Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Turning around, she was caught off guard by two pairs of eyes scrutinizing her, and they were exactly the same. Hiding behind a pillar, the two people were in the same posture. Meng Yingying's heart skipped a beat. On the surface, she didn't move, but in reality, she was frightened. Her mind quickly realized that these two must be the twins from the original book.
A crisp, timid voice came from behind the pillar: "Who are you? Why are you in our house?" The one below the pillar, his eyes filled with wariness, whispered to the one above, "Brother, don't be afraid, I will protect you."
Meng Yingying had good hearing and overheard what he said. The two of them had misunderstood that they were bad people. This wouldn't do, so she quickly explained, "We are not bad people. We were injured and are staying at your house for a while."
“Ah Xing, they’re not bad people.” The two hesitantly stepped out from behind the pillar and stood in front of them. Everyone says that twins look exactly alike, but Meng Yingying felt that these two people were completely different in their eyes and temperament. One was timid and cowardly, while the other was straightforward and bold.
"My name is Shou Changyue, Chang as in longevity and Ming as in bright moon. This is my younger brother, Shou Changxing." Shou Changyue didn't even dare to look at them, his eyes darting away as he introduced himself.
Shou Changxing clasped his hands in a fist and said, "You'd better stay here quietly, otherwise..." Before he could finish his threat, a cough interrupted them. Shou Quanli stepped out from behind them and slapped Shou Changxing on the back of the head, his voice steady: "Don't be rude." Although he said that, there was a hint of helplessness in his eyes. Just as described in the book, Shou Quanli doted on and loved his two sons.
Shouquan suppressed his other emotions, becoming much colder towards the two of them: "Breakfast is ready. You two go ahead and eat, lest they say I'm mistreating you." He coughed a few times, and Meng Yingying realized something: her family never faked smiles. It seemed she had to build a good relationship with them. If the plot didn't follow the original book, even if she remembered it, it would be completely meaningless. She could only guess at the plot's direction from what they said.
Meng Yingying had just taken a step to walk to Shou Changyue and the others when she felt resistance after taking only a couple of steps. She stopped, turned her head to look behind her, and saw that fake smiling face: "What are you doing?"
Shang Mang tilted his head: "Brother and sister shouldn't be together, especially since I'm injured." His expression remained unchanged. Meng Yingying gritted her teeth. He knew perfectly well that it was a lie he told to stay, and if it were true, it was definitely just to tease her. Why was he so annoying?
Meng Yingying slowly walked over, took his arm, and forced a smile: "Are you satisfied?" Shang Mang raised his other hand and touched his chin, ignoring the anger in her eyes, and simply commented: "So-so."
Meng Yingying endured it, thinking, "How can this person be so despicable?"
When they arrived at the restaurant, Meng Yingying smelled the aroma of meat as soon as she entered. However, what first caught her eye was not the food, but the painting on the wall. The woman on the wall was wearing a bright light blue dress, holding a gun in her hand, pointing it at her forehead, and had a desolate smile on her face.
“This is my mother.” She had been staring for too long, and Shou Changyue spoke up to tell her, but Meng Yingying seemed not to hear. She did not answer, but kept looking at the woman in the painting. Shang Mang glanced at her and, seeing that she did not respond, looked down. Meng Yingying’s eyelashes fluttered, and she kept blinking, her eyes full of disbelief.
How could that be? People in this era know about guns. The only person who would make that gesture is someone who has traveled through time. Are there other people who have traveled through time in this world? Or was this woman just making the gesture casually? Impossible, impossible.
Shang Mang narrowed his eyes, then opened them a crack to look at the woman in the painting. The fact that she could stare at him for so long and show such a surprised expression meant that he knew her, or perhaps for some other reason, he knew she had many secrets.
It doesn't matter, he will peel back the layers one by one and finally kill her.
Shou Changxing's teeth chattered, he gritted his teeth, turned his palm over, and struck her directly with a palm strike. He muttered, "It's all because of people like you who trespass into the village at will that my mother disappeared."
Shang Mang glanced at him sideways, stretched out a hand, a red light flashing in his eyes, and his crimson lips parted: "Get lost." Shou Changxing was bound by an invisible force, pushed backward, and pinned against the wall.
Meng Yingying snapped back to reality. Seeing the situation, she hurriedly reached out and pinched his fingertips: "Shang Mang." She called his name. Shang Mang looked at her, smiled, and said, "He wants to kill you. I sensed it. So he must die." His fox-like eyes crinkled with laughter. Shou Quanli stood in front of Shou Changyue, furious: "You are Taoists, yet you dare to shout 'kill!' If you dare to kill my son, I will not let you go, even to the ends of the earth!"
"Too many people have tried to kill me. I remember them all and will make them my victims." He smiled, his fingers twitching slightly. Blood mist wrapped around Shou Changyue's neck, and blood seeped from his neck.
Shou Changyue's face turned deathly pale. She wanted to help but was at a loss, so she could only shout, "Don't kill Ah Xing! My brother may be naughty, but he's not a bad person at heart!"
Meng Yingying looked into his eyes, and a red tinge rose in his eyes, with a streak of red thread creeping up from his neck.
"You don't care about their lives, but what about mine?" Meng Yingying suddenly spoke, pulling out a dagger and holding it to her neck. Her hand trembled. Shang Mang was indifferent to life; perhaps no life was important to him, including his own. Looking at him, she couldn't help but think of his childhood experiences. Perhaps everything was traceable. She had a vague feeling that perhaps he could be changed, or perhaps she had always felt that Shang Mang was not a bad person.
This idea had always been in her mind, which was why she wasn't afraid of him.
Shang Mang withdrew his finger, stared at her, and smiled broadly: "Threatening me?"
"You've always wanted my life, haven't you? From today onward, other people's lives are equal to mine. If you ever kill someone again, I will take that life myself." Her tone was calm.
If she can't express her feelings to him, there are things she can do for him.
Shang Mang stared at her; she was as frail as a weed, yet she had a penchant for playing the hero.
He didn't understand, lowering his eyes to hide his emotions: "I won't let you die, you can't die." His voice was very low, and Meng Yingying didn't hear it. She frowned slightly and said, "Dare you promise me!"
"What did you do this for?" he asked.
Meng Yingying stared straight ahead, without flinching: "I'll teach you the preciousness of life, and teach you to cherish life." Shang Mang sneered, his gaze towards her ambiguous.
Shang Mang turned and left without mentioning his promise. He walked quickly, and Meng Yingying chased after him, only to see the trail of his bright red robe in the air. She lowered her head in disappointment, her heart aching.
She couldn't change Li Zhaodi's death, but she wanted to change Shang Mang's fate so that he wouldn't become a ghost.
Shang Mang clutched the fabric at his chest and walked forward in anguish. The hatred surged within him. If he stayed any longer, he would definitely kill her. But he couldn't kill her now; the time wasn't right yet. He could only do so when the time was right.
"Only by doing as I say can you be free from the burden of this monstrous name, and only then can you become a good person." The voice rang out again in his mind, cold and strange.
This task is simple; you just need to kill her. Why not kill her?
All her sweet talk and flattery were just to deceive you, to complete the task she was supposed to accomplish.
Once she's done everything, she'll abandon you without hesitation.
Shang Mang huddled behind a haystack. He lowered his head and tore open the shirt at his chest, revealing the spider lily blooming even more alluringly. Its petals grew, its veins eroded, and excruciating pain tormented him. His pale face became even more ferocious and terrifying, his pupils filled with red. His brows were tightly furrowed, and he shouted in a muffled voice into his mind, "Get out, get out, get out!" He punched his head hard, the voice growing in his mind, reminding him of his deep hatred every second.
Shang Mang helplessly looked up, his fox-like eyes staring at the bright sun, dazed. If only there were dumplings, it wouldn't hurt so much.
The weather is perfect for blooming flowers now, and apricot blossoms are in full bloom everywhere in Xinghua Village. Meng Yingying stared blankly at the door when a hand holding a medicine bottle appeared in front of her. Following the hand, Shou Changyue smiled nervously: "You have an injury on your neck."
Meng Yingying asked, "What time is it now?"
Shou Changyue pointed to the sun: "Noon."
Meng Yingying looked outside, but Shang Mang still hadn't returned. Was he angry?
Seeing her expression, Shou Changyue suddenly felt sad: "Your brother cares about you and will definitely come back, unlike my mother, who left in a huff and never returned."
"Your mother..." Meng Yingying recalled the painting and pressed for more information, "Your mother is very special."
Shou Changyue sat down beside her and said, "Yes, my mother is very childish, but she is also the most unique woman in the village."
“She often says that men and women are equal, and she often says that her hometown is in a very far away place, but her father says that she is from this village.” Shou Changyue frowned habitually.
"May I ask you why your mother left in a huff?" she asked cautiously. Shou Changyue smiled and said, "There's nothing I can't say. Everyone in the village knows."
“After my mother gave birth to us, she often talked nonsense to us, saying that she had completed some mission and that she could go home. My father locked her up. Ah Xing was late in understanding things and felt that my father was not good to my mother, so she secretly opened the door to talk to my mother. That night, my mother talked a lot with Ah Xing. The next day, my mother looked at us with a silly smile and hugged Ah Xing tightly in her arms.”
“Ah Xing looked at her mother like she was in a daze. Then, one night, she disappeared. Some people in the village saw that outsiders took her away.”
“From that time on, Ah Xing became hateful and stopped talking to others. Now he only talks to me and my father.”
His sorrowful words sent chills down Meng Yingying's spine, and she could no longer move her tongue.
Shou Changyue's mother is a transmigrator from another book. Why is she here...?
Meng Yingying looked up at the sky and said slowly, "Perhaps what your mother said is true?"
"She doesn't really belong to this world; she comes from another world."
Shou Changyue stood up and said, "My mother and my father were very much in love. If that's the case, then my father is a very bad person."
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