Cuando el amor se acerca, es como la nieve

Capítulo 24

Meng Qing clenched his teeth, seemingly not hearing Yun Yiyang's question. His face grew increasingly ashen, and a strange gurgling sound came from his throat. Suddenly, a trickle of blood flowed from his tightly closed lips.

A small, slender sword tip emerged from his chest, and then he fell to the ground.

Behind him was one of the servants he had brought, dressed in servant's clothes, with an ordinary face in his thirties, looking at us expressionlessly.

He seemed to kill people more easily than kill chickens. What's even more terrifying is that neither Yun Yiyang nor I knew how he got behind Meng Qing.

Yun Yiyang suddenly moved!

He turned and grabbed the large sandalwood table, then casually tossed it towards the assassin dressed as a servant. The table weighed at least a hundred pounds, but Yun Yiyang lifted it as easily as if it were a straw. As he threw the table, his other bloodied hand encircled my waist, pulling me away from the flower hall—

As I passed the servant, I clearly saw a flash of sword light, followed by a soft hum from Yun Yiyang. We were now standing outside the arena.

But in the blink of an eye, five people were standing next to us, five assassins.

One of the killers had bloodstains splattered on his coarse cloth clothes.

Whose blood is this?! Is it the beautiful and dignified Lady Yun, or the charming and lovely Youhua? Is it Su Sanshou? Mr. Gongsun from the accountant's office? A Niu? Or the innocent Lingdang'er?

My mind went completely blank. Was this a dream? Or was it real? Why was there an assassin? Why did they want to kill me? And why was Yun Yiyang injured?

Yun Yiyang! — I looked at Yun Yiyang and almost shouted again!

Not only was blood gushing from the wound on his hand, but when he led me out of the flower hall, the gray-clad assassin had also slashed his waist with a rather deep gash! Drops of blood dripped incessantly onto the snow. The white snow and bright red blood, the five gray-clad assassins around us, and the blooming red plum blossoms outside the flower hall created a bizarre scene—I noticed that Yun Yiyang's normally dark face now appeared strangely pale.

The assassin who killed Meng Qing seemed to be the leader of the five people. He slowly spoke, "Yun Yiyang... not bad," his voice was flat and rigid, as if he hadn't spoken in a long time, "very few people can escape from my hands."

Yun Yiyang forced a smile and slowly said, "Brother Shang once said that one needs some courage when facing an enemy."

"Shang...Shang Shaozhang?!" The gray-clad assassin's eyes narrowed as he uttered the words "Shang Shaozhang," a chilling light flashing within them. "But is there a difference between seniority and juniority?"

"Not bad!" Yun Yiyang laughed. "These skills of mine were all taught by Brother Shang, it's just a pity..." Yun Yiyang sighed and said, "It's just a pity that he only taught me for a month?"

“A month… What a young master Shang!” The gray-clad assassin gazed into the distance and murmured, “He taught you for a month and you have achieved such results. I wonder whose martial arts are superior, his or mine…” He turned to look at Yun Yiyang’s frighteningly pale face and slowly said, “Young man, I originally wanted to exchange a few moves with you… but now the poison has penetrated deep into your bones and is enough to take your life.”

"What! Poison?!" I cried out in shock! I quickly grabbed Yun Yiyang's arm, but unexpectedly, he fell heavily onto me, pulling me down onto the snow as well. We tumbled together in the snow. Ignoring the icy snow that covered my face and body, I struggled to lift Yun Yiyang up and rest his head on my shoulder. His young, somewhat childish face had turned ashen, and his lips were slowly turning bluish. I felt a chill run through me. I suppressed my pounding heart and gently patted Yun Yiyang's face, softly whispering, "Yiyang... Yiyang..."

Yun Yiyang forced his eyes open and struggled to utter a few words: "Bai... Sister Bai..." Suddenly, his head tilted to the side, and he fainted in my arms.

"Yiyang... Yi..." I knelt on the snow, feeling Yun Yiyang's body grow colder in my arms. The wound on his hand had stopped bleeding, but it was a grayish-black color. The sword wound at his waist was still slowly bleeding, like plum blossoms blooming on the snow. "Cough... cough cough..." I quickly covered my mouth, but blood still seeped from between my fingers. I hugged Yun Yiyang, feeling a burning sensation in my throat. The taste of blood in my throat grew stronger and stronger, and even breathing took a long time. Could it be that I was going to die here today without knowing why?

The gray-clad assassin remained expressionless, but slowly drew a sword from his waist. The blade was incredibly long and narrow, like a slender snake, and gleamed with a chilling blue light in the sunlight. The gray-clad man slowly gripped the hilt, his voice devoid of any emotion: "My sword will not cause you the slightest pain. You won't even feel it pierce your body, yet your life will already be taken away by it."

I sat there in the snow, completely oblivious to the gray-clad assassin's words. I watched him draw his sword, grip it, and speak, but suddenly, the image of someone else flashed through my mind—

Young Master Shang! That damned Young Master Shang!

You said you would protect me! But now, when I need protection the most, why aren't you by my side?

I watched as the gray-clad assassin leaped forward, brandishing his sword. His sword was longer, thinner, softer, faster, and more venomous than Meng Qing's!

I didn't want to dodge at all, and I couldn't dodge it anyway.

In the twelfth lunar month, the fresh scent of autumn leaves suddenly wafted in.

The bleakness of autumn, the chilling autumn waters.

Suddenly, a bright, clear glint of light appeared in my vision—

This long sword, which was so cool and unassuming, now exuded boundless killing intent and rage!

In an instant, the blade met the soft sword. Like surging autumn waves crashing against a cold, vicious green snake!

All I could see was the furious blade energy swirling up the remaining snow on the ground, and amidst the swirling white snow, Shang Shaochang's cold and murderous gaze faintly pierced through the air.

In an instant, snowflakes filled the sky, and suddenly, vast expanses of bright red blossoms bloomed in the air! That almost suffocatingly bright red color assaulted my eyes, and everything went black; I could see nothing at all...

Drifting and swaying... I felt as if my body were floating on clouds, the surrounding scenery, flowers, sounds, light... all appeared in an instant, and then vanished into nothingness in another. I could hear nothing, see nothing. This relaxed and comfortable feeling seemed like it had been a very, very long time since I last experienced it...

It was as if a gentle voice came from beyond the heavens, "Come on, open your mouth." After a while, the pleasant voice said again, "Be good, just drink a little bit."

In my hazy state, I only felt a slightly bitter, warm liquid slowly flowing into my mouth. That tiny drop instantly dragged me from the clouds to the depths of despair. In that instant, the fleeting feeling seemed to vanish, replaced by excruciating pain throughout my entire body. I tried to breathe, feeling as if every breath was burning hot. After several deep gasps, my eyelids felt incredibly heavy, and I couldn't open them no matter how hard I tried. Then I heard that gentle voice again: "Be good, drink just a little more." More medicine was fed into my mouth.

As I swallowed, I felt a surge of energy coursing through my body, and my vision instantly cleared. The first thing I saw was a silver spoon, on which lay some brownish medicinal soup, emitting a sweet yet slightly bitter aroma. Before I could even process what was happening, the spoon was already in my mouth, and the soup was poured down my throat. A hand holding a white silk handkerchief reached out and skillfully wiped away the remaining medicine from my lips. A gentle voice sounded above me: "Yiyi, are you feeling better?"

Clothes?!

I immediately knew who the voice and the hand belonged to!

There's only one person who can call me Yiyi, that lecherous scoundrel with a grin on his face!

Suddenly, I felt a surge of strength coming from nowhere, and I shoved him violently behind me, shouting, "You, surnamed Shang! You're taking advantage of me again!" My hand didn't touch Shang Shaochang's body, but the shove knocked over the medicine bowl. With a "crash," the bowl fell to the ground and shattered, the brown medicine splattering everywhere. Shang Shaochang stood before me with a wry smile, his blue robe stained with medicine. He shook his head helplessly and said, "Looks like you still have the strength to hit and yell at me. You're getting better quickly."

I didn't hear what he said; my eyes were fixed on the hem of his clothes. The brown medicine stains on his clothes suddenly looked so much like dried blood. In that instant, my mind was suddenly filled with the bloody scenes before I fainted. After a churning in my stomach, I finally couldn't hold back any longer and vomited. Shang Shaochang was closest to me, and most of the vomit "luckily" landed on his blue robe.

Shang Shaochang gently patted my back, watching me vomit violently, making a mess of his blue robe. After I finished, he casually wiped my mouth with his sleeve and helped me to bed. He then quickly took off his outer robe, put on a new one, cleaned up the mess on the floor, and smiled slightly, "Are you feeling better after vomiting?"

I lay on the bed, stunned, letting him do as he pleased. Watching him bustle about, gently comforting me, I realized he was a completely different person from the carefree and unrestrained man I had first met. A blush crept across my face, and I vaguely felt that my earlier harsh words to him were terribly wrong. Composing myself, I whispered, "Just now… just now…"

Shang Shaozhang, however, did not take it seriously and laughed, "You were full of energy when you were scolding me just now, so it seems that the bloodletting I did for you was very effective." He paused for a moment and then said, "But I really don't know whether your illness is more serious or that silly boy's illness is more serious."

"Silly boy... Yi Yang!! How is Yun Yi Yang??" I jumped up in shock, but felt a wave of dizziness and fell back onto the bed. I looked at Shang Shaochang pleadingly, and he looked at me with a thoughtful expression. "Please, take me to see Yi Yang! Is he... alright?"

"Is he alright? He's been poisoned with the 'Bone-Corroding' poison. If I had arrived any later, he would have truly succumbed to it." Seeing my anxious expression, Shang Shaochang added, "I can heal his knife wounds, but the poison... I can't cure it."

"Ah—even you can't do anything? What... what should we do?" Hearing Shang Shaozhang's words felt like a thunderbolt from the blue! "Yiyang was poisoned trying to save me! If he dies from the poison... I... I..."

Shang Shaozhang looked at me with his deep eyes and slowly said, "How are you? Are you going to commit suicide for love?"