Consultor de vida de la dinastía Song del Sur

Capítulo 63

Qiu Ye sat slumped in the brocade seat, his expression indifferent, his gaze absentmindedly fixed on the side. Since regaining consciousness, he had searched for Leng Shuangcheng every day, but she had vanished like a mirage into the desolate moonlight of that night. Even when he revisited the Northern Frontier, though filled with regret, he also pondered a question: Why was she hiding from everyone?

The fog and the darkness of the night made him uneasy. He stared at it coldly for a while before turning his gaze to the hall.

The hall was filled with the fragrance of perfume, only occasionally dispelled by a gentle breeze. Numerous graceful women, their faces veiled with white cloths, lay sprawled on the ground, like fleeting ephemeral blooms of night-blooming cereus. Qiu Ye glanced around, then fixed her gaze on a slender figure.

It was Ziying. He recognized her at a glance because she was dressed very scantily, which highlighted her exquisite figure, and her eyes were like raging flames, burning with intense passion and unwavering focus on his face.

Qiu Yeyi looked at her without changing her expression.

As the drumbeats subsided, Ziying's flowing sleeves billowed, and two wisps of snow-white gauze slowly descended, making her appear as beautiful as a flower. She prostrated herself in thanks, slightly raising her head to look directly at Qiuye Yijian, her eyes brimming with tears, and clearly called out, "The ceremony is complete!"

Qiu Ye recognized Zi Ying's figure through the sword, while Leng Shuangcheng understood Zi Ying's words. In her panic, she realized Zi Ying's intention—Zi Ying ultimately disregarded Tang Wu's coercion and couldn't bring herself to do it.

Just now, Leng Shuangcheng, disguised as a servant in a blue hat, had infiltrated the hall, searching for Ziying's whereabouts. However, no matter how she looked, she felt that every woman before her was beautiful and charming, truly possessing the unparalleled grace of Lady Ziying. Left with no other choice, she looked up at Qiu Yeyijian's face and, following his gaze, realized the truth: the person Qiu Yeyijian recognized was Ziying, yet he remained unmoved; Ziying's face shone with a resolute radiance, as if she were gracefully departing this world with a breathtaking dance!

Leng Shuangcheng's body trembled slightly. She stared intently at Ziying's body, deeply shocked by her drastic change. Just as Ziying finished speaking, she could no longer restrain herself. With a nimble flip, she pounced on her.

A faint blue shadow swept by, and a breeze seemed to pass through the hall. The dancer's figure vanished from everyone's sight in a flash. Qiu Yeyi stared ahead, his face frozen, motionless for a long time, too shocked, too unsure of his own eyes. Just moments before, as the shadow had moved, he had seen the ends of her hair fluttering in the wind—uneven, black hair.

Qiu Ye, regaining her senses, looked at Zhao Yingcheng and shouted, "Zhao Yingcheng!"

Zhao Yingcheng had already stood up. Hearing the voice, he turned around, only to find that Qiu Yeyijian was nowhere to be seen. This was the first time he had heard Qiu Yeyijian speak so recklessly. Even though Zhao Yingcheng was not very perceptive, he could guess that something unusual must have happened. He sighed slightly and stayed behind to keep things under control.

Leng Shuangcheng held Ziying tightly in his arms as they sped through the night wind. Ziying's face was pale, and tears streamed down her face as she mumbled, "Shuangcheng, if you were a man, I would definitely marry you."

Leng Shuangcheng carried her to a corner, his hands flying as he pressed her pressure points, anxiously asking, "How are you? Have you been poisoned? Where is Tang Wu? I'll go get the antidote!"

Zi Ying gazed greedily at Leng Shuangcheng's handsome face, his pair of cold, deep eyes gleaming hotly in the night. She gave a bitter laugh and said, "What need is there for the world to doubt the Tang Clan's poison? Even if I were to act tonight, what could I do? Tang Wu still wouldn't let me go! Do you think I really went to assassinate Young Master? I merely wanted to see Young Master one last time before I died!"

Leng Shuangcheng's mind went blank. She frantically grabbed Ziying's collar and shouted, "Why, why is it all like this! Madam, and you too... Tell me straight, where is Tang Wu?"

Leng Shuangcheng's shouts were loud and tragic, piercing through the night fog and echoing chillingly on the silent lakeside.

“The bottom of the lake.” A quiet voice followed Leng Shuangcheng’s roar.

Leng Shuangcheng turned around and saw Lin Qingluan walking through the flowers and willows. Under the light mist, his eyes looked unsteady.

3. Reunion

"Tang Wu is at the bottom of the lake, dead." Lin Qingluan stood still in the dark shadows of the night, not daring to look into Leng Shuangcheng's empty and confused eyes.

Those eyes instantly lost their luster, a deep sorrow permeating them from within. The clear black and white pupils resembled a tranquil, unhappy pool of water, bright yet trembling.

"The oars of the pleasure boat snagged Tang Wu's body. By the time I arrived, he was already dead, killed with a single sword strike, his body scattered with sparks." Lin Qingluan finished speaking slowly, then added, "I'm sorry."

Zi Ying coughed softly in the cool, moonlit night. She glanced at Lin Qingluan, closed her eyes, and her breathing slowed. Leng Shuangcheng snapped out of her reverie, stood quietly in the ethereal mist, and suddenly said softly, "Young Master."

Lin Qingluan raised her eyes and responded, but her face turned pale when she looked behind Leng Shuangcheng.

Qiu Ye emerged slowly from the misty night, his body as cold and ethereal as the white fog, yet his face was as deep and dazzling as a naturally formed, cold star. His white robes flowed freely, spotless, and his deep eyes shone faintly through the clouds. The night view of Guiyun was naturally beautiful, with reflections, shimmering waves, starlight, and meadows. But what truly terrified Lin Qingluan were the man's icy, contemplative eyes, like a still lake, their depths crystal clear, their surface reflecting the floating frost and ice, utterly devoid of warmth.

Leng Shuangcheng knew who it was. Normally, when Qiu Yeyi walked with her sword, her footsteps were light and silent, like snowflakes falling on water. Only when she was signaling to someone would her footsteps sound like the tolling of a morning bell, each beat striking her heart.

"Since you've chased me all this way yet remained unmoved, it's clear you've reverted to your true nature." Leng Shuangcheng gave a cold, mocking laugh, suppressing the tremor in his voice. "Please, young master..."

She couldn't bring herself to say the next few words.

Qiu Yeyijian stared into Lin Qingluan's eyes, then coldly walked behind Leng Shuangcheng. He reached out his right hand and touched her cheek; his palm was as cold as a snow lotus, his knuckles sharp. Leng Shuangcheng didn't flinch, but trembled slightly. Qiu Yeyijian instantly fixed his gaze on Lin Qingluan, then slightly extended his long, pale fingers to cover her eyes, saying, "If you don't move, I naturally won't move, because I'm only concerned with watching you."

Leng Shuangcheng dared not look at Ziying, nor did she dare turn around. She stood there trembling slightly, her voice uneven: "I... dare not agree to... anything again. I promise you... I won't run away."

Qiu Yeyijian had been waiting for these words. He withdrew his hand, looked straight ahead, and stroked Leng Shuangcheng's hair from top to bottom with his five fingers. He said coldly, "I can make an exception for you, but only this once."

After saying that, Qiu Yeyijian bent down and gently picked up Ziying's weak body. Qiu Yeyijian turned and left with a normal expression.

Lin Qingluan's face was as pale as a drowning man's. He looked at Leng Shuangcheng's downcast eyes and couldn't help but mutter a low growl: "So that's why your hair and shoes were dripping wet when I first saw you, but your clothes weren't wet at all! So you were wearing the legendary water-repelling robe! So you really are from the Evil-Repelling Manor..."

Lin Qingluan desperately wanted to shout, "So you really are the young master of the Evil-Slaying Sect's people!" But deep down, he still held onto a glimmer of hope, only asking Leng Shuangcheng to explain. Hearing his pained and low tone, Leng Shuangcheng felt even more anxious, but she firmly controlled her inner turmoil and stood still without saying a word.

"How could I not see it? You're naturally cautious and wary, yet you let him touch your cheek and get close to your body. How could I be so stupid... He didn't look at you the whole time; his eyes were fixed on me like he wanted to devour me..."

Lin Qingluan's words startled Leng Shuangcheng, and she raised her voice slightly to dissuade him, "Young Master, please be careful with your words."

Lin Qingluan's mind was in turmoil. Leng Shuangcheng appeared in his world. Her behavior and mannerisms were completely different from the usual sweet and gentle courtesans. It was like accidentally climbing a picturesque mountain and looking down to see the babbling brook flowing in the mountain stream, the ethereal sound of which left him with a deep impression.

Leng Shuangcheng looked at his pale face and hastily wiped the cold sweat from her brow before realizing that Qiu Yeyi had removed her mask without her noticing. She hardened her heart and said gently, "Young Master, let's go. I want to see Tang Wu's body."

Tang Wu's corpse was somewhat swollen, and after being submerged in water, it smelled of lake water. Leng Shuangcheng stared at it for a long time through the light mist. Lin Qingluan looked at her from behind and saw that her thin shoulders were motionless, as if she was lost in thought.

"Young Master Lin." Lin Qingluan heard her call out calmly, "I don't know why, but I feel an instant connection with you, so I beg you not to deceive me."

"What the young lady meant was..."

"Did you kill Tang Wu?" Leng Shuangcheng asked directly, her body shrouded in mist, cooler than the white fog itself. Lin Qingluan stood behind her, her smile like a withering peach blossom, mournful and sorrowful in the night wind: "Why do you say that, young lady?"

"Tang Wu's face was calm, and he showed no fear when he died. I once exchanged blows with Tang Wu, and his palm technique was powerful and heavy, making it difficult for anyone who got close to him to withstand. These two points can explain one thing: Tang Wu was killed by someone he knew at close range. And judging from the timeline, only you, young master, could have done this."

"Well said." Lin Qingluan maintained her tone, speaking softly and slowly: "Just now, you praised me for my righteousness and chivalrous nature. I never expected that just a few hours later, I would be reduced to a shameless murderer!"

Leng Shuangcheng remained silent, feeling deeply ashamed after hearing his words, realizing that her own panic and pain had clouded her judgment. She bowed slightly to Lin Qingluan, her voice tinged with apology: "My mind is foggy... I can't think of anything right now... I need to calm down first."

After saying that, Leng Shuangcheng walked straight to the lakeside and plunged into the water without hesitation. Lin Qingluan looked astonished and sighed softly after a long while, "I'm sorry, Lin Qingluan is not usually a cunning person, but I can't tell you the truth."

The ripples on Guiyun Lake are silent, and a light white mist shrouds the lake's surface, creating a scene that is both real and illusory, mysterious and elegant, like a fairyland on earth.

Ziying opened her weak eyes and silently looked at the handsome face that shone brightly before her. The stars in the sky were obscured by mist and were indistinct, but the stars in her eyes shone coldly, staring at her without blinking.

"Does Madam have any other wishes?" Qiu Yeyi asked coldly.

Hearing him call her "Madam," Ziying felt a bitter pang in her heart. She sighed and said, "I am already content that you treat me this way, young master. I have committed many evils in my life and have never done a good deed. As the saying goes, 'A dying man's words are good.' I plan to tell you a few things before I die, some of which I have extracted from the tight-lipped Leng girl..."

Qiu Yeyijian patiently waited for her to finish speaking, and finally placed her flat inside the painted boat on the lake, calling out, "Night."

From nowhere, a man dressed in black emerged from the night, completely shrouded in a black cloak, his face shrouded in mist, his features indistinct. He bowed respectfully and said, "What are your orders, Your Highness?"

"Get back to Yangzhou overnight. I need you to send back an urgent reply." Qiu Yeyijian didn't turn around, standing coldly on the water's edge of the painted boat: "I want two questions from Wu Suanzi: First, did he tell Leng Shuangcheng that he was not allowed to see me? Second, Lin Qingluan's background."

The shadow guard bowed and left. Qiu Ye, with his sleeves slightly open, used the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) to gracefully skim across the lake like a white feather. When he rushed to the tree at the corner, he found only a cool breeze and a light mist; Leng Shuangcheng was nowhere to be seen.

Qiu Ye Yijian suddenly turned around, leaped onto a tree, and stood as steady as a green mountain. He shouted with the wind, "Leng Shuangcheng... Leng Shuangcheng..." His voice was cold and loud, and the words echoed on the smooth lake surface. The empty and silent Guiyun Lake made Qiu Ye Yijian even more panicked. He used his internal energy to dodge left and right, and finally landed on the lakeside with a thud.

Several figures had already emerged from the brightly lit area, drawn by Qiu Ye's heart-wrenching cries. The first to step out was a woman in a flowing green dress, her face filled with panic. She stammered, "Young Master... what's wrong..." The woman was Lin Qingya, the owner of Shuiyun Inn and Lin Qingluan's sister. She was startled when she saw Qiu Ye in white standing sideways by the lake.

Autumn leaves, leaning against the sword in the thin mist, seemed to scatter and tremble as if struck by a heavy blow. Beneath the Bodhi tree, it was cool and quiet, a layer of misty white gauze shrouding the entire water surface, yet his aura pierced through the light mist and the night, more intense and fervent than the September sun.

"Leng Shuangcheng, you liar!" His eyes blazed, his handsome face trembled, and he suddenly roared, "How else will you torture me? How else will you tear me apart before you're satisfied!"

Lin Qingya was horrified and covered her lips with a handkerchief. This person was not Young Master Qiuye; that was her impression of him. Young Master Qiuye was the one who sat coldly in the main hall, observing everything in the world with indifference. Now, this person's hair was slightly disheveled, and his face was ferocious. Where was there even a trace of the gentlemanly demeanor?

Lin Qingya was about to call out when she saw Zhao Yingcheng beside her shake his head slightly. Feeling a chill, she curtsied and led the group away.

Qiu Yeyi's face was pale, his black hair and snow-white face standing out starkly in the night. After calling out to him several times, he suddenly pulled open his shirt, revealing his smooth, white collar in the night wind: "Come out and say something to me, just one word! Didn't you want to torture me to death? Didn't you want to kill me? I'm right here today, do whatever you want with me! Come out, come out..."

The voice, hoarse and pained until the very end, dissipated into the wind. Zhao Yingcheng heard his hoarse, trembling voice and saw his bloodshot, frantic eyes. He could no longer bear to linger and turned away in silence.

Lin Qingluan, lost in the darkness, forgot to breathe. He felt that the person before him, driven mad, was not Qiu Yeyijian, but a cornered beast with nowhere to run. Amidst the heavy, sorrowful cries, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Neither human nor ghost... So it was you they were talking about." He muttered to himself as he walked away in a daze.

The sound of pine trees rustling on both banks continued incessantly; the shouts shifted, having already passed countless mountains. Qiu Ye, leaning on his sword, paused for a moment, then slowly lowered his right knee, collapsing to a half-kneel before Guiyun Lake: "I know... you're angry that I injured your left arm, but you never imagined I was in even greater pain than you... Since you refuse to see me, I will atone for my mistake..."

After speaking, Qiu Yeyi lowered her left knee, then suddenly raised her right hand and slashed down hard at her left palm!

"Young Master!" Leng Shuangcheng emerged from the light mist. She stared intently at Qiu Yeyi's hand and shouted, "What are you doing!"

Qiu Yeyi swayed as he leaned on the sword, closed his eyes, and bowed deeply to the lake. Just as he was deeply prostrating himself, the clouds in the sky gathered, obscuring the faint moonlight. It was as if the heavens had closed their eyes, reluctantly avoiding this prostration.

Leng Shuangcheng plunged into the lake, initially intending to find the weapon to assassinate Tang Wu: the Sun and Moon Golden Wheel.

The icy lake water rushed into her mouth and nose, and the bone-chilling indifference seeped into her heart, forcing out the tears that Leng Shuangcheng had suppressed for so long. She cried chaotically at the bottom of the lake for a long time, groped around for a long time, and finally surfaced, climbing onto the island in the lake with a sorrowful expression.

Ziying's death caused her unbearable pain once again. She didn't expect that in this deep night, there was another person suffering. Familiar calls came from the wind, and she suddenly woke up, remembering Qiuye Yijian.

This man was ruthless and heartless, yet he could tolerate everything about her; this man was domineering and direct, forcing her to retreat step by step; this man was insane, leaving her helpless time and time again, until finally, she became wary of his madness, that kind of burning passion that deeply consumed the world.

Leng Shuangcheng looked back and pondered carefully. If she and Qiu Yeyijian had been locked in a tug-of-war, then his fiery screams and frenzied behavior that night had completely terrified her and made her deeply submit. It was just like what Cheng Xiang had said to her when she left Yangzhou: "Qiu Yeyijian is like a leopard, and you are the cage that holds him. Although you restrain the leopard's ferocity, you can control his violence."

As the mist thinned, Leng Shuangcheng silently walked towards Qiu Yeyijian, stood before him, and exclaimed helplessly, "Young Master, what are you doing!"

After bowing to the sword, Qiu Ye slowly rose, looked directly at the lake, and said, "Heaven truly has eyes; I should have thanked it long ago."

Leng Shuangcheng felt a pang of sadness upon hearing this. She was unaware of Qiu Yeyi's habit of not kneeling before heaven or earth, so what could she say? She looked at his pale, gaunt face and reached out to straighten his collar: "Young Master, please don't do this again... like a madman..."

"You know that's good. Only you can drive me crazy." Qiu Yeyi pulled her hands down, wrapped them around her waist, and hugged her back tightly: "Without you, I really can't live."

Leng Shuangcheng sighed silently, standing in his trembling embrace and closing her eyes.

The night mist drifted through the verdant Bodhi trees, like fine gauze hanging from the branches, yet whiter and more transparent than gauze, creating a hazy, violet-colored outline of the Bodhi trees. After a long silence, Qiu Yeyi suddenly spoke again: "Leng Shuangcheng, call my name."

"Autumn leaves".

It seemed as if the moon had been shining for ages before Leng Shuangcheng hesitantly called out the name.

4. Sleep

The bright moon hangs low in the lake mist, and wisps of smoke rise in the distance. On a small island in the center of the lake is a place called Falling Star Stone, which is several tens of feet long and wide and shaped like a star. The water level of Guiyun Lake rises and falls, but this stone never sinks. Legend has it that this stone is a fallen star from the sky, hence the name Star Stone.

Leng Shuangcheng sat silently on the Star Stone, gazing up at the sky. The stars and moon were dimly visible, the lake rippled, and wisps of mist rose from the Star Forest, settling on the shimmering surface. She remembered a legend her father had told her. Falling stars were the fate of the Heavenly Court; it was said that each star in the sky represented a person on Earth, and for every life lost, a star would fall.