Ji Mingzhu stepped out of the courtyard gate of Hewutang.
At a glance, she saw Xie Yunxuan standing in the snow, and… Xie Yunzheng.
From a distance, Ji Mingzhu couldn’t hear what they were saying.
But the moment Xie Yunxuan saw her, he ended the conversation and quickly walked toward her.
Seeing the redness around Ji Mingzhu’s eyes, Xie Yunxuan asked anxiously, “Did Grandmother give you a hard time?”
Ji Mingzhu shook her head. “No.”
“You’ve been crying.”
Xie Yunxuan spoke with certainty, the distress in his eyes impossible to hide.
He instinctively raised his hand, wanting to gently touch the corner of her eye and wipe away the redness.
He hated seeing Mingzhu shed tears…
“Second Brother, didn’t you say you wanted to come to my place for a visit? Why aren’t you leaving yet?”
Xie Yunzheng’s expression was calm, but his hands, clasped behind his back, tightened slightly.
Every time he encountered Ji Mingzhu, he acted strangely.
As if he had been bewitched.
Seeing Ji Mingzhu standing beside Xie Yunxuan, he inexplicably found it grating.
Especially when he saw Xie Yunxuan’s gesture, a surge of displeasure suddenly welled up in his heart.
A voice inside him said: No other man should touch Ji Mingzhu, not even his own brother!
Separate them.
Don’t let them speak!
Don’t let them stand together!
His mind was in chaos, and before he could make sense of it, his mouth uncontrollably uttered those words.
Xie Yunzheng walked forward as casually as if strolling in a garden. “I was there earlier. If you have any questions, you might as well ask me.”
His gaze swept over Ji Mingzhu. “People tend to share only good news and hide the bad. If you ask her, you probably won’t get the full story.”
Of course, he needed to get to the bottom of it.
He couldn’t let Mingzhu suffer unjustly.
Knowing that Ji Mingzhu disliked his elder brother, Xie Yunxuan didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.
He said, “Elder Brother, I’ll take Mingzhu back to Xiaoxiangyuan first, then come find you.”
The two of them stood side by side, as if united against him, and Xie Yunzheng felt displeased again.
He despised his own abnormality but couldn’t control the turmoil of his emotions.
This feeling of losing control was terrible, so much so that Xie Yunzheng’s gaze toward Ji Mingzhu grew sharper.
What exactly had she done to him?
Ji Mingzhu was already aggrieved, and now, being stared at by Xie Yunzheng’s fierce glare, her anger flared up.
Living under someone else’s roof, she had no right to lose her temper.
She could only glare at Xie Yunzheng before turning and walking toward Xiaoxiangyuan.
Xie Yunxuan hurriedly followed her.
“Walk slower, don’t trip.”
“If I trip, so be it. It won’t kill me. I’ll just get back up!”
“Don’t talk about life and death like that, stop saying such things…”
As the two of them walked out of his sight, Xie Yunzheng kept replaying the glare Ji Mingzhu had given him.
So vivid, so different from her usual calm and indifferent gaze.
His stagnant heart now beat joyfully.
Xie Yunzheng kicked a pile of snow. “What the hell!”
He strode back to Dongyuan.
“Go and invite Divine Physician Xi.”
The two of them had gone out together, but while Xie Yunzheng went to Hewutang to pay his respects, Xi Yu disliked such formal occasions and had returned to the guest quarters first.
Hearing this, Tianshui thought his master’s wound had reopened and rushed to fetch the physician without delay.
Xi Yu thought the same, so he arrived quickly.
Before even entering the room, his voice rang out.
“Have I not told you that if your wound reopens, your life might be in danger?”
Xie Yunzheng sat calmly in his chair, leisurely brewing tea, looking perfectly fine.
Xi Yu breathed a sigh of relief. “Why did you call me here?”
“Are there really people in this world who raise Zhonggu?”
Xie Yunzheng asked this.
His expression was serious, not like he was speaking nonsense.
Xi Yu casually took a seat. “The world is full of wonders. It’s possible someone really does.”
He had heard plenty of rumors about witchcraft and Zhonggu, but those were exaggerated to the point of absurdity, and Xi Yu found them utterly unreliable.
Xie Yunzheng had also scoffed at such things before, but at this moment, he truly felt he might have fallen victim to Zhonggu.
Xi Yu asked curiously, “Why ask this all of a sudden? Did someone get Zhonggu?”
Xie Yunzheng countered with another question instead of answering. “If someone is afflicted with a love Zhonggu, how can it be cured?”
The kind used between men and women—that should be it, right?
Xie Yunzheng guessed so.
Xi Yu’s expression turned peculiar. “Did you get Zhonggu?”
“A friend.”
Xi Yu’s lips twitched. “A ‘friend’ out of thin air? Do you think I’m a fool?”
Xie Yunzheng gave him a lofty look. “You just need to answer.”
“Is this the attitude to have when asking for help?”
Others might fear Xie Yunzheng, but he didn’t.
He stared intently at Xie Yunzheng, his eyes full of amusement.
“Which young lady have you taken a liking to?”
Xi Yu answered his own question. “We haven’t been back in the capital long. The person you’ve interacted with the most is that cousin, Miss Ji. It couldn’t be…”
“But it’s understandable. Even heroes struggle to resist a beauty’s charm, let alone a beauty among beauties. Falling for her at first sight is nothing unusual.”
Xie Yunzheng’s face grew darker. “Don’t talk nonsense.”
He had never been moved by a woman before, let alone one he had only met a few times.
If he truly felt something, it must be because Ji Mingzhu had done something to him.
Xi Yu shook his head. “Liking a girl isn’t something to be ashamed of. Why are you so resistant?”
Xie Yunzheng had no interest in discussing this.
“If the person who cast the Zhonggu is eliminated, will that solve the problem?”
He spoke seriously, not as if joking.
Xi Yu hurriedly said, “Don’t go killing innocent people! If you really kill the girl you like, you’ll regret it too late!”
Xie Yunzheng shot him a cold glance and corrected, “There is no girl I like.”
He just couldn’t control his heart, always focusing his attention on Ji Mingzhu.
Rather than liking her, it felt more like his body was being manipulated.
Anyone or anything that could make him lose control, Xie Yunzheng wanted to nip in the bud.
Xi Yu was confused by him.
This man clearly showed signs of awakening feelings, yet he wanted to eliminate the root cause.
So contradictory—no wonder he was still alone in his twenties.
“I think Miss Ji is quite nice, different from those who deliberately throw themselves at you. Don’t wrong her.”
Xie Yunzheng frowned slightly. If she were truly innocent, how could he explain his own abnormal behavior?
“Have you ever considered one thing?”
Xie Yunzheng hated it when people beat around the bush. “Speak.”
“You’ve fallen for her!”
As soon as he said these four words, Xi Yu wanted to laugh uproariously.
Who was it that thought Miss Ji wanted to climb his high branch?
For that, he even labeled her as scheming.
Now it seemed clear: he was the one who fell first and deliberately pinned the blame on Miss Ji.
A stunningly beautiful woman—that collision must have struck the heart of the cold-faced King of Hell!
Xie Yunzheng didn’t agree. If he truly liked Ji Mingzhu, how could he stand by and watch her be bullied?
How could he turn a blind eye to her grievances and tears?
Even though he had never liked anyone before, he knew that men in love were protective.
He would not tolerate his woman being bullied.
Not even if the other party was an elder.
After casually drinking a cup of tea, he finally concluded, “Utter nonsense!”
His heart instantly relaxed, and the feeling of facing a formidable enemy vanished.
He had really lost his mind earlier, actually inviting Xi Yu over and letting others see him become a laughingstock.
It seemed he needed to stay away from Ji Mingzhu.
If he could still be influenced by her like this, then…
A sharp glint flashed in Xie Yunzheng’s eyes—then he could only add fuel to the fire and marry Ji Mingzhu off!