Chapter 77

Subsequently, Chulian fixed her beautiful eyes on Ye Yu, intending to seek his opinion. However, Ye Yu was absent-mindedly listening to the music, and there was no way he could give any feedback, so he could only perfunctorily clap and praise it.

Chulian, accustomed to all kinds of people in the brothel, could easily tell whether the praise was genuine. Seeing Ye Yu's perfunctory response, she felt somewhat disheartened and said bitterly, "This girl's lute skills naturally cannot compare to those of the beauties in Zui Chun Lou..."

"Oh? Is there someone in Chuzhou who surpasses Miss Chulian?" Yang Wanli was quite surprised upon hearing this. In his view, Chulian's lute skills were already very high. At least among the people he knew who played the lute, no one could surpass her.

Ye Yu, however, felt surprised upon hearing this, as Chuzhou City was quite far from Qingliu County. It was indeed unexpected that a courtesan from Xianyunju would know about Qingliu County.

Seeing the puzzled look on Ye Yu's face, Chulian sighed with a grievance, "Ever since Master Ye left Lai'an Prefecture, Chulian has been worried about your safety. Upon learning that you were in Qingliu County, I have been paying attention to matters there..."

"Ah, thank you for your concern, Miss Chulian!" Ye Yu smiled awkwardly, wondering if he had indeed had an unpleasant past with this woman. However, it didn't matter as long as she wasn't one of Liu Qianyu's gang. As for whether this past relationship was real or not, he would have to ask Qiulan when he returned.

Yang Wanli, standing beside them, sighed and laughed, "Indeed, since ancient times, the young have been the most romantic. I consider myself a refined gentleman even without my official robes, but I still can't match Ye Yu's charm!"

"Sir, you are jesting..."

"Enough, enough! I won't tease you anymore! Tonight, I have heard a wonderful melody, and it has been a worthwhile trip. I am a bit tired, so I will take my leave. You two should enjoy the moon and the breeze, and don't miss this beautiful night!"

Chulian, with a slightly flushed face, bowed to Yang Wanli and said softly, "When you visit Xianyunju again, this girl will accompany you and play a few tunes to show my gratitude!"

"Oh, oh! That's great, I will definitely come again! You two, take your time!" Yang Wanli's hearty laughter echoed in the pavilion, and then, ignoring Ye Yu's attempts to detain him, he turned and left the Jing Shui Pavilion.

The Jing Shui Pavilion was truly quiet for a moment. Ye Yu, facing this unfamiliar yet familiar woman, didn't know what to say, as he knew nothing about her.

After a long while, Chulian looked at Ye Yu and asked softly, "Master, do you really not remember Chulian?"

Ye Yu pondered for a moment and shook his head, "After being expelled from the Ye family, I fell seriously ill and nearly died. Since then, I have forgotten many things!"

"Is that so? I thought you were just being cautious in front of Sir Yang and didn't want to acknowledge me..."

"Miss Chulian, although I don't remember the past, since I have forgotten it, I don't want to recall it. The past two years have been like a cycle, a dream. I have seen through the vicissitudes of life, and let the past be forgotten!"

"Can you really forget..." At this moment, Chulian's beautiful eyes were misty, and she lowered her head in melancholy.

Ye Yu knew nothing about their past, so he didn't know what to say. He apologized to Chulian and took his leave.

Watching Ye Yu's departing figure, Chulian felt a deep sadness. She then silently hugged her plain zither and left the Jing Shui Pavilion, boarding the previous painted boat and leaving the Moonlit Lake. Not long after the boat left, on another brightly lit painted boat, Ye Mingzhi stood at the bow, staring coldly at Chulian's departure.

"That damn b*tch! After all these years of my treatment, you still can't forget that bastard!" Ye Mingzhi's face twisted in a hideous expression, and he gritted his teeth in hatred.

A servant beside him tried to console him, "Young Master, why get angry over a fickle woman? You have spent a lot of effort on this courtesan, but in the end, she still has her heart set on someone else."

"Ye Yu! It's always Ye Yu! What's so good about that bastard? If he hadn't come back, I would have been the champion of the Lantern Festival competition, and then Chulian would have fulfilled her promise to marry me! Why did you come back, Ye Yu?"

The servant sighed, "Young Master, why deceive yourself? The promise at the Lantern Festival was just an excuse..."

"Enough! Whether it was an excuse or not, if that bastard hadn't suddenly returned, I would have already won the beauty! Now, what about the arrangements?"

"Rest assured, Young Master, everything is in place!"

"Good! Tonight, I will settle all old and new grudges! I broke your legs before, and tonight, I will take your life!" Ye Mingzhi's cold words were laced with a sneer, and then he snapped his fan and entered the cabin to drink.

...

The carriage slowly made its way along the official road toward the city. At this moment, Ye Yu murmured to himself, "Still haven't found Dahuang?"

She Tongcheng, who was driving the carriage, raised his whip but paused in mid-air, then said apologetically, "No sign of him yet..."

"Hmm, if he wants to hide, it's not easy to find him in this vast sea of people..."

After saying this, he fell silent again, and there was another moment of silence.

Not far from the city, there was a small forest. The road through the forest was the only way into the city. As the carriage passed through this area, a large tree suddenly fell, causing a cloud of dust.

The loud noise startled the horses, which neighed and reared up, almost losing control. Seeing the horses startled, She Tongcheng's face darkened, and without hesitation, he leaped onto the horse's back to control it.

She Tongcheng tightly gripped the horse's mane, skillfully maneuvering to calm the horse. Despite the horse's violent movements, She Tongcheng remained calm and composed, showing no signs of tension.

After a few rounds of struggle, the horse finally calmed down, drenched in sweat and trembling, standing still with heavy breathing. After subduing the startled horse, She Tongcheng remembered Ye Yu in the carriage and asked anxiously, "Brother, are you okay?"

"I'm not dead yet! Your horse-riding skills are pretty good!" As he spoke, Ye Yu lifted the curtain, and his left hand was still rubbing his red forehead, clearly having bumped into the walls of the carriage during the jolt.

"Hehe!"

Just as the two were talking, a group of people suddenly emerged from both sides of the forest, each holding weapons and wearing black masks, approaching the carriage with a fierce demeanor.

She Tongcheng was startled and asked sternly, "Who are you, daring to rob the road?"

"Hmph! The one who will take your life!" The leader of the black-clothed men held a steel saber and, after speaking, led more than ten men to charge at the carriage.

Ye Yu, who was in the carriage, did not expect to be ambushed outside the city. In a panic, he quickly instructed She Tongcheng to spur the horse and break through the encirclement. However, these bandits were clearly prepared, and the carriage had only moved a few steps before it was tripped by a horse-tripping rope, causing the entire carriage to stop in the forest.

"Brother, stay in the carriage, I'll deal with these bandits!" She Tongcheng said and jumped off the carriage to fight the leader of the bandits.

Ye Yu wanted to say something, but with his injured legs, he couldn't help, so he stayed in the carriage to avoid causing trouble. Three of the bandits kept She Tongcheng busy, while the other black-clothed men quickly rushed to the carriage, intending to kill Ye Yu.

However, as they leaped onto the carriage and were about to stab Ye Yu with their weapons, Ye Yu already had darts in his hand. With a few "whoosh" sounds, the black-clothed men who had climbed onto the carriage fell to the ground.

As the saying goes, it's easy to dodge a direct attack but hard to guard against a hidden arrow. Moreover, these bandits had no idea that Ye Yu in the carriage would use darts. Therefore, the first few who came up were unlucky and lay on the ground, unable to get up. The darts Ye Yu had thrown hit vital points, causing serious injuries, though not fatal.

Darts were very effective when used unexpectedly, but once the enemy knew about them, their effectiveness was greatly reduced. When the second group of bandits tried to stab Ye Yu, Ye Yu found it much harder to deal with them.

At this moment, Ye Yu had a thought, wondering if the flying dagger skills in novels, like Li Xunhuan's, really existed. If they did, he should learn them.

By now, the entire carriage was surrounded. Fortunately, some of the bandits used steel sabers to stab through the carriage walls, while others tried to stab through the windows. Just as they thought Ye Yu was doomed, a series of metallic clanging sounds rang out.

Clang!

The black-clothed bandits looked at their weapons and saw sparks flying from the tips, which were very noticeable in the dark. Those who tried to stab through the windows also encountered the same situation. The windows, which had been covered by curtains, were now as solid as iron plates.

The black-clothed bandits, surprised, tried to chop and hack the carriage to verify its material. The sparks flying in the moonlight confirmed that the carriage was made of thick iron plates, which were difficult to penetrate with ordinary weapons.

What was even more frustrating for the bandits was that the doors and windows of the carriage had mechanisms, making it impossible to find a gap to stab Ye Yu inside. As they were at a loss and about to drag the carriage away, they suddenly heard a noise from inside the carriage.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Sharp arrowheads appeared from the bottom of the carriage, accompanied by the sound of arrows, and the surrounding black-clothed bandits were all shot to the ground. The area around the carriage was filled with cries of pain. At this moment, She Tongcheng, upon learning that Ye Yu was safe, fought without restraint and quickly subdued the three bandits who had been keeping him busy.

Ye Yu opened the steel door of the carriage, looked at the black-clothed bandits lying on the ground, and coldly said, "Do you really think you can take my life? You are dreaming in broad daylight!"

"Brother, this is..." She Tongcheng touched the carriage, feeling amazed.

"With my condition, if I encounter bandits, I have no chance to run. If I don't make some preparations, my life would be in danger," Ye Yu patted the carriage and laughed self-deprecatingly.

She Tongcheng laughed heartily and then coldly looked at the bandits on the ground, "Fortunately, Brother was well-prepared. Otherwise, we would have been in real trouble tonight! The three who kept me busy were skilled, so it seems this group was well-prepared!"