r18novel Chapter 7: Has a new love made him forget his old one?
Chapter 7: Has a new love made him forget his old one?
The proud and aloof junior sister had never seen anything like this before. She felt her face burning, her heart pounding, and she froze on the spot.
Seeing that she didn't move, Yue Yuan took it upon himself to put the jade pendant around her neck.
"Her hands are as soft as tender shoots, her skin as smooth as cream, her smile is enchanting, and her eyes are bright and beautiful. Junior Sister, this jade pendant suits you perfectly."
Not far from the edge of the cliff, Yue Buqun stared intently into the pavilion, his aura beginning to materialize. If he weren't thinking about Yue Yuan's business, he might have jumped out and killed Yue Yuan right there.
With a swing of his arm, he smashed a sizable boulder into pieces, which then fell off the cliff.
The loud noise startled Yue Lingshan, who was pretending to be an ostrich. She glanced at Yue Yuan with a complicated expression, then quickly left the pavilion, leaving Yue Yuan standing alone in the spot.
After Yue Lingshan left, Yue Buqun stepped out from the side.
"Master!" Yue Yuan stepped forward and bowed.
Old Yue, with a dark expression, ignored him and went straight into the pavilion.
Unable to fathom Lao Yue's thoughts, he could only bow and follow behind him.
"Yuan'er, how long have you been at Mount Hua?"
"Reporting to Master, it has been over a month."
"Has the remaining poison in your body been cleared?"
Upon hearing this, he quickly bowed and said, "Thank you, Master, for helping me suppress the strange poison. I am much better now."
He knew that Yue Buqun was giving him a warning; but what Yue Buqun didn't know was that his Five Poisons Heart Sutra could completely devour this poison, but the time was not yet ripe and he couldn't reveal it.
"I saw everything that happened between you and Shan'er just now."
Yue Yuan's face turned ashen, and he hurriedly explained, "Master, things aren't as you see them. I can explain. I actually..."
"Hahaha~" Yue Buqun waved his hand to interrupt him, "I don't actually object to your relationship with Shan'er. On the contrary, I see hope for the rise of the Huashan Sect in you."
"Master, you're not angry with me?"
"Your master was once your age too, in your early twenties, the age when love first blossoms." He paused, his expression changing. "I have a very troublesome matter I need your help with. If you handle it well, I will betroth Shan'er to you. What do you say?"
Here it comes, Lao Yue is going to use Yue Lingshan as bait.
Yue Yuan immediately put on an expression of ecstatic joy, "Master, rest assured, your disciple will absolutely not fail in his mission."
Just as he expected, on one hand, she reminded him that the remaining poison in his body had not been eliminated, using this as a way to put him on the back, and on the other hand, she used Yue Lingshan as bait to make grand promises to him.
Since that's the case, he won't hold back and will see whether Yue Buqun gets away or he gets caught.
"Yuan'er, can I trust you?"
"Master, you saved my life. I swear to heaven that I will never betray you."
Yue Buqun stared at him for a long time, and after some consideration, he finally chose to believe him.
"I need you to go to Fuzhou and keep an eye on the Fuwei Escort Agency. You need to be on the lookout for any unusual activity there."
"This disciple will certainly live up to the mission."
Fuwei Escort Agency, Lin Family – this is where the story begins.
Yue Buqun turned around and tapped him with his folding fan, "Shan'er is with you this time. Protect her safety."
"This disciple understands."
"Good to know. Pack your things and let's go down the mountain!"
Yue Yuan bowed and took his leave. He returned to his room, casually packed a couple of pieces of clothing, and headed towards the mountain gate.
On the surface, this trip to Fuzhou was between him and Yue Lingshan, but whether Yue Buqun had any spies behind the scenes remains unknown.
He had just arrived at the mountain gate when Yue Lingshan was already waiting.
"Senior sister," he greeted her with a smile.
Yue Lingshan gave a soft "hmm" as a greeting, and the two of them walked down the mountain one after the other.
Mount Hua is a natural fortress; going up is easy, but coming down is difficult.
Yue Lingshan, like a mountain sprite, nimbly traversed the steep cliff face, descending a considerable distance in just a few moves. Yue Yuan, however, was no match for her; he had been practicing his internal energy cultivation lately and knew nothing of light-body techniques.
He could only use the old method, using both hands and feet, with his buttocks facing backward, to slowly crawl down.
After climbing only two or three steps, he heard a haughty female voice beside him, "How can you be so useless? You crawl down the mountain like a turtle."
"Senior sister, I've been practicing swordsmanship lately, so I haven't been practicing my lightness skill much."
Give me your hand.
"what?"
Yue Lingshan blushed slightly. "Hurry up, or you can keep crawling like a turtle!"
He quickly stretched out his right hand; he didn't want to continue this turtle-like crawling anymore.
Yue Lingshan grabbed Yue Yuan's outstretched hand, thinking to herself: This is the last time. I will never have any physical contact with my junior brother again.
After descending the mountain, the two followed the official road into Huayin City.
More than a month later, Yue Yuan came here again, to the same familiar crossroads and the same familiar Tongfu Tavern.
To be honest, he still can't quite believe what he's been going through lately.
"Junior brother, let's make do at the tavern tonight and set off again tomorrow!"
"It's all up to Senior Sister's arrangements." After saying that, he pointed to the tavern with its doors tightly closed, "but it seems this tavern is not open."
"What's so difficult about that?"
With a light push of her feet, she soared like a bird and flew to the top of the backyard wall.
"Senior sister, I'm here too."
She lightly patted her forehead, forgetting that Yue Yuan didn't know how to use qinggong (lightness skill), and then flew down again.
When Yue Yuan saw her come down, he stretched out his right hand again.
Yue Lingshan took his hand and flew with him into the backyard.
She silently warned herself that this was the last time, truly the last time, and that she would definitely keep her distance from her junior brother next time.
Once inside the courtyard, Yue Yuan looked around.
The tavern, having survived the last major battle, has now been restored to its former glory, and the government has not pursued the matter of the twenty lives lost. This shows that in this world, the martial arts sects and the government are deeply connected.
As night fell, Yue Yuan waited until Yue Lingshan was fast asleep, then secretly slipped out of the tavern, wandered through the streets and alleys, and arrived at a brightly lit and bustling place—Yihonglou, which was also the only place without a curfew.
On the surface, this is a brothel, but in reality, it is the stronghold of the Sun Moon Cult in Huayin City.
Of course, he had never been here before. He learned everything from the original owner's memories. He, Yue, was a good young man who upheld the three virtues and four beauties. How could he possibly come to a place like this?
"Oh, isn't this Mr. Yue? It's been a while since you've had a good time here."
"Ahem, Aunt Li has mistaken me for someone else. I am not Yue Yuan."
"Mr. Yue, our Miss Qin has missed you so much!" The madam said as she pulled him into the building, "Tell Miss Qin that Mr. Yue, whom she has been longing for, has arrived."
"Okay~~"
In just a few breaths, the sound of a piano and singing came from a room on the second floor with its doors and windows tightly closed.
"If life were only as beautiful as our first meeting, why would the autumn wind bring sorrow to the painted fan?"
"Old friends change easily, yet people say it's the old friends' hearts that are fickle."
"After speaking at Lishan, half the night had passed; tears fell like rain, yet I had no regrets."
"How could I compare to that heartless, richly dressed man, who once vowed to be like two birds flying wing to wing, branches intertwined?"
Hearing the singing, the madam laughed and pushed him upstairs.
"Mr. Yue, Miss Qin can't eat or sleep without seeing you. You heard the lyrics she sings, and you wrote them all."
Yue Yuan reluctantly went upstairs and entered Qin's room.
This girl playing the zither was a spy for the Sun Moon Cult. Although she worked in a brothel, she was a pure courtesan who sold her art but not her body. Over the years, almost all those who had designs on her have died.
He dared not touch such a ruthless woman, especially since she held his lifeline—the antidote to the Three Corpse Brain God Pill.
Upon his arrival, the piano music inside the room abruptly stopped, and a clear female voice rang out.
"Why are you standing at the door and not coming in?"
He sighed, pushed open the door, and went inside. Some things are unavoidable and must be faced eventually.
"Miss Qin, it's been a long time."
The girl playing the zither, her face veiled in red gauze, teased as she played, "I thought you'd forgotten me now that you have a senior sister."