Chapter Text
This, was certainly not what Zhou Zishu would have expected when he, along with his soulmate, Lord Seventh and the Great Shaman decided to visit Ye Baiyi at Changming mountain during the new year. All could have gone well if only Wen Kexing did not meddle with Ye Baiyi who was overly absorbed in some sort of array he was studying at that time, and Wen Kexing, trying to annoy the hell out of Ye Baiyi as usual, messed with the array. A flashing light appeared, and before any of them managed to register what happened, Zhou Zishu found himself on a long untouched bed.
He was back to being the cruel and apathetic Zhou Zishu, the leader of the Window of Heaven.
He was bewildered at first, but he eventually came to understand what happened when he met Bi Changfeng and then Han Ying. Between dreaming and travelling back into the past, and with Ye Baiyi studying some sort of strange, confusing array before he ended up where he was now, he felt the latter might have a higher possibility. Ye Baiyi did not look like the type of man who would go to lengths merely to get himself a nice dream.
Having said that, he knew he did not have the time to waste. He needed a plan to save Bi Changfeng, Han Ying and the other juniors who ended up becoming his disciples in the future. Alas, before he managed to come out with a plan, Prince Jin had sent him on an urgent mission. That sort of explained the reason he was here now, facing none other than Princess Jing’an and Office Li. He was relieved to know that he had not killed her yet. This time around, he would save her, but it did not look like she needed his protection at all when he was standing in the middle of the manor surrounded by more than a dozen men with highly skilled martial arts, although nowhere near as strong as he was, pointing their swords at him.
He recognized these people. They came from the legendary Gold Masks Sect where they would get rid of any men as requested upon being hired. They were known for their clean skills in getting rid of anyone without leaving any traces behind. No one had ever managed to find the corpses that had been murdered in their hands. Some said these people were good with poison while some said they were simply highly skilled in their martial arts, but there were none who could have proven how exactly what technique these people used to kill.
Given how many the Window of Heaven had offended, he would not be surprised to reach the day when this Gold Masks Sect would come to him, especially after he had left the Window of Heaven in the future. What surprised him now though was the fact that these people were in Officer Li’s manor.
Unlike the previous time, Officer Li’s manor seemed well prepared, almost as if they had known about the arrival of the Window of Heaven. Rather than ambushing into the manor, the Window of Heaven was ambushed instead. Glancing around, he could see more than a dozen men died, some were killed upon sneaking into the manor, and some died for resisting to stay obedient. The others, upon his order, stayed silent with their wrists bound and they were brought to somewhere else and locked up within this manor upon Officer Li's order while he was currently facing Officer Li and Princess Jing'an, a row of what he assumed was poison placed before him.
“In these ten bottles, there is only one which is non-poisonous. Pick one, Lord Manor Zhou.”
Zhou Zishu’s eyebrow quirked as he turned his attention from the row of poisons to Princess Jing’an, “What will happen after I pick one? Are you going to force the poison on the others as well?”
“No,” Officer Li said firmly, “We will have them deliver your corpse to Prince Jin.”
Zhou Zishu chuckled, “And you think this will stop Prince Jin from killing your family?”
“The Window of Heaven will not be so strong without you. With you gone, I am sure we can manage.”
Zhou Zishu barked out a laugh. If only Duan Pengju was here, he bet the man would be so infuriated to hear that.
Wordlessly, he went over to the row of bottles of poison and simply grabbed one of them. He removed the lid and took in the smell, immediately noticing that this was one of the most toxic poisons that could be found in Central Plain.
They really wanted him dead as soon as possible.
“Wait!”
Startled by the familiar voice, Zhou Zishu froze. He watched incredulously as a young man flew down from the rooftop and landed on his feet just before him. His blood ran cold, and he found himself unable to avert his gaze from the face of the man who he had thought he would never be able to see again.
There was a deafening silence as both the martial brothers had their eyes locked together, none making any attempt to speak. Princess Jing’an and Officer Li turned to glance at each other, unsure of what to do given the current situation.
“Shixiong.”
In the end, it was Qin Jiuxiao who broke the silence, much to everyone’s surprise.
“You are alive,” Zhou Zishu stated firmly.
Zhou Zishu glanced at Princess Jing’an, and then at Officer Li before he turned around to scrutinize his surrounding. Officer Li and his family were clearly well prepared, and with the addition of his junior martial brother standing before him now merely strengthened his logic on what he was facing at the moment.
Officer Li, Princess Jing’an, Qin Jiuxiao, with how their eyes wore nothing but hatred towards him, he could almost be sure that they were all time travellers, just like him and Lao Wen. Returning his concern to the danger he was facing, his eyes once again turned to the row of bottles of poison that were gifted to him by none other than his precious junior martial brother’s lover.
He moved his fingers across each of the bottles before turning to his junior martial brother, “Shidi, do you share the same wish as your lover and her father?”
“I...!” Qin Jiuxiao was dumbfounded by the sudden question, and so he decided to change the topic, “You were planning to kill Jing’an and her family.”
A faint smile lingered on Zhou Zishu’s lips, his eyes still fixed on the row of bottles of poison, “I suppose you will not tell me which one of them is non-poisonous?”
Or it might be possible that all of them were poisonous, but he would not exactly say that out loud. Besides, he had never been the type who was fortunate, so even if there was one out of ten possibilities of picking a non-poisonous one, he doubted he would be fortunate enough to pick it.
In any case, his junior martial brother wanted him dead. He was hating him so much now, and it was perfectly understandable considering what he had done in the past.
He took the second bottle of poison and removed the lid before placing back in its original place, then he repeated the same step for the third and the rest of the bottles of poison. The others present merely stared at him, confounded by what he was planning. When the lid for all ten bottles of poisons had been removed, he placed the first bottle on his lips and gulped down the content. When he was done, he took the second one and did the same as the first, and when that was done too, he repeated the same action for the remaining bottles of poison.
The others merely stared at him in shock. It was only when Zhou Zishu reached for the second last poison did Qin Jiuxiao finally move. He looked horrified as he dashed forward, grasping his senior martial brother’s wrist to stop him from continuing with his ridiculous act.
Alas, as he took a closer look, Zhou Zishu had successfully gulped down the second last poison. There was only one poison left.
Qin Jiuxiao turned back and eyed the last poison. He stretched his hand forward, but Zhou Zishu was much faster. The last bottle of poison was in Zhou Zishu’s hand within a blink of an eye. Qin Jiuxiao stretched his hand forward again, trying to snatch the poison away but Zhou Zishu used another hand to block him as he gulped down the last poison too.
“No!”
Ignoring his junior martial brother’s terrified cry, Zhou Zishu threw the last emptied bottle on the ground. He glanced up and finally realized everyone was staring at him like he was a madman. Well, perhaps he was. Anyone would probably go mad too if a junior martial brother that you had thought was long dead returned to life all of a sudden and wanted you dead.
“Are you all satisfied now? Can you all release my other members of the Window of Heaven now so that they can deliver my corpse back to Prince Jin?” Zhou Zishu’s eyes were fixed on Officer Li and Princess Jing’an before he glanced over at his junior martial brother.
Qin Jiuxiao was stunned. His eyes widened with tears welling up in them, still trying hard to believe what he had just seen.
“Antidotes...” The voice came out just like a whisper, although Qin Jiuxiao did not seem to have realized how soft his voice was. His lips were quivering, and his heart trembled, “Jing’an, quick! Give my Shixiong the antidotes!”
Qin Jiuxiao’s eyes continued to fix on his senior martial brother, terrified that Zhou Zishu might either collapse or start throwing up blood any time soon. While he was too busy scrutinizing his senior martial brother, he did not realize that his words had fallen on deaf ears. It took him quite some time before he realized the two behind him neither responded to him nor moved around to get the antidotes.
“Jing’an?” Qin Jiuxiao turned back to glance at his lover, bemused, “Jing’an, are you listening? We need the antidotes!”
“Jiuxiao,” Princess Jing’an lowered her head, “There are no antidotes.”
“What?” Qin Jiuxiao was confounded.
“There are no antidotes, Jiuxiao,” Princess Jing’an repeated, her eyes still fixed on the ground, “There are no antidotes for any one of these ten poisons.”
Qin Jiuxiao staggered a step back, petrified, “W-What?”
Officer Li glanced at his daughter, knowing how his daughter who had been gentle and kind all her life was not used to something like this. He knew they had both broken their promise to Qin Jiuxiao, and that Qin Jiuxiao might not forgive his daughter later, but getting rid of Zhou Zishu was necessary not only to save his family but also to save the others. Who knew who the Window of Heaven was actually targeting after they finished them? He extended an arm and pulled his daughter into his embrace to comfort her.
“That...” Qin Jiuxiao felt there was a lump in his throat, but he still forced himself to speak, “That is not what we have agreed upon.”
At that said, Zhou Zishu turned to his junior martial brother, slightly wondering what exactly had they agreed upon although it made not much difference now anyway.
“Jing'an, you are joking with me, right? You are just trying to scare my Shixiong, right?” Qin Jiuxiao asked, voice somewhat pleading, but Princess Jing’an continued to stay in her father’s embrace, refusing and afraid to look up to see the possible hatred towards her in the eyes of the man that she loved.
“Why?!” Qin Jiuxiao clenched his fists. He was trembling with rage. If there were really no antidotes, if his senior martial brother were really to die from the poisons, then wouldn’t it make him the one who killed his senior martial brother?
“Jiuxiao,” Officer Li stepped forward and pulled his daughter behind him, shielding her from Qin Jiuxiao’s rage, “I know this is not what we have discussed, but your Shixiong needs to die. He deserves it. If we let him leave alive today, only more innocents would die under his cruel hands. However, this is my decision. It has nothing to do with Jing’an. If you want to blame someone for your Shixiong’s death, then by all means, please put the blame onto me.”
“Father!”
Officer Li raised a hand up to stop his daughter from interrupting, “I do not regret what I have done. Zhou Zishu, you have done evil and killed so many innocents, you should have expected that such a day would come to you.”
Zhou Zishu tugged his lips into a bitter smile, “Of course.”
There was no doubt that he had always been prepared for his death, but what he could have never expected was for his junior martial brother to cheer for his death.
“The ten poisons are ranked the top 10 poisonous in Central Plain,” Officer Li said with a frown, “One would not be able to remain standing as soon as they took one out of these ten poisons, but Lord Manor Zhou, you look like you are not affected by the poisons at all.”
All eyes were on Zhou Zishu who seemed rather confused himself too. He concentrated to feel any sort of poison within him, but all he could feel was the long-forgotten blockage of his internal strength. That was when he remembered he was supposed to insert his seventh nail today.
“Right, I forgot,” Zhou Zishu said, somehow feeling a little nostalgic after not having any nails in him for so long.
The nails might be the reason why he was not affected by any of the poisons. The six out of seven nails he had inserted into himself were highly poisonous, and with these in one’s body, those poisons that were not as strong could never pose any danger to him. However, he only had six nails in him at the moment. There was still a possibility that those poisons he had just taken would suddenly attack him later.
That, however, was something he should worry about later. He unsheathed his sword to defend himself against the Gold Masks sect who were attacking him all of a sudden. Officer Li must have given them the signal to eliminate him upon finding out that the poisons were not working on him.
While he fought against those surrounding him, he caught sight of his junior martial brother unsheathing his sword. He was not quite sure who exactly was his junior martial brother trying to fight against though. He might want to help him fight against the members of the Gold Masks sect, but there was also a high possibility that he was joining the Gold Masks Sect to fight him. With a swift strike, Zhou Zishu cut through the throat of two men. Another three men charged towards him then. This trio seemed to be much stronger than the previous two. He managed to injure one of them on the chest and leg, and the other two men started to slash their swords at him even more violently than before. They looked enraged. It seemed like the man he had injured meant a lot to the two men charging towards him now.
“Careful!”
Qin Jiuxiao’s panicked voice rang through the manor, immediately gaining Zhou Zishu’s attention. Frankly speaking though, there was really no need to scream. Zhou Zishu knew someone was attacking him from behind even without anything hinting it to him. Sensing the sharp end of the sword rushing to the back of his neck, Zhou Zishu bent his upper body to dodge the sword coming to him. He turned around after pushing away two men before him, but before he managed to deal with the other two behind him, a fan came flying from the sky, slashing through four of the men of Gold Masks Sect before it travelled back to the hand of its owner.
Zhou Zishu tugged his lips into a proud, delighted smile. There was only one man he knew who would handle a fan so elegantly, and this was the very same man who would always appear to help him out when the situation turned out to be troublesome.
From the rooftop, a man flew down gracefully, a fond smile lingered on the man’s lips as he stood in front of Zhou Zishu. While the man locked his eyes on Zhou Zishu, the man easily threw his fan back and finished off the rest of the members of the Gold Masks Sect.
“Lao Wen.”
“A-Xu, look at you,” Wen Kexing glanced at the corpses on the ground before turning back to face his soulmate, a mischievous smile on his lips, “You have annoyed so many people, even reaching a point where someone would actually hire the infamous Gold Masks Sect to get rid of you. When exactly will you start learning to be a good man like me?”
Zhou Zishu laughed, “I am more surprise to know that none actually hired this Gold Masks Sect to finish off both of us in the future.”
“What nonsense are you talking about, A-Xu?” Wen Kexing pretended to look puzzled as he added, “I am the well-known Philanthropist Wen. Why would anyone hire any of these to kill me?”
“Yes, you are right,” Zhou Zishu agreed easily, “Philanthropist Wen, remember to stay away from me if you do not want the Gold Masks Sect to target you too.”
Wen Kexing laughed, “As if these weaklings could even touch a strand of our hair.”
Zhou Zishu merely smiled at the statement. It was true that they were not a threat to him at all, and he was sure Qin Jiuxiao should know too. Why did he not hire a stronger assassination sect to get rid of him was something that left him wondering.
“So, A-Xu, are you done here? Can we leave now?”
Zhou Zishu had yet the chance to part his lips when Officer Li spoke up in disdain, “Zhou Zishu, one should reap what he sows. The evil deeds that you have done up until now, God sees clearly, and I believe in the existence of justice in this world. It is my incapability in failing to poison you to death, and I admit defeat.”
He turned to glance at his daughter before turning to Qin Jiuxiao, “Qin Jiuxiao, I know you are probably angry at us, but you promised that you will love and protect Jing’an with your life. I will entrust her to you, and I hope you will keep to your promise and never abandon my daughter.”
“Father…”
Princess Jing’an’s eyes were rimmed red, her arms were wrapped tightly around her father’s waist. She could never watch and do nothing as her father was about to be killed by a merciless killer. If there was really no way of escaping, she would rather die along with her father.
Meanwhile, Qin Jiuxiao had his eyes closed, his fists were clenched tightly at the side. One was the senior martial brother who he had always looked up to while the other one was the woman who he had come to love. He no longer knew who he should side with. Initially, he was crestfallen to learn that his senior martial brother killed Jing’an’s family, but then when Officer Li decided to kill his senior martial brother with poison, he was heartbroken.
“A-Xu, who are these people? Should I kill them for you?” Wen Kexing asked with a frown. These people were speaking so rudely to his soulmate, and he felt exasperated just by looking at them.
“No,” Zhou Zishu said quickly, halting Wen Kexing before he managed to throw his weapon out to them, “Let’s leave.”
Zhou Zishu turned his back to the others, ready to leave the place, much to the other three’s surprise. He was just about to pull Wen Kexing to leave with him when the latter suddenly had a look of wonder on his face.
“A-Xu, did you smell it?”
Zhou Zishu turned to his soulmate, puzzled, “What do you smell?”
Wen Kexing left Zhou Zishu’s side then, hunching to the ground to pick up an empty small bottle which Zhou Zishu discarded to the ground the moment he finished gulping down the content. Anxious about what Wen Kexing was about to find out, Zhou Zishu stiffened.
Wen Kexing took in the leftover smell in the empty bottle and recognized the missing content in an instant.
“Intestine-rupturing herb!”
This was one of the most toxic poisons in the world. Before they time travelled, with nothing better to do, Wen Kexing had busied himself with studying medicines and poisons which explained why he could recognize most of the poisons in the world now. Although he knew the poison well, he had not a single idea of where to get the antidote for all these poisons.
A few feet away from where he was, he saw another discarded empty bottle. He walked over and took the bottle up. To his surprise, this was yet another poison, one where it was rumoured to have no cure to it at all.
“Crane’s red crown!” He exclaimed, astonished.
There were still eight more of the poisons, and he smelled each of them with widened eyes upon recognizing all of them. If the fact that all these top poisons were gathered here was not surprising enough to him, then the fact that he smelled these poisons on his soulmate certainly did.
“A-Xu,” He stood up gravely, his eyes cold and forlorn, “Why do I smell these poisons on you?”
Zhou Zishu’s lips were pursed into a grim line. The answer was as clear as a bell, but Wen Kexing could not find it in himself to believe it. He pressed his lips tightly into a straight line as he advanced to where his soulmate was standing, determined to get an answer out of the elder man.
“Did you drink these poisons?”
Zhou Zishu took a step back and averted his gaze from Wen Kexing. He could not bear to see the expression his soulmate must be wearing judging from his tone of voice which was similar to the time when Wen Kexing found out about the nails back then.
“Tell me you did not drink them.”
Wen Kexing’s voice was covered with a layer of sorrow, causing a pang of hurt in Zhou Zishu’s chest in an instant.
“Lao Wen, I –”
“Tell me you did not drink them!”
Zhou Zishu fixed his eyes on his soulmate, scrutinizing the pain and anger. He looked like he was half about to cry, and also half about to start killing someone – anyone who he thought should be responsible for bringing the poisons here.
“I drank them,” Zhou Zishu answered flatly. There was no point in denying it anyway.
Wen Kexing grimaced as he turned to Qin Jiuxiao who was the nearest out of the three people who seemed like they were responsible for what happened to his soulmate, “Were they the ones who forced the poisons on you? I will kill them!”
Sensing the bloodlust on Wen Kexing, Princess Jing’an stepped back reflexively while her father immediately stood in front of her protectively. Qin Jiuxiao held his sword tightly, ready to defend the two people behind him despite the fact that he was still enraged at what they had done.
However, just as Wen Kexing raised his arm, he was caught by Zhou Zishu who abruptly came to stand in between Qin Jiuxiao and him. Taken by surprise, Wen Kexing tried to shake the hand off, exasperated that he had been stopped.
“A-Xu, do not stop me!”
“You can’t kill him, Lao Wen.”
“Why not?!”
“Because he is our Shidi!”
As if that was the most ridiculous thing ever that had been said, everyone stared at Zhou Zishu, stunned.
“What?” Qin Jiuxiao was astonished.
Officer Li and Princess Jing’an turned to each other, equally bewildered. Qin Jiuxiao had only ever mentioned his senior martial brother was Zhou Zishu, he never mentioned having another senior martial brother.
“Do you still remember Shifu said that you are the third disciple instead of the second disciple of Four Seasons Manor?” asked Zhou Zishu.
Qin Jiuxiao nodded, “Father said the second disciple was the child of Chevalier Zhen Ruyu and his wife, but they went missing mysteriously. Father is deeply sad about it, Shixiong too.”
Zhou Zishu took a brief glance at Wen Kexing who had already averted his gaze from him before he turned to Qin Jiuxiao, “This is the son of Chevalier Zhen and his wife, your missing second senior martial brother. He goes by the name Wen Kexing now.”
Qin Jiuxiao parted his lips, inarticulate. He tried again after a few failed attempts, “You are telling me that... this man here, Wen... Wen Kexing, he is my second senior martial brother?”
Zhou Zishu was about to nod in agreement when Wen Kexing spoke harshly, “Shut it. As long as I could remember, I only have had one Shifu and one Shixiong. I do not remember having any Shidi, let alone a Shidi who would be cruel enough to kill his Shixiong!”
“Lao Wen!”
“What?” Wen Kexing seethed, “Did I say anything wrong?”
“It’s not him. I drank them willingly.”
Wen Kexing turned to Zhou Zishu incredulously, “What…?”
“I am sorry, I should not –”
Uninterested to listen to whatever excuse Zhou Zishu had to say, Wen Kexing shook his hand off, enraged. He staggered a few steps back, eyes glistening with welling tears, and his chest hurt at the thought of losing his soulmate.
Not again.
“Why?!” Wen Kexing looked betrayed, “Zhou Zishu, have you forgotten your promise to me when you visited my parents’ grave with me, and in front of Shifu’s grave too? You promised that you will take care of me and never leave me alone. Is this just an empty promise?! Have you been lying all this time?!”
Zhou Zishu shook his head, his own eyes equally teary along with his soulmate. Watching how his soulmate looked so sorrowful and broken at his reckless action caused a sudden ache in his chest. He walked over and stretched his arms forward, ready to pull his soulmate into his embrace but was unfortunately pushed away.
“Do not come near me! All you ever think about is that Shidi of yours! You would even kill yourself as soon as he told you that he wanted you dead, but A-Xu, have you forgotten that he is not the only Shidi that you have?! What am I to you?! Do you not know that if you die, then I would not be able to live either?”
Zhou Zishu closed his eyes, and a single drop of tear trickled down his cheeks before he rushed forward to wrap his arms around Wen Kexing tightly, “I am sorry. I am sorry, Lao Wen. It’s my fault, I was not thinking. I promise I will not do it again.”
But it was too late. The poison had already made its home in his body.
Knowing what Wen Kexing was thinking, he pulled himself away, his voice gentle as he spoke, “Look, I am fine. The nails saved me this time. As long as I have them, no poison can hurt me in this world.”
Wen Kexing, however, was far from convinced, “The previous time you told me that you were fine, you were about to die in less than a week!”
“This time is different,” Zhou Zishu said, trying to sound as convincing as possible, “Look, with those poisons, if anything were to happen to me, I would not be standing here right now.”
It did make quite some sense there, so Wen Kexing did look somewhat convinced although not completely. Relieved to know that his words worked, Zhou Zishu added, “We will go to Wu Xi anyway. He can check to confirm if the poison is affecting me at all, and if it does, I am sure he can do something about it.”
“We will go to Nanjiang immediately!” announced Wen Kexing.
As if there was where hope was, Wen Kexing’s eyes brightened. He eagerly grasped Zhou Zishu’s wrist, deciding that time would not wait for them and that they should start travelling to Nanjiang now.
“Wait,” Zhou Zishu grasped Wen Kexing’s wrist, halting him from moving another step forward, “We can’t leave yet. I need to return to get Uncle Bi and –”
“What happened to Uncle Bi?” Qin Jiuxiao stepped forward in an instant at the mention of Bi Changfeng.
Zhou Zishu turned to Qin Jiuxiao, he was silent as his lips were pursed into a grim line, pensive. After giving it some thought, he parted his lips and spoke, “You should come with me to see Uncle Bi. He would be delighted to see you. After that, you should bring Uncle Bi with you regardless of where you plan to go with Princess Jing’an and her family later. He would prefer staying with you.”
Qin Jiuxiao frowned, “What about the others? What about Shixiong? Why are you only trying to make Uncle Bi leave?”
“There are no others,” Zhou Zishu answered grimly, “Uncle Bi is the last of us left.”
Qin Jiuxiao widened his eyes, stunned.
“Let’s get going,” Zhou Zishu said, glancing from Wen Kexing to Qin Jiuxiao before adding, “Jiuxiao, you need to put on a disguise. We can’t have Prince Jin finding out that you are still alive.”
Without further delay, Wen Kexing went to get them four horses, albeit reluctantly. Qin Jiuxiao covered his head with his hood before getting up onto the horse. Officer Li and Princess Jing’an decided to tag along and shared the same horse since Princess Jing’an never rode a horse alone before. Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing each rode a single horse.
With all preparation ready, the five of them started travelling to where the mansion and Zhou Zishu and the people of Four Seasons Manor used to live. On the way there, Qin Jiuxiao looked worried, and he would peek at his two senior martial brothers from time to time, much to Wen Kexing’s annoyance. Officer Li and Princess Jing’an seemed keen on keeping an eye on Zhou Zishu as if they were afraid Zhou Zishu would do something to them which was ridiculous because if Zhou Zishu wanted to do anything, they would be long dead. Zhou Zishu seemed completely unaffected by all the eyes on him, but Wen Kexing was not as relaxed as him. He kept an eye on everyone else in case they dared to do anything to harm his soulmate again. Now that he was here, no one should dare to lift a finger at his soulmate!
When they finally reached their destination, Qin Jiuxiao was the first to rush in to search for Bi Changfeng, and Zhou Zishu the second one. The other three stood outside of the mansion, having found themselves to be of no help since they had never seen Bi Changfeng before.
After a while of waiting, there were rushing footsteps from behind them. Wen Kexing got himself ready for a battle while Princess Jing’an hid behind her father’s protective back. To Wen Kexing’s surprise though, he recognized the two young men.
“Han Ying! Xingming!”
The two young men glanced at Wen Kexing, confounded.
“May I know who are you?” asked Han Ying.
Wen Kexing parted his lips, but no words came out. He was abruptly reminded that at this point in time, none of these people knew him yet. Fortunately, before he could think of what to say to them, Zhou Zishu and Qin Jiuxiao came out.
Bi Changfeng was nowhere to be seen.
“Lord Manor!” Han Ying and Bi Xingming exclaimed in relief.
“Han Ying? Xingming? Why are you two here?” asked Zhou Zishu, bemused.
“Lord Manor, please save Shifu!”
“What happened?” Qin Jiuxiao asked anxiously.
Of course, since Qin Jiuxiao was supposed to be dead, Han Ying and Bi Xingming stared at him as if they had both seen a ghost. Their faces pale, unsure of if they were imagining things or if ghosts really did exist in this world.
As there was no reply, Zhou Zishu repeated the question, completely unaware of the horrified faces, “What happened?”
Han Ying was the first to get out of the daze. He cleared his throat, pretending that he saw no ghost as he fixed his eyes on Zhou Zishu, “Senior Bi has gone to Prince Jin earlier, requesting to leave the Window of Heaven. Prince Jin is furious and wants Lord Manor to deal with him.”
Zhou Zishu pursed his lips into a grim line, crestfallen. He deliberately avoided Bi Changfeng from participating in the mission this time, but he did not expect that he could not wait for even another day to leave this place. After all of his efforts, they seemed to be back to square one.
“Deal?” Qin Jiuxiao clenched his fists, infuriated, “What do you mean by that? Shixiong, you can’t be thinking of inserting those nails into Uncle Bi, right? He is not anyone else but Uncle Bi!”
“Keep your mouth shut.”
Wen Kexing was exasperated at how the younger man was being rude to his senior martial brother for one, as well as how the younger man did not understand his senior martial brother at all. He made it sound like Zhou Zishu enjoyed it whenever he killed someone. He had no idea of how he grieved for them every single second, how he had nightmares of those he had killed, how he wished he could actually die for them.
“And you two,” Wen Kexing turned to Han Ying and Bi Xingming who still looked extremely pale as they stared at Qin Jiuxiao, “He is not a ghost. He is alive, and no, you two aren’t the only ones who did not know he is alive. Even your Lord Manor just found it out like a few hours ago.”
Zhou Zishu turned to Han Ying and Bi Xingming, noticing how surprised they looked. He had almost forgotten that everyone still did not know that Qin Jiuxiao was alive.
“That’s great!” Bi Xingming said in pure relief, “If Shifu knows about this, he might not be so adamant about leaving the Window of Heaven and dying!”
Zhou Zishu heaved a sigh. Tonight was surely an exhausting night.
“Xingming, you bring Jiuxiao and Lao Wen to your Shifu. We are leaving the Window of Heaven tonight, secretly of course,” Zhou Zishu said as he turned to Wen Kexing, “Lao Wen, help me keep them safe. I will be joining you guys soon.”
Wen Kexing looked somewhat reluctant but nodded anyway. While he was fine with protecting Bi Xingming, he would very much prefer to kick the other three away for what they did to his soulmate. He had no idea what kind of heart someone had to have to still be kind and protective over the one who poisoned him.
Without wasting any more time, all of them climbed up onto their horses, leaving only Zhou Zishu and Han Ying to stay behind. Bi Xingming led the way and they started their journey to where Bi Changfeng had been locked in. Zhou Zishu and Han Ying watched them leave, and it was until the others had disappeared from their sight did they finally turn their gazes away.
“Lord Manor, you said you will be leaving the Window of Heaven tonight?” asked Han Ying.
“Yes,” Zhou Zishu said solemnly, “Han Ying, you have three choices. The first one, you can leave now and directly report to Prince Jin and Duan Pengju about what you have just heard.”
As if he had said something absurd, Han Ying sank to his knees in an instant, “Lord Manor! Han Ying would never do such a thing. Whatever Lord Manor wishes to do, Han Ying will never do anything to betray you!”
Zhou Zishu was not surprised, obviously. He knew just how much Han Ying would do just to keep him safe. He gently hunched over and helped Han Ying up, “Your second choice is to stay and pretend you know nothing about what was to happen tonight, or your third choice is you can leave with me.”
Han Ying widened his eyes at the third choice, “Lord Manor, you... you will bring me along?”
“Only if you want.”
“Yes!” Han Ying said immediately, almost in disbelief as he added with insecurity, “But is it really fine? I am not one from Four Seasons Manor, if Lord Manor keeps me by your side, would I not just be a burden to you?”
“Do you wish to be one?”
Han Ying blinked, “What?”
“Do you wish to be a part of Four Seasons Manor?”
“I... I know I have no right to be a part of Four Seasons Manor. I am just an orphan. I am already fortunate enough to have my life saved by Lord Manor.”
“Nonsense, there is nothing wrong with being an orphan. Most of us are, or we would not be ending up at a place like this,” Zhou Zishu said, he fixed his gaze at Han Ying tenderly as he added, “I would like to accept a disciple, that is if you are interested.”
Han Ying was dumbfounded.
Zhou Zishu waited for a response, but after a long time, Han Ying still did not speak. He looked like he was frozen by shock although Zhou Zishu could not quite understand how his words could make the younger man act so exaggeratedly.
“Han Ying.”
“I...!” Han Ying looked half-excited and half-incredulous, “Lord Manor is willing to take me in as your disciple?”
Just as soon as Zhou Zishu nodded, Han Ying sank to his knees so hard that Zhou Zishu had to worry if the younger man would have a problem standing later. With a bright, proud smile plastered across his face, Han Ying spoke in pure ecstasy, “Shifu, please accept a bow from this disciple!”
Zhou Zishu tugged his lips into a tender smile. Despite having experienced a hectic day, at least something good did happen tonight. He had gotten a new disciple.
His eldest disciple, Han Ying.