мягкая зима

Глава 13

"Really?" Her emerald eyes lowered as she quietly watched Lan Long apply the medicine. "I heard that Ninth Brother was injured. Is that true?"

Lan Tong clenched her fist slightly at her waist and said, "Miss Jiu is injured in her waist."

"Oh." Lan Qi nodded lightly, tapping the table with her finger. "If you're going to get hurt, then hurt your chest or forehead. There's no point in keeping it there anyway. As for you guys... I won't give you a second chance. One mistake is enough."

Lan Tong and Lan Long trembled simultaneously, then lowered their heads and said, "Yes."

"Go down." Lan Qi looked at his bandaged arm.

"yes."

At the same moment, in a private room of an inn, Ming Er frowned as he looked at the knife wound on his shoulder.

"Young Master." The door was pushed open, and a slender man with exceptionally bright eyes walked in.

"How was it?" Ming Er turned to look at the man, his face regaining its gentle smile.

“We couldn’t find any clues. Those people seem to have nowhere to come from and nowhere to go,” the man replied.

"Oh?" Ming Er pondered for a moment, then said to the man, "No need to investigate any further."

"Young Master?"

“I think… I know who it is.” Ming Er hesitated slightly, then smiled calmly. “It’s alright, you can go now.”

"Young master, now that you know who it is, please tell me so that we can take precautions," the man said.

“No need.” Ming Er’s tone was gentle but his meaning was firm. “You may leave and attend to your own business.”

"Yes." The man withdrew.

"Mingying." Just as the man was about to leave, Ming Er called out to him again, "Have Mingluo come here for a moment."

“Yes,” Mingying replied.

After Mingying left, the room was quiet. Ming Er looked at the wound on his shoulder, his smile vanished, and a cold glint flashed in his empty eyes. After a moment, he regained his usual gentle demeanor, raised his hand to his shoulder, and murmured to himself, "It seems we were on the same page this time. I never expected there to be an opponent like you in this martial world. Heh, not bad, not bad." He looked up at the wound, a faint, cold smile playing on his lips.

After traveling for three days, Yuwen Luo and Ning Lang finally arrived in Yicheng.

Only then did the two realize that Lan Qi hadn't specified where to meet in Yicheng. Yicheng was so big, where could they possibly find Lan Qi? Standing on the street, they looked at each other, each lost and confused.

"How about we find an inn to stay in first?" Yuwen Luo suggested.

"Okay." Ning Lang nodded.

The two looked around and saw an inn to their left. They headed towards it, but after only a few steps, a man suddenly appeared from the opposite direction, walked straight up to them, and called out, "Excuse me, are you two Young Master Yuwen and Young Master Ning?"

The two stopped, looked at the man, and didn't recognize him.

"What is it?" Yuwen Luo asked, neither confirming nor denying.

“My master invites you two,” the man replied.

"Your master's surname is Lan?" Ning Lang spoke before Yuwen Luo could even reply.

"Yes." The man nodded.

Ning Lang's face lit up with joy, and Yuwen Luo quickly asked, "Where is your master?"

"Please follow me, gentlemen."

The man led the way, and the two followed him. After about half an hour, they arrived at a very bustling street, lined with shops on both sides and teeming with people.

The man led them into a restaurant, climbed to the second floor, and stopped in front of a room inscribed with "Hanlan Pavilion." They could faintly hear music coming from inside. "The master is inside. Please come in," the man said, opening the door for them, but he himself did not enter.

As Yuwen Luo and Ning Lang stepped into the room, the sounds inside became clear, and the door closed behind them again.

"Awakening from a dream, the cloud-covered screen is empty; the cuckoo's mournful cry echoes through the curtains; the heartless gentleman has vanished without a trace..."

The pipa strings rustled like rain, and a woman sang along with the melody in a delicate and melodious voice.

Yuwen Luo and Ning Lang looked at each other, and after a long while, they reluctantly walked towards the room from which the singing was coming. There was another room behind a screen. When they pushed open the door, they saw that the room was full of dazzling sunlight. After a moment, they were able to see the scene inside the room.

The room was quite elegant, with a round table in the center, on which were fine wines and delicacies. Three steps to the left of the table, a middle-aged woman with a graceful bearing sat on a stool, playing the pipa, while a pretty young woman of about sixteen stood beside her, singing softly.

"...Day by day, hatred grows heavier and heavier..."

On the soft couch by the window, Lan Qi, dressed in a light yellow men's suit, leaned back with his eyes closed, seemingly completely absorbed in the song. The bright sunlight streamed in through the window, bathing him in its warmth. He should have been radiant and dazzling, but he still possessed that alluring charm that both inspired awe and admiration.

"...tears fall like lotus blossoms, two lines of red on her cheeks."

The singing finally stopped, and Lan Qi opened her eyes, the bright sunlight suddenly dimming.

"Great melody, great song."

"Thank you for your praise, young master." The two women bowed.

Lan Qi turned his gaze to Yuwen Luo and Ning Lang, who were standing blankly by the door, and smiled, "You've finally arrived." He stood up and walked to the table, "Thank goodness I prepared wine and dishes early, but I've been waiting for so long."

"We don't know where to look for you," Yuwen Luo said, coming back to his senses.

"Heh, it was my oversight, I forgot to mention the location." Lan Qi laughed. "What are you doing standing by the door? Come over here, or you'll get cold."

The two hurried over and sat down.

"What kind of music do you like to listen to?" Lan Qi asked again. "This old lady plays the pipa very well, and this young lady is not only beautiful but also sings sweetly." As she spoke, she looked at the two women, her eyes full of charm.

Yuwen Luo followed and saw that, sure enough, the two women blushed slightly when Lan Qi looked at them. He immediately said, "We don't know anything about these things, so please feel free to do as you please, Seventh Young Master."

"Is that so... then forget it, you may leave." Lan Qi waved his hand to dismiss the two.

"Yes." The two women withdrew.

When only the three of them remained in the room, Ning Lang looked at Lan Qi with a confused and bewildered expression: "Are you dressed as a man now?"

"Hehe..." Lan Qi chuckled upon hearing this, opened her jade fan, and glanced at Ning Lang with her green eyes. "I am a man by nature, how could I be pretending?"

“But you said you were a woman that day!” Ning Lang said emphatically.

"That day I was a daughter, but now I am a man." Lan Qi remained calm and composed, without the slightest embarrassment.

"How can a person be male one minute and female the next!" Ning Lang exclaimed, his gaze fixed on Lan Qi, a flash of inspiration crossing his mind, "Could it be..."

Lan Qi raised an eyebrow.

"Could it be that you are really a monster in disguise, as the people in the martial arts world say, so you can be both male and female?!" Ning Lang blurted out.

"Hmm?" Lan Qi blinked her emerald eyes, then burst into laughter, "Hahaha... Heavens, Ning Lang, Ning Lang, there really is someone like you in this world... Hahaha..."

Sigh... Yuwen Luo covered his eyes and sighed.

"If you... if you were a man, our marriage..." Ning Lang blushed as Lan Qi laughed, but he still had to say what needed to be said.

"Don't worry, brother, I will marry you," Lan Qi immediately replied.

"Marry...marry...me..." Ning Lang stammered, his eyes widening in horror. "Are you really a man?"

"Of course." Lan Qi nodded, then suddenly leaned towards Ning Lang. Ning Lang quickly leaned back to avoid that bewitching face, but Lan Qi pressed on, finally whispering eerily in his ear, "Do you... want me to take off all my clothes for you to see?"

"Bang!" Startled, Ning Lang fell to the ground, his head hitting the ground hard. The pain brought tears to his eyes, but he still waved his hands and shouted, "Don't take off your clothes! Don't take off your clothes!"

Lan Qi stared blankly at Ning Lang on the ground for a moment, then threw his head back and burst into laughter, "Hahaha... I've never seen anyone like you before... Hahaha..."

Yuwen Luo sighed again, then helped Ning Lang up from the ground. "Let's eat. The road ahead is still long. You need to eat to have the strength to walk. Meeting Lan Qishao means you'll likely face a long and arduous journey in this life. You need to eat more to have the strength to endure it."

"Haha..." Lan Qi was still laughing, her blue eyes glancing at Yuwen Luo, but there was a strange look in them.

This meal was tasteless for Ning Lang, but incredibly enjoyable for Lan Qi, and for Yuwen Luo, it only elicited a few sighs. Regardless, they finally finished eating, and all three were quite full. After resting for a while, Yuwen Luo suggested that they set off now. Juncheng wasn't far from Yicheng; it would only take half a day, and they could stay overnight in Juncheng.

Lan Qi had no objections, so they paid the bill and the three of them left the "Hanlan Pavilion". As soon as they stepped out the door, the door of the private room next door creaked open and a person came out. The people on the corridor naturally looked at each other, and then smiles of surprise, joy and ulterior motives appeared on their faces one after another.

"So it's the Second Young Master." Yuwen Luo greeted him first.

"Is the Second Young Master also eating here?" Ning Lang asked with delight.

"What a coincidence." Lan Qi raised a slight brow.

"What a coincidence." Young Master Ming smiled elegantly, untouched by worldly concerns.

"Why is Second Young Master alone? If I had known you were next door, we could have shared a drink together." Lan Qi said as she reached out to take Ming Er's hand affectionately, but her hand was too high and landed on Ming Er's right shoulder instead.

"I was just about to head to Yingshan after visiting my friends when I unexpectedly ran into you all here." Ming Er also reached out to shake hands with Lan Qi, but he went a little too far and ended up grabbing Lan Qi's arm instead.

Then, quite naturally, the hand that was about to fall on the shoulder was grasped by another hand, and the hand that was about to grasp the arm was also grasped by another hand. The four hands were clasped together, and the two were about to have a heartfelt conversation about their deep friendship, but in an instant, the two of them were startled, looked up, and their eyes met. In a flash, a familiar scene from many years ago instantly flooded into their minds.

"So it was you!" The two men's expressions changed instantly.

Oh, it was you!

Ming Er's smile, as gentle as a spring breeze, thinned slightly, while Lan Qi's eyes, as clear as spring water, turned cold.

"What's wrong?" Ning Lang looked at the two people who were laughing and talking intimately in surprise. Why did they have to hold hands for so long? How did they suddenly become so affectionate? The two seemed to have a distant relationship in Changtian Manor.

Yuwen Luo glanced at the clasped hands, his veins bulging, and quickly said, "Since Second Young Master is also going to Yingshan, why don't you travel with us?"

"Hmm... sure," Ming Er replied. "I just wonder if Seventh Young Master would be willing?"

"I couldn't be happier," Lan Qi replied with a smile. "I can learn a few moves from the Second Young Master along the way."

The two finally let go of each other's hands, their sleeves falling down to cover their distorted grips.

This is good too, having you by my side...

The two looked at each other and smiled gently yet meaningfully.

VI. What is Right and Wrong (Part 2)

So the four of them set off together.

Along the way, Ning Lang fought off five groups of bandits, rescued an old woman who was about to hang herself, gave all the silver leaves in his pocket to the villagers in a dilapidated village, set a girl's leg that had been broken, and even helped an old man dig a well... He did quite a few good deeds.

Whenever Ning Lang did these things, Lan Qi would watch and laugh, occasionally asking: "Aren't you tired? What benefits did you get? Did the beauties offer themselves to you? Did the aunties and uncles recognize you as their son?"

Every single time, without exception, Ning Lang would end up blushing and speechless in response to Lan Qi's short teasing remark.

Ming Er watched with a smile, sometimes glancing at Ning Lang with his hazy eyes for a moment, and then softly praising him: "Kind-hearted and benevolent, or perhaps chivalrous and courageous."

Each time, Ning Lang was met with praise from Ming Er, it ended with his face turning red and him speechless, accompanied by a somewhat puzzled look in his eyes. He had clearly done good deeds, so why did he always feel inferior to this second young master? It seemed as if all the good things were done by the second young master, and he was just someone running errands.

As for Yuwen Luo, aside from occasionally helping Ning Lang, he would mostly take out a thick stack of books-sized, soft, and indistinctly made silver-shimmering paper and a similarly shimmering silver pen from his pocket and write something down. His gaze would sometimes wander among the three of them, and sometimes he would look intently at the vast sky. His still somewhat childish face was set with a pair of wise and mature eyes, which made Ming Er and Lan Qi dare not underestimate him.

On this day, the four arrived at the foot of Mount Meng. Mount Meng is located at the junction of Yunzhou, Huazhou, and Yuzhou. It is not high; compared to Cangmang Mountain, which is known as the highest mountain in the world, its height is less than one-tenth of that. However, it is the longest mountain range in the dynasty, stretching 1,600 li from east to west. After crossing Mount Meng, they entered the territory of Qizhou. Mount Ying is located on the Royal Plain in the western part of Qizhou.

It was midday, the sun was blazing, and the four rested for a while at the foot of the mountain, ate some dry rations and drank some water, before starting their ascent. They hoped to reach Qizhou that evening, find an inn to wash up, have a good meal, and get a good night's sleep. For the past few days, they had been traversing desolate mountains and wilderness, sleeping outdoors and braving the elements. Although all four were martial artists who had endured countless hardships since childhood, and Ning Lang, in particular, had grown up on Qianbi Mountain and wasn't afraid of this kind of life, they were all from noble families. While they weren't living in luxury every day, they were at least used to living in comfortable houses with soft beds and hot meals. Living like this every day was truly unsettling. However, Lan Qi was the most surprising. Judging by his magnificent attire, one would assume he was the most refined and meticulous person, but he didn't even flinch when drinking from mountain springs, eating wild game, or sleeping on the grass. In fact, he seemed more adept and relaxed than any of the others.