The setting sun
Yuanli felt reluctant, but finally suppressed the impulse of pity in her heart.
"Let's go to the Qingshui River. Before I met you, I met a thing with a face covered with it."
When leaving, Yuanli couldn't help but look back. Old Sun, who had suffered a rabid attack yesterday, was trembling as he approached the crowd. His back became more hunched and his eyes became increasingly dazed and dull.
While the crowd was still calm, Yuanli quickened her pace and walked towards the Qingshui River. She stopped only when she saw the withered branches of the willows by the river.
But the cargo ship from yesterday was nowhere to be seen. She went down the river to look for it. Behind her, a few civilians were fleeing with panicked eyes and frightened expressions.
Everything that happened yesterday was coming true, but the cargo ship was missing. Perhaps that disgusting ghost was the key.
Yuanli paced anxiously, looking around, muttering to herself, "How could it be... How could it be gone? It's clearly... clearly right here..."
"Sir, I really saw it clearly. When I met you, I was running away from that cargo ship, and it was chasing me."
Qi Heng nodded in reassurance, bent down to meet her gaze, and said hesitantly, "Yesterday, when I met you, there was no boat on the river, and there was nothing else beside you."
Upon hearing this, Yuanli was stunned, staring at a certain point in disbelief, replaying the scene of yesterday in her mind.
She raised her head and glanced casually. The window of the riverside pavilion was half open, and by the window stood the fat lady who bumped into her yesterday, staring at her with a smile.
Qi Heng frowned slightly and looked in the direction she was looking, wondering, "What did you see?"
"Sir, the fat lady standing at the second window on the top floor of the wooden building behind you has been staring at us and smiling. I have seen her before."
"But I can't see."
Hearing this, Yuanli shifted her gaze to Qi Heng. When she looked back at the riverside attic in the blink of an eye, the fat lady was no longer in front of the half-open window.
In the blink of an eye, still nothing.
A faint female voice came from behind: "Leave here, leave the man in front of you."
Although it was a female voice, it was a little rough, and there was some bubbling sound as if there was something stuck in her throat. With a woman's sixth sense, Yuanli always felt that it was right behind her.
"Aheng, can you take a look for me? Are my earrings caught on my hair?" Yuanli asked tentatively.
Qi Heng quickly understood what he meant, tilted his head slightly to look behind him, and then said, "No, nothing at all. It still looks great."
Hearing this, Yuanli felt relieved. After taking a few deep breaths, she pretended to turn her head slowly and casually. What caught her eye was only the dry willow branches swaying in the wind behind her, nothing else.
"He's lying to you, girl. He's not the man you came into town with. He'll kill you."
She spoke again, her voice hollow. Yuanli's body went numb, goosebumps spreading from the top of her head all over her body. As she glanced around, she saw a familiar cargo ship paddling towards the end of the Qingshui River.
There was no one in the cabin, but the boat was coming upstream.
Her eyes searched every corner of the cargo ship. She felt a force on her left shoulder, and Yuanli's feet retreated uncontrollably. Her body leaned back slightly and she plunged into the water.
Qi Heng on the shore actually pushed her to death.
As she fell into the river, she vaguely heard the sound of ice being broken. The icy river water wrapped around her and swallowed her. The coldness invaded every inch of her skin and penetrated every joint, making her numb.
The feeling of fear grew stronger, and Yuanli tried her best to stay awake and swim upwards. Fortunately, she had learned her lesson from being pushed into the water by the imperial concubine in her previous life, and she learned to swim early in this life.
After flapping several times, Yuanli sank instead of rising. She was getting farther and farther away from the water surface, and darkness gradually surrounded and swallowed her.
She didn't want to believe that he would kill her.
At this moment, the river was as bottomless as the deep sea. In the darkness, countless people floated up and stretched out their arms towards her, as if intending to pull her to the bottom of the river.
Those people seemed unconscious, maintaining the same stiff posture.
With the faint light reflected from the river surface, Yuanli could vaguely see several bodies in front of her that were swollen due to blisters, their skin was pale, and the exposed skin was missing.
A corpse of this condition would have to be soaked for at least thirty to fifty days.
In despair, the necklace around her neck glowed and floated before her eyes. She subconsciously stretched out her hands to hold it against her chest. She called out Ah Cha countless times in her heart but did not dare to open her mouth easily. If she opened her mouth, the water would pour into her mouth.
The breath she had taken from the shore was almost gone. Yuanli risked her life and opened her mouth to say: "Acha...save..."
River water poured into her mouth. Before she fell into coma, in her hazy consciousness, she saw two hands holding her in an embrace, and warmth surrounded her in an instant.
It was him, the weirdo who stole her consciousness.
She could recognize the familiar feeling that was unique to him, a feeling she had been exposed to since birth.
When he woke up again, it was already night. When he opened his eyes, he saw Qi Heng's carriage.
She was covered with a thick fur coat and holding a hot water bottle in her hands. Dim yellow candles were lit in the spacious carriage, and the walls of the carriage were covered with oil paper.
When he saw her open her eyes, Qi Heng immediately looked at her anxiously, his face full of worry and his furrowed brows full of concern, completely unlike the ruthlessness he had shown when he pushed her into the river just now.
"Are you still feeling unwell?" Seeing her shake her head, Qi Heng continued, "Why are you seeking death for no reason? If I had known you were tired of living, I shouldn't have saved you yesterday."
Being accused for no reason, Yuanli said aggrievedly: "I didn't mean to commit suicide, you pushed me."
Qi Heng was furious at his lack of resistance and said, "If I wanted to kill you, I would have hacked you to death with my sword. I wouldn't have gone to so much trouble to rescue you, bring you to the river, push you in when you weren't paying attention, and not even pull you out of the river."
Could it be that the one who stole her spiritual consciousness was the Emperor?
Qi Heng handed her a handkerchief for wiping, poured her some medicine, and told her everything he had just seen.
"You mean, I first pulled your hand onto my shoulder and backed away, and even... wanted to pull you into the water with me?"
"Yeah, but you didn't have enough strength to pull it."
"Then why didn't you hold me back?"
"I pulled, and the moment you fell backwards, it felt like all my strength was drained from me. My ears were ringing, and the world was spinning. I couldn't even pull a skinny girl like you back. I could only watch you sink into the river from where I stood."
It seems that the thing is trying to sow discord, but Yuanli can't figure out what its purpose is?
"Dead bodies... There are countless dead bodies in the river! Judging from their appearance, they've been soaking for at least thirty to fifty days. Their limbs and skin are all damaged, and they're swollen and white."
Yuanli couldn't stop trembling as she recalled the thing at the bottom of the river. Qi Heng held her arm through the thick fur coat and comforted her, "Don't be afraid. Perhaps it's just an illusion made by that thing. Seeing isn't always believing."
Yuanli put aside the distracting thoughts in her mind and replaced them with Tianshu's words, "Don't believe everything you see."
Perhaps, before the carriage entered Qingshui Town, Tianshu already knew that something was wrong here.
"Let's stay in the carriage tonight and then enter the town at daybreak. Xiang Yao is watching us outside, so it's safe. I'll go check at the town entrance."
Having said that, Qi Heng got up and got out of the carriage as quickly as possible. Yuanli sat alone in the carriage to rest, and slept a little uneasily. Qi Heng did not come back until the second half of the night.
Half asleep, two reddish-brown horses outside neighed restlessly, and the carriage swayed slightly. Yuanli curled up to make room for him, mumbling, "Heng, it's cold at night, cover yourself up..."
"Ah Heng? The Young Master has a new lover so soon? I wonder... whose son is he?"
The sleepiness disappeared instantly, Yuanli's brain was extremely clear, and she was so panicked that she didn't dare to open her eyes.
It’s Chi Xun.
"Now, you don't even want to look at me?"
She sat up straight, the thick outer cloak she was wearing slipping off her shoulders. Chi Xun quickly covered her with the cloak. Even though she had left him sick in the village, he still had a faint smile on his face.
"Brother..."
Chi Xun leaned back against the carriage wall, relaxing, and jokingly said with a hint of disdain, "But after being away from me for two days, he's already become a drowned rat. I guess the Ah Heng you're talking about doesn't have much to offer except playing the victim to please the little girl."
She glanced at the carriage door with a hint of worry. Chi Xun was a leader among Gu Masters. In the eyes of outsiders, his abilities were inferior to hers in every way, but she had already figured it out. Chi Xun's abilities were far superior to hers.
He could easily take down Qi Heng and Xiang Yao by taking out any poison.
"There were a few arabis stems mixed in with the bonfire, and a little less sunlight. It's nothing fatal."
Burning mustard stems in a fire can cause drowsiness, while setting sun is not fatal, but there is no cure and it is unethical, making it an unorthodox recipe for poison.
As the name suggests, it is immoral in that it can cause erectile dysfunction and can easily lead to impotence if taken excessively. It is often used for revenge among male sorcerers.
"How many?"
Chi Xun was in a good mood and suppressed a smile as he said, "Not many, no children or heirs."
At this moment, Yuanli felt as if she was struck by lightning. Although she didn't care whether she had children or not, they would be short-lived anyway, but this man was impotent and would be easily ridiculed. If Hengjin held a grudge against him, Chi Xun might have a miserable fate in his reincarnation.
She cast a sympathetic look at Chi Xuntou, but unexpectedly, this look made the guy mistakenly think that she was feeling regretful, and even began to be annoyed why she didn't put down more.
"You have just recovered from a serious illness, and it is the end of the year and the weather is cold. It would be best for you to return to the Miao village as soon as possible to recuperate."
Chi Xun refused without hesitation: "No, either come back with me to Jiwang Mountain to get married, or take me with you."
Faced with Chi Xun's familiar stubbornness, Yuanli couldn't help but begin to doubt the effectiveness of the love-breaking scissors.
"If you can get him to agree to let you stay, I'll take you with me."
"It's a deal."
After Chi Xun left, Yuanli breathed a sigh of relief and waited for a moment. Then, Yuanli gently pushed the carriage door open a crack.
Through the crack in the door, one could see the fire outside the carriage burning brightly, making crackling sounds. Qi Heng and Xiang Yao were sleeping soundly on top of each other.
She quickly got off the carriage and covered Qi Heng with her still warm cloak.
When Yuanli was about to add more firewood to the fire, Qi Heng grabbed her wrist, frowned, and muttered in a frustrated tone: "Wan... Wanwan..."
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