Chu Dingjiang paused, then said, “Ning Yanli fed her blood to those assassins who had lost their minds.”
“Ye Lühuangwu’s heart is as black as night, perhaps she really can pull it off,” Wei Yuizhi remarked, having given up on his previous efforts, knowing full well the Liao dynasty would continue its internal strife. Even if he remained in Liao, he would just be a loyal hound serving under Ye Lüquancang, never having the chance to truly hate.
The hatred had long dissipated, having slain his enemies many years ago. He loathed the dark corruption of the Great Song court, but where there is light, there is also shadow – he understood this, yet could still not swallow this bitter pill.
“Ning Yanli is dead!?” Mo Siguai stood at the doorway, his drug basket on his back, his face etched with shock.
Chu Dingjiang looked back at him. “She died in pieces.”
“How could she have died?” Mo Siguai detested Ning Yanli, but as a fellow physician, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of pity. For such a medical prodigy’s life to end so abruptly was deeply unsettling.
“These two are the ones you requested,” Chu Dingjiang said, then paused. “When can A Jiu undergo the second reforging?”
Mo Siguai snapped back to his senses. “Based on the timeline, it can be done now. But she was unconscious for a period, so waiting a few more days would yield better results.”
“What harm is there in doing it now?” Chu Dingjiang asked.
“Aside from the results being slightly inferior, there’s no real harm.” Mo Siguai was puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
“Storm clouds are gathering, it’s better to be prepared. I’ll discuss it with her, and if she agrees, I’d like to have her reforged in the next few days,” Chu Dingjiang said.
While Mo Siguai was a stickler for perfection, he could now faintly sense the impending danger, so he made an exception and agreed.
After Chu Dingjiang left, Mo Siguai dragged the two individuals back inside.
“Who would have thought!” he sighed. “Ning Yanli, the one who concocted the potency-enhancing medicine, is now nothing but bones.”
“The current situation is about to take a turn,” Wei Yuizhi remarked. “The Physician should prepare early.”
Mo Siguai waved dismissively. “As if anything can happen to me. I’ll just focus on tending to my little medicinal garden.”
Wei Yuizhi said, “But Luo Xiaowu is not in that little medicinal garden of yours.”
Mo Siguai’s movements stilled, and then he forced a laugh. “Oh, I had almost forgotten about her!” His expression soured. “She can take her path, and I’ll take mine. Wei Er, don’t you dare mention her again, or I’ll turn hostile!”
Wei Yuizhi’s lips curled slightly. “If she’s so unimportant, why get so agitated?”
With that, he turned and left, not giving Mo Siguai a chance to retort.
Hatred was a double-edged sword, but for those with true affection, letting go was never easy. Wei Yuizhi could relate to Luo Mingue’s plight and admired her courage and resolve. By simply reminding Mo Siguai in passing, he hoped Luo Mingue would have a good ending.
Would Mo Siguai be able to part ways as he claimed? Wei Yuizhi didn’t believe it.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Hmph, if I say I’ll cut ties completely, then that’s what I’ll do! He doesn’t know me at all!” Mo Siguai ranted furiously in the room, eventually finding his pipe and resuming his smoking after having quit for only two days.
As the smoke curled up, his mood gradually settled.
Mo Siguai stared at the drifting wisps, his thoughts wandering.
Currently, An Jiu is the most ambitious and driven person in all of Hexi County. She had recruited quite a few people after searching for months.
Although her strength was still far from her imagined ideal, she remained tireless in her efforts.
Chu Dingjiang was wholeheartedly dedicated to being her “faithful wife”, and had already built a camp within the city walls for her to relocate to.
An Jiu was leading her people in training on the drill field, while Chu Dingjiang, still clad in his black robe, stood on a nearby slope, a mighty falcon perched on his shoulder.
The sky was a flawless blue, and time seemed to stand still.
After a long while, a dark speck in the distance grew closer. Chu Dingjiang narrowed his eyes, patting the falcon on his shoulder. “Leixi.”
The falcon, upon receiving the command, spread its wings and soared into the sky, circling high above before plunging towards the approaching black dot. The dot panicked, darting erratically.
Chu Dingjiang whistled, and the falcon’s piercing cry echoed across the vast expanse. The dot plummeted straight down, only managing a few feeble flaps of its wings before the impact.
Chu Dingjiang approached and found a blood-stained pigeon lying on the ground, a slender bamboo tube tied to one of its feet.
Leixi landed back on Chu Dingjiang’s shoulder, its gaze curiously fixed on the pigeon.
Chu Dingjiang retrieved the missives from the bamboo tubes and read them, a cold smile spreading across his lips.
He had long noticed the pigeons flying out of Hexi County at regular intervals but had not acted hastily. Today, he finally let his trained falcon test its skills, and the pigeon, though not killed, could still be of use.
Chu Dingjiang brought the pigeon back to the camp, carefully cleaning and bandaging it before placing it in a cage. Leixi seemed quite satisfied with its first spoils of war, proudly standing guard over the cage, unwilling to leave.
When lunchtime came, An Jiu returned and was immediately struck by the strange sight.
“What happened to this bird?” An Jiu asked.
Leixi turned its head sharply, fixing its gaze on An Jiu.
“Its name is Leixi,” Chu Dingjiang replied.
Leixi stood haughtily in the cage, its entire demeanor exuding defiance. Seeing this, An Jiu approached and stared it down. “You’re not that big, but you’ve got quite the attitude! You’d better be nice, or I’ll stew you for dinner tonight!”
Leixi retreated a couple of steps but continued to defiantly stare at An Jiu, unwilling to yield.
“You’re acting so childish, arguing with a bird,” Chu Dingjiang chuckled.
An Jiu pointed at the trembling pigeon in the cage. “And what about this one? Have you suddenly taken a liking to docile little animals?”
“This one is indeed docile, but it doesn’t belong to me. I’m just keeping it for a while,” Chu Dingjiang said, arranging the dishes.
An Jiu examined the pigeon closely. “A messenger pigeon?”
Chu Dingjiang nodded. “Someone has been using these pigeons to transmit information about our movements.”
“So it’s a spy!” An Jiu exclaimed, puzzled. “Does someone want to assassinate us? Have we offended anyone?”
Chu Dingjiang suspected An Jiu’s mental state still hadn’t fully recovered. Ever since she had openly started serving the dynasty, she had left her past misdeeds completely behind, as if she had always been this upright and ambitious. Seeing her furrowed brow, Chu Dingjiang didn’t have the heart to burst her bubble – when she was an assassin, the list of people she had offended was far longer than she could imagine.
He simply said, “The coded messages describe our movements in great detail, yet we have almost no mutual enemies.”
The answer was both easy and difficult to guess. Chu Dingjiang knew the messages were being sent out by that old Madam Mei, who was both a secret agent of the former Great Song emperor and a Liao dynasty mole. The pigeons were flying north, transmitting information to Liao.
But why would Ye Lüquancang want to monitor his and An Jiu’s movements? They held no real power and had not actively attacked Liao, only raising a small self-defense force in Hexi County – surely that wouldn’t have alarmed the Liao Emperor.
“How much do you know about Madam Mei?” Chu Dingjiang wondered if he could torture the truth out of her.
“Probably not as much as you.” Connecting the pigeon to the situation, An Jiu recalled her first encounter with the old madam. “Though she’s a two-faced schemer, her gaze suggests she won’t easily yield to force.”
“Temptation?” Chu Dingjiang chuckled. “But my temptations can’t compare to those of an emperor.”
This old madam was quite capable. She had placed her bets on two emperors.
An Jiu’s mouth was full of food, so her muffled response was a half-hearted rebuttal. “Not necessarily, it depends on what she wants.”
Chu Dingjiang paused thoughtfully. “That’s true.”
The former Great Song emperor had passed away, so any previous promises of rewards were now void. And Madam Mei’s relationship with Ye Lüquancang was hard to fathom. Chu Dingjiang decided not to waste time aimlessly speculating.
Since he couldn’t be certain of Ye Lüquancang’s intentions, he would refrain from alarming the enemy. He would keep the pigeon well-fed and, imitating the handwriting, replace the contents of the message.
After a few attempts, Leixi had learned to knock the pigeons down without harming them, saving Chu Dingjiang much trouble.
Regarding the reforging, Chu Dingjiang had only briefly mentioned it, and An Jiu had agreed without asking the reason. Once he had arranged the next few days’ affairs, he went alone to Mo Siguai’s courtyard.
Mo Siguai was puffing on his pipe while flipping through medical texts. “Does he know you’re coming?”
“He’s the one who sent me,” An Jiu replied.
Mo Siguai paused his movements, looking up at her. “And he didn’t come with you?”
Reforging required the person to strip naked and have medicine applied, and Mo Siguai didn’t believe Chu Dingjiang would be so generous as to let him do the honors.
“He mentioned it a couple of days ago,” An Jiu said, sitting across from him and impatiently prodding him. “You’re not busy, so hurry up.”
Mo Siguai discreetly wiped the sweat from his brow. “Good thing I’m so wise.”
He almost got trapped by An Jiu! If he had carelessly started the procedure, he might have ended up with his eyes gouged out and hands maimed by a certain someone.
“I had the medicinal ingredients prepared half a year ago, so we can start anytime. But could you at least try to be a bit more reserved?” Mo Siguai eyed her with distaste. “After all, you’re a taken woman now. Can’t you just strip for some other man?”
“You’re not just some other man,” An Jiu replied.
Mo Siguai leaned back, puffing out a ring of smoke as he lazily narrowed his eyes. “I’m a respectable young gentleman who hasn’t yet found a wife. You can’t just say things so vaguely.”
“You misunderstood,” An Jiu explained earnestly. “What I meant is, in my eyes, you’re not a man.”
“I’ll just stick with the misunderstanding then.” Mo Siguai responded.
What An Jiu had meant was that in her eyes, Mo Siguai was not a man, but a friend and doctor. However, no matter how she explained, she couldn’t quite convey it. Thinking herself a literary talent, An Jiu naturally didn’t blame herself but rather accused Mo Siguai of being too stubborn. “You’re as prickly as Zhu Pian.”
“I’m too lazy to get angry at you.” Mo Siguai gripped his pipe. “Wait until Chu Dingjiang comes, then we’ll start.”
“He doesn’t know I’m here.”
“Nothing in the Great Song escapes his notice! You don’t understand your own man, I’m worried sick for him!” Mo Siguai exclaimed.
An Jiu sulked, “The way you seem eager to step in yourself makes me wonder if you have a thing for him.”
“Cough!” Mo Siguai choked on his smoke. “Nonsense! Chu Dingjiang is a man!”
“A man?” Chu Dingjiang had just entered and overheard Mo Siguai’s gritted teeth complaint.
Mo Siguai rubbed his forehead, exasperated. Dealing with these two was the most headache-inducing thing in his life. Just looking at them made him feel depressed!
For example, just now he had said so many nice things about Chu Dingjiang, but the fool hadn’t heard a single word, only choosing this exact moment to show up! It was as if even fate was conspiring to prevent them from being friends.
“I don’t want to talk anymore! Let’s just start!” Mo Siguai extinguished his pipe and went to fetch the medicines.
In his irritable state, he thrust the bundles of herbs into Chu Dingjiang’s hands. “Crush these first.”
An Jiu objected, “He’s not a doctor, why make him do the medicinal preparations?”
“Tsk tsk, this is the first time I’ve heard that only doctors can pound herbs.” Mo Siguai sprawled on the low couch, smiling smugly at An Jiu. “You underestimate your Chu Dingjiang. He can fly through the skies and dive into the seas, pounding some herbs is nothing!”
The implication was that if Chu Dingjiang couldn’t handle the task, he would just have Wei Yuizhi do it instead.
Chu Dingjiang remained silent and began crushing the herbs.
Mo Siguai was secretly delighted. Whenever he crossed paths with Chu Dingjiang, he had never come out on top. He wanted to gloat, but thought better of it, lest he suffer a devastating retaliation later.
The room was filled with the sounds of herb pounding.
An Jiu approached. “Let me do it for a while.”
“You just rest, you’ll have plenty of hard work ahead.” Chu Dingjiang said gently. He had never undergone the brutal tempering methods of external cultivation, but he understood the concept of reforging. In a sense, it was like shattering the body, filtering out the impurities, and reforging it anew – a process that could be described as worse than death.
Though his words were calm, An Jiu could detect his concern and care. She felt her heart swell with joy.
Chu Dingjiang, seeing her reaction, reached out to gently ruffle her hair.
Mo Siguai huffed quietly, turning his head away. These two seemed to exist solely to vex him.
From pounding the herbs to boiling the medicine, it took nearly two hours.
Normally, Chu Dingjiang would demand exorbitant compensation for any task, but when it came to serving An Jiu, he was tireless and uncomplaining. Recognizing this, Mo Siguai took full advantage, barely lifting a finger as he directed Chu Dingjiang.
By the time everything was prepared, it was well into the afternoon.
Only An Jiu and Chu Dingjiang remained in the room.
An Jiu hesitated for a long while before untying her clothes. Logically, she and Chu Dingjiang had been intimate many times, so there should be no shyness. But the reality was the opposite – the simple act of undressing now charged the air with a trembling, heart-fluttering tension, unlike the ease she had felt when undressing in front of Mo Siguai.
The sash was tied too tightly, and when An Jiu yanked at it, it only became more stubbornly knotted.
“Let me help you,” Chu Dingjiang said, moving closer. His deep voice seemed to reverberate not just in her ears, but in the depths of her heart.
An Jiu felt her blood and heat concentrate at her earlobes, then spread to her cheeks and neck as he undressed her.
Piece by piece, the clothing fell to the floor, until she stood completely bare. An Jiu felt a bit self-conscious.
When their gazes met, they quickly looked away. An Jiu cleared her throat softly. “I feel like I’m becoming more and more timid.”
“It’s not because I’m timid,” Chu Dingjiang said, his voice filled with amusement as he embraced her. “This way, it’s good.”
Chu Dingjiang’s clothing brushed against her skin, causing a strange, tingling sensation to spread throughout her body. An Jiu wondered if she had fallen ill, as the same fabric she had worn before had never elicited such a reaction.
Chu Dingjiang did not expect to see the other side of An Jiu in this situation. He was both delighted by the moment and saddened by the pain she would have to endure next. His emotions were complicated, overtaking his initial feelings.
After a moment, they parted, and An Jiu lay down on the prepared platform.
Chu Dingjiang took the bamboo strips and carefully applied the medicine, the thick, dark ointment covering her skin, as white as congealed lard, gradually obscuring the various emotions in his heart, restoring his calmness.
Outside, the moonlight was bright.
Mo Siguirentraced back the events of the past three times, losing himself in thought and smoking two bags of cigarettes. When he looked back at the closed door, he was puzzled.
“There are only two things to do! Are you planning to stay in there until dawn?” he said, knocking on the door.
After waiting for a while, there was still no response. “I say, are you planning to stay in there and give birth to the child first?”
After about another moment, Chu Dingjiang finally opened the door and stepped out.
Mo Siguirfurrowed his brow. “The ones who are in a hurry to recast are you two, yet you’re the slowest when it comes to the critical moment.”
Chu Dingjiang didn’t get angry but simply gave him a calm look. “Those without a wife wouldn’t understand.”
“You, you, you, you stay out here!” Mo Siguirslammed the door shut, huffing as he walked to An Jiu’s side. “I don’t have a wife because I don’t want one, and believe me, if I decide to take a wife now, all the young ladies in Bianjing would line up at the West River County waiting for me!”
“But in the end, they wouldn’t be the ones you’d want to marry,” An Jiu said, her voice muffled by the cloth covering her mouth, her words slightly distorted by the intense pain. Yet, she spoke the truth bluntly.
Mo Siguirwas exasperated. “Can you all just calm down? If you make me too frustrated, I’ll just wash my hands of this and see where you’ll go to cry.”
“We didn’t mean to.” An Jiu often didn’t realize when her words were inappropriate. But this time, “This time, it was intentional.”
Mo remained silent, glaring at her with resentment.
To distract herself, An Jiu kept talking to him. “Although I shouldn’t meddle in others’ affairs, I just can’t stand how you have her in your heart, yet you can’t forget her and are willing to torture yourself to the point of losing your humanity, without even trying to find her.”
“Who says I’ve lost my humanity? I’m still as graceful as a jade tree!” Mo tried to change the subject.
But An Jiu was too focused on her train of thought to hear him, “You’ve chosen different paths, but hers is a dead end. If you could rush up and pull her back, even if you couldn’t, at least you could accompany her to the very end, instead of being so lonely in your resentment.”
These words were not just for Lou Mingyue, but also herself. Back then, An Jiu had desperately longed for someone, something, or even an object that she could possess, to provide her with even the slightest warmth and solace.
“Do you think letting go is a mutual liberation? You don’t know that some bonds can never be severed, not even by life and death…”
“If it were me, even if I faced the same situation before, I would have been at a loss. But now, if I were you, I would cling on even tighter, even if it meant entangling myself in a web of my own making.”
If only she could go back to her childhood, even if she could only manage to give her mother a single kiss.
“Just being a cold, detached observer, you’ll regret it for this life, the next life, and the life after that…”
An Jiu had promised Lou Mingyue not to interfere in their affairs, and that she would keep her word. However, this didn’t stop her from using this matter to provoke Mo Siguir.
“I’m not breaking my promise to Lou Mingyue by saying these things. I’m not interfering, I’m just interjecting.” An Jiu wanted to laugh, but the excruciating pain only allowed her to let out two strange “hus”. Still, she felt quite proud, “Such a brilliant idea, why… did I only think of it… now? It must be from spending so much time with Uncle Chu, I’ve become quite cunning too…”
An Jiu was the kind of person who could speak without a hitch even with a hole in her body. Hearing her voice, Chu Dingjiang, standing outside, couldn’t imagine the extent of her pain. He felt his heart knotted in a tangled mess.
The saying “the extreme leads to reversal” is true. She was so strong, yet her strength had made her so fragile, so heartbreaking.
Chu Dingjiang had seen many charming women who inspired pity, and as a man, he too had admired such women. But this one had carved her way into his very bones and blood.
He couldn’t resist pushing the door open and going inside.
“A-Jiu.”
An Jiu didn’t answer for a long while, only panting heavily.
After an unknown length of time, she finally steadied her breath. “Why do I suddenly feel like I can’t hold on anymore?”
Just a moment ago, she had felt she could endure it, but hearing Chu Dingjiang’s voice, she suddenly felt the pain was unbearable.
“Chu Dingjiang, it hurts,” she said.
Chu Dingjiang didn’t dare to touch her, afraid of making things worse. He simply said, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here with you.”
“Mm.”
Listening to An Jiu’s words, Mo Siguirwas somewhat moved. But the current situation made his heart skip a beat.
Chu Dingjiang had said, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here with you.”
Yet, where had he been when Lou Mingyue was bearing the pain? Was it truly just because of her strength and refusal of him that he had chosen to give up?
Mo Siguirlet out a long sigh, feeling somewhat lost.
This time, it was mostly Chu Dingjiang who had been busy, while Mo Siguironly contributed with some words, the rest of the time lost in his thoughts. As a result, he felt the time had passed remarkably quickly.
It was only when they lifted An Jiu out of the medicinal tub that he realized he had been awake and working without rest for such a long time.