Chapter 49: Zhi Tui Chen Yu’s breathing is getting closer and closer...
Frost said: "Probably not."
"Go and invite her here quickly. I have something to ask her..." Chen Yu continued gravely, "Also, I have to go back to Ningbei. After I leave, go back to Guyi Piaohao and stay out of the spotlight."
"But Seventh Master, if you go back now, how do you know that He Lianzhu hasn't already colluded with that traitor and is waiting for you to jump in?" Shuangjiang lowered his voice very low, but the rhetorical question in his words was self-evident.
"Judging from Mei Niang's reaction—she obviously just found out I'm alive." Chen Yu casually placed his hand on the window frame and thought for a moment before continuing:
"The Moon Nation has been hesitant to act. On the one hand, it's probably because they lost Xiaojiu, the Zero-Blooded, which has hindered the assembly of the Blood Remaining Army. On the other hand, I imagine it's because they know I'm alive and the National Protection Army is still around. But think about it, they knew this, yet they didn't tell the traitor. Clearly, they want us to kill each other so they can reap the benefits."
Talking about business, Shuangjiang was able to temporarily put aside the turbulent emotions in his heart. He then looked back blankly: "So, what about the emperor?"
"Do you think that His Majesty, after finally summoning me back to Shengdu, would easily let the tiger go back to the mountains?" Chen Yu smiled nonchalantly.
"What do you think the Shicha Underground Casino is for? Not to mention how many officials in the court are their protégés, in that life-or-death moment, Your Majesty personally sent Xiaojiu into the wolf's den. How could he spare the life of a mere official like me?"
Frost pursed his lips and glanced towards the couch inside the room: "Well, has Master Qi asked Xiaojiu about his opinion?"
"She... this is one of the things I asked Miss Xihe to do." Shen Yu's originally pale eyes were filled with regret. He slowed down his speech and said:
"Compared to Ningbei, which is right next to the Moon Nation, it's safer for Xiaojiu to stay in Shengdu. Mei Niang has been exposed, and those people must be impatient and ready to act. If you were the city lord, what would you do next?"
"Um... according to common sense, they are going to attack you, right?" Shuangjiang has been helping Chen Yu manage Guyi Bank for so long that she is familiar with some strategies, but when it comes to Chen Yu's safety, she still can't remain calm.
Shen Yu snorted coldly, then laughed and said, "Since we can all think of it, why should they bother to work so hard for nothing?"
"Ning Bei..." Shuangjiang calmed down and thought for a while. Suddenly, an idea flashed in his mind, and the answer in his heart was about to come out. "Seventh Master means that they want to divert the trouble to others and borrow the knife of Yue Kingdom?"
Shen Yu nodded.
"Then why do you--" Shuangjiang knew she shouldn't ask this, but she couldn't help it.
In fact, she doesn't have much feelings for Shengguo.
Frostfall was an orphan, having spent her entire life fighting for food against stray dogs and other vagrants. Her thin frame, coupled with her gender, led to widespread bullying, often starving and ill-clad. Later, seeking a stable job, she was easily tricked by a shadowy organization into going to the Moon Country and becoming a blood slave.
She didn't know if it was God who had finally opened his eyes. During He Lianzhu's blood pill experiment, even though her fellow blood slaves had managed to survive the blood pill fusion and become blood survivors, none of them survived the effects of the Night Devouring Gu.
She crawled out from their corpses.
He Lianzhu thought they were all dead, so he destroyed her mother Gu at the same time, and she escaped.
Up to now, she has lived in a gray world for the past twenty years or so. Her life has no color, no warmth, and no hope. She doesn't know what is real in this world, and she doesn't know whether her remaining life still has any meaning.
It was Chen Yu, and only him, who made her feel the light, warmth, and hope for the first time.
No one taught her what liking or loving was, so she herself didn't know what her feelings were towards Shen Yu. But what she knew was that there was only one Shen Yu in her eyes and heart, her life belonged to him, and she would live every day for him from now on.
"It is precisely because I know this that I must fulfill their wishes!" Chen Yu's contrary statement made Shuangjiang, who was already absent-minded, even more confused.
"I don't understand." As he spoke, the wrinkles between Frost's brows increased.
"Just like Mei Niang would abandon Hong Xiu, how do you know that the City Lord won't abandon Mei Niang?" The corners of Chen Yu's lips curved up a little more:
"Even though we've thoroughly investigated their forces, we still don't know who the city lord is or who the traitor is. This important figure is hiding too well. Besides, even if the situation gets tense, I'll definitely make a plan for Ningbei! Shengdu is still protected by the Imperial City Army and assisted by the Shadow City Guards, so it should be safe. But if we wait and see them incite the forces of the Moon Nation, what will happen to the people of Ningbei?"
"But last time..." Shuangjiang understood her master's intentions, but selfishly, she still couldn't bear to let him take this risk alone. It wasn't that she didn't trust his abilities, but the distance and the unknown instilled in her a sense of dread.
"Last time, it was because he blended in with the people that our entire army was annihilated, right?"
Under the moonlight, Chen Yu's already dull lychee-shaped eyes became even deeper. The arrogance that had been buried for a long time in his eyes quietly emerged again in the dead of night:
"In that case, rather than waiting to be attacked from all sides, it's better to strike first and prevent them from setting foot on our territory. The Blood Remaining Army under He Lianzhu shouldn't have existed in the first place, and our confrontation with the Moon Nation is precisely to convince the cunning Lord of the Yellow Bird City that it's time to close the net. Then, perhaps we'll have a chance to force him to reveal his true colors."
Shuangjiang hadn't seen Chen Yu like this for a long time. Just like the first time he saw him, he possessed the heroic spirit and pride that could win a victory thousands of miles away, attracting countless followers to bow down in submission.
"Seventh Master, please take me with you. After all, I am also a 50% Blood Survivor. I will be helpful to you in destroying the Blood Survivor army." Shuangjiang did not ask him to have her in his heart, but only asked that she could always follow him and accompany him.
"Sooner or later, we will have to confront the city lord face to face." Chen Yu slowed down, "Shengdu cannot be without our people."
"What if you get injured, if your leg disease relapses, if you..." Shuangjiang knew that once Chen Yu made up his mind, it would be difficult for him to be swayed by a few words from others, but she still wanted to make this last effort.
Chen Yu calmly waited for her to finish pouring out all her emotions, then gently patted her arm: "Alright Shuangshuang, go ahead."
Qi Xin had actually woken up a long time ago, but he just wanted to see what he was going to arrange behind his back, so he kept pretending to be asleep.
After the backlash of the blood pill's power faded, the pain in her body remained, and she felt like she had just woken up from a dream. She didn't remember clearly what had happened.
However, the meridians in his body seemed to be reshaped and became much lighter. Although he still had no internal force to support him, his five senses were obviously becoming more and more advanced, even reaching an unprecedented level.
But what caught her off guard was that the inexplicable emotions in her heart seemed to burst out as if a valve had been removed, and she could no longer ignore it.
Regardless of whether her feelings for Shen Yu before were due to her lust for him because of his beauty or because she was in love with a peerless general like a young girl in love, at least now, she knew that perhaps since the time in Lihua Garden, or perhaps even earlier, she had fallen in love with him.
Having said that, I have never cared about a man as much as I care about Chen Yu.
But precisely because of this, she couldn't let others know.
I am already as conspicuous as a sitting duck, and it is hard to grasp me when I am free of any worries. But once I have an idea, I always feel restricted in everything I do and can't let go.
However, according to my father's intention, it is obvious that even if the crisis is resolved this time, it will be because of his good governance. Otherwise, he will want him to die together with the ferocious Blood Remaining Army of the Moon Kingdom, and he will not hesitate to use his own daughter as bait.
But what she couldn't understand was that if even she could see the trap, how could someone as wise as her master not see through it?
Although what he said just now made sense, he didn't expect that his leg disease was real!
His return to Ningbei this time was obviously a desperate move, and he even mixed some high-sounding excuses into the truth to confuse the public.
Master didn't even bring his trusted confidant, Sister Shuang, let alone agree to let me go with him.
Instead of doing this, it would be better to pretend for a while and then sneak away.
After Frostfall left, Chen Yu walked back to the bedside. Under the moonlight, which was like a veil after the rain, he looked at Qi Xin's long, feathery eyelashes. His fingertips slid down from the bridge of her nose, little by little, to the tip of her nose, casting a small shadow.
Qi Xin has a sunken bridge of the nose, a slightly rounded nose, and the peaks of his lips move slightly with his breathing. His eyes are closed and focused on one point. He looks like a porcelain doll, making people want to poke him.
Qi Xin could feel Chen Yu's breath getting closer and closer, until it was almost hitting his face, but he hesitated and did not take the next step.
Her mind was full of thoughts -
Master, what does this mean?
But he did like to tease himself on a daily basis, but he never mentioned anything else.
Could this be what I understand it to mean?
Chen Yu slowly leaned over, paused just inches from her lips, and finally placed a kiss carefully on her eyelids.
"You just asked me if I like you..." Shen Yu's eyes were filled with unresolved emotions as he murmured:
"I don't know if you can sense it, but I've actually been attracted to you for a long time. It's just that you... well, forget it, you won't remember it anyway. I'm willing to protect you forever, but there are some things I must do, and only I can do them. If... after resolving these issues and I'm still alive, then I'll definitely be where you can see me the moment you turn around..."
Qi Xin's face was lifeless, but there was a voice in her heart clamoring wantonly. She didn't know which verse of the ancient sage's poetry to recite to describe her current mood.
Life, in a trance, has become like the grass of late spring.[1] It is not easy to find a devoted partner, so how can one dare to expect to be together forever? Moreover, their identities and bloodlines have already destined their relationship to be filled with many things that are hard to let go. It is like tasting all kinds of flavors in the world, and a new tear has been mixed in with the wine stain at the corner of the lips.
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The author has something to say: Wow, it’s still late at night when ideas flow like a spring.
Note:
[1] “Life is fleeting like grass in late spring.” — Xu Gan, Wei and Jin Dynasties, “Thoughts in the Chamber”
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