Roi céleste

Chapitre 20

All three copper coin darts struck the same spot on the main ship's mast one after another. Then, with a creak, the two-arm-thick mast snapped in mid-air, crashing onto the deck along with the pirate's flag.

The pirates quickly dodged the broken pole, and the ship shook violently twice before settling down after a while. They stared at me in horror along with the pirates on the other ships.

The female leader frowned deeply, glanced at me warily a few times, then looked behind us. After noticing that there were several good-looking men, her eyes darted around, and when she saw Qing Jiu, a lewd light seemed to emanate from her eyes.

The female pirate suddenly shouted at Huamei and me, "Judging from your skill, and how you took the lead in protecting those pretty boys behind you, you must have some ability too, and you even keep a few male prostitutes."

These words had a startling effect. The disciples of Tian Shu Palace all gasped in shock. Bai Ya twitched his Iron Bone Fan with a gloomy expression, and Qian Lou's face also turned cold, with a faint killing intent emanating from his body. Qing Jiu, on the other hand, merely raised an eyebrow.

My lips twitched.

The female pirate chuckled lewdly again and said, "Too bad you've run into me, Tie Cuihua, today. Hand over those young men obediently, and I'll spare your lives!"

Tie Cuihua... Oh, please don't...

As a result, Hua Mei and I reacted in unison, both taking a step forward and shouting, "Don't even think about it!"

They really are two women with a lot of free time and a wicked sense of humor...

Hua Mei said viciously, "You ugly woman, how dare you touch my male concubine? Wash your neck and wait to die."

“Hua Mei, your male concubine, do you want to die?” Bai Ya said through gritted teeth behind us.

Bai Ya, gripping his iron-boned fan, was about to charge forward and wreak havoc when Hua Mei suddenly grabbed his hand. Hua Mei looked at Bai Ya with deep affection and said, "Don't worry, my beauty, even if I die, I will protect you."

I could clearly see several veins bulging on Baiya's forehead.

After glancing at Qianlou and Qingjiu, I decisively gave up on learning Huamei. Just as I was about to draw the sword I'd stolen from Old Man Yu and jump onto the opposite ship, I heard a long howl from not far away: "Where did these thieves come from—"

Looking back, we saw another boat approaching from behind, and a figure on that boat swam right up and landed on our boat.

He was a man in his early twenties, with a fairly decent appearance. He carried a sword at his waist and knew some light-body skills, though not particularly impressive, but he was still a martial artist. The man glanced at us casually, but when he saw the beautiful and alluring Hua Mei, his eyes immediately gleamed with a lewd light. However, he maintained a very polite demeanor, cupped his hands, and said in a deep voice, "I am the deputy sect leader of Changbai Sect, known as Baiyun Piaohua Cuitie."

Hua Cuitie... Oh, don't do that...

The atmosphere suddenly became strange, and even Qingjiu couldn't help but smile.

Before I could even laugh out loud, Hua Cuitie shouted at Tie Cuihua, "In broad daylight, you scoundrels are so arrogant! Unfortunately for you, you've run into me, Hua Cuitie. The boat behind me is full of disciples of my Changbai Sect. Now get out of here, and I'll spare your lives!"

The unknown deputy leader of the Changbai Sect immediately turned around and leered at Hua Mei, saying, "Don't worry, beauty, even if I die, I will protect you."

I could clearly see several blue veins bulging on Hua Mei's forehead.

The outcome was obvious: the bandits and the so-called White Cloud Sect members were routed by us.

Several similar farces followed, and our journey by water was filled with the flying weapons and shadowy figures, a mix of absurdity and amusement.

More than half a month later, our group arrived in Hanyang.

Twenty-six cups of Fangchun wine

Fangchun Wine, the moon shines on Fangchun Wine, let us not forget to share this wine together.

...

The group disembarked and had barely entered Hanyang when they saw a beautiful figure hurrying towards them from the other end of the street.

A fragrant breeze wafted over us, and the person stopped in front of us. It turned out to be a beautiful woman, wearing a five-colored brocade dress with gold embroidery, which made her look extremely noble and charming.

Ignoring everyone else, the woman stared at Qing Jiu with a deep and resentful look. "Palace Master Qing has come to Hanyang with great difficulty. Why didn't you inform Qing'er first so that I could show her hospitality?"

Many people on the street looked surprised when they saw the woman and quickly left.

I consciously took two steps back and disappeared into the ranks of the Tian Shu Palace disciples, not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble.

Sure enough, after a few words, the woman named Wen Qing glanced at us. Fortunately, to avoid trouble, none of us wore the Tian Shu Palace uniforms. I blended in with the genuine disciples and only received a faint glance from her. Or rather, my appearance didn't meet her standards, so Hua Mei was glared at fiercely.

Then this warm and generous girl led our group on a tour of Hanyang.

Hanyang has an excellent geographical location, serving as a waterway connecting three regions and a thoroughfare connecting nine provinces. It is a prosperous place with many scenic spots, including the famous Guiyuan Temple, Qingchuan Pavilion, Gaoshan Liushui Guqin Terrace, ancient trees of Hanyang, and Pomegranate Flower Pagoda. Even just a quick visit makes it seem like a wonderful place.

"Aren't you going to ask who this woman is?" Hua Mei asked, leaning close to my ear.

"What's there to ask? Just know that this woman really likes Qing Jiu and has plenty of free time, so I'll try to avoid contact with Grand Palace Master Qing while I'm here," I replied calmly.

With nowhere else to vent her gossip, Hua Mei angrily tugged at my ear and began to tell her tale: "This woman is called Wen Qing. She was originally a famous courtesan in Hanyang. She had met the Palace Master once, but was later bought by a wealthy man to be his concubine. She suffered all kinds of humiliation. When the Palace Master was in charge of affairs, the wealthy man had a homosexual desire and tried to defile her. The Palace Master cut him into more than three hundred pieces in the blink of an eye. The woman insisted that the Palace Master had intervened to save him and said she wanted to repay him with her body. The Palace Master was too lazy to pay attention to her and left. Who knew that this Wen Qing was quite cunning. She killed all the wealthy man's relatives, seized his vast fortune, and managed it quite well. Now she is the richest woman in Hanyang and can also do some work for Tian Shu Palace, so we keep her."

"But this woman wants too much. How can she survive long under the hands of you monsters?" I sighed.

Hua Mei glanced at the woman who was clinging to Qing Jiu with disgust. "That's not our fault. She's just being unreasonable."

I glanced at it indifferently. I couldn't get involved in this kind of thing, nor did I want to. I quickly put it out of my mind.

Then, in the middle of the night, a woman's piercing scream brought the matter back to mind.

In the accommodations arranged by Wenqing, my room was relatively close to Qingjiu, so I was successfully woken up. I then sneaked out and hid in a tree to look around, not daring to get too close or Qingjiu would definitely notice.

Everyone likes to eavesdrop, and I bet I'm not the only one who overheard something, but I wonder how many people dare to uncover it like I did.

From a distance, in front of Qingjiu’s house was a pond with a small stone bridge. Two people were standing on the bridge, one handsome and the other graceful and slender. They were clearly Qingjiu and Wenqing.

Wen Qing had a loud voice, and she cried out, "Why, Qing Lang? Why won't you let me serve you? Do you think my body is dirty?"

So she sneaked into Qingjiu's room intending to commit adultery! Who knew this woman was such a heroine, with courage and spirit!

Qing Jiu was extremely disloyal; his voice was very low and inaudible. The moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the night was dark, so his expression was also unclear.

Wen Qing was more selfless. After saying a few words, she suddenly screamed miserably, "Since Palace Master Qing has never had Qing'er in her heart, then I have no need to live on in this world."

As soon as he finished speaking, he actually flipped over and jumped off the stone bridge, his figure disappearing into the water in an instant. Clearly, he was using a self-inflicted injury ruse.

I sneered. Any woman in the world could probably lay her heart out in front of Qing Jiu, and he probably wouldn't even flinch. Who is he? He's the pride of the entire Tian Shu Palace, a martial arts tyrant who even turned against me, his savior, just to protect himself. He wouldn't take anyone seriously.

The night was deep and the dew was heavy, so I couldn't help but shrink back.

As expected, after standing there for a while, Qing Jiu turned around and walked down the bridge.

As I watched his tall and slender figure from afar, I was unsure whether to feel gratified by my understanding of him or chilled by his actions once again.

Suddenly, the clouds parted and the moon appeared, its bright light pouring down. Qingjiu stopped in his tracks and turned around.

Huddled in the tree, I opened my eyes wide.

Under the soft moonlight, I clearly saw Qingjiu frown and open his mouth as if he sighed, his posture like that of a compassionate deity.

I stared at the tall, elegant figure in the distance, my curled-up body freezing in place, my mind going completely blank.

Because that person jumped off the bridge.

...

The cicadas chirped in the midnight breeze, but the cold moon remained silent.

I watched from afar as Qingjiu rescued Wenqing from the water. Wenqing fell into Qingjiu's arms, but Qingjiu stood up and left.

No one knows what he was thinking, or what his purpose was in doing these seemingly affectionate yet heartless actions. Did he like Wen Qing, or did he want to continue using her, or was it all because of my words in the rain?

The ground by the pool was covered in water. Wenqing lay on the ground, her shoulders shaking, crying bitterly.

I don't know why, but I stayed in the tree for a long time until there was no sound around, as if everything had died.

Then I suddenly stood up, jumped down from the tree, but instead of going back to my room, I went out of the courtyard and wandered around the city.

Beneath my feet lies a city in deep slumber, beyond which lie desolate mountain scenery. As I pass a stone wall, I see a watchman carrying a lantern passing by, like a passerby in the mortal world.

And I am but a mortal trapped in the mundane world.

...

The next day, everyone showed up with dark circles under their eyes, and without saying a word, no one mentioned what had happened the night before.

Wen Qing claimed to be ill and did not show up, clearly indicating that she was asking us to leave. We, who had rested for a night, continued on our way.

As they left the city, they saw a group of people dressed as scholars gathered in front of a stone wall, and occasionally a sigh of admiration would escape from the crowd.

I raised an eyebrow, intending to continue walking forward, but the meddlesome Bai Ya rushed straight into the crowd and never came out again.

We had no choice but to join in.

It turns out that eight large characters were inscribed on the stone wall at some unknown time: "A myriad of thoughts in an inch of heart, a thousand miles in a foot."

I just don't understand, it's just a few broken words, what's so interesting about it that it's taken so long to look at?

As if in response to me, an elderly scholar next to me exclaimed, "This calligraphy has a profound and steady structure, powerful strokes, and an ancient and elegant style; the characters are slightly messy, but that is precisely what reveals the writer's confusion and despondency; the temperament is clear and detached, yet there is a faint air of ruthlessness emanating from it. This person must be a dragon among men."

Old man, you dare to boast that the person who writes these few characters is a dragon among men... You really do have good taste.

A scholar in his forties standing nearby exclaimed, "I have never heard of such a fine line before. It must have been a stroke of genius by this person, which shows that he must be a man of great learning."

I rolled my eyes and was about to leave when a tall, slender man stepped forward. He touched the groove on the wall, glanced at the stone dust on the ground, and smiled faintly. For a moment, even the sunlight seemed to dim.

"Indeed, his handwriting reflects his personality," Qingjiu said softly.

I quickly retreated.

After waiting a while, these people finally came out. Seeing my impatient look, Baiya gave me a rather disdainful look, "You tasteless woman!" Even Huamei said, "Those old scholars all say that the person who wrote this calligraphy is at least fifty years old. Such masterpieces by famous calligraphers are extremely rare. People say that looking at calligraphy is like looking at one's heart, and one can gain a lot from it."

I coughed violently twice and then stopped talking.

“I don’t think so,” Qianlou, who was usually quiet, suddenly spoke up. “Achievements in calligraphy have little to do with age. Moreover, this character only appeared today, so it must have been written last night. It is also clearly carved with a sword, penetrating three inches into the stone with astonishing force. This person must be a martial artist.”

I, in my dedication, adorn the cold, austere face of the thousand-story building with a sky full of stars.

“That’s right,” Bai Ya suddenly exclaimed, “Last night, something happened in the courtyard where we live. Everyone woke up, so it’s very likely that our people couldn’t sleep and came out to write these words.”

Hua Mei nodded and said, "That's possible. Then he must not be an old man. Could it be that our Tian Shu Palace really has such a talented person with profound calligraphy skills?"

I broke out in a cold sweat and silently slipped into the carriage I had just bought. As soon as I opened the door, a figure in a purple robe came into view. I looked up and met a pair of captivating phoenix eyes.

“No matter how cruel the world is, it can't compare to the ruthlessness of heaven and earth. Since ruthlessness only seems ridiculous, why not be more compassionate… Didn't I say that to you in the rain that day?” Qingjiu leaned down, his hand supporting the car door, staring intently at me, and suddenly asked, “If that’s the case, why are we still ‘a thousand miles apart’?”

Before I could speak, the stunningly handsome man before me gave a self-deprecating laugh, his eyes cold and indifferent, "...So you never believed me again."

Qing Jiu released his grip, stepped back, sat down, but no longer looked at me. His eyes, with their lowered eyelashes, were shrouded in shadow. He simply said, "Come on up."

...

Note: A thousand thoughts linger in my mind, though we are so close, we feel worlds apart. In this beautiful setting, on this fine day, we feel only mutual pity, but have no plan to help each other. —Liu Yong, "The Brahman's Decree"

I'm not using the literal meaning of the words here; readers should be able to understand it from the text itself.

Twenty-seven cups of cypress leaf wine