"Otherwise, why would I need to contact you?"
He didn't dare to think too much and followed me out of the outer courtyard of Shuiyun Pavilion.
Fortunately, Wuyue Palace was large enough, and the people in the palace each had their own duties, so at this time there would be no one else at the gate except for two guards.
Leaving would have been a piece of cake, and shaking off Shao Ming would have been easy too. It was as if fate was on my side, for I happened to run into Shao Ming, the weakest and most naive of the three. If it had been Shao You or Shao Yan, I might not have been able to leave so easily.
As I left the city, I felt a moment of confusion. Where should I go?
The winding road stretched on endlessly, and large swaths of sunlight streamed down, making me feel dizzy.
I found a small pavilion and sat inside for a while. I took out a handkerchief and wrapped it around my rough wrist. I took a deep breath and felt a little better.
But as soon as I stopped, the scene in the flower hall just now was like a lingering shadow. The more I tried to forget it, the clearer it became, to the point of being suffocating.
"Sister Rong."
The sound made my back stiffen instantly, and my heart sank.
This year is really unlucky. It seems like God is punishing me for all the glory I've had before.
"Why are you so pale? What happened?"
The sapphire blue Suzhou embroidery, the auspicious clouds outlined with silver thread, and the painted tassels at his waist all subtly accentuated his somewhat childish yet dignified demeanor.
"Little friend, you live in Yanwubao, right? How did you get lost and end up here?"
Anger flashed in his round eyes. "You're not that much older than me!"
"Being one year older than you is still being older."
I subtly withdrew my hand and covered my wrist with my sleeve.
"you!"
"Alright, you've never won an argument with me. You were so much better when you were obedient, you were such a cute little thing. How did you grow up to be like this?"
Her pale pink cheeks gradually turned red, and it looked like you could pinch them until they bled.
I stood up with a grin, walked over and patted his very soft face.
"You actually came when I told you to come see me..." How could you be so easily fooled? "But I won't let you come all this way for nothing. I'll start teaching you after the third move, but before that, shouldn't you find me a place to stay?"
He remained silent for a moment, scrutinizing my credibility with an extremely skeptical look.
"If you miss this opportunity, you won't have another chance. You need to think about it carefully."
"...Where would you like to stay?"
Good child, all the love I had for you in the past was worth it.
Do you have any manor houses that are a bit remote and generally hard to find?
Why is it that no matter what I do, or whoever it is, they always look at me with that kind of gaze before making a decision?
"There's a house behind Mount Muming, where the disciples of Peach Blossom Valley are punished and reflect on their mistakes. It's in a remote location, and unless you know it beforehand, it's very difficult for anyone to find it. However, the conditions aren't very good; it's practically a dilapidated house for you. Even so, do you still want to go?"
When a person is down on their luck, what right do they have to be picky? You all understand this better than I do, but only I have truly experienced what it's like.
Chapter 54
Because the distance from Luoyang to Muming Mountain is quite far, it takes a considerable amount of time to get there.
When I passed through Anqing City, I accidentally ran into the twins An. I found it strange. We were taking a side road and staying at a small inn. How could we meet like this? What kind of fate is this?
"What are you looking at! Are you deliberately following me to see me make a fool of myself?!"
He struck first, his eyes wide open, his fierceness palpable.
"You yourself are a joke, what's there to watch?"
When I blocked his mouth, he couldn't make a sound, and his face turned red and his neck bulged from holding it in.
Seeing that he couldn't catch his breath, he turned to Yan Guhong, his eyes widened again, and he finally managed to speak.
"What's this little kid doing here?"
Yan Guhong's face flushed red upon hearing this, not out of shyness or embarrassment, but because he was so angry that his brain was about to explode.
“I’ve kept my hair tied up for two years!” he spat out each word through gritted teeth.
"Oh, so that's just a greenhorn... Pshaw, why am I messing around with you!" Gemini Ann stomped his foot, immediately turned around and grabbed me, "You've come at the right time! How can you not help your brother when he's in trouble?"
Who did you offend?
"The legendary little demon of Baishan!"
"..."
Not only were Yan Guhong and I speechless, but even the shopkeeper, who had been fiddling with the abacus, fell silent.
"...Why are you running off to Xiaohe City for no reason?"
Even a fool knows how much Zhao Hequan, the city lord of Xiaohe City, cherishes his little demon, even though it is just an extremely rare poisonous snake. Because it is pure white and often appears near the small mountains outside Xiaohe City, it is also known as the White Mountain Little Demon.
"Isn't it said that the little thing's blood gall can cure all poisons? I wanted to try it on my little master to see if it could cure the poison given by the Medicine King, but who knew..."
"Who knew you'd run right into Zhao Hequan, and since you couldn't beat him, you had no choice but to tuck your tail between your legs and run away, right?"
He chuckled twice without saying anything, which was taken as tacit agreement.
So another inexplicable burden was added to the journey.
A few days after passing Anqing, it suddenly rained, and the weather turned cold almost overnight.
Because I am sensitive to the cold and cannot stand the chill, they had to change course and take the main road to get me some extra clothes. But as soon as they saw Yan Guhong, they immediately had the carriage turn back.
"What's wrong?"
"Are there people in the Moon Palace?"
I was stunned for a moment, and only after a blank moment did I lift a corner of the curtain to look outside.
The people of the Moonless Palace often wear light blue and moon-white robes, with gold thread trimming the edges and hems, and large clusters of water lilies outlined in red thread—exquisite, beautiful, and yet dignified and elegant. Only by observing the crescent-shaped snow jade pendants hanging from each person's waist can one confirm that they are from the Moonless Palace.
Gemini An looked outside and then back at me several times before suddenly realizing what was going on.
"You've fallen out with the Grand Palace Master?"
I couldn't hide the twitch in my eye; a certain word felt like a needle piercing straight into my heart, so painful that I couldn't speak for a moment.
Perhaps because my expression was extremely unpleasant, Gemini Ann, unusually, quieted down and didn't ask any more questions.
"...Let's just follow the original route; it shouldn't be too cold to catch a chill."
"Are you sure?" Yan Guhong frowned, looking at me suspiciously.
"I have divine protection, what's there to be afraid of? Let's go!"
I don't want to stay here, not even for a moment. I don't want to see or hear anything related to that person.
They were both stunned for a moment, clearly not yet accepting my loss of composure. I closed my eyes, buried my face in my knees, and covered my ears with my hands.
It would be fine if it were all dark. That would be enough. I can't cry, at least not in front of people or here.
After a long while, the carriage began to sway, finally moving away from that person step by step.
The coldness at my fingertips spread little by little from my ears to my heart, sinking deeper and deeper, sealed beneath the ice, so that the pain would subside...
Chapter 55
As we approached Peach Blossom Valley, the road ahead became increasingly difficult; to be precise, the path left for us to take was becoming shorter and shorter.
Gemini An turned back from the front, her expression more serious than I had ever seen before.
"What exactly happened? Even the branch hall master has come out. What problem is so serious?"
Seeing that I was not speaking and only staring at the flowers and plants outside, he lost his patience and grabbed me, forcing me to face him.
"What are you sulking about now? Don't you even know where you are? You're acting like the whole world has wronged you. Do you think anyone will listen to you now?" He said, his brows furrowed tightly. "You can't even tell friend from foe. Who are you trying to impress with your high and mighty attitude?"
Rong Lian is now worse than a rat crossing the street. What do you mean by a sparrow climbing a high branch being no match for a phoenix falling from a branch? To hell with your Jun Guan! It's all bullshit and lies. A fallen phoenix is worse than a chicken! So you don't need to care about me anymore. Let me fend for myself. It'll save you the trouble of seeing me. If I get in your way, it'll all be my fault.
"Oh... I apologize, I'm so sorry. How much longer until we reach Mount Muming?"
Anyway, I'm never going to join in any more commotion. I'll just stay in that house for the rest of my life and no one should bother me.
He was completely startled by what I said and didn't even realize he had let go of my hand.
"We can only go around through the woods behind Peach Blossom Valley. It will take some time, probably two more days if we hurry."
Yan Guhong patted the frozen Gemini An, his gaze filled with disbelief, but he was at least not as formidable as Gemini An.
I turned my head away expressionlessly and continued to look at the flowers and trees.
Just when I finally softened my stubbornness and slowly accepted it, I suddenly discovered that it was all a deception woven by that person. Didn't they just want to see me suffer? Nangong Ling, you hate me so much? It's really unfair to ask you to be nice to me. Very well, I was stupid this time, stupid enough to believe you!
For the next two days, neither of them dared to speak to me. When we got off the bus at Muming Mountain, I told them to stop and not to follow me any further.
"Is that house behind the mountain?"
Yan Guhong nodded.
"Okay, then that's settled. I can find it myself." I took out a few thin sheets of paper from my sleeve. "The Rong Style Nine Swords are all on here. You can practice them according to these instructions when you get back. Also, don't tell anyone I'm here, otherwise I can't guarantee what I might do. You guys decide what to do."