(Three) (Four)

(three)

I thought, if she could come back to life, I would marry her. She came for me, and I would do what she wanted.

However, things are not as simple as I thought.

After waking up, Leng Yue was a completely different person. No longer fresh and warm, she was replaced by a deep-seated coldness and despair. Once, I saw her dazed, clutching a dagger. Fearing she might attempt suicide again, I took away her dagger and all the other items in her room, including her scissors, needlework, and other belongings.

She was always unhappy and even after her injury healed, she didn't take care of herself. Once, I saw her sitting on the porch in the rain, and I said she hadn't recovered yet, so I reached out and helped her up.

Leng Yue slowly stood up and said respectfully, "Thank you, sir."

Young Master? Am I just Young Master in your heart? What kind of suffering have you endured? Why don't you want to tell me?

She said: "Leng Yue dare not have any improper thoughts about you. Leng Yue is not worthy of you."

I suddenly felt Leng Yue was such a stranger. Brave, resourceful, and exceptionally talented, she'd come for me, risking her life for me, yet she'd turned me away. The reason was that she thought she wasn't good enough for me.

What does it mean to be unworthy? How can I be unworthy? Is it simply because my master's teachings have made me a renowned Hua Tuo? Even though I am a learned scholar, that is only the result of more than a decade of hard work. How can that become an obstacle to my relationship?

The so-called excellence really makes people feel lonely at the top.

Seeing that I was feeling down and drinking to drown my sorrows, she came to comfort me, snatched my wine jug, and started drinking.

It's best not to drink alcohol when you're recovering from a serious injury. I snatched the wine jug and shouted, "What are you doing?"

"I'll drink with you." She said with a smile.

This was the first time she had smiled in days. It was also the first time she had taken the initiative to tell me her story in the months since we'd known each other.

She said that she once hated these so-called good things because this kind of "good" made her feel worthless. She also said that whether others like her or not is their business, but your strengths will always be your strengths.

After hearing these words, I felt much better. So I stood up and said, "Go back and rest."

Just then, she told me a piece of news that excited me very much.

She said that Young Master Nong Yue had been here.

It turns out that my efforts were not in vain. Although Master Nong Yue was not resurrected, his soul remained in this world.

My momentary blunder had cost me my only confidant. Now, I finally had another chance to atone for what I had done that day.

In the tomb, we not only used the Seven Star Life-Extending Lamp, but also cured the poison Young Master Nong Yue had previously taken. In addition, I also prepared two extra tinderboxes and double the amount of lamp oil.

This time, it will be foolproof.

Seven days later, Young Master Nong Yue was successfully resurrected. During those seven days, Leng Yue and I survived on limited water and a few dry rations. Leng Yue wasn't physically strong, but she had great endurance. She said she was born in the year of the camel and would occasionally tell me jokes from her hometown. The cheerful and open-minded Leng Yue of old was back, and I was so relieved.

At that time, I only wanted to atone for my sins, but I never thought that Master Nong Yue would soon become my love rival.

Perhaps he was right—if there is Yu, why is there Liang? Even though they admire each other, they have always been competitors.

At the welcoming banquet, Leng Yue and Young Master Nong Yue exchanged glances. Then, upon seeing me, she shyly lowered her head. Halfway through the banquet, Leng Yue left and didn't return for a long time. Worried, I went to look for her, only to find her sitting with Young Master Nong Yue.

She had never thrown herself into my arms, but now she fell asleep leaning on Master Nong Yue's back.

"What's going on between you two?" Young Master Nong Yue asked with a smile.

I replied coldly, "Nothing."

He seemed very satisfied with this answer: "Oh? That's the best. Leng Yue is drunk, let's send her back to her room to rest first. Sai Hua Tuo, help me."

Young Master Nong Yue carried her back to the villa. Leng Yue remained awake all the way, sleeping soundly on Young Master Nong Yue's back. Perhaps, the question of whether they were compatible or not was just an excuse. Such trust and intimacy on their first meeting was the essence of mutual affection.

Suddenly, Leng Yue mumbled something in her sleep: "Mr. Mingri... is so stingy..."

After hearing this, Nong Yue said with a smile, "Mr. Mingri, I think of you even in my dreams. You can't be so stingy."

I smiled slightly, feeling a little relieved. I knew Leng Yue must be thinking about the necklace. I hadn't brought it with me when I went to the tomb, so I deliberately said I didn't want to give it to her to get angry.

Maybe there is still a place for me in her heart.

"Did Lengyue vomit just now?" I asked.

"I'm afraid he even vomited out the dry food he ate in the tomb." Young Master Nong Yue said with a smile.

So, after sending her back to her room, I prepared some pastries and snacks and placed them on the table together with the blue and white porcelain necklace.

You’re not stingy this time, are you?

Around three o'clock in the morning, I suddenly woke up. Unable to fall asleep, I tossed and turned, so I went for a walk in the yard. I went to Leng Yue's room and saw she was up too, writing something on a piece of paper.

"That's quite interesting," I said.

She was so frightened that she quickly hid the paper ball behind her back.

"Are you leaving again?" My heart suddenly sank.

"No," she covered up.

"Why do you always have to leave? Is there no one or anything here worth your nostalgia?"

I suddenly felt incredibly wronged. Didn't you come for me? Why won't you stay for me? Why? Why is everyone abandoning me? Am I destined to live a lonely life? No, I won't accept this!

I pulled her into my arms. She was startled and asked, "Sir, are you drunk..."

I kissed her.

Maybe I was a little drunk. I would never do this on a normal day. But now, I just wanted to kiss her and didn't want to hear any answers I didn't want to hear. I just wanted to keep her here, no matter what method I used.

But soon, Miss Shangguan's tears resurfaced in my mind. That night, "spent a night alone with the beautiful woman" was not only rewarded with that shameless remark, but also with Miss Shangguan's tears of selfless sacrifice for love.

Forget it. Since you don't want to, why should I force you? If I can't win your heart, even if I can keep you, it's just a shell. Thinking of this, I slowly let go of your hand and solemnly apologized.

She said that whether it was just for the sake of temporary pleasure or to settle for second best, it was not what she wanted. Love is not a joke and one must be responsible for it.

Leng Yue's words made sense. Actually, a momentary pleasure wasn't what I wanted. Perhaps I was just too destitute and just wanted to hold onto something.

(Four)

The next day, Young Master Nong Yue invited Leng Yue to the Imperial Gardens to admire the flowers in the evening. Leng Yue readily agreed. I felt deeply displeased, so I secretly followed him.

Perhaps Leng Yue and Nong Yue were made for each other. Their first encounter was filled with trust and confiding in each other, and their second, they embraced. I don't know whether a long-lasting relationship is good or bad. Perhaps love at first sight is true love—no need for testing, no need for anxiety, just something so natural and effortless.

Young Master Nong Yue was also a rare talent, yet she no longer spoke of commensurateness or incompatibility. Perhaps the so-called prudence and responsibility was still a lack of trust.

Leng Yue, you've done enough for me and suffered enough. If you truly love Young Master Nong Yue, Ouyang will sincerely bless you tomorrow.

I congratulated Master Nong Yue. Although I felt a little disappointed, my blessing was sincere.

Unexpectedly, Young Master Nong Yue smiled and said, "Sai Hua Tuo, that's not what you said when you were pursuing the Dragon Goddess. Since a gentleman loves a beautiful lady, how about we have a gentleman's competition?"

I gave a wry smile. Precisely because of the previous experience, I no longer had the heart to fight for it. People aren't objects, and feelings can't be forced.

Nong Yue pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to me, saying with a smile, "Even if Nong Yue wanted to steal someone's love, I'm afraid it would be a futile effort."

I opened the note and saw that it read: "A graceful face, a noble spirit in the heart, seven parts proud on the outside, three parts gentle on the inside."

----It was the note that Leng Yue hid behind his back and threw out of the window that night.

Nong Yue pointed at me with her folding fan and said with a grin, "Leng Yue can't write poetry, but every word here is about you—you're as good as Hua Tuo, haha!"

Really? Is this true? But Leng Yue, how do you explain the hug between you and Young Master Nong Yue in the Imperial Garden?

"It's just a poem," I said.

Seeing that I didn't believe her, Nong Yue asked, "If that's the case, why not test her feelings?"

I agreed, because I really wanted to know.

Young Master Nong Yue asked me to lie on the bed and pretend to be poisoned, while he went to trick her into coming over.

I heard Nong Yue say, "Leng Yue, are you okay? Your heart is beating so fast. I saved Sai Hua Tuo, don't worry."

I heard Leng Yue's voice with tears in it, and she politely said thank you Nong Yue.

I heard Nong Yue say to her, now that things have come to this, do you still want to keep it a secret from me?

I heard Nong Yue say, "You can chat with Sai Huatuo for a while." Nong Yue took her leave first.

It turned out to be a misunderstanding. I immediately felt guilty.

She said that she and I are from two different worlds, and growing old together is just a luxury.

She said that she didn't dare to take my heart for fear of hurting me, so she rejected me in every way.

She also said that when a person falls in love with another, their every smile and frown will be imprinted in their heart, and over time, they will become like them in every way. And that familiar smile is precisely because the arc of her smile is exactly the same as mine.

It turned out that this was what she was thinking.

I was ecstatic.

But at this moment, a strange man suddenly broke into the room, and Leng Yue knew him.

They had a brief argument, and then I heard a "No!"

And just like that, she was hurt again. And it was because of me again.

I was faking the poisoning, but she was genuinely poisoned, and it was the black python. This poison spreads rapidly throughout the body, and even the antidote can't completely eradicate it. Thus, the poison remained in her system, ready to attack at any moment.

Frustration and powerlessness once again consumed me. I just wanted a simple love, why was it so difficult to obtain?

Young Master Nong Yue said that he and Leng Yue were sworn brothers, and that their relationship was simply that of brother and sister. As for that embrace in the Imperial Garden, it was because Leng Yue had told him the truth that I had always refused to share.

Young Master Nong Yue was very frank and told me the whole story in detail. Only then did I suddenly realize that it was really a lucid dream.

I've also practiced the art of dream control. No wonder Leng Yue knows everything about everyone; for someone who controls dreams, knowing this is not surprising.

My initial diagnosis was correct. Leng Yue truly wasn't from the Jianghu, and she certainly didn't know martial arts. Even with her current prowess, she still didn't have the slightest bit of the wariness of a martial artist, simply because she had never truly experienced the Jianghu.

She had told me that everything was a dream, implying that the world I lived in was empty. But I didn't believe it at the time, because the art of controlling dreams was definitely not as simple as taking a nap. Leng Yue knew nothing about the Five Elements, Eight Trigrams, or the art of forming battle formations. To say she was a master of dream control was sheer nonsense.

I practiced diligently for three years before I could freely enter and exit the first level of the dream world, each time lasting no more than half an hour. But according to Young Master Nong Yue, Leng Yue had actually built a dream world on the second level, and it lasted for three and a half hours. It was truly unbelievable.

So, I made a bold guess that Leng Yue is also a fictional person.

In this way, all the mysteries are solved.