La vida perfecta en la dinastía Song

Capítulo 96

Zhu Sihuai's heart sank, but he had no choice but to tell the truth: "The Second Young Master said he was going to hunt down Zhenmutier and Marshal Jun. He's not far behind them, and he'll definitely catch up..."

What troubled him was that Zhu Yu had harbored deep hatred for Jun Yu these past few days, and if the two were to actually fight, they would surely both be severely injured: "Now that Zhenmutier is dead, I wonder if the Second Young Master has fought with Marshal Jun..."

Tuosang thought for a moment, but didn't speak.

There was a dark shadow ahead. Tuosang immediately ran over, only to be completely stunned. It was the corpse of the great black horse, Junyu's mount. There was a deep sword wound on the horse's neck; it had been killed.

Tuosang carefully examined the wounds; they were indeed inflicted by Junyu's "Chasing Flight" technique. Some flesh had been cut from the black horse, clearly indicating that Junyu had killed it to satisfy his hunger and thirst. Upon closer inspection, he determined that the horse had been dead for about five or six days.

He was overjoyed; after so long, he finally had definite news of Junyu. In this scorching desert, Junyu had no mount or water, so he couldn't possibly travel during the day, and he couldn't go very far on foot either. He must be somewhere nearby.

Seeing that it was Junyu's mount and there was still no trace of Zhu Yu, Zhu Sihuai said anxiously, "I found the Second Young Master's Akhal-Teke horse corpse four days ago. Judging from the wounds and strength, the Second Young Master killed it himself, and it has been dead for more than ten days."

"oh?!"

"Did Zhu Yu kill the horse himself? Was the horse's body intact?"

"Exactly. The second young master killed the horse, and there's no water. But he's nowhere to be found, neither alive nor dead; finding his remains would be extremely difficult..."

Tuosang looked again at the black horse's corpse, which had been stripped of much flesh: "Zhu Yu is not dead!"

Seeing the certainty in his tone, Zhu Sihuai looked at him suspiciously: "Then what about him?"

"He must be with Junyu! We have to find them quickly, or we'll really die!"

Zhu Sihuai breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, let's continue the search."

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Chapter 350: Zhu Yu's Tenderness

By this time, there were only a few stars in the sky. Tuosang was well-versed in calendars. He looked up and carefully examined the constellations and the direction of the wind. They were almost at the edge of the desert. He wondered if Junyu and the others were heading in the right direction in their search for water.

Zhu Sihuai suddenly shouted, "Look, there are people up ahead..."

Under the cover of night, a man riding a dromedary camel was heading in this direction. The two men spurred their horses to meet him, and the man on the camel's back, his face covered in dust, was none other than Mr. Nongying.

"gentlemen……"

Looking at the gaunt and terrifying man opposite him, Mr. Nongying's heart sank to the bottom: "Tuosang, still no news of Junyu?"

Tuosang shook his head, his eyes vacant.

Mr. Nongying loosened his grip, and a bag he was carrying fell to the ground, spilling out several melons. He had brought them from the oasis he had passed through two days ago, hoping to give them to Junyu as soon as he found her, wondering how happy she would be! The oasis was just ahead, but where had Junyu gone?

When Tuosang thought of the black horse's corpse, he suddenly perked up and felt a strange sensation in his heart, as if Junyu was nearby!

He looked at Mr. Nongying and immediately said, "Sir, I can sense Junyu's presence. Junyu and the others are nearby. We will find them soon!"

"Alright, split up and search, then meet up here in a day! We're almost at the edge of the desert now, so if we have news, we're sure we'll find it!"

…………

dusk.

The weather was so gloomy it looked like it was going to rain, but after a while, a gust of wind blew and the dark clouds dispersed. However, the wind was no longer dry, and the sand it blew up was more damp.

The spoiled dried horse meat was thrown aside, the horse blood had long been drunk, and his throat felt like it was being stabbed with a knife.

A bird flew low by, and Zhu Yu barely opened her eyes. "Junyu, maybe there's an oasis ahead. Look, a bird is flying by..."

No one answered. Junyu lay on the sand. It was time to set off, but she remained unconscious.

He sat up and pulled her into his arms. Her eyelids fluttered slightly, and her voice was very weak: "Tuo Sang, you've come..."

“Tuo Sang can’t come even if he wants to, Tuo Sang doesn’t know you’re here…” Zhu Yu looked at the vast distance, “Jun Yu, have you been thinking about him all this time?”

No one answered. Junyu's eyes remained tightly closed, her breathing extremely erratic; her earlier self-talk was pure incoherent nonsense. Zhu Yu glanced at her chapped lips, knowing that soon even these weak utterances wouldn't be enough.

He picked up her "Chase Flying" sword, aimed it at his wrist, slashed it down, and brought it to her lips.

Hot, metallic-tasting blood slid down her throat, and Junyu regained some consciousness. She stared blankly at Zhu Yu, struggling to sit up. Zhu Yu held her with one arm, and with the other, casually dug some sand with his longsword. The sand was damp, indicating that they weren't far from a water source.

"Junyu, let's go, there must be a water source ahead."

Junyu shook her head, the metallic taste of blood in her mouth growing increasingly pungent, almost steaming. She glanced at the longsword in Zhu Yu's hand, then at the equally dying Zhu Yu, and for a moment her vision blurred: "Zhu Yu, you..."

Zhu Yu said softly, "Junyu, hang in there a little longer, we'll definitely find a water source!"

"But……"

He touched her chapped lips and smiled, "Don't talk anymore, just rest and recover."

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Chapter 351: I Really Want to Die

Zhu Yu looked at her blank expression for a while, then stood up and helped her up: "Junyu, can you hold on a little longer?"

Junyu nodded reluctantly, and when she looked at him, he smiled and said, "Junyu, let's try to move forward again."

Junyu nodded and moved forward step by step, almost leaning against his chest.

Her legs felt like they were filled with lead, and her consciousness slowly began to fade. Junyu managed to take another step before stopping again: "Zhu Yu, let's not go anymore."

"Tuo Sang must be looking for you. You have to hold on and wait for him."

Junyu nodded blankly. If Tuosang couldn't find her, he would surely go crazy in despair. She had made a promise with him that after the war ended, they would find a beautiful place to live happily ever after. Now, the war was over, but they were now worlds apart.

The two walked a little further before stopping.

Time seemed to have frozen completely; hunger had long since become insensible, replaced by an intense thirst so intense that every extra second of life felt like a cruel punishment.

"Junyu?"

"Zhu Yu, I want to die, I want to die right now!"

He supported her swaying body, then everything went dark. His hand slipped, and they both fell to the sand.

Her head rested motionless against his chest, and he couldn't lift it even when he reached out.

"Junyu, are you awake?"

"oh!"

"Junyu, no matter what happens in the future, I will never be your enemy, I will never hold a grudge against you, I will never kill you or hate you!"

"oh!"

"Junyu, you must live..."

"oh!"

"Junyu..."

"Zhu Yu, I'm so sorry!"

Zhu Yu grasped her hand again with difficulty, wanting to speak but seeing her clear gaze, he felt a chill in his heart and laughed, "Junyu, is this... a final burst of lucidity before death?"

"Really? Maybe." Junyu's voice was clear and bright, her laughter like blooming flowers. "I see so many people, Master, Sister Shu, Yuan Jing, Manqing, Fei Yan... They're all waiting for us. Master, Master is right ahead, can you see him? I miss Master so much!"

"Junyu!"

Junyu still had a big smile on her face, and suddenly she became radiant and beautiful: "I heard Tuosang calling me, I will see him soon. Can you hear me, Zhu Yu?"

Perhaps. Zhu Yu barely opened her eyes and looked around, listening intently. The person in her arms had already let go of her hand, and their dark, jade-like eyes had slowly closed.

He held her tightly, and in his final moments, he felt an unprecedented sense of ease and joy: "Junyu, we're finally together!"

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Chapter 352: Finding the Two

It was the moonlight of the sixteenth, making the air feel sparse and cold. We were nearing the edge of the desert, and a gentle breeze was beginning to carry the scent of burdock and reeds from afar.

The saliva from the camels' mouths emitted a strong fishy smell. Perhaps due to the long and hopeless search, even these three tamed camels gradually became restless and impatient, turning their heads from time to time in the direction from which the scent of burdock was coming, and fiercely pawing at large piles of sand with their hooves.

The exhausted white horse followed behind the camel, with Tuosang sitting on its back, his crimson eyes scanning every grain of sand under the moonlight.

The subtle and strange feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger, as if he could see Junyu just a few more steps away. However, he didn't know how many "steps" he had taken, but the surroundings were still a vast expanse of white, without even a large shadow in sight. The cold, clear moonlight had no gentle warmth, and people, camels, and horses walking on the boundless sand all appeared exceptionally small and lonely.

"Junyu... Junyu..." He called out again and again, but received no response. His calls seemed to instantly merge into thousands of grains of sand, swallowed and submerged, as if they had never existed.

Tuosang patted the camel, signaling it to stop, and the camel gave an impatient, muffled bray. Tuosang looked around, and suddenly a sharp pain shot through his chest, as if a heart-wrenching voice was calling from the heavens, "Tuosang... Tuosang..."

That was Junyu's voice, Junyu's desperate, faint voice.

"Junyu...where are you?" He jumped off the hunchback and responded frantically, his heart feeling like it had been struck and lifted by a hammer. Then, in the wind and sand, the same voice began to echo, "Junyu...where are you...I'm coming..."

In the distance, there was a dark shadow.

He rushed over, and there were two people embracing each other tightly!

Ecstasy and despair surged through him simultaneously. For a brief moment, he dared not reach out, fearing he might touch two desiccated corpses. But the despair was quickly suppressed. He immediately crouched down. In the moonlight, their faces were eerily pale, and their heartbeats had almost completely stopped.

He helped the two up, first giving each of them a few pills and rubbing their chests. However, Zhu Yu's hand was gripping Jun Yu's hand so tightly that it couldn't be pried open, making the rescue extremely difficult. Tuosang, afraid of injuring them, didn't have time to separate them and immediately took out a water pouch, taking turns dripping water into their mouths. Jun Yu was somewhat better, still able to drip water into his mouth, but Zhu Yu couldn't get any more. After a while, Zhu Yu finally loosened his grip. Tuosang touched his nose and chest; there was a trace of dried blood at the tip of his nose, and apart from the last bit of warmth in his chest, there was almost no sign of life in his breath.

Tuosang sighed and hugged Junyu, gently massaging several acupoints on her body. He then slowly dripped some water into her mouth, and her heart began to beat slightly. Tuosang breathed a sigh of relief, immediately took off his robe and spread it on the sand, covering her with it before turning back to look at Zhu Yu.

He felt Zhu Yu's pulse and found that he had lost too much blood and that even if he had a last breath, it would be too late to save him. He dripped some water into Zhu Yu's mouth, gave him a pill to help him regain his strength, and helped him lie down on the sand. As soon as he lay down, Zhu Yu vomited up all the water and medicine he had drunk.

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Chapter 353: Paradise in the Desert 1

He lifted Zhu Yu's wrist, and by the moonlight, he could clearly see two long wounds on it. He then looked at the dried blood at the corner of Jun Yu's mouth and seemed to understand something. Judging from how tightly Zhu Yu was gripping Jun Yu's hand, he had clearly held on until the very end, almost exhausting his last bit of energy, while Jun Yu, fortunately, had lost consciousness earlier and was much less injured than Zhu Yu.

Tuosang walked up to a camel. This caravan of camels had been acquired from a border caravan at great expense and was fully equipped. He took a small water bowl, and without hesitation, cut his wrist, dripped half a bowl of blood, helped Zhu Yu up, and forced him to drink it down. After a while, he forced him to take a small amount of water and pills.

This time, Zhu Yu did not vomit again. Tuosang used his internal energy to treat him for a while, and when he touched Zhu Yu's limbs, they were gradually starting to warm up.

Tuosang helped him lie down, then turned back to Junyu's side. He sat on the sand, picked up Junyu, and saw the dried blood on her left shoulder and a tear in her clothes. He gently pulled her clothes open a little to carefully examine her wound. Fortunately, the wound had already been treated and had begun to scab over, so it was nothing serious.

The moonlight suddenly softened. Tuosang looked at the moonlight, then at the person in his arms, afraid that if he blinked, a gust of wind or a gust of sand would blow her away. He had been searching tirelessly for days, almost to the point of exhaustion! Yet, because of the immense joy and excitement in his heart, even his exhaustion was filled with a sweet feeling. He smiled and gently held Junyu in his arms, warming her cold hands against his chest, trying to make her as comfortable as possible.