Chapter 85 Congratulations, Your Highness!
"Your eyes were injured when you went to the Great Ravine to retrieve the Heart-Protecting Scale of Jia Yue?" Jiang Yuhuo asked him softly.
The head resting on her shoulder nodded gently.
Jiang Yuhuo was silent for a while, then placed a hand on his back, her voice trembling slightly, "How... can this eye be cured?"
The person beside him did not answer.
Jiang Yuhuo suddenly recalled how Jia Yue had saved Qian Deng in the Shenshui Pool. If even a deep wound on her neck could heal, then…
"It can sink in water, right?"
The arms wrapped around her suddenly tightened, and Wen Yizhan muttered, "No, Chen Shui won't help my eyes. Don't beg him."
"Is there any other way?"
Wen Yizhan thought for a moment. Since things had come to this point, he didn't want to hide it from her. He said in a deep voice, "This is caused by the poison on the Youjiao. The poison of the Youjiao is extremely yin and cold. Only the Earth Flame Vine that grows at the mouth of the Fire Peak can cure it. However, a hundred years ago, the Seven Fire Peaks erupted together, burning everything around them to ashes. Now, it is almost impossible to find the Earth Flame Vine."
As soon as she finished speaking, Wen Yizhan felt that she had gone too far, so she chuckled and added in her ear, "But junior sister, you don't need to worry. I have controlled the poison in my left eye and it will not spread to other parts of my body. Apart from not being able to see in my left eye, the poison of the Nether Dragon has no effect on me."
"I still have one eye. Even with just one eye, I can still see my junior sister's face clearly."
The person in his arms was silent for a moment, and Wen Yizhan heard her low, muffled voice, "I'm sorry, it's because of me..."
He immediately interrupted her, refusing to see her, precisely because he was afraid she would blame everything on him. How could he tolerate her blaming herself? "Don't worry, it's nothing. Anyway, I'll have my junior sister to protect me from now on."
"Who is my junior sister? She's the champion of the Immortal Sect Competition! From now on, if anyone dares to mess with me, I'll just say your name and scare them so badly they'll run away with their tail between their legs. What do you say?"
He deliberately spoke with great flair, as if he were an ignorant and arrogant playboy who only knew how to bully others, thinking that this would make his junior sister happier, just like he used to do to make her happy.
Jiang Yuhuo didn't laugh. She hugged him back and solemnly agreed in a muffled voice.
"Yes, I will protect you."
Wen Yizhan grinned, unable to suppress his smile. He felt a warm glow in his heart, and even the icy poison of the Nether Dragon couldn't stop the warmth from flowing to his limbs. He sniffed, and something warm was about to overflow from his eyes.
His words were half true and half false, but they inadvertently revealed Jiang Yuhuo's true feelings.
His junior sister genuinely loved him and personally promised to protect him.
Holding his flame, Wen Yizhan felt that there was nothing in the world that was scary anymore.
"Junior sister, don't you think I'm ugly?" He was half coquettish and half sincere. Although he knew she wouldn't mind, he still cared a little and wanted to hear her say "I don't mind" with his own ears.
But there was no response for a long time, and Wen Yizhan's heart sank without end.
He deeply regretted asking that question. As long as his junior sister was sincere towards him, why did he have to force her to accept his grotesque appearance? She had already seen the merman, so seeing his ugly and terrifying face now was naturally uncomfortable for her.
"It's okay, it's okay... I'll protect you from now on."
The person in his arms left his embrace, and his heart suddenly felt empty.
Jiang Yuhuo suddenly cupped his face in her hands, revealing it completely to her. She looked into his eyes and solemnly shook her head, "There are many handsome people in the world, but there is only one senior brother."
His image, his clear face, his clear words were reflected in her dark but bright eyes... Wen Yizhan's eyes welled up with tears, and he quickly covered Jiang Yuhuo's eyes.
Tears mixed with blood slid silently down my face, my eyes burning and stinging.
The fluttering eyelashes tickled his palm, making him tremble with a ticklish sensation.
"Don't look."
The subordinate obediently closed his eyes.
In the long silence, only their breathing could be heard.
Once the heat in her eyes subsided, Wen Yizhan removed her hand, not daring to ask another question.
He no longer needed to verify anything with his junior sister.
At the end of the long street, two figures gradually disappeared from sight.
From the second-floor window facing the street, someone looked down at the spot where the couple had just stood. He gently broke off a flower branch in his hand, crushing the vibrant buds into a mushy mess of petals.
He threw the petals out the window, and the golden light in his palm, which was covered with flower juice, dimmed.
Li Mengbai clenched his fists, his eyes dark and unfathomable.
The dimmer the golden light, the farther away the person he had placed the tracking spell on was from him.
She'd been holed up in the mountain for so many days, and finally made it down, only to find out she was looking for that bastard.
But she hasn't repaid him for what she owes him yet...
However, he also had to thank her. If she hadn't found that bastard, he wouldn't have known that the bastard had already lost an eye.
Haha, how pitiful. His face was already barely presentable, and now it must be so ugly that it's unbearable to look at... That's why he was in such a hurry to confirm with that woman.
Thinking of his ugly face, Li Mengbai laughed happily a few times.
That bastard has the nerve to beg for pity, he's like a stray dog wagging its tail, afraid that woman will despise him.
Tsk tsk, prostitutes are indeed born lowly!
Only a woman so incredibly stupid would believe him and truly cherish this bastard as some kind of treasure.
It's laughable how cheap her pity is; she can actually say such nauseating things to such an ugly face.
Clearly, she had never seen many good-looking people.
Li Mengbai recalled the scene of their first meeting; she froze before him, and then…
His subordinate knocked and entered, interrupting his reminiscence.
The room was still dark, with no lights on, except for the shadowy figure at the window, which indicated that it was not an empty room.
The subordinate seemed to be used to his master's manner, and walked straight to the person behind the window in the darkness, bowed and asked, "Young Master, what are your orders?"
The person by the window smoothed her hair and turned her beautiful face to the side. "Spread the word that we have a Ground Flame Vine that we're going to sell."
The subordinate exclaimed in disbelief, "Huh? But that's..."
The person by the window lifted their long eyelashes and glanced at him, a cold smile curling at the corner of their lips. "I only asked you to spread the news, I didn't say... that you were really going to take action."
*
The inner chamber of the Xihua Hall.
Jia Yue transformed into a mermaid and sank into the pool. The protective scale that had been missing for over a hundred years was placed back in its original position. Because it had been tainted by the aura of the Nether Dragon for too long, he had to spend more time purifying it before he could reconnect with it.
Thus, by the time the Heart-Protecting Scale truly merged with his body, a full day and night had passed.
As he stepped out of the inner chamber where he was in seclusion, the sky was just beginning to lighten. It was the early morning before sunrise, the time when he was to go to the palace to lead the morning lessons and handle official business.
It seems that nothing has been delayed.
After finishing everything, he returned to the main hall of Linggu Tower to review official documents. While sitting outside the hall, he gradually lost focus on the text in front of him as he sat down. The unease in his heart became terrifyingly clear, like the dark currents at the deepest part of the sea, silently invading him. By the time he realized it, he was already deeply immersed in it.
He instinctively turned around and looked at the shelf behind him, where there had been a plant...
Where is the spirit-summoning wood?!
Jia Yue's heart sank suddenly. He abruptly stood up, knocking the table in front of him aside with a heavy thud as it scraped against the floor. He walked to the shelf and searched around, but couldn't find the spirit-summoning wood that had been placed there.
It wasn't dropped on the ground, nor was it placed somewhere else.
...Was it taken by someone?
The servants in the hall were startled by the commotion. They saw that the Crown Prince seemed to be looking for something, but what could be making the Crown Prince so anxious to find it?
The servants exchanged glances, unsure whether to speak up and remind him. Finally, one disciple mustered his courage and said, "...Master, that Spirit-Descent Tree was taken away by that female cultivator from Kunlun yesterday."
When her suspicions were confirmed, Jia Yue froze for a moment, her expression unchanged, but her eyes turned cold.
"Really? How come I didn't know that?"
The disciple immediately knelt down. It was he who had given the Spirit-Subduing Wood to the Kunlun female cultivator yesterday. "You instructed me before that if Immortal Jiang came to collect it, I should put it in a wooden box for her. Yesterday... I gave it to Immortal Jiang along with the wooden box."
Jia Yue's expression softened slightly. He had indeed given instructions, after she was first injured by the backlash of fire element triggered by the Spirit-Subduing Wood, he had given the order to the disciples in the hall. He was angry and upset at losing control over her, but he also thought that at least this time, she wouldn't be harmed by the Spirit-Subduing Wood.
So he helped the kneeling disciple to his feet, saying, "It's alright, I remember now, you did well."
The disciple was confused by his inconsistent attitude. Was he right or wrong?
Amidst the astonished and uncertain gazes of the people in the hall, the eldest son slowly walked out of the Spirit Valley Tower.
The distance from Linggu Tower to Xihua Palace is not short, but today, as Jia Yue walked back, he felt that the road was too short. So short that he hadn't even sorted out his feelings before he had to face Xihua Palace, which was missing one person.
She still left.
Did that one-eyed young man really not be able to resist and go back to her?
Did he deliberately use the excuse of purifying the heart-protecting scales to lure him away yesterday so he could take the person away himself...?
Even if your eyes are ruined, you still want to see her. Aren't you afraid of making her hate you?
No, they are fellow disciples who have entrusted their lives to each other. How could she possibly hate him? She would only feel sorry for him.
It seems that he's the only one she dislikes...
A surge of blood rushed to his chest where the protective scale was embedded, but he forcibly suppressed it.
Jia Yue walked slowly, but still reached the front of the bedchamber, where she saw a figure squatting at the entrance.
He immediately quickened his pace, a glimmer of hope rising in his heart.
"you……"
Before he could even ask a question, the person squatting at the palace gate looked up, and it was Qingping's face. She looked exhausted and handed the silver snake she had been holding back to him.
“Miss Jiang left last night. When it woke up, it couldn’t smell her scent and was heartbroken. It tossed and turned for most of the night before finally falling asleep.”
Jia Yue looked at the silver snake that the man had thrown away, which was pitifully curled up in a ball, its slender body twitching from time to time, as if it was dreaming of something sad.
"Did anyone come looking for her last night?"
Qingping shook her head, recalling what happened last night, "No. Miss Jiang waited for most of the night but didn't see Immortal Wen, so she went down the mountain alone to look for him."
The blood rushed to his throat, and he could no longer hold back, so he covered his mouth and coughed lightly.
The taste of blood immediately spread across the tip of the tongue.
"Your Highness!" Qingping cried out in alarm when she saw the blood on his lips.
Qingping was about to help him up, but he pushed her away. He smiled sadly, "It's nothing. I lost the Heart-Protecting Scale too many years ago... It's not so easy to get used to it."
"The Heart-Protecting Scale? Your Highness retrieved the Heart-Protecting Scale? Congratulations, Your Highness!" Qingping was genuinely happy for him, and her radiant smile made all the fatigue on her face disappear.
Congratulations? Yes, congratulations are in order; his heart now has another layer of protection. But why can't he feel happy at all? Instead, he feels an emptiness in that area.
He locked himself in his bedchamber, sat down with his back against the door, and circulated his spiritual energy in an attempt to calm the blood and qi in his chest.
But it can't be soothed!
Even if he breaks his promise and doesn't show up, she will still go to find him herself; she doesn't even want to stay in Tianque and wait any longer...
The thought of this made his blood rush uncontrollably, and he could not calm down.
She left just like that, without even saying goodbye properly. Before she left, she was still angry with him.
Should he not have said those things? Did he make her leave in anger?
Jia Yue covered the area on her chest where the scales were. That Nether Dragon was indeed powerful; even after purifying it for so long, there was still some lingering cold energy on it.
Otherwise, why would he feel cold?
How could a mermaid feel cold?
He kept telling himself that she would come back, she would come back...
As long as the fire element within her body doesn't dissipate, she will eventually return to borrow the agarwood... That's right, as long as the agarwood still exists, she will definitely come back.
He had already promised her that he would let her use the sinking water, so why wouldn't she come?
No, she will definitely come back, she definitely will...
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Author's Note: Everyone's abandoning the male lead so quickly? Little Fish can be washed and rinsed and still be used! [doge]
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