Chapter 28: Tee-hee, I Fooled You
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Guo Zhen had originally felt quite calm. Although he had no idea who had saved him, the man certainly seemed to have some real skill.
Who could have expected that, in such a short while, the two of them would start chatting—and apparently they were even master and disciple.
Am I really going to die here?
Guo Zhen’s legs went weak again, and he collapsed to the ground in terror.
Seeing that his savior seemed utterly unmoved, he hurriedly fell to his knees and shouted, “Benefactor, you saved my life! I’ll give you all my money and my estate—whatever you want, it’s yours! Please, save my miserable life!”
“I’m a kindhearted man.” Wang Lu looked at Ding Baiying with a smile. “How could I stand by and watch someone die? If I did, wouldn’t Master look down on me even more?”
“I have never looked down on you. Your swordsmanship is already on par with mine. But the waters in the capital run too deep for you to handle!”
Ding Baiying’s eyes were filled with inner conflict. “Guo Zhen is entangled with too many people. He must die. If you leave now, I can pretend you were never here. Otherwise, your Senior Uncle Lu and many others will not let you off.”
“Heh. If you don’t look down on me, then why did you teach Ding Xian that secret technique you keep hidden away, while being so evasive with me?” Seeing that they had misunderstood him, Wang Lu casually added another remark that only deepened their misunderstanding.
Keeping his identity hidden was naturally the best option.
“Senior Brother, we’re family here. How can you help an outsider?” Ding Tai stepped forward as well. Now that he was certain this really was their senior brother, he said irritably, “Whether Master teaches you or not, she must have her own reasons. You shouldn’t speak to her like that.”
As the three spoke, however, they quietly shifted positions and surrounded Wang Lu. Meanwhile, Ding Chong’s crescent blade was stealthily edging toward Guo Zhen. Kneeling on the ground, Guo Zhen wept noisily like a woman, completely unaware that Ding Chong—the treacherous one—was preparing to strike him down in a single blow.
Wang Lu glanced at Ding Tai. “You’re a man who fights with a mace. Don’t crowd in among us saber users. If you didn’t happen to share the surname Ding, I’d honestly wonder whether you were even an heir of the Qi Family Saber. Who uses Qi Family Saber techniques with a mace?”
“This is a wolf-toothed club, all right?!” Ding Tai said indignantly. “Even if you are the senior brother, you can’t just talk nonsense!”
Wang Lu gave a mocking laugh. “So now you admit I’m the senior brother? And you still intend to attack me?”
Ding Tai glanced at Ding Baiying and chuckled. “If Master weren’t here, of course I’d listen to Senior Brother. But isn’t Master right here? We all have to obey her.”
With that, Ding Tai swung the wolf-toothed club in his hand. “Still, judging by appearances, Senior Brother intends to continue being a rebellious disciple. I’ll have to help Master purge the sect!”
The instant he finished speaking, Wang Lu raised his hand.
While talking, he had been slowly edging toward Guo Zhen. His left hand held a saber, while his right hand silently reached behind his back.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
“Look out!” Ding Baiying shouted furiously. At the same time, flames of anger flashed in her eyes, and she shifted sideways in an instant.
Clang!
Swish!
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Of the two crossbow bolts shot toward Ding Tai’s throat, one was knocked away by Ding Baiying’s raised saber. The other, however, plunged into her shoulder, and blood instantly dyed her white clothes red.
Taking advantage of the opening, Wang Lu reloaded the double-shot crossbow behind his back, seized Guo Zhen with one hand, and sprinted toward the rear gate.
“Despicable! Stop!” As Ding Tai caught hold of Ding Baiying, Ding Chong charged forward indignantly with her saber.
Wang Lu gripped Guo Zhen with one hand and shouted hoarsely, “The arrows are poisoned! If you want your master to die, then come and attack!”
“You bastard! She’s your master too!” Ding Chong halted in her tracks and roared furiously.
“Whether she’s my master or not can wait. Do you want to save her?” Wang Lu said with a cold laugh.
“Chong’er!” Ding Baiying said through her pain. “You must kill Guo Zhen! Don’t concern yourself with me!”
“Your master is showing loyalty. Very well—but will her disciple show any in return?” Wang Lu calmly looked at Ding Chong and took a small bottle from his pocket. “There’s an antidote inside. If you want it, let me leave. Otherwise, in fifteen minutes, you can start arranging your master’s funeral.”
“You!” Ding Chong’s chest rose and fell violently. For a long while, she could not make up her mind.
Ding Baiying pushed away Ding Tai, who was anxiously examining her wound beside her. “Neither you nor Chong’er is his match. The two of you attack together. Draw his attention, then find an opportunity to kill Guo Zhen first.”
“If Guo Zhen escapes, not only will I be unable to answer to the Lord Commander, but all of us may suffer a fatal disaster!”
“But your wound…” Ding Tai hesitated as well.
He considered himself incapable of being as heartless as his senior brother—he could not simply stand by and let his own master die.
“Don’t worry. Although Xiu’er is withdrawn by nature, he won’t truly kill me,” Ding Baiying said calmly.
In truth, however, she was not certain. Just now, “Ding Xiu” had fired the crossbow bolt straight at Ding Tai’s throat.
If she had not already been suspicious of why Wang Lu had suddenly hidden that hand behind his back, Ding Tai would likely have been a corpse by now.
But she could only say this. She knew the temperaments of Ding Tai and Ding Chong well. These two disciples were exceptionally obedient and would certainly be intimidated by “Ding Xiu.”
“All right, then I…” Ding Tai helped Ding Baiying to her feet and propped her against a pillar, preparing to go kill Guo Zhen.
But Ding Baiying suddenly let out a muffled groan and covered her wound with one hand.
“What is it, Master?” Ding Tai immediately turned back in alarm.
Feeling the numb itch spreading from the wound, Ding Baiying’s expression became hideous.
Her own disciple had truly shot her with a poisoned crossbow bolt!
“There really is poison…” Seeing Ding Baiying’s reaction, Ding Tai understood the truth at once. His eyes instantly turned blood-red.
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“Ding Xiu! I’ll let you go, but remember this: from today onward, you are no longer my senior brother! No matter where you flee, even to the ends of the earth, I will kill you!”
Wang Lu smiled faintly. “Fine. But remember to train hard before you come after me. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing if you couldn’t beat me, wouldn’t it?”
With that, Wang Lu turned and hurried toward the rear courtyard with Guo Zhen.
“Where’s the antidote?” Ding Chong cried anxiously.
“Count to ten. Come out and collect it after ten.”
Wang Lu’s voice drifted back as his figure merged with the darkness of the rear courtyard.
“Ten… nine… eight…” Ding Chong counted silently, rapidly.
When she reached three, a faint sound suddenly came from outside.
Ding Tai and Ding Chong exchanged a glance, then rushed into the rear courtyard. A small bottle lay overturned on the muddy ground.
Ding Chong immediately ran over and picked it up, then hurried back to Ding Baiying. “Master, the antidote.”
Ding Baiying’s lips had gone slightly pale, and her eyes were frighteningly cold.
Ding Chong shoved Ding Tai. “Quickly, give it to Master.”
Ding Tai came to himself and hurriedly pulled out the stopper. But after seeing what was inside, his expression instantly stiffened.
“What is it?” Ding Chong asked in confusion.
Ding Tai used his fingers to draw a folded slip of paper from the little bottle, his eyes full of uncertainty.
Ding Chong immediately began to curse. “That bastard really intends to let Master die! I swear I’ll kill him!”
“What is it?” Guo Zhen had already been rescued, and Ding Baiying knew there was nothing more they could do. She did not dwell on it further. Instead, she took the slip of paper from Ding Tai’s hand. It had been folded until it was no larger than a matchstick.
With a rub of her fingers, the paper unfolded.
You have been tricked. It is only nettle juice. Just wash it off.
The icy coldness in Ding Baiying’s eyes melted like spring water. A helplessness touched the corners of her lips, and she sighed softly within her heart.
“Xiu’er is still as mischievous as ever.”
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