Faraway Wanderers Novel (English Translation)

The Parting of Ways

Chapter 67.

That beautiful youth was not dead--after all, Zhang Chengling had never harmed someone before. Although his execution was ruthless, he had hesitated for a moment, and left but a very long and deep gash on his opponent, which blood was gurgling out of.  

The Scorpion looked at Zhang Chengling. Bizarrely, he laughed, and murmured, “There are just some people with such great luck in this world. Good child, your potential is immeasurable.”

He bent, leaning down to observe the beautiful youth on the ground. Body spasming, the youth looked at the Scorpion, the desire to struggle for life surfacing on his face. The Scorpion grabbed his chin gently, and shook his head. “A pity that the face is marred.”

Then, his hand tightened, and the youth’s neck crooked at an unnatural angle. He had strangled him dead.

The Scorpion did not even spare his corpse a glance. Nodding to the few of them, he turned and left, bringing his Poisonous Scorpions with him.

Zhang Chengling gripped the bloodied sword in hand and stood alone by himself in the courtyard. He seemed to be shaking all over.

Cao Weining walked over to him cautiously, plucked his own sword from Zhang Chengling's hand, and cleaned it. He glanced at the body of the youth on the ground in lingering apprehensiveness, then patted Zhang Chengling's shoulder and said, "This…we're all rather surprised by this, actually. He doesn't look like a good man to me--what he said might not be true."

He looked up, as though looking for assistance, but saw Gao Xiaolian frozen in shock, Gu Xiang deep in thought, and the other two...clearly as though they long had this outcome in mind.

Cao Weining thought back to Zhou Zishu’s reply to Wen Kexing’s question, that day when Gao Xiaolian had recounted her encounters. “Almost all those who know what happened have died, leaving only that one person. The victors and the losers are evident.”

The victors and the losers...were evident? He could not help a discreet shiver--so they had already figured it out at the time, so they had…

Abruptly, Zhang Chengling raised his head, and said to Zhou Zishu, “Shifu, I remember that person who dressed in all black and forced answers out of my father. Just now, I...I…”

He turned his head, his gaze falling on the youth’s body. His throat bobbed, but he trembled even more furiously. He lifted his hand, tiptoed slightly, and said, “He was...about this tall, had very broad shoulders, one of his legs...one of his legs, it wasn’t easily spotted, but when he was chasing me, he walked too fast; he had a limp, like him--it’s that person, who injured Uncle Li grievously, he...he…”

“Ah,” Gu Xiang exclaimed softly, a hand over her mouth. Her already-wide eyes were about to pop out of their sockets, as though she had heard the scariest news in this world.

Wen Kexing took one look at her. Impassively raising a hand that did not have human blood on it, he caressed Zhang Chengling’s head, nodded, and said without much emotion, “I know.”

He raised his head. His gaze seemed to pierce through the night, looking towards someplace very far away; strangely, a smile surfaced on his face, as though he was a weary traveller who had finally gotten a glimpse of fate’s true face after traversing leagues and leagues, over great mountains and across broad rivers. There was a subtle hint of mockery, but more of it was relief and tranquility that could not be put into words.

Gu Xiang lowered her hand slowly, and said in a soft voice, “Master…”

Immediately, Wen Kexing lifted his hand to stop her, and said, “You are a maiden that has been married off--like water that has been thrown out of the door. From now on, this matter has nothing to do with you. Tomorrow, you shall go and find Ye Baiyi, as you are supposed to do. Of course, I won’t withhold your dowry. Don’t go back there.”