Chapter 84 Wen Gu
Lu Zhizhu remembered the night she married Wen Guhuai until her death.
Dressed in a bright red wedding gown against a backdrop of white snow, she wore a red veil, took his hand, and stepped into the gates of the Wengu family amidst the noisy sounds of firecrackers and stringed instruments.
They bowed to Wen Gu Huaiyuan and Azhi, made a solemn vow to heaven and earth without revealing their names, and finally, the couple bowed to each other.
In fact, Lu Zhizhu knew that Wen Guhuai just needed a reason, a reason to invite Shangguan Ming to Jianxue, a reason to openly take her around the city and set up an evil formation.
There was no need to resort to marriage as a means.
Lu Zhizhu knelt before him and said, "Young master, you once said that you wanted to be a good person."
A good person will marry the one they love at the right age.
Wearing a red veil, you can't see who I am.
This is also an excellent reason to fulfill the young master's long-cherished wish.
Wen Guhuai laughed when he heard her clumsy words. He tilted his head slightly, looking at the snow falling in the air, and said in a light tone with a hint of sarcasm, "Zhizhu, why bother?"
He curled his lip in disdain, leisurely walked away, and tossed out a remark before leaving.
"wishful thinking."
"Isn't that right, young master!"
Lu Zhizhu looked at him coldly and said, "Young Master, aren't you even more delusional than Zhizhu, clinging to someone who is already dead?!"
Wen Guhuai turned to look at her. The man had a face that resembled that of an immortal, yet his eyes held a wicked quality that made people want to explore, be curious, and like him.
Lu Zhizhu looked up at him, her chin raised, seemingly both proud and forced.
"Young master, I love you, and I'm even willing to become your blade for you."
"In the end, I want to have a fake wedding with you, what's wrong with that?"
"Young master, don't you want to know what the wedding in Snow City is like?"
Lu Zhizhu thought that it was her almost analytical and straightforward words that finally moved Wen Guhuaigui, but that was not the case. At that time, she was kneeling when she spoke, but she forced her back to be straight and her expression was somewhat arrogant.
It was her expression.
For the first time, Wen Guhuai realized that from that angle, Lu Zhizhu looked somewhat like her, and even their expressions at that time matched perfectly.
He would never have bothered to seek out someone who resembled her.
But in that instant, Wen Guhuai felt his heart clench under the snow's light. The world seemed to fall silent for a moment, and it seemed that he really saw that person again, that annoying girl who argued with him every day.
Her name was Hua Fan, but he secretly called her A Fan in his heart.
She's so noisy. A little demon, fresh out of school, curious about everything, as if everything about humans is new and interesting.
Even if they encounter setbacks and suffer defeats, they cry it out on the same day, and the next day they're laughing and talking again.
Wen Guhuai couldn't understand what was so interesting about the human world. Aren't those children, smiles, food, and clothes all just boring and even annoying things?
But Hua Fan didn't think that way. She liked those things, liked laughing, liked making a fuss, liked staying up late at night and chattering away, trying to get him to talk to her about all sorts of silly things.
Day after day, Wen Guhuai could see that Hua Fan was very independent, but emotionally dependent on him and treated him as a true friend.
He remembered that they met a sleazy scholar who subtly mocked him for not being sincere towards Hua Fan. Hua Fan just laughed and said that they were friends, and she knew what was going on. No matter what, it was none of other people's business to judge.
It was only then that Huai Gui realized that A Fan was the kind of person who knew you well, but would still clearly tell you, "I like you."
How foolish you are, little flower fairy! The scholar is right; you should give up on me.
Huai Gui was actually aware at that time that if he were willing to get a little closer, he could take their relationship to an even closer level.
But he didn't think that way. At first, the boy thought that A-Fan was still young and a talkative, annoying little demon. Later, he thought that they had lived together for so long, and many things were bound to happen sooner or later. Finally, he thought that he was just too embarrassed to say that he liked this noisy little flower demon who liked to talk and fight.
Moreover, she was a demon, not particularly intelligent, nor a peerless beauty. He always thought, "Let's wait and wait."
He didn't know what he was waiting for.
In those years, they often spent their time arguing. Wen Gu Huai Gui said, "Hua Fan, since you like those things so much, why don't you just become a decent human being from now on?"
She would always purse her lips and say, "And you're the one talking! You're always coming up with bad ideas. Just be a good person!"
Okay, okay, they should all learn to be decent human beings from now on.
Wen Guhuai thought this way, but what came out of his mouth was, "Ah Fan, you're so noisy and annoying."
Hua Fan would feel a little unhappy every time he said that, as if he was looking down on her. But after a while, she would feel indifferent and would still smile and talk to him.
"We're friends, I don't talk to other people easily. Besides, you should be grateful that someone as beautiful and capable as me is willing to talk to you!"
She spoke in a charming and confident tone, sometimes even shaking her head. Wen Guhuai was moved, but avoided her gaze, saying, "I didn't. You just like to talk too much, it's annoying."
"Why!"
At this time, A-Fan would wrinkle his face in a slightly aggrieved expression, then grit his teeth, and the girl would give him a heavy punch with a smile, making him unable to sleep for several nights in pain—
"Hmph, you always like to talk like that. It's okay, I'm magnanimous, I'll just hold a grudge against you for a little while."
She would wave her finger in front of him, compliment his red mole between his eyebrows, saying it was as beautiful as a fairy's, and suddenly pull out a pretty flower and give it to him.
She always smiled, always smiling at him, and she was so incredibly beautiful and lovely, getting prettier every day.
Three years passed, from Hua Fan's eleventh to fourteenth years old, and Huai Gui's fourteenth to seventeenth years old; that's how they spent their time.
Wen Guhuai sometimes thinks, how wonderful it would be if life could continue like this.
He didn't want to go home anymore; he wanted to go back to Qishan with Hua Fan, where Hua Fan would become the Demon Lord and he would be her husband.
She's so eloquent, so capable, so intelligent, and so beautiful; he'd do anything for her.
But why didn't he feel that way back then?
The most outrageous, yet also the most satisfying thing he ever did was to tell A-Fan, "Let's not use an umbrella and watch the first snowfall."
A-Fan casually agreed, saying, "Okay, let's go to the South China Sea together." She also wanted to see the sea.
The South China Sea, the farthest place to see snow.
He didn't want to go there; he should go home. His letter to Wen Gu finally received a reply.
When his family sent someone to him, he was both surprised and delighted. He was a descendant of the world's number one swordsman, which was his identity and the deep-seated conviction he held after being lost. His name was Huai Gui, Wen Gu Huai Gui.
Unfortunately, his surprise was short-lived; Hua Fan's questioning gaze immediately brought him back to his senses.
Hua Fan is a demon, a minor demon at that. Wen Gu's people won't keep her. Of course, he can also choose to let her go, allowing her, a demon, to leave peacefully.
He thought, no, A-Fan can't leave him.
The woman gave Shangguan Ming a medicine called Cold Snow. She said that this medicine would make people weak, especially in the icy and snowy world, where people would lose their spiritual power and transform into their true demonic form.
What is A-Fan's true form? Huai-Gui has never seen it.
In that instant, he thought he wanted to see her, and then hide A-Fan away, and just like that, he brought her to Jianxue.
He knew his thoughts were wrong, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't really hurt A-Fan. He still wanted to watch the first snowfall with her.
This time, however, fate finally punished this villain, at the cost of A-Fan's life.
Ah Fan, what were you thinking when you woke up early that day?
When you finally go to Qingshui and the South China Sea, and the wind and snow fall, will you hate me?
I long to return, I long to return, but where exactly is it?
Ah Fan, come and kill me.
Please, come and take my life back.
I will always be a thoroughly bad person.
...
Seeing Wen Guhuaigui lost in thought, Lu Zhizhu wondered if her words had touched him.
Finally, Wen Guhuai stood there, looking at the same angle, while the wind blew mercilessly, making Lu Zhizhu shiver.
Wen Guhuai smiled and said in a strange tone,
"good."
...
Finally, the invitations were sent out, and with the sound of gongs and drums, Wen Guhuai returned to celebrate his wedding day.
On that day, Wen Guhuai returned dressed in red. The young man looked at himself in the mirror again and again, dreaming again and again.
Ah Fan, so this is what I look like in my wedding dress.
I really want to see you.
It's alright, you'll see me soon. Today I'm marrying you. You're wearing a gorgeous wedding dress, an exquisite golden crown, and a red veil. Step by step, I'll lead you in. I imagine you're secretly smiling under the red veil, a little shy and nervous, but you're not afraid because you're always straightforward and passionate.
You'll pout and complain that getting married is so tiring.
You would hug me and tell me what's been happening lately.
You would look at me and smile, your face slightly flushed, your eyes shining, and say, "We're finally together."
Yes, we're finally together, A-Fan.
Year after year, I think of you, I miss you. In the dead of night, I always hear you laughing and arguing. I want to stop and listen to you, but I always hear a discouraging voice saying that you are so annoying.
No, that's not it. I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. Your voice is so beautiful, the things you say are so interesting, and your little gestures are so cute. Every time, I think to myself, I want to look at you and listen to you like this forever.
As long as it's you, anything is fine.
I rushed to the new house, eager to lift the veil and see your beautiful face.
I just don't know why, but my pace is particularly slow, very slow.
So slowly that I overheard my sister-in-law and brother arguing again because of Shangguan Ming. He didn't know what they were arguing about, but one sentence from my sister-in-law was like the wind and snow of the far north, constantly pounding on his heart.
My sister-in-law said that no one can tolerate their partner falling in love with someone else, whether physically or emotionally, even the slightest bit of favoritism.
Wen Guhuaigui's heart began to panic. Not a single thing was acceptable, not his identity, not anything at all.
It's okay, it's okay, he married A-Fan, he told himself, trying to numb himself with that thought.
When the veil was lifted and Lu Zhizhu looked up, for the first time, she saw Wen Guhuaigui in such a flustered state.
He asked, "Who are you?"
It was only at that moment that Lu Zhizhu truly felt fear. She clearly realized that if she didn't answer the question well, Wen Guhuaigui would kill her immediately.
However, the person who could answer Wen Guhuai's question had already been killed by his own hands.
No one can answer this question.
No one can.
I cannot replace her.
Lu Zhizhu frantically slapped away Wen Guhuaigui's hand that was choking her neck. Her eyes were filled with tears and despair, even with endless pleading.
That was a look that A-Fan would never have.
"Huaigui, please be a good person."
At the last moment, the laughter of old friends echoed in his ears, and he finally let go.
On their wedding night, as the wedding candles burned, the groom nearly strangled his bride, whom he was joyfully welcoming that day.
Ultimately, this was just a tiny part of the rumors surrounding the heretical cultivator Wen Gu Huai Gui, but it was also the greatest despair Lu Zhizhu experienced in his life.
The maid rushed forward to help her up, but the red wedding chamber kept stimulating her heart, even more so than the pain in her neck.
She fell to the ground, wanting to laugh but then crying, wanting to cry but then laughing. Lu Zhizhu watched the burning red candle flicker and burn, and she thought, it's never going to happen again. No matter what kind of person she, Lu Zhizhu, is, Wen Guhuaigui will never even glance at her.
It's ridiculous. His subordinates, accomplices, and wife are all out of the question.
Her wedding dress was disheveled, her golden crown askew, and finally, she stared blankly, wondering what kind of person Wen Guhuai truly held in his heart.
With this question in mind, she finally saw the woman named Qingyu on that day.
On the high platform, as the wind and snow fell, she simply called out, "Wen Guhuai, return."
He knelt before her, willing to die.
The woman told him not to kneel.
She said she only came to take his life, nothing else.
He said it was snowing.
According to northern custom, when snow falls, men and women turn white-haired.
Snowflakes fell one after another, seemingly mixed with a silent tear. He didn't even dare to touch the hem of her skirt, but insisted that it was snowing.
It's snowing, and it's snowing heavily.
That tear was like proof of their feelings, like the sadness of that sincere flower fairy from the past, like the countless times that Hua Fan cried in front of him because she was unhappy.
When tears fell onto the back of Wen Guhuai's hand, he didn't even dare to lift his head. He dared not, he dared not do anything.
I long to return, I long to return, for it turns out that what I ultimately return to is the edge of your sword.
In the blurry, red and white, dirty snow, he lay there quietly, watching her receding figure and listening to her increasingly faint voice. Unconsciously, countless beautiful memories of their youth flowed through his mind once again—the noise, the laughter, the tears, the warmth…
In the very end, he thought,
Ah Fan, have you found the person who's willing to go to the beach with you?
very nice,
That's great.
Afan.
Quietly, more quietly than ever before, he gently loosened the hilt of his sword and peacefully closed his eyes amidst the snow and wind.
It's snowing.
He wanted to get a good night's sleep, and when he woke up, he would go to see the sea with A-Fan.
They made an appointment, a long time ago.
...
So that's what kind of person he is. So that's how he is.
Lu Zhizhu stared blankly as she watched the woman leave with a swordsman, and as Wen Guhuai reached out to the woman even in death, unable to let go of his resentment.
She felt incredibly ironic for a moment. She ran out of the Wengu Mansion. No one knew that she, one of the culprits, would end up risking her life to kill demons and ghosts, as if that would numb her and deceive her, making it seem as if all those ridiculous things no longer existed.
Finally, she saw her sister-in-law, or rather, Azhi.
At that moment, Shangguan Ming was holding Wen Gu Huaiyuan with deep emotion. From a distance, it was truly a beautiful story of a perfect couple.
Ah Zhi stood there watching, quietly pursing her lips.
Lu Zhizhu stepped forward and gently told Azhi that Shangguan Ming was about to die, and that Wen Gu Huaiyuan didn't actually like Shangguan Ming either. At least from the outsiders' perspective, Wen Gu Huaiyuan had never truly liked Shangguan Ming; he just... just... had some admiration for her...
Azhi smiled and shook her head. This Miao girl from Yizhou Yundi finally said that none of that mattered anymore. It was just that the snow was too cold and she was not suited to live here.
Lu Zhizhu asked, "What about Wen Guhuaiyuan? Can you really let him go?"
Ah Zhi looked at her, her gaze seemingly gentle, and said, "Let go of yourself, and you'll be able to let go."
She had died once before, and on the verge of death, what she missed most was the springtime in her hometown. Even in death, she should be buried there.
She was leaving, she really wanted to leave, Ah Zhi thought helplessly and regretfully. The far north was filled with wind and snow all year round, with steep cliffs and cold precipices, while the southwest had distinct seasons, beautiful mountains and rivers. Separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, once she left, they would probably never see each other again in this life.
But what could she do? Her story with Wen Guhuaiyuan wasn't pleasant. In the end, it was just that she was too naive back then, traveling to the far north for one heart. In the end, they seemed to love each other but neither was willing to give in. He felt helpless, and she felt wronged.
Perhaps they didn't love each other as much as they thought, but the extreme cold of the far north made them realize how important the warmth of their loved ones was.
With her gone, he might feel a bit lighter, no longer having to deal with the daily arguments and resentment between husband and wife. He can then focus on cultivating his skills, passing on the Wen Gu lineage, and perhaps learn from the experience of their failed relationship if he meets someone he likes in the future.
We once vowed to grow old together, but parted with a quiet smile. Though we will never see each other again, we wish each other well from afar.
This outcome may not be the worst.
...
Lu Zhizhu laughed too. She had also died once, on her wedding night, when she was almost strangled to death by her beloved.
What was she thinking at that moment? She was thinking, "I might as well just die."
In this life, everything for her is over—love, family, Daoist principles, everything is over.
She had nothing left to struggle with.
Back in the room, the place that had once been briefly called the bridal chamber, where red candles were lit.
A three-foot-long white silk ribbon, ending her remaining life.
Quietly, quietly—
Young master, it turns out we are the same kind of people.
That's what she finally thought.
...
Wen Gu, Wen Gu, is originally a surname that is extremely affectionate, yet also ruthless.
Have you ever been to Snow City?
That is the most beautiful place in Beiyou, and also a place where endless emotions and regrets are born forever because of a single heartless word.
Snowy cliffs of Tianshan, endless affection.
The wind and snow gently blow, bidding farewell to you all.
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