Chapter Thirty-Three: Climbing the Mountain and Treading on Frost to Reach the Summit

  Two people rode together, with Ling From behind holding the reins, Qian Chen bowed his head to see his slender fingers clearly defined due to slight force, stable and hiding a kind of strength. His arm and chest formed an encircling hold around him. He vaguely remembered that when he was very young, in his father's arms, he had this feeling, safe, warm, because he knew there was protection so he could relax completely relying on it, absolutely not being let go.

  It's been a long time since I've had this feeling, so long that it feels like a memory problem.

  She lifted her head with such a mood, looking up at Ye Tianling from this angle, and immediately met his gaze. Under that calm face, there was a different kind of joyful expression.

  At night, Tian Ling saw her looking over and smiled slightly, saying: "I'll take you somewhere."

  "Where?" Qing Chen asked.

  "You'll know when you get there," he said.

  The wind was strong and their footsteps were extremely fast, and soon they entered a remote mountain road, which seemed to be heading towards one of the peaks of Baofeng Mountain. The two of them continued on their way up, almost reaching the highest point of this peak, until there was no path ahead, when Ling Feng slowly reined in his horse under the night sky.

  You sat on horseback, gazing out at the breathtaking view. From where they stood, the undulating mountain ranges of Baoshan stretched out before them, with Tianyi Temple sitting serenely in the distance, and the vast city reduced to a mere handful. The Chujiang River flowed through the city, merging with another branch to form a mighty, rushing river that surged forward into the distance. People seemed to stand at the edge of an endless sky, their hearts expansive and boundless, stretching out to merge with the majestic natural scenery, their spirits shaken by the grandeur of the landscape.

  She was gazing at the mountains and rivers with utmost admiration when she suddenly heard Ye Tianling ask in her ear, "Are you afraid?"

  As soon as she heard this, she lowered her head and only then did she discover that the place where the strong wind stopped was actually the edge of a cliff. If she took one more step forward, she would fall into an abyss thousands of feet deep.

  The precipice was cut off, and the cloud mist that occasionally floated in the valley disappeared quickly when the wind passed. The deep canyon was revealed. Qingchen turned back to look at Ye Tianling with excitement, his eyes shining brightly with surprise, joy, and laughter. "What's there to be afraid of? Where is this place?"

  Ye Tian Ling gazed down at her, a smile also rising to the corners of his mouth. Suddenly, he tightened the reins and with a loud whinny, the horse's hooves left the ground as it reared up on its hind legs, almost plunging them over the cliff. As they both let out a thrilling cry, they turned around and landed steadily several steps behind. The two of them burst into laughter at the same time, feeling an unparalleled thrill.

  Ye Tianling flipped down from the horse, stretched out his hand, and Qingchen held onto it as she jumped down. Together they stood on a tall rock in front of them. Ye Tianling said: "I often come here alone."

  You sat down casually on a large rock, gazing longingly into the distance: "Such a great place, enjoyed by one person alone."

  Ye Tian Ling smiled faintly and said: "Apart from Feng Ju, which other horse can reach such a state?"

  "Yun Xiang can too." Qing Chen said.

  Ye Tianling smiled and nodded slightly. Qing Chen turned his head to look at him for a moment, then asked: "Are you always so happy when you come here?"

  Yè Tiān Líng's smile faded, her gaze paused in her eyes, shaking her head: "In the past, she would only come when there was something on her mind."

  "Oh?" Qing Chen asked: "What about now?"

  "I'd like to go," replied Ye Tianling. He took two steps forward, hands behind his back, and gazed down at the majestic mountains with a calm expression, his clothes fluttering in the mountain wind.

  He quietly gazed at him from the side, his profound eyes seeming to reveal a spirit of untamed pride. Wherever his gaze fell, it seemed as if the mountains and rivers were all within his grasp, the vast earth floating on his fingertips. The arrogance in his expression made everything seem insignificant, including heaven and earth. She couldn't help but say softly: "High above, please take a look, my kingdom is as beautiful as a painting. Climbing mountains and treading mist, pointing at the sky and laughing at its majesty, who else can boast of this besides me?"

  Ye Tian Ling suddenly turned around and looked at her. She smiled: "Rebelled again? But it's a phrase I really like."

  "I've never heard of it."

  "This phrase comes from my hometown, it's about a legendary emperor who unified the four seas with great achievements, how he commanded the winds and clouds, and seized the elegance of the ages."

  "What's your hometown?"

  You gazed out at the vast expanse of the long river flowing into the distance and said, "Hmm, my hometown doesn't belong to this place."

  "What place is that?"

  "You don't know either? Then what is this place?"

  "This is where it is."

  "You go there is also going there."

  Two people exchanged a few words like they were in a Zen meditation, then suddenly burst out laughing at the same time. Ye Tian Ling said: "No matter where you are, as long as you know who you are, that's enough."

  "You seem a bit melancholy," he said. "As if I were not myself, who truly knows who they are? Who can avoid being perplexed?"

  "People who know what they want will naturally not have unnecessary confusion."

  You stood up with him side by side, your clothes fluttering, your long hair flying in the air: "Then what do you want?"

  Ye Tianling turned his head and met her gaze, Qing Chen looked into his eyes and said: "You can choose not to answer."

  At night, Ling Tian stood at the top of the mountain and cast his gaze towards the endless landscape. A little later, he stretched out one hand and slowly drew a semicircle in front of the two people, with his fingers finally pointing to the faintly visible Da Zheng Palace in the center of the Imperial City.

  Qingchu looked down at his hand, raised an eyebrow and smiled. She lowered her head to look at the sword by his waist, saw that today he only had a ordinary black scabbard longsword, thought for a moment, and asked: "Fourth brother, is the Guili Sword in your hands?"

  The night sky was slightly dim and silent, but did not deny: "Yes."

  "You'd better not bring it out so easily from now on."

  "Do you know about the Return Separation Sword?"

  "You lightly said: 'The Return Separation Sword was the sword worn by Shi Di when he ascended to the throne of Jing Yun Mountain, commanding nine countries and unifying the world a hundred years ago. It is the imperial family's most treasured object. In the eighth year of Cheng Emperor's eternal reign, it disappeared during a palace coup, so there are legends that whoever obtains this sword will obtain the world.'"

  The night sky whispered a faint, shapeless smile on his lips and said, "It's just a legend, after all. A sword is still just a sword."

  "You shouldn't have brought the sword with you when you went to the Ming Yi Building's main hall. It wasn't given to you by the Heavenly Emperor, and apart from you and the Eleventh, no one else in the imperial family knows that the Gui Li Sword has reappeared."

  Ye Tianling didn't deny her conjecture, saying: "You seem to understand the origins of the Guilei Sword better than I thought. Do you know that the sword hums to warn its master? That day, the Guilei Sword was extremely unusual, frequently sounding alarms until it calmed down after entering the mountain valley."

  "So that's how it is." Qing Chen stood facing the high peak, deep in thought. Suddenly, he smiled and said: "Fourth Brother, the Floating Cloud Sword is with me."

  "What?"

  "Like the Gui Li Jian's yin-yang complementary floating sword, Fourth Brother should have also heard of it."

  After a moment of stunned silence, she calmly met his gaze and smiled: "If Fourth Brother is really sure what he wants, I'm willing to play this game with him."

  "It's very interesting." Ye Tian Ling said: "What's the reason?"

  "You smiled quietly and said: 'Since ancient times, heroes have been lonely. Those who climb high are isolated and alone. Having someone to accompany you may add some interest.'"

  Ye Tianling's expression changed slightly, his eyes showed no emotion, and he asked lightly: "Then what is it that you want?"

  "In your clear and calm eyes, a hint of confusion flashed by. You said: 'What I want... actually, I don't even know what I want myself. Maybe everything I've experienced is just a process, because I can't see the end point, so I can only grasp this process in my own hands. If one day I suddenly find the end point right in front of me, I'll feel like I've had a wonderful dream. Moreover, maybe everyone's end point is the same, what differs is how they get there. Some people struggle their whole lives, some sail through with ease, some live aimlessly, and some command the world. The taste of it all is not the same."

  Life is like a dream, and dreams are like life. It's as if Zhuangzi woke up from his dream, but he didn't know whether he had entered the butterfly's dream or the butterfly had appeared in his own dream.

  This life is just a play that opens with a grand red curtain, why bother what role you play, as long as the clouds and water sleeves rise, that one board one eye sings true and colorful, it's already a dazzling dream, let alone this curtain rises, can't help but make you sing or not?

  The audience is also in the play, why not sing a full hall red?

  Ye Tian Ling said: "You don't even know what you want, how can you be sure that we can walk the same path?"

  "You smiled and said, 'By intuition. Anyway, there's a path that I seem to be standing on already, and I'm also curious about this path, so I'd like to invite someone to walk with me for a while. Would fourth brother be willing?'"

  "Shall we take a walk? Where will we end up and when?"

  "I don't know then. Some things are destined, just like I'm standing on this road now, it's not necessarily my choice. All I can do is choose how to walk from here."

  "What if it's fate?" A hint of loneliness flashed in his eyes, and he turned to her: "What if there really is a will of heaven ahead? I'll still turn it around."

  You didn't know why he suddenly revealed his overbearing aura without any disguise, and smiled: "Fourth brother has great charisma."

  He gazed deeply into her eyes, as if he had made some decision and wanted to brand it onto her heart with that gaze. He said slowly, "Have you ever thought that this road is not easy to walk?"

  "It's interesting precisely because of this, and only by taking such a perilous path can one reach places that ordinary people cannot."

  "Aren't you afraid?" Ye Tian Ling asked.

  "You've asked this question before, Fourth Brother."

  The night sky was dimly lit, and her lips curled up slightly at the corners. After a while, she said one word: "Good."

  When going down the mountain, the scenery is beautiful all the way. The wind blows gently and stops occasionally, not in a hurry to return. Ye Tianling seems to be very familiar with Baomiao Mountain, and brings Qingchen to see several more scenic spots. The trees in the mountains are lush and green, and sometimes when they turn around, there are clusters of wildflowers scattered all over the mountain, Qingchen often shouts at him to stop his horse, bends down to pick those flowers, and soon holds a big handful.

  The mountain flowers are elegant and simple, scattered and unassuming at first glance, but gathered together they seem to bring the full splendor of spring. Qingyu's smile is radiant as she plays with the flowers, her fingers deftly weaving them into a garland. The golden sunlight threads through the stems, slowly taking shape. Ling Tian steps forward, his eyes fixed on her back, and says suddenly, "About what happened at Yanxi Palace last time, don't take it to heart."

  You paused for a moment at her words, and slightly raised an eyebrow. She picked up a flower stem and asked, "Is this considered an apology?"

  No answer was heard, only the night sky's reins were lightly shaken, and the speed of the wind increased by several degrees. Qing Chen thought to herself with a smile that making him apologize would be more difficult than ascending to heaven, so she intentionally said: "If it's an apology, then this time will be let off, but if you don't care about it, next time you must first explain clearly to the empress dowager, lest she mistakenly pairs us together in front of everyone, and I would lose face."

  Ye Tianling remained silent. Qing Chen felt strange, turned his head to look at him, Ye Tianling was lowering his head from behind, looking down with profound pupils that seemed to be changing in depth, his expression unpredictable.

  "You don't look like you're apologizing, at least not sincerely."

  The arms wrapped around her waist tightened slightly as Ye Tianling said softly above her head, "Who says I don't care about you anymore?"

  She looked up in surprise, only to see that he had already turned his gaze forward. Suddenly, there was a strange feeling, as if the surroundings were filled with an eerie atmosphere. The cool breath on his body, the warmth of his breathing, the embracing temperature, and the strength of his arms all became crystal clear in that instant. She could almost feel his heartbeat, gently pounding against her own, blood flowing slowly, gradually spreading throughout her body. She carefully savored this feeling, although she wanted to retort with a sentence "If you're precious, then it's truly unforgivable", but not a word came out.

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