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墨書 Inktalez
I couldn't help but sigh. Wasn't this Ren Pingsheng? A guy who thrived on chaos. If I went to the meeting place alone, who knew what awaited me?
“Liuying, what does Ren Pingsheng mean? Can you tell me?” Nie Qiuyuan finally asked after a moment of silence.
Indeed, he didn't know that we had discovered Ye Liuhui's diary, so he was unaware of the relationship between Luo Dachun and Ye Liuhui, or what Ye Liuhui truly intended. I felt I should tell him everything, especially since it seemed he had been helping Luo Dachun overcome challenges and prolong his life for the past five years.
But he also didn't know that I was Ye Zhenzhen, not Ye Liuhui. Ye Liuhui loved Luo Dachun, but she hadn't left that love behind in my thoughts.
What would Nie Qiuyuan think if he read this entirely romantic record?
After some inner turmoil, I finally made a decision. I took out Ye Liuhui's diary from my pocket and handed it to Nie Qiuyuan.
“This was found at Wanzi Mountain, and it's the reason my body has been acting strangely,” I confessed.
Things were already chaotic; I wasn't afraid of making them even more so. I had adopted a kind of reckless attitude.
Nie Qiuyuan took the handwritten notes from Ye Liuhui, sat down, and read through them carefully. He flipped through the pages with one hand while holding mine with the other, never letting go. I quietly waited for his judgment.
“This is not something you should be doing; do not entertain such thoughts!” After finishing, he paused for a moment, suddenly looked up, and pulled me into his embrace. “Don't be foolish. Leave Da Chun's matters to me; I'll find a way for him to survive, I promise.”
I held him tightly, feeling warmth envelop me, yet an odd sensation began to rise within me.
It seemed that Nie Qiuyuan's attention was completely off the relationship between “me” and Luo Dachun. He showed no concern that I might remember the “past” or rekindle old feelings with Luo Dachun.
It suddenly struck me that I had overlooked an important question all along. Why had I never doubted that Nie Qiuyuan's beloved was the real Ye Liuhui and not me? Why did I instinctively believe that everything he said was directed at me? Why was I still so convinced of this now?
Seeing my surprised expression, he smiled and suddenly leaned down to gently peck my lips. The warmth of our breath mingling caused my face to flush instantly.
"My feelings have always been this way, and they will not change." He looked at me seriously.
Nie Qiuyuan folded the note and handed it back to me.
"Let's go down the mountain."
"But what if Ren Pingsheng is down there?"
Nie Qiuyuan smiled and pinched my cheek lightly.
"If he dares to touch you, I'll fight him!"
The words of the handsome man were so sweet that they made my heart flutter. But it felt strange; where had the Nie Qiuyuan I knew gone?
We descended the mountain together and arrived beneath the Crabapple Tree.
Nie Qiuyuan didn't seem nervous, but I knew he was intently observing his surroundings, so I quietly followed him without disturbing him. In the past, I would have focused all my energy on assessing the situation just like he was, but today, surprisingly, I did not.
He was already doing that; I just needed to follow along. For the first time, I had this relaxed and unambitious thought.
Suddenly, I felt foolish.
Nie Qiuyuan didn't know what Ren Pingsheng and I had done under this tree, but instinctively, I glanced at the spot where we had dug up Ye Liuhui's handwritten note with Ren Pingsheng. To my surprise, right there was a Yellow Talisman covered in Tadpole Script.
I couldn't explain why I acted so impulsively, but I walked over and lifted the Yellow Talisman. Seeing the symbol "In My Heart" filled me with joy; I felt certain that a secret lay beneath this Yellow Talisman because the last message from Ren Pingsheng was hidden underneath it. I hadn't even considered that there might be anything wrong with my actions.
Because Ren Pingsheng asked me to come here alone, could it be that I subconsciously believed he wouldn't harm me?
Just as I was about to unveil the Yellow Talismans, Nie Qiuyuan suddenly stepped in front of me. He pulled me back with his left hand and raised his right arm. I heard a series of soft sounds, followed by a gentle hum from Qiu.
I was startled and focused my gaze, only to find that a section of Qiu's right arm had been neatly pierced by three Bone Piercing Nails. The pale skin of his arm instantly turned a dark blue-black. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the three hidden weapons were engraved with fine characters that read: Return, Give, You.
Nie Qiuyuan raised his left hand and gently inhaled, pulling out the three Bone Piercing Nails. The blood gushing from the wound was surprisingly as dark as ink. He quickly took out a vial from his pocket, swallowed three pills, and sprinkled some light yellow powder on the wound.
Everything happened so fast that I was left in shock, unable to help at all. Was this how Ren Pingsheng intended to kill me again, while Nie Qiuyuan had used his own body to shield me from disaster?
"Qiu, how are you feeling? What is this?! You won't be in trouble, will you?!" I felt like I was about to cry from anxiety.
Nie Qiuyuan's gaze softened as he smiled.
"My name sounds quite nice, doesn't it?" He seemed unfazed by the gravity of the situation. Seeing my worry, he added, "It's fine; it's my own poison. I have the antidote."
His own poison? What did that mean?
Nie Qiuyuan crouched down and cleared away the weeds and dirt where the Yellow Talismans were placed. There lay a jade bottle and a note. The jade bottle appeared to be a medicinal vial, similar to those we found among Ye Liuhui's belongings. The note bore Ren Pingsheng's elegant cursive.
"Ah Ying, I told you to come alone; otherwise, you would bear the consequences, didn't I? You certainly didn't come alone, did you? You must have unveiled my talisman. So now you can endure the hidden weapons; your things are returned to you."
"Ah Ying, someone as foolish as you must have secretly resolved to practice that sinister technique. Therefore, this vial of medicine is what I managed to concoct after a sleepless night. Your original vial is potent but harmful to your body; mine is much better. You don't need to thank me; I'm just curious to see what strange things you can still do."
"Ah Ying, I'll always be watching over you. When you're lonely, feel free to come find me."
The signature still read “A Rainy Day in a Straw Raincoat.”
In an instant, I seemed to see Ren Pingsheng wearing a smug, malicious smile.
Before I could fully grasp the meaning of it, the letter was snatched away by Nie Qiuyuan, who infused it with his internal energy and shattered it into pieces.
I looked up to see his face darkened, seemingly very angry.
Panic surged through me as I glanced at his swollen, bruised right arm, and suddenly I felt a pang of sorrow. Autumn had been injured and poisoned; wasn’t this all my reckless doing?
Ah, so this is how I feel seeing him hurt!
“I’m sorry…” I felt my voice tremble slightly.
He gently shook his head, lowering his eyelids slightly.
“What he did for you is more meaningful than what I have done.”
There was an unexpected hint of petulance in Nie Qiuyuan's tone, which was completely at odds with his usual demeanor.
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