Chapter 71 Sword Dance
Yun Chen stared blankly at the sword in his hand:
Why does this sword look so similar to my master's sword?
From the scabbard to the blade, to that eerie feeling, everything is exactly the same.
She used to often secretly play with her master's sword and was very familiar with it.
Holding the familiar sword and thinking about his master's teachings, Yun Chen slowly calmed down.
The musicians played drums in unison.
Yun Chen glanced at Huo Gannian, who smiled calmly and nodded slightly at her.
As if looking at a stable support, she felt completely at peace.
She slowly drew her sword and took a step forward.
The silver snow sword's edge illuminated her clear and lively eyes. She saw a silver snake moving around, the sword's energy was murderous, and the sword in her hand moved as fast as a living thing.
As the drum beats became more and more frequent, Yun Chen swung his sword faster and faster, and his momentum became more and more fierce. The sword flowers were as swift as meteors and as fast as lightning. When the sword tip was raised, a long, rustling sound was emitted.
Sitting high on the dragon throne, the emperor narrowed his eyes dangerously, and then looked at the chief guard, Xiaoze, beside him.
Huo Gannian was paying close attention to Yun Chen while catching the emperor's expression.
He was startled and glanced quickly at Nan Lijun.
Nan Lijun understood what he meant and immediately raised his glass to drink with the old general named Cao Fang.
General Cao Fang was watching Yun Chen's sword dance with great pleasure. When he saw Nan Lijun's expression, he knew that he had lost control of his temper and had implicated the young guard. He simply jumped into the center of the banquet and shouted:
"Little brother, your sword dance is interesting! Let me fight you!"
An old general like Cao Fang, a high-ranking official, never had to remove his armor when entering the palace. He drew his sword from his waist and engaged Yun Chen fiercely.
For a moment, there were an old man and a young man, one with a sword and the other with a knife, one fearless and the other fierce.
The two figures fought like tigers and leopards, the fight was hard to decide and the killing was spectacular, which made all the generals at the banquet excited.
Finally, Cao Fang did something like fishing for the moon in the water, leaned forward and swung his sword, knocking the sword out of Yun Chen's hand.
Everyone held their breath, staring with wide eyes as they watched the Silver Snow Sword fly high into the sky.
The next moment, the sword flipped in the air and struck down like lightning.
Yun Chen immediately swung the tiger, bent down and knelt on the ground, raised his arm high, and steadily took the sword into the sheath, just like putting the free silver dragon back into the scabbard.
"Beautiful!" Someone couldn't help but cheer.
Everyone applauded and praised. General Cao Fang even helped Yun Chen up and said with a smile:
"You're quite skilled, little brother! Have you ever thought about joining the army?"
Yun Chen was sweating profusely and out of breath:
"General, you are... too kind. I... I don't deserve it."
Seeing that the sword in his hand was not damaged at all, everyone looked at him with smiles. The previously tense atmosphere was eased. Yun Chen breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that his efforts were not in vain.
Nan Lijun had not expected Yun Chen's sword dance to be so good, and said to the high seat happily:
"What does Father think?"
Everyone looked at the emperor, but they only saw an extremely gloomy face.
Huang Chen spoke in a low, hoarse voice, slowly uttering a word:
"kill."
As soon as the words fell, everyone's expressions froze.
Fear surged in Yun Chen's heart, and she was about to kneel down to thank the "Imperial Order" that took her life, but Huo Gannian, who was standing beside her, spoke in a relaxed tone, with a hint of doting and reproach, saying:
"Yun Chen, the emperor has already said 'reward', why don't you thank him quickly!"
Yun Chen understood and immediately knelt down and shouted, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward! I bow to you and accept your grace!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone looked at each other and began to doubt their ears.
The pronunciations of "kill" and "reward" are indeed similar, and the emperor's voice is low, so it is indeed possible that he heard it wrong.
Nan Lijun didn't care what the emperor said and said quickly:
"Reward! What does the emperor want to reward? Anything is fine. The Huo Gang will be honored to receive it!"
The emperor sneered softly and moved his fingers. The guard then took out a hundred taels of gold and handed it to Yun Chen.
Yun Chen took the gold at a loss. The old general Cao Fang beside her put his arm around her shoulders and laughed, trying to persuade her to join the army. The laughter was like the sound of a bell, which made Yun Chen's eardrums hurt.
Another old general with silver hair, Meng Jianyun, said with a smile:
"Old Cao, don't take someone else's love away. If you snatch this little brother away, I'm afraid the Huo family kid will swing his wheelchair and fight you to the death! Hahahahaha——"
Huo Gannian immediately put on the attitude of a younger generation and raised his glass to toast:
"General Meng is wise!"
The first snow night banquet finally ended without any danger.
On the way back, Yun Chen slowly came to her senses and realized how dangerous the banquet had just been. She had one foot in the underworld, but was pulled back by Huo Gannian.
Only then did she begin to feel her legs go weak, and she didn't even have the strength to steer the horse or hold the reins.
Fortunately, Nan Lijun sent guards to drive the car, so Yun Chen and Huo Gannian sat in the sedan together.
Huo Gannian leaned back on the short couch, watching Yun Chen guzzling water as if he had survived a disaster, smiling without saying a word.
Yun Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and sighed:
"Young Master, I should have been smarter today. I didn't react at all!"
Huo Gannian shook his head. Serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. This is not just a saying. This palace - and even the entire Kyoto city - is full of scheming people.
Although Yun Chen is smart, she was not born with the talent for calculation and conspiracy, and she can't learn it.
He said, "No need, just be yourself. The emperor has seen many schemes, and it's good to see someone like you occasionally."
"Young Master, if this happens again, don't stand up for me. I'm your bodyguard, and I should protect you. I can't let you take risks for me."
He didn't comment, just smiled warmly.
She sighed, gradually relaxing and beginning to feel hungry.
Fortunately, there were snacks on hand. She picked up a piece of dragon beard cake and was about to eat it, but he handed her a peeled green rice dumpling with a smile on his face.
"Eat this. The princess mentioned that the palace makes excellent qingtuan."
She took the green dumpling, swallowed it in one gulp, chewed it twice, and immediately felt her cheeks so sour that they made her cry.
"Why is it filled with sour dates?" She covered her cheeks, trying hard not to drool.
Seeing his evil smile, she knew she was being teased, but she didn't dare to do anything to him.
He couldn't help laughing and beckoned, "Come here, I'll massage your acupuncture points, and it will stop hurting."
She obediently moved closer, squatted in front of him, and looked at him with tears in her eyes, with a look of reproach in it.
He couldn't stop laughing. He held her face with both hands, pressed the spot behind her ear with two fingers, and rubbed it gently.
"Come closer, it's hard for me to reach it," he said.
Just as she stood up and moved, the carriage ran over a rock, causing a loud bang. She lost her balance and fell into his arms. Her lips brushed against his chin, almost kissing him.
He then stretched out his arms and embraced her.
She was greatly embarrassed and struggled to stand up, but he held her in his arms and prevented her from standing.
Seeing that he had no intention of letting go, she looked up -
He had long eyelashes and his eyes seemed to hold endless tenderness, which made her blush and her heart beat fast, and she completely forgot what the green rice dumpling she had not swallowed tasted like.
She felt that if she continued to watch, she would be trapped in that softness and unable to escape. She swallowed a large mouthful of green dumplings, mumbling in her mouth, and whispered:
"Young Master...please let me go..."
He seemed not to have heard clearly, and said "Hmm?", then tilted his ear a little closer to her. His fair and handsome profile was now so close to her that she was so nervous that she could hardly breathe.
She suddenly felt that this tension was far greater than the previous banquet.
She could only swallow all the green balls in her mouth and stammered:
"I said that, that... let me go..."
He looked like he had just understood, as if he had just realized it, and loosened his arm, "Oh, I forgot."
For some reason, although there was no expression on his face, looking at those eyes, she always felt that he was laughing in his heart.
He continued to rub behind her ears, and she was dissatisfied:
"Young Master, I've discovered that you also love to play tricks on others."
He smiled, but did not answer. He only pretended to be surprised and asked:
"Yun Chen, why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?"
She gestured frantically, "It's because of what happened just now. The car shook and I... that happened..."
He actually understood her "this and that" and asked back, "You and I are both men, why is this little accident worth mentioning?"
Then, he raised his eyebrows slightly, and his fingers left her ear, slid down her cheek, gently hooked her chin, and said softly:
"Unless you have other ideas in mind."
For a moment, she felt her heart pounding.
The thing in my chest was no longer just "a deer pounding around," it was like a deer going crazy! A deer going crazy! The deer was banging its head against its heart!
She had no idea how blushing she was, and thought she was hiding it well. She said in defense:
"My face is burning from swordplay—yes, I'm tired!"
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