Hua Wuduo was taken aback.
He murmured, "Nothing much, the years I spent with you are the only variable in my life. This variable makes me so happy that I can't contain myself. I wish we could live together in the bamboo forest forever and never be separated. In my heart, no amount of worldly glory or power can compare to you."
“I was born with an inescapable destiny, and I naively tried to escape it. I thought I could stop thinking about it and stop looking at it. I thought I could spend my life happily with you in a paradise. But... as she said, if one day all my loved ones are gone and I am left alone in the world, I will not be happy, and I will no longer have the ability to make you happy.”
follow
"When I go back this time..." He seemed to have something to say, but ultimately didn't. He just choked up a sob, hugged her tighter, and said sadly, "No matter what I choose, I will hurt you. I am destined to hurt you. But as long as you are alive, as long as you are alive... even if... I will not hesitate!"
"She's not someone you can mess with, remember that," he said emphatically.
"Don't chase after me." He resolutely released her, leaped away, and disappeared into the distance, taking with him all the surrounding danger.
He really left, just like that.
She still couldn't believe it. His hands, which had just been clasped, were still warm; his breath seemed to linger beside her. But she knew that once he left, he would never return. He had sealed her pressure points to prevent her from offending the Empress; was he not releasing them because he feared she wouldn't let him go?
"Don't chase after me." His last words before leaving echoed in her mind, each word carefully considered. Why shouldn't I chase after you? Was it because it was pointless? Even if I caught up, it would be futile. But how do you know it would be futile? Perhaps my identity allows me to… Gazing in the direction he had gone, an endless sorrow welled up within her, gnawing at her heart uncontrollably.
The Empress was right about one thing: she was indeed too selfish. For her own sake, she never revealed her true identity to Liu Xiu. Even she herself wasn't sure if she truly had the courage to die alongside Liu Xiu.
She gave a bitter laugh, somewhat hating herself.
The drizzle in the south during winter is always relentless. The rain soaked her hair, her face, and her body, dripping through her.
The wind blows, and the cold seeps into your bones.
Two hours felt like a lifetime.
The moment the pressure points were released, Hua Wuduo's body went limp and she fell from the tree, landing awkwardly on the ground. For a long time, she didn't get up, as if she had died from the fall. She gripped the dirty mud beneath her, clenching it tightly in her palms. She struggled to her feet, letting the rain lash her face as she looked up. Her body no longer felt the cold, but why did her heart ache so much? She staggered forward.
Deep in the woods, Young Master Xiu left and then returned.
Liu Shun followed beside him, his face full of worry. He watched as the young master stared motionlessly at the woman's back in the tree in the distance. The woman was clearly immobilized, like a dummy, and the young master also stared at her without moving, letting the wind and rain lash him.
The Empress had sent people to urge him several times, but the young master remained unmoved, his gaze fixed on the woman in the tree, as if he would rather gaze at her for a lifetime.
Liu Shun suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He knew that the young master was worried that the Empress would kill this woman after he left. While waiting for the woman's pressure points to release automatically, the young master had never been so unable to let go of a woman. He had never seen such pain and vulnerability in the young master's eyes. The young master's current appearance filled him with a deep-seated disgust for this woman. What powerful methods had she used to make the young master abandon his status and position, refusing to marry Qi Xin, the most beautiful woman in the world, only seeking to wander the world with her, living a simple and austere life in the mountains? What was so good about her that the young master would even abandon him? Thinking of this, a growing hatred rose in Liu Shun's heart.
Two hours passed. Liu Shun, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, was also numb and cold in his hands and feet. The woman's pressure points were finally released, and she suddenly fell from the tree, lying motionless on the ground. He was startled, thinking: Could she have died from the fall? He was about to sneer when he noticed the young master beside him suddenly tremble. His fingers, which were gripping the tree trunk, dug deeply into the bark, silently tearing off a piece of bark mixed with blood. He couldn't see the young master's expression, but he knew the young master was enduring, enduring great pain. This woman had caused the young master such suffering, and Liu Shun's hatred grew stronger.
The woman finally stood up, her steps unsteady and stumbling, and gradually left the woods, disappearing from his and the young master's sight. The young master did not move again, and he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Hua Wuduo returned to the bamboo hut first. She sat quietly inside, her body soaked through from the rain, a chill seeping into her body and mind, yet she didn't want to use her internal energy to resist it. She felt a strange sense of peace amidst the cold and trembling that tormented her. Recalling the scene just now, she suddenly felt weak all over. She knew she would have to face it, but she hadn't expected it to happen so quickly, and he had left without giving her a chance to argue. He wouldn't let her chase after him; he was hiding something from her. Thinking of this, her expression darkened.
Remembering his words that if she died, he would never live on alone, a pang of fear shot through her heart. She suddenly realized—did he think she wouldn't chase after him just because he wouldn't let her? She smiled, abruptly standing up, instantly regaining all her strength. Her eyes shone with dazzling light. She would chase after him, no matter what. Xiu was hers! She would tell him her true identity herself, let him know that he could marry her, that they were a perfect match, and that she could give him what he wanted!
She quickly packed her things and left the bamboo forest to chase after the capital.
She never expected that she would be followed as soon as she came down the mountain.
She pretended not to know anything until she checked into the inn. As darkness fell, she changed her clothes and went to the man's house. Hanging upside down on the roof, she heard voices inside. After hearing them mention the characteristic of wearing gold rings on both fingers, Hua Wuduo removed the gold rings from all ten of her fingers. Later, she heard them describe her appearance again. Touching her face, she realized that in her haste to leave the bamboo forest, she had forgotten to change her mask.
She secretly left the inn that night, and the next day, she deliberately swayed and walked in front of those people, turning left and right, but they completely ignored her. One of them, annoyed at losing her, glanced at her disdainfully, thought she was in the way, and shoved her aside. Hua Wuduo flicked her sleeve and left.
Shaking off those people wasn't difficult; as long as she concealed all the details she hadn't paid attention to before, it would be hard for her to be recognized. However, she hadn't expected to encounter Tang Ye on her journey shortly after leaving the town.
A rain had just fallen, and a lingering red glow remained on the horizon. The faint light shone on everything, neither bright nor dim, but rather somewhat weak. Hua Wuduo was hurrying towards the capital when he saw a group of people locked in fierce combat ahead. He didn't know how long they had been fighting; countless corpses lay on the ground, some in extremely gruesome states, their faces unrecognizable and rotting deep within the bones—clearly, they had died from poisoning.
Hua Wuduo watched from the shadows, observing forty or fifty people surrounding two masked men in black. Behind these two masked men was another person, seemingly resting and meditating. When he recognized the meditating person, he was secretly startled. Tang Ye?!
Tang Ye's face was pale and his lips were dark; he remained seated in meditation and did not make a move.
Hua Wuduo finally understood: Tang Ye was being hunted down by a large number of people. Besides those already dead, there were still forty or fifty people left, all of whom were highly skilled. Tang Ye was likely seriously injured; his face was pale, and he seemed somewhat powerless. The two masked men protecting him were also in dire straits, clearly trying to protect Tang Ye at all costs.
She never imagined that someone like Tang Ye would be hunted down. When the red glow on the horizon disappeared, the two masked men protecting Tang Ye had been killed, and Tang Ye was surrounded by the crowd.
Hua Wuduo heard one of them say, "We've been waiting for this day when your poison flares up every month. Tang Ye, you're truly amazing, killing so many martial arts masters. However, today you will die by my hand! From now on, the Poison King will no longer be a legend in the martial arts world, hahaha..." The man threw his head back and laughed loudly, "The Poison King is nothing more than this."
Tang Ye ignored him, but for some reason, he suddenly looked up and saw her hiding in a tree in the distance.
The moment their eyes met, Hua Wuduo was startled and nearly fell off the tree. He had actually discovered her hiding place all along. Hua Wuduo suspected that Tang Ye's gaze was also poisonous, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.
She hadn't wanted to show herself, but since he had seen her, she felt a little embarrassed. Thinking of their relationship, remembering how he had saved her and given her such good medicine, it seemed unfair not to help. Her thoughts were conflicted, and she struggled internally. She thought that since he had seen her, not showing up would surely incur his resentment, and if he were to retaliate later by poisoning her with something that would haunt her... With that thought, she gritted her teeth, reached into her pocket, and pulled out something. Since this blinding bullet was a gift from him, she would repay the favor.
**********************************
Hua Wuduo suddenly appeared, threw down a blinding bullet, and ran with Tang Ye. Unexpectedly, they hadn't run far before Tang Ye fainted. It turned out that he was already at his limit and had only used his true energy to keep himself from fainting.
At this moment, Tang Ye's body was cold and stiff, his face pale and his lips purple, and he could not be woken up no matter how hard he tried. Knowing that the blinding bullets would not delay those people for long, Hua Wuduo, without a chance to catch his breath, carried the unconscious Tang Ye and fled into the deep mountains, running until late at night.
The towering trees blocked out the moonlight, plunging the surroundings into darkness, punctuated only by the occasional low growl of wild beasts. Hua Wuduo was cold and hungry, his body a disheveled mess. His face was scratched by fallen branches, and his mask was ruined, so he had to tear it off and put it away. He figured those people wouldn't catch up for a while, but this wasn't a place to linger. He needed to find a secluded spot, eat something, and try to wake Tang Ye. Without time to think, Hua Wuduo carried Tang Ye on his back again, searching for a hidden place to conceal themselves.
Tang Ye's body was cold and occasionally convulsed. Hua Wuduo took a moment to check his body and found no serious external injuries. He noticed that Tang Ye's brows were furrowed, as if he was suffering unbearable pain even in his unconscious state. This reminded Hua Wuduo of Xu Qingcheng's words: "The unbearable pain when the poison flares up every month."
Without time to think, Hua Wuduo carried Tang Ye on his back and continued forward. Before long, they found a cave where they could hide. Hua Wuduo was overjoyed and ran towards the cave with Tang Ye on his back. However, before they reached the cave entrance, he suddenly lost his footing and fell into a huge cavern. In his panic, Hua Wuduo lost his footing and reached out to grab the entrance, but his hand slipped and he couldn't hold onto Tang Ye on his back. Hua Wuduo could have stopped falling, but seeing Tang Ye fall, he turned around to grab him, but his hand slipped and he also slipped down.
Below the cave was a deep pool of water. Tang Ye fell in first, followed by Hua Wuduo.
In the water, Hua Wuduo hurriedly grabbed Tang Ye to prevent him from sinking to the bottom. Looking up, he could see no light, only pitch blackness. The walls were smooth and wet, offering no way to climb. Several attempts to climb back up failed, and he fell each time. He was extremely anxious and murmured, "Are we going to die here?"
The two of them rose and fell with the water in the pool, which was icy cold, the chill penetrating to their very bones with each passing moment. What kind of place was this? Hua Wuduo was desperate but helpless. She could only cling to Tang Ye for warmth, circulating her inner energy to ward off the cold. In the face of life and death, these martial arts heroes had long forgotten about the boundaries between men and women. The journey had been exhausting, and the water was too cold. Even with her internal energy, Hua Wuduo's teeth chattered from the cold. Although she and Liu Xiu had recuperated in the valley for several months, she was still recovering from serious injuries. Her current situation was dire; she knew she couldn't hold on much longer. To keep herself awake, Hua Wuduo clung tightly to Tang Ye, as if that was her only support. She suddenly thought that if she stepped on Tang Ye's head, perhaps she could… At this thought, she paused slightly, then realized the cave was too deep, and she wasn't entirely confident she could leap out, so she dismissed the idea.
She tried to cheer herself up while angrily tugging at Tang Ye's cheek: "When are you going to wake up? Wake up, wake up!" She tugged and tugged, but Tang Ye didn't react even after being tormented for a long time.
She sighed, released her grip, and, disregarding everything else, hugged Tang Ye tightly, trying to warm herself. She rested her chin on his shoulder, slowly channeling her inner energy into his body through her palms to warm both of them. Even so, her hands and feet remained unbearably cold. She could only force herself to stay awake, muttering to herself, "Are you cursed? Why do I always find myself in dire straits when I'm with you? Last time I almost died taking that blow for you, and now it's the same situation again. I never intended to die with you." Thinking of this, she couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly, continuing, "You know what? Many people are afraid of the poison in your body, and I'm afraid too. But look at me now, I'm holding you, and I can torture you however I want, make you cry and you cry." Hua Wuduo tore off his eyes and face to make him look like he was crying. "Make you laugh and you laugh." Hua Wuduo then pulled his face upwards. After fiddling with it for a while, she finally sighed and said, "But what's the use? We're both about to die. I could have just abandoned you, but I didn't. Do you know why? You don't, do you? I don't know either." She talked to herself for a while, which, though boring, also made her a little clearer-headed, and she hugged him again.
Time passed slowly, and she felt increasingly listless. She gently rested her head on his shoulder and murmured, "From childhood to adulthood, I have always heard your name and been filled with fantasies about you. When I was little, I thought my father was the most handsome, so I thought you should look like my father. Later, I thought Master Miaozhi was also very handsome, so I thought you would look like Master. I never thought you would look like anyone else."
She chuckled softly, the sound echoing in the cave. She struggled to regain some consciousness and continued, "Actually, I've often heard people say that you are the most skilled poison master in the world. Even the most skilled martial artists are afraid of your poisons. At the time, I was secretly delighted, thinking that you were really amazing and that I would definitely not be afraid of being bullied if I married you in the future."
"Actually, I didn't really want to run away from the wedding. I just wanted to realize my dream of being a chivalrous woman wandering the world before the wedding, and maybe I also wanted to secretly see what you looked like, to see if you were really as poisonous as my sister said, not like a human being. But I never thought of ruining our marriage. It's just that later, your decisive reneging on the engagement really left me with a bad feeling."
Time passed slowly, and Hua Wuduo felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier, her body gradually becoming uncontrollable. She slightly raised the corners of her mouth and murmured to herself, "Sister, I have failed your trust. I should have left him earlier, and I wouldn't be in this situation today. ... I should have... listened to you earlier. But I just can't do it, putting myself in the middle and everyone else on the other side."
Talking to herself didn't seem to be working anymore. She struggled to keep her eyes open, continuously channeling her inner energy into Tang Ye, resting her head on his shoulder, and whispering in his ear, "I can't hold on much longer, are you really... not going to wake up?..." Tang Ye still didn't respond.
After an unknown amount of time, Hua Wuduo's hands and feet had become numb and she was gradually losing feeling. She forced a smile, nestled her head against Tang Ye's neck, and rubbed her tears on his shoulder. She whispered, "Tang Ye, we're both about to die. To die with you... I... will... be disappointed... because... I haven't seen Xiu... I haven't told him... my..." She finally couldn't hold on any longer, closed her eyes, and mouthed the word "identity," but her hands still held Tang Ye tightly, never letting go.
After an unknown amount of time, Tang Ye, in the darkness, let out a groan and slowly opened his eyes.
Darkness enveloped him, and suddenly a pair of hands encircled his waist. The all-too-familiar scent and intimate gesture made him instinctively want to push those hands away, but she held him too tightly and too persistently, refusing to let go even in her unconscious state. He couldn't push her away. Tang Ye was startled and then felt the continuous flow of true energy emanating from her body, extremely weak but uninterrupted.
In the darkness, the pool water was icy cold. Her breathing was barely audible, and her arms, which were clutching herself, had lost consciousness but did not loosen their grip even slightly, like the unyielding will of a dying person. Realizing his situation and why she was acting this way, Tang Ye instantly snapped back to reality.
He called softly, "Wu Duo?" but found that she did not respond. He turned his head to look at her and saw her pale, bloodless face with her eyes closed, which made him tremble slightly.
Her arms were still wrapped around him, and her true energy was still being transferred to him through her hands. At this moment, an unprecedented feeling surged into his heart. The feeling was so unfamiliar that it made him feel inexplicably stunned.
Memories flooded his mind: Luoyang, where she had unhesitatingly shielded him from a fatal blow. At that time, he hadn't believed she was doing it for him, but now… The slowly flowing inner energy stirred his heart. He reached out and embraced her cold body, channeling his inner energy to warm her while simultaneously surveying their surroundings. Light was beginning to appear overhead; dawn was approaching. Tang Ye used the light to see the cave's interior. The cave was oval-shaped, with smooth walls, likely due to years of water erosion. The pool of water was about five zhang (approximately 10 meters) below the entrance. With his current skill, escaping with the unconscious Hua Wuduo was impossible. But if he used her for leverage, perhaps…
Did she think the same thing last night? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at the woman in his arms. What were her feelings as she spent the whole night with him last night?
Return to Beijing
He pressed several acupoints on her body, kneaded them for a while, and then channeled some internal energy into her. After a while, she slightly frowned, coughed a few times, and slowly opened her eyes. Her gaze was unfocused at first, but when she came to her senses and saw him clearly, her eyes suddenly reddened, and she burst into tears without saying a word. Because the two were still embracing in the water, her snot and tears fell unceremoniously onto his shoulder. He tried to push her away but couldn't, and his brows furrowed deeply. Then he felt her pounding his back, and heard her crying loudly, "You've finally woken up! I thought we were going to die this time."
Tang Ye struggled for a moment, then stopped when he found her body was ice cold and trembling violently. He said coldly, "What good is it if I wake up? I still can't escape."
"Huh?" Hua Wuduo was stunned upon hearing this, then burst into tears, "Could it be that I'm really going to die?"
Tang Ye simply hummed in response.
Hua Wuduo cried out even louder, "I don't want to die... Ah..."
"Crying won't help." Tang Ye delivered a merciless blow to Yu Hua, effectively silencing her sobs.
Since crying was useless, Hua Wuduo stopped crying abruptly and, very pragmatically, coughed and asked, "Then how can it be useful?"
Tang Ye said, "Unless a miracle occurs."
Hua Wuduo stopped speaking.
After a while, Hua Wuduo and Tang Ye sat back to back. Now that they were both awake, they naturally changed their positions. She relied on the true energy that Tang Ye slowly transferred to her for warmth, as if it were perfectly natural for Tang Ye to do so. Tang Ye's true energy was profound and pure, and Hua Wuduo gradually felt much warmer. She then said, "If there is a miracle and we are both still alive, can you promise me one thing?"
Tang Ye asked, "What is it?"
Hua Wuduo said, "Give me a beating."
Tang Ye asked, "Why?"
Hua Wuduo said, "Because I've wanted to beat you up for a long time."
Tang Ye asked, "Then why don't you make a move?"
Hua Wuduo said, "We can't beat them."
Tang Ye stopped speaking.
Hua Wuduo asked, "Then do you agree to let me hit you?"
Tang Ye said, "You won't agree?"
Hua Wuduo asked, "Why?"
Tang Ye asked, "Why should I agree?"
Hua Wuduo said, "Because it was a miracle."
Tang Ye said, "There will be no miracle."
Hua Wuduo said bluntly, "You might as well be unconscious."
After a long pause, Tang Ye suddenly said, "The water level is rising."
After observing for a while, Hua Wuduo exclaimed happily, "It seems so! Does that mean we're saved?!"
Tang Ye nodded.
Hua Wuduo laughed and said, "So it turns out there really is a miracle." As she said this, her gaze towards Tang Ye was clearly malicious.
Tang Ye ignored her.
The water level in the cave was very strange. It seemed to be connected to the nearby rivers and lakes on the other side, and there were also tides. Before the sun came out, the water level rose rapidly by several feet and was not far from the cave entrance. Because his power was too exhausted, Hua Wuduo naturally had Tang Ye carry him up into the cave.
Later, she used the excuse that she had carried him yesterday, so it was his turn to carry her today, and she wouldn't get off no matter how much Tang Ye shook her. Finally, Tang Ye stopped shaking her and carried her. Soon she fell asleep on his back. In her sleep, her body was still trembling and she would cough occasionally.