Chapter 46: The Peacock Flies Southeast (Part 2)

  "What is the Dark God, the Dark Fiend?"

  "The Dark God is the steward of the Dark Palace, and the Dark Executioner is its slave. Whether it's the Dark God or the Dark Executioner, they are both guardians of the Dark Palace, which belongs to the Yuan family. The master of the Yuan family is also their master. If a master cannot subdue this steward, how can he manage a household?"

  "But my second brother was different, he entered the Western Maple Garden on the first night and quietly took me and Minglie into the dark palace, killing the Dark Slayer who killed his brother, and also abolished the martial arts of the Dark God, throwing him into the Mosquito Lake. He chose a new Dark God and let all the Dark Slayers and Dark Gods know that the original family was still the master of this dark palace, they thought it was too early to rebel and establish their own sect." She said with infinite pride.

  "Those were the days, so beautiful. My second brother spoiled me, Minglang loved me, I liked to sing opera, Father was furious, locked me up and wouldn't let me go out to learn, but Minglang always secretly let me out. Sometimes when Father found out, Minglang would plead for me, my second brother also protected me, willing to take the punishment of being beaten with a stick for me. The day I married Minglang was extremely good weather, the sun was warm and cozy, the nanny said it was a rare auspicious day, I still remember that day outside was bustling, my second brother was greeting guests outside, while in the bridal chamber it was so quiet, Minglang lifted up my red veil, he kept staring at me foolishly, he told me, Qingwu you are so beautiful, even the stars in the sky would be shy and hide in front of you......"

  The candle flame flickers, illuminating her smiling face like a flower: "Favors from heaven are dense, and the fate that was sown in past lives is strong. The red candlelight only sees the passing of cups, and in the midst of passing cups, whispers suddenly arise. Hurriedly, without lingering, people are invited into the tent, where joy is like a dream. In the intimate moments, two hearts are as one."

  She was singing happily there, dancing swiftly like flying, water sleeves like a radiant glow, her eyes had already passed through the happiest years of life.

  "My eardrum started hurting again, and I couldn't help but cover my ears and say irritably: 'Then why don't you just live a good life with your Minglang, why did you come here?'"

  Damn it, she calls herself a widow, her husband Minglang must be dead. If I say so, won't I provoke her?

  As expected, her sleeves drooped down weakly in the air. She suddenly floated closer to me, with an icy face and no smile: "Tell me, how reliable is a man's promise?"

  Huh?!

  I miss Chang'an and want to tell her that some men's promises are worthless.

  I recall Song Mingwei, Yu Feiyan, Dai Binghai, and I want to tell her that a true man's promise is for a lifetime.

  I didn't know how to speak up, but she had already looked at me with a hint of resentment in her eyes: "A man's promise is just an empty word."

  Her fingers gradually applied force, pinching into my shoulders: "I've thought for so many years, but still can't figure it out. How could Minglang forget those sweet words, five years of loving husband and wife, yet suddenly become like strangers, forgetting you completely, and falling in love with another woman at the drop of a hat?"

  I let out a sigh of regret, it turned out that she was a poor woman who had gone mad because of love. She must have been heartbroken when her beloved fell in love with someone else.

  "My tone softened slightly as I said, 'You sing so beautifully, look so pretty, and are still so young. Your road is still long, you have such a good brother, not to mention that scoundrel Minglang has already left. You should forget him and find ways to make yourself happy, live a good life...'"

  Her hands clenched even tighter, a look of confusion in her eyes: "Who said Ming Lang is dead? Who said Ming Lang was heartless? He's just lost his way and can't find the road back home, that's why I came out to find him."

  She incoherently repeated that Minglang was not dead, not heartless, but just lost his way.

  "Ming Lang is being fooled by that cheap person, he's been fooled by the cheap person. I want to kill that cheap person and save him, save him... I want to bring him back."

  Suddenly, her eyes were filled with a mixture of shock and despair. She flung her water sleeves around me and dragged me forward. Where was this woman taking me now? I had a very bad feeling about it - she was definitely taking me to some terrible secret that I shouldn't be touching.

  However, her profile turned into a kind of crazy persistence, desperately moving forward.

  "I shouted loudly: 'Where are you taking me? I don't know you at all, and what's with this Second Brother and Minglang, I don't know you, why are you catching me?'"

  She ignored me, just grasping my shoulder and walking forward without looking back. In a moment of panic, I bit her pale wrist, but she seemed to be completely unaware, continuing on her way.

  I struggled in fear, blood flowing all over the place, mine and hers, forming a line. I gradually became dizzy due to excessive blood loss, finally softly giving up struggling, only vaguely perceiving the faint flame in front of me flickering on and off.

  After a while, her calf pain was almost numb, she stopped and let out a "huh?"

  "Second Brother has indeed altered the mechanism here?" She put me down, constantly twisting and tapping on what seemed to be an old lantern, examining it from all sides: "I remember that in the past this was the entrance to the hidden palace, why is it gone now?"

  She murmured a few more sentences, but my consciousness was a bit fuzzy, I'm so cold, I just want to sleep...

  It seems like I've gone back to five years ago, Biying was seriously ill, on a cold winter night, she coughed all night, I was both shocked and scared, with tears streaming down my face, I didn't dare close my eyes for several nights as I took care of her. It wasn't until nearly dawn that she finally fell into a daze-like sleep, but I had to get up to go to Aunt Zhang's place to collect the washed clothes. Standing by the creek, I was still half asleep, and even the icy cold water couldn't wake me from my drowsiness. How cold it was! That winter was so cold! It was so cold that many old women fell into the water while washing clothes and couldn't climb back up.......

  I also want to sleep... Auntie Zhou, don't hit Mu Ge anymore, let Mu Ge sleep for a while...

  But Mrs. Zhou kept scolding and kicking my legs, I struggled to open my eyes, the surroundings were dimly lit, a white shadow beside me was fiercely kicking me, it turned out to be that widow!

  I stumbled and crawled up, leaning against the wall to catch my breath. She finally stopped, looked at me coldly, but with a hint of anxiety in her eyes, "Where did Second Brother put the door stone? Why isn't there even a shadow of it?"

  Her eyes flashed with murderous intent, staring at me with venom. I wiped the blood from my mouth and said coldly, "Today you've injured me like this, my brothers and sisters will definitely avenge me."

  She suddenly burst out laughing: "You think that having biological siblings means the relationship is really good, you die here, never to see the light of day again, ten or twenty years later, will your good brother and sister still remember you?"

  "Indeed, my brother is the most righteous in the world, my sister is loyal and chaste, and my younger sister is beautiful and sentimental." I replied proudly, looking into her seductive eyes: "You can kill me, they will definitely avenge me."

  She gazed into my eyes, the firelight dimming down, and I couldn't see clearly in front of me. She seemed tired too, and leaned against me on the wall. After a long silence, all I heard was her saying softly: "My brothers, although they weren't born to the same mother as me, were very good to me when we were young. They would always share anything good with me. On the day I married Minglang, my second brother even went against Father's wishes and learned a folk custom, carrying me on his back to the wedding sedan chair. He said that even though I was marrying out of the family, I was still a daughter of the family, the sister he loved most in his heart. As long as I opened my mouth, he would be willing to do anything for me."

  She said softly, "Minglang is a martial arts enthusiast and an only son. After I married him, although he was very loving towards me, he spent most of his time in the training room. My second brother was afraid I would be lonely, so he often took me to the mansion to play. When Minglang finished his training, he would come to my parents' house to pick me up. But Father didn't like it, saying that no matter how good the relationship between siblings is, a married-out daughter is like spilled water and can't always return home. He said that even though the Ming family is an old acquaintance, they will eventually gossip about us. After my second brother married that fierce woman, he couldn't take me back to my parents' house as often. So, he would often send people to deliver things I loved to eat and play with to the Ming mansion. Minglang was a bit jealous at first, saying that my second brother was more considerate of me than he was.

  She laughed out loud, her low laughter filled with joy, melting her coldness and diluting her eerie aura: "Not long after I gave birth to Yang'er, Minglang came to find me excitedly holding a secret manual. He was so happy, hugging me and spinning around in circles, saying he had finally found the secret manual he had been dreaming of. When I opened it, it was indeed a rare and exquisite divine skill. Any martial artist who opened it would be captivated by its first page. I was also drawn to it, but this kind of martial art is extremely dangerous to practice. At first, I didn't want to agree, but he kept pestering me, sometimes calling me when I was asleep, sneaking out to take a look. I was afraid that if he practiced in secret, he would go crazy, so I agreed to practice with him, hiding it from his parents. I stood guard outside while he went into seclusion to cultivate. Minglang's innate talent is much higher than mine, so we always waited for him to master the skills before teaching me."

  "We, as a couple, focused on practicing the divine skill. After much difficulty, we finally passed the third level, and Ming Lang finally broke through... but...". Her voice suddenly became shrill and her eyes panicked, as if she had seen the most terrifying thing in the world: "He broke through, his martial arts improved greatly, but he's become crazy and stupid, unable to distinguish between people. He doesn't even recognize me, Qing Wu, the one he loves."

  "I was shocked by my usually kind father-in-law's furious scolding. I had never seen him so angry before. He loudly rebuked me, saying that as the wife of the Ming family, I did not follow the proper path for a woman and deceived my in-laws by allowing Ming Lang to practice the forbidden martial arts of the Ming family. It was clear that he wanted to use this as an excuse to divorce me. Fortunately, my younger sister-in-law intervened on my behalf, and I kowtowed until my head was bleeding all over the floor before my father-in-law finally stormed off. My mother-in-law coldly told me that from now on, I would not be allowed to see Ming Lang again. I had no choice but to return to my parents' home for help. My father, being a kind old man, knew that I was in trouble and took me back to the Ming family's residence to apologize, although they did not end up divorcing me. However, they were determined not to let me see Ming Lang again. My father comforted me, saying that I shouldn't worry, and suggested sending Ming Lang to our original home on Cold Smoke Island to slowly disperse his internal energy. But the island was extremely cold, and my second brother took pity on me since I had been in poor health after giving birth and couldn't withstand the wind and cold. So, he secretly helped Ming Lang escape from the Ming family's residence and arranged for us to move into a secluded house called West Feng Garden, saying that there were hot springs there that could cure illnesses and would be good for both me and Ming Lang, allowing us to disperse the divine energy sooner."

  "What kind of magical power is it that makes your Minglang become crazy?"

  Her eyes flashed with an unusual light, looking around cautiously as if to make sure no one was listening, before leaning in close to me. In those peach-blossom-like eyes, a deep despair was evident, yet her voice was filled with excitement as she whispered to me in a low tone, "Wú Lèi Jīng."

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