Chapter 284: The Feeling of Heartache
Looking out from the skylight of the stone room, the silver-gray night sky possessed a soul-stirring beauty, yet Yang Miaozhen’s mood had sunk to its absolute lowest.
All the way here, they had traversed through deserted mountains and fields. This Valley of Unfeeling was like a place detached from the world, extremely difficult for outsiders to enter. It was her own carelessness that led to being trapped in a desperate situation, not to mention implicating Qiu Qianchi. If she hadn’t insisted on dragging Qiu Qianchi to the inn to gather information at the riverside wharf market, this situation would never have occurred.
Yang Miaozhen thought again of the strongholds in Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain.
With her absence for so long, the group was leaderless; she wondered what would happen in the stronghold.
If someone like Brother Zhou or Head Escort Zhang were at the stronghold, she could rest assured. Otherwise, although the stronghold appeared to have many people, without a master to oversee it, if someone like Yu Huacheng were to appear, it would inevitably lead to chaos.
The more Yang Miaozhen thought about it, the more she felt the current stronghold lacked the ability to deal with crises. In the past, at Cuya Mountain, with over a thousand people, such a stronghold force was common. The Jin Dynasty and the Great Song Dynasty would not have proactively attacked and besieged them. She could leave for half a month or even longer without worry. But now, with people from both strongholds and villagers who voluntarily stayed, there were over ten thousand people. Such a scale of power was enough to attract the attention of the Jin Dynasty. Moreover, the White Lotus Sect was also coveting the two strongholds.
Yang Miaozhen then realized that the management model of the stronghold she had established with her prestige was riddled with loopholes. There wasn’t a single person capable of taking on important responsibilities after her incident.
Thinking this way, her mind became restless.
Footsteps, neither hurried nor slow, approached from outside at this moment.
With a creak, Yang Kang pushed the door open and entered.
Yang Miaozhen stared intently at him.
The two recognized each other.
Before the Mongol Army besieged Zhongdu, Yang Miaozhen and Mu Nianci had seen Yang Kang at the entrance of the Changfeng Escort Agency, escorting Helian Zhantai back. At that time, he was still the Jin Dynasty’s Little Prince.
Looking at him rationally, Yang Miaozhen felt that compared to before, Yang Kang had less spirit and shrewdness in his eyes, and more maturity and steadiness.
“Long time no see,” Yang Kang said, sitting down in front of Yang Miaozhen. “Should I call you Leader Yang or Miss Yang?”
Yang Kang had guessed Yang Miaozhen’s identity.
All of this stemmed from the change in status.
As the Jin Dynasty Crown Prince, he had devoted all his efforts to assisting Wanyan Honglie, winning over the Iron Palm Sect and the Dragon Gate Escort Agency, preparing for the Jin Dynasty’s southward advance, and also planning to deal with the anti-Jin forces active in the border regions between Jin and Song, either by winning them over or annihilating them.
The moniker “Red Lady” was famous. With her red clothes and red skirt, and the Storm of Pear Blossoms Spear, she was easily recognizable. Yang Kang had long been paying attention to anti-Jin forces, and with a little deduction, he figured it out. He just didn’t know Yang Miaozhen’s current exact whereabouts.
As Yang Kang asked this, Yang Miaozhen’s pair of willow eyebrows slowly rose, becoming increasingly sharp. “Should I call you Yang Kang or Wanyan Kang?”
Yang Kang was not surprised by Yang Miaozhen’s question. Since she had dealings with Mu Nianci and Fu’an, it was not strange for her to know his identity.
“Naturally, Yang Kang.”
Yang Kang asked with a smile, “After my mother left Zhongdu, was she settled in your stronghold?”
“That’s right.”
“Thank you for taking care of her.”
Yang Miaozhen remained silent, waiting for Yang Kang to continue.
“Is my mother well now?”
“Get straight to the point, don’t beat around the bush. You didn’t come here to chat about these things with me.”
“Then I’ll be direct. Leader Yang, are you willing to work for me?” Yang Kang smiled gently. “Don’t rush to answer; you can consider it calmly. The Lin’an court is corrupt and incompetent, and the common people live in dire straits. If the Jin Dynasty cannot defeat the Mongols, the Mongols will be another Jin Dynasty. If the Jin Dynasty wins, I will be the emperor in the future, the Han Chinese emperor of the Jin Dynasty. The Jin Dynasty I rule will be more enlightened than the Lin’an court in any case. In fact, in the Jin Dynasty territories now, the plundering and atrocities committed by Jin soldiers have greatly reduced, and this is all related to me.”
Yang Kang stood up and walked towards the exit. “Don’t worry, no one will harm you. Leader Yang is an intelligent person with her own views and opinions. Consider it carefully. There is no greater merit in the world than assisting a ruler to ascend the throne.”
“Creak!” The wooden door closed, and Yang Kang’s footsteps receded.
Yang Miaozhen walked to the stone window and looked out through it at the Iron Palm Sect disciples guarding outside.
“What grand and noble words. If it were Brother Guo, he would probably believe it,” Yang Miaozhen sneered, walked to the stone couch, sat cross-legged, and tried to circulate her internal force, only to feel a sharp pain in the Tiantu Acupoint, where the Yinwei and Ren Meridians met, and her inner qi scattered.
She sighed. There was no hope of unsealing herself. She didn’t know how Qiu Qianchi was doing now.
Yang Kang walked forward, passing through a grove of green bamboo. A clear fragrance wafted over, and before him was an endless expanse of narcissus flowers. Ouyang Ke was in a pavilion by the pond, admiring the moon.
“Sir, you have such refined taste,” Yang Kang said with a smile as he approached.
Ouyang Ke looked distressed. “I don’t want to be here for even a day.”
“Why?”
“Vegetarian food and plain water, how can anyone endure this.”
“It is indeed a bit unaccustomed.”
“What did Miss Yang say?”
Yang Kang replied, “I told her to consider it. Until then, sir, please do not disturb her.”
Ouyang Ke laughed heartily. “I like beauty but not rough methods. Little Prince, rest assured. Besides, with a character like that wild rose, one needs patience.”
“A profound statement.”
“A Crown Prince shouldn’t have several paramours.”
Yang Kang sat on a bamboo stool next to Ouyang Ke and said, “I haven’t met anyone I truly fancy yet.”
“Tell me what kind of woman the Crown Prince likes, and I’ll abduct one for you.”
Yang Kang chuckled. “State affairs are more important.”
Ouyang Ke smiled. Behind the two, a gray figure moved through the night without disturbing the wind and moon, like a silent goose gliding across the night sky, entering the bamboo forest. After a few turns, it arrived at the stone room where Yang Miaozhen was imprisoned.
Zhou Yan, who had entered the Valley of Unfeeling, wasted no time and went directly towards the stone room where Gongsun Zhi had once imprisoned Liang Xiaowu. However, along the way, he saw Ouyang Ke and Yang Kang. He eavesdropped and heard their conversation clearly.
Liu Qingzhou, Yanbo Diaosou, and Hundred Herbs Immortal were waiting in ambush in the bamboo forest. Zhou Yan would rescue her.
…
Zhou Yan’s figure flickered in and out of sight in the darkness, silently appearing in front of the stone room where Yang Miaozhen was imprisoned.
“Ch, ch.”
Two stones were shot out with the Finger Flicking Divine Skill. With two “ping” sounds, the Iron Palm Sect disciples, struck at their acupoints, grunted and fell to the ground.
Yang Miaozhen had been acupoint-sealed and could not circulate her internal force, but her hearing was still excellent. She heard a disturbance outside and hurried to the window to look. Accompanied by the creak of the door opening, Zhou Yan walked in.
“Brother Zhou!” Yang Miaozhen exclaimed in surprise.
“It’s me.”
“You truly are my good brother.” Yang Miaozhen changed the subject and said, “Sister Qiu and I met Ouyang Feng, Qiu Qianren, and others at the Xiangyang riverside wharf and were captured and brought here. How did Brother Zhou find out?”
“I saw the chestnut horse by the street and recognized it as your mount. Then I inquired and learned that you and Miss Qiu had fought with someone, leading me to deduce you were captured here.”
“So that’s how it is. I was acupoint-sealed, and as soon as I circulated my inner qi, the Tiantu Acupoint would ache intensely.”
“I’ll unseal you.” Zhou Yan had diligently cultivated the “Acupoint Sealing” and “Acupoint Unsealing” chapters of the 《Nine Yin Manual》, so Qiu Qianren’s acupoint sealing techniques were not difficult for him.
Following Yang Miaozhen’s description, he quickly pressed several major acupoints on the Yinwei and Ren Meridians.
“Done!” Yang Miaozhen rejoiced as her internal force circulated smoothly.
“Sister Qiu no longer has any ties with Gongsun Zhi. If you have to fight with anyone from the valley, Brother Zhou, don’t hold back.”
“Understood. Let’s go find Sister Qiu.”
…
The wind blew over the valley, shaking branches of lush ancient trees, scattering dappled light and shadows onto the ground.
Huang Rong, dressed in a white dress, sat on a tree branch as thick as an arm, her eyes brightly observing the scene within her view. When the wind blew, her sleeves fluttered, making her look like a celestial maiden surveying the world at first glance.
Huang Rong propped her chin on her hand, a smile spreading from the corners of her curved lips, across her delicate face, and into her lively eyes. She and Huang Yaoshi had entered the Valley of Unfeeling, walking ahead of Zhou Yan and the others. Afterward, they followed Yang Kang to the stone room.
When Zhou Yan arrived, Huang Yaoshi took Huang Rong and hid in the tree crown. Huang Rong watched Zhou Yan’s figure appear and disappear, then throw stones to strike acupoints, finding it joyful and amusing.
The joy stemmed from the fact that people meet again and again, encountering each other once more in the Valley of Unfeeling. She also recalled her previous visit to the Valley of Unfeeling, where she had descended the cliff using a rope. She wondered if that rope was still there.
The amusement naturally came from observing Zhou Yan’s actions as a spectator.
In just over ten breaths, Zhou Yan and Yang Miaozhen appeared within Huang Rong’s sight.
Zhou Yan was in front, and Yang Miaozhen was behind. Judging by their demeanor and actions, they seemed quite intimate.
“Who is this woman?” Huang Rong pouted. “When I was escorted to the Western Regions by Bao Yin, a monk from the Vajra Sect, and encountered Zhou Yan in Shuo Prefecture, he didn’t treat me like this when he rescued me. He spoke coldly, telling me to return to Zhongdu alone.”
Huang Rong’s gaze never left Zhou Yan. Shortly after, Zhou Yan struck down two more people and rescued a woman in black clothes and black skirt from the stone room.
Huang Yaoshi snorted inwardly, his mind conjuring the image of a woman from the Ancient Tomb on Zhongnan Mountain.
“Rong’er, let’s go!”
“Yes, Father!”
Huang Yaoshi’s figure, like a night owl, flew silently towards the bamboo forest not far away. Huang Rong stood up, turned around, and then looked back at Zhou Yan one last time.
That glance was like time entering a painting. Huang Rong saw a series of scenes unfold since she met Zhou Yan: the white horse and the west wind on the frontier, the apricot blossoms and misty rain in Jiangnan, the solitary smoke in the desert, and the clear, misty mountains of the Qilian Mountains.
Those scrolls were filled with their footprints, hers and Zhou Yan’s.
So, we have both experienced so much, Huang Rong thought. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her chest.
The heartache came so unexpectedly that Huang Rong cried out “Ah!” and fell from the ancient tree.
