C21.2

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A cool breeze weaved through the dense forest. Only the singing of birds could be heard.

Rong Luoyun moved among the trees. The leaves danced in the wind. Suddenly, he sprang up and disappeared into the cluster of branches. Perched on a branch, he peered through the leaves as a masked figure clad in black emerged from the forest. It was the sixth of the nine, Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao’s ear twitched and he immediately scanned the treetops. He shot up, drawing his sword and bringing it down on the leaves. Rong Luoyun nimbly descended to fight. Their swords collided, sending their sleeves flying.

In a single breath, the two had exchanged forty moves. Their qi were even and skills equal; it was difficult to discern who was stronger. The situation was thornier than Rong Luoyun imagined. With another attack, the two were pushed several steps back, pulling apart some distance. Chen Xiao asked: “Who is this, seeking death?”

Rong Luoyun answered: “I’m Chen Ruoyin’s — father.”

Chen Xiao bursted out laughing: “What’s your reason for seeking death?”

Rong Luoyun replied: “Chen Ruoyin, that dog of a son, refuses to see me as a father. I have no choice but to find you, my grandson.”

He suddenly stepped back, avoiding the sword aiming to take his life. This made him more energized and his moves more deadly. Tangling in this fight and exchanging forty moves more, he turned and propelled upward, climbing higher. He used the momentum he built to slip behind Chen Xiao, sending all his power into a Soul Seizing Palm.

Boom!

Chen Xiao was violently hit and his outer robes tore with a rip. Blood gushed from his mouth, flowing down his neck and dyeing his robes crimson. He wanted to regulate his qi to protect his heart meridian, but how could Rong Luoyun let him? Blow after blow, the sword came hacking down, not giving him an opportunity to take a breather.

Wind whistled beside Rong Luoyun’s ear. Another black shadow flew past. It was the fifth, Chen Mian, who had just returned.

One against two, they exchanged nearly a hundred moves before separating. Rong Luoyun steadied himself, asking: “Why are you wearing masks? Are you so ugly you’re ashamed to show people?”

Chen Mian didn’t answer the question: “How cunning, trying to lure the tiger away from its mountain. Isn’t it just a pity that you won’t be able to escape from my brother and I?” He stepped in front of Chen Xiao, “You will be dying without a burial place today.”

Rong Luoyun gnashed his teeth: “Then you two will be even more wretched than I and die without a full corpse.”

In this time, Chen Xiao had circulated his qi and recovered about half his strength. The two raised their weapons simultaneously and attacked. Their cooperation with one another was as seamless as heavenly robes. Their strength had increased greatly.

Rong Luoyun was one against two. Like a hot knife cutting butter, he fought excitedly, exchanging several hundred moves. However, his breathing became slightly disordered and eventually lost the upperhand.

He couldn’t help but shiver. His internal energy spread out violently, causing the surrounding leaves to twirl around in a tornado. A silvery-white light streaked down and the surrounding trees immediately toppled over.

Chen Mian and Chen Xiao avoided the falling debris and only received external injuries. When the dust had settled, Rong Luoyun had already disappeared without a trace. This kind of qinggong was rare in this world, but the two had no time to admire. They stood back to back, watching vigilantly at their surroundings.

They closed their eyes and listened for Rong Luoyun’s breathing, but only heard the sound of rustling leaves. The two snapped their eyes open at the same time and pulled out their swords. The blades headed for a tree, only to hit nothing. Rong Luoyun had already effortlessly flown somewhere far.

Like this, they chased around in the forest. Rong Luoyun’s speed was simply too fast to match. After half an incense’s time, he finally played with his opponents enough. He took advantage of their exhaustion to extract the needles from his waist.

One needle missed its mark, hitting a tree. At the same time, a blood-curdling scream sounded in the forest.

Chen Xiao looked over in shock and saw that a needle had gone through Chen Main’s mask and straight into his left eye.

Rong Luoyun leaned back on a branch, swinging his leg, and gave them a twisted smile.

His strength had been gradually used up. He took a short breather before dropping down from the branch and drew his sword, engaging in close combat with Chen Xiao. He turned and leapt into the air, whirling to where Chen Mian stood. He viciously and rapidly clawed for the other party’s left eye.

However, the moment before disaster struck, Chen Mian exerted a large burst of qi and expelled the silver needle. That needle shot out and penetrated Rong Luoyun’s palm.

“Ah!” Rong Luoyun retreated with a stifled groan, nearly blacking out from the pain.

He lowered his head to look. There was a small hole that went completely through his left palm, gushing unceasingly with blood. The meridians on his palm were becoming numb inch by inch. His five fingers, even his left arm, were starting to lose strength.

At this time, Chen Mian and Chen Xiao acted simultaneously. Torrents of killing intent covered the sky, aiming for his Mingmen acupoint*. Being attacked from both front and back, Rong Luoyun brandished his Cloud Cleaving Swordplay. Smoke rose in the air as his attack gravely injured Chen Xiao. However, he failed to avoid Chen Mian and received a fatal blow to his back.

*Mingmen acupoint – 命门 (literally translates to “life gate”) – acupoint at the center of your abdomen

The sword fell. The person toppled. His throat filled with a fishy sweetness.

Rong Luoyun collapsed with blood flowing from his mouth. His heart was in so much pain, as if it was about to be mushed into paste. Chen Mian stumbled. His left eye had already bled into a bloody hole. His body was also mottled with wounds.

Rong Luoyun was muddled with pain. Half his arm had completely lost feeling. He could only see the tip of a sword coming down on him.

Chen Mian roared: “What a pair of peach blossom eyes you have…… I’ll ruin them first!”

At that very moment, a cold light flashed by and sent the blade askew.

A tall figure sprang forward, sweeping Rong Luoyun into their arms and tumbling a few times away from danger. Everything was so abrupt, he could only embrace this heat. It was only after a few moments when he lifted his head in surprise, staring directly at Huo Linfeng’s sharp eyebrows and star-like eyes.

“Du Zhong……” He whispered unbelievably.

“I’ve arrived late.”

Huo Linfeng lowered his head to look at the other party. His face, his neck, the lapels of his clothes, they were all covered in hot blood. That pair of eyes held killing intent and hatred, but when they looked at him, they were also filled with relief. Over his three hundred li journey, Huo Linfeng had accumulated a bellyful of things to berate the other person about. He had determined that even if it overstepped his boundaries as a subordinate, he still had to scold the other a little. Yet, at this moment, he couldn’t even utter half a sentence.

Rong Luoyun’s voice was weak. He grabbed onto Huo Linfeng’s lapel and pulled him a little closer, whispering beside his ear: “I want to kill them…… I want to kill them……”

Huo Linfeng said: “Alright, I’ll kill them.”

He set Rong Luoyun on the ground and rose to deal with the two. Chen Xiao suffered a palm and blade from Rong Luoyun and was on the verge of death. There was even less to say about Chen Mian. His left eye was still bleeding, making him dizzy with pain. He swayed and tumbled to the ground.

In the end, just how deep was this old enmity, for him to run three hundred li here just so both sides could suffer such heavy losses?

Chen Mian propped himself up with his sword: “As the rescuer, we’ll have to see if you have the qualifications.”

Huo Linfeng looked at his ruined eye. If he was a step late, would Rong Luoyun also become like this? He said: “You’re delaying your death. Come.” He bent over to pick up Rong Luoyun’s sword. He had no intention of showing any leniency, his each attack carrying great power.

Chen Mian had already damaged his vital energy and could not withstand much longer. He had not even exchanged thirty moves when he strained his qi to its fullest extent and collapsed, kneeling to the ground. Rong Luoyun struggled to crawl up, but painfully fell again. He stuttered with difficulty: “Du Zhong…… I want to kill……”

Huo Linfeng sighed helplessly. This troublesome thing, doesn’t care that he’s dying, yet so persistent in killing people. He turned back to support Rong Luoyun up. He wrapped one arm around Rong Luoyun’s waist, pulling him into his embrace, and held the other’s right hand in his palm.

“Hold on tight.” He nudged Rong Luoyun’s temples, saying, “A stab to the heart, alright?”

He lifted Rong Luoyun’s hand and thrusted forward with all his strength, stabbing the blade into Chen Mian’s chest. The back of his hand dripped with hot blood. He turned over to look and unexpectedly saw tears rolling down Rong Luoyun’s face. Rong Luoyun cried: “It’s not enough…… not enough!”

Huo Linfeng held onto that hand to pull out the sword and sent the blade through the abdomen. Hot blood blush gushed, soaking the green grass red. Only after countless stabs did Rong Luoyun finally calm down in his arms.

After killing the fifth and sixth, Rong Luoyun finally remembered that he was injured, suddenly shrinking back in pain. Huo Linfeng pulled down Rong Luoyun’s robe. On the center of his back, there was a bulky purple-red bruise the shape of a palm. It was the Heart Tempering Palm, the one capable of destroying one’s meridians and giving pain worse than death. Rong Luoyun’s complexion was deathly pale, with the only traces of color his dark red lips. He took a few steps, swaying. It was so painful he couldn’t make a sound. Leaning on Huo Linfeng, he slid down to the ground.

Huo Linfeng held the other’s shoulder and asked: “I’ll hold* you?”

* carry in the arms

He shook his head, don’t.

Huo Linfeng said sarcastically: “You’re already like this, what are you acting so tough for?”

He refused, ordering: “…… Carry* me.”

* carry on the back / piggyback

Cold sweat soaked through his clothes and his vision was becoming blurry. He felt extremely dizzy as he was being carried. He secured his legs around the waist and bent them a little to let the big hands hold onto them. Huo Linfeng carried him on his back and exited the western courtyard. As he headed towards the lakeside, he suddenly asked, “Palace Lord, you stomped broken Jia Yanxi’s legs?”

He gave a feeble “en”.

Getting the answer he wanted, Huo Linfeng seized the opportunity to say: “So you know your own strength now, right?” He gently shifted the person on his back, admonishing as he walked: “In the future, don’t use your foot to step on me.”

In Jianghu, the strong preyed on the weak. Rong Luoyun was extremely weak at the moment and couldn’t put on even an ounce of the airs a Palace Lord was to have. Whenever he opened his mouth, he would spit out blood, so he could only use his chin to nudge Huo Linfeng’s shoulder as a form of agreement.

When they arrived at the lake, Jia Yanxi was still incapacitated and struggling. Seven or eight of his beautiful wives and concubines surrounded him, wailing. Seeing Huo Linfeng with Rong Luoyun on his back, he knew Chen Mian and Chen Xiao were dead. His eyes filled with terror as he beg for forgiveness.

Rong Luoyun weakly raised his hand, pointing towards the building at the center of the lake.

Jia Yanxi hurriedly said: “Young heroes, spare me! I’ll give you all the treasures, all of it!” He was terrified, nearly to the point of pissing his pants. He pulled the wives and concubines beside him, “They, they will also be given to you!”

Huo Linfeng looked towards that building in the lake. There was too much silver and gold to carry, so it would be better to leave it here for now. This prefectural manor was already impressive looking, so outsiders who don’t give a closer look won’t notice anything strange. As for the others, he shot a glance at the maidens as beautiful as pear blossoms covered in raindrops [1] and turned his head to look at Rong Luoyun inquiringly.

“What’re you looking at me for……” Rong Luoyun felt a sense of perplexity arising in his sea of pain.

Huo Linfeng advised: “Palace Lord is currently heavily injured, so even if there are beauties, I’m afraid you would be too weak no matter how much you want to do it. It’ll be better to wait, as the future is boundless.”

Rong Luoyun realized his meaning but was in too much pain to refute and could only let him say it.

After finding a carriage in the estate, Huo Linfeng helped Rong Luoyun get settled. He tied up Jia Yanxi to bring along and locked all the womenfolk and servants in the manor to deal with later. He drove the carriage out of the back gates. All the businesses within the city had closed their doors. Rong Luoyun was in critical condition, so they needed to find somewhere to stay as soon as possible.

Huo Linfeng remembered there was a mountain en route to the prefecture. At the foot of said mountain, there was an old temple.

As he sped up in search of it, a groan escaped from the carriage behind him. It was Rong Luoyun who could no longer contain the pain. “Yu!” The mountain road was bumpy. Huo Linfeng stopped and turned around. He lifted the curtain, and what greeted his eyes was Rong Luoyun using Jia Yanxi as a pillow.

He frowned: “What are you doing near him?”

The carriage walls were too hard to comfortably lean on. Rong Luoyun was looking for a human cushion, that’s all.

Huo Linfeng contemplated for a moment before moving the other party closer to the side of the carriage so he could lean on his back. As they continued on their journey, the back that always seemed to be straight bent a little. Every once in a while, he would move his hand back to support the other party. Gradually, Rong Luoyun’s painful groans dwindled.

Huo Linfeng said: “Palace Lord, hold onto my waist.”

Rong Luoyun dipped his head to look at his left hand. Beads of blood dropped constantly. He couldn’t even move half of his arm anymore. “I can’t.” He murmured. He could only wrap his right hand around Huo Linfeng’s back, “I want……”

Huo Linfeng asked: “Want what?” But no sounds came from behind. He turned to look. Rong Luoyun had curled up and already lost consciousness. He sped up until he reached that small mountain. The old Buddhist temple at the bottom of the mountain was not eye-catching. The little monk sweeping outside the temple sent them a curious look.

The carriage drew to a halt. Huo Linfeng turned and took Rong Luoyun into his arms. Rong Luoyun seemed to have woken, his eyes opening a sliver like a delicate dying thing. Huo Linfeng carried the other party on his back to the temple to ask for help, but before he could even enter, a group of monks blocked his way.

One of them spoke up: “The temple cannot be contaminated by blood. Benefactor, please do not disturb the sacred grounds of Buddha.”

Huo Linfeng did not expect this and said: “Saving a person’s life is more meritorious than building a seven-tiered pagoda, isn’t this a Buddhist saying?” He wanted to force his way in. Before, back at home, he had already spoken careless words in front of Buddha’s statue. At this moment, it was even more unnecessary to avoid taboo.

All the clamor attracted the attention of the abbot. The abbot caught sight of the bloodied Rong Luoyun and turned pale with fright, quickly murmuring “Amithaba”. Huo Linfeng urgently stated: “Great Master, Han Prefecture is in dire straits, so this humble one’s little brother risked it and went to the granary alone to steal some food. He received heavy injuries trying to help the famine victims. Great Master, please be merciful!”

It was clearly him getting hurt for revenge…… also, what “this humble one’s little brother”……

In his suffering, Rong Luoyun blushed in shame and shrank his head back, forming the splitting image of a little turtle.

Huo Linfeng continued: “I won’t hide anything from the Great Master, the prefecture’s Jia Yanxi is right in the carriage. He has committed countless crimes, so can you please lock him up in the wood shed for now.”

The abbot was feeling extremely awkward. He suddenly remembered: “There’s an empty praying hall at the top of the mountain. It’s about several hundred steps up from the foot of the mountain and is peaceful without any disturbances. This honorable little brother can recuperate there.” After arranging everything, he immediately called a disciple to get clean bedding.

Huo Linfeng expressed his thanks and immediately set off to carry Rong Luoyun up the mountain.

Treading up the first few steps, he asked: “Does it hurt a lot?” These were useless words. Rong Luoyun hummed, lacking the energy to even nod his head.

“Then I’ll walk a little slower so you don’t feel uncomfortable.” Huo Linfeng said. Seeming to be afraid that Rong Luoyun would fall asleep, he continued, “Palace Lord, do you know why I came?

“I heard the Third Palace Lord say you went to Dusk-till-Dawn. Since I had free time, I also went.

“But you weren’t there. Miss Duanyu was really worried. It was only then that I found out you went to Han Prefecture alone.

“You told her to call the First Palace Lord after three days. The First Palace Lord is drinking wine with people all day long, where does he have the time to care about you?

“…… Why didn’t you call me? You don’t trust me?”

Verdant trees lined both sides of the gray stone steps. Beside his ear was Huo Linfeng’s long-winded monologue. Rong Luoyun leaned on the broad shoulders, listening. He relaxed and watched the scenery as he dealt with the pain.

Going upwards step by step, he sensed the same steadiness in Huo Linfeng’s breath and footsteps, but the sweat rolling down his temples showed that it was quite exhausting. After a hundred steps, he sighed guiltily: “So high up……”

Huo Linfeng said: “Fortunately, Palace Lord is light, so I don’t feel tired.”

Rong Luoyun lowered his eyes, replying with a doubtful hum, and kept wiping the other person’s shoulder. “What are you doing?” Huo Linfeng laughed and couldn’t stop himself from raising his shoulders, “Don’t touch me like that, it’s too ticklish.”

Rong Luoyun said honestly: “I got blood on your clothes.”

“No problem. It’ll be fine, just relax.” A bead of sweat rolled off Huo Linfeng’s temple.

As they climbed higher, the temperature dropped a considerable amount. Rong Luoyun’s chest leaned against Huo Linfeng’s back. His cold sweat from the pain met Huo Linfeng’s sweat from exhaustion, feeling damp.

Two hundred, three hundred, nearly four hundred steps later, they finally caught sight of the praying hall.

Huo Linfeng turned over: “Palace Lord, we’re h—”

He choked when he saw something gray. It was Rong Luoyun sending a great deal of effort to pull out a gray handkerchief from his bosom. It was the one he picked up outside of Dusk-till-Dawn. The one he dropped down the stairs. He didn’t expect the other to have kept it all this time.

The handkerchief stuck to his forehead; Rong Luoyun was helping him wipe his sweat, his movements inconsistent. He even clumsily rubbed Huo Linfeng’s eye. Huo Linfeng asked: “Palace Lord, why didn’t you return that handkerchief to me?”

Rong Luoyun answered: “It was mine to begin with.”

Huo Linfeng didn’t understand but still inclined his head until the other finished wiping. When the handkerchief was pulled away, they lost the barrier between them and their eyes met. With how close they are, it doesn’t even need to be mentioned that he could see Rong Luoyun’s delicate eyelid. He could even clearly see the slender lines on his lips. His heart jumped, resulting in him tightening his grip.

With his two legs gripped painfully, Rong Luoyun misunderstood: “It’s really mine……”

Huo Linfeng didn’t reply, only wanting to quickly put this person down. With another body pressed on him, he felt quite uneasy. He stepped into the praying hall. The group was covered in a pile of dead leaves. The meditation room had long been unused and was coated in a thick layer of dust.

The Marquis Manor’s young master who swore on his life never to do maid’s work finally accepted his fate. He rolled his sleeves back and got ready to clean. But he had no idea how to serve a person. Without bringing over a bench or a stool, he cluelessly placed Rong Luoyun at the doorstep.

Wiping the tables and sweeping the floors was already too much for him. The little monk had left rolled up bedding on the bed. Afterwards, he also needs to make the bed. After living twenty three years, he actually never made the bed himself before.

Huo Linfeng thought of Du Zheng. If that servant was to find out that he’s sweeping and cleaning the courtyard, he would definitely faint from anger. After letting his mind wander for half the day, he failed to realize that everything had turned quiet. He turned around and couldn’t help staring blankly.

Rong Luoyun sat on the doorstep, leaning on the doorframe. It was unclear if he was awake or not.

His bantered clothing and the stillness of his ponytail, it looked as if his life force was leaking out bit by bit.

He was rendered a little speechless from this scene. Through the open door was the scenery; the bricks that paved the courtyard, the trees and vegetation in the corner, and that far away sky. And in this view, at the bottom right sat Rong Luoyun with the peaceful backdrop, appearing a bit pitiful, a bit weak, and a bit lonely.

He suddenly wanted to call out to him, call out his name.

He moved his lips, but in the end, he didn’t make a sound.

Huo Linfeng quickly tidied up, spread out the bedding on the mattress and arranged the pillow. Only then did he call out, “Palace Lord.” Rong Luoyun reacted a little late. His movements were also sluggish. He seemed to have murmured an “ok”, but his voice was tiny and unclear.

Huo Linfeng came over, squatting down to try to help Rong Luoyun up.

Rong Luoyun was completely dazed. He pursed his lips as he leaned against the doorframe, his blank gaze scattered. Later, pursing was not enough, he firmly bit down on his lower lip. After [resisting for a while?], he couldn’t withstand it and was hauled into Huo Linfeng’s bosom.

Embarrassed with his weak appearance, he finally gave in: “Du Zhong, it hurts a lot.”

Huo Linfeng already knew. What Chen Mian used was his Heart Tempering Palm, capable of destroying one’s meridians and was so painful it could torment the victim to death. Rong Luoyun shuddered in his embrace, curled up, wishing to grow a shell to hide into.

“Strike me unconscious.” Rong Luoyun grasped his lapel, “Knock me unconscious…… go find Big Brother……”

Huo Linfeng acted dumb: “Who?”

Rong Luoyun begged: “Big Brother…… get Big Brother……”

Duan Huaike’s internal energy was profound, so naturally he would be his last hope. Yet Huo Linfeng did not move. Rong Luoyun was suffering right in front of him. He lowered his eyes and gazed at him. The lofty tower in his heart collapsed inch by inch.

The grip on his lapel became tighter and tighter. Suddenly, Rong Luoyun let go, murmuring weakly: “I want Big Brother……”

Was this what he wanted to say in the carriage last time? When he was leaning on his back, holding onto his waist, his heart was actually thinking about his Big Brother three hundred li away? Huo Linfeng had heard enough and bundled up Rong Luoyun in his arms: “What Big Brother? Distant water can’t put out a fire*.”

*he means that DHK is too far away to help RLY

He walked into the room, turning around to kick the door closed.

He hugged Rong Luoyun to the bed and untied his clothes.

The room was dark and only had one window leaking in a bit of light. In his muddled state, Rong Luoyun was greeted by a big hand, sticking skin to skin with the steaming warmth. He couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, like a starving man who had received a hot meal, a deer who had found a warm nest on a wintry day.

Huo Linfeng asked behind him: “Who am I?”

Rong Luoyun gave in and murmured: “My big brother…… Du Zhong.”

If you enjoy reading Riling Up the Jianghu and would like to support the author (please do if you can!!), please consider purchasing the raws here (guide on JJWXC here). Thanks for reading!

Translator’s Notes:

Unfortunately Rongrong didn’t call out gege, but a respectful version of “brother” instead

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Notes

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