Lanting

Chapitre 22

As I walked past, I heard the woman behind me ask with concern, "Xiao? What's wrong?"

"It's alright, let's go, let's go take a look over there."

The two people behind them gradually disappeared into the distance, and Queyue also pulled Liu Zhi along, quickening her pace.

Only after they had walked far enough did Liu Zhi ask, "Why did you do that?" He had been holding it in for so long.

Queyue said calmly, "Because I don't want to kill him."

"What's the meaning?"

“There are a few people following them in the crowd.” Although she didn’t know what Adi was doing, she knew what to do just by looking at the situation.

Liu Zhi was quite surprised, "Really? I didn't even realize... Miss Zhijin, you're so amazing..."

Queyue patted his head. "You're still young, you just lack experience." Looking at the child beside her, she figured that in a few years, he would be quite remarkable…

But recalling the events of just moments ago, and that beautiful woman's cry of "Xiao" (a type of vertical flute), she knew all along that the name [Adi] wasn't his real name. [Adi] wasn't, and neither was [Yuxiao Gongzi]. So, was that cry of "Xiao" real or fake…?

"Let's go back." Just as Queyue was about to leave with Liu Zhi, a faint fragrance wafted on the wind—cold and noble, with a distant, aloof quality—Queyue stiffened, a pang of fear gripping her heart. This fragrance was so familiar to her; she could never forget it—

No... how could he be here? It can't be such a coincidence...

"The brocade weaver?"

Queyue calmed herself down. Perhaps she was being too sensitive. There couldn't be only one person in the world who used this fragrance.

"It's alright, let's go."

Back at Qinlou, Yi Moran was drinking tea in the back hall, seemingly waiting for their return.

Looking at their expressions, he asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Not having fun?"

"Master, listen to me, we were on the street today..." Liu Zhi explained everything clearly. Yi Moran listened with a faint smile, but her eyes were fixed on Queyue. After he finished speaking, she patted Liu Zhi's shoulder, "You've been out for a while now, and there are still many things waiting for you to do. Go on."

"Oh." Liu Zhi knew that Yi Moran might not be so harsh on her; he was busy with chores as soon as he came back from going out, so he was trying to get rid of her. So she obediently left.

Yi Moran looked at Queyue, "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"Not necessarily. He always has a reason for doing these things."

Even if I kept it from you?

"If they wanted to hide it from me, they must have had their reasons."

Yi Moran smiled, half-jokingly saying, "It's really a bit of a waste to see you stay by his side like this. Are you really not going to reconsider?" His words carried a hint of worry. Not for himself, but for the two of them…

Queyue simply said, "Master Yi is joking." Since Queyue hadn't rejected Adi, she naturally knew the boundaries she should follow. As for Yi Moran, regardless of the past, she shouldn't have any feelings for her now.

"Yes... I was just joking..." Since he hadn't intended to stop it from the beginning, why worry now? However, if Queyue had stayed by his side, it would indeed have prevented the situation they might face in the future. Hopefully, they would be lucky enough to avoid it.

From that day on, Adi never returned.

The next morning, the servant cleaning the room found a letter and a box of ointment in Adi's room. The letter succinctly stated that he needed to leave for a few days, leaving Zhijin the amount of medicine she would need for the next two days, and that he would return before it was all used up.

When Queyue received the box of ointment, it was as if the small box had burned her hand, and she immediately clenched it tightly.

The medicine is enough for about three or four days, which means that Adi will be back within four days.

Two days later, however, someone rushed to the yamen and whispered a few words to Constable Long in a panic. Long Yan happened to be with Que Yue and Yi Moran. Hearing the yamen runner's report, he was shocked and briefly told Yi Moran, "Something has happened at the yamen. Xue Xiuluo has been wreaking havoc around Shuiyue these past few days. He was finally captured by the neighboring county last night, but the neighboring county's yamen also suffered heavy losses. They urgently need us to assist in guarding him. I must take my leave now!"

Yi Moran paused slightly before responding, her brows furrowing slightly.

—Blood Asura captured? How could that be? If he were so easily caught by the authorities, he would have failed the name of Blood Asura. Was that really Blood Asura? What if it was someone else…

"Master Yi?" Queyue looked at his expression, her initial suspicion gradually turning into understanding. She suddenly turned to leave, but Yi Moran grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"Go and confirm."

"If he is really in the yamen jail, how can you confirm it?"

"We'll figure something out once we get there. We can't just wait here idly," Queyue said resolutely, but Yi Moran still wouldn't let go. Although she was Queyue and a woman who had weathered many storms, she had lost all her martial arts skills and her meridians weren't fully healed yet. How could he let her take such a risk?

"Let's wait a little longer. Maybe it's not Adi. Perhaps he'll be back in a couple of days..."

"That's just a possibility, you're not sure either, are you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have shown that expression just now. You guessed that the person who was captured was Adi? Why? Blood Asura is clearly someone else—Master Yi. In this situation, it's best not to hide it from me."

Yi Moran sighed softly. Indeed, although Adi did not want Queyue to know, given the current situation, it was better to tell her the truth so that she could make a plan.

“That’s right, there is someone else now, but that’s because Adi refuses to be the Blood Asura anymore.”

"...Adi was once...the Blood Asura?" Then, it's quite clear what Adi was forced to do by threatening her with the medicine that healed her. "...You think it was Adi who was captured?"

“Yes, because Blood Asura is impossible to catch. He shows no mercy, whether it's his target or the constables surrounding him. If he truly cannot escape, he will immediately kill himself to prevent anyone from catching him. But…”

“But Adi wouldn’t be that ruthless,” Queyue continued. “He’s long since loathed killing, and except for those who absolutely must be killed… he won’t use excessive force against those constables…”

If you add the fatigue from several days of travel, it's not impossible.

"I'll go to the neighboring town first, see how things go, and then decide." Queyue shook off his hand, grabbed a horse, and rode away.

Yi Moran stood there for a long time, and perhaps for a moment, he wanted to go with them.

However, here still stands the Qin Tower that [Yi Mo Ran] personally entrusted to him, along with the long-held thoughts and perseverance he had invested. His choice has always been to [protect], not to destroy.

"Master, aren't you going?" Liu Zhi, who had been silent the whole time, only asked when she saw him taking a step to go back to his room.

Yi Moran paused slightly, then smiled dismissively and asked, "Why should I go?"

"Because the curator wants to go, doesn't he?"

Yi Moran reached out and ruffled his hair. This kid—he uses all his shrewdness on these kinds of things.

After arriving in the neighboring town, Queyue found a place near the government office to settle down and observe the situation.

If the person in the prison is indeed Adi, there will be a flaw without her having to investigate—that flaw is Long Yan. The yamen runners here don't recognize Xue Xiuluo, but Long Yan has seen Xue Xiuluo and also recognizes Adi.

She gradually learned that there were two targets in the encirclement and capture of Blood Asura, a man and a woman. Most of the soldiers were killed or wounded in the effort to capture them, but the woman still managed to escape under the man's cover. Since the original head constable was also seriously injured and bedridden, Long Yan's arrival was a significant undertaking, temporarily taking over the command.

Queyue observed Longyan coming and going from a nearby teahouse, but seeing his increasingly complicated and conflicted expression, she understood.

When he came out of the yamen after a busy day, he looked up and was startled to see Queyue standing in front of him waiting for him. He then smiled and said, "Zhijin, what brings you here?"

Queyue did not laugh, but said only, "You should know why I came."

"Ugh... Ah."

Yes, of course he should know who that person in the cell was. He was also incredibly surprised when he first saw Ah Di in the cell, but Ah Di pretended not to recognize him and wouldn't answer any questions, leaving him feeling powerless and forced to accept the situation.

"Captain Long, let's find a place to sit down and talk this over."

Long Yan nodded. The main street was indeed not a good place to talk. The two found a tavern and sat down. Although they ordered a few dishes and drinks, they didn't have much of an appetite.

"What exactly is the relationship between the Brocade Weaving Brothers, the Adi Brothers, and the Blood Asura?"

"It's alright," Queyue said calmly, but with certainty.

"But he showed up at the place where Blood Asura was being hunted, and after being captured, he refused to say a word in his defense—"

“Just because he appeared there doesn’t necessarily mean he’s Blood Asura. Besides, no one in the martial world has ever seen Blood Asura, and no one knows his whereabouts. How would the authorities know that they’re hunting down Blood Asura?” Queyue slowly poured wine and handed it to him.

"The methods used in these bloody incidents are exactly the same as those of Blood Asura. It was only the day before yesterday that we finally rescued a survivor. Given Blood Asura's methods, he will definitely come back to hunt us down and kill us all. That's why the authorities have deployed everything to capture him..."

Queyue gently interrupted, "The so-called killing methods in the martial arts world, apart from a few with strange techniques or unique hidden weapons, are mostly not that different. And those who kill and wipe out entire families are not limited to Blood Asura. Since no one has ever seen Blood Asura and still survived, who knows how many of those bloody cases were really committed by Blood Asura, how many were wrongly identified, and how many were exaggerated by rumors—is Adi Blood Asura? After knowing him for so many days, doesn't Constable Long have any trust in him at all?"

"Well—I know Brother Adi is a kind and gentle person, how could he be the kind of cold-blooded killer? But he just won't say a word, and even if I wanted to help him, there's nothing I could do—"

Queyue was silent for a moment, then said, "I know you have duties to perform, and I'm sorry to put you in such a difficult position. Since we've known each other, I only hope you can help stall for as long as possible. After all, there's no evidence that he is Blood Asura, so perhaps there's still a chance."

"Of course, we're all friends. If Brother Adi has been wronged, I certainly won't stand idly by!"

Watching Long Yan gulp down a mouthful of wine, Queyue smiled and thanked him.

Delaying as much as possible would be best; there's still a chance—since there's no way to get through to the government offices, the only option is to wait for the Dark Pavilion and Blood Asura to make their moves—if they don't intend to abandon Adi, they'll naturally come to break him out of prison. If… I only wish there were no other ifs.

Queyue never left. She found a room in a nearby inn with a view of the prison and kept a close watch. Exhausted, she took a short nap fully clothed on the bed that night. Half-asleep, a familiar yet unsettling fragrance filled the room. The fragrance was so cold, so distant, even though the person was right beside her bed—someone was beside her bed!

Queyue suddenly woke up and sat up, but there was no one by the bed. The only sound in the room was her breathing, rising and falling slightly.

Was it just a dream...?

The fragrance in the air was so faint that it was almost imperceptible.

Chapter 42

After being startled awake, he couldn't fall back asleep. He got up and looked out the window, only to see shadows flashing into the prison in the darkness. The guards at the door were already lying on the ground—they had indeed come!

Queyue hurriedly went out, but the front door of the inn was already closed, so she went around to the back door.

Inside the cell, several dark figures flashed by, silently taking down all the guards. Adi sat in his cell, watching them fall, knowing they would never rise again. He didn't want to harm the innocent, yet these people still died because of him.

The cell door opened, and a dark figure darted in, calling out, "Xiao!" He hurriedly checked on Adi to see if he was injured, and only after seeing that he was indeed alright did he breathe a sigh of relief and pull down the black veil covering his face. A pretty face appeared before him.

"Xiao! You can't do that anymore! Why would you hurt yourself just to avoid harming those mediocre people? And you can't... put yourself in danger just to let me escape, you know? Your status is different from ours!"

Adi remained silent, not wanting to say anything about it.

A voice rang out from outside the cell door, “Let’s go. If we’re discovered, the soldiers will be here immediately.” The man pulled down the black cloth, revealing himself to be Blood Asura. He entered the cell and unlocked the locks on Adi’s hands and feet.

Adi came out with them and saw that it was actually the Iron Pavilion Master who had personally led his men to the prison gate. He sighed helplessly – it seemed that he couldn't leave this time.

"Someone's there!" a dark figure suddenly shouted, sword in hand—Adi, quick-witted, spotted Queyue approaching and immediately yelled, "Stop!"

He pushed aside the people around him and walked over. "Zhijin, what are you doing here!"

"If I hadn't come, I might never have seen you again, right?" Her eyes swept indifferently over the people around her. Was she really just here to break someone out of prison? Probably, she also wanted to kidnap someone else.

Adi was truly helpless. Although Queyue was indeed perceptive, she was now completely powerless to protect herself. "Even if you come, it won't change anything."

“Yes,” Queyue nodded honestly, “but we can’t take care of it.”

She never imagined that such a thing as a moth drawn to a flame would happen to her. It seemed she only wanted to confirm Ah Di's safe escape, and couldn't consider anything else. She was always known for her composure, so this fact quite frustrated her.

What she should have done was stay in the room and check through the window to make sure he left safely, instead of recklessly running out.

She was depressed, but Adi smiled. Although her actions were inconsiderate, he felt a little happy. Concern can cloud judgment, right? If she had remained calm and composed, he would probably be the one feeling depressed. Oh well, at least he was there; no one would hurt her.

Adi was once a Blood Asura; those who know him here have only ever seen him as that Blood Asura. When have they ever seen him speak so gently and smile so warmly?

The pretty woman's face had darkened slightly when she saw Xiao again. Although surprised by his change, she was happy. However, his smile was now directed at someone else—his smile belonged to an outsider.

"Xiao, we don't have any more time to dawdle, let's go." She said, and at this moment, the sound of "Xiao" confirmed to Queyue that it was Adi's real name.