Cueillir des fleurs et sourire

Chapitre 21

Chapter Six: Who is the One True Friend?

The four of them followed Fu Guan, Daoist Qinghe, and others as they scaled the back wall of the inn. Fu Guan sealed Bi Qiuhan and Nan Ge's pressure points, then abducted an ox from the fields, casually tied the two women to it, piled them on top of each other, and drove it along a mountain path. Daoist Qinghe frowned at the sight, but as the leader of the Four Friends of Qilian, he couldn't openly reprimand Fu Guan, and could only shake his head inwardly. Fu Guan was always self-willed; abducting an ox to use as a restraint was commonplace for him, and he didn't seem to care at all.

Fu Guan had the air of a wild warrior. Sheng Xiang admired him in her heart. Qing He Daoist was puzzled as to why, as companions, Sheng Xiang and Wan Yu Yue Dan did not care that their companions were tied together on the back of an ox. Little did they know that what Sheng Xiang and Wan Yu Yue Dan were thinking was: if Anan woke up and saw this, he would surely consider him a close friend.

Wudang Mountain is located north of the Daba Mountains and Wushan Mountains. It is not too far from Xigou, but it still took half a day to reach the foot of the mountain.

Once inside the Wudang Mountains, it was Wudang Sect territory. Sure enough, after walking less than a hundred paces, a Taoist priest came up to inquire. Master Qinghe explained a few words to the young Taoist priest, then drove the oxen up the mountain.

Wudang Taoist temples were first built in the Tang Dynasty and continued to be built in the Song Dynasty. Legend has it that Zhenwu the Great, the founder of Wudang Taoism, devoted himself to cultivation here and finally attained immortality. Wudang Mountain has been known as the "abode of immortals" since ancient times, a place where Taoist priests traveled in search of immortality. The five-story "Fuzhen Temple" is supported by only one pillar, supporting twelve beams, a unique structure: the sound of knocking on the "Nine-Bend Yellow River Wall" can be clearly heard along the wall; the bell in the "Turning Hall" is silent when struck, but the sound of the bell is loud outside; the gilded "Golden Hall" on the top of Wudang Mountain is even more miraculous. Whenever there is thunder and lightning and torrential rain, lightning and fireballs fly around the Golden Hall, but the Golden Hall remains safe and unharmed, a phenomenon known as "the hall forged by thunder and fire".

When Tong Toutuo climbed to the top of Tianzhu Peak, the main peak of Wudang Mountain, and faced the Wudang Taoist temple, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and reverence. He secretly felt that the old Taoist Qinghe had benefited greatly from cultivating in seclusion here for thirty years.

By this time, many martial arts heroes remaining in the temple had come out upon hearing the news. Hearing that Master Qinghe had captured several members of the Blood Sacrifice Society, everyone's faces showed indignation. After all, many had come at Bi Qiuhan's invitation, and even more were there to participate in this rare martial arts gathering; capturing or persuading Li Lingyan was secondary. Li Lingyan, however, had utterly humiliated the Junshan Society with a single blow, indiscriminately killing anyone he saw, constantly claiming to be avenging his father. His actions were cruel and eccentric; although he didn't yet seem to have any ambition to dominate the martial arts world, he certainly had a bloodthirsty nature. The heroes' relatives and friends had either been separated or killed during the gathering; how could they not be enraged upon hearing that these were "Li Lingyan's men"?

At this moment, Bi Qiuhan was pinned beneath Nan Ge, the two of them piled on top of each other on the ox's back. Although he knew that the misunderstanding would be cleared up once everyone saw him, he truly didn't know whether to be fortunate or sad about meeting him like this; no matter how he blamed it, it was all Sheng Xiang's fault—he had deliberately not explained, deliberately let people misunderstand, and then waited to see him make a fool of himself! Just thinking about this made Bi Qiuhan furious. This mischievous, willful, curious, and utterly inconsiderate young master! Just thinking about it made him want to punch him unconscious and stuff him into a sack, dragging him back to the Prime Minister's residence!

Wan Yuyue couldn't see the faces of the many people in front of him. He stood there gently and politely, giving off a friendly impression at first glance. Suddenly, a man in the crowd shouted, "Damn Li Lingyan! Give me back my sister's life!" With that, he slashed at Shengxiang with his knife.

This single strike was like igniting a barrel of gunpowder. With a "whoosh," someone thrust their sword straight at Nan Ge on the bull's back, shouting, "Today, I will avenge the heroes of the world!"

With a clang, the sword was deflected by Fu Guan. Fu Guan sneered, "You, sir, are so weak that you cannot even withstand a sword wound, yet you dare to vent your anger for the heroes of the world? It is truly shameful for the heroes of the world to have someone like you to stand up for them. No wonder you were blown up like a stray dog!" He said whatever he wanted, offending many people with just one sentence. Immediately, a chorus of curses erupted, and many swords and blades were slashed at him.

Master Qinghe was surprised to see such a scene as soon as he arrived at the mountain. He cried out, "Stop! Please listen to what I have to say!" But no one paid him any attention.

Swords and blades flew in front of the Wudang Mountain Taoist temple. Initially aimed at Shengxiang and his companions, the fighting escalated, with people drawing their swords at the slightest provocation, creating utter chaos. It was impossible to tell whether the attackers were friend or foe; all that could be heard was shouting: "Damn it, you cut off my toes! I'll cut off your head!" "Damn it, kid, are you doing this on purpose?" "Ouch!" "Pah!" "If I hadn't taught you a lesson, you wouldn't know your place!" A cacophony of shouts and screams erupted as everyone vented their anger, completely devoid of reason.

Shengxiang was initially just playing around. When someone swung a knife at him, he would dart around as if about to strike, but always just a hair's breadth away. The person wielding the knife was a reckless fool, stubbornly continuing to hack away, giving Shengxiang a good time. But then, for some reason, swords started flying everywhere, and Shengxiang was in a real bind. He dodged one sword, only to have another suddenly and inexplicably fly out from the side. He dodged that one too, and then, even more inexplicably, it was aimed at the neck of the man chasing him. While fleeing for his life, Shengxiang had to turn back to save him, reminding him, "Brother, you're attacking the wrong person." He was busy as a bee for a while.

The ox carrying Bi Qiuhan and Nan Ge, startled by the swords and spears, suddenly howled and turned to run, carrying the two of them straight towards the Taoist temple. Amidst the fighting, the crowd shouted, "The thief has escaped! Chase after him!"

Master Qinghe smiled bitterly, unsure of what to do, when suddenly a long sword thrust towards him. Master Qinghe was startled, "Stop, benefactor! This is the sacred ground of the Xuanmen Sect, you must not fight..." With a "whoosh," the sword pierced his waist, and before Master Qinghe could finish his sentence, he was already drawn into the battle.

At this moment, someone rushed to report to Abbot Qingjing of Wudang. Just as chaos erupted outside the temple, and the ox carrying the "thief" was about to burst into the temple, suddenly, with a "bang," the ox leaped up from the temple entrance and crashed straight into the crowd. Dust billowed up, and the ox bellowed loudly, unable to get up for a long time. The person on its back had vanished.

Aside from the one under Laozi's buttocks, there are probably very few oxen in this world that can "fly." Everyone was stunned for a moment, their hands stopped moving, and they all stared blankly at the person who had thrown the ox out and caught the two people on its back in an instant.

Thankfully! It wasn't one person; the person who threw the ox out and the person who caught it were two different people! This relieved everyone, who thought to themselves: after all, there are no gods in this world... Upon closer inspection, the one who threw the ox out was a solemn man in a blue robe with one arm, and the one who caught the person on the ox's back was a young man with a full head of white hair.

It's "Heavenly Eye" Yu Xiu and "White Hair" Rong Yin!

The entire audience was stunned.

They were all a little guilty.

After their meeting at Junshan, everyone knew that these two were clear-headed, decisive, and resolute in their decisions. They especially disliked foolishness and people who were unreasonable. But clearly, everyone had lost control at this point and done things they would definitely regret later.

I fear their cold, questioning tone, or their indifference that, though not angry, shows contempt. In the past, I could ignore their arrogance, but now that they are saving my life, I feel embarrassed to offend them.

Just as everyone was stunned and dared not make a move, only one person remained unfazed. Someone cheered and rushed forward, shouting, "Rongrong—and Yu Mutou—"

Rong Yin caught Sheng Xiang, who was dressed in women's clothing, as she leaped towards him, and said coldly, "With you here, nothing good ever comes of it."

Shengxiang blinked, then turned to look at Xingxiu with a smile, pointing at Rongyin's face and complaining to Yuxiu, "Yu, you blockhead, Rongrong scolded me."

Yu Xiu, with his scholarly face, remained expressionless. "You deserve to be scolded."

"Wow! How can you be so biased? Rongrong scolded me and you didn't even help me. I even helped you keep an eye on Meiniang..." Shengxiang's eyes widened, but before he could finish speaking, Yuxiu pressed his finger to silence him and said to Rongyin as if nothing had happened, "Guests are guests."

Rong Yin released Bi Qiuhan and Nan Ge's pressure points and simply nodded. His gaze swept over the faces of the people who had just drawn their swords and were slashing at each other—he didn't curse, but his gaze was chilling enough to send shivers down one's spine. After that one glance, he said nothing more. He simply said, "Hero Bi, I'm grateful for the care you've received along the way, which must have caused you a lot of trouble. I thank you."

Bi Qiuhan, who had just stood up from the ground and whose body was still covered in cow hair, was embarrassed. He was neither angry nor upset. After Rong Yin said that, he was even less able to get angry at Sheng Xiang. He could only cough and reply, "No need to be polite." His anger and embarrassment at being tied to the cow's back made him forget to ask when Sheng Xiang had become Bai Fa's friend.

Everyone stared in disbelief—not only had the "thief" on the ox's back turned into Bi Qiuhan, but that white-haired man, seemingly standing atop ten thousand peaks, unmatched by anyone except Yu Xiu, was actually calling this girl in yellow his brother? Even those with sharp eyes and keen ears could tell that this girl in yellow wasn't actually a girl at all, but to most people it was still an extremely strange, absurd, and bizarre thing! Just who was this boy or girl in yellow?

Nan Ge jumped up. He had woken up halfway through his sleep, but his acupoints had been sealed and he couldn't move. Once free, he smiled at Yu Xiu and said, "It's been half a year since we last met. Brother Yu, you're still as dashing as ever."

Xingxiu nodded. He was not fond of talking and simply replied, "Senior Nan was slightly injured, but he is in Jiangling and is perfectly safe."

Nan Ge said loudly, "Many thanks to Brother Yu for taking care of my ancestor." Although his clothes were crumpled and his face was haggard and disheveled, his voice was remarkably clear and bright. Then he laughed heartily and flicked his sleeve, "This is all a misunderstanding. I and Tianyan Baifa are old acquaintances. Let bygones be bygones of that ridiculous and absurd incident. My surname is Nan, and I am the grandson of Nanpu. I respectfully wish all of you heroes good health!" As he spoke, he bowed deeply, without a trace of tension or fear between his brows.

So he was the son of Nan Bibi and the grandson of Nanpu that Li Lingyan wanted to kill? The crowd didn't know much about this person before, but now that they saw him, they felt that he was indeed a worthy son of a general.

Bi Qiuhan also clasped his hands in apology, saying, "I, Bi, failed in my planning, allowing Qianling to employ such an assassin. I have no face to face the heroes of the world. Once this matter is settled, I, Bi, will offer my neck in apology to comfort those who died unjustly in the Battle of Junshan."

Wan Yuyue simply smiled and didn't speak, but a young girl in the crowd kept glancing in his direction.

This farce ended in comedy, with everyone reunited and happy, joining hands to watch the spectacle and recounting their experiences since they last met.

"Shengxiang, did Prime Minister Zhao give you instructions before you left the mansion?" As soon as they entered the Taoist temple, Rong Yin asked coldly with his hands behind his back, "I don't believe he would let you stay outside for so long."

Shengxiang stuck out her tongue and grinned, "Why are you being so fierce? It's been so long! I finally found you all, how can you give me such a long face? Don't you see how I've been traveling all this way, my back aches, my stomach hurts, my teeth ache, my hands hurt, my feet hurt, my whole body aches? This young master is so weak and frail, I could die any day now..."

"Prime Minister Zhao wants you to keep an eye on Bi Qiuhan, right?" Yu Xiu was already used to ignoring his nonsense and asked indifferently.

"Hey, hey, hey, what are you two doing? Are you arresting me for questioning?" Sheng Xiang glared and slammed his hand on the table. "I'm not talking, what are you going to do about it?"

Rong Yin and Zhang Xiu exchanged a glance. Zhang Xiu nodded, then went out and closed the door, leaving Rong Yin alone.

It was obvious that Xingxiu knew Rongyin was more eloquent than him, so he entrusted the matter to Rongyin.

“I’m not here to investigate a case.” Rong Yin slowly turned around and looked at Sheng Xiang. “I just wanted to help you, but you refused.” He said this calmly, looking directly into Sheng Xiang’s eyes.

These words, more straightforward than anything else, made Sheng Xiang pause for a moment, and his usually quick-witted eyes seemed to tremble slightly. "I don't need your help," he said defiantly.

Rong Yin looked at him, but the look in his eyes didn't change at all, and he remained silent for a long time.

Shengxiang looked away from his gaze and found a chair to sit down.