La cúspide del mundo de las artes marciales

Capítulo 72

I stood there, holding onto Yan Shu's shoulder, watching the knife pierce through my clothes...

I thought I was going to die, but the blade was suddenly deflected by a rapidly shooting arrow, slicing through my flesh and narrowly missing my arm.

Someone rushed over and swung a palm, causing Lu Qiancheng to stagger back a few steps.

I leaned against Yan Shu's back and looked up to see Ruan Bicheng rushing over. He wanted to reach out to help me, but seeing my blood-covered body, he didn't dare to touch me. He just stared at me blankly, his face pale.

"Alliance Leader, what do you mean by this?" Lu Qiancheng asked, somewhat annoyed.

"cousin……"

The sounds, both near and far, made his arrival seem both natural and unexpected.

As if she hadn't heard me, Ruan Bicheng just looked at me.

I must have looked terrifying, covered in blood and wounds, like I was about to die, otherwise why would Ruan Bicheng have such a horrified expression?

It took him a long time to speak before he finally said, "Lu..."

“Look,” I interrupted him, collapsing to the ground, unsure whether to laugh or cry, “this place can’t accept me, because I am Su Xie.”

Su Xie, the vixen whom everyone should kill.

He kept his lips tightly pressed together and didn't say anything.

I asked him again, "Do you still want me to stay?"

His brows were tightly furrowed, and his lips were pressed so tightly they turned white.

“These…” I raised my bloodied finger, pointing at Lu Qiancheng, at the people surrounding me, at Gu Biyun, at Ruan Bicheng’s mother, and then asked him, “You were going to kill me, but now you’re going to spare my life?”

Are you willing to turn against these people and defy the world just to keep me here?

He still didn't answer me, his face was frighteningly pale.

I let my fingers fall limply, a look of both laughter and tears on my face. "I've already burned the body. I am Su Xie, and I will always be Su Xie." I asked him again, "Do you still want to keep me alive?"

Without any other thoughts, my existence will forever be solely that of Su Xie, the enchantress Su Xie. Will you keep me here? Even if the world condemns me and my position as leader is in jeopardy, will you still keep me?

He remained silent for a long time, then suddenly asked me, "Why did you burn her..."

“Because we can’t go back.” I looked up at him, his eyebrows and eyes so handsome. “Because I don’t want to go back anymore…”

Before he could speak, I said first, "Don't ask why anymore. What else could it be but not loving you?"

His fingers trembled slightly. I looked at him intently and asked, "Do you still want me to stay?"

The sunlight filtering down from the horizon made me so sleepy that I couldn't see him clearly.

Ruan Bicheng stared at me for a long time, then suddenly turned around and left without looking back, saying, "Let them go."

"Alliance Leader!"

"cousin!"

Confused, dissatisfied, and a jumble of voices.

The old lady waved her hand to stop the voices, then frowned and asked, "What if I say I won't let go?"

Ruan Bicheng had his back to me, so I couldn't see his expression. I could only hear him say in a dejected and defeated tone that I had never heard before, "Don't force me to choose between her and you. I chose you and the position of leader before. What will I choose now... you should know."

The old lady's face suddenly darkened.

Gu Biyun frantically pulled Ruan Bicheng, "Cousin, you must avenge my brother..."

Ruan Bicheng brushed her hand away and said calmly, "I will send someone to take you home tomorrow. Everything has been arranged."

"Cousin...don't you want me anymore?" Gu Biyun's eyes suddenly reddened. She turned to the old lady and choked out, "Aunt, you must stand up for me. If that witch is released today, I will not live..."

"Shut up!" The old lady rarely lost her temper. She raised her hand and slapped Ruan Bicheng across the face, her expression grim. "Release them!"

Chapter 85

It seems like I slept for a very, very long time.

I slept soundly, like I was dying, but I didn't dream. In my hazy state, I only heard someone calling my name repeatedly, their voice trembling violently, speaking incoherently, "Su Xie, you haven't killed me to avenge Jing Lian, you haven't acted on behalf of Heaven... I'm so wicked, I'll surely bring disaster to the world, you can't just abandon me like this... You have to take responsibility to the end, you're the one who saved me..."

"I will kill the Lu family, I will kill Ruan Bicheng, I will kill the Ruan family, the Gu family, and all those people. If you die, I will make the whole world mourn, and all those people will be with you! Su Xie, can you bear to do that?"

"Thank you, thank you..."

She kept babbling on and on, making it impossible for me to sleep peacefully.

He's clearly an idiot, how come he talks so much?

How long did I sleep?

I can't remember, but I do remember waking up on a snowy morning. The pine wood brazier in the small room was making a soft crackling sound, and a few half-open, half-withered white plum blossoms were stuck in a porcelain vase on the table, emitting a light and delicate fragrance.

Someone was asleep by the couch. I turned my head slightly and saw that pale face, with a pointed chin and furrowed brows and eyelashes, like still butterfly wings, sleeping peacefully, like a white plum blossom in a vase.

Ruan... Lianhua?

I stared for a long time before I dared to confirm it was him. My mind was a complete blank, and I couldn't understand how he got here. Before and while I was unconscious, the person speaking was clearly...

I shifted in my seat, and he woke up with a furrowed brow. Meeting my eyes, his brow relaxed, and he smiled wearily yet broadly. "You're finally awake, Su Su..."

I stared at him somewhat blankly, and it took me a while to hear my own voice clearly when I opened my mouth, "...Where is Yan Shu?"

His smile paused for a moment, then he smiled again, leaned down and whispered to me, "You've been unconscious for a long time, does your wound still hurt? I'll go and call a skilled healer to take a look at you."

A miraculous cure? Am I in Medicine King Valley?

He got up to leave, but I reached out and grabbed his sleeve, asking again, "Where's Yan Shu?"

He's an idiot, where could he go?

Ruan Lianhua turned to look at me, tucked the blanket around me, and said softly, "Is he with you? I didn't see him. When I came, you were in Medicine King Valley. Miaoshou said you were unconscious at the foot of the mountain, so he rescued you and then sent someone to inform me." Seeing that I was slightly frowning, she put my hand down and smiled, revealing a pair of dimples, and said, "Don't worry, I will send someone to look for him. I will let you know as soon as I find him, okay?"

I looked at him, somewhat dazed. How long had it been since I'd seen him?

He had become much more composed. Although he looked the same, he seemed somewhat unfamiliar to me. Only when he smiled did his dimples remain as gentle and obedient as ever.

But he was no longer the young master Lianhua he once was. Now he was the leader of a sect, and he smiled less, his eyes were deeper, and he looked more tired.

He called for the skilled healer to come in, and as soon as he lifted the curtain, he heard the healer's incessant chatter, "Little Xie, you're truly blessed with good fortune! In all my years of medical practice, I've never seen anyone with such tenacious vitality! Every time I see you, you're half-dead, and every time you come back to life! Tsk tsk, what makes you so indomitable? I'm truly curious..."

"Sir," Ruan Lianhua said, standing beside the bed and inviting him over, "How is Su Su's injury?"

The skilled doctor approached the bedside, had me turn to the side, examined the wound on my back, and then sat down, taking my pulse as he said, "The wound is a bit deep and won't heal in just a few days. It needs to be healed slowly, and your body needs to be properly cared for. However, it's nothing serious. We came early and it was treated in time, so it hasn't worsened."

Ruan Bicheng listened attentively.

I quietly observed the skilled hands, then casually asked, "When you saved me, did you see the letter on my person? The letter Shen Qing asked me to give you?"

"The letter my junior brother wrote to me?!" He exclaimed in surprise, his eyes widening as he stared at me. He blurted out, "Was it on you? He didn't have anything with him when he brought you here..."

“Sir,” Ruan Lianhua interrupted him, subtly placing my wrist back under the quilt, and smiled at Miaoshou, “Sir, you say these injuries are nothing to worry about? Does that mean you need to change the medicine?”

The skilled doctor was about to speak again in great anxiety, but Ruan Lianhua asked him to stand up and said, "I will go with you to brew the medicine, and I will also tell you about Shen the pharmacist's recent situation."

Miao Shou's eyes lit up immediately, and he stood up, cupping his hands in greeting, "Master Ruan, please."

Ruan Lianhua asked him to go ahead, then turned to me and said, "I'll be right back. Do you want to sleep a little longer? Or should I have someone come and keep you company?"

I looked closely into his eyes; his brows and eyelashes were fluttering, making it impossible to discern his expression. "I want to see Chang Huan."

He smiled faintly at me and said gently, "Chang Huan didn't come."

Did they not come? Or were they unable to come?

I stared at him without blinking and said, "It shouldn't take more than a day to get from the Saluo Sect to Medicine King Valley, right? Could you please send someone to deliver a message saying that I would like to see him?"

He lowered his brows and said, "Chang Huan has gone back to his hometown, and I'm afraid he won't be able to come for a while."

"Oh." So he went back to his hometown? I stared at him intently and said calmly, "Is that so? So the leader has already sent him back to his hometown."

He lifted his eyelashes, his thin brows furrowing as he looked at me. "Su Su, when did we become so...estranged?"

When? Was it when he and Ye Baizhi conspired to use me to get rid of Yan Shu? Or was it when he started to resemble Ruan Bicheng more and more afterward?

I can't remember it very clearly.

"Su Su, are you blaming me?" He frowned as he looked at me, his clean-cut face softening my heart.

How could I blame him? What right do I have to blame him? He just used some means to get what he wanted. Who in this world doesn't do that?

I've taken advantage of people before. But why can't I treat him with the same carefree laughter and jokes as before?

It's probably not just him who has changed; I've changed too.

He grabbed my hand urgently and explained, "Susu, please don't blame me, okay? I just want to become stronger and stronger so that I can protect the people I want to protect, like you."

I pulled my fingers out and patted the back of his hand, forcing a smile as I said, "I'm not blaming you, I just slept for too long and feel a little uncomfortable." I paused, then smiled again, "Go ahead, just call Little Red Medicine to come and talk to me."

He nodded and said softly to me, "You should take good care of yourself. When you're feeling better, let's go to Suzhou together to find Changhuan, okay?"

Suzhou... that legendary place where the grass grows lush and the birds sing, an extremely beautiful place. I remember making a promise with Changhuan that we would go and see his hometown.

He looked at me earnestly, and I nodded. He immediately beamed, told me to rest well, and then lifted the curtain and went out.

===============================================================================

A short while later, a tiny figure entered; it was Qinglian.

He sat down properly on the small stool in front of my bed and said, "Miss Su, I've come to keep you company."

"Where's Little Red Medicine?" I asked. Why did Ruan Lianhua call Qinglian over?

Qinglian glanced at me and sighed, "Junior Sister is helping Sect Leader Ruan brew medicine and cannot come."

I said "Oh" and didn't ask any more questions, but I always felt that Ruan Lianhua was deliberately making me avoid these people, as if she was hiding something from me.

"Miss Su," Qinglian called out to me, "what would you like to talk about?"

I was taken aback. He looked at me very seriously and said, "Miss Su, didn't you want to chat with someone? Which topic should we start with?"

An expression of dread...

I chuckled awkwardly and said, "It's just a casual chat, no need to be so serious..."

"What do you want to talk about?" He frowned and looked at me seriously. "My master said that you have to be serious about everything you do."

How unlovable! So mature for his age.

I gave him a bitter look and said, "How about this, let's play a game. I'll ask questions and you answer them."

He thought about it carefully for a moment and then nodded.