The Banner of Desire - Chapter 22, Living and Dying Together

page views:1 Publication date:2023-03-22 08:11:54

Along the way, they were repeatedly ambushed, but fortunately, Sima Wanqing and Duan Yuhan cooperated well, first intimidating and then persuading, and successively won over some more men. Meanwhile, Hu Tian's confidants, who were mixed in with the various groups of men and attempted to return to report the news, were all captured.
Duan Yuhan looked at the growing team behind him, smiled brightly, and whispered in Sima Wanqing's ear, "Don't you think everything is going too smoothly?"
"It went more smoothly. Perhaps Hu Tian was too arrogant and didn't expect you to still be alive." A strange sweetness welled up in her heart. She felt his warm lips brush against her ear like a feather, but she turned her face slightly to avoid it. "Or perhaps he deliberately led us in to lower our guard, and the real killing move was in Wanyintang."
Gradually, the magnificent Wanyin Hall came into view, gleaming in the brilliant early summer sunlight. He led her men onto horseback and chuckled, "Let's go over there."
She remained noncommittal, letting him lead her as they walked calmly side-by-side towards the Hall of Ten Thousand Mutenesses. A sudden east wind arose, whipping her silky black hair into a frenzy, her lake-blue sleeves billowing like butterflies, and her crimson lips highlighting her fair, jade-like skin. She appeared ethereal, as if she might be carried away by the wind at any moment. He habitually moved to her east side, shielding her from the wind, and then put his arm around her waist before striding forward.
The onlookers, seeing the two behaving intimately, just like when they were newlyweds, couldn't help but feel envious. Little did they know that she had been holding his hand tightly, intending to channel her inner energy into him.
The Wanyin Hall's doors were tightly shut, but the faint sound of string music could be heard from within. Duan Yuhan pushed open the heavy doors with his right hand, and they slowly swung open. Inside, Hu Tian sat in the main seat, drinking wine, while Yao Siniang leaned languidly against him, her thin robe slightly open, her silk blouse loosely pulled back, exuding an extremely alluring charm. On either side stood guards with swords, standing solemnly, while below, a group of unfamiliar young women sang and danced lightly, creating an atmosphere of apparent peace and tranquility.
"Hu Tian, it's been a long time." Duan Yuhan laughed as he entered, raising an eyebrow and glancing around at the room. His eyes, however, were filled with endless darkness, terrifyingly gloomy.
Hu Tian stared wide-eyed, momentarily stunned, then fixed his gaze on Sima Wanqing. Yao Siniang, standing nearby, jumped up, her face paling, and hurriedly shrank behind him. The girls screamed and hastily retreated to the side.
"Madam and Feng San's collaboration is indeed remarkable. To find such a convincing imposter to impersonate Your Majesty in such a short time is truly commendable. I admire them greatly," Hu Tian said with a forced smile. Although everyone believed the visitor was Duan Yuhan, they were somewhat confused by Hu Tian's calm demeanor.
"A fake?" Duan Yuhan smiled brightly, like the rising sun, and flicked his right index finger. The small silver knife on the fruit plate in front of Hu Tian suddenly flew up, then circled freely in the air like a swallow for several times before finally "plop"ing into the largest cantaloupe, dividing it into four equal halves.
Hu Tian suddenly stood up, and Yao Siniang moved even closer to him. Everyone remembered that last year, when the Grand Preceptor of Kucha came to provoke them, Duan Yuhan had used this very move to give him a taste of his own medicine. Using internal energy to drive a small knife wasn't difficult, but to make it move so nimbly and freely, controlling the direction and magnitude of the force with perfect precision, was extremely difficult. If Duan Yuhan were an imposter, he certainly wouldn't possess such astonishing skill.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Duan Yuhan's fingers were trembling slightly. After all, it wasn't his own internal energy, so he found it extremely difficult to use, and with his meridians only recently healed, this was already his limit for making such a move.
"You think a mere explosive can harm me?" Duan Yuhan took two steps forward, his gaze piercing Hu Tian. Although he was smiling broadly, the guards beside Hu Tian inexplicably shivered.
Hu Tian's eyes darted around, and he put on a beaming smile, "So the Lord is not dead. This is truly a cause for celebration."
"You attempted to kidnap the young master by West Lake, but failed, and then you tried to murder the master. Hu Tian, you traitor, today I will not allow you to continue your evil deeds!" Feng San rushed forward.
Hu Tian smiled broadly, cupped his hands, and said, "It's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding." As he spoke, he quietly stepped back.
Sima Wanqing's heart tightened, and the Heavenly Silkworm Silk, like a serpent emerging from its hole, swiftly coiled towards his neck. Hu Tian hurriedly dodged left and right. Yao Siniang abruptly retreated to the main seat, a strange smugness appearing on her alluring red lips.
"Go to hell, you all!" Yao Si Niang giggled, pressing hard against the back of the chair. Suddenly, an Emei dagger appeared from her sleeve, making two sharp "clanging" sounds. The silkworm silk swayed slightly, and Hu Tian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With a deafening roar, massive iron gates suddenly slammed down at the main entrance and in front of the main seat, as if forming an iron cage to trap everyone inside. Hu Tian flashed to the back of the iron gate, separating himself from the others, and Yao Siniang hurriedly slipped away as well.
The silkworm silk followed her like a shadow, wrapping around Yao Siniang's legs and dragging her backward. Yao Siniang, on the other hand, clung tightly to Hu Tian's arm. For a moment, neither of them let go, leaving her suspended in mid-air below the iron gate, unable to move forward or backward.
The iron gate continued to press down mercilessly, threatening to crush Yao Siniang. Sima Wanqing hesitated for a moment, but the silkworm threads remained tightly bound to her. At this point, everyone was far from Hu Tian; the only chance to escape the iron cage was for Hu Tian to temporarily stop the mechanism to save Yao Siniang.
For a moment, Sima Wanqing believed that if Hu Tian could slow the iron gate's descent even slightly, she could rush over and have a chance to subdue him. However, the iron gate slammed into the ground without hesitation. A scream rang out from Yao Siniang, followed by the fresh smell of blood, and then silence. Hu Tian had completely disregarded Yao Siniang's life! Even more tragically, Yao Siniang had activated the mechanism, ultimately becoming the first to perish beneath it. Was this her retribution?
Instantly, everyone was plunged into boundless darkness, so dark that they couldn't see their own hands in front of their faces. The air was thick with the stench of blood, making it extremely uncomfortable to breathe. Duan Yuhan looked around but couldn't see a single ray of light; clearly, the two large iron doors were tightly shut.
"Let us out! Let us out!" the girls cried. Most of the others had taken out swords and other weapons and were prying at the surrounding walls, hoping to carve a hole to get outside.
Duan Yuhan pulled Sima Wanqing into his arms, and suddenly felt her hand in his palm turn icy cold. After a moment's thought, he understood what had happened. It must be because she had continuously channeled her inner energy into him, causing her to expend too much energy.
"Did you build this trap later?" she asked softly. You see, Wanyin Hall was the ancestral home of the Sima family. It was later converted into a place for discussing important matters and entertaining distinguished guests. Sima Lie had repeatedly instructed that no traps should be secretly set up here, so as not to damage the feng shui of Lieyun Ranch.
“No.” Duan Yuhan thought for a moment, then said with certainty, “It must have been Hu Tian who did it when I went to Hangzhou.”
"Hahahaha, are you comfortable in there?" Hu Tian's maniacal laughter came from behind the iron gate. "Don't go around banging on those pieces of scrap metal. Let me tell you, the walls around here are all reinforced with five-inch-thick iron plates. Don't even think about drilling a hole; you can't even dig a crack!"
"Master, let us out! Please, Master!" the girls cried out, pleading, but Hu Tian just laughed.
After a while, his eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and he could roughly make out the outlines of things. Duan Yuhan vaguely saw that Sima Wanqing had fallen to the ground at some point, and quickly helped her up, "What happened?"
She let him support her weakly, saying, "It's nothing." Her breathing was extremely disordered as she spoke, indicating that she had suffered internal injuries.
"I know you haven't been feeling well for the past few days. Why did you have to push yourself?" Duan Yuhan held her tenderly in his arms. She stopped talking and focused on regulating her internal energy.
Hu Tian laughed again, "My lord and his wife are truly a loving couple, I envy them greatly. Haha, I never expected those fools outside to be able to stop my wife, I only intended to lure her to the Hall of Ten Thousand Mutenesses using a trap, but I didn't expect my lord to be alive and come along... That's for the best. Duan Yuhan, so what if you're alive? As long as I use this last move, you still can't escape death!"
“主人，我们不想死！您放了我们吧！”适才载歌载舞的少女们哀声连连。
胡天故作姿态的叹口气，“我也不想你们死，可名震天下的段喻寒要死，怎能只有司马晚晴相陪？到九泉之下，自然也要许多人伺候的。否则，不是太孤单寂寞了？只是，可惜啊可惜……”突地又不说话了。
封三忍不住大声喝道，“可惜什么？你个卑鄙无耻的叛徒！”
“可惜，有人选错主子，只能陪段喻寒一起下黄泉。更可惜，当初我屡次建议，你们都不肯把‘关外司马’改为‘关外段氏’，明日，我就把关外胡氏的匾额挂到牧场大门外，你们是看不到了！”胡天得意洋洋的接着道。
司马晚晴不觉心中一震，段喻寒不肯自称关外段氏，是他根本无意永远占据烈云牧场？他不曾让司马冰改姓段，仍是把冰儿看做司马家的继承人？烈云牧场，他最终还是要交还到“关外司马”手中？
“让我睡个觉想想，你们怎么死才好。是活活渴死，饿死，还是等过两三天，我扔几个雷震子进去玩玩？”胡天的声音越来越小，好像走远了。他这一走，万喑堂内更乱了，自怜命运的，咒骂段喻寒连累大家的，回骂的，坚持不懈继续凿洞的，各自忙成一片。
“通通住口！”段喻寒不耐烦的皱了皱眉，“如今大家既然一起关在这里，就该团结一致，想法子出去。哭，还是骂，徒然浪费力气，一点用处都没有。你们，沿边仔细摸索，看看有没有缝隙，试试有没有哪里松动，再做打算。”
他这么一训斥，众人均觉有理，总算安静了些，自觉不自觉的照他的吩咐做了。
司马晚晴听他说话，不知怎的，想起小时候的事。当时，他们救了个跳河自尽的人，被救的人一个劲自怨自哀，他也是这样把对方教训了一顿。那时，他俊雅而严肃的模样被落日余晖映得丰神如玉，光彩逼人，让她看得脸红心跳。后来他抱她一起骑马回家，害她一直窝在他怀里，不敢抬头看他一眼。
此刻虽在黑暗中，看不清他的神态，但想来必定和当初一般，令人折服。她不由喟然一叹，若时光可以停留在那无忧无虑的岁月，该多好。
“怎么？”他的手一紧。
陡然一阵心悸难控，她忙推开他，盘膝而坐，潜运内功。也不知过了多久，她再睁眼时，只听一片窃窃私语之声。
“好些了？”他依然近在咫尺。
“嗯，”她轻应一声。
“他们试过了，铁门和墙壁都很坚固，普通兵器根本撬不动。有缝隙的地方，往外凿过，全是铁板。”他说得很平静。莫名的，她好怕他的声音一停下，他的人就会消失在黑暗中，再抓不住半分。下意识想靠过去，终究还是略略退开，保持距离。
封三不知何时凑过来，低声回禀，“属下点算过了，这里共有二百三十五人。可以充饥的只有五盘水果，约十五斤。那边还有两壶君山银针，一壶西域葡萄秘酿。”
“知道了，你们先休息一下。”段喻寒随口应了。
司马晚晴霍地起身，“你的剑给我。”封三忙把佩剑递过去。她缓步走到墙边，略一摸索，凝神运气，擎天无上心法的霸道内力从剑柄延至剑尖，倏地直刺墙壁。“扑”、“叮”，那剑先穿透砖石，再刺入铁板，最后只余约半尺长的剑身在外。深吸口气，将剑奋力抽出，剑身上跳跃了耀眼的火花，可那光亮一闪而逝，眼前仍是彻底的黑暗。那剑，竟没穿透坚厚的铁板！
心中一凝，她飞身上屋梁，依旧运剑刺向屋顶，结果仍是一样的。
收剑，翩然落地，她走到段喻寒身边，“你有什么想法？”
“胡天的铁笼子造得果然够坚固，够厚实。我看目前只有先保住命，再想想有什么法子出去。”他好似胸有成竹的模样。
她忍不住道，“这么多人，就这么点吃的和水，支持不了多长时间的。”
“就算吃光了那些水果、茶和酒，想活下来的人，还是不会被饿死。”他语调中满是古怪。
“你有没有听说黄河泛滥的时候，很多人都是易子而食？这里有这么多人，无论如何，想活下去都不难。”他悄然贴在她耳边说着，她只觉根根汗毛都直立起来，四周黑漆漆的，如地狱般阴森可怖。
“不要！”倒退一步，她不想再听。
他一把抓了她的手腕，搂了她坐在自己身边，柔声道，“我知道，你总是不忍心。可你不这么做，未必别人不会。到了生死关头，不过是弱肉强食罢了。”他的话冷血残酷之极，排山倒海的寒意淹没了她的心。
她咬了咬唇，坚决说着，“不管怎样，就算死，我也绝不会那么做。”她忽地想到，若和他一起死在此处，什么恩怨情仇，都不必再惦记再计较，未尝不是一种解脱。
沉默片刻，她幽幽的说，“还记得在宴和塔顶的比翼双飞吗？那时，你问我愿不愿意和你一起死，我一直没回答你。”
他拥了她低声笑了，“我知道你心里一定是愿意的。”
“是，我愿意。”虽看不清他的面容，她仍固执的仰望着他，清清楚楚的说了这几个字。
鼻息是她发间熟悉的茉莉花香，那香味萦绕迂回的沁入心中，他有种坠入梦境般的喜悦。一时间，他竟不敢接口，唯恐一说话，自己便从梦中醒来。
良久，两人这么静静的拥着，只听到彼此的心跳有节奏的呼应着，出奇的一致。
“有你这句话，我已死而无憾。你宁死也不肯伤害别人，我陪你就是。”虽是说死，但可以和她一起死，他仍然很快乐。
指尖，抚弄着、缠绕着她的秀发，他不禁说道，“那天，我是故意……”
“我知道，你不用解释。”她用手轻掩了他的唇，长长的叹了口气，“反正从小到大，你总是这样，故意气我。”他不愿离开她，不愿去安全的江南，就算被她误会，也要陪她涉险，她终是明白了他的心意。
黑暗中，他瞧不清她脸色，只听她的声音似嗔似怨，温婉之极，禁不住握了那纤手，寻觅了她的唇，深吻下去。
她没有避让，迎上去用心感受他的热情和爱恋。她的唇，柔软而温润，带了魂牵梦萦的甜蜜，让他心醉神迷。唇舌之间，吸吮着彼此的温暖和味道，只愿一生都这样纠缠不休。
半晌，他放开她，“相信我，如果可以重来，我只想从牧场带你走就好。除了你，我什么都不稀罕。”他的嗓音略有沙哑，却倍显真诚。
口中他清爽的气息渐渐变得一片苦涩酸楚，她忽然想哭。他终于后悔了昔日的所作所为，可是否为时已晚？
“是我不好。”当初是怎样的年轻气盛，满腔愤恨难平，如今蓦然回首，仿佛已是很遥远的事。此刻面对她，他不敢说请她原谅的话。
她强抑心头悲凉，深深将头埋在他胸前，默不作声。不觉间脑后一绺乌发悠然散开，用手一摸，固发的芙蓉玉钗不见了。此刻，人人保命要紧，自然不会有人偷它。是刚才用剑时，玉钗自行松脱？可它掉落在地，她怎会没听到声音？
脚底的地有些柔韧，不是昔日的硬实，她伤痛之余，愣了一下。
“怎么？”他敏锐的感到她在发呆。
“我的玉钗不知掉地下哪儿了。”她随口应着，隐约间，一个模糊的念头闪过，想抓却抓不住。
“玉钗掉了？”他心头突的一动，蓦地想起进万喑堂时，地上与往日不同，铺的全是崭新的波斯地毯。他俯身摸摸地面，不禁笑了，“这铁笼子的底是空的。”
“是了，这地面原先是一层地砖，地砖下是泥土。胡天一定是怕我们发现从地下能挖洞出去，所以特意在上面放了层地毯。怎知是欲盖弥彰？”她心间豁然开朗。
掀开地毯，拿剑自砖缝用力往下一插，顿时剑身全部没入地下，阻碍之力比插墙小得多，且没有金属碰撞之声。
她大大松了口气，“还好，总算还没开始吃人。”召集众人，告诉大家出路，众人皆雀跃不已，齐齐开始动手挖洞。
耳畔充斥着“砰砰”的凿砖声，她的思绪不觉飘得很远。往事清晰如昨日，缕缕哀痛重重压在心头，她推开他，到一旁的椅上坐了。
"I'm tired, I want to sleep." Without waiting for his reply, she lay down on her desk, never looking up at him. She was only asking herself one question: if she were to return to his loving relationship, would she be doing right by the one who had died?
Gradually, she drifted off to sleep. In her hazy state, she vaguely sensed a cool, delicate fragrance lingering around her, permeating her dreams.

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The Banner of Desire - Chapter 22, Living and Dying Together

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