When Liu Xu woke up and saw the exquisitely embroidered floral patterns on the mosquito net above her, she felt a bit dazed.
‘Where am I? What happened to Zhou Zhi? I’ve not slept on a bed this soft in ages...’
Liu Xu sat up and looked down to examine herself. Someone had changed her clothes into a set of clean ones, and her wounds had also been dressed.
Had she been rescued?
Liu Xu got off the bed and limped her way over to the door.Creak.
The light from the other side poured into the room along with a human-shaped shadow.
Liu Xu was startled into retreating, but her legs lost their strength and she suddenly fell to the floor.
Fu Yiyun was pushed into the room. He waved a hand to dismiss his assistant, who backed out of the room and shut the door.
Liu Xu stared dumbly at the newcomer. ‘I don’t recognise this person...’
“Who...are you?”
Fu Yiyun rolled his wheelchair over and stopped in front of Liu Xu.When Liu Xu met the eyes behind the mask, she saw hate in them...
Hate?
She shrank back. She’d helped Fu Yirui with a lot of things and offended a lot of people. Could this man be one of them?
“Liu Xu, don’t you even recognise me anymore?”
Liu Xu’s eyes widened.
‘That voice... Fu Yiyun!’
“Y-you...” ‘Why is he here?!’
Liu Xu’s thoughts whirred before she went over to hug his legs. “Yiyun-gege, I thought I’d never see you again! *sob sob*...”
Fu Yiyun listened to Liu Xu tell him a sob story without any reaction.
Liu Xu was unaware that he had once seen her at Fu Yirui’s residence. At the time, she was being dragged away by someone and hadn’t noticed him. Had it not been for that, Fu Yiyun might have really believed her words.
He suppressed the anger in his heart. “Are you telling the truth?”
Liu Xu wiped away her tears as she spoke, “Yes, Yiyun-gege. I was coerced! They forced me to... I didn’t have any choice. Yiyun-gege, please forgive me, okay? I was wrong. From now on, I’ll serve at your side. I’ll do anything you want!”
‘Fu Yiyun likes me that much—as long as I coax him well, following him will be much better than fending for myself outside, even if he is a King that’s been placed under house arrest.’
Fu Yiyun reached out to help Liu Xu up. “You can stay here for now.”
He turned and left on his wheelchair. He was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to resist throttling her if he continued looking at her. But killing her just like that was letting her off too easily.
Yet, Liu Xu thought that Fu Yiyun’s heart had softened and a hint of a smile appeared on her face. ‘As long as I use a few tricks, I should be able to capture his heart again.’
Fu Yiyun acted like he believed Liu Xu and gradually became more considerate towards her.
But Liu Xu didn’t realise that she had been confined to her compound. Every time she wanted to leave, Fu Yiyun would always find an excuse to change the topic.
Due to being preoccupied with ways to capture his heart, she naturally threw this matter to the back of her mind.
Fu Yiyun pampered her to the heavens. But just as she was proudly celebrating on her ability to wrap him around her finger, he gave her a fatal blow.
It was her birthday that day. Although Fu Yiyun had been very good to her, he had never touched her. Liu Xu wanted to use this opportunity to take him to her bed and hopefully conceive a child.
Her heart was filled with expectation and pride, but she was unaware that Fu Yiyun was also waiting for this day. He coaxed her into drinking a drugged cup of wine.
When she awoke the next day and saw the mess everywhere, as well as the stranger on her bed, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She had clearly been with Fu Yiyun last night, so how come there was a strange man here?!
Liu Xu never saw Fu Yiyun again, only the different men that entered her room. She couldn’t leave. No matter how much she screamed, the only answer she got was physical torment.
How could Liu Xu still not understand now? Fu Yiyun had given her hope and then quashed it.
Liu Xu couldn’t take the torment. Her body worsened by the day until it finally gave out one winter.
Fu Yiyun told people to toss her corpse out into the wilderness.
Fu Yiyun didn’t live for very long either—there was too much poison built up in his system. The only reason he could hang on on for this long was because his luck hadn’t fully exhausted yet.
But when it finally did run out, he was naturally unable to live anymore.
......
Shi Sheng hid from Jiang Zhan for a long time.
Though he still managed to find her several times. Every time, Shi Sheng’s expression was always dispirited, as if she’d kill herself in front of him.
In the end, only when Shi Sheng actually used this as a threat did Jiang Zhan stop looking for her.
Until one day, Ting Feng came looking for her.
“Ms Wu Zheng... Sect Master’s body is failing. Please go back and see him.” Ting Feng was choking up as he spoke.
“How could...” ‘How many years has it been? How come he’s dying???’
“It’s the Nether Mantra...” Their Sect Master never told them before that practising the Nether Mantra would halve one’s lifespan.
‘No wonder none of the previous Sect Masters persevered in practising the Nether Mantra.’
Shi Sheng returned to the Demon Sect with Ting Feng.
Jiang Zhan had moved his room to the room she once lived in at one point. The moment she entered, she saw several items placed atop the bookshelf.
They were a bunch of girl’s toys that appeared to be rather old.
Those were the things Jiang Zhan had given her before he entered seclusion. She’d left them behind when she left the sect.
“*cough cough*...”
Shi Sheng frowned and walked towards the bed.
Gu Yu stood by the bed. His face was still expressionless, but there was worry in his eyes. He looked at Shi Sheng and didn’t say anything as he turned to pull Ting Feng, who had been planning on following her in, out.
“Yow ow ow...” The little puppy lay by the bedside. Seeing Shi Sheng, it immediately called out to her.
Probably due to the fact that it had aged, its voice was no longer as good as before.
Jiang Zhan lay on a bed, pale, his eyes staring off into space. As her shadow slowly approached, he turned to look at her.
“You’re back.” He slowly tugged his lips into a smile. But with how pale his face was, it looked a bit creepy.
‘It’s good that I’m able to see her before I die.’
“What was the point?” Shi Sheng sat by the bed.
She didn’t explain her question, but it seemed Jiang Zhan understood what she was saying. He heaved a breath. “I wanted to stand in front of you.”
‘To shield you from the winds and rain.’
Shi Sheng pursed her lips. “Any last wishes?”
She had nothing she could give him.
Jiang Zhan reached out a hand. Shi Sheng hesitated, but still put her hand in his. Jiang Zhan tightened his grip on her slightly and asked, “Who is the person that you like?”
All these years, not a single man had appeared by her side. Had she been lying to him back then?
“Feng Ci. His name is Feng Ci.”
Confusion appeared in Jiang Zhan’s eyes. ‘Never heard of him... But that isn’t important anymore.’
Jiang Zhan met Shi Sheng’s eyes. “I hand the Demon Sect over to you.”
Shi Sheng lowered her head. “Okay.”
“I like you. I don’t regret it. Honest.”
At least he once liked someone that way.
It seemed Jiang Zhan wanted to tell Shi Sheng everything he’d always been planning to say. She merely listened quietly. Perhaps tired from all the talking, he fell asleep.
This had to be the first time the two had interacted this peacefully.
The next day, upon hearing that Jiang Zhan had passed, she was calm. She organised the funeral in an orderly manner.
At the end, Ting Feng handed her a porcelain bottle filled with fresh blood.
“Sect Master gave this to you.”
Shi Sheng held the bottle, her breathing a bit unsteady.
