The Secret of the 55th Move

  The wedding of Han Xue dispelled the fear brought by Tian Hua. Moreover, with the arrival of my elder sister, it was as if a goddess had descended to earth. The soldiers all wore genuine smiles. I did too! Ever since I was taken away by Lin Jinghong's ship, I had never truly smiled like this before today! It turned out that this was the feeling of home! Wherever elder sister is, that is home!

  I'm no longer numb all over. Such warmth has been absent for a long time! I sat beside my elder sister, and everything felt like a dream come true!

  She cured all the soldiers of smallpox. When she took my pulse in the tent, however, her brow furrowed.

  "What's wrong, sister?" I said softly.

  She shook her head again and again. After a while, she said, "The epidemic in the town is not as severe as in the military camp!"

  I'm slightly shocked. It just occurred to me that since we entered the country of Feng, disasters have been non-stop, and almost everywhere I and Long Nuyue go, there's bound to be trouble! The plague! How can it spread so quickly? So many iron-clad men fell in an instant! The killing order from the country of Feng also arrived so quickly. Logically speaking, upon hearing that Long Nuyue was here, they should have stopped the killing order. But in reality, it's just the opposite! Therefore, the only explanation is that this plague is targeting us two! This killing order is targeting us two!

  It doesn't matter to me that they used poison, the key is that they almost hurt Hanshuo in order to move us two! I can no longer stay here! Get up and walk back and forth. My presence has already harmed so many soldiers for Hanshuo's sake! I can forgive everything else, but I will never forgive the prince for moving against my Hanshuo!

  As I stood up, my elder sister said coldly, "What? Have you fallen into someone's trap? In just a few years of not seeing each other, your body has become like this! Not to mention the internal injuries, but your inner strength has also been dissipated! The Guardian Sand is gone too! What kind of hardships have you endured all these years?"

  I thought I had gotten over those things, but now that big sister mentioned them, as soon as she opened her mouth, I found that tears had already taken a step ahead and fallen!

  Sister got up, hugged my head, and whispered, "It's okay! It's okay! Hanmei! Sister is here! Don't worry about anything, go back to Fenghuang Valley, go back to sister's side! Everyone is waiting for you! Mother," she said to this point, her voice choked, "Mother, she is also waiting for you to return to Fenghuang Valley!"

  Mother! My wailing cry is loud, alas! Mother! I didn't even get to see you off on your final journey! Lin Jinghong took me away to Jiang Guo! I don't even know where you're buried! Nor did I get to kowtow at your grave! I still remember the look in your eyes when you died, so unwilling to part.

  "So, where's Father?" I asked softly, a pang in my heart.

  She loosened her grip on me, turned half of her body around, lowered her head and whispered, "No news! Not a single message has been received! For such a long time, I have already come to my senses! But I won't regret it! Hanmei, will you blame me?" Her voice was very tense, with an unspeakable sadness.

  "Big sister!" I said softly. The words that were not spoken stuck in my throat, and I couldn't say them again. Six years ago, I had sent out all my investigators to look for Father's whereabouts, but he seemed to have vanished from this world, and there was no news of him ever since!

  Sister, wipe away your tears and don't say anything else. Help me with the acupuncture! Dr. Long Lie's doctor probably couldn't have imagined that my sister is actually the best doctor in this world! The so-called rare poison he gave me can be completely cured by her within an hour!

  "Hanmei, who is this Long Nuyue to you?" she asked, seemingly nonchalant.

  I hesitated for a moment, and then told my sister about the situation in Feng Guo and my current position. The more she listened, the tighter her brows furrowed. "How could it be like this! Hanmei! If the Crown Prince ascends to the throne, he will definitely make a move on you! If you can keep your innocence intact, he might give you a title! But now... Compared to before, Long Nu Jiao was actually better! At least he wouldn't constantly plot against you! And he's more pleasing to the eye! Since the Crown Prince is determined to test you repeatedly, why not surrender to Long Nu Jiao and let him die of heartbreak? No need to try anymore! You're already disloyal!"

  My heart suddenly felt clear and open, after being told by my elder sister that things were actually this simple!

  Now that I think about it, although Long Nuyue and I were previously in opposing positions, apart from the hundred lashes on the school grounds, at all other times, he was always maintaining my reputation!

  What a man! What a man! It's absolutely better to be friends with him than to be his enemy!

  I furrowed my brow and whispered, "Doesn't Ming know he's not the destined one, yet still wants to defy heaven?"

  Big sister laughed loudly, "What are you talking about! I'm a woman of the Ye family, when can we trust fate? If heaven's will could be measured, you two wouldn't have been taken away by that man! What we believe in is ourselves! You say he can become emperor, then he can! Fine! Since that's the case, give him an opportunity to see if he'll hand over his life to you at the most critical moment! If so, then he qualifies! Such a person is worth your help! Otherwise, kill him! Return to Phoenix Valley! How about it?"

  "Give my life to you? I recall, when he entered the Red Flame Island alone, he handed over the command to me. At that time, he didn't know whether I would return or attack the island, and wasn't he also giving his life to me? Not only did he give his own life to me, but he also gave the lives of all the Dragon Army to me! When we were at the Fuyun Inn, he could have left alone, but instead chose to fight with them. In the cave, he could have taken advantage of me, but listened to my instructions and sealed his own hole. He, wasn't he giving his life to me? When he wanted to leave the military camp, I told him we wouldn't die, and he said he believed in me! Ah! He had already given his life to me long ago, and handed over his hot heart to my hands, but I kept hesitating. Because of my identity, because of my own defeated body, I pushed this man out the door!"

  It's him! It's him! I had already determined long ago that the man in front of me is the true dragon son of Jiang Guo. Only he is the true king!

  What is the true dragon's aura, how can it compare to a real dragon among men!

  I slightly curled up the corners of my lips and smiled calmly, "Whatever you say, big sister!"

  The elder sister smiled and said calmly, "This is for the best! Now can you tell me what's going on with your Gu Gong Sha?"

  At this mention, my nose was sour, and my voice was choked in my throat. For a moment, I couldn't say a word!

  "Don't tell me you don't know who it is!" she said with a frown.

  I nodded. Tears, all of a sudden, fell down! "That day was very dark! I didn't want him to defile me, so I chose myself! Afterwards, I fainted! And on that man's chest, a blood-red plum blossom was imprinted, and the next day, the palace guard disappeared!"

  "She sighed, 'Whether I can succeed or not, I'll give it another try and you'll know then!'"

  I was taken aback. "What? What's with 'one more time'? Big sister?"

  She shook her head, "At first, I gave all of you the Guardian Sand because I was afraid that Cheng Xi would make a scene! But it wasn't good to say it clearly, so I had to give it to all of you! Including Xu Ri and Chao Yang, they were also given the Guardian Sand by Cheng Xi! This method can only tell if there's bleeding or not. To be honest, it's not that useful! Now I have a way, as long as you're willing to try, we'll know whether you really did anything with him that day. Do you have the courage to do it?"

  My heart is racing. The truth of that day is right in front of me, do I want to try or not? I'm surprisingly feeling so excited! My whole body can't stop trembling. Try? Not try? I never knew, once I had the chance to know the truth of that day, I would be this scared!

  She sighed and patted me on the shoulder, saying in a low voice, "Think it over carefully before telling me!"

  I grasped her hand, trembling as I said, "I'll try! At this point, it can't get any worse! I have to try!"

  She smiled slightly, "That's great, try it out and find that person. The divine dragon clan of Jiang Guo is very strange, they all have armor-like chest hair, only when they are truly in love with a woman can their chest hair be removed! With your current appearance as a man, it's absolutely impossible! I heard you say earlier that they seem to have feelings for you! Rather than relying on others, why not take matters into your own hands? Let the nine brothers all fall in love with you! Big sister will give you medicine, as long as they treat you sincerely and get close to you, you only need to use a little bit, combined with your current skills, believe me, you can definitely escape unscathed! Then, find that person and give him two options: one, go die! Two, get married!"

  I frowned and said in a low voice, "Yes! Big sister!"