Thousand Dusts Ferry Me - Chapter 71

Later on, probably not long after the Cold Heron Rebellion ended, Qin Ranqing held a very high-profile wedding with Jiang Binghe, bringing along two-year-old Jiang Baiyu.

Since Qin Ranqing had been cultivating in seclusion at Fuzhong Mountain and rarely appeared in public, no one had ever seen her pregnant, but they dared not question anything about it. Thus everyone tacitly assumed this was a child that Jiang Binghe and Qin Ranqing had conceived during their affair outside.

The servants who attended to Jiang Baiyu naturally knew well about the fragrance on his body, but no one dared to discuss this matter. Anyone who uttered even a single word about it would end up disappearing from this world.

Of the four personal disciples who had accompanied Jiang Binghe in the surprise attack on Yu Wanzhi, three had died, and the remaining one had gone both mad and mute. Now that Qin Ranqing was also dead, among those who had experienced that incident, only Jiang Binghe remained.

After hearing Yu Beiting’s account, Hanlu Zi was already in tears. She beat her chest and wailed:

“Senior Brother, I have failed you! You asked me to watch over Huayang Sect and take care of these juniors, but now I have failed your trust, allowing the loyal to fall into trouble while wolves run rampant! What face do I have left to meet you!”

Yun Qing consoled her. “Senior, please don’t be too sad. Fortunately, Huayang Sect’s secret treasure did not fall into the wolves’ hands. Baiyu is exceptionally talented and will surely revive Huayang Sect in the future.”

Hanlu Zi then stopped her tears and looked Jiang Baiyu up and down, saying:

“When I fought Jiang Binghe back then, since he had already mastered the Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror and Yu Wanzhi was dead, I naturally believed his lies, thinking that Yu Wanzhi had been deceived by him and had also passed the Golden Frost Jade Dew Lotus to him.

I never expected it would be on you. When you came to Huayang Mountain, I had already been imprisoned in the Guizhen Cave by that beast and never had a chance to meet you. Child, these years must have been very difficult for you, haven’t they?”

Jiang Baiyu looked dazed, still not having recovered from Yu Beiting’s earlier account. Hearing Hanlu Zi ask this, he shook his head and said, “Compared to the suffering you and Master and Senior Brothers and Sisters endured, what I experienced is nothing worth mentioning.”

Afterward, Jiang Baiyu roughly recounted his years at Huayang Sect, then spoke about the events in Linglong City.

When Hanlu Zi heard that the Jiang Binghe couple had treated a child this way, she was so angry she gritted her teeth and cursed loudly. Later, when she heard that Qin Ranqing had been made into a living puppet and committed suicide under Jiang Binghe’s control, she sneered and said:

“She clearly knew Jiang Binghe was a beast, yet foolishly imagined that a beast could grow a human heart for her. She died from her own stupidity, and her death was not unjust.”

Everyone knew she spoke the truth, but since Qin Ranqing was already dead, no one said much more.

After speaking, Hanlu Zi looked at Yun Qing and asked, “Girl, I observe your swordsmanship is quite good. Who is your master?”

Yun Qing replied, “Senior, I come from Longshou Sect. My master is called Le Chenzi.”

“Le Chenzi? A junior sword cultivator who has risen to prominence in recent years. I’ve been imprisoned for so many years that I’ve never heard of him.”

Yun Qing knew in her heart that her master cultivated the Way of One Mind, but she couldn’t say so directly, only answering, “Our Longshou Sect cultivates the Way of Compassion.”

“What did you say?!” Hanlu Zi was both shocked and confused.

The Way of Compassion had never had a good reputation, being roughly synonymous with “cultivation failure.”

But this young lady before her had extraordinary swordsmanship, and her magic treasure was also quite unusual. Could it be that during the years she was imprisoned, the Way of Compassion had made some remarkable breakthrough?

Yun Qing also had her questions. “Senior, the Unbound Sword Ghost mentioned earlier that the Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror was forged with the help of an immortal called Yixin Zi for Huayang Zi?”

When Ci Li heard Yixin Zi’s name, his round eyes rolled around and he perked up to listen.

“Yes. Yixin Zi was a friend that Senior Brother met after his ascension. Senior Brother mentioned her. It’s just that Senior Brother rarely returned after his ascension, so I don’t know much about Yixin Zi either.”

Ci Li couldn’t help but say, “Don’t you know they are dao companions?”

“What did you say?!”

Ci Li was somewhat disappointed, seeing that Hanlu Zi knew even less than he did. He then told about personally witnessing Huayang Zi and Yixin Zi kissing.

After hearing this, Hanlu Zi was stunned for a long moment, murmuring, “Senior Brother formed a dao companionship but never told us about it.”

She then consoled herself. “Well, immortals and mortals are different after all. After he became an immortal, he has his own world.”

Yun Qing’s expression remained unchanged as she asked, “Senior, can you contact Huayang Zi? I want to know who exactly kidnapped my master. Jiang Binghe himself shouldn’t have that capability.” She briefly explained about her master being kidnapped.

Hanlu Zi shook her head. “I have already lost contact with Senior Brother.”

Yu Beiting picked up the sword from the ground and exaggeratedly brushed off the fallen leaves on his body. Who knew what he was thinking – he could have cleaned himself more efficiently with hand seals, but now he deliberately made a lot of noise brushing off the leaves.

After brushing off the leaves, he said, “I’ve said everything I needed to say. Farewell.”

Hanlu Zi didn’t stop him or attack him again. She just looked at him with complex emotions. When he turned to leave, she asked, “Why did you betray me back then? And why are you revealing these truths now?”

“What’s so strange about that? Everyone lives for their own desires, without exception.” After saying this, he turned his back to them, raised his hand and waved as a farewell, humming a little tune as he walked away.

His burly figure treading on the fallen leaves gradually disappeared into the dense forest.

Jiang Baiyu stood beside Yun Qing, seeing her staring at Yu Beiting’s retreating figure, and couldn’t help but softly call her, “Yun Qing, what are you thinking about?”

“Don’t you find it strange how he knew everything so clearly? As if he had witnessed it personally.”

“It is very strange. If he had witnessed it personally, given Jiang Binghe’s character, he wouldn’t have been left alive until today.”

Fu Xue asked, “What do you mean, was he making up stories?”

Yun Qing shook her head. “It doesn’t seem like it.”

Cheng Suiyan shouldered the Beihai Sword and said carelessly, “Whatever, everyone has their own secrets. Who cares about him. Now let’s think about how to deal with the Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror.”

“Don’t bother thinking about it, it can’t be dealt with,” Hanlu Zi shook her head. “Since the Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror appeared in the world, it has never been defeated.

Although Jiang Binghe is a beast, his cultivation is also among the best in the world. With his cultivation level, wielding the Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror to swallow an entire city would be effortless.

I think, apart from immortals, no one in this world should have the ability to deal with the Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror. At most, one could escape from under his mirror and avoid capture.”

Yun Qing’s goal wasn’t to escape from Jiang Binghe’s hands – she wanted to capture him and interrogate him about her master’s whereabouts. From the current situation, this goal seemed impractically high.

Fu Xue asked, “Then is it possible to steal his magic treasure? We don’t need to use it ourselves, just prevent him from using it. Senior Sister, didn’t Little Tower give you an invisibility cloak?”

Reminded by her, Yun Qing’s eyes lit up. “That makes sense.”

But Hanlu Zi said, “If it could be stolen, someone would have stolen it long ago, why wait for you all? There are plenty of cultivators in this martial world who specialize in treasure theft.

The Jade River Sky-Shaking Mirror is a mighty immortal artifact. Although it’s not a natal magic treasure, it can be stored in one’s sea of consciousness and cannot be stolen.”

This Huayang Zi really didn’t leave any exploitable opportunity for others when forging magic treasures…Yun Qing felt a headache coming on. She rubbed her temples and said, “Let’s leave this place first.”

…..

The group borrowed teleportation from the Neat Family twice more, then traveled on foot. As night fell, they lodged by a lakeside.

Everyone had fought, fled, and been shocked by unexpected news, and were all exhausted. They left Jiang Baiyu to keep watch while the others fell into deep sleep. Fearing that Huayang Sect’s pursuers might discover them, they even extinguished their campfire.

Yun Qing was a light sleeper and woke up after sleeping for a while. She sat up and saw Jiang Baiyu sitting alone by the lake.

The night was silent, with sky and lake connected. Autumn frost had formed on the grass leaves by the lake. He sat in the white frost, his silhouette appearing somewhat lonely and cold, like a solitary gull wandering in the vast heaven and earth.

Not far away, something rustled in the grass – probably some small animal. Yun Qing curiously went over to take a look.

After a while, she returned and patted Jiang Baiyu on the shoulder.

Jiang Baiyu turned around and first saw a light brown rabbit’s head.

The rabbit was breathing rapidly from nervousness, its nose twitching, staring at him with wide, innocent eyes.

Jiang Baiyu was startled and remained silent.

Yun Qing’s face slowly emerged from behind the rabbit’s head, looking at him with a grin. Her eyes curved into crescents with laughter, and the small mole between her brows was vivid and captivating.

For some reason, Jiang Baiyu thought of the sensation of pressing his fingertip against that small mole. Warm, burning, causing his blood to flow faster throughout his body, just like his heart at this moment.

Seeing that Jiang Baiyu didn’t react, Yun Qing shook the rabbit, which stood with its ears erect, not daring to move. She asked with a laugh, “Isn’t it adorable?”

“Mm,” Jiang Baiyu’s gaze swept from her eyes down to her lips and chin, then back to her eyes. He smiled and said slowly, “So adorable, how can it be so adorable?”

Yun Qing then stuffed the rabbit into his arms and sat down beside him.

Above them, the Milky Way was brilliant, and the lake surface was mirror-smooth, reflecting the stars.

Jiang Baiyu was forced to accept this “kindness” and lowered his head to stroke the rabbit’s head, while Yun Qing propped her chin on her hand and watched him.

His slender, pale hands were elegantly beautiful like jade carvings, his nails gleaming faintly in the starlight.

She… she rather wanted to touch those hands…

Yun Qing shook her head, driving away such inappropriate thoughts, and asked Jiang Baiyu, “Baiyu, what are you thinking about?”

Jiang Baiyu looked up, his gaze falling on the lake surface. He suddenly sighed. “Yun Qing, I quite envy you.”

“Me?”

“Mm. Although your background is troubled, at least you have a master who truly loves and protects you, and a junior sister who treats you wholeheartedly. Looking at myself, those eighteen years on Huayang Mountain with fine clothes and food that everyone envied, yet never once did anyone treat me with a true heart.

In the past, I always wanted to find out who I was. Now I finally know the truth, only to discover that my life has been so lacking in family bonds. My parents are dead, my master is dead, and my senior brothers and sisters are all dead. Even I myself have died.”

“Baiyu…”

“Martial Grand-aunt said that Master and Senior Brothers and Sisters were all extremely kind and generous people. I… I just feel somewhat regretful that I never got to spend time with them, not even for a single day.”

Yun Qing blurted out anxiously, “Baiyu, you still have me—”

Jiang Baiyu turned to look at her.

She paused, then continued, “You still have all of us. Me, and Fu Xue, and Suiyan – we’re all good friends and will definitely treat you with true hearts.

In the future, you’ll meet many, many more people and see many, many more landscapes. My master said that everyone’s life will have regrets. It’s precisely those past regrets that make us cherish the people before us even more.”

The people before us, the people before us.

He stared fixedly into her eyes. How wonderful – she still didn’t know what kind of excessive thoughts he harbored toward her. Those thoughts spread like wildfire, and he truly feared that someday this wildfire would burn away all his rationality.

Jiang Baiyu looked away and continued gazing at the lake surface, saying, “You’re right.” Suddenly remembering that night when “a guest came from the west,” he couldn’t help but smile.

“I think my luck isn’t so bad after all.”