Luzhou Moon - Chapter 127
"You've actually been holding a grudge against what I said during the day, but you pretended to be indifferent. Now you don't want to live with me anymore, so you're using this to get back at me." As she spoke, what started as a slight dissatisfaction gradually turned into a feeling that he truly didn't understand her, and she became increasingly heartbroken.
"What are you thinking?!" He stepped forward helplessly, hooking his foot around her ankle. "He brought you to me, do you think I would really suspect you two?"
"You're still pretending!" Yue Ruzheng punched his shoulder hard, but was pricked by the sharp thorns inside his clothes, wincing in pain. "I told you not to wear it, why didn't you take it off?"
"What if something unexpected happens on the way? Wouldn't we still need it?" He tried to explain, but found it was all in vain, so he could only sit down on the edge of the bed in a sullen mood.
Yue Ruzheng followed closely behind, sitting down beside him. She stole a glance at him, seeing him lost in thought, seemingly pondering something. She swung her legs, giving him a playful, unintentional kick. Lian Junchu looked up at her, sighed, and said, "Don't you still trust me?"
"I didn't..." Yue Ruzheng said disappointedly, "I thought it was because you didn't believe me."
Lian Junchu shook her head and said, "I will never distrust you again."
Yue Ruzheng leaned gently against him, smiled, and reached out to unbutton his clothes. Lian Junchu looked down at her movements, then suddenly whispered, "Ruzheng...wouldn't it be better if you went back to your own room tonight?"
Yue Ruzheng paused, frowning, and asked, "Why?"
He remained silent and turned his body slightly to the side, but the more he did this, the more Yue Ruzheng held him tightly.
"Don't you want to be with me?" she asked dejectedly.
"No." Lian Junchu had no choice but to turn around and look at her, saying, "I'm asking you, if you go back and your master asks about what happened these past few days, will you tell her that we slept in the same bed?"
Yue Ruzheng blushed and hurriedly said, "How could I have said that? If Master knew, wouldn't he be furious?"
"Before, there was no one else in the mountains, but now that we're in the city, perhaps someone will recognize us. What if your master finds out about this before we even reach Luzhou? At that point, I'm afraid she'll be even less likely to agree to our plans." Lian Junchu said, a hint of bewilderment in her voice.
Yue Ruzheng was stunned for a moment, then said in a low voice, "So that's why." She sighed inwardly, but pretended not to care, and continued, "Little Tang, even if Master doesn't agree, I still want to be with you."
A sense of peace and relief appeared in Lian Junchu's eyes. He nodded slightly and said, "It's getting late, you should go back to your room and rest."
"But..." Although Yue Ruzheng knew he was right, she didn't want to be separated from him. She muttered to herself, her body involuntarily leaning towards him. Lian Junchu turned his head, breathing in her breath, and couldn't help but kiss her cheek. Yue Ruzheng was overjoyed, wrapped her arms around his waist, and pushed him down onto the bed.
"Xiao Tang." She straightened up, smiled slightly, and gently stroked his eyes. "I really like it when you look at me like this."
Lian Junchu stared at her without moving, then suddenly raised her head, bit her collar with some difficulty, and pulled her in front of her.
"Ruzheng, Ruzheng, you really don't understand..." he mumbled, then rolled over and lay down beside her, took a deep breath, and said, "If you don't leave, I'm going to suffer terribly."
"Huh?" Yue Ruzheng was taken aback at first, then seemed to understand something in her confusion. She turned to face him and whispered, "Then, then I'll go back."
"Hmm." He nodded, half relieved and half disappointed, and sat up with a thud. When Yue Ruzheng left, she couldn't help but hug him tenderly for a few more moments before opening the door and leaving.
Her room wasn't next to Lian Junchu's, but diagonally opposite. Yue Ruzheng had just reached her door when she heard someone banging loudly downstairs. It was already night, and the inn was already closed. The waiter, unwilling to move, said impatiently, "We're closed. Go find somewhere else."
"Open the door now! I have plenty of money! Otherwise, I'll burn this place down!" the person outside threatened in a low voice.
The waiter was startled and hurriedly opened the door to greet the customer. Yue Ruzheng, hearing the sound, was also startled. She hid behind the stairs and peeked down. As soon as the door opened, someone slipped in. Dressed in a brown, close-fitting outfit and with a curved sword at his waist, it was none other than Su Muchen, the former protector of Bliss Valley. However, he was clearly not as imposing as before; his clothes were covered in dust, and he looked rather disheveled.
Seeing him following the waiter upstairs, Yue Ruzheng hurriedly entered the room. He seemed to be explaining something to the waiter, but unfortunately, she couldn't hear clearly. She remembered that when she and Wei Heng went to Seven Star Island, she had heard about the changes in Bliss Valley. It was said that Su Mucheng lost his position as the valley master because he couldn't win over the people. She wondered if his appearance in Wenzhou at this moment was a coincidence or if he had other plans.
Yue Ruzheng sat by the bed for a long time. Time passed slowly, and the candlelight flickered in the room; it was almost midnight. She peeked through the crack in the door to make sure Su Muchen was already asleep before quietly opening the door. She tiptoed to Lian Junchu's door, quietly called out to open it, and, ignoring Lian Junchu's surprise, slipped inside.
"How come you..." Lian Junchu hadn't even put on her coat properly, and thought she was going to sleep here, so he couldn't help feeling a little awkward.
"Su Muchen is here." Yue Ruzheng didn't explain much to him, but leaned close to the door and whispered.
"What?" He was startled, then realized what he meant. "Where is he?"
Yue Ruzheng pointed towards the door and said, "He lives in the room near the stairwell. I saw him when I went out just now."
Lian Junchu pondered for a moment, then said, "I've always wanted to get some things out of him, but I've never been able to. This time, however, it's a perfect opportunity..."
The room was dark, with no lights on. He turned and looked at Yue Ruzheng, then said softly, "Go to bed and sleep. I'll stay here and watch over you."
"Are you afraid he'll run away?" Yue Ruzheng asked, puzzled. "He doesn't know we're here, so why would he leave in the middle of the night?"
Lian Junchu hesitated before saying, "I'm just worried about losing this opportunity again."
Yue Ruzheng tugged at his sleeve and said, "I'll stay with you and keep watch. If there's any movement from his side, we'll go after them, okay?"
So the two sat together on the bed. Yue Ruzheng helped him put on his coat and chatted with him casually, but before long she became very sleepy. Lian Junchu didn't want her to stay up all night, so when she saw that she was talking less and less, he stopped talking, and she fell asleep soon after.
Lian Junchu leaned against the bed railing alone, the wind rustling the withered leaves outside the window. He looked down and saw that Yue Ruzheng's arms were sticking out of the blanket, so he was about to lift his leg to cover her up. But just then, he suddenly heard several soft "clunking" sounds coming from the roof, clearly someone using light-footed skills to pass over the roof. He suddenly became alert; the sound gradually approached along the roof beams, then crossed the room and went forward.
Without disturbing Yue Ruzheng, Lian Junchu quietly got out of bed and went to the window. She flicked open the window with the short sword on her arm, but heard a low shout nearby. Someone had already jumped out of the window and leaped over the courtyard wall like lightning. Several dark figures then leaped down from the roof, their gleaming swords flashing coldly in the moonlight. As soon as they landed, they chased after the person.
Yue Ruzheng was also awakened by the noise, and groggily asked, "What happened?"
Lian Junchu turned around and said, "I'll go take a look and be right back." With that, she leaped out and quickly chased after them in the direction they had gone.
Chapter Seventy-Nine
The group of people passed through the streets and alleys behind the inn, leaped up, and jumped onto several houses. Lian Junchu followed far behind, and seeing them chasing the person in front into a small alley, she followed closely behind.
The alley they went into was narrow and secluded. Lian Junchu had just reached the alley entrance when she heard the sound of clothes behind her. Turning around, she saw Yue Ruzheng catching up as well.
"Is it Su Muchen?" she asked eagerly.
Lian Junchu nodded and said softly, "Someone chased him into the alley."
Just then, a low cry came from the alley, as if someone was injured. Yue Ruzheng wanted to step forward, but Lian Junchu quietly stopped her. The two hid in the shadows of the street corner and saw Su Muchen trapped in the alley by the group of people, surrounded from both sides with no way out. But his curved sword was already drawn, and a man lay dead beside him, presumably the first to step forward and was hit by him.
"Su Muchen, you still dare to be arrogant now? Quickly hand over everything you stole, and out of consideration for our past acquaintance, we might spare your life!" The leader's voice was deep as he drew his long sword from his waist, pointing it directly at Su Muchen's throat.
Su Muchen sneered, "You few think you can seize the position of Valley Master? You've ruined the once-thriving Bliss Valley!"
The other person scoffed, "What right do you have to talk about us? Wasn't it you who caused the Valley Master's death outside?"