Chapter Eighty-Four: In the Thick of It

  Several girls watched as Lu Xuan's tall and straight back disappeared into the distance, humming a soft tune.

  They all looked down on Lu Xuan.

  Because they really couldn't understand, where did Lu Xuan's confidence and courage come from. In their opinion, the nobles and commoners in the world were as different as heaven and earth. And why the nobles were nobles was because they had been brought up that way since childhood.

  The confidence that comes from being pampered with fine clothes and food, and being waited on by a crowd of servants. But this Lu girl is even more confident than they are.

  So they really couldn't understand.

  They wouldn't understand that Luoyue's confidence came from her insight into all things, an insight she had possessed since she was hurt. From the moment she woke up, she felt that everything in this world was so clear and transparent. She even felt that many things could be achieved as long as she thought about it and made an effort.

  This kind of transparency, confidence and fluency from the depths of one's heart is called "Ti Hu Guan Ding" in Buddhism.

  Pointing to being infused with wisdom, making people thoroughly enlightened and awake.

  However, at that time, Buddhism had not yet spread to the Central Plains. It wasn't until several hundred years later during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period that in a text called "Dunhuang Bianwen Ji Weimo Jing Jiang Jing Wen" it was said: "When asked by Weimo, hearing his name is like dew entering one's heart, speaking together is like pouring water on each other's heads."

  Ignoring the snickering sounds coming from behind her, Lu Xuan arrived at the place where the vehicles were parked.

  At this moment, the sunset gradually sets in the west, and the faint night curtain begins to shroud the sky. On the horizon, a faint moon rises, with several stars dotting its side.

  Lu Yue tilted her head and blew for a while, but instead of getting on the donkey cart, she strolled around in a leisurely manner, circling around the crowd of vehicles once more.

  As he turned, a young servant ran over and bowed to Lu Yue after saluting her, saying: "Miss Lu, my master invites you to come and sit for a while." He pointed behind him.

  Lu Yuanshun followed his gesture and looked over, but on the hillside, many young men and women had already lit bonfires, gathering in groups according to their families and relationships. The burning flames shone on the faces of the youths, and the large cauldron cooking meat soup emitted waves of white steam.

  Lu Xuan nodded slightly and said: "Thank you."

  She took a step closer.

  As soon as he saw Lu Xuan walking over from a distance, Mo Yuan couldn't help but say: "This Miss Lu is really good-looking." Saying this, he glanced sideways at Wang Shang and couldn't resist leaning in closer to whisper: "Shang, what did you say to her by the carriage during the day? Why has your face been gloomy since we got back?"

  Wang Shang's face sank, and Mo Yuan smiled and said: "Don't think that everyone didn't see it, be careful or Atie will make a move on Miss Lu again." He paused for a moment, then curiously asked: "Ah Shang, this Miss Lu is quite good, isn't she? You and Ah Die both fell into the trap, what do you think of her?"

  Wang Shang grunted and didn't respond to him. His eyes, however, had already shifted to Lu Yue, who was getting closer and closer.

  Under the faint moonlight, a figure in silver-white clothes stood out. The beautiful young man was still quite eye-catching. As he watched her walk closer and closer, Wang Shang raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.

  Just as some people were waiting for Lu Xuan to come over, and some others were ready to make a move on her, Lu Xuan turned around and walked along a small path into the plain at the foot of the hill, following the small stream.

  Wang Shang furrowed his brow and called out to a guard beside him, "Go tell Lady Lu that the night is already deep, don't cause us any more trouble." His tone was extremely impatient.

  "Yes." The guard stepped forward and caught up with Lu Xuan.

  Looking at the two standing under the moonlight and saying a few words, their own guard actually followed Lu Xuan to continue forward. Wang Shang was taken aback, his eyes widening in surprise, then he let out a cold snort and said, "Really not like a young lady!"

  The person who makes others work is quite skilled at it.

  Only his attention was always on Lu Xuan, at this moment, Mo Yuan and others had already started chatting and laughing. The girls who were about 40 steps away from the crowd of young men also gathered together in a group, laughing. The beautiful women's elegant appearance attracted the young men to look over frequently, where did they still have the mind to care about Lu Xuan?

  Lu Xuan walked around the stream for two or three hundred steps before turning back to the servant and saying, "Shall we return?"

  The guard smiled and said, "This direction can be seen at a glance, what kind of beast with green eyes? Miss, you really made a mistake." ... Just now, Lu Xuan wanted to say that she saw a pair of eyes emitting a faint green light, suspected to be wolves. This guard didn't believe it at all, but Lu Xuan was very beautiful, and he was happy to accompany her for a while.

  Lu Xuan thought for a moment, then said: "But I'm still uneasy." She raised her dark and moist eyes to look at the guard and said softly: "Cheng Jia Da Lang, if I feel that something is wrong, can I find you?"

  In the darkness, her bright eyes shone with sparkling light.

  At the age of twenty, with a robust and vigorous complexion, Cheng Jiarang's face turned red, he involuntarily turned his head, blushing and softly promised: "As you command, young lady."

  "Thank you, Dalang." Lu Xuan lowered his eyelids and smiled.

  That night, nothing happened.

  Two days have passed in the blink of an eye.

  This is the third day after everyone set out on their journey. At this speed, it will take at most another five days to enter Chengdu City.

  It's dusk again. Looking at the busy servants setting up camp, Lu Yue, who had been restless for two nights, finally calmed down today.

  She no longer wandered around, and the girl named Xiao Yan who was on good terms with Atai sneered: Oh. Why are you so quiet today? Why doesn't some village girl pretend to be a general to inspect the terrain?...

  She had been holding a grudge since she saw Wang Shang quietly approaching Lu Yue, and from then on, whenever something happened or not, she would slightly target Lu Yue.

  Xiao Yan's voice had just fallen when another girl lightly rebuked her, saying: "A Yan, don't speak like that. She knows her own place and is finding an excuse to not be a nuisance to others."

  As soon as these words came out, several gege laughed.

  At this time, Atie called out from behind them: "Hey, what are you talking about? Don't talk about Ayue like that, she's all right."

  When they heard Atai's careless words, the two women who spoke first shook their heads simultaneously. Xiao Yan even pulled Atai aside and whispered to her ear.

  Listening to the sarcastic remarks of the women, one after another, Lu Yue sat by a bonfire with an expressionless face. She poked at the fire with a branch, and in the midst of the flames, a pair of black eyes like gemstones shone brightly.

  Seeing her so calm, the girls' anger grew even greater. For some reason, Lu's age was also about the same as theirs, but in front of her, they had a feeling that they were somehow smaller than her, and were being tolerated by her. This feeling wasn't just limited to them; many young men often sensed it too.

  This is not a pleasant feeling, especially for those rich and noble young masters who are used to pointing fingers at others.

  Facing the ridicule and laughter of the crowd, Lu Yue's eyes didn't lift once. Only when everyone had extinguished their bonfires and retreated into their tents to sleep did she quietly walk towards the donkey cart.

  These past few nights, Lu Xiang had been like this too, so no one paid special attention to her.

  The night is getting deeper and deeper.

  In the sky, a crescent moon shines brightly, on the ground, fireflies flicker everywhere, and in each tent outside, the flames of the bonfire dance with varying brightness.

  A group of black-clad figures appeared under the moonlight as new voices rose.

  There were about forty or fifty of these men in black. They wore black clothes and masks, and except for a pair of eyes shining in the dark night, each one was like being dissolved into the darkness.

  Slowly, they drew closer and closer to the tent, and as they approached, it was unclear who took the lead. Suddenly, with a swift motion, long swords emerged from their scabbards, reflecting the moonlight and radiating an icy blood glow.

  "The men in black are getting closer and closer." Closer and closer they crept, step by step, towards the tents belonging to the guards.

  The "caravan camp" was distributed in a ring shape, with the guards guarding the outside and the servants' tents in the middle. The young men and women's tents were inside. There were three circles, as long as the strongest outer guard was solved, the remaining people would be like meat on the chopping board, cut at will.

  At this moment, the tent was still quiet and peaceful, with the sound of poles rising and falling.

  A group of people in black clothes walked very cautiously, each step was light and gentle.

  At last, they were only twenty paces away from the lone tent. The leader of the black-clad men held up his icy sword to the moonlight and drew a mysterious sword pattern. As soon as he did, the footsteps of the black-clad men came to a halt.

  The leader of the men in black clothes made a few more sword moves, then suddenly thrust his long sword downwards and quickly rushed towards the guards' tent.

  With this move, he was like a tiger and wolf. Under his leadership, the faces of the black-clad men simultaneously revealed a fierce and cold glow. At this moment, a sudden "crack" sound of a shattered vase came out of the darkness!

  A group of black-clad men rushed out two steps and suddenly heard this voice, and they couldn't help but be shocked at the same time.

  Before they could react, there was another "whoosh" sound, and the person who had smashed the jar lit a fire starter. Immediately afterwards, the person casually flicked their wrist, and the fire starter flew out, tracing a beautiful arc in mid-air before gently landing on the ground.

  As the firecracker fell, a burst of crackling sounds suddenly erupted. In an instant, a dragon of flames sprang up out of thin air. The dragon spread rapidly at incredible speed, and in just a moment, it had piled up a sea of flames that separated the black-clad men from the tent.

  The originally dark land turned into a crimson expanse.

  "What happened?"

  "What's going on? Is it a false labor?"

  "Hurry up and wake up, something's happened."

  "Assassin"

  One after another shrill cry came from all directions, and in the blink of an eye, the guards rushed out of their tents. The sleepy boys also appeared outside their tents, disheveled and half-dressed.

  After a burst of noise, the awakened crowd turned their heads in unison. They took a glance at the opposite side of the fire dragon, where forty or fifty black-clad assassins were standing, and then simultaneously turned their heads again, looking towards the woods about a hundred paces away, where a tall, slender, silver-robed youth with skin as white as snow was standing.

  At this moment, the beautiful young man still held a lighter in his hand, and there were four or five wine jars beside her legs. Nearly two hundred pairs of eyes were staring at her body, but she was still expressionless, and the flames that rose to the sky made her cheeks flush red, and her dark eyes shone amazingly bright.

  In a state of shock, the first to regain his composure was Guard Cheng Jia Lang, who shouted loudly: "Those people are thieves, everyone quickly pick up your weapons!"

  The loud shout of Cheng Jialang startled the guards, who quickly turned their heads to grab their weapons. The maids also rushed out amidst the chaos. King Xiang and Mo Yuan simultaneously called out to the handsome young man standing beside the forest: "A'yun, what's happening?"