When Lu Pianpian heard that her senior sister thought the other person was a good person, she was furious. "Senior sister! You've read so many stories, how could you be fooled by a fake!"
"Jingyi is not right for you. You should have no more contact with him!"
"There are countless men in the world, and my junior brother is a thousand times, ten thousand times better than him! Why can't you look at the people around you?"
Qu Surou listened and pondered, then realized what she meant, "Lu Pianpian... are you jealous of Jing Yi?"
Why would I be jealous of him?
"This Jingyi, didn't he have a past relationship with your beloved junior sister? Hmm?"
Lu Pianpian paused for a moment as she pushed the door open, then said, "There is absolutely no such possibility."
Qu Surou followed him into the room, and when she saw Huan Changming lying on the bed, looking like he was on the verge of death, she knew why Lu Pianpian had brought her there.
"Alright, so now in your eyes, I'm just a doctor who treats your junior sister, right?"
Despite her complaints, she consciously went to the bedside and took Huan Changming's pulse.
Huan Changming gave her a weak smile, "I'll have to trouble Senior Sister Qu again..."
Qu Surou gave a perfunctory "hmm." Her expression was somewhat lazy at first, but after noticing something, her expression gradually became serious.
Lu Pianpian asked with concern, "Senior Sister, how are you?"
Qu Surou ignored him, looked at Huan Changming, and solemnly instructed, "In the days to come, you should eat and drink as you please, eat well, drink well, and have fun."
Huan Changming asked, puzzled, "Senior Sister Qu, what does this mean?"
Qu Surou pondered for a moment, realizing that she couldn't hide it any longer, and told the truth: "You're about to die."
A note from the author:
Huan Changming: I'm about to die before we've even gotten married?
Chapter 23
The doctor's diagnosis was true, and with Qu Surou's testimony, Huan Changming indeed wouldn't live more than six months.
Qu Surou prescribed several medicines for Huan Changming, but she also made it very clear that the medicine could only make Huan Changming more comfortable before he left, and would not provide any relief.
After learning that even Qu Surou was helpless in treating his illness, Huan Changming locked himself in his room and refused to see anyone.
Lu Zhong suddenly gained a princess as his fiancée, and he valued her greatly. Every day, he sent people to inquire about Huan Changming's well-being, fearing that he might neglect this precious daughter of a noble family, but he was always turned away.
Lu Pianpian persuaded Lu Zhong to leave by saying that Huan Changming was ill and needed to rest. Lu Zhong understood and said, "In that case, I won't bother you any longer. You must take good care of Her Highness the Princess!"
"I understand, Father."
Huan Changming locked the door, and only Lu Pianpian could use magic to enter and exit.
As usual, he brought Huan Changming some medicine today and found the other man curled up in the quilt, wrapped tightly in his blankets, with dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept for a long time.
His pitiful appearance reminded Lu Pianpian of the childhood version of him she had seen in her dream, and a feeling of boundless pity welled up in her heart.
"Junior sister," Lu Pianpian walked over, "you should get some rest."
Huan Changming's gaze was cloudy, staring at some point in the void. Upon hearing this, a mocking smile appeared on his lips. "I'm afraid that if I fall asleep, I'll never wake up again."
Lu Pianpian felt even more distressed, "No! As long as you resume a normal diet and take the medicine your senior sister prescribed, you will definitely get better..."
Huan Changming's eyes slowly shifted to the herbal soup in Lu Pianpian's hand. He suddenly reached out and snatched the bowl, drinking the still steaming hot soup in one gulp. Lu Pianpian tried to stop him but couldn't.
His lips and tongue were scalded red. He stuck out his tongue and smiled at Lu Pianpian with his eyes crinkling, "Senior Brother Pianpian, if I drink this, will I not die?"
Lu Pianpian opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"How can I get better? By trading your life for mine? Ha?"
Faced with his questioning, Lu Pianpian remained silent.
His reaction was even more irritating to Huan Changming.
"If you can't lie, why did you lie to me?" His smile deepened, and paired with his sickly pale and alluring face, he looked like a seductive ghost bewitching the soul. "Do you feel sorry for me because you think I'm pitiful?"
"Senior Brother Pianpian, you only make me look more pitiful. Like a pathetic worm who is born to be pitied by you, without even the right to be a human being."
Huan Changming harbored the same resentment towards those who cast disgusted or pitying glances his way.
He smashed the soup bowl, and the shards of porcelain left a bloody mark on his left cheek. The blood-red stain on his paper-white face made him look like a vengeful ghost that would suck the life force of people, which made people feel a little scared and dare not get close to him.
Lu Pianpian wasn't afraid of him at all; instead, she walked closer to Huan Changming.
The room was somewhat dark, and it wasn't until he got closer that Huan Changming could truly see Lu Pianpian's face.
Lu Pianpian's hair was disheveled, her eyes were bloodshot, and there were dark circles under her eyes, as if she, like him, hadn't slept for several nights.
Huan Changming suddenly remembered the conversation the servants of the Lu family had overheard outside the door when they brought him his meal. They said that Lu Pianpian had locked herself in her study for several days, spending her days searching through books, and they didn't know what she was doing.
He stayed in the room for a few days, while Lu Pianpian stayed in the study for a few days.
He hadn't slept for several nights, and neither had Lu Pianpian.
Lu Pianpian gently wiped the bloodstains on his face with the pad of her index finger. "You won't die, and I won't let you die either."
A surge of indescribable emotion welled up in Huan Changming's throat, his eyes reddening without his realizing it. He grasped Lu Pianpian's hand as she tried to pull it back, like a prisoner at the end of his rope finding a glimmer of hope.
"I don't want to die, I don't want to die..."
Lu Pianpian told Lu Zhong that she was going to take Huan Changming to visit a famous doctor. She left a letter for Lu Zhong to pass on to Qu Surou and Huan Juntian, and then left the Lu residence with Huan Changming.
Huan Changming didn't know which famous doctor Lu Pianpian was taking him to visit, but a strange voice in his heart told him: Lu Pianpian wouldn't harm him.
So he didn't question where Lu Pianpian would take him on her sword to, no matter what.
After traveling on their swords for half a day, they stopped by a river.
The river water had an unusual color, a bewitching purple. Huan Changming had never seen a river like this before, and he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Lu Pianpian explained to him, "Once you cross this river, you'll be in the territory of the demon race."
"Demons?" Huan Changming knew that demons existed in this world, so he wasn't surprised by the mention of demons. What puzzled him was something else: "The one who can save me is a demon?"
Lu Pianpian smiled and gently tidied the strands of hair that had been ruffled by the wind while she was flying on her sword, without answering.
Every now and then, a few vendors would be selling something along the riverbank. Lu Pianpian bought two items from a stall and brought them back for Huan Changming to choose from. "Junior Sister, which one do you want?"
Huan Changming looked down and saw that he had two animal tails in his hand: a white rabbit tail and a silver wolf tail.
Huan Changming picked up the silver wolf tail. "Is this a matter of 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'? Do we have to dress up as a fairy to get in?"
Lu Pianpian was somewhat surprised. He thought his junior sister would choose the rabbit's tail. "Yes, it would be too conspicuous for two humans to come to the territory of the demon race without disguising themselves."
"How do we wear the tail?" Huan Changming touched the wolf's tail. "There's no place to put the tail on our butts."
Lu Pianpian blushed, "You're a young lady, how can you speak so bluntly?"
Huan Changming said dismissively, "I won't do it again next time," picked up the tail and held it up to his waist, thinking to himself, "If I really had to wear it, wouldn't I have to stick it in my butt? Where else could I stick it?"
"Senior brother, can you put it on by yourself? Do you want me to help you put it on?"
"Junior sister!" Lu Pianpian's face turned bright red with embarrassment. "Don't be like this!"
Even though they had been intimate... and were engaged, how could he let his junior sister see his private parts before the ceremony was even completed?
How embarrassing!
He quickly cast a spell, and the two tails attached themselves to his and Huan Changming's lower backs.
Huan Changming tugged at it a few times but couldn't budge it. "It's quite sturdy."
After using the Fairy Tail to conceal their human aura, Lu Pianpian once again flew on her sword, leading Huan Changming into the demon territory.
Crossing the demon river that divides the world, there is another world on the other side.
Huan Changming glanced around and found that the territory of the demon race was almost identical to that of the human race, with no visible difference from the outside.
However, within this vast demon city, there were very few demons walking around, making it look somewhat deserted.
"After the demon race showed signs of decline, their numbers are far less than before."
As they walked, Lu Pianpian explained to Huan Changming, and they went straight along the long street and found a decent-looking inn to go in. "Let's rest here for now."
The waitress is a pink-skinned little pig girl, very cute and rosy-cheeked.
Their inn hadn't been open for several days, so as soon as she saw guests arrive, she rushed over to greet them, "Esteemed guests, are you here for a meal or to stay the night?"
"We'll have a meal and a place to stay." Lu Pianpian helped Huan Changming sit down on the bench, then smiled at the pink pig girl and asked, "By the way, I'd like to ask you where the Flower Fairy Clan's residence is now?"
The pink pig girl enthusiastically poured them tea, then scratched her head upon hearing this, "I'm a pink pig from the pig demon clan. I really don't know where the flower demon clan's territory is. But our shopkeeper is very knowledgeable and will surely know. I'll ask him for you when he returns!"
"Alright, then I'll trouble you."
This inn looks big, but there's only one waitress and one cook, Pink Pig Girl, which shows how slow the business usually is.
Lu Pianpian put a lot of food into Huan Changming's bowl, saying, "You should eat more."
Huan Changming picked up the meat from the bowl, looked at it, then put it down, saying with a strange expression, "She's a pig spirit. Did she cut off her own flesh and stir-fry it when she was cooking?"
He had eaten all sorts of strange animals in the past to survive, but the pink pig looked like a living person. He had no interest in eating the pork of a human-shaped creature and even felt nauseous.
His words made Lu Pianpian feel a little uncomfortable. She picked out all the meat and put it aside, leaving only the vegetables. "Eat the vegetables."
The two of them felt very uncomfortable from head to toe during the meal. Just as they were about to pay and go out to inquire about the Flower Fairy Clan's territory, a strong gust of wind filled with the smell of alcohol blew in from the gate.
The pink pig girl, who was still calculating accounts with abacus beads, immediately ran to the door to greet him as soon as she smelled the aroma. "Boss, you're back from drinking!"
Lu Pianpian and Huan Changming looked towards the entrance and saw a fierce-looking man carrying a jar of wine slowly walking out of the inn. He had a sharp horn on his forehead, and for a moment they couldn't tell what kind of monster he was.
He ruffled the pink pig's head, let out a burp, and then, seeing customers in the shop, drunkenly greeted them, "Enjoy your meal and drinks, esteemed guests!"
After saying that, he was helped by the little pink pig girl and went upstairs around Lu Pianpian and the others' table. But when he got to the steps, for some reason, he pushed the little pink pig aside and turned back.
He stopped in front of Lu Pianpian and Huan Changming's table, carefully examined their faces, and then suddenly reached out and grabbed the booklet from Lu Pianpian's arms.
Lu Pianpian immediately tried to snatch it back, shouting, "What are you doing!"
Unexpectedly, he dodged and appeared on the second-floor corridor in the next moment. He flipped over and sat on the railing, flipped through the booklet he had just obtained, and the effects of the alcohol in his body were mostly sobered up.
"A wordless book of heaven..." He tilted his head back and finished the rest of the wine in the jar, then casually tossed the jar aside. His eyes blazed as he scrutinized Huan Changming and Lu Pianpian below. He quickly found the answer: "Interesting. It's quite interesting that the two of you can be in my demon race."
"Shopkeeper, how dare you steal from our customers!"
Pink Pig Girl ran upstairs, snatched the booklet back, carefully wiped it clean, and returned it to Hui Pianpian's side. "I'm sorry, sir! Our manager has had too much to drink and isn't thinking straight. Please don't hold it against him!"