Chapter 45: He Has Woken Up

"Hehe, Master, look, isn't the fire burning now?"
"Shut up. If you do this again next time, you won't get any food."
"Understood! Next time, I'll definitely have all the meals prepared while Master is out dealing with trouble!"
"Right, Master, I told old man Yang and Chun'er to go back to their own homes first. There's a bit too much going on in our little courtyard lately, so it's not suitable for them to stay here."
"Hmm, I know."
Dusk fell, and a bright moon hung in the sky.
In the courtyard, aside from the flickering candlelight, the wind whispering through the bamboo grove set the surrounding leaves rustling softly.
A crude iron pot sat upon a semi-open-air earthen stove. Beef tallow formed the base, richly spiced and deeply colored red chili oil was blended in, along with various seasonings, followed by a whole pot of chicken broth.
The firewood beneath the stove blazed fiercely, bringing the beef tallow and chicken broth in the pot to a rolling boil.
Instantly, a rich aroma filled the air.
Li Qi'er sat at the mouth of the stove, adding firewood while gazing excitedly into the pot.
Yang Le remained calm, simply and casually arranging the various ingredients beside the stove.
Well, earlier Yang Le had indeed been angry enough to look for a broom to lavish some of a master's affection upon Li Qi'er, but upon seeing Li Qi'er's soot-blackened face in the courtyard, Yang Le thought better of it and decided to let it go.
Besides, apart from failing to get the fire started, Li Qi'er had prepared everything else.
Being unable to start a fire was hardly Li Qi'er's fault.
Yang Le was, after all, a reasonable person.
As for Li Qi'er sending away the courtyard's maid and steward, Yang Le had paused for a moment before simply replying that he knew.
After that, he didn't inquire further.
Indeed, at present, this small courtyard was no longer suitable for such outsiders to remain.
"Master, she's awake."
"Hmm, I'll go take a look. You handle the rest."
A sudden stir came from the quiet room, and both Li Qi'er and Yang Le looked toward the interior.
A flash of wariness and vigilance crossed Li Qi'er's eyes. From the very beginning, Li Qi'er had harbored a deep sense of guardedness and hostility toward this troublesome woman.
After all, if she hadn't shown up, her master would never have wasted time dealing with her.
And the sword in her own hand wouldn't still be limited to merely chopping vegetables.
Well, Li Qi'er grew increasingly convinced that her failure to cultivate sword qi, sword momentum, or even the subsequent sword intent was definitely not due to a lack of talent.
It was entirely delayed by this troublesome woman!
Glancing at the room, Li Qi'er clenched the piece of firewood in her hand so hard it cracked.
"Just wait until we eat the hot pot, I'll burn your tongue off with spice!"
With a cold snort, Li Qi'er tossed the firewood into the stove.
"It's about time she woke up."
Yang Le, however, didn't react much.
Anyway, from the very moment he chose to take in Xu Ruyan and her troubles, Yang Le had mentally prepared himself to handle all subsequent complications.
Now that she was awake, Yang Le happened to have some questions for him—or rather, her.
The Sword Sovereign Token, Qin Li, the Linghua Pavilion, and the events that had occurred back at the Linghua Pavilion in Cizhou.
Yang Le wanted to know the details of all these things straight from Xu Ruyan's mouth.
Since he had already stepped into this vortex of trouble, if he could resolve it earlier by finding a way out, wouldn't that be a good thing for Yang Le?
"Since you're awake, get up. I have things to ask you."
Entering the room, Yang Le closed the door and sat calmly at the edge of the bed. "Stop playing dumb. Plenty of people have come looking for you during the time you were unconscious."
"A lone man and a woman, and this concubine's clothes were even changed—yet all you want is to ask me some questions?"
Bolstered by various medicinal herbs for blood circulation and qi, coupled with Xu Ruyan's own internal cultivation and recovery, she had pulled back from the gates of hell, though her complexion remained pale.
Feigning a relaxed tone as she looked over Yang Le, Xu Ruyan let out a sigh. "I thought for sure I was a goner."
"You were supposed to die. If you want to repay this saving of your life by offering your body in marriage, I suppose that wouldn't be out of the question."
Even so, Xu Ruyan remained relatively relaxed, even finding room for a bit of banter.
"Then you've misunderstood."
Yang Le didn't bother looking at Xu Ruyan anymore; instead, he picked up a piece of cloth and gently wiped the sword in his hand. "At most, when you collapsed at my doorstep, I decided to carry you inside, and then I saved you."
"Your clothes were changed by my disciple. A lone man and a woman—that's only because I'm a man and you're a woman, nothing more. If you were a man, it would simply be two men, and the Soul-Attracting Incense was also dealt with by my disciple."
As a bonus, Yang Le took the opportunity to correct any remarks that might cause misunderstandings. "If you calculate it that way, the person you should offer your body to isn't me, but my disciple."
"That wouldn't be unacceptable either," Xu Ruyan said, a hint of a smile breaking through her pale face. "It just depends on whether she's willing."
"I am not willing!"
Before Yang Le could reply, Li Qi'er's resentful voice drifted in from the courtyard. "I don't play that swing-state game, Master, you'd better watch out for that troublesome woman!"
"Your disciple is quite interesting."
"Average, just a bit foolish at times."
"Since she's so foolish, why not change disciples?"
"I find it too much trouble."
...
Li Qi'er's voice wasn't soft. Even with the door closed, both Yang Le and Xu Ruyan could hear every word clearly.
At those words, Yang Le's face darkened slightly.
Meanwhile, a subtle, lingering smile always seemed to hover on Xu Ruyan's lips.
"Why did you save me?"
After a brief silence, Xu Ruyan finally broke the quiet in the room.
She was deeply curious as to why Yang Le had suddenly decided to save her.
After all, before she lost consciousness, the icy look on Yang Le's face could not have been faked.
"Because if I didn't save you, the trouble would still come anyway. Saving you allows me to extract some benefits from your hands as well. To me, that's simply choosing the lighter of two burdens."
Yang Le continued wiping the sword in his hand.
"I see. Then ask whatever you wish to know."
After a moment of pensive thought, Xu Ruyan sat up straight, the levity in her eyes vanishing and turning into earnestness. "In return for saving my life, this concubine will answer whatever is asked without holding anything back."
"The Sword Sovereign Token."
Yang Le first steered the topic toward the Sword Sovereign Token. "Let's talk about this first; it's rather important to me."
"What I told you before was no lie, except that entering the legacy requires a fixed time."
Looking at Yang Le, Xu Ruyan's eyes were filled with seriousness. "That time is a month from now, and the location is Cizhou."
"Very well, I understand. We'll discuss the rest a month from now. Let's change the subject."
Yang Le nodded to show he understood, then decisively changed topics. "Tell me about the Linghua Pavilion. Over the past couple of days, because of this organization's name, I've ended up killing quite a few people."
"The Linghua Pavilion..."
Upon hearing this familiar name, the previously unconstrained Xu Ruyan instantly hesitated for a fraction of a second.