Chapter Forty-Seven: Leisure

The next morning at dawn, Ye Pei began teaching Zi Qingrong swordsmanship in Ni Manxiu’s spacious courtyard.

“Yezi, now that you’ve recovered from your injuries, what do you plan to do next?” Zi Qingrong asked as they practiced.

Ye Pei lowered the hand holding her sword and shook her head. “I don’t really know. I want to return to Wangmai, but from what Ni Manxiu said, isn’t there supposed to be some opportunity at the Necrofire Volcano...?”

“Don’t!” Zi Qingrong exclaimed anxiously. “They say Necrofire Volcano is a place of absolute death. There’s no scorching heat, but rumor has it there’s a secret there that can greatly increase one’s power. Many experts have gone to seek it, but none have ever returned.”

Ye Pei replied, “Hmm... Judging by what Ni Manxiu said yesterday, it feels like there’s something I have to do. But I truly have no idea what it is, and I’m really lost about what to do next.”

Zi Qingrong dropped her gaze. “If you go back to Wangmai... what will I do?” As soon as the words left her lips, her face turned bright red and she inwardly panicked. “Why did I say that out loud!”

With Ye Pei’s keen hearing, even though Zi Qingrong spoke softly, she heard her clearly. For an instant, Ye Pei felt her heartbeat falter, then she smiled and asked, “Hmm? What was that?”

Zi Qingrong, eyes lowered, traced the ground lightly with her sword and was about to say something more when a voice suddenly broke in:

“Well, practicing swordsmanship, are we?”

Anger flared in Ye Pei’s heart as she looked up to see Ni Manxiu, yawning as he stepped outside.

“Yes. Is there something you need?”

Ni Manxiu grinned. “Miss, let me tell you...”

“Hold it.” Ye Pei raised a hand. “You’re not even sixteen yet. Qingrong is seventeen. Show some respect and call her ‘sister.’”

Ni Manxiu’s smile froze at these words, but then he forced out another grin. “Alright, alright. Sister Qingrong, you—”

“Stop.” Ye Pei cut him off again. “And since when do you get to call her just ‘Qingrong’?”

Ni Manxiu turned and shouted, “Then what am I supposed to call her?”

Since Ni Manxiu appeared, Ye Pei’s smile had faded. She looked at him expressionlessly and said, “Just call her ‘Sister Zi Qingrong.’”

Ni Manxiu took a deep breath, then turned to the still-blushing but now happily grinning Zi Qingrong. “Sister Zi Qingrong, how about I teach you swordplay? I know the authentic Miaolin Sword Technique!”

Ye Pei bristled. “What are you up to now? Never mind whether the Miaolin Sword Technique is really so profound—how much have you actually mastered?”

Ni Manxiu snorted. “Don’t underestimate me! I, Ni Manxiu, have trained seriously!”

Ye Pei raised her black iron staff in a sword gesture. “Come on then—let me see this Miaolin Sword Technique of yours. Qingrong, stand back.”

Ni Manxiu rolled up his sleeves, “You’re on! I don’t believe I can’t beat an injured person like you!”

...

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Ye Pei’s sword-fingers were pressing firmly against Ni Manxiu’s throat.

“So, still feeling cocky?” Ye Pei asked with a sweet smile.

Ni Manxiu blinked and replied, “Don’t get too pleased with yourself. I’m only at my best when I fight alongside my pet!”

“Sanhu! Bring me my weapon!”

A deep roar sounded—

A striped tiger leapt over the courtyard wall, a three-foot baton clamped in its jaws. It forced Ye Pei back, then tossed the baton to Ni Manxiu, who caught it and spun it with a flourish, laughing heartily. “Now this is my true fighting form!”

Ye Pei and Zi Qingrong had seen the tiger the day before and knew it was Ni Manxiu’s pet. Zi Qingrong pouted and moved even farther away, while Ye Pei remained unfazed. She drew a black staff from her waist, spun it into a gun-flower, and said, “Taming a tiger is something, I’ll give you that. Come!”

...

About... two cups of tea later?

Ye Pei slammed Sanhu from midair down into the ground with her staff and, with her right leg, kicked Ni Manxiu flying. “So now that we’re using weapons, who did you think you were dealing with?”

Ni Manxiu struggled to his feet, bracing himself with his baton, his whole body aching. He gritted his teeth and said, “You... you really didn’t spare an inch...”

Ye Pei hoisted her staff onto her shoulder. “Did you think all my years training with spear and staff were for nothing?”

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Ye Pei asked curiously, “Wait, how did you manage to get both of us back here yesterday?”

“Ha!” Ni Manxiu gave a strange shout and snapped his fingers. “Erjing, come out and say hello!”

There was a faint tremor in the ground, and a sky-blue, palm-sized whale leapt up and landed on Ni Manxiu’s shoulder, patting its tail and nuzzling his cheek.

Such a cute creature was practically irresistible to girls. Zi Qingrong immediately ran over, wanting to pet the little whale. But with a chirp, Erjing darted over to Ni Manxiu’s other shoulder.

“You’re not trying to tell me that this little thing brought us back, are you?” Ye Pei was genuinely astonished.

Ni Manxiu raised his chin proudly. “Exactly! Don’t be fooled by its size—when it grows, it’s bigger than ten of these courtyards put together!”

Ye Pei asked, “Where did you find such a wonder?”

At this point, Ye Pei still didn’t know the tiger could talk.

“From my sect!” Ni Manxiu replied.

Before Ye Pei could speak again, Zi Qingrong interjected, “Your sect, your sect—aren’t you the sole heir of the Sacrificial Mountain, a one-lineage priesthood? I’ve never heard of any school that trains the Ni family.”

Ni Manxiu laughed. “Sister Qingrong, you don’t know—”

“Adjust your address and say that again,” Ye Pei’s voice interrupted from the side.

“Hmm...” Ni Manxiu paused for a second, then adopted a solemn tone. “Sister Zi Qingrong, I’m a bit different from my ancestors. I did indeed study under another master.”

Ye Pei said, “I’m quite interested in your sect now.”

Ni Manxiu replied, “Ah, that’s easy—when your days are over, you can visit my sect.”

The words had barely left his mouth when Ni Manxiu slapped a hand over his own lips and muttered, “Damn it, said too much.”

With that, he vanished with his two pets.

Ye Pei blinked, pondering, “Was that a curse? Doesn’t seem like it... What did he mean, when I’m dead I can visit his sect...?”

After Ni Manxiu’s disruption, Ye Pei returned to teaching Zi Qingrong swordplay.

While guiding Zi Qingrong, Ye Pei often thought back to how his own father had taught him martial arts. In those moments, his heart was filled with a mix of melancholy, warmth, regret, and a trace of sorrow.

“So the memories aren’t all sadness after all.”

Ye Pei once thought every memory of his father would flood him with grief, but he soon realized that sadness was only a small part of the complex emotions he felt.

His blood feud avenged, he no longer felt anger. Instead, he deeply understood that, since his father’s death in battle, the one who suffered most was undoubtedly his mother.

He had spent these days healing, fleeing, and fighting, always busy. Only when doing something he and his father once did together did he find himself thinking of Ye Linhui. But for Huang Qilin, traces of Ye Linhui lingered everywhere in her daily life; she must be constantly reminded, forever immersed in memories of him.

“Sigh...” Thinking this, Ye Pei let out a long breath. “My father died in battle, and now I’ve disappeared without a trace. I wonder how my mother is doing. Will she go to my grandfather’s place? There’s nothing left for her in Shunxing City.”

Meanwhile, at Wangmai, after reaching the main camp of Elder Huang Cang on the Moyue Prairie in northern Snow Country, the Ye family had suffered casualties, including the young lady Ye Feilan.

To save time, the Ye family caravan took a shortcut through the northern mountains, not deliberately avoiding the region. In the mountains, they were ambushed by a gang of brigands, and their formation was thrown into chaos. At that moment, the young lady remembered Ye Pei’s reputation and shouted, “I’m the daughter of the Young Hero of Lingyu! Think carefully about what you’re doing!”

“Hahaha! Who’s this Young Hero of Lingyu? Why have I never heard of him? Rob them!”

Four people were lost from the Ye family caravan, including three guards and the young lady herself, along with several wagons of goods. When Meng Huaicheng stabilized Lady Ye’s group and returned to search, the wind had already covered all traces with snow.

After being taken to the brigands’ mountain camp, the young lady recalled another way to save herself. She remembered the people of Wangmai’s reverence for the Star Clan, and her own wings on her back.

Taking advantage of a moment when no one was watching, Ye Feilan jumped down from the wagon, stood by the cliff’s edge, and shouted, “Look closely—do you know who you’ve kidnapped?”

With that, she spread her enormous wings, nearly ten feet across.

A long pause...

“What’s the girl doing?”

“No idea. Has she lost her mind?”

“Seems like it.”

Realizing their reaction, Ye Feilan suddenly remembered, with dismay, that her wings were invisible.

In a fit of anger, she turned and jumped off the cliff.

“Holy—!”

The brigands were struck dumb with fright, crowding to the cliff’s edge, but Ye Feilan was already out of sight.

“We’re doomed. Such a little girl, and she just flung herself to her death... Are people from Snow Country all so fierce? We hadn’t even planned to do anything yet...”

Meanwhile, the young lady herself...

“The wind is so strong! How do you control these wings? The wind is too much! And it’s so cold! Ahhhhhhh!”

In truth, if the brigands had been locals, just mentioning Ye Pei, the Young Hero of Lingyu, would have been enough to guarantee her safety. But these were no ordinary bandits—they were led by none other than Xia Mingqian, the legitimate prince who had fled from the Summer Kingdom.

In the southern lands, Ni Manxiu suddenly opened his eyes and said, “Sanhu, when Ye Pei and Zi Qingrong leave, let’s go to Wangmai.”

The tiger yawned. “Why?”

Ni Manxiu pursed his lips. “Nothing serious—just that my intended bride has gone missing.”