Mo Sigui was not without the desire to walk the path of revenge with her, yet there were too many things he had yet to accomplish. Call it cowardice or selfishness, but he would never waste his life and time on vengeance.
In this world, only a handful could truly understand him, and Lou Mingyue was one of them.
They could have been a celestial couple, but alas—he could not forsake the way of medicine, and she could not let go of her hatred.
"Tomorrow—"
Mo Sigui interrupted Lou Mingyue, "Leave three days from now. A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years—can’t you even wait three days?"
"Understood." Lou Mingyue did not argue.
The embers in his pipe had long died out. Mo Sigui tapped it lightly against the table. "I remember when we were children, you were even more unruly than the boys—climbing trees, catching fish, always leading the charge. And whenever trouble came, I was the one who covered for you."
Lou Mingyue did not know why he suddenly brought this up, but the words tugged at her heart, a thin mist rising in her eyes. She quickly lowered her lashes, hiding the rare flicker of emotion.
Mo Sigui continued slowly, "When you wanted to cry, you’d wail with your mouth wide open. When you wanted to laugh, you’d laugh heartily. I always thought you were someone with an open, unrestrained nature."
Lou Mingyue held back her tears, her eyes tinged with faint red streaks. "Since you know that’s not who I am, why say such things?"
"Then may I ask—how did you get injured this time?" Mo Sigui set down his pipe and looked at her.
"Assassinating Yelü Huangwu." Lou Mingyue pressed her lips together, her stubborn expression tinged with unwillingness.
Mo Sigui said, "I’ve heard the Yelü Clan suffers from an illness—most don’t live past middle age. Yelü Huangwu is already nearing that limit. You’d have better luck assassinating Ning Yanli."
"You don’t understand." Lou Mingyue stood and walked to the window, pushing it open. The vast expanse of stars shimmered through the thin mist. "My childhood was so happy, so carefree. But now, the pain is tenfold. The Ning couple may not have been my birth parents, but to me, they were no different. Because of the schemes of the Liao Kingdom, my family was destroyed, my home ruined. My father gave his life to save me..."
Her voice suddenly choked, her brows tightly furrowed. No matter how hard she tried to hold back, tears still slipped free.
She still remembered her father, riddled with arrows, fleeing with her for miles. When the pursuers closed in, he hastily threw her into the river. "I left you a letter, hidden in the cave where you always used to hide. If you survive, take it and read it. Do not seek revenge for your parents."
Those few words carried the weight of a mountain. Whenever she sulked, she would hide in that cave for days, not even bringing her personal maids. Only a kitchen maid who tended the fires knew, often bringing her food. But who would have thought...
She drifted in the river, watching helplessly as her father was brutally slain by two men in black.
Back then, Lou Mingyue had been well-protected by the Ning couple. Before that day, she had never seen death—let alone witnessed her own father, who had been with her day and night, die before her eyes. The shock had nearly shattered her.
Every time she recalled that scene, she felt that even tearing those two assassins limb from limb would not be enough to quell her hatred.
Lou Mingyue’s birth mother had been a stern, wise woman, strict in her demands. Yet her love for her daughter was undeniable. To Lou Mingyue, she had been both mother and teacher—even something of a confidante.
And yet, she had been forced to burn her own mother alive!She could never forget her mother's slightly open eyes amidst the flames. Though it might have been an unconscious movement, in her dreams, it was interpreted with countless meanings—accusation, resentment, confusion, agony... It jolted her awake night after night.
Twice her family had been torn apart, yet Lou Mingyue had not crumbled. Instead, she grew even more resolute, fueled entirely by this burning hatred.
She stood by the window, letting the night wind dry her tears.
Mo Sigui stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her from behind. It was the first time in ten years they had been so close.
"Ning Yu," Mo Sigui's voice was hoarse. As he gazed at her desolate silhouette, an impulse surged within him—to live and die with her. Yet in the end, all he said was, "You don’t need to draw a line between us. Though I cannot stand beside you in life and death, I wish to be your steadfast support."
Lou Mingyue felt the warmth from his embrace and did not push him away.
At times, she harbored some resentment toward him. But upon reflection, she realized he owed her nothing. How could she demand he abandon his lifelong pursuits for a vendetta that wasn’t his?
If she could let go, she might have wandered the mountains and rivers with him, free and untroubled. But alas, as long as her enemies lived, she could find no peace.
Compared to her lifelong ideals and blood-soaked vengeance, the bond between Lou Mingyue and Mo Sigui seemed faint—not the kind of desperate, all-consuming love, but an unbreakable tether nonetheless.
Childhood companions—how much of it was familial affection, and how much was romantic? The tangled thoughts churned in her mind until they gradually settled. Lou Mingyue whispered, "Thank you."
Outside, starlight poured from the heavens, scattering across the lake into fragmented, dim ripples—mirroring the emotions between them in that moment.
The night was silent, the candlelight faint.
The next day, as dawn approached, An Jiu went to survey the terrain around the execution grounds while the others busied themselves with preparations.
The weapons Gao Dazhuang had delivered were far from sufficient. Whether the rescue succeeded or not, they could never return here, so there was much to prepare.
An Jiu returned to the island before noon. As her boat docked, a deafening explosion erupted, sending flocks of startled birds soaring into the sky. Thick smoke billowed from the woods.
The island’s inhabitants set aside their tasks and rushed to Lou Xiaowu’s courtyard.
An Jiu was the last to arrive. The moment she stepped over the threshold, a pitch-black figure lunged at her, grinning to reveal a set of gleaming white teeth. "Shi Si, Shi Si, did you see that?"
"Come help put out the fire!" Sui Yunzhu urgently tugged at An Jiu.
The surrounding trees were charred. What had started as small flames had, unnoticed, spread rapidly.
The dry autumn air was prone to fires, especially with the thick layer of dead leaves covering the ground!
As An Jiu rolled up her sleeves to fetch water, she asked Lou Xiaowu, "What happened?"
"I was making bullets! The bullets aren’t done yet, but I accidentally made a Fire Mine instead. How about that? Pretty impressive, huh?" Lou Xiaowu boasted.
Mo Sigui raised his smoking pipe and smacked the back of her head. "Put out the fire first! I’ll deal with you later!"
Lou Xiaowu’s almond-shaped eyes, set against her soot-blackened face, shone even brighter, as if speaking volumes of grievance. Reluctantly, she grabbed a ladle to splash water, only to be whacked again by Mo Sigui. "Are you watering flowers? Get a bigger bucket, damn it!"Mo Sigui had put immense effort into setting up the island's defenses and was unwilling to abandon them so easily. The first line of defense, the Dream Blossom, had already bloomed, while the second line, the Poison Orchid, had just matured. The medicinal herbs meant to isolate the toxic gases were still tender sprouts. If the fire spread, months of his painstaking work could be destroyed in an instant.
Lou Xiaowu pouted and went to fetch water to extinguish the flames.
After half an hour of frantic effort, they barely managed to stop the fire before it reached the herb garden.
Xiao Wu quietly sidled up to An Jiu again, poking her lightly with a finger, her eyes sparkling as she asked, "Well?" (To be continued...)
PS: I really overestimated myself.
OpenNovel