Childhood Friend or Destined Encounter? - Chapter 11

The night was silent. Mahoraga, bound by heavy chains, looked at the familiar face before him and realized the truth. “Have you come to see this old man off on his final journey?”

“I cannot rescue you safely on my own, so… forgive me.” The man in black spoke without a trace of emotion.

Mahoraga did not resist. “Go ahead. Just bring a message to her for me: live well, and be very careful.”

The next day, when Chu Mingzhu went to visit Mahoraga, she found he had already stopped breathing. In her shock and rage, she summoned the guards to demand an explanation.

Feng Ya examined the fatal wound on Mahoraga’s body and shook her head at Chu Mingzhu. “Forget it. The killer’s martial arts far exceed theirs. At any rate, we have some leads now.”

Because of Feng Ya’s letter, Chu Mingzhu had brought her men to help immediately. From spreading news to arriving for the rescue and clearing the battlefield, she had contributed significantly throughout the process.

While Feng Ya didn’t usually show much outward warmth toward Chu Mingzhu, she was truly grateful in her heart.

The group had successfully rescued over a hundred innocent young girls from captivity and obtained vital clues regarding the Baqi Pavilion. As for the wealth seized from the pavilion, it was left for Chu Mingzhu to handle.

“This matter is finally settled. The old man has been writing every day to rush me back, so I should return to the villa. Don’t miss me too much, we’ll meet again soon at the Famous Sword Assembly anyway. Little beauty, you should come along too! I can be your personal guide. Let me tell you, our Famous Sword Villa is incredibly interesting, there are all kinds of…”

“Farewell.” Feng Ya interrupted Chu Mingzhu’s rambling with two short words. With one hand holding Yezi’s and the other waving behind her back, she walked away without looking back.

Yezi looked at Feng Ya with a hint of confusion. “You didn’t even wait for Miss Chu to finish her sentence?”

“At the rate she was going, if we waited for her to finish, it would probably be noon.”

Yezi burst out laughing. Miss Chu was indeed extremely talkative, but she was also very kind-hearted.

Feng Ya squeezed Yezi’s hand as they walked. “Let’s go back to the room and pack. We’re heading south to Jiangzhou City to investigate these travel permits.”

Yezi peeked at Feng Ya and teased, “Now that the work is done and the people are saved, why should I keep going with you?”

“Don’t I still owe you money? Are you not coming with me to collect it?” Feng Ya spoke with such logical conviction that it seemed perfectly natural for them to travel together.

You could just mail me the two hundred taels later, Yezi grumbled internally. Then she changed her mind: Fine, I have nothing better to do anyway, I might as well walk with you a bit longer.

After five days of traveling south, they reached Jiangzhou City. As soon as they entered, the sounds of gongs and drums filled the air.

A young gentleman dressed in a bright red wedding robe rode a tall horse through the center of the street. Behind him, four porters carried a bridal sedan chair, accompanied by a wedding procession playing trumpets and drums. It was a lively scene.

“Who’s getting married today with such a grand display?” Yezi had attended village weddings back in Yuanhe Town, but those were simple affairs where neighbors sat for a meal. She had never seen anything like this city spectacle.

“You two must be from out of town. You’ve arrived just in time! This is the son of the Prefect, Young Master Xue, marrying the daughter of the city’s wealthiest merchant, Master Shen. The Prefect has set up a street feast in the north of the city to celebrate with everyone, and those who offer congratulations can even get a lucky token. Young Master Xue is just about to arrive at the Shen estate to collect the bride,” a passerby explained helpfully, noticing Yezi’s pretty face.

“I see, thank you.”

Perhaps caught up in the festive atmosphere, Yezi became a bit more lively. She tugged on Feng Ya’s sleeve, her beautiful, clever eyes darting around. “Don’t you want to know what the bride looks like? Why don’t we go to the Shen estate and take a look?”

Feng Ya had no curiosity regarding the bride’s appearance, but seeing Yezi in such high spirits, she led her to the Shen estate ahead of the procession.

Feng Ya held Yezi’s hand as they used their lightness skills to easily enter the back courtyard of the Shen residence and find the young lady’s bedroom.

Feng Ya was pulled reluctantly into the room by Yezi, thinking to herself that if they were men, this would be the behavior of a common rogue.

But seeing the curious light in Yezi’s innocent eyes, she could only sigh inwardly: At least you’re a girl.

Yezi stood behind a screen, observing the bride in front of the bronze mirror. “A noble brow and moth-like eyebrows, but her eyes are full of sorrow. She is indeed a beauty.”

Feng Ya’s gaze lingered on Yezi’s face for a moment, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the assessment.

“Something’s not right. Today is her big day, so why does she look so unhappy and why hasn’t she put on her makeup?” Yezi whispered into Feng Ya’s ear.

Feng Ya tilted her head slightly to dissipate the warmth of Yezi’s breath against her ear. Before she could think of a reply, the door was pushed open. She quickly grabbed Yezi and hid deeper behind the screen.

The person who entered was a tall woman dressed in martial arts attire. At first, Feng Ya thought it was a maid, but looking closer, it didn’t seem likely.

“Wanqing, I’m asking you one last time, will you come with me?” the tall woman asked, looking at Miss Shen.

“I want to go, but if I leave, what happens to my father? What happens to the whole Shen family? The Prefect used his power to force this marriage. If I run away, he certainly won’t let the family off,” Miss Shen shook her head at the mirror, not turning to face the woman behind her.

“And so you’re content to spend your life with a man you don’t love, raising children and being trapped in a household forever?”

“Not content… but what can be done? The wedding procession will be here soon. You should leave quickly. You don’t truly belong to the Shen household anyway, there is no need to suffer with me.”

“If you’ve made up your mind, then I’m staying with you. The world is vast, but if you aren’t in it, what’s the point of me wandering alone?”

“Liuli, why do you still not understand? The Xue family demanded Shen Wanqing enter their doors, but they didn’t specify whether she should be alive or dead. Shen Wanqing will marry as promised, but they will receive a corpse. You belong to the wide world, why stay and drown in this muddy water with me?”

“How can any place with you be called muddy water? Whether in the highest heavens or the lowest underworld, I only wish to be with you in life and death.”

Well now. Yezi had only come out of curiosity to see a rich family’s bride, but she ended up hearing a story of life-and-death romance, and a female-to-female version at that. Since she had stumbled upon it, she couldn’t just stand by and watch.

Feng Ya saw the look of determination on Yezi’s face. Knowing what she was thinking, she gave an encouraging nod.

“I can help you.” Seeing someone suddenly walk out from behind the screen, Liuli instinctively drew the soft sword from her waist. Only after realizing the intruder was just a pretty young girl did she restrain the urge to put the blade to her throat.

“You said… you can help us?” Since things had already come to this, Liuli didn’t bother asking who she was or how she had gotten in.

“If I heard correctly, Miss Shen wants to marry into the Xue family to save her parents by sacrificing her life. Actually, there is another way. My build is similar to Miss Shen’s, I can marry into the Xue family in her place, and then I can fake my death to escape. This way, Miss Shen will have ‘married’ into the Xue family in front of everyone, and they’ll have no reason to trouble the Shen family.” In the blink of an eye, Yezi had formed a plan.

“The plan sounds fine, but we are strangers. This is far too risky for you, Miss,” Miss Shen said, her voice carrying that same faint sorrow.

“You needn’t worry about that. We people of the martial world should stand up for justice when we see it. If you’re uneasy, you can let this lady take you to a hiding spot first. Once everything is settled, you can leave quietly. That’s better than throwing your life away for nothing.” Yezi, who just a few days ago called herself a commoner of Yuanhe Town, had picked up quite a bit of heroics from her time with Feng Ya. To convince Miss Shen, she spoke like a true martial artist.

The reason Yezi dared to take such a risk was partly her confidence that a Prefect’s mansion couldn’t trap her, but more importantly, it was the encouragement of the person beside her that gave her immense confidence.

“You are truly noble, Miss. If we ever meet again, I, Liuli, will surely repay this great debt with my life,” Liuli had meant her words about following Wanqing to the grave, but now that someone had brought a glimmer of hope, who would choose death?

Why is it always another person wanting to repay a debt with their life? Yezi waved her hand and urged, “No need for more words. Just live a good life together from now on. Miss Shen, take off this wedding dress quickly, the procession is almost here.”

Feng Ya had stepped out from behind the screen at some point as well. After Yezi introduced her as one of their own, the owners of the room accepted her presence calmly.

The four of them worked in a hurried scramble and managed to get Yezi dressed just before the wedding party arrived.

Liuli took Miss Shen to a secret spot outside the estate where she usually spent time alone. Feng Ya masked her face and pretended to be Liuli, accompanying Yezi to the Xue mansion.

Fortunately, Liuli usually kept to herself and didn’t interact with many people. Feng Ya simply claimed she had developed a rash on her face, and no one questioned it.

Yezi arrived at the gates of the Xue mansion in the sedan chair. Young Master Xue dismounted, intending to carry the bride into the main hall, but Feng Ya stepped forward and snatched the task away from him.

Left standing there, Young Master Xue felt it was strange, but on such an auspicious day, he couldn’t lose his temper. He could only watch as this silent, tall woman carried his bride horizontally into the inner hall.

The sounds of congratulations and drums were deafening, so no one noticed that the bride, whose face was hidden by a red veil, was whispering to the woman carrying her.

“I didn’t realize you were so bold, coming up with the idea to be a substitute bride,” Feng Ya’s voice reached Yezi’s ear through focused internal energy, her tone unreadable.

“It was an emergency! We people of the martial world should be courageous and stand up for justice. You’re the one who taught me that,” Yezi murmured from Feng Ya’s arms, sounding very self-assured.

“When did I ever teach you to impersonate someone else?”

“When traveling the world, one must learn to be flexible. In extraordinary circumstances, one must use extraordinary means. Your martial arts are great, but you’re still a bit green when it comes to handling affairs. I’ll have to teach you more in the future,” Yezi said shamelessly.

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