Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 593 - 535 Green Plum
"In Zhao Ming’s eyes, Ghost Shovel definitely died at your hands. After you return to Yu Country, you will face more fierce retaliation and schemes."
Lu Yunan spoke solemnly, "Lian Xuanyao is indeed the strongest in the world, but he too will age and die. After his death, who can step forward to protect Yu Country? Facing the full force of Taihao Mountain and Zhao Ming, the downfall of Yu Country is just a matter of time. Now that you have been deemed missing, no one knows whether you’re alive. You could walk away completely and wash your hands of the matter. If you can’t bear to leave the friends and family you’ve met in this world, I can still help you find an opportunity to take them away from Chang’an and avoid the slaughter when the city falls."
Seeing Li Ang remain silent, Lu Yunan’s voice softened, and she gently said, "Aside from me, no one in the world truly understands you. I can chat and banter with you, and we can share inside jokes only we know. Perhaps we could even establish a library to store all the knowledge and memories from our past life, rebuilding the homeland we’re familiar with. I am willing to give up revenge for you." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
She took Li Ang’s hand and said earnestly, "Come with me."
"..."
Li Ang took a deep breath. He pursed his lips with difficulty, stepped forward to embrace the young woman, and whispered, "I’m sorry."
He indeed wanted nothing more than to abandon the mess in Chang’an and run away with Lu Yunan, the person who understood him the most in the world.
But he was still burdened with many responsibilities.
The expansion of the sick house, the rampant diseases, the impending war, the countless common people struggling on the brink of life and death because of poverty and ignorance...
The grand ambitions he had vowed in Yizhou City were not yet realized. Unfinished tasks still awaited him, and only he could complete them.
Lu Yunan tilted her head and rested her cheek on Li Ang’s shoulder, feeling the warmth from his body. Her fingertips tightened unconsciously, gripping Li Ang’s shoulder firmly.
The dust cloud raised by the distant cavalry drew nearer, deceptively slow yet swift. The two of them simply held each other, feeling each other’s breath and heartbeat.
After an unknown amount of time, Lu Yunan released her embrace. Her eyes glistened with tears as she looked at Li Ang and said with a smile, "Actually, according to my foreknowledge, no matter what I said, this would have been the outcome. But if I didn’t at least try, I would always feel some regret."
Li Ang, with no words to say, could only nod with a complex expression. "Hmm..."
"For your sake, I’ll continue my revenge against the Turkic, just not as cruelly as I originally planned."
Lu Yunan’s voice returned to its usual calmness as she said indifferently, "Let’s use this cellphone to keep in touch from now on. I’ll inform you immediately if there’s any news about Zhao Ming."
"Hmm..."
"Situ Zhi did indeed fall into my hands. During the Qixi anomaly in Chang’an City, when Yu Country and Zhao Ming weren’t paying attention, I seized the opportunity to secretly abduct and imprison him. However, according to him, his disciple Yu Shi has even greater talent for creating plagues than he does. You all need to be careful."
"Hmm..."
Lu Yunan rolled her eyes. "Hey, hey, can you give me any response other than ’hmm’?"
"Oh, right, of course."
Li Ang scratched his head and made an ’OK’ gesture.
"Big dummy."
Lu Yunan poked Li Ang’s shoulder with her finger, took a few steps forward, and looked towards the approaching cavalry. Suddenly, she said, "After you return to Yu Country, you should go back to Yizhou. The well at your old home isn’t quite normal."
"Alright... Hmm?!"
Li Ang froze, stunned. When his memories of the Otherworld awakened, he had dreamt about a well at his old home in Yizhou. He had always suspected that the mystery of his "transmigration" was related to the well. But no one knew about this except him, not even Chai Chai, who was with him day and night.
"Scared you, didn’t I?" Lu Yunan tilted her head slightly, a faint smile on her profile. "Ever since I transmigrated—or rather, ever since I was born into this world—I’ve been able to vaguely see your life in my dreams.
"Yizhou. Security Hall Pharmacy. Li Ang. Your father’s name is Li Hanquan, your mother’s is Cui Yi. You have a scar on your calf; you got it when you were six from falling out of a tree you climbed. You like to sleep on your side, and your dominant hand is your left."
"Wha..."
Li Ang was dumbfounded and speechless.
"At that time, I thought I was going mad. Later, life in the Northern Black Mountain was harsh, and I often went hungry. I would write letters on the ground, hoping you would see them—I thought you could see my life, just as I saw yours.
"As it turned out, you never responded, so I realized this ’peeking’ was one-sided.
"Your life was happy and fulfilling, while mine was lonely and impoverished. So, when I was young, I was truly jealous, even a little hateful towards you."
Lu Yunan said calmly, "I saw all the little things between you and Chai Cuiqiao, saw your parents pass away from illness, and saw you foil Yu Miaoshui’s plot. Sha Tao Village, Chang’an Inn, the Sword Immortal Tomb, Yu Country’s Academy... I’ve always been by your side. In a way, does that make me an invisible childhood friend?"
Li Ang’s mouth was still agape. He didn’t know what to say.
"Do you remember when I told you the reason I didn’t reveal my identity as a transmigrator was to protect my clan? I lied. There was another important reason: I couldn’t come to terms with it myself." Lu Yunan turned her head, gazing at the vast grassland, and said softly, "Until now."
"..."
Li Ang hesitated for a moment, then walked up and gently patted the young woman’s shoulder.
An unseen childhood friend, huh?
Lu Yunan took a deep breath, her composed smile returning to her face. She turned to Li Ang and said, "In a sense, we’re like entangled quanta. So, please, don’t die. Otherwise, I’ll be very lonely."
"I’ll do my best," Li Ang paused, then also smiled. "With Mo Si around, it would be difficult for me to die even if I wanted to."
"Don’t rely too much on Mo Si. That thing can erode your body. If it ever erodes your brain, whether you’d still be ’you’ would become a question," Lu Yunan said. "I’ll help you search for clues related to it.
"With your current Cloud Patrol Early Stage cultivation, plus abilities like the Radiant Crossbow and the arbitrary gate, you have a fighting chance even against a Cloud Patrol High Realm expert. You might not necessarily be unable to escape from a Candle Cloud Cultivator either. You don’t need to, and should try to avoid, using Mo Si to save you every time—that thing cannot be exposed to the world.
"Oh, right," she said, opening her package. Through the Mo Si cloth, she took out the last Taotie Pattern Bronze Fragment remaining from Ghost Shovel. "Do you want to take this? After all, it’s a Mutated Object with the Devouring Heaven and Earth ability. It should be quite precious."
"No." Li Ang thought for a moment and shook his head. "This Mutated Object belongs to Yu Country. If I took it, I’d have to hand it over to the Garrison or Dongjun Tower anyway. It’s better off with you. After I return to Yu Country, I’ll also gather information on how to use it. If you can activate it and increase your combat strength, I’ll be more at ease."
