Chapter 73 073 "Most good things are not durable, and colorful clouds easily disperse..."
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A sudden gust of wind and rain startled and rustled; fallen flowers and flying snow drifted aimlessly.①
The snow was as heavy as a bushel, and the cold rain was like icy blades, cutting into people's bones with its chilling cold.
Jiang Ling'er stumbled and staggered alone in the torrential rain of the night. The boy's sarcastic words in the dark alley were as cold as frost and as heavy as raindrops hitting her heart.
If, as my senior brother claims, the Jiang family's only daughter truly knows nothing, then Master will naturally let her go. But my senior brother is acting on Master's orders to approach the Jiang family's only daughter…
Scenes she had previously ignored flashed through her mind.
She's so stupid. How could she think that the little poisoner had no interest in the "Longevity Manual"?
"Then it's only right that you present me with the 'Longevity Manual' as a token of your respect, isn't it?"
[I don't have the "Longevity Manual," and my father certainly couldn't! This is all a fabricated charge; I don't even know what the "Longevity Manual" is...]
"Now that you've been through this, you should know what the 'Longevity Manual' is, right?"
The little poisonous creature stood before her, its tall figure blocking out all the dawn light, staring down at her, each word distinct and deliberate.
[Now it's just the two of us, master and servant, so there's no need to hide anymore. Hand over the "Longevity Manual"!]
He clearly... clearly pressed her about the whereabouts of the "Longevity Manual," but she forgot.
She actually forgot!
Thinking of the little poisonous creature's strange behavior lately—leaving early and returning late, then disappearing again in the middle of the night—and remembering Huo Wu's last words...
No wonder... no wonder targeting you from behind didn't work, it turns out it was the Heart-to-Heart Gu...
Huo Wu glanced at her, her murky, dim eyes like an abyss filled with poisonous mist, staring at her with a sinister laugh—
What difference do you think there is between you and these Gu worms?
Jiang Ling'er trembled and stumbled, falling onto the cold bluestone path.
A long gash ran down his arm, blood flowing freely, looking especially horrifying in the pouring rain, as if the ground was covered in blood, tears...
It turns out it was all a setup. The setup began the moment they first met in the dungeon…
Thinking back to how the little poisonous creature's Gu worms hadn't acted up for so long, it was laughable that she thought it was because of herself...
Haha... Hahahaha...
Jiang Ling'er cried and laughed in the rain and snow, letting the rain and snow soak her. Soon someone came looking for her.
When Xiao Du returned and didn't see Jiang Ling'er at the inn, coupled with the rain and wind outside, he felt inexplicably uneasy. Especially when he saw Jiang Ling'er kneeling in the rain and snow, lying in a pool of blood, his heart almost broke.
The oil-paper umbrella was thrown to the ground. He ran over and touched the person who was as cold as ice. He was relieved to find that apart from the wound on her elbow, she was otherwise unharmed. Then, a chilling rage, fueled by concern, made him unable to contain himself any longer and shout:
"You're crazy..."
But before he could utter two words, the fury in the little poisoner's eyes turned to helplessness. His beautiful, dark eyes reflected Jiang Ling'er's pale, bloodshot face. He knew that Jiang Ling'er was very resilient, especially after the tragedy. She was more resilient than anyone he had ever met, whether man or woman. Even at the old镖头's grave, she simply hid her tears so that no one could see them.
This is the first time I've ever experienced anything like this, like today, or even right now.
The little poisonous creature panicked and quickly grabbed her shoulders:
"What...what's wrong? What happened? Tell me what happened?"
Jiang Ling'er looked at him, then grabbed his collar and pulled him in front of her!
Under the astonished gaze of the little poisonous creature, its bloodshot eyes stared intently at him. Even though it was shivering from the cold, its lips trembling, and its voice trembling with sobs, it spoke each word with difficulty:
"Are you lying to me?"
The little poisoner's brow twitched violently. Cold rain and frost poured over them. He stared blankly at Jiang Ling'er, who was on the verge of tears, as if something had gripped his heart tightly. His breath caught in his throat, and after a long silence, he murmured hoarsely:
"...Let's go back first."
He picked Jiang Ling'er up and carried her back to the inn.
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Jiang Ling'er remained unusually silent throughout the journey.
She silently allowed the little poisoner to take her back to the inn, silently watched him prepare hot water, silently let him remove her wet clothes, and even let him carry her into the bathtub and wash her body...
This was something that would have been absolutely impossible before.
She was like a lifeless shell, no matter what he did to her...
She did the same thing last time... bringing people home, but this time the roles were reversed.
The difference is that, after saying "Are you lying to me?", Jiang Ling'er has not said another word from beginning to end.
The little poisonous creature couldn't take it anymore.
He first used his internal energy to dry Jiang Ling'er's long hair, then rested his chin on the edge of the bathtub beside her, peering at her profile, and said cautiously:
"You...came to see me?"
Jiang Ling'er didn't answer. Her long eyelashes fell as she stared blankly at her reflection in the shimmering water of the bathtub. She seemed not to hear or care what he was saying.
The wound on his elbow had already been repaired by the ghostly flames on the little poisonous creature's body.
Yes, only by being near him could her wounds heal, her blood flow again, and she have a chance to live...
Isn't that exactly what he wanted?
A strange panic gripped the little poisoner. In fact, ever since he met Jiang Ling'er, his panic had never stopped. He always felt that Jiang Ling'er was right in front of him, yet she seemed to be getting further and further away from him...
The little poisonous creature suddenly shuddered, and the handkerchief fell from its hand into the bathtub.
He suddenly got up and left in a hurry. When he returned, he was holding a sachet and handed it to Jiang Ling'er. As he carried Jiang Ling'er back, he noticed that the bamboo flute was no longer with her.
"It's alright if the bamboo flute is lost." The little poisonous creature stuffed the sachet into Jiang Ling'er's hands, held her hands in his, pressed them against her forehead, and upon closer inspection, saw that they were trembling. "You know what? You scared me, you really scared me..."
The delicate kisses, like kissing a fragile piece of porcelain, landed on Jiang Ling'er's fingertips and palms.
The mere thought of Jiang Ling'er lying in a pool of blood felt like a knife stabbing him in the chest. Only through constant kisses and the warmth of her body did he feel that everything before him was an illusion and that what was in front of him was real.
Only his almost frozen blood could flow along with the blood in the person in front of him.
Jiang Ling'er was completely oblivious to the little poisoner's loss of composure, staring intently at the sachet and the strand of hair that the little poisoner had just cut out, which was visible inside the sachet.
[The old poison master Gongye Chi was most renowned for his unparalleled skill in refining Gu poisons. Among them, the 'Heart-to-Heart Gu' was the most exquisite. The person afflicted by the Gu was at the beck and call of the Gu master, becoming one with him, and could not leave the Gu master's side for even a moment, unless there was the Gu master's blood essence, hair, or a Gu worm that sucked his blood essence as a medium. I think your bamboo flute might contain a Gu worm, otherwise, leaving even half a step would result in a sudden death.]
The scoundrel Taoist priest didn't lie to her.
Jiang Ling'er recalled Pei Xuan's words and murmured them aloud:
"Most good things are not durable; colorful clouds easily disperse and glass is fragile."
The little poisonous creature paused, slowly raised its head, and said blankly:
"……What?"
He was too young when he got lost, and he hadn't gone to school to understand the meaning of the words. By the time he finally understood... the person he wanted to see was no longer by his side.
Suddenly, Jiang Ling'er slapped herself hard across the face!
The little poisonous creature was startled and quickly grabbed Jiang Ling'er's hand: "What are you doing! Why are you hurting yourself? Are you blaming me? Blaming me for lying to you? Blaming me, blaming me for leaving without saying goodbye in the middle of the night? I did lie to you, I didn't go to collect dew at all..." He grabbed Jiang Ling'er's hand and slapped it against his own face, "Hit me if you want!"
The little poisoner was in a panic, a panic unlike any he had ever experienced before. He felt as if something was beyond his control, and the harder he tried to grasp it, the less he could hold onto it.
Jiang Ling'er's hand was grabbed and slapped crisply on the little poisoner's face. Her hand then fell limply into the bathtub, splashing a few drops of water.
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Jiang Ling'er gave a self-deprecating laugh and finally spoke.
His voice was hoarse, and he only said:
Go to bed early.
She didn't care what the little poisonous creature was thinking or what its expression was; she just lowered her eyes and stared at her own reflection on the calm surface of the bathtub.
It seemed like the first time she had ever examined herself in this way.
His face was so thin it was barely the size of a palm, and his eyes were red-rimmed. Because of his thinness, his eyes looked even bigger, darker, and more foolish.
Pei Xuan's words were like a slap in the face, waking her up.
It woke up that idiot.
shame.
She relies on others to survive, and even claims that she can only avenge her father if she survives... Her current actions are a true disgrace to the old镖头's legacy!
shame.
shame.
shame!
Jiang Ling'er stared intently at her reflection in the water, her eyes red and on the verge of tears—
You can't be so naive anymore.
Seriously, no one is there to back you up anymore. Whether you relied on your father, Ji Yunshu, or even subconsciously on that little poisoner later... Jiang Ling'er, now you only have yourself.
You only have yourself, and you can only rely on yourself!
Jiang Ling'er!!!
Over the next three days, no matter how miraculously the little poison worked, no matter how fiercely the ghost fire raged, it couldn't stop the illness from striking like a landslide.
Jiang Ling'er fell seriously ill.
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A hundred bowel movements arise from within; having understood, who is truly afflicted with this illness?
Three days later, Jiang Ling'er, who had lost weight, appeared in front of the "Daily Divination" stall.
At that time, Pei Xuan was dozing off with his legs crossed. When he saw the person who came, he paused. In just three days, Jiang Ling'er seemed to have become a different person.
Her skin was sickly pale, and her already small face had become even thinner. She looked frail and delicate, as if a gust of wind could blow her away, a sign that she was still recovering from a serious illness... but her almond-shaped eyes shone even brighter.
Like two bright pearls hidden within, or like stars in the sky that will never fall.
The young Taoist priest narrowed his eyes and tapped the table in front of him with his knuckles:
"What, you want to smash my stall again?"
Jiang Ling'er suddenly said, "You win."
The young Taoist priest was taken aback and stood there dumbfounded.
The person who had been so imposing just moments before suddenly sat down in a rather obsequious manner in the chair in front of his desk, leaned close to him, and whispered:
"How can I break the bondage curse? Hmm? Master?"
Pei Xuan: "..."
Pei Xuan squinted at her for a long time. She used to call him a "shameless Taoist priest," but now she called him "Master"...
Seeing that Pei Xuan did not answer for a long time, Jiang Ling'er, who was impatient, could not hold back. She pulled her sleeves up high, revealing a slender forearm that looked like a lotus root in front of Pei Xuan.
Pei Xuan raised an eyebrow: "?"
With a clang, Jiang Ling'er drew a dagger from her sleeve. A flash of cold light, and it was about to strike the thin arm. Her almond-shaped eyes gleamed with a crazed, strange light.
"Since I have worms inside me, surely bleeding me out will get rid of them, right?"
Pei Xuan's forehead twitched, and he slammed his hand on the table, standing up:
"...You brute! No way!"
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The author notes: ① From Li Bai's "Song of Cursive Script". ② From Bai Juyi's "Simple Verse". ③ From Huang Tingjian's "Another Reply to Bin Lao's Recovery from Illness: One of Two Poems".
See you tomorrow! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2024-03-18 19:53:05 and 2024-03-19 18:03:21!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: WindWaitingToBeBuried (1);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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