Intelligence Ultime

Chapitre 226

The Sky is Clear in Jianghu II 1

The moon is full again, the stars are few, and the sky is a deep blue.

Zhu Huihui lay prone in the grass, staring intently ahead.

The hazy moonlight draped a silver veil over the tranquil Dongting Lake, reflecting a full moon whose delicate, silvery light rippled in the breeze, like a silent dance. In the distance, dark mountains and islands rose and fell, dotted with the flickering lights of fishing boats. The lake water lapped heavily against the shore, wave after wave…

However, what drew her attention was not the serene lake and night view, but the two people silently facing each other across the rippling lake under the bright moon.

On a high, craggy rock by the shore sat a young man. He had a stern face, thick eyebrows, bright eyes, a high nose, and a square mouth, giving him a cool and resolute appearance. His black silk robe, trimmed with narrow silver edges, imbued the thick spring night with a chilling and desolate atmosphere, even though he sat there motionless.

On the lake, dozens of feet from the shore, there was a dragon boat, and on its bow stood a tall, slender figure. Although he was clearly a man, his elegant and leisurely posture was more graceful than that of an ordinary woman.

He stood with his back to the moonlight, his jet-black hair tied back with an apricot-colored ribbon, shimmering with a cool yet captivating light. He wore a light apricot-colored elegant robe, with a matching silk sash at his waist, outlining his handsome, slender figure. The crisp night wind stirred his clothes and hair, like the first rays of dusk, making him appear elegant, graceful, and exuding nobility.

Although he couldn't see his face clearly, Zhu Huihui recognized him at a glance. This elegant and refined-looking person was none other than Brother Liu Yue!

If she hadn't recognized him, she would have run away long ago instead of staying here to watch the show!

Because, from the moment she stepped out of the gates of "Going to Shuixing," Zhu Huihui had already made up her mind to retire from the martial arts world—even though she may have never actually stepped into it, that didn't stop her from deciding to stay as far away from that awful place as possible from now on...

An hour and a half earlier, Zhu Huihui, leaning on a cane and carrying a large bag on her shoulder, walked limping along the shore of Dongting Lake under the moonlight. Her heart was like the lake under the moon, seemingly calm, yet with undercurrents of emotion. A strong sense of loneliness, as if she were the only one in the world, made her heart ache.

Zhu Huahua, on the other hand, was quite relaxed, walking leisurely behind her, sniffing around and occasionally letting out a contented hum.

Zhu Huihui looked at Huahua's round body and felt a headache coming on.

She had packed up and brought out items from Xuan Yue Water Island, mostly small and portable, but many of them were gold and silver utensils, which were very heavy. After carrying them for only a few miles, she felt her shoulders were swollen from the weight and her injured leg was aching from exhaustion. After thinking for a moment, she cursed herself for being a fool, having a strong, hard-boiled laborer behind her and instead suffering herself! So she called over Zhu Huahua and tied the large bag to its back.

Hua Hua was very unhappy when something suddenly appeared on her back. She twisted her body to try to get it off, but when that didn't work, she ran to a willow tree and rubbed against it.

Zhu Huihui poked its rear with its cane and mimicked Feng Xuese's tone, saying, "Zhu Huahua, if you don't behave, I'll cut off your legs!"

Hua Hua is very perceptive and understood the threat in her owner's words. Although she snorted twice in protest, she eventually became obedient.

Zhu Huihui laughed a few times, the laughter carrying far across the empty lake. For some reason, a sudden wave of desolation washed over him, and he could no longer laugh.

After pausing for a moment, she rallied herself and said, "Alright, Flower, let's go!"

The thief was cowardly, fearing that if she went to Shuixing, she would discover that something was missing and send people to arrest her. So, although she continued along the lake shore, she chose to walk in sparsely populated and deserted places.

They walked forward to another place where the lake shore was rugged with towering rocks, and the water plants below the rocks were lush. Waves crashed against the shore, snowflakes splashed, and the water was wide. There wasn't even a boat on the lake, making it quite desolate.

Even ghosts wouldn't come to this place, and I doubt anyone who "went to Shuixing" will be able to find it anytime soon.

Zhu Huihui relaxed, and immediately felt that her injured leg was so painful that it went numb. She could no longer hold on and sat down with a thud.

The ground by the lake was damp, making her very uncomfortable. But she was too lazy to move, so she didn't care. She reached out and rolled up the cuff of her left trouser leg, gently massaging her skin in the moonlight. She felt that her leg was a little swollen again, and she couldn't help but curse a few times in her heart, but she didn't know who to curse, which made her feel very frustrated.

After rubbing for a while, he impatiently leaned back and lay down in the grass, gazing at the vast night sky. The moon was bright, the stars few; the empty night sky was dotted with only a handful of twinkling stars, which, under the moonlight, appeared dim and lackluster, possessing a fragile yet not decadent beauty—like the deep, dark, and boundless gaze of maple leaves in the snow…

Sure enough, as soon as he had some free time, Zhu Huihui started thinking about Maple Snow Colors again.

Soon it will be dawn. When the sun rises, will the old man set off for that Valley of Sorrow? Sigh! I wonder if the porcelain girl's miracle doctor mother can cure his eyes. If she can't, it'll be terrible. The old man has too many enemies and is too kind-hearted; if he goes blind, it won't be easy for him to survive in the martial world! But if she is cured… I'll be in big trouble! She ran away with his friend's things; if he catches her in the future, those two little thieving hands will truly be in danger!

But the world is so big, and we probably won't see each other again, so what's there to be afraid of...?

Although he felt there was a 99% chance his thief hands would be safe, the thought of never seeing him again filled Zhu Huihui with a sense of desolation, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Resting on the sound of waves crashing against the table, Zhu Huihui felt drowsy and slowly closed her eyes. In her hazy state, she suddenly heard a soft "ding" from a zither string, extremely faint yet extremely clear, as if it were ringing right next to her ear.

Having been chased for days, she was terrified and, before she could figure out what the sound was, she scrambled into a denser patch of grass. She held her breath and waited for a long time, but heard no other noise. So she carefully parted the grass and quietly peeked out.

Then, a black-robed man, as solitary and aloof as the rocks, appeared on the lake shore.

Black, black, black, men in black...

Zhu Huihui now turns pale at the sight of black; her first reaction upon seeing someone dressed in black is fear! However, upon seeing the handsome face of the man in black robes under the moonlight, she quickly calmed down.

The world is full of diverse people with varied appearances; no two faces are exactly alike, beautiful or ugly. While the saying "appearance reflects the heart" may not be entirely accurate, it certainly holds some truth. Some people have shifty eyes and a sinister look, revealing their wicked intentions at a glance; others have thick eyebrows and large eyes, possessing a dignified appearance that makes them seem like righteous heroes to everyone who sees them.

This man in black robes had such a heroic face.

Zhu Huihui felt a little relieved and looked in the direction the man in black robes was facing. There she saw the figure on the dragon boat in the lake, which looked both melancholic and beautiful in the moonlight.

Zhu Huihui's heart skipped a few beats.

It's Brother Liu Yue!

She hadn't seen him since he went to track down that witch. How could he be here? And who was that man in black robes? These two were staring at each other from a distance—what were they doing? Were they…having a tryst? Pshaw! That's not the right word. They weren't adulterers; what kind of tryst would two men have? Hmm, they must be preparing for a duel! These martial arts practitioners are so boring. If they don't like someone, they can just stab them in the back; why bother with this pretentious act…

However, in her experience, encountering such a fight scene is usually not a good thing; she might end up getting caught up in it for no reason. What's that idiom again? Right, "When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer as well." So, she'd better stay far away to avoid being implicated!

Although she understood, Zhu Huihui couldn't control her curiosity. She lay motionless in the grass, her eyes darting back and forth between Liu Yue and the black-robed hero.

At this moment, the black-robed hero frowned, looking at the black flute in his hand, seemingly quite troubled. After a long while, the flute slowly played a clear and melodious note.

On the dragon boat, Liu Yue's clothes rippled slightly, like the lake water under the moon. He gracefully sat down, holding an ancient zither at his feet on his lap. He seemed to blend into the night, his fingers gently gliding across the strings, producing a melodious sound.

The sounds of the zither and flute began to play simultaneously.

The flute's mournful and distant melody seemed to travel from the ancient border town under the setting sun, rustling all the way into the twilight of Jiangnan, into the frosty and dewy rivers and lakes, and towards the vast horizon. It was a poignant expression of unspoken emotions, like a longing and a lament, flowing across the empty lake and dissipating into the distance.

The music was crystal clear, like a cool breeze drifting through a sea of clouds, or a fleeting shadow passing through the bright moon—tranquil, gentle, free, unrestrained, and ethereal, untouched by the dust of the world.

Two different musical sounds intertwined, and Zhu Huihui vaguely recalled a clear, snowy night long ago.