Thousand Dusts Ferry Me - Chapter 26

Fan Erlang passed through Mingyue Tower and entered the courtyard, where he saw Yunniang’s silhouette by the small garden.

She appeared to have grown even thinner. Surrounded by the lush, blooming flowers, her silhouette seemed somewhat desolate.

Fan Erlang felt a pang of heartache and softly called out to her, “Yunniang.”

Yunniang turned around and smiled at him. “You’ve come.”

“Yes.” Fan Erlang took her hand and examined it carefully, asking, “Were you injured?”

Yunniang shook her head.

“You were frightened last night, weren’t you?”

Yunniang gazed at his delicate and gentle eyebrows and eyes. How many days and nights had she been so lost in that gentleness?

She withdrew her hand, turned, and looked at the pink climbing roses on the wall, asking, “Erlang, do you remember the first time we met?”

Fan Erlang smiled. “How could I possibly forget! That day, I was originally on my way to the silk shop on Guangxiang Street for business, and I sent my servant back to fetch something halfway there.

After the servant left, it suddenly started raining heavily. With nowhere to take shelter, I stood under the tree in front of your house. You opened the door and handed me an umbrella. You even told me not to stand under the tree, warning me about lightning.

I didn’t say anything at the time because my heart was beating too fast. I didn’t know what to say! The moment I saw you, my heart was filled with affection. At that instant, I secretly vowed to marry you!”

Thinking of the past, his gaze was tender and bright, his smile tinged with sweetness.

Yunniang sighed softly. “If only I hadn’t given you that umbrella.”

Fan Erlang was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“Erlang,” Yunniang turned to face him, looking into his eyes, and mustered her courage to say, “Let’s get a divorce.”

Fan Erlang chuckled. “Yunniang, you must still be frightened. Look, you’re starting to talk nonsense. Come, let’s go see a doctor first.” As he said this, he reached out to take Yunniang’s hand.

Yunniang dodged him, her expression serious. “I’m not talking nonsense. It’s you who needs to sober up, Erlang!”

Fan Erlang’s hand froze in mid-air, his face gradually paling as he looked at her with trembling lips.

Yunniang sniffled, trying her best not to cry, and said, “Let’s part on good terms.”

“No, impossible.”

“If you really don’t want to write a divorce agreement, then write a letter of abandonment.”

“You know that’s not what I mean!” Fan Erlang suddenly raised his voice, his tone agitated. “I will never let you leave me! Never!”

After his outburst, he lowered his voice, his tone gentle. “Please, Yunniang. We can solve any problem. If it’s because of my mother—”

“It’s not because of her.” Yunniang shook her head, interrupting him. “Do you want to hear the truth?”

“Tell me.”

“I know you love me very much, and I love you too. Once, like many other infatuated women in this world, I thought that as long as I had my husband’s favor, I wouldn’t mind enduring some grievances.

I became more and more humble, more and more docile, so lowly that I was like dirt, allowing others to trample on me. But, I didn’t have to be this way.

I was clearly the apple of my grandfather’s eye. I had already received the purest and most selfless love in this world, so why should I debase and wrong myself for your affection?

If my grandfather saw me like this, he would be heartbroken!”

Upon hearing this, Fan Erlang’s eyes reddened. “Yunniang, I’m sorry. I know you’ve suffered a lot for my sake. I swear, I will treat you well from now on.”

Yunniang shook her head and forced a bitter smile. “It seems you really don’t understand me… But never mind, there’s no point in saying all this now. In short, I am determined to leave.”

“I won’t let you go.”

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t write a letter of abandonment. I won’t go back anyway.”

Fan Erlang pondered for a moment, then suddenly said, “You privately brought that little demon back to our residence, causing almost the entire Fan Mansion to be razed to the ground, so you should compensate for the losses.”

Yunniang was stunned. She really hadn’t thought of this, yet Fan Erlang’s demand was reasonable.

“If you can’t pay it back, then stay and continue to be my wife. I’m sorry, Yunniang. You can call me despicable or shameless, but I will not let you go.”

His gaze was so persistent, so firm, even a little obsessive. It was as if he was determined to take control, just like countless times in business.

Yunniang felt that her previous words had become a joke. Owing such a large sum of money, she would be unable to escape for the rest of her life.

All the resistance she had mustered with all her might was nullified by his few words.

Forget it, a voice in her heart said. Don’t struggle anymore. It’s useless. Perhaps I am destined to be someone so lowly, down in the dirt.

Thinking of what the immortal lady Yun Qing had said last night, she felt both despair and shame.

Just then, a loud voice came from above, “Who says she can’t pay it back?”

The two people in the courtyard heard the voice and looked up. They saw several people standing in the third-floor corridor of Mingyue Tower, watching them as if they were watching a show.

Among them, a petite woman was casually holding a candied hawthorn stick.

These people were none other than Yun Qing and her group.

Yun Qing held a piece of paper between her fingers and tossed it down. The paper fluttered and landed perfectly in front of Fan Erlang.

Fan Erlang reached out and caught it. It was a 10,000 tael silver IOU written by his mother, with her handprint on it.

“Now you owe each other nothing,” Fu Xue said. “Continue your chat.” As she spoke, she took a cheerful bite of her candied hawthorn.

Fan Erlang had never been in such a passive position in his life. His face flushed as he stared at the IOU, his eyes filled with disbelief. He muttered to himself, “How could this be, how could this be…”

….

In the end, Fan Erlang left in a daze.

Yun Qing and the others jumped down from the corridor and walked up to Yunniang.

Yunniang hadn’t expected the situation to take such a dramatic turn. At this moment, she was filled with surprise and gratitude. She looked at Yun Qing and said, “Immortal Lady also thinks it’s the right decision for me to leave, don’t you?”

Yun Qing smiled. “Whether you leave or not is your business, it has nothing to do with me. I simply don’t want to see an old person’s deep affection be in vain.”

Yunniang was stunned for a moment.

As she spoke, Yun Qing tossed her an object.

Yunniang caught it and saw that it was a pouch. Opening the pouch, she found a wooden bead inside.

She immediately covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. After a while, she choked out, “Immortal Lady’s great kindness, Yunniang will never forget!” She was about to kneel down and kowtow.

Fu Xue quickly helped her up. “Why do you people always like to kneel?”

Yunniang poured out the wooden bead, and after rolling on the ground a few times, it transformed into Little Tower. Little Tower rushed into Yunniang’s arms and they cried together.

Seeing their touching tears, Fu Xue couldn’t help but wipe her own eyes.

Yun Qing patted her on the shoulder. “Let’s go.”

The four of them then left Mingyue Tower.

On the way, Cheng Suiyan asked Yun Qing, “Are you really just going to let Little Tower go so easily? Aren’t you afraid she’ll do evil in the future?”

We’ll deal with future problems when they arise. Baiyu is right, the Heavenly Way have its own laws.

Since the Heaven Way allowed Little Tower to be born, and she hasn’t done any evil, then she can continue to grow. If I interfere arbitrarily, then I would be too presumptuous.

That person named Ci Lili is willing to teach her spells, presumably taking this into consideration.”

Fu Xue nodded in agreement. “That’s right. Maybe by the time Little Tower grows up, Senior Sister will have already become an immortal.”

Cheng Suiyan found this strange. “Why don’t you say that you’ll become an immortal?”

“Hehe, as for me,” Fu Xue scratched her head sheepishly, “I’d rather not trouble the heavens!”

The group chatted and laughed as they returned to Immortal Capital Cloud Lodge. The next day, Yunniang came to say goodbye.

She seemed to be in good spirits, her face radiant, her eyes bright. When she saw Yun Qing and the others, she said solemnly,

“I plan to leave Guangling. I want to thank you. Thank you for making me realize how fortunate I truly am.

I made some snacks myself, and also a jar of braised mutton. I hope you won’t dislike them.”

Yun Qing was a little surprised. “Where are you going?”

“I don’t know,” Yunniang shook her head and smiled. “I just want to go out and see the world. With my skills in braising mutton, I can always support myself.

I still remember the dream you showed me. It was so wonderful. I think I’m not without curiosity about the outside world, it’s just that I never imagined it before. It’s strange.”

“You’ve made up your mind?”

“Yes. The only regret is that Chunxiang and I are as close as sisters, but she can’t leave with me because she can’t let go of her family.”

Yun Qing nodded. With Little Tower accompanying her, there was no need to worry about her encountering bad people.

Fu Xue asked, “Where’s Little Tower?”

Yunniang smiled. “Guess.”

The others noticed her hairpin, a small, exquisite building attached to a piece of wood with a red thread, swaying gently with her movements. It was about the size of a walnut.

“Is that Mingyue Tower?”

“Yes. Little Tower and I decided to take Mingyue Tower with us.”

Yun Qing flicked Mingyue Tower with her finger, and Mingyue Tower giggled. “You stinky Daoist, don’t touch me, it tickles!”

Fu Xue couldn’t help but marvel. This was traveling the world with a house on your head. It was the first time she had seen someone so brazen.

Yunniang took out a palm-sized pouch, handed it to Yun Qing, winked at her, and said with a smile, “Little Tower asked me to give this to you. She was too embarrassed to say it herself.”

As she said this, the building on the hairpin actually jumped up and down, followed by Little Tower’s exasperated voice, “We agreed you wouldn’t mention me!”

Yun Qing accepted the pouch with a smile. “What is it?”

She had assumed it would be something like sweets, but when she took it, she knew it wasn’t. Although the pouch was bulging, it was light and soft in her hand, like holding a ball of cotton.

Opening the pouch, she poured out a roll of white gauze, with a small note tucked inside.

Yun Qing unfolded the gauze. It turned out to be a cloak, so thin it was almost transparent, and weightless in her hand.

Looking at the note, it read:

Little cat, be good,

Little dog, just stand.

Little Yun, oh dear,

Little Tower, coming. Hide!

Yun Qing understood immediately. This must be a magical artifact. The words on the note were the incantation. Judging by its appearance as a cloak, it was probably an invisibility cloak.

She couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. “I didn’t expect this little one to have such a treasure.”

Little Tower’s proud voice came from Yunniang’s head. “It’s called the Beautiful Bright Cloak.”

Fu Xue shook her head. “There’s no need to force a five-character name.”

“You stinky Daoist, you have no taste! I’m telling you, this thing can only be used once, okay?”

Yun Qing was a little disappointed. “Once isn’t enough. Then give me a few more.”

“You! This one took me so much effort to make, and I failed so many times. And you want a few more? You’re going to make me mad!”

Yun Qing chuckled and flicked it again. “Just kidding. Thank you, Little Tower.”

“I told you not to touch me, it’s ticklish!”

…

The young madam of the Fan Mansion had left. After she departed, Steward Sun was dismissed by the Fan Mansion’s old madam for “snitching” to the immortal lady Yun Qing.

After leaving his old employer, Steward Sun had a sudden inspiration and became a storyteller at a teahouse, narrating a tale that had never been heard before, “The Immortal Lady Treads the Moon.”

This story was about how the immortal lady Yun Qing subdued the Mingyue Tower’s demon in Guangling City.

The story was not only novel and unique, but also full of twists and turns, and because it took place in Guangling City, it was close to the lives of the listeners, and thus became a sensation.

The teahouse was packed every day. Many people brought their own stools, some sat on the ground, and there were even people from other places who came to listen.

The people of Guangling gradually began to call him “Master Sun.”

When Master Sun spoke of the immortal lady’s power, he often pointed to a thin, dark, taciturn waiter in the teahouse and said,

“Look, that’s my distant nephew. He used to be a gambler. A gambler, everyone! Have you ever seen a gambler reform?

“Such a wicked gambler, the immortal lady only had to lightly touch him with her finger, and guess what? It was like sweet dew cleansing his heart. Instantly, his mind became clear, and from then on, he abandoned darkness and turned to the light!”

The customers in the teahouse erupted in cheers. Naturally, everyone believed him. After all, the Mingyue Tower was able to disappear overnight. This was probably beyond human power and must be due to the manifestation of a divine being.

Many people enshrined the immortal lady in their homes, and some even built an immortal lady temple outside the city, which surprisingly had quite a bit of incense.

Fan Erlang, since his wife left, had been depressed and resorted to drinking every day. His business gradually declined.

The shopkeepers and staff in his shop were all shrewd and cunning, cheating and deceiving him, and slowly, they almost emptied his once vast fortune.

On a night with heavy snow, Fan Erlang ran away with a Daoist, leaving his old mother behind to weep every day.

Of course, these are all events of the future.

At this moment, Yun Qing, after saying goodbye to Yunniang, was about to embark on her journey to find her master again.

However, the world was vast and boundless, and the universe immense. How difficult it was to find a person.

After leaving Guangling City, Yun Qing stood on the official road, gazing at the distant, misty mountains, her delicate brows slightly furrowed. The setting sun painted the sky with a swath of orange-red, and all things on earth were draped in a layer of transparent red gauze.

Not far away, Fu Xue and Cheng Suiyan were catching fish by a small river.

Jiang Baiyu stood beside Yun Qing and said, “Yun Qing, I have something to tell you. I haven’t had a chance to say it before because of the Mingyue Tower incident.”

“Mm?”

Jiang Baiyu then told her about Yu Beiting’s midnight visit and how he had deliberately tried to get information from Yu Beiting.

“It was indeed my father who sent Yu Beiting to kill you. I think your reasoning is correct. Your master’s disappearance is related to my father.”

Yun Qing thought that Jiang Binghe probably hadn’t expected her master to have the Thousand-Mile Sound-Transmitting Conch, or that she and Fu Xue would find out about Fuzhong Mountain so quickly.

This Sect Leader of the Huayang Sect was a person who valued his reputation greatly. After he betrayed Le Chenzi, their disturbance at the sect gates alarmed him.

Perhaps it was because he was worried that the Fuzhong Mountain affair would be exposed and tarnish his name, or perhaps he intended to eliminate the Longshou Sect entirely since they had come to his door. In any case, he planned to directly eradicate them.

The so-called marriage proposal on Fuzhong Mountain was naturally just a pretext to keep her master in check. Only a fool would believe such words.

Seeing Yun Qing in a daze, Jiang Baiyu softly called out to her, “Yun Qing?”

Yun Qing snapped out of her thoughts, her gaze shifting to Jiang Baiyu, and she quietly stared at him.

Jiang Baiyu, being stared at by those clear and beautiful eyes, gradually became uncomfortable. He shifted his gaze to the two people catching fish in the distance.

Yun Qing suddenly drew her sword. “Baiyu, let’s spar.”

“Alright.”

In an instant, the clash of metal rang out, and sword light flashed like silk. The surrounding trees shed their leaves under the influence of the sword intent, like ten thousand startled butterflies.

Yun Qing’s sword style was elegant and agile, with a hint of madness within its calmness; Jiang Baiyu’s was meticulous and adaptable, with a kind of stubbornness within its gentleness.

Yun Qing found it quite interesting and couldn’t help but smile. Her eyebrows and eyes curved, her lips red and teeth white, and the small red dot between her eyebrows was tinged with a bright glow in the golden sunset.

Jiang Baiyu’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

The situation on the battlefield changed in an instant, allowing no room for distraction. In that brief moment of distraction, Yun Qing seized the opportunity, flicking her wrist and thrusting her sword diagonally, knocking his fine steel sword out of his hand.

The sword spun through the air and landed, piercing the ground.

The victor was decided. Yun Qing sheathed her sword and frowned at him. “Why did you lose focus?”

Jiang Baiyu picked up his sword, shook off the dust, and chuckled softly in response, giving an irrelevant answer. “Yes, I concede defeat.”

“My Cangye sword had quite an advantage.”

“It’s not that,” Jiang Baiyu shook his head. “You understand what I mean. There’s a spirit of desperate courage in your sword intent. In combat, the brave naturally win.”

Yun Qing smiled, admitting this much was true. She then said, “In terms of cultivation, I’m not your equal.”

“Mm,” Jiang Baiyu didn’t deny it. “However, if you add your strange formations, the outcome would be hard to predict.”

“Baiyu.”

“Mm?”

“Why are you helping me?” She asked directly.

Jiang Baiyu didn’t answer but simply said, “I hope you believe that I have no hostility towards you.”

Yun Qing tilted her head, looking at him. “I’m your father’s enemy, but you have no hostility towards me. Then can I understand it this way: you and your father are at odds, perhaps even enemies?”

Jiang Baiyu remained silent.

Yun Qing slowly exhaled and smiled. “Now I believe you. You were indeed willing to be ‘abducted’ by me that night.”

Jiang Baiyu shifted his gaze, humming a low “mm.”

Yun Qing asked, “Why?”

Jiang Baiyu looked at the increasingly red horizon. In the sunset, a flock of birds flapped their wings, letting out mournful cries.

“I want to leave Huayang Mountain and find an answer.”

“What answer?”

“Who exactly am I.”