Hidden Swordsman in the Alley

The following morning, before the moon had fully set and the sun had yet to rise, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

The main gates of the Shangguan family mansion remained closed, yet the side gate had been opened early.

Nearly all the servants heading out had changed their attire, appearing utterly transformed, either departing in groups of two or three or venturing forth alone, their faces uniformly adorned with smiles.

Yún Mù, however, was nowhere among them.

‘How strange, where is that wild brat?’

Shangguan Ce leaned against a house door, a short distance from the side gate, acknowledging the greetings of the departing servants while his brow furrowed as he scanned the bustling crowd, a wave of irritation washing over him.

“Hey, you!” He crooked a finger idly, calling out to a stablehand he recognized.

The stablehand, who had already crossed the threshold, immediately plastered on a smile and scurried over at the summons.

“Young Master, how may I serve you?”

Shangguan Ce narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing him, his eagerness barely concealed.

“Don’t rush. I merely have a few simple questions for you.

Answer to my satisfaction, and I’ll reward you with a few copper coins; there’s no hurry.”

No sooner had he spoken than several clinking sounds echoed as a few yellowish-brown copper coins rolled onto the ground.

The stablehand’s eyes lit up, and he swiftly knelt, gathering them into his embrace before rising, bowing, and fawning.

“Young Master, you may ask anything you wish.

Regarding the affairs of the manor—whether it’s the stable, the maids, or the private matters of the stewards—this humble one knows everything perfectly!”

“Oh?” Shangguan Ce raised an eyebrow, a faint, unreadable smile playing on his lips.

“My question isn’t difficult at all.

I merely wish to know if Yún Mù, who sleeps in the stables, left today?

Or perhaps… did you notice anything unusual about him?”

“Yún Mù?” The stablehand furrowed his brow in thought, then tentatively asked, “Are you referring to that… patched-up, smelly brat?”

“Indeed.”

“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have realized, but now that you say it, it’s true.

Early this morning, before the sky was even fully bright, he was already up…” The stablehand secretly glanced at the young master’s expression, and seeing no objection, he continued with relief.

“That boy usually either sleeps soundly in the stable or sits cross-legged in meditation, occasionally muttering strange, cryptic words that make him seem quite eerie.

But what’s truly peculiar is that today, he actually offered to clean the stables for me…”

“So, you simply went with the flow, tossed your dirty work onto him, and then dusted off your hands and slipped away?” Shangguan Ce’s tone abruptly turned cold.

The sudden pressure made the stablehand’s legs buckle.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, his voice trembling.

“Have mercy, Young Master! This humble one… this humble one merely saw that boy living in the stables for free and idling about all day, leading too comfortable a life.

I merely… merely wanted him to do some work, to temper… temper his disposition…”

Before he could finish speaking, another few crisp clinks sounded, and several copper coins rolled precisely to his feet.

The stablehand stared at the spinning coins, his eyes wide, but when he looked up again, Shangguan Ce had already vanished without a trace.

“Thank, thank you, Young Master, for the reward! Thank you, Young Master, for your generosity!”

He repeatedly kowtowed.

****

“The last basket of grass is packed, too?

I’m eager to see what this brat is truly up to.”

Shangguan Ce lay hidden in the shadow of the roof ridge of a side room beside the stables, looking down, a single ancient coin spinning idly between his fingers.

“Hmm? Is he…”

Yún Mù, having finished his cleaning, quickly walked to his sleeping corner, glancing left and right with caution, then suddenly looked up towards the eaves.

‘Tsk…’

A chill ran through Shangguan Ce, and he cursed under his breath, then, agile as a cat, he flipped over and rolled into a deep recess on the other side of the roof ridge, holding his breath and concealing himself.

Below, Yún Mù gazed for a moment, and seeing nothing amiss, his movements finally relaxed.

He quickly lifted his patched, coarse cloth outer garment, loosened his worn belt, and forcefully tucked several rolls of damp, yellowed books into his waistband, hiding them close to his body.

‘…Books?’ From the shadows, Shangguan Ce (TL Note: The original text mistakenly attributes this thought to Shangguan Xúnyī, but context indicates it is Shangguan Ce.) revealed half his head, a cold, sinister smile curving his lips.

‘So, he was afraid of his private stash being discovered… Hmph, a false alarm.

I thought this lowly wretch had actually found something.’

Watching Yún Mù tuck away the books, smooth his clothes, and hurry towards the side gate, Shangguan Ce’s eyes suddenly turned glacial.

He silently slid down the eaves, like a phantom shadow clinging to the ground, stealthily following.

“Name.”

“Yún Mù.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the west of the city.”

“Hmm… the usual spot, then.

Remember to be back before sunset.”

“Yes, Steward Xie.”

After completing the registration, Yún Mù hunched his figure, melting into the dimly lit street full of people, and quickened his pace towards the west of the city.

…

The capital, though inherently a bustling area, was still divided into four cardinal directions: east, south, west, and center.

Among these, the central-northern area, where the Shangguan family resided, was the most prosperous, with many immortal cultivation families’ mansions located there, encircling the imperial city and existing in a symbiotic relationship with the royal family of the Lixun Kingdom.

The prosperity of the other areas then decreased sequentially in the order of southeast to west.

Consequently, those heading west were predominantly ordinary families living in the capital; though their status was more distinguished than those in other cities and rural areas, they were still considered commoners.

“Yo, isn’t that young Yún?

Going to read books in the west of the city again today?”

“That’s right.

When will you come back to our teahouse to help out?

It’s been a year since you last came; my wife and I have prepared plenty of steamed buns for you!”

“Uncle Li, Aunt Li, thank you both.

If I get the chance later… I’ll come again, but not today.”

“Hey! You promised, then!”

“I did!”

Yún Mù walked along the old flagstone streets of the city’s western district, where stall owners, shopkeepers, and even the old dogs sunning themselves on street corners recognized him.

Greetings rose and fell in a continuous chorus, and he nodded in response to each, his steps light, a long-lost smile gracing his lips.

Under his disheveled hair, his usually listless eyes now shone considerably brighter.

Shangguan Ce, blending into the crowd twenty meters away, fixed his icy gaze on that slender back.

Yún Mù’s adaptable, street-savvy demeanor was utterly different from the cowardly, reclusive figure Shangguan Ce remembered, and a flicker of astonishment crossed his mind, only to be immediately drowned by a deeper contempt.

‘What does it matter if he knows all the ants in the city?

You wretched beast, once I find that bookshop, I will make you witness with your own eyes how I gouge out the heart’s blood of those dragon-phoenix twins.’

However, this game of cat and mouse quickly took an unexpected turn.

Yún Mù’s steps seemed leisurely, as he chatted familiarly with the neighbors, yet his direction was eerily unpredictable.

One moment he was walking straight down West Street, the next he abruptly turned into a small alley leading south.

He had just passed a teahouse sign, only to suddenly double back and duck into a narrow lane beside a rice shop, piled high with bamboo baskets and hampers.

Shangguan Ce’s brow furrowed tighter and tighter with each confusing turn, yet his steps dared not falter for an instant.

When Yún Mù, once again, unexpectedly veered from a seemingly bustling short street into an even quieter, narrower alley littered with rotten vegetable leaves, its end revealed a towering green brick wall.

Shangguan Ce abruptly halted at the T-junction of the alleyway.

The alley was empty and dead silent, save for a few distant dog barks and the sound of wind whistling through.

“Lost him? Damn it, Yún Mù, you bastard, how dare you play tricks on me!?”

He spun around sharply, his gaze sweeping instantly behind him, and a smile he couldn’t suppress spread across his lips.

Just behind him to his right, in the corner of a half-human-high rubbish pile mixed with broken baskets and tattered mats, several ragged pieces of cloth lay unnaturally curled in the shadows.

Shangguan Ce silently drew a breath, his muscles taut as a drawn bow.

He channeled his Star Power (TL Note: 星辰之力 refers to a mystical energy or cultivation force in the body.) without fully unleashing it, transforming it into the Treading Snow Without Trace (TL Note: A movement technique that leaves no footprints, implying extreme speed and lightness.) technique.

His toes barely touched the ground as he shot forward with even greater lightness and speed.

“Get out here!” With a suppressed roar, Shangguan Ce’s right hand’s five fingers suddenly splayed open, a fierce claw wind ripping through the air, grasping mercilessly at the center of the shadow.

In an instant, his fingertips touched coarse fabric, and the surge of wild joy brought by the warm sensation consumed him.

“Running?” A savage grin contorted his face as his five fingers clenched tightly.

“Try running now, will you!?”

Feeling the ‘blood’ gradually covering his hands, Shangguan Ce covered his face, laughing uncontrollably.

“Yún Mù, you didn’t really think… your pathetic skills could fool me, did you?” He forcefully yanked the tattered cloth towards himself, thrusting his face forward.

“Hmm?” Instead, he was met with a tattered cloth covering some tomatoes and two books propped underneath.

The boy’s figure had already vanished.

A massive roar and an enraged shout echoed through the alley.

“Yún Mù… you damned beast!”

****

“Hah… Faster, or it’ll be trouble if I’m caught…”

Yún Mù sprinted through the alley, his upper body bare.

On the narrow path, the late spring wind, unlike its usual warmth, assailed him with an biting chill.

Yet, he could no longer spare a thought for such discomfort; his mind was entirely consumed by Shangguan Ce’s words from last night: “gouging out the heart’s blood of those boy and girl twins.”

‘I remember the path to the right is complex and less frequented, so I’ll take the right.’

He muttered to himself as he plunged forward, years of navigating these streets making his right turn almost instinctive.

His speed quickened, and faintly, wisps of Star Power (TL Note: 星辰之力 refers to a mystical energy or cultivation force in the body.) seemed to swirl around his feet.

‘Thankfully, Master taught me some ways to use these energies before, otherwise, I’d be in serious trouble today.’

‘No… I need to go even faster.

I must quickly warn Grandpa Xie and the others to lie low.’

He gritted his teeth, enduring the surging discomfort in his body, and forcefully channeled more Star Power into the soles of his feet, each step landing harder, stirring up a gust of wind.