Chapter Seventy-Nine: First Steps into the Realm of Freedom

Chapter Title: Chapter Seventy-Nine – First Steps into Carefree

Young Master Gong’s handsome face was dark with anger as he circled the misty apricot grove twice, confirming that he couldn’t find An Yi. He raised his voice and shouted, “You old witch pretending to be mysterious—just you wait! I swear I’ll be back.”

“This wretched boy! Daring to call me an old witch—do I look old? I’m only sixty this year, still young, isn’t that right?”

An Yi glanced sideways at the woman in red beside her. Not a wrinkle marked the woman’s face; she was strikingly beautiful, appearing no older than her early thirties. That she was sixty was entirely invisible, her beauty well preserved.

The apricot grove was utterly silent. Young Master Gong swung his broken whip, wrapping it around an apricot tree and yanking it up by the roots. “Old witch, listen well: if anything happens to Xi’er, I’ll turn heaven upside down to find you and kill you!”

He had agreed to An Yi’s plan to feign staying behind, confident that his abilities would certainly allow him to rescue her. Unexpectedly, his calculations failed, and in his fury, he lost his usual clarity.

“This Gong boy—his feminine features aside—has such a violent temperament! Unable to best me, he vents his anger on trees. Despicable, truly despicable. Luckily, I only casually arranged the apricot grove, just for amusement; otherwise, I’d have taught him a lesson.” Watching Young Master Gong leave in his carriage, the woman in red muttered discontentedly.

An Yi raised her brows. Young Master Gong possessed a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms, but his domineering aura ensured no one would ever mistake him for a woman. If he heard the red-clad woman’s words, he’d likely uproot every tree in the grove.

The woman in red wrapped her arm around An Yi and soared away. In a secluded mountain valley, a carriage stood parked. In front of the carriage waited a robust woman who grinned broadly, revealing a mouthful of black teeth as the red-clad woman approached.

Outside, the carriage was ordinary, but inside it was spacious and comfortably arranged. Once aboard, the woman in red reclined against silk cushions and asked, “Girl An, you said your name is An Yi. Why does Gong boy call you Xi’er?”

“That’s my childhood name.”

“Ah, a childhood name.” The woman’s almond-shaped eyes flashed with a mischievous smile. She sat up, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at An Yi. “Girl, what is Gong boy to you?”

“We are fellow travelers.”

“I don’t believe that. Seeing how anxious he was, he must be your sweetheart!”

“No, just fellow travelers.” An Yi’s expression was indifferent. “Why did you keep me here?”

“I don’t keep just anyone. Only those who meet three requirements will I keep.” The woman raised her brows. “Girl, don’t you want to ask what those three requirements are?”

“If you wish to say, then say.”

“Yi Yi, your cold impatience so resembles him—I like it! If you weren’t surnamed An, I’d think you were his daughter.” The woman in red was not offended, delighted instead.

An Yi was curious about the “him” the woman referred to but unwilling to ask.

“My three requirements are: first, the girl must be as beautiful as a celestial maiden. Second, she must catch my eye. Third, it depends on my mood. If I’m in a good mood, I’ll keep her as a disciple. If I’m not, do you know what she becomes?”

An Yi pressed her lips, silent.

“You’re even colder than Fourteen. Go on, ask me what happens when I’m in a bad mood.” The woman prodded.

“What do you do when you’re in a bad mood?” An Yi sensed no malice from her; she seemed like an old trickster. With no way to leave for now, An Yi could only chat.

“When I’m not in a good mood, I keep them as medicine people.” The woman narrowed her eyes, a fierce expression crossing her beautiful face. “Girl, do you know what a medicine person is?”

An Yi replied calmly, “A medicine person is someone used to test drugs. I’ve studied medicine and can make medicines myself. I once poisoned someone using cocklebur seeds.”

The woman in red paused, then laughed. “Good, good! Poisoning with cocklebur is clever. Who would’ve thought I’d keep such a treasure today? Girl, would you be willing to become my disciple?”

“Master.” An Yi’s eyes flashed. Her earlier feigned willingness was to learn how to escape the formation and seize an opportunity to flee. Now that plan had failed and Young Master Gong had departed, she could only rely on herself.

The woman in red broke into a wide smile. “Now that we’re officially master and disciple, I should tell you my name. I am Ji Fanyi. Remember to report your master’s name when you travel the world; no one will dare bully you.”

An Yi was not from the martial world and did not know that Ji Fanyi was a figure who walked the line between good and evil, acting solely on her mood. Not only was she unparalleled in medicine and poisons, but her Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles inspired terror—none dared provoke her.

This time, someone had offered a high price to hire Ji Fanyi to deal with Young Master Gong, but she inexplicably took a liking to An Yi and abandoned the task of killing him.

“Master, when can I leave to travel the world?” An Yi still had a blood feud to avenge and had no intention of staying long at Ji Fanyi’s side. Calling her master was not merely expedient.

“That depends on your skills,” Ji Fanyi’s almond eyes spun round. “And of course, on my mood.”

An Yi was instantly left with no mood at all, annoyance flickering in her gaze. Her mind raced—she couldn’t defeat Ji Fanyi, so she’d have to win her favor, though that wasn’t her forte.

Ji Fanyi grinned slyly at her side. This little disciple not only understood the situation but had a sharp mind—though she was clearly annoyed, not a trace showed on her face. Ji Fanyi liked this girl; on a whim today, she’d taken in a good disciple, making the trip worthwhile.

The carriage stopped outside a manor gate. Ji Fanyi leapt down and led An Yi inside. Upon entering, they saw a garden filled with datura. It was fruiting season, and An Yi squinted at the green, spiked fruit. Datura was used to make sleeping drugs. Unexpectedly, she’d gain such a resource by becoming Ji Fanyi’s disciple.

“Master, you’re back.” A girl in pale yellow robes with her hair in a cloud bun glided over from the covered walkway.

“Eighteen, come here!” Ji Fanyi beckoned, and when the girl arrived, introduced the two. “Eighteen, this is your nineteenth junior sister, An Yi. Nineteen, this is your eighteenth senior sister, Hu Qingyue. Now you’ll have company.”

Hu Qingyue smiled brightly. “Greetings, Nineteenth Sister.”

“Greetings, Eighteenth Sister.” An Yi looked at the beautiful girl, realizing Ji Fanyi had at least told the truth about one thing: her disciples were all as beautiful as celestial maidens.

“Eighteen, take your junior sister to live at Green Bamboo Tower and explain the sect rules. I’ll retire to rest—don’t disturb me until sunset tomorrow. Arrange things on your own.” With that, Ji Fanyi departed in a flash of lightness skill.

An Yi watched her master vanish, brows furrowing slightly. Such an irresponsible master.

“Nineteenth Sister, please follow me.” Hu Qingyue nodded and led the way. “How old are you this year?”

“Eleven.”

“I’m four years older. I’ll take good care of you.”

“Thank you, Eighteenth Sister.”

“No need for thanks. Do you know what sect we belong to?”

“Master never mentioned.”

“I’ll test you: ‘Wandering and carefree beside nothingness, sleeping and resting beneath it.’ Our sect’s name comes from this phrase.”

“Carefree Sect,” An Yi guessed.

“Nineteenth Sister, how clever you are.” Hu Qingyue laughed. “Do you know where the phrase comes from?”

“I don’t. Please enlighten me, Eighteenth Sister.” An Yi lowered her head humbly.

“Don’t be so formal. I wouldn’t presume to instruct you. The phrase is from ‘Zhuangzi’s Carefree Wandering.’ Seventeenth Sister told me, and now I tell you. Remember it well so you can pass it on to Twentieth Sister.”

“Thank you, Eighteenth Sister. I’ll remember and pass it on.”

“As for the sect rules,” Hu Qingyue glanced back with a playful smile, “there are none, aside from not betraying the master or ancestors. Everything else, you may do as you please—even if it’s considered heretical by the world. If you wish to do it, you can.”

An Yi smiled faintly, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes and carried a hint of bitterness. Patricide was precisely betrayal of master and ancestors; she could not even abide by this sole rule. Would Ji Fanyi expel her from the sect?

As they spoke, the two skirted a mossy stone wall. An Yi saw several pots of evergreen; her gaze flickered. Evergreen was an ornamental plant, capable of removing nicotine, formaldehyde, and other toxins, but its sap was poisonous, causing skin allergies and, if ingested, nausea, vomiting, headache, and dizziness.

Datura, evergreen—An Yi’s lips curved. It seemed she wouldn’t need to buy poisons elsewhere; here she could find every toxic ingredient she needed.

Hu Qingyue, with no eyes in the back of her head, didn’t see the cold smile on her junior sister’s lips. She pointed ahead at a grove of willows. “This is Verdant Willow Garden, where I live.”

They passed along the path before the willow garden, through a moon gate. An Yi saw poppies—another poisonous plant, ingestion causing central nervous system poisoning and, in severe cases, death.

Further in was a lush bamboo grove. Following the stone path into the woods, after a dozen steps, a two-story bamboo tower appeared.

“Nineteenth Sister, this is your residence.” Hu Qingyue gathered her skirts and ascended the steps.

Inside, every furnishing was made of bamboo—lamps, incense burners, windowsills, with two pots of narcissus on the bamboo window. Narcissus too was poisonous; ingesting its bulbs caused nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

An unobtrusive middle-aged woman entered, bowing to Hu Qingyue. “Greetings, Eighteenth Lady.”

“Nineteenth Sister, this is Aunt Chen. She will attend to you. Aunt Chen, pay respects to Nineteenth Lady.”

Aunt Chen bowed. “Greetings, Nineteenth Lady.”

“No need for ceremony, Aunt Chen,” An Yi replied coolly.

“Nineteenth Sister, if you need anything, just ask Aunt Chen. I have some matters to attend to and will return later.”

“Take care, Eighteenth Sister.” An Yi watched Hu Qingyue leave. “Aunt Chen, you may go for now. I’ll call you if needed.”

“At your command.” Aunt Chen withdrew, closing the bamboo door behind her.

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