Le paysage est comme une peinture

Chapitre 46

Jun Yu's smile remained unchanged: "Tuo Sang, you will always be 'Bokdo,' a leader nurtured by the Holy Palace. Now, the Lahan Cult is eyeing us covetously. If you make the slightest mistake, this land will likely descend into chaos and suffer immense loss of life. You bear the hopes and faith of all the believers on your shoulders, and you must be responsible for them to the very end. Once you enter the cult, you have no choice. The Grand Marshal can resign, but 'Bokdo' cannot."

If I could choose, it would be in the next life.

Tuosang remained silent. After a long while, he nodded: "The Holy Palace can only have newly appointed 'Bokdos,' never 'Bokdos' who resign! Junyu, I understand."

He smiled and said, "Junyu, it's time for us to say goodbye."

Junyu smiled and nodded, then turned around and walked forward through the thick snow. After a few steps, she stumbled and almost fell to the ground.

It's just that the snow was too thick.

Junyu steadied herself and took a few more steps. Behind her, Tuosang rushed up and hugged her tightly: "Junyu..."

Some hot water droplets fell on the snow in front of me, melting a few snowflakes.

Junyu dared not turn around, nor could she speak. That embrace was too heartfelt, almost like a huge shackle, making it impossible for her to break free.

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Chapter 126: Avalanche (1)

The sun had completely sunk into the valley, and the evening wind in Namcha Barwa blew the tall prayer flags on the snow, making a mournful, wailing sound.

The shackles slowly loosened, and Junyu felt a void in her heart. Just as she breathed a sigh of relief, her right hand was gently pulled by a pair of strong hands: "Junyu, let me see you off."

Junyu nodded. From a sheltered spot, Xiaoshuai's long neighing could be heard. Junyu took the reins, and the two of them and the horse slowly moved forward.

"Junyu, where are you going?"

"I want to go to Hanjing Garden in Sichuan to find Sister Shu first, and then make further plans. I have already sent her a message."

She glanced at Tuosang's expression and smiled: "You've seen it with your own eyes, Sister Shu treats me extremely well. With her around, you can rest assured."

"You're not going back to Phoenix Village?"

Junyu knew that the emperor was already very suspicious of his identity. If he did not return to Phoenix Village, it would arouse even more suspicion, and he feared that more trouble would arise before his vacation was over: "After I find Sister Shu, I have to go back. I want to resign as safely as possible, and then find a quiet place to start an academy and live a peaceful life."

Moreover, Phoenix Village also has the Four Heroes of the North, Zhao Manqing, Mo Feiyan, Lin Yi'an, and others, all of whom are waiting for his return.

The two trudged forward at the foot of Namcha Barwa in the darkness. Junyu looked at the vast night ahead and a strange thought welled up in his mind: If tonight could never come to dawn, and we could just keep walking on this road forever, how wonderful that would be?

But dawn eventually came, and Xiao Shuai let out a long howl as the morning wind swept fiercely into his heart.

Having completely left Namcha Barwa, Junyu looked at the fiery red sunrise, leaped onto his horse, and laughed, "Tuosang—"

Tuosang stared at her, his heart tightening. Even his bright smile couldn't hide the strange paleness and sorrow on his face.

Junyu's voice was very calm: "Every time, it's you who watches my back. This time, you leave first..."

Tuosang nodded, turned around, took a few slow steps, then channeled his inner strength and ran. In a short while, his figure had completely disappeared into the towering mountains of the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon.

Under the rising sun, Junyu gently patted the horse's back, and the little general raised his hooves and slowly walked in the completely opposite direction, leaving a deep snow mark with each step.

At this moment, a figure slowly emerged from behind a huge ancient cypress tree covered with thick snow. Although he was wearing an extremely rare, specially made ferret cloak, he felt a chill run through his body and heart.

Neither of the two people who smiled and said goodbye noticed that he had been following them all along. If they weren't blinded by grief, how could two people with such high levels of skill not have noticed that they had been followed for so long?

He took a few steps after him, then stopped. His cloak tilted askew, and all around him was silent, except for the cold, desperate voice of his own heart.

He watched as the boy's former high spirits and commanding presence vanished in an instant. The horse's hooves moved slowly, and the boy, lying on its back, seemed to sway slightly.

A sharp pain shot through his heart. At that moment, he suddenly realized that he had traveled thousands of miles to this icy land not to hate or despise Tuosang, but to see her.

She was determined to leave, and no one could stop her, not even herself.

Therefore, only in this way can I see her again.

Perhaps it was because he had witnessed that heart-wrenching farewell; perhaps it was because he had seen for the first time the profound sorrow beneath that smile, that deep resentment in his heart suddenly vanished without a trace, while another unfamiliar impulse grew stronger and stronger: he would no longer care about the abolition and restoration of that so-called "Boccodor." If he could hold her hand, if he could comfort her with kind words, if she would allow it—wouldn't the ends of the earth be paradise?

The faint sounds came from the occasional dart of small, four-legged beasts with remarkable vitality. He quickened his pace, but the boy on horseback remained unaware of anyone behind him.

Xiao Shuai let out a long neigh, and his horse's hooves lifted slightly, increasing its speed a little.

The sun rose higher and higher, its warmth extinguished, and the mountain path grew increasingly slippery, causing Xiao Shuai to slow down even further. The boy on horseback remained hunched over, never raising his head.

The person following behind suddenly had a strange feeling: there was only the sound of horses' hooves in the world, and there was no longer any sign of life.

Ahead lay a fork in the road. The owner remained silent, and Xiao Shuai seemed to wander aimlessly onto a slightly flatter mountain path. To the left was a thick layer of snow, and to the right was a shallow ravine.

The ice on the mountain road became increasingly slippery, making the journey more and more difficult.

A squirrel leaped from a small cedar tree, and a clump of snow landed on Xiao Shuai's head. Xiao Shuai was startled, but being a well-trained warhorse, he remained calm despite his surprise, only quickening his pace slightly.

Another unnamed little animal suddenly darted out. The mountain path was too slippery, and Xiao Shuai's front hoof wobbled, stepping on a thick patch of snow on the left, which immediately sank in.

The horse's owner seemed to regain some consciousness and had just raised his head when it was too late. Little Shuai's hooves could no longer be stopped, and he sank completely into the ditch.

Immediately, thick chunks of snow pressed down on the ravine, and a small avalanche swept a man and a horse into the bottom of the ravine.

"Junyu..."

Those following behind let out a heart-wrenching scream and rushed forward, but it was too late.

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Chapter 127: Avalanche (2)

The snow fog filled their eyes, and the person following behind went blank. Involuntarily, their body fell down along with the rapidly rising snow fog.

When I opened my eyes, all around me was a vast expanse of white. I could only hear Xiao Shuai's mournful cry, but I couldn't turn my head to see where it was.

He tried to get up, but found that his body was completely buried in snow, with only his head and one hand sticking out.

He felt so suffocated in his chest that he almost fainted again. He circulated his qi, and snowflakes flew around him. His limbs relaxed, and the suffocation in his chest suddenly disappeared, but he coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

He stood up unsteadily. Two zhang in front of him, Xiao Shuai, who was crying mournfully, had lost a hind hoof. Next to Xiao Shuai, Jun Yu only showed his head and hands, his eyes were closed, and his whole body was covered in white snow.

He staggered over to her, desperately brushing the snow off her, barely able to utter a sound: "Junyu, Junyu..."

Junyu's eyes were tightly closed, and his face was completely indistinguishable from the surrounding snow.

He reached out to check her breath, but a wave of fear washed over him. After a while, he finally reached out and thankfully found a faint breath still lingering.

He felt a sense of relief, helped Junyu up, carried him on his back, and then looked at the little boy with a broken hoof. He muttered to himself, "I can't take care of you anymore. Good luck to you."

Xiao Shuai stared wide-eyed at the man, let out a long hiss, and limped after him.

Emerging from the ravine, he found himself on a narrow path. He paused briefly in the deepening darkness, checked his bearings, and then joined the path, heading back the way he came. These vast mountains were deserted. He traversed numerous winding paths; there lay the route to the resident minister's residence. Though dangerous, nothing was more important than saving her life at that moment.

He carried someone on his back and walked unsteadily ahead, while Xiao Shuai followed behind, limping and occasionally letting out a long neigh, which, in the dark night where only the wind was blowing, revealed a trace of life.

He had no idea how long he had walked, and he still couldn't find his way out of the pitch-black mountain path. At this point, he was completely lost in this icy and snowy landscape.

He felt a tightness in his chest, coughed up another mouthful of blood, staggered, and fell to the ground. His grip loosened, and Junyu, who was on his back, also fell heavily to the ground.

He practically crawled over in just a few steps, picked up Junyu, but could no longer stand up.

Junyu's eyes remained tightly closed.

The cold wind howled past his ears. He gently pressed his face against Junyu's face and found that both of their hands and faces were completely frozen.

If they couldn't stand up, if they couldn't get out of this mountain path, this place would be their final resting place. Behind them, Xiao Shuai let out another mournful cry, which echoed through the mountains in the night.

He held Junyu tightly, let out a bitter laugh in the darkness, and felt a slow calming down in his heart.

In his entire life, he had never been so close to Junyu. He touched Junyu's heart; it still beat faintly. He knew that soon, in this lost, cold night, that beating would cease.

And my heartbeat will stop along with hers.

He pulled off his ferret cloak and tightly covered the two of them. A sudden surge of joy welled up inside him. He opened his mouth and spat out another mouthful of blood. Before his eyes, stars flashed haphazardly...

He first met Junyu on the vast snowfield in Qiansi Academy. Little Junyu was wearing a blue robe, graceful and elegant, with an ethereal air. Her smile was enough to make a hundred flowers bloom.

"Junyu, my name is Junyu."

He saw himself running towards Xiao Junyu, and this time, he finally grabbed her hand. He seemed to hear the faint sound of flowers blooming again, and a surge of joy filled his heart. He slowly closed his eyes.

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Chapter 128: On the Eve of the Great Calamity (1)

Tuosang sped along the winding mountain road, the strange unease in his heart growing stronger.

Although he had made a firm decision to forget worldly affairs forever, Junyu's smiling face at the time of parting was too desolate, giving people an ominous feeling.

His firm resolve gradually weakened, and his running pace slowed down. Finally, he turned around and chased after Junyu in the direction she had left.

He followed the hoofprints along the mountain path from sunset to nightfall. Finally, the hoofprints became chaotic and disappeared on a slope along the mountain path.

He peered into the shallow ravine and saw obvious signs of a small avalanche.

The ominous premonition in his heart almost immediately became a reality. Like a gecko, he stepped on the cliff and leaped down into the ravine, making three large snow craters. It was clear that one was the mark of a horse, while the other two were the marks of a human.

On the snow pit mark left by the horse, there was a large patch of blood, clearly left by the horse. There was also a small bloodstain next to another pit in the snow, almost frozen into a red and black block of ice. There seemed to be a faint smell of blood in the air.

He felt a sense of relief. Junyu was one person, but the tracks indicated two people. However, both people and the horse had vanished without a trace. But immediately, his heart tightened again. The hoofprints were exactly the ones Xiaoshuai remembered.

He glanced at the messy footprints in the ditch. Clearly, the avalanche was caused by the horse stumbling and was not too serious. So, the two men and the horse had already walked out along the ditch.

He followed the footprints in the ravine and walked out. It was already dark. At the fork in the mountain path, he could only make out that the footprints were going back.

In the pitch-black night, the wind howled, as if hiding countless demons. Tuosang could no longer discern any footprints. He walked with a quick step followed by a slow one, as if the two men and the horse had vanished into thin air.

After a while, suddenly a mournful neighing of a horse was heard in the distance. The neighing was so shrill that it echoed for a long time in the dark night among the mountains.

Tuosang had heard the horse neigh many times before, so he immediately ran in that direction.

In the increasingly biting night wind, the horse let out another mournful whinny, almost shattering one's heart.

Tuosang rushed over and lit his fire flare. He saw a large cloak tightly covering two people. He lifted the cloak and found that both of them were unconscious and their bodies were ice-cold.

And the owner of that cloak was none other than Zhu Yu.

He didn't care why Zhu Yu was here or why she was with Jun Yu. He immediately separated the two, put a pill in each of their mouths, and then, carrying one person in each arm, ran down the mountain path.

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