Chapter 97 The Broken String

As expected, although Ruan Linglai had learned some basic swordsmanship, she was only carrying an iron sword, and a few months of training was not enough in this chaotic world.

Not only did she have to evade pursuers who knew her, but she also had to deal with villains who wanted to make money in the chaos.

Without the secret help of Bu Qingjue and Jie Zhou, they would probably have perished on the way.

Bu Qingjue breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Ruan Linglai enter the territory of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou.

Despite the truth of the matter, he still felt that Ruan Linglai was already amazing, at least her perseverance was much stronger than his, who had studied for the same amount of time.

Bu Qingjue's learning of swordsmanship was purely incidental; he never intended to learn it well at first.

But Ruan Linglai was different; once she made up her mind, she showed great resilience.

She knew she would never see her family again. Her brother had risked his life to send her away. She was fortunate enough to enter Jingge and meet some capable people. She was determined to find a way to go home.

"At first she said she would just serve us tea, but I don't think she ever intended to be a support staff member."

“Indeed, this girl is quite remarkable,” Xie Zhoujian nodded and said, “Once we overthrow the three families, we can find a master to be her teacher and help her improve her swordsmanship.”

"Haha, are you insecure about your teaching abilities?"

“Yes, you are better at teaching than I am,” Jie Zhoujian smiled. “It’s not too late to teach her after you have mastered the skills.”

"I don't know when that will be," and he didn't know if he would be able to learn it before he returned after completing his mission. "I'm not interested in this kind of thing either. I'll leave the fighting and killing to you, the male protagonist."

Jie Zhoujian has changed his name, but he has gotten used to Bu Qingjue calling him the male lead from time to time. Aju sometimes complains that Jie Zhoujian is too obedient and believes everything Bu Qingjue says.

He believes it.

Bu Qingjue had previously said, "If you want to share the same surname as me, that's fine too. You can be called Bu Zhoujian, and you can tell others that you are my younger brother, haha."

Jie shook his head slightly during the day.

“I don’t hate my surname. I want to keep it because I want to know that my original surname is seen by the world as a symbol of evil. Once things are resolved, I will cultivate myself and help the people. In time, they will know that I am not a bad person.”

Bu Qingjue touched his nose, feeling that his own thinking was no longer up to par with that of this ancient man.

So the name was finalized. Anyway, Jie Zhoujian himself liked it quite a bit, and it was better than his previous names.

After regaining their senses, Ruan Linglai walked a little further, and just as the two were about to follow, Xie Zhoujian suddenly spotted a patrol team from the Xie family and quickly pulled Bu Qingjue to hide again.

The person in the lead left Bu Qingjue speechless.

It is the arrival of clouds and moon.

He was the first person he harmed for his mission.

Bu Qingjue clenched his fists, listening to the few people not far away giving instructions to Yun Yuelin. However, the tone of their reply was no longer that of the young master Yun, whose tone was unfriendly but whose attitude was upright.

It's called "Relief from Worries," right?

He can make that handsome face look like that of an ordinary guy.

Bu Qingjue rolled his eyes.

Jie Zhoujian clearly disliked the soul beneath that skin. Years ago, Jieyou and a predecessor perished together, but the ghost still haunts the Jie family's every move.

Murder and arson were all instructions given before his death.

Jie Zhoujian believed that Jieyou was the person in the world who should not have lived.

But he miraculously survived and, using the lives of so many people, possessed a righteous disciple.

Jie Zhoujian and Bu Qingjue both thought in unison: They deserve to die.

Clearly, now was not the time; it would be too reckless to rush out and alert the enemy. So the two had no choice but to give up and prepare to leave.

"You two hiding," came the voice that had just reached my ears, the arrogant young master of the Yun family: "Your eavesdropping skills are quite remarkable. Do I need to personally beat you out?"

Familiar scene, familiar voice, unfamiliar tone.

The troublemaker discovered them.

Jie Zhoujian frowned, and just as he was about to make a move, Bu Qingjue patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't move."

Bu Qingjue left these words behind and walked out.

Relieve the stiffness during the day.

He felt a tingling sensation where Bu Qingjue had touched him, but he couldn't disobey him.

He believes.

Bu Qingjue walked out, not showing any smooth flattery to Zhang Lai Na, but with a serious expression.

"Step back," said one of the surrounding subordinates, who, upon hearing this, said with concern, "I will investigate personally."

"yes!"

After most people had left, Bu Qingjue spoke up: "Come out during the day."

"..."

Yun Yue stumbled forward, and Bu Qingjue caught him by the shoulder, both frightened and surprised: "You...you're alright? Then Jieyou...!"

"One body, two souls, I'm suppressing it..."

He recognized the first sentence of Bu Qingjue immediately; it was the first sentence Yun Yuelin said to him and Jieyou during the day. Jieyou couldn't possibly know that.

It seems that he was trying to regain control of his body the moment he realized it, and is now fighting against the spirit of Jieyou.

Yun Yuelin had tried, but the control lasted no more than half an hour. They had no memory of what the other did, but they could guess what Jieyou had done to his body without even having to guess.

When Yun Yuelin first regained control, she attempted suicide, but the attempt failed after being discovered. From then on, Jieyou ordered all her subordinates to hide their weapons and not give Yun Yuelin any chance.

So normally Jieyou just stays at the Jie family home, but today she noticed the movements at Jingge and came out to arrest people herself.

It seems they are the ones they've been arrested for.

“…Kill me now!” Yun Yuelin said urgently to Xie Zhoujian, “Now!”

【Host】

The system's voice will sound at that time.

[For the sake of the plot, Jieyou cannot die yet.]

This indeed aligns with Bu Qingjue's judgment.

Although it is truly cruel, Yun Yuelin is still unable to find relief.

"..."

Jie Zhoujian placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and Bu Qingjue gritted his teeth.

He stopped him during the day.

"Bu Qingjue!" Yun Yuelin clutched her chest, her expression pained, as if she could no longer suppress the other half of her soul within her body, her tone incredulous: "You...!"

“…Endure this,” Bu Qingjue pressed down firmly on the hand that Xie Zhoujian was holding the sword: “I will definitely get justice for you later…”

Just bear with it a little longer, just bear with it a little longer.

Once the story is over, we might find a way to separate them, so Yun Yuelin won't have to die.

"Go during the day,"

Yun Yuelin: "Bu Qing Jue!"

"Walk."

Yun Yuelin finally understood. She gritted her teeth and looked at him, almost mocking herself: "...So you had an ulterior motive from the very beginning."

He desperately suppressed Jieyou's appearance and gave Bu Qingjue a secret signal, thinking that he could finally be free. He died at the hands of his temporary rival and ally. Bu Qingjue was a smart man; he must have known that death was the greatest relief for him.

asshole.

Bu Qingjue, you bastard.

Cruel bastard.

Bu Qingjue turned around decisively: "Release the daytime!"

"..."

He relieved his discomfort during the day and left that place with Bu Qingjue.

On the last stretch of the road to the Ruan Family Ruins, Bu Qingjue did not utter a single word.

Only the system's voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

【Host, you've done very well, just need to be more determined】

Bu Qingjue retorted directly: "I'm not in the mood to listen to you. Just remember, this is the last time I'll do something like this."

It's really unbearable.

He vowed that at their next meeting, either Yun Yuelin or Jieyou would have to die.

He looked towards the divination box during the day.

"It's nothing, just a mosquito buzzing in my head," Bu Qingjue said, adjusting his mindset. "Let's hurry up, Linglai is probably already at the Ruan family's place."

At least there was nothing wrong with him escorting Ruan Linglai all the way...

The original Ruan family home was located in a bustling market town, where every brick and tile was exquisite and precious.

Aju said that the Ruan family was sold to a group of bandits at a low price.

Ruan Linglai was prepared, and so was Bu Qingjue.

However, the latter did not expect that escorting Ruan Linglai back to the Ruan family would bring her even greater despair.

Night has fallen, and the area around the Ruan family's residence is deserted. The former prosperity is gone, replaced by ruins and garbage dumps, making it even more eerie.

The corpses of the Ruan family head, Ruan mistress, and Ruan Lingze became mummies several months later and were hung in front of the door.

Bu Qingjue took a step back, intending to push open the door, but then stopped.

Has Ruan Linglai already gone in?

Or...did she not make it this far?

Bu Qingjue took a deep breath and reached out to push open the door of the Ruan family's house, but was pushed away by a force.

[Enter spectator mode]

This is……

[Story mode activated. Congratulations, host, on completing this stage of the mission. Please do not interfere with the story and wait patiently.]

[Note: You may leave at any time if you feel uncomfortable.]

Before Bu Qingjue could react to what mode this was, a series of footsteps sounded from behind. Jie Zhoujian turned around in surprise, only to find that the other party seemed to be unable to see them and directly passed by the two of them and pushed open the Ruan family's gate.

He looked at Bu Qingjue: "This is..."

There was no need to wait for an answer; Bu Qingjue's stiff expression spoke volumes.

Jie made a decisive move during the day, pulling Bu Qingjue along: "Leave this place."

"..."

Bu Qingjue didn't move, but he heard the sounds coming from inside the Ruan family's gate.

The sounds of swords clashing, laughter, and arrows leaving the bowstring.

Why……

But he didn't quite understand...

Why go to such lengths for Ruan Linglai?

She was just a runaway heiress; logically, we could have turned a blind eye…

ah.

Bu Qingjue realized what was happening.

...Jingge.

Aju is an informant; they want to eliminate everyone in Jingge.

Therefore, his mission includes protecting Wen Tianyu, taking Ruan Linglai away, and now escorting Ruan Linglai back to the Ruan family.

It was all arranged, everything was arranged clearly.

I see, I see.

Bu Qingjue broke free from Jie Zhoujian's grasp, rushed into the Ruan family home, and saw Ruan Linglai for the last time.

"Father, Mother, Brother... Linglai is home. In the next life..." Despite the excruciating pain, Ruan Linglai reached out and pulled an arrow from her arm. "I want to use these hands that play the strings to wield a sword and kill, to slay all the villains—!!"

She turned around and plunged an arrow into the neck of the man behind her who was raising a large knife. She fell into a pool of blood. He was the first villain she had ever dealt with, and also the last.

She died in her own yard, never able to return to retrieve her violin.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no...

Before Bu Qingjue was the scene of the Zhao family cleaning up the mess, and he did not respond when Jie Zhou called his name.

He felt something was off and asked the question in a calm manner.

Since all tasks have a purpose...

Then why...that...

Those few months we spent together, the so-called "building up our relationship"...

Whose impasse is this setting the stage for?

"Aju, you will be richly rewarded this time for making amends!"

The voice belonged to the head of the Li family.