Chapter 15 She was a willing partner.
At midnight, the guards outside the cell had been replaced by Feng Shisan and Xiao Ma. Ajiu brought some wine and meat to invite the group to eat. Glancing towards the dark bushes, a nimble figure slipped into the cell under the cover of darkness. Meeting Jiang Muyun's astonished gaze, Guan Ye leaned against the cell door, breathing softly.
"Guan Ye?" Jiang Muyun couldn't believe her eyes.
Guan Ye touched her lips with her finger and slowly approached. Time was limited, so she could only speak briefly, "Tomorrow, we will rescue you."
"Save me?" Jiang Muyun seemed to have misheard and shook his head, saying, "The workshop master has made up his mind. If I run away and disappear, he will definitely find another person to vent his anger on and sacrifice himself in the furnace, making others die in my place. I can't do that."
"No one will die!" Guan Ye was so anxious she was about to jump up and down. "If we can save you, we must have a foolproof plan."
"Canglang Island is a tiny place, everyone knows me. What's the point of escaping?" Jiang Muyun chuckled. "Hiding on the island and never seeing the light of day again? It's better to die and be free."
"As long as you're alive, there's hope." Guan Ye squatted down and took Jiang Muyun's hand. Her hand was as cold as ice. She seemed fearless, but she was also afraid in her heart. "Once the head of the workshop takes Xingguo Workshop off the island, you can still stay by the young master's side, and you will never be separated again."
Jiang Muyun's eyes flickered as he looked at Guan Ye suspiciously. Guan Ye realized she had let something slip. At this point, it didn't matter if people knew she was hiding by the wall. Guan Ye blushed and said, "That night, I heard everything. The young master is deeply devoted to you. If anything happens to you, he probably won't survive either. For the young master's sake, you must live well. The young master is willing to live and die with you. How could you forget the eight-character promise?"
As she spoke, Guan Ye slapped herself, "I was right behind you, I should have reminded you..."
“It’s none of your business, this is fate.” Jiang Muyun looked at the little sword slave in front of him with a deep voice. “I have remembered your kindness. Do not risk your lives for me, and do not implicate the young master. He is so eager to save me that he will not care about anything else.”
"Nothing will happen." Guan Ye insisted on explaining Pei Chu's plan in its entirety. "Even if it's discovered, the shop owner won't be able to find out who did it. Lou Shitou... you've met him." To reassure Jiang Muyun, she could only tell him Ajiu's advice all at once. "Jiang Muyun, trust me, no one will be in trouble."
Seeing that Jiang Muyun remained silent for a long time, Guan Ye moved closer and said, "For the sake of Young Master Pei, you must live."
Jiang Muyun's tears streamed down her face. "Why did you help me? Just because I helped you before?"
Seeing that she had finally accepted it, Guan Ye felt a great weight lifted off her shoulders. "Why do you need so many 'whys' when it comes to life and work? I, Guan Ye, do what I'm happy to do. If no one had helped us all these years, my father and I wouldn't have gotten this far. You help others, and others help you. It's that simple."
"The person who brought you to Canglang Island was also helping you?"
"Once I got to the island, I no longer had to live a precarious existence. I could sleep soundly until dawn on a soft bed. Wasn't that helping me?"
Jiang Muyun looked at the smile on her lips. Her natural beauty could not be hidden even in her coarse clothes. Her hair was tied up with only a wooden hairpin, but it had a unique sense of heroic spirit. She must have been hiding a lot of suffering from the past years. This made her cherish the hard-won peace and tranquility. For her own sake, she would not hesitate to destroy her own peace and tranquility.
She slipped out of the cell and saw Ah Jiu and the others still drinking happily under the tree. Guan Ye quietly closed the door and ran away quickly. Tomorrow, everything depends on tomorrow.
"Is everything ready?" Ajiu glanced at the drunken guard, picked up the wine jar, tilted his head back, and drank it down in one gulp.
"Don't worry." Xiao Ma said confidently, "Thirteenth Young Master and I went into the woods and caught a deer. Miss Muyun is so slender that any heavy animal would look too fake. Manager Pei might not be able to tell, but the shopkeeper will see through it. Tomorrow we'll knock it out and exchange it for Miss Muyun. That will be the end of our business. From now on, it's up to Guan Ye."
"You really don't plan to tell Lou Cangyu and Ji Fang?" Feng Shisan asked, gnawing on a bone. "It concerns the Lou family's big stone; what if they ask about it later..."
"Are you stupid?" Xiao Ma interrupted. "Have you forgotten who laid a hand on Miss Muyun? They watched without blinking, but when they started fighting, they didn't even think. Lou Cangyu still wants to be the swordsman for the Meteor Sword. Besides the guild master, it's only him." Seeing that Feng Shisan still didn't quite understand, Xiao Ma snatched his club. "You just told Lou Cangyu, and he went to report to the guild master right after. Do you want to die?"
Feng Shisan looked conflicted. "But if Lou Shitou really gets into trouble... how can we face his family?" Seeing that Ajiu remained silent, Feng Shisan quickly waved his hand. "Never mind, forget I said anything."
“Ji Fang is usually timid. If he knew we were doing something this big, he'd be scared out of his wits.” Xiao Ma gnawed on a bone. “It’s not that I don’t trust him, but let’s not cause him any more trouble.” He turned to look at the cell, where he could see a jumble of figures. Pointing, he laughed, “Look, they’re chatting now? Guan Ye is so carefree; she’ll drag two people into it when she catches them. Does she really trust us that much?”
Mentioning Guan Ye, Feng Shisan became interested again, raised his jar and clinked it against A Jiu's. "It takes a hundred years of cultivation to share a boat ride. Our A Jiu values this fate very much. You said in the past that he couldn't tell the difference between men and women, but now he looks quite handsome. If you look closely, his eyebrows and eyes are quite beautiful. It seems that you had ulterior motives, afraid that we would be eyeing Guan Ye?"
"I'm afraid she's too stupid and will be thrown into the furnace." Ajiu saw Guan Ye's red, tearful eyes again. She had probably never cried much in her life. Ajiu's veins trembled slightly, and two crystal tears seemed to be stuck in her veins, lingering there.
Tomorrow is the grand ceremony to worship the furnace, and everyone in the neighborhood is working non-stop. It looks like Aunt Lou won't be coming back tonight. Guan Ye sat opposite Lou Shitou with her arms crossed, watching him chop large chunks of firewood, one chop after another without getting tired.
"That's enough," Guan Ye finally spoke. "Your mother didn't mention chopping firewood, so the rest can last for quite a while."
"If we don't chop firewood, what will we do?" Lou Shitou wiped his sweat. "We have to chop it sooner or later. Chopping it earlier will save my mother from nagging me."
"Hey?" Guan Ye pointed at him. "Has the stone become clever? Did it get all enlightened from eating too much fruit?"
Stone chuckled, dusted off the wood shavings in his hands, and raised his sword-like eyebrows with a hint of smugness. "Whoever says I'm not clever, I'll chop him up."
Guan Ye sighed, looked around, and fixed her big eyes on Lou Shitou's sweaty face. "There's a big event in the neighborhood tomorrow, and I also have a big thing to do. To make it happen, I need to work with you."
“We carry loads every day, nothing serious can happen.” Lou Shitou didn’t even look at her, put down the firewood and chopped it with an axe.
"The girl Muyun who gave you the handkerchief has been arrested." Guan Ye lowered her voice. "How about we rescue her tomorrow?" Seeing that Lou Shitou still looked confused and didn't seem to understand, Guan Ye pulled the axe off his clenched hand. "You forgot? It's the girl Muyun who gave you the handkerchief."
“Nobody wants to do tomorrow’s errands; they’ll just push them onto the two of us,” Guan Ye continued. “You don’t have to worry about anything. When we get there, we’ll just carry the bags and head to Tianlu. If anyone asks along the way, just say that Jiang Muyun is in the big bag, and I’ll take care of everything else. Shi Tou, are you listening?”
“Miss Muyun is so kind.” Lou Shitou said, sounding aggrieved. “She’s someone I should care about.”
"If someone keeps harping on this," Guan Ye gritted her teeth. "Just say I taught you to do it, and that you knew nothing about it."
“I know,” Lou Shitou stamped his foot. “Of course I know what it is, Shitou is in charge.”
"Idiot, what do you know?" Guan Ye said angrily. "I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow you'll do whatever I say."
"You're the stupid one," Stone retorted at her retreating back, raising his axe and swinging it a few times.
Tomorrow… Guan Ye tossed and turned on her soft bed, wondering if she would be lucky or unlucky… Guan Ye closed her eyes and saw the furious Pei Yuan shove her into the Heavenly Furnace. Her small body instantly fused with the meteorite. Amid the gasps of the crowd, the meteorite melted into liquid and was forged into a precious sword by the best blacksmith.
That was a precious sword that had been infused with his own flesh and blood. Would he hide in the sword and become a sword spirit? His father said that if Gan Jiang and Mo Xie had not sacrificed themselves for the sword, how could there have been the revenge of Mei Jian Chi? If he sacrificed himself for the sword, would someone avenge him?
Why seek revenge? Guan Ye opened her eyes, realizing that she was helping Jiang Muyun willingly.
What would be the name of the sword forged from her own flesh and blood? Guan Ye drew the wooden sword and brandished it a few times before finally closing her eyes and falling into a deep sleep.
Pei Yuan clearly didn't want too many people to know that he was going to use the ancient method to consecrate the furnace. Xingguo Workshop had been established in the world for over a hundred years, relying on this furnace in front of him. Many years ago, a meteor fell from the sky and landed in the Imperial Ancestral Temple of the Great Jin Dynasty. The meteorite passed through various weapon workshops in the Jin Dynasty, but none of them could be forged into a weapon. The craftsmen all said that if the Lu family of Tianhu Workshop were still around, with the Lu family's secret techniques, they would definitely be able to forge the meteorite sooner or later.
A hundred years ago, the sword was tested before the emperor and the Pei family failed. After many twists and turns, what the Lu family failed to accomplish fell to the Pei family. Who can say this is not fate? Cui Jin is right. Xingguo Ward has been quiet for many years, and the Pei family has long been eager to try. In the past, the imperial city and Canglang Island were separated by thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, but now, they are only separated by a sword.
Success or failure hinges on today.
"Bring the person here." Pei Yuan was radiating heat today, like a fire burning to its fullest extent.
"Has anyone seen Lou Shitou?" Guan Ye grabbed one of the men's arms. "Lou Shitou."
"Who knows?" The man withdrew his hand. "You're just being lazy and don't want to work."
Guan Ye hadn't seen Lou Shitou since early morning. They had agreed that there was something important to do today. Although Lou Shitou wasn't very bright, he had never made a mistake when he made a decision. It was almost time to escort Jiang Muyun. If they didn't send him to Tianlu soon, Pei Yuan would have to come and get him himself.
"Lou Shitou!" Guan Ye was already a little nervous, and when she couldn't find Lou Shitou, she became even more flustered. When she saw Pei Bi walking towards her in the distance, she had no choice but to run towards the prison cell.
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