Chapter 623
Reencounter with Yan Yue, Xu Kai's Origin 4000
Chapter 623 Reencounter with Yan Yue, Xu Kai's Origin (2) 4000+
When Xu Zhi reached the gorge, there was no one left at the foot of the mountain. The hoofprints were still very clear, indicating that they had not gone far.
She noticed several scratches on the stone wall, marks made by swords and knives. By now it was dark, and the canyon was pitch black. She could vaguely hear people talking inside, intermittently. She could only make out a few words in Chu dialect, and the volume was not loud. She wondered, could it be that Xiang Yu, the young master of the Xiang family, had not left?
If Xiang Yu can be found, does that mean Yu Ji is also there? And what's the deal with all those titles like 'Your Highness'...?
So, relying on her memory, she squeezed through the narrow passage, holding onto the stone wall... something was flashing inside... like light, or perhaps, like a fish lantern...
The environment was too similar to the underground palace she had before she lost her memory, so Xu Zhi's mind was in turmoil.
Her shoes were covered in mud from the rain, and it was still dark; all she could feel was a slippery liquid beneath her feet…
During her two days in the canyon, she only stayed in the main areas; Zhang Liang didn't let her wander around, so she didn't know exactly how many caves and waterfalls there were inside...
She walked quite a distance into the cave, but found no trace of the white light outside. Reaching this point, a chill ran through her…
Suddenly… she heard a series of strange water sounds.
Xu Zhi felt a chill run down her spine, but she gritted her teeth and took two more steps.
She became increasingly aware of the slippery feel under her feet.
The two Yue people who were with her in the pavilion of Lingcheng a few days ago are now lying on the ground, their fate unknown.
She didn't see any injuries on the two people and assumed they had been knocked unconscious, so she squatted down to check the pulse on one of their necks.
He's dead!
Xu Zhi struggled to turn the person's head over, revealing two needle marks below the ear.
She was sweating. If she were a Qin person, she would have acted openly and openly, not resorted to such assassination methods.
Besides, the person's body was still warm; they had only been dead for a short time...
Xu Zhi sensed something was wrong. She jumped down from the attic, encountered the Xiao family, and soon after, she was met with a thorough search by the Qin people...
She thought carefully about how all the events since she met Zhang Cang were closely related to her past, yet she often forgot about her past...
She gripped the torch tightly, stood up, and looked resolutely into the darkness.
"You have lured me here step by step, what is your intention? Why not show yourself?"
As soon as she finished speaking, a white light suddenly flashed above her.
A woman, with a beautiful face, emerged from the place where black and light blended together.
Xu Zhi didn't know her, but the other person looked at her strangely.
Shock, then mockery, then confusion and astonishment.
Her laughter was quite light and melodious, echoing through the cave.
"I never expected to run into you while I was dealing with these odds and ends?"
"After so many years, I never imagined you'd end up like this. Dressed so simply, I almost didn't recognize you. What are you doing here all alone?" she said, sighing. "...Alas, this is no place for you."
People with no memory are least afraid of someone bringing up the past.
Xu Zhi's expression remained unchanged as she continued to try to recall something from the other person's eyes.
The woman was interrupted before she could finish speaking.
The voice came from afar, the breathing heavy, suggesting that the person had been chasing the woman for a long time before finally finding her.
"Ah Yue, what Master said isn't entirely true, how could you suddenly..."
"..."
The man who caught up also stopped when he saw the body. He quickly checked and realized that Yan Yue was not the only one there.
Lu Heng was stunned.
Ying Hehua?
What is she doing here?!
Did she know that the outside world was in an uproar because of her disappearance?
Lu Heng was persuaded by her to go to sea with Xu Fu under the guise of a sorcerer from the Yan state. However, they found nothing at sea and did not see any of the mythical Penglai or other fairy mountains. Thus, they ended their first voyage prematurely.
Upon arriving at Lingcheng, the former territory of the Chu Kingdom, Xu Fu suddenly felt confident. He learned from the Yue people that the Jing clan's great shaman was still alive, and he also tricked Zhang Cang into revealing many secrets. Therefore, he prepared to meet the emperor to tell him what he had heard and to plan his second trip.
Lu Heng returned to Lingcheng and just explained the matter to Li Xian.
Unexpectedly, two major events occurred at this critical juncture.
The woman he longed for returned to the Central Plains from the distant frontier.
Over the years, Yan Yue has not actually been living in Donghu. She has gone through many hardships and is determined to find the Yan girl who married into Donghu in her place.
When Wei Ruo left Jicheng for Donghu, she was only nine years old. The Hu people did not care whether she was a real princess of Yan. The Yan woman was just a symbol of being conquered.
When news of Yan Dan's death spread from Xianyang, there was even a secret rumor that Ying Hehua had killed him. At that time, Yan Yue vaguely understood that the King of Qin not only wanted the Three Jin states, but also wanted to seize the entire world, and Ying Hehua was his accomplice.
Without hesitation, she rallied the nobles of the already fallen state to secretly orchestrate a "vertical alliance" in an attempt to sabotage the Qin state's plans.
Judging from the current outcome of Qin's unification of the world, she was destined to fail.
They could not resist Qin, nor could they question Qin's advancements in certain areas, but they could not forget their former identity and glory, so they could only confront it.
No nobleman in any of the six kingdoms could avoid it, but in the end, hatred is the easiest thing to incite and the most appropriate thing to protect one's own interests.
The first nation to be destroyed was the first to become restless. Han An used the men left to him by the Zhang family. And Zhang Ping's death triggered a chain reaction.
Zhang Liang became the sharpest blade planted among the Qin officials.
Later, Yan Yue secretly thought that if Ying Hehua really hadn't killed her brother, then she hadn't succeeded in taking revenge on anyone.
At that time, Ying Hehua released her and sent her back to the Yan Kingdom. Seeing all of her father King happy's actions, she felt utterly hopeless.
She could not erase the hatred for Qin's destruction of Yan, nor could she accept her father's incompetence.
After Qin destroyed Yan, it soon launched a campaign against the Donghu. The Donghu people were routed and fled in all directions.
The whereabouts of Wei Ruo, whom she was looking for, were unknown.
Yan Yue searched for six years.
Over the past six years, she has experienced many disappointments. Amidst this mix of hope, despair, and guilt, finding Wei Ruo has become an obsession, a sin she wants to atone for during her long wait.
After the Qin Dynasty was established, it mobilized labor to build the Lishan Imperial Mausoleum and the Great Wall. On her way south, she met a woman named Cao Yun who was looking for her husband. She said that Pei County was in a remote area and many people from the north had fled there and settled down many years ago.
Lord Xiao's family has one.
On the way, Yan Yue followed the Xiao family members and was surprised to find that there were other people following them as well.
……
It's been many years, and his attire has changed too.
The two fought swiftly, even in the dark of night, they quickly discerned each other's fighting styles.
So much so that they still retained the tacit understanding from back then when they exchanged blows.
Yan Yue lightly touched the ground, seized the opportunity, and almost without hesitation tore off his mask.
The wind and sun at sea had tanned his skin, making the ink characters on his cheeks more visible under the moonlight.
"...Li Xian ordered you to investigate the Xiao family?"
“I am not acting on anyone’s orders.” “Xiao He has many secrets. Besides being a Qin official and taking in Aruo, he also knows our master… Our master Fan Zeng is insightful about the world, and the people he knows are no ordinary people. Lu Heng, are you still going to hide this from me?”
Lu Heng said nothing, only looked at her. Yan Yue smiled bitterly, "Forget it. We are on different paths and cannot work together."
"Ah Yue. You know Xiao He... and Liu Bang, do you know this man...?"
Yan Yue had heard of Liu Bang. According to the woman who was looking for her husband, her son Liu Fei was as chubby and round as his name suggested.
"So what if I know the name?"
Lu Heng said, "A-Yue, the key to their relationship is a closely guarded secret. Inspector Li will never tolerate you knowing about this."
She didn't look him in the eye, but made a gesture as if to welcome his attack. "So, are you going to help the Qin people exterminate them?"
"Ah Yue, if you only want to find Wei Ruo, then where do you plan to take her after you meet her?"
“…Where should we go…We should go back to Ji City, back to the State of Yan.”
“But the Yan Kingdom no longer exists. Is finding Wei Ruo your obsession or just an excuse? A Yue, you have already taken your revenge. Are you still going to remain stubborn?” Lu Heng said.
"Revenge? You mean Ying Hehua?" Yan Yue laughed, though she herself didn't realize the bitterness in her smile. "She was too arrogant, thinking there was nothing she couldn't solve, and insisted on falling for her enemy. She was also foolish, giving up her position as the most noble princess in the land, second only to the emperor, to become a minor official in the Imperial Mausoleum at Lishan. What does that have to do with me?"
"There might be more to the story regarding the Crown Prince," Lu Heng continued. "Are you aware of the rumors that Ying Hehua killed Prince Jia of Zhao?"
"What?" Yan Yue couldn't believe it, but she tried to cover it up by saying, "She stabbed Gongzi Jia when she was a child, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to kill him when she grew up."
Lu Heng took a deep breath. "You know. You've always understood, A-Yue, back then Zhao Jia didn't listen to your advice. He went to Shangjun for Li Mu. Li Mu's ideals weren't realized, so why would he die so easily? Since Ying Hehua went to great lengths to get him to change his name and go to Shangjun, what reason did she have to kill him?"
"Ah Yue. Ying Hehua is just an excuse for you. You hate her because of her status, not because of what she did. Don't let hatred blind you..."
At this point, Yan Yue's expression turned solemn. The burden she had carried for ten years was now palpable. Witnessing some of Qin's actions firsthand, such as the construction of the Great Wall and the Straight Road, she sensed something eerie. These were feats that no other nation could accomplish.
She felt deeply that Lu Heng had touched something deep within her heart.
If we take a long story into account, Ying Hehua should hate her even more.
Zheng Li was still Consort Zheng, and she and Ying Zheng harbored mutual resentment. She also saw the young Ying Hehua worrying about her mother's estrangement.
Before Shen Zhi took her place, they relied on each other for survival in Xianyang Palace.
But in the end, she betrayed her and hurt her for the sake of the Yan state.
Before she left for the northern frontier, she went to Zhilan Palace one last time, hoping to end it all, but she witnessed firsthand how a person was harmed by the chaos of the world.
That high and mighty princess, arrogant and domineering, was untouchable; it's said even Han An was slapped by her. But after returning from the State of Chu, she was severely traumatized, both physically and mentally. The large doses of medicine she took were too much for her body, and she even seemed to be experiencing mental problems. She treated her marriage like a game, willingly marrying a man who was already dead.
Yan Yue heard news of her again at that moment.
Ying Hehua looks like something must have happened to her.
Lu Heng also noticed this.
The usually calm and collected Inspector Li stayed up all night, seemingly preoccupied with finding her.
When Ying Zheng learned that his daughter, whose identity was unknown, had appeared in Lingcheng with the Yue people from the valley and attempted to assassinate Qin officials, he was furious. He ordered that if Ying Hehua was not brought before him within three days, everyone captured in Lingcheng would be guilty of harboring a criminal and be executed.
Yan Yue and Lu Heng came to this cave because it contained many bamboo slips from Fan Zeng's youth.
Unexpectedly, he met the person who had caused chaos throughout the world.
Beside the bluestone, Ying Hehua was indeed standing there.
Their gazes fell on her arm, and despite her attempts to conceal it, they easily noticed that she was injured.
The middle-aged man's voice then came from down the mountain.
It was Xiao Lu.
Yan Yue kidnapped Xiao Lu and inquired about Wei Ruo's situation, while Lu Heng was more concerned about Xiao He's whereabouts. However, Xiao Lu, being a scholar, carefully instructed the two young heroes not to bully others by relying on their power. The two felt that they had been too rude, so the three of them ended up traveling together.
Upon arriving at the outskirts of Lingcheng, Xiao Lu learned about his family's situation. Passing by Bing Shu Bao Jian Gorge, he thought of Fan Zeng and decided to organize his books that had not been touched for twenty years.
Then here, they encountered Ying Hehua, who was suffering from mental illness.
However, the photograph that Xiao Yan mentioned was not actually with Xiao He, but was hidden in Xiao Lu's sleeve.
He yelled, "Don't touch their things!"
Yan Yue reasoned with him, "We're not moving because we're too worried about your safety, sir. Our master said that no one but those from Ailao Valley are allowed to enter. Could you please show us something to prove it?"
"...That's right. But my father instructed me that if we can't reach Zhongnan Mountain, this item must be returned to this valley."
Two things were placed close to the body: a thin sheet and a piece of wood, wrapped in layers of cloth.
Open to the end.
The material was unlike anything Yan Yue had ever seen before—it was blackish-white with a yellowish tinge, and about half the size of a palm.
She turned it over and found a string of talismans on it. Her hand trembled, and the photo was blown away by the wind, about to fall into the water.
Lu Heng reacted quickly and caught it, then saw Yong'an standing to the side.
Her eyes were filled with shock.
They discovered that she actually knew that sentence!
Xu Zhi clasped her hands together to hold the photograph that did not belong to this era.
Countless memories surged forth.
"..."
Tang Zhipei will never know.
When he first glimpsed a corner of the Warring States period, he was not alone.
After that gunshot, Xu Kai also arrived in this era.
Ten days.
Xu Kai only existed in this era for ten days.
When Tang Zhibei arrived, he had suffered a severe head injury and was unconscious.
Forty years ago that day, the snow was very thick.
It was already quite a struggle for Xu Kai to drag him into a thatched hut.
“Brother Zhipei, can you believe it? We are still alive, but... this place is too desolate. The roads are narrow, the houses are scattered, and there are no farm tools, livestock or poultry to be seen.”
Thirsty.
He took the fountain pen from his shirt pocket, opened the cap, and removed the brass tube. "Luckily, I have this fountain pen. I'll use it for a while."
And it's just ten miles away.
The Battle of Changping was about to begin.
I haven't been feeling well for the past two weeks. Everyone should remember to take care of themselves while working or studying!