江湖路弯弯: Jianghu Road is Curved! Chapter 69

_{(translated by anniaxx)}

^{(edited by xia0xiao1mei)}

＊Before you start reading this chapter, I want to tell you a fun fact. Jiang Hu Road Is Curved/江湖路弯弯 is the published title of this novel; the original title that Ying Zhao used when she was in process of writing it is 陛陛陛下 or Your, Your, Your Majesty. Why would she choose this title when this story seems to have everything to do with Jiang Hu and nothing to do with royalties? I think it will be revealed in this chapter~ Enjoy the last little twist~

CHAPTER SIXTY-NINE

In The End

Western region, on Mount He-Lun.

Currently in the fifth month, the flowers in verdant grass on the high mountains are blooming wildly, golden, crimson, light pink, and dense violent, covering the steep mountains with a layer of colourful woven tapestry. In this fusion of tall luxuriant flowers reaching the height of one’s knees, a young lady in red with a lovely figure is riding on a horse. The early spring breeze causes her dark black hair raise and fly in the air, a beautiful smile blooming on her delicate face.

“Young Madam, be careful!” A blanket is spread on the grass not far away from her, a woman is placing fruits and deserts on it, seeing the horse running a little faster, she lifts up her head and tells the young lady with a worried face.

The young lady hears her and mischievously sticks her tongue out, her legs squeezes in, that white horse immediately lifts up its feet in the air, then rushes forward as fast as an arrow shot from the bow.

“Young Madam! Young Madam!” The lady stands up in shock, yet doesn’t know what to do, and could only stare at the horse and person go further and further away.

All that can be heard is a loud and clear whistle, another strong black horse runs down from the hill, blocking the path of the white horse just in time.

“You are being mischievous again.” The gentleman in cyan on the black horse reaches out his arm, then the young lady in red is immediately captured from the other horse into his embrace.

“You’re bullying me again!” The young lady is tightly locked in his arms, protesting with a whole face of unhappiness.

“How am I bullying you?” The gentleman is confused.

“Didn’t you promise to allow me to ride a horse and walk for a while, why are you suddenly stepping in?” The young lady turns to give him a punch.

The gentleman pauses, then the corners of his lips irresistibly lift up.

“Didn’t you also promise me, that you would only make the horse walk, not run?” He casts her a glare, “Have you forgotten that you are still recovering?”

Even though the young lady did wrong first, she is still somewhat unsatisfied, pursing her lips and puffing her cheeks, not giving him an answer.

Seeing her lovely pampered look, the gentleman then closes in and gives her a kiss.

“You still say you’re not bullying me!” This time, the young lady finally caught the right opportunity, grabbing his collar, clenching her teeth at him with a vicious face, “You…you……”

“Me what?” The gentleman lifts his brows and stares at her, not showing any sign of backing off, “The engagement is done, our relationship is confirmed, could I possibly be named a shameless lecher who is harassing you?”

The young lady is left speechless, blushing and pursing her lips.

The gentleman is overfilled with joy, lowering his head to peck her lips again.

From afar, the woman gazes at this couple and smiles, thousands of emotions flowing in her heart.

—— she has finally waited till this day, have been taking care of gentleman for twenty years, she has once thought that there would never be a day when little Young Master falls for a female, there is nothing more important than mechanics and inventions in his heart, fortunately, fortunately this little lady in red appeared.

Several months ago, gentleman brought back the dying young lady back to the main estate, his face as hopeless as if the sky had collapsed, all members of the family almost flipped the medicine storage upside down, before finally being able to save this future Young Madam.

Ancient deep-wood ginseng of a thousand years, snow lotus that only grows one inch every one hundred years, the golden saffron that only blooms on the tallest summit of the western region, these one-of-a-kind treasures in the world were all sent into Young Madam’s stomach, even the air she breathes out now would cost more than a whole city’s worth.

Seems that Young Master truly loves his little lady.

This little Young Master is certainly He Qing Lu, and his wife-to-be who has returned from the gates of hell, is the one who was announced dead several months ago, Pang Wan. At that time when she stopped breathing in the inn, it was all thanks to Ah Zhuo using golden needles to apply acupuncture, Nan Yi using Xi Sui Jing to rescue her, that she barely managed to save her last breath.

Having overcome this enormous danger alive, He Qing Lu who was still in fear and shock told Zuo Huai An about Pang Wan’s destroyed heart meridians, declaring that he must take his wife-to-be away, never allowing her to stay in the complicated environment of Jiang Hu.

The world with schemes and lies, is not fitting for him and his beloved.

With his biological daughter’s life at stake, Zuo Huai An made the decision without any hesistance, he held an elaborate funeral for Pang Wan, found a dead body to replace hers, then secretly used a hidden passage to send He Qing Lu out.

“Take good care of her, just say that my Bai Yue has already abandoned all relations with her, never giving her the chance to come back.”

Before the departure, he, whose hair has greyed, left such words to his son-in-law.

Now several months have passed, Pang Wan’s body has gradually recovered, she quickly adapted to living in the western region, because He Qing Lu and his family has taken good care of her in every possible way, she has not shown any signs of maladjustment.

During her recovery, He Qing Lu has recited Zuo Huai An’s words to her, Pang Wan was silent for a after  listening, then she lifted up her head and smiled beautifully.

“I understand Father’s heart.” She looks at him with clear eyes, “I will never mess with matters of the Jiang Hu again.”

He Qing Lu strokes her hair in satisfaction.

He truly fears from the bottom of his heart, fear of her still thinking about revenging that Supreme Chief of Wu Lin until now.

“After making a round trip from the gates of hell this time, I have realized, why should I allow an evil person to conquer my mind? He simply has nothing to do with me.” Pang Wan sighs, cuddling to his embrace like a new-born bird, “The best revenge, is no revenge.”

As long as she is living well and happily, then it is enough.

He Qing Lu smilingly embraced her shoulders.

–

The couple on horseback made out for a little more, finally jumping down and coming to the blanket to eat some deserts. The woman also hands the mail that has just been received from an eagle to He Qing Lu.

He Qing Lu finishes reading that letter, lifts up his brows, then hands it to Pang Wan.

“What? Father has accepted Sang Chan as his goddaughter?” Pang Wan stares at that piece of paper with wide eyes, her mouth could not even be closed, “He also wants to make her Bai Yue Sheng Gu?”

He Qing Lu just drinks water from a leather bucket, calm and still: “Why not? That cousin of mine fits this position more than you do.”

“Are you indirectly belittling me?” Pang Wan is annoyed and throws that letter away, “Gentleman, some truth can be kept in your heart, I would thank you for that.”

He Qing Lu stops laughing, grabs an olive and sticks it in her mouth, after blinking a few times: “Sang Chan can do anything for power and position, she wholeheartedly desires to achieve high fame in Jiang Hu, supporting Gu Xi Ju before was simply just trying to promote herself to higher grounds, now those two have become enemies, since Sang Chan is determined to be a part of Bai Yue, then I promise you she would do better than you in the position of Sheng Gu, Bai Yue Sect will also become even stronger. ”

Pang Wan could not think of any words to fight back, feeling deep down in her heart that the matters in this world are truly ridiculous.

—— the white lotus flower of Wu Lin who could commands wind and rain as she desires, the idol who she once completely admired, has chosen the path of being her own successor. Fairy becomes demoness, demoness washes her hands clean and gives up everything for her man, is there anything more ridiculous than this?

“Why would you waste emotions over this?” He Qing Lu sees through her thoughts with one glance, “This is the life that she wants, it is the road that she has chosen herself, many years ago when she realized that as an adopted daughter, be it the He family or the Solitary Palace, neither would ever leave a position for her, she angrily left. Maybe she is laughing at you in her heart for not treasuring your position which came with your birth!”

Pang Wan has no response.

She truly has never thought, whilst she is jealous of Sang Chan having numerous people’s admiration, Sang Chan just desires the very power that she was born into.

In the end, the most helpless thing in the world is nothing other than owning this but desiring for that.

“Since Father made such arrangement, then what about my senior brother?” Pang Wan’s eyes reveals concern, “Would he be unable to become the next sect leader? Could it be that Father purposely wants him to fight for the successor position with Sang Chan?” She is concerned for Nan Yi’s safety.

He Qing Lu’s face freezes, turning away his head.

“Doesn’t he send you a letter every month?” The Gentleman’s voice is cold and rigid.

“He only says he is going to travel in the Jiang Hu alone, not willing to tell me his whereabouts.” Pang Wan knows He Qing Lu is not happy in his heart, and could only force herself to explain, “How pitiful is he to be all by himself, also suffering from previous love pain……”

“Could it be that after you find out where he is, you are going to go there and comfort him yourself?” He Qing Lu’s face turns as dark as the bottom of a burnt pot.

Pang Wan does not dare to say more after being fiercely glared by him.

“Don’t be angry, Senior Brother’s divine martial arts is peerless in the world, he shouldn’t have any danger.” She holds onto He Qing Lu’s arm and rubs her face against it, attempting to make him happy.

He Qing Lu sees her showing her soft side, and assumes that his family motto of “Husband Being the Wife’s Sky” has been enhanced, hence happily pinches the tip of her nose.

“I have a gift for you.” He gently gazes at his wife-to-be.

“What is it?” Pang Wan feels the pain and touches her nose, making a “ci” sound with her mouth, somewhat blaming him for not being gentle enough.

She sees He Qing Lu puts his fingers in his mouth and blows a pretty whistle, from afar, several people comes carrying a huge kite over.

Compared to that kite, what shocks her even more is one of the people carrying the kite.

Leading the group is surprisingly that storyteller from the little town years ago, Wang Gang!

“He’s not dead? You didn’t kill him?” Pang Wan almost could not believe her eyes. She turns to shake He Qing Lu’s shoulders.

“At that time, I just said he is no longer in the world, but here, it is a paradise outside of that world, him appearing is reasonable.” He Qing Lu squints his eyes and looks at her, his two eyes like a pair of crescent moons, “Rest assured, I would never kill innocent people.”

Pang Wan just feels joy and surprise in her heart, she would have never thought, He Qing Lu sent Wang Gang to the western region, he did not kill him, this made her affection for him grow even deeper.

“Young Master, Young Madam.” Wang Gang comes with a smile, making a deep bow towards them, “Everything has been prepared.”

He Qing Lu nods, holding up Pang Wan’s hand and walking to that enormous kite.

Pang Wan takes a careful look, then finds out that this strange thing is made of fabric and some unknown metal.

“No matter what is going to happen next, remember to not let go of my hand.” He Qing Lu walks into the fabric, ties his waist with heaven-silkworm strings to the metal pole, then takes out another chunk of string to tie Pang Wan to his side.

Pang Wan is perplexed by his action, just when he is about to question, she hears a sharp whistle, He Qing Lu holds her and jumps on the horse, galloping towards the hill behind them.

The handsome horse’s speed is as fast as lightening, refreshing breeze roars next to them, the kite above their hands gradually expands.

“Hold on tightly!” Only hearing a low yell next to her ear, He Qing Lu taps his feet and jumps off the horseback, slipping to the cliff beneath him.

——this person is insane! He wants to commit suicide!

A scary thought slips through Pang Wan’s mind, she closes her eyes in fear, yet her fingers are holding on to him even tighter.

Forget it, just leave it in the hands of fate; in life, they share the same quilt, in death, they share the same tomb, she will just follow whoever she marries.

Yet after waiting for a long time, the expected crash did not come.

She opens up her eyes and finds herself gilding on top of a sunny and vast plain, the land and rivers below her, the cloud and sky above her.

Occasionally birds fly pass by, looking at this pair of lovers who are embracing in the sky with surprise and curiosity.

“Did you not say before, that you hope to fly again?” The gentleman in cyan smilingly gazes at her, eyes containing sweetness clearer than mountain spring.

Pang Wan falls into a daze: “Have I ever said that before?” She blankly stares at the proud He Qing Lu, “When did I ever say that?”

She almost made the person who was just about to ask for a reward choke.

“The night when I said I like you! You have got some guts, you actually dared to forget that!” He Qing Lu angrily pinches her cheek with his free hand.

Pang Wan covers her cheeks and giggles, laughing to the point of having tears in her eyes.

—— how could she forget? What happened that night, she thought it was just a dream, so she could not help but pretend that she has forgotten.

—— she truly did not think everything was true, he actually still remembers her wish, and also helps her to make it come true.

“Gentleman, in fact, I also like you.” After saying this, she quickly buries her blushing face.

“Humph, like I need to you to say it out loud to know.” The person above her pauses, intentionally acting arrogant in response.

However, in somewhere she could not see, the corners of his lips have almost been drawn back to his ears.

As the land slowly comes close, He Qing Lu folds the wings of the kite, as they steadily land on the plain below the mountain.

“Was it fun?” He Qing Lu unties the heaven-silkworm strings, smilingly looking at the young lady in his embrace, “Were you afraid?”

“Let’s do it one more time!” Pang Wan flares her nostrils at him, provoking him with her whole face of dissatisfaction.

“Wait until you have fully recovered……” He Qing Lu lifts his hand to caress her hair, yet his sentence suddenly pauses half-way.”

On the mountain road not far away from them, a snow white horse carriage is quietly parked, the curtain of the carriage is made of extraordinarily gorgeous cloud-silk, the two horses in the front both have a golden mask on its face. Four noble maids are standing outside the carriage, looking at this young couple with a joyful smile.

“Wan Wan, there is one thing, that I didn’t get the chance to tell you.” He Qing Lu narrows his eyes, and looks back to Pang Wan.

“What?” Pang Wan who has also seen the horse carriage behind them, curiously turns to peep at it.

“Actually, my surname is not He.” His steady voice sounds up behind her, “My original surname is He-Lan, my complete name should be He-Lan Qing Lu.”

Pang Wan freezes.

He-Lan? This sounds like the noblest surname of a certain minority ethnic group.

“The Solitary Palace is just a property of my family in the central land, the identities of my parents are special, so they sent my Second Uncle to oversee it.” A big hand tightly squeezes her shoulder, “No one from the central land knows our original surname, even Nanny Jin does not know, you are the first.”

“Who……who are your parents?” Pang Wan suddenly starts to stammer.

“As for this, it would be appropriate for you to go ask yourself.” He Qing Lu grins, holding her hand and walks toward that carriage.

Almost at the very same moment, one corner of the carriage curtain is lifted, a jade-white delicate hand exposes under the cloud-silk, on its wrist is a royal purple emerald bracelet, diffusing splendid luminosity under the sunlight.

This is a treasure that is only mentioned in legends, even if people are willing to give money, they could not buy it anywhere.

A pristine light suddenly shines in Pang Wan’s heart.

—— is this the story’s ending? Will this be my final ending?

She suddenly feels all the soil under her feet have turned into cotton, too soft and flowy for her to stand steadily.

——such a typical Mary Sue ending, the female lead would always get the best thing in the end, even if it is unimaginable happiness.

“What are you waiting for? My mother is calling for you to come!” He Qing Lu gently pushes her with a smile.

Pang Wan follows his force and stumbles forward, only seeing the horse carriage and the purple emerald all transforming into a cloud of gorgeous mist under the sun, as if after going through them, the next step would lead her to the beautiful heaven.

—— exactly is this the great land of Mary Sue, or the great land of marital arts?

—— exactly is this a Mary Sue story with a little bit of twist in its process, or is the cruel martial arts world changed by the transformation of the female lead?

She gazes at that cloud of mist, her heart lost and confused.

---

Translator’s Note: YAAAAHHHHH!! Happy!

p.s. This is not the final chapter!! The final chapter will be the next update! And some special chapters from perspectives of Nan Yi, Jin Bu Yao, and Jin Di Luo will be coming soon~