Fang Yunyang, who had lost too much blood, was still seriously injured, and had stayed by Tang Ning's side for three days and three nights without daring to close his eyes more than a few times, was already extremely exhausted. As a result of Tang Ning's awakening and amnesia, the tension in his mind suddenly eased, and he was overcome by waves of sleepiness.
When he woke up after a good night's sleep, he looked at the blinding sunlight streaming through the dilapidated window. For a moment, the groggy man couldn't even tell whether he was dreaming or in reality.
Was it a dream?
He dreamed of Ningning again. In his dream, she smiled so brightly and beautifully that she even... miraculously forgot everything she had experienced in the three months since leaving the valley. She only thought that she had just left the Valley of the Medicine God and only knew that she had come to him to fulfill her marriage contract. Everything was a thousand times better than any dream he had ever had before.
Ningning...
Ningning!
It's not a dream!
Suddenly waking up, Fang Yunyang opened his blurry eyes and looked around at where he had woken up. He then began to breathe heavily. Seeing that Tang Ning was not in the room, he threw off the thin blanket on the bed and, without even putting on shoes and socks, stumbled and ran out barefoot.
Ningning, Ningning...
As he ran, Fang Yunyang's eyes searched everywhere in the simple farmhouse.
It's not here, it's not here either, it's not anywhere.
“Ningning…”
His eyes widened in fear, and his heart began to pound. How could it be gone? Why was it nowhere to be found? Could everything before have just been a dream…? Impossible… It couldn't be a dream… Ningning…
"Ningning!"
Fang Yunyang, who had searched everywhere from inside the house to outside but couldn't find a single piece of Tang Ning's clothing, stood barefoot in the middle of the village road, his hoarse calls sounding as if someone had sprinkled ash into his throat.
No one, no response, nothing...
Fang Yunyang's body swayed precariously, his lips already cracked and peeling from dehydration.
"Brother Yunyang!"
Just when Fang Yunyang was on the verge of despair and even seriously doubting that he was dreaming, a heavenly voice suddenly rang in his ears.
He slowly turned his head stiffly and saw Tang Ning, dressed in a blue cloth robe and with a matching headscarf, standing at the foot of the mountain not far from him, looking at him with a surprised expression.
Upon seeing his thin shirt and bare feet, Tang Ning's surprise quickly turned to worry and anxiety. Without thinking, she rushed to Fang Yunyang, grabbed his hand, and tried to pull him inside, all the while scolding him, "Brother Yunyang, what's wrong with you? Even though it's summer now, don't you know how serious your injuries are? Why are you dressed so lightly, without even shoes, running out like that? Do you know how worried I am..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Fang Yunyang pulled her into his arms. He buried his face in her hair, his body trembling slightly, but his arms tightened around Tang Ning. A warm drop fell onto Tang Ning's neck.
Tang Ning, who had initially wanted to struggle, felt the warmth and moisture and slowly raised her hand to gently hug him back. At the same time, she comforted him in a soft voice, "Brother Yunyang, what's wrong? You were like that before... You didn't think I left, did you? How could that be? How could I leave you alone? I just checked your pulse. Your injuries are too severe. The old doctor in the village doesn't have many herbs, so I chose to go up the mountain to gather some. I won't leave you."
Tang Ning patted his back lightly.
Fang Yunyang's current favorability rating: 98.
Her smiling eyes flashed briefly before her smile became even more gentle and captivating.
Fang Yunyang suffered from various internal and external injuries, making him unsuitable for travel. The two decided not to rush to Kongming Mountain and instead stay in the village.
On this day, a joyous occasion also occurred in the village: the youngest daughter of the Li family in the east of the village was to marry into the Wang family in the west of the village. The village suddenly became lively, and even Tang Ning and Fang Yunyang, who was recovering from injuries, were invited by the villagers to come out and share in the joy.
Tang Ning followed behind and witnessed almost the entire wedding banquet, from the bride's arrival to the wedding ceremony, from the nuptial wine to the wedding night festivities. Her smile was almost stiff from laughing so much. Even on the way back with Fang Yunyang, she was still excitedly telling him about the details he hadn't seen, her face even flushing slightly with excitement.
"You wouldn't believe it, but before the wedding, girls have to have their facial hair removed so they can apply makeup more easily. But after the makeup is done and they're dressed in their wedding gowns, they look really beautiful! Oh, and also... I looked closely at the dumplings they served earlier, and the meat in them was actually raw! No wonder the bride only took one bite and then spat it out, and she was embarrassed to say it was raw. I really don't understand what she was embarrassed about; she was clearly unprepared. It's a good thing she spat it out, otherwise she would have gotten a stomachache..."
Tang Ning said this in a very serious tone.
Having long been out in the world and had some understanding of the marriage customs of ordinary people, Fang Yunyang listened to her say this and saw her earnest little face, her eyes so tender they were almost dripping with water.
Not only that, Tang Ning is also particularly good at seeking approval. After expressing an opinion, she would turn to Fang Yunyang with sparkling eyes, seeking his approval. Only when he nodded slightly to her would she speak again with satisfaction.
Such a beautiful and peaceful life was something Fang Yunyang couldn't have imagined a while ago. He wished that their days in this village could continue forever, and that Tang Ning's smile could continue to bloom forever.
"Ah, so many fireflies!"
As they were talking, Tang Ning tugged at Fang Yunyang's hand, pointed to an open space in front of her, and excitedly shouted.
Upon hearing this, Fang Yunyang followed her finger and, sure enough, saw that on the open space in front of him, where the villagers used to dry their grain, the grass was filled with glittering fireflies, as if all the stars in the sky had fallen to the ground in an instant.
Tang Ning quickly let go of Fang Yunyang's hand and ran straight to the open space. With a light tap of her fingertip, a firefly gently landed on it, its light flashing.
Seeing this, Tang Ning quickly clasped her hands together and ran back to Fang Yunyang by the roadside in two steps. "Brother Yunyang, I have a gift for you!"
As she spoke, she gently opened her clasped hands in front of Fang Yunyang. The little insect that she had just trapped in her hands immediately flapped its tiny wings and flew up in front of the two of them. In such a dark night, the light of fireflies was already quite bright, but Fang Yunyang felt that the light in Tang Ning's eyes was ten times, no, a hundred times brighter than the light of fireflies.
Just looking at it made his heart feel full and warm.
He couldn't help but recall Tang Ning's words about how wonderful marriage was. Perhaps it was the perfect moonlight, or perhaps it was the smile on Tang Ning's lips that captivated him. A gentle evening breeze blew by, and Fang Yunyang opened his mouth, just as Tang Ning was about to turn around and catch another firefly.
His slightly hoarse voice suddenly rang out in the silence.
"Let's get married..."
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked at him in disbelief.
"If you could... please give me... give me the chance to take care of you for the rest of my life..."
If speaking is still a bit difficult for him, he will gradually become more and more fluent as he speaks.
"Right here, in front of everyone in Qingye Village, just like the wedding of the Li family and the Wang family today, let's get married here and become a real couple, shall we?"
He didn't want to wait any longer, nor did he want to return to Kongming Mountain, nor did he want to see anyone in the martial world. He couldn't bear it, he truly couldn't bear losing Ningning again. He just wanted her to continue being happy, carefree, and smiling like this. Qingye Village was wonderful; everyone here was so friendly, harmonious, and happy. So, a marriage witnessed by them should also be happy forever, right?
At this point, remembering that Tang Ning was currently suffering from amnesia and unaware of the turmoil in the martial world, he quickly added, "This wedding is just for the two of us. If you're worried that the people from Medicine God Valley and Empty Mountain Sect won't be able to attend, we can..."
"good."
Before Fang Yunyang could finish explaining, he was shocked to hear such a word.
He looked up and met Tang Ning's smiling eyes.
He watched her walk slowly towards him, until she stood right in front of him, and then tiptoed to give him a light peck on the lips.
After pecking him, she raised her hand and cupped his face, her eyes filled with a captivating smile. "As long as Brother Yunyang is happy, we'll get married right here, just the two of us, with everyone in the village as our witness."
"OK?"
Her eyes were filled with nothing but seriousness, which made Fang Yunyang raise his slightly trembling hand, pull her into his arms, turn his head and lightly kiss her hair before replying in a hoarse voice, "Okay."
How could it be bad?
That's wonderful!
Ningning, Ningning...
It was accompanied by a clattering sound of gold coins.
Fang Yunyang's current favorability rating: 100.
Upon hearing the sound effect, Tang Ning's lips immediately curled into a wide smile.
She also felt that it couldn't be better.
On the other side, the villagers were already overjoyed when they heard that Fang Yunyang and Tang Ning, this perfect couple who had unexpectedly arrived in their village, were going to get married in their village. When Fang Yunyang took out a stack of silver notes to ask the villagers for help in organizing the wedding, the villagers became even more excited.
In an instant, the entire village was mobilized, and the atmosphere was even more lively than during the Spring Festival.
It took them almost three full days to finally get everything ready for the wedding.
The wedding ceremony was even held at the village head's house, which was the largest and brightest house in the village, while Tang Ning was getting married from the house of Granny Wen, where she was currently staying.
At dawn, before the magpies had even chirped twice and before daybreak, Tang Ning was woken up and began to dress up.
"One comb to the head, two combs to the white hair at the eyebrows..."
The woman combing Tang Ning's hair was Grandma Quanfu, who was recognized in the village as having both a son and a daughter and being filial to her children and grandchildren.
The more the village women dressed Tang Ning up, the more they couldn't help but sigh in admiration. They had never seen such a beautiful girl in their entire lives. She was already gorgeous even without makeup, but with it, she could easily become a concubine in the palace. However, Fang's brother was also quite handsome; the two were a perfect match!
"I bow to Heaven and Earth!"
Tang Ning, wearing a red veil and wedding dress, held a red silk ribbon in her hand and listened to the loud shouts around her.
Before the two could even bend down, a child perched on the courtyard wall watching the commotion suddenly shouted, "Outside...there are so many people outside..."
He had barely finished speaking when—bang!
Suddenly, the gate to the village chief's house was kicked open from the outside. The lively crowd inside fell silent instantly. One after another, silent and ruthless figures from the martial arts world, each wielding a long sword, strode in. They then parted to make way for a handsome and aloof man in black who emerged from the back of the group.
As soon as he entered, his gaze fell directly on Tang Ning, who was covered with a red veil.
"rather……"
Before he could utter a single word, Fang Yunyang, dressed in a red groom's suit, had already shielded Tang Ning behind him, his eyes filled with malice as he glared at the man in black in the center of the courtyard, gritting his teeth as he said, "Yan-Xing-Zhi!"
"Why do you keep haunting me like this! Today is my wedding with Ningning. If you want to come and have a drink at the wedding, you're welcome. But if you're here to cause trouble..."
He slowly drew the long sword from his waist, his hand turning slightly, the threat evident in his words.
Upon seeing Fang Yunyang like this, Yan Xingzhi chuckled softly.
"Ha, Fang Yunyang, you want to marry my wife and then invite me to your wedding banquet? What kind of logic is that?"
"Wife? You still dare to call Ningning your wife? If you could ever truly consider her your wife, how could she have suffered such a fate! I made a mistake at Kongming Mountain, but today, as long as I have a breath left, I will never let you take Ningning away from me!"
Fang Yunyang held his sword horizontally in front of him, his tone resolute.
Seeing his reaction, Yan Xingzhi slowly suppressed his smile, his eyes turning icy cold. "Fang Yunyang, do you really think I wouldn't dare to kill you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, some of the more timid villagers of Qingye Village, who knew that a bloody incident was about to occur, immediately cried out.
"The feud between you and me is none of anyone else's business. Swords have no eyes, so let these villagers go first to avoid harming innocent people."
Upon hearing the call, Fang Yunyang immediately spoke up.
Yan Xingzhi raised an eyebrow, neither confirming nor denying.
Seeing this, the villagers of Qingye Village inside the house and in the courtyard tentatively tried to run out of the gate. After one of them ran out, the rest saw that the fierce-looking martial artists did not intend to harm them, so the remaining villagers rushed out.
Before long, only the newlyweds, Tang Ning and Fang Yunyang, with their heads covered by veils, and Yan Xingzhi and his men remained in the large courtyard.
Yan Xingzhi, who had been keeping a close eye on Tang Ning, spoke gently at that moment, "Ningning, I've come to take you home..."
"court death!"
Fang Yunyang stomped his foot hard on the ground, even cracking the bluestone floor of the village chief's main hall, and then shot straight towards Yan Xingzhi like an arrow released from a bow.
Unfortunately, he was still a few meters away when his path was immediately blocked by his men in black.
Fang Yunyang hadn't noticed it before, but when the fight actually started, he suddenly saw the blood moon embroidered on the cuffs of the men in black.
The man's eyes immediately sharpened. "This is... the Blood Guards of the Silent Moon Cult! Yan Xingzhi, do you even know what you're doing?"
Yan Xingzhi curled the corners of his lips but did not answer.
"How can you face your parents and sister like this? How can you face the seventy-two members of your Ye family who died?!"
Fang Yunyang, who thought Yan Xingzhi had tacitly agreed, looked inexplicably grief-stricken.
"Ha, why would I apologize? They've always been my people."
Yan Xingzhi chuckled.
She was his person from beginning to end... from beginning to end...
Fang Yunyang instantly recalled that since the Yangyue Manor first showed its prowess, there had always been rumors in the martial arts world that Yan Xingzhi must be supported by a huge force, which was why he rose so quickly. In less than ten years, he had become on par with the Kongshan Sect. Occasionally, he would even surpass the Kongshan Sect in prestige due to his merit in killing the Demonic Sect, and directly become the leader of the eight major forces in the martial arts world.
Many in the martial arts world have speculated that Yan Xingzhi was either supported by the Western Regions forces or manipulated by someone in the imperial court. No one has ever suspected that he could be a spy for the Demonic Sect. How could this be...?
But if he was a spy for the Demonic Cult, why did the Demonic Cult suffer such heavy losses in the Battle of Ghost Howl Cliff?
He... he deliberately provoked us! He's waiting for an opportunity to take revenge!
Thinking of this, Fang Yunyang looked at Yan Xingzhi at the back of the crowd with mixed feelings.
These things are easy for outsiders to talk about, but probably no one knows how much suffering Yan Xingzhi endured.
However, the Blood Guards of the Silent Moon Cult...
He remembered that after they annihilated the Five Demons of the Western Regions, they encountered the Blood Guards of the Silent Moon Cult in the dilapidated temple, which forced him to separate from Tang Ning. If the Blood Guards of the Silent Moon Cult were Yan Xingzhi's men from the beginning, then...
"The Blood Guards of the Silent Moon Cult that day were sent by you!"
Fang Yunyang looked at Yan Xingzhi in disbelief.
Upon hearing Fang Yunyang's words, Yan Xingzhi remained silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on Tang Ning, whose veil had not yet been removed, without offering any reply.
On the other side, Fang Yunyang, even though he didn't get the answer he wanted, didn't continue asking. On one hand, he felt there was really nothing more to ask, and on the other hand, his injuries hadn't fully healed, and he was gradually becoming exhausted under the siege of the Silent Moon Sect's Blood Guards.
Bang--
However, caught off guard, he was kicked in the chest by one of them and sent flying backward.
From that kick onward, the sounds of thuds and falls continued incessantly as the Blood-Clad Guards collapsed one after another.
Fang Yunyang, seemingly oblivious to the pain, was repeatedly knocked down, only to rise again and again, until he was slammed against the main hall door, shattering it. Covered in blood, Fang Yunyang gasped for breath, his breathing like a broken bellows. He shakily tried to prop himself up with his sword, but after several attempts, he couldn't get up. Instead, the aggravation of his internal injuries caused him to cough violently.
"Cough cough cough... Pfft!"
After coughing a few times, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. Bright red blood kept dripping from his mouth, making a dripping sound, but he still tried to force himself to get up from the ground.
Just then, a Blood Guard rushed to his side and lifted Fang Yunyang up from the ground. A clear female voice then rang out slowly and firmly.
"That's enough..."
Blood Guard only listened to Yan Xingzhi's words. Even after Tang Ning spoke, he still raised his fist to smash Fang Yunyang's face.
"I've said enough, Yan Xingzhi."
Tang Ning abruptly removed the red veil covering her head, which depicted mandarin ducks playing in the water, and looked expressionlessly at Yan Xingzhi in the center of the courtyard.
Yan Xingzhi immediately waved his hand, and the Blood Guard's fist stopped right in front of Fang Yunyang.
But at this moment, he couldn't see the fierce fist in front of him at all; all that could be heard in his mind was the name Yan Xingzhi from Tang Ning's mouth.
She remembered, she remembered Yan Xingzhi, she remembered everything...
It's time for him to wake up from this dream.
It's time to wake up...
Despite having suffered so many injuries before, Fang Yunyang hadn't really felt how much pain he was in. But at this moment, it was as if all his wounds were acting up at once. It hurt, it hurt so much, it hurt everywhere, it hurt so badly, he couldn't take it anymore.
On this side, the Blood Guard obediently threw Fang Yunyang, who looked like a rag, to the ground, causing him to fall right next to Tang Ning.
When Tang Ning saw that the man had stopped, she lifted her foot to walk forward, but unexpectedly, the hem of her wedding dress was grabbed forcefully by Fang Yunyang in the next second.
"No...don't go with him...Ningning...don't go with him because of me...I can still...I can still get up and..."
Before he could finish his pleading, he suddenly saw Tang Ning beside him reach out and grab the hem of her skirt. With a slight struggle, she pulled the hem of her skirt away from Fang Yunyang's blood-stained hand. She lowered her head, her eyes gleaming with pity and tenderness that Fang Yunyang could not see at all.
"Tell me, you don't really think I had amnesia, do you?" she whispered. "You don't really think I'm going to marry you, do you? Heh..."
She smiled brightly, a smile that was both charming and sweet, and then said again in the gentlest voice, "Just kidding, you silly boy."
"How can there still be people so naive as to believe that there really is a pill to undo mistakes? That you can make amends and make it all go away as if nothing ever happened? There's no such thing as a free lunch. All those things you did before were just... playing with you."
"Now, I declare that the game of amnesia has come to an end."
Tang Ning leaned down slightly and said with a smile.
As soon as she finished speaking, she smiled and straightened up, about to walk away again. But before she could take a step, her skirt was grabbed forcefully once more.
Turning her head, she saw Fang Yunyang desperately raising his swollen, somewhat ridiculous face after being beaten, and even so, he still forced a miserable smile at her.
“I…don’t care, Ningning, I don’t care…whether you really…really want to marry me, or you’re just…playing me, it doesn’t matter, it’s all what I owe you…I should repay you…as long as you’re happy…anything, anything is fine…”
The more Fang Yunyang spoke, the more his hands trembled.
“Don’t go… I can… I can still fight them… Don’t go, I don’t want… I don’t want to see you with any sadness anymore… Let’s pretend… let’s pretend we really don’t remember anything from before, okay? Stay… you promised me you would give me… give me a chance to take care of you for the rest of my life… Don’t leave, don’t go…”
As he spoke, Fang Yunyang's tears mingled with the blood on his face and fell, his eyes turning completely red. His hand gripping Tang Ning's skirt was as if he had grasped all his hope.
Upon hearing this, Tang Ning stared at him for a long time, but still slowly pulled her skirt out of his hands.
“Ningning… Ningning… Ningning…”
Fang Yunyang's calls grew more and more sorrowful, eventually tinged with unspeakable sobs. Then he watched helplessly as Tang Ning's skirt slipped through his hands, and he turned and walked away without looking back.
Fang Yunyang, who was left lying on the ground, got up again and again, fell down, got up again, fell down again, and finally took shaky steps to chase after them.
When he chased after her, all he saw was Tang Ning sitting in the carriage, gently lowering the curtain, her face flashing by.
“Ningning…”
Fang Yunyang's call came from outside the car. Tang Ning's eyes flickered for only a moment before she fell into complete silence.
Ningning...
Ningning...
He watched as the carriage carrying Tang Ning slowly started up and gradually drove away, disappearing completely around a bend.
He relentlessly pursued his goal, even after losing sight of it...
In an instant, it was as if all the sounds in the world had completely disappeared from his ears; apart from his own heavy voice, there were no other sounds.
Inhale, exhale.
Inhale, exhale.
...
After an unknown amount of time, the man, who was already at his limit, finally collapsed to the ground. Apart from the faint rise and fall of his chest reminding those around him that he was still alive, he looked no different from a dead man.
Suddenly, a tear slid gently down his cheek, fell into the mud beneath him, and quickly disappeared...
Author's Note: Tang Ning: I never take a scumbag with a 100% favorability rating seriously!
Fang Yunyang: ...
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