Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 628 A Familiar Sound
It's normal for Wu the Big Guy to be able to provoke him.

Young Master Nan knew that Wu Jinliang had gone against Gong Shaoci for Duan Xiangmei's sake, which is why he stepped in to protect Duan Xiangmei.

The reason Wei Mo wanted Wu Jinliang to know that if Shi Chun did not surrender, Duan Xiangmei would be executed first, was because he had learned that Wu Jinliang was willing to turn against Gong Shaoci for Duan Xiangmei.

Since Duan Xiangmei has some standing with you, Wu Jinliang, and now that Duan Xiangmei is in my hands, you, Wu Jinliang, are naturally a good helper in putting pressure on Shi Chun.

Sure enough, Wu Jinliang got furious as soon as he saw it. He wanted to send a message to warn him, but he knew he couldn't, otherwise he would lose all room for maneuver.

The logic is simple: once they prove they've made contact with you, they might use the weakness they've exploited to force you to show yourself immediately.

For now, you can only pretend you didn't see anything. The other party will slow down their actions because they're unsure whether you saw it or not.

But this really made him feel uncomfortable, which is why he smashed the mother and child talismans in anger.

Upon seeing this, Shi Chun raised his hand and grabbed the mother-child talisman that had fallen to the ground, seeing its contents before they disappeared.

Upon seeing this, his breath caught in his throat. He was a party involved when Wu Jinliang and Gong Shaoci turned against each other, so he naturally understood the reason.

He sighed softly, "If you like someone, just like them. Why show it? We both came from exile. Enduring humiliation and surviving is as normal as eating. What's the difference if it happens once? I told you not to be impulsive back then, to just bear with it and it would pass. But you said you didn't want to bear it this time and insisted on going against the grain. Fine, you've saved face, but you've also offended people. Now your weakness has been exposed, and it's too late to feel bad."

"Sigh." Wu Jinliang squatted down, clutching his head, as if defecating.

He had shown off his power in front of Duan Xiangmei back then, proving himself to be a real man and winning Duan Xiangmei's gratitude and admiration. But now? He might be the one to kill Duan Xiangmei.

He can't possibly send Chuntian to her death just for Duan Xiangmei, can he?
He truly regrets his actions now.

Shi Chun tossed the mother-child talisman back in front of him and continued to stare at the messages that his old acquaintances were sending in turn.

After a long period of frustration, Wu Jinliang suddenly looked up and asked, "Spring, what's next?"

Shi Chun calmly said, "That slut may be a woman, but she is indeed more knowledgeable than us. She is right. With our strength, the only way to resolve this matter is to confront it head-on, which means to actively cooperate with the Dongsheng Royal Court to investigate this matter and prove that we have nothing to do with it. Now we only have two paths in front of us: either turn ourselves in or find a place where no one can find us."

Wu Jinliang paused for a moment, then drew circles on the ground, muttering, "Turning myself in is too risky; I might lose my life. Hiding, on the other hand, at least there's somewhere to hide..."

He paused here, not wanting to discuss the consequences of avoiding the topic, then looked up and asked, "What are you thinking?"

Shi Chun: "I haven't made a decision yet. I'm waiting for news from that slut. She agreed to help me sound out her cousin."

Wu Jinliang was taken aback. "Could her cousin handle things with the Eastern Sheng Royal Court?"

Shi Chun shook his head, "If we can't clear ourselves of suspicion, no one can help us, not even her cousin."

Wu Jinliang: "Then why ask her cousin to find out what he's thinking?"

Shi Chun: "If there's no way to clear my name, turning myself in would be suicide, so I can't turn myself in. And even if I could clear my name after turning myself in, I can't entrust my life to the conscience of the Dongsheng Royal Court. We've offended quite a few people, and I'm not confident in protecting myself. I can't turn myself in for your lover, Duan Xiangmei."

Wu Jinliang understood immediately. "You mean, even after turning yourself in and clearing your name, things might still be unstable, and you need to make sure someone can bail you out?"

Shi Chun nodded slightly, indicating that that was the gist of it.

Wu Jinliang stroked his chin and muttered, "The key question is, why would that woman cousin go to such lengths for you?"

Shi Chun thought to himself, "Do you think I'm giving this away for nothing? I've already become that woman's man. If her lover is in trouble, shouldn't that woman do her part?"

However, he said something else entirely: "Having one more backup plan is better than having one less. It's a matter of life and death, and I won't rely on that woman's family."

Wu Jinliang's eyes lit up slightly, and he had already guessed who he would find to back him up. He immediately perked up, crawled down to kneel next to Shi Chun, and rubbed his hands together, saying, "In other words, the most important thing now is to figure out how to clear your name?"

Shi Chun nodded. "Before that, we need to resolve the matter of Huang Yingying's family first. That woman promised to help, so we need to wait for her news before making a decision."

The topic suddenly shifted to the Golden Rat Clan. Wu Jinliang immediately knew that the plan to clear his name was to start from the Divine Mountain. He wanted to ask more questions, but remembering that Yu Xuanbing was right there, he didn't delve any deeper.

Shi Chun's gaze, which had been fixed on the mother-child talisman, suddenly sharpened. An unexpected name appeared in the message: Gu Lianni. This woman had actually been invited to persuade him to turn himself in...

That night, the library closed. After having dinner with Dong Wenshu's family, the woman in red returned to her room to rest.

Once the door closed, she took out the mother-child talisman and sent a meeting message to Shi Chun. Then, she tore through the void, flashed inside, and disappeared along with the void.

She reappeared on a high mountain ridge, sitting alone on the edge of a cliff, enjoying the breeze, drinking wine, and admiring the moon, her eyes filled with the beauty of solitude and relaxation.

A gentle breeze came like a dream, ruffling her hair, while below, the grassland rippled with waves of grass reflecting the moonlight.

Shi Chun arrived riding on wind scales, and by the time he found a spot to land, he was already quite late.

The woman in red tilted her head and smiled at him, the ambiguity in her smile seeming to reflect the shadow of last night. She grabbed a wine jar and tossed it casually, silently offering him a drink. Shi Chun, about to speak, was caught off guard and hastily caught it. He then walked to the edge of the cliff and sat down, swinging his feet over the steep slope. He looked up, took a swig of wine, and savored the taste of the moon. Turning to the woman beside him, seeing her radiant smile, he smiled back and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

The woman in red shook her head slightly. What else could she be laughing at? She was laughing at the distance between the two of them. Before, this guy would get close and touch her at the drop of a hat. Now, it's so easy for him to get his hands on her, yet they sit together with an arm's length between them.

Last night I was so eager, but now I'm suddenly as detached from worldly desires as a virtuous gentleman.

The change was so drastic that it was somewhat unexpected, but after understanding it, one couldn't help but smile.

Shi Chun didn't like wine, or rather, he was a person with no hobbies at all. He would only take a small sip of the wine and then hand the wine jar back to the other person.

The woman in red took another swig of the drink, enjoying the gentle breeze in her face. The wind made the flower petals flutter as if they were about to take flight into the starry sky.

It was beautiful, but Shi Chun wasn't in the mood for such things and was more concerned with important matters, so he took the initiative to ask, "Ruojun, what did your uncle say?"

Just then, the wind stopped, and the woman in red raised her slender neck and forcefully exhaled a cloud of alcohol mist into the air. The mist then fell on the two of them, leaving them both reeking of alcohol.

She then said softly, "Don't worry, if you can clear your name and prove that you didn't do it, your uncle thinks it's not a big problem and has agreed to help."

Shi Chun hurriedly asked, "Are you sure it's reliable?"

The woman in red looked up at the starry sky again and asked, "Would I joke with your life? Don't worry, if you didn't do it, nothing will happen. Bai Qiru, the people in Dazhi City have already been released. As for the Phoenix Clan, my uncle has sent people to communicate with them. If nothing unexpected happens, the Golden-haired Rat Clan will be released tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Shi Chun immediately beamed with joy.

Before he could even utter a word of flattery, the woman in red patted the ground, gesturing, "Lie down."

Not again? Shi Chun's heart tightened. He looked around and said with difficulty, "Isn't it inappropriate to sit on the ground in the open?"

The woman in red scoffed, a hint of disdain in her voice, and then clapped her hands.

Well, having no other choice, Shi Chun slowly lay down.

The woman in red moved her legs and sat down next to him. She picked up the wine pot with one hand, patted his face with the other, opened her mouth, and gestured for Shi Chun to open his mouth as well.

Shi Chun glanced at the wine jar she was about to tip over and realized something. Although unwilling, he still tried to open his mouth to cooperate, since he needed her help. Immediately, a stream of water poured out of the wine jar and fell accurately into his mouth.

They keep pouring it in.

So Shi Chun had no choice but to perform a drinking method where he gulped down the alcohol without closing his mouth.

Halfway through, the woman in red smiled and stopped, then kissed the mouth of the jar and drank it all herself.

Just as Shi Chun finished swallowing the wine in his mouth, the woman in red suddenly grabbed his chin and pried open his mouth. Before he could react, his limbs twitched, and the woman in red's head was already right in front of his face. She opened her mouth and let out a stream of water, which was then poured into his mouth.

The woman in red gestured for him to drink it, then poured it into the jar herself before turning around and letting Shi Chun drink it.

After repeating this several times, she swallowed the last sip of wine, then casually tossed the wine jar aside. She leaned down and kissed Shi Chun on the lips, gulping down the wine into his mouth. Shi Chun kicked his legs and pounded the ground, clearly begging her to stop. When she refused, he could only lie flat and cooperate.

After forcing Shi Chun to drink all of her mouthwash, she smiled, turned around, and lay down, using Shi Chun's belly as a pillow. She looked slightly tipsy and breathed out alcohol.

Shi Chun reached out and touched her face, but she brushed it away in disgust.

Shi Chun reached out and plucked the big red flower from her temple, held it to her nose and gently smelled its fragrance. She was also a little curious, as the big red flower was a real flower that she always wore and that never withered.

He was about to ask if she wore a different one every day when he saw the woman in red pull out a bamboo flute.

Suddenly, the mournful sound of a flute rose into the air, blending into the night, sobbing and melodious, light and ethereal yet tinged with a touch of sadness.

It sounded quite nice, and given the situation, Shi Chun simply enjoyed it; it was better than having someone take off their clothes again. However, as he listened, something felt off. The tune sounded familiar, though he hadn't heard many pieces of music. After a few moments of mental activity, he suddenly remembered what the piece was, realizing he had been misled by the instrument. He abruptly sat up.

This naturally disturbed the woman in red's enjoyment. She sat up and turned to look at him with a frown, slightly annoyed, asking, "What's wrong?"

Shi Chun said, "No, I think I've heard this piece before."

The woman in red was taken aback, then chuckled and shook her head. "You must be mistaken. You're just a hoodlum from a place of exile. What do you know about music? Only two people know this piece: the composer and me. This piece was composed specifically for me by the former. The former is no longer here. Where are you going to hear it?"

Shi Chun thought for a moment and said suspiciously, "Did I hear wrong? It seems that only the instrument is different. I heard a flute before."

As he spoke, he took out the black lotus magic weapon, cast a spell, and threw it into the air. After the magic weapon transformed into a majestic black lotus image and landed, he got up and gestured, "Ruojun, try blowing on it again."

(End of this chapter)