The old friend is not dead

Wen Ke has been recuperating from her injuries, and her martial arts skills have been almost completely destroyed.

One day, Sima Xian suddenly told her that Lu Kou was not dead and that she was in Miao territory. He said she could send her letters when she had time, and he would deliver them for her.

She did write a letter; Lu Kou had returned, and it was a trap she had "personally" set.

It wasn't until the day Lu Kou returned to Tianque Tower that she learned Lu Kou had just avenged Thirteen Sister and A Ling. Not only had she done nothing for them, but she had also harmed Lu Kou.

When she met Lu Kou's eyes in the crowd, they seemed to be covered by a layer of cold frost, devoid of joy or sorrow.

She couldn't go forward, and Chu Jiu desperately pulled her back, saying, "You're seriously injured right now. Not only can you not help her, but you'll also be in danger yourself."

"But……"

"You'll only cause her trouble."

Wen Ke stopped in her tracks, and Chu Jiu continued, "Only if the eldest daughter-in-law stops resisting, how could the king bear to punish her?"

But Lu Kou didn't; she fought her way out entirely on her own.

"Ah Ling!"

Ignoring Wen Ke's shouts, Lu Kou quickly fled the scene.

For the next three years, Wen Ke did not see her again. She went to mountains, rivers, lakes and seas to look for her. In the winter, heavy snow was left in Jiangnan. Everyone said that Jiangnan had beautiful scenery. She was the only one who appreciated the beauty of the scenery. Compared to the scenery of the scenery and the spring scenery of the world, the first thing she thought of was A Ling's eyes, which were neither sad nor happy.

She tried to find Lu Kou, but then thought that Lu Kou probably wouldn't want to see her.

The last time, she watched Lu Kou fall before her eyes, and it wasn't so hard to let go. Three years had passed, and she had changed a lot, becoming more sullen and aloof. She had many wounds, but she still killed Qi Bao and the other two. Countless gold and silver bells and copper bells in Tianque Tower dared not approach her.

Severely injured, she was no match for the landlord and died in the bamboo grove she had once planted.

"Ah Ling".

Wen Ke rushed over and caught Lu Kou, who had fallen. Blood was spilling from her mouth, and her beautiful face was disheveled with her hair plastered to her forehead, adding a touch of messiness and brokenness.

"Why are you crying? If I die, you'll really be all alone."

Lu Kou raised her hand to wipe the blood off Wen Ke's face, but forgot that she also had blood on her hands, and the more she wiped, the more blood smeared it became.

"Don't die—" Wen Ke usually loved cleanliness and couldn't stand any dirt or mess, but at this moment she didn't care about anything else.

The last words before closing his eyes were light and airy: "I really hate you..."

Find a place to bury her, and listen to others call her a traitor and call her cold-hearted.

Wen Ke felt no particular emotion, but once she settled down, she was everywhere, yet nowhere was she not herself.

Seeing the indelible wounds on her body, she recalled how the two of them had escaped the trap. Snow fell heavily under the bamboo forest, concealing the endless bloodstains, and she realized she couldn't let go of the past.

It turns out she really was all alone.

She hated her even more now. Why did she insist on going her own way? Why did she have to die for her so-called great path and her obsession? Why did she smile while expressing hatred at the last moment?

What was she supposed to do?

She is truly the only one left in this world stained with her blood, the only one left to reminisce about the past.

She also wanted to say that she really hated her.

As time passed, her internal strength remained at half of what it used to be. Helpless, she could only focus more on lightness skills and dodging.

As she followed Jiang Li's lead, she realized that Xu could not be Lu Kou, since Lu Kou had been buried by her own hands behind the mountain.

But she truly is, even though her appearance has changed, even though her identity has changed, her every word and action is still that of the Lu Kou of the past.

But they can't go back.

She hated her, she hated her too.

She still went to see Fan Lingzhang.

How are you going to help us?

"I will bring her back."

—

Fan Lingzhang recalled his conversation with Wen Ke and said, "She said she would bring you back. Combined with my deal with Sima Xian, I came up with a way to get both a person and money."

"Based on my understanding of Sima Xian, if I make a deal with him, he will definitely come to see you." In fact, Fan Lingzhang wanted to say that he had even more reason to see you.

He felt that Sima Xian regarded A Ling as his daughter rather than his niece to some extent.

"It would be perfect for Wen Ke to come see you. He won't let me see you, so Wen Ke can. He won't let Xi Yushao control you anymore. It was expected that Wen Ke would run into him. She said that she has good lightness skills. As long as Sima Xian leaves, Chu Jiu, who is guarding you, is not as good as her. She will bring you back."

Sui Zhixu turned his head and said, "Her internal strength is now reduced by half. If we really fight, Wen Ke is no match for her. I ran away on my own. Sima Xian took Chu Jiu away. I was afraid of a trap, so I ran out of the window."

"It's good that you're back." Fan Lingzhang hugged her from behind. Her expression was indifferent, and it was unclear what she was thinking.

After a long pause, she said, "Stop being so clingy."

"She'll be alright."

The words were spoken very softly; it was unclear whether they were addressed to him or to oneself.

"What about the Yamabu and Echigobu tribes?"

"The Yue tribe has secretly submitted. With Jiang Yun's Gu worms around, they dare not cause trouble. As for the Shan tribe, there were some twists and turns with Shan Niangzi, but fortunately, the former Shan Lao's subordinates are handling things, and things are now relatively safe."

Sui Zhixu nodded. "It won't be long before he finds out I escaped."

"Don't worry, I have a plan." She held Fan Lingzhang's hand and comforted him softly.

In the main hall outside, Jiang Li sat in a chair, her brows furrowed with anger. "Is this how you take care of your sister?"

"She's going down the mountain, don't you know to send a few people to guard her?"

Jiang Yun was truly innocent. He calmly said, "Auntie, A-Ling could beat ten of me."

Seeing Jiang Li's actions, he quickly said, "This was my fault. I shouldn't have let her go down alone. The Mountain Lady has already gathered her former subordinates from the Mountain Division, and the Yue Division is also under our control. It will be just around the corner to take back both divisions."

"Aunt brought the Sima family into the mountains. Now that A-Ling has a dispute with the Sima family, I wonder what Aunt thinks?"

"What do I think? Of course, I'm on A-Ling's side." Jiang Li's gaze was firm.

Jiang Yun touched his nose. Back when A Ling hadn't returned, he didn't know who was the person who was going crazy all day.

Jiang Li would certainly not admit it. Her temper was inherently unstable. Sima Xian was good at talking and easily swayed Jiang Li with a few words, telling her to control Miao territory and strengthen his forces so that he could let A Ling go home.

The more anxious Jiang Li became, the more mistakes she made. Listening to Sima Xian's words did have one advantage: A Ling regained her memories, and the two reconciled. Naturally, Jiang Li couldn't care less about Sima Xian anymore.

He knew that Jiang Li only had A Ling in her mind, and that credibility had nothing to do with her. Once A Ling was involved, everything else had to take a backseat.

This includes herself, of course.

"I just went into seclusion, and the old man from the Yamabe family actually died."

"Hmm." Although the old man Jiang Li mentioned was actually about the same age as her.

Jiang Yun rubbed her temples. "Auntie, there are still many things in Miao territory that need your attention. You see..."

"You can handle it. I'm already at the age where I need to step down. It's fine if you take office earlier."

Jiang Yun clenched her fists, her gaze falling on Wu Shanyue sitting to the side, who was enjoying herself by herself.

He didn't want to.

"This is not appropriate."

Jiang Li: "What's inappropriate about it? You are the next Holy Son. It's your responsibility in terms of both emotion and reason. Don't shirk your duties."

“No, I’ve only just gotten married. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking. You’re handing over all the affairs of Miao territory to me, and then you’re running off with A-Ling all by yourself. There’s absolutely no way you’re going to do that.” Jiang Yun said coldly, taking out a stack of papers from her sleeve.

“These are all matters concerning Miao territory that you were in seclusion with. You should handle them well. A-Ling wouldn’t want to delay your affairs, and you don’t want me to tell A-Ling about this, do you? Just focus on your work, Aunt. You’re still young, in the prime of your life, and can work for decades to come. I’m not in a hurry to become the Holy Son.”

"Besides, under the current circumstances, you should at least pave the way for Aling."

Despite Jiang Yun's repeated persuasion, Jiang Li's mind was filled with thoughts of A Ling. Thinking of A Ling's pitiful appearance, she took over a stack of tasks. Seeing this, Jiang Yun breathed a sigh of relief, quickly grabbed Wu Shanyue's hand, and turned to leave.

"It's getting late, Auntie, you should get ready and go to sleep. Sweet dreams."

Wu Shanyue ran after him, wondering, "Wouldn't it be bad if we just ran away like this?"

"It's alright, it's late, Auntie needs to rest too."

When they went out, Xiaoqing greeted Jiang Yun enthusiastically with the tip of her tail.

Wushan Yue stopped and asked him, "Is it Xiao Xiao Qing's mother?"

"Um."

“It’s very beautiful.” Wu Shanyue’s eyes narrowed and curved. Xiao Qing happily swung the tip of its tail and even gently wrapped its tail around her wrist.

"Why is it so big, while Little Green is so small?"

Jiang Yun was silent for a moment, "It's a long story. Xiao Qing is my aunt's companion Gu. My aunt was treated as a Gu person by my grandfather, and Xiao Qing was also persecuted. It is said that my grandfather forced Xiao Qing to be fed with my aunt's heart's blood so that it could become the new Gu King. As the Gu King, Xiao Qing devoured all the other Gu worms and grew into what it is now. As for Xiao Xiao Qing, it is not A Ling's companion Gu. A Ling does not know Gu techniques and cannot raise it. My aunt made Xiao Xiao Qing recognize its master just so that it could report A Ling's situation in a timely manner."

Wushan Yue nodded as if she understood, her hand stroking Xiao Qing's cold scales, which felt cool, like winter snow.

"Ah Yun, it's snowing."

Jiang Yun looked up at the sky, where fluffy snowflakes fell, adorning the dark curtain with specks of white light.

Does it need to hibernate?

"It doesn't need to, but it will sleep when it's not doing anything."

Xiaoqing wagged its tail to indicate that Jiang Yun was right. Although it did not need to hibernate, it did not like snow. It climbed down the pillar and went inside.

"Let's go back too."

Upstairs, Sui Zhixu and Fan Lingzhang, who were snuggling together, were also talking about the snow.

Fan Lingzhang: "I wonder if we'll be able to go back before the New Year?"

She mentally estimated the time, "It should be okay."

"Ah Ling, it's time to take a bath and go to bed."

Jiang Li's voice came from outside, and Xu Zhi responded and went to open the door.

Jiang Li touched her cheek. "I've prepared water for you."

"You, come out."

These words were clearly directed at Fan Lingzhang inside.

"How can a man who is unmarried and a woman who is not married share a room?"

Before Sui Zhixu could speak, Jiang Li took her hand and said, "Sleep with A-Niang tonight."

She glanced at Fan Lingzhang out of the corner of her eye, nodded decisively, and snuggled up to Jiang Li, saying, "I'll sleep with A-Niang."

Fan Lingzhang: "..."

Sui Zhixu found Fan Lingzhang a new room and comforted him, "Aniang is quite clingy. I was in a bad mood with her the other day because of Sima Xian, so I need to coax her. Please bear with her. She can stay here for a few nights. Aniang always has new things ready, so you don't need to worry."

"I need to coax them too."

Sui Zhixu touched the corner of his lips, her fingertips landing on the corner of his eye, gently tracing the shape of his eye socket.

"Go to sleep now, have a good night's rest."

"Okay." Fan Lingzhang wrapped his arms around her waist and they entwined intimately, their breathing clearly audible. After a while, Sui Zhixu pushed him away and pinched his nose.

“If you keep going like this, Ah Niang will really put all sorts of bugs on you.”

"Ugh, no bugs." Fan Lingzhang hugged Sui Zhixu's waist. He didn't want to lie in bed, half-dead, at all.

"I'm leaving now, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow"