Luzhou Moon - Chapter 77
In the vast reed beds, fluff drifted like snowflakes. She ran blindly, nearly tripping over stones and roots in the mud. Reaching the edge of the reeds, she was too exhausted to run any further. She collapsed against a tree on the bank, panting heavily, her legs trembling uncontrollably.
The footsteps drew closer until they stopped a short distance away. She kept her head down, her body pressed against the mottled tree trunk, refusing to turn around no matter what.
The pursuers remained silent, and the silence lasted for a long time, with only the sound of the wind rustling across the water.
As darkness gradually fell, the person standing behind him finally spoke.
"Why don't you go back to Yinxi Xiaozhu?" His voice was as cold as when they first met, so cold that it was impossible to detect any emotion in it.
Yue Ruzheng gripped the tree trunk with her fingers, her fingertips aching slightly, but she stubbornly refused to answer.
He waited for a long time, but she didn't even respond. He then coldly retorted, "Are you planning to wait here to die?"
Provoked, Yue Ruzheng couldn't help but retort defiantly, "I won't die."
He sneered, "Then raise your right hand so I can see it."
Yue Ruzheng stood stubbornly, not moving an inch. He took a few steps forward and stood beside her. Yue Ruzheng lowered her eyes, not daring to look at him, but she could feel his gaze, and her heart trembled.
"Lift it up," he commanded.
She hid her right hand behind her back, when Lian Junchu suddenly raised his leg and kicked her below the knee. Yue Ruzheng cried out in surprise and fell to the ground. He quickly stepped forward and stomped on her right sleeve. Yue Ruzheng endured the pain and slammed her left hand into his leg, but he gently hooked her with his other foot and kicked her in the back of the shoulder. Yue Ruzheng felt a numbness in her arm and could no longer exert any force, collapsing slumped to the ground.
Lian Junchu used her toes to lift her right sleeve, looking at her blood-stained wrist, her brows furrowing: "Is this what you meant by not dying?"
"I know my limits!" she said defiantly. "It's not like I'm seriously injured!"
Lian Junchu sat down beside her and said, "It's not a serious injury... just poisoning." As he spoke, he moved his right shoulder back, and a sword tip suddenly appeared from his sleeve. He raised his arm, and the sword tip quickly slashed towards her right wrist.
"What are you doing?!" Yue Ruzheng screamed, trying to get up, but he pressed down on her waist with his left leg, preventing her from struggling.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't die? Anyway, you're going to lose your hand anyway, so I'll cut it off for you to avoid trouble," he said calmly.
Yue Ruzheng faced the muddy ground, her face pale, her eyes filled with tears.
"What exactly do you want?!" she suddenly screamed like a madwoman. "I know you're very powerful now, and I'm sorry! You don't have to forgive me, but please don't humiliate me like this!!"
After shouting, she pressed her face to the ground, holding back tears, her body trembling uncontrollably at his knees.
Lian Junchu didn't speak. She raised her right arm, moved the sword tip to her wrist, and with a gentle flick, severed the cloth. She had been bound for a long time, and her palms and arms were clearly two different colors. Her palms were bluish-black, while the upper part of her wrists was deathly pale. As soon as the cloth broke, the foul blood surged upwards.
Lian Junchu pressed down on the tip of his sword again, cutting a gash on her wrist. In an instant, dark blood gushed out from the wound, splattering onto his sleeve.
Yue Ruzheng felt a sharp pain and a tingling numbness in her arm. Unable to struggle any longer, she lay dazedly on her stomach, letting the blood flow from her wrist.
Lian Junchu nudged her with her knee and said in a deep voice, "Do you have a clean cloth?"
She silently shook her head.
He frowned, leaned down, and said, "Take off my coat."
She opened her eyes and looked at him without saying a word.
"Hurry up!" He raised an eyebrow, his eyes filled with sternness.
Yue Ruzheng was startled by his unfamiliar appearance. She forced herself to sit up and used her left hand to untie the sash of his outer robe. He slumped his left shoulder again, and suddenly a sword tip emerged from his left sleeve. He then slashed at the hem of his white inner shirt, slicing off a piece, which he picked up with the sword tip and presented to her, saying, "It's fairly clean. Take this to bandage."
Yue Ruzheng knelt in front of him. The sword in his right sleeve hung straight down, with blood dripping from its tip. His left sword, carrying a white cloth, was presented directly to her.
Looking at his strange appearance, she suddenly felt a surge of fear, and her heart ached violently.
Lian Junchu's sword trembled slightly on his left arm. He stared at the tip, his lips pressed tightly together, and after a moment said in a nonchalant tone, "What's there to be afraid of?"
Yue Ruzheng looked into his eyes, slowly took the white cloth from the sword tip, and raised her right wrist. But she couldn't exert any force with her right hand, and it was difficult to bandage with just her left. Seeing her struggling to wrap it, Lian Junchu used both swords to support himself on the ground, then bent down and bit one end of the white cloth, gesturing to her with his eyes.
She understood what he meant and used her left hand to work with him, wrapping the sword around his wrist and tying a knot. Only then did he release his grip, bracing himself against the ground with the tip of his sword to straighten up.
Yue Ruzheng leaned against a large tree, shivering. The cold wind blowing from the lake tousled her long hair. She knew she must look haggard, but she had no heart to care. In Yue Ruzheng's heart, the image of him standing before the ancient city wall of Luzhou late last night was still etched in her mind—cold and indifferent, as if he were unapproachable.
And his extremely simple yet extremely unfamiliar words.
--My surname is Lian, Lian Junchu.
He was sitting not far in front of her, but Yue Ruzheng didn't even have the courage to look at him. She felt like a long-time fugitive, captured and disgraced, yet still clinging to life.
A gentle evening breeze rustled, and the last rays of the setting sun faded into the water. Lian Junchu glanced at her, then stood up and said, "Don't sit here anymore."
Yue Ruzheng did not get up, but moved her knees slightly, pressing her body even closer to the big tree.
He turned his head to the side, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye, his expression somewhat unpleasant.
"Still putting on a brave face at a time like this?" He seemed to be suppressing his dissatisfaction, lowering his voice.
Yue Ruzheng pressed her face against the rough tree trunk, her eyes stinging with tears, her heart feeling as if it had been torn apart. She took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, "I'm sorry."
Lian Junchu's breathing seemed to stop for a moment, then she turned her face away, her eyes filled with deep silence.
"This is the last thing I want to hear," he said quickly, then took a few steps forward and stopped by the lake.
The wind on the water stirred the white reeds, causing them to sway and block out the setting sun. A sliver of a crescent moon hung faintly in the sky, distant and hard to spot.
Lian Junchu stood alone facing the vast expanse of the lake for a moment, then turned back to Yue Ruzheng and said, "Get up. You need to go to the people of Bliss Valley to get the antidote."
Yue Ruzheng sat up and raised her right arm; the tingling and numbness was still there. She slowly raised her head and looked at Lian Junchu, but he quickly looked away, his expression indifferent.
"You can go now." Yue Ruzheng lowered her head, completely exhausted.
He turned his face to face her, his eyes filled with anger.