Cueillir des fleurs et sourire

Chapitre 93

On one hand, the servants of Biluo Palace were disobeying orders, and on the other hand, the seniors in the palace were tearing off their masks. At this moment, Wenren Nuan and He Xiaoqiu rushed over from their rooms. Hearing their mother's harsh words, Wenren Nuan exclaimed, "Ah, Mother, what are you saying..." Her words were interrupted by Wan Yuyuedan, who said, "I want to save both Nuan and Chongjie."

Upon hearing this, the noisy palace crowd immediately fell silent. Xiao Ya Feng remained speechless, her mouth agape. "That...how is that possible..."

Wan Yuyue's eyes crinkled slightly at the corners, revealing a pleasant crease. "Why 'impossible'?" he said slowly. "Aunt Wenren, I don't like making choices."

Lin Zhongyi and Xiao Yafeng exchanged glances, their anger subsiding despite their initial suspicions. Wan Yuyuedan rarely spoke without certainty, but even if he possessed extraordinary abilities to revive Wenren Nuan and Yang Xiaozhong, then… which one would he ultimately marry?

"The entire palace is on high alert." Wan Yuyuedan stopped mentioning "Di Ma" and turned halfway around. "Jiang Chenming and Qu Zhiliang are dead. Li Shiyu and Beiyue Shi have escaped. Li Lingyan is like a beast that has been freed from its cage. I will definitely be his second thorn in his side. After the entire palace is on high alert, we will track down Qu Zhiliang's master and avoid his sharp edge. The entire palace will head south to the Guangji Canal and Banzhu area."

"Banzhu?" Lin Zhongyi asked blankly. "Why does my palace need to go south to Banzhu?"

Wan Yuyue turned around and looked at him with gentle and tender eyes. Suddenly, she slowly began to talk about an unrelated matter: "In the fourth year of the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty, the canal was first built and named Guangtong, also known as Fumin. From the first to the sixth year of the Daye era of Emperor Yang, the Tongji Canal was rebuilt. During the Tang Dynasty, the Tongji Canal was renamed Guangji. It was divided into two sections. The western section started from Gugu and Luoshui, and entered the Yellow River from Luoshui. The eastern section started from Banzhu, and diverted the Yellow River water eastward to the old course of Bianshui, and then down to the Huai River."

The entire palace listened to Wan Yuyuedan recount the ancient tale, exchanging bewildered glances. Wenren Nuan sighed softly, listening as he continued, "Our palace is situated at the source of the Luo River, backed by Mount Hua. If anyone were to invade, they would surely use waterways." After a pause, Wan Yuyuedan slowly added, "Li Lingyan is located in the southeast. If he intends to provoke Biluo Palace, he will inevitably march north, taking the Xiang-Gan waterway, up to Dongting Lake and into the Yangtze River, before finally reaching the Grand Canal." He slightly raised his eyes, "To reach the Luo River via the Grand Canal, one must enter the eastern section of the Huai River and ascend the Yellow River. To reach the Yellow River, one must pass through Banzhu."

Before Lin Zhongyi could process what was happening, Xiao Yafeng nodded repeatedly, "If Li Shiyu, Li Shuangli, and the others want to join Li Ling at the banquet, they will definitely take this route."

“To stop the thieves, the farther away from home the better, but too far will tire the army. You are all familiar with the terrain of Banzhu. Since it is a necessary passage into Luoyang, if Biluo Palace cannot intercept Li Lingyan at Banzhu, the consequences…” Wan Yuyuedan spoke softly, her tone somewhat strange, not mournful, but with a bloody gentleness, “…then you and I should take care of ourselves…”

"Palace Master!" someone in the crowd suddenly shouted indignantly, "We will never let Li Lingyan set foot on Banzhu! We swear to fight to the death on Banzhu!"

"For the survival of Biluo Palace, we are willing to be its soldiers, and we will die without regret!"

"Palace Master, let's cross the river!"

"Let's cross the river!"

Suddenly, the younger generation of Biluo Palace became excited, waving their arms and shouting, "Cross the river!" They moved the entire palace to Banzhu on the other side of the Yellow River to fight Li Lingyan to the death!

Wenren Nuan looked at Wan Yu Yuedan, who stood like a god amidst the crowd. He smiled slightly when he looked at her. A bitter feeling welled up inside her: Yuedan had transformed conflict into strength, so well uniting the nearly collapsing situation. He was becoming more and more like a "palace master." Once Banzhu won, without a doubt—Wan Yu Yuedan would become the true "overlord of the martial world," he would dominate—the entire world—but what about that gentle and considerate Wan Yu Yuedan? What about that gentle child who used to sleep in the grass, who followed her to pick flowers, fish, raise chickens and ducks? Had he simply vanished? She felt a deep sense of desolation, but Wan Yu Yuedan smiled at her, stepped onto a flight of stairs, and with a flourish of his sleeve, shouted: "Cross the river!"

A loud bang echoed from below the steps, making her eardrums buzz.

Chapter Twenty-Nine: A Green Dragon in the East, a White Tiger in the West

Li Ling held a banquet on the second day of his journey north by boat.

Shengxiang and Rongyin hired a boatman, and the boat moved much faster, but they still couldn't find any trace of Li Lingyan. When the sun was high in the sky, Shengxiang suddenly spotted something on the Xiang River and shouted, "Rongrong, stop the boat!"

Rong Yin frowned and ordered the boat to stop, wondering what strange thing Sheng Xiang had discovered this time. Yu Cuiwei, whose shoulder and internal injuries had not yet healed, leaned lazily against the window, watching Sheng Xiang leap from the speedboat and stop a person on the shore.

A woman.

Gu She watched in surprise as this young master stopped a girl in red. The girl had a graceful figure, dark skin, and a simple appearance.

"Pan—Yu—er—!" Shengxiang shouted, stopping the girl in red. "What are you doing here?"

The girl was indeed Pan Yu'er, the one who lured Sheng Xiang to wander aimlessly around Daming Mountain, causing him to be attacked by Liu Jie Cui. Seeing Sheng Xiang suddenly appear on the road, she, like everyone else, stared in disbelief for a long while before exclaiming, "Ah!"

“Yes, yes,” Shengxiang nodded repeatedly, “Aren’t you treating patients in Daming Mountain? Why are you here?”

Pan Yu'er stared at him blankly, her mind still reeling. "I'm about to go back to Daming Mountain."

"Going back? Are you with Xiao Yan?" Sheng Xiang asked with a smile. "Why didn't I see you in Zhoujiazhuang?"

“Zhoujiazhuang…” Pan Yu’er said, “Ah, I was helping Young Master Li hire a boat then, I wasn’t there.”

"Why aren't you with Xiao Yan? Are you going home?" Sheng Xiang continued to ask with a smile.

Pan Yu'er paused for a moment, "I can't help Young Master Li with what he wants to do in the future." She lowered her head, then suddenly turned back and pointed ahead, "They got off the boat at the ferry ahead and rode horses over the mountain."

Shengxiang wasn't excited by her generous directions. Instead, he patted her shoulder and asked, "What's wrong? Did you quarrel with Xiaoyan?" He remembered that this girl had a very good impression of Li Lingyan, so her sudden return home must mean something had happened.

“No.” Pan Yu’er smiled slightly. “They crossed that mountain,” she pointed north again, “and said they were going to Dongting Lake.”

Shengxiang patted her head. "Thank you, Xiaoyu." He suddenly said very seriously, "Xiaoyan is a remarkable person. I have never disliked him, whether he is an enemy or a friend."

Pan Yu'er smiled slightly again, "Young Master Shengxiang is a good person, I—thank you." She didn't say anything, said goodbye and headed south, going in the opposite direction from Li Lingyan.

Shengxiang returned to the ship, watching Pan Yu'er's retreating figure, and murmured, "Xiao Yan must have broken a woman's heart."

Yu Cuiwei glanced at Shengxiang's face with affection, "Sometimes men's imaginations are completely different from women's."

Saint Incense's ship headed north, while Pan Yu'er traveled south.

Li Lingyan bestowed the phrase "holding hands until old age" upon everyone, and Pan Yu'er was no exception.

But she...she decided to go home.

She didn't resent Li Lingyan. To die with the person she loved, even without knowing where he was or what he was going through, was... a romantic thing.

She is a woman who belongs to Daming Mountain.

It did not belong to Li Ling's banquet.

Upon receiving news that Li Lingyan had disembarked and was climbing the mountain, Shengxiang and his companions followed him. With their exceptional lightness skills, they found Li Lingyan's lodging by evening – a wooden hut where hunters stayed temporarily in the mountains.

The wooden cabin was brightly lit with candles. Judging from the horses outside, there were four men and six women accompanying Li Lingyan. The four men were all former subordinates of Jiang Chenming, and the women were Liu Ji, Leng Zhuoyu, Huaiyue, Xingxing, Madam Li, and Su Qing'e.

Amidst the shadows of the trees and the candlelight, Rong Yin suddenly saw a wild rabbit hop out of the grass and leap to the window of the wooden house. Suddenly, a bamboo chopstick shot out from inside the window, pinning the rabbit's hind leg to the grass. Then someone asked, "Who's out there?"

With a creak, the door opened, and Xingxing stepped in. She glanced at the rabbit on the ground, paused, and then said, "A rabbit."

The rabbit squeaked in pain on the ground. A general-looking man strode out of the wooden house, picked up the rabbit, turned around and laughed, "Young Master Li, I was just worried about not having any meat to eat. Although this thing has little meat, it's still a piece of meat." He was about to skin and roast the rabbit.

"Put it down," Li Lingyan said.