Chapter 27
The unrest in Taiyuan wasn't major, but it wasn't minor either; you could always see Cangyun Army soldiers fleeing. Yang Yuan could smell the blood in the air as she brushed past those clad in black armor.
During her few days in Taiyuan, Alu encountered all sorts of people. She noticed that Yang Yuan would always go to the rooftop of a building in the city, regardless of whether it was raining or sunny.
At first, he didn't know what she was waiting for, but every time he saw people moving around in the city, she would stare intently at them without looking away.
One sunny day, Ah Lu hid in front of her for a long time, watching her intently observing the movements in the city. Following her gaze, he finally discovered what she was looking at.
Aside from the Five Poisons disciples who came from Miao territory, there were also disciples from the Changge Sect dressed in green silk skirts.
A-Lu wasn't surprised; he knew all the things she cared about perfectly well.
Yang Yuan still can't believe her mother is dead. She seems to see her mother's shadow in those Five Poisons female disciples.
Seeing her pale face regain some color as she searched for these figures, I felt a sense of relief, but also a pang of self-reproach.
Perhaps it was fate's arrangement. If he hadn't followed Yita into the Hidden Origin Society, hadn't met the man in black, and hadn't taken on these matters of the martial world, he might not have met her and caused her to lose so much.
Ah Lu had so much she wanted to tell Yang Yuan.
Don't try to be strong, I'm here with you.
Don't worry, everything will be alright.
However, when the words came out, they turned into unfounded concern.
Yang Yuan was all too aware of A Lu's thoughts. He always added a small dish to her meals. Thanks to the help of the Jiangnan Ye family trading company, Taiyuan's resources became more abundant. Sometimes it was white fungus and lotus seed soup, sometimes it was red date porridge. One day, while resting in his room, the waiter suddenly knocked on the door and brought in a large bowl of black chicken soup.
Yang Yuan knew that A Lu wanted her forgiveness.
However, some things can't be put into words just by being spoken. She still couldn't accept it, nor could she stop A-Lu from doing it.
Their relationship seemed calm on the surface, yet it was turbulent beneath.
One morning, a strange thing happened in the city.
The two originally planned to leave the city, but no sooner had they left Taiyuan than they were drawn to the sounds of fighting that suddenly came from inside the city.
When the two rushed back, they found that it was the Five Poisons Girl they had met in Yangzhou City.
This person was covered in scars, with hundreds of large and small, razor-sharp cuts all over her body. Dark red blood was flowing from her wounds, and she had lost consciousness due to excessive blood loss. Judging from her appearance, she had come to evade capture, but upon entering the city, she was spotted by someone dressed in white Night Slash clothing and severely injured.
A figure appeared on a distant rooftop. The person was dressed in a tight-fitting blue-black outfit, with black hair tied up high, and held a Thousand-Mechanism Box in their hand. Their face was covered by a mask, so their expression could not be seen.
Yang Yuan glanced at him, then turned around, mounted her horse, and called for A Lu to leave.
As soon as A-Lu turned his back, he heard the sound of a machine gun being loaded behind him, followed by a sharp, piercing sound of flesh being pierced, accompanied by a scream that startled the birds in the forest.
This person is the one who swapped skins with Ai Yi.
A-Lu felt no sympathy. Once she learned that A-Lu had colluded with the Tianyi Sect for Ai-Yi's sake, she could no longer feel any pity.
She is the true daughter of the Minister of the Imperial Treasury, "Liang Siqing".
Because A-Lu and Yang Yuan came from the Valley of Villains, they received many rumors in the martial arts world.
It is said that after Liang Siqing and Ai Yi swapped skins in Miao territory, Liang Siqing's body could not withstand the skin and flesh that Ai Yi had been using to refine Gu poison for many years, and large and small corpse spots appeared on his body. These spots could not be removed by medicine.
The Tianyi Sect only agreed to let her capture those Five Poisons disciples, but did not promise to continue her life. They had their own plans for the corpses of those Five Poisons disciples, and secretly took them away, abandoning Liang Siqing who was suffering from the Gu worms and was in a state of unbearable pain.
Liang Siqing's symptoms worsened day by day, and her first thought was to seek help from the Five Poisons Sect. Unexpectedly, on her way to the treehouse, she encountered Tang Yu, who was visiting Alena.
Tang Yu used his light-footed skill to land on the treetop and watched as someone resembling Ai Yi stumbled and ran towards the treehouse, feeling somewhat puzzled. She was wearing a long robe, and the rapid running had quickly depleted her stamina. When she leaned against the tree trunk to rest, the sharp-eyed Tang Yu noticed the stitches on her exposed arm.
This person isn't Ai Yi, so why is she so badly injured? Was she surrounded and attacked by the Tianyi Sect? And she didn't have her weapon with her; did she lose it?
Tang Yu asked himself this question, and in a flash, he hid in a tall tree, watching her movements.
Liang Siqing had just arrived at the treehouse when she collapsed from exhaustion on the ladder. The Five Poisons disciples around her were about to help her up when Tang Yu immediately rushed forward and stopped them all.
"This person is strange. I just saw her coming from the territory of the Tianyi Sect. It's best if everyone doesn't approach her casually."
Tang Yu came out without changing into civilian clothes. Seeing his Tang Clan attire, several Five Poisons disciples became wary of him.
Tang Yu then realized that the feud between the Tang Clan and the Five Poisons Sect had never been resolved. Just as he was about to explain, a disciple of the Five Poisons Sect blocked him at the door with a palm strike.
"Since she is wearing the clothes I taught her and has come to my territory for help, there must be a reason. As a member of the Tang Clan, you'd better not get involved."
Knowing the outcome of his explanation, Tang Yu had no choice but to leave immediately and return to Tangjiabao to discuss with Tang Xiaoye what to do.
Tang Xiaoye sent a message to Alena, urging her to be careful. When he arrived at the bamboo house the next day, he only found Alena, who had been beaten and was unconscious, and a leftover box.
Tang Yu remembered the box; inside was a Gu flute. Alena had secretly hidden that flute from Ai Yi, saying it was part of Ai Yi's dowry when she grew up and got married.
Tang Xiaoye and Tang Yu immediately launched a search in the Five Poisons region. They had to find this ungrateful wretch; now that she had a weapon, she would be even more difficult to deal with. However, the Five Poisons region was so vast—where could they possibly begin their search?
Just then, Tang Xiaoye suddenly remembered the Central Plains woman Ai Yi had once rescued. That little girl had also disappeared while attacking the Five Poisons Sect with the Tianyi Sect. After thinking it over, she took Tang Yu and the two of them headed towards Chengdu Prefecture. As expected, they met Liang Siqing on the way to Guangdu Town.
The two men's deadly arrows were aimed solely at Liang Siqing. One struck her squarely in the shoulder, and the other pierced her calf. Seeing the newcomer fall to the ground, Tang Yu, holding the Thousand-Mechanism Box, was about to rush over and finish her off when Tang Xiaoye stopped him.
Struggling to pull out the arrow, Liang Siqing glanced at the two men's attire, understood immediately, and asked in a hoarse voice:
"You two are smarter than those fools, chasing me all the way from the Five Poisons Sect. But even if you find me, what then?"
Seeing this, Tang Xiaoye asked, seemingly unrelated to the question:
Do you remember a girl named Ai Yi, who was a member of the Five Poisons Clan?
Liang Siqing smiled, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and took advantage of the moment to play the flute. A melody of illusion and poison froze the two of them.
"Ai? Oh, that scumbag. If it weren't for her, I'd still be enjoying this beautiful appearance, instead of being tormented by you rats!"
Tang Xiaoye asked again:
"Then why did you hurt Alena?"
Liang Siqing lowered her head, trembling as she pulled out the sharp arrow that had pierced her flesh, and tore off her skirt to tie it to her leg.
"Ha...that woman is no good either! I ordered her to develop an antidote for the Gu poison, and she actually destroyed it. She's utterly ungrateful, that damned thing, and she even injured me!"
Tang Xiaoye stood in front of Tang Yu, and heard the clattering sound of the Thousand Machine Box that Tang Yu was squeezing.
"Hmph, we'll be in Chengdu soon anyway. All I have to do is report to the Hidden Yuan Martial Guard, and you two will be just like that bastard, going to hell to die together!"
Despite her wounds, Liang Siqing turned and ran towards Chengdu. The time for the Illusion Gu had just expired. Before Tang Xiaoye could set off, a snap of fingers and a clang came from behind her. A shadow flashed past her, and Liang Siqing was struck in the chest from behind by an arrow. She stared stiffly at the large hole in her chest and fell straight to the ground.
Tang Xiaoye turned to look at Tang Yu, who was surrounded by internal energy, and the Thousand Machine Box in his hand was emitting blue smoke. Tang Yu lowered his head, his chest rising and falling with his breath.
Tang Xiaoye patted his shoulder and said that she would go back and check on Alena first, and that he should know how to handle the situation.
Liang Siqing thought she could escape the pursuit by hiding in the main city, but little did she know that a bounty had been placed on her head by Lingxue Pavilion. Tang Yu's arrow didn't kill her, but it left her half-crippled. Outside, Liang Siqing was spotted by people from Evil Valley and Haoqi Alliance, who also surrounded and chased her; inside, she was captured by Tang Yu and his men and tortured to the point of wishing she were dead.
Tang Xiaoye then realized that Tang Yu wasn't stupid; it's just that if you push him to his limit, he'll make you experience unbearable pain.
Just like you might think the crocodile shed tears, it was only to catch the unfortunate soul who was overflowing with pity.
Tang Yu turned his head and saw A Lu, took off his mask, smiled and mouthed a sentence:
Be careful in everything.
A-Lu nodded in response, mounted her horse, and caught up with Yang Yuan.
Tang Yu brought back the mask and darted through the crowd.
Yang Yuan rode her horse, took out a map from her bundle, and looked down to check the itinerary.
"I received a wedding invitation from Alena yesterday, asking when we'd be free to visit the Five Poisons."
A-Lu touched the package, took out a letter, and handed it to her.
“If you want to go, then go,” Yang Yuan replied.
A-Lu looked at Yang Yuan and said, "Let's go together."
Yang Yuan paused as she took the letter, then immediately lowered her gaze. The two of them, standing just two horses' distance apart, held the letter, nearly tearing it in two.
Ah Lu stared at her for a long time before finally letting go. Turning to her, she jokingly said:
"But since they're getting married, and Tang Yu is still in Taiyuan, the journey back is quite long. If he's too late, Alena might have to cancel the engagement, haha!"
Yang Yuan's tense expression relaxed slightly. She opened the envelope, read it, and then put it back.
"Since they've made their decision, it's fate. Fate can't be forced, so let's wish them well," Yang Yuan said, bowing her head to put the map back in her bag.
As A-Lu listened to her words, her leather gloves were soaked through with sweat from her palms.
He smiled and turned to look at Yang Yuan, inquiring about the upcoming itinerary.
"Let's go to Xinghua Village first. An old friend of mine made an appointment with us a few days ago and is waiting for us there."
Ah Lu asked in confusion, "Is something the matter?"
Yang Yuan lowered her eyebrows.
"The owner of the jade pendant has been found."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com