Fragrance rises to dance

Chapter 94

As soon as he spoke, the general-looking man was taken aback. He dared not offend this ruthless star. He slowly put the rabbit on the ground, wondering what new trick Li Lingyan would use to kill this beast.

Li Lingyan walked over, picked up the rabbit, tore off a piece of handkerchief, soaked it in medicine, bandaged the rabbit's wound, and then let it out.

Behind them, from Liu Ji down to Jiang Chenming, the youngest Han army commander, all looked at each other in disbelief, their expressions even more horrified than if they had seen Li Lingyan tear the rabbit to pieces and eat it. Xingxing chuckled at their expressions, while Huaiyue, with her long, fluffy hair tied up, said leisurely, "It's too late for you to accumulate good deeds now."

Li Lingyan watched as the little rabbit limped into the bushes, then suddenly sensed something and turned around abruptly—he saw Liu Ji being carried out of another window by a pair of hands; she had clearly been caught off guard and had her pressure points ablated. Su Qing'e was also surprised that Li Lingyan would save the rabbit, but when he suddenly turned around and saw Liu Ji being captured, she shouted and unleashed a palm strike, "When lotus leaves sprout, spring brings hatred."

It was Shengxiang who abducted Liu Ji from outside by striking her pressure points, and it was Rongyin who kidnapped her through the window. Normally, given Rongyin's status and temperament, he wouldn't want to do something resembling a womanizer, but by chance, fate had presented him with a rabbit. If he didn't act now, he wouldn't have another chance to easily capture someone from Li Lingyan's side. So Shengxiang and Rongyin decisively rushed in from behind to snatch her. Liu Ji was captured, and Su Qing'e struck with a palm, which the people inside the room quickly blocked. Shengxiang made a face at the many people in the room, then slapped away a block, exclaiming, "Wow, there's a group of rabbits fighting over carrots! Lots and lots of injured little rabbits..." As he spoke, he and Rongyin's movements swiftly disappeared into the woods.

Su Qing'e's old eyes were red. How could the princess she had served for eighteen years be kidnapped like this? With a sharp cry, she got up to give chase, but Li Lingyan shouted, "Stop!"

"My princess..."

“She’ll be back in less than half an hour.” Li Lingyan looked in the direction Shengxiang and Rongyin had left. “Sit down and wait patiently.”

Su Qing'e dared not disobey this devil, and despite her anxiety, she dared not step out of the wooden house.

The woods outside were quiet, the moon rose higher and higher, and its light bathed every house on the mountain. The scenery was not what one would expect, but it was very peaceful, serene, and detached.

Shengxiang and Rongyin, carrying the acupunctured Liu Ji, ran three miles back to their place. Yu Cuiwei took another bath, seemingly unfazed by the cold, and, dressed in a wide-sleeved robe, roasted a fish by the campfire, the aroma of salt and pepper mingling with the fish's fragrance. Shengxiang exclaimed first, "Ah, I'm hungry." Rongyin put Liu Ji down, giving her a cold look. This princess of Southern Han had a noble and dignified appearance, not unattractive. "Do you recognize him?" he asked, pointing to Yu Cuiwei.

Liu Ji was still in shock. Although she could neither walk nor speak, she could nod.

"Did he release the twenty-nine hostages from your hands?" Rong Yin asked again.

Liu Ji hesitated for a moment. She was well aware that ever since Yu Cuiwei saved the people, the elders of the various sects who had been saved harbored resentment and even wanted to kill him. If she were to accuse Yu Cuiwei of saving the people, it would be tantamount to declaring that the elders of the various sects were narrow-minded and fame-seeking, allowing Yu Cuiwei to escape the persecution of the eleven sects. She deeply hated Yu Cuiwei and wished he would be hacked to death, so of course she was unwilling to admit it outright.

"Yes or no?" Rong Yin asked coldly.

Liu Ji put on a pitiful expression and shook her head.

Shengxiang spat out a mouthful of water, while Yu Cuiwei laughed loudly, as if this outcome was expected. Gu She also shook her head, thinking that this little girl was cunning and treacherous, and not a kind person.

Rong Yin's expression remained unchanged, and he said coldly, "Miss Liu, you are well aware that whether the 'Ghost-Faced Demon' is dead or alive, the twenty-nine elders of the thirteen sects will never let you go. You know what happened to Li Lingyan for his perverse actions. Do you really think he will protect you for life? Once Li Lingyan fails, have you thought about how you will protect yourself?"

Liu Ji's expression changed slightly, and she shut her mouth without answering.

“Besides you, Miss Liu, there is another witness to ‘Ghost-Faced Demon’,” Rong Yin said coldly. “Although the Wudang Golden Core cultivator is dead, the Shaolin First-Level Zen Master is still alive. However, the old monk is shrewd and unwilling to offend his old friend. If you testify, the old monk will have to agree in order to show his impartiality. As long as you testify, the situation in the martial world will be different.”

"Why should I save the 'Ghost-Faced Demon'?" Liu Ji sneered. "Whether I save him or harm him, I'm going to die anyway. Do you think Zhuge Zhi will spare me?"

"Who dares to hold you accountable?" Rong Yin's words weighed heavily on Liu Ji's head. "After you testify, surrender to the court and submit to the Song Dynasty. The Emperor wants to stabilize the former territory of Southern Han and win over the hearts of the people. Who dares to hold you accountable?"

Liu Ji trembled. Submit to the Song Dynasty? She had never considered submitting to the Song Dynasty. Why should she… Suddenly, she laughed loudly, “The old monk Yi Chong has such prestige, why don’t you dare to go to him and instead try to force me? In the end, you still dare not be an enemy of Shaolin! Li Lingyan—hehe—” She suddenly shouted, “Lingyan will never abandon me, because—because I am carrying his child!” At this point, Liu Ji’s face was filled with pride and sorrow.

Upon hearing this, Rong Yin and Gu She exchanged surprised glances. Gu She was slightly taken aback; she felt sorry for her. What could a woman say when she had to rely on a man for her child? She was at her wit's end.

"What will you do if Xiao Yan dies one day?" Sheng Xiang didn't laugh at her, but stared at her. "What will you and the child do?"

She gazed into Shengxiang's eyes, eyes she loved so much she wanted to pierce them and make them weep. But all she could do was stare at them with feigned innocence and malice, until she felt like bursting into tears. "If he dies, I'll die with him," she replied, her noble and elegant mask completely shattered, her tone utterly vicious.

“This isn’t how you love Xiaoyan…” Shengxiang sighed for her.

“Who would love that devil?” Liu Ji screamed almost immediately. “Me? Hahahaha…Me? Hahahaha…”

Shengxiang stared at her frantic state, his eyes wide, and exchanged bewildered glances with Gushe. Finally, he muttered to himself, losing face, "Women, oh women..." Gushe also sighed. Although she was a woman herself, she really didn't know what this princess was thinking.

Yu Cuiwei had been watching the show with a smile, but seeing Young Master Shengxiang's unusually confused expression, he opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent, only shaking his head. Shengxiang… to be a heartless person, one only needs one heart, and even in death, that same heart will remain unmoved.

Just as everyone was shaking their heads, Liu Ji suddenly let out a shrill scream. Her fingers, forehead, lips, shoulders, and many other places began to throb with pain, and then her whole body trembled and her veins spasmed. She had been acupunctured, but suddenly she collapsed to the ground convulsing, and soon faint traces of blood seeped from her seven orifices.

Shengxiang was taken aback, and in an instant she thought of the faint blue light on Liu Ji's body under the moonlight, "Poisoned?"

Yu Cuiwei, a man of vast experience, exclaimed, “‘Holding hands until old age’? The most potent poison in the world! This is ‘Holding Hands until old age’!” He leaped up and slapped open the pressure points that had bound Liu Ji. “Li Lingyan is calling you! Go back now, or your tendons will be severed and you will bleed from all seven orifices! Hurry!”

Liu Ji let out an extremely shrill scream and turned to run back the way she came. Sheng Xiang and Rong Yin didn't stop her, but looked at each other in horror: Li Lingyan had actually poisoned a pregnant woman with such a deadly poison, disregarding Liu Ji's life and death, and not caring about the safety of their own child, determined not to let her fall into the hands of others! Yu Cuiwei's matter had nothing to do with Li Lingyan; he was just forcing Sheng Xiang to fight him, disregarding the lives of others.

How willful...

That person is so willful...

“My God,” Shengxiang watched Liu Ji run away, “‘Holding hands until old age’? Even if I kill Xiao Yan, Liu Ji cannot live; if I don’t kill Xiao Yan, even if Liu Ji is in my hands, he will poison her to death.”

Rong Yin frowned, merely uttered a "heh," and turned away without speaking. Gu She knew he was displeased. Li Lingyan was cunning and resourceful, and Rong Yin couldn't easily defeat him; for Rong Yin, who was used to having the upper hand, this was immense pressure. She remained silent, standing quietly beside him, saying nothing.

“Rongrong,” Shengxiang suddenly said, “There’s something I know you’ve been planning. Now that Xiaoyan has gone all out regardless of the consequences, if we don’t really make a move, I’m afraid—we’ll lose—” He opened his eyes wide and looked at the moonlit forest, the quiet forest path after Liu Ji left. His eyes were vast and empty, with a resolute calmness. “If we lose, not only Da Yu will die, but definitely not just hundreds or thousands…you…you…” He paused, and with a “thud,” something fell from his sleeve into his palm. He held it up. “Go.”

Rong Yin stared at the small object in his hand. It looked very familiar; it was a tiger-shaped inscription—a tiger tally! A tiger tally for mobilizing troops! After letting out a "heh," he slowly asked, his tone surprisingly cheerful yet chilling, "Where did this come from?"

Shengxiang turned around and smiled faintly, "My father's."

Rong Yin was slightly taken aback. Zhao Pu had served as a military governor for many years and had fought alongside the late emperor in his campaigns. It was not surprising that he possessed the Tiger Tally. How dare Sheng Xiang steal the Tiger Tally? Wasn't he afraid of implicating Zhao Pu in the crime of negligence and dereliction of duty?

“It’s a fake of my father’s,” Shengxiang added slowly.

Rong Yin stared at him, and Sheng Xiang told him to keep staring. Suddenly, Rong Yin burst into laughter, "Good! For the word 'counterfeit,' I, the commander of the 165th Imperial Guard of Jingxi, refuse to believe that I cannot send 10,000 men to besiege Banzhu!" He uttered the word "Banzhu" with a resounding voice, then turned around abruptly with his sleeves behind his back. Sheng Xiang threw the counterfeit tiger tally, and Rong Yin, his green robe and white hair fluttering, caught the tally and left immediately.

Gu She seemed stunned. Sheng Xiang stamped his foot. "Aren't you going to chase after her?" His face was pale after handing over the fake talisman. "If Rongrong doesn't come back, I will never forgive you!"

Gu She suddenly glared at him, "Saint Xiang, Saint Xiang, if you can't beat Li Lingyan, I won't forgive you for what happened today!" She leaped after him and disappeared into the night sky in an instant.

Yu Cuiwei looked at their words and actions with surprise. This time, Shengxiang offered an explanation, speaking slowly and deliberately, watching Rong Yin and Gu She's retreating figures: "Rongrong was once the Grand Councilor of the Song Dynasty. He knows where the troops are in Luoyang—our dynasty sends troops based on tallies, not generals. I forged the tiger tally—to ask Rongrong to lend ten thousand troops—to confront Li Lingyan—"

Forging a tiger tally to dispatch troops—no matter how familiar Rong Yin was with the process, or even with the officials involved, this was absolutely a capital offense! Yu Cuiwei's expression changed, "You—"

“Without restraining Li Lingyan’s army of ten thousand, everything is just empty talk,” Shengxiang said slowly. “He even used the ‘holding hands until old age’ to control everything. You can imagine his expectations of me and Awan. Since Liu Ji can’t be taken away, then he must give it to me himself, and he must give it to me himself… I… must win.” He suddenly widened his eyes, his gaze becoming even more empty, the loneliness deepening. “Xiao Yan has bet everything on this wager. He will kill many, many, many people… I… must win, I absolutely cannot lose!”