HLnovel Chapter 7: The Scheme to Capture the Lone Swordsman
Chapter 7: The Scheme to Capture the Lone Swordsman
Li Lianhua hadn't visited her master and mistress for a long time. After bidding farewell to Wu You, Li Lianhua hurried to Yuxiang Town, rented a horse, and rode it to the familiar Yunyin Mountain.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, he saw his master, Qi Mushan, drinking tea in the courtyard. He quickly stepped forward and bowed, "Master, how have you been lately?"
Qi Mushan looked at Li Xiangyi who was approaching with a puzzled expression, "Xiangyi, how come you have time to come see this old man? Aren't you always so busy?"
"It's not that I miss you, I just come to see you whenever I have time," Li Lianhua replied.
"Since you're here, have some tea with the old man, and then go see your master's wife later."
"Okay, I'll go in a bit." Li Lianhua didn't tell her master about her senior brother Shan Gudao for the time being. She planned to go to her senior brother's room first to check the situation before explaining in detail.
"Xiangyi, have you been injured recently? You look much paler. Let me take a look." With that, Qi Mushan reached out his hand to Li Lianhua's wrist.
“I was injured a few days ago, but I’m almost healed now, so Master, don’t worry.” Li Lianhua was afraid that her master would be worried if he knew about the poison in the green tea, so she subtly dodged her master’s outstretched hand and raised the teacup. “Master, have some tea.”
"Alright, keep an eye on things." Seeing his apprentice say this, Qi Mushan gave up the idea of checking.
After drinking two cups of tea, Li Lianhua suggested going to see his master's wife. Although Qi Mushan was puzzled by Li Xiangyi's unusual behavior today, he didn't investigate further. He didn't notice that Li Xiangyi hadn't brought his sword-wielding junior master with him when he returned today. He simply asked Li Lianhua to come back and have dinner with him. Li Lianhua agreed.
My master's wife lives on another mountain, and my senior brother's residence is also there.
Half an hour later, Li Lianhua met Cen Po, the master's wife, who was processing medicinal herbs.
Before Li Lianhua could speak, Granny Cen saw him. Granny Cen was initially happy to see Li Xiangyi come to see her, but she noticed Li Xiangyi's excessively pale face, frail body, clothes stained with twigs and mud, and the swordsman, who was always with him but not by his side.
"Xiangyi, who bullied you? Why are you in such a sorry state?" Granny Cen quickly put down what she was holding and went over to help Li Lianhua.
"Master's wife, I was just slightly injured and I'm almost healed. Who would dare to bully me?" Li Lianhua didn't let her master's wife help her and walked forward on her own.
"You still say you're fine? Look at yourself now. You can't even use your lightness skill anymore. All these things on you, you climbed up the mountain step by step, right? And what about the young master? You never take them off!" Granny Cen didn't believe what Li Lianhua said.
Li Lianhua glanced at the hem of her clothes, then at her left, realizing she had overlooked something: "Master's wife is truly insightful. This matter is a long story. May I go to my senior brother's room to take a look?"
"Go ahead," Granny Cen said helplessly, waving her hand as she saw that Li Lianhua didn't want to talk.
Li Lianhua arrived at Shan Gudao's room. The furnishings were the same as before, and there was no dust, which suggested that his master's wife cleaned it regularly.
He went straight to the bedside, picked up the pillow, and opened the cover. Inside was a box containing secret letters, as well as some letters from Nan Yinwen. After reading the secret letters, Li Lianhua learned the general outline of Shan Gudao's secret.
It turns out that when Shan Gudao learned he was a descendant of the Southern Yin royal family, he plotted a rebellion. His death was likely part of this plan, causing both the Si Gu Sect and the Golden Mandarin Duck Alliance to suffer heavy losses, allowing his power to grow.
To verify all of this, they needed to see if Shan Gudao was dead. With that in mind, Li Lianhua decided to play along; the truth would become clear then.
Li Lianhua kept the fact that she was poisoned by the Jade Tea and that her life was short a secret, but told her master and mistress everything else, including her plan. The two elders were very angry about Shan Gudao's cruelty towards his fellow disciples and said they would cooperate fully.
For the next few days, Li Lianhua stayed at Yunyin Mountain, spending her days playing chess with her master and helping her master's wife gather and dry herbs, living a leisurely and carefree life. That is, until Shan Gudao arrived.
……
When Shan Gudao arrived, Li Lianhua did not appear. He saw Qi Mushan lying alone in the courtyard, surrounded by many overturned wine jars, indicating that he had drunk quite a bit. Upon seeing the visitor, Qi Mushan said, "Xiangyi has arrived. Have a drink with your master."
Dan Gudao paused, inwardly cursing the old bastard. He stepped forward and said, "Master, it is I, Dan Gudao. Li Xiangyi is dead."
"Yes, Xiang Yi is dead. How could Xiang Yi be dead?" Qi Mushan murmured, picking up a bottle of wine from the side and taking a swig.
"Master, how do you know Xiang Yi is dead?" Shan Gu Dao asked, puzzled.
“I was in seclusion a few days ago when your master’s wife came back from the foot of the mountain. I suffered a qi deviation and my martial arts skills dropped by 70%. It will take three months to recover. Why did you come back? Why didn’t you go to find your junior brother?” Qi Mushan gulped down some wine.
"I came to see my master and mistress, and also to tell you about Xiang Yi. The East Sea is so vast, I don't know where to look for him," Shan Gu Dao replied.
"Isn't it rumored down the mountain that you're dead? Your junior brother died avenging you too. What kind of fate do I have? Both of my disciples are dead." After saying that, he lay down on his back, spilling the wine in his hand onto the grass.
Dan Gudao listened to Qi Mushan's incoherent ramblings, and then looked at his already drunk master, so he didn't need to answer.
But the hatred in his heart was too much to bear. He thought of how he had treated Li Xiangyi and how he had treated him in the past. He also thought that he only had 30% of his strength left. His hatred blinded him. Seeing that no one was around, he drew his knife and slowly walked towards the person on the ground.
Dan Gudao thought to himself that Li Xiangyi was dead, and his most respected master was about to die too. Hahaha, he raised his hand and stabbed the heart of the person on the ground.
Suddenly, a pebble hit Shan Gu Dao's wrist, and the knife in his hand fell to the ground.
A loud shout rang out: "You treacherous bastard who betrayed your master, you actually tried to kill your master!" Granny Cen came out of the house with a bowl of hangover soup on her face.
Dan Gudao never expected that his master's wife was in his master's courtyard. Wasn't his master's wife not supposed to come here? He turned around and tried to run away, but he would be in big trouble if he got caught.
When Granny Cen saw that Shan Gu Dao was about to escape, she put down her bowl and stopped him.
After several rounds, Granny Cen was nearly injured. Although Granny Cen was more skilled in martial arts than Shan Gudao, Shan Gudao was, after all, her disciple whom she had personally raised, and she couldn't bear to hurt her, so she held back some of her strength. Shan Gudao, on the other hand, was carrying a weapon and was ruthless in every move, showing no mercy.
Seeing that Shan Gudao was about to escape, Granny Cen moved swiftly, picked up the hangover soup, and splashed it on the face of the man on the ground. Qi Mushan woke up and saw the two fighting, looking puzzled: "Why are you two fighting?"
"It's all because your good disciple betrayed his master and is about to kill you! Come here right now!" Granny Cen roared. Qi Mushan joined the two, and after several rounds of fighting, Shan Gudao was forcibly kept behind.
In the end, Shan Gudao was stripped of his martial arts and imprisoned, and Li Lianhua also left Yunyin Mountain despite his master and mistress's attempts to persuade him to stay.
Several months later, Li Lianhua received a message from her master that Shan Gudao had escaped while Qi Mushan was away—but that's another story.