peeked in cautiously.

The two had long gone, leaving the courtyard silent and empty. The innkeeper walked while patting her chest, as if she had survived some life-and-death ordeal.

After a few steps, she suddenly exclaimed, “Oh!”

–In the middle of the courtyard, on the broken bluestone ground, there was something golden and dazzling in the sunlight.

She approached and bent down to pick it up, finding a golden incense burner.

Three-legged, with openwork phoenix-perched-on-wutong-tree patterns, the lid knob was a small budding lotus. The entire incense burner was bright yellow and golden, exquisitely crafted and quite appealing.

“I’ve struck it rich!” The innkeeper beamed with joy.

Suddenly thinking of today’s damages to the inn and the medical costs for the guests, she couldn’t help but tear up. She quickly knelt down, kowtowed, crying and laughing, “Great ancestress has shown her divine power!”