Chapter 84

【And in the previous life, more people leaned toward the former】3.7

【One was an old woman nearly sixty, the other a dashing young master in the prime of his youth — the guess that they were lovers may sound absurd, but it was the most common view】

【In the arc "The Legend of the Bat" from Chu Chu Liuxiang, it was precisely because Chu Chu Liuxiang and Hu Hu Tiehua blocked the path of the "Bat Young Master" that Master Withered Plum had Gao Yanan kill Hu Hu Tiehua】

【And Gao Yanan had noticed various suspicious points at the time, realizing her Master's mistake, yet still chose to aid the villain】

【Had Hua Hua Zhenzhen not acted in time, Hu Hu Tiehua would surely have found it nearly impossible to escape death】

【Sigh, clearly a rather nice-looking pretty girl, it's just a shame she's far too blindly filial!】

【If Master Withered Plum hadn't died, marrying a woman like this would require constant vigilance at home】

【If one day you offended her Master, who could guarantee she wouldn't stab you in the back in bed — wouldn't that be the greatest injustice?】.

092 The Leshan Giant Buddha can't sit still; Chu Chu Liuxiang who abandoned his wife and children

"Lovers? The Bat Young Master? Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"

Gao Yanan's emotions completely snapped, and she shouted out loud, utterly unable to accept that the Master in the book could possibly be like that.

This was blasphemy against her Master!

A murderous glint flashed in Gao Yanan's beautiful eyes, and she raised her sword, ready to rush up to Mount Leigu at once.

But after only two steps, she stopped again.

Even if she went over, what could she do?

Confront Jiang Sishui face to face?

But with the bizarre ability of the diary copy, even if she asked, the words that came out of her mouth would change completely.

Besides, this was just a story to begin with, not reality — if she made a fuss over nothing, wouldn't she only make things worse, and instead appear guilty herself?

Beyond that, Gao Yanan also harbored a hidden worry in her heart.

A worry she was unwilling to think through deeply.

Because although Master Withered Plum had not come down Mount Huashan for over twenty years, she often went into seclusion and refused to see anyone.

With her Wu Gong, if she secretly went down the mountain during this period, it would probably be very hard to be discovered.

At this thought, Gao Yanan grew immensely irritated.

Stamping her foot, she directly changed direction and headed back to Mount Huashan.

Yue Yue Lingshan said cautiously: "Mother, Aunt-Master Withered Plum probably wouldn't be like in the book, right? Just look at the origin of her nickname — it's completely different."

Ning Zhongze, however, said nothing.

Because she recalled that Yue Buqun had once told her that one night, when he got up to relieve himself, he had bumped into Master Withered Plum, who should have been in seclusion, going down the mountain alone.

At the time, Yue Buqun had also found it strange — what matter could have made Master Withered Plum so anxious that she had to set out overnight?

But Master Withered Plum's Wu Gong was Gao Qiang, and before he could even greet her, she had already vanished without a trace.

Yue Buqun didn't think much of it either, and afterward simply forgot the matter.

The reason Ning Zhongze knew about it was that Yue Buqun had mentioned it in casual conversation.

At the time she likewise hadn't taken it to heart, listened and forgot — but now, the story in the diary had awakened that memory.

Yue Yue Lingshan, seeing her mother's expression, felt her heart skip a beat, yet wisely held her tongue and asked no further.

So she changed the subject: "Senior Sister Hua also appeared in the story! Mother, Senior Sister Hua is so pretty — she must have a diary copy too."

Ning Zhongze came back to herself slightly and gave an "Oh."

But another doubt arose in her heart: "Withered Plum incited Yanan to kill Hu Hu Tiehua, and may have even taken action herself — yet Zhenzhen could still rescue him. How is that possible?"

Ning Zhongze couldn't think it through, and couldn't help rubbing her temples.

The interweaving of reality and story made the secrets in the book either true or false — sorting them out really did give one a headache.

【Chu Chu Liuxiang's deeds need not be detailed — the entire story centers on him as protagonist, and even three days and nights of talking wouldn't be enough to finish】

【Mm, let's just talk about him as a person】

【Chu Chu Liuxiang is the quintessential dashing young master, possessing tremendous fame and countless fans in Wu Xia, and aside from two points, he is already nearly perfect】

【The first point is being too much of a saint!】

【Chu Chu Liuxiang never kills anyone — no matter how treacherous or evil, he won't kill them】

【Because he respects life, believing everyone has family — if he kills one person, he would indirectly harm an entire family】

One has to say, with that kind of enlightenment, even the Leshan Giant Buddha would have to make room for him.

【And as for his adversaries, after being defeated by him, they either took their own lives, or were opportunistically killed by others, or perished from backlash of certain things】

【In short, the author always manages to arrange a way for the villain to die while keeping Chu Chu Liuxiang's hands spotlessly clean】

"Never kills anyone?"

The women couldn't help but snort in derision.

The Jianghu has its human relations and social niceties, but even more so its brawls and bloodshed — it's only because Chu Chu Liuxiang is the protagonist in the book that he could possibly keep his hands unstained; otherwise, how could it be possible?

You show restraint, but others press on relentlessly — what do you do?

Because he respects life, even the most treacherous and evil are not killed — yet the evildoers he releases turn right around and take more lives.

Oh, so as long as the person wasn't killed by your own hand, and you didn't see it yourself, it doesn't matter?

And this is called respecting life?

How laughable.

Of course, people have a thousand faces, and surely some agree with Chu Chu Liuxiang's approach — so whether being a "saint" counts as his flaw is still debatable.

【But this second point, no amount of whitewashing can wash away】

【And that is abandoning his wife and children!】

【Chu Chu Liuxiang was a romantic rake — in his life he flirted with many women, and even more women threw themselves at him】

【A night of intimacy, a fleeting romance — these were nothing rare for him, but he would never linger for any single woman】

【He had abandoned women, and had been abandoned by women in turn. The rights and wrongs of it all are hard to untangle—different people see it differently, and I won't dwell on it.】

【But in the "Peach Blossom Legend" arc, he abandoned his own wife.】

【A wife he had married, with whom he had performed the wedding rites, and who was even carrying his child—Zhang Jiejie!】

At the border of Su and Lu, deep in a mountain range.

"Is it me?"

Zhang Jiejie lay sprawled on a soft bed, chin propped on both hands, thoroughly engrossed in reading the diary's duplicate.

Suddenly, her swinging little legs went still, and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes, which curved into a smile like a new crescent moon.

Never expected the gossip to land on her own head.

"I married Chu Chu Liuxiang? How could I possibly marry anyone?"

Thinking of the strict sect rules, Zhang Jiejie felt puzzled and confused.

【Zhang Jiejie is a very special girl in the "Chu Chu Liuxiang Story Series." Her actions and words carry a strange, wicked air, yet at the same time she is exceptionally cheerful and adorable.】

【She lived in a family surnamed Ma. The family's way of life was peculiar—they lived in seclusion in the mountains and worshipped a very unusual religion—the Mayi Sect.】

【And Zhang Jiejie was the Holy Maiden of the Mayi Sect.】

【According to the sect's rules, the Holy Maiden must remain pure and sacred, forbidden from any romantic attachment—unless an outsider comes to the sect and lifts the veil from the Holy Maiden's face, after which she may take that person as her husband.】

【But for a young girl in the bloom of her youth, this was far too cruel.】

【So her mother decided to find Zhang Jiejie a husband.】

【Madam Zhang had heard that Shi Guanyin, who had seduced her own husband, had perished at Chu Chu Liuxiang's hands, so she sent Zhang Jiejie to seek out Chu Chu Liuxiang.】

【But at the same time, she also dispatched Ai Qing, Ai Hong, and others to assassinate Chu Chu Liuxiang, using this to test his abilities.】

【I have to say, this kind of test is utterly outrageous—if it were me, I'd have no choice but to slap her hard across the face!】

【Fortunately, Zhang Jiejie cleverly gave Chu Chu Liuxiang hints, helping him defuse her mother's traps one by one, and through their time together, she and Chu Chu Liuxiang came to know and fall in love with each other.】

【But after one night of intimacy, she vanished without a trace, and no news of her was ever heard again…】

【Wait!】

【Oh no, didn't Bai Feifei do the exact same thing to me?】

【Could she, like Zhang Jiejie, have had some hidden reason?】

"Bah! What hidden reason could she possibly have? She's purely doing it on purpose to keep you dangling, you idiot, you idiot, you idiot!"

Huang Rong had been reading with great interest, never expecting Jiang Sishui to poke at the one sore spot and bring up that woman again.

Just thinking about it made Huang Rong's anger flare up beyond control.

Elsewhere.

Bai Feifei smiled faintly, feeling a surge of satisfaction and smugness in her heart.