85 Broken
◎It looks as if you're looking at a porcelain vase that has suddenly shattered.
Half the night had passed, and the stars and moon had dimmed. Only the increasingly loud chirping of cicadas echoed through the alley, sending a chill down one's spine.
In the stillness of the night, Ying Jianhua was extra careful to control his pace. After walking for a while, he worried about being sweaty, so he wiped himself off again before lying back down beside Du Zhijin.
There was no light in the room; she was still asleep. Her profile, framed by her long hair, was serene and peaceful, like a still lake.
He held her tightly, not caring if he would disturb the sleeping person. At that moment, he had only one thought: to be with her forever.
forever.
The long night was quiet, and dark clouds obscured the moon; even the moon was unaware of what he had done.
He buried his face in her shoulder, his body tense yet pressed so close, as if trying to embed himself into her very bones, to steal a tiny bit of peace from this boundless fear.
"Don't abandon me..."
Please, don't abandon me.
————
Du Zhijin was sleeping soundly.
She hasn't truly slept in a long time; usually, she just meditates all night, practicing breathing exercises.
Since moving into this house with Amo, she's become more and more like a "normal person." A normal person who eats and sleeps—this is actually somewhat strange. She attributes it to the backlash from the "dragon vein," but tonight is different.
She was dreaming.
Her first dream was after she got drunk from drinking Nanke wine. She dreamt of her master and heard the words, "Because it's you."
The second dream was about being poisoned by the drug in the Jianchang Marquis's mansion. That dream was much more complicated. In the dream, she and Amo never left Wuling Village, living an ordinary life like a worldly couple. The mountains, the map, the great demon, and Zuilan all disappeared.
In her dream, she even turned against her master and drew her sword against him. In the end, Amo died, asking her before he died, "Did you ever love me?"
That's why she suspected she was dreaming about what she thought about during the day, and that's how she realized her feelings for A-Mo. Then a series of troubles occurred, preventing her from focusing on the meaning behind the dream.
Both dreams were related to Master. If Master appears again this time, does it mean that this is actually Master's intention? Is it a message from Master?
If so, what exactly does Master want to tell her?
Suppressing her doubts, she let herself drift into a dream.
Upon waking, he remained in a daze for a long time.
She opened her eyes and watched the morning light fall on Ying Jianhua's eyelashes, tender and beautiful, just like every morning after they had exchanged feelings.
She could no longer look at him with the same eyes she used to.
Are dreams all real?
Du Zhijin didn't know. Only by verifying it herself could she feel at ease.
"Hmm...did I oversleep?"
Noticing her gaze, Ying Jianhua slowly opened her eyes, wrapped her arms around her waist, and buried her face in them.
They rubbed against each other affectionately and familiarly.
Du Zhijin lowered her eyes and said softly, "No, I can sleep a little longer. I'll go buy some food later."
It's just a simple sentence, something she says every morning.
A weight lifted from his heart. He nodded, then closed his eyes again, hugging her pillow in front of her, making no attempt to hide his affection.
Come back soon.
His response was a soft slam of the door closing.
The wind chimes under the eaves swayed slightly, then suddenly separated at the overlapping edges.
————
After the person left, he closed his eyes briefly, but couldn't sleep because he had something on his mind, so he got up.
As he dressed casually, he tried to recall if he had made any mistakes or omissions in what had happened the night before.
Killing someone is easy, but burying the body is difficult. He dared not be touched by the smell of blood, for fear that Du Zhijin would smell it. Therefore, he drugged Lu Ping, tied his hands and feet, and threw him into the swamp outside the city.
Besides that, he added something to the swamp, so that even if someone discovered it, Lu Ping's body would be unrecognizable, making it impossible to identify him or determine the exact time of death. The only pity was that he couldn't find what Lu Ping had hidden, which was the only thing that made him uneasy.
What if this thing exposes him? Could Lu Ping still be alive? No, even if he's alive, the investigation won't trace him back to the murderer.
He is now a servant who has been kicked out of the Jianchang Marquis's mansion, so how could he be related to a minor constable in Jinxi City?
Even so, as Du Zhijin remained away for longer, Ying Jianhua's inner fear reached its peak.
He regretted it. He regretted acting rashly; he should have been more cautious, for example, investigating why Lu Ping had come to the capital and whether he had anyone backing him...
But yesterday, as soon as he heard Du Zhijin mention it, that thought, that only thought, popped into his head uncontrollably.
Get rid of Lu Ping. Get rid of all the filth that stands in their way of loving each other.
Ying Jianhua was still feeling the chill of the previous night when there was a sudden knock on the door. He instinctively thought it was Du Zhijin returning, but when he opened the door, he found it was Aunt Yuan.
He forced a smile and asked, "Did your aunt want to see me about something?"
After spending half a month together, Aunt Yuan seemed to have come to regard him as a good buddy with whom she could share gossip. Whenever there was something new or interesting, he would hear about it from her.
Today was no exception. But what made Aunt Yuan rush over in such a hurry was certainly not just ordinary gossip.
"Dr. Mo, have you heard?"
A familiar beginning.
"The Guo family girl from Yonglu Lane next door wants to break off her engagement with the Lin family boy!"
"Break off the engagement?" He thought for a moment, barely managing to connect the people in the words, and couldn't help but wonder, "But Miss Guo and Young Master Lin's wedding was set for next month, why are they breaking off the engagement at the last minute?"
At Miss Guo's request, he even took Young Master Lin's pulse. Only after confirming that his health was fine did both families feel at ease enough to set a date.
According to his recollection, the couple, while not exactly inseparable, were at least very much in love. Logically, such a drastic change shouldn't have occurred in just a few days.
But Aunt Yuan told him that such a big change had indeed occurred.
"Before getting engaged to the Lin family's son, Miss Guo actually had another fiancé. But for some reason, their engagement fell through, and Miss Guo only found out yesterday that it was Young Master Lin who sent people to sabotage the engagement!"
Like a bolt from the blue, there was a momentary blankness in the painter's mind, but Aunt Yuan continued.
"Alas, if Young Master Lin had been willing to be honest, there might have been room for maneuver. But he kept lying and concealing the truth. Miss Guo felt deceived and distrusted, and her heart was broken. She refused to marry him no matter what... This matter has caused quite a stir. Young Master Lin has been kneeling all this time, and he hasn't even seen the young lady's face."
Unaware of his sudden change in expression, Aunt Yuan sighed, "Not everyone is as loving as you and Miss Mu. Alas, marriages in this world are always full of twists and turns; it's rare for lovers to finally be together."
She was just expressing her feelings, but Ying Jianhua seemed to have had her secrets exposed, and couldn't say a word.
fool......
Will his fate be the same as Young Master Lin's? Or will it be even more tragic?
He didn't know. But the thought that Du Zhijin would distance herself from him because of this caused him so much pain that he couldn't think straight.
No... He raised his hand and pressed it against his left chest. His fingertips could feel the skin under the fabric trembling slightly, as if something was cracking inside, inch by inch. What flowed from the crack was not blood, but a chill colder than the coldest winter, which seeped into his limbs and bones through his veins.
"Dr. Xiao Mo, Dr. Xiao Mo?"
Aunt Yuan finally noticed his strange behavior and panicked. When she called him several times without getting a response, she was about to go out to find someone to help when he suddenly stopped her.
Did you see which way she went?
Holding her hand felt incredibly heavy, as if it had used up all of its strength. Aunt Yuan reacted in a moment, realizing he was asking about Miss Mu, and quickly said, "Yes, yes, I saw her heading towards the steamed bun shop."
Upon hearing this, Ying Jianhua immediately let go and stumbled away. Aunt Yuan watched his distraught figure walk further and further away, and inexplicably thought of the kite that Yuan Xiaobao had accidentally let go of.
A kite with a broken string.
The idea behind the painting is quite simple.
Confess. If he confesses before the incident is exposed, there is still a chance to salvage the situation.
As the night passed, Lu Ping might still be alive. Even if the hope was slim, he would do everything in his power to save him, even if there was only a sliver of hope.
Even if Lu Ping is dead, he still possesses the demon core left by his mother, making resurrection not entirely impossible. And as long as he lives, he has the opportunity to atone for his sins—for a year, two years, or even ten! As long as he lives.
He must never repeat his past mistakes. To never see each other again, even in death, would be the most tragic end for him.
There was still a long queue in front of the steamed bun shop, and at this moment Ying Jianhua was extremely grateful that the youngest son of the steamed bun shop was slow.
He no longer blamed the man for stealing glances at Du Zhijin.
"Zhouzhou!" He couldn't help but shout at the familiar figure in the group, and when she turned around, it was indeed the person he had been longing for.
Du Zhijin, carrying freshly baked breakfast, asked him, "Why are you here?"
He grabbed her arm, his voice urgent: "I have something to tell you."
He wanted to tell her that he had done something wrong.
"Stay away, be careful not to burn yourself." She gently pulled her hand away from his, her expression complicated. Ying Jianhua, however, was completely absorbed in the huge changes that were about to happen and was completely unaware of them.
So much so that he didn't notice that Du Zhijin's breakfast included an extra bowl of plain porridge.
When I got back, Aunt Yuan was no longer there, but she had thoughtfully closed the door.
Just then, the sun climbed over the rooftops, hanging in the sky, turning the eaves a golden-red. Sunlight filtered through the leaves, weaving shimmering spots of light on the ground, and the smoke from the firewood in the kitchen, pale blue and carrying the aroma of rice, drifted out of the chimney.
Everything was like an ordinary day where nothing had happened.
Ying Jianhua's heart gradually calmed down in the familiar atmosphere, no longer feeling uneasy or nervous, but still carrying a faint sense of unease.
She had a strange smell.
Like lake water?
This realization made him choke. But whatever the reason, he now only had one path to take.
Confess, then save lives.
He took a deep breath and slowly began, "Zhouzhou, I..."
"Wait a minute, I also have something to tell you."
Unexpectedly interrupted, he readily agreed: "Okay, you go first."
Du Zhijin looked up at him, a fleeting sadness in his eyes, as if he were looking at a porcelain vase that had suddenly shattered.
How did things get to this point? Didn't they finally fall in love?
She parted her lips and asked the question he feared most.
Where did you go last night?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
