Ink Burns

Chapter 248 Hard Bones
To Shan Yue, Cui Yulang's words were extremely strange.

Like an old friend who hasn't seen you for years, he righteously condemns Shan Yue's departure.

Shan Yue gripped the dagger tightly, staring motionlessly at Cui Yulang—she couldn't understand the source of all of Cui Yulang's attitudes.

Why did Cui Yulang feel an inexplicable familiarity with her?
no no.

She should first figure out why Cui Yulang still recognizes her.
Over eight years, she grew from fourteen to twenty-two, her height increase and dramatic weight loss arriving as expected amidst hardship. From a round and reserved oval face as a child, she grew into the slender, slightly gaunt, and sharply defined face she has today. The transformation of her face shape is the least changed aspect of her appearance, along with her figure and her eyes.

If she is a relative who has spent a lot of time with her, she will naturally look somewhat familiar.

But how did Cui Yulang recognize her so accurately?

This made Shan Yue feel a sense of lingering fear—she wasn't the only one who remembered that wildfire.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shan Yue was covered in blood, her clothes and cuffs stained with a bright red satin. For a moment, it was hard to tell whether the blood belonged to the coachman or Cui Yulang. People are divided into different classes, but one thing remains true: all people are equal. All people's blood is red.

“You know, you know!” Cui Yulang smiled, his eyes bright like candlelight luring moths in the dark, his voice extremely hoarse.

This name, in countless late nights, lingers on my lips with exquisite tenderness.

"He Shanyue".

"Thump—thump-thump—thump-thump!"

It was like a sharp pickaxe piercing her heart.

Shan Yue clenched his molars, like a bowstring stretched taut in a straight line—at this point, pretending to be stupid was no longer appropriate.

Shan Yue said softly, "You investigated me."

Finally, in broad daylight, Cui Yulang uttered the name, feeling not only relieved but also secretly pleased.

"The He family of Hetou Village." Cui Yulang laughed. "Of course we'll investigate you. You're so powerful, yet even the most influential figures in the capital have run into a brick wall with you."

Shan Yue held a knife in her hand, but Cui Yulang came straight at her, like an old friend reunited after a long separation. His wide sleeves fluttered in the wind as they met in the narrow, cramped alleyway, amidst the stench of blood and the stench of the dead.

Shan Yue couldn't figure out the reason for Cui Yulang's emotions, but Cui Yulang, with his slow approach, connected all the clues and finally realized Shan Yue's purpose.

"Let me think—the first to die was that herbal medicine merchant from Songjiang Prefecture, right? Then it was Liu Hezhou, then Xue Chen, and then Chang Yusu."

The more Cui Yulang spoke, the more excited he became: "The hunting expedition to Fushou Mountain was organized by the Liu family and handled directly by the medicinal herb merchants, while Xue Chen, Chang Yusu, and the Fu family were just bystanders. Now, more than half of them have already perished. Who will be next? Me? Or Fu Mingjiang?"

The man was very tall, and she wasn't confident she could slit his throat with one blow.

As the man drew closer, Shan Yue retreated, knife in hand.

Cui Yulang's excitement had reached its peak: she was still alive! Not only was she alive, but she had also returned to take revenge on them. She was an orphan girl from a humble background, and step by step, she was almost successful!

The intense joy that surged in Cui Yulang's heart made it difficult for him to maintain his usual gentle and modest demeanor as a noble young man—in front of He Shanyue, he didn't need to put on any pretense.

She knew he wasn't a good person; she knew it from the beginning.

She knew that hidden beneath this perfect exterior was a rotten, foul-smelling soul.

He doesn't need to pretend.

She didn't need to pretend in front of him.

He had witnessed her employing every trick in the book to survive, and he had seen her ruthlessly slaughter potential threats. He had seen her, a mere mortal with only one body and one bone, fight against the Heavenly Court.
The Heavenly Court has long been rotten.

It was gilded and silvery, but inside it was overgrown with rotting flesh and filled with a nauseating, musty smell.

He was trapped in rotting flesh, lacking the courage to undergo painful self-examination and unwilling to cut away his own flesh to reflect on his actions—and for this reason, he never forgot the woman who was caught in that wildfire, who showed him the power of a mayfly to shake a tree.

He sank deeper and deeper into the pile of rotting flesh, his breath filled with the stench of corpses. Only when he grabbed Lin's neck, pressed her against the wooden board, and looked at her profile, which bore a slight resemblance to his own, as he thrust in and out, could he smell a trace of life.

He thought she was long dead, but little did he know that when they met again, she would bring him an even greater surprise!

Cui Yulang swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, his eyes fixed on the dagger in Shan Yue's hand, his tone distorted to the point of madness: "Are you going to kill me now?"

Cui Yulang walked forward step by step. "Come on," Cui Yulang's lips curled into an exaggerated yet sincere smile, "Come on! Come on!"

Cui Yulang grabbed Shanyue's hand and helped her lift her wrist with all her might.

"If you kill me, 'Qingfeng' will capture you, and we'll go to the Yellow Springs together!"

Cui Yulang's eyes burned, his straight nose wrinkled into a knot, and he frantically and passionately invited Shan Yue to perish with him. He seemed to have returned to the exhilarating feeling that had burst forth within Lin Shi: "Who cares about Xue Xiao, Fu Mingjiang, or the power of 'Qingfeng'? You kill me, you accompany me. If I die, Fu Mingjiang won't live either! That old hag Jing'an's body has long been depleted to the point of being skin and bones. Once Fu Mingjiang dies, she will surely fall seriously ill and never recover!"

The sharp blade was raised to Cui Yulang's chest; with just a forceful thrust, it would come into direct contact with his pounding, burning heart.

"Quick! There's blood here!"

Suddenly, three or five armored officials burst into the alley, plunging the alley into a deep commotion. In just a few moments, the noise grew louder and clearer as it approached.

The sound of soldiers' footsteps rustling in the air!

The mountain moon could already see the lotus pedestals on the helmets of the officers and soldiers!

Shan Yue quickly grabbed Cui Yulang and hid behind the carriage and the coachman's corpse.

Blood trickled down Cui Yulang's chin, seeping into the dark blue silk gauze. He raised a smile, and a manic, wicked aura shrouded his usually beautiful and lustrous features in a hurried black mist.

"Come on! Someone's coming! They can catch us red-handed!" Cui Yulang encouraged Shanyue.

Shan Yue's gaze was extremely calm, her eyes cold. After taking a deep breath, she quickly and forcefully thrust forward!
The tip of the butterfly bone knife, with a do-or-die attitude, accurately pierced Cui Yulang's left chest!
Don't provoke her; she can't handle being provoked.

People who are not afraid of death in this world are never alone.

Shan Yue's lips were pressed into a tight line, filled with resentment over Cheng Xingyu's death. Her movements were ruthless and swift, aiming at the heart, attempting to kill him with a single blow!
Cui Yulang let out a low groan, his eyes flashing with disbelief, followed by a knowing chuckle: He hadn't thought he'd die today, but if he could die with He Shanyue, it wouldn't be such a bad thing—at least it would be more satisfying than venting his frustrations by strangling that imposter Lin.

The knife tip cannot be inserted any deeper!
It seemed to be blocked by a hard bone, and could not successfully penetrate deep into the ground!

Shan Yue bit her lip, gripped the knife handle tightly with both hands, and prepared to pull it out again.

The officers and soldiers were still twenty meters away.

Shan Yue heard a "whoosh" sound behind her ear. She turned around and saw a little girl with her hair in pigtails huddled in the corner, whistling and urging her on.

The officers and soldiers are still ten meters away.

The little girl waved to her, then pointed to a makeshift shelter at the corner of the wall, and quickly ran over, opening the door a crack.

The butterfly bone knife was stuck deep in Cui Yulang's chest cavity, unable to move forward or backward.

Shan Yue took a deep breath, quickly abandoned the butterfly bone knife, and with her slender figure, she followed the little girl into the hut behind the door with great agility.

"He Shanyue" Cui Yulang was barely breathing, but the arrogance in his eyes hadn't faded in the slightest. He slumped beside the carriage shaft, the smile on his lips twitching, as if something was seeping out from a crack in his mask. He opened his mouth wide, struggling to speak—

Goodbye

If he dies, then we'll meet again in hell.

If he were still alive, the vulture and the carrion would surely meet again.

"Hoo—" A high-pitched whistle rang out!
"Found him! He's here! -- Wait, it's the heir of the Marquis of Wuding! Find a doctor! Quickly, find a doctor!"

"Search! Search! The murderer can't have gone far!"

The young girl turned around, draped a large robe over Shanyue to cover the bloodstains on her body, and then led Shanyue out quickly from behind the gate. With her familiarity with the terrain and her agile movements, she weaved through the more hidden alleys between doors and houses, quickly escaping her predicament and rejoining the bustling crowd of onlookers.

Shan Yue expressed his gratitude.

The young girl waved her hand and said, "Someone gave me money to bring you out. It's just a job. You should go now."

Who?
Shan Yue opened her mouth to ask a question, but the little girl had already turned her head and disappeared into the crowd.

Shan Yue looked up and searched again, only to see a figure in an indigo-gray long robe turn into a nearby alley. The only thing that caught her eye was a pair of brown hemp shoes, a style that scholars from the Jiangnan water towns loved to wear.