Luzhou Moon - Chapter 103
Yue Ruzheng pursed her lips, turned his body, and put the sleeve back on his left arm, then had him put the other half on sideways.
She gently tugged at his sleeve and smiled faintly: "Isn't this better?"
Lian Junchu's weapon was concealed by his sleeve, but he raised his arms, lifted the upper part of his sleeve, and looked at her, saying, "It's just hidden by my sleeve. What's hidden inside is still that strange-looking weapon from before."
Yue Ruzheng didn't know why he insisted on emphasizing this matter. She genuinely didn't want to, and dared not, look directly at his strange weapon. She paused, then Lian Junchu turned to the side and suddenly said, "Lian Junxin is already here; you should return to Luzhou."
Yue Ruzheng shifted her legs, facing him, "You'll come back to Luzhou with me, right?"
He didn't respond, paused for a moment, and then said, "Shao Yang sees me as an enemy, and I don't want to start any more trouble."
"So you're leaving?" Yue Ruzheng stared blankly at his profile, feeling a sense of unfamiliarity.
Lian Junchu's eyes were somewhat downcast, and Yue Ruzheng said sadly, "Because of the insults he said to you?"
"No..." He turned away wearily, his back to her, "Don't overthink it. I've heard worse things before, this is nothing."
"and you……"
"In a few days, I'll be sending my eldest sister's coffin back to Seven Star Island," he said hoarsely. "No matter what, she'll always be my eldest sister."
Although Yue Ruzheng had some idea of what was going on, she still felt a sense of loss.
Lian Junchu looked up at her and said earnestly, "But I also promised you that I would find Mo Li to retrieve the Divine Pearl and help you heal your injuries. I won't break my promise."
As he spoke, he tried to leave, but just as he stood up, Yue Ruzheng suddenly reached out and hugged his neck, pressing her body close to his. After so many years, her embrace was not as passionate as before, and her body was even trembling slightly, but Lian Junchu could still feel a kind of persistence in her rapid heartbeat.
He hesitated for a moment, then turned his face to the side and gently pressed it against her cheek.
"I don't need any divine pearls," Yue Ruzheng said softly.
Lian Junchu, who had been staring straight ahead, slowly lowered her eyes and asked, "Don't you want to recover?"
"What's the use of recovering physically if your heart is broken?" She took a deep breath, straightened up, and looked him straight in the eye.
Lian Junchu was stunned for a moment, staring into her eyes, speechless for a long time.
Chapter Sixty-Six: The City Tower Resounds with the Clanging of Metal
As always, he was stubborn, and Lian Junchu insisted on leaving, wanting to find Mo Li and retrieve the Divine Pearl. He didn't return to the inn for the next two days. Yue Ruzheng wanted to have someone inquire about his whereabouts, but Shao Yang also failed to appear. Instead, Wei Heng and his men were stationed nearby. According to Wei Heng, both of his subordinates from Seven Star Island had also left.
Yue Ruzheng sat blankly on the bed. For the past two days, she felt as if each day had been an eternity. She didn't know if Lian Junchu had found Mo Li, or if he had already set off to return to Seven Star Island. If he really left like this, did it mean that she would never be able to see him again?
On the third day, Yue Ruzheng was almost in despair. Clutching the broken seashell, she even considered going out to search for Lian Junchu. But just then, there was an urgent knocking at the door.
She was both surprised and delighted. Before she could even tidy her long hair, she heard someone behind the door softly call, "Ruzheng, Ruzheng?"
Upon hearing the voice, Yue Ruzheng's heart skipped a beat, and she exclaimed in astonishment, "Master?"
As soon as the door opened, Jiang Shuying, draped in a snow-white cloak, walked in. Seeing Yue Ruzheng leaning against the headboard, her face haggard, Jiang Shuying felt a pang of sorrow and said with a hint of reproach, "How did you end up like this?"
"I..." Yue Ruzheng hesitated, unable to finish her sentence.
Jiang Shuying sighed, "You don't need to explain. I've already heard what happened from Shao Yang." She reached out and pressed her hand on Yue Ruzheng's pulse, her expression growing increasingly grave.
"Were you injured after meeting Lian Junchu?" Jiang Shuying asked in a deep voice.
"Yes..." Yue Ruzheng was uneasy and dared not look at her master.
Jiang Shuying was displeased. "Since Lian Junchu was nearby, why did this happen? And why wasn't you treated immediately afterward? If Shao Yang hadn't returned to report, how much longer would you have been wandering outside?"
"It would have been difficult for him to take me away by himself. But then I met Lian Junqiu, and she helped me resolve the blood stasis." Yue Ruzheng sensed Jiang Shuying's condemnation of Lian Junchu and hurriedly defended her.
"Lian Junqiu?" Jiang Shuying frowned. "She's been out of the public eye for a long time, how come she's here too?"
Yue Ruzheng whispered, "Master, Lian Junqiu...she has already been murdered."
Jiang Shuying was even more surprised, but seeing that Yue Ruzheng looked exhausted, she didn't press the matter. She got up and took a few steps towards the door, then turned back to Yue Ruzheng and said, "When I arrived, Senior Lan happened to still be here, so he came too."
As they were talking, footsteps sounded outside the door, and soon Lan Baichen, dressed in a brown robe, followed Jiang Shuying into the room. Presumably, he had already heard about it on the way here, as Lan Baichen did not ask any questions about what had happened, but only inquired about Yue Ruzheng's injuries from Jiang Shuying.
Jiang Shuying frowned and said to Lan Baichen, "I just took her pulse, and I felt a chill running through it; it's very strange."
After a moment's thought, Lan Baichen also took Yue Ruzheng's pulse and found that her internal energy was as weak as a thread, fluctuating constantly. Seeing that people were coming and going, the two decided not to stay any longer. So, Jiang Shuying circulated her internal energy while Lan Baichen took care of her, trying to dispel the cold energy in Yue Ruzheng's body.
Jiang Shuying slowly channeled her inner energy into Yue Ruzheng's Du meridian, but felt a chill in her palm. The chill rebounded and completely devoured her inner energy. Jiang Shuying was startled and quickly withdrew her hand. She saw that Yue Ruzheng's brows were tightly furrowed, as if she was enduring excruciating pain.
"Ruzheng, how are you feeling?" Jiang Shuying supported her shoulders and helped her lie down slowly.
Yue Ruzheng, her forehead beaded with cold sweat, weakly said, "It feels like I'm being pricked with needles all over my body."
Jiang Shuying sighed softly and tucked her in. "Don't worry, we'll give you a thorough treatment once we get back to Luzhou."
After saying that, she gestured to Lan Baichen, and the two left the room.
Upon reaching the next room, Lan Baichen asked, "Is it because her internal energy is disordered, making it impossible to heal her using ordinary methods?"
Jiang Shuying nodded, her expression grave as she pondered for a long time before finally whispering, "Brother Baichen, I feel that the internal energy Ruzheng received seems to have something in common with the Shenxiao Palace's cultivation method."
"Shenxiao Palace?" Lan Baichen was taken aback. "Isn't that the source of the Divine Pearl of Preserving Youth? If that's the case, then since Mo Li seized the pearl three years ago, he's probably the one who injured Ru Zheng?"
Jiang Shuying shook her head slightly and said, "Brother, you may not know this, but although the Divine Pearl is a rare treasure, it must be used in conjunction with the Divine Firmament Palace's cultivation method to improve one's cultivation. Mo Li only took the Divine Pearl back then; the cultivation method was originally kept by my senior brother, Shao Jingshu, and it disappeared more than twenty years ago. It must have been taken by Lian Haichao."
Seeing Lan Baichen's deeply furrowed brows, she recounted the past to him in detail. Lan Baichen rarely concerned himself with matters of the martial world, and upon hearing Jiang Shuying recount these old tales, he couldn't help but sigh, "I've lived in seclusion in Yanxia Valley for so long, yet I never knew that Yinxi Xiaozhu had endured so many hardships. I'm truly ashamed, considering my considerable friendship with He Zhi!"
"I also didn't want to spread the matter of our sect, so I've kept it hidden until now." Jiang Shuying looked out the window with worry. "That day, Mo Li came to investigate my senior brother Yu's whereabouts, and you and I fought him again. I felt that the internal energy in Ruzheng's body was different from Mo Li's."
"In that case, besides finding Mo Li to find out the truth, we also need to find someone else to quickly ask the successor of Shenxiao Palace to heal Ruzheng's injuries," Lan Baichen pondered. "However, the hermit Hai Qiongzi of Shenxiao Palace travels all over the world and hasn't returned to Luofu Mountain for several years. Finding him is as difficult as ascending to heaven!"