Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 234 Riding a Horse Across the World
Let's turn back the clock to before Zhu Wen and Tian Jun's date.

Duan Hongyan was in the Qingyudu General's Oil Pavilion.

The dragon-horned helmet and jade hairpin that Duan Hongyan gave to Tian Jun were polished to a shine and placed on the table.

"I'll return it to you as is," Tian Jun said coldly.

Duan Hongyan was not entirely surprised by this.

It would be strange if Tian Jun didn't break off their friendship after she did such a thing.

It's more accurate to say that this idiot only came to confront her after helping Zhu Wen kill Gao Yan, which was somewhat unexpected for Duan Hongyan.

Duan Hongyan didn't seem annoyed at all, and put the two items away: "I know, is there anything else?"

Tian Jun snorted: "I'm wondering why you fell for him."

"If you've taken a liking to someone, you've taken a liking to them. What reason is there?" Duan Hongyan's lips curled into a calm and composed smile.

“If you had gone all out earlier, it wouldn’t have been my turn.” Tian Jun’s gaze swept over Duan Hongyan’s face, which was as delicate as dew on a flower.

A hint of smugness appeared in Duan Hongyan's heart.

This "four-legged snake" is quite self-aware.

"Then tell me why I did this?" Duan Hongyan asked calmly.

Tian Jun was provoked by her own little trick and ended up having a big fight with Zhu Wen, which was exactly what Duan Hongyan had expected.

“Because I’m dating Zhu Lang, and you’re my ‘good sister’,” Tian Jun said, emphasizing each word. “So when I get something good, you want to compete with me for it, right?”

“You’ve finally figured it out.” Duan Hongyan covered her mouth and chuckled. “Besides, haven’t you noticed? People like me are the same kind as him.”

"A person suffering from dissociative identity disorder can't be some innocent, pure-hearted person. How come you only realized this now?"

Tian Jun nodded: "Yes, I should have seen through you a long time ago."

"I'm leaving."

Just as Duan Hongyan was about to say "Goodbye and don't come back," she saw Tian Jun raise her chin and say, "I don't want to compete with you. From now on, I'll go far away and never come back."

These words left Duan Hongyan speechless.

It was like throwing a punch that had been prepared but landed on a kapok tree, completely powerless.

But after a moment's thought, she immediately said, "Are you serious?"

"Yes." Tian Jun nodded solemnly.

“Then you’ve probably underestimated my resolve,” Duan Hongyan said confidently. “I think you probably still have another man in your heart, which is why you gave up so easily.”

"But I don't just want to steal your good stuff. I'm serious too."

Duan Hongyan had learned from some source that Tian Jun and Yang Xingmi, the young hero from Cangjian Manor who came to support the Cao Army during the Battle of Xuanzhou, were childhood acquaintances.

“You’re wrong. When I was with him, I was completely devoted and didn’t think about anyone else.”

Tian Jun vehemently denied it.

"You can only fool yourself with those words." Duan Hongyan's tone was leisurely, as if she had the other party completely under her control.

"There's no point in saying any of this anymore," Tian Jun sighed. "I've already let go."

"Before you decided to take action against him, you really did treat me like a sister, didn't you?"

Tian Jun's wistful tone only amplified Duan Hongyan's sense of triumph.

She recalled that when she learned that Zhu Wen and Tian Jun were together, her blessings were not entirely without sincerity.

When did I fall in love with Zhu Wen? Was it really when I was feeding him blood in the cave to save his life that I made that decision?

Duan Hongyan wasn't really sure either.

Human emotions are so mysterious and elusive.

But Duan Hongyan felt she should show some magnanimity towards the loser who voluntarily admitted defeat.

"Yes," Duan Hongyan sighed, her tone seemingly revealing a genuine sense of guilt towards Tian Jun.

"You're not without your likable qualities, it's just a pity."

As long as there's no conflict of interest, Duan Hongyan can be best friends with any woman. But she and Tian Jun have known each other for two years, and even if it's all fake, she can't help but get immersed in the performance and end up believing it herself.

"So, before we part, shall we give each other one last hug?" Tian Jun said with a smile.

“Okay.” Duan Hongyan stood up with an even brighter smile.

Duan Hongyan had been sitting on the folding chair.

Since Tian Jun is taller than her anyway, she would have to look down to see her even if she stood up, so she might as well sit leisurely.

Duan Hongyan felt Tian Jun's right arm wrap around her waist, so she also wrapped her arm around the other's back.

Just then, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen.

The excruciating pain caused Duan Hongyan to squat down on the ground and vomit up her stomach acid, which dripped onto the exquisite carpet.

"The rumors were true. Before you became Duan Qingyu, you were indeed very afraid of pain."

Tian Jun looked at Duan Hongyan with a cunning glint in her eyes, a glint Duan Hongyan had never seen before: "I really hate that woman You Di, but she has one thing that you don't: she's ruthless and courageous. Unlike you, she doesn't want to have it all but is afraid to face her own cowardice."

"I don't know what you've been through. But to turn yourself into two people through dissociative identity disorder, you must have an insurmountable fear in your heart. If you can't even overcome yourself, what's the point of taking more from others?"

"You won't win today, and you will be utterly defeated in the future."

Tian Jun pressed her lips to Duan Hongyan's ear, blowing warm breath, her voice carrying a hint of coquettishness: "Because, how do you know he doesn't have someone else in his heart?"

After saying that, Tian Jun punched Duan Hongyan in the stomach again, causing the swelling on Duan Hongyan's stomach to swell up even more, before turning around and leaving.

There's no need to say more; let Duan Hongyan guess the specific details.

Only then did Duan Hongyan realize where the problem lay.

Tian Jun dared to hit herself because she was indeed leaving.

It would be pointless for Duan Hongyan to complain to Zhu Wen about someone who had left.

After Tian Jun left, Zhu Wen, missing Tian Jun, found Duan Hongyan increasingly suspicious.

Duan Hongyan's eyes flashed with killing intent, and the Jade Phoenix Blade was suddenly drawn.

Having awakened her Duan Qingyu personality, her close combat abilities have been greatly enhanced, making her capable of engaging in a fierce battle with Tian Jun.

But Tian Jun had already left the tent.

All Duan Hongyan could do was grit her teeth and chop her desk in half with a single stroke.

……

After leaving the bandit army, Tian Jun rode his horse and wandered the world.

During her two years in the army, she earned enough money to not be short of cash and didn't need to find new work.

She kept a raccoon dog.

Once, while drinking at a tavern, Tian Jun saw the newborn cat, baring its teeth and claws, fighting with other cats, showing no fear in the face of opponents ten times its size.

Feeling moved, Tian Jun decided to adopt it.

Tian Jun adorned the cat with a pure gold collar and bells, made from the gold bestowed upon her by Zhu Wen. Whenever Tian Jun rode her horse at full gallop, the cat would lazily lie on the horse's neck, the bells jingling in the wind.

This raccoon is quite bold and not afraid of falling off the horse at all. If the horse starts to stumble, it immediately and skillfully grabs the horse's mane with its paws.

Sometimes it would even show a defiant look, making Tian Jun suddenly miss the people and things in the drafting army.

But for a free-spirited girl like Tian Jun, romance has never been the entirety of her life.

She has loved and experienced, so she has no regrets.

She didn't know what it would be like to meet Zhu Wen again.

That's not that important.

Liking someone doesn't mean you have to be together.

Tian Jun, also known as Tian Si Niang, was by no means a woman who relied on men to live.

(End of this chapter)