Snow Valley and Ice Peaks (Part 3)
That night, Ruan Ziya was plagued by nightmares. In one dream, she dreamed that she had become a cripple and was taken back to Yingshan for a public trial. In another dream, she dreamed that Mozhu was standing in the purple bamboo forest, smiling and questioning her: "Why did you betray me?"
Ruan Ziya suddenly opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by darkness. She was momentarily confused and couldn't tell if she was still dreaming. However, she felt her cheek pressed against a strong chest and being held tightly in a warm embrace.
A thought struck her, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Mo Zhu?"
Murong Wuhen was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "It is me, Murong Wuhen."
He relaxed his embrace, lying a little further away from Ruan Ziya, and felt a wet patch on his chest. He couldn't help but ask, "Did you have another nightmare?"
Ruan Ziya snorted, turned her back, and did not answer.
Murong Wuhen waited for a moment, and seeing that she was shivering, he thought she could hardly bear the cold night. He couldn't bear it, so he moved over and put his arm around her again.
Ruan Ziya struggled a few times, only to hear Murong Wuhen say angrily, "What are you struggling for? It's not like I haven't held you and slept with you before!"
She was furious, but then she heard Murong Wuhen's voice suddenly soften as he whispered, "After that day... I haven't touched another woman."
Ruan Ziya was taken aback. Murong Wuhen coughed and gently patted her back, coaxing her softly, "Go to sleep." He was treating her like a child, trying to lull her to sleep. Ruan Ziya was both amused and exasperated, but she felt a strange sense of peace as his hand stroked her back. A wave of drowsiness washed over her, and soon she fell into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Murong Wuhen was delighted to see that although Ruan Ziya was still weak, her spirits had improved considerably. Seeing that it was already bright, he frowned and asked, "Why hasn't that little girl Li Feiqing come over yet?" He was about to leave the cave to look for her when he saw a figure flash at the entrance; Li Feiqing had already entered.
The two of them worked together to circulate their internal energy. After the energy in Ruan Ziya's body was regulated, it was no longer as chaotic as it had been the day before. In addition, Murong Wuhen and Li Feiqing were getting along better and better. They completed a full cycle of internal energy circulation in just half a day.
Ruan Ziya broke out in a sweat, and her lips gradually regained their color. Murong Wuhen knew that she was out of danger. In a few more days, her internal energy would be fully restored, and her power would be restored. So he smiled and said to Li Feiqing, "Thank you. This time, I, Murong Wuhen, owe you a favor. I will definitely repay you in the future."
Li Feiqing gave him a cold look, said nothing, and turned to leave.
Murong Wuhen watched her retreating figure and chuckled, "This little girl is quite stubborn."
Ruan Ziya sneered from the side and said, "You were captivated by this beautiful girl. Can't you see that her demeanor and behavior are different from usual today? She was just pretending to be like this so that you wouldn't suspect anything."
Murong Wuhen's eyes flashed, his expression turned sinister, and he said in a deep voice, "You mean..."
Li Feiqing returned to the cave and silently wiped Gu Qingyun's body and changed her bandages. Suddenly, she whispered, "Second Senior Sister is no longer in danger of death. Tomorrow, we will guide her true qi to help her recover her strength."
Gu Qingyun hummed in agreement. Seeing that she looked distracted, she said softly, "You don't need to do anything against your own will for my sake."
Li Feiqing stared at him blankly, tears streaming down her face, and said in a trembling voice, "But I want you to live a good life even more."
Gu Qingyun pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "There is a way that may not harm her life."
Night falls.
Ruan Ziya lay in Murong Wuhen's arms, recalling how busy he had been during the day, melting snow to boil water and wiping her sweaty body, and blushed slightly.
Murong Wuhen held her close, feeling her eyelashes gently brush against his arm, and asked softly, "You're not asleep yet?"
Ruan Ziya gave a soft "hmm".
Murong Wuhen asked again, "What are you thinking about?...Mo Zhu?"
Ruan Ziya blushed and whispered, "I'm thinking about tomorrow."
Murong Wuhen said, "Since your life is no longer in danger, if that girl seeks her own death tomorrow, at worst she won't be able to recover her strength and will have to make plans after leaving the valley... With me protecting you, I won't let anyone bully you."
Ruan Ziya nodded and said, "If she makes any unusual moves tomorrow, you must act immediately, otherwise both of us will be in mortal danger."
Murong Wuhen chuckled softly, "Don't worry, the internal energy in your body is no longer clashing with each other, and I'm prepared. Do you think I'd be afraid of this little girl?"
He hugged Ruan Ziya tighter and whispered, "Go to sleep. Don't think about Mozhu tonight."
※※※※
Li Feiqing tossed and turned all night. As soon as it was light, she opened her eyes, calmed herself down, sat up, and served Gu Qingyun some wild fruit.
Seeing her expression, Gu Qingyun knew that she had already made up her mind, and said softly, "Be careful."
Li Feiqing nodded silently, and seeing that it was already broad daylight, she walked towards the stone cave.
Once inside the cave, Murong Wuhen exchanged a glance with Ruan Ziya, took her hand, and said with a smile, "Let's begin."
Li Feiqing reached out and grasped Ruan Ziya's other hand, silently channeling her inner strength into her body, as Gu Qingyun's words from yesterday echoed in her mind.
"Once you two guide Ruan Ziya's true energy to the Yinjiao acupoint, immediately strike and kill Murong Wuhen. This is where the Ren and Du meridians meet, which may prevent her true energy from dissipating."
Li Feiqing was not confident of landing a fatal blow. She knew that if Murong Wuhen's internal energy fluctuated even slightly in his dying moments, Ruan Ziya's true energy would dissipate, resulting in paralysis or even immediate death. Remembering that Ruan Ziya was her master's most beloved daughter, she was filled with hesitation.
Then he thought: If I don't make a move, do I really have to wait for her to recover her strength and kill Gu Qingyun with my own hands? Thinking of this, he calmed down and focused on slowly guiding the true energy in Ruan Ziya's body along the Du meridian to the Yinjiao acupoint.
While guiding Ruan Ziya's internal energy along the Ren meridian towards the Yinjiao acupoint, Murong Wuhen kept a close eye on Li Feiqing's every move. His skill was far superior to Li Feiqing's, and he sensed that the closer her internal energy got to the Yinjiao acupoint, the more obvious the fluctuations became. Knowing what she was planning, a cold smile appeared on his lips. He was just waiting for her to withdraw her internal energy and prepare to attack him before he withdrew his strength and subdued her.
Just as their true energy was about to converge at the Yinjiao acupoint, the ground suddenly shook slightly. Murong Wuhen and Li Feiqing were startled when they suddenly felt Ruan Ziya's true energy become chaotic, flowing around in all directions within his body and colliding with each other.
It turned out that after Ruan Ziya entered a meditative state, she was completely focused. When the ground shook, it caused her mind to tremble, which led to the dissipation of the true energy she had painstakingly gathered in the previous two days.
Murong Wuhen felt the ground shake slightly again, knowing it was the aftershock of the earthquake a few days ago. He was secretly alarmed: if Li Feiqing were to make a move now, wouldn't it be easy for her to kill the two of them?
But if he withdrew his palm at this moment, Ruan Ziya would surely die. After a slight hesitation, he poured all his inner strength into Ruan Ziya's palm to suppress the chaotic true energy in her body.
Li Feiqing, however, made no move, but instead restrained Ruan Ziya from the side, guiding another stream of true energy back towards her Du meridian. The two worked together until evening, finally managing to reintegrate the true energy within Ruan Ziya's body into her eight extraordinary meridians.
Murong Wuhen felt a little calmer, but then a thought flashed through his mind: when he suppressed Ruan Ziya's scattered true energy just now, it seemed that the little girl deliberately held back her strength.
Before he could think it through, Li Feiqing had already stood up and struck several vital points on his chest.
Murong Wuhen had exhausted a great deal of internal energy and was unable to dodge. He felt numbness in his chest and was unable to move his whole body.
Li Feiqing drew her longsword and said coldly, "Murong Wuhen, today is your death day!"
Murong Wuhen gave a bitter smile, knowing that this sudden change was due to his carelessness, and he had fallen into the trap set by this little girl, Li Feiqing.
Li Feiqing thrust out her sword, but Ruan Ziya whispered, "Junior sister, don't kill him!"
Hearing Ruan Ziya call her "Junior Sister" for the first time, she was startled and stopped stabbing with her sword. Turning to look at Ruan Ziya, she saw a hint of panic in her eyes and said hatefully, "Second Senior Sister, why are you protecting this villain? Do you know that he poisoned Master to death!"
Murong Wuhen snorted and said, "Nonsense, when did I poison your master?"
Li Feiqing said angrily, "You sent your fifth senior brother to poison me, do you think I didn't know?"
Ruan Ziya said softly, "Junior sister, I questioned Lan Lang in detail that day, and Murong Wuhen absolutely did not instruct him to poison my father. Otherwise, I would have been the first to not let him go."
Li Feiqing was taken aback, and then she heard Ruan Ziya say, "If you let him go, I will make a solemn vow with him that I will never harm Gu Qingyun in this valley."
She glanced at Li Feiqing and said, "If you kill him, there will be no one else in this world who can join forces with you to heal my wounds."
Li Feiqing had long sensed the powerful and strange cold internal energy within Ruan Ziya's body, and knew that what she said was true. However, she would never dare to let her release Murong Wuhen so easily.
Ruan Ziya said, "When my true energy was dissipated just now, you did not take the opportunity to attack because you were afraid of hurting my life. Junior sister, since you care about our fraternal bond, I, Ruan Ziya, will not do anything that would betray your trust."
Li Feiqing said, "I believe you, but I don't believe him."
Ruan Ziya said, "Murong Wuhen, quickly make a solemn oath to my junior sister."
Murong Wuhen was usually proud and arrogant, so how could he easily lower his head? He sneered and was about to speak when he saw Ruan Ziya's beautiful eyes staring at him without blinking, full of pleading. His heart softened and he said in a low voice, "I, Murong Wuhen, hereby swear that as long as I am in the valley, I will never harm Gu Qingyun in the slightest. If I break this oath, may I be bitten by ten thousand insects and die without a burial place."
Hearing him make such a solemn oath, Li Feiqing felt somewhat relieved. She sheathed her sword, said nothing, and left the cave.
Murong Wuhen and Ruan Ziya sat and lay on the ground, respectively, unable to move. After a long while, Murong Wuhen suddenly chuckled softly.
Ruan Ziya blushed and asked, "What are you laughing at?"
Murong Wuhen said leisurely, "You never bow your head to anyone in normal times, but now you're going so far as to beg her for me. And you still say you're not in love with me?"
Author's Note: Please don't criticize me if the writing isn't great, considering the update schedule... Time for a nap.
Snow Valley and Ice Peaks (Part 4)
Ruan Ziya turned her head away and said softly, "I was only trying to save my own life. I was just being presumptuous."
Seeing that she was stubborn, Murong Wuhen smiled slightly and said nothing more, but he was secretly pleased.
Not long after, footsteps were heard, and Li Feiqing had returned. She looked at Murong Wuhen with a cold face, then suddenly reached out and put a pill into his mouth, saying, "Swallow it."
Murong Wuhen was taken aback, then felt a spicy and cold sensation in his mouth. Knowing what it meant, he laughed and swallowed the pill.
Li Feiqing said coldly, "This poison will not take effect for a year. Once we leave the valley, Hua Liran will give you the antidote."
Murong Wuhen laughed and said, "Now that you've sworn a poisonous oath and taken the poison you gave me, you should be at ease, right?"
Li Feiqing snorted and ignored him. She stepped forward to help Ruan Ziya up and asked in a low voice, "Senior Sister, have you finally acknowledged me?"
Ruan Ziya said with a wry smile, "I am no longer a disciple of Yingshan. Recognizing me as your senior sister will probably not do you any good."
Li Feiqing said, "But you will always be Master's most beloved daughter. I know that Master has always been thinking of you."
Ruan Ziya sighed softly. Li Feiqing recalled the past and said, "The night Master passed away, I heard people walking by outside. You were already on the mountain then, going to see Master, weren't you?"
Ruan Ziya nodded slowly and said, "Father always thought I was dead. That night, I only dared to peek at him through the window. Later, when I went to the back mountain, I saw you and Linlang being bullied by this boy, so I stepped in to help." As she spoke, she turned her head and glared at Murong Wuhen.
Li Feiqing pondered for a moment and said, "You have always protected Yingshan. You even went to the martial arts tournament alone that day to cause trouble for Zhan Hengye and avenge Yingshan. Senior sister, in your heart, you still consider yourself a disciple of Yingshan, right?"
Ruan Ziya remained silent. Li Feiqing took her hand and whispered, "Senior Brother knows your identity. Once we leave Snow Valley, you can come back to Shadow Mountain with me and ask him to reinstate you as a disciple, okay?"
Before Ruan Ziya could answer, Murong Wuhen coldly interjected, "No."
Li Feiqing turned to glare at him, but then heard Ruan Ziya sigh, "He's right, I can never go back to Yingshan Sect in this lifetime."
Li Feiqing wanted to persuade her again, but Ruan Ziya smiled bitterly and said, "Junior sister, do you know why I betrayed the sect and almost lost my life?"
Li Feiqing said in a low voice, "Is it because of the former leader of the Demonic Sect, Young Master Mozhu? But... he has been dead for many years, so why bother..."
Ruan Ziya smiled and said, "That's right, it's for Young Master Mozhu, but it's not entirely for him..."
She paused, her expression wistful, her thoughts drifting back nine years to that evening when she met the Ink Bamboo Prince in this snowy valley.
Ruan Ziya still clearly remembers that winter day, when the sky was high and the land was vast, she and her senior brother traveled together to the Northern Plains.
That day, she was having so much fun that she heard there was a hot spring on the snow mountain and insisted on going to see it. However, her senior brother firmly refused, seeing that it was getting late.
She was always willful, and after arguing with her senior brother, she stormed back to her room. The more she thought about it, the more indignant she became. She thought to herself, "If my senior brother is unwilling to go with me, can't I go by myself?" So she secretly slipped out of her residence and went to the snow mountain alone.
It was already sunset when she reached the halfway point of the mountain and discovered the hot spring. She then realized that her trip had been extremely wise.
Seeing the snow all around her, and the steam rising above the hot spring, she felt incredibly happy standing alone in this vast world. She immediately took off her clothes, walked towards the hot spring, and soaked in the water.