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墨書 Inktalez
I was taken aback. Could it be that the one who broke into the Dali Temple, stole the gems, and injured Lin Jiu was indeed the real Ren Pingsheng?
San was a remarkably clever and perceptive child. If he believed that person was Ren Pingsheng, he might very well be right.
Moreover, thinking back, nearly everyone in the room had been killed. After Lin Jiu was severely injured, why didn’t the murderer simply finish off San as well? It would have been so easy.
This child had been rescued from the mines by Ren Pingsheng himself. He shared a past strikingly similar to Ren Pingsheng's, so it made sense that Ren Pingsheng wouldn’t harm him.
Only Ren Pingsheng would know about my gem collection, and only he could easily guess where I would hide the gems. As for the chaos at the Dali Temple, it was likely just a cover-up.
This matter couldn’t be kept secret; I had to inform Nie Qiuyuan and the others at once.
But I feared it might hurt San’s feelings.
After much hesitation, I decided I needed to prepare him mentally first. I wanted him to live a normal life and not have his future entangled with Ren Pingsheng.
“San, listen to me.” I gently held his hand and tried to explain, “The name of Benefactor Brother is Ren Pingsheng. Ren Pingsheng and your sister were once enemies. When you saw us, your sister was actually his captive, forced to be with him.”
San's expression turned incredulous, clearly showing on his face: “How could you possibly look like a captive...”
“This is hard to explain. Initially, it wasn’t clear whether he was an enemy or not. However, if he is the one who hurt Brother Jiu like this, then he is indeed an enemy. San, this person kills without blinking; even if he saved your life, that doesn’t change this fact. So stay well at the Dali Temple. Do what you can do. Don’t let him influence you. You’ve probably realized by now whether the people at Dali Temple are good or bad; you wouldn’t want them to suffer any more harm, would you?”
San nodded slightly, looking conflicted. I comforted him a bit more, urging him not to overthink things.
While I was trying to console him, my own heart was in turmoil.
Thinking of Ren Pingsheng brought me back to that place. And he was actually back to his old ways, opposing us again. I couldn't shake off the uncomfortable feeling in my heart.
I really didn't want such a thing to happen. It seemed I was struggling to accept the fact that Ren Pingsheng was now an enemy.
After sending San away, I found myself lost in thought, contemplating my next move as I slowly walked to Luo Dachun's residence.
"Zhenzhen, you’re here? Just in time." Nie Qiuyuan waved me over and beckoned me inside. Sitting beside him, he handed me a white handkerchief supported by his hand.
"What is this?" I asked, surprised. As I reached out to take it, Qiu reminded me softly, "Heart."
I held the handkerchief and noticed there was something extremely yellow on it. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a crumpled piece of paper.
I spread the handkerchief on the table, pulled out a hairpin, and carefully flattened the paper to read it. To my surprise, four characters were written in tiny strokes: "Blood of Life."
"What is this? What does it mean?"
I felt quite puzzled.
Luo Dachun pinched the thin paper with his fingers and gently rubbed it until it transformed into a fine grain.
"This note was originally in this state, sealed with wax to prevent water damage."
"Where did it come from?"
"Five Imperial Physicians were treating Lin Jiu's wounds when they found this... in his wound."
What?! I was taken aback.
"Because the location of the wound is extremely dangerous, requiring utmost caution, the Imperial Physicians were all incredibly focused while treating it. This thing, although it was under their meticulous technique, was not difficult to detect."
"So, he intentionally left this thing in Brother Jiu's wound?" I was stunned for a moment, and suddenly a surge of anger welled up inside me. I was furious.
"Is this how one sends a message? Does he not care about human lives at all?"
Lin Jiu was still lying in bed, his life hanging by a thread!
Sitting beside me, Qiu held my hand and pressed it against her side.
"Zhenzhen, how do you know this? From what you said, it seems you know who hurt Lin Jiu—it's Ren Pingsheng."
"Huh? What? You both know too? I came to tell you about this! It was San who figured out that the attacker was Ren Pingsheng! But how did you...?"
Hearing about San, Nie Qiuyuan didn't seem surprised and didn't ask about San's background or the details. That's just how he was; as long as he had enough information, he only needed the conclusion from me—it made things so much simpler.
After our reunion, we had endless things to discuss. To reassure him, I reported everything about my outings with Ren Pingsheng—where we went and what we did. (Of course, I left out the Farewell Kiss; that would never see the light of day).
So I briefly explained the origins of Ren Pingsheng's hatred and how we rescued a child from the Mine and returned him to the Dali Temple. Now that San called me sister, he must have understood everything without needing further explanation.
"Zhenzhen, Ren Pingsheng is coming today. He never deliberately concealed his identity; otherwise, how could even a child recognize him? If he didn't want to reveal himself, not just the child who met him once, but even his closest relatives wouldn't be able to identify him. So, he hasn't hidden anything. The precision of his knife skills, the ruthlessness of his strikes, the method of taking items, and the note he left behind—no one else could have done this."
What a surprise! I thought I had grasped some crucial information, only to realize that Ren Pingsheng was doing this on purpose.
"What does he want? Why can't he deliver information properly and has to injure Brother Jiu like this?! No, wait, he must have intended to hurt Melan instead. How could he be so ruthless even towards a woman?" My anger was boiling over.
"He won't kill anyone; at least not at that moment. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been so careful in treating the wounds, and we wouldn't have found the note."
I couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.
"Ren Pingsheng is supposed to be a smart person. I refuse to believe that if he wanted to pass us this note, he could only do it this way!"
"Zhenzhen, you’re quite right." Qiu gently squeezed my hand, signaling me to calm down. "So, passing us this note isn't his entire purpose. It can only be considered one of his objectives."
"Oh? What other purposes does he have? What is he really thinking? We were ready to risk everything to save him!"
"Perhaps..." Qiu gazed into my eyes and slowly uttered two words. "Declare war."
"What... what do you mean?"
"It means he's sending a message: we are not friends; we are enemies. He is rejecting our offer to help him." Nie Qiuyuan scoffed slightly. "Of course, it's not directed at you; it's aimed at me."
I felt shocked because something about this didn't seem right.
“How does he know you’re still alive? How does he know you’ve returned?”
Nie Qiuyuan smiled and said, “Didn’t he tell you I was alive? Naturally, he knows I’m alive, just as I know he is. Moreover, he has already returned to the Mirror Gate, where spies are everywhere. We didn’t deliberately hide our tracks on our way back. So, when we left the Sword Formation of Ebei and set out on our journey home, we must have already been exposed to his gaze.”
Declare war? Refuse assistance? Continue... being enemies?
Could it be that he still decided to serve Rong Fu? That person had never truly treated him well; there was nothing worth missing by that person's side. He had wanted to leave so desperately at that time, but now, what was he thinking?
My mind was in turmoil; this was not the ending I had hoped for.
“Actually, what he wants to convey probably goes beyond that,” Luo Dachun glanced at Nie Qiuyuan and continued analyzing. “Based on what we discussed earlier, the gem related to Qiu Yuan’s background likely hides an extremely significant secret. Ren Pingsheng came to take the gem without concealing his identity, intending to inform us that they are going to seek this secret, making us feel compelled to fight.”
Nie Qiuyuan raised an eyebrow and smiled, a rare hint of pride in his expression. “This approach certainly reflects his temperament.”
Luo Dachun chuckled as well. “Taking the gem and remembering that it’s rude not to reciprocate, he used this method to send us a message. Although we still can’t figure out the deeper meaning behind the words Blood of the Ancestors.”
Seeing the two of them laughing lightly while their words carried a decisive tone made me feel anxious.
“Is it really going to come down to... fighting like this, all muddled?”
I felt unwilling; we were so close—just a little bit away from rescuing Ren Pingsheng. He had promised me that he would no longer kill.
“Zhenzhen, regardless of what Ren Pingsheng has done to you in the past or what promises he made, those were based on taking you far away from conflict. Now that we’re caught in this chaotic mire again, given his character, he will likely choose a different course of action.”
Qiu held my hand tightly, as if trying to give me confidence while also fearing that I might leave. The three of us chatted for a while, and I began to understand the thoughts of Ren Pingsheng as they saw him.
Ren Pingsheng was someone who would never settle for being passive; he would find ways to take the initiative. He probably believed that since the festering wound would eventually need to be lanced, it was better to hasten the decisive battle for a quicker resolution.
Thus, Ren Pingsheng provided the information about the gem to Rong Fu. On one hand, he aimed to regain Rong Fu's trust, and on the other, he wanted to challenge us to explore the truth beneath the sea of flames and see who could uncover it faster.
"So, what does he ultimately want?" I truly couldn't understand why he would go through such turmoil, risking chaos, and what benefit it would bring him personally.
"It's simple," Nie Qiuyuan said with a proud smile. "The best outcome for him would be to kill both me and Rong Fu in this confrontation."
I gasped in shock. Was he really willing to gamble his life for such a desire?
"Then we..." I began to worry.
"Of course we must go! There's no escaping this. Besides, what he's betting his life on is my woman!"
I couldn't tell if it was just my imagination or something else, but there seemed to be an excitement in Qiu's words—a sense of anticipation for battle and resolution.
"Zhenzhen," Qiu reached out to gently stroke my cheek, looking at me with determination. "Don't worry, I won't lose!" (To be continued)
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