coobybook Chapter 260 Past Events
Chapter 260 Past Events
Chapter 260 260 Past Events
Ye Pianran was stunned for a moment, then looked up at him in surprise: "You're willing to tell me?"
Lifting his head and brushing the stray hairs behind her ear, Chunyu Yang said, "I'm afraid if I don't tell you, you'll leave me."
Ye Pianran gripped his shirt tightly, gritted her teeth, and remained silent for a long time before saying, "That's your pain, your past. If telling you about it will make you sad, you don't need to show me your wounds."
His warm, slightly rough hands cradled her fair face. Chunyu Yang lowered his head, his forehead touching hers, and said:
"You've already shown me your wounds; if I were to keep them hidden, wouldn't that be unfair to you?"
Ye Pianran's heart skipped a beat. She gazed deeply into those pure black eyes so close to hers, eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions—worry, tenderness, sadness—that deeply moved her.
"Then why didn't you tell me before?" she asked in a hoarse voice.
Chunyu Yang: "Because of Xuan'er, and also because... I'm afraid that if you find out, you'll resent me, hate me, and refuse to marry me again."
What kind of past could make the renowned Northern Martial King feel so afraid and helpless?
Gently hooking her little finger around his, Ye Pianran whispered:
"Go ahead and speak, I'm listening."
——※·※·※——
In the autumn of the third year of Yuanwei, a baby girl was born in the Zhan family of Flying Tiger General. From the moment she was born, her cries were extremely powerful and loud, and it was clear that she had a strong voice and was a good candidate for martial arts.
This was General Zhan Tao's first child. Although she was a girl, she was especially loved by Zhan Tao, who named her Zhan Yinghong, hoping that she would be as lustrous and beautiful as white jade, and that she would learn his unique skills and achieve great things.
As expected, Zhan Yinghong did not disappoint Zhan Tao. She was exceptionally intelligent and talented from a young age, and by the age of ten, she had already mastered the Zhan family's Flying Feather Spear Technique. During the autumn hunt in Xingtai in the twelfth year of Yuanwei, she even fought Chunyu Yang to a draw with her archery skills, which allowed her to hit a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, thus making a name for herself in the Great Xia Dynasty.
From that time on, Chunyu Yang and the only daughter of the Zhan family formed a bond, a relationship that is commonly known as "no fight, no friendship".
In the capital of the Great Xia Dynasty, no woman from the imperial family or the royal family was as uninterested in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting as Zhan Yinghong, preferring instead to martial arts. Ironically, she was proficient in all of them, only her restless nature prevented her from sitting still. More than one person had said that if she weren't a woman, she would undoubtedly be the next leader of the Zhan family army.
Therefore, in everyone's eyes, Zhan Yinghong and Chunyu Yang were a match made in heaven.
Chunyu Yang greatly admired Zhan Yinghong. They shared similar interests and were evenly matched in martial arts. Moreover, he was a few years older than her and always doted on her as if she were his own younger sister. Zhan Yinghong, however, had no romantic feelings for him and, like Chunyu Shan, called him "Third Brother" in private.
In the sixteenth year of Yuanwei, Chunyu Yang, inspired by his close friend Wenren Qi, gathered talented individuals he had met in the martial arts world who were committed to protecting their country and formed a powerful Xuanjia Army. He appointed Wenren Qi as his deputy general to lead the entire army together.
When Zhan Yinghong heard about this, he found it amusing. So, when Chunyu Yang and Wenren Qi returned from their duty visit to the palace, he disguised himself and stopped them, claiming that he wanted to join the Xuanjia Army.
Chunyu Yang recognized Zhan Yinghong at a glance. Intending to tease him, he pretended not to notice and said to Zhan Yinghong:
"If you can withstand five moves from General Wenren, I will let you join the Xuanjia Army."
Zhan Yinghong was indignant upon hearing this. She had once been able to hold her own against Chunyu Yang at the autumn hunt, how could she be defeated by a mere deputy general? Full of confidence, she accepted Chunyu Yang's provocation, drew her weapon, and immediately thrust it at Wenren Qi.
She lost, and she lost completely.
She only lasted three moves against Wenren Qi.
When that chilling black iron longsword was pressed against her throat, Zhan Yinghong believed that if the other party had been willing, she would already be decapitated.
Her eyes were wide with disbelief, just like a startled deer.
But what surprised her even more was that after defeating her, Wenren Qi did not humiliate her, but instead said:
"Your skills are quite good, but your lower body is a bit unstable. If you practice more diligently, you will definitely be able to have a good fight with me."
After saying that, he gave Zhan Yinghong a very bright smile.
That smile was full of youthful vigor and confidence, and his handsome eyebrows and eyes were unrestrained, making her lose her mind for a moment.
"I will defeat him." Zhan Yinghong thought to herself, feeling dizzy and disoriented. She returned to General Fei Hu's mansion, her face burning with heat, and intensified her training under Zhan Tao's astonished gaze.
Every day thereafter, she would make an excuse to wander around Chunyu Yang's residence and the Xuanjia Army camp. Whenever she encountered Wenren Qi, she would grab him and have a match with him.
However, he lost every time they competed.
It wasn't that her kung fu wasn't good enough, but rather that while she was working hard, her opponent's strength was also constantly improving.
This is a terrifying martial artist. Fortunately, he is a friend, not an enemy; otherwise, who knows what kind of turmoil the world would have been thrown into chaos because of him.
Perhaps annoyed by Zhan Yinghong, Wenren Qi deliberately went easy on her one day, letting her have five moves, and then said to her:
"Now that you've managed to withstand five moves from me, I grant you permission to join the Xuanjia Army. Report to the camp tomorrow."
But Zhan Yinghong was not as happy as he had imagined. Instead, he was so angry that he threw the sword at him and did not appear for five days.
She ran away, and Wenren Qi felt uneasy. Every day, he would deliberately pass by the military camp gate, looking around for that familiar figure.
When Chunyu Yang learned of this, he figured out what the two men were thinking and couldn't help but find it amusing. After some thought, he took Wenren Qi to General Feihu's mansion to apologize in person.
At this moment, Wenren Qi realized that the boy who had been stopping him from fighting every day was actually a woman, and moreover, Zhan Yinghong, the only daughter of General Zhan Tao.
Looking at Zhan Yinghong, who was dressed in brocade robes and was stunningly beautiful, Wenren Qi was filled with disbelief, his eyes wide open, just like a frightened rabbit.
Zhan Yinghong chuckled at his joke, and her anger vanished instantly.
However, due to the arrival of Chunyu Yang and Wenren Qi, Zhan Tao learned of Zhan Yinghong's intention to join Chunyu Yang's Xuanjia Army. Enraged, he locked Zhan Yinghong in the general's mansion, where he was constantly watched by people wherever he went.
Although he had always groomed Zhan Yinghong as the successor of the Zhan family army, there was no precedent in the Great Xia for a woman to serve as a general. Even if she wanted to join the army, she had to join the Zhan family army to silence any dissent.
But Zhan Yinghong refused. She threatened her life, demanding that Zhan Tao release her from the manor. After all, she was his own flesh and blood, and Zhan Tao couldn't bear to see her harmed. He declared that if she joined the Xuanjia Army, she would never be allowed to join the Zhan family army again, nor would she be allowed to use the Zhan family's Flying Feather Spear Technique.
Zhan Yinghong agreed and ran out that very night, barging into Wenren Qi's residence, cornering him on the bed, his gaze burning with passion.
"I want to join the Xuanjia Army, I want to fight alongside you, so answer me, are you willing or not!"
Wenren Qi blushed deeply and stammered for a long time before finally replying, "You are a woman, how can you join the army?"
Zhan Yinghong said, "I can dress up as a man! I've been doing it since I was a child, and even you didn't notice before, did you?"
Wenren Qi hesitated: "What about Third Brother..."
Zhan Yinghong interrupted him: "He will definitely agree. He has always spoiled me the most since I was a child!"
Wenren Qi gazed at her face, so close to his in the moonlight, and was momentarily lost in thought. Zhan Yinghong's heart stirred; she leaned down and gently kissed his lips, saying:
"That `s a deal."
Then, she plopped down on his bed, crossed her legs, and looked at him with a smile.
Wenren Qi's eyes widened: "You're not planning to leave?"
Zhan Yinghong said, "Yes, my father locked me up and wouldn't give me any food. I was so angry that I ran away from home. You have to take me in."
Wenren Qi grew up in the mountains and had no one to teach him how to get along with women. He stared at Zhan Yinghong for a long time before finally giving in. He prepared a guest room for her, cooked her some food, and let her stay.
The next day, a handsome young soldier with striking features appeared in the Xuanjia Army. Everyone recognized her as the "young man" who often came to spar with Wenren Qi and treated her with great enthusiasm.
She was an excellent marksman and had outstanding martial arts skills. In less than half a year, she rose from a soldier to the rank of captain. Apart from Wenren Qi and Chunyu Yang, no one in the army could match her, and she was highly respected.
However, the truth eventually came out, and news spread that Zhan Yinghong had switched allegiance from the Zhan family army to the Xuanjia Army. Zhan Yinghong's position within the Xuanjia Army immediately became precarious.
In the end, Chunyu Yang stood up for her and issued the following order to the Xuanjia Army:
"In my Xuanjia Army, women and men are of equal status and there is no difference between them. If anyone dares to complain, they should defeat Commander Zhan first."
Since then, no one has dared to say anything more.
In the twentieth year of Yuanwei's reign, the Wanku Sect of the martial arts world wreaked havoc with its poisons. Its influence infiltrated the capital, attempting to control all the important officials in the capital with poison, turn them into puppets, and then seize control of the palace to usurp the throne.
At that time, the world was filled with fear and unease, and countless people died from the poisons and insects of the Wan Ku Sect. Even the emperor's second son, Chunyu Ming, and several favored concubines who were pregnant with the emperor's children, perished at the hands of the Wan Ku Sect.
The calamity that befell the Great Xia Dynasty filled the emperor with both fear and anger. He immediately ordered Chunyu Yang to lead the Xuanjia Army to wipe out the Wankumen, leaving no survivors.
As expected, the Xuanjia Army lived up to the emperor's orders. It took them two months to find and kill all the disciples who had been hiding in the palace and the homes of various officials in the capital. Even the disciples who were not involved in the matter were not spared.
Chunyu Yang and Wenren Qi led their men to hunt down the Wanku Sect leader and other remnants, arriving at the sect's headquarters with the intention of exterminating them and eliminating any future troubles. However, no one expected that during this battle, Wenren Qi would save Chunyu Yang and never return.
A renowned general died without leaving behind any remains, except for a cold-bladed sword, which gleamed with a lonely, chilling light in Chunyu Yang's hand.