Hibiscus as a Painting

Chapter 167

Zi Jin was filled with panic. She grabbed Si Kou Xunxiang's hand, which was wrapped around her waist, with one hand: Hold on a little longer... just a little longer...

Si Kou Xunxiang's hands were tightly gripping Zi Jin's waist. He closed his eyes helplessly, leaning weakly on Zi Jin's shoulder, a satisfied yet dazed smile on his lips, and bright red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth...

Soon, a biting wind swept through the valley. With most of the main force having withdrawn, the empty canyon seemed even more desolate. Madam Yu stood outside the guest room of Ximei Garden, her expression complex, her worry evident in her brows.

The guest room door was slowly opened, and Bao Xian wiped the blood off her body and hands.

Madam Yu looked at the blood on Bao Xian's hands and asked anxiously, "How is he?"

“Although the wound is deep, Master deliberately avoided the tendons and bones. The hairpin was already coated with medicine to heal and stop bleeding... The Crown Prince is fine.” Bao Xian lowered his eyes and replied respectfully.

Madam Yu stood there, stunned: "She..."

"The King of Dugu severed all ties between himself and his master with a single stroke. To make the Crown Prince give up, his master cruelly injured the Crown Prince. The Prince of Sikou attacked his master, causing him to break off their past relationship. It seems that everything is under his master's control, yet everything is also beyond his expectations. Now there is nothing in this world that his master cherishes or cares about anymore, Baoxian thinks... his master will never come back... Please, Madam, spare his master..." Baoxian slowly closed his eyes, knelt at Madam Yu's feet, and said softly.

"Let her go? Even if I'm willing to let her go, will they?... Knowing everything, will they still be willing to let her go after all this time?..." Madam Yu's voice was filled with suppressed sorrow and helplessness. "Baoxian, the only way now is to find Jin'er before them... Perhaps... that will be better... Lin'er, that child..."

"Baoxian understands."

Madam Yu walked to Bao Xian's side and draped her cloak over him: "Go and see the parasol tree."

Bao Xian gripped his cloak, slowly stood up, nodded respectfully to Madam Yu, and turned to walk towards the secret room.

The cold wind in the courtyard grew even more biting, and Madam Yu's hunched figure appeared even older standing in the wind. She turned her face and silently gazed at the tightly closed door of the guest room. After a long while, she turned and left.

The sound of whips striking flesh could be heard from the most secluded, dark room in Ximei Garden.

Bao Xian glanced at Wu Tong, who was lying on the bench, gritting her teeth to suppress a groan: "Why don't you use your internal energy to resist?"

"Why?" Wutong raised her eyes to look at Baoxian. "You've been so arrogant since I was little, and you've been so good to me... But since she came along, things have changed... Why are you treating me like this?"

Bao Xian gazed at the phoenix tree before him for a long time: "My feelings for you have never changed, but I can no longer give you what you want... Don't be afraid, I will beg Madam to release you..."

Wutong suddenly raised her head and sneered, "Brother Bao should know my heart. I don't care, I've never cared... My heart for you has never changed... But what about Brother Bao?... Has Brother Bao really not changed?"

“Wutong, your true love... has never been me... stop being so obsessed..." Baoxian finished speaking and turned to walk outside.

Wutong turned around, shivering with cold sweat as she stared at Baoxian's retreating figure, the hatred in her eyes growing even stronger.

Love and hate leave no trace, deep affection is hard to wait for; a descendant of the gods, three lifetimes of karmic entanglement, a destiny altered on the Stone of Three Lifetimes (Part 1)

Changing Fate on the Stone of Three Lifetimes (Part 1) After entering the alley, before dawn, a thick fog suddenly rose, and Zi Jin completely lost her way. She gripped Si Kou Xun Xiang's hand, which was wrapped around her waist, and desperately held onto the reins. The horse's strength had been pushed to its limit by a night of galloping and blood loss. In the midst of the gallop, without warning, the horse lurched to its knees. The sudden loss of balance startled Zi Jin. She swiftly threw aside the reins, turned, and embraced Si Kou Xun Xiang. Instantly, the two tumbled together into the roadside bushes.

As they rolled, Zi Jin ignored the stinging pain beneath her and clung tightly to Si Kou Huan Xiang, even though Si Kou Huan Xiang still suffered multiple abrasions. Zi Jin struggled to her feet, checked his pulse, and instantly turned deathly pale. Her hand trembled slightly as she slowly approached Si Kou Huan Xiang's nose, her shaking intensifying as she felt his breath. She frantically wiped the blood from Si Kou Huan Xiang's mouth, but couldn't get it clean. Zi Jin's eyes reddened instantly, and she forced back tears. As if remembering something, she quickly pulled a small bottle from her bosom, poured out the only three pills she had, and fed them to him mouth-to-mouth, her eyes fixed on Si Kou Huan Xiang's face. For a long time, Si Kou Huan Xiang showed no reaction whatsoever.

Zi Jin held Si Kou Xunxiang tightly in her arms, her face pressed against his, trying to warm his coldness. Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably. "Don't do this... don't do this... you weren't seriously injured, how could this happen... how could this happen... what do you want... what do you want... you don't want me anymore, why... why did you still shield me from that hidden weapon... why did you still protect me... what do you want... what do you want... open your eyes and tell me... tell me, tell me—" A suffocating fear filled her entire being, making her words tremble with brokenness.

At that moment, seeing him standing perfectly fine before me, my heart was filled with rage and hatred. That inexplicable resentment burned like flames within me. When I learned that he and Yu Luo were pregnant with a child, I desperately told myself that I loved Xiao Bai, Xiao Bai, not him, Si Kou Xun Xiang. I loved Xiao Bai! But Si Kou Xun Xiang was Xiao Bai, and Xiao Bai was Si Kou Xun Xiang… Didn't it all matter who it was? He didn't choose me at the cliff's edge; he didn't love me. He treated me so cruelly, he abandoned me so heartlessly, he was so ruthless and indifferent, yet why couldn't I forget him? Why did I still cling to him?

When he learned that the child was conceived with Xiaobai, a wave of bitterness and pain tore at his heart. Finally, he decided to let go of Xiaobai, to let go of that last lingering attachment and hope. Finally, he clearly understood… that what Xiaobai meant to him was not love. If it were true love, she wouldn't have rejected him time and time again. Though he was naive and ignorant, he knew to remain chaste for Yuluo. At that moment, he finally understood that to Xiaobai… he was nothing at all.

No regrets... no regrets... but why, when it was time to leave without any regrets, was it him... why was it him who protected me...? Why protect me? Even in death, I didn't want him to be hurt or suffer for me anymore. I can't afford to owe him... I can't afford to owe him... I can't bear to let go... I'm afraid that if I stop hating him, stop resenting him, what will I use? What excuse will I have to stay away from him? What excuse will I have to stop thinking about him...? He lies there, eyes tightly closed, lifeless, before me. What am I supposed to do? What am I supposed to do...?

Zi Jin wrapped one arm around Si Kou Huanxiang and the other around his back, using all her strength to move him towards the side of the road. Her hand, protecting Si Kou Huanxiang's back, was chafed raw and bleeding. As if oblivious, she whispered over and over, "I'll take you back...take you back...take you back...Yu Luo, Le'er are waiting for you...they're still waiting for you...and...and your unborn child...don't you miss them?...I'll take you back...take you back...back..."

When she saw the horse lying dead by the roadside, Zi Jin couldn't utter a sound. It was as if all her strength had been drained away in an instant, and she collapsed to the side. She gently embraced Si Kou Huanxiang, her face pressed against his, her scarred hands stroking his eyes, his brows, his face again and again: "Go if you want to leave… Don't worry anymore. Chen Kingdom and Yu Luo and her son Le'er will take care of them…" As if sensing Zi Jin's despair, Si Kou Huanxiang's eyelashes trembled slightly. Zi Jin's tears fell silently, and her lips slowly pressed against his, gently kissing his brows, and she whispered again, "Don't be afraid… Don't be afraid… I will be with you… with you… This life, I'll give it to you, is giving you my life enough… is it enough? The past, the present, I'll give it all to you, is that enough?…"

As dawn broke, a thin, cool morning mist drifted along the mountain path.

A figure carrying a medicine basket gradually approached from afar. As it drew closer, it became clear that it was an elderly man in his sixties, dressed in blue. The old man stopped and started walking, occasionally rummaging through the roadside bushes.

A dead horse lay by the roadside, and a glimpse of a bright red garment came into his view. The old man pursed his lips and parted the grass. The person inside suddenly pressed a dagger against his neck: "Who goes there!"

The old man was slightly startled, only then realizing that the person holding the knife was a woman in a gorgeous red dress. Her eyes were swollen and red, filled with death and murderous intent, her thin lips were tightly pressed together, and her face was icy cold. At her feet lay a young white-haired man, his face abnormally pale, his lips deathly white, and he could barely be felt breathing.

Upon seeing who it was, Zi Jin frowned slightly, sat down expressionlessly, and tried to put her arm around Si Kou Huan Xiang, but was stopped by someone raising their hand.

A glint flashed in the old man's eyes. Without even glancing at Zi Jin, he silently squatted down and began to examine Si Kou Xun Xiang's injuries.

Zi Jin was stunned, then noticed the medicine basket behind him: "Doctor!?...You're a doctor! Quick, save him!"

The old man frowned slightly: "This person's internal strength is extremely profound, and his courage is even more astonishing... He actually managed to sever eight sealed acupoints in one fell swoop..."

In an instant, the glimmer of hope that had just appeared in Zi Jin's eyes vanished. Her face turned deathly pale as she looked anxiously at the old man: "Will he... be alright?... He'll be alright... won't he?... Will he?"

The old man glared at Zi Jin: "Forcibly breaking through acupoints will cause blood to flow backwards, which can result in minor injuries or even death... He severed eight major meridians in one go, was injured by hidden weapons, and delayed his treatment. Do you think he's okay?"

Zi Jin slowly closed her eyes, tears falling silently like pearls from a broken string. After a long while, she opened her eyes, staring blankly at Si Kou Xunxiang's profile, and laughed out loud: "Did you save me this time out of pity? You would save anyone, wouldn't you? Fine... fine, I'll accompany you to the ends of the earth... I'll return this life to you... From now on, I won't owe you anything..."

"It's not too late to mourn when someone is dead!" The old man glared fiercely at Zi Jin, whose face was filled with sorrow.

Upon hearing the old man's words, Zi Jin raised her hand and fiercely wiped away the tears on her face, staring intently at Si Kou Xun Xiang: "I will not mourn for him, I will give him my life! We will never have anything to do with each other again in this life or the next!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Sikou Xunxiang's fingers twitched slightly.

The old man squinted at Sikou Xunxiang, then glanced at Zi Jin, and snorted coldly: "Dying isn't that simple; you'll need my permission first!"

Upon hearing this, Zi Jin was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening and grabbed the old man's clothes urgently: "You can save him, right?!"

The old man stroked his chest-length beard and smiled smugly: "Of course, quickly help me carry him back."

Zi Jin's eyes reddened again, and she nodded vigorously: "Okay!"

The Misty Path is located in the northern part of the area between Shenxian Mountain and Kunming Mountain. This place is shrouded in mist year-round. Bamboo forests surround the path, growing wildly in layers, so much so that ordinary people dare not venture into this labyrinthine bamboo grove. Therefore, this area is uninhabited for miles around. In the clearing on the left side of the very center of the bamboo grove, there are two simple bamboo huts.

At this moment, a pot outside was billowing white smoke, and inside the pot were knives, scissors, and strips of white cloth.