Chapter 142: His Crying Made Her Heart Ache
Chapter 142: Chapter 142: His Crying Made Her Heart Ache
Just wait three years!
That was the last sentence Cui Lingyao heard in her physical body.
The next moment, she felt her entire being grow weightless.
All her sickness and pain vanished as she floated in the air.
Her vision had returned as well.
Before her was a scene of utmost tragedy.
Inside the small, crude, black-canopied boat, the man who had always been so aloof and bone-chillingly cold now had bloodshot eyes. He clung to the lifeless girl in his arms like a lone wolf that had lost its mate.
Gone was the calm, composed air of a ruler.
Outside, the Yulin Guards rowing the boat exchanged glances, their eyes reflecting the same horrified shock.
Grief, tragedy, pity... no word could suffice to describe the shocking impact of the scene.
Cui Lingyao had always wanted to see this man break down and weep, and now her wish had finally come true. Yet, she felt no joy at all.
Her first reaction, surprisingly, was still a pang of pain.
She no longer had a physical body, no beating heart, but the empty cavity in her chest still ached with sorrow.
Cui Lingyao pressed her lips together. She floated to his side and reached out to embrace him.
Naturally, her arms passed right through him.
The ache in her heart intensified, but she couldn’t shed a single tear.
She closed her eyes, leaned her spectral form against the man’s shoulder, and whispered, "Don’t cry. I’m right here with you."
’His tears make my heart ache so much.’
’I want to hold him, kiss him, and not stop until he’s happy again.’
But she could no longer do any of that.
...
The heavy rain had stopped at some point, leaving behind a bleak and gloomy sky.
The once-stalled boat now moved swiftly down the river.
Without the force of the downpour, it soon arrived beneath the stone bridge.
The bridge was packed with people.
Xie Jinbai’s men made up the majority. Besides them, Shen Er had also brought a contingent of guards to search for his master’s whereabouts, and even the Pei family had come.
The Yulin Guards had captured more than ten of the Qiang people, who now knelt on the bridge alongside the men Li Lu had brought.
The encroaching darkness cast a sense of desolate silence over the scene.
The boat docked by the bank and remained there for a long time. No one disembarked, and no one dared to hurry the person inside.
As the sky grew darker, many torches were lit on the bridge.
Finally, Liu Rong steeled himself, went inside, and broke the dead silence.
He held up a large cloak with both hands and said, "Your Highness, the bottom of this boat is cracked. If we don’t get off now, it’s going to sink."
The hastily procured boat was too crude. After being battered by the rapids for so long, several leaks had sprung.
Shen Tingyu, who had a back injury, had long since fallen unconscious.
Inside the black-canopied boat, only Xie Jinbai remained.
He was no longer crying. It was as if all life had been drained from him as he sat motionless, holding the lifeless girl in his arms.
The boat’s hull was slowly sinking at a visible rate.
Water seeped through the floorboards, soaking the hem of Cui Lingyao’s dress.
Only then did he finally react. He reached for the cloak Liu Rong offered, carefully wrapped it around the girl in his arms, and slowly rose to carry her ashore.
The stone bridge was brightly lit by torchlight.
It was covered with kneeling people.
Li Lu was kneeling at the very front.
The arrow in his body hadn’t been removed, his other shoulder blade was injured, and his leg bone had been crushed by Xie Jinbai’s kick.
For a pampered man like him to be so grievously injured, forced to kneel in the rain for so long, his vitality was all but gone.
In the eyes of the Yulin Guards, his status was worth less than nothing. Xie Jinbai had wounded him personally, and without a direct order, no one would dare treat his injuries.
Li Lu, however, felt he had an ace up his sleeve and had been eagerly awaiting Xie Jinbai’s return.
Now, finally seeing the man, he was struck by a burst of vitality. With a surge of strength, he crawled forward and grabbed the corner of Xie Jinbai’s robe.
"Cousin, cousin, listen to me! Your wife has been poisoned with Seven-Star Powder! The antidote must be taken once a month, or her intestines will rot..."
He spoke rapidly, "Before coming to Pingzhou, my aunt gave me one dose. Quick, get a doctor to treat me, and I’ll hand over the antidote... ARGH!"
Xie Jinbai lashed out with a kick, sending the man flying several meters.
His lowered eyelids finally lifted. His gaze fell upon his ’cousin,’ who lay there like a half-dead dog. He commanded, "Save him. Don’t let him die."
"Yes, sir!"
Liu Rong bowed in acceptance.
Meanwhile, the Shen Family guards helped Shen Tingyu off the boat.
He was completely unconscious, and the wound on his back, having been submerged in the muddy river water, was now a gruesome, gaping mess.
His breath was as faint as a thread; his life hung in the balance.
Shen Er’s legs went weak with shock. He scrambled to get his master onto a carriage.
On one side was her husband, shrouded in a deathly stillness as he held her corpse. On the other was her... friend, on the brink of death after being cut down by a flurry of blades while trying to save her.
Torn, Cui Lingyao floated over to Shen Tingyu’s side, wanting to check on his injuries.
But just as she settled beside him, she saw that his eyes had fluttered open at some point. He was awake.
Their gazes met in mid-air for a fleeting moment.
Shen Tingyu stared blankly, calling out in disbelief, "Yaoyao?"
His voice was very faint.
But that name was too sensitive.
The man who had been walking ahead like a corpse whipped his head around, thinking Shen Tingyu was still shamelessly coveting his wife even while unconscious. But then he saw him staring blankly into the void.
Xie Jinbai froze. Realizing something, he demanded in a harsh, urgent voice, "What did you see?"
Cui Lingyao’s eyes widened as well. "You can see me?" she asked.
Shen Tingyu gave no answer.
His body was at its absolute limit. The moment the word left his lips, he fainted.
He didn’t hear Xie Jinbai’s harsh demand.
Nor did he see Cui Lingyao’s shock.
Xie Jinbai raised his foot to kick him awake but was blocked by Shen Er.
"Prince Yu, my master is gravely injured. I’m afraid he won’t survive a kick from you. If you have questions, I implore you to wait until he has woken up."
As he spoke, he exposed the wound on Shen Tingyu’s back.
Xie Jinbai truly hadn’t known his injury was so severe.
Or rather, his attention had been focused entirely on Cui Lingyao from the very beginning.
Shen Er said, "My master took this blow for his cousin."
Xie Jinbai lowered his eyes, gave Shen Tingyu a long, hard look, then turned and walked away.
Seeing the malevolent star depart, Shen Er breathed a long sigh of relief and prepared to lift Shen Tingyu into the carriage.
Liu Rong walked over and asked, "Friend, are you planning to return to the Pei Family estate?"
Shen Er nodded. "Of course."
"The Pei Family estate might not be very peaceful right now," Liu Rong said. "My master has given an order: you are to come with us."
’The Princess Consort was poisoned with Seven-Star Powder.’
’If it was truly the Pei family who did it...’
’Then there would be no need for a conviction from the Ministry of Justice. His Highness could slaughter the entire Pei Family all by himself.’
Outmatched and with no other choice, Shen Er had no option but to obediently follow.
...
The carriage stopped at a secluded private courtyard.
It seemed to be a property left behind after some official’s downfall, long without a master and now overgrown with weeds.
It was rather desolate.
Especially now, in autumn, it seemed all the more mournful.
Xie Jinbai stepped out of the carriage and walked inside, one step at a time.
Cui Lingyao followed beside him, watching as he carried the body she had inhabited for over two months into the inner courtyard.
’What a strange feeling.’
The last time she had left by drowning, the System had told her she could remain in this world for three days in her soul form and asked if she wanted to stay and watch.
She had flatly refused.
And now...
She had died again.
And she was seeing this scene anyway.