Lancao was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:
"You and the Pavilion Master—is it because of Bai Lu?"
"Because of the White Dew?"
"You clearly can't let go of the Pavilion Master—is it because of Bai Lu that you refuse to forgive him?"
Hua Chongyang was taken aback, then smiled:
"Your sect leader is the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world."
The orchid tentatively glanced at the Double Ninth Festival flowers:
"Since last year, the Pavilion Master hasn't touched a woman once. And I believe his previous encounters with other women were out of necessity—you should know how good he is to you, Hua Chongyang."
Hua Chongyang seemed not to hear:
"The reputation of the Pavilion Master Lan is widespread. She is the most beautiful woman in the martial arts world, the head of the Zhaoyang Pavilion of Lanying Palace, and the master of Lanying Manor. Everyone in the martial arts world is wary of her, everyone is eyeing the Yellow Spring Martial Arts Manual in her possession, everyone wants to test their skills against her, and almost everyone in the martial arts world wants to kill her."
Lan Cao looked at Hua Chongyang's smile with a puzzled expression.
She stood up, her smile faint:
"A year ago, I didn't care about anything; but now, all I want is to avenge my mother, then take Bailu and find a place to hide away and live a peaceful life. I'm tired of this life where I have no control over my own destiny."
She turned to look at the orchid, her eyebrows slightly raised:
"Your sect leader can negotiate with Lan Ji for the Yellow Springs Martial Arts Manual, sleep with Bo Jiang to win over the Southern Chu Manor, and kill without blinking an eye to dominate the martial arts world—even if he likes me, if it weren't for the Azure Sky Heart Sutra, how many days of peace could he give me?"
The orchid remained silent for a long time before finally retorting:
"That's... the Pavilion Master must have his reasons..."
Even he himself found it hard to say.
No matter what Lan Wuxie did, it was clear that he had only one goal in mind: to dominate the martial arts world.
But now, Hua Chongyang wants something different. A year ago, she only wanted someone to love and pamper her; now, she wants a stable life.
Unfortunately, that was precisely what Lan Wuxie couldn't give him, so no matter how much she liked looking at him and thinking about him, she could only let go.
She has learned not to want what she shouldn't want.
On the surface, everything seemed normal at the martial arts tournament on the second day.
On one side were Bo Feng and Situ Qingliu, and on the other side were Lan Wuxie and Rong Chenfei. Facing the dueling platform sat Shaolin and Wudang disciples, along with Hua Chongyang and others.
However, the White Dew solar term did not appear.
Lan Cao glanced at the crowd several times, but finally couldn't resist and quietly slipped into the crowd to approach Hua Chongyang:
"Where is Yan Bailu?"
Hua Chongyang was slightly taken aback:
"Yan Bailu? How do you know her name?"
"Ah, isn't that her name?" Lan Cao touched her hair. "When I first met her more than five years ago, she told me her name was Yan Bailu, and she specifically emphasized that her surname was Yan."
"Oh. Don't tell anyone about this, I'm afraid it'll cause her trouble." Hua Chongyang lowered his voice. "She's still sulking; she hasn't gotten out of bed all day."
"Sigh, she's been spoiled rotten." Lan Cao sighed, then paused and lowered her voice, "But... about yesterday, and what you said, I'll tell the Pavilion Master when I get back."
Hua Chongyang's heart skipped a beat, but he still smiled.
"Lan Cao, you're still so gossipy. Does Zu Xian's medicine really work?"
But she subconsciously turned her gaze to Lan Wuxie on one side of the arena.
Lan Wuxie sat expressionlessly in the chair, her face as white as snow. Her hair was tied up with a gold ring, and a light blue pendant adorned her earlobe. She wore a long robe with gold and red phoenix patterns, the collar and cuffs of which were trimmed with black. On her left wrist, below the cuff, one could vaguely see a three-inch gold wire bracelet, flamboyant and gorgeous.
"The Pavilion Master didn't say anything after listening." Lan Cao sighed softly. "Actually, I doubt he even heard what I said. After returning last night, he just sat in the pavilion in a daze, not saying a word."
"……"
"This is the first time I've seen him this drunk since he... you know... on that pleasure boat last time."
Hua Chongyang still smiled:
"You sneaked over to find me, isn't that betrayal, Orchid?"
"……"
Lan Cao was rendered speechless by her words. After a long while, she pulled a slip of paper from her sleeve, handed it to Hua Chongyang, and then turned and left.
"This is the prescription Zu Xian gave me back then, for Yan Bailu. I'm going back now."
Hua Chongyang took it, glanced at it, stuffed it into his sleeve, and then looked up.
Involuntarily, she turned her gaze to Lan Wuxie again.
Yesterday, from the moment they met, although she didn't look up, she could clearly feel that Lan Wuxie's gaze never left her.
Today, Lan Wuxie didn't even glance at her once.
58. Loneliness...
Everyone has a bit of a "cheap" side to them—for example, if you give someone else something you've never wanted, you'll actually feel better about it; if someone you don't like suddenly stops liking you, you'll actually feel reluctant to let them go.
Looking at Lan Wuxie's expressionless face, Hua Chongyang attributed his current sense of loss to this kind of "baseness".
The martial arts tournament was nearing noon when Bai Lu finally staggered in, yawning as she walked. But she was undeniably beautiful; her hair was tied up high, her eyebrows were long and arched, and her eyes held a mixture of nonchalance and amusement. Combined with her tall figure and snow-white robe, she was the epitome of a captivating, carefree young man. Ignoring the stares of many, she walked straight to Hua Chongyang, sat down, and crossed her legs.
Hua Chongyang glanced at her but didn't speak, then turned back to look at the dueling platform, seemingly distracted. After a long while, Bai Lu, idly picking at her nails, casually asked:
How did you and Lan Wuxie meet?
Hua Chongyang was taken aback.
Yan Bailu didn't even raise her head, and repeated:
"I'm asking you. How did you and Lan Wuxie meet?"
Hua Chongyang didn't even lift his eyelids:
"It's none of your business."
Bai Lu put down her fingers, turned her face to the side, and looked up at her:
"I heard that he approached you back then for the Azure Heaven Heart Sutra."
Hua Chongyang simply ignored her and pretended to be focused on the dueling platform.
Undeterred, Bai Lu turned around and moved closer to Hua Chongyang:
"Hua Chongyang, what's so good about that person that you can't forget him?"
"I've long forgotten him."
"Tch, you're kidding me. It's been a year, and Qing-gege has been coming to the brothel to talk to you all the time—you've been talking for a year now, so why aren't you together with him?"
Hua Chongyang closed his eyes and turned to look at Bailu:
"Does forgetting Lan Wuxie mean I have to be with someone else?"
"What's wrong with Qing-gege? I'm at ease knowing you're together—"
"Then tell me, what constitutes 'being together'?"
Bai Lu was initially taken aback:
"It's simply that the two people are mutually attracted."
What constitutes mutual affection?
"It's about two people who have things to talk about and can get along well."
"I've been talking to Prince Situ for a while now. What are you babbling on for?"
"That's different!"
"What's different?"
Bai Lu paused for a moment, then sat up straight and retorted directly:
"At least the two of you should have slept together, right? Qing-gege hasn't even touched you yet!"
The sound wasn't too loud or too soft; some people nearby heard it and looked at them. Hua Chongyang didn't even bother to blush, leaning back casually in her chair.
"What can we do?"
Over the past year, Situ Qingliu came to the brothel almost every day. Sometimes he saw her, sometimes he didn't. Eventually, he became familiar with everyone in the brothel, especially Bai Lu—on the contrary, he was not so familiar with Hua Chongyang.
Bai Lu tried almost everything to bring the two together, and once even locked them in a room for an entire night.
As a result, Hua Chongyang leaned against the headboard and slept, while Situ Qingliu sat under the lamp reading. The two spent the night peacefully, and after having breakfast together the next day, they parted ways.
Bai Lu concluded that this was because Hua Chongyang still had feelings for Lan Wuxie.
The two remained silent for a moment.
Hua Chongyang suddenly reached out and grasped Bailu's shoulder, and said softly:
"Don't worry, I won't go looking for him again. It's impossible between us."
Bailu, being a child, hesitated for a long time after hearing this before asking a question:
"Is it because of me?"
"No, it's not because of you." Hua Chongyang smiled and patted her hand. "It's because of myself. The older I get, the more I worry about. I won't just think about my own momentary thoughts without considering others. Before, I only thought about myself, but now I also have to think about—think about you, think about the brothel, think about Liu Da, Chu San, Huang San, and the others—"
She suddenly stopped talking at this point.
For some reason, she thought of Lan Wuxie.
Looking back now, if we disregard his betrayal, he was incredibly good to her back then, practically treating her like a precious gem, someone she feared would melt in her mouth or fall from her head, someone she cherished and protected from even the slightest breeze. She remembered one evening when he knelt by the bed to take off her boots, and Hua Chongyang, stroking his loose hair, asked him:
"Oh, why are you so good to me?"
He smiled without even looking up and answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world:
"If I'm not good to you, who am I supposed to be good to?"
At the time, she thought it was just sweet talk, but now, looking back, she realizes he wasn't just saying nice things; he was just telling the truth: he really couldn't find anyone he could give his heart to without caring about anything else.
How much pressure must someone put on themselves to be this lonely?
59. Martial Arts Competition...