Guía sobre viento y humo

Capítulo 29

Chapter 50

Neither of them brought up the issue again, at least not until the new moon arrived, so they could avoid facing it for the time being. The two of them stayed in the small inn, with Blood Asura handling communications with the outside world for them, and they spent a few quiet days together.

Queyue thought she would be anxiously waiting, but surprisingly, she felt calm. Perhaps it was because Adi was there. Watching him chop wood and start a fire every day, doing the daily chores, gave her an indescribable sense of peace and satisfaction.

So... this is the type I like... If she hadn't followed Xiao Wuqing since childhood, hadn't become Queyue, and had just grown up in an ordinary way, she might have married a hardworking farmer, which would have been a good outcome.

"Adi, what do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Become a pharmacist, what else can you do?"

"The pharmacist... he's not bad..." But he spends all his time gathering herbs in the mountains and just preparing medicines at home; you rarely see his "diligent" side...

“Adi…actually, farming isn’t bad either. We could go and buy your cow back…”

"Uh...oh..."

"Or being a carpenter or a blacksmith wouldn't be bad either..."

"Oh...||||"

—What exactly is she trying to say...?

Two or three days passed quickly, and Blood Asura received news from Young Master Zhou that the new moon had arrived.

To avoid attracting the attention of the people Jun Yuqing had arranged to search the city as the new moon entered, they arranged to meet outside the city. Jun Xiaoling seemed slightly worried, or rather, he hadn't been able to let it go these past few days. But now that the matter was close, he would soon find out whether Queyue's poison could be cured, and he still couldn't help but feel a little anxious.

They crammed the crescent moon onto the carriage and urged the disguised Blood Asura to hurry up and leave.

Queyue, unusually seeing Adi's nervousness, remained completely unperturbed, amusedly observing the still imposing figure in black before her—Jun Xiaoling, who was also Adi's man. Perhaps… this was a case of homesickness, no, it should be called homesickness. It had been so long since she had seen Xinyue… it felt like a lifetime ago.

Besides... Crescent Moon should be with the young master, right? She felt no resentment, because she had never thought about it. She just wondered if, when faced with the reality, she could truly be without a single complaint?

"New Moon... is that the [sister] you mentioned before?"

Adi's voice brought her back to her senses, and a smile returned to her face as she nodded.

"Speaking of her, you seem quite pleased? Xinyue is quite famous in the martial arts world. I've heard that her musical skills are even more renowned than her poisons. It's certainly something to look forward to seeing."

—Traditional Chinese performing arts?

Queyue's smile froze. Well, indeed, she was quite "exceptionally talented." At the age of twelve, she overwhelmingly surpassed Feng Lianxiang, the famous singer from Cangzhou, although "exceptionally" outweighed "talent." Clearly, Xinyue's talent was indeed remarkable, but recalling her talents only brought to mind absurd and comical moments, making it hard not to chuckle.

The carriage drove towards a remote suburb outside the city and stopped at the agreed place. Adi got off the carriage and habitually reached out to help Queyue, half-supporting and half-carrying her. Before she even hit the ground, she heard a clear voice excitedly calling "Queyue" from afar.

Turning around, the figure, clearly tens of feet away, was already right in front of him before he could even see clearly. Ignoring him completely, the figure shoved him aside as if he were an obstacle, snatched Queyue away, and held him tightly in its arms—

"Missing Moon! Missing Moon!! It really is you—when that worthless rich man with fifty taels of silver came to me, I thought he was playing a trick on me. I'm so glad you're alright. Let me see, let me see—"

Adi stood firm and watched as the slender woman in the pale yellow dress, whose behavior was anything but "slender," hugged, rubbed, and rubbed Queyue until she had had her fill. Then, she cupped Queyue's face and looked at her from left to right. After looking at her, she started from her shoulders and ran her hands up and down her arms to make sure that Queyue's limbs were intact and that she was not missing a single finger. Only then did she finally stop and hang on Queyue again to continue their "long-awaited reunion."

—How long will it be before we "reunite"?

A chilling aura approached, and Adi looked up warily, only to see a person slowly walking towards them. The person was dressed in white robes and gauze, which fluttered without wind. With each step, he seemed to be walking on lotus flowers. He had slender phoenix eyes and a slight smile on his lips. Although he was smiling, he exuded a cold and sinister aura that was difficult to discern from his pure and elegant temperament, making it seem like an illusion.

He didn't walk fast, his steps were slow, but the approaching aura was so undeniable, radiating a cold displeasure.

Even Queyue sensed the approaching presence, raising her gaze to see the person walking towards her over Xinyue's shoulder. Xiao Wuqing. He, too, ignored everyone else, only smiling as he stared at Xinyue clinging to Queyue—a smile Queyue knew all too well; she knew without even trying that he was unhappy, very unhappy.

Slowly walking up to her, Xiao Wuqing reached out and grabbed Xinyue by the collar, pulling her off Queyue and holding her in front of him. He laughed, and continued to laugh, his smile growing deeper and deeper—"Have you forgotten your [range of activity]?"

"..." Crescent Moon glanced at the direction she had "flew" from and retorted, "Didn't I stay within your sight? Are you nearsighted? Are you blind? Go away and don't disturb my conversation with Crescent Moon!"

"It's within sight and within five zhang!"

Queyue and Adi seemed to see a moving circle, about five zhang in diameter, drawn on the ground with Xiao Wuqing as the center... Clearly, Xiao Wuqing was unhappy that the new moon had "whooshed" away from him.

—He must not leave her sight, must not be more than five zhang away, and must be able to see her whenever he opens his eyes—the story of Cangming Gongzi's close surveillance of Xinyue is widely known in the martial arts world, but that's another story.

Xinyue shook off Xiao Wuqing and rushed back to Queyue. Queyue looked at her with a gentle smile, which made Xinyue completely dumbfounded—"Queyue, you look so beautiful when you smile."

Queyue wasn't quite sure how to respond to Xinyue's blunt words, but she could tell that Xinyue had gotten what she wanted. Her ten years hadn't been in vain, and Queyue was happy for her. It was just that this smile was heartless... Back then, she was aloof, always wearing a sour face, being sarcastic and refusing to admit anything. Now that she had admitted it, she was clinging to her tightly, watching her closely. It was truly extreme and hard to accept.

The crescent moon lingered on her, sticky and clinging. She truly regretted not doing this sooner. They had lived together for so many years, and while they seemed like mere acquaintances, Queyue rarely joined in their antics, yet she had never stopped her from doing so… She genuinely liked Queyue; it was just that Queyue's personality wasn't warm enough. Only after Queyue's accident did she realize how deep their five years together had truly been.

Even now, holding her like this, I feel like she might disappear at any moment; she's so fragile and heartbreaking.

"Queyue, Zhou Shao said you wanted to see me? What's the important matter?" She finally separated herself from Queyue, knowing that with Queyue's personality, she would never specifically ask someone to find her unless it was something important.

Queyue nodded gently, "I want you to help me detoxify."

Xinyue was taken aback. Without saying a word, she immediately took her pulse, pried open her eyelids, pinched her chin, and looked at her tongue... examining her inside and out, and frowned.

"What's going on? You've been threatened?" Just by looking at the toxicity of the poison, one could tell what it was intended for. "Who dares to threaten you?! Tell me, and I'll make sure they're childless!"

"..."

—Do you want him to die a few more times?

“I will tell you the whole story in detail…” Queyue changed the subject and looked at Adi, “He is Jun Xiaoling, you can call him Adi.”

Adi smiled and nodded to Xinyue and Xiao Wuqing. Xiao Wuqing's smile faded slightly, and he looked at him with a half-smile before slowly saying, "Jun Xiaoling? — The second young master of Qingzun Tower?" Jun Xiaoling smiled faintly but did not speak. He stood behind the two women, one in black and one in white. The atmosphere was not exactly tense, but it was not friendly either.

Both Crescent Moon and New Moon were aware of the relationship between Cangming Water Pavilion and Qingzun Tower. The person before them was the second young master of Qingzun Tower, and moreover, the one rumored in the martial arts world to be the successor to Jun Yuqing, who was about to abdicate in favor of him. This identity seemed enough to provoke the capricious Xiao Wuqing to immediately retaliate. However, New Moon didn't think that way. She always dealt with matters objectively. She waved to Xiao Wuqing to stop interrupting, then walked up to Adi, stroked her chin, and looked him up and down, finally fixing her gaze on his face—

"Young man—are you interested in cooperating with me? I've recently come up with a plan. If I promote you, I guarantee you'll become famous throughout the land, and all the young women and wives in Cangzhou will be chasing after you. You're quite good-looking, young man. Although you're not exactly a beauty, your temperament is so good that it's hard to find in the world. You'll be the pioneer of my dream. I guarantee I'll make you the most beautiful woman in the world—hmm—?"

Before she could finish speaking, she was grabbed by the collar and dragged back again. This time, Xiao Wuqing's smile was clearly tinged with gloom as he pointed to the ground beneath his feet—

"From today onwards, the restricted area is limited to within one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters)!"

Queyue was somewhat unable to process what she was seeing, the way these two interacted... Having witnessed Xiao Wuqing's lukewarm attitude for so many years, it was truly hard to accept now.

Xiao Wuqing suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping lightly over Queyue. She paused slightly, but Xiao Wuqing had already casually looked away.

Since they met again, he hadn't really looked at her properly even once.

Would he care...? She thought the young master was a heartless person. Always unpredictable, even after punishing her like that, upon their reunion, he wouldn't think he'd done anything wrong, and would simply act as if nothing had happened. However, the once cold-eyed observer of the world's impermanence, carefree and playful, seemingly detached from it all like a hermit immortal, was finally bound to someone's side, tied to this mortal world.

"Queyue, tell me first, who exactly poisoned you?"

"—It is Jun Yuqing."

"What?! That eunuch?! Sister Ya went too far with him back then! This time, she's going to poison him until his intestines rupture so he can't keep jumping around!"

Behind him, Xiao Wuqing chuckled lightly—"Poisoning people? I wonder who was driven to jump off a cliff by Jun Yuqing back then."

Crescent Moon decided to ignore that smug, contemptuous laugh.

Chapters 51-52

After explaining the situation in detail, Crescent Moon looked at her and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"Now I have no choice. Jun Yuqing refuses to let Adi and me go. I have no choice but to destroy Qingzun Tower..."

"Why go to such great lengths? How much thought and effort would it take to destroy the number one building in the world? It would be better to turn everything under the rug—to turn against each other from within! We could secretly deal with Jun Yuqing, take his place, and rule Qingzun Building! In any case, we already have a legitimate successor here, so it won't be difficult to silence any dissent."

"But Ah Di doesn't want to go back to her old life..."

"What kind of life?" Crescent Moon's eyes were unrestrained and bright. "What kind of life is it? Isn't it up to the future Master of Qingzun Tower to decide? Whether it's ending the Dark Pavilion or fading out of the martial world, the future Master of Qingzun Tower will be him, not someone else. That way, it will be a permanent solution! No one will be able to touch you again!"

Queyue paused slightly, and even Adi seemed to awaken from a daze, looking at the woman before them with a bright and radiant smile. She was always like this, knowing exactly what she wanted and how to get it, striking straight at the heart of the matter. It was Queyue and Adi who, on the contrary, were too eager to escape the past, blinding themselves to such a simple question. Hadn't Yi Moran already reminded them? Once Adi became the Qingzun Pavilion Master, everything would be resolved.

It's because they didn't want to that they didn't think about it.

Crescent Moon understood that they had figured things out, and she squeezed Crescent Moon's hand, "Don't worry, I'll help you!"

Queyue nodded and looked at Adi.

That's all we can do now.

"Alright, in that case, let's find a place to detoxify you first—it'll probably take quite a bit of work. We can think about other things after we've detoxified you!"

Looking at the free-spirited woman before her, Queyue thought that perhaps she had envied Xinyue.

The claim that Qingzun Tower would change hands in two months was merely a way to announce the current situation in the martial arts world. No power transfer can be completed in a single day. Within Qingzun Tower, although Jun Yuqing and Jun Xiaoling were not yet evenly divided, they were gradually transitioning to a delicate balance.

Jun Yuqing wanted to gradually transfer power to Jun Xiaoling, but he also had to be wary of him, lest he take other actions and render Jun Xiaoling powerless in some aspects.

As long as Jun Xiaoling can gain real power, he can rightfully become the true master of Qingzun Tower. However, Adi doesn't know how to deal with Jun Yuqing. What he did was not wrong in principle, and in some aspects it could even be called "righteous", but his methods were too forceful and disregarded people's wishes.

What he wanted to impose on Adi was what rightfully belonged to Adi. What he wanted Adi to return to was where he was rightfully his. Master Jun had already planned everything; he was simply following orders, but too stubbornly. Adi couldn't bring herself to harm Jun Yuqing.

"If you're a man, be a little selfish! Since you've messed with Queyue, you should think about her! She's your everything! Your life! You wouldn't let her die, let alone a few eunuchs!"

...She looks so delicate, but she's really blunt.

After learning the details of the matter, Xinyue felt a bit disappointed in Adi, although she also knew that they were brothers after all—who told her to be on Queyue's side, she didn't care whether Jun Yuqing lived or died!

She examined Queyue's body and saw that his face was getting darker and darker, and was already covered with dark clouds.

Your hands and feet...

—Did [he] do it? It must have been [him]! That day, when she rushed into the torture chamber, the blood everywhere soaked the soles of her shoes…

"New Moon, I'm alright now. Ah Di found a good medicine to restore my health; my bones and muscles can be set back to normal..."

—Fix it!? Can something that's broken be put back together and still be the same as before?! No matter what, it can't compare to an ordinary person, not to mention the martial arts skills she's painstakingly cultivated over the years—Xinyue's face had turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and she suddenly got up to rush out and confront [someone].

"New Moon!" Queyue hurriedly pulled her along, "The present matter is more important now. As for the past, since it has already happened, let it go." — Their enemy now is Jun Yuqing, and time is of the essence; there is no time for infighting.

Crescent Moon paused, then huffed and puffed as she sat back down to continue treating Crescent Moon. Crescent Moon breathed a slight sigh of relief; thankfully, she hadn't yet seen the wounds covering her body… She looked at Crescent Moon and smiled faintly. Although the past had been so difficult, without it, there would be no today. And Crescent Moon wouldn't be so worried and upset about her—it felt nice to be cared for.

Xinyue frowned and glanced at her. "Still laughing? How can you laugh in this situation? I really wonder if you've suffered too much during your time here and it's damaged your brain."

The current waning moon has changed a lot, and the new moon attributes it to "a woman in love," without expressing any surprise—"a woman in love" is nothing special.

"Is there an antidote for this poison?"

Crescent Moon pondered for a long time, "Not easy. Is this a poison passed down from Qingzun Tower? The combination is very strange... How long ago did you ingest it? Have you experienced any discomfort?"

"More than a month. But I've never felt anything..."

"Oh..." Crescent Moon pondered, then looked up and saw Crescent Moon looking slightly worried. She gave her a reassuring smile, "It's alright, I'm here, don't worry."

Queyue forced a smile, "I'm just afraid this poison will drag Adi down, and Jun Yuqing will use it to blackmail her..."

"No. Although I can't cure this poison for now, suppressing it is no problem. I'll prepare some medicine, and you should take it on time every day. Once Jun Yuqing is removed from his position as the head of the Qingzun Tower, Adi will naturally obtain the antidote." — Yes, Jun Xiaoling must obtain the Qingzun Tower; there is no turning back.

"I need to find some medicinal herbs... and some common herbs that I need to buy from the pharmacy. Who's going?"

Adi walked over and said, "Let Blood Asura go; he'll be less conspicuous."