Chapter 90

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After that, the plot was similar to that of the novel’s. Luo Wentai gave Li Huaishan a set of swordsmanship techniques and had him study and make preparations to participate in a martial arts conference in the next year.

Li Huaishan was originally a bit of a martial arts enthusiast, and these swordsmanship techniques were truly incomparable. He was delighted to see them, and he immediately began to practice.

After going back and forth, Luo Rongrong was a little neglected.

Li Huairou found Li Huaishan and said, “Brother, haven’t you realized that you’ve been busy practicing the exercises recently and neglected Shijie? Shijie is now with Lin-shidi…” Li Huairou shuddered when she mentioned the three words “Lin-shidi”. Well, although this Lin-shidi was not her Lin-shixong, it was inevitable that people would resemble each other.

“Shijie and Lin-shidi are very close now. I’m always worried…”

Li Huaishan smiled disapprovingly. “I grew up with Shimei, and I trust her.”

Li Huairou looked at Li Huaishan, this straight man, shaking her head helplessly. How do you know that affection is affection, and companionship is companionship!

Li Huairou wanted to persuade him again, but Li Huaishan couldn’t wait to practice his new moves. Li Huairou could only helplessly shake her head, look at him for a while, and silently leave.

In the end, after walking a few steps, she saw Luo Rongrong pulling Lin Anzhi out of the bamboo forest. When she saw Li Huairou, Luo Rongrong felt a little embarrassed and let go of Lin Anzhi’s hand. “Huairou, are you looking for Da Shixiong? How is his swordsmanship?”

“Not bad. Shijie, why don’t we watch my brother practice the sword together?” Li Huairou invited.

“No, Dad asked me to teach Xiao Linzhi the basics of swordsmanship. Xiao Linzhi is stupid—he can’t learn no matter how I teach him! I need to teach him more. I won’t chat with you now; I’ll take him to practice his swordsmanship!” Luo Rongrong said with a bright smile.

Lin Anzhi nodded to Li Huairou and went with Luo Rongrong.

Li Huairou sighed helplessly. Well, compared to what she knew about Luo Rongrong, she’d lose to Luo Wentai.

But she couldn’t sit back and watch this happen. How could she disrupt the situation? Directly tell them the truth? But would they believe it?

Li Huairou didn’t want to test human nature. When it came down to it, she was still selfish.

At this moment, Li Huairou received a letter that asked her to meet at the back mountain at night, and the person who’d signed the letter was Su Muhe!

Su Muhe is back! Li Huairou couldn’t figure out Su Muhe’s purpose, but she knew that, in the plot, the original owner had died at Su Muhe’s hands! But Su Muhe had actually directly gone to her. He must have wanted to know something from her, or maybe he had found out about his background!

Thinking of this possibility, Li Huairou was a little excited. This plot development was getting more and more exciting!

Li Huairou decided to go to the appointment. But, remembering that, in the plot, the original owner had been killed by an arrow piercing her heart, she hid a heart protector in her clothes.

After nightfall, Li Huairou went to the back mountain alone. But she didn’t realize that, not far behind her, a figure was quietly following her.

“Su Muhe, I’m here. Where are you?” Li Huairou didn’t see Su Muhe’s figure when she arrived at the appointed place. After waiting for a while, it was so cold, and she could only whisper.

Then her neck felt a chill, and a sword was placed across her neck. Under the moonlight, the body of the sword exuded a cold air.

Li Huairou sighed. She didn’t like ancient times very much. Killing people was the same as killing chickens, and she had no sense of security at all. “Su Muhe, you invited me here, but what do you mean by this?”

Su Muhe stared at Li Huairou and asked, “How did you know?”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb. How did you know my background and that I was not the son of that woman and Luo Wentai! And how did you know that I was ordered by my mother to come here for revenge! I went back and checked that woman; it’s true that she’s never been pregnant!” Su Muhe growled angrily, lowering his voice. After he’d gone back, he found out what happened in the past. His mother had never given birth, he was just a pawn for that woman’s revenge, and even his biological parents had died at that woman’s hands!

For so many years, he had been living with hatred and lies! But why?! Why him?! Their grievances—why should he bear them?! Their grievances were important, but wasn’t his life important?

Behind the stone wall, the figure was shocked, and it froze.

“Do you know Dream of the Yellow Millet?” Li Huairou said after thinking for a while. “Before, when I was practicing, I accidentally fell and hurt my head, and I was in a coma for three days. During those three days, I had a dream. I dreamed that Shifu and Shiniang took my martial brothers and sisters to travel down the mountain. They rescued a young man on the way and took him back to Qishan. Shijie shifted her affection to another and stayed with the young man. I was killed because I discovered the young man’s secret. My brother came out of retreat and found that my death had a hidden meaning, but in order not to frighten the snakes, he had no choice but to play a trick and betray his teacher. In fact, he went to find the truth of the young man’s life experience. On the day of the wedding of that young man and the shijie, my brother rushed back and told everybody that the identity of the young man had been forged. The young man killed the shijie. Then he talked about his life experience. He said that he was the child of Shifu and a Miao girl. Shifu had deceived the Miao girl for the sake of gaining inner strength. He’d come back to take revenge. Shifu said that he already knew the young man’s identity was fake and that the young man was not his son at all. Then, Shifu and his real son, Third Shixiong, killed the young man, his wife, and my brother, and he put all the guilt on the young man. He passed the position of head to Third Shixiong. I thought it was just a dream, but who would have known that things would develop so coincidentally. Shifu and Shiniang really did take us down the mountain for a journey, and the route was the same, but this time, we met you first.”

[Huang liang yi meng (黄粱一梦). She’s talking about a Tang Dynasty story about a man who has a dream in which he lives an entire lifetime of wealth and prosperity. However, when he wakes up, all of that vanishes, and he realizes that the whole dream happened in less time than it took for his yellow millet to cook. Later generations used this story as a metaphor for pipe dreams and unrealized desires]

Su Muhe’s face turned pale. His hands shook, his sword fell to the ground, and he knelt down.

A man in black flew to the stone wall. He grabbed the figure and threw him out. “Young Master, someone is eavesdropping.”

Su Muhe didn’t lift his head. “Kill them!”

“Don’t kill me! My life experience is the same as yours—if what you said is true, Xiao Shimei, then I suspect that I, like you, am somebody else’s chess piece.” The newcomer raised his head. It turned out to be Lin Anzhi.

Now it was Li Huairou’s turn to be dumbfounded. “Xiao Shidi, you…”

“I also thought I was Luo Wentai’s son. At least, that’s what my mother told me.” Lin Anzhi’s face was pale. “I tried my best to get close to Luo Wentai, and I finally gained his trust and was admitted. I am still very happy. I’m happy, thinking that I can finally avenge my mother. However, unlike you, my mother really gave birth back then, but now I doubt whether I am that child!”

Li Huairou’s heart was moved when she heard this. “Xiao Shidi, when is your birthday?”

Lin Anzhi reported his birthday, and Li Huairou immediately understood that Lin Anzhi and Third Shixiong were born in the same year, the same month, and the same day, but at different times. “You and my third shixiong were born in the same year, the same month, and the same day, but the time is different.”

“As expected! When my mother gave birth, there were other women in the village giving birth, but the woman was unlucky, and the baby died after birth. The corpse was taken away by the midwife and unceremoniously buried.” Lin Anzhi smiled desolately.

When Su Muhe heard the words, the grief in his heart lessened. “So we are all the same people.”

Li Huairou also sighed and squatted down. “Do you really believe what I say? You’re not afraid that I lied to you with nonsense?”

The two looked up at her, and Su Muhe said, “If it was not confirmed that what you said is true, you think you would still be alive?”

“Then what should we do now?” Li Huairou asked.

Su Muhe sneered. “Of course it’s revenge! Not for others, but for myself!”

“Count me in!” Lin Anzhi said softly.

“Wait a minute, how are you going to take revenge?” Li Huairou immediately asked, for fear that they would come and implicate innocent people.The two didn’t speak, but their eyes showed everything.

Li Huairou hurriedly said, “Directly killing him has little chance of winning. Besides, this is also the lowest level of revenge. The highest level is to take the things he cares about most. What could be more ruthless than watching him lose everything he has?”

Lin Anzhi and Su Muhe looked at each other and smiled. This was a little interesting!

Their first target was Third Shixiong. What Luo Wentai cared about the most, what they were going to get rid of—just take it as a way to get back a little interest for their lives that had been filled with hatred and lies!

Before leaving, Li Huairou stopped Lin Anzhi. “Xiao Shidi, Shijie is actually a very simple person. If you really like her, treat her well!”

Lin Anzhi shook his head. “Although I know she is innocent, when I think of her as Luo Wentai’s daughter, I can’t have the slightest fondness for her. Not implicating her is the limit of what I can do. Right now, I still need her to numb Luo Wentai, so don’t worry. After everything is done, I’ll have her give up on me.”

Li Huairou was a little relieved.

Lin Anzhi glanced at her, “You don’t want this kind of fickle woman to continue with Da Shixiong, do you?”

“That is my brother’s business. No matter what he chooses, I respect him. It’s just that Shijie, and you, you’re all pitiful people. And Shiniang,” Li Huairou said.

Lin Anzhi sneered. Pitiful people? Pitiful people always had detestable traits! When he’d thought that he was really Luo Wentai’s son, he’d hated Luo Rongrong at first sight. Why, she was that person’s flesh and blood; why, she was the arrogant daughter of the heavens, loved by thousands of people. However, he and his mother had huddled together in the countryside to survive. Was it because her mother was the daughter of the head of Qishan?

But now that he knew the truth, he’d found that he was just a shield used by Luo Wentai to protect his biological son. But he also deeply hated Luo Wentai. As for Luo Rongrong and her mother, although they were also Luo Wentai’s chess pieces, they had enjoyed comfort for so many years, and it was enough. Also, Luo Rongrong. It was said that she and Da Shixiong were childhood sweethearts, but he’d only played such a small trick, and Luo Rongrong had left Da Shixiong behind. What kind of pity was there for such an easy woman?

But, looking at Li Huairou’s yellow millet dream, he could let Luo Rongrong go.

The next day, Luo Wentai went to check Li Huaishan’s swordsmanship and was very dissatisfied, thinking that Li Huaishan had not made any progress. Li Huaishan also deeply reflected on himself, and he took the initiative to practice his swordsmanship in seclusion.

Luo Wentai stroked his beard with satisfaction, encouraged him, then left.

Li Huaishan simply cleaned up and went to a cave to retreat.

On the third day after Li Huaishan went into seclusion, Third Shixiong suddenly died at the back mountain! When Luo Wentai heard the bad news, he burst into a rage, split a stone wall with one palm, and rushed out with reddened eyes.

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This translation is presented by Nocturne Translations.

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