Reborn: Revenge of the Concubine’s Daughter - Chapter 159

Chapter 159 The mystery of Childe Duan climbing over the wall

“Well, Meng Xuan, what’s wrong with your face?” Bai Yangbai asked, with the blade of grass in his mouth swaying twice. He approached with interest to observe the red scratches on Meng Xuan’s face.

Meng Xuan explained calmly, “These were scratched by my mother.”

Bai Yangbai believed it and sighed, “Childe Xuan, I’m not talking like an unconcerned person. Now the old women are really more vicious than a tiger or a lion. Well, one wound is bleeding… Are you really born by your mom?”

Meng Xuan looked at He Danggui and sighed, “Who knows? I am full of doubts now. Xiaoyi, do you have any medicine for me?”

He Danggui pricked the forehead of Qian Mudan with a silver needle which she poured into Zhenqi, glanced at Bai Yangbai and said, “Ask him. He is selling medicine.”

Meng Xuan looked at Bai Yangbai again. Bai Yangbai turned around and found a green porcelain bottle from his medicine kit and threw it to Meng Xuan. Meng Xuan held it, opened the bottle and sniffed at it. He frowned and asked, “Why does it smell like oranges? Taoist Sage, is your medicine useful? What is the medicine?”

Bai Yangbai looked at him with a smile, “It’s not good for children to apply medicine to body. They are orange medicine candies I baked. You won’t feel pain after you take two candies.”

Meng Xuan poured out and ate two candies, and handed them to He Danggui, “It tastes good. Try it.”

He Danggui frowned, dodged and said angrily, “Don’t you see that I’m using Zhenqi to the needle to help Qian Mudan drive the poison away? Don’t let my Zhenqi go astray. Eat candies? Do you think it’s time to play? If my needle goes astray, she will be in hemiplegia.”

Meng Xuan was embarrassed and withdrew his hand. Then he asked Bai Yangbai who was laughing at him, “Do you eat?”

“Thanks. I never eat the medicine candies I made. Young Childe, keep it for yourself.” Bai Yangbai waved his hands and refused. Suddenly, he took his eyes to the sleeve of He Danggui and asked curiously, “What is that? Show me.” After that, he pulled her sleeve and immediately shook her hand which was having an acupuncture treatment. The white hand of Qian Mudan with the needle was immediately bleeding.

He Danggui was angry, “Bai Yangbai! Are you on purpose? Why do you pull me at this time? It’s the key to block the poison in the Sanjiao Channel of Hand-Shaoyang. If I prick mistakenly and let the poison flow into the heart, she will live 3 years less!” Then she hurriedly used the needle to remedy again.

“Life and death are determined by fate, and I haven’t poisoned her.” Bai Yangbai continued to reach into the sleeve of He Danggui and gently took 4 walnut-sized colored dolls. He put them in the palm and played with them. The heads of the 4 dolls were round and stuffed with cotton, which were soft and lovely. It was strange that the body, the hands and feet of the dolls were as small as nails, which was a little funny when they were matching with big heads.

Bai Yangbai looked carefully at one of the eyebrows of a doll, and wondered, “Isn’t this Duan Xiaolou? Girl, why do you do a doll in his appearance? Do you use it as your pincushion to curse him to die early because he abandoned you?” He shook his head disapprovingly. “Women are terrible, who will take the men’s lives after they break up.”

He Danggui simply denied his conjecture, “These dolls belong to Qing. And I’ll prick you if I want.”

Bai Yangbai didn’t believe it, “You’re the one that Duan was obsessed with. Why does that fat girl make a doll in his appearance?” He held his chin to think and murmured, “Maybe the fat girl also admires Duan. Actually, she’s making friends with you to get close to Duan. Unexpectedly, you look intimate on the surface as if you can wear the same skirt, but secretly you’re rivals in love.”

“Old man, you can eat at random but you can’t talk at random,” Meng Xuan corrected, “Xiaoyi and Childe Duan are just ordinary friends, not lovers. It’s not good for her reputation to talk like this.”

Bai Yangbai stroked his beard and shook his head, “No, no, I’ve lived for more than 100 years. I’ve seen numerous lovers. More than half of them are the same as her. The woman said that she didn’t like the man or they were impossible, but she was lenient to him. With sweet words, love letters, stabs in his hands, tears, the man would succeed in chasing! I think that Duan Xiaolou may succeed, and Danggui will marry him later. Eh, hasn’t he proposed marriage to Luo’s Family yet? Two years ago, I set up a stall at the side door of Luo’s Mansion. It seemed that he often climbed over the wall of your house. He was also a noble man. Why didn’t he go to the front door but climbing over the wall, as if he had a love affair stealthily.”

He Danggui stared at him. “Just take care of yourself. Don’t worry about others. I don’t know what you are talking about and I’ve never met Childe Duan in Luo’s Mansion. Even if he really climbed over the wall to find someone, it wasn’t me.” At this time, two lines of black blood slowly flowed out of Qian Mudan’s nostrils, whose face was covered with silver needles. He Danggui pulled out a blade of grass and dipped it into the blood to smell. Then she frowned, “What a strange poison! How can it change so quickly! Hey, have you seen this poison that can change its toxicity?”

Meng Xuan shook his head, and Bai Yangbai said, “Don’t change the topic deliberately and talk about useless things. Tell me the truth. How much did Duan Xiaolou give you to open the Yi Hong Brothel?”

He Danggui looked at him in surprise, “How do you know that Yi Hong Brothel is opened by Qing and me?”

Bai Yangbai grinned triumphantly, “I saw you often dressed in men’s improper clothing, and went through the back door of the brothel in the evening. Later, I disguised as a guest to make trouble, which made the procuress unable to deal with. Then the fat girl disguised as a fat boss. She faced my lifeblood and took one foot. Then I was thrown out by your thugs… It was so cruel. Girl, you should polish your eyes and pay attention to the people around you. Don’t make bad friends by mistake!”

He Danggui was unhappy, “Don’t always call her ‘fat girl’. She is named Liao Qing’er, and she’s much thinner now. Have you been in Yangzhou City for 3 years? Your name of ‘Qianjun’ is really suitable. You lurked in Luo’s Mansion and Yi Hong Brothel to observe my life and my friends instead of finding me frankly. Do you deserve to be called ‘saint’?” While talking about it, she pulled the sleeve of Bai Yangbai and tore off a large piece of cloth.

Bai Yangbai glared at her with rage, “Why do you tear off my clothes? I just met the secret love between Duan and you!”

“If you blather on and on, I’ll poke your acupoint and throw you into the lake directly.” He Danggui wiped the nose blood of Qian Mudan with this cloth and said, “The worst clothes here were yours, so I have to use them. Let the academy pay for your clothes later. Hey, Bai Yangbai, don’t you really know the poison? Although I helped her a little, I couldn’t eliminate all poison. I wanted to give her a prescription to reduce the internal heat. However, I am confused since its toxicity is changing. I have never seen such poison before.”

Bai Yangbai dug his nostril and despised, “You’re stupid. The girl is obviously poisoned by venomous insect. She can’t be saved. Deal with her funeral affairs.”

“Poisoned by venomous insect?!” He Danggui was surprised to see Qian Mudan who lost her vitality. “Really?”

“That’s why I just asked someone to cut her arm. You try your best to save her, but you even don’t know what poison she has. Now you know you can’t save her.” Bai Yangbai sneered, “Well, borrow the sword of Guard Zhan and cut her arm as soon as possible.”

Meng Xuan took Qian Mudan’s right arm, looked at her right hand for a moment, and said in a deep voice, “It wasn’t today that she was poisoned by venomous insect. That venomous insect has been staying in her body for at least one month. But you can see that there is a small black spot in her palm, and the poison is also concentrated in her right arm. Thus, I guess that someone pricked her with a poisonous needle before she fell into the water, which urged the venomous insect in her body. The combination of them makes the poison so strange.”

“Someone?” He Danggui recalled, “Before she fell into the water, it was her sister Qian Shuixian who pulled her right hand. Is it her?”

Bai Yangbai waved and said, “Don’t need to guess anymore. It must be her! I often sell medicine candies to them, so I know their behavior very well. The girl who is dying on the ground seems to be domineering and often has disputes with other girls. In fact, she is a woman who doesn’t consider clearly when she goes out. All disputes were first provoked by some words of her younger sister. Then her younger sister retreated and sneered at her who was arguing with others. It wasn’t strange that she was poisoned by such a vicious younger sister.”

He Danggui didn’t understand, “Even if they bear a deep grudge, they could use arsenic or Hedinghong Poison. How can Qian Shuixian who is ignorant and unskilled be able to make such a complex poison?”

Meng Xuan asked, “How do you know that? I think that this girl is very scheming. She isn’t a simple woman.”

He Danggui was surprised, “I have taken 4 courses with her together, and saw her loose font and poor performance in Guqin and Go. Of course, I know that she is ignorant and unskilled. Where do you come to the conclusion that she is scheming?”

Meng Xuan raised his eyebrows, “Through my observation. I observed her walking. It seemed that she knew kung fu. As for the poor performance in Guqin, Go, calligraphy and painting, it’s not enough. How do you know that she is not hiding her talents and pretending to be dull like you? ‘Seeing it with your own eyes’ is useless. Bai Yangbai also saw Duan Xiaolou climb over the wall of your house. Didn’t you deny that?”

He Danggui opened her eyes, “Aren’t we talking about Qian Shuixian? Why talk about Duan Xiaolou now? I meet that 15-year-old girl every day, so I know what kind of person she is. Last time, a big plaque fell off her head, but her clothes were caught by the bolt. She just closed her eyes and shouted, instead of escaping. This time you’re wrong.”

“Ah, I’m often wrong, but this time it may not be my mistake,” Meng Xuan sneered. “Did the plaque hit her at last? Did she break her head and bleed?”

He Danggui frowned and told him reluctantly, “No, Qing had poor arts of lightness and pushed her away.” After thinking for a while, He Danggui said, “It still can’t prove that Qian Shuixian is scheming to hide her kung fu. At that time, Qing was so far away that she couldn’t save her and nearly broke her head. When people encounter danger, their first reaction is to dodge. But she even had no strength to tear off her clothes. Nobody in the world would deliberately hide their kung fu at the risk of their lives.”

Meng Xuan nodded, “No, I have seen more than three people who can do that. You’re one of them, but you are at the risk of others’ lives. You had said, ‘If a man falls into the river and I have to jump into the river to save him, I will save him before. But now no matter how good my swimming skill is, I will weigh the advantages and disadvantages and then decide whether to save him or not.’ At that time, you were only 10 years old. Now, after more than 3 years, you become more indifferent. At that time, I thought you just said that. After all, you risked your life to save me from those people. I only know that you are firm in speech but soft in heart. But today, Qian Mudan fell into the water in front of you. You were really weighing the advantages and disadvantages. At that time, you didn’t go to rescue her immediately. Later, she was submerged and would lose her life. You can just fly to get her, but you didn’t do so, did you? It can be seen that there are people who will ‘risk lives and deliberately hide their kung fu’.”

He Danggui sneered, “Meng Xuan, since you know that I am your lifesaver, you should be polite. Women are very vengeful, and I know many secrets of you. You aren’t qualified to judge whether I’m kind or merciless. Anyway, I’ve never thought of myself as a good woman. But you really wrong me in this matter. I have to argue for myself. First, people who have a little contact with Qian’s sisters all know their temper. They won’t be grateful if you save them 100 times… Last time, Qing saved Qian Shuixian, but Qian Shuixian told teachers falsely, saying that Qing pushed her and made her sprain her feet… And you can imagine that at that time, I wasn’t the only one who saw Qian Mudan fell into the water. There were also many people who knew kung fu and could swim. Countless people are so kind-hearted that they can’t bear to trample on ants, but no one was willing to go into the water to save her. It can be seen that Qian Mudan was really…”

“Do you mean that bad people should die?” Meng Xuan suddenly interrupted her.

“I don’t mean that. Can’t you hear me out?” He Danggui’s face was gloomy in the dark sky, and as cold as a jade statue. “In this world, both good people and bad people shouldn’t die. Only those stupid deserve to die. I know that from my own experience. The reason why I didn’t save Qian Mudan is that I heard the discussion of Qian’s sisters about how to stay out of the cold under the water and how to hold Zong Qiao so that he had to marry Qian Mudan. At that time, I didn’t think much about it, because it was none of my business. Later, when Qian Mudan really fell into the water, I thought of the conversation of Qian’s sisters, so I stopped Qing from being the first one to save Qian Mudan. I wanted to leave the opportunity to Zong Qiao to save a beauty. At that time, it was obvious that Qian Mudan cried to Zong Qiao for help, which convinced me even more. Later, when I saw that Qian Mudan was sinking into the water, Zong Qiao and other people didn’t have the intention to save her. However, Ms. Zheng also couldn’t save her, so I immediately went into the water to save them. The main reason why I didn’t use arts of lightness was that I didn’t want to expose my kung fu, but I had calculated the time in my heart. A person who is prepared to hold their breath is able to keep at least a few minutes under the water. However, at that time, it passed far less minutes…”

Meng Xuan nodded and said, “Look, I’m right. You’re really weighing the advantages and disadvantages, and calculating the gains and losses.”

He Danggui also smiled, “At that time, Qian Shuixian called out that her sister was dead. You have seen that she wasn’t dead, and you have also known that she was poisoned. You are the famous descendant of the saint who saved people in danger. Why don’t you use Zhenqi and drive out the poison for her at the first time? At that time, if you immediately helped her, she could be saved. Why did you suddenly hold me to the Bamboo Grove?”

Meng Xuan said angrily, “I miss you.”

“Miss me? It makes me really despondent,” He Danggui didn’t believe it. “I haven’t heard from you for 3 years, so I have to ask Gao Jue for help on methods for circling Zhenqi that I don’t understand. Meng Xuan, even if you’ve been too busy these years, you can take a few days off for the Lunar New Year, and go back to the capital to see your mother, right? Since you said you missed me, why didn’t you go to Yangzhou City and see if I’m alive by the way? I’ve practiced your strange internal energy and I nearly lost my grip on it several times. Thus, I can’t practice the rest of it at all. When you borrowed my Zhenqi, you promised to teach me kung fu for half a year and pass me a set of palm method. Then you ran away for 3 years before fulfilling your promises. You haven’t kept your words.”

Meng Xuan frowned, “I have explained to you that I stayed in Yangzhou City to find someone. Later, I found out that he had left here, so I couldn’t stay long. ‘Haven’t heard from me’? Girl, you’re wrong. It’s obvious that my letters were sent out one after another, but I never heard from you like the clay oxen entering the sea. What my brother said that women are the most unreasonable people in the world was really true. That formula of cultivation methods my uncle passed on me is the most precious in the world. I not only helped you to practice it for more than 3 months, but also wrote the whole content without reservation. I have marked the notes during each part. Why cannot you practice? When I practiced it, I didn’t have the guidance of a master, and I groped for it by myself. I only practiced it once, without any difficulty or block. It’s clear that you’re tired of practicing too hard, so you’ve been lazy and thrown aside. Now you blame that my internal energy is hard to practice. You are so unreasonable.”

“I hate to read the complex manual on kung fu very much. The former masters gave me a bunch of manuals on kung fu to learn by myself, so I haven’t been a senior for a long time.” He Danggui was angry when he mentioned it. “I was willing to learn from you because you said that you wanted to teach me kung fu by yourself. I didn’t expect that you were the same as those people at last, just giving me a disgusting manual and letting me practice by myself. You’re a wizard on kung fu, so you can’t understand the pain of our ordinary people. I told you that I can’t understand your manual, and asked you to teach me for a few more days. But you promised verbally, and then slipped away without saying a word. You still owe me 10% of my energy. Liar!”

Meng Xuan grinned and said, “As the old saying goes, women and villains are hard to get along with. If you get close to them, they will be impolite. If you stay away from them, they will complain. The ancients will not deceive me! At that time, my father sent a series of letters to me in the army, asking me to finish my studies and attend the Arena of Heroes held by Lord Yan. However, I threw the letters away and locked up the carrier pigeons. I ignored my father’s urgent call just for staying in Yangzhou City for several months to teach you kung fu. At that time, I didn’t see how dependent you were on my teaching. When I told you the channels, you always waved and said, ‘I know this. Skip it!’ You’re so impetuous. Do you still want to practice peerless kung fu? I have told you for many times that there are no wizards on kung fu in the world. How much you pay and how much you will gain. However, you’re always afraid of tiredness and don’t do it. As for the 10% of your energy, I didn’t pass it on to you because your channels were full at that time. Don’t worry. I will never occupy your things. Before I leave Yangzhou City, I will pass it on to you with interests.”