That wretched vixen has disguised herself as my wife!

Aqing nodded, holding onto the railing with both hands, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"Young Master He..."

She paused for a moment, then quickly changed her mind.

"I'm very happy watching it with the young master."

Chapter 126 Not in the Name of Personal Revenge

Jiang Jingming watched as the floating lanterns flew higher and higher, farther and farther away.

Fang Zhiyi leaned against the railing with a slight smile. Some sharp-eyed people on the street recognized her and cheered her name, the Rain Master.

"What's the name of the tune you played during the day?"

Jiang Jingming was taken aback when she spoke.

I initially thought she had been drinking all night and was already quite tipsy, but her tone of voice was surprisingly clear.

Jiang Jingming remained silent for a moment before answering honestly:

"Dream of the Western Continent, a piece I wrote in my childhood when I was still a bit naive. I suddenly remembered it today and felt that it suits you very well."

Fang Zhiyi lowered her head, her smile widening, her profile bathed in moonlight with a dreamlike tenderness.

"It sounds beautiful. I didn't expect you to be able to play the flute. It's quite a surprise."

Why the accident?

Jiang Jingming turned his head and stared at her.

"Don't tell you."

Fang Zhiyi ignored his stare and leaned on the railing, humming an unknown tune.

After a while, she spoke again:

"Who taught you to play the xiao (vertical bamboo flute)?"

"Don't tell you."

Jiang Jingming followed suit and also uttered such a sentence.

Fang Zhiyi chuckled softly, turned to look at him, her gaze tender.

"Alright, I just felt that the xiao was a desolate and bleak instrument, which didn't quite suit you, but unexpectedly, you played it very well."

"I learned it from my father."

Jiang Jingming thought about it and felt that there shouldn't be any risk in saying it that way.

"He's usually a rather unserious person, but when he plays the flute, he's like a completely different person."

“Musical instruments can also speak. Sometimes people don’t know how to speak or can’t speak at all, and music will speak for them.”

Fang Zhiyi leaned on the railing with one hand, her gaze lowered, and said with a smile.

So, you can play the piano?

Jiang Jingming suddenly remembered that Fang Zhiyi had once said that she used to live in seclusion with her parents in the Valley of Forgetfulness.

Fang Zhiyi studied medicine with the Ghost Doctor, and her mother would play the piano beside her.

"I've only learned a little bit."

Fang Zhiyi was so serious that it was impossible to tell whether she was being modest or telling the truth.

Jiang Jingming's intuition was that she was being modest, because it was hard to imagine that Fang Zhiyi could really stump someone like that.

"If I have the chance, I'd like to hear it."

"Okay."

Fang Zhiyi readily agreed.

Having received permission, Jiang Jingming continued to look up at the sky. The moon emerged from the clouds, surrounded by faintly visible starlight.

The feast of the Joyful Rain Festival came to an end, and the crowd gradually dispersed.

When dawn breaks tomorrow, Fengling City will be calm and peaceful again.

"When I was on the boat today, I heard people next to me talking, saying that they hadn't seen such a lively rain festival in many years, but there was a bunch of government lackeys standing around, which ruined the atmosphere."

Xie Yunqi rested his chin on his hand and spoke lazily.

"Hey, hey, hey, Miss, how can you talk about our colleagues like that!"

Lu Zhao was startled and quickly looked left and right, afraid that his treasonous words would be overheard by others.

"I was just repeating what someone said, I wasn't the one insulting them!"

Xie Yunqi glanced at him impatiently:

"This is our problem! We've taken over this place, doing nothing but disturbing people's peace and quiet!"

"The presence of the Divine Capital Guard here should have a deterrent effect on petty criminals, which may be related to the fact that the murderer has not made any further moves for a long time."

Jiang Jingming gave an objective assessment of this, although he didn't have much affection for the Divine Capital Guard either.

That's exactly what I meant!

Although Lu Zhao had become a fugitive, he still had a strong sense of collective honor as a member of the Divine Capital Guard.

He scratched his head, feeling there was still something he couldn't figure out.

"But Vice Envoy Chen's actions really puzzle me. He used to be such an incorruptible person. Would he really deliberately delay the progress of this case for his own selfish desires? No matter how I think about it, something doesn't seem right."

"Humph!"

Xie Yunqi snorted coldly, completely unconcerned.

"He's the kind of person who doesn't know the pain until he gets pricked himself!"

"Actually... Vice Envoy Chen was probably also pricked by needles, which is why he hates the Crossing Moon Sect so much."

Jiang Jingming thought for a moment, realizing he hadn't had a chance to tell everyone about it yet.

“The day we were arrested and put in the death row, I was called out by Vice Envoy Chen alone. At that time, he was very interested in my knife.”

At this point, Jiang Jingming took Wujiu from his waist and handed it to the young lady.

"I don't want it! I feel like this knife of yours is very eerie!"

Xie Yunqi shook his head vigorously, refusing to accept the offer.

Wen Fuxiao took it with great interest, stroked the blade, and nodded in admiration:

"Although I am not skilled in martial arts, I have seen many famous weapons. This knife is unparalleled in the world in terms of both material and craftsmanship."

"That night, Vice Envoy Chen said that this knife was handcrafted by his old friend, a renowned blacksmith. It was made from cold iron excavated from a thousand-year-old ice cave in Liangzhou, and was forged on a dark night of a lunar eclipse, exuding an extremely chilling aura. That's why the young lady found it eerie."

Jiang Jingming leaned against the railing, the moonlight reflecting on Wujiu, who remained as black as ink.

"Chen Sha's old friend...a renowned casting master...ah! The one who gave me the floating frost!"

Xie Yunqi opened his eyes wide and realized what was happening:

"So it turns out he forged both your knife and my sword!"

"Exactly."

Jiang Jingming nodded. Chen Sha had also mentioned this matter; it was he who recommended an old friend to forge weapons for the young lady.

"But ten years ago, Vice Envoy Chen's old friend died. I think it was probably related to the war with the Crossing Moon Sect. That's why he was so eager to start a war, because he wanted to avenge his old friend."

He paused for a moment before continuing:

"Miss, you should be able to understand how I feel."

"..."

Xie Yunqi leaned silently against the railing, his little face slightly puffed out, lost in thought.

Jiang Jingming suddenly regretted speaking to her so directly.

"I didn't know he was dead."

After a long pause, she finally spoke softly.

In Xie Yunqi's hazy childhood memories, the man's smile was gentle. After handing Fu Shuang over, he bent down and patted her head.

His palms were calloused from years of blacksmithing, but his strength was gentle.

"I hope you like this sword, Miss. Its name is Floating Frost. When you go out to fight for justice in the future, with Floating Frost by your side, you will have nothing to fear."

Xie Yunqi suddenly remembered what his father had said to him back then.

Such a good person died ten years ago.

Xie Yunqi lowered his head, feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart.

At that moment, she suddenly understood why Chen Sha had become increasingly cold and indifferent than before: because someone who was very important to him had died.

Suddenly, Xie Yunqi felt a pat on his head with a force similar to the one he remembered. Confused, he raised his eyes and met Jiang Jingming's gaze.

"I just want to say that maybe no one is wrong in this matter, it's just that people have different perspectives and can't empathize with each other."

Jiang Jingming gently patted her head and smiled reassuringly.

"So, the best option right now is to do everything we can to prevent unnecessary bloodshed and sacrifice."

"What an excellent choice."

A deep voice suddenly came from behind.

Jiang Jingming was startled and withdrew Wujiu, turning around.

The person who moved even faster than him was A Qing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a black shadow flash by, followed by the sharp sound of a blade cutting through the air!

"Den!"

The sharp weapons clashed with a resounding clang.

In an instant, Aqing had already stepped back, holding the hidden blade horizontally in front of her eyes, her gaze icy.

Chen Sha, dressed in an official robe, stood at the entrance of the pavilion and glanced at everyone with a cold expression.

He held the sword in one hand, drawing it three inches from its sheath, and blocked Ah Qing's fatal blow.

Jiang Jingming stepped forward, stood with his sword drawn, and shielded A Qing behind him.

"Vice Envoy Chen, it's been a long time."

"Oh."

Chen Sha snorted coldly, sheathed his sword, and stood with his hands behind his back.

"Long time no see, so you greet me with a blade?"

“Vice Envoy Chen arrived quietly, and A Qing did not know who he was. She acted too quickly and hopes Vice Envoy Chen will forgive her.”

Jiang Jingming answered indifferently, saying sorry, but there was no real apology in his tone.

The implication was that it was all his fault for acting suspiciously and quietly.

"That stab was no joke. If I had been even a fraction slower, my throat would be slit right now!"

Chen Sha glared at A Qing:

"You young girl, how did you learn such ruthless swordsmanship?"

"Hey Chen Sha, you bastard! Can't you be reasonable? If you had called someone to inform them properly before coming here, would A Qing have attacked you?"

Xie Yunqi also rushed forward in two quick steps, shielding Jiang Jingming and A Qing behind him like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

"What are you doing here! Are you planning to throw us in jail again?!"

Upon seeing Chen Sha's cold and unreasonable demeanor, the young lady's hard-won sympathy and understanding for him vanished in an instant.

"No, no, it's no problem at all."

Wen Fuxiao walked forward with a smile, waved her sleeve, and began to smooth things over.

"Guests are guests, Vice Envoy Chen. Perhaps you see us enjoying ourselves at the banquet and would like to join us for a drink?"

"Let's skip the alcohol."