Vallée Sauvage de Green Mountain (Transmigrée à la dynastie Song)

Chapitre 56

Qin Louyue said softly, "However, you'll soon find out that meeting me is worse than meeting Li Kuilei. I'm ranked third among the four great assassins of Gentleness, while he's only fourth." Qin Louyue said in a deep voice:

"And today you will die here, because Shang Shaochang is no longer by your side!"

My heart skipped a beat, as if I had sunk to the deepest abyss!

Because she's right!

Now, I am the only one facing danger. And the enemy before me is likely to be more ruthless and terrifying than that puppet!

Li Kuilei can be called the most despicable and shameless person in the world, but his martial arts skills are mediocre. Calling him an assassin is less accurate than calling him a scoundrel!

Qin Louyue is different! This slender woman standing in front of me seemed to exude a cold and murderous aura. This aura was not as strong and fierce as that of Shang Shaochang, but it was even more sinister and ruthless!

What's even more terrifying is that I couldn't detect even the slightest emotional fluctuation in her almost hazy eyes.

She stood there, but her heart had wandered off somewhere else.

"However, I still didn't expect that the 'Dream of Gentleness' would be useless to you. If you could just fall asleep in the 'Dream of Gentleness' forever and never wake up, wouldn't that save me a lot of trouble?" Qin Louyue's eyes flickered, as if she was speaking to me, or as if she was talking to herself.

I exclaimed in surprise, "What is that white mist?!"

"'Dream Sinking' is a poison created by the leader. It makes people addicted to dreams, intoxicated by dreams, but if the antidote isn't obtained within twelve hours, they will truly sleep in the dream forever and never wake up." Qin Louyue frowned slightly and said, "To make your death easy, I wasted so much 'Dream Sinking' and had to save those unfortunate souls who were poisoned for nothing. In the end, I still have to kill you myself..."

As I listened to her words, my eyes widened more and more. Not only did she fail to kill me, but in the end, I was the one who caused her trouble!

Qin Louyue suddenly smiled, as if the moonlight from the sky had instantly gathered on her flawless face, radiating endless haziness and melancholy:

"You said you loved my singing and music. Since I can't kill you, I'll use my pipa. Let the world-renowned female talent hear my Soul-Searching Melody. You should be able to die without regrets..."

I forced a smile and said, "I'm still young and don't want to die yet. I have so many regrets, how can I call myself 'without regrets'—" Before I could finish speaking, Qin Louyue raised her right hand and plucked the pipa string, producing a "zheng" sound. She played it casually, as if without any effort, but to my ears, it sounded like rusty iron grinding against each other, making my teeth ache. It was unbearably painful to listen to!

Qin Louyue remained silent, her slender fingers moving ceaselessly across the pipa, producing waves of sound. This melody was entirely different from the one I had heard her play in Qinhuai. It had swept away the gentle, graceful air, replacing it with a piercing, unbearable sound—it couldn't even be called a tune! At times, it sounded like metal clashing, at others like stones colliding, at still others like a fox's sly laughter, at still others like a ghost's whispering—sometimes shrill laughter, sometimes wailing, sometimes mournful weeping. I had thought to myself, what harm could listening to music do? But I never imagined that with each note she played, my heart would pound violently in my chest, and gradually, I felt as if my internal organs were churning inside me! A hot, metallic liquid entered my throat as I clenched my teeth, biting my lip until it bled! Before I knew it, my legs gave way, and I collapsed to the ground, only the constant, sharp pain in my lip keeping me conscious.

The moment I fell to the ground, I heard a soft "ding" sound. It was the Jiao Wei Qin (a type of zither) in my bundle on my back that had been struck on the strings by a pebble on the ground, making a clear sound.

"Oh dear, Master, why are these strings so icy cold to the touch?"

"Hehe, my good disciple, this string is made of silk spun by ice silkworms mixed with cold iron from Tianshan Mountain. It feels cool and smooth to the touch. Furthermore, it is made of top-grade white jade. When you play a tune on this zither, it will surely produce a resounding sound! The Three Variations on Plum Blossom is the most pure and elegant piece in the world. Only by playing it on this zither can you do justice to the meaning of this piece. Your heart is weak, and playing this piece will help calm your mind and soothe your spirit, which will be beneficial..."

The scorched-tail zither, struck by pebbles, produced a clear, resonant sound. In an instant, the sunlight seemed to pierce through the dark clouds that had shrouded my vision! Having spent less than three months with Master Feng, I had devoted most of my time to this scorched-tail zither. Although I had only mastered it halfway, and my playing of this piece was fragmented, it undeniably brought a warm current to my chest, a comforting and pleasant sensation. Now, as Qin Louyue's pipa music flowed into my ears, the melody felt eerie and chilling, like a steel string piercing my heart, violently churning it, almost tearing my internal organs apart! This piece truly lived up to its name, "Soul-Searching," capable of making one feel as if they were dying!

Fine! Since I'm going to die sooner or later anyway, rather than suffer like this, I might as well try to resist this ghostly sound with the scorched-tail zither and at least make my death a little more comfortable!

Thinking of this, I suppressed the blood that almost spurted from my mouth, and with almost all my strength, I gently placed the Jiao Wei Qin on my lap. My body swayed involuntarily. I sighed deeply. Let alone the importance of calmness in playing the qin, my life was hanging by a thread at this moment. I didn't know when my chronic heart disease would flare up. How could I care about anything else! I picked up the qin and waved my hand. This qin was indeed a treasured object of Master Feng. With just a light wave, the "zheng" sound was like a sharp blade cutting through silk, or the blazing sun melting ice. It went straight through the layers of sound screen played by Qin Louyue and sounded extremely distant and clear in the night.

Qin Louyue let out a soft "Alas!" Her hands didn't stop; her ten fingers plucked the strings like wheels, producing a sound as mournful as a woman weeping in secret, or a vengeful ghost wailing in the night—even more chilling and desolate than before! Waves of sound surged forth. My fingers rested on the strings, feeling a cool breeze travel from my fingertips to my arms and then to my chest. The nausea in my chest lessened considerably, and my mind gradually cleared. At this moment, I had long since disregarded life and death, transforming the memorized score into waves of clear, melodious notes, using this elegant melody to slightly block out the soul-searching tune. The music flowed, melodious and pleasing, shifting from Gong to Hui, from Jiao to Yu. Surprisingly, under Qin Louyue's relentless pressure, in this life-or-death situation, I played the "Three Variations on Plum Blossom" with unprecedented grace and skill! Before my eyes appeared a scene of plum blossoms blooming in the snow in a valley, with icy cliffs and snow-covered mountains everywhere, plum petals falling into the valleys, almost indistinguishable from snowflakes.

Young Master Shang, Young Master Shang, if you were here with me now, so I could see you smile one more time, how wonderful that would be...

At this moment, the death-defying melody of Qin Louyue seemed to vanish from my ears, and I could almost see the familiar figure of Shang Shaochang in his blue robe before my eyes—

The bright moon shines, when can I pluck it? My sorrow is endless.

The bright moon shines, when will it ever be full? Knowing of our separation, my heart is weary and my body is exhausted.

The bright moon shines down on my clothes; it just came to mind, and I hesitated to say goodbye.

The bright moon shines, yet my heart is filled with sorrow; the gentleman's conduct is steadfast, though the cicadas have faded in the cold weather.

As I played the zither, I hummed softly, and the originally melodious tune unconsciously became infused with tender feelings of longing. I was completely unaware of what Qin Louyue was doing in front of me. So what if she was an assassin? I smiled gently, my ten fingers gliding across the strings, flowing naturally like clouds and water. Playing a tune before I die—perhaps this way of dying is the most elegant.

Suddenly, a sharp "snap" resounded, like tearing silk, and Qin Louyue let out a piercing scream, abruptly ending the unpleasant soul-searching melody! Startled, I looked up and was utterly shocked! Three strings of the pipa in Qin Louyue's arms had broken, her hair was disheveled, and her beautiful face was contorted in pain. Seeing this, I was bewildered. Although she was an assassin sent to kill me, I instinctively couldn't bring myself to hate her. Seeing her swaying there, clearly in immense pain, her hands still playing the pipa, she said:

"Are you...are you alright?"

Qin Louyue seemed not to hear, murmuring incessantly, "Chu Guanfeng, Chu Guanfeng, why are you so heartless, leaving and never coming back... I think of you every day, but don't you miss me at all? You...you!" Her voice was mournful and plaintive, tears welling in her eyes. She was nothing like the ruthless, cold-blooded assassin from moments before. I was slightly taken aback, then understood. It's often said that music originates from the heart. While playing the zither, I unconsciously thought of Shang Shaochang, and thus poured my longing into the elegant melody. I never expected that this melody of yearning would move Qin Louyue so deeply!

“I have sorrows that cannot be cut off… I have sorrows that cannot be cut off… What a white-robed one! If the leader hadn’t said that as long as I killed you, he would tell me where Chu Guanfeng was, how could I have killed you?” Qin Louyue murmured to herself, her wrist flicking slightly, a flash of cold light appeared in her hand, and a strange curved knife appeared in her hand. The curved knife had an ancient and unusual design. Under the moonlight, the blade was snow-white and shaped like a crescent moon. The hilt was at the tip of the crescent moon and was polished to a perfect smoothness. Qin Louyue held the knife in her hand and said in a deep voice, "This knife is called 'Longing,' and it was made specifically to kill Chu Guanfeng. Since poison and music are useless against you, it seems that this knife will have to drink your blood first!" Qin Louyue's slender fingers stroked the spine of the knife and said softly, "Longing, Longing, when will you be able to plunge into Chu Guanfeng's chest and let him know that my longing for him is like this knife piercing my body, this unforgettable taste, you must taste it..." With a flick of her fingers, the Longing knife flashed across the night sky.

Qin Louyue drew her sword and raised her wrist. Suddenly, under the moonlight, a row of crescent-shaped sword shadows appeared—

Is this a matter of life and death?

Now, may I pull out my "Ju Xue"?

Now, can we awaken the spirit of this famous sword?

I stretched my right hand slightly backward, my five fingers tightly gripping the "Ju Xue" hidden deep inside the bundle, my palms already damp with sweat!

Because I know I can't stop Qin Louyue from unleashing a beautiful yet chilling slash.

The half of the internal energy Shang Shaozhang gave me wasn't truly my own. When I played the zither, I unconsciously channeled all my strength into my ten fingers, barely managing to suppress the surging blood pressure and play a complete and smooth "Three Variations on Plum Blossom," preventing Qin Louyue's "Soul-Searching Melody" from breaking my heart. But for someone like me, who had only practiced internal energy for less than three months, it was already the limit! Not only was my chest heaving and I feeling nauseous, but I couldn't channel any energy into my fingers; I could barely lift a single fingertip. If I were to forcefully unleash "Ju Xue," I would either be injured by the backlash of my own internal energy or die under Qin Louyue's "Longing" blade!

Watching as Qin Louyue's slender body trailed a crescent-shaped blade of light, radiating a soft yet beautiful aura, it was already before me in an instant—

Suddenly, a white ribbon appeared out of nowhere beside me, like a cascade of autumn water!

A white ribbon, like a waterfall cascading from the heavens.

The autumn waters, like the Milky Way stretching across the sky!

As if appearing simultaneously in the night sky, and as swift as flying horses, this white ribbon and autumn water, like lightning streaking across the night, almost simultaneously arrived before each other, meeting Qin Louyue's beautiful yet poignant longing—

Qiu Shui slashed directly at the curved blade, but the long white ribbon instead swept towards Qiu Shui Blade and Xiang Si Blade. With a soft "whoosh," both weapons struck the seemingly soft white ribbon.

"Young Master Shang—"

"Chu Pass Wind—"