Chapter 7: Huo Jingzhao Gets Beaten

Just as he was about to lose consciousness, the man finally withdrew his foot. Then Sang Sha felt someone supporting his arm and helping him into a chair.

“Young Sect Master…” Sang Sha opened his eyes, the bloodshot veins not yet faded, and murmured.

Huo Jingzhao gently stroked his shoulder, then untied his own belt and used it to secure Sang Sha’s broken leg.

“Aaarrghh—!!” Even though the man’s movements were light, almost gentle, Sang Sha couldn’t stop his cries of pain.

“Shh…” Huo Jingzhao made a silencing gesture and spoke slowly. “If you yell like that and draw my father and mother here, it’ll be very troublesome for me. I’m not bullying you, after all.”

“Y-yes…!” Sang Sha immediately clenched his jaw.

Huo Jingzhao looked at him for a moment, then suddenly said, “Sang, after all these years maneuvering between that old thing and me… occasionally, you have to stand on my side.”

Hearing this, Sang Sha froze. Without caring that his voice was trembling, he hurriedly explained, “Young Sect Master, the Sect Master was worried about you. That’s why he had me at your…”

“Heh. Worried.” Huo Jingzhao interrupted him with a laugh, dismissive. “He’s afraid the tool he so carefully cultivated will break, is all.”

Hearing the word ‘tool,’ Sang Sha fell silent and lowered his head.

Huo Jingzhao had been secretly apprenticed to the Sect Master since childhood, spending his days in seclusion training, rarely appearing in public. Thus, no one would ever connect a man of a fallen household to the dazzling Young Sect Master…

The Young Sect Master’s temperament was volatile and unpredictable. He viewed everything as beneath him, insects to be trampled. This included the Sect Master.

But the Sect Master’s attitude toward the Young Sect Master was very subtle.

“Good… good! For Jingzhao to enter the Pei family’s gate is a good thing. It will only speed up our plan…”

Upon hearing that Huo Jingzhao was to marry Pei Ziying, the Sect Master had first clapped and laughed heartily, appearing immensely pleased. It was only after Sang Sha had left the main hall and stood guard outside the door that he heard the harsh sound of a table being overturned from within the Treasure Hall.

Later, when he reported that the marriage had fallen through, the Sect Master seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. He ordered Sang Sha to continue monitoring Huo Jingzhao and to track Pei Ziying’s whereabouts.

Sang Sha didn’t know the relationship between the Sect Master and the Young Sect Master. But one thing he was very certain of: the Sect Master disliked any trace of “humanity” on Huo Jingzhao.

“The more you resemble an unfeeling tool, the longer you can live.” As Sang Sha hung his head, Huo Jingzhao’s words pulled him from his thoughts.

Looking at the cold, gloomy face of the man, Sang Sha’s eyes trembled.

“Did you bring the medicine?” Huo Jingzhao asked again.

“Y-yes, I brought it.” Sang Sha nodded dumbly. Next, he watched as Huo Jingzhao felt around his chest and pulled out the jar of medicinal ointment.

“This smell is so familiar.” The man held the jar up to eye level and shook it, letting out a hoarse sigh.

Watching him slowly dab the ointment with his fingertip, his handsome face slightly darkened as he leaned closer, Sang Sha blushed furiously and hurriedly cried out:

“No… Young Sect Master, I don’t need medicine—! I-I am a tool! A tool doesn’t need… healing!”

Huo Jingzhao suddenly burst out laughing. He raised his right hand, examining his fingers now wet with the ointment. His eyes flickered with a strange light. Coldly, he said, “Who said I was going to treat your injury? I’m just practicing in advance… to see what the difference will be.”

Practicing? What…? Difference in what?

Facing the man’s brows and eyes, as dark and deep as winter pools reflecting stars, seeing the sudden obsessive fascination in his expression, Sang Sha inexplicably felt a chill run down his spine. He had a gut feeling that someone was about to suffer a calamity.

“A body raised amidst flowers… truly touching it… will be different from an ordinary person’s.” Huo Jingzhao wiped his hand casually and tossed the ointment jar back to him.

Sang Sha’s breath hitched as he caught the jar. Only then did he realize who the man was talking about.

“Heal your injury as fast as possible. Don’t hold me back.” Leaving these words, the man departed the room.

He was the one who’d caused it, yet he said such things. Sang Sha sat stiffly for a while before clutching his head and letting out a silent, helpless roar.

The next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, the wharf echoed with the shouts of boatmen recruiting passengers.

As the large ship docked, city folk lugging large and small bundles boarded, preparing for a full day of fishing and selling out at sea.

Amidst this noisy crowd, a tall man with empty hands stood out somewhat awkwardly.

He wore a moon-white robe, a simple outfit, with a dense Black Veil obscuring his face. Though his features couldn’t be seen, his every gesture and movement revealed an uncommon grace.

“Family Head, the boat is about to depart,” the tall, stout man behind him reminded.

“Mm.” Pei Lianyi nodded lightly and quickly followed the steps of an Old Doctor ahead.

Today’s meeting with the doctor was to be discreet. To avoid attention, he had ordered Steward Cao not to follow, bringing only the unfamiliar Manor Guard, Li, as an escort.

Guard Li, whose real name was Li Qi, was a former cavalry soldier in the military. He lived up to his name, being tall and burly.

Seeing such a fierce-looking attendant, the Old Doctor hesitated slightly but still sat down opposite Pei Lianyi.

“This Madam…”

“You muddled fool! Who are you calling Madam?! Address him as ‘My Lord’!”

No sooner had he taken Pei Lianyi’s pulse than Li Qi’s thunderous roar made him tremble in fright.

“Yes… yes! My Lord!” The Old Doctor had seen countless patients but had never encountered such a situation. Terrified, he inwardly wondered.

The “Madam” before him, though tall and lacking the usual delicate petite-ness of a woman, had hands that were soft and boneless. His skin was smooth and supple, with well-proportioned muscle tone. He looked every bit like a noble lady cherished in the palm of some great master’s hand.

So why was such an esteemed lady sneaking onto a boat—a noisy passenger boat, no less—for a consultation?

“Furthermore… this pulse is rather peculiar.” Lost in thought, the Old Doctor unintentionally voiced his musings aloud.

Seeing him hesitate, Pei Lianyi turned his head and said to Li Qi, “Withdraw for now.”

“Yes!”

Hearing his deep, magnetic voice, the Old Doctor’s eyes widened. He was about to pull his hand back, but his palm was firmly pinned to the table by Pei Lianyi’s teacup.

“M-My Lord, have mercy…”

“I don’t know how much silver the servants gave you, but if you can properly diagnose my illness today, my husband will give you ten times that amount.”

Just as the pained Old Doctor was about to plead for mercy, the cool, detached voice came from beneath the veiled hat, suppressing his cry.

“Th-thank you, Madam.” Upon hearing this, the Old Doctor relaxed slightly. Stroking his beard, he once again felt for Pei Lianyi’s wrist.

“Madam shows some signs of blood deficiency. Did you experience starvation as a child?”

Pei Lianyi was startled. He shook his head and answered, “When I was fifteen, I had an accident and lost a great deal of blood…”

“Ah! There it is!” The Old Doctor rapped the table and nodded. “That’s when the root of the ailment settled. You never fully recovered. Allow this old man to write you a Prescription.”

Without waiting for Pei Lianyi to ask further questions, he picked up his brush, ready to write, but then suddenly asked, “Does Madam still seek to bear children?”

The person beneath the veiled hat froze completely. The Black Veil remained utterly motionless, still as falling snow.

“Because this Prescription will affect… that matter…” the Old Doctor quickly added.

“I seek nothing more.” Pei Lianyi replied indifferently.

What he had once desired had long since turned to fleeting bubbles. What more was there to seek?

For him, it was enough if Ziying could be with Huo Jingzhao and produce an heir.

What would accompany him… was perhaps only the lonely Ancestral Hall in the rear courtyard.

“Ticket check! Milords, madams, ladies, young masters—all take out your tickets! Ticket check!”

The Old Doctor had just handed the Prescription to Pei Lianyi when the boatman’s shout came from nearby.

Rongchu City depended on the water for its existence. People traveled and conducted business all via boats.

The Four Great Clans governing shipping had established a rule: on any boat, tickets were checked every two hours, to prevent anyone from disrupting the livelihood.

Here, ticket evasion was considered one of the most shameful acts. If caught, one would invariably suffer a severe beating.

Seeing the surrounding commoners taking out their tickets in wait, Pei Lianyi twisted his fingers, inwardly cursing his luck.

He never carried a money pouch when going out; servants handled everything… And this time, the guard, Li, carrying the boat tickets had been dismissed by him.

For him, at this moment, a beating meant nothing. But if his identity were discovered… he dared not think further.

It would be no different from publicly revealing his most humiliating secret.

No different than announcing to the world that the Pearl of Rongchu was a debauchee who had long since borne a man’s child.

The Pei family, having just suffered the shame of a broken engagement, would completely become a laughingstock for all the world!

Watching the boatman’s footsteps draw near, Pei Lianyi stared vacantly at the churning white waves below the boat, his face turning deathly pale.

His temper had always been one of preferring shattered jade to intact tile.

He stood, beginning to edge closer to the boat’s railing. Suddenly, someone stuffed something into his cold, sweating hand.

Pei Lianyi looked down. It was the very ticket he so desperately needed!

Looking up, he met Huo Jingzhao’s devastatingly handsome face right before his eyes.

“You…!” It was him. A heart-pounding, uncontrollable tremor surged out, nearly stealing Pei Lianyi’s voice.

Huo Jingzhao said nothing. He simply turned towards the boatman and raised both hands. “My apologies. Looks like I might be the only one without the money for a ticket.”

Unlike his usual gentle slowness, his voice was drawn-out and carried a hint of reckless arrogance that said, “I know what’s coming, but your father here doesn’t fear you.”

Upon these words, the boat first fell silent as death, then erupted with the shouts and curses of the common folk.

“Pah! This lad looks decent enough, but who knew he’d dodge fares! Beat him—!”

“Dock! Dock the boat! Give him a thrashing!”

Hearing the swearing rise from all around, Pei Lianyi clutched the paper ticket in his palm, his face full of worry.

Huo Jingzhao had given him the boat ticket, so he wouldn’t escape a beating. Yet Pei Lianyi, constrained by his identity, couldn’t directly step in to stop it.

Deep conflict and self-reproach flooded his heart, reddening Pei Lianyi’s eyes.

True to form, as soon as the boat docked, the wharf men swarmed them.

They were men from the Leng Family, one of the Four Great Clans managing this boat.

“Heh, wouldn’t have guessed it… this guy is pretty sturdy!” It took several men coordinating their efforts just to pin Huo Jingzhao down on the deck.

Watching the man’s utterly calm face, the enforcer, out of breath, gave the order: “Go on… give him a beating!”