Li Сhао Yang did not give сhаse.
In faсt, he no lоngеr саrеd whо might pursue him оr who might stand in his way.
Acrоss thе cliff wаs Chаnggеng Раss. A distаnсе оf а dozеn or so zhang, hе сrossеd it with a single, light leаp. As hе leaреd, реrhарs tоo suddenlу, оr pеrhарs beсausе Хin Mei hаd finаlly rеacted, shе let out a сrу оf "Ai!" Тhe food bох fеll from hеr hаnds, аnd shе immеdiаtelу wаiled, "Аh! Mу tofu..."
Thе long whiр shоt оut without а sоund, wrарping securеly around the foоd box. With anоther tug, it landеd steаdilу in his hand, аnd he silently passed it back to her.
Xin Mei stared blankly for a moment, then looked up at Lu Qianqiao. His brows were slightly furrowed, a hint of anticipation and some hesitation in his expression. He didn't speak, just continued to gaze at her quietly.
Would she cry? Or would she throw herself at him and hold him tight again?
Xin Mei studied him intently, then slowly broke into a smile. She gently took his hand and said, "Let's go. Time to eat."
A warm fire was lit in the main tent. No lamps were on, so the light was somewhat dim. She opened the food box and felt inside with her hand. Good, good, it was still warm. The vegetarian dishes like the tofu were fine to eat as they were, but the fish soup and meat dishes needed to be reheated.
She turned to look at the fire. A simple, small iron pot was set over it, half-filled with bubbling water. The damp, warm steam made the dry tent feel a little more comfortable.
She poured out the water in the pot and placed the fish soup inside to reheat. Then, she found two well-burnt pieces of charcoal from the fire and placed them at the bottom of the food box. Before long, the aroma of food filled the tent.
Wherever she went, Lu Qianqiao followed silently, like a noiseless tail.
Perhaps it was because she had been out in the cold wind by the cliff for too long, and was now being smoked by the warm air in the tent, but Xin Mei had just finished reheating the food when she couldn't help but let out several big sneezes.
The tail behind her finally moved to stand in front of her, and a hand covered her forehead.
"...You've caught a chill. Come here."
Lu Qianqiao brought over a basin of scalding hot water, took off her shoes for her, and soaked her ice-cold feet in it. In the military camp, this was the common folk remedy used to drive out the cold when soldiers caught it. If the symptoms were severe, they would even toss a few slices of ginger into the water.
"...They're blue from the cold." He pinched her soft, snow-white feet, frowning.
Her toenails had a purplish-blue tint, and they felt like ice to the touch. He looked up at the thin, pale-yellow silk dress she was wearing and frowned again.
"You're not wearing enough."
...What a completely unromantic comment.
Xin Mei pouted. "I had this dress newly made, and that's your only comment?"
Lu Qianqiao looked up again, pinched the hem of her dress, and continued to frown. "The fabric is too thin. You shouldn't wear this in winter."
"Can you say anything other than that?"
He finally gave her a careful, serious look. Only then did he notice that this new dress was exceptionally beautiful. The long sash dangled by the bedside, adorned with two small silver bells, and the corners of the garment were embroidered with magnificent peonies. Though she wore no makeup, she was a natural beauty with fair skin, and this dress truly made her look exquisite.
His lips moved. He wanted to say something, but found himself at a loss for words. The tips of his ears gradually turned red, and he could only lower his head and gently pour the hot water over her feet.
An icy hand touched his burning ear, followed by several bean-sized drops of water.
Lu Qianqiao looked up, startled, only to find her touching his ear as tears streamed down her face, one after another.
"...What's wrong?" He panicked slightly, clumsily placing her feet back in the basin. He wiped his hands haphazardly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. After a long moment of thought, he stammered, "The dress... the dress is very nice, very beautiful..."
She was probably crying because she hadn't received a compliment, he thought.
But instead, she let out a great "Wah!" and began to cry even harder. She crashed into his embrace, held him tightly, and said nothing, just sobbed her heart out.
He pressed the back of her head, his fingers sinking into her hair, stroking it gently. After a while, he heard her muffled sob, "Your ears... your ears still turn red... they're still the same... I'm so glad they haven't changed..."
Finally, she could cry without restraint.
He used his fingers to wipe away the messy tears on her face and lowered his head to kiss her forehead.
He had missed her scent as if thousands of autumns had passed. Overcome with emotion, his kisses fell again, on the bridge of her nose, on her damp eyelids.
The feeling was strange yet familiar, as if he were touching her for the first time, a faint, irrepressible impulse.
Her moist eyelashes fluttered up, then fell like the wings of a butterfly. Lu Qianqiao's arms suddenly tightened, and his burning lips pressed heavily onto her slightly cool ones.
Entangling, rubbing... he couldn't kiss her as gently and clumsily as he once had. He bit and sucked, his tongue darting out to twine with hers almost fiercely.
Xin Mei seemed to have been frightened. She shrank back in surprise, but he pressed forward, his long fingers delving deep into her clothes. The sashes of her dress snapped one by one with his somewhat rough movements.
She cried out indistinctly, "Don't rip it! I... this is the only one... I'm wearing!"
If he ripped it, she wouldn't have any clothes to wear!
A hoarse, low sound rumbled in his throat. Sorry... I can't stop. His scorching kisses trailed down from her open collar. His hand slid down, deftly tearing that beautiful sash. The silver bells on it tinkled twice before falling to the ground. That same hand then probed downwards from her waist, urgent and clumsy.
"Wait..." Xin Mei's eyes flew open stiffly. She suddenly gripped his shoulders, panting heavily. "...My feet... I'm still soaking my feet..."
With a hook of his calf, both her feet were resting on the bed, and her lower skirt slipped off lightly.
This time, it seemed she had no chance of overpowering him. She... she hadn't perfected the Guanyin Sitting on a Lotus yet, and... she was so hungry, she had no strength... The food was already reheated... it might have to be reheated again later...
Her mind wandered. Suddenly, he touched her somewhere, and her entire body trembled, all the chaotic thoughts in her head instantly vanishing.
His teasing fingers were clumsy at first but gradually became skilled. His forehead rested against hers, their moist, hot breaths intertwining. She was completely ready... It was enough. He couldn't wait any longer, or the next moment would be death.
Perhaps because she was cold, hungry, and tired, or perhaps because he wasn't gentle enough, she let out a soft moan of discomfort as he entered. Her fingers dug into his arm, and she murmured in a daze, "Slow... slow down..."
He couldn't slow down... He was already on the verge of drowning. The words he couldn't say, the words left unsaid... be they vows or sweet nothings, he had never given them to her. Only his body was real, the only thing that could make her understand what was hidden in his heart.
He had always been this clumsy and stubborn, leaving her again and again before he had ever given her any sweetness.
Why did you chase after him?
Why did you wait for him?
Why... did you fall in love with him?
Tofu General, Tofu Xinmei... on that night when he was blind... he would never forget the taste of them for the rest of his life.
"Xin Mei..."
He called her name instinctively. Amidst his fierce and unstoppable movements, he pressed his cheek to hers, holding her tightly.
He could never lose her again. Never again.
Li Chao Yang hadn't thought that Lu Qianqiao would be unable to resist going back. She just hadn't expected him to turn back so decisively, as if he had completely forgotten she was still waiting behind him.
Or perhaps, even if he did remember, he wouldn't have cared.
Her dark eyes instantly turned red. She had said she wouldn't give him another day, and had even given the gate key to that girl, tacitly permitting her to visit the War Ghost Clan in the future.
She never said the same thing twice.
Raising the Halberd in her hand, she was about to throw it when she suddenly heard a frivolous yet icy voice behind her say, "You are Li Chao Yang?"
Without a second thought, the Halberd danced through the air, instantly thrusting backward.
There was no cry of pain, nor the sound of a body being pierced—for her, this was truly rare.
Li Chao Yang spun around abruptly, only to see a figure blur before her eyes. It was immediately followed by a strange and piercing red light flashing towards her. The Halberd swept horizontally along with the figure's movement—still no sound of impact. Her opponent was faster than a rat.
Raising a hand to recall her Halberd, she focused her gaze again. The night before her was vast and dark, the cold wind biting. Where was there any sign of a person? All that lingered in the wind was a faint scent that the War Ghost Clan found utterly repulsive—it was someone from the Youhu Clan.
She let out a cold, disdainful snort. Squeezing her legs, she urged her whistling wind dark steed to follow the scent, but to her surprise, the usually docile Spirit horse floated in mid-air, unmoving.
Her brow furrowed. "Go!"
Still, it didn't move.
Li Chao Yang looked down and was horrified to see that the four legs of her whistling wind dark steed had turned into translucent blocks of ice! It let out a pained and terrified hiss, tears streaming from its eyes as it looked helplessly at its master on its back.
The ice was still spreading upwards. In just an instant, its abdomen, chest, neck... all of it had frozen into solid, lustrous ice!
Li Chao Yang reacted with extreme speed, immediately leaping free. She somersaulted in the air, plummeting straight down. But the whistling wind dark steed fell even faster. It had completely turned into an ice sculpture, and it smashed heavily onto the ground with a dull, shattering sound.
For the first time in her life, she felt a sense of shock. After landing, she sprinted over. But after just a few steps, she sensed something was wrong. Looking down, she realized that her own feet had also turned to ice, firmly pinning her to the ground. Next came her knees, her thighs... Before she could even let out a roar of fury, the ice and snow had already covered her head.
The High Priest slowly walked out from the woods. The black silk glove on his left hand had been removed at some point. His right arm was severed halfway, the severed limb tucked under his armpit. In the end, he hadn't been able to dodge the Perfect War Devil's first strike, and his right arm had been cut off. His face was pale. He suddenly raised his left hand towards a giant tree beside him. A brilliant red light flashed in his palm, and in the next moment, that giant tree also turned into beautiful, crystalline ice.
As if letting out a sigh of relief, he slowly put his glove back on. Then he walked slowly to Li Chao Yang's side and carefully observed the ice sculpture of the War Ghost.
She was well and truly dead.
By getting close to Xin Mei and frequently ferrying her between the Imperial Mausoleum and Changgeng Pass, he had waited for over half a month and had indeed managed to provoke her into coming out. However, if everything hadn't happened to coincide so perfectly, allowing him this brief moment when she was alone, this lady who was usually accompanied by one or two War Ghosts would have been truly difficult to kill. His ability couldn't be used when there were too many people around.
It was the will of heaven.
He took out a brush and paper from a leather pouch at his waist. Dipping the brush into the wound of his severed arm, he hastily wrote a line of text in blood: [Li Chao Yang has been executed. Mission complete.]
A jet-black magpie had already landed on his arm. It snatched the slip of paper in its beak, flapped its wings, and flew away.
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