The moonlight is very beautiful, illuminating the entire path, but I can only see the road in front of me, I can't see what is at the end of the road. Liu Che and Li Yan's first meeting was held but the result was still uncertain. This time Li Yan won a landslide victory, but what about after this?
The two of us walked in silence, from the path he took, it seemed that Huo Qubing was about to take me back to Luoyu Fang. After turning into a long road, in front of him suddenly appeared a bright bright lantern, a string of lanterns with the words Tianxiang Fang could be seen in the distance. , several people came out of Tianxiang Fang, it turned out that several famous ladies from Tianxiang Fang accompanied them out, I couldn't help but pay attention to the guests who had just walked out of the door, my heart was shaken violently, my legs became weak to the point of almost collapsing, Huo Qubing quickly - quickly stretched out his hand to support me. I didn't dare to look at them and kept looking ahead, no way! How could it be? How could they appear on this road of the Han Dynasty?
He was dressed in Han national clothes, he stood tall under the blood-red lanterns, his robe was made of white satin, his head was wearing a skullcap decorated with jasper stones, under the light of the lanterns his appearance was luxurious and elegant. Because he is a Hu person, the sharp corners of his face stand out, handsome as if carved with a knife, except that his face is extraordinarily cold as eternal snow, the cold suppresses people, so that the light of the lantern that should be warm, around him becomes cold. Amidst the warmth of the flowers, in the midst of a crowd of people, it was as if he was standing alone on a snowy mountain peak, always alone. It turned out that this was how he looked after becoming a Shanyu, his face not showing the slightest trace of gentleness, but years ago he was an elegant young master who was always smiling.
In the blink of an eye I couldn't move, my mouth was speechless, I just watched him walking towards me in a daze, I suddenly reacted, in my panic I seemed to have returned to the desert and was running away with Yu Dan, I felt that I had to hurry -quickly run, or quickly hide. I immediately turned around and looked in all directions, but on both sides I was full of houses, nowhere to hide. I wanted to run, but Huo Qubing immediately grabbed my arm tightly as he asked, “What are you afraid of?”
When I heard the sound of footsteps arriving behind me, in a panic and fear I crawled into Huo Qubing's embrace, then hugged him and hid my face in his shoulder, he was momentarily stunned, then slowly hugged me while whispering in my ear, “As long as I'm around , no one in Chang'an can harm you.”
A loud laugh sounded, and a chuckle of admiration sounded, “The women in Chang'an are so passionate! Very frankly, unlike our ladies……our Xiyu ladies lost, looking at her back she seems…….”
Huo Qubing's hand moved, but I pinched his back hard, he pulled his hand back.
The sound of someone sighing rang out, the man's voice caught in his throat, then a very familiar but very foreign voice sounded, “I'm sorry gongzi, my maid has misspoke, not something to be trifled with, but she is from Xiyu and is ordinary. being rude.”
I couldn't help but tremble slightly, but he was standing right by my side. I thought that I would never be able to see him again, but unexpectedly many years later, it turned out that Yinzhixie and I met again on the streets of Chang'an city. .
If I suddenly intervened, would he die by my hand? It's impossible, in a place like this, with his current position, the attendants are certainly good at martial arts, while the kung fu itself is the best among the Xiongnu people. But can't I beat his kung fu, or can't I beat my own heart?
Huo Qubing hugged me tightly, as if wanting to take this opportunity to tell me that he would always be by my side, in an icy voice he said, “You better get out of my sight.”
“Ungrateful, you……”
"Hmmm?" Yinzhixie coughed lightly, but the man was still angry. He respectfully said, "Servant deserves to die."
"We've disturbed you two, we're leaving first". Yinzhixie's voice was insipid, before he finished speaking, his feet had already stepped away.
A gentle voice rang out, “Our master has sincerely apologized to gongzi, but gongzi replied harshly, handsome face but in vain, what a disappointment.”
Huo Qubing suddenly spun me around a few times as he continued to hug me, several iron spikes were heard falling to the ground.
Huo Qubing looked very angry and wanted to push me away, but I hugged him tightly as he begged in a low voice, “Let them go, help me, help me…….”
“Duo er, what are you doing?” Even though Yinzhixie's tone was flat, I could hear the anger behind it.
Duo er? Mudaduo, still with the character as before? Did he come too?
While holding back laughter Mudaduo said, “This young master's kungfu is not weak at all! It turns out that he is a hero, no wonder he is easily offended, Caixia knows he has done something wrong, I'm sorry gongzi”.
In Chang'an, it seemed that there had never been anyone who, after attacking Huo Qubing, stood still talking, suppressing his anger, Huo Qubing hissed, “Scram!”
Some snorting snorts were drowned out by Yinzhixie's insipid word 'let's go', after that only the sound of rapid footsteps was heard, soon, the road had calmed down again, the night air was still cold but cold sweat was running down my back.
Huo Qubing said in a low voice, “They are already gone”. I wanted to stand up, but my body went limp and almost collapsed, he quickly hugged me, my head rested on his shoulder, I couldn't refuse or move. In that short time, it was as if I had experienced a life and death battle, my body and heart exhausted.
He remained standing calmly, until I lifted my head from his embrace, he just asked with a smile, "Was it sweet enough to throw it away?" Holding back my laughter I said “Many thanks”. For a moment, he looked me up and down, stroked his chin, then glanced at me with a mischievous smile, “I really enjoy helping out like this, the beauty in a hug makes my heart rejoice, but next time you can't just thank me, you should express express your gratitude.”
I looked down to find the iron nail that had recently fallen to the ground, “Who thanked you for your embrace? I'm just grateful that you didn't ask me who they were.”
"If you are willing to tell me, you will tell me without asking, if you want to bury your past, you will never give me an explanation forever, I only know the Jin Yu I know." Huo Qubing squatted down and helped me look for it.
My heart gasped, I looked up at him, but he only looked carefully at the space around us, "Here is a stick". He just offered his hand, but I immediately said, “Don't use your hand”.
From my chest pocket I took out a handkerchief, then carefully picked up the iron nail. After looking at it, I was sure that the person was Mudaduo. still the same.
"Because one wrong word then wants to hurt someone, is there really poison?" With a furious face Huo Qubing watched the iron nail.
I shook my head, then somewhat coaxingly said, "It's not poison, he likes to make trouble the most, this nail is only spiked with itching medicine, but if it gets hit, even though it's not dangerous, you will itch like crazy."
Doubt appeared in Huo Qubing's eyes, “No man is so ridiculous, is he a girl? No wonder his voice is a bit strange.” I nodded.
When Huo Qubing was about to excuse himself after dropping me off at home, I looked at him indecisively, the scene was really inexplicable, he waited for a while, and after seeing me say nothing, softly said, “Don't worry! That person's demeanor is extraordinary, his companion also doesn't seem to be ordinary people, they are definitely not ordinary Hu merchants, but I won't have people investigate their identities.” I gratefully saluted him, when I turned around to enter the door, he told me to stop, then softly said, "If there is a problem, look for me, you are not alone in Chang'an."
A pair of jet black eyes full of warmth, I stared at him for a while, my troubled heart seemed much calmer, I nodded, he smiled broadly, "Sleep well". I watched his back until he was in the distance, when I couldn't see him anymore, I just closed the door and returned to my room.
It was late at night, but I couldn't sleep, while holding the cup I stared at the lantern, watching the wax melt little by little, every drop seemed to burn the bottom of my heart.
Why did Yinzhixie come to Chang'an? Know yourself and you will know your enemy, so you will always win in every battle? Or does he have another goal? Is it difficult for the affairs of this world to go according to will? When I felt I had completely buried my past, unexpectedly in the twinkling of an eye I saw it again under the light of the lantern. A Die, I promised you not to look for Yinzhixie, try my best to forget the Xiongnu and go to the Han Dynasty, but why did he appear on the road of the Han Dynasty instead?
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Translator Footnotes
[1] Zhao Kuo was a general of the State of Zhao who was soundly defeated at the battle of Changping in the 19th century BC, despite carrying a . soldier.
[2] A kumala circle with a hole in the center and used as an imperial seal since the Qin Dynasty.
[3] First person pronoun for emperor.
[4] Emperor Han Wudi's nickname.
[5] One of the principles of Sunzi's martial arts.
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Actually, I should send people to Tianxiang Fang to find out where Yinzhixie has gone, but I, who was always on guard in Chang'an, couldn't do what I should have done. playing the flute or playing around with the girls of our entertainment house to pass the time, did I ignore it on purpose and forget about it? It turns out that after so many years have passed, I still don't have the courage to face it.
My heart was confused and I kept playing a song, "On the mountain there are trees and on the trees there are branches. Does he know what's in my heart?" Old worries are coupled with new worries, my heart hesitates more and more.
From outside the window a voice said, "Actually I didn't want to bother you, I was going to wait until your song was finished, but why didn't you finish it too?" While speaking, he knocked on the door.
I put down the flute, "The door is unlocked, please come in". Huo Qubing pushed the door open and entered, then picked up the flute lying on the table and played with it. "What song did you play just now? It seems familiar to my ears, but I can't remember what song it was".
Luckily you never care about things like that, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then grabbed the flute and put it in the box, "Why are you looking for me?" He carefully watched me, "To make sure you're okay?" I forced myself to smile beaming "I'm fine". Smiling, he asked me, "Is it okay to hide at home and not go out all day?" I looked down at the table, "I like not to leave the house".
Suddenly, he poked his head to meet my eyes, after looking at me he asked, "You want some books for Li Yan to read?" The topic of the conversation changed very quickly, I was stunned for a moment, then reacting, what he meant were the books, I quickly looked away and answered softly, "Yes".
He whispered in my ear, "Have you read it yet?", his warm breath hit my ear so that half of my face was hot, I panicked and reached out my hand to push him away. With his chin propped up, he looked at me while grinning, being stared at like that by him, my whole body got goosebumps, I jumped off the bench, "I have to go take care of something, you go quickly".
He lazily got up, then sighed and said, "A woman's face changes faster than the weather in the desert. Just now the weather was clear, then in the blink of an eye it turned into a sandstorm".
Without saying anything, I opened the door and glared at him, gesturing for him to leave immediately, his face became serious, then with a cold expression, he passed me, but just as I was about to close the door, he turned around and said to me blandly, "Your pretty face cold like this makes my heart itch more. I furiously glared at him, "Bruk!", I slammed the door loudly.
When I was feeling annoyed at Huo Qubing, from the door came a few soft knocks, I grumbled annoyedly, "Why did you come back again?" Surprisedly Hong Gu asked, "If I don't come back, where should I go?"
I quickly opened the door with a smile, "Someone pissed me off to the point of confusion, just now I wasn't mad at you". Hong Gu smiled and said, "It's good to vent anger, you've been gloomy for two or three days, but today you're really angry, come join me for a walk in the park, the weather is so good it's a shame to waste it".
I was suddenly taken aback, because Huo Qubing annoyed me, I was busy getting angry, so that the sadness that had accumulated for the past few days had disappeared by half, did…did he do it on purpose?
Seeing me standing in the doorway stunned, Hong Gu smiled and grabbed my hand, then walked out, “Don't dream in broad daylight, just think about real things. Yesterday I did our bookkeeping, looks like we have extra cash to buy an entertainment house, what do you think? I'm planning to…..” While walking in the park, Hong Gu and I talked about the business of the entertainment house.
"Chen Gongzi, please don't do this, didn't I say I'll accompany you for a walk?" While struggling, Qiu Xiang begged, but the man who was about to hug her by force completely ignored her, and still continued to fondle her. Hong Gu and I looked at each other, we felt indignant, what could our entertainment house be considered? Now that even the rudest nobles were polite once they arrived at Luoyu Fang, it was unexpected that today we met such a shameless person.
Hong Gu laughed coquettishly and said, “I was walking around at will and then saw a swallow fighting, in a male and female relationship both sides must be willing. If gongzi really likes Qiu Xiang, you should try to win his heart and make him follow gongzi happily, then gongzi will look romantic and elegant.”
The man let go of Qiu Xiang, then turned his head and laughed, “Your words make sense, but I find it even more fun if he doesn't want to……” When our eyes met, his smile froze, while my heart seemed to stop beating, when I turned around to leave , he shouted, “Stop!”
I pretended not to hear, and continued to walk quickly, but he jumped a few times and chased after me, then pulled me away. recognize you…..” When she spoke her voice was sobbing, she was clearly a woman.
My footsteps stopped, but I still didn't look away. After walking behind me, he took a deep breath, then whispered, “I'm the only one who's causing trouble here, Shanyu isn't here.” I turned and looked at him, we both watched each other intently, for a long time we didn't say anything. Hong Gu glanced at the two of us, then quickly led Qiu Xiang away.
"Why are you still like this? In Chang'an you were so unruly and harassed a lady instead”, I asked with a smile.
Mudaduo suddenly hugged me while crying, "They all say that you are dead, they all say that you are dead, I cried for a whole year, why did Yu Dan swear to heaven when he was about to die?"
I thought I was strong enough, but it turned out that my tears welled up, I bit my lip to keep the tears from falling, "Yu Dan…..you saw him before he died?"
With tears in his eyes, Mudaduo nodded, “At first Shanyu didn't believe you were dead. middle of quicksand.” I took a handkerchief and gave it to him, but for a moment I couldn't help asking about what happened to Yu Dan after he was arrested.
“Jiejie, are you also a dancer here? How much money is needed to buy you?”, Mudaduo said while wiping away his tears. “This entertainment house is mine, I am this house's fangzhu”, I looked at him with a warm smile.
Mudaduo hit himself on the head, then smiled, “I'm really stupid, under this sky who can make jiejie do something you don't want? Kumbits him with 'itch nails', let him die itching!"
I sneered, but didn't laugh. Mudaduo's smile immediately disappeared, after a moment of silence, he said, "Jiejie, Shanyu didn't kill Yu Dan, Yu Dan died of illness."
I laughed sarcastically, “Died of sickness, really? Since childhood Yu Dan and I played together, how come his body is so weak? I once tricked him into falling into an icy lake in the middle of winter, I myself got sick from the cold, but he himself is fine.”
Mudaduo quickly explained, “Jiejie, that incident really happened. If Shanyu wanted to kill Yu Dan, once he caught him he could kill him immediately, but Shanyu gave the order that Yu Dan must be captured alive, otherwise how could it take days to catch one person? You also don't know that when Shanyu found out that you were injured when we chased you guys, he was so angry that his face turned white, I have never seen Shanyu so angry, thousands of warriors chasing you all knelt on the ground begging for mercy. Besides that Shanyu also never wanted to believe that you were dead, he questioned Yu Dan repeatedly about how you died, but Yu Dan's explanation made a lot of sense, Shanyu looked for you all over Xiyu but couldn't find you, he sent troops to all the gates who headed to the Han Dynasty, but they couldn't find anyone who looked like you, so we ended up believing Yu Dan's words.”
I laughed sarcastically, “I don't want to bring this up again, even if Yu Dan dies of illness, there is still my A Die and the empress, do they really want to kill themselves? Who made all these events happen? Even though he didn't kill them, they died because of him."
With tears in his eyes, Mudaduo shook his head, "Jiejie, I don't understand why teacher wants to kill himself, Shanyu has been trying to persuade teacher to stay with him, even if teacher doesn't want to, he can still ask Shanyu to let him go, but why?" did he even want to kill himself? I remember that day I was about to sleep, when I suddenly heard screams from outside, I quickly got dressed and came out of the camp and heard people screaming, 'The Queen Mother killed herself'. Not long after, someone called out while sobbing, 'Master killed himself'. Because I was thinking about jiejie, I didn't go to see the queen mother and immediately ran to see the teacher. I saw Shanyu running towards me. Apparently Shanyu had just woken up, because he was in a hurry, he didn't even have time to put on his shoes and walked barefoot on the snow. As soon as he saw the teacher's corpse his body trembled to the point of almost collapsing, everyone was worried that he would die and told him to rest, but with a deathly pale face he shouted telling everyone to step back, and kept guard by the teacher's body until it was light. Jiejie, after the Shanyu gathered troops and made himself a Shanyu, I have always hated him, hated him because he usurped the position of Yu Dan, but that night, I saw him sitting alone in the tent, it was snowing heavily outside, we who sat on the It was cold by the fireplace, but Shanyu, who was only wearing light clothing, sat until daybreak, unmoving, his eyes shining with displeasure, instead full of sorrow and pain. It was a cold day, but his heart couldn't be any colder, from the outside I sneakily peeked at him, and suddenly I didn't hate him anymore. Yu Dan. I saw all of this with my own eyes and head, I didn't lie to Jiejie at all. After that, despite the opposition of the ministers, the Shanyu buried the teacher with honor according to the custom of the Han people……”
An intense pain raged in my heart, I pressed hard on my chest, painfully closing my eyes. In the past, when I heard the news of A Die's passing at the feet of Qilian Shan, I also felt the same pain, it was so painful that it felt as if my heart was being eaten alive. That scene came back to my mind.
After Yu Dan left me, I didn't obey A Die's words to go to Zhongyuan, and instead hid in the wolf pack, I tried my best to get close to A Die, thanks to the wolf pack's help, I managed to avoid the repeated search. I thought I could secretly meet A Die, and even get him to run away, but when I was about to meet him, I received news that he had died.
By that time it had snowed for three days and three nights, the snow piled on the ground was barely up to my knees, but the Heavens had not finished snowing yet. The sky is white, the earth is white, everything between the sky and the earth is white. Yu Dan is dead, the empress is dead, A Die is dead, the Yinzhixie in my heart is also dead. Sobbing uncontrollably I ran across the snow-covered ground, but couldn't find another human figure. The tears on my face turned to ice, my skin cracked, blood gushed out, mixed with the tears and became frozen blood-red teardrops.
Twelve year old me, amidst the snow that covered heaven and earth, running all day long, finally I ran out of strength and fell into the snow, snowflakes that filled the sky fell on my face and body, I opened my pair of eyes wide- wide and looking at the sky, unable to move, no energy, and also don't want to move anymore. Little by little, ice flowers covered my whole body, I feel that everything is very good, soon I will not suffer anymore, it turned out like this! Let everything end in the middle of this pure white nature, completely devoid of the smell of blood.
Lang Xiong howled to find me, with his claws, little by little, he removed the snow covering my body. He wanted to use his mouth to drag me away, but at that time he was still small and couldn't pull me up. He crouches on top of my stomach, using his whole body to protect me, while constantly licking my face and hands with his tongue to keep me warm. I dismissed him, telling him that if the wolves didn't come in time he too would freeze to death in the snow, but he insisted on keeping watch over me.
Lang Xiong's eyes stared at me without blinking, every time I was about to close my eyes, he licked me with all his might. His eyes and A Die's eyes were different, but the intentions contained in their eyes were the same, they all wanted me to survive. I remembered that I had promised A Die, that no matter what happened, I must live happily, therefore, A Die's only wish was for me to live. I looked into Lang Xiong's jet-black eyes and said to him “I was wrong, I want to live, I must live”. Luckily the wolves came just in time, the snow had stopped falling, I was rescued by the wolves, using their own bodies and the warm blood of the animals they hunted, they warmed my numb hands and feet…….
I suddenly shouted, “Don't talk anymore! Mudaduo, for you all this has passed, but that incident is a scar in my heart, before that wound was bleeding, but now it has become scarred with difficulty and is no longer bleeding, why did you appear in front of me and reopen those old wounds? come back! If you still value our childhood friendship, from now on, don't see me again, Yu Jin is gone, he is indeed dead, died in the heavy snowfall many years ago."
I waved my sleeve, about to leave, but Mudaduo pulled my sleeve tightly while shouting, "Jiejie, jiejie….."
Before leaving the Xiongnu, I, Yu Dan, Ri Di and Mudaduo were close friends. Due to A Die's title, Yu Dan and I are the closest compared to the others. When Yu Dan, Ri Di and I went out to play, we didn't like inviting Mudaduo over. He never said anything, but his wide eyes were always looking at us. To tease him I said, "Call me jiejie and I'll ask me out to play". Stubbornly he shook his head, refusing to call me brother, condescendingly he said to me, "You don't even know how old you are, maybe you're younger than me, I wouldn't call you jiejie". However, no matter where we went, he always followed us and couldn't be left behind. After we grew up, we were actually close because we were both stubborn and like to make trouble. As for my decision to tell him to call me big brother, after thinking last night he was willing to call me that. I wonder why he was willing to call me big brother, after I just found out from Yu Dan that he was willing to do it because he thought I would do whatever he wanted if I called him brother.
Jiejie's repeated calls softened my heart, I gently said, "Now I am very well, I don't want to go home, and can't go home." Mudaduo thought silently for a while, then nodded “I see, you don't want to see Shanyu, so I can't tell Shanyu that I have met you.”
I held her hand "Many thanks, when are you guys coming home?" Mudaduo happily held my hand, "Tomorrow we will go, that's why everyone is very busy today, no one cares about me and I run away to play alone".
I laughed and said, “I'll show you around town! And I'll have the kitchen make some amazing Han food for you, even if it means saying goodbye to you.” Mudaduo sarcastically asked, "Will we meet again after this?"
I turned around and saw that our footprints were clearly marked, but we couldn't find our way home anymore. I bitterly said, “I hope we won't meet again, Yinzhixie and I can't see each other at all. After all, you've already chosen her, if we ever meet again, you won't feel awry.”
Mudaduo's face immediately became bright red, he lowered his head in embarrassment and looked at the ground. Originally I was about to say that he had chosen Yinzhixie as their Shanyu, but as soon as I saw his face, I understood, I asked blandly, "Are you already his concubine?"
Mudaduo shook his head, then sighed softly, “Shanyu is very good to me, that's why the empress doesn't like me very much, just like this trip to the Han Dynasty, no one agreed to let me go, but Shanyu agreed, and because of this matter the empress went berserk. I still don't know Shanyu's heart, but if he wants to take me as a concubine, I will definitely do it.” He spoke in embarrassment while stealing glances at me.