In the hall, Dongjun w.a.n.g sat at the head seat with a green face. When I entered he immediately said, "Bolt the door."
The door"s bolt tightly shut, Dongjun w.a.n.g pointed at memorial tablets lined tightly on the ancestral altar. "Kneel down."
This immortal lord had no choice but to bend my knee for now. Old ghosts, to receive this Song Yao Yuanjun"s kneel, I"m afraid you all won"t leave the nether world for thousand years more and won"t have good fortune for at least three lifetimes.
Dongjun w.a.n.g"s beard bristled. "Unfilial son, this father didn"t beat you for being a fool these twenty years, but now you"re even l.u.s.ting over men! Keeping a male pet! You fiend, today this king will beat you in front of the ancestors." He hollered, "Bring the family law!"
Shortly after, a page who brought out an iron broom. Long iron wires bound together with a steel rod handle, it was as wide as a medium sized cup. Dongjun w.a.n.g"s family was indeed a martial family, the family law was this scary.
Under his orders, the servant brought in a stool and held me against the stool so that I won"t be able to move. Dongjun w.a.n.g rolled up his sleeves then the broom beat down heavily on my back, its iron wires pierced my flesh. I let out a cry, light flashed in front of my eyes.
The next moment I suddenly shot up to the air. Heng Wen grasped me tightly, his voice low, "I came one step too late," His hand gently stroked my back, "Were you injured, does it hurt a lot?"
He looked sorry and his eyes were slightly guilty.
I laughed, "How can that hurt my true body. It"s because I was in Li Siming"s body, that"s why I can feel the pain. I was lucky you came so I was only hurt for a bit; if I have to count on Ming Ge Xingjun to come down, who knows how bad I would be beaten before he"ll be here."
Heng Wen"s tense brows unraveled. He remained by my side as we hovered mid air, watching Dongjun w.a.n.g mercilessly beat an iron broom down Li Siming"s back, one after another, until Li Siming"s back was full with streaks of blood.
The servant snivelled, "w.a.n.gye, it looks like third young lord fainted."
Only then did Dongjun w.a.n.g stop. "b.a.s.t.a.r.d! He actually fainted!"
The servant turned Li Siming over and checked under his nose, he cried out, "w.a.n.gye, young lord he"s- he"s not breathing—"
Even with a thick face, Dongjun w.a.n.g looked ruffled. The servant bolted off for the doctor. A crowd formed around to save that body — felt the pulse, gave acupuncture, poured medicine, pinched the philtrum, used ice. Heng Wen and I hovered in the air watching keenly.
As I watched with interest I suddenly realised.. The angry Dongjun w.a.n.g can even met out such ruthless beating to his own son, who knows whether he had done something to Tian Shu. I quickly warped back to Han courtyard.
Not in the bedroom, not in the yard. I used the seeking spell to find him. It looked like he was dragged towards the firewood shed in the rear garden. I zoomed towards the shed, when I arrived, a robust menial was clasping a bowl, carrying it to Mu Ruoyan"s mouth.
Inside the bowl was reddish dark mixture, its surface still had foams floating on it.
The tip of Mu Ruoyan"s brows and eyes both held joy in them, he looked happy at the sight of this bowl, craning his neck to receive the medicine. Whenever this immortal lord fed you medicine you were never so cooperative. I was irate. A small lightning stroke down the cup in his hands—clang—and broke it into pieces on the ground. The medicine spread on the floor while the water vapour wafted.
That servant"s looked at air, terrified. "In broad, broad daylight, how is there lightning inside, a spi-a spirit!!"
He prostrated himself on the floor, kowtowed, "Immortal, spare my life! Spare my life!" After that, he frantically ran out the door, "There"s a spirit——"
Spirit. Are there spirits who can control heaven"s lightning.
Mu Ruoyan head bent to look at the floor before he looked up to the air. He smiled bitterly in self-derision, "It seems the heaven really wants to toy with me."
It"s all good as long as you understand, Tian Shu. Jade Emperor is the one playing you though, other immortals of heaven are not involved.
I didn"t know when Heng Wen arrived at my side but he said, "There"s no harm even if Tian Shu drank it. You didn"t need to leave G.o.dly traces."
"He may not die from drinking the medicine but his stomach would still hurt. I"m honestly not into waiting on him. Say he drinks some incurable poison that also couldn"t kill him. Mu Ruoyan would have turned into some kind of monster in those people"s eyes. It"d give me many troubles in the future."
Heng Wen glanced at me yet didn"t say a thing.
We reached the main hall in time to see some menial servants working hard to carry Li Siming back to his courtyard.
The servants laid his body on his bed. As Dongjun w.a.n.g and his two sons stood around the bed, sighing with worry, I plunged into Li Siming"s body.
I slightly opened my eyes, weakly stammered out: "Ruoyan…Ruoyan…. Even if I die, I must be with you….." Casting a miserable gaze at Heng Wen in the air, I closed my eyes as if worn out and got lifted up back to the air. As a result, Li Siming fell down limply and didn"t move anymore.
Li Siyuan said with tears in his eyes, "Dad, it looks like there"s nothing we can do. Isn"t it better to let him keep the man rather than him turning into a fool again."
Li Sixian also spoke, "Dad, it appears this was decreed by fate."
Dongjun w.a.n.g looked up and heaved a deep sigh, "It"s retribution, retribution! What sin did this king do to have raised this little b.a.s.t.a.r.d to now….."1 The old man"s eyes started to turn wet but he dejectedly shut them. "Let it be. Even being sinful and a b.a.s.t.a.r.d is his fate. Do as he say."
He commanded, "Take the doctor to the woodshed, see if the man in there can still be saved."
Not long after that, around four people were slightly pushing Tian Shu to step in. Dongjun w.a.n.g"s eyes glanced sideways at him before he let out a loud snort, flicked his sleeves and went out. Mu Ruoyan was nudged forward until he was at my bedside. Seeing Li Siming laid down in that sad state, his expression faintly changed. Compared to the former Tian Shu, he looked more human.
Li Siyuan said by the bed, "Third brother, quickly wake up. The person you were calling is here."
Heng Wen smiled, but it didn"t reach his eyes. He patted my shoulders, "It"s time to get back in and perform." He suddenly shoved me down, forcing me into Li Siming"s body.
I made some movements. Opening my eyes halfway, I feebly murmured, "Ruoyan, Ruoyan….."
My hands swayed in the air searching and was surprised that I grasped something, it had hard b.u.mps and as cold as ice, it was Mu Ruoyan"s hand.
The two times I tried to grab onto something was just for show, I didn"t expect to really grab anything. Just as I pondered on how to continue, a bright golden light flashed in front of my eyes and I was lifted up to the air again.
This immortal anxiously looked at Li Siming, his head left crooked the moment he stopped moving and his left hand still holding onto Mu Ruoyan"s hand.
Heng Wen blithely said, "Splendid, splendid."
the iron broom"s about this wide, fits in hand Translator: Padam Chinese checker: h.e.l.liotn English checker: Strwbrrytruffles
[1] 冤孽 Buddhism, sin/evil, not exactly retribution, but he said later that it"s his past sin coming back as this suffering. ↑