Lianyi released her and whispered, "But I won't hurt you. I know you're good to me. You'll always be my master."
Xiao Man was about to speak again when she suddenly heard someone ahead groan and collapse. Then everyone else groaned and fell to the ground, including the people from Mount Bugui. Hong Gu Zi and Yelü Wen Jue, who had assumed they would be fine, were about to rush forward to seize the map of the Five Corners when suddenly they felt dizzy, their legs gave way, and they too fell to the ground. They immediately realized that Tian Quan was behind it all.
They strained to look up, trying to spot that aloof white figure, but the cold and aloof young nobleman didn't even glance in their direction. He stood motionless in the corner, coldly watching the scene of the hundred or so people in the hall suffering from poisoning, like a statue made of ice and snow.
The Killing of Crows, Chapter Thirteen: The Killing of Crows (Part One)
Updated: 2008-10-15 0:14:48 Word Count: 4118
Second update.
"What's going on?" Lianyi stared blankly at the large number of people lying on the floor in the hall. Some of those who hadn't yet shown symptoms tried to rush out of the hall, but they collapsed as soon as they reached the door.
"It's a sleeping potion! In the incense burner... it's a sleeping potion!" someone shouted, followed by the sound of more bodies falling to the ground.
Seeing everyone around her fall down while she remained standing, Xiaoman quickly cried out, "Ouch! My head is so dizzy!" and collapsed to the ground with a thud. Lianyi was startled and hurriedly helped her up, asking, "Master! Are you alright? What happened?!"
Before she could finish speaking, her face changed, and she collapsed to the ground with a thud, unable to move. Xiao Man was startled and hurriedly tried to push her, but she didn't budge; she had already fainted. Could it be? Did she not take the antidote? Did Tianquan not give her the antidote?
Yuan, the chief steward of Lianfang City, turned pale and fell to the ground, shouting sternly, "You Bugui Mountain! You're too audacious! You actually put sleeping pills in the incense burner!"
The people of Mount Bugui had no way to express their grievances, so they could only hurl insults at each other. The heroes were not about to back down, and for a time, the hall was filled with incessant cursing.
After lying there for an unknown amount of time, the hall finally fell silent; everyone had fainted. Only the fragrance of the incense burner remained, permeating the air with a subtle and refreshing aroma. Xiaoman pretended to be dead with her eyes closed when she suddenly heard footsteps approaching her. She squinted and saw a pair of white boots. The person bent down, about to reach out and hug her, when Xiaoman abruptly opened her eyes and met a pair of dark eyes—it was Tianquan.
He was startled by her, his expression changing: "You didn't faint?"
Xiao Man scrambled to her feet and looked around. It was a spectacular sight; all the hundred or so people in the hall were unconscious on the floor, like a vast expanse of corpses.
"Didn't you give me the antidote? How could I be unconscious? Didn't you give Lianyi the antidote? She's unconscious too." She was even more confused.
Tianquan pursed his lips. He didn't speak.
The incense in the burner was called "Ten-Day Intoxication," an extremely potent sleeping potion and also a potent poison. It could not only render someone unconscious for days, but even after waking, their limbs would be weak and it would take at least six months to recover their strength. During that time, they would be no different from ordinary people. He gave Xiaoman and the others medicine to prevent her from being poisoned and experiencing weakness, but the sleeping potion was still necessary. She should have passed out like everyone else, instead of staring at him with wide eyes like she is now.
"Let's go." He said calmly, pulling her up from the ground and supporting her waist as he tried to carry her.
Xiaoman cried out urgently, "Where are Lianyi and Yelü?! Let's go together!"
He remained silent, then reached out and scooped her up in his arms, ignoring her resistance, and walked forward.
Xiao Man struggled frantically, suddenly feeling his hand on the back of her neck, as if to knock her unconscious as before. She cried out, "What are you doing?! I'm not a dog; you can't just wake me up or knock me out like that!"
The hand hesitated for a moment, then Xiaoman struggled free, jumping down from his arms. She turned to find Lianyi and Yelü. (Mobile site)
Tianquan stood there for a while, then suddenly remembered something. He turned around and walked to Xias's side, took the map from her hand, put it in his boot, and was about to get up when he suddenly felt a strong wind coming from behind. He was startled again, pushed off the ground with his hand, and rolled over to avoid it. A large, jet-black sword grazed past his leg.
He whispered, "Zexiu! It really was you!"
A man in black leaped up from the ground, his head and face covered with black cloth, revealing only a pair of dazzling peach blossom eyes. It was indeed Ze Xiu. His first attack missed, so he immediately swung his sword backhand. Tian Quan had no choice but to dodge the attack again. In that split second, he had already darted to Xiao Man's side, grabbed her around the waist, and ran out of the hall.
Tianquan immediately gave chase. In the distance, he could only see that the dark figure was running extremely fast and had already passed the corridor. He frowned, knowing that he could not catch up, so he simply stopped and looked back. The hall was filled with people lying unconscious.
This will inevitably cause great chaos in the martial arts world, with all the blame pointing at Mount No Return. Even if they don't die, their vitality will be severely damaged.
Tianquan turned and walked slowly down the wide corridor. Suddenly, he whistled three times, and four men in black appeared out of nowhere. They bowed to him and said, "The young lady has been taken away and is running towards the oasis to the east of the mountain."
He nodded and said in a low voice, "Is everything ready?"
The man in black said, "We have already put Ten Days' Intoxication in the water, and all the disciples have fainted. We have sent them all to the high building, and not one has been missed. All the secret passages and paths in Mount No Return have also been nailed shut with copper strips, and not one has been missed."
Tianquan took two steps forward and said calmly, "Then why don't you make your move?"
The man in black immediately took out torches, lit them with flint, and stuck them into the wide corridor. Whoosh! Four or five huge fire dragons shot up instantly, engulfing the beautiful corridor in flames. It turned out they had already tied several oil-soaked ropes into the corridor; once the torches were lit, they immediately caught fire. The corridor was entirely made of wood, which ignites easily when exposed to fire, and soon it was charred black and collapsed.
The secret passage was blocked, and the path was sealed off. This corridor was the only way for Mount No Return to the outside world. Once it was burned down, the people inside would not be able to fly out even if they had wings. This move was called "catching turtles in a jar." However, he did not intend to catch those turtles. He planned to starve them to death.
Tianquan led a horse, squeezed its legs together, and slowly headed down the mountain.
Xiaoman was carried on someone's shoulder, bouncing and running quickly down the mountain until she almost threw up. She grabbed the man's headscarf tightly and shouted, "Put me down!" while kicking his chest and biting his shoulder.
The man ignored her and ran all the way to the riverbank in the oasis before throwing her to the ground. Xiaoman screamed in pain.
Her butt! Her butt! It must be broken!
She grimaced in pain and couldn't get up for a long time. After the man put her down, he turned around and quietly gazed at the vast desert in the distance.
Xiao Man jumped up and stared intently at his back.
No... wait... that back view...
She felt a sudden, sharp stab to her heart, a moment of stillness as if her heart had stopped beating, before it began pounding wildly again. She felt as if her chest could barely contain it, as if it would burst out of her body.
"Wait...turn your face around...let me...see it," she said softly, her voice trembling.
The person didn't turn around. Instead, they slowly pulled off their headscarf, and their thick, long braid slid down.
Xiao Man gasped. Suddenly, she slapped herself hard. She wasn't dreaming! Not dreaming! Ze Xiu! Oh my god! It's Ze Xiu! He's still alive!
Her vision blurred, and she stammered, "You...you're Zexiu, aren't you? You're Zexiu! You're not dead!"
He still didn't move. Xiaoman couldn't hold back any longer and staggered over to him. She hugged him tightly from behind, choking back tears, "You're not dead! You're really not dead!"
Zexiu grasped her hand, slowly pulled it away, took a step back, turned around, looked down at her intently, and after a long while, whispered, "I'm not dead, I've disappointed you. Perhaps you would have preferred me to be dead, such a fool who would never know your lie until her death."
Xiao Man took a breath. She said with difficulty, "You...you listen to me, I didn't mean to lie to you...I didn't mean to..."
Zexiu shook his head and gazed faintly at the horizon. He interrupted her, saying, "You said many insightful things today. No one has the right to take advantage of others. You speak of others like that, and you should also tell yourself that no one should be taken advantage of by you."
"I didn't take advantage of you!" Xiaoman exclaimed anxiously.
Zexiu smiled. He turned to look at her again. His peach blossom eyes were still so charming and alluring, but the light within them was not gentle; instead, it was cold and piercing, full of mockery.
"Didn't you take advantage of me?" he asked rhetorically, without saying anything more.
Xiao Man had nothing to say.
Zexiu said in a low voice, "I should have told you sooner that I hate being deceived and used by others the most, no matter who they are. If you were a man, I would have stabbed you to death by now. But I don't kill women, so this is the last time I'll see you."
Suddenly, everything fell silent, eerily silent, as if sound never existed in the world.
The slaughter of crows, the slaughter of crows throughout the three thousand worlds—it turns out to be such a terrifying, suffocating silence.
Xiaoman seemed to hear the sound of something breaking in her heart. The strong barrier she had rebuilt after a terrible despair, the belief that was enough to give her the smile and courage to live on, shattered.
Indeed, reality and illusion are different. She had created a gentle and understanding Zexiu in her own wishful thinking. They were from the same world, they understood each other perfectly, he would always take care of her, love her, and let her live a happy and fulfilling life, locking spring in his heart. The real Zexiu was covered in thorns and would not tolerate any harm or deception.
He died at the most opportune and sweetest time; a moment earlier or a moment later would not have been wrong.
Xiao Man lowered her head and pleaded with him in an almost humble voice, "It was my fault... Please, forgive me..."
Zexiu said in a low voice, "When I was sixteen, I had a brother I was sworn brothers to, someone I trusted like I trusted you in the beginning. But he also lied to me and used me. Do you know what happened to him?"
Xiao Man covered her mouth and didn't say anything.
He clearly didn't need to wait for her answer, and said calmly, "I killed him, pierced his heart with a sword, and offered his head as a sacrifice to the heavens. But I won't kill you, because I admire your performance today."
He took a white silk handkerchief from his pocket, gently tossed it at her feet, and turned to leave.
Xiao Man stared blankly at his retreating figure, feeling as if all her strength had gone with him. She slowly squatted down, picked up the handkerchief in a daze, and unfolded it. On it was the fan she had embroidered, the girl smiling with a mixture of happiness and sorrow, a humble joy of barely surviving.
Beside them, someone had written a line of words in bold, flowing ink: "Elephant bed, jade hands, producing novel wonders. A thousand flowers and ten thousand grasses, their light gleaming green. Tailors dress, spring sings and dances, butterflies flutter and orioles sing."
She felt as if she were being torn apart, and could even hear the slow tearing sound in the terrifying silence.
She was suddenly thrown from her dream into a thorny reality, and she couldn't adapt, remaining stunned and unable to recover.
After a long moment of stunned silence, she suddenly stood up and softly called his name: "Zexiu".
He paused slightly, but didn't turn around. Xiaoman took out a handkerchief from her bosom; it had once been her most treasured possession, a figment of her imagination in her grief, representing another version of him.
She slowly walked over, handed him the handkerchief, and whispered, "Here, take this. You can return it to your third uncle; consider it my gift to thank him."
She would no longer beg, nor deceive herself. His survival was the best thing in the world; his departure was also inevitable. In either case, he was Zexiu, someone she could neither control nor beg for.
Yes, no one in the world has the right to take advantage of others. She was taken advantage of, and then she took advantage of others in return.
This is her sin, and she must bear it herself; it has nothing to do with anyone else.
Zexiu unfolded the handkerchief, glanced at it, and then returned it to her: "No need, you can burn it. Goodbye."
Xiaoman didn't take it; the handkerchief floated lightly to the ground, and he walked away without looking back.
The Killing of Crows, Chapter Fourteen: The Killing of Crows (Part Two)
Updated: 2008-10-15 0:14:48 Word Count: 4121
It's the third watch again.
The fourteenth man, who continued to roll around, wanted a reward.
Third update.
As darkness fell, the fiery clouds in the sky turned everything red.
A vibrant, fiery red.
Tianquan rode slowly toward the oasis, his white shirt tinged with a pale orange. Yellow sand rustled beneath his hooves as he looked around slowly, as if searching for something.
Suddenly, he pulled on the reins and jumped off.