Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

As Shang Mang walked, he listened to her voice grow softer and softer before slowly lowering his hand. Tears still clung to her cheeks, and he gently wiped them away with his finger.

Far away in Lin'an, at the Imperial Preceptor's residence, a man stood upright like a pine tree before the altar, his jade-like hands holding three incense sticks. As his robes swayed, he seemed to sense something, opened his eyes, and his bright purple eyes shone with a swift, ever-changing light.

The servant beside him bowed and whispered, "Imperial Preceptor, the palace is in chaos."

The man did not turn around; his expression was indifferent. He said, "As expected."

The cycle of cause and effect from past lives will eventually repeat itself; no one can escape it. All of this is quietly at work.

A ray of morning light fell on her cheeks, making her face look rosy and her lips pale. She opened her eyes in a daze, feeling a sharp pain in her abdomen, which made her face turn paler.

A gentle breeze stirred, and a pure white flower landed on her Taoist robe. She could hear the rushing water nearby. Looking around in astonishment, she saw a person surrounded by scattered flowers in the center of the lake.

His black hair was scattered in the water, twisting and rippling endlessly. His head was lowered and wet hair clung to his neck, around which he wore a jade bodhisattva pendant. He tapped it a few times with his fingertips, his eyes cold and sinister. His pale face was chilling and indifferent. Meng Yingying's gaze was fixed on him. His upper body was lean and strong, and on his chest, a bewitching red spider lily bloomed.

Male water ghost...

She didn't move, but then the male water ghost suddenly looked up and spotted her. Meng Yingying was startled; this person was actually Shang Mang... She quickly looked away, but heard no sound the next moment. She glanced back furtively. The lake was completely still; there was no one there. Meng Yingying was puzzled. Was she dreaming?

She froze abruptly, water dripping down her neck. A large, slender hand covered her eyes, the water dripping down and soaking into her clothes. A tinkling sound rang beside her ears. Meng Yingying said nervously, "I didn't see anything."

Shang Mang chuckled, released her hand, and walked from behind her to her side: "The eyes are mine now."

"Don't worry, I won't kill you now." He was in a good mood, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Meng Yingying realized he had just been teasing her. She flinched for a moment, then fell silent. Shang Mang pulled his clothes shut, covering the alluring spider lily on his chest. Meng Yingying ignored her stomach pain. Did Shang Mang have a tattoo...? Neither of them spoke.

The surroundings were quiet, with the occasional chirping of birds and croaking of frogs, but it wasn't really quiet. Compared to the previous stillness devoid of any living creatures, this atmosphere was more peaceful. Just as she was about to speak, she saw the haystack in front of her twitch, and her expression instantly changed.

"Come here and stand behind me." Meng Yingying picked up the soft sword that had fallen to the ground and looked to the side. Shang Mang raised an eyebrow and stood still, saying, "In the Void of the Dead, there are no living people except ghosts. What do you think will crawl out later?" Meng Yingying's palms were sweating, and she had no mind to pay attention to his teasing intentions.

Step by step, they trudged through the weeds toward the haystack.

"Anyway, I won't let you die." She pursed her lips. Meng Yingying knew that using a talisman was better than a sword. She lowered her head, reached into her purse, took out a fire talisman, recited the incantation in her mind, and threw it out.

A dark figure leaped out of the haystack. Meng Yingying stepped back, and Shana lit the fire talisman. The dark figure had nowhere to hide. It covered its face with its hands, wore coarse linen clothes, and stood on the haystack, yelling loudly, "My God, it's on fire! It's on fire!" Upon closer inspection, Meng Yingying saw that it was a woman.

As the fire talisman wore off, the woman froze. Meng Yingying reached behind her and grabbed Shang Mang's hand, who stared down at her.

The woman looked up, still frozen in a stiff pose, a sinister smile plastered on her face. She then noticed they were the same age and exclaimed in surprise, "Heavens! Where did these two fairy-like girls come from!" As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Mang's smile remained unchanged. This old woman's eyesight must be poor; she probably couldn't see Shang Mang clearly and mistook him for a girl. But her eyesight was truly terrible—had she ever seen a girl this tall before?

The old woman strode forward, her smile growing even more intense: "Village Chief! Everyone! Come out! We're not here to steal the recipe, but two young Taoist priests!" She chuckled, grasping Meng Yingying's hand. Meng Yingying froze, her hand as cold as a corpse. At her call, many people emerged from the haystack, crowding around and chattering amongst themselves.

"Heavens above, are you a Taoist priestess? You look like a lucky doll that fell from the sky."

An old woman suddenly spoke up: "Oh dear, Wang family, are your eyes not sharp? This is clearly a young man!"

Meng Yingying blushed slightly, scratching her cheek. "Yes, I am a Taoist." She felt a little embarrassed by the compliment.

"A celestial being has descended to earth. Both of them are so handsome. Indeed, Taoists are different from others."

Yes, yes.

"Young man, how many people are in your family? Do you have someone you love?" An older woman almost pressed herself against Shang Mang. Shang Mang turned to the side, and a strange fragrance wafted into Meng Yingying's nose. He smiled, his sly eyes gleaming.

“Everyone in the family is dead,” he said. Meng Yingying’s heart clenched, and she looked at him, only to see that he remained unmoved. As soon as he said this, the crowd fell silent. The woman seemed to have instantly shut up and was pulled behind her by several other women.

"You old hag, how dare you pry into other people's private affairs?" An old woman, hunched over, walked out with the help of a young girl. Behind her, a man much taller than her held her side with one hand, supporting her as she walked slowly. His face was serious, and his feet were firmly planted on the ground.

The old woman came out, and someone called out, "Brother Shou."

Many people started talking. First, the auntie from before said, "Village chief, look at these two, they're still children. They're definitely not here to steal the secret recipe." She was pointing in the direction the man was, a burly man with raised eyebrows, staring intently in their direction.

"Wang family, do you know all the people outside? Don't forget that kid who came to your house to borrow wine last time, he's not much older than these two." He spoke without giving any face, and Aunt Wang's face immediately turned ugly. The two old women next to her secretly chuckled, but she glared at them fiercely.

Shou Quanli looked at them again, narrowing his eyes: "If you've come to steal the secret formula, considering your young age, you can get out of here."

Meng Yingying finally understood. He was the village chief, from Shouquan Village, the secluded Shouquan Village. This was a good opportunity, and she couldn't waste it. She clutched her stomach and said, "We had no intention of offending this place, but I was seriously injured, and my brother was on the verge of death. I came here because I saw people living here."

Meng Yingying had been frail for many years, and no one knew better than her when she was faking illness. She frowned slightly, her face was pale and weak, and one hand clung limply to Shang Mang's shoulder, her head also resting on him. Shang Mang smelled the scent wafting from her and frowned slightly.

She continued acting, wiping away non-existent tears, and said, "I really can't hold on any longer. Please, aunties, have mercy on my brother and me. We'll stay here until I recover."

"Your brother is injured too?" The aunt was a little skeptical and glanced at Shang Mang.

Meng Yingying secretly exhaled. This kid wasn't cooperating with her at all. She pinched his waist hard, and Shang Mang seemed to find it amusing, cooperating by saying, "Ah—it hurts." He lowered his head slightly, and the two leaned against each other.

The fragrance emanating from her grew stronger and stronger, filling his nostrils.

A flash of disdain crossed Meng Yingying's eyes, but considering the current situation, she disregarded whether to believe it or not, squeezed out two tears, and said, "Everyone, please let us stay."

I thought these villagers would believe me, but when I looked up, I saw that they all had the same smile on their faces, a lukewarm smile that had been there all along, with no emotion in their eyes.

Only the village chief remained solemn.

No one spoke. The woman looked at the boy's face; although it was pale, he didn't seem to be suffering from pain.

"Hey! On her butt!" Meng Yingying cried out in surprise. She looked back and saw a bright red patch on her butt. Her eyes widened. "What...!" She instinctively thought it was her period, but then she thought again. She didn't feel uncomfortable anywhere, so it couldn't be her blood. She decided to play along and pretended to faint.

Just then, Shang Mang reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding a piece of his robe in his hand to shield her from behind, and said, "Please let us stay for the night." The bell jingled softly, her mind buzzed, and she instinctively buried her face in his chest, her ears burning.

Several middle-aged women were moved and advised, "Brother Shou, look how much blood this girl has lost."

"Let the two of them live in my house, and I'll look after them."

"Brother Shou—" Shou Quan sighed helplessly, his face cold and hard.

"Even if you want to stay, I need to see it with my own eyes. You've all been blinded by the outside world." He was somewhat angry, but also helpless.

Those people didn't react much upon hearing this; they maintained their faint smiles.

Meng Yingying kept her head down the whole way, and neither Shang Mang nor Na Shouquan spoke. It was very quiet, and she felt embarrassed. With each step he took, the bells jingled crisply, and her mood gradually calmed down.

"So you're finally willing to step forward?"

Meng Yingying dared not make any large movements, and upon hearing this, she raised her index finger: "Keep your voice down."

She pressed her lips to his, drawing Shang Mang's attention to them. He suddenly recalled the feeling of that night, light and airy.

When she came to her senses, she awkwardly turned her face to the side.

Meng Yingying didn't notice his strange behavior and was about to speak when the system's notification sounded loudly in her mind: [Currently, the villainous male supporting character's favorability has increased by 600%]

Meng Yingying's jaw dropped in shock, her mouth agape. What she truly thought slipped out: "Shang Mang, do you like me terribly?" As soon as she finished speaking, Shang Mang's face turned cold, his expression instantly darkening. He gritted his teeth and forced out:

"Meng Yuan, you're shameless."

"You're delusional, self-righteous, and full of wishful thinking." He rattled off several idioms, looking at Meng Yingying with sarcasm. Seeing her disbelief, he added, "I just want to kill you. I can't wait for you to die."

Meng Yingying covered her ears with both hands: "I don't want to listen, you're just talking nonsense."

The defender in front coughed twice, and the two stopped talking.

Shouquan pointed to a side room: "This is the room where my deceased wife lived. If you two don't mind, please stay here." The implication was that if they didn't like it, they should get out of there as soon as possible.

Shang Mang remained silent. Meng Yingying pretended to have just woken up and raised her head, putting on a convincing act. She responded with a weak smile, "Thank you, Village Chief."

Shouquan snorted and walked into the main house. The two of them also went into the side room. As soon as they opened the door, a cold and lonely feeling rushed in. The room was clean and tidy. It was clear that Shouquan was a devoted person. The room must have been taken care of every day to be in such a state.