Lan Yin Bi Yue

Kapitel 11

The Jade Dragon Token. Seeing the token is like seeing the Emperor himself! Emperor Hong actually entrusted him with something so important! Luckily, the people who came weren't outsiders. Otherwise, it would have been a huge problem.

"Brother Lin, the Emperor values you so highly, you mustn't let him down," Ouyang Yufeng said jokingly.

Lin Suyang immediately knelt down, accepted the imperial edict with both hands, and said loudly, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will certainly risk my life to complete this mission."

"It's getting late, you should set off soon," Xin Min said.

Lin Suyang mounted his horse, glanced at the people watching him, and said, "Take care, everyone." Then he turned his horse around and galloped off into the distance. The others behind him also mounted their horses and followed.

Qin Yu stared straight at his back until everyone around her had left and the dust in the distance had settled down. Only then did she realize that her face was wet, and when she touched it, she found that she had shed tears without even knowing when.

"Sister-in-law, it's windy outside, come inside quickly." This was the first time Lin Ziyan had called Qin Yu "sister-in-law," perhaps moved by her deep affection for Lin Suyang.

"He'll be back soon, won't he?" Her eyes remained fixed on that direction.

"I'll be back soon, very soon."

Qin Hao paced back and forth in the imperial study, his movements so pronounced that the lamppost beside the door seemed to sway along with him. Sending three hundred men to follow him should be enough, right? But the martial arts skills of those from the Jianghu (martial arts world) are not those of ordinary mortals; no, it's not enough. Thinking this, he stopped and called out, "Someone come here."

A person dressed entirely in black "floated" in like a ghost. The person was completely black from head to toe, with only two round eyes visible through the mask. A small golden dragon was embroidered on the left shoulder of the person's clothing. This was the Dragon Guard, the secret army under the command of every emperor of the Great Central Dynasty.

This is a group of assassins who serve the emperor exclusively. They are all selected at a very young age and then enter the royal secret training camp for extremely brutal training. By the time they are ready to accept missions, they have already developed a body of steel and are extremely capable. It is said that the martial arts of one assassin are equivalent to the combined martial arts of ten highly skilled people.

This is obviously an exaggeration, but one of them could easily be worth four. The assassins only obey the emperor's orders, and only the current emperor. The training of each batch of Dragon Guards is overseen by the strongest members of the previous batch, and the emperor only needs to know these individuals. Therefore, the emperor doesn't have complete control over the Dragon Guards. In other words, if the current emperor were unfortunately deposed, this most important trump card would be lost.

"I order you to take the ten most skilled martial artists to protect Lin Suyang," Qin Hao said, taking out the token to command the Dragon Guards.

"Yes." The Dragon Guards had no other rights except to carry out the tasks assigned by the Emperor at all costs.

After the man in black left, Qin Hao gazed at the sky outside the door for a long time and muttered to himself, "Lin Suyang, you'd better come back to me properly..."

"What did you say? Lin Suyang left Yundu?" Han Yufeng slammed the book in his hand to the ground.

"Yes... I heard that Grand Tutor Lin left on horseback early this morning, accompanied by several people, who are said to be Xin Min's friends." The kneeling man trembled. He had long known of His Majesty Sheng Han's unpredictable temper, and this time he was probably doomed.

I recently heard that martial arts practitioners have been gathering in Yan City. Could it be for this reason? Han Yufeng wondered to himself.

Are there any women traveling with you?

"No, they are all men." The people on the ground wondered why His Majesty would ask this question.

"No woman!" She, a woman, had gone to such a far place with several men! Han Yufeng was furious again. Lin Suyang, you can only belong to me! You're hiding, aren't you? Yan City? Even if I have to search the entire Great Central Plains, I will find you!

"Go and mobilize some people to search towards Yan City. If you catch up with Lin Suyang, continue to follow and protect her. If even a single hair is missing, you will all come to me with your heads." The chilling tone instilled extreme fear in the listener.

Meanwhile, in a dark, secret room on the other side, Right Chancellor Wang Cheng was also plotting his scheme.

"Lin Suyang is gone? Good, good, you can send him to his death right here at Yunxia Pass! Remember to bring plenty of men, and don't let a single one live!" The sinister laugh was more grating than the hooting of an owl at midnight. "Young Emperor, didn't you value your Grand Tutor Lin so much? Hmph, he's just a tyrannical ruler who lusts after beautiful women. A woman? I'll make you suffer, and see if you dare to oppose me again!"

The journey from Yundu to Yunxia Pass takes about half a month, passing through several provinces and counties. Within this area, the imperial court's influence is widespread, and very few martial artists move around. Once you pass Yunxia Pass, it truly becomes the domain of the martial arts world, so you can ride wildly without restraint until you get there.

Lin Suyang and his group planned to disguise themselves upon arrival, posing as well-educated scholars traveling the world to befriend martial arts figures and infiltrate the area to gather intelligence. Lin Suyang had read spy novels in modern times, but he never imagined that he would have the chance to experience it firsthand after his rebirth. It was something he never dared to dream of before. But if something he never even expected to happen after being reborn could happen, what did it matter?

A narrow path, barely wide enough for two horses to walk abreast, flanked by steep cliffs, the Yunxia Pass, while geographically advantageous as a gateway to the southwest, also presents significant challenges to passage. During heavy rains, cascading rocks would slide down the cliffs, blocking the path. Clearing the debris was time-consuming and labor-intensive, not to mention the cost could amount to the annual expenses of dozens of ordinary families.

The imperial court had long wanted to build protective walls on both sides of the road, but due to the obstruction of several officials, led by the Right Chancellor, the official documents were delayed. Without the imperial court's funding, the nearby small county town would not have the funds to invest in this project. The mountains were high and the emperor was far away, and the new emperor had only been in power for a short time and had even less time to pay attention to these matters.

Fortunately, the sun had been shining brightly these past few days, otherwise they might have been late. Lin Suyang was secretly delighted, thanking the heavens for their cooperation. Yi was indeed a fine horse, running like the wind even on such a difficult road. The others were amazed that Lin Suyang's horsemanship was in no way inferior to that of martial artists who were used to riding horses all their lives. As a pampered young master of an official family and a high-ranking court official, it was truly unbelievable that he possessed such a level of riding skill.

"Young Master, we can rest here for the night. If all goes well, we should reach the Meteor Gorge Pass tomorrow," one of the older-looking men said loudly to Lin Suyang, who was still hurrying along. To conceal their identities, they had agreed to travel under the pretense that Lin Suyang was the son of a local official, traveling with a few guards. Therefore, they had to address Lin Suyang as "Young Master" throughout the journey. For convenience, they had also changed their names to Lin Yi, Lin Er, Lin San, Lin Si, and Lin Wu. The man who had just spoken was Lin Yi, the oldest and most experienced of the five.

Lin Suyang looked up at the sky. The setting sun had disappeared behind some mountain peak, and the darkening night was beginning to creep into the sky.

"Alright." Lin Suyang reined in his horse and dismounted, waiting to find a small village nearby to rest. No one expected that this simple stop would almost cost Lin Suyang his life.

Volume Two, Chapter Thirty: Night Forest Attack

It was already dark, and Lin Suyang and his group had been searching for a long time but still couldn't find the small village that Lin San had mentioned.

"Lin San, are you sure it's in this direction?" Lin Er asked doubtfully.

"Of course I'm sure. I came here around this time last year, and it wasn't long before I arrived. I even rested there for a day." Lin San was getting anxious because he couldn't find a place to rest. After all, he had confidently said that there was a place to rest here, but now it had vanished into thin air. It would be a real injustice to accuse him of having ulterior motives.

Seeing Lin San running around anxiously, Lin Suyang couldn't help but comfort him, "If you can't find it, just let it go. Last time Lin San came, it was during the day. Now it's so dark, it's understandable that he's looking in the wrong direction."

Actually, Lin San really went in the wrong direction. Last time he came, someone else led the way, but he was a complete directionally challenged person who was also extremely concerned about his image. This time, in order to show off his extensive travels, he volunteered to lead the way. It would be a miracle if anyone could find the way by following him.

Seeing that Lin Suyang had said so, the others didn't know what to say, so they found a large tree nearby that they could barely shelter under and prepared to spend the night there.

After tidying up, Lin Suyang sat on the ground covered with a thick layer of dry grass and breathed a sigh of relief: "Finally, I can rest for a bit."

Suddenly, Lin Yi told everyone to stop, then stared warily at the dark forest ahead.

"What's wrong?" Lin Suyang noticed something was amiss and asked softly.

"listen."

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and listened intently. The faint sound of horses' hooves could be heard from the distance in the woods, and it seemed there were quite a few of them.

"Who could it be? Could it be that Elder Xin has sent someone again?" Lin Si asked cautiously.

"No. Before we left, Elder Xin told us to make sure we concealed our identities. With such a large entourage, if we were Elder Xin's men, wouldn't we be exposed?" Lin Yi said confidently.

Lin Suyang had a bad feeling. It seemed something dangerous was about to happen. Could it be Han Yufeng? He wasn't the same Feng Hanyu from two years ago. Although he didn't understand why Han Yufeng was bothering him, he had become incredibly dangerous. He meant what he said. He had come out to avoid Han Yufeng, and Han Yufeng must already know that. It was quite possible that Han Yufeng had sent people after him.

Thinking this through, Lin Suyang decided that regardless of whether they were from his territory or not, escaping as quickly as possible was the most important thing. So he quickly said to Lin Yi, "I'm afraid they don't mean any harm. Let's take advantage of the darkness and avoid them." The group nodded in unison, mounted their horses, and rode off in different directions.

Lin Suyang guessed correctly. The person who came wasn't Han Yufeng. It was someone sent by Wang Cheng, the Right Chancellor, who wished him dead immediately. Hundreds of highly skilled assassins dressed in black rushed towards this direction menacingly. (It seems that people who can't stand being seen in public all like to wear black?) It seems that Wang Cheng is determined to get Lin Suyang's head. He's even willing to spend a fortune to hire these money-grubbing, desperate thugs.

Yi seemed to sense the approaching killing intent as well. He ran even faster than usual. But the people behind him seemed to be riding excellent horses that could travel a thousand miles a day. Before long, they caught up with Lin Suyang and his group.

Lin Yi glanced back briefly, "Too many people, let's split up. Young master, follow me." With that, he and Lin Er each found a path and continued their frantic run.

Lin Suyang was sore all over from being jostled around by Yi, and he groaned inwardly. He'd only been out for a short time and already this had happened; fate seemed to love playing cruel jokes! Despite his complaints, he still needed to save his life. Unable to see the road ahead, he was entirely dependent on Yi's choices of where to go. He could only silently pray, "Yi, please help me."

The phrase "things don't go as planned" is quite apt. When Lin Suyang saw the open space ahead, he almost cheered. But when he followed the path out of the forest and to the end, he found himself at the end of a sheer cliff!

Lin Suyang looked down at Yi, who was snorting and spinning around in place, with a wry smile. Lin Yi was also stunned, and after a long while sighed, "What's meant to happen can't be avoided."

Seeing that their target had split into several groups and was not sure which side the employer wanted, Wang Cheng's men had no choice but to split up and chase after them as well. Soon, one group of men discovered the trail of Lin Suyang and his companion and followed them to the clearing at the edge of the cliff.

Lin Yi stood in front of Lin Suyang and asked the group of men in black, "Who are you all, and why are you chasing my servants?"

One of the men in black stepped out from the crowd; he was probably the leader. Lin Yi thought he was going to speak, but instead, he simply took out a painting from his pocket and started looking at it, glancing at Lin Suyang as he did so.

Just as Lin Suyang's patience was about to run out, the leader said, "It's him." The others immediately drew their weapons.

What else could be said now? Lin turned his head and whispered to Lin Suyang, "Sir, seize the opportunity to escape, and I will hold them off one last time."

Lin Suyang shook his head: "No, we'll have the baby together. How can I abandon you?"

Lin Yi said urgently, "Sir, you don't know martial arts. Staying here will only be a burden to me. Every one of you who can leave is a good one." Before Lin Suyang could answer, he raised his broadsword and charged towards the people opposite him.

Xin Min's friend was indeed extraordinary; he eliminated several men in black as soon as he entered the fray. Seeing that he was brave but surrounded by enemies, Lin Suyang was even more reluctant to leave, anxiously watching his figure and hoping that rescuers would arrive soon.

Someone discovered that Lin Suyang didn't know martial arts, so they drew their swords and stabbed at him. Lin Suyang nimbly dodged, avoiding the fatal blow, but his right arm was not spared and was stabbed. Blood flowed down and soaked his clothes, but he didn't care. He covered his wound and kept dodging the increasing number of attacks.

With only one person holding off, Lin Yi gradually found himself at a disadvantage. Just then, Lin Suyang heard the approaching sounds of another group of people. That group immediately engaged the man in black in combat.

"Reinforcements!" Lin Suyang was secretly delighted. However, why did it seem like there were three groups of people? Indeed, there were three groups. One group was dressed in ordinary civilian clothes; this must be the guard team that Old Xin had mentioned. The other two groups were also all dressed in black, but some of them didn't have hoods on their heads, and some had something faintly embroidered with gold on their left shoulders. Lin Suyang couldn't see what it was; he only saw a large expanse of black moving before his eyes.

Lin Suyang found the injured Lin Yi in the fighting crowd and helped him to the side with one hand, saying, "Reinforcements have arrived."

The people who had been chasing them earlier were indeed formidable; they managed to hold out for a while against opponents far stronger than themselves. However, considering who came after them, the fight quickly came to a conclusion.

There were many corpses lying on the ground, which looked like a black carpet of human flesh. The severed limbs made Lin Suyang feel nauseous.

After vomiting several times, Lin Suyang said to one of the guards, "Is it over?" Just as the man was about to speak, he saw a person who was closest to Lin Yi get up from the ground and push Lin Yi with a bloody hand.

Lin Suyang was standing not far from Lin Yi. Seeing this, he didn't have time to warn him and instead lunged forward, knocking Lin Yi down. Just as he was about to receive the palm strike, Lin Suyang felt a sharp pain in his chest, and then his body flew out like a kite with a broken string, falling off the cliff.

"grown ups……"

"..."

Lin Suyang couldn't hear the screams above, only the whistling wind in his ears. He closed his eyes. Was he really going to die this time? But perhaps it was because he had done many good deeds in his previous life that Heaven was giving him chances to live again and again. Before he had fallen halfway, he felt a strong force grab his waist and pull him upwards, then he was wrapped around someone's chest.

"Oh my god! Could it be a ghost? Why would someone come to save me in this situation?" Lin Suyang almost screamed, then suddenly opened her eyes to see a face she hadn't seen for months appear before her.

It looks like... Si Junxing? It's Si Junxing! How did he end up here? Lin Suyang didn't have time to ask, his mind was focused on being rescued and thanking his lucky stars. But something was wrong. After rising slightly just now, the two of them were still falling at the same speed as before.

Burying his head tightly against Si Junxing's warm chest, Lin Suyang sighed: No way?! This guy is really something, if you can't save someone, don't save them. Is it fun to throw away another life? The recoil from the fall made him involuntarily hug Si Junxing's body tighter, missing the smile that appeared on the "foolish" man's lips.

The sound of the wind lessened, and Lin Suyang could hear Si Junxing's strong heartbeat. She counted the beats one by one, wondering if they were almost at the bottom. Just then, with a "plop," the two of them fell into the water together.

So it turns out that people who fall off cliffs always end up in water. Those old novels were incredibly accurate! She'd finally escaped with her life… These were the last words Lin Suyang thought of before she fainted underwater with a smile. But… she forgot she couldn't swim…

In extreme pain, two soft things pressed against my lips, and then I naturally opened my mouth and breathed in. After that, I completely lost consciousness.

Volume Two, Fallen Dust, Chapter Thirty-One: Survival at the Bottom of the Cliff

Upon waking up, Lin Suyang felt a tightness in her chest and coughed a few times before recovering. Once she was fully awake, she realized she was cold, her arms were chilly. She looked down and immediately cried out. She saw that she was only wearing an undergarment, with a tightly wrapped bodice underneath, and a large men's robe draped over her body!

"You're awake?" someone said in my ear.

Hearing the sound, she looked up and saw Si Junxing's bright eyes staring directly at her. She cried out again, grabbing her clothes that had slipped down as she stood up and covering her chest with them. This movement aggravated her previous injuries, and the pain in her arms and chest made her break out in a cold sweat. She lost her balance and fell to the side.

"Be careful." Si Junxing quickly steadied her. The man's warm palm pressed against her back, causing goosebumps. Lin Suyang quickly pushed him away with her unharmed left hand: "Don't touch me." How could her small strength move a big man? So Si Junxing ignored her warning, avoided the wound on her arm, and gently helped her lie down.

"I told you not to touch me." Lin Suyang kept backing away, trying to avoid Si Junxing's outstretched hand, but before she could get far, Si Junxing's long arm grabbed her and wrapped around her waist. "If you back away again, I'll press you down." The threatening tone frightened Lin Suyang so much that she dared not move anymore.

At this moment, Lin Suyang was nowhere to be seen; her usual coldness and composure, her enviable intelligence, had long since vanished. Now, she appeared as a weak and vulnerable woman, letting Si Junxing gently stroke her stabbed wound with his right hand. Lin Suyang trembled inwardly, wanting nothing more than to slap this man.

"Such a deep wound, and you still don't know how to be careful?" Si Junxing held her slender arm with one hand and took a white cloth drying by the fire behind her with the other, carefully wrapping it around the wound, which was about an inch long. Only then did Lin Suyang notice that the wound, which had turned purple, was covered with a layer of blue and green grass.

"What is this?" Lin Suyang asked, pointing to the mangled leaf with her uninjured finger, forgetting that she should have struggled when Si Junxing wasn't looking.

"The hemostatic herb mixed with the 'miyan' (a type of insect) can accelerate wound healing and won't leave a scar," Si Junxing said, carefully bandaging the wound. Lin Suyang knew about this plant called "miyan." "Miyan" isn't actually an insect, but a plant that resembles one. This plant mostly grows in warmer regions and isn't difficult to find. It sprouts in early spring and matures in autumn, with a maturity period of only one month. After harvesting the mature miyan, it's dried, then steamed with a secret medicinal formula, dried over an open flame, and ground into powder to create the "miyan" that can treat external injuries.

"You..." Si Junxing was about to speak after bandaging Lin Suyang when he suddenly noticed that Lin Suyang's face was completely bloodless, and the hand he was using to clutch his chest with his robe had turned pale and translucent.

"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously.

Lin Suyang shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Tell me quickly. Where else are you injured?" Si Junxing didn't believe it.

"I'm really alright," Lin Suyang said, her lips still pale. "I was pushed before I fell off the cliff. I thought it wasn't hurt anymore. But now it's starting again. It's probably because the movement was too strong."

"Let me see," Si Junxing said to Lin Suyang after thinking for a while.

"What?" Lin Suyang's eyes widened. Did he even know what the concept of men and women not touching each other meant?

Before she could object, Si Junxing pressed her down and said, "Let me see your injury."

Her eyes were full of worry, but Lin Suyang showed no appreciation, his face turning cold as he said, "You dare!"

What drove Lin Suyang to another frenzy was that Si Junxing actually used acupressure on her while she was weakened, demonstrating with his actions whether he dared to do it or not. Lin Suyang wanted to fight, but couldn't; she wanted to open her mouth, but couldn't; she was so anxious that tears were almost welling up in her eyes. This was probably the umpteenth time today that Si Junxing had seen her emotions written all over her face, and he couldn't help but be surprised; he didn't realize she had so many expressions.