Chapter 10: Changes

The crying sound suddenly stopped.

Zhuo Yuzhen raised her head. She stared at Fu Hongxue with an astonished look on her face. “I’m not Zhuo Yuzhen? Why do you say that I am not Zhuo Yuzhen?”

Fu Hongxue did not answer her. Instead, he asked a question he should not have asked. “How many months pregnant are you?”

Zhuo Yuzhen hesitated for a while, before finally saying, “Seven months.”

Fu Hongxue said, “You’ve already been pregnant for seven months, but your father only just found out about it today? Is he blind?”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “He isn’t blind, but he also isn’t my real father.”

Her voice was filled with hatred. “He knew about this all along. He was the one who arranged for me to meet with Qiu Shuiqing, because Qiu Shuiqing was a famous figure of the martial world and the master of the Peacock Manor, as well as the person whom escort-chief Liu admired the most.”

Yan Nanfei interjected, “Escort-chief Liu? Liu Zhenguo, of the Zhenyuan escort agency? Your father is a trainer for the Zhenyuan escort agency?”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “He used to be.”

Yan Nanfei said, “And now?”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “He drinks too much alcohol. No escort agency wants a martial arts instructor who is drunk all the time.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Escort-chief Liu dismissed him from his service?”

Zhuo Yuzhen nodded. “Escort-chief Liu wasn’t necessarily against drinking alcohol, but after drinking, father actually mistook one of his fellow dart-instructors for a thief and even chopped off one of his hands. That was too excessive.”

Yan Nanfei said, “He wanted to make use of the relationship you had with Qiu Shuiqing to return to the Zhenyuan escort agency?”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “He really wanted to! Even if I truly was his daughter, he still would have done the same thing.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Unfortunately, Qiu Shuiqing wasn’t willing to do this. In addition, Liu Zhenguo wasn’t a person who showed favoritism.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Thus, even though Qiu Shuiqing gave him a hundred taels of silver as drinking money every month, he still was not satisfied. Whenever he became drunk, he would think of ways to torment me.”

Yan Nanfei said, “And it wasn’t until today that you felt you could take no more?”

Zhuo Yuzhen forced herself not to cry. “I am female. Officially, I am his daughter. No matter what he does to me, I can take it. Only, this morning...”

Yan Nanfei said, “What did he do this morning?”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “He wanted to beat the baby in my stomach to death. He didn’t want me to give birth to Qiu Shuiqing’s child, because ... because he knows about the destruction of the Peacock Manor.”

Yan Nanfei’s face changed. “But that happened only last night. He shouldn’t have known about it.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “But he did know.”

Yan Nanfei’s face sunk. Fu Hongxue’s face became all the more pale.

Only one type of person would get the news so soon.

Even if he himself hadn’t personally gone to the Peacock Manor to kill people last night, he definitely was a lookout.

Yan Nanfei said, “If I saw so many innocent people being wrongfully killed, when I got back home, I would’ve wanted to get really drunk as well.”

Fu Hongxue was silent. Suddenly, he said, “Do you know Liu Zhenguo? What type of person is he?”

Yan Nanfei said, “The Zhenyuan escort agency covers a lot of territory. It isn’t an easy task to become the leader of the agency.”

Fu Hongxue said, “Is he good at using human resources?”

Yan Nanfei said, “All of his subordinates are experts and first-class experts.”

Fu Hongxue’s hands tightened.

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “My foster-father’s martial arts abilities are not weak. If alcohol hadn’t harmed him, he might have become the leader as well.”

Fu Hongxue coldly said, “It is very hard to be the leader of an escort agency. It is very easy to kill people.”

Yan Nanfei said, “You believe him to be one of the killers?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Not a killer, an accomplice!”

Yan Nanfei said, “Then we should go find him right now.”

Fu Hongxue said, “When we got into the carriage, I already issued orders to the driver. We are already headed in the right direction.”

Zhuo Yuzhen looked directly at him. Liars definitely would not dare to stare into his eyes, and they definitely wouldn’t be so calm and collected.

Yan Nanfei looked at her, then looked at Fu Hongxue. It seemed as though he too had some opinion he wished to speak.

But before he had even opened his mouth, a person loudly said, “We definitely cannot go to the Zhuo family right now.”

Mingyue Xin was awake.

She had lost too much blood and her body was too weak. Clearly, she had used all of her available energy to say these words.

Yan Nanfei helped her lie down in a more comfortable position before asking, “Why is it that we cannot go to the Zhuo family?”

Mingyue Xin panted, “Because there definitely must be a trap there.”

In her urgency to explain her line of thinking, her pallid face began to turn red. “Gongsun Tu definitely wouldn’t let us off so easily. Naturally, he’ll realize that we’ll want to hunt down Zhuo Donglai. They have many people, all of whom are experts, and now I am injured.”

Yan Nanfei wouldn’t let her finish. “I understand what you are trying to say, and so does Fu Hongxue.”

Mingyue Xin said, “No, you do not understand. I’m not saying this out of fear for myself, and I know that the two of you are definitely enough to deal with them. But what about Miss Zhuo? You two will have to defend against Yang Wuji’s sword, Gongsun Tu’s hook, and Xiao Siwu’s flying dagger. How will you have the extra energy to look after her?”

Fu Hongxue did not speak, nor did he respond.

Mingyue Xin looked at him. “You absolutely must listen to me this time. We should have the carriage come to a stop immediately.”

Fu Hongxue said, “No need.”

Mingyue Xin said, “Why ... why aren’t you willing?”

Fu Hongxue’s features were still totally expressionless. He dully said, “Because this road isn’t the road which will take us to the Zhuo family.”

Mingyue Xin was startled. “It isn’t? Why isn’t it?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Because from the very beginning, I ordered him to take this carriage out of the city as quickly as possible. How would he dare to go on any other road?”

Mingyue Xin let out a relieved breath. “So you had the same line of thought as I did.”

Fu Hongxue coldly said, “I never take risks with the lives of others.”

Mingyue Xin said, “But just a while ago...”

Fu Hongxue said, “I only said what I said in order to test Miss Zhuo.”

But before he finished his words, the carriage came to a halt.

The carriage driver turned around. Grinning, he said, “We’ve already reached the outskirts of the city. Hero Fu, which road do you want to take?”

Fu Hongxue coldly stared at his smiling face. He suddenly asked, “Have you learned the martial arts of the Boundless Pre-Heaven Sect?”

The carriage driver’s smile suddenly turned stiff. “I’ve never learned any martial arts at all.”

Fu Hongxue ignored him. He asked again, “Are Zhao Wuji and Zhao Wuliang your teachers or your family elders?”

The carriage driver stared at him in shock, as though he had seen a ghost.

He was very skilled at driving carriages. This entire time, he had sat in the front, driving the carriage. Not only had he not performed any actions, he had been very obedient.

He really could not understand how this pale-faced freak managed to determine his origins with a single glance.

Fu Hongxue said, “The color of your skin is smooth, and the texture is finely detailed, as though it had been boiled in oil. Only a person who has practiced the martial arts of the Boundless Pre-Heaven Sect would be like this.”

What a keen eye this freak had!

The driver finally let out a sigh. With a forced smile, he said, “I am Zhao Ping. Zhao Wuji is my father.”

Fu Hongxue said, “Are you nicknamed ‘forefinger’?”

Zhao Ping forced himself to nod. He could already tell that lying to this freak would be extremely unwise.

Fu Hongxue said, “Based on your family background, you should not be doing such shameless things in secret. I should help the Boundless Pre-Heaven Sect purge itself.”

Zhao Ping’s countenance changed. “But I...”

Fu Hongxue didn’t let him speak. He coldly said, “If it weren’t for the fact that you are the only son of Zhao Wuji, you would already be dead and underneath the wheels of this carriage.”

He was sitting in the carriage. He hadn’t even moved.

The most flexible finger was the forefinger.

How could a man sitting in a carriage without moving kill Zhao Ping, who was as flexible as a forefinger?

Zhao Ping finally understood. He was about to rise up.

Fu Hongxue said, “I will not kill you today. I will only require that you leave behind one of your murderous hands!”

Zhao Ping suddenly laughed loudly. “I apologize. My hands are still useful, and so I cannot give them to you.”

Suddenly, a saber flash could be seen, followed by a flowering explosion of blood.

Zhao Ping’s form rose up in alarm. He suddenly saw a bloody hand fall down from thin air.

He still hadn’t realized that this was his own hand.

The sabre was too fast. He still hadn’t felt any pain.

He even was still laughing.

Only after the hand fell to the floor did he realize that he was missing one.

The sound of his laughter immediately turned into a miserable cry. His body tumbled down heavily.

The sabre flash had disappeared. The sabre had been sheathed.

Fu Hongxue still remained seated in the back without moving.

Zhao Ping bound his severed wrist with fabric from his clothes. With his sole remaining hand, he rolled up the window of the carriage, staring at Fu Hongxue.

Fu Hongxue said, “You still aren’t leaving?”

Gritting his teeth, Zhao Ping said, “I am not leaving. I want to see your sabre.”

Fu Hongxue said, “My sabre isn’t for viewing.”

Zhao Ping said, “You chopped off my hand. You should at least allow me to see your sabre.”

Fu Hongxue stared at him, then suddenly said, “Fine. Look!”

A sabre flash. Strands of severed hair floated in the air.

It was Zhao Ping’s hair.

By the time he saw these strands of severed hair, the sabre flash had disappeared.

The sabre had been sheathed.

He still hadn’t seen the sabre.

His face was contorted with terror. He suddenly took one step backwards after another. He cried out in alarm with a hoarse voice, “You aren’t human. You are a vicious ghost. You are using an evil sabre!”

A pitch-black sabre. A pair of pitch-black pupils.

Zhuo Yuzhen was also staring at the sabre. She also stared at it for a long time. Her eyes were filled with terror as well.

It seemed as though this sabre had become physically grafted onto Fu Hongxue’s hand. It had become part of his body.

Zhuo Yuzhen asked probingly, “Have you ever put this sabre down?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Never.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Can you let me see it?”

Fu Hongxue said, “No.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Have you ever let anyone see it?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Never!”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Is this really a evil sabre?”

Fu Hongxue said, “The evil lies not in the sabre. It lies within the heart. If a person holds evil within his heart, he will not be able to avoid this sabre!”

He did not move. The carriage did not move either.

Yan Nanfei let out a sigh. “It seems as though there’s no longer any place for us to go.”

Fu Hongxue said, “There is.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Where?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Peacock Manor.”

Yan Nanfei was very surprised. “Peacock Manor again? What’s left there?”

Fu Hongxue said, “A secret cellar.”

Yan Nanfei immediately understood. “You want Mingyue Xin to hide herself there to recuperate?”

Fu Hongxue said, “No one will guess that she is there. That place is a place of death.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Would this, then, be considered rebirth in a place of death?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Yes.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Will we still use this carriage?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Carriages cannot reveal secrets, nor can they betray people.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Only people can betray people. That’s why you got rid of Zhao Ping.”

Fu Hongxue said, “Correct.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Who will drive our carriage now?”

Fu Hongxue said, “You.”

Although a big hole had been blown into the stone wall of the hidden cellar, the rest of it was as solid as it ever was.

Yan Nanfei said, “Now, the only way a person can leave this place is through this hole.”

Fu Hongxue said, “There can be leaving, but there cannot be a person leaving.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Why?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Because Mingyue Xin still has the Peacock Plume.”

Yan Nanfei said, “Her Peacock Plume is still useful?”

Fu Hongxue said, “It is.”

Yan Nanfei said, “So long as she stands guard here with her Peacock Plume, nobody will be able to charge in?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Nobody.”

Yan Nanfei sighed. “No matter what, I hope that no one else will come here.”

Zhuo Yuzhen couldn’t help but say, “Do you intend to leave her here by herself?”

Fu Hongxue said, “No.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Who will stay behind with her?”

Fu Hongxue said, “You.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “How about you guys? Are you leaving?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Yes.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Where are you going?”

Fu Hongxue said, “We are going to kill people!”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Are you going to kill those murderers?”

Fu Hongxue nodded. “Gongsun Tu won’t let us off. Nor can I let him off!”

Zhuo Yuzhen stared at the sabre in his hand. “Do all murderers have evil in their heart?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Yes.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Will he definitely be unable to avoid your sabre?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Definitely.”

Zhuo Yuzhen suddenly knelt down, and her tears began to flow. “I beg you, bring his heart back here. I want to use his heart as a sacrifice to memorialize the father of my child.”

Fu Hongxue stared at her. He suddenly said, “I can do this sort of thing, but you cannot say that sort of words.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Why?”

Fu Hongxue said, “Because those words contain a murderous aura.”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Are you afraid that the child in my belly will be contaminated by the murderous aura?”

Fu Hongxue nodded. “A child with a murderous aura will find it difficult to avoid killing others when he grows up.”

Zhuo Yuzhen gritted her teeth. “I hope he will kill others. It’s better to kill others than to be killed.”

Fu Hongxue said, “You are forgetting one thing!”

Zhuo Yuzhen said, “Go ahead.”

Fu Hongxue said, “Killers will themselves be killed, sooner or later!”