Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 837 A Thousand Miles (Part 3)
Lu Yuque didn't understand what he meant.

Actually, she had realized that he answered all her questions, and his answers were not perfunctory or lies. It was just that she couldn't understand the words and phrases, and he didn't explain them like a teacher would in class.

So he nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "There is an open area about twenty miles to the west. There are few people around, but there is a river with woods and flat land along its banks."

"Okay. Let's run that way then."

His voice was calm, but Lu Yuque was certainly not at ease.

Before dawn, the shadows of the trees stretched out like claws. They moved very fast, and the cold wind rushed into their mouths and noses.

That's how the weather is in the west—cold but sunny, and dusty. You always have to wear a cloak when you go out, but it's not very useful when riding a horse.

Lu Yuque had almost never ridden her horse so desperately before, which immediately reminded her of when she rode out of Wuse City yesterday. The palpitation she felt then still seemed to linger.

The man in white must be following behind her. She glanced back instinctively, but didn't see the glaring color. Instead, her anxiety intensified.

For the past twenty years, as the only daughter of the master of Jiandu Garden, she never thought that being upright and honest was such a rare thing; but in the last three days, she has been running away and hiding, and the fear of being exposed to others has been etched deep into her bones.

A bat-like figure suddenly passed them from the side.

Lu Yuque was startled. They were already on galloping horses, yet the man still swept past their sight like a swift crossbow bolt.

Then came the second, third, and fourth rounds.

They all had flowing sleeves, their clothes and hair were the same color, and each carried a sword. As they flew past, their cold gazes flashed by.

Lu Yuque's heart clenched, and he instinctively grabbed the person beside him, blurting out, "It's the 'Four Heavenly Falcons'—"

Before the words were finished, a thin, sharp light flashed in the field of vision, and a slender, sharp, and taut chain blade came slashing across.

The two men on either side each held one end of the rope, and the two horses suddenly stopped amidst the billowing of their sleeves. The two horses, however, did not have time to stop and were already within a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) of each other when they realized what was happening.

Lu Yuque had no time to react. All she could see in her mind was the image of the two of them being cut in half at the same time, along with their horses. But the next moment, the person beside her gently pulled her horse closer. A cold light flashed from under his cloak and disappeared, like a bird peeking out to peck at food. With a "clang," the broken horse chain snapped to both sides.

'He...he can use a sword!' Lu Yuque thought in astonishment.

But she didn't slow down at all. She swallowed a mouthful of cold air and said quickly, "'The Four Heavenly Falcons' are the four most powerful predecessors of Lushan Mountain. They never leave the mountain on ordinary days." She spoke very quickly, "They all practiced the 'Four Prohibitions of Lushan Mountain,' and when the four swords were used at the same time, they were even more difficult to defeat... My father used to say that he couldn't last more than five moves."

The young man held her reins and looked ahead, his nose and lips barely visible beneath his hood.

Two men brandishing their chain blades fell behind, while the remaining two drew their swords from the trees ahead, and two bright sword lights cut through the still dim sky.

My father was never modest.

Some swords don't need to exist in legends; you can know their power the moment you see them.

Lu Yuque's swordsmanship has never been lacking. Having been influenced by the Sword Master of Jiandu Garden, even though he lacks practical experience in swordsmanship, his vision is truly first-rate. Drawing a sword from its old sheath, a sword refined by the years... it is indeed a realm that his father has not yet reached.

All thoughts flashed by in an instant. There were no cheers in the morning breeze. The two swords came from the wings, and the galloping horses met them with breathtaking speed.

The young man looked up and said softly, "Open up my future, and let my carriage and horses gallop."

As if all was silent for a moment, the second of the "Four Falcons of the Sky" suddenly froze, its sleeves billowing like two kites, and was instantly left behind by the two riders.

The young man looked away, and Lu Yuque looked up in surprise, as if he saw the gold fading from his eyes, but when he came to his senses, there was nothing there.

She instinctively straightened up and turned around to look, only to see that the two robes had been taken by two other people, who had even exchanged a brief sword fight.

Lu Yuque was stunned.

"Don't move, there are arrows." The young man pressed down on her reins.

Sure enough, the next instant Lu Yuque heard a sharp sound of something cutting through the air. She pursed her lips and lowered her body, the arrow bringing a chilling wind to her ears.

She turned her head to look, and saw that the sun had already risen high in the sky. On both sides, there were more than a hundred riders galloping after them, some near and some far.

...They were all dressed in the yellow and white robes of Mount Lu, each carrying a sword, and their sharp eyes looked over.

"Young lady of the Lu family." A powerful voice echoed from afar, "This person killed Hu and Li of our sect and slaughtered nearly a hundred disciples, both inside and outside the sect. He is a villain deserving of universal condemnation. Why don't you quickly send your horses to come here?"

Lu Yuque was stunned for a moment, then glanced at the young man beside him. He seemed oblivious, his nose and lips expressionless.

But perhaps after being stared at for a while, he turned his head and said, "Don't actually run."

“They’ve mistaken me for someone else,” she whispered.

“Of course,” he said.

The disciples of Lushan began to draw their swords and approach, and the young man pressed down on her reins again: "Just keep your body low and ride the horse, don't worry about anything else."

He drew the sword, which resembled an autumn reed, and it gleamed like a mirror in the morning light.

Lu Yuque lay on the horse's head, and the thunderous hoofbeats grew closer and closer. A few breaths later, the swords clashed overhead.

Indeed, there was nothing to worry about. The horse's speed did not decrease or change direction in the slightest. Lu Yuque, lying prone, only had half of his vision. The young man looked ahead, his long sword fluttering like a butterfly.

Every sword strike from the disciples of Lushan was so vicious, yet there was no sense of impending danger; they were all easily deflected. The disciples of Lushan did not have the leisure to fully control their horses, so with each sword strike he received, one hoofbeat would disappear from his ears. It seemed as if only a few breaths had passed before they miraculously broke free of the encirclement. The young man sheathed his sword, rode two galloping horses, and his two cloaks fluttered in the wind.

Lu Yuque remained perched on the horse's neck, tilting his head to look at him.

For the past twenty years, the sword she remembered most vividly came from her father; for the past twenty years and three days, her memories of swords were completely dominated by the three sword lights and the ghostly white-clad figure from that night.

She was filled with fear, grief, and anger, yet she couldn't shake the memory of that sword light.

Even now, another inexplicable feeling welled up from the bottom of his heart—precisely because he hadn't used the sword with all his might, there was something itchy about to burst forth. Lu Yuque's eyes followed his hand as he sheathed the sword, and for a moment he almost forgot that he was running away, looking forward to him drawing it out again.

She felt that this person had become even more of a stranger.

The young man lowered his head, meeting her gaze.

"It seems we've arrived, Miss Deer."

Lu Yuque was startled and straightened up to look.

They arrived at the riverbank she had mentioned, the one connected to Dayue Lake, where a lush poplar grove grew.

As dawn broke, the golden morning light bathed half the forest in its glow. It was slightly less cold, and Lu Yuque took off her hood, the wind causing her hair to flutter.

There was no one around, and the sound of hooves behind them had not yet caught up; a brief moment of silence followed.

"It's so beautiful." The young man looked at the river. "After I came to the west, my biggest feeling was that it was clean. It always felt like the sky and the land were vast and the water was even purer."

Is Shaolong... that different from here?

“There are many. Shaolong isn’t this cold, so there are more plants, insects, and birds. There are also more mountains than plains, continuous and deep, not as open as this.” The young man dismounted, untied his sword, and lifted his hood, leading his horse to a tree to tie it up. “Let’s wait a little while.”

Lu Yuque had heard of the autumn scenery of Xincang and the snow scenery of Da Kongtong, but she had never been to Shaolong.

“They’ll be here soon.” She glanced back, pursed her lips, and said, “We’ve broken through their encirclement, and they should be in hot pursuit now… Should we hide?”

"I'll hide for a bit, can you sit here for a while?" The young man tied up her horse as well, and found a soft meadow under the tree. "This is fine."

“…What?” Lu Yuque was stunned.

“You sit here alone and wait for them to catch up. Lushan Mountain, and that white-clad demon you spoke of.” The young man looked at her earnestly. “Miss Lu, is that alright?”

Lu Yuque's heart was immediately filled with panic.

She had only known this young man for less than a day and knew nothing about his identity or background, but the fear of hiding alone for two days had been deeply etched in her heart.

She stared at him, her face deathly pale. Her hand seemed to instinctively reach out, but her lips moved twice, and she only managed to say, "...Okay."

She bit her lip.

The young man looked at her for a moment, then said earnestly, "Thank you, Miss Deer, you are very brave. It will only be a little while, it's alright."

“Turn your head away,” he said.

Lu Yuque turned around, then suddenly felt a void in her heart. She turned back abruptly, but there was nothing behind her. The wind rustled the willow leaves, and there was no one in sight.

"..." Lu Yuque turned around and lowered his head, looking at the sword in his hand, tears dripping down his face.

She couldn't explain why. Perhaps it was fear, perhaps it was loneliness, or perhaps it was the departure of the young people that brought her back to her most authentic situation, causing those temporarily set aside memories to resurface.

Lu Yuque quickly wiped his eyes twice, dried them, straightened his back, and looked in the direction the two had come from.

The knights galloped in.

There were about one or two hundred riders, most of whom were registered disciples of Mount Lu.

As soon as we crossed the hillside, hundreds of eyes were fixed on us, rushing straight towards us.

Lu Yuque gripped his sword tightly, but instead of rushing into the forest, they stopped outside, slowly spreading out to form a semi-circle. The previously shadowy poplar grove seemed to be pierced and illuminated under the gazes from all directions.

Jiao Tianhe.

The gray-haired man stood in front, carrying a heavy sword on his back, his sharp gaze fixed on her.

Lu Yuque's body tensed, as if he were being completely pierced through.

She hadn't seen him for a long time. This mountain lord, with his eagle-like gaze and wolf-like demeanor, was extremely imposing and possessed very high cultivation. At this moment, the "Four Heavenly Falcons" followed behind him alone on horseback.

"You thief, hiding your true colors! You slaughtered my disciples of Lushan, yet you dare not show yourself?" Jiao Tianhe shouted, gripping his sword.

　I've been writing over a thousand words and then deleting them. Here's just one more chapter.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)