Hua Rongjian, seeing her serious tone, stopped trying to persuade her.
“You’ve changed,” An Jiu frowned.
In just half a year, Hua Rongjian had matured rapidly, both in appearance and temperament. An Jiu disliked this change. The carefree youth who used to watch stars over the great river and drink wine with her while sharing their thoughts was gone. His newfound depth resembled Chu Dingjiang, Mo Sigui, and Wei Yuzhi too much. It wasn’t that An Jiu hated this depth, but she preferred the warm-hearted young man he used to be, even if others saw him as frivolous.
“People always change,” Hua Rongjian said, then smiled at her. “You haven’t changed.”
An Jiu was constantly seeking spiritual liberation, and her mindset naturally evolved. Yet, her inherent purity remained unchanged.
“Protecting one’s true nature is a skill,” Hua Rongjian remarked. He wore a blue brocade robe covered by a black cloak, with black fox fur around his neck framing his face, which glowed like an ancient moon. Though he smiled as he spoke, a hint of melancholy seeped through.
An Jiu suddenly stepped forward and grasped his hand.
Hua Rongjian looked up, surprised.
Feeling the warmth from his palm, An Jiu’s lips curled into a smile. “Some parts of you haven’t changed.”
Hua Rongjian slowly closed his fingers, returning the grip of her small, cold hand. His eyes suddenly grew moist. Just when he felt lost, she told him that some parts of him remained unchanged. “Thank you,” he said softly.
After a moment, An Jiu withdrew her hand.
Hua Rongjian felt a void in his heart. He sighed, then untied a pendant from his waist and handed it to her. “If you ever need help, bring this to the Hua residence. I’ll do everything in my power to assist you.”
The pendant was unlike ordinary accessories. It was a face carved from black jade, with only vague features discernible. Upon closer inspection, tiny points of light sparkled within the stone, resembling the night sky.
An Jiu accepted it without hesitation and tucked it into her sleeve.
Hua Rongjian smiled at her response. She had always been this way, unhesitatingly giving or accepting only when she considered someone a friend.
“I’m leaving,” Hua Rongjian said, looking at the motionless An Jiu. He abandoned any hope of her rising to see him off. “Take care of yourself. There’s no need to see me out.”
As she was about to explain, Hua Rongjian quickly interrupted, “I know you weren’t planning to see me off.”
An Jiu nodded.
Hua Rongjian was speechless. He walked to the door, then suddenly stopped and turned back. “If you ever change your mind, you can always come back and marry me. Although I married Mei Ruyan that year, she isn’t my official wife until her name is recorded in the family registry.”
Perhaps fearing an unwanted answer, he hurriedly left before An Jiu could respond.
Reality can be both beautiful and painful.
An Jiu sat for a while before getting up to have breakfast.
Chu Dingjiang was still waiting for her in the corridor.
The patients in the small courtyard could now move freely, so Mei Yanran no longer brought meals to each room. Instead, everyone gathered in the dining hall.
When An Jiu and Chu Dingjiang arrived, Wei Yuzhi and Mo Sigui were nearly finished eating.
“Sigui said you can eat today, so I’ve prepared some light dishes,” Mei Yanran said, placing a bowl of porridge in front of her.
An Jiu’s attention was completely drawn to the various breakfast items on the table. She muttered a quick thanks and began eating with gusto.
Wei Yuzhi, holding half a steamed bun, stared in disbelief at An Jiu, who was eating like a ravenous wolf.
As An Jiu reached for her eleventh bun, Chu Dingjiang stopped her. “You can’t eat anymore.”
An Jiu silently let go and took a sip of porridge.
Mo Sigui picked up the bun and sighed, “I’m full, but Aunt’s cooking is just too good. I can’t help but have one more.” He took a large bite, chewing noisily.
Wei Yuzhi glanced at An Jiu, who looked thin and weak. Holding just a bowl of plain porridge, she suddenly resembled a mistreated young girl. He used his psychic power to subtly push half a salted duck egg in front of her.
Chu Dingjiang noticed but didn’t stop him. Instead, he scooped out half the egg and placed it on her plate.
After the meal, Mei Yanran cleared the table as the others continued their conversation.
“Doctor Mo, is there any concern about An Jiu’s condition?” Chu Dingjiang asked.
Mo Sigui replied, “She’s just a bit weak. With gradual nourishment, she’ll recover. There are no other major issues.”
Chu Dingjiang smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
Mo Sigui, sensing danger, looked around and grabbed Wei Yuzhi. “You’re not the only one at the Huajing level. You can’t act recklessly!”
“How is it reckless? I merely wish to settle accounts with the good doctor who has been so dedicated to An Jiu’s treatment,” Chu Dingjiang said, his last words barely escaping through gritted teeth. He recalled how Mo Sigui had to examine An Jiu thoroughly each time he treated her, and his anger bubbled up.
“Doctor…” Wei Yuzhi, unaware of the situation but sensing it involved An Jiu and Chu Dingjiang’s anger, quietly withdrew his arm. “I’m just a patient.”
“Oh!” Mo Sigui wailed and bolted. “Chu Dingjiang, if you dare touch me, don’t expect my help ever again!”
Chu Dingjiang knew Mo Sigui’s weakness—he wouldn’t abandon An Jiu!
The sound of fighting and Mo Sigui’s cries echoed from outside.
An Jiu nonchalantly grabbed another bun and stuffed it in her mouth, earning a glare from Wei Yuzhi when he noticed.
Wei Yuzhi lowered his head with a shy smile.
Mei Yanran quickly cleared everything away to prevent An Jiu from sneaking more food.
After breakfast, the two patients exercised in the courtyard. Both had recently suffered severe injuries and weren’t suited for vigorous activity. Wei Yuzhi sat wrapped in a blanket on the porch, sunbathing. He had a chessboard beside him and was setting up an endgame position. Nearby, a white plum tree encased in ice sparkled in the sunlight, its cold fragrance faintly discernible.
Wei Yuzhi wasn’t particularly handsome, at least not compared to Chu Dingjiang or Mo Sigui. However, when deep in thought, he possessed a unique charm that seemed to draw others in.
An Jiu stood in the courtyard, watching him play against himself. She was briefly captivated but mostly puzzled. He kept placing and removing pieces, seemingly finding interest in an activity that appeared utterly dull.
The courtyard was small, so Wei Yuzhi had long noticed An Jiu. He held a white piece, hesitating to place it. After a moment, he turned and asked, “Would you like to play?”
An Jiu approached and looked at the board. “Is it fun?”
Wei Yuzhi nodded with a smile. Seeing An Jiu sit across from him, he cleared the board of its complex position. “Do you prefer black or white?”
An Jiu, favoring light, chose white.
“The board has nineteen horizontal and vertical lines, creating 361 intersections called points. The marked points are ‘star points,’ nine in total, with the central one called ‘Tengen’…” Wei Yuzhi began explaining the rules and methods of Go to her.
An Jiu usually disliked lengthy explanations, but Wei Yuzhi’s were concise and substantive, piquing her curiosity. She listened with unusual patience.
“A stone on the board has ‘liberties’ at the empty points directly adjacent to it. Stones of the same color connected in a line form a unit and their liberties are counted together. If an opposing 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 asked, “What allows humans to dominate and hunt animals?”
“Intelligence?” An Jiu suggested.
Wei Yuzhi nodded and pointed at the board. “That’s why only humans could invent and play this game.”
“Alright, continue,” An Jiu said.
Wei Yuzhi resumed his explanation. After covering the basics, he guided An Jiu through several practice formations on the board before they began to play.
In their first game, Wei Yuzhi gave her an eighteen-stone handicap, occasionally pointing out her mistakes. Despite this, An Jiu was thoroughly defeated.
The second game also had an eighteen-stone handicap, and An Jiu was again overwhelmed.
The third, fourth, and fifth games followed the same pattern. Although An Jiu was consistently defeated, her basic errors became less frequent with each game.
Chu Dingjiang, having finished beating Mo Sigui, watched a few rounds. Seeing An Jiu’s persistent efforts despite setbacks, he continued observing.
By the seventh game, An Jiu finally lost patience and recruited help. “You play against him!” she said to Chu Dingjiang.
It wasn’t that she was frustrated with losing, but she realized the game required wisdom and skill. Brute force would never defeat Wei Yuzhi. Knowing Chu Dingjiang was intelligent, she brought him to play, hoping to learn by observing.
The two men sat cross-legged, facing each other. Wei Yuzhi shifted slightly, his posture no longer casual.
The atmosphere suddenly changed, as if they might draw swords at any moment.
The blanket slipped from Wei Yuzhi’s shoulders. He adjusted his wide sleeves and said, “Please.”
Chu Dingjiang reached for the bowl of white stones.
Black moves first. Wei Yuzhi took the black stones and placed one seemingly casually on the board.
They exchanged moves rapidly at first. As the board filled with stones, they took more time to consider each move, aware that “one careless move can lose the entire game.”
An Jiu crouched nearby, watching with interest. She asked about moves she didn’t understand, though the answers were often brief and beyond her comprehension.
After watching for nearly half an hour, An Jiu realized she couldn’t understand what they were doing. She yawned and went to find Mo Sigui.
The room was still full of medicines, looking much the same as before.
Not seeing anyone, An Jiu followed the sound of pestle and mortar.
Mo Sigui, crouching among herbs, looked up and glared at her fiercely, though it lacked the intended effect.
“Ha!” An Jiu laughed unkindly at his black eyes. “Seems Chu Dingjiang was considerate of your eyes.”
Mo Sigui didn’t have many injuries, but his panda eyes were most prominent. His usually charming eyes were swollen like walnuts with just a slit to see through.
Mo Sigui pouted. He understood that Chu Dingjiang’s anger wasn’t about the morning’s bun, but about him examining An Jiu’s body during treatment.
“Good thing I’m clever. If I’d said I touched you, both my arms would be useless now!” Mo Sigui said bitterly.
An Jiu crouched down, resting her chin on her hand. “He probably knows by now.”
“I…” Mo Sigui wanted to explode but his eyes stung too much. He covered them, whining, “Oh, what just happened? I seem to have lost my memory.”
An Jiu patted his shoulder. “It’s not that serious. Did he beat you for this? I’ll avenge you later.”
Mo Sigui paused. “You mean it?”
“Have I ever lied to you?” An Jiu said.
“You must beat him like this!” Mo Sigui pointed at his face. “I’ve always said I rely on my looks! Mingyue already doesn’t care for me. If my face is ruined, I’ll have no hope left.”
“Lou Mingyue isn’t shallow,” An Jiu consoled him. “Whether you’re handsome or not, she won’t give you a second glance.”
Mo Sigui wailed, “Go away! Don’t let me see you again. Take that heartless Chu Dingjiang of yours and go as far as you can!”
“I’m not feeling well, so I can’t go far,” An Jiu said seriously.
Mo Sigui flopped onto the pile of herbs, looking dejected. As he applied medicine to his eyes, he asked grumpily, “Have you seen Wei Yuzhi?”
“He’s playing Go with Chu Dingjiang outside,” An Jiu replied.
Mo Sigui tossed a cotton ball into the medicine pot, seemingly finding an outlet for his anger. He rushed out like a whirlwind. Seeing the two still playing, he shouted, “Do you have a death wish? You just got stabbed and instead of resting, you’re out here playing Go! And you, Chu, how despicable! Is this how you try to eliminate your rival? Let me tell you, he won’t die under my care. Give up that idea!”
His words were full of righteous indignation.
The two players were deeply engrossed in their game, feeling they had met their match, and paid no attention to anything else.
Mo Sigui, proud of his outburst, waited. When no one responded and he saw Wei Yuzhi’s pale face tinged with a sickly hue, he became genuinely angry. He stepped forward and slammed his palm on the board, shattering it into dust that scattered onto the snow, creating a messy pattern.
This finally caught their attention.
Mo Sigui grabbed Wei Yuzhi’s wrist, channeling his qi to thoroughly examine him. His face turned ashen. “Come back with me!”
Wei Yuzhi felt a dull pain in his chest and nodded to Chu Dingjiang before following Mo Sigui back to the room.
“If you don’t value your own life, even if I were a god and gave you fifty years, you wouldn’t live to see it!” Mo Sigui took out his silver needles, had Wei Yuzhi lie down, removed his clothes, and quickly applied acupuncture.
After finishing, he took out a pill and put it in Wei Yuzhi’s mouth.
“Is he alright?” An Jiu asked.
“You go rest too!” Mo Sigui said irritably. “You think you’re perfectly healthy? You still have the energy to worry about others?”
Seeing Wei Yuzhi fall asleep after taking the medicine, An Jiu said nothing more. She glanced at his scarred body before turning to leave.
Chu Dingjiang accompanied her back to her room.
“You’ve been up for half a day. Rest a bit before lunch,” he said.
An Jiu replied, “I don’t feel tired.”
“Following doctor’s orders isn’t wrong,” Chu Dingjiang said. He could see An Jiu wasn’t fatigued, otherwise he wouldn’t have let her play for so long. But Mo Sigui was right; 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 a bit,” Chu Dingjiang said.
An Jiu quickly said, “Don’t beat Mo Sigui again. I promised to avenge him!”
Chu Dingjiang raised an eyebrow. “I’ll let you avenge him when you return, but you’re a patient now. You don’t have much strength and can’t engage in vigorous activity. Mo Sigui knows this.”
An Jiu nodded in agreement.
After Chu Dingjiang left, An Jiu was alone in the room. Despite the four corner braziers, she felt cold. Her chest felt constricted, making it hard to breathe. This feeling intensified until she fell into an exhausted sleep.
Mo Sigui came in with his medicine box and sat on the bed, taking An Jiu’s pulse.
After a long while, he sighed, “The heart blood is truly mysterious.”
Mo Sigui had pondered for a long time and roughly understood the wonder of the heart blood. It used one person’s spiritual power and life force to nourish another. The fresher the blood, the better. If they had given An Jiu all of Gu Jinghou’s blood immediately after taking it, she would have benefited greatly, possibly even inheriting Gu Jinghou’s spiritual abilities.
Unfortunately, they didn’t understand at the time and missed the best opportunity.
But this was also good. Gu Jinghou had been dead for years, and the blood had been refined with medicines. Its effectiveness was no longer what it once was. So even if the Emperor of Liao obtained it, his condition might improve, but he probably couldn’t be fully cured.
This was for the best.
Wei Yuzhi was different from Gu Jinghou. His strong spiritual power nourished An Jiu’s wounds but also merged with her body. If Wei Yuzhi died before An Jiu fully assimilated it, she might suffer another severe injury.
Such strong spiritual power couldn’t be subdued quickly. Without Wei Yuzhi, it became a force without a master or consciousness. Whether it would submit to An Jiu’s spiritual power was no longer related to Wei Yuzhi’s will.
Fortunately, Wei Yuzhi had willingly given his blood, so this force seemed gentle for now. There was no need to worry too much. What concerned Mo Sigui more was that An Jiu now had a connection with Wei Yuzhi. She seemed to share some of his pain.
Would death spread to An Jiu through this connection?
Mo Sigui didn’t know. This was beyond his medical knowledge.
As his thoughts cleared, Mo Sigui became excited. This discovery undoubtedly opened a new door for him. He had a feeling that if he could understand the relationship between them, his medical skills would reach a new level!
He must observe these two! Mo Sigui picked up his medicine box and left happily.
At lunch, two people were missing. The two patients who had been lively in the morning were now back in bed.
Chu Dingjiang asked Mo Sigui, “An Jiu seemed fine earlier. Why did she suddenly fall ill? Is it related to Wei Yuzhi’s condition?”
Mo Sigui originally didn’t want to talk to him, but hearing Chu Dingjiang’s insight, his hostility lessened. His emotions were always strange and rapidly changing. “Yes, it’s very mysterious,” he replied.