Luzhou Moon - Chapter 100
As Lian Jun first saw the group of people approaching, she slowly stood up, leaned against the carriage, and looked towards the palanquin.
As the caravan approached, the horses nearly stopped simultaneously, standing motionless and neighing softly. The person inside the palanquin did not emerge, nor did they lift the blue curtain; they simply said in a slow, melodious voice, "Lian Junchu, why aren't you staying at a perfectly good inn? Why are you stuck in this desolate wilderness? If we hadn't found the markers on the road, we would have gone straight to the city."
Lian Junchu didn't respond immediately. The person in the carriage raised their voice slightly: "Why aren't you saying anything? I'm asking you, did Bifang relay your eldest sister's whereabouts...?"
"Get down here," Lian Junchu interrupted her.
She snapped, "What are you doing?"
"Come down." Lian Junchu stepped forward and looked directly at the person behind the blue curtain.
The person inside the carriage suddenly felt angry. Then, the green curtain was lifted, and a figure in emerald green flew out. Her long sleeves fluttered and her skirt swayed. Her graceful figure swept through the air and landed in front of the carriage.
More than three years later, Lian Junxin's skin appears a bit darker than before, but her bright eyes remain as radiant as ever, still penetrating to the heart.
"You..." Lian Junxin's thin lips curled into a sneer as she stared at him, about to speak, when Lian Junchu took a step back, turned to the carriage, and whispered, "Eldest sister is inside."
Lian Junxin was taken aback, her delicate brows furrowing. "Found it so quickly?" she asked. She then strode forward and said through the carriage curtain, "Big sister, long time no see. Why didn't you come out?"
To Lian Junchu, the question felt like a steel needle piercing his heart. He closed his eyes tightly and leaned weakly against the front of the car. Lian Junxin heard no echo from inside the car. Glancing at Lian Junchu's expression out of the corner of her eye, she was startled and quickly lifted the curtain. Inside, she saw Lian Junqiu lying quietly. Although the bloodstains on her face had been wiped away, faint traces remained.
Lian Junxin gasped, her hand trembling, and the carriage curtain slammed shut. She whirled around, closing in on Lian Junchu, and demanded sharply, "What's going on?!"
Lian Junchu's eyes were filled with despair as she gazed into the distance. After a long while, she finally spoke, "When I fought Mo Li, my eldest sister was killed by an attacker while trying to deal with him..."
"Where is he?!" Lian Junxin's face turned pale with anger. "Don't tell me he got away!"
"Yes," Lian Junchu said with a self-deprecating laugh, "I was only focused on my eldest sister and didn't chase after her... I don't even know who made the move. That's the truth."
"Lian Junchu! Is that all the grit you've got!" Lian Junxin was furious, pointing directly at the carriage road. "Father instructed me before he died to find out where my eldest sister was. I went through so much trouble to finally locate her, and you, instead of helping her, brought your subordinates out and caused her death! I knew you were just a useless piece of trash!"
Lian Junchu's breathing tightened, and she tried her best to suppress her emotions, offering no rebuttal whatsoever.
Lian Junxin vented her anger, but seeing that he didn't say a word, she felt it was an extreme contempt for her. This thought fueled her rage. She forcefully lifted the carriage curtain, leaned inside, and lifted Lian Junqiu's back. Her hands felt as if her spine was broken. She lifted Lian Junqiu's clothes and was horrified to see bruised handprints on her back, seemingly penetrating the skin and reaching the bone.
Lian Junxin had never liked traveling the martial world with her father, preferring to be alone, yet she was well aware of the power of that palm strike. Although her eldest sister's swordsmanship and internal strength couldn't match her father's, she was still considered one of the best among the younger generation. The ruthlessness, accuracy, and ferocity of the assailant's palm strike, especially the internal force that permeated her entire body, almost severing Lian Junqiu's meridians before her death, sent a chill down Lian Junxin's spine.
Her brows furrowed, and she turned to the car window, calling out, "Lian Junchu, come here!"
Lian Junchu, who was already standing outside the carriage, took a step forward silently upon hearing her call, and caught a glimpse of the hem of Lian Junqiu's clothes. He couldn't bear to look any longer, but then he heard Lian Jun think to herself, "Since you say it wasn't Mo Li who made the move, could there be someone with such profound inner strength in the Valley of Bliss?"
Lian Junchu said in a low voice, "That person wasn't from Bliss Valley. After he made his move, Mo Li led everyone to pursue him..." He paused, then continued, "The person Mo Li has been tracking all this time is Yu Hezhi."
"Yu Hezhi?!" Lian Junxin exclaimed in astonishment, "You mean, the person who made the move was Yu Hezhi, the Dragon Pool Hermit? How did he end up at the place where you and Mo Li were meeting?"
Lian Junchu shook her head with difficulty: "I don't know either... It's just that along the way, Bliss Valley has been searching for Yu Hezhi's whereabouts. Last night, that person ambushed me, and my elder sister, fearing I would be ambushed, rushed into the tall grass and was struck by that person's palm. After that, Mo Li led his men in hot pursuit, but they disappeared without a trace."
Lian Junxin lowered the carriage curtain, jumped down, and her eyes were full of sarcasm: "I heard on the way here that you had a conflict with Bliss Valley. Lian Junchu, didn't you always claim that you didn't like to cause trouble? Why did you cause so much trouble this time?!"
Lian Junchu looked directly at her and said, "I didn't cause any trouble! After bringing back those subordinates from Tingyu Manor, I planned to return to the island, but then one thing after another happened, and I found it very strange!"
Lian Junxin snorted coldly, glanced back at the carriage curtain, and said seriously, "Anyway, I don't care about the cause and effect. You caused this mess, so you have to deal with it yourself! My elder sister died because of you. If you have any remorse, you must capture the murderer. Otherwise, let's see how you explain yourself to everyone!"
"Yes... my elder sister died because of me..." Lian Junchu said bitterly, "I don't need to explain anything to anyone; I will handle this matter myself."
"Alright, remember what you said!" Lian Junxin said with her hands behind her back, "Otherwise, how can you shoulder the heavy responsibility of managing Seven Star Island?!"
At that moment, Lian Junchu summoned his subordinates and gave them some instructions. Then, most of the riders in the cavalry split up and galloped away. After watching the group disappear into the distance, Lian Junxin lifted the carriage curtain and looked inside. After a moment of silence, she turned around and stared at Lian Junchu without saying a word.
Lian Junchu avoided her gaze and remained silent for a long time before finally asking, "When will you send my eldest sister back to Seven Star Island?"
"Prepare the coffin first, and after the encoffining, escort the coffin back!" Lian Junxin sighed deeply. She and Lian Junqiu were not blood sisters, and Lian Junqiu had always been by Lian Haichao's side. She was a cold and aloof person who rarely smiled, so the two sisters were not very close. However, they had lived together on Seven Star Island for nearly twenty years, and seeing Lian Junqiu's end like this, she couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.
Lian Junchu walked to the carriage curtain, raised her right arm, and used the short sword at the end of her arm to lift the curtain. She looked at Lian Junqiu, who could never speak again, and could not look away for a long time.
Lian Junxin suddenly thought of many past events. She looked up at Lian Junchu and asked, "Did my eldest sister tell you anything before she passed away?"
He paused for a moment, then asked, "About Yue Ruzheng?"
"I didn't want to say it," Lian Junxin said, standing in the cold wind, her voice tinged with bitterness. "But before she left Seven Star Island, she told me that she would tell you the truth before she died. I'm just curious whether she kept her promise."
Lian Junchu said helplessly, "If you mean that back then, to make me give up on Yue Ruzheng, she deliberately diverted the guards, let Shao Yang onto the island, and had him provoke Yue Ruzheng to steal the Divine Pearl, and then personally led people to lure her to the Forget-Love Pavilion... she has already told Yue Ruzheng about this..."
Lian Junxin smiled dismissively. "Is that all you know?"
He was stunned.
Lian Junxin glanced at him with pity and said slowly, "Lian Junchu, you think you've seen through everything? Do you really think Father was completely unaware of what my eldest sister was doing?"
He felt cold all over and couldn't speak. He had actually wondered about this before: why his usually controlling father had been like an invisible man, only appearing when necessary, during these events.
"He's had a history of heart palpitations and doesn't have much time left, but he knows that unless he uses some special methods, you'll never go back." Lian Junxin scrutinized him with a mocking tone. "Nothing on Seven Star Island escapes Father's control. Everything Eldest Sister did was to keep you here, and so did Father. Eldest Sister thought she had everything arranged perfectly, but in reality, she and Yue Ruzheng were just pawns in Father's plan. Do you understand?"
"Chess piece..." He suddenly felt that he had been completely deceived, and the mastermind behind the scheme was no longer alive.
"Otherwise, with your and your elder sister's skills, how could you have injured him?" Lian Junxin sneered.
Lian Junchu's face turned pale. "You knew he was once injured by my kick?" she asked.
"What a joke! You think I wouldn't see through it just because he didn't say anything? To shut me up, he even sent me to the border to train his cavalry. Our little island doesn't need that many cavalry! It was all to make it easy for you to succeed him! He didn't reveal a single word of the truth to you until his death, did he? Don't you think you're pathetic? You're completely different now, but everything you've gained is at the cost of others' sacrifices! Lian Junchu, I want to ask you, what is it about you that makes others do so much for you, yet you always look so bitter and resentful?!"
As the cold wind blew, Lian Junchu felt icy cold all over, and even breathing became extremely difficult.
Meanwhile, in Chaoxian County, Ying Long had arranged for Yue Ruzheng to rest at an inn. After seeing that Yue Ruzheng was asleep, he went to the inn to see if he could run into Lian Junxin and the others. He had only been standing there for a short while when he saw a group of people approaching from the city gate. They looked hurried, and one of them was Bi Fang.
Yinglong knew that Lian Junchu had sent Bi Fang to Luzhou to deliver a message to Jiang Shuying, but he hadn't expected him to return so quickly. He immediately stepped forward and raised his arm to signal Bi Fang. Bi Fang led his men galloping over, and upon reaching them, dismounted and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Yinglong said, "Miss Yue is exhausted, so I was ordered by the young master to bring her here to rest..."