12. Forbidden Bud

Powerful Crossbow?

In the village, possessing such a thing was like a blow from above. Anyone would surely die, including him.

Song Cheng was momentarily stunned.

He glanced again at Ding Sigu.

[Strength: 5~5]

[Affection: 50]

The second and third sons of the Ding Family hurried to stop the bleeding for their eldest brother.

The second was at a loss for what to do.

The third, however, remained calm. With a roll of his eyes, he whispered a few words to the second brother and then said, "Go quickly!"

Ding Siyan, being directed by his younger brother to do the task, had no complaints and promptly ran outside.

Song Cheng saw that he was running towards his own house.

He immediately felt anxious.

Should he risk it?

This thought had just risen when he immediately suppressed it.

How could he take such a risk?

At this moment, Song Cheng felt a chill creeping in. He quickly returned, re-entered his body, then moved his hand to grasp the hostess beside him.

Tong Jia knew he had only been gone for half an incense stick's time, so she hadn't slept. Now seeing him move, she instinctively drew closer, using her body warmth to warm him up.

Song Cheng quickly said, "The second Ding brother is coming over."

Tong Jia immediately tensed, reaching out to grab the sickle by the bed.

Song Cheng said, "Crippled Chen sought revenge and stabbed the eldest Ding brother, but was killed by the others. Now that second Ding brother is coming over, it's likely asking you to heal."

He didn't mention the "collusion with bandits" issue.

His hostess had a fiery temper, and just hiding this matter was enough to strain credulity.

If he added "collusion with bandits not yet happened," she might not be able to conceal it from the Ding family's third brother.

The third Ding brother, though only fourteen, was vicious beyond his years.

Tong Jia asked, "What should we do then?"

Song Cheng said, "If there are many people, we'll go. If not, we won't, and I'll go with you. If it comes to a fight, kill the third Ding brother first."

Tong Jia would've gotten out of bed to dress, but Song Cheng held her back.

"You don't know anything about it now."

...

Sure enough, moments later, knocking came from Rejuvenation Hall.

"Doctor Tong, Doctor Tong..."

The urgent voice of the second Ding brother, Ding Siyan, rang out.

"Doctor Tong!"

Tap tap tap.

He knocked repeatedly.

After a long while, Tong Jia's voice came from inside.

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Ding Siyan.

Doctor Tong, my eldest brother is dying. He was stabbed by a thug, in the chest. You... you... hurry and come with me."

"It's too late..." Tong Jia refused, with a tone that clearly conveyed distrust.

Ding Siyan immediately recalled what the third brother had said, quickly added, "Doctor Tong, here's the deal. I'll first go call the night watch, and then gather the villagers. You... you'll feel safer then, won't you?"

Seeing Tong Jia hesitating, a thud from outside suddenly came, followed by "bang bang bang" sounds, accompanied by Ding Siyan's pleading voice, "I'm kowtowing to you, I beg you."

In the darkness, Tong Jia was wearing embroidered shoes and a padded jacket. She turned her head to look at the man beside her.

Song Cheng squinted at the information in the distance.

Ding Siyan's affection was changing from 50 to 60, and it seemed to be rising further.

Considering various factors, Song Cheng judged... he probably wasn't lying.

The three Ding brothers were deep-rooted in the village and nephews of the village chief. If Tong Jia didn't save them, it would bring big trouble.

Thus, he nodded.

Tong Jia said, "Alright, but call more people. If your eldest brother was really stabbed, you must call the village chief too."

Ding Siyan responded excitedly, "Thank you, Doctor Tong, thank you. I will call them, don't worry."

At that moment, his affection level rose directly from 60 to 80.

...

Moments later.

A large group of people gathered at the Ding family's house in the deep winter night.

When Tong Jia and Song Cheng arrived, they heard various voices.

"Yune, how could you collude with your lover to harm the three Ding children? Didn't we find nothing yesterday? You can't have hidden the money yourself wanting to keep it all and not for Granny Shi to use?"

"I didn't, I... I really didn't."

"Look at the Ding family's eldest son, stabbed right through the chest. How vicious you are.

A child, and you could do such a thing, and even have your lover do it."

"Crippled Chen is not my lover, I have nothing to do with him."

"Not your lover, then why did he help you search your room yesterday, and come to kill in the night? That's a lover."

"You vixen, born beautiful, you're naturally meant to seduce men!"

"You vixen, why don't you just die!"

"Die!"

Yune was dumbfounded from the verbal assault.

She stared blankly at the corpse on the ground, suddenly screamed, and turned to flee, but someone grabbed her, harshly saying, "Wait for the village chief to handle this!"

Someone seemed to notice Tong Jia hastily announced, "Doctor Tong is here."

The crowd parted, and Tong Jia hurriedly went over to look at the youth lying motionless on the ground.

Song Cheng, however, glanced at Yune.

It was obvious. The skilled turning of black into white was once again a trick of the third Ding brother.

Beside him, the village chief emerged, holding a leather bag in one hand and tossing the confiscated powerful crossbow into it with the other.

He had just asked about it; the crossbow was found by the three kids outside. Presumably, it was left after a battle with mountain bandits robbing a grain merchant. They kept it for fun, and it just happened to kill the intruding Crippled Chen. But ultimately, it wasn't good to keep such a lethal weapon, so he confiscated it.

As for Yune's lover, the villagers intended to bury him haphazardly in a patch of wasteland.

This kind of "bias" was truly blatant, and Song Cheng felt if it were him, the corpse might just be tossed to wild dogs...

At this moment, the village chief said, "Doctor Tong, we trouble you. You treat Siyu, the rest is up to this child's fate."

Tong Jia said no more, quickly inspecting.

Crippled Chen's stab seemed off target, missing the heart. Though severely hurt, it wasn't fatal.

For a long time, and then longer...

Tong Jia treated the wound and then examined the knife.

The blade was sharp and free of rust.

She discarded the knife, looking at the three Ding brothers saying, "The injury is severe. It will take at least two to three months of recovery before he can get out of bed. During this time, he'll need to take some decoction to speed healing and remove residual harm."

The village chief said, "Doctor Tong, you just go ahead and prepare the medicine. I'll cover the cost."

His son had also been drafted and couldn't return, so he truly regarded the second family's third child as his own.

On the platform, Ding Siyu weakly thanked, "Thank you, Doctor Tong."

Song Cheng looked over.

The eldest Ding's affection level had surprisingly risen from 50 to 80, the second Ding's from 80 to 90, while that of the third Ding only to 60.

The village chief clapped his hands saying, "Let's all go home for now."

Then he directed Yune, "You go back and look after Granny Shi, take care of yourself!"

As the crowd dispersed, many villagers pointed and cursed at Yune, calling her "vixen," "seduce lover to kill a child," "steal silver," "should be punished at the place for dishonest lovers to be submerged in the pond."

Yune shivered with fright.

...

...

The next day, early in the morning.

[You had a harmonious night with Tong Jia, gained 6 Remaining Points].

[Addition: 13 Points].

After getting up, Song Cheng continued to silently sharpen his knife.

Long, slender fingers grazed the blade, the coarse rust biting into his skin, causing pain.

Shhhh, shhhh, shhhh...

He concentrated on sharpening.

The increased affection of the three Ding brothers did not lead him to let his guard down, as he discovered something: most of the villagers sided with the three Ding brothers... perhaps partly due to the village chief.

If one day those three brothers did to him and Tong Jia the same thing, well... the hostess would also be called a "vixen." Who let the hostess be blessed with such a face?

In this village, those born beautiful... were called vixens, luring men, and therefore should be punished at the place for dishonest lovers.

They needed to leave here!

But the village chief wouldn't let them go.

Even if they reached the county, Song Cheng and Tong Jia wouldn't find a place to settle down.

Tong Jia said, "Brother Cheng, I'll go inquire about the cultivation technique again, and Yune is also quite pitiful."

Song Cheng nodded.

The increased affection of the three Ding brothers, along with the eldest Ding having to stay bedridden, would inevitably delay many things that were supposed to happen.

He still had time.

As for how to leave Tang River Village...

He began to ponder.

...

...

By late afternoon, Tong Jia returned hurriedly from outside, accompanied by Yune and a few others carrying Granny Shi on a wooden board.

Tong Jia approached him quickly saying, "Granny Shi is dying. The villagers say it's Yune's doing. If Granny Shi dies, the villagers want to punish Yune at the place for dishonest lovers, submerge her in the pond."

Song Cheng calmly replied, "You and I both know that's not the truth."

Tong Jia said, "Who'd believe us? Now if you speak out, they'd think we're Yune's accomplices."

Though Song Cheng didn't turn his head, he could hear Yune's miserable cries, along with the many insults, each more hurtful than the last.

"Don't they believe Yune at all?"

"Even the village chief doesn't believe her, who will?"

Tong Jia replied, then added, "I must hurry to treat Granny Shi."

Song Cheng turned his head towards the direction where Yune, being blamed and insulted, stood. Suddenly... his pupils shrank.

In the world of ink and wash painting, a sudden, frightening splotch of blood red appeared, like a firefly gently landing on where Yune was.

Song Cheng recalled.

His heart was wildly shaken.

Damn, Yune's experience resembled exactly the creation of an "evil spirit" in certain horror films!

A beautiful woman from afar, tormented endlessly by narrow-minded villagers, wronged and killed, her deep curse turning her into a ghost...

Song Cheng looked at the blood-red firefly landing on Yune's shoulder, listening to villagers continue their insults, understanding... the villagers couldn't see the blood color.

This was "forbidden programming."

And Yune... was being written into this program...

His body began to tremble.

Compared to the taboo, those three Ding villains were nothing.

He could no longer afford to play it safe, hurriedly stood up, and twirled the fine blade.

He didn't want the taboo to take form.

The blade's rust vibrated away, revealing a sharp edge.

And the data beside him also changed from "2~2" to "3~3."

This meant that in a direct confrontation, he could defeat most. But he had limited stamina, getting breathless after a few slashes. If faced with a powerful crossbow, he'd still end up pierced.

He returned the knife to its oiled sheath, using it as a crutch, swiftly heading towards Yune.

"Sister Yune, you've been weary all day. Go inside and rest."

Song Cheng leaned on the blade beside Yune, shielding her, and politely said, "Everyone, Granny Shi needs a quiet environment for her recovery. Please cooperate."

The villagers slowly dispersed.

Song Cheng led Yune into his former room, softly saying, "Sister Yune, don't take it to heart. The hostess and I believe in your character."

The unusually quiet, even sinister, Yune suddenly raised her head, staring at Song Cheng.

Song Cheng suppressed his inner nerves, showing the brightest smile he could manage, saying, "Sister Yune, rest well. I'll stand guard at the door. No one will come in."

Saying this, he stepped outside.

The door closed quietly.

Song Cheng sat on the doorstep outside.

For a long time, a voice suddenly came from inside.

"I saw you sharpening the knife. Doctor Tong must have requested the cultivation technique for you. Then I'll tell you the cultivation technique, and you kill Ding Siyu for me!"

Song Cheng was stunned.

Yune was truly kind-hearted...

Even through all this, she only held a grudge against one of the Ding brothers.

"Alright."

He solemnly replied.

Then, he felt Yune inside, her back against the door, begin softly reciting the cultivation technique.