At this moment, Qi Buyan’s Heavenly Silkworm silk reformed into a sword, this time into two Heavenly Silkworm silk swords. Holding one in each hand, he moved with a flash of silver light, slashing towards Bian Yichen’s wrists.
He Sui’an saw the two butterfly silver chains on Bian Yichen’s wrists, belonging to Qi Shu, break apart.
Bian Yichen’s face changed.
“No!”
Ignoring the swarm of insects and snakes, he reached out to catch the butterfly silver chains, but the young man’s agile hands snatched them first.
The Heavenly Silkworm silk sword then slashed at Bian Yichen’s ankles, cutting through the skirt fabric and severing the butterfly silver chains at his ankles, which fell with a clink.
“No!” Bian Yichen repeated, frantically bending down to reach for them.
His eyes were nearly frantic.
Just as Bian Yichen was about to grasp them, the Heavenly Silkworm silk hooked the butterfly silver chains from the ground, and all four chains ended up in Qi Buyan’s hands.
Bian Yichen looked at him. “Give them to me, return them to me, quickly…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the butterfly silver chains in Qi Buyan’s hands turned to dust, scattering with the wind, disappearing without a trace.
He Sui’an felt as though Qi Shu had finally found freedom after her death when she saw the chains turn to dust. Qi Buyan, however, had no such thoughts; he simply wanted to cause Bian Yichen pain.
Bian Yichen stood stunned for a moment, then burst into manic laughter, unexpectedly thrusting his iron sword at Qi Buyan.
For the moment, the venomous insects could not get close to him.
Qi Buyan took the bone flute from his waist and slowly began to play it. As the flute’s melody filled the air, He Sui’an felt her heart being gripped tightly, and the residents of the western market felt the same.
Bian Yichen was trapped by the haunting melody, unable to move and barely able to stand.
As Qi Buyan played the flute, a metallic taste rose in his throat—the backlash from the Heavenly Silkworm Gu had returned. Playing the flute not only harmed those around him but also intensified the Gu’s backlash.
He Sui’an was writhing on the ground in pain.
For the first time in his life, Qi Buyan hesitated.
The flute’s melody broke off, and Qi Buyan, suffering from the Heavenly Silkworm Gu’s backlash, spat out a mouthful of blood.
If he continued playing, it would be more than just spitting blood. But Qi Buyan didn’t stop because of this; he was concerned that if He Sui’an died, he would never find another person like her to take care of. So, Qi Buyan chose to stop.
Bian Yichen, regaining his composure, rushed towards him.
The distance between them quickly shortened.
Just as the iron sword was about to strike Qi Buyan, Bian Yichen suddenly stopped. His body began to show neat, uniform cuts, and his flesh and bones were sliced into pieces, like scattered puzzle pieces.
Blood stained the Heavenly Silkworm silk that had cut Bian Yichen’s body, and the eggs of the Heavenly Silkworm Gu on the silk eagerly absorbed the blood, turning from pure white to a rich, glossy red.
As soon as the flute stopped, He Sui’an’s pain subsided, and she stopped rolling on the ground.
She got up.
Not far away lay Bian Yichen’s body.
Qi Buyan had fulfilled his promise—Bian Yichen’s body was not left whole. His corpse was cut into pieces by the Heavenly Silkworm silk.
He Sui’an couldn’t bear to look at the scene and hurriedly turned away, vomiting the two bites of meat bun she had eaten earlier. Her face, neck, and earlobes flushed red from the effort.
The residents of the western market, seeing the fight’s conclusion, stayed hidden, too afraid to come out.
Bloodshed in private fights was common.
The authorities wouldn’t usually intervene in private disputes of the martial world, but a public fight that resulted in death would certainly attract their attention. They dared not make a move.
They wondered about the mysterious power of the bone flute played by the young man—the pain it inflicted was unbearable. Thankfully, he had stopped midway. They never wanted to experience it again.
Even covering their ears couldn’t block the sound.
They suspected that if he had continued playing, it might have taken their lives.
Qi Buyan walked to a tea stand, picked up a warm teapot, and softly asked the trembling owner, “How much for a pot of tea?”
His hand, holding the teapot, was still stained with blood.
Red and white, clear boundaries.
The shopkeeper kept his eyes on the ground, stammering, “It’s… it’s free, young master.”
Qi Buyan placed a silver ingot on the stall and used the tea to wash the blood from his fingers, the tea mixed with blood flowing away. “I cannot accept without earning it. You don’t need to give me the tea for free.”
The shopkeeper was momentarily stunned.
This young master now seemed very approachable, a stark contrast to the way he had just killed with the Heavenly Silkworm silk. His demeanor and tone appeared unchanged regardless of what he did.
Quickly, his hands, white as jade, were cleansed of blood. Qi Buyan also wiped his lips, which had traces of his own blood from when he had spat it out earlier.
He took a teacup and walked towards He Sui’an, who was leaning by the railing.
He Sui’an, having rolled on the ground, was filthy, her braided hair disheveled, with dust marks on her skin. Qi Buyan placed his palm on her dirty face, wiping away a layer of grime.
Looking at the dust on his fingertip, Qi Buyan asked, “Just now, did you feel very uncomfortable?”
She stood on tiptoe, moving closer to him.
The young man looked at her.
He Sui’an looked at him as well. “And you? Did you feel uncomfortable just now too?”
Qi Buyan rubbed the dust from her face between his fingers, his freshly washed hand now completely dirty again. He seemed unable to understand her words. “Why would you think I felt uncomfortable just now?”
“Then why did you think I felt uncomfortable?” He Sui’an countered.
“You were rolling on the ground in pain,” Qi Buyan replied.
He Sui’an slowly said, “Although you didn’t roll on the ground pathetically like I did, you did spit blood. If possible, I hope you use that bone flute less in the future.”
Some people aren’t worth going down with, but He Sui’an didn’t voice this thought.
Qi Buyan wiped another streak of dust from her face. “He Sui’an, I don’t want you to suffer because I don’t want you to die. I still want to keep you around. Why don’t you want me to suffer?”
He Sui’an hadn’t expected Qi Buyan to ask this question. “I…”
“I don’t want you to die either.”
Playing the flute could be lethal.
Shen Jianhe had mentioned this to He Sui’an before, and now she had seen it with her own eyes.
After he had cleaned her face completely, he asked, “Then why don’t you want me to die?” Qi Buyan always had his reasons for doing things, and he expected others to be the same, even He Sui’an.
He Sui’an had somewhat figured out Qi Buyan’s way of thinking. “Some things come from the heart, not from having a purpose. I just don’t want you to die.”
Qi Buyan murmured, “Some things come from the heart, not from having a purpose.”
The soldiers arrived.
They surrounded the street where the incident occurred, their expressions changing as they saw the pieces of the corpse.
Hearing reports of a notorious murderer wanted by the authorities appearing here, they were surprised to find only dismembered remains. The Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review asked the person who reported it, “Who was the murderer you mentioned?”
The resident of the western market, unaware of what had transpired, couldn’t provide an answer.
The Deputy Minister looked at Qi Buyan.
His attire closely resembled that of the wanted murderer, but the age didn’t match. The young man was very young, while the murderer was in his thirties. Still, they might be related.
Before the Deputy Minister could ask Qi Buyan anything, Qi Buyan asked, “Don’t you have a portrait of the wanted murderer?”
Naturally, they did.
The Deputy Minister, slightly confused, said, “We do have a portrait. But what do you mean by that?”
Qi Buyan smiled with a squint. “Since you have a portrait, you can confirm that this corpse is the murderer you’ve been seeking for years.”
Some officers were bewildered.
One muttered, “But it’s in pieces.”
Qi Buyan’s eyes were clear. “It can be pieced together. Do you need help?”
The Deputy Minister surveyed the western market street before returning his gaze to the young man’s seemingly innocent face. “No need to trouble you. This is our responsibility. Who turned him into this?”
“It was me,” Qi Buyan said, noticing the dust on He Sui’an’s hands. He poured tea and began to wash them finger by finger.
He Sui’an lowered her head.
Many people were watching them.
The Deputy Minister scrutinized Qi Buyan from head to toe. This person, not yet twenty, admitted to killing without any emotional fluctuation, as if he had no heart. “It was you? Why did you kill him?”
Qi Buyan put down the teapot. “He tried to kill me, so I killed him.”
The laws of the Great Zhou allow for self-defense against someone trying to kill you, even if it results in the attacker’s death, especially when the killed person is a long-wanted murderer.
The Deputy Minister didn’t overlook the insect and snake corpses on the street.
The methods of the martial world were not something the authorities could interfere with, as long as innocents weren’t harmed. The martial world and the authorities usually stayed out of each other’s way.
He ordered his men to collect the body parts.
They needed to piece them together to confirm the person’s identity for their investigation.
Regarding Qi Buyan and He Sui’an.
They also needed to provide a statement.
After completing these two tasks, the officers recorded the inn where they were staying. Once verified, they were allowed to leave temporarily. From morning until noon, the ordeal finally came to an end.
The inn they were staying at was in the western market, and news of Qi Buyan’s actions had already spread.
However, the innkeeper, who had been in business for many years and had seen many things, showed little reaction upon their return. Business continued as usual.
He Sui’an asked the inn’s attendant for some water.
The attendant, understanding what they had been through and their need to clean up, quickly prepared it.
In less than a quarter of an hour, the attendant brought hot water up to He Sui’an on the second floor. The inn, anticipating guests’ needs, kept hot water ready to be delivered promptly.
He Sui’an now understood why the inn charged a tael of silver per night.
The room was equipped with two bathtubs.
The attendant thoughtfully filled both with water.
He Sui’an initially planned to have one of them bathe first and then have the attendant bring more water for the other. However, while she was fetching her clothes, the attendant quickly filled both bathtubs.
Not wanting to waste the water, they decided to bathe together, separated by a screen.
The sound of water filled the room as the long screen cast their blurred silhouettes.
Their clothes were draped over the screen.
He Sui’an picked up a towel to wipe herself and unintentionally glanced at Qi Buyan’s silhouette through the screen, quickly lowering her eyes.
Qi Buyan, listening to the sound of water on the other side of the screen, spoke softly, “He Sui’an, it’s been a while since we became closer. I still want to become closer to you.”
He spoke each word clearly.
Since meeting He Sui’an, every time Qi Buyan killed someone, he sought the pleasure He Sui’an gave him to overshadow the pleasure of killing. Otherwise, he would keep reliving the thrill of killing.
Having He Sui’an made him less inclined to savor that thrill.
He wanted her to suppress the urge to kill.
Hearing Qi Buyan’s words, He Sui’an’s hand holding the towel froze, and she involuntarily looked at the screen. The young man’s silhouette was lean.
“The book says my fingers can enter you,” Qi Buyan said. Previously, when washing He Sui’an, he had accidentally been bitten by her, too small to take in more than a fingertip.
But the book said he could fully enter her, and she would intimately accommodate him.
It was wondrous.
He also wanted her to accommodate his fingers.
