Chapter 5: Wandering

Outside the window, the cold rain was drizzling, and a misty cold fog enveloped everything.

Yu Lingxi had a sleepless night, wrapped in a fox-fur cloak, leaning against…

On the couch, lost in thought, her partially disheveled hair outlined an enchanting figure, displaying a unique and delicate charm. It had been two days, and she still couldn't make sense of the scenes she witnessed in the Desire Realm Immortal City.

Ning Yin, as known by Yu Lingxi, had always been handsome and noble, looking down upon all living beings. Leaning on a staff adorned with jade and gold, even when involved in bloodshed, his demeanor remained incredibly elegant, without a trace of distress. Seeing him kneeling as a human footstool for someone else, Yu Lingxi briefly doubted the reality of the world.

In extreme shock, one couldn't sense the longing of revenge. She staggered backward, the only reaction her body made was to flee. She didn't know what exactly startled her.

Incredibly, she thought: Could it be that the words she cursed Ning Yin with after her death, accusing him of being a slave in his next life, were coming true? Did the heavens really make Ning Yin bear the burden of his past sins by becoming an ox and a horse?

"Miss, the kitchen says the medicinal soup you ordered is ready. Should I bring it to you now?" Walnut reported as she entered, bringing Yu Lingxi back to reality.

Business was still important. Yu Lingxi had to suppress her concerns and said, "No need, I'll go get it myself." With that, she patted her cheeks to wake up and went to the kitchen.

Last night, there was a cold rain throughout the night, and Yu Lingxi deliberately chose this sudden cold weather.

On the kitchen counter were two red lacquer trays, one containing the secret medicine Yu Lingxi brewed privately, and the other holding steaming hot ginger soup.

This was a habit of her mother. Every autumn and winter, when the temperature dropped, her mother would instruct the kitchen to make a bowl of ginger soup to warm up her husband and eldest son who needed to go out.

Without showing any emotion, Yu Lingxi found a reason to send the maid away, saying, "This medicine is too bitter. Go to my room and bring some honey snacks to offset the bitterness."

The maid didn't suspect anything and agreed, leaving the room. Yu Lingxi quickly picked up the ginger soup made for her father and brother, each taking away half a bowl. She then mixed her well-prepared medicine into their ginger soup, shaking it evenly.

The colors of the two bowls were almost identical, and there was no strange medicinal smell; it shouldn't be noticeable.

The maid quickly returned with the honey snacks. Yu Lingxi took one and, still not at ease, said to the maid, "You can go down. I'll personally take these two bowls of ginger soup to my father and brother."

In the study, General Yu and his son were sitting behind a desk, examining a border map together. Yu Lingxi focused herself, entered the room, and placed the ginger soup in front of her father and brother, trying to act normal. "Father, brother, mother made ginger soup for you."

General Yu didn't even look up and said, "Good girl, put it down."

Yu Lingxi held the tray in front of her chest, paused, and whispered, "If it cools down, it won't taste good."

Only then did General Yu pick up the ginger soup and bring the bowl to his lips.

Yu Lingxi held her breath.

As a result, before taking a sip, Yu Huan, her elder brother, pointed to a certain location on the map and approached, saying, 'Father, the route here is not appropriate.' General Yu frowned and set aside the ginger soup once again. Yu Lingxi's gaze followed the rise and fall of the porcelain bowl, and then she gave her interfering elder brother a stern look. If she didn't make them drink now, it might cause unnecessary trouble.

Thinking of something, Yu Lingxi's eyes flickered, "Father, I just tasted this ginger soup, and the taste is a bit bland. Can I add some chili powder for you to sweat a bit?"

As soon as she finished speaking, both father and brother's foreheads jumped in unison. They quickly grabbed the ginger soup and drank it all, fearing that delaying might subject them to the torment of chili powder.

They had long experienced the eccentricities of their own daughter and couldn't endure them. Yu Lingxi suppressed her laughter with great difficulty.

After finishing the ginger soup, the father and son went to the Ministry of War again to discuss urgent matters related to provisions. Yu Lingxi didn't stop them. The effects of the medicine would take a couple of hours to kick in, and her father and brother going to various places would help divert suspicion from her.

She patiently sat in her chamber, waiting for news.

At noon, her father and brother were indeed helped back. Lady Yu was shocked and inquired with the accompanying guards. She learned that her husband and son suddenly developed a chill, dizziness, and an inability to stand, which led to them being sent back by carriage from the Ministry of War.

Initially, father and son had a slight fever and could barely maintain consciousness. By the evening, they were already in a deep sleep.

Eunuchs and imperial physicians from the palace came and went, but they couldn't explain why the father and son of the Yu family suddenly fell seriously ill. On the third day of unconsciousness, the breathing of the father and son gradually became long and weak, and even the best imperial physician furrowed his brow, helpless.

The chief eunuch, seeing that this sudden illness was not a pretense, shook his head, comforted the almost collapsing Lady Yu, and went back to report to the palace.

Yu Lingxi's heart, held in her throat, finally landed safely.

Although changing the commander before going to war was detrimental to the morale of the army, Yu Lingxi, having lived two lifetimes, knew that this raid on the provisions was not a major upheaval but rather a targeted plot against the Yu family set up by the unknown force. Even if another general replaced them for the northern expedition, it wouldn't harm the country's fate.

She had no choice but to resort to this method.

However, unavoidably, her mother suffered.

Lady Yu had been sitting by her husband and son's sickbed for several days and nights, becoming so thin that her clothes were loose. Yet, when she saw her daughter, she still managed to force a fragile smile and choked out, "Don't worry, my daughter. With me here, your father and brother will be fine."

Seeing the swollen eyes of her mother, the slight guilt in Yu Lingxi's heart began to waver.

She opened her mouth, and for a moment, she wanted to reveal the whole truth.

But she couldn't.

Who would believe in supernatural events? Revealing it would only add to the sorrow.

Moreover, the emperor, who had such a ruthless son as Ning Yin, was definitely not a mediocre person. This plan could only succeed by first deceiving her loved ones and then completely dispelling the emperor's doubts.

"Mother, why don't you rest in your room for a while?" Yu Lingxi walked forward, embracing her mother's thin shoulders. "I'll take care of things here."

Lady Yu just shook her head, "You are frail. Don't catch any illnesses. If you... if something happens to you too, I won't know how to live!"

"It won't happen, Mother! In at most four days, Father and Brother will wake up." Yu Lingxi, as if maturing overnight, asserted, "As a daughter, I should fulfill my filial duty by my father's bedside."

Unable to resist her, Lady Yu had to agree.

On the bed, the father and son of the Yu family lay side by side, their eyes tightly closed, almost impossible to discern the contours of their breathing, much like her own symptoms in the beginning. The candlelight was dim, and Yu Lingxi walked over, carefully tucking in the bedclothes for her father and brother. Then, she sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at her father with weak signs of life, gradually reddening her eyes.

"Sorry, Father, I only deceived you this once." She held her father's coarse and calloused hand, rubbing it against her cheek, whispering, "In this lifetime, I will definitely protect you... definitely!"

Yu Lingxi succeeded.

After four days, the father and son of the Yu family indeed woke up one after another. The two of them, clear-minded and refreshed, learned that during the sudden "illness" these days, the army of the Ning Dynasty had already set out for the northern expedition, with a general who had a strained relationship with the Yu family leading the way.

General Yu, infuriated, didn't care about food and drink and led his son to the palace the next day to apologize and express gratitude.

"Miss, General and Young General have safely returned home." The guard Qingxiao stood outside the door, dutifully reporting the situation to Yu Lingxi, "Not only did the Emperor not blame General, but he praised 'Divine protection for Ning, not harming a good general,' and rewarded two precious horses from the Western Regions, politely sending them back."

Yu Lingxi smiled, "Understood."

The Emperor still found the Yu family useful for now, so such a response was expected.

At the residence of the General, a night banquet.

"This illness came too mysteriously. My father and I have always been robust. How could we both fall ill at such a critical moment?" Yu Huan absentmindedly poked at the grains of rice in his bowl, pondering over the inexplicable situation.

After thinking for a moment with his chin resting on his hand, he furrowed his brow, "Could it be that someone poisoned us?"

"Cough!" Yu Lingxi, who was drinking soup, felt guilty for a moment.

She wiped her mouth with forced composure, attempting to steer the conversation toward the "traitor" from their past life.

"Could it be that political enemies in the court are jealous of Father's prestige and colluded with outsiders?" Even though the enemy's plot hadn't succeeded this time, with her father and brother in the light and the enemy in the dark, she had to remind them to be vigilant.

"It's not impossible." Yu Huan's brain worked quickly, then he nodded, "General Li of the Yun Hui and Liu, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, openly and secretly targeted Father, didn't they? On the day we got sick, we just happened to visit the Ministry of War..."

Hearing this, Yu Lingxi, amidst her guilt, felt a surge of warmth.

Her brother was so smart, yet he never suspected that the "poison" on them was administered by her. 

Without the need for a fabricated explanation, these two men were people who would believe her until death.

In Yu Lingxi's eyes, there was a glimmer of scattered light, feeling that everything was worth it. 

At the hour close to midnight, the sound of the timepiece echoed. 

After drinking a few glasses of wine, Yu Lingxi's snowy cheeks were flushed. Treading on the stone-paved path illuminated by moonlight, she returned to her chamber, feeling an unprecedented sense of relief.

After the maidservant who assisted with washing left, she put on a robe and sat up. Beside the writing desk, she picked up a brush and dipped it in ink. The crisis of the northern expedition had been resolved, so the next thing to investigate was...

Lowering her eyes, she focused and wrote the words "cause of death" on the paper.

Dying without understanding the reason in her previous life was truly too unjust. If the mastermind behind it was not exposed, a sharp thorn would persist in her heart, making her uneasy. 

She had also wondered if her death was the work of Ning Yin, but this answer was quickly denied by her. Having been in close proximity for two years, Ning Yin had a thousand ways to kill her. Why would he let her die on the bed covered in black blood? It was not his style. Moreover, the last look she saw before spitting blood and dying, the astonishment in Ning Yin's eyes didn't seem fake.

Resting her chin on her hand, her curled eyelashes were sprinkled with candlelight like golden powder. Various scenes from her previous life, like a mirage, passed through the calm and beautiful eyes of Yu Lingxi.

Frowning, she added "Ning Yin" next to "cause of death," and when she put the pen down, there was a hint of a teeth-gritting taste. Even if Ning Yin wasn't the one who sent the assassin, her death was still related to him.

Gradually feeling drowsy from the wine, Yu Lingxi lay on the table, staring at the paper in front of her for a long time. The more she looked, the more the words "Ning Yin" became glaring.

Choosing to crumple the paper, she threw it into the charcoal basin and burned it.

Feeling powerless, she lay back on the bed, covered herself with the quilt, and fell into a deep sleep.

...

Outside the window, the moonlight slanted to the west.

Yu Lingxi didn't know how many times she had dreamt of Ning Yin. In the dream, she was still the wandering soul without a grave, drifting around Ning Yin. 

She didn't know if it was an illusion, but the current Ning Yin seemed even more insane. His complexion was paler than a ghost, exuding a sickly and beautiful aura.

Yu Lingxi watched as he killed the Minister of War, the Grand Censor, raided the Xue family, killing those he liked and those he disliked, slaughtering the city in a rain of blood. Then, he kicked the ten-year-old young emperor off the dragon throne.

Although Ning Yin used to be ruthless and capricious, he would at least have some preferences in his actions. But the current Ning Yin had only destruction in his eyes.

Yet, he was still unhappy.

Even though his lips always carried a gentle curve, he enjoyed the splashing blood in front of the Golden Palace with great interest, Yu Lingxi could see that he was unhappy. He went to torment Xue Cen in prison, listened to Xue Cen's furious curses, appearing nonchalant. Despite being cursed and hated by countless people, he didn't care about one more Xue Cen.

However, he didn't kill Xue Cen. He said that death was a simple matter, and he couldn't let the Xue family off so easily.

"If Young Master Xue dies, no one in this world will remember..."

Before finishing the sentence, Ning Yin pursed his thin lips.

As if sensing something, his gaze shifted, piercing towards the direction where Yu Lingxi's figure was drifting.

Even though she knew he couldn't see her, Yu Lingxi still shivered with fear.

Drenched in cold sweat, she woke up from the dream.

Yu Lingxi opened her eyes and looked at the silver-threaded flower pattern on the canopy, recalling the bloody scene from her dream.

The image lingered in her mind.

It felt like a lump of cotton was stuck in her chest, making it hard to breathe. She felt ashamed of her momentary softness from last night. No matter how pitiful that person might be now, it couldn't offset the sins he would commit in the future.

Pity him, but who would pity the lonely and wandering soul of her past life?

Thinking of all this, Yu Lingxi threw the pillow from her embrace and angrily turned over.

No, she couldn't swallow this anger!

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