Chapter 53
Chapter 53
I compared them again and again, and the more I looked, the more alike they seemed.
A terrible thought kept circling in my mind, making me feel as if I had fallen into an ice cellar.
Whether it was Liu Junyan or the Fox Lord, they were both waiting for a girl named Ah Li.
This girl was incredibly important to them.
So important that after I appeared, they both helped me without hesitation.
All because I looked so much like Ah Li.
And now, the real Ah Li was back.
What was I supposed to do?
I felt like a thief who had stolen someone else’s happiness, hiding in a dark corner, coveting this hard-won joy, clutching it tightly and refusing to let go.
The Fox Lord had helped me, but we had very little contact.
Liu Junyan was different.
He was the god who had descended into my destined lonely and tragic life. He had saved me from the brink of death time and again, giving me the life I had now, which was getting better every day.
But with Ah Li’s appearance, all of this was about to vanish like a bubble. I… I found that I couldn’t quite accept it.
I had clearly prepared myself mentally before, but when this moment actually arrived, I realized I couldn’t be as detached as I had imagined.
I didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to lose Liu Junyan.
The hair dryer was still whirring, sounding like the mournful cry in my heart at this moment.
As if possessed, I stood up, put the painting away, and hid it in the deepest part of the wardrobe.
I was afraid Liu Junyan would see it; I was afraid the girl in the painting would stir up his longing.
Even more, I was afraid he would see the differences between me and the girl in the painting and abandon me because of it.
“What are you doing?”
Liu Junyan’s voice suddenly rang out behind me, giving me a start.
He first turned off the hair dryer, unplugged it, coiled the cord, and set it aside.
I stood in front of the wardrobe, not even daring to turn around and look at him.
In the next moment, powerful arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling my entire body into the embrace of that broad chest.
The pleasant scent of agarwood enveloped me, and I instinctively closed my eyes.
Then I turned around, looked up, wrapped my arms around Liu Junyan’s neck, and stood on my tiptoes to kiss his lips.
I couldn’t even clearly see my own state of mind at this moment. I only knew that although this man was still by my side, he would leave me sooner or later.
Perhaps it would be tomorrow, or perhaps much later.
But eventually, a day would come when I would lose him completely.
I was so terrified that I was desperate to grab onto something right now to soothe my uneasy and selfish heart.
I kissed Liu Junyan’s lips forcefully, and soon the taste of iron filled my mouth. But before long, Liu Junyan took hold of my chin and pulled us slightly apart.
His amber vertical pupils stared intently at me as he asked in a husky voice, “Xiao Jiu, did something happen at the Ghost Market today?”
I shook my head, lowering my eyes, not daring to look at him.
“Are you afraid?” Liu Junyan forced me to look at him, relentless. “Xiao Jiu, in front of me, you never need to hide or worry about anything. You can tell me anything.”
I still shook my head, pushed him away, tied up my nearly dry hair, crawled into the blankets, and curled up with my eyes closed.
Soon, the mattress sank beside me. Liu Junyan pulled me into his arms and just held me quietly like that until I was exhausted and fell into a deep sleep.
When I woke up the next morning, Liu Junyan was no longer by my side.
I huddled in bed for a while before slowly getting up.
After I finished washing up and was getting ready to open the Pawnshop door, I accidentally noticed an extra piece of paper on the desk, held down by a paperweight.
I walked over to look, and it turned out to be an interesting sketch.
In the drawing, a male stick figure was sitting by a campfire roasting fish, while a female stick figure holding a Longbow approached from the other side.
The Longbow had no arrows. Instead, the female stick figure drew the bow toward the fish in the man’s hand.
A burst of crimson fire shot from the Longbow, and a tongue of flame instantly engulfed the fish.
The fish, which had already been roasted to a golden brown, was transformed into a piece of charcoal in the blink of an eye…
This drawing must have been finished recently; the ink wasn’t even completely dry yet.
The female stick figure holding the Longbow-a bow with only a string and no arrows-was clearly me.
Looking at it, it was easy for my mind to reconstruct the real-life scene this drawing depicted.
On a certain day, in a certain month of a certain year, Liu Junyan was roasting a fish in a cave. Just as it was almost ready, I arrived.
I asked him, “Can you share some of that fish with me? I’m so hungry.”
Liu Junyan cruelly refused. “No.”
In a fit of pique, I drew my bow to its limit and shot a flame, burning that fish to a crisp… Hmph. If I can’t eat it, I’ll destroy it! Neither of us gets to eat!
Liu Junyan had clearly drawn this to tease me.
He had keenly sensed that I was in a terrible mood last night but was unwilling to talk about it. Since the time he could spend with me was limited, he used this method to comfort me.
I had to admit, he succeeded.
The corners of my mouth curled up unconsciously as I looked at the drawing again and again.
But as I looked, the smile on my lips froze.
In the entire drawing, the only thing that identified the character was the Longbow.
The girl in the drawing had a flamboyant, even somewhat bratty personality-which was clearly not my personality.
I had been abandoned too many times and forced to live under others’ roofs. I had learned to be cautious and prudent from a young age. While I wasn’t exactly soft or weak, I was never flamboyant.
So, this drawing… was the person Liu Junyan drew the Little Fire Fox from his memories?
This scene… felt more like their first meeting, a classic case of “no friendship without a fight.”
And this encounter had left such a deep impression on Liu Junyan that it was enough for him to remember it for a lifetime.
Liu Junyan… liked that flamboyant, slightly bratty Little Fire Fox, not me.
Realizing this, a wave of sadness washed over me.
But I didn’t let myself wallow in that sadness for long. I picked up the box containing the painting with the Tang Family Seal and headed out.
The gears of fate turn relentlessly; they do not pause for a single moment for anyone’s sorrow.
I was an adult now. I was no longer that pitiful six-year-old child who needed to rely on a specific person or family to survive.
If the day ever came where I was destined to be abandoned once more, then what I needed to do now was make myself strong enough.
Strong enough that even without anyone’s favoritism, I could still live a good life on my own.
I took several buses to reach Qingquan Mountain. Along the way, I made a mental note that I needed to get my driver’s license and buy a car for transportation.
Otherwise, with Li Qingying away, getting around was just too difficult.
I bought some Incense Towers and Candles at the foot of the mountain and began the climb.
Qingquan Mountain wasn’t particularly high. It was now late in the ninth lunar month; some of the leaves were beginning to turn yellow, and the mountain air was quite cool.
Master Hui Quan seemed to have anticipated my arrival. When I reached the entrance of Qingquan Temple, a young Taoist priest was already there waiting for me.
The young priest led me first to offer the Incense Towers and Candles and bow before the Three Pure Ones Statue enshrined in the temple. Only then did he take me to see Master Hui Quan.
Master Hui Quan greeted me with a smile and brewed some tea. After a few pleasantries, we sat down to talk.
I handed the box containing the painting to Master Hui Quan and got straight to the point. “I’ve come today because I have two things I’d like your help with.
First, I want to enshrine this painting in Qingquan Temple and ask for your help to release the lost soul within it. Second, I would like you to look at my birth date and time.”