Xing Shuishui remembered He Liansheng’s earlier fury. If not for the sudden interruption from the ghost corpse, who knows how she would have explained it away. Either way, he was already suspicious of her, and now his suspicions had only grown stronger.
“Of course it hurts,” she said.
Li Guanyu worriedly said, “What happened to you? He Lian, take her to the medical hall.”
He Liansheng: “Get lost.”
Xing Shuishui: “No need, no need.”
Li Guanhang stirred up trouble from the side: “Sister, I also think she should go to the medical hall to check her brain… I mean stomach. Ignoring illnesses can lead to serious problems. Besides, medical halls are busy places with lots of gossip – we might pick up some useful information. Just look at her, always either screaming for help or crying about pain. How is that acceptable?”
Li Guanyu: “Watch your words.”
Xing Shuishui tilted her head to look at He Liansheng and said quietly, “He Liansheng, maybe we don’t need to go to the medical hall… it might get better soon. It’s always been like this before.”
“Why wouldn’t we go?”
The young man’s lips curved into a cold smile, his eyes filled with frost. “Perfect chance to let the doctor see exactly how your stomach hurts.”
What an annoying person.
Rende Medical Hall was a famous establishment in town. Elderly locals would come to sit and chat whether they were sick or not, getting some medicinal tea or watching apprentices pound herbs. Unlike outside, it was quiet inside.
As soon as Xing Shuishui sat down, an apprentice brought her hot tea. She looked around restlessly, feeling uncomfortable.
How would she pretend her way through this?
He Liansheng stood watching everyone with his sword, causing people to walk wide circles around him. Xing Shuishui couldn’t stand it anymore and reluctantly said, “Why don’t you sit for a while?”
As soon as He Liansheng sat down, he started tormenting her – either deliberately moving her tea far away or examining her from head to toe. Xing Shuishui thought he must be looking for magical items on her.
She reached for her tea.
This spirit-hunter probably never dreamed she’d hidden the concealment talisman in her undergarments.
Let him look all he wants.
The doctor arrived to this strange atmosphere, looking left and right before setting down his medicine box with understanding: “Don’t be nervous, young lady. Let me check your pulse.”
Xing Shuishui extended her left hand. The doctor gestured for her to pull back her sleeve.
But when she pulled back her sleeve, several grotesque scars were revealed – whip marks. Xing Shuishui suddenly remembered that because the original owner was a spirit, she was often bullied at the Mo family, and these whip marks were from that time.
He Liansheng asked, “How did you get those?”
Xing Shuishui thought for a moment: “I was caught and forced to repair city walls for food. They thought I was too weak, so they whipped me.”
All lies, not a word of truth.
“Is that so?” He Liansheng sneered. “Your fingertips are smooth and delicate. Doesn’t look like someone who’s done hard labor.”
Xing Shuishui instinctively curled her fingers.
Fortunately, the doctor intervened: “Though I can’t determine the exact cause, your pulse is weak and your body is deficient. You need to take better care of yourself. Have you eaten anything unsanitary recently?”
Xing Shuishui thought for a moment: “I ate some flatbread…”
The doctor shook his head: “No wonder you have stomach problems. Remember, you need a balanced diet in the future. You can’t just eat flatbread!”
Xing Shuishui nodded like a pecking chick. This doctor was quite interesting – hopefully that was enough to muddle through.
The doctor then turned to He Liansheng: “Young sir, you should also note, although you young people can handle anything, your lady here…”
Key words: your lady.
He Liansheng: “?”
Xing Shuishui: This is bad.
Catching the young man’s cold expression, the doctor also realized something, his face freezing as he hurriedly packed his box: “It’s… it’s nothing serious. I’ll… I’ll go write a prescription first.”
Now it was just the two of them again.
To ease the tension, Xing Shuishui said, “Since it’s nothing serious, let’s go back and meet with Sister Guanyu. I don’t want to delay your business because of me.”
Being with He Liansheng gave her no sense of security. He was cold, suspicious, and would use her as bait. She feared being assassinated here.
He Liansheng said impatiently: “Haven’t you already caused delays?”
Xing Shuishui obediently lay still.
“I’m sorry.”
She was always like this, apologizing whenever she feared making him unhappy. Looking at him with lowered chin, afraid to engage too much.
He Liansheng suppressed his anger and said coldly: “Don’t let me hear those two words from your mouth again. Since you can still talk, you’re fine. If you’re fine, get up and walk.”
Xing Shuishui didn’t understand why he was angry again.
She hadn’t even provoked him.
She looked up to see the young man staring at her coldly.
Such a handsome face – why was he always so fierce with people?
He Liansheng looked down at her: “Didn’t you hear? Are you deaf now too?”
Xing Shuishui hurriedly got up from the couch. He Liansheng suddenly reached out and quickly pulled her to the side.
The young woman’s eyes widened slightly, her skirts swirling.
In that instant, Xing Shuishui felt an arrow nearly pierce through her floating clothes, grazing past her back. She could imagine what would have happened if she hadn’t left the couch.
She broke out in a cold sweat.
This was crazy! The original owner had no family – this definitely wasn’t aimed at her. Unable to assassinate He Liansheng, they targeted her instead?
She pointed to the side: “Over there!”
He Liansheng’s sword was already drawn, cutting through layers of curtains straight toward where the arrow came from. The entire medical hall was filled with the sound of ripping fabric and the terrified expressions of apprentices and doctors.
Then Xing Shuishui saw blood splatter on the final layer of curtains.
What amazing reflexes!
She followed He Liansheng over to find a blood-covered figure in black pinned to the wall by a silver sword. Blood kept dripping down the blade – even Xing Shuishui’s shoes were stained with it. Though his whole body was convulsing, the black-clad man still laughed eerily, like a puppet without pain.
He Liansheng stared at him coldly. “Who sent you?”
Black-clad man: “Someone no longer in this world.”
He Liansheng lifted the sword handle upward, causing more blood to flow from the hole in the man’s chest. Everyone in the medical hall had already scattered in terror. The young man’s lips curved in a cold smile: “Who gave you the right to speak in riddles?”
Black-clad man: “Ignorant youth.”
Xing Shuishui stood to the side with hands on hips: “Why are you trying to kill me? I’m just an orphan! I’ve never had parents and never provoked anyone!”
The black-clad man completely ignored her, speaking only to He Liansheng: “My master says… we can each take a step back… you return to your Lingshan… and my master will stop here… continuing to investigate won’t benefit either of us. The truth isn’t something you can accept.”
He Liansheng said: “Fine.”
The black-clad man was somewhat surprised.
The young man pulled his lips into a mocking smile: “Then we’ll keep investigating — so your master who plays at being mysterious can die sooner.”
The black-clad man struggled violently, his eyes turning gray. This person was actually already dead, just controlled by puppet magic, like that wild cat from before.
Xing Shuishui pondered the bloody talisman on his chest.
His master was really this arrogant? Claiming even Lingshan couldn’t accept the truth?
In all these years, Lingshan had stood unshaken, fearing none except the Demon King. She’d only heard of one thing that could anger Lingshan:
When the young master of the ancient Shangguan cultivation family was to marry his cousin. But the ancient pervert Du Dizhu had long coveted the cousin’s beauty and killed the groom on their wedding night. The cousin woke the next day to realize last night’s bedmate had been Du Dizhu in disguise, and she was furious.
When this was reported to Lingshan, it caused an uproar. The cousin, Shangguan Houyue, personally led an attack on Du Dizhu at Wuxiang Mountain with the sacred Floating Spirit Mirror. But Du Dizhu sacrificed a thousand years of cultivation to counter with mirror techniques, and the attack failed. Lingshan was shaken for half a year.
She stared at the blood talisman on the black-clad man’s skin for a long while.
He Liansheng withdrew his sword and said coldly: “You recognize it?”
Xing Shuishui snapped back to attention, hiding behind him while muttering: “This bloody thing must be something you cultivators use. How could I possibly recognize it?”
“I just… I just…”
Xing Shuishui swallowed: “Was scared stupid.”
The young man stared at her for a while, lost in thought, then suddenly gave a neither warm nor cold smile. Xing Shuishui shuddered – she was used to his fierceness, but his sudden smile was creepy.
After nearly being assassinated during their medical hall visit, Xing Shuishui immediately complained tearfully upon seeing Li Guanyu. Li Guanyu was naturally both angry and concerned after hearing this. Li Guanhang spoke sarcastically from the side: “Oh, almost assassinated were you? You seem pretty lively to me right now.”
Xing Shuishui pitifully showed Li Guanyu the hole torn in her clothes.
Li Guanyu looked at Li Guanhang and said: “You’ve grown increasingly harsh lately. Face the wall for three days when we return to the mountain.”
Li Guanhang glared, mouthing to Xing Shuishui: “Stupid woman.”
The Lingshan families each had their specialties – the Guan family excelled in spells, the Shangguan family in poisons, the He family in swordplay, and the Li family in puppet techniques.
Since no one claimed the black-clad man’s body, it remained at the government office. When Li Guanyu showed the Lingshan jade command token, no one dared interfere.
She carefully examined the talismans on the corpse, anger appearing on her face: “How dare someone be so crude.”
Li Guanhang explained with a dark expression: “If this were common puppet techniques, we could trace it, but these evil-doers actually dare imitate our family’s techniques! And so crudely too – they even drew this Kun trigram1 wrong!”
Xing Shuishui rubbed her chin: “What if it actually was someone from your family?”
Li Guanhang retorted: “How dare you slander us! What benefit would there be in doing this?”
Xing Shuishui said nothing. That would be a question for the person themselves.
He Liansheng, always impatient: “Get to the point.”
Li Guanyu worried: “If that person’s puppet techniques have reached this level, every blade of grass here could be a puppet monitoring us.”
He Liansheng sneered: “What trash.”
Too cowardly to face them directly, only hiding in the shadows. Xing Shuishui quite agreed with He Liansheng’s assessment.
Tap tap tap—
Hurried footsteps approached. Everyone turned to see a small maid carrying a lantern, her clothes and hair ornaments marking her as from a noble house. Upon seeing them, her eyes lit up and she fell to her knees, begging.
“Immortals, please help!”
“Please save our household!”
Li Guanyu immediately couldn’t bear it, saying gently: “Miss, please stand up first. You can tell us what’s wrong after you stand.”
The maid refused to rise, staying on her knees: “The immortals said jade carvings attract spirit trouble and to report anything strange. My master didn’t take it seriously at first, but today at dusk we received a very strange jade carving, and now we’re cursed! We can’t get rid of it no matter what! So I came to request help from the immortals! Please save my master.”
Xing Shuishui calculated the time – it was right after she’d left the medical hall.
How brazen.
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