Changling stared at Ji Beilan with a calm expression, the more she looked at him, the more he resembled a charlatan.

She calmly turned her head and asked Ye Qi: “Did he treat your illness too?”

“Ah? Yes.”

Changling suddenly understood. “No wonder you always look like you’re about to kick the bucket.”

Ye Qi: “…”

Hearing someone question his medical skills, Ji Beilan immediately bristled with anger: “If this brat would just listen to this old man, living another ten or twenty years would be no difficulty! But instead…”

“Hehe, Mister Ji, please calm down. Miss Changting is just joking with you.” Ye Qi grinned and interrupted him. “Actually, I think both methods you mentioned aren’t that difficult. It’s just that the second one needs fate to slowly work, while the first one…”

Changling: “I never cry.”

“Never?” Ye Qi was somewhat amazed. “Do you mean never since childhood?”

“Since I can remember, I’ve never cried.”

“Wow, the young lady’s tear threshold is truly… admirable, admirable…” Ye Qi cupped his hands, then turned to ask Ji Beilan: “Is there a third method?”

Ji Beilan shifted his sitting position, half-lowered his eyelids, and pointed to the medicine jar in the corner: “The old woman at the Wang blacksmith’s family at shop number two on the street is waiting for medicine. My legs aren’t convenient. Could I trouble Young Master Ye to run this errand for me?”

Ye Qi made a “tsk” sound. “Your method of sending people away is really…”

Seeing Ji Beilan glare impatiently, Ye Qi helplessly stood up. Before leaving, he instructed Changling: “Whatever Mister Ji tells you, remember to tell me word for word later…”

Ji Beilan stroked his beard. “If you’re late, the old woman might not make it. Should we blame you for her death?”

Ye Qi carried the porcelain jar wrapped in cloth and vanished from the pharmacy in an instant. Once the footsteps faded, Changling raised an eyebrow. “What does Doctor Ji want to tell me?”

Ji Beilan leaned forward and enunciated word by word: “Shemo True Qi, Lovers’ Curse—I never imagined… that Second Young Master Yue was actually a woman.”

An invisible yet piercing aura suddenly surged through the old pharmacy.

“I’ve felt more pulses in my life than I’ve walked roads. Appearances can deceive, but pulse readings cannot be faked.” Ji Beilan extended his withered right hand. “Second Young Master need not worry. If this old man wanted to speak, I would have said so earlier. Why send the young marquis away?”

Changling had no intention of silencing him to begin with. Hearing him say this, she was instead slightly puzzled: “Seeing that you and the young marquis have no ordinary relationship, and since he brought me here, why would you still want to hide this from him?”

“This old man has been treating his illness for eleven years… Over these years, he’s worked hard for his own health. I told him his illness most fears excessive thinking and worry, that he needs to smile more and be more open-hearted. So day in and day out, he’s found ways to amuse himself, forcibly transforming from a taciturn, boring young boy into a chatterbox. Yet over these eleven years, not only has his condition not improved, it’s deteriorated. Does Second Young Master know why?” Ji Beilan chuckled. “It’s all because of that portion of Shemo True Qi Second Young Master infused into his body.”

Changling’s heart jumped. “Are you saying I didn’t save him but harmed him instead?”

“No, no, no. Eleven years ago, without that portion of true qi from Second Young Master sustaining him, the young marquis would have already departed to the afterlife. You are naturally his life-saving benefactor. It’s just… since what circulates in his body is your Shemo True Qi, even if he later found others willing to transfer internal energy to him, they couldn’t proceed. If he wants to continue living for a long, long time, he can only depend on Second Young Master alone…”

Changling “generously” waved her hand: “Since transferring cultivation can extend his life, if I transfer him one or two portions every few years, that’s not impossible…”

Seeing her treat her internal energy like common cabbage, Ji Beilan was frightened into shaking his head repeatedly: “Second Young Master, those who’ve been hit with the Lovers’ Curse can come back from the dead—by what means? Precisely by relying on your singular and domineering true qi! Especially now that you still have more than half sealed by the Soul-Numbing Powder. Forget two or three portions—right now, even if you gave him another half portion, heh, you’d be the one kicking the bucket first.”

Changling’s brow furrowed slightly at these words.

“So you’re saying he has no cure?”

“Not entirely.” Ji Beilan sighed. “The young marquis’s illness was brought from his mother’s womb. His blocked meridians and your blocked heart meridian are quite similar, but he has almost no internal breath… However, if he cultivates Shemo True Qi on his own, he can make up for his deficiency…”

“What’s so difficult about that? If he’s willing to learn, I’ll just teach him.”

“Does Second Young Master think the young marquis hasn’t studied the Shemo Mental Technique?” Ji Beilan said: “Speaking of which, he’s actually your fellow disciple now. Eight years ago, he already became a student under the venerable monk Jiagu. He’s long known the Shemo Mental Technique by heart…”

Changling was shocked. “He couldn’t possibly… not even have cultivated the first level, could he?”

“Second Young Master is the first person in a hundred years to cultivate to the ninth level. This old man asks—what is the first principle of cultivating this Shemo True Qi?”

The first principle?

In her childhood, Master Jiaye told her in the Relics Buddha Pagoda: “To comprehend Buddha’s words, you must walk Buddha’s path. To cultivate the Shemo Mental Technique, you must let go. So-called letting go means removing your discriminating mind, your mind of right and wrong, your mind of gain and loss, your mind of attachment—only then can you achieve success.”

Changling raised her eyes and asked: “What worries does Ye Qi have that he cannot let go?”

“This is precisely why I didn’t let him stay here.” Ji Beilan shook his head with a smile. “Second Young Master, the person and matters the young marquis has been thinking about constantly all these years, unable to let go—isn’t it… you, Second Young Master?”

Changling’s heart suddenly jumped. “What did you say?”

“He cannot let go of the grace Second Young Master showed him, cannot let go of the righteous promise made with Second Young Master. Even though he’s long seen through life and death, he still cannot see through this mortal world…” Ji Beilan sighed deeply. “In this regard, it’s completely opposite to your condition.”

The old woman at the Wang blacksmith’s family on the street was truly a troublesome person.

Seeing Ye Qi was a stranger’s face, as if worried he might add ingredients to the medicine halfway, she blocked the door asking endless questions, insisting he stand aside and watch her drink the medicine. Ye Qi, adhering to his principle of not arguing with people over ninety, patiently watched her scoop and finish the medicine sip by sip before racing back to the Beizhai Pharmacy. Before even reaching the shop entrance, he saw Changling stride out.

The door slammed shut with a “bang.” Ji Beilan clearly had no intention of chatting with them through the night—even the “proprietor has traveled afar” wooden sign had been shaken to the ground.

Ye Qi approached and couldn’t help examining Changling’s expression. Though it was the usual lack of expression, those eyes rippled with light, as if she had something to say.

“Um, did Old Man Ji mention a third method?”

“No.” Changling glanced at him and walked forward. Ye Qi followed alongside, gathering his sleeves: “At least now it’s not completely hopeless. I’ll take you to Jinling City’s largest bookstore right away. We’ll pick a few particularly heart-wrenching, inhumanely tragic books. Who knows which one might hit your crying point?”

Seeing Changling had no reaction, Ye Qi continued: “If you don’t like reading, we’ll go watch a play. I heard the ‘Hairpin Troupe’s’ performances follow the path of making hearers grieve and viewers weep… If you really don’t like the first method, the second one isn’t…”

Changling slowed her steps. “My affairs, I’ll handle myself.”

Ye Qi stared into her pupils and said: “What exactly did Doctor Ji tell you?”

“Nothing. It’s late. You should go back and rest early.”

Leaving these words, Changling strode forward on her own, passing through the street lanes until she reached a deserted bridge slope, the river water flowing and gurgling below.

She turned back to find Ye Qi still behind her. “How long are you going to follow me?”

“You really don’t keep your word. You said we’d go the same way. Why won’t you let me now?”

One was heading east, the other west. “When did I ever say I’d go the same way as you?”

Ye Qi stood at the bridge head, the night mist making him appear especially gentle.

He extended his right hand, spreading five fingers: “Five years. You said, you’d give me five years to take down the He family and become your ally, to seize the world together.”

Caught off guard hearing these words, Changling froze, her heart jumping hard.

“I said I was alone, just a child.” He lowered his hand and walked slowly toward her. “You told me that even bareheaded and barefoot, walking through deep mountains and vast valleys, I could still wrap myself in covers.”

The night was so quiet a dropped pin could be heard. Ye Qi walked before her, one hand forward, one hand back. “I know it’s you, Yue Changling.”

Almost inaudible, yet every word clear to the ear.

For a brief moment, time seemed to flow backward eleven years, outside the military tent, before sunrise.

But in her mind arose Ji Beilan’s warning: “Your life and death uncertain, yet the young marquis is willing to rush about everywhere for you. If he knew the person he seeks is right before his eyes, this obsession—he couldn’t let go for even a moment… Second Young Master, if you can make the young marquis cast aside all worldly matters and travel far to cultivate the Shemo Mental Technique, perhaps after a year or so, he might have the fate to return. But if you involve him in your storms, given his temperament, even the greatest immortals couldn’t cure him.”

The truth from eleven years ago had just begun to unfold, enemies were right at hand, the great vengeance unrequited—how could she possibly stop at such a time?

“I’m sorry, Ye Qi.” Changling looked up. “I am not Yue Changling.”

“You’re not?” Thinking it would only take an understanding nod, he hadn’t expected outright denial. “Just based on how concerned you are about Yue family matters, and that time outside the Great Zhao Temple when you transferred me true qi and saved my life—if you weren’t her, how could I be standing here perfectly fine now?”

“I’ve never denied my connection to the Yue family, and I have no need to deny the Shemo True Qi in my body. But that was obtained when I was young after receiving Second Young Master Yue’s assistance. Later, through circumstances and fate, I also cultivated some true qi myself.” Changling hastily thought of a relatively plausible reason. “Didn’t you ask what Doctor Ji told me? Just now he also thought I was Second Young Master Yue, but after asking a few more questions, he realized I wasn’t.”

Ye Qi stared at her blankly. After quite a while, he finally spoke: “I see. I was actually a bit puzzled—if Yue Changling were still alive, how could she possibly be so young and beautiful?”

Though he smiled, his manner wasn’t without awkwardness.

“Since the misunderstanding is cleared up, there’s no need to follow me like a shadow anymore, right?”

Finishing her words, she cupped her fists and left, as if too lazy to spare this chattering young marquis another glance.

Ye Qi stood in place until her figure walked farther and farther away. The face that had been full of disappointment actually revealed a barely perceptible smile.

“It really is you.” He raised the corners of his mouth, murmuring: “You’ve returned.”

After smiling once, the smile seemed unstoppable, overflowing with radiant spirits.

“But… why won’t you admit it?” Ye Qi thought to himself. “Could she still have some concerns about me?”

He stood lost in thought for a moment, then took leisurely square steps back to the marquis manor. Just as he returned to his room, Seventh Uncle followed closely behind. Seeing his wary yet flustered appearance, Ye Qi couldn’t help but smile: “For something to keep you, old man, awake this late, it must not be trivial.”

Seventh Uncle closed the door, walked up to Ye Qi, and lowered his voice: “When Young Master Yue passed away that year, a close attendant named Fang Kai by Jing Wuwei’s side also died on the same day. Does Your Lordship still remember this matter?”

Ye Qi nodded slightly. “Wasn’t it said at the time that the attendant died of sudden illness on his own, and his death was unrelated to the Young Master?”

Seventh Uncle pulled out a crumpled piece of paper with a portrait drawn on it: “Our people… discovered this person in Yuyang Village, Huai Prefecture a few days ago. However, this person has lost his sanity. The people of Yuyang Village say he’s been begging in the village all along, everyone treating him as a madman. Oh, this portrait was drawn after our people cleaned him up a bit.”

Ye Qi took only one glance before immediately walking to the desk, pulling open a drawer and extracting an old case file. On it was also a portrait—triangular eyes, garlic nose. Though many years had passed, this person’s features were so distinctively ugly that one could almost instantly recognize the similarities between the two images.

“Where is he now?”

“Already sent people to secretly bring him.” Seventh Uncle said: “Jinling has many eyes, we didn’t dare bring him into the city. I’ve made arrangements. Three days from now, when they arrive at Xi Town outside Jinling, we can leave the city then.”

“I naturally trust Seventh Uncle’s arrangements.”

“However…”

“What other problems?”

“This Fang Kai keeps speaking madly and incoherently, upside down and backwards. Normally it shouldn’t be taken seriously, but there’s one phrase he says that’s very strange…”

“He says, ‘Not the Young Master, he’s not the Young Master.'”

Ye Qi’s eyes suddenly widened, looking at Seventh Uncle with considerable disbelief.

Author’s Note:

The detoxification method the Divine Charlatan (Physician) mentioned won’t necessarily work immediately. It doesn’t mean she’ll be cured the moment she likes someone or sheds tears—that would be absurd. It’s just because the reason the poison is difficult to cure is a heart ailment. Divine Physician Ji guessed Sister Ling’s identity, understood her pent-up frustrations, and unable to persuade her directly, used this method to redirect her attention—similar to how many depression or psychological illness patients’ doctors will instruct their family members to give them more care, have them participate in outdoor activities and group activities. Over time, at some unpredictable moment, they might suddenly improve. The exact moment cannot be controlled.