Knife Back in The Scabbard Chapter 8

It is natural that the master of Duanshui Villa appeared in the forbidden area of   Duanshui Villa.

What was worrying Finn Ye right now was that the look in Manor Master Xie's eyes when he looked at him did not show any suspicion or surprise, but rather a look as cold as a knife, which meant that he knew his origins from Riley Xue and it was clear that he did not trust her.

"Ye... Finn Ye?" Ethan Xie called out his name slowly, his thin lips curled into a delicate blade, "How is the young master?"

"Young Master, good luck is with you, there is nothing to worry about..." Before Finn Ye could finish his words, he saw Ethan Xie flip his wrist, and flames ignited the paper pasted on the outside of the lantern, which instantly caught fire and flew towards Finn Ye like a fireball.

The knife of the owner of Duanshui Manor was as fast as thunder, and this attack was naturally extraordinary. Just as Finn Ye took a step back to avoid the flames, Ethan Xie was already beside him. A hand with distinct muscles and bones grabbed his right shoulder, and the force was exerted and sank, forcing his right leg, which was already weak to begin with, to bend at the knee.

Seeing Finn Ye's knees about to hit the ground, Ethan Xie felt his hand loosen, and the man slipped out of his hand like a slippery fish. With a sneer, Ethan Xie approached again, his hands and feet stretched and bent like a long stream of water, soft and flexible, as if he was entangled by a water snake and could not escape.

Walking around behind Finn Ye, Ethan Xie put his hand on his throat and stepped on his knee. Seeing that the outcome was already decided, Finn Ye suddenly pointed at Ethan Xie's wrist, and a burst of internal force exploded between the joints, causing pain to penetrate the bone marrow. Ethan Xie's face turned pale, and at this moment, Finn Ye's body bent and he slipped out of his shackles.

There were sudden changes on both sides, and the burning paper lanterns finally fell to the ground, with embers still burning.

Ethan Xie's expression naturally looked grim, and Finn Ye wasn't much better.

He put one hand on his chest, and the brocade bag that was originally in his arms was pulled out by Ethan Xie the moment he escaped.

Ethan Xie played with the brocade bag in his hand and said calmly: "Good fingering, good lightness skills... good skills!"

"The same is true for the owner of the manor. These three soft moves are a deep understanding of the 'entanglement' of the Broken Water Sword Technique. I am far behind. However..." Finn Ye stepped forward, "This item was left by an old friend. Please return it to the owner of the manor."

"Return it back? Why shouldn't I have something from Duanshui Villa?" Ethan Xie smiled coldly and took out the square jade pendant from the brocade bag. It was a piece of pure white mutton-fat jade with a miniature of Wang Haichao engraved on the back and a sharp word "Xie" on the front.

Ethan Xie's fingers rubbed the inscriptions inch by inch, and his voice was low and cold: "This is a token of the successive owners of my Broken Water Villa. Unfortunately, it was lost three years ago. I want to ask you how you got it!"

Seeing this, Finn Ye showed no fear at all, but stretched out his hand to ask for it with more confidence: "It was said to be a legacy from an old friend, so naturally... I got it from a dead person."

These words were spoken calmly, but Ethan Xie's body suddenly shook!

He was like a towering tree that had stood proudly against the wind and frost for a long time. Even though his body was covered with marks from being cut by knives and axes, he still stood upright. But at this moment, his body shook, as if he was dying from the root and was about to collapse.

The blood drained from his face, and he took two steps back unconsciously, his fingers tightly grasping the jade, muttering: "Dead, dead?"

As he spoke, he couldn't help coughing and a sickly flush appeared on his face.

Ethan Xie had been in poor health for the past three years. He coughed and shook like a sieve. His back was arched like a line that was about to break, but it slowly straightened up at the critical point.

Finn Ye looked at him and said, "Yes, the person who gave me this jade is dead."

Before he finished speaking, Finn Ye pulled back and narrowly avoided Ethan Xie's thundering palm. This time it was no longer a test. The owner of Duanshui Manor rubbed his palms into a knife. Even though he didn't touch him at all, the sharp and domineering knife energy had already cut the epidermis on Finn Ye's neck, revealing a line of light red.

At this moment, a black shadow appeared like a ghost, blocked Ethan Xie's attack with one fist, and with the other hand grabbed Finn Ye's body and quickly swept back, then stood still and turned around.

This sudden change made Ethan Xie calm down immediately. He took out a fire stick from his sleeve, blew it and lit the lamp beside the wall. Only then did he see the face of the person who came, and straightened his sleeves: "Master Chu."

"It's Master Xie." Lucas Chu couldn't see, so he could only turn to his direction. Just now, he and Caleb Xie were waiting at the Broken Dragon Stone as he said, but Finn Ye, who was exploring the way, hadn't returned for a long time. Relying on his strong internal strength, Lucas Chu heard the sound of fighting coming from the other side of the crack, so he left Caleb Xie alone and groped over.

He let go of Finn Ye and said with a smile, "We are even now."

This refers to the favor of helping each other in the puppet room. Finn Ye rolled his eyes at this turn of events and asked, "Where is the young master?"

Lucas Chu didn't answer him. Finn Ye moved his ears and heard rustling footsteps behind him. Caleb Xie walked out from the crevice between the rocks. When he saw Ethan Xie, he immediately stood up straight and called him "Dad" obediently.

From what Finn Ye had heard with his own ears, he called out "Dad" as solemnly as a subject bowing to the emperor. It didn't sound intimate at all, but rather very proper.

After Caleb Xie called out "Dad", he raised the Broken Water Knife to half a foot above his head with both hands. Ethan Xie walked over with a gloomy face, picked up the knife with one hand, and slapped him with the other hand.

"Snapped---"

The slap was so fierce that Caleb Xie's face tilted to one side and he almost fell to the ground. At least he stood firm. A red palm print appeared on his fair face and swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye. The little boy's eyes were full of tears, but he held them back without leaking a single drop.

Finn Ye and Lucas Chu frowned. Ethan Xie held the Broken Water Knife, looked down at Caleb Xie, and said coldly: "Do you know why I hit you?"

Caleb Xie shook his head and looked up at his father, feeling stubborn and aggrieved.

"As a person, you should know when to act and when to retreat, and judge the situation. Don't be short-sighted and lose the big picture because of small things. Didn't I tell you that?" Ethan Xie clenched his fingers into a fist. "Who told you to chase the knife thief without permission? Who gave you the courage to climb the tide? Who taught you not to give up the knife to save your life when you were about to die?"

"But you said that weapons are the hands and feet of warriors, and the Broken Water Sword belongs to Broken Water Villa..."

He was unable to finish his retort as there was another "pop" sound. Finn Ye could not help but cover his face with his hands, unable to bear to look at it.

"Although this method is a bit rough, I have to say... this naughty kid deserves a beating." He covered his face with his sleeves and whispered to Lucas Chu, "A man is only a few inches longer than a knife, but he dares to risk his life without knowing his own limitations. If this were my son or apprentice, I would beat him until he kneels down and writes 'I will never dare to do it again'."

Lucas Chu: ...

He subconsciously touched his face and the corners of his mouth twitched, as if he remembered something that was too painful to recall.

Another slap came down, and the other half of Caleb Xie's face turned red. He was stunned and stared at Ethan Xie in a daze.

"That's right, the Broken Water Blade is the responsibility of the owner of Broken Water Manor, so it will naturally be something you have to bear sooner or later, but..." Ethan Xie slowly squatted down and looked directly into his eyes, "I'm still alive, how can you risk your life?"

"But..."

"Or maybe you've heard those rumors and think I'm useless and unworthy of being the owner of the manor or holding this knife, and you want a kid like you to take over the responsibility for me?"

Caleb Xie hurriedly shook his head like a rattle, his eyes red: "Dad... I didn't, Dad, I didn't..."

Ethan Xie looked at him, smiling rarely on his cold face, with a far-reaching gaze, and wiped away his tears with his free hand, saying: "Then remember, before I die, you only need to learn how to grow up, as for after I die... all the things I carry will belong to you, and you can't run away or avoid them at that time."

Caleb Xie finally couldn't help crying. He had always been a good boy, even when he was in swaddling clothes, he didn't like to cry. But now, he couldn't help but hug Ethan Xie's neck and cried bitterly.

Ethan Xie sighed, as if all his youth had been wasted at this moment, revealing a rare tiredness and aging, but it was only for a moment. When he turned around with Caleb Xie in his arms, he became the cold and indifferent owner of Duanshui Manor again.

He said to Lucas Chu, "Mr. Chu, I have accepted the deal. Please tell Mr. Sun that Xie has made up his mind and will start removing the needles and breaking the seal tonight."

Pulling out the needle breaks the seal?

Finn Ye frowned, he was a little confused, but didn't ask anything.

"This is really... an unexpected answer." Lucas Chu stood with her hands behind her back, "You only have one chance, Master, you must think carefully."

Ethan Xie said: "No need to consider. Thank you for your help, sir. After the meeting, the Broken Water Sword will be handed over to you, but..."

Lucas Chu was very interested: "But what?"

"When A-li comes of age, I will ask you to return the Broken Water Blade. I hope you will help me then."

Caleb Xie trembled all over. He looked at his father in panic, not understanding the deep meaning behind his words. He just felt like a mountain was pressing down on him at that moment.

Chu Xi was startled for a moment, then smiled and said, "If you have any ability, just come and get it!"

"Thank you." Ethan Xie hugged Caleb Xie, his face showing a rare bit of liveliness under the candlelight, even his eyes were shining.

Finn Ye looked at him, just like watching a candle that was about to go out being rekindled by the east wind, burning brightly with the last of its life.

He heard that the owner of Duanshui Manor was named Xie Min. Min means jade, and this name means a gentleman is like jade. However, this man practiced martial arts and admired the spirit of the soldiers in the frontier, who were generous and magnanimous, so he named himself "Wu Yi".

People are like beautiful jade and knives are like hard stone. Jade is indestructible and stone is immovable.

It's a pity...Human beings are not made of gold or stone, how can we expect to live forever? (Note)

Ethan Xie led them from darkness back to light, as if they were in another world.