Mayfly (2)
Guan Wujue was completely stunned, and only after a long while did he react—Yun Guyan actually wanted to take him away right now, immediately.
Yun Guyan gave him no time to collect himself. From his sleeve, he withdrew a small bottle, its white porcelain polished smooth and lovely. He handed this small porcelain bottle to Guan Wujue and said, “Drink it.”
Guan Wujue silently gazed at the Old Sect Leader’s deeply contoured face, not immediately reaching out to take it. “What will happen if I drink it?”
Yun Guyan’s cold, hard gaze looked down at the Protector from his superior position, his tone flat without much fluctuation as he asked, “Want to know?”
Guan Wujue nodded lightly. “Yes.”
Yun Guyan said, “Very well, this lord can tell you.”
“Once you drink it, you’ll fall asleep, confused and unconscious, unaware of anything. Then you’ll wake up in a dungeon far from Xifeng City, one that never sees daylight and is isolated from outsiders.”
“All the major acupoints throughout your body will be sealed. Then you’ll be blindfolded with black cloth, gagged, your ears blocked, your feet bound. After that, for a period of time, no one will approach or touch you, nor will anyone speak to you. You need only endure the pain of the poison being drawn into your blood, and wait quietly.”
“Until one day, when the time comes for the dust to settle, Guan Muyan will come to the dungeon with needles to find you.”
The Old Sect Leader’s low voice echoed endlessly within the dim Yanyun Palace, yet at a certain moment it softened:
“When that needle first pierces in, you’ll probably find it very painful. You’ll have to endure it—soon it won’t hurt anymore.”
The blood drained completely from Guan Wujue’s already pale face, yet his eyes grew ever more pitch black.
He knew Yun Guyan was serious.
If he drank the medicine in this porcelain bottle, he would never, never be able to return, never, never see the person he missed to the point of madness again.
He had no way back. Ahead lay only a final short stretch of road left for him to walk alone—dark and cold, covered in thorns, and at the end was a cliff.
The greatest despair in the world is knowing the road ahead is a cliff, knowing you’re walking toward a fall, yet still having to walk forward toward death.
Suddenly, immense grief nearly shattered his heart, yet it also seemed sealed in frost, cold enough in that moment to penetrate body and bone. Guan Wujue’s breathing grew labored, and he could only think in a daze: So soon? How could it be so soon?
Whether it was the time for the poison to be drawn into his blood, or the final farewell—how could both come so suddenly, without any warning, giving him no preparation at all?
Just moments ago, Yun Changliu had been sitting across from him, his cool and handsome brows and eyes like frost and snow, pulling back his sleeves helplessly yet indulgently to personally feed him food—but he had dodged away.
Guan Wujue suddenly felt dizzy, almost collapsing instantly. He couldn’t believe that would be… that could count as… the last time they’d see each other in this life?
Yun Guyan’s somewhat rough large palm touched the young Protector’s cheek with a rare gentle force. “…Don’t be afraid. It’s simply time to go.”
Guan Wujue’s Adam’s apple rolled slightly as he struggled to pull out a dim smile. “What would I be afraid of? But Old Sect Leader, you must also… let Wujue say goodbye to the Sect Leader.”
His expression was actually quite lost as he muttered to himself, his voice like a mosquito’s buzz. “…I promised him I would return.”
“You’ve deceived him many times—one more won’t matter.”
Yun Guyan’s already scarce tenderness dissipated in an instant. He laughed coldly. “Years ago, this lord gave you a chance. You had a perfectly good way to live, but you refused to take it, insisting on staying by Liu’er’s side. Now you want to go back on your word—it’s already too late.”
“The night is long and dreams are many—you must leave Xifeng City now!”
The next moment, Guan Wujue only felt his shoulders grow heavy as Yun Guyan forcefully gripped them, pressing down until his knees crashed heavily onto the ground!
Enduring the pain, Guan Wujue defiantly curled his lips. “Old Sect Leader… this isn’t quite right of you. Wujue is, after all, one of the Four Directions Protectors personally appointed by the Sect Leader. If you say you’ll take me away, you’ll take me away…”
“What of it if I take you?” Yun Guyan snorted with laughter, lazily shaking his head. “Has the Protector forgotten? To this day, you still have no decree from the Sect Leader permitting your return to the sect?”
Guan Wujue was shocked.
That’s right—he’d actually forgotten this detail!
A year ago, Yun Changliu had personally reassigned him away, and this time he had returned to the sect without authorization… Under these circumstances, his current presence in Xifeng City was actually irregular, while leaving the city wouldn’t be blocked by the Zhuhuo Guards—they might not even be in a hurry to report to the Sect Leader.
“Taking ten thousand steps back, so what if Liu’er learns of this news very quickly? So what if everyone in the entire sect learns of it?”
Yun Guyan laughed heartily with his head thrown back like an old mischievous child, causing his dignified black robes to shake continuously. “The Old Sect Leader has always doted on the Protector—isn’t that something the sect members have always relished discussing? Who would think that this lord taking the Protector out of the sect means I’m going to kill him? Eh? Hahaha…”
Guan Wujue remained silent. Yun Guyan firmly restrained him, passing the porcelain bottle to Wen Huan with a wave. “Force it down his throat!”
Guan Wujue raised his head, cold sweat streaming down, his face deathly pale. “Wait, I…”
But looking up at the closed, gloomy ceiling of Yanyun Palace, he suddenly couldn’t speak.
Man’s plans are inferior to heaven’s plans. Being ambushed by assassins when returning to the sect this time was an accident; having his injuries exposed by Xiao Donghe while unconscious was also an accident.
Now that Yun Changliu insisted on not letting him return to the branch hall, then being taken away by the Old Sect Leader like this might actually be the helpless best option.
The night is long and dreams are many… Yun Guyan was absolutely right.
Guan Wujue forcefully closed his eyes and suddenly said, “Old Sect Leader, you may not believe this… but the initial leak this time truly wasn’t Wujue’s doing. I only learned of it from Guan Muyan after returning to the sect, and then improvised accordingly.”
“This matter has been hanging over us and I can’t feel at ease. After Wujue leaves, you’ll still need to find a way to investigate it.”
Wen Huan stepped forward to receive the porcelain bottle, but was stopped by the Old Sect Leader’s raised hand. Yun Guyan said nothing, quietly listening to Guan Wujue speak.
“Ye Ru… that medicine person—Wujue originally only intended to use him as a distraction. Now, to bait Gu Jinxi into taking the hook, I can only throw him out there to gamble with his life.”
“Although he also said he was willing at the time, Ye Ru’s devotion to the Sect Leader is genuine. In the future, I hope the Old Sect Leader will do his utmost to preserve his life.”
As he spoke, Guan Wujue began to have difficulty breathing again. His heart meridian started to ache painfully, as if someone were using their fingernails to pinch it inch by inch to death. His mind gradually grew hazy. “After I… after I leave, you absolutely must not tell the Sect Leader the truth… He dislikes others dying for him…”
“…Also, as we agreed at the start, after the Fengchun Sheng poison is lifted, please, Old Sect Leader, stop treating the Sect Leader as Lady Lan’s shadow.”
“Take him into the mortal world, let him experience the mundane, taste the flavors of human life. Laugh when happy, cry when sad.”
“…Remember to teach him how to speak properly to strangers.”
“Teach him to remember the roads when going out. To light lamps when it grows dark. Most importantly, teach him to cherish his own body—he can’t be so careless anymore…”
“I can no longer accompany the Sect Leader. If in the future he finds someone his heart inclines toward,” Guan Wujue’s voice finally began to tremble and choke, yet the corners of his lips held a soft smile, “…when he marries, please drink an extra cup of wedding wine on Wujue’s behalf.”
“Actually, the Sect Leader… he’s never truly seen romance or passion. His liking for me… is probably just because there was no one else to choose…”
“Also…”
His voice grew increasingly hoarse, increasingly raspy. Accompanied by the increasingly intense pain in his heart meridian, his strength also waned more and more, until finally he couldn’t continue.
What else was there?
He clearly felt there were so many, so many things to entrust, yet when it came to this moment, even racking his brains, he couldn’t think of the words.
Forget it, forget it. The Sect Leader still had so many people by his side—surely they wouldn’t miss him.
But still he couldn’t let go. How could he bear to let go?
Yun Guyan suddenly spoke, breaking the brief silence. “That’s right, this lord still has one thing to ask you.”
Guan Wujue laboriously raised his head. The Old Sect Leader’s eyes were like bright torches as he demanded word by word, “Yun Danjing—is he truly dead?”
In an instant, Wen Huan beside them was shocked, his expression changing. The Red-Robed Protector only curled the corner of his lips slightly. “If truly dead, what of it? If falsely dead, what then?”
Yun Guyan unconsciously touched the half piece of white jade pendant at his chest, speaking in a careless tone, “If he’s truly dead, then so be it.”
However, immediately after, the Old Sect Leader’s eyes flashed with compelling brilliance. “But having said that—no matter how worthless he is, he’s still this lord’s son. If he’s still alive, I’ll have to trouble the Protector to work a bit harder and… return him to this lord.”
“…After the Sect Leader completely lifts the Fengchun Sheng poison, those who can return will naturally return. The Old Sect Leader need not worry.”
Having said this, Guan Wujue resignedly lowered his eyelashes and voluntarily reached for the medicine bottle in Wen Huan’s hand. “Uncle Huan, this is the last time I’ll address you this way. Let me drink it myself.”
Wen Huan wordlessly handed over the small porcelain bottle.
Guan Wujue’s entire body was ice cold, his trembling pale fingertips already touching the cool bottle.
So be it, just like this—
But in the very next moment!
Yun Guyan’s eyes changed. Like lightning, he struck out and snatched the medicine from Guan Wujue’s hand, tucking it into his sleeve.
Almost simultaneously, steady, measured footsteps sounded outside Yanyun Palace.
Guan Wujue turned his head abruptly.
…For that moment, he truly doubted whether he was still conscious, whether the person before his eyes was real.
Yun Changliu, holding the Qing Ku qin, stepped into the palace one step at a time, the snow-white corners of his sleeves seemingly still glinting with a bit of light brought in from outside.
“Father. Uncle Huan.”
His expression calm, he bowed to Yun Guyan, then called out to Wen Huan. Afterward, his clear eyes glanced at the kneeling Guan Wujue, and he walked over quite naturally.
Guan Wujue breathed erratically. Through blurred vision, he watched Yun Changliu’s figure draw nearer and nearer, for a moment actually feeling that if this continued, he would faint.
Then white robes flashed before his eyes—Yun Changliu had already bent down to grasp his arm. He heard the Sect Leader lean close to his ear, his voice cool and cold:
“You agreed on half a shichen. You’re late.”
Before the words had even fallen, Yun Changliu—holding the qin with one hand—used his other hand to forcefully help Guan Wujue up.
The latter swayed imperceptibly and said hoarsely, “Sect Leader, you…”
Before he could finish, his words were cut off by Yun Guyan. The Old Sect Leader’s face had darkened. “Why has Liu’er come at this hour? This is…?”
Yun Changliu lowered his eyelids, released Guan Wujue, and walked forward several steps, intentionally or unintentionally positioning himself precisely between the Protector and the Old Sect Leader. He lifted his long robes, seated himself with the qin, and then…
BANG!!
The Qing Ku qin was practically “slammed” onto the ground by him expressionlessly, the floor cracking into several fissures from the Sect Leader’s internal force.
—Though one couldn’t be sure if they’d seen wrong, that usually illustrious and mighty Old Sect Leader Yun actually flinched hard in front of his son.
Disregarding Yun Guyan’s increasingly ugly expression, Yun Changliu sat upright and proper, his fingers pressing on the qin strings, his voice cold as frost. “I’ve chanced upon a new melody and wish to have Father listen to it.”
“As for the Protector,” Yun Changliu turned his face slightly to the side, saying indifferently, “withdraw for now.”