Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 179: Wind Rises in Yanmen

As the setting sun sank beneath the horizon, the small boat drifted ashore. The two of them enjoyed a leisurely meal consisting of an entire fish at a fisherman’s house by the shore before returning home in high spirits.

Days such as today had been truly rare for him ever since he had transmigrated into this world. Now that Zhao Changhe looked back, he slightly regretted not having stayed a few more days at the Cui Clan’s residence.

Although he did accompany Yangyang at their horse ranch, it had been primarily to learn equestrian skills rather than to enjoy some time with her. As he thought back to the regretful look in her eyes back then, he could not help but feel some regret.

After being separated for so long, he could not help but wonder how she was doing now, and whether she had already forgotten about him... In fact, he still believed that Yangyang’s so-called liking of him had mostly been born out of reliance and gratitude during times of peril, rather than being genuine love. After so long, he believed that those feelings should have already dissipated. Cui Wenjing had likely felt the same way, with that also being the reason for the three years he had set.

If only he had been more decisive back then and planted a kiss on that little girl’s rosy lips, then perhaps he would not have to even ponder about these things right now.

At that time, despite being called a bandit, he had been too pure and naive.

Is it the same now? Zhao Changhe glanced at Tang Wanzhuang, who was walking quietly beside him, and sighed.

No, this is different. She’s only comfortable with getting close to me because I clearly expressed no interest in her. A few playful remarks may be fine, but if I developed genuine feelings, it’s almost guaranteed that our relationship would collapse.

It’s a pity, she really is incredibly beautiful. Especially right now, with that hint of melancholy in her expression. She truly looks like Xi Shi furrowing her brow. It’s a shame that I’m not skilled at painting and won’t be able to capture this beautiful moment.

Between men and women, there’s no such thing as pure friendship. Even if there were no intentions of that nature initially, when faced with such exceptional beauty, natural attraction would take over.

“What are you thinking about?” Zhao Changhe found himself asking.

“I’m thinking about your song. It’s a shame that I can’t smile at this world. Perhaps when I’m looking back years later, I might be able to.”

Maybe you will. You know, that song really was not for Yue Hongling. Yue Hongling is still young, so how could she have these feelings? Perhaps in the future... if you really let go of everything, you might just be able to be free.

Perhaps Zhao Changhe’s advice to her to be more carefree was what she secretly hoped for herself in the future.

Who did not want to sing freely and enjoy good liquor, enjoying everything as it came?

It was unfortunate that she could not do that at the moment, and even more unfortunate that she might not be able to do that at all in the future.

Even just by stealing this single day to enjoy the experience of a fleeting life, Tang Wanzhuang felt a sense of guilt, suddenly having a bad premonition for the future.

When the two of them were leisurely returning to the Tang residence, it was already getting quite late and the sky had already begun to turn dark. Wu Weiyang of the Demon Suppression Bureau hurriedly went to Tang Wanzhuang’s waterside pavilion and saw the guqin-carrying maid sitting on a stone, hugging her knees and lost in thought.

“Miss Guqin, is First Seat Tang resting at the moment? Please inform her that Wu Weiyang has come to seek an audience with her.”

The guqin-carrying maid looked up blankly and said, “The young miss is not at home.”

Wu Weiyang said, “Oh, where did the bureau chief go to do work? I’ll go look for her.”

“...Must the young miss always be doing work?”

Wu Weiyang was dumbfounded: “Huh?”

The guqin-carrying maid, with her chin resting on her knees, muttered, “I don’t know if this also counts as official business for the young miss. But to think that she didn’t even bring me with her... Does this mean that she won’t be needing me in the future anymore...”

Wu Weiyang: “?”

At this moment, Tang Wanzhuang just got back and stepped into the courtyard, “Weiyang, why are you here? What happened?”

“Chief!” Wu Weiyang stepped forward and lowered his voice. “There’s an urgent report from the border. The northern barbarians have stationed troops at Yanmen Pass, causing a stir in the capital.”

The guqin-carrying maid was startled and raised her head, but Tang Wanzhuang simply stood there quietly, saying nothing for a long time.

Wu Weiyang also cautiously glanced at her expression, but found that there was nothing but calmness on her face.

There was no anger nor anxiety as he had expected, rather there seemed to be... a hint of regret?

After a while, Tang Wanzhuang sighed softly and said, “Chi Li originally came to Jiangnan to communicate with Maitreya. Since the northern barbarians have begun moving, Maitreya should also start moving soon.”

“Yes, this is precisely why I came to find you. Maitreya is likely raising troops at the moment in response to these movements. We’re currently in Jiangnan, what should we do?”

Tang Wanzhuang shook her head slightly. “During the past few days, we’ve already had our bureau’s undercover agents within Maitreya Cult’s forces handle matters covertly. In the future, we will be cooperating with them in secret. As for other matters, there isn’t really much more that we can do within the confines of our responsibilities.”

She paused for a moment, then added, “I will immediately go to Jinling to oversee the situation. As long as Jinling still stands, Jinling and Gusu can support one another. There is also still support from Yangzhou in Jiangbei, so the situation isn’t that bad. In fact, if Maitreya really tries to raise troops now, he’s unlikely to succeed, because the timing isn’t right.”

Wu Weiyang nodded and said, “Yes, thankfully the affairs in the Gusu and Yangzhou were handled well...”

Lowering his voice, he added, “That we didn’t foresee this is one thing, but I’m afraid even he never expected that casually solving two cases would turn out to be so important. It’s truly providence.”

Tang Wanzhuang said calmly, “Be careful of what you say.”

Wu Weiyang pursed his lips and whispered, “Maitreya’s actions, with the timing not being right, might still be manageable... However, once this starts, the thieves will rise up, the aristocratic families will seize opportunities, the sects will go into seclusion, and chaos will ensue.”

Whether it was purely out of worry, or whether he was instigating the Tang Clan to seize control of Jiangdong[1], Tang Wanzhuang recalled Zhao Changhe’s words from yesterday and sighed softly. She did not respond right away. Instead, she said, “Before going to Jinling, I still need to make a trip. There are some matters that have yet to be concluded and must be settled. Go to my elder brother... No, go look for Buqi instead, he should be in secluded cultivation at the moment. Have him come out and assist in the management of Gusu.”

Wu Weiyang saluted and accepted the orders, “Yes.”

Tang Wanzhuang said no more. Her figure flickered, and a moment later, she was at the guest house.

*

At this time, Zhao Changhe was still lying on the bed, watching the Heavenly Tome.

This time, instead of watching the Sword Emperor, he was looking at Tang Wanzhuang when she was helping him modify the ultimate techniques.

He knew that it was just a phantom, but it felt just too real. Even the admonishing gaze in her eyes when she was correcting his movements were faithfully reproduced. The same went for the familiar fragrance from her body that permeated the air. The slowed-down movements allowed for a closer look, and he could even see the tiny hairs on her hand.

Zhao Changhe could not help but feel that with how slow she was moving, he could easily move over and kiss her.

But in the end, this was just a phantom. It was untouchable. Am I a pervert for thinking about this stuff?

It was quite tragic. He had clearly intended to review the ultimate skills in the Heavenly Tome, but he had ended up not practicing a single move and instead daydreamed.

It seems that it’s really gotten quite pent-up... Zhao Changhe even had the thought of taking care of it himself. He could not just keep waiting for Chichi. Furthermore, she had even told him not to hold himself back and encouraged him to look for someone else to take care of it when needed. But he hadn’t found anyone else to help him with it, so was he supposed to just do it himself?

But then he felt that it was too pathetic to do it on his own at this stage of his life. If the Heavenly Tome saw him resorting to self-pleasure at such an age, he would feel embarrassed to the point where he’d want to move on to a different world...

While he was struggling internally, he heard Tang Wanzhuang’s voice, “Mister Zhao...”

Zhao Changhe was stunned. “What the hell? Am I starting to hallucinate because of my perverse thoughts?”

Tang Wanzhuang’s voice sounded strange: “What’s perverse?”

Wait, it’s coming from outside! Zhao Changhe suddenly realized and he abruptly withdrew from the illusory world of the Heavenly Tome. He stuffed the golden foil into his pocket and hurried to open the door.

Sure enough, the real Tang Wanzhuang was standing outside. She looked at him suspiciously as she asked, “Mister Zhao...what kind of hallucinations were you having?”

Zhao Changhe: “...”

It’s over. Anyone who heard that would think that I was dreaming of Tang Wanzhuang!

“Uh, nothing...” Zhao Changhe was extremely embarrassed, so he dodged the topic and instead asked, “Why are you here at this late hour?”

Fortunately, Tang Wanzhuang was not in the mood to inquire whether was having wet dreams or not. “The northern barbarians are invading, and Maitreya is likely to start his uprising at this time. You don’t need to leave right away, but I do.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart suddenly skipped a beat and he pursed his lips.

Tang Wanzhuang said, “It’s a pity that you’ve only just started learning the guqin. I wonder if you’ll still be in the mood to practice the guqin when you roam the jianghu in the future...”

Zhao Changhe could only say, “I’ll practice if I have the chance. By the way, are you implying that I should leave as well? You don’t plan on having me stay here to help out?”

“There’s a large army here, so there’s no point in you staying,” Tang Wanzhuang said. “You should leave Jiangnan as soon as possible and seek enlightenment elsewhere. I’ve come here tonight to fulfill a few promises.”

Zhao Changhe had forgotten what promises she was referring to, “What promises?”

“Initially, I asked you to focus on your mind and take it easy... First, it was to prevent you from constantly squeezing your potential and rushing for quick results. Second, it was to eventually teach you the Tang Clan’s Moonglade Mantra, help you stabilize your spiritual platform, and help you eliminate the impurities within the bloodthirsty bead so that you can absorb the vicious qi contained inside it. It was never really about teaching you the guqin, that was just an auxiliary method.”

Tang Wanzhuang handed over two manuals. “Unfortunately, time is running short now, so I can only give you these secret manuals and I won’t be able to teach you in detail.”

Zhao Changhe had completely forgotten about this. He had been feeling that practicing calligraphy and playing the guqin lately was enough... It was only now that he remembered they had indeed discussed how he could make use of the bloodthirsty bead, and it had been by cultivating his heart and mind through a mantra.

Fortunately, Tang Wanzhuang still remembered everything clearly.

He took the two manuals without hesitation and said, “Thank you, but why are there two manuals?”

Tang Wanzhuang said, “If you learn the mantra, you can also use our Tang Clan’s Water-Treading Movement Art. This is one of your shortcomings, and this movement art should help you out in that regard.”

Zhao Changhe was silent for a moment and sighed. “You said your mother never played children’s songs for you, but I feel like even my mother never treated me like this. By doing this, you’re making it even harder for me to leave.”

Tang Wanzhuang smiled slightly in response. “You should know why I’m being so good to you. You don’t have to treat this as a debt or favor. If you truly feel grateful, you know what I want. You don’t need to waste your time here”

Unable to hold back, Zhao Changhe asked, “If it were someone else who was the prince, would you also treat them like this?”

Tang Wanzhuang instinctively wanted to say yes, but her words got stuck in her throat, and she found herself unable to say anything.

The two of them stood silently in front of the moonlit house, exchanging wordless gazes.

1. Just a note that Jiangnan, Jiangbei, and Jiangdong are simply general areas relative to the Yangtze, the regions to the south, north, and east of the river respectively. ☜