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墨書 Inktalez
"I say, daughter, when did you get together with Master He Chong?" Butcher Ling asked as he packed up his stall.
"Don't you like him, Dad?"
Although Butcher Ling had no real relation to Ling Yunchu, he was the only family she had left in this world, and she regarded him as her true father. If he disapproved of the match, it would leave her feeling uneasy.
Butcher Ling shook his head. "It's not that I don't like him; I just think it's all so sudden. You and the Daoist have hardly met a few times. How did you end up together?"
Indeed, they had not seen each other often. How had they come to this point?
Ling Yunchu squinted her eyes and pondered. Perhaps it was He Chong's inexplicably familiar gaze when they first met, or maybe it was the subtle feelings that arose during their few playful banters. It could also be due to his unmatched handsome appearance.
The stirrings of affection left her unable to articulate the reason herself.
"Fate, I suppose." After a moment of thought, Ling Yunchu smiled.
Upon hearing this, Butcher Ling spat out his drink in surprise. It turned out his daughter could be so gentle and poetic about love—fate indeed!
"Regardless of the reason, if they like each other, you should hurry up and arrange the wedding. Tomorrow I'm heading back to my hometown to visit your mother's grave. I'll let her know that you're getting married." He sighed deeply as he spoke.
Ling Yunchu understood her father's mood and chose not to say more.
The day after Butcher Ling left, Ling Yunchu closed her stall early.
Little did she know that as soon as she stepped through the door, a tremendous force from behind knocked her to the ground.
“Breaking into someone’s home is…” Ling Yunchu cried out in pain, struggling to turn around and confront the intruder, but the sight before her made her gasp in shock.
He Chong lay beside her, covered in blood, his brows furrowed tightly, and blood continued to seep from the corner of his mouth.
“He Chong!” Ling Yunchu called out in panic, rushing to his side, only to receive a weak grip in return.
With great effort, Ling Yunchu managed to drag He Chong onto the bed, soothing him as she said, “I’ll go get a doctor right now…”
At that moment, He Chong suddenly opened his eyes. Summoning strength from who knows where, he grasped Ling Yunchu’s hand tightly and struggled to say, “Don’t… don’t go, don’t find a… doctor…”
“Are you trying to die by not seeing a doctor?” Ling Yunchu exclaimed anxiously.
“If you want me to live, then don’t go!” With those words, He Chong fell unconscious.
Ling Yunchu bit her lip, cursing that insufferable Taoist a thousand times in her heart. Yet she still tiptoed out of the room to fetch a basin of hot water to clean him up.
However, when she stepped back inside, the scene before her made her scream loudly, causing her to drop the basin of water.
On the bed lay a massive tiger with a coat as white as silver; there was no trace of He Chong!
The tiger lazily lifted its gaze and glanced at Ling Yunchu before speaking slowly, “Why are you screaming? I won’t eat you.”
The voice sounded strangely familiar, causing Ling Yunchu to pause in surprise.
Summoning her courage, she stepped closer for a better look and tentatively asked, “He Chong?”
The tiger nodded its head and grinned widely, revealing its gleaming white teeth. “Indeed.”
Ling Yunchu's gaze went blank for a moment, as if her soul had left her body. She raised a paw to pat her face, asking, "Are you scared silly?"
Coming back to her senses, Ling Yunchu swatted away the tiger's paw and took a few steps back, her voice tinged with fear as she exclaimed, "Monster!"
He looked like a celestial being with an ethereal aura! But he was clearly just a refined Tiger Demon!
A flicker of dimness passed through the tiger's eyes before he closed them, and a faint white light enveloped him. The radiance grew stronger, making it difficult for Ling Yunchu to keep her eyes open.
When the light finally faded and she opened her eyes again, the tiger had vanished, replaced by He Chong in his Daoist robe.
His face was pale, a thin sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead. He flashed a mischievous smile at Ling Yunchu and said, "I thought you were fearless. I didn't expect you to be this scared. But then again, who wouldn't be afraid of a tiger, especially one that can transform into a human?"
He paused for a moment, coughing a few times, the pain in his brow deepening.
He rose from the bed and walked unsteadily towards the door. Behind him, Ling Yunchu's voice called out.
"Come back!" Initially lacking confidence, her tone softened as she recalled how he had carefully treated the neighbors' ailments and even helped take care of children. Her voice rose again with concern, "You haven't even bandaged your wound! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
He Chong halted abruptly at the threshold, turning back to look deeply at Ling Yunchu. A light smile crossed his lips as he reassured her, "Don't worry, I won't die." Turning away again, he added softly, "I don't want to scare you anymore."
His words carried an underlying sense of loneliness that pricked at Ling Yunchu's heart like tiny needles.
She fell silent, allowing He Chong to leave while clenching her fists tightly in her sleeves.
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