The sky over the rivers and lakes is very clear - Chapter 147
"Go to that island?"
"Um!"
"Where's my Huahua? Can it go too?" Ever since she regained consciousness, Zhu Huihui's mind has been racing, and she has almost completely forgotten about Huahua.
Liu Yue smiled and took her hand: "Of course Hua Hua will come too."
"But I... I still have some things I haven't finished!"
Zhu Huihui tried her best to stall for time, determined not to be taken to Japan by him.
"Is there anything else that needs to be done?"
Yes, for example—
Zhu Huihui suddenly did something shocking—she leaned forward and forcefully kissed Liu Yue on the lips.
Liu Yue felt as if a pair of small lips had suddenly appeared on his own, cool, soft, and refreshing, like the faint floral fragrance carried on the evening breeze. He felt lightheaded, his heart soaring to the heavens. At first, he was stunned and bewildered, then sweetly uplifted, and then felt an overwhelming pang of heartache…
He slowly closed his eyes until those fragrant lips left his. After a long while, he opened his eyes again and met those starry eyes that were staring at him in a daze.
He paused for a moment, smiled calmly, and gently wiped away the trace of crimson from her lips with his long, slender, white fingers. He then tasted the blood-stained finger on his tongue and slowly said, "Good, sweet!"
Zhu Huihui's body trembled, and with a "smack," she knocked his hand away.
Zhu Liuyue gazed intently at her: "Can we leave now?"
Zhu Huihui said in a trembling voice, "Is...is it okay now..."
Liu Yue's gaze fell on those pale pink lips, and she suddenly smiled: "You don't need to be afraid. You lived on that island when you were little."
Zhu Huihui was quite puzzled: "I've lived here before?"
Do you remember the story I told you before?
"That story about how you were kidnapped when you were little and rescued by my mother?"
"Hmm," Liu Yue said softly, "Actually, that rainy day was just the beginning of all the stories."
"All the stories?"
Liu Yue shifted her gaze to the tassels on the tent ceiling: "The day I met you and your mother, I wasn't kidnapped, but... taken to Fusang as a hostage by my father."
"As a hostage?" Zhu Huihui didn't understand. "Why?"
“When I was very young, I knew that the current emperor deeply resented my father and repeatedly sought excuses to get rid of him. However, my father was cautious and never gave anyone a handle to use against him, so the emperor could not always succeed. Even so, my father was not at peace and often sighed and worried about the emperor. One day, several unfamiliar Japanese people came to the palace. My father took my hand and said that in order to avoid the assassins sent by the emperor, he had no choice but to send me to Japan for refuge. He ordered me to be humble and self-disciplined in this foreign land and not to be careless. At that time, although I was only seven years old, I knew that my father was lying! He... he was sending me to Japan as a hostage in exchange for some benefits.”
"Those Japanese ninjas disguised themselves as ordinary tourists and led me south, evading the emperor's eyes and ears. They planned to sail back home after reaching the border. But man proposes, God disposes. While seeking shelter from the rain, they encountered Yu Xiaoyao, who was helping you escape. In the fierce battle that day, Yu Xiaoyao not only killed the pursuers but also poisoned the Japanese ninjas. As I was a hostage abandoned by my father, I was homeless and thus took Yu Xiaoyao in."
"There were just too many people chasing Yu Xiaoyao. Even though her poison skills were unparalleled, she was gradually becoming outnumbered while carrying two children. Once, she led us to hide in an inn, but we were surrounded by Mr. Chen and Mrs. Wan's men. She only had time to put you in my arms and hide in an abandoned house next to the Hidden Knife, while she led the enemy away. I held you and hid in that house for two days before she came back to get us, but she was seriously injured."
"She ignored her injuries and led us on our escape. She dared not stay on land any longer, so she bought a boat and sailed to a deserted island. We built a thatched hut there. Every so often, Little Fish would secretly sail ashore to buy food. But one time, she was gone for a very long time. Only you and I were on the island. When the food ran out, I carried you on my back and tried to catch fish and birds to eat. You only had three teeth then and couldn't eat by yourself, so I had to cook meat broth and feed you spoonful by spoonful. You were very good; you drank the tasteless broth without crying a single word..."
Zhu Huihui listened quietly, tears welling up in her eyes.
"About a month later, Yu Xiaoyao finally returned, but she was seriously injured. She recuperated for more than half a year, but her illness only worsened. During that time, the three of us relied on each other on the island. When we had nothing to do, she would pass on all her knowledge to me. Then one day, I fell asleep and when I woke up, I found myself not in the thatched hut on the island, but in the middle of a bustling city. Yu Xiaoyao and you were nowhere to be found! So I wandered around looking for you, just like you had before. But not long after, I was found by my father's guards and returned to the palace."
Zhu Huihui's tears fell in a stream, and she asked in a choked voice, "Then...then how did you become Kazama Yoru again?"
Liu Yue reached out and gently wiped away her tears.
"After I returned to the Prince's Mansion, I did not tell anyone about this experience—and at that time, I did not know who she was. The people who were chasing her kept calling her a 'witch,' a 'demon,' and a 'poisonous woman.' It was only after I grew up and made inquiries from various sources that I learned that she was likely Yu Xiaoyao, who was known as the number one poison master in the martial arts world in the last three hundred years."
Those days stranded on the deserted island, though bitter, were peaceful and joyful, the only beautiful thing in his gloomy life. He never told anyone about them except for Grey.
"My father was very happy to see me return safely. Although the battle on Giant Whale Island in the East Sea resulted in heavy losses for Japan due to the sudden appearance of the Little Fish Demon, and many of its masters were killed, leaving it no time to care about the hostages, my father, for some reason, openly hired numerous famous Chinese martial arts masters to teach me martial arts, and secretly asked the Japanese Amaterasu Demon King to send experts to train me in Japanese kung fu—those men in black you saw were also trained by them..."
As he spoke, he felt a slightly fishy, salty taste on his lips. He raised his hand to wipe his lips, and a dazzling red stain appeared on the back of his hand.
Zhu Huihui looked at the bloodstains on his lips, tears welling up in her eyes: "Brother Liuyue, I'm so sorry!"
Liu Yue raised an eyebrow: "What?"
"I... my blood is poisonous!" She had deliberately bitten her tongue when she kissed him, so he could taste her blood.
“I know.” Zhu Liuyue gazed at her, her eyes gentle and sorrowful. “I already knew when I asked you about the circumstances of Se Sha’s death before.”
Zhu Huihui cried, "I...I didn't mean to poison you! But why are you...Kazama Yoru!"
A bitter smile appeared on Liu Yue's handsome face: "Sometimes, a person's fate is not in their own hands."
The blood on his lips deepened: "Grey, after you leave here, turn left. Flower is in the second room, and then you... you should go find Brother Snow Color... He came last night..." His voice grew weaker and weaker until it was almost inaudible, and the light in his eyes dimmed.
Zhu Huihui, tears streaming down her face, stroked his cheek: "Brother Liuyue, I'm sorry! My life is just as miserable as yours. We... in heaven, we wish to be birds flying wing to wing; on earth, we wish to be... pigs in the same pen..." She thought this phrase meant sharing joys and sorrows, and was very loyal, so she used it without caring whether it was right or wrong.
Anyway, the hero won't give me any food, and I won't live much longer either. I'll be coming to find you soon...
Aunt Zhang from Jingshui Town runs a steamed bun shop at the town entrance. Her steamed buns are large and delicious, and are the best in the surrounding area.
As usual, she got up early in the morning to chop meat, mix filling, boil water, and put the buns in the steamer. By the time it was almost dawn, the first batch of buns was already cooked.
She lifted the lid of the steamer, took out bamboo chopsticks, and was picking up the buns when she heard a noise outside the boat. Turning around, she saw a young girl leaning on the windowsill, her black hair tied up backwards, her face dirty, and her dark eyes staring intently at the buns in her hands.
What an adorable little girl! Aunt Zhang smiled and greeted her, "Little girl, would you like to buy some steamed buns?"
The girl leaned on the windowsill and nodded vigorously, her eyes never leaving the plump, white buns.
"Fresh pork filling, wild vegetable filling, or vegetable and pork filling, which do you want?"