Chapter 87: Is the surname pronounced "Ge" or "Gai"?

As soon as they stepped inside, everyone saw a woman in the courtyard whose dress and appearance were exceedingly plain, yet who was strikingly beautiful. Her face was cool and distant, her bearing much like Mikasa’s—equally cold and aloof.

But where Mikasa’s coolness came from indifference, a lack of concern for everything around her, this woman’s coldness felt like a refusal of all that existed about her.

So this must be Duanmu Rong.

She stood in the center of the courtyard as though waiting to receive them.

“Moon, did the journey go smoothly?” Duanmu Rong asked when she saw Gao Yue, and a rare trace of a smile appeared on her icy features.

“It went well. Sister Rong, you haven’t slept for two whole days and nights—why don’t you rest a little?” Gao Yue said, looking at the haggardness on Duanmu Rong’s face with concern.

Duanmu Rong shook her head and said nothing.

At that moment, Shaoyu led a group of Xiang clan disciples forward and saluted Duanmu Rong. “Miss Rong.”

“Mhm.” Duanmu Rong gave a slight nod, then swept her gaze across the crowd before looking at Sikong Xu and Tianming. “Who are these two children?”

Sikong Xu’s brows rose. Being called a child was truly irritating, even if he was only fifteen or sixteen himself... though in ancient times, that age was already old enough to marry.

Whether deliberately or not, Duanmu Rong ignored Gai Nie standing behind Tianming and Sikong Xu.

“Oh, they’re Shaoyu’s friends,” Xiang Liang, Shaoyu’s retainers, quickly explained. With the Qin searches being so strict, it was only natural for Duanmu Rong to be suspicious.

“Hey, hey, Shaoyu, didn’t you say she was deaf? Then how can she still talk to you?” Tianming suddenly whispered to Shaoyu. On the boat, when Shaoyu had explained Duanmu Rong’s name, Tianming had mistakenly thought Duanmu Rong was deaf.

“You brat, what are you saying?” Though Tianming had spoken softly, Duanmu Rong was a martial artist; how could she fail to hear him?

“Miss Rong, please don’t be angry. This kid has something wrong with his head—don’t listen to his nonsense.” Seeing that Duanmu Rong seemed on the verge of anger, Shaoyu hurriedly apologized, while inwardly cursing Tianming. What a useless teammate.

“Hmph.” Though somewhat displeased, Duanmu Rong did not bother to argue with Tianming, but instead looked toward the people of the Xiang clan.

“Then who is the patient you want me to treat?”

Only then did Shaoyu quickly answer, “Oh, these two.”

He pointed at Gai Nie and Sikong Xu. “Our Xiang clan was attacked by the claws of the Qin, and it was thanks to these two friends that we were able to drive back the strong enemy. However, both of them were also gravely injured because of it.”

After hearing Shaoyu’s words, Sikong Xu froze. Treat me? I’m fine. I’m perfectly healthy. I don’t have any injuries at all.

He was about to object when he suddenly remembered that when he had dueled the Invincible Demon and the Wolf King of the Azure Sky, he really had been severely wounded. Those injuries had slowly healed under the effect of his Giant Recovery Constitution, and because Shaoyu and the others had seen him while he was injured, they probably assumed he was still carrying those wounds.

Thinking of this, Sikong Xu shut his mouth tight, neither objecting nor explaining. He could hardly tell them that all those injuries had already healed—that would be far too shocking.

Duanmu Rong glanced at Gai Nie and Sikong Xu, then said, “You should know my three refusals, shouldn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Have you ever seen an exception?”

“This...”

“Are both of these people swordsmen?”

“How can Miss Rong be so certain?” Shaoyu asked.

Duanmu Rong stared at Gai Nie for quite a while before saying, “The muscles in this man’s hands and arms, and even his bones, bear the marks of years spent practicing the sword. Not only does he use a sword, he is also highly skilled with one. As for this other child, the sword he carries makes it unnecessary for me to say more.”

After hearing Duanmu Rong’s words, Shaoyu fell silent. He turned his gaze to Sikong Xu.

Sikong Xu curled his lips, laughed quietly for a moment, and said, “Hey, Miss Rong, you’ve got that wrong. Look at Uncle Nie—he uses a blade, not a sword.”

“A blade?” Duanmu Rong frowned. “Do you take me for a fool? Just because he’s carrying a blade, you say he uses a blade?”

“Then what proof do you have that he uses a sword?”

“I already explained my reasons.”

“The grips of swords and blades are about the same, aren’t they? The hands of someone who’s used swords for years and the hands of someone who’s used blades for years are about the same too. That’s not sufficient reason!”

“You!” Duanmu Rong was incensed. She drew a deep breath, her ample chest rising and falling sharply. “Fine. I’ll count the third rule as passed. But this man bears the surname Gai! So I refuse to treat him!”

Well, it was obvious Duanmu Rong had long since recognized Gai Nie.

“Hey, hey, hey, Miss Rong, you’re wrong again. Uncle Nie doesn’t bear the surname Gai—he bears the surname Gai, as in a pot lid, so he’s called Gai Nie.”

“You... he is a man of Qin.” Duanmu Rong delivered another cold verdict.

Hearing this, Sikong Xu’s smile only grew brighter. “He’s defected from Qin now, so he doesn’t count as a Qin man anymore.”

Gai Nie remained silent on the side. He had never expected that this brat would dismiss his martial arts, surname, and birthplace in just a few words. All he could do was silently give him a thumbs-up in his heart.

“You wretched child, are you making things difficult for me?” Duanmu Rong was left speechless by Sikong Xu. She fixed him with a fierce stare.

“Your Mohist school advocates universal love and nonaggression, doesn’t it? This man hasn’t broken your rules. Why can’t you save him?” Sikong Xu waved a hand and simply sat down on the ground, looking every bit like he had no intention of leaving.

Faced with such a shameless rogue, Duanmu Rong simply stopped speaking. She stared ahead, then looked meaningfully at Gai Nie a few times.

“Who is causing trouble on our Mohist turf?”

Suddenly, the door of the medical manor swung open, and a short old man with white hair appeared behind them.

One of his arms was a wooden mechanism limb. As he appeared behind Sikong Xu, that wooden mechanical hand opened wide and reached straight for him.

“Hm?” Sitting on the ground, Sikong Xu sensed something wrong and immediately flattened himself to the earth. Then he lifted one leg behind him and kicked the old man’s mechanical hand away.

“What person is it?” Upon hearing the commotion, the Xiang clan disciples instantly drew their weapons. There was no helping it—they had been hunted relentlessly these past few days, and their nerves had yet to truly relax. At the first sign of trouble, they naturally drew steel on instinct.

“You lot dare cause a scene in Mohist territory? You really have some nerve!” Seeing them draw their weapons, all the frustration Duanmu Rong had felt while dealing with Sikong Xu was finally unleashed. She flicked her jade hand, and several oddly shaped silver needles shot out at once, striking the weapons from their hands.

Whether intentionally or not, several of the needles actually flew toward Sikong Xu.

“I’m going—what is wrong with you, crazy woman!” Upon seeing the needles, Sikong Xu sprang to his feet to evade them, cursing nonstop as he did so.

“Old Master Ban, it’s you.” Gao Yue paid no mind to what was happening around her. The moment she saw the old man, she smiled and greeted him.

“Aha, so it’s Master Ban. Everyone, calm down,” Xiang Liang said at once after seeing the old man’s figure, stopping his subordinates.

“Miss Rong has already issued a guest expulsion. What are you all standing there for?” Master Ban glanced at Sikong Xu and thought to himself that the boy’s kick had quite a bit of force.

“Master Ban... this...” Xiang Liang did not know how to respond.

“No, Master Ban.” At that moment, Duanmu Rong cut him off. “Leave the patient behind, and then you may go.”

“Huh?” Shaoyu and the others clearly had not reacted at once.

“Miss Rong has already said to leave the person behind. What are you all standing there for?”

“Oh, all right. We’ll take our leave at once.” Shaoyu and the others cupped their fists, bade farewell to Sikong Xu and Tianming, and then departed.