When love draws near, it's like snow - Chapter 65
"Fool! Don't look back, keep going east." Yes, this time I heard it clearly, it really was the voice of Grandpa Guan Dingshan, whom I hadn't heard in a long time—besides him, who else in this world would speak to me in this tone?!
I blinked, clearing the tears that suddenly welled up in my eyes, sniffed, and smiled at Zhao Gou: "Where is the east?"
"Huh? Oh, just follow the riverbed." Zhao Gou's mind clearly hadn't quite caught up; he answered me blankly, his mouth slightly agape.
"Cough, cough! I suddenly feel so stuffy. Shall we walk over there for a bit?" My heart was pounding, my hands clenched into fists inside my sleeves. I gave Zhao Gou a haphazard smile and slowly walked along the riverbank—Guan Dingshan is here, so where is Huaiyuan?!
"Miss Ye seems to have many worries?" Zhao Gou glanced at me thoughtfully. "Isn't the Second Young Master your, uh, your sworn brother? Does anyone in the Jin camp dare to make things difficult for you?"—Listen to the tone of his voice! So, the moment he found out I was a woman, he immediately started thinking about Zong Wang and me in a suggestive way! Doesn't he have any more wholesome thoughts? Like, Zong Wang is just my confidant or something? But, never mind, does he even know what a confidant is?!
"Of course I have him! Zongwang was the first person to mess with me. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be in this mess now." I chatted idly with him while secretly glancing around out of the corner of my eye—sigh! Why can't I see Huaiyuan?
"Silly girl, what are you looking for? Stop dawdling and hurry up!" Guan Dingshan's voice followed me like a shadow—we were far from the market, in a secluded corner of the village, and apart from the Jin soldiers patrolling in the distance, there were hardly any other people to be seen. Where was he hiding?
"Miss Ye, Miss Ye?!" Zhao Gou called out to me repeatedly, his voice filled with confusion.
"Huh? Oh, what is it?" I snapped back to reality, and out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of a tall, slender Jin officer leaning against the trunk of a large tree less than twenty meters ahead of me around the corner. My heart suddenly started pounding, and without realizing it, I stopped in my tracks, staring at him intently—at that moment, my entire soul seemed to be drawn into those dark, deep, and unfathomable eyes.
"Your Highness, please wait!" The sound of rapid hoofbeats came from behind, followed by a clear, cold male voice that carried from afar. I pretended not to hear, focusing intently on him. My heart inexplicably raced—why was his expression so cold? Why were his bright eyes narrowed slightly in disdain? I could even hear a barely audible snort from his nose!
"Ye Qingyang, it really is you!" A figure leaped down from his horse, landing lightly in front of me. His voice was cold, and he looked at me with a mocking expression: "From a distance, you looked somewhat like me. I thought I was seeing things, but it really is you?!"
"Lu Jianfeng, get out of my way!" I was inexplicably irritated by his blocking my view, and couldn't help but taunt him: "It's not surprising to see me here, but it's quite strange to see you! I wonder what the people of the martial world would think if they knew that the dignified Liuyun Sword had become a lackey of the Great Jin?"
"I think nothing compares to the shocking news that Jiang Mohui, the Heartless Swordsman, is actually the concubine of the Second Prince of the Jin Kingdom!" Lu Jianfeng's lips curled into a disdainful smile—this man is truly a dog's mouth! Everything he says sounds distorted!
"Cough, cough! You, you're talking nonsense!" I was so angry my face turned red, I clenched my fists, and couldn't help but steal glances at Huaiyuan—I wondered if he would storm off after hearing this? Huh! In the blink of an eye, where did he disappear to?!
"Qingyang, what are you doing? Don't stand there, come here quickly! Be careful not to catch a cold, or you'll catch a fire again." Good heavens, why did Zongwang have to come at such a sensitive time of year? And why is he acting like such a gentle and considerate young master?
"Heh heh, speak of the devil, and he appears." Lu Jianfeng's lips curled into a wicked smile as he lowered his voice and whispered meaningfully in my ear, "Miss Ye's charm truly knows no bounds; she's captivating both the Song and Jin dynasties!"
What does this mean? Why are his eyes fixed on where Huaiyuan is hiding? Could it be...? I looked up at Zongwang—he remained calm, looking at me with his usual concern. But as my gaze slowly swept over Sangman, Zheman, Jin Wuzhu, Zhang Tonggu, Wanyan Chang, and others closely following him, I sensed that something was amiss—when had he ever been so heavily armed and led such a large group of men around the military camp?!
“Brother, I’m chatting with Prince Kang. Would you like to come over?” I smiled casually at Zongwang, but secretly took a few steps back—Zongwang must have discovered Huaiyuan’s whereabouts and was afraid that if we fought, I would get hurt, so he wanted to trick me into leaving? At this thought, my breathing became rapid and my face turned pale—even if Huaiyuan’s martial arts were excellent, he absolutely could not withstand tens of thousands of Jin soldiers!
"Miss Ye, didn't you hear what Marshal Wanyan said?" Lu Jianfeng glanced at me with a half-smile, then took a step forward and blocked my way. Leaning over, he lowered his voice and mocked me, "Don't waste your time, it's useless! I advise you to just listen to me and not block my way when I'm doing my business."
"Girl, listen to him and move aside." Guan Dingshan's voice also contained worry.
"Qingyang, come here quickly! Listen to me!" Zongwang's voice was already filled with anger—many figures with bows drawn and arrows ready to be shot were reflected on the ice, forming an encirclement and slowly approaching my diagonal rear.
Since their whereabouts had already been discovered, Huaiyuan easily jumped down from the treetop and smiled calmly at me: "Qingyang, move aside. Don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Really? Are you sure?!" Lu Jianfeng suddenly stepped forward, grabbed my wrist, and held the sword to my neck, grinning coldly. "I want to see if the Heartless Sword is truly as the rumors say, cold-hearted and without weaknesses?!"
"Is that so? I'd like to see if the Flowing Cloud Sword is really as despicable, shameless, and vile as the rumors say!" Instead of retreating, I advanced, sneering as I stepped towards Lu Jianfeng. The chilling aura of the Flowing Cloud Sword seeped into my bones. I felt a chill on my neck, and a thin line of blood slowly seeped out, staining my snow-white fox fur scarf—alas! What a waste of this top-quality silver fox fur!
Lu Jianfeng didn't expect me to offer myself up to take his sword. He was stunned and subconsciously took a step back, moved the sword pointing at me, and stared at me blankly—I took the opportunity to turn around and run away.
"Qingyang!" Huaiyuan and Zongwang exclaimed in unison, and the two figures rushed towards me like lightning, one after the other—clearly, Huaiyuan was slightly better than Zongwang—I fell into a warm embrace, and the familiar scent that I hadn't felt in a long time lingered in my nostrils.
"Fool! Didn't I tell you to leave?" Huaiyuan's voice was tense. He wrapped his arms around me, but held me tightly, showing no intention of letting go.
I looked up at him and smiled sweetly: "Huaiyuan, even if I die, I will never leave you again!" At this moment, I couldn't see Zongwang behind me, nor the countless archers surrounding me. In my eyes and in my heart, there was only Huaiyuan...
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Ugh, this chapter was so troublesome. My mouse seems to be malfunctioning; I can't copy the whole chapter. I spent almost an hour trying, and in the end, I was just copying small sections at a time! I wonder if I pasted the wrong paragraphs?
[Volume 4 Finale: Chapter 10 Felt Fur Robe Braving Frost and Snow]
Huaiyuan smiled down at me, but before he could say anything, I saw a blur, a gust of cold wind hit my face, and the aura of swords was already chilling. A purple shadow, swift as a bird, had already landed in front of us.
"What a pair of lovebirds!" Lu Jianfeng sneered, his sword already in hand, the tip trembling slightly, pointing directly at Huaiyuan's chest.
"Qingyang! Come here!" Zong Wang's face was ashen, his handsome features clouded with gloom. His deep eyes flashed with anger and pain, mixed with a hint of incredulous disbelief: "I promise you: if you truly don't want to return to Yanjing with me, I will not force you! Are you out of your mind?! Do you know how many archers are pointing at him right now? One order from me and he'll be dead?!"
"I'm sorry, brother." I nestled tightly against Huaiyuan's chest, looking directly at Zongwang through his shoulder. My expression was calm, my tone firm: "I can't listen to you. Because my fate has been intertwined with his since the day I met him!"—I could only gamble that Zongwang didn't want me dead. With me there, Huaiyuan wouldn't be riddled with bullets—if I lost the gamble, the worst that could happen was we both perished!
With a light tap of his toes, Huaiyuan had already shifted my position three times, dodging Lu Jianfeng's three consecutive attacks. His eyes flickered slightly, his face calm as still water. But his left hand, tightly gripping my slender waist, trembled slightly, betraying the turbulent emotions surging within him.
Fortunately, Zongwang, mindful of his status, didn't join the attack on Huaiyuan. But his mere presence, glaring menacingly, remained a serious threat—I was secretly anxious, wondering where Guan Dingshan had gone? He'd been nagging me the whole time, and now he'd vanished without a trace. With him by my side, Huaiyuan would at least have some protection.
Seeing that Lu Jianfeng couldn't defeat Huaiyuan alone, some Jin soldiers couldn't hold back any longer and began to leap into the fray, swords in hand, joining the battle. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of an arrow hurtling towards us with a sharp whistling sound—that shaman was a renowned archer in the Jin army, and no one else in the Jin camp used such a flashy whistling arrow! He'd disliked me from the start, and now he'd finally got his chance for revenge.
"Watch out!" I only managed to utter two words before the arrow was already behind Huaiyuan.
"An eye for an eye!" Huaiyuan sneered, calmly extending his right hand from its scabbard to block several flying swords. His left hand, which had been wrapped around my slender waist, suddenly released, gently pulling me along. I spun around in his arms. In that split second, Huaiyuan freed his left hand, his thumb and forefinger slightly bent, and flicked the arrow. With a "ding," the incoming arrow changed direction, reflecting back with even greater speed. It sliced across Zheman's cheek with a "hiss." With another hook, I was back in Huaiyuan's embrace—as if he had never let go.
"Bravo!" A thunderous cheer erupted from the Jin army—the Jurchens, though naturally fierce and warlike, were also incredibly straightforward. They were utterly impressed by Huaiyuan's superb martial arts skills.
"Flick of the Finger?" Lu Jianfeng murmured, his face as pale as snow. He looked at Huaiyuan with a complicated expression, holding the Flowing Cloud Sword, and seemed somewhat dazed.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted in the distance. In an instant, flames shot into the sky, and thick smoke billowed towards them on the wind. First, countless people began to run, then the neighing of warhorses grew louder and louder. Upon closer inspection, a short, stout old man was crouching on a black horse. He was wrapped in an ill-fitting military uniform, the wind billowing his wide sleeves, making him appear from afar like a giant balloon rolling through a cloud of horses. Driven by him, the horses galloped wildly northward into the open plains amidst the towering flames…
In an instant, countless arrows rained down on Guan Dingshan. Guan Dingshan, however, let out a long roar like a dragon's cry, his seemingly clumsy body leaping and tumbling nimbly on his horse, moving left and right, forward and backward. A few arrows that reached him fell to the ground, unable to harm him in the slightest.
"Eighteen Falls with Clothes on Clothes!" someone in the crowd exclaimed. Seeing that things were going badly, Jin Wuzhu turned his horse around and led a group of people to chase after the herd of horses.
Huaiyuan led me on a fighting retreat, his face always bearing a smile, though no one else knew. I could clearly hear that his breathing had become much shorter than before. Huaiyuan's expression hardened, and with a flick of his right hand, a thin, paper-like, and icy-cold sword sprang from its sheath with a soft "clang," instantly flashing a brilliant silver light that dazzled everyone's eyes like lightning.
"So, you've finally drawn your ruthless sword?" Lu Jianfeng's eyes lit up, and he attacked with his sword. A mocking smile played on his lips, but a flicker of pain and anger flashed in his eyes—why?!
"Master Jiang, please forgive me!" Wanyan Chang, known as the number one expert among the Jurchens, was originally mindful of his status and would never have dared to attack Huaiyuan. However, seeing the urgency of the situation, he couldn't care less and, with a shout, leaped into the arena. As soon as he entered, Sangman, Zheman, and Zhang Tonggu all followed suit and jumped into the battle.
"Be careful! He's the top expert in the Jin Kingdom." Fearing Huaiyuan might underestimate him, I quickly whispered a warning in his ear. As I spoke, Wanyan Chang launched his attack. A true expert's skill is evident in a single move. The moment he struck, I felt an immense pressure pressing down on my chest, and my breathing became labored. I could no longer concentrate on speaking.
"Master Jiang, as long as you release Qingyang, I, Wanyan Zongwang, will respect you as a hero and guarantee to forgive and forget, allowing you to leave safely," Zongwang shouted.