Hidden Shadow – CH 191

Chapter One-Hundred-Ninety-One: Beauty

Yu Pianfei did not press further, instructing the steward to arrange a refined and quiet courtyard for Hua Rongjian.

Seven days passed in a flash.

Chu Dingjiang received a letter from the Yu family regarding the Daofu Lai Restaurant. On the day of departure, he arranged for a caravan to go ahead. As evening approached, he went to the alleyway agreed upon in the letter to wait.

After waiting a while, Zhu Pianxian still had not appeared. Chu Dingjiang casually knocked down the guards at the west gate of the Yu residence, tied them up, and threw them into the artificial cave, clearing a path for Zhu Pianxian.

Turning around, he saw a young man drinking at the entrance of the warm pavilion.

Just as Chu Dingjiang was about to leave, he heard him shout, “Hey, come here!”

Chu Dingjiang paused slightly, using his mental power to check the surroundings and finding no one else, and then turned and went to him.

“Who are you?” Hua Rongjian, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, scrutinized Chu Dingjiang. He saw a burly man, his face almost entirely obscured by a beard. Though dressed in simple clothes, his bearing was far from that of a servant.

Chu Dingjiang was somewhat dazed. The face before him was identical to his own from the Warring States period, and now he was at the peak of his life, enjoying the most triumphant years. Chu Dingjiang often had a feeling that by secretly murdering the mother of this illegitimate child and transforming him into Hua Rongjian, he had personally corrected a derailed destiny, as if… he had erased his superfluous self from this world.

It seemed as if fate was manipulating him, and he had merely been too clever for his own good, having schemed against himself. This feeling was infuriating.

Chu Dingjiang stared at Hua Rongjian for a long time, then raised his hand to lightly touch that familiar face. Startled, Hua Rongjian stumbled back several steps, crashing into a pillar with a thud. “I am telling you, I’d rather die than be humiliated!”

“You ask who I am?” Chu Dingjiang withdrew his hand and slowly said, “I am you.”

“Ha.” Hua Rongjian touched his face. “Nonsense! I am a handsome young man; stop daydreaming. Hahaha.”

Chu Dingjiang flicked a pine nut, placing it on Hua Rongjian’s pressure point to induce sleep.

Hua Rongjian’s laughter abruptly stopped.

Chu Dingjiang moved swiftly, catching the falling wine jug, and watching him fall to the ground. He then gently placed the jug on the railing and turned to leave.

At the alley entrance, he saw a village woman in a simple dress and a plain hairpin, her head wrapped in a blue floral cloth, looking around cautiously.

Chu Dingjiang lightly leaped up, landing deep in the alley, and coughed.

The village woman turned and saw Chu Dingjiang, then trotted forward. “Master Chu, let’s go.”

“Does Madam Zhu not think your attire is inappropriate?” Chu Dingjiang asked expressionlessly.

Only ladies of noble families would cover their faces; village women rarely did so on the streets. Moreover, Zhu Pianxian’s clothes were drab, but her blue floral headscarf was fresh and bright. Who would not take a second look at her in that outfit?

“This!” Zhu Pianxian pulled off her headscarf and shook it. “I was thinking… my looks might easily attract the attention of local ruffians, and that would delay our journey.”

Zhu Pianxian was not exactly beautiful, but her delicate skin was enough to make any ruffian drool. This explanation made sense. But was Chu Dingjiang so easily fooled?

She just wanted to delay their journey!

Chu Dingjiang glanced at her coldly. “I am here because I knew you’d come. My predictions have never failed me, so it is best if you behave yourself on the journey, Madam Zhu. Otherwise, you will cause me trouble. What do you say?”

Zhu Pianxian shuddered, lowering her head and clutching the hem of her clothes. She muttered, “What I said is not wrong. Even though Master Chu does not fancy me, there must be times when he’s been misled by a beauty, right? In the eyes of those scoundrels, someone like me is a beauty.”

“No matter how beautiful, she cannot mislead me,” Chu Dingjiang said indifferently. “Let’s go!”

Zhu Pianxian pouted, thinking to herself, “So abstinent, he must be impotent!”

Zhu Pianxian’s skill was considerable; even using her full lightness skill, she was not inferior to Chu Dingjiang, only lacking endurance.

Two hours later, catching up with the caravan, Zhu Pianxian was panting heavily.

Chu Dingjiang pointed to one of the carriages.

Zhu Pianxian happily climbed on. Inside the carriage, Lou Mingyue and An Jiu, who had been resting, opened their eyes and looked at her simultaneously.

Lou Mingyue was dressed in plain white clothes, her dark hair adorned with two simple white silk flowers. Her eyebrows were neatly trimmed, and her exquisite face exuded a heroic air. An Jiu, on the other hand, wore a dark purple satin jacket and skirt, her hair piled high in a cloud-like bun, her eyes as black as lacquer, like a fairy from a painting.

However, one moment, spring flowers were in full bloom, the next, a sea of ​​hellfire!

The undisguised murderous aura emanating from the two made Zhu Pianxian’s eyelids twitch. She froze for a few moments, then forced a smile and shrank to a corner of the carriage.

An Jiu had worn a human skin mask that day, so Zhu Pianxian did not recognize her now, but An Jiu’s eyes lit up when she saw her—this interesting woman who could cry so easily.

The carriage started moving again, a cold wind whistling through the quiet carriage.

An hour passed, and Zhu Pianxian, unable to contain herself any longer, coughed and said, “And you two ladies are…”

“…” Lou Mingyue kept her eyes closed, not even lifting her eyelids.

“…” An Jiu glanced at her curiously but did not reply.

However, An Jiu’s response encouraged Zhu Pianxian, and she was not discouraged. “You two ladies are the sisters of Master Chu, are you not? You look like siblings at first glance; you look…”

They really did not look alike at all!

“Both of you possess such extraordinary bearing.” Zhu Pianxian bowed slightly to An Jiu. “My husband’s surname is Zhu, and my given name is Pianxian. I’ve come to Bianjing at Master Chu’s invitation.”

“He invited you?” An Jiu asked.

An Jiu’s neck injury had not fully healed, so she could not speak forcefully, which suited her current demeanor perfectly.

Zhu Pianxian was delighted to receive a response and quickly said, “Yes, he said he was finding a companion for his friend. His friend is a young boy; you should know him, right?”

An Jiu’s expression was subtle.

“Oh dear, hehehe,” Zhu Pianxian quickly covered her mouth and laughed. “It’s not that kind of companionship, just chatting.”

An Jiu dragged a bundle from the back, rummaged through it for a while, and pulled out a human skin mask, unfolding it in front of Zhu Pianxian.

“You, you…” Zhu Pianxian’s voice trembled; even her lips turned pale. “You killed him?”

Zhu Pianxian was a spy, and she knew that there were people in the martial arts world who specialized in killing and skinning people, making incredibly realistic human skin masks, far superior to fakes. The mask in An Jiu’s hand was Lu Danzhi’s masterpiece, its exquisite detail comparable to a real person.

Seeing her horrified expression, An Jiu suddenly felt a mischievous urge, carefully examining her face. “Your face is very good.”

“Hehehe, My Young Lady is truly witty.” Zhu Pianxian struggled to open the carriage door, tears welling in her eyes.

While driving, suddenly there was a thud, and the entire convoy stopped for a moment.

Chu Dingjiang spurred his horse closer, glanced at the disheveled Zhu Pianxian, and tapped the carriage wall. “Do not be naughty.”

An Jiu pushed open the carriage window, leaned out, and grinned at him.

Those dark, deep eyes seemed to have been struck by stars, instantly brightening, rendering her already beautiful face with a radiant glow, making everything around her pale in comparison.

Lively and alluring, this was it.

Chu Dingjiang was stunned.

Zhu Pianxian, seeing his distraught state, got up, rubbing her back, and grumbled, “Who was it that so righteously declared, ‘Even the most beautiful face cannot sway me,’ Chu?”

Chu Dingjiang regained his composure and said in a deep voice, “Get in.”

“Can I sit in the back carriage?” Zhu Pianxian asked.

Chu Dingjiang glanced at the carriage and smirked. “Are you sure?”

Zhu Pianxian nodded quickly. Sitting with the two women had shattered her confidence as a woman, and besides, that “Fairy in the Painting” seemed like a beast in human skin.

“Go,” Chu Dingjiang relented.

Only Mo Sigui was in the carriage. He’d been in a terrible mood lately, attacking anyone who approached within a ten-chi radius, except for the coachman, with poison without hesitation.

The reason for his bad mood was mainly because Chu Dingjiang’s beating was too horrific. His face was covered in bruises that had not healed even after applying ointment!

No! Not! Healed!

This was a blatant disregard and insult to his medical skills!

Zhu Pianxian took a few steps, thinking of Chu Dingjiang’s expression and then of how An Jiu had scared her earlier. This childishness…it felt strangely familiar.

That’s it! It was that boy! When they were about to attack Piaomiao Mountain Mansion, he deliberately suggested taking her along, scaring her so much she cried her eyes out!

After realizing what had happened, Zhu Pianxian turned and darted back into An Jiu’s carriage, frowning at her.

“Zhu is a liar,” An Jiu said cheerfully.

“You are…” Zhu Pianxian leaned closer, reaching out to grab her face.