usatvline Chapter 376 The Moon Goddess is in despair, Xu Longxiang is on his way, and Qin Mu is drinking and e
Chapter 376 The Moon Goddess is in despair, Xu Longxiang is on his way, and Qin Mu is drinking and e
Jiang Zhaoyue's eyelashes trembled slightly, and the blush on her cheeks deepened.
She looked up, met Qin Mu's smiling eyes, pursed her lips, and nodded gently.
She stood up and took the slender, soft sword from her waist.
The sword was as thin as a cicada's wing, and gleamed with a cold, silvery light under the candlelight.
She walked to the open space in the center of the private room, took a deep breath, and began her stance.
The sword light flowed like water from her fingertips.
Her figure was as light as a swallow, and the sword blade drew graceful arcs in the air, like ripples spreading on a lake under the moonlight.
Her footsteps were extremely light, making almost no sound on the wooden floor; only the rustling of her clothes and the faint hum of her sword cutting through the air could be heard.
Every turn she made was accompanied by a graceful rhythm, and every sword strike stopped precisely just before it was about to be unleashed.
Her sword was not a sword for killing, but a sword for dancing for people to see.
The candlelight flickered beside her, casting her pale white figure onto the wall, sometimes long, sometimes short, like a flowing painting.
Her long hair fluttered gently as she danced, with a few stray strands falling across her forehead, adding a touch of allure to her cool and aloof face.
A faint smile always lingered on her lips, like a flower blooming quietly and gently under the moonlight.
Yunluan lifted the wine pot, and the amber-colored wine poured out from the spout, drawing a long, thin arc in the air before landing precisely in the celadon cup in front of Qin Mu.
The wine swirled in the cup, exuding fragrance, without spilling a single drop.
She put down the wine pot, took a half step back, and stood with her hands at her sides, like a quiet shadow.
Zhao Qingxue got up from the embroidered stool and went around to Qin Mu's back.
Her fingers gently touched his shoulder, massaging it lightly and softly. The warmth of her fingertips seeped through the thin fabric of his clothes.
Her technique was superb; she pressed each acupoint perfectly, infusing the slight intoxication from the alcohol into the very bones.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and a half-smile played on his lips.
Jiang Zhaoyue's sword danced in the candlelight, like a silver butterfly; Yunluan's wine fragrance filled the air, rich and lingering; Zhao Qingxue's fingertips traced patterns on his shoulder, gentle yet powerful.
The moonlight outside the window was as clear as water, while the candlelight inside was as bright as day.
Qin Mu opened his eyes, picked up the wine cup, and took a small sip.
The wine is warm and smooth, sliding down the throat and into the chest and abdomen, leaving a warm feeling.
He watched Jiang Zhaoyue's sword dance, looked at Yun Luan's lowered eyes, and felt the warmth of Zhao Qingxue's fingertips. The smile on his lips deepened.
Those people outside.
The moon goddess wept amidst the ruins, Xu Longxiang hurried through the night, and Han Zhong plotted in his military tent.
These people are all working hard for him, busy for him, racking their brains and losing sleep over him.
And he sat there, drinking fine wine, watching beautiful women, waiting for them to enter the chessboard he had laid out one by one.
He smiled gently and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.
Subsequently,
Qin Mu put down his wine cup and smiled gently.
"Alright, that's enough drinking for tonight. Time to get down to business."
Jiang Zhaoyue paused for a moment, the tip of her soft sword trembling slightly in the candlelight.
Her face flushed red instantly, the blush spreading from her cheekbones to her ears and burning deep into her collar.
She lowered her head, her fingers gripping the sword hilt, her knuckles turning white, her eyelashes trembling like the wings of a startled butterfly.
Zhao Qingxue's fingers paused for a moment, resting on his shoulder like a leaf stopped by the wind.
Her face wasn't red, only the tips of her ears were slightly flushed, like flower buds just sprouting on branches in early spring, barely noticeable unless you looked closely.
She lowered her eyes, withdrew her hand, and stood beside him. Her movements were light and natural, like a white crane with its wings folded.
Yunluan's hand holding the wine pot was suspended in mid-air, the spout still tilted, a drop of wine hanging on the rim, about to fall.
Her face remained as stern as ever, but something beneath that sternness was stirring, like an undercurrent beneath the ice.
Qin Mu stood up, walked to Jiang Zhaoyue, reached out and grasped her hand that was gripping the sword hilt, gently pulled the soft sword from her hand and placed it on the table.
The sword struck the table with a clear, resonant hum that echoed through the quiet room.
He put his arm around her waist, pulled her into his embrace, and whispered something in her ear.
Jiang Zhaoyue's face turned even redder, so red it looked like it was about to bleed.
She bit her lip, nodded gently, buried her face in his chest, wrapped her arms around his waist, and curled up in his arms like a cat that had been soaked by the rain, not moving at all.
Qin Mu put his arm around her and walked towards the bedroom deep inside the private room.
Zhao Qingxue followed beside him, her steps steady and her back straight, but something in her deep purple phoenix eyes was faintly shining, like the surface of a lake illuminated by moonlight in the dead of night.
Yunluan stood there, watching the three of them walk away.
She put down the wine jug, walked to the door, placed her hand on the hilt of her sword, and stood with her back to the bedroom door, her back straight like a sword stuck in the ground.
She had to do what she was supposed to do—stand guard outside the door and protect His Majesty's safety.
This is her duty, the meaning of her life.
She shouldn't think about anything else, and she can't think about anything else.
Qin Mu stopped at the bedroom door.
He didn't turn around; his voice drifted from ahead, soft yet clear.
"Yunluan, you're here too."
Yunluan's hand froze on the sword hilt.
Her pupils contracted slightly, and her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but something seemed to be blocking her throat, and she couldn't squeeze out a single word.
Her face finally turned red, not a faint, barely perceptible red, but a deep, burning red, as if she were on fire, burning from her cheeks all the way to her ears, and from her ears to her neck.
Her hand slowly slid off the hilt of the sword.
She turned around, lowered her head, and walked step by step toward the bedroom.
The pace was slow, each step felt like walking on clouds, soft and yielding, with no foothold.
Her eyelashes trembled, her fingers shook, and even her breathing became disordered.
She walked to the door, stopped, and dared not look up, dared not look at him, and dared not look at Zhao Qingxue and Jiang Zhaoyue.
She just stood there, like a child who had done something wrong.
Qin Mu reached out and took her hand.
The hand was cold and trembling slightly.
He tightened his grip and pulled her into the room.
The door slowly closed behind me.
Inside the private room, the candlelight was still burning quietly.
The pot of Zhuyeqing liquor on the table was not yet finished, and its aroma filled the air.
The moonlight outside the window was like water, spilling onto the bluestone road of Linyuan City, onto the ruins that Qin Mu had smashed with a single palm strike, and onto the official road where Xu Longxiang was galloping on horseback.
Under the same moonlight, some people are crying, some are running, some are scheming, and some are laughing.
Some people stood trembling in despair before the ruins, some hurried desperately through the night, and some sat in restaurants drinking fine wine and embracing beautiful women.
The night breeze seeped in through the cracks in the window, causing the candlelight to flicker gently.
The private room was empty except for the soft sword lying on the table, its blade gleaming with a cold, silvery light under the moonlight, like a sleeping silver snake.
At this time,
The candlelight flickered, and three figures overlapped on the window paper, indistinguishable from one another.
The candle flame flickered more and more rapidly, and the wick burst into tiny sparks.
A fourth shadow appeared on the window paper, and the four figures swayed, sometimes dense and sometimes faint.
The hooks on the bed curtains came loose, and the gauze curtains slowly slipped down, covering everything inside.
The tassels trembled violently, and the gold threads shimmered.
The wine jug on the table tipped over, and amber-colored wine dripped down the edge of the table onto the floor, drop by drop.
The aroma of wine mingled with the scent of candlelight, filling the air.
The moonlight outside the window was like water, and the drumbeats sounded dully.
The last drop of wine lingered at the rim of the pot, hesitant to fall, before finally dropping with a "plop".
The candle flame burned down to its last bit, then dipped low, flickered precariously, and went out.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, spreading a thin layer of silver frost across the ground, covering the wine stains and the soft sword lying across the floor.
The cold gleam on the sword dimmed, like a snake in winter, curled up and motionless.
Then the sound of drums could be heard in the distance.
The night breeze seeped in through the cracks in the window, causing the window paper to bulge slightly.
The entire city of Linyuan was asleep. Only the moonlight remained awake.