Chapter 5
But Hua Yurong couldn’t understand her train of thought at all. Even her perfect smile began to crack.
“Why did you touch me?! Why did you touch me?!”
Yao Qingyue shouted at her in grief and indignation, then clutched her head, her entire face scrunching up like the folds of a steamed bun as she muttered, “What am I supposed to do if my head rots away?! What’s the point of living if my head is already rotten?”
Hua Yurong: “…”
“That nasty woman called me a cripple just now. Was it because I was standing with you? You’re the one with broken legs, not me! What gives her the right to call me a cripple?! I refuse to accept it!”
“But you’ve already touched me. I’m dirty now. I’ve become a cripple, too. My head’s rotten, and now I’m a cripple on top of that. What’s the point of living anymore? I might as well just die! Waaaah!”
Yao Qingyue began writhing wildly on the ground like a maggot, looking as though she were suffering from some serious illness.
Hua Yurong: “…………”
Hua Yurong drew a deep breath, suppressed the urge to personally strangle her to death, and barely managed to calm herself.
With a pleasant expression, she said, “Senior Sister, lying on the ground must be uncomfortable. Why don’t I help you back to Jingwaiju so you can rest?”
Yao Qingyue was too absorbed in her emotional breakdown to pay her any attention. Hua Yurong, meanwhile, had carefully cultivated a public image of kindness and approachability. There was simply no way she could leave Yao Qingyue lying in the spiritual fields in such a state.
Although she desperately wanted to abandon her right there and let her fend for herself.
Moreover, Hua Yurong glanced at Yao Qingyue, her feelings rather complicated.
Her original purpose in sending out the Wangliang spirit had been to awaken Yao Qingyue’s desire to die, sparing Hua Yurong the trouble of killing her personally.
And now, Yao Qingyue really had been influenced by the Wangliang spirit and had begun talking about killing herself. But the reason was Hua Yurong herself.
Judging by Yao Qingyue’s current behavior, it was as though Hua Yurong were some terrifying monster, and a single touch from her was enough to make life unbearable.
Hua Yurong genuinely wanted to pry open Yao Qingyue’s skull and see exactly what was going on inside.
As more and more people gathered around the spiritual fields, pointing at the two of them and casting curious glances their way, Hua Yurong made a decisive choice.
Ignoring Yao Qingyue’s struggles and protests, she instructed the servant disciples to help her up and escort her back to Jingwaiju.
They had barely reached Jingwaiju when a small figure came running toward them from the far end of the road.
The little girl didn’t even reach Yao Qingyue’s waist. As usual, her face was expressionless, and only her hurried footsteps and the flickering light in her large eyes betrayed her anxiety.
Yao Doudou had woken up very early that morning. After getting dressed, she had prepared to wake Yao Qingyue, only to discover that the woman who always slept in had vanished without a trace.
At that moment, countless possibilities flashed through her mind. One moment, she wondered if Yao Qingyue had finally realized she was a burden and secretly run away. The next, she worried that Yao Qingyue might have discovered the truth and decided she no longer wanted her.
By the time she calmed down, daylight had already filled the sky.
She washed up and went to prepare breakfast, only to discover that steaming hot food had already been laid out on the stove. She couldn’t help freezing in surprise.
If Yao Qingyue had discovered the truth, there was no way she would have bothered preparing breakfast for her before running away.
Most likely, she had received some urgent assignment from the sect and left in such a hurry that she hadn’t even had time to say goodbye.
But given Yao Qingyue’s physical condition, why would the Zhuyue Sect assign her any important tasks?
Holding her bowl, the tiny Yao Doudou sat on the doorstep eating breakfast. She would slowly take a bite, then glance toward the gate in the fence, hoping that familiar, lazy figure would appear before her eyes.
And so Yao Doudou waited until noon.
The moment Yao Qingyue’s exceptionally clear, penetrating voice reached her ears, the little tuft of hair sticking up from the top of Doudou’s head swayed. She immediately put down what she was doing, pushed open the gate, and ran outside.
Like a little cannonball, she dashed straight toward Yao Qingyue. But when her gaze suddenly met Hua Yurong’s, she realized she had been so anxious that she had completely overlooked the presence of strangers.
Yao Doudou tugged at the thin padded jacket she was wearing. Her fingers fidgeted uneasily as she asked in a small voice, “What happened to her?”
Although she was speaking to Hua Yurong, her gaze remained fixed on Yao Qingyue.
Hua Yurong glanced at Yao Qingyue, her expression rather peculiar. “It’s a long story. Let’s help her inside first.”
Yao Doudou noticed the neighboring residents peeking at them. After a brief pause, she nodded.
There were plenty of disciples in the Zhuyue Sect who harbored ill intentions toward Yao Qingyue. She didn’t want them making a spectacle of her, either.
The group entered Yao Qingyue’s house, shutting out the curious gazes from outside. Only then did Yao Doudou ask again what had happened.
She had noticed it the moment they met. Yao Qingyue’s face was bruised and swollen, and she appeared badly injured. Even her legs seemed to have been affected. She couldn’t walk on her own and had to be supported by the servant disciples.
Could those Zhuyue Sect disciples who disliked Yao Qingyue have finally decided to kick her while she was down?
With that thought in mind, Yao Doudou helped settle Yao Qingyue onto the bed.
Even after lying down, Yao Qingyue continued shouting. She stared at Yao Doudou’s face and suddenly let out a sorrowful wail.
“Doudou! My daughter!”
Yao Doudou’s eyes instantly widened into tadpole-like shapes. “…What nonsense are you talking about? Who’s your daughter?!”
Yao Qingyue looked utterly incredulous. She began slapping the bed, making the hard wooden frame rattle loudly. Combined with her high-pitched, resonant voice, she sounded almost as though she were singing.
“…I carried you in my womb for ten months! I raised you through countless hardships! And now you refuse to acknowledge me!”
This was getting more and more ridiculous. How could someone Yao Qingyue’s age possibly have a daughter as old as her?
Yao Doudou felt as though her head were about to split in two. Yao Qingyue’s words had left her completely overwhelmed.
If there hadn’t been any outsiders present, she might have simply accepted being called her daughter a few times. But with Hua Yurong and the others watching, her face was practically burning red with embarrassment.
Hua Yurong watched their interaction with great interest, her mood inexplicably improving.
Just now, she had been the one humiliated, and she had been the one driven to distraction by Yao Qingyue. Now that someone else was suffering, she could finally enjoy watching the ridiculous spectacle Yao Qingyue was making of herself.
Unfortunately, Hua Yurong’s amusement didn’t last long.
After making a fuss for a while, Yao Qingyue seemed to suddenly realize that Yao Doudou really wasn’t her daughter. Her expression gradually became peaceful.
She folded her hands over her abdomen and stared blankly at the ceiling. If one ignored the injuries on her face and the dirt covering her clothes, she actually looked rather serene.
Yao Doudou sat beside the bed and examined her injuries. Although they looked frightening, she discovered that they were merely superficial wounds and posed no threat to her life. She couldn’t help breathing a sigh of relief.
Since neither her bones nor her tendons had suffered any serious damage, why was Yao Qingyue acting as though she were half-dead?
Yao Doudou directed a questioning look at Hua Yurong.
Hua Yurong was just about to answer when Yao Qingyue, who had been lying peacefully on the bed, suddenly sprang upright.
She grabbed Yao Doudou’s short little arm and rested her head on the child’s thin shoulder. A large, bean-sized tear rolled from the corner of her eye and fell.
“Doudou, I’m dirty now,” Yao Qingyue said aggrievedly.
Yao Doudou: “…”
Yao Doudou: “???!!!”
After saying this, Yao Qingyue collapsed back onto the bed, looking half-dead once more. She stared lifelessly at the ceiling, her entire body radiating despair, like a ruined beauty who had been violated and discarded by some vicious tyrant.
Yao Doudou’s little face tightened, her complexion turning extremely ugly.
Although Yao Qingyue’s looks were nothing special in the Zhuyue Sect, where beauties were plentiful, she had previously possessed a terrible temper and made countless enemies.
There were undoubtedly cultivators who disliked Yao Qingyue enough to attack her simply for the sake of deliberately humiliating her.
“Who was it?” Yao Doudou demanded through clenched teeth, her small hand gripping the arm Yao Qingyue had placed back over her abdomen.
Yao Qingyue’s eyes shifted sluggishly. She slowly raised her arm, extended her index finger, and pointed straight at Hua Yurong without hesitation.
Hua Yurong: “…”
The expression on Hua Yurong’s face threatened to crack once again.
She had never imagined that a day would come when someone would accuse her of molesting and violating a young woman.
“I can explain.”
Hua Yurong struggled to maintain her composure as she recounted everything that had happened in the spiritual fields.
Finally, pretending to speculate while deliberately indulging her malicious side, she said, “…I’m not entirely sure what happened. Perhaps she suffered some damage to her brain when she was beaten earlier?”
She even kindly offered Yao Doudou some advice. “You should find a medicine practitioner to examine her as soon as possible.”
Her body was already in terrible condition, and now it appeared that something was wrong with her mind as well. How was Yao Qingyue supposed to live from now on?
Although Yao Doudou had experienced the warmth and coldness of human relationships from a young age and was skilled at reading people, she was still a child who hadn’t even turned five. How could she possibly be a match for Hua Yurong?
Moreover, her concern for Yao Qingyue had clouded her judgment, so she readily believed Hua Yurong’s explanation.
She asked Hua Yurong to look after Yao Qingyue for a little while, then left with her little face tense and her expression grave. She intended to go to the main peak and find a medicine practitioner to examine Yao Qingyue.
Hua Yurong was considerate enough to instruct one of the servant disciples to accompany Yao Doudou in her search, while she herself stayed behind.
After all, judging by Yao Qingyue’s current condition, there was no way she could continue causing trouble.
Once Yao Doudou and the servant disciple had left, only Yao Qingyue and Hua Yurong remained in the room.
Hua Yurong stared at the door for a moment before turning her attention back to Yao Qingyue.
Yao Qingyue lay on the bed with lifeless eyes and a thoroughly dejected expression. It seemed that her earlier outburst had exhausted every last bit of her energy.
Using the excuse of examining her injuries, Hua Yurong reached out and touched the back of Yao Qingyue’s hand.
Pretending to be sympathetic, she said, “If Senior Sister Ji saw you like this, I’m sure her heart would ache.”
This time, she didn’t dare touch Yao Qingyue’s forehead again. She could only settle for touching her fingers instead.
When Yao Qingyue heard Ji Yueming’s name, her expression didn’t change in the slightest. She only reacted when Hua Yurong touched her hand.
Her slender fingers trembled faintly, then slowly curled inward like the leaves of a mimosa plant. At the same time, she directed an accusing, grief-stricken look at Hua Yurong, silently demanding to know why she insisted on touching her again against her wishes.
Hua Yurong pretended not to notice her gaze. Through that brief contact, she secretly established a connection with the Wangliang spirit.
Yao Qingyue’s reactions were far too abnormal, making her suspect that something had gone wrong with the spirit as well.
She had never encountered anyone whose first impulse after a Wangliang spirit entered their heart was to run off and start farming.
Furthermore, she had been observing Yao Qingyue for quite some time. Just now, she had deliberately mentioned Ji Yueming’s name, yet Yao Qingyue hadn’t reacted at all.
That was clearly abnormal.
Sure enough, the Wangliang spirit’s voice sounded inside her mind, carrying a hint of hesitation.
“Master…”
“Something isn’t right. Come back for now.”
The Wangliang spirit paused before replying hesitantly once more.
“…I seem to be temporarily unable to leave this cultivator.”
This was the first time the Wangliang spirit had encountered such an unexpected situation, and even it was somewhat bewildered.
Hua Yurong raised her eyebrows in surprise and carefully examined Yao Qingyue.
As long as someone was human, they had weaknesses. Even the most powerful cultivators feared their inner demons.
And the Wangliang spirit was both a shadow and a heart demon. Only cultivators with unwavering wills and no weaknesses in their hearts had nothing to fear from it.
But Yao Qingyue clearly wasn’t such a person.
She had obviously been affected by the Wangliang spirit, yet the way that influence manifested left Hua Yurong completely baffled.
There was no doubt that Yao Qingyue’s weakness was Ji Yueming.
So why didn’t she react to Ji Yueming at all?
Could it be… that the dejected Yao Qingyue lying on this bed wasn’t actually the same disciple of the Zhuyue Sect?
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!