I looked at Lou Xiyue, and he spoke those words at the same time as me, with a very strong presence. I thought to myself, I should stand on the same front as him in the fight against foreign peoples.
After saying that, I suddenly thought of a problem that I had been worried about.
I looked around and sure enough, everyone in the caravan sat down on the ground, silently watching the three of us, eating meat and drinking tea.
I said, "Zixia, let's talk about this privately."
Zixia's long hair fluttered in the wind. He raised his chin, his eyes sparkling. "I want to tell you under the moon that you are the girl I love, and I want you."
The entire audience was in an uproar.
I never knew cultural differences could be so vast. His comment made me feel like a courtesan bidding for a prize.
I helplessly rubbed my forehead. "Keep your voice down, keep your voice down..."
Lou Xiyue, fanning herself, glanced at me and said casually, "Then you two can talk slowly under the moon. I'm tired."
I grabbed him and said, "Are you just going to leave like this?"
He said, "What else?"
I said, "Can't you intimidate him? I thought you were a man of both literary and martial virtues, capable of benefiting all people and lasting for generations."
Lou Xiyue rested her chin on her hand, pondered for a moment, then walked up to Zixia and pointed to the nearby woods, "Let's go over there and have a fight."
Text [21] Along the Ancient Road (Part Two)
Zixia's lips curled into a carefree smile. "Alright..."
The tranquil night blankets the world, and Silver Moon Lake, like a sapphire embedded in the grassland, is enveloped in a silvery-white light. The wind stirs the green grass on the prairie, creating ripples of emerald waves, a scene of poetic beauty amidst the vast expanse.
Ji Jiu and I sat on a woolen felt, the full moon reflected in the clear lake water.
The merchant from the East played a long tune on his horse-head fiddle and took out a water bag from his waist to collect water.
The starlight illuminated this magnificent and beautiful scene.
I glanced at the grove of trees. Zixia and Lou Xiyue had been inside for a short time, and there had been no movement whatsoever.
He handed the cooked meat to Ji Jiu, saying, "Ji Jiu, are you hungry?"
Ji Jiu looked at me, the vermilion mark on her forehead making her look very pretty. She said, "I'm not hungry, I don't want to eat."
I kindly asked Ji Jiu, "Where are you from? How old were you when you joined the Jade Luo Sect?"
She said simply, "I was picked up by the Seventh Young Master on the streets of Nanyang."
I said, "Your seventh son has good taste; he only brings home pretty girls."
Ji Jiu's expression softened a bit. "Seventh Young Master is good to me."
I got playful and started weaving crickets by pulling up a blade of grass.
I said, "Ji Jiu, do you know Xiao Die?"
Ji Jiu shook his head.
I asked again, "Do you know?"
Chapter 4
"Do you know Shen Yunshuang?"
Ji Jiu shook his head again.
I said, "And there's Xiaomeng, Taohong, and Baige. After your seventh young master finishes fighting, you can ask him privately who these girls are."
Ji Jiu asked, "Who are they?"
I simply smiled and remained silent.
A mournful wolf howl pierced the sky, followed by howls from all directions, tearing open the wounds of the quiet night.
The merchants from the East beside them began to pack up their things in a panic. They hastily gathered their goods, mounted their horses, and prepared to leave.
Ji Jiu asked, puzzled, "What's going on?"
I said, "The wolf pack is coming."
Upon hearing this, Ji Jiu lightly leaped to her feet, jumped onto her horse, left me behind, and galloped into the grove, clearly heading to report to her Seventh Young Master.
Amidst the chaos, I clung tightly to a horse and scrambled onto it, intending to catch up with the main group. However, the people of the East were clearly terrified of being bullied by the wolves, and within a short time, they scattered like birds and beasts without leaving a trace.
I looked around and saw that it was pretty much the same no matter which direction I went, so I tightened the reins on the horse and galloped off into the unknown.
In the brief moment between my horsemanship and my observations of the landscape, I looked up at the sky. It was a full moon night, and wolves were roaming the land; I could almost hear their howls. Suddenly, a green, eerie light flashed before my eyes, appearing and disappearing coldly in the soft moonlight.
A shiver ran through me, and I reined in my horse, trying to figure out which way was the way to survive.