【Extra Chapter · Ancient IF Timeline】
The Bright Moon of Bygone Years (6)
Fu Lianxue woke up.
When she awoke, Ye Zhaoqiu had already tidied up and was sitting at the table eating breakfast, looking clear-headed and refreshed1.
She yawned, sat on the bed looking at her, the ornaments on her hands and feet making a clinking and clanking sound.
Ye Zhaoqiu heard the movement and said to her, who was rubbing her eyes, “Since you’re awake, go wash up. I’ll have them send your breakfast over.”
Fu Lianxue, rubbing her eyes, raised a hand and pointed out the window, saying nothing.
Then she lifted the quilt, turned over, and lay down again.
Seeing this, Ye Zhaoqiu shook her head, got up, went out, and called for the shop assistant.
After a while, Fu Lianxue’s breakfast was delivered.
The shop assistant placed the bowls and dishes on the table, then retreated and closed the door.
“You can get up and eat now,” Ye Zhaoqiu said.
Only then did Fu Lianxue slowly get up, slowly wash her face and rinse her mouth, then walk clinking and clanking all the way to the table and sit down, yawning.
Opposite her, Ye Zhaoqiu sat with an upright posture, elegant and composed.
A stark contrast to her, who had poor sitting posture.
But soon, Fu Lianxue’s sleepiness dissipated.
She saw the lotus pastries on the table.
She had just pointed downwards; she hadn’t expected Ye Zhaoqiu to actually understand and even have someone prepare it for her!
“Yay, lotus pastries!”
She really loved the lotus pastries from Yunshui Town.
Crispy and fragrant, truly unforgettable.
Her face was full of smiles, her eyes sparkling.
Very cute.
Ye Zhaoqiu silently withdrew her gaze, the corners of her lips slightly raised, rippling with a faint smile she herself hadn’t noticed. “Eat quickly.”
Then she added, “Remember to change your clothes.”
Fu Lianxue’s action of eating the lotus pastries paused.
She looked up at her, a corner of her lips curling up, then suddenly put down the lotus pastries, clapped her hands, stood up, and walked towards her. Amidst the crisp sound of bells, she sat plonk on her lap, hooking her arms around her neck, and said with captivating charm, “What’s wrong? I specially wore this for you to see. Don’t you like it when I dress like this?
“I see you humans quite like it, otherwise why would the people in the dance parlors dress like this to dance?”
Ye Zhaoqiu: “…”
She looked straight ahead2, not meeting her eyes. “Get down.”
Fu Lianxue, as if she hadn’t heard, turned her head, picked up her plain congee, and smilingly scooped up a spoonful. “For the sake of our Miss Ye buying me lotus pastries, let me feed our Miss Ye breakfast today.”
After saying that, she gently blew on it, cooling it before bringing it to her lips. “Ah~”
Ye Zhaoqiu: “…”
She pressed the spoon back into the bowl and placed the bowl back on the table. “No need, I can eat by myself.”
Placing a hand on Fu Lianxue’s waist, she applied a slight pushing force. “Get down.”
Unexpectedly, Fu Lianxue wrapped her arms around her neck, hugging her tighter and tighter.
She just became rebellious like that.
“I won’t get down! I want to feed you!”
“No need, get down.”
“Need, not getting down!”
“Are you shy?”
Ye Zhaoqiu looked up.
Their eyes met, their breathing clearly audible.
She saw Fu Lianxue looking at her with bright eyes, those eyes actually holding expectation for her.
She simply didn’t know what to do with her.
“Stop fooling around. We have things to do today. Quickly get down, sit properly, and eat, otherwise…”
She “otherwised” for a long time but couldn’t say what.
Fu Lianxue was amused, lifting her long hair and teasingly asking, “Otherwise what?
“Otherwise, you’ll slay demons and exorcise devils?”
Ye Zhaoqiu frowned.
“…Otherwise, I won’t buy you lotus pastries anymore.”
She couldn’t bring herself to say harsh words.
Nor could she bring herself to lay a hand on her.
Not buying lotus pastries was the most severe threat she could think of.
Fu Lianxue was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh.
“Is that all?” she said, getting off her lap, her face full of indifference. “I thought you were going to say something terrifying.”
Ye Zhaoqiu’s gaze followed her movements, listening to her words: “…”
Although it wasn’t a terrifying thing to say, it seemed to be quite effective.
Then, she saw Fu Lianxue stop, turn around, and bend down.
Fu Lianxue suddenly kissed her.
Caught off guard.
“Although it’s not scary, you’re a bit cute,” Fu Lianxue said so.
Heaven knew her feelings when she saw Ye Zhaoqiu say that.
A serious3 Xuanmen disciple took slaying demons and exorcising devils as her duty, yet today, the threat she made to a Meiyao pestering her was not to buy her lotus pastries anymore.
That earnest and slightly troubled little expression was simply fatally cute.
Ye Zhaoqiu, suddenly kissed, blushed instantly, her eyes full of astonishment. “You!”
Fu Lianxue was even happier seeing her like this, like seeing a piece of wood sprout a small green shoot, finally adding a bit of cute, bright color to her person.
She smiled and returned to her seat to enjoy her breakfast.
“Eldest Young Lady Ye, don’t be angry. We still have things to do today, hurry up and eat breakfast~”
Ye Zhaoqiu: “…”
She knew that too!
Calm your heart and pacify your qi, Ye Zhaoqiu, calm your heart and pacify your qi.4
This is all a test from heaven for you.
Don’t be rash, don’t be impatient, calm your heart and pacify your qi.
Ye Zhaoqiu closed her eyes and took a light breath, trying her best to ignore the kiss that seemed to still linger with warmth on her face, and forced herself to remain calm and continue eating.
Fu Lianxue watched her as she ate.
Their gazes always missed each other.
She couldn’t help but smile, lowering her head to drink her congee.
Humans, ah, are still a bit cute.
After breakfast, Fu Lianxue followed Ye Zhaoqiu out to find Lin Lan.
She had already changed back into her clothes: a simple and bright outfit, her hair accessories adding a playful and lively touch, dressed like a young girl from the mortal world.
Ye Zhaoqiu still wore a black long robe and white inner shirt, a jade belt at her waist, the buttons of her inner garment fastened to the very last one, meticulous just like her person.
Her walk was the same, looking straight ahead, her tall and graceful figure standing elegantly5.
Fu Lianxue was different.
She wasn’t as prim and proper, she would look left and right, and would even play with her small pigtail, holding it in her hand and swinging it.
“After we find Lin Lan, what are we going to do?”
Ye Zhaoqiu’s expression was calm. “Go to East Mountain.”
Looking at her, she added, “You can continue to play in the town.”
Exorcising demons was her duty, unrelated to Fu Lianxue; she had no right to ask Fu Lianxue to accompany her, running around everywhere.
Fu Lianxue raised an eyebrow. “Then I’ll go to East Mountain too.”
Ye Zhaoqiu looked at her.
Fu Lianxue said playfully, “I’ll go to East Mountain to play~”
Ye Zhaoqiu: “…”
They soon arrived at the place where Lin Lan lived.
It was a small courtyard, arranged for him by Liao Muchen[.
Quiet all around, very suitable for living.
Fu Lianxue looked around and sighed, “It seems Liao Muchen really likes him a lot…”
Ye Zhaoqiu raised her hand and knocked on the door.
“Is Young Master Lin in?”
After a while, they heard the sound of a cane tapping on the ground from inside, followed by Lin Lan’s voice: “Who is it?”
Ye Zhaoqiu said, “We are the Xuanmen disciples who came to help with the investigation yesterday.”
Lin Lan suddenly realized.
The sound of wood moving came from inside.
The door opened.
The young man with a white gauze over his eyes, holding a Mingzhang6, stood before them, slightly tilting his ear, and asked, “What do you need from me?”
Ye Zhaoqiu said, “We’d like to ask you about what happened that day.”
Lin Lan understood and turned to walk inside. “Come in and sit.”
They followed him into the small courtyard.
A simple and elegant fragrance of gardenias wafted towards them.
Many gardenia flowers were planted in the spacious courtyard. It was currently their blooming season, and one white flower after another hung among the green leaves, pure, elegant, and lovely.
“You also grow flowers?” Fu Lianxue asked.
Lin Lan shook his head. “Not me, it’s Ah Chen. He wanted me to smell more floral scents, thinking it would improve my mood, so he planted many flowers in the courtyard.
“They smell very fragrant, right?”
Fu Lianxue nodded. “Not only are they very fragrant, but the flowers are also growing very well. Young Master Liao is indeed very attentive to you.”
After saying that, she realized it was inappropriate, pursed her lips, and subconsciously looked at Ye Zhaoqiu.
Ye Zhaoqiu knew she didn’t mean it and offered silent reassurance with her eyes.
Lin Lan just smiled faintly and looked away. “Is that so…”
No matter how beautiful, he couldn’t see them.
The three of them sat down at the stone table in the courtyard.
Lin Lan initially wanted to offer them tea, but Ye Zhaoqiu stopped him. “No need to trouble yourself. We’ll just ask a few questions and then leave.”
Only then did Lin Lan sit down again. “What do you want to ask?”
Fu Lianxue stopped talking.
Ye Zhaoqiu was responsible for asking the questions.
She still asked about the events of that day.
The version from the person involved could not be ignored.
As it turned out, Lin Lan’s words were exactly the same as what they had heard from Liao Yueting.
They had indeed been attacked, Liao Muchen had indeed been trapped by a demon, but even in such an urgent situation, he had told him to run first.
Turn and run, keep running, don’t stop, run back to town, try to survive.
He was terrified and helpless, wanting to save Liao Muchen but not knowing how, so he could only obediently run.
He didn’t know how far he ran, how long he ran, or where he ran to.
He could no longer hear the demon’s frenzied roars.
At that moment, his helplessness and panic reached their peak.
Later, he didn’t know where he found the courage, but he actually dared to turn back.
He probably thought of dying together with his Ah Chen.
If they couldn’t live together, then they would die together.
He stumbled back, searching wretchedly for a long time.
Finally, they were reunited—he tripped over his body.
Thinking it was something else, he was startled and retreated in panic.
After a moment of being stunned, he realized something, cautiously felt his way over, and softly called out, “Ah Chen?”
No one responded.
He touched a person.
An unmoving person.
He couldn’t see, unable to confirm if this person was Liao Muchen.
He was terrified, afraid this wasn’t Liao Muchen, yet also afraid it was.
If this wasn’t Liao Muchen, wouldn’t that mean he had been dragged to an even more terrifying place and was currently suffering torture?
If this was Liao Muchen, then he… No! There was still hope, there must still be hope!
He immediately carried him on his back and found a stick to use as a Mingzhang to clear the path.
He had to take him back to see a doctor.
Ah Chen would definitely be alright!
The sound of the monster’s frenzy was gone from the surroundings.
The mountain forest was silent; only the sound of flowing water could be heard.
He followed the sound of the water, relying on his memory of the way he came, thinking that as long as he reached a place where he couldn’t hear the water, he shouldn’t be far from descending the mountain.
Fortunately, heaven took pity on him, and he really managed to walk out of East Mountain.
“That really was Muchen,” Lin Lan said, gripping his Mingzhang. “He really was Muchen…”
He seemed to be repeatedly confirming it.
Confirming the unmoving corpse was his Muchen, confirming the one whose eyes were gouged out was his Muchen, confirming… confirming they were truly separated by death7.
Overwhelming8 grief suddenly struck him; he lowered his head and spoke no more.
Ye Zhaoqiu and Fu Lianxue looked at each other in dismay.
If possible, who would want to recall painful scars again and again?
But there was no choice.
For the sake of the deceased, for the sake of justice, no matter how pitiful or sympathetic she felt, Ye Zhaoqiu would not omit a single question she had to ask.
She said softly, “Young Master Lin, my condolences.”
Then she waited a while, waiting for Lin Lan to recover somewhat before speaking again. “Please forgive my impertinence, but could you remove your eye gauze… and let me see your eyes?”
Hearing this, Lin Lan’s head lifted slightly, his brow furrowed. “You suspect me?”
Before they could answer, he continued to himself, “True, it’s too hard to believe that a blind man could find someone and bring them back… But don’t you cultivators believe in heaven’s will?”
Ye Zhaoqiu didn’t speak.
She did believe in heaven’s will.
She also believed that their arrival here, encountering this matter, was also a kind of heaven’s will.
Fu Lianxue said bluntly from the side, “It’s not targeted at you. It’s just that before the truth comes to light9, everyone here is a suspect.”
Lin Lan nodded. “That’s understandable.”
He put down his Mingzhang and raised his hand to untie the eye gauze. “In that case, then take a look.”
The two finally saw the eyes behind the gauze.
Black, wooden, and lifeless, different from Liao Yueting’s eyes—Liao Muchen’s eyes were not on him.
Fu Lianxue’s hand waved twice in front of his eyes; he remained unmoved.
Fu Lianxue’s hand suddenly swung towards him; he still remained unmoved.
She turned to look at Ye Zhaoqiu.
—He really can’t see.
Fu Lianxue saw Ye Zhaoqiu suddenly reach out, take the eye gauze from Lin Lan’s hand, and personally help him put it on, saying, “I’m very sorry, Young Master Lin, for making you recall unhappy things.”
While putting it on, her fingers accidentally touched Lin Lan’s glabella.
Lin Lan subconsciously dodged backward.
She apologized again.
Lin Lan took back his eye gauze from her hand and put it on himself. “It’s alright.”
Fu Lianxue looked surprised.
This was the first time she had seen Ye Zhaoqiu be so proactive, even careless, with someone else.
Ye Zhaoqiu then asked Lin Lan about matters related to his enemies.
As it turned out, when asked about enemies, he knew nothing about the matter, as if the feud was with his parents, and he was merely implicated, thus knowing nothing.
At this point, there was no progress.
“We’ve disturbed you. We’ll take our leave then. If we have any clues later, we will inform Young Master Lin immediately,” Ye Zhaoqiu said.
“Alright, I hope you can find the murderer soon and avenge Ah Chen,” Lin Lan said.
Ye Zhaoqiu then left with Fu Lianxue.
After they left, Lin Lan remained seated where he was.
The wind carried the rich fragrance of gardenias.
He slowly turned towards the direction of the gardenias, silent and unmoving; no one knew what he was thinking.
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