Chapter 2 I Don't Want to Get Married "Anyone who dares to stop me will have to ask my sword first..."

Li Yuheng's smile froze, and a dark look appeared in his eyes: "The news spread so fast, even you know about it?"

He knew that Gu Shanyue never cared about worldly affairs and only cared about that white sword.

He didn't want to tell her so soon.

Gu Shanyue nodded: "I heard it from someone."

After he finished speaking, there was a moment of silence; neither of them said a word.

Li Yuheng stared at Gu Shanyue's calm and composed face, and suddenly said, "Sister."

Gu Shanyue raised her eyes, her pupils light and serene, like a clear spring.

When he was young, Gu Shanyue corrected him many times, but Li Yuheng always refused to call her "aunt" and only called her "sister".

Sister it is then.

He is the son of my senior sister, and she is not related to her by blood. There is nothing wrong with elevating my senior sister by a generation.

Gu Shanyue looked at him, waiting for him to speak.

Li Yuheng frowned, seemingly troubled: "I don't want to get married, what should I do?"

Without hesitation, Gu Shanyue said, "That won't do."

Li Yuheng smiled, revealing sharp canine teeth at the corners of his lips, adding a touch of youthful spirit. He seemed quite satisfied with Gu Shanyue's answer.

“But I can’t,” he turned his face, grabbed Gu Shanyue’s sleeve, and slightly turned down the corners of his mouth, “Sister, please kill them all for me.”

Gu Shanyue's spirits lifted, and he placed his hand on the immaculate scabbard.

"Who to kill?"

Her tone was calm and reliable, as if she would bring back the person's head the moment he uttered a name.

Li Yuheng laughed again, overjoyed, a faint blush rising to his pale cheeks, as if he were drunk.

He rested his head on Gu Shanyue's arm: "I was just teasing you, why did you take it seriously?"

Gu Shanyue, who had been sitting upright, relaxed her back and said, "Oh."

“Things in this world can’t be solved by killing each other,” Li Yuheng chuckled softly, nuzzled her shoulder, and sighed, “Sister, you wouldn’t understand.”

Gu Shanyue sat quietly.

This wasn't the first time she'd heard such words. Her senior sister used to say she didn't understand, and now he was saying the same thing.

"Why do I need to understand?" Gu Shanyue asked.

Li Yuheng looked up, his face dazed, and asked, "Hmm?"

Gu Shanyue brushed aside the messy hair on his forehead with her fingers and said seriously, "Why do you need to understand? If you're not doing well here, I can take you away."

Her eyes were as sharp as swords, staring straight at people with a pure and straightforward gaze, like a bird outside a fire that couldn't understand why humans set themselves on fire.

"Take me away?" Li Yuheng pointed at himself, waving his finger. "Sister, I am the Crown Prince, how could you possibly take me away?"

Li Yuheng paused at this point.

Gu Shanyue gazed at him calmly and said, "Twelve years ago I was able to take you away, and I certainly can now. Anyone who dares to stop me will have to ask my sword first."

She's always like that, like an unshakeable mountain.

His memories of that time are very blurry. He was only five years old when the poison entered his lungs and he died. There was no one to take care of him.

If Gu Shanyue hadn't sneaked into the palace and taken him away, he probably would have died long ago in the deep palace.

For ten years, the Imperial Guards sent out countless men, but they could not capture Gu Shanyue. Until two years ago, she personally brought him back, coming and going as freely as the wind.

He has grown from an ignorant child into a crown prince, while she remains as spirited as ever.

Li Yuheng's eyes glazed over for a moment, then he smiled and shook his head.

Gu Shanyue understood: "You don't want to leave."

Li Yuheng paused for a moment, then picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, his lips and tongue turning red from the sting.

He had been poisoned and his health was still not very good after all these years. He coughed and said, "Why should I leave? I am the Crown Prince, and that position is mine. No one can take it away from me."

Gu Shanyue had no interest in these matters.

She took the wine glass from his hand: "There are only three rockets. The first one has already been lit. Do you have anything else to do? If not, I'm leaving."

"You're leaving again? Where are you going?" Li Yuheng's eyes darkened, suppressing his displeasure.

Gu Shanyue replied, "Wanhua Diegu (Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers and Butterflies)."

“I have something to do. I need you to stay in Shengjing and stay with me.” Li Yuheng hugged her arm like a stubborn child.

Gu Shanyue refused without hesitation: "No."

"..." Li Yuheng was not surprised and sighed, "Then I want you to stay for three months, until I get married before you leave."

Gu Shanyue hesitated, and Li Yuheng called out to her repeatedly, "Sister, please stay. I have no mother, only you..."

"All right."

He brought up his senior sister, and Gu Shanyue had no choice but to agree.

Li Yuheng raised his eyebrows and smiled, revealing his canine teeth, which he didn't like, without any hesitation.

He always complained that the tiger teeth looked childish and detracted from the crown prince's dignity. But he knew that Gu Shanyue liked to see them.

Gu Shanyue stared at him for two seconds, then raised her hand and touched his face: "Yu'er."

Li Yuheng turned his face to the side, rubbed his hand against hers, and lazily asked, "Hmm?"

"Eat more, take good care of your health, and live a long life," Gu Shanyue urged him earnestly, yet with a worried expression.

Li Yuheng: "..."

If someone else said such a thing, they would surely be mocking him for being weak and sickly, and he would definitely teach that person a lesson.

But these words came from Gu Shanyue, who was an extremely simple person, completely unaware of worldly complexities.

Li Yuheng said helplessly, "I understand. I can't let you, an old man, bury your young."

Gu Shanyue was stunned. Was this sentence used in this way?

Li Yuheng smiled and mimicked her gesture, touching her face with a mischievous grin. "What, you won't let me joke with you?"

Gu Shanyue frowned, but ultimately didn't slap his hand away.

Two years have passed, and Yu'er has become increasingly disrespectful.

Oh well, he's my own child, let him be.

Gu Shanyue always kept his word; if he said he would stay, he would stay.

Even though she came alone and brought nothing with her.

She moved into the Crown Prince's residence, where all her living arrangements were taken care of, and every corner was exquisite and comfortable.

Li Yuheng was very busy, attending court and going to the palace, and discussing matters with his advisors. Even when Gu Shanyue stayed behind, the two rarely saw each other.

Gu Shanyue couldn't stay still. He often went out to wander around, flying around on the rooftops, or he would buy a pot of wine and find a tall, lush tree by the street to squat under and watch people come and go.

Therefore, when Li Yuheng finally managed to get away to see Gu Shanyue, she was never at home.

Over the course of seven days, the two only met twice, except for once at Zuixianlou.

When Gu Shanyue returned, he was in the training grounds, where he was incompetent in guarding.

"...They can't even keep an eye on one person, a bunch of useless trash!"

Li Yuheng frowned and turned around when he felt a pain in his shoulder. Before he could even utter a rebuke, he saw Gu Shanyue sitting on the courtyard wall with his sword in his arms, one leg dangling down and swinging back and forth.

"elder sister!"

His face lit up with joy, and he took two steps forward: "Where have you been? I can't find you anywhere!"

"I've gone to get some wine."

Gu Shanyue showed him the wine jar, which was plain and dark, and it was unclear where he had gotten the wine from.

"Why are you going out to get wine? We have all kinds of fine wine in the mansion. Just tell us what you want."

Li Yuheng looked up as he spoke to her, and even when facing Gu Shanyue, he did not completely conceal his princely demeanor.

Back in Zhuoguang Mountain, Gu Shanyue was always nowhere to be seen, leaving him waiting alone. Now, in the Crown Prince's residence, he is the Crown Prince himself, too busy to attend to anything else, so why is it still him waiting for her?

Gu Shanyue popped the cork off the wine bottle with one hand, tilted his head back and drank the wine, as if he hadn't heard Li Yuheng's words.

Li Yuheng's tone softened: "Sister, Shengjing is not like the martial world. There are many insidious and filthy things that you have never seen. It is safer to stay in the manor."

The cheap liquor was very pungent, and Gu Shanyue glanced at him sideways.

"You're just as long-winded as you were when you were a kid."

Li Yuheng: "..."

"I'm doing this for your own good!"

"No need."

Li Yuheng was speechless; he hadn't been retorted like that in a long time.

After Gu Shanyue finished drinking the small pot of wine, he tossed it into the courtyard. The guards behind Li Yuheng immediately leaped to catch the pot and then silently retreated.

Gu Shanyue glanced at the guards' movements: "There's no need to teach them a lesson; they can't possibly catch up with me."

Li Yuheng ordered his men to follow her, which she knew, but didn't care. These men simply couldn't keep up with her movements.

Zhuoguang's swordsmanship is elegant and agile, and his lightness skill is even more superb. He is known in the martial arts world as "Sparrow Shaking Willow". He is as silent as a bird gliding into the night, leaving only the willow branches swaying gently. How could these craftsmen-like guards possibly defeat him?

Li Yuheng paused for a moment, then said, "I'm worried about you."

"Instead of worrying about me, you should worry more about yourself. There are at least two groups of people staking out your mansion."

Gu Shanyue leaped down, his clothes fluttering, his tone indifferent.

Li Yuheng's eyes flickered slightly as his gaze swept across Gu Shanyue's face. She still looked completely unconcerned, as if it were just a casual remark.

"Even with flowers in full bloom and oil poured on a blazing fire, being the crown prince isn't so easy," Li Yuheng said wistfully, looking at Gu Shanyue. "Sister, you'll help me, won't you?"

Gu Shanyue glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and uttered a single word: "Yes."

With just one word, Li Yuheng felt at ease.

Gu Shanyue is a woman of her word; if she says she will, then she will definitely not refuse him.

However, the situation in Shengjing was complex and unpredictable, and he was really worried about Gu Shanyue wandering around alone.

It wasn't entirely out of concern for her safety; he knew her capabilities.

The sharper the knife, the more careful the wielder must be; if someone else grasps the handle, the master will be the one injured.

After a moment's thought, Li Yuheng smiled and said, "I know you'll always be on my side."

Gu Shanyue responded, touched his face, and turned to walk towards her small courtyard.

Her courtyard was in a secluded spot in the Crown Prince's residence, surrounded by a grove of flowers and trees. Gu Shanyue did not need anyone to serve her personally. Apart from the maids who came to clean and deliver meals every day, almost no one came over.

Hidden among the lush vegetation, this place is very peaceful.

Gu Shanyue stood in the center of the courtyard, looking up at the azure sky in all directions, a gentle breeze caressing her face.

She closed her eyes. How could someone living in such a cramped place still find joy in it?

She truly didn't understand—she didn't understand her senior sister, she didn't understand Yu'er.

With a clang, Wugou was drawn from its sheath.

With her eyes closed, she held her sword in one hand like a blade of grass in the wind, her waist swaying and the sword light scattering like falling stars, a dance that was both graceful and fierce.

Wugou is less a sword and more an extension of her body, as nimble and agile as an arm.

They say she is the greatest swordsman in the world. Back when she stormed the Blood Mirage Tower, the famous Crane Cry Prince was nowhere to be found. She hadn't even fought him yet, so how could she be considered the greatest swordsman in the world...

She was going to the Valley of Ten Thousand Flowers and Butterflies to see the Valley Master one last time and find out the whereabouts of Young Master Crane Cry.

A dim, reddish glow filled my vision, the sunlight burning slightly through my eyelids.

Gu Shanyue's sword moves flowed endlessly, like a never-ending stream.

The sword tip pointed, eliciting a series of low gasps.

Gu Shanyue sheathed her sword, opened her eyes, and saw Li Yuheng again.

He was being protected by a strange man as he retreated, barely managing to steady himself. Still shaken, he looked at Gu Shanyue and said angrily, "Sister, you did this on purpose!"

"Yes, it was intentional."

Gu Shanyue spoke casually, her gaze falling on the unfamiliar man.

This person has a long and deep breath, a slender and lean figure like a leopard, and a steady footing; he is a master.

"elder sister……"

"Who is he?" Gu Shanyue interrupted Li Yuheng.

A note from the author: