Luo Muge had never seen her mother. She lived with her wet nurse until she was six, when her father took her away. Her father was Luo Qifeng, the notorious head of the Western Depot, a man with a dreadful reputation. Naturally, she couldn’t live in a place like the Western Depot, so Luo Qifeng handed her over to Ji Jingyi to learn medicine.
She still remembered the day she walked from her father’s side to Ji Jingyi. She couldn’t recall what Ji Jingyi said, but she remembered her father’s words: “I’ve killed too many people. To avoid bad karma falling on this child, let her follow you and save people to accumulate some good fortune for herself.”
She turned to look at her father in confusion. He smiled at her and said, “Ge’er, save one more person and live one more year. Study medicine well!”
Luo Muge nodded vigorously and studied medicine diligently. Among Ji Jingyi’s disciples, she stood out and eventually became his only remaining disciple.
Practicing medicine and saving lives became almost the sole purpose of her life.
Her father often sent gifts to her. When he visited, it was usually just a brief glance before leaving. Over time, she got used to it. Even later, her father remarked that she seemed cold and indifferent, not caring much about him. Yet, every year on her birthday, he would send someone to fetch her.
On her ninth birthday, she visited the Western Depot and saw Ji Wujing for the first time.
In the spacious courtyard of the Western Depot stood a large cage. The young Ji Wujing was trapped inside, along with three hungry wolves. The boy in red moved with fluid grace, exuding a ferocity greater than the wolves’. He tore the wolves’ flesh and bones, making them cower at his feet. He bent the sturdy cage bars and stepped out, one step at a time. The stench of blood was overwhelming and nauseating.
Only then did Luo Muge realize his clothes were originally white, now soaked with blood.
His face was splattered with blood, his eyes bloodshot. He sneered, “Boring.”
Then he glanced at Luo Muge with a sinister tone, “What’s this game?”
Luo Muge turned pale and took two steps back.
“She’s my daughter and your junior sister,” Luo Qifeng said, waving her over. “Ge’er, come here.”
Luo Muge quickly ran to her father, away from the terrifying person. She stopped next to her father, timidly looking back at Ji Wujing. He was expressionless, wiping the blood off his hands with a eunuch’s clothes.
Luo Muge had never seen someone so… inhuman.
Later, Luo Qifeng took another disciple, Chen He.
When Luo Muge visited the Western Depot again, she saw the same beast cage, but this time it was Chen He inside. Chen He’s face was pale with fear. Ji Wujing sat atop the cage, tapping Chen He’s head with a wolf bone. He lazily said, “Beg me for help, junior brother.”
Occasionally, Luo Muge envied Ji Wujing and Chen He for being able to stay by their master’s side. If she were a boy, perhaps she could do the same. But this thought was fleeting since her relationship with her father wasn’t deep.
Eventually, Ji Wujing joined the Xuanjing Sect, and Chen He became increasingly prominent in the Western Depot. Her father and her two senior brothers had notorious reputations, but to Luo Muge, no man in the world could compare to her senior brothers.
She thought her relationship with her senior brother would always remain as it was until four years ago, when Ji Wujing sought her out for the first time. That was also the first time Ji Wujing looked directly at her.
Ji Wujing lounged lazily atop a red wall and said, “I got a woman pregnant, and she gave me two kids. So, I’m not interested in marrying any girl from the Ye family. Little junior sister, help your senior brother out, will you?”
His eyes slightly lifted, revealing a hint of a smile.
Luo Muge looked at the red mole under Ji Wujing’s eye and quickly nodded.
However, she couldn’t help but wonder about the woman who had caught her senior brother’s eye. Her curiosity even led her to investigate, but all she managed to see was Ji Wujing holding an umbrella for the woman’s back. Luo Muge only saw this once, and any further attempts to investigate yielded nothing.
Luo Muge had seen her senior brother awkwardly holding an infant in his arms. The frown on Ji Wujing’s face and the way he gazed at the baby felt unusually foreign to Luo Muge.
Luo Muge sensed Ji Wujing’s care for the infant. Did that mean he also cared deeply for the woman? The woman whose name Luo Muge didn’t even know.
Four years passed in the blink of an eye. She had been tirelessly searching for a cure for the poison in her senior brother’s body, while another woman appeared by his side. A woman who made her senior brother seem unlike himself.
Some feelings had to be buried deep within, some bitterness had to be digested alone.
Luo Muge gathered her thoughts and looked at Ji Wujing, saying, “I know senior brother doesn’t care about life and death. So even when we found the whereabouts of the poisonous doctor Luo, it didn’t bring you any joy. But senior brother, you need to think about your two children and your wife. If you continue to be so indifferent and don’t take care of your health, what will happen to them after you’re gone?”
Ji Wujing lifted his eyelids and glanced at her, then indifferently looked away.
Luo Muge suppressed the bitterness in her heart and asked, “Can you really tolerate your wife remarrying with your two children after you’re gone?”
Ji Wujing replied casually, “I’ll strangle her and take her away.”
Luo Muge steeled herself and said, “You might have such thoughts, but your wife may not be willing to die.”
“Whether she’s willing or not doesn’t matter,” Ji Wujing sneered.
“Can you really be that heartless? What if she resents you?” Luo Muge sighed lightly. “I’m not trying to sow discord. You can ask her yourself. I just hope that for the sake of Gu Jianli and your children, you will take better care of yourself, rest properly, and stop using your inner strength until the mother Gu is implanted.”
That evening, after bathing, Gu Jianli wore only a light yellow dudou and a pair of milk-white short underpants. She sat at her dressing table, with boxes filled with various ointments open beside her. She selected different scar-removal medicines from the boxes and carefully applied them to the various pockmarks on her body.
She would observe the marks on her arms and legs, then write down the effects of the medicines in a small notebook.
She would be busy for an hour and a half.
So far, there had been no noticeable effects.
Jixia took advantage of Ji Wujing’s time in the side room to bathe and quietly entered the room. She whispered into Gu Jianli’s ear, “I’ve found out everything. That Tang Honghui holds a grudge because she was rejected byThird Brother Ji.”
Gu Jianli paused in applying the ointment to her calf, then continued.
Jixia explained the details of Ji Xuanke’s rejection of the marriage proposal to Gu Jianli, adding, “After the marriage withThird Brother Ji was called off, the Tang family arranged another match for Tang Honghui. I didn’t catch the name, only that the family name is Qin. But given today’s events at the wedding banquet, the Qin family might also call off the engagement. I also heard that Tang Honghui was whipped by her father as soon as she got home.”
Ji Wujing pushed open the door and entered, frowning when he saw Jixia.
Jixia knew Ji Wujing didn’t like her being in the room, so she quickly and quietly left, even closing the door softly.
Ji Wujing’s nightgown was casually draped over him, not even tied. He walked to Gu Jianli’s side, glanced at the densely written small characters in the notebook on the dressing table, then looked at Gu Jianli. “You’ve been dawdling all evening. Are you going to sleep or not?”
“You go to sleep first. I still have a bit more to do,” Gu Jianli said, her head lowered as she carefully applied ointment to her calf. She then wiped off the medicine from her thigh with a damp cloth and replaced it with another type of ointment.
The more she looked at the marks on her legs, the more dejected she felt.
—So ugly!
Ji Wujing stood behind her with a lackluster expression, neither speaking nor leaving.
Gu Jianli glanced up inadvertently and saw Ji Wujing still standing behind her in the bronze mirror. She turned around in surprise and looked up at him, “What’s the matter?”
Ji Wujing, with a stern face, mouthed silently, “Sleep.”
Gu Jianli glanced at the small notebook on the table, hesitated for a moment, then quickly made a mark in the notebook before getting up and pulling Ji Wujing’s arm, dragging him towards the bed.
“Alright, let’s sleep now.”
Ji Wujing’s expression softened slightly as Gu Jianli pulled him onto the bed.
With the lights out, Ji Wujing hugged Gu Jianli from behind, his hand naturally slipping into her dudou.
Gu Jianli was tugging at the quilt. When Ji Wujing’s hand covered her, she paused, then slowly continued pulling the quilt over both of them.
Ji Wujing’s gaze thoughtfully fell on Gu Jianli’s neck. Every time he looked at her delicate neck, he wanted to bite it. No, not just her neck. He wanted to nibble on all the soft flesh of her body.
If he strangled her, that beautiful neck would have purple-red marks and wouldn’t look good anymore.
While pinching her protruding nub, Ji Wujing suddenly thought about passing the poison of the “Heart-Eating” to her. If they found an antidote, they would live together. If not, they could continue their wild antics in the afterlife.
“Gu Jianli.” Ji Wujing’s voice lowered.
Gu Jianli responded softly, slowly turning to face Ji Wujing.
“So sleepy…” Gu Jianli yawned softly, placing her hand on Ji Wujing’s waist and gripping his clothes. She buried her face in his chest and unconsciously rubbed against him.
A strange tingling sensation spread from his chest, and Ji Wujing, with a dark look in his eyes, pinched Gu Jianli’s chin and lifted her head away from his chest, resting it on his arm.
In the dim light, Ji Wujing stared at Gu Jianli’s already sleeping profile.
If she knew she had been poisoned with something incurable, would she cry again?
For the first time, the always decisive and carefree Ji Wujing felt hesitant and unsure.
In the middle of the night, just as Ji Wujing was about to fall asleep, he heard soft sobs from his arms.
“Gu Jianli?” Ji Wujing frowned and nudged Gu Jianli.
Gu Jianli was crying in her sleep, covering her face and mumbling pitifully, “No, no, I’m not ugly…”
“Gu Jianli.” Ji Wujing nudged her again, waking her from her nightmare.
Gu Jianli woke up groggily from her nightmare, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at Ji Wujing.
“Did you dream about those little ghosts chasing you again?” Ji Wujing asked hoarsely.
Gu Jianli blinked slowly, finally seeing Ji Wujing clearly. Tears welled up in her eyes even more, and she cried, “The ghost messenger said that disfigured people have to go to a different place and wouldn’t let me follow you… waah…”
Ji Wujing rubbed his brow wearily, saying nothing. He got out of bed and lit the candlestick.
The warm, soft light filled the entire room.
He held up the candlestick, bringing it to his own face without any expression.
