Misty Rain of the Old Times

A dry, unadorned sentence, devoid of emotion, yet full of expression.

Speaking of the life-saving grace, Chen Xuan couldn't help but laugh. At the beginning of the year, when he was preparing to return south, he went to pack his things and found this woman lying on the edge of the well, her face and chest slumped over. If he hadn't happened to be there, she would probably be buried under three feet of grass by now.

Then Chen Xuan smiled to himself. This woman was quite eloquent after disguising herself. For example, she played a woman before, but after reverting to her original appearance, she seemed like she couldn't utter a word. It was probably due to her profession. After all, she couldn't be in the light of day, and wearing a mask meant she wasn't herself anymore.

As for her, as an assassin, she definitely has no friends, so it's normal that she's not good at communicating. She's probably also a bit socially anxious, otherwise, what kind of perfectly good girl would stay underground like a rat all day?

Chen Xuan waved his hand and said, "What are you talking about repaying a debt of gratitude... cough, it was just a small favor, don't worry about it. By the way, speaking of which, we've been neighbors for seven years. I never thought we'd have any interaction before, so I didn't bother you. Now that we've met again, I still don't know your name. Please introduce yourself."

It seems that when faced with gratitude from others, one simply replies with the words "it was nothing."

"The third day of the sixth lunar month," she blurted out when she heard Chen Xuan's question, without any rhyme or reason.

Chen Xuan was speechless for a moment before asking, "Code name?"

"Mmm," she nodded, without saying another word.

Speechless, Chen Xuan pondered for a moment and then asked, "If it's not offensive, may I know your real name?"

She glanced at Chen Xuan, hesitated for a moment, then looked away and said, "Du...Du Juan."

I don't know if it's because she hasn't mentioned her real name in a long time, or if this name is a bit embarrassing to admit, but in any case, her answer was a bit hesitant.

Chen Xuan wouldn't joke about someone else's name. It was given to him by his parents, so there was nothing shameful about calling him Gou Dan (Dog Egg). He nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll call you Miss Du from now on."

"In the future?" she asked, somewhat taken aback.

With a smile, Chen Xuan said, "It seems you don't plan to leave Yang County anytime soon. I'll be staying here, and we'll see each other all the time, so we should at least have some form of address, right?"

"Are you really Chen Xuan?" she asked rhetorically, then added, "The Chen Xuan who grew up in the Gao family?"

Nodding, Chen Xuan said, "Yes, judging from your tone before, you clearly knew about me. Surprising, isn't it?"

"Well, you... are too young. For the past few months, I've always thought that neighbor I've never met was an elderly, wise man," she said frankly, still finding it hard to accept the fact.

He no longer needed to deliberately keep a low profile. Chen Xuan shrugged and said, "I am who I am. That's all you need to know."

"Um"

He said that, and she believed him.

It used to be quite fun to observe her every move from the shadows, but when it came to actually communicating with her face to face, Chen Xuan always felt a bit tired, as if he were communicating with a robot in a dry and lifeless way.

So, to lighten the mood, he said, "Now, can I have a glass of water?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mr. Chen, I've never entertained guests before. I'll go make you some tea right away." With that, she got up and busied herself. Her innate cultivation made her movements very fast. She boiled the water in the kettle with her true energy, threw in some tea leaves, and poured the tea for him.

Chen Xuan's heart skipped a beat. This young woman probably knew nothing but murder and common sense. Oh well, he took a sip of his scalding tea and chuckled, "Tsk tsk, it's really not easy to get a sip of your water."

He meant when he said he wanted a cup of tea, but when Dujuan thought of the rather inappropriate letter Chen Xuan had left behind, she misunderstood. She remained expressionless, but her cheeks flushed slightly without her saying a word.

She's over thirty years old, she knows everything she should know, and even more than most people, but she's not good at expressing herself.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan thought to herself, "Why are you blushing? I don't understand this assassin sister's personality." She changed the subject and asked, "You said your code name is June 3rd. How did the Shadow Assassins assign you that code name?"

"Young Master Chen, you don't know?" she asked, puzzled. Her emotions came and went quickly, just like when facing a mission target; one moment the target was alive, and the next it would probably be dead.

With a smirk, Chen Xuan said lazily, "I roughly know you're an assassin from the Shadow Assassin Sect, but I only bothered to find out their specifics because I had nothing better to do."

She nodded and said haltingly, "The Shadow Assassins are officially ranked from the first day of the Lunar New Year to the end of December, totaling over three hundred people. Trainee assassins are not eligible to join. Promotion is based on mission completion, and the competition is fierce. The higher the ranking, the better the treatment and logistical support. The first day of the Lunar New Year is already the top. Above that are four ace assassins, codenamed Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, all of whom are innate masters. However, unless they perish, even if the first day of the Lunar New Year is innate, it is impossible to be promoted. If the first day of the Lunar New Year is not content with that position, he can kill one of the ace assassins to be promoted. Finally, there is the sect leader, codenamed Shadow Assassin. No one except the four ace assassins has ever seen him."

It's simple and straightforward, and it clearly illustrates the harshness of this industry.

"You've already reached the Innate Realm, so how come you're still only a code name for the third day of the sixth month? It's neither here nor there. You should at least be in the first month of the lunar calendar, right?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.

She said bluntly, "After you saved me at the beginning of the year, I didn't want to continue in this line of work. With the pills you gave me, my cultivation improved very quickly recently, which I kept hidden. Three months ago, I took on a dangerous mission, faked my death to escape the Shadow Assassin Sect, and two months ago I secretly came to Yang County to live in disguise."

"Logically speaking, these should be considered secrets of the Shadow Assassin Sect organization. You're just telling me this?" Chen Xuan nodded and asked, speechless.

She said matter-of-factly, "With your strength, wouldn't it be easy for you to find out? Besides, by asking the top scholar, you can get a word in with the Imperial Martial Arts Bureau. They know almost everything about the Shadow Assassin Sect. We're all in this together, and I even suspect that the Shadow Assassin Sect's leader is some big shot in the imperial court." Indeed, who said that this Du Juan didn't understand human relationships? She was just not good at expressing herself.

Then Chen Xuan said in a daze, "You mean, you've already left the Shadow Assassin Sect?"

She hesitated for a moment and then hummed in agreement.

Upon receiving this answer, Chen Xuan was both amused and exasperated. It turned out that this young woman had retired and come to Yang County to live the life of an ordinary person, and had even started a legitimate business. He had previously guessed that she had come to do a mission, but it turned out to be a misunderstanding.

She was absolutely not lying, Chen Xuan was certain of that. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have bothered coming all this way.

Since things have come to this, let's not dwell on it anymore. I asked out of curiosity, "The world is so big, how did you come up with the idea of ​​coming to Yang County?"

"Because I've always been active in the northern area, I'm far away from that place. Besides, the Gao family is in Yang County. With the Gao family's current influence, not many people would come here to cause trouble. It's a small place, convenient for a low-key life," she said succinctly.

After thinking for a moment, Chen Xuan asked in bewilderment, "Since you want to distance yourself from your past life, why not go to another country? If you're looking for a stable and peaceful life, the capital city would be more suitable, wouldn't it? Who would dare to cause trouble under the emperor's nose?"

"Oh right," she said, her eyes widening in surprise.

Chen Xuan was both amused and exasperated. She hadn't expected this young woman to be so naive. In fact, Chen Xuan knew that other countries and the capital were not suitable for a retired assassin like her. It would be too easy to expose her past, and the consequences of doing so would be unimaginable. On the contrary, a small place like Yang County would be easier for her to hide.

Now that he knew her purpose in coming to Yang County, Chen Xuan didn't dwell on it anymore. Since they had already come clean and met, and were neighbors for many years, he might as well chat for a couple more coins and asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

"I don't have any plans. I'm tired of fighting and killing. I just want to run my tofu business and live a low-key life," she said without hesitation.

Chen Xuan nodded, but he also understood that her idea was good. However, as an assassin, it wasn't that easy for her to retire just because she wanted to.

As expected, she quickly hesitated and said, "I don't know if my faked death that time can fool the Shadow Assassin Sect's investigation. They could come knocking on our door at any time."

"What if they catch up with you?" Chen Xuan asked curiously.

She shook her head and said, "I don't know. I'll deal with it if I can. I hope they can consider the Gao family's feelings. After all, this is the hometown of the top scholar. If things get out of hand, the imperial court won't stand idly by. If it really comes to a bad situation, I'll just find another place."

“You’re just reacting passively,” Chen Xuan said, scratching his own butt.

She calmly replied, "I have no other choice."

Throughout the conversation, her face was almost expressionless, cold and icy, like a robot. Her tone was devoid of emotion; she answered Chen Xuan's questions.

Chen Xuan joked, "Do you remember what I wrote in the letter I gave you? You should smile more. You're a pretty girl, and you must look beautiful when you smile. Right now, you're like a block of ice with sharp edges, making you hard to approach."

Of course she remembered the letter; she carried it with her and knew it by heart. At this moment, she twitched her lips, her face expressionless but dejected, and said, "I can't laugh." Then, she hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you like to see me laugh?"

Chen Xuan leaned back with an expression like an old man using a cell phone on the subway, puzzled, and asked, "What do you mean by 'I like it'?"

"You spied on me for seven years, saved my life, and even gave me pills to help me reach the Innate Realm. Although I used to be an assassin, I know how to repay kindness. If you've taken a liking to my body, I'll give it to you. I don't know how else to repay you. If you think my smile is pretty and makes you happy, I'll learn to smile like that," she said without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

Chen Xuan almost spat out a mouthful of blood and quickly said, "I didn't spy on you. Be careful, or I'll sue you for defamation. No, what nonsense are you talking about? I wasn't even a hair on my head back then. How could I have that function? Why would I be lusting after your body?"

"Oh," she nodded expressionlessly, her gaze unconsciously glancing at Chen Xuan's groin, who knows if she was wondering if it had grown there or not.

Chen Xuan looked up at the sky and sighed, "My heart is so tired. Just destroy it already."

You could call her naive and innocent, she knows everything but doesn't take it seriously, she just blurts things out without thinking.

If Chen Xuan had known she was only there to plan her retirement and had no other purpose, he wouldn't have come to see her.

Putting aside these irrelevant matters, Chen Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "How about we make a deal?"

"Deal," she agreed without even asking what the deal was.

Chen Xuan: “…”

As he remained silent, Du Juan said matter-of-factly, "How could I possibly refuse?"

...(End of chapter)