41. To gamble or not to gamble?
The original driver of the carriage had fled when the accident happened, leaving Ouyang Ziren with no choice but to become the driver himself. Meanwhile, Xiaoyao Wang stayed in the carriage to take care of Liu Hanruo. In this way, the group traveled for two days without stopping or sleeping, mainly on dry rations. Finally, on the evening of the second day, they arrived at the foot of Yunwu Mountain.
The group, their faces showing exhaustion, finally settled into the inn to rest and recharge for their climb the mountain early the next morning. Of course, this included Hua Nishang.
Originally, Prince Xiaoyao intended to send Hua Nishang back to his palace, but a few words from Ouyang Ziren forced him to abandon the idea. Let's rewind to the time inside the carriage.
"Che, what are you going to do with this vicious woman?" Ouyang Ziren asked calmly.
"Send someone to send her back to the palace. We'll deal with her after Ruo'er returns!" the carefree prince said coldly.
“That won’t do. You know we’re both men, and there are many things that are inconvenient for us. If we just send her back like this, where are we going to find another woman to replace her?!” Although he disliked scheming women, Ouyang Ziren did not agree with the Prince of Xiaoyao’s decision.
"Go buy it!" The carefree prince said firmly, as if he had made up his mind!
“Che, at this critical juncture, where are you going to buy a maid you know well? Besides, none of your women are well-behaved. They might have already extended their reach here. I don’t need to tell you what will happen then,” Ouyang Ziren said with certainty.
"Keeping her around will probably cause trouble!"
"Having learned her lesson, as long as we keep a close eye on her, I'm sure she won't dare to try anything again! If we're really worried, we can just give her a pill to make her obey everything."
"The 'Obedience Pill'?"
"Yes, it's a newly developed poison. Just one pill will make her do whatever you want, and she won't be able to disobey your orders!"
Seeing Ouyang Ziren's confident assurance, the Prince of Xiaoyao finally nodded. However, he did not know that his action would push Liu Hanruo further and further away!
The next morning, led by Ouyang Ziren, they began their arduous mountain climb. Ouyang Ziren walked in front, followed closely by the Carefree Prince carrying Liu Hanruo, and at the very back came a veiled woman.
Time passed by, and the group finally arrived at the thatched hut atop Cloud Mist Mountain at noon.
Looking at the unchanged thatched hut before him, Ouyang Ziren was lost in memories.
That was ten years ago. He was sixteen and she was ten. They first met in this thatched hut. At that time, his master told him that from now on, she would be his junior sister.
I still remember her tugging at my clothes, sweetly calling out:
"Senior brother, Li'er wants a hug!"
She smiled so brightly then, and it was that smile that made him forget his worries and gradually fall in love with her. From then on, he protected her under his wing until he came down the mountain six years ago. Four years of being together day and night, every little thing was etched in his heart. Time was neither short nor long, but it became his most precious memory.
Seeing everything before him exactly as it had been years ago, a strange light flashed deep in Ouyang Ziren's eyes. For six years, he had constantly longed for the smiling faces he remembered. But before the great cause was accomplished, what right did he have to indulge in personal feelings? This was also his first return since descending the mountain, but he didn't know…
With mixed feelings of anticipation and hesitation, Ouyang Ziren finally took the first step. He pushed open the door of the thatched hut, went inside, and called out:
"Master, Ziren is back. It's been six years since we last met. How have you been?"
Ouyang Ziren was met with a palm strike, followed by a furious shout:
"You brat! You've been gone for five years without a word, and you still know how to come back!"
Ouyang Ziren leaped lightly, easily escaping the range of the palm strike. Then, a blue-clad figure flashed past, engaging Ouyang Ziren in direct combat. After several dozen exchanges, the white-haired, blue-clad old man stopped, stroked his white beard, glanced at the strangers at the entrance, and said calmly to Ouyang Ziren:
"You brat, you brought so many people here today. If you want this old man to treat that half-dead guy, then forget it. This old man has been retired from the world of medicine for a long time!"
“Master, that’s not how you use the ‘wash your hands of gold’ in Chinese.” Ouyang Ziren looked at his old, childlike master with a helpless expression and pointed out indifferently.
"The old man doesn't care about all this fancy stuff. He's saying no treatment, and that's final! No discussion!"
Upon hearing this, the Carefree King lowered his stance and earnestly requested:
"Senior Doctor Ghost, I know your medical skills are superb. My queen is deeply poisoned. I beg you to save her. As long as you can save her, I will do anything you ask. I will not hesitate!"
The carefree king's words only earned him a disdainful glance from the old man in blue.
"Who are you? This old man doesn't know you. I'm not going to help you!"
The Ghost Doctor was stubborn and unwavering in his belief that he would not save her if he said he would, which made the Carefree King extremely anxious. He glanced at Liu Hanruo in his arms, secretly made up his mind, put aside his pride, suddenly knelt down, kowtowed repeatedly, and pleaded:
"Senior Ghost Doctor, people have a compassionate heart, please save her!"
The Ghost Doctor remained seated with his legs crossed, while Ouyang Ziren, unable to bear it any longer, knelt down as well and said:
"Master, didn't you always teach your disciple that a man should do his best to protect his own? Master, Che is like a brother to me. Please, Master, for my sake, save his wife."
The Ghost Doctor looked at the two kneeling on the ground—one his beloved disciple, the other a deeply devoted prince—and, unable to resist, finally sighed and said to the carefree Prince Wu:
"It's not impossible for the old man to save you, but you should know my rules: I won't treat those I don't like. You only have one path left to take: make a bet with me. We'll each ask a question. If I can't answer it, I'll honor my bet and heal the person in your arms. Conversely, if you can't answer my question, you'll have to cut out your tongue and stay with me on this cloud-shrouded peak forever!"
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