Ashes of Time's Lines

Maybe it’s not what you want, I don’t know.

============================================== ==== (So a small hotel outside Suzhou City)

Waiter: Are you a boy or a girl?

Murong Yan: The majestic princess of the Yan Kingdom, the young lady of the Murong family, how dare you offend me like this, believe it or not, I will kill you!

Huang Yaoshi: You are drunk.

(Murong Yan drew his sword and stabbed Huang Yaoshi)

Huang Yaoshi: Hahaha...

Ouyang Feng (monologue): One People have bad memories, so don't go to too many places of right and wrong, because you may forget your enemies. That day, Huang Yaoshi almost died at the hands of a man.

There are always a few months every year when people seem not to want to die. After the beginning of spring the following year, I had no business. Only one person came to me in the whole month.

Murong Yan: I want you to kill someone for me. His name is Huang Yaoshi.

Ouyang Feng: He is one of the best swordsmen today. I think it will not be easy to kill him.

Murong Yan: As long as I can kill him, I will do it at any cost. But I have one condition: he must die in my hands, and it will be the most painful way.

Ouyang Feng: Why do you hate him so much?

Murong Yan: He abandoned my sister because of a woman.

Ouyang Feng (monologue): His name is Murong Yan, and he claims to be a descendant of Master Murong. He and Huang Yaoshi hit it off at the peach blossom forest outside Suzhou City. The almanac said on that day: The fourth day of the Lunar New Year, the beginning of spring, the east wind thaws. It means a new beginning. One night, Huang Yaoshi made a joke to him.

Huang Yaoshi: If you have a sister, I will definitely marry her.

Murong Yan: Okay, we have an agreement. You must not regret it, if you do, I will definitely kill you.

Ouyang Feng (monologue): Then they set a date and agreed to meet at a place, but Huang Yaoshi didn't keep the appointment.

Murong Yan: Did my brother look for you?

Ouyang Feng: Who is your brother?

Murong Yan: His name is Murong Yan.

Ouyang Feng: He seems to have been here.

Murong Yan: Does he want you to help him kill someone?

Ouyang Feng: I forgot.

Murong Yan: If you really dare to kill him, I will definitely kill you.

Ouyang Feng: Your brother spends a lot of money, wouldn’t it be too much of a loss if you don’t agree to it? Not many people are willing to spend a lot of money to kill people these days.

Murong Yan: As long as you don’t agree to him, I can pay you double the price to compensate for your losses. However, I have a condition. You have to kill someone for me. He is my brother Murong Yan.

Ouyang Feng: The relationship between your brother and sister is really weird. Do you really hate your brother so much?

Murong Yan: Yes! Because he wouldn't let me be with Huang Yaoshi, he felt that I belonged to him. Therefore, he must die!

Murong Yan: Has my sister come to see you?

Ouyang Feng: Not bad.

Murong Yan: Don’t have any inappropriate thoughts about her, otherwise I will kill you too.

Ouyang Feng: You care about your sister very much.

Murong Yan: She is my only relative, I just want to protect her. What did she come to see you for?

Ouyang Feng: She asked me to kill a person named Murong Yan.

Murong Yan: Huang Yaoshi must have taught her to do this.

Ouyang Feng: She would do this even without Huang Yaoshi, because she wants to leave you.

Murong Yan: I will not let her leave me unless I die.

Murong Yan: Have you seen my brother today?

Ouyang Feng: He told you.

Murong Yan: Why haven’t you taken action yet?

Ouyang Feng: I’m afraid I won’t receive the money. It's not hard to kill your brother because he has weaknesses. Do you know what it is? That's you. I told him that you were the one who wanted to kill him, just to see his reaction. Since he is against you and Huang Yaoshi, it may be that he likes you. If so, to what extent does he like you?

Murong Yan: He wants me to be with him for the rest of my life.

Ouyang Feng: Then he really likes you.

Murong Yan: It’s a pity that I don’t like him. The person I like is Huang Yaoshi.

Ouyang Feng: Then isn’t he very sad?

Murong Yan: Let him be sad! Since I'm so unhappy, why don't I find someone to be with me. I just want him to taste what it's like not to be alone.

Ouyang Feng: You are cruel. Aren't you afraid of his death?

Murong Yan: I just want him to die! Ha...why are you saying these things to me!

Ouyang Feng: I thought about the question your brother asked me for a long time, and finally thought of it: If you want to die alone, the most painful way is to kill the person he loves the most first. But I can't do this. If I kill you, who will I ask for money? Right?

Murong Yan: Someone is going to hunt me down!

Ouyang Feng: How could someone want to kill you for no reason?

Murong Yan: Because, they say I am Huang Yaoshi’s favorite woman. Don't let them kill me!

Ouyang Feng (monologue): That night, that woman refused to leave. When I saw her so panicked, I gave her some wine and she fell asleep.

Murong Yan: Where did you hide my sister?

Ouyang Feng: Why are you so sure that I took her in?

Murong Yan: I know she came to see you once, but no one has seen her since.

Ouyang Feng: One night she came to me. She said she was being hunted and begged me to take her in. Then she left. Didn't she go home?

Murong Yan: My sister has no grudges against anyone. How could someone want someone to hunt her down for no reason?

Ouyang Feng: It seems to be because she is Huang Yaoshi’s favorite woman.

Murong Yan: What a joke! If he liked her, why would he leave her.

Ouyang Feng: Some people only find out that the person who left is their favorite after they leave. Maybe Huang Yaoshi is this kind of person.

Murong Yan: He is not!

Ouyang Feng: Why are you so sure?

Murong Yan: Because he has fallen in love with another woman!

Ouyang Feng (monologue): When a person is frustrated, he will more or less find an excuse to cover himself up. In fact, Murong Yan and Murong Yan are just two identities of the same person. Behind these two identities, there is an injured person hiding.

Ouyang Feng: You are drunk, Brother Murong.

Murong Yan: Brother Murong? You have recognized the wrong person. I am not Brother Murong. I am the princess of the Yan Kingdom and the young lady of the Murong family. My name is Murong Yan. Who are you?

Ouyang Feng: Don’t you recognize me?

Murong Yan: You once said you wanted to marry me, how could I not recognize you?

Ouyang Feng: Have I ever said such a thing?

Murong Yan: That day when you were visiting Gusu, I drank with you under the peach blossom tree, and you stroked my face while drunk. You said that if I had a sister, you would definitely marry her. You know that I am a daughter, why do you do this?

Ouyang Feng: How can you take seriously what you say when you are drunk?

Murong Yan: Because of your words, I have been waiting until now. I once asked you to take me away, but you didn't do it. You said you couldn't like two people at the same time. The woman you love is Murong Yan, so why do you like another woman now? Do you know, I once looked for that woman because someone said she was your favorite woman. I originally wanted to kill her, but then I didn't do it because I didn't want to prove that she was. I once asked myself if the woman you like most is me, but now I don’t want to know anymore. If one day I can't help but ask, you must lie to me. No matter how unwilling you are, don't tell me that the person you like most is not me. Wuwuwu...

Ouyang Feng (monologue): That night passed very long because I seemed to be talking to two people at the same time. Later, I could no longer tell whether she was Murong Yan or Murong Yan.

Ouyang Feng: Murong Yan? Murong Yan?

Murong Yan: Tell me, who is your favorite woman?

Ouyang Feng: It’s you.

Ouyang Feng (monologue): Someone has asked me this before, but I didn’t answer. As Huang Yaoshi, I think these words are not difficult to say.

Ouyang Feng (monologue): When I was sleeping that night, I felt someone touching me again.

Ouyang Feng (monologue): I know that the person she wants to touch is not me. She just thinks that I am another person. Why should I be wrong? Her hands were warm, just like my sister-in-law's.

Ouyang Feng (monologue): From that day on, no one saw Murong Yan or Murong Yan again. A few years later, a strange swordsman appeared in the world. No one knew his origin, except that he liked to practice swordsmanship with his own reflection. He has a very special name, Dugu Qiubai.