"What did you say? I didn't hear you." Yin Sang blinked.
"You!" Qian Cuiyu was immediately furious. She had only uttered one word when Yin Sang suddenly reached out and hugged her waist. Before she could react, there was a "thump" as he jumped into the pool with her in his arms!
For a while, the world spun around her, and she felt as if the water was about to swallow her whole. She tried to struggle, but the icy water instantly rushed into her nose and throat. "It's over," Qian Cuiyu thought. "What did I do to offend him that he's going to drown me like this?"
Yin Sang swam quickly with her in the water. The underwater world was clear and blue. He tore aside a piece of seaweed to reveal a hidden door about three feet square. Then he activated the mechanism, opened the door, and swam inside.
Inside was a long, sloping corridor, at the end of which was another door. He pushed the door open from left to right, and there it was—a surprisingly spacious stone chamber.
The floodwaters had receded, and Yin Sang placed Qian Cuiyu on the stone bed—she couldn't swim! Fortunately, he acted quickly, so the second young lady didn't drink much water.
He lit the candle on the table. As soon as the light came on, Qian Cuiyu woke up, looked at him, then looked around, and jumped up in surprise, "Where am I?"
"You've heard of a cunning rabbit having three burrows, right?" Yin Sang replied to her, but instead walked to a corner and pulled out a box. With his movements, a faint smell of blood filled the stone chamber. Qian Cuiyu then noticed a large tear in his shirt on the back. "Are you injured?"
"Um."
She quickly realized what had just happened. Had someone ambushed him, which was why he had taken her with him to jump into the water to escape? She stepped forward and saw him taking out bottles and jars of medicine from the box, so she said, "Let me do it."
Yin Sang looked at her in surprise, "You know medicine?"
“A little bit. My little sister Bao’er is naturally mischievous and often gets hurt all over her body. She doesn’t dare let Grandma know, so she secretly comes to me to have me bandage her wounds. Over time, she has learned how to do it herself.” Qian Cuiyu gently pressed his shoulder to make him sit down so that she could treat his wounds more easily.
Strangely enough, this girl clearly didn't know martial arts and had no strength in her hands, but with just a light press from her, Yin Sang felt completely numb. He thought, how terrifying, if she were his enemy and wanted to kill him right now, he wouldn't have the slightest strength to resist.
However, she was certainly not his enemy, and the knife she held was not meant to kill him, but to cut open his clothes to examine the wound. "The wound is three and a half inches long, narrow and deep, and non-poisonous."
Yin Sang nodded. "It's the Flying Eagle Divine Catcher's Death Rope, with barbs on it."
Qian Cuiyu was surprised. "A constable?" A sense of crisis suddenly surged into her heart. It turned out that she didn't know the man in front of her at all. She only knew that he was a scholar, very down on his luck, who had come to her brothel to freeload and lived in a dilapidated thatched hut on the mountain.
However, how can we explain how such a talented person could have fallen to such a state? And how can we explain that there is another world hidden beneath the surface of this deep pool? Those who endure hardship must have something in mind, so what is he after?
Although he didn't turn around, he seemed to understand her thoughts, and his voice suddenly turned cold: "Are you afraid?"
Qian Cuiyu was startled, then realized that her hand holding the gauze was frozen in mid-air. Just as she was about to continue, Yin Sang pushed her away and stood up.
Such blatant rejection—gone was the arrogant and unrestrained demeanor of the Red Mansion competition, the meticulous patience of grilling fish, and the sincere earnestness of the previous essay critiques. Seeing the sudden coldness and disdain on his face, Qian Cuiyu felt her heart sink.
How can a person have so many faces? So which one is the real him?
Just as she was about to explain, she heard light footsteps outside. There must be a hidden ventilation opening here, otherwise how could the sound be so clear, as if it were right next to her ear?
A cold smile crept across Yin Sang's lips, and he suddenly exuded a sinister aura. He walked to the door, opened it, and then lightly touched the ground with his toes, leaping onto the wall and clinging to the ceiling like a gecko. The series of movements were silent and as fast as a ghost.
Qian Cuiyu understood his intention, and her face turned deathly pale.
The footsteps were already close to the door, but then they stopped abruptly, suggesting that the person coming was also a meticulous and suspicious individual.
Such a hidden passage, yet it has a wide-open door with light shining from inside—clearly a temptation.
It's always good to be careful when it comes to temptation.
However, few people can resist temptation.
Then Qian Cuiyu saw a silver ingot thrown in from outside the door, followed by a figure flashing in. The person's eyes widened immediately when he saw her, and he exclaimed in surprise.
A second person immediately flew in from outside and asked, "What's wrong?"
A white light suddenly flashed by, the blinding light making her squint. When she opened her eyes again, everything had changed.
The first man fell to the ground, while the second man stood upright with a long sword pressed against his throat, the sword held in Yin Sang's hand with absolute skill.
"You..." The second person looked at Yin Sang and then at Qian Cuiyu, his expression one of extreme terror.
Yin Sang said nothing, the tip of his sword flashed, and the second person fell to the ground with a thud. Qian Cuiyu immediately covered her mouth with her hand.
Yin Sang glanced back at her, "Are you scared?"
She bit her lower lip, and after a long while, she finally managed to say in a hoarse voice, "Why did you kill someone in front of me?"
“Because if I don’t kill him, he will kill me.” Yin Sang’s cold smile deepened, and his gaze toward her held a clear malice.
Qian Cuiyu threw the gauze in her hand violently. Yin Sang saw her action and then said calmly, "Are you starting to regret coming to me? It's not too late to regret it now. As long as you forget what happened today, I will send you back."
As if she hadn't heard, she asked again in a strained voice, "Why did you kill someone in front of me?"
Yin Sang frowned.
Qian Cuiyu said angrily, "Do you think I'll be scared? That I'll scream and run away like everyone else, trembling with regret every time I think about you, wishing I'd never met you—is that the outcome you want?"
The smile on Yin Sang's lips disappeared, and he said in a calm voice, "You said you would never make the same mistake again."
“But is this a mistake?” She took a few steps toward him. “Was it a mistake for me to come see you?”
"yes."
He answered with absolute certainty, but she turned pale and shouted, "You're talking nonsense! You were clearly very happy when you saw me just now!"
Yin Sang smiled gently, "You're really just being presumptuous."
The color drained from her face instantly. Yin Sang stared directly at her, his voice icy and devoid of any emotion:
"Miss Qian, thank you for thinking so highly of me and coming all the way here to have me evaluate your masterpiece. But do you know who I am?"
Do you know who I am?
Do you even know who I am?
Her body was trembling; she could clearly feel it. But what happened next? Why did the world suddenly spin and fly away?
She was so shaken that she lost her senses.
When she regained consciousness, the Green Pool, the secret chamber in the water, and the ever-changing man were all gone.
She found herself standing quietly in an elegant and simple boudoir, facing the old woman's stern face, feeling a chill run down her spine.
"Cuiyu." She heard the old woman call her that. "Do you know who he is?"
Who is he? Why does everyone ask her who he is?
Does it matter who he is? Does it really matter that much?
Looking at the old woman in front of her, she felt as if she were suffocating.
Chapter Five
"Young master, the water is ready." Liu Ye's soft voice startled the young master from his reverie. He turned to look at her, and Liu Ye still had an expressionless face. Everyone can hide their emotions well, but why do those women's eyes always reveal a stormy sea of emotions beneath their calm?
The young master turned around, pushing his wheelchair around. Just as Liu Ye was about to offer her assistance, he shook his head and said:
"It's okay, I can do it myself."
Behind the screen in the inner room, steam rose. The wooden tub's handles and height were carefully designed so that he could bathe by himself without assistance. The young master removed his clothes, moved his body, and immersed himself in the hot water, his whole being...
A sudden tremor.
Hearing the commotion, Liu Ye outside asked, "Young Master?"
"It's nothing," he replied, staring at his legs in disbelief. He could feel it... he could feel a little bit of it; he had clearly felt the heat when his legs were immersed in the hot water.
But--
How could that be? His leg was clearly crippled in the battle at Mount Tai.
Ah, even his teacher said he had no hope of recovery and would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Yet, he just felt something. How is that possible?!
He reached out and pressed on his leg. His nerves sensed the pressure and quickly relayed the information to his brain. Although it wasn't very obvious, he could still feel it. The young master suddenly looked up, and even with his composure, he was so overjoyed that he almost cried out.
However, just as he was about to tell Liu Ye about it, his face was reflected in the bronze mirror on the right side of the screen, and certain sentences inexplicably jumped into his mind...
"Stop following me!"
Why did you lie to me?
"I am a despicable person by nature, it's just that you misjudged me."
"Why..." The woman's voice lingered in his ears, as if it had been a lament for a thousand years, "Why do you treat me like this? Why won't you be kinder to yourself?"
The young master was greatly alarmed, and his next words became even clearer: "If you won't love yourself, then let me love you. With me loving you, there is me loving you in this world!"
A sudden, sharp pain swept over him, like a dagger digging into his brain. He felt as if his head was about to split open, and stars flashed before his eyes, blurring his vision.
The young master let out a long howl and plunged into the water!
Hearing the commotion, Liu Ye rushed in and quickly scooped him up. "Young master, what's wrong?"
The young master, his face pale, covered his head and groaned, "Teacher... Teacher..."
Liu Ye was taken aback. "Young Master?"
"I, I..." He said a few words before fainting from the pain.
"Don't follow me anymore!" Under the withered plum blossoms, Qian Cuiyu saw herself following behind Yin Sang, the two of them several feet apart, he glaring at her.
He took a few steps, then turned back and saw her still following him, stubbornly clinging to him. He grew even angrier. "I told you, don't follow me anymore! I won't take you away, I won't, never!"
"Why?" she asked softly, her eyes lowered. What was wrong with this man? Why did he suddenly become so unfamiliar and indifferent?
Qian Cuiyu began to struggle. She knew she had fallen into an endless dream, and she had a premonition that the ending of the dream would be terrible. No, she didn't want to continue. Stop, please stop at this moment!
A faint murmur of noise drifted in: "What? The young master has fainted? Quick, get a doctor! What the hell is going on? One after another, people are falling ill. Is it really bad luck?"
There were still many sounds below, but they were indistinct. Her head felt heavy, as if all her strength had been drained away. The world before her eyes spun, returning to the scene from just moments before—
Yin Sang stared at her coldly and said calmly, "Why? Don't you know why?"
"Just because of your status?"
He squinted and said, "No, it's because of your identity."
"I don't care about my identity."
“But I mind.” His eyes turned cold. “I won’t take a pampered young lady with me on the road.”
She bit her lower lip, her face instantly turning angry. "I may be spoiled, I may be a rich heiress, but that doesn't mean I'm a nuisance!"
Yin Sang lazily raised an eyebrow. "Oh? You're lazy and ignorant of farming. What can you do besides indulging in romance and poetry? Have you ever earned a single penny in your life? Have you ever fetched water or cooked for yourself...?"
Before he could finish speaking, she retorted sharply, "How do you know I can't?"
He stopped speaking and simply watched her silently. His gaze held a hint of pity, yet also indifference.
A wave of resentment washed over her, and she cried out in a sorrowful voice, "I am not useless, I am not!"