Immortality, Immortality

Chapter 2

Having said that, he stood up, flicked his sleeves, and strode out the door. He walked briskly, his sleeves fluttering, his dark figure gradually disappearing into the night.

The drizzle hit his face, wetting his long eyelashes. He leaned on the railing, his slender fingers with pale knuckles, and a few drops of liquid slid down his face.

Achoo...

—There's someone behind me.

"Who is it!" Zhu Luan was startled. With his internal energy cultivation, he hadn't heard footsteps even though someone was so close.

"Huh, there's someone here." The person seemed quite puzzled.

—This person is Ye Changsheng, who is wandering around under the cover of darkness.

Ye Changsheng's sense of direction has always been terrible. She felt that all she could see as she wandered around were long, identical corridors, and nowhere seemed to be the exit. So she wanted to find someone to lead her back to Shuinan Courtyard. As she passed by this place, because Zhu Luan was dressed in black and Changsheng's eyesight was poor, she didn't see him at all.

"I'm lost." Ye Changsheng smiled slightly at the black shadow and bowed deeply. "Please take me back, young brother."

Zhu Luan turned around, and in the dim light not far away, a woman with her arms crossed and long hair flowing, smiled apologetically at him. The soft light shone on her profile, giving her an ethereal, otherworldly appearance.

"Okay." Even Zhu Luan himself didn't realize that he had agreed so naturally.

"Then thank you very much, young brother. Shall we go?" Ye Changsheng was clearly very grateful and turned to leave.

Zhu Luan followed, and for some reason, he felt a sense of déjà vu about the woman.

"I am often away from the manor, so if I may be so bold as to ask, may I ask who you are, young lady..." Zhu Luan asked softly.

“Ah…no offense, no offense…” Changsheng waved his hands repeatedly and replied, “I am a doctor…I am treating Master Zhu.”

"Could it be... that you are Ye Changsheng?" Zhu Luan was slightly surprised. This number one doctor in the martial arts world was not an old man with a white beard, but such a young woman.

"I dare not accept such praise..." Changsheng said modestly, his voice gentle, "Then, young brother, are you..."

"My name is Zhu Luan," he added when he saw that Changsheng was still confused. "That old man Zhu Yun is my father."

"Ah..." Changsheng suddenly realized, "So it's Young Master Zhu the Second."

Zhu Luan remained silent, then said, "Hmm."

"Then... did Young Master Zhu just return to the manor?" Changsheng asked.

"How did you find out?" Zhu Luan asked, slightly surprised.

"I am new to your residence today, and I did not see the Second Young Master in either the banquet hall or Master Zhu's room." Changsheng touched his nose. "Also, it has been raining outside and the roads are muddy. Young Master Zhu's shoes, hehe, have not been changed."

Zhu Luan nodded, thinking to herself that Ye Changsheng, though seemingly confused, was actually quite meticulous. Despite his young age, he had a distinguished reputation and should not be underestimated.

Before long they arrived at the Shui Nan Courtyard. Chang Sheng cupped his hands in greeting and said slowly, "Thank you so much for today. I wonder if Young Master Zhu has time to come in and have a seat?"

Zhu Luan smiled and said, "It's getting late, so I won't trouble Miss Ye any further. Farewell."

Watching Zhu Luan's departing figure, Ye Changsheng seemed lost in thought.

"Smack!" Young Master Jia slapped her on the head with his fan.

"I haven't seen you all day, I thought you'd abandoned me and run away to escape punishment."

"What crime did I commit?" Ye Changsheng rubbed his head, quite puzzled.

Jia Ling shook her head. "They're hopeless, hopeless. These two boys won't know where to run when the Zhu family swarms them."

"Are you sure Zhu Yun will wake up tomorrow?"

"Of course, Master Zhu took my unique remedy, so naturally..."

"Slap, slap, slap." Young Master Jia slapped her head a few more times. "You can keep this nonsense to fool others. When you went in, you only brought a box. People thought it was a medicine chest. Do you think I didn't know it was a box of Cangzhou candied fruit? You didn't write a prescription. Unless you really have a miracle cure that can cure all diseases, how are you going to cure them?"

Young Master Jia glanced helplessly at Ye Changsheng: "Of course, you can't possibly have some kind of miracle drug, otherwise, your own illness..."

Jia Ling had known Ye Changsheng for five years. In Jia Ling's words, he knew Ye Changsheng's personality, temperament, likes and dislikes, and even how many teeth he showed when he smiled.

Ye Changsheng has poor eyesight, especially in dimly lit places. He also has a weak heart; he can't be rushed or startled, so he does everything in a slow and deliberate manner.

One evening four years ago, Jia Ling passed by Sanheji Inn and, thinking that Ye Changsheng's candied fruit boxes were almost empty again, bought a few boxes. Returning to the inn, she found Ye Changsheng's door locked. She knocked for a while, but no one answered. Faint, suppressed coughing could be heard from inside.

Jia Ling kicked open the door and saw Ye Changsheng kneeling by the bed. That scene was unforgettable for him.

Her long hair was disheveled and draped over her shoulders, obscuring her eyes. One hand was clutching her heart tightly, her knuckles white. The other hand covered her mouth, and bright red liquid kept flowing from between her fingers, dripping onto her snow-white clothes, spreading along the fabric, making the lotus pattern on her clothes seem to come alive, dazzlingly bright.

Jia Ling rushed over to help her up. Chang Sheng shook her head, her voice soft and trembling: "Don't touch me, I'm fine. Could you... give me the bottle on the table?"

Jia Ling looked up and saw a blue bottle on the table. She quickly got up, picked it up, removed the cap, and handed it to Ye Changsheng.

Changsheng, his hands covered in blood, took the bottle, poured out three pills, swallowed them with difficulty, and coughed for a while before he calmed down.

Jia Ling took Chang Sheng's handkerchief and gently wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. "What kind of illness do you have? Aren't you a miracle doctor? Can't you cure your own illness?"

Ye Changsheng twitched the corner of his mouth and sighed, "This isn't an illness. Back when I was traveling in Yangzhou, I healed a man who was half-dead in a dilapidated temple. Little did I know that this man was the number one assassin under the right rank of Luoyang Tower. So his enemies came after me, and I barely managed to escape. But I was seriously injured, and medicine was ineffective."

Jia Ling couldn't help but sigh, knowing that Ye Changsheng had such a tragic past. But soon after, upon learning that Ye Changsheng knew nothing about pharmacology, she sensed something was amiss. It wasn't until she discovered that Jiang Qi, the number one assassin on the right side of Luoyang Tower, the largest assassin organization in the martial arts world, was actually a woman, that she stopped believing a single word of Ye Changsheng's lies.

Autumn came and spring went, and another year passed. One day at the dinner table, when Jia Ling swung her legs and casually asked about the two major events that Ye Changsheng had caused a sensation in the martial arts world, the quack doctor exclaimed "Ah!", put down his chopsticks, recalled for a long time, looked at Jia Ling, and said seriously, "Huang Jian, the second master of Renyi Manor, was actually a spy who had been lying low for many years in disguise. At that time, he was already suspected. Although he was indeed poisoned that day, he was indeed blown up. He wanted to escape, but the replacement hadn't arrived yet. I happened to be passing by, heard the noise, and dug him out. I looked at the name on the grave, and asked an old man by the roadside to call someone... That's how it was..." Changsheng leaned forward, looking at Jia Ling's stiff face, "Then, then, what about the second thing?"

Chang Sheng smiled innocently: "Then Chief Escort Liu's wife is pregnant with twins."

A quarter of an hour later, Jia Ling slowly turned her head to look out the window, her face either surging with emotion or streaked with tears. From then on, there was no more legend in the martial arts world.

Ye Changsheng helplessly shrugged: "Whether you believe me or not is fine, anyway, Master Zhu will wake up tomorrow. I was just going for a walk, and I wanted to call you, but you weren't in your room."

Young Master Jia seemed to suddenly remember something, his eyes gleaming. "Just now, a sister named Xing'er showed me around. She thought I was dashing and charming, with a friendly smile, and we chatted happily. Tsk tsk... the Zhu family is truly all show and no substance. Guess what I heard? This Master Zhu is a womanizer, having taken sixteen concubines. The current Madam Liu is also a beauty. The strangest thing is that she brought a child with her when she married into the Zhu family, who is now Young Master Zhu. Madam Liu was later made the official wife. Although Master Zhu has many wives and concubines, he has very few children. In fact, he only has one biological son, Young Master Zhu. And this Young Master Zhu Luan left the Zhu family six years ago to join the Yinshan Changmen, the number one sect in the martial arts world. Since then, he has rarely returned home..."

Jia Ling continued talking incessantly, while Changsheng frowned slightly. If that's the case, then the head of the Zhu family is the eldest son of the Zhu family, and Zhu Rui is not Zhu Yun's biological son. The Zhu family has few descendants—so, was Master Zhu's "illness" deliberately caused by someone...?

Ye Changsheng suddenly yawned and pushed Jia Dashao out the door, saying, "I'm going to sleep. You should sleep too."

After closing the doors and windows, she washed up, slowly walked to the bedside, closed her eyes, and fell asleep.

The next morning.

"Bang bang bang bang..." A series of urgent knocks sounded on the door. Changsheng rubbed his eyes, slowly threw off the covers, and got out of bed.

"They're here, they're here."

Changsheng opened the door and saw the steward Zhou Fu standing outside with an anxious expression. Upon seeing Changsheng, Zhou Fu hurriedly said, "Dr. Ye, please come with me. The eldest young master said that the master... the master is not well."

Ye Changsheng then opened his eyes wide, said "Wait a moment," went back to tidy up, and left with Zhou Fu. Also following them was Jia Dashao from next door, who had been woken up by the knocking.

Inside Zhu Yun's room.

After examining Zhu Yun's condition, Ye Changsheng twitched her lips—this wasn't bad at all; he was clearly dead. Although she didn't know how to perform an autopsy, it seemed he had been dead for quite some time.

“Miss Ye!” Zhu Rui said sternly, “Could you please tell me why my father not only failed to wake up today after taking your medicine, but also died? If you cannot explain it clearly, I will have to ask Miss Ye to go to the yamen.”

"How can you be so sure it's Changsheng? Without her, Zhu Yun would have been asleep for five days, unable to eat, and would still have starved to death. I would have said that you killed Zhu Yun." Young Master Jia shielded Changsheng behind him and said, word by word.

"You, you're actually trying to argue your point!" Zhu Rui slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

Ye Changsheng muttered to herself, this was definitely not her. When she first saw Zhu Yun's symptoms, it seemed like he had just suffered some internal injuries and been poisoned. She only activated Zhu Yun's Baihui, Jizhong, and Taichong acupoints and even channeled some internal energy into him. She didn't even give him any "miracle medicine."

Hiding behind Jia Ling, Changsheng peeked out and said, "My medicine, uh... there won't be any problems. As for Master Zhu, give me some time, I'll take a look... cough cough, I'll give you an explanation."

Although Zhu Rui was furious, he was also very uneasy. Why was Ye Changsheng so calm? After all, she was indeed famous. Could it be that she really could bring the dead back to life? He wanted to see what tricks she had up her sleeve.

Ye Changsheng paced around the room and found nothing amiss. He opened the window and peeked out; outside was a bamboo grove.

Changsheng asked, "Who was the first to discover Master Zhu this morning?"

Zhou Fu stepped forward and said, "It's Yulan. She has been taking care of the master's daily life. After the master fell into a coma, someone kept watch over him every night. Yesterday was her turn."

"Where is she? I want to ask her about what happened this morning."

"Yes, Miss Ye, she's right outside the door. I'll call her in right away."

A short while later, a very beautiful girl in green clothes entered from outside the door, but she was trembling and her face was pale.

Changsheng said gently, "Miss Yulan, don't worry. Can you tell me what you did last night? Did you stay by Master Zhu's side the whole time?"

Yulan looked up, and those glassy eyes seemed to instinctively calm her down. She bit her lip and said, "Yesterday, after you left, I stayed in the outer room. This morning, I fetched water to wash the master, and when I came in, I found that the master... the master is dead."

Changsheng looked into her eyes: "You really didn't leave yesterday?"

Yulan twisted her handkerchief, as if she had remembered something. "I remember now... Last night, I was on guard outside at first, but then I felt very sleepy and somehow I fell asleep. When I woke up, I checked the time; it was about 9 PM. Not long after, the Seventeenth Madam came, saying she wanted to see the Master. Jin'er was on guard outside, so I went back to my room to get some embroidery. I came back in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and soon after, the Seventeenth Madam left too. I finished embroidering the handkerchief yesterday."

Zhu Rui hesitated for a moment, then said, "Go and invite the Seventeenth Madam."

Ye Changsheng walked to the bedside, bent down, and carefully examined Zhu Yun. There were no obvious injuries on his surface, and his expression was not painful. Apart from some vomit at the corner of his mouth, he seemed normal—it would be perfectly reasonable to say that he died from taking the "miracle drug." But that's where the problem lies.

If it was murder, then firstly, the murderer knew of her existence and disguised Zhu Yun's death as if she had eaten something poisonous.

Secondly, it rained yesterday and the roads were muddy. If an outsider had broken into this room and killed someone, there should have been traces on the ground.

If Yulan wasn't lying, then Zhu Yun should have been murdered between 9 PM and 11 PM last night. At least when the Seventeenth Madam visited, Zhu Yun should still have been alive. Changsheng sighed. Killing an old man lying in bed, unable to move or speak, was indeed not a difficult task.

Changsheng looked up and asked, "May I ask where Young Master Zhu was from 9 PM to 11 PM last night?"

“My mother and second brother were in my room at 9 PM yesterday. After my second brother left and I saw my mother off, I rested,” Zhu Rui said without changing his expression.

Suddenly, a bright crimson light shone through the doorway, and a woman lifted the curtain and entered. It was none other than the graceful woman in red whom Changsheng had met once before.

"May I ask what brings you here, young master?" The woman smiled slightly, her bright eyes sparkling with charm.

"My father was murdered this morning, and the cause of death is currently unknown. I heard that you visited my father yesterday, and this Miss Ye would like to ask you about what happened yesterday." Zhu Rui cupped his hands and pointed to Ye Changsheng, showing that he was very respectful to this newly arrived Seventeenth Madam.

The seventeenth lady merely nodded slightly, lost in thought. Jia Ling, observing this, pondered the woman's reaction upon hearing of Zhu Yun's death: no shock, no crying, not even the slightest loss of composure. This was especially true considering Jia Ling was a suspect. Truly unusual.

The Seventeenth Madam looked around and finally fixed her gaze on Changsheng's face, saying, "Even so, then I'll have to trouble Miss Ye."

Ye Changsheng awkwardly responded and asked, "What time did the Seventeenth Madam visit Master Zhu's room yesterday?"

"Around 11 PM."

"Did Madam visit him several times during the days when Master was in a coma?"

"This is the third time. The master has treated me well, and now that he is unwell, I am naturally very worried."

"When you visited him yesterday, was Master Zhu alright?"

The seventeenth lady thought for a moment, then said, "Although the master's face was a little pale, his breathing was steady, so I didn't pay attention. Who knew that today..." Then she sighed softly.

Young Master Jia was extremely uncomfortable in this room where a dead body lay. The Seventeenth Madam's voice was like a demonic whisper, tickling his heart. He thought to himself that this woman was truly born with seductive charm. Remembering certain other women, Jia Ling glanced helplessly at Ye Changsheng, who seemed to be listening intently, nodding occasionally in agreement.

Suddenly, Ye Changsheng's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "Everyone has worked hard. Let's go back and rest. That's enough for today."

Completely baffled, Zhu Rui had no choice but to tell them to disperse.

Only when the Seventeenth Madam stepped out of the door did she seem to give Ye Changsheng a deep look.

Ye Changsheng smiled in response, and was suddenly pulled up by Jia Ling and walked outside. After a few steps, she seemed to remember something and called out to Zhu Rui, asking why the Second Young Master Zhu was nowhere to be seen.