To Travel by the Edge of a Creek

Chapter 29: Startling Turn of Events

“He Xi, how could you show up here again?” Jiang Ling mumbled, turning around. 

“Do you not want me to show up here?” He Xi sat up, turning her head to look at Jiang Ling’s back. 

“I…I don’t know?” Jiang Ling reached out to grab the blanket and wrapped herself in it, “I’m sleeping.”

“Mm.”

…

In the two days where Jiang Ling was recovering, another trade caravan had arrived in Yonguan Village. He Xi had Jiang Ling and Zhuo Zhuo go with the caravan, to continue their journey to the central plains. 

“Jiang Liu, look at the Ferghana horses!” Zhuo Zhuo’s eyes widened, “I’ve always wanted to have one!”

It was a caravan that traded horses. The caravan had brought about ten horses along, their coats glossy and their eyelashes fluttering, majestic and dashing. 

The leader of the horse caravan stopped overnight in Yongquan Village. As for Zhuo Zhuo, it was like he had found his long lost brethren; he joined them in gathering food and grooming the horses. 

At dawn the next day, Jiang Ling and Zhuo Zhuo were about to leave with the caravan. 

“Goodbye.” He Xi said farewell to Jiang Ling once again, not wanting her to get caught up in the struggles in Xiyu. 

“Goodbye, Saintess-jiejie!” Zhuo Zhuo waved emphatically at He Xi. 

Jiang Ling looked at He Xi, but could not utter the words of farewell. 

He Xi sat on her camel wearing a smile. She pulled on the reins, and the camel set off in the direction she indicated. 

Jiang Ling watched He Xi leave until her silhouette was swallowed by the yellow sands. 

Just then, Jiang Ling felt her heart palpitate, her palms break out in sweat. She had had this feeling three years ago. 

The caravan set off, but from time to time, Jiang Ling would turn her gaze to the direction in which He Xi left. 

“Jiang Liu, if you can’t bear to part with her this much, why don’t you just marry her?” Zhuo Zhuo questioned Jiang Ling about her reluctant appearance. 

“You! What did you say?” Jiang Ling was stupefied, “How could I marry her?”

“Is it that you don’t want to? But Saintess-jiejie is really beautiful.” Zhuo Zhuo feigned seriousness, “I think Saintess-jiejie really likes you, too.”

“You don’t understand.” Jiang Ling had no way to explain. How could two women get married?

“You won’t marry her? Then just wait until I grow up…”

“You can’t!” Jiang Ling interrupted immediately. 

Jiang Ling did not want to keep talking to Zhuo Zhuo, so she spurred her camel to the other side of the caravan. 

“You’re actually mad? Just say you don’t like her.” Zhuo Zhuo muttered. 

…

As soon as He Xi walked into her tent, A Na and Ye Qi both immediately stood up. 

“Saintess, you are back at last.” Ye Qi was at his wits end. When the Saintess had left, she had handed responsibility for everything to him and A Na. The both of them knew nothing and could only go around sorting things out with their fists or with menial work. Fortunately, the Saintess had finally returned from her trip to the Land of Tender[1], so he could let out a relieved breath. 

“You two have worked hard these past couple of days, thank you. I now have a handle on the situation.” He Xi sat in her seat, “You two, draw up water in the nearby wells separately. Don’t let others discover you.”

The two of them accepted their orders and departed, coming back once they had drawn water from five different wells. He Xi dipped her silver needle to test for poison. “Sure enough.” Two of the needles turned black. 

“Saintess, this…” Ye Qi did not dare believe his own eyes. 

“Yes, this is not a febrile disease. Someone poisoned the water supply. The poison is not strong, with symptoms like a contagious disease, so we’ve always thought it was a febrile disease.”

Ye Qi did not understand why someone would spread poison, “Who did it?”

“It might have something to do with the other faction, but I have no evidence.” He Xi thought about it. Out of these five wells, two were poisoned. Evidently, the poison had already been diluted. Within two days, someone would definitely come to reapply the poison, and at that moment, they would catch them in the act, “You two will maintain secrecy for the next two days, then we’ll act.”

He Xi bid her time until two days later. That night, the three of them hid behind a haystack behind the well, waiting for the little fish to take the bait. 

The moon was bright and the stars scattered, the chill in the air growing harsher. Ye Qi could not help but grumble in the desert night, “It’s too fucking cold out.” He Xi furrowed her brow, not caring for his vulgarities. Ye Qi immediately stopped talking, continuing to wait in silence. 

Deep into the night, just as the three of them started to think that no one would be poisoning the well that night, a person’s silhouette appeared at the entrance to the village, sneaking toward the well. 

“They’re here!” A Na called the other two in a whisper. 

He Xi immediately raised her vigilance, waiting for a clearer view. It was the village chief!

He Xi was astonished. While they had been in Shahai Village, the village chief had warm-heartedly arranged everything. How could it have been the village chief adding the poison…A Na and Ye Qi could scarcely believe it, but the truth was right in front of them. 

Just as the village chief pulled a medicine jar out and was about to dump the contents into the well, A Na rushed out of the darkness and grabbed his hand. When the village chief saw who it was, he was so frightened that his eyeballs almost popped out of their sockets. His knees wobbled and thumped to the ground, “Lord A Na, this commoner wouldn’t dare! This commoner wouldn’t dare!” He Xi and Ye Qi walked out of the shadows and gazed at the village chief, their faces full of disappointment. 

“Speak. Who told you to do this?” A Na pinched the village chief’s hand in a crushing grip. The village chief’s face twisted in pain, his other hand lifting tremblingly, “It was…It’s…”

Everything was occurring too smoothly. He Xi felt a rising sense of alarm, like she was standing before an enormous whirlpool that was about to swallow her whole. 

“Who?” Ye Qi asked. 

“It’s…It’s her!” The village chief lifted his hand and pointed at He Xi, his eyes revealing a malicious light, “It’s her, the Saintess is the one who told me to do it!”

“Bullshit!” Ye Qi raised his blade and placed it at the village chief’s throat, “Explain, quickly!”

The village chief’s cold eyes gazed at He Xi, “Lady Saintess, did you forget your instructions?” He Xi’s eyes held anger. The three of them were slowly being encircled within an enormous net. He Xi was positive: they had already been sucked into the whirlpool. She stalked up to the village chief and leaned down. Her amber eyes gazed straight into the village chief’s, which were already clouded with age. She tilted her head, placing her lips next to his ear and whispering: “It was Zhu Li.”

Like he had just been seen through, the village chief’s eyes widened into saucers. He started to struggle maddly. 

“Saintess, what’s wrong with him?” The scene made Ye Qi feel somewhat at a loss. Evidently, A Na likewise did not know what to do. His hand loosened, and the village chief struggled free, shouting: “The Saintess told me to do it!” He swiped his neck along Ye Qi’s blade. Blood gushed out of the wound, staining their clothes red. The three of them were dumbfounded, stunned by the sudden turn of events. 

“So instead of resolving this with the village chief through words, the Saintess acts out of desperation and silences him?” Na Cuo’s voice came out of the darkness, “What a good dogfight.”

Behind Na Cuo was one of the Manichaens’ two Guardian Kings, Sang Ji, and a crowd of disciples. “Lord Guardian also heard the village head’s words before he was killed.” Sang Ji was approaching his forties, tall and stalwart. He was only inferior to Luo Zhu and Zhu Li in terms of skill, and he usually maintained neutrality within the sect. This time he was clearly deceived by Na Cuo to come see He Xi’s ‘crime’.

“You’re spewing bullshit!” Ye Qi excoriated, taking two steps in front of He Xi. “Lord Guardian, you see, the Saintess has never had any respect, even casually bringing an uninitiated central plains person back to the sect to harm others. This febrile disease in Shahai Village was also fabricated by her. Who knows who may be backing her?” Na Cuo spit out the word ‘casually’, “The Saintess’ crimes are too numerous to count!”

Sang Ji asked simply, “He Xi, was this your doing?”

He Xi walked out from behind Ye Qi, “Would you believe me if I said no?”

“You were caught red-handed and you’re still quibbling!” Na Cuo yelled, “You’ve just killed the witness, and you still want to deny it?”

He Xi lowered her voice, “A Na, Ye Qi, separate and break through the encirclement. Tell the leader that something has happened within the sect.”

“Understood.” A Na and Ye Qi answered concisely. 

It was impossible for so many people to be out on this night, so it could only be an ambush. The distance between them was just right to hear the village chief’s final shout, and Sang Ji did not know the reason behind such slander. Now, it was useless to explain herself. This must have all been deliberately planned, and the one to take the bait had been He Xi, instead. Just how they knew her movements so clearly, she did not know. She was close to figuring it out, but in such a chaotic scene, she did not have time to think about the issue before Na Cuo was already attacking her, “Saintess, surrender and return to admit your crimes!”

A Na leapt in front of He Xi and took the blow from Na Cuo, “Saintess, run!”

The encircling followers were gradually thinned down. When the remaining followers went to contain the two of them, Ye Qi fought his way out, blocking the followers’ strikes to give He Xi an opening. He Xi’s silhouette flashed as she ran out of the encirclement. 

“He Xi, come back with me.” Sang Ji landed in front of He Xi. 

“…” If she went back with them, with the combined weight of the falsified evidence, she would be hard pressed to explain herself. With a flick of her wrist, silver needles flew through the air, shooting toward Sang Ji like a flash of lightning. The needles all embedded themselves on Sang Ji’s robes, “You dare!”

Showing off in the presence of an expert!

He Xi took advantage of the given opportunity to put some distance between them. Sang Ji glared at her. His palms shot out, blowing the stones on the ground toward her. The stones broke apart in mid air then reformed into a net to entrap He Xi, who slanted her body and shielded herself with the wind generated by her palms. She cleared away most of the stones, but some of the stones carried great force, and even after coming into contact with He Xi’s palm wind, they continued to fly toward He Xi in smaller pieces. He Xi had no choice but to turn and run off into a different direction. With the speed of the god of thunder, Sang Ji landed beside He Xi in the blink of an eye. He curled his leg and kicked her. He Xi could not dodge in time, and crossed her arms in front of herself to take the crushing blow. He Xi’s expression did not shift at all, and gritting her teeth, she swept her leg toward Sang Ji’s supporting leg. Sang Ji tucked that leg in and spun in the air before landing on the ground. He Xi retreated a few steps and clenched her shaking hands. Her fight with Sang Ji just now had cost her much of her strength. She wanted to extricate herself as soon as possible. 

“He Xi, come with me and admit your crimes.”

“I did nothing wrong.”

“Still quibbling!” Sang Ji said in disappointment. 

The sound of clattering hooves came from not too far away, interrupting their conversation. He Xi drew out a silver needle and launched it toward Sang Ji, who observed clearly that this was He Xi’s last bit of obstinate struggle. He merely dodged, then strode forward to apprehend her. 

He Xi stepped backward, her lips hooking upward. She flicked her fingers, flashing silver in the moonlight. Sang Ji rushed forward to chase her when he felt a pain in his knee. That silver needle had changed directions and plunged into his knee, piercing the bone. His right leg went numb and he was unstable on his feet. He could only watch as He Xi ran off in the direction of the horse’s clattering hooves. 

“He Xi!” Jiang Ling rode her horse toward He Xi, bathed in moonlight.