Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Yan Yanchi had been poisoned by Ice Beauty. By sheer force of will, he had woken and dragged his heavy body all the way to the private estate, appearing before Ding Ling just in time. Then he fought another battle and was poisoned again by the toxic mist released when the puppets exploded. Not long after Ding Yanyu fainted, he also lost consciousness.

The two invalids now lay in separate rooms. Fortunately, Qiao Ying and the others had already obtained the antidote to Ice Beauty and fed it to Yan Yanchi. After Doctor Lin treated him as well, his life was finally out of danger.

Ding Yanyu’s injuries were no less serious. He had even ridden into the storm, racing from the city to the country estate. Such a reckless bid for death only made his condition worse.

Ding Yanyu was no martial artist. He had come as far as he had solely through cunning and calculation. He had been utterly ruthless with himself, and his injuries were actually more severe than Yan Yanchi’s.

After examining one patient and then the other, Doctor Lin said to his apprentice Chunsheng as they left Ding Manor, “I’ve lived all these years and never seen so many people treat their own bodies as if they were worthless. I’m old now. I don’t understand what young people are thinking these days.”

Chunsheng was distracted and answered casually, “You speak wisely, Master.”

Yan Yanchi truly lived up to his great renown. Despite being wounded and poisoned, he woke the day after receiving treatment. The first thing he did was find Ding Ling. No one knew what she said to him, but he stormed out in a fury and went off alone to sulk.

Birdsong outside the window broke the silence. The unconscious man slowly regained awareness.

Ding Yanyu instinctively tried to lift his hand, then noticed the girl asleep with her head resting beside his bed. His body stiffened. After a moment, as if he had finally recovered a little more strength, he reached out and gingerly touched the skin of her cheek.

It was warm.

Ding Ling opened her eyes blearily, then lit up with joy. “Brother, you’re awake!”

Ding Yanyu saw no disgust or fear in her eyes. His throat tightened. “Lingling, you’ve come back.”

She had returned to her own body and was no longer an icy ghost.

Ding Ling said, “The Daoist Master sent me back into my body. I’m human now. I left Wuniang at the estate. The matrons there will keep taking care of her. She lives without a worry each day, and that’s a good life too. Young Master Shen and Fairy Sister both helped me, so I asked them to stay at the manor as guests for a few more days. And as for the body that fell in the main courtyard, I arranged for the steward and the others to handle the funeral…”

Ding Yanyu quietly listened to Ding Ling chatter on and on.

She truly did seem different from the pitiful little girl who had always trailed after her brother. When he fell, she could manage this vast Ding Manor in perfect order.

After a long while, he asked, “Are you going to leave?”

Ding Ling stopped mid-sentence. “What?”

“Ding Manor is disgusting, and so am I. You should hate this family. You should hate me too.” He spoke with such calm, lifeless resignation that he seemed long prepared to accept the loneliness of being abandoned by the entire world.

Ding Yanyu tried to push himself upright, but there was no strength in his body and little sensation remained. His face grew even paler.

Even while unconscious, he had heard what the doctor said. He might never be able to stand again.

Lowering his eyes, he smiled. “Lingling, go. Go as far away as you can. Never come back. Never let anyone bind you again.”

“I’m not leaving.”

Ding Yanyu’s gaze stilled. He looked up in surprise.

Ding Ling tucked the blanket around him, her voice equally calm.

“Mother said that you and I are the closest people in the world. We should support each other. Even if the sky falls and the earth splits, even if we have to cross mountains of blades and seas of fire, we must never lose the other. You searched for me for ten years, and I missed you for ten years.”

“But I still think what you did was wrong. We can’t hurt other people for the sake of our own selfish desires.”

“You hurt the Daoist Master, and you wanted to hurt Wuniang too. I don’t like that.”

“But when I made mistakes as a child, you never abandoned me. I can’t abandon you just because you made a mistake.”

“So I’m not leaving.”

Ding Yanyu’s lips trembled, but no sound emerged. Faced with a Ding Ling like this, all his base and filthy thoughts seemed unbearably ridiculous and shameful.

That was right. From the moment of their birth, they had shared the closest bond in the world. Why had he ever feared that she would abandon him and leave?

Yan Yanchi stood outside the doorway with his sword in his arms, looking thoroughly sour.

Naturally, two people who delighted in watching a spectacle had to come join him.

Qiao Ying tilted her head to the left. “Daoist Master, why are you standing outside instead of going in?”

Shen Qingyu tilted his head to the right. “Why aren’t you going in?”

Yan Yanchi stiffened his neck and gave a loud snort. “I was only passing by. Why would I go in?”

He turned and walked away, but the scene from a short while ago kept replaying in his mind.

“What kind of grand noble house is this? Neither your father nor your brother is a decent man. You’d be much happier roaming the martial world with me.” The young Daoist Master had spoken without the slightest courtesy. “Hey, since we can at least call ourselves acquaintances, if you want to leave, I suppose you could beg me to take you.”

Ding Ling lowered her head. “I can’t leave.”

Yan Yanchi’s breath caught. He turned his face aside and offered a concession. “Fine. You don’t have to beg. This Daoist Lord is feeling generous. I’ll count it as a good deed.”

“Daoist Master, I can’t leave my home.”

Yan Yanchi bristled. “What did you say?”

“The doctor said my brother might never move freely again. And… and he’s my only family in this world. I can’t abandon him.”

Ding Ling dropped to her knees. “Daoist Master, thank you for saving me. And about my brother… I apologize for what he did to you. I know an apology can never repay what we owe you. If you want me to labor like an ox or a horse, then no matter the price, I’m willing to pay it!”
Yan Yanchi’s expression turned black as thunder. “Who cares what price you’re willing to pay?”

And with that, he stormed off.

Yan Yanchi simply felt stifled. He was the one who had saved her, yet she still wanted to remain beside Ding Yanyu, that scheming wretch who had no regard for basic morality. She really was hopelessly stupid!

He had saved more people than he could count. Why should he care what one foolish woman thought?

Yan Yanchi lifted his chin and puffed out his chest. “I’m leaving Yunling Prefecture today to wander somewhere else!”

Qiao Ying and Shen Qingyu followed unhurriedly behind him, whispering to each other.

“Shen Qingyu, let’s leave today too.”

“All right.”

“I’ll really miss Ding Lingling a little. She’s so innocent. People could fool her far too easily.”

“Indeed.”

“What if that black-hearted brother of hers spends the rest of his life lying in bed and pretending to be crippled? Wouldn’t she have to stay beside him forever?”

“She would.”

“Ding Lingling doesn’t have anyone else. She knows so little of the world that if someone plotted against her one day, she’d probably still help them count the money after they sold her.”

“How pitiful.”

Yan Yanchi’s steps grew slower and slower until he finally stopped. He whipped around and glared at the young couple performing their little duet.

Qiao Ying blinked innocently. “Daoist Master, is something wrong?”

Shen Qingyu smiled. “Is something wrong?”

Yan Yanchi drew a deep breath and ground out, “You two win.”

He strode back the way he had come. His heavy steps had an air of grim surrender, yet his fierce bearing made him look as if he were charging onto a battlefield.

The truth was that Yan Yanchi already wanted to turn around. He simply could not bring himself to lose face and lacked a proper excuse. Now that an excuse had been delivered to him, he took it and charged straight back.

Qiao Ying smiled and pulled Shen Qingyu out of Ding Manor.

Shen Qingyu asked, “Yingying, aren’t we watching the excitement anymore?”

“We’ve seen enough. Whatever happens next isn’t something we should get involved in.” Qiao Ying added, “But I’m still curious. Ding Lingling said Ding Yanyu bought those puppets from someone else. Who would run such a wicked business?”

Shen Qingyu tipped his head and smiled. “Who indeed?”

As soon as they stepped outside, they happened upon a noisy commotion.

“Let me in! I’m your young lady’s betrothed. I want to see Fufu!”

Li Yuanzhi shouted at the top of his lungs, but the servants barred him from the entrance.

The steward said, “Young Master Li, our young lady’s letter breaking the engagement has already been delivered to your residence. The marriage agreement between our families is over. Please stop making trouble outside our gates.”

“No! I don’t believe Fufu would break off our engagement. This must be Ding Yanyu’s idea. Let me see her. Let me see her!”

Li Yuanzhi truly was a devoted lover. When word had spread that Ding Fufu was missing, he had gone without food or sleep as he led people in the search. Now news had come that she wanted to break off their engagement, and he found it even harder to accept.

After all, they had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. Their love was supposed to be unbreakable. How could it possibly have come to this?

“Cousin…”

The familiar intonation and familiar call made Li Yuanzhi spin around in wild delight. But he saw an unfamiliar face and froze.

The woman had a pale, sickly face and was so painfully thin that she seemed as frail as a willow in the wind. She gazed at him with tender affection.

Ding Fufu had once thought she would spend the rest of her life locked in a cage, keeping Ding Ling’s body alive for her. Never had she imagined that Ding Yanyu had sent people to take away her own body ten years ago.

That soulless body had somehow been sustained on medicinal herbs, growing little by little in step with her spirit.

Ding Fufu was deeply unaccustomed to this body. It was too heavy and far too weak. Walking only a few steps left her gasping for breath.

She was even less accustomed to this face. It might have belonged to a fairly pretty woman, but the weight of illness had robbed it of much of its beauty. Compared with the face she had looked at for ten years, they were as far apart as clouds and mud.

She had considered causing a scene, but the Eldest Miss Ding still resided inside the manor, and Master Ding was already dead. Who would believe that she was also a daughter of the Ding family?

At a time like this, the only person she could think of relying on was Li Yuanzhi.

This handsome young gentleman had loved her for ten years.

Ding Fufu approached one step at a time. “Cousin, it’s me. I’m Fufu. Listen to me. Someone plotted against me, and my body…”

Before she could finish, Li Yuanzhi shoved her to the ground.

“What nonsense are you spouting, you lunatic? My cousin is Ding Ling, the daughter of the Ding family. She is the First Beauty of Yunling Prefecture and my childhood sweetheart and betrothed. How dare someone like you impersonate her?”

Li Yuanzhi rushed back to the gates of Ding Manor and resumed shouting. “Ding Yanyu, I know this was your idea. It must have been you! No matter what filthy tricks you play, they won’t work. Heaven and earth bear witness to my true love for Fufu. I will marry no one but her!”

Ding Fufu stared at the man’s back as tears gathered like pearls in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

The surrounding crowd pointed and whispered.

Qiao Ying stood among them as well. The young man caught her hand, pressed it against his lower belly, and guided her into rubbing it gently.

She came back to herself and looked up at him.

Shen Qingyu said softly, “I’m hungry.”

In all the world, nothing was more important than eating.

Qiao Ying stopped watching the spectacle and led Shen Qingyu out of the crowd. As they walked down the street, she asked, “What do you want to eat?”

He smiled and gave the same two words as always. “Fried eggs.”

Qiao Ying reached up and stroked his hair. “Why don’t we eat something else this time?”

He was puzzled. “Why?”

She cleared her throat, released his hand, and quickened her pace ahead of him. “I think your hair is rather soft.”

Shen Qingyu stood in place and pondered for a moment. Then revelation dawned. His whole air instantly turned buoyant, and he hurried after her.

“Yingying, are you going to take off my clothes tonight?”

“It’s broad daylight! Be quiet!”