Ah Xuan whispered into her ear, “Aunt Cui, do you really believe her?”
Aunt Cui responded without hesitation, “She wouldn’t harm us. Letting her stay with us for a while is not a problem. She even said she would pay us. How much silver do you have?”
Although Aunt Cui’s question was sudden, He Sui’an knew it was directed at her. She took out her purse, opened it, revealing the shiny silver taels, and handed it over. “I have ten taels of silver.”
“Oh, quite a bit.” Aunt Cui took it and weighed it in her hand. “Where did you get this?”
“I borrowed it,” He Sui’an replied honestly.
Aunt Cui’s smile deepened, her crow’s feet showing but with a different charm. “Borrowed, huh? Did Qi Buyan bully you, making you rather borrow money than stay with him for a while?”
“No,” He Sui’an denied Aunt Cui’s speculation. “He treats me very well, but I still need to leave him for a while.”
Ah Xuan was confused.
Aunt Cui accepted He Sui’an’s money.
“Very well, your matters are for you to handle.” She coughed a few times, a flush of red appearing on her pale, sickly face. “I’ll take the money. You can stay here.”
He Sui’an quickly stood up, sincerely thanking her. “Thank you, Aunt Cui.” She hesitated for a moment. “Is your health okay?”
Aunt Cui waved her hand dismissively.
She looked up. “It’s nothing serious, just old age bringing on some minor ailments.”
Ah Xuan’s eyes turned red.
It wasn’t just old age causing this. That night when Aunt Cui had removed the Soul Capturing Gu for Jiang Xuewan, she had hurt herself, and even medication hadn’t helped. It was all his fault; he had implicated Aunt Cui. Ah Xuan lowered his head.
Aunt Cui didn’t want to elaborate, so she personally led He Sui’an to an empty room. She then instructed Ah Xuan to buy a quilt from the villagers. After all, they had accepted the silver and couldn’t treat her poorly.
He Sui’an obediently stayed in her room, not daring to wander around for fear of disturbing them.
It was Aunt Cui who asked He Sui’an to go out and borrow some firewood from the villagers, as she had just realized they were out. Ah Xuan had gone to buy a quilt and had not yet returned, and Aunt Cui, feeling unwell, could only rely on He Sui’an.
The villagers in this small village were simple and kind-hearted, and He Sui’an borrowed the firewood without any trouble.
On her way back to the stone house, He Sui’an saw a person without an umbrella, standing under the eaves of another low house to avoid the rain. The woman wore a lotus-colored long dress, and her features were graceful and soft.
It was He Hua.
The He Hua who owned a bookshop in Fengling Town and had a longevity gu inside her.
Why was she in Chang’an?
“He Hua?” He Sui’an walked towards her, struggling a bit. She held the firewood in both hands and tilted her head to hold the bamboo umbrella handle, using this method to keep herself covered.
He Hua was equally surprised to see He Sui’an. She opened her mouth, but only strange sounds came out. She was mute, and no matter how excited she was, she couldn’t call out He Sui’an’s name.
He Sui’an reached He Hua.
He Hua took He Sui’an’s bamboo umbrella, reducing her burden and also sheltering her from the rain.
Wanting to ask why He Hua was in Chang’an, He Sui’an remembered she couldn’t speak, and they couldn’t communicate smoothly. They had always communicated through writing before. He Sui’an brought He Hua back to the stone house.
In the original story, He Hua was a pitiable person and posed no threat to them.
Aunt Cui saw He Sui’an bringing someone back but said nothing, only asking, “Did you know her before, or did you bring her back because she looked pitiful and needed shelter from the rain?”
He Sui’an awkwardly put down the firewood. “I knew her before. She will leave once the rain stops.”
Aunt Cui didn’t blame her.
“That’s fine.”
He Sui’an led He Hua to thank Aunt Cui and then took her to her small room. He Hua put down her bundle and took out paper and ink, writing: “Miss He, have you separated from Mr. Qi?”
After reading the words, He Sui’an held her chubby cheeks and squatted on the ground, pondering.
Why did everyone, upon seeing her alone, immediately ask about Qi Buyan, as if they couldn’t be separated? She glanced around the room, which lacked the indigo figure and the sound of silver accessories.
It did feel a bit strange.
*
In Chang’an City.
A clear sound of silver accessories echoed through the alley. An indigo hem brushed past the corner of the wall. Raindrops pattered on the umbrella Qi Buyan held. He arrived at Su Yang’s residence and knocked on the door.
Shen Jianhe opened the door. Seeing Qi Buyan alone, he was initially stunned. He then peeked out into the rain-covered alley, wondering if He Sui’an was playfully hiding.
Shen Jianhe was puzzled. “Why didn’t Miss He come with you?”
Qi Buyan handed him a letter written by He Sui’an. “This is a letter from He Sui’an to you.” After giving the letter, he left. The sound of silver accessories gradually faded in the rain as the young figure disappeared into the rain curtain.
Shen Jianhe was baffled as he accepted the letters. He had thought that Qi Buyan braved the rain today to discuss their plans against Liu Yan, but it turned out he was here to deliver letters from He Sui’an?
If He Sui’an had something to say to them, why didn’t she say it in person instead of writing letters?
While Shen Jianhe pondered He Sui’an’s reasons, Qi Buyan had already exited the alley. The rain grew heavier, tapping on the butterfly-decorated paper umbrella and then sliding down its surface.
Under the umbrella, Qi Buyan’s expression was calm.
His skin appeared even paler in the rain, and though his grip on the bamboo handle seemed relaxed, the veins on the back of his hand were faintly visible.
Beyond the alley was a long street, sparsely populated due to the rain. All the Poison Gu Qi Buyan had sent out to search had returned, gathering here. At a glance, they formed a dark mass on the ground.
Qi Buyan knelt, bending down, holding the umbrella with one hand while the other touched the head of the red snake.
The red snake nuzzled him.
The black snake also slithered over, climbing up his wrist to his shoulder, leaving wet traces. The silver snake returned to its usual spot—coiled around Qi Buyan’s boot like a silver accessory.
Butterflies fluttered around Qi Buyan, though many had been knocked down by the rain, landing on the wet stone slabs but still flapping their wings.
Qi Buyan stood up, lightly tapping the wings of the lowest-flying butterflies.
They flew away.
The Poison Gu rustled, sensing danger. Qi Buyan lifted his umbrella, causing the rainwater to cascade off one side, revealing his seemingly gentle face.
A woman in a black dress slowly approached, an iron claw fitted to one hand. She had come to kill Qi Buyan, planning to take his blood back to complete Liu Yan’s task.
Yan Luoxu had volunteered to kill Qi Buyan to avenge her loyal servant’s death.
Had Qi Buyan not led people into Prince Yan’s tomb, disrupting her plans, Yan Luoxu believed she could have revived her brother, Yan Wuheng. Her loyal servant would not have died trying to kill them.
Yan Luoxu didn’t want to obey Liu Yan, but their goals coincided. It was a way to repay Liu Yan for sending people to rescue her from Prince Yan’s tomb, settling the score.
Her gaze was filled with hatred.
Qi Buyan’s eyes lightly drifted past the rain curtain, landing on Yan Luoxu.
“You’ve come to kill me?” He tilted his head slightly, the silver bells in his hair jingling. The snakes slithered away, leaving only the two of them in the empty street as the rain intensified.
Yan Luoxu spoke coldly, “You killed my loyal servant in Prince Yan’s tomb. It’s time to pay with your life. Prepare to die.” With that, she swiftly moved through the rain, raising her iron claw to strike Qi Buyan.
Thunder and lightning flashed.
In an instant, the street was illuminated by white light, quickly returning to its gloomy, wet state.
Qi Buyan’s hand holding the umbrella didn’t move, yet he shifted like a ghost, from in front of Yan Luoxu one moment to behind her the next. Yan Luoxu immediately turned, her wrist flicking to release a throwing knife.
He caught the flying knife between his fingers and then let it fall to the ground. “I’m looking for someone. Why choose now to try to kill me?”
Yan Luoxu didn’t care what Qi Buyan wanted to do next; she only wanted him dead.
Her iron claw slashed towards his face.
Rain rolled off the swinging iron claw, splashing onto Qi Buyan’s neck. He bent down, the claw sweeping above him. Just as Yan Luoxu tried to adjust her aim to strike downwards, he kicked her.
She staggered back a few steps, her stance momentarily faltering, eyes locked on him.
Liu Yan had suggested using the girl beside Qi Buyan to restrain him, but Yan Luoxu saw no one with him.
No matter. She would still try her best to kill Qi Buyan.
In the blink of an eye, she attacked again, but her iron-clawed hand was severed before it could touch him. The fine silk threads were almost invisible in the rain.
Yan Luoxu gritted her teeth against the pain, switching to her other hand to fight Qi Buyan, only to see the silk threads wrap around her severed hand, manipulating the iron claw to dig into her own body.
The claw raked her ribs.
She cried out in pain.
Qi Buyan pulled the silk threads, and the iron claw seemed to be tearing apart her ribs. “You claim you’re here to avenge your loyal servant, but didn’t you try to kill me first?”
Yan Luoxu’s face was pale, but her eyes burned with resolve. “So what?”
Qi Buyan smiled gently, like a benevolent deity. “Since you miss your loyal servant so much, why don’t you join him?”
“You—!”
The iron claw indeed broke her ribs, and the silk threads slipped into her wound, cutting her into pieces. She screamed, collapsing to her knees. “I’ll wait for you in the underworld.”
She laughed. “Even if I can’t kill you, Liu Yan will…”
Before she could finish, the silk threads tightened around her neck, severing it. Her head rolled to the ground, blood spilling and then washed away by the rain.
With her death, the longevity gu left her body.
It crawled away from her corpse.
Qi Buyan ignored the longevity gu on the ground, lifting his umbrella slightly and looking up at the high building opposite. Liu Yan was standing there. Yan Luoxu had been just a tool for testing Qi Buyan’s strength.
Her death was expected.
However, Liu Yan hadn’t anticipated her dying so quickly, indirectly proving that this young man from Tianshui Village in Miaojiang was not easy to deal with.
In the street.
The wind stirred Qi Buyan’s silver accessories, and his thoughts inexplicably turned to He Sui’an.
He wanted to see He Sui’an.
He wanted to see her very much.
The scent of blood in the air made Qi Buyan’s nerves uncontrollably excited.
After killing, Qi Buyan’s desire to see He Sui’an intensified. He suddenly pulled up the butterfly silver chain, using a new piece of silk thread to cut his wrist. Blood beads flowed from the cut flesh, dripping down.
The urge to see He Sui’an showed no signs of diminishing; instead, it grew stronger.
In the past, Qi Buyan always used this method to suppress his desire to sleep whenever he felt cold. Cutting his wrist and letting the blood flow temporarily curbed it, but with He Sui’an, it didn’t work.
He still wanted to see her.
Qi Buyan stared at the blood on his wrist, the sharp silk thread making the wound difficult to stop bleeding and maintaining the pain for a long time. But it couldn’t suppress his desire to see He Sui’an.
After today’s events, Qi Buyan realized he needed to find a way to keep He Sui’an by his side forever, making her unable to leave him.
He lowered his hand, blood still dripping.
Thunder rumbled, and the rain fell like a curtain.
The young man’s face was strikingly beautiful, his wrist bloody, with a hint of morbidity in the crimson.
beautiful. FATALITYYYY