Chapter 140 Meddling in Affairs Beyond One's Concern

"Yearning for romantic flings, showing every kind of alluring charm. When shall those past days of joy be fulfilled? Waste not the beautiful scenery and fine hours; within the mandarin duck tent and under the mandarin duck quilt, sleeping upon the mandarin duck pillow—oh, the charm of the darling, the darling of the charm..."

Deep within the Naizi Mountain stronghold, two bandits holding lanterns led the way ahead, while Zhu Ming, dressed entirely in white and reeking of alcohol, hummed a vulgar tune as he walked toward the small stone hut where Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue were imprisoned.

"My two brothers, how does your elder brother's attire look today? Is it fit for the bridal chamber?" Zhu Ming asked with a smug laugh, leisurely dusting off his immaculate white long robe.

Ever since Cai Rongxue had been captured and brought into the stronghold, Zhu Ming's heart had been itching with desire. Constantly dwelling on her graceful and swaying figure, he was already completely unable to restrain himself. Had the chief of the stronghold not intervened, Zhu Ming would have long since pinned Cai Rongxue down onto her bed for wanton defilement.

It was not as though Zhu Ming lacked women by his side at this moment, but how could those commonplace, painted creatures compare to Cai Rongxue? In the past, he had still considered those women somewhat pleasing, but today they tasted like tasteless wax, utterly devoid of flavor. Therefore, after getting Zhang Bu blind drunk, Zhu Ming had rushed impatiently toward Cai Rongxue's place of imprisonment, intent on committing good deeds.

As for Li Sanjian, who was locked up together with Cai Rongxue, Zhu Ming paid him no mind at all. What use could such a pedantic, sour scholar possibly be? Could he hope to stop Zhu Ming?

Did Cai Rongxue not constantly claim that Li Sanjian was her husband? Then would not defiling Cai Rongxue right before Li Sanjian's eyes be an even more pleasing spectacle?

Perhaps Cai Rongxue was the daughter of a high-ranking court official, a lady of a distinguished family. To share a night of spring breezes with such a woman—was that not even more exhilarating? After spending a night of passion with Cai Rongxue, who knows? Her high-ranking official father might even take him in as a favored son-in-law.

At these thoughts, Zhu Ming's pace involuntarily quickened, itching to strip naked on the spot and display his "magnificent physique" before Cai Rongxue...

"The Second Chief is peerless in elegance and dashingly romantic; how could he possibly be deemed unfit for the bridal chamber? That young lady will surely be overjoyed beyond measure!" Hearing this, the two subordinates immediately launched into a torrent of flattery, laying on the brown-nosing thick.

In his haste, Zhu Ming had failed to find any red garments, so he had simply changed into a white silk long robe. Yet in the darkness, that white long robe combined with his appearance—resembling that of a hanged ghost—made him look precisely like the White Impermanence of death, lacking only a soul-catching chain in his hand...

"After the Second Chief has had his romantic fun, will you let us brothers have a bit of fun as well?" asked one of the bandits, licking his cracked lips.

"Ha ha!" Zhu Ming burst into loud laughter, which in the night air sounded like the screech of a nocturnal owl. "The two of you look so utterly wretched; you would merely disgrace such a delicate young lady. Follow me quickly; once this chief has finished his pleasure, I shall simply bestow the woman in the room upon the two of you."

*You yourself look even more wretched, you motherfucker,* the two bandits thought in unison. Looking precisely like a hanged ghost himself, he still had the audacity to find them lacking? Compared to Zhu Ming, the two of them truly resembled dashing immortals...

The more the three of them spoke, the more vulgar their words became, though their feet did not slow down. Very soon, they arrived in front of the small stone hut where Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue were confined.

Not good! Reaching the front of the hut and aided by the lantern light, the three suddenly discovered several people lying sprawled on the ground before the doorway, and a sense of impending doom instantly gripped their hearts.

"It's Old Sixth Wang and the others!" One of the bandits hurriedly propped up a fallen guard, inspected him, and stammered, "He's... he's... dead..."

"They're... they're all dead..." The other bandit was so frightened that the lantern in his hand dropped to the ground.

Several bandit guards had blood pouring from their mouths and noses, their facial features horribly distorted, presenting a gruesome sight of death.

"Quick, hurry inside and take a look—see if they've run off!" Zhu Ming drew his waist saber and said with a trembling voice.

Hearing this, the two bandits abandoned the corpses, broke into a run, and charged straight into the stone hut, returning a moment later.

"They've fled! The room is completely empty; they've run... run away," the two bandits stammered together.

"What are you standing around staring for?" Zhu Ming roared in exasperation. "Quickly gather the men and go after them!"

"Seize them, and hack them into a thousand pieces!" Zhu Ming bellowed afterward, gnashing his teeth.

Zhu Ming had anticipated every possible scenario—Cai Rongxue resisting, Li Sanjian trying to stop him, and so forth—yet he had never imagined that the two of them would actually escape! It nearly drove Zhu Ming mad.

Once the two of them underwent such an ordeal or shared such a bond, and given that Cai Rongxue already recognized Li Sanjian as her husband, would such an exquisite and delicate young lady henceforth submit to that pedantic scholar beneath his body, crying out in sweet surrender? Or perhaps, once they escaped danger, they might even engage in that scandalous business right out in the open on the mountain...

At this thought, Zhu Ming felt even more crazed, yearning to instantly capture the two of them, chop Li Sanjian into mincemeat, and take Cai Rongxue right on the spot...

The mountain trails were treacherous; the two of could not possibly have run far at this hour. Reflecting on this, Zhu Ming's mind settled just a fraction.

"Come quickly! Those wicked wretches have fled!"
"Quick, quick, pursue them!"
"Don't let them escape; the Second Chief has gone mad!"
"Why are you still bothering to put on your trousers? Once we catch that young lady, the Second Chief will be in such high spirits he might just reward her to you, hehe."
"Where could those wretches have run?"
"To the mountain, the mountain—they've run up the mountain!"

Moments later, gongs began to clang furiously throughout the Naizi Mountain stronghold. The bandits were startled awake from their dreams, one after another lifting torches, grasping weapons, shouting disorderly, and charging off in the direction where Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue had fled.

The entirety of Naizi Mountain was instantly plunged into utter chaos. Viewed from mid-air, streams of fiery dragons poured out and surged in every direction.

At that moment, the various clamorous noises from the stronghold startled Li Sanjian, who was climbing the mountain, nearly causing the torch in his hand to drop onto the trail.

"Miss Cai, hurry!" Li Sanjian looked back at the distant fiery dragons behind them and anxiously pulled Cai Rongxue along.

Li Sanjian felt a frantic and oppressive anxiety in his heart. Which bastard had pointed the way with a torch, leading them precisely onto a path heading up the mountain? Moreover, this path was winding and tortuous, exceptionally difficult to traverse. How could Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue easily escape danger this way? Sooner or later, the Naizi Mountain bandits would capture them, and if caught, Li Sanjian and his companion would essentially face certain death.

"Where did that bastard come from? Fuck your ancestors! Mind other people's business when you have nothing better to do, you motherfucker! You've harmed me deeply!" Li Sanjian suddenly cursed up at the heavens, revaming the bastard who had pointed the way, completely forgetting that the person showing the way might actually have saved their lives...

"When is it, and you're still... still... cursing crudely? Really... really... hurry up, let's go!" Although Cai Rongxue did not understand what Li Sanjian was swearing about, seeing him look as though he had suffered the greatest injustice in the world while shaking his fist and shouting at the heavens, could there be any pleasant words coming out of his mouth?

"Humph!" At that moment, a cold snort suddenly echoed through the vast night, so faint as to be almost imperceptible.

With the situation being so critical, neither Li Sanjian nor Cai Rongxue heard it, and even if they had, where would they have found the time to pay attention?

Li Sanjian supported Cai Rongxue as they desperately scrambled up the mountain, stumbling along. Yet Cai Rongxue was a delicate young lady; even if she was a neglected daughter of a wealthy family, she was still a young lady of a wealthy family, was she not? When had she ever laid eyes upon such a spectacle? When had she ever experienced such a desperate, frantic flight for her life? How could she possibly run fast?

By now, the fiery dragons of pursuit were drawing closer and closer, and the shouts of the bandits could be clearly heard.

Anxiety gripped Li Sanjian, and he could no longer afford to care about much else, nor could he worry about the ancient taboo of men and women not touching when handing things over—though, truth be told, Li Sanjian was not someone overly constrained by rigid rituals anyway. Thus, he squatted down right in front of Cai Rongxue and turned his head to say, "Hop on quickly; I'll carry you on my back."

"This..." Hearing this, Cai Rongxue's earlobes flushed crimson with shame, and she hesitated shyly, reluctant to lean onto Li Sanjian's back.

"What... what are you still hesitating for? Get on quickly!" The pursuers were growing ever closer, and Li Sanjian, desperate and exasperated, roared, "When those villains catch up and seize you, what do you suppose will happen?"

Left with no choice, Cai Rongxue gritted her teeth and climbed onto Li Sanjian's back.

"Hold onto my neck." Li Sanjian held the torch in one hand while using the other to adjust Cai Rongxue's weight.

Ah, she was not heavy at all; she felt quite light, Li Sanjian noted internally. Through their garments, he could feel Cai Rongxue's smooth and silky skin, yet at this moment, what mood did Li Sanjian have to appreciate having a beauty upon his back?

With the torch in one hand and sweat pouring like rain, Li Sanjian strode heavily as he climbed the mountain. At this point, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and walk down this single road to the end; as for what lay ahead upon the mountain, there was no leisure to consider it.

The mountain trail was rugged and difficult to traverse, and Li Sanjian was moving at an extremely fast pace, causing Cai Rongxue, pressed against his back, to feel violently jostled. She had no choice but to wrap her arms tightly around Li Sanjian's neck.

With her arms around Li Sanjian and her delicate head pressed firmly against his back, Cai Rongxue's nostrils were instantly greeted by a strong, masculine scent. Overwhelmed with shyness, Cai Rongxue closed her eyes tightly, not daring to emit a single sound.

*At this very moment, if I could die together with him, this life would not have been lived in vain,* Cai Rongxue suddenly thought to herself.

*Pui! Why am I being so shameless?* Cai Rongxue scolded herself shyly in her thoughts a moment later. *He... he is Sister Li Qingzhao's betrothed; how could I harbor such a thought? It is simply too shameful.*

It seemed her own life would likely amount to this; she would hardly ever encounter someone who truly moved her heart. If she ever had the chance to return to Bianjing, she would probably spend the rest of her days in the company of a dim green lamp and ancient Buddha statues. At this, Cai Rongxue felt a fresh wave of secret sorrow over her own background and fate.

How could Li Sanjian, fleeing desperately for his life, possibly know that Cai Rongxue had harbored so many racing thoughts in the span of a few breaths?

"Woe is me!" As Li Sanjian ran, he suddenly halted his steps, staring blankly ahead as he spoke.

Hearing this, Cai Rongxue opened her eyes, and she too was instantly frightened out of her wits.

Before them lay a sheer precipice. Looking out into the distance, the bottom of the cliff was completely devoid of visibility. Opposite them stood a towering giant peak, yet between the two mountain peaks, there was only a narrow trail—or rather, it could hardly be called a trail at all; it was merely a hairline crack hugging the mountain face, winding tortuously to connect the two peaks.

The rock cleft was so exceedingly narrow that its width could estimatedly hold nothing more than a single foot?!