The sound of flying snow in the twilight
Chapter Thirty
Like a withered tree blossoming in spring, Zhou Yulin had only seen his senior brother use it once.
At that time, the Xuanling Sect was holding its inner sect competition. The one who was drawn to face Xuan Qingxian was a senior sister surnamed Min. She didn't usually think about practicing swordsmanship and loved to decorate her long sword.
Senior Sister Min's moves were mostly more about form than substance. Senior Brother should have defeated her in a few breaths and won the match easily without breaking a sweat.
However, Zhou Yulin, who was sitting in the audience yawning, saw the snowflakes that were dancing in the air suddenly change direction and rush towards the senior brother on the altar, who was dressed in plain clothes with his hair tied up and had a fair face. The figure on the altar was swept up by the wind and snow, and in this wind and snow, colors that did not belong to this season were added little by little.
It was late February then, and there shouldn't have been any bright flowers on the branches.
But on that day, Zhou Yulin was fortunate enough to see the flying flowers in February.
As the elegant young man swung his sword, petals rained down upon him. The normally harmless and delicate petals transformed into sharp blades that flew towards his opponent. But just as they were about to injure him, he suddenly stopped, and his gentlemanly voice fell before the sword could strike: "You have lost."
Like a cold jade striking a jade disc, Zhou Yulin hadn't even reacted when the surging gasps of amazement behind her drowned her out. Her second senior brother patted her head and teased, "Hey, even our little moon is stunned."
She doesn't have much spiritual power left in her body right now. This flower has no offensive power and is only for ornamental purposes, but that's enough. She needs a chance to make a scene and find the others who were caught up in the Thousand Miles River Bright Map.
Even though she was unwilling, the lady who had just realized what was happening still smiled insincerely and said to Madam Yu, "Madam Yu is really lucky. Her daughter-in-law has such abilities. It's truly an eye-opener for us."
"Madam Yu, please remember to invite me to your residence for tea often in the future!"
Madam Yu's initial disdain for Zhou Yulin turned into gentleness amidst the adulation of her friends. She waved her hand dismissively and said, "The most important thing is whether my son likes it or not, don't you think, Xideng?"
However, when Madam Yu turned around, there was no sign of her son in the seat behind her. Strange, wasn't he just sitting there a moment ago? How could he have left in the blink of an eye?
In the back garden, the domineering woman pushed the woman in pink and silk dress to the ground in the snow. The woman who should have been wronged calmly looked at the person who bullied her and burst into tears.
"I want to get out! Who said I was coming in? I'm just a random passerby, the kind who'll log off after a quick visit. Now look what's happened, they want me to go into this lousy map? I, Yu Tao'er, am still a beautiful young woman in the prime of my life. Am I going to spend my whole life here?! I don't want to... Waaaaaah—"
Zhou Yulin blocked out the crying, which was almost like noise, and comforted her in a clear voice, "It's just difficult to get out, but as long as there is an opportunity, you can still get out."
"Waaaaah!"
However, the comforting words didn't do much good.
Someone was approaching. Zhou Yulin heard the sound of footsteps on the snow approaching from afar. The person emerged from behind the flower bushes, displaying a dashing demeanor and extremely flamboyantly waving a "most handsome man in the world" fan in the freezing winter. Zhou Yulin recognized this person as Yuwen Yu, the brother who grew up wearing the same pair of pants as Yu Zhou.
How did he end up here?
How much of what he just said actually came to his attention?
While Zhou Yulin was sizing up the other person, Yuwen Yu was also observing the two of them.
"What brings you two here?"
Zhou Yulin remembered that Yuwen Yu was among the spectators in the audience. This man usually disliked Liu Yuning, but unexpectedly, he jumped out and was the first to lead the applause. However, thinking that this man was always a person who enjoyed watching the fun, Zhou Yulin had no choice but to suppress her suspicions and replied with a smile, "I just got a little lost."
Yuwen Yu didn't believe it: "Is getting lost really worth crying so horribly?"
"Miss Su is sensitive."
“If Miss Su were sensitive, she wouldn’t have cried so miserably in public. I heard it from afar; it sounded like a pig being slaughtered.” As he spoke, the man frowned in disgust.
Yu Tao'er, who was sobbing halfway through, suddenly looked up and rushed forward in disbelief. With her 300-pound weight, she could easily knock Yuwen Yu to the ground with one punch. "How could you describe a young lady like that! How rude!"
Yuwen Yu immediately closed his fan, furious. "From childhood to adulthood, no one has ever said a bad word about me!"
"You think you're the crown prince? Everyone has to fawn over you!" Upon hearing this, the young master Yuwen Yu glared at Yu Tao'er, not backing down at all. "It's better for me to be rude than for you to be nobody."
"You're the one who's unwanted! The young masters who like me line up from West Street to East Street. Who do you think you are, daring to question me!"
Hearing the two arguing, Zhou Yulin rubbed her temples, finding it incredibly noisy. "You two, stop arguing."
Yu Tao'er was furious at the moment. Hearing the words of dissuasion, she was unwilling to suffer a loss and chose to take action directly, kicking the frail Yuwen Yu to the ground.
"I'm not one to be trifled with."
Yuwen Yu clutched his chest, his face pale, and looked at the towering woman, a sense of reverence rising in his heart.
"Stop fooling around, you two." Zhou Yulin would be truly stupid if she still couldn't see through this by now. "Yu Tao'er." She looked down at Yuwen Yu on the ground. "Gu Ling."
They called out the two names without missing a single one.
Through two completely different appearances.
Gu Ling quickly realized what was going on. He pointed at Yu Tao'er and said bluntly, "You annoying brat who only has brute force! Why are you everywhere?"
"..." Yu Tao'er laughed angrily, "You think I wanted to come in?"
Hearing this, Gu Ling felt a little guilty. He hadn't expected that the scoundrel would disregard him at all.
"Besides the three of us, who else got involved?"
"Young Master and Xu Zuiyue."
A gust of wind rustled through the air, and spring snowflakes fell softly from the branches. A tall figure walked along, stepping on the shards of light, but was stopped halfway by someone calling out, "Young Master Yu, where are you going?"
Upon hearing the voice, Yu Zhou seemed surprised to encounter the other person here, and a soft laugh escaped his throat. "What? What a strong wind! Brother-in-law, you've come to the Lantern Festival too?"
The term "brother-in-law" is quite intriguing, especially considering that he and Liu Yuning are not yet married.
Even after marriage, one might only see their spouse a few times a year.
“I know you hate me.” Xie Wuwang, who stood to the side like a handsome young man, had just recovered from a serious illness. Today, he was dressed in a moon-white feathered coat. Because of the cold, his lips were pale, but his eyes were extremely deep. Unlike Yu Zhou’s calm and composed demeanor, there was a hint of irritation between his brows. As for the reason for this irritation, it was not hard to guess.
"I hate you." Yu Zhou curled his lips and said coldly, "How is a son-in-law worthy of Yu Yue?"
These words were truly harsh, but to Xie Wuwang they were as commonplace as everyday food, easily defusing the situation. "I have never denied this point, and it doesn't matter what Young Master Yu says."
The two were extremely incompatible. Although Xie Wuwang was less imposing, his gaze was calm and steady. "My beloved wife has a beautiful appearance. If Young Master Yu had a beautiful appearance, he wouldn't be so jealous."
"So what if he's born with a handsome face? He's just a good-for-nothing anyway." Yu Zhou's words were somewhat like that person's; he really didn't hold back at all.
Zhou Yulin idly watched the spectacle.
But the next second, someone shouted, "Who are you calling an idiot!"
Yu Zhou's gaze fell on the woman who had appeared, and he raised an eyebrow.
Xie Wuwang was also quite surprised by this person who suddenly appeared to stand up for him.
Zhou Yulin was in great distress, while she was enjoying watching the show from the sidelines.
She thought the two of them would fight, but who would have thought that her legs would disobey her and she would rush forward? Xie Wuwang's die-hard fan persona is really deadly.
Seeing that she had finally regained control of the body, Zhou Yulin tried to smooth things over by saying cautiously, "Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth, we're all family." These words seemed to have touched a sore spot for Yu Zhou, whose face instantly darkened. He turned and left without arguing any further.
How did you get here?
Xie Wuwang smiled helplessly, "I came to bring you something."
Zhou Yulin was somewhat surprised. Why would Xie Wuwang have to make the trip himself when a servant couldn't deliver the item? However, Zhou Yulin quickly realized that perhaps Madam Liu was using Xie Wuwang as a servant, which was quite possible.
“It’s nothing serious. My mother was worried that you, Yuan Deng, would catch a cold, so she sent me to bring some clothes over.” As he spoke, Xie Wuwang instructed the servants behind him to hand Zhou Yulin a hat and coat. “I asked for directions all the way here. They said you were here, so I came.”
He glanced at the two people hiding in the bushes out of the corner of his eye and apologized frankly, "I'm really sorry to have disturbed your fun."
Zhou Yulin took the hoodie but didn't put it on in a hurry. She felt that things weren't that simple. After Xie Wuwang walked away, Gu Ling and Yu Tao'er came out from the side.
Yu Tao'er looked confused. "Wasn't that Chen Muyao?"
With the exact same face, if it weren't for the different expressions and personalities, Yu Tao'er would almost have stepped forward.
Gu Ling was also completely bewildered. This was clearly his young master's face, but when did he become so refined and gentle?
"He is Xie Wuwang." Zhou Yulin briefly introduced the story she knew to the two of them.
What shocked Yu Tao'er the most after hearing this was, "You like your brother-in-law!"
Zhou Yulin glanced at her, and Yu Tao'er, realizing what was happening, immediately covered her mouth.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have rushed up just now. She was just watching the show. Zhou Yulin was both amused and exasperated. Why did she have to stand up for Xie Wuwang?
"It seems that each of us has our own limitations."
Yu Tao'er, chin in hand, dissected the situation bit by bit, "You are Xie Wuwang, I am a crybaby, and as for you..." Yu Tao'er pointed her chubby finger at Gu Ling, "What are you?"
Gu Ling shook his fan, adopting the demeanor of a refined scholar, and said, "I am not allowed to interfere in any matters; I can only observe from the sidelines."
"..." I really wanted to punch him into the ground.
Yu Tao'er got tired of standing and plopped down on the grass. "How could we possibly escape from the Thousand-Mile River Map with just a few of us? Even if my mother-in-law came, she would be trapped in this map for ten or twenty years."
“Actually, I suspect that the Xie Wuwang in front of us might not be the real Xie Wuwang.” Zhou Yulin boldly raised her conjecture. “Xie Wuwang knows how to get out, but the prerequisite is that we find the real Xie Wuwang.”
"The Thousand Miles of Rivers and Lakes will repeat Xie Wuwang's memories over and over again. Memories have milestones. We need to make Xie Wuwang realize that everything in front of him is just a dream when the milestones arrive."
Gu Ling quickly reacted, "Doesn't that also mean that Xie Wuwang's soul will leave the Thousand Mile River Bright Map?" He frowned, "If a soul that hasn't been fully repaired leaves the Thousand Mile River Bright Map, there's only one path: the soul will be scattered and no trace can be found."
"..." Zhou Yulin pursed her lips. She couldn't wait that long. She didn't know how long it would take for Xie Wuwang's soul to be fully repaired. A hundred years was too long.
Gu Ling seemed to know that he should be more concerned about himself at this moment, so he swallowed and said awkwardly, "What I mean is, do we have no other way besides this? After all, Xie Wuwang and Jiang Zanghua are old acquaintances."
"Yes, find the core of the Thousand Miles River Map formation and break it."
Zhou Yulin looked at Gu Ling, "Only those at the Nascent Soul level have a chance to break through."
Gu Ling remained silent for a while, then said, "Let me think about it some more."
Yu Tao'er huddled on the ground, indifferent to whether the road was good or bad; any road that led her out was a good road. She held her breath, waiting for their answers.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and it got a bit chilly. Yu Tao'er asked Zhou Yulin if she could borrow his hoodie to cover herself. As they were passing it around, a letter fell out of the hoodie, and Yu Tao'er's expression changed.
After a long pause, she finally managed to speak with great difficulty, "Um, don't tell me your brother-in-law likes you too, right?"
“Unless he’s gone mad,” Zhou Yulin said coldly and without hesitation.
The snow in Jinling hadn't fallen this heavily in a long time. Yu Zhou looked at the bright red plum blossoms on the branches, his thoughts drifting. Snowflakes fell on his hair, and the footprints he had left on the ground gradually blurred. He didn't know when he had walked onto a dead end.
He turned around when someone approached from behind, and said with great interest, "So the senior brother of the Xuanling Sect has finally agreed to see me."
The newcomer carried a sword at his side and a Xuanling Sect token at his waist. His silver-white crescent-shaped robes almost blended into the vast snow, and even the snowflakes falling on his shoulders seemed to carry a touch of tenderness. He raised his all-seeing eyes, a hint of doubt in them, but more so, a look of inquiry. "How did you get here?"
The branches finally couldn't withstand the wind and snow and broke off into the heavy snow.
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