Ugh, I get so angry just seeing that woman's crooked neck and squinty eyes!
"Weren't you all clamoring to kill her? She's right in front of me, and I don't see you making a move..."
"I don't care about the others, but who told you I was going to kill her?" Jun Guan, who had been silent until now, frowned her delicate eyebrows.
"You!" Yan Hailan glared, fierce as she was, and could scare others, but everyone here was more skilled in martial arts than her, more noble in status, and more ambitious than the heavens, so no one was afraid of her.
"Is this how Miss Yan treats her guests?" Shuangzi Wei frowned and spoke in a deep voice.
"Doesn't she look a lot like Rong Lian?" Only Nangong Ling remained smiling. "Same spoiled princess temperament..."
"Don't compare me to her, she's not worthy."
There was a moment of silence, followed by a burst of shrill laughter.
"Rong Lian, am I unworthy or are you unworthy now?" Yan Hailan approached me, poking my shoulder with a finger.
"You don't deserve it," I said clearly, looking into her eyes.
She raised her hand to strike, but how could you possibly hit me, Rong Lian? I slapped her hand away, and with a move called "Raging Sea," though I had lost my inner strength, the technique was still intact. I seized her hand before she could retract it, and then used force on her wrist to push her out the door.
Yan Hailan was startled and, in her anger, failed to notice anything amiss. "You can't even bear to cripple her martial arts?!"
Jun Guan and Shuang Ziwei frowned even more. They had immediately noticed the problem, so they looked at me with suspicion and then at Nangong Ling, who was sitting absentmindedly to the side.
"You crippled her internal energy?" Jun Guan pursed his handsome lips.
Nangong Ling raised his eyes and slowly took a sip of tea. He only spoke when Jun Guan was about to take out the Qilin Whip.
"I didn't do anything. It's just that someone wanted to die but wasn't serious enough. They ate poison like it was candy every day. It's already a miracle that they've recovered enough after more than a year without any lasting effects. They still want to retain their internal energy? There's no such thing as a free lunch." Nangong Ling smiled slowly, propping his chin up with one hand, his phoenix eyes fixed on Jun Guan. "Brother Jun Guan, you can't bear to part with it?"
"No, but if she loses her internal energy, she'll have a hard time staying in the Tianjue Sect..."
Her phoenix eyes narrowed, a fleeting moment of beauty, a fleeting glimmer of light.
Why do you insist on being so fixated on such a stubborn and unruly person?
"Why does your brother cling so tightly to this person?"
Her eyes gleamed with an eerie brightness, and the curve of her lips was breathtakingly beautiful.
A subtle change in his gaze caused the atmosphere in the room to suddenly become tense.
Six or seven years ago, Nangong Ling only exuded this suffocating sense of oppression when he suppressed his smile. Now, he is just smiling as usual, but an even stronger killing intent is spreading out.
Some things are so beautiful they're poisonous, while others are so beautiful they're terrifying. The former are clearly meant to be looked at but not touched; the latter are things you know you can't touch but still can't help but approach and touch, perhaps never truly dying. Jun Guan is poison; from afar, you know to stay as far away as possible, untouchable and unprovoked. Nangong Ling is a poisonous heart wrapped in sugar; a fleeting glance is enough to steal your soul, one look and you're plunged into the mortal world. You willingly play out scene after scene, while he watches from afar with only a smile. But that smile is enough to make you chase after him until death.
“Rong Lian, you…” Yan Hailan turned back, but stopped speaking as soon as she reached the door.
I know why Yan Hailan has been targeting me. Initially, it was because she was unhappy that her younger brother was always following me around. Then one year, she brought Yan Guhong, who was clamoring to find me, to the Rong family. That was the day she first met Nangong Ling, and from then on, she was doomed. Whether it was dislike or something else, Nangong Ling did have a lot of feelings for me, so Yan Hailan's targeting became more and more intense.
Is it necessary? It's not like I'm clinging to this marriage. Now, whatever I say is meaningless. I have no choice in the matter.
Chapter 20
All I want to do right now is find He Xiuqi and have him disguise me, then all will be well. You go your way, I'll go mine.
"Lian, Sister Lian..." Someone tugged at my clothes.
I turned my head and saw that Yue Linghe's face was pale and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.
What do you want from me? I don't want to be the one to stick my neck out. Didn't you see Qionghua standing quietly to the side? Even Shuangzi'an, that troublemaker, is keeping quiet and doesn't dare to move. I can't win an argument, and I can't fight either. I don't want to die. Besides, I'd prefer they fight each other, ideally ending up badly hurt. Even if one loses and the other wins, it's still good; one less is always better...
I guess I couldn't help but laugh as I was thinking about it, and in an instant all eyes were on me.
"Rong... Rong Lian..." With the tension and murderous intent gone, Gemini An stammered as soon as she relaxed, "You can actually laugh in a situation like this?"
Thinking too highly of myself won't work either. I pursed my lips, my hopes completely shattered, and by my own hand.
"Miss, did I frighten you? You're alright now, let's go eat." I turned to Yue Linghe and said.
“Yeah, yeah, it’s almost noon and no one has come to greet us yet?” Shuang Zi’an was the first to agree, and gave Yan Hailan a dissatisfied look.
Yue Linghe stared at my face, which had turned even paler, and after a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly ran to Nangong Ling's side.
My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Hey, hey, hey, I'm not some womanizer, and I don't look that much like a ghost...
"Haha, everyone has come from afar, please forgive this old man for not being able to..." Yan Suqing rushed over, but only managed to laugh twice and say two words before I glared at him and shut him up.
This old guy has developed a habit of bowing and scraping whenever he sees me. It's a habit that's been formed, and it's quite difficult for him to change it in a short time. So Yan Suqing is more polite to me than to anyone else.
I've developed a habit of constantly checking Yue Linghe's expression. I have to be careful around this little devil; she's always the one who gets me into the worst situation. Her expression at the moment was neither good nor bad, and after watching for a while, I couldn't figure it out, so I gave up.
I finally breathed a sigh of relief after everyone had finished lunch and returned to their rooms. I've learned my lesson now; I'd rather skip dinner than leave my room again. Sleeping under the covers is the safest option. I've always loved crowds and always wanted to be in one place, but now I wouldn't go anywhere without some peace and quiet. Many people from various sects have seen me, and those who have suffered at my hands are now all well-known and influential figures in the martial arts world. I can't afford to offend any of them.
I played chess with the Duke of Zhou for a while, but he said I kept taking back my moves and had a bad temper, so he simply smashed the chessboard and wouldn't let me stay with him anymore.
I opened my eyes, and everything was dark; it was already past midnight. It wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't woken up, but as soon as I did, I felt hungry.
"Awake? Get up and eat."
Suddenly a voice rang out above my head, and I jumped in fright.
"Have you learned to be afraid after doing so many bad things?"
"Nangong Ling, are you trying to scare me in the middle of the night?!"
I was so frightened that I yelled it out.
He chuckled softly, got up, and lit a candle. "Come here."
As the firelight gradually brightened, I saw four dishes and a soup on the table. Unable to resist the rumbling in my stomach, I put on a coat and went over. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the dishes and soup were still steaming.
Why don't you go eat?
"There are people everywhere here at the West Gate. Who knows what trouble we might cause if we run into someone who knows me?" Yan Suqing arranged our room at the West Gate, saying that no one was staying at the East Gate these days, and the servants were all at the West Gate. So in the end, we walked most of Yanwu Fort and circled around to this place.
"You know you'll cause trouble?" His tone wasn't sarcastic, and he seemed to be in a good mood. "From now on, unless I punish you, you're not allowed to skip meals."
"……oh."
"If you really don't want to go out, have Granny Zhao bring it to your room. In short, you mustn't go hungry."
I picked up my chopsticks and took a bite of rice. "You came to bring me food in the middle of the night?"
He fiddled with the candle flame and gave a sinister laugh. "I can't sleep."
Thankfully, he didn't spit out his food; apparently, he was just killing time. Why was I so hoping he'd come specifically to bring me food? That's strange, I haven't taken any weird medications lately.
I rolled my eyes at him and picked up a piece of chicken. I didn't expect the food at Yanwu Fort to be so good. Some of the dishes were even better than those cooked by the chefs at Wuyue Palace. I've eaten countless delicacies, but few people can make simple dishes taste so good.
"When did Yanwu Fort get such a good cook?"
"tasty?"
Nangong Ling has recently developed a habit of watching people eat and then wiping their mouths for them.
"It's even better than Chef Sun's cooking from the Rong family. That's really something."
He lay on the table, only his eyes showing, which shone brightly in the candlelight.
"It is an honor for the cook to receive praise from Miss Rong."
I almost blurted out those two "yes".
"I'm full, I'm going back to sleep."
"You just ate and you're already sleeping? Are you a pig?" Her jade-like fingers twisted around my clothes.
If you weren't here, I was planning to take a few laps around the room before going to sleep, but with you standing there like this, how can I not hide?
"What did Jun Guan say to you that day?"
“If I can’t stay in the Moonless Palace any longer, he said he’d be willing to take me in.”
"What was your answer?"
"You know Jun Guan's character. He's the kind of person who always seeks revenge. Would he be so kind? Even if you believed me, I wouldn't. He said all that just to trick me into falling into his trap. I'm not that stupid." Didn't you see how venomous his eyes were when he looked at me? He looked like he wanted to devour me.
"So you're saying you're refusing?"
I nodded. I wasn't going to tell him that I neither refused nor agreed. I needed to leave myself a way out. No matter what Jun Guan's purpose was, as long as it wasn't Nangong Ling, I would always find a way to escape.
"Rong Lian, you will never know how well I understand you, so please don't lie to me."
He rested his chin on his arm and turned his head to the side, a half-open smile adorning half of his profile, which made my heart flutter.
"...The martial arts tournament is in two days, you need to be prepared."
"W-what preparations..." I bit my tongue, but I would never admit that I felt guilty just because of his smile.
"Some people—no, many people—might, definitely will, provoke you into taking the field. What do you plan to do?"
"Shut them up." I learned my lesson and told the truth.
"That's your style... Alright, go ahead and have some fun."
But brother, have you forgotten that I've lost my internal energy? "What if I get beaten to death?"
“With me here, no one can hurt you.” He propped himself up and smoothed the wrinkled silk. “Starting tomorrow, I will come every night to transfer a little internal energy to you. By the time of the martial arts tournament, it will be almost over.”
"Didn't you... want me to beg you?"
He just smiled, then reached out and pinched my cheek. The pressure was light, so the smooth and soft touch felt as gentle as cotton wool, delicate and comfortable.
"No rush, there will be plenty of opportunities later. As the saying goes, let the braid grow long before you grab it, and let the pig fatten up before you slaughter it... I can wait patiently."