Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 269 Another Person
A few birdsongs rang out from the woods, and with a rustling sound, the startled birds flew away.

As Yin Shu turned around, she saw the pursuers approaching. With a wave of her hand, a gust of wind swept up countless fallen leaves. She tried to escape, but suddenly saw a scorching light coming straight at her. She quickly leaned back.

"If you don't want to be disfigured, behave yourself!"

Old Hei raised his hand high, his palm glowing red like burning charcoal, and let out a fierce shout.

The threatening words struck at Yin Shu's weak spot, and even a fool like Lao Hei managed to intimidate her.

Yin Shu dared not make another move, yet she was unwilling to surrender, so she shouted, "I want to see Gu Jingnian!"

No one paid any attention to her.

Miao Chunniang kept staring at Pei Nian. After a while, Pei Nian's gaze became vacant, and he blankly followed Miao Chunniang's eyes.

"Have you been in contact with the Kaiping Division recently?" Miao Chunniang asked.

"No."

Why must you be loyal to the Kingdom of Switzerland?

Pei Nian replied, "I don't know."

This answer was somewhat unexpected for Miao Chunniang. She then took out a bottle from her sleeve, poured out a few red pills, and swallowed them all.

Miao Chunniang's strength was far inferior to Zhao Boheng's, and she could not easily see other people's memories like Zhao Boheng. However, Pei Nian was just a mortal, and his resistance to her was not strong. With the help of the pills, she could see Pei Nian's memories.

As he turned the pages of the documents, countless characters came into view, describing the drought across the vast lands of the fourteen southwestern prefectures... This was Pei Nian's biggest concern lately.

Miao Chunniang had no interest in these things, and her strength did not allow her to examine all the details carefully, so she quickly skipped over them.

Then, she saw the little moments Pei Nian and Gu Jingnian spent together.

Every now and then, she could see Gu Jingnian's bright eyes through Pei Nian's gaze.

Gradually, Miao Chunniang became immersed in this memory.

She also witnessed and even experienced the situation where Pei Nian and Gu Jingnian were "scratching an itch through a boot".

After a long time, she flew across thousands of miles of mountains and rivers in Pei Nian's memory and returned to Zhuojing in Rui Kingdom, the place that brought her many repressed memories.

But in Pei Nian's memory, Zhuojing was her hometown.

The office of Kaiping Division was dimly lit, with candlelight illuminating the bixie carved high up, its menacing appearance creating a strong sense of oppression.

This is a fragment of memory before Pei Nian and Gu Jingnian fled Ruiguo.

From Pei Nian's perspective, Miao Chunniang saw that the person standing in front of her was a masked man, Min Yuanxiu, the Southern Garrison Commander.

"Kaiping Division plans to send Gu Jingnian to Yong Kingdom, and someone needs to go with him to keep an eye on him."

"Is the garrison commander going to send me?" Pei Nian asked.

"good."

"I humble my position and take orders."

The matter was quickly settled, and Min Yuanxiu said, "Come with me."

"Yes."

If it were Miao Chunniang, she would have asked where they were going. But Pei Nianjiu, having been in the Kaiping Division for so long, had the habit of obeying orders and not allowing anyone to follow Min Yuanxiu without any hesitation.

They walked through a winding passage, passed through a moon gate, and entered a courtyard next to the commander's compound.

This courtyard was different from the other courtyards in Kaiping Division; there were no ferocious beasts carved on the lintel.

Pei Nian followed Min Yuanxiu into the main hall, where they saw only a soft couch, upon which a beautiful woman was reclining.

This situation suggests that Min Yuanxiu is keeping a stunningly beautiful mistress here.

However, Min Yuanxiu bowed to the beauty and said, "Greetings, Vice Envoy."

"No need for formalities. I have just taken office and there are many things I do not understand. I still need to consult with Governor Min."

Min Yuanxiu agreed, then said to Pei Nian, "Aren't you going to pay your respects? This is the newly appointed deputy commander."

Miao Chunniang could sense Pei Nian's surprise and doubt. How could a court official take office without announcing it to his subordinates and arrive quietly?

But then the beautiful woman smiled slightly at Pei Nian and spoke, her tone gentle and soft, without any hint of officialdom, saying, "My name is Li Shuangyun. I look forward to your guidance in the future."

Pei Nian was baffled and called out, "Commander Li."

Li Shuangyun said, "The reason I came to Kaiping Division is because Gu Jingnian caused too much trouble this time. He killed the prime minister and burned down the palace. Kaiping Division is to blame. Some eunuchs in the palace urged His Majesty to set up another Inspectorate to supervise Kaiping Division. His Majesty thought it was too much of a waste of resources and manpower, so he sent me to be a military supervisor."

“Yes,” Pei Nian replied.

"It was my idea to send you and Gu Jingnian to Switzerland," Li Shuangyun said softly. "Are you afraid?"

Pei Nian replied, "I'm not afraid."

Li Shuangyun's gaze softened, and she said, "I can't bear to send a woman like you to an enemy country alone and risk your life... Come here, I'll give you a protective amulet."

This time, Pei Nian, who always obeyed orders, did not move immediately, but instead glanced at Min Yuanxiu.

She felt that this Li Shuangyun was not a proper official, but rather a treacherous court official, the kind of femme fatale or evil concubine who colluded with eunuchs.

“Commander Min, please step out first.” After saying this, Li Shuangyun beckoned to Pei Nian and said, “Come here.”

After Min Yuanxiu left, Pei Nian arrived in front of Li Shuangyun. "This life-saving talisman isn't very useful normally, but it can save your life in a life-or-death situation."

As Li Shuangyun spoke, she sat up from the soft couch and said, "Come closer, come closer and whisper in my ear."

Miao Chunniang was watching this memory through Pei Nian's eyes when suddenly her gaze fell on something furry beneath Li Shuangyun.

The next moment, she met Li Shuangyun's bright eyes and was startled, wondering if she had been discovered.

Just as the God discovered that Zhao Boheng was spying on the memories of Dragon Beard Water, Li Shuangyun may have also discovered that she was spying on Pei Nian's memories.

"you caught me."

It was Li Shuangyun who spoke.

As if adjusting her skirt, she pulled back the thin blanket covering her, revealing a tail.

Pei Nian was stunned.

Miao Chunniang breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to herself that it was impossible for anyone in the Central Plains to be as powerful as the God.

Just then, Li Shuangyun suddenly pounced and bit Pei Nian's neck.

Fresh blood was quickly drawn into Pei Nian's mouth by Li Shuangyun.

"you!"

At the same instant, Pei Nian and Miao Chunniang both exclaimed in shock.

But their exclamation came from thousands of miles away and several months later.

Miao Chunniang's vision blurred for a moment, and when she opened her eyes again, she could only see the woods where she was.

Pei Nian's face turned pale, and she slumped to the ground, but her eyes were no longer dull.

"What happened?" Miao Chunniang asked. "You were drained of your blood by her, so why are you still alive?!"

Pei Nian didn't speak, but drew the sword from his waist and stabbed at Miao Chunniang.

At the same time, Yin Shu also moved, raising her hand and slashing the wind blade at the people brought by Miao Chunniang.

As soon as the two sides made their move, Luo Xia and Qin'er stopped holding back and unleashed their killing moves, attacking Pei Nian.

--------

Hundreds of miles away, the Xi River has returned to its original course.

Several young people were sitting on the hilltop drinking and celebrating the first step in their efforts to control the floods.

"Bai Ji, why did you fall in love with Pei Nian back then?" You Yan suddenly asked.

"I do not know either."

As Bai spoke, he took a sip of wine and inexplicably felt melancholy again.

He gazed at the distant river and began to recount the story of his first meeting with Pei Nian.

This time, he spoke in exceptional detail.

"Actually, that day, when I saw Prince Xin kill someone, I didn't initially intend to save him; I was just curious at the time."

"What's weird?"

"Where the King Xin's wind blades passed, everything turned to dust. The woman was not cut into pieces, but fell into the river. I wanted to see why she had such an ability, so I went to check on her. At that time, she had not fainted."

At this point, Bai Ji recalled some things he had previously overlooked.

"Actually, even if I hadn't saved her, she could have escaped, right? She was drifting downstream when I caught her. She glanced back at me, and that look in her eyes..."

Bai paused suddenly, then became lost in the gaze he had seen that day.

"What's wrong with his eyes?" You Yan asked.

"Love at first sight."

Bai Ji sighed deeply, finished his drink, and then said with emotion, "I have never seen such gentle yet alluring eyes. Just one glance was enough to steal my soul. She too, trusted me with just one glance and fell into a peaceful sleep."

You Yan and Hao Pangshui exchanged a glance and shook their heads simultaneously.

They acknowledged that Pei Nian's eyes were quite beautiful, firm, and bright, but they didn't think they could be associated with the words "gentle" or "alluring," let alone be able to captivate Bai Ji at a glance.

Unless Pei Nian was a different person at the time, or Bai Ji was simply stupid.

--------

"Oh!"

A loud noise came from the woods, and several people who were attacking Pei Nian were suddenly blasted away.

Pei Nian turned her head.

Miao Chunniang was stunned when she saw this.

She discovered that Pei Nian had instantly become stunningly beautiful, no less so than herself.

Moonlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves, illuminating Pei Nian's face. Her face remained unchanged, but her eyes had transformed, becoming gentle and alluring.

(End of this chapter)