Yangzhou Ten
The moonlight was hazy, and the mountains and forests seemed to be covered with a veil. The wind blew gently, bringing the freshness of the mountains and the coolness of the night. It seemed as if the whole world had quieted down, with only the occasional firefly flying by to bring a hint of life.
The trees suddenly rustled, and the sound of footsteps became intermittent. A dark shadow darted through the woods, so light and effortless that it barely caught the attention of the creatures within. A moment later, the sound of rushing water grew clearer as it drew closer.
The cascading waterfall shimmered in the faint moonlight. Beneath the waterfall lay sharp rocks, the clatter of water drowning out all other sounds. Entering from the wet edge, I discovered a hidden world beyond the waterfall.
Suddenly, a torch lit up, illuminating everything in the cave. The man, wearing a black suit, had his face half-masked, revealing a pair of narrow, fierce eyes. He ripped off his soaked turban and angrily said to his companions, "Someone's coming up the mountain with a torch. If we don't find a way out now, they'll find us sooner or later."
The leader frowned. They'd initially headed for the mountains because the dense forests provided a good hiding place, and they'd indeed used the terrain to shake off their pursuers. But they hadn't expected the mountains to be so treacherous. After circling for a long time, they couldn't find a way down. Their eyes darkened as they fell upon the bound girl.
The girl with messy hair had her hands and feet tied, and a cloth stuffed in her mouth. Only her pair of sharp eyes were filled with fear, and her pretty face was pale. It was Cai Xin who had been kidnapped.
Cai Xin huddled close to the cave wall, steam creeping down her back, giving her goosebumps. The torch quickly went out, and she surveyed the darkness with vigilance. Boundless fear made her body tense, like a frightened bird.
The people who had kidnapped her didn't abuse her or ask any questions, as if they were simply kidnapping her. After just a few hours, she went from panic to fear, cold and exhausted.
The faint conversation in the cave suddenly stopped, leaving only the sound of water rushing, and the air seemed to condense.
After a while, a silver light suddenly flashed, and the sound of weapons clashing drowned out the sound of water. It was so close that Cai Xin could almost feel the sharp airflow passing through her hair. She was so frightened that she curled up and hid to the side.
Suddenly, a tiny sound, remarkably clear amidst the close combat, was heard, followed by a warm feeling approaching. Then, someone touched her shoulder. Frightened, she nearly screamed, her head whipping back, her face pale as a sheet.
"Cai Xin!" A voice so familiar that it made people want to cry sounded in their ears. The torch was lit, and the face that came into view was soft and elegant. Cai Xin was in a trance for a moment, and suddenly became excited. Her mouth, which was stuffed with a piece of cloth, kept making a "hmm" sound.
Her round eyes suddenly widened, and Aruo, who was squatting in front of her, reacted very quickly and rolled over with her in his arms. The next second, the cave wall they were leaning against was chopped down by a sword, and broken stones flew everywhere.
"Aruo, take her away!" Qin Zhi brandished his scimitar with great speed and flew in front of them. The space in the cave was limited, and with them around him, he couldn't move freely.
The piece of cloth in her mouth was taken away, and Cai Xin saw that in the small hole, Qin Zhi and the bearded man were fighting with three men in black. "Aru..."
"Don't talk, let's go out first!" Aruo held Caixin in her arms and was about to rush out when she saw a gap between their fights. Just as she moved, the corner of her clothes was bumped by Caixin, "What's wrong? Can't walk? I'll carry you!"
"Someone..." Cai Xin, whose toothache was severe, moved her lips reluctantly. Her hands were still tied behind her back, and she lifted her chin further into the hole.
Aruo looked over and his expression changed drastically, "Lin Ya?"
In the darkness further inside the cave wall, a petite figure was curled up, her face pale as she leaned against the stone wall. It was Lin Ya, who had been missing for several days.
"What are you dawdling for!" Qin Zhi was kicked in the chest and abdomen without wiping it off. He turned around and saw the two women still standing there, and cursed angrily.
No, she couldn't carry two people with her. Aruo glanced over there, hardened her heart, opened her arms and hugged Caixin tightly as she ran towards the waterfall. She stepped hard on the rocks with her toes, and the two of them broke through the water in the sloping stream.
"Ah--" Cai Xin was hit by the water flow and she opened her eyes to see herself hanging in the air above the pool. The next moment she was about to fall down and she screamed in fear.
Suddenly, she felt a tightness around her waist, and thick vines wrapped around her waist in an instant, causing Aruo, who was holding her tightly, to be knocked towards the rock wall.
"It hurts..." Even though there was some moss and grass as cushion, the two of them inevitably hurt their faces and shoulders.
Cai Xin opened her eyes in surprise and looked at Aruo's face, which was grimacing in pain just like hers. She felt a little aggrieved and asked, "Why is this stone so hard?"
"Maybe it's because it's also a cliff." Damn, if it wasn't so high, she would rather jump into the water. Aruo held Caixin in his arms and freed his hands to untie the hemp rope on her hands.
Soon, a thick rope was lowered from above. Aruo's eyebrows lit up with joy, and he reached out to hook it. The vines could hardly support the weight of the two people, but fortunately, the brothers of the White Flame Gang were able to help.
"Be careful!" Yiyuan's voice suddenly came from above, filled with shock and anger.
A flash of inspiration struck, and Aruo and Caixin simultaneously braced themselves against the rock wall, swinging to the side. As they leaped away, two black feathered arrows were already embedded in the rock wall. Then, the distinct sound of a bow being drawn could be heard, and Aruo and Caixin swung uncontrollably back toward the center.
Aruo turned around and saw the arrow blade approaching. Without time to think, she reached out and protected Caixin who was rushing towards her.
A sharp pain spread from the back of his right shoulder, and his already uncomfortable left hand loosened weakly, and Aruo fell down.
"Aruo——" Cai Xin screamed miserably, and the figure in her pupils fell down without even reaching out.
Mist swirled, and tiny drops of water splashed off the rocks caught Aruo's eyes. His gaze shifted from Caixin's terrified face to the pitch-black night sky. All sounds were drowned out by a sharp ringing in his ears. The feeling of weightlessness reminded Aruo of a roller coaster he'd ridden so long ago. Fragments of those long-lost memories splashed onto the ground like water drops, and all those absurd thoughts he'd never dared to contemplate suddenly flooded his mind.
It's really not easy to survive in this world where you can die easily... For the sake of safety, I have arranged reliable people to ambush outside, so how come someone still got the chance to shoot me?
Yiyuan and Lord Su are a bit off tonight...
However, if I fall down, I can go back to the time before everything started, which seems acceptable.
The rope sliced through the air and water, instantly wrapping around her waist, a force pulling her upwards, reducing the force of her fall. Suddenly, Aruo came to her senses. From the dark night sky, the man leaped out like a roc spreading its wings, heading towards her.
Wait, his injury... No, his swimming ability is not as good as hers!
Even with the rope's relief, the impact of entering the water still made Aruo dizzy. The arrow in her back shoulder penetrated two inches deeper under the water pressure, and the pain made her want to die.
This world is not worth staying in, but can she go peacefully?
Her wrist felt tight, and Aruo's eyes widened as she was dragged straight into a chest that was slightly warm in the cold pool. She let out a stupid breath, and after emerging from the water, she saw Su Zirui's angry face.
Feeling cold and painful, and having to endure someone's glare, Aruo felt that he was the most miserable one tonight.
"I thought you just wanted to be a pig in your next life, but I didn't expect that you already have a pig's brain in this life." Su Zirui's cold eyes were filled with undisguised sarcasm, and he scolded the girl in his arms without any hesitation.
The words were harsh, but only he knew how sudden and painful the sudden contraction in his heart was. Watching the arrow pierce her shoulder, for the first time in his life, he forgot to breathe. The slender figure let go of the vines and fell silently. No matter how fast he moved, he couldn't catch a single scrap of her clothing...
No one knew how panicked he was at that moment.
Aruo was too weak to raise her hand to slap him, even her eyelids were barely kept open as she murmured in a rage, "If you want to scold me, then do it now. Otherwise, when I die, you'll have no choice but to whip my corpse to vent your anger."
She leaned against his chest, and there was a heavy and chaotic thudding sound in her ears. It must be that water had entered her ears, and the tinnitus had not yet subsided.
Su Zirui gently placed her on the rocks beside the pond, lowered his head to check her injuries, his eyes filled with murderous intent, "It's not that easy to die."
His tone was cold and sarcastic, with a hint of suppressed anger, but the hand that touched her wound was extremely gentle, which made her unable to help but relax her tense nerves and lean her head on his shoulder.
He raised his eyes and saw the person in front of him. His black hair was a little messy, with a few wet strands sticking to his cheeks. His face, still covered with water droplets, was extremely handsome. Unfortunately, his tightly pursed lips and sharp, cold eyes made him look less gentle.
He looks quite decent when he smiles...
Suddenly, there was a sharp pain. Aruo opened his eyes wide and glared at him fiercely. He was so angry that he could only growl, "Su Feng, you bastard!"
She was about to die, and this living King of Hell took advantage of her unpreparedness and pulled out the arrow from her body, alive!
Intense pain swept through her mind, her vision went black, and she didn't even notice the chill on the back of her shoulder. She gritted her teeth so hard that she could no longer utter a word.
Su Zirui ignored her rude words and examined the arrowhead carefully. It was indeed poisonous. Fortunately, he was familiar with it and prepared, so he could quickly remove it. His hand pressed firmly against the back of her shoulder, the handkerchief beneath his palm slowly soaking with blood, the red color quickly covering the color of the ointment on the handkerchief.
The girl in his arms was so soft and delicate, only holding him in his arms prevented her from collapsing. Her pale face made him feel depressed. His heart was beating erratically, as if it were being pulled tightly, and the pain was unfamiliar.
"Su... If I die, please burn more paper for me... I will come back in person to thank you..." Aruo, who was barely breathing, stubbornly expressed her resentment.
"Instead of dying with a cold face, it's better to stay here and catch the person who shot the arrow from behind." Su Zirui reached out for her wrist, his eyes gloomy.
"I'm out of breath..." Aruo practically collapsed in his arms, unable to move a finger. "My fragile body...can't keep up with my powerful soul..."
Let her die, and be done with it.
The sound of chaotic footsteps soon came. Su Zirui looked up and saw a group of people running towards him. Leading them was a heroic woman in a green dress, followed by several people from the Baiyan Gang.
"Miss Yu!" The woman's face changed drastically when she saw the pale and almost unconscious girl in his arms.
After handing the person over to the other party, Su Zirui glanced at the bloodless face, raised his hand and pinched it, but it was still pale.
The heroic woman glanced at him disapprovingly and covered herself tightly with her cloak inconspicuously.
Su Zirui glanced at him coldly and said, "Just wait patiently and I will avenge you."
Just as he took a step, he felt someone gently tug at his sleeve. He lowered his eyes. The weak fingertips fell down before he could pull them out. The voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible, and he had to concentrate to hear it. "Your injury..."
A sneer flashed across his eyes, "Compared to you, I still have more breath."
cut……
Since he had pulled out her arrow without warning, Aruo decided not to tell him about the formation her senior brother had set up in the forest. After all, Su Yanwang was omnipotent... a mere formation, easily defeated.
"Miss Yu, this person... is quite scary." The look in his eyes and the aura he exuded were enough to frighten even someone who had been in the martial arts world for many years.
Su Zirui had known something about the dense forests of this mountain from his early days of scouting. While he wasn't skilled in these strange arts, he'd seen them often enough to be less vulnerable. The man in black was clearly panicking and didn't understand the formations. Even though Aruo had delayed him slightly, he quickly caught up with the figure who had almost blended into the night.
Silver light flashed through the dense forest, occasionally bringing with it a hint of blood and a muffled groan. With the man already before him, Su Zirui was in no hurry to kill him, determined to torture him to death as if it were a joke.
The man in black had clearly noticed his intention, but the trees in the forest seemed to move, blocking his path for a moment before branches blocked his path. Terrified, he was forced to fight for his life. Hanging on one foot from the branch, the man in black quickly drew his bow, and the arrow flew towards the pursuers.
When he was lucky, he felt a dull pain in his chest and abdomen. Su Zirui narrowed his cold eyes and easily avoided the arrow tip. The long sword in his hand danced wildly and rushed straight towards the opponent's face.
Screams echoed through the woods as the man in black plummeted to the ground, with bright red flowers blooming on his head.
Su Zirui squatted down out of habit to take a closer look, and his expression changed slightly.
There was a deep scar on the corpse's face, from the right eye to the left chin, so deep that the flesh was turned out, but what was surprising was that there was an arrow stuck in his back shoulder. It was the one that Su Zirui had just dodged. Even the black feather on it was exactly the same as the one he pulled out from Aruo.
He dodged the arrow, so how could it come back and hit the person in front?
Looking around vigilantly, Su Zirui turned around and took a step forward, and the scenery in front of him changed instantly.
Night turned to day, under the dazzling sunlight, the peach trees in the forest, Ming's clothes that were obviously soaked were now dry as new. The breeze lifted the hem of his robe, and the pink and white petals floated in the air.
He raised his hand to block the bright sunlight, and it took a while for his vision to clear up. Before he could even take a closer look around, the frightened girl ran into his arms, the faint peach fragrance filling his arms, and a pair of slender hands pressed against his chest.
"Master Su, someone is chasing me..." The slightly panicked voice was just like that day. The girl in his arms looked up, her big eyes looking at him trustingly, as pure as a frightened deer.
Bits of tingling spread from the places she touched, extending to every part of his body. He lowered his eyes and looked at her flushed face from running.
A cunning glint flickered in her eyes. The girl suddenly tiptoed closer, slid her hands up to hook them around his neck, pressed her soft body against him, and whispered against his lips in a sweet voice, "Master Su... I'm afraid..."
Her eyes and eyebrows, with a hint of shyness, were delicate and soft, a charm never seen before, which was very captivating.
His heart skipped a beat without warning, and his breathing and heartbeat quickened and throbbed as if trying to catch up. His hands dropped to his sides, slowly clenching into fists. His eyes darkened, and the tightness in his chest dissipated, only to be replaced by a strange, intense fire. He knew it was all an illusion, but the soft touch of her lips against his, the increasingly sweet peach scent, the body twisting closer in his arms, felt like something was breaking free from within him.
"Sir... please hug me..." The girl's charming body twisted slightly as if it had no bones, and her soft lips lightly touched his Adam's apple that slid up and down.
Veins bulged beneath his collar, and his slender hand slowly rose, clasping the back of the girl's upturned neck. Her bright, life-filled eyes reflected his features, and her red lips pouted slightly, ready for a kiss with a mere tilt of his head. With a single press of his hand, he could pull her into his embrace...with impunity.
His black eyes were as deep as the sea, forming a whirlpool that swallowed up all desires.
The next moment, the long sword stabbed neatly into the chest of the person in his arms. She stared at him in astonishment, while his gaze calmly passed her and fell on the blooming peach tree in front of him.
The person in his arms suddenly transformed into countless pink and white petals, sliding across his palm and dissipating into the air. Su Zirui felt a sudden pain in his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, using his sword to support himself on the ground.
At the same time, a woman in red appeared under the peach tree.
The corners of his lips curled in disapproval, and he tossed the hair that had fallen on his shoulders back, sneering in self-loathing. A mere heartless girl had actually made him so enraged that even pills couldn't suppress the surging anger.
Wiping the corner of his lips, he raised his head and looked forward.
The woman's face was like jade, pure and beautiful beyond compare. Standing gracefully beneath the tree, she resembled a delicately carved orchid, noble and graceful. Though her complexion was a vibrant crimson, her eyes and brows shone with a calm indifference, as clear and transparent as cold jade. Upon closer inspection, the woman's features bore a striking resemblance to those of Ruxian, the capital's most renowned courtesan. However, her noble bearing was unmatched by the mundane.
Facing the strange appearance of the woman, Su Zirui remained motionless and said in a cold tone, "Madam Luo, there is nothing to be nostalgic about in this world. When you die, quickly reincarnate."
The woman tilted her head with interest, walked closer, and looked at him with amusement as he frowned in disdain. "Do you recognize me?"
"The lady's palm dance once amazed the whole capital, and her funeral even shocked the whole northwest. I am not talented, but I have a good memory." Su Zirui pursed his lips. He had suspected the girl's strange lightness skill in the capital, and he understood it after meeting Qi Shaozhen in Sizhou.
The Qishan Shen family, worthy of being the descendants of the founding emperor of the Great Qi, is mysterious and unpredictable, but unfortunately, they are doomed to a short life by peeping too much into fate. Didn't the woman in front of me never live past twenty?
The woman raised her eyebrows, half smiling, "Master Su is very brave. Aren't you afraid of me?"
"I have been in charge of the prison for many years and have executed countless criminals. If you want to be afraid, it's not your turn." She didn't kill anyone herself, so what is there to be afraid of? Su Zirui took a deep breath. As long as she didn't bring that girl in...
“It seems that it is fate that Lord Su has entered this formation.” The woman - Shen Nan tilted her head and looked at the man whose wording was offensive but not rude.
"It is said that when a person dies, it is like the extinguishing of a lamp. If you have any unfulfilled wishes, you can go find your husband who has always shown deep affection for you and never forgets you. I am very busy and have not yet captured all the living people. I have no time to deal with the wishes of the dead." Su Zirui waved his hand indifferently and looked around carefully for the key to breaking the formation.
Shen Nan curled her red lips, and her playful look made her more popular than before, “That won’t do. I dare not leave my sister’s affairs to others.”
Su Zirui paused, and looked at the woman with cunning eyes with a hint of coldness, "Chen Nan, you are already dead, why bother disturbing the living?"
His tone was really rude, and Shen Nan sighed helplessly, "Yes, the dead should disappear from the world, but I can't leave because of some obsession."
"Then go find those people, don't bother me, and don't look for her anymore." At most, he could open the girl's mind and let her eliminate Shen Nan from her mind.
"Master Su, can I entrust her to you?" Shen Nan didn't intend to elaborate, but just looked at him and said lightly.
Su Zirui raised his eyebrows and said meaningfully, "She can live well on her own, as long as you don't show up again."
At this moment, he was already thinking about the girl's unexplained collapse in Sizhou. Wasn't that miasma also filled with the fragrance of peach blossoms? No wonder her whole personality had changed since coming to Yangzhou. She wasn't as straightforward as before. It was obvious that it was all caused by these old people.
"No, she can't." Shen Nan smiled lightly, the love between her brows heavier than when she mentioned her husband. "My sister has no desire to live. She has no attachment to this world. She is just afraid of pain. She has held on until now only because she hasn't fulfilled her promise to me..."
The surrounding scenery suddenly became blurry like ripples on water. Shen Nan's face was slightly condensed, and he sighed, "Master Su, time is running out. Please...be her concern..."
Before he could finish his words, the day suddenly turned into night, and he found himself in a dense forest with only some fallen leaves and green grass, but no peach blossoms.
The useless formation was broken inexplicably. Su Zirui snorted coldly, turned around and jumped onto the tree trunk, looking for the sound of people.
Who doesn’t have the desire to live...Does she dare?
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