Chapter 189.1: 189.1
189 . 1 – Gone Missing
“Oh… then I’ll be called a poor host . ”
“It’s okay, I happen to be thirsty . ”
“Huh, is that so? Then what else can I get you, Commander Luo?”
With that, Gong Tianqing intends to get out of bed once more . When he heard that, Luo Hong almost spit out the water in his mouth .
“I’m fine, I’m fine!”
“Oh…” Unease emerged in Gong Tianqing eyes, and she stared at Luo Hong, “Are you really fine?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine . ”
“Then okay . ”
Gong Tianqing breathed a sigh of relief, and then suddenly a.s.sumed an expression of remembering something .
“Commander Luo, do you want–”
“No need!”
Luo Hong flatly rejected Gong Tianqing’s kindness . Gong Tianqing’s eyes dimmed .
“If you make a commotion because of me and startle Xue Qilin, I will have to bear the consequences… If she learns that I sneaked into the Merak Temple, she will definitely be mad…”
“That’s… true . Sorry for, for causing you trouble…”
Gong Tianqing lowered her head . Luo Hong sighed helplessly .
“If someone is to blame then that would be me, since I am not able to see you during daytime . ”
Upon hearing this, Gong Tianqing suddenly raised her head, and then said anxiously as if to defend something, “How, how could that be! According to Aunt Teacher Luo [1], you are a law-abiding and dutiful person who punished many wicked people, you are a good person, Commander Luo!”
“It’s not like that… Qing [1] was a kind person . She was white [2], and so everything in her eyes was to some extent stained with white . I’m just a dog, that’s all . I may be considered as a good dog if the owner is upstanding . But if the owner is crooked, then I am a bad dog . ”
“Is, is that so…”
Gong Tianqing doesn’t quite understand .
Luo Hong nodded, and then uttered in a heavy and stiff tone .
“And my current owner can’t be regarded as–”
When he reached this point, Luo Hong, who appears to have suddenly noticed something, shook his head bitterly .
“I seem to have spoken too much . Young Lady Gong, pretend you didn’t hear that…”
Gong Tianqing opened her mouth to speak . But before she could say anything, she was blocked by Luo Hong’s words — “let’s get back to the main point” .
Luo Hong restrained the feelings that finally emerged in his eyes and gazed at Gong Tianqing with an expressionless look on his face once more . His eyes are deep and profound, as if they can draw people into them .
“Young Lady Gong, I was entrusted by Officer Gong to send you a message . ”
“Grand–” Gong Tianqing was greatly shocked, “Grandfather?”
“Yes, it was Officer Gong Jing . ”
Gong Tianqing didn’t know how to react for a long time .
She showed a rather complicated look on he face, and her lips quivered, not saying anything for a while Indescribable emotions broke out inside her and gripped her heart tightly, making her feel breathless .
As things stand, why would grandfather… Gong Tianqing lowered her head and quietly gazed at the quilt half-submerged in the dark .
“Don’t you want to know what the message is?”
Luo Hong’s voice seems to come from under a tombstone .
Gong Tianqing trembled and finally raised her head . She asked stammeringly, “Wh, what is it…”
Luo Hong didn’t answer immediately . Instead, he poured himself another cup of water .
As he slowly brought the tea cup to his lips, he finally said in a quiet, virtually emotionless voice, “Your brother is sick in bed . ”
“Little, Little Yang?”
Gong Tianqing opened her eyes wide and uttered thusly in a high-pitched voice .
“Yes, he is too sick to get out of bed . ”
As her heart began to beat fiercely, Gong Tianqing asked worriedly, “Is, is it that serious?”
“Mhm, medicine and acupuncture have no effect . ”
A weak cry, as if it emerged from the friction between bones, rose from deep in her throat .
In an instant, Gong Tianqing’s eyes lost all spirit and turned into lifeless holes filled with endless darkness .
Brother is dying? Really?
“How could…”
Gong Tianqing murmured thus in a hoa.r.s.e voice, as if she hadn’t had any water in a long time .
Although she had long since predicted that such a day would come, she didn’t expect that it would come so soon . She broke out in a cold sweat .
–it’s all because of me .
Grief was followed by intense self-blame .
–I am unnecessary .
The deformed flower rooted deep in her heart, which was sidelined for a while, bloomed again .
If it weren’t for me, mother wouldn’t have died… brother wouldn’t be so weak . Mhm, it’s all my fault, it’s my fault that brother’s life is coming to an end early .
Gong Tianqing bit her lower lip unconsciously, and striking bright red flowed out . However, she doesn’t seem to notice it . She’s just whispering “it’s my fault” again and again .
There has to be something that can be done… there has to be something that I can do! Gong Tianqing is craving worth .
As if seeing through Gong Tianqing’s thoughts, Luo Hong suddenly said a word .
“–but . ”
His voice seems to carry a sweet fragrance, luring Gong Tianqing to reflexively ask “but what?” .
She sounded both eager and impatient, like she’s clutching at a straw . Because the word “but” may herald a turn for the better — or in other words, a glimmer of hope .
For some reason, Luo Hong was silent for a long time . Although Gong Tianqing asked several times, but he didn’t say anything, as if brewing something .
In the end, when he sighed and put down the tea cup–
“You can save him . ”
He uttered thusly in a plaintive tone .
“I…?”
Gong Tianqing looked straight at Luo Hong . In her almond eyes, there are intense, undiluted feelings .
Under the la.s.s’s gaze, Luo Hong slowly stood up and extended his hand to Gong Tianqing .
“Young Lady Gong, I am here to pick you up . Your clan –”
His eyes are deep but bright and his voice is calm and clear .
“– needs you . ”
Like a sun that suddenly appeared in the dark, these words illuminated Gong Tianqing’s world in an instant .
But in her world full of light, there is no path .
–path to her happiness .
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[1] – Aunt Teacher Luo / Qing is Luo Qing (died in Vol . 1) . By the way, the surname Luo of Luo Qing (洛青) and Luo Hong (罗轰) are different characters
[2] – white is a.s.sociated with light, goodness, innocence, purity