Chapter 19 - You Owe Me a Life

Tang Jinnian has been living and traveling through the forest for two days. During this time, Flowerless Butterfly constantly came to harass him, leaving him incredibly frustrated.

After waking up and gathering his bearings this morning, Tang Jinnian estimated that he should be able to reach the end of the forest and reach Xuzhou Prefecture by the end of the day.

A small river flowed not far from where Tang Jinnian camped last night. He went to the river, intending to freshen up. Just as he squatted by the riverbank, a sudden disturbance occurred![1]

A figure unexpectedly erupted from the water among a surge of splashing water droplets!

Tang Jinnian looked up to see a soaking-wet Rao Shuang holding a short sword and stabbing toward him.

Despite the winter chill, this woman had been lurking at the bottom of the icy river for who knows how long, her lips blue from the cold.

Tang Jinnian had already become accustomed to such assassination attempts over the past two days.

He pushed aside Rao Shuang's stabbing arm, changing the trajectory of the short sword, then grabbed her lapel and hurled her away.

Rao Shuang tumbled like a kite with a broken string towards the shore, stopping only after smashing into a tree.

Tang Jinnian turned around, finally having the time to observe Rao Shuang carefully.

This woman was already at the end of her strength.

The continuous assassination attempts over the past two days had not only exhausted her physically but also added new injuries each time she failed; by now, her body was riddled with wounds.

After a single exchange, she was at the end of her rope, powerless to even push herself up from the ground.

"Flowerless Butterfly," Tang Jinnian said coolly, "I no longer have the patience to play with you. Are you ready to die?"

In front of Tang Jinnian, Flowerless Butterfly finally managed to stand back up with the support of a tree trunk before she knelt down with a hollow thump.

"Oh? Isn't it a bit late to beg for mercy now?" Tang Jinnian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Please," Flower Butterfly begged as she bent down, her forehead touching the ground, giving Tang Jinnian a deep kowtow, "Give the fan back to me."

Tang Jinnian frowned, uncertain of what Rao Shuang was up to again.

Rao Shuang then raised her head, her beautiful eyes brimming with tears.

Seeing Tang Jinnian unresponsive, she urgently said, "Please, sir!" She crawled towards Tang Jinnian on her hands and knees as she spoke, "That fan is really important to me!"

Rao Shuang crawled towards Tang Jinnian, weakly grabbing onto the hem of his robes with both hands and looked up at him with blood and dirt streaking her face.

Tang Jinnian looked down at the pleading woman; tears fell from her face like a string of broken pearls.

"I thought you would be begging for your life instead..." Tang Jinnian began.

Before Tang Jinnian could finish his sentence, Rao Shuang abruptly held his gloved right hand with her left hand in a death grip!

A sharp dagger slid out from her right sleeve into her free hand; gripping the dagger tightly, she took advantage of her close range and thrust it at Tang Jinnian's chest!

Tang Jinnian was both shocked and angry!

His right hand was held fast, and he could not immediately free it to protect himself. He quickly pressed his middle and index fingers together and used his left hand to unleash his River Severing Finger.

The plunging dagger nearly tipped his chest!

"You’re dead!" He bellowed as his sleeve rippled through the air, and his thrusting fingers driven by his inner qi found their mark on Flowerless Butterfly's forehead just before her dagger could reach him!

Bang!

The instant the attack struck her forehead, Rao Shuang stiffened in her kneeling surprise attack stance. The dagger in her hand hovered a hairbreath away from Tang Jinnian's chest.

Incredibly, while Rao Shuang was frozen in place, the trees behind her were blasted with a gale-force wind, their trunks bent over as if they were prepared to run away.

"Uh," Rao Shuang uncontrollably gasped. Still kneeling on the ground, the pupils of her beautiful eyes dilated.

Clang—

Finally, the dagger in her hand fell to the ground, and she slowly collapsed backward.

Tang Jinnian withdrew his hand, glanced at the almost lifeless Rao Shuang on the ground, and left. He gave a final judgment, concluding coldly, "Too stubborn."

As soon as Tang Jinnian took a step, he felt something pulling at his legs.

Looking back, he saw it was the obstinate Rao Shuang once again. Rao Shuang's consciousness was hazy at this moment, with only her little finger hooked on Tang Jinnian’s pants. She was mumbling something indistinctly.

Tang Jinnian had to listen carefully before he could make out her final words.

"Give my fan back to me..."

***

Rao Shuang woke up two nights later.

At first, she was prepared to get used to her new existence in the underworld, but when her awareness returned, and she got a good look around, she realized she was still by the riverbank where she had hidden that day.

She was covered with a garment, the purple and gold cloud-patterned robe worn by that person. Underneath the oversized covering, she was completely naked, with her abdomen, chest, and other injured areas wrapped in bandages. The smell of medicine wafted out from under the bandages.

Rao Shuang turned her head and saw her clothes neatly placed nearby. On top of the neatly folded clothes was her brocade feather fan.

Rao Shuang’s gaze drifted to the distance. By the riverbank, the man known as Solitary Phoenix sat on a large stone wearing thin underclothes, smoking alone. The bright moon hung high, and the silver river shimmered brightly in the dark. Illuminated by moonlight, it looked like a scene from a painting brought to life.

Rao Shuang tried to push herself up from the ground but found her limbs were too weak after her injuries combined with days of disuse. She fell back halfway, causing her injuries to flare up, reminding her that they had not left either. Involuntarily, she let out a cry of pain.

The garment covering her chest slipped to her waist, exposing her fair skin. Before Rao Shuang could pull the garment back up, Tang Jinnian had already heard the noise and came over.

"Get up if you're awake... Don't lie on the ground," Tang Jinnian said dispassionately.

He then yanked his garment off Rao Shuang, leaving her completely exposed in front of him. Tang Jinnian didn't spare her another glance. He simply put on his clothes and went back to sit on the boulder by the riverbank.

Rao Shuang's face turned red as if it were bleeding, but she stubbornly bit her lower lip and said nothing.

Silently, she put on her clothes, realizing that her clothes had been scrubbed clean. Even the bloodstains were gone.

A voice came from the direction of the stone. "That day... how did you think of clinging tightly to my right hand?"

"Ahem..." Rao Shuang cleared her throat; it had been days since she last spoke before answering, "I started to suspect it during the fight a few days ago... Every time you summoned a puppet, your right hand would either be hidden behind your back or performing some gestures. Plus, you always wore those strange gloves... I was sure that you were controlling the puppets through those gloves."

"Heh, you're pretty smart."

As Rao Shuang picked up the brocade fan, Tang Jinnian reminded her, "That fan... still belongs to me."

Rao Shuang frowned at this and was about to speak when Tang Jinnian interrupted her, "Heh? Did you think I saved you for nothing?"

Tang Jinnian turned his head and looked at Rao Shuang. He asked with amusement, "You can’t be that naive, Heaven-ranker Flowerless Butterfly?"

Rao Shuang, who was known as Flowerless Butterfly, narrowed her eyes and asked, "Then why did you give me the fan?"

Tang Jinnian smiled and said, "You can use the fan... I need you to help me with something."

Rao Shuang gave a self-deprecating smile. "With your strength, what could I possibly help you with?"

Tang Jinnian turned his gaze to the shimmering flow of the river, almost as if he was murmuring to himself and not to her, "I need you to help me get something..."

Seeing his unprecedented distant expression, Rao Shuang knew the matter must not be simple and couldn’t help but ask, "What is it?"

"It's... a gourd, an iron gourd," he murmured.

"An iron gourd?" she asked in bewilderment.

"Yes... This iron gourd is not made from normal iron. It is said to have been sourced from an unknown place in the deep sea, so it's very strong. Moreover, its size and shape is no different from that of a regular gourd that’s hollow in the middle, but it weighs over three hundred jin..."

Rao Shuang tilted her head, "What do you need this for? Where is it?"

Tang Jinnian glanced at Rao Shuang, seeing her eyes wide with curiosity, and continued, "That kind of iron is necessary to refine the Transcendence Stone. As for where it is... it naturally belongs to someone else."

"Who?"

"The Unbound Bodhisattva... Xue Qiming," Tang Jinnian said with a touch of seriousness in his tone.

Rao Shuang was influenced by his tone and swallowed hard as she asked, "This person... is very powerful?"

Tang Jinnian hesitated before slowly saying, "Compared to me.... he can only be stronger."

"You really are something, Solitary Phoenix! You might as well kill me!" Rao Shuang exploded in anger. "I can't even beat you, and now you want me to steal something from someone stronger than you?!"

Tang Jinnian turned to look at the fuming Rao Shuang with a smug smile. "Heh... Who told you to owe me a life debt?"

1. A Wild Flowerless Butterfly Appeared! ☜