Chapter 747: with translation of chapter title

Still Alive

Then

On the town, besides nearby villagers and hunters selling mountain goods and game, there were hardly any outsiders; this conveniently helped Xiao Yin and them hide their identities.

Although they could disguise themselves, the innate temperament they carried could not be concealed in a short while.

Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin stayed at the inn; Ling Feng brought people to serve food, and after they each took a few bites, they both put down their chopsticks.

Ling Feng and his people withdrew carefully, seeing that the emperor and empress likely had something to say, so he did not get in the way.

The inn they stayed in was small; Xiao Yin rented the whole place, driving out all idle people, and now it was much quieter.

Xiao Yin sat beside the bed, tightly gripping Gu Jiu Ling's hand: "Let's talk."

Gu Jiu Ling smiled at Xiao Yin, that smile somewhat wan, making Xiao Yin feel waves of heartache.

Xiao Yin drew a breath, still unable to keep from asking again the panic in his heart: "You… don't hate me?"

Gu Jiu Ling was stunned for a moment: "Why would I hate?"

Xiao Yin gathered himself and said: "Regarding your Murong family and the Li Dynasty, my grandfather caused your Murong family to suffer ruin and loss, leaving only your bloodline; truly… truly…"

Xiao Yin didn't know how to muster some words to curse and insult his own worthless ancestor.

Xiao Yin had cursed others' ancestors before, especially when he was young and shouted at enemy formations; he could use Southern Qi official speech, Bei Di language, and even Xirong language to curse the enemy's ancestors simultaneously, without repeating words.

Now facing his own ancestor, cursing brought some psychological pressure; Xiao Yin still took a deep breath and looked at Gu Jiu Ling, saying: "Our Xiao family's ancestor truly has sores on his head and pus oozing from his feet, utterly corrupt."

He peeks at widows' doors, digs up bachelors' graves—basically not a decent person.

"All right!" Gu Jiu Ling raised her hand to cover Xiao Yin's mouth: "Enough; if you keep cursing, tonight your ancestor will come back to take you away!"

Seeing Gu Jiu Ling not particularly concerned about the request, Xiao Yin was stunned for a moment.

Gu Jiu Ling gave a bitter smile: "You now know I am not of your era; your past grudges are mostly settled—look ahead; later generations will judge what's behind us; we just need to do our own things."

"I know you are not someone who covets power; if you were a hermit who fishes by the ancient Ning, you would have seized power and usurped the throne already when you commanded troops ten years ago—why wait until now?"

"They judge your noble heart with a petty mind; you too are a pitiful person."

Xiao Yin tightly held Gu Jiu Ling's hand, not knowing what to say; she even understood him better than she understood herself!

Gu Jiu Ling paused, then said: "Since you have been forced step by step to come here, let us end all turmoil. In the vast world, the common folk suffer most—whether a dynasty rises or falls, they suffer. Having finally eliminated the great clans, to dig up old Murong affairs, restore the Li Dynasty, would again stir up how much bloodshed; let us two settle the grudges of past generations for them."

"Jiu Ling…" Xiao Yin's voice trembled slightly, unable to speak.

Xiao Yin tightly held Gu Jiu Ling's hand; however, whatever he said felt somewhat superfluous.

Xiao Yin pulled her into his embrace, holding her tightly and whispering: "In this life, I will surely not let you down."

"I will fulfill your wish and return you a peaceful, prosperous age of calm seas and clear skies."

"Your Majesty!" came Ling Feng's urgent shout from outside, his voice filled with myriad joy and excitement.

"Your Majesty, news has arrived from Mo Bei."

Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin sprang up simultaneously; news from Mo Bei? That must be about the children, right?

The people they left in Mo Bei had already cast a net, combing the Mo Bei grasslands inch by inch; now they suddenly brought back news—could the children have been found?

Xiao Yin rushed to the door in quick steps, while Gu Jiu Ling's face was full of panic; the news about the children could be twofold—one alive, one…

Gu Jiu Ling instinctively reached out and grabbed Xiao Yin's arm; Xiao Yin quickly turned and embraced her, then opened the door.

Ling Feng half-kneeled before Xiao Yin, raising the pigeon they used privately to transmit messages.

Xiao Yin had established his own intelligence system, and carrier pigeon messages were the most common method.

At this moment, the pigeon's leg was tied to a bamboo tube; Ling Feng handed the tube to Xiao Yin.

All pigeons flying in from Mo Bei, Ling Feng and his people would not open the bamboo tubes, but directly deliver them to Xiao Yin.

Even though Xiao Yin was cold and resolute, at this moment, upon receiving the bamboo tube, his hand trembled slightly.

He suppressed his panic, removed the bamboo tube, pulled out a silk strip from inside; upon seeing the characters, Xiao Yin was stunned.

Gu Jiu Ling leaned forward and blurted: "It's Yun Duo's handwriting."

Yun Duo wrote only one sentence: "The children have been found, alive."

When the two characters "alive" appeared before Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin, the couple finally showed a flash of wild joy on their faces.

Gu Jiu Ling suddenly burst into loud sobs; after these few months, whatever grievance she endured or separation she suffered, compared to these two words "alive," it was utterly insignificant.

Xiao Yin gently patted Gu Jiu Ling and smiled: "Come on, let's return to Mo Bei."

At this moment, their mood was completely different from when they came to Mang Shan; they wished they could sprout wings and fly back.

Ling Feng had already arranged for the relay points along the way to have horses ready and abundant water and other supplies.

After riding a horse for only two or three days, Gu Jiu Ling began to feel unable to continue; nevertheless she wanted to persevere, but Xiao Yin forcibly shoved her into the carriage to rest.

Xiao Yin himself also got into the carriage; if he died of exhaustion on the road, wouldn't those two little rascals laugh at him?

Because they changed carriages, the speed slowed a bit; ultimately they reached Mo Bei at the fastest speed they could manage.

Yun Duo waited at the border; from afar she saw the Xiao family's carriage, thinking I.

The carriage stopped before Yun Duo; Gu Jiu Ling and Xiao Yin got out and walked toward her.

"Yun Duo, where are the children?"

Gu Jiu Ling gripped Yun Duo's arm so tightly that her finger joints turned pale.

Yun Duo thought of those two little rascals, and unconsciously the corners of her mouth curled into a smile.

At that time she had brought Dawu to this tribe and, upon seeing Gu One and Gu Two, could hardly believe her eyes.

However, some things she could not describe; she could only let the master see clearly for himself.

She had also wanted to bring those two little rascals out, but never expected they would insist on waiting for their parents to fetch them; otherwise no one would follow them out.

Apparently she had developed some feelings for the tribe and did not want to leave; now she could only write to Gu Jiu Ling, asking them to come personally to fetch the children.

Gu Jiu Ling saw Dawu standing beside Yun Duo, his face slightly pale, his wrist still shackled with a chain, the other end of the chain attached to Dawu's injury.

He looked at Dawu and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slightly: "This person is…".

Yun Duo smiled: "This brat doesn't believe those two children's master is your kids; if he ran off, the stronghold would really be hard to recognize, so we chained him to have them help us clear the way."

Gu Jiu Ling felt it was improper at that moment and didn't say anything; using the blocking method was crude but also simple and effective.

"Come on, let's go get the child!" Xiao Yin grabbed Gu Jiu Ling's arm, and riding a horse followed Yun Duo toward the tribe.