Chapter 20: It's Better Not to Meet Again 10

  On the mountain cliff, a piece of silence. A gentle breeze blew by. The warm wind blew on Nalan Xinnuo's face, like a gentle comfort. Her hair fluttered lightly. Nalan Xinnuo reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. Across from her, Shangguan Hongye was involuntarily stunned.

  She's not like herself anymore. Not like the cold and cruel Nalan Xiong. Not like the Nalan Xiong who never smiled or laughed, only had a cold expression. The first time I saw her in the cave, she was unconscious.

  At that time, her face was pale and her eyebrows were tightly furrowed. Although she was unconscious, she still had a vigilant look on her face, like a cat that had been rained on, shivering with fear. Her face was filled with distrust of this world.

  In the past, she had endured what he didn't know. But he knew what could make a person gradually change from having high hopes for this world to not daring to believe in anything. It was pain. Only pain could erase the most primitive and pure goodness at the bottom of one's heart.

  He saw her for the first time. The first thing he felt was not her murderous aura, nor her coldness. In his eyes, she looked like a battered child, tormented by fate and on the verge of collapse, yet still stubbornly furrowing her brow and putting on a cold face, wanting to prove to heaven that she had not lost yet.

  At this moment, her coldness is gone. She can think about a question seriously and calmly like a fifteen-year-old girl. The gentle breeze blows by, and her icy hand gently tucks the hair behind her ear, like an unpolluted clear spring.

  But what she thought about was painful for him.

  She is thinking about who she really is, but can't get an answer no matter how long she thinks.

  He picked up the flute in his hand, with a calm expression. He brought the flute to his lips and blew softly. The melodious tune floated away with the wind. Nalan Xinnuo slightly raised her head to look at him, but couldn't help being stunned.

  A gentle breeze blew between the mountains, rustling his soft and long hair that was scattered on his shoulders. His long and dense eyelashes trembled slightly under his eyes. A pair of pure and clear eyes were like amber, reflecting a warm and gentle glow like the sunset.

  At this moment, the melody that floats with the wind doesn't seem to be coming from the flute. It's more like it's emanating softly from his body. Like a cup of fragrant fine wine, he's already intoxicated before even taking a sip.

  In the sky, the melody rippled like waves. It was as if one could see the ripples of the melody. Nalan Xianuo raised her head and gazed out, her eyes widening slightly. Under the sunset, a line of white egrets flew in from the crimson horizon, their wings fluttering elegantly. They seemed to be frolicking like celestial maidens at the edge of the sky. Each movement of their wings was so graceful that it was breathtaking.

  But in an instant, the white egrets followed the rhythm and came. They gathered between the cliffs. One of them, seemingly the leader, flew towards the cliff. The other egrets circled in mid-air, forming a circle. Even Nalan Xinnuo couldn't help but be moved by it.

  Suddenly, the white egret leading the way slowly flapped its wings and rose from between the cliffs. In its beak was a blooming flower, which was the rare flower that Xiang Gonghong had risked his life to pick just now.

  Nalan Xixi looked at the white egret presenting flowers with a stunned expression, as if it were human, bowing its head respectfully, like those painted on the wall, all creatures paying homage, with gentle postures in their eyes.

  Shangguan Hongye finished playing a song, and the white egret had already flown away. He smiled slightly, pinning the bright red, charming flower to his chest. The light green bamboo-colored shirt paired with the fiery red splendor, striking a perfect balance between elegance and charm.

  He turned around and smiled at Nalan Xinnuo, then walked straight back without saying another word.

  Nalan Xixi's eyebrows slightly furrowed. "You still haven't answered me."

  Shangguan Hongye's body was slightly stagnant. He didn't turn back. Nalan Xianyu couldn't see his expression at this moment.

  "It doesn't matter whether it is or isn't anymore." With that said, he took a step forward and didn't look back.

  Nalan Xixiao watched as his back figure gradually disappeared into the distance. He remained silent for a long time. Perhaps, it was no longer important.

  Back to the house, the sparrow is muttering discontentedly beside the giant lion, who completely ignores her and falls asleep on his own. The white snake's head hangs under the plum tree, with plum blossoms falling on its head, but it can't even be bothered to move.

  Shangguan Hongye went back at night, and Huaque immediately came over. She first glared at Nalan Xianuo behind her, then followed Shangguan Hongye's side to report Nalan Xianuo's situation. Shangguan Hongye smiled and nodded, occasionally responding with a few words.

  He simply washed up and said lightly: "Go get my needlework."

  The sparrow chirped and immediately walked into the room. Officer Hong Ye turned around, looking at Nalan Xianyu: "I'm going to treat him now. After this anesthesia, he may need to sleep for a few days before waking up. If there's anything you want to say, go tell him now."

  He turned and walked into the house. For a moment, the courtyard was left with only her and the two sleeping beasts that seemed to be dead to the world.

  In front of her chest, she stretched out her hand and stroked the warm jade pendant on her chest. She took out the jade pendant and placed it in the palm of her hand. On the well-crafted jade pendant, two jade dragons were flying in the clouds and mist, intertwined with each other, as if they were one body.

  She took a deep breath, grasped the jade pendant tightly and walked towards the house in the middle.

  Inside the house, Du Guo Han was sitting in front of the window. The poison had already dissipated from his body. His complexion looked a bit better. He held a book in his hand, his eyes fell on the page, but his thoughts had long since wandered away.

  Occasionally a few plum blossoms floated down and landed on his shoulders. He didn't even lift his hand to brush them off, letting them stay as they pleased.

  He heard the noise at the door. His eyes trembled slightly, but he didn't lift his head. He just stared more intently at the book page.

  The familiar footsteps came slowly. He, who had always been indifferent to everything, couldn't help but get flustered. His heartbeat suddenly quickened. He tried hard to suppress the slightly surging blood and energy. He vaguely felt that something was about to happen.

  Nalan Xinnuo stopped beside him, his hand tightly clenched around the warming jade, but his face was pale.

  The two of them were silent for a long time, neither of them spoke up. It was just because they both didn't know how to start the conversation, what questions to ask.

  What's been said has been said. What's been asked has been asked. Everything has been made clear in each other's hearts. Those who should leave will still have to leave. They can't be kept from leaving, nor can they be persuaded to stay.

  The long silence. The scroll in Du Guo Han's hand was still on the same page, never turned over. Nalan Xianyu's hands were icy cold, and the jade pendant gradually lost its temperature. She took a step forward again, walking to his front.

  She pulled up his hand, his palm was icy cold, to the point where her already very cold hands still didn't feel his temperature, like the feeling he had always given her, indifferent, detached, like a person who had never had any temperature.

  The wound on his finger was a bit abrupt. His palm was no longer as soft as before. Full of scars. Never held a weapon. But all over the body were scales of wounds.

  The blood-stained hands made her heart even colder. She handed the jade pendant into his palm and immediately turned around.

  The jade pendant remained still in his palm, like a plum blossom that had accidentally fallen on his shoulder, and might be blown away by the gentle breeze at any moment. Du Guhan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and his usually clear eyes suddenly welled up with tears, his eye sockets reddening.

  The book in his hand made a soft sound. Paper scraps slowly fell from his hands. His originally pale face turned even whiter, making him look more like an exquisitely carved painting, vivid and lifelike, yet forever an illusion.

  Nalan Xixi quickly left the room, a bit hastily.

  The room suddenly fell silent, with nothing left. A warm breeze blew by. The plum blossoms on his shoulders fell with the wind. Du Gu Han trembled. The jade pendant placed in his palm slipped and fell to the ground, making a piercing shattering sound.

  Du Guo Han suddenly smiled faintly. His smile was weak. His smile was sarcastic. His smile was bitter.

  Walked out of the courtyard, just bumped into Shangguan Hongye who was about to enter. Shangguan Hongye looked at Nalan Xianyu with some astonishment and stretched out his hand. Nalan Xianyu subconsciously dodged and turned her back, saying coldly: "The money will be sent over by someone."

  Shangguan Hongye's hand froze in mid-air. Nalan Xinnuo turned and left.

  The long staircase was like a rugged road that seemed to have no end. Nalan Xixi flew down with a fluttering motion, but after walking for a long time, she still hadn't reached the foot of the mountain. This road was the most detestable one she had ever walked on, and no matter how far she went, it remained desolate.

  There is only one identical step. Walking further and further away, can't see the way back, also can't see the end point. Can only keep walking down non-stop.

  Suddenly, a sharp cry pierced the sky. Nalan Xianyu stopped in her tracks and looked up to see a white eagle flying towards her with a package clutched in its talons. This time she didn't dodge. The white eagle flew into mid-air, each flap of its wings creating a gust of wild wind.

  The package fell into Nalan Xinnuo's arms. The white eagle flapped its wings and flew away. Nalan Xinnuo opened the package, only to find three small packages inside. Each package had a note attached to it, which read: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner.

  Nalan Xizuo's mouth corners slightly rose. She opened the breakfast package. Inside, there were only a few pieces of cheese. She slightly raised an eyebrow. Since coming here, she had never seen such things as cheese. There was also some high-protein and high-nutrition grain food. Lunch and dinner were also high-tech nutrient meals.

  She has some knowledge of nutrition for meals. In the past when she was in the army, as an elite unit, their diet was all matched by nutrition experts. Last time he gave her something, she didn't look carefully. It should be similar. No wonder after eating, she felt very different.

  Nalan Xixi picked up the package, and a green handkerchief under three small packages caught her attention. She furrowed her brow in suspicion. Holding the green handkerchief with her index and middle fingers, she took a closer look. Her brow furrowed even deeper.

  On that blue handkerchief, four words were embroidered with silver thread in a crooked and twisted way: Don't cry anymore.

  Nalan Xixi's eyebrows furrowed in distaste. This effeminate man, the embroidery is so ugly and yet he dares to show it off.

  She crumpled up the handkerchief and was about to throw it away, when another bird cry sounded in the sky. Her eyebrows were furrowed so tightly they seemed to be twisted together. The things he raised all had the same temperament as him - stubborn and relentless.

  She looked up. The eagle seemed a bit impatient. It flew over roughly. In mid-air, it made a 360-degree high-altitude spin...

  Softly falling down came a black shadow with a thud in front of Nalan Xinxiao, it was that little Zhu.

  He gritted his teeth and pursed his lips. Before he could say anything, the large eagle flew away with a flourish.

  Xiao Zhu saw Nalan Xinnuo looking at him and immediately put away his painful expression, stood up and seriously patted the dust off his body.

  "I just overslept. Hello. My name is Zhu Xiaolian. The young master asked me to go with you to get the money."