Небо над реками и озерами очень чистое

Глава 71

It seemed that everything that had happened was no longer relevant to him. Jia Ye flicked the empty wine pot with a bored expression, considering whether to have some more. He rarely touched wine, but today he suddenly couldn't stop. Since leaving Tianshan, he had indeed become more and more indulgent.

"Don't take her words to heart. Young Master Xie will handle everything. These trivial matters are none of your concern."

She was somewhat surprised and turned her head to look. The young man smiled gently, his sincerity radiating warmth.

"Is this a consolation? Thank you for your kindness." She nodded her thanks rather absentmindedly.

“That’s true, he’s a trustworthy person,” he said earnestly.

Without commenting on the implication of his words, she suddenly blurted out something unrelated: "If it's not too much trouble, could you please order me another pot of wine?"

Yu Sui smiled, walked closer, and smelled the mouth of the bottle.

"The Drunken Flower Shade has been buried for seven years; I may not be able to retrieve it."

Jia Ye looked surprised and twirled the cup around. "Is it really that rare?"

“This is a privately brewed wine by Madam Xie; I’m afraid even Senior Xie will have to drink it sparingly,” he explained gently. “This wine has a strong aftereffect; it’s best not to drink any more.”

"Are you drunk?"

"Um."

"That's fine then." She lazily sat down on the stone bench, secretly feeling a little regretful. "I've never experienced being drunk."

"Not so good, believe me." His expression softened further, almost appearing as pity. "No matter how fine the wine, getting drunk won't feel good."

"If that's the case, why do so many people like it?"

"It's probably because drinking it is so enjoyable that people forget the consequences."

Perhaps it was the alcohol taking effect, for she became more talkative and even chuckled softly. “Perhaps you’re right, it’s like killing someone is exhilarating, but afterwards… the feeling is really unpleasant.”

"What does it feel like when you kill someone?" Unfazed by her question, Yu Sui continued, showing no disgust whatsoever, as if they were discussing calligraphy and painting.

She thought for a moment, then smiled wickedly. "Soon, blood will splatter everywhere. The stronger the person you kill, the more accomplished you feel. Destruction is such an easy thing."

Why do I feel so bad again?

"The smell of blood is awful, and it's impossible to wash it off once it's on your body." She looked blankly at the green trees in the yard. "Sometimes, after killing so many, everything in front of me seems red, and it's disgusting."

The look of pity on Qingjun's face deepened, but it was not hurtful because of his gentleness.

"Are you pitying me?" She tilted her head and looked at me, vaguely feeling strange. "No need. I'm still alive. The ones who should be pitied are the dead."

He smiled faintly, tinged with inexplicable sadness.

"Yes, thankfully you're still alive."

The strange feeling grew stronger, and after staring at it for a while, she changed the subject.

Have you found the person you're looking for?

“It wasn’t easy, but we finally found her.” He gazed at her for a long time, his voice as gentle as a breeze rustling through the treetops. “She… is not quite what I imagined. I regret it so much. If I had found her sooner, she wouldn’t have suffered so much.”

Jia Ye fell silent, a growing sense of unease rising within her. She quietly slipped her sword into her sleeve and gripped it tightly.

The other party seemed oblivious, and took out a short flute from somewhere, smiling as he inquired.

"It would be a shame to have wine but no music. Shall I play a tune for you?"

Without waiting for a reply, he played the flute with his lips.

The clear, melodious music began, spreading gently and purely like water, slowly calming the mind, like a fragment drifting across the distant sky, which, when you try to capture it, has already drawn you into a dream.

The invisible music is relaxing, the clouds in the sky are flowing, blue and high, and when viewed from between the leaves, they seem to be divided into countless fragments. The bright sunlight shines through the leaves and falls into the eyes, and the scattered light and shadow bring some strange illusions.

The soothing melody gradually transformed, turning into a graceful and light tune, like a wild deer leaping through the mountains, a gentle breeze blowing across the land, wildflowers blooming one after another, and icy springs flowing gurglingly, touching the hidden imprints in her heart. As if driven by some mysterious force, she couldn't help but gently respond.

She only sang one line before she came to her senses and stopped.

The music stopped abruptly. He put down the flute and stared intently at the astonished face with piercing eyes.

Jia Ye touched her lips in a daze, surprised by her own abnormality, and even more surprised by the melody...

After a long silence, she maintained her composure. "How could you...? What kind of music was that?"

The man slowly smiled, asking a question instead of answering.

"And what language are you singing? What are you speaking?"

Mother... the ancient Yue folk songs she taught me since childhood...

How could that be...?

She abruptly stood up, the white porcelain wine cup falling to the ground and shattering. Staring blankly at that gentle, refined face, she was about to ask another question when hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the garden.

The person who came was not a stranger. Qinglan was obviously there for her. Her eyes swept curiously over Yu Sui, with a hint of doubt and surprise.

"You're here after all. Someone specifically asked for you, and Third Brother told me to take you there."

Designated? Forcing her chaotic thoughts to another point, she was not without doubt.

"who?"

"I wish I had known." Qinglan scratched her head, looking equally confused. "It was a woman with a child. So you're not surnamed Ye? She said she was looking for Jia Ye. Luckily, Yin Hu overheard and relayed it to Third Brother, otherwise we would have been kicked out by the gatekeepers."

What kind of woman?

"He looks disheveled, injured, and has blood on his clothes. Third Brother seems to have seen him before... He's having Second Brother examine him."

I pondered for a long time, but still couldn't figure out who this person could be.

Even in the Western Regions, few people knew this name, let alone in Jiangnan. One problem after another, she couldn't help but feel irritated.

“They shouldn’t be enemies.” Yu Sui seemed to sense the mood and spoke up to comfort them. “You are a guest of the Xie family. Even if you were hostile, you wouldn’t dare to go so far as to provoke them inside the Xie family’s gate in Yangzhou.”

The Xie family of Yangzhou... that's precisely why they're so troublesome...

She didn't want to cause trouble, but it seemed that trouble had inevitably come her way again.

Crimson Blood

It was a quiet garden, but there were quite a few people inside.

Silver swan, green falcon, and blue owl were all present. Xie Jingze was taking the pulse of the woman lying on the bed, while Xie Yunshu stood quietly to the side. A boy of about five years old was clinging to the bed, watching Xie Jingze's every move with his hands clenched tightly.

After a short while, Xie Jingze shook his head at his third brother and pulled out the several gold needles stuck in the woman's body.

“She was too badly injured and poisoned. It’s a miracle she made it this far. I’m afraid…” Xie Jingze sighed, and everyone in the room understood the unspoken meaning.

Xie Yunshu frowned slightly, and when he saw the person standing at the door, he gestured for her to come closer.

As you get closer to the bed, the person, half-hidden by the curtains, gradually comes into view.

Her clothes were filthy, with bloodstains on the lapel. Her beautiful oval face was haggard, and her sallow complexion was lifeless. Only her eyes showed a hint of familiarity, and they widened in surprise when she saw her.

"Feiqin!"

Never having imagined it would be a fellow member of the Seven Killers faction, she cried out in disbelief, involuntarily sitting down on the edge of the tatami mat. "How did you become like this?"

“…Gaya…” The woman’s spirits were low, and speaking was extremely difficult. “You… are you still so young? Am I dreaming…?”

"Don't worry about me, what's wrong with you?" Although they were colleagues back then, they weren't close. Even so, seeing her on the verge of death made him feel extremely bad.

A bitter smile appeared on his thin face, filled with endless desolation, completely devoid of his former dashing and decisive demeanor.

"I trusted the wrong person."

"Who?" A fleeting memory flashed through my mind. "The man who made you leave the Western Regions?"

Two lines of tears slid down silently, a few drops landing on the back of her hand, slightly warm.

“He… was initially very good to me.” Fei Qin’s cheeks flushed, filled with resentment and sorrow. “He even married me, but… he came from a prominent family in the Central Plains. When his family learned of my background, they feared I would tarnish their reputation, and they instigated and belittled me in every way… In the end, even he…”

"Why don't you leave? With your martial arts skills, where can't you go?"

Central Plains, the Demonic Sect… She took a breath and grasped Fei Qin’s hand.

Another tear fell, poignant and helpless. "At that time, I was pregnant. Thinking of the child, I could only endure it, hoping that he would change his mind after a while, but in the end..." She held back her tears, her gaze cold.

"He put a dissolving agent in my medicine, crippling my martial arts... He didn't dare kill me openly, so he secretly administered a slow-acting poison, waiting for me to breathe my last..." The coldness turned into a deep-seated hatred. Fei Qin coughed a few times, his voice gradually weakening. "I managed to escape, taking my child with me... He was afraid others would find out he married someone from the Demonic Sect and ruin his reputation, so he went mad, not even sparing my child... He's been secretly searching for and hunting me down... Hiding here and there, I'm already exhausted... Fortunately... I heard about the Bai family, and it seems somewhat like you, so I thought I'd take a gamble..."

The words were spoken in fits and starts, and the room fell silent. Even Xie Quheng, who had stormed in angrily, was stunned.

"Who is that man?" As her touch slowly cooled, she knew something was wrong.

Fei Qin was filled with hatred, but she didn't answer. She just stared blankly at her and tears fell again.

“Jia Ye…you’re smarter than me, you guessed it long ago, didn’t you…”

"...The question you asked me back then, I've thought about it thousands and hundreds of times..."

"...It wasn't worth it, it really wasn't worth it...I regret it so much..."

"If I had known this would happen, I would have preferred to die in the Tianshan Mountains..."

Jia Ye gritted her teeth, feeling an indescribable anxiety, and a sense of resentment gradually rose in her chest.

"Tell me who it is, and I'll kill him for you."

Fei Qin shook her head weakly and pointed with difficulty to the boy kneeling to one side.

“This child… take him to the slave camp, and don’t let him die before he turns ten. I will remember your kindness even in the afterlife.”

"Send them to a slave camp? How could such a brat survive?" It was Bi Jun who blurted out. Yin Hu nudged his companion, signaling him to shut up.

Fei Qin looked at him with difficulty, a strange feeling washing over her; the similar aura made it easy to discern its origin. She didn't refute, only offering a helpless, bitter smile.

“He won’t survive…that’s his fate. We all…have all been through this…I’d rather he die in the slave camp than have him eliminated like filth by the people his own father assigned to him…”

Blood slowly seeped from his lips, and his voice was so faint that it was almost impossible to hear unless you held it to his ear.

“…Gaya…please…I know this is a problem…”

"You... have the coldest temperament... but a kind heart..."

"...Please promise me..."

"I promise you." Jia Ye felt a wave of dizziness wash over her; the hand she held grew colder and colder, and something inside her was swelling wildly. "Tell me who that person is."

Upon hearing the promised answer, a faint smile appeared on his dying face.

“…Thank you…I knew…you would…” His mind went blank, and his breathing became even more intermittent. “…To die like this…is truly shameful…I…I truly regret it…”

The last sound faded, a sorrowful, self-mocking laugh extinguishing her life. Unlike those she killed, she lay in bed, like a battered and bruised woman tormented by life, leaving behind a single tear on her cheek, a child she couldn't let go of, before passing away.