Luzhou-Mond - Kapitel 155
Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching again. That night, I played a few games of chess with Ganlin before going back to my room to lie down. Listening to the rustling of the leaves outside, I felt an emptiness in my heart. In the quiet of the night, I often feel lost and confused about where I should go and what to do.
I tossed and turned, just about to fall asleep, when I was startled awake by the sudden sound of footsteps on the roof tiles. Before I could react, I heard a heavy thud, and then the door burst open. Gan Lin, dressed in a bathrobe, jumped in and pulled me up.
"Go, someone wants to kill you." The words had barely left his lips when several more dark figures darted in from outside the door. It had been a long time since I'd encountered anything like this. If it were before… perhaps I wouldn't have panicked so much.
The intruders raised their knives and slashed at Gan Lin and me. Gan Lin nimbly dodged them with her arm around me and slipped out of the room. Only then did I realize what kind of calamity was about to befall our usually peaceful little courtyard tonight.
The eight guards Zinuo gave me are fighting with a bunch of men in black. Ruosheng is nowhere to be seen. Oh right, she slept in Biqiong's room tonight. I wonder how she is now. And Chuchen...
Upon seeing me emerge, the men in black who had been fighting the guards all lunged at me. Gan Lin swiftly struck down several of them, handed me over to the guards who had followed closely behind, and then engaged the men in a fierce battle herself. "Where are they?" I asked.
Guard Liang's face darkened: "They're heading straight for the Holy Maiden's courtyard."
While I nervously pondered who had sent people to kill me, I also considered how to escape my predicament. Seeing that the men in black had indeed gathered on my side, I quickly sent two guards to protect Ruosheng and the others, telling them not to come out no matter what noise they heard.
"Guard Liang, where are the fireworks tubes His Highness gave us?" Perhaps having anticipated this situation, Zi Nuo had arranged for two thousand soldiers to guard the valley, responsible for its safety. He figured they would come to the rescue as soon as the fireworks were set off…
Guard Liang took out a small bamboo tube from his pocket, tore off the cap, and with a "whoosh," a bright red flame pierced the night sky.
"No need to waste your energy!" a man in black said coldly. He seemed to be their leader. He stood alone with his hands behind his back, watching the battle with a cold eye.
Seeing me looking at him, he gave another cold laugh: "Those people outside the valley are probably already dead. Tonight, this place will be reduced to ashes!"
"Who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling. If it were Luo Chen and Luo Hua, who were at odds with Zinuo and wanted to eliminate me, there would be no need for them to destroy their own army or Qiuyang Valley, unless…
"Your Golden Sparrow Kingdom is a hypocrite, bewitching our people to enjoy yourselves here and forget your homeland. This place is no longer safe!" After saying this, the man in black joined the battle. The guards were already struggling, and when the man in black thrust his sword at me, Guard Liang had no chance to defend himself. Fortunately, although I had lost all my martial arts skills, my body was still more agile than normal. I pushed Guard Liang aside and narrowly dodged the man in black's first sword strike.
Seeing that I was in trouble, Gan Lin turned back to protect me and withstood a new round of attacks from the men in black.
The men in black were numerous and powerful, and several guards were already injured, putting them in a perilous situation.
Judging from the tone of the man in black, could they be from Xuan Ying Kingdom? Besides them, there probably isn't anyone else who hates Qiuyang Valley more.
As I was pondering, a chaotic commotion arose in the distance, and soon the entire valley fell into turmoil.
Seeing this, the man in black launched an even fiercer attack. The guards were unable to withstand it, and two of them fell. My heart ached.
"Your reinforcements really can't come." The man in black chuckled and launched a series of ruthless attacks at me and Gan Lin.
"Where is your sword?" I asked anxiously, seeing that Gan Lin was still fighting with his bare hands.
Gan Lin frowned slightly: "Once my sword is drawn, your identity will probably no longer be a secret."
"Who cares about anything else at a time like this? We're about to lose our lives!" I knew that I was safe with Gan Lin protecting me, but only Guard Liang and Xiao Zhao were still struggling to hold on. Everyone else had already collapsed... And even if Gan Lin could take me away, what about Chu Chen and Ruosheng?
Gan Lin pursed his lips, and finally drew the Blood-Drinking Sword, which he had carved from wood for Chu Chen, from his waist. It gleamed coldly in the moonlight. Holding the sword, Gan Lin's eyes were terrifyingly deep, making me suddenly feel a great distance from him.
Gan Lin hugged me tightly and leaped into the crowd. Where the sword flashed, blood rained down and cries of agony filled the air, as if we were back on that battlefield where we were on the verge of death. Only then, Gan Lin was far away from me, but now I was in his arms and could feel the coldness emanating from his body.
With a few leaps, most of the men in black had fallen, and the remaining ones stared wide-eyed in terror. The leader stammered, "Blood Demon?"
Gan Lin remained silent, only coldly drawing his sword. Seeing Gan Lin's swift attack, the men in black knew they couldn't withstand it, and with a whistle, they scattered and retreated. Only then did Guard Liang and Xiao Zhao collapse to the ground, exhausted.
Many red lights had already appeared in the valley; those people must be setting houses on fire. Biting her lip, she finally said to Gan Lin, "Let's go check on Chu Chen and the others first."
Seeing the men in black retreat, the Sun brothers, Bo and Tao, led Ruosheng and the others out. Chu Chen broke free from Aunt Zhen's embrace and rushed towards Gan Lin: "Uncle, you have blood on you."
Gan Lin rubbed Chu Chen's head and laughed, "Someone else's blood." Chu Chen was buried in Gan Lin's arms, but he didn't see the Blood-Drinking Sword behind Gan Lin, which was still dripping with blood and had an eerie red glow.
"Holy Maiden, what do we do now? Should we leave now?" Guard Liang, who had caught his breath, asked. The man in black had probably gone to get reinforcements. Leaving now offered a chance of escape, but... looking at the valley where the fire was growing ever brighter, could more than a year's worth of effort really turn to ashes? Could they really abandon these people they had spent so much time with in the valley?
Pulling Chu Chen out of Gan Lin's arms and putting him back into Aunt Zhen's arms, she said to Guard Liang, "You take Young Master Chen away from here first and find a safe place to hide." She then glanced at Gan Lin, "Brother Gan and I will go over there and take a look!"
"Holy Maiden!" Guard Liang looked at me with considerable difficulty, hesitating and not moving.
She smiled slightly at him and said, "Hurry up and go, or it will be too late. With Brother Gan here, we'll be fine."
The four guards then hurriedly led the women and children away.
She tugged at Gan Lin's sleeve: "You're going to have to work hard again."
Gan Lin smiled helplessly, picked me up, and ran towards the brightest spot in the firelight.
On the way, they were stopped by a group of men in black. Gan Lin held a longsword in his hand, the crimson blood still flowing along its blade, a gruesome sight. The newcomers did not attack; one of them simply asked softly, "Are you Gan Lin?"
The voice sounded familiar yet distant. I froze, and Gan Lin also looked puzzled.
Seeing that Gan Lin did not answer, the man stared straight at my face, his voice trembling slightly: "Huai En?"
My eyes stung with tears. This scene was something I could never have imagined; fate had played this cruel joke on me time and time again. I jumped down from Gan Lin's arms, intending to walk towards that person, but Gan Lin grabbed my arm: "Are you sure?"
She stopped in her tracks. Yes, even if it was him, was he still the same person he used to be? She could only stand there and look at him: "Brother Zhixuan."
The man pulled off the black cloth covering his face, revealing a handsome face under the torchlight—a face I hadn't seen in a long time. Before Song Zhixuan could move, someone beside him lunged at me. Gan Lin stepped forward to stop him, and the newcomer looked at me with a mixture of grievance and surprise: "Huai'en, it really is you."
Walking up to Gan Lin and looking at Lin Zhao, whose eyes were the only visible part of her, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. How should I face this situation?
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 135
Chapter word count: 4006 Update time: 09-09-21 15:09
The scene in the valley was extremely strange; the people who started the fire were now putting it out. The mountain people who had been held captive just moments before and forced to choose between staying and leaving had also joined the firefighting efforts.
Although no one knew why their leader had changed his mind, they could not refute him.
Faced with everyone's questioning gazes, Song Zhixuan simply said softly, "Huai'en, I didn't know it was you."
Back in his home, where no one else was, Song Zhixuan ordered his men to clean up the bloodstains from the corpses in the yard.