Ojos encantadores

Capítulo 54

He led her to a round table at the other end, where there was a rectangular cloth-wrapped object, which Zhu Yu had just brought in.

“This is something you once lost, my dear brother.”

"My things?" Su Shaochu took the cloth-wrapped object with a questioning look. It turned out to be a pipa. "This pipa..." She was surprised and astonished when she recognized the pipa.

"On the riverbank near Tongjiazhuang, there is a sandalwood pipa that was left behind back then."

"You actually left it behind!"

To avoid any complications during her brief encounter with Zhu Yu, she didn't linger long at Tong Shibo's urging. The sandalwood pipa she played back then was left on the riverbank. Not wanting to have too much contact with Zhu Yu before returning to the capital, she never went back to look for it.

"Do you think I can't guess why I left it behind?"

"Use the opportunity to get close to the prey."

It seems that after learning from Uncle Tong about her status as one of the four great families, he left behind this pipa with a special purpose.

“It is about getting closer to the person in my heart, but after we meet again in the palace, your quick wit and unpredictability will be enough to keep me busy.” He said, half-jokingly and half-teasingly. “In addition, I am afraid that if I take out this sandalwood pipa, given your always aloof personality, I will lose something that reminds me of you.”

When he took her to Yunfeng last year, he intended to give it to her, but he never expected that the snowy night at Yunfeng was just her scheme.

"The fact that they're bringing it out now suggests they're convinced that Shao Chu's future is sealed."

"It means that I, the prince, no longer have to think of people through objects." He gently wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her forehead, and said, "I can finally have the owner of this sandalwood pipa play the strings himself."

Holding the long-lost rosewood pipa again, her lowered eyes gleamed with a strange light. After Zhu Yu released his embrace around her waist, her long fingers began to play the strings and listen to the music. The pearly sound of the strings remained unchanged, showing that the rosewood pipa had been taken very good care of.

"Has the Third Prince ever handled this sandalwood pipa?"

"I am not good at this instrument; I only play with it casually."

Whenever he picks it up, he sees her sitting on a large rock by the river in the misty morning, playing music as if the mountains and forests were strings and the stream was the sound, a scene as elegant and beautiful as a dream.

"However, I can see that the pitch and strings of this rosewood pipa are somewhat different from ordinary ones." The plucked notes have a subtle, penetrating quality.

"Would you like to play a tune for the Three Emperors, so that you may know what makes this sandalwood pipa so special?"

"Could there be some hidden secret in this zither?" This intrigued Zhu Yu, as he had never noticed it for so many years.

"I believe the Third Prince knows about the friendship between Shao Chu and Feng Jun'er, the female pharmacist from Nanyuan, right?" She played with the strings, strolling leisurely.

"Know."

He knew at least five or six parts of her past. Feng Jun'er occupied a lot of her memories, and he also knew that she was dead. The dead are the ones who leave the living with the most longing.

He was displeased with anyone who could occupy her heart and mind. Since he couldn't remove this person's place in her heart, he would let time fade away their presence. Therefore, he never mentioned this person.

"Nan Yuan Qu Shao is skilled at using music to enhance the medicinal properties, while Dong Yu Xuan Hong studies the musical scales of various musical instruments that can destroy and kill people. Shao Chu has been with the female pharmacist Nan Yuan for a long time, so he naturally knows a little about these things."

Looking back on those carefree, joyful days of youth, compared to now, though the people and events have changed, her state of mind is vastly different; her laughter carries a sense of ethereal complexity.

"This instrument possesses both of these abilities."

"Shao Chu." The figure that had been strolling and playing the zither was now more than ten steps away in front of the water-colored gauze curtains that separated the inner and outer rooms. The curtains fluttered in the wind, making her figure appear even more graceful. He called out with a frown.

"This rosewood pipa is meant to be played when one is separated from their loved one."

"Then stop playing and come over here." He didn't like the strange glint in her eyes, nor did he like the enigmatic and unpredictable air about her.

“Do you know what you think of me?” She looked up at him and couldn’t help but smile. “Whenever I walk away from you, or when someone else gets too much attention from me, when you call me, your eyes are so sharp they’re like they could eat you alive. I really am that important to you. This makes Shao Chu even more curious about something else.”

"Shaochu——"

With a graceful movement, Zhu Yu reached out, but she was already behind the heavy veils. Such speed was beyond what she, whose martial arts were sealed, could accomplish. He frowned in doubt.

"Third Prince, do you think Shao Chu can break through the restrictions you've placed within my body with this sandalwood pipa?" Qingyang's voice rang out again.

“I just told you, my dear brother, to stop your deceptive and evasive tactics. Clearly, you're continuing to play games with me.” Zhu Yu stepped into the layered, water-colored veils, making it difficult to discern her location. “Do you really think that even if you break through the restrictions, with your abilities, you can find a way to counter me?”

"Why should Shao Chu retaliate against the Third Prince? Remove this restriction. Since reality prevents you from taking revenge on the Third Prince, then he will simply become someone in your memories." You smiled and the firmness in your words made Zhu Yu's expression gradually darken.

"The Third Prince knows that Shao Chu has never been your match in martial arts. However, with the veil covering his eyes and the distant waterfall and rain sounds confusing his footsteps, it is not impossible for Shao Chu to escape from this room or even leave 'Yunliu Pavilion' once his strength is restored."

Using sound to pinpoint location, Zhu Yu flicked his fingers and palms, tearing the veil to the left and disappearing from sight.

"To become someone in my memories? I should be asking you what that means?" His keen senses detected every movement of the draped curtains near the window. "Even if you leave the Central Plains, do you think I'll never find you?"

“If you are determined, what can’t you do? If I decide that you, Zhu Yu, will never see me again in this lifetime, then you will never see me again.”

The words were decisive and resolute, without the slightest hesitation. Only the owner of those words knew that as they were spoken, a strange, subtle ache stirred within him.

Zhu Yujun's handsome face was filled with danger and gloom, but his voice was unusually gentle, with a chilling smile that went straight to the bone.

"Young Master, you should trust me more. I will not let you become someone in my memories. If you dare to play this game with me, a bloodbath will begin with the four great families. How many people will be buried because of you? Have you considered what the price will be?"

The response was a low, lingering sigh.

"If it really comes to this, how many people will you kill before you see me?" The voice, devoid of emotion or direction, remained calm and resolute. "Perhaps when this happens, Shao Chu will be far away at the ends of the earth. I won't know when you kill one person, I won't know when you kill two, but by the time I find out, how many people will have died? If all those in my heart are already dead, what good will it do to see you again!"

“Young Master, you can gamble, but I think that given your attitude towards human life, you won’t easily gamble on this matter.”

"Then let's rephrase the question! How much time will it take the Third Prince to plot and kill the four great families? Or, to put it more directly: How long can you endure not seeing me?"

"Shao Chu, come out! Don't test my patience!" The upright figure standing motionless behind the veil had narrowed his eyes, which were gradually losing their composure and revealing impatience.

"How about we decide the outcome of this match with a poem?" Ignoring his warning, she continued, "Although the sandalwood pipa is not the Minglan guqin, it has its own unique sound. Although night has not yet fallen, the moon is not yet in sight, and the cold wind has not yet blown, Shao Chu truly likes the sentiment of this poem!"

A faint aura seemed to brush past her side, and the power of the energy swept away swiftly, leaving only the torn gauze curtains fluttering in the wind that rushed in through the glass window.

Pulling down the veil, Zhu Yu saw some dried fruit particles on the ground and coldly scanned her surroundings.

"After this poem, if Shao Chu were to release the restrictions within his body, would he truly become the person you remember, Third Prince?"

His ferocious rage had already distorted Zhu Yu's expression. As the pipa music accompanied her clear and elegant voice, his expression became even more sinister.

"Sitting idly under the bright moon, a graceful musician plays a simple zither."

The sound of the pipa was unstable, or rather, the rhythm was chaotic. It didn't seem to be the work of Su Shaochu, who was skilled in various instruments. Moreover, it was hard to tell that the sound source and her voice came from the same direction. Was she deliberately trying to confuse him?

"Suddenly, a mournful tune is heard, like the sigh of a cold pine. White water splashes against delicate hands, green water purifies the empty heart."

Amidst the swaying of the gauze curtains, Yi Ya's figure seemed both close at hand and several steps away. Normally, such a setup would not have caught his eye, let alone hinder him. But Zhu Yu, who had already lost his composure, could only hear the thought echoing in his ears: He would never see her again?!

Losing her—that was something he wouldn't even consider, nor allow to happen—

"Zhong Qi is long gone, and there are no more kindred spirits in the world."

As the poem drew to a close, a sudden, furious roar erupted from inside the room. A powerful burst of energy shot towards the gauze-draped wooden pillar a few steps away. With the sound of the energy exploding, the sandalwood pipa was shattered, and the gauze draped around Zhu Yu was also torn apart by his furious palm strike.

"Shaochu—come out—"

The broken wood chips and tattered gauze of the pipa flew in the air, and Zhu Yu, standing among them, was like a cold and fierce Yama emerging from prison. From the very beginning, the music of the pipa did not come from her hands. Instead, she hid the dried fruit on the table in her hands and played the strings from a distance, making the sound come out from the other end, thus confusing his judgment.

If he hadn't been so afraid of losing her that he fell for her words, he would have seen through it all long ago!

"The sandalwood pipa is no longer in your hands; it's time for you to come out."

He called out to the person hidden in the shadows. At the same time, he decided that his beloved younger brother, Shao Chu, whom he loved and hated so intensely, was someone he could not believe a single word he said. Even though his martial arts had been sealed, he still had a decent physique and movements, which probably meant that he had comprehended the martial arts theories of that old man Ming Zong.

Mingzong, a swordsman from the Southern Source, created his own insights into martial arts and internal energy. He believed that if one could transform the lost "nothingness" into footwork techniques, this kind of martial art, which does not rely on internal strength, would move only according to the airflow of the environment. This is another high level of self-cultivation.

Zhu Yu gradually realized why she didn't show any strong emotions when her martial arts were initially sealed, but instead accepted it. Perhaps she was using this as a test to see if she could reach the level that the Southern Origin Sword Master had mentioned.

"It seems that Shao Chu's comprehension is indeed something that would make that old man Mingzong sigh at the wasted talent and gift." Even he couldn't help but admire him. "It's just a pity that with your current abilities, you have no chance of escaping from this prince. Come out obediently, and I've had enough of your mischief today."

The entire room remained silent, and even the king could not sense the slightest breath.

"Come out—let me see you—Shaochu—"

With youthful ambition, what is there that cannot be accomplished? If I decide that you, Zhu Yu, will never see me again in this lifetime, then you will never see me again.

Impossible. She can't leave this place. The music played on the sandalwood pipa from afar couldn't possibly have broken through the limitations within her body. There's no way she could leave him—

How long can you endure not seeing me?

He couldn't bear to even blink. After getting her, he couldn't bear to lose her fragrance, her body, and her leisurely smiling face. It was as if she was playing a game with him again. He hated her so much, yet he loved her so much that he couldn't let go!

When he finally sensed a faint breath in the air, his lightning-fast figure had already swept towards the innermost draped curtain.

Behind the flowing, water-colored gauze, the elegant woman faced his outstretched arms. Knowing full well that she couldn't escape at this moment, she was inexplicably bewildered when she saw his frantic expression as he tried to grab her.

She only wanted to disturb his mind, and she knew he might be angry. Last year, none of this had shaken her heart in the slightest, but now... she dared not let the owner of those arms hold her any longer. His arms were not only binding her body, but her heart was also becoming heavy as her body was being plundered.

She had never felt the weight of her heart before, but he began to make her feel that this heaviness was like an invisible clamp that had been fastened around her!

Fear and inexplicable dread made Su Shaochu turn around subconsciously, but before she could take a step, she was already tightly embraced by two arms!

Chapter Seven

"Do you want to leave my side? Do you want to leave me that badly?" Zhu Yu pressed his face against hers from behind, just like the force with which he was holding her, so strong that it was painful and frightening.

"You can't do it, and I, the prince, will never let you do it—" he shouted wildly. "If such a thing dares to happen again—I, the prince, will first sever the tendons in your feet—no matter how proud a snow goose is, once its wings are clipped, where can it fly!"

"You...you're really that afraid of losing me?"

Her breath came in gasps and spasms as he gripped her with almost all his might.

“Fear!” His fingers stroked her chin back and forth, the force light but the threat hidden beneath. “My dear brother, you’re making it sound so easy. Let me tell you, even if you become a dead man, I, the prince, will cook and eat your flesh and blood. No one, not even your family, will get their hands on your corpse.”

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Zhu Yu's handsome face, which had been furious, turned into a slow smile. He picked at the hairs on her back, rubbed his handsome face against her cheek, and breathed out a passionate breath.

"You've all forgotten there's another way, Shao Chu'ai. Listen carefully to my warning. If you break it, you'll really be in trouble. Poor thing! If you accidentally die at my hands, I won't let you rest in peace."

As if he were talking about something exciting, his extremely handsome face now emitted a dazzling yet terrifying light.

"I once obtained an ice lotus coffin in the Western Frontier, capable of preserving a corpse intact and uncorrupted. Once you die, I will absolutely first extract your heart, then preserve your beautiful body along with that heart, keeping them perfectly intact." He chuckled, gently kissing her delicate cheek. "Hehe, thinking about it, this might actually be the true way to win you over. No need to worry about you, you mischievous old man, trying to leave me!"

Before he could finish speaking, his hands suddenly became fierce and rough, tearing at her clothes from behind, greedily trying to touch her body beneath them. The sound he made was completely inversely proportional to his actions, yet it was still gentle to the point of being tender, and also terrifying enough to make one tremble.

“Every day, I hold you in my ice lotus coffin… what people call a solid corpse, right?” He scoffed, seemingly dissatisfied with the description. “I think that being able to hold the body of a deceased lover and feel the spring night separated by life and death is an extreme kind of 'beauty'.”

"I'm afraid Shao Chu will have a hard time understanding such inhuman madness and nonsense!"

Unable to break free from the iron-like arms, she cried out in pain as the hands reached under her bra and covered her breasts, squeezing them tightly.

"I've never played with corpses before, but as long as it involves you, my beloved brother, it's always a source of amusement. Just imagine, holding you in my arms, and stroking that heart that's been ripped out... Ah! Although this method is somewhat imperfect, your body and soul are now in my hands!"

Those who are indifferent to love yet play the field will ultimately bring disaster upon themselves.