Chapter 8
The Bamboo Hut in the Woods
When it came to this, Nangong Xue was different from others. Once realizing she had fallen into a trap, she would right away become all the more cool and collected.
—A person who was not cool and collected was often a person far away from success.
Abandoning her apprehension, Nangong Xue stopped running. She cautiously inspected the meandering path underfoot and discovered that there were no other tracks on it besides her own.
—Lucky hadn’t gone down this road.
The creepers on the path were tangled and grown up to knee height, clearly a road long since abandoned. She tried to find a way back but found the meandering path so intricate that she had long since lost her bearings for which path was correct.
She firmly believed she could find a way out, it would just take some time.
Suddenly, she heard the faintly discernible sound of a zither.
Nangong Xue listened carefully a moment, then slowly followed the sound…
She finally found another road.
She never imagined she’d find in this dense wood such an extraordinarily beautiful green-streaked flagstone road. On either side of the road grew summer flowers in full bloom, bewitching purples and ravishing reds, fallen petals in riotous profusion to dazzle one’s eyes, but also make one indescribably happy.
Cautiously following the road, the sound of the zither got closer and closer, and prettier and prettier. Nangong Xue had never learned the zither. Besides learning martial arts she had only studied a smattering of basic needlework and cooking. Though she couldn’t play the zither, she was sure the player was deeply accomplished. She had an impulse to see this zither player at once. Those who could play the zither were always accomplished.
—What kind of person was it? Was it Lucky? Would a man like him learn the zither?
She couldn’t help but quicken her pace.
X X X
A proud, imposing mountain shot straight into the unfathomable white clouds; a raging waterfall roared down from midway up the mountain, misty spray roiling up and filling the sky like snowflakes and willow catkins. A bamboo hut with no red walls or green glazed tiles stood under the mountain and waterfall like a painting.
The melodious zither was coming from the bamboo hut—a not luxurious but very exquisite hut made of dark green makino bamboo.
Nangong Xue gently pushed open the bamboo gate and glimpsed a person playing the zither in a garden.
It wasn’t Lucky but a very very beautiful woman.
It was pretty suitable for such a beautiful woman to live in such a beautiful place, it was just that Nangong Xue never imagined such a beautiful woman could exist, so beautiful she couldn’t even describe it.
She was struck dumb by the sight of her.
—Turns out women could look at women that way too.
The beautiful woman didn’t seem to notice Nangong Xue’s presence. She was still focused on playing an exquisite, old, classical-looking seven-string zither. Her whole self was absorbed in the pensive, beautiful melody.
When the zither stopped the sound still lingered.
The beautiful woman set the zither aside and stood up and gracefully regarded Nangong Xue. Her voice was as enchanting as her smile. “Miss Nangong, please come have a seat.”
Nangong Xue was at a loss again. She didn’t expect the woman to know who she was. At once she said, “Miss, you are…”
“I’m Dugu Mei.” She extended her snowwhite jade hands and clapped twice and two maidservants came out of the hut. One took the zither and left while the other carrying a tray of tea utensils and set it on a bamboo table.
Nangong Xue didn’t step foot into the gazebo. She already figured out that Lucky had led her here and that the woman before her was with him. Nangong Xue’s said mildly, “Miss Dugu, I don’t want to drink tea. I’m looking for Lucky.”
Dugu Mei was not only beautiful, but her starry eyes twinkled with sharp intelligence. Smiling, she said, “He won’t come out to see you right now.”
“Why?” Nangong Xue said. “He said he had something to tell me.”
“But you want to gouge his eyes out and rip out his tongue.” Dugu Mei’s eyes were smiling. “He’s afraid of you.”
“That was because, because…” Nangong Xue blushed but couldn’t’ speak.
“Because what?” Dugu Mei’s smile was cunning.
Hmphing, Nangong Xue said angrily, “He was rude to me.”
“Oh?” Dugu Mei chuckled. “Even so, you can’t let him off this once on account of the help he’s given you in the past?”
Nangong Xue of course was not really going to gouge out Lucky’s eyes or rip out his tongue, but now she did really want to see him. She had some questions for him to clear up. She said, “And him? You mean a man like him is really so secretive?”
As she spoke, she suddenly saw Lucky come out grinning from the hut. “Not usually, only when I encounter a mean and bafflingly unreasonable woman will I become secretive.”
Nangong Xue couldn’t help blushing when she saw him. She glared at him and said, “Did you have something to tell me?”
Lucky strolled over to the little gazebo in the garden and sat down beside Dugu Mei. “The sun is so hot out, why not come in and sit down?”
An intense sense of restraint prevented her from moving her feet. Nangong Xue pulled a long face. “No need, if you have something to say then hurry up and say it.”
Lucky and Dugu Mei smiled at each other as if amused at Nangong Xue’s stubbornness. Dugu Mei poured a cup of tea for Lucky and he took a sip and let out a leisurely sigh, then said unhurriedly, “What I wanted to tell you was that if you want to continue to reside in the place you’re out now, then you will lose your duel on the fifteenth.”
Nangong Xue’s mind was jolted and she blurted out, “Why?”
Lucky though asked another question. “Do you know why people have been ambushing you the past two days?”
“Of course I know,” Nangong Xue said without hesitation. “It’s people sent by Silver Sabre to sound out my martial arts.”
“Sounding out your martial arts is right, but it wasn’t Silver Sabre’s doing.”
“Then who?”
“Others, others you don’t know.”
“Why are they doing it?” Nangong Xue said, shifting her eyes uncertainly.”
“Money.” Lucky said just that one word.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“If you know that people were placing bets on your duel, then you would know what I mean.”
“Placing bets?” Nangong Xue was surprised.
“You’re saying that people are betting on who will win between Silver Sabre and I?” She didn’t quite believe it. “Who?”
“A lot of people.” He added, “A lot of wealthy people.
“Silver Sabre has been retired from the jianghu for a while, but he is after all a famous person in the jianghu. Everyone knows how good his martial arts is. But you are a blank sheet of paper to them.” Lucky continued slowly, “In order to understand your martial arts, naturally they’d send people to force you to fight. It’s a good method, don’t you think?”
“A good method indeed.” She sighed. After a moment of thought, “In that case, the two groups of people who ambushed me weren’t sent by the same person?”
“Probably not.” He shrugged. “Maybe so, maybe not, who knows? There’s so many gamblers.
“At first the odds were 5 to 1 in favor of Silver Sabre, but ever since you killed Old Second of the ‘Four Tigers of the Mo Family’, the odds changed to 1 to 1. No one dares underestimate you.”
Only now did Nangong Xue learn that the one she’d stabbed through the heart the other day was the renowned Second Young Master Mo. Killing him had not been her intention, but she couldn’t but be happy and self-confident to be able to kill such a fierce, tough, and famous person.
At the same time she was incredibly amazed at the jianghu, that people would actually bet on who lived and died in a duel. She couldn’t resist looking at Lucky and saying, “You must be one of the gamblers too, am I right?”
Lucky was taken aback. “What makes you so sure?”
“If you’re not a gambler, then why do you show up to rescue me when I’m in danger? Even if you already assumed that Silver Sabre would seek revenge for Xiong Batian, you couldn’t predict that Silver Sabre would honorably arrange a duel with me, so you’ve been keeping an eye on me this whole time in order to get to know my martial arts ability so you could place a bet.”
Lucky’s smile grew wider and wider.
“Now I know how you knew I was staying at that poor house in the slums.”
“That’s right.” Lucky sighed faintly. “I indeed am a gambler.”
“Who did you pick to win?” Nangong Xue’s expression was full of curiosity.
“Who do you think?”
“Me.”
“Why is that?”
“If you didn’t bet on me to win, why would you care so much if I died at the duel because I continued to stay where I’m staying now?”
Nangong Xue heaved a long sigh. “Since you were able to find out where I’m staying, others will be able to as well. Now the odds between Silver Sabre and I are 1 to 1. Such even odds are the hardest to place a bet on, so smart gamblers will think of a way to change that…”
“What kind of way?” Lucky’s eyes were gleaming.
“To think of a way to make one side lose.”
“Make who lose?” Lucky asked, eyes narrowed.
“Me, of course.” Nangong Xue sneered, “Silver Sabre has been retired from the jianghu for many years, and no one knows where he lives. Of course there’s no way to mess with him.
“And even if they did know, no one would think to mess with him. Everyone knows he’s led a vagrant life roaming the jianghu since he was eight years old.”
Lucky said plainly, “A person with twenty to thirty years of jianghu experience is certainly more clever than a fox.”
“And me, I’m the exact opposite of him. First, I have no jianghu experience, and second, my residence has been divulged, so naturally those gamblers who want to mess with the odds will come for me.”
“They’re just doing that to make money.”
Lucky added, “Some people would even sell out their own ancestors for money.”
Nangong Xue forced a smile. “What I don’t get is, why would an old woman with one foot in the grave who could die at any moment sell me out? Also just for me?”
Lucky quietly listened as she continued, “I was not on guard against her at all, and I thought it strange how these past couple days I’ve felt something was off, always tired and sluggish, unable to concentrate. I thought I was just having heatstroke, but turns out she had been bought out by gamblers and had drugged my food with a slow-acting drug. If you hadn’t drawn my attention to this, I definitely would die in the duel on Eighth Grand Heir Bluff.”
Lucky smiled. “You’re very smart. I said the beginning part and you understood the end.”
Nangong Xue sighed. “If I were smart I ought to have thought that an old woman who couldn’t get any older, with a smiling kind face that couldn’t be any kinder would still kill someone over money.”
Now Nangong Xue completely understood what was going on. She looked grateful when she said, “You saved me this time.”
Lucky laughed. “You don’t need to be grateful. I had a motive in saving you.”
“I know, you just want to win money. I won’t let you down.”
Nangong Xue looked at him. “How much did you wager?”
“You really think I helped you so I could win a bet?”
“The first time you saved me could be a coincidence. The second time was on purpose. We’re not related nor are we good friends. We’re not even acquaintances, yet again and again you save me. There must be a reason for it. Could there be a better reason if not for money?”
“If I said that I might not win money if I saved you but definitely would if I didn’t, what would you say?” Lucky said, “You ought to know that if I knew full well you would lose, all I’d have to do was put it all on Silver Sabre, and wouldn’t that be a sure win? Why would I need to save you?”
Nangong Xue was stopped short.
“What is your aim?”
“Silver Sabre.”
“Is he your enemy?” Nangong Xue was somewhat surprised.
“I have no enemies.”
“Your aim in saving me wasn’t so that I could live to deal with Silver Sabre? If there’s no enmity between you too, why did you save me?” Nangong Xue looked at him uncertainly.
Lucky gave her a penetrating look, his voice just as penetrating. “Because only if you live will Silver Sabre show himself.”
“Your goal is to make him show himself?”
“Yes.”
“Does it matter to you if he shows himself?”
“Of course it does.” Lucky’s response was basically no response at all.
Nangong Xue paused. “The first time you saved me makes sense. That would make Silver Sabre show himself. But this time? This time even if you don’t save me, Silver Sabre would still show himself. The drug the old woman gave me would only make me absentmindedly die by Silver Sabre’s blade…”
Nangong Xue’s sharp eyes watched Lucky. “What was your motive in saving me this time?”
“What do you think?”
“I’m asking you!” Nangong Xue tone was ice cold.
“Can I not tell you?”
“You must tell me!” Nangong Xue said resolutely. “I don’t like to receive favors for no reason!”
Lucky was silent for a time. “There’s someone else who wants to kill you.”
Nangong Xue didn’t ask who. She was waiting for him to say it.
“Who wants to kill me?” she asked once she saw he wasn’t going to say it.
“Me.” Lucky’s face was expressionless.
“You?” Nangong Xue was wide-eyed and tongue-tied.
