Chapter 504: Chapter 181 Fengle Building
Regret.
Lu Tong had heard many poems about regret.
Lu Rou told her that regret means lamentation, helplessness, and remorse.
As a child, Lu Tong thought there were many such things, like when she accidentally shattered her most beloved porcelain doll, when she fought with Liu Zide’s brothers for the last piece of candy on the mat, or when she missed the final night show at the temple fair because she was too busy catching fish...
In her noisy and bustling life, she was always filled with lamentation, helplessness, and remorse.
But in that moment, she finally understood the true meaning of regret.
Regret is not having the chance to say goodbye.
She later reflected countless times. Perhaps she could have left a note for her parents, or sent someone to relay a message. Why had she been so foolish not to adapt? If she had been as well-read as Lu Rou and Lu Qian, a bit smarter, maybe she would have thought of another way.
With each remembrance, her regret deepened.
Then on the mountain, she comforted herself with the poem memorized from Lu Qian: "When parting overflows, the east and west streams run, until both sides finally meet."
Everything will be better once I descend the mountain, once we reunite.
She thought regret was temporary, but it had imperceptibly become eternal.
She had forever lost the chance to say goodbye to her family.
A long night with cold winds, a solitary light shines faintly.
Lu Tong heard her calm voice: "It was a hurried departure. I didn’t get the chance."
This answer was somewhat perfunctory.
Pei Yunmeng looked at her thoughtfully: "So, you’re called Seventeen because you are your master’s seventeenth disciple?"
Lu Tong remained silent.
Back then, in the dilapidated temple in Su Nan, she had forced Pei Yunmeng to write an "IOU" on the temple wall, signing it as Seventeen—she did not want to use her own name.
Seeing her seeming to tacitly consent, Pei Yunmeng’s lips curled slightly: "Your master is very skilled in medicine. How come he is not well-known? What kind of person is he?"
"Lord Pei."
Lu Tong suddenly spoke, interrupting Pei Yunmeng: "At Huangmao Hill hunting ground, the Crown Prince faced danger, the Third Prince was also assassinated. Who could the perpetrator be?"
Caught off guard by her sudden query, Pei Yunmeng paused, then looked at her: "Who do you think it is?"
Lu Tong smiled faintly: "Maybe it’s none of them."
"I always used to quarrel with the Liu brothers as a child. Sometimes, out of revenge, I would secretly eat both of their malt candies, then incite them against each other, making them think that the other had eaten their candy, when in fact I was the one who did it."
The young man sitting across from her stirred slightly, his gaze on her flickering with complexity for a moment.
Lu Tong looked at him candidly: "Marshal, you have your secrets, and I have mine. We both understand each other well. Let’s leave it at that; there’s no need to inquire further."
She sat at the table, her demeanor cold and distant, as isolated as the quiet snow in the mountains.
Pei Yunmeng continued to watch her in silence.
This girl, calm, indifferent, rational, could indifferently take a life and recklessly pursue revenge with a desperation bordering on madness.
The secret messages from Changwu County described the Third Miss of the Lu Family, Lu Min, as willful and capricious, lively and spirited, often causing headaches for her parents. Even during his brief encounter years ago in the dilapidated temple in Su Nan, he remembered her as a girl who could be scared, displeased, and would deliberately misbehave in attempts to pull off his mask, not yet completely free from childishly mischievous ways.
She bore no resemblance to the woman before him.
In the short span of five or six years, what had she gone through?
He had just felt her beginning to soften in attitude, so why did she immediately put up her defenses at the mention of her master, refusing to let others get close?
The gaze that landed on him was like the scorching sun, searing and blinding. Lu Tong paused for a while before speaking: "Marshal, where is your ring?"
He was taken aback, then laughed softly, reaching into his chest to pull out a silver ring.
Time had passed too long; the ring had gradually darkened, shimmering with a dim, cold luster under the candlelight.
Lu Tong picked up the ring.
She said: "Back then, in the dilapidated temple in Su Nan, I sewed up the Marshal’s wound. He had promised me a favor."
"A promise from years ago. I wonder if it still counts."
Pei Yunmeng looked at her, the corner of his lips raising: "Of course."
"You saved me; I must repay the favor."
He asked: "Do you want to kill Qi Yutai? I can help you with that."
Lu Tong looked at Pei Yunmeng.
The young man’s tone was light, his eyes smiling, as if making an offhand jest, yet his dark eyes were like stars, quietly, earnestly staring at her.
As if all she had to do was speak, and he would agree.
After a long silence, Lu Tong looked away: "Don’t you have your own matters to attend to?"
She lifted her head: "How long would it take to lie in wait to kill him? Half a year, a year? Or longer?"
His brow furrowed slightly: "Are you in a hurry?"
"Yes, very."
She truly did not want to waste another moment.