Yu Ye was caught completely off guard. Hua Yan had already closed in on him. A hint of astonishment flashed in his eyes, and in the next moment, Hua Yan’s fist wind brushed against his cheek.
Having suddenly regained her internal energy, Hua Yan couldn’t control her strength well. Yu Ye was sent flying a good zhang away—such a familiar sensation, one she hadn’t felt in a long time.
Hua Yan looked down at her fist and pulled out her silk fan from her sleeve. Without her internal energy, the silk fan with steel ribs had been difficult to use. Now, it felt as light as a cloud in her hand, and she even spun it with her fingertips.
Her punch had landed on Yu Ye’s right eye socket, quickly causing a bruise to appear. Yu Ye sat up, dazed for a moment, then asked, “Your internal energy has returned?”
This statement made Hua Yan even angrier. “That’s right, and you poisoned me!”
Yu Ye pressed his eye socket and chuckled softly. “I only regret not restraining your hands and feet that day. It was my mistake.” His tone remained calm and gentle, still maintaining the demeanor of a refined gentleman. “I really didn’t lie to you much. I was sincere when I said I wanted to marry you. Otherwise, how could Xie Yingxian tolerate me? But you see, if I don’t hold on tightly, those things quickly slip away from me.”
Hua Yan retorted, “Even if you had restrained me, it wouldn’t have mattered. I don’t like being lied to. As for everything else… what isn’t yours will never be yours.”
She originally wanted to say that if he wanted the position of leader, he could compete for it openly like Qi Xiusi did back then. But on second thought, Yu Ye might never be able to defeat Xie Yingxian, not even in his next life.
Yu Ye smiled and said, “But aren’t you deceiving Lu Chengsha right now?”
Hua Yan was taken aback for a moment, then angrily said, “I’m not like you. I didn’t intend to deceive him. I’m sincere…”
Yu Ye responded, “How do you know I’m not sincere? I never intended to deceive you in the first place.”
Hua Yan understood why Xie Yingxian had told her to be wary of Yu Ye. Previously, interacting with him had felt easy. Now she realized just how cunning he truly was. She had been calm, thinking that she didn’t have any feelings for Yu Ye. But after a few words, her anger flared up again from deep within her chest. “I haven’t harmed him, poisoned him, or intended to imprison him. I’ll tell him everything—I’ll go tell him right now!”
However, before she could turn around, Yu Ye stopped her. “Don’t go seeking death, Yan’er.” His voice was like a sigh, tinged with a bit of sadness. “Don’t test people’s hearts. The results often disappoint, and besides…” He paused, his gentle voice seemingly filled with sincere advice, “Don’t you know? Just by staying by his side, you’re already harming him.”
So infuriating!
She was absolutely livid!
Hua Yan took large strides toward Yu Ye, intending to give him a matching bruise on his left eye socket. Halfway there, seeing Yu Ye’s calm expression as if waiting for her, alarm bells rang in her head, and she stopped in her tracks.
She took a step back and turned to leave.
As expected, it’s best to keep some distance from him!
Seeing Hua Yan turn to leave, a hint of regret flashed in Yu Ye’s eyes. He had already gathered his strength in his hands; if Hua Yan had approached him, he could have easily grabbed her.
That was indeed his plan. If he couldn’t outwit her, he would resort to force. With no one else around, this was the perfect opportunity. Without her internal energy, Hua Yan wouldn’t have been able to escape his grasp. Unfortunately, her internal energy returned at this inconvenient moment. Any fight between them would draw attention.
He had no choice but to give up for now. However, if Hua Yan’s heart was set on Xie Yingxian, he would be worried. If it was Lu Chengsha, there was nothing to be concerned about.
What a silly girl, Yu Ye thought, almost wanting to laugh.
—
Walking along the path, Hua Yan felt the wind cool her down. She had been on guard against Yu Ye’s sudden attack or trickery. Now that she was far away, she could finally relax a little. However, Yu Ye’s words still echoed in her mind, stirring her emotions.
She couldn’t deceive Great Hero Lu forever; she had to tell him the truth.
But…
She was indeed a little scared.
As she was deep in thought, Hua Yan realized she was a bit lost. She had taken several turns and found herself near Nian Yi’s courtyard. At this hour, Nian Yi should have been asleep, but the lights were on, and she could faintly hear voices.
With her internal energy restored, she could sense that there were indeed people guarding Nian Yi’s courtyard, but they were quite far away. She carefully avoided them and approached, hearing an argument inside.
It was Nian Yi and another man’s voice.
The man’s voice was agitated: “Why do you have to do this? Do you know how much damage this will do to Cixin Valley’s reputation if it gets out?”
Nian Yi’s voice remained calm and unhurried: “But our medicine does have issues. We owe them an explanation. You shouldn’t have hidden the problematic test results from me in the first place.”
The man inhaled sharply, seemingly struggling to control his emotions: “Out of a hundred people, only three or five had issues. What’s the big deal? We can compensate and placate them. There’s no need to publicize it. Moreover, the treatment for this disease is limited to just a few remedies. If we don’t sell it, someone else will. Do you know how much business we’ve already lost to Yufeng Hall? You insist on employing so many physicians to see patients. Why not just let those traveling doctors prescribe, and we focus on selling medicine? Selling medicine is much more profitable than seeing patients. Do you know how much it costs to support so many people, Valley Master?”
His voice raised an octave, and Hua Yan finally recognized it as the voice of Xue Tingshan, the manager of Cixin Valley.
Nian Yi responded calmly: “None of that matters. How you handle things is up to you, but diagnosis and medication are my bottom lines. Misdiagnosis or faulty medicine cannot come from Cixin Valley.”
“Well, I absolutely refuse to make this public. At most, we can compensate that farmer’s wife a bit more, ensuring she has no worries for the rest of her life. She won’t come back to cause trouble. There’s no need to sacrifice Cixin Valley’s reputation.”
Nian Yi coughed for a while and then said, “I’ve already made my decision. I’m merely informing you.” His voice was not loud, but it was extremely firm and resolute.
Xue Tingshan seemed to be extremely angry. He laughed in his fury, saying, “Fine, fine, you’re the Valley Master. You’re amazing!”
With that, he left.
Hua Yan scratched her head outside. She had initially thought the two farmer’s wives clinging to Ling Tianxiao’s legs at the entrance of Cixin Valley were arranged by Yu Ye. It turned out there really was an issue.
She recalled Xie Yingxian’s evaluation of Nian Yi and pondered for a while. Then she heard Nian Yi speaking to himself in the empty room, “Do you think I did the right thing?”
Hmm? Who was he talking to?
After that, Nian Yi fell silent. He seemed extremely tired and soon extinguished the lights and went to sleep.
Hua Yan had no choice but to leave. She now recognized the way. However, before she had gone far, a sudden scream pierced the night sky.
She immediately tensed up and hurried over using her lightness skill. The scream had come from the area where the disciples of other sects were staying. The commotion had woken everyone up, and the previously dark night was now lit up everywhere.
“What happened?”
“What’s going on?”
“Did the Demon Sect leader come out to cause trouble?”
The area was in chaos. Hua Yan took the opportunity to blend in. The disciple who had screamed was still in shock, pointing not far away and saying, “A ghost, I saw a ghost, I saw a female ghost!” His face was pale with fear, and he had just been helped up by someone.
“What kind of female ghost? Speak clearly.”
“Could it be a mistake?”
Some couldn’t help but softly mock, “Which sect’s disciple is this, so timid?”
At this moment, another disciple hesitantly said, “I think I saw it too. I couldn’t sleep and got up to practice. I saw a shadow pass by the window with long hair…”
This statement sparked a lot of discussion among the group.
Since Cixin Valley is a medical valley, it’s not unusual to have deaths. While those who roam the Jianghu often encounter the dead, ghost sightings are rare. Only in extreme cases like the Miyin Dragon Cave massacre would there be rumors of ghostly cries at night, and even then, few would venture near such places.
The disciple caught his breath and, after a while, began to speak haltingly, “I… wanted to relieve myself in the middle of the night, so I went out… I saw a shadow and thought it was some senior brother returning late… Then, when I was done and ready to leave, I saw a woman in white with long hair and a deathly pale face standing close to me. Her seven orifices were bleeding, and she asked if I had heard of a family named Yin… She said she wanted revenge and was coming for my life. I was so scared I nearly fainted… Then she disappeared…”
People from Cixin Valley had arrived by now. Xue Tingshan, who had been arguing with Nian Yi earlier, appeared, neatly dressed, and asked if there had been any ghost rumors recently. Several disciples shook their heads.
“Have any patients with the surname Yin passed away in the valley recently?”
A Cixin Valley disciple checked the registry of deceased patients and shook his head again.
Xue Tingshan reassured the disciple, “Young hero, you might have been too nervous and had a hallucination. I’ll have a doctor prepare some calming medicine for you. You should get some rest.”
The disciple nodded gratefully and was taken away to rest.
Hua Yan sneaked up to their residence and found that even Lu Chengsha had come out to see what was happening. Surprised, she walked over.
Lu Chengsha stood at the door and asked, “What’s going on?”
Hua Yan replied, “Nothing much, just a disciple claiming to have seen a ghost… Was there really a ghost?”
Lu Chengsha said, “There was someone.”
Hua Yan asked, “Oh… You saw it too?”
Lu Chengsha replied, “A woman passed by below.”
Hmm? So, someone was indeed pretending to be a ghost.
Hua Yan’s interest was piqued. “Next time you see her, catch her so we can ask her some questions!”
Lu Chengsha agreed, “Alright.” He paused and then asked, “Why were you out?”
Hua Yan was taken aback. She was about to say she couldn’t sleep and went out for a walk, but then Yu Ye’s words came to mind. She hesitated and said, “A friend called me out, so I went to see him.”
Lu Chengsha didn’t ask further.
However, Hua Yan felt uneasy. She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Lu Chengsha.
Seeing her gaze, Lu Chengsha looked back at her. His face was still the same—stern brows, clear black and white eyes, sharp eyes, a high nose, and slightly pursed lips without much expression, like a carved print. Yet, for some reason, Hua Yan found him incredibly handsome.
And no matter how long she looked, she never seemed to get tired of it.
Lu Chengsha, feeling her stare, slightly averted his gaze, but soon looked back. He seemed to be trying hard to overcome the urge to look away whenever he met her eyes, but unfortunately, after a few moments, he looked away again.
Hua Yan felt an urge to touch him.
So she reached out and tugged at Lu Chengsha’s hand.
They had held hands countless times before, but now that Hua Yan knew she liked him, it felt different. Lu Chengsha’s hand hung by his side, and with just a light touch of her fingertips, it felt like a tiny electric current passed through.
Her heart began to race, a wonderful feeling.
Hua Yan gripped a bit tighter. Lu Chengsha’s fingers were cool, much larger than hers, like a piece of cold jade that could be warmed. She squeezed his hand, and her heart beat even faster.
As expected, Lu Chengsha’s arm began to stiffen slightly.
He lowered his gaze to their intertwined hands, seemingly confused, but more… He asked in a somewhat strained voice, “What are you doing?”
Hua Yan slowly turned her wrist, pressing her palm against his. Lu Chengsha’s hand was half a knuckle longer than hers, the hands of a swordsman, long and clean. Even the calluses on his thumb and forefinger from holding a sword were neat. Hua Yan couldn’t resist touching the thin layer of callus.
Lu Chengsha genuinely had no idea what she was doing, just feeling a bit overwhelmed, almost wanting to pull his hand away.
Then Hua Yan’s fingers slipped between his, her soft fingers interlacing with his. From Lu Chengsha’s angle, he could see her delicate, pale fingers on his hand, the tips of her nails a soft pink, a color that belonged to a young girl.
He felt as if his heart was being squeezed.
Finally, unable to bear it, Lu Chengsha tried to pull his hand away, but Hua Yan held on tightly, and he couldn’t pull free.
Hua Yan’s cheeks were flushed, her gaze shifted from their fingers to Lu Chengsha’s face. The dim evening light cast a soft glow over his handsome features.
What should she do? She really liked him!
Hua Yan couldn’t describe the feeling at that moment. It was like tasting the sweetness she had experienced during the sect battle again, savoring it slowly. But Lu Chengsha seemed reluctant to let her have her way, tugging his hand once more.
“Let me hold it for a while…” Hua Yan whispered.
Lu Chengsha’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, and after a while, he seemed to resign himself to his fate. His stiff fingers slowly relaxed and curled around Hua Yan’s hand.
When his fingertips touched the back of her hand, Hua Yan felt a shiver run through her.
Oh my god, what’s happening!
Hua Yan screamed internally!
She was just holding hands with Great Hero Lu, like she had seen her parents do! It shouldn’t be like this! Her mother never told her about this feeling! What should she do? She sneaked another glance at Lu Chengsha, and suddenly, all the flirting techniques her mother had taught her flew out of her mind.
Lu Chengsha wasn’t faring any better. His mind was blank. After a long pause, he finally asked, “Are you done…”
Hua Yan was stunned for a moment and then slowly let go, murmuring, “Oh.”
Lu Chengsha withdrew his hand and seemed to want to go back into his room.
Unable to resist, Hua Yan asked him softly and secretly, “What did it feel like just now?”
Lu Chengsha couldn’t answer her at all.
Hua Yan couldn’t help but add, “Great Hero Lu, you went to the wrong room. It’s that way.”
Lu Chengsha paused, the awakened disciples inside were trembling as they looked at him. He closed the door and turned back to his own room.
Hua Yan thought Great Hero Lu was just so cute.
She looked at her own hand and thought, what should she do? She wanted to touch him again.