White Robe - Chapter 55
I jumped out of bed, grabbed the copper plate with one hand, and covered my mouth and nose with the soaked towel inside. With the other hand, I reached into my bundle, pulled out a small jade box, and placed a small, pale green pill inside into my mouth. Having done all this, I held my breath, opened the window, and looked outside—
This small inn was enveloped in this mist, and the entire building was eerily silent! You could hear a pin drop.
My heart, however, is ice-cold.
The hawkers, the diligent shop assistants, the merchants coming and going... all slept silently in the now incredibly thick white fog, in the still night and in their dreams.
But will he ever wake up from this "sleep"?
Sister Bai, if you find that your surroundings are different from what you are used to, you must swallow this light green pill first!
Why? What does "different from what I am familiar with" mean?
In other words, what you see is different from what you usually see according to the seasons. For example, in winter you see brightly colored flowers in bloom, while in summer you see fog rising around you... Sister Bai! Remember what Little Green said! If you see unusual fog in summer, you must swallow this "nectar" pill!
The thick fog before me, which even the wind cannot disperse, could be considered "a different environment from what I am used to."
I struggled through the thick fog, my bundle on my back. The fog had thickened from wisps of thin gauze to almost obscuring everything in front of me. I inhaled countless wisps of eerie white mist, yet felt nothing amiss.
However, as I was fleeing for my life, a problem came to my attention: the cicadas that chirped noisily in the summer were now completely silent!
The full moon in the sky illuminated the rooftops of this street, making them almost transparent, and the tiles turned white. Wherever the moonlight and mist reached, it seemed to turn this space into a dead zone!
It was lifeless and silent.
All I could hear was my increasingly heavy breathing, which sounded exceptionally clear in the quiet street.
Where can I run to? ...And where can I possibly run to...?
How long can Little Green's "nectar" last me? ...
In the silent street, suddenly, the sound of a pipa arose from nowhere. Each note, though seemingly unrelated, carried an indescribable chill and piercing eeriness in the darkness. The pipa music, normally melodious and gentle, was now devoid of any elegance; instead, it exuded a ghostly aura, sending shivers down the spine of the listener. The pipa's melody shifted slightly, and a sharp, icy female voice rang out:
On a spring day, we stroll along the path, our faces flushed and our hair gray, our laughter soft and gentle.
The moon over the Qin Tower evokes deepest longing, while the wind at the Chu Pass brings only heartlessness…
The song, accompanied by the eerie sound of the pipa, drifted through the thick fog, casting a chilling aura over the rare full moon. I clenched my teeth to stop the unconscious tapping of my jaw. A cold wind swept down my back, soaking the layers of crimson robes beneath me with cold sweat!
I took a deep breath, trying my best to keep my voice calm and even, and said in a deep voice, "Qin Louyue—you are the Qin Louyue I saw on the Qinhuai River! Why are you here?"
As soon as I finished speaking, the mournful singing and music abruptly stopped.
Suddenly, a slender, graceful figure appeared faintly in the thick fog. She walked slowly, yet her posture was beautiful. But the fog could not get close to her, like ice and snow meeting the warm sun, or like the moon breaking through the dense clouds.
She slowly walked towards me, and miraculously, the thick fog dissipated as she appeared, revealing the original street.
The moon in the sky and the people on the earth.
The moon was still in the sky, but she stood there quietly holding her pipa, as if she herself was radiating a tranquil and serene moonlight.
Qin Lou Yue.
The moon over Qin Tower evokes the deepest longing.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Wind is Heartless, the Moon Yearns
Qin Lou Yue!
The moon over Qin Tower evokes the deepest longing!
The woman I had seen before in the brothels of Qinhuai stood quietly in the bright moonlight, silently holding her pipa, silently watching me, or perhaps looking into the distance behind me. The sky was exceptionally bright under the full moon; it must have been past midnight. Yet the entire street was deserted, as if only she and I remained in the space, and not a sound could be heard.
But I can't run!
Qin Louyue was standing several dozen feet away, quietly standing there, but I suddenly had a feeling: if I tried to run, a sharp weapon would instantly pierce my heart!
Although I haven't seen any sharp weapons in her hands yet!
A pipa (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument) is certainly not a weapon. A singer may have no connection to the martial arts world, but on this terrifyingly quiet night, shrouded in mysterious white mist, with deserted streets, on this impossible night, such an impossible person appears. Then, anything is possible.
Her singing voice was mournful, and her breath was cold and clear.
I suddenly felt that the Qin Louyue before me had an indescribable quality compared to the Qin Louyue I first met—a feeling akin to the tremor in the air around me when Shang Shaochang drew his sword.
murderous look!
A murderous aura emanated from this incredibly mysterious singer!
I smiled softly and said, "I never expected that, just as you said, we would meet again."
After a while, Qin Louyue slowly opened her mouth: "It's better not to meet than to meet."
Her voice sounded particularly desolate in the night.
I said, "But this is really not a place for a singer. Haven't you noticed that this place is full of danger?"
Qin Louyue's expression, which had been as still as water, flickered for a moment before returning to normal. At that moment, I even suspected that she had just smiled.
"You're the one in danger..." She paused for a moment, then said, "I am Qin Louyue, one of the Four Gentle Assassins, here to kill you—"
It's better not to meet than to meet!
I was taken aback for a moment, then actually laughed and said softly, "But I think meeting you is better than meeting Li Kuilei. He is the most despicable scoundrel I have ever met."
I don't know why I could still laugh out loud when facing a female assassin.
I was scared, but then I thought of Shang Shaochang. In this situation, his first reaction would definitely be to smile.
Thinking of this, a smile unconsciously appeared on my face, and even my heart, which had been pounding with tension for so long, gradually slowed down, and my breathing became steady.