Fragrance rises to dance - Chapter 63
Shengxiang pressed down hard on her shoulder and nodded vigorously, "The owner here is very rich."
Shang Xuan nodded. Li Lingyan still had his eyes closed, as if enjoying the fragrance of the lotus flowers. Yu Cuiwei said softly, "That crocodile shows that this very wealthy owner doesn't like visitors."
Sheng Xiang nodded with a smile, his expression as if Yu Cuiwei were his close friend of many years. "Although I don't know what this proves, at least we are definitely unwelcome—bad people."
As they were talking, the flowers and trees on the other side of the bridge swayed, and a person slowly walked by. He glanced over and suddenly saw the uninvited guest standing on the rockery by the lotus pond. He paused for a moment, then stepped onto the bridge and walked over gracefully.
Their emergence was bound to elicit a reaction from their master, but the fact that it was a woman who stepped forward first took the four of them by surprise. Immediately, all four of them focused their attention on the woman who was walking slowly towards them.
She was very young, seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a light blue long dress with several layers of light gauze over it. It was very simple, but the material was of superior quality. Her hair was styled in a high bun, adorned with several jade hairpins. The hairpins were intricately carved; even with Yu Cuiwei's keen eye and discerning eye, he couldn't immediately identify them. A faint brown mole marked the corner of her eye, giving her a noble and elegant appearance, and an air of serenity beyond that of girls her age—though people say that a mole on the corner of the eye is an unlucky sign, making her complexion appear slightly haggard.
Looking at this woman, Yu Cuiwei frowned slightly, and Shang Xuan's heart skipped a beat. He had been in the palace for many years, and had never seen such a graceful and elegant woman before. A sense of foreboding washed over him in an instant. Li Lingyan opened his eyes and smiled clearly at the approaching girl in green. Only Sheng Xiang exclaimed, "Wow, you're so rich!"
The girl in green wasn't particularly surprised, but she smiled and glanced at the four uninvited guests. "Excuse my intrusion, but how did you four gentlemen manage to... arrive here?"
Shengxiang interrupted, "We call ourselves the 'Four Great Talents of the Hongshui River,' and we live in Daming Mountain. Just now, when we were traveling together, enjoying the scenery and composing poems, we encountered a breach in the small dam upstream. The river surged and swept us all into this place." He pointed to the tunnel behind him, "When we woke up, we were already inside. We don't even know how we got in."
The girl in blue smiled, "Once you're inside, it's not so easy to get out."
"You mean the big crocodile inside?" Shengxiang blinked and pointed at Yu Cuiwei. "He killed it."
Shang Xuan was taken aback. Sheng Xiang lied and said they were the "Four Great Talents of the Red River," but then easily revealed that they had killed a crocodile. Wouldn't that make them even more suspicious?
The girl in green smiled and glanced at Yu Cuiwei. "Young master, you are handsome and your martial arts are superb. But who among you who can come here is not a master among masters? I have been disrespectful." With that, she bowed gracefully and raised her sleeves. "Honorable guest, this way please."
The young woman in blue was clearly either the owner of the place or an important relative of the owner, judging from her speech and appearance. The four of them were somewhat surprised by her attitude. They thought a big battle was inevitable, but they did not expect the owner to be calm, composed, and peaceful.
Who exactly is this young woman?
Just as the group crossed the bridge and stepped onto the cobblestone path, the red-clad maid from before led a group of strangely dressed servants rushing towards them from afar. The group numbered no less than a hundred, carrying swords and bows, and some of them were also carrying strange weapons. They shouted loudly as they charged forward.
The girl in green gave a soft shout: "Stop!"
The maid in red and the servants immediately stopped their frantic rush. The girl in green waved her sleeves gently and said, "These four gentlemen are my honored guests. Everyone, please disperse and do not disturb our guests."
"Yes!" the servants replied in unison, turning and running back the way they came.
Shengxiang and Shangxuan exchanged a glance. Shengxiang blinked, while Shangxuan frowned even more deeply. Yu Cuiwei seemed oblivious, and Li Lingyan simply lowered his gaze more carefully.
At the foot of Daming Mountain.
A sudden flash flood engulfed the Northern Han army, and several key figures disappeared in the floodwaters. The remaining Northern Han troops scattered over the next three days, with about 50-60% scattering. Jiang Chenming rushed to the scene to oversee the situation and regroup the remnants. With the help of Qu Zhiliang, they swept through Qingzhu Hongqiang on the fourth day. The Northern Han army paid a heavy price with about three hundred lives, but the main altar of the Blood Sacrifice Society was engulfed in flames. Two members of the "Four-Part Moon" faction were killed in battle, and Li Shiyu's whereabouts remained unknown. Qu Zhiliang, however, captured Li Lingyan's mother, Lady Li.
Although it seemed that he had wiped out the main force of the Blood Sacrifice Society, Jiang Chenming knew in his heart that he had not gained even half of Li Lingyan's strength. Li Shiyu, Huaiyue, and Beiyue had escaped, and important figures under these people, such as Xingxing, had also escaped. He had failed to control the Blood Sacrifice Society. Apart from capturing Madam Li, he had lost more than 300 lives in the raging fire at Qingzhu Hongqiang and gained nothing.
He had originally planned to secretly force the Blood Sacrifice Society to surrender, bring them under his control, use Daming Mountain as a base, turn around to escape the Song Dynasty's attack on the former territory of Northern Han, regroup, and then rise up under the banner of Shang Xuan. The forced attack on the mountain completely disrupted his plans. News of this spread among the fleeing crowds, and the Song Dynasty's reaction was still unknown. However, Biluo Palace learned that Qu Zhiliang was on Daming Mountain, and that elite troops had recently infiltrated the area, seemingly harboring Qu Zhiliang's followers. This made him hesitant to use this crucial asset lightly. If Biluo Palace successfully challenged or ambushed him, he would lose a unique and powerful ally. With Shang Xuan's fate unknown, he cherished Qu Zhiliang even more. Therefore, Jiang Chenming decided to leave Daming Mountain within seven days, going from the open to the covert, coiling his tail and lying in wait to avoid the enemy.
Jiang Chenming has shifted from an overt to a covert operation, while the power of Biluo Palace under Wan Yuyuedan's command is growing ever stronger. Firstly, his underlings seem omnipresent, possessing complete knowledge of Qu Zhiliang's every move; secondly, he's not merely concerned with Qu Zhiliang, having heard that Madam Li has been taken away by him, while Li Shiyu and Beiyue have fallen into Wan Yuyuedan's hands. Although the martial world appears calm on the surface these past few days, everyone knows that if Li Lingyan doesn't die, a storm is brewing.
But where was Li Lingyan at the crucial moment?
Are the four people who went down with the water still alive?
Most people hoped that Li Lingyan, that demon, would simply die. Everyone was curious about the origins of this extraordinary force that swept away the Blood Sacrifice Society, and why they wanted to destroy it. The true identities of those involved were unclear to the martial arts world; all that was known was that the revered "Iron Horse of Chu," Qu Zhiliang, had appeared at Daming Mountain. Consequently, much credit was attributed to Qu Zhiliang, and everyone sang his praises, saying that the great hero Qu was indeed the savior of the martial arts world from its dire straits.
Only a very few people in the martial arts world are wondering: Are they still alive?
Rong Yin was the first to know what had happened. After all, he had tacitly approved of the Northern Han remnants' secret southward advance and the infighting at Daming Mountain. When the fire broke out at Daming Mountain and Jiang Chenming went into hiding, he knew his decision was correct. As expected, the Northern Han army and the Blood Sacrifice Society suffered heavy losses, the main force of the Blood Sacrifice Society was scattered, and Jiang Chenming's rebellion failed, his plan was exposed, and he was once again in trouble. But the disappearance of Sheng Xiang, Shang Xuan, and Li Lingyan was something he had not anticipated.
He didn't say he regretted it. He just didn't speak for two whole days.
Wan Yuyuedan was the second to receive the news. After reading it, he smiled slightly. Bi Lianyi, the first person under Biluo Palace, cupped her hands and asked him if he believed it. Wan Yuyuedan propped his chin up and said, "If I also fell into the water, would you believe I would die?" Bi Lianyi then laughed loudly, and Wan Yuyuedan smiled.
Having stayed in this mysterious garden for five or six days, Li Lingyan's internal injuries had largely healed, while the other three had already thoroughly explored the entire place. It seemed to be a small basin nestled within the mountains, the basin itself being the manor. Although the pavilions and gardens were magnificent, there was no way out. In other words, unless one traversed these hundreds-of-thousands-foot cliffs, those who remained here would be trapped forever; hence the name "Mo Qu Manor" (meaning "Don't Go Manor"). During the construction of this manor, all possible exit routes were blocked, even the originally gentle slopes were carved into sheer cliffs, and some mountain paths were built with massive stones, with soil and trees added to the crevices. Over decades, those trees and vines had grown over the stone walls, making them impossible to topple.
There must be something strange about this place, but the biggest problem is that they can't get out. Going back through the original tunnel seems easy, but when they tried to throw a rope up from the ten-zhang-high opening, they found that the dead crocodile, bloated from being submerged in water, had blocked the tunnel. The opening was narrow, and they couldn't even push the hundreds-of-pounds-plus monster out of the way. To get out, they would have to wait at least ten days to half a month for it to rot and be eaten by insects. The thought of leaving such a disgusting place made Shengxiang groan and say she'd rather stay here forever.
The young woman in blue introduced herself as surnamed Liu, with the given name Ji. She said the mansion was built by her father before his death, and she didn't know how to get out. She also said that in the past twenty years, as many as fourteen people had mistakenly entered this place, most of them Miao people who were chopping wood. Of them, one died of old age here, two died of illness, and four are still living here. No one has ever left.
Beside the woman surnamed Liu were two elderly people who revered her like a deity; one called her Pu Shidong, and the other Su Qing'e. These two were far less elegant and refined than Liu, and harbored a subtle hostility towards Shengxiang and her group.
This was the seventh day of their stay. The weather was fine and sunny, and the breeze that flowed through Moqu Villa carried an indescribable fragrance of flowers. Several kinds of flowers in the garden were in bloom at the same time.
The sound of a pipa drifted from the garden. Autumn was gradually approaching, and although it was in the south, it was already chilly in the mornings and evenings. The sound of the pipa came from afar, like waves rippling on the water, and it was very beautiful.
"I wonder who's playing the pipa?" Shengxiang had caught a snail in the garden and was on her way to present it to Yu Cuiwei when she heard the sound of a pipa. Her face was full of admiration.
Yu Cuiwei, dressed in a simple white robe (his old bathrobe was ruined and unwearable), looked dignified and upright in his formal attire, his hair tied up with a crown, showing no trace of coquetry. An outsider would surely have thought him mature, reliable, and dashing, despite his slightly older age. Upon hearing this, Yu Cuiwei smiled, “The sound of a fallen kingdom.”
Shengxiang tossed the snail onto the table and listened to the pipa with Yu Cuiwei for a while. Suddenly, she said, "Hey, Da Yu, isn't there something strange about this?"
He didn't say what it was about, but Yu Cuiwei smiled and slowly shifted his gaze to look at him. "Oh?"
Shengxiang sighed, "Don't look at me like that."
Yu Cuiwei smiled again and said softly, "If you don't want me to look, then I won't look." He turned his face away, paused for a moment, and then suddenly spoke in a serious tone, "We must be wary of Liu Ji."
Shengxiang had never heard him speak seriously before. When he was serious, his tone was deep, and his words were concise, sending a chill down one's spine. Hearing the seven characters "Yu Cuiwei," Shengxiang smiled, his fan snapping open slightly before closing again. "There are hundreds, even thousands of people here, not a single vegetable garden. How can they eat if they haven't left for over twenty or thirty years? It's absolutely a lie." Looking at the snails he had caught, Shengxiang sighed slowly and murmured, "I'm questioning something… Da Yu, this is 'Midnight Song'…"
Yu Cuiwei smiled slightly, "You recognized it too? It's 'Midnight Song'." The pipa in the distance was still playing the tune of "Midnight Song". Yu Cuiwei said with a smile, "'Midnight Song' was written by Li Yu four years ago. If this place were really isolated from the world, how could it be played? This place not only has connections with the outside world, but also close connections. They are even familiar with popular poems and songs."
Shengxiang blinked, looked at the snail, and slowly said, "I don't doubt that. Prostitute Liu is definitely suspicious. I just think, her surname is Liu, and his surname is Liu too..."
Yu Cuiwei suddenly jolted, "You said—"
Shengxiang interrupted, shouting, "Stop!"
Yu Cuiwei immediately stopped talking. Although he wasn't exactly horrified, he was still taken aback. Then he laughed and laughed loudly, "We encountered soldiers first, and then ghosts."