Three Steps: From Assassin to Empress - Chapter 3
Chapter 3: “Is this your true face?”
Lush trees and vibrant foliage flourished on the mountainside. Holding a bouquet of lotus flowers, Ying Xiu was led by a servant into a courtyard.
The courtyard was located in the mountains not far from the Yuan River, where the distant sound of waves could be faintly heard. Two rows of egrets flew across the sky, their wings flapping.
The servant pushed open a screen door and quietly withdrew, leaving Ying Xiu alone in the large courtyard. Ying Xiu stood in the main hall, holding his lotus flowers and looking around.
A bamboo pavilion stood not far away, and Ying Xiu assumed Xie Zhou was sitting up high. He subconsciously looked up, searching for him.
“Yo-yo—”
A deer’s call sounded from somewhere, and a snowy-white figure emerged from a round moon gate. It was a deer, completely pure white. Ying Xiu froze, watching the white deer walk toward him. It lowered its head and, as if no one else were there, began to eat the lotus flowers in his arms.
This was… a thief!
Ying Xiu quickly offered it the flower it had already taken a bite of, then urgently rescued the remaining ones, cradling them in his arms to keep the deer away.
A light laugh sounded from a distance. Ying Xiu followed the sound. Behind a series of moon gates, a bamboo forest cast a beautiful pattern of light and shadow. Xie Zhou stood there alone, holding a bundle of hay in his arms. It looked like he had just gotten off the ship and had come to feed the deer.
Is this how the Xie clan treats its retainers?
Ying Xiu felt a bit indignant for him. He glanced at the white deer that had stolen his flowers, and his gaze softened. It was a beautiful deer, pristine and graceful.
“Ying Xiu.”
Xie Zhou called his name. It was two very soft words, but they carried an unspoken weight—the pressure of a superior with the power to give or take life.
Before his mind could even process it, Ying Xiu instinctively sped toward him. In just a few steps, he used his lightness skill, his feet barely touching the ground, gliding past several moon gates and landing gracefully beside Xie Zhou. His robes billowed out, settling like a pale green lotus flower.
Ying Xiu, from Guangling, Xuzhou. He came from a family of northern refugees. In the eighth year of Yongning, he was registered as a retainer for the Wang clan of Langya and became a trusted confidant of Wang Shouzhen, the young master of the Wang family.
He was also an assassin personally trained by the Wang clan.
What was the intention behind sending such a young, naive assassin to him?
Xie Zhou had planned to kill Ying Xiu, but he had never seen Ying Xiu’s real lightness skill before. He decided to watch first, then kill him.
Ying Xiu was completely unaware of this. He just felt a sudden chill on the back of his neck, a shiver despite the crisp autumn air. Perhaps he had caught a cold from the river wind last night and needed an extra blanket when he got back.
He handed the lotus flowers to Xie Zhou, a little embarrassed. After assassinating so many nobles over the years, he had learned a thing or two. Gifts between noble families were always valuable and elegant. These lotus flowers, which were everywhere in the water, might seem a bit too humble.
Xie Zhou accepted the flowers, holding the hay in one arm and the lotus flowers in the other. Water droplets from the flowers dampened his snowy white sleeve. Xie Zhou looked deeply at the lotus flowers and gave a faint smile. “Thank you.”
Once, someone had tried to poison him using flowers. Afterward, the person’s hands were broken, their bones were crushed, and they died among the scattered flowers. Since then, no one had dared to give him flowers.
Were Ying Xiu and the Wang clan behind him testing his limits with this?
He felt an even greater chill. It was midday, yet his neck was still cold. The place was so cold, a testament to how little the Xie clan cared about Xie Zhou.
A hint of anger appeared in Ying Xiu’s clear eyes. He reached out and took the hay from Xie Zhou, placing it in front of the deer. “The Xie clan treats its retainers like this? Making you feed the deer yourself? Why don’t you talk to them about it?” he said, sounding like he was scolding him for not fighting back.
Xie Zhou slowly lowered his gaze, looking at the young man with a strange expression. He couldn’t seem to figure out what the young man was thinking.
Retainer? The Xie clan?
He had mistaken him for a retainer of the Xie clan, and a neglected one at that. Xie Zhou was so used to being “bullied” that when he heard he should fight back, his beautiful and cold face remained indifferent, as if he were numb to it. Ying Xiu even noticed a hint of almost imperceptible surprise.
Ying Xiu felt a little sorry for Xie Zhou. As a retainer, he wasn’t being used for important tasks, unlike himself, who was good friends with Jianxin and they supported each other.
“Don’t be afraid,” Ying Xiu encouraged him. “I’ll teach you lightness skills. It’ll be easier for you to leave the Xie clan and find a new lord if you want to.”
With that, the young man suddenly leaped up, flew onto a green bamboo stalk, and stood steadily on its tip. His billowing robes fluttered in the wind, light and graceful like a spiritual egret. The branches swayed, casting shadows that moved with his handsome face.
Xie Zhou stood on the ground, looking up at him. He said thoughtfully, “Is this your true face?”
When he said this, Ying Xiu nearly fell off the bamboo stalk. He quickly steadied himself, pretending nothing had happened. “What makes you say that?” he asked in a serious tone. “Can a person have a second face?”
Ying Xiu was skilled at disguising himself, using special powders and white clay to change his facial structure and appearance. Other than his body shape, which he couldn’t change, he could transform into countless different people in a short time.
The answer was what he expected. Xie Zhou didn’t press the matter. Ying Xiu had a pair of beautiful eyes, clear and sparkling. Looking at them, one could tell how delicate and lively his true face must be.
“Come on, I’ll teach you lightness skills.” To quickly change the subject, Ying Xiu flew down beside Xie Zhou, reached out, and pulled him up. He used his wrist, effortlessly lifting him and flying toward the rooftop.
The archers hiding behind the rooftop beasts were stunned to see Emperor Zhaosu flying onto the roof with the young man. Their eyes widened, and they quickly retreated, each looking for a new place to hide.
His wrist was held through his sleeve. The young man’s hand was warm, with well-defined bones. The beautiful, slender arm was covered with a thin layer of muscle. It was a hand that was used to wielding a sword.
Xie Zhou endured the unfamiliar touch, letting Ying Xiu pull his hand and fly onto the rooftop.
Ying Xiu only felt that Xie Zhou’s arm was a bit cold, like iron. The muscles were knotted, and he could faintly feel the veins pulsing. He’s a beautiful retainer in a white robe, but how does he feel stronger than me, an assassin?
…Is it a misconception?
When he had first entered the courtyard, he thought he felt a lot of people in the shadows. There were also people on the roof. He even vaguely saw the cold gleam of arrowheads from the corner of his eye. Now, there wasn’t a single person. Was that a misconception too?
I really need to add another blanket when I get back. The river wind must have muddled my head, Ying Xiu thought.
Standing on the rooftop, the sky was vast, and the ocean was wide. He could even see the endless flow of the Yuan River in the distance. The vast expanse of the river was as green as a jade disc.
Ying Xiu wasn’t in the mood to enjoy the scenery. He wanted to secretly look at Xie Zhou when he wasn’t looking, but when he turned his head, he was caught. The other man’s white robes fluttered in the wind. He was calm and serene, his dark eyes looking at him with a hint of inquiry. “What is your goal?”
…Is it okay to say that?
Looking at a face so beautiful it was one of a kind, Ying Xiu’s ears felt a little hot. He said earnestly, “I just want to look at you more.”
As soon as he said this, Ying Xiu instantly regretted it. Wouldn’t that make him sound like a pervert who was infatuated at first sight? Nobles spoke in subtle and indirect ways. This was too direct. Would Xie Zhou think he was an uncultured peasant…?
Xie Zhou was silent. It seemed he hadn’t expected such a brazen remark. He asked, “…Is that all?”
An assassin, deliberately approaching him, just to look at him more?
Ying Xiu nodded vigorously and couldn’t help but praise him: “You’re even more beautiful than an immortal.” The famous scholars of the era often revered the supernatural, so praising Xie Zhou in this way should be fine.
Xie Zhou didn’t like immortals and didn’t believe in them. In fact, he disliked anything related to ghosts and gods. But the young man in front of him was praising him with sparkling eyes, saying he was more beautiful than an immortal. Even Xie Zhou himself didn’t notice that his lips had curved into a faint smile. He reached out and touched the young man’s delicate eyelashes, his voice gentle: “Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are truly beautiful?”
The man’s fingers were well-defined, and his fingertips were icy cold. The moment they touched his eyelashes, Ying Xiu involuntarily flinched. A sense of danger uncontrollably crept up his spine. This feeling was so strange… It was even more bizarre than a sharp sword slicing through flesh and bl00d. It felt like a gentle scalding with boiling water, or like being covered in falling flowers.
The young assassin was so shocked by this unprecedented sensation that he froze on the spot. It wasn’t until the other man withdrew his hand that he snapped out of it as if waking from a dream. “My eyes? No one has ever told me my eyes are beautiful.”
Most of the people who had seen his eyes up close were already dead. The remaining two or three knew his identity and were more or less in awe of his martial arts skills. They didn’t dare to look him in the eye, let alone praise them.
Ying Xiu had never thought his eyes were beautiful. The sudden compliment left him flattered, and he smiled lightly, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
They looked even more beautiful.
Xie Zhou stared at Ying Xiu’s eyes, and it seemed he was beginning to understand the Wang clan’s scheme.
Lightness skills couldn’t be learned in a short time. Ying Xiu demonstrated for Xie Zhou, flying gracefully across the rooftops, stepping on the eaves, his movements secretive and silent. He seemed to be a born assassin, destined for silent infiltration in the darkness.
“It’s getting late,” Ying Xiu flew back to Xie Zhou’s side, pulled him off the roof, and they landed on the ground. “I should go.”
As an assassin, a disguise used for a mission should never be used a second time. To come and see Xie Zhou, he had risked a great deal by using it again. To avoid implicating Xie Zhou, it was better for him to leave quickly.
Xie Zhou didn’t say anything. His handsome, cold face was expressionless, his eyes serene and aloof, as if he were hesitating. Could he be hesitating whether to ask me to stay?
Ying Xiu’s heart immediately softened. He took a few quick steps in front of him. “I’ll come to see you again.”
Xie Zhou looked at him and nodded slightly. The archers hiding everywhere saw this and raised their bows a little, unstringing their ready arrows. The sharp arrowheads were put back into their quivers.
Ying Xiu was completely unaware that he had just escaped death. He leaped onto the black eaves, turned around, and waved to Xie Zhou below. He shouted, “I’ll be back again!”
The young man with his robes fluttering flew away like an egret. As he left, he said he would return.
General Shang quietly walked to Emperor Zhaosu’s side. He had been in the bamboo pavilion the whole time, ready to shoot an arrow at any moment. With just one arrow, he could have captured the noble assassin named Ying Xiu.
Captured. He had observed Emperor Zhaosu’s demeanor and guessed that he wanted to capture the young assassin.
But who could have guessed…
That Emperor Zhaosu, a man with bl00d on his hands who had killed without blinking an eye, would be holding lotus flowers, letting the dew on them dampen his white robes.