Entangled Love GL - Chapter 10

“I don’t think saving him is bad for you. Firstly, Pavilion Master Yang has been struck by this poison, and is now living a life worse than death. If he drags on for a few more days, he will gradually be liberated in his unconsciousness. Secondly,” Duan Min glanced at Yang Mei, “In this world, do not wrong anyone, especially not your parents. When you look back one day, every blade of grass, every tree, every piece of clothing, and every meal can fill you with deep regret.”

Yang Mei said angrily, “If I treat him right, I’ll be wronging my mother! What right do you have to want to save him! Don’t try to persuade me!”

Duan Min explained calmly, “I don’t want to save him; I just want to do my best to fulfill what I promised.” After saying that, she bent down to put the water bucket by her feet, saying, “I’ll go get my clothes, the well water here is truly cold.”

After changing her skirt, Duan Min went outside the door and picked all the grown vegetables, put them in a small basket, and took them to the well to wash.

Yang Mei sat on the high pile of rocks watching her. After watching for a long time, she suddenly remembered something she seemed to have forgotten this morning: “Hey, haven’t we eaten yet?”

Duan Min was stunned by the question. She ran into the kitchen and saw that all the porridge had spilled onto the stove, the earthenware pot was cracked with three lines, and the fire was still struggling to burn. Duan Min quickly cleaned up the mess, took a new pot, chopped some vegetable leaves, and started cooking vegetable porridge.

Yang Mei leaned against the door frame, watching her work quietly. She suddenly realized that Duan Min was not actually calm and composed; she didn’t show distress, but there was a hint of being utterly disheartened.

She didn’t know if it was because she was extremely hungry, but Yang Mei found the porridge especially delicious this time. She took a second serving and wanted more. Duan Min, however, had little appetite and after eating for a long time, only half of her small bowl was gone.

Yang Mei grinned and scared her: “You must finish it all, no leftovers. Wasting food will get you struck by lightning.”

Duan Min gave her a look as if she were an idiot, then quietly lowered her head and ate every mouthful.

At noon, Duan Min stir-fried two dishes and made a soup. Unfortunately, they were all lush green vegetarian dishes, which made one’s face almost turn green just looking at them.

Previously, they had to be vegetarian because of the residing Buddhist monk. Now, Yang Mei felt that eating vegetarian meals continuously was too much trouble, so after lunch, she volunteered to go out and hunt some wild game.

Duan Min walked her to the door and instructed her to return quickly. The sky was overcast, looking like it would rain at any moment.

Yang Mei looked at her, responded with a nod, and showed a slight look of pleasure.

“You must be careful, or better yet, don’t go,” Duan Min said earnestly. “The mountain is rich in spiritual energy. If you offend something and attract ghosts or monsters, it might not be as simple as just being struck by lightning.”

Yang Mei curved the corner of her mouth: “Let the mountain ghosts and monsters come! I’ll just take it as eliminating harm for the people!” After saying that, she turned and left, raising her hand to wave the red-sheathed sword.

Duan Min closed the courtyard gate and stood in the yard, trying to think of something to do but finding nothing. She knew that someone was secretly watching her, and she was willing to be a little more compliant so everyone could worry less.

Yang Mei returned quickly, with quite a fruitful haul: one wild rabbit, a pair of crows, and a snake.

Duan Min frowned seeing these bloody things. She then skillfully skinned the wild rabbit and plucked the crows. When it came to the snake, she paused. Yang Mei came over to ask, and she just smiled: “Legend has it that the Mountain God here is a snake. This might not be good.” Saying that, she smiled again and began to skin the snake.

It began to rain in the evening, and soon the heavy rain was like a waterfall, with lightning and thunder.

The two were eating roasted wild rabbit, steamed crow, and clear-broth snake soup. Yang Mei was especially excited listening to the thunder, gesticulating as she lamented that there was no wine here. To eat and drink heartily in the mountains during such rain would truly be a joy.

Duan Min replied, “There is wine, but it’s buried under the peach blossom tree outside, and digging it up is too much trouble. Besides, you shouldn’t drink alcohol right now.”

Hearing the hidden meaning in her words, Yang Mei quickly asked why. Duan Min smiled: “You’ve been given my family’s exclusive secret medicine. Alcohol accelerates its effect. If you drink it, I’m afraid you won’t make it back to the city.”

The sudden revelation scattered all of Yang Mei’s cheerful mood, and her face instantly turned pale with anger: “You really poisoned me! When did this happen?”

“The night of the first day, it was in the tea.” Duan Min was completely frank this time. “This medicine is called ‘Seven Days’ Regret.’ If it doesn’t take effect, there’s no harm, and it can be saved when it does take effect, but by then, the body will be injured and not easy to recover. There is no antidote here; it would be best for us to return as quickly as possible.” She paused and added, “This is the first time I’ve used this medicine on my own, and I’m not sure if it will be exactly on the seventh day. It could be a day or two earlier or later.”

Hearing her speak these words so calmly, Yang Mei felt other emotions beyond anger. After a long silence, she murmured, “In the end, you don’t trust me.” Then she forced a smile, “Right, what right do I have to ask you to trust me?” She herself was still bewildered about what to trust, but Duan Min seemed to understand.

Duan Min lowered her eyes: “If it were only my safety at stake, I would trust you completely.”

Yang Mei looked at her across the table. A flash of white light outside the window made their faces look ghastly, followed immediately by a clap of thunder that was deafening. Yang Mei was a little distracted: “You’ve only met my father once. Why would you go to this extreme?”

Duan Min did not answer.

Yang Mei didn’t wait for her to speak, complaining: “From the beginning, you’ve been focused on saving him. How much do you even know about him? Once you detoxify him, he’s ready to kill you! And me, I’ve been infatuated, wanting to save you… yet you’re so blind to right and wrong… ‘You must keep your promises,’ if you genuinely think that way, you’re an idiot, and if you only say it to deceive me, you’re even more of an idiot!” The more Yang Mei spoke, the angrier she became, nearly slamming the table and shouting by the end.

Duan Min slowly raised her head to look at her. Seeing the scene before her and remembering the sweet, well-behaved girl she first met, she suddenly smiled.

Yang Mei was perplexed, furrowing her brows and staring at her, saying nothing more.

The room quieted down. They vaguely heard some other sound mixed in with the thunder and rain outside. Both looked towards the door, and Yang Mei reacted first: “Someone is knocking.”

Duan Min stood up and walked out of the room, turning to smile: “I’ll go see. In this situation, I’m afraid it might truly be a ghost.”

“Wait!” Yang Mei called, but too late, and hurriedly rushed to the door of the small building. It wasn’t that she was afraid of ghosts; it was just that she hadn’t finished what she wanted to say.

Just as Duan Min opened the courtyard gate, there was another flash of lightning in the sky, illuminating the strange face of the person before her in a chilling white.

Duan Min froze in place, almost forgetting how to speak.

The person who arrived was a tall man, about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. A scar ran diagonally across his face from the center of his forehead to his right cheek. His two eyes were deep and black, revealing a cold, sharp light. The rain was pouring down, and the man was soaked through. The sheathless blunt sword hanging from his waist was also dripping wet.

The man was also a little surprised to see Duan Min. After a slight hesitation, he said, “Miss, don’t be afraid. I was passing by and happened to run into the heavy rain. May I ask for shelter for the night?”

Although the man’s appearance was grim, his voice was clear and his words were gentle when he spoke. Duan Min slowly composed herself and smiled: “Please, come in quickly.”

Yang Mei stood by the door, watching Duan Min lead the person over, and couldn’t help but examine him closely. This person looked like he had decent martial arts skills, worthy of investigating his background, perhaps even making an acquaintance.

Duan Min led the man to an empty guest room, then brought a bucket of hot water, and found some clothes from a nearby cabinet and placed them on the table, saying: “These are my father’s old clothes from when he was alive. Please make do with them for now. The second room on the left is currently the dining hall. Come over to eat something later.”