Chapter 355 - Chapter 355: 355. He is lovesick

Chapter 355: 355. He is lovesick

Translator: 549690339

“Auntie!”

The child’s voice was filled with laughter.

A huge weight lifted from Su Liang’s heart, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. Although she had faith in Gu Ling’s abilities, when it came to Zhengzheng’s safety, she couldn’t help but worry more.

Those waiting with Su Liang relaxed and set their minds at ease.

Gu Ling walked in, with Zhengzheng lying on his back, waving his little hands happily at everyone. “I’m fine!”

Su Liang stood up and greeted him, “We need to inform Sister Wan quickly.”

Qi Jun immediately responded, “I’ll go right away!”

“I’ve already been home.” Zhengzheng hurriedly said, “I told my parents and little brother to go to bed early, because I want to sleep with Auntie tonight!”

Su Liang chuckled, “Alright.” She knew that her family’s great god was always the most reliable. He had already gone to the Wan family to report their safety on his way back.

Su Liang checked Zhengzheng’s pulse to make sure he was alright and not poisoned. As she had expected, Zhengzheng was just a tool for Yue Mei, who had no need to make things more complicated than they needed to be.

Zhengzheng was being held by old man Mu, who asked him if he was afraid.

Zhengzheng shook his head, “No, I knew my aunt and uncle and all the powerful grandpas and grandmas would save me!”

Everyone laughed.

Su Liang pulled Gu Ling aside to ask about the situation, “Where is grand master?”

Old Mu frowned at the mention, “Oh right, how could I forget about Old Bai? Where is he?”

Gu Ling briefly explained the events, saying that he had taken Zhengzheng back first, while Old Bai had gone down the cliff to hunt down Yue Mei.

Upon hearing that Gu Ling had cut off Yue Mei’s right leg and left forearm, Qiao Cong nodded vigorously, “Good! This way, whether she dies or not, she’s crippled!” And it was the kind of disability that made it very difficult for her to move freely.

After learning the Luoying Sword technique from Qiao Cong, Gu Ling’s abilities had become even more profound. In terms of martial arts, Yue Mei was no match for him. Moreover, he had attacked her from behind, relying on speed, ferocity, and accuracy. It was simple and brutal, never giving Yue Mei a chance to counterattack.

Old Mu put Zhengzheng down and walked out, “I’ll go back up Old Bai! That mad woman is crippled but can still use poison. Old Bai is emotional and can’t afford to be soft-hearted towards her now and fall for her tricks!”

Qi Jun quickly followed, “I’ll go with senior!”

Su Liang didn’t stop them. Although she didn’t think that Old Bai would still show any mercy towards Yue Mei at this point, considering everything she had done, as long as Yue Mei was alive, there was still a chance for her to strike.

Gu Ling stayed behind. He needed to protect his family, and with enemies like Yue Mei around, he tried as much as possible to prevent Su Liang from leaving his line of sight.

Su Liang discussed with Gu Ling, “Shall we go to the Imperial Palace early tomorrow morning, report to the Emperor, and issue a nationwide emergency arrest warrant? If we don’t capture Yue Mei tonight, she may deceive and harm people on her escape route. At least we should inform the common people that she’s a dangerous person, not to pity her because of her disability. If anyone sees her, keep a distance and report it immediately. There will be a generous reward.”

Gu Ling agreed.

Cen Man also expressed her agreement, “Xiaoliang has thought this through very well. In the case of Yue Mei being injured and disabled, she would definitely want to return to her hideout as soon as possible. If she is unsure of her safety everywhere, she won’t dare to harm people rashly, in order to avoid being discovered.”

After a night of turmoil, dawn was almost breaking.

Zhengzheng leaned against Qiao Cong and began to yawn, his eyes becoming bleary.

Gu Ling walked over, picked up Zhengzheng and took him upstairs to sleep.

“Master, why don’t you go and get some rest as well? We’ll wait until they come back,” Su Liang said to Qiao Cong and Cen Man.

“I’m not sleepy, and since it’s almost dawn, I’ll just wait here without sleeping.” Qiao Cong shook his head.

Cen Man smiled, “Xiaoliang, you should go up and sleep. We’ll call you if anything happens.”

Su Liang nodded, then went upstairs.

Zhengzheng, who had taken off her outer clothes and shoes, rolled around on the bed, muttering drowsily, “Bastard…pay me back my little biscuits…”

Gu Ling’s lips curved as he and Su Liang shared a smile.

Last night, Zhengzheng was kidnapped on the way home with the little biscuits Gu Ling had made by himself. Yue Mei threw the biscuits she had been holding away. Now she remembered them.

Gu Ling filled a basin with warm water, wiped Su Liang and Zhengzheng’s hands and face, and tucked them in, “I’ll be here, go to sleep.”

Su Liang lightly touched her lips with her fingers, signaling Gu Ling to kiss her.

Gu Ling’s eyes sparkled with a smile, and he leaned down to gently kiss Su Liang, stopping after a brief taste, only wanting her to rest as soon as possible.

When Su Liang and Zhengzheng were both asleep, Gu Ling went downstairs.

…

In the Imperial Palace, Duanmu Chen had just put on his dragon robe and was about to go to court when Gu Ling appeared unexpectedly.

Duanmu Chen frowned, “Can’t you stop startling people like this? If it were anyone else, they would definitely think it’s an assassination plot. What’s happened now?”

Gu Ling revealed that a poison master beside Situ Xie had kidnapped Zhengzheng the night before, intended to kidnap Su Liang too, but failed. However, the poisoner had escaped.

When Gu Ling set out, White hadn’t returned yet. If he hadn’t returned by then, it meant the pursuit of Yue Mei had most likely failed.

Duanmu Chen’s face darkened, “Is the child alright?” He was already familiar with Zhengzheng.

Gu Ling shook his head, “She’s fine. But we need Your Majesty’s help to issue an urgent warrant for arrest.”

After Gu Ling explained why he wanted to do this, Duanmu Chen nodded, “Your plan is very thorough, I’ll make arrangements for it.”

This wasn’t just about Su Liang. Yue Mei had Situ Xie and Liang Country behind her, so it would be disastrous if they managed to capture Su Liang.

Gu Ling brought a portrait of Yue Mei and handed it to Duanmu Chen, detailing her features. Shortly after he left the palace, an urgent warrant for her arrest left the Imperial Palace, quickly dispatched to various territories.

When Gu Ling returned home, Su Liang and Zhengzheng were still asleep, while Qiao Cong and Cen Man were still waiting downstairs in the Yuanming Pavilion, looking at the lake outside the window and talking.

Gu Ling went upstairs for a glance, then went to cook breakfast.

Cen Man couldn’t help but sigh again, “Xiaogu is such a good kid.”

Qiao Cong nodded, “He’s only about a hundred times better than my grandson.”

Cen Man knew Qiao Cong was mocking himself, and she shouldn’t have laughed, but she couldn’t help it, thinking that the stubborn old man had become funnier since he had met Su Liang.

When Gu Ling finished making breakfast and left it warming on the stove, he checked again to see if Su Liang and Zhengzheng were awake yet, and White, Old Mu, and Qi Jun finally returned.

White looked terrible, his clothes torn and covered in dirt, but none of them were injured.

Qi Jun reported, “We never expected that crazy woman to have an accomplice. A senior white-haired man followed the trail of blood down the cliff for a while, but the blood trail stopped, and another person’s footprints appeared. It was a man who took the crazy woman away.”

Old Mu said angrily, “The place was well hidden, with many footprints around and a pile of leftover chicken bones. It seems that the crazy woman had planned to take Xiaoliang down that path, and someone was waiting to help her there! Damn it!”

From the traces, Yue Mei was indeed still alive after falling off the cliff. She found her accomplice shortly after, dragging her injured body. As for why the accomplice hadn’t gone to the top of the mountain to help her, perhaps Yue Mei was too confident, or perhaps for some other reason, it was hard to say.

However, the chances of someone eating a roasted chicken late at night in that exact spot, and Yue Mei coincidentally running into him during a critical moment, and him being willing to take her away were almost non-existent. Too many coincidences were not coincidences at all.

Su Liang sighed softly, “It’s good that she’s okay. She’s already crippled, so it won’t be easy for her to make trouble in the future. Grand Master and Second Master, please go and rest for a while. Ajun, you too.”

Old Bai was in a terrible mood because he believed Yue Mei was attracted by him, “I said I wanted to keep chasing, but they insisted on dragging me back!”

Old Mu patted Old Bai’s back, “There’s no trace of her now, and no clues. We don’t know where they ran to, so what’s the point in chasing?”

“Ying Ying mentioned where Yue Mei’s hideout is, so I’ll go find it!” Old Bai clenched his fists tightly. After last night, he became even more determined to eliminate this threat.

Old Mu disagreed, “Your most important task now is to teach your apprentice. Don’t think about those irrelevant things! What if you get into trouble while running around, and your apprentice needs to find a way to save you?”

Su Liang sighed lightly, “Grand Master, please wait a bit longer. Let’s see if there’s any news from Sister Ying Ying.”

Zhengzheng woke up and ran down the stairs, throwing herself into Old Bai’s arms, “Grandpa Bai!”

Old Bai’s face brightened slightly, knowing that Su Liang had already checked, but he still confirmed once more that Zhengzheng was not poisoned before putting his mind at ease.

As soon as Lu Yu and Wan Hui came over to take Zhengzheng away, Lian Shun’s parents arrived.

They had arrived in the capital city early this morning. The mansion was provided by Yang Yu, fully equipped. After settling in briefly, they came to pay their respects to Su Liang.

While Su Liang was entertaining Father Lin and Mother Lin with tea in the mansion, he thought Lian Shun would also come with them to the capital city.

Mother Lin smiled and said, “Everything was peaceful on the way; no incidents happened. Xiaonian is alone in Jiaye City, so Sunsun stayed behind to accompany him.”

Su Liang nodded, “That’s good. Yang Yu plans to go there. I’ll make arrangements for these few days.” Yang Yu had been busy dealing with business in the capital city and planned to meet up with Nian Jincheng in the south next.

While there are still risks, the couple cannot live separately forever. General Yuan had passed away, and Qian Country was in dire need of a capable general. It would probably take Nian Jincheng a year and a half to return.

Father Lin and Mother Lin came to inform Su Liang and declined his invitation for a meal before leaving. They said they would invite Su Liang and Gu Ling to visit once they had settled in their home.

Su Liang had already sent many gifts to Lian Mansion in the capital city before their arrival, and Father Lin and Mother Lin had come especially to express their thanks.

Two days later, just as Yang Yu was about to set off for the south, Lian Shun arrived in the capital city and visited the Su Mansion first. The person accompanying him was a pleasant surprise for Su Liang.

“Sister Ying Ying!” Su Liang excitedly ran over to hug Ying Ying.

Gu Ling recalled the scene when Su Liang and Ying Ying first met in Liang Country. The two of them really hit it off.

Ying Ying forced a pale smile, “Congratulations to both of you. You’re carrying a baby now, be careful not to run. Are you that happy to see me?”

Su Liang nodded, pulling Ying Ying into Yuanming Pavilion, “Of course I’m happy! I’ve been thinking about Sister Ying Ying all the time! It’s such a relief knowing you’re okay, but your face looks pale. Were you injured?”

As she said this, Su Liang checked Ying Ying’s pulse and frowned, “Your energy and blood are very weak.”

“I’m fine,” Ying Ying smiled faintly, “I was injured before, but it’s getting better.”

“Not that fast,” Su Liang shook her head, “Sister Ying Ying, you’ve lost so much weight.”

Ying Ying told Su Liang about what had happened. Gu Ling went to check on the soup simmering on the stove.

Lian Shun looked around, up and down, as if no one noticed or cared about him. He didn’t want Ying Ying to think he was childish and noisy, so he just turned around and went back to his house to find his parents.

After Ying Ying chatted with Su Liang for a while and saw that Gu Ling came to bring the soup, she remembered Lian Shun, “Why didn’t he come in?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “I don’t know, and it doesn’t matter.”

There were two bowls of soup. Ying Ying, who was very hungry, took a bite, “Not bad. Gu Ling, did you make this?”

“He made it,” Su Liang replied.

Ying Ying commented, “My brother-in-law is really good at homemaking.”

Su Liang smiled, and Gu Ling silently drifted away.

After finishing the soup, Su Liang brought up the events from a few days ago.

Upon learning that Yue Mei indeed caused trouble for Su Liang, Ying Ying’s face darkened.

“It’s a pity, I didn’t manage to get rid of her. But she’s disabled now. I just don’t know who her accomplice was that night. If it wasn’t for that person, she’d be dead,” Su Liang said.

Ying Ying frowned upon hearing this, “I left with my brother to hide from her three years ago, but she still found us. This time when I returned to Yin Country, I noticed that there were a few new masters in Wangyou Valley, and I didn’t know where they came from.”

This was also the direct reason for Ying Ying’s failed rescue of Ying Ye. Including Yue Mei’s accomplice, Ying Ying had never seen them before when she was in Liang Country.

Hearing this, Su Liang thought of the mysterious forces that Master Lao Bai had mentioned. Those forces had someone cooperating with Yue Mei.

Could it be that Yue Mei’s accomplice and the masters in her lair are from the mysterious forces? What do they want to do?

Now that she thought about it, if Yue Mei had ambition and sought power, why did she only reveal herself this year and choose to serve Situ Xie? What was she doing before? Was her change also controlled by the mysterious forces behind the scenes?

“Ying Ying, are your parents still alive?” Su Liang asked.

Ying Ying furrowed her eyebrows, “I don’t know.”

Su Liang was puzzled, and then Ying Ying explained, “Since I could remember, I’ve always been with my grandmother and have never seen my parents. I don’t know who they are, where they are, or whether they’re still alive. My grandmother forbade me to investigate my origins. I once suspected that I was a child she stole or snatched. After all, someone like her probably wouldn’t pick up a child and raise it. Ying Ye was also brought back by her all of a sudden one day.”

As she continued, Ying Ying added, “There’s another thing I doubt about not being related by blood. She constantly forced us to practice holding our breath underwater. There were several times when I felt like I was going to drown in Wangyou Valley’s deep pool. Ying Ye almost drowned once when she held his head down and didn’t allow him to come up for air. He narrowly survived and had a severe illness, after which his mind became much slower, and he remained like a child.”

Upon hearing this, Su Liang realized that Ying Ye must have suffered brain damage due to the drowning, which damaged his nerves and affected his cognitive abilities.

“Maybe she knows that there’s something valuable hidden in the water and wants you to help her retrieve it after improving your skills?” Su Liang speculated, “In this case, she might not be your real grandmother. You both might have been stolen or snatched by her.”

“Maybe.” Ying Ying sighed, “Now, I just want to save Ying Ye from her clutches.”

Su Liang nodded, “I understand. Ying Ying, go rest first. I’ll discuss with Gu Ling, as Yue Mei is also a problem we need to solve quickly. I’ll check on your injury later.”

“Alright,” Ying Ying nodded. After she left, she saw Qi Jun, who arranged for her to go to the guesthouse.

Su Liang shared the new information with Gu Ling, “Great God, should we go to Yue Mei’s lair for a look? I think the masters who are with her are suspicious.”

Gu Ling pondered, “That’s fine. Let Old Bai go if he wants. You should rest for a while.”

“Ying Ying will definitely want to go as well, but she’s not in good condition. However, we cannot delay any longer. If we can arrive before Yue Mei, our chances of saving Ying Ye will be higher,” Su Liang said, “Let her rest for two days, and take her medicine. By the way, where is Lian Ershan?”

Gu Ling shook his head, “I don’t know. He probably went home.”

“Didn’t he say he wanted to stay in Jiaye City with Xiaonian? Why did he suddenly come to the capital city?” Su Liang asked, puzzled, “His strength is not enough to protect Ying Ying, either.”

Gu Ling’s expression was indifferent, “He’s love-sick.”