When they exited the city, the world was covered in snow.
There were few pedestrians outside the city in winter. The two left a trail of footprints in the snow as they left the main road. They slowly turned into a fork and headed for a small road with traces of horse carriages. At the end of the road was a villa at the foot of a mountain. It was quiet in the white.
When they reached a stone bridge, the two stopped out of habit. Jiang Lang asked, "Yue Yao, do you have something on your mind?"
"Hmm?" Yue Yao snapped out of her trance. The two faced each other on the arch bridge. Yue Yao shook her head in the end.
Holding an umbrella, Jiang Lang smiled and reached out to brush the snow off Yue Yao's scarf.
A blush flashed across Yue Yao's cheeks, and she shyly took a step back.
Jiang Lang didn't mind and continued to brush the snow off her neck. He looked into Yue Yao's eyes and smiled elegantly. "You do have something on your mind. Why don't you tell me?"
Yue Yao couldn't stand his gaze. She turned to face the still-frozen river. "Big Brother Jiang, did you hear about the wedding in the Imperial Garden?"
Jiang Lang's eyes narrowed. He chuckled. "Niu Youde and that Yun Zhiqiu? I heard about it. What about it? "
Yue Yao shook her head and sighed. "I just don't understand why one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Heavenly King Kou, would adopt a woman like that. And that Niu Youde, of all people, why did he marry that widow?" Although she didn't admit to knowing Yun Zhiqiu, her hostility toward Yun Zhiqiu was still hard to quell. Especially when she knew that her big brother had to take such a huge risk, she was even more indignant.
Yue Yao couldn't tell how she felt about this outsider. When they first met, they were nearby. At the time, both of them had disguised themselves. She had disguised herself as a man, and he as an old man. He was painting in the mountains, and she was investigating any suspicious people who approached. Naturally, she had to get closer to take a look. The two of them knew that he was in disguise. She tried her best to make him reveal his true appearance. After questioning and verifying, she confirmed that he had been living in seclusion on a cliff dozens of miles away for hundreds of years.
As for his identity, it still needed to be verified. Moreover, he was unwilling to reveal the truth and only told her to call him "Jiang Lang."
This was a point of the immortal dao in the outside world. Yue Yao did not dare to let down her guard against such a suspicious person, so she continued to keep a close eye on him.
Without knowing that she was a woman, the two of them became 'friends' and often traveled around together. Finally, there would be one. When Jiang Lang put his arm around Yue Yao's shoulder and urged her to drink, Yue Yao gave herself away. However, this didn't stop them from continuing to be friends.
Yue Yao decided to ask about Jiang Lang's background. Jiang Lang told her, "I won't ask about your background, and you won't ask about mine either."
Indeed, Jiang Lang never got close to Beautiful Waters Manor, nor did he ask Yue Yao about anything related to Beautiful Waters Manor. This attitude made Beautiful Waters Manor feel much more at ease. However, he also did not reveal anything about himself to Yue Yao. Just like that, the two of them interacted for several hundred years.
Men and women spend so much time together. On top of that, Jiang Lang's appearance was extraordinary, and he was proficient in the four arts. He was brimming with talent, and the longer one interacted with him, the more one fell for him. Yue Yao knew that she had secretly developed feelings for Jiang Lang. However, she didn't know if he had feelings for her as well. She believed that her appearance wasn't bad.
Otherwise, the two of them wouldn't have been able to walk so closely together under an oil paper umbrella. It was as if there was only a thin layer of paper between the two of them, yet this thin layer of paper seemed to be an impenetrable barrier. The two of them seemed to be cautious and vigilant because of their respective identities. At the end of the day, it was because they didn't know each other's true identity.
Yue Yao also couldn't understand why she would develop such feelings for this man. In her heart, she had always thought that the person she wanted to marry was her big brother. However, she couldn't deny it. She only wanted to marry her big brother. This goal had never changed. It had been her goal since she was young. However, she didn't feel the same shyness she felt towards her big brother as she did towards Jiang Lang. She also didn't feel this kind of joy when they were together.
She couldn't help but wonder if she didn't like her big brother. However, that didn't seem right either. It seemed like she had always been jealous of Yun Zhiqiu.
Of course, she also wondered if she was jealous of Yun Zhiqiu. It didn't seem like it, and she couldn't tell what was going on.
She had been conflicted about this for a long time.
However, as soon as she said it, she seemed to realize that something was wrong.
"Haha!" Jiang Lang shook his head and chuckled. "They're too far away from us. Aren't you worrying too much? Could it be that you know them?" His eyes flickered slightly as he observed her reaction.
Yue Yao also shook her head and chuckled. "With such a huge commotion, it's hard not to notice. I'd like to get to know them. I want to see what kind of widow the Heavenly King could adopt as his daughter and make Niu Youde disregard the lives of hundreds of thousands of people."
Jiang Lang smiled and asked, "So what if the commotion is huge? Does it have anything to do with you?"
"It does have nothing to do with me." Yue Yao found an excuse and sighed. "Perhaps I'm just envious of that Yun Zhiqiu."
Jiang Lang nodded in understanding. His vigilant gaze finally shifted away from Yue Yao's face and turned to look at the quietly flowing river. He sighed and said, "For a man to go so far for a woman, he's indeed the envy of all women in the world. It's not surprising that you have such thoughts." He turned to look in the direction of Elegant Waters Villa and said with a smile, "Alright, let's stop here. I'll contact you later."
He passed the oil-paper umbrella in his hand to Yue Yao, then leaped into the air like a lone swan and landed on the river. He leaped up and down like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water. His white fur coat fluttered in the wind, and his movements were elegant and graceful. Finally, he soared into the sky and followed the direction of the river, disappearing into the distance.
Yue Yao watched him leave with her umbrella. From the handle of the umbrella, she could feel the warmth that had been left on her palm after he had held her. It made her cheeks feel a little hot. She slowly walked through the snow toward Xiushui Manor, biting her red lips in silence.
When she arrived at the villa, she didn't go through the main entrance. Instead, she went in through the back door. In the courtyard, she saw Tang Jun pacing back and forth in the corridor with his hands behind his back.
"Senior Martial Brother!" Yue Yao called out as she walked down the corridor. She closed the oil-paper umbrella and shook off the snow on it.
Tang Jun walked over with his hands behind his back. He frowned and asked, "Why are you only back now?"
Yue Yao asked, "Senior Martial Brother was in such a hurry. Is something the matter?"
Tang Jun asked, "Are you with that Jiang Lang?"
Yue Yao was taken aback. Noticing that Tang Jun's expression was off, she nodded and said, "I wanted to investigate his background, so I had to interact more with him."
Tang Jun said in a low voice, "Junior Martial Sister, tell me honestly. Did he do anything to you? Is there something between you and him …" His expression and tone made it very clear.
Yue Yao felt a little guilty and rolled her eyes at Tang Jun. "What are you thinking, Senior Martial Brother? Before his identity was known, how could there be anything between us? I only interacted with him because I wanted to investigate his background."
"It's good that Junior Martial Sister understands." Tang Jun handed over a jade archive. "His identity should be clear by now. He's not a good person. Junior Martial Sister, you must be more careful in the future. Take a look for yourself. "
Yue Yao was surprised and took the jade archive.
Tang Jun explained, "After news of the pervert kidnapping Jiang Yiyi spread, we started paying attention to this person. This is a sketch of a fugitive from the Heavenly Court sent over from the shops on Heavenly Street. I didn't expect this person to be right next to us. "
Yue Yao gritted her teeth, her expression turning ugly. Although the pervert Jiang Yiyi on the jade archive didn't bear much resemblance to Jiang Lang, there was still a general resemblance. Especially the way he dressed, it was practically identical.
"Jiang Yiyi, Jiang Lang …" Tang Jun clicked his tongue and shook his head. "No wonder he refused to reveal his background. So he's actually such a shameful pervert. Now that I think about it, I'm still a little scared. Junior Martial Sister, don't interact with him anymore. Otherwise, you won't even know when you've been taken advantage of. If that happens, I won't be able to explain myself to Master. "
Yue Yao found it hard to believe. After knowing Jiang Lang for so long, she really couldn't see any signs of a pervert in Jiang Yiyi. She was also a little unwilling to accept this reality. She turned her head away and said, "I'll go ask him."
"Junior Martial Sister!" Tang Jun abruptly stopped her and said in a low voice, "Given our current situation, it's better to avoid unnecessary trouble. Forget it. Just don't interact with him anymore. Since we already know his identity and have ascertained that he's not a spy from the Celestial Court, we can relax. All we need to do is distance ourselves from him. There's no need to cause any more trouble. "
Yue Yao tilted her head and looked at him. "We can't. If he really is Jiang Yiyi, we have to chase him away. If the Celestial Court comes here one day to capture him, won't we be implicated?"
"This …" Tang Jun muttered to himself. His junior martial sister's words seemed to make sense. Suddenly, he heard a commotion. When he raised his head again, he realized that Yue Yao had already flown away.
"Wuu … Wuu …"
Cold wind and snow drifted in the air. On a snow-covered cliff three hundred feet above, the sound of a flute could be heard. It was light and ethereal. Jiang Lang, dressed in a white fur coat, stood alone at the top of the cliff against the wind and snow.
He was currently living in seclusion in a cave in midair at the bottom of the cliff.
A figure descended from the sky. It was none other than Yue Yao. She landed not far behind him.
Jiang Lang turned around and looked at her with the flute in his hand. He smiled and said, "We just parted ways. Why are you here again? You look so angry. Who offended you?"
Yue Yao asked coldly, "Who exactly are you?"
Jiang Lang's eyes flashed. He smiled calmly and said, "We've agreed that I won't ask about you, and you won't ask about me either."
Yue Yao asked, "What if I insist on finding out today?"
Jiang Lang replied, "Why force me?"
Yue Yao tossed the jade archive over to him. Jiang Lang caught it in his hand. After reading through it, he remained unmoved. Instead, he crushed the jade archive into dust.
"Yes or no?" Yue Yao pressed.
The dust in Jiang Lang's hand was blown away by the wind. He smiled calmly and said, "So what if I am? So what if I'm not? "
Yue Yao asked, "In other words, you admit that you're the perverted traitor, Jiang Yiyi?"
Jiang Lang's smile didn't waver. "I am Jiang Yiyi, but I'm not a perverted thief. It doesn't matter what others say about me. Have I ever done anything despicable to you? Just like that Yun Zhiqiu I mentioned earlier. Everyone says that I went to Nine Ring of Stars Heaven Avenue and that she's looking for me. But you know better than anyone that I couldn't have committed any crimes there at that time. "
Yue Yao was stunned. She realized that her anger had made her muddle-headed. She couldn't think straight. That's right. If he was Jiang Yiyi, how could he have appeared in Nine Ring of Stars Heaven Avenue? The two of them had been traveling together and had only just returned!
Her anger had mostly dissipated by now. She probed, "So you're saying that the perverted thief title was a false one?"
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