Chapter 65 Afraid you would run away, I gently landed on your forehead
Absolutely amazing.
In this damn place, one madman is not enough, but they can make up a pair.
One is an old madman who has gone mad long ago and is trapped in the cold prison of Tianji Pavilion without sunlight, with chains and cold water pickled into his bones.
The other one is the one in front of me, who is graceful, elegant, gentle, but also a little lunatic who is about to go crazy.
If she stayed here any longer, she might become the third lunatic in the cold prison that imprisoned two generations of Tianji Pavilion masters.
"Let's go." Qing Guiyu made a quick decision, grabbed his cold wrist with his backhand, and pulled him out of the frozen air with force.
There's no way I could stay in this place, not even for a moment longer.
Shen Juansheng was stunned for a moment, as if something was cracking, but was quickly mended with his usual gentleness. He pursed his lips and said nothing.
Fortunately, she had been taught the ins and outs of this formation, and the torches in the corridor were still burning, stretching the shadows of the two people from time to time and casting them on the uneven rock wall.
"I know what he said is true," Qing Guiyu suddenly stopped, turned in the dim light of the corridor, and met his gaze. "My senior brother isn't even here. You just... tricked me into coming here."
He could do it, but she couldn't say it. Those words were too hurtful, and it was exactly what Young Master Jin Sheng would do.
Shen Juansheng didn't respond immediately, but simply let her hold him, watching her quietly. The firelight flickered in his eyes, and the icy veil that usually enveloped them seemed to be slightly dissected by the warm light, revealing the bottomless pool of gloom beneath.
"Yeah." He finally responded softly, his voice low and hoarse.
Qing Guiyu was actually so angry that he laughed.
"Well, well done, Master Jinsheng! If your plan fails, you're going to die here in despair, accompanying that old lunatic who's been locked up for years. When I come to my senses, I'll find myself all alone, trapped in the murderous trap of the Tianji Pavilion, with no one to turn to, no one to help me. Is that right?"
She slammed his hand away and turned back.
"Let's go, Shen Tianji," she said without turning her head, her words unkind, "Still standing here like an ice sculpture? Waiting for your father to come out and burn incense for you?"
Shen Juansheng finally woke up from his dream, smiled lightly, and followed her footsteps silently.
The two men walked past Chao Feng, stirring up a gust of cold wind. The old man's shrewd eyes swiveled, as if he considered for a moment, then he hid his broken arm behind him and silently, like a wisp of smoke, merged into the shadows again.
Fortunately, Master Jin Sheng had a high reputation, and his plan of using his own illness as bait was well-known. Therefore, even though he looked dejected just now, the death warriors of the Tianji Pavilion on both sides all stood with their heads bowed, not daring to move at all.
Qing Guiyu cursed himself in his heart, but finally just scratched his hair in annoyance, turned around and took a majestic black horse from the stable guarded nearby without saying a word.
"Get on the horse." She turned over and mounted her horse with neat and graceful movements, and said decisively to the young man in black clothes behind her.
Shen Juansheng raised his head, his overly pale face still devoid of color. He looked at the horse, then at her, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something.
In the end, he just glanced to the side and walked away a few steps. Not long after, he came back with a slippery black fox fur in his hand, and put it on her without saying anything.
"It's too ostentatious." Qing Guiyu frowned and wanted to tear off the fox fur.
"Miss Qing is right," Shen Juansheng said readily, while his hands tied the laces of her fur coat around her neck. "Then let's take a less conspicuous route."
As the two walked out of the forbidden snowy mountain area of Tianji Pavilion, a biting cold wind blew towards them.
They didn't return to the bustling market town. Instead, Shen Juansheng led them along a more secluded mountain path, deep into the snow-capped mountains. Although summer had already arrived, the chill still bit at the heights. Towering cedars lined the mountain path, and massive rocks were covered in verdant moss. Occasionally, clusters of unknown blue flowers bloomed in the chill wind.
After walking for about half a day, the sky gradually darkened and the sound of engraving stopped in a valley sheltered from the wind and surrounded by huge rocks. There was a clear stream next to it, which was formed by the melting water from the snow-capped mountains. The gurgling sound was particularly clear in the quiet valley.
"Miss Qing," Shen Juansheng said as he took out a flint and a fire starter from his bag. "Are you tired? Let's rest here today."
Qing Guiyu looked at him, surprised. What was this mastermind, accustomed to a life of luxury, stirring up world affairs with his casual conversation, up to? What was he doing here? She said nothing, simply walked to the stream and looked around. The water was crystal clear, revealing the smooth pebbles at the bottom and a few slender fish that had swum away in a startled swoop.
But the water was too cold, and the fish were swimming too far away, so the golden needle might not reach them. Qing Guiyu pondered for a moment and decided to go back and find a few sharp silver needles.
But when she turned around, a bonfire had already crackled and burned. The orange-red flames dispelled the chill of the valley and illuminated Shen Juansheng's pale and beautiful face.
He sat on a rock, holding a sharpened branch in his hand, and skillfully slid a freshly cleaned fish.
The firelight flickered gently, and his eyes were illuminated by the flames. Young Master Jin Sheng had shed his deliberately contrived air of oppression and extravagance, now dressed only in a neatly lined garment, his long hair tied back with a golden thread, his long-ill figure appearing refined and elegant.
"You..." Qing Guiyu looked him up and down and felt that he was too weird.
Chen Juansheng paused and looked up at her. The firelight in his pupils flickered out a little bit of tiny light.
"This?" He replied softly, smiling faintly, as if he was talking about something very ordinary. "The scrolls in the Tianji Pavilion contain everything. Living alone by the cold pond, thinking too much can really drive you crazy. You have to find something to do."
There are really many things in the mind of Tianji Conspirator, but it is too much to talk about it. It actually makes her feel sad.
She thought that she was really susceptible to this kind of misery, and she didn't know what kind of mood a person would be in when reading those books describing the fireworks and life of the world in a cold prison.
Shen Juansheng stared at her expression for a while, then sighed slightly.
"I lied to you, Miss Qing," he turned his gaze away to look at the sizzling fish on the fire, his voice lowered, "Life in that place is actually not that hard. After all..."
"Since no one comes, no one will leave."
The fish skin was roasted on the fire until it was golden brown and curled up, dripping some fat, which caused it to lightly crackle over the fire, so he handed the roasted fish over.
Qing Guiyu took it doubtfully. The fish was piping hot. She blew on it and took a bite. Since ancient times, the best fish have come from the cold streams of snowy mountains. The fish in cold waters are extremely plump and tender, and the taste is unexpectedly good.
As the night deepens, the mountain wind grows colder.
She thought of Medicine King Valley, then of her junior brother, and then of the chains and ice coffin in the cold prison. She was frightened and couldn't sleep.
So she opened her eyes and saw Chen Juansheng sitting above her in the wind, looking up at the sky.
"I can't sleep." She sat up, "Chen Tianji, why are you not sleeping and guarding this vent? Are you afraid that I will run away?"
"Yeah." A response came from the night.
Qing Guiyu was choked by his straightforward and almost rogue answer.
"If I really wanted to leave," she paused and looked around, "in such a vast expanse of land, do you think you could stop me?"
"I can't stop her," Shen Juan replied quickly, as if he had thought it over long ago. "I've always known Miss Qing's abilities. I think she can't be stopped."
He paused for a moment, finally looking back at her, then quickly lowered his eyes. His drooping eyebrows looked like ripples on water shattered by the wind in the night.
"...But I still want to try."
Shen Juansheng lowered his head, and when he saw that she didn't speak, he suddenly opened his mouth, as if he was afraid that this loneliness would swallow up something.
"Miss Qing, since you can't sleep," he turned his head and smiled at her, "I'll tell you some stories to cheer you up. I've read some storybooks recently, and I still remember them."
He cleared his throat lightly and actually started talking.
"...It is said that the top scholar in the imperial examination rejected the daughter of the prime minister and spent all his family wealth. Finally, under the willow tree, he found the flower girl who had been waiting for him for many years..."
It is indeed a storybook that was popular on the streets of the Southern Dynasties.
He had an amazing memory and could recite the words in the storybook word for word. But all he could tell were old stories about talented men and beautiful women finally getting married, and heroes and chivalrous couples retiring to the mountains.
The stories in these novels are extremely cliché. Qing Guiyu has been a doctor for seven years and has seen a lot of separations and deaths in the world. He just feels that these endings are so perfect that they even seem a bit fake.
But I managed to bear it, because the sound of it was so pleasant, like the sound of a spiritual spring rinsing its water, accompanied by a spring breeze under the eaves.
"...Later, the general returned victorious, retired from the army, and reunited with the young lady from the clinic."
What a coincidence! Isn’t this the storybook she flipped through in the inn the day before yesterday?
"Not quite, not quite?" she asked vaguely. "Didn't the general die for his country?"
"Well," Shen Juansheng turned his head and smiled at her, fire dancing in his eyes, "but this is better."
Young Master Jinsheng had an excellent memory and was eloquent. When he told her a story, he arbitrarily changed the ending of the story one by one. She usually didn't pay much attention to it, and at this time she mostly didn't hear it.
He paused, a blush spreading across his face, and spoke in a softer voice, "If Miss Qing doesn't like to hear this, I... still remember some of 'The Mirror of Romance' and 'The Record of Hehuan'..."
"—That's enough!" Qing Guiyu grabbed a stone and threw it into the fire, sending up a few sparks that interrupted his subsequent nonsense. "That's it!"
She quickly closed her eyes and buried her head in the fox fur. She only heard Shen Ke's voice beside her and laughed softly.
Thanks to these overly smooth and perfect stories, she finally fell asleep out of boredom.
In my dream, I returned to that cold and empty cave. The night pearls on the walls emitted a faint light. What a hellish place this is. It’s so cold, cold to the bone.
At this moment, a cool and soft touch gently fell on her forehead.
Perhaps it is the newly melted snow in the mountains, or perhaps it is the morning dew that has just fallen under the forest.
It is shrouded in a faint, clear and bitter fragrance.
The next morning, Qing Guiyu was awakened by the sound of birds.
She opened her eyes, and the fire was out. Subconsciously, she touched her forehead, but there was nothing there, only the cool mountain air.
As if he heard the noise of someone getting up, Shen Jiansheng turned around.
"Miss Qing." He stood up and walked towards her.
The morning light shone directly upon him, making his already excessively pale face appear even more translucent. The faint light filtered through the gaps between his black hair and the golden threads, casting a pale golden hue all over his body. Only his peach-shaped eyes, shimmering with a layer of mist in the morning light, were visible.
After a night's rest on the grass, dew drenched the trees, and the breeze from the forest floor only made the young man's clothes flutter. Qing Guiyu rubbed his sleepy eyes, thinking to himself, "No wonder the vendors in the market town say there are immortals on the snowy mountains. Isn't this the shape of an immortal? Just add some white clouds and a yellow crane, and it wouldn't be far off."
She had a cheerful personality and was about to praise him when she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound from the distant forest, as if someone was approaching quickly.
Chen Juansheng suddenly came forward, hiding Qing Guiyu behind him, and looked in the direction of the voice.
"Someone is coming." He said in a deep voice, and the warm and gentle aura around him disappeared, replaced by the terrifying and sharp aura of Young Master Jin Sheng.
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