Chapter 54 Yunling Tomb: Parting

There's nothing to regret.

As the autumn night wind blew, the not-so-dense pine needles of the old pine tree by the cliff fell to the ground in a flurry.

Xie Xingzheng released his grip and took a step back, while Tang Yu waited for her smile to fade before looking up at the boy backlit by the moonlight.

The shadows cast by the backlight obscured his handsome face, making his expression unclear. She felt a pang of sadness at first, but her eyes immediately lit up when she saw the smile on his lips.

"You smiled."

This seemed to be the first time Tang Yu had ever seen him smile, and it was all very strange.

"You wouldn't actually... love to laugh, would you?"

This question left Xie Xingzheng momentarily stunned.

So, he loves to laugh?

At that moment, another dazzling display of fireworks exploded in the night sky, illuminating the two faces gazing at each other. The light from the fireworks seemed to pierce through the darkness in his eyes, illuminating his heart from the horizon.

He couldn't see anything, and naturally he couldn't see Tang Yu beside him, who was resting her chin on her hand and looking him over with a grin.

"nice."

Naturally, he didn't know whether her lighthearted remark was referring to the fireworks or to him.

In the darkness, Xie Xingzheng once again precisely pulled Tang Yu into his arms. His fingertips found her cheek, gently brushing aside the wind-blown strands of hair, and then he covered her eyes with his palm.

A kiss landed lightly on the back of the hand that was separated from the person in his arms, and then he immediately pulled away, not daring to do anything more presumptuous.

From beginning to end, Tang Yu only uttered two words:

fair.

The two found an open space near the edge of the cliff and sat down side by side.

The moon in the sky grew increasingly hazy, yet also increasingly full.

As the night deepens, the fireworks never cease, carrying the beautiful aspirations of all beings. Near midnight, a few lanterns are still lit, their flickering lights drifting into the starry sky.

Xie Xingzheng listened quietly to her description for a long time before saying in a barely audible voice, as if it were about to be carried away by the wind, "Unfortunately, I can't see it."

Suddenly, a thin, long, incense-like object was shoved into my hand.

"There's nothing to regret."

Tang Yu smiled and said gently, "Do you remember when I told you that Yangyang and I were chased to the brink of death by the people of Southern Xinjiang when we were little? We both knew that if we were caught, we would die, so we hid in a cave in fear. We searched our bodies thoroughly, but we didn't find anything useful. There was only one sparkler that Yangyang had forgotten was still hidden on his person."

It turned out that what he was holding was a small sparkler.

"So, before I went down the mountain, I made sure to bring one with me." Tang Yu glanced at the firework in his hand, paused for a moment, and continued, "I thought that the world is dangerous, and if something happens, I could at least see some beautiful fireworks before I die, so it wouldn't be too much of a loss."

Her eyes reflected the soft light of the full moon as she whispered, "Now, I'm giving this to you. When your eyes are better, wherever you light it, it will be as if... you watched the fireworks with me today."

Midnight has passed, the night is deepening, and the mountain breeze carries a heavier chill.

The hustle and bustle of the city in the distance, and even the fireworks and lights in the sky, gradually thinned out.

"It's getting late, we should head back," Xie Xingzheng reminded him.

Tang Yu responded softly.

But he was thinking about what Si Huo had said: that his eyes would gradually recover in three days.

During the day, she deliberately avoided using any eye drops.

At this moment, his original black pupils had faded, returning to a clear, emerald green, like a mysterious gem from another land, shimmering with an alluring light under the moonlight.

At this point, it could be considered the third day.

She thought: Then I'll leave everything to fate.

So she stopped and gently took Xie Xingzheng's hand.

"etc."

While he was slightly confused and dazed, she raised her hand to cup his face, stood on tiptoe, and brought her face very close, so close that she could hear his breath.

"Xie Xingzheng." She looked intently into his dark eyes, hesitated slightly, but still asked clearly, word by word, "Can you...see now?"

He didn't understand her intention, but his heart suddenly started racing. Xie Xingzheng lowered his eyes and looked at her for a moment, but he seemed unable to focus.

He shook his head, a hint of confusion in his voice: "I can't see clearly."

Tang Yu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She couldn't explain where the conflicting emotions in her heart came from; she knew that even if she explained things clearly, perhaps nothing would change.

"What's wrong?" Xie Xingzheng asked, puzzled.

Tang Yu smiled, took his hand, and walked back: "It's nothing."

A night breeze gently brushed the stray hairs at her temples. She looked up at the silvery moonlight and after a while explained, "I just think... the moonlight up here is very beautiful."

*

Fate always has unexpected arrangements.

Tang Yu, unusually cowardly, left the choice of revealing her identity to fate, but timing played a little trick on her.

It was past midnight, which should have been the third day. But in the dead of night, after the fireworks had faded, Xie Xingzheng was still surrounded by a chaotic darkness.

When he awoke from his brief rest, the sunlight streamed through the windowpane, the long-awaited brightness stinging his eyes.

After examining him carefully, Si Huo smiled sincerely: "Although your vision is still blurry and you can't see clearly, the poison in your body has been removed, and it's only a matter of time before your meridians repair themselves."

This is a good thing for both doctors and patients.

In order for his eyes to recover better, Si Huo immediately returned to the medicine pavilion to prepare new medicine for him.

Xie Xingzheng stopped her, saying, "Young Doctor Si, could you prepare more medicine?"

She paused, "Why?"

"My health is much better now, and my eyes will recover soon." Xie Xingzheng pondered for a while and said softly, "I have been delayed in Sichuan for far longer than expected. There are still many things in the southern border that I need to investigate and report back to. I cannot stay any longer."

After hearing this, Si Huo glanced at Tang Yu beside him without showing any displeasure or disappointment. Naturally, she didn't say anything more.

"Okay." So he nodded and went out to prepare for it.

Tang Yu said nothing, but she had to admit that she felt a little sad about the impending separation.

Whether it's the ambitions of the Southern Frontier people that have already been exposed, the strange and bizarre Gu techniques that have reappeared in the world, or the secrets in the iron box that have long been deciphered, all of these are heavy burdens on Xie Xingzheng's shoulders.

No matter how happy and carefree life is in the Tang Clan, there are some things that you should have faced long ago.

The next morning, Xie Xingzheng traveled light and alone on his journey back to Zhongjing.

At this time, the morning mist had not yet dissipated, and a light drizzle was still falling from the sky.

Tang Yu gazed at Xie Xingzheng, who sat atop his horse with cold eyes, a handsome face, and a straight back. He seemed to have become once again the dashing, valiant general everyone spoke of.

Even with a thousand words to say, in the end it all boils down to a simple phrase: "Have a safe journey."

His figure, riding away alone, completely disappeared from sight. Tang Yu felt an emptiness in her heart, as if she had just seen off not a person, but a vivid memory.

And this gentle drizzle seemed to be a perfect way for her to express her feelings.

Wang Shanyue and Xiao Fangliang did not accompany Xie Xingzheng on this trip back to the capital. Xiao Fangliang, in particular, had sneaked out and was in no hurry to return to the capital.

The two made an excuse to stay in Sichuan for a few more days, but in reality, they wanted Xie Xingzheng to go back first and sound out Xiao's father's opinion.

Just as the group turned and returned to the gate, less than an hour had passed. The atmosphere in the Tang Clan, which had become somewhat peaceful due to someone's departure, was shattered by a bloodied figure who had fallen from his horse.

Several Tang Sect disciples helped the person who had completely fainted and hurriedly led him to the inner sect council hall.

The man was dressed in tattered clothes, his body covered in horrific, crisscrossing wounds, and blood almost completely soaked him. If it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his body as he breathed, one might easily mistake him for a dead man.

Outside the hall, Si Huo arrived, rubbing his sleepy eyes. His hair was unkempt, clearly indicating that he had been woken up from his sleep.

Tang Yu happened to be in the hall as well. She glanced at the bloodied man who had been thrown into the hall and was barely alive, and sighed with emotion.

The injury was indeed terrible; but the person was not exactly unlucky.

After all, with the young divine physician personally examining his injuries today, he couldn't possibly die even if he wanted to.

Just as Si Huo finished taking the pulse and had someone turn the person lying on the ground over to examine the wounds, he was startled and froze on the spot by Tang Yu's loud and clear "Wait!"

Si Huo looked up in confusion at Tang Yu, who had suddenly stood up, only to see her gaze fixed on the person on the ground.

At this moment, Tang Yu was also deeply shocked.

Although the face was covered in blood and the eyes were closed, she recognized the familiar face instantly.

"Time is running out?!"

*

After his wounds were treated, Shi Wushu was placed on the couch and soon woke up.

That face, which was originally shrewd and even a little sleazy, was now deathly pale due to the severity of his injuries. Every breath he took pulled at his wounds, causing him to grimace in pain.

Tang Yu didn't stand on ceremony. She poured him a glass of water and handed it to him, indicating that he should drink it himself.

His trembling hands took the water glass, and he sipped it slowly from his chapped lips. After a long pause, he handed over the empty glass, gave Tang Yu a fawning smile, and barely managed to muster any life.

Tang Yu took the water glass and put it aside, then grabbed a chair and sat down.

After their parting at Xiaxu, this person disappeared. However, someone like him, a local strongman from Zhongjing, probably wouldn't die at the hands of the Southern Frontier people, so I naturally didn't pay much attention to him.

Unexpectedly, the two met again. Again, at the Tang Sect.

"Tell me, how did you end up here?"

Shi Wuduo opened his mouth and asked in a hoarse voice, "Where is the Wang family's... second young master?"

"You want to see him?" Tang Yu squinted, looking at him with a hint of suspicion.

Without much deliberation, he managed to say in a hoarse, dry voice, "Wangjia... something happened to Wangjia."

Tang Yu's expression changed, and she suddenly grabbed his wrist with astonishing force.

She looked at him coldly and asked, enunciating each word clearly, "What did you say?"

Shi Wuduo had a wrist injury, and was in so much pain that he was seeing stars. He quickly denied it, saying, "No, no, nothing serious happened to Wangjia!"

Tang Yu frowned even more at his contradictory statements, but she knew that his numerous wounds were not fake, so she finally let go and sat back down on the stool.

After a short while, she recovered her senses from the excruciating pain and finally spoke coldly: "Explain yourself."

Shi Wuduo spoke tremblingly, each word seemingly carrying a bloody scent: "Back then, the little Qimeng you captured and imprisoned at Wangyuan Escort Agency... was kidnapped. Along with her, Wang Yunxi also disappeared."