Five years later
In the East City Lord's Mansion, Yuwen Jin threw away the letter sent by Nancheng, his face full of depression, "It's over, it's over, what should I do now, do I really have to hand over the things? We have always been at odds with East City and South City, and this time they want our East City's treasure, Mi Tuo Sheng. If I really give it away, wouldn't it be so embarrassing? My eldest brother and my father will be so angry that they will come back to life and beat me to death. Ah Ming, what do you think I should do?"
Duan Ming, who was sitting next to him, took his tea slowly and sipped it. He glanced at him and said, "You are now the Lord of East City after all. Why are you still so flustered all the time?"
Yuwen Jin was angry: "You know the Lord of South City is extremely shameless. If I don't give it to him, he will hire assassins to kill me and force me to give it to him. How can I not panic?"
"Speaking of killers, don't you know someone? Why don't you ask him to protect you?" Duan Ming said.
Yuwen Jin was stunned and scratched his head: "Are you talking about Xun?"
Duan Ming: "It's him. If you hadn't saved his life five years ago, he would have died in the snow. With this kind of friendship, he will never ignore you."
Yuwen Jin was a little embarrassed: "He helped me deal with the rebellion in East City and helped me ascend to the position of city lord. I have already repaid him. It would be too bad for me to ask for more return."
Duan Ming sneered, "Stupid, who told you to repay a favor? Xun became famous in the martial arts world when he was young. As the number one killer in the Refining Domain, countless people feared him. Although he has gradually faded into obscurity, he broke into North City three years ago and seriously injured the Lord of North City, Xiahou Xuanyu, and his reputation has soared. His martial arts skills are probably even more unfathomable now. Although I have never seen him, I know his personality and behavior. You have this connection with him, so you can be considered a friend. Isn't it natural to help a friend a little?"
Yuwen Jin hesitated: "But..."
Duan Ming couldn't stand his indecision, "But what? Look at how useless you are. I didn't ask you to do anything bad. Just treat it as a gathering of friends and invite him to live in East City for a while. As long as there is such a killing god, it can protect the house. Then you don't have to worry about assassinations from South City."
Although Yuwen Jin was good at business and East City was prosperous under his rule, East City was still inferior to the other three cities in terms of top military power. In particular, Yuwen Jin was young and had taken over the position of city lord in a hurry. There was no one with strong martial arts skills around him whom he could fully trust. Duan Ming gave him this idea because he got along well with him.
Yuwen Jin thought for a moment and said, "Brother Xun... I only know that he was still in Mobei a few months ago. He would come back to worship his wife every year, and it would be hard to find him at other times. I saw him last winter when he came back to worship, but it was a pity that you had returned home at that time, so we didn't get to see him."
Duan Ming shook his head. "It's fine if we meet. I'm most afraid of those silent, lonely and weird swordsmen. I'm happier to be friends with a talkative little fool like you. But what you said about his wife makes me curious. I haven't heard anything about his wife. Why don't you tell me about her?"
"Actually, I don't really know." Yuwen Jin thought of the day five years ago. He had heard that there was a novel Northern Kabuki stage performance in Langcheng and was going to watch it. However, it suddenly started snowing when he was halfway there. The road was almost invisible due to the heavy snow. When he passed near Hammer, the guards came to report that corpses were found in a field ahead and many of the corpses were wearing clothes with the emblem of the Lord of North City.
Yuwen Jin was not good at martial arts, but he was very curious. He found this thing strange and ran to see it.
When he saw Xun, he was sitting there half-kneeling, with a thin layer of white snow on his body, his eyes closed like a dead statue, and in his arms he was holding a woman whose face he couldn't see clearly.
Yuwen Jin was attracted by the appearance of the two people, and he went forward to take a look. He found Xun's face familiar, and remembered that he was a big brother who had saved him before and only took a small reward. So he sighed with regret and asked someone to collect his body without saying a word. But his men reported that the man was not dead and was still breathing, but the woman in his arms was already dead.
Yuwen Jin took the man back for treatment, but because he couldn't separate the two, he had to take the woman's body back with him as well.
Later, the man woke up soon, hugged the corpse and refused anyone to approach him, without saying a word. When his condition improved a little, he suddenly disappeared one day with the corpse. He came back half a month later, but the corpse was gone.
Then Yuwen Jin realized that he was Xun, and the dead woman was his wife.
"In fact, I couldn't see what the woman looked like. She was covered in blood at the time, and Brother Xun didn't want to let go for a moment, nor would anyone get close to her. His knife was so cold, and it was as easy as chopping melons and vegetables to cut people. I didn't dare to take the risk." Yuwen Jin still felt a lingering fear when he thought of the situation back then, and touched his nose.
Seeing his friend's mocking expression, Yuwen Jin added: "Although Brother Xun has a terrible reputation, he actually has a good personality. Apart from being a bit quiet and having a cold and scary look, he is quite easy to get along with and has helped me a lot."
Finally, Yuwen Jin sent the letter with a try-it attitude, and he actually received a reply, saying that it would arrive in Dongcheng soon. Yuwen Jin was overjoyed and waited in his mansion every day, almost waiting until his eyes got tired, which made his good friend Duan Ming shake his head.
Yuwen Jin said confidently, "What's wrong with being afraid of death?"
Duan Ming: "You are probably the most cowardly mayor in the history of East City."
Yuwen Jin didn't care and said proudly: "He is also the city lord who can make the most money!"
The steward of the mansion suddenly came over quickly, "City Lord, the distinguished guest you asked to welcome has arrived."
Yuwen Jin: "Brother Xun is here already? Haha, I'll go and welcome Brother Xun right away, and please, A Ming, make us a pot of good tea!"
Duan Ming: "Why drink tea? Let's drink wine directly." He ordered the steward, "Go and dig out those jars of fine wine that your city lord has hidden."
When Yuwen Jin was halfway there, he saw the man brought in by the waiter. He looked similar to the man he had seen last winter, still covered in the cold wind and frost, wearing the most common cloak in Mobei, holding a black knife with a wooden sheath, looking dusty and out of place in this prosperous and magnificent East City Lord's Mansion.
Yuwen Jin smiled and greeted him, calling him Brother Xun warmly, "Brother Xun, please, I'd like to trouble you to stay here for a few more days. I would also like to introduce a friend to you..."
The two men walked through the corridor and came to the courtyard in the backyard. Yuwen Jin suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned his head and found that Xun had stopped at some point. His eyes were on the newly planted pear tree in the yard.
It was April, the pear blossoms were in full bloom, and the trees were covered with snow. When the wind blew, the white pear blossoms fluttered in the air like snow, falling on the corridor and at Xun's dusty feet.
Xun didn't move for a long time. Yuwen Jin didn't understand why, so he walked over carefully and asked, "Brother Xun, what's wrong? Do you like the pear blossoms on this tree?"
He thought Xun would not answer, but he actually spoke. It seemed that he had not spoken for a long time, and his voice was hoarse and slow. "I also planted pear trees in front of her grave, but they never bloomed."
Yuwen Jin paused. He almost immediately understood that the "she" in Brother Xun's words referred to his dead wife. Yuwen Jin didn't know where he buried his wife, so he could only think about it and said, "Perhaps, the place is not suitable. The soil and climate will affect the flowering."
Xun finally turned his head and continued walking forward. Yuwen Jin hurriedly chased after him, secretly wondering in his heart that Brother Xun actually liked Lihua.
At the same time, in the South City, far away from the East City, in a courtyard behind the City Lord's Mansion, a pale young woman was supported by a maid and walked out of the room carefully. She came to the soft chair placed outside and was helped to sit down.
The woman was beautiful, but unfortunately she was thin, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness. Her fair skin shone brightly in the sunlight, and her long eyelashes trembled, covering her slightly lighter eyes.
She leaned back in the soft chair, her expression calm and silent. The maids were waiting by her side, awaiting her instructions.
Several maids holding makeup boxes and new cloths saw this scene from afar in the corridor. One of them couldn't help but sigh: "The sun is so bright today, and the flowers in the courtyard are blooming. They were all planted by the young lady before the accident. If she could see it, she would be very happy."
Another maid bumped her arm and said, "Don't say such things. If anyone hears you, you will be punished!"
Everyone in the South City Lord's Mansion knew that Miss Nangong Qin, who had been in a coma for several years due to poison, finally woke up a few days ago. This was a good thing, but unfortunately the remaining poison in her body had not been cleared, causing her to become blind and unable to see. The genius doctor specially invited by the City Lord said that the unique honeysuckle of East City must be used as a medicine to completely eliminate the remaining poison. For this reason, the City Lord sent letters to East City Lord Yuwen Jin several times, but no good news has been received so far.
Nangong Qin had been sleeping for several years. Even though she had been taking all kinds of precious medicines, her body was still weak after waking up. The maids carefully served her and did not dare to neglect her, let alone talk about her eyes in front of her.
A tall figure walked in from outside the courtyard, and the servants bowed their heads and saluted, "City Lord."
Nangong Xian, the Lord of Nancheng, strode to Nangong Qin's side, his square face full of love, "Qin'er, do you feel better today?"
Nangong Qin opened her empty eyes and whispered, "My niece is much better now, uncle, don't worry."
Nangong Xian, the Lord of Nancheng, is Nangong Qin's uncle. He has loved this niece whose parents died early since she was a child. There was a rumor in the city that Nangong Qin was not the biological daughter of the previous Lord of Nancheng, but the daughter of the affair between his uncle Nangong Xian and his eldest sister-in-law. Therefore, Nangong Xian loved her like his own daughter.
"Don't worry, Qin'er, your uncle will definitely cure your eyes." Nangong Xian visited his niece and said this. He then told the servants to take good care of her before leaving in a hurry again.
Nangong Qin sat in the sun, undisturbed by anyone. She could not see the surrounding scene, but she could smell the scent of various flowers, and the wind blew unknown petals that happened to fall into her hands.
She held the soft petal in her hand, but felt an indescribable anxiety in her heart.
I don’t know how her Xunnu is doing now.
In her memory, she was punched through the chest by Xiahou Xuanyu and should have been dead. But a few days ago, she suddenly woke up and thought she was lucky enough to survive. There was no trace of wound on her chest, and everyone around her called her Miss. She realized something was wrong and found out her current identity after careful investigation. She turned out to be Nangong Qin, the number one vicious female supporting role in the original novel, the male protagonist's white moonlight in the early and middle stages, and the female protagonist's twin sister.
The author has something to say: It's only eleven chapters, and no important characters from the original novel have appeared, and it doesn't end in a happy ending, and there's no mention of 'this short story is over'. Brother, how did you infer that it's over
Oh, by the way, there will be another update at nine o'clock in the evening.