The Gambler’s Heart and the Ancient Sword’s Reappearance

The two emerged from Lei’s Martial Arts Hall. They had barely walked a dozen steps down the street when Xu Niantang suddenly gasped, stopping dead in her tracks.

Ye Di, walking beside her, assumed the girl was about to cause another scene. He frowned, asking, “What is it?”

“Hmm… no, no, nothing.” Xu Niantang blinked, lost in thought for a moment, then vigorously shook her head, creating a blur of afterimages.

‘This is bad. Something is genuinely wrong,’ Ye Di thought.

Though their time together had been brief, Ye Di had largely become familiar with Xu Niantang’s behavioral patterns.

If she was making a huge fuss, it usually meant Sister Niantang was throwing a tantrum.

But if she was stammering and hesitant, it meant she was grappling with one of the few truly important matters hidden deep in her heart.

Ye Di grew serious, asking, “Miss Xu, if you’ve encountered a difficulty, do not hesitate to tell me. I will surely lend you my full support.”

Xu Niantang hesitated for a moment before replying, “Actually, it’s nothing much. Just now, when you and that Master Lei were fighting, a few disciples in the martial arts hall opened a betting pool on who would win.”

‘This villain is handsome, skilled in martial arts, and always acts indifferent towards me,’ she thought.

‘Moreover, he’s a notorious bandit.’

‘Isn’t he just like those anti-hero protagonists from wuxia novels? The kind who treats money like dirt, is dashing, handsome, and whom every maiden, after her evening toilette, eagerly awaits by her window, wishing upon stars and moon for his arrival?’

‘If he knew I succumbed to my gambling nature, playing such a foul, foolish, low-class money game with all my remaining travel funds, he might disdain me even more…’

She lifted her gaze slightly, seeing Ye Di completely engrossed in her words. Biting her lip, she blurted out as if throwing caution to the wind, “Then I thought it would be fun! I bet all my remaining travel money on you to win! But then you walked away so quickly, I was afraid I couldn’t keep up, so I forgot to collect my winnings…”

“However! If you weren’t there, I wouldn’t have gambled at all. What do other people’s wins or losses have to do with me…”

Xu Niantang finished her self-deprecating confession, unable to resist adding that last sentence.

When she finally looked up, feeling a pang of guilt, all that remained before her was a single leaf gently carried away by the wind.

Xu Niantang: ?

Moments later, a cloud of dust billowed at the end of the road, and Ye Di came rushing back, clutching a bulging money pouch. He slung the pouch over one shoulder, extending his other arm straight out, keeping Xu Niantang several feet away, as if fearing she might snatch the money from him.

Ye Di said earnestly, “Miss Xu, logically, this money should be yours. However, I did put in effort fighting, and you managed to place such a large bet. We both contributed, so I suggest a seventy-thirty split: you take seventy, I take thirty…”

Xu Niantang felt her girlish dreams shatter.

She refused to admit that this bandit, who had captivated her with his handsomeness and earned her utmost admiration, was actually a money-grubber.

After Ye Di laid out his proposed division of spoils, he realized Xu Niantang was swaying precariously, then vanished down the street like a drifting willow catkin.

‘What new fit was this girl throwing now?’

Ye Di chased after her, reluctantly making a concession, his voice trembling as he said, “In that case, let’s make it an eighty-twenty split! You get eighty, I get twenty. That works, right? No more than that!”

****

‘This isn’t greed; this is frugality.’

‘This isn’t greed; this is frugality.’

‘This isn’t greed; this is! Fru-gal-i-ty!’

Having fortified her resolve, Xu Niantang stopped before a street vendor selling newspapers, intending to buy the latest edition of the Jianghu tabloid.

However, the two haggled, spitting words back and forth for quite some time.

A tattered Jianghu tabloid was only discounted from eight coins to seven and a half.

Xu Niantang fumed, “You stingy miser! Have all merchants fallen into the money pit? Why don’t you just go home and live with your money pot?”

The news vendor was bewildered. The Jianghu tabloid was published weekly, a steady serialization, and had always been sold at this price.

If, by chance, an issue featured a drawing of a certain female martial artist’s undergarments, accidentally lost during a bath, the price might even rise to ten coins…

Xu Niantang thoroughly lambasted the vendor, drenching him in her furious words.

Suddenly, she felt a profound sense of relief, realizing she no longer needed her mental self-consolation.

Her eyes widened, and she had an epiphany.

‘So, scolding someone else can be a substitute for scolding him.’

Now comfortable, Xu Niantang, who had been unable to bring herself to scold Ye Di, held the rolled-up Jianghu tabloid in her hand. Her long hair swaying in the breeze, she bounced over to Ye Di’s side in a few steps. “Hey, villain, I’m back.”

Ye Di, enduring the harsh sun, had been waiting for the girl in the middle of the street, on the verge of being sun-dried, when he finally heard Xu Niantang’s voice.

He sighed in relief, saying, “What did you go to buy? You took so long.”

“Want to know, do you? This young lady is in a good mood, so I’ll let you see one side!”

Xu Niantang generously pulled out the rolled paper and handed it to Ye Di.

As he slowly unrolled it, Ye Di began reading one side of the tabloid.

With her hands clasped behind her back, she hopped to Ye Di’s side, rising onto her tiptoes as if to lean on his shoulder. Her almond eyes sparkling, she quietly read the other side.

Finding the sunlight somewhat dazzling, she furrowed her brows. She then raised a hand to Ye Di’s brow, shielding his eyes from the sun.

Ye Di turned his head, glancing at her.

Xu Niantang’s face flushed slightly, yet she steadfastly refused to lower her hand, puffing out her cheeks to show her unwavering resolve.

Ye Di chuckled softly, reaching out to brush away a few stray strands of hair from her temple.

Xu Niantang had been annoyed by the east wind, which made her hair and heart flutter with an irritating itch, but the villain’s touch immediately brought her comfort.

However, whether from shyness or the villain’s slightly cool fingers, she still flinched, retreating a step. “You-you-you-you-you! You’re not allowed to casually touch a young lady!”

Ye Di laughed, “Look here, I’m in the newspaper too.”

Xu Niantang suspected he was changing the subject, but she had no proof.

Reluctantly, she followed his gaze, blinking as she read, “”What’s this ‘Immortal Traces Reappear in Jade Belt River’? Hey, villain, you really seem to have become famous!””

Ye Di said, “Indeed. It seems life won’t be peaceful from now on. Not that it’s been particularly peaceful lately.”

Xu Niantang knew he was subtly referring to her. She opened her mouth to retort but then felt she was in the wrong.

Instead, she simply resorted to childish stubbornness. “Anyway, until you settle your debt with me, this young lady is sticking with you! You’re not allowed to abandon me!”

Ye Di chuckled, “You and Lin Ya—”

He suddenly cut himself off, as if regretting his slip of the tongue.

Xu Niantang, being a clever girl, naturally didn’t miss his words.

‘Lin Ya? Was he referring to ‘Lin Yatou’? Another girl the villain knows?’

Normally, Xu Niantang would have relentlessly pressed for answers.

But now, for some unknown reason, though a bitter ache swelled in her heart, Xu Niantang dared not voice the questions on her mind.

Suddenly, she no longer wanted to shield the villain from the sun, for the sunlight now stung her eyes.

Xu Niantang somewhat sullenly withdrew her hand, forcing her gaze onto the Jianghu tabloid to distract herself.

The four bolded characters, ‘Tangxi Emerges,’ caught her eye.

Ye Di was clearly looking at the same spot, his eyebrows raising thoughtfully.

Xu Niantang had heard of the Tangxi Sword; it was an ancient, renowned sword forged a century ago by the Sword Immortal Ye Di to slay the Demon Lord.

It was said to have later disappeared into the Jianghu, its whereabouts unseen by anyone since.

To prevent herself from dwelling on the previous topic, Xu Niantang vigorously shook her head, casting aside her distracting thoughts. With a cheerful tone, she pointed to the characters and said, “Look, the Tangxi Sword has reappeared! Did you know, it’s the ancient sword forged by the Sword Immortal Ye Di back then…”

Ye Di, of course, knew; the Tangxi Sword was indeed forged by his own hands.

It was meant as a gift for the ‘Lin Yatou’ he had just inadvertently mentioned.

Baili Hongyi, Lin Ke.