A City Swept by Wind and Snow GL - Chapter 43 1.2

◎The Demon Slayer looked at her and sighed: “Xue Qianxun, you are cherished by many people.”◎

Knowing that Jin Se was reluctant to use her beast-taming skills to hunt animals, Xue Qianxun took the lead as the hunter, asking Jin Se and Yi Xin-ci to wait where they were. Seeing her serious demeanor and posture as the determined ‘grown woman,’ they couldn’t bear to undermine her and had to let her go. No sooner had she left than Jin Se quietly followed. Jin Se watched Xue Qianxun’s small back from a distance. Although extremely exhausted, Xue Qianxun was working very hard and full of energy. Xue Qianxun didn’t know that, outside her field of vision, a pair of misty, vast eyes were watching her with such tenderness.

The few dozen people of Water Moon Palace occupied a vast mountain area. Birds and beasts in the forest were plentiful, and it was not difficult to find prey. However, the rational Xue Qianxun ultimately couldn’t bring herself to attack a living creature and hesitated for a long time.

The Demon Slayer appeared from nowhere, teasing: “Hey, you lunatic who swore to have the whole world as your funeral sacrifice, you can’t bear to kill a deer now?”

Xue Qianxun stared at him in surprise, as if seeing a ghost: “How can you appear and disappear like a phantom! I can sense the aura of a deer several zhang away, yet I couldn’t sense you were right behind me!”

The Demon Slayer smiled shyly: “Thank you. As a top-tier master, how can I not know how to be a phantom?”

Xue Qianxun returned a roll of her eyes. Noticing the deer had run far away, she didn’t pursue it, sighing lightly: “I’ll just eat wild fruits then.” And she prepared to head back.

However, the Demon Slayer had already picked up a small stone and was about to flick it at the distant deer. Xue Qianxun quickly stopped him, paused, and suddenly snatched the stone from his hand, chasing a few steps before personally flicking the stone to kill the deer. The distance was far, but it was a single, fatal blow. Xue Qianxun herself was astonished, and the feeling was completely written on her face.

The Demon Slayer scoffed, sneering: “A trivial skill, what’s there to be proud of? Can’t bear it one moment, wants to kill the next. It’s inexplicable.”

Xue Qianxun said: “For those destined to die because of me, I will not let others do it. And… I think I still need to eat meat.”

From afar, Jin Se saw Xue Qianxun and the Demon Slayer together. What was surprising was that there was no hostility between them; they seemed to be getting along quite well. Jin Se felt that Xue Qianxun was not in any danger. At the same time, she was a little worried about Yi Xin-ci and returned before they noticed her.

Yi Xin-ci was an expert chef. Even roasting a deer over a fire pit, she managed to create supreme delicacies. She also meticulously added several medicinal herbs to provide maximum nourishment for everyone’s injured bodies.

The Demon Slayer inhaled the aroma of the roasted meat, closing his eyes in enjoyment. Xue Qianxun was not good at showing care to people she wasn’t familiar with; Yi Xin-ci did not even want to look at the Demon Slayer’s face. Only Jin Se invited him to eat together, which he declined.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Jin Se asked.

“No appetite.”

“Something on your mind?”

“Less than yours.”

“Why do you always linger around us?”

“This is Water Moon Palace’s territory. I can be wherever I want.”

“You don’t look like our enemy this way.”

“Covert agents rarely show hostility on their faces, you know.” The Demon Slayer looked at Xue Qianxun next to Jin Se with a meaningful glance.

Xue Qianxun understood the provocation in his eyes and said coldly: “Go away.”

The Demon Slayer was very unhappy. No one would happily accept those three words.

Jin Se asked: “Did Xinghai tell you to watch us?”

“If I understood correctly, Xinghai wanted me to kill you. How much do you think he fears Nangong Qing?”

“Then why don’t you?”

“Who cares about him.”

“Aren’t you his covert agent?”

“No,” the Demon Slayer said casually.

Could it be that he was neither He Qishu’s covert agent nor Xinghai’s covert agent?

Xue Qianxun asked: “How is a covert agent ultimately proven to belong to someone? Where is the covert agent’s first contract kept?”

Jin Se said: “With the Jianghu Scholar. You probably don’t know yet, but a covert agent’s title must also be recognized by Nangong Qing. A covert agent’s words and actions must follow the rules established by Nangong Qing. That’s what distinguishes covert agents from mere spies.”

Xue Qianxun asked: “So covert agents must follow specific rules. What are they?”

Jin Se said: “There are many. If you want to be a covert agent, Nangong Qing’s parrot will bring you a long scroll covered in tiny writing of the rules, which you’ll have to memorize.”

Xue Qianxun stuck out her tongue: “I think Nangong Qing shouldn’t be a Jianghu Scholar; he should govern the country instead. He constantly sets up all sorts of laws and clauses, making the people of the world act according to his rules.”

Jin Se smiled: “That’s an interesting thought.”

Xue Qianxun said: “Look how busy he is. The titles of dark martial artists must be approved by him, and the first contract of a covert agent must be confirmed by him. He also has to monitor whether the covert agents are violating the rules. There are so many people in the martial world. How can one Jianghu Scholar manage who is practicing dark martial arts and who wants to become a covert agent?”

Jin Se said: “Nangong Qing is indeed extraordinary. These two rules were established only after he became the Jianghu Scholar. However, the martial world has indeed become much more orderly under his guidance, although there are always those who are unwilling to abide by the rules.”

The Demon Slayer added: “Before Nangong Qing, there was no referee for the Heavenly Origin Martial Debate either.”

Xue Qianxun looked deeply moved.

The Demon Slayer said: “Do you think he’s truly remarkable?”

Xue Qianxun shook her head, saying: “I think he is too exhausted.” After saying that, she sighed faintly, looking worried.

Yi Xin-ci asked: “Little Sister Xue, what are you worried about?”

Xue Qianxun said: “Nangong Qing is everywhere, making contemptible schemers afraid of his supervision. In the Spring River Courtyard, I often heard people discuss the Jianghu Scholar Nangong Qing. Everyone is wary of him, as if he is an invisible net, constraining the form of the entire martial world. He is trying to establish laws and constraints, especially targeting the strong. How much power is needed to support this? To achieve it single-handedly, there is no one else but Nangong Qing. But what happens when he encounters someone stronger than him? What happens when he ages and dies? When the tightly bound constraints suddenly disappear, what will happen to the power that has been suppressed all this time?”

Yi Xin-ci said: “A regulated world can protect the weak to the greatest extent. Nangong Qing is doing his utmost to make this world fair. He does not allow the strong to do as they please.”

The Demon Slayer said: “Speaking of which, this method of constraining the behavior of all living beings through overwhelming martial power was not invented by Nangong Qing. That was the style of the Great Night Dynasty. Those who wanted to act wantonly were severely suppressed with even harsher force. This method of rule lasted for over seven thousand years. Until a few hundred years ago, when the power of the Ye clan declined…”

Xue Qianxun knew the modern history after the decline of the Ye clan: the world was plunged into chaos, and life was ravaged. Moreover, she also knew that the strongest sword the Ye clan used to constrain all living beings was the Susha family, known for its formidable martial might.

Yi Xin-ci said: “Susha was once called the ‘Great Night Sacred Sword.’ Today’s Jianghu Scholar can also be considered the Sacred Sword of the Huading Dynasty.”

“No,” the Demon Slayer said. “I actually think Nangong Qing is not doing this for the Emperor. Besides, the Emperor has never met him in person.”

Xue Qianxun was quick to react, saying: “How do you know he hasn’t met him? You seem to know a lot about the royal family.”

The Demon Slayer smiled provocatively: “What, are you jealous? You were King Zhuang’s favorite for so long, and yet you didn’t learn much.”

Xue Qianxun said: “I was by his side? He was by my side! If he hadn’t actively sought me out, who would have recognized him?”

The Demon Slayer sighed lightly: “You ungrateful brat, don’t say such heartless things, alright? King Zhuang… he really likes you.”

“Who needs his liking,” Xue Qianxun mumbled.

“If it weren’t for him, would you have been so carefree in a place like that brothel? He was constantly protecting you,” the Demon Slayer was merciless.

“Without him, Jin Se would protect me too!” Xue Qianxun blurted out. She had sworn to be mature and calm, but now she was all puffed up with anger again. However, as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt a pang of guilt.

The Demon Slayer looked at her and sighed: “Xue Qianxun, you are cherished by many people.”

Xue Qianxun stopped arguing with him. The hand holding the roasted deer leg trembled slightly. This was the best piece of meat that Yi Xin-ci had specially given her. Why did even Yi Xin-ci, whom she hadn’t known for very long, feel that giving her extra care was a natural thing?

Yes, she had always monopolized too much affection. Xifeng, Jin Se, Yi Xin-ci went without saying, but there were also Tang Fei, Diwu Mei… and even He Qishu—the person she had tried to kill with clumsy means—who had indeed often indulged her. She suddenly had a terrifying feeling that this undeserved protection would one day be reclaimed by fate, with interest, and she would once again be cast into the deep chasm of loneliness. Thinking of this, she realized how much she feared solitude. Her childhood, living in seclusion with two mute old women on Holy Wolf Peak, was a shadow that would forever linger in her memory.

“A lifetime of isolation is her destiny,” her father, that stranger named Susha Xingjian, had said coldly.

“Nonsense! Even if I have to snatch it, I will have this companionship! I will never allow fate to take it away… I don’t want to be alone ever again…” Xue Qianxun thought fiercely, grinding her teeth. When she thought about something, her expression would reveal it.

Jin Se saw her brows tightly furrowed, looking very amusing, and reached out to gently smooth her forehead, saying softly: “Little one, what are you pondering again?”

“Xue Qianxun,” the Demon Slayer suddenly said, “are you already King Zhuang’s woman?”

The preoccupied Xue Qianxun nearly choked on her food and couldn’t help but say angrily: “What do you mean? Who is his woman? You are his woman!” Her face was flushed, as if she had suffered a great humiliation, and she became incoherent.

Jin Se only chuckled on the side. This made Xue Qianxun even more embarrassed, and she swore: “If I could, I would never want to see He Qishu again! I’d rather he didn’t exist in the world! I’d rather we had never met!”

“Hey, are you so eager to disassociate yourself from that person?” The Demon Slayer only showed a sigh on his face. “That person is a dragon among men in both appearance and talent. Is he really that contemptible to you? Or are you simply guilty because you have accepted too many favors from him?”

Xue Qianxun completely lost her appetite for the delicious deer leg, huffing: “Does being highly positioned, powerful, and wealthy make you great? You’re right, he saved me when the owner of the Spring River Courtyard nearly beat me to death. I also frankly told him that I never liked him, but I still cunningly treated him with respect and accepted his help. I relied on his influence to be safe and sound in a place like that… But, does that mean I must be at his beck and call? When I have money, I will definitely repay him ten-fold, a hundred-fold! If his life were ever in danger, I would definitely risk my life to save him once…” She suddenly stopped herself at this point.

Jin Se burst into uncontrollable laughter.

—Risk her life to save him once? Who was it that hired the assassin Three Blades to assassinate He Qishu not long ago? Probably no one knew the beginning and end of this matter better than Jin Se.

“Alright, I understand what you mean,” the Demon Slayer impatiently waved his hand, saying: “In short, you can give him anything but a shred of genuine affection.”

“Don’t presume to understand me,” Xue Qianxun was displeased and said bitterly: “You annoying ghost.”

“How do you know I don’t understand you? You ungrateful brat.” The Demon Slayer was not annoyed. After saying that, he sighed up at the sky: “He Qishu, you were a hero of your generation. How did you fall into the hands of this little wolf cub? What was the point of all this.”

“Achoo—” On the pitch-black desolate plain in the north, the handsome and imposing noble man on horseback suddenly sneezed.

“Little Shu, when did you become so frail?” He Qishu’s side, the Emperor He Qirui, dressed in golden luxurious robes, teased leisurely.