Chapter 67: Unthinkable (Part 7) “They are so sure that I will live a long life…
"Are you guys having a conflict?"
After breakfast the next day, Yue Lingjun's eyes moved meaningfully between the two of them, and he deliberately found a suitable opportunity to ask Lian Qiang.
"Not really, and it's not necessary," Lian Qiang realized. Although she and Chi Xingji had some disagreements, she didn't need to confide in her. "Besides, isn't this exactly what you want to see?"
Yue Lingjun smiled upon hearing this: "I never said I was happy to see you like this."
Lian Qiang was about to retort, but then she changed her mind and realized that Yue Lingjun seemed to be just adding fuel to the fire and fanning the flames, and had never really stated her purpose. She choked herself and didn't say anything more.
Fortunately, the topic between the two did not extend any further. Chi Xingji, who had walked out, returned to the yard, collected the remaining dishes and chopsticks without saying a word, and left again.
Yue Lingjun also began to pack her things, filling her basket with her homemade bamboo weaving, as if she were preparing to go out. Lian Qiang watched her busying around, and she felt a rare sense of regret for having nothing to do all day.
"You're staring at me like this, are you trying to go up the mountain with me to pay respects to the ancestors?" Yue Lingjun turned around and glanced at Lian Qiang, who was motionless and thoughtful, and asked casually.
The speaker had no intention, but the listener was eager to take action. Lian Qiang didn't want to go with her to cut bamboo. After all, since coming here, she had the opportunity to "see" Qiu Ruozhao a few times. His tomb was also in this mountain, not far away, but she had never formally paid her respects to him, which was somewhat unreasonable.
Lian Qiang seemed to have a feeling that if she could go there, she would gain something and get to know Qiu Ruozhao more deeply.
So she took the opportunity to ask half-jokingly and half-seriously, "...Sword Master, are you willing to go with me?"
"Of course I can't say I'm unwilling," Yue Lingjun said with a lazy smile, which meant that he wasn't too willing either. "As long as you don't worry about me killing you and destroying your body, that's all that's fine."
After she made this revelation, the relationship between the two, which was barely maintaining, became shaky again.
Lian Qiang certainly had this worry, but if she stayed, she might have contact with Chi Xingji. At the moment, her resistance to Yue Lingjun was comparable to his; but if she went up the mountain with Yue Lingjun without any precautions, it would be just like Yue Lingjun's "joke", and even if she gave repeated assurances, it would be difficult to gain his trust.
"I..." Lian Qiang hesitated.
"If you want to go, go ahead."
A third voice appeared, and they both turned around. It was Chi Xingji. He had gone and returned, already packed up, and it was unknown how much of their conversation he had heard.
Chi Xingji walked over to Lian Qiang and held out his palm to her. Lian Qiang didn't understand what was going on and didn't want to respond. Chi Xingji sighed and took the initiative to grasp the hand beneath her sleeve, wanting to place it in his own.
When his fingertips were touched, Lian Qiang flinched, her struggle evident. Chi Xingji's movements froze for a moment, but he continued as if nothing had happened. A stream of icy air emerged from his fingertips, flowing into Lian Qiang's palm from the point of contact before disappearing.
Lian Qiang shuddered, the chill vanishing in an instant. She half-thought it was an illusion. She thought it was over, but Chi Xingji still didn't let go of her hand. Once, twice, three times did this process end.
Could it be that after last night's unpleasantness, Chi Xingji was going to fulfill Yue Lingjun's wish to kill her today? Even Qiangguang herself found it extremely funny to think about it.
The young man, completely unaware of her thoughts, closed her hand and lowered it, whispering, "This is Tongbei's sword energy, three in total. It can sense danger and protect you. If it can't protect you... Tongbei is by my side, at least I can instantly know your safety."
What was this? A hint of sarcasm played on Lian Qiang's lips. An urgent gesture to save the alliance before it was broken?
Seeing that she was indifferent, Chi Xingji was not annoyed, but he did not retreat either, and had no intention of giving in.
The two of them were in an awkward stalemate when Yue Lingjun, who was watching the fun from the side, spoke first: "I don't have so much time to waste today. If you want to come, just follow me."
With that, she walked away without stopping. Lian Qiang knew she wasn't joking. There really wasn't a better solution right now. Since Chi Xingji had given it to her, and she didn't know how to force the sword energy out of her body, why wouldn't she be embarrassed to accept it? Furthermore, if Yue Lingjun, having witnessed this, would restrain himself, that would be a good thing.
Lian Qiang no longer had any intention of confronting him. She just glanced at him quickly and resigned herself to following Yue Lingjun.
Chi Xingji still stood there, watching them go away. After the two figures disappeared for a long time, he turned around and left to do his own thing.
-
The mountain road was rugged and difficult to walk on. It was not a challenge for Yue Lingjun, who was already accustomed to it, but for Yu Lianqiang, it was like torture.
Following Yue Lingjun's footsteps, Lian Qiang barely managed to suppress the urge to turn around immediately. However, the person in front walked faster and faster, making it increasingly difficult for Lian Qiang to keep up. She opened her mouth to call out, but heard a light laugh.
She looked up and saw Yue Lingjun looking down at her. She smiled and said, "I think you'll die of exhaustion halfway through without me having to do anything."
"That's...nothing compared to Sword Lord's speed of a thousand miles a day." Lian Qiang retorted, even though she was panting heavily. She had given up the thought of asking her to slow down. But after this incident, Yue Lingjun actually slowed down, and from time to time she would turn back to support Lian Qiang.
After walking for about half an hour, Yue Lingjun called out, "We're here." Lian Qiang was finally able to stop and take a good look at the surrounding scenery.
The lush greenery was unmistakable, with only a single, barren patch of land standing out. In the center stood a monument, inscribed with the words "Qiu Ruozhao's Tomb," but otherwise devoid of any other inscriptions.
Lian Qiang was suspicious. She had thought that even if Qiu Ruozhao and Yue Lingjun were not as affectionate as the rumors said, they would at least show some affection. But like this... it really seemed distant.
As if she had guessed what Lian Qiang was thinking, Yue Lingjun laughed again: "Why? You don't look very surprised?"
Lian Qiang didn't say anything, which was her agreement.
"Everyone who came to visit me would ask me why I did this. At first I was patient in answering them, but later on, I just got fed up with it."
Yue Lingjun kept weeding. After finishing, she took out various straw weavings from her backpack and placed them one by one in front of the grave. She said slowly, "Before he died, his name was tied to me inextricably. After death, can't he still be just himself?"
She arranged the remains neatly, bringing some life to the desolate tombstone. Lian Qiang quickly squatted down to help her arrange them, and tentatively said, "Perhaps because people say your friendship is deep, they guess that you will be buried together a hundred years from now."
Yue Lingjun only sneered from his nose: "Joint burial?"
The straw braid she was holding was gradually deformed by the sudden force, which frightened Lian Qiang. Yue Lingjun spoke again, "Are they so sure that I will die of old age and be unable to overcome that chasm? Some even told me to live well and not commit suicide - how ridiculous."
Lian Qiang hadn't expected her to refute this, and for a moment, she couldn't think of any response. That bright gaze shot towards her: "Do you think so too? Do you think I would die with him for love?"
Of course not—Lian Qiang wanted to say, but her caution made her hesitate for a moment: "…What they said may not be very pleasant, but there are some merits. It's always right to cherish yourself."
Yue Lingjun remained silent on this somewhat mediocre answer, but Lian Qiang did not think that this safe move was a mistake.
These days, Yue Lingjun was indeed strange in some aspects, but generally speaking, she was still not far from the image spread by the outside world. She didn't know that she had those dreams that seemed so real. It would be particularly strange if someone had the audacity to agree with her and oppose those remarks.
The conversation ended in vain, and Yue Lingjun started to pack up the backpack again. Lian Qiang took a careful look and found no sharp weapon inside.
"Are we just going back like this? I thought you were going to chop some more bamboo or something."
The tomb sweeping process was too short, less than one-third of the time spent going up the mountain, not to mention the interval between Yue Lingjun's disappearance and reappearance on ordinary days.
This time, Yue Lingjun kindly told Lian Qiang, "I have my own arrangements for the future. Next, we're going down the mountain."
"What are you going to do?" Lian Qiang was caught off guard and asked again.
"Do you remember Mr. Chen who took you up the mountain that day? His first wife unfortunately passed away two days ago. It's only right that I go down the mountain to pay my respects."
After Jing Yue Lingjun's words, the vague image of the old man in her memory emerged. Lian Qiang remained silent. She hadn't been an ordinary person for too long, and she was surrounded by people who had lived longer than her. She had almost forgotten that birth, aging, sickness, and death were extremely common things for ordinary people.
"How did his wife pass away?" Thinking of the old man's white hair, Lian Qiang speculated, "Did...she run out of life?"
"No, the two were originally arranged to get married by their families, but their relationship has been at odds for a long time," Yue Lingjun said, pushing aside the shadows of the bamboo trees that blocked the view from above. "They started arguing again a few days ago. Maybe they said something harsh during the argument. In a fit of rage, Mr. Chen's wife ran away from home. The family searched for her for a long time but couldn't find her, until one day they went down the river..."
There is no need for Yue Lingjun to elaborate on what happened afterwards.
"In fact, their children have advised them that if things really came to a point where they had to go their separate ways, they could just divorce and not endure it so bitterly. But they refused to listen. Either they were afraid of the impact on their children, or they were worried about what the neighbors would think."
Yue Lingjun descended the mountain even faster, almost briskly, yet her breathing remained steady. Lian Qiang's steps were erratic, focused solely on the rolling stones and mud beneath her feet, her thoughts swirling wildly. "Perhaps, after all, no matter how many obstacles there are, they are no obstacles..."
She thought of Shao Yu and Huai Xu, who might have had a smooth journey together, and An Sijia and Xu Ze, who finally reunited. True love was inevitably tempered by fate and the world, but in the end, it was always saved by human effort: "They can't be separated simply because... they still have feelings for each other."
The person leading the way suddenly stopped, and Lian Qiang was caught off guard and bumped into him. Yue Lingjun reacted quickly, firmly grasping her arm to prevent her from falling. "I think you're right."
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