NCCnovel Chapter 187 Qin Mu and Empress Li Yang at 10,000 Meters Above the Ground
Chapter 187 Qin Mu and Empress Li Yang at 10,000 Meters Above the Ground
Meanwhile, at an altitude of 10,000 meters.
Zhao Qingxue gazed at the mountains and rivers below, so insignificant they seemed like ants; at the surging Nu River, now just a thin silver line under the moonlight; at the warship, now barely a visible dot—
Her mind was blank.
It's not fear.
It's not anger.
It wasn't even shock.
Instead, it's blank.
A complete and absolute blank.
She took flight.
No.
She didn't fly away.
It's Qin Mu.
He carried her into the air.
Qin Mu's arm was wrapped around her waist, the force was not strong, even gentle, but it carried a kind of firmness that was impossible to break free from.
He held her like that, climbing higher and higher in the night breeze.
She crossed cliffs, crossed clouds, and crossed all the heights she thought were beyond human reach.
until this moment-
10,000 meters above the ground.
Zhao Qingxue lowered her head and looked down at her feet.
Below, the clouds spread out like a silvery-white ocean, and the moonlight sprinkled on the sea of clouds, creating shimmering waves, like an inverted Milky Way.
Occasionally, the outline of the land below can be seen through gaps in the clouds.
The mountains are like dark eyebrows, the rivers are like threads, and the villages and towns are like scattered sesame seeds, so small that they are almost indistinct.
Where is the Nu River?
She couldn't find it.
Where is that multi-story ship?
She couldn't find it either.
Only a vast, boundless night spread out beneath my feet.
Zhao Qingxue's eyes trembled slightly.
She slowly turned her head to look at the man beside her.
Moonlight streamed down from above, outlining the contours of his profile.
He remained standing with his hands behind his back, his moon-white robe fluttering slightly in the night breeze. The hem of the robe lifted gently and then slowly fell down, the silver-embroidered cloud patterns shimmering with light under the moonlight.
He looked relaxed, with that half-smile still playing on his lips, and his gaze was calmly fixed on the distance, as if he weren't hovering at 10,000 meters in the air, but simply admiring the moon in his own backyard.
Noticing her gaze, he turned his head to look at her directly.
That gaze remained gentle, composed, and still held a depth that she couldn't fathom.
"What's wrong?"
His voice carried clearly in the night wind, neither too loud nor too soft, yet it seemed to ring right next to her ear.
"Are you scared because it's your first time flying this high?"
Zhao Qingxue did not answer.
She just looked at him.
Looking at his face so close to hers, and at the light in his eyes that she could never understand.
Zhao Qingxue slowly withdrew her gaze.
She lowered her head, looking at the hand on her waist, and at the owner of that hand.
"You..." Her voice was a little hoarse, "How did you do that?"
Qin Mu finally turned his gaze away from the night sky and looked down at her.
Under the moonlight, the two were no more than three inches apart.
"How did you do that?" Qin Mu repeated her question, his smile deepening. "It's very simple."
He paused, leaned down slightly, and whispered in her ear.
A warm breath brushed against her cool earlobe, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible smile:
"Just fly a little higher."
Zhao Qingxue was stunned.
Fly higher?
Is it really that simple?
She suddenly looked up, gazing at the higher night sky.
The clouds swirled beneath her feet, like a silvery ocean. She had been so focused on Li Chunfeng below that she hadn't even considered—
Just how high did Qin Mu fly with her?
Million meters.
No, not only that.
Looking out, the clouds beneath her feet resembled a blanket of cotton, stretching endlessly to the horizon where heaven and earth met.
Above the clouds was a night sky so clear it was almost transparent, unlike anything she had ever seen before.
The moon was astonishingly large and round, seemingly within reach. The stars were ten times more dazzling than those seen from the ground, like countless shattered diamonds scattered on dark blue velvet.
And she stood amidst this dazzling light.
She was being held in this man's arms.
Zhao Qingxue's breath caught in her throat for a moment.
It's not because of its beauty.
Rather, it's because—
This was completely beyond her understanding of martial arts.
She practiced martial arts from a young age, reached the first-grade Vajra Realm at the age of fifteen, and was already at the peak of the Profound Realm before ascending the throne at the age of twenty.
She had read every ancient book she could find and consulted every master she could consult. Her understanding of the terrestrial immortal realm was more profound than that of most people in the world.
She once thought that the realm of terrestrial immortals was the ultimate goal of martial arts.
The so-called "land immortals" are those who can draw upon the power of heaven and earth, resonate with heaven and earth, and move freely between heaven and earth.
However, there are limits to "coming and going freely".
According to ancient records, the founding emperor of the Liyang Dynasty three hundred years ago, at his peak, could only levitate a hundred feet and ride the wind for a hundred miles.
But the man in front of me—
Million meters.
This is no longer "riding the wind," this is "treading on clouds."
This is not a terrestrial deity, this is... a real deity.
Zhao Qingxue looked at Qin Mu, at the composed smile in his eyes, and a ridiculous thought suddenly welled up in her mind:
What exactly is this man?
All the classic texts she had read, all the masters she had consulted, all the knowledge she was proud of—
Before this man, they were all shattered into dust.
Just like the illusory image of the founding emperor just now.
She suddenly felt a deep, bone-chilling exhaustion.
All the tension, calculation, and burden.
Everything seems so ridiculous in the face of absolute power.
Zhao Qingxue closed her eyes.
She let the night wind tousle her hair and her thoughts.
She didn't notice.
At this moment, she was being held in Qin Mu's arms.
At 10,000 meters in the air, a lone man and a lone woman were intimately close.
She didn't react at all.
until--
Zhao Qingxue's gaze involuntarily fell on her waist again.
There, Qin Mu's arm was around her.
The force was not strong; it could even be described as gentle.
Yet the sensation was so clear.
It's warm.
Powerful.
There is no escaping it.
Zhao Qingxue's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Only now did she belatedly realize—
How intimate they are now.
She was being held in a man's arms.
She was taken hostage by a man who had just abducted her.
She was taken by a man who had just crushed the Emperor's edict and overturned all her understanding.
He was the emperor of the Qin Dynasty.
She was with a man she should hate, should fear, and should try to escape from.
They just kept holding each other like that.
At an altitude of 10,000 meters.
Zhao Qingxue's cheeks flushed slightly.
She quickly looked away, gazing at the boundless night ahead.
The heat in my cheeks lingered for a long time.
Damn.
She cursed under her breath.
I'm not criticizing Qin Mu.
It's self-deprecation.
Zhao Qingxue, Zhao Qingxue, what are you thinking about?
You are Empress Li Yang.
You are a hostage.
You are the prey who has fallen into the trap.
You should try to escape, find a weakness, and plan a way out for Li Yang.
Instead of—
Instead of being here, blushing as a man holds me.
But her gaze involuntarily fell once again on the sea of clouds beneath her feet.
It landed on the faint outline of the earth below the sea of clouds.
It landed on those images she had just seen, but dared not think about deeply—
Li Chunfeng is searching for her on the cliff.
She can see him.
The gray figure looked like a speck of dust in the moonlight, but she could see him close his eyes, his divine sense spreading out to perceive every inch of space within a hundred miles.
She saw him open his eyes, his expression grave.
She saw him transform into a sword beam and rush back to the ship.
She saw him on the deck, interrogating the cowering boatmen.
She can see everything.
But Li Chunfeng—
I can't see her.
He couldn't sense her.
He couldn't even imagine that she was ten thousand meters above him, right above his head, in the sky he would never look up at.
A complex and indescribable emotion welled up in Zhao Qingxue's heart.
There is some relief. At least, the Imperial Advisor is still alive, and Li Yang still has a pillar of support.
There's a sense of helplessness. If the Imperial Advisor can't find her, what chaos will ensue in Liyang?
She felt regret. She had been too careless, too arrogant, and too trusting of the Emperor Taizu's decree.
But more than that, it's something that runs deep in my bones...
Powerlessness.
Even someone as powerful as Li Chunfeng, a half-step terrestrial immortal, whose swordsmanship was unmatched in the world.
But in front of Qin Mu, they were still like ants.
They don't even have the right to look up.
She had just tried to threaten Qin Mu with a million-strong army, border wars, and the lives of ordinary people.
But at that moment, she suddenly realized—
Those threats, in his eyes, might really be... meaningless.
Given the power he has demonstrated, it may only be a matter of time before he slaughters an army of millions.
He made Zhao Qingxue re-understand the realm of terrestrial immortals.
It also allowed Zhao Qingxue to rediscover herself.
She thought she was the one playing the game.
It turns out, she was just another pawn.
A chess piece he held in his palm, playing with it.
This realization sent a chill down her spine.
But mixed within that chill was a strange emotion she had never experienced before—
What is that?
She couldn't tell.
I don't want to argue.
Just then, Qin Mu's voice rang in my ears.
"Such deep affection in your eyes," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice, "Could it be that you've fallen in love with me?"
Zhao Qingxue suddenly came to her senses.
She turned her head and looked at him.
Under the moonlight, his handsome face wore an irritating smile, and his eyes were full of mischief.
Zhao Qingxue's gaze suddenly turned cold.
She gave him a cold look, and then—
"snort."
A soft hum.
Then she turned her head away and stopped looking at him.
Her movements were swift and decisive, carrying a hint of defiance that she herself was unaware of.
Qin Mu looked at her profile, at the fleeting coldness and barely perceptible blush on her peerless face under the moonlight, and his smile deepened.
He didn't say anything more.
He just held her a little tighter.
The force was still gentle, not oppressive, but it carried an irresistible sense of possession.
Zhao Qingxue felt the sudden tightening force around her waist, and her body stiffened slightly.
But she did not struggle.
She knew that struggling was futile.
I also know—
At this moment, ten thousand meters in the air, the man's arms were the only thing she could hold onto, the only thing that would keep her from falling.
This realization deepened the already complex emotions she felt.
The night breeze blew by, lifting her hair.
She closed her eyes, no longer looking at the vast, desolate land beneath her feet.
Stop thinking about things that can't be changed.
She let the man hold her as they walked through the sea of clouds, through the moonlight, through the long and eerie night.
.......
I don't know how much time passed.
Zhao Qingxue felt the "solid ground" beneath her feet.
She opened her eyes.
What comes into view is a dense jungle.
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
The air was filled with the scent of grass and earth, mixed with the coolness of the night dew, fresh and moist.
She stood in a clearing in the woods.
The open space wasn't large, about two or three zhang in size, and was surrounded by a circle of tall trees. The ground was covered with a thick layer of fallen leaves, which were soft and silent underfoot.
In the middle of the open space, a horse-drawn carriage was parked.
The carriage was painted dark brown all over, with a simple design and no superfluous decorations, just like the carriages used by ordinary wealthy people.
Only the two horses pulling the carriage had glossy coats, well-proportioned frames, and eyes that gleamed eerily in the darkness; it was clear at a glance that they were exceptional steeds, chosen from among the best.
A young girl stood beside the carriage.
She was wearing a coarse cloth dress, faded from washing, but clean and tidy.
She was slender with delicate features, her head bowed, her hands nervously clasped together, and her shoulders trembling slightly.
It was Xiao Yu.
Hearing footsteps, she suddenly looked up.
Under the moonlight, her delicate face was as pale as paper, her eyes filled with tension, fear, and an undisguised awe.
When she saw who it was—
With a "thump".
She knelt down straight down, her knees hitting the fallen leaves with a dull thud.