Chapter 47 Leaving Without Saying Goodbye
Qin Wuyan was deeply shocked. After regaining consciousness, he vaguely sensed that he seemed to have the scent of the Dream Return poison on his body. He was usually immune to all poisons, but after the backlash took effect, his body was extremely weak, making it difficult for him to resist the Dream Return poison.
After figuring out what had happened, he grabbed Mu Yao's shoulders urgently and said anxiously, "Yao'er, it's not what you think..."
But he was speechless for a moment, not knowing how to explain the matter. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say next, so he could only feel anxious.
Mu Yao paused, trying her best to control her emotions, and said in a hoarse voice, "Qin Wuyan, I'm asking you, have you always known that I'm not actually my mother's biological child?"
Qin Wuyan was startled and blurted out, "Who told you this?"
Mu Yao gave a low, bitter laugh. "As expected... you knew about this after all."
She tried her best to remain calm and asked again, "Also, tell me, why do you suffer a backlash every fifteenth of the month? What kind of magic are you practicing?"
Qin Wuyan remained silent. After a long while, he finally spoke: "Yao'er, I don't care who told you about Yunniang, nor do I care what happened before I woke up. I just want to tell you that there are some things I've kept from you, things I can't tell you, simply because I have my own reasons. But the person I love has always been you."
Hearing his words, Mu Yao smiled bitterly and shed tears: "You always say you love me, but just now in your dream, you kept calling out 'Bi Yao'..."
She closed her eyes wearily, her voice heavy and desperate: "Qin Wuyan, how can you expect me to trust you?"
Qin Wuyan was stunned for a moment, then fell silent again.
Seeing that he remained silent, Mu Yao sighed helplessly and gently pushed his hand off her shoulder. Qin Wuyan felt as if she had pushed him into an abyss; his heart clenched. Seeing Mu Yao rise to leave, he frantically grabbed her hand, his voice urgent, "Yao'er!"
Having reached this point, he knew that if he didn't clarify things in time, she might have even more inexplicable thoughts. Therefore, disregarding the potential dangers that might follow, he forcefully pulled her back into his arms, held her shoulders to make her face him, and said, word by word:
"Yao'er, if I told you that you are Biyao, and Biyao is you, and that the person I have always loved is only you, would you believe me?"
Mu Yao froze, staring at him blankly for a long time.
One moment her mind was filled with the heartfelt words he had spoken to her three years ago, and the next it was with the shocking facts Xie Qingqiu had just told her.
Suddenly, a chilling smile appeared on her lips: "I really admire you, that you can even come up with such a lie to deceive me."
Qin Wuyan was heartbroken; she actually thought he was lying to her.
He had considered all sorts of reactions she might have after he told her the truth—she might be surprised, confused, or angry—but he never imagined that she wouldn't believe him.
His brow furrowed, his eyes filled with deep sorrow, and he slowly loosened his grip on her shoulders, gazing at her with a lost and dejected expression.
That one glance felt like an eternity. He closed his eyes and sighed softly, "Well, perhaps it's better not to believe some things."
Mu Yao didn't understand what he was saying, nor did she want to. She silently got up and walked straight out without looking back.
Qin Wuyan wanted to chase after him, but a loud buzzing sound came from his mind. Then, his consciousness seemed to be sucked in by something, and his soul seemed to be caught in a huge vortex, which swept him up and tumbled around him. He was powerless to resist.
He didn't know how much time had passed when he felt the vortex finally stop, and his body felt as light as a feather, floating in a chaotic space.
A tall, imposing man stood in front of him, dressed in a black and gold robe, with his back to him.
That figure...
Qin Wuyan realized in an instant, it was him!
Nine Netherworld Emperor...
When Mu Yao walked out of the Falling Star Palace, it was already late at night. A full moon hung high in the sky, just as beautiful as the moon on the Mid-Autumn Festival three years ago.
Back then, he promised her under the moon that he would marry her in three years. She eagerly awaited the passing of time, but now almost three years have gone by, and in the blink of an eye, everything between them has crumbled.
Three years ago, the moonlight was warm and bright, but now, she only felt the moonlight was desolate, and a chill that penetrated to the core swept over her whole body.
Mu Yao was in a daze as she walked alone back to Peach Blossom Garden. So much had happened in one night; it felt like a nightmare. Back in her room, she curled up on the couch, her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms. The real pain reminded her that this was not a dream.
Qin Wuyan didn't love her, and she herself wasn't human; she didn't even know who she was or why she came into this world.
Why did things turn out this way?
Mu Yao hugged her knees and wept silently on the couch, a feeling of helplessness and unease she had never experienced before welling up in her heart.
In the end, she didn't know how she fell asleep. She vaguely felt that she hadn't slept for long, but she still had a terrible nightmare.
In her dream, Qin Wuyan grabbed her, holding a long sword to her neck. The smile on his face was no longer gentle, but instead revealed a frightening evil intent.
He whispered in her ear, "I have no pity for you whatsoever."
She was heartbroken and struggled desperately, but she couldn't break free from his grasp. She watched helplessly as he flung her away and threw her into the mouth of a giant snake with its jaws wide open.
Mu Yao suddenly woke up from her dream, her forehead covered in cold sweat.
The dream was brief yet real, as if that terrible scene had truly happened.
Unwilling to dwell on it any longer, she quickly got up, dressed, and packed her bags. Everything that had happened last night was too sudden, and the dream was so chilling. She felt as if every moment she stayed there was like a deep cut being made into her body.
She desperately wanted to leave this place, to get away from everyone and everything here.
Mu Yao hurriedly left with her bundle on her back. When she passed Qin Wuyan's room, she couldn't help but stop. His door was tightly closed, and she didn't know if he had returned.
After much hesitation, she finally knocked on the door, but there was no response.
Is he not here? Is he still in the stone chamber from yesterday?
Xie Qingqiu's words echoed in my mind again: that stone chamber was once the place where Biyao slept.
A dull ache began to throb in her heart, wave after wave, until she nearly lost her balance. She leaned against the door, took a deep breath, and forced herself not to think about it.
She turned around and quickly left Peach Blossom Garden, even flying non-stop all the way out of Fox Ridge Mountain and arriving at Heyang City, following the address Yunniang had written to her in a letter.
After leaving Fox Hill, Yunniang married a wealthy man in Heyang City as his concubine. For the first few years, she kept writing to Muyao, mentioning her current situation in her letters. However, for the next three years, Yunniang stopped writing altogether.
The family's surname was Xia. Mu Yao asked her way to the Xia family's door, but she hesitated for a long time and still didn't have the courage to knock on the door.
Suddenly, the vermilion gate burst open.
"Mom, I really don't want to go to the academy anymore, the teacher is so annoying." A boy of about seven or eight years old walked out of the door complaining.
Following him appeared a beautifully dressed woman with several maids. She lovingly touched the boy's head and said with a smile, "You definitely have to go to school, otherwise your father will punish you when he comes back."
"Mommy, where are you going?" A clear voice came from behind, and a little girl, about three or four years old, carrying a small and delicate lantern, ran after her.
"Oh dear, slow down!" The woman hurried over and picked up the girl. "Your mother is taking your second brother to school. Why did you come along?"
"Mommy, take me out to play! I want to go see the lanterns at the place where we went last night!"
The woman smiled brightly and reached out to pinch the girl's cheek: "It's broad daylight, where can we see lanterns? Let's go back first, and I'll take you to play tonight, okay?"
"Yes, yes! Mother is the best!" The girl excitedly wrapped her arms around the woman's neck and kissed her cheeks repeatedly.
Mu Yao stood not far away, staring blankly at the scene. The woman was none other than her mother, Yun Niang. Although she was dressed maturely, she didn't look much older, and it seemed that she was doing well.
Mu Yao tried her best to smile, wanting to go up to her mother like that little girl and tell her how much she missed her mother.
But she couldn't move her feet. She hoped that Yunniang would see her and look forward to the surprise on Yunniang's face when she saw her.
Suddenly, Yunniang actually looked in her direction, and Mu Yao became inexplicably nervous, but Yunniang didn't seem to notice her.
Yunniang looked around anxiously and said, "Why isn't Old Liu here yet? If he doesn't leave soon, the young master will be late and get scolded again."
The maidservant beside her replied, "We've already gone to urge them. They said they're on their way and will arrive soon."
Mu Yao's smile froze, fading away little by little, and the urge to rush up and see her mother vanished completely.
A carriage approached from the opposite direction. Yunniang instructed her servants and maids to help her son into the carriage, and then she herself boarded, holding the child. As the carriage passed Muyao, Yunniang lifted the curtain and glanced outside.
Mu Yao hoped that she would notice her and then stop the carriage to ask her why she was there.
But that didn't happen. Yunniang probably didn't even see her. The carriage curtain was quickly lowered, and the laughter of children came from inside the carriage, innocent and happy.
As the carriage drove further and further away, Mu Yao stood there blankly for a long time. Only then did she realize that she had grown up. Yun Niang had never seen her as an adult, so how could she recognize her?
Nine years have passed, and everything has changed.
In fact, what she wanted to find Yunniang was simply to find out about her own background, whether she was Yunniang's child, and if not, where she came from and who her parents were.
But at this moment, she felt there was no need to ask anymore.
She doesn't look like Yunniang at all, and the little girl who just appeared is also very different from her appearance when she was a child.
Some things don't actually need to be clarified.
A sense of melancholy washed over her as Mu Yao wandered aimlessly through the streets. As always, Heyang City was bustling with people, a vibrant and lively scene. She couldn't help but recall her first visit to Heyang City, when Qin Wuyan had accompanied her. She had been filled with curiosity about everything, wanting to buy and eat everything.
But now, she is no longer the innocent and carefree girl she once was, and those little trinkets on the street no longer attract her.
She walked alone, realizing that in this vast world, she had nowhere to go.
"Quick, make way! Everyone make way! This is a matter of life and death! Please make way!!" Someone shouted as they galloped towards them on horseback from a distance.
Before Mu Yao could react, the sound of horses' hooves was already right in front of her. Her body froze, and she was too frightened to move. At the critical moment, someone grabbed her waist, creating a gust of wind, and darted to the side of the road.
Mu Yao was shocked, her heart pounding wildly. When she looked up, she exclaimed in surprise, "Zhang Xiaofan?"
Zhang Xiaofan breathed a long sigh of relief and scolded, "That was so dangerous! Why weren't you watching where you were going?"
Instead of answering, Mu Yao asked, "What are you doing here?"
Zhang Xiaofan said, "You passed by my restaurant and I saw you by chance. I called you a few times, but you didn't hear me, so I followed you all the way."
Mu Yao smiled slightly: "Thank you for saving me just now!"
Seeing her forced smile, Zhang Xiaofan asked, "What's wrong? You seem to be in a bad mood."
Mu Yao shook her head gently, "I'm fine." She turned to leave, but Zhang Xiaofan grabbed her arm: "Would you like to come to my restaurant for a while?"
Mu Yao pondered for a moment and nodded. Since she had nowhere else to go, she could go anywhere. Just as she was about to follow, another person suddenly appeared and blocked Zhang Xiaofan's path.
"She won't go with you."
For a moment, Mu Yao thought it was Qin Wuyan who had arrived, and looked over expectantly at the sound, but what she saw was not that familiar face.
"Brother Tang?" Mu Yao was very surprised.
Tang Yuan pulled her hand away from Zhang Xiaofan's grasp and said coldly, "Sorry, Young Master Zhang, our Vice Sect Master will not go with you." With that, he pulled Mu Yao forward.
Mu Yao struggled to break free from his hand, her brows furrowed in displeasure as she asked, "You're following me?"
Tang Yuan nodded. "The sect leader knew you had left Fox Ridge Mountain and was worried that something might happen to you, so he ordered me to follow you. Even if Zhang Xiaofan hadn't made a move, I would have saved you."
Mu Yao turned her head away, covering her ears, unwilling to listen any longer: "Don't mention him to me!"
Despite saying that, a hint of happiness still welled up inside me.
He ultimately cares about himself, doesn't he?
But what do those lies mean? And who was he doing all that he was hiding from her for?
"Yao'er," Tang Yuan said, noticing her bad mood, "The sect leader instructed that if you don't want to go back, you can stay outside for a while. But I must accompany you."
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