Chapter 187 Jealousy Why does he have the right? Why can he go back...?
As Jiang Yuhuo dissolved the contract, returned the betrothal gifts, and walked into the cold night of Xidu City without looking back, it was raining in Pinghai County, a thousand miles away.
In the darkness, two travelers, one in white and one in black, hurried away from the county town and arrived at a ruin on the outskirts.
The rain passed over everyone without wetting them at all. One of them, with his long blue hair that reached past his waist and his soft white robe, was still billowing in the wind and rain.
The mermaid carried a lantern, and the dim light illuminated the ruins.
The vegetation grew wildly among the broken walls and ruins, completely covering the already dilapidated temple. Only on a few remaining whitewashed walls, the colors of the original temple murals could be faintly seen.
“She was right here back then.” The young man in black pointed to a corner, his eyes crinkling into a distant, warm light. “She was covered in snow; at first glance, I almost mistook her for a statue.”
The merman, who had stopped in front of a broken wall, turned his head slightly and glanced at the corner of the wall.
He knew.
He had seen it countless times in the water mirror.
That was the beginning of her memories after she was taken in a new body, memories belonging to her and others. It was from there that Wen Yizhan took her away, and they spent seven whole years together.
Seven years... the total time he actually spent with her added up to less than half a year.
The merman remained silent, turning to look at the broken wall before him. The firelight illuminated the surface, revealing faint depictions of what appeared to be mermaid scales. He reached out and touched the faded remnants of the painting, an image of a pale, bloodstained hand flashing through his mind…
What was she thinking when she stood before the statue of the Mermaid God? Did she think of... her merman?
At that time, she must have hated him. Hated him for abandoning her without a word when she needed him most.
He hated it so much that he didn't even want to touch a portrait.
A slight tug at her heartstrings. Jia Yue composed herself, her mind slightly agitated, and spread her spiritual senses to continue searching for traces of demons within a hundred miles.
Along their journey through Pinghai County, they had wiped out countless dens of evil.
Because she didn't know where she encountered the monster, let alone what kind of monster it was, Jiang Yuhuo didn't want him to search for her body, so he could only search each building one by one.
"Before that, where did you meet her?" Jia Yue asked.
In the years he was not involved in, only this person knew Jiang Yuhuo's trajectory best.
Unable to get any information from Jiang Yuhuo, he asked Wen Yizhan to help him narrow down the possibilities. Even though they could be considered rivals in love.
Wen Yizhan's smile had long since vanished, but now, upon hearing his question, a trace of pity flashed in her eyes. "The mass grave... In order to deceive those spirit marrow dealers, I made them fake their deaths and personally threw them there."
Upon hearing this, Jia Yue's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of needles, and a surge of killing intent instantly rose within her, as if the chill of the rainy night itself had intensified.
You'd better be acting!
"Ha..." Hearing the mermaid's matter-of-fact warning, Wen Yizhan's tenderness instantly turned into anger.
Who does he think he is? Does he already consider himself her partner?
Recalling the intimate scene between Jiang Yuhuo and the merman in the Li family ancestral tomb, Wen Yizhan's tone carried a jealousy she herself was unaware of, "What right do you have to question me? At least I released them, but what about you? You just left back then and didn't care about her at all from beginning to end! What's the point of saying such things now?"
Sure enough, the handsome merman in front of him turned pale instantly, as if all the color had been drained from his face. He remained silent, unable to utter a single word of rebuttal.
Seeing his pain, Wen Yizhan even felt a slight sense of pleasure.
What makes him qualified? What gives him the right to come back to her?
So on the way to the mass grave, he recounted the events of that year in detail.
He wanted him to suffer.
Hearing Wen Yizhan recount how she was driven to desperation and deceived, almost having her spiritual essence extracted... Jia Yue's heart ached so much that his hands trembled. What he saw in the water mirror was actually the time when she was no longer being oppressed.
He had no idea of the suffering she endured.
At that moment, he even wanted to drop everything here and go find her immediately to see if she was alright.
After seven years of separation, their reunion was fraught with difficulties, and they were always apart more often than together.
Once he regained her original body, he stayed by her side. Whether she was nameless and unknown, or kept in the shadows, as long as she didn't drive him away, she could do whatever she wanted.
What is she doing right now? In this deep night, is she asleep?
Walking through the bitter wind and rain, the mermaid said nothing more, only searching for that past he had never participated in, keeping that distant person in his heart.
*
As dawn broke, thick clouds covered the sky above the western capital, making it an even gloomier and colder day than the previous day.
Even so, it couldn't stop the city's residents from coming out to make a living.
In the market, the cries of vendors gradually rose and fell, reaching the houses and shops along the street, and the Li family's stronghold in the bustling city.
When the servants on duty at the outpost were changing shifts, they noticed that the study door was wide open. They assumed that the young master had forgotten to close it when he left last night, so they went over to close the door behind them.
Upon reaching the door, the servant saw a figure sitting motionless behind a desk. Startled, the servant quickly ran away.
Judging from that person's figure, who else could it be but the young master of the Li family?
But I clearly sat in this position all night last night?
The servants dared not go in and disturb them.
When the old man of medicine arrived, although he was a subject of the Li family, the old man of medicine had watched him grow up since he was a child and had saved him countless times. In short, he was not so polite when speaking to this young master.
The old doctor entered the study and saw Li Mengbai still staring blankly at his hands, while the patriarch's decree lay casually on the table in front of him. He had come to treat the physical damage caused by bloodletting in Li Mengbai. After many days of unconsciousness and rest, his body had almost recovered, but the old doctor's worry had deepened.
"Old Medicine Master, was I possessed before?" Li Mengbai suddenly asked, "Did you notice any clues?"
The old herbalist paused in taking Li Mengbai's pulse, raised his aged eyes to look at him, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "Young Master, you'd better never remember this again."
It was a look of pity, and Li Mengbai almost flew into a rage, suddenly rising from the table. "So what if you remember? So what if you don't? She's just a woman!"
He grabbed the head of the household's decree from the table and stormed out.
How dare that old man pity him? He has everything now, why should someone like him, who's practically half-buried, be pitied?
He still hadn't figured out what went wrong, but damn it, it was already dawn! The hawking outside was even more annoying; what idiot had chosen this place in the first place!
"Go back to Yanling and tell the main family that I have the patriarch's decree, and that they should prepare for the patriarch's succession ceremony as soon as possible. If they dare to be negligent in the slightest, they know what will happen."
With a gloomy face, Li Mengbai left after uttering this order.
He couldn't explain why he felt so agitated. He knew perfectly well that the contract was worthless to him, and it was he who wanted to break it. Now that his wish had been granted, what more did he want?
"Young master, would you like to buy a flower?" A flower vendor by the roadside called out to Li Mengbai, enthusiastically trying to sell him a flower with a beaming smile.
Was this the person who had been disturbing his peace and quiet? Perhaps it wasn't about the contract being dissolved, but rather that he was being bothered by the noise, which was why he was so irritable. His gaze toward the vendor gradually became dangerous.
The vendor, oblivious to the danger, smiled even more brightly at the man's stunning beauty. "Freshly picked white plum blossoms, their fragrance is intoxicating, perfect for a sweetheart. Young master, would you like one?"
Li Mengbai scoffed. That woman clearly didn't like flowers and plants. However, Bai Mei did look a bit like her, both being quite aloof.
He held one in his hand, but said with a faint sneer, "Don't you know the country is about to go to war? How can you still laugh?"
The vendor chuckled again, "Young master, you must be from out of town. You don't know this, but our Great Zhou is an ally of the Immortal Sect. Our Princess's husband is a renowned member of the Immortal Sect." The vendor didn't know the three great families of the Immortal Sect, only that the other party was an immortal, a very powerful figure. He said proudly, "With them here, our Great Zhou won't let the Great Yong bully us. What use is the Great Yong's army, no matter how many? One immortal can keep them all out. The immortal saved us once before, and he can save us again..."
A cold smile appeared on Li Mengbai's lips. "Are you so sure? Why would an immortal save you? You're all so weak, what would he want?"
The vendor was displeased upon hearing this. "Of course, it's because of our Princess! Her Highness and her husband are deeply in love. On the day of their marriage ceremony, everyone in the entire Western Capital saw it."
"Contractual obligations?"
The vendor gave him a disdainful look. "Hey, I told you you're from out of town and don't know. I've lived for over fifty years and this is the first time I've ever seen such a grand ceremony." The vendor waved his hand. "You haven't seen it. The sky was ablaze with colorful clouds. It wasn't just ten miles of red bridal procession; I think it stretched for a thousand miles. So many immortals were flying in the sky. Our princess and her husband were sitting in the sedan chair. When the curtains were blown up by the wind, we below all saw it. That man was nestled against our princess. Isn't that what he wanted?"
"He was faking it."
The vendor was practically fuming. "Stop pretending! She loves it, she loves it to bits! I saw it with my own eyes, so how could you, a stranger, know better than me?" He snatched the plum blossom branch back from Li Mengbai's hand. "What's wrong with you? Can't stand seeing others do well? I'm not selling it to you, get out of here..."
Li Mengbai's hands were empty again. The knots and flowers were gone, but the vendor's words kept repeating in her mind, "That's what it means to like someone, to like them very much!"
Is he really so in love that everyone can see it?
Seeing that the man still wouldn't leave, the vendor said irritably to his face, "There are all sorts of people out there. Their marriage contract is real, what nonsense are you talking about..."
Suddenly, the handsome young man became agitated and roared, "They've broken the contract!"
"They won't get married!"
"Your eldest princess dissolved her marriage contract with him last night. There's no marriage contract anymore, nothing more..."
He wants to find her.
After Li Mengbai finished yelling, this thought suddenly popped into his head.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, all his irritability vanished, as if it was the suppression of this thought that had caused him such distress.
Ignoring the strange looks around him, Li Mengbai suddenly started running down the street, heading towards the palace.
Yes, we need to find her and ask her properly what exactly happened between them.
He couldn't just break off the contract without a clear explanation; he wasn't someone she could summon and dismiss at will.
*
As dusk fell on the western capital, torches were lit in the imperial palace with its green tiles and red walls.
The Xuan Shi Hall, specially used for ceremonial receptions, was packed with people, bustling with activity. Palace servants came one after another to serve fine wines and delicacies, welcoming the distinguished guests from the immortal sect with the highest honors.
The palace servants remembered the last time it was this lively; it was the Princess's betrothal ceremony, and not long had passed since then.
However, the main character who didn't attend the banquet last time did come this time.
Jiang Yuhuo sat in a high position, looking down at the people below who were skilled at social maneuvering.
Wei Liang, the chief civil official of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
As if sensing her gaze, the man turned around and gave her a slight bow.
In the days since he went to the front line, his temples have turned much whiter than before. He doesn't look old, but his hair and face make him look like a person of two different ages, making it clear at a glance what a lot he has worked hard for.
I have heard that the Prime Minister is honest and upright, selfless and devoted to public service, and once gave away all his family wealth to help displaced people.
Could such a person be related to Jia Qianyang?
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