Jiangnan Gaiden - Capítulo 59
“My elder brother wasn’t as lucky as my sister-in-law. He’s suffered more than anyone else in the past twenty-eight years,” Wuxia sighed.
This piqued Huan'er's curiosity. She knew that the Shi family had been wiped out, but she only knew fragments of information; she had never heard anything coherent.
What happened back then?
Wuxiadao:
"Seventeen years ago, we lived in Jiangnan, a wealthy and powerful place. My father was extremely hospitable, with three thousand retainers, comparable to the legendary Emperor Mengchang. On the night I was three months old, a group of bandits stormed into our house, killing and burning, and all the retainers fled. Uncle Leng grabbed my second and third brothers and hid in the cellar, unable to return to save my eldest brother. My father, surrounded by three men, tried to protect my eldest brother, ultimately shielding him with his body from the swords and dying in front of him… Later, after Uncle Leng rescued my eldest brother, seeing that there was no hope of saving the Shi family, he rushed us north overnight. My eldest brother remained unconscious. When Uncle Leng searched for renowned doctors but could not revive him, just as he was at his wit's end…" But my brother woke up. However, he became mentally impaired, silent and unrecognizable. A month later, in the dead of night, our little thatched hut caught fire. Suddenly, my eldest brother screamed wildly, remembering everything. From then on, he was neither a child nor a living person; he studied desperately, practiced martial arts relentlessly, without a smile, without speaking, and without rest. My second brother said that my eldest brother was originally a gentle, cheerful, and mischievous little devil, but Father's death wounded him too deeply. He wouldn't relax until the enemy was eliminated, and with the family business large and many troubles, as the head of the household, he had too many things to handle. "It's so good that you're here; my eldest brother can completely relax in your presence."
Could it be that Su Guangping was also one of the robbers? Is that why Wuji said he was an enemy? Suddenly, Huan'er's eyes widened! Her face turned pale.
"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?" Wuxia was startled and asked hurriedly.
"I...I'm tired...I'm going back to Lan Courtyard. Your older brother told me to eat five meals a day and sleep five meals a day." Huan'er forced a smile and walked towards Lan Courtyard under Wuxia's watchful gaze.
Good heavens! Wuji isn't going on business! He's going for revenge! How could she be so stupid as to only realize it now? Huan'er leaned against the bedpost, calming her pounding heart. On one hand, she felt saddened by Wuji's unbearable past, and on the other hand, she worried about his journey. He took his brothers and his well-trained men, comparable to an army, south with him. They carried no goods, but everyone was armed. Wuji only said he was going south, and she hadn't questioned him further because she assumed it was for business; he wasn't exactly lying to her. But why didn't he say? Was he afraid she'd worry? Or did he think it was none of her business? Oh! She was worried to death, yet helpless. Because of her current condition, she couldn't travel far; even if she forced herself to go south, she would only cause him trouble. She couldn't tell Wuxia; she feared she would cry again. What was the point of having another person worry? She sighed, her heart in turmoil, only praying for peace and success.
A subtle sensation stirred her senses; Huan'er felt a heat in her chest and quickly pulled out the Bagua stone from inside her clothes. Why was the Bagua stone glowing? And why was it spinning so rapidly, as if trying to suck away one's soul? She quickly covered the Bagua stone, not daring to look any longer. But then a voice echoed in the air—a very familiar voice!
"Liu Liu..."
Oh my god! That voice...it's Mommy!
"Mommy—"
She had barely finished screaming when a tearing pain shot through her body! She clutched her head and screamed, but her body felt lighter. However, when she opened her eyes, she saw herself lying on the ground! Heavens! She was leaving Su Huan'er's body! Another force was pulling her soul upwards! Before she lost all feeling, a white shadow entered Su Huan'er's body…
4126_13.txt
Chapter Twelve
The air was filled with the irresistible aroma of beef noodles that would make her mouth water. A pair of soft, warm hands were gently patting her cheeks. Then a loving voice came: "Get up, Liu Liu, you little sleepyhead. You've slept for three days straight; I don't believe you can still sleep." It was her mother's voice.
Liu Liu? She called her Liu Liu? Her eyes widened suddenly, and she jumped up. Everything before her was from the 20th century: a television, a spring mattress, a sofa, a wall covered with her most beloved dolls… This was her room! A room from 20th-century Taiwan, and her mother, Zhu Lirong. She looked in horror at the blond, blue-eyed stranger in the mirror, and the stranger returned her horrified gaze! Good heavens, she was no longer Su Huan'er, but Yang Yiliu… No! Not Yang Yiliu either, heaven knows it was that unknown body again.
"Mommy! Why? Why? What are you doing!" She realized a profound truth: she was no longer Su Huan'er, no longer the woman Shi Wuji loved so deeply. Was this a cruel joke played on her by fate? Or was it a cruel trick her mother was playing on her out of love? No! She didn't want to come back! No! She questioned her mother in a low, hoarse voice.
Zhu Lirong stared at her daughter, utterly shocked! She recognized that look! It was the look of someone in love, the look of someone tormented by unrequited love! She cried out in disbelief:
"No matter what you've been through these past two and a half months, treat it all as a dream, forget it! Huan'er, that's not your era. The ancient people, that way of life, that world—I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to adapt! And the ten elders of the supernatural world couldn't tolerate the grave mistake I made, and they kept trying to pull you out of history. But I refused. Later, they found me a body that perfectly matched your soul's magnetic field, so you could be reborn in the modern world. During the process, we summoned Su Huan'er's soul. We learned that she had lived a very miserable and painful life, and didn't want to be reborn. Even she said that. How could I possibly believe you were doing well over there? Liu Liu, let's start over. We're giving Su Huan'er three years of lifespan as compensation; she will exist in her own era."
What if she returned to the modern world? Her lover wasn't here! She grabbed her mother.
"Let me go back! Let me go back! I love him! Mommy! Please, help me one more time, let me go back and live in her place. Since she doesn't want to be reborn, let me be reborn in her place."
Without carefree days, life is a terrifying emptiness! We even forget how to live!
“There’s no way! Liu Liu, the elders helped me because they don’t want you involved in history. They won’t help you go back. And I’ve long lost that ability. It’s only been two and a half months! Liu Liu! How could you possibly fall in love with someone?” Zhu Lirong didn’t understand, but seeing her daughter’s unprecedented grief, she began to regret bringing her back.
"So what if it's been two and a half months? I got married, fell in love with my husband, and got pregnant with his child. It just happened, so what can I do? I thought I could never come back, so I loved wholeheartedly, accepted wholeheartedly, and planned to love only him for the rest of my life. Mom! When love comes, can you just stop loving?" Yi Liu sobbed.