My Gentle and Pure Sect Leader Husband - Chapter 62

Earlier, when Yan Hongyin had looked down from above, she had noticed a very spacious circular clearing in the center of Loulan City.

After nightfall, in just a matter of minutes, a bonfire stack three men tall had been built in the center of this clearing, with enthusiastic Loulan tribespeople bustling about between households.

The older ones carried torches and were setting up smaller fire racks for barbecuing, while children protected the trays balanced on their heads, preventing their friends from stealing food…

Even though night had fallen and the bone-chilling cold unique to the desert had crept in, the faces of the local people were filled with smiles, utterly joyous and expectant.

Yan Hongyin could see the bustling firelight from a distance. She paused and remarked, “This city is very different from what I had imagined.”

Rather than engaging in a battle of wits with Yan Hongyin, Yu Luocha genuinely wanted to use this opportunity to understand her better—after all, in the past, though Yan Hongyin had never lied to him, she rarely answered questions without concealing something.

Yan Hongyin thought deeply and had heavy concerns, while Yu Luocha’s identity and background were sensitive. When she spoke to him, she usually revealed only half of what she knew, and whether that half contained any distortion, only she knew.

“What did Your Highness originally think this city would be like?” Yu Luocha raised an eyebrow and asked.

Yan Hongyin’s gaze wandered into the distance, and she said softly, “At least not so simple and genuine.”

Then she slightly turned her head to look at Yu Luocha and pointedly added, “After all, the high priest of this city is not a simple and genuine beauty.”

Yu Luocha’s expression froze briefly, and then he smiled, his smile carrying a hint of innocence and grievance. “Being called a beauty by Your Highness should be a happy thing, but Your Highness seems to have a misunderstanding about Ah Yu.”

“If Your Highness has any questions, Ah Yu will answer them without reservation; if Your Highness has any commands, Ah Yu will go through fire and water to fulfill them.” Yu Luocha’s voice was soft, his gaze deeply affectionate. “In this Loulan City, no one else could be more sincere to Your Highness than I am.”

“Oh?”

Yan Hongyin smiled sarcastically, no longer looking at him, and instead walked toward the bonfire.

“You’d better be.”

….

The most tender lamb meat was offered to the esteemed high priest and the princess who had come from afar. Besides the massive bonfire stack, the Loulan people had also set up three fire racks for barbecuing, with whole lambs strung up, their succulent fat and marbling still visible.

Although there were distinctions of status in Loulan, there were no differences between high and low during festivals. Yu Luocha, as the high priest, was merely given a separate space.

The tribespeople had laid out thick, soft wool rugs for the high priest and princess. On the low table, silver vessels were filled with fruits that were rare in winter, scattered daggers inlaid with gemstones lay on round plates, and beside the night-luminous cup, silver wine overflowed with liquor that could intoxicate by mere scent.

When the Loulan tribe had entered the capital, the number of treasures, rare items, jade, and gold they brought had shocked the court. The prosperity of Loulan had thus revealed a corner of its mysterious veil, but no one knew whether a country trapped in the desert for many years was truly so wealthy, or if they had accumulated wealth to seek the princess’s hand.

But now it seemed…

Yan Hongyin picked up the small, exquisite jade cup with her fingers, but did not pour any wine. Instead, she slightly raised it to examine the almost perfectly lustrous quality of the jade in the moonlight, her tone light. “Wealthy enough to rival a nation, hmm?”

Yu Luocha took a fruit that Yan Hongyin had never seen before and peeled it carefully, then handed it to her. His glassy eyes in the firelight increasingly resembled the dangerous yet beautiful pupils of a fierce beast. “It’s merely the wealth of a small country, incomparable to the Central Plains. But if Your Highness is willing to stay in Loulan, the entire country will worship you as their queen.”

Yan Hongyin was here now, but Princess Qu Ya had her own fiefdom, and even after the capital realized the two had moved ahead, there were ample reasons to send soldiers to garrison Loulan. Whether or not she remained as the Jinyiwei Commander, no one would dare to dictate Yan Hongyin’s whereabouts.

Yan Hongyin’s fingertips traced over the elaborately woven beautiful wool rug beneath her. Such items were not unfamiliar to her—in the capital or the Jiangnan region, whenever such beautifully complex woven items appeared, they would attract numerous merchants and officials competing to make offers.

But in Loulan, it was merely a thick rug beneath them, separating them from the sand and warding off the cold.

But everything had two sides; herbs and vegetables considered ordinary elsewhere were probably as precious as gold and silver in Loulan.

While Yan Hongyin was contemplating, Yu Luocha did not interrupt her but instead focused on turning the lamb on the nearby fire rack, his movements practiced and smooth, appearing quite at ease.

“When does the festival begin?” she looked at the Loulan high priest who was brushing something onto the lamb’s surface.

Yu Luocha looked up at the moon in the sky and said, “When the moon climbs above the bonfire.”

It was still early, and Yan Hongyin didn’t question why the esteemed Loulan high priest was doing this himself—indeed, tribespeople had approached earlier, but had been waved away by him—she just sat quietly watching him turn the small lamb.

The twilight grew deeper, and tonight was not a full moon. The endless night sky was studded with stars, seeming close enough to touch, and the crescent silver moon gradually climbed toward the height of the standing bonfire.

Drum sounds emerged from somewhere, accompanied by the sound of a huqin, and soon the sounds of flutes, pipes, and pipa joined in from different directions, converging into a lively scene. By the bonfire, young people gathered together with something, tossing it high and scrambling for it.

The lamb, roasted for a long time, began to emit the aroma of fat mixed with spices. The small lamb in front of Yu Luocha had been grilled to a golden, glossy surface, and besides the meat’s fragrance, it also carried a subtle fruity wood scent.

Yu Luocha turned the small lamb on the fire rack and was about to reach for a dagger on the nearby plate.

Yan Hongyin extended her hand to pass a dagger to Yu Luocha, along with the silver tray.

Yu Luocha looked back at her with some surprise, having not personally barbecued for too long. He first cut a piece of meat and used the dagger to deliver it directly into his mouth.

“As expected of me, it tastes excellent.”

Yu Luocha boasted with animated eyebrows, and was about to cut a few more pieces of lamb for Yan Hongyin when suddenly, his body stiffened.

Yan Hongyin blinked, gently took the dagger from his hand, and under Yu Luocha’s gaze, extended a finger, sliding her fingertip across the blade’s surface, picking up a thin layer of oil which she tasted, her lips curving into a smile. “Ah, it seems there’s some inconsequential poison on this dagger.”

“I accidentally took the wrong dagger. Surely a sincere person like the high priest wouldn’t mind such a small matter?”

Yu Luocha, paralyzed and unable to move after being both flirted with and poisoned: “…..”

Yan Hongyin placed the dagger aside and instead took one of the jewel-encrusted daggers from the silver plate. With elegant movements, she sliced a few pieces of lamb and, imitating Yu Luocha’s earlier action, directly inserted the dagger into her mouth. She nodded slightly. “Ah Yu’s cooking is very good, the taste is excellent.”

Yu Luocha hadn’t expected that hearing “Ah Yu” from Yan Hongyin’s lips again would come under these circumstances.

He wasn’t particularly proficient in pharmacology or toxicology, and having been completely unguarded around Yan Hongyin, he had no idea what poison he had been struck with.

But judging from the sensation of full-body paralysis and immobility, it was likely one of Yan Hongyin’s extremely potent knockout drugs.

However, Yu Luocha’s strength lay in his incredibly resilient body, capable of withstanding Yan Hongyin’s various methods. He had even previously helped her test drugs.

Even though he was currently paralyzed and unable to move, Yu Luocha could still use his eyes and mouth to continue teasing Yan Hongyin. “If Your Highness likes it, please eat more—of course, it would be even better if you could feed me some.”

His gaze toward Yan Hongyin carried resentment and tolerance, as if saying “you can do anything to me,” while verbally pleading pitifully. “Your Highness~ I haven’t eaten anything else tonight, and I’m quite hungry.”

Seeing the beauty frown like Xi Shi holding her heart, Yan Hongyin generously granted his small request. She used the dagger to spear a piece of lamb and turned her wrist to deliver it to Yu Luocha’s mouth.

Yu Luocha’s eyes gleamed with amusement as he slowly opened his lips to bite the meat, the little hooks in his eyes almost ensnaring Yan Hongyin’s wrist… when suddenly Yan Hongyin was struck full in the arms by an embroidered ball that descended from the sky.

Yan Hongyin’s hand trembled from the impact, and the meat slice was cut by the sharp dagger and fell to the ground.

With only a small morsel left of the meat that had nearly reached his mouth, Yu Luocha’s gaze darkened as he glared in the direction from which the embroidered ball had come.

He wanted to see who was so lacking in judgment!

Yan Hongyin looked toward the young men and women by the bonfire who were pushing and shoving, not daring to come over. She pinched the colorful embroidered ball in her arms and raised an eyebrow. “What is this?”

Yu Luocha replied sullenly. “…The grand prize. Those little rascals did it on purpose!”

Yan Hongyin placed the dagger aside, showing interest. “What do you do with it once you’ve caught it?”

“If a sister is struck by the embroidered ball thrown by the previous prize holder with closed eyes, she must have her lover light a bonfire that reaches the moon, praying for a smooth and happy life in the coming year. It also symbolizes…” Yu Luocha’s tone became teasing and playful, “That the fiery passion between lovers will endure year after year~”

As they were speaking, the tribespeople who had been pushing and shoving finally came before Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha.

Leading them was a wheat-skinned, petite yet charming round-faced young woman who smiled shyly, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

She curiously stole a glance at the princess who looked as cold and beautiful as the moon in the sky, quickly averted her gaze, and instead asked the high priest who was attending the ceremony with a female companion for the first time. “High Priest, according to custom, it’s your turn to light the bonfire!”

There was significance to lighting the bonfire: the higher the ignition point, the more powerful the sister’s lover was considered to be, and the more effective the prayers and blessings for the coming year would be. the high priest had never lit the bonfire before!

The tribespeople who had secretly gathered behind the young woman also looked at the princess and the high priest with bright eyes.

—When they had secretly thrown the embroidered ball earlier, they had indeed aimed deliberately, but hadn’t the high priest brought the princess to the ceremony to let everyone know of their love!

Yu Luocha, momentarily unable to move: “…”

Yan Hongyin noticed Yu Luocha’s gloomy expression and burst into laughter.

This laugh was like blooming moonlight, exceptionally dazzling and captivating, causing the young tribespeople who had been stealing glances to become almost dazed.

“Our high priest has had too much to drink and can no longer get up.” Yan Hongyin rose with a smile and took two steps toward the bonfire, announcing loudly, “Bring a bow and arrow!”

Over the years, there had been many methods of lighting the bonfire. Since it was a competition of height, many young men had used bows and arrows.

Yan Hongyin lightly pulled the bowstring to test its tension, and an arrow dipped in alcohol and set aflame was placed on the string.

Her high ponytail did not obstruct her vision in the night wind. Tall and graceful, the woman’s expression was cool and focused as her arm crossed in front of her eyes, and the half-drawn bowstring was easily pulled to full extension in a single breath.

Swoosh!

A trail of fire sliced through the night, accompanied by the flowing light of stars racing toward the crescent moon hanging in the sky. In the next instant, the fire burst open at the highest point of the bonfire, sending sparks in all directions. From top to bottom, it ignited the oil-soaked bonfire frame, and instantly flames shot skyward, the scorching heat lifting the silver moon high.

The record-breaking height of the bonfire completely ignited the ceremony, and the Loulan tribespeople couldn’t help but cheer exuberantly.

“God heavens! Abba, I love the princess so much! She’s really so—so—” The little girl who couldn’t help jumping up hugged her father, tightly clutching her brother’s clothes, her face flushed red in the firelight.

“She’s not a princess… she will be our Loulan queen!” Her father laughed loudly, “Our high priest will be the queen’s prince consort!”

“Is this the princess from the Central Plains? I like her!!”

“I like her too!!”

“Alan Tu, you already have your own sweetheart! Stop joining us!”

“So what if I’m married? My wife also likes the princess! The Grand Priest said we will all be warriors loyal to the princess in the future!”

“The princess is stronger than the most valiant warrior in our tribe!!” On the other side, a woman with a fiery figure gazed intensely at the white figure in the distance lowering her bow. “Who says only men are worthy of lighting the bonfire! Next time—”

“I want to go too!”

“I want to light it too!! Does not having a lover mean I can’t light the bonfire?”

Voices suddenly rose one after another around her, and everyone looked at the esteemed princess walking back toward the high priest, their eyes filled with the ignited firelight.

Yu Luocha slightly raised his head to look at Yan Hongyin as she slowly walked back. The towering flames behind her set her white clothes ablaze with magnificent gold and red, beautiful in a flamboyant and splendid way.

Yan Hongyin sat down beside Yu Luocha and, with a challenging look in her eyes, deliberately said, “Satisfied, my lover?”

Whatever men in the world could do, she, Yan Hongyin, would only do better, and would never become anyone’s appendage.

Yu Luocha poured two cups of light purple liquor, handed one to Yan Hongyin, and laughed softly, “Unparalleled beauty, second to none in the world.”

Yan Hongyin accepted the jade cup, seeing that Yu Luocha could move freely so quickly. Her eyes darkened, but she said nothing, merely drinking the fine wine together with Yu Luocha.

As soon as the liquor entered her mouth, Yan Hongyin tasted a slightly sour fruit flavor. “Fruit wine?”

“Grape wine.” Yu Luocha smiled, “Strong liquor may be exciting but is harmful to the body. The tribespeople brew some grape wine every year, though the quantity is limited and not convenient for export, so the horse merchants have not yet taken it to the Central Plains.”

“It tastes good.” Yan Hongyin savored the taste in her mouth, which had none of the astringency of other liquors, but rather a sweet aftertaste with a hint of sourness.

Seeing that she liked it, Yu Luocha poured her another cup.

By the third cup, Yan Hongyin put down the wine cup and refused to drink any more.

….

Every Loulan festival involved singing and dancing throughout the night. As Yan Hongyin and Yu Luocha sat there, young men and women or children would come to invite them to dance, so after a while, the two of them secretly slipped away.

Yan Hongyin’s jade-like face had turned crimson, and her eyes were unusually misty.

She stood in place, raising her hand to press her temple, slightly frowning, and softly said, “…My head is so dizzy.”

Yu Luocha was somewhat incredulous, showing hesitation.

…Could she be drunk?

Although grape wine had a stronger aftertaste, it was still a fruit wine and not particularly intoxicating… However, from what he remembered, Ah Yin rarely drank, and on the few occasions she did, she only sipped one cup before putting it down.

Yan Hongyin’s ink-colored pupils seemed to shimmer with moonlit waves. “Is there a quieter place?”

Seeing this, Yu Luocha took Yan Hongyin’s hand and led her toward the oasis, occasionally turning back to look at her.

Yan Hongyin obediently followed Yu Luocha’s footprints step by step, occasionally raising her hand to rub her eyes, her demeanor endearingly sweet.

Yu Luocha did not want to test his self-control. It was still early, so instead of taking Yan Hongyin back to her room, he came to push open a tall, heavy stone door.

The stone door opened a gap wide enough for one person with a dull, harsh creaking sound. Moonlight slipped past the edge of the stone door, casting an elongated beam of light on the jade-paved floor.

The moonbeam climbed step by step up the jewel-inlaid jade stairs, illuminating the throne sitting high up.

There was only one position of supreme power here—Loulan originally had only one immensely noble person.

Yu Luocha led Yan Hongyin step by step to the throne, held her hand to seat her, his gaze tender and his tone seductive. “This is the most desolate place in Loulan, and in the future, it will also be Your Highness’s position.”

Yan Hongyin sat obediently, withdrawing her hand from Yu Luocha’s. Her wide sleeves fell to cover her hands.

The princess seated on the throne lowered her eyelids as if thinking about something. After a moment, she slightly raised her eyes to look at the Loulan high priest beside her, her finger curling slightly.

Yu Luocha’s eyes flashed with surprise as he bent forward and leaned closer.

Yan Hongyin raised her hand to caress Yu Luocha’s cheek, her fingers moving intimately and tenderly along the edge of his face. Just as Yu Luocha’s pupils contracted in surprise and his Adam’s apple bobbed, her fingers slowly slid into the high priest’s hanging hair, disappearing into the silky long curls…

A sharp pain shot from the back of his neck, and Yu Luocha’s body went limp, collapsing directly toward Yan Hongyin!

Yan Hongyin was prepared and caught the man, swiftly turning to pin him firmly against the cold throne.

A sharp, domineering aura surged forth.

Her knee pressed between the beautiful high priest’s legs, blocking any attempt at resistance from the person beneath her. She raised her hand to brush aside the disheveled strands of hair from the Loulan high priest’s cheek, her lips curving slightly, “This throne is so cold, I don’t mind sharing it with the high priest, as long as the high priest… obediently answers a few of my questions.”

Yu Luocha, who had merely wanted to ease Yan Hongyin’s wariness to facilitate their romantic relationship but ended up being drugged a second time: “…..”

When Ah Yin regained her memories, he would definitely sincerely praise her to her face—there truly was no one in the world more suited to be a Jinyiwei than her.

The drug Yan Hongyin used this time was potent, and it was one that Yu Luocha had never seen her use before. Yu Luocha tried to mobilize his internal energy but only felt stagnation in his dantian, his internal breath blocked.

Yu Luocha’s constitution was immune to all poisons, but any poison that entered his body still required a process of being consumed by his internal energy. He lowered his gaze and continued to channel energy to his dantian, but in the next moment, he felt a chill at his waist!

The belt tied around his waist was cleanly cut into two pieces by a sharp blade, and the robe that had been supported by the belt fell away to either side.

“What are you doing?!”

Yu Luocha momentarily forgot about neutralizing the poison and looked up at Yan Hongyin on top of him with shock.

Loulan attire was already simple, and Yu Luocha’s internal energy was scorching hot, so he didn’t wear complicated clothing even in winter.

With Yan Hongyin’s single cut, it was like peeling petals away from a flower, exposing Yu Luocha’s entire upper body from the fabric.

Ice-cold fingers like jade followed the ornate gold decorations, gliding along the contours of Yu Luocha’s waist.

What should have been a seductive gesture instead caused Yu Luocha’s muscles to tense immediately.

—He felt the cicada-wing-thin blade held between Yan Hongyin’s fingers.

The blade slowly moved upward across his abdomen, the coldness of her fingertips and the chill of the blade bringing a numbing yet stimulating shiver across Yu Luocha’s skin.

Yan Hongyin propped herself up with one hand beside Yu Luocha, leaning closer to him, her fingertips and the blade pressing against his muscular chest.

“Would the esteemed high priest care to explain to me how someone rumored to be frail and sickly possesses such a lean, muscular physique and ghostly refined lightness skills?”

Yu Luocha had always known that Yan Hongyin was extremely beautiful, like the night, like moonlight, like an elegant white peony.

But in this moment—

Yu Luocha felt he was seeing a deadly flower blooming on the edge of an abyss.

She truly should not be a princess, but rather a proud, stunningly beautiful, cold, and dangerous queen.

“How is it that under my drug, potent enough to make an ordinary person sleep for an entire day, you recovered in less than half a quarter-hour?”

She was interrogating him.

In a manner that could be described as gentle, intimate, yet more cruel than sharp knives, branding irons, salt water, or whips—a method that Yu Luocha found unbearable.

“These past few days, I’ve been recalling my memories, only to find many strange inconsistencies… yet you seem quite familiar with me in our conversations.”

Yu Luocha’s poison-immune constitution was taking effect, and the substantial dose of poison was gradually losing its potency under the influence of his internal energy.

He discreetly circulated his internal energy to accelerate the consumption of the toxins in his body.

“The capital’s rumors say that the Loulan high priest became devoted to me after I saved him while practicing medicine abroad, leading to his wholehearted marriage proposal. But… does the esteemed high priest know why I have no memory of your existence?”

Yan Hongyin’s fingers moved upward, from Yu Luocha’s heart to his prominent Adam’s apple, where she lightly traced a circle.

The blade left a thin line of blood on Yu Luocha’s throat, and the threat to his vital point caused his gaze to suddenly turn dangerous and profound.

Crimson droplets seeped out, flowing past Yan Hongyin’s jade-like fingertips and down into the hollow of her captive’s neck.

“I am a princess of the Great Ming, skilled in both medicine and poisons.”

“Yet I carry many small items that shouldn’t be present… as well as martial skills sufficient to kill you right now.”

Yan Hongyin’s hand gripped Yu Luocha’s neck, applying slight pressure, forcing warm blood to seep out and stain her jade-white fingers red.

“Ah Yu, I like you very much and don’t wish to hurt you.”

“So, be good and tell me.” Her voice contained no hint of amusement, her eyes completely clear, showing no signs of intoxication. “Who am I?”

“Who has tampered with my memories?”

Hearing this, Yu Luocha felt his vision darken.

—Wang. Lian. Hua!