Faraway Wanderers - V1C3
Chapter 3
The promise
The man in black and the girl quickly clashed. As an outsider, Zhou Zishu observed their skills; while their movements differed, their ruthlessness was equally intense. Neither seemed to belong to righteous orthodox sects.
After roughly fourteen or fifteen moves, the man suddenly staggered back to dodge, kicking at her Shanzhong point. She leaned away, making a soft noise, and focused on her next attack, which seemed aimed at cracking the enemy’s knees. However, she didn’t anticipate a sound from above the man’s pants; suddenly, a spring shot out, firing an arrow toward the girl’s chin.
She was not bad at it, and she even had the upper hand in the fight, but she never expected this vicious move; panic set in, yet dodging was pointless now. The rock in Zhou Zishu’s hand finally proved useful as he flicked it directly at the incoming arrow, deflecting its path. It just barely grazed the girl’s temple.
After experiencing danger, a typical person would feel terrified; however, she seemed to react differently, with embarrassment transforming into anger. She lunged forward and launched a clawing attack without hesitation, grabbing at the enemy’s leg bone and twisting it. The man screamed as his leg broke, but she continued her assault. In her hand was a glowing blue light, which she forcefully drove into his chest, knocking him back, both legs bent and crushed. His face quickly turned gray and purple as he stared at the girl with wide eyes, pointing at her, saying, “You’re Pur… Purple…”.
He died before he could finish.
The old woman was terrified to death by this beautiful yet cruel young lady.
In contrast, the boy, who appeared simple-minded, reacted quickly and lunged at the fisherman, quickly asking, “Uncle Li, how are you? You…”
He still had a remaining breath. Using all his strength, he grabbed the boy’s sleeves, while the boy tried to embrace him and help him stand. The girl in purple approached, lifting the old man’s eyelids with a frown, saying, “It’s the Three Geng Until Death poison; he’s beyond saving now. My condolences.”
The boy shoved her hands away, glowering. He shouted at her, “Stop saying nonsense!”
Her brows lifted, a murderous expression flashing over her smile. She quickly suppressed it, crossing her arms with a sneer and saying, “You little puppy can’t even see the difference between good and bad.”
The fisherman glanced at her briefly. He surveyed everyone, finally settling on Zhou Zishu, who stood at the statue’s base with two straws sticking out of his head, presenting a comical sight. The old man then turned to him, about to speak.
Everyone looked at him. The girl smiled and said, "Ah! I was just curious who my kind savior was. I can’t believe it’s you! I bought you wine, you helped me in the fight; so we’re even!”
She spoke as if those two things could ever be equal, but Zhou Zishu wouldn’t stoop to arguing with a pretty girl. He smiled and walked over to the old man, squatting down. “You calling me, old man?”
The fisherman said, “I… I’ll return your silver; your boat ride was free. You must help… help me…”
Zhou Zishu didn’t wait for him to speak again, shook his head and reluctantly got up, but the old man still held his wrist tightly, saying, “Help me… take this child to Tai Hu Holdings of the Zhao family…”.
Zhou Zishu sighed and said, “Listen, old man…”
He was interrupted. “Small… favor, should… should be repaid with big gratitude…”
Zhou Zishu lifted his head, glowering at the abandoned shrine in the middle of nowhere. He considered the idea of altering his face again, as this one still didn’t appear sickly enough. How else could people believe he was truly that benevolent to agree to these favors?
The fisherman appeared to be in his last moments, his grip tightening despite his faint and weak breath. He hesitated and said, “Consider this a way to earn your own merits, please! For your descendants... even if you die without offspring... there's still... your next life..."
Those words struck him like lightning, causing the nails in his chest to tingle again, as if wanting to burrow even deeper into his flesh. Your next life still awaits. Your sins in this lifetime will be paid in full with your death in three years, but... there’s still the next life to anticipate, right?
After a long moment, Zhou Zishu sighed, turned the silver crumble over several times in his hand, and then placed it back in his breast pocket.
The fisherman’s hazy eyes brightened and his lips trembled. Gradually, the light in his eyes faded, and his hand loosened its grip on Zhou Zishu’s, hanging down limply. Despite this, he still appeared to be rambling about something.
Zhou Zishu leaned in closer to the elder, catching his muffled words: “You must… have to… If you don’t… I’ll… I’ll haunt, haunt eighteen generations… your… ancestors…”
Zhou Zishu leaned back, speechless, as the fisherman took his final breath, his head tilting to the side. Heart-wrenching sobs burst from the young boy’s chest.
The elderly woman in servant clothes also looked stunned as she stood beside him, crying out in panic. Zhou Zishu and the girl in purple stood nearby. The girl’s large eyes darted around, and her soft voice asked, “Master said you’re more than you seem, but I didn’t truly notice it before. Which sect do you come from? What’s your name?”
Zhou Zishu graciously responded, "I am Zhou... Zhou Xu, a humble wanderer moving from place to place. Honestly, I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing your name, young miss.”
She examined him from top to bottom, shook her head, and said, “If you didn’t look like a sick ghost and walk and talk that way, you’d sound more like how Master described. I’m Gu Xiang.”
She had never heard of Zhou Xu before, and since they only met by chance, there was no real reason to be completely honest with each other. Nonetheless, she didn’t mind, tapping the young boy on the shoulder, and saying, “Say, he’s already passed away; you should give him a proper burial. Are there more people chasing after you?”
Still irritated by her bluntness earlier, he simply glared. The grief and anger inside him, unable to be expressed, were all directed at her, as if she were the cause of the murder.
Gu Xiang raised an eyebrow. Although this girl possessed remarkable skills, she still looked young and had the aura of an unconventional martial artist. Fed up with the boy venting his anger on her, she raised her hand to attack. However, Zhou Zishu unexpectedly intervened before she could.
Gu Xiang felt an icy hand softly encircle her wrist. The grip was painless, and the person holding it didn’t seem to exert any force; yet, she couldn’t move or free herself. She looked at the eerie-looking man with surprise, thinking, Master respects this one, but he’s even more enigmatic than I imagined. I doubt I could succeed if I ever tried to attack him.
She changed her mind, knowing her own limits, and withdrew her hands, smirking at Zhou Zishu. “Just doing it out of respect for you.”
Then she turned to the young boy and scolded him, saying, “Look, little brat, this sister is just passing by and helping you out of pity for your situation. So don’t look at her as if she murdered your entire family or something. If you want relief, try to avenge him. How kind of you to only know how to cry over a dead body and bully this good sister!”
This girl might be clever, but she certainly wasn’t kind.
Zhou Zishu, with no better options, was about to offer brief comfort, but unexpectedly, the boy, stunned by her words, fiercely wiped away his tears and knelt. He softly hit his head against the ground twice in front of her, his voice trembling as he said, “You were right to educate me, miss. I have greatly wronged you.”
He looked a bit more sharp-edged, teeth clenched too tightly as he strained his facial muscles. Meanwhile, Gu Xiang was stunned, taking half a step back and blinking her large almond-shaped eyes. “I- I didn’t mean for you to kneel to me, just stand up… quickly!”
Zhou Zishu leaned in slightly to help him stand without the boy noticing. He said, “First, we should arrange a burial for... Old Brother Li. He trusted me to handle this, so I’ll escort you on your journey. But if you’re not in a rush, you can rest here for a while and tell me what happened.”
The boy muttered his agreement, prompting Zhou Zishu to find a spot behind the shrine to bury the old man. Gu Xiang, after watching and finally feeling her emotions stirred, brought a piece of wood and drew a dagger from her waist to carve a simple headstone. “What’s his name?” she asked.
The boy hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “He only mentioned his last name as Li and said he owed my father something, so he risked his life to help us escape. I just call him Uncle Li... I don’t actually know his real name."
Zhou Zishu exhaled; in the jianghu, debts are repaid and vengeance is taken as each sees fit. Is there truly ever a need to leave a name behind?
Gu Xiang had her head down, carving “For Uncle Li the Chivalrous” into the wooden headstone. She examined it carefully and handed it to Zhou Zishu once she was satisfied. “What do you think?”
Zhou Zishu noticed right away that the word “Uncle” was missing a stroke, feeling a mix of amusement and sadness. He traced the missing stroke with his nail before placing it in front of the plain grave.
The young boy knelt, kowtowing three times and trying to suppress his tears. Then he rose, maintaining a straight back.
After roughly fourteen or fifteen moves, the man suddenly staggered back to dodge, kicking at her Shanzhong point. She leaned away, making a soft noise, and focused on her next attack, which seemed aimed at cracking the enemy’s knees. However, she didn’t anticipate a sound from above the man’s pants; suddenly, a spring shot out, firing an arrow toward the girl’s chin.
She was not bad at it, and she even had the upper hand in the fight, but she never expected this vicious move; panic set in, yet dodging was pointless now. The rock in Zhou Zishu’s hand finally proved useful as he flicked it directly at the incoming arrow, deflecting its path. It just barely grazed the girl’s temple.
After experiencing danger, a typical person would feel terrified; however, she seemed to react differently, with embarrassment transforming into anger. She lunged forward and launched a clawing attack without hesitation, grabbing at the enemy’s leg bone and twisting it. The man screamed as his leg broke, but she continued her assault. In her hand was a glowing blue light, which she forcefully drove into his chest, knocking him back, both legs bent and crushed. His face quickly turned gray and purple as he stared at the girl with wide eyes, pointing at her, saying, “You’re Pur… Purple…”.
He died before he could finish.
The old woman was terrified to death by this beautiful yet cruel young lady.
In contrast, the boy, who appeared simple-minded, reacted quickly and lunged at the fisherman, quickly asking, “Uncle Li, how are you? You…”
He still had a remaining breath. Using all his strength, he grabbed the boy’s sleeves, while the boy tried to embrace him and help him stand. The girl in purple approached, lifting the old man’s eyelids with a frown, saying, “It’s the Three Geng Until Death poison; he’s beyond saving now. My condolences.”
The boy shoved her hands away, glowering. He shouted at her, “Stop saying nonsense!”
Her brows lifted, a murderous expression flashing over her smile. She quickly suppressed it, crossing her arms with a sneer and saying, “You little puppy can’t even see the difference between good and bad.”
The fisherman glanced at her briefly. He surveyed everyone, finally settling on Zhou Zishu, who stood at the statue’s base with two straws sticking out of his head, presenting a comical sight. The old man then turned to him, about to speak.
Everyone looked at him. The girl smiled and said, "Ah! I was just curious who my kind savior was. I can’t believe it’s you! I bought you wine, you helped me in the fight; so we’re even!”
She spoke as if those two things could ever be equal, but Zhou Zishu wouldn’t stoop to arguing with a pretty girl. He smiled and walked over to the old man, squatting down. “You calling me, old man?”
The fisherman said, “I… I’ll return your silver; your boat ride was free. You must help… help me…”
Zhou Zishu didn’t wait for him to speak again, shook his head and reluctantly got up, but the old man still held his wrist tightly, saying, “Help me… take this child to Tai Hu Holdings of the Zhao family…”.
Zhou Zishu sighed and said, “Listen, old man…”
He was interrupted. “Small… favor, should… should be repaid with big gratitude…”
Zhou Zishu lifted his head, glowering at the abandoned shrine in the middle of nowhere. He considered the idea of altering his face again, as this one still didn’t appear sickly enough. How else could people believe he was truly that benevolent to agree to these favors?
The fisherman appeared to be in his last moments, his grip tightening despite his faint and weak breath. He hesitated and said, “Consider this a way to earn your own merits, please! For your descendants... even if you die without offspring... there's still... your next life..."
Those words struck him like lightning, causing the nails in his chest to tingle again, as if wanting to burrow even deeper into his flesh. Your next life still awaits. Your sins in this lifetime will be paid in full with your death in three years, but... there’s still the next life to anticipate, right?
After a long moment, Zhou Zishu sighed, turned the silver crumble over several times in his hand, and then placed it back in his breast pocket.
The fisherman’s hazy eyes brightened and his lips trembled. Gradually, the light in his eyes faded, and his hand loosened its grip on Zhou Zishu’s, hanging down limply. Despite this, he still appeared to be rambling about something.
Zhou Zishu leaned in closer to the elder, catching his muffled words: “You must… have to… If you don’t… I’ll… I’ll haunt, haunt eighteen generations… your… ancestors…”
Zhou Zishu leaned back, speechless, as the fisherman took his final breath, his head tilting to the side. Heart-wrenching sobs burst from the young boy’s chest.
The elderly woman in servant clothes also looked stunned as she stood beside him, crying out in panic. Zhou Zishu and the girl in purple stood nearby. The girl’s large eyes darted around, and her soft voice asked, “Master said you’re more than you seem, but I didn’t truly notice it before. Which sect do you come from? What’s your name?”
Zhou Zishu graciously responded, "I am Zhou... Zhou Xu, a humble wanderer moving from place to place. Honestly, I haven’t had the pleasure of knowing your name, young miss.”
She examined him from top to bottom, shook her head, and said, “If you didn’t look like a sick ghost and walk and talk that way, you’d sound more like how Master described. I’m Gu Xiang.”
She had never heard of Zhou Xu before, and since they only met by chance, there was no real reason to be completely honest with each other. Nonetheless, she didn’t mind, tapping the young boy on the shoulder, and saying, “Say, he’s already passed away; you should give him a proper burial. Are there more people chasing after you?”
Still irritated by her bluntness earlier, he simply glared. The grief and anger inside him, unable to be expressed, were all directed at her, as if she were the cause of the murder.
Gu Xiang raised an eyebrow. Although this girl possessed remarkable skills, she still looked young and had the aura of an unconventional martial artist. Fed up with the boy venting his anger on her, she raised her hand to attack. However, Zhou Zishu unexpectedly intervened before she could.
Gu Xiang felt an icy hand softly encircle her wrist. The grip was painless, and the person holding it didn’t seem to exert any force; yet, she couldn’t move or free herself. She looked at the eerie-looking man with surprise, thinking, Master respects this one, but he’s even more enigmatic than I imagined. I doubt I could succeed if I ever tried to attack him.
She changed her mind, knowing her own limits, and withdrew her hands, smirking at Zhou Zishu. “Just doing it out of respect for you.”
Then she turned to the young boy and scolded him, saying, “Look, little brat, this sister is just passing by and helping you out of pity for your situation. So don’t look at her as if she murdered your entire family or something. If you want relief, try to avenge him. How kind of you to only know how to cry over a dead body and bully this good sister!”
This girl might be clever, but she certainly wasn’t kind.
Zhou Zishu, with no better options, was about to offer brief comfort, but unexpectedly, the boy, stunned by her words, fiercely wiped away his tears and knelt. He softly hit his head against the ground twice in front of her, his voice trembling as he said, “You were right to educate me, miss. I have greatly wronged you.”
He looked a bit more sharp-edged, teeth clenched too tightly as he strained his facial muscles. Meanwhile, Gu Xiang was stunned, taking half a step back and blinking her large almond-shaped eyes. “I- I didn’t mean for you to kneel to me, just stand up… quickly!”
Zhou Zishu leaned in slightly to help him stand without the boy noticing. He said, “First, we should arrange a burial for... Old Brother Li. He trusted me to handle this, so I’ll escort you on your journey. But if you’re not in a rush, you can rest here for a while and tell me what happened.”
The boy muttered his agreement, prompting Zhou Zishu to find a spot behind the shrine to bury the old man. Gu Xiang, after watching and finally feeling her emotions stirred, brought a piece of wood and drew a dagger from her waist to carve a simple headstone. “What’s his name?” she asked.
The boy hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. “He only mentioned his last name as Li and said he owed my father something, so he risked his life to help us escape. I just call him Uncle Li... I don’t actually know his real name."
Zhou Zishu exhaled; in the jianghu, debts are repaid and vengeance is taken as each sees fit. Is there truly ever a need to leave a name behind?
Gu Xiang had her head down, carving “For Uncle Li the Chivalrous” into the wooden headstone. She examined it carefully and handed it to Zhou Zishu once she was satisfied. “What do you think?”
Zhou Zishu noticed right away that the word “Uncle” was missing a stroke, feeling a mix of amusement and sadness. He traced the missing stroke with his nail before placing it in front of the plain grave.
The young boy knelt, kowtowing three times and trying to suppress his tears. Then he rose, maintaining a straight back.
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