stonecrandall Chapter 128 Aftermath
Chapter 128 Aftermath
Chapter 128 Aftermath
Ding Mian's collapse silenced the hall once again.
Today, Liu Zhengfeng washed his hands, and he has been quiet for what seems to be the umpteenth time.
Everyone seemed used to this atmosphere, holding their breath to a minimum, their eyes darting around, and no one dared to be the first to speak.
Liu Zhengfeng was still heading towards Jinpen.
His back was very straight, and his steps were slow, but each step was firm.
He didn't turn around.
Chen Yuan lowered the gun, his gaze lazily sweeping across half the circle.
He didn't speak, he just watched.
Those Songshan disciples who held their swords to Liu Zhengfeng's family felt as if they had been splashed with cold water on the back of their necks when he glanced at them like that.
Someone immediately lowered their gaze and stared at the tips of their shoes.
Someone swallowed hard, their Adam's apple bobbing.
Some people's fingers, gripping the sword, began to turn white, not from exertion, but from trembling.
It's unclear who threw the sword first.
Clang.
With a crisp sound, the blade bounced twice on the ground and rolled under the table.
The sound seemed like a signal.
One after another, the sounds of weapons hitting the ground rang out, clanging, banging, and rattling, the sounds of metal colliding with blue bricks rising and falling.
Stendhal remained standing in the same spot.
He was the first disciple of Songshan to barge in carrying a command flag, and he was also Ding Mian's personal disciple.
He was still holding the sword in his hand, the tip pointing downwards, trembling like an autumn leaf in the wind.
He gritted his teeth.
"The Songshan Sect will not let this go easily. You just wait..."
Chen Yuan didn't wait for him to finish speaking.
Raise your gun and raise your hand.
"Bang."
Stendhal leaned back and fell straight down.
He landed on the back of his head with the same dull thud as Ding Mian.
His eyes were still open, staring at the painted beams, lost in thought.
The remaining disciples of Mount Song were like chickens with their throats being choked.
The threat was swallowed back down, and someone choked, swallowing saliva into their trachea, but dared not cough it out.
"roll."
Chen Yuan uttered a single word.
The disciples of Mount Song were as if they had been granted a pardon.
Dragging the corpses of Ding Mian and the other two, Liu Zhengfeng stumbled and crawled out of the Liu residence without looking back. He walked to the golden basin.
The clear water in the basin rippled slightly, reflecting his face.
He slowly immersed his hands in the water.
Ripples spread out, circle after circle.
Then peace returned.
"The ceremony is complete!"
The emcee's voice, trembling with the shock of surviving a disaster, echoed throughout the hall.
eaves.
A dark shadow flashed by.
Chen Yuan looked up.
The dark figure paused for a moment at the corner of the eaves; it was clearly a person.
The man looked into the hall, but his expression was obscured from the distance of several dozen feet.
Then he turned and disappeared.
Chen Yuan withdrew his gaze.
If I'm not mistaken, this should be Qu Yang, the one who befriended Liu Zhengfeng.
Congratulations then began to ring out one after another.
Some were sincere, some were just being polite, and some were still shaken, managing to squeeze out a "Congratulations" after a long pause.
Liu Zhengfeng returned the greetings one by one.
His smile was faint, so faint that it was like a piece of rice paper soaked in water, so fragile that it would tear at the slightest touch.
But it was also a true relief; after decades of shackles, they were finally freed at this moment.
He turned to Chen Yuan and bowed deeply.
"Chief Escort Chen."
He only managed to utter one sound, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times, his lips moving, but he couldn't produce a second sound.
Chen Yuan waved his hand casually.
"Take the money and do the job, no need to worry about it."
Liu Zhengfeng said no more.
He straightened up, ordered his servants to rearrange the banquet, and instructed his family to pack their belongings immediately.
The sound was very steady.
He was so composed, as if he were instructing someone on a routine household chore.
The Taoist priest of Tianmen had a complicated expression.
"Brother Liu, what are your plans for the future?"
Liu Zhengfeng looked towards the backyard.
Liu Jing's wife, children, and elderly parents were being helped out of the back hall by the maids. Her eyes were red as peaches, and her hand supporting her mother was still trembling.
His mother was calmer than him, though her hair was disheveled and she hadn't noticed that the silver hairpin in her hair had gone crooked.
They are all alive and well, and that is the greatest stroke of luck.
He said softly.
"Liu has no more ties to the underworld."
He paused for a moment.
"Once this matter is settled, I will take my family and flee far away to live in seclusion overseas."
"In my lifetime, I will never set foot on an inch of the Central Plains."
Upon hearing this, everyone sighed with emotion.
Yue Buqun nodded slightly, and gently placed the folding fan in his palm.
"That's fine too."
Someone whispered, "But... what about the Songshan Sect..."
Before the words were even finished, the atmosphere in the hall grew even heavier.
They had wanted to kill Liu Zhengfeng before, and after today's events, they're probably even more determined to fight to the death.
The thought crossed everyone's minds, and their gazes turned to the corner in unison.
Chen Yuan had returned to his original seat and was eating.
Liu Zhengfeng was silent for a moment, just about to speak.
A lazy voice drifted over from the corner.
"What's there to be afraid of?"
Chen Yuan raised his head.
"I always emphasize after-sales service when it comes to escorting people."
He paused.
"If the Songshan Sect dares to cause you trouble..."
"You can't hide from your family, even if they change yours, you won't lose out."
Everyone:”
'
Yue Buqun's folding fan stopped in mid-air; he forgot to wave it.
The Taoist priest of Tianmen had his mouth open, and he forgot to close it.
Master Dingyi's hand, which was twisting the prayer beads, froze halfway through; her thumb got stuck on a sandalwood bead and she couldn't twist it any further.
That's incredibly arrogant.
But look at the bloodstains on the ground that haven't been wiped clean yet. Ding Mian's blood and Shi Dengda's blood are mixed together and seeped into the cracks of the blue bricks, which have been stained dark red.
Then look at the bodies of those Songshan Taibao that were carried away.
Nobody can laugh.
Moreover, the Qingcheng Sect serves as a cautionary tale.
Yu Canghai, the leader of the Qingcheng Sect, vanished after the battle at the Fuwei Escort Agency. The Qingcheng Sect remained closed for three whole months, and to this day, no one has dared to ask, "Where did the leader go?"
No one doubted that Chen Yuan was bragging.
Chen Yuan didn't pay attention to the reactions of the others.
He cleared his throat, sat up straighter, and said with a grin.
"Oh, by the way, let me tell you something."
"I take on all kinds of bodyguard services."
"As long as I'm willing, the price is negotiable."
Everyone:
'
What is all this about?
Upon hearing this, Abbess Dingyi immediately turned her gaze to Yilin.
Yilin was staring at Chen Yuan.
His eyes were fixed on the plum tree outside the corridor, its buds just beginning to sprout.
There was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth, but it was unclear what he was smiling about.
Master Dingyi glared at her.
Yilin noticed the gaze and turned her head.
She smiled at her master, her eyes crinkling with a sweet, innocent charm.
Then he turned his head again to look at Chen Yuan.
Master Dingyi:
'
'
Is this girl going through a rebellious phase lately?
The banquet resumed.
The atmosphere is completely different now.
Liu Zhengfeng and his eldest son went from table to table toasting each other.
Although his smile was faint, it was a rare moment of genuine relaxation he hadn't shown in years.
Chen Yuan did not take his seat, mainly because he was already full.
He stood alone under the eaves, gazing absently at the old locust tree in the courtyard.
I heard soft footsteps behind me.
Chen Yuan did not turn around.
The footsteps stopped and started again, came closer and went further away, repeating this several times, like a sparrow that dared not land.
Chen Yuan sighed.
"What is it?"
The footsteps paused.
A moment later, Yilin peeked out from behind a pillar, holding a plate of pastries in her hands.
"Um... Third Master Liu asked me to bring this over. He said you didn't eat anything just now..."
Chen Yuan:
66
'
He was clearly eating the whole time!
Chen Yuan glanced down at it.
Four pieces of osmanthus cake were neatly arranged on the plate, with the edges trimmed precisely, indicating they had been specially selected.
Then look at Yilin.
Chen Yuan:
'
He reached out and took it.
The main reason was that I didn't want to hurt the good intentions of an innocent and romantic young girl.
Yilin lowered her eyes, her fingers twisting and turning inside the sleeve of her monk's robe, but she showed no intention of leaving.
"Is there anything else?"
"N-no..."
Yilin shook her head, then paused.
"have."
She raised her head, her clear eyes fixed on Chen Yuan.
"That night... outside the cave, you asked us if we needed escorts."
"Um."
"Then...how did you know we'd need bodyguards?"
Chen Yuan looked at her for a while.
"have no idea."
Yilin was taken aback.
"I was just passing by."
Chen Yuan looked away, took a bite of the osmanthus cake, and spoke in a slightly muffled voice.
"And by the way, could you ask something?"
The wind rushed in from outside the corridor.
A breeze stirred the fine, downy hairs on her forehead; those soft, unruly strands drifted around her brows, and she forgot to brush them aside.
She lowered her head.
The corners of her mouth slowly curved upwards.
No one saw it.
"That..."
She paused.
The voice was very soft, almost carried away by the wind: "Will you pass by again in the future?"
Chen Yuan paused for a moment while chewing the osmanthus cake.
He turned his head and glanced at her, looking puzzled.
"Little nun."
He swallowed the cake.
"What are you babbling about?"
He stuffed the last piece of osmanthus cake into his mouth, patted the crumbs off his hands, and walked out of the hall.
He took three steps, turned his back to her, and waved his hand.
"I'm gone."
Yilin stood still.
After an unknown amount of time, Liu Zhengfeng's voice rang out from behind.
"Young Master, where is Chief Escort Chen?"
Yilin was startled awake. She snapped back to reality, looked down at the plate, then at the direction Chen Yuan had disappeared in, and then looked down at the plate again.
Suddenly I realized what I had been thinking.
Her cheeks flushed instantly.
She didn't dare turn around, shoved the plate into Liu Zhengfeng's hand, and ran away in small steps.
"...Head镖师 Chen has left."
Mount Song, Junji Zen Temple.
Zuo Lengchan stood with his hands behind his back in the hall, his back to the disciples kneeling on the ground, staring at the huge map of the Five Sacred Mountains on the wall, without saying a word.
The reports had been silent for a long time.
The only sounds in the hall were the faint flickering of the candlelight and the barely suppressed chattering of a disciple's teeth.
"...Where are the remains of the three of them placed?"
Zuo Lengchan's voice was very calm.
"Reporting to the sect leader, the body has been... has been placed in the rear hall."
Zuo Lengchan turned around.
His face showed no anger, no grief, not even any expression.
But the disciple kneeling at the front lowered his head even further, almost touching the ground.
"What's that bodyguard's name?"
"Chen...Chen Yuan, formerly Yu Canghai of the Qingcheng Sect..."
"I've heard about the Qingcheng Sect."
Zuo Lengchan interrupted him, his tone remaining calm.
"You mean, this one person wiped out an entire sect?"
The disciple dared not reply.
Zuo Lengchan did not ask any further questions.
He slowly walked to the window, gazing at the vast sea of clouds outside, remaining silent for a long time.
Everyone inside the hall dared not utter a sound.
a long time.
Where is Liu Zhengfeng?
"They have already left Hengshan with their families, and their whereabouts are unknown."
"During their investigation, the disciples discovered that someone along the way had neatly erased all traces of him..."
"There's no need to chase after them."
Zuo Lengchan raised his hand.
The disciple was taken aback, thinking he had misheard.
Zuo Lengchan offered no explanation.
He gazed into the depths of the sea of clouds, where a flock of wild geese was flying over the mountain ridge.
"Go and investigate that Chen Yuan."
"What does the sect leader mean?"
"Since they are bodyguards, they are also merchants."
Zuo Lengchan's voice seemed to come from a very distant place, and it was impossible to discern whether he was happy or angry.
"For business people, as long as the price is right, it doesn't matter who they're protecting."
The disciple stood there stunned for a long time before he came to his senses.
He suddenly looked up at the sect leader's back, his eyes filled with astonishment.