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Chapter 05. Probation Period at a New Job (新工作试用期)
“Who is Leng Sheng Yin?” During breakfast on the second day, Lei Lei asked the young master.
“The newly-appointed sect leader of Nan Hai Sect.”
“I heard last night that there was someone from Nan Hai Sect who tried to assassinate Xi Sha Sect’s Sect Leader Wen, is that true?”
The young man glanced at her, and kept silent.
“Everyone knows,” The servant beside said quite disdainfully, “His father Leng Ying was killed by the Wen family, so the Nan Hai Sect intend to avenge their former sect leader, how could they reckon with the Wen Family!”
The young man frowned: “The reason for the former Sect Leader Leng’s death has not been concluded yet, besides Sect Leader Wen has always been held in high regards, don’t spout nonsense!”
Caretaker Zhao said: “That may not be so, for such a treasure like the longevity nut, inevitably would attract people to covet of it, and everyone was adamant that it was in Leng Ying’s possession, perhaps the Wen Family did it in a moment’s folly, besides Leng Ying indeed died from the Xi Sha Sect palm force.”
The young man said: “Former Sect Leader Leng’s martial arts equal that of Sect Leader Wen’s, besides Nan Hai is a sword sect, it wouldn’t have been easy for Sect Leader Wen to do it.”
Caretaker Zhao sneered: “Young Master has forgotten, on that same mountain there is a Dong Shan Sect’s Yan Wen Dao, if greed got the better of him, and he joined forces with the Wen Family……”
The young man shook his head: “With the appearance of the longevity nut, the three big sects arranged to meet at Hua Mountain Peak, with the intention to clarify with each other in private, even if the longevity nut is in Leng Ying’s possession, he would not carry it with him, in such an arrangement, knowing very well his death would lead to suspicions by others, how could they do so openly, killing Leng Ying, would only incur the enmity of Nan Hai Sect, there are no advantages, many suspicious points surround this case, and we can only understand the situation after Brother He and the rest investigates thoroughly.”
Turns out that Xi Sha Sect’s leader harmed Nan Hai Sect’s former leader, Lei Lei finally understood the grudge between the two sects; laughing on the inside, it seems that the enemy must have a beautiful daughter, is this not, contrive within contrive, pity that good-looking couple, used by that person from the R&D department to set the law of love in this world!
However she still felt strange regarding the matter on the longevity nut, yet dare not ask further, she mumbled: “Didn’t those people already mentioned, that on the night of New Year’s Day, there would be an auction for the longevity nut in Bi Shui City.”
Caretaker Zhao said: “Since the longevity nut has emerged, it proves that Leng Ying was wronged back then.”
Lei Lei sighed, everyone said you had the treasure, but turns out that treasure is in the hands of another, Sect Leader Leng your death was too unjust.
The young man said: “Brother He and the rest are just afraid to trust too easily, we should first return to the manor.”
Caretaker Zhao nodded, and said: “I heard that Chuan Qi Valley and Qian Yue Cave both sent people to investigate the whereabouts of the longevity nut, genuineness aside, the longevity nut can never fall into the hands of these demonic cultivators.”
The young man said coldly: “A mere longevity nut could cause a rift between the three big sects, it can be seen that greed does harm, those people spread the news about the longevity nut auction on purpose, when heroes gather at Bi Shui City, chaos would erupt from fighting over the longevity nut, I am most afraid that this is a trap by Shang Guan Qiu Yue.”
“Shang Guan Qiu Yue!” Lei Lei threw down her chopsticks, and cried out involuntarily.
The young man looked at her.
Lei Lei regained her composure: “Who is Shang Guan Qiu Yue?”
Everyone was shocked, but judging from her expression it couldn’t be faked, thus believing more about her having lost her memory, so Caretaker Zhao said coldly: “Who else could it be, Qian Yue Cave’s Cave Master!” His tone was bitter and angry.
Lei Lei hurriedly asked: “What is Qian Yue Cave?”
The young man snorted: “Demonic cult!” His grip on the knife tightened increasingly.
That’s right, how can the martial arts world not have a demonic cult, this body is called “Chun Hua”, and now there is a “Qiu Yue”, according to the naming convention, the two of them could very well be related, perhaps sisters? Ah, Chun Hua Qiu Yue, although slightly tacky, but she saw a glimpse of hope in figuring out this identity, at least there’s family!
Lei Lei got so excited that there were tears in her eyes, and kept saying: “That’s good that’s good!”
Qiu Yue, just wait for Chun Hua to find you!
“You!” The dishes on the table jumped from the slam, pulling Lei Lei back to reality, only then she realised everyone was looking at her angrily, as if they were to kill.
Caretaker Zhao was so angry that his beard trembled, his voice trilling: “Those sirens of Qian Yue Cave are shameless, causing harm to the martial arts world, stirring up havoc, Old Master was poisoned by them, you still……” Then he was unable to continue.
The young man’s face was contorted: “You can’t tell apart good and evil!”
While facing all of those criticisms, Lei Lei became clear-headed.
That’s right, Shang Guan Qiu Yue is Qian Yue Cave’s Cave Master, if Chun Hua really is her sister, her status should be impressive, why would she go to a secluded place like Gu Yan Village by herself, and still seek death? Qian Yue Cave ultimately is a demonic cult, in demonic cults there would usually be cases of internal strife and even relatives are not spared, then is the relationship between them two sisters amicable? Could it be that Chun Hua is being hunted by that Qiu Yue, stripped of her martial arts…...
At the thought of such television drama plot, Lei Lei became afraid, immediately pleasing her amulet, and contained expression: “Don’t be angry don’t be angry, I lost my memory, so the demonic cult is so evil, we must find a way to take revenge for the Old Master!”
[T/N: MC is using amulet to describe Young Master Xiao Bai since he would be able to ward off danger for her.]
The young man’s expression improved slightly.
Lei Lei sighed quietly, not daring to inquire further, “Xiao Bai” sure hates evil, so his father was harmed by that Shang Guan Qiu Yue, since he is very vigilant, before she can ensure her own safety, she must not let him see that she is related to that big devil.
Seeing that she feels some guilt, Caretaker Zhao had a better impression of her: “The horse carriage is ready, let’s get on our way.”
Seeing Lei Lei and the others exiting the guest house, in a corner, two inconspicuous males exchanged looks, got up and left.
Faint sounds of water, white marbled railings, snow white veils, a tall snow white silhouette stood with hands behind his back, wearing a white jade hairpin, studded with beautiful round pearls, his drooping black hair quivered as the wind blew, a starking contrast between white and black, with no variations, just like the cold secluded ice gorge opposite the stream, devine, and modern.
A lady clad in white went up the platform, and greeted respectfully: “Master, Xing Zhu have news to report.”
[T/N: 星主 (xīng zhǔ), Xing Zhu here is not the lady’s name, but is a name of a rank who reports directly to the master. Note that they will never, or at most rarely, refer to themselves as ‘I’ but will quote their rank/title or use terms like servant.]
His face, just as perfect as his disposition, with eyes as bright as stars, yet his gaze was as gentle as flowing water and breeze, putting on a bewitching smile, coupled with a snow cold disposition, an interlace of cold and warm, exuding a rather devilish vibe.
“The betrayer has been found?”
Without words, he walked towards her slowly.
The lady in white felt fear, and quickly said: “Although we didn’t find her, Xing Zhu did hear of something important.”
The lady in white went up and whispered a couple of sentences, then returned back to her previous spot.
He was surprised: “That girl is alive?”
The lady in white said: “Definitely, Xing Pu saw her with my own eyes, she was with Xiao Bai, they should be heading back to Bai Sheng Shan Manor, Xing Zhu would like to ask, since she is still alive, does that mean we should stop finding?”
[T/N: 星仆 (xīng pū) here is similar to 星主 (xīng zhǔ) as explained earlier, just replacing Zhu with Pu, which Pu means servant/slave.]
“So it’s her,” He turned around once again, looking over at the ice gorge opposite, his laughter as if to melt that thousand year old ice, “Dared to play tricks, but this is strange, having lied to us and escaped, why return, not sure to call her clever or stupid.”
Tall courtyard walls, clean stone steps, at the entrance hung an ancient board, carved on it were four big words “Bai Sheng Shan Manor”, on each side were embedded with couplet “Chivalrous feelings for all generations, the sound of xiao xiao feng ming to fix the martial arts world once and for all”; not sure how many hundreds of years of history there were, but it was after the ancestors of the Xiao Family successfully aided the leader of the three hundred and fifty second generation in establishing peace across the world, to commend their justice the leader then, personally inscribed in this plaque as a token of appreciation, and also serve as a reminder to future generations to uphold justice, since then descendents bearing the Xiao family name needs to take upon himself to maintain peace and stability, and have yet to fail to do so, Xiao Xiao Feng Ming Dao is famous in the world, and unmatched.
Two servants were chatting away at the entrance, upon seeing the horse carriage, they immediately smiled, welcoming everyone inside.
Upon entering was a huge courtyard, directly facing a large living space, not considered extravagant, furnitures alike were quaint, and spotless, turning around the corridor leads to a small door, which is the way to the backyard.
There were little flowers and grass in the yard, mostly trees, and a lush view of early autumn; the floors were obviously just swept as it was clean, scattered with only a few pieces of fallen leaves; occasionally bumping into servants and maids who greeted her, after consecutive days in the dust, now she is met with so many smiling faces, so many warm greetings, Lei Lei feels very warm, so her mood got better.
Having taken a small break after bathing, the young man called several caretakers to the small common room, and began to inquire into the affairs of the manor during his time of absence, everyone then reported to him one after another.
Upon hearing the news about Leader He and Qin Liu Feng going to Jia Kong City to investigate, the young man was torn, he looked at Lei Lei: “Regarding your matter……”
Lei Lei had changed into a clean maid outfit, and shook her head like a rattle drum when she heard what was mentioned: “Nevermind nevermind, the business of the martial arts world is important, the commoners are important, my matter should be put off until later when Leader He returns, I don’t remember much anyway.”
The young master went out, and returned with a lady, the servants and maids started to talk, until Caretaker Zhao roughly explained the situation, then they understood, that the weak girl was being hunted down and lost her memory, everyone could not help but felt sympathetic, and now seeing that she considered the big picture, they quickly offered her words of comfort: “Young Mistress don’t worry, nobody will find trouble here at Bai Sheng Shan Manor.”
The young man nodded: “You can stay here with ease.”
Lei Lei was not a person without backbone, fabricating the story of being hunted at the last minute, was merely to leech onto people for survival, before finding out her identity, she might need to mingle around here for a long period of time, so she could not do nothing in return, in addition she thought of winning favour, quickly she said: “How can I eat and stay for free, I can help around the place.”
As she was a guest, the young man hesitated: “This……”
Lei Lei said: “Anyway I have nothing better to do, do you lack a maid to serve you?” Best is the personal kind.
Everyone was unaware of her true intentions, and kept praising her, for being such a sensible lady.
“Young Master does not need a maid,” A plump aunt looked at her for a moment, then delightedly said: “My, Young Master have you noticed, that she looks like someone?”
The young man looked at her pensively: “There are some similarities.”
Which beauty do I look like? Lei Lei smiled calmly; look, this is contriving!
Sure enough, the aunt took long strides, came up and took both her hands, turned a few rounds, becoming increasingly excited: “Really looks like our Xiao Cui who used to be in our kitchen!”
Lei Lei finally had a taste of karma, her smile turned weird: “Is that so……”
“She in fact has nimble arms and legs, but it’s a pity that she left us long ago to marry, which is not a bad thing, now we are currently short of a helper in the kitchen, why don’t you come along and help out,” The aunt let go of her, “though Xiao Cui is better-looking.”
The young man looked at both her hands: “These manual work, you……”
What is the use of being pretty, pretty ones are all supporting roles, a traverse girl needs personality, personality! Lei Lei comforted herself, and decided to maintain her good image till the end, she said: “No problem no problem, I can do it.”
Upon her insistence, the young man can only agree: “You can follow Aunt Hong to help out in the kitchen when you are free then.”
Lei Lei lowered her head, and sighed secretly, Xiao Bai Xiao Cui Aunt Hong, and wedded a wife called Young Mistress Hua, Bai Sheng Shan Manor sure is colourful.
Early in the morning, Lei Lei faced a pile of wood anxiously, she thought too highly of herself, no, she thought too highly of this borrowed body’s capabilities; in the past her own strength was not to be belittled, running around while carrying a box would not be a problem, but this body is so delicate, with fair and tender skin that could be easily damaged, and little strength, how can she perform such manual labour, also she has yet to use an axe before, without knowing the right way to use, her back ached from barely even chopping one, her hands were red, if she continued like this there would be blisters.
There are so many males in the manor, why ask a female to chop firewood; seriously.
As she complained, she swung the axe once again, Aunt Hong had instructed for all these firewood to be chopped in the morning, which would be needed for the rest of the day, she couldn’t leave a bad impression when she had only just started work.
Just as she was about to bear with the pain and continue chopping, suddenly there was a flash of light across her eyes.
It was a blue and white robe, looking laid back yet smart, but also seemed slightly mature, the wind blowing his long hair, with hands half hidden under the wide sleeves, he held a black longknife in his left hand.
Having been here for only a day, Lei Lei already has obtained clear information on “Xiao Bai”, his mother died of illness early, five years ago his father Xiao Yuan fell into the plot of Qian Yue Cave’s Shang Guan Qiu Yue, and died of poisoning, he became the young owner of Bai Sheng Shan Manor at the age of nineteen, maybe it was due to his stern demeanour, one would not think that he is only twenty four years old now.
There is a large bamboo forest in the manor, seeing the young man walk into the forest, Lei Lei recovered her senses, and immediately dropped the axe to go after him.
In the glade of the forest, the young man stopped in his tracks.
Lei Lei dare not go near, but only look from afar.
The young man has in fact never deliberately avoided people during sword practice, Xiao Xiao Feng Ming Dao is an eccentric skill, without the core teaching, one would not even pick up half the skill no matter how many times of watching; the people in the manor had long gotten used to it, Lei Lei’s peeping behaviour in their eyes, expressed in modern terms, is dubbed as “old-fashioned”, but of course, everyone would have at least been this “old-fashioned” once when they first arrive at the manor.
His perfect side profile held no expression, in his right hand was the knife, as he quietly stood on the ground, in a swift movement, a strong murderous aura spread quickly, causing the surrounding bamboos to move, and his robes flying.
As leaves fell, came a “pa” sound, and a green bamboo pole broke for no apparent reason.
At the same time, the longknife was unsheathed, piercing in the air, its sound mimicking a phoenix’s cry.
Bamboo shavings were sent flying.
After one move, the bamboo was sliced into countless pieces, scattered on the ground.
The young man frowned, seemingly unsatisfied, he thought for a moment, then repeated the same move.
To think that this world has such a remarkable feat! Lei Lei felt amazed, and inspired, then turned around and ran off.
The young man was practising seriously, thinking of ways to improve, then he saw Lei Lei panting while carrying and dragging a few big pieces of wood while running to him, immediately he put away his knife, eyeing her suspiciously.
Lei Lei threw the wood onto the ground, straightened her clothes, then circled him twice, after which she looked up and stared into his eyes, with a stern expression: “You have good sword skills.”
The young man’s hair stood, then nodded as a form of politeness.
Lei Lei sneered: “Chopping bamboo is easy, would you be able to chop all these wood into eight pieces each in one move?” She extended her arms: “There are five blocks of wood here, cut these, using the move from earlier.”
The young man froze, frowning, having practised for so many years, this move has only been tested on bamboos, fifty nine parts in one move at max, he was not sure if he could achieve ideal results with wood, besides the other party has set out such strict limitations, in order to realise his potential, he expressed willingness to try, so he nodded: “Let me try.”
The young man focused on the blade, his hand shot suddenly.
An arc of light flashed across the air, all the wood on the ground flew up into the air, right after he disappeared, there was only shining light from the knife and a person’s silhouette, then one knife turned into ten over knives, followed by a crisp sound, most likely coming from the knife.
“Pa pa”, the sound of wooden blocks clashing in mid air rang repeatedly.
In an instant, all knives were restored back to one, pointing diagonally to the ground, once again he reappeared into view, with hair slightly disheveled, but his expression was that of a calm and relaxed one, like as if he never moved.
The young man was quite satisfied with the outcome, and looked at Lei Lei: “Forty pieces in total.”
Forty pieces, each piece chopped according to the requirements, this is great! Lei Lei immediately slapped, and exclaimed: “Xiao Xiao Feng Ming Dao deserves its reputation indeed! Deserves its reputation!”
The young man kept his knife back in the scabbard, feeling apologetic: “These wood……”
“No problem no problem, let me pick them up!”
“No trouble, no trouble at all, you have to practise well!” Lei Lei said repeatedly, bent down to pile the chopped wood, then ran off carrying them.
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