Chapter 53: Four Wishes

  Under the gaze of four eyes, Yuande's eyes suddenly froze, and as she turned around, a feeling akin to suffocation arose. This feeling came so strongly and abruptly that it left her stunned.

  The person opposite her, however, met her gaze with an expression as calm as ever, seemingly unmoved.

  Forcing down the mist that suddenly rose in her eyes, Faraday barely moved her gaze away with all her might. Taking a deep breath to calm her turbulent emotions, she apologized softly: "I'm sorry, I lost my composure!"

  Although she tried her best to hold back, when she said this, her tone was still slightly trembling, and her voice had a slight nasal sound.

  He quietly watched her for a long time before suddenly breaking into a smile: "You don't seem like the kind of person who would lose their composure!"

  She remained silent for a long time, then slowly let out a soft sigh and said in a gentle tone: "In this world, there must be one or two people who can make you lose your composure. Only then does life have some meaning, don't you think, sir?" Her demeanor and tone had completely calmed down by then.

  That person, upon hearing these words, subtly nodded his head: "What you said makes some sense! It was worth inviting you to meet!" He obviously had no intention of continuing the conversation on this topic, and simply raised his hand to point at the chessboard on the table: "Please!"

  She glanced at the chessboard on the table, Yuandai didn't say a word, just raised her sleeve and gently swept it, only to hear a "rustling" sound, the entire chess situation suddenly became chaotic, and some pieces fell to the ground due to Yuandai's unintentional sweep, rolling far away.

  That person's expression was slightly stunned, but after a while, he couldn't help but laugh: "This is probably the simplest way to break the deadlock in the world?" His face didn't show any signs of anger, and his words even revealed a hint of admiration.

  Yuandai's expression was calm and peaceful, she said quietly: "In this life, I have four wishes, wishing to be free from thoughts, worries, anxieties and fears!"

  Since they met, the man had been calm and still, until a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, which were almost quiet. Then he smiled lightly: "These four wishes can be shared by people all over the world, but the world is so big that only a few can achieve them..." He didn't continue to speak, but his expression seemed a bit lost and melancholic at this moment.

  Yan Dai slightly nodded, raised her finger and pointed to the chessboard that had already become disordered: "If you also have this wish, why bother looking for trouble?" The implication was that she thought this move to break the jade was actually seeking trouble and self-torment.

  That man was taken aback again, and after a long while, he suddenly burst out laughing: "Good! Good one, Miss Ling Jiu, you're indeed interesting!"

  Yu Dai was not surprised at all by his sudden revelation of identity. This man had no reason to ask someone beside him to invite himself in, there must be a reason for it. In these three years, she might have been the first person to mistakenly enter this valley, but before her, there would definitely have been others who came in. At least this person in front of her was one of those who had come in before her.

  And she even suspected that the reason why this person wanted to take over this place with Baiyi An was not really to plant any winter plum blossoms, but for this hidden valley within a valley, like a paradise on earth.

  She slightly tilted her head to take a glance at a cluster of lush shrubs located in the southwest direction. If she wasn't mistaken, this cluster of shrubs should be the same type as those surrounding that piece of bluestone. Or rather, if she were to part the shrubs, she should be able to see that piece of bluestone where she had previously taken a short rest.

  That man also seemed to notice her gaze, smiled and said: "Miss is indeed clever!"

  As soon as the words came out, Yuan Dai also knew that her own thoughts were not wrong. After glancing around at the surrounding trees, Yuan Dai slowly got up and gave a slight bow to the man: "It's an honor to meet you, sir! However, since my daughter is traveling with her family today, it's inconvenient for us to linger. Please forgive me for any impoliteness!"

  That man smiled and said, "Miss, you're being too serious! As fellow citizens of Pingjing, we'll inevitably meet again someday!" As he spoke, he slightly raised his hand in a gesture of farewell: "Farewell, Miss!" But he showed no intention of getting up.

  She saw him like this, and his identity was even more clear in her mind. She didn't say much, just returned a courtesy and then turned around, walking out slowly without looking back. As soon as she left the bamboo forest, Wenjing had already come to greet her, but there was still a hint of anxiety in her expression: "Miss..." she called out, wanting to ask something, but also being mindful of the person beside her.

  Yan Dai gently placed her hand on her wrist and said softly, "Let's go! They should be back by now!"

  As she spoke to Wenping, she turned her head and nodded slightly towards the phoenix-eyed man standing still on one side. After that, she took Wenping's hand and headed towards the valley entrance. The phoenix-eyed man didn't stop them either, but followed closely behind the two of them until they left the valley, before returning to the outside of the bamboo forest.

  He had just stood still in his original position when a man's voice suddenly came from within the bamboo forest: "If you want to come in, then come on in!"

  The man with the phoenix eyes seemed to have said only that one sentence, and upon hearing it, he didn't hesitate at all. He immediately lifted his foot and strode into the forest in big steps. All the way until he stood in front of the man from before, he simply gave a slight bow and then stood there straight and still, neither speaking nor moving, with not even a hint of expression on his face, completely ignoring the chess pieces scattered all over the ground in front of that man.

  Seeing him like that, the man could only sigh and say: "If you have something to say, then speak!" His tone was surprisingly somewhat helpless.

  The man with the phoenix eyes heard this and immediately raised his sword eyebrows, saying sternly: "This woman is so beautiful, how dare the Empress Dowager guarantee this marriage?" The words were not only disdainful of Yuandai's beauty, but also dissatisfied with Empress Xiao, who was now the mother of the Zhou Dynasty. He spoke with such righteousness and confidence, without any intention of hiding his true feelings.

  "As soon as the four words 'Huang Hou Niang Niang' entered his ears, a strange and inexplicable glint flashed in the eyes of the chess player. However, it wasn't until after a long while that he slightly shook his head: "Yue Yao, although you don't have any great achievements to your name, you can still be considered well-read in poetry and books. So how is it that you've forgotten the eight words 'to judge people by their appearance, and lose out on the subtleties'?"

  His tone was flat and actually had no intention of blaming him at all, but when the words came out, they still gave people a strange sense of pressure for some reason.

  However, this pressure seemed to have no effect on Feng Miao's man, Yue Yao. He proudly raised his head and said in a cold tone: "These eight words are indeed remembered clearly! But the prince should also know that Zi Yu is not a woman!"

  The man playing chess was taken aback, and then couldn't help but laugh. He obviously had no intention of arguing with Yue Yao, so he didn't say anything else. He simply waved his hand wearily: "Forget it, go down and tell them to clean up, and head to Lü Yuè Ridge!"

  The words were spoken in a very ordinary tone, but within that ordinariness was a hint of an unquestionable commanding tone. Yue Yao opened his mouth to say something else, but his gaze swept around and saw the man playing chess had already picked up a black piece that had fallen on the edge of the board and was thoughtfully fiddling with it. Seeing this situation, Yue Yao also understood that this master didn't plan on continuing the conversation.

  He involuntarily curled his lip, and Yue Yao finally controlled the words that were about to burst out of him, and he retreated in a huff.

  The man playing chess seemed completely indifferent to his departure, only focusing on the black piece in his hand. After a while, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, exerting a slight force with his fingertips, and flicked the black piece out. The black piece drew a beautiful arc in mid-air, falling into the bushes, and instantly disappeared from sight.

  …………

  Yan Dai had just left the mountain valley with Wen Ping when they heard a faint cry for help from up ahead: "Ninth Miss... Ninth Miss..." The voice was tinged with anxiety. It seemed that after everyone left the valley, they hadn't found her outside and were now searching everywhere.

  Yan Dai slightly tilted her head towards Wen Ping and gave a hint with her eyes. Wen Ping understood, and hastily replied in a loud voice: "Ninth Miss is here!"

  Because it was in the valley, this sound went out and for a moment, the mountains responded, echoing continuously. Even Wenping himself was startled and jumped. And this sound had not gone far when someone came rushing over from the opposite side. The person in front wore a jade crown and brocade robe, with a tall and slender figure, and it was indeed Ling Yuqing. The late winter sun scattered randomly on the sweat beads on his forehead, reflecting a bright water light, and his face was full of anxious color, apparently Far Di's disappearance this time made him quite worried.

  Seeing him like this, Yan Dai didn't even flinch and her footsteps quickened for a few steps.

  After turning over the small path, Ling Yuqing could clearly see Yuan Dai and Wen Ping. His expression also relaxed a bit, but his feet didn't stop at all. He hurried over and asked with a tone of blame before he even stood still: "I've always seen you handle things steadily, sister, why are you being so reckless today? Although there aren't any evil people or beasts here, mountain roads are not the same as flat roads..."

  He wanted to continue speaking, but Yu Dai had already smiled and handed him a handkerchief: "Sixth brother, wipe your sweat first before continuing!"

  Ling Yuancheng reluctantly took over the handkerchief and wiped his face hastily, but this brief delay allowed the people following him to search for Yuan Dai to catch up. With more people around, Ling Yuancheng couldn't continue to scold Yuan Dai, so he glared at her before ordering everyone to return. When they arrived back at the mountain valley entrance, Luo Shi and others had already come to greet them.

  Ling Yuexuan returned from the valley after admiring the plum blossoms, and her expression had naturally become much more relaxed. Although she still couldn't help but avoid looking at Lu Weijie, it was no longer as awkward as when they first met. Lady Luo saw Ling Dai return and hastily took precedence over Mrs. Lu to mildly reprimand Ling Dai a few times. Ling Dai smiled apologetically and casually said that she had seen a bird with beautiful plumage and couldn't help but chase after it to take a look.

  She had only said two sentences when Mrs. Lu on the other side coldly said, "It's getting late, and it's not right to talk about things that shouldn't be said! Can't you just stop talking for now? Are you planning to stay overnight at White Robe Temple?"

  "Jen Jong" is a Go problem, mostly intentionally set up by humans, with artificial and unusual traces, not the result of two players' game.

  …………

  I think there should be another chapter, but the timing is uncertain.