The end of the world is just around the corner
The autumn wind, swirling with dust, blew against him, like thin blades scraping against his skin, a pain that was omnipresent yet not unbearable. Crossing the Gobi Desert and entering the territory of Xizhou, Su Musong was swept by the strong northwest wind, and he recalled the time he had passed by this place on his way from Shenghuang to Luzhou after learning of the Xiao family's misfortune.
Ten years seems as short as a moment, yet as long as several lifetimes.
Is Luo Chen really still alive?
Su Musong couldn't help but ask himself in his heart.
Must still be alive.
Why would a bandit leader from a remote border area pretend to be a criminal who had been executed ten years ago?
But if that person is really Luo Chen, why hasn't there been a single word from him in the past ten years? How could he bear to have no news from him for ten years?
Su Musong was troubled by these problems along the way, and he was eager to rush to Xizhou, so he hardly slept. When he arrived in Xizhou, he scared Xun Molin who was patrolling at the east city gate. The Su Musong in front of him was even more embarrassed than Su Mufeng who rushed over from Yongjing after hearing that Prince Ding was missing. Therefore, his worry was greater than his surprise.
"Take me to see Mu Feng."
Su Musong went straight to the point without even a word of courtesy, which surprised Xun Molin. However, since Brother Musong, who was usually calm and composed, was so anxious, it must be something big. Xun Molin did not ask any more questions and brought the man directly to Su Mufeng and Prince Ding who were on patrol.
Su Mufeng knew that his elder brother would take action after receiving his letter, but he did not expect Su Musong to come in person, and to come so quickly. He also traveled day and night to rush to Xizhou. Seeing his elder brother with disheveled hair, bruised eyes and bleeding hands, he knew what position the leader of Qingzhu Village held in his heart.
"Where is he?"
Su Musong asked this question without hesitation.
Su Mufeng listened to his elder brother's hoarse voice and looked at his figure that needed the support of Xun Molin to stand steady. He couldn't help feeling sad. In his impression, his elder brother was the most handsome and romantic young master Su in Kyoto. When had he ever looked so embarrassed?
"He's fine, big brother, you take a rest first. I'll take you to see him in two days."
"Take me there now."
This was the first time in all these years that Su Mufeng heard his elder brother speak to him in such an unyielding tone. But even so, Su Musong's current condition was indeed not suitable for him to go to Qingzhu Village.
While Su Mufeng was hesitating, Prince Ding Yuwen Ye behind him knocked Su Musong down with a knife.
"Your Majesty, what are you doing..."
Xun Molin was bewildered. He had no idea why Su Musong had suddenly appeared in Xizhou, nor could he understand who Su Musong was going to see, let alone why Prince Ding had knocked Su Musong unconscious. However, Su Mufeng had clearly understood Prince Ding's intentions. The two of them carried the unconscious Su Musong onto their horses and brought him back to the general's residence for rest.
In order to allow Su Musong to rest well, Su Mufeng fed him tranquilizers for three consecutive days. After this treatment, Su Musong woke up feeling healthy, but the urge to immediately find Xiao Luochen had disappeared, replaced by worry and fear.
"Is Luo Chen blaming me for not saving him back then? Is he blaming me for not avenging him? Is he blaming me for not finding him all these years? Is he blaming me for not keeping my promise? Is he blaming me for not continuing his ambitions? Has he already found someone to spend his life with? Then why am I, who arrived ten years late, showing up here?"
Although Su Musong had countless questions in his mind, he said nothing, so what fell into Su Mufeng's eyes was a terrifying scene. He looked at his elder brother who was taciturn and could only sit there, and felt very nervous. This elder brother was completely different from the elder brother he knew. For this reason, he repeatedly checked the prescription of the tranquilizer he had written, and confirmed that there was indeed no problem with the medicine. Only then did he feel a little relieved, but he still didn't understand why his elder brother had changed so much. In the end, it was Prince Ding's words "Maybe he is homesick" that made him feel at ease.
Su Musong seemed to have wrapped himself in a cocoon, isolating himself from everything in the outside world. Even when Xun Molin came to say goodbye to him, he seemed not to hear it, not to mention the battle situation outside Xizhou City.
A few days ago, because Xiao Luochen agreed to let them pass through, Xiangping's army was able to form a siege and severely damage Hanyun. Now Hanyun is holding on to the city and waiting for reinforcements. Xun Molin led his troops to besiege Dancheng, but failed to take it. Prince Ding has also led his troops to support. If the Hanyun army in Dancheng is allowed to wait for rescue, then there will be another big battle, and the outcome of the subsequent battle will be unpredictable.
Since Su Mufeng had arrived in Xizhou, there was no reason to give up halfway. He had to help the army win and return triumphantly. Although he was concerned about the war, he still had Prince Ding and Xun Molin on the front lines, and Su Musong's situation was even more worrying. He didn't know when his open-minded and playful eldest brother would return, so all he could do was stay by his side and tell him in detail how he had met Xiao Luochen and recognized him.
"This is such a coincidence. Before Prince Ding went on his expedition, you remember, I specifically asked you for the pigeon loft map between Xizhou and Dancheng. In fact, I not only gave him that, but also Mu Liu's seal."
At this point, Su Mufeng looked at Su Musong with some guilt. Each of the four brothers and sisters of the Su family had one seal, which could mobilize the manpower and financial resources of the Su family. Su Mufeng gave the seal to Prince Ding, which meant that he did not regard him as an outsider at all.
Although Su Mufeng had justified himself at the time by saying that the purpose of doing so was simply to help Prince Ding win the battle so that he could quickly obtain Mu Liu's divorce letter and end his embarrassing situation of being a substitute bride, but if he asked himself honestly, he could not answer with certainty that there was no affection for Prince Ding involved.
Fortunately, Su Musong did not react at this time, so Su Mufeng continued to speak with peace of mind.
"Later, I got the news that Prince Ding had gone out of town to investigate, but he fell off a cliff and his whereabouts are unknown. So he asked Mu Liu to return to Prince Ding's mansion and be his consort again. I then rushed to Xizhou to find Prince Ding. At first, I couldn't find him. Then, a hunter came to our shop with Mu Liu's seal to pawn it. The pawnshop told me the news, and I went to the hunter's house, and that's how I found Prince Ding."
"It turned out that Prince Ding had lost his memory. The hunter had a daughter who insisted that Prince Ding was her husband and held him captive, refusing to release him. He also had a group of bandits helping him. I couldn't defeat so many bandits alone, but fortunately, I used my eloquence to convince the bandits to take me to see their leader. I showed the leader my seal and the seal of Mu Liu that the hunter had pawned, and he recognized me immediately."
Having said that, Su Mufeng glanced at Su Musong again and saw that his expression had not changed, but his eyes seemed not as empty as before. Knowing that his elder brother might have listened to what he said, he immediately regained his confidence.
"You know, I've had a serious illness since five years ago, and I can't remember anything from before. When I saw the leader's expression change drastically, I guessed he must be an old acquaintance of the Su family. But even though he looked familiar, I couldn't remember who he was. When the leader saw the seal, he believed me and let me take Prince Ding away."
"Later, the battle reached a stalemate. I devised a plan to defeat the enemy, but it required passing through Chixia Mountain. Coincidentally, the leader of Qingzhu Village asked me to meet him. I met him again in the city, and he finally recognized me and said he was Xiao Luochen."
Su Mufeng recalled the day he met Xiao Luochen, and his heart still felt a little sad. He was probably the only old friend he had met in all these years, but he was an old friend who had already forgotten him.
"He asked about our family's recent situation. I could tell he was thinking about you, too."
Su Mufeng once asked Xiao Luochen why he didn't go to Kyoto to find Su Musong. Xiao Luochen just said that he had his own difficulties. Su Mufeng, who was still young at the time and then lost his memory, certainly didn't know what the word "difficulties" meant.
Yongjing is the place stained with the blood of Xiao Luochen's clansmen and the place where his family was wronged. He is a criminal who should have been beheaded ten years ago. With such a place and such an identity, how could he set foot in Yongjing and Xiangping?
Are you thinking about it?
After hearing his third brother's description, Su Musong didn't know whether Xiao Luochen was still thinking about him, but he didn't seem to blame himself. This undoubtedly removed a huge stone from Su Musong's heart.
"Mu Feng, I want to be alone for a while."
This was the first time Su Musong spoke in recent days. Su Mufeng was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted. Hearing his elder brother's calm tone, he thought he had felt a lot better and couldn't help but feel secretly happy.
"Okay, I'll be out first. You have a good rest."
After Su Mufeng left, Su Musong stood up from the couch, picked up his handkerchief, rinsed it in water, wrung it out, wiped his face carefully, and walked to the mirror to examine himself. His jaw was no longer as smooth as it had been in his youth, but had become angular. His face looked a little haggard, his lips a little pale, and his eyes had lost some of their brightness. The innocence of his youth had gone, and now they had become deeper and more mature. After all, time is unforgiving. Fortunately, he still had an upright posture and elegant manners, and he was still a graceful and elegant young man.
Su Musong looked at himself in the mirror and couldn't help but wonder what Luo Chen looked like now.
Probably not. He was such a noble and elegant young man, but his family was destroyed overnight and he ended up living in a bandit's lair. It's hard to imagine how he survived the past ten years.
Thinking of this, Su Musong couldn't help but shed two lines of tears, which surprised himself. Since he regained his confidence, he had not shed tears in these years. He thought his tears had dried up long ago, but he didn't expect that there would be a time when he would burst into tears again.
Su Musong wiped her tears, thinking that if Xiao Luochen saw her, he would probably laugh at her again, saying that she was such a grown-up but still a crybaby. She laughed for a moment, but her tears did not stop.
The scene of Su Musong crying and laughing was a rare sight for Su Mufeng, but he was not present at the time, so he had no chance to see it.
Su Musong couldn't stop crying, so she just let it go. Thinking of Xiao Luochen, whom she hadn't seen for ten years, although her previous worries were relieved, she felt uneasy again. What if he had already started a family...
Alas, that is just the unpredictable will of heaven and the twists and turns of fate.
But even so, Su Musong was satisfied. As long as Xiao Luochen was still alive and well in this world, he felt that God's eyes were not completely blind.
Thinking of this, Su Musong lay back on the bed. He wanted to have a good sleep, recuperate, and then go see Xiao Luochen.
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