Chapter 32: Conflict
Ji Yunhe hopelessly sat on her knees, suffering. Many things flashed through her mind as her consciousness started to fade. She thought of her life before coming to the valley. As a small child with a hidden pulse, she was taken away by her parents, hiding from the court wherever possible. But in the end, they were caught by pursuing soldiers and her parents were killed on the spot. She alone was brought to this Demon Valley.
She lived under the shadow of Lin Canglan's manipulation ever since. Over the years, the grief of losing her parents had been smoothed over by his torment. She had always hoped, and planned for the day she broke free from his control. She would leave the valley and go travel the world.
Now, she finally achieved her first wish. Lin Canglan could never manipulate her again. But unfortunately, she also could never leave the Demon Valley...
I really wanted to... smell the flowers out there. Ji Yunhe wished for death to hurry up and come. The pain was too unbearable.
But fate never gave her what she wanted. Just as Ji Yunhe thought she was about to pass out, someone suddenly helped her to her feet.
Her mouth was forced open and a pill was stuffed inside. The taste was so familiar that Ji Yunhe's mind, which had been drifting away due to the pain, was instantly pulled back.
The antidote!
The desire to live was reignited, and Ji Yunhe struggled to swallow the pill with every last bit of strength. Her chest pain slowly eased and dissipated after a few moments. But this time, the antidote seemed different from before.
After she swallowed it, the pill emitted a warmth that traveled out of her stomach and sprawled into her veins and bones, finally converging again inside her core. It almost felt like it was forming something inside her.
Then the warmth dissipated too. Ji Yunhe finally regained her senses. She looked up and saw that the sky outside had brightened. It was barely turning dark when she first came. The night had already passed.
She was drenched in sweat, like she was just fished out of water. Even her hair was dripping. After a few moments of haze, Ji Yunhe finally saw clearly again.
She was no longer on the floor, but had been carried onto the bed -- Lin Canglan's bed. Lin Haoqing was sitting next to her, looking at her with a solemn face. They were both covered in dried blood, and Lin Canglan's corpse sat nearby, already turning blue.
Accompanied by the early morning birds outside, the scene was quiet and spooky.
"Life is really like a joke." Ji Yunhe's voice broke the eerie silence of the misty morning.
"Don't you think so, young valley master? Oh..." she paused, "it's time to call you Valley Master." Lin Haoqing was silent for a moment, and did not pursue this subject matter.
"The poison in your body is terrifying, how did you survive all these years?" When the poison broke out last night, had Lin Haoqing been watching over her...?
"Because I was obedient." She glanced at Lin Canglan's corpse next to her.
"The antidote, where did you find it? How many more pills are there?"
"Only found this one."
Ji Yunhe narrowed her eyes slightly and studied him. The two had known each other for so many years, how could Lin Haoqing not know what was going through Ji Yunhe's head. He said bluntly,
"Last night when you came and stood outside the curtain, a black object popped out of Qing Shu's hand and struck my sword, do you remember?"
Ji Yunhe nodded. "I haven't lost my memory because of the pain."
"That was the pill I gave you," Lin Haoqing said.
"Yesterday when I came, she was just about to leave. I guess she was going to deliver it to you, but got delayed by me..."
It made sense. Ji Yunhe decided to believe in Lin Haoqing for the time being. She sighed, "Can't find any more?"
"I have searched the entire house. No secret compartment or secret room. Nothing for now." So next month, she would have to go through it all again until she died...
Ji Yunhe fell silent.
"Ji Yunhe," Lin Haoqing called out her name.
She had heard Lin Haoqing gently call her "Yunhe" when she was a child, and coldly call her "Master Warden" after she grew up. But this was the first time he called her first and last name, and with such formality.
"Thank you for risking your life to save me last night." Ji Yunhe was slightly surprised and raised her eyebrows.
"There's nothing to thank me for. If you hadn't kicked me in the knee and made me get on the ground, I wouldn't have been able to kill Qing Shu either." Lin Haoqing thought for a bit, then said, "If I hadn't picked up this antidote by accident, what would you have done?"
"What else?" Ji Yunhe smiled mockingly.
"Submit to whatever fate has in store for me." Lin Haoqing looked at Ji Yunhe for a while then stood up.
"By the snake cave, I said if you worked with me to kill Lin Canglan, I would grant you freedom. I will keep my promise. After I take the position of the Valley Master, the valley will no longer be your prison. As for the antidote, I don't know how to make it, but I will find what Lin Canglan's hidden, even if it means digging into every inch of the ground."
Ji Yunhe lifted her head and looked at Lin Haoqing. Strangely, she actually felt like the former Lin Haoqing had come back a little...
"I will be very happy if you can find the antidote. But if you can't, I'll be okay with that too. I see it all clearly now. All these years in the valley, I can fight you, fight Lin Canglan, but I can't fight destiny. If this is heaven's will then I will accept it, but..." Ji Yunhe stared at Lin Haoqing.
"I have one more request."
"Say it."
"I want to leave the Demon Valley, and take the jiaoren with me." The room once again fell into extreme silence.
They looked into each other's eyes. Ji Yunhe expressed her determination, Lin Haoqing's showed he was not backing down, the anxiety built on and on. Lin Haoqing finally broke the silence and said, "You know what jiaoren means to our Demon Valley." His face was sullen.
"If we lose a demon master, the court may not care, but the jiaoren, no one can take him."
"What if I must?"
"Then we will be enemies again."