Chapter 31
The fierce winds surging from the icy plains lashed at my face, seeping into my clothes through my collar and raising goosebumps all over my body.
After Ye Mo finished speaking, Yang Yuan finally realized what was happening. She touched her face, and the tears turned into frost that stuck to her face. She then used the warmth of her palm to smooth it over, and the tears instantly melted into water and slid off.
"The An Lushan Rebellion caused me to lose my closest relatives, my dearest friends, my confidants, and the people I cared about most."
Ye Mo took a jade pendant from his pocket and placed it open in his palm.
The shape is that of a ginkgo leaf, with golden tassels hanging from it.
“You all say I am a demon, that I indiscriminately kill the innocent and deserve divine retribution. But how can you know my true nature? If you were to lose your dearest loved one, would you simply watch them die without doing anything?”
"So, is everything you're doing now any way to win them back?" Yang Yuan asked.
Ye Mo clenched the jade pendant into his palm, looked at the icy plains beyond Xiaoyao Peak, and said softly:
"What difference is there between the living and the dead? I know you are just like me."
“Yang Yuan, everyone has a destiny. But it is not cause and effect. Cause and effect have a beginning and an end, but destiny is hard to defy. Since these people’s lives are intertwined with mine, why should we sit idly by and let them become wandering ghosts?”
Yang Yuan was stunned by this sentence and clenched her fist.
"What do you mean?" Yang Yuan asked.
Ye Mo turned around and slowly walked up to her. Yang Yuan looked at her face and for a moment, she seemed to see the person in black armor, with a warm expression on his face, holding a branch of peach blossoms.
Suddenly, the wind blew up snowflakes that hit her face, melting them into water droplets. Drop by drop, the snow soaked her hair and clothes, the cold seeping into her body below her collar. As Yang Yuan came to her senses, Ye Mo walked past her, heading towards the outside of Xiaoyao Peak.
Yang Yuan stretched out her fingers, which were bound by gloves, looked at Ye Mo, and followed him.
"You must also have someone you want to see."
Ye Mo tossed the jade pendant behind him, and Yang Yuan, with her sharp eyes, caught it. Unfolding it, she saw that the pendant was carved with ornate patterns, but the back was blank.
"Your departed loved ones and relatives, those separated by life and death. Don't you want to see them again?"
"A person who saves you from dire straits, saves your life and your future. Gives you light and a future, and promises you the simplest and happiest life."
"So many wonderful memories...don't you want to see him again?"
“I know you’re not heartless, and you understand the principles. So you should try to see things from my perspective and understand me better, instead of standing against me.”
"..."
Yang Yuan fell silent.
Undeniably, she also had someone she longed for. This feeling grew stronger after seeing Ye Mo, like a raging fire about to burst forth from her heart. The calm spring in her heart was stirred by Ye Mo's words.
Ye Mo turned her head to listen to the sounds behind her, but the person didn't say a word or make any decisions. She turned back and continued walking forward.
A moment later, the wind that had been howling from all sides suddenly subsided. Yang Yuan focused her attention and listened carefully; the rustling of the wind through the bamboo leaves had turned into soft breathing. She looked around and saw only a vast expanse of white snow, blending seamlessly with the bamboo forest of Xiaoyao Peak.
The sudden appearance of three or four breaths around her was like drumsticks striking a drum in Yang Yuan's heart. Her sensitivity to sound far surpassed what Jiang Lixue had taught her years ago. Even a fish in the deep sea could sense its movements.
"We've heard the story and seen the things. Now let's get down to business."
Ye Mo turned around, his smile frozen on his face.
“I know what you’re worried about. I killed the person you loved most, betrayed my family and friends, and captured people to make poison, all just to see the wronged souls of the dead. In every respect, I am a person who deserves to die.”
“Killing those girls is a crime I cannot escape, but the blood flowing in their veins means that even if I don’t arrest them, they will still become tools to be used by others in the future, and their fate will be even worse.”
Yang Yuan frowned and slowly reached for the zither behind her back.
"What do you mean?" Yang Yuan asked.
Ye Mo slowly walked over and said to himself:
"Do you know the alchemist?"
Yang Yuan was stunned.
"All things in the world belong to the Five Elements. Everyone is born with their own destiny. Gods, humans, and ghosts are all subject to the cycle of life and death. We all live according to the destiny we were born into."
"But there is a group of people who have broken the rules of Yin and Yang. They can move freely between the human world and hell. These people understand the laws of communicating with ghosts and gods, and can see the deceased and their souls."
"It is said that sorcerers can travel between the human and the mortal world with just spirit-gathering talismans, communicate with the dead, and know whether they were good or bad in life. Heh... But after all these years, I'm afraid no one dares to casually call themselves a sorcerer anymore."
Ye Mo looked at Yang Yuan, who was staring at her as she listened to what she was saying without saying a word, as if she was thinking.
"If you don't believe me, I can take you to meet someone. Whether you choose to join or refuse is entirely up to you."
Yang Yuan realized that these words were not a choice. The assassins who had gathered around her had already made it clear that if she said no, even if she died in this desolate mountain, no one would know her body.
Although Kunlun is the territory of the Valley of Villains, members of the Righteous Alliance still frequently deliver supplies to the stronghold. Asking for help from them is not out of the question, but given her current identity as a member of the Valley of Villains, it's difficult to trust her easily.
"The person you're talking about, is he the one who started this whole thing?" Yang Yuan put her hand back from under the zither, and sure enough, the chaotic breathing around her gradually subsided.
Ye Mo smiled, staring at the ground, and said to her:
"He may not dare to say who started it, but he can't escape being an accomplice."
Ye Min recovered and listened to Jiang Chengfeng's words. His chaotic heart finally calmed down a little. He didn't ask about what happened afterward, which was what worried Jiang Chengfeng.
Keeping it all bottled up inside only makes you feel worse; the more you bottle it up, the more your heart aches.
Ye Min didn't say anything, but waited quietly for Luo Qingyan to bring the medicinal soup. After drinking it, he slept at Jiang Chengfeng's place until it got dark before waking up to leave.
Jiang Chengfeng was the first to stop him, saying that his injuries had not fully healed and that his irregular heartbeat was not good for his health.
Ye Min didn't answer. He simply slung his sword over his shoulder, whistled to summon his horse, and left Tian Ce Mansion alone.
Neither Jiang Chengfeng nor the other could stop them.
After riding for several days, we returned to the mountain villa.
The first person they met was not the boatman who always ferryed people across the gate, but a descendant of Aluling who, though dressed in white Ming Cult attire, looked travel-worn.
Ye Min looked at the person sitting under the tree with his head in his hands from afar. He was surprised, but when he saw that Yang Yuan was not by his side, he realized the seriousness of the situation.
“A-Lu”.
Ye Min walked over, the sound of the jade pendants on his body ringing as he approached. A Lu slowly lowered her hand, stared at the ground for a long time, and then uttered a sentence.
Do you have any wine here?
The two went to a restaurant in the western part of Yangzhou. When the restaurant owner saw Ye Min dressed in gold, silver and jade, he grinned and walked over to greet him. His eyes narrowed into slits as he smiled. He pushed aside the waiter and led the two to a private room upstairs.
Four small dishes to accompany the wine, and two bowls of rice to fill their stomachs. Before the white porcelain wine bottles were even brought in, Ye Min waved his hand and ordered three jars of Daughter's Red wine.
The two didn't even touch their cups or take out their bowls. They tore open the paper bag and devoured a whole jar of food.
Ah Lu grabbed the wine jar and poured it into her mouth, the pungent spiciness stimulating her taste buds. A lot of the wine spilled from her mouth, slid down her face, and dripped onto the ground.
Ye Min held the jar in his arms and brought it to his mouth. He swallowed the mellow aroma of the liquor, while his stomach burned with a spicy sensation.
"Smack—"
Ye Min put down the jar and glanced to the side. A Lu's hand slipped as he put down the jar, and he fell to the ground. He had drunk the entire jar, and his eyes were turning red. His face was like a smoking furnace. He lost his balance and fell to the ground.
"You...you can't drink alcohol...hehehehe...hiccup..."
Ye Min focused his eyes, carefully placed the wine jar on the table, pressed his face close to the table to make sure the jar wouldn't tip over, then stood up, patted his belly which was full of wine, and let out a satisfied burp.
"Alcohol...I want alcohol!!"
With her head spinning, everything looked crooked. Ah Lu tried to turn over and stand up, but as soon as she braced herself with one arm, she lost her balance and fell back down.
“Drink…drink…drink your big head! Hiccup…” Ye Min looked at him, pointed at him and said, “You, you can’t drink but…you dragged me along, you good-for-nothing…hiccup…”
He stepped on his right heel with his left toe and fell forward onto the ground.
“Useless…I am useless…you are!” A-Lu shouted angrily, pointing at the ceiling with her eyes closed.
"You couldn't protect my senior sister, you caused her...she gave her life for you! You...you're the real trash!!"
Upon hearing this, Ye Min suddenly sat up, his feather hair ornaments askew. He stared at the door for a long time before bursting into laughter.
"Hahahaha... Hahahaha! Yes, it was me who ruined her, I caused her to lose her life, all because of me, hahahaha... hiccup, all because of me..."
"Aren't you one too? Heh..."
Ye Min leaned back on the stool, hugging the carved stool just like she had hugged the wine jar earlier, her burning face pressed against the cool stool, smiling foolishly.
"Don't you know why Yang Yuan doesn't like you? You're always clinging to her! I...I'm a man, and I can't stand it anymore, let me tell you, hiccup...like a stalker, who would...like like you! hiccup..."
...
The two men, fueled by alcohol, vented their anger at each other for what others had done to them. Fortunately, they didn't break anything or attract any attention from bystanders. However, the restaurant owner downstairs, who was greeting customers, didn't notice the noisy commotion at all.
Three more guests suddenly arrived downstairs: one man and two women. The man was dressed in white, his black hair tied up with a jade crown, and his handsome face made several passing women blush and whisper among themselves about this elegant gentleman.
Two girls followed behind him. One of them entered and removed her black and gold cloak, revealing golden clothing underneath, clearly a disciple of the Hidden Sword Manor. The other girl was dressed in a red outfit, wearing a bamboo hat that obscured her features. When she turned around, she was still wearing a black veil, and behind her was a seven-stringed zither that emitted a faint glow. She stood behind the white-robed young man and the gold-clad girl, as if she could disappear at any moment.
The man in white placed a bag of silver into the owner's fleshy palm, asked for a private room on the far side, and instructed that he did not need the waiter to serve any dishes, and just wanted to avoid being disturbed by anyone.
Seeing that the young master was generous, the boss's dark eyes darted around in their sockets, his face puffed out with flesh, and he led the three to a private room on the second floor.
"I never imagined that Yangzhou would be so prosperous and beautiful these days. I haven't been back for a few years, and the restaurants have changed so much."
Ye Mo walked to the window, stroked the carved chair, and slowly sat down.
The man in white inspected the entire room, then quietly walked out and closed the door behind him.
“I’ve arranged to meet an old friend over. He knows more about the alchemists. Don’t worry… In fact, you two have met before.”
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