At the back of the craggy artificial mountain in the garden, it was so secluded that even the birds' songs could not be heard clearly from the branches. There was water left from the last time it had rained in the shallow depressions of the rocks at the foot of the mountain, gathering small puddles and fallen leaves which stuck on the uneven ground.
The breeze blew, the craggy pine tree branches and leaves swayed, and dry pine needles rained down on Ling Miaomiao's shoulders.
She retracted her neck but a few still fell into her collar.
She pulled at her collar a few times in vain, gave up, endured the discomfort, and raised her head: "Brother Liu, what did you just say?"
Liu Fuyi's wide sleeves blocked the thin and pitiful sunlight, his face was very serious, even the relaxed smile he usually used in front of her was put away: "Miaomiao, what do you think of that story yesterday?"
Ling Miaomiao's eyes blinked: "What?"
Liu Fuyi looked at her for a long time, seeming to have no time to beat around the bush, and went straight to the point: "Yao'er and I now suspect that there is something wrong with Ah Sheng's background."
After noon had passed, Ling Miao Miao went out for a walk, and as soon as she took the first step out of her room, she was intercepted by Liu Fuyi and dragged behind the artificial mountain, clearly wanting to discuss secrets that could not be told to others.
Although it was a clear day, she still had some objections to this kind of remote place. She originally wanted to bring it up, but once Liu Fuyi's words came out, she forgot about it for the time being.
Ling Miaomiao looked at Liu Fuyi with a complicated face: The black lotus's background... had finally been discovered by these two simple-minded people.
In the original book, the male and female leads had been completely and utterly focused on their quest to exterminate evil that from the moment Mu Sheng entered the plot till the moment he left, they never had this conversation or talked about this topic.
They carried this hidden secret with them till the end of the story. Clarifying and understanding this secret was one of the sub-missions the system had given her.
She had used two Memory Fragments and entered several dreamscapes that were seemingly real but actually misleading. This was all for the sake of slowly taking this enigma apart piece by piece.
Currently, Mu Sheng still hadn't completely
'blackified' yet. He was still an irreplicable part of the team however, the focus of the team's investigation had started to shift.
"Brother Liu is saying that Mu Sheng is the son of Mu Rongshi and Young Noble Zhao from that story?"
Liu Fuyi's frustration was written all across his face, afraid she would find his words absurd.
He did his best to sound her out: "...What do you think?"
Ling Miaomiao nodded her head: "Mm, I believe it."
In other words, within the squad, she was the only one who had truly seen the appearance of Mu Sheng's birth mother. No matter how well that old storyteller could describe her, a single detail missing leaves the whole painting insipid.
A single detail in excess and she would be too flirtatious and charming. She gave off a feeling of nature, of pure, untouched beauty. She was in the perfect place between the two extremities.
Liu Fuyi watched her for a while before exclaiming in shock: "Miaomiao.... truly has great courage."
"Brother Liu, even if he is that Mu Rongshi's son — Who does it really affect? Why are you so worked up?" She calmly looked up at Liu Fuyi's face, pausing momentarily, "Then what's the story behind Mu Rongshi?"
"Her identity...." Liu Fuyi pinched the bridge of his nose upon hearing this thorny question, "I've got my suspicions but at the moment, I can't verify anything."
"The strange thing is, Yao'er discovered that her memories of Ah Sheng are rather chaotic. There are many things that she can't remember."
Miaomiao turned silent for a moment, "That's not strange. Mu Sheng's memories are also very messy. He only remembers that he had his own parents but there's nothing else that he can remember."
"....." Liu Fuyi sunk into deep thought. He started to mutter to himself, "Is it a curse of forgetfulness? But it doesn't seem like it either...."
"How could there be two people showing problems at the same time..."
Miaomiao saw his brows scrunch into the "川" character so deeply that it looked like it was carved into his forehead. She played with her fingers as she grinned: "Brother Liu, you don't have to be so worried. There are many coincidences in the world, perhaps it could be that their room collapsed so the brother and sister hit their head. It could also be that their house was taken by the ocean by the waves and as such, knocked their heads against the walls so hard that they became dizzy. Oh! oh! Maybe there was some human that the Mu family couldn't defeat so they went around and hit each member of the family on the head a couple times—-"
However, Liu Fuyi didn't laugh. His brows only seemed to furrow even more. It seemed like he hadn't absorbed any of her words. A pregnant pause later, he finally softly spoke: "Miaomiao, everything is a little... more complicated than you're imagining. You have to go and ask him again about everything he remembers from when he was young till now. Every little thing, big or small. If there's something he can't remember, write it down for me to see."
"...." She hesitated for a moment. Liu Fuyi encouragingly patted her on the shoulder, eyes trying to hide the worry within, "Ah Sheng is probably putting up great barriers in his heart against everyone so no matter what Mu Yao or I say, he won't believe that we're trying to protect him. At the same time, he only listens to you."
Miaomiao paused again for a moment, and before even opening her mouth, heard a soft 'thwock'. Liu Fuyi's expression immediately changed and he took back the hand on her shoulder at the speed of lightning.
The sharp stone that flew over was just like a bullet, fiercely striking his hand and making it numb. He immediately felt half of his arm become numb and out of reach of his senses. He exhaled deeply and cradled his wrist, looking behind Miaomiao with astonishment.
As soon as Ling Miaomiao looked back, she saw the youth behind her with pursed lips and hairband fluttering in the air.
He looked at Liu Fuyi with an expression of extreme jealousy and killing intent. His fury even managed to infiltrate into his dark pupils, giving off the impression of a flickering piece of cold jade.
"Young Noble Liu." His eyes slowly moved to Ling Miaomiao and they were immediately filled with a smattering of complex emotions. However, his tone was still soft and floaty the entire time, albeit very, very cold. "One cannot so easily touch someone else's wife."
"....." Liu Fuyi was still cradling his wrist, unable to speak because he was so tongue-tied. A thousand thoughts flew through his mind at the same time but none could be formed on his tongue.
Mu Sheng lowered his gaze, his dense eyebrows lowering along with his gaze. He then revealed a warm and harmless appearance, reaching out with his hand, "Miaomiao, you've come out for too long already, you should go back."
Ling Miaomiao didn't reach out to hold his hand. If she had pockets in that moment, she would absolutely thrust her hands into them with force. She lowered her voice, "Speak properly."
He acted as if he was deaf, grabbing her wrist without a moment's notice and pulling her away. His eyes were filled with a deep darkness yet his tone was even more patient that before: "Be obedient, let's go back."
Ling Miaomiao tried to struggle out of his grasp but he only clenched his hand tighter. She felt like she was a prisoner with how tight the shackles around her wrist her. Suddenly, she felt like she had returned to that period of time she acted like a 'doll'.
The two of them pulled and pushed the whole way through the courtyard. They passed by Mu Yao, causing her to be absolutely flabbergasted. She turned and went up to Liu Fuyi: "What happened?"
Before she finished asking her question, Ling Miaomiao let out a low shout. Mu Yao turned around and saw Mu Sheng forcefully lifting up Miaomiao by the waist, ignoring her struggling. He used his foot to open the door and brought her into the room.
"Bang—-" Then, he ruthlessly slammed the door.
Liu Fuyi caressed his wrist while saying: "There's no need to watch anymore, it's fine."
Mu Yao pulled on Liu Fuyi's sleeve, her face turning a rare pink. Her words also came out almost twice as fast as she usually spoke: "What do you it's fine? Just go... go and listen to what they're saying."
Liu Fuyi looked at her with an astonished expression that seemed like he was teasing her, "When other married couples close the doors, the speak in a quiet voice. How am I supposed to eavesdrop?"
His stare focused on Mu Yao and felt like her anxious face had an unspeakable vividness to it... and a hint of mischievous appeared in his eyes.
He smiled: "How about—you try?"
Mu Yao stared at him. She stomped her foot and flung her arm, then directly walked to the window.
For a while, the room was silent and no voices could be heard. The only sound she could hear was a soft creaking and it made her feel like there was someone scratching her heart.
Uncontrollably, the scene of her good brother sharpening his blades and preparing for battle surfaced in her mind. While she was in the midst of hesitating over whether or not she should poke a hole in the window or break through the door, a soft breeze drifted over to her from her side. Liu Fuyi stood by her side at the window, smiling: "You really took me seriously."
Her face immediately flushed red. She couldn't think of a way to refute him when suddenly her body felt light and she let out a light cry of alarm. She felt both angry and flustered as she beat his shoulder, yet didn't dare to be too loud: "Fuyi! Put me down..."
"Did you see the gaze Ah Sheng used to look at Miaomiao with? You've been his older sister for a long time so you shouldn't intervene too much. Don't randomly worry so much."
He tightly hugged the struggling woman in his arms. The sun filtered through the light strands of his hair. He unhurriedly spoke: "The weather today is quite wonderful, why don't we go back as well?"
"Creak creak—"
Force was applied against the tattered window and a crack was slowly pushed open. As it turned, it creaked in a hoarse voice.
He was rigidly pressing Miaomiao against the window as he kissed her. A light breeze wafted in from the window and inundated her neck.
He finally parted from her lips and let her take a gasp of breath. She had only barely returned from the brink of suffocating when her feet touched the floor. The moment her feet touched the ground, they went soft and just like an aching back molar crunching into an ice cube, she nearly collapsed onto the ground.
He calmly caught her in an unruffled manner as he stood in front of her. Taking advantage of this, he pulled her into a tight hug.
Ling Miaomiao pushed him aside, or at least, tried to. However, her arms had no strength left in them. Her face was bright red, her eyes were watery and she trembled nonstop. He didn't know whether it was from fury or from resentment: "Move aside..."
Mu Sheng hugged her tightly and didn't let her go. His fingers curled around her hair as he kissed it. His eyes darkened, "I'm sorry."
Ling Miaomiao pushed him aside and then carefully observed his appearance, feeling deep shock in her heart.
His 'blackening' had reached the midway point. The darkness has always existed in him, voraciously and endlessly restless. The moment his emotions reached a critical point, he would immediately lose control and go over the edge.
"If you really get angry, then just argue with me!" Ling Miaomiao spoke incoherently as her lips trembled faintly from the soreness. She touched her lips with the back of her hand, "What does this even count as?"
Most of him venting his emotions were because he bottled up and hid his real emotions. Then, the moment he suddenly erupts, none of his actions would be normal or reasonable.
"But I can't bear to fight with you...." He stuck even closer to her, moving around her hair, "I just want.... you."
The end of the sentence was missed by Ling Miaomiao as his voice had gone too low so she scrunched up her brows, "Hmm?"
Mu Sheng's eyes were lowered as he looked into her eyes, a thread of laughter drilling its way into his eyes, "I'm not angry right now."
Ling Miaomiao was so angry she smiled, "I'm angry! You're almost angering me to death."
"So that's why you can't make me jealous...."
"You should also stop thinking so much." Ling Miaomiao interrupted him. Her bright eyes belied her serious expression. She spoke in a soft tone, "I and Brother Liu were talking in broad daylight with no ulterior intentions or other thoughts."
Mu Sheng's gaze refocused on her, ".... what did he want to say to you?"
"He said...." She stopped for a moment, trying to recall the contents of their talk only to realize the topic was a little thorny, "Well... I can't tell you."
His eyes darkened as his voice turned cold, "So you still think of Liu Fuyi in your heart is that it?"
Ling Miaomiao felt her forehead turn numb and started to brandish her arms wildly in alarm, "No, not at all!"
"I still have to ask." The corner of his lips curled up as his eyes seemingly darkened. His entire person seemed to be on the verge of erupting, "Do tell, do you hate me so much that you want me dead so that you can get married to Liu Fuyi, hmm?"
"....." She could only dumbly stare at him in silence with an indignant fury painting her expression.
"Miaomiao, I've got to disappoint you. I won't die that easily." The youth's fingertips were trembling slightly. Yet, his face was smiling as bright and beautiful as a flower, "But, if the one that were to die were Liu Fuyi, would you still like that?"
Ling Miaomiao was shocked and used her hand to grab his wrist, as if terrified he would rush out and do exactly what he just said any moment. She rushed to say the words, "If you dare harm Brother Liu's life, I will remember it for my entire like and hate you forever... do you hear me..."
He was struck dumb. He looked down at her like dark clouds gathering for a storm, then he nodded, "Ok."
He lowered his eyes and covered up the dangerous glint in them, "Then can you not speak with him in the future?"
"That's not possible." Ling Miaomiao looked towards him, "Who I talk with is my own freedom, why are trying to be more controlling than my father?"
"... anyone else is fine but not him." He raised his eyes to look at her, his dark pupils slightly hidden by the shadow cast from his eyelashes. "Ok?"
"Impossible." Ling Miaomiao felt like the fire within her had been stoked. She stared directly into his eyes, unmoved, "You can go and control the heavens and the earth but you can't control me."
"....." He went silent for a moment, his dark pupils staring at her warmly, "I really want to tie you by my side, never letting you get away from me."
Ling Miaomiao was once again angered so much she started to laugh, "Then you just go ahead and try it."
Ten minutes later...
"Mu Sheng, let me go..."
The girl was sitting in the chair with a strange posture. Her face was unusually red and at a closer look, her hands were trussed up behind her with the Demon Restraining Circlets. At the same time, there was a thick length of silk winding around her torso, tying her to the chair.
At first, she wanted to struggle vigorously. However, she quickly discovered that the ropes he tied her up with were exceedingly peculiar. At a first glance, they didn't seem to be very tight or sturdy but the moment she tried to use any force or struggle, they would mess up her clothes rather than loosen her bindings. Every time she squirmed; his gaze seemed to darken a fraction.
Miaomiao didn't dare to move any longer. Her fingers curled up behind her back, touching the Demon Restraining Circlets around her wrist. She was gnashing her teeth in her heart: She really couldn't imagine that the Demon Restraining Circlets could also have such a use.
Mu Sheng sat by her side, his fingers holding a dagger. He was meticulously and patiently carving a rabbit out of an apple with his head lowered.
"Even if you carve me ten thousand rabbits, it won't do anything." Ling Miaomiao coldly looked at his hands, "Hurry and let me go."
His fingertips shook for a moment and the rabbit's ear was cleanly sliced off. He paused then carefully picked up the fallen ear and placed it where it originally fell off from. He stared at it for a long time before speaking, "Miaomiao, it also feel a lot of pain."
"Pain?" Ling Miaomiao didn't hear the underlying meaning so she smiled coldly, "It's not like I was the one that cut off its ear anyways..."
She felt like she was escaping the question so she looked at his face with her large apricot eyes filled with anger. She stomped her feet a couple time, "You can't tie me up like this! Hurry and let me go!"
The youth silently picked up the rabbit and moved it to the side of her mouth, asking in a warm tone: "Do you want to eat?"