Chapter 357: Chapter 355: For Love and Justice
"Blue Flame!"
After the Council Hall adjourned, Blue Flame was about to leave with Silver Ancient Moon when Lv Heng caught up from behind.
"What instructions does the Young Master have?"
"Still so formal? In a few days, you’ll be my brother-in-law, and we’ll be family." Lv Heng laughed and playfully punched Blue Flame on the arm.
Blue Flame also smiled and said, "With clear distinctions between ranks, and you, Young Master, having your own magnanimity and the demeanor of a wise ruler, I feel close yet dare not be impudent."
"Haha, Blue Flame, you’re quite the flatterer." Lv Heng laughed heartily, "Be sure no one else hears, as my father is still youthful. My biggest role is to give him a clever and lively grandson to inherit the empire he is about to conquer. My abilities are limited; managing logistics for my father is already no small feat."
"Young Master, you’re underestimating yourself too much," Blue Flame calmly said, "Lv Gong has a plan for your development. Currently, he’s just letting you sort out governmental affairs and develop your own team. When the time is right, you’ll be his most trusted rear support, the heir he can confidently rely on to conquer the world."
"Great mountains are also made from sand and soil; no one is born knowing everything. Young Master, you need not belittle yourself; when you sit in that position, you’ll naturally know what to do."
"You’re making my blood boil; I can’t wait to relieve my father’s worries." Lv Heng laughed, "But I know, Blue Flame, you are the subordinate my father trusts the most to relieve his worries, and you’re also the backbone for Chenfeng, the anchor for Linhai."
Blue Flame smiled without refuting or confirming.
Lv Heng collected his smile, speaking seriously, "The Unrivaled List of Yanjing caused a stir worldwide, alarming martial artists. Blue Flame, you are the peerless first god general in the world, at the eye of the storm, watched by everyone."
"Some say you harbor old subordinates of White Night and intentionally let the White Night Walker go, secretly collaborating with White Night; others say you won the favor of the three armies, gathering military support; yet others say you still maintain ties with the old Statistical Department, ready to control Star Engraving County at any moment..."
"But my father has not divided your power in the slightest, nor deprived you of any credit. From start to finish, you are the Commander of Linhai Army, a senior officer of the promulgated government, and always a trusted deployment of our Lv family."
"I dare not claim such honor."
"Don’t mind the rumors outside," Lv Heng said, "I’ll do my best to explain to my father. Anyone spreading falsehoods will be severely punished, and we will not allow our meritorious contributors who bled and sweat for the Lv family to suffer insults or injustice!"
"Blue Flame, you have not let our Lv family down, and our Lv family will never let you down!"
Facing Lv Heng’s gaze, Blue Flame nodded solemnly and clasped his fists, saying, "Blue Flame is willing to go through fire and water for the era of the Lv family!"
"No need for you to go through fire and water," Lv Heng suddenly relaxed, smiling, "Just don’t make my sister cry. I’m not here for idle chat; if you don’t meet with her, I’ll be in trouble."
"But now it’s still a few days until the auspicious day..."
"She’s been holding back so much that she’s almost getting sick, why care about the auspicious day or not?" Lv Heng raised an eyebrow, "General Blue, any interest in overcoming the beauty’s hurdle?"
Blue Flame smiled wryly, "Then please trouble you, dear brother-in-law, to lead the way."
"Hahaha, the country of gentle affections is the hero’s grave; a most wise saying." Lv Heng laughed as he led them to the back courtyard of the Governor’s mansion, stopping before a separate courtyard, suddenly looking at the Silver Ancient Moon, who was glancing around.
He blinked, "Does Captain Silver have any interest in having a drink with me?"
Silver Ancient Moon’s eyes lit up, "Drinking flower wine?"
"Shh, keep it down." Lv Heng blinked, "Then we won’t disturb you, General Blue, in your challenge."
Silver Ancient Moon was about to agree but then glanced at Blue Flame, who hadn’t spoken, and dejectedly said, "Forget it, I previously bet with General Blue, and I have to keep a low profile these days, so I’ll just stay outside obediently."
Lv Heng curiously asked, "What did you bet on?"
"I bet whether he could defend against my sneak attack in his sleep." Silver Ancient Moon shrugged, "Seeing him standing here intact, you can tell I lost quite thoroughly."
"The bets you make are so dangerous! Is this the confidence of the number one in the world?" Lv Heng bantered and then took his leave without saying more.
Silver Ancient Moon guarded at the courtyard door, watching as Blue Flame entered the courtyard. A surprised shout from the maid outside quickly followed, and soon the bedroom door opened. A poised and lively youthful girl came out, walked up to Blue Flame, tilted her head up, and angrily stared at Blue Flame, "So you remember you still have a fiancée getting married in just five days, huh? If I hadn’t gotten my brother to find you, you really wouldn’t have come to see me, would you? If no one reminded you, would you have even forgotten the wedding ceremony in a few days?"
Blue Flame didn’t respond but instead turned to look at the flowers and plants in the courtyard with an air of absent-mindedness. This demeanor clearly made the girl in front of him angrier, "Blue Flame, you—"
"Look," Blue Flame suddenly pointed at the flowerbed, "there’s something there. Did you accidentally drop something in there?"
The girl was momentarily bewildered and shook her head instinctively, "I didn’t drop anything."
"There’s really something there; come with me." Blue Flame pulled her to the flowerbed, holding her wrist as they reached into the flowers together, "Making it seem like I’m lying, just touch it and you’ll know."
"Blue Flame, don’t shift the topic, I—"
The girl suddenly froze, blinking and looking down at her reclaimed right hand, discovering an exquisite and transparent jade bracelet of verdant green around her wrist.
"Don’t speak." Blue Flame raised a finger, signaling the girl to stay silent, "This is a jade bracelet I intercepted secretly from the military funds sent by Xuanzhu. It’s said to be a rare jade bracelet from Scandinavia called ’Emerald Florence,’ worth several dozen gold coins, very expensive. In the future, just say it was a gift from your father, not from me. Otherwise, if prosecuted under military law, my head would be gone, and in a few days, you’d only be able to marry my head, got it?"
Seeing Blue Flame’s serious and stern expression, the girl looked with an expression wanting to laugh but not daring to, covering her mouth while nodding vigorously, "Got it, got it."
"So, Lingyin, will you forgive me?" Blue Flame gently asked, holding her hand.
"Hmph!" Lu Lingyin turned her head away but did not let go of Blue Flame’s hand, looking at the Emerald Florence bracelet for a while before reluctantly saying, "Just this once, and no more mistakes!"
"Thank you, Miss Lingyin, for your generosity."
Lu Lingyin couldn’t hold her expression and gently shook Blue Flame’s hand, leading him to sit in the garden’s pavilion, saying to the maids, "Bring our card decks over, we’re going to play Battle Card!"
She fixed her gaze on Blue Flame, "You will accompany me this afternoon, won’t you?"
"Of course, not just this afternoon, but for the rest of my life, I will accompany you."
"All you know is to say pleasant things." Lu Lingyin framed her face with her hands and stared at Blue Flame without blinking. He raised an eyebrow, "What are you looking at?"
"I’m looking at what the world’s number one martial artist, the Unrivaled Man, looks like. Oh, right!"
Lu Lingyin took four cards from her pocket, which were the cards from the Unrivaled List, "Chenfeng Blue Flame," "Statistical Department Blue Flame," "River Cleaving Blue Flame," and the golden shiny card, only one of nine in total for Chenfeng, "War Ghost Blue Flame!"
Blue Flame was somewhat surprised, picking up the "War Ghost Blue Flame" card, "How did you get this card?"
The "War Ghost Blue Flame" card face was actually quite unremarkable, just Blue Flame in uniform sitting at a negotiation table, but behind him stood a lined-up, organized army. The Blue Flame on the card face had an upturned mouth, showing an elegant and casual smile, appearing unrelated to ’War Ghost.’
Below the card was a phrase:
"A smile stems from unshakable confidence in oneself."
"It’s something someone gave my dad, and my dad gave it to me." Lv Lingyin quickly retrieved "War Ghost Blue Flame," nervously saying, "Don’t even think about taking it away. Even if you give me a gift, I won’t relinquish it to you."
Blue Flame chuckled, "Do you like those cards more than me, a living person?"
"But you can’t be with me all the time." Lv Lingyin looked at the four cards in her hand, her voice somewhat downcast, "I can’t accompany you into military camps, fight battles with you, or build a career with you. My combat technique is really bad... These cards resemble you a bit; were they made by someone you know?"
"I’m curious about that too," Blue Flame replied.
He wasn’t lying.
He was genuinely curious.
Blue Flame vaguely sensed that all four cards were created by the same person and had their own backstories. But people who have seen him in "Chenfeng Blue Flame," "Statistical Department Blue Flame," "Beheading River Blue Flame," and "War Ghost Blue Flame" postures couldn’t possibly be in Yanjing.
If Silver Ancient Moon wasn’t outside, he would’ve suspected these cards were made by Silver Ancient Moon.
"Speaking of, have you read the latest issue of ’Youth Daily’?" Lv Lingyin said, "It’s really awful! They drew a female version of you so plain. I think you’d look better in women’s clothes than in that drawing! I’ve actually bought a few outfits..."
"I won’t wear them."
"I haven’t even said what I bought yet!"
"I won’t wear them."
"Why are you so unwilling?"
"I’m just unwilling."
"Alright then, if you can beat me in Battle Card, I’ll give up on this idea."
Blue Flame silently picked up his deck, "Did you never realize I’ve been deliberately letting you win?"
"Don’t think I’m the same as I used to be!" Lv Lingyin said confidently, "I’ve been researching new strategies lately, and I’m definitely going to surprise you. Your life is like a flickering candle in the wind!"
...
...
"Well, I should be leaving."
The sun set in the west, and the evening bell of Star Engraving County sounded. Blue Flame stood to leave, and Lv Lingyin looked at the cards in her hand, her face full of grievance, almost crying. The maidens were watching their lady sympathetically, holding the signs recording victories and defeats— one side had zero, and the other had ten wins. As for who had ten wins and who had zero, it was obvious without saying.
"Lingyin, see you in a few days."
Blue Flame was about to turn and leave when he noticed Lv Lingyin tugging at his hem. He looked at Lv Lingyin, but she only kept her head down, not looking at him or saying anything.
He smiled and went over to hug his fiancée, gently kissing her forehead, "I’m leaving."
"Mm." Lv Lingyin touched her forehead, blushing, and nodded.
When Blue Flame stepped outside the courtyard, he saw Silver Ancient Moon staring at him with a strange look. He paid no attention and walked forward, with Silver Ancient Moon following closely behind.
The two left the Governor’s mansion in silence, and by the time they reached Mirror Lake, the sky had darkened, with thousands of streetlights illuminating this Chenfeng pearl.
Silver Ancient Moon finally couldn’t hold it any longer and said sarcastically, "General, you’re so cruel."
"You’ve kept silent for such a long way; I thought you’d finally grown up and learned not to speak." Blue Flame said calmly, "Then, as you wish—why did you say that?"
"Why are you so gentle towards the Second Miss? Your tenderness bewitched her, making her mistakenly believe it’s love."
Silver Ancient Moon said, "I’m not a good person either, having betrayed dozens of times in my life, but I’m disdainful to play with others’ emotions."
"What a vicious accusation," Blue Flame replied, "But why do you think I’m playing with emotions? Considering my age, I should be settling down, and Lingyin is indeed my ideal partner. I’m willing to marry her, and I truly want to spend the rest of my life with her."
"Oh, so you have an even baser taste," Silver Ancient Moon shrugged, "Do you want to kill her whole family and then continue spending the rest of your life with her?"
"Why speak so cruelly?" Blue Flame said calmly, "We can use a more pleasant saying—after avenging your father-in-law, Lyu Gong, I will live a happy life with Lingyin."
"Just like you avenged teacher Ding Yi, earning Lv Zhong’s favor?" Silver Ancient Moon sighed, "But is it really interesting to live in lies like this?"
"Don’t be afraid of lies; this world is built on lies; don’t let your heart be confused because your heart will lie too." Blue Flame’s voice was low, "If the truth only makes life painful, then what’s the point of it existing?"
"Some issues cease to exist as long as we don’t bring them up."
"But some people always love to expose others’ scars." Silver Ancient Moon picked up the abandoned Unrivaled List next to him, "The person ahead is unrivaled; what should happen next?"
"It’s not about what I should do, but what others intend to do," Blue Flame said, "You saw what happened in the Council Hall; I’m already at a loss."
Silver Ancient Moon laughed, "Isn’t that good? Everyone loves a number one godly general; the Chancellor loves talents the most."
"Lv Gong likes talents because he sees them as walls to shield against rain and wind," Blue Flame said, "But now, in his eyes, I’ve become a dangerous wall. And those people keep adding bricks to me to make me appear even more ’magnificent’."
As they walked, Silver Ancient Moon suddenly burst out laughing.
Blue Flame: "What are you laughing at?"
"I remember some rumors Lv Heng mentioned earlier, saying you secretly engaged with the Statistical Department’s old members, saying you bought the army’s loyalty, saying you cooperated with White Night in secret."
Silver Ancient Moon paused, sneering, "But General, you indeed secretly engaged with the Statistical Department’s old members and indeed bought the army’s loyalty."
"The first two rumors have come true; isn’t the last one close too?"
"Since you’ve figured it out," Blue Flame said lightly, "Then go do what you ought to do. After nurturing White Night for so long, it’s time for them to repay."
"No problem," Silver Ancient Moon performed a dramatic gesture, "For General Blue Flame’s ambition and interests, I, Silver Ancient Moon, am willing to go to any lengths, even die a thousand deaths."
"Or, you can use another, more pleasant saying."
Blue Flame looked at the myriad lights across the lake with a faint smile.
"For love and justice."