return trip
The small boat drifted downstream, bathed in the soft moonlight, which was reflected in the shimmering waves, creating a silvery-white expanse in the water.
Yan Dan was very distressed.
After watching the fireworks and setting off the lanterns, she and Tang Zhou waited until the rain subsided before returning to the inn. However, Yu Mo and Consort Jiang were still in a room. The eunuch was pacing anxiously at the door, constantly wiping sweat from his brow, looking as if he wanted to kick the door down. Yan Dan couldn't help but think, what in this world needs to be discussed for so long? Even a plot to seize power should have been finished by now, right? Just as the eunuch was about to order the guards to break down the door, it creaked open.
Consort Jiang, leaning against the door, softly said to those inside, "I'm leaving. Take care." Yan Dan was willing to stake her life on it; the moment the door opened, the eunuch's eyes widened. He scrutinized his mistress's clothes and jewelry meticulously, not missing a single detail, displaying an attitude of loyalty to the emperor and a desire to catch the current emperor in the act.
Yan Dan smiled and thought that it must have been with Emperor Rui's consent for Consort Jiang to leave the palace. Even an emperor wouldn't be afraid of something happening to his beloved consort, but the eunuchs were in such a hurry, like a pot of hot porridge.
Jiang Fei walked to her side, gently took her hand, and smiled slightly, "Miss Yan, it's been a long time, almost twenty years, hasn't it?" The moment Yan Dan touched her hand, she immediately sensed that the demonic aura emanating from the other woman was completely gone. Not only that, but even her cultivation was completely gone; she had become a mortal. She hesitated, wondering whether to ask what she and Yu Mo had discussed inside, but before she could speak, Yu Mo emerged from the room, leaning against the door and calmly watching them. Yan Dan shuddered and blurted out, "You've aged a lot..."
Several sounds of swords being drawn were heard, and a murderous aura emanated from behind.
Consort Jiang wasn't angry. She smiled and said softly, "Of course I'll get old. I'm not the same as before. Do you understand?" Yan Dan nodded hurriedly; she had guessed this from the beginning. Normally, she could immediately sense any of her kind within a hundred miles. And since she knew Emperor Rui was with a flower spirit girl, it was impossible for her not to detect the demonic aura upon arriving at the palace. Therefore, there could only be one reason: that flower spirit girl, Emperor Rui's beloved Consort Jiang, was no longer one of them.
"The reason I came to see Young Master Yu is actually..."
Yan Dan immediately pricked up her ears to listen carefully, but her face remained expressionless.
Yu Mo coughed softly as he leaned against the door.
Jiang Fei paused, smiled at Yu Mo, and released Yan Dan's hand: "Actually, it's not a big deal." For a moment, Yan Dan's disappointment was beyond words. Anyone would be disappointed if they had been kept in suspense for so long, only to have the person who was supposed to speak stop talking.
As Jiang Fei walked past her, she hurriedly said, "Yu Mo cares about you a lot." Yan Dan naturally knew that he cared about her a lot, otherwise he wouldn't have traveled a long way to find her after she was taken into a magic artifact by Tang Zhou.
After Consort Jiang left, Tang Zhou parted ways with them and returned to Xiangdu alone, while they returned to Yelan Mountain.
Before parting, Yu Mo squeezed Tang Zhou's hand and said calmly, "This is a restriction set up at the entrance of Yelan Mountain. You can use this to find us."
Yan Dan stood close enough to smell the odor of burning flesh.
When she first arrived at Yelan Mountain, she would rather spend most of the day breaking the illusion set up at the mountain gate than have a piece of her skin burned off. Just thinking about it makes her feel pain.
Tang Zhou glanced at the restriction on his palm and nodded slightly: "I will definitely pay you a visit after a while."
So from the moment she boarded the ship until now, Yan Dan had been thinking: curiosity is not a sin, but how could she subtly and discreetly find out the cause, process, and outcome of the matter?
Yu Mo was always gentle, reserved, and introverted, except when he wanted to vent his anger and hunt someone down.
Yan Dan felt that if she wanted to find out the whole story, she should ask in a tactful and subtle way. After all, it was someone else's private matter, and it would be very awkward if she asked and was met with a reply like, "What's it to you?"
After much deliberation, Yan Dan slowly lifted the curtain and slipped out of the cabin. She saw Yu Mo standing at the bow, hands clasped behind his back, the moonlight shimmering on his sleeves, accentuating his handsome and refined appearance. Hearing a sound behind him, he turned his head slightly, and Yan Dan saw that he was holding a translucent black bead in his hand.
Yan Dan suddenly realized that Jiang Fei had come to return the Strange Eye. She had heard that the Strange Eye was a supreme treasure of heaven and earth, gathering the essence of heaven and earth. If they, as demons, obtained it, even if they had no affinity with the eye, simply absorbing its auspicious energy would greatly benefit their cultivation.
Yu Mo looked at her, then at the strange eye in his hand, and suddenly reached out: "If you like it, I'll give it to you."
Yan Dan was stunned. She had heard that Yu Mo had been forced back into his original form because of this strange eye. He had finally regained it, which was no easy feat, and now he wanted to give it to her?
"Such a precious treasure would be a waste to give to me. You know I'm lazy and don't cultivate much. You should keep it for yourself."
Yu Mo chuckled almost inaudibly: "Since it's useless, why keep it?" As soon as he finished speaking, he casually tossed the strange eye in his hand. The strange eye drew an arc in the air and fell into the river with a plop, slowly sinking to the bottom.
Yan Dan looked at him in shock and stammered, "This...this precious thing, you...you just threw it away like that?" This is such a waste! If he doesn't care about the strange eye, why did he go to such lengths to find it before? Was he looking for it for fun?
Yu Mo frowned slightly, his expression hazy in the pale moonlight: "You don't want it, but you won't let me throw it away, what exactly do you want from me?"
Before Yan Dan could ponder his intentions, she leaped into the river, shattering the moon's reflection into fragments. Soon, the broken pieces of the moon's reflection reassembled. Yu Mo remained standing at the bow, hands behind his back, the shimmering waves reflecting in his pupils, also casting fragmented images.
He stood there for a while, then slowly closed his eyes and sighed softly.
With a splash, Yan Dan emerged from the water, holding up her strange eyes, her face beaming. "Thank goodness we found them. I was worried the bottom of the river would be too dark..." Before she could finish her sentence, Yu Mo bent down and pulled her into a tight embrace. His movements were so forceful, it was as if he were embedding her into his body, making it hard for her to catch her breath.
Yan Dan stirred, trying to peek out from Yu Mo's embrace. After all, she had been underwater for too long and was feeling quite suffocated. As soon as she moved, she felt Yu Mo tighten his grip on her shoulder, slowly pressing his cheek against her neck, and muttering, "Don't move, just for a little while."
Yan Dan slowly calmed her breathing and then noticed that Yu Mo's arm, which was holding her, was trembling slightly. Logically, it should be her who was trembling, since she had jumped into the water. She suddenly wanted to see Yu Mo's expression, although she was quite sure that his expression was no different from usual, with a slight hint of a smile.
After a moment, Yu Mo released his arm, raised his hand and touched her profile, his tone and expression unchanged: "Go change your clothes, be careful not to catch a cold."
Yu Mo is such a jinx.
Yan Dan angrily wrapped the blanket around herself, sneezing twice as she shivered and reached for another blanket. She must be the first demon in the world to catch a cold and get sick. If word got out, she would be a laughingstock and be infamous for eternity. The mountain demons and water monsters of Yelan Mountain would laugh themselves to death.
Could it be that she has been spending too much time with mortals and has caught a cold?
The saying "Humans and demons are destined to be apart" is truly a profound truth.
Her hand, reaching for the blanket, was only halfway out when Yu Mo lifted the curtain and bent down to enter the cabin. Upon seeing this, he immediately grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her: "How are you feeling?"
Yan Dan thought for a moment and said, "It's very cold."
Yu Mo picked up the outer robe from the table and wrapped it around her, then casually touched her forehead. Yan Dan looked at him, only to see him frown slightly before lowering his head to touch her forehead: "What's wrong?"
Yu Mo said expressionlessly, "It seems like he has a fever."
Yan Dan felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck the top of her head, and she repeated in utter desolation, "A...burn...?"
Yu Mo stood up: "The boat is almost at the shore. I'll go and fetch a doctor to take a look."
Yan Dan struggled to grab his clothes, practically sobbing, "No, no, I absolutely don't want to see a doctor!" She must be the number one demon in the world who would go to the doctor even when she's sick; it's just too ridiculous.
Yu Mo had no choice but to bend down and slowly pull the hem of his clothes out of her hands: "Even if we don't go to see a doctor, we still need to go to town to buy food. How am I supposed to go if you keep pulling me like this?"
"...Are you really not going to call a doctor?"
"If you keep pressing this issue, I'll go and get a doctor to take your pulse."
Yan Dan immediately and obediently let go of his hand, wrapped herself in a blanket, and crawled two steps on her knees: "My lord, please take care."
Yu Mo leaned down, gently pinched the tip of her nose, and whispered, "When I'm not around, don't wander around. Even if there's something exciting going on, don't go to see it, understand?"
Yan Dan couldn't help but say, "Yu Mo, you look just like my father..."
Yu Mo kept his promise and did not bring a doctor with him.
Yan Dan held the blanket in one hand and rummaged through the things he had bought with the other: "Oh, there's rose sugar and pine nut sugar too. Do you really like sweets?"
Yu Mo picked out two large bags of medicine: "The candy is for you."
Yan Dan shuddered and immediately said, "I don't want to drink medicine." She was actually the least picky eater; she wouldn't miss out on delicious food, and as long as it filled her stomach, she was fine. As for snacks like candy and preserves, Bai Ling actually preferred them. If she had to drink foul-smelling and bitter Chinese medicine just to get a piece of candy as a reward, she wouldn't do something so counterproductive and not worthwhile.
Yu Mo turned his head to look at her, then put the two large bags of medicine aside: "I knew you would say that. I found a folk remedy, we'll make a soup with it later, and if it works, we won't need to take the medicine."
Yan Dan knew that some folk remedies were quite effective, so she wrapped herself in a blanket and huddled to one side, watching Yu Mo put the mutton and offal into the casserole to stew. Once it was boiling, he added a handful of dried red chilies. Yan Dan couldn't help but say, "Isn't that too much chili?"
Without turning his head, Yu Mo said calmly, "This prescription is for inducing sweating; once you sweat, the fever will subside."
Yan Dan shivered inexplicably. She seemed to have heard of the concept of sweating, but would it work on a demon? However, what was stewing in this clay pot was her life-saving treasure; whether she would take the medicine or not depended entirely on this pot of food.
When Yu Mo placed the casserole on the low table and lifted the lid, Yan Dan smelled a strong spicy aroma and immediately sneezed. When she got closer to the table and saw the glistening mutton and the reddish broth in the casserole, she sneezed twice more in quick succession.
Yu Mo pressed down on his sleeve and ladled a bowl of mutton soup for her: "It's so spicy, one bowl should be enough."
Yan Dan hurriedly said, "That's enough, absolutely enough." She picked up the spoon, took a small spoonful, and tasted it, immediately choking and coughing. Although it was the first time she had eaten something cooked by Yu Mo, this pot of mutton soup really didn't require any cooking skills; apart from being spicy, she couldn't taste anything else.
Yu Mo hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out and patted her back gently to help her catch her breath. Yan Dan picked up the porcelain bowl, closed her eyes, and decisively poured the soup into her throat in one gulp, looking at Yu Mo with teary eyes: "Does this folk remedy really work?"
Yu Mo hesitated for a moment, avoiding her eager gaze: "...It should be useful, right?"
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