The sound gradually faded away. His body had already lost its temperature, and it seemed that his blood was about to run out. There was no strength left in his limbs.
Suddenly, a loud bang was heard in my ears. He looked up and saw Yuejiu struggling to push upwards, hitting the ice above with his head again and again.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sound was like muffled thunder, striking his heart again and again. Blood flowed down the young guard's cheeks, but soon dissolved in the water.
Yuejiu’s face was whiter than snow, and his lips were colorless, like a ghost that had just crawled out of a grave. He paddled hard, his hands and feet were stiff, but he kept repeating the action, so powerfully, again and again...
At that moment, it was as if a gap appeared in the dark clouds, and a bright ray of sunlight pierced into his heart, and he suddenly woke up. They were his subordinates, who had been in his family since they were four years old. It had always been their duty to die for him, and he had never thought there was anything wrong with it. But at that moment, he remembered a sentence that the girl had said to him a long time ago. The girl had a beautiful face, looked at him coldly, and said in a deep voice, "No one is born a slave."
No one is born a slave...
With a bang, a stream of blood suddenly splashed. Even in the water, he could still smell the hot smell of blood.
His body was suddenly full of strength again. He swam forward and pushed away Yue Jiu, whose head was covered in blood. He held Chu Qiao's dagger in his hand and dug hard again and again.
"I can't die!" he whispered to himself, "I can't die, I still have many wishes to fulfill."
His lungs seemed to be about to explode, his body was frozen, and his wounds were grimacing with blood and flesh, but he was still mechanically struggling for survival.
I can't die! I can't die! I can't die!
Bang! The entire ice layer shattered, and the huge buoyancy immediately dragged him up. The sunlight was dazzling, and the fresh air rushed towards him. He breathed in big gulps, wishing he could take out his lungs.
"Yuejiu!" he shouted loudly, "We are saved!"
He looked around but couldn't see Yuejiu. He dived into the water again, diving deeper and deeper, and finally found Yuejiu's body at the bottom of the lake.
The young swordsman was covered in wounds, his face was blue, his eyes were wide open, and his hair was disheveled and covered in blood. He dragged Yuejiu up with great effort, then pressed hard on the guard's chest, rubbed his face and hands, and shouted loudly: "Wake up! I command you! Wake up!"
Zhuge Yue had never cried so wantonly in his life, but that day, he cried for a family slave, crying like a wolf in the vast wilderness.
Three days later, he finally met Yue Qi, who had survived the disaster.
The loyal guards, along with the remaining Moon Guards lurking in Yanbei, had been searching for him near Chishui for three days. More than twenty guards had frozen to death while searching in the lake.
Then, they sent him to Wolong Mountain while he was dying. Half a year later, he finally recovered, but his future was shattered.
That morning, he sat for a long time facing the information handed back by Yue Qi and others, from sunrise to sunset. The teacher walked in, looked at the Simon map hanging in front of him, and asked calmly, "Where are you going?"
This hadn’t happened for many years. He looked up and said blankly, “Teacher, I have nowhere to go.”
The old man with white hair and beard smiled kindly, then stretched out his slender hand and smashed the Simon Continent on the map with one palm, and said quietly: "Since there is no road, open up a road yourself."
He looked in confusion. Daxia, Yanbei, Bian Tang, and Huai Song were all shattered by the teacher's palm. The map became a big empty hole. Only the Quanrong outside the Great Wall, the sea in the southeast, and the vast expanse in the west were left.
"Child, there are always people who are better than you. How do you know that this map can only be drawn this big?"
The next morning, he received another piece of news that Meng Feng was finally tried by the Dali Court last month. Now that the charges have been finalized, he has been exiled to Qinghai and is probably already at Cuiwei Pass.
The light and shadow of the years turned into a luxurious scene on the road ahead. In those dark and cold days, the scimitar in his hand kept swinging, emitting a strong and sharp arc of light, struggling tenaciously towards the throat of fate again and again. Warm blood covered his eyes, but he saw the true meaning of life from the thick blood.
The next morning, a Zhenhuang post horse suddenly rushed into Zhuge Yue's villa. The messenger's face was covered with dust from the travels, his lips were chapped, and his cloak was full of yellow sand when he shook it.
Everyone looked unhappy. Chu Qiao suddenly understood something, stood up quietly and left the dining room.
Half an hour later, Zhuge Yue was about to leave.
Chu Qiao accompanied him all the way to the post road outside the north city gate. The weather was a little chilly, and Chu Qiao wore a green cloak. A circle of white fur surrounded her smooth, fair face, making her look clean, elegant, and very beautiful.
When they arrived at Shili Pavilion, Yue Qi and the others tactfully retreated, leaving only the two of them. Zhuge Yue dismounted without saying a word, and Chu Qiao followed behind him. Outside the pavilion, weeds grew everywhere, the pillars were painted, and the plaque was crooked, making it look desolate and dilapidated.
"I'm leaving." Zhuge Yue turned around, looked at her quietly, and said in a calm tone.
"Oh." Chu Qiao nodded, "Be careful on the road."
Zhuge Yue frowned slightly. They seemed to always be like this. After the excitement of reunion faded, they became more distant and cold. It seemed that no one knew how to get along with the other and could only say some useless polite words.
"Where are you going after I leave?"
"Me? Maybe. I need to go to Bian Tang first."
"Then what?"
“Then?” Chu Qiao frowned slightly, thought for a long time, and then suddenly smiled, “I don’t know either. Maybe I’ll walk around and see where the food is delicious or the scenery is beautiful, and then stop and stay for a while. Who knows?”
A gust of wind blew, and there was a crisp sound. Chu Qiao and Zhuge Yue looked up at the same time, only to see that there was actually a string of wind chimes hanging on such a shabby pavilion. After years of exposure to wind and rain, the color had faded, but the sound was still clear and pleasant, and a string of bells rang wherever the wind blew.
"Will you go to Yanbei?"
Chu Qiao smiled quietly, "I have lived in that place for many years, and I have seen almost all the scenery there is to see. Besides, my health is not good now, and I can't stand the cold in the north. I may not even dare to go to Daxia Zhenhuang."
Zhuge Yue nodded, as if he understood something, his movements became a little stiff, and some words that had long been lingering in his heart could no longer be uttered.
These days that are like blooming flowers on the sea are ultimately a dreamy mirage that will shatter as time passes. Everything is out of place. Even standing here at this moment feels like a forced helplessness. Everything is destined, just like the sand in your hand. The harder you try to hold it, the faster you lose it.
He raised his foot and was about to walk out, his face still aloof and cold, and he was unwilling to say even one more word.
“Zhuge Yue!”
The woman's hurried voice suddenly sounded behind him. Her hands were so small and cold. She grasped the corner of his clothes tightly, revealing a very familiar stubbornness.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice choking with sobs, "I thought I would never have the chance to tell you again in this life, God bless you, finally you are safe." Chu Qiao smiled slightly, "Zhuge Yue, my life has been full of ups and downs. I have done many things and walked many paths. Some were right, some were wrong, but I never regretted it. I can see my heart clearly and don't owe anyone, but only you, I owe too much and can't repay. Now that you have returned safely, I should have been by your side and spent my whole life to repay your kindness, but now I am no longer the same person I was before. After all I have experienced, I no longer have the courage to get involved. In the battle of Yanbei, General Xiu Li died, and the one who survived was just an ordinary woman who had lost her dream. I no longer have the ability to stand by your side."
The wind chimes are still jingling in my ears, time freezes at this moment, and the cycle of fate is like a mocking face, sneering at the powerlessness of the world.
Chu Qiao suddenly opened her arms and approached him from behind. She put her fingers through the man's arms, her snow-white skin brushed against the soft silk on his body, and the gold embroidery caressed her fair wrist. The wind was very calm. She gradually closed her hands and tightened them in front of him. Then she took small steps forward and slowly pressed her cheek against his back.
A tear rolled down from the corner of his eye and landed on his navy blue clothes, leaving a wet pattern.
“Zhuge Yue, I’m sorry.” His voice was so low, like a child crying quietly in the howling north wind.
Suddenly, a flurry of light snow fell from the sky. It melted before it hit the ground, but it fell on their shoulders and piled up quietly.
Their skins were touching and their breathing could be heard. This was the first time she took the initiative to hug him. The years passed between them like running water, and so many scenes came and went quietly. Fate played a joke on them from the very beginning. After so many twists and turns, they have finally reached this distance today. The dust of time has covered their faces, the bloody storm has gone, but the shackles of fate are still locked on them.
Pale birds flew across the sky, their wings sweeping across the end of the horizon. They formed into a long row and flew south in a winding manner. Gradually, they went farther and farther, and no trace of them could be seen anymore.
The hug finally ended, and Chu Qiao pulled her hand back little by little. His clothes were very cold, chilling her fingers, but his back was still straight, as if nothing in the world could defeat him. He was still so handsome and tall, and his back exuded a cold aura that almost froze the air around him.
Suddenly, there was nothing between her arms. Chu Qiao pursed her lips and forced a faint smile, "Take care."
With a whoosh, a gust of wind suddenly blew from afar, and the wind chimes swung and tinkled, making a very lively sound.
Zhuge Yue walked out of the Ten Mile Pavilion, his expensive boots stepping on the withered and yellowed wormwood. The grass clippings were broken off and lay limply on the ground, and the roots were broken when the wind blew.
He jumped onto the horse's back. The Moon Guards raised their whips and the sound of spurring the war horses came. The horses' hooves flew up, shattering the tranquility of the post road. The long cloaks fluttered like battle flags, whistling towards the north full of noise and challenges.
He never looked back, still as handsome and proud as ever, with his back straight and tall. He sat on horseback, wearing a green fur coat and black hair like ink. He rode into the cold wind, getting farther and farther away, galloping all the way, and finally disappeared in the rolling yellow sand, and his shadow could no longer be seen.
The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the end of the road was covered in white. The dead grass on both sides was picked up by the wind and swirled on the ground, and no one knew where it was blown to.
Chu Qiao suddenly remembered that a long time ago, on the Yanbei Plateau, she and the Xiu Li Army were framed by Cheng Yuan and fell into the encirclement of Da Xia.
That night, she also stared at his back quietly, watching him disappear little by little on the vast snowfield. That time, he did not look back, but walked very slowly, leading the horse, wearing a heavy fur coat. There was heavy snow falling from the sky, falling on his eyelashes, and it was so cold that he wanted to cry.
In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed.