Chapter 39

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Angrily scribbling words

The wound was deep. Blood flowed out endlessly, and it wasn’t long before Huo Linfeng lost feeling in his right arm. His right hand clinging onto Rong Luoyun started to slip downward.

Huo Linfeng’s voice trembled painfully: “I can’t hold onto you anymore.”

The two stood facing each other. Hot blood soaked his robes and the fishy scent of blood was heavy. Rong Luoyun was frozen in place, not daring to move, not daring to push. He merely demanded in a low voice: “Let go of me.”

Huo Linfeng turned a deaf ear. With his right arm drooping, he looped his left arm around the other party. His hand was restless, moving from the other party’s belt, caressing up his back, to his shoulder blades, and then to his slender nape.

He rubbed and kneaded it, letting out low rumbles like those of a trapped beast.

He pressed his lips to the other party’s temples. Rong Luoyun was absent-minded as he listened to those deep, hoarse sounds. Du Zhong had once coaxed him just like this, with that hand, with those lips, his touches and caresses full of love.

“Du Zhong……” He suddenly pushed Huo Linfeng away with force and murmured, “You’re not him, you’re not.”

His words were crueler than his blade. Huo Linfeng’s face turned deathly pale. Cold sweat rolled down his forehead: “Du Zhong is me, the me right now is also me.”

Rong Luoyun’s eyes reddened. Tears rolled down endlessly. He couldn’t help but think: Was he asking to be forgiven so he could continue with his schemes? After being bitten by a snake once, Rong Luoyun had grown vigilant of this hurtful bastard.

He didn’t dare believe him again. He will not fall for his tricks a second time.

Rong Luoyun picked up his sword and retreated: “I don’t want the handkerchief anymore. Whether you keep or throw it away is up to you, General Huo.” He hurried out of the tent, disappearing in a leap.

Huo Linfeng bore with his pain and hurried after him, only to see nothing but the clouds in the sky.

He had once wished to find a partner, who would lean in his arms and call out “General Huo” adoringly to him. Now, he’s found someone, he had held them close, but that “General Huo” was like a slap in the face.

He stood alone for a while before turning back to his tent. Huo Linfeng saw the shredded pieces of the letter and bent down to pick them up, piece by piece, filling his hand with the scattered words.

It was silent, yet not. It was peaceful, yet not.

White sunlight spilling in, full of brightness and hope, but matters have become a mess.

He sank into a chair and undressed his upper body, planning to clean up his wound. At this time, the commandant, Hu Feng, entered the tent and said attentively: “General, how is your wound?”

Huo Linfeng applied pressure to staunch the bleeding: “It’s fine.”

Hu Feng hesitantly stepped forward: “Reporting to the General, the Extraordinary Palace’s people are truly impudent and have been bothering the brothers for many years.”

Huo Linfeng hummed without looking up. Hu Feng cupped his fist upon seeing this: “General, that person surnamed Rong can bully us, but he even dared to challenge you. We cannot let him off for this.”

Huo Linfeng said mildly as he applied medicine: “He challenged me, so what does it have to do with you?” The other party stared blankly. Huo Linfeng looked up, “Can’t let him off? I’m just about to go burn some incense for him to let me off.”

Hu Feng was confused, through and through: “This subordinate is foolish and will follow the General’s orders.”

And thus, Huo Linfeng ordered: “If Rong Luoyun comes again, no one is allowed to stop him. Make sure to draw him to my tent. If he curses at you, you’re not allowed to argue back. If he hits, those who aren’t afraid of death can fight back. In any case, I wouldn’t dare.”

Hu Feng was quite muddled: “This……”

“This is called ‘military orders are undefiable like mountains’. If you understand, then go back to doing drills. If you don’t, then go get flogged thirty times according to military law.” Huo Linfeng lowered his eyes again. His bleeding had stopped, so he gently pulled his robes back up.

That sword didn’t go through his shoulder. It went through his heart.

Rong Luoyun called out “Du Zhong” nonstop. He had given all his warmth to “Du Zhong”. Huo Linfeng felt regretful, but in addition to his regret, he shamelessly felt a pang of jealousy.

“Du Zhong” might be him, but he couldn’t help feeling jealous.

Because Rong Luoyun wanted the fake him, not Huo Linfeng.

He sat withered in his chair for a while. General Huo thought plenty. Who is to blame for how things turned out? It’s his fault. He should have confessed earlier. But it was all Rong Luoyun’s fault for his appearance and his arrogant yet adorable temperament. He wanted to eliminate evil and eradicate the wicked, yet he harmed Huo Linfeng into falling for him……

And the most worthy of blame was the Duan father and son duo. Did they not understand the principle of “one can destroy ten temples but not a marriage [1]”? And also Buddha. Huo Linfeng had hung his wooden tablet so high up on that tree, but things still turned out like this.

Huo Linfeng let out a sigh and closed his eyes, crestfallen.

At the foot of Mount Lengsang, a flicker of white moved eastward. Carrying a sword with a wooden face and robes dyed red with blood, Rong Luoyun’s footsteps were heavy. It took him a long time to travel the few miles back to the palace. The disciples on duty were taken aback by his appearance.

Someone ran to the Profound Jade Hall to report: “Second Palace is hurt! He’s covered in blood!”

Duan Chenbi and Duan Huaike quickly came out, one after the other, and waited at the Distant Gray Platform. They only saw Rong Luoyun walking step by step down the street, seeming dispirited and lonely.

When the person got closer, Duan Huaike called him: “Luoyun?”

Rong Luoyun came to and mumbled his greetings: “Shifu, Brother.”

Duan Chenbi asked: “Where did you go to become like this?”

Rong Luoyun answered: “Barracks. I stabbed Du Zhong.” He was slightly dazed and corrected himself, “No, it was Huo Linfeng. I stabbed Huo Linfeng.”

Duan Huaike spoke: “Same difference. Du Zhong is Huo Linfeng.”

Rong Luoyun shook his head with force. How can Du Zhong be counted as Huo Linfeng? Du Zhong was nonexistent but also innocent. It was all Huo Linfeng’s fault……Rong Luoyun couldn’t understand, nor did he want to.

Duan Chenbi flicked his sleeves and scolded gently: “Nonsense. Come to the hall and practice your martial arts.”

Rong Luoyun obediently climbed up the Distant Gray Platform and went into a side courtyard of the Profound Jade Hall to practice.

He sat cross-legged on the mat and closed his eyes to calm his heart, reciting the first level of Rising Cloud Palm’s mind technique. For every word he recited incorrectly, Duan Huaike would strike him with the flogging rod.

He recited a string of incorrect words and suffered ten strikes to the back. Even his eyebrows were knitted together into dough twists [2]. Soon after, Duan Huaike conceded defeat and said helplessly: “Get up and go copy scriptures fifty times.”

Rong Luoyun obediently went to do so but messed up in the very first line. Duan Huaike finally used up all his patience.

“Did that Huo Linfeng take your soul with him?” Duan Huaike admonished, “Getting rid of a spy should be something to be celebrated. Why are you acting like you’re attending a funeral?”

Rong Luoyun lowered his head, writing as he was being reprimanded. Duan Huaike continued: “It’s only losing one Great Disciple. In the future, we can always recruit more. Without Du Zhong, has your sky crumbled?”

Rong Luoyun said in a small voice: “He can defeat you. Where can we find a replacement for him?”

This jabbed at the other party’s sore spot. Duan Huaike retaliated by striking seven inches down [3]: “Is it really his martial arts you care about? Or is it his handsome face and sweet words that can coax you to the point where you can’t differentiate north from south?”

Rong Luoyun flushed, but his red face only encouraged him to write faster. When can he not differentiate north from south? He knows that that bastard is from the north, from Saibei, and immediately cut his emotional ties with him.

Seeing Rong Luoyun’s expression, Duan Huaike lectured him for another half a day out of disappointment. He only stopped when his mouth was parched from talking so much. “Fine, go back to the Nameless Abode and change into clean clothes.” He finally pardoned him, “Go meditate a little and calm your heart. Leave the papers here. I’ll look over what you’ve copied.”

Rong Luoyun nodded with a sigh of relief.

He put the brush down and got up, walking out lifelessly. When he reached the door, he couldn’t help but pause. He dawdled hesitantly, fiddling with the doorframe before he asked in a roundabout way: “Brother, a sword wound to the shoulder plus a lot of bleeding…… it won’t be a big issue, would it?”

Duan Huaike snorted: “Getting stabbed by a sword is not a big issue. It’s only a big issue when your limbs get pulled apart, right?”

These words made Rong Luoyun tense. He asked: “It won’t cause illness, will it?”

Duan Huaike answered: “If the bleeding is not stopped soon enough, serious wounds can render the arm useless.” His tone suddenly changed, continuing smoothly: “Why? Saibei’s strong guy got his arm rendered useless by you?”

Rong Luoyun looked down at his robes riddled with blood. He didn’t answer and left blankly.

Duan Huaike stayed alone in the hall. He fixed the brushes and ink back in place and gave Rong Luoyun’s work a quick skim. He slowed down and curiously read the writing aloud: “If I copied incorrectly, I could just rewrite them. Why are you scolding me?”

“I don’t care if you’re happy. Stop bothering me if I look like I’m mourning at a funeral.”

“I, for one, have no fear of the sky crumbling. After all, it’ll crush you eight chi tall people first.”

“Du Zhong indeed has outstanding skills in martial arts. I remember you losing to him. Dare I ask if you’ve completed your year-long seclusion yet?”

“He hasn’t coaxed me into confusing north with south yet, but your scolding is making me lose my head. No wonder I’m copying incorrectly.”

Duan Huaike was angered to the point of shaking. He wrote that quickly to write this? Pretending to be obedient, acting like he was listening, only to write this right under his nose? Was he going back to his courtyard to smash little figurines of him as well?!

Rong Luoyun wouldn’t go that far. He had just arrived at the Nameless Abode.

He pushed open the doors and glanced at the broken tank. The red carp were gone, presumably taken away by the bobcat. After calling a disciple over to clean up the mess , he felt the courtyard had become empty.

He went to his room to change. After washing his hair, he dried it lazily and bundled it into a bun. He locked himself in his study, planning to properly copy the heart scriptures, but spotted the map stored on his desk.

It was of Han Prefecture, the extra one Huo Linfeng had drawn just in case. Rong Luoyun was slightly dazed. It seems like that person had not done anything to stop them or hinder them when he hid in the Palace? Even when he tried to gain his trust, it was so he could perform his tasks better……

He unfurled the map as he thought but was caught off guard by the little drawing of a cloud on the lower right corner.

Did he draw a cloud because it was for him? Rong Luoyun left his study and went to the outer hall. He picked up a broken piece of the lantern’s handle. The cloud patterns on it matched identically with the one on the map. He then went to his room. The kite he had slit apart laid skewed, making it difficult to find where the drawing of eucommia was.

Rong Luoyun picked up the pieces and locked them away in his cabinet, telling himself not to think about it anymore.

That stab of his today marks the end of it all.

However, whether it was the end or not, the pain was real.

Huo Linfeng bore with it for a day and waited till dusk before returning home. By then, his face was completely void of color. Back in the manor, when he saw Du Zheng, he couldn’t hold on any longer. He clenched his teeth and made his way to the couch, collapsing upon it.

Steward Du hurried back and forth, calling for a doctor, boiling medication, preparing a warm blanket, fetching hot water, and then ordering the kitchen to prepare blood-replenishing foods for nourishment. Huo Linfeng watched from the couch, feeling like they were preparing for him to give birth……

Du Zheng shut the doors to dress Huo Linfeng’s wound. His heart hurt when he saw the deep gash. The medical powder Huo Linfeng had previously sprinkled on it mixed with blood to form a sticky residue, creating quite a horrifying image. He wanted to sob: “Young Master, does it hurt?”

Huo Linfeng gritted his teeth: “Steward, what do you think?”

Du Zheng started to cry, his small eyes turning even smaller. Huo Linfeng moved his gaze away, reminded of Rong Luoyun’s reddened eyes. They were like peach blossoms covered in dew, like the starry night after a light rain.

Suddenly, his wound throbbed with pain, pulling him out of his beautiful imagination.

His wound was dressed and wrapped. He washed up and changed, letting the doctor insert a few needles. Huo Linfeng’s hunger gradually took over his pain. When the food was served, he awkwardly used his left hand to eat, inhaling his food in a few bites.

Du Zheng scooped another bowl for him. In the past few days, his Young Master had not eaten much, but somehow, he was wolfing his food down today. Did the situation improve? He asked: “Young Master, did Rong Luoyun come to find you?”

Huo Linfeng gnawed on some goose meat: “Yes, he did.”

Du Zheng pressed further: “He really forgave you?”

Huo Linfeng was eating chicken now: “No, he stabbed me with his sword.”

Du Zheng stood up abruptly. This wound was actually caused by Rong Luoyun?! Jianghu’s people are truly incomparably barbaric! It would be a marvel if they didn’t cause trouble! He asked: “Young Master, then are you going to break it off with him from now on?”

It was actually the stark opposite. Huo Linfeng believed this was just the beginning of Rong Luoyun’s journey in relieving his anger. If this isn’t enough, he’ll just offer up his left shoulder next time. His body was sturdy like steel. As long as the thing down there is spared, he wouldn’t mind Rong Luoyun doing anything to his body.

Du Zheng was worried to death: “Young Master, we can’t just find a yaksha *……”

* a malevolent spirit, used to describe a fierce person. DZ is refering to RLY

Huo Linfeng wiped his mouth. His right arm was slowly regaining its feeling, so he left for his study. As the night grew deeper, he lit a lamp, bending over his desk to piece together that little ripped-up letter. He glues the pieces together, leaving his eyes burning and his fingers rubbed red.

The rain fell again, tapping against his window.

It sounded like a person’s heart beating for another.

At the third watch * on this rainy night, the little note was finally whole, yet General Huo did not go to bed. He wore a cloak and went out alone on his horse, galloping all the way to Mount Lengsang. When he passed by the barracks, the soldiers on duty hurriedly opened the gates for him.

* third watch – 11pm – 1am

Huo Linfeng gestured for them to stop. He wasn’t here for these stinky soldiers.

After a few distant li, he stopped his horse outside the Extraordinary Palace, startling the disciples guarding on top of the wall. Zou Lin, who was on duty, immediately ran off to report, but at midnight, the palace was dark and empty.

As he ran deeper into the palace, he spotted the only place lit with light: the Nameless Abode.

Burning through two candles already, Rong Luoyun had copied the script seventeen times.

The brush dipped into ink and painted small words upon the paper. In the end, Rong Luoyun wrote the final word, completing the eighteenth copy. His hand paused when he heard the noise outside. Zou Lin appeared in his sight and came running over.

“Reporting to the Palace Lord, Huo Linfeng is outside the palace. It is unclear what his motive is.”

Rong Luoyun quivered: “Is he alone?”

Zou Lin answered: “It seems so. He’s waiting at the gate with his horse and has not made any movements.

Rong Luoyun thought for a moment: “Ignore him. Just stay on duty as you usually would.”

He told Zou Lin to withdraw and continued to copy, but when his brush touched the paper, he wrote the wrong word. He crumpled up the page and started anew, using his utmost concentration to write carefully and finished copying half.

When he reached the last sentence, the rain suddenly fell heavier.

It fell from the heavens, drumming against the earth.

Rong Luoyun placed his brush down, waiting for the ink to dry. When he collected the scroll, he stopped in shock.

He stared at the last line —— The night rain is falling, did that person bring an umbrella?

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Notes

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