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In the darkness, her eyes slowly opened, and a tear slid gently to her ear.
At this moment, Song Ling was somewhat unable to distinguish between day and night, between dream and reality.
Nearly ten years had passed since she parted from her master, and he had refused to appear in her dreams for many years. Many of the joys of her childhood had long since become hazy memories, and the once vibrant people in Huailai Village had gradually changed.
Like a dream... cruelly crushed.
Perhaps the late night always makes people overthink, and scenes that were once suppressed in the heart and refused to be recalled at all now come to the surface.
The death of her master that year, her helplessness and confusion, the secret in that bamboo house... and the responsibilities she had to bear since she was five years old weighed her down, making it hard for her to breathe.
Fortunately, it was night, which could conceal all the repression and pain. She silently opened her eyes wide, tears streaming down her face.
During the day, she wouldn't allow herself to be weak. Ever since her master left, she had no more reason to be. She had to be strong enough, and have a clear and calm mind, to ensure that her disciples lived better lives and that all the people in the world lived better lives.
Song Ling may not have understood her master's dying words before, but she had been working hard to put them into practice until the day she finally understood them.
After a quarter of an hour, Song Ling decisively pulled herself out of her depressed mood, lifted the sleeve of her inner garment to wipe away her tears.
I was wide awake.
She simply got up, grabbed a cloak, and went for a walk in the yard.
The night was clear, but a slight breeze blew. The autumn wind, though not as biting as winter's, still carried a chill. Song Ling's attire made her feel a little cold.
But the moon hanging in the sky and the stars filling the night sky did give her some good cheer. Having not seen this bright and sparkling night sky for a long time, Song Ling felt like stargazing and pondered how to proceed.
The more she observed, the more her thin eyebrows suddenly furrowed.
How could this be...? That's not right!
The imperial star dimmed so quickly; no wonder Luoyang hadn't issued an edict urging the southern general to march north. Perhaps a major upheaval had occurred. Song Ling turned to return to his room to write a letter for his journey north, when suddenly he heard a faint sound from the west, exceptionally clear in the silent night sky.
"who!"
He decisively threw the dagger on the stone table. There was a sound of a weapon bouncing away, followed by a "bang" as a heavy object hit the ground.
At this hour of the night, with guards stationed outside the courtyard, where would such a thug come from? And so clumsy at that…
A hint of suspicion flashed through Song Ling's mind. Just as she was about to turn around and go to the other room to call for someone, "Seven... ooh..."
"Young lady, it's me..."
In the blink of an eye, he was behind her, showing that she had underestimated him. Her hand had just touched the acupoint between the chest and abdomen of the person behind her when, in a split second, the person might have died on the spot.
Fortunately, the other party spoke up in time, otherwise she really wouldn't have been able to take the needle back from her hand.
Song Ling turned around and saw the person who had come in. She was furious and slapped him on the chest. "Why didn't you use the main entrance? Were you trying to scare me?"
You almost died, you know?
They were so angry that they stopped calling him by his name.
Yu Baizhou touched his nose somewhat embarrassedly, "I...I..."
"What do you mean, 'you'!" Song Ling glared at him irritably. She was genuinely startled. When he approached her for a moment, she had truly wanted to kill him, and even now her right hand was trembling slightly.
I almost sent my lord away with my own hands.
"Don't be angry, young lady..." Yu Baizhou saw the cold sweat on her forehead and knew that this was definitely not a joke. "Isn't everything alright?"
Song Ling: "Still talking?"
Fearing that the noise in the courtyard would disturb Qi Man, Song Ling hurriedly pulled the man beside her into the room.
As he unfastened his cloak, he glanced at the person standing motionless at the door, his brow furrowing slightly. "What are you standing there for? Close the door."
Some people awkwardly closed the door, and when they turned around, they saw that the woman had already taken off her cloak and was standing not far away, pouring tea, wearing only a white undergarment.
He quickly looked away, afraid that if he looked any longer, he would be pressed against the door. He stammered, "Miss, this doesn't seem quite right."
"Appropriate?" Song Ling scoffed. "Wouldn't it be appropriate for the general to climb my wall in the middle of the night?"
"Come here and sit down."
"I hope the general has come so late because he has something important to discuss with Ling."
It's past midnight, and they've already climbed over the wall, what could possibly be a proper business...? Yu Baizhou quietly withdrew the foot he was about to step out, his face a mixture of emotions, extremely conflicted.
This stands in stark contrast to Song Ling, who appears completely composed not far away.
Trying to coax him over? That was impossible. Song Ling just waited, hoping he would figure things out on his own, while casually pulling out a book to pass the time.
The more anxious she was, the less patient she became. Yu Baizhou sat down with his head down, but still kept his eyes lowered, not daring to look at her. "I wanted to see you... so I came."
"Don't be angry..."
Seeing that he still didn't know what was bothering him, Song Ling couldn't help but slap him on the head. "Muddlehead!" In the past, when he couldn't understand his master's meaning, he would get a slap on the head. Now he finally understood his master's helplessness and exhaustion.
"Am I angry that you climbed over the wall? I just told you, you almost got yourself killed, you know?"
Song Ling's eyes reddened with anger. "I couldn't control you before, but now you carry so many hopes and lives on your shoulders. Don't always expose your weaknesses. If you're not careful..."
“But I know you won’t hurt me,” Yu Baizhou suddenly looked up at her, but froze when he saw her face, “You’re crying…”
"No!" Song Ling crossed her arms and turned her face away, saying coldly, "I was made angry by you."
But Yu Baizhou had already thrown aside these rules and the separation of men and women, and gently grasped the shoulder of the person in front of him to turn him back.
She was already fair-skinned, and the redness around her eyes was even more noticeable. Moreover, there were still tear stains at the corners of her eyes, so it was clear that it wasn't just at this moment.
"Who bullied you?" Yu Baizhou was furious inside, but he tried his best to appear calm. However, his slightly trembling voice betrayed him.
Song Ling was taken aback, having completely forgotten that she had cried under the covers for a quarter of an hour after waking up from her dream. Now that this had been suddenly revealed, she felt a little embarrassed.
"No, no one bullied me..." When I pulled his hand down, I immediately saw the disappointment in his eyes.
For some reason, I felt a little reluctant.
"I...I'm really fine. I just thought about some things from the past and felt a little sad." Song Ling said, pulling at the corners of her lips, trying to show that nothing was wrong, but she couldn't force a smile in her eyes.
"If you're unhappy, don't laugh." Yu Baizhou finally did something he hadn't dared to do for a long time: he pulled a clean handkerchief from his clothes and wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "I won't tell anyone. If you're unhappy, just cry. If anyone bullies you, I'll go and bully them back."
The smile on her lips faded, and Song Ling gritted her teeth, forcing back the tears that welled up in her eyes.
What's wrong with me tonight? So many tears.
Perhaps people are more prone to sadness at night.
Looking at her like this, Yu Baizhou knew that he was far from being someone she could let her guard down and confide in, and a trace of melancholy and loneliness flashed in his eyes.
Perhaps her ambiguous words that day were just a joke... she said there could be a chance.
The air suddenly fell silent, and it's unclear how much time passed.
Can I have a hug?
"What?" Yu Baizhou suddenly snapped out of his dejection, wondering if he was hallucinating, but his body acted before his mind could process it, and he tentatively opened his arms.
So when Xinxiang hugged him tightly, he was a little stunned.
"I'm just feeling a little unwell..."
Suddenly, she heard a muffled voice from her arms, "Don't tell anyone about what happened tonight."
Only then did Yu Baizhou realize what was happening, and his ears immediately turned bright red. However, he only dared to lightly touch her back with his outstretched hand, and did not dare to hug her.
She's not in a good mood tonight; he shouldn't have taken advantage of her.
He suddenly felt a dampness on his chest and realized that she was silently shedding tears. His heart tightened and he wanted to step back to look at her, but she suddenly wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. Her hands had been loosely placed there.
Normally, Song Ling is calm and composed. After spending so many days with her, I know that she must be proud and confident at heart... and perhaps some of the personality traits that should belong to her age have been suppressed.
From her words and attitude after she got drunk that day, he guessed that she might not have been like this before, but he didn't know what had happened to make her so harsh on herself.
Even tonight, I'm finding it hard to control myself.
Yu Baizhou felt a slight pain in his heart. He gently patted her back with his right hand, which had been supporting her, and his eyes were almost overflowing with tenderness.
Since she's unwilling to talk, he'll stay with her a little longer. After all, he's still somewhat useful right now, isn't he?
If his deputy general, who usually trained with him, saw his expression at this moment, he would be shocked. Is this still the same stern-faced, cold-blooded general they knew during training, the ruthless killer on the battlefield?
At this moment, Yu Baizhou hated himself more than ever for not being well-educated and having little experience in comforting girls. He could only watch helplessly as the girl cried, his hands and feet trembling, not knowing what to do.
"Girl, if someone bullies you, I'll help you get revenge, okay?"
"Let's not cry for people who aren't worth it, okay?"
As he gently coaxed her, he couldn't help but wonder who might have bullied her. If she was truly saddened by something from the past, wouldn't it be that she was often bullied before she came down from the mountain?
At this moment, General Yu had probably forgotten the way he had seen Song Ling scheming against others, and had completely forgotten the fact that she was actually quite skilled in martial arts...
"If God treats me badly, will you treat him badly back?"
Song Ling cried her heart out. When she raised her head, her eyes were red and bloodshot. Her voice was less cold and calm than usual, and more hoarse and soft.
If Song Ling could lower her guard even a little and say a few kind words of concern, Yu Baizhou would be all smiles for days. But right now, he felt no joy at all.
At this moment, he would rather she be cold, as long as she is comfortable and happy.
"Then I'll go help the young lady tear down that roof..." Song Ling blurted out unconsciously, unable to hold back her laughter.
Both of them knew that this was absolutely impossible.
He came to his senses and realized what he had said, feeling a little embarrassed. "I'm not just trying to comfort you. I don't know how much I can do. But if you need anything, I will do my best to help you."
Both of them took the other's question and answer as a joke. After all, people generally have a great deal of awe for gods and ghosts, but they don't see any talk of heaven bullying people.
Song Ling lowered her eyes slightly and noticed that his chest was damp. "Look, it's all wet."
"Why didn't you call me? Aren't you uncomfortable wearing this?"
Fearing she would blame herself, the man quickly explained, "Back when we fought across rivers, we could survive for days in soaking wet clothes, this..."
Suddenly, I felt a soft, warm touch on my lips.
The sound stopped abruptly.
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