On the verge of exploding - Part 4
Xiang Wu walked out of Buwang Pavilion, looking utterly dejected. At that moment, the fog shrouded the mountain peaks in the distance like a veil. Swept along by the crowd, he unconsciously headed towards the villa where Lin Zhenna was being treated.
On the street, the beggars, who were usually haggard and slovenly, were now neat, capable, and energetic as they moved large boxes decorated with red flowers. Each beggar had a red ribbon tied around their arm; some were leading the way, while others were sweating profusely and shouting as they worked.
Whether they were sweating or not, everyone wore a joyful expression. Infected by the Beggars' Sect members, smiles also appeared on the faces of the passersby.
Everyone spontaneously made way for these city's inhabitants. Xiang Wu, amidst the crowd, was like a rootless duckweed adrift in a river, swaying constantly with the changing currents. Xiang Wu stumbled and staggered along for a while.
Once inside the courtyard, the festive atmosphere faded somewhat due to the brick walls. Xiang Wu walked to the same spot as before and sat down quietly, gazing at the room where Lin Zhenna was in the distance.
The immense true energy flowed like a mighty river, surging and endlessly extending. It remained confined to the small space in the center of the courtyard, not leaking out in the slightest. Xiang Wu recalled the first time he met Han Yizhi, when the sword intent he had unleashed with all his might was effortlessly returned to his body by her with a wave of her hand.
A glint flashed in Xiang Wu's cloudy eyes. He straightened up and called out to the house a few times, unwilling to give up.
This time, only the silent wind responded to him.
I don't know how long I sat there, but the mist on the mountaintop descended, completely obscuring the distant mountains. A soft drizzle began to fall in the city.
After a while, Xiang Wu stood up from the ground, his face covered in what looked like tears or rain.
"I can't lose anyone important to me again," he murmured.
The wind continued to respond quietly.
~
"Mama Wu." Two maids bowed respectfully to the approaching matron.
The old woman nodded and said, "Has Miss gone to sleep?"
"Miss said she wants to rest early," the maid replied respectfully.
The old woman looked at the room with the lights off with satisfaction and said, "The young lady finally listened to what this old woman said."
After saying that, the old woman turned around and led the maid out of the courtyard.
Song Zhen opened her round eyes wide and lay on her side facing the wall.
Having faintly heard the old woman's voice, Song Zhen cleared her throat and prepared to respond, supporting herself slightly with her left hand. After waiting a while without any further sound from outside the door, she relaxed and lay comfortably on the bed.
"Miss Song." A familiar voice rang out in the darkness.
Song Zhen sat up in bed, both excited and delighted. She coughed to clear her throat, which seemed to be blocked, turned around, and looked into the darkness, saying, "Young hero, you've come. I thought I was dreaming."
The moonlight streaming through the window shone precisely on the front of the elephant's shoeless body, which was covered with some mud and bits of grass.
"Uncle Song and Aunt Song are both in good health." Xiang Wu remained in the shadows, the only moonlight separating them at opposite ends of the room, and the two spoke to each other through the pale moonlight.
In the darkness, Xiang Wu saw the girl raise her hand to her face and silently wipe it.
"Thank you, my benefactor." Song Zhen calmed down and said earnestly, "May I know your name? I am now like a caged bird, unable to repay your kindness. I think that no matter what, I should at least remember your name."
“My name,” Elephant said without the slightest hesitation, then earnestly, “will bring you disaster.”
A hint of disappointment flashed in Song Zhen's eyes, and she silently lowered her head.
"The old man wants to see you."
Song Zhen couldn't tell whether she was looking at the moonlight or at Xiang Wu. After a moment of silence, she said, "Benefactor, you should leave. Don't come back. The owner of this house is not someone we should provoke."
"I can take you out," Xiang said hesitantly.
"Thank you." Song Zhen's body seemed to freeze, remaining completely still.
Xiang Wu took a step forward.
"Song Zhen is very grateful to her benefactor for taking care of me." Perhaps it was a woman's sixth sense, but Song Zhen spoke up, interrupting Xiang Wuben's already unsteady steps and preventing him from walking into the moonlight.
“I am destined to stay, I can’t go anywhere. I am the one who will bring disaster to others.”
"Hahaha." A man's arrogant laughter came from outside the window at the right moment: "She's right, she can't go anywhere."
Approximately seven Beggars' Sect disciples broke through the doors and windows simultaneously, their daggers gleaming coldly. The blood-red bandages on their arms were even more conspicuous than in daylight.
“You can’t go anywhere either,” Ma Youyuan said through gritted teeth as he stepped over the threshold.
Song Zhen looked toward the door in alarm and immediately gave Xiang Wu a look.
As Xiang Wu leaned back, a hole immediately appeared in the wall.
"Chase after them!" Ma Youyuan cursed, "You bastard, welcome to the city of beggars."
~
Ma Youyuan looked around before finally fixing his gaze on Song Zhen, who was curled up on the bed.
“I really like that look in your eyes,” Ma Youyuan said with a serious face. “That intense yet helpless look.”
The resounding slap made the air tremble, and Song Zhen's face was pushed towards the moonlight.
“You’re very smart,” Ma Youyuan said, waving his hand. “If you leave today, I won’t let those two old geezers get away with it.”
"You promised you wouldn't hurt my parents." In the pale moonlight, Song Zhen's bloodshot eyes stood out vividly.
"What right do you have to negotiate with me?" Ma Youyuan said arrogantly, "I can crush you all at any time."
Ma Youyuan grabbed Song Zhen's chin, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth onto her lower lip, and said, "I've given you plenty of face, but you actually had a secret rendezvous with a man and even let him go to those two old guys."
“I have nothing with him.” Song Zhen glared at Ma Youyuan.
"Do you think I care?" Ma Youyuan sneered. "You're nothing but a tool."
Ma Youyuan waved his hand, shattering the round table in the center of the room: "My men are everywhere in Wuling City. Let's see how you fight me!"
Ma Youyuan waved his sleeve and walked out of the house.
"Ma Youyuan!" Song Zhen shouted hysterically behind him, "Don't touch my parents!"
"Men," Ma Youyuan commanded in a booming voice, "Tie up Song Zhen for me."
"Bring those two old bastards back to me too," Ma Youyuan said, glancing back at Song Zhen, who lay disheveled on the bed. "From today onward, every time you disobey me, one of those old bastards' fingers will be cut off."
~
"Have you caught all the tails?"
“Everyone who came with Xiang Wu today is here,” Wang Boyu replied.
"That's enough."
"Can he escape?"
"It depends on his fate." Pei Jiangxi's hands were pressed tightly against Lin Zhenna's back, her face showing unconcealed exhaustion. "If he takes the Xuanhua Road, his chances are better."
"In that case, we should just tell him during the day."
"The most important thing is what a person wants to do, not what others tell him to do."
"Do you need me to meet him?"
"Go back," Pei Jiangxi shook her head. "Just focus on your own business."
Wang Boyu left through the door.
“Boyu,” Pei Jiangxi called out, “Don’t let those who have been captured talk nonsense. Handle them the way you want.”
~
“Master Wunian has passed away,” Ayu said calmly.
Looking at the strange mask on A Yu's face, Xiang Wu felt that it was not so much a declaration as it was a curse from the Western Frontier.
Xiang Wu grabbed A Yu's collar: "What did you say?"
"Calm down." Ayu raised her hands: "If you break the rules here and lay a hand on me, all your agreements with the Unforgettable Pavilion will be voided."
"He passed away in the Slanting Moon Mountain before the snow fell." A-Yu stood up from his chair, patted Xiang Wu on the shoulder, and said:
"Perhaps he foresaw his future, which is why he rushed back to the mountains through wind and rain, just to see his two disciples."
The elephant wept without covering its face.
"If I had stayed at Xinyuan Temple, the ending would probably have been different."
As Xiang Wu followed Xuanhua Road upwards, all the events of the day overlapped in his mind, leaving him with a jumbled mess of thoughts.
The number of pursuers was far greater than he had imagined. A few beggars followed him, whistling all the way, while more beggars, like clusters of mushrooms, poured out of the alleyways in groups, blocking his path from all sides. In the end, Xiang had no choice but to go straight up Xuanhua Road to Ping'an Temple. At least now, he wouldn't suddenly be confronted by beggars with red cloths tied to their arms.
"I am the one who will bring disaster to others." The image of Song Zhen's sorrowful figure swirling in the mind of the elephant seemed to overlap with the shadow of Lin Zhenna in the tower prison.
Now Nana is in a coma, and Song Jin has been left all alone in that mansion.
Climbing a mountain is quite different from climbing flat ground, and before long, more than half of the pursuers had fallen behind. It was estimated that very few would be able to keep up with the trail to Heian-in Temple.
Xiang Wu looked behind him, pondering which path to take down the mountain once he reached the summit. In any case, he couldn't leave a trail behind.
Only after escaping would they have time to figure out a way to rescue Song Zhen from the house. Xiang Wu had already made up his mind to rescue Song Zhen.
Just as they were making plans, pursuers unexpectedly appeared on the way up the mountain. However, before the pursuers, there was a man and a woman, also dressed in black and with their faces covered by black veils.
The three of them looked at each other from halfway up the mountain.
There were about four or five people chasing down from the mountaintop, significantly fewer than the number of people coming up from the bottom, but they were also much faster, and soon they were close enough to see each other clearly.
The three stood back to back. The supervising soldier stared wide-eyed and said, "Hero, I wonder which faction you belong to? You have more men than both of us combined."
Xiang Wu pondered for a moment and said, "Unaffiliated with any sect or school, a free spirit."
"Did I ask something too difficult?" the guard complained helplessly. "It took so long to think about."
The group glanced at the throngs of people climbing up the mountain at the foot of the hill, then at the pursuers who were gradually slowing down as they descended from the summit.
“Two heroes, since neither of you is well-liked by the beggars of Wuling City,” Meng Zhang said, “I have a suggestion.”
Both of them looked at Meng Zhang.
"Why don't we fight our way back to the mountaintop together?" Meng Zhang said earnestly. "Once we get to Ping'an Temple, we can go our separate ways on the main road."
That's exactly what I was thinking.
"We mustn't touch the assassin."
That night, Heian-in Temple was brightly lit for the first time in a long time. From the foot of the mountain, the lights were dim, making it look like a palace built in a fairyland.
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