Chapter 29#
Calculation#
Severe pain radiated from his wrist, making Yin Yuheng’s face turn pale.
The teacher’s expression was so cold, his pupils a deep, heavy ink color. At this moment, Yin Yuheng had no doubt that Li Guanghan would truly strike.
Yin Yuheng slightly lowered his eyes, and Li Guanghan couldn’t see the look in them.
His slender wrist was held tight in Li Guanghan’s hand; his lips seemed to tremble as he pleaded: “Teacher…”
A pain identical to when his heart was pierced and blood taken surfaced. Yin Yuheng was powerless to resist and unable to speak, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
For the sake of his junior brother, the teacher could discard him.
For the sake of a jade pendant, the teacher could torture him.
He finally seemed unable to bear it; his other hand clutched his chest, and his head slumped dejectedly as he arched his back and began to cough violently, traces of blood seeping from the corners of his lips. He was in too much pain to stand, but Li Guanghan held his wrist, forcing him not to fall.
He was also a sword cultivator; Li Guanghan couldn’t possibly be unaware of how precious a sword cultivator’s hands were.
He had long since been disappointed in Li Guanghan, but at this moment, he suddenly felt that perhaps it had been a mistake from the very beginning.
…If I were destined to suffer these agonies, Teacher, I would rather you hadn’t made that sword strike all those years ago and hadn’t saved me.
If all of this is punishment for my overestimation of myself and my greedy delusions, then this punishment should be enough.
If I could go back to that year, I would definitely not choose to become teacher and disciple with you again.
*
The entire Wentian Terrace was bone-chillingly cold.
Li Guanghan looked down at his eldest disciple, watching him cough blood, in pain, in despair, trembling all over, with uncontrollable gasps escaping from the corners of his lips.
The north wind surged in from outside the door, blowing Yin Yuheng’s hair and the hem of his robes.
The youth’s thin body was teetering on the brink of collapse, his frail and deathly pale wrist gripped tightly, his fingertips hanging powerlessly.
So fragile, yet so beautiful it was maddening.
Li Guanghan stared at his figure, and the intense rage within him just now unexpectedly dissipated by a few degrees.
He even gradually felt a hint of unbearable pity, a trace of heartache.
…Why?
Li Guanghan closed his eyes and abruptly let go. Yin Yuheng stumbled and fell to the ground, his right hand hanging unnaturally, a horrific red grip mark appearing on his wrist.
“Forget it.”
The youth looked up, revealing slightly reddened eyes.
“Don’t let there be a next time.”
Yin Yuheng didn’t speak.
He was in too much pain to speak. Although his wrist hadn’t been crushed in the end, it was dislocated, and the intense pain agitated his consciousness.
Li Guanghan let out an imperceptible sigh, bent down, and picked up his eldest disciple from the ground.
“Don’t touch things you shouldn’t touch,” Li Guanghan placed Yin Yuheng on the bed. “Remember that.”
His chest and wrist were both in pain; Yin Yuheng suppressed the metallic taste of blood in his throat and closed his eyes.
Li Guanghan watched him quietly for a while, and as if possessed, he leaned down and gently kissed the top of Yin Yuheng’s head.
Yin Yuheng’s whole body stiffened, and Li Guanghan was also stunned.
Realizing what he had done, a ripple suddenly appeared in Li Guanghan’s heart, which had been as still as an ancient well for many years. It grew more and more intense, finally stirring up celestial-scale waves.
He suddenly had a ridiculous thought.
Five years of being together day and night, Yin Yuheng’s devoted admiration—could it be that it truly hadn’t left a single trace in the depths of his heart?
He would feel reluctant when taking blood, and he would feel heartache at this moment.
He thought he was cold-hearted and passionless enough, but it turned out… Yin Yuheng was still a bit different to him.
Li Guanghan gazed at his eldest disciple’s pale face, his arm around him tightening slightly, his fingers gently threading through that loose black hair, his gaze gradually darkening.
But what could that little bit of difference do?
His heart had already forever held another person.
The boy who saved him back then had already become a part of his Dao heart.
“If only we had met sooner… before I left Penglai,” Li Guanghan’s voice was hoarse as he murmured softly. “Perhaps, I would have liked you a little more.”
It was unknown whether Yin Yuheng had heard this sentence; Li Guanghan said no more.
“Today is your junior brother’s birthday,” Li Guanghan stood up and sighed. “Rest well first.”
As Li Guanghan turned to leave, he suddenly heard fragmented sounds from behind him.
“…Teacher.”
Li Guanghan’s footsteps paused.
Yin Yuheng had opened his eyes at some point and was looking at Li Guanghan. Speaking seemed to have exhausted all his strength: “I don’t need it anymore.”
He revealed a soft smile: “I don’t need your ’liking’ anymore.”
“And I don’t want to be your disciple anymore either.”
Li Guanghan turned back abruptly, his brow slightly furrowed.
The surroundings were silent, and these few sentences fell clearly into Li Guanghan’s ears, making the waves in his heart surge in an instant.
Li Guanghan’s first reaction was that Yin Yuheng was being petulant.
Li Guanghan’s frown deepened: “Don’t make a scene.”
Yin Yuheng was still smiling, a hint of relief flashing in his eyes.
He wanted to say he wasn’t making a scene, but in the end, he didn’t say it. He thought that today was, after all, his junior brother’s birthday… better to speak of it another day.
He needed to be a bit more careful.
“You go and accompany junior brother first,” Yin Yuheng stopped looking at Li Guanghan and let himself drift, “I want to rest a bit…”
Looking at those eyes, Li Guanghan suddenly felt a pang of unease.
He hesitated for a long while before finally deciding to go to the Medicine Storage Pavilion first.
*
The surroundings became quiet.
Yin Yuheng opened his eyes, his expression not very good.
Xiao Bai was quite frightened by him: “Brother Heng…”
Yin Yuheng looked at his right hand for a while: “Still got injured.”
“But it’s alright, it’s just dislocated,” Yin Yuheng said indifferently. “I can pop it back in myself when I leave; Lu Yan won’t notice.”
Xiao Bai: “…”
Xiao Bai didn’t know what to say, and only after a while did he say: “But you’re still coughing blood…”
“On purpose, otherwise it would have been hard for Li Guanghan to stop,” Yin Yuheng furrowed his brow slightly. “His heart demon is a bit heavier than I thought, and his strike was harsher than I expected.”
Xiao Bai: “…”
Yin Yuheng sighed again: “Just now, seeing that jade pendant, I almost couldn’t hold back and wanted to ‘accidentally’ drop and break it. I’m really curious how Li Guanghan would have gone mad.”
Xiao Bai thought it was a good thing you held back, otherwise I worry whether you’d still be lying here in one piece.
Yin Yuheng closed his eyes: “It’s fine, the small mishap doesn’t have much impact. Hasn’t the person Shen Liyuan arranged arrived yet?”
Xiao Bai: “…Very soon, get ready.”
Yin Yuheng rolled over, closed his eyes, and gave a “mhm.”
*
Yin Yuheng lay in bed, drowsy and half-asleep.
He seemed to remember something, slightly frowning with a trace of worry.
A perfectly good birthday, yet these mishaps occurred—would his junior brother blame him?
He was now completely disappointed in Li Guanghan; the only thing in his heart he was somewhat worried about was his junior brother.
His junior brother had a gentle and kind nature and relied on him so much; if he left the State Preceptor’s Manor, would his junior brother be sad?
Amidst his dilemma, Yin Yuheng suddenly heard footsteps at the door. He didn’t have much strength, so he kept his eyes closed and didn’t make a sound.
With a creak, the door was pushed open, and two small Taoist boys walked in carrying medicine bowls.
“Is His Highness sleeping?” one small Taoist boy asked in a lowered voice.
“He probably hasn’t woken up,” the other small Taoist boy said softly. “The Lord State Preceptor is still at the Medicine Storage Pavilion. It seems there’s a special medicinal ingredient that needs to be decocted slowly, so he told us to bring this bowl of medicine over first.”
“Today is Young Master Zhu’s birthday, yet the Lord State Preceptor is willing to spend time decocting medicine for His Highness. I think the Lord State Preceptor still has His Highness in his heart.”
Seeing that Yin Yuheng was still drowsy and hadn’t woken up, the two small Taoist boys simply started chatting in lowered voices.
“What do you know? I think the Lord State Preceptor is at most feeling some guilt. His Highness, such a fine person, has ended up in his current state…”
“Do you think that rumor could be true?”
“I think it’s eighty percent true. Otherwise, why would Young Master Zhu fall ill one moment and find the cure in the Library Tower the next? It’s too much of a coincidence. Young Master Zhu’s spiritual vein injury wasn’t even that serious at the time…”
The two small Taoist boys moved on to a secretive matter, carefully looking around, their voices even lower.
“Young Master Zhu put on this act, and look at him now? He has the status he wants, and the talent he wants—one could say he’s undergone a complete transformation! Deliberately faking an illness has truly brought him great benefits.”
“His Highness is soft-hearted and kind, and has no idea that his junior brother tricked him into voluntarily offering his heart’s blood just to cleanse his own meridians and marrow!”
“What a pity for His Highness…”
The small Taoist boys’ voices gradually faded, the fragrance of medicine drifting in the room.
Inside the bed curtains, Yin Yuheng opened his eyes blankly, his fingers slowly and unconsciously clutching the bedding beneath him.