Chapter 51
Chapter 51
Why did he have to come at this time of year? She thought dejectedly, taking out a clean talisman from her sachet and lighting it. Meng Yingying looked at him, her heart filled with horror.
Shang Mang looked as if he were soaked in blood; the ground was covered in crimson, almost blending into his clothes. She was indescribably anxious, and Shang Mang's eyes were tightly closed, his long eyelashes trembling.
Meng Yingying reached out, trying to wake him, but Shang Mang slowly opened his eyes: "I'm glad to see you in pain." He tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a maniacal smile, and with that smile, even more blood gushed out.
Meng Yingying knelt on the ground, her whole body cold and her face pale. Meng Yingying didn't understand his method of revenge. She should be the one who should hate him; she was the one who was killed. Meng Yingying frowned, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then lifted him up by the collar, pulling him into her arms.
Shang Mang was taken aback.
Meng Yingying said, "I won't hold it against you for now." She knew he could recover, but could he really recover from this kind of bleeding? If he died because of her, Meng Yingying would blame herself, and she didn't want to live a life of regret.
Shang Mang's eyes flickered, but his expression remained unchanged: "If I die, will you cry for me?"
Meng Yingying lowered her head. His expression was fine, so he must be alright: "Who would cry for an enemy?"
Shang Mang's smile vanished. He looked up and saw Meng Yingying's slightly red eyes. He stared blankly for a moment, then spoke with a mixture of sorrow and sigh: "Liar."
Meng Yingying wanted to know the truth from him. Tan Yuhua's words seemed too deliberate, and she didn't completely believe them. Some things could be believed, but others couldn't be believed at all. His earlier enemy didn't seem to have elicited much of a reaction from him. If Meng Yingying was real, Shang Mang definitely wouldn't want her to know the truth.
She had many questions she wanted to ask him directly, such as why he kept following her, whether what Tan Yuhua said was true, and whether he was... But she knew he wouldn't answer these questions, so she might as well keep quiet.
“If you don’t ask me, how will you know if I can tell you?” Shang Mang said. Meng Yingying then remembered that he could hear other people’s inner thoughts, and suddenly stopped thinking. “You can hear my inner thoughts, can’t you?”
Shang Mang chuckled softly: "Too noisy, can't block it out."
Meng Yingying looked at Shang Mang, her mouth slightly open. Shang Mang interrupted, "Shh." He raised three fingers, lifting an eyebrow, and said, "I'll only answer three questions." Meng Yingying looked at his fingers; they were covered in blood, a glaring sight. She pulled his hand over and wiped each finger clean on her clothes. Meng Yingying grimaced, "I don't want to ask, I don't want to hear."
Shang Mang looked down at his fingers as she wiped them clean, his heart churning.
Meng Yingying spoke up: "It's you, isn't it?"
“You’re the ultimate villain. You’re the one who sent Tan Yuhua to find me.” She stated it definitively, not needing his reply at all. Shang Mang remained silent, simply looking at Meng Yuan, before letting out a short laugh after a long pause.
The lack of denial was an admission, and she continued with her speculation: "You followed me to find out the truth? Actually, it wasn't you who killed me; someone controlled you."
She speculated on her own, and despite all that Shang Mang had done, she still felt that what Tan Yuhua said about Shang Mang killing her was false, and that it was true that she had lived two lives.
Shang Mang replied, "No one controlled me; I killed you." Meng Yingying, as if drugged, fell silent instantly. "Why...why?"
He watched the fleeting life on her face vanish, and his heart ached. But that was the truth. He wasn't afraid of her knowing the truth; in fact, he hoped she would find out sooner.
Three days ago—
Shang Mang ran out of the village chief's house. The sharp pain in his chest made him unable to straighten up. He was in a state of restlessness and irritability when he heard the even more irritating sound of a wooden fish drum and annoying human voices.
"So it really is you. Last time I thought I was seeing things." Tan Yuhua tapped the wooden fish. "You are a ghost fetus. Everyone in this world avoids you like the plague. They will run far away as soon as they hear the words 'ghost fetus'."
Hearing this, Tan Yuhua chuckled softly. In that instant, Shang Mang grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the tree trunk. He said, "I know where that woman is." Tan Yuhua smiled without changing his expression: "What woman?"
Shang Mang stared at him with undisguised bloodshot eyes: "Feeding her with flesh and blood, do you cherish her or hate her? Such a vicious curse is something even I would be ashamed of."
Tan Yuhua smiled bitterly: "You've misunderstood, you're a ghost child."
Shang Mang raised his thumb and pressed it against his throat, applying slight pressure: "You're disgusting. Aren't you tired of pretending like this?"
Tan Yuhua's expression remained unchanged, and she didn't speak no matter what he said. Instead, her gaze fell on his chest: "Does it hurt a lot there? How is the pain of the backlash?"
Shang Mang stopped what he was doing and released his grip: "Very good, really great. You can do it."
Back to the present, Meng Yingying placed him on the ground, tore off pieces of cloth to bandage his wounds, and without saying a word, Shang Mang asked, "Do you hate me?"
Meng Yingying paused for a moment: "What?"
Shang Mang said, "You hate me."
Meng Yingying continued what she was doing and asked, "You know I'm from another world, and you have memories of your past life?"
Shang Mang: "I know, I do." Hate him, only by hating him will everything get better.
Meng Yingying: "..." This turn of events would have surprised anyone, but she quickly accepted it. She wouldn't believe anyone's words; she wanted to find out for herself.
Meng Yingying bandaged his wound and placed his arm on it: "I don't hate you. I won't hate you until I see the truth."
Shang Mang grabbed her shoulders: "What I say is the truth, and you don't believe me?"
Meng Yingying slapped his hands away: "I don't believe you. I don't believe anyone in this world." She stood up from the ground, but her legs gave way, and she collapsed to the ground. Her abdomen felt like it was being stabbed with a knife; the pain was excruciating.
Shang Mang twitched his nose as he glanced at her back.
Meng Yingying tried to stand up, bracing herself against the floor. She was being carried like this for the first time. Shang Mang showed no sign of discomfort; his horrific wounds had healed so quickly. He held her close, a mist of blood surrounding him. Meng Yingying smelled the pungent stench of decay, and a sharp scream rang in her ears. Shang Mang, however, remained expressionless. Thinking it was her imagination, Meng Yingying lowered her hands from her ears, but the screams were still shrill and unpleasant. She covered her ears again.
Shang Mang stared straight ahead and said in a low voice, "Trust me."
Meng Yingying only saw his lips move, but she couldn't hear what he was going to say, so she could only shake her head.
Shang Mang sneered and stepped forward.
In the blink of an eye, Meng Yingying found herself in a completely different world. She was standing on the ground, surrounded by darkness and bright lights, facing a series of eerie, blissful smiles.
A knife was placed across her neck, and blood was flowing from it.
A woman's voice came from behind, a light, steady laugh tinged with a hint of mockery: "What a clever scam."
Tan Yuhua smiled and turned to the person behind her, saying, "Your Highness, you flatter me."
Xiao Zheyu, Zhou Xiuqi, Cong Rong, and Kong Fusheng were all there. Zhou Xiuqi frowned, drawing his sword, Que Xie, ready for battle. Tan Yuhua stopped him, saying, "If you want her to live, it's best not to draw it."
Xiao Zheyu smiled faintly: "Tan Jing, what are you going to do?"
Tan Yuhua said calmly and kindly, "You've called me by the wrong name again, Princess. Tan Jing is dead. Now, I live only to save all living beings."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zheyu's gaze turned cold: "What kind of salvation do you claim to have?"
The knife was about an inch away from Meng Yingying's neck.
Suddenly, a bell rang out.
From the shadows, long legs emerged, gold ornaments dangling, revealing a pale face. From top to bottom, the corners of the eyes were thick and cold, more sinister than a ghost.
"Sorry I'm late," Shang Mang said, standing beside Tan Yuhua.
Meng Yingying felt Tan Yuhua's arm move slightly. Tan Yuhua: "....."
For a moment, no one could tell who was right and who was wrong.
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