Il arrive souvent des choses désagréables

Chapitre 42

"Why?" Everyone's expression changed.

"That path was winding and narrow, leading to the desert, where there was no one for thousands of miles. The exit was a quicksand area. I went there once and almost lost my life."

Everyone remained silent. I saw Mo Li's eyes flash with a cold light as he swept his gaze over their lowered faces, but then he suddenly smiled and said, "That's the dead end, good."

"Everyone's lost their way, so what's the good thing?" I was stunned. Looking at the expressions of the others, they were also flustered and confused, completely baffled as to where this "good thing" came from.

Mo Li withdrew his gaze from observing the crowd, looked at Sangza, and smiled, saying, "I do have a way to ensure these people never return, but I wonder if the old farm owner is willing to part with those horses."

Sangza looked down at the herd of horses in the valley, his brows furrowed, his expression sorrowful, but then he suddenly raised his head, "Good, as long as it can avenge those unjustly killed people on the grassland, what do these horses matter!"

"Alright, then have someone drive the horses in the valley one by one into the path behind the mountain."

"This..." Sanza looked shocked. "Isn't this sending them to their deaths?"

Mo Li nodded. “The Mo Kingdom cavalry came for these horses. If they see this scene after entering the valley, they will surely think you are moving the horses to continue your escape. As you said, no one except you knows where the path in the back mountain leads. I suppose the Mo Kingdom people will have no way to guard against it. When they chase the herd into the mountain path, we will push rocks to block the road from behind and trap them in the quicksand. What do you think of this plan?”

After listening, Sanza shouted, "Great!" The eyes of everyone around him lit up after hearing Eliza's translation. I stood beside Mo Li when I suddenly felt someone take a step back. Turning around, I saw only faces flushed with excitement; I couldn't tell who was who.

3

The fire in the valley had gone out, and the men had all taken out their weapons and were fully armed. The women, holding their children, gathered together. Although they were prepared to go up the mountain, each of them stared blankly at their husbands, fathers, and brothers with a look of desolation on their faces. Some of them had already begun to sob softly, their voices mournful.

After Mo Li finished making the arrangements, Elizabeth had already led the white horse to his side. When the white horse saw him, it lowered its long neck, exhaled white breath from its nostrils, and stopped moving, as if it had recognized its master.

Mo Li patted the horse's neck. I saw that it was already saddled, with a leather water bag hanging at the back, well-prepared, and a long whip coiled around it, which must have been prepared for him by Yi Li. She held the reins in her hand, her eyes glistening as she looked at him in the darkness, "Brother Mo, be careful."

I stepped forward and took the reins, answering for Mo Li, "We'll be careful, thank you."

Mo Li had already mounted his horse. Before Elizabeth could say anything more, he spoke without turning his head, not to her, but simply calling my name.

"Safety."

I responded, and with a light tap of my toes, I leaped onto the horse. I grabbed it tightly with both hands. The white horse was magnificent; with a flick of the whip, its hooves flew, carrying us all the way to the valley entrance. In my haste to look back, I saw that the figures of those people were already far away, vaguely blurred in the thick night, and could no longer be seen clearly.

We soon emerged from the valley, and he led me off a narrow path before urging his horse to gallop in another direction. The night wind on the grassland was strong, whistling past my face. I hugged his waist and buried my face in his back. The cold wind made my skin sensitive, but his back was warm, and his muscles tensed slightly the instant I pressed my face against his—just for a moment, then the jolt made me forget everything.

The white horse ran several miles with its back to the valley before stopping. It put me down in front of a big tree and said to me, "Wait here, I'll be right back."

I was stunned. "Shouldn't I be going with you to lure the army into the valley?"

"I don't need you," he said, then shook the reins and headed back the way he came.

I was terrified and grabbed the horse's head tightly. "Aren't you afraid I'll get lost?"

He frowned and pointed to the big tree, "Don't run away. If there's any danger, go up into the tree. Even if someone passes by, they won't notice you up there."

I still wouldn't let go. "What if I run away myself?"

He gave a low hum, "Where are you going?"

I choked. Back then, Mo Li was wary of me like a thief, even locking me up with a lock just in case I ran away. I never expected him to trust me so much now, leaving me behind and just walking away.

It's my own fault. I expressed my determination to be with him so strongly, revealing all my cards. Now I can't even get him to worry about whether he can keep me.

The ground trembled beneath my feet; I didn't need to press my ear to hear that the army was galloping towards us. The white horse, probably annoyed by my grip on its head, suddenly reared up, its nostrils flaring with hot breath that almost hit my face. My hand involuntarily loosened its hold, and Mo Li turned the horse around and rode away. In a moment of panic, I mustered my strength and leaped to its front, shouting, "I'll go with you!"

He finally lost his patience, and his face darkened. I was used to being bullied by martial arts masters, and I immediately knew something was wrong, but it was too late. Sure enough, in the blink of an eye, he had struck my pressure points, and I fell limply to the ground.

Mo Li jumped off his horse and hugged me. The white horse then walked alone to the tree and stuck its head into the tree.

The tree was so thick that it would take three people to encircle it. It had been there for countless years, and there was a huge hole at its base. The grass outside was taller than knee-high, which concealed it so that it could not be seen at a glance.

Mo Li glanced at the tree, then bent down and led me into the tree hole. The tree was lush and leafy, but the hole was not damp. I wondered if any animals frequently went in and out, because there was no grass growing inside. I leaned against the hole, where the grass outside closed in, like a natural barrier, making me very well hidden.

My pressure points were sealed, rendering me unable to speak. I could only look at him with mournful eyes. He had turned to leave, but seeing my sorrowful gaze, he finally spoke, saying in a low voice, "Ping An, the leaker may still be with them. I can't leave you in the valley; it's too unsafe. The Mo Kingdom has been making frequent unusual moves lately. The soldiers we encountered outside Lanjia Manor that day are very likely connected to them. The elders have colluded with the enemy and betrayed their sect, recruiting me for the mysterious person from beyond the pass. And you seem to be one of their targets. I don't know why, but at a time like this, it's best if you try not to show yourself. Am I right?"

I gasped. It seemed he knew everything, but had never told me.

I recalled what the man had said before we fell off the cliff: "Be careful of that woman; the lord wants her to be unharmed." A chill ran down my spine. These people acted strangely, their organization was tight-knit; they might even have been sent by the current ruler of the Mo Kingdom. Mo Li told me to try to stay out of sight, but he himself almost got killed by them.

How dangerous it would be to engage the army so rashly!

The more I thought about it, the more terrified I became. I tried to grab him and stop him from leaving, but I couldn't move my body at all; I couldn't even lift a finger.

I felt a warmth on my head as he bent down and gently patted the top of my head, saying only, "Wait for me." Then he turned and left without saying anything more.

The tall grass blocked my view, and I opened my eyes wide, screaming "No!" countless times in my heart. But the white horse was as fast as a shooting star, and in the blink of an eye it had already galloped to a very far place.

The wind tunnel continued its relentless advance, with only occasional slivers of light peeking through the dense grass. I strained my eyes to see, and the shadowy mass in the distance, like a dark cloud, grew clearer and clearer. The earth trembled, and the sound was like thunder. The direction they were heading, one man and one horse, was right towards that dark cloud.

I lay paralyzed in the tree hollow. The hollow was dry, but the tall grass swayed in front of me, and the night dew condensed. Waves of dampness rushed towards me, and I felt a chill in my heart. My hands and feet felt even colder, and suddenly I felt despair. It was as if this parting would mean I would never see him again.

4

The night was deep and the dew was heavy. I leaned against the cave wall, my mind blank, only knowing to stare intently in the direction he had left. The sky was pitch black, the grass was rolling, and the white horse had long since disappeared. Only that dark cloud-like shadow became clearer. The tall grass in front of me was thick and my vision was blurred. I could only vaguely see him slow down as he approached the valley, and finally he stopped, as if waiting for the people in the valley to appear on their own.

Mo Li waited for the army to enter the valley. But the cavalry were well-trained, and it was a major taboo for military strategists to rashly enter the sacred ground. How could they so easily follow Mo Li's plan? Just as they were at an impasse, a white light suddenly appeared on the horizon, followed by a muffled rumble of thunder, which was a sign that a storm was about to break.

Lightning illuminated the night sky as if it were daytime, and the dark, cloud-like shadows suddenly moved, piercing the valley like arrows. I was far away, but my heart followed the shadows, and my eyes were fixed on the direction they were heading. I was terrified by what I saw, while thunder continued to rumble across the sky, yet not a single drop of rain fell, and the air was filled with a suffocating smell.

I knew that Mo Li had led the army into the valley, but my acupoints were sealed, so I couldn't go anywhere. I could only leave it to fate, and it was impossible for me to rush into the valley to find out what was going on.

A sudden gust of wind arose, causing the long vines to sway wildly, brushing against my skin as if to sweep everything away. A thunderstorm was approaching, and there were unusual signs in the sky. I suddenly remembered what the Imperial Astronomical Bureau of the palace had said many years ago: one should never stay under a tree during a thunderstorm, otherwise one is very likely to be struck and die a violent death.

I gritted my teeth and closed my eyes. Mo Li, if I get struck by lightning and become a ghost, the first person I'll go to is you!

The thunderous roar rose again, but this time it didn't come from the sky. I heard a dozen or so galloping horses approaching from afar, heading straight for where I was. Although it was on this open grassland, their movements were so synchronized that it sounded as if they were all coming from the same horse. I feared that some cavalry had discovered my tracks, and a chill ran through me. But then I heard the horses stop and neigh loudly under the trees. They stood there with their backs to the tree hollows, clearly unaware that they hadn't noticed me.

Someone was speaking in broken Chinese, but the voice sounded familiar.

"Our spies at Chongguan have sent word that the princess has indeed not entered the city, nor has she shown any sign of leaving through the pass. We have lost her."

“You were too reckless. Otherwise, we could have captured her and the others on that cliff that day. Why go through all this trouble?” another voice said, speaking fluent Mandarin.

I was startled in the cave, firstly by their voices, and secondly by the word "princess" that he uttered.

I recognized that voice speaking broken Chinese. It was Timur, who had chased us to the edge of the cliff outside Lanjiazhuang and almost found us at the official road inn. He had broken the iron chain bridge, causing everyone on it to fall off the cliff. Except for Mo Li and me, the fate of the others is still unknown. It was at that moment that I heard the Han man shout that his master had ordered him to bring me back unharmed.

They're talking about a princess. What princess? Which princess? Princess Ping'an is dead. There's only Ping'an left in this world. Where is the princess now?

I panicked, wanting nothing more than to escape these terrifying figures, or to close my eyes, shut my ears, and pretend I didn't exist, that I saw and heard nothing. But my body was immobilized, and their conversation continued, pouring into my ears without a sound.

A voice rang out, filled with resentment, "What Vice General Tie did was not entirely wrong. The Right Envoy's martial arts are superb. Since he has already refused the Lord's offer of recruitment, if such a person cannot be used by the Lord, it is better to kill him as soon as possible to prevent future troubles."

Someone added ominously, "It's a pity that my elder brother, fourth brother, and I were delayed because we were healing our wounds in the manor that day. If we had been able to follow along the route with Vice General Tie, according to what that wealthy merchant said, the Right Envoy would have already been poisoned by the Bone-Piercing Nail, and killing him would have been a piece of cake."

Fear made me stop breathing. The elders were speaking, and those sinister old men had also arrived!

"Second Master, why do you say that? All of you have suffered losses in order to fulfill the Master's request. I am grateful that you have come to assist us this time."

Timur remained silent. Elder Huang's voice rang out, slightly shrill in the wind, "Our lord has kept this from us old folks for quite a while. If we had known earlier that this woman was the princess, we wouldn't have been so careless."

Elder Qing continued, “We carefully observed along the way and found a carriage abandoned on the side of the official road. The innkeeper has confirmed that two officials in official robes stayed overnight at another place. One of them seemed to have a sudden illness, but he recovered the next morning and changed his clothes and left. I found the bone-piercing nail in my fan in the room of these two people, and I believe that these two people are the Right Envoy and the Princess.”

"Temur!"

There was the sound of armored soldiers kneeling on the ground, followed by shouts from the Mohist language that I couldn't understand. Timur also shouted in Mohist, and then the noise stopped.

"It is my fault for failing in my duties. Please punish me, sir."

"Forget it, the Lord has already given instructions that you should atone for your sins. It's just that your brothers are as difficult to manage as you are. Sometimes I really don't know who the commander of this mission is, and whose orders should we take?"

The man spoke in a calm tone, yet there was a chill in his voice, which made me feel even colder. I was afraid they would discover my whereabouts, so I didn't dare to breathe loudly. Fortunately, there was rumbling thunder in the sky, and the wind was howling across the grassland. They had to raise their voices to speak, so they couldn't possibly notice my faint breathing in the tree.

Elder Qing spoke up, "Since the Right Envoy is not dead, he will surely bring the princess back to the sect. If he did not leave Chongguan City..."

“That means we’ll cross the Cloud Mountain and take the mountain path.” Elder Huang continued, chuckling twice. “Crossing the mountain will take at least three days. We can get ahead of him and wait at the only place on the way to the Holy Mountain. We won’t have to worry about him not showing up.”

"The elders have done so much; I will certainly mention it to the Lord."

"My third brother has already met with misfortune because of this matter... I hope you will put in a good word for us before the Lord." Elder Lan sighed.

Upon hearing this, I couldn't help but feel a surge of fear towards the sovereign they spoke of.

Who could possibly make these Holy Fire Cult elders so submissive? And Timur, this man was brave and clearly defiant against the commands of the Han Chinese who spoke Chinese, but as soon as he mentioned the word "Lord," he immediately bowed his head and became extremely respectful, not only asking for punishment but also kneeling down on the spot.

What a terrifying person he must be to be able to gather these completely different江湖人士 (jianghu figures, martial arts practitioners) and soldiers together, and to make them serve him wholeheartedly! Who exactly is he? And why is he so determined to find me?

The sky turned white in the distance, and thunder roared again. At the same time, the sound of rocks rolling down the mountain came from afar, but the thunder was like the sky collapsing and the earth splitting apart. The two sounds mixed together, making people feel confused.

I was startled, realizing that the Mo Kingdom cavalry had entered the valley, and Sangza and the others were rolling down the mountainside to block their retreat, as Mo Li had instructed.

The people under the tree were also startled by the strange noise. The Han man asked, "What happened?"

Before Timur could answer, Elder Qing spoke up, "Such thunder is sure to bring a downpour. We should not linger under the tree; it is more important to continue our journey."

The Han man replied, "Second Master is absolutely right. Timur, you, send someone over there to investigate, and report back to the group after you have ascertained the situation."

Timur responded, and immediately the sound of horses' hooves galloped out towards the valley, while the rest of the men mounted their horses and prepared to leave together.

I breathed a sigh of relief. No matter what happens later, it's always good to stay away from these jinxes right now.

"Wait." Someone spoke, followed by footsteps, the sound of clothes rubbing against the tall grass, moving, approaching, getting closer to me.

The voice was sinister, carrying a sharp, deathly undertone.

He crouched down and said, "There are people here."

Ever since I learned that I wouldn't live past sixteen, I've never really cared about the word "death." I always felt that living in such a tiny place as the palace, and being full of illness, what joy was there in living, and what suffering was there in dying?

Later, I met Ji Feng. He said I was superstitious and that the Taoist priest's words were not credible. He said that the world is vast and there is more than just the imperial palace. He also said that I would definitely live a long life and asked if I wanted to be with him.

From that moment on, I suddenly felt a deep longing for the word "life." Only by living could I see him again, only by living could I be with him. Why should I die?

That's how I endured three desolate years flying atop Qingcheng Mountain; that's how I waited, clinging to a sliver of hope, for him to reappear. Now, I've finally managed to be with him again, but if I fall into the hands of these people, if I die…

Fear gripped me like a giant hand, crushing me into mud. Flashes of white light appeared before my eyes; they weren't lightning from the sky, but terrifying colors that seized my soul and left me breathless.

It was too late. The iron fan-shaped bone pierced through the grass at the cave entrance, its dark tip appearing before my eyes. Just as I was filled with terror, suddenly there was nothing behind me, and I fell backward...

5

I don't know how long I fell. At first, I heard faint exclamations coming from the cave, but then all the sounds and light disappeared without a trace, leaving only the endless fall.

As I fell, I was in a daze, wondering if I had fallen into hell. Suddenly, I felt something strange beneath me—a large net. The force of my fall tightened and straightened it, and the tangled ropes creaked and groaned as they were pulled. Fortunately, I didn't break through it, and it eventually brought me to a stop.