Le voyage d'un mendiant à travers le monde

Chapitre 66

Snowflakes danced wildly, blurring the world into a misty haze. He trudged up the rugged mountain path, the Jade Screen Peak towering a thousand feet ahead, like a jade screen reaching into the clouds, appearing and disappearing in the snow. This was the most treacherous part of Huangshan, the path narrow and steep, a slight misstep could send him tumbling down the cliff. Coupled with the blizzard, although his steps were steady, his journey was still extremely difficult.

He never stopped along the way, surrounded by ancient pines and strangely shaped rocks. Occasionally, startled animals would dart across the snow, bringing a little commotion. Snowflakes scattered on the stone steps, forcing him to slow his pace and brace himself against the rock face with his right shoulder to maintain his balance. Amidst the blizzard, it took him nearly two hours to reach the summit.

It was already late when he calmed his breathing, and braved the heavy snow to walk alone to the cliff, where he slowly leaned against a withered tree and sat down.

Dusk fell, and the north wind howled, fluttering his low-hanging sleeves, causing the silver thorns on his cuffs to tremble slightly. Yet he seemed to have forgotten the bitter cold, raising his face to gaze at the distant Tian Du Peak.

Snowflakes fall, and the lone, proud mountain peaks stand alone beneath the gloomy sky, as if they have waited for a thousand years, remaining silent and still. Despite the ravages of wind and frost, and the passage of time, they have always maintained the same posture, unchanged in the slightest.

Meanwhile, on the muddy path, Yue Ruzheng took the cloak Shao Yang handed her and wrapped it tightly around herself. She mounted her horse and slowly rode forward against the wind and snow. Huangshan was already far behind her; in the dim night, she couldn't even see the outline of its peaks.

Her hooves trod on the ice chips, leaving hard, uneven tracks, just like her heart.

It has been almost four years since she met Tang Yanchu, and she never imagined that one day he would appear in the martial arts world in such a way.

Yue Ruzheng wondered, somewhat dazed, if she had just been dreaming. In her dream, pear blossoms fell like rain, the moonlight was soft, and a young man carrying a bamboo basket slowly walked towards her from the mountains, his eyes as dark as ink, and a shy smile on his lips.

Fine snowflakes landed on my cheeks, melting away quickly after being damp and cold.

When Lian Junchu left Yuping Peak, it was already night. Under the pitch-black sky, he walked alone on the deserted mountain path. The sound of the pine trees rustling in the wind rose and fell continuously, like the morning bell and evening drum, aging people's hearts.

He walked for a long time, until late at night, before finally returning to the inn.

In the darkness, Danfeng anxiously looked around. Upon seeing him return, her eyes reddened as she ran to him, exclaiming, "Young Master! I thought something had happened to you! Chongming has already gone out to look for you!"

Lian Junchu paused, then said softly, "I'm sorry I'm late. Where did Chongming go? I'll go find him and bring him back."

"No need, I'll send someone to find him." Seeing Lian Junchu covered in snowflakes and her clothes disheveled, she widened her eyes. "What have you been doing?"

Lian Junchu walked up the stairs by herself and said, "The mountain path is just difficult to walk on, what else can I do?"

Danfeng pouted, her eyes still filled with doubt, but seeing that he was no longer speaking, she knew that asking would be pointless, so she could only push him into the room and fetch clean clothes to change him.

Lian Junchu stood by the bed and said, "I can manage on my own. You can go out and rest."

Danfeng paused for a moment, stepped aside, placed the clothes on the bed with a rather dejected expression, and left, closing the door behind her.

Lian Junchu leaned against the bed railing, took off her boots, moved the basin of water beside the bed, washed her feet, bent down, untied the belt of her robe, then raised her arm, bit the sleeve with her mouth, and slowly pulled it off.

Underneath his pale blue lined robe was a white undershirt, but the sleeves of the undershirt only reached the length of his arms. On his only remaining arm, an iron cone was tightly fitted, extending to below the elbow, with a hole at the tip from which a narrow, slender short sword would be thrust out.

The outer sides of the iron cone were covered with sharp spikes, which gleamed coldly in the candlelight. After removing the garment, four silver chains were seen running through the rings at the end of the iron cone, crossing over Lian Junchu's shoulders, and securing the iron cone to his arm along his chest and back.

He used his feet to place the clothes he had changed out of on the chair in front of the bed, then spread the clothes that Danfeng had brought out on the bed. He lay back down, put his arms into the sleeves, and then sat up. The side of this garment was different from ordinary clothes; it did not have ties, but was connected by silver buttons. He bent down and fastened the side of the garment with his feet.

The candlelight flickered, casting shifting shadows in the room. Lian Junchu stared at his severed arm, then suddenly his shoulders slumped, and two gleaming short swords emerged from the iron cone. He rose, blew out the candle, sat on the edge of the bed, and slowly raised the two swords attached to his arm, crossing them before him, examining them expressionlessly…

In the early hours of the morning, Lian Junchu was awakened by a series of urgent knocks on the door.

"Who?" he asked, sitting up.

"Young master, it's me." Danfeng's voice sounded very anxious.

Lian Junchu quickly put on her lined robe, and before she could even tie the belt, she jumped off the bed and hurried to the door. When she opened the door, she saw Danfeng with tears in her eyes and a flustered expression.

He was startled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Danfeng pouted and sobbed, "Last night I sent two people to look for Chongming, but they didn't return even after midnight! I went out and searched for a long time, and all I found was Chongming's sword, and there was blood on the ground!"

Lian Junchu was startled and snapped, "Why are you only telling me about last night now!"

"I can see you're very tired since you came back..." Danfeng said, feeling wronged.

Lian Junchu sighed and said, "Never mind, just take me to that place now." With that, she started to walk out.

"Young master, your clothes!" Danfeng helped him straighten his clothes as she ran quickly downstairs with him.

Lian Junchu and Danfeng arrived at the place where bloodstains remained. It was located beside a path leading to the city, surrounded by dense pine and cypress trees. The snow in the forest had not yet melted, and bloodstains were scattered on it. A long sword was stuck diagonally into a thick pine tree, deep enough to reach the hilt.

Danfeng stepped forward, forcefully pulled out the longsword, and handed it to Lian Junchu. He looked down at it and saw that the blade was chipped, indicating that it had been through a fierce battle.

"Young Master, could it be that the people from the Emei Sect and Tingyu Manor are unwilling to accept defeat, and..." Danfeng said nervously, but stopped speaking when she saw Lian Junchu silently walk to another pine tree.

Sword marks crisscrossed the tree trunk. Lian Junchu examined them closely in the dim morning light, her expression gradually becoming solemn.

Danfeng looked at him anxiously, but dared not ask. After a while, Lian Junchu turned around, silently took a few steps forward, and then stopped.

"Young master... can you tell who is fighting Chongming?" she asked tentatively.

Lian Junchu snapped out of her daze, lowered her eyes, and said, "Danfeng, go to Luzhou."

"Luzhou?" Danfeng was suddenly shocked.

From the day she and Chongming arrived at Seven Star Island, she had been solemnly warned that there were a few words that she absolutely could not mention in front of the young master.

One of them is Luzhou.

On the official road leading to Luzhou, two fine horses galloped past, splashing snowmelt everywhere. Shao Yang, leading the way, saw the city gate not far away and reined in his horse, saying, "Ruzheng, Lujiang is just ahead. I see you're quite tired; why don't we go into the city and find a place to rest?"

Yue Ruzheng's hands were red from the cold, and she looked very tired. She hesitated and said, "Now that we've arrived in Lujiang County, why don't we just go all the way back to Luzhou?"

"You haven't slept for a day and a night. How can you keep going like this?" Shao Yang frowned, spurred his horse to her side, grabbed her reins, and said seriously, "Come with me to find an inn."

Left with no other choice, Yue Ruzheng followed him into Lujiang County. It was nearing dusk, and there were few pedestrians on the street. Lights were just coming on in the houses along the street, and the aroma of food filled the air—a most ordinary yet heartwarming scene.

As Shao Yang searched for an inn, he asked, "I saw you get hit by a flying rock the night before last. Has your leg injury healed?"

Yue Ruzheng gently pressed her left knee and whispered, "It should be fine now."