Murong Wuhen smiled, but his eyes were indifferent: "Miss Qing is grateful for her master's kindness and does not want to come with me, so I have no choice but to let you. But I'm afraid you will regret it." He glanced meaningfully at Zhan Hengye, turned around and waved, leaving Li Feiqing alone in the center of the hall.
The atmosphere in the hall was oppressive, and no one spoke for a moment. After a long while, Mu Feiyu finally couldn't hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood. The disciples of Yingshan were all shocked and surrounded him. Li Feiqing cried out anxiously, "Master!" She took two steps forward, but then heard Mu Feiyu say dejectedly, "Don't call me Master anymore, I can't bear it." His voice was low and hoarse, but it sounded like a thunderclap to Li Feiqing's ears. She froze, tears welling up in her eyes, but she gritted her teeth and held them back, silently repeating in her heart: I can't cry now. I can explain it clearly. Master loves me so much, how could he not believe me?
Mu Feiyu slowly rose and walked to Li Feiqing. Li Feiqing felt that her master's gaze was still as kind and gentle as before, and whispered, "Master, your disciple and that Murong Wuhen..." Mu Feiyu waved his hand to stop her from continuing, and said word by word, "Although you are my most beloved disciple, you have willingly fallen into depravity and formed a secret relationship with a demonic person from the Demonic Sect. Our master-disciple relationship ends here. Today, I expel you from the sect. Everyone here is a witness. You... go down the mountain now."
Li Feiqing stood there blankly, as if in a nightmare, when she heard Zhan Hengye snort, "Such a serious crime, is it too lenient to just expel her from the sect? With her martial arts skills, if she joins the Demonic Sect, who knows how many fellow martial artists she would harm? Isn't Sect Leader Mu afraid of raising a tiger to cause trouble?" Mu Feiyu closed his eyes and said, "What Fortress Master Zhan is right. She is young and a woman, so she can be spared the death penalty, but she must have all her martial arts skills destroyed before she can leave."
Hua Liran glanced at Gu Qingyun, her lips about to move, but the middle-aged man beside her tugged at his sleeve and slowly shook his head. They both knew that if they insisted on standing up for Li Feiqing, they would be suspected of colluding with the Demonic Sect and become enemies of the martial arts world. Moreover, Mu Feiyu's handling of Li Feiqing was a private matter of the Yingshan Sect, and it was indeed inconvenient for outsiders to interfere.
Mu Feiyu reached out and pulled the Juying Sword from behind Li Feiqing. Li Feiqing's mind went blank, but she felt no fear. She knelt down, awaiting her master's decision. Mu Feiyu's sword tip trembled slightly at Li Feiqing's collarbone, but he couldn't bring himself to strike.
Shen Luo tried several times to plead for him, but remembering that this matter touched on a painful memory from his master years ago, there was no way to back down. He glanced at his senior brother and saw Yi Feng standing there, looking lost and dejected, clearly suffering as well. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Then Zhan Hengye said, "Sect Leader Mu, hesitation will only lead to endless troubles. Since you are reluctant to do it, why don't I do it for you!" After saying that, he took the Juying Sword from Mu Feiyu's hand and thrust it towards Li Feiqing's shoulder blade.
Shen Luo couldn't bear it any longer and rushed over to protect Li Feiqing, crying out, "Master, please spare my junior sister!"
Seeing Shen Luo fly to protect him, Zhan Hengye was furious at his previous unreasonable words, and his sword continued its momentum without stopping.
A sword fell. Li Feiqing shuddered as she saw the Gathering Shadow Sword pierce several inches into Shen Luo's back, blood seeping from the wound and dripping warmly onto her hand. Zhan Hengye had already released the sword hilt, and a small silver bead lay at his feet, spinning around on the ground.
Li Feiqing hugged Shen Luo tightly, calling out in a hoarse voice, "Third Senior Brother?" Looking down, she saw Shen Luo's lips twitch, and he forced a smile before slowly closing his eyes. Li Feiqing felt utterly hopeless, reached for Shen Luo's longsword, and slit her throat.
Just then, someone said in her ear, "Wait!" Her wrist was already gripped and she couldn't move. Li Feiqing looked up and saw Gu Qingyun, pale-faced, looking down at her. His expression was full of pity, but his gaze was very firm. He slowly shook his head at her.
Zhan Hengye glanced sideways at Gu Qingyun, thinking to himself: "Even in his severe injuries, this man was able to knock the sword out of my hand with a silver bead; his skill is immeasurable." He then said aloud, "Nephew Shen, why did you suddenly appear? I couldn't stop in time; what should I do?"
Hua Liran snorted heavily, strode forward, checked Shen Luo's breath, took out silver needles and pricked several acupoints, then suddenly pulled out the sword. Li Feiqing cried out "Ah!" but saw that the blood flowing from the wound was not as much as she had imagined. A glimmer of hope arose in her heart, and she looked at Hua Liran with pleading eyes.
Hua Liran continued to prick several acupoints with her silver needles, then took out a pill and fed it to Shen Luo, saying in a low voice, "His heart meridian wasn't damaged, there's hope." She then turned around and ordered someone to carry Shen Luo aside to treat his wounds.
Gu Qingyun took the long sword from Li Feiqing's hand, released her wrist, pondered for a moment, and said to Mu Feiyu, "If I can prove that Miss Li has no affair with that Demonic Sect Leader, can Sect Leader Mu rescind his order?"
Zhan Hengye laughed and said, "Master Gu is joking. Everyone here has already seen that the Demonic Sect Leader personally came to Shadow Mountain for her. The evidence is irrefutable. What more proof do you need?"
A cold glint flashed in Gu Qingyun's eyes as she asked, "Could Lord Zhan make a decision on behalf of Sect Leader Mu?" Zhan Hengye's expression froze, and he reluctantly fell silent.
Gu Qingyun slowly said, "Sect Leader Mu, the Demonic Sect Leader is not the only one who came to Shadow Mountain for Miss Li."
Master Ye Hongyun of Fuliu Valley, sipping her tea, glanced back and forth between the group. She then interjected, "What does Master Gu mean?"
Gu Qingyun said, "I have already said that Feihua Manor has come here for Miss Li." He paused, "Miss Li saved my life, and we even had intimate relations during the rescue. I have long believed that I will marry no one but you. I have come up the mountain to ask for your hand in marriage."
Most of the people in the hall were skeptical of his words. Ye Hongyun's bright eyes darted around, and she chuckled, "Master Gu's words are so nonsensical, it's as if he made them up on the spot to plead for Miss Li?"
Gu Qingyun said calmly, "Valley Master Ye is joking. A lifelong matter is not something to be taken lightly. Moreover, before this, I had already exchanged tokens with her and agreed to come and propose marriage. Otherwise, you all know that my Feihua Manor would never have set foot in Ying Mountain."
Ye Hongyun blurted out, "What token?" But as soon as she said it, she realized that it was inappropriate to ask what a token of love between a man and a woman was, and her face flushed.
Gu Qingyun, however, didn't seem to care. She gently asked Li Feiqing, "Did you keep that jade bottle with you?" Li Feiqing's heart was preoccupied with Shen Luo's injuries, and she hadn't paid much attention to their conversation. Suddenly, she heard Gu Qingyun ask her about the jade bottle. She paused for a moment, then reached into her pocket and found a small jade bottle. She vaguely remembered that Gu Qingyun had gotten it when she was injured and had casually put it in her bosom, but she had forgotten about it ever since.
Gu Qingyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, handed over the jade bottle, and smiled, gesturing for Ye Hongyun to look at it.
Ye Hongyun took the jade bottle and felt its smooth texture. The flying flower pattern on the bottle was exquisitely carved, and a small "Yun" character was engraved on the bottom. She nodded and said, "It is indeed Master Gu's item."
Gu Qingyun took out a handkerchief from her bosom. The handkerchief was of ordinary material, nothing special, with a small flower embroidered on the edge. Bai Jun'an exclaimed, "Isn't this the chrysanthemum handkerchief embroidered by Junior Sister?" The disciples of Yingshan all remembered that before spring last year, Li Feiqing enthusiastically began learning embroidery. This handkerchief was originally intended for their senior brother, but after a year of embroidery, she barely finished it. The chrysanthemum was poorly embroidered, drawing ridicule from everyone. In a fit of anger, Li Feiqing decided to keep it for herself. The disciples all wondered: Gu Qingyun treasures this poorly embroidered chrysanthemum handkerchief like a precious gem—could it be that he truly has feelings for his junior sister?
Li Feiqing naturally remembered that the handkerchief was used to treat Gu Qingyun's wound that day, but she heard him say, "This handkerchief was a gift from her, hoping that I would come to Yingshan to propose to Sect Leader Mu. I didn't expect that the Demon Sect Leader would speak up and instigate me first, which caused Sect Leader Mu to misunderstand her."
Zhan Zichen sneered, "This vixen has been mingling with the leader of the Demonic Sect in a brothel and exchanging tokens with Master Gu. She's quite the romantic."
Gu Qingyun met his gaze coldly, and Zhan Zichen, captivated by his gaze, lowered his head.
The Unnamed Swordsman coldly said from the side, "You can believe the nonsense of the Demonic Sect? Since my master has already proposed marriage, this young lady is the future mistress of my Flying Flower Manor. If anyone dares to slander her, they'll have to ask my sword for permission first!"
Mu Feiyu sighed and asked Li Feiqing, "Is this matter as Master Gu said?"
Li Feiqing wanted to deny it, but when she saw her senior brother Yi Feng nod slightly to her, she lowered her eyes and replied in a very low voice, "Yes." She always obeyed her senior brother's words.
With things having come to this point, a marriage alliance between the Shadow Mountain Sect and the Flying Flower Manor seemed to be the best outcome. It would prevent the Shadow Mountain Sect from being ridiculed by the martial arts world because of Li Feiqing's affair, and it would also resolve the long-standing feud between the two sects. Even though Mu Feiyu still had doubts, he had no choice but to agree to the marriage. Master Yichen, Sect Leader Bi Jianchun, and others stepped forward to offer their congratulations. Gu Qingyun gave the bottle of antidote from Li Feiqing to Zhan Hengye, and then brought up the matter of Murong Wuhen's challenge to the Zhan Family Fortress, indicating that the Flying Flower Manor intended to lend him a hand. Zhan Hengye weighed the pros and cons and immediately invited Gu Qingyun to gather with everyone present at the Zhan Family Fortress after she recovered from her injuries to discuss how to deal with the Demonic Sect.
As everyone descended the mountain, Ye Hongyun, the master of Fuliu Valley, glanced at the young man named Awang, beckoned him over, gave him several large silver ingots, and said with a forced smile, "Now that you have the silver, hurry up and find a wife. And don't go around staring at other girls' chests all the time."
Walking with you
Li Feiqing, absent-minded, covered her left cheek with a handkerchief and leaned against the side of the carriage wall, lost in thought.
With each passing moment she got further away from Ying Shan, her heart grew colder.
Although the storm had passed, Master seemed disappointed in her, even avoiding her when she visited him in the hospital. The other senior brothers also appeared awkward when they met, quickly finding excuses to leave after only a few words. Indeed, Master had coughed up blood, and Third Senior Brother's life was in danger—all because of her. It was understandable that the other brothers were angry with her, except for Eldest Senior Brother…
Thinking of her senior brother, Li Feiqing felt a pang of pain in her heart. After that incident, only her senior brother treated her as usual and never mentioned what happened that day. But why did she always feel that his eyes were full of weariness and sadness every time she saw him? She would rather her senior brother scold her severely than see him like this, as if he understood everything but was powerless to do anything.
A bowl of white porridge was handed to her. "Want something to eat?" Li Feiqing looked up blankly. Gu Qingyun looked at her calmly and asked.
Li Feiqing shook her head and said dejectedly, "I...I'm not hungry." Gu Qingyun said "Oh," casually put the bowl aside, and then picked up her book again.
Looking at the man opposite her who had become her fiancé, Li Feiqing felt increasingly unfamiliar with him, and a wave of grievance washed over her.
After vomiting blood, Master had been bedridden and recuperating. Although the engagement had been arranged on the day of the engagement, the matter was quite embarrassing for the Shadow Mountain Sect, so Feihua Manor did not mention it, and no one took the initiative to arrange her marriage.
Although the third senior brother survived, the sword wound injured his lung, and the treatment would take a long time. Hua Liran harbored resentment towards the Yingshan Sect and was unwilling to stay there for long. When Gu Qingyun bid farewell to Mu Feiyu, he suggested taking Shen Luo back to Feihua Manor for treatment and also said that he wanted Li Feiqing to go along to relax. Mu Feiyu readily agreed and even instructed him to take care of the children.
Li Feiqing was quite unwilling, but worried that Shen Luo would be left unattended along the way, and feeling ashamed to face her master and fellow disciples, she packed a few clothes and left Ying Mountain with the Feihua Manor group. However, upon descending the mountain, she was crammed into a carriage and assigned to care for the injured Gu Qingyun. Hua Liran forbade her from entering the carriage carrying Shen Luo to visit him, saying, "The injured person is naked; women must avoid suspicion." Thus, Li Feiqing could only spend her days brooding in the carriage.
Gu Qingyun suddenly looked up, meeting her gaze, and asked, "Are you resenting me?"
Li Feiqing choked for a moment, then quickly shook her head and said, "No, you meant well and even saved Third Senior Brother, how could I blame you?"
Gu Qingyun lowered her eyes to look at the book in her hand and said again, "You don't want to marry me." This time, her tone was more certain.
Li Feiqing wanted to nod, but dared not; she shook her head, but was unwilling.
Gu Qingyun said, "I believe you have no romantic relationship with the leader of the Demonic Sect. But do you like your third senior brother?"
Li Feiqing bit her lip and said softly, "Although my third senior brother risked his life to save me, he has always treated me like a younger sister since we were little. If anything happens to him, I will risk my life for him."
Gu Qingyun nodded, her gaze falling on the Juying Sword placed to the side, and slowly said, "Yi Feng?"
Li Feiqing's body trembled slightly, and her ears turned red. She suddenly felt like she had been caught in the act of adultery, and she lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him.
After a long pause, Gu Qingyun's gentle voice rang out again: "I'm sorry, I had no choice that day, I never expected that you already had someone you loved. Give me some time, there will always be a way to resolve this matter."
Li Feiqing suddenly raised her head, looking at him in disbelief, and said, "You mean..."
Gu Qingyun said, "This matter has probably already spread throughout the martial arts world. We can only wait for things to calm down before trying to dissolve the engagement. I just don't know if your senior brother will mind..."
Li Feiqing blurted out, "Senior Brother will definitely not mind!" As soon as she said it, her face flushed again. She glanced at Gu Qingyun and saw that his face was expressionless. He simply said, "That's good."
Li Feiqing was overjoyed, but also felt a pang of guilt towards Gu Qingyun, and stammered, "But you..."
Gu Qingyun said softly, "I'm fine." She reached for the bowl of porridge that was placed aside and handed it to her, "Can you eat now?"
The porridge was still warm. Li Feiqing sipped it slowly, feeling a mix of emotions. She felt awkward for a moment, then her gaze drifted to the book beside Gu Qingyun, only to be drawn to the words on the title page: "Peerless Beauty Manual?"
Gu Qingyun smiled slightly and handed over the book. "This book was written by my mother. It records some tips for maintaining youth and health, most of which were created by my mother herself."
Li Feiqing, in the prime of her youth, naturally cherished her appearance. Upon hearing this, she became very interested, took the book, and carefully studied it. Sure enough, she found that it contained wonderful remedies for various purposes, such as dietary supplements, facial masks, and breathing exercises, all of which she had never seen before. As she read, Li Feiqing exclaimed in admiration: "This Langhuan Jade Dew Soup is simply wonderful... Can the Orchid Breathing Method really make one's breath smell like orchids?... To be able to write such a book, your mother must be a great beauty!"
Gu Qingyun neither agreed nor disagreed with her words. Seeing that she seemed to love the book, she said, "This book was originally written for young women. If you like it, you can keep it."
After her initial joy, Li Feiqing hesitated, then asked, "Is it alright?"
Gu Qingyun smiled and said, "You saved my life, so what is a book worth? Besides, my mother would be very happy if she knew that you value her book so much."
Holding the Peerless Heart Sutra, Li Feiqing couldn't help but smile. Although it aggravated the swollen area on her cheek, the gloom that had accumulated in her heart over the past few days was swept away with this smile.
When the group arrived at the inn to rest, Li Feiqing finally couldn't help but ask Gu Qingyun to let Hua Liran take her to visit her third senior brother, Shen Luo.
Upon entering the room, Li Feiqing heard Shen Luo's faint moans. She rushed to the bedside and saw Shen Luo lying face down in the covers, his long hair disheveled. Li Feiqing whispered, "Third Senior Brother, I've come to see you."
Hearing the voice, Shen Luo turned his head with difficulty and saw that it was Li Feiqing. His eyes lit up and he groaned, "Junior sister, I'm going to die."
Li Feiqing was startled. The dead fish face had clearly said that her third senior brother was getting better day by day. She turned to look at Hua Liran and saw that his dead fish face was calm and expressionless, as if he had not heard Shen Luo's words. She couldn't help but ask anxiously, "Has my senior brother's injury relapsed?"
But then Shen Luo sighed and said, "If I don't take a bath soon, I'll definitely die of filth."
Hua Liran snorted, turned around, and strode out of the room.
Li Feiqing breathed a sigh of relief: she had forgotten that her third senior brother was a germaphobe. She softly comforted him, "Senior brother, just bear with it a little longer, until the wound heals..."
Shen Luo wailed, "Even if my wounds heal, I don't want to live anymore!"
Li Feiqing lowered her head and whispered self-reproachfully, "It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have..."
Shen Luo blinked: "Silly girl, if you feel guilty, hurry up and fetch a bucket of water to help me wash my hair. I think I have lice in my hair, and that dead fish face doesn't care about me at all."
Li Feiqing smiled and couldn't help but say, "Senior brother, you won't get lice if you don't wash your hair for three days." Although she said that, she couldn't bear to refuse, so she turned around and left the room, asked the waiter for a bucket of hot water, and carried it to the bedside.
Suddenly, a cold voice came from behind: "What are you doing, young lady?"
It turned out that Hua Liran had returned sometime earlier. Li Feiqing busied herself moving a stool, rolling up her sleeves, and casually said, "Help my senior brother wash his hair."
Hua Liran said with a stern face, "Men and women should not touch each other. You are already engaged, so you must not do such a thing for him."
Li Feiqing said with difficulty, "But I used to help my senior brother wash his hair. Other people are too rough, and my senior brother is afraid of pulling his hair off."
After waking up, Shen Luo already knew about Li Feiqing's engagement. He snorted, "Don't even mention engagement. Even if she gets married, she'll still be my junior sister. If I don't let her wash, are you going to do it yourself?"
Hua Liran, with a sullen face, suddenly rolled up her sleeves, picked up the wooden bucket, and actually started washing Shen Luo's hair.
Li Feiqing and Shen Luo stared in disbelief. It took Shen Luo a while to come to his senses, and he said weakly, "Dead fish face, if you pull even a hair from my head, I will definitely not let you off once I'm healed!"
Hua Liran gave him a cold look, then flicked some powder into the bucket with her finger. Shen Luo exclaimed in surprise, "You...you...what did you put in the water?"
Hua Liran said calmly, "It's a powder to prevent lice from getting into your hair. If you say another word, I'll add some powder to make you bald." Shen Luo obediently shut up.
Li Feiqing chuckled inwardly, leaned closer, and whispered to Shen Luo, "Third Senior Brother, I've obtained a secret manual filled with recipes for maintaining youthful appearance. I'll lend it to you when you're better." Shen Luo's eyes lit up, his lips moved slightly, and he glanced sideways at Hua Liran, who was focused on washing her hair, but ultimately didn't dare to speak.
After Shen Luo finally dried her hair and fell into a deep sleep, Li Feiqing and Hua Liran walked out of the room together.
Hua Liran took out a small jade box from her bosom and handed it to Li Feiqing, saying, "This is a medicinal ointment that the Master ordered me to prepare. If you apply it to your face, the swelling won't hurt so much." As Li Feiqing reached out to take it and turned to leave, she heard Li Feiqing call out behind her, "Brother Yu!"
Hua Liran stiffened, slowly turned around, and glared at her with an unfriendly expression.
Li Feiqing covered her mouth, looking embarrassed, and said with an awkward smile, "Um, Brother Hua, thank you."
Hua Liran coldly replied, "The ointment is easy to prepare, no need to be polite."
Li Feiqing lowered her head and said softly, "No, I am thanking you for saving my third senior brother. If he had died because of me, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life. You have no idea how grateful I was to you that day."
Hua Liran was silent for a moment, then said coldly, "Just take good care of the master, young lady. There's no need for you to be grateful to me. I saved Shen Luo not because of you." He turned and took two steps without looking back, then added, "Tell your senior brother that if I hear any words related to fish again, he'll never be able to get out of bed to bathe again!"