The man just smiled without answering, then signaled, “Go! Spare the woman inside.”
At some point, Qinglong had a long sword in his hand. The young man shook it lightly, laughing, “The young master always says I’m too impetuous, advising me to restrain my temper and use the sword less. Thus, this Fengchuan Sword hasn’t tasted blood for a year. Now, to use it on the Heavenly Dipper, I couldn’t be more pleased.” The sword light swirled, and several people fell in an instant. As Qinglong got carried away with the fight, he noticed from the corner of his eye that several people had already half-entered through the window. With a tap of his toes and a sweep of his sword, there were several screams, and those people were cut in half, half inside and half outside, with blood and entrails spilling everywhere.
Qinglong’s head suddenly ached, his movements slowed, but he heard no screams from inside, thinking perhaps the girl had fainted. He wanted to check inside, but was entangled by several assassins, unable to break free, and as the number of shadow guards dwindled, someone found an opportunity to rush into the room. Qinglong kicked an assassin aside, turned to block the intruder, his sword tip against the man’s chest, smiling lightly, “With such skill, you think you can take someone from the mansion?”
Before he finished speaking, shadows flickered around them, and a new batch of shadow guards emerged, reversing the situation instantly. The assassin leader’s eyes showed fear as the blood-dripping Fengchuan Sword touched his chest, and he gritted his teeth, “You… have reestablished defenses?”
Qinglong smiled triumphantly, “You thought you could replace people under my watch, thinking I, Qinglong, am a fool?” He paused, then added, “If not for the Heavenly Dipper’s mysterious nature, with the young master ordering me to investigate your methods, do you think you could have even entered Shuyuan?”
The man’s weapon fell, his face pale. “Tell me, who’s your inside man?” Qinglong’s sword tip pierced an inch into the man’s chest, “Speak, or I’ll dig out your heart!”
The man’s expression changed several times, his lips moved, but then the sound of an arrow slicing through the air came from afar. Qinglong’s expression changed, and he quickly swung his sword. This arrow was far more powerful than the previous ones; the Fengchuan Sword split the arrowhead, but couldn’t completely block it. The man clutched his pierced throat, gasping, and died instantly.
Qinglong, with no other choice, sheathed the Fengchuan Sword, only to hear his shadow guards shouting, “My lord! My lord! There’s a fire!” He turned back in haste, seeing flames rising from the house behind him — those precious paintings the young master had spent a fortune to acquire were about to be consumed by fire. Qinglong’s mind went blank for a moment, shouting, “Chuxia, Chuxia!”
The fire grew fiercer, but there was no response from inside. In the eleventh chapter, amidst the soaring flames, Qinglong attempted to rush into the burning room several times to rescue someone. However, the paintings inside were highly flammable, and the flames were too intense, forcing him back repeatedly. The shadow guards started fighting the fire, and Qinglong removed his robe, soaked it in a bucket of water, draped it over himself, and tried to rush into the fire again. A gentle force pressed on his shoulder, and in his urgency, Qinglong shrugged it off, angrily saying, “Don’t stop me!”
“Qinglong, it’s me,” came the voice of the young master.
Qinglong turned around quickly, urgently saying, “Young master… Chuxia, she…” The young master, dressed casually, had his right arm around a girl’s waist, who leaned weakly against his chest, unmoving. He slightly turned his body to reveal the girl’s face to Qinglong, smiling slightly, “She’s here.” Seeing Young Master’s relaxed demeanor, Qinglong deduced that Chuxia was safe and breathed a sigh of relief. He kicked the corpse on the ground with his toe, saying, “First this guy was silenced, then the house was set ablaze; Qinglong has lost face.” The Young Master patted his head as if comforting a child, saying, “You’ve done well.” “Well? I couldn’t even protect a silly girl!” Qinglong pouted and looked towards Chuxia, who had her eyes closed, “Is she alright?” The Young Master smiled slightly, “She was overcome by the heat and passed out for a moment.”
When Chuxia woke up, she still had her eyes closed, hearing the rustling of pages, was the Young Master reading? She felt reassured. “Awake?” A warm palm pressed against her forehead, and the voice was pleasant, “Do you feel unwell anywhere?” Chuxia opened her eyes, coughed heavily, and her first words were, “Young Master… I set the fire.” The Young Master tidied her disheveled hair, calmly saying, “I know.” Chuxia’s eyes widened, “You don’t blame me?” “I don’t blame you, on the contrary, I commend you for doing well.” The Young Master leaned in close, his eyes fixed on her, “I know you’re a clever child.” His face was so close she could count his eyelashes, making her cheeks warm. She quickly turned away, “What about Qinglong? Is he okay?” “He’s fine,” the Young Master said gently, “If you want to see him, I’ll have someone call him in.” Chuxia nodded, then shook her head, “Young Master, I have something important to tell you first.”
The Young Master sat by her bed, the faint scent of dragon’s brain incense enveloping them, intoxicating like a mild intoxication. “Young Master, I’ve finished authenticating all the scrolls. I found two that are very similar to the places depicted in ‘The Mountain and Water Ballad.’ At noon, I took the scrolls to find you, and then… I encountered assassins.” The Young Master lowered his gaze, noticing her tightly clenched fists, knowing she was nervous, he gently took her hand, “Take your time.” “Qinglong told me to retreat inside. I heard the sounds of fighting outside, and I was scared.” Chuxia took a deep breath, “I knew they must be after the scrolls I had. Since I’ve memorized them… it didn’t matter if I destroyed them. So, I lit a candle… but then someone broke in through the window, and they were cut in half. I got even more scared, my hand shook, and a spark caught the whole studio on fire.”
The Young Master gave a slight smile, his fingertips gently caressing the back of her hand, whispering, “Chuxia, is that really what you thought?” Chuxia glanced at him quickly, seeing his enigmatic smile, she felt he was inscrutable. She bit her lip, annoyed, “Did the Young Master guess everything?” The Young Master’s smile deepened, “So I say you’re a clever child.” “Chuxia was afraid of death… at the time, I thought if the bad guys took the scrolls, they would kill to silence me… but if I destroyed the scrolls, they wouldn’t kill me right away…” She expected the Young Master to scold her, but instead, he looked at her directly, “Chuxia, if I’m not by your side and you face life-threatening danger, do as you did today. Survive; that’s what matters most. Everything else is secondary.” Chuxia stared at him, her eyes welling up, and she whispered, “Yes.”
