La lluvia primaveral es como el vino, los sauces son como el humo

Capítulo 28

This time, no matter how much Nana threatened or coaxed Yichun, she refused to wear that cumbersome skirt and wear that complicated hairstyle again.

She even borrowed a set of men's clothing from Yang Shen and tied all her long hair on top of her head like a man. In order not to reveal her identity as a woman, she also learned from Uncle Yin San and added a straw hat that was pulled down low, which gave her a unique style.

Yi Chun finally understood just how busy the second young master of the Yan family was. Were real martial arts figures like him, meeting several people in the morning and sometimes not even having time for lunch before rushing off to meet others?

They talked and talked, as if they had endless things to talk about.

Sometimes Yichun would wonder if they were talking about how to practice martial arts and how to spar.

Yang Shen scoffed at this idea: "Only a martial arts fanatic would think about practicing martial arts all day long. Things in the martial arts world are never that simple."

Therefore, Yichun never knew what they had to talk about.

In her view, life is so simple and carefree: there is food to eat, sleep to sleep, people to talk to, scenery and human relationships to see, and many things she has never seen or learned before waiting for her.

There's simply no time to waste on one pointless conversation after another.

Yang Shen would then laugh at her, saying, "That's how pigs live too. It's fine this way."

The two of them were following behind Yan Yufei's carriage. The young master's second destination that afternoon was Chuying Garden, which happened to be the cherry blossom season. He was extremely busy, having arranged to meet someone there to discuss business.

Yichun pulled her straw hat down low, a hint of anger in her voice: "Yang Shen, you're always picking on me! I'm your senior sister!"

Yang Shen looked at her dressed as a man with a grin. Unexpectedly, she seemed even more pretty than when she was dressed as a woman. He said, "It's good to be a pig. Someone will take care of you, and you'll be carefree."

"Then why don't you become a pig!" She looked up at him, her face now pale, but her expression was surprisingly vivid. She was quite beautiful; looking at her for a while could stir one's heart.

Yang Shen's heart stirred many times, to the point that he felt somewhat helpless. So he couldn't help but reveal something: "If I were a pig, who would raise you?"

He knew she definitely wouldn't understand; sometimes she was surprisingly clever, but other times she really was a complete idiot.

Just as Yichun was about to speak, Uncle Yin, who was walking in front, turned around and gave them a subtle glare, as if he thought they were talking too loudly.

This uncle disliked them quite a bit and would glare at them every now and then.

Yichun said softly, "What are you staring at? Your eyeballs are going to pop out."

Yang Shen couldn't help but laugh.

They soon arrived at Chuying Garden. Young Master Yan got out of the car, only to be suddenly surrounded by a large number of beggars waving dirty bowls and shouting for him to give them some money.

Tanzhou is home to two places: Chuyingyuan and Kaifu Temple. The beggars in the vicinity are more numerous than ants. If you encounter one who is even slightly well-dressed, they will immediately swarm around him, not to ask for money, but to rob him.

The two men from Yichun immediately stood guard beside him and pushed the beggars aside.

Suddenly, she had a bad feeling, as if something cold and dangerous was approaching.

Almost instinctively, she drew her sword and held it in front of her. With a "clang," a disheveled beggar with his head down, holding a gleaming dagger, seemed to be planning a sneak attack, but instead bumped into Yichun's sword.

He missed his first attack, then turned and ran. Yi Chun hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to give chase, when suddenly she felt a strong force coming from next door. Yang Shen bumped into her, causing her to stumble. She asked anxiously, "What happened?"

He said something indistinctly, followed by a loud bang, like a firecracker exploding. Suddenly, thick blue smoke billowed into Yichun's eyes, pungent and blinding, making it impossible to see anything.

She quickly reached out to grab Yang Shen, but grasped at empty air. Uncle Yin roared angrily in the thick smoke, followed by the sound of weapons clashing, and then... there was no sound at all.

When the wind finally dispersed the thick smoke, Yichun rubbed her aching eyes and looked around, only to realize that she was the only one standing in front of the carriage. Yang Shenyan, Yu Feiyin, and the other uncles were nowhere to be found.

Chapter Seventeen

In the blink of an eye, even if they were taken hostage, they couldn't get very far.

Yi Chun looked around and suddenly saw a thin needle nailed diagonally on the ground in front of the garden gate, with the tip pointing into the Cherry Blossom Garden.

That was a hidden weapon that Yan Yu rarely used.

She rushed straight into the garden.

Chuying Garden is planted with countless cherry blossom trees, which are now in full bloom, their blossoms like smoke and rosy clouds, dazzling the eyes.

Legend has it that this garden was originally the backyard of a wealthy family. After their fortunes declined, they sold the garden to others. It changed hands several times and is now a public space. Shops, restaurants, and teahouses operate independently within the garden, without disturbing each other. However, due to its high prices, even during cherry blossom season, few people dare to come and spend lavishly.

Yichun quickly got lost in the bustling cherry blossom forest, completely disoriented and having no idea which way to go.

After wandering around aimlessly for a while, she suddenly found a torn piece of clothing under a tree. She picked it up and felt it; it was made of coarse cloth. The color and texture were no different from the clothes Yang Shen was wearing. The child was always careful and meticulous; he must have left a mark for her.

Sure enough, after looking around again, they found another piece of cloth under another tree.

Yi Chun felt relieved and ran forward following Yang Shen's marks. Before long, she suddenly realized that she had left the cherry blossom forest and was facing a very small raised earthen mound.

A bamboo house stood on the slope, and Yan Yufei, wearing a striking ivory-white robe, leaned against the window. He seemed to have no unusual expression, gazing aimlessly out the window with one hand on his chin. Suddenly, he saw Yi Chun waving at him, and he involuntarily turned his head away.

Yi Chun paused for a moment, looked around, and determined that this should be a teahouse in the garden, because there were still a few tourists nearby admiring the cherry blossoms, and tables and chairs were set up under the bamboo building for people to rest and drink tea.

She took off her straw hat, pushed open the door and walked into the teahouse. A friendly waiter came up to greet her, and she said, "I want to go upstairs."

The waiter looked troubled: "Miss, the second floor is booked out. Would you please sit on the first floor for a while?"

As if she hadn't heard, she rushed upstairs. The waiter shouted anxiously, and then a series of heavy footsteps came from upstairs, as if they were about to collapse the slender bamboo house, before suddenly stopping at the top of the stairs.

Yichun looked up and her heart skipped a beat. She hesitated and stopped.

Standing at the top of the stairs was a towering, muscular man—no, perhaps "giant" would be a more fitting description.

The weather hadn't fully warmed up yet, but he was only wearing thin trousers, revealing bulging muscles in his upper body that looked like blocks of iron—quite frightening.

Yichun estimated that even four of her might not be able to defeat one of the men. Seeing that the man was holding a giant axe and was about to chop her down, she knew that a wise woman doesn't fight a losing battle, and that escaping for her life was the most important thing.

She dashed down the stairs and ran out of the teahouse like a gust of wind, vaguely hearing a cold voice from upstairs say, "Is that girl? Kill her."