North of Ku Hai County, Chensha River.
This river is the only one in Ku Hai County that doesn't freeze in winter. Even during the harshest moments of deep winter, the murky yellow water can still splash up large sprays when it hits the rocks.
Fishermen, dressed in thick clothes and carrying their tools for livelihood, had already gone out in groups of three or five, rowing their boats to calmer river mouths to occupy advantageous positions and begin their day's work.
On a stone platform on the west side of the river, near the dense forest, an old man in a brown cloth robe and a white-haired woman stood facing the river. The old man's face was calm, only the river flowing in his eyes spoke of the vicissitudes he had experienced in the past.
"Thirty years after you left, your life and death unknown, the Meng Po position in Wangchuan was empty, and the Ten Halls of Yama grew angry, mobilizing many Jianghu forces to search for you."
"Many people died internally."
Madam Lu's voice was faint, without a trace of guilt:
"Our hands are all terribly dirty."
"There are no innocents in Wangchuan. Their demise because of me settled the Karmic Obstruction I committed in my youth."
She paused, then asked the old man:
"What about you?"
"Why have you come to find me?"
The old man exhaled a breath:
"I risked my life to keep your secret for thirty years, to protect your thirty years of freedom... Now, I also want to take ten years from you."
Madam Lu stared at the flowing river, and after a long time, she said:
"I retired from the Jianghu thirty years ago. I can no longer wield weapons or kill people."
The old man in brown laughed:
"Then I haven't come to the wrong person."
Madam Lu gave him a curious look, pondering what this familiar person, whom she hadn't seen in thirty years—this living Yama of the Feng Zi Flag who had entered the profession at seventeen and had killed thousands of people to date—intended to do.
"If you're not looking for me to kill, then what for?"
The old man in brown slowly pulled out an old rattle drum from his sleeve and gently twirled it. The small balls on it struck the drumhead, making a dull sound.
However, this sound didn't travel far in the wind before being swallowed by the sound of the waves on the river.
"Two years ago, I found a seven-year-old girl in Chen Country. At the time, she was unconscious in a pile of grass outside a wall, with two feathered arrows stuck through her chest, front to back, and covered in blood."
"I, Ma Huan, have killed people my whole life without batting an eye, but precisely then, I felt a pang of compassion."
"Later, I pulled out the feathered arrows from her, used my Internal Energy to stop her bleeding, and used strong liquor to cleanse her wounds. Just as she was about to recover, she unexpectedly contracted a terrible plague, with a persistent high fever. I searched everywhere for a doctor without success, and had even prepared a coffin for her. But in the end, she actually pulled through on her own..."
"When she woke up, she looked at me and called me 'Grandpa.' From then on, I treated her as my own granddaughter."
After hearing this short, abrupt story, Madam Lu's previous indifference faded somewhat. She turned her head and carefully scrutinized the old man, saying:
"When a person has attachments, their Killing Intent will wane."
"You also want to withdraw from Wangchuan. Aren't you afraid of being discovered?"
Ma Huan sighed.
"The water of Wangchuan can be drunk by ghosts, but not by humans."
"Once you enter Wangchuan, how can there be any possibility of withdrawing?"
"This old man has killed people for Wangchuan his entire life; he's long been neither human nor ghost. Now, with a body full of injuries and ailments, he only wants to steal some years to raise the little girl to adulthood and see her future settled. Then he will be content."
Madam Lu hesitated for a moment and said:
"How do you want me to help you?"
Ma Huan put away the rattle drum in his hand and turned his head to her, saying:
"I want you to re-emerge in the Jianghu as Meng Po and feign killing me... When I was young, through an Opportunity, I once learned a strange technique from a Hokkaido person called 'Whale Dive.' This technique can make my body 假死數日 , but my consciousness remains. If you help me escape, then from then on, our thirty years of grievances and friendship will all be wiped clean. How about it?"
Madam Lu shook her head.
"Thirty years ago, I promised him I would no longer get involved in Jianghu grievances."
"Ma Huan, you're too late."
Ma Huan's brows furrowed slightly.
"That young man?"
Madam Lu was startled, and an age-inappropriate look of surprise appeared on her beautiful face. After a moment, she suddenly murmured:
"A young man, huh... Thirty years have passed already. Time flies so fast."
Ma Huan stared at Madam Lu, the curiosity suppressed for thirty years now gushing out like a spring. He asked:
"I truly want to know, what did that young man say thirty years ago that could make Meng Po, who struck fear into the Jianghu, lay down her butcher's knife and willingly withdraw from the Jianghu?"
Recalling the old events, Madam Lu's lips curved slightly upward, revealing a spring-like smile, but she quickly returned to normal. As she turned, a gust of wind passed, and she was already several meters away.
Ma Huan said to her retreating back:
"Su Yixian, only you can help me."
Madam Lu stopped, but she didn't turn back.
"You've worked in Wangchuan for so many years, don't you have anyone you can trust?"
Ma Huan hunched his back, his white beard on his face swaying wildly in the wind. He retorted:
"Is it pathetic?"
"That's how Wangchuan is. Everyone has countless lives on their hands, dying for wealth, perishing for fame. How can there be trust?"
"I kept your secret for thirty years, letting you live thirty years of a normal person's life, but what about me?"
"I only need ten years, to watch my granddaughter grow up. That's enough."
"If you help me, you'll just be moving to another place to live in seclusion. Now Wangchuan has new major issues, so not much attention will be on you."
Madam Lu remained silent for a long time, neither agreeing nor refusing, and left directly. Ma Huan watched Madam Lu disappear into the distance along the riverbank for a long time, then lowered his head, took out the rattle drum, and gently twirled it. A faint sound lingered in his ears, bringing a hint of tenderness to his indifferent eyes.
Da da —
Da da —
...
Evening.
Wen Chaosheng dragged a pile of firewood back to the dilapidated temple. Snowflakes were falling from the sky. After arriving at the temple, he unloaded the firewood and said to A Shui, who was leaning against the base of the stone statue:
"Didn't you go find Chun Qiong? You're back so soon?"
A Shui didn't respond to Wen Chaosheng. He took some cold steamed buns and came to A Shui's side, but his gaze slightly froze.
He saw that A Shui's chest was stained with a large patch of blood. She was hanging her head, her long hair covering her face, seemingly unconscious.
PS: There's another update after midnight, around 1 AM. Everyone should go to sleep first.