Bamboo Chest Chapter Forty: Continuing the Journey

As Lu Yun and his companions stepped out of the bookstore, they spotted a plain-looking, aloof woman leaning against the doorway, as if waiting for someone.

"Well? Have you made up your mind?" An Luo asked, the corners of his mouth curling into a mocking smirk. If it weren't for the fact that the woman possessed a decent level of cultivation, he would never have allowed her into Qianjing City, regardless of the circumstances.

Feng Feng knew that the man already considered her a fool and would likely continue to see her that way, but she did not care. This city was too important to her; for its sake, she was willing to gamble everything. She had once plotted an escape to prevent the people of this city from being enslaved by a dynasty, hoping to lead them in a rebellion later, and she had once killed a man just for the sake of a city. In the end, she realized she might have been wrong.

"Care for a walk?" Lu Yun suddenly asked her.

Feng Feng was taken aback. She looked into Lu Yun’s calm eyes and nodded. Under An Luo’s inscrutable gaze, Lu Yun and Feng Feng walked along the main street. Feng Feng kept two steps behind Lu Yun, slightly offset. Lu Yun paid no mind, merely watching the street vendors and the pedestrians who occasionally offered genuine smiles.

"I once saw such a peaceful scene in another place," Lu Yun said to himself. "In my hometown, my sister and I were constantly bullied. I grew up believing that the world was just like that—the strong prey on the weak, the survival of the fittest, where killing and being killed were natural orders... until I went to that city. It was much larger than this place."

Feng Feng’s heart skipped a beat. She could not help but ask, "Where? Could it be a city in the Baiyuan Kingdom?"

Lu Yun turned back and smiled. "It was Qianjing City."

The young man’s smile was as faint as water, just as it usually was, but for some reason, Feng Feng felt that such a youth was easy to trust. "I only stayed in Qianjing City for a few days, but the people there, and the things that happened—I feel I will remember them for a lifetime. On the streets of Qianjing, merchants sold far more goods than here, yet they would smile and greet one another..."

Seeing the involuntary look of surprise on Feng Feng’s face, Lu Yun added, "I later learned that the place was changed by one man over the course of decades. The wilderness remains the same as it ever was; only that city is different."

"Who is that man?!" Feng Feng asked, sounding agitated. To think there was someone in this world who shared her aspirations!

Lu Yun curled his lips and, stepping aside, gestured toward An Luo and Song Lian, who were stealthily following them from a short distance behind. Before Feng Feng could lose her composure, Lu Yun said languidly, "His emperor, the former Crown Prince Yuan Mo."

Yuan Mo? That madman who had launched wars everywhere?

"Unbelievable?" Lu Yun laughed. "Do you know why he seems like a changed man now?"

Feng Feng did not answer, merely murmuring, "How can that be..."

Lu Yun said no more. He stopped in front of a vendor selling sugar beans. "How much for a handful?" He leaned down, observing the beans, which came in only two simple colors.

"One coin—no, wait, half a coin is enough, half a coin is enough," said the vendor. He was a sturdy, honest-looking man. Seeing Lu Yun’s refined appearance, he assumed he was a young master from a wealthy family and quickly stood up, bowing repeatedly.

"Then I’ll take a handful." Lu Yun pulled a coin from his sleeve and handed it to the man, then used a scoop to take half a measure, pouring it into his own hand. The man hurried to find change, but when he looked up, Lu Yun had already walked away.

"Sir! Your change!" the vendor shouted.

Lu Yun, chewing on a sugar bean, simply raised his other hand and waved it at the man. "If something is worth a coin, it makes no sense to only charge me half. That’s no way to do business."

Lu Yun walked up to An Luo and Song Lian. An Luo looked embarrassed and chuckled, "Brother Lu, what were you pointing at me for just now?"

Lu Yun glanced at An Luo, held out his palm filled with sugar beans, and asked testily, "Want one?"

"Sure, sure!" An Luo laughed, pinched a few, and tossed them into his mouth. "A bit too sweet..."

"You’re always making a fuss," Lu Yun said coolly. He then leaned down and held his hand out toward Song Lian.

Song Lian stared blankly at Lu Yun’s hand, failing to react for a moment. "What are you daydreaming about?" Lu Yun asked. Only then did Song Lian come to his senses. He looked into Lu Yun’s eyes for a long time before hesitantly taking one bean.

Lu Yun sighed, took the boy’s hand, and poured half of his beans into it. "Why are you so afraid of me? I’m not like An Luo."

"What’s wrong with me?!" An Luo protested indignantly. "I’ve been very good to him! I was just saying I wanted to buy him some new clothes!"

Hearing this, Lu Yun finally noticed that the boy’s clothes had been washed until they were faded white. "I forgot," Lu Yun said helplessly. "I’ve never really paid much attention to such things."

After all, the white robe Lu Yun himself wore had been taken off someone else.

"Shall we go now?" An Luo said, eager to try. After all, who could refuse the chance to pick out clothes for their brother?

"I’m familiar with this place. I’ll take you," Feng Feng’s voice came from behind. Lu Yun turned to look at her. The woman’s expression was complex as she looked at An Luo and said, "I will go to Qianjing City."

"You were meant to go anyway," An Luo yawned. "I might choose to ignore that signature you left behind, but you cannot ignore it yourself."

Feng Feng pressed her lips together and remained silent.

"Nothing interesting about her looks, and nothing interesting about the person," An Luo muttered with a laugh. Feng Feng remained expressionless.

...

The sun set. Lu Yun had changed into a simple black robe, which made him look much more refreshed. At his waist still hung that ordinary long sword. As he moved, the sword swayed gently, seemingly satisfied with his new attire.

Song Lian clutched his own sleeve, momentarily dazed. He looked up at Lu Yun’s back, then ran to catch up, walking side by side with him.

Atop the city wall, An Luo watched silently as the large and small figures vanished into the lingering glow of the sunset.

"I wonder when we will meet again after this parting."

"Are you very close with him?" Feng Feng asked.

"Even a fool could see that," An Luo replied, offering his usual sharp retort to Feng Feng.

But a moment later, the mood of this King of Luoze from the Baiyuan Kingdom suddenly dampened. He leaned against the parapet, resting his chin on his right hand, watching the sun slowly descend. He murmured, "Actually, maybe it’s not that close."

It seemed as though Lu Yun had never truly opened his heart to anyone. Lu Yun, it appeared, had always been at odds with the Baiyuan Kingdom—no, with the entire wilderness. Since Lu Yun had returned after disappearing, this feeling had only intensified.

An Luo did not know what had happened during that time, but he could guess that it likely had something to do with the Sword Qi Long Wall.