Chapter Text
Zhou Zishu, Wen Kexing and Zhang Chengling were on their way to Four Seasons Manor when they met Gu Xiang and Cao Weining. To Wen Kexing’s surprise, the two had two other companions to which he had no idea who they were. Wen Kexing narrowed his eyes at the two men, scrutinizing them as he wondered who they were and why they were trying to approach Gu Xiang and Cao Weining.
Between the two men, one was dressed in black, this man gave out a mysterious feeling and had a solemn expression. The other was dressed in white, elegant looking and Wen Kexing had to admit, the man’s beauty was on a whole new level, none that he had met could compare to this man, perhaps aside from Zhou Zishu. No matter what, at least to him, his A-Xu was the top and the most perfect man he had ever seen.
“Beiyuan…!”
Wen Kexing turned to Zhou Zishu, surprised as his soulmate was smiling so brightly as he approached the two mysterious men. The man dressed in white had a beautiful smile lingering on his face too. Even the solemn-looking man seemed to be smiling a little as well.
“Zishu, it’s been many years. How have you been?”
For an inexplicable reason, Wen Kexing felt exasperated all of a sudden and he had to fight the urge to throw his fan at the man dressed in white. Perhaps it was the way the man smiled at his soulmate, or it was the way the man was addressing his soulmate so familiarly as if they were very close. The way Zhou Zishu looked at the man also did not seem right.
Wen Kexing turned to Zhou Zishu and frowned. Since this man appeared, his soulmate had not looked at him once. It was like Zhou Zishu had forgotten all about him, only having eyes for this stranger who Zhou Zishu called him Beiyuan.
“A-Xu, do you know them?”
“Lao Wen, Chengling,” Zhou Zishu said with a smile, “Meet Lord Seventh and the Great Shaman.”
Wen Kexing and Zhang Chengling both widened their eyes. It turned out that these two were Zhou Zishu’s long-awaited savior.
“Lord Seventh, Great Shaman!” Zhang Chengling rushed forward as he asked, his eyes filled with hope, relief and joy, “Are you two really able to save my Shifu?”
“You are?” Lord Seventh asked Zhang Chengling.
“Zhang Chengling, disciple of Lord of Four Season Manor, Zhou Zishu greets Lord Seventh and the Great Shaman,” Zhang Chengling greeted the two men respectfully.
Zhou Zishu walked over to his disciple just as Lord Seventh said with amusement, “Zishu, I am surprised you would accept a disciple.”
“So am I,” Zhou Zishu said with a light chuckle.
Lord Seventh laughed lightly, but the laugh only lasted for a brief moment before his expression turned solemn as he wrapped his arm around Zhou Zishu’s waist all of a sudden, much to Wen Kexing’s surprise and exasperation. Even Zhang Chengling, Gu Xiang and Cao Weining were surprised, leaving only the Great Shaman unfazed as if this was a very common action between the two.
“You have lost so much weight,” Lord Seventh remarked with a frown.
“Let’s just say that I am getting old,” said Zhou Zishu.
“There is an inn over there. Perhaps we should get in there, and I can have a check at Lord Zhou’s pulse,” said the Great Shaman.
Lord Seventh glanced down at Zhou Zishu’s chest as if he could see the nails beneath the robes. He released his arm from his friend before they all walked over to the restaurant with Lord Seventh and Zhou Zishu walking in the front, The Great Shaman and Wen Kexing just a step or two behind the two of them while Zhang Chengling, Gu Xiang and Cao Weining walked behind the Great Shaman and Wen Kexing.
Upon reaching the restaurant, there was a beggar out there, to which Cao Weining donated some money to him, and Gu Xiang joined in too. Zhou Zishu teased Gu Xiang for having been changed by someone after such a short time and Gu Xiang quickly pulled Wen Kexing into the restaurant after stating that Zhou Zishu is a bad man.
Cao Weining quickly apologized on behalf of Gu Xiang, stating that she did not mean what she said. Zhou Zishu merely smiled it off while Zhang Chengling was excited to find out that Cao Weining and Gu Xiang were in that kind of relationship. Seeing how happy Cao Weining looked, Zhou Zishu could not help but remind him that he would still need to go through a tough time to gain Gu Xiang’s master's approval of their relationship.
Zhou Zishu was about to enter the inn when he noticed Lord Seventh still standing behind, his eyes fixed on the entrance of the inn, pensive. Similar to Zhou Zishu, the Great Shaman was also eyeing Lord Seventh with a puzzled look.
“Beiyuan?” Zhou Zishu asked as he walked over to his friend, “Is something wrong?”
“I am just thinking, this Maiden A-Xiang, I seem to have met her before although I can’t recall when,” said Lord Seventh.
“Could it be just someone whose look is slightly similar to A-Xiang?” asked Zhou Zishu. He did not think his friend could have seen Gu Xiang before considering he knew where she grew up in. Unless his friend had gone to Ghost Valley before, or he would not have met Gu Xiang at all up until now.
Deciding not to think about it anymore, Lord Seventh easily agreed with Zhou Zishu as they all walked into the inn and went over to the table where Wen Kexing and Gu Xiang were. Upon having seated, the Great Shaman had Zhou Zishu placed his hand on the table. He affixed three fingers over Zhou Zishu’s pulse and kept them there. All eyes were on the Great Shaman, anxious and waiting and hoping to hear from the Great Shaman that he could save Zhou Zishu.
“Wait, we did not order yet. What is this?”
Turning around, everyone saw Gu Xiang stopping a waiter who seemed to be bringing over some food that none of them had yet to order. The waiter stated that it was a free dish from the restaurant, and Gu Xiang was quick to question him. The waiter, seeing that Gu Xiang did not believe him was revealing the food before them all. Gu Xiang was quick to stop the waiter and killed him in a swift move. In an instant, they all realized that the inn was filled with men dressed in black, weapons in their hands.
“The Scorpions,” remarked the Great Shaman.
“Wu Xi, take Beiyuan and leave first. Bring Chengling along as well,” said Zhou Zishu.
“Shifu!” Zhang Chengling was reluctant to leave, but he also knew that he would only make things worse if he stayed. After all, these people seemed to be here for him, like usual.
Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing charged forward first, Cao Weining and Gu Xiang joining them from behind. Lord Seventh had Zhang Chengling stay close to him while the Great Shaman fought off those who dared to approach them. The men who appeared in the inn to kill them continued to increase, and the Great Shaman found it hard to find a way to escape. He had no way out and could only stay to join the fight.
Seeing that the Great Shaman had to fend for three people including himself, Zhou Zishu went over to them, fighting side by side with the Great Shaman. The fight ended in around half an hour with only Zhou Zishu sustaining an arm injury while protecting his disciple while Gu Xiang had a cut on her hand. The others, aside from slightly exhausted were pretty much unharmed.
“A-Xiang and Brother Zhou's blood, why can they mix together?”
Zhou Zishu and Gu Xiang happened to be standing beside each other with the blood from their wound trickling down to the ground together. It was not until Cao Weining asked the question that everyone glanced down to the ground, noting how the blood of these two people could really be mixed together. Shock was written all over their face. Zhou Zishu and Gu Xiang stared at each other, one looking bewildered and the younger one looking surprised.
The others behind them – Wen Kexing, Zhang Chengling and Cao Weining were looking very much puzzled too, but Lord Seventh's face was almost as pale as a white piece of paper. The Great Shaman had a hand on Lord Seventh's shoulder, looking somewhat strange as well.
“You are my father?” Gu Xiang asked in disbelief, “You were the one who threw me away when I was still a few months old?”
“What?” Zhou Zishu asked incredulously. There was no way Gu Xiang could be his child. As far as he remembered, he had done nothing that would end up in him giving birth to a child as old as A-Xiang with another woman.
“This... the blood being able to mix together does not necessarily mean that the two of you are father and daughter, am I right, Wu Xi?”
Lord Seventh nudged at the Great Shaman’s arm, and the Great Shaman quickly nodded, “There are many different reasons for blood being able to mix together. I once had two patients who had been poisoned, they were unrelated at all but their blood could mix together. However, after they have been cured of the poison, their blood is no longer able to be mixed together. As for now, Lord Zhou’s health condition might be the cause of Lord Zhou’s blood being able to mix with Maiden A-Xiang, and maybe it’s not only with Maiden A-Xiang.”
“Yes, it must be that!” agreed Lord Seventh.
“Is that possible?” Cao Weining asked in disbelief.
“Of course,” Lord Seventh concluded quickly, and before anyone could question anything further, he quickly added, “Let’s resume our journey to Four Seasons Manor.”
While most of them were still in doubt, they resumed their journey to Four Seasons Manor with Zhou Zishu leading the way. Lord Seventh rode his horse on Zhou Zishu's left with the Great Shaman next to him. On Zhou Zishu's right was Wen Kexing. Behind them all were Zhang Chengling, Gu Xiang and Cao Weining.
Although there was silence throughout the long journey, most of them were in deep thought. Zhou Zishu remained indifferent, but Lord Seventh knew his friend was thinking about something, and Lord Seventh turned his gaze to the Great Shaman with an uneasy expression.
Meanwhile, Wen Kexing was glancing over at Zhou Zishu from time to time, wondering if Zhou Zishu and Gu Xiang were truly related in blood. At the same time, Gu Xiang was glaring at Zhou Zishu the whole time, thinking of many different reasons why the man had thrown her away when she was just a few months old.
Cao Weining and Zhang Chengling glanced at each other helplessly, baffled. Zhou Zishu did not seem to be the type of man who would throw his child away, and Zhang Chengling would certainly bet on his own life that his Shifu was not such a despicable man. However, nothing reasonable could explain why their blood managed to mix. Lord Seventh and the Great Shaman’s explanation simply did not feel real, and they seemed to be hiding something nonetheless.