Chasing After the Fallen
After Qin attacked Huaiyin, Ge Nie led Jing Tianming and the others to leave the place that had been ravaged by the flames of war. Duanmu Rong and Mao Qiushi were from the same sect, so they did not feel bored chatting about the various things on Mount Shendu along the way. Gai Lan was worried about the children, especially Liu Bi, who had always been silent throughout the journey. Jing Tianming, Xiang Yu, and Gao Yue knew that he was sad because of the tragic death of his family, so they often joked with each other to help Liu Bi lift his spirits. Just like that, the group continued to move forward day after day. No matter where they went, they could see the wreckage of war. Along the way, they also saw other refugees. People walked in groups of two or three, their expressions unfocused. It was as if there would be no end to this advance, and they had long lost their direction.
When Jing Tianming was young, he had been chased by the Qin soldiers and was no stranger to fleeing. Putting aside the fact that he was now older and had companions, he did not feel that it was hard for him to escape. Gao Yue had been begging for a living since she was young, and she was quite used to living in the open. Among the three of them, Xiang Yu was the most unbearable. He was born into a noble family and had servants accompanying him wherever he went. However, when he saw the homeless people everywhere, Xiang Yu never complained about hardship. It was just that the more he walked, the more tired he became.
On this day, when everyone was tired, they casually sat down under a tree by the roadside to rest. Everyone was so tired that they did not even have an expression on their faces. Only Duanmu Rong sat on the ground and smiled at Ge Nia. Seeing that Ge Nia was ignoring her, she could only ask,"Shouldn't we be eating?"
Ge Nia looked troubled, and Ge Lan answered,"Miss Duanmu, there's only a little bit of rations left. I don't know how far we'll have to go before we reach the next village.”
Duanmu Rong looked left and right. Seeing that no one else said anything, she nudged Jing Tianming and asked,"Tianming, aren't you hungry?"
Jing Tianming looked at Ge Nia and shook his head."I'm not hungry."
Duanmu Rong spat and said," Cowardly fellow. If your master doesn't let you starve, you won't be hungry. If your master doesn't let you pee one day, I think you'll suffocate to death!"”After cursing, he turned to look at the youngest Liu Bi and asked in a gentle tone,"Liu Bi, aren't you hungry?"
Liu Bi shook his head and replied,"I'm not hungry."”
After leaving Huaiyin, Liu Bi had completely lost his appetite. Duanmu Rong immediately realized that she had asked the wrong person. She pursed her lips and turned around to ask, Xiangyu, aren't you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry."
"Humph." Duanmu Rong looked at Gao Yue." Gao Yue, aren't you hungry?”
"I'm hungry." Gao Yue nodded.
Duanmu Rong clapped her hands happily as if she had met a soulmate. Just as she was about to speak, Gao Yue continued,"Although I'm hungry, I'm still alive. Aunt Lan had said that there was only a little bit left. If I ate it all, there would be nothing left. If I didn't have anything, I would starve to death. That's not good, so I can't eat it now. Since there's nothing to eat now, I'm not hungry.”
Gao Yue had always been eloquent. Duanmu Rong was instantly speechless after being refuted. She was stunned for a moment before she finally spat and scolded,"If I had known earlier, I would have let you be poisoned to death! What's the fun in living without eating? If all of you don't eat, go be immortals!”After scolding him, she was still unwilling to give up. She held onto the last trace of hope and used Mao Qiu as an example. She pushed him and said,"If Senior Sister has something to do, Junior Brother will do it. Mao Qiu, your Senior Sister is starving to death. Go and take out something for me to eat.”
Mao Qiu was already used to Duanmu Rong's bad habits. He widened his eyes and replied,""Life is death, death is life. If you're not hungry, you're hungry. If you're hungry, you're not hungry. If you have something to eat, you have nothing to eat. Senior Sister, are you mistaken? You're actually not hungry, and we don't have anything to eat.”
"It seems that Master has taught you something bad.”Duanmu Rong saw that she was at her wit's end and could not help but sigh deeply."Sigh ~"
Unexpectedly, Gao Yue also sighed beside him,"Sigh ~"
"What are you sighing for?" Duanmu Rong glared at him and said,"You're not hungry."”
"I feel sad." Gao Yue said,"In the past, I always picked up some tattered clothes that people didn't want to wear. Although it was quite comfortable after wearing it for a long time, I still felt envious when I saw others dressed beautifully. But it doesn't matter. Anyway, I was originally a little beggar. A little beggar should dress like a little beggar. A few days ago, I was unlucky and fell seriously ill. Heh, it was a blessing in disguise. I met a kind aunt. This aunt was beautiful, dressed beautifully, and had even more beautiful abilities. Not only did she cure my illness, but she also made her beautiful clothes smaller and gave them to me. From then on, I was no longer a little beggar. Who knows…who knows…sigh ~"
" Duanmu Rong knew that Gao Yue wouldn't say anything nice next, but she couldn't help but urge her curiously,""Who knows what?"
Gao Yue replied slowly, pretending to be sad,""Who knew that although this beautiful aunt was dressed beautifully, she actually looked more like a beggar than me. "Sigh…" Gao Yue sighed and was about to continue speaking when Duanmu Rong suddenly slapped her. Her mouth was clearly still open, but she could not move anymore. Gao Yue blinked her eyes and rolled them around. Although she could not speak, she seemed happy and proud.
Jing Tianming found it funny and reached out to undo Gao Yue's acupuncture points. He advised Duanmu Rong,"Aunt Rong, can you be patient? As soon as we reach the next village, I'll definitely help you find food.”
Duanmu Rong saw that she had no other choice but to shut her mouth. She could not hold it in any longer and sighed again with a bitter look on her face. Everyone was silent, and she was the only one who could be heard sighing. In the end, Ge Nia could not take it anymore and finally found the last bit of dry food.
Seeing that there were only nine buns left, Ge Nia gave one to each of them, leaving Duanmu Rong with two buns. Duanmu Rong held the bun in her hands with tears of gratitude and took small bites of it with great care, revealing an extremely happy expression. This time, everyone's ears finally calmed down.
Galen couldn't help but chuckle."Father is at his wit's end against Miss Duanmu, but in the end, the only one who can control this lady is Father.”
While Duanmu Rong was eating happily, Jing Tianming secretly broke off half of the bun and stuffed it to Gao Yue. Gao Yue stuffed it back and broke off half of her bun and stuffed it to Jing Tianming. The two of them were careful not to let Duanmu Rong find out while silently stuffing the bun back and forth. Xiangyu saw this from the side, so he sneakily crawled over with Duanmu Rong on his back. He reached out and grabbed half of each of their buns, then broke off half of his own and secretly stuffed them all into Liu Bi's hands. Liu Bi's eyes widened in bafflement. The other three quickly signaled him to keep quiet. Then, they looked at each other and smiled at the same time. The three of them waved their hands to urge Liu Bi to eat quickly. They even sat side by side in front of Liu Bi so that he could eat more buns and not let Duanmu Rong find out.
Duanmu Rong bit her bun and cursed in her heart,"Stinky brat, can anything related to eating escape my eyes? Hmph, I'll let you off this time.”
Among the four young people, Liu Bi was the youngest. Of course, Jing Tianming and the other two didn't share the buns with Liu Bi because they thought he had the biggest appetite. They just didn't know how to comfort Liu Bi, so they could only express it in this way. Liu Bi sat behind the three of them and watched them wink at each other. He held two and a half buns in his hands and ate them while crying. As he ate, he smiled.
After filling their stomachs, the group continued on their journey. Not long after night fell, they finally found a village ahead. Just as they were feeling happy, they walked in and were surprised to find that the houses in the village were dilapidated and abandoned. Everyone looked around and saw that there were only some fallen leaves on the streets and courtyards. Clearly, the people in the village had not left for too long.
Ge Nie picked up a low house and walked in. He looked around and thought to himself,"The door to this room is narrow, making it easy to defend against enemies. There is also a hidden path behind the room. If there is any movement, everyone will have a place to escape.”Having made up his mind, he called everyone over and said,"When the news of the Qin army attacking Chu reached here, the villagers all fled for their lives. Since that's the case, let's rest here tonight.”
Hearing this, Gai Lan immediately began to clean up the room, preparing to let everyone stay. Duanmu Rong stood at the side and watched for a long time, then asked with a puzzled expression,"What's wrong? Sleeping already? Aren't you going to eat something?"
"Miss Duanmu, are you hungry again?" Ge Nie asked in surprise. Didn't they just have dinner on the way?”
Duanmu Rong's eyes widened, clearly even more surprised than Ge Nia."What is it? Are you talking about the two steamed buns that have gone cold? Isn't that a snack?"
"Miss Duanmu," Ge Nia replied as if he was explaining and reminding her,"I'm not sure.""Everyone here only ate one bun. You're the only one who ate two.”
Duanmu Rong's phoenix eyes instantly became very gentle. She asked Ge Nia with the last bit of hope,""I just thought that when we arrived at the village, you would cook supper.”
The crowd saw that the conversation between the two was clearly absurd, but the person who asked was extremely serious, and the person who answered was also very serious. They could not help but secretly laugh.
Ge Nie saw Duanmu Rong staring at him with wide eyes, hoping that he would make supper for her, so he could only reply patiently,"Since there is no supper, Miss Duanmu should quickly go to sleep. We still have to hurry on tomorrow morning.”
Duanmu Rong sighed in despair when she heard this. She looked around and said helplessly,"How can I sleep like this? Seven or eight people were crammed into such a small, dilapidated house. They could not even stretch their legs when they slept at night.”
Little did she know that Duanmu Rong was a loner by nature and had always been used to being alone. Now that the situation had forced her, she had no choice but to get along with such a large group of people day and night. It had already made her feel uncomfortable and impatient, but she could not say it out loud. Ge Nia didn't know and thought that this woman was spoiled and didn't understand the sufferings of the human world. He felt disgusted and didn't want to waste his breath explaining that this small house was convenient to defend against enemies and escape. He said with an ugly expression,"The present is no longer the same as the past. This small rundown house naturally cannot be compared to your Musical Note Courtyard.”
"Why do you feel wronged? Since no one lives in every house in this village, can't you pick a bigger one?”Duanmu Rong ignored Ge Nia's ugly expression and casually said,"You guys go to sleep. I'm leaving. I'll meet up with you guys tomorrow morning.”
Ge Nia was even more displeased when he heard this. He put his hands behind his back and said coldly,"As you wish. If you run into trouble, don't hesitate to call for help.”He was finally exhausted. Since Duanmu Rong did not appreciate it, he might as well let her go.
Duanmu Rong nodded. Before she left, she turned around and instructed Jing Tianming,"Tianming, if your master gets hungry in the middle of the night and wakes up to make supper, don't forget to call me. I'll definitely hear you. See you tomorrow." After saying that, he stepped out of the door without looking back.
The others tidied up and found a corner of the room to rest. Mao Qiu, Xiang Yu, Liu Bi, and Gao Yue fell asleep almost as soon as they closed their eyes.
The faint moonlight dyed the darkness of the room with a layer of quiet blue. Jing Tianming leaned against the wall and looked out the window, but he couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He guessed that Ge Nie must still be awake, so he asked softly,"Master, where do we go from now on?”
"Let's go to Handan." Ge Nia replied in a low voice,"With the fall of Chu, Qin's next target is very clear. We have to gather all the forces before Qi State is killed.”
Jing Tianming hadn't expected Ge Nia to look like he had lost his soul along the way, but he actually had a plan in mind. When he heard Ge Nia say that he wanted to call on the Mo family disciples to fight against the Qin Dynasty, he regained a lot of his strength. After thinking for a while, he sat up and said in a low voice,"Master, I'll go look for a well nearby and get some water. I'll also see if there's any food left by the villagers. Maybe we can start cooking before we set off tomorrow morning.”
Although Ge Nie felt that it was inappropriate, he also felt that Jing Tianming's words made sense. He couldn't just leave these people behind and leave. After pondering for a while, he nodded and said,"Alright then. Be careful and don't go too far. If anything happens, don't force yourself.”
"Got it." Jing Tianming got up and found a water bucket in the corner. He carried the Azure Frost Sword and walked out of the low house. He walked along the main road of the village and unknowingly, they were already quite a distance away from the small house. After a while, they finally found a well at the intersection of two forks.
He put the bucket down into the well and suddenly felt someone behind him. He turned around and the bucket in his hand immediately fell into the well. Jing Tianming shouted,"Who is it?"
He saw a masked man dressed in martial attire in front of him. He did not respond to Jing Tianming. When Jing Tianming noticed him, he turned around and ran. Jing Tianming was afraid that the other party was a Qin country soldier and was about to return to report the news, so he quickly followed without hesitation with his sword in hand.
The masked man deliberately maintained a distance not far from Jing Tianming. The two of them ran in the darkness for a while before the masked man suddenly stopped and turned around. He slowly reached out to remove his mask and said to Jing Tianming in a deep voice,"Long time no see, little brother."
The person standing in front of Jing Tianming was none other than his martial uncle, Wei Zhuang.
Many years of memories instantly came crashing into his mind. It was Han Shen carrying him, who was only six years old, as he fled for his life under Wei Zhuang's pursuit. Han Shen's tragic death was still fresh in Jing Tianming's mind. If Ge Nie had not arrived in time, Jing Tianming would have died at Wei Zhuang's hands.
At this moment, Jing Tianming was both shocked and confused. He had clearly seen with his own eyes that this martial uncle had committed suicide on the spot after losing to Ge Nia. Was the person standing in front of him a human or a ghost?
No matter what, Jing Tianming knew that Wei Zhuang was the Qin King's subordinate, an assassin who had come to kill him. He was no longer the young child from back then. Even though he knew that he was no match for him, Jing Tianming still pulled out his Azure Frost Sword.
Wei Zhuang smiled and stood still. He said,"Little brother is indeed courageous. Since you have even pulled out your sword, I don't need to waste my breath.”
As soon as he finished speaking, three or four sword lights instantly flew towards Jing Tianming. It was the Hundred-step Flying Sword's " Orioles Fly in the Grass ". The sword light was fast and ruthless, but each sword light only brushed past Jing Tianming by an inch. Before the sword light disappeared in the darkness, Wei Zhuang had already arrived in front of Jing Tianming. For some reason, his figure suddenly stopped.
Jing Tianming didn't have time to think. He seized the opportunity to use the first stance of the Hundred Steps Flying Sword,'One Penetration'. He stabbed forward, but Wei Zhuang dodged it lightly. He flipped his wrist, and the sword in his hand quickly brushed against the edge of the Azure Frost Sword. Then, he took a step back and instantly pulled away from Jing Tianming.
Jing Tianming stealthily lowered his body and used the second move of the Hundred Steps Flying Sword, End All, but before he could finish, Wei Zhuang had already changed his move and turned from defense to offense. He used the Rain Striking Pear Blossom, and in an instant, the sword light flew and surrounded the Azure Frost Sword. Jing Tianming felt a huge shock hit him, and his wrist instantly became numb. Then, the shock quickly rolled back like a tide, and Jing Tianming's body could not help but lean forward. The Azure Frost Sword left his hand, and with a crisp clang, the sword fell to the ground. Wei Zhuang's sword tip was already pressed against Jing Tianming's neck.
Although Jing Tianming was terrified, he was even more puzzled. He could see that Wei Zhuang had the chance to take his life, but he didn't know why he didn't do it and instead played with him. "What exactly do you want?" Jing Tianming asked coldly.
Wei Zhuang replied," Ge Nia once said that in his later years, Master simplified the Hundred Steps Flying Sword and refined it into three moves. Although I had no chance to learn it, Ge Nia defeated me before he could finish using all three moves. If I wanted to defeat him, even if I couldn't master these three moves, I would at least have to see some clues and understand the mysteries within.”
Hearing this, Jing Tianming suddenly realized that Wei Zhuang was trying to trick him into using his sword technique. Wei Zhuang continued," What a pity. Ge Nia took in a disciple without any wisdom. When I tried it just now, your three forms of the Flying Sword had a form but no essence. The Hundred Steps Flying Sword became an ordinary sword technique in your hands. What a pity."”
Jing Tianming's face turned red and white, but he felt ashamed. He thought that he must have been unable to grasp the main point, which was why he became more and more stupid the more he practiced this sword technique. Seeing that he would be humiliating his sect if he continued like this, he said angrily,"If you want to kill, then kill. There's no need to say anything else!”
Wei Zhuang tugged at the corner of his mouth and nodded.”She raised her sword high and was about to slash it down when she suddenly heard a clear and delicate shout,"Stay under the sword!" As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a pair of metal chopsticks clamp the long sword in Wei Zhuang's hand. Jing Tianming was shocked. He recognized this pair of metal chopsticks. It was Duanmu Rong.
"Although Aunt Rong's medical skills are brilliant, her martial arts skills have always been mediocre. I didn't expect that she could actually restrain Wei Zhuang with one move.”Jing Tianming was suspicious, but he didn't know that Wei Zhuang had stopped his attacks the moment he heard Duanmu Rong's voice. He obviously didn't see that Wei Zhuang, who was originally calm and collected, suddenly seemed to be at a loss in this dark night.
"Lady Duanmu." Wei Zhuang muttered. He turned his head and saw Duanmu Rong standing under the moonlight, her green clothes fluttering in the wind. She was grinning as she put away her iron chopsticks. She turned to Jing Tianming and said,"Why are you standing there? Sunbathing under the moon? Come here quickly." Then, he turned to Wei Zhuang and said," Hero Wei, this kid's life and death have nothing to do with me. But if you kill him in front of me and Ge Nia finds out, he'll blame me for not stopping you. If he falls out with me, who's going to make a hot bun for me to eat?”
Wei Zhuang could not tell that Duanmu Rong was speaking the truth. Instead, he felt that she had used an unreasonable reason just to save Ge Nia's disciple's life. He could not help but feel a surge of bitterness and excitement in his heart. He gripped the sword in his hand tightly, shouting in his mind over and over again,"Ge Nia, Ge Nia, Ge Nia again!”
Seeing Duanmu Rong's right hand very naturally protecting Jing Tianming, Wei Zhuang smiled bitterly and said,"Miss Duanmu, I, Wei Zhuang, serve by the side of the King of Qin. My status in the Qin Palace is not low. As long as Miss Duanmu asks, I can bring over any kind of delicacies as easily as flipping my hand. Moreover, if the King of Qin wanted to kill this brat, it was definitely not something that Miss Duanmu could stop alone.”
"Do you really think that I, Duanmu Rong, have never eaten the dishes in the palace?”Duanmu Rong pursed her lips." Is there any good dish in this world that I, Duanmu Rong, have not eaten? Duanmu Rong sighed and said,"Of course, the delicacies in the palace are delicious, but you haven't eaten Ge Nie's buns. If you add a bowl of hot and sour soup, sigh…" Duanmu Rong sighed again and swallowed her saliva."That's really delicious, really delicious.”
When Wei Zhuang heard this, he didn't think Duanmu Rong was really praising Ge Nie's cooking skills. Instead, it sounded like Duanmu Rong was saying,"You don't know Ge Nia. He's too good, too good.”Hearing Wei Zhuang's chest tighten, Duanmu Rong did not seem to be aware of it. However, she became more and more intoxicated as she spoke. She actually began to mutter to the air,"Hot buns, fragrant hot and sour soup. I haven't eaten you for a few days. I really miss you.”
As he spoke, he shook his head and sighed, as if he was feeling lonely and wronged. His affectionate expression made Wei Zhuang's heart sink to the bottom of the valley. He stood there in a daze for a long time before he finally put away his sword and turned to leave. After taking two steps, he couldn't help but stop and ask,"Miss Duanmu, why do you have to follow Ge Nia around and live a homeless life?”
"It's all your fault!" Miss Duanmu came back to her senses and complained with a straight face,""I was originally living a carefree life in the Musical Note Courtyard, but now it has all been burned down by your bird fire!”
"Miss Duanmu saved my life. As long as you are willing to go to Xianyang, I can arrange for you any life you want.”
"Don't, don't, don't. If I go like this, won't those fat officials and nobles come to me for treatment? Then wouldn't I be annoyed to death?"
Wei Zhuang had long expected Duanmu Rong to answer this. He glanced at Jing Tianming and said to Duanmu Rong,"Miss Duanmu, the King of Qin has sent more than one killer. If you continue to travel with Ge Nia, there will be many risks. You…you must take care of yourself. As long as Miss Duanmu changes her mind, I'll be waiting for you. Goodbye."
Just as she was about to turn around, Duanmu Rong suddenly shouted,"Wei Zhuang, if you find any new good dishes in the palace, bring them to me next time and let me try them.”
At the mention of food, the Hero Wei that Duanmu Rong originally mentioned naturally became Wei Zhuang. When she said this, Wei Zhuang's thoughts of giving up completely were instantly reignited. He took a deep breath, nodded and smiled, then finally turned around and left.
After Wei Zhuang left, Jing Tianming silently took a few steps forward and picked up the Azure Frost Sword that had fallen to the ground. Duanmu Rong saw his expression and knew that he was quite shocked. She didn't say anything else and just accompanied Jing Tianming back to the low room.
In the night, other than their figures, there was only silence.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]