To be honest, at this time——
The blacksmith was overjoyed upon hearing this. He quickly sat down, beaming, "I knew it! Yingfeng is truly a murderer! I could tell he wasn't from the North!"
Wen Congren looked at the young man with a gentle gaze and a softer tone: "Your family is very worried about you. Yingfeng... are you willing to go back with us?"
Lu Xiyun's expression faltered upon hearing this, a blank look flashing across his eyes. He clearly couldn't remember his so-called "home" anymore, and subconsciously glanced towards the blacksmith in the house.
The blacksmith laughed and patted him on the shoulder: "What are you standing there for? It's a good thing that your family came to pick you up."
Lu Xiyun nodded in agreement to the blacksmith's request.
The blacksmith laughed heartily, his voice as heroic as the wind: "Then it's settled! I'll call the villagers tonight and let you practice!"
The village was not big, and after the blacksmith's shouting, only forty or fifty people gathered.
The borderlands were bitterly cold, and the night wind made it even worse. A bonfire lit up in the courtyard, the flames flickering, and the sound of people talking filled the air.
Lu Xiyun was wrapped up more tightly than during the day. The young man was covered with a layer of fur and sat by the fire. From time to time, villagers came around to talk about some practical words.
The young man had a clear expression, and his look was even warmer than during the day.
Ren Xuan sat across the fire, looking at him, thinking to himself: No matter where this guy ends up, his popularity with people is really... always good.
On the side, Wen Congren chatted and laughed gently with several elders in the village, asking about Lu Xiyun.
A villager spoke up and said, "Two years ago, there was chaos and chaos during the war. Lao Lin went up the mountain to collect herbs and happened to save him."
The blacksmith laughed heartily when his name was called, quite pleased with himself. "Don't look at my Yingfeng's lack of memory, he's quite formidable. A while ago, he single-handedly drove off several bandits that harassed the village! I'd say he's at least a sixth-rank warrior!"
The woodcutter sitting next to him laughed over his wine: "You've reached the sixth rank just by beating up a few bandits? Old Lin, you're so boastful... you're almost blowing it up!"
The blacksmith glared at him and threw the wine jug into his arms: "Drink yours, and stop trying to mess with me!"
Around the campfire, everyone burst into laughter.
Ren Xuan looked at Wen Congren in surprise.
Amidst the noise and laughter at the table, Wen Congren shook Lu Xiyun's wrist in a familiar manner and told the villagers his "made-up" "old stories" in a familiar manner.
After he finished telling the story, he leaned over and whispered in Ren Xuan's ear.
Wen Congren's expression was solemn, and his voice was as thin as a thread: "...Not even the sixth rank."
Ren Xuan frowned slightly, but said nothing.
Lu Xiyun, however, didn't notice anything unusual. The villagers around him were still enthusiastic and gathered around to persuade him to drink. He didn't refuse and drank bowl after bowl.
The blacksmith frowned and was the first to be unhappy: "He still has old injuries on his body, don't force him to drink more!"
Someone immediately started to make a noise: "Hey, Lao Lin, why are you spoiling the fun of seeing us off tonight? Can't you bring some decent wine?!"
The blacksmith was dissatisfied: "This is Sang Luo! The best wine!"
Immediately, a knowledgeable peddler smacked his lips and shook his head, rebuking him: "What kind of good wine is Sangluo? There are Fushengzui, Bailichun, and Zhongfenglu from the Southern Imperial City. Everyone, chip in a little, and I'll bring some back next time for you to see!"
Seeing the blacksmith being choked, Lu Xiyun subconsciously said, "Sang Luo is better than those."
The peddler was immediately overjoyed: "Oh, Yingfeng, you are too protective of your shortcomings! We can't just talk nonsense with open eyes. Have you ever tasted that wine? Even if Lao Lin sold you, you still can't afford to drink it!"
Everyone laughed again.
Ren Xuanwei raised his eyebrows, shook his head and smiled. You know what, he really drank them all.
Unfortunately, Lu Xiyun couldn't remember it now. He just lowered his head and muttered softly, "Anyway... Sang Luo is good."
The peddler laughed so hard he fell backwards: "Okay, okay, if Yingfeng says it's good, then that's the best!"
Everyone was laughing and talking, and it was obvious that Lu Xiyun was doing very well in this village.
At this moment, a village elder frowned and began to scold us, "You too, how dare you abandon people outside the border? In such icy weather, if it weren't for Old Lin, they would have frozen to death in a day."
Ren Xuan touched his nose and didn't dare to refute, but to be honest, shouldn't Qin Shu be sitting here and getting scolded at this time?
The blacksmith laughed heartily and came to Ren Xuan's rescue: "Our northern land is vast and sparsely populated, so it's indeed difficult to find him. He always heads south, but as he walks, he forgets where he's going. I've also gone to several large southern cities to inquire, but I can't find any information."
Ren Xuan smiled bitterly and sighed softly. "You won't get anything if you ask using Lu Yingfeng's name. If you were to change back to his real name, even the commander of Beiming City, let alone others, would kowtow to you and worship you."
He stood up, raised his glass, and said respectfully to the blacksmith in a more solemn tone, "He has been very kind to you over the past two years. This is my toast."
The blacksmith smiled and waved his hand, turned and went into the house, took out a sword and handed it to Lu Xiyun.
"You carried it with you when you came here. Now that you're leaving, why don't you take it with you?"
Lu Xiyun took it. It was a plain sword. The sheath was mottled with scars from blades, and on the side of the hilt was a humble seal-style Qin character.
Lu Xiyun was stunned. Seeing the young man seeming distracted, a village gossip immediately shouted at the blacksmith, "Old Lin, what's wrong with you? You're really hitting me sore! Yingfeng has lost a hand, how can he use a sword?"
The blacksmith, undeterred, glared back, "You know shit! I found him in the snow, bloodied and on the verge of death. He was clutching this sword tightly in his hand, and I couldn't get it away from him no matter what I did!"
The charcoal fire flickered, and the sword blade reflected the red of the young man's eyebrows.
Lu Xiyun stared at the word for a long time. The young man frowned, as if thinking about something: "...Qin Shu?"
Ren Xuan's face changed when he heard this. He was shocked and almost blurted out: "Do you still remember His Highness?"
Lu Xiyun shook his head with a calm expression, and took out a neatly folded piece of yellow paper from his arms.
Ren Xuan recognized it at a glance; it was Yanzhi.
There is no need to write on the paper. As long as you inject Qi into it, you can transmit messages thousands of miles away.
But Lu Xiyun in front of him clearly didn't remember any of this. He probably just treated it as an ordinary piece of paper.
A name was written neatly on the yellow paper. The ink was old, but each word was clear.
——"Qin Shu".
There are three lines of small text below:
"He's in the south. You promised to go find him."
"You can't break your promise. But he lied to you first, so make him apologize first."
"You like him."
But Lu Xiyun didn't even remember that he wrote it himself.
The young man lowered his eyes to look at the yellow paper in his hand, frowning slightly, and said, "I compared the handwriting, this should be written by me."
He raised his eyes, his tone empty but calm: "Do you know Qin Shu?"
He even forgot his own name, but still remembered this one.
He tried to go south, but got lost halfway.
Ultimately, he didn't make it through that journey.
For the first time in his life, Lu Xiyun broke his promise to Qin Shu. He was buried in this deserted village outside the Great Wall, leaving behind only this piece of yellow paper.
Ren Xuan's head exploded.
He suddenly realized that the emperor always carried a piece of paper with him, and it might be this one.
The emperor didn't mean to send anything. He just... received it too late.
Ren Xuan's chest felt tight, as if there was something stuck in his throat.
After a moment, he finally said in a low voice:
"...Your Highness...he has been looking for you."
···
He accompanied Lu Xiyun to say goodbye to Uncle Lin, speaking solemnly and promising to visit him often in the future.
If this was not a dream, Ren Xuan might have wondered why Lu Xiyun died here in less than three years.
How did Yanshi find this place? Who leaked the information?
Lu Xiyun's cultivation level is less than the sixth level now, and he has a broken arm. Under such circumstances, why did Yanshi kill him and what was he planning?
Unfortunately, it is just an illusion in the sea of consciousness.
The ending of that year had already been decided, and the so-called reasons were no longer important...
Fortunately, this is just a dream. In the dream, everything can still be saved.
In this dream, he brought Lu Xiyun back to Beiming City.
In the heavy snow and wind, he saw with his own eyes Qin Shu jump down from the top of the city wall without any grace, without even walking up the stairs.
Under the towering city wall, the emperor held the young man who was lost and found again, and cried bitterly under the gaze of soldiers all over the city.
...isn't much better than him.
Later, the emperor once again embarked on the old path from which it was difficult to return.
Lu Xiyun didn't remember, and Qin Shu subconsciously tried to cover up those dark past events.
After all, he himself might not dare to look back at those unbearable things.
This time, Ren Xuan, a worker with an excellent sense of propriety, rarely went beyond his duties.
He threw the paper in the emperor's face and apologized to Qin Shu.
Qin Shu was stunned for a moment. He opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word for a long time.
After a long while, he finally spoke:
"Xiyun——"
"...I used the technique of retrospermia on you."
"But you were not in the right state..."
"There are precedents of evil contamination in the Silver Pivot's history... They say... burning the contract and exchanging the essence can resolve the cause and effect."
His voice was so hoarse that it was inaudible: "I... did it."
The Xiao family traced back their lives, sealed their souls and cut off their consciousness, and did not enter the cycle of reincarnation.
Lu Xiyun...died long ago in the Battle of Xixia...
It was him... who defied the cycle of reincarnation and violated the laws of nature.
But at this moment, he was no longer willing to deceive the other party.
Qin Shu lowered his eyes, his clenched knuckles turning faintly white.
He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said:
“…It was my fault…”
Ren Xuan looked up and saw that the wind and snow around him were stagnant, the sky was shattered, and the whole dream was beginning to fall apart.
He sighed softly, and a mist seemed to appear in his eyes.
Perhaps, from the very beginning, what Lu Xiyun wanted was for Qin Shu to seriously admit his mistake.
This dream is collapsing again.
···
In the inner courtyard of Prince Nan's Mansion, Qin Shu was a little confused.
When I woke up from a dream, I wondered why my partner didn't remember anything, while Ren Xuan and Wen Congren were more excited than each other.
It’s not entirely true to say that Lu Xiyun has completely forgotten about it.
Prince Lu had forgotten most of what happened in his dream, but there was one thing he remembered clearly.
The young man's expression was serious, even carrying a certain unquestionable aura: "You must come with me to apologize to Brother Xie!"
Qin Shu: “…?”
His Royal Highness Prince Xiang was silent for a long time. After a while, he only asked: "...How did I offend him?"
Qin Shu took a deep breath and was convinced. He had been so worried for so long, and now it was over?!
Prince Xiang finally managed to calm down and said, "Why should I apologize to Xie Lingyan? When Yinshu was trapped, I dispatched troops to aid him. When Tang Wuyong usurped power, I shared my intelligence network with Bai Xiao. When the new city lord's position was unstable, I personally endorsed that brat. When have I ever let Xie Lingyan down, or let Yinshu City down?"
The young man on the bed choked, as if he knew he was in the wrong. He lowered his voice a little, but still said stubbornly: "...You said it."
Qin Shu was almost choked by these words, his forehead throbbing: "Where did you say that? In a dream, right?"
Everything else was fine, but why did he have to apologize to Xie Lingyan? Qin Shu and Xie Lingyan completely hated each other.
Let him admit his mistake?
Impossible—absolutely impossible!
Qin Shu raised his hand and pressed his brow, feeling quite powerless: "No, Lu Xiyun, can you please be reasonable?"
Over here, Ren Xuan seemed to have taken the wrong medicine and shouted, "Just apologize if I ask you to! What are you talking about?"
Wen Congren, who was standing by, nodded in agreement.
Qin Shu immediately became furious. "It's fine if I indulge my partner, but am I also indulging you two?!"
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