He suddenly came to his senses.
"Yes," he replied.
Then, there was a moment of silence. "...You can leave now." Mu Wanfeng's voice was icy cold, devoid of any emotion.
Qiao Fenglang strode out the door without looking back, the wooden door slamming shut behind him. He looked up, the sunlight outside making him dizzy.
He straightened up and strode away, not even glancing at Wu Guo standing to the side. He had only taken ten steps when he began to sway, unable to support himself. Just as he was about to collapse, a pair of delicate, jade-like hands caught him in time.
"Your injuries haven't healed yet," Yuwen Cuiyu whispered in his ear.
Qiao Fenglang's body stiffened, and he suddenly pushed away the woman who was carefully supporting him: "Get away from me!"
Yuwen Cuiyu was pushed back two steps by him and stood there, not daring to go forward again.
"On the day of the explosion, only you and the young man in blue survived. The young man in blue is still seriously injured and bedridden, his life hanging in the balance. Can't you tell me what exactly happened back then?"
Qiao Fenglang turned his back. "Whatever happens, it's none of your business."
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Cuiyu trembled, then clenched her fist tightly, her slender fingertips digging into her palm.
"Is it... none of my business?"
Qiao Fenglang ignored her, calmed his breathing, and walked forward.
"Wait!" Yuwen Cuiyu called out to him from behind. "What...what are your plans for the future?"
Qiao Fenglang remained silent. He wanted to say "It's none of your business" again, but what came out was: "Build a thatched hut outside the valley."
"Oh." Yuwen Cuiyu nodded. "But... what if she refuses to see you for the rest of her life?"
"Then I will live out my life here."
"Then... have you thought about what I should do?"
Qiao Fenglang frowned: "What you do is none of my business."
“Qiao…” A sense of fear crept into Yuwen Cuiyu’s heart. “I mean, I know I have no right to ask this…” She smiled bitterly, “but I still have to ask, have you… have you ever felt anything for me? Even a little bit?”
Qiao Fenglang paused for a moment.
Yuwen Cuiyu looked at his retreating figure with hope, and in that instant, she felt as if she had become clean and clear again, with no other distracting thoughts in the world.
Qiao Fenglang paused only briefly before continuing on his way without the slightest hesitation, leaving Yuwen Cuiyu alone, looking bewildered.
Can things that have already happened never be erased?
Chapter Twenty-Five: Chasing the Spring Breeze a Hundred Times Again (Part 1)
A day in the mountains is like a thousand years in the world. In the capital, the Cloud Pavilion is bustling with activity, filled with the aroma of food and flowers, and the chirping of orioles and swallows. This day seems no different from the previous day, nor from the next.
"Brother, something big has happened in the martial arts world recently. Do you know what it is?" A group of martial arts figures sitting around a table were chatting away, so they grabbed the waiter who was serving the food, put their smelly, alcohol-filled mouths on his face, and asked with a grin.
The waiter was startled, but being a seasoned professional in a grand restaurant, he quickly put on a smiling face: "How could I not know? It was just the Seven Absolutes Cliff explosion that wiped out the young master in green and the leader of the Qiao Gang, right?"
"Hey, don't talk nonsense!" The drunken, rough-around-the-edges man was sobered up by his words. "How could the young master in blue have been blown up?"
"Wasn't he blown away?" The waiter blinked in surprise. "I heard that ever since the explosion at Seven Absolute Cliff, the young master in blue has never shown his face in the martial arts world again. Everyone says that he's probably..." The waiter gathered his five fingers together, blew on the tips, and made a gesture of turning to ashes.
"You little rascal, are you tired of living?" The roughnecks from the underworld each smacked him on the head, while the leader, who was more composed, only glared at him.
"The young master in blue is recuperating from his injuries. Do you even understand what recuperation means?"
“But boss, if the young master in blue is really recuperating, shouldn’t the Baili family have spread the word? It’s been months, and the Baili family hasn’t released a single word. Maybe the young master in blue really is…” One of the underlings couldn’t help but voice his long-held doubts.
"Are you stupid? Who is the young master in blue? Would he tell you he was injured? This is called a feint, don't you understand? If he doesn't say anything, you won't be able to guess whether he's really injured or not, and you won't dare to cause trouble in Baili Prefecture."
"Boss, you're amazing! You even guessed what the young master in blue was thinking." The group of brothers were so impressed that their eyes were practically bubbling with admiration.
"Boss, you have unparalleled martial arts skills and exceptional wisdom. Why don't you take advantage of the young master in green being seriously injured and finish him off? Then who in the world will be your match? Wouldn't you then dominate the world?" One of them seized the opportunity to flatter him.
"Hmm, that makes sense, that makes sense!" The leader was getting more and more excited as he listened, and the group burst into laughter.
As they were laughing, they suddenly heard someone snort from the side. The voice wasn't loud, but it was full of sarcasm.
The eldest brother was annoyed and drew a large, gold-ringed dagger with a "whoosh." "Who? Who the hell is laughing like that behind me?" He scanned the room; besides the old woman from the pancake shop, there was only her grandson. Only at a corner table sat a man in white, wearing a bamboo hat and a black veil to cover his face, looking rather guilty. Who else could it be but him?
Carrying a large sword, the eldest brother made a dramatic entrance.
"Kid, were you snickering just now?"
"Of course not." The voice of the person in white beneath the black veil still carried a hint of mocking laughter.
"Outrageous!" The henchman beside him couldn't hold back any longer. That voice was clearly the same one who had been snorting earlier. "You dare laugh at our boss? Do you know who our boss is? You'll be terrified if I tell you. Our boss is none other than the invincible Blue-Faced Leopard, who has slaughtered his way through northern and western Shaanxi!"
"Leopard Lord? I think it's Cat Lord more like it," the man in white said, feigning fearlessness, and snorted at him again.
“Hey…you little rascal…” The henchmen started rolling up their sleeves, but were stopped by Leopard, who had a shrewd and calculating look on his face.
"Wait a minute... what did you guys say was the biggest event in the martial arts world recently?"
"Seven Deadly Cliffs exploded?"
"Isn't there another one?"
"Huh?" It took the henchmen a while to react. How did Boss Leopard suddenly come up with this?
"Hey, isn't it just that Miss Yin, the most talented woman, has issued a challenge, saying that whoever can capture the master thief Zhi Xiaoyao alive will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver?"
"And another thing, even providing a clue will be rewarded with two hundred taels of silver!"
"Two hundred taels! That's enough for us brothers to eat for a year."
The man in white, who had been lazily leaning back in his chair making sarcastic remarks, suddenly froze.
"Hmph." Leopard approached with ill intent. "I heard that the master thief, Zhi Xiaoyao, is the one who likes to wear white clothes and a black veil hat, right? Come on, take out Miss Yin's invitation and read it."
"Oh." One of the henchmen pulled out a sheet of paper filled with writing from his pocket. Had he misread it? Why did he feel the white-clad man opposite him tremble slightly?
"The master thief is Xiaoyao, dressed in white and wearing a black veil and bamboo hat..."
"That's right!" Leopard smiled. If this job goes well, the guys won't have to worry about food, drink, or entertainment for years to come.
Seeing the situation was turning bad, the man in white quickly took off his bamboo hat and said with a forced smile, "Gentlemen, I never usually wear a bamboo hat, but I caught a cold today..."
"Removing the straw hat reveals a disheveled but handsome young man with a black mole on his lip..." the henchman read on.
A sharp glint appeared in Leopard's eyes.
"That..." This is really troublesome. The woman in white gritted her teeth, then turned her head away shyly: "Actually, I am a woman..."
"She shyly calls herself a woman..." The henchman stopped mid-recitation, staring at the fake woman in front of him.
The man in white cursed the wicked woman's ancestors to the eighteenth generation in his heart, but on the surface he could only keep up the act with a coquettish smile. He took out a small pink handkerchief and half-covered his face: "This servant, this servant is really a woman!"
The henchmen and the others had stopped looking at him and were only focused on the prophetic paper: "Holding a small pink handkerchief, on which the character '翠' (cui) is embroidered..."
Someone exclaimed, "There is a 'jade' character in it!"
The man in white swiftly stuffed the handkerchief back into his robes: "...Heroes, let me explain."
The heroes, however, refused to listen to his explanation and continued reciting, "When you go to a restaurant, you must order the whole-oil roasted chicken..."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the waiter's voice rang out loudly: "Sir, here's your whole roasted chicken!"
"Wow!"
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the man in white burst into tears, covered his face, and jumped out of the window to escape.
Yin Wuxiao wasn't surprised at all that a handsome man was jumping up and down outside her door early in the morning.
"You surnamed Yin, get out here!" Bai Can shouted wildly from outside.
"Miss, is this really alright?" the new maid asked timidly, holding a basin of water.
"There's nothing wrong with it. He'll stop yelling when he gets tired of it." Yin Wuxiao's expression remained unchanged. She was joking; Bai Can was furious. Was she really going to go out and get herself killed right now?
Sure enough, a quarter of an hour later, Young Master Bai surrendered on his own.
"I...I can't call anymore, you...you come out quickly..." Bai Can gasped for breath, the weather was so hot.
With a creak, the door opened. Yin Wuxiao began to smile sweetly.
"Brother Bai, have you figured it out?"
"I've figured it out, I've figured it out. Miss Yin, can't you please be merciful and stop chasing me?" Lately, he keeps having dreams that he's being stuffed into a pig for worship and carried to the Yin residence, then he wakes up in a cold sweat.
"Of course, as long as you help me steal it..."
"Please, those are palace items, they can't just be stolen like that."
"Anyway, the emperor doesn't need you, and you come and go like the wind..."
"But……"
"You're not going to steal?" Yin Wuxiao's temper flared faster than turning the pages of a book. "Yun'er, tell the people outside to raise the reward to five thousand taels."
"No!" Bai Can cried out, "I'll steal it, I'll steal it, okay? You're so rich and powerful, your breath is thicker than my waist..."
“Brother Bai,” Yin Wuxiao smiled, “if you get your hands on that thing, I’ll offer you ten thousand taels of silver without hesitation.”
"Hmph, I, Bai Can, will never bow down for five pecks of rice."
"It's not five pecks of rice, it's ten thousand taels, ten thousand taels."
“…Fine.” Bai Can nodded reluctantly. “It’s just a one-of-a-kind, ten-thousand-year-old purple ginseng, isn’t it? Do you think I don’t know who you’re doing this for…”
"I'll give you half an hour to get out of my sight." Yin Wuxiao's voice instantly changed, becoming extremely cold.
"Why are you doing this to yourself? Everyone knows that person is beyond saving. Even Doctor Xuan was helpless. You went to Tianshan and knelt for three days and three nights, almost dying, just to get a single Ruyi Grass. And now..."
“Bai Can.” Yin Wuxiao came out.
Bai Can swallowed all the words he was rambling on.
"Brother Bai, when Sister Cui passed away, if you had the chance to save her, would you have done everything in your power like I have?"
Bai Can was speechless. His previously playful and angry expression instantly transformed into one of weariness and sorrow.
"I'll go."
Bai Can simply disappears without a trace.
Looking at the garden, which had become much quieter in an instant, and at the pond of blue lotuses, Yin Wuxiao sighed. The sorrow between his brows seemed to be something that could never be dispelled.