Xiaoman squatted down, cupped his head in her hands, and said, "Your ministers insist that you become emperor. Once you become emperor, you will have great power and can do whatever you want."
Yelü Jing sighed and remained silent.
Xiao Man said softly, "You really like Ze Xiu, don't you? You want to travel with him, right?"
Yelü Jing's face lit up immediately, and he said urgently, "His name is Zexiu! Good girl, if you can help me, I will be willing to die! Just tell me what you want!"
Xiao Man giggled, revealing a row of clean, even teeth that gleamed.
"Then let's make a deal."
***********
Yelü Jing supported himself on the ground and barely managed to straighten up. Even this simple movement caused him to cry out in pain. Heaven knows where he got the strength to keep bothering Zexiu.
Yelü Xianghua, whose pressure points had just been released, came over to help him with utmost loyalty, but was swatted away by him: "Go back to your father. Tell him what I just told you, and don't delay."
Yelü Xianghua hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "But... protecting the prince is more important."
Yelü Jing urged, "You must hurry back to show your loyalty to me! Go now!"
Yelü Xianghua could only walk a few steps slowly, while Yelü Jing waved his hand vigorously: "Hurry up! If you're late, I'll hold you responsible!"
Yelü Xianghua then turned around and ran away quickly.
Yelü Jing breathed a sigh of relief, looked up at Xiaoman, chuckled, and murmured, "Your wish has been fulfilled, now it's my turn, isn't it?"
Xiaoman beckoned to Lianyi: "Lianyi, go help him. We'll be walking together from now on. He... um, he's my number two bodyguard."
Lianyi pouted and said, "Master, he's not a good person!"
Xiao Man laughed and said, "Who can tell the difference between good and bad people in this world? Has he never done a good deed? Has a good person never done a bad deed? Listen to me, taking him with you can't hurt."
With no other option, Lianyi carried Yelü Jing on her back. Turning around, she suddenly saw a small boy still standing there. It was Yelü Gengu, the youngest son left behind by Yelü Tuixian. She waved to him and said, "Why don't you come too? It's dangerous for a child to be alone in this messy place."
Yelü Gengu gave an "oh" and walked over politely. When he saw Lianyi Rongguang, his face suddenly turned red, and he involuntarily lowered his head. After a while, he looked up and smiled slightly, calling out affectionately, "Sister, my name is Gengu."
Lianyi nodded, mimicking Xiaoman's gesture, and patted his head. "My name is Lianyi. You'll protect this... prince, right? We'll be together from now on."
Gengu hummed in agreement and took her hand. Actually, he was no longer a child. Khitan boys grow up early. At thirteen or fourteen, he looked about the same age as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old Song person. He was only a few inches taller than Lianyi, but he was very handsome, with red lips and white teeth. He was not rough at all, and had a pair of upturned phoenix eyes with a slight smile.
Lianyi felt a little embarrassed, after all, the boy was not a child anymore, yet he was holding her hand like a child. Looking down at him again, she saw that he was smiling innocently and without any other mannerisms, clearly treating her as a real older sister. Lianyi couldn't help but feel relieved and returned his smile.
She thought to herself, "He's just a kid, it's no big deal."
Xiao Man had already run ahead by herself, turning back to wave at them: "Hurry up! Don't let anyone see us!"
Lianyi quickly ran a few steps, when she suddenly heard Gengu laugh and say, "Sister, you should get rid of this burden. Anyway, he's no good."
Lianyi was stunned for a moment, and said blankly, "But... Master wants me to take him with me..." In her haste, she actually forgot that this boy was supposedly sent by his father to protect Yelü Jing. Such rebellious words should not be spoken by him.
Gengu smiled and said softly, "If you don't throw it away, trouble is coming."
What does that mean? Lianyi froze for a moment, then suddenly heard chaotic footsteps around her, as if a large army was gathering. She was startled and exclaimed, "Master! It seems like the army is coming!"
No sooner had she finished speaking than a dozen arrows rained down from above, whistling through the air. Lianyi quickly leaped back, calling out, "Master!" Looking closer, she saw Xiaoman lying on the ground, her fate unknown. Lianyi was frantic, her hair standing on end, but the arrows rained down harder and harder, a dense, dark mass, as if they had known Yelü Jing was hiding in this alley.
She had no choice but to carry Yelü Jing on her back and slip into a smaller alley nearby. Gengu followed beside her, holding her hand tightly, and whispered, "Dump him, or none of us will escape."
Lianyi shook her head. She couldn't disobey her master's orders! Even if it meant death, she would protect this person!
Gengu sighed and said, "What a stubborn sister. Alright, I'll help you save your master. How are you going to thank me?"
He raised his hand and lightly brushed her lips, his phoenix eyes narrowing as he chuckled, then he darted away. Slender and agile, he moved swiftly through the forest of arrows, faster than a cat, reaching Xiaoman's side in the blink of an eye. Just as he bent down to pick her up, he heard a whooshing sound above him. He quickly pulled Xiaoman up to shield her, looking up to see a corner of a black cloak rustling. Then, Xiaoman was grabbed, and the person shouted, "What are you doing here! Get out of here!"
Gengu was stunned. He felt the man lift him up by the waist, as if he were carrying two sacks of rice, and float up to the roof. He struggled and cried out, "Sister is still down there!"
Zexiu frowned and said, "What sister!" However, he still stopped on the roof and looked down. The place where Lianyi had been standing was no longer occupied. He said, "Was it that little girl? She's very skilled. She must have escaped first. There's no time to look for her now. Escaping is the most important thing."
He moved with lightning speed, dodging over the eaves and landing on the ground. Two horses were tied up outside. He put Gengu on one horse, picked up Xiaoman, and mounted the other. He pulled out a dagger from his boot and lightly stabbed the horses' rumps. The two poor horses immediately galloped forward like madmen. Gengu gripped the reins tightly, afraid of being thrown off.
After running for an unknown amount of time, as dusk approached and the two horses grew exhausted, they gradually slowed down. Seeing that they were in a desolate wilderness with no one around, Zexiu jumped off the horse with Xiaoman in her arms. She walked to a tree and took a closer look. She saw that Xiaoman had been shot in the back with an arrow, her clothes soaked in blood, and she had already fainted, her face deathly pale.
"I told you to leave quickly, why are you still standing there!"
Zexiu roared angrily. If he hadn't noticed something was wrong and tried to go back to check on things, this girl would have died here today.
Helpless, he continued his previous ordeal, stripping off his clothes to wash his wounds. He was halfway through when he suddenly noticed Gengu staring at him with bright, gleaming eyes. His brow furrowed, and he coldly said, "Turn your face away!"
Gengu smiled and said, "Uncle, I can help."
Zexiu glared at him, a half-smile on his face: "Little brat, stop trying to play tricks. Khitan kids mature early. Take back the word 'uncle.' Also, turn your face away."
Seeing that he wasn't buying it, Gengu reluctantly turned his back and stopped talking.
Treasure Scroll, Chapter Fourteen: Scattering (Part Two)
Updated: 2008-10-04 15:09:14 Word Count: 4729
Something came up, so there's only one chapter today. I'll make up for it with two chapters tomorrow.
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Xiao Man felt as if she were seeing her deceased mother.
She sat on the edge of the bed, covering her face and weeping bitterly. A little girl of six or seven years old sat on the floor below the bed, playing idly with the mud on the ground.
“Xiaoman, your father, that beast, has been bewitched by a vixen outside and doesn’t want you anymore. You’re not allowed to call him father anymore, and remember to spit on him whenever you see him.”
Little Man nodded obediently, then looked up and smiled sweetly: "I know, there's no one better than Mom in the world."
As a result, her mother was so happy that she cooked her a delicious meal.
That evening, her father came back for some reason. Little Man happily and sweetly called him "Dad," which earned her three or four strings of candied hawthorns and several new clothes. She was also taken out to see the lanterns, eat sugar figurines, and have beef noodles.
After her father left, her mother slapped her so badly that she was bedridden for three days.
"You were born a scoundrel!"
That's not wrong. She's naturally short-sighted and too lazy to think about things far into the future. If someone offers her something dazzling and colorful, she'll be the first to be tempted. As long as she's happy in the moment, who knows what the future holds?
As a result, she suffered more than others, but she also gained more.
It just won't last long.
Good things are fleeting, like cherry blossoms in March and April—at their peak, vibrant and beautiful, they're gone in the blink of an eye. To possess them while they still exist, while they are beautiful, is to live life to the fullest.
She didn't know what could be possessed for a long time and never fade.
Perhaps it's glittering silver and gold; they can't speak, but they can be exchanged for good things. That's why she wants to be rich.
It sounded like someone was talking in my ear. A sharp, throbbing pain in my back made me break out in a cold sweat, and it radiated to my right hand, causing a similar, excruciating pain. Later, someone applied something to the painful area, but instead of relieving the pain, it made it worse.
Xiao Man woke up gritting her teeth and sighed weakly, "What kind of lousy medicine is this? Does it even work?"
A deep voice rang out: "If it weren't working, you would have hung up long ago. What are you complaining about?"
Xiao Man lay on the haystack, her neck aching terribly, but she dared not move for fear of aggravating her wound. She could only rub her chin forward little by little to relieve the pain.
A pair of hands reached under her armpits and carefully lifted her up. Xiaoman's head tilted back, and all she could see was a face covered with a messy beard, only her peach blossom eyes still shining brightly. She sighed, "So ugly."
Zexiu frowned and said, "You're not much better looking either."
He supported her with one hand and took out a water bag with the other, holding it to her lips: "Drink some water. You were unconscious for three or four days, but you finally survived."
Xiao Man closed her eyes and slowly took two sips. She felt as if her back was on fire, and for some reason, her right wrist was in excruciating pain. Under the combined attack of these two sensations, her heart gradually calmed down.
"Where's Lianyi? Where's Yelü Jing?" she asked. Yelü Jing couldn't be lost; he was a living, breathing next emperor.
"The rebels caught up with us and we got separated. Don't worry, that girl named Lianyi is quite skilled, she'll be fine, she'll come looking for us."
Her clothes fell off her shoulders, revealing a royal blue strapless top underneath. Zexiu quickly pulled it back up for her, not daring to look down.
"Men and women...should not touch each other, and you've taken my clothes off a second time." She laughed in a very irreverent way.
Zexiu ignored her, tossing the water bag aside. "Your injury is serious, but not fatal. The fatal one is here—" He grabbed her right hand and shook it gently. It was thickly wrapped in gauze, with faint traces of blood seeping through. "This injury should be described as gruesome. The wound is old and so severe. Didn't you feel any pain before?"
Xiao Man frowned as she looked at him. It would have been better if he hadn't touched her, because the moment he touched her wrist, it felt like she had been slashed with a knife. The pain made her back tighten, pulling at the arrow wound, and the pain was truly boundless.
She had almost forgotten about the injury; it seemed like it happened a long time ago. Back then, she was still a good daughter in Wutong Town when someone kidnapped her and strangled her hand with a steel wire, causing it to bleed profusely. Later, Old Sha gave her some wound medicine, which stopped the bleeding and relieved the pain, but it just wouldn't heal. Her mouth remained slightly closed like a child's, and she felt nothing no matter how much she rubbed it. So, she gradually forgot about the injury, but now it suddenly started hurting again.
"The wound is getting deeper and deeper. If it's not treated properly, your right hand will be ruined."
Strangely, once the wound started bleeding, no medicine could stop it. If it were a normal wound, the bleeding would stop on its own after a while, and with some medicine and proper bandaging, and keeping it dry, it would heal in a month at most. But her wrist kept bleeding, almost filling a teacup, and after he managed to forcibly bandage it, it miraculously stopped.
Xiao Man gasped for breath and said, "I've never felt pain before, just occasional bleeding. It hasn't happened since I left Mount No Return, so I almost forgot about the injury. Tian Quan examined me and said it wasn't poison."
Zexiu tore off the bandage, frowned and looked at the wound. The skin around the wound was rolled up, slightly brownish. He touched it lightly, and Xiaoman shuddered in pain.
"He says it's not poison, so it isn't?" He held his blood-stained finger to his nose and sniffed it gently; there was a faint scent of plum blossoms. "It's Dragon's Blood."
What is that? Xiao Man noticed his strange expression and became nervous as well.
Zexiu wiped his hands and said, "It is poison, but not enough to kill. Generally, when applied to weapons, it causes the wound to bleed continuously for a hundred days, leading to death from blood loss. But yours is a little different. Something else was mixed in, so you don't feel any pain and don't bleed every day. I think the person who poisoned you wanted to control you with this."
Xiao Man's face turned pale. "Mount No Return!"
They might not have been the ones who poisoned her, but they gave her wound medicine twice—once from Lao Sha and once from Tian Quan. That's why her wound stopped hurting but wouldn't heal properly, throbbing with pain every now and then and bleeding profusely. They intended to use this to control her! If she disobeyed, there would be no antidote, and she would bleed to death! Because it didn't hurt or itch normally, she wouldn't care—how insidious!
Zexiu frowned deeply but didn't speak. He examined the wound for a while, then tied the bandage back on and got up to go outside. Xiaoman then realized that they were in a small cave. The ground was covered with soft, dry grass, and there was also a layer of fur and a cloak. No wonder it wasn't uncomfortable to lie there.
A fire burned at the cave entrance, with an iron pot on top, cooking something inside. The aroma occasionally wafted into the cave, making one's mouth water. A young boy squatted before the pot, handsome with delicate features and upturned phoenix eyes. He looked quiet and refined, seemingly Yelü Tuixian's youngest son… what was his name again… Gengu?
He seemed to be in a bad mood; his face was dark, and he was stirring the pot haphazardly with a spoon. Suddenly, he turned around and shouted at the people behind him, "Why do you insist on making me cook! Adults are bullying children, bullying the weak!"
Zexiu walked over from behind carrying a thick bundle of dry branches. His hair was disheveled and his face was covered in stubble, making him look rather fierce. He sneered, "Since you know you're weak, you're destined to be bullied by the strong. Stop babbling. Everyone here has to work. If you want to freeload, you can get lost."
Gengu pouted, looking very aggrieved, as if he was about to cry. "Then isn't she just freeloading?" he said, pointing to Xiaoman in the cave, his voice full of self-righteousness.
Zexiu threw the dry branches on the ground and clapped his hands: "She's injured, so that's a different story."
The tears of grievance that were welling up in Gengu's eyes suddenly disappeared, and he asked, "Then if I get injured too, will I not have to do anything?"
Zexiu shook his finger at him: "It's not that cheap. If you drag me down, I'll just leave you in the mountains and don't care about you."