The hull of the painted boat seemed to sway back and forth in the wind.
A soft voice drifted through the latticed windows of the painted boat on the evening breeze, carrying with it a fragrant aroma that made Hua Chongyang dizzy. She couldn't hear anything more after that. Silently, she reached out and grabbed the wooden wall, stood by the window, gritted her teeth, slowly closed her eyes, and then opened them again.
Outside the railing, the setting sun cast its last rays upon the lake, creating a breathtaking, blood-red shimmer.
36. Bo Jiang
After the dizziness subsided, Hua Chongyang remained motionless, his heart filled with shame and anger at being betrayed and deceived.
The woman speaking inside was none other than Bo Jiang.
Lan Wuxie and Bo Jiang were actually on the same path.
Bo Jiang's attack on Lan Wuxie at Lake Moon Villa was merely an act.
But if Bo Jiang really obeyed Lan Wuxie's orders, then who was the person who wanted to kill her that day? If it wasn't Bo Jiang, then it was probably Ye Qinghua; if it was Bo Jiang, wouldn't that mean Lan Wuxie wanted to harm her?
Hua Chongyang clenched his fists tightly, not daring to think any further.
The conversation continued behind the latticed window, Bo Jiang's voice filled with endless resentment:
"I only agreed to marry Situ Qingliu because of you, but what do you take me for?"
Lan Wuxie remained silent for a long time before slowly asking:
"Those people, did you send them?"
"You still don't believe me?"
"I have my own way of getting Lanxiang to talk."
Bo Jiang gritted his teeth:
"Everyone from Lan Ying Palace is ruthless, cruel, and perverted. How could I not know that? Even if you torture Lan Xiang into a ghost, it still has nothing to do with me. Lan Wuxie, all my feelings for you were wasted, and you only treated me like a dog. For a piece of Biluo Heart Sutra, you fawned over Hua Chongyang to the heavens. Sooner or later, you will regret it—"
"Go back," Lan Wuxie interrupted Bo Jiang directly. "I'm tired."
"Tired? True," Bo Jiang sneered, his laughter laced with resentment. "We've just been having a passionate encounter, and you're not even fully dressed yet. How could you not feel tired?"
The sight of flowers blooming outside the window on Double Ninth Festival sent chills down my spine.
With just a little more courage, she would have kicked the door open and stormed in; but at this moment, she didn't even have the strength to be angry.
There was a rustling sound inside the room, as if someone was getting dressed; Hua Chongyang clenched his fists and approached the window, seeing Bo Jiang kneeling beside the wooden bed in the room, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke to Lan Wuxie:
"Such a beautiful face, yet it hides such a cruel heart. I heard that when you disguised yourself as Zu Xian, Hua Chongyang took a liking to you. Didn't she see that your heart was already rotten to the core?"
She tilted her head back, sneering as if talking to herself:
"You can fool some of them, but you can't fool all of them. Knowing Hua Chongyang's nature, if she knew your true colors, forget about giving you the Azure Sky Heart Sutra; even Pavilion Master Lan probably wouldn't give you a second glance."
Lan Wuxie acted as if he hadn't seen her, got up, put on his clothes, and went into the steaming wooden tub under the bed, his voice utterly exhausted:
"You're afraid of death? Then remember this: if you dare touch her, I'll make sure you can't die even if you want to."
Bo Jiang stood up abruptly, flicked his sleeves, and turned around abruptly:
"Great! Great! I'll be waiting for that day!"
Hua Chongyang mechanically controlled his steps, silently hiding behind a corner in the shadows. Through the gap in the stairs, he saw Bo Jiang, dressed in red, stride away angrily.
The room opposite was pitch black, with no light or people in sight. After hiding behind the stairs for a long time, thinking about the conversation between Lan Wuxie and Bo Jiang, Hua Chongyang stood there until his legs went numb, but he still couldn't muster the strength to take a step. He just stood there until a faint light appeared in Lan Wuxie's room.
Her mind went blank as she stared blankly at Lan Wuxie carrying a candlestick out. From the doorway, he nonchalantly lit the glass lanterns one by one in the corridor.
A long, snow-white undergarment trailed on the ground, her slender figure stretched long by the candlelight, gradually disappearing into the distance with the flickering candlelight under the eaves.
Under the long corridor of the painted boat, candles were everywhere, their golden light falling on the lake surface, creating a dim and serene atmosphere.
Hua Chongyang walked silently toward the bow of the boat.
The oars lapped against the water as Hua Chongyang sat silently against the bow of the boat. The boat was dark, anchored at the shore. Hua Chongyang jumped off the boat and, without a word, was followed by three disciples of the Lan Ying Palace back to Banlian Zui.
The garden corridor was completely silent.
In the past, at dusk, Lan Wuxie would always bring a candlestick and light the candles under the eaves one by one.
Standing under the silent corridor, Hua Chongyang recalled the image he had seen on the painted boat earlier, of him holding a candle and lighting it.
If she was attracted to Zu Xian at first sight, then she truly fell in love with him later when she saw him under the eaves, drunk but focused on lighting a lamp with his head tilted back.
He was wrapped in a fox fur coat, his hair disheveled over his shoulders, and he turned around to smile at her, his face displaying an expression that was both incredibly earnest and incredibly lonely.
"Wouldn't it be more lively with a few more lights?"
That kind of laughter, that kind of intoxication.
At that moment, the scattered red lanterns cast shadows like a curtain on both sides of the long corridor, isolating him from the mundane world and involuntarily stirring one's heart.
As she thought about it, a smile played on her lips. She took down the lamp burning under the eaves and lit the row of crimson lanterns one by one. The candlelight remained the same, but she gradually felt a heart-wrenching pain.
It turns out that in this world, both beauty and cruelty can break your heart.
As soon as I entered the room, Lan Cao came up to me and diligently poured me tea.
Have you had dinner yet?
Hua Chongyang shook his head.
"Is the Pavilion Master not coming back tonight?"
Hua Chongyang sat slowly at the table, still shaking his head. Lan Cao noticed something was wrong and leaned closer to examine him:
"What's wrong? Did you quarrel with the Pavilion Master again?"
Hua Chongyang replied listlessly:
"Why do you assume it's because I was angry with him?"
Lan Cao first raised an eyebrow, then chuckled softly:
"That's easy to say. In short, he won't be angry with you; he'll be too busy trying to please you to keep him happy."
Hua Chongyang couldn't even manage a smile; after a long while, he looked up at the orchids.
"What kind of woman does your sect leader like?"
A set of exquisite teacups and a teapot were laid out on the table. Lan Cao, who was pouring water from the teapot, trembled upon hearing this, spilling tea all over the table without wiping it up. She glared at Hua Chongyang for a long time before throwing down the teapot.
"...Why do you ask that?"
"Just asking," Hua Chongyang chuckled lazily, picking up the teacup on the table and taking a sip. "I know all about his past. What beautiful woman in Hangzhou hasn't been to a pleasure boat?"
Lan Cao was dumbfounded, standing there holding the teapot, completely at a loss for words. Hua Chongyang simply held his teacup, sipping slowly, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips. His long eyes were fixed on the teacup, his eyelashes fluttering as he took a sip and said:
"With your sect leader's demeanor, he could be a womanizer without even lifting his eyelids. There's probably no one in this world who wouldn't be interested in him, only women he wouldn't look at. You've been by his side for so long, don't you know what kind of woman he likes?"
Lan Cao, still holding the teapot, stared blankly, unsure how to respond. She had always thought Hua Chongyang was easy to talk to and serve. Compared to the people in Lan Ying Palace, especially that pavilion master who rarely spoke and whose temper was notoriously bad, Hua Chongyang was at least a kind person. But she hadn't expected him to suddenly put on such an ambiguous act tonight. After a long pause, she shook her head and forced a fawning smile.
"Our sect leader naturally prefers someone like you."
"What kind of person am I?"
"...Of course, she is beautiful, kind, gentle, generous, and courteous—"
Hua Chongyang, holding a teacup, looked up at her, his gaze sharp. Lan Cao stopped her cheesy flattery, her smile fading as she put down the teapot and sighed.
"I'm really not good at flattery. The women the Pavilion Master wanted before, if we're talking about beauty, they might not be as pretty as you; and if we're talking about gentleness and charm—I'm not saying this to be mean, Hua Chongyang, all the gentleness you have combined can't compare to a single finger of theirs. Those women risked their lives to be with him, but he wouldn't even lift an eyelid, he'd just use them and then throw them away—"
Lan Cao suddenly stopped talking, her eyes widened, and she raised her hand to cover her mouth.
Hua Chongyang's smile was stiffer than a grimace, but he forced himself to put down his teacup and feign indifference.
"It doesn't matter. He's not a monk; how could he not touch women?"
Lan Cao was so frustrated she wanted to slap herself, and she took her hand away, looking guilty as she tried to salvage the situation:
"...The Pavilion Master didn't know many people before...With his looks, women always flocked to him..."
Hua Chongyang could no longer pretend and decided to open his eyes:
"...That's true. It would be incredibly easy for him to deceive a woman."
These words seemed to have a hidden meaning. Lan Cao paused for a moment, pondered, and then cautiously retorted:
"You're mistaken about that. The Pavilion Master has never bothered to lie to anyone, let alone to a woman."
Flowers bloom and the sun rises high on the Double Ninth Festival.
Lan Cao glanced at her, her expression unusually serious:
"With the strength and wealth of Lan Ying Palace, the Pavilion Master can simply take whatever he wants—why bother trying to deceive him? He wouldn't—"
Hua Chongyang interrupted her directly:
"Disdainful of lying? Then why did he pretend to be Zu Xian to lie back then?"
She abruptly stopped talking.
Looking back now, it turns out that her belief that Lan Wuxie was Zu Xian was entirely wishful thinking on her part. Lan Wuxie never admitted to being Zu Xian, let alone lied to her.
Thinking of this, Hua Chongyang paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes and smiled:
"As expected... what a true 'never lies' person."
Lan Cao, unaware of what she was thinking, continued speaking:
"You should be able to tell that the Sect Master is actually a bit reclusive, obsessed with martial arts, and once he goes into seclusion, he won't come out for ten days or half a month. He's too lazy to say what he wants to say, and he simply ignores what he doesn't want to say, not even bothering to give a perfunctory reply. So—"
Hua Chongyang smiled again.
Therefore, Lan Wuxie really put a lot of effort into her; it's just unknown whether this should be considered a blessing or a curse.
Lan Cao, observing her expression and seeing that her smile seemed normal, cautiously added:
"...So, Miss Chongyang, although the Pavilion Master has a bad temper and can be a bit willful and reckless at times, I think he still cares about you—as for women...that's all in the past..."
past?
Hua Chongyang smiled again, his expression unchanged, and asked Lan Cao:
"All he knows is martial arts; how could he possibly go looking for women?"
The orchid kept silent.
Hua Chongyang started raising his eyebrows at her again, staring and staring until Lancao's legs went weak, before she muttered under her breath:
"It's just that... he said he wanted women, so we found some... he slept with them and left, telling us to throw them out..."