Chapter 86 Reunion (Part 5): Sharing Life and Death, Sharing Fate
His freshly shaved beard still had some stubble left, and it brushed against her face with a light touch, like a feather brushing against her skin, bringing a tingling, itchy sensation. This feeling spread, making her heart race and her blood rush to her head. Her mind seemed to go blank for a moment, and she couldn't remember anything except the person in front of her.
He didn't close his eyes, just looked at her. The distance was so close that she couldn't see his face clearly, only that his eyes were filled with tears, which rolled down silently.
He cried.
This was the first time Li Yunru had ever seen him cry.
“Yan…”
She wanted to call out to him, to reach out and wipe away the tears on his face, but then she saw him suddenly move more forcefully, grab her waist, and pull her close to him. The two were pressed very tightly together, their spring clothes thin, their skin touching, and their heartbeats merged at that moment.
Li Yunru admitted that she was somewhat carried away and confused, as if something was drilling into her body and going straight to her heart.
Is this what it feels like to be in love, to have your heart flutter?
Has she fallen for him again?
Pooh!
What a feeling of being moved!
Something was really crawling on her body, not through her clothes or her body, but deep inside, into her very bones.
"What did you put in my place?!"
Realizing what was happening, Li Yunru suddenly jumped off him and questioned him fiercely.
Yan Ning had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling, and the meaning of that smile was unclear.
He casually remarked, "I added some... an aphrodisiac that makes the princess unable to leave me."
"Pah! You're so unprofessional, what nonsense are you spouting!"
How could she not know that this man was so good at playing dirty tricks? First, he pretended to be dead and asked Zhang Duan to bring him in, and now he's saying all this nonsense. He used to say that she was shameless, but she thinks he's the one who's shameless!
"What exactly did you do? Something feels off."
She didn't know when or how he got inside her, but the piercing, eerie feeling was making her extremely uncomfortable; she couldn't go up or down.
right.
It doesn't actually hurt, but it feels strange, like thousands of tiny ants crawling inside, which makes you quite uncomfortable.
"You better figure out a way to get this out for me right now!"
Yan Ning said, "It's too late. The more agitated the princess is, the faster this stuff seeps in. Just now it was there, but now... I'm afraid it's already starting to merge with the princess's bones and blood."
He pulled her back into his arms, holding her close, and said in a low voice, "Liyang, you don't need to panic. I won't hurt you. This thing just makes me more certain of your existence. Just wait a little longer, until it completely merges with you."
This is the life-sharing Gu he obtained from Dr. Sun, Yan Sheng's master.
As the name suggests, those who cultivate these species are interdependent, their fates tied together by a single thread.
It is a secret medicine derived from the Wu tribe of southern Xinjiang. It is made from insects, which are nurtured with the essence and blood of the mother plant and take many years to mature.
"This thing is sinister, especially to those who carry the Gu, causing many abnormal reactions and suffering that ordinary people cannot endure. On the first and fifteenth of each month, they may even be on the verge of death. My lord, you should think twice!"
When Dr. Sun gave it to him, he repeatedly advised against it.
"My mind is made up, give it to me."
Sun Shengshou had no choice but to agree. He had been recuperating for three years, and had originally thought it would take longer, but in the end, heaven was on his side...
How can people talk about it so lightly?
Li Yunru bounced around in his arms, trying to shake the thing out, but she couldn't, and it seemed to have a different reaction.
She lowered her head, "You..."
How could this person...?
Li Yunru was both anxious and embarrassed, but the man seemed completely at ease. He held her between his legs, reached behind her, and lazily placed one hand on her shoulder. His long fingers casually played with her earlobe, and he said with a smile, half-threatening and half-teasing, "If the princess moves again, I can't guarantee what will happen next."
Forehead……
"Have you no shame? This is someone else's territory, don't you understand?"
"So... it's okay where I am, is that what you mean?"
Li Yunru: "..."
Is that what she meant?
This was the first time she had ever discovered that this person was particularly adept at misinterpreting things and being shameless.
"Yan Changjun, you've changed."
"Have you become uglier?" His eyelids drooped, and the smile on his face vanished, replaced by obvious disappointment.
He thought for a moment, then spoke cautiously: "These past few years, there have been many things going on in Jiangzuo and Jingzhong, requiring me to travel back and forth. It's inevitable that I can't take care of everything. I can't keep up this appearance like I used to."
"No, that's not what I meant, I..."
She meant that people have become cunning, unlike the gentlemen of the past who always followed rules, etiquette, wisdom, and trustworthiness.
How could his face be ugly?
"never mind."
Helpless, Li Yunru stopped mentioning it. The strange feeling in her body seemed to have dissipated considerably, and she calmed down.
The room fell silent.
She didn't know what to say. Once a person makes up their mind, they won't change it. No matter how many times she said it, they wouldn't listen. It was all in vain.
That hasn't changed.
well!
Why do they only learn bad things and not good ones?
Just as Li Yunru was about to give up in despair, she heard a gentle voice in her ear.
"Liyang, you don't need to put yourself in such a difficult position."
He lifted the hand that was at his waist and smoothed her furrowed brow. "I won't give up on you, but I won't force you either. I can wait for you, until you've thought it through and are willing to come back."
“What if this time is a lifetime?” she asked.
Yan Ning smiled, but the smile was bitter. "What does it matter? It was my plan all along."
If she really were dead, that's what he thought too.
He wasn't afraid to wait, as long as she was alive.
The unwavering answer made Li Yunru's heart skip a beat. The surroundings seemed to suddenly quiet down, and she could only hear her own heartbeat.
Her nose felt a little sore, and her eyes felt uncomfortable.
The man forced himself to get off him and, taking advantage of the moment, said, "Then you can leave. We'll talk again when I've figured things out."
"good."
This time, he did not refuse.
The man stood up, straightened his disheveled clothes, and strode away. Before leaving, he added, "I'll be staying in Jiankang for a while. I'll rent the place next door as soon as possible. If you need anything, feel free to come to me."
"Liyang, I will not refuse any of your requests."
"knew."
She urged him to hurry up, but Li Yunru didn't like that. It made her seem particularly mean!
Seeing her resistance, Yan Ning shook his head helplessly, sighed, and walked away.
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Li Yunru's shoulders and neck slumped. She bit her lip until it bled and muttered under her breath, "How annoying this person is."
His mind was completely occupied by the unexpected Yan Ning, and he didn't notice that there was a bloody mark on his palm.
There was a burning, stinging sensation there.
...
After leaving, Yan Ning first returned to the city and found a real estate agent. This was not a difficult task for him. In the past few years since leaving the Yan family, he had done everything himself and had quite a bit of experience in this area.
The matter was quickly settled. With these things resolved, and seeing that it was only noon, they decided to pack their belongings and move over before having a meal, so they returned to their inn.
Lu Wulang was already waiting, and Yan Sheng was there too. As soon as they saw him, they rushed over.
"Brother, you're back!"
"So, did you see your sister-in-law?"
Last night they gathered in the peach orchard, but Keren left halfway through and never returned. Afterwards, the two vaguely guessed the reason.
"Is she really Lady Liyang?" Lu Wu asked.
Yan Ning nodded. "Mm."
Lu Wu frowned, still not quite believing it. "Are you sure? What if you've mistaken her for someone else? She said it wasn't her yesterday too."
"I won't admit my mistake." Yan Ning was very certain of this.
He never doubted it from the moment he heard the voice.
Thus, Lu Wu accepted it and congratulated him, "Congratulations, Lord Changjun, on finding your beloved."
But after offering his congratulations, he raised his concerns, "If she really is the county magistrate, with so many young men around her, she'll probably attract a lot of gossip. And judging from her behavior yesterday, could she really already be with someone else..."
No, it won't.
Inside her house, there were only her own belongings; there was no trace of a man having lived there.
"What if?"
Lu Wu still felt it was hard to say. After all, her reputation had spread when she went to the capital, and it was her nature. Although he understood everything she did that day, if there were other people who thought about what his friend had done, they couldn't help but feel indignant on her behalf.
"You don't know she's alive, but she knows you're here. All these years, she's watched you become so haggard and heartbroken for her, yet you remained unmoved, never thinking of coming back to see her or deliver a letter..."
Judging from her carefree and cheerful demeanor yesterday, it was as if Yan Ning had never existed in her life, and she was flirting and interacting with others without any restraint...
“She won’t,” Yan Ning said. “I know my Liyang. She’s not that kind of person. She’s just straightforward and unrestrained, so it’s inevitable that there are many misunderstandings about her. And if there are, it just means that I haven’t done enough to make her give up all the temptations outside and only me. It’s my problem.”
Lu Wulang: "..."
"You're hopeless!"
He looked at Yan Sheng speechlessly, his eyes seemingly complaining, "Look at your brother, such a fine young man, but he goes crazy when he meets Li Yang."
Yan Sheng also felt it wasn't a good idea, after all, she knew better than anyone how her brother had been these past few years.
“Brother, I think… maybe you can think about it again. I miss my sister-in-law too, but if she really… has someone else, then maybe we should just let it go. As long as she's still alive, that's good enough, right? There are many things we shouldn't force. Let's be more open-minded.”
Yan Ning didn't say anything, but suddenly blurted out, "I've used the Life-Shattering Gu."
"What!"
These words struck Yan Sheng like a thunderbolt.
"From this day forward, my life is tied to hers. Her well-being is my well-being; her life is my life..."
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Author's Note: I've been out having fun these past couple of days, so I'm not sure if I'll still be able to update daily. I'll try my best, and if I can't update, I'll make an announcement. Happy holidays everyone!
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