It was late at night, and the girl should have been asleep long ago, but as expected, Sang Rong smelled the scent of burning oil lamps and ink in Ping An's room.
"Is tonight the last time we'll send a message by carrier pigeon?"
Her calm question startled Ping An, causing things to scatter all over the floor with a loud clattering sound.
"Don't be nervous. Have you finished writing it? Once you're done, tie it up." Sang Rong took out the carrier pigeon she had caught from her bosom and handed it to Ping An, but the other hesitated to take it.
"Ping An, I'm not testing you. Do you really think you can freely enter and leave the study and find out my background without my permission?"
“Valley Master—Valley Master—” Ping An cried out in terror, kneeling on the ground, “I have followed that person since I was a child, and I have no say in what I say or do. But I really had no intention of deceiving Young Master Ling. If you do not forgive me, I will even kill myself…”
"Xiaoxiao likes you. I won't let you die." She tied the note to the pigeon, released it herself, and smiled faintly as the sound of its wings faded into the distance. "I've released the letter for you. After you complete your mission, you'll stay with Xiaoxiao. Can you do that?"
I heard a low sob that was being tried to be concealed.
Women are indeed made of water; whether it's a green ivy or a peaceful person, when love hurts, they will use tears to express their emotions.
"Why do you all cry to me? What are you crying about? What's wrong with you?"
"After that, what will happen to the Valley Master... what should we do..."
"That's not your concern. Just remember to take Xiaoxiao down the mountain and keep him trapped so he can't come back. As for those people who want me, do they really think they have the ability to take me away?"
After leaving Ping'an, I should have gone back home, but I found myself walking into Lingxiao's courtyard without realizing it.
That night, many memories flooded back into her mind.
It wasn't about Zhuo Yan; on the contrary, it was all about Ling Xiao, especially the scene of their first meeting.
She didn't know how much time and effort it took to finally break into the black market brokerage's lair.
Children aged four to fourteen, both boys and girls, were all locked in iron cages. They ate, drank, and relieved themselves inside. It was dark, the smell was unbearable, and they were worse than animals.
They were divided into different classes based on their appearance, with dozens of the lowest class being crammed into a single cage, many resulting in deformed limbs. Performing arts troupes would be the only place for these children until they died.
The thought that the person she had been searching for might be among these children drove her to madness. She killed anyone she saw, and her dark blue robe was soaked with blood, her hideous mask transforming her into a blood-soaked demon.
Fortunately, she eventually found Ling Xiao in a relatively spacious cage, thanks to his good looks, which he inherited from Zhuo Yan.
She swung her sword and severed the chains, standing in front of the cage, staring blankly at that still-childish face. Her mind went blank, and she forgot to pull him up or give him a warm hug.
"Are you... a human or a ghost?" Finally, the boy mustered his courage and approached her, grabbing her sleeve. "Whether you're a human or a ghost, please take me with you. You're so skilled in kung fu, teach me too, and I'll become your apprentice."
"...I'll take you away. But don't call me master. My name is Sang Rong."
"Huh? You're a girl?" The boy was startled.
At that time, she could still see, and she only remembered that his eyes were wide open, filled with shattered stars.
She knelt down and lovingly touched his cheek, her eyes so dry that not a single tear could flow, yet her heart was filled with a bittersweet feeling.
Just like that night, with the same conflicting feelings, she sneaked in after he fell asleep and touched him so intimately one last time.
Slanted, upward-pointing eyebrows, a straight nose, long, thick eyelashes that tickled the palm of one's hand... every detail was etched in her mind, impossible to forget.
It wasn't Zhuo Yan, yet it was Zhuo Yan.
But no matter who he is, whether in the past or present, she cannot stay with him forever.
She had foreseen this outcome from the very beginning when she made her choice.
No complaints, no regrets.
As if bewitched by the moonlight, she removed her mask and, as if making a vow, gently pressed a kiss onto his warm lips…
We can never see each other again, and we can never fall in love again.
Farewell, my first and last love.
six,
Before dawn, people had already surrounded Floating Flower Valley under the cover of night, making it impossible for them to escape.
They finally found Sang Rong in a stone pavilion at the top of the mountain.
"Valley Master, if you are willing to return with me and refine the elixir of immortality for my father, I will guarantee you a lifetime of wealth and glory, which you will enjoy endlessly."
The perfectly synchronized footsteps, the tense atmosphere, and the imposing question from the newcomer all revealed the identity of the master behind Ping An.
"I thought it was just a matter of the martial arts world, but who knew even the royal family would get involved? Is the prince unwilling to be subordinate to the crown prince and wants to use Sang Rong's immortality technique to please the emperor?" She laughed self-deprecatingly. "I told Ping An from the beginning that there is no such thing as immortality in this world. Didn't she tell the prince that?"
"Absurd! Sang Rong, I addressed you as Valley Master only because I hoped to bring you back without bloodshed. My royal secrets are well-documented, even mentioned in ancient texts of previous dynasties. There is a Sang Rong in the Valley of Immortal Flowers, a man in green robes with a wooden face, possessing divine power that transcends the heavens, and no mortal can approach him! For many years we have sent people into the valley, but none have returned alive. If it weren't for Ling Xiao descending the mountain to paint, how could I have found a woman who resembled the woman in his paintings to approach him? Today, you have to leave, whether you like it or not!"
Throughout history, people's obsession with immortality has always bordered on madness, especially among emperors. Yet, no one knows that eternal life is accompanied by an unbearable loneliness.
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