Chapter 51 Chapter 51

Chapter 51

1

"Xiaozhi."

Ms. Liang spoke softly as she walked toward the young master.

The young master looked panicked, backing away repeatedly.

Ms. Liang tried to smile, but it looked more like she was crying.

She said, "If you don't want to get married, then don't. If you don't want kids, then don't."

The young master's face went deathly pale. Looking at Ms. Liang's face, dim and unclear in the candlelight, a bone-chilling cold wrapped around him, layer by layer.

He opened his mouth and said, "Mother..."

Ms. Liang stared at him steadily and said quietly, "Xiaozhi, once you drink that cup of tea, everything will be over."

The young master gulped. He didn't know what that tea was, but right now, his mother's familiar face filled him with sheer terror.

The second young lady lunged forward and grabbed Ms. Liang's leg, saying frantically, "No, he can't drink it!"

She had seen those two women's bodies with her own eyes—their pale faces thick with the stench of death.

That tea was a terrible poison!

The young master got even more scared. He wanted to run, but he was too weak to get up.

Ms. Liang shoved the second young lady aside and said flatly, "It's fine. He has the same bloodline as your eldest brother; he won't die."

As if trying to convince herself, she kept walking toward the young master after saying that.

"No, I'm not drinking it, I'm not drinking it..."

The young master was terrified, his eyes glistening with tears.

Ms. Liang shot a glance at the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman tightened her grip, set down the tray, clenched her jaw, and grabbed the young master's hand.

"No! Let me go! Let me go!"

The young master struggled violently, his cries especially heartbreaking.

Watching this, Lin Chenxin clenched her fists tightly.

Ms. Liang picked up the cup of tea and moved closer to the young master, her lowered face casting eerie shadows in the candlelight.

The second young lady scrambled up and reached out, but only grazed Ms. Liang's pant leg.

"Mother, Mother..."

Tears streamed down her face. She wanted to stop it, but could only kneel helplessly on the floor.

The middle-aged woman held the young master's hands, pinning his frail body to the floor.

The young master struggled and sobbed, "Mama Chen, Mama Chen!"

The helpless crying made the middle-aged woman's heart ache.

Her eyes were already full of tears, but she still held the young master down tightly, her fingertips turning white.

"Just listen to the lady of the house," she said hoarsely.

"No, don't..."

Inside the towering, solemn ancestral hall, countless candles flickered dimly amid his helpless cries.

Row after row of memorial tablets looked like dark eyes, staring down at him from above.

The air around him was bitterly cold. His eyes were bloodshot, and veins bulged in his neck from struggling so hard.

"Let me go!"

"Please, let me go..." he wept.

The sheer terror was driving him crazy.

The faces he once knew had all turned into strange ghosts, and the crushing pressure felt like it would shatter his heart.

The second young lady struggled forward, only to be thrown to the ground by Ms. Liang, who didn't even look back.

She was crying too, big teardrops rolling down her face.

Lin Chenxin couldn't help stepping forward, and the young master immediately turned his hopeful eyes to her.

Looking into those tear-filled eyes, Lin Chenxin's heart tightened until she could hardly breathe.

But in the end, she pressed her lips together, shut her eyes, and turned away.

The light in the young master's eyes died instantly.

Ms. Liang pried his mouth open and poured the cold tea down his throat.

The bitter tea had a strong, fishy taste.

His throat convulsed, and he tried to spit it out.

But Ms. Liang clamped her hand firmly over his mouth.

Looking at his mother's face, the young master's eyes showed confusion, sorrow, helplessness, fear, and shattered despair.

Ms. Liang's hands were terrifyingly cold. She lowered her head, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

One by one, scalding tears fell onto the young master's face.

His eyelashes fluttered slightly, and suddenly, all his strength to struggle left him.

The second young lady's raised hand fell limply as she sat there, dazed and vacant.

She didn't understand why things had turned out this way.

Why.

Why...

She slowly curled up, wrapping her arms around her head, her confused eyes filled with twisted pain.

The middle-aged woman let go too, stumbled backward and collapsed to the ground, her face pale, like she was a ruthless executioner.

The young master lay weakly on the floor, a red smear at the corner of his mouth—could've been tea or blood.

Ms. Liang lowered her head, lifting the young master's frail body and holding him tightly in her arms.

A hoarse voice squeezed out of her throat.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The young master leaned on Ms. Liang's shoulder, opening his mouth, only for a torrent of blood to gush out.

The blood was dark and thick, soaking through her clothes, burning her back.

She held him tighter, harder, like she was trying to push him back inside her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

The young master's head drooped, his eyes dull and lifeless, as he parted his lips and whispered faintly.

"Mother..."

Lin Chenxin couldn't take it anymore and ran out without looking back.

She leaned against the wall with one hand, her stomach spasming nonstop, but she couldn't throw up.

The pain was so extreme it made her nauseous.

She hunched over, hair falling across her pale face, her other hand shaking uncontrollably.

Suddenly, a fallen leaf drifted before her. She jerked her head up and saw the tree was bare—the last leaf had fallen.

Her pupils shrank.

How could this be...

She forced herself up and stumbled out the door, nearly staggering.

Chen Gujun.

Chen Gujun!

Chen Gujun set the watering can down, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes.

The wind stirred his sideburns, lifting his long hair behind him like white silk in the breeze.

Suddenly, he bent over, gripping the well's edge with both hands, as thick, sticky blood dripped in strands into the well.

He let out a soft laugh. A sound of relief.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chen sat expressionless in a chair, the days of interrogation and confinement had made him gaunt.

His sharp, angular face was even more defined, his dark eyes as deep as ink.

Yet even so, he sat upright, his dignity intact.

Until a piercing pain made his lips go white.

He exhaled, hunched over, and clutched his chest.

In that instant, it felt like a hand had reached into his heart and snatched something away.

How could this be...

He jerked his head up, eyes bloodshot.

Suddenly, veins bulged on his forehead, and his fingers clenched tight.

The next second, he lowered his head.

The dim, cramped room went silent.

He sat quietly in the chair, blood dripping steadily, soaking his shirt.

—

Lin Chenxin, gripping a knife, ran to the backyard, her eyes blazing.

Seeing Chen Gujun lying motionless by the well, she held her breath for a moment, then rushed over and grabbed his shoulder.

Chen Gujun's chin was covered in blood, his eyelashes still trembling faintly.

She closed her eyes. "Thank God..."

Then she opened them, fierce determination on her face, and slashed at her hand.

Chen Gujun caught her wrist, his hollow eyes staring intently at her.

Lin Chenxin glanced at him, shook off his hand forcefully, and cut herself without hesitation.

"Drink!"

She tilted his chin up and pressed her wrist against his lips.

Those eyes burned brighter than stars, more brilliant than the sun.

Bright red blood flowed into the cracks of Chen Gujun's lips, releasing a sweet fragrance.

His Adam's apple bobbed as he grasped Lin Chenxin's pale forearm and gently parted his lips.

His faint breath brushed against Lin Chenxin's hand, and she stared intently at his face.

Seeing him lightly sip the blood from her wrist, swallowing as his throat rolled, the breath she'd been holding finally eased completely. Dizziness and weakness washed over her, and her ears rang.

Sensing her exhaustion, Chen Gujun raised his arm and pulled her into his arms.

She sat on his lap, lowering her head to rest on his shoulder.

After a long pause, she asked quietly, "Is it still working? Will you be okay?"

Chen Gujun lifted her hand and licked the blood from her forearm, then gently kissed her wound, her palm, and finally each of her fingers, one by one.

Getting no answer, Lin Chenxin punched his back.

"Say something!"

Chen Gujun laced his fingers with hers and whispered, "It's working. I'll get better."

Lin Chenxin lowered her head and hugged Chen Gujun tightly.

She kept trying to build up her confidence.

That tree was just withered, but not dead.

Chen Gujun said it would work, so it must work.

She had never believed in any deity since childhood, but for the first time, she earnestly prayed that heaven truly had mercy on the living.

At this point, no one could afford to pay any more of a price.

If Chen Gujun was still going to die, she didn’t know what else she could do.

She didn’t even know if she could bear the outcome.

This terrible curse was just too painful and bitter.

Feeling Lin Chenxin tremble, Chen Gujun held her tightly, using his cold body to build a solid fortress.

He lifted his head, his misty eyes gazing into the sky.

It’ll be fine.

—

When Mr. Chen woke up, he found himself in the hospital.

He sat up, but felt incredibly weak, as if a huge amount of his vitality had been drained in an instant.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. He looked up…

“You can leave now. Even though there’s no evidence of your illegal activities at the moment, the assets under your name are tied to multiple criminal issues. All your assets are to be frozen immediately. You’ll need to cooperate with further investigations and stay in H City, ready to be summoned at any time…”

Stepping out the door, Mr. Chen was momentarily blinded by the harsh light outside.

The words in his ears gradually faded into a noisy hum.

He squinted, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the sun. Suddenly, he saw his own reflection in the glass and was jolted.

In it, he saw himself hunched over, his tall frame thin and frail, his hair gray, his gaze vacant—as if he had aged twenty years in an instant.

He stood there, staring at his reflection in the glass, the bright, scorching sunlight no longer warming him at all.