Accompanying in the cave
As expected, it was them. Liu Lü stepped into the cave, her gaze fixed on Sui Zhixu's injured shoulder and calf. She moved swiftly, like the wind, to her side.
"My wife!"
Seeing the worry showing on her usually icy face, Sui Zhixu comforted her, "I'm fine, I've already applied the medicine. But you, what happened to you, you look like a cat covered in bruises?"
Liu Lü was always strict with herself, even down to the position of her belt and the color of her sword tassel... she had to be exactly the same every day.
In her presence, Liu Lü was always perfect, not to mention that her clothes would never have any wrinkles.
Now, Liu Lü's hair is a mess, with a few withered grasses stuck in it, her clothes are wrinkled, and the tassel on her sword sheath is scattered. Her cold little face is covered in dust, like a cat that has just crawled out of the stove.
Fortunately, he doesn't appear to be injured.
"This servant..." Liu Lü tried to tidy herself up, but in her panic she made things more and more messy, and her ears turned red as she spoke.
"Are you injured? Let me see."
Liu Lü shook her head.
Xu tried to pull off her clothes to check her, but eventually gave up in front of Liu Lü's terrified eyes.
"I'm glad you're alright. I need your protection now."
The trust emanating from her clear, peach-blossom eyes stirred Liu Lü's heart, and she lowered her head in response.
At this moment, the gyrfalcon flew to her and flapped its wings in the air, but hesitated to land. It seemed to have noticed that Sui Zhixu's shoulder was injured, so it finally landed on Sui Zhixu's head.
Sui Zhixu: "..."
"Gyrfalcon, get down."
It moved its feet, but didn't go down. It looked down at her, its pure black eyes round and bright, constantly adjusting its posture to look at her.
Sui Zhixu closed his eyes, reached out and grabbed its feet, turning it upside down. "If you wanted to be an owl, you should have said so earlier."
“Krikri—”
"I know you've done something good, but that doesn't mean you can climb over my head."
Although Xu's tone was indifferent and rather impatient, he responded to every single one of her questions.
Fan Lingzhang had already left while they were talking, leaving the cave to them.
Looking at Alu's sullen face, he patted him on the shoulder and said mercilessly, "Looks like you've rolled in the mud."
He spun the person around, and they weren't injured.
"Luckily, it only rolled once."
Seeing that he was alright, Fan Lingzhang sighed repeatedly.
"Hey, am I really that useless, my master? I can't even protect my own wife."
"Um."
"Hmm...Hmm?!" He suddenly looked up and met Alu's expressionless and lifeless face.
A-Lu's pupils trembled, as if he realized he had said the wrong thing. His mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't utter a single word.
He remained silent, head bowed.
Fan Lingzhang rubbed his forehead and waved his hand.
Isn't it a kind of luck that twins can be so extreme, like Afu and Alu?
Fan Lingzhang comforted himself in this way.
The four were reunited, and three of them were unharmed, which made Xu Zhixu quite satisfied.
She asked about the situation outside Liu Lü and learned that if she followed the river, she could see the branch of the river.
Zhuling is in the south, Qianling is in the east, Fanhuling is in the southeast, and the rest is the Phnom Penh mountain range that stretches from west to north.
The river flows from west to east. According to Liu Lü's description, there is a branch flowing diagonally downwards in the distance ahead, while the other branch flows straight. Those must be Fanhu Ridge and Qian Ridge.
So their current location is in the Phnom Penh mountain range, and they are at a branch point; heading south will take them back to Zhuling.
Once you reach Zhuling, continue south to cross over, and you'll arrive at the Miao region.
Sui Zhixu smiled slightly, "We'll set off early tomorrow morning."
The three of them: "Okay."
At night, Xu felt much more at ease. Liu Lü was highly skilled in martial arts, and A Lu was no less so. Tonight, they finally settled down.
She lost too much blood last night, and Xiao Furong kept watch all night. She reached out and touched his face.
He was roasting a rabbit when he realized it was her. He tilted his head and placed it on her hand, and asked softly, "Are you hungry? It'll be ready soon."
She smiled but didn't say anything. She was looking at the bruises under his eyes. He hadn't slept all night, and Xiao Furong was all droopy.
As soon as the rabbit was ready, Xu Gang took over. The gyrfalcon immediately came up to her, raised its clear little black eyes, and she tapped its head in annoyance, giving it half a rabbit leg.
The gyrfalcon, having obtained the food, flew to the side with the rabbit leg in its mouth and enjoyed it alone.
"Eat more," Fan Lingzhang said, handing it to her again.
She shook her head. "You guys eat, you have to carry me on your back."
Liu Lü tore off the rabbit's leg and said loudly, "This servant will carry it!"
"OK."
Seeing that Sui Zhixu was looking at Liu Lü with a smile, Fan Lingzhang silently withdrew his hand that had offered the rabbit meat and ate it himself.
"master--"
Alu cleverly took out a clean handkerchief and handed it to Fan Lingzhang.
A hush fell over the room as all three eyes were fixed on the clean handkerchief in Ah Lu's hand. The snow-white handkerchief was spotless.
Sui Zhixu: Does this look like the handkerchief that came out of his body?
Willow Green: Inexplicable.
Fan Lingzhang closed his eyes and calmly accepted the handkerchief. "How come your handkerchief is still alive?"
"It's on my chest, it didn't fall off."
He nodded repeatedly in admiration, saying, "Very good, very good."
He's not that fragile; he wouldn't cry over something like this.
He misspoke earlier. Ah Fu and Ah Lu are indeed twins. Although one is lively and the other is indifferent, they are exactly the same when it comes to being annoying in certain situations.
Fan Lingzhang threw the handkerchief into his arms in a huff, annoyed that he had made Chun Chun lose face in front of his wife.
"Even if I eat your food, meat won't shut you up."
Ah Lu: "It's pretty bland."
Sui Zhixu couldn't help but laugh out loud. Alu was being honest; without salt or seasoning, plain roasted rabbit meat was indeed a bit bland.
Fan Lingzhang leaned against the cave wall, rubbing his forehead in deep thought. He felt that he might need to calm down.
In the stillness of the night, the firelight from the haystacks in the cave illuminated one side of the cave. The four men calmed down and did not speak to each other.
The two leaned against each other, enjoying a rare moment of tranquility.
The three agreed to take turns keeping watch tonight. Fan Lingzhang would guard the front, Liu Lü and A Lu would guard the back, and Sui Zhixu, being the patient, would rest peacefully.
Not long after, A-Lu took over the night watch from Fan Lingzhang, and Fan Lingzhang gently draped the fallen clothes back over Sui Zhixu.
The sleeping woman resembled a goddess in a painting; her face appeared even more delicate and beautiful in the hazy light and shadow, just like a peach blossom in spring, exquisite and alluring.
He curiously placed his hand on her long eyelashes, which trembled slightly with her breathing.
He smiled gently, his words filled with love and tenderness, "Your eyelashes are so long... Goodnight, my wife."
A light touch, as light as a feather, landed on Sui Zhixu's forehead. Then, Fan Lingzhang gently rested her head on his shoulder, slowly loosened her grip on her sword, and after confirming that everything was alright, he himself slowly drifted off to sleep.
He then entered the dream again.
She was already in a bamboo forest that seemed to stretch endlessly. The bamboo grew as if it had been arranged to carve a path through the center, with the bamboo on both sides towering into the clouds, lush and green.
Lu Kou stepped forward with her sword, the blade slashing the ground, splattering out a dazzling white light, and bright red blood flowing down the dent of the sword onto the ground.
"Madam, the master of the building invites you!"
Suddenly, a group of men in black descended from the sky and blocked her path.
"Tch, so what if we killed a few wicked children and a few useless fugitives around my aunt? Is it really worth Master making such a fuss?"
"Please, madam!"
The voices were unified and powerful.
Lu Kou sneered and was about to raise her twin swords when a deep, gentle voice came from behind her.
"Ah Ling is back and she's not even planning to see her uncle?"
“Uncle!” Lu Kou turned to look at him. Sima Xian smiled gently, seemingly without any intention of blaming her.
As Xu Zhixu was deeply immersed in the dream, she could not see Lu Kou's expression. She only felt herself walking step by step in the direction of Sima Xian, following Lu Kou's footsteps, and finally stopping at a certain distance.
"Uncle, Master."
Her voice was indifferent, clearly lacking the joy she had shown when she first heard it.
Xin Yi stepped out from behind Sima Xian. She was dressed as a chivalrous woman from the martial arts world, unrestrained and simple, with a heroic spirit in her eyes that made her stand out as a chivalrous heroine.
“Ah Ling, you were too reckless this time. You’ve never acted on your own before. This time, you went to your aunt’s side all by yourself, carrying Jiang Li on your back. Your uncle doesn’t blame you. But you killed the Zhou family. Your uncle knows you wanted to avenge them, but you were too reckless. You should have put the bigger picture first.”
"The bigger picture? What bigger picture? When your uncle achieves his great success, they will become your capable generals? If we don't kill them now, how will I ever have a chance for revenge?"
"In the pursuit of the great cause, someone must always make a sacrifice."
Sima Xian looked at her with eyes full of disappointment, as if she were just an ignorant child.
Xu knew what time it was. It was the first time Lu Kou had seen Sima Xian since she avenged A Ning and Shisan Niang and left Xiao Furong's side.
Throughout the entire ordeal, he never mentioned her escape.
"But why are they the ones who have to sacrifice themselves! Does your great path, your perfect accomplishment, need to be forged with the blood of others?" Lu Kou cried out hoarsely, tears streaming down her face.
At that moment, Sui Zhixu miraculously felt the chill.
Her heart merged with her past self, filled with those heart-wrenching, indignant, unbelievable, and disagreeable emotions and thoughts.
“You haven’t grown up yet, which is why you’re so willful in leaving Chang’an.”
Lu Kou cried and shook her head, "No! It's not—"
"None of them are correct—"
She felt dizzy, followed by a roar that seemed to reach the sky.
"Aww—"
Suddenly, Xu woke up with a start, his heart pounding wildly. It wasn't the howl from his dream; it was the real wolf crying.
"Little hibiscus, willow green!"
Liu Lü and A Lu had already leaped forward to guard the cave entrance, their clothes billowing in the air, stirring up dust the moment they landed.
Fan Lingzhang also woke up, stood in front of her, picked up his bow and nocked an arrow, ready at any moment.
He glanced back at Sui Zhixu, just as a long and mournful wolf howl broke the silence.
Then the wolf pack converged on the cave from all directions. Liu Lü darted towards the wolves with lightning speed, and A Lu was not to be outdone. He rushed towards several wolves in one stride, each move ruthless and vicious.
The two men's swords danced swiftly among the wolves, their cold light flashing. Behind them, Fan Lingzhang's arrows never missed their mark; each arrow, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, struck a vital point.
As Xu commanded the gyrfalcons to advance, the howls of wolves echoed throughout the valley.
"Aww—"
The wolf king, swaying its body, twisted and dodged Liu Lü and A Lu, charging straight towards Fan Lingzhang and Sui Zhixu.
Sui Zhixu picked up a dagger from the side and forcefully swung it into the wolf king's eyes. Seeing this, Liu Lü turned around and grappled with the wolf king in front of Sui Zhixu.
The wolf king was attacked from both sides and its eyes were destroyed. It quickly fell into a disadvantageous position and was killed by Liu Lü's sword.
Sword shadows and arrow flashes crisscrossed in the darkness, occasionally interspersed with the black and white feathers of a gyrfalcon.
The flowing blood seeped into the soil, the campfire beside it stood out starkly against the darkness outside, while the blood flowing from the constantly falling wolves blurred the boundary between the two.
As dawn broke, everyone was exhausted and leaned against the cave wall.
Fan Lingzhang collapsed into Sui Zhixu's arms, panting heavily, groaning and asking to rest a little longer, when he heard footsteps nearby.
The group became alert again.
"Why are there so many wolf carcasses here?"
By the light from outside the cave, Sui Zhixu could see who he was, and his eyes widened in surprise. The other person was even more surprised and exclaimed.
"It's you?! What are you doing all the way from Chang'an to this godforsaken place?"
The grass that the young man was holding in his mouth fell to the ground, stained with the wolf's not-yet-dry blood.
"Mingmao?"
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