Список самых красивых мужчин в мире боевых искусств

Глава 71

Shen Yuntan was slightly taken aback: "Oh, it's actually a woman, quite assertive indeed. It's just a pity... that face..."

Zi Nu bit her lip and said softly, "For a woman of the Tang family to be disfigured without being executed is a blessing. A few years ago, I only hated that I was born with such a face, which made me even more miserable than a servant girl who serves tea and water."

Shen Yun asked, "Since ancient times, women have cherished their appearance the most. What is the reason for this saying?"

Zi Nu said sadly, "Beautiful women often have tragic fates. The women trained by the Tang Clan, as long as they have some looks, are... are... even worse than prostitutes. Even famous courtesans can choose their patrons..." She turned her face away, unwilling to say more, "Fortunately, not long after, I was betrothed to Miss Wei Qi."

Shen Yuntan was deeply moved. Although he had heard that many prestigious families were involved in such dealings in private, he still couldn't bear to hear Zi Nu say it in person. He said, "I will help you find Tianxiu as soon as possible. This time, you must stick to him and make sure he doesn't give you away to someone else again."

Zi Nu tilted her head back, the beauty mark at the corner of her eye gleaming in the sunlight, yet her face beamed with a radiant smile: "This time, I will definitely not let him leave again!"

Chapter Forty-Four: Regret

For three consecutive days, Shen Yuntan did not appear before Tang Shijiu. Only Zi Nu came to keep her company and talk to her. She had taken the antidote and needed to rest for a while. With Shen Yuntan not around, she had less trouble and entanglement.

It was nearly autumn, and the bright green leaves were gradually turning yellow, slowly drifting down from the treetops. Tang Shijiu stood under the tree, feeling as if a thousand years had passed, when in reality only a hundred days or so had elapsed.

The begonias were in full bloom, a vibrant red expanse. She secretly circulated her internal energy and felt that she was almost fully recovered. She breathed a sigh of relief and began to have other plans.

With her sword in hand and her inner energy focused, Tang Shijiu practiced a set of sword techniques amidst the fluttering leaves with a flick of the blade. This was the first time she had truly practiced her internal energy since being ambushed by the Tang Clan. She felt that with Tang Qingliu's guidance, the control of her internal energy seemed to have opened up a new path, making it easier for her than before. However, if she did not rely on internal energy at all, it seemed that there was a risk of taking shortcuts.

The falling leaves resembled butterflies, fluttering down in abundance.

Dressed in fiery red, with flowing black hair, she moved gracefully through the fallen leaves, like a fairy.

Shen Yun stepped into the courtyard with great interest, and then couldn't take his eyes off it. He had been gone for three days to find a gift for Nineteen. Zi Nu said that gifts should be appropriate, taking into account what the young lady lacks and what she likes.

He was not as clever and perceptive as Tianxiu, and he didn't understand women's hearts at all. He racked his brains all night before he could barely get a clue, so he searched for three days with great enthusiasm, causing a great commotion.

After three days of non-stop work, his chin was bruised, his hair was disheveled, and he was exhausted. However, when he saw her bright eyes, he couldn't help but smile.

In this world, only she could make him feel this way.

When she smiled, he couldn't help but smile too. When she frowned, he couldn't help but want to reach out and smooth the frown lines between her brows; she was full of sorrow, and he wanted to take her place.

However, he couldn't explain why he liked her so much, or why he was so devoted to her, almost to the point of being a masochist.

Unbeknownst to him, Shen Yuntan had fallen hopelessly in love with Tang Shijiu.

If Shenyin's weakness in the past was his frustration at not being able to save Tang Weiqi, then now, this flaw is merely a fleeting glimpse amidst the falling leaves.

After Tang Shijiu finished her swordplay, she wiped the sweat from her brow, looked down at the blooming begonias, and smiled gently. Shen Yuntan didn't know how to speak, fearing that if she made a sound, she would fly into a rage and drive him away. Tang Shijiu noticed someone beside her, turned around, and upon seeing him, her smile vanished. She simply nodded faintly, "Shenyin, hello."

Shen Yun said bitterly, "Nineteen, I still prefer you to call me 'spittoon'."

She tilted her head slightly, her voice tinged with bitterness: "I didn't understand back then, I just made random noises. Don't take Shenyin to heart." Half of it was a fit of pique, and half was a hint of melancholy.

Shen Yun wasn't usually known for her sharp tongue, but she certainly wouldn't let anyone gain the upper hand verbally. Yet now, her throat was dry, and she didn't know how to continue. The smile she gave Qiu Haitang, revealing her canine teeth, seemed as innocent and beautiful as it had back then. However, the indifference Qiu Haitang showed her made her feel as if they were worlds apart, impossible to reconnect.

Tang Shijiu carefully put away the Xuanbei sword: "Thank you for retrieving my sword and for giving me the antidote. My poison is almost cured now, so I'm too embarrassed to bother you any longer. I'll leave tomorrow and return to Xiaoyao Manor."

Shen Yuntan could no longer hold back. He took a step forward and grabbed her sleeve: "Are you leaving?"

Tang Shijiu struggled slowly but couldn't break free: "The Tuanfu Heart Sutra has made me restless, and I always want to go back and see. There are also many things I want to ask Master." Facing Shen Yuntan, she always unconsciously revealed her true thoughts, and she found this habit ridiculous. She raised her head slightly, looked him in the eye, and said, "At least, I am willing to believe Master."

Shen Yun said in a low voice, "I'm sorry, it's my fault...it made you so suspicious of people."

Tang Shijiu said calmly, "It's not that I don't trust others, it's just that I don't trust you."

She struggled a few times, trying to free herself from his sleeve, but Shen Yuntan held on tightly and wouldn't let go. She could only sigh helplessly: "Yuntan, what exactly do you want to do?"

Shen Yun's hands trembled slightly as he turned her shoulders, looked directly into her eyes, and said in a trembling voice, "Tang Shijiu, you said you liked me."

Tang Shijiu took a deep breath: "There's a big tabby cat in the kitchen of Xiaoyao Manor. Every time it makes a mistake, I scold it. But it never remembers."

Shen Yun was taken aback, not understanding why she suddenly brought up the cats of Xiaoyao Manor.

"My master told me that a cat's memory is only a fleeting moment. After that moment, it's too late to discipline it, and it forgets everything. The past is like smoke, and everything is new. I wish I were a cat, able to blink and forget you completely, then toss my hair and continue my carefree life in the martial world. Unfortunately, I'm not that fish. I'm Tang Shijiu. Tang Shijiu is flesh and blood, with love and hate, petty and vengeful. Not everything can be picked up and put down cleanly, and not everyone can say they don't love anymore. Shen Yuntan, I still love you, but I will slowly learn to stop loving you."

She finished speaking in one breath, her voice trembling slightly: "Shen Yuntan...you've never liked me. When we first met, you liked that I resembled Tang Weiqi. Later, you liked that I possessed the Tuanfu Heart Sutra. If I had nothing, would you still have stayed by my side for so long? Would you still like me or not?"

Shen Yuntan reached out his hand, and Tang Shijiu slightly turned his body, causing the hand to freeze in mid-air, unable to be lowered.

He had never felt so dejected. Something choked in his throat, and he couldn't utter a sound. She was right in front of him; just a moment ago she was smiling at the newly blooming azaleas, so approachable. Now, she was as cold as ice, as distant as a world away. After a long while, he finally managed to choke out a sentence: "If I said that everything I did was to keep you by my side, would you still believe me?"

She suddenly smiled wistfully, her soft red lips parted, but she didn't say a word.

Shen Yuntan took out a box from his pocket and said in a low voice, "I don't know how to make you stop being angry. I can only do what I can to help you vent your anger." He opened the box, inside was a crystal ear, still with some dried bloodstains. "This belongs to Gu Yan. I know you hate her. You can't act against her as her senior sister, so I will help you. Whether it's the Tang Clan or Tian Shu, whoever you still hate, I can help you."

He went out for three days, using every means at his disposal, working tirelessly for three days and three nights, and finally found Xu Ziqing and Gu Yan. This was the only way he could think of to please her. Shen Yuntan prided himself on being smart his whole life, but in fact, he found himself even dumber than Tang Yu.

Nineteen looked calmly at the ear in the box and said slowly, "Shen Yuntan, I stopped hating Gu Yan a long time ago, and I stopped disliking Xu Ziqing a long time ago. Tang Clan, Tian Shu, all those who bullied me, now in my heart, none of them can compare to you. Are you going to kill yourself to vent my anger? Are you going to kill everyone you don't like? You, Tian Shu, Tang Yu, you are all abnormal people."

He suddenly slumped, as if all the strength had been drained from his body: "Nineteen, don't do this."

The moment her eyes met Shen Yuntan's, her heart seemed to soften again. Those eyes belonged to the man she had taken in at the foot of Xiaoyao Mountain. A down-on-his-luck scholar, powerless and helpless, who would shout and scream at bandits, and who would save money to buy her a cheap hairpin. But now, all that naiveté and innocence seemed like a joke in front of this man with extraordinary skills and who spent lavishly.

Tang Shijiu pulled a piece of white paper from his pocket: "Zi Nu said before that the mental cultivation method your master taught you was wrong and could only be corrected by the orthodox Tuanfu mental cultivation method. This is the original Tuanfu mental cultivation method, but neither my master nor my father Tang have ever truly understood it. This mental cultivation method is actually not a secret. Even the old woman who cooks at Xiaoyao Manor can recite a few lines. If you find it useful, take it. Don't bother scheming in front of me every day. It's not something valuable, not worth wasting like this. You're wasting yourself, and you're wasting me too."

He didn't answer, but said in a low voice, "I didn't just do it for the Tuanfu Heart Sutra. At first, I didn't know you had..."

Nineteen gave a cold laugh, her tone uncontrollably sharp and sarcastic: "Oh, so it started because of Tang Weiqi?" She said this with a smile, but inside, it felt like a million insects were gnawing at her, the pain so intense that tears streamed down her face. Not wanting him to see, she turned away and hastily wiped them away with her fingers. But he still saw them, and he could no longer hold her in his arms, tell her a joke, or make her happy as before.

"When you approached me, and spent these days with me, besides because of me, Tang Shijiu, wasn't there any other reason?" She gritted her teeth, tears streaming down her face. "You... dare to say it?"

Shen Yun was speechless.

He dared not.