Chapter 941: Big Sister Went Out to Play

"The Fiend Blood Path has been pacified."

Prince Wei found it somewhat unbelievable. She had actually managed to do it.

It was just a pity she hadn't kept her earlier promise.

The old man weaving straw shoes glanced at Prince Wei, reading his expression.

Noticing the look, Prince Wei said, "You can rest assured. I wouldn't dare do a thing to her. She's the Second Alliance Leader of the North-South Martial Alliance now. A minor prince like me can't afford to cross her."

Ouyang Feng nodded slightly and said nothing.

Prince Wei, however, continued. "I heard Prince Jin's blade-sharpener died. What was his name again? Oh, Cheng Li."

At those words, the old man suddenly paused.

Ouyang Feng froze, turning his head to look at the prince.

"Called what?"

"Cheng Li," Prince Wei said. "Cheng with the grain radical, Li as in profit."

Ouyang Feng absorbed the confirmation. He raised his head and looked up at the sky.

"Ruyi killed him?"

"Yes," Prince Wei said. "A single spear thrust right through the heart."

Ouyang Feng closed his eyes. The hatred and resentment buried in his heart for so long vanished like smoke in the wind.

Prince Wei smiled. "Your great revenge has been exacted. How do you feel?"

Ouyang Feng came back to his senses. "It's all thanks to Ruyi."

"Shouldn't you be sighing that the heavens have eyes?"

"The heavens?"

Ouyang Feng shook his head. "Things are achieved by human effort. That girl avenged my grievance, and I'll remember the kindness. What does it have to do with the heavens?"

"Not believing in fate is a great transgression."

"People of the jianghu have never believed in fate."

"You are no longer one of them."

Ouyang Feng paused for a moment. "But I still don't believe in it."

Prince Wei smiled, looking at him. "Work for me."

"Why?"

"That girl owes me. You can pay it back on her behalf. How about it? You don't have many years left to live anyway."

Prince Wei paused before adding, "Rest assured, I won't make you deal with her."

Ouyang Feng pondered for a long time but couldn't bring himself to make a decision.

Prince Wei sighed softly. "There's no one left in the alley. You have no reason to stay here."

Ouyang Feng lowered his head. "Let me think about it some more."

"Alright."

Prince Wei accepted the answer. "Don't make me wait too long."

With that, he left.

He hadn't taken two steps out the door when a voice suddenly rang out.

"Hey."

Prince Wei looked back.

He saw the old man holding a length of hemp rope. "I don't have a handy weapon," the old man said. "Help me find one."

Prince Wei froze.

After a moment of surprise, he smiled.

"Alright."

From then on, the old man who had lingered in Qingshan City for so long re-entered the jianghu.

In this chaotic world, he stepped into a different jianghu.

The old man didn't move to the Prince's Manor. He continued to live in that small courtyard in Chuanfeng Alley.

To him, the place held too many memories to abandon.

They had all left. If he left too, the alley would truly be deserted.

He didn't want that to happen.

...

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, the days of Huaixu passed. Falling leaves danced in the air, and the Winter Solstice was fast approaching.

And the jianghu took on a new direction.

The North-South Martial Alliance raised its great banner, propping up a piece of heaven and earth for wanderers in this mortal world.

The Fiend Blood Path was renamed Nanbeilou.

Here, a city of martial artists was forged.

Responses echoed from all directions, and countless people of the jianghu came to join.

Martial artists weary of endless slaughter and the disputes of chaotic times found a pure land that offered them a peaceful life.

Sometimes, Ruyi felt a bit dazed by it all.

She clearly still felt like a little girl, yet somehow, inexplicably, she had become the Second Alliance Leader of the North-South Martial Alliance.

Lihua yawned. "Ruyi, Lihua is sleepy."

Ruyi snapped back to reality. "Then let's go back and sleep."

Lihua paused, then added, "I want to eat roast chicken."

"You're sleepy, not hungry."

"Sleepy and hungry," Lihua insisted.

Ruyi let out a huff, but she was feeling a bit hungry herself.

"Wait here."

She found a chicken from who knows where, built a fire in the courtyard, and started roasting it.

It roasted quickly. Lihua looked at the grease dripping from the chicken on the rack and couldn't help but drool.

"It'll be ready soon."

"Is it not ready yet?"

"Almost..."

After waiting for what seemed like ages, it was finally ready to eat.

Ruyi tore off a piece and handed it to Lihua.

After tasting it, Lihua nodded repeatedly, too busy eating to speak.

Ruyi smiled and started eating as well.

But as Lihua ate, it began to feel that something was different. Looking at the roast chicken, something felt off.

Ruyi asked, "What's wrong?"

Lihua smacked its lips. "It's delicious, but..."

"But what?"

"I just feel like it doesn't taste as good as when you roasted it before."

Ruyi froze. "Before?"

Lihua said, "Yeah, a long time ago. Back then, you didn't have any money. We helped someone harvest rice for a whole day, and because they were kind-hearted, they gave us half a chicken. Right by the river, we plucked the feathers and roasted it over a fire. It was burnt pitch-black, so you scraped all the burnt parts off and saved the leg for Lihua to eat..."

Hearing this, Ruyi stared blankly for a long time.

Inexplicably, the roast chicken in her hands lost its flavor.

She smacked her lips, caught in a complicated mix of emotions.

She sat there lost in thought.

A sudden gust of cold wind blew past, making her shiver.

A snowflake settled right between Ruyi's brows.

Lihua blanked for a moment before suddenly exclaiming, "It's snowing! It's snowing! Look, Ruyi!"

Ruyi looked at the snow dancing across the sky. She reached out to catch a flake, but it quickly melted in her palm.

The sudden snow had cut the cat's words off, leaving it unable to articulate the reason, but in truth, Ruyi already understood what it meant.

A smile appeared on Ruyi's face. "Lihua."

The cat raised its head and looked at her.

"Let's go out and play," Ruyi said.

Lihua froze. "Where to?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"Yeah."

A heavy snow fell that night, blanketing Nanbeilou in a layer of white.

Ping'an woke up early the next morning.

He saw the charcoal fire in the courtyard that had long since died out.

"Big Sister really is..."

Ping'an sighed and went to wake his sister up, just like usual.

But when he reached the door, he couldn't sense anyone inside.

He paused. There was no response when he knocked.

After entering, he found the room completely empty. A piece of rice paper lay on the table.

On it, a few large characters were written in a crooked, uneven hand:

[Big Sister went out to play]

The word 'play' was even written incorrectly, crossed out, and rewritten next to it.

Looking at the handwriting, Ping'an was certain it had been left by his sister.

No one but his sister could leave something so sloppy.

Ping'an smiled and let out a long breath.

His gaze drifted to the falling snow outside the window, and he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

"Big Sister really is carefree."