Chapter Seventy-Six: The Flute's Melody Enters My Dreams
"Come on, extend your hand." Yang Song smiled and nodded slightly to Yang Xiao, then took out a brocade pouch from his bosom and placed it into Yang Xiao's slowly outstretched palm, then held her fingers and gradually closed them together.
The shape of a bone flute, seen through the fabric of the brocade pouch, reached Yang Xiao's palm. Her eyelashes fluttered involuntarily, and she looked up at Yang Song, "This is..."
“This is the bone flute left by my mother.” Yang Song still smiled, but his eyes unconsciously reddened a little. “In today’s battle, you not only fulfilled your father’s expectations, but also responded to your mother’s hopes.”
He tightened his grip on Yang Xiao's hand, his voice trembling slightly, "My mother was a woman of great spirit and pride, skilled in martial arts, with a heart for the world, and she hoped that all women could pursue the true meaning of life as freely as she did."
Yang Song closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "When she was pregnant with you, she always said that if she gave birth to a girl, she hoped you wouldn't have to suffer the hardships of martial arts training like your family, but that you wouldn't lose the heroic and proud spirit of a martial artist. She hoped that you..."
His voice choked with emotion, “To be able to live freely and unrestrainedly for oneself; if one has the ability, then to live for the common people.”
A hot tear rolled down Yang Song's cheek and onto his smiling lips. "And now, you've done it."
Yang Xiao's hand, clutching the bone flute tightly, trembled involuntarily in the sunlight. She took a deep breath and clenched her teeth to keep her tears from falling. She placed her hand on her chest, then gently opened it again, gazing at the crumpled brocade pouch in her hand. The outline of the bone flute was still clearly reflected on the cloth.
"Have I... fulfilled my mother's expectations?"
"Though we have embarked on different paths, we have only one destination." Tears welled up in Yang Song's eyes, turning into shimmering light, and his eyes were filled with a carefree smile. "When the world is at peace, we will surely meet again."
Yang Xiao pressed the bone flute to her chest, closed her eyes tightly, and let out a long breath.
The lingering warmth of the bone flute was still burning in her heart.
“Brother,” Yang Xiao had already composed herself, looked up at Yang Song with a firm gaze, and nodded gently, “Please give my regards to Father. I am no longer able to fulfill my filial duties by Father’s side. But for the sake of this world,” she sighed softly, looking back at the mountains beside her, “I will certainly not fail in my duty.”
Yang Song nodded with emotion. "In that case, I shall take my leave. We will meet again someday," he said, looking firmly at Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao raised his hand and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Yang Song, saying, "Brother, take care."
"Farewell, gentlemen." Yang Song clasped his hands in a fist salute to the two men, smiled and nodded, then pulled on the reins and rode away.
-
As the sunlight gradually enveloped Yang Xiao's figure, her hands remained clenched into fists, suspended in mid-air, unwilling to lower them.
Bai Ming also looked with deep emotion at Yang Song's figure disappearing behind the mountain, his eyes seemingly dazzled by the sunlight, unable to see the road ahead for a moment.
In a daze, a soft laugh suddenly reached his ears. Bai Ming looked up and saw that Yang Xiao had already composed herself and was tilting her head, smiling at him.
"Why are you staring at him like that?" Yang Xiao reached out and brushed away the stray hairs that had been blown down by the wind. "Is it because you didn't get to fight him and it's a bit of a pity?"
"Ah Xiao, you're always changing the subject." Bai Ming looked into her clear eyes and couldn't help but smile and tap her. The two tacitly changed the subject from Yang Song's. "Then Cheng Feng, he wasn't shot to death, was he?"
Yang Xiao was taken aback by his words and looked up at him. She saw a glint of all-knowing insight flash in Bai Ming's eyes, and her thoughts vanished instantly.
Yang Xiao stared at him for a long while, then laughed heartily, "Really, nothing can be hidden from you."
"I guess this is the third advantage you mentioned when you were planning to ambush me in Nanyang City, right?" Bai Ming glanced sideways, nodded, and smiled. "I also guess that your ability to use Yu De's darts to penetrate so deeply is because..."
"Hey, hey, hey, that's enough," Yang Xiao said, waving her hand to stop Bai Ming from blurting out everything that had happened earlier. "Bai Ming, don't expose what you've seen through. This is my trump card."
"Alright," Bai Ming nodded indulgently, then glanced back at Cheng Feng on the ground and frowned slightly. "But Ah Xiao, why didn't you let me fight Cheng Feng just now?"
Yang Xiao followed Bai Ming's gaze and glanced back, sighed softly, and looked up at Bai Ming seriously, "He risked his life, not seeking complete victory, but only to scratch us."
"A scratch?" Bai Ming frowned upon hearing this. "What do you mean?"
“I originally intended to use the feigned defeat to launch a counterattack, but I inadvertently noticed that his knife was stained with a lot of white juice.” Yang Xiao frowned and sighed. “From that moment on, his fighting spirit became unusually fierce.”
“My gun grazed against the back of his knife and got stained with that liquid.” She spurred her horse forward, looking into Bai Ming’s serious eyes. “Sure enough, it was poison.”
A chill suddenly crept up Bai Mingbei's spine, and his heart pounded with lingering fear. "No wonder he was so reckless..." He felt a pang of anxiety and quickly took Yang Xiao's hand. "How are you? Are you alright?"
“Of course not,” Yang Xiao laughed upon hearing this. She pulled Bai Ming and pointed at Cheng Feng, “My gun tip is also poisoned. Look at his wound.”
Bai Ming peeked out and was immediately hit by a strong stench of blood. The edges of the wound that had almost pierced through his neck had already begun to fester, revealing specks of brown.
"It seems that Cheng Feng also suffered greatly when he died." Bai Ming frowned slightly, turned around and sighed.
“Who says otherwise?” Yang Xiao also pulled on the reins and spurred his horse toward the other side of the valley. “Back when we were in Jiangnan, Tongxi told me that this poison was milky white and odorless, and that it would kill on contact with blood. It seemed to only grow in Yizhou and the Jiangnan area…” As Yang Xiao spoke, his eyes darkened.
"Yizhou and Jiangnan..." She paused, looking up at Bai Ming, "This medicine is only found in the South, so what about Cheng Feng..."
Bai Ming nodded and pondered for a moment, then turned to Yang Xiao with a questioning look, "You mean, Jiangnan is colluding with the enemy?"
"It's still unknown." Yang Xiao sighed and shook her head. "The origin of this medicine is unknown, so we can't draw any conclusions yet."
Bai Ming breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. "In any case, we have won another battle. When we return to camp, we will tell the strategist the whole story and then make a decision."
“That’s fine.” She smiled broadly at the sky above her, facing the gentle breeze. “Although we killed Cheng Feng on this trip, it was also a way of getting rid of a menace for Xiao Yan. As for my brother and me,” she turned to look at Bai Ming, “we are evenly matched, it’s a draw.”
Bai Ming turned his head to meet her gaze, "Perhaps now, a draw is actually a good thing."
“That makes sense,” Yang Xiao looked back at the sunlight and nodded emphatically. “Besides,” she looked down at the bone flute clutched in her hand and chuckled with deep emotion, “my brother entrusted me with such a precious item, what can I say?”
Bai Ming nodded gently, gazing at her quietly with concern in his eyes.
As if sensing the worry in Bai Ming's eyes, Yang Xiao turned around, smiled, and shook her head at him. "Even if we take the final step, it will only be for different masters. We both have the same Chang'an in our hearts, and I trust his judgment." Yang Xiao tilted her head. "Besides, these are all things to come later, there's still a long way to go."
Bai Ming was taken aback when he saw this. He looked at Yang Xiao's eyes, which were shining brightly in the sunlight, and chuckled as he reached out and gently pinched Yang Xiao's nose. "Xiao, I haven't even asked anything yet, why did you blurt everything out all at once?"
"Bai Ming, you really are something," Yang Xiao said with a playful laugh, crossing her arms and pointing at Bai Ming, "You see through things but don't say it, understand?"
"I understand, I understand," Bai Ming said with a smile, nodding repeatedly. He gently took Yang Xiao's fingers and then held her hand tenderly. "Now is not the time to argue. The most important thing is to go back and find the lord and the others."
Yang Xiao smiled and squeezed Bai Ming's hand, then pulled her hand away and took the reins. "You're the one who urged me, so don't blame me for not waiting for you."
Before Bai Ming could react, he heard a "Giddy up!" and Yang Xiao, who had been beside him, had already ridden away on Chi Lian. His own white horse seemed to neigh defiantly, and Bai Ming looked up at the red figure waving in the sunlight, his eyes filled with a smile.
With another burst of galloping hooves, two warhorses, one red and one white, raced along the road, leaving only swirling sand behind as they galloped towards Jizhou.
-
"A poison that kills instantly?" Inside the central command tent, Cen Xun wiped the poison off Yang Xiao's spear tip with a cloth, then frowned and stood up. "This Cheng Feng is really..."
The sunlight streaming through the curtains gradually became narrow and dim. Only Bai Ming had returned to the tent; Yang Xiao was still nowhere to be seen.
Zhong Li'an twirled the teacup in his hand, raised his eyes to look at Cen Xun, "Tongxi, what kind of poison is this?"
“This poison is the sap of the arrow poison tree. Once it seeps into the blood, the victim will die quickly.” She lowered her eyes and sighed softly. “When I was learning about medicinal herbs in Jiangnan, I also told Lingyu about it. No wonder she reacted like that the other day.” She looked up at Bai Ming. “Luckily, she stopped it in time. If something had gone wrong, it would have been a real disaster.”
Bai Ming frowned slightly and nodded. "It's fortunate that Xiao knows this poison. She once told me that this poison only grows in the south. The origin of the poison in Cheng Feng's possession is worth investigating."
“That’s true.” Qi Kun nodded and stood up from the table he was leaning against. “But why hasn’t Lingyu arrived yet?”
Bai Ming took Yang Xiao's gun from Cen Xun's hand. "When we returned to the city, she said she was a little tired and wanted to go back to her tent to rest for a while before coming to the central command tent."
“That shouldn’t be the case.” Qi Kun nodded and rested his chin on his hand, looking at Bai Ming. “When the siblings met, besides discussing Xiao Yan’s internal affairs, did they talk about anything else?”
Upon hearing this, Bai Ming frowned slightly. "Yang Song entrusted the bone flute left by their mother to A Xiao."
"Is that so?" Qi Kun's joking expression vanished instantly. He paced in the courtyard, pondered for a moment, then looked up at Zhongli An. "My lord, I'll go see her. I'm afraid Yang Song gave her more than just the bone flute."
“Alright,” Zhong Li’an nodded and stood up as well. “It’s inevitable that Lingyu will be moved when she meets her relatives for the first time and learns about the past.” He stepped forward and patted Qi Kun on the shoulder. “Have a good talk with her and don’t keep your emotions bottled up inside.”
Qi Kun smiled and nodded. "Rest assured, my lord."
Seeing Qi Kun about to leave, Bai Ming stepped forward and asked, "Strategist, may I come with you?"
Qi Kun looked up and saw that Bai Ming's eyes were full of worry.
He chuckled and patted Bai Ming on the shoulder, "She likes you so much, how could she possibly unload all her grievances on you? You know her personality."
Bai Ming hesitated and remained silent, but Zhong Lishuo patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry, if even the strategist can't coax her, we'll take her out to have some fun tomorrow. Isn't that perfect?" He smiled and pointed to the door. "The locust flowers are already in bloom."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhong Li'an's cheerful voice rang out from behind him, "In my opinion, it wouldn't be a bad idea to pick some locust flowers tomorrow to celebrate your success."
"My lord, please don't forget our agreement," Qi Kun said with a smile. "I'll go first. If I can't coax you, I'll have to trouble you to climb the tree tomorrow."
Bai Ming was still full of worry, but he compromised and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Qi Kun, saying, "Then I will trouble you, strategist."
"rest assured."
As the curtain was lifted, the fragrance of locust blossoms filled the courtyard. Qi Kun mounted his horse and rode towards Yang Xiao's tent in the setting sun.
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