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Cheng Anren coughed violently again and said with difficulty: "I... just admired your Lantern Festival... Wang... the reputation of the hero Wang... and came here specially to seek refuge... I originally wanted to... kill that old thief Fu Cha first... so that the hero Wang would be very happy... But... what a damn coincidence, I ran into the hero Wang and your Fourth Master Wu in the military camp of the old thief Fu Cha..."
"What?" Tashan was startled and looked at Cao Mengsheng, knowing that something had changed.
Cheng Anren said, "I went in with the two of them... and... and the daughter of Wu Si, the leader... We originally thought that we could kill the old thief with one blow... Who would have thought... who would have thought... that we would meet a Tartar master named Mang Keshan... He was so powerful that several people couldn't beat him... Hero Wang and Lady Wu... both fell into the hands of the Tartars..."
When he said this, Tashan couldn't help but exclaimed "Aiya" and was so surprised that he pushed over the low table next to him. Cao Mengsheng also opened his mouth and stared, obviously unable to believe it.
Cheng Anren went on, “This, this is not the most unlucky thing… The most hateful thing is that there was a traitor among them, his name was… Mr. Li… I escaped with the daughter of Wu Sidang at that time… I asked the little girl to go back to the Lantern Society to report the news, and I planned to go back to rescue Hero Wang and Lady Wu… As a result, we ran into this traitor named Li… I, I don’t know him, but judging from his kung fu, he can be considered a figure in the Central Plains martial arts world – damn, he is so skilled in martial arts, but he actually did such a shameless thing, just like that dog thief Wu Sangui… Humph, I don’t know what kind of knife cut his face, there is a big cross, damn, it was really well cut… If I knew who cut the cross on this traitor’s face, I would definitely become sworn brothers with him…”
Cao Mengsheng listened to him cursing non-stop and didn't want to say anything, so he interrupted and asked, "Was Cheng the hero injured by this traitor named Li?"
Cheng Anren shook his head and said, "Not really - this guy was just pretending to be kind and righteous. He just tried to stop me, saying that Fu Chakang advocated that the Manchus and the Han people should live together, and he was a good man and should not be killed... He kept trying to stop me, and then Mang Keshan came and slapped me... This traitor even pretended to ask Mang Keshan to let me go... Mang Keshan started arguing with him... I... I took advantage of the chaos to escape... In the end, I failed to save the hero Cheng Wang and the heroine Wu..." At this point, he was filled with worry and anxiety, and coughed violently a few times, and spit out another mouthful of blood. Liu Qingye and Cao Mengsheng quickly pressed him to lie down.
Tashan clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly. He stamped his feet and said, "No way! Mingxin doesn't know whether the letter has been delivered... I have to rescue Brother Wang and Fourth Sister Wu..." As he said that, he turned around and was about to rush outside.
"Brother—" Cao Mengsheng pulled him back, "This is not the time to be impulsive!"
Tashan struggled, but Cao Mengsheng's fingers were like iron hoops and he couldn't get free. He said anxiously, "Brother, why are you pulling me? Are you going to watch Brother Wang and Sister Wu being bullied by the Qing bandits?"
Cao Mengsheng still didn't let go, and said sternly: "You can't even get rid of my hand, how can you deal with those masters around Fu Chakang? There are still many tribes that are shaken by the evil words of the dog thief. Don't you want to persuade them? What if we all go to the old thief and he takes the opportunity to harm the thirteen tribes, what should we do then?"
Tashan was stunned for a moment, and the tense muscles on his face slowly relaxed. He said, "Then...what should I do?"
What should I do? Liu Qingye was also asking himself this question - but he was not asking about the heroes who rescued the Lantern Festival - he was thinking: Dan Ying... How could he stop thinking about Dan Ying?
But at this moment, the door was pushed open with a bang, and a man ran in and said, "Master, something bad has happened, come quickly, Miss Dan Ying was caught in a sandstorm, and we just rescued her!"
Liu Qingye jumped up as if he was stabbed by a sharp blade. At the same time, Tashan said to Cao Mengsheng, "I'll go and take a look!" and walked out of the house with the visitor. Ah, why am I so excited? Liu Qingye thought, I have nothing to do with Dan Ying! I... I...
He glanced at Cao Mengsheng, fearing that his actions would be discovered by his master. Fortunately, Cao Mengsheng's attention was on Cheng Anren at the moment, so he slowly sat back down on the bed.
Sitting on pins and needles - how did Dan Ying encounter a sandstorm? It must be because I said such decisive words. Oh, I really hurt her this time! If she had any misfortune, how could I, Liu Qingye, still live in this world... But even if she didn't have any misfortune, would I be worthy of her?
I was thinking about this all day long, but to no avail. Cao Mengsheng asked me in my ear, "Qingye, do you want to go with me?"
"Ah?" Did the master say anything before? Liu Qingye didn't hear anything. "Disciple...disciple..." He stammered and couldn't continue.
Cao Mengsheng frowned and said, "It's better if you don't go. You're going to a dangerous place, so you need to practice your martial arts diligently."
A den of dragons and tigers? Liu Qingye then vaguely remembered that his master seemed to be talking to him about rescuing Wang Chunshan, but he had thrown the great cause aside for his own personal feelings!
He blamed himself in his heart, but the door was pushed open again - this time, it was Moller with red eyes who broke in, followed closely by Aunt Dali, who grabbed her son and said, "Moller, don't mess around!"
Moller broke away from his mother, strode forward, and grabbed Liu Qingye's arm: "Liu Qingye, come with me! Come here!"
Liu Qingye was pulled by him woodenly and stumbled a few steps.
Dali came up to stop him and said, "Moler, if you keep making trouble, Mom will be rude to you!"
"I'm fooling around?" Moller suddenly exploded and yelled, "I'm fooling around, or is Liu Qingye heartless? Miss Dan Ying was so angry at him that she ran around everywhere and encountered a sandstorm, and she almost lost her life. Now she is confused and keeps calling his name. Shouldn't he go and see?"
Moller almost threw Liu Qingye to the bedside of Dan Ying. He saw that Dan Ying's face was pale, his brows were furrowed, his eyes were closed, and he was muttering: "Liu Qingye... Liu Qingye... I like you so much... Why do you hate me..."
Everyone's eyes were focused on Liu Qingye. Liu Qingye felt a little weak in his heart.
Just now outside, Moller pulled him hard, but he tried to hide backwards. He wanted to tell Moller that he had given up, but Moller did not give him a chance. Instead, he suddenly grabbed his collar, stared at him and said, "Liu Qingye, I like Miss Dan Ying, but... but, since she likes you, I can't make her unhappy!" Liu Qingye was stunned, but Moller continued, "But you have to know... I... I escaped from the sandstorm when I was eighteen, and I still rushed to see Miss Dan Ying. Even if I saw her on the day I was eighteen... So, I will always stand by her for the rest of my life... If you dare to treat her badly... You have experienced the power of my fist this morning!" Liu Qingye was still stunned, but the two of them had already pushed and shoved to the door of Dan Ying's room. Moller said, "You, do you dare to swear to me that you will only stand by Miss Dan Ying for the rest of your life ?"
"I……"
Liu Qingye didn't swear, and couldn't swear. Moller pushed him in, but ran away - only saying: "If you don't say anything, I will take it as your promise!"
No, no, how could he agree? The eyes focused on him now made him feel like he was carrying a heavy boulder on his back, trudging under the scorching sun - no, not trudging, the end point was right in front of him, the end point was Danying, but unfortunately, he was going in the wrong direction.
One wrong move, then another, then the whole thing went wrong—even more wrong, following Moller here, and the result was really a complete loss! How could he try to regain his determination in the face of such a Dan Ying? Then he might as well not have that determination—he was surprised at his own thoughts, afraid that his master would see through him and reprimand him—no, Cao Mengsheng was healing Cheng Anren in Tashan House at the moment, and at the same time waiting for Liu Qingye to go to Shanshan together to assassinate and rescue Wang Chunshan. But Liu Qingye himself was wavering here!
He was a little panicked and wanted to stand up, but a hand was placed on his shoulder from behind. It was the leader of the Tashan tribe. "Just stay here, Dan Ying, I am..." He seemed to have something else to say, but in the end he didn't say it and sighed deeply.
Dali's mother came up to break the deadlock, and she also reached out to hold Liu Qingye down and said, "That's good. The master is right. What's the point of pursuing the children's affairs? Let's not disturb Miss Danying's rest..."
She said it so clearly that when Chief Tashan turned around, she followed suit. The others also knew what to do and left the room one after another.
For a moment, the place was as quiet as the grassland, with low whispers in the breeze - that was the rise and fall of each other's breathing.
"Liu... Qing... Ye..." Dan Ying was awake when she called out. She opened her eyes slightly, "Liu Qingye, am I dead?"
Liu Qingye shook his head and helped him pull up the blanket.
Dan Ying smiled tiredly. "You're lying," she said. "If I wasn't dead, why would you be so nice to me?"
you're lying.
These words brought back the voice in Liu Qingye's heart.
Yes, I was lying - he thought, I was deceiving myself! Seeing her like this, my heart was clearly broken, and I wished that I was the one in danger so that I could bear all the pain for her. But I still had to say that I didn't like her and wanted to return her to Moller... Alas, the most ridiculous person in the world is me, Liu Qingye!
So, just tell us everything?
"I must be dead." Dan Ying murmured, "You know, after death, you will meet the person you love... That year, when my mother was dying, she kept calling: 'Senior Brother... Hello...' I think... my mother must have seen him... So, she died with a smile..."
Senior brother? Liu Qingye didn't understand. Aunt Dali just said that the man's name contained the word "sheng". Could it be that my uncles and uncles of the "sheng" generation of Songqiao Academy? No wonder Master talked about abandoning children's love for the sake of the great cause, taking the junior uncle as an example, it turns out there are all these reasons! He thought: This junior uncle is really respectable. He has been separated from his lover for so many years, and he is still worried and working hard until his death, because of the anti-Qing cause. But he, Liu Qingye, is definitely not so noble. Today, he just lost Dan Ying for a while, and he was already worried. If one day, Dan Ying disappeared like that "sheng" person, he would lose his appetite and look for him everywhere... Alas, compared with the junior uncle, I am wavering here, how can I be worthy of being a disciple of Songqiao Academy?
He was so ashamed that he wanted to stand up immediately and leave.
But Dan Ying murmured again: "I think that person must be my mother's favorite person... Liu Qingye, do you think... will he like my mother too? After my mother died... ah... is she waiting for him in heaven?"
When Liu Qingye saw her clear eyes, his body could not move again. That person must also like your mother, Liu Qingye said silently, and I... and I also like you... do you know...
"I am dead... I must be dead..." Dan Ying's voice gradually became lower and he became confused again.
Liu Qingye was a little excited and wanted to go forward and hold her hand, but suddenly, someone patted him gently from behind. It was Tashan who had returned. "Come out with me..."
Liu Qingye was stunned for a moment, and looked at Dan Ying reluctantly. Seeing that she had fallen into a deep sleep, he went out with Tashan.
At this time, due to the sandstorm, although it was noon, it was already completely dark. Liu Qingye and Tashan could not see each other's faces when they were facing each other.
"I think... you know how Dan Ying treats you..." Tashan said, taking a deep breath and exhaling, "I want to ask you, how do you treat her?"
Liu Qingye was stunned and didn't dare to answer directly - maybe the master was in the darkness?
Tashan smiled and said, "I know what you are worried about - one is Moller, the other is the anti-Qing cause... Alas, in troubled times, don't talk about love. In fact, if you have love but don't talk about it, it will only hurt others and yourself."
Liu Qingye remained silent.
Tashan continued, as if talking to himself: "Sometimes, if you don't do something, you will regret it for the rest of your life... Just now I heard Danying tell you about her mother, your uncle... What she said is true. The reason why I must join the Chuan Deng Society and fight against the Manchus... I didn't tell you and your master at first... There is another reason, that is, I know that Bai Lian has always loved one of her brothers in her heart - this person, although I don't know his name, but when Bai Lian was seriously injured and unconscious, she kept calling him "brother" and mentioned the anti-Qing things, so I guess this person must be the same as Bai Lian. She was a patriot against the Qing dynasty... so I thought, if I also helped her recover her homeland, I would be more like this man... so I joined the Lantern Festival... Alas, Bai Lian always treated me with the Han etiquette, without any enthusiasm... I felt very sad - in her mind, I was probably just a stranger from a foreign tribe..." He paused, his voice choked, and continued: "Once, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I got angry at her and asked her who that man was and why she didn't go back and follow him since she was so on her side..."
Liu Qingye waited quietly for the answer.
Tashan sighed and said, "She said that she had never told her senior brother about her feelings... because she had her own difficulties, and her senior brother also had his own difficulties..." This time, he was silent for a long time before continuing, "So I said to her: 'Then I'll let you go now, and you go find him!' But she didn't answer. I was really annoyed and said I would go find her senior sister Wu Shuiqing to ask for clarification, but she begged me not to go... She said that as long as I didn't ask, she would agree to anything... I didn't understand... Not long after, she fell ill... and then..."
Liu Qingye found that the iron tower-like Tashan was shaking slightly, wondering if it was crying. He thought to himself: What would have happened if the junior master had spoken frankly to that senior? Ah, then there would be no Dan Ying! Now, isn't he following the junior master's old path?
"Qingye, in troubled times, love grows stronger...you..." Tashan said, "If you really like Danying, just tell her...don't..."
Tashan held Liu Qingye's shoulders with both hands, his face was very close to him, and he could see his anxious expression. Liu Qingye was shocked and nodded vigorously.
But at this moment, there was a slight noise behind him, and it turned out to be Cao Mengsheng, standing there with an expressionless face.
"Master... Master..." Liu Qingye panicked, fearing that his inner confession had been heard by his master - how could he... How could he... He hurriedly put away his original demeanor, strode up to Cao Mengsheng and said: "Master, I am willing to follow you to Shanshan to save people."
But it was Cao Mengsheng who was stunned at this time, as if he hadn't heard it. After a while, he came back to his senses: "Ah...save people..." He nodded slightly: "Yes, save people--" After a moment, his expression returned to normal, and he smiled casually: "Brother Tashan, you just prepare for the Thirteen Tribes Alliance Conference, I will take Qingye to rescue Hero Wang and the others."
