Chapter 11 Token of Love You coward.
The night was cool and still, the starlight was dim, and the courtyard was quiet except for the rustling of bamboo leaves.
Sang Wan sat on a stone chair in the courtyard, waiting for Zhui Ming.
Both she and Zhuiming disliked being taken care of by servants. Apart from their three meals a day and Zhuiming's medicine being delivered by servants, there was no one else around.
Zhuiming returned yesterday afternoon, but returned so late today; the entire mansion seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
However, it's better that it's late today. Sang Wan touched the things in her hands, looking forward to Zhui Ming's reaction when he received them.
A moment later, very light footsteps came from the courtyard gate.
Zhuiming pushed open the courtyard gate and walked toward his room as usual. He hadn't taken two steps when he heard another breathing sound in the courtyard.
Sang Wan didn't light a lamp, which concealed her red and swollen eyes well in the darkness. "Cui Lüshang, why are you only coming back now?"
Her voice was very soft, and although it sounded like a reproach, her tone was not at all resentful; on the contrary, it was gentle and sweet.
"You won't let me come back?" he chuckled, just like every time before.
He approached.
He reeked of alcohol, and his clothes seemed to be soaked in the smell.
Sang Wan's nose twitched slightly. She paused, said nothing, but instead clenched the thing in her hand tightly. The sour feeling in her heart began to churn again.
Li Fu once said that he drank alcohol to suppress the detoxification medicine for the internal injuries he was born with.
No matter how much Zhuiming drinks, his eyes remain clear; indeed, he is invincible to alcohol.
However, the excuse he had prepared for the young girl to use when she questioned him about drinking never came to fruition.
He couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart, like something suspended in mid-air had finally been blown down to the muddy ground by the wind. His lips moved, but the words he was about to say were swallowed back down.
The scenes he had witnessed during the day kept replaying in his mind, making him restless.
I wanted to say something more playful and teasing to guide everything toward the scene I had envisioned in my mind, but I fell silent.
It turns out that saying these things takes effort.
"Cui Lueshang, this is for you." Sang Wan finished speaking with a slight tremor after much mental preparation. As soon as she finished speaking, her ears started burning, and the feeling of her heart racing made her dizzy.
Sang Wan felt relieved once again that she hadn't lit the lamp.
Otherwise, wouldn't that be...
Her face flushed uncontrollably, and she shoved the object into Zhui Ming's hands as if it were a hot potato.
Zhui Ming's expression froze for a moment. The touch in his hand was familiar; it was the wine gourd that Sang Wan had confiscated.
He stared at it blankly for a while before noticing that a bell with a tassel was tied to the lid of the otherwise ordinary wine gourd.
The night was dark, and he tried hard to make out the intricate patterns on it.
Strangely, this is a bell that doesn't ring.
Even if it's an ordinary bell, no matter how quiet it is, Zhui Ming can hear it immediately with the slightest movement.
Just as they were wondering, they heard Sang Wan's voice, "This isn't an ordinary bell, it's a barrier-breaking bell. It only rings when encountering demons, ghosts, spirits, or obstacles, or when there's a strong demonic or ghostly aura. Isn't it amazing?"
She looked at him expectantly, as if hoping to receive praise from him.
At times like these, her eyes would always sparkle like shimmering gems, reminding him of sweet amber honey.
When Zhuiming looked into her eyes, he would forget everything. He stroked the bell and teased, "Little girl, you've grown up. You're giving me this treasure as a gift?"
"What filial piety?" Sang Wan muttered, frowning.
"It's a return gift of a hairpin..." she mumbled, adding that's how it's always written in the script.
It is called a token of love.
“I engraved a talisman on the bell, so when it rings, only you and I can hear it.”
"No need for a special return gift, it didn't take much effort at all." Zhuiming said with a mix of emotions, his eyes lowered in a relaxed manner.
If the light were brighter at this moment, one would notice that his once thick stubble had been carefully shaved away at some point, leaving only a few green stubble.
His words made Sang Wan tighten her grip on her sleeve, feeling that the plot was developing in a way that was quite different from what she had expected.
I felt a little anxious, and I was just about to say or do something more.
But then he heard Zhui Ming laugh heartily: "I'll take it! Looks like I'll have to work for some little girl my whole life to make up for it!"
After saying that, he yawned without caring about his image, and while walking inside, he urged her, "Go back and rest, I'm sleepy. It's not good for a young lady to stay up too late."
His words were not what Sang Wan wanted at all.
If she wanted people to risk their lives for her, she could do it all with just that captivating face.
From beginning to end, what she wanted was not Zhui Ming's life.
Is Zhui Ming genuinely unaware or feigning ignorance?
A pretty young girl of about sixteen was waiting for him to return in the courtyard, and she gave him this personal bell.
No matter how late, no matter how dark the night, no matter how cool the evening breeze.
She hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed him.
Her hands were slender and delicate, appearing so soft and boneless when they clasped together in Zhui Ming's palm.
Her hands were a little cool and slightly damp, but Zhuiming felt they were burning hot, almost scalding him. He trembled slightly, his heart pounding like a drum, but he dared not turn around to look at her.
The moment Sang Wan made a slight movement, he vaguely sensed what she was about to do. If he wanted to dodge, with his leg strength, even if Sang Wan used magic, she wouldn't be able to catch him.
He wanted to hide, but he didn't.
Sang Wan's blush hadn't faded, and her lips were swollen from biting them. Such a deep night inspired a bit of courage.
She thought he didn't understand, so she said shyly in a soft voice, "If you take my bell, you can't take other people's bells anymore."
"Can...can you understand?" Her eyes were filled with tears, and she suppressed her panic, gripping his hand even tighter.
Any man should understand this kind of situation.
Zhuiming stood frozen in place, unable to believe what he had just heard, and it took him a long time to recover.
My mind was almost suffocating from all sorts of chaotic thoughts.
At this moment, he felt as if he were standing at the center of a scale. To his left, he saw Sang Wan's radiant smile, like the rising sun, like hope. But to his right, he saw half a lifetime of poverty and suffering.
Cui Lueshang, what have you done to deserve such a wonderful girl?
She's only sixteen, and with her good looks, there are plenty of more outstanding and handsome young men to match her.
What can he give her?
He was middle-aged, but he was nothing more than a down-on-his-luck man in this mortal world.
The most beautiful camellias should never grow in muddy ground.
His heart felt as if it were being steeped in the strongest liquor, sinking to the bottom of the jar without hesitation. But this dark and damp place was the one Cui Lüshang knew best and felt most at ease in.
"Go back to sleep." His throat was dry and his voice was hoarse; it took him almost all his strength to say those words.
Sang Wan curled up, clutching his fingers, tears welling up in her eyes. A certain expectation in her heart had been shattered by a sudden misstep.
"Why?" Her voice was already trembling with sobs, and she spoke those three words slowly but clearly.
Zhuiming remained silent, his mind in turmoil, unsure how to face her.
Sang Wan's eyes reddened, and she pulled him forcefully, stubbornly looking at his back as she said, "Turn around!"
“Turn around and say you don’t like me, and tell me why you don’t like me.”
She had long since lost control of her voice, each note louder than the last, her eyes brimming with grievance.
Despite the fierce storm, Zhui Ming dared not turn around to look at her, remaining frozen there, his hoarse voice trembling slightly, "Feelings are inherently complicated. You are too young to understand love."
Sang Wan suppressed the bitterness spreading in her heart, stared at his back, and said defiantly, "What does this have to do with age! Cui Lueshang, you coward."
Her voice choked with emotion, and after speaking, she backed away and ran out without a care in the world.
Zhuiming watched her retreating figure, his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turning white, and he closed his eyes sadly.
All I could do was silently think to myself, "I was lucky to escape with my life."
...
Instead of going to her room in the other courtyard as Zhui Ming had assumed, Sang Wan left the mansion without alerting anyone.
Because she wants to go back.
Return to that lantern festival water corridor, return to the old tree of prayer, return to the place where they first met.
She couldn't believe that in all those moments, Zhuiming hadn't been moved even once.
He was looking into her eyes...
Even with these thoughts, she was still very sad, and the bitterness and grievances almost made her heart burst.
This strange emotion was unfamiliar and surging, and every stroke of it was engraved with Cui Lueshang's name.
The age of first love is a time of intense and passionate emotions, a time when one longs to drown in the river of love.
She bit her lip, carefully sensing the various emotions, which was undoubtedly new to her.
I walked with my head down on the dark and desolate street; there wasn't a soul in sight.
Today is the last day of the Lantern Festival. The various decorative lanterns and stalls have not yet been taken down, but in the deep of night, with the lights dimmed, it becomes so desolate.
Wandering aimlessly through familiar streets, streets where we'd shared wontons, bought pastries, and solved riddles together...
The tear stains on her face had dried, and the cinnabar mole had faded. She sat by the river where they had last strolled together, staring blankly at the dark, bottomless lake.
Thinking about it, she got angry and aggrieved again, picked up a stone from the side and angrily threw it into the river.
It was extremely powerful, splashing water high into the air and disturbing everyone's peace.
But she felt even more uneasy.
"Disturbing someone's sleep in the middle of the night, don't you know that's something that will get you struck by lightning?"
Sang Wan's suspended hand stopped. Of course, it wasn't because Zhui Ming had suddenly become enlightened and appeared again. The mournful voice came from underwater!
Sang Wanteng stood up abruptly and asked warily, "Who is it?"
Living in a dark river, could it be a water ghost?
"You're the one causing trouble at my doorstep, shouldn't you have given your name first?" As soon as the words were spoken, the water parted from both sides, and a white-glowing clam floated on the surface.
It was originally a clam spirit...
Sang Wan lowered her guard a bit. The clam spirit's demonic aura was very weak, so it was likely that it hadn't yet taken human form.
Unexpectedly, a clam was hidden in the lake, but Sang Wan wasn't in the mood to ask about its origin. She was in a bad mood. "Why should I tell you?"
The clam spirit chuckled, "Even if you don't say it, I already know. The hairpin you wear is covered in incantations, the Twenty-Four Soul-Stabilizing Incantations. You're from the Incantation Control Sect. There's a cinnabar birthmark between your eyebrows, and you're so young."
She didn't reveal Sang Wan's name, but there was no need to.
Sang Wan looked at her hesitantly. The incantations of the Yu Zhou Sect were easy to recognize, but she had hardly ever left the sect. How could a clam spirit that hadn't even taken human form recognize her?
She was certainly not a genius cultivator who was famous from a young age; she could only be said to have some talent. In addition, she was indeed young, so it was impossible for her to have a profound cultivation level.
She never even participated in the annual sect martial arts competition because she was too old!
Seeing her puzzled look, the clam spirit laughed again. "I'm just an ordinary, yet not so ordinary, clam spirit. But I know a thing or two about everything in the world."
Can he know everything?
Catching those words, Sang Wan's heart skipped a beat, and she whispered, "You really know everything? Then let me ask you, there's someone I clearly feel like likes me too, but why won't he admit it? What should I do to..."
She hesitated for a moment, unable to continue. But thankfully, the clam spirit understood her unspoken meaning.
"I know a thing or two about this problem. But since you disturbed my peaceful sleep, I can't just tell you for nothing. If you do two things for me, I can not only tell you, but also cure your spiritual energy depletion. Isn't that a good deal?"
Sang Wan bit her lip, afraid that the clam spirit would ask her to do something heinous, yet she couldn't resist the temptation. She asked nervously, "What is it?"
A note from the author:
----------------------
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
