Chinese animation: Starting with Bad Guys

Sometimes it sounds like a clear spring babbling, adorning the deep pool of the zither's sound.

At times, it transforms into a breeze sweeping across the bamboo forest, carrying a refreshing exotic atmosphere that intertwines and collides with the elegant sound of the zither, unexpectedly blending into a harmonious movement that is fresh, refined, and full of vitality.

A look of surprise flashed in Nongyu's eyes, and the music flowing from her fingertips became even more ethereal and expansive.

The clear, melodious sound of the white jade flute and the warm, gentle sound of the guqin complement each other, depicting a picture of towering mountains and flowing rivers, where kites soar and fish leap.

As Chi Meng played her flute with great enthusiasm, her little head swayed gently with the rise and fall of the music, and the silver butterflies at the tips of her hair trembled and shone.

Qin Chuan's gaze fell on her, the focused and joyful figure of the young girl softening the cold lines of his profile amidst the music.

Zi Nu watched quietly, lost in thought.

Wei Zhuang's posture, with his arms crossed, seemed to relax a little.

The beaded curtain at the entrance of the flower hall was suddenly flung open with a loud clatter!

Mo Ya, dressed in a sharp black outfit, burst in with the cool morning air and a hint of haste.

Behind him followed a beautiful woman dressed in simple clothes, with a gentle demeanor but unable to hide her haggardness and panic—Madam Hu.

Almost simultaneously, the side door was also pushed open.

A maid from Zilan Pavilion led a middle-aged man dressed in old cloth, with a weathered face, a slightly hunched back, but still sharp eyes, into the room—it was Li Kai.

Their intrusion instantly interrupted the harmonious flow of the zither and flute music. The lingering notes faded away.

Mo Ya's gaze swept quickly across the flower hall, passing over Qin Chuan in the main seat and the purple-haired girl playing the flute beside him, finally settling on Qin Chuan. He took a deep breath, his voice not loud, but each word as heavy as a hammer blow:

"Young Marshal, Madam Hu has arrived. Mr. Li Kai has also been invited." He spoke quickly, his tone carrying an undeniable certainty. "Furthermore, we just received an urgent report from Flying Eagle in the direction of Snowcloth Fortress!"

He paused deliberately, his gaze sweeping over Wei Zhuang, Zi Nu, and Nong Yu, who were staring intently at him, as well as the fierce aura that suddenly intensified and was forcibly suppressed from the direction of the warm pavilion, and said, word by word:

"Bai Yifei, the Blood-Clad Marquis, died last night at Snow-Clad Fortress! His death was... gruesome!"

Absolute silence, like invisible ice, instantly froze the entire flower hall.

The lingering sound of the zither and flute was completely cut off.

The gentle expression on Zi Nu's face suddenly froze, turning into a blank.

Nongyu's hand, which was on the strings, trembled suddenly, and her fingertips pressed on the strings, producing a dull, hoarse sound. She covered her mouth in astonishment.

By the window, Wei Zhuang, who had been leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, was taut as a bow almost imperceptibly!

Those sharp, hawk-like silver-gray pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints, fixed intently on Mo Ya's face, as if trying to pierce through flesh to verify the truth of the news.

Immediately, that gaze, like a quenched blade, abruptly turned to the calm figure in black robes sitting in the main seat—he had just returned from Snow Robe Fortress last night!

No one knew better than him what it meant to kill the Blood-Clad Marquis in that icy fortress!

It was a kind of breathtaking power that he had personally experienced!

His knuckles tensed almost imperceptibly under his arm for a moment, but he made no other move. Only the sharpness in his eyes had transformed into a deep, icy sea.

Inside the tightly closed door of the warm chamber, the suppressed aura surged and roared violently like a deep pool tossed with a boulder, only to be forcefully pushed to the bottom by an even stronger, invisible force, eliciting a muffled groan that was extremely suppressed, mixed with intense pain and extreme shock.

Yan Lingji remained bowed, but her body trembled violently the moment she heard "Bai Yifei" and "death"!

The terrifying power that overwhelmed everything in the Ice Hall last night, and the cruel scene of the Blood-Clad Marquis dying with his blood dried up and his body aged, tore through her mind once again with unparalleled clarity!

Beneath that fiery red dress, her fingers clenched the fabric tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Only she truly knew the devastating power hidden beneath that calm exterior!

She could even feel the sharp, piercing pain in her heart caused by those terrifying memories, as the butterfly-shaped poison bound her.

Chi Meng put down the jade flute, blinked her big eyes, looked at this and then at that, seemingly not understanding why the death of "Blood-Clad Marquis" made everyone feel as if they had been frozen in place.

She instinctively shrank closer to Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan remained seated, his expression unchanged, as if Mo Ya had only reported a trivial matter.

He even raised his hand and, with remarkable ease, brushed away the non-existent dust from the silver butterfly on Chi Meng's hair with his fingertips.

"Oh?" Qin Chuan's voice finally rang out, as calmly as if he were asking about the weather. "Dead?"

He didn't even glance at Mo Ya, his gaze fixed on Chi Meng's slightly pouting lips, which were a result of being interrupted. He casually picked up a delicate pastry from the table and offered it to her lips.

Chi Meng subconsciously opened her mouth, grabbed the snack, and her cheeks immediately puffed out, dispelling her slight dissatisfaction at being disturbed.

The entire flower hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The only sounds were the faint chewing sounds of Chi Meng and the indistinct sounds of the city from afar outside the window.

The news of the Blood-Clad Marquis's death was like a boulder thrown into a deep pool, stirring up a silent tidal wave in everyone's heart.

Chapter 27 Nongyu Returns to Her Heart

Before the aftershocks of the Blood-Clad Marquis's death could even spread in Xinzheng, another silent wave swept through Zilan Pavilion.

Li Kai stood in the center of the flower hall, his tattered clothes unable to conceal the unyielding integrity of a soldier deep in his spine.

He watched as Nongyu slowly rose from behind the zither table. In the girl's gentle eyes, the bewilderment, longing, grievance, and disbelief that had accumulated for more than a decade surged violently like a deep pool tossed with a stone.

Madam Hu had already broken free from the maid's hand and stumbled to Li Kai.

Her trembling hand wanted to touch her husband's weathered and scarred face, but she stopped abruptly just before she touched him, as if afraid of shattering this extravagant dream.

Tears streamed down her pale, haggard face, silently washing over her more than a decade of forbearance, searching, despair, and now overwhelming ecstasy...

In the end, all that remained was a broken sob as she knelt heavily at Li Kai's feet, clutching his cold, dusty trouser leg tightly, her shoulders trembling violently.

Li Kai's stiff body finally softened, like a stone tablet that had withstood a century of wind and frost without ever collapsing.

He slowly and heavily bent down, his hand, which had once gripped a sword and a hoe, trembling uncontrollably, finally resting on Madam Hu's violently heaving shoulder.

His lips trembled, but no sound came out; only scalding tears dripped onto his wife's disheveled hair, leaving dark stains.

Nongyu approached step by step, her steps light, yet seemingly touching everyone's hearts.

She walked to her parents' side, slowly squatted down, and stretched out her fair and slender hand to gently cover her mother's hand that was tightly holding her father's. Then she carefully and tenderly touched her father's large, calloused hand that was resting on her mother's shoulder.

She didn't burst into tears, but instead tilted her head back, tears streaming silently down her pretty face like broken pearls. Yet her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness as she stared intently at Li Kai's eyes, which were also blurred by tears but remained sharp.

"……Father?"

The voice was as soft as a dream, tinged with a cautious probing, as if afraid that if the voice were a little louder, the phantom before her eyes would vanish.

Li Kai abruptly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the sharpness in his eyes was completely overwhelmed by a surge of love and sorrow.

He nodded vigorously, a sob escaping his throat, and opened his other arm to tightly embrace his kneeling wife and his daughter, who was squatting in front of him.

The family of three embraced tightly in the dimly lit flower hall of Zilanxuan, under the silent gaze of everyone.

Fifteen years of separation, fifteen years of bloodshed and injustice, were finally briefly washed away and mended by a torrent of tears at this moment.

The suppressed sobs intertwined, a mixture of emotions: loss and recovery, survival after disaster, the grief of a wronged person awaiting redress, and the immense warmth of a loved one reunited.

Zi Nu watched this scene quietly, her purple eyes, which always carried a hint of shrewdness and a touch of aloofness, now misty with tears. She subconsciously glanced at Qin Chuan in the main seat.

The man in black remained seated, his expression calm and undisturbed, as if the dramatic events unfolding before him, capable of shaking anyone's soul, were nothing more than an ordinary drama.

However, just last night, it was he who had Mo Ya bring Madam Hu out of the General's Mansion, it was he who ordered the search for Li Kai, and it was he who turned this "impossible" into reality.

His first promise after taking control of Zilan Pavilion was fulfilled in such a thunderous and heart-stirring way.

The ice wall that Zi Nu had built in her heart because of his unfathomable power quietly cracked, and an indescribable complex emotion welled up in her heart—beyond awe, for the first time mixed with something akin to "trust".

This "trust" was not a complete surrender, but rather stemmed from his admirable "keeping his word."

Yan Lingji also gazed at the family of three who were tightly embracing each other.

The fiery red dress she wore only made her face appear even paler.

That heart-wrenching yet incredibly heartwarming scene was like a red-hot branding iron, fiercely searing the deepest wounds of her soul.

That child's face, which had long been blurred in my memory yet was etched in my heart, suddenly appeared with unparalleled clarity!

The flames of war in Baiyue, the chaos of fleeing, the despair of families being torn apart...

An overwhelming sense of sorrow and a sharp longing instantly seized her heart!

She clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging deep into her palms, barely managing to suppress the sob in her throat and the tears welling in her eyes. She instinctively looked at Qin Chuan.

That calm profile was, in her eyes, the only beacon of hope.

He had just promised to help her find her younger brother!

This promise has become incredibly real and burning with passion because of the reunion of Nongyu's family!

She must survive, she must become more useful!

Only in this way can we grasp that faint flame of hope.

The golden flame patterns flowing on her new clothes seemed to glow slightly, fueled by the rekindled desire in her heart.

After a long while, the sorrowful yet warm cries gradually subsided, turning into low sobs.

Li Kai helped the nearly exhausted Madam Hu to her feet. Nongyu nestled close to her father's side. The family of three stood before Qin Chuan, their faces still wet with tears, their eyes filled with gratitude and a sense of bewilderment at being reborn.

Qin Chuan's gaze swept calmly over the three of them, his voice breaking the silence of the flower hall, clear and indifferent: "When Han Wang An ascended to the throne, his foundation was the war against Baiyue. The old case of Li Kai was the cornerstone of his rise to power, and there is absolutely no way to overturn it."

Li Kai's body stiffened abruptly, a deep-seated grief and indignation flashing in his eyes.

He knew this better than anyone else, and it was the root cause of his years of living like a rat in a sewer.

Upon hearing this, Madam Hu's face turned even paler, and deep fear was revealed in her eyes.

Qin Chuan turned his gaze to the woman in purple standing to the side.

"Your subordinate is here."

Zi Nu immediately stepped forward, her posture respectful.

"Arrange for them to change their names and leave Xinzheng. New identities, a new beginning." Qin Chuan's voice was unquestionable, carrying the decisiveness of someone in control of everything. "Start from scratch."

"Yes, young marshal," Zi Nu replied, bowing her head, understanding the situation.

This is the greatest and most practical favor that Qin Chuan has given to Nongyu's family.

Staying away from the vortex of power and forgetting one's past identity is the true way to survive.

She looked at Nongyu's family with reassurance and promise in her eyes.

Qin Chuan's gaze finally settled on Nongyu, whose tear-streaked face still held the dazed joy of reunion: