Su Xiaoliu was engrossed in watching when suddenly she was interrupted. A bit irritated, without even lowering her head, she replied, "What is it?"
Unexpectedly, there was no sound from the other side. The next second, a gentle breeze blew by. Suddenly, the tree trunk sank slightly, and there was an extra person beside her.
Su Xiaoliu turned her head to look at the figure and met those cold eyes.
She was startled, reaching out to support the tree trunk with one hand and placing the other on her chest. She shouted loudly, "How did you get up here!"
Chu Weixin hooked his lips into a smile. He put his hands behind his head and leaned against the tree, lying down. His long, slender legs were gently crossed. His long hair brushed across Su Xiaoliu's cheek. As his long sleeves fell, a clear and green jade bracelet on his wrist was revealed.
"No wonder you haven't come down. So there's a view to enjoy," Chu Weixin said quietly as he stared at the young man in white on the platform.
Su Xiaoliu glared at him. Still angry from before, she whispered, "That's right. Originally, without you up here, everywhere was a view. But as soon as you came, I've lost the mood to enjoy even the best scenery."
Chu Weixin turned to look at her, slightly raising his delicate eyebrows and saying, "Oh?" He gave a faint smile. "It's windy up here. You're prone to catching a cold. I just came up to block the wind for you. You can just pretend I'm not here and continue enjoying the view."
Su Xiaoliu's anger subsided a bit because of his words. Regardless of how much truth there was in what he said, she simply straightened her body and continued watching the every move of the young man in white on the platform.
Chu Weixin glanced at her with his cold and beautiful eyes but said nothing.
Zhong Fengyue moved his body back and forth to avoid the continuously falling sledgehammers. There was a look of impatience on his face. Under his white gauze hat, his rhombus - shaped lips were slightly pursed. He tapped his foot and "whooshed" onto one of the sledgehammers.
The strong man was startled. Unable to dodge in time, his forehead was stepped on hard.
Su Xiaoliu in the tree couldn't help bursting out laughing. Chu Weixin beside her glanced at her sideways. Su Xiaoliu ignored him and shifted her body.
The strong man stiffened his neck, and his face instantly turned red with anger. He glared at them with his eyes as big as copper bells and roared, "Ah—" He exerted strength with both hands and swung the two sledgehammers towards Zhong Fengyue behind him.
Unexpectedly, when he turned around, he fell right into Zhong Fengyue's trap. Zhong Fengyue brushed past him and let out a soft laugh...
Su Xiaoliu only felt that the white figure on the platform, as light as a frightened swan, flashed by quickly. Immediately afterwards, the strong man, as steady as a mountain, slowly fell onto the platform under everyone's stunned gazes.
With a "boom", thick dust was raised.
The strong man lay on the ground, staring at them with an incredulous look in his eyes. In that instant, he only heard Zhong Fengyue's pleasant soft laugh. Then, a sharp pain came from his forehead where Zhong Fengyue had stepped on. Next, his vision went black. Then, his legs went weak, and before he knew it, he had fallen down...
"Clap, clap..."
The leader stood up from his ferret - jade chair and clapped his hands.
"Good. In this round, Zhong Fengyue wins."
Applause and cheers erupted from below.
Under the white gauze hat, the rosy rhombus - shaped lips on his exposed chin curved up. He picked up the Heavenly Gift Sword on the platform again, held the long sword, and got off the platform, as if everything was within his expectation, no matter what kind of opponent he faced.
"So amazing," Su Xiaoliu murmured, staring at the platform without blinking.
She just turned to look beside her, but Chu Weixin was no longer there. She was stunned for a moment and then looked down at the bottom of the tree. He was still not there.
Where did he go? Why did he leave without a sound?
Su Xiaoliu was faintly angry, but she also thought it wasn't worth getting so angry. There were still several matches next, but Su Xiaoliu was already a bit tired. After getting off the tree, she patted the dust on her body, shook her legs that were a bit numb from sitting, and walked towards the accommodation arranged for her by Chang He.
In the pitch - black night sky, the crescent moon hung obliquely. Everything was silent.
A brown figure appeared at the door.
The dark - blue eyes slowly lifted, coldly looking at the brown figure at the door.
"Chang He let an important person go," the brown figure said in a deep voice, with a hint of viciousness in his tone.
The dark - blue eyes stared at him, looking silently.
In the darkness, the brown figure at the door remained motionless.
"I think you should also want to regain your freedom earlier," the brown figure suddenly said.
The dark - blue eyes still looked at the brown figure without any ripple.
The brown figure let out a series of chilling laughs.
"Hahaha..."
The laughter suddenly stopped.
"I'll let you go because we're on the same side now."
The brown figure stepped aside, and the shiny door opened wide.
The dark - blue eyes flashed. A figure in aqua - blue quickly rushed towards the door and then disappeared into the darkness.
Wang Chengyang quietly looked at the place where the aqua - blue figure had left. A sinister smile curved his lips.
"Go, Ghost King Nie."
Su Xiaoliu looked down at the gorgeous green robe on her body. She tidied up her sleeves, and her black hair was pulled up with silver ornaments.
"Madam, hurry up. Otherwise, the leader will urge us soon," Xia Xi trotted over and walked in front of Su Xiaoliu to lead the way.
Su Xiaoliu nodded and said, "Okay."
She followed Xia Xi out of the inn and got into a carriage. The carriage bumped and slowly drove forward. Su Xiaoliu sat in the carriage, playing with her fingers.
Today, her fair, heart - shaped face was lightly powdered. After applying a touch of rouge, her delicate face actually showed a hint of charm. The half - peach blossom decoration on her forehead made her whole face look like a peach blossom. Different from her usual elegant look, today she was dressed with red lips and white teeth, and her hair was coiled high. At first glance, she actually had a bit of an imposing manner.
The words Chang He had said the previous night kept echoing in Su Xiaoliu's mind...
"Today, the Golden Jade Tree will make an appearance. It will surely attract many ill - intentioned people. Do you remember the 'Hundred Families' Calamity'? When the hundred families mobilize, there will surely be a great disaster."
On the moonless and windy night, these words kept echoing in the empty courtyard.
When the hundred families mobilize, there will surely be a great disaster...
Su Xiaoliu sighed and shook her head, trying not to think about it.
Chang He had told her to be sure to keep an eye on the people around her. If her identity as Yun Ruo was recognized, it might even lead to a fatal disaster. This was the sentence that Su Xiaoliu remembered most clearly from beginning to end.
"I don't want to play this role anymore! Take back all the gold!" Su Xiaoliu said with a pale face, biting her lower lip tightly and looking up at Chang He standing in the darkness.
Chang He let out a soft laugh and said in a deep voice, "Now that we've come this far, do you think we still have a way back?"
Su Xiaoliu was still in a daze until he left...
Su Xiaoliu frowned and reached out to lift a corner of the carriage curtain. They were almost at the platform. There were already many people on the road early in the morning.
She took out the silver hairpin from her sleeve and looked at it carefully in her hand.
Everything that had happened before was gradually fading away, like a dream. But when she woke up, there were some indelible traces left, reminding her that the dream had really existed.