“Can everyone still move?”
Now that Yin Wuchen had been dealt with, all that remained was to handle this group of youngsters. This rescue was, by any measure, a considerable favor. Ren Yijue saw no reason not to make use of an advantage that had fallen into his lap.
Smiling, Ren Yijue beckoned to the seven. Several disciples, looking drained, bowed. “We are all safe.”
Seeing that all their arms and legs were still attached and that they could breathe and speak, Ren Yijue felt greatly reassured.
At that moment, several spirit horses came forward and nudged their masters, then knelt to let them mount. There were now more people than horses. Five disciples soothed their beloved mounts for a while before looking toward Cui Jingchun.
Cui Jingchun led two horses over. “Many thanks to both Seniors for your aid. We will never forget this life-saving kindness. If you do not mind, please take these horses.”
Ren Yijue teased him. “Are you inviting us back to Dongxun City, or gifting us the horses to ride on our way?”
“This…” Cui Jingchun was decisive and capable when it came to slaying monsters and eliminating evil, but somewhat less adept at social niceties. His face reddened at the question, and he lowered his head. “The two Seniors have already come to Dongxun City and saved our lives. Naturally, I meant to invite you both to the City Lord’s Manor so I could do what little I can as your host. Besides, this villain killed several disciples…”
His voice gradually trailed off. If the two truly wished to leave, there was nothing he could do to stop them, and for a moment he looked at a loss.
Ren Yijue had no intention of making things difficult for him and smoothly picked up the conversation. “In that case, it would be impolite of us to refuse. One horse will be enough, though. Seven of you sharing three mounts would be rather miserable.”
Cui Jingchun immediately let out a breath of relief.
Qian Xuelang said mildly, “Would three of us sharing one mount not be miserable as well?”
He had no intention of embarrassing anyone. He was simply speaking honestly.
“Aiya, Yin Wuchen is unconscious after the Jade Beauty knocked him out. How can he count as a person? At most he counts as half a piece of luggage.” Ren Yijue tossed Yin Wuchen onto a spirit horse and laughed. “We still have questions to ask him. If we put him on one of the Cui disciples’ horses, I fear he will be chopped into eight pieces before we ever reach Dongxun City.”
Having survived, the seven disciples were only now beginning to feel the grief of what had happened. Though Ren Yijue spoke the truth, his words still left them unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Ren Yijue blinked again. “Or does the Jade Beauty mean to let Yin Wuchen and me ride alone together? If he suddenly wakes and carries me off, would that not leave the Jade Beauty worse off than before?”
“Yin Wuchen is far warier of you than of the seven of them.” Qian Xuelang did not take the bait.
Ren Yijue said, “Far less than he fears the Jade Beauty.”
“Does that not merely prove how extraordinary you are?” Qian Xuelang mounted and turned to look at Ren Yijue, who was still standing where he was. In an even tone, he said, “I am only a blade for you to wield. Even without me, you would think of some other way.”
Ren Yijue’s expression tightened slightly. Before he could say anything, Qian Xuelang added, “Get on.”
Since matters had come to this, Ren Yijue had little else to say. He climbed up behind Qian Xuelang. The spirit horse did not care about the weight of three people, but there was only so much room on its back, and with an unconscious Yin Wuchen added, the space became somewhat cramped.
“Does the Jade Beauty know how to ride?”
Ren Yijue was reaching for the reins when Qian Xuelang turned his head and gave him a glance. “What would I not know how to do?”
“The Jade Beauty may be accomplished in everything, but let Ren show off his horsemanship this once.” Ren Yijue gave a muffled laugh and still reached around to take the reins, trapping Qian Xuelang between his arms. “I have not offended the Jade Beauty, have I?”
Qian Xuelang was already tall, and with Ren Yijue holding him like this, he could only be forced to lean back against Ren Yijue’s chest. He said flatly, “If I say you have, will you let go?”
They were pressed so close that calling it cheek-to-cheek intimacy would hardly be an exaggeration. Ren Yijue’s face reddened slightly as he coaxed, “Please endure it for a little while.”
Among the seven disciples, those with higher cultivation took care of those with lower cultivation, and all rode two to a horse. Cui Jingchun alone had a mount to himself.
Cui Jingchun rode over alongside them and invited Ren Yijue, “Three on one horse is indeed rather crowded. Senior, why not ride with me?”
Qian Xuelang’s tone was cool. “Go.”
Ren Yijue had no choice but to switch horses. He looked at Qian Xuelang with endless grievance, and when Qian Xuelang remained unmoved, he sighed. “Then the Jade Beauty must keep a close eye on Yin Wuchen. Do not let him escape.”
Qian Xuelang’s face was hidden beneath his veiled hat, so his expression could not be seen. He merely gave a faint acknowledgment, which counted as agreement.
The group started back. Everyone had suffered injuries of one kind or another and was in poor spirits, so the horses moved slowly. Several of the younger disciples had already collapsed against their companions and begun to cry, filling the road with muffled sobbing and grief.
Cui Jingchun’s eyes reddened, and he nearly began crying as well. Forcing down his sorrow, he cleared his throat and said, “Senior said earlier that once we escaped danger, you would tell me your name. May I ask it now?”
“My surname is Ren,” Ren Yijue said. “My given name is Yijue, the Yijue from the phrase ‘galloping free beyond the dust.’”
Elio’s Notes: Ren Yijue’s given name (逸绝) draws on 奔逸绝尘, an expression in the Zhuangzi describing someone who races far ahead and, figuratively, surpasses others. In the author’s note, 翻云袖 explains that the two characters were chosen for their multiple, sometimes contrasting meanings rather than a single fixed interpretation.
“So Senior Ren…” Cui Jingchun was about to continue when his whole body suddenly stiffened. His eyes widened, and he softly repeated, “Ren Yijue… the Yijue from ‘galloping free beyond the dust.’”
In his mind, he seemed to return to when he was six years old.
That year, he had traveled south with his father. Somewhere along the way, he had thrown a temper over some forgotten matter and run off on his own.
Night fell before he knew it. Cui Jingchun was so hungry his stomach burned, yet no one came looking for him. Frightened and angry at once, he stood on a bustling avenue packed with people coming and going and felt as though none of them had anything to do with him. The thought only made him lonelier and more miserable.
Though Cui Jingchun was young, he was afraid of embarrassing himself. He quietly avoided the crowd, turned into an alley, found a residence with its doors tightly shut, and sat on someone’s front steps to cry.
Just then, a person walked up to him and held out a bowl of rice. A chicken leg and green vegetables lay over the rice, with a little meat gravy poured on top and a spoon tucked beside them.
“Little one, why are you sad?” the person asked.
Cui Jingchun hugged his arms tightly around himself and kept swallowing, wary despite his hunger. Choking back tears, he said, “What business is it of yours?”
The person laughed despite himself. “A clever child, are you? But even if you intend to be sad, you ought to eat your fill first so you have the strength for it. On an empty stomach, you are liable to become muddleheaded.”
He gently set the bowl on the ground. “I bought this from a restaurant. If you are afraid, you can take it somewhere you feel safe and eat it there.”
The kindness in his voice made Cui Jingchun pick up the bowl. The fragrance of the rice rose to his nose, and his growling stomach was almost unbearable. Had he not been strictly raised from childhood, he might have buried his face straight into it. With difficulty, he dragged his gaze away and asked softly, “Thank you. Then… what is your name? I… I am Cui Jingchun. I will repay you someday.”
“It is only such a small thing. What is there to repay?” the person said.
Cui Jingchun was extremely stubborn. “If you will not tell me your name, then take the bowl away. I will not eat.”
“Heh. If you have that much spirit, very well. I will tell you.”
Cui Jingchun nodded vigorously.
“My surname is Ren,” the person said. “My given name is Yijue, the Yijue from ‘galloping free beyond the dust.’”
“Ah!” Cui Jingchun’s eyes lit up. “I learned that! Father only taught it to me yesterday.”
Cui Jingchun could no longer remember clearly what happened afterward. He only remembered the person drifting away and disappearing into the crowd, dreamlike and unreal. If not for the bowl of rice in his hands, it might have seemed that the strange encounter had never happened at all.
After Cui Jingchun finished eating and prepared to leave, his father finally appeared. It turned out his father had known where he was all along and had deliberately stayed out of sight, hoping to teach him a lesson so he would throw fewer young-master tantrums.
His father gathered him into his arms and carried him back onto the bustling street. Cui Jingchun kept looking through the distant stream of people, searching again and again, always hoping he might see that person one more time.
Many years had passed. The memories in his mind had gradually faded, and even that person’s face had grown indistinct. Only those few words remained, remembered without the slightest error.