The moon shines brightly over the empty mountains, and flowers fill the sky

Chapter 12

"One hundred to two hundred years?!" Che Shui looked at her in astonishment, momentarily stunned: "It's been that long?"

Mei Hua nodded, her expression becoming serious. "Yes, I checked the main hall's library... These two items are only briefly mentioned in the records: the Crescent Moon Ribbon, about the size of a palm, is crystal clear, smooth and supple, with auspicious cloud patterns entwined around it, like a crescent moon hanging in a clear, starry night. The Rising Sun Bronze Mirror, also known as the Heart-Locking Bronze Mirror, is round, with its surface divided into two sections. The inner section is engraved with colorful clouds and floral patterns, while the outer section depicts the wonders of the four seasons, allowing one to view the scenery of the entire year, lifelike and vivid. Both items were birthday gifts presented by Qianxia Tower to the Lord of Wanying Fortress."

"Qianxia Tower?"

"Wanyingbao?"

Xuan Sheng and Che Shui were both taken aback and asked the question at the same time.

"These two gangs are not..."

"...It had already declined during the previous dynasty?" Che Shui continued.

“Yes.” Plum Blossom nodded: “Qianxia Tower and Wanying Fort both fell to the ground a hundred to two hundred years ago.”

"So that means these two things might have an even more ancient origin..." Che Shui paused, then complained with a worried look, "That's practically the same as knowing nothing at all..."

"I told you you're stupid!" Plum Blossom glared at him and said, "These few lines of text have already revealed a lot of information. Although it's unclear, if we keep investigating, something will eventually come to light."

"Does the Hall Master intend to start the investigation with Qianxia Tower and Wanying Fortress?" After a moment of silence, Xuan Sheng asked calmly.

“Not only that. I also need to investigate other gangs that coexist with them. I’m afraid this will take a long time to research…” Plum Blossom sighed, then turned her head as if thinking of something: “So I’ve decided to go with you.”

"Why?!" Che Shui's eyes widened suddenly as he angrily exclaimed, "Can't you stay in Plum Blossom Hall and properly investigate the information?!"

“These things can be handled by my subordinates! I need the latest information all the time, and I can only get that by staying by your side!” Plum Blossom narrowed her eyes, giving him a warning look, as if to say, “If you piss me off, I’ll beat you to a pulp!” “Besides, this is also beneficial to you, right? At least you won’t be chased around in complete confusion!”

"I'd rather be chased around in complete confusion than travel with a wicked woman like you!" Che Shui was about to shout this when she heard a soft groan. She quickly turned her head and exclaimed in surprise, "Xiao Jing? You're awake?"

Pear Blossom Valley: Homes Amidst the Clouds 2

Xuan Sheng also turned his head and saw the woman slowly open her eyes, blink, and then put one hand on her forehead, as if she was somewhat dazed and recalling something. She then turned to look at him, and after a while, smiled slightly.

“Xuansheng…” Shuangjing called out softly.

Seeing that her face was still pale and translucent, and her slender body seemed so fragile that it might disappear at any moment, the second young master of Half Moon City thought that she had risked her life to save him. The deep guilt he had felt before was like a thread twisting in his chest and entwining in his heart. He smiled faintly and replied with a rare gentleness that he himself did not realize: "Hmm? Are you awake? Do you want something to eat?"

"No..." Shuangjing buried her head in her arm, which she was using as a pillow, and rubbed it back and forth like a cat. After she had enough of being coquettish, she raised her head and said with a smile, "Oh, you're lying to me."

"Hmm?" Xuan Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly. Although he stopped smiling, he still looked at her with a gentle and calm expression, letting Shuang Jing's head rub his arm repeatedly like a washboard.

"Ah!" Shuangjing blushed slightly, quickly glancing at Cheshui beside her and Meihua, who was staring at them with disgust. She lowered her head shyly, and after a long while, she twisted her body and said, "You said...you said...you said you would wake me up on your naked body..."

"..."

You said that yourself, didn't you?!

Xuan Sheng almost flung her out the window. He had thought that Ye Shuangjing would at least be able to function like a normal person despite her serious illness and weakness, but clearly, he was terribly wrong.

Meihua, standing nearby, couldn't bear to watch any longer. She shook off the goosebumps covering her body and prepared to get up to find something to eat. The shouting and yelling with Cheshui just now was more exhausting than fighting an enemy. She yawned and headed towards the door, but then heard Shuangjing softly call out behind her:

"Please wait, Master."

"What?" Plum Blossom was naturally not in a good mood when she was hungry. She pouted and looked at the woman on the bed who was struggling to sit up.

"Are you really coming with us?" Shuangjing looked at her, smiling warmly, her eyes clear. But Meihua inexplicably stiffened.

For some reason, she felt oppressed.

The disciples of Tianxia Inn are cultivated to be sensitive and alert from a young age. Therefore, even if Shuang Jing is just lying or sitting lazily in the sunlight with a smile, she can feel the majesty and pressure hidden behind that gentle voice.

Even though she was just a pale woman with her martial arts crippled and suffering from a serious illness, she was still the Seven Stones Sect Master who had become famous throughout the world at the age of sixteen.

As for myself, as a junior in the martial arts world, I must express my respect and admiration.

Thinking of this, Mei Hua raised her eyes, lowered her head slightly, and said respectfully, "Yes."

"Why?" Shuangjing sighed softly, leaning back against the pillow, and asked indifferently.

"For revenge, and also, for the truth." Without any pretense or impatience, Plum Blossom regained her usual sternness and indifference in the hall. She glanced quickly at Xuan Sheng: "The second young master of Half Moon City was forced to leave the city to search for medicine, causing you and the leader of Chongchonglou to leave your respective gangs and return to the martial world. The herbs you need to gather happen to be in such a remote place. Even if you are all highly skilled and invincible, with your seriously ill sect leader on the road, there will always be an opening for someone to strike and steal Half Moon Luo Ying and the Heart-Locking Bronze Mirror." She smiled slightly: "Doesn't the sect leader want to know who is behind this scheme?"

"Then, does the Master believe that this person behind the scenes is the murderer who killed your sister?"

Mei Hua shook her head: "I'm not sure about that. The affairs of the martial world are always complicated and unpredictable. Perhaps someone is taking advantage of the situation to stir up trouble and make this person take the blame. But... if there really is an enemy, they will come knocking sooner or later, right? Besides, if Tianxia Inn doesn't investigate the origin of these two items thoroughly, how can it dare to call itself the number one inn in the world?" She smiled lightly, a sly glint in her eyes.

Shuangjing showed no surprise whatsoever. Instead, she raised the same mysterious smile, looked at her for a moment, and then immediately resumed her usual carefree and playful demeanor: "Alright, then please guide me from now on, Hall Master."

"No problem, no problem, you're too kind, Sect Leader." Plum Blossom clasped her hands in a gesture of respect.

"Alright, I won't stand on ceremony. Could you please bring me some delicious food from downstairs?" Shuangjing smiled and counted on her fingers: "I want... Osmanthus cake, Jade Snow cake, Lotus cake, Papaya milk cake, Mung bean cake, Grape rock sugar porridge, Crystal red silk ice porridge, Eight Treasure Fruit Ice, Tofu Skin, Rock Sugar Rose Cake, Lotus Cake, Spring Flower Silk Cake."

"..."

You really have no manners.

Mei Hua's lips twitched slightly, but she still turned around and walked out as if nothing had happened.

Just as she stepped across the threshold, she heard Che Shui's worried voice: "Xiao Jing, is this really okay?"

"It's alright," Shuang Jing replied calmly, glancing back at Xuan Sheng, whose eyes were also filled with questions. "The Plum Blossom Hall Master's lightness skill is superb, which is beneficial and harmless to us. Moreover, with the latest intelligence from Tianxia Inn by our side, it's always better to travel in a state of confusion and uncertainty. Besides..." She glanced at the girl who was deliberately slowing her pace at the door, her smile deepening. "I always feel that she is very similar to us in the past."

The same spirited ambition.

Arrogance that never knows the immensity of the world.

In the world of martial arts, there are vast green plains and towering mountains. Who wouldn't want to soar through them and laugh at the world?

They were like that before, and so was Lin Meihua.

She no longer wanted to be Ye Shuangjing, who waited bitterly under the Seven Stones Sect, and Meihua no longer wanted to be the hall master hidden deep in the Tianxia Inn, right?

Even in times of chaos, heroes and legends can emerge.

What's wrong with that?

"Ah, I hope something fun happens this time..." Shuangjing stretched lazily and said with a smile to the two men who were looking at her with black lines on their faces.

Upon hearing her words, the plum blossoms outside the door involuntarily turned around and glanced at them.

At that moment, the approaching storm had completely darkened the sky outside, but the last rays of sunlight fell upon the three of them. Che Shui, who was standing, Xuan Sheng, who was sitting in a chair, and Shuang Jing, who was lying on the bed, were all bathed in golden light.

Their shadows stretched long on the ground, and sunlight pierced through them like swords, shimmering dazzlingly.

Many years later, Mei Hua can still clearly recall that picturesque scene.

That was the last glimmer of light before the bloodshed of swords and spears, like the dark clouds and storm outside the window, gradually covering the golden twilight, and those three...

The individual stood in the room, chatting and laughing as if nothing had happened, as composed and calm as a god, like a giant pillar supporting the sky.

What is called a legend.

Pear Blossom Valley - Homes Amidst the White Clouds (Part 3)

The distance between Ligu, where Youying Grass grows, and Ningshuang Gate, is indeed an exaggeration to describe it as "ten thousand eight thousand li." However, when three people dragged a woman who would catch a fever and sneeze at the slightest breeze, traversing half a country, crossing the Donglin River that divides Chao'an Kingdom in two, and then painstakingly traversing winding mountain roads to finally reach Ligu, the adjective "ten thousand eight thousand li" simply could not express the hardship and fatigue of the journey.

But in reality, only two things made their journey seem incredibly long and endless.

The first item is Lin Meihua, the head of the Plum Blossom Hall of Tianxia Inn.

As the three legendary figures of the past were admiring the plum blossom and marveling at how formidable the younger generation was, saying that she was truly ignorant of her own limitations to come and venture into the martial world with them, people who had faced life and death many times before, the cold-faced and fiery-tempered woman chewed the food in her mouth, raised her head, and said indistinctly, "Actually, you all think too highly of me."

Shuangjing hurriedly clasped her hands in a fist and said, "Not at all, not at all. When I first entered the martial world, I didn't have your courage at all. You dared to put a knife to my neck, especially with Xuansheng and A'che in front of me. You are really brave, silly, and naive, girl..."

“That’s not what I meant…” Plum Blossom wiped her mouth and said, “Actually, it would be more troublesome and dangerous for me to go with you. There are so many people chasing you right now, I’m really taking a lot of risks. Besides, if we’re going to investigate, wouldn’t it be better if I just stayed in touch with you? I could investigate using the clues from Tianxia Inn much faster…”

"Why is that?" Che Shui looked at her with dissatisfaction, pouting and yelling, "You'll drag us down like this!"

"It's Ye Shuangjing who's dragging you down, okay?" Mei Hua looked at the Seven Stones Sect Master, who was trying to burrow into Xuan Sheng's arms but was being forcefully and carefully pried open by him, with a black line on her face. She shrugged and answered matter-of-factly, "Because it saves money."

"...Huh?" Upon hearing this, the other three were stunned for a moment: "What?"

“Well…” Lin Meihua counted on her fingers, “If I travel with you, I’ll at least save on food, travel expenses, and inn money. Plus, I won’t have to sneak around and suffer all that trouble. I can openly be chased all the way. But let me calculate… an inn costs an average of two taels of silver a night, a horse costs three taels of silver and one string of copper coins, and food costs about five strings of copper coins a day… With you, I’ll save at least five taels of silver and two strings of copper coins a day!” She shook her fingers smugly and grinned, then thought of something else: “Besides, Chongchonglou is so rich, they can’t possibly let a weak woman like me pay all the time, right? Hmm?”

The other three people froze completely.

Che Shui nearly flipped the table. He was furious! Why was everyone spending his money?! It wasn't his fault that Chongchonglou was the richest gang!

But looking back, it's not a big deal. There are always people who are more frugal. Maybe he suffered a lot when he was young, which is why he is so stingy. So the three of them looked at the Plum Blossom Hall Master with more pity and tenderness.

but……

One day, after finishing their meal at the inn and just as they were about to pay the bill, they heard a loud thud! Turning around, they saw an incredibly beautiful woman, stunningly gorgeous, shove a very honest and simple old farmer aside. The farmer, completely disheveled, fell to the ground, then excitedly scrambled to his feet, holding up a copper coin and shouting, "I found money!!!"

Shamelessness shouldn't be so self-righteous.

The other three were instantly petrified.

So they had to endure Lin Meihua's unseemly tantrums after each dinner bill, grabbing the waiter by the collar and yelling, "You've got me wrong! Thirty coins for a dish? Do you think I'm a gold mine?!" and her tendency to jump off the carriage or horse onto the dirt road whenever she saw something shiny.

The second thing was the relentless pursuit, which wasn't particularly intense.

Halfway through their journey, Xuan Sheng Shuang Jing and the others still couldn't determine who had sent the waves of assassins chasing them, nor did they know the origin of the two items (perhaps because the woman in charge of gathering intelligence was more interested in looking for discarded copper coins along the way). However, they were quite certain that their opponents were using methods that drained their physical strength and patience, leaving them exhausted.

Because whether you're eating, sleeping, traveling, or even using the restroom, someone will break windows, ceilings, or floors to block your way, fall from trees, crawl out from beside rocks, or emerge from lakes, shouting: "Hand over your crescent-shaped jade pendant!" / "Heart-locking bronze mirror!"

At that time, both Che Shui and Xuan Sheng felt that the distance of "108,000 li" was really unrealistic when applied to their situation!

If things continue like this, when they arrive at Ligu, they'll just be in the middle of the next fifty years of the Youying Grass's growth... right? TAT Are you kidding me? How did the author arrange this?!

As it turns out, even someone as calm and collected as Xuan Sheng, who has no desire to get involved in any grudges in the martial arts world, can go berserk and lose his temper when pushed to a certain point.

When a group of people, soaked to the bone, climbed up from the east bank of the river and looked at the passenger ship that was actually quite comfortable and could have provided several days of restful sleep, but had been burned into a fireball, Xuan Sheng was truly angry.

As Plum Blossom, carrying Che Shui who couldn't swim, reached the shore, she was slapping him repeatedly when she turned around and saw the second young master of Half Moon City snort coldly. With a livid face, he helped the shivering Shuang Jing put on a thick cloak, then immediately drew his sword and rushed towards the enemy ship in the river.

As the saying goes, even a rabbit will bite when cornered.

However, Xuan Sheng's temperament was not as gentle and obedient as the little white rabbit, so blood stained the river.

Then, they happily crossed the river in an enemy ship that was many times more luxurious than their own.

Che Shui patted Xuan Sheng's shoulder with a smile on the boat and said, "Actually, I know why you're so angry." He saw the other raise his eyebrows and continued to smile and nod, "Because when they started burning the boat, you were in the outhouse, right? Being interrupted halfway through having diarrhea is really a bad thing... Sigh..." After he finished speaking, he looked up and saw Xuan Sheng staring at him expressionlessly. He was laughing and trying to back away, but was grabbed by the collar in time and thrown into the river.

"Ugh, it's best not to mess with a rabbit when it wants to bite," Shuangjing thought lazily as she rolled around on the soft cushion.

While the group was traveling under the stars and moon, the Frost Condensation Sect, having received news that they were being hunted, also issued a statement.

That very night, Murong Jin sent a message via white doves, ordering all the wandering doctors scattered in all directions to return to the valley. She also repeatedly stated that if the pursuit of the three men did not stop, Ning Shuang Sect would close its gates until they returned safely before accepting their medical treatment.

The news caused an uproar in the martial arts world, and other gangs also made statements, stepping forward to express their opinions.