Chapter 223: A Fleeting Glimpse

Chapter 223: A Fleeting Glimpse

The night passed in silence.

Zhao Changhe spent it half in cultivation and half in watching his surroundings, never falling into a deep meditative trance.

He wondered how Miss Yihuo Snake was sleeping in the cave...

Heaven knew that Suzaku neither cultivated nor slept; her mind was entirely consumed by how to pry more of his insights out of him, what price she would have to pay for them, and finally, what would be the best way for this particular alter ego to die...

Whether it was because Zhao Changhe's counter-tracking measures had worked along the way, or because Wang Daozhong and the Listening Snow Tower assassins had been beaten back, delaying the second wave of assassinations, the night proved entirely uneventful. When dawn broke, Zhao Changhe opened his eyes beneath the tree. The very first thing he saw was the young lady emerging from the cave; that single bend of her waist was a breathtaking vista of peaks clustering and waves raging, a magnificent sight to behold.

Her figure was truly stunning.

How could Suzaku know what he was looking at? Seeing him open his eyes just at that moment, she instinctively flashed a charming smile: "Morning, good brother~"

The moment the words left her mouth, she nearly slapped herself, realizing simultaneously how foolish that charming smile was. Hidden behind the mask, it couldn't be seen at all—who on earth was she smiling at?

Zhao Changhe, however, was amused by the greeting. Untying the reins of the Black Steed, he said, "Come on, your brother is taking you to buy a mask."

The Black Steed: "..."

Suzaku naturally mounted the horse: "I can't help but feel you're doing this because you didn't get to explore Jianhu City properly before, so this time you purposely saved your shopping trip for that place."

"Ha... Though that's not the reason, how do you even know about that? Is internal news within the Four Symbols Sect shared among everyone?"

"No." Suzaku stiffened her neck and said, "I just happened to hear about it. I was running errands nearby at the time."

"So Little Sister Snake was destined to cross paths with me that early on..."

"Who is destined with you? Scram!"

The Black Steed broke into a gallop and sped away, unable to listen to any more.

Zhao Changhe had left Jianhu City the day after the Start of Summer, heading south to Yangzhou. Now, the Start of Autumn had just passed, making it exactly one quarter of a year since his departure.

He had progressed from the fourth layer of the Mystic Gateway to the sixth. Having only recently broken through to this sixth layer, the seventh layer remained a distant prospect. His cultivation speed had visibly slowed to half of what it was initially, and there was no telling how much slower it would get after this...

The city had not changed, remaining as bustling and elegant as ever. Only by the distant lakeside did the lush green begin to yield to the golden tints of autumn.

Not far into the city stood the familiar Wanhua Tower, though Tang Wanzhuang was no longer inside.

Even that Wu Weiyang now seemed to be by Tang Buqi's side.

Turning down two streets brought them to the tavern courtyard where he had once lived with Han Wubing; he had been here on the day of the Start of Summer as well. Feeling rather nostalgic, Zhao Changhe entered the tavern and called out, "Shopkeeper..."

"Oh, customer, it's you?" The shopkeeper actually recognized him: "The courtyard you stayed in happens to be vacant. Do you want that one again?"

Zhao Changhe was somewhat surprised: "You still remember me after all this time?"

"Ha, with that terrifying saber of yours, that magnificent horse, and that handsome scar, it would be hard to forget, wouldn't it?" The shopkeeper smiled with narrowed eyes: "You must be the thirteenth Hidden Dragon, Zhao Changhe, right?"

"No, no, I just dress like him. It's the fashion, you know." Zhao Changhe didn't elaborate, smiling as he said, "That room will do. Help me feed my horse well."

"Right away..." The shopkeeper couldn't care less whether he was the real Zhao Changhe or not. His gaze brushed past the snake-masked woman standing quietly nearby, his heart skipping a beat as he thought to himself how sinister she looked.

An ordinary person would indeed find such an eerie snake face rather terrifying; she looked like a villain at first glance...

Knowing what the man was thinking, Zhao Changhe reached out to grab Suzaku's hand to hurry along, only to grasp empty air. Suzaku looked at him with a half-smile: "Don't try to manufacture a sense of urgency just to take advantage and hold my hand. Your hair hadn't even grown in when this older sister was already roaming the martial world."

Zhao Changhe didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I didn't think of it that way."

"So you just casually grab a woman's hand out of habit? How practiced are you?"

"Fine, fine." Zhao Changhe thought to himself that this creature was a true temptress. No matter how sweetly she called him 'good brother,' her heart remained distant, never giving him a single opening.

Having visited the weapon shops before, Zhao Changhe was relatively familiar with these few streets. He quickly turned into a small shop and smiled: "My memory serves me right after all. This place sells these kinds of small trinkets."

Suzaku followed him inside and looked around, finding quite a few masks hanging on the wall.

The masks of her Four Symbols Sect emphasized 'divinity,' and most would make people feel intimidated or uneasy, whereas the masks here were meant for young girls or children, each more adorable and beautiful than the last.

Suzaku's gaze fell upon a small fox mask, thinking to herself that this one at least looked a tiny bit more alluring. Yet she heard Zhao Changhe say, "Shopkeeper, give me that one, that one... yes, yes, the one right by your right hand. Take two!"

Suzaku watched helplessly as the shopkeeper handed over two pig heads. Zhao Changhe held them with a silly grin, turning them over and over, unable to close his mouth from laughing.

Suzaku was utterly speechless: "Are you mocking me? How can anyone go out in public wearing this kind of mask?"

"Hey, you're looking for a mask completely different from your usual style so people won't associate you with your sect. Of course, the cuter, the better."

"But it can't be a pig!"

"Why not?" Zhao Changhe said, "Look, even you yourself would never think you'd be a pig..."

Suzaku: "?"

"Oh, I mean even you yourself would never think you'd choose such a mask, so no one in the world who sees it will ever guess it's you, right?"

Suzaku found the logic sound... and then rejected him: "I'm not wearing it."

"Where did this stubborn tsundere come from?" Ignoring her, Zhao Changhe put one on himself and leaned his face toward hers with a cheerful grin: "Bleeeh~"

Suzaku finally couldn't help but burst into laughter.

This pig was actually quite cute!

Taking advantage of the moment, Zhao Changhe decisively shoved the other pig face into her hand: "This is the one. It's such a trivial thing, what's there to agonize over? I need to go to Jianhu, let's keep our priorities straight, alright?"

Suzaku had probably not been lectured as much in the past ten years as she had been in these last two days. She truly didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but holding that pig face in her hand, she ultimately did not throw it away.

She merely held it behind her back, as if being seen with it would be deeply embarrassing.

Zhao Changhe looked left and right, lowering his voice: "That snake face of yours keeps attracting attention. The sooner you change it, the better. Let's duck into an alley, change it directly, and be done with it."

Suzaku said, "Are you sure people are looking at my snake or your pig?"

"Uh, it might be my pig... wait." Zhao Changhe turned around and clenched his fist: "Are you asking for a beating?"

"You can't beat me anyway!" With a cheerful laugh, Suzaku flashed away, but she did indeed enter the small alley behind them.

Zhao Changhe took a step forward, blocking the mouth of the alley, turning his back to it.

A perfect tacit understanding.

Suzaku stole a glance at his back, swiftly removed her snake face, and slipped on the little pig.

It was a soft mask and felt quite comfortable to wear, not as scratching as she had imagined a cheap, low-quality item would be. Her mood about being forced to wear a pig face improved slightly.

Stowing the Yihuo Snake mask into her robe, she looked up to see Zhao Changhe still standing motionless with his back to her. Suzaku suddenly recalled that day at the Taiyi Sect when he had stood before Wang Daozhong, a light sweat on his back, yet as unyielding as a mountain.

Why think about that? Wang Daozhong has already been beaten twice by this seat.

I'll beat him again next time I see him.

Little did she know that at this moment, Zhao Changhe's mind was entirely filled with awe.

In that fleeting instant when the snake face was removed and the little pig was put on, he had seen the true face of Miss Yihuo Snake.

Willow-leaf brows extending to the temples, eyes bright as stars, a face fair as powder, and lips red as vermillion. These were conventional descriptions, yet they were the standard Chinese literary criteria for such a woman—for she did not resemble a rough member of a martial sect at all, but rather a perfectly classical beauty... She was clearly a lady from a great clan; if someone claimed she was Tang Wanzhuang's sister, people would likely believe it.

Her true identity was bound to be extraordinary.

The glance she stole at him before putting on the mask carried a touch of playfulness, yet it did not diminish her mature charm, nor could it conceal... a hidden fierceness. That was entirely instinctive; Zhao Changhe was certain that if he had dared to turn around at that moment, she would have killed him on the spot without a burial place.

That single glance made it clear that she was a demon sect member who truly slaughtered without blinking, unlike Tang Wanzhuang or Yue Hongling.

And yet... she was still so beautiful.

So beautiful that he only regretted the pig head had obscured her too quickly, depriving him of even another second to gaze.

"Hey, let's go. Why are you standing there like a wooden post?" A pig's head poked out from beside him.

Zhao Changhe turned to look at her, and thus two pigs locked eyes.

The atmosphere was silent for a moment, then both of them suddenly burst into laughter.

Vermilion Bird's mood inexplicably turned very good, feeling that this pig face also had its merits.

So she swayed leisurely as she squeezed past him out of the alley: "Come on, let's go see Sword Lake. After the Start of Autumn, it should be quite beautiful."