linfengchun - Capítulo 5
"Wait, do you know who I am?"
"Please forgive my ignorance." Seeing that the other party seemed about to step over, he gritted his teeth and said, "Please forgive me, I have urgent business to attend to and must take my leave first." Without waiting for the other party's reply, he mounted his horse and galloped away.
There seemed to be a voice calling from behind, but he sped off without turning his head.
The insignia of the three elders, the only one I've never seen before, was the one that Jiuwei warned me about…
My heart was pounding; if it weren't for that momentary hesitation on the other end...
He forced himself to remain calm, returned the horse to the stable master, and walked out with the servants who had chosen the horses, resolving never to leave the garden again.
"stop."
The nightmarish voice pinned him to the spot.
The person who calmly blocked their way was the very person they thought they had already avoided.
The servant beside him bowed respectfully. "Greetings, Elder Xiao."
He composed himself and said, "Greetings, Elder Xiao."
"So you knew who I was." The man smiled and approached step by step, a smug look in his eyes, like a cat playing with a mouse.
"I was blind and only just found out."
"You may leave now. I have something to say to him." The man casually waved the servant away.
"No need. Jia Ye is waiting for me to return and report. We can hear the elder's instructions another day." Without even looking around, he knew the other side had deliberately chosen a secluded spot to ambush them; escaping would likely be impossible...
"When did a lowly servant become so disrespectful to this elder?" The man chuckled sinisterly, then suddenly shouted, "Get lost!"
The servant standing nearby turned ashen-faced with extreme fear and hastily led the horse away.
Now that things had come to this, he calmed down.
"May I ask what your orders are, Elder Xiao?"
“You’ve heard of me.” The man walked over to him.
"I do not understand what the elder means."
“You know I have homosexual tendencies.” The man lifted a lock of his hair, his eyes filled with naked desire. “Following me will be much better than with Jia Ye.”
"The king ordered his subordinates to become shadow guards."
"Even the Pope might change his mind. Even if it's Jia Ye, if I ask for her, wouldn't she give it to me?" Her light words seemed to have cut off all avenues of retreat.
"If that's the case, please tell the Queen clearly, Elder, so that Shuying can follow." He closed his eyes and squeezed out the words.
"I know what you're thinking..." The man leaned down and whispered in her ear, his voice like a ghost. "Today, you can't escape it."
He sprang to his feet, his fingers and palms pointing like knives, unleashing his most vicious attack. The man seemed unsurprised, dodging and easily parrying. Ignoring the risk of mutual destruction, he only sought to create a sliver of escape, but as time passed, his heart grew colder with each blow. A hand pierced through his defenses and struck his abdomen, causing him to convulse in pain. In a moment of distraction, his vital points were sealed, rendering him immobile.
"Such an appearance, what a pity..." A cold hand gently wiped away his cold sweat, as if expressing regret. He almost couldn't help but curse.
“Occasionally… I also like to use force.” The other person seemed unconcerned. Their breathing gradually quickened, and their hand had already slipped inside their clothes. “It’s more exciting, especially in the wild.”
With a ripping sound, the clothes were torn in two, and as the hand touched them, countless bumps erupted from the skin.
A man bit her gums until they bled, and she wished she could just die instantly.
"Jia Ye greets Elder Xiao."
A cool, clear voice suddenly rang out, as calm as ever.
The wandering hand left the body.
"Jia Ye." The man chuckled dryly. "I thought you knew when to advance and when to retreat."
“Jia Ye dares not. Shu Ying has been busy with business and hasn’t returned yet, so I came to check on her.” The girl lowered her head, as if she hadn’t seen what had happened.
"Then you can rest assured, I will naturally let him go back later."
"I dare not trouble you, Elder."
"You're disobeying my orders?"
“Jia Ye was merely bringing back her subordinates; how can that be considered disobeying orders?”
"I order you to leave."
"As long as the elder releases Shuying."
"Jia Ye!" The man finally stood up and shouted sternly. "You should know the consequences of offending me."
She finally raised her head, and beneath her black bangs, her cold eyes were like the dark night.
“He is my shadow guard, a gift from the King, and not someone I can treat with reckless abandon.”
The man laughed angrily, "You think you can get away with this by not attacking me?"
She smiled too, her cold eyes concealing a sharp edge. "Elder, what are you saying? It's just that we've ruined our harmony over a mere shadow guard. It would only make us a laughingstock, and we wouldn't be able to explain ourselves to the King."
"Are you trying to intimidate me by using the Pope as leverage?"
"How could I dare? Jia Ye was merely reminding the elder not to disregard the overall situation due to momentary excitement."
The man suddenly fell silent, picked up the clothes he had tossed aside, and put them on. "Fine, let's see how long you can protect me. I'm afraid by then even you won't be able to..."
The man disappeared, but his venomous words still echoed in my ears.
She silently exhaled, walked to his side, and bent down.
Black hair brushed against her shoulders, feeling cool and refreshing. She felt a sense of relief wash over her, and her ability to move returned.
The girl withdrew her hand, turned around, and waited for him to tidy up his torn clothes.
The feeling of humiliation was etched into his mind, and he felt a surge of hatred. He looked at the girl, who was much shorter than him, and couldn't utter a word.
“Special Shadow”.
“I originally wanted to…” she said softly, her back to him.
After a long silence, the girl looked up and made a decision.
"Go back and tell them to pack their luggage."
"You and I will go together on this trip to Shache."
killer
It was still dark when we set off.
He stepped outside, where a figure was already checking the packs on horseback.
He inspected everything meticulously, even opening and checking the medicine box to make sure there was nothing wrong before gathering his luggage and getting ready to mount his horse.
Leaving the mountain was no easy task. Numerous checkpoints were set up, each meticulously guarded. Even though he recognized Jia Ye and performed the proper rites, he was still only allowed to pass after his imperial edict for leaving the sect was verified. He followed on horseback, trying his best to calm himself.
Traveling westward, the yellow sand stretches for thousands of miles.
The scorching sun was so intense that even breathing felt like being burned, and the thirst was unbearable. The limited food and water had to be precisely measured before reaching the supply point. A slight mistake could turn one into a dried-up corpse in the wilderness. Along the way, the white bones of livestock were often half-buried in the yellow sand. The hardships of the journey were beyond the imagination of ordinary people.
In the face of harsh nature, humans are insignificant and not worth mentioning.
Jia Ye wrapped her face with a white cloth, controlling everything she did.
She knew exactly where to rest her horse, where to stay overnight, and where underground rivers provided food and water. Her endurance was beyond imagination; she could often be seen observing the stars and constellations late at night to determine the direction of her journey the next day. In the Gobi Desert, one could easily get lost if she wasn't careful.
When she finally arrived at the last town before reaching Shache Kingdom, even she, who had remained calm and composed the whole way, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
The town was regarded as a resting place for traveling merchants. It was bustling and lively. The shopkeepers, who were used to seeing merchants from all over the world, were very discerning and respectfully welcomed them into the best rooms.
An upper-class room.
He silently obeyed Jia Ye's instructions.
They removed the cloth covering their faces, washing away the dust of their journey.
When he returned to the room, Jia Ye was already in his usual state, dressed in white as snow, with black hair as black as lacquer, and his eyes seemed to still have the dampness from his bath. At first glance, he looked like a little porcelain doll, without any imposing presence.
She glanced up and saw him, who had also just bathed, and seemed slightly taken aback before looking away and surveying the street. From the second-floor window, she could see people of all races and skin colors coming and going, and vendors shouting in the twilight sun, trying to attract the last customers.
“Special Shadow”.
"yes."
“Look closely at that person.”
A commotion disrupted the market. He stared intently and saw a tall, burly man from Central Asia brutally attacking a stall owner. His thick fists pounded into the face of his thin opponent, and blood oozed from his nose and lips. Yet, the man did not let up, even hurling insults at onlookers who tried to intervene.
In the end, he seemed to have taken the money he wanted, left his unconscious opponent behind, and walked away, leaving behind the deafening cries of the stall owner's children.
"Did you see clearly?" She looked away and took a sip of tea.
"I want to see his head before dawn."
He suddenly turned around, knowing he shouldn't ask, but couldn't help but blurt it out.
"Why."
"When did you begin to have the right to question me?" Dark eyes met his, and he smiled expressionlessly. "Just a thug who uses violence to seize people's money. So what if I kill him? Go."
I suddenly opened my eyes, and a shadow swept in through the window.
A bloodstained head rolled a few times on the table and then stopped.
His bulging eyes seemed to be glaring angrily, as if he couldn't believe that his head was separated from his body and that he was the same person who had viciously assaulted someone in the street earlier.
The boy looked at her coldly, and a sliver of sunlight peeked through the half-closed window.
"Clean up the things, wipe the table clean, and you can rest now."
Without even moving her seated posture, she closed her eyes again.
"That bed is yours; you can sleep for another hour."
He stood frozen in place, feeling a tightness in his chest that made it ache.
After a long while, he picked up his head and went out again. When he came back, he wrung out a cloth to wipe the table clean and wash away the blood. He sat on the edge of the bed and couldn't calm his emotions. He watched as the sky gradually brightened.
The shop assistant knocked on the door and brought over a steaming bowl of tea for breakfast.
Jia Ye rose from his seat, washed up, and ate, his expression as usual.