c18 (2/2)
All the while he diligently studying, practicing martial arts, learning medicine, learning poison, learning the zither, learning to run businesses with his three uncles. During this time, he was keeping an ear on what was happening in the Han dynasty.
He did not waste a single moment of his life.
He worked hard to learn everything, sleeping for only two hours a night. He read books as he was eating. Even in his sleep he was thinking of how to emulate his adoptive father’s every elegant gesture. He used his adoptive father’s perfection to cover up his own aura of rage and pain. He wanted everyone who saw him to have no suspicion. He wanted everyone who once looked down on him to feel ashamed when they compared themselves to him.
He didn’t know if the truth was that he was unconsciously trying to make himself as perfect as possible for when he saw the girl in green again.
Time pa.s.sed him by as the leaves fell time and again. He quietly waited for his chance to seek revenge. He patiently planned everything. Perhaps…..in his heart, in a place he refused to acknowledge existed, he was also patiently waiting for her to return.
He was waiting for her return and to be reunited with her, and their reunion would be perfect.
He did it! He appeared before her looking impossibly perfect, and this time it was she who was dressed like a beggar. But she didn’t notice him, she didn’t react to him.
She didn’t recognize him?!?
Of course she didn’t recognize him!
Did he mind? Was he fine with her not recognizing him?
He inwardly mocked her idiocy, scoffed at her fake kindness, hated how she didn’t care about anything. But he was not surprised about anything with regards to her.
In those eight years, in the deepest recesses of his heart, he already knew what kind of person she was.
…………
Time and ties binded them. Things happened before he even realized it, and he could no longer rationally erase her from his heart.
In the many times he gazed at her from afar, keeping track of her whereabouts, in the long eight years of his paying attention to her, he had grown accustomed to her in his life.
So right now he can only act like a fool. Instead of staying warm and comfortable in Chang An, he was rus.h.i.+ng through the bitter cold wind. Instead of walking a wide safe path, he was choosing to walk a rickety suspension bridge.
…………………………………………………
This huge wind storm was not suitable for traveling, so along the way Meng Jue didn’t see a single person.
Meng Jue thought he could just travel directly to Lu Mountain. But then he saw a carriage coming towards him, surrounded by guards.
Traveling on such a night, it must be something of vital importance.
Meng Jue was wary and he slowed his horse, moving to the side of the road. Behind him, Liu Yue (June) and Ba Yue (August) also followed and moved aside.
Perhaps it was because of the cold wind, or for other reasons, everyone in that procession was also wearing black cloaks and had their faces covered up, just like Meng Jue and his group.
The guards around the carriage put their hands on their swords as they spotted the three people on the side of the road.
Liu Yue and Ba Yue also tensed and readied themselves. Thankfully the two sides pa.s.sed each other without incident, and both sides let out a sigh of relief.
Which was when suddenly another group of masked men emerged and attacked the carriage. The carriage was immediately surrounded. Liu Yue and Ba Yue immediately flanked Meng Jue to protect him. They saw the flash of the sword and suddenly all h.e.l.l broke loose.
This trip, all the eunuchs are martial arts masters. It’s the secret guards that the former Emperor had been training. Despite being outnumbered, Yu An was not afraid. He loudly called out “Kill them ALL!”
Meng Jue knew there was a misunderstanding, especially because the real a.s.sa.s.sins emerged from the woods right behind him. No matter how you look at it, it would appear that his group was also part of the same group of a.s.sa.s.sins. It was chaos all around and there was no way to explain. Now that the other side gave the order to kill all, he could do nothing except defend himself. Thus Meng Jue’s group unexpectedly got in the middle of the battle between two sides.
All the eunuchs had been trained since youth to be the best fighters. Not just in martial arts, but also in killing people and torturing people.
The a.s.sa.s.sins were also good fighters. But who knew they would be faced with a group of eunuchs who had been isolated in Wen Quan Palace training their entire lives. They did nothing except train to protect the Emperor. Because they never got a chance to fight, they were itching to finally unleash their skills now. So everyone of the eunuch guards were even more deadly and vicious than the a.s.sa.s.sins.
The a.s.sa.s.sins could not match up and quickly they started to fall under the swords of the eunuchs. And the way they died was also quite painful and vicious.
Liu Fu Ling heard the fighting outside diminish and he rapped on the side of the carriage “Interrogate them.”
Yu An stomped on the ground in frustration at himself. He was so angry earlier he made a mistake. He quickly shouted “Leave some alive.” But in that moment, the only three people alive were Meng Jue’s group of three people.
Yu An immediately flew forward and attacked Meng Jue.
Yu An was trained by the best eunuchs in the Palace since he was three years old, all so that one day he could serve the Crown Prince. He was quite talented, thus Liu Che picked him amongst thousands of eunuchs. Over the years, Yu An’s martial arts could be considered the best in the world.
Meng Jue may have been taught by martial arts masters, but he started learning it when he was older. When he fought against normal people, he was quite good. But faced with a martial arts expert like Yu An, he was completely out-matched.
Liu Yue and Ba Yue were already injured. But the eunuchs around them started playing cat-and-mouse games with them. Not killing them but toying with them, slas.h.i.+ng across their bodies in cuts that were not too deep nor too shallow.
Meng Jue kept saying “There’s been a misunderstanding”, but Yu An just wanted to capture him alive and didn’t even care to listen.
Meng Jue’s arrogance was riled and he decided not to explain anymore, just calming down to fight Yu An. His tactics were learned from the Xi Yu a.s.sa.s.sins and each move was calculated to kill, or at least critically maim.
Because Yu An wanted to capture him alive, and didn’t want to harm him, his actions slowed and became more deliberate. But even though he couldn’t defeat Meng Jue right away, it was only a matter of time before Meng Jue was captured. The other eunuchs guarded the carriage and laughed at the fight where the victor was already clearly determined.
Suddenly there came a sharp scent carried in the wind and a thick fog appeared in the woods. Yu An thought it was another a.s.sa.s.sin and immediately went back to protect Liu Fu Ling.
Because of the unending court intrigues and battles, all eunuchs carried various poisons and antidotes at all times. It could be used to kill, to save someone, and if need be, to commit suicide with.
Yu An was not afraid of poison since he had ingested various poisons before and was no immune to it all. But for some reason no one was immune to this weird fog and everyone was coughing madly. Their eyes was watering and felt this sharp pain. But it didn’t appear to be poison since everyone still had their strength.
In the fog, everyone’s sword thrusts was off. Meng Jue startled and then he was laughing even as he was coughing. Someone who used spices as a weapon, in this entire world there could be no one else other than his Yun Ge. Since it wasn’t poison, the eunuchs couldn’t deal with it immediately. In truth, the only antidote was to wash their faces and rinse their mouths.
Yu An was afraid of someone else attacking so he could only cough and guard the carriage, watching as a few eunuchs continued to fight with Meng Jue.
Yun Ge, covering her face with a wet cloth, crawled next to Meng Jue in the fog. She tossed something at the eunuchs and screamed “Deadly Five Poison Powder!” The eunuchs immediately jumped back to avoid the powder. Yun Ge grabbed Meng Jue and started to run, with Liu Yue and Ba Yue following behind them.
The eunuchs finally saw that it was just random cooking spices tossed at them. They realized whatever poison couldn’t contain these ingredients. They felt even further enraged to be thus fooled and quickly followed chase.
Yun Ge had started a fire so Meng Jue tossed something in it. Suddenly another gust of white smoke wafted up and it was a fragrant scent instead of the sharp scent of peppers. Meng Jue turned around and called out “Stop chasing us since this time it really is poison. And my poison isn’t just any ordinary poison. Even if you have the antidote, you’ll still be weakened by it.”
The chasing eunuchs tried not to breath but their footsteps became shaky. Just like Meng Jue said, they felt weakened by the smoke.
Yun Ge pointed to the horses left by the other a.s.sa.s.sins. Meng Jue went to get the horses but Yun Ge remained standing in place. After Meng Jue got on the horse, still Yun Ge didn’t move towards him. He turned his horse around and reached out his hand to pull Yun Ge up on his horse.
Yun Ge stared at Meng Jue but made no move to take his hand.
Yun Ge’s face was normally as clear as the mountain spring and as happy as a wide valley. But right now all that remained was pain and agony in her eyes, with unshed tears. Meng Jue was stunned and he called out “Yun Ge?”
Liu Yue and Ba Yue saw the eunuchs were almost caught up to them and cried out “Gong Zhi!”
“Yun Ge?” Meng Jue cried out again and tried to get his horse closer to her. He leaned down to forcefully pull her on his horse. But Yun Ge jumped away from his reach, and in Meng Jue’s completely disbelieving eyes, she turned her face away from him decisively and then hit his horse on the rump. The horse bolted with Meng Jue, and Liu Yue and Ba Yue immediately followed suit on their horses.
The fire started by Yun Ge was blown by the wind so that all around the woods, there was trees and bushes which caught fire. Thus the horses were spooked and Meng Jue could not control his horse. He could only hunch down to keep from being thrown. He turned around and stared at Yun Ge with eyes filled with complete shock and disbelief. But Yun Ge didn’t even look once at him.
The sky, it was pitch black. But on the ground, the red flames danced. The wind howled around him and the shocked horses raced away from the flames. Meng Jue could only watch as the lone figure slowly disappeared from his view.
Yun Ge grabbed another horse and was getting ready to get on and leave. A eunuch suddenly appeared and saw that everyone had escaped. He was so furious he forget Yu An’s order to capture someone alive. His sword shot out towards Yun Ge.
The moment Yun Ge was about to swing on the horse, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her back. She lowered her head and stared disbelievingly at her chest. She didn’t know how there could be a sword coming out of her chest. And where did the wetness in her hands come from?
She saw only blackness before her eyes as her hand slid down weakly from the horse, and her body collapsed on the ground.
The horse reared up and whined pitifully, but could not rouse its owner. Under the fire light, her form became a lonely shadow against the pitch black sky.
[End of volume 1]
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