Второстепенная женская героиня невинна

Глава 57

"Prime Minister Bai—"

"Yiyi—"

"You—you are Ye Zhi Qiu—?!"

The once empty street suddenly had two people, who immediately began shouting at each other. I had resigned myself to death, but unexpectedly, at this critical moment, Young Master Shang suddenly appeared before me! But what surprised me most was the small sedan chair that appeared at the same time as Young Master Shang!

The sedan chair was made of snow-white curtains, and inside sat a man dressed in white. Beside the sedan chair stood a servant who looked no more than ordinary, but I remember this servant very well!

His knife almost cost Youhua her life! Besides Afu by Ye Zhi Qiu's side, who else could it be?

Why would Ye Zhi Qiu, the master of Qiu Ye Pavilion, appear on this deserted little street?

Why would he have a strange white veil in his hand?

How could Qin Louyue call him "Chu Guanfeng"?!

“Shang… Shaozhang…” I looked at the familiar figure I had been thinking about day and night for the past few months, and suddenly he appeared in front of me. My mind went blank! In the three months since we parted, I had so many things I wanted to say to him, but now I couldn’t say anything. I just stared at him blankly, almost unable to believe my eyes!

But Shang Shaozhang didn't look at me.

His eyes, indeed his entire being, radiated an intense killing intent! I had only ever seen this killing intent in him when he faced Li Kuilei. And all his killing intent was directed at Qin Louyue, who appeared delicate yet was terrifying before him. Even the veins on his hand gripping the knife bulged!

Qin Louyue did not look at him.

Her beautiful, empty eyes miraculously shone with a strange light for the first time when she saw the sedan chair! This light seemed to breathe life into her cold and desolate body! Qin Louyue murmured, "Chu Guanfeng... Chu Guanfeng... How could it be you?... Could it really be you?... Heavens! Heavens! So you really pitied me! That's why you made me wait so long, that's why you've longed for me for so long! You... you..." At this moment, if Shang Shaozhang were to strike her with his knife, Qin Louyue would not be able to resist. Her entire being seemed to be focused on the person in the sedan chair, and she didn't care about anything else, no matter how important it was.

But what surprised me even more was myself!

I pointed at the sedan chair and exclaimed, "Ye—Ye Zhi Qiu! You—you actually—" Before I could finish saying "It's Chu Guan Feng," Shang Shao Chang's Autumn Water Blade had already swept with the force of wind and thunder, slashing straight at Qin Lou Yue's head!

At this moment, Shang Shaozhang was like the most terrifying Asura in hell. He had completely lost the playful and tender expression he usually showed when he was joking with me. Even if Qin Louyue was a thousand times more beautiful, this powerful slash could not be stopped!

"No—" I blurted out in desperation, but I could only watch helplessly as Shang Shaozhang, his face filled with murderous intent, swung his knife at the dazed Qin Louyue! Suddenly, I heard a soft laugh from the person in the sedan chair.

Almost simultaneously with Shang Shaochang swinging his sword, a white ribbon appeared in mid-air from the hand of the person in the sedan chair and swept swiftly behind Shang Shaochang.

"Young Master Shang—" I exclaimed in shock! Young Master Shang's strike had gathered all his strength, like spilled water breaking an egg, with no possibility of stopping. Even if his strike hit Qin Louyue, the deadly white ribbon behind him would be enough to kill him! I had just taken a step forward when I saw Young Master Shang, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, suddenly retract his force, his attack turning from offense to defense. He abruptly changed direction in mid-air from an almost impossible angle, turning his attack to meet the white ribbon head-on!

The person in the sedan chair remained unperturbed, chuckling, "You've been tricked—" Suddenly, another white ribbon flew out of the sedan chair, wrapping around me with lightning speed! By the time I noticed the ribbon, it was too late; I only saw a white streak flash before my eyes, and my entire body was already flying up with it! The scenery before my eyes kept changing and shifting. When I regained my senses, a pair of fair and beautiful hands reached out from behind and embraced me—

A gentle voice sounded above my head, "White-robed Prime Minister, we meet again."

"Who are you?!" The white silk ribbon flew out of the sedan chair like a thunderbolt, so fast that it was impossible to dodge. Without any struggle, I was pulled into the sedan chair surrounded by white curtains. The person inside used extremely skillful force; I was twirled in the air, bound by the white silk ribbon. The ribbon held immense power, yet landed with extraordinary lightness, like a feather, gently embraced by that person. I didn't even get a clear look at their face; all I saw were a pair of fair, beautiful, slender, and straight hands gently resting on my waist. I felt a numbness in my waist and slumped softly into their arms. Fortunately, I could still turn my head and speak. I whispered, "Who are you? Are you Ye Zhi Qiu, or Chu Guan Feng?"

The person in the sedan chair chuckled softly and said, "What do you think? What does it matter who I am?"

I laughed and said, "Of course it matters. When I'm being held by a man, I need to know who's holding me."

The person in the sedan chair seemed to be taken aback for a moment before laughing, "As expected of the White-Robed Prime Minister, it's been a long time since we last met, yet you are still so calm and composed." He slowly said, "You saw my Returning Wind Veil, so even if I were Chu Guanfeng, it wouldn't be impossible."

Chu Pass Wind!

Nothing is more ruthless than the wind at Chu Pass!

I took a deep breath, my voice trembling: "You—you're actually Chu Guanfeng! No one is more ruthless than Chu Guanfeng?" This news struck me like a bolt from the blue! The person Qin Louyue had said she wanted to "kill" was right behind me, but how could he be Ye Zhi Qiu?! That cunning and effeminate Ye Zhi Qiu! That decisive and commanding Ye Zhi Qiu! That Ye Zhi Qiu who exchanged poems with me? Unbeknownst to me, a faint scent of sandalwood wafted from the man behind me, further clouding my mind! My heart was a tangled mess, impossible to unravel!

No! Something's definitely wrong!

But something's not right here.

Long ago, I almost always subconsciously compared Shang Shaochang and Ye Zhiqi. One was cheerful and outgoing, the other gentle and delicate. One's smile was like the bright sunshine, the other hidden behind a curtain like the mysterious moonlight. But in my heart, they had so many similarities: equally shrewd, equally decisive, and equally able to play the flute with unparalleled skill. I had never seen Shang Shaochang and Ye Zhiqi appear before me at the same time; it seemed that when one appeared, the other always hid behind the scenes. But today, Shang Shaochang and Ye Zhiqi met for the first time, and in this very setting, Ye Zhiqi had unexpectedly become Chu Guanfeng!

Oh my god! Is this all a dream? The faint scent of sandalwood wafts by, as if reminding me that there's something I've forgotten deep in my memory...

I said in a deep voice, "Are you also with 'Gentle'? And how did you become the master of Autumn Leaf Pavilion?"

Chu Guanfeng chuckled lightly, not answering, but said softly, "Your blade is too slow." I was taken aback before realizing he was speaking to Shang Shaochang. Chu Guanfeng continued, "Your momentum is there, but your blade is not as strong as it should be." He smiled gently and said, "Today's number one assassin in the world wields his blade like an eighty-year-old man."

Upon hearing this, I angrily retorted, "What nonsense are you spouting! You're not allowed to speak ill of Young Master Shang!"

"I'm talking nonsense?" Chu Guanfeng leaned close to my ear and whispered, "How could you have internal energy? Even if you practiced martial arts every day for the past year, you wouldn't have such strong internal energy. This internal energy... Hmph, hmph..."

With each snort Chu Guanfeng uttered, my heart felt as if it were falling into an abyss!

He's right! My internal energy wasn't originally mine; it was given to me by Young Master Shang while I was sleeping. He himself only has half left. Without half his internal energy, his swordplay is like that of a bird with broken wings. How could he possibly possess the imposing presence and power I first saw in him? And although I don't understand martial arts, I can at least see that Young Master Shang was indeed two fractions slower when facing that white silk ribbon—

And those two points were enough for Chu Guanfeng to pull me into the curtains!

Shang Shaochang once told me, "I cannot lose, because in this martial world, defeat is equivalent to death." He looked at me seriously and said, word by word, "If I am even a fraction slower than someone else in drawing their sword, their weapon might take my life!"

He was right. But today, he was slower than Bai Ling.

Looking out from inside the white curtains, Shang Shaozhang remained motionless, his right hand gripping a knife. He was like a lifeless statue. Faced with Chu Guanfeng's half-mocking words, he remained silent and still.

I gritted my teeth and said solemnly, "You're right! My inner strength is indeed related to Young Master Shang." I looked out of the curtain, my voice becoming icy cold, "But tonight, I, Baiyi, will live and die with him! Wherever he goes, I will go. If he goes to hell, I will go to hell with him! If you can't kill him, fine, but if you do, you'd better take me with you!"

Chu Guanfeng was taken aback, then suddenly burst into laughter. He usually spoke softly and gently, but now his laughter was joyful and hearty. Between laughs, he said, "So…so the world-renowned female scholar has fallen in love with an assassin! How hilarious, how hilarious!"

I snapped, "What are you laughing at! Who...who admitted to falling in love with him?!" Seeing Chu Guanfeng's bluntness, I blushed, unsure how to retort. The words I'd blurted out earlier were now returning to my mind; I'd actually said "to live and die together," and although it was my true feeling, I still felt a little embarrassed. Saying "to live and die together" was, of course, an admission that I'd fallen in love with Shang Shaochang.

Hearing Chu Guanfeng laugh so heartily, a sudden thought flashed through my mind, and I exclaimed, "You—you grabbed me to save Qin Louyue! Isn't that right?"

Chu Guanfeng's laughter stopped abruptly. "You—what did you say?"

I laughed and said, "When you appeared, Young Master Shang was attacking Qin Louyue. Although you felt that Young Master Shang's swordsmanship was not as good as before, you were also afraid that Qin Louyue would be no match for him. In order to save Qin Louyue's life, you pretended to attack Young Master Shang, but in reality, you wanted to capture me. Young Master Shang would definitely be hesitant to act rashly, right?" I paused and continued, "You mocked Young Master Shang for being too slow with his sword, which is true, but the fact that you were able to capture me was something you had planned in advance. Otherwise, how could you have made it so easy for you to strike? Qin Louyue said you were heartless, but in my opinion, you were not heartless towards her, but rather had feelings for her. So why would she want to kill you? That's hard to understand."

I spoke at length, but Chu Guanfeng behind me remained silent the whole time. After I finished speaking, he quietly said, "Tell me, what is affection, and what is indifference? Do you really love that man standing in front of you that much?"