CH 90

Back to the Countryside

Chapter 90:姨母

[Aunt]

“Aren’t you afraid of losing face as the Sect Leader of ‘Jade Dragon Residence’ if you strike at a ger who is unable to fight back?” Xiao Yu Heng gripped the flexible sword in his hand tightly yet he did not dare to act rashly. 

“I just want to be friends with him, so how would I lose face?” The woman watched his face change several times, her heart could be said to be in a very good mood, “Young Leader Xiao do not be too petty.”

“Du Huashang!” Xiao Yu Heng called her full name with a sullen face, and looked at He Ling whose face was still red and a little sickly. He said in a cold voice, “Don’t blame me for not advising you, if he was hurt even a little bit, I’m afraid your Jade Dragon Residence will be turned upside down!”

According to how much Qi Yue cared for him, if the other side dared to do something, it would be a bloody mess.

[The original one used this 腥风血雨 : foul wind and rain of blood—reign of terror]

“Hmph, what a big tone you have there, but unfortunately what I am not afraid of the most is when someone threatens me!”

Du Huashang pulled the person closer to her and lifted her other hand to pinch his chin, “Let me see how gorgeous the ger who can make Xiao Shao Lou Zhu lose his composure like this!”

He Ling was dragged by her, only felt that her hand was so strong that he could not break free. He let her fingers clamp down his chin and lifted his face towards her.

The moment she saw his face clearly, Du Huashang was even stupefied, in a trance, it was as if she had seen again the person she missed for so long. Her hands trembled a little as she unbelievably stared at him.

The expression in her eyes was too intent when she looked at him like this. The feelings in it were very complex, it was indescribable and indefinable, like joy yet also sadness. He Ling didn’t quite understand why this unfamiliar woman was looking at himself like this? 

Her strange appearance was also seen by Xiao Yu Heng. He wrinkled his eyebrows, not daring to let his guard down at all. At the same time, he also found it strange that the two pairs of eyes and brows (appearance) that were staring at each other were indescribably similar.

Du Huashang trembled, her hand that was cupping his chin slowly moved to the side of his face, carefully as if she was touching a fragile treasure, her eyes began to flush red, “Jie Jie (elder Sister)…”

He Ling shrank back, avoiding her hand that was gently caressing him. He said in a neutral tone, “You’ve got the wrong person.”

The moment her hand was empty and losing that touch, at the same time it brought her back to her senses. 

Yes, that’s right! He is a ger, how could it be possible for him to be her sister? It’s just his appearance that is slightly similar. 

When Xiao Yu Heng heard her soft call, he narrowed his eyes. Ling Ge’er looked similar to the sister she had been looking for? Not only that, but as a bystander, he also noticed that their upturned eyebrows resembled each other, ‘Could there really be such a lucky coincidence?’

Du Huashang put away all of her emotions that had been aroused by his appearance and looked at the man opposite him again, but the strength of her hands dragging his arm loosened,”Xiao Yu Heng, let’s not talk any more nonsense! If you want this ger to be safe and sound, then help me find out where my Jie Jie is!”

Xiao Yu Heng already had an unbelievable guess in his mind. He looked at those two faces, the more he looked, the more he felt that the possibility was high. He lowered his eyes and pondered, if that was the case, then wouldn’t her sister already…But no matter what, saving Ling Ge’er now was the most important priority. 

Seeing that he kept his head down and didn’t say anything, Du Huashang was impatient in her heart, she gritted her teeth and grabbed He Ling’s throat, not looking at the other party’s somewhat painful expression, “What? You don’t believe I’ll do it?”

If the other party found out everything on her own, then it wouldn’t count as a loss of credibility of their building! Xiao Yu Heng looked nervously at the restrained person and said in a deep voice, “If Sect Leader Du dares to hurt him, you will never, ever know the whereabouts of your sister!”

By saying this, he was trying to compromise. Du Huashang reckoned and let go of her hand, “Don’t worry! I don’t intend to kill anyone. As long as you are willing to help, naturally I won’t do anything to him.”

“Ling Ge’er, what is your mother’s name?”

Xiao Yu Heng did not answer her at all but oddly opened his mouth to ask the other person.

He Ling covered his neck that was pinched to the point of being a little sore. Not knowing why, as he looked up at him, he saw that person kept insisting on looking at himself, only then he said in a slow voice, “Du Jinxin, my mother’s name is Du Jinxin.”

Xiao Yu Heng breathed a long sigh of relief. Everything went in the direction that he had expected. His mood was also a little complicated, this was really like a predestined coincidence. He looked at the person who was already dumb as a wooden chicken ( fig. dumbstruck) so he said, “Sect Leader Du, now do you still want to make a move on him?”

Du Huashang froze and turned his head back to look at He Ling who was still unaware of the situation, holding his shoulders, her voice was hoarse, “Say it again, what is your mother’s name?”

Her grip on his shoulder was so strong that it seemed to be embedded into his flesh, it hurt as He Ling tightened his eyebrows, “Her name is Du Jinxin.”

Du Huashang’s body shook vigorously and she staggered back a few steps. For many years she tried to find her sister and now her child was standing right in front of her, it felt so unreal. 

Taking advantage of her mental turmoil, Xiao Yu Heng hurriedly skimmed over to He Ling’s side and grabbed the person’s shoulders to support him. Because he was ill, his body was extremely weak. He must have been tired from being pulled around and delayed for so long.

He Ling was also relieved, his dizzy head made him stumble but fortunately his body was supported by someone, otherwise he would have fallen to the ground.

Du Huashang was brought back to her senses by their movements, looked up and saw his increasingly flushed face. Her heart jumped and she went forward to take his hand in hers. She asked concernedly,  “Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

“Sect Leader Du, all these days he is having a fever. You’ve been tugging and pulling him around so much. Do you think (treated by you like this) he will feel comfortable?” Xiao Yu Heng had already confirmed that he was not in danger anymore so he also took this opportunity to speak sarcastically to her, kind of, to remove the irritation in his heart.

“I don’t know …”Du Huashang felt guilty in her heart. If she had known about this earlier, no matter what she would not have done anything to him. If her Jie Jie was here, her heart would ache to see this. Thinking of this, she asked, “Where is your mother? Is she (living) well now?”

“Are you my mother’s friend?” He Ling had this suspicion, seeing that she had changed her attitude towards him after she learned his mother’s name. After that, his expression darkened (became gloomy), “Because of the premature delivery, she passed away after she gave birth to me “

As if suddenly drained of all strength, Du Huashang fell and sat on the ground as her feet weakened, her scarlet red dress spread on the white snow, as dazzling as the red blood. She then murmured, “How could… how could it be…?”

Just now, the woman who was so arrogant and considered herself to be unbeatable in the world, yet now she looked so lost in thought and despair, as if she had lost her most precious thing, He Ling also felt sad and his heart ached for her. She must have a good relationship with her mother to be this heartbroken and sad. 

He squatted down as he supported his own waist and took her hand which had fallen into the snow ice. He said, “Don’t be sad anymore! Even if my mother already passed away, she must be watching over us from heaven. My father will accompany her so she is not alone (not lonely).”

Du Huashang raised her head and looked at his gentle face, as if she had seen her Jie Jie who had comforted her countless times. Jie Jie would always say these words to her whenever she missed her father and mother.

Tears rolled down from her eyes. The regret and sorrow in her heart was about to overwhelm her, for if it hadn’t been for her own fault, her sister would not have gone alone to a new place, without even letting her see her for the last time. 

At the time when both of them were still young, their home was hit by a flood and everything came to nothing (vanished like a bubble; ended up in smoke) overnight, leaving the two of them to depend on each other for survival. 

Only after they were taken in by the Jade Dragon Residence that only accepted female disciples, did they have a place to live or to return to after a long period of starvation. They were also accepted by the sect leader as her own disciples because of their good natural talent.

As she grew older, the difference between her and her Jie Jie’s personalities became more and more obvious. Her sister was quiet by nature. She preferred embroidery rather than practicing martial arts. She could sometimes stay at her embroidery stand for a whole day without moving, while she herself was the opposite, she could not sit still and she only liked learning and practicing martial arts more than anything else. 

But perhaps it was because her Jie Jie’s talent was more outstanding, although Jie Jie put less effort into her martial arts training, she did not lose to her in any way and seemed to be surpassing her. She was so ambitious and proud, naturally she refused to accept it as the final result so she worked even harder every day.

Whenever her Jie Jie saw her, she would smile gently and tell her to take care of her health and rest, not to make herself too tired by devoting herself into it. However, she felt that the other party was afraid that she would overtake her and that was why she was so pretentious.

It all started on that day when she happened to hear from her fellow disciples Shi Jie that the sect leader intended to pass her position to her Jie Jie. At that moment, it ignited the flames of fury in her heart. It was not because she wanted that position so badly but she felt that her efforts had not been recognized so she lost her temper, as childish as she was. 

She had a big fight with her sister. Relying on her many years of generosity and forgiveness, she shot her mouth off and as a matter of course, she found fault and accused her sister of keeping these matters from her. Those hurtful words were so hurtful that she felt ashamed of herself every time she thought of it. Jie Jie must have been feeling deeply hurt! 

But at that time, she still looked at her as usual, smiling like an elder who could tolerate all of her willful acts and nonsense. After she had vented all her emotions, she told her that she would not compete with her for anything.

That was the last time she saw her Jie Jie.

The next day the Sect Leader personally summoned her over and told her that her Jie Jie had erased her martial art in front of her (the previous sect leader) and had left the Jade Dragon Residence.

She thought that the Sect Leader was lying to her, how could her Jie Jie have left her without saying a word like that? She was just being her usual self, throwing a little tantrum, then the other party didn’t want her anymore?

As a matter of fact, from the very beginning, Jie Jie did not like Jiang Hu’s turmoil. What she wished to have was to spend her entire life peacefully in a small village with enchanting scenery where there were green hills and clear water, just like they had when they were young. Now that she has grown up and her sister has no more worries in her heart, even without this incident, she would not have stayed here for a long time. Naturally she would not take the position as the Sect Leader and at that time she already refused it too. 

All of these was what the Sect Leader had told her, so after hearing all this, she felt a mixed emotions in her heart. Since she was a child, rather than to be called as Jie Jie, the other party was more like her mother. No matter how willful and unreasonable she was, never even once she lost her temper with her, but she had hurt the other party too many times.

Many years passed after that, she became the sect leader of Jade Dragon Residence (Yu Long Fang) as she had always wished for but her sister never came back. As if she had calculated everything, she handed over most of her money to the Light Wind and Rain Pavilion and gave a task that had never been requested before, not allowed to investigate her whereabouts.

It had been nearly twenty years now yet she had never been able to find out about the other party’s whereabouts. She didn’t know what kind of life the other party was having, whether she was married or not. She didn’t know would she… think of herself from time to time?

Now when she finally knew her news after all the difficulty, it was news of her death, was this God’s punishment for her? Letting her go through this lifetime without being able to say ‘I am sorry’ to her sister.

“Child …” Du Huashang raised her hand to touch He Ling’s face, she moved gently, for fear that she would accidentally hurt him, “My name is Du Huashang, I am your mother’s little sister. You should call me Aunt.”

Jie Jie already passed away. It meant that the child she left behind, she had to take care of him on her behalf. Just now, she heard him say that his father had also already passed away, leaving him all alone.

He Ling was stunned as his eyes widened, ‘Maternal Aunt? He had never heard his father mention that his mother had a sister. Was it because his mother hadn’t told him? The moment she saw him, she called him Jie Jie (Older sister), was it because he resembled his mother?’

Du Huashang saw that he was staring at her blankly and did not respond, she understood that he was confused (unable to figure things out) for a moment, so she softened her voice and said to him, “I know you may still have doubts now, so I will slowly explain it to you later. You are still sick now so let’s not stay here anymore. Shall we find a warmer place to talk?”

Moreover, it was snowing in the middle of nowhere (desolate place outside a town; wilderness), indeed not a good place to talk so even though his mind was full of questions, he was not in a hurry in this short moment. 

The author has something to say : 

The next chapter, Qi Yue is coming o~

Yeay chapter 90!!! 

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