Chapter 274: The Legend of Sparrow
The crescent moon hung in the middle of the sky, casting its cold light upon a small town nestled amidst the mountains and forests on the edge of the Western Region. On the paper window of the inn’s second floor, there was the silhouette of a young man diligently writing at his desk.
Dressed in light white attire, Ye Anping sat at the desk in the wing, his face clouded with melancholy as he stared at the paper before him, which he had marked beyond recognition. A hint of helplessness flickered in his eyes.
With the turmoil in the Sword Sect nearing its end, the upheaval in the Central Region Emperor Sect was about to commence. However, Ye Anping’s current worries were not about the Emperor Sect affair.
While the Emperor Sect Incident marked a turning point in the mid-game of the game, Ye Anping already had experience from both the Chilong Mansion and the Moon Shadow Sword Sect. Formulating a plan was simply a matter of time and effort, with clear guidelines to follow. It was the matter with no clear guidelines that weighed on Ye Anping’s mind. One such matter was his impending marriage to his junior sister.
In his view, marriage was simply about genuine love between two people, with the wedding merely a formality. However, if it were just a formality, although his junior sister might pretend not to mind, she would undoubtedly feel deeply unsettled.
Previously, he had contemplated taking his junior sister back to the Hundred Lotus Sect after seeing Feng Yudie to Xuanxing Sect, formally proposing to her in front of his parents.
The idea was easy enough, but the execution posed challenges comparable to drafting a plan. After all, he had no prior experience with marriage. Moreover, marriage in this world was far more intricate than in his previous life, with numerous customs and rituals to observe before the wedding. From betrothal to the selection of auspicious dates, the process was fraught with trivial details.
Furthermore, as Pei Lianxue hailed from a mortal background, he would also need to visit her family with her, adding another layer of complexity to the situation. However, these challenges could be overcome with time. What troubled Ye Anping the most was the matter of sending out invitations.
As he looked at the long list of names filling the sheet of paper, a sense of weariness washed over him.
“There should be about twenty from my father’s side and likely a similar number from my mother’s. They can handle delivering those themselves. As for my side…”
He counted on his fingers, feeling the weight of his concern. Senior Sister Bai was undoubtedly on the list, given her previous kindness to him. Elder Wang and Elder Qi from Xuanxing Sect, who oversaw his and his junior sister’s trials, would also receive invitations. The same went for Elder Qin and the others, as he and his junior sister were under their tutelage.
Should he invite Si Xuanji? Since she probably didn’t know his true identity yet, he should address the invitation under the guise of being Xiao Yunluo’s sister.
And what about Xiao Yunluo herself? Should she receive an invitation?
What about Li Longling? Or the sisters Yun Yiyi and the others?
As for Feng Yudie… it might be best to leave her out of it, at least for now.
Involving her might require some delicate handling or a surprise announcement. Otherwise, there might be no wedding, and if Feng Yudie felt cornered, who knows what drastic measures she might take. She got married during the mid to late stages of the game.
If the protagonist set the marriage, wouldn’t he, the expendable character, become the antagonist?
“Initially, I thought it wouldn’t be too much trouble, but now that I think about it… I still can’t marry like this?”
Ye Anping felt somewhat helpless, setting down the pen he held, rubbing his temples, and turning to gaze at the crescent moon outside the window.
Bang bang——
Suddenly, there was a noise from the next room, making Ye Anping instantly more alert. He recalled that the occupants of the adjacent room were two cultivators only in the Qi Refining stage.
After hesitating for a moment, he approached the wall and listened closely.
—”Darling~~ Darling~~”
—”Haha… Dear, you’re only using your strength to call me darling, huh! Put some effort into it!”
“… …”
Ye Anping was speechless. Encountering such a situation while staying at an inn was quite normal. He hadn’t heard it while writing just now. The inn’s soundproofing was quite effective.
Then again, over the past month and a half, they had been on the road without much rest, so he hadn’t had many opportunities to lecture his junior sister.
It was a rare occasion to stay in an inn with decent soundproofing…
After some hesitation, Ye Anping muttered,
“Is Feng Yudie probably asleep by now?”
He was puzzled and gathered the papers on the table and burned them in the lampstand in the corner of the room. He then tiptoed to the compartment door, cracked it open slightly, and peered out.
Then…
He saw Xiao Tian’s face.
Xiao Tian seemed to have been stationed at his door all along.
As he glanced through the crack in the door, Xiao Tian immediately wore a mischievous grin,
“Anping~ Not resting so late, where are you going? Hehehe…”
“… …”
Ye Anping pursed his lips, pretending nothing had happened, and slowly closed the door again, feeling utterly speechless. He had forgotten about this guy. Why wasn’t it staying in Feng Yudie’s mind and sleeping instead of running to his doorstep in the middle of the night?
“Forget it, time to rest.”
Ye Anping lost interest, turning to lie down on the bed to rest. However, Xiao Tian barged in through the door and clamored, “Ah! Don’t ignore me!”
Ye Anping pursed his lips and retorted,
“What are you doing at my door in the middle of the night?”
“I just… ” Xiao Tian blushed slightly but shook his head, then hurriedly said, “Oh, you were drugged by that vixen before, and you’ve got experience… It’s written in this book that after a man’s first time, he can’t resist a second time, and then a third time…”
“So!”
“I was worried you’d sneak out to find those unsavory girls.”
Xiao Tian floated onto Ye Anping’s shoulder, nervously poking his fingers and whispering,
“I understand, Anping. You’re seventeen already, in the prime of youth. It’s normal to have those needs, especially after the first time. You’ll definitely need a second. It’s not good to hold it back…”
“Um…”
Xiao Tian blinked, then asked shyly, “So, are you going to ask Yudie to take care of you?”
“… …”
“I’ll just tell Yudie that it’ll be beneficial. She’ll definitely listen to me. Then Yudie will be confused… Hehehehehe”
Seeing Xiao Tian’s goofy smile, Ye Anping furrowed his brows and squinted, saying, “Is this how you serve, deceiving your master into sleeping on someone else’s bed?”
“Aren’t you my master too?” Xiao Tian covered her blushing cheeks, “And Yudie is getting on in years. A little relaxation would be good for her, good for you too, especially since you have excess yang energy!”
Ye Anping rolled his eyes and replied, “Firstly, I’m not interested in her. Secondly, I have no attraction towards her. Thirdly, she’s not as gullible as you think.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
“In my view, she’s like a female Bodhisattva. Who would feel lustful towards a female Bodhisattva? It would take more than breaking a hundred wooden fish to atone for that.”
Xiao Tian was shocked, asking incredulously, “Really…! Yudie is so cute and lovely, who wouldn’t like her?”
Ye Anping sighed, not wanting to delve into this conversation further, and changed the subject, “Huh… You come to me with this in the dead of night!”
“Well, private talks are meant for the night.” Xiao Tian blinked, “If that doesn’t work, you can handle it yourself, I’ll just watch from the sidelines.”
“Why would you watch from the sidelines?”
“Um… good point. I won’t watch then, I’ll leave.” Xiao Tian blinked and swiftly flew out through the wall.
“…”
Ye Anping stared at the wall for a moment, then looked up at the ceiling, only to find Xiao Tian poking his head out again.
!!
After locking eyes with Ye Anping, Xiao Tian chuckled awkwardly, “Ah haha… I wasn’t watching…”
Then, he retreated into the ceiling.
Ye Anping felt utterly exhausted, rubbing his forehead and shaking his head. In the future, when discussing profound matters with his junior sister, he would have to guard not only against Feng Yudie but also against Xiao Tian.
Amidst his sighing, a hawk’s cry came from outside the window. Ye Anping rolled his eyes and perked up his ears. Soon after, there was a bang, followed by Feng Yudie’s cry, “Ouch!!”
The inn’s walls were soundproof, so the fact that her scream came through meant something serious must have happened.
Ye Anping immediately summoned his spirit sword from his bag, pushed open his room’s door, and hurried towards Feng Yudie’s direction. He kicked open the door she had bolted shut.
Boom–
“What happened?” Ye Anping inquired as he entered the room.
“… …”
Inside the room, there was a sizable hole in the window, and Feng Yudie had rolled off the bed. A plump bird was pecking at her forehead.
Boom–
Feng Yudie reached out to grab the fat bird’s body and slammed it onto the floor.
“Where did this foul bird come from!!” Feng Yudie exclaimed.
Ye Anping glanced at the fat bird and felt relieved. He returned the unsheathed spirit sword to his storage bag, approached, and intervened to stop Feng Yudie from mutilating the bird.
“This is a swift eagle raised by Yunjiu, used for delivering messages. It can travel three thousand miles in a day,” Ye Anping explained.
Feng Yudie looked at the fat bird confusedly, wondering if this round thing was truly an eagle.
“An eagle!” She questioned.
“It’s been overfed, hence its chubby appearance,” Ye Anping clarified.
Kneeling, Ye Anping retrieved a message tube and a small package from the fat bird’s claws. He unrolled the message and read it.
The note, penned in Yun Jiujiu’s heartfelt calligraphy, read,
“Feng Yudie, I’ve taken care of your master’s enemy. Yun Yiyi and Doctor Zhang from the Sword Sect colluded and performed the deed. Use this to pay respects to your master. He won’t grow it back. I promised to help you seek revenge, and I will!”
Ye Anping turned to look at the package wrapped in oil paper that accompanied the note, feeling a sudden thirst in his throat.
What’s going on? If he understood correctly, Yun Jiujiu had dealt with her father’s… And Yun Yiyi had helped the Sword Sect’s doctor operate?
Ye Anping was deeply shocked. This turn of events was completely unexpected, and the repercussions were uncertain.
In the game, after Yun Tianchong went into seclusion again, he died while transcending into a god. But now, with this incident, he might not choose to go into seclusion again.
Moreover, when he saw Feng Yudie holding a portrait of Yun Tianchong earlier, he was somewhat surprised. After all, the man who deceived Master Taixu wasn’t identified in the game as Yun Tianchong.
Seeing Ye Anping’s stunned expression, Feng Yudie asked, tilting her head, “Young Master Ye, what did Jiujiu write in the letter?”
Ye Anping handed her the letter and replied, “She avenged your master.”
Feng Yudie’s eyes widened in astonishment as she took the letter, a hint of confusion in her expression.
“It’s Sparrow again!” Feng Yudie exclaimed as she opened the package from Yun Jiujiu. Inside was a glass bottle containing a messy lump of flesh and blood.
“What is this?” Feng Yudie’s features gathered in confusion, “Is this Sparrow?”
Ye Anping sighed and raised an eyebrow, saying, “Surprise! You’ve been asking about Sparrow, haven’t you?”
“But earlier on the road, Xiao Tian told me that Sparrow was quite cute,” Feng Yudie scratched her head and furrowed her brows, “He even said he would convince you to show me the real thing.”
Ye Anping, hearing this, was shocked. He turned to look at Xiao Tian, who was now peeking his head outside the door.
Catching his eye, Xiao Tian quickly withdrew his head and fled.
“Sorry!!” He called out.
Ye Anping pursed his lips, thinking he needed to find a way to teach Xiao Tian a lesson, but hitting or catching him was out of the question.
He sighed and looked at the glass bottle in Feng Yudie’s hand, then said, “You can take it back to Master Taixu’s tombstone to pay respects. But don’t discard it afterward. Keep it for refining medicine. If you have a spiritual pet in the future, you can feed it. The medicinal value of this thing shouldn’t be low. Also, if you’re willing, you can ask Brother Liang to sell it on the black market. A cultivator’s second-grade elixir in the Transformation Stage should be invaluable… If it enters the big auction of Heifang, it should fetch millions? However, Brother Liang will probably demand a large commission from you.”
“Oh…” Feng Yudie held the glass bottle in both hands and looked at it for a while, feeling uneasy. “It doesn’t feel right not to take revenge with my own hands.”
“It’s good that you can seek revenge now. Your master’s enemy is a Transformation Stage cultivator. If you go alone, you won’t even be able to get close,” Ye Anping reminded her.
Feng Yudie curled her lips, feeling uncomfortable. “Although that’s true, it still doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Get some rest. We have a long journey ahead tomorrow,” Ye Anping said, throwing the bird out of the window.
Boom—
It hit the street below.
“… …”
Ye Anping looked out and shook his head silently. He turned and prepared to return to his room.
Just as he was about to step out, Feng Yudie suddenly spoke up, “Young Master Ye, thank you.”
“Thank me for what?” Ye Anping was puzzled, turning back to see Feng Yudie holding the glass bottle. He waved his hand, “If you want to thank someone, thank Yun Jiujiu.”
Watching Ye Anping close the door and leave, Feng Yudie sighed softly. Though Ye Anping had said that, she felt he had probably planned this matter in advance. After all, he seemed to be able to predict everything.
Despite being a man, Ye Anping wasn’t as bad as her master had described men to be. He didn’t deceive her, and he had been kind to her, even helping her seek revenge for her master.
Feng Yudie looked at the sparrow of Yun Tianchong and blinked.
“Well… Young Master Ye must have a kind heart deep down. Otherwise, why wouldn’t he be as bad as the Master said?”
She stored the glass bottle in her own storage bag. Then she jumped back onto the bed, wrapped herself in the blanket, and drifted off to sleep.
Bastard got castrated…dang