"Come back with me?"
Ye Qinghua made such a good promise last night, so what's going on now?
Ye Qinghua raised her hand and was about to turn around:
"Understood. Go back and tell the host to rest assured. I need to see Lan Wuxie."
If she weren't here, she would have gone to Banlianzui, determined to find Lan Wuxie, obtain the antidote, and revive Ye Qinghua. But Ye Laoqi relentlessly pursued her:
"Hua Chongyang! Do you know how much the author has sacrificed for you! You'll regret ignoring her like this one day!"
"Seventh Brother, let go of me!" Hua Chongyang pulled Ye Laoqi's hand away. "If I listen to her this time, I'll regret it later!"
"Hua Chongyang!" Ye Laoqi grabbed her again and pulled her back violently, his lips trembling as he lowered his voice, "Hua Chongyang! I'm willing to be beaten to death by the Master! Do you even know why the Master has been so good to you!"
"I know," Hua Chongyang patted her hand, "she's my mother."
"……"
Ye Laoqi looked utterly astonished, as if struck by lightning.
"How...how did you know? When did you find out?"
Hua Chongyang pulled her hand off her sleeve:
"The day she was poisoned, I saw the mole under her neck."
"Now that you know, why don't you take her seriously?" Ye Laoqi's expression changed instantly. "Are you upset that she didn't tell you? Chongyang, you can't blame the host. Ever since she met you in Hangzhou, she's been secretly watching over you. There are guards outside the Flower Garden almost every night—"
Hua Chongyang was taken aback.
Ye Qinghua had never told her any of this, and she hadn't asked any more questions—not because she had no questions, but because she was afraid of getting a hurtful answer.
Ye Qinghua, whom I've known for five years, is so different from the mother I knew thirteen years ago.
"There's something I'm about to say that you might find hard to hear," Ye Laoqi said, grasping her hand, "Do you think you could have stayed in Hangzhou peacefully for so many years on your own? It's because the brothel owner and the establishment have always been backing you up! You have no idea how much effort the brothel owner has secretly put into protecting you! Do you even know that!"
"I didn't know before, but I do now. Seventh Brother, I only have one thing to say to you," Hua Chongyang removed Ye Laoqi's hand again, "The Sect Leader has been poisoned by Lan Ying Palace. Only Lan Wuxie can save her. I'm going to beg Lan Wuxie for the antidote now. You can go back now. Take good care of the Sect Leader and make sure she gets plenty of rest."
She pushed Ye Laoqi aside and jumped onto the painted boat.
Turn the corner and go through the first door.
Even now, Hua Chongyang still feels psychologically blocked when he comes here, as if he can see Lan Wuxie leaning against the headboard in her undergarments and Bo Jiang kneeling under the couch in disheveled clothes as soon as he stands here.
She closed her eyes, shook her head, took a deep breath, walked to the door, and gently knocked.
There was no response.
She knocked again, and after several attempts, she finally called out:
"...Pavilion Master Lan."
The entire pleasure boat was eerily quiet, as if there was no one there.
Hua Chongyang gave up knocking and simply pushed the door open and went inside.
There was no one there.
Bo Jiang was indeed lying to her.
But why would she tell such a lie? And what was the purpose of luring her to the pleasure boat?
Hua Chongyang stood in the room, unable to understand for a moment.
To say that Bo Jiang wanted to lure her to the pleasure boat and harm her was even more impossible. She would never believe, even if you beat her to death, that Bo Jiang would have the audacity to lay a hand on her on Lan Wuxie's turf.
Even though Lan Wuxie had lied to her, she still believed that he wouldn't stand by and watch her be taken advantage of by someone else.
Since Lan Wuxie wasn't here, she had no choice but to go to Banlianzui to find him.
As Hua Chongyang was thinking, he was about to leave when he caught a glimpse of something on the corner of the small table on the wooden couch.
That was the phoenix feather ring that Lan Wuxie always wore on her little finger.
She stopped in her tracks, a phrase Lan Cao had casually mentioned to her during a time when she was half-drunk:
"The sect leader has a particular fondness for gold jewelry, especially that pinky ring. It seems like he's never taken it off his finger except when he's in seclusion practicing his martial arts or sleeping with you."
Hua Chongyang walked straight over and picked up the ring without a pinky ring to examine it closely.
It is indeed the one that Lan Wuxie always wears on his hand.
so……
Before she could think of anything, she heard a noise behind her.
Turning around abruptly, all I saw was a bare mahogany wall separating it from the next room, with a display shelf on top.
But I clearly heard a sound just now!
Hua Chongyang hesitated for a moment, then rushed out of the room to the next room.
The room next door was also completely empty.
Hua Chongyang returned to Lan Wuxie's original room. Standing in the empty room, she felt a chill run down her spine. She stared at the wall for a long time, then slowly approached, her hand carefully exploring the display shelf. Finally, her hand touched a protrusion that seemed to be movable.
She pressed it down hard.
The display shelf slowly moved aside, revealing a dimly lit dark room with a heavy wooden fan screen in front of it, and faint sounds coming from behind it.
Hua Chongyang hesitated for a moment, then remembered Bo Jiang's words.
Could it be that Bo Jiang led his men to attack Lan Ying Palace this morning, slaughtering all the disciples and then severely injuring Lan Wuxie and imprisoning her here? And because he still harbors feelings for Lan Wuxie, he specifically went to tell her to come and help her…
She hesitated for a long time, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt that the deduction was correct. Finally, she gripped the dagger at her waist and slowly and carefully walked around the screen.
The scene that came into view stunned Hua Chongyang.
A stone bed, a solitary lamp in the corner, a man dressed in white with disheveled hair, half-lying on the bed, a blood-soaked hand hanging down beneath it. Upon closer inspection, blood gushed from his wrist, dripping slowly from his fingers to the ground.
His body trembled violently, one beat after another.
Blood rushed to Hua Chongyang's head, and she instantly lost her mind. She threw away the dagger in her hand and staggered forward. Half-dragging and half-supporting Lan Wuxie's shoulder, she saw the short dagger in Lan Wuxie's other hand and the blood beads that had congealed on the blade.
Lan Wuxie's face was as pale as paper, her eyes were dark and piercing, with traces of bloodshot at the corners. Her teeth were clenched tightly, and she stared at Hua Chongyang for a long time before finally letting out a sound:
"...Is that you...Chongyang..."
Who hurt you?
"Double Ninth Festival... Double Ninth Festival..."
Lan Wuxie called out softly, slowly raising his hand to release the dagger in his hand.
The dagger clattered to the ground.
He slowly reached back and gently stroked Hua Chongyang's face, a tender and charming smile curving his brows and lips.
"...Chongyang Festival, am I dreaming?
Blood gushed down her wrist, dripping onto Hua Chongyang, who was dressed in red. Before she could react, Lan Wuxie had already leaned down, cupped her face, and kissed her deeply.
Hua Chongyang raised his hand to push him, but his wrist was grabbed and twisted behind his back.
He slowly and irresistibly pushed her down onto the cold, hard stone bed, leaning over and pressing her down. Blood stained the area in front of them, leaving a pool of blood.
Hua Chongyang struggled alone amidst the bloodshed.
Lan Wuxie, however, remained unfazed, his dark eyes half-closed as he stared at her, a hoarse roar escaping his throat:
"...Double Ninth Festival...Double Ninth Festival..."
He pulled her hands over her head and held them down, then slid one hand down her cheek and neck to her chest, tearing her clothes to shreds with a slight force.
This was the first time Lan Wuxie had been so rough with her.
A chill ran through my chest.
Lan Wuxie held her hands tightly, lowered his head, and pressed his cool, thin lips against her skin, nibbling down her neck and chest.
He tore open his white clothes, which were stained with dark red blood.
The candlelight was now crimson like blood. Hua Chongyang shook his head, struggled, and screamed like a madman, desperately kicking his legs that were pinned down.
Lan Wuxie ignored her, nibbling and caressing her body. He tore open her bodice, his hands sliding down her shoulders, back, and back to her bare thighs. He slowly hooked her thighs around his waist, letting out a soft, indistinct call:
"...Double Ninth Festival."
She suddenly stopped struggling.
The lamp flashed brightly for a moment, illuminating the dimly lit room.
She stared at the gloomy ceiling, her eyes filled with nothing but despair.
Lan Wuxie hooked one arm around her leg, lowered his head and kissed her lips, thrusting his hips forward heavily, and then whispered:
"...Double Ninth Festival."
Hua Chongyang closed her eyes, and a tear slowly slid down her cheek.
This was the first time she had ever felt so desperate about herself and him.
49. Water lilies and orchids...
Ye Laoqi waited by West Lake, not daring to return to see Ye Qinghua until she saw Hua Chongyang. During this time, she noticed disciples of Lanying Palace gradually boarding boats to board the painted barges, including Lancao; but Hua Chongyang still hadn't returned. Just as she was becoming impatient, she saw a small boat approaching from the painted barges in the distance. There was a person on board, but he wasn't wearing Hua Chongyang's red clothes.
As the boat neared the shore, she could finally see clearly that the person on board was Hua Chongyang, who had changed from her red clothes into a particularly feminine yellow floral dress. Before Hua Chongyang even reached the shore, another boat had already caught up from behind, carrying Lan Cao, who called out to Hua Chongyang from afar:
"Hua Chongyang! Hua Chongyang! The Pavilion Master wants me to take you back!"
Hua Chongyang ignored him and immediately went ashore as soon as the boat stopped. Whether it was because she was walking too fast or something else, she stumbled a few times and almost fell. Ye Laoqi, who was hiding in the shadows, couldn't hold back and immediately flew forward to support her. When he looked down at her face, he was shocked:
"Chongyang! What's wrong?"
Upon closer inspection, Ye Laoqi couldn't help but gasp.
Hua Chongyang's exposed neck was covered with blue and red marks, and faintly showed bloody teeth marks, a shocking sight.
"It's nothing." Hua Chongyang stood up straight expressionlessly, pushed away Ye Laoqi's hand, and kept looking forward without even blinking. "Laoqi, let's go back."
Ye Laoqi was taken aback for a moment:
"Then what's the antidote, OP?--"
"We'll talk about it when we get back."
Ye Laoqi didn't dare ask any more questions and hurriedly followed. When Lancao came ashore and caught up with them, they were almost at the streamside. It was just past noon, and the streets weren't crowded. Lancao stopped them in the street, her voice low but firm: