江湖路弯弯: Jianghu Road is Curved! Chapter 40

_{(translated by xia0xiao1mei)}

^{(edited by anniaxx)}

CHAPTER FORTY

Young Palace Master

After only one night, Pang Wan suddenly feels her overall treatment has gotten a lot better.

With an additional talented and nimble maid in the room, helping her take care of everything, no matter how big or small the matter is, face washing, mouth rinsing, consuming medicine, feeding dinner, and even an hour of full body massage, just like the arrival of an angel.

“Hey, is your master intending to fatten me up to kill?”

Pang Wan is absolutely nervous about this sudden favouring treatment, she vaguely remembers the well-known fragrance pigs that lives within such comfortable environment, only eating and drinking every day, listening to music as they receive massages.

It cannot be helped that the maid may be pretty but is a mute, facing Pang Wan’s question, she can only apologetically smile, then uses her finger to point at her own mouth.

“Your master truly is a jerk,” According to Pang Wan’s rich knowledge and experience, this maid has more or less become mute from poison, she cannot help but to take in a deep breath and sigh.

Who knew that maid would instead grow unhappy, energetically waving her arms and shaking her head at Pang Wan.

“You come tell me, what identity does you master hold?” Pang Wan teases her with great interest.

The maid blinks her watery eyes, appearing to be greatly troubled.

“Just reveal a bit ey!” Pang Wan smiles like a blooming flower as she holds the maid’s small, soft white hands, gently giving it a pat.

The maid’s cheeks instantly redden.

Pang Wan finds this absolutely interesting, then traces over the palm of her hand, the maid is instantly rendered shy to the point her lips quivered.

Pang Wan feels refreshed at the sight, and cannot help giggling in amusement, reaching out, wanting to poke her peachy pink cheeks, unfortunately, before she was able to touch it, her fingertips were hit away by the sudden oncoming attack of a hidden weapon.

Turning to take a look, the old acquaintance stands by the door, his face cold.

“You may leave.” He Qing Lu orders the girl, his voice stiff like a rock.

The maid was granted great amnesty, quickly bowing as she makes a hasty retreat.

Pang Wan glances at the ground, at that spinning hidden weapon which is making a “gu-liu-liu” sound, and she finds that it is actually a piece of broken bone fragment, she couldn’t resist feeling the chills. With not a word, she puts down the curtains, attempting to isolate the arriving person outside of the bed.

“Are you……feeling a little better?” He Qing Lu originally wanted to scold her for such unreasonable behaviour, but thinking about his own faults, he inevitably feels indebted to her, the imposing manner of denouncing her also simmers down.

“My legs have regained their senses now.” Pang Wan muffled voice sounds from within the quilt.

He Qing Lu sighs in relief upon hearing this, he approaches the bed and sits on the edge of it, moving gently to open the curtain.

“Who exactly are you? How come you would appear here?” Pang Wan thinks about the way he ordered the maid before, and grows doubtful.

“You first answer, why have you and your senior brother come to Solitary Palace?” He Qing Lu’s voice is steady, unable to hear any fluctuations in his tone.

Thinking about how they are now in someone else’s territory, life and death thus in their control, Pang Wan obediently answers: “We only wish to meet Palace Master.” As to what they would do after meeting him, that’s another story.

“Meet him to do what? To request an explanation from him?” He Qing Lu observes her without looking away, deep inside, he is thinking of the what Mei Ya Xiang had reported before.

Pang Wan turns to look at him, softly saying: “Do you perhaps know of a lady called Mei Wu?”

He Qing Lu is stunned, then nods.

“Is she perhaps someone from the Solitary Palace?” Pang Wan further questions.

He Qing Lu once again nods.

Only then does Pang Wan let out a long sigh, lying with her back on the bed: “Mei Wu was originally my senior brother’s wife-to-be, she was killed on the day of the wedding, my senior brother has been painstakingly tracking this down the whole time, and tracked this down to the Solitary Palace.”

“You are suspecting the Solitary Palace’s people killed her?”

He Qing Lu’s voice sharpens, in the next moment, his finger had clasped onto her pulse.

O, is this silencing one with murder? Pang Wan was slightly shocked, but still bites the bullet and continues to explain: “It is said that Lady Mei Wu is Solitary Palace Master’s personal maid, since she had died such a brutally violent death, us arriving at the doors to question Palace Master, what is the wrong in that?”

The hand clasped onto her pulse loosens, He Qing Lu’s body of malignant air also lightens up a few points.

“Mei Wu was indeed Palace Master’s personal maid, but the matter of her being killed, definitely has nothing to do with Solitary Palace.” His face expressionless.

“But we have discovered, Mei Wu had left the palace without permission back then, moreover, moreover……” Pang Wan secretly observes He Qing Lu’s expression from under her lashes, speculating whether she is to say the following words.

“Moreover what?” He Qing Lu slightly narrows his eyes, remaining placid.

“Moreover Palace Master has once courted Mei Wu before!” Pang Wan grits her teeth as she blurts out the truth.

Solitary Palace Master gained fame at a young age, known for giving into sensual pleasures, even though his heart only cares for Fairy Sang Chan, it cannot be helped that the beauty has been unwilling to share his feelings, under a moment of great sadness, he thus engaged in many acts of soiling the flowers and provoking the grass _{(playing around with women)}. Rumours says that he can simply sit there and countless delicate beauties will come into his arms, liking women that are pure, tender and graceful the most, and amongst all these ladies, the one he dotes on most, is his personal maid Mei Wu.

Back then when she heard about all these entanglements, Pang Wan’s mind had automatically came up with the scene “love’s substitute”, a play on torturous romance: Palace Master cannot handle his unrequited love for Sang Chan, thus casting his eyes on the little maid who is similarly the White Lotus Flower type, after various hook ups and various dalliances, the little maid cannot bear to become someone else’s shadow, and finally leaves the palace, touring the four seas. Later, the little maid meets the handsome and dashing n^th-generation-rich Nan Yi, the two share mutual feelings and privately promises each other a lifetime together, yet due to Palace Master’s strong sense of possession, on the day of the wedding, he kills the little maid, because “if I can’t have her then no one else can even think of having her!” How much of a classic bitter love drama this is ah!

Pang Wan quietly murmurs all her speculations, but sees He Qing Lu’s tensed face starting to slowly relax, in the end, even the corners of his lips had actually curled up.

“Why don’t you go be a storyteller?” His face looking happy, yet his words were full of sarcasm, “The story sure is amazing beyond compare.”

Pang Wan can’t take him looking down on her, and cannot help resentfully pouting: “Not like you’re a character involved, how do you know if what I said is true or not?”

“Of course I know.” He Qing Lu’s face is exceptionally gentle, smile filled with pleasant warmth like spring, “Speaking of which, I could be considered half an owner to Mei Wu.”

Pang Wan raises her head, looking at him panic stricken.

“Do you perhaps know, the Solitary Palace master is surnamed He, called Shao Xin, nicknamed Old Man of the Icy Mountain?”

Seeing her shocked and dumbfounded expression, He Qing Lu’s mood grows increasingly pleasant.

“He Shao Xin is your father?” Pang Wan’s chin drops to the bed —— to actually have such a big son, the Solitary Palace master matured far too early!

He Qing Lu smiles: “He is my uncle.”

“Old Man of the Icy Mountain……” Pang Wan recalls the name of the palace hall she is in right now, and cannot help widening her eyes, “Could it be you……”

He Qing Lu quietly looks at her, motionlessly saying: “That makes me the heir to this Solitary Palace.”

Ah!

Having worn out the iron shoes in fruitless searching, what she got in return, is not a complete waste of efforts, turns out the person she deeply desired to find has actually already appeared by her side all along, and she herself, had almost paid the price of paralysis of half her body, Pang Wan cannot help but feel sadness well up.

He Qing Lu originally thought the young girl would look at him with sparkling eyes of respect, but only sees her eyes reddening, looking just like a wronged little rabbit, rendering him slightly puzzled.

“Why are you upset?” He found it extremely strange, reaching out his hand to touch her.

On one hand, Pang Wan is angry that he didn’t tell her this earlier, and on the other hand, she is angry at herself for not thinking this through a little more back then, thoughts thrown into chaos, she unconsciously throws her arm out to whack him: “Don’t bother me!”

He Qing Lu’s expression instantly drops.

This little bratty girl truly is ungrateful, he lets go of his own honour and nobility to care for her, and she actually treats him with disgust as though he held ill intent!

The young master’s temper rising, he simply straightens his face and sits on the bedside, not speaking.

The two people just sit there for a long time without a sound. Having had enough of grieving over the passing of spring and autumn, Pang Wan finally starts to think about the serious matter.

“Where is my senior brother? You release him first!” She turns to tug on He Qing Lu’s sleeve, voice hoarse.

He Qing Lu suppresses a whole body of anger, originally wanting to erupt, but raises his head to see the young girl’s pale face and gentle eyes, causing the fire in his heart to somehow diminish by a half.

“He injured five of my hall masters, on what grounds should I release him?” He turns his body away, a tone of indifference.

“How could you be so unreasonable?” Pang Wan grows desperate, “If one wishes to meet the palace master, they must break through twelve levels, this is the rule you guys made yourselves, blades and swords have no eyes, those willing to bet must admit their defeat, the blame cannot be thrown onto my senior brother!”

He Qing Lu coldly laughs: “Turns out the young master of Bai Yue Sect is also your senior brother? Didn’t think a maid like you has quite the high status.”

Pang Wan is stunned, only now does she recalls, to this day, He Qing Lu still doesn’t know of her real identity.

But how is she to explain to him? Bai Yue Sheng Gu is already past tense, right now, she is indeed Nan Yi’s maid.

“I, I and Young Master have grown up together since an early age……” After some thoughts, she decides to hide this pale period of history.

He Qing Lu finds her explaining voice very harsh on the ears, waving his hand, he impatiently says: “Let’s not speak about this, exactly what is the injury on your chest about? Did you get it because of that Sheng Gu?”

He has never cared about matters in the Jiang Hu, this time round, it is also Pang Wan who came knocking at their doors, hence why he thought of asking about the Bai Yue Sect’s matters.

The subordinates have reported, Bai Yue Sect have not been running peacefully this year, the young master’s wife-to-be was killed, the carefully cultivated Sheng Gu is also nowhere to be seen, Sect Leader Zuo Huai An had even been struck with great ambition as if he had eaten the guts of a leopard, and successfully plotted against the number one beauty during the Great Wu Lin Assembly, arousing the fury of all within the Jiang Hu. Recently, all the righteous sects and cults have combined forces, to collectively send a punitive expedition against the unorthodox sect, it is estimated that Bai Yue Sect is soon to be facing their doom, with no escape.

He Qing Lu does not care for the dispute between the so-called good and evil, but he remembers Pang Wan had once said she is the maid of the unorthodox sect’s Sheng Gu, having seen Pang Wan’s wound, he inwardly wonders, did this silly girl get punished due to failing to defend her master?

Pang Wan touches the clothing over her chest, a dull pain surging up.

“It’s not because of Sheng Gu.” She struggles hard to spread a smile of indifference, “It’s because I lost a bet.”

“What kind of bet leaves someone injured like this?” He Qing Lu frowns.

“……it is the dealer who wanted me dead, he used a sword to cut open here, digging out my heart.” Pang Wan makes a gesture of scooping out the heart.

“One who has no heart cannot possibly sit here speaking.”

Who knew He Qing Lu would gaze at her blankly, as though taking it as a joke.

——I just knew you cannot speak on the same line as this one-way thinker! Pang Wan is speechless, huffily glaring at him.

Seeing her in such a lively and well state, He Qing Lu just couldn’t decide whether or not to tell her the bad news that she cannot practice martial arts again in future. In this moment of the two people, both eyeing each other with hidden thoughts, Jin Di Luo’s voice suddenly sounds as he reports from the doors.

“Young Master, trouble has risen in the Prison of Chaos.”

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Looks like someone’s heart is softening up~ and at least Nan Yi wasn’t completely forgotten here hahaha