Hua Rongjian stopped trying to persuade her when he saw how serious she was.
"You've changed," An Jiu frowned.
In just half a year, Hua Rongjian had matured rapidly, both in appearance and demeanor. An Jiu didn't like this change—the carefree youth who had once stargazed over the great river and shared drinks and heartfelt conversations with her was gone. His depth now resembled that of Chu Dingjiang, Mo Sigui, and Wei Yuzhi too much. It wasn't that An Jiu disliked this depth, but she had always admired the warmth of that young man, even if others saw him as utterly absurd.
"Everyone changes," Hua Rongjian replied, smiling at her. "You haven't."
An Jiu had been constantly seeking spiritual liberation, so her mindset naturally evolved, yet her purity had never faded.
"Keeping one's true heart intact is a skill," Hua Rongjian said. Dressed in a blue brocade robe with a black cloak draped over it, his face framed by a black fox fur collar, he spoke with a smile, yet a trace of melancholy lingered in his tone.
An Jiu suddenly stepped forward and grasped his hand.
Hua Rongjian looked up, startled.
Feeling the warmth from his palm, An Jiu curled her lips slightly. "Some things about you haven't changed."
Hua Rongjian slowly tightened his fingers, returning the grip on her cold, slender hand. His eyes moistened slightly. At a time when even he had lost himself, she still saw something unchanging in him. "Thank you."
After a moment, An Jiu withdrew her hand.
Hua Rongjian felt an emptiness in his chest and sighed. He untied a pendant from his waist and handed it to her. "If you ever face trouble, bring this to the Hua residence. I'll do everything in my power to help."
The pendant was unusual—carved from black jade into the shape of a human face with indistinct features. Upon closer inspection, tiny specks of light shimmered within the jade, like stars in the night sky.
Without hesitation, An Jiu took it and tucked it into her sleeve.
Seeing this, Hua Rongjian couldn't help but smile.
She had always been like this—only when she considered someone a friend would she give or accept without reservation.
"I'm leaving," Hua Rongjian said, watching An Jiu, who remained motionless, and gave up any hope of her seeing him off. "Rest well. No need to escort me."
As she opened her mouth to explain, he quickly interrupted, "I know you weren't planning to."
An Jiu nodded.
Hua Rongjian sighed. At the door, he suddenly paused and turned back. "If you change your mind, you can always come back and marry me. Though I married Mei Ru Yan that year, she was never entered into the family registry—she was never my official wife."
Perhaps afraid of hearing an answer he didn't want, he hurried away before An Jiu could respond.
Truth was so beautiful, yet so painful.
An Jiu sat for a while longer before getting up to have breakfast.
Chu Dingjiang was still waiting for her under the corridor.
The patients in the courtyard had recovered enough to move freely, so Mei Yanran no longer brought meals to their rooms—everyone gathered in the dining hall instead.
By the time An Jiu and Chu Dingjiang arrived, Wei Yuzhi and Mo Sigui were nearly finished eating.
"Si Gui said you could eat today, so I made some light dishes," Mei Yanran said, placing a bowl of porridge in front of An Jiu.
An Jiu's attention was entirely captured by the variety of breakfast dishes on the table. After a quick thanks, she dug in with gusto.
Wei Yuzhi, holding half a steamed bun, stared in astonishment at the ravenous sight before him.By the tenth bun, when An Jiu reached for the eleventh, Chu Dingjiang stopped her with a hand. "No more."
An Jiu silently withdrew her hand and picked up her bowl of porridge to take a sip.
Mo Sigui picked up the discarded bun with his chopsticks and sighed wistfully. "I'm already full, but Auntie's cooking is just too good. I can't resist having one more."
He took a big bite, chewing noisily.
Wei Yuzhi glanced at An Jiu—thin and frail, holding a plain bowl of porridge. She looked like a poor girl abused by her stepfather and stepbrothers. Softening, he used his mental strength to nudge half a salted duck egg toward her.
Chu Dingjiang noticed but didn’t intervene this time. Instead, he scooped out half the egg for her onto a small plate.
After the meal, Mei Yanran cleared the table while the others lingered to talk.
"Miraculous Doctor Mo, how is A Jiu’s condition?" Chu Dingjiang asked.
Mo Sigui replied, "Just a bit weak. She’ll recover with time—nothing major."
Chu Dingjiang smiled.
Mo Sigui took in that cold, mirthless grin and felt a chill crawl up from his soles. "You—"
He glanced around, then grabbed Wei Yuzhi’s arm. "You’re not the only one in the Transformation Realm here. Don’t do anything reckless."
"Reckless?" Chu Dingjiang’s last few words were gritted out. "Miraculous Doctor Mo has been so dedicated to A Jiu’s treatment. I merely wish to settle accounts."
The thought of Mo Sigui examining An Jiu thoroughly every single time made his blood boil.
"Miracle Doctor." Wei Yuzhi didn’t know the details, but if it involved An Jiu and had Chu Dingjiang this furious, it couldn’t be good. He quietly pulled his arm free. "I’m a patient."
"Ahhh!" Mo Sigui howled, bolting away. "Chu Dingjiang, lay a finger on me, and don’t ever expect my help again!"
Chu Dingjiang had already gauged Mo Sigui’s limits—as long as he wouldn’t abandon An Jiu, that was enough.
The sound of clattering and Mo Sigui’s pained yelps soon followed.
An Jiu, unfazed, stealthily grabbed another bun and stuffed it into her mouth. Wei Yuzhi caught her, shooting her a sharp glare.
Wei Yuzhi ducked his head with an embarrassed smile.
Mei Yanran swiftly cleared the rest of the food to prevent An Jiu from "stealing" more under the guise of ignorance.
After breakfast, the two convalescents took light exercise in the courtyard. Still recovering from severe injuries, they avoided strenuous activity. Wei Yuzhi, wrapped in a quilt, sat on the veranda sunning himself. A chessboard lay beside him, where he idly rearranged a puzzle of unfinished moves. Nearby, white plum blossoms encased in ice glistened under the sunlight, their faint cold fragrance drifting through the air.
Wei Yuzhi wasn’t particularly handsome—certainly not compared to Chu Dingjiang or Mo Sigui—but when lost in thought, he exuded a peculiar magnetism, as if pulling others into his contemplation.
An Jiu stood in the yard watching him play against himself, mildly intrigued but mostly puzzled. He placed pieces, then removed them, over and over. It looked utterly dull, yet he seemed engrossed.
The courtyard was small; Wei Yuzhi had noticed her long ago. Holding a white piece mid-air, he hesitated—or perhaps deliberated—before tilting his head toward her. "Care for a game?"
An Jiu leaned in to study the board. "Is it fun?"Wei Yuzhi smiled and nodded. Seeing An Jiu sit down opposite him, he gathered the scattered pieces of the astonishingly complex board game. "Black or white stones?"
An Jiu preferred brightness, so she chose white.
"The board has nineteen vertical and horizontal lines, forming 361 intersections—these are called 'points.' The marked dots on the board are called 'star points,' totaling nine, with the central one being 'Tengen'..." Wei Yuzhi patiently explained the rules and methods of Go to her.
An Jiu usually disliked lengthy explanations, but Wei Yuzhi’s words were concise and meaningful, compelling her to listen with rare patience.
"A stone's 'liberties' are the empty points adjacent to it in straight lines. If stones of the same color are connected in a straight line, they form a single group, and their liberties are counted together. However, if an opponent's stone occupies an adjacent point, that liberty is lost..."
An Jiu frowned. "Isn't this just a game? Why make it so complicated?"
Wei Yuzhi replied, "What allows humans to dominate beasts, to hunt and kill them?"
"Intelligence?" An Jiu ventured.
Wei Yuzhi nodded and gestured to the board. "That’s why only humans could invent this game—and only humans can play it."
"Fine, go on," An Jiu conceded.
Wei Yuzhi continued his explanations. Once the basics were covered, he guided her through placing stones on the board, practicing each fundamental pattern several times before they began their first match.
In the first game, Wei Yuzhi gave her an eighteen-stone handicap, frequently pointing out her mistakes along the way. Yet, in the end, An Jiu was utterly crushed.
The second game, still with an eighteen-stone advantage, ended the same way.
The third, fourth, fifth... Though she was demolished each time, An Jiu made fewer and fewer basic mistakes.
Chu Dingjiang, having finished beating up Mo Sigui, watched from the sidelines a few times. Seeing An Jiu grow more determined with each loss, he continued observing.
By the seventh game, An Jiu finally lost patience and dragged him over. "You play against him!"
It wasn’t frustration from losing that drove her, but the realization that this game truly required intelligence and skill—brute force would never defeat Wei Yuzhi. Remembering Chu Dingjiang’s sharp mind, she pulled him in to observe and learn from their match.
The two men sat cross-legged, facing each other. Wei Yuzhi shifted slightly, his posture no longer as relaxed as before.
The atmosphere tensed abruptly, as if blades might be drawn at any moment.
The quilt slipped from Wei Yuzhi’s shoulders as he adjusted his wide sleeves. "After you."
Chu Dingjiang reached for the bowl of white stones.
Black moved first. Wei Yuzhi took the black stones and placed one seemingly at random on the board.
The two exchanged moves swiftly at first, but as the board filled, the stakes grew higher—one wrong move could spell defeat. Their pace slowed as they pondered each placement.
An Jiu squatted nearby, watching with keen interest. When she didn’t understand something, she asked, though the answers were always brief and left her none the wiser.
After nearly an hour, An Jiu found herself completely lost in their maneuvers. Yawning, she wandered off to find Mo Sigui.
The room was still cluttered with Medicine, looking no different than before.
Not spotting anyone at first, An Jiu followed the sound of grinding herbs.
Mo Sigui crouched amidst a pile of medicinal ingredients. He suddenly looked up, glaring at her fiercely—though the effect was far from intimidating."Ha!" An Jiu couldn't help but laugh unkindly at Lou Mingyue's dark purple panda eyes. "Chu Dingjiang seems to have taken special care of your eyes."
Mo Sigui didn't actually have many injuries, but those panda eyes were the most prominent feature. His originally charming peach-blossom eyes were swollen like walnuts with only a slit in the middle—it was questionable whether he could even see properly.
Mo Sigui pursed his lips. He knew full well that Chu Dingjiang's attack wasn't because of the morning's steamed bun incident, but because he had seen An Jiu's body during the treatment process.
"Thank goodness I was smart enough not to mention touching you, or both my arms would be useless now!" Mo Sigui said resentfully.
An Jiu squatted down, resting her chin in her hands. "I imagine he knows by now."
"I..." Mo Sigui wanted to explode in anger, but the needle-like pain in his eyes forced him to cover them. "Ow, what just happened? Why can't I remember anything?"
An Jiu patted his shoulder. "It's not that serious. He hit you for this? I'll get revenge for you later."
Mo Sigui paused. "You mean it?"
"Have I ever lied to you?" An Jiu replied.
"You have to beat him until he looks like this!" Mo Sigui pointed at his own face. "I told you I still need to rely on my looks to make a living! Lou Mingyue already doesn't care for me. If my face gets ruined, I'll have no hope left at all."
"Lou Mingyue isn't the type to judge by appearances," An Jiu comforted him. "Whether you're good-looking or not, she wouldn't spare you a second glance anyway."
Mo Sigui let out an angry howl. "Get out! Get out! Don't let me see you again! Take that heartless Chu Dingjiang of yours and go as far away as possible!"
"Right now, my health isn't great, so I can't go very far," An Jiu said seriously.
Mo Sigui flopped onto a pile of Medicine, looking as if he had given up on life. As he applied Medicine to his eyes, he grumbled, "Have you seen Wei Yuzhi?"
"He and Chu Dingjiang are playing chess outside," An Jiu said.
Mo Sigui tossed the cotton ball into the Medicine jar and, as if finally finding an outlet for his anger, stormed out like a whirlwind. Seeing the two still engrossed in their game, he roared, "Do you have a death wish?! You just got stabbed, and instead of staying in bed, you're out here playing chess! And you, Chu, you're despicable! If you want to kill off your love rival, this isn't the way to do it! Let me tell you, no one dies under my care. So give up on that idea!"
His words were righteous and indignant.
The two were locked in an intense battle on the chessboard, each feeling they had finally met their match, and paid no attention to anything else.
Mo Sigui finished his tirade, feeling quite pleased with himself. But after waiting for a long moment with no response, he glanced at Wei Yuzhi's pale, almost greenish complexion and genuinely became furious. He strode forward and slammed his palm onto the chessboard, shattering it into dust that scattered into the snow, leaving a messy stain.
Only then did the two snap out of their focus.
Mo Sigui grabbed Wei Yuzhi's wrist, sending strands of True Energy into his pulse to examine him thoroughly. His face immediately darkened. "Come back with me!"
Wei Yuzhi felt a dull pain in his chest and nodded at Chu Dingjiang before rising to follow Mo Sigui back inside.
"If you don't even care about your own life, even if I were a god and granted you fifty more years, you wouldn't live to see the end of them!" Mo Sigui pulled out Silver needles, made Wei Yuzhi lie down, stripped off his clothes, and began swiftly inserting the needles.
Once finished, he took out a medicinal pill and shoved it into Wei Yuzhi's mouth.
"Is he okay?" An Jiu asked."You should go rest too!" Mo Sigui said irritably. "Do you think you're in perfect health? You still have the energy to worry about others?"
An Jiu watched as Wei Yuzhi fell into a deep sleep after taking the medicine and said nothing more. Her gaze swept over his scar-covered body before she turned and left.
Chu Dingjiang accompanied her back to their room.
"You've been active all morning. Rest a bit before lunch," Chu Dingjiang said.
"I don't feel tired," An Jiu replied.
"Following medical advice never hurts." Chu Dingjiang could clearly see that An Jiu showed no signs of fatigue—otherwise he wouldn't have allowed her to stay out so long—but Mo Sigui had a point. After all, An Jiu had only woken up a few days ago.
An Jiu removed her cloak and lay down on the bed fully clothed.
"I'll go help Aunt Mei. You sleep for a while," Chu Dingjiang said.
An Jiu quickly added, "Don't go beat up Mo Sigui again! I promised to help him get revenge!"
Chu Dingjiang raised an eyebrow. "You can have your revenge when I return. But right now, you're a patient with limited strength and shouldn't engage in strenuous activity. Mo Sigui knows this."
An Jiu nodded in agreement.
After Chu Dingjiang left, An Jiu remained alone in the room. Though braziers burned in all four corners, she still felt cold. Her chest felt as if it were being squeezed, a dull ache making it hard to breathe. The sensation grew increasingly intense until, utterly exhausted, she fell into a deep sleep.
Mo Sigui arrived carrying his medicine chest and sat on the edge of the bed, taking An Jiu's pulse.
After a long while, he sighed deeply. "Heart blood truly is mysterious."
Mo Sigui had pondered this for a long time and had roughly discerned the wonder of heart blood. It used one person's mental strength and vitality to nourish another. Naturally, the fresher the blood, the better. If all the blood taken from Gu Jinghong had been given to An Jiu immediately, she would have reaped tremendous benefits—perhaps even inheriting Gu Jinghong's extraordinary spiritual abilities.
Unfortunately, they hadn't understood this at the time, missing the optimal opportunity.
But perhaps this was for the best. Gu Jinghong had been dead for years, and the blood had been reprocessed with medicine, its efficacy greatly diminished. Even if the Liao emperor obtained it, it might alleviate his condition but likely wouldn't cure him completely.
This outcome was ideal.
Wei Yuzhi was different from Gu Jinghong. His strength lay in his formidable mental strength, which had nourished An Jiu's injuries but had also merged with her body. If Wei Yuzhi were to die before An Jiu fully assimilated this power, she might suffer severe damage again.
Such potent, concentrated mental strength wouldn't submit easily. Once separated from Wei Yuzhi, it would become a masterless, unconscious force—whether it yielded to An Jiu's mental strength would have nothing to do with Wei Yuzhi's will.
Fortunately, Wei Yuzhi had willingly given his blood, so for now, the power remained gentle and required little concern. What worried Mo Sigui more was that An Jiu now seemed to share some connection with Wei Yuzhi—she appeared to bear a portion of his suffering.
Could death spread to An Jiu through this link?
Mo Sigui didn't know. This went beyond the medical knowledge he possessed.
As his thoughts gradually clarified, Mo Sigui grew excited. This discovery had undoubtedly opened a brand-new door for him. He had a premonition that if he could unravel these connections, his medical skills would ascend to an entirely new level!Be sure to observe these two carefully! Mo Sigui picked up his medicine box and happily headed back.
At lunch, two people were missing—the two patients who had been lively in the morning had suddenly taken to their beds again to recuperate.
Chu Dingjiang asked Mo Sigui, "A Jiu seemed fine earlier, so why did she suddenly fall ill? Could it be related to Wei Yuzhi’s condition?"
Mo Sigui hadn’t planned on speaking to him, but hearing Chu Dingjiang hit the nail on the head, his hostility toward him lessened somewhat. His emotions were just that strange and ever-changing. "Yes, this matter is quite mysterious." (To be continued…)
PS: A big 5,000-word chapter, including the words missed in the past two days. Will continue making up for it tomorrow if time permits The sea of suffering has no bounds, turn back to find the shore; a prodigal son’s return is priceless. Humbly asking for pink votes—this might be the first time this book has asked for them, and also the last. Since I’m shamelessly asking, if you have any, please give them to me. Depending on the pink votes, I’ll add more updates, aiming to finish this book this month and start a new one next month on an auspicious day. The new book will be a comedic one.
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