Chapter 500: Ill-Fated Bond

The tapping of Niu Youdao’s sword against the ground gradually faded into the distance. Sitting alone in the darkness, Guan Fangyi quietly let out a breath of relief. She looked at herself in the mirror, but no matter how she tried, she could not see clearly. Everything was blurred.

She had truly been afraid Niu Youdao would barge in and see her as she was now.

For no reason she could explain, her eyes slowly grew wet. She bent forward and rested herself lightly on the dressing table, face against her folded arms, while tears slipped down in silence...

Outside, Niu Youdao, still using his sword as a walking stick, raised a hand in summons.

Uncle Chen emerged from the darkness and followed him.

As the two crossed the courtyard, Yuan Gang stood watching from the shadows beneath the eaves. He already knew what had happened.

Earlier, after Niu Youdao returned, he had taken his sword from the rack and drawn it, staring for a long time at the cold gleam reflected along the blade beneath the lamplight.

Yuan Gang noticed something was wrong and asked what had happened. Niu Youdao told him.

After leaving the courtyard, Niu Youdao planted his sword at the edge of the mountain. A light mountain breeze brushed past.

Uncle Chen came to stand beside him. “Something you need?”

“When you started following Hongniang, Old Six Xu hadn’t joined her yet, right?”

“That’s right. Old Six Xu came later.” Uncle Chen answered, unsure why Niu Youdao was asking. Was he still trying to dig into his background?

“So among the people around us now, you probably know more about Hongniang’s past than the others do.”

“Not necessarily. What are you trying to ask?”

“Today, Hongniang went out with me and someone hit her.”

Uncle Chen whipped his head back toward the courtyard. At last he understood why Guan Fangyi had seemed strange all day. He turned back again, his voice sinking. “Who?”

Niu Youdao slowly spoke a name. “Wen Xinzhao.”

Uncle Chen froze. The severity that had begun to gather on his face slowly faded. “Du Yunsang’s wife?”

“That’s her. We ran into the couple today while visiting Tiannü Sect...” Niu Youdao briefly recounted what he knew.

After listening, Uncle Chen sighed. “She knew it was an accidental meeting and still struck her. That woman went too far.”

“Then you know the background. Tell me. If I’m going to settle accounts, I at least need to understand what happened. If I don’t know the details, where am I supposed to start?”

“I’m afraid there may be no need. Hongniang may not want this account settled. Wen Xinzhao warned her years ago never to meet Du Yunsang again, and Hongniang agreed.”

Niu Youdao turned in surprise. “Did she really seduce a married man? Was Hongniang the one in the wrong first?”

“Nothing of the sort. Hongniang isn’t that kind of woman. She may be rather uninhibited now, but she wasn’t like this in the past. Back then, men came because of her fame and pestered her. She never went out of her way to pursue other people. Du Yunsang... roughly speaking, that was more than twenty years ago. Du Yunsang wasn’t even married then. How could there have been any seduction of another woman’s husband?”

Uncle Chen continued, “Du Yunsang had also come because of her reputation, accompanied by friends. I have to admit, he was strikingly handsome and carried himself exceptionally well. He was accomplished in both civil and martial pursuits, and could turn his hand to the qin, chess, calligraphy, or painting. Calling him the finest talent of Tianxing Sect’s generation would not be an exaggeration.”

“The trouble was precisely that Du Yunsang was too outstanding. Hongniang had very high standards, yet the first time she saw him, she was drawn to him. Du Yunsang did not speak much and came several times only while accompanying friends. Later, Hongniang took the initiative and dropped him a hint. She said one of her lanterns could never be lit at night. Somehow Du Yunsang understood her perfectly. That night, he truly came carrying a lantern.”

“Their two hands met on that lantern. You could say they fell in love at first sight, and from then on they were secretly together.”

“They kept it secret because Hongniang had already suffered from similar matters before. She knew their backgrounds were badly mismatched, and her own reputation was poor. She feared that if they made the relationship public, there would be resistance to the two of them being together. Du Yunsang, for his part, was truly willing to throw caution aside. He wanted to make their relationship public even if it cost him his future.”

“Hongniang stopped him because she feared he would be unable to answer to his sect. So Du Yunsang immediately returned to Tianxing Sect, intending to obtain the sect’s approval and marry Hongniang openly and properly. He said that if the sect refused, he would rather be expelled.”

“Hongniang was overjoyed. She began preparing to marry and even started making arrangements to dismiss the rest of us. But Du Yunsang never came. Instead, his junior sister Wen Xinzhao arrived. She was also the daughter of Wen Hua, the previous Sect Leader of Tianxing Sect.”

“Wen Xinzhao asked Hongniang to meet outside the city. Hongniang actually hid it from us and went alone. That time, she nearly died at Wen Xinzhao’s hands. Fortunately, some unknown admirer of Hongniang happened to pass by and intervened to save her. Hongniang was already at death’s door when they carried her back, beaten nearly to death.”

“After Hongniang recovered, Du Yunsang finally came. But this Du Yunsang had changed. He told her that from then on they were strangers. He said he had only been playing around, that they should pretend they had never met, and told Hongniang not to pester him again.”

“You can imagine what Hongniang was like then. Not long afterward, news came from Tianxing Sect that Du Yunsang and Wen Xinzhao had married.”

“Not long after that, Wen Xinzhao came again. She came personally to Fufang Garden and warned Hongniang to her face that Du Yunsang was now her husband, and that Hongniang was never to meet him again or she would not be spared. Hongniang answered out of wounded pride that she would never meet such a heartless, wolf-hearted man again even if he begged her to, and that if they ever did meet again, Wen Xinzhao could deal with her however she pleased.”

“After that, Hongniang was so furious that she set up a platform and tossed an embroidered ball to choose a husband. The ball was thrown, and someone caught it. But Hongniang is a woman who can pick something up and put it down again. Once she calmed herself, she still could not bring herself to wrong herself further. She did not marry the man who caught the ball. She gave him a sum of money and ended the matter.”

“A few years later, word came from Tianxing Sect that Sect Leader Wen Hua had voluntarily stepped down and passed the position to Du Yunsang. Before then, we had still wondered whether Du Yunsang had acted under some kind of pressure. It was only at that moment that we thought we understood. The seat of Sect Leader of Tianxing Sect—how could a mere Hongniang compare? How many people beneath Heaven could refuse a temptation like that?”

Niu Youdao gave a soft chuckle, mockery touching the corner of his mouth. “I understand. Marry the Sect Leader’s daughter in exchange for the Sect Leader’s seat. Not a bad bargain.”

Uncle Chen sighed. “That is roughly what happened. Hongniang would never willingly meet Du Yunsang again. No one expected them to run into each other this time. With Hongniang’s temperament and the words she staked her pride on back then, she would certainly stand there and take those two slaps. Even with her teeth knocked out, she would swallow them rather than spit them out. She would only blame herself for failing to keep her word. Why would she ever try to settle accounts?”

Niu Youdao asked in return, “If she clings to that kind of pride, will anyone think she has more backbone for it? Will her reputation suddenly become better?”

“What else do you expect her to do? Leave aside the fact that Tianxing Sect is completely beyond our ability to provoke, and charging at them would be a road straight to death. You saw it yourself. Hongniang would rather swallow this alone than let outsiders know. She would rather bear all those filthy rumors than break her word in front of Wen Xinzhao.”

“This isn’t about whether we think that pride is useful or worth preserving. She wants to preserve it.”

Uncle Chen sighed again, then added, “Master Dao, it seems you still don’t understand Hongniang very well. This isn’t really about Du Yunsang or Wen Xinzhao. There are some things Hongniang can disregard completely, and some things she cares about deeply.”

Niu Youdao understood. After a while, he said slowly, “Uncle Chen, don’t let her know that we already know she was hit.”

Uncle Chen sighed. “I understand. You didn’t need to tell me.”

“You can go back first. I’ll handle this.”

“Don’t act recklessly. Tianxing Sect is not someone we can afford to provoke.”

“I know better than you what should and should not be done. I’m only wondering about one thing. With Wen Xinzhao’s temperament, how did she ever tolerate Hongniang remaining alive until now?”

...

Moonlight flowed like water between the terraces and towers. Du Yunsang stood straight and proud beside a railing, his gaze slightly unfocused.

Everything from the past remained vivid in his mind.

He still remembered clearly what happened when he left Fufang Garden and returned to his sect. He too had been nervous and afraid. He knew what kind of pressure he would face if a great and prestigious sect like Tianxing Sect allowed one of its disciples to marry a woman with Hongniang’s reputation. More importantly, he was the personal disciple his Sect Leader valued above all others.

Even so, he had gone forward without hesitation.

He remembered clearly his master’s reaction when he announced that he intended to marry her.

“Presumptuous!”

The furious shout cracked like thunder.

Without another word, his master struck him with a palm on the spot, sending him flying as he vomited blood.

His master walked over, looked down at him, and asked, “Are you sober now?”

Du Yunsang begged him bitterly.

His master was bitterly disappointed. Shaking his head, he asked, “Do you have any idea how much I expect from you? I have treated you like my own son. How much effort have I poured into raising and teaching you all these years? Must you force this old man to say plainly that I intend to pass the position of Sect Leader to you?”

“How could the dignified Sect Leader of Tianxing Sect marry a shameless woman any man can have? Where would Tianxing Sect put its face? If such a monumental joke became reality, how would you have this old man answer to everyone in Tianxing Sect?”

“If something like this truly happened, not only would I lose all face, no one in Tianxing Sect would ever allow a man like you to take the position. From this day forward, you are not to mention this matter by so much as half a word. Let it rot in your belly!”

Du Yunsang refused. He forced himself up, knelt, and begged again, saying he would rather give up the position of Sect Leader and would rather be expelled from the sect.

After kowtowing, he rose and walked away, intending to leave Tianxing Sect for good.

His master’s cold laugh came from behind him. “Wretched beast! Still obsessed and unrepentant! Do you think Tianxing Sect is a place you may enter when you wish and leave when you wish?”

And so Du Yunsang failed to leave Tianxing Sect.

He was imprisoned in a dark dungeon that never saw the light of day.

One day, the glow of a Moon Butterfly illuminated the gloomy cell. It also illuminated his master’s face beyond the bars.

Du Yunsang still pleaded with him.

His master gave him only one cold sentence.

“Do you want that woman to die, or do you want her to live?”

That one sentence seemed to drain every last ounce of strength from his body.

Later, he returned to Fufang Garden.

When he turned and left, he never forgot the face behind him, smiling as it wept.

At the corner of a pavilion, Wen Xinzhao stood quietly, watching his figure in silence.

She too remembered clearly how her father had flown into a thunderous rage because of that woman.

This senior brother had never disappointed her father before. He was so exceptional that her father took pride in him, regarded him as his own son, and had long since considered him his future son-in-law.

That time, her father had been profoundly disappointed in him.

Wen Xinzhao had known from very early on that sooner or later she would marry this senior brother. He was so outstanding, and she liked him very much.

But the appearance of that woman had changed everything.

It was as though her senior brother had fallen under a spell.

She could not understand how a shameless woman who would take any man could bewitch him so completely.

So she went to see for herself. She wanted to know what could possibly be so special about that woman.

When she finally saw Guan Fangyi, jealousy seized her.

How could such a beautiful woman exist beneath Heaven? Wen Xinzhao knew her own beauty could not compare.

And so jealousy became fury, and she nearly killed that woman.

Later, her senior brother still bowed to reality. He obeyed her father’s arrangement and married her.

But he had an agreement with her father: that woman was not to be harmed.

He also promised to sever everything cleanly and have no further dealings with Guan Fangyi from that day onward.

That agreement was, to Wen Xinzhao, an enormous humiliation.

It had remained lodged in her throat ever since.

[End of Chapter 500]