Chapter 11
In Maple Valley, the maple leaves, which had turned red season after season, finally began to wither and turn yellow. Large swaths of leaves, shaped like palms, curled up little by little, like a hand about to clench its fist, only to have its fingers snapped and fall.
The water of Red Leaf Lake was murky and unclear.
A constant flow of fresh water from the source washes away the old traces of the past. But for a land already scarred and battered, the influx of new things only increases the area it has to bear.
This place is not far from the mass grave.
The smell of corpses and ruins was everywhere, though it lessened somewhat near the lake. If you got even a little closer, the thick stench would permeate your body, seeping into your mouth and nose and piercing your brain, making you feel the agony those who died had endured.
Wu Shuang stood here for a long time.
He stood by the lake, dressed in the robes of the Chunyang Palace's Sword Master, his white hair tied up, a long sword slung across his back, arms crossed. His face was expressionless, his complexion as white as snow, his eyes as cold as ice.
"You've arrived."
A voice came from behind.
He didn't answer.
Wu Shuang had always been a man of few words. This had been true from the time his parents sent him to Chunyang Palace to study Taoism as a child. It wasn't that he had nothing to say, but Wu Shuang had always adhered to a principle: too much talk leads to chaos. And chaos leading to mental turmoil will ultimately result in a grave mistake.
"It's been a long time. Daoist, your hair has turned completely white. You look completely different from how you looked when I first met you."
The person behind Wu Shuang spoke softly, and as he walked to Wu Shuang's side, his voice became clearer.
Wu Shuang lowered her eyelashes, gazed at the lake, and remained silent.
It wasn't because he was constantly traveling around that his hair turned completely white. People used to think he was practicing Taoism and would come to him with thousands of taels of gold, asking for a single elixir of immortality.
That wasn't the case. He simply shook his head and refused without a word.
A young boy stood beside him, dressed in white robes trimmed with black silk, a narrow band across his forehead connecting to a silver crown that held his long hair in place. He wore a dark robe over his thin frame. The boy appeared to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a pale face and lackluster lips. His well-defined hands held a black folding fan adorned with large peonies painted in gold thread.
"You were just as taciturn back then. Hua Bieli and Sister Yan would exchange four or five sentences, but you wouldn't utter a single word."
Wu Shuang finally raised her eyelids and said, "Speechless."
"Hahaha! Are you really speechless?"
The young man in brocade robes beside him suddenly laughed, but the unexpected movement made him choke, his face changed, and he coughed violently. He held his chest with one hand and used the other to support himself against a tree trunk.
Wu Shuang turned her head and saw the boy's thin back, but still didn't say a word.
The boy slowly put away his fan, straightened his body, took a few deep breaths, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.
"Maple Valley...this familiar scent is exactly the same as it was back then. I wasn't as useless as I am now, and we were still the same as before. Hua Bieli always pestered you, telling you stories and waiting to see your reaction; Cheng Feng kept clamoring to go to Cangshan and Erhai to dig horse grass; Qingyan nagged about us like an old woman; Fang Lin kept teaching Yue'er to ride a horse—she was always so obedient, to everything; and Li..."
The boy suddenly froze, watching the maple leaves fall, as if he saw that person, dressed in red and silver armor, with his long hair tied up with a crown, holding a long spear, walking forward with his back to him without looking back.
"Maple Valley has been in turmoil lately. The Red-Clothed Cult has invaded the Central Plains, causing widespread chaos. As a soldier of the Tian Ce Mansion, I hold this spear in my hand and protect the Tang Dynasty. It is only natural that I must eliminate these scourges."
"Don't worry, it won't be long. Go to the peach tree in Zailai Town where we met and wait for me. I'll be back soon."
Maple leaves brushed past his eyes. The boy closed his eyes, and after a long while, he opened them again.
"Wu Shuang, do you not want to tell me, or are you simply unwilling to tell me?"
He is dead.
“I know that! You don’t need to remind me again and again! He’s dead, I know he’s dead! Even his body wasn’t intact when he died!”
The boy turned around and roared at Wu Shuang.
Wu Shuang finally couldn't bear to see the boy like this anymore and closed her eyes.
The boy took slow, deliberate breaths, trying to calm himself. He closed his eyes, then opened them again, and pulled on his black hood.
"Don't think you'll be safe just because you didn't tell me. I'll always find a way to find out where that sorcerer is."
Wu Shuang heard footsteps fading into the distance, crunching over dead maple leaves. He opened his eyes, hearing the sound of water flowing gently beside him, his vision reflecting the murky color of the lake.
Wu Shuang raised her head, and a lamp slowly floated out beside her, emitting a faint blue light, as deep as a whirlpool that would draw you in.
Yang Yuan sat at the table, holding a bowl in one hand and picking up food with the other, putting it into her mouth while staring at the food in the bowl as she chewed.
Today is different; she has someone to eat with.
Ge Yue's father worked in a merchant caravan. He had transported grain and vegetables to Kunlun and the Central Plains. He knew that his daughter admired the Ming Cult disciples. Originally, he lived in the desert and only stayed near Bright Peak. He never refused his daughter's or the Ming Cult disciples' requests.
So today, Ah Lu steamed a fish for her.
The fish scales were scraped clean, the gills and belly were cleaned, ginger and scallions were stuffed inside, and salt was rubbed on its body. The steam brought out the freshness of the whole fish, and she could smell the aroma even through the door before it was brought in.
A-Lu and Ge-Yue also sat around the table, picking up food and eating. At first, Yang Yuan was curious why they were using chopsticks, but her curiosity was quickly overwhelmed by hunger, and she drooled as she looked at the food.
Yang Yuan picked up a piece and put it in her mouth. The firm and delicious fish meat was very chewy, and her saliva kept flowing as she ate it. The ingredients were all just right, and there was no fishy taste.
While eating, she secretly raised her eyes to peek at Ah Lu.
The broad shoulders and narrow waist typical of men are even more pronounced in people from the Western Regions. A-Lu's skin was naturally dark, but a healthy tan. He wore the attire of a Ming Cult disciple, revealing a large expanse of skin. Yang Yuan noticed that although his hair wasn't long, it was neatly tied up.
"What's wrong?"
Yang Yuan snapped out of her daze, blinked, and noticed that A Lu and Ge Yue were both looking at her.
Ah Lu's heterochromatic eyes stared at her, his gaze clear and unambiguous on her face.
Stared at by those eyes, Yang Yuan's face turned as red as a steamed fish.
"N-nothing...it's nothing." She hurriedly lowered her head and started eating the rice in her bowl. Ah Lu picked up a piece of fish and put it in her bowl.
"The rice is delicious, sweet and sticky. No wonder people in the Central Plains like it so much."
Ge Yue, with food still in her mouth, said before she had finished chewing, "What's so delicious about it? It's clearly..."
*Smack*
Ah Lu fed her a bite of food.
"Eat fish, fish is delicious."
I've been here for about half a month, and life has been the same ever since.
Yang Yuan stayed in the room, finding it mostly boring. She couldn't go anywhere else; she was confined to the room.
Ah Lu also stood guard at the door without leaving her side. Not for any other reason than to ensure her safety before the 'delivery'. The number of men in black who had appeared before had decreased recently, but they couldn't let their guard down.
After finishing his meal, A-Lu tidied up the dishes and was about to leave when Yang Yuan grabbed his collar, causing A-Lu to stop in his tracks.
He turned around, and Yang Yuan immediately let go of his hand.
"What's wrong?"
Yang Yuan clutched her skirt, looked down for a long time, and then looked up at him.
"I...can I...go for a walk..."
Ah Lu just looked at her without saying a word.
“I… I was brought here, and I don’t know what you’re going to do with me. You didn’t kill me, but you didn’t abandon me either, and you bring me food every day. I know you won’t tell me even if I ask, but… I know it will cause you trouble.”
Ah Lu glanced at her.
"You didn't speak or respond to me before, were you afraid?" he asked.
Yang Yuan hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
"What are you afraid of?"
A-Lu put down the plate, and Yang Yuan instinctively grabbed her clothes and took a few steps back.
Ah Lu pursed her lips knowingly.
“I know what you’re worried about. You’re afraid I’ll take you to this desert and kill you, leaving you a mangled corpse, so no one will even know who you are or how you died. Right?”
Yang Yuan stood still, her hands clenched into fists behind her skirt.
Having her thoughts read, Yang Yuan remained silent. She simply pursed her lips and stared at the floral rug on the floor.
"I wonder, with so much to worry about, don't you feel tired?"
Yang Yuan suddenly raised her head and looked at him.
A-Lu crossed her arms, looking at her with a smile on her face.
“If you were really scared, you wouldn’t have accepted the food I brought you in the first place. The reason you accepted it is because you no longer care about life or death. Because you didn’t know if I had poisoned it, yet you still chose to drink that bowl of porridge.”
Yang Yuan lowered her head and offered no further explanation.
He was right, so there was no need for me to say anything more.
Ah Lu picked up the plate, turned around, and was about to leave. She turned back and said:
"I'll ask Ge Yue to fetch some water for you. There are some clothes to change into in the wardrobe. I'll come and get you in an hour."
"Don't you want to go out? I'll take you."
After changing into clothes from the wardrobe, Yang Yuan stood in front of the bronze mirror and looked at herself.
Her black hair was tied back, and she had changed into a more fitted outfit. The clothes were dark red with black embroidered edges, making her look much more energetic.
"Are you done? I'm coming in."
A-Lu knocked on the door, pushed it open, and saw Yang Yuan suddenly stand up from the stool, looking at him helplessly.
He looked him up and down and smiled.
"It looks pretty good."
He stood up and said, "Come on, I'll take you somewhere!"
Yang Yuan, who had never ridden a camel before, was initially startled by the strange creature. She clutched her clothes tightly and shuffled away, refusing to mount it. The driver looked helplessly at A Lu, who was all smiles. The latter patted him on the shoulder and asked him for a horse.
"Can you ride a horse?" Ah Lu asked.
Yang Yuan nodded quickly.
Upon receiving a response, Ah Lu lifted her up, leaped onto his horse, and rode away.
The flowers of the Three Lives Tree are blooming beautifully.
Yang Yuan stepped across the sand and followed A Lu to a huge tree. The trunk would require at least four or five adults to stretch their arms to encircle it—but that might not be the case; the roots must have been completely embedded in the soil, which was not visible from the surface, but if dug out, it would be at least a dozen feet below the ground.
Yang Yuan looked up at the towering trees, and lotus petals drifted slowly down in the wind. She reached out to catch them, but just as she was about to touch them, the petals playfully twirled and flew away to another place.
Yang Yuan wasn't annoyed. Along the way, she saw a huge, bright moon, radiating a cool, clear light. The moon's outline was faintly visible beneath the mountain peaks, never fully appearing before her eyes. Occasionally, for a fleeting moment, she was bathed in moonlight, so captivated that she reached out to catch it.
Look, the moon is so cool, yet the temperature on my fingertips feels warm.
A-Lu stood beside the horse, watching the moonlight cast a soft glow on her face. Her fair complexion, pale eyes, and an unusually calm expression in her brows made him feel momentarily dazed.
A butterfly landed on her shoulder, fluttered its wings, and gradually came to a stop.
Yang Yuan looked at the Three Lives Tree with its branches full of blossoms, then turned to him and asked, "What's the name of this tree?"
Alu approached and said, "The Three-Life Tree."
He walked up behind her and asked:
"And what's your name?"
Yang Yuan turned to look at him, her eyes filled with an emotion that A Lu had never seen before.
"Yang Yuan".
Suddenly, the butterfly on Yang Yuan's shoulder took flight, drawing the attention of both of them. The butterfly flew past the falling petals, disappearing further and further into the moonlight.
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