"Mmm," Gu Xingchen responded, then took his hand and led him inside.
The waiter quickly came out to help lead their horses to the stable.
The two found a quiet corner to sit down and casually ordered two dishes, since there were only two of them and they couldn't eat much.
Gu Xingchen kept putting food into Wen Hongye's bowl: "You've worked so hard, you should eat more."
"Alright, there's no room left in the bowl, you should eat some too." Wen Hongye said, looking at the mountain of food piled up in her bowl, both amused and exasperated.
"Okay, I'll eat too." Gu Xingchen then put some food in her bowl.
During the meal, Gu Xingchen asked, "We've already arrived at Lijiang. How far is it from where your master lives?"
Wen Hongye shook her head: "It's not far. After we finish eating, we can get there in less than half an hour."
"You...you haven't been back for years, and you're only coming back to see your master now. He'll definitely be unhappy. He won't hit you, will he?" Gu Xingchen was worried about this the whole way.
Wen Hongye sighed softly: "Back then, I left without saying goodbye and happily followed Xiao Nian to Feng Kingdom. I followed him wholeheartedly for three years, willingly being confined to the small space of the Duke of Huguo's mansion. Now that I've come to my senses, I've come back to beg my master to forgive this unfilial disciple. Even if my master beats me half to death, I won't have a single complaint."
“You are so good, it’s just that Prince Xiao doesn’t appreciate it. You thought you had met a good man and were willing to follow him, but you didn’t expect him to be fickle. If you had known he was like this, you definitely wouldn’t have gone with him. I will talk to your master for you. Your master loves you so much, he will definitely forgive you for leaving without saying goodbye for three years.” Gu Xingchen looked at him with heartache.
"I hope so." Wen Hongye lowered his head, feeling extremely guilty. He had been blind to be deceived by Xiao Nian and hadn't returned for three years. His master loved him so much, and he had just left without saying goodbye and run off with someone else. His master must be heartbroken.
Gu Xingchen reached out and gently patted Wen Hongye's hand: "Don't be afraid, I will always be with you. By the way, didn't you say that your master's birthday is coming up soon? You've already prepared a gift. When you give it to him, say a few nice words, and he will definitely calm down."
Wen Hongye nodded: "Mm..."
After finishing their meal, Gu Xingchen went to pay the bill, while Wen Hongye waited at the door for the waiter to bring the horse over.
"Young master, here is your horse."
Wen Hongye glanced at it and was taken aback: "This is not my horse, you've brought the wrong one."
The waiter was also taken aback: "Ah, I must have brought the other two young masters' horses. I'm so sorry, I'll change them for you."
Lu Chimo led Bai Yulang, who was full and satisfied, to the counter to pay the bill: "Yulang, are you full?"
"I'm full, very full," Bai Yulang replied. "Senior brother, you can settle the bill here. I'll go get the horse."
“Okay.” Lu Chimo nodded.
Bai Yulang walked straight to the door, and just as he reached the door, he saw a figure in red mounting a horse.
He was startled and immediately shouted anxiously, his tongue almost tied in knots: "Wenwenwen Hongye! No, no, don't go! Senior Brother Shishi! Come quickly!"
Chapter 545 Senior Brother, Don't Be Angry
When Wen Hongye heard someone calling him, he looked towards the entrance of the restaurant and saw Bai Yulang looking anxious.
Before Gu Xingchen could even ask Wen Hongye who this was, Bai Yulang galloped over and grabbed the horse's neck, shouting, "Don't go!"
The horse felt a bit stuffy when it saw its neck being held, so it neighed and then struggled to shake off the "thing" hanging around its neck.
Upon hearing Bai Yulang's voice, Lu Chimo quickly rushed over and saw Bai Yulang clinging tightly to the horse's neck.
"Yulang!" He quickly went over and pulled Bai Yulang into his arms. "This is dangerous! What if he gets kicked by a horse?"
Wen Hongye and Gu Xingchen were being tossed around on horseback. If Wen Hongye hadn't held onto the reins tightly and kept the horse under control, all three of them would have been thrown off their feet.
After Bai Yulang was pulled away by Lu Chimo, the horse calmed down once there was nothing binding its neck.
Then, Wen Hongye dismounted and carefully helped Gu Xingchen down.
They all looked at Lu Chimo and Bai Yulang, and Wen Hongye asked, "Are you the Divine Doctor Lu?"
Lu Chimo nodded slightly: "Yes, I'm sorry. My junior brother was too abrupt just now and disturbed you two. He was too excited to see Young Master Wen. We were just about to go find Young Master Wen when we unexpectedly ran into him here."
"Looking for me?" Wen Hongye looked bewildered.
"Well, I won't beat around the bush. Is Young Master Wen the disciple of the Gu King of Lijiang?" Lu Chimo asked directly.
Bai Yulang, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed, his eyes filled with anticipation: "You must be right, right? You must be right!!"
Wen Hongye was stunned for a moment, then replied, "How...how did you know?"
Upon hearing this, Bai Yulang ran over happily and hugged Wen Hongye tightly, then spun around in circles, exclaiming, "That's wonderful! That's really wonderful!"
Wen Hongye was dumbfounded. He said somewhat awkwardly, "Put me down."
“Yu Lang!” Lu Chi Mo frowned slightly.
Gu Xingchen quickly stepped in to stop her, saying, "You, you let go of Hongye."
Bai Yulang then stopped, let go of Lu Chimo's hand, and immediately turned back to his side, grabbing Lu Chimo's hand and shaking it, saying, "Senior brother, I... I was just too happy and couldn't help myself. Senior brother, please don't be angry..."
Lu Chimo didn't speak, but gently poked his forehead with his index finger.
"I know I was wrong, senior brother, please don't be angry. Business is important. If you're still not satisfied, I'll apologize to you properly tonight, okay? I still have the hair ribbon!" Bai Yulang said shamelessly.
Lu Chimo shook his head slightly, looking like he couldn't do anything about Bai Yulang. Then he straightened his expression, turned to Wen Hongye, and told him what had happened.
After hearing this, Wen Hongye's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Hongye..." Gu Xingchen was about to go over and hold Wen Hongye's hand to comfort him when she saw him flip onto his horse and ride away in a cloud of dust.
"Red Leaf!" Gu Xingchen wanted to chase after it but couldn't catch up.
Lu Chimo asked doubtfully, "Young Master Wen doesn't know that the Gu King is dead?"
Gu Xingchen shook his head: "I don't know. He just wanted to come back to celebrate his master's birthday, and then ask his master to forgive him for leaving without saying goodbye back then. He has been staying in the Duke of Huguo's mansion for the past three years without ever stepping out. How could he know that his master had already passed away?"
Chapter 546 I Will Always Be By Your Side
Wen Hongye hurried back to the former residence of the Gu King.
He jumped off his horse, pushed open the old courtyard gate, and ran inside: "Master, Hongye is back!"
He ran all over the house, calling out, "Master, Hongye is back," but no one answered him.
Finally, he stopped in the front courtyard, knelt down with a thud, and cried out loudly, "Master, Hongye is unfilial! Hongye has only just returned. You must be very angry with Hongye, so you don't want to see Hongye again, right..."
The cries echoed through the empty house, adding to the desolation.
“Master, I was wrong, Hongye was wrong, please come back…” Wen Hongye knelt there, her head hitting the ground, crying bitterly, her tears wetting the stone slab.
Lu Chimo and Bai Yulang knew where the Gu King's former residence was, so they brought Gu Xingchen there directly.
Gu Xingchen had already heard Wen Hongye's heartbroken cries coming from inside while he was still outside, so he quickly ran in: "Hongye!"
As soon as he entered, he saw Wen Hongye kneeling in the center of the courtyard, kowtowing and weeping bitterly. His heart clenched, and he ran to Wen Hongye's side, kneeling down as well: "Hongye..."
“Master, your disciple knows he was wrong. Please hit me, please punish me. I will kneel here and let you beat and scold me as you please…” Wen Hongye cried so hard she could hardly breathe.
Seeing Wen Hongye's heartbroken state, Gu Xingchen felt extremely distressed: "Hongye, I know you're very sad. Cry, I'll stay here with you."
As he spoke, Gu Xingchen moved his knees and lowered his head to kneel side by side with Wen Hongye.
Lu Chimo and Bai Yulang stood aside, watching the two of them.
Although Bai Yulang was anxious and wanted to ask Wen Hongye about the cure as soon as possible, he also knew that she was feeling bad right now, and he couldn't just think of himself and ignore her feelings.
So he stood obediently beside Lu Chimo, waiting with Lu Chimo for Wen Hongye to calm down.
He cried for an unknown amount of time before finally stopping. He kowtowed three times to the main hall, saying, "Master, rest assured, Hongye will definitely avenge you!"
Gu Xingchen put her arms around his shoulders and whispered, "I will always be by your side."
With her eyes red from crying, Wen Hongye turned to look at Gu Xingchen: "If I hadn't been so foolish as to leave with Xiao Nian back then, but instead went to Xiao Kingdom with Master, would Master have been safe...?"
"The Emperor of Xiao is ruthless. Even if you hadn't gone with Xiao Nian back then, but instead followed your master, I'm afraid the Emperor of Xiao wouldn't have spared you in the end."
In fact, Gu Xingchen really wanted to say that if Wen Hongye hadn't gone with Xiao Nian, he and Wen Hongye wouldn't be together now.
But after thinking about it, he was afraid that these words would make Wen Hongye think that they were able to be together because of his master's life, so he didn't say it.
Wen Hongye wiped away her tears and stood up with Gu Xingchen supporting each other.
He looked at Lu Chimo and said, "I have a way to remove the curse, but I have one condition: I want Your Highness to help me take revenge!"
Lu Chimo replied, "Don't worry about that. We all have an irreconcilable feud with Xiao Shixun. As long as you can help remove the curse from Young Master Su, we can focus on dealing with Xiao Shixun."
“Alright, but it will take time to refine the antidote for this secret poison. Once I’ve finished refining it, we can set off for Xiao Kingdom,” Wen Hongye replied.
"How long will it take to refine the antidote?" Lu Chimo asked.
Chapter 547 Heart's Blood
“At least half a month,” Wen Hongye replied.
"Ah, at least half a month. It will probably take a month or so for us to get there with the antidote. I don't know if my brother can hold on until then... But having the antidote is already a blessing in disguise."
Bai Yulang sighed softly, and couldn't help but worry about his brother, thinking that he would have to stay by that bastard Xiao Shixun's side for another month or so.
Wen Hongye looked at him and said, "Is Young Master Su your biological brother?"
Bai Yulang nodded: "Yes, that's right. What's wrong?"
“It’s good that he’s my own brother, because once the antidote is refined, Young Master Su will need to take it along with the heart’s blood of his blood relative in order for it to work,” Wen Hongye explained.
Bai Yulang was taken aback: "You need my heart's blood, right?"
"Mm." Wen Hongye nodded slightly.
“No problem, take as much as you need,” Bai Yulang replied without hesitation.
Lu Chimo frowned slightly: "Wrist blood won't do? It has to be heart blood?"
"Yes, it must be heart's blood, just a small half bowl will do."
Bai Yulang knew that Lu Chimo was worried about him, so he said, "I know that taking heart blood is very harmful to one's vital energy, but isn't it because I have a divine doctor like my senior brother? He can help me to recuperate and replenish my vital energy later."
“The vital energy damaged by bloodshed is not so easy to replenish.” Lu Chimo sighed, then as if he had realized something, he added, “No wonder Xiao Shixun wanted to kill all of Young Master Su’s relatives back then, I’m afraid this was one of the reasons.”
Upon hearing this, Bai Yulang nodded angrily, "Yes, Senior Brother is right. Xiao Shixun is probably afraid that if we are all still alive, my brother will have a way to get rid of the Gu poison. Thank goodness I am still alive, otherwise there would be no way to cure the Gu poison in my brother's body."
"Xiao Shixun's actions are intolerable to Heaven, so Heaven has arranged everything so that Yulang and Young Master Su can live to take revenge." Lu Chimo's tone was firm, making people believe that everything would eventually lead to victory.
"However, don't let my brother know that this is my heart's blood. Just say it's animal blood. I'm afraid he'll be upset if he finds out," Bai Yulang reminded him.
Meanwhile, Su Fuliu, who had already arrived in Xiao Kingdom, was sent to the warm pavilion by Xiao Shixun.
The warm room was indeed as cozy as spring, with wooden flooring that felt warm to the touch.