Childhood Friend or Destined Encounter? - Chapter 7

Yezi kicked the loosened ropes aside and stood up just as the door was pushed open. Two men dressed in coarse, short-sleeved tunics stepped inside.

Seeing Feng Ya and Yezi standing freely in the room, the men were stunned. “You… you two…” Before they could finish, Feng Ya silenced them both with swift chops to the neck, knocking them unconscious.

“You’re not the only ones who can play dirty,” Feng Ya muttered. She began binding the unconscious men with the discarded ropes while Yezi stuffed wads of torn fabric from their own clothes into their mouths. After a moment’s thought, Yezi also gathered all the loose stones from the room and tossed them outside.

With that finished, Feng Ya picked up a longsword dropped by one of the men, took Yezi’s hand, and walked out of the room with confidence.

They hadn’t gone far before Yezi had a thought. “Should we take their clothes as a disguise?”

“No need. The knockout smoke ‘Hui’ used wasn’t strong. If these two don’t report back soon, others will come looking. We don’t know the art of disguise, and with two fresh faces, we’ll be recognized no matter what we wear. Our priority is to find a source of water as quickly as possible.” Feng Ya looked at the three-way fork in the path, momentarily unsure of which direction to take.

The layout of this building seemed ordinary, but it secretly followed the principles of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams. One wrong move could lead to being hopelessly lost, which was likely why the Baqi Pavilion hadn’t bothered with many guards.

However, this was no obstacle for Yezi. “The person who designed this building is a master of Qimen Dunjia. They must be very particular about the Five Elements. The Zhen position is due east, and the Third Palace belongs to Wood. Since water feeds wood, if we want to find water, we take the path to the east.”

Following Yezi’s lead, they quickly found two large water vats. Feng Ya tore a strip of cloth from her clothing, soaked it in water, and handed it to Yezi. Yezi understood immediately, using the wet cloth to cover her nose and mouth.

Feng Ya then pulled a tiny steel ball from her robe. This was the signal flare she had agreed upon with Chu Mingzhu. She had hidden it well, and the Baqi Pavilion members had missed it during their search. This specific flare required water to activate. She dropped the ball into the vat, and it began to spin violently on the surface, emitting a loud hissing sound before transforming into a plume of smoke that shot into the sky, bursting into a brilliant firework.

Having caused such a scene, Feng Ya didn’t bother moving further. She simply kept the wet cloth over her face and waited for their pursuers to come to them.

While they waited, Feng Ya shared her plan. “At least one squad will be here soon. I’ll handle the leader. As for the others, use your inner energy to draw from this vat and create a barrier. Just focus on protecting yourself.”

To demonstrate, Feng Ya placed her hand on the water vat and channeled her internal power. A mist rose, forming a shimmering shroud of water around her. It was transparent, with ripples of energy flowing through it, looking quite beautiful.

Yezi couldn’t help but reach out to touch it, but before her fingers could make contact, a force knocked her back nearly three feet.

“The method is great, but… I don’t have any inner energy,” Yezi said, looking at Feng Ya with wide, innocent eyes.

“You have no inner energy?”

Amused by Feng Ya’s shocked expression, Yezi laughed. “I’m just an ordinary resident of Yuanhe Town. Is it that strange for me to have no cultivation?”

An ordinary resident?

Feng Ya remained silent, placing her hand on Yezi’s lower abdomen. She probed for a few moments and found her dantian truly empty, not even matching the level of a novice martial artist.

This girl before her had entered the deep mountains alone to save her, was an expert in ancient mechanics, and was skilled in medicine, yet she truly didn’t possess a shred of internal power.

“Hey, how long are you planning to keep your hand there?” Yezi stared at the hand resting on her stomach, feeling a mix of embarrassment and annoyance.

“Sorry.” Feng Ya pulled her hand back quickly, her palm still tingling from the lingering warmth.

Before Feng Ya could think of something to say to break the awkwardness, Hui appeared with a group of men.

“I didn’t realize Heroine Feng had such tricks up her sleeve. I clearly underestimated you,” Hui said, holding his pipe with a forced, thin smile.

“Stop wasting words. If you want to fight, then fight.” Having been tricked once already, Feng Ya decided to skip the chatter. As she spoke, she swung her sword, sending out a blade of ki that forced Hui and his men back three steps.

Taking advantage of the opening, Feng Ya lunged forward, her sword aimed directly at Hui’s right hand holding the pipe.

Hui retreated rapidly, narrowly avoiding the strike, and triggered a mechanism in his pipe that shot a row of silver needles at her.

Feng Ya had been watching the pipe closely and was ready. She kicked off a nearby tree trunk, leaping into the air with a graceful, wide-sweeping movement like a crane spreading its wings. With a simple longsword, she carved out arcs of silver light, intercepting the needles and sending them flying back toward their source.

Failing his first attempt, Hui tried another tactic. He tossed the pipe into the air where it spun rapidly, trailing a rope of an unknown material.

The pipe looked ordinary but contained eighteen different mechanical traps. Hui used the rope as a whip, lunging at Feng Ya in an attempt to snatch her sword.

Feng Ya initially tried to cut the rope, but she found it impervious to blades. While she could have broken it with raw internal power, she decided against it.

Instead, she intentionally let go of her sword. As Hui smugly began to reel the rope back in, she grabbed one end and sprinted in circles around the thickest tree nearby.

To avoid being dragged toward her, Hui had no choice but to let go of the rope.

In an instant, the ten-foot rope was wrapped several times around the tree. Feng Ya reclaimed her sword and even took the time to tie a knot in the rope.

Hui’s expression turned grim. He used his inner energy to thrust the pipe toward Feng Ya’s face, hoping to repeat his earlier success. However, with the wet cloth over her nose, Feng Ya no longer feared the knockout smoke. She waited for the pipe to get close, then channeled her full power into a single strike, slicing the head of the pipe clean off.

Distraught at seeing his long-time treasure destroyed, Hui knew he couldn’t defeat Feng Ya easily. He signaled his men to capture Yezi while he stayed back to keep Feng Ya occupied.

Yezi appeared defenseless, yet her movements were as light as the wind. Even though she stayed within a small area, none of the men could even touch the hem of her clothes. In their frantic attempts to grab her, several of them accidentally injured each other.

At first, Feng Ya was worried about Yezi’s safety and kept glancing over. Seeing that she was in no immediate danger, Feng Ya focused entirely on Hui.

Hui had hoped to stall for time, but Feng Ya’s swordplay grew increasingly lethal. He soon found himself unable to keep up, and a cold blade was pressed against his throat.

“If the rest of you want to live, get out,” Feng Ya projected her voice with internal energy. The men trying to catch Yezi froze. Seeing their protector captured, they looked at each other with hesitation, wanting to flee but fearing the consequences.

“Tell them to leave.” Feeling the blade press deeper into his skin, Hui had no choice but to dismiss his subordinates.

“Take us to where the girls are being held.”

“What… what girls?” Hui feigned ignorance.

“Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” When Feng Ya was serious, she could be quite intimidating.

“Fine… fine, I’ll take you there.” With his life on the line, Hui became perfectly compliant.

Hui led them through the building for fifteen minutes. Eventually, Yezi realized something was wrong. She had seen this exact same scenery three times now.

This was the Baqi Pavilion’s home turf; Hui didn’t need to stall for time. Which meant…

“It’s a Soul-Confusing Array!” Hearing Yezi’s exclamation, Feng Ya stopped immediately. Her sword drew a thin line of blood on Hui’s neck. “You’re playing us?”

“Smart girls.” Realizing the ruse was up, Hui ignored the sword at his throat and swung his hand like a blade toward Feng Ya’s midsection.

Seeing the sudden shift in his expression, Feng Ya instinctively slashed his carotid artery, but she didn’t have time to protect herself.

Yezi lunged forward, grabbing Feng Ya and pulling her back out of Hui’s range. However, as she twisted away, Hui’s hand-blade grazed her waist, slicing through her clothes and skin.

Having delivered his final strike, blood erupted from Hui’s neck. He collapsed, unable to continue. With his dying breath, he gasped out, “Even if… you get out of this array… you won’t escape… Master Mahoraga!”

Feng Ya stared at the blood on Yezi’s waist, her heart hammering in her chest. She silently took Yezi’s small, trembling hand, thinking to herself: You saved my life again.

Startled by the sudden contact, Yezi turned to look at her. “One hundred taels.”

“What?” Feng Ya blinked, confused.

“I said I just saved you again, and it was really dangerous this time. You owe me at least another hundred taels.”

By now, Feng Ya was used to Yezi’s “accounting.” She replied smoothly, “Alright, I’ll add it to the tab.”

“You should calculate how much you owe me after all these days.”

“Two hundred taels,” Feng Ya answered instantly.

“Hmm, two hundred. It’s getting to be quite a lot, so you better remember it,” Yezi said, trying to look stern.

“Don’t worry, I’m keeping track of every penny,” Feng Ya said with a gentle smile.

“I’m not worried about that. It’s just that you’re so calm about it. You can’t just act like it’s nothing because I’m not charging you interest,” Yezi huffed.

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to charge interest,” Feng Ya said nonchalantly, sounding more like a debt collector than a debtor.

“Someone who hasn’t even paid back the principal shouldn’t talk so big,” Yezi muttered, rolling her eyes at Feng Ya’s audacity.

This bickering helped ease the tension left by the recent death.

Feng Ya moved Hui’s body to the side of the path and stood up, dusting off her hands. “I was so focused on the rescue that I forgot there was a leader here to deal with. His parting words reminded me.”

Though Yezi was still shaken by seeing a life end so abruptly, she knew it wasn’t the time for grief. She forced herself to stay calm. “I noticed the layout earlier. The leader’s quarters should be in the northwest, the Qian position. We need to get out of this array first.”

The array was called “Soul-Confusing” because it played tricks on the mind, making people believe they were walking in circles when they weren’t.

People often say seeing is believing, but sometimes, your eyes can lie to you.

Yezi tore a piece of fabric and tied it over her eyes. Holding Feng Ya’s hand, she began to walk, mentally calculating each step.

Feng Ya was worried Yezi might trip or hit something, but she watched in amazement as Yezi skillfully navigated around every obstacle, walking steadily along the stone path.

Soon, they were back where they had fought Hui. Yezi removed the blindfold and rubbed her temples, looking tired.

Feng Ya knew that navigating such arrays was mentally draining. She helped Yezi sit on a nearby tree stump. “Let’s rest for a moment and wait for Chu Mingzhu’s people.”

Yezi shook her head, her breath a bit shallow. “There are… too many strange arrays here. If Lady Chu brings her people in blindly, they’ll just… get trapped. We need to find Mahoraga’s location and leave… markers along the way.”

Though Feng Ya was worried about Yezi, she knew she was right. She had previously felt lucky to have such a capable guide, but seeing Yezi in pain made her feel a pang of regret.

When they first met, she only knew this girl was mysterious and talented. She had naturally assumed Yezi was a fellow martial artist.

After spending nearly two weeks together, Feng Ya realized she didn’t know Yezi at all. She said softly, “Since we met, I’ve been the one benefiting from your help and asking things of you. But I’ve never asked… what do you want?”

What did she want? Fragments of memories flashed through Yezi’s mind.

“This child’s Triple Burner meridians are severely damaged. She must never practice internal arts again.” A young Yezi hadn’t understood the weight of those words.

“Little Yezi, Master is going down the mountain for a while. Dinner is in the pot.” Her master never returned.

“This girl is pretty and untouched. She’ll fetch a good price.” Yezi had overheard strangers talking through a door, cold sweat soaking her back.

“There’s no more blood to take from this ‘fodder.’ Just take her and feed her to that thing.” A weakened Yezi had been carried off like a sack of grain, her will to survive the only thing keeping her conscious.

…

“I just want to live,” Yezi said, her voice tinged with self-mockery.

Feng Ya fell silent. People sought many things: fame, power, peerless martial arts, or love. Yet this young woman’s only wish was simply to survive. It was the simplest of goals, yet often the hardest to achieve.

Recalling Yezi’s behavior over the past few days, a sense of clarity washed over Feng Ya. She reached out and placed her hands on Yezi’s shoulders, looking her in the eye. Her gaze was as clear as flowing water. “If you’re willing to trust me, I will make sure you live, no matter what it takes. And this isn’t a business transaction.”

Trust? Yezi froze. Since her master left, “trust” had been removed from her vocabulary. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to; she just didn’t dare. She had trusted people before, and it had left her scarred. Now, she only relied on herself.

And yet, this woman she’d known for only a few days was telling her to trust her. Her instinct was to argue, but the sincerity in Feng Ya’s eyes made the words die in her throat.

Yezi gripped the sleeves of the woman holding her shoulders and remained silent for a long time.

In the end, she didn’t tell Feng Ya the secret of her body. It wasn’t out of a lack of trust, but because she saw no reason to drag Feng Ya down with her.

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