He Lan Tianxia

Chapter 269 For whom does the heart open to the sound of the flute?

The melody of "Remembering the Flute on Phoenix Terrace" once again drifted in front of the stone cave entrance of the Pavilion of Parting Sorrows. The music was soaring and gentle, both soothing and unrestrained, both tender and loving, like petals falling on the water, gently rippling, or like silk that had been gently caressed, drawing graceful arcs in the air and leaving a deep imprint.

Murong Junlan was intently playing the purple bamboo flute. From his tightly furrowed brows, heaving chest, and beads of sweat dripping from his forehead, it was easy to see how much torment he was going through. In order not to be disturbed, he tried his best to restrain himself, even suppressing his breathing to be almost even.

Others might not have noticed, but the eagle crouching beside him truly sensed Murong Junlan's tenacity. It clearly saw that Murong Junlan's clenched fist was trembling slightly, and the veins on his hands holding the purple bamboo flute were slowly bulging, but the tune he played was still melodious and rhythmic.

Suddenly, Murong Junlan lunged forward, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Everyone was horrified. Jiang He rushed to help him, while Ling Yi immediately began exhaling mist to channel his inner energy into the prince.

Murong Junlan refused Ling Yi's kindness. He stretched his arms out in front of his chest in a circular motion and took several deep breaths. Everyone thought he was going to stop playing, but to their surprise, he placed the purple bamboo flute back to his lips, exhaled with even more force than before, raised the first note an octave, and began to play it in one breath. The tender and affectionate melody was thus transformed into a powerful and majestic piece, as if it no longer belonged to the expression of love, but rather to the impact of life itself.

The majestic melody was played six or seven times. Murong Junlan's gaze shifted from fiery to expectant to disappointed to doubtful to hopeless. The stone cave door remained unmoved, and the flute music abruptly stopped. All hope vanished in Murong Junlan's dimming eyes.

He could blast open the stone cave with lightning, but that wasn't the ending he wanted. What he wanted was for his beloved concubine, his Yan'er, to be well, to smile at him, and to watch him play with turtles. Yes, if he could set aside his sanctimonious princely identity, he would much rather stay in Yan Garden and play with turtles with Yan'er like a child. Those carefree days were the happiest days of his life. He didn't want any of that—prince, marshal. He just wanted to wander the world with his Yan'er, to be together forever.

Was it because his internal energy was too strong that the Pavilion Master felt threatened and therefore refused to open the cave door? If the cave door wasn't opened, the Pavilion Master could be with Yan'er for life. But he would forever remain separated from Yan'er by the door, so close yet so far.

No. It can't be like this! His Yan'er can only be his beloved concubine.

Thinking this, Murong Junlan's eyes suddenly lit up again, and he placed the purple bamboo flute properly to his lips once more.

That melodious tune seemed to be the most touching confession of time, like a very long love letter slowly unfolding in the Pavilion of Parting Sorrows. Murong Junlan's lips curled up slightly...

The person who could decipher his love letter was trapped in the cave, as was another person who shouldn't have been able to read it. The drop of blood clotted on his lips, reflected in the light and shadow of the purple bamboo flute, was particularly chilling.

No, this can't be! His Yan'er can only be his beloved concubine, only his beloved concubine!

But if Yan'er were to leave him like this, he would be even more heartbroken, even more reluctant to let her go; his heart would bleed! No, he wanted his Yan'er to live, she had to live, even if he lost her forever, he would stay by her side until the end of time.

Murong Junlan suddenly tossed the Purple Bamboo Flute into the air, then with lightning speed snatched the bag of pills from the gorilla's hand, grabbed a handful haphazardly, and stuffed them into his mouth, swallowing them before anyone could cry out in alarm. He then used his inner force to transmit a message into the cave that only the sect leader could hear:

"My lord, I have already swallowed the poison. From now on, you may take Yan'er and fly far away."

Lingyi didn't know why the prince was doing this, but seeing the weariness on his face, he knew the prince was helpless. Knowing how proud and arrogant Prince Murong was, Lingyi had never seen him so dejected in all the time he had followed him. Lingyi wondered:

Has Your Highness managed to speak with the Pavilion Master inside?

As Lingyi thought this, it caught the Purple Bamboo Flute with its tail and handed it to Jiang He beside it. Then, it struck Murong Junlan in the stomach with its tail. "Your Highness has been disrespectful; what unimaginable consequences would result from keeping this poisonous pill inside him?" However, Murong Junlan acted faster. By the time Lingyi forced him to vomit with its tail, the pill had already partially digested in his stomach, and a drop of blood streamed sharply from the corner of Murong Junlan's mouth…

"Your Highness, hurry!" Jiang He shouted, but he didn't know who he could call for help.

Luo Xie and Hong Xiuying rushed up, frantically patting his back and shaking his chest. Ling Yi also disregarded his status, and with a flick of his tail, he instantly transformed into a giant python. The mist he exuded as a giant python was far more potent in detoxification than the mist of a smaller body.

"So, the Pavilion of Parting Hatred was prepared for me." As soon as he finished speaking, Murong Junlan spat out another mouthful of blood, which was now black.

Murong Dubai shrank to one side, somewhat surprised by this sudden turn of events. In his eyes, Murong Junlan was a god-like being, so why was he so vulnerable today? He finally couldn't help but take out a secretly concocted poison pill from his sleeve and stuff it into Murong Junlan's mouth.

Neither Cangying nor Lingyi stopped them. They could tell that this poison pill was a case of fighting poison with poison. They just couldn't understand why Murong Dubai was being so kind today.

There was one person who was more furious than anyone else, and that was the gorilla. You know, those poison pills were used by the eagle to refine antidotes, they were its antidotes, so why did Prince Murong snatch them and eat them?

Fortunately, he hadn't finished eating, but with so much less, he wasn't sure if he'd have enough to replenish his power. In an attempt to retrieve the poisonous pill from Murong Junlan's stomach, this mischievous monkey actually kicked Murong Junlan in the buttocks. Jiang He reacted quickly, pushing the prince aside to avoid the monkey's stinking foot. Unexpectedly, the monkey, in its frenzy, couldn't stop and kicked again. Murong Junlan didn't try to dodge, and the gorilla's long leg struck his vital point, sending him crashing onto the pile of dried snow lotus flowers. The poison in his body was conveniently blocked.

At this moment, the old tree spirit, who had been hiding in the corner, rolled over to Murong Junlan. Its eyes under its big head blinked at Murong Junlan, then blinked again. It didn't know that Murong Junlan had taken poison, but it stretched out its short arm, and a tender green ice lotus flower appeared in front of Murong Junlan.

The snow lotus has come to life? Murong Junlan's eyes suddenly lit up. After playing the flute for so many days and taking poisonous pills, Murong Junlan's internal energy was almost depleted. But seeing this tender green snow lotus, his dejected eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.

This was the snow lotus he had always wanted to see. He reached out and touched it, but his body was too weak, and his limp body collapsed again with a thud.

"Your Highness!" Jiang He then realized that Murong Junlan seemed to have exhausted a lot of his internal energy. Ling Yi quickly lay down next to Murong Junlan. Cangying knew that Ling Yi was transferring internal energy to Prince Murong.

"It's alive! It's alive!" the old tree spirit suddenly shouted.

"Your Highness, look! The snow lotus is alive, it's alive!" Jiang He shook Murong Junlan, who was about to faint, with all his might.

From the crack in the stone cave entrance, a cluster of snow lotus flowers emerged at a visible speed, stretching and unfolding, blossoming, and then suddenly bursting open, gently unfurling its petals—one, two, three… The tender yellow stamens sprang open, releasing a strong, refreshing aroma that soothed the soul.

As Murong Junlan gazed at the brilliantly blooming ice lotus, a smile quietly crept onto his face.

"Look!" someone shouted again, "The stone gate, the stone gate is moving."

With a rumbling sound, the stone door finally opened slowly. A sudden silence fell; the sound of the stone door opening was like the beating of someone's heart, making everyone hold their breath.

Murong Junlan smiled; he knew his Yan'er could be saved.

Everyone stared intently at the stone cave entrance, from which tender green ice lotus flowers bloomed. Suddenly, Murong Junlan found the strength to stand up. The moment the stone cave entrance was fully opened, a large stone slab slowly fell from above. Among the ice lotus flowers, the Pavilion Master propped his head up with one hand, lying on his side, seemingly asleep yet awake.