Embedded Files
Psst! We're moving!
A cool autumn wind swept through the Eternal Realm, and the sky grew even darker. There was no Yi Ya or stone chessboard in front of her, and the envoy Lan and others were absent. All she saw were mountains of maple leaves. The climate here was colder than outside, and the maple leaves had already turned a shade of red. The colors were not pure, but they revealed a beautiful and pristine quality. It was a perfect transformation, the beginning of beauty.
A familiar figure stood in the woods with his hands behind his back. There was no chessboard or zither beside him. The light blue hem of his robe spread out on the ground, and a beautiful jade on his waist swayed faintly.
“Do you like it?”
Yan Chu remembered that today was not the day for tending to flowers, so she was surprised to be brought to the Eternal Realm. Hearing his question, she nodded. “I like it.”
“Why do you like it?”
Having planted these mountains of maple trees himself, he was naturally a lover of maples. Yan Chu didn’t know what to say to please him. With a thought, she smiled and said, “Before I lost my memory, I grew up on Mount Yueyi, where there were few maple trees. I didn’t see them often.”
Xi Lingjun said, “Is that the reason?”
Yan Chu’s eyes moved slightly. “Is it not?”
Xi Lingjun did not answer. “The maple leaves are just beginning to turn red. Why don’t we enjoy them together?”
The probing had failed, and Yan Chu was a little disappointed. Looking at the maple forest, she said casually, “I never thought that the mysterious Xi Lingjun would have such tastes.”
“Oh?”
“Everyone says how mysterious Xi Lingjun is, but it turns out...” Before she could finish her sentence, she saw him move closer. Yan Chu quickly took two steps back and then reacted, teasing, “The dignified Lord of the Eternal Realm is bickering with me over such a small matter, yet he puts on such airs in front of outsiders.”
Xi Lingjun said, “Outsiders?”
Yan Chu then realized that her words were too frivolous. Before she could speak again, Xi Lingjun nodded. “That’s right. People who have a deal are friends, not outsiders.”
At the mention of that deal, Yan Chu remembered being tricked by him. In her shame and anger, she said coldly, “Don’t worry, Xi Lingjun, there won’t be a next time.”
“There will be. Once is a stranger, twice is a friend,” Xi Lingjun said casually as he walked forward along the path.
Yan Chu’s face turned red in embarrassment. She pursed her lips and stood still. When she was about to leave in a huff, she found that the door behind her had disappeared without a trace. Helpless, she had no choice but to follow him.
Walking in the woods was like being in a painting. Birds would occasionally fly up, completely unlike the deathly silence on the surface.
The maple leaves brushed against her clothes, as gentle as a hand. The sound of the maple leaves was familiar, like a person sighing.
Past events? Was it related to her lost memories?
Yan Chu lowered her phoenix eyes and walked silently.
She had an indescribable obsession with maple leaves. When she first woke up, she stared blankly at the red leaf painting in the study for half a day. The young General Yue specially found two good maple trees and planted them in the garden. Every good day in autumn, the siblings would practice their saber skills under the trees, while Qiu Ying brewed tea beside them, and they would watch the red leaves reflected in the sunset.
Later, she married into the Yunze family, and Xiao Qi specially built a maple garden for his new wife. The two of them only enjoyed the red leaves together once, just like their shallow marriage. Every night, accompanied by the sound of the maple leaves, she felt only endless desolation. Only at the very end did she finally understand why.
The resurrected princess consort’s maple garden was now filled with all of her resentment, malice, and pretense.
She never expected that one day she would be enjoying the red leaves with the famous Lord of the Eternal Realm.
The person she was least likely to have any connection with had saved her life and knew everything about her. She even had a feeling of being controlled by him. Because of this, she always had a strange sense of rejection towards him and didn’t want to get close to him. However, when she saw him, she felt at ease, especially after that awkward incident.
The maple leaves fluttered, and the autumn scenery was beautiful. At the end of the path, she saw a cave.
“We’re here,” Xi Lingjun said, and he walked straight ahead.
Looking at his back, Yan Chu bit her lip. With such a status, he probably didn’t care about anyone in the world. In comparison, her sulking behavior seemed even more childish.
But that door...
Yan Chu was silent for a while before finally walking over.
She was not surprised. It was as if it should have been that way. There were no tables or chairs. In the center of the cave, there was a crude shelf with signs of a fire underneath, as if someone had made a bonfire there. In a corner, there was a wide, simple stone bed with simple, clean bedding. There was a candlestick on the headboard.
Yan Chu took a light breath of the cold air and said, “Is this where Xi Lingjun meditates?”
Xi Lingjun stood in front of the bed. “Come here.”
Her gaze was firmly fixed on the stone bed. Yan Chu no longer cared about the ambiguity in his words and walked toward him involuntarily.
A wide, light blue robe covered two intertwined people...
The woman below was panting weakly, and the man had no intention of letting her go.
“Who are you thinking of?”
“No... you! I’m thinking of you! Feng Qi! You’re... too much!”
“Is that so?”
...
Yan Chu’s hand stroked the maple leaf pattern on the side of the stone bed. Her face turned a little pale. She quickly retracted her hand and took two steps back.
Xi Lingjun ignored her reaction and casually picked up something. “Do you recognize this?”
When she saw what it was, Yan Chu couldn’t help but tremble. She felt her chest tighten more and more, and she had difficulty breathing. She forced herself to suppress the throbbing in her heart and answered calmly, “This is a candlestick with a double fire lotus pattern. When I first woke up, my family used this kind. Now, two hundred years have passed, and the double fire lotuses on the market are no longer like this.”
Without waiting for Xi Lingjun to speak, she hurried outside. “There are no maple leaves to admire here. Let’s go out.”
She no longer had the good mood she had when she came. The countless maple leaves in front of her were so dazzling, and each one was like a broken heart.
Not knowing the way, Yan Chu stumbled along the path for a long distance, finally stopping under a maple tree and clutching her chest tightly.
What she had just seen seemed to be engraved in her mind and could never be erased.
The maple leaf pattern, the interconnected maple leaf pattern. She didn’t marvel at the coincidence. She only knew that she could still skillfully carve that maple leaf pattern now. It was a trace of the Yue family’s saber technique.
“Is this the one-leaf flower? The flower of reincarnation?”
“Does this candlestick look good? It’s the most fashionable style outside.”
...
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness and a splitting headache hit her. Yan Chu quickly reached out to grab the tree trunk next to her, but another hand unexpectedly held hers. It was not too tight or too loose, with a unique body temperature slightly lower than hers. The feeling of safety was just like the person himself.
Yan Chu looked up at him.
“Are you okay?” His eyes were still pitch black and unchanged.
“I know Xi Lingjun,” Yan Chu suddenly said. “There are so many people in the world. If we were strangers, why would you save me? But why did I lose my memory?”
Xi Lingjun said, “Let’s go.”
Without any room for resistance, he helped her walk slowly out of the woods. Neither of them spoke again.
Just as they left the maple grove, they saw the envoy Lan waiting at the entrance. When he saw Xi Lingjun, he came up to report. “Lord, General Bai Qi has arrived.”
“Tell him to wait a moment.”
“Yes.”
Yan Chu’s heart moved. After the envoy Lan retreated, she pretended to be unsteady and leaned against Xi Lingjun, asking in confusion, “Could it be General Bai Qi of the Fu Lian General’s command in the Ice Kingdom? Xi Lingjun has a connection with the Earth Master and also with the Ice Kingdom?”
Xi Lingjun seemed not to have noticed her small action and replied, “The Ice Emperor’s lifespan is coming to an end. Corrupt officials and favored concubines are in power, and the Crown Prince’s situation is worrying.”
Yan Chu probed, “Is Xi Lingjun very concerned about the Ice Kingdom’s affairs?”
Xi Lingjun said, “Although the Eternal Realm does not interfere in external affairs, it has some dealings with other countries. I am also from the Ice Kingdom.”
“I misspoke,” Yan Chu said with a look of shame and moved away from his embrace. “Since you have a distinguished guest, I won’t delay you from meeting with them.”
Xi Lingjun glanced at her, turned around, and said, “Wan Yu, come with me to meet the guest.”
The sound of a wheelchair could be heard. Fu Lian Wan Yu indeed moved out from behind a rock, a smile on her lips. She lowered her eyes and answered softly, “Yes,” before following him.
In a teahouse, in a special room, the furnishings were very exquisite. Prince Nan, Wen Zhu Cheng Jin, sat alone on a couch, wearing an inconspicuous black robe. He looked up at the person who came in.
Her figure was thinner than before, and her clean face was without makeup. The allure was restrained, but her phoenix eyes still held a smile. There was no longer the deliberate seductiveness of the past, and they were so deep that no emotion could be discerned. When she stood still, a sharp and unparalleled aura, like the famous Yue family’s saber, immediately emanated from her.
“Congratulations, Your Highness Prince Nan,” Yan Chu bowed.
His pitch-black eyes became even brighter and sharper. Prince Nan motioned for her to sit down and asked, “What is the good news?”
Yan Chu sat on a chair next to him and replied, “With the change in the Land of the Five Colors, Prince Xiang will be enthroned sooner or later. Your Highness has placed your bet correctly.”
Prince Nan did not continue the topic. “Why have you come?”
Yan Chu said, “Xiao Qi is preparing to go on a diplomatic mission to the Ice Kingdom. Does Your Highness not plan to make a move?”
Prince Nan said, “I don’t do useless things.”
Yan Chu said, “It seems that Your Highness has already made preparations. Could it be that Your Highness’s envoy has already gone ahead?”
Prince Nan said, “Of course. In fact, I don’t need to worry at all. The change in the Land of the Five Colors is as you said. Prince Xiang will be enthroned sooner or later. The Ice Kingdom and the Mu Feng Kingdom will soon be too busy with their own affairs to have the energy to meddle in our country’s matters.”
“So Your Highness doesn’t have to worry about them interfering and ruining your important plans,” Yan Chu nodded. “Your Highness doesn’t plan to touch the envoy, but you must kill one person for me.”
“Who?”
“Qin Chuan Liulin. He’s just a deputy. It won’t take much effort to kill him.”
“Alright,” Prince Nan agreed readily. “The diplomatic mission will be ambushed by the Mu Feng Kingdom when they cross the border, and General Qin Chuan will die protecting the envoy.”
Yan Chu stood up and bowed again. “Thank you, Your Highness.”
Prince Nan nodded, his face becoming more radiant. “The person you are today is worthy of working with me.”
Yan Chu said respectfully, “You flatter me, Your Highness.”
To the other party, she was a chess piece before, but she was just an insignificant one.
Two servants came in, knelt in front of the small table, served hot tea, and then quietly left.
Prince Nan suddenly asked, “What has happened in the Prince Ding’s residence recently?”
It seemed that he had noticed the unusual activity in the residence and had likely sent people to test the waters. The result was not hard to guess. Anyone who ran into Xiao Yan probably never came back.
Yan Chu thought for a moment and said, “Your Highness doesn’t need to know in a hurry. In any case, it’s a good thing.”
Prince Nan did not ask any more questions.
After leaving Prince Nan, Yan Chu carefully exited the teahouse through the back door. She tried to avoid the crowds and walked through a few quiet alleys until she reached the back wall of the Yunze family’s ancestral hall. Xiao Yan was indeed sitting on the wall waiting for her. He was wearing a black robe and had long hair, and his smiling eyes and handsome face looked very lively in the sun.
“Master’s expression tells me that the deal went smoothly.”
“Thank you for covering for me.” Yan Chu hadn’t actually expected him to help her. His existence was a variable that was difficult to control. He might be likable at one moment and utterly detestable at the next.
“Do you really want to continue?”
“I want Qin Chuan Liuyu to also experience the feeling of losing a loved one.”
“Revenge is such a stupid thing,” Xiao Yan looked down at her. “See? People will always die. In another thousand years or so, they will naturally die. Won’t your revenge be fulfilled then?”
Yan Chu laughed. “How can you say such an absurd thing?”
Xiao Yan took it as a matter of course. “If the result is the same, why does the method matter?”
Anyone who tried to reason with this person was a fool. Yan Chu waved her hand. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“My flower,” Xiao Yan sighed, looking up at the sun. “Why won’t it bear fruit?”
Yan Chu could never understand his obsession with the flower. She couldn’t help but say, “You know it’s impossible for it to bear fruit.” The reason Xi Lingjun was willing to give him the withered flower was because of this. Only a madman like him would fall for it.
“I know,” Xiao Yan touched his chest. “But like you, I have hope, so I’m not willing to give up.”
Hearing him spout nonsense again, Yan Chu jumped over the wall and went straight back to her room.
With Prince Nan’s promise, Yan Chu only had to wait for the result. She did indeed invite Princess Pingyang out to help Xiao Qi decline the marriage, and Emperor Yan did not bring it up again. However, when Liuyu heard about this, she was angry again. Xiao Qi didn’t want to argue with her, so he moved into the study, hoping that the cold treatment would make her reflect. Yan Chu turned a blind eye to this and continued to laugh and talk every day, planning how to find another opportunity to see Lu Shan Chi. She figured that after their few meetings, Lu Shan Chi should have noticed something.
When she came out of the snow cave in the Eternal Realm, Yan Chu asked as usual, “Is Xi Lingjun here?”
The envoy Lan replied, “The Lord has gone out and has not returned.”
Yan Chu walked a few steps and then suddenly said, “My chest hurts a little. I need to rest for a moment.”
The envoy Lan was slightly surprised. “Why would it hurt? Is it an old illness acting up?”
Yan Chu forced a smile. “It’s nothing. I’ll be fine after I sit for a while.”
“The Lord prepared medicine for you the day before yesterday,” the envoy Lan quickly helped her to a pavilion nearby. “Wait here, and I’ll go get it.”
The maple grove was still quiet. The stone path at her feet stretched forward. Suddenly, the maple leaves around her moved without any wind, and the leaves pointed west.
A killing formation! Yan Chu was alarmed and stopped abruptly.
The killing formation in her memory was not in this location, and where were the markers that should have been there?
There was no time to think. Several flashes of sword light shot down from all directions again. With her saber in hand, Yan Chu blocked and retreated. The collision of the saber and the swords created bursts of sparks that flew like rain.
Yan Chu was not worried about being caught in the dangerous killing formation again. When the envoy Lan came back with the medicine and couldn’t find her, he would naturally look for her. She just needed to hold on for a moment.
Suddenly, a palm strike appeared in the sword net!
Yan Chu raised her saber to block it, and her eyes suddenly became sharp. “Who is it!”
There was no answer. The palm strikes came one after another. Caught off guard by the sneak attack, Yan Chu was temporarily at a disadvantage and could only move her body with difficulty to avoid the vital points.
The sword wind pierced through flesh, making a “poof” sound. Her left shoulder was hit, and blood gushed out like a fountain.
The opponent had been a little cautious at first, but now that they saw she was injured, they acted without any scruples. The palm strikes became more urgent, and they were clearly intent on killing her.
Can’t wait any longer? Yan Chu’s eyes flashed, and she suddenly raised her saber!
She couldn’t wait any longer either...
A brilliant light shone, like a burning fire, covering the sky and the earth. The soil and rocks under her feet collapsed, and all the maple trees within a radius of dozens of feet were broken. The killing formation was broken!
She had intentionally entered the formation to lure the opponent out and intentionally got injured to make them lower their guard. She was waiting for this moment to pinpoint the opponent’s location and not give them a chance to escape.
As the dust settled, two figures appeared.
Yan Chu stood with her saber, the blade pointed directly at the woman in the wheelchair opposite her. “It really is you.”
The incident with Qiu Ying made her start to suspect the Eternal Realm. How could an ordinary maid have the ability to obtain a seal from the Mu Feng Kingdom’s General’s residence? The last time she inexplicably entered the maple grove confirmed this suspicion. She couldn’t have remembered the way wrong. Someone wanted to use the killing formation to kill her. So she asked Xi Lingjun for the formation map and learned how to break it. The facts proved she was right. The only person Xi Lingjun would protect was this Princess Fu Lian. For her to be a princess of the Eternal Realm, their relationship must have been extraordinary.
Fu Lian Wan Yu quickly regained her composure, and there was a look of hatred in her eyes. “Did he teach you how to break the formation?”
Yan Chu did not deny it and said coldly, “No matter what grievances we had in the past, Qiu Ying’s death was caused by you. I will kill you today.”
“Are you so sure you can kill me?”
“You used a killing formation to deal with me, which shows that although you have some small magic, your martial arts are not as good as mine, Princess. Am I right?”
True energy was channeled into her body, and the curved saber shone brightly, like a newly risen blood moon, displaying a soul-stirring beauty. With a whooshing sound, the saber wind rose again, filled with a decisive killing intent.
Fu Lian Wan Yu’s reaction was also quick. She moved her wheelchair two feet to the side and simultaneously raised her hand to strike with her palm.
The Yue family’s saber technique was already famous, and now that Yan Chu was filled with the desire for revenge, she used all her strength, which made the technique even more powerful. Although Fu Lian Wan Yu’s internal power was greater than hers, she was ultimately unable to move freely and suffered a disadvantage in her moves. She was in a very sorry state. Fu Lian Wan Yu knew that this was not good and tried to retreat, but Yan Chu would not let her escape. She changed her saber technique and blocked her path.
Fu Lian Wan Yu’s expression changed. “Yue Xiluo, do you really dare to harm me?”
Yan Chu had not succeeded yet and was secretly anxious. She said, “If I kill you, I will apologize to Xi Lingjun.”
The saber wind was fierce, shattering half of a wooden wheel. Fu Lian Wan Yu fell out of her wheelchair and rolled to avoid the killing blow. Her voice also changed. “Do you know who inflicted the ‘Ice Dissolution Technique’ on you?”
Yan Chu acted as if she hadn’t heard her. The saber light was merciless, turning into a final killing move. A huge circular halo descended upon her head.
Fu Lian Wan Yu had nowhere to retreat and cried out in alarm.
Suddenly, a force was forcefully inserted into the battle.
With a collision, the other party’s strength was immediately apparent. The strongest move of the Yue family’s saber technique was like a child’s play. All the changes disappeared without a trace under that invisible force. Yan Chu was hit by the impact and rolled on the ground three feet away.
The person who came was wearing a blue robe and stood beside Fu Lian Wan Yu. His black eyes were cold.
She had asked him for the formation map with the purpose of killing the princess of the Eternal Realm. It was reasonable for him to be angry. Yan Chu was not surprised. She only felt the frustration of failure and the worry of what punishment she would face.
She slowly got up from the ground and indeed saw the hidden smile in Fu Lian Wan Yu’s eyes.
Fu Lian Wan Yu held his light blue wide sleeve and said in a low voice, “You finally came.”
Xi Lingjun did not respond. He ordered a maid who had just arrived. “Send the princess back.”
After Princess Fu Lian and the others left, Yan Chu finally spoke. “Princess Fu Lian was the mastermind behind obtaining the seal from the Mu Feng Kingdom’s General’s residence. Do your rules apply to her?”
Xi Lingjun said, “In the Eternal Realm, what you can do is tend to the flowers.”
The meaning was very clear. Yan Chu decisively put away her saber and knelt on the ground. “I have offended the princess today. I beg for your forgiveness, Xi Lingjun.”
This person seemed gentle, but his methods were cruel. He was merciless to those who offended him. The battle in Sai City back then was a living example. Although he was now supposedly retired, his actions did not seem like those of a calm and indifferent recluse. Yan Chu did not want to provoke him and cause any accidents to her revenge plan. Therefore, she deliberately did not treat her wound, letting the blood from her shoulder flow freely as she pleaded softly, looking very pitiful.
Xi Lingjun’s expression softened. “Get up.”
Yan Chu sighed in relief. As soon as she got up, he held her hand. A gentle and powerful force entered her body, formless like water, and irresistible. In just a moment, the bleeding from her shoulder stopped and the wound healed.
“Are you planning how to kill her again?” Xi Lingjun pulled her back. “You should do more important things first.”
“I understand,” Yan Chu said. “But what is the real grudge between her and me? Is it not because of jealousy?”
Xi Lingjun said, “Why do you say that?”
Yan Chu hesitated. “There must be many women who want to get close to Xi Lingjun.”
“And you were the only one who got me?”
“I dare not presume,” Yan Chu said.
Xi Lingjun said, “She wants to kill you, and I also want to kill you.”
It was hard to tell if he was serious. Yan Chu’s hand trembled in shock. She forced a smile. “If you really wanted to kill me, why did you save me in the first place?”
Xi Lingjun said, “Are you scared?”
She hated him for being heartless, but she also personally bought the Rouge Elixir and heartlessly aborted her own child. The scene just now was like a replay of the past, which aroused his killing intent. For a moment, he had almost made a decision. However, just as he could tolerate her before, he still couldn’t bring himself to do it now. Seeing her injured and admitting her mistake, his anger had subconsciously subsided a little. The arrogant and willful woman in his memory had forgotten him, and she was even afraid of him now.
Yan Chu said, “I don’t remember anything. Please allow me to first avenge my family, and then you can do whatever you want with me.”
“Whatever you want with me,” Xi Lingjun repeated, letting go of her. “I can agree to that.”
Google Sites
Report abuse