Ветер и дым

Глава 20

Tang Congrong's lightness skill was superb. With a flick of her wrist, she released a pale red mist that enveloped the man in black. The man in black fell softly to the ground without making a sound and disappeared bit by bit, leaving not even a trace of powder behind.

The starlight was dim, illuminating this eerie scene.

Tang Qiefang took off her outer robe, intending to drape it over Tang Congrong's shoulders, when Tang Congrong suddenly said, "Don't come any closer." After a pause, she added, "Throw it over here."

Tang Congrong was acting strangely tonight. Tang Qiefang silently threw his outer robe over to him, and Tang Congrong put it on with his back to him. The cloud-patterned curtain was still covering his front and he did not put it away.

"Calm down..." Tang Qiefang didn't know her voice would be so dry, as if there was sand in her throat. Every word she spoke made her throat ache. "Let me see your injury first."

"Need not."

Tang Qiefang frowned, grabbed his shoulder, and tried to check his wound. Tang Congrong seemed startled and broke free of his hand, gracefully moving away.

"Calm down, your wound needs to be treated!"

"I know," Tang Congrong said from afar, "but you don't need to come up."

How can you reach the wound on your back by yourself?

"I have my own way."

As they passed a bustling, high-rise building, the sounds of singing and dancing drifted down. Tang Congrong stopped, suddenly removed Tang Qiefang's headdress, took off all the beads, and went inside to say to a woman, "Serve me a bath, apply medicine, and also, keep your mouth shut—can you do that?"

The woman held out a handful of pearls and hurriedly said, "I can do it, I can do it."

The woman led Tang Congrong upstairs. A line of bright red blood seeped from Tang Congrong's back, as if it were stuck to Tang Qiefang's eyes and couldn't be pulled off. Her heart and eyes were filled with red.

At the same time, while he was indulging in pleasure, Tang Congrong was being hunted down.

The murderous intent on Tang Congrong's face, the wounds on Tang Congrong's body, Tang Congrong's desperate fighting style, and Tang Congrong's resistant attitude towards him made his whole heart turn cold.

Chapter 41

It became like a hard, cold stone, lodged in my lungs, causing a sharp, aching pain throughout my chest and abdomen.

He suddenly stood up, rushed up to the second floor, and found the door bolted from the inside. He knocked on the door, "Congrong, open the door. You don't have any medicine for knife wounds."

The woman opened the door a crack, took the medicine bottle, and was about to close it. Tang Qiefang stopped the door with her hand, saying, "I'll help him apply the medicine."

"She can come," Tang Congrong's calm voice came from inside. The room was steamy; he was taking a bath.

Tang Qiefang frowned.

Tang Congrong didn't wear her outer garment, and her inner garment was torn. Tang Qiefang instructed a servant in the building to fetch some clothes from the inn. When the clothes were handed over, the woman said, "The young master inside said he would be resting here tonight. Please make yourself at home."

Tang Qiefang's hand trembled, and her clothes almost fell to the ground.

He had always tried to make Tang Congrong's life more interesting and had always tried to get Tang Congrong closer to women. Today, Tang Congrong was finally going to be a real man, but he was not as excited as he had imagined.

Surprisingly, I felt a little disappointed.

I can't explain why, but I just think of the person who never lets anyone sleep next to me. Tonight, someone will sleep next to him, resting their head on his arm, hearing his breathing. This kind of intimacy... even I, who grew up with him, have never experienced. Today, it will be given to a stranger.

This feeling is like seeing winter's unstoppable footsteps approaching at the end of autumn, a slight chill, a slight sense of loss, a slight sense of melancholy.

He ordered a pot of wine and sat down in a corner of the hall.

At midnight, the hall was bustling with activity.

Even at 1-3 AM, it was still very lively.

At the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), the crowds who had been seeking pleasure finally began to tire and gradually left or went into their rooms. In the hall, a few girls who had no guests were chatting.

Someone tried to strike up a conversation, but he flicked his sleeve and sprinkled a layer of poisonous wasps on the ground, trapping himself inside. Everyone who approached suffered excruciating pain. His world had always been one where no one could get close. The only one who could approach now seemed to be slowly leaving.

Feeling melancholy, he laughed.

The girls finally realized that this handsome young man in fancy clothes was a madman.

As dawn approached, the entire building finally quieted down, and the girls went to sleep.

The sounds of vendors calling out their wares gradually drifted in from outside. Daylight broke, and the entire small town awoke, except for the people here who were still asleep. Tang Qiefang lay on the table, her ornate sleeves covering half of it, her long, black hair flowing freely. In her right hand, she held a wine jug, poured herself a cup, and slowly drank it down.

Someone stood in front of him. He saw a pale blue hem of a garment, and above that, a snow-white fox fur coat. His face was also snow-white from the blood loss he had suffered from his wounds the previous night.

"Tang...Cong...Rong." Tang Qiefang called his name somewhat indistinctly, "You're awake?"

"You're drunk," Tang Congrong said calmly.

"I'm not drunk. I can never get drunk. I really wish I could be like you, so I can just fall asleep when I'm drunk and not know anything when I'm asleep..." Tang Qiefang stood up, a little unsteady, but his mind was truly clear. "Drunk but clear-headed" perfectly describes him. He put down the wine jug. "Are we... about to set off?"

Tang Congrong ordered someone to prepare a hangover soup, but Tang Qieyun interrupted him. Without saying a word, she grabbed his hand and pulled him onto the carriage. She put her feet on the carriage shaft, swayed, and almost fell off. She said to the driver, "Hurry up, hurry up, get out of here quickly." Her body was weak and powerless, her long hair fell across her face, and she leaned against the carriage wall.

Chapter Forty-Two

Tang Congrong helped him up, "What's wrong with you, you're drunk?"

Tang Qiefang's head rested limply on his shoulder, her body utterly weak, her breathing labored. "...I shouldn't have come here yesterday, I shouldn't have left you alone...Congrong, I let you deal with those people by yourself..."

Tang Congrong's hand tightened. "I don't blame you."

The smell of alcohol rose in Tang Qiefang's head, and his heart pounded. He closed his eyes, feeling something churning in his chest. Was it the smell of alcohol? Or something else? He didn't know, and he didn't care. Just thinking about last night made him feel like he'd been whipped, and a breath of stale air rushed up. He exhaled with a "whoosh."

He spat it all onto Tang Congrong.

"Old Quan, stop!" Tang Congrong shouted urgently, "Help me quickly."

The carriage had already left the main street and entered a narrow alleyway surrounded by houses. Lao Quan helped Tang Qie Fang out of the carriage. Tang Qie Fang was still vomiting; her stomach was empty of food, filled only with wine, and she was even vomiting bile.