The Life of a Necromancer as a Swashbuckler

Chapter 16: Yingyue and Xiao Yan

As dawn gradually broke, the three walked slowly and entered a cave. Using the light reflected off the stalactites to barely make out the path, they walked for a long time until they saw a glimmer of light. Emerging from the cave, they found themselves in a whole new world. The other side of the cave opened onto a valley, where several thatched huts stood, appearing to be cut off from the rest of the world. As the three approached the entrance to the thatched cottage, they heard a woman in white call out, “Sister Li, Sister Wang, are you both all right?” There was a rustling sound from inside the cottage; the two young ladies had already risen upon hearing the voices. “Is that Little Sister Yingyue coming back? You’re back so late. How did it go with the disciples of Xiaoyao Valley?” A young woman dressed in green walked out slowly, her steps truly swaying with every stride, her every glance radiant. When she reached the doorway, she saw Yingyue and another woman in black being carried in on a man’s back—clearly seriously injured. She hurried forward to meet them and called out to someone else, “Sister Wang, come help quickly!” Upon hearing the call, the eldest Miss Wang also rushed out and helped guide all three of them into the thatched cottage. The interior was quite nicely furnished, elegant and tasteful. “What happened? Were you ambushed by villains? Who injured Sister Yingyue so badly? Did you really run into a flower thief?” the woman in green asked bluntly. Nameless sat to the side, feeling a bit awkward; it seemed the woman in white was indeed named Yingyue, and she hadn’t been lying. “It’s all a misunderstanding,” Nameless replied, still feeling awkward, and then recounted the sequence of events. The two young ladies were deeply shocked upon hearing the story—after all, the idea for the whole affair had actually come from them; Yingyue had merely helped out of friendship. Since Yingyue hadn’t lied and both young ladies were safe, the next step was to bring the Zhang family’s young lady over as well. With the three of them together, they could look out for one another and discuss how to deal with the investigation by the Divine Constable, Zhui Feng. So, Nameless and the woman in black returned to the hideout and found the young lady from the Zhang family. During their conversation on the way, he learned that the woman in black was named Xiao Yan. She was renowned throughout the martial arts world—one of the two legendary “Divine Thieves,” known as “Fragrant in the North, Xiao Yan in the South”—which explained her extraordinary agility. After bringing Miss Zhang over, all the missing persons and the “Flower Thief” were finally gathered together. Now that everyone was gathered, the next step was to discuss how to deal with Zhui Feng’s pursuit. The Divine Constable Zhui Feng is one of the Four Divine Constables of the imperial court’s Six Fan Gate. The current imperial court is brimming with martial arts masters, supported by the Confucian scholars of the Jingshi School, with external agencies such as the Six Fan Gate and the Brocade Guard, and internal agencies like the Eastern Factory. The Four Divine Constables are under the jurisdiction of the Six Fan Gate. Zhui Feng lives up to his name: he possesses exceptional lightness skills and excels in leg techniques. The “Wind and Cloud Zhui Feng Kick” is his signature technique. Generally, the Four Divine Captains do not kill, but anyone struck by the Zhui Feng Kick will either die or be gravely injured. Faced with such a formidable opponent, how should Yingyue, Nameless, and Xiao Yan respond? All three were at a loss. “Why don’t we just turn ourselves in?” Seeing there was no other way, the young lady from the Li family, standing nearby, had no choice but to suggest this last resort. “No, if we turn ourselves in, not only will we have wasted all this time, but it will also endanger our sisters’ families,” Yingyue was the first to object. “That’s true. I’m afraid even if we turn ourselves in, Zhui Feng won’t let it go.” As someone who had dealt with the Six Gates for many years, Xiao Yan understood the Four Divine Captors better than anyone. In terms of martial arts, Xiao Yan was certainly no match for Zhui Feng, but when it came to agility alone, she was even better than him—though, unfortunately, she was now severely injured as well. “We can’t turn ourselves in, and we can’t let Zhui Feng catch us, but we can’t stay here forever either. We still need to go home—and get home safely. What should we do?” Nameless muttered to himself. “I’ve got it! Since we’re pretending to be flower thieves, why not turn this charade into reality!” Nameless suddenly came up with an idea. “Huh?” The young ladies all looked surprised. “Ladies, please don’t get the wrong idea. Even if I wanted to, I’m simply incapable,” Nameless hurriedly explained. “What I mean is, let’s pretend there really is a ‘Flower Thief,’ and that Zhui Feng has tracked him down. Then what?” Nameless explained. “Then they’ll arrest us,” Xiao Yan said irritably. It wasn’t that she was afraid of the imperial selection—she simply had too many theft cases on her record. “Right. If Zhui Feng tracks us down, he’ll definitely arrest us. But what if Zhui Feng can’t find us—or is even led astray? If Zhui Feng can’t track us down, we’ll just wait for the commotion to die down, then send you ladies back home. That way, we’ll be safe,” Nameless came up with a plan that wasn’t really a plan. “That’s Zhui Feng, the Divine Constable. How could you possibly keep him from finding us?” Xiao Yan was as blunt as ever. “Well, I do have an idea,” said Nameless, who was never short on clever schemes. “Please tell us, young master,” Yingyue perked up. “Yes, go ahead. Let us hear your plan for keeping Zhui Feng from finding you.” Suddenly, a deep, resonant male voice rang out from above the thatched hut—the Divine Constable Zhui Feng had arrived.