"You guys can't even get a simple task done properly. You're so slow and you even grabbed the wrong person. Where's my lovely little apprentice? How did she turn into this girl?"
“Well… Master, you know how difficult it is to invite Junior Brother. Even if you personally go, he might not give you face. It just so happens that Rong Lian has delivered herself to our door. As long as we bring her back to Anting, we won’t have to worry about Junior Brother not coming.”
"Hmph, what good can that Rong family girl be? She has no manners and doesn't know how to respect the elderly or care for the young. She even dares to make a move on my beard." He stroked his beard and glanced at me with disdain. "I don't know what kind of magic she used to bewitch my little apprentice."
I was feeling incredibly stifled and was just wondering what I could do to relieve it when the old man's words pierced my heart. At that moment, I didn't care about my own strength or whether I could win the fight. I grabbed a candle and threw it at him, not even feeling the burns on my hands from the wax.
Although the old man was stunned, he quickly realized what was happening and turned on the candle.
Zhiyu stood there, stunned by my sudden and audacious act.
"You ignorant brat!"
He, the Martial Venerable, had probably never encountered anyone other than his little disciple who treated him so disrespectfully. Enraged, he slapped me across the face. Because he didn't control his strength, the slap sent me crashing through the door and flying out.
"Don't think you can act with impunity just because no one dares to teach you a lesson!"
He walked over in a few steps, grabbed my collar and yanked me inside. I spat out a mouthful of blood, and my head cleared up considerably.
I grabbed his sleeve tightly, not caring whether I could hurt him or not. It wouldn't matter if I tore his sleeve. Let him be a scoundrel if he wants. If I hit him properly, I might not even be able to touch the hem of his clothes.
The sound of tearing silk made the old man's eyes turn red, and his beard bristled with anger.
"Your Excellency, please calm your anger."
At the critical moment, a deep, somewhat sinister voice came from upstairs.
The old man was furious that someone was disturbing him, so he turned his head sharply, hoping to scare away the ungrateful fellow with his eyes.
I threw off that sleeve and prepared to continue pulling at his undergarment, but I was caught by a whip that appeared out of nowhere and couldn't move my hand.
"Who is it?" the old man asked, his thick eyebrows furrowed and his tone harsh.
"The Heavenly Annihilation Sect Lord's Temple".
"Kid, you'd better get out of here."
Giving Jun Guan a warning was already giving him enough face; usually, martial masters would ignore other irrelevant people.
"Rong Lian, give me some leeway, are you really courting death?"
I looked up and saw that Jun Guan was unusually serious, with an even deeper gloom in his eyes.
"...What does this have to do with you?"
"Hahaha! This girl doesn't even appreciate it, kid, save your breath!"
The old man casually raised his hand and grabbed my neck. The moment I looked away, I saw Jun Guan's face turn deathly pale.
"Master!" A sharp shout suddenly rang out.
"Tsk, what are you doing? Trying to scare your master to death?"
The things in front of me gradually became blurry, and I began to have difficulty breathing, but my consciousness remained unusually clear.
"It would be better if you were scared to death right now. Aren't you afraid of the consequences of strangling Rong Lian? If Junior Brother sees Rong Lian as a cold corpse, what do you think he would do?"
“Take his treasures out and sell them, then burn Anting down, destroy everything he likes. Then chop up his flesh to eat as a side dish, remove his bones to make soup, draw his blood to drink as wine, open his head and eat his brains raw, in short, make sure he dies without a complete corpse.”
A familiar, yet one I didn't really want to hear, voice sent the old man, who had been so aggressive and menacing just moments before, crashing into hell.
Chapter 37
My hands, which were originally cool to the touch like silk, were now warm and slightly sweaty, and the cool fragrance on my body was stronger than usual, but it smelled very comforting.
That old bastard really went all out; there should be a mark on his neck now. I gasped for breath, my mind wandering to all sorts of random thoughts.
"Little, little Ling'er... you've come so fast..." The touching reunion between master and disciple that Wu Zun had originally envisioned was shattered by a single glance from his little disciple.
"Any later and I'm afraid my disciple will have to sacrifice his own family for the greater good."
The old man paused for a moment, then immediately snorted heavily, "What's so good about this wild girl? She has absolutely no manners of a proper young lady. Look, she even tore your master's sleeve! What kind of behavior is this?! I'll teach this girl a lesson for you..."
“Not bad.” Nangong Ling interrupted him with a soft laugh. “This suits you quite well.”
Nangong Ling, seemingly unaffected, smiled nonchalantly and carried me upstairs. As they passed through the corridor, she even greeted Jun Guan, whose face was still deathly pale.
Was he happy to see me in this state? Just as I was vaguely thinking this, he turned on me without even saying goodbye.
"Ouch!" I hissed in pain as this person threw me onto the bed like a piece of clothing.
"You've learned so many lessons but you still don't learn your lesson, have you?" He walked over, his long, slender hand reaching out as well.
A chill ran through me, and I stiffened involuntarily, because now it was his turn to choke me.
I cannot describe my feelings at this moment in detail; the only thing I know is an unprecedented fear.
His dark eyes glowed with a faint red light, and a chilling aura filled every tiny gap in the air, making it hard for me to breathe.
"Are you sad?" His voice was soft, but without a trace of tenderness; it was cold and suppressed anger.
I wanted to nod but couldn't move, I wanted to speak but couldn't make a sound, I could only look at him.
It turns out I had never really looked at him closely. I always disliked him from the start because I always felt frustrated whenever I met him. I'm used to others reading my face, so it wouldn't make sense for me to read his face as well.
I wanted to open my eyes wide and take a good look at the person in front of me, but my vision became increasingly blurry, and gradually it turned into complete darkness.
"...I thought that without the Rong family, you would give up, but you still want to run away. If you want to go back to the way things were before, then stay obediently by my side and don't go anywhere. I can let you do whatever you want, as long as you're happy, I'm not afraid that you'll become reckless. If you really don't want to stay by my side, then don't even think about it, and it's impossible for you to go back to the way things were before. From now on, your life or death, Rong Lian, will have nothing to do with me anymore. But I don't mind destroying what I can't have. If I can't let go, even if it's hell, I'll drag you down with me."
Something cold and smooth gently touched my lips, as if it wanted to etch every word he said into my heart before it would stop.
"...Ugh." I felt a slight stinging sensation in my neck, and unconsciously groaned because the air I breathed in was too cold.
"Does it hurt a lot?" A soft, cotton-like voice slipped past my lips and into my ears. Cool fingers pressed on my neck, which was burning from the stinging pain. It felt very comfortable and the pressure was gentle.
I squinted and suddenly saw a pair of captivating eyes.
Her phoenix eyes had upturned corners and smooth, flowing lines like water. A blink was charming, and a slight glance revealed a thousand kinds of charm and allure, making it impossible to look away.
His eyes were so close to mine, his long eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings, light and elegant with every gentle movement. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but I felt like I was being drawn into his eyes, which were as alluring as the full moon on the fifteenth of the lunar month.
"You already know, don't you? Knowing Second Senior Sister's personality, she definitely couldn't help but tell you." He turned to lie down beside me, propping his head up with one hand and rubbing my neck with the other. "Rong Zhi... your father took my more than ten years of internal energy when I wasn't paying attention. But thanks to him, I learned a lesson: if you want something, you must rely on yourself. Otherwise, even if you get it, you may lose it at any time. Everything your father got was given to him by me. Since he was unkind, why should he blame me for being unjust? I'm not destroying the Rong family; I'm just taking back what I gave. Anyway, all I want is you; I have no time to care about anything else."
At that moment, I suddenly remembered the last time I saw him three years ago. Back then, my father had said in front of everyone that the second young master of the Feng family was a good boy, and that I often played with him, and we seemed to have a good relationship. He said that marrying into the Feng family would be much closer than marrying into the Nangong family. Nangong Ling's face turned pale on the spot. This was the first time I had ever seen him lose his composure in front of others. Thinking back, his mental state wasn't good that day; he had stumbled and ran out as if he might collapse at any moment. His back view was filled with anger and utter disarray. My father was too hasty, too eager to get rid of Nangong Ling, so he deliberately said those words to provoke him, but it backfired.
I'm actually very clear about my position. Before, with the Rong family backing me up, I could act arrogantly and domineeringly. Later, without the Rong family and with Nangong Ling in charge, I became even more lawless. I knew that no matter how Nangong Ling tried to discipline me, he wouldn't really hurt me, and he would definitely clean up any potential troubles. But I hated the way I inevitably lowered myself in front of him, so I acted according to my own whims to gain a sense of balance. However, I never imagined he would harbor murderous intent towards me. Now that I know this so-called truth, I can no longer find my place.
Chapter 38
When I woke up after sleeping, it was almost dusk in the afternoon. The ground around me was cold, and everyone was nowhere to be found.
I sighed towards the bed frame and turned over. Suddenly, a sharp pain came from my back, but when I tried to pinpoint where it came from, it disappeared.
I lay there for a while longer, and when I didn't feel anything unusual, I frowned, got up, washed up, got dressed, and moved my hands and feet around a bit, but still didn't feel anything. So I just ignored it, opened the door, and went out.
A day later, no one else came. It seems that Nangong Ling is rarely seen alone. Usually, he is always accompanied by either the Dharma Protector or Shao You. This young master needs to be served.
"My senior sister said you were critically ill, so your appearance here is a sign of your last gasp?" He was always sharp-tongued and merciless when speaking to those who offended him.
"Isn't it because I need to find you? Even Wen'er and Yu'er couldn't get you to come, so I had to come myself." The old man sat down properly and answered honestly, looking more like a disciple who had made a mistake and was being disciplined by his master.
"Solve your own problems. I don't have time to worry about things in Anting." He pinched his straight nose wearily, having not slept all night again.
"Hmph, I don't have time for that. I wonder if you have time to bring that wild girl out for a stroll. The Nangong family and Wuyue Palace are already piled up with things, but you still squeezed out time to watch this martial arts tournament?!" She started complaining as she spoke.
"This is my business, I can do whatever I want. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Your third senior brother's situation is a matter of life and death! If he doesn't turn to you for the antidote for the Poison Fairy's mushroom poison, who else can he turn to? I can counter any martial arts move, but I know absolutely nothing about pharmacology!"
"Yanxing Mountain is right behind Anting, only a few miles away. Go find the Medicine King for this kind of thing, don't bother me."
"I have no chance of begging a junior!"
His grand words only earned him a sneer, and he picked up the strong, invigorating tea and took a sip.
"Even if you swallow your pride and beg him, he might not agree to your request. For the sake of saving face, you should just give up on the path of the Medicine King. But even if you come in person, are you sure you can guarantee that I will agree?"
"Hehe, because this Poison Fairy's next target is Miss Yue."
His brow twitched, and he put down his tea. "My senior sister didn't say anything."
"It's all because you turned and ran as soon as you saw them. What did you say? When did you give them a chance to speak? You ran away so fast, and you even chose those difficult and desolate roads. It was a coincidence that you ran into that wild girl. Otherwise, even if they went back to Luoyang with you, they might not have seen you. Then your third senior brother's life would have been in danger."
The Poison Fairy is renowned for her bizarre poisons, capable of killing four people every year—meaning two people die by her hand every six months. Moreover, after poisoning one person, she'll tell you who her next target is, but even knowing that doesn't save you from her demise, as her poisons are utterly unpredictable and have never failed to strike. Another strange aspect is that her targets are almost always completely unrelated, like drawing lots—whoever she picks is the one she poisons.
"Since the next target is Ling'er, do you think I still have a chance to go to Anting?" Nangong Ling looked at the old man with amusement, his face full of regret and the regretful expression of wanting to bite off his tongue.
"How many days have passed since Third Senior Brother was poisoned?"
"Ten days."
Nangong Ling narrowed his eyes, his smile eerie and extremely dangerous.
"Does the Poison Fairy usually prefer to wait fifteen days after administering poison before making her move again?"
The old man nodded in agreement.
The poison from the sesame mushroom can be delayed for up to eighteen days, but even a miracle worker couldn't save someone if it were delayed by just one more day. This Poison Fairy is incredibly confident, attacking the next target before the previous one has even truly died.
I stood in the dead corner of the stairs listening to their conversation. When I heard Nangong Ling choose Yue Linghe without hesitation, I couldn't help but sneer to try and calm the unpleasant feeling that welled up inside me.
"Who are you trying to scare by standing here like this?"
Zhiyu slapped me, causing me to trip and almost fall.