He won again, though.
Yan Huanyue put down the small palm-leaf fan, tightened the white gauze on her left hand, then picked up the small earthenware pot on the medicine stove and poured the boiling hot medicine into a white porcelain bowl next to her.
Brown broth bubbling and steaming burst into the cold, white porcelain space, while a bitter medicinal smell wafted over.
She choked, her nose stung, and a faint bitter taste rose in her mouth.
She used to only focus on preparing the medicine and feeding it to the patients, so she hadn't noticed the bitterness before.
But today, this oppressive atmosphere is even more pronounced, so oppressive that it is hard to ignore.
Through the thin curtains of the inn's windows, one could vaguely see a few figures inside, but it was completely silent, except for a few coughs.
Yan Huanyue carried the old wooden tray from the inn to the door, gently pushed it open, went into the room, and then turned around and closed the door.
Han Shuangying and Su Xianqing stood by the small square table by the door, looking at her in unison. The next moment, they turned to look at the bedside.
The dark blue curtains beside the bed were held up by copper hooks, and Pei Hanzhou sat on a chair beside the bed.
Dressed in plain clothes, without any crown or ornaments, his expression was calm, yet his eyes showed a rare hint of weariness.
Yan Huanyue said, "Sect Leader, the medicine is ready."
Pei Hanzhou nodded slightly and whispered to the person on the bed, "Get up and drink your medicine." Pei Xuanzhi lay on the soft pillow, turned his head to look at the person who brought the medicine, then looked back at the dark blue curtains above the bed, and coughed for a while.
He neither got up to drink his medicine nor spoke.
He lay there alone, thin and frail, his breathing barely perceptible except for the occasional flutter of his long eyelashes, exuding an aloof and detached air, as if untouched by the world.
Pei Hanzhou glanced back at Yan Huanyue standing behind him, then turned to look down at his silent son on the bed and said in a deep voice, "Get up and drink your medicine first."
Pei Xuanzhi lay on the bed, looking at Yan Huanyue behind Pei Hanzhou. His gaze fell on her bandaged left hand. He coughed a few times, his voice hoarse, "Bitter..."
Yan Huanyue lowered her eyes and placed the medicine on the small table beside the bed, saying softly, "I'll go get some candied fruit."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the table. Behind him, Pei Xuanzhi said calmly:
“Father, I really can’t remember what you’re asking. I don’t know how I left Mingde Sect and ended up in the Ghost Market. As for how I escaped from others and obtained the World Spirit this time, I don’t remember either.”
“I have only a vague memory of going to the Tianyan Sect with you. If I am really suspected of anything, it would be better to send me back to Chang’an, so as to avoid harming others and making you angry.”
Pei Hanzhou said calmly, "Your adoptive parents in Chang'an have both passed away."
Pei Xuanzhi suddenly opened his eyes wide, looking blank like a child, shock and disbelief flashing across his eyes.
After a long while, he slowly closed his eyes, his long eyelashes trembling, and two lines of clear tears flowed from the corners of his eyes into his temples.
Though his emotions were profound, he remained remarkably composed, his hoarse voice carrying a chilling coldness, "So, in this vast world, I truly am a helpless orphan, vulnerable to all bullying..."
Pei Hanzhou looked up and quietly watched him with his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face, feeling as if a fine needle had pierced her heart.
"Xuanlang, have you really forgotten?"
Pei Xuanzhi wiped his eyes with his sleeve, then pressed his wrist against his eyes to cover the tear stains, and said coolly with a nasal tone, "If Sect Leader Pei does not believe me, I will search your soul from the day I arrived at Tianyan Sect."
"Alright, that will save you from gossip in the future. But you will have to suffer a bit. However, I will make up for the loss of your soul caused by the soul search. If you really forget everything, you will have to stay in the sect from now on."
Pei Hanzhou pondered for a moment, then, without much hesitation, made a hand seal with one hand.
Yan Huanyue retreated to Han Shuangying's side, staring intently at the changing hand seals on Pei Hanzhou's fingers.
A wisp of light, like a feather, landed on Pei Xuanzhi's brow, and his expression suddenly twisted and became ferocious for a moment.
A beam of light emanated from between his brows, its lifelike silhouette spreading across the air like a light veil.
In the painting, beside the dim candlelight, several rows of gilded memorial tablets cast shadows of varying heights on the wall, sparse and faint, like a grove of trees without branches or leaves.
Pei Xuanzhi held a lit incense stick and followed behind Pei Hanzhou.
“The unfilial descendant Pei Hanzhou, together with my son Xuanzhi, respectfully pays homage to our ancestors.”
The boy behind him was even thinner and paler than he was now, silently kowtowing to each memorial tablet and offering incense.
As I walked out of the ancestral hall, tender yellow forsythia blossoms swayed in the breeze from the overgrown garden.
The boy pulled his thick cloak tighter around himself, exhaling white smoke in the early spring chill, and asked, "Father, are there any other elders of the Pei family I need to pay my respects to?"
"there is none left......"
Pei Hanzhou looked up at the large banyan tree in front of the ancestral hall, a symbol of the family's prosperity. The tree, which was originally so large that even three people with arms joined together could not encircle it, had long since withered and died.
When the wind blows, broken branches and dry leaves drift down in the spring breeze that brings everything back to life.
"Most of them died in the north."
"Then... what about my mother?"
Pei Hanzhou turned around and helped him put on the hood of his cloak, his eyes gentle. "After you came to Xianyang, you probably inquired about it with the Su family, didn't you?"
The boy lowered his eyes and said, "I've heard some things, but I don't know..."
Pei Hanzhou didn't explain much, but simply asked, "If your frail health since childhood was indeed due to her, do you blame her?"
The young man raised his eyes, his gaze as bright as cold stars, and asked in a clear, detached tone, "Do you want me to blame her?"
Pei Hanzhou gently patted his head through his hood without answering.
The boy said, "Before a child is born, the mother's wishes naturally take precedence. If she doesn't want the baby in her womb, she can choose not to have it; that is her right."
"It's just that I seem to be a bit stubborn by nature, always wanting to go against her... Thinking back, my birth may have caused her some headaches. However, she didn't kill me after I was born. She kept this weak body and sent me to live with another family, but it still... caused me a lot of headaches for many years."
"I hated fate, and naturally I hate her too, as long as she never appears before my eyes again..."
The spring breeze carried a chill, and the road from Xianyang to Tianyan Sect grew colder and colder, but fortunately the ice and snow on the mountain were gradually melting.
Pei Xuanzhi followed behind Pei Hanzhou, slowly walking past the buildings and pavilions.
Several elders came to greet them from time to time. After exchanging pleasantries, they walked ahead with Pei Hanzhou and talked in secret.
Pei Xuanzhi walked a little slower, deliberately keeping a distance from them.
He remained unusually silent throughout the journey, having never witnessed the grandeur of such a major sect before.
As he stopped in front of an early-blooming peach tree, waiting for the elders ahead to walk further away, he caught a glimpse of a misty, pink figure rushing out of the schoolhouse not far away, grabbing a boy in a red robe and starting a fight in the crowd.
She was clearly no match for the boy, but with red eyes and tears in her eyes, she fought back and even grabbed his cheek, drawing blood instantly.
He stood under the tree, quietly watching the arguing crowd.
In the crowd, she wiped away her tears, her face grim as she looked over. The small jade beads dangling from her ear swayed gently, then gradually faded into a blank...
Then a figure, shrouded in mist, plunged into the water, scooped him up, and held him in her arms, her bloodshot eyes filled with worry as she looked at him...
Pei Xuanzhi's face was contorted with rage. He clutched his head, curled up on the bed, and struggled, his voice hoarse as he cried out, "Senior Sister Yan, my head hurts so much, save me, save me..."
Yan Huanyue couldn't help but run to the bedside, but Pei Hanzhou raised his hand to stop her.
Han Shuangying walked behind her and whispered, "I know you're worried, but since we've started, to avoid further suffering for Junior Brother Pei, let's not interrupt it for now. There are ways to deceive people when searching the soul. We can only see clearly when we peel away the soul three times. The sect leader will make up for Junior Brother Pei's injuries."
The voice on the bed grew increasingly shrill, "Senior Sister Yan... I'll drink my medicine obediently, it hurts so much, help me..."
Yan Huanyue clenched her hands tightly, her nails digging into her palms and drawing blood.
Su Xianqing remained standing by the table, his face grim as he watched the person struggling on the bed. He cast a spell and threw it over, blocking the cries for help from the bedside.
Enchantress...
They're the biggest liars.
How could his amnesia happen so coincidentally? He lost his memory just when he was supposed to be returning to the sect to explain why he appeared in the Ghost Market and took Bao Ying away from the Abyss.
Why does he not remember the past or the future, but only the first and last times he saw Bao Ying?
Why didn't he call out Zhang or Wang, but instead specifically targeted Bao Ying for help?
He had only been awake for a short while when he immediately figured out how to manipulate his adoptive father by exploiting his guilt over his adoptive parents' deaths, and how to influence Bao Ying by feigning unbearable pain.
How could his amnesia happen so perfectly at the right time? So coincidentally? How could he say something so poignant? Why doesn't he just etch the word "coincidence" onto his forehead?
Although Su Xianqing was relieved that Yan Huanyue had escaped death, he had always been wary of Pei Xuanzhi.
He was different from Ning Wuyang, who was also a disciple of Pei Hanzhou but knew nothing about anything.
He had met Pei Xuanzhi's mother.
She was a... beautiful but ruthless, sweet-talking but vicious, manipulative and ruthless succubus who would stop at nothing to achieve her goals.
This is enough to make people forever wary of succubi.
Pei Xuanzhi looks similar to her master, but has a pair of eyes that are very similar to hers.
Those eyes, brimming with greed, madness, and obsession, gradually overlapped with Pei Xuanzhi's cold, aloof yet ambitious eyes.
The person by the bed suddenly turned around and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Su Xianqing snapped out of his daze and rushed forward, calling out, "Master! Why did you use so much of your cultivation to repair Junior Brother Pei's soul damage?"
Pei Hanzhou waved his hand, took the warm water that Yan Huanyue brought, and seeing the worried looks on their faces, waved his hand again, saying only, "I'm fine. Baoying, please look after Xuanlang and make sure he drinks his medicine."
"yes."
Pei Hanzhou wiped the blood from his lips with his sleeve, reached out to wipe the cold sweat from Pei Xuanzhi's forehead and the tears on his face, patted his head, and said gently, "Listen to your Senior Sister Yan. If you blame me, so be it."
Pei Xuanzhi's dim eyes were filled with unfinished tears.
He shook his head silently, a hint of guilt hidden in his calm tone, "It's our son who has caused you worry and trouble."
Standing behind Pei Hanzhou, Su Xianqing felt that Pei Xuanzhi had won again in some respects.
I wonder how his illusions could withstand the threefold soul stripping?
Or was it that he deliberately used this dangerous situation as an opportunity to deal with the matter...?
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