Chapter 17 The illness is too serious.
Miao Lian hadn't come to Flower Fruit Mountain to freeload for a long time, leaving the little monkeys with rather complicated feelings. It wasn't because they missed this mischievous human, but rather because their revenge plan hadn't yet been implemented.
"Sister Susu, when is your friend coming?" The little monkey snuggled into Jiang Huaisu's arms, rubbing its fluffy head against her chin.
"This... I don't know either." I tried contacting him using the teleportation character, but it was like throwing a stone into the sea; I received no response.
The little monkey looked dejected: "Did you two have a fight? Will he never come again?"
Jiang Huaisu thought for a moment and shook her head: "There was no conflict. He was probably held back by something."
Looking back on their last conversation, there was a minor friction, but it was relatively peaceful; they didn't argue. They'd had much bigger arguments before, but he hadn't just disappeared; it was she who had run away once.
Do you miss him?
The little monkey shook its head like a rattle: "No, he's bad, he likes to bully monkeys."
"When your king returns, I will settle your score."
The little monkey's black, pearl-like eyes darted around as it muttered, "Never mind then."
It was clear that it didn't really dislike Miaolian, so Jiang Huaisu just smiled and didn't expose its little scheme.
Miao Lian loved to tease the monkeys, but she always knew her limits and wouldn't go too far. If she really made enemies with the little rascals, how could the Water Curtain Cave's leader, the monkey, have tolerated her repeated visits?
Moreover, this person is quite skilled in eating, drinking, and having fun, and has many tricks up his sleeve. He often brings some novelties from the mortal market to distribute to the monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain.
At that playful age, the little monkeys would frolic with him. Although there were bound to be times of annoyance, it also brought them closer together, and occasionally they would find a little bit of... enjoyment in it.
"The sweet pancakes he brought last time," the little monkey gestured, indicating their size. "They were as big as my face, and quite delicious."
"That's easy. I'm going to Xuankou Village tomorrow, and I can bring some back for you."
Xuankou Village was the name of the small town where Miaolian lived. Jiang Huaisu hadn't been back for a long time and thought it was time to replenish her supplies and revisit the place to see how Miaolian was doing.
Could it be that some monster dealt with his offensive nature?
With a subtle unease in her heart, Jiang Huaisu arrived at the Zhen residence. Although she could have flown in directly, she chose to knock on the door out of politeness.
She knocked for ages, her hand aching, but still received no response. Finally, a vendor with a stall near the entrance couldn't bear it any longer and struck up a conversation with her: "Young lady, who are you looking for?"
“I’m looking for the young master of this house.” Jiang Huaisu tried to inquire of him, “You do business around here, have you seen him recently?”
"I haven't seen him recently. Maybe he's no longer here. Otherwise, you could ask someone who knows him."
"Not here anymore?"
"Yes, about four or five months ago, the young master of this family went crazy for some reason and drove all the servants away. Some of them didn't want to leave and cried loudly at the door, but he still sent them away."
Jiang Huaisu silently calculated the time; four or five months ago was roughly the time when they last met.
"It was quite a commotion back then, and a lot of people gathered around. Such a handsome young man, but with such a bad temper, it was terrifying," the vendor exclaimed. "Now it's all good; he lives alone in such a big house. But I haven't seen him come or go for so long, so he probably moved away."
Having obtained crucial information from the vendor, Jiang Huaisu bought some food from him and left some loose silver as a token of her gratitude.
The vendor was all smiles, but she was somewhat troubled. She walked around the house, found a secluded spot, nimbly climbed over the wall, and entered the inner courtyard.
Looking around, all that could be seen was desolation and ruin, clearly neglected for a long time, devoid of any sign of life. Jiang Huaisu was secretly alarmed, and following the route she remembered, she found Miaolian's room.
This situation looked very abnormal, so she stopped wasting time and kicked the rickety door.
She assumed the inside was empty; the threshold was covered in dust, showing no signs of human activity. She simply wanted to go in and check if Miaolian had left any trace before making further plans.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she entered the door, a hand covered her mouth, and she was unable to break free immediately despite her strength.
When Jiang Huaisu turned her head, she was almost scared out of her wits.
The disheveled, pale-faced boy had most of his face hidden in shadow, making his expression impossible to discern. His skin, deprived of sunlight for so long, was sickly pale, except for a streak of crimson blood at the corner of his lips—blood he had bitten himself.
Seemingly not recognizing her immediately, the boy's gaze lingered for a moment before slowly focusing.
Jiang Huaisu's hand was twisted behind her back, her mouth was covered, and she was pressed against the wall, her spine aching from the pressure. She made two muffled sounds, as if she desperately wanted to speak, and only then did the boy seem to wake from a dream and release her.
"You?" She looked him over cautiously. "Zhen Miaolian?"
Why did he make himself look like this? He looked so lifeless, and he was dressed all in black. Jiang Huaisu almost thought she had seen a ghost in broad daylight.
Miao Lian's voice was cold and indifferent: "Sorry, I misjudged you. I thought some blind thief would dare to steal from my house."
"I thought no one was here. The weeds in the yard are waist-high. Have you been holed up in your room the whole time?"
"...I occasionally go out for walks."
"Never mind that, why aren't you replying to my messages? Did you lose the characters you sent?"
"It's not lost."
Feeling increasingly suspicious, Jiang Huaisu stared at him with distrust. She hadn't noticed before that he was so quiet; where did he learn his evasive manner of speaking only half of what he wanted to say?
"Why were all the servants dismissed? What exactly happened during this time?"
"You have so many questions."
"......"
The slightly sarcastic tone seemed to bring back their old way of interacting, giving her a bit of life. But the fierceness in Miao Lian's eyes was undeniable; she genuinely seemed to find her a little annoying.
Jiang Huaisu remained silent.
“I wanted to be alone, so I chased them away. What’s wrong with that? You should leave too. Don’t stay here.” He glanced at the dilapidated door, his intention to get rid of them quite clear.
Seeing that she didn't move, Miaolian directly picked her up and hoisted her onto her shoulder like a sack, as if she were going to throw her out.
"That's strange. At least give me a reason!" Jiang Huaisu clung tightly to his clothes, her toes pressed against the door frame, refusing to leave, determined to get an answer.
"Is it enough reason that I am sick?"
"Tell me something I don't know."
"...I'm not kidding, I'm serious!" His voice sounded like he was grinding his back teeth as he tried to throw Jiang Huaisu out, but he failed because she was clinging to him too tightly.
"If you're sick, get treatment. Have you seen a doctor yet?"
Jiang Huaisu was panting heavily, still wrestling with Miaolian as she spoke, and she was exhausted. When her stubbornness kicked in, she could be quite difficult to deal with, turning the tables and clinging to Miaolian like an octopus.
“I have the same illnesses as my parents. If the doctor could cure them, they wouldn’t have died… Tsk, get down! I won’t throw you away.”
Miaolian's clothes were torn to shreds. She was already dressed rather loosely, and now most of her shoulders were exposed. If she kept tearing them, she would be forced to go shirtless.
"......oh."
Receiving the signal that the other party was willing to communicate, Jiang Huaisu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, the contest could end. Slightly guilty, she straightened Miaolian's collar and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sorry."
An accidental scratch from a fingernail grazed his bare skin, leaving a red mark. Bird claws are still quite sharp, and out of habit, even in human form, Jiang Huaisu didn't trim her nails too neatly.
Miaolian seemed to be in pain, hissed, and loosened her grip.
Without support, Jiang Huaisu slid to the ground. As soon as her bottom hit the ground, Miaolian pulled her up and forced her to do a squat.
"Don't sit on the floor, it's dirty and hasn't been cleaned."
This sounds like he's concerned about her, but not long ago he was planning to throw her out.
Jiang Huaisu was bewildered and annoyed by Miaolian's fickle behavior, but since she had already come all this way, she didn't want to just leave like that.
"You just mentioned your parents' illnesses..."
She started speaking, but suddenly didn't know how to continue.
In her opinion, the reason why Master Zhen and Madam Qiao turned out that way was due to the influence of their divine status. She wondered if the Heavenly Court was short of manpower and was in a hurry to recall them to work, which led to their untimely deaths.
But Miaolian was unaware of all this; from his perspective, his parents were simply sick.
Jiang Huaisu couldn't reveal any more to him. If she broke the causal chain and revealed heavenly secrets, she would probably be in trouble with the Heavenly Court, right? Even someone as audacious as the King of Intent didn't dare to speak recklessly in front of Miaolian.
“I’m just like them.” Miaolian pointed to her head. “There’s something wrong here. Sometimes I can’t tell if the images flashing before my eyes are nightmares or hallucinations.”
Jiang Huaisu hesitated, her gaze towards him becoming increasingly complex. In truth, having said all that, she already knew seven or eight parts of what was going on.
Miao Lian's face wore a numb, resigned expression. He was embarrassed to be seen like this, yet he couldn't get rid of this uninvited guest. He felt a mixture of shame and anger, along with a secret, rising joy. He had thought that if he didn't contact her, Jiang Huaisu would never come looking for him.
"There's no complicated reason for getting rid of those people. As you can see, given my situation, it's not suitable for anyone else to stay around me."
"Since you're sick, there should be two people to take care of you. At least, leave Xiaozhu behind."
Miaolian shook her head: "No."
He discovered this after returning from Flower Fruit Mountain that day. Emotions and desires no longer seemed to be things he could control at will; they even began to control him instead.
“If you hadn’t stopped me that day, I really would have killed that deer to make soup.”
When his parents went mad, they didn't bother others much, but he would.
He thought he was too sick.
It seems there really is no solution to this situation. Jiang Huaisu suddenly felt a pang of sadness, thinking that he had only been born into this world, yet he had not lived a happy life at all.
Is he going to follow in his parents' footsteps before he's even twenty? The quality of this reincarnation is terrible. Why can the past life still influence this life, yet we can't tell him the truth?
"This is a time when I'm exceptionally clear-headed," he said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Perhaps because no actual harm has been caused yet, Jiang Huaisu hasn't realized the seriousness of the situation. He's been trying his best to restrain himself...
They didn't strangle her, nor did they break her wings. They even let her go.
An inexplicable, instinctive aggression surged through his veins, threatening to materialize and burst forth from his body. This murderous intent was directed not only at others but also at himself.
From a very young age, he was aware of the differences between himself and others.
The bloody scenes that his peers would avoid at all costs held an unexpected attraction for him.
In certain moments of half-awake, half-asleep, when his consciousness is unclear, his mind blurs the boundaries of time, as if he has returned to his long-gone childhood. He wanders around in front of stalls filled with the stench of meat, where the shouts of butchers mingle with the dying cries of cattle and sheep.
He watched indifferently, thinking to himself, "This knife technique is wrong, wrong. You should hold the head and cut from top to bottom to kill it with one stroke... That back-and-forth sawing only increases the animal's suffering and is really unnecessary."
However, the butcher doesn't seek an efficient way to slaughter sheep; while wielding his knife, he also has to haggle with customers.
Recalling those scenes from her memories, Miaolian felt more and more that her illness was actually traceable.
The latent urge to kill never ceased to gnaw at him, and as he grew older, this desire gradually became uncontrollable.
He was lost in thought until the girl's clear voice pulled him back to reality.
"Miaolian, Miaolian!" Jiang Huaisu waved her finger in front of him. "Did you hear what I said?"
Did you say anything just now?
"Yes!" Jiang Huaisu glared at him. "I'm telling you, you can continue using the text messaging function. You can use it to contact me anytime. Also, remember to reply to my messages. Forget about the ones before, but don't pretend you didn't see them after that."
Miaolian paused for a moment, "It's not an act. The transmission talisman has never been taken out; I haven't even looked at it."
"......"
"What did you send me?" he asked.
"It's nothing." It was just some greeting to confirm whether he was dead or alive.
The handwriting on the transmitted characters doesn't last long, and now he can't see it even if he wanted to. This is unlike modern mobile phones, where even after several years, the chat history in the software can still be viewed.
Miaolian didn't press further, her gaze sweeping over Jiang Huaisu. It seemed she cared about him, but had no intention of staying to take care of him.
Honestly, either don't come at all, or stay by his side forever. What's the point of coming and going? Is Flower Fruit Mountain some kind of place you absolutely have to go back to? It's just a place with prettier scenery, more monkeys, and sweeter fruit... nothing special, just a lousy mountain, might as well burn it down.
Some dark thoughts uncontrollably surfaced in his mind, but he still maintained his composure and didn't say anything unnecessary.
When I was a child, if I made even the slightest noise while catching sparrows, they would immediately take flight. Jiang Huaisu gave him the same impression; she could easily escape and required careful handling.
Even in his most disheveled state, he hadn't forgotten this rule. Besides, he was still rational, and from an objective standpoint, he felt it was better for Jiang Huaisu to leave.
Hmm... He'll become increasingly eccentric and weird in the future, eventually becoming a madman in other people's eyes.
When his father fell ill, he didn't show any extra pity. Putting himself in others' shoes, he figured others must be in the same boat, so he decided to send them all away to avoid giving them a chance to laugh at him.
A note from the author:
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