Who else could you love besides me

Chapter 114

Xi Ri looked around and saw that everyone's expression was different, but they all carried a hint of ambiguity. She didn't understand what they meant and was about to speak when a guard stepped forward and handed Ming Lu a set of bow and arrows.

Minglu turned to her and smiled, then simultaneously drew two black and white feathered arrows from the quiver, nocked them on the bow, and gazed into the distance.

The third brother was skilled in both literature and martial arts. He could shoot three arrows at the same time and hit the bullseye every time. During the martial arts competition, his archery skills amazed everyone and he was personally selected by the emperor as the martial arts champion. No one in the entire court could match him.

Looking down from that day, all that could be seen was darkness below Phoenix Mountain, except for a few lights on one side of Phoenix Peak.

She couldn't understand what her third brother was trying to do, so she could only wait patiently.

Minglu turned to her with a smile and said, "Fifth Sister, watch carefully."

Xi Ri nodded. For some reason, the many people around him seemed to be holding their breath, completely silent, with only the occasional crackling sound of burning embers not far behind them. Xi Ri felt a little nervous at this moment.

Minglu drew his bowstring taut, and with a resounding clang, two black and white feathered arrows shot simultaneously into the darkness of Phoenix Valley. The arrows were incredibly powerful, cutting through the wind and disappearing into the night with a whistling sound. A moment later, after a slight pause, a cluster of red flames suddenly burst forth in the valley, shining brightly in the darkness. Everyone stared intently at it, and the flames gradually spread, seemingly forming characters. Gradually, the flames burned more fiercely, illuminating the entire valley with extraordinary brightness. Finally, everyone on the mountaintop could see them clearly.

The wildly burning flames formed eight very prominent characters in the valley: "Holding your hand, growing old together."

The gasps of amazement rose and fell, swallowed by the mountain breeze. She was utterly stunned, speechless. Never in her life had she seen, never imagined, such a scene. The shock and emotion she felt were indescribable. She didn't know how long it had been before all her senses returned to their normal state, her whole body trembling uncontrollably. Only then did she realize her hand was firmly held in his. "Holding your hand, growing old together..." Before her eyes, only the blazing, towering flames seemed to burn into her heart, something uncontrollably ignited by the inferno, relentlessly consumed... Those eight words seemed to never be erased. The mountain breeze carried the faint whisper of her third brother: "This love will never change, until death do us part."

This is the summit of Phoenix Peak at this moment.

Hearing the arrow whistling through the air, everyone quickly got up and looked towards the source of the sound. They heard a soft hissing sound from the valley, and a ball of flame suddenly ignited. The fire spread and, in a moment, burned out several words: "Holding your hand, we will grow old together."

No one had ever seen anything like it before, and for a moment, everyone was filled with mixed feelings and remained silent.

Zhao Zhengqi sighed first, "This... could it be that Prince Ming is doing this for Tian Xiri...?" He was at a loss for words to describe the situation.

No one answered his question, but all looked towards the opposite Phoenix Peak. A mountain wind blew, causing the hems of clothes on the opposite peak to flutter. A large group of people were all intently watching the flames still burning in the valley. Among them were two people, standing side by side. The man was looking at the woman, but his expression was unclear...

Flames leaped and blazed in the valley, their light flickering on everyone's faces.

In the silence, Ningxiang murmured softly, "I really envy her."

At this moment, Wanyan Gena suddenly seemed to recover from his shock and hurriedly turned around and instructed, "Xiaoyu, quickly write this down. I must use this skillful way of pursuing girls when I get back."

The attendant behind him, who had been in a daze, immediately agreed and went to fetch paper and pen to write it down carefully. He would definitely remember this clever trick for winning a girl. This person was none other than Li Yu, who had been following Wanyan Gena under the guise of an attendant. They were indeed kindred spirits; no wonder he had gained favor so quickly.

Wanyan Gena sighed again, "Alas... I really want to see what kind of unparalleled beauty Tian Xiri is, that she could make Prince Ming love her to such an extent."

Soge, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "You've seen her."

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Gena was greatly surprised and hurriedly asked, "I've seen her before? When?"

Suoge withdrew his gaze from the distance, glanced at him indifferently, and said slowly, "She is Miss Tian, whom you met at Yunque Courtyard yesterday, the Sister Tian you have been mentioning."

"What?" Wanyan Gena exclaimed in a low voice, and hurriedly turned his head to look at Fengfeng opposite. He stared intently for a long time, then suddenly let out a cold snort, a sinister look flashing across his face before disappearing in an instant.

Suoge glanced at him discreetly. If he didn't know anything about this second prince of the Jin Kingdom, he would almost think that the seemingly useless, woman-obsessed prince's fierce expression was just his imagination. But Suoge knew that this second prince was not as simple as he appeared. His personal trip to the Central Plains as an envoy to escort tribute must have other motives. However, he couldn't quite figure out what his true intentions were towards Tian Xiri.

Then, Wanyan Gena suddenly spoke up, saying, "Fortunately, I still have my sister Ningxiang."

Upon hearing this, Ningxiang gave him a cold, sidelong glance and suddenly felt an urge to kick him off the mountain.

After a long while, the firelight gradually faded away...

Xi En said with utmost sincerity, "Ming Lu, your technique is truly amazing. I am completely impressed by you."

Nalan interjected, "Although we knew you had been arranging something since last night, we never expected it to be like this..." His words were filled with deep admiration.

Fu Jin immediately puffed out his chest, raised his head, and said loudly, "Those things were arranged by Ming Lu and me together. Don't forget my share of the credit!"

Nalan laughed and scolded, "I've ignored yours."

Fu Jin said indignantly, "Why! Fifth Sister, it doesn't matter if they don't remember, but you do remember... um..." His mouth was stuffed with roasted meat by Nalan. Xi En and Nalan joined forces and dragged him back to the campfire and pressed him into a seat, ignoring his struggles.

The group returned to the campfire, and the once quiet Fengfeng became lively again.

The group continued grilling meat and drinking. Their voices unconsciously became much softer, and they glanced at Minglu and Xiri intentionally or unintentionally. The firelight reflected off their faces, making them appear and disappear. Tian Xiri held her warm wine glass in both hands, staring blankly without saying a word, while Minglu kept glancing at her.

Just then, someone suddenly shouted, "Fu Jin, your sleeve is on fire!"

Fu Jin was lost in thought, oblivious to the flames burning on his sleeves. He was only jolted awake by Xi En's shout. He quickly extinguished the fire, but his wrists were already burned.

Nalan offered to apply medicine to him, but he refused, saying it was nothing and continued to drink with a smile. A hint of helplessness flashed across Nalan's face, and she said in a low voice, "Let go of what you should let go of."

Fu Jin paused in his act of tilting his head back to drink, then pretended not to hear and gulped down the wine. It was spicy and hot, yet it made his blood boil. He wondered when he would become numb.

As everyone was leaving that evening, Nalan noticed that Fu Jin's wrists were already red, swollen, and blistered. She tried to help him apply medicine, but Fu Jin refused, shouting under the influence of alcohol, "I want Fifth Sister to bandage my wrists. No one but her."

Nalan laughed and said, "You must have had too much to drink. Why do you insist on Fifth Sister bandaging you up? Can't I do it?"

Fu Jin said, "Because there's only Fifth Sister here, and I like women to bandage me." Tian Shuang, who was standing next to him, immediately gave him a displeased sidelong glance.

Minglu looked at Xiri, who never turned back. Hearing this, Xiri suddenly looked up and said to Fujin, "Fourth Brother asked Fifth Sister to apply the medicine for you, and Fifth Sister will naturally comply!" She then got up and helped Fujin into the tent. Inside the tent, the charcoal brazier had already warmed the tent with its smoke. There were two thick mats on the ground, and Xiri and Fujin sat down.

Xi Ri took the medicine box and applied medicine and bandaged Fu Jin's wound.

"Fifth Sister?" Fu Jin called softly, his voice somewhat weak and ethereal.

"Hmm?" Xi Ri responded lightly, waiting for him to continue.

Fu Jin didn't continue speaking for a long time. The wound on his hand hadn't been bandaged yet. He suddenly pulled his hand away and stood up, his back to Xi Ri, his spine stiff. Xi Ri was a little confused by his sudden action. Just as she was about to call out to him, she saw him take a step to leave the tent. Before the tent flap fell, she heard his restrained but persistent voice: "You and Ming Lu... must be happy!"

The curtains hung low, still swaying, leaving only a lingering sense of loss for the past day.

After a restless night, the group went to the swimming cave the next morning.

In the afternoon, they gathered by the hot spring in the back valley. They were worried that Suoge and the others would also come here, but when they arrived, they realized that Fu Jin had played a trick.