Chapter 38: Stopping the Bridal Sedan

Lord Xingde looked at Liu Xiaolou’s smile and felt a twinge of unease. He quickly warned him, “If you’re going to make contact, just talk to her properly. Don’t use any of your rough tricks.” Liu Xiaolou thumped his chest. “Don’t worry, Senior. I won’t be too heavy-handed. I’ll try to bring her over so quietly, she won’t even know how she got here, heh heh…” Lord Xingde cut him off at once. “None of your tricks. Just pass along the message honestly, that’s all.” Liu Xiaolou suddenly understood. “Ah… so it’s mutual affection then. But why not just go to her directly?” Lord Xingde sighed. “She’s from a prominent family. Their clan has strict rules.” He gave a rough account of the situation, and only then did Liu Xiaolou realize what was going on; this whole thing was just Lord Xingde trying to secretly meet his lover. The woman in question, Lady Zhou Qiniang, was the direct granddaughter of the Zhou clan’s patriarch. Though she was already past thirty, she had never married, mostly because her heart had always belonged to Lord Xingde. But Lord Xingde was a rootless cultivator with no real background, and his cultivation wasn’t particularly impressive either. To a powerful family like the Zhous, he was hardly a suitable match; in short, they were from completely different worlds. The lovers were well aware of the obstacles between them. They’d been in love for years but had always kept it hidden. Still, no secret stays hidden forever. Just last month, the clan caught them meeting in private. Lord Xingde was badly injured by Zhou clan experts, and it was only because Lady Zhou Qiniang pleaded with them so desperately that they spared his life and let him escape. But no beating, no matter how harsh, could crush longing. Lord Xingde hadn’t even fully recovered from his injuries before he came back; this time bringing Liu Xiaolou with him. Liu Xiaolou couldn’t help but complain inwardly: This guy really does care more about love than his own life. Still, this wasn’t exactly a tough job for him. And since he was counting on Lord Xingde to teach him formation techniques, of course he agreed to help and headed off to the Zhou estate to deliver the message. According to Lord Xingde, Zhou Qiniang always went out on this day of the month to clear her head. It was also the day the two of them had agreed to meet in secret. Liu Xiaolou had his doubts; after what happened last time, he wasn’t sure if Zhou Qiniang would still dare to show up. But either way, he figured he’d go take a look and play it by ear. He staked out a spot about three li from the estate, hiding in a patch of mugwort by the roadside. Then he waited patiently for any sign of her. Maybe because the place had recently been broken into by rogue cultivators, there weren’t many people going in or out. Four full hours passed, and he only saw a few servants from the estate come and go. It was nearly dusk when a carriage finally rolled out from the estate. The coachman cracked his whip up front, and riding alongside the carriage was a young nobleman on horseback. The curtain of the carriage was a sheer green gauze; she was really here! Liu Xiaolou sprang out like he was wailing for dear life and threw himself in front of the carriage. “Aunt!” The horse reared back, the carriage came to a halt, and the young man at the rear galloped forward, swinging his whip through the air with a sharp crack. “Who are you? Why are you blocking the way?” The moment the whip cracked through the air, a blast of qi rushed forward. Caught off guard, Liu Xiaolou nearly stumbled as the wave of qi swept over him. Lord Xingde had warned him: after what happened last month, the Zhou clan was likely keeping a close eye on Zhou Qiniang; maybe even assigning a guardian to watch her. He’d told Liu Xiaolou to be extremely careful. Judging by that whip strike, this young man had to be one of those guardians. But… he didn’t seem as powerful as Lord Xingde made them out to be. Honestly, he didn’t feel all that much stronger than Liu himself. Still, Liu Xiaolou kept shouting, “Aunt! It’s me... your nephew. Just come out and see for yourself!” The young man, hearing all the “aunt this” and “nephew that,” hesitated with the second whip and instead looked suspiciously toward the carriage. The curtain lifted. Inside sat a woman dressed in pale yellow, wearing a pleated skirt and a golden hairpin in her bun. She had a slender, graceful figure and a delicate, strikingly beautiful face that was simply unforgettable. She looked nothing like a woman in her thirties. More like a girl not even twenty yet. No wonder Lord Xingde couldn’t forget her, Liu Xiaolou thought. She really is a rare beauty. Their eyes met, and Liu Xiaolou was momentarily stunned by her presence. He quickly averted his gaze, not daring to stare for long, and held out a small embroidered sachet with both hands. “Aunt, look!” It was a token. Once she saw it, Zhou Qiniang would know exactly what it meant. Everything should fall into place. He waited a moment. But instead of her recognizing it, what he got was a confused voice: “Liu Xiaolou?” Liu Xiaolou froze. He instinctively looked up, only to see the woman in the carriage staring at him, eyes wide with shock. She was just as stunned as he was. Why does that voice sound so familiar? And that wide-eyed look....he could’ve sworn he’d seen it somewhere before. They locked eyes for just a moment, and Liu Xiaolou’s heart skipped a beat. Suddenly it hit him. Wasn’t this the woman he’d run into a few months back while harvesting spirit fields on Ewe Ram Mountain? The female cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement who had caught him red-handed, only to inexplicably let him go.  Back then, it had been dark, out in the wild, and now she was dressed completely differently, with her hair styled in a new way. No wonder he hadn’t recognized her at first glance. The woman looked at him coldly. “Since when do I have a nephew like you?” Liu Xiaolou opened his mouth, but nothing came out. His brain was spinning. This twist was completely out of nowhere. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out what was going on. The long-lost lover Lord Xingde had talked about.... was her? A direct descendant of the Zhou family, doing farm labor on Ewe Ram Mountain? How did that make any sense? His only instinct now was to keep holding up the sachet, showing it again and again; left side, right side, flipping it front and back, as if sheer repetition would get the point across. The woman narrowed her eyes. “Why are you waving that sachet around?” She doesn’t recognize it? Liu Xiaolou glanced at the carriage curtain. Nope, it was green gauze. Just like Lord Xingde said. Could Lord Xingde have completely misled me? That didn’t seem right either… “How did you even know I’d be here?” she asked again. Liu Xiaolou’s mind was racing, trying to make sense of it all. But before he could come up with anything, the man with the whip made his move. The tip of the whip curled like a spirit snake and lashed straight at Liu Xiaolou’s chest, aiming for his Shanzhong acupoint. Liu Xiaolou flicked his wrist and dodged it with ease. “You dare dodge?” the young noble snapped. The second strike came down immediately, but Liu Xiaolou avoided that one too.... only to suddenly feel a surge of powerful true qi lock down his meridians. His body froze. He couldn’t move a muscle. It wasn’t the young man; it was the woman in the carriage. She had sealed his meridians with a single move. The noble raised his whip again, ready to strike a third time, but the woman stopped him. “Take him back.” Her voice was calm. The young noble’s whip, lashed out in anger, was casually blocked by the woman. Embarrassed, he awkwardly muttered, “Jiuniang, you're not going out anymore?” She shook her head. “This man is strange. I want to bring him back and question him. Sorry for the trouble, Second Young Master.” And just like that, Liu Xiaolou finally understood. He’d grabbed the wrong person. This wasn’t Zhou Qiniang. This was Jiuniang. Wasn’t Zhou Qiniang’s carriage the only one with a green gauze curtain? Lord Xingde, you’ve got some explaining to do. I’m not letting this go! The young noble hoisted Liu Xiaolou up onto his saddle. The carriage turned around and headed back to the estate. They entered through a side gate. The carriage stopped just outside a moon gate, where Jiuniang stepped down and continued on foot. The young man followed behind, still carrying Liu Xiaolou, as they passed through corridors and gardens, winding around several pavilions before arriving at a quiet little courtyard. There was a fish pond in the yard, and bamboo grew in thick clusters along the wall. It was serene and peaceful. The young noble set Liu Xiaolou down in a bamboo pavilion by the water. He looked to Jiuniang, who said, “Thank you, Second Young Master. I’d like to speak with him alone.” The young man warned her, “People like this, strays with unknown backgrounds, can be crafty. Be careful. Just last month, some bandits broke into the estate…” Jiuniang let out a cold laugh. “I know this one. With his pitiful little bag of tricks, you really think he could pull off something like that? Maybe after thirty more years of cultivating.” The young man gave a small nod and didn’t argue further. He stepped out of the courtyard, leaving Jiuniang alone in the pavilion, silent. …. Translator’s Note: “Jiuniang” literally means “Ninth Young Lady,” while “Qiniang” means “Seventh Young Lady.”