Chapter Thirty-Two One Piece at a Time

  Thank you for the reward, I know you've been doing tasks non-stop to earn coins just to give me a reward. Your heartfelt thanks warmed my heart and even made this rough guy's nose sour. And also thanks to the support of so many good friends like Hankook, Xingkong, Fly, Beihai, Memory, Koushui Xiong and more, how can I not do my best? P.S. Your name is really annoying, I wouldn't have known how to copy it if I didn't...

  "You really won't come looking for her again?"

  Li Xian's footsteps came to a halt at Rang Changhong's words.

  Li Xian stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn around: "I don't think I'm a decent person, and most of the time what I say isn't true either. So there's no need for you to ask me again, even if I gave you a definite answer, who knows, maybe someday I'll regret it too. So you can choose not to believe me and then kill me."

  "Ran Long nodded: 'I don't believe you. Next time you appear in front of her again, I'll kill you.'"

  Li Xian smiled: "When I come again, you may not be my opponent."

  "Tell your companions to go back," said Lang Changhong, standing by the lake with his hands behind his back, looking at Li Xian's back. "What you need is buried under one of the trees in a forest west of Qingniu Lake. You only have until dawn to find it. If you can't find it, I'll bring people there at dawn."

  His final words were two characters: "Kill you"

  Li Xian smiled: "What's this? A deal? Don't you think you've lost out?"

  There was no answer, for the tall and majestic figure had already turned around and left.

  Li Xian didn't dawdle and crouched down to make his way through the grass thickets by the lake, soon returning to the high slope where Da Xi Chang Ru was hiding.

  "You didn't plan on saving me?"

  Li Xian saw Da Xi Zhang Ru lying on the grassy slope with his eyes closed, and he couldn't help but feel a little annoyed: "After all, I'm your only disciple, right? Can you just trust me like this? What if I get killed by someone, don't you think it's unfair to the people of Li?"

  Da Xi didn't answer, but simply said four words: "Go, to the woods!"

  Li Xian was taken aback for a moment, then he chuckled and said: "I knew you couldn't really be pretending to be an innocent bystander!"

  Two people converged on the fastest route to Choushuige, then three people rode horses directly to the forest that Dalangchonghong said. Because they didn't come from this direction, they weren't clear where the forest was specifically. The only two certain factors in what Dalangchonghong said were west of Qingniu Lake and a forest. It wasn't as simple to find as imagined, if the distance exceeded thirty miles, even a large forest might be missed due to route deviations.

  Of course, at this time they did not hope that the forest was too big.

  Three people galloped their horses in the night, although they had a goal, no one could say for sure if there would be any gains.

  Li Xian and Da Xi Chang Ru both didn't know why Da Lang Chang Hong wanted to do this. In any case, it was unreasonable for him to reveal the hiding address of the fallen iron. After Da Xi Chang Ru took out the fallen iron from the thousand-year-old unmelting ice, he fell into the Qing Niu Lake in a hurry. Without a doubt, when the Khitan people were chasing Da Xi Chang Ru, it was Da Lang Chang Hong who seized the opportunity to steal the fallen iron and then found that piece of forest to bury it.

  Daxi Changru analyzed that when he smashed the hard ice, Dalang Changhong was watching from the side. He must have discovered Daxi Changru's, but he didn't stop him. Then he followed Daxi Changru and stole the meteorite at the first opportunity.

  Why did he want to do this?

  What is the motive?

  If he had coveted that piece of meteorite, he would have lived in the Khitan tribe for a long time and had plenty of opportunities to take it. After getting his hands on it, why didn't he make a run for it? He chose to bury the meteorite instead, knowing that if the Khitans found out, he would be in grave danger.

  "Perhaps... he stayed in the Khitan tribe, and it wasn't for that piece of meteorite at all!"

  Daxi Changru furrowed his brow in thought.

  "What's that for?"

  Chao Qiu Ge can't think it through.

  If it's true what Li Xian said, this person is from Jiangnan and a master of knife skills. The reasons for his hiding in the Khitan tribe are not many according to reasonable analysis: either he was escaping from the pursuit of an enemy family, or he was tired of life in the Central Plains, or he had ulterior motives towards the Khitan people.

  No matter which of the three it is, An Lang Chang Hong should not touch that piece of meteorite!

  If he hadn't been plotting that swift downfall, there would have been no need to take such risks. Once exposed, he wouldn't be able to stay in the Khitan tribe anymore.

  "Perhaps..."

  "He's not trying to avoid something, but to protect something."

  "What did you say?"

  Ask for songs in the morning.

  He came from Jiangnan, Ou Siqing's mother, also the wife of He Dahan, the leader of the Ejinmo Association, who was also from Jiangnan and should have a deep connection with the Southern Chen imperial family, possibly even being a member of the Chen imperial clan.

  "Darong Changhong, for some reason, disguised himself as a Khitan and found her, then stayed to guard her."

  "Maybe you're right."

  Da Xi Chang Ru nodded: "He stole that piece of meteoric iron, perhaps just to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Khitan people again."

  "I don't want to think about it anymore!"

  Li Xian spat out the dry grass from his mouth: "Before dawn, I must find that forest, otherwise it would be ungrateful to others' kindness. In any case, if I still return empty-handed, it would be too unreasonable!"

  His tone was not heavy, and in his heart, he had long since lost the eagerness for that piece of meteorite. In fact, when he learned the truth in the small building, he even thought about giving up the meteorite as a gift to her, a farewell to his first vague feelings.

  When he thought of her, Li Xian's heart ached slightly, so faintly that it was almost imperceptible, so faintly that even he himself didn't feel deeply moved.

  Green Cow Lake Shore

  Wooden pavilion

  By the window

  Gazing eagerly with eyes fixed, black hair disheveled.

  "Is he gone?"

  Her head leaned against the window, a gentle breeze swept across her forehead hair, just like the temperature of his fingers.

  Ou Si Qing had already wiped away her tears, and there was no sadness on her face. She just hung her head, as if admiring the lake and mountains in the night that couldn't be seen at all. She didn't know why Li Xian became so resolute and ruthless when he walked away, bringing himself half-night joy and then using cold words to put a period on the joy. The huge contrast between before and after was something she actually couldn't adapt to, and the calmness at this moment was actually just a temporary stability obtained by biting her lip.

  "Left"

  Ran Long Hong still stood outside the window on the second floor, hugging his arms and staring into the distance.

  "Why did he come?"

  She asked.

  "It's for that meteorite, not because of you."

  He replied.

  "Yes, he just came to steal the meteorite, he said so himself. Coming to Qingniu Lake actually has nothing to do with me. But why did he want to make friends with me? Answer: Big Brother Lang, you know, from childhood to adulthood... I have no friends."

  "He's just using you."

  "Rong Changhong turned his head to look at Ousiqing's pale and haggard face: "He didn't take you as a friend, he just wanted to use you to hide his true form. From start to finish, he never took you as a friend, whether it was on that unnamed mountain or in your small building by Qingniu Lake. The reason he appeared in front of you was just a coincidence. You should know that after parting ways on that mountain, he never thought of you even once."

  The snow leopard moved in Ousai Qingqing's arms, seemingly very dissatisfied with its master for teasing it with water droplets.

  That's not a water droplet, it's a tear drop.

  "Am I really an idiot?"

  She smiled, tears streaming down her mouth and into it, very bitter.

  You're not an idiot, you're a moron.

  Tens of miles away, Li Xian fiercely shook his head and muttered a sentence.

  "I now have no choice but to suspect that Andlang Longhong is deceiving you."

  They galloped for an hour, but the forest still didn't appear before them. Looking at the vast open plain, Chao Qi sighed and said.

  "He is either fooling you or teasing you."

  "Morning Song stopped the war horse: 'It's clear you've been played.'"

  Li Xian smiled and surprisingly didn't say anything.

  Da Xi Chang Ru shook his head: "Dalang Chang Hong didn't need to tell this lie, if he wanted you to leave quickly, drawing his sword would be more straightforward. He also didn't need to reveal that he knew where the meteorite fell, if it got out, it wouldn't do him any good. Even if Mo Hui valued him highly, stealing a sacred object was too big of a deal, even Mo Hui couldn't protect him."

  "But where is the forest?"

  Chao Qiu Ge sighed and pointed at the two snow pines that were not far away, saying: "Could it be there?"

  Qingniu Lake

  Small building by the window

  "Are you uncomfortable?"

  Answer Long Hong's question.

  Ou Si nodded slightly and then shook her head stubbornly.

  "Alright, I'll go kill him for you, so you won't have to suffer anymore."

  Dalan Changhong's eyes were filled with doting love and the kindness of an elder as he looked at the girl: "It's almost dawn, Ejin will be back soon. If you want, I can catch up to Li Xian and kill him before Ejin returns."

  Ou Si Qingqing raised her head and smiled: "Why bother?"

  "He said that if they were to meet again in the future, they would have to pretend not to know each other. Since it was like this, they might as well be strangers on the road, so what did it matter whether he killed him or not?"

  She lifted her chin and said firmly, "Don't worry, I won't let Yeye know that I'm unhappy. He has a lot on his plate and there's no need to bother him with this little thing."

  Dalan nodded, a hint of apology flashing in his eyes.

  He didn't want Ousiqing to tell Mohe about Li Xian's matter, otherwise, her doting father would bring cavalry and chase after Li Xian to tear him apart, no matter how far away he was. Even if he was in the midst of fighting against the Xi people, his choice wouldn't be hesitant. For Mohe, the most important things in this life weren't the tribe or his position as Ejin, but the two women who were most important to him: one was his wife, Chen Wanrong, and the other was his daughter, Ousiqing.

  It's precisely because of this that he hasn't made a move all these years.

  Because in his heart, what was most important was neither revenge nor the ambition to rebuild the country, but these two women.

  He subconsciously stretched out his hand and rubbed the top of Ousiqing's head: "Go to sleep for a while, if you don't want to believe he's a bad person, then try thinking about it, he did this for your own good."

  After saying this sentence, Dalang Changhong regretted it in his heart.

  "Really?"

  As expected, Ousai Qingqing's eyes lit up immediately: "Right! He said so, deceiving me was to make me realize that there are many bad people in this world, not everyone can be trusted! I understand now!"

  The girl clenched her fist and shouted: "He's cheating me again!"

  Dalong opened his mouth wide and let out a silent sigh.

  He looked at Ousai's slightly upturned mouth and said to himself, okay, kid, if you think that way makes you happy, then just treat him as a friend.

  Fish and flying birds?

  He suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart, as if it was being torn apart. He thought of another woman who had always been in his heart, her memory cutting into him like a knife.

  "Damn it, Chang Hong is an idiot!"

  He dragged out the heavy, dark iron meteorite from under the tree and sat down on the snow-covered ground with a thud, panting heavily. Looking at the massive iron lump in front of him, which weighed at least over 100 catties, he sighed and cursed: "Two short trees, and you call that a forest? Can I ask to fondle your family's female relative's breasts?"

  "It takes two trees to make a forest, and what he said isn't entirely wrong."

  Daxi Changru replied to Lang Changhong with a good sentence: "If he hadn't told you, we would have returned empty-handed this time."

  He patted Li Xian's shoulder and smiled, saying: "However, to be honest, your luck is indeed exceptionally good."

  Chao Qiu Ge nodded and said seriously: "When I came, I definitely stepped on a dog shit as big as a basin."

  Li Xian smacked his lips: "Right, still hot and curry flavored."