met free Chapter 2108 Turning Hands to Create Clouds and Rain
Chapter 2108 Turning Hands to Create Clouds and Rain
Qin Zongheng's shout, filled with forty years of worry, longing, and disbelief, resounded like thunder in the silent backyard.
The four old men almost staggered as they rushed to Mu Huanying's side.
Qin Zongheng stretched out his calloused hands, hands that had commanded thousands of troops, but stopped halfway, trembling slightly, afraid to actually touch him, lest the person before him be just a phantom from his midnight dreams.
His eyes widened as he scrutinized the weathered face, inch by inch, the features still faintly recognizable from the past. His lips trembled, his Adam's apple bobbed, and a thousand words stuck in his throat, finally culminating in a deep, choked sigh.
"Girl... you're alive... just saying that is enough!"
Song Qiankun was overwhelmed with emotion, and tears streamed down his face.
He was even more out of control than Qin Zongheng, grabbing Mu Huanying's equally aged yet warm hands and holding them tightly, as if the person in front of him would disappear if he let go.
He cried like a child. Being a man of strong emotions, he completely lacked the composure and demeanor of the Song family patriarch, and his voice was broken and intermittent.
“Huanying…forty years…Jingran and I have been searching for you for forty years…Brother Zhongmo has also been searching for you for many years! Countless times…Jingran would wake up in the middle of the night, grab my hand, and say that he must find you, that he wanted to know where you were…”
He broke down in tears, and the guilt, worries, and helplessness that had been building up for half a century burst forth at that moment.
Mu Huanying felt Song Qiankun's trembling strength and scalding tears on the back of her hand. In the depths of her calm eyes, that real ripple once again spread and gradually expanded.
She could clearly feel the heartfelt excitement and tenderness of the two elderly people, a genuine revolutionary friendship and affection for each other that had been tempered by war and the years and had never been worn away by time.
She gently patted Song Qiankun's hand, then nodded slightly to Qin Zongheng, whose eyes were glistening with tears. Her voice was still hoarse, but it held a touch of warmth.
"Brother Qin, Brother Song... I'm fine, it's all over now!"
Despite being a scholar, Jiang Huaiyuan was incredibly impatient. His eyes welled up with tears as he patted Qin Zongheng's shoulder forcefully, then looked at Mu Huanying, his voice loud yet carrying a rare tenderness.
"Huanying, you really are...we've been looking for you everywhere! You've suffered all these years!"
He wanted to ask so many questions: how she survived, where she had been hiding all these years, and how much suffering she had endured. But when the words reached his lips, looking into her calm yet world-weary eyes, he felt that all his questions would seem futile.
Yu Haoran was relatively calmer, but he was also very excited.
He stepped forward, looking at Mu Huanying with a refined face full of concern and heartache, and said gently, "Sister, all these years... where have you been? How have you been? Everyone has been looking for you, thinking of you all the time, why didn't you show up? The Li family has had a tough time these years! Alas, seeing you today is truly... a blessing from heaven!"
He asked this question not only on behalf of Li Dequan, but also on behalf of his old friends who had been searching for him for forty years!
The four elderly people surrounded Mu Huanying, chatting amongst themselves, their concern evident in their words.
The excitement and warmth of their reunion, spanning forty years and experiencing life and death separations, touched everyone in the courtyard.
Even seasoned soldiers like those from the Qin'anling and Qinhuaihe regions, who are known for their iron will, were deeply moved by the genuine emotions displayed by their fathers.
Li Xiangnan watched this scene with gentle eyes, while Qin Ruobai beside him gently took his arm.
This sincere friendship, which has been built up over forty years, is like a warm current, temporarily dispelling the gloom and coldness that permeated the backyard due to the conflict.
However, this warmth is like the most dazzling sunlight to those with ulterior motives, exposing them and shattering their hearts!
The little monk stood frozen at the moon's entrance, caught in a dilemma.
He watched as those four elderly men, whose mere presence in Yanjing could shake the city, became so agitated and out of control, surrounding an old friend they had been searching for for forty years. Even the most foolish among them would understand.
The old woman who walked in from outside was the real Mu Huanying!
At least, in the eyes of people like Qin Zongheng and Song Qiankun, who had deep friendships with Mu Huanying, she was!
What was that noise from the side room just now?
A trap or a decoy?
A bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped him.
Li Xiangnan... This guy knew from the very beginning that Mu Huanying wasn't in the side room!
He deliberately released that smokescreen to draw everyone's attention to the backyard, to that target that might not even exist!
His real trump card was to have the real Mu Huanying appear in the most unexpected way when the time was right, so as to break down everyone's psychological defenses in one fell swoop, and at the same time, with the Qin family, Du Xingyue, Ji Qingyue and other forces witnessing her, confirm her identity and return!
What a deep scheme!
What terrifying patience!
The little monk felt his spine go numb!
This time, Buddha has not only kicked a hornet's nest, but has fallen into a bottomless pit that Li Xiangnan had dug long ago!
Now, Mu Huanying is standing here alive and well, protected by the towering Qin family, orchestrated by the unpredictable young man Li Xiangnan, and with Du Xingyue and Ji Qingyue by her side...
If the Buddha wants to make a move against the Mu family or Li Xiangnan again, it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven!
They might not even be able to protect themselves!
He remembered the warning that Qin'anling had been cleared away, and a chill ran down his spine!
Shangguan Wuji's face turned ashen, and his last shred of hope vanished.
Yu Haoran's question, "Where have you been all these years?" was like a hammer, shattering the last vestige of hope in his heart.
Mu Huanying has not been with the Li family at all these years, and may not even be in Yanjing!
Li Xiangnan's hosting of this full moon banquet today is clearly a trap to lure people into a snare!
The goal is to lure out all those who were involved in the Mu family's old case or who coveted the Mu family's inheritance, and then, at the most opportune moment, reveal Mu Huanying as the trump card to wipe them all out, at least to completely crush them in terms of momentum and psychology!
This young man... this young man is so young, yet he has such shrewdness and courage!
Shangguan Wuji felt a chill in his heart, and his gaze toward Li Xiangnan was filled with fear.
He now truly realized what a terrifying opponent he had provoked!
This kid not only has an unfathomable background, but he is also ruthless and cunning, taking every step with meticulous care!
After today, Yanjing is likely to undergo a major upheaval!
Representatives from ten families, including Ye Ruyan and Yan Qinghe, felt as if they had fallen into an ice cave.
They looked at Mu Huanying, and felt the invisible, heavy pressure brought by her calm yet all-seeing gaze as it swept over them; their calves were cramping!
Mu Huanying is back!
The Miss Mu from back then is back!
He's back with a forty-year-old secret and a blood feud!
With the Qin family, Elder Du, and the Ji family present, if she were to say she wanted to settle old scores now, who would dare to say no?
Who can escape it?
Qian Houjin shrank back, but in his heart he was experiencing a different kind of wonderful scene.
Looking at the expressions of grief on the faces of the little monk and Shangguan Wuji, who looked as if their parents had died, and then at Li Xiangnan's calm and composed profile, his admiration for this Doctor Li reached its peak!
high!
That's brilliant!
It turns out that everything was under Dr. Li's control!
This ability to manipulate events at will, this flawless strategy...
Tsk tsk tsk, I guess I bet on my ancestors right this time!
Du Xingyue stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming, and his evaluation of Li Xiangnan was raised once again.
Ji Qingyue looked thoughtfully at Mu Huanying and then at Li Xiangnan, a hint of understanding and appreciation flashing in her eyes.
Although Qin Anling and the other members of the Qin family did not know what had happened between the older generation, and their fathers were unwilling to talk about it, they knew from the reactions of Shangguan Wuji and others that the return of Aunt Mu meant that some long-buried, disgraceful old stories would be reopened.
Li Xiangnan was clearly the driving force and controller of all of this.
Qin Anling's gaze toward Li Xiangnan held a newfound respect and appreciation.
This young man is courageous, insightful, loyal, and even more remarkable for his strategic planning ability. He is a perfect match for the Qin family's daughter!
At this moment, Mu Huanying gently broke free from Song Qiankun's tight grip on her hand.
Although Song Qiankun was deeply affectionate, he realized that he had lost his composure and quickly let go, apologizing repeatedly.
Mu Huanying slowly raised her head, her gaze sweeping across the entire room once more.
Unlike the warm look in her eyes just now, her gaze was calm and cold, carrying a kind of insightful understanding and unquestionable authority that came from having experienced many trials and tribulations and seen through the ways of the world.
She first nodded reassuringly to the four still agitated elderly men, and said gently, "Brother Qin, Brother Song, Brother Jiang, Brother Yu... I appreciate your kindness! The trials and tribulations of the past forty years are too numerous to recount in a few words. Please allow me to tell you about them in detail later!"
Then, she changed the subject, her voice not loud, but clearly carried to every corner of the courtyard, especially to the pale-faced guests.
"But today, since everyone is here!"
Her gaze, like two cold searchlights, slowly and one by one fell on the faces of the little monk, Shangguan Wuji, and the representatives of the ten families of Yanjing.
Her gaze wasn't fierce, but it carried a weight and penetrating power accumulated over forty years. Everyone who was looked at by her felt an invisible pressure, as if they had been stripped naked and exposed to the public eye, with all their hidden filth and secrets exposed!
The slight warmth that had just risen in the courtyard due to the reunion vanished instantly, replaced by a heavier, suffocating atmosphere of solemnity.
A resolute, unyielding determination surfaced on Mu Huanying's aged face. She spoke each word slowly and deliberately, her voice like the tolling of an ancient temple bell, resonating in everyone's heart:
"There are some old grievances that have been buried for forty years!"
She paused, and each word she uttered was like a heavy hammer blow, shattering the souls of the little monk and the others.
"It's time to do some serious calculations!"
After he finished speaking, all was silent.
Only the winter wind whistled through the eaves, as if mourning the wronged souls of forty years ago, or perhaps playing the prelude to the impending reckoning...