Luzhou Moon - Chapter 71
This was the first time Yue Ruzheng had met him face-to-face since leaving him, yet he remained indifferent, without uttering a single word or even glancing at him.
It was as if we had never met before.
Lian Junchu boarded the carriage, and Danfeng leaped onto the front to lower the curtain for him. The people from Seven Star Island hurried away, and no one noticed the woman standing alone in the distance.
When Qian'er ran over from Yinxi Xiaozhu, they were already far from Merlin. She rushed to Yue Ruzheng's side, as if waking from a dream, and said, "I finally remember who that young master is! No wonder he looked familiar..."
Yue Ruzheng slowly raised her eyes and stared blankly at her. Qian'er saw that she seemed to be out of her mind, so she quickly helped her up.
At this moment, in order to find out what Lian Junchu meant before leaving, Lan Baichen led Zhou Yuan and the others back.
Seeing them leave, Jiang Shuying quickly stepped forward, looked at Yue Ruzheng, and frowned, saying, "Ruzheng...did you see him?"
Yue Ruzheng took a few deep breaths, suppressing her trembling, and said in a barely audible voice, "Yes."
Seeing her in such pain, Jiang Shuying couldn't help but reach out and pat her shoulder, saying, "I never imagined that the Xiao Tang you mentioned before... would be like this." She paused, then continued, "He said that the Seven Star Island subordinates mysteriously disappeared, and the fighting still left sword marks from our Yinxi Xiaozhu... Ruzheng, when you and Shao Yang went out that day, could it be that you encountered their people?"
Yue Ruzheng suppressed her sobs and looked at Jiang Shuying, saying, "Master, I didn't kidnap any of their people."
Jiang Shuying paused slightly, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "I was just afraid you might run into your subordinates from Seven Star Island again and lose control of your emotions. Since it wasn't you, that's for the best, but that sword mark..."
"That sword mark, perhaps it was left by me..." Yue Ruzheng murmured to herself as she gazed at the swaying tree shadows on the ground, and slowly walked towards Yinxi Xiaozhu.
Yue Ruzheng slowly walked out of the forest, relying solely on habit, and returned to Yinxi Xiaozhu. The once tranquil courtyard had become somewhat noisy due to the presence of the Hengshan Sect disciples.
As we passed by the side courtyard where they were staying, we heard Sheng Quan speaking loudly.
"What? Three years ago in Pingyang?" Although he was injured, his voice was still quite loud, but it was clear that Sheng Quan was also full of doubt. "I've never even seen that Young Master Lian. Is he just making up an excuse?"
"When he said those words just now, it didn't seem like he was making up a lie," Lan Baichen said in a deep voice.
"Junior brother, did you visit Pingyang three years ago?"
"Pingyang... Oh, right, that year in Wenzhou I met Liang Yingxue and her group from the Emei Sect. I wanted to get closer to them, so I went to Pingyang with them... But I never met anyone from Seven Star Island!"
At this moment, another person hesitated and said, "Senior Brother Sheng, I've remembered someone, I'm afraid it's Lian Junchu."
"who?"
"Do you remember at the ferry crossing, when you were about to catch up with Liang Yingxue and the others, but a boy stopped you, wanting to ask you something... I remember clearly, that boy had lost both arms. I just saw Lian Junchu with my own eyes, it seems like that was him."
"Him?" Sheng Quan seemed to think for a long time before exclaiming in surprise, "You mean, the kid I pushed down was Lian Junchu?"
Before he could finish speaking, the door was suddenly pushed open with a bang.
Everyone was startled and looked up to see Yue Ruzheng standing at the door with a pale face.
"Miss Yue?" Lan Baichen, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, raised his eyebrows and stood up. "What is it...?"
"What did you do to him?!" Yue Ruzheng completely ignored Lan Baichen and rushed to the bedside, shouting at Sheng Quan.
Sheng Quan lay on his side on the bed, and was stunned when he saw Yue Ruzheng's furious expression.
"What did I do?! I just thought he was in the way! I was in a hurry to get ashore, but he came to the bow of the boat asking all sorts of questions. A man without hands, seemingly inquiring about some kind of江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) affair—it's laughable!" Sheng Quan said angrily. "I got annoyed and cursed a few times. He was still trying to chase after Liang Yingxue and the others, so I went up and pushed him. The ferry crossing was slippery, and since he doesn't have hands, he seemed to have fallen to the ground..."
"You bastard!" Yue Ruzheng shouted angrily before he could finish speaking, then turned and rushed out.
Stepping out of the courtyard, Yue Ruzheng felt a tightness in her chest, as if blood was rushing to her head and threatening to suffocate her. She quickly walked to the stables at the back gate, casually led out a horse, and without thinking, pushed open the gate, leaped onto the horse, and galloped into the distance into the vast night.
Author's Note: I'm in a really bad mood T_T There's more and more work to do, and less and less time to write.
Chapter Forty-Nine: The Ancient City is Silent and the Night is Deep
As night fell, the carriage gradually drove away from the Great Shu Mountain Forest. Danfeng, sitting inside the carriage, kept her head down from the moment the journey began.
After Lian Jun first boarded the carriage, she remained silent.
The wheels rolled on, slowly making their way across the cold earth. Danfeng, finally unable to contain her worry, looked up at Lian Junchu and said, "Young Master, are we really leaving like this? What will happen to Chongming and the others?"
Lian Junchu paused, as if just coming to her senses, glanced out the window, and said, "Have Yinglong arrange for a few people to stay here and watch what Yinxi Xiaozhu does."
"Does the young master think Jiang Shuying didn't tell the truth?" Danfeng raised an eyebrow.
"We don't have concrete evidence right now, so let's see what they do first." Lian Junchu closed her eyes briefly before continuing, "Also, if we still can't find Chongming's whereabouts after dawn tomorrow, go to Quzhou and find the people stationed there. Send the message back to the island so Lian Junxin can send someone over again."
"What will you do if I leave?" Danfeng blurted out instinctively.
Lian Junchu said calmly, "If you leave, will I be unable to survive in this world?"
"No, I didn't mean that..." Danfeng realized she had misspoke and lowered her head guiltily.
"Even if none of you are here, I can manage, especially with Yinglong and the others staying behind." After saying this, Lian Junchu leaned against the window and stopped talking.
Danfeng lifted the carriage curtain and leaned out to give Yinglong some instructions. After a while, she returned to the carriage and saw Lian Junchu leaning against the window with her eyes closed, looking very tired.
Danfeng didn't disturb him, and cautiously leaned forward to say something to Yinglong. The carriage slowed down, traveled for a while, and then slowly came to a stop.
Lian Junchu hadn't actually fallen asleep either. As soon as the car stopped, he opened his eyes and asked, "What's wrong?"
Danfeng smiled and picked up his cloak: "It's getting dark, we can't go into the city. I'll have Yinglong find a place to spend the night."
Yinglong found a place to stay in an abandoned temple. Lian Jun stepped off the carriage and looked up to see the mottled and silent ancient city wall in the distance.
Danfeng helped him fasten his fox fur cloak, and seeing him lost in thought, she asked in surprise, "Young master, is there anything strange about that city wall?"
Lian Junchu shook her head slightly and walked towards the gate alone.
This was the darkest time of the night.