Jiang Li leaves the pass

The wind blew leaves all over the ground, and the withered leaves swirled around Sima Xian. Amid the howling wind, he smiled faintly, always so calm and peaceful.

Is that really the case?

As Xu was picked up by Wen Ke again, before leaving, she looked at Sima Xian with a gaze that said, "People change a lot over time."

When he uses any means to achieve his goals, and his hands are covered in blood, does he ever think of the promise he made to her when she was young: that he was willing to die for the common people?

She used to truly believe that he was the immortal being of her time, but now this very appearance has long become a mask for mingling with power and fame.

"Ah—"

"Yes, learn from me, Ah Ling—"

In his memory, Sima Xian was younger, his temples not yet streaked with gray. One corner of his pale blue robe billowed in the wind that swept across the threshold, while the other corner was pinned down by young Lu Kou. This was because Lu Kou had lost her balance and, before falling, had grabbed Sima Xian's clothes, causing him to kneel on the ground. He didn't mind, placing little Lu Kou beside him and continuing to call her to speak.

“Ah…Ling.”

"Ah Ling is so smart." Sima Xian placed his hand on her fluffy head and stroked it a couple of times. Her hair was dry and needed more nourishment.

"clever?"

Sima Xian pulled her onto his lap and gently pinched her nose, saying, "It means I'm praising you."

"Ugh—" Lu Kou, the little girl, suddenly threw herself into Sima Xian's arms, burying her head in his arms and refusing to look up.

Sima Xian's smile widened. Seeing Shen Huaiyu come in from outside, he reached out and poked Lu Kou, but she still didn't move. He had no choice but to explain to Shen Huaiyu, who was kind-hearted, and squatted down opposite Lu Kou to watch her.

Lu Kou occasionally raised her head, her round eyes meeting Shen Huaiyu's smiling gaze, but within a second she shrank back into Sima Xian's arms.

"Ayu, you can still back out now. There's still a while before our wedding."

"I have no regrets."

Lu Kou had only recently started speaking and couldn't understand what they were saying. She stared at them with wide eyes, leaning over Sima Xian and tilting her head.

She couldn't understand, and was feeling drowsy. It seemed they had finished talking. Sima Xian reached out and tapped her forehead. "I'll make you a bed boy back then."

Lu Kou didn't understand what it meant at first, until Sima Xian got married and the servants of the Prince's Mansion dressed her up festively and made her roll around on the bed.

She had been instructed by Sima Xian beforehand that she should roll around on the bed a few times when she saw it today.

Lu Kou rolled around on the bed a few times on her own initiative, and was praised by the nanny next to her. She was also given a lot of wedding candy. Lu Kou was only four years old, and she couldn't hold onto a big pile of wedding candy. She dropped a few after taking a few steps. She was in a hurry to find Sima Xian. When she found out, she only had three or four left in her hand.

She turned her head and saw that the scattered pieces of her candy were all along the way.

Sima Xian was right in front of her. After looking around, Lu Kou decided to go find Sima Xian first. Just as she reached the edge of the crowd, Gu Qingyi grabbed her.

You can't go.

"No, you can go. Why?" Lu Kou looked at Gu Qingyi in confusion, then reached out and gave her the candy.

Gu Qingyi glanced behind her, understood what she meant, and carried her to pick up candy while comforting her.

Lu Kou did not see Sima Xian until the next morning.

As Lu Kou grew older, her temper worsened. She stole his flowers and, when drunk, thought she was still a child, pestering Sima Xian to let her fly a kite at night.

She planted bamboo at Tianque Tower, and even after several years, she would still pester Sima Xian to dig bamboo shoots with her during the winter.

Sima Xian was kind-hearted and never got angry with Lu Kou, often indulging in her silly antics.

For a long time, Lu Kou felt lucky. Although she didn't have the love of her biological parents, she had the love of her chosen family and the companionship of her close friends.

But things are different now. She must stay calm, keep her composure, and act according to her plan.

Wen Ke carried Sui Zhixu back to the house and adjusted her into a comfortable position.

"Don't worry, he's fine."

"You've seen him?" Sui Zhixu looked up and saw Wen Ke nod. She felt slightly relieved, but regret followed.

If she had known this would happen, she shouldn't have summoned Xiao Qing. Xiao Furong would have been worried and suspicious if she hadn't returned. The message she sent back only strengthened his resolve to go and negotiate with Sima Xian.

It was her fault for not considering things properly.

But Wen Ke had seen him before, and recalling Wen Ke's code, she looked at her as she was about to walk out the door and made a hand gesture behind her back.

"night."

I see. But Jiang Li is about to leave seclusion.

Her plan coincided with that of Little Hibiscus.

Sima Xian stood downstairs, and Wen Ke came down to him, bowed and greeted him.

"Is she asleep?"

"Um."

"Take good care of her." After saying that, Sima Xian stood downstairs looking up at the building for a long time.

The system's cold voice, with its metallic scraping sound, continued to echo in his ears, repeating the same words about following Xu and his luck.

These were nothing but discouraging words, which Sima Xian ignored entirely. The so-called extraterrestrial objects were nothing but wishful thinking and lifeless constructs; he could never possibly lose.

Not knowing when Sima Xian would leave, Wen Ke respectfully saw him off and sent Chu Jiu to protect him. Seeing that Sima Xian did not object, Wen Ke felt more confident.

Night fell silently, and then Xu heard the hiss of a snake. At that moment, she finished circulating her inner energy in her dantian for the last time and spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Seeing this, Wen Ke quickly caught her and waved to her.

Xi Yushao's drug was very potent. As soon as Xu Zhixu used her internal energy, she discovered that it would catalyze the drug's effects. At that moment, she had an idea.

The toxins were too strong to be neutralized directly, but she could use her internal energy to temporarily envelop them, isolating them outside her dantian and preventing them from spreading and eroding her internal organs.

The first time, she forcibly used her internal energy to cut her wrist, at which point the toxins spread through her bloodstream.

After that, Xu used a different, unique set of techniques, which she had learned by accident.

From the inside out, during the first half of the cultivation technique, her body would be extremely weak. All the techniques in her body would be supporting her dantian and internal organs, weakening the external environment. Sui Zhixu also used this to deal with the sleeping drug.

Later, Xu Zhi's internal energy gathered in his dantian became increasingly mellow and profound.

Xi Yushao tried to use incense, but Sui Zhixu observed him and he did not show any signs of fainting or weakness. She had some doubts because Xi Yushao was just a scholar and did not possess any internal energy.

However, she attracted Chu Jiu's attention in the middle, but Chu Jiu did not react. Knowing that Xu would take the antidote before they entered the house, and that Xi Yushao insisted on braiding her hair, she took the opportunity to do so.

She dared not take too much for fear of being discovered. After taking the antidote, she observed Xi Yushao's reaction for two days and confirmed that he had not noticed the pills had disappeared. She knew that her body would become weaker on the surface when she practiced the technique. Seeing that his condition was not right, Xi Yushao called a doctor and stopped the drug.

There was a reason why Xi Yushao was beaten by Sima Xian; she even added fuel to the fire.

Without the drug, Sui Zhixu secretly practiced his skills in private and finally succeeded today.

After mastering this technique, her martial arts skills reached a new level, bringing her closer to her peak performance in her previous life.

Sui Zhixu wiped the black blood from the corner of her mouth. When she saw Xi Yushao, she was determined to cut him to pieces.

"What about the ninth day?"

"I left with him."

As Xu Zhixu's eyes darted around, she suspected that Sima Xian was testing her.

"You stay inside, I'll go through the window."

"Where are you going? They have spies all over Miao territory now," Wen Ke asked, gripping her arm.

"I went to find Jiang Li; she has emerged from seclusion."

Su Zhixu's gaze was fixed on Wen Ke's hand that was gripping her arm, and then followed her hand to her face.

She blinked gently, her long eyelashes trembling slightly like two light feathers. A seemingly indifferent and aloof mist veiled her dark eyes, as if isolating her from all things in the world.

Few could detect the turbulent emotions hidden in her eyes—restraint, anticipation, and grief.

"I will stay here."

Sui Zhixu jumped out of the window, leaving behind her last words, "I hope so."

But it's okay, this time she learned to leave herself a way out.

Sui Zhixu had lived in Miao territory since childhood. When she first returned, she went with Jiang Yun to see the surrounding area. Every plant and tree was the same as before, and it was a place she was familiar with.

It was incredibly easy for her to find a deserted path in her own backyard and get to where Jiang Li was in seclusion.

Halfway there, she even slipped Little Green out.

As Xu cautiously approached the cave, he indeed saw the people from Qibao and their subordinates on the other side of the cave.

She had Xiao Qing make a sound to attract Xiao Qing's attention, while she held her breath to reduce her presence. Jiang Li heard her, as expected. Impatiently, she chased them away, completely ignoring reason, and pulled Xiao Qing out. The largest python stood before them, its bloody mouth wide open, and everyone retreated hastily.

No one dared to provoke the Gu King of Miao territory.

"The king wants us to take you back?"

"Is this my territory or yours? Enough nonsense, get back here!" Jiang Li's expression was as cold as ice, and his sharp gaze swept over the group of people.

The group had no choice but to retreat.

Once he was sure they had left, Sui Zhixu poked his head out of the bushes, regained his breathing, and ran towards Jiang Li.

"Ah Niang!"

As she approached the final step, Sui Zhixu stopped in her tracks, her nose stinging with tears, her blurry eyes fixed on the shoulder she had once stabbed at Jiang Li.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Jiang Li hugged her tightly. "A-Ling is so old and still crying. Don't say sorry, you're all better now. Do you want to take a look?"

Sui Zhixu leaned on her shoulder, sobbing as she complained.

“I’m going to chop that Xi Yushao to pieces. I’m going to throw him into the Cave of Ten Thousand Snakes. He’s ruined my reputation.”

Jiang Li felt both sorry for her and angry when she saw her crying and complaining, but she laughed out loud when she heard this sentence.

“Alright, Ah Niang, bring him here and do with him as you please.” Jiang Li gently stroked Sui Zhixu’s hair with tender eyes full of love and compassion.

"You have no taste, you can't even pick out clothes for me."

"After you left, everyone bullied me."

Sui Zhixu put her arm around Jiang Li's waist, and Jiang Li pulled her into her arms. In an instant, many images flashed through her mind. She suppressed them all and gently comforted her by stroking her head, "It's all A-Nian's fault. A-Nian promises that it won't happen again. No one can bully A-Ling, not even Sima Xian."

“He has been kind to me. I used to want to take you away from him, but since you are related to him by blood, I will help him.”

Blood ties are unbreakable. Lu Kou once said that they were blood ties, and even with a knife to Ye Taoyao's neck, she was unable to avenge Shisan Niang.

"I want to avenge Thirteen Sister. She cannot die an unjust death, because of Ye Taoyao's whim. I also do not want to die an unjust death at the hands of Sima Xian, my body left to rot in the wilderness, my soul unable to return to my hometown to rest."

"A-Nian will always be on your side."

Sui Zhixu buried her head in Jiang Li's neck; the familiar scent was enough to while away the years they hadn't seen each other.

If Thirteen Sister were still alive in their hometown, their family could be considered reunited.

But now they are separated by life and death. All that remains of Thirteen Sister is a grave and an ancestral tablet in the house. The moment the incense is lit, the smoke curls around, and that is the closest they are to each other now.

Now, she can only remember her by touching her tombstone and by the hazy smoke of incense before her eyes.

The hatred for her own family was a deep and personal wound. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that this hatred would last a lifetime.