Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The skill of my senior sister in stirring up trouble had become increasingly refined over the years. As soon as she spoke, the expressions of those around us changed dramatically, while the two directly involved remained surprisingly calm.
Liuzhi asked, "Stealing? What was stolen?"
My senior sister responded to Liuzhi but fixed her gaze on Cold Bench. "Yao Tai."
At that moment, my junior brother and I exchanged glances, both puzzled about what Yao Tai was.
Cold Bench raised an eyebrow slightly, a hint of a smirk appearing before he quickly suppressed it. Aside from my senior sister, no one seemed to notice this casual mockery. "I didn't steal anything; it was originally mine."
My senior sister paused for a moment, a look of suspicion crossing her face. Just then, Old Qiao hurriedly explained, "What Si Gu Niang doesn't know is that this master is also an Errand Runner, and moreover, he's an Old School." The last part was clearly an attempt to bond with my senior sister since she was also Old School.
My senior sister's left eyebrow arched slightly—a subconscious gesture she made before mocking someone. "Old School? How interesting. There’s only one Old School not present." With that, her gaze swept across the faces of the crowd before landing on Cold Bench. "Could it be that you are Seven?"
My junior brother muttered, "Who is Seven?"
A Chen quickly whispered to him, "In our generation of Old School, there are four of us: me, Liuzhi, and Shishu's disciples—Zhen Si and Gen Qi."
My junior brother immediately caught on. "Zhen Si is Si Jie; then Gen Qi... isn't she your junior sister?" A Chen nodded and said through clenched teeth, "This person has walked right into a trap."
Old Qiao had also realized the situation by now; his face turned pale as he frantically searched for a way out.
In fact, I had realized this issue when confirming my Senior Sister's identity. If she was indeed Zhen Si, there was no reason for her not to recognize her fellow disciple, Gen Qi, who trained under the same master. However, I quickly reminded myself that I had only just learned that she was Zhen Si. There might be other hidden circumstances at play, so I refrained from bringing it up immediately.
Moreover, I had always considered Cold Bench to be one of my own. His true identity seemed less important; as long as I knew he wouldn't harm me, I didn't need to be wary of him. He never shared his own story with us and had never inquired about ours. It felt like a special bond of trust had formed between us—trusting this person before me had nothing to do with his identity.
Thus, my Senior Sister's aggressive demeanor made me uncomfortable; doubting my friend felt like doubting me. Even if Cold Bench had lied, who didn't have secrets they didn't want others to know? Since those were sensitive matters, digging deeper felt rather inhumane.
Thinking this over, I stepped forward to mediate the situation: "I can vouch for him being Old School."
As soon as I spoke, everyone turned to look at me—some with curiosity and others reproaching me for meddling in matters that didn't concern me. In fact, a few moments later, I regretted my impulsive action so much that it felt like my insides were turning (the specific reasons will be revealed in the next chapter). But at that moment, I had made up my mind: "Two months ago, I received a mission to Mangshan that required teaming up with an Old School member—this Old School member is Zhao Qian, Master Zhao. Furthermore, the mission was assigned by my master, Sun Zi Zhou. As everyone knows, my master is meticulous; since he personally issued the task, he must have already understood all the details, including Master Zhao's identity. By the way, when my master assigned the mission, Yu was also present; you can ask him if you don't believe me."
Everyone's gaze shifted towards my junior brother. He scratched his head and said, "Well... there is indeed some truth to that."
What I said was all true—or at least selectively true—so my junior brother had no grounds to refute it. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
However, my Senior Sister was not someone who would easily be convinced, especially when she held leverage over the situation. I needed to guide the conversation further: "In fact, Old School isn't necessarily limited to just those present here; there could be branches we are unaware of or perhaps some Shishu quietly took on disciples behind closed doors. If we keep digging too deep and uncover something that embarrasses our Shishu, it wouldn't reflect well on us as juniors."
As soon as I finished speaking, I instinctively glanced at Third Granduncle Master. If this old fox wanted to undermine me, it would be all too easy. Strangely enough, he was merely staring at Cold Bench and seemed not to have paid attention to my ramblings; naturally, he did not refute them either.
This ambiguous attitude became the strongest evidence supporting what I had just said. Besides Third Granduncle Master, everyone else present was a junior; no matter how curious or gossipy they might be inside, they dared not press further into dangerous territory. Even someone as formidable as my Senior Sister found herself rendered speechless by the tense atmosphere hanging in the air and could only temporarily retreat.
Cold Bench turned his head and looked at me deeply with gratitude.
I nodded in response; however, deep inside me surged an indescribable joy. Being able to record a favor owed by Cold Bench was no small feat.
I never imagined that the excuse I casually made at that time would inadvertently touch upon a secret that everyone kept tightly under wraps. It was precisely this realization that led Third Granduncle Master to choose silence, helping Cold Bench evade scrutiny. Perhaps at that moment, they had not yet reached some sort of agreement, but my unintentional words undoubtedly accelerated the formation of this beautiful arrangement—partnering to keep me in the dark and spinning in circles.
If I had discovered this sooner, perhaps I wouldn’t have taken so many detours back then, and I wouldn’t be facing this outcome now. Of course, as the old saying goes, "A thousand gold pieces cannot buy foreknowledge." Part of the meaning of life lies in the fact that we do not know beforehand.
Let’s set aside these reflections and move on.
With Cold Bench's qualifications established, the only thing left was Old Qiao.
After the incident with Cold Bench, my senior sister seemed to have been impacted significantly. She never expected that her once obedient junior would oppose her so fiercely for an "outsider." Gradually, she began to understand the positions that Cold Bench and Old Qiao held in my heart. Thus, her attitude softened; whether it was one person or two, she decided to let Old Qiao go.
However, my senior sister's "letting go" did not equate to Master Yue's "letting go." If Old Qiao wanted to enter Wan Poison Palace safely and come out intact, he needed a new identity.
“Kun Ba, from now on, your name will be Kun Ba, a disciple of Er Shibo Sun Hou Zhou. Although your identity may not be appealing due to your master’s disdain for the New School, it can save your life,” my senior sister said.
Once everything was arranged, the sky gradually darkened. Everyone rested in place to prepare for an early departure the next morning. But no one anticipated how long this night would turn out to be.
Comment 0 Comment Count