Chapter 68: Unthinkable (VIII) Back then, I was young and didn’t understand the truth…
Lian Qiang hadn't anticipated Yue Lingjun's sudden stop, nor had she anticipated her response. The person in front of her tilted their head slightly, revealing one eye that shone brightly in the sunlight.
Is there anything I said that could move her? Lian Qiang wondered in confusion. Why did it seem like she had just been enlightened?
However, Yue Lingjun had no intention of having a deep conversation with her, so Lian Qiang could only put her doubts aside for the time being and continued to follow him down the mountain in a daze.
After walking for a while, there was finally dust and smoke.
Yue Lingjun knew all the villagers he passed by, and walked without stopping. He turned into a house that was dressed for funeral rites.
Lian Qiang glanced around and caught a glimpse of the old man who had led them up the mountain a few days ago, kneeling in the middle of the mourning hall. She took a closer look and was shocked. In just these few days, he looked much older and more haggard than when they first met. She thought it was due to his extreme grief.
Yue Lingjun said nothing more, took the incense, and finished the worship with a respectful look. Lian Qiang followed suit, also looking at Yue Lingjun with a somewhat complicated mood.
She should have been in the same situation at that time. Was her state of mind the same as Mr. Chen's, or... completely different?
"Mr. Chen, I'm deeply sorry for the loss." Yue Lingjun walked up to the old man and spoke concisely.
Hearing her voice, Old Man Chen was already on the verge of tears. He stood up and tightly grasped her wrist, as if seeking some comfort: "Immortal Yue... I regret it... How could I have been so bewildered... Why didn't I treat her better..."
After he finished speaking, tears streamed down his face again. His children were also crying behind him.
"This was an accident, and no one wanted it to happen," Yue Lingjun's expression softened slightly. "The dead cannot be resurrected, so there's no need to blame yourself too much, old man."
After hearing what she said, Mr. Chen burst into tears again: "I was wrong... I should have... I'm sorry for her... I'm confused, I'm a bastard..."
No matter how sincere this confession is, it is half a lifetime late. What's more, the deceased is gone and can never hear it again.
Under normal circumstances, Lian Qiang would have said something to comfort her, but this time her throat seemed to be stuck and she couldn't utter a single word. She could only watch it all from the side, sighing in her heart.
By the time Yue Lingjun had finished comforting her, half an hour had passed. It was the first time Lian Qiang had seen her engage in so much discussion with someone. Just as they were about to leave, a light rain began to fall, forcing them to stay under the eaves.
There was silence, and Yue Lingjun was the first to speak: "You look like you have something to say?"
Lian Qiang shook her head and said, "I'm just feeling depressed at the moment. There's nothing much to say."
"Then there is something you want to say." Yue Lingjun continued, raising her hand to her brow, as if trying to see when the sudden rain would stop.
With nothing to do and no one around, Lian Qiang lowered her eyes and said, "It's just that seeing what's happening today reminds me of my past, and I'm moved. Back then, life was hard, and I didn't know when it would end, so I gave up on myself."
"Let me guess, were you with Chi Xingji during that period?"
Having said that, Lian Qiang no longer tried to hide her feelings, let alone... For her, this was a perfect opportunity, so she nodded frankly: "Yes, at that time, I was infected by the devil's spirit and felt that life was hopeless. Seeing him so glamorous, and unsure of our feelings for each other, we tortured each other every day and grew tired of each other."
Looking back on that time, it's hard to laugh or cry. Lian Qiang continued, "At the worst, I even thought that if he wanted to divorce, I would definitely agree, without any hesitation. Although I couldn't help him, I would never be a burden to him. This dragged on for many years, and then he cut off all worldly thoughts and ascended to heaven. He even forgot everything that had happened before."
"But you are still entangled with each other now. Like you said yourself, maybe there is no ruthlessness between you two." Yue Lingjun was just a spectator.
"Yes, now that I think about it, I was young then and didn't understand that the fact we didn't get separated after going through so many hardships wasn't because of fate, but because people still have feelings. Those who truly want to separate are powerless and unable to change the situation."
Lian Qiang thought about the present and laughed at herself. Yue Lingjun also laughed but avoided talking about the deeper meaning of her words: "You sound like you are no longer young. If you tell others, I am afraid you will be envied and hated."
The rain gradually formed puddles on the ground. Lian Qiang lowered her head and saw her beautiful reflection in the water was broken and blurred. But she knew very well that even though her appearance had not changed, many things were no longer the same as before.
"Tell me," Yue Lingjun spoke again, "if this is really the worst-case scenario you imagined, and one of the two people wants to separate and the other doesn't, how will it develop?"
The rain had come and gone quickly, disappearing in an instant. Before I knew it, the conversation was drawing to a close.
"I guess the person who doesn't want to let go will realize the other person's feelings and feel that holding on is useless, so he'll let go." Lian Qiang casually leaned forward and brushed the hem of her skirt. "Did Sword Master witness something and feel something?"
"No," Yue Lingjun denied, "I just wanted to ask."
-
Most of the conversation was done in the rain. The two of them went in silence. Before they reached home, they ran into Chi Xingji on the way. It was hard to tell whether he was about to go down the mountain or had been waiting for a long time.
Yue Lingjun raised her eyebrows and asked jokingly, "How is it? Are you safe and sound?"
Chi Xingji said slowly, "Sword Lord promised, so of course I believe it."
"You're lying. If you really believed me," Yue Lingjun sneered, "then why are you rushing to follow me?"
The young man standing under the tree held up the objects in his hands to show them, which were two oil-paper umbrellas.
"I was worried the rain wouldn't stop, so I wanted to go down the mountain to give you an umbrella." Chi Xingji paused, then added dully, "You're sympathetic and won't react at all, so there's no need for me to do anything unnecessary."
There were many back-and-forths in this conversation, but Yue Lingjun didn't respond. She stood in front of Lian Qiang. Lian Qiang couldn't see her expression, but she vaguely sensed that she was examining Chi Xingji. After a moment, she raised her leg and walked forward without looking away.
Lian Qiang instinctively wanted to follow, but Yue Lingjun kept walking as if she were walking on flat ground. In the blink of an eye, she was left behind. She couldn't tell whether Yue Lingjun was deliberately doing so. Chi Xingji seized the opportunity and caught up with her, walking side by side. He started a conversation as if to greet her: "Did your trip go smoothly today?"
"It's just a trip, how can anything go smoothly?" Lian Qiang had no intention of talking to him nicely, so her tone was naturally unhappy.
Chi Xingji was not annoyed and continued, "The one-month deadline is coming soon, and I will get what I want soon."
Lian Qiang paused. When she first arrived, she did hold the idea of "less trouble is worse than more" and thought that it would be best to keep things peaceful. However, her idea changed completely.
"Excuse me, but I'm afraid... I can't leave so easily." She sighed heavily and finally confessed. On the contrary, her heart felt much lighter, as if a huge rock had fallen from her chest.
She didn't hear Chi Xingji's response. She turned her head and looked over. There was a deep meaning in his eyes, but he only uttered two words: "Why?"
Lian Qiang stared into his eyes and spoke word by word, "Because there is another hidden story behind Qiu Ruozhao's death."
"...Without evidence, we can't jump to conclusions..." "There will be, there will definitely be," Lian Qiang interrupted him with a rare rudeness, "I will find it."
Chi Xingji, who was interrupted, stared at her and pondered for a moment, then said softly, "Just relying on what you got in your dream? That's not enough."
It was bluntly denied, but Lian Qiang knew that the fact was just as Chi Xingji said, what she had gathered at the moment was not enough.
"Not only that, Yue Lingjun's attitude is even more bizarre," Lian Qiang bluntly revealed everything she had seen today. "I suspect she's actually wanted to divorce for a long time, but she just hasn't had the right time."
She frowned slightly and expressed her doubts, "But I still don't know how to connect the dots. Why did Qiu Ruozhao want to die?"
Yue Lingjun's change in attitude must have occurred over time. Qiu Ruozhao in the dream was clearly tolerant and considerate. What was the driving force behind his suicide? Could it be Yue Lingjun?
"You mean, maybe Yue Lingjun killed her husband to prove her truth?"
This possibility was truly terrifying, yet every set of rules and regulations supported it. Lian Qiang held her forehead, feeling as if something was missing, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't put it together. She was incredibly confident that Yue Lingjun wouldn't kill. But this trust was unfounded, and it couldn't clear Yue Lingjun of suspicion.
——Could she be seeking a reasonable answer herself?
"No, no...it can't be like this. There's only one step left, which one is it?" Lian Qiang murmured, and everything fell into the dead end that she least wanted to see.
"Don't force it," Chi Xingji couldn't bear to see her thinking so hard, "Maybe it's just a matter of opportunity."
Hearing this, Lian Qiang also forced herself to cheer up: "Forget it, these are the last few days, I hope the truth can come out."
She had never expected that what came earlier than the reality was the thunder of Yue Lingjun's tribulation.
As the full moon quietly climbed to the middle of the night, a loud thunder exploded without warning.
Lian Qiang was particularly sensitive to such noises. It happened that she had not yet gone to bed. The moment the thunder fell, she rushed out of the room to observe the landing point.
Almost at the same time, Chi Xingji pushed open the door of her courtyard and looked at each other, with surprise in their eyes.
"Yes..." "It's her." The two of them understood the situation at the same time and rushed towards Yue Lingjun's courtyard.
Sure enough, the moment the door was opened, another bolt of lightning struck, illuminating the entire yard as bright as day.
Lian Qiang's face was pale. Yue Lingjun's cultivation had reached the pinnacle of mortals. If she were still a mortal, there would be no possibility for her to overcome the tribulation and make further progress. So what was the reason for the thunder that fell at this moment?
Yue Lingjun was completely oblivious to her thoughts. She was dressed in her usual plain clothes, holding Yingri and standing in the middle. She smiled at them and said, "You've finally come. I left the Yingxin Mirror in my dressing table. You can take it."
"At this point, you still want to say this!" Lian Qiang tried her best to speak out so that her voice would not be drowned out by the rolling thunder.
Yue Lingjun remained silent and turned to Chi Xingji: "My Lord, do you recognize these thunderbolts?"
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The author has something to say: Happy New Year!!!
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