Chapter 256: Till Old And Gray (1/2)

Chapter 256: Till Old And Gray

“For whom the beauty smiles as youth is passing by? In this mundane realm, the heart will not age, but without you, the world is a waste. Don’t climb all alone till gray hair flutters on the steep pavilion. With no time remaining, who will draw her eyebrows in the end?”

The soft tune of the zither lingered in the Martial Tower. There was an unspeakable sadness like someone lamenting the abrupt and bitterness of life, the inevitable graying of a beauty.

Feng Feiyun also felt sad while listening to her singing from the distance. He couldn’t help but become intoxicated. The same unrestrainable sadness emerged in his heart.

Only Hongyan would be able to sing this song. Her wonderful melodies continued to echo in the air.

“Squeak.” Feng Feiyun pushed the door open and saw Nangong Hongyan still sitting on the stone bed with a purple wooden zither in her hands.

His footsteps were very light since he didn’t want to disturb her.

Meanwhile, her back was turned to him as if she didn’t know that he had returned. A red glint flashed across her pupils as she took out a crimson knife from her sleeve and gently peeled a pear with it.

“Swish! Swish!” Her hands were soft and slender while her fingers seemed to be carved from white jade — completely flawless. The knife in her hand seemed to be quite gentle without the slightest murderous intent.

Feng Feiyun quietly came behind her and could sense a sweet fragrance emanating from her hair and white dress. It was the scent of a pure white flower that others couldn’t help but want to embrace.

She had a white veil over her face so her current expression was a mystery. However, her eyes were especially bright just like the stars in the sky.

Feng Feiyun said: “I’m back.”

The skin was peeled and the knife was pointed down. A completely peeled pear appeared.

“For you.” She blinked and handed the pear over to him.

He accepted it and sat down next to her like a wanderer that had just returned home from a long journey speaking to his gentle wife. He wanted to tell her his struggles after arriving home, but he kept it inside lest she became too worried. He alone would bear these struggles.

“I heard your song earlier.” He held the pear in his hand but couldn’t bear to eat; it was as if this pear was a piece of jade.

She gently affirmed: “Yes.”

He continued: “You said that you would only sing when you feel the most vulnerable, but singing can only increase your fear. What are you afraid of?”

She said: “You remember really well!”

“I remember every word you have said.” He replied.

The dark crimson knife in her hand seemed to be full of blood drops. She played with it and said: “I’m afraid of growing old one day, becoming a white-haired grandma. Gray brows and a wrinkly face, needing a walking stick to support my bent back before dying all alone, completely deserted. Eventually, I would turn into bones in a desolate place where the stray dogs shall have their meals…”

She gently sighed with an emotional expression. Anyone would feel sorry for her.

“If there is such a day, then you would still have a white-haired husband with a tobacco pipe, eating the peeled pear that you, the old granny, have just peeled. Even though he wouldn’t have too many teeth left, he would still crouch down next to the door and take bites while yelling at the old granny for not doing a good job at peeling the pear, and that there were still seeds left inside!” Feng Feiyun carefully held her waist before taking her into his embrace.

She gently buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes as if imagining the scene he had just painted. However, she quickly opened her eyes as the knife in her hand became a bit colder. She replied: “The pleasant words of men are only spoken to beautiful women. Thirty years from now, I will have grown old while you would still be young and handsome. At that time…”

“At that time, you will still be the prettiest in the world, just like before.” He caressed her face and murmured: “Everyone will grow old eventually, even after cultivating into a saint. One still wouldn’t be able to escape from old age and death. Hongyan, do not be afraid. In my mind, you will always be at your prettiest, a little beauty tricked by my sweet talk.”

Nangong Hongyan’s knife hand quivered a bit.

“You don’t understand at all.” She bit her teeth and felt that Feng Feiyun was a fool, but the words of this fool made her a bit hesitant.

She was afraid that the moment she lowered the knife, she would never be able to meet a fool like him again.

“Haha!” Feng Feiyun suddenly burst out in laughter and took the knife from her while smiling: “You should put down the knife after you are done peeling or you might hurt others or even yourself.”