Before she could finish speaking, Lianyi blushed and lowered her head, whispering, "No, no. This is fine. I don't need any golden house..."
Gengu gasped, staring at her incredulously. After a long silence, his face suddenly darkened, and he abruptly stood up, pushed open the door, and walked out. Lianyi stared in astonishment at the shaking door and murmured, "Did I say something wrong?"
Yelü chuckled, raised his hand and slowly grasped her wrist, whispering, "Ignore him. He's a toad trying to eat swan meat; I haven't even gotten a taste yet."
Lianyi looked at him in confusion, then suddenly remembered something and jumped up: "Oh no! I forgot about Master!"
Yelü couldn't stop her, and watched as she ran out the door. Lianyi ran downstairs and saw Gengu coldly ordering wine from the shopkeeper. When he looked up and saw her coming down, he asked, "Where are you going, sister?"
She exclaimed urgently, "I've left my mistress at the casino! I need to find her!"
Gengu said, "There's no need to look for him. Uncle Zexiu is with him, and that Young Master Tianquan is also there. He'll be fine. Oh, and there's also a woman in purple. We suddenly met her halfway. It's said that she's also acquainted with Sister Xiaoman. She always knows so many strange and unusual people, so don't worry about her."
Lianyi hesitated, "But they didn't return to the inn..."
"You won't have any clues if you look now; you'll just be wandering around like a headless fly. Besides, everyone looks so pale right now; you'll have to wait until the swelling goes down before you can ask around."
Without saying a word, Gengu pulled her to sit on a chair, poured two bowls of wine, and handed her one.
"Gengu, what did you say about the woman in purple?" In her memory, Xiaoman didn't seem to know any woman in purple.
Gengu took a sip of wine and said calmly, "We found the Five Corners in Taibai Mountain, which is actually the tomb of some young master. There were powerful traps inside that almost burned us to death. After we finally escaped, we couldn't find Uncle Zexiu and the others. Tianji and Yaoguang went to look for them further north, while Tianquan and I came to Song to look for them. Unexpectedly, we encountered that woman in purple on the way. She was mysterious, and her voice sounded like that of a beautiful woman, but her face was covered by a veil, so we couldn't see what she looked like. Tianquan seemed to know her too, so we traveled together for about three days. She didn't say more than three sentences along the way, and she didn't speak to me either. Later, when we saw you at the casino, she was gone."
Lianyi gave an "oh," lowered her head, and took a small sip of wine; it didn't taste good. She put down her bowl and noticed Gengu's indifferent expression, as if he wasn't happy. She cautiously asked, "Gengu, is something bothering you? Actually, I know you don't like Yelü… but he's not a bad person, really not bad…"
Gengu took a breath, suddenly grasped her hand, and whispered, "Sister, in your heart, I'm still just a child, right?"
Lianyi stared at him blankly.
Gengu smiled, his face gradually darkening. After a long while, he said again, "It doesn't matter if it's someone else, but you can't like him. He's a beast. If you like him, your life is ruined."
The Second Chapter of The Raven's Slaughter (Part Two)
Updated: 2008-10-07 16:13:36 Word Count: 4990
As Lianyi went upstairs, she happened to see Yelü looking around outside the door. When he saw her coming up, he smiled slightly, walked over, took her hand, and said softly, "Little Lianyi, I have something interesting to show you."
Lianyi slowly withdrew her hand, hesitated for a moment, and then said in a low voice, "It's getting late, let's see tomorrow."
Yelü didn't care at all, and said lightly with his sleeves tucked in, "It'll be too late to check tomorrow. We should release them tomorrow."
After saying that, he took her hand and went to push the door open, but Lianyi quickly pulled her hand back and said urgently, "No... I don't want to watch anymore, you should go and rest too!"
Yelü smiled, saying nothing, but took something from his sleeve and gently held it up to her. It was a tiny sparrow, trembling pitifully in his hand, its head tucked in, its large, bright black eyes sparkling.
Lianyi exclaimed, then quickly patted its head gently and whispered, "How did you catch it?"
Yelü laughed and said, "I scattered some broken rice on the windowsill, and this little thing got greedy and came to eat it, but ended up falling in. Do you like it?"
Lianyi nodded and gently took the little sparrow. It looked listless and was just pretending to be dead. Lianyi stroked it a couple of times before saying, "Let's release it. It's so pitiful that it can't fly."
Yelü pushed open the door and said, "Let's go, let's release it through the window and scatter some rice grains to see if we can attract more sparrows."
Lianyi, oblivious to everything, nodded and followed him into the house. Yelü indeed took some broken rice and scattered it on the windowsill, placing the sparrow on it. It flapped its wings and flew away, but returned a moment later, watching them warily. It hopped over and quickly grabbed a grain of rice.
They looked so adorable that Lianyi couldn't help but laugh. A little while later, three or four sparrows came and hopped around on the windowsill, scrambling for rice. Lianyi spilled some broken rice, which startled them, and they fluttered away.
"Ah! Don't go!" Lianyi called out softly, full of regret.
Yelü laughed and said, "You're too hasty. These things are very cunning; you have to handle them gently."
Lianyi nodded, gently scattering the broken rice from the bag onto the windowsill. Suddenly remembering something, she lowered her head and whispered, "Um, that...you...I...I haven't thanked you for helping me out of that situation at the casino, and for getting you beaten up. I'm so sorry for always causing you trouble."
Yelü said softly, "What trouble is this? Xiao Lianyi's troubles are a thousand times more important than mine. Even if she hits me a couple of times, or even if she tries to cut me with a knife, I won't ignore it."
Lianyi's face flushed red, then turned deathly pale. She stared blankly for a long time. Suddenly, she whispered, "Do you often say things like that? Go...go and deceive those men and women..."
Yelü remained silent for a long time, and Lianyi grew increasingly anxious. She couldn't help but steal a glance at him. She noticed that half of his face was flushed red by the fiery sunset, and his eyes seemed to hold the glow of the sunset as well. He stared intently at her, expressionless.
She panicked slightly and was about to apologize when she heard him say softly, "I have never used sweet words to deceive you. Perhaps I have lied to many people in the past, but I have never lied to you for a single word."
Lianyi felt like she was about to stop breathing, but her heart was pounding louder. She looked down at her hands and said, "I...I understand..."
Her hand was suddenly gently grasped, and Lianyi trembled involuntarily. She heard him whisper in her ear, "Lianyi, you're the only one in the world who's truly good to me. For you, I won't be some damn emperor. Let's find a quiet place and live a good life, having lots and lots of children..."
Lianyi suddenly looked up, and felt as if the entire sky's glow was reflected in her eyes, incomparably dazzling and profound, beautiful like a dream.
Perhaps her life, like a fiery sunset, is dazzlingly beautiful for only a fleeting moment, a mere illusion before sinking into endless darkness. But that doesn't matter, because if she doesn't seize such beauty, she will despise herself.
Yelü gently stroked her wrist, stopping at her cheek, brushing aside a stray strand of hair beside her cheek, and softly called out, "Lianyi."
She felt a warmth on her cheek as his lips pressed against hers. Startled, she wanted to jump away, but for some reason, she couldn't bear to pull away. His hand slowly moved to her neck, his lips slid down her cheek, gently kissed her nose, and then he lowered his head to kiss her lips.
There was a sudden knock on the door, startling both of them. Lianyi hurriedly pushed him away, rushed to the door, and opened it. Gengu stood there with his arms crossed, coldly watching her for a moment. Her face was flushed, like the sunset. He said calmly, "Go downstairs for dinner, you silly girl."
Lianyi nodded hurriedly and ran downstairs as if her life depended on it.
Yelü walked to the door with a smile, looked down at Gengu, and Gengu looked back at him coldly.
"If you want to be good to her, you have to be good to her alone." Gengu, being younger, couldn't help but speak first.
Yelü chuckled and said softly, "I can give it to you after you've had your fun, to fulfill your beautiful dream."
Gengu's expression changed, and he grabbed Yelü's vest, punching him in the face. Yelü stumbled several steps, crashing into the guest room door. He wiped his mouth and saw blood. His face turned cold, and he said in a low voice, "Yelü Gengu, what crime is insubordination? It won't be lessened just because you're a child!"
Gengu kicked him in the chest and said sternly, "Killing you wouldn't be a crime!"
Yelü fell to the ground and struggled for a long time before finally getting up. The guests in the second-floor rooms heard the commotion and ran out to see what was going on. When they saw that Gengu had attacked so fiercely, they exclaimed in surprise, "Huh?! That child is beating up an adult!"
Gengu, straddling him, was about to punch him again when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching. It was Lianyi, her face pale, but clearly not from seeing the two of them fighting. When she saw Gengu pinning Yelü down and beating him, she was stunned at first, then quickly came over to break up the fight, saying urgently, "Stop fighting! We...we need to get out of here!"
Gengu kicked Yelü several more times, rendering him immobile. Lianyi scooped him up and carried him on her back, carrying him inside and pushing open the window to jump. Gengu hurriedly followed, asking anxiously, "What's wrong?!"
Lianyi's face turned pale. Before she could explain, she was about to jump down when she heard the thud of boots outside the door. In the blink of an eye, a man in black appeared, tall and handsome—it was Yelü Wenjue, whom she had seen at the Tuanshan Manor. One of his arms had been severed by Zexiu. Only the sleeve and belt were tied together. He looked coldly at Lianyi, and after a moment, suddenly said, "Useless."
Lianyi's face turned pale. She bit her lip and gripped Yelü's sleeve tightly.
Seeing the situation was turning bad, Gengu quickly stepped in front of her and said in a deep voice, "What are you doing?!"
Yelü Wenjue didn't even look at him, and asked again, "Where is your master?"
Lianyi shook her head: "I... I don't know, maybe they were taken away by Uncle Zexiu and Young Master Tianquan..."
Yelü Wenjue's expression changed subtly: "Tianquan was taken away?"
Lianyi cried out urgently, "You...you mustn't kill her! She's a good person! She's been so good to me...to me! I...I don't want to listen to you anymore! I don't want to betray my master!"
Yelü Wenjue sneered, "How clever of her! Zexiu is already dead. No one is protecting that girl. She knows too much and will die sooner or later."
Zexiu is dead?! Everyone was stunned. Yelü couldn't catch his breath and immediately burst into tears. Yelü Wenjue clicked his tongue. He flicked his finger. Something seemed to hit him, and he immediately fell silent, collapsing onto his back.
Lianyi said in a trembling voice, "I...I will protect her! Young Master Tianquan will too!"
Yelü Wenjue let out another cold laugh, but didn't speak. After a while, he said, "Find her for me and bring her to me."
Lianyi shook her head violently: "No!"
She had barely finished speaking when she let out a scream and slammed hard against the wall, Yelü slipping off her shoulder. She gritted her teeth, clutching the wound on her shoulder where he had punched a hole with an iron pellet. The ruthlessness of this man was astonishing.
Gengu swung his knife to attack, but was grabbed by the back of the blade and kicked in the back. Gengu fell to the ground and immediately lost consciousness.
He stepped forward, about to lift the dress from the ground, when he suddenly listened downstairs, frowned, immediately turned around, pushed open the window, and jumped out, saying, "Remember to bring her to me!"
Lianyi's face was ashen. She removed her hand from the wound, which was already stained with blood. She struggled to her feet and helped Yelü and Gengu to their feet. Just then, another commotion erupted outside the door, with someone shouting, "Who's causing trouble?"
They were officials from the Song Dynasty! Lianyi was shocked, but there was no time to hide. A group of soldiers rushed in and surrounded them. Lianyi's vision went black, and she knew nothing more.
Xiaoman began to ignore everything else and focused intently on embroidery.
Whenever I pick up a pen to sketch flower patterns, I am always transported back to a sunny afternoon, with warm sunlight, poplar trees rustling softly in the wind, and the sound of dragons singing.
A cool fragrance surrounded her, and she felt both happy and bewildered. She slowly raised her head and could always see a pair of thick, trembling eyelashes. Suddenly, they lifted, and her alluring peach blossom eyes stared at her intently, like two dark crystals, shimmering with precious light: "Why did you stop painting? I'm watching."
Xiao Man couldn't help herself and asked in a low voice, "Are you looking at the painting or the person?"
The sound pierced the silence of the dark room, and she snapped back to reality, only to find no one in front of her. The wind swirled in snowflakes, causing the crimson curtains to sway gently.
Xiaoman stood there stunned for a long, long time, until her paintbrush fell to the ground. She slumped onto the small table, utterly despondent.
She truly has nothing left now, only her own shadow curled up at her feet, like an unyielding mass of bitterness.
As the weather grew colder, after three consecutive heavy snowfalls, Xiaoman finally finished embroidering Zexiu.
She held the finished product high and examined every inch of it carefully.
These are his eyebrows, these are his eyes, this is his hair, and three swords he never leaves his side. The young Zexiu, embroidered on white silk, has a piercing gaze, a cold and aloof beauty, as if he might step down from the silk at any moment, whether with a gentle smile or a hint of anger and sarcasm, vividly and realistically portrayed.
Xiaoman felt both proud and sad. She gently brushed her fingers across his cheek, then carefully folded the cloth and put it inside her innermost clothes, close to her heart.
In this way, he would live again, be with her forever, and never be separated from her again.
She got up, put on her shoes, pushed open the door to the small room, and went outside. The wind and snow made her mink sleeves billow, and everything outside was white.
This is a small, secluded estate owned by Tianquan on the outskirts of Zhenzhou, nestled beside a small lake. Only the father and his two sons look after the estate. The father is over forty, with sharp eyes and a taciturn nature; the two sons also appear to be no ordinary men. Since sending her here, Tianquan has disappeared, and one of the young men has been responsible for cleaning and delivering meals every day.
Xiaoman pushed open the door and saw the young man collecting snow from the pine trees with a jar. He turned around and saw her leaning against the door in a daze. He was also stunned. He didn't expect that the girl who usually locked herself in the house would actually come out today.
"Where is Tianquan?" she asked softly.
The man paused for a moment: "Young master is not here right now. He has gone out on business and will probably not be back for a few days."
Xiao Man nodded, and seeing him carefully sweep the snow off the pine branches and scoop the snow from the center into a jar with something like a spoon, she couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me... what are you doing?"
The man smiled and said, "Young master likes to brew tea with snow water from pine branches. This year there has been a lot of snow, so we should be able to store up to ten jars."
He was really particular, actually asking for snow water from pine branches. But then the man said, "Young master, there are also many plum blossoms planted in your courtyard. It's a pity it's not February yet, otherwise it would be even better to get snow water from the plum blossoms."
Xiaoman felt empty inside. She had just finished something very important to her. Seeing him busy and happy, she couldn't help but walk over and ask, "Then... can I help you?" She wanted to find something to do, otherwise she would feel even more uncomfortable sitting there.
The man was very kind and indeed brought her a spoon and a jar. The two of them picked out the whitest and cleanest snow from the nearby pine branches and carefully put it into the jar.
After a while, Xiaoman learned that the man's name was Sanxi, the eldest son of the middle-aged steward. His younger brother, Qifu, was in charge of taking care of Tianquan's daily life. The middle-aged steward's surname was Zhao, and Tianquan usually called him Uncle Zhao. There were only the three of them taking care of things in the garden; there were no other servants or maids.
"Young Master prefers peace and quiet, and it's rare for him to come back. We usually don't dare to disturb him." Sanxi's smile was very honest, reminding Xiaoman of the shovel in the distant Wutong Town.