Young Prime Minister, a Hermit

Chapter 126

How many days has it been since I heard Yunyan disappeared? I asked myself, is it the third day? Or the third year? Why am I suddenly so confused?

Qin Li's personality is most like Yi Han's. We're about the same age, with a childlike aloofness, as if he's imitating his idolized master—quiet and rarely showing his emotions. But now, why are you holding me and crying?

The city gates were wide open, and I looked up to see a lonely, aged figure walking in step by step, holding a woman tightly in his arms.

"Uncle Li," I smiled happily at him, "did you rescue Yunyan?"

On a sweltering summer day, the cicadas chirped incessantly, their noise irritating everyone. Sweat dripped from my forehead, blurring my vision.

Uncle Li knelt down abruptly half a meter in front of me, carefully placed the woman in his arms on the ground, and then kowtowed to me: "Young Master..."

He called out "Young Master," then burst into tears, "It was my fault for failing to protect Madam. I have failed your trust and Madam's expectations!"

I looked down at the cold woman lying on the ground. Her face was covered in bruises and wounds, swollen and pale, making it impossible to make out her features. Her hands and feet, exposed outside her clothes, were also swollen, clearly from being soaked in water for a long time.

“Uncle Li…” I laughed, “Uncle Li, don’t tell me this person is Yunyan!”

I looked closely and breathed a sigh of relief: "Uncle Li, look at this person, is there anything about her that resembles Yunyan? Don't mistake her for someone else just because she's wearing some of Yunyan's jewelry." Isn't that how it's often portrayed on TV?

“Young Master…” Uncle Li said through gritted teeth, his voice trembling, “This is indeed the Madam, the Madam whose death I witnessed with my own eyes.”

I grabbed him by the collar and yelled, "Li Zong!! You dare to say another word of nonsense!"

"This person...is not Yunyan!" I shook his aged body, shouting hoarsely, "Say it! She's not Yunyan!"

In the bustling city of Fangling, under the pitying and sympathetic gazes of everyone, I hoarsely and uncontrollably roared, "How could she possibly be Yunyan?! How could she?!"

Uncle Li, pale-faced, took a step back and rolled up the woman's right sleeve. On her swollen forearm, soaked in water, was a rose-shaped burn mark. I recognized this burn mark. Years ago, Yunyan wanted to melt a precious piece of jewelry with a strange texture for medicinal use, but after burning it for a long time, the jewelry just wouldn't melt. She and Linglong were both burned, groaning for many days before this scar, which no medicine could remove, remained.

So what if she has a scar? Does having a scar make her Yunyan? No, Yunyan won't die.

We made a promise that once I avenged Yufei and grew weary of officialdom, we would retire together. We promised to choose a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains, and live a peaceful and happy life with Yihan, Uncle Li, and Linglong. It was a promise that, though never spoken of forever, was more unbreakable than any other vow. How could Yunyan… betray us?

I stood there blankly, and Uncle Li's hoarse voice, filled with extreme hatred, seemed to come from another world.

"If I find out who the traitor who leaked the tunnel information is, I'll make him wish he were dead!"

"That day, as Young Master instructed, Bu Ying and I led Madam and Linglong through the tunnel of Chiyu Tower. However, we were intercepted by Yang Yi's men who had been lying in ambush at the bottom of the moat. I exchanged more than a hundred blows with Yang Yi's subordinate, Xiao Guizi. He was gradually losing ground, but suddenly he threw a handful of unicorn powder into the air. The lights in the tunnel had already been extinguished when we were ambushed. The unicorn powder blinded me. When I came to my senses and lit the candles, I found that the tunnel was empty. Madam, Bu Ying, Linglong, and even the men of the Dark Camp had disappeared without a trace."

"I immediately searched the tunnel and found that all thirty elite members of the Dark Camp had perished. I examined their wounds and found that each of them had either been stabbed through the throat with a sword or had their limbs broken and their throats twisted. I knew something was wrong. To be able to kill thirty elite members of the Dark Camp silently, their martial arts skills were something even I had to fear. So I immediately sent a warning to the young master and then continued to search downstream along the moat through the tunnel."

"It was at the end of Yaotian's moat that I... I finally found the lady who had escaped by swimming in the water. I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to go forward to pull her up when suddenly a gust of wind swept up from behind me, and before I could react, my pressure points were sealed."

A tall, thin, masked man approached me. He held a soft sword taut with internal force, and his eyes were dark green. He glanced at me briefly before fixing his gaze on the woman in the water. I questioned him about his identity, but he replied mockingly, "Old man, you have no right to ask questions here. Just report everything you just saw to Qin Luo truthfully."

"I wanted to ask more, but he struck my pressure points, grabbed me by the back of my collar, and leaped to the riverbank, where several masked men like him stood. Five or six of them held large oars..."

At this point, Uncle Li's voice began to tremble, and his face showed an expression of extreme fear and sorrow: "I stood there, unable to speak or move... I, Li Zong, have lived for over fifty years... What humiliation haven't I suffered? What bad things haven't I done? But I have never hated as much as I did at that moment... I only wanted to tear these people, I only wanted to tear my useless self to pieces!"

"The lady was exhausted when she reached the riverbank, and she saw the man in black standing at the end of the river. But she had no choice; the moat was surrounded by high walls on both sides, with only two exits. If she swam back, she would only die from exhaustion!"

“Young master…Young master…I, Li Zong, admit that I have killed countless people…But those people were beasts! They weren’t human! They were afraid of Madam’s poison skills, so they kept slapping the oars against Madam’s face and head…I just stood there, watching helplessly as Madam struggled to rise to the surface again and again, only to be knocked back down, her blood staining the river…And Madam…she never rose again…”

Uncle Li spoke in a hoarse voice that seemed to have aged him a hundred years in an instant, hot tears rolling down his bloodshot eyes, his gray hair fluttering whether from the wind or from trembling: "The masked man who captured me said to me after the lady sank: 'We were just paid to solve problems for others. If you have to hate someone, hate your master for being too ostentatious and overshadowing the emperor! Go back and warn your master that if he dares to hold onto his troops and disregard the law again, this will be his fate!'"

A collective gasp swept through Fangling City. Everyone understood the meaning behind those words, and everyone was shocked by the reality. They whispered amongst themselves, filled with fear and anger. The emperor they served, the ruler for whom they risked their lives, had slaughtered their commander's family while they were fighting on the battlefield, and in such a cruel way, as a cruel warning.

I stood there blankly, expressionless, motionless, and even my breathing seemed to have stopped.

Yi Han supported me with concern: "Young Master...please cry."

"Why are you crying?" I said. "Yunyan...she's not dead, why am I crying?"

"Young Master." Yi Han hugged me tightly, feeling sorry for me. "Young Master, please don't do this."

I found a comfortable spot in his arms and leaned back, smiling as I said, "Yunyan isn't fond of dressing up, but she cherishes her appearance. She pretends to be dismissive of the beauty regimens I teach her, but she always secretly uses them. Yunyan... she's always stubborn but soft-hearted. Back when I decided to take the imperial examination, she absolutely refused, ignoring me for three whole weeks. But when I fell ill, she anxiously stayed by my side for three days and three nights. Yunyan never breaks her promises. Her poison skills are unparalleled. Yunyan's talent is no less than mine, yet she'd rather have my brilliance overshadow her..."

"Hey, Yihan..." I looked up at Yihan's face with a smile, "Can you understand what I'm saying?"

Before he could answer, I nodded firmly and said resolutely, "So, Yunyan like this won't die. How could Yunyan like this... die?"

"Young Master..." Qin Li cried and rushed over to hug my legs, "Young Master, please don't do this... Madam is dead, she's dead..."

Suppressed sobs echoed intermittently from the city. I looked around blankly, then asked, "Yihan, what are they crying about? What are they crying so sadly about?"

“Young Master…” Yi Han stared at me intently, but I couldn’t see his eyes clearly. What kind of expression was hidden on his face?

"Lin Yu!" He suddenly pulled me into his arms, holding me tightly, his voice hoarse, "Lin Yu... Yun Yan, Qin Luo's wife, your close friend Chu Yun Yan, is indeed dead..."

Why has that embrace I once longed for become so cold? No! Yihan, why are you saying such cruel things to me? How could Yunyan be dead? How could she possibly…

Death? ...Death...the opposite of life, death that separates us forever, death that torments us with endless loneliness...How could it possibly belong to Yunyan? How could it possibly belong to that vibrant and kind woman?

"Cough—" Crimson blood stained Yi Han's blue clothes. Was it as brilliant as Yun Yan's splashes on Yao Tian's moat? I slowly collapsed amidst my panicked cries. The blue sky and white clouds were frozen in my eyes, frozen in the bright season of our carefree youth.

"Lin Yu, from now on I will have no parents, only Yun Yan all alone."

"Fool, you still have me!"

Will you always stay with me?

Yes, it will.

"You won't go to a faraway place alone?"

"Won't."

"Don't lie to me!"