Chapter 39: The Yue Hongling In His Heart

CHAPTER 39

The Yue Hongling in His Heart

"I told you not to run around. If this really were a bandit stronghold, how would you want to die? Lucky for you, these pits are fresh and haven't been lined with spikes yet—otherwise, it'd be a joke if Yue Hongling, the Second of the Hidden Dragons, died here. I wonder if the Book of Chaos would crash..."

Zhao Changhe was still sharp enough not to let anyone watch Yue Hongling climb out of the pit. He shooed everyone away before helping her up, and once back in the house, he gave her a thorough scolding.

"Other bandit dens don't have pits all over the ground like this! And besides, isn't this place exactly a bandit stronghold? What do you mean by 'pressure-wife'?" Yue Hongling gritted her teeth, ignoring the stabbing pain from her internal sword energy, glaring at him.

"What else was I supposed to say? That my room was burgled, and my men caught this reckless woman?" Zhao Changhe said irritably. "My dear sister Yue, you're injured, defenseless. A bunch of guys could poke you to death with spears. If I didn't call you one of us, what was I supposed to say?"

Yue Hongling was stuck, unable to argue.

Indeed, there was no rebuttal. She had to be called one of them. And if she was one of them, a woman, in his room—could he claim she was just a casual friend? That would sound like a cover-up to anyone listening, only earning a knowing "Oh~" and still ending up as the "pressure-wife" anyway...

"I didn't expect that one burst of sword energy to mess things up. When I sneaked in earlier, it wasn't like this... I shouldn't have ended up like this..." Yue Hongling's gaze turned dazed.

Great. My reputation.

I never should have come to this godforsaken place.

Zhao Changhe glanced at her sideways. His long-held impression of this woman had been completely overturned in an instant, but oddly enough, it didn't feel like a letdown—instead, he found it somewhat endearing.

"Alright, alright, don't make that crushed expression." Zhao Changhe handed her a cup of water. "Anyway, no one knows you're Yue Hongling yet. Just skip the bonfire feast, stay hidden in the room for a few days, and when you leave, who'll know who you were? At worst, they'll think I brought some woman from a brothel in town to play with for a few days."

Yue Hongling's face was expressionless. "If you hadn't added that last part, it might have been some comfort."

Imagining me as some brothel woman, hidden in your room for days of fun?

Go die.

Zhao Changhe was caught between laughter and tears. "Hiding won't work either. So what do you want, my dear sister?"

That "dear sister" twice in a row, dripping with mockery, was clearly a taunt—as if to say, "Look at you now, how did I ever blind myself into calling you sister back then?"

Yue Hongling was so angry she ground her teeth. "Get me a set of clothes from your camp. I'll put on some makeup and walk out openly to eat and drink with them. How many people in the world look alike? Why must I be Yue Hongling? Can't I be Lin Hongyue?"

What kind of Luo Qi...

"Changing clothes and makeup is doable, but not for going out drinking. You're injured, don't push yourself." Zhao Changhe stood up and patted her shoulder. "The makeup is so you can move around normally, go out when you want, fight when you want, without hiding. That's not the Yue Hongling in my heart. So that's settled. I'll find you some clothes. Someone left some belongings behind, and her build is about the same as yours."

Watching Zhao Changhe rummage through the cabinet at the foot of the bed, Yue Hongling's expression grew strange again.

The Yue Hongling in his heart...

What was that?

Soon a set of clothes was tossed over, still carrying a faint fragrance. "Rest up. I'm going out to drink with them. After all, it's New Year's. It wouldn't look good if the chief was thought to be holed up playing with a woman instead of joining the fun."

Playing with what woman!

So vulgar.

Nothing happened at all, yet these bastards talk as if everything did.

Wait, whose clothes are these? Why do they smell like a woman?

So this is really a crude mountain king who's had women here before!

Yue Hongling rubbed her temples in frustration, but watching Zhao Changhe stride away, she couldn't stay angry.

Interesting. He seemed to have a version of Yue Hongling in his mind, and when the real one didn't match, he was actually defending that imagined image.

Never mind that—first, I need to relieve myself. I'm about to burst. Yue Hongling's eyes darted around the room, and she rushed toward the chamber pot like it was an old friend.

...

As night deepened, bonfires blazed everywhere in the stronghold, the noise shaking the heavens.

The stronghold wasn't large—only three or four hundred men—but when they all gathered to drink, the scene was still spectacular, a boiling cacophony.

The chief's house stood higher than the square. Yue Hongling wrapped a coat around herself and stepped outside, looking down at the chaos below.

At the edge of the square, a large banner fluttered in the night wind, its characters faintly visible: "Act for Heaven."

Yue Hongling studied the banner with interest, thinking that these four words were often an excuse for bandits. But he didn't seem to be acting for heaven—he was walking his own path.

Her gaze swept the square and soon found Zhao Changhe. He was impossible to miss.

Zhao Changhe was holding a big jug of wine, drinking with everyone who came, refusing no one, his voice booming above the din.

"Is that all you've got? Are you even men? Drink up, stop pretending!"

"A drinking contest? Fine, fine! Great idea. Split into groups, I'll put up a prize. Winners get money, losers drink!"

"'Boss' doesn't sound good? Then what should you call me? 'King'? Don't be ridiculous... Uh, 'Chief'? You might as well call me 'Supreme Treasure.'"

"When will I break through to Xuan Pass Second Layer? Who knows? Who cares."

Yue Hongling even caught words about herself. Someone asked, "Boss, that Yue Hongling passed by earlier. What if she's still nearby? What do we do if a strong one like that comes to wipe us out?"

Zhao Changhe waved his hand. "No worries—I'll handle it!"

Yue Hongling: "..."

"Hey, boss, that woman you've got hidden in your room—the more I think about it, the more she looks like Yue Hongling."

"How many dishes have you had to get that drunk? If Yue Hongling were really in my room, would I still be here chatting with you? I'd be inside having fun."

Yue Hongling: "............"

"Of course, I'm not saying she is Yue Hongling. Just a bit similar. Boss, did you pick your woman to look like Yue Hongling on purpose?"

"So what if I did? Got a problem?"

"So the boss likes that type..."

Another chimed in, "No kidding, Yue Hongling is gorgeous. Ask anyone in the martial world—who wouldn't want to pin her down in bed!"

Yue Hongling: "............"

"Haha, well said!" A chorus of flattery followed. "I think the boss is worthy of Yue Hongling. Someday make it real!"

Zhao Changhe, who had been smooth until now, suddenly seemed flustered. "Drink up, drink up. Stop dreaming your damn dreams! If you can't hold your liquor, go sit with the dogs!"

Of course he was flustered—who knew if Yue Hongling could hear all this? A Xuan Pass Eighth Layer's senses were no joke!

Then someone even more clueless piped up, "Boss, if you got Yue Hongling, what about the Holy Maiden Xia... uh..."

"Damn it..." Zhao Changhe's face was red, whether from drink or panic.

A sharper one quickly said, "Boss, you should drink less. Your woman's waiting alone in the room... Forget Yue Hongling, forget the Holy Maiden—just idle talk, don't take it seriously."

Amid the laughter, Zhao Changhe retreated in disgrace. "Alright, I'm going back. Leave you lot to have fun."

As soon as he reached the house, he saw Yue Hongling standing outside, her beautiful eyes glancing at him with an indescribable mix of embarrassment and anger.

Zhao Changhe almost wanted to turn and run. She must have heard everything... And her internal sword energy wasn't always active—if she got angry enough to strike, he wouldn't last a single blow.

Fortunately, Yue Hongling didn't coldly say something like, "If Yue Hongling were really in your room, what would you do with her?" Instead, she suddenly smiled. "This pond is too shallow. Looking at the whole stronghold, you're the only one at Xuan Pass First Layer. I really don't get it—you clearly have ambition, a grand vision. Why settle for hanging around here? And your path is the complete opposite of the demon cult's. How can you stand it?"

Zhao Changhe let out a breath. This version of Yue Hongling was the one in his heart. Cheered, he answered seriously, "In the short term, it suits me... call it a safe starting point? The people around here at First and Second Layer are good for practice. With my current level, if I rushed into the martial world, I'd run into someone and die. As for the demon cult..."

He paused and suddenly grinned. "Only small fry have come looking for trouble, no real demonic experts, no bounty hunters. That's because I'm a Blood God Cult member... Not everyone dares to mess with the Blood God Cult."

"True..." Yue Hongling nodded. "You've only been training for less than two months. Your achievements are already remarkable... Maybe your aura is too strong—people always think you're a seasoned master."

She frowned slightly. "Your luck is strange too. Now you're wanted by the government, unwelcome in the righteous path. If you rashly leave the demon cult, they'll turn against you too. Nowhere to stand."

Zhao Changhe smiled. His path was indeed troublesome. He was suspected to be a prince; even if Chief Tang knew the truth, he couldn't withdraw the wanted notice—otherwise, it would raise suspicions and make him even more dangerous. In other words, until he formally acknowledged his wild father, the wanted notice would likely remain.

If he did not wish to take that path, then as things stood now, once he defected from the sect and left the martial world, he would truly be rejected by both righteous and demonic factions, with thorns at every step. This was also one of the reasons he had always hesitated to leave this small pond.

Of course, if he had sufficient strength, none of that would be a problem.

“So…” Zhao Changhe suddenly laughed. “Can I learn martial arts from you, Sister?”

Yue Hongling’s eyes flickered.

The two exchanged a complex gaze, under the moonlight, amid the clamor, like a frozen painting.

So it turned out, after all the twists and turns, it was still as if they had just met.

After a long while, Yue Hongling also smiled. “Alright.”