Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Now that he didn't have to worry about bandits, Shen Yuan’s thoughts turned more lively.

"Then, Brother Ping'an, I'll keep collecting the tips daily this month and switch to a monthly basis next month. I want to build a house."

That dilapidated little thatched cottage at home was truly unlivable.

And that wooden bed—the planks had long been creaking and squeaking. Shen Yuan didn't even dare to move around in his sleep, afraid the boards couldn't bear the weight and would break right in half.

He also needed new tables, chairs, and stools. He wanted to build a chicken coop and raise a few chickens so they could have eggs every day to nourish their bodies.

He also planned to buy a female goat so Little Beibei could have goat's milk.

If the money was enough, Shen Yuan thought about buying a donkey too, to make trips to the county town easier.

In his past life, he’d learned horseback riding for a film role, so riding a donkey should be a piece of cake.

He could also hook up a wooden cart to take his younger siblings to the county town for fun. Shen Dong and the others had never been there before.

"Alright," Ji Ping'an said. "If you want to buy a house in the county town, I can help you find someone. You won't get cheated on the location or the price."

The brokers in the county town sized people up. When they encountered unfamiliar faces, they would use every trick in the book to con them.

Having seen this often, Ji Ping'an was afraid Shen Yuan might be deceived, so he warned him ahead of time.

With the tips coming in as they are, buying a house in the county town could happen pretty soon.

However, Shen Yuan still wanted to stay living in the village.

Not only were his younger siblings used to it, but he also really liked the villagers.

Unless he had no other choice, he had no plans to move.

"Thank you, Brother Ping'an. If I need to later, I'll let you know."

Ji Ping'an nodded. "If there's anything, just tell Ji Xingwang directly. He'll take care of it. I'm heading out."

After Ji Ping'an left, Shen Yuan quickly jotted down a recipe for a sweet dessert.

He didn't know many sweet treats himself, only a few.

In that show he was in, he had played a supporting male role—a pampered scion of a rich family. To win over his crush, he learned to make pastries to impress her.

In the end, he learned quite a few recipes, but the girl he loved ended up with the main guy.

Among the few sweets he knew how to make, the simplest was Sugar-Steamed Milk Curd.

Luckily, they had the ingredients on hand.

After writing down the method and proportions and handing them to Auntie Chun, Shen Yuan continued writing the next part of the story.

Having learned that Chu Qi's parents had killed hers, Liu Mingqing was struggling to accept it.

She had lost both parents at a young age and had lived with her grandfather since then.

During her childhood, she had often wondered what it would be like if her parents were still alive.

Did she resent the people who caused her parents' deaths?

She did.

How could she not?

Tears streamed down Liu Mingqing's face. "But Grandfather, I can hate Chu Qi, yet I cannot hate Seventh."

Memories of her time with Seventh came flooding back. The flower Seventh had picked for her that very morning was still pinned in her hair.

The flower had already wilted and lost its fragrance, but its color remained.

Hearing his granddaughter's words, Grandpa Liu felt a twinge in his back. His back troubled him. The herbs that could treat it grew deep in the mountains, where there were too many fierce beasts. Grandpa Liu didn't want his granddaughter to take the risk and had forbidden her from going there.

After learning about this, Seventh had risked the danger to fetch the herbs for him.

After applying the medicinal poultice, the symptoms in his back had eased up a lot. For the first time in many years, he could finally get a good night's sleep.

He could hate Chu Qi, but he couldn't hate Seventh.

Wasn't he the same?

When that child discovered the trap, his first reaction was to shield him and pull him back.

The moment he pushed Seventh down, he hadn't even dared to look into Seventh's eyes.

Grandpa Liu closed his eyes in agony, hunched over, and turned away, his voice hoarse and weak. "Mingqing, if you want to go save him, Grandfather won't stop you, but I won't help you either. The road ahead is perilous; life and death are decided by fate, not by man. Grandfather only hopes you won't regret the choice you make today."

Liu Mingqing nodded through her tears, bidding farewell to Grandpa Liu. "Grandfather, I will come back alive."

She took some common medicinal herbs, the hoe she used for digging, and a torch, then prepared to leave the thatched hut and head into the mountains.

In the vast mountains, finding a single person was exceedingly difficult.

Night was falling, making it even more dangerous.

Grandpa Liu thought of the tragic deaths of his son and daughter-in-law, and then of how his granddaughter had grown and changed day by day since childhood.

"At Despair Peak."

Grandpa Liu threw out those three words and went straight inside.

Liu Mingqing's nose stung. She wiped the tears from her face and headed towards Despair Peak.

Despair Peak had treacherous terrain and was home to many fierce beasts.

Hunters would form teams to enter Despair Peak, setting traps to hunt wild boars, tigers, and black bears.

The traps they left behind were also part of the danger.

Liu Mingqing thought her grandfather must have pushed him into one of those traps.

But with so many traps, and not knowing the exact locations the hunters had set them, she could only search slowly.

Entering Despair Peak, Liu Mingqing thought she would have to search for a long time. Unexpectedly, on a low-hanging branch, she saw a specially braided grass rope.

Only she and her grandfather knew that technique.

In the past, when her grandfather was in good health, they would go into the mountains together to gather herbs. When they were far apart, they would tie grass ropes along the way so they could find each other.

Looking at the grass rope, Liu Mingqing felt a tumult of emotions in her heart.

She followed the trail left by her grandfather and headed deeper in.

The air faintly carried the scent of medicinal powder—her grandfather’s homemade snake repellent, scattered along the way.

Liu Mingqing held a torch and came to a safe stop in front of an earthen pit.

The pit was dug wide, likely by hunters to trap wild boars.

By the torchlight, Liu Mingqing peered into the pit, but it was empty.

She called out anxiously, “Chu Qi? Where are you?”

There was blood in the pit, so Liu Mingqing guessed he had climbed out but didn’t know where he had gone.

As she called for Chu Qi, she kept searching ahead.

After just a few steps, she heard rustling behind her. As she turned, she was pulled into a warm hug.

The one holding her trembled.

“You came.”

“I thought you’d left me too.”

Liu Mingqing smelled blood—Chu Qi was injured.

“Let me see your wound.”

Chu Qi clung to her, refusing to let go until Liu Mingqing’s tone grew stern as she called his name again, “Chu Qi!”

She stuck the torch in the ground, took out the blood-staunching herbs she had brought, and carefully applied them to his wound.

The person who had left clean and tidy in the morning was now filthy and disheveled, just like when she first found him.

Chu Qi watched Liu Mingqing as she carefully dressed his wound, his eyes filled with sorrow and pain. “Is Grandpa hurt? Can I still go back with you?”

Liu Mingqing paused. “Chu Qi, are you playing dumb with me?”

“I’m not scared to die. Could you please not hate me?”

Liu Mingqing’s nose stung, her eyes growing slightly red. “You are Chu Qi, the direct heir of the prestigious Chu clan. Your family is looking for you. When day breaks, I’ll take you home.”

“I’m Chu Qi, the one you found and took in.” Chu Qi grasped Liu Mingqing’s hand, his dark eyes fixed on her with earnest determination, his tone pleading and hopeful. “I’m the Chu Qi who loves you. Don’t make me leave. Can’t you let me stay by your side?”

No.

No matter how much he pleaded in his heart, dawn would still come.

Liu Mingqing took him back to the Chu family.

But to him, it wasn’t a homecoming. It was being abandoned by the one he loved—his beloved didn’t want him.

Watching Liu Mingqing’s receding figure, he finally couldn’t resist the urge to chase after her.

Just then, the Chu family servants spotted him. “Young Master! It’s the young master! The young master has returned!”

The servants rushed out and grabbed him as he tried to leave. Chu Qi struggled desperately to break free but eventually collapsed from exhaustion.

As he lost consciousness, he gazed at Liu Mingqing’s figure fading into the distance and reached out for her. Don’t go, Mingqing.

The Chu family’s young master was found, but he had lost his memory.

The entire Chu family was beside themselves. This was the direct heir they had nurtured since childhood, the future head of the Chu family. How could he have no memory?

Chu Qi’s parents sought out a Taoist priest they knew, who stated bluntly that Young Master Chu had lost half his soul, which was why he was like this.

If his soul could be recovered, he would be healed.

Chu Qi’s parents urgently asked how to retrieve his soul.

The Taoist priest swished his horsetail whisk. “First, try drinking talisman water. If that doesn’t work, use a soul-summoning array.”

Liu Mingqing learned of Chu Qi’s situation again half a year later, in winter.

The Chu family’s young master was stricken with a grave illness, and the family was widely seeking renowned physicians. Anyone who could alleviate his condition even slightly would be rewarded with a hundred taels of gold.

The news spread quickly among medical practitioners.

But few managed to obtain the Chu family’s hundred taels of gold.

Grandpa Liu watched his preoccupied granddaughter and finally packed up her medicine chest for her. “Go.”

Liu Mingqing thanked her grandfather and hurried to the Chu residence.

She had never imagined that the robust, cheerful Chu Qi would be lying on a bed, frail and emaciated, on the brink of death.

The Taoist priest’s talisman water was relatively normal at first—just wooden talismans burned to ashes and soaked in water.

When it showed no effect, he began adding many strange ingredients.

Later, he resorted to so-called soul-summoning arrays.

Daily bloodletting and acupuncture slowly tortured him until he was barely recognizable.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the Taoist priest fled.

He left behind a tormented, dying Chu Qi and his remorseful parents.

Liu Mingqing fought back tears as she checked Chu Qi’s pulse.

Chu Qi turned his head and saw Liu Mingqing. His senses had dulled significantly, and he thought he was dreaming. Softly, he whispered, “Have you come to take me away? I’m in so much pain. Being Chu Qi hurts too much. Can I be your Chu Qi again?”

Liu Mingqing’s fingers trembled as she felt his pulse, committing the gravest mistake a physician could make.

His words were overheard by Chu Qi’s parents, who were standing nearby, and they turned their gaze to Liu Mingqing.

When Chu Qi first returned, they had investigated and learned that their son had been taken in by a rural physician. However, since the physician never came to claim a reward, they pretended not to know.

Now it seemed this woman wasn’t avoiding rewards—she had greater ambitions.

She was aiming for the position of the Chu family’s future matriarch!

Chu Qi’s parents lost their composure and immediately had Liu Mingqing escorted out.

But this gave them a new idea: perhaps only a “joy-bringing” marriage could save their son.

Even for a joy-bringing marriage, the bride entering the Chu family could not be from a lowly rural background.

After being driven away by the Chu family, Liu Mingqing returned and spent several days putting her head together with Old Master Liu. Finally, they devised a formula that could effectively relieve Chu Qi's current symptoms.

With long-term treatment and adjustments to the prescription based on his physical condition, although he couldn't fully regain his former health, he would be able to live like a normal person.

When Liu Mingqing brought the prescription to the Chu family, she saw the house decorated with lanterns and streamers, filled with a festive atmosphere.

Upon seeing her, the Chu family servants immediately went on guard, grabbing sticks to drive her away.

Unable to enter through the front, Liu Mingqing had no choice but to circle to the back and climb over the wall into the courtyard.

Sneaking all the way to Chu Qi's courtyard, she overheard from passing servants that today was Chu Qi's wedding day.

Shen Yuan stopped writing here, his mind feeling somewhat numb from writing so much.

Also, because this part of the story was so emotionally heavy, he felt a sense of gloom in his heart and needed to pause to digest his emotions properly.

After leisurely drinking a cup of tea, he called Ji Xingwang upstairs to transcribe and organize the story again.

Ji Xingwang wrote while wiping away tears.

"Wahhh, it's too tragic."

The tragedy of Old Master Liu being unable to hate wholeheartedly; the tragedy of Liu Yinv (the female doctor) being unable to summon up hatred; and Young Master Chu, who did nothing wrong, suffering simply because of his identity—that was tragic too.

And in the end, the lovers are separated by a blood feud, unable to be together. Young Master Chu, once so spirited and a true favorite of heaven, is now tormented beyond recognition.

Tragic, tragic, tragic.

Having swallowed a mouthful of metaphorical knives, Ji Xingwang put down his brush with reddened eyes, his voice hoarse. "It's all written down, Xiao Yuan. Sigh, can you give me a little hint? How do they end up?"

Shen Yuan looked at Manager Ji's eyes, red from crying. "You wouldn't want to know."

Manager Ji realized that the story was titled "Love Between Human and Ghost." Ghosts are what people become after they die, so inevitably, one of them must die.

Covering his mouth, Manager Ji still couldn't hold back his words. "Xiao Yuan! You have such a cruel heart!"

Shen Yuan held his teacup. Who said that? He was heartbroken too.

If the emotional blows he wrote hadn't come back to strike him like a boomerang, he could have written another chapter.

"By the way, Manager, for this month's tips, give me my fifty percent cut daily. Starting next month, we can combine them with other income and pay monthly."

Ji Xingwang spread out the bamboo slips to prevent the ink from smudging before it dried. "Sure. We also need to hurry and recruit a storyteller. Do you have any candidates in mind?"

Shen Yuan nodded. "I think Brother Zaoshang is good; we can let him give it a try. There's another candidate too. I'll ask today when I go back. If it works out, we'll have them come for a trial as soon as possible."

Ji Xingwang thought for a moment. "Zaoshang is indeed good—outgoing, articulate, and eager to learn. He'll be over the moon when he hears this news."

"It'll take two or three days for the young master to bring back his Fifth Grandpa. By then, our teahouse will surely make a big profit again. In my opinion, our stories are so good that Fifth Grandpa Xie might even come to our teahouse to listen to one."

Shen Yuan casually asked, "So the important person Brother Ping'an mentioned is his grandfather?"

"Yes, Fifth Grandpa Xie is a truly great figure."

Shen Yuan understood. No wonder.

The elderly man had traveled a long way to visit family. As a member of the younger generation, going an extra station to pick him up was perfectly reasonable.

Brother Ping'an was quite filial.

After finishing his work, Shen Yuan brought a pot of chicken soup home.

The chicken was even bigger than the one from the morning. Manager Ji said it was a specially selected old hen; since Shen Yuan had many siblings, a bigger one would be needed for everyone to have enough.

Shen Yuan thanked Manager Ji for his kindness and left work carrying the fragrant chicken soup.