When he hinted at such words, Wu Ping’an initially did not understand what he meant until she noticed his gaze fixed on her chest.
Realizing this, she abruptly hugged herself and refused without a second thought: “No.”
Her refusal was swift and resolute, causing Ji Yuwei—who was accustomed to obtaining whatever he desired with ease and rarely faced rejection—to frown slightly.
In the end, he shifted his gaze downward, settling on her clasped hands. “Then, madam, please place your hands here first.”
As his words fell, before Wu Ping’an could agree, the boy standing beside him had already begun spreading a white cloth over the stone table.
Wu Ping’an placed her hands on it, watching as Ji Yuwei received a yellow fu talisman handed to him by the boy. He dipped it into a previously prepared vessel, and she smelled what seemed to be blood inside.
“This is a secret method for tracking monster beasts. In a moment, blood will be applied to your body.” He retrieved the crimson-stained yellow fu talisman and pressed it against her wrist.
Wu Ping’an also noticed that Ji Yuwei deliberately avoided physical contact with her, giving her the impression that he found her unworthy of touch, even disdainful.
As the talisman adhered to her skin, a warm current flowed outward from Wu Ping’an’s wrist. With his slender, pale hands, he formed an incomprehensible seal while explaining his earlier words.
“I did not mean to offend you earlier, Madam Wu. It was only because I heard that you had once collided with the jade lotus using your body, and since living qi mostly concentrates in the human heart, I spoke as I did. However, madam, you are different from us, so testing from the wrist should also suffice.”
Although Wu Ping’an did not believe Ji Yuwei held any regard for her, his initial request for her to remove her clothing had frightened her.
Ji Yuwei glanced up at her. “Can you still endure it, madam?”
Wu Ping’an shook her head, her face pale. “It feels strange.”
She was having difficulty breathing, as if the air entering her lungs was being drawn through her meridians and absorbed by the talisman on her wrist.
Ji Yuwei merely asked the question before changing the position of his seal, soothing her gently. “It will be over soon. Let me speak with you, madam.”
The suffocating sensation made Wu Ping’an desperate to divert her attention, so she focused entirely on his words.
“Madam, you come from another world and may not know that here, every person condenses a form of living qi called ‘breath.’ It enters through the nose into the lungs, reviving the body, making the heart beat and blood flow. If a person loses this living breath, they turn to dust and return to nothingness.”
Isn’t that just the air we breathe? Wu Ping’an looked at him.
“However, madam, do not be afraid.” He raised his head to look at her. His fair cheeks were visibly healthier than before, with two faint blushes like rouge spread over his cheekbones, making him appear rosy-lipped and bright-toothed, pure and natural like a luminous pearl or polished jade.
“Drawing a small amount of living qi does not affect one’s life. Moreover, what we are drawing is the breath of others who died unjustly and have nowhere to go. Some breaths, because their owners’ lifespans were cut short and they died unjustly with nowhere to go, will seek out those they had the most contact with. This is why I must find you, madam.”
As he finished speaking, the talisman on her wrist had completely consumed the blood from the vessel. He lowered the seal formed in his palm.
Wu Ping’an felt as though she had just run an eight-hundred-meter sprint. As he used wooden tweezers to remove the talisman and place it in a wooden box, she lay weak and drenched in sweat on the stone table.
She was grateful that a blanket had been spread over it earlier, making it comfortable to rest on without discomfort.
“Is my lady unwell?” Ji Yuwei watched her gasping for breath and instructed the young attendant to pour the red liquid from the vessel. He pressed two fingers against the rim of the cup and brought it before her.
Wu Ping’an stared at the cup, the scent of fresh blood within making her nauseous.
Ji Yuwei said, “This is black phoenix beast blood. Not only does it ward off demons, but it also nourishes the vital energy and blood. When I feel unwell, I use it in my medicine.”
Wu Ping’an refused to drink the unknown blood he offered, shaking her head. The earlier suffocation had already eased.
A flicker of regret floated in Ji Yuwei’s clear pupils. He had the attendant retrieve the vessel and said to her, “Thank you for today, my lady. The fu talisman has now gathered the essence of the jade lotus. I must go and use the talisman to find the monster beast, so I will not disturb you further.”
Wu Ping’an wished he would leave quickly and did not utter a single word of persuasion. “Fifth Young Master, please attend to your matters.”
Her eagerness to see him gone was evident on her face. Ji Yuwei glanced sideways, his gaze sweeping over her damp eyes from the earlier suffocation. He then stood up and performed a scholar’s bow to her. “I will have someone bring you properly fitting garments shortly. After bathing and incense-burning, rest early.”
Wu Ping’an nodded and also rose, returning his bow with practiced grace.
Ji Yuwei departed with his fair and delicate attendant. Wu Ping’an sat back down on the stone stool, rolling up her sleeve to examine the faint crimson mark remaining on her wrist. She rubbed it hard with her fingers, finding it resembled a blood spot emerging from beneath the skin—impossible to wipe away no matter how hard she tried.
What exactly was this?
Wu Ping’an frowned as she studied it. Unbidden, she recalled the vermilion dot between Ji Yuwei’s brows.
The flower grove was paved with stones resembling white jade, yet carrying the clarity of green jade. The dappled shadows of swaying leaves fell luxuriantly upon the ground, and stepping upon them felt like wading through water. Brilliant petals settled upon Ji Yuwei’s hair knot, lending him an air of divine grace and elegance.
Carrying a wooden box, he dismissed the attendant and strode into the inner quarters of the Apricot Grove.
The spacious inner courtyard was littered with numerous medicine jars—large and small, all exquisitely shaped and eye-catching. These were all jars he had discarded. If a jar proved useless for brewing medicine, he would cast it aside, and over time, they had accumulated in great numbers.
Without a sideways glance, he passed through the courtyard filled with beautiful jars and bottles and entered a medicine-brewing room. Pushing the door open with one hand, he found the newest medicine jar, rolled up his sleeves, tied the fastenings behind his neck, revealing slender arms, and lit the fire in the stove.
As the most highly regarded young master of the Ji clan, tasks like lighting fires and brewing medicine should not have fallen to him. Yet, the physicians’ decoctions and prescriptions were always useless. After growing weary of killing them, he began handling everything personally.
As the medicine in the stove boiled, he extracted a bowl of brown liquid and set it on the windowsill to cool. Turning around, he walked further inside, letting down his rolled-up sleeves and restoring the dignified demeanor of a noble clan’s young master.
He then checked his appearance in the mirror. Only after confirming the person in the reflection was beautiful and flawless did he approach the box.
Inside the box lay yellow fu talismans.
Ji Yuwei knelt on a rush cushion, crossed his legs, and formed hand seals. The yellow talisman gradually rose, its characters trembling as if trying to fly upward, then suddenly shifting downward, left, and right—utterly directionless.
He opened his eyes, coldly lowered his hands from the seal, snatched the foolish talisman that could not find its way, tore it to pieces, and tossed it into the incense burner.
Useless. Even with the essence, it could not find the direction.
Ji Yuwei felt a surge of anger, but as soon as the rage rose in his chest, he could not suppress a cough. Covering his mouth did little to stop the blood seeping through his fingers, dripping onto the ground. The vermilion dot between his brows also dimmed.
The silent room held only the sound of wind beating against the window shutters from outside and his barely suppressed cough.
Once he had suppressed the surging turmoil in his chest, he rose and drank the bowl of now-cooled medicine without the slightest change in expression.
As the medicine flowed into his stomach, a wave of warmth instantly followed his meridians, seeming to rush toward his limbs. His originally pale face regained a hint of color.
Ji Yuwei set down the medicine bowl and leaned against the window, catching a snow-white pear blossom carried by the wind. He thought of Wu Ping’an, who had fallen from the sky into the midst of the monster beasts.
Many of the things he had said today were true.
It was true that he had seen her tear through the sky and descend from above, and that she came from another world—a completely unfamiliar, unknown… Divine Realm.
The petal was crushed between his delicate, slender fingers. More petals drifted in through the window with the brilliant evening glow, landing on his vibrant red robe. His face, turned toward the southern direction, was as pure as a child untouched by the world—uniquely innocent and beautiful.
He gazed for a long time before finally stepping out into the fading, blood-like sunset, walking through the rain of blossoms.
The shower of petals came suddenly. Wu Ping’an had just finished bathing and was holding up the cumbersome, layered skirt with trailing sleeves. The numerous ribbons extending from the waist wrap were too many for her to manage, and she had come out hoping to find someone to exchange it for a more practical short jacket and trousers.
Only after stepping outside did she realize the sun had already set in the west. Under the lingering crimson glow, pink peach blossoms were carried by the wind from the south, drifting and scattering into the courtyard in a grand shower of petals.
In the past, to see such a scene, she would have had to go to a park, where crowds of people would be taking photos. Now, she could admire this beauty alone, yet she felt no joy at all.
Wu Ping’an set down the intricate, ornate skirt and sat on the threshold, leaning her head against the doorframe as she thought of Ade.
He was her only friend when she first arrived in this strange world, the one who had saved her. If Ade were still alive, they would likely be sitting together in a dilapidated house, counting copper coins and discussing how much money to save and how to spend it in the future.
But in this era, where human life was treated as worthless, even though Ji Yuwei appeared gentle and courteous, he had never once mentioned Ade’s death from beginning to end.
Where should she go from here?
Wu Ping’an sat until night fell and the sky darkened. Only when she felt the cold did she rise, disheartened, close the door, and lie down on the bed, closing her eyes.
Perhaps because this era was filled with demons and monsters, she always felt at night as though a pair of eyes clung to the outside of the lowered bed curtains like a ghost—gazing at her faintly, critically.
Author’s Note:
Mountain Ghost: I will always… always, forever, for all eternity, no matter what you do, keep watching you, my dear [sunglasses]
Right now, extracting life essence is done with fu talismans. What will Mountain Ghost use later? [dog head]