memory
The wind chime broke. He touched Gu Youan's forehead with one hand and caught the broken wind chime with the other.
In the instant he lowered his head, he gently clenched his fist.
"Xie Yu, I didn't expect you to find me so quickly."
"You brought her here by force, weren't you? To make Daoqing show himself!" Xie Yu lifted Gu Youan up in his arms. "What did you do to her?"
Tianji gave a desolate smile, the bitterness in her eyes finally overflowing. "Don't let her remember any of this."
After saying that, Tianji picked up the pill and put it in his mouth, but Xie Yu slapped his hand away, saying, "You are her fellow disciple, I will not kill you, leave here."
Tianji gave a bitter smile, "The Emperor's Name of the Great Yong Dynasty has lost, but the struggle between the Emperor's Name and the Xie family will not end here."
Xie Yu looked at him coldly, "The Xie family and the Emperor's Ship should not involve her. I am only concerned because you are her fellow disciple. You have already lost your legs, so leave Dayong."
"This is a struggle between men. From the day Zhao Huai appeared in your sight, you have been eyeing him. You also blinded Dao Qing. You deceived Gu You'an, lured her here to set up an ambush. Tianji, you are young and intelligent, with extraordinary talent. Is it worth it to end up like this for the sake of the Emperor's Name?"
Tianji smiled slightly, holding the wind chime in her hand, "During that famine, it was the people of the Emperor's Ship who saved me. If it weren't for the Emperor's Ship, I would have become a wandering ghost long ago."
He gave Gu Youan a deep look. "Take good care of her. The Gu worms in her body have sealed her internal energy and memories."
Xie Yu looked at him in confusion, "You captured her, and killing her would have caused Dao Qing unbearable pain, so why did you let her go so easily?"
Tianji cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Although we are an assassin organization, we are not heartless people, and naturally we are different from your Xie family."
Xie Yu glanced down at Gu Youan, her face flushed, "If she does anything to harm Dao Qing, I will kill her without hesitation."
Tianji bit her lip. "You're still the same as before. If Gu Youan were an ordinary person, we wouldn't have found her."
Xie Yu turned around, her back to him. "She is indeed extraordinary, making Xie Daoqing willingly fall into your trap. But the Xie family still has me, so she can't cause any trouble. If she has a boyfriend, I will definitely kill her."
A sharp, cold wind blew past as he carried Gu Youan away. The saltpeter fell to the ground, and a raging fire swept through the entire Purple Bamboo Forest, engulfing the back mountain in flames. Tianji sat in the firelight and slowly closed his eyes.
Outside the pine and bamboo forest, blood flowed like a river. Xie Daoqing sat alone in a wheelchair, covered in blood.
Judging by her voice, "Is she alright?"
Xie Yu did not answer his question. "Is it worth it? For her?"
Xie Daoqing reached out and held her hair up. "It's not a matter of whether it's worth it or not. I'm the one who dragged her into this conspiracy."
He touched his legs and sighed softly, "Uncle, the Gu family can't accept her. I want her to stay in the Xie family."
Xie Yu tightened her grip on Gu Youan's arms. "You're insane! You killed her fellow disciples. If she remembers all of this, she'll kill you."
“I won’t let her remember, Uncle. My parents and my sister are gone. She’s all I have left.”
Xie Yu sighed and turned his head away. "You are the most outstanding person in the Xie family. Now you have crippled your leg and gone blind because of her. If she knew that you killed her fellow disciple, she would never let you go. Xie Daoqing, it's not worth it!"
Xie Daoqing touched his eyes. "I don't care if it's worth it or not. She's all I have left. She was used by the people from the Emperor's Ship. If it weren't for me, she wouldn't be in danger."
Xie Yu gritted her teeth, "You've never made a mistake, so why do you lose your judgment the moment you meet Gu Youan?"
"The smell of blood here is strong and will bother her. Let's go back."
Xie Yu was speechless for a moment; he had no words to say.
The rest of the Xie family cleaned up the mess, and the mysterious and powerful Emperor's Ship was reduced to a desolate mountain.
In the second month of spring, when the grass grows and the orioles fly, Gu Youan sat on a swing while Xie Daoqing sat in a wheelchair beside her, drinking tea.
Her memory seemed to have gone blank. She only remembered what happened when the news first arrived, and then she was in the Xie family in the blink of an eye. There was a seven-year gap in between. The Xie family said that she and Xie Daoqing fell into the pond together and broke their heads, but she always felt that things were not like that, and she couldn't remember what had happened for a while.
She had many questions in her mind: what exactly happened during those years, and why did the system disappear?
The swing suddenly stopped, and Xie Daoqing walked over and touched her hair. "You'an, what's wrong with you?"
Gu Youan suddenly pressed her forehead close to Daoqing's forehead, "Daoqing, what happened during those seven years?"
Xie Daoqing was not surprised by her actions. "You'an, you were attracted to my beauty back then, so you climbed the Xie family's wall every day. You and I were childhood sweethearts, innocent and carefree."
Hearing Xie Daoqing mention the words "childhood sweethearts," Gu Youan was momentarily stunned. She touched his eyes and said, "I will definitely cure your eyes."
Xie Daoqing smiled and said, "You'an, as long as you're by my side, that's the greatest comfort."
A strange figure flashed through her mind: Xie Daoqing was gentle and refined, yet there was an inexplicable sense of estrangement about him.
The Xie family treated her with utmost respect. What she heard from the servants was exactly the same as what Xie Daoqing said. But it was precisely because they were identical that her doubts were amplified, as if it had been rehearsed in advance.
"Daoqing, I want to go back and see my elder brother." The Xie family was flawless, but what about the Gu family? Her last memories were of the Gu family. She had lived in the Gu family for so many years. She was physically strong and definitely not a sheltered young lady. During the days she stayed in the Xie family, no one from the Gu family ever visited her. She was, after all, a daughter of the Gu family. The original owner was closest to Gu Changming. Even though she lost face in the Zhao family, her parents in the Gu family were still alive. Why did they ignore their only biological daughter?
Xie Daoqing's body stiffened. Gu Youan keenly noticed this and gently stroked her back. "After class at the Imperial Academy, I'll have Changming come to our house."
These days, Xie Daoqing has been intentionally or unintentionally restricting her movements, which is not something that ordinary engaged couples would do.
Gu Youan curled her fingers and gently tugged at his hair. "I'll be of marriageable age next year, and I can get married the year after."
Xie Daoqing beamed with joy, "Alright, when you come of age, marry me, and all of the Xie family's assets will be yours."
Gu Youan's finger darted to the side, her nail swiftly slicing across the back of his neck, leaving a bloody mark. She looked at him blankly, "I'm sorry, I scratched you."
His neck was burning with pain. He gently touched the back of his neck and said, "It's nothing. I scared you."
The body's reaction doesn't lie. For a moment, Gu Youan wanted to kill him. She tilted her head and looked at him, "Are you really willing to marry me?"
Seven years of memories were lost, the system disappeared, and suddenly a man claiming to be her fiancé appeared. She wasn't stupid and wouldn't believe a few words from others. She remembered that she seemed to be going to the Emperor's Ship.
"Do you know what the Emperor's Ship is?" she asked tentatively, her eyes sparkling with a captivating charm.
Xie Daoqing's mind went blank for a moment. He grabbed her hand and said, "Don't use your charm on me. There's no place called Tianzihao here. It's getting cold. I made you some black chicken soup to help you recover."
Gu Youan stared at him blankly, "When did I use seductive arts on you?" Is this some kind of martial arts world?
Xie Daoqing realized he had misspoke. "You'an is naturally beautiful, there's no need for such methods. I've had the kitchen make some soup, I'll go eat with you."
She pulled him into the inner room, and Gu Youan looked at his back, feeling that something was wrong.
The light chicken soup burst with flavor upon sip. "You put something in it?"
Xie Daoqing paused, then continued feeding her spoonful by spoonful, "You said the medicine was too bitter before, You'an, your health isn't good, so this is something I made especially for you."
Gu Youan was a medical student, and all the traditional Chinese medicine she took was for health and wellness, so there was nothing wrong with it. But why couldn't she remember what happened before? People who have been in serious car accidents often can't remember what happened before in the short term.
Noticing Gu Youan's subtle expression, he said, "I'll take you back to the Gu family tomorrow."
Gu Youan calmed herself down. She needed to find an opportunity to leave Xie Daoqing in order to recover her lost memories. If the Gu family's story was consistent with Xie Daoqing's, then she would have no one she could trust. She smiled gently, took Xie Daoqing's hand, picked up the medicine bowl, and drank it all in one gulp.
"Daoqing, I don't remember anything, I only have you." After saying that, she hugged Xie Daoqing's waist and pressed her head against his chest.
Only by keeping Xie Daoqing calm can she find the Emperor's Sword and a way back.
Xie Daoqing's eyes were dark and unfathomable. How could he not sense Gu Youan's emotions? When she needed something, she would become exceptionally docile, but this was not her true nature. She was proud and a little willful, like a little wildcat.
Even if she lost her memory, it didn't mean she lost her intelligence. Gu Youan was not one to back down.
The devil is always one step ahead of the saint. Gu Youan is no match for Xie Daoqing. She can only deal with the future slowly. She wants to see other people. Only others can solve her doubts. The Gu family, the Xie family, the Zhao family, and the vanished Emperor's Ship. Her seven years of missing memories, the covered-up truth, what exactly happened?
Her breathing became steady, and she gradually fell asleep. Xie Yu gently stepped into the room. "I told you, she will definitely find out the truth. You can't stop her."
"The truth? What is the truth, Uncle? Since she wants to find it, I will weave a truth for her."
Xie Yu looked at him in shock, "Are you going to tamper with her memories?"
"If I can keep her, I'm willing, Uncle, she's all I have left."
Xie Yu sighed, "She's a hidden danger. Let her go, and let yourself go too. My spies have reported that the young marquis of the Sheng family is inquiring about her whereabouts. Their seven years together can't be hidden anymore."
Xie Daoqing's eyes were filled with tears. "I have to keep it a secret, even if I can't hide it. She will always be my wife."
Xie Yu said no more, "Daoqing, she is your calamity! She is the Xuanji Envoy of the Emperor's Ship, she is the enemy of the Xie family."
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