Seeing that Jun Buli was finally paying attention to her, Situ Jing’er broke into a cheerful grin. “There’s no ‘and then.'”
With that, she turned and walked off.
Jun Buli was stunned for a moment. There was really nothing significant about her telling him this—so why did he feel like he’d just been played?
Of course, Jun Buli wasn’t about to stoop to her level or be so childish about it. He merely glanced at her once, then withdrew his gaze, sinking back into his thoughts.
Outside, everyone continued their anxious wait. Inside the room, at that very moment, Jue Mingzi had finally located the silver needle and was now using a magnet, drawing it out bit by bit, inch by inch, with extraordinary care and caution.
Baili Weisheng had nearly crushed Baili Xiaosheng’s hand by this point—if she’d had any awareness at all right now, she surely would have screamed.
He stared at her without blinking, without looking away for a second, his heart, which had never once beaten this fiercely before, nearly leaping straight out of his chest in this moment.
Silently, in his heart, he prayed over and over: Let the annoying girl be fine, please let her be fine!
Never before had he felt this way—this intensely, this deeply concerned.
Finally, with a soft clink, a tiny silver needle, nearly invisible to the naked eye, struck the magnet, clearly stained with blood!
In that instant, Baili Weisheng’s heart leapt into his throat, nearly bursting free.
And Jue Mingzi felt no less relief himself.
But soon, Jue Mingzi let out a great sigh of relief, applying medicine to stop the bleeding at the acupoint on the back of Baili Xiaosheng’s head. Only then did Baili Weisheng finally dare to speak. “How is it?”
Jue Mingzi exhaled another breath of tension, then nodded. “It went quite smoothly. She should be fine. If things go quickly, she might wake up shortly; if slower, we may need to wait until tomorrow.”
At this, Baili Weisheng, who had been tense all over, finally relaxed. In his whole life, he’d never felt this exhausted before. Suddenly he laughed, murmuring to himself, “Good, that’s good, that’s good!”
He let out another exaggerated sigh of relief. “Phew…”
Having been tense for so long, once he relaxed, he stretched his limbs, only to discover his feet had gone numb from sitting so still. He was about to head out to tell everyone the good news, but just then, Baili Xiaosheng began murmuring in her sleep, her first word being, “Master…”
That single word, “Master,” stopped Baili Weisheng in his tracks.
Ten years. Ten years since he’d heard it last. As long as she didn’t say it, he hadn’t felt much of anything—but the moment she did, he suddenly realized it had been a full decade since anyone had called him master.
“Master, where are you? Master…”
“Master, don’t go, don’t leave Xiaosheng behind…”
…
Whether Baili Xiaosheng was dreaming or not, as she called out, there gradually crept into her voice the unmistakable edge of tears.
Baili Weisheng turned to look, his brow furrowing involuntarily—this girl had never once cried during a nightmare, not since she was little.
He moved closer, and the words became clearer.
“Master, you have to come find me, Master… you can’t abandon me, you can’t leave me behind!”
“Master, if you don’t come soon, I’ll burn your whole Poison Den to the ground!”
“Master… I found my parents, I have a home now, we have a home!”
…
As Baili Weisheng listened, as he watched, he could clearly see that Baili Xiaosheng was crying, tears sliding down one by one from the corners of her eyes, eventually forming streaks that trickled slowly down.
“We? We have a home?”
He murmured to himself, an inexplicable ache rising in his chest, and all the years of the past condensed into that grubby little face of Baili Xiaosheng as a child, surfacing vividly in his mind.
“Master, when will you take me home?”
That was the question Baili Xiaosheng had asked him at three years old, back when she’d foolishly believed the Poison Den could never be their home.
“Master, when will you take me home?”
In her dream now, Baili Xiaosheng murmured it tearfully once more—more than a decade later, this girl, now grown, was still asking him the same question.
Take her home?
He didn’t think he’d ever once considered it.
Home?
Where would she even get a home from?
Baili Weisheng gently used the pad of his thumb to wipe away the tears at the corner of Baili Xiaosheng’s eyes—this was likely the first time, and probably the only time, in his entire life he would ever be this gentle with her.
Having gently wiped away her tears, he slowly leaned down and pressed a light kiss to her cold forehead. “Silly girl, you’ve grown up now—you don’t need me to take you home anymore. Go find one yourself.”
With that, he left, turning and walking away.
Jue Mingzi, having witnessed the entire scene, hadn’t heard a word Baili Weisheng said, but for some reason, though the moment had looked so tender and warm, his own heart felt strangely bitter, uneasy.
The moment Baili Weisheng opened the door, he instantly transformed, as if nothing at all had happened, and laughed loudly, “Little Qingqing, your father really does have skilled hands!”
Everyone who’d been anxiously waiting broke into joy, congratulating each other in relief.
“Thank goodness she’s all right!”
“We finally made it through—that poor girl!”
“Oh, as long as she remembers us, that’s all that matters, that’s all that matters!”
…
Ziqing was the first to want to go in, but Jue Mingzi emerged and stopped her. “She’s still sleeping. Don’t disturb her. She’ll surely be fine by tomorrow.”
“Then I’ll stay behind to take care of her!” Meng Duo’er volunteered eagerly.
Situ Jing’er raised her hand too. “I’ll stay too!”
Hongyi laughed. “You all go get some sleep, I’ll stay.”
She added, specifically to Ziqing, “Mistress, you should go rest. You can handle staying up, but our little princess inside you can’t!”
There was simply no arguing with Hongyi once she got going, and the moment she finished speaking, Jun Beiyue immediately chimed in with his own opinion. Having no choice, Ziqing obediently followed Jun Beiyue off.
Before this whole crowd had returned, she hadn’t really felt any different from them—age and such things hadn’t seemed like a barrier at all. But now that they were back, she realized just how much of a spoilsport pregnancy had made her. How she wished the little one inside her would hurry up and come out, so she could go carouse and have fun with these young people again!
Ziqing and Jun Beiyue left, and Meng Duo’er pushed Situ Jing’er along too, leaving Jun Buli standing there completely ignored by everyone. He stood off to the side, feeling distinctly forgotten.
“Hongyi, you go see Old Jue home. I’ll keep watch here,” Baili Weisheng said.
Hongyi couldn’t very well refuse, so she went ahead, lantern in hand, lighting the way for Jue Mingzi’s departure, leaving only Baili Weisheng and Jun Buli alone in the courtyard.
Jun Buli, feeling rather sheepish, rubbed his nose and turned to leave, but after only a few steps, he turned back and sat down beside Baili Weisheng on the stone steps.
“What are you thinking about, looking so gloomy?” Jun Buli asked.
Baili Weisheng shot him a sidelong glance. “Been tense for half the day, I’m exhausted.”
“Has she remembered everything?” Jun Buli asked again.
“Should be, barring any surprises,” Baili Weisheng answered.
Jun Buli nodded, then continued, “So you… you’ll take her away then? You two… won’t be staying in the palace, right?”
At these words, Baili Weisheng slowly turned his head to look at him, narrowing his eyes, and asked, word by word, “I’m feeling really sorrowful right now. You know why?”