A story about jianghu and the pugilistic world wouldn’t be complete without an Alliance Head.
The decennial gathering where the new Alliance Head would be selected was going to begin soon, so Shi Sheng brought people to descend the mountain once more.
Shi Sheng told them to go rob people on their own while she headed for Brightmoon Village, which had traditionally been the base of every Alliance Head, on her own.
The leads were sure to appear at an event this major.
Brightmoon Village was very lively right now. Most people arrived in groups, so Shi Sheng travelling on her own (coupled with her looks) soon attracted attention.But Shi Sheng didn’t recognise any of them save for the Jadewater Village Head.
“Ms Wu Zheng is here to participate in the Alliance Gathering too?” The Village Head walked to stand in front of Shi Sheng. If one ignored the cunning look in his eyes, his attitude was pretty amiable.
“Was I not allowed to?”
“Of course not.”
“Then isn’t there something wrong with your question? Isn’t the whole point of coming here to participate in the Gathering? Or is it to kill people?”
The Village Head, “...” ‘Just who the hell taught this prickly lass?’
He suppressed his anger and did his best to remain calm, asking, “Ms Wu Zheng doesn’t have an invitation, right?”Invitations would only be sent to people with proper statuses in jianghu, so the unorthodox definitely wouldn’t be in possession of one.
“What’s it any of your business whether or not I have one?” ‘Why does this Jadewater Village Head keep showing his face around me?’
The Village Head offered, “Ms Wu Zheng, you don’t have to be so guarded. If you don’t have an invitation, I can bring you in.”
“You’re not afraid that I might kill ‘em all after I enter?” Shi Sheng gave him a false smile.
The Village Head was stumped, his eyes darkening. ‘If she really does anything after going in, I’ll be implicated. It’s not worth it.’
“Jiejie.”
A joyful voice called out, “Uncle Zhong.”
The Village Head looked at the person running towards them, his features relaxing as he found a reason to divert the topic. “Xiaoluo, you’re here too.”
“En.” Bai Luo nodded. She looked at Shi Sheng and asked curiously. “Jiejie, are you here to participate in the Alliance Gathering too?”
There was one good thing about dummies—they’d forget about how nasty you were very easily.
“En.” Shi Sheng nodded casually before looking behind her. Fu Yiyun was absent.
“Where’s Sir Fu?” The Village Head seemed to have heard Shi Sheng’s mental question and voiced it for her.
Bai Luo’s smile froze, a hint of pain flashing in her eyes before she slowly lowered her head and mumbled, “Don’t know.”
Seeing Bai Luo like this, the Village Head connected the dots. He patted her head like a senior would to a junior. “Let’s go in first.”
“En...” Bai Luo’s expression was still downcast.
‘The ML has definitely met Liu Xu and is together with her, otherwise Bai Luo wouldn’t reveal such an expression.’ Shi Sheng clicked her tongue thoughtfully, before walking towards the village gates.
The Jadewater Village Head wanted to see how Shi Sheng would enter, so he immediately followed her. Bai Luo lowered her head and followed suit.
Just as Shi Sheng was about to reach the gates where the invitations were being checked, a disturbance started in the crowd behind her.
“It’s Sir Fu...”
Faint murmurs could be heard from the distance.
Bai Luo clutched at her sleeves and looked towards the source of the disturbance.
Fu Yiyun and another woman, both wearing white clothes, walked out from the crowd.
The handsome man and beautiful lady walking together appeared to be a perfect pair.
Shi Sheng didn’t see Zhou Zhi... ‘He’s definitely been cannonfoddered.’
“Xiaoluo-meimei.” Liu Xu caught sight of Bai Luo first. Her expression was an appropriate mix of surprise and worry. “Why did you run off on your own that day? Yiyun-gege and I were very worried about you.”
Bai Luo looked at Fu Yiyun, who was standing a pace behind Liu Xu. His gaze merely landed on her for a second before shifting.
A wave of disappointment appeared in Bai Luo’s heart. ‘He’s not worried about me at all.’
“Thank you for your concern. I’m okay.” Bai Luo replied in a small voice.
Liu Xu pulled Bai Luo’s hand over in an intimate manner. Bai Luo shook, but Liu Xu tightened her grip, making the former unable to break free.
Since Fu Yiyun was standing right here, Bai Luo didn’t dare to yank her hand free, so she could only uncomfortably allow Liu Xu to hold her hand.
Though Liu Xu had a gentle smile on her face, the triumph in her eyes couldn’t be fully concealed. “Did Jiejie do anything wrong to make you angry at me?”
“No.” Bai Luo shook her head.
“Then how could you leave without telling us? I thought I did something wrong...”
Bai Luo merely shook her head.
She wanted to pull her hand back, but hadn’t expected Liu Xu to suddenly loosen her grip. With the little more strength Bai Luo used, it caused Liu Xu to stumble backwards towards the stairs.
Bai Luo panicked and reached out to catch her, but Fu Yiyun beat her to it. He caught Liu Xu by the waist and, with a slight exertion, pulled her into his arms.
Bai Luo’s hand froze in mid-air.
“Xiaoluo-meimei...” Liu Xu stared at Bai Luo in shock, merely calling out weakly to the latter but not accusing her of anything.
That pitiful appearance led the onlookers to fill in the gaps of a melodramatic story between them.
Shi Sheng gave Liu Xu a like inwardly. ‘Now this is the highest level of being a white lotus. With how naïve the FL is, if the heavenly dao wasn’t protecting her, she probably wouldn’t have lasted even one round.’
Fu Yiyun lowered his head to ask Liu Xu if she was fine, ignoring Bai Luo.
Bai Luo’s fingers trembled and she slowly withdrew her hand, lowering her head to look at her embroidered shoes that peeked out from underneath her skirt.
“I’m fine. I just didn’t expect Xiaoluo-meimei to have such strength.” Liu Xu shook her head at Fu Yiyun.
“She’s always clumsy like this.” Fu Yiyun replied.
Bai Luo’s hands, which were hidden by her sleeves, interlocked together. She spoke in a small voice, “I’m sorry...”
Shi Sheng shook her head and turned to leave, but Liu Xu just had to call out to her.
Shi Sheng turned to look at Liu Xu, her lips tugged into a smile.
That smile was very shallow—it could be described as a faint upturn of her lips, yet no one could miss it.
“Who’s that?”
“Wu Zheng. Didn’t you hear that lady call out her name?”
“Wu Zheng? Which one?”
“What do you mean which one? It’s not like there are many people with the same name...”
“I heard she has a sword that’s even more powerful than Scarlet Heaven. I wonder if it’s true.”
The scrutinising gazes held hints of probing, as if they were trying to find where Shi Sheng had hidden the sword on her person.
Liu Xu spoke in a tone as gentle as water, “Ms Wu Zheng, I’m really sorry about that matter. I didn’t know—”
“Stop!” Shi Sheng raised a hand to silence her. “Zhou Zhi went with you of his own accord. It has nothing to do with me, so don’t apologise.”
Liu Xu felt awkward for a moment before a dark glint flashed in her eyes and she stepped back. “Then I was thinking too much. Don’t mind it too much, Ms Wu Zheng.”
She paused before continuing, “Are you here to participate in the Alliance Gathering too? How about we go in together—”
White lotuses weren’t scary.
Glib-tongued white lotuses weren’t scary either.
Scheming and glib-tongued white lotuses were the real deal.
Look at how she didn’t directly mention the fact that Wu Zheng couldn’t possibly have an invitation, yet at the same time, drew everyone’s attention to this point.
“I’m afraid I’ll turn white[1].” Shi Sheng spoke with a false smile.
Liu Xu naturally didn’t know what Shi Sheng was talking about, so she gave the latter a doubtful look.
To tell the truth, Liu Xu was already feeling very impatient because of Shi Sheng’s unexpected reactions over and over again. But she couldn’t display any of it, merely smiling gently at Shi Sheng instead.
[1] I’m guessing she’s saying she’s afraid she’ll die if she goes in with them? Dead people turn white right? Plus it’s related to white lotus so...
