A Glimmer of Hope, Part Two
Nana was eating, with all the rice in her bowl on the right side and all the food on her plate on the right side as well. The jailer hadn't served her any food for a month.
She glanced furtively at the man on the other side; he was staring blankly at the hole above, lost in thought. Nana opened her mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again.
"Nana, Lord Yu wants to see you," the jailer announced loudly as he opened the door.
Nana put down her chopsticks and followed the jailer out.
Hearing footsteps in the courtyard, the man looked at the food on the ground. His gaze lingered for a moment, then turned to the cell door.
*
The light coming through the hole grew weaker and weaker with each passing day, and the weather grew colder and colder.
Not long ago, Nana's injuries became increasingly severe every time she went out.
Nana was thrown back into her cell early that morning, her skin torn and bleeding.
The man knelt down and applied the medicine to her.
"pain."
The man was somewhat surprised, as he had never heard Nana cry out in pain once in all this time, not even when she was being kicked and beaten by the prison guards.
"pain."
The man snapped out of his daze and said, "I'll be gentler."
"Um."
After the medicine was applied, the sky outside was no longer visible.
Nana hadn't slept all night due to the pain. She lay flat on her back, her eyes shining with moonlight sneaking in through the hole.
*
“I don’t eat green vegetables,” Nana suddenly said during her meal. “Don’t leave any for me next time.”
"Um."
"I feel almost better. Please apply the medicine one more time today. I want to get better soon."
The man cleared his throat and said, "Taking too much will actually slow down the recovery."
"Judging by the days, it's about time," Nana said calmly. "I want to recover as soon as possible; I don't want to have so many scars."
"I'll serve you more after you finish eating."
"Um."
Nana put down her chopsticks, pushed the plate toward the man, and said, "You can eat the vegetables."
The man picked up the plate and returned to his seat.
What happened to your foot?
"Taked by taxi."
The man picked up his chopsticks and then put them down again.
"What's wrong?"
"Let me apply the medicine for you first."
"Okay, sure," Nana replied softly.
*
Nana felt a chill and a stinging sensation on her back, and woke up halfway through her dream.
“You’re awake,” the man said, sensing Nana’s movement. “It should be about time. I’ll apply the medicine again.”
"Um."
Is Qian Shu your family?
Nana raised an eyebrow.
"You keep calling this name in your dreams."
Nana looked at the man and found that he was just focused on applying medicine to her and was not looking at her.
"younger sister."
"You cried a lot in your dream."
Nana reached out to wipe her face.
"The tears have long since dried."
"And you, do you have any family?"
“I have two senior brothers and a master,” the man answered without hesitation.
“I kept waiting for my master and fellow disciples to come home. But in the end, they never came.”
"What did they do to imprison you here?"
"They're looking for the last edict and imperial seal of the previous emperor," the man said calmly.
Nana's heart skipped a beat, and she asked, "Do you know the whereabouts of the imperial edict?"
"have no idea."
Nana regained her composure and said regretfully, "That bastard wanted to steal our sect's martial arts. I was bewitched to fall for him. Luckily, I wasn't deceived by him."
The man didn't press further; he simply listened to what Nana had to say.
Nana grabbed the man's wrist and said, "The jailers will come together in a few days."
"sorry."
Have you ever practiced martial arts?
"No."
Is she a virgin?
The man was stunned for a moment, looking at Nana with a serious expression with a puzzled expression.
Yes or no?
The man nodded.
Nana gripped the man's hand even tighter.
"Would you do me a favor?"
"you say."
"If you agree, I can help you escape from here."
"You're in this state yourself, how can you help me?"
“I didn’t trust you before; I thought you were sent in by Yu.” Nana didn’t answer the man directly. She said, “Now I want to believe you. Don’t you want to go out and meet your master and senior brothers?”
"If I pass on my martial arts to you, we can fight our way out of here."
"Since you possess such extraordinary abilities, why rely on me?"
Nana interrupted the man, saying, "I've lost my virginity."
Nana looked up at the hole in the stone wall and continued, "One of my martial arts techniques is 'Condensing the Moon into a Sword.' I've observed that the moon passes through this window once every night, and the light is sufficient at that time."
The man followed her gaze and looked towards the window.
“As long as I transfer my true energy to you, you will have a chance to break out. But you have to do me a favor.” After thinking for a moment, Lin Zhenna changed her mind and said, “No, I want you to promise me three things.”
"I promise you."
Aren't you going to ask me what it is?
"I'll agree to whatever you say," the man replied without hesitation.
Nana nodded and held up three fingers: "First, kill me; second, kill Yu Hui later; third, after killing Yu Hui, find a disciple of Yanyu Tower and pass on your skills to her. If you agree to these three things, I will teach you immediately."
What if I take you with me?
"Without my inner energy, my body won't last more than a few days," Nana said with a wry smile.
“We’ll go out and find the best doctor,” the man said decisively.
Nana shook her head firmly and said without room for argument, "I don't have the face to go out and see anyone. Just kill me, wouldn't it be better to have one less burden?"
"But……"
"If you can't even do this first thing, how can I believe you can do the other two?" Nana looked straight into the man's eyes, but her gaze no longer held the fierceness of the past; instead, it held a deep sorrow.
"How could I possibly entrust everything to you?"
For the first time, the man avoided Nana's gaze and said with his head down, "I promise you."
“Okay, I believe you,” Nana said with a smile.
The man was somewhat lost in thought; he had forgotten when he last saw such a smile.
*
“You’ve adapted even better than I expected.” Nana put down her chopsticks and smiled at the man. “I wish you could kill me right now.”
The man's withered lips parted slightly.
"But I can't die now. They'll only come if I'm alive, so they can lower their guard and show their most vulnerable side."
Nana turned her head away: "Today is a full moon. I don't know how many more times I'll be able to see a moon like this."
"Is it better to do it more often?" the man replied, "or less often?"
Nana paused for two seconds, then said, "Yes."
Just as the man was about to get up, he heard a series of chaotic footsteps outside the cell.
"Jenna, we're here." The jailer pushed open the door and said with a carefree laugh.
"Son of a bitch."
“Not bad,” another jailer said, “You’re quite energetic. You’ll have to continue the cursing later.”
The two men each grabbed one of Nana's hands and forced her to the ground. The others also gathered around and began to tear at Nana's clothes.
"You will all die a horrible death."
"Let's see how long you can keep up your stubbornness!"
The moon passed through the only hole in the stone wall, and a slender, silver-white sword, about two arms long, appeared in the man's hand.
*
Wang Boyu took out a sable robe from the package and draped it over Pei Jiangxi.
He glanced at the white speck on his sleeve, looked up at the sky, and said, "It's snowing."
Pei Jiangxi also raised her head. The moonlight illuminated the snowflakes, making them look like drifting, falling stars.
"yes."
"Let's go back into the cave. It doesn't look like anything will change today."
Pei Jiangxi looked at the five-story tower in the distance with its scattered lights and said, "That's true."
“If you’re really worried about that little monk,” Wang Boyu said, looking at Pei Jiangxi who kept turning back every few steps, “why don’t you just rescue him yourself?”
“If you don’t want to show your face,” Wang Boyu added, “now that our Buwang Pavilion is taking shape, you can entrust the people of Buwang Pavilion to rescue him.”
“There’s no way to save everyone,” Pei Jiangxi replied.
Wang Boyu pondered for a moment and said, "I feel like you know everything and can do anything."
The light that illuminated the entire sky surged forth from the top of the tower, instantly eclipsing the bright white snowflakes in the air.
The two of them turned around abruptly.
"here we go."
*
Nana leaned against the wall, somewhat dazedly tidying her clothes and hair, her eyes fixed on the gleaming white blade in the man's hand.
The man, carrying a long sword gleaming in the moonlight, walked toward Nana, panting heavily.
"Wait a minute." A glint flashed in Nana's eyes as she suddenly spoke.
"Is there anything else you wish to tell me, Miss Lin?" the man asked.
Nana opened her arms and said, "Give me a hug."
The longsword vanished, and two hands pulled Nana into their arms.
Nana rested her head on the man's shoulder for a few seconds, then slowly said, "I'm dirty."
"You're not dirty."
"Have you hidden the secret manual I copied for you?"
"It's well hidden."
Nana nodded, then pushed the man away, but fell to the ground because she was too weak.
"Kill me." Nana closed her eyes and proudly raised her smooth neck.
*
The man tore strips of cloth from the jailer and tied Nana tightly to his back.
"what are you up to?"
"I'll take you with me."
"With the few tricks you've learned, there's no way I can escape with you."
“Perhaps you’re right,” the man tightened the straps and said, “come closer to me, it will make me feel more at ease.”
“Kill me,” Nana said, her soft fist landing on the man’s back. “Don’t break your promise to me in the first place.”
"I can agree to anything else, and I'll risk my life for you." The man said resolutely, "But this first thing, I can't do."
"Bastard." Nana leaned her head on the man's shoulder.
a long time.
“I knew men couldn’t be trusted,” Nana said.
*
The sword light, like a serpent, spiraled downwards along the tower's stairs.
Yu Hui stood at the bottom of the tower and saw silver light radiating from above.
"Amazing, amazing!" Yu Lie clapped his hands in praise.
"I never expected that bitch would pass it on to him."
"Now you know why I locked them up together." White light flickered in the tower, and Yu Lie's face flashed between light and shadow, revealing a sinister smile intermittently in the darkness.
"This woman, putting aside her temperament, is first-rate in terms of looks, figure, and martial arts skills." Yu Hui stroked his chin and said, "This kid is coming on strong, we need to be careful, brother."
Yu Lie laughed and said, "It's just the weak huddling together for warmth, nothing to be afraid of. Once your elder brother takes this kid and forces him to reveal the secrets of the Misty Rain Pavilion, even the Prime Minister won't be able to do anything to us brothers."
"They really have the ambition of wolves."
Before Yu could reply, a male voice came from behind them.
The two brothers' expressions suddenly changed, and they shouted, "Who are you?"
Wang Boyu, his face veiled in black, clasped his hands towards the sky and said, "I will inform Protector Jin and have you two insatiable wolf cubs killed. This is a warning to others."
After speaking, Wang Boyu vanished into the woods in a flash.
"What are you standing there for?" Yu Lie snapped. "Hurry up and chase after them!"
“But,” Yu Hui glanced at the tower where Lin Zhenna was imprisoned.
"With me here, nothing will go wrong." Yu Lie angrily cursed, "If Protector Jin finds out about this, neither of us will survive!"
"yes!"
Yu Hui leaped and chased after Wang Boyu in the direction he had left.
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