Chapter 497: Only teach this time

Yan Shijiu took the lead in drawing his sword and stabbed at Yun Chen's shoulder, but she easily dodged it and struck back.

The two swords collided fiercely, and sparks flew everywhere.

At the beginning, the two were evenly matched, but after more than ten moves, Yun Chen unexpectedly fell into a disadvantage.

Because her mind was in a state of confusion, it was difficult for her to concentrate.

Her eyes moved back and forth between Yan Shijiu's vital points and acupoints. Several times the tip of her sword was close to his neck, but it was narrowly deflected and retracted.

She didn't understand what was wrong with her. She had clearly discovered Yan Shijiu's true face and knew that the chaos in the world and the suffering of the people were caused by him. She should have stood up and questioned him on the spot!

Four years of bitter fighting! How many soldiers of the Southern Kingdom sacrificed their lives! How many people lost their homes and became displaced!

Dan Kou, Miao Miao... Hua Jue, Huo Luyu... Duoji, old grandma...

There were also thousands of militiamen whose names she couldn't even remember! And her and Huo Gannian's father!

The earth is filled with suffering, and the Three Kingdoms and Nine Provinces are devastated! All because of the person in front of us!

Yun Chen knew that she should swing her sword hard and take this opportunity to kill the culprit!

But why does this hand seem to be out of control and always swings off the target?!

As the cold swords collided, she looked into the pair of smiling starry eyes, and her mind couldn't help but recall the first time they met.

At that time, Yan Shijiu was wearing a white robe, leaning against the railing, with a folding fan in his hand slowly scattering the sunlight, and asked with a smile:

"This guard is so handsome. How much is it? I'll buy it."

He would jump up from his chair nervously, bow to her solemnly and say:

"Hello young lady, my name is Yan Qing, and I am the nineteenth child in my family. You can call me Yan Nineteen."

He would leave her the only chance of survival in a desperate place with surging waves.

He laughed and scolded, was capricious, playful and interesting. He had drunk and chatted with her countless times, and had also briefly become a lonely child, crying about his unbearable youth.

But now, an invisible big hand held Yun Chen's head tightly, forcing her to admit and accept:

It’s fake, all fake!

From the day we first met, from the first words he said, everything was fake.

The person who had penetrated her heart so deeply, who was more sincere and affectionate than Ye Yan and Buyan, and even more sincere and affectionate than Xun Yan and Xiao Liu, was actually fake.

It turns out that being betrayed by a close friend is so heartbreaking.

So how can we remove him from our bloodline? And what kind of ruthless sword can we use to sever the tangled web of emotions?

Yun Chen began to feel overwhelmed, tears slowly filling his eyes.

When her sword once again avoided his throat and brushed past his temples, she suddenly realized that she couldn't do it at all -

She couldn't do it.

She felt ashamed of her cowardice and tried to swing her sword, but it became increasingly off-center and slower.

Her sword style became more dejected. In stark contrast to her, Yan Shijiu became more and more excited as the battle went on. His smile was wanton, and his expression was one of unconcealable delight.

He swung his sword briskly, repeatedly guiding her to strike back at his vitals.

When she finally pointed the tip of her sword at his face but couldn't stab him, he chuckled, gasped slightly, threw down the Hidden Moon Sword, and walked straight towards her sharp sword tip.

He took a step forward, she took a step back.

He took another step forward, and she took another step back. Even her sword-holding hand began to tremble slightly, and she wanted to shout, "Don't come over here!"

He slowly stepped forward, pinched the cold blade between two fingers, and slowly moved it towards his heart.

He blinked and said with a wicked smile:

"My dear lady, you must aim right here when you kill—I will only teach you this once."

She stared at his heart along with the tip of the sword, held her breath, and gripped the hilt tightly, trying to break free from the shackles and thrust forward.

Her palms were sweaty and her back was almost soaked.

After a long stalemate, she suddenly felt a heavy and sad feeling of powerlessness in her heart.

Finally, her eyes dimmed, her strength was exhausted, and her sword fell to the ground with a clang.

Yan Shijiu said nothing, just stood there looking at her, smiling happily.

......

......

January seventeenth.

The Yanfu convoy set off as scheduled and headed east.

Yun Chen and Yan Shijiu rode in the same carriage.

She sat quietly, her beautiful eyes drooping downwards, her small face as pale as porcelain, with only two blushes, more pink than rouge, floating lightly at the corners of her eyes.

It looked like the tear marks of a restless night of tossing and turning, or like a kitten secretly planning to escape. The blood rushed to its head due to excessive tension, causing the skin to turn that seductive blush.

Yan Shijiu was still as relaxed and cheerful as usual, lying carefree in the car, chatting with her non-stop, saying things like "Yun Yan is great, the country is no smaller than Nan Country, the customs and people are very interesting" and "When we get there, we'll start all over again - oh no, that was the wrong thing to say, we should continue to be husband and wife, okay?"

Yun Chen didn't hear anything, and occasionally nodded in agreement, but in fact his whole attention was focused on the driving route.

The convoy had been traveling for a whole day and was about to stop to eat and rest.

Judging from the current driving speed, by the time the car stops, it should be less than ten miles away from the Green Water Pond where I had agreed to meet with Huo Gannian.

Since you can't kill Yan Shijiu, just run away and have nothing to do with Yan Shijiu from now on.

Or after she tells Huo Gannian the truth that Yan Shijiu is the culprit, she will meet Yan Shijiu on the battlefield one day.

By then, she believed that she would no longer be as cowardly as she is today.

She made up her mind and kept thinking about her escape plan in her mind, but for some reason she was surprisingly nervous. She felt confused about how to succeed, as if she had a premonition that she was going to fail.

She comforted herself in her heart: It is normal to be nervous. Her opponents have always been the Yu family, the Black Scale Cavalry, and the Luojiang warriors. This is the first time she has faced such a terrifying existence as Yan Shijiu alone.

Don't be afraid, you'll be able to see Anian soon...

She kept comforting herself and didn't even remember how she sat down at the dinner table after the convoy stopped to rest.

Yan Shijiu frowned at her absent-minded look and raised his hand to snap his fingers in front of her.

She woke up with a start and immediately lowered her head to eat.

He folded his arms, watching her eat with great interest, and suddenly said this without any context:

"A-Ling used to be very naughty and restless, always escaping his cage. But after I dyed him with herbs, he not only looked better, but his temperament also became much gentler. This makes me very happy—Xiao Yunyun, do you understand?"

Yun Chen didn't understand, so he looked up and met the unfathomable cold light in Yan Shijiu's eyes.