Chapter 71: Life and Death

If today must be an auspicious day, it is definitely not hers, but her senior sister's.

Especially when Mu Jin also got involved.

She was anxiously waiting to pay her respects to her senior sister, and what these three people did to each other was none of her business.

Mu Jin stopped her, "Zhu Xing will leave the building in half an hour, why are you so anxious?"

He saluted Lu Xu with his arms crossed, and the two greeted each other. He seemed more like a normal person than Chai Hui who rushed up to hurt people without saying a word.

Jiaoran had no patience for him. She had already realized that Mu Jin was like an abyss under a whirlpool. As long as she got close to him, all her light would be taken away. If she had not left home and come to him to cooperate with the Phoenix Chick's operation, perhaps she would not have reached this point now.

She had already determined that Mu Jin was a knife with one end sharp and the other end sharp. She had originally held the sharp end but had no idea that the other end was so sharp. It was not until she was cut and bleeding that she realized how terrifying he was.

"We don't have anything to talk about, right, sir?"

At this point, still respecting him as "Young Master" was her last act of consideration.

"I begged my uncle to ask you to come back. He has already found out that you have nothing to do with what happened back then. You don't have to stay in Jinlin Garden anymore. Come back soon."

Jiaoran couldn't help laughing. Does he want to go back now? Can she go back?

"Jinlin Garden is very good. There is no need for you to worry about me."

His smile was still on his face, but his eyes were narrowed, as if they were temporarily unable to open due to the sunlight. He was always very patient, "You have been bothering my third brother for a long time. It would be better for you to go back to Siyu Garden."

Jiaoran snorted, turned around and asked, "Did I bother you, Chai Hui?"

He stepped forward and embraced Jiaoran, "Of course not. Second brother also agreed to let her live in my garden. I am so happy."

Jiao Ran didn't beat him up like she usually did. She used to hate being touched by a strange man with bad intentions, which made her feel sick, but today she just wanted to make Mu Jin lose face. "You heard it, he's so happy, there's no need to say more, sir."

At this time he could no longer remain calm. He had thought that no matter how much Jiaoran disliked him, she would not offend him in front of others. It seemed that she hated him to the extreme.

He slowly curled up his fingers, clasped them behind his back, and said in a lost tone, "So which one do you choose?"

Jiao Ran didn't understand what he meant at first. "Which one?"

As soon as she said that, she realized what was happening. She was speechless. He actually assumed that about her. "It's best to have both."

Chai Hui was very happy, "Really?"

Seeing the tense situation, Master Lu tactfully bowed repeatedly and said sheepishly, "I'll talk to Miss Jiaoran in detail in a few days. It seems you have some difficult things to deal with today."

Jiaoran wanted to call him, but he had already slipped away. He had just said that he was seriously injured and ran faster than anyone else.

Chai Hui said, "He is overwhelmed. I can tell at a glance that if you choose me, I will never run away."

Jiaoran pushed his face away and asked, "Are you going to put it on my face?"

"That would be best." Chai Hui said with a red face.

Mu Jin breathed rapidly, almost fainting, "What a pity, one of them ran away, otherwise you could have enjoyed the blessing of having two wives."

Jiao Ran refused to be outdone, "That's not as good as the love between you and your wife."

"Do you have the guts to say it again?"

Jiaoran wasn't afraid of him. "Okay, I can say it a hundred times."

"You saw it with your own eyes?"

"I don't know whether I can see it or not. I have ears."

She didn't understand him at all. As soon as this thought came to his mind, he was overwhelmed with anger. "Why do you believe everything others say, but not me?"

"Are you worthy of my trust? Tell me yourself, how many times have you almost killed me?"

"Apart from the first time I plotted against you, when else did I truly want to kill you?"

"Oh, you still have the nerve to say it was my first time. It took me over a year to recover my blood. I have to thank you for showing mercy and not draining all my blood!"

"Originally, I just wanted to scare you once and make you admit it yourself. Even if you don't admit it later, I still plan to save you."

"You're just trying to scare me? If you really want to save me, will I end up running away?"

"That was a mistake. I didn't think it through and mistakenly trusted the treacherous person."

Chai Hui wanted to interrupt, but after being interrupted three or four times, he found it was all in vain and he couldn't get a word in.

It didn't end well in the end, leaving the two of them arguing there, which was quite boring to listen to.

"You only say it's my fault, don't you have any fault at all?"

Jiao Ran glanced at him and said, "It's my fault, okay? Now you're trying to turn the tables on me?"

"You think I'm a fool. You think you can act as a spy around me at will, don't you?"

Jiaoran was choked. She didn't expect him to be so clear-headed. As expected, he knew her identity as a spy from the first day she came to his side.

His usually calm gaze turned fierce at this point. "I thought you were trustworthy and expected you to be honest with me. Even if you did come clean with me one day, I wouldn't be so angry. Anyone can deceive and betray me, but you can't."

"Sir, are you an idiot? Don't you know a spy is a spy? How can a spy be so honest about his identity?"

Mu Jin was even more furious when she called him an idiot. "So you can lie to me without any guilt?"

"I...I do." I felt guilty, a lot. "How do you know I don't feel guilty?"

"Your guilt is to treat me better? To walk farther when you take me for a walk? Or...to kiss me more passionately?"

Jiaoran's heart skipped a beat and he paused for a moment.

He was like water from a floodgate, all the questions turning on the tip of his tongue, "Actually, you are more cruel than me, aren't you?"

"What gives you the right to say that to me?" Jiaoran's eyes were red. "I've tried my best to love you. I've used up all my strength within my ability. So what do you want from me? Betray my mother and father and then tell you the truth? I love you, but compared to my family, you're nothing."

If the last sentence was her true heart, it really broke his heart. He sighed and slowly lowered his eyes.

Even breathing became difficult.

"Whether you believe it or not, I never really thought of killing you. Before you, I didn't care who died in my hands."

If what he said was true, she would have to be more soft-hearted and forgive him, but she was unwilling to do so. For her, she had gone through countless difficulties and hardships to return home, but in one night she lost everything she valued.

"It doesn't matter whether you want to kill me or not. What matters is that the damage you've done to me has already been done. I can no longer trust you, and we can't go back to the way we were."

He felt a bitter taste in his mouth, so bitter that he couldn't even swallow. "What do you want?"

"I want you to stay away from me, the farther the better, so that I can relax a little."

He said he couldn't do it. "Before you came to me, I faked my joys, sorrows, anger, and happiness, and my hatred for everyone. I imagined sweetness in the midst of torture and pain, so that I could survive. But one day you came, and all my habits were disrupted. I felt like a piece of jade that you broke into pieces. The slightest touch from you would make my blood boil."

Jiaoran could not understand his madness. Perhaps after staying in this house for a long time, everyone would become a little crazy, because this was not an ordinary family's home. They did not have to worry about how to live tomorrow for a bite to eat, nor did they have to sigh for a few cents. They would never worry about hunger and cold.

It is these people who say that they are tortured and in pain, or that they are not free, or that they are bound. Everyone is bound, why don't they ever think about this, but instead magnify their own pain.

It's all just whining.

Jiao Ran said coldly, "Then you shouldn't live here. Didn't you leave long ago? If this place is purgatory for you, why did you come back? Wouldn't it be better for you to stay with your mother outside? She cares so much about you, she would give you anything you want."

Mu Jin laughed, licked her lips, and then spoke in a sharp tone, "Do I want it?"

He doesn't want it.

He doesn't even care?

The things she regretted so much about losing were not worth mentioning in his eyes. Jiaoran was so angry that she trembled, and her eyes suddenly darkened. "No wonder no one wants to be with you. You deserve to be feared and despised. You are just mentally ill." She kept her eyes wide open, and the juice of a venomous snake almost burst out of her eyes. She didn't care whether these words would poison the other person, but she wanted to vent her anger. "You exiled yourself to the darkness, but instead blamed the world for being unfair. You don't cherish anything you get. Your uncle, your brothers, although they are not related to you by blood, have never treated you badly over the years, right? You, like Chai Xiao, will do anything to achieve your goals. If you want to stay and enjoy the wealth and glory, you stay. If you get tired of it and want to go out and live a carefree life, you say that others are imprisoning you. In fact, you are all the same kind of people, just greedy. You are too greedy."

Did she understand how they treated him? No, she didn't know at all. Forced into a corner, he fought tooth and nail. "If I'm greedy, then you're stupid. You're stupid enough to be bewitched by my innocent appearance, to fall for me, and to walk into the trap. What's even more stupid is that you still believe that what Zhou Zhi gave you and me is some good thing? Motherly love? Does she have that? Do you think she does? Haha! As for your father, he deserved to die. Don't you think about why Zhou Zhi killed him without any regard for our past friendship? What kind of a good man is he?"

Jiaoran was defeated. She was defeated by his words. She was originally at a disadvantage, but he was able to endure and hold on. It was obvious that Jiaoran was not his opponent. He dug out the words that hurt her the most, making her begin to doubt herself and doubt whether the love she once received was false.

He suddenly hugged her in his arms, wanting to kiss her, wanting to stop fighting with her. He thought they were tied because she hurt him and he also hurt her.

But she pushed Mu Jin away with force, suppressed her anger and despair, turned around and went back to the small building.

It was the night that Cha Che and Zhu Xing got married.

No one noticed that on that night, there was a person standing among the branches of the tallest tree outside Si Yu Garden, drawing his bow with an arrow already nocked.

It was really too late. When those people returned to Siyu Garden, it was already late at night. After the wedding banquet, the moon was already at its zenith.

The maids led the way with lanterns in front, and servants followed behind. Mu Jin and Cheng Yuan got off the carriage in silence and walked back to Si Yu Garden.

Cheng Yuan could see that he was distracted and absent-minded tonight, but he never liked talking to her, so she didn't dare to ask him anything and could only accompany him silently.

As he walked, he suddenly stopped.

Cheng Yuan was puzzled, "What's wrong?"

He did nothing but turned around and looked at the dark mountains, as if looking at a tree among them. Cheng Yuan didn't know what he was thinking. Sometimes she really wanted to get into his mind and take a look.

Jiaoran's hand trembled as she put the arrow on it. Could it be that Mu Jin had already discovered her? He was in the light, and she was in the dark. Logically, he wouldn't have discovered her.

But he was looking at her position.

Whatever, whether he found out or not, she would kill her tonight. It had to be this way. He had taken away the best thing from her. She lost her parents because of him. If he didn't exist, she wouldn't be so painful.

He is a puppet made of wax, everything is fake. His every move and every word cannot be regarded as that of an ordinary person. Only lies can come out of his mouth. Mu Jin is even more terrifying than the swordsman who kills people without blinking an eye in the world.

She had hated him for a long time, and now she couldn't be soft-hearted, otherwise she would give him the opportunity to hurt her again.

Mu Jin and she looked at each other from a distance.

There was almost a raging fire in her eyes, while his eyes were calm, like a pool of cold water, steady, silent, and gloomy.

Kill him, he's just a jerk who plays with people's hearts.

Just this once, never let him go, kill him once and for all, and make him disappear from this world completely.

She closed her eyes and began to imagine what would happen in a moment. Mu Jin would bleed profusely, and his blood would flow among the flowers and plants in Si Yuyuan. The sound of the blood dripping would be the same as the sound of water dripping onto the ground when he watered the pot of lilies in the past.

When she opened her eyes, her tears had already fallen before Mu Jin's blood. The arrow in his hand shot out, and he stood there, as if betting on whether she would kill him.

She really should have killed such a man, but she found that she couldn't. He was always so despicable and gave her the opportunity to choose.

She adjusted the arrow so it would hit the open ground at his feet.

Apart from threatening him, intimidating him, and humiliating him, she could not make him bleed.

Whoosh—

One arrow hit the ground, and at the same time, another arrow was shot from the same direction. The two arrows left the bow almost at the same time, one after the other.

The last arrow shot high and pierced Mu Jin's chest.

Cheng Yuan screamed. She had never heard such a terrible scream from Cheng Yuan. She hugged the fallen Mu Jin and collapsed on the ground.

Hit...hit? ​​Hit?

Was it she who shot Mu Jin?

Jiaoran's teeth chattered for a moment and he almost fell off the tree.

She forgot whether she shot two arrows in a row, and she even forgot that she only had one arrow with her when she came out.

So who shot the second shot? She jumped off the tree without thinking. The moment she saw Mu Jin fall, she felt more painful than death.

She didn't care about anything anymore and stumbled towards Siyuyuan. She stumbled and fell, but immediately got up.

After she stood up, a pair of hands wrapped around her waist and dragged her, "Follow me!"

He picked up the bow Jiaoran had dropped from the ground and covered his footprints. "There's no time left. Let's go back to Jinlin Garden immediately."

She turned pale and began to cry, "Did I kill him?"

If that arrow pierced his chest, he would definitely die...

Chai Hui's expression was as grim as hers, and he still held her wrist tightly, "You can't go, absolutely not, come back with me!"

Jiaoran heard the people in Siyuyuan making a commotion. They shouted, "There's an assassin! Murder! Help!"

She seemed to have been hit by a needle and stood there in a daze.

Guards were moving quickly, approaching Siyu Garden. Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night. Chai Hui grabbed her shoulders and shook her awake. "He may not die, but if you stay here and my father finds you, you will die!"

Jiaoran was dragged back to Siyu Garden by him. She buried her face in her palms and carefully recalled everything that had just happened.

After a while, she raised her face and looked at her hands. Her clean hands with strong knuckles seemed suddenly covered with blood. From her fingers to her palms, it was all Mu Jin's blood.

She felt like she had lost her memory, forgetting how many arrows she had taken out and whether she had slightly deviated the arrowhead.

If she really killed Mu Jin, she would never be able to forgive herself in her life.

She kept reflecting on why she had to fight for that pride, why she couldn't lose to him once, so that he could win with a slight advantage in argument, so what? She wouldn't lose a piece of meat, why couldn't she tolerate him.

Chai Hui rushed towards Qianlin Garden. Tonight he wanted to make good use of this opportunity and completely break her wings. There would be no better opportunity than this.

As soon as he arrived outside Qianlin Garden, he saw his second brother, who was supposed to be in the bridal chamber, hurried out with his people. When the two brothers met, they didn't even bother to say a word.

But Chai Hui insisted on stopping him at this moment, "The miracle doctor has already gone, it doesn't matter if you're late, second brother. Can you save him immediately if you go?"

Chai Che asked shrewdly, "When did you learn that Mu Jin was assassinated?"

Chai Hui was helpless, "Second brother is suspicious of me, do you think I shot him with an arrow?"

"Isn't it you?" Chai Che pulled the person aside and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Don't think I don't know how you feel about Jiao Ran. Mu Jin has long been a thorn in your side."

Chai Hui chuckled twice, "You've misjudged me. Tonight is your wedding night. Even if I wanted to kill him, I wouldn't choose this time to disturb you and your sister-in-law's love night."

"Really? It's not you?"

Chai Hui came closer and said, "It's Jiaoran."

"What? You saw it with your own eyes?"

"I followed her and saw her grab a bow and arrow and go to kill Mu Jin."

Chai Che didn't believe this was the case. Although Jiaoran was willful, she would never be so cruel.

Seeing that his second brother was still suspicious, Chai Hui held out his palm, which still had the scars left after the wound healed. "Look, second brother, I had an argument with her before, and she stabbed my palm with a dagger in anger, almost crippling my hand. Do you really think Jiaoran is as weak as Zhuxing? No, she dares to do anything."

Chai Che stood there in a daze for a while, only to hear his brother say, "Jiao Ran's martial arts skills are like gunpowder with a damp fuse. If one day, it explodes, you never know. Second brother, isn't this the result? In my opinion, you have to find a way to destroy her martial arts skills, so that the Chai family can maintain peace."