After confirming that Qiu Ran Ke had passed out unconscious, Yun Ye untied the silk threads from his body and carefully wound them up. Dan Ying didn’t have any of this material either. He had gone into the mountains to search for iron wire snakes and busied himself for over a month before catching only seven or eight, enough to make just a rope slightly over a meter long. To have a rope as long as Yun Ye’s would probably require ten years of accumulation.
Two physicians from the academy came in to carefully bandage Qiu Ran Ke. Besides the blade wounds on his legs and shoulders, the other injuries were minor. The silk threads hadn’t cut too deeply—ten days would be enough for everything to heal, especially since the medicinal powder that Sun Simiao had developed was being sprinkled liberally all over his body as if it cost nothing. Qiu Ran Ke’s mind and body had both suffered severe trauma and needed deep sleep to recover. Yun Ye had asked Sun Simiao many times for the secret formula of the Thousand Day Intoxication, but he wouldn’t give it, worried that Yun Ye would use it to cause trouble.
As soon as he left the room, Yun Ye felt regret. Two small children were lying at the table eating the two arms. The older brother was even using a knife to cut open the lotus root for the younger one, blowing on it to cool it before giving it to his little sister to eat. Their clumsy movements were endearing.
A pig had already been chopped almost into mincemeat, with pig blood flowing all over the ground. Liu Jinbao was considering whether to chop a few more times so he could take it back to the estate to make steamed buns. Several men in blue clothes and a woman in white were happily gathered around the pig, asking Liu Jinbao for their preferred piece. The actors from Xinghua Ward had no problem producing sounds—the woman’s miserable crying and the men’s pleading voices all came from their mouths. The two child actors performed even more brilliantly, depicting the emotions of fear and pain with penetrating precision.
The Xinghua Ward Theater could now perform some short pieces. Yun Ye had positioned them as stage plays. Scripts like “The Ballad of Mulan,” “The Female Prince Consort,” “Huo Qubing,” and “Su Wu Shepherding Sheep” had been adapted by busybody scholars at the academy and had long been wildly popular in Chang’an.
If lyrics like “I too once attended the Qionglin Banquet, I too once rode my horse before the Imperial Street, for the sake of the passionate Young Master Li…” came from a young lady’s boudoir, parents would no longer find it strange or think their daughter was planning to elope with someone—it was just entertainment.
Famous songs like “Su Wu Shepherding Sheep”—whenever the wine reached its peak, someone would belt out in a drawn-out voice: “White-haired mother waits for her son’s return, the bride in red makeup guards an empty chamber,” singing this desolate tune. After finishing, they would go find a Hu dancing girl to avenge Su Wu…
These were all pitiful people with nowhere to go. Liu Jinbao had picked up those two children from the road. After inquiring for a long time with no one claiming them, he simply raised them as his own children. The three of them got along quite harmoniously.
All of this was a dream that Yun Ye had woven for Qiu Ran Ke—a terrifying nightmare. When he woke from his sleep after ten days, he would discover that nothing had happened. Perhaps he would remember the name Li Huairen, but what did that have to do with Yun Ye? The unlucky one would only be Li Huairen. Yun Ye hadn’t forgotten that at Yanlai Tower, this fellow was the first to frame him—he had to return the favor. As for Qiu Ran Ke’s ten days, they would be skipped over. His new life would begin after those ten days.
There was nothing unusual about forcibly inserting non-existent events into someone’s mind. In later times, there were successful examples of applying psychology to business, such as pyramid schemes or insurance. It was simply brainwashing. Even a good person could be fooled into becoming a lunatic who didn’t recognize their own family, much less someone like Qiu Ran Ke who was a confused half-wit. It was far too simple.
Everything had been done perfectly. After kissing the two children on their faces and encouraging them to finish eating both arms completely, he walked with his hands behind his back to find Zhang Chuchhen, also known as Hong Fu.
“Marquis Yun, how is my sworn brother’s condition?” When she saw Yun Ye enter, Hong Fu came forward to ask. Earlier, Yun Ye had designated that courtyard as a forbidden area, not allowing people from the Li household to enter. Hong Fu could only hear agonized cries and Qiu Ran Ke’s roaring from afar, but knew nothing else.
“In answer to Auntie’s question, your sworn brother is currently sleeping. He may need to sleep for about ten days. Both his spirit and body have suffered severe trauma, but our efforts were not in vain—his memory has recovered. You must tell him that his battle with someone only happened yesterday. For this purpose, I specifically slowed the healing of two of his blade wounds, just to tell him that he merely overexerted himself and slept for one night.”
“Boy, why is this? Are you up to some shady business?” Li Jing, dressed in his warrior attire, hurriedly entered and hung his sword on the wall. He always regarded Yun Ye’s views with skepticism. Although he knew this was inappropriate, out of a master’s pride, he couldn’t help but be suspicious.
“Husband, Marquis Yun has cured Zhongjian’s illness. In ten more days, Zhongjian will wake up, and all his lost memories will be completely restored.”
“Yun Ye, is this truly so?” Li Jing’s lips trembled slightly. Even the strongest person has soft spots in their heart.
“Yes, but making him sleep for ten days is to allow his spirit and body to achieve comprehensive recovery. Right now we’re focusing on spiritual recovery as the main priority, placing the healing of physical injuries in a secondary position. That’s why I didn’t immediately treat his blade wounds—this was my consideration.”
“You may have heard that restoring his spirit requires subjecting him to enormous psychological stimulation. So when he wakes up, you only need to say that one day has passed. You absolutely cannot say ten days have passed. Let him believe that the cruel stimulation just now was merely a nightmare. Without having experienced that scene, you cannot imagine what he went through. This junior takes his leave.” After finishing his medical instructions, Yun Ye cupped his hands in farewell. He still needed to go check on Li Huairen and the others—he didn’t know to what degree Li Jing’s retaliation had reached.
Chai Lingwu’s buttocks were exposed like purple eggplants. When he saw Yun Ye enter, he wanted to cover his rear, but unfortunately as soon as the blanket touched his buttocks, the pain caused cold sweat to pour out. From the looks of it, he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed for at least a month. After exchanging pleasantries and concern, Yun Ye gave him a large package of special medicinal salve made by Sun Simiao. They agreed to visit a safe place for entertainment next time, and the two brothers tearfully bid farewell.
Li Huairen was still kneeling before the ancestral tablets. Li Xiaogong and Li Jing were comrades of many years with deep feelings. When he heard that Li Huairen had beaten Qiu Ran Ke, Li Xiaogong immediately gave Li Huairen a thrashing and punished him to reflect in the ancestral hall.
Li Xiaogong was fairly satisfied that Yun Ye came to see Li Huairen. In front of a roomful of guests, he scolded Yun Ye, warning him not to fool around with Li Huairen anymore, saying they should establish lofty ideals and strive together.
After obediently listening to the old man’s nonsense and fully satisfying his vanity, Yun Ye finally went to see Li Huairen carrying a bundle, using the excuse of checking his injuries to send away the servants watching Li Huairen. He set down the bundle, and before he could speak, he saw Li Huairen pull out a roasted chicken from the bundle and begin wolfing it down.
Yun Ye poured Li Huairen a cup of tea, telling him to eat more slowly. While eating, Li Huairen said indistinctly, “I’ve been starving for a whole day—how can I slow down? Remember to bring two more roasted chickens tomorrow. I still have one more day of reflection, and the family won’t give me food.”
“Brother knows you’re unhappy. Why can the madman hit us, but we can’t hit the madman back? So to vent for my brothers, when I was treating the madman, I thoroughly tormented him.”
“Was it unbearably miserable?”
“Of course! Tears came down!”
“Satisfying, satisfying! I wish I could have killed that thief with my own hands!”
“Knowing you had this desire, when that fellow was in complete despair and asked me who I was, your little brother thought his own reputation wasn’t intimidating enough, so I gave him your distinguished name. How about that? Your brother did right by you, didn’t he?”
The roasted chicken in Li Huairen’s hand fell onto the table. He murmured, “With brothers like you all, how have I managed to stay alive until now?”
Liu Hongji’s youngest son was in both pain and pleasure. His buttocks were as colorful as Chai Lingwu’s, surrounded by four beautiful women in light clothing. Liu Zhengwu’s eyeballs rolled around wildly. Just as he reached out his claws, he accidentally pulled his wound and grimaced while sucking in cold air. He probably wouldn’t be able to play the wolf for quite some time.
Zhangsun Chong, carrying a scroll of books, met Yun Ye in the garden with refined elegance. Except for a bit of bruising at the corner of his eye, not a single wound could be seen on his entire body. Seeing him sitting still and unmoved, it was clear that the Zhangsun family’s discipline hadn’t had much effect on him.
“Since you’ve come to see the patients, don’t take the medicine away. It’s better to have as much of Master Sun’s medicinal salve at home as possible. Brother just dodged a disaster this time—even if I don’t need it now, who says I’ll have such good luck next time? Li Jing wanted to make an example of us brothers, putting on a show for His Majesty. Since he’s pitiful, I’ll play along with him. Who in my family would really beat me?”
“I made Qiu Ran Ke sleep for ten days, so we still have ten good days ahead. After these ten days, things won’t be easy. Li Jing overturned the verdict on Qiu Ran Ke—it would be strange if the Buddhist sect didn’t come looking for trouble with us. They’re hoping Chang’an will descend into chaos. Think of a way quickly—how can we brothers escape? We absolutely cannot get dragged into the conflict between Buddhism and Taoism. That’s a muddy pit—whoever gets stuck in it will be unlucky.”
“My clan uncle’s birthday is in three days. I must rush to Luoyang to celebrate the old man’s birthday. Are you going?” Zhangsun Chong opened his book, absently flipping through a few pages, and asked Yun Ye leisurely.
“I’m not going. Master Sun is still in the Qinling Mountains, which is really worrying. I’ve decided to take my household guards into the mountains to search. It’ll probably take ten days to half a month before we can come out. Chumo will go too, Huairen will go, I heard Li Ke is going too. Chengqian really wants to go, but unfortunately he’s the Crown Prince and can’t get away. Qing Que is nowhere to be seen—no one can find him, don’t know where he went. Since you’re going to Luoyang, I won’t worry about it. We’ll go to the Qinling Mountains.”
“Nonsense! Who said I’m going to Luoyang? I’m also going to the Qinling Mountains. I’ll bring a few good hunters from my family—my family’s hunting dogs are famously excellent.”
As for Liu Zhenghui’s family, forget it—his father had already sent him to the fief to manage the household. No need for others to worry pointlessly. After agreeing on a date with Zhangsun Chong, he hurriedly went to Cheng Yaojin’s house.
As usual, he ate a big meal at Old Cheng’s house and told them about going to the Qinling Mountains. Cheng Chumo immediately expressed that he would go too. Old Cheng watched the two brothers discuss equipment for the trip with a beaming smile, happily drinking another jar of wine.
Yuchi the Big Fool didn’t want to go. It was only after his father slapped him twice on the back of his head that he reluctantly agreed, continuously muttering something about wasting time.