Chapter 92 With me here, no one can hurt you anymore...

The darkness swayed gently, like the surface of a lake being rippled by a night breeze.

A familiar yet unfamiliar boy's voice drifted from afar.

"Master, are you the little Taoist priest A-Yao mentioned... Yu Qingzhou, is that your name? It's not that great."

[...]

[Me? You really want to know... Tch, looks like you're not entirely sincere.]

[...]

[If you like someone, you like them. What's the point of denying it? But you, you really—]

[...]

"Are you leaving? That's right, you're not really from here. Stop flattering yourself, I'd be so happy if you left—so are you coming back? Ha, it's better if you don't, anyway I'm..."

The boy's voice gradually faded and disappeared into the dust.

Instead, the young man spoke maliciously, like a cold snake's tongue slowly licking his neck and earlobe, then suddenly tightening in an instant.

—Yu Qingzhou.

—Master Yu.

So why don't you just die!

Pipa woke up abruptly, staring at the curtains hanging above him for a while before sitting up in bed, rubbing his aching neck.

The dislocated bone was put back in place. Although the joint was still a little sore, it was no longer a serious problem.

Not only that, but the clothes I was wearing had also been changed, and the discomfort of being soaked in cold sweat had disappeared, as if I had been carefully wiped clean.

A barrage of questions arose.

Where exactly is this place?

Where did Ah Liu, who knocked himself unconscious earlier, go?

Did he bring me here? If so, what was his reason for doing so?

Just as Pipa was puzzled, the sound of a door opening came from outside, followed by light footsteps approaching.

Upon hearing the sound, Pipa tensed up and instinctively held her breath.

He wondered who the newcomer was.

Is that Ah Liu?

Or perhaps someone else?

However, as the figure walked straight to the bedside, the moment the person's face was clearly seen...

Pipa's mind went completely blank almost instantly.

"woke up?"

As the young man spoke, he sat down near the loquat tree, his gentle, watery eyes gazing at the bewildered boy with a smile.

A familiar voice, a familiar face, a familiar smile.

For a fleeting moment, Pipa thought she had traveled back many years...

Because of Li Xiao's accidental shove, he hit his head on the carved railing in the building, bleeding profusely. Coupled with being thrown down by Li Xiao, he thought he was going to die and fainted in shock and fear.

When I woke up, this was the scene I saw.

Young Master Lan pushed the door open and came in from outside, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking at him tenderly.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?" Young Master Lan asked with concern, his smile unchanged.

It's another question that seems familiar.

This scene made Pipa feel dazed.

Could it be that...

Is Young Master Lan really not dead? But Li Xiao clearly told him that on that snowy night.

Not only Li Xiao, but everyone around them said the same thing. They all said...

They all say, they all say it's you—

The sound was much drier than I had imagined when it came out of my throat.

But the boy couldn't continue speaking halfway through his sentence.

He was afraid that this was just another bizarre dream, and that if he said certain things, the person in front of him would turn into smoke and disappear, and then he would wake up from the dream.

Then, I don't know when or how many years I will be able to see that long-lost face again...

As if he could read the fear in Pipa's heart, Young Master Lan smiled.

"They all say I'm dead, isn't that right?"

Upon hearing the other person announce his death, Pipa's pupils constricted sharply. He stared at the person before him, barely daring to breathe. He was terrified that in the blink of an eye, Young Master Lan would vanish without a trace, like snow baked by the rising sun, leaving not a single mark.

—But no.

Even after Pipa's eyes were dry and sore from keeping them open, the young master Lan in front of her showed no sign of dissipating.

He even saw Young Master Lan reach out and grasp his hand, which was clenched into a fist as he gripped the blanket.

That hand was clenched so tightly, gripped so forcefully—

But the moment he touched the other's warm palm, it was as if he lost all will to resist. Like a soft sponge, he followed Young Master Lan's lead and landed on the young man's face, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth...

The loquat was traced by the fingertips, leaving an incredibly vivid and clear tactile impression.

Finally, Young Master Lan placed Pipa's hand on his heart.

Through the not-so-thick fabric, Pipa could clearly feel the warm pulse within it; it was real… As soon as she realized this, Pipa's fingers twitched slightly, and this twitching quickly spread throughout her body, turning into an uncontrollable tremor.

"You saw it, you touched it, I am indeed still alive, aren't I?"

The young man's voice rang out very close, so gentle that it made one's heart ache.

Pipa wanted to say something, but as soon as she blinked, the tears that had been building up started to fall uncontrollably.

Finally, Pipa burst into tears.

She buried her head and sobbed incessantly like a child who hadn't grown up.

Young Master Lan did not stop him, but instead put his arm around the boy's head and gently patted his back to help him catch his breath.

Only after the boy had cried himself to sleep and nestled in her arms for a while did Lan Yunzhi lower her head and softly ask, "Does crying like this make you feel better?"

The two were already embracing, and as Lan Yunzhi lowered his head, his breath brushed against the back of Pipa's neck as he spoke.

Then I saw the latter shrink his neck as if he had been burned.

Whether from crying or from the heat, the skin behind the boy's ears and along his neck was almost completely red.

He suddenly loosened his grip on Lan Gongzi's clothes, staring at the damp patch on the front of Lan Yunzhi's clothes with an embarrassed expression.

"I...I'm sorry, I...I didn't..."

Feeling ashamed, Pipa started stammering for the first time in a long time.

Seeing this, Lan Yunzhi simply smiled.

It seems that whatever the boy does can be forgiven, or even considered extremely cute.

After calming down, Pipa realized she needed to figure out her current situation.

But at this moment, I have too many questions in my mind, and I don't know where to start asking.

After thinking about it, I'll start with the most recent one.

"Why am I here?" Pipa asked.

Lan Yunzhi smiled and said frankly, "I asked A-Liu to bring you here."

Upon hearing this, Pipa was speechless for a moment.

Although I was genuinely surprised, this made it all the more understandable that I would see Young Master Lan here.

—But when did Mr. Liu become so familiar with Young Master Lan?

Thinking back to what the former had done to her not long ago, Pipa still felt a dull ache in her bones.

He looked around but did not spot the tall figure.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, Mr. Liu is now..."

"He should still be being punished in the torture chamber."

"Punished?" Pipa asked, somewhat puzzled.

Lan Yunzhi nodded, saying casually, "If someone makes a mistake, they naturally need to be punished. I only asked him to bring you here, but Ah Liu took it upon himself to do so—"

At this point, Lan Yunzhi's smile faded.

His gaze fell on Pipa's shoulders, elbows, knees... A dark and ruthless glint flashed in his eyes, but when he looked back at the boy, he also revealed a reassuring and gentle smile.

"Don't worry, I'm back now. I will make you pay for all the pain and torment you suffered, and then return it to those who wronged you, making them realize their mistakes, regret their actions, and have no way to escape."

Lan Yunzhi spoke each word carefully, and once again gently grasped the boy's hand.

"With me here, no one can hurt you anymore, and I will do my best to make everything you want possible. As long as you are happy."

The tenderness in the young man's voice was almost overflowing.

But Pipa felt no joy at hearing these words; instead, she felt a strange sense of unease.

I always feel...

I always feel...

—The Young Master Lan he knew shouldn't be like this.