Chapter 6: Forgiveness? Who Forgives Whom?
The marriage-disengagement battle at the Lotus Flower Palace concluded without a doubt with the victory of the Second Young Master of the Fu family, Fu Tianqing. The guests who came to watch left the Lotus Flower Palace after enjoying the spectacle while Hang Yanling fell unconscious for an entire night after the battle ended.
The next day, sunshine streamed through the window, shining on the face of the covered blanket.
Dressed in a loose robe, Hang Yanling lay quietly on the wooden bed, her face twisted in pain. The floor beside the bed was scattered with blood-stained bandages, emitting a strong smell of blood. Her hands and feet bore cracked bloodstains, and her shoulder had a deep red blood hole that seeped through the bandage.
“Rustle…”
The girl with a single ponytail, whom Hang Yanling had seen in the apothecary, was also in the room. She carefully changed the medicine on Hang Yanling’s shoulder, which had been pierced by an arrow.
Tears filled the girl’s eyes as she sniffled and complained in a crying tone, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have provoked you with those words…”
The cold and sarcastic expression she had displayed in the apothecary was nowhere to be found; she now seemed as if she had become a different person, choking back tears and murmuring:
“If I had known, I might as well have let you run away…”
“You, you mustn’t die… never die…”
“Troublesome one, cheat, damn junior sister, don’t die…”
From her darkened eye circles, it was clear that this single ponytail girl had spent the entire night here.
The sunlight cast a pale hue on Hang Yanling’s face as the girl pressed her lips together, holding Hang Yanling’s hand, wanting to say something. However, a series of knocks came from the back door, accompanied by the energetic voice of another girl from outside.
“Third Senior Sister~ Aunt Zi Shui is looking for you——”
With a creak, a girl under ten pushed the door open and entered the room. Upon seeing her, the single ponytail girl hurriedly released Hang Yanling’s hand, cleared her throat, sniffled, and turned her back to the girl to respond:
“Ahem, mm—I understand, I will go right away.”
“How is Fourth Senior Sister doing?”
“Hmph… she was fortunate to have survived, how lucky for her.”
The little girl, seeing the Third Senior Sister refuse to turn around, placed her hands on her waist in dissatisfaction: “Third Senior Sister, why are you always turning your back on me?”
“I… Xiao Lingdang, you stay here for now. I’m going to find Uncle Master!”
The single ponytail girl stood up from the bedside, moving in a very awkward manner, almost parallel to the wall, then walked backward out of the room. Because she wasn’t paying attention, she stumbled over the threshold.
With a wail, the girl sobbed as she leaned against the doorframe to stand up, hurriedly shutting the door behind her.
“Ugh…”
Xiao Lingdang looked toward the direction where the Third Senior Sister had left, puzzled, tilting her head and blinking:
“Third Senior Sister is acting strange today…”
Another voice suddenly came from behind Xiao Lingdang:
“Huh? So she is the third in line? She’s actually older than me?”
Xiao Lingdang was startled by the voice from behind her. When she turned around, she found that Hang Yanling was already awake, looking at the door with an expression of surprise.
“Fourth Senior Sister! You’re not dead!”
“Yes, I’m still alive.”
“Then when are you going to die?”
“…Not any time soon.”
After confirming that this little girl wasn’t joking with her, Hang Yanling slightly shook her left shoulder, which was completely bound by bandages: “Yesterday, I was just shot in the shoulder with an arrow. It’s not that serious.”
“Hmm?? Did I wake you up from your sleep?”
“No, I woke up long ago…”
Hang Yanling coughed lightly.
To be honest, she had already awakened an hour ago. However, as soon as she squinted her eyes, she discovered that this “Third Senior Sister” was crying and applying medicine to her as if she were already half-buried in the ground.
Hang Yanling felt guilty about ruining the atmosphere when she saw how genuinely upset the girl was, so she held back and waited for Xiao Lingdang to come over.
Finally, after the Third Senior Sister left, Hang Yanling tried to lift the satin blanket covering her, but pain shot through her arms from her earlier activities.
“Ow… it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!”
The pain radiated through her shoulders, abdomen, and head, intensifying from every joint in her body.
This wasn’t just because she had been shot by an arrow; it was also because she had excessively used Yin Spirit Qi yesterday, which caused a backlash.
Her injuries were serious, but at least she had successfully avoided Fu Tianqing causing chaos at the Lotus Flower Palace, which was somewhat worth it.
“Phew… I’ve finally survived this.”
Lying on the hospital bed and having passed through the greatest crisis since her reincarnation, Hang Yanling finally had time to carefully reflect on her current situation.
After drinking the poison sent by her disciple, she awoke at the back mountain of the Lotus Flower Palace, three hundred years ago, becoming Hang Yanling, the greatest enemy she had once had, and yesterday she had undergone a fierce battle with her younger self.
All of this felt like an exceptionally unreal dream.
But honestly, the pain throughout her body made it impossible to believe that everything she experienced was merely a dream.
Observing her past self at such a close distance felt quite strange; standing in the position of her enemy while being hated by her own self was equally bizarre. Now that the marriage-disengagement incident closest to her had ended, since her younger self did not choose to kill Hang Yanling, the Lotus Flower Palace would have no reason to take action against the Fu family, and the breeding of hatred should come to an end…
Sigh… Ultimately, if it weren’t for that hidden arrow, she wouldn’t have had to go through all this.
Damn it all, once I find out which brat shot that arrow, I’ll directly gnaw on him.
…
…
But wait, who exactly shot that hidden arrow?
This sneak attack did not help Hang Yanling at all; it merely enraged Fu Tianqing and exacerbated the situation. Interestingly, three hundred years ago, Fu Tianqing was similarly provoked by the Pure Water Fairy when shot through the heart by an arrow.
Though the methods were different, both actions deepened Fu Tianqing’s hatred toward the Lotus Flower Palace…
Was it just a mere coincidence?
In the best-case scenario, the one who ambushed was purely aiming to tarnish the Lotus Flower Palace’s reputation, but if the person behind this had ulterior motives… then wasn’t the Pure Water Fairy’s ambush three hundred years ago caused by something else as well?
“Sigh… this is problematic…”
Sitting at the bedside, Xiao Lingdang watched Hang Yanling, who had a pained expression on her face, and asked in confusion, “Fourth Senior Sister, are you feeling unwell? Should I rub it for you?”
“I feel discomfort all over… the worst part is not being able to figure out which bastard arranged the hidden arrow.”
Xiao Lingdang curiously responded, “But that didn’t hit, did it?”
“Yes, fortunately, it missed and hit his shoulder—if it had gone straight through Fu Tianqing’s heart, then what follows would have been endless troubles!”
“Hmm? I was saying—”
At that moment, a flurry of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the door.
“Ling’er, Ling’er!!!”
The door was roughly pushed open, and a water-blue figure hurriedly stumbled into the room. It was the Pure Water Fairy.
“Ah——!?!!”
Hang Yanling still couldn’t accept the sudden appearance of the Pure Water Fairy, causing her to tremble all over.
It couldn’t be helped; it was this very face that had once stabbed her in the heart from behind.
Thinking about this, Hang Yanling felt that it was best not to let Fu Tianqing experience this in this life.
The Pure Water Fairy was in tears, not caring that Xiao Lingdang was still nearby, as she cried and rushed toward Hang Yanling, wrapping her arms around her:
“Ling’er! You scared your Master to death!! Why did you have to choose yesterday when I overslept? Woo, woo, woo… I woke up and heard that you were almost gone; how is your Master going to live on from now on?”
“It hurts!! It hurts!!!!”
“Yes, Master’s heart hurts to death!!!”
“I’m dying of pain in my arm too; let go of me!!!!”
Finally, the Pure Water Fairy let go of Hang Yanling, wiping away her tears. Xiao Lingdang had somehow slipped away, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Hang Yanling was in excruciating pain and didn’t know what to say to the Pure Water Fairy. She saw the Pure Water Fairy moving a small stool to sit beside her bed, holding Hang Yanling’s hands.
“Quickly tell your Master how that brat from the Fu family bullied you; your Master will help you get even. He hurt your shoulder, right? Tomorrow, your Master will go to the Fu family and break his arm!”
“Damn, no! I just managed to settle what happened five years ago.”
Sighing, Hang Yanling forced a smile: “Um… Master, let’s leave it at this for today. If you think I’ve embarrassed the Lotus Flower Palace… please apologize on my behalf to the Uncles.”
The Pure Water Fairy was taken aback, harshly sniffling: “What do you mean embarrassed? That little bastard from the Fu family picked you out just to bully you!”
Hang Yanling secretly rolled her eyes.
Bullying?
Five years ago, when the Qi Refining Stage Hang Yanling broke Fu Tianqing’s arm, no one jumped up to say it was bullying.
Although she felt disdain within her for the double standards of the Lotus Flower Palace, Hang Yanling still said: “It’s fine, I don’t blame him. It was indeed excessive on my part back then; I was arrogant and too overbearing in the Fu family, which has led to today’s many retributions… For these, I only blame myself, not others.”
Upon hearing Hang Yanling’s words, the Pure Water Fairy frowned: “Ling’er…”
Hang Yanling waved her hand: “Master, please don’t say anything about helping me vent my anger. Right now, I hope the Lotus Flower Palace and the Fu family won’t be at odds because of me anymore.”
The Pure Water Fairy was astonished: “So, are you saying that you… plan to forgive the Fu family for what happened back then?”
“Eh…?”
Hang Yanling was taken aback, not quite understanding the Pure Water Fairy’s wording: “Forgive?”
What happened back then? Wasn’t it Hang Yanling who had made a fuss and demanded the marriage dissolution against the Fu family? How did it turn into Hang Yanling forgiving the Fu family?
The Pure Water Fairy extended her hand, affectionately stroking Hang Yanling’s cheek: “Back then, it was the Fu family that plotted against you, causing you to end up in this situation… your Master once promised you that she would help you take revenge, but now that you’ve let go of these grudges… your Master will listen to you and not pursue them anymore.”
“What—what are you saying? Back then, it was the Fu family… who plotted against Hang Yanling first???”