Chapter 254 - Endless Regrets
Chapter 254: Endless Regrets
Shu Chen hated her identity for the first time in her life. She had been born into a prestigious family, but so what? He was the most involuntary compared to everyone else.
“It’s my duty, I won’t shirk on it.” Jiang Shuxuan said in a low voice. “Mom, it’s late. Go to bed early.”
Shu Chen didn’t hang up the call, and she took a deep breath. “Bring her along next time, it doesn’t matter that she’s from the secular world. Your mother will not leave her side when the time comes, I’ll stay by her and make sure that heaven’s will won’t hurt a hair on her head!”
As a member of the Jiang family, there were many burdens and callings on their back.
An ancestor of the Jiang family had once married a woman from the secular world, and this was not tolerated by heaven’s will. When the ancestor went out, his wife was struck and turned into dust. No one in the ancient martial arts world dared to resist this. When he returned, he entered hell’s will and washed the ancient martial arts world with blood. It was an extremely tragic situation.
That was also the reason the Jiang family was heavily injured, and the ancient martial arts world realized the horror of the Jiang family.
After that, the elder councils made a rule in order to avoid such tragedy from ever repeating.
Jiang Shuxuan was stunned at the declaration, and he chuckled lowly. “Thanks, mom.”
“Hmph, who asked you to be my son.” Shu Chen wiped the tears from her eyes. “When are you coming back?”
“Soon.” Jiang Shuxuan started to walk towards the ancient city.
“Alright, I’ll wait for you then.” Shu Chen hung up the call, a thoughtful look on her face.
“Madam.” The butler poured a cup of tea for her, his voice light as he continued, “The elders are still waiting on your reply.”
Shu Chen clutched the phone in her hand tightly, her lips pursed. “Tell them that I won’t interfere in Shuxuan’s affairs. If they want to, let them do it themselves.”
The butler nodded his head, and then he went to pass on the message to the elders of the ancient martial arts world.
His pace was quick as he made his way out. Tell the elders of the ancient martial arts world that? Did they even dare to go against Jiang Shuxuan?
***
Yi Bing and Yi Tong stood outside the city gates of the northwest desert. After they had watched Jiang Shuxuan leave, Yi Tong had taken off his coat, walking to Xiahou Chengqin’s side slowly. “She’s still alive? Big Boss actually left her alive?”
With all the disturbance just now, he thought that Xiahou Chengqing was dead for sure. It seemed that only her status and powers as a sorceress had been stripped, and everything else was fine!
“Why did you think Big Boss did this?” Yi Tong looked towards Yi Bing, puzzled over Jiang Shuxuan’s intentions in this.
Yi Bing was silent for a while, thinking. “Didn’t you hear Miss Cecily telling Miss Gu to get revenge for her on Xiahou Chengqin this afternoon? Big Boss probably left her alive for Miss Gu to play with.”
Yi Tong gave Yi Bing a strange look. “You have that much faith in Miss Gu?” That was weird, it was fine to believe in her and all, but Yi Bing had only just met Gu Xiqiao, how did he have so much faith in her already?
“Don’t I also have faith in you?” Yi Bing didn’t elaborate further, patting Yi Tong on the shoulder. “Let’s get Xiahou Chengqin back in first. Otherwise, she might lose her life before tomorrow comes.”
Yi Tong: “…” Well, thank you SO much for having so much faith in me!
Jiang Shuxuan didn’t return directly, heading to change his clothes and putting on a coat instead, before walking towards the tower. When he returned, Gu Xiqiao was sitting on the bed in a slight daze. He had been busy the past few days settling matters here, and she wasn’t any better off.
When he had left, she had been sleeping deeply. He had deliberately chose a place outside the city, even setting up an isolation formation in this place. Unexpectedly, this disturbance still managed to wake her.
He really underestimated her sensitivity.
“Brother Jiang,” Gu Xiqiao greeted him from where she sat on the bed. She recalled the thunder just now, and she pursed her lips. “Where did you go?”
“Settling something.” Jiang Shuxuan took off his coat. “Go to sleep.”
“You’ve changed your clothes,” Gu Xiqiao stated. “This isn’t the same shirt that you wore when you went to bed.”
“…” It’s the exact same white shirt, and she was able to see the difference? It’s such a headache to have found a girl with such great memory.
“You…”
Before she could say anything more, Jiang Shuxuan reached out to pull her close, lowering his head to press a soft kiss on her lips.
Her lips were soft and warm, a pair of bright black eyes looking at him. There was an accusation in her eyes, which gradually turned into a more hazy look after a while.
Jiang Shuxuan released her not long after, gathering her into his arms as he lay on the bed. He closed his eyes, and said softly, “Go to sleep.”
Gu Xiqiao didn’t move in fear of agitating the wound on his back. She had been in a bad mood recently, with all the running up and down that she did. She fell asleep soon after with her head resting on his arm.
The person in his arms was real, and it filled the empty void in his heart in an instant. He could feel her gentle breath on his neck, and Jiang Shuxuan opened his eyes. He pulled the blanket up, and fell asleep after thinking that he wasn’t able to.
***
The next day, Xiahou Chengqin awoke in her own bed. Remembering the events that happened last night, she bolted up immediately. The aura that swirled in her body had disappeared.
How was that possible? Xiahou Chengqin’s face twisted. She got up and took out two talismans, using her cinnabar pen to draw on them, but there was no power radiating from it at all.
“Miss Xiahou, the patriarch of the Wang Tribe is here!” The shopkeeper hurried in from the medicine hall. “His son’s condition seemed to have deteriorated!”
Just as he said that, a wail was heard from the front of the hall. Not only had the patriarch of the Wang Tribe come, his wife was also with him, and there was a commotion in the hall.
Xiahou Chengqin set aside her sorcery problem for the time being. She believed that heaven’s will was unavoidable. The most important thing at the moment was the will of the people, and so she hurried out to find that the child had not only fallen into a coma, he had a fever that was rising without stopping.
The patriarch of the Wang Tribe seemed to see a savior when she walked in, and he cried, “Mistress Sorceress, please save my son!”
“Move aside.” Xiahou Chengqing walked to the man’s side, but she didn’t pull out any talisman to draw on. She pulled out talismans that already had symbols on them that she had drawn previously, it wasn’t like she could draw new ones with no powers anyway, so she could only do this.
The patriarch of the Wang Tribe pulled his wife, who had been sobbing beside their son away. He nervously tried to calm her down.
Xiahou Chengqin slapped the talisman on the child’s head, and then lit it. She then gave him water mixed with the burnt talisman to drink.
However, there was no miracle happening this time. The child showed no signs of waking up, and his body temperature kept climbing higher and higher. A layer of black mist slowly formed on his face.
How was that possible? Xiahou Chengqin couldn’t understand, why was the talisman not reacting at all? Previously, no matter what kind of illness it was, once the talisman was burnt, the illness would burn away together with it. Why was there not a single reaction today? She started to regret now, she had thought that with her sorcery, there wasn’t a single illness under the sky that she couldn’t cure. She had even mocked Gu Xiqiao yesterday for not understanding anything, but she never expected to be more of a joke than Gu Xiqiao!
“Mistress Sorceress, how is my son?” The patriarch of the Wang Tribe looked at the unchanging state of his son, with doubt swelling in his chest.
Madam Wang was much more hot tempered than him, and she looked at her son lying there without twitching, and she shouted sharply, “You poisonous woman, what have you done to my son!”
Xiahou Chengqin took a step back at the venomous tone. She didn’t know, she really didn’t know.
There was another commotion at the door suddenly, and a panicked voice called out, “Miss Xiaohou, what is wrong with my son today!”
Everyone turned, and they saw that it was the teenager that had fainted in the streets yesterday. He was brought in by a cart today, and his face had a bluish tint to it, looking like a dead person.
Xiahou Chengqin looked at the lifeline that had been cut off from the body, and she shook her head. “He is unable to be saved, go home and prepare for a funeral.”
The people were getting rowdier by the minute, they were all loyal fans of Xiahou Chengqin, and held unwavering faith in her. But when they saw the scene unfolding in front of them, their eyes slowly changed. So there was an illness that the sorceress couldn’t cure too?
At this time, a woman walked out from the crowd, her hand holding onto her child. It was the woman that had been crying in the streets yesterday. “I told you, my husband was killed by this woman. If you don’t believe me, then I think you should go and search out Miss Gu instead!”
The patriarch of the Wang Tribe fixed his gaze on the woman that he had admonished yesterday, the child she was holding had a healthy look on his face, radiating with life. It was the complete opposite of his own son.
“Miss Gu?” The teenager’s relative suddenly raised his head, a remorseful expression on his face. “I know that name, I met her yesterday. She wanted to treat my son, but I turned her down, and now my son is like this. I was really blinded!”
“That Miss Gu is living in the city lord’s mansion. I’m on my way to thank her, it’s possible that your son may yet live if you go to her.” The woman held her son’s hand, and she walked off with a basket in hand after that, not bothered to listen to their response.
The relative of the teenager gritted their teeth, and carried the teenager towards the city lord’s mansion.
Miss Xiahou had said that he was beyond saving anyway, there was nothing to lose!
The patriarch of the Wang Tribe was still more inclined to believe in Xiahou Chengqin, her methods were still too great after all. But seeing how motionless his child was as he lay there, he felt panicked and frustrated. Madam Wang however, grabbed his sleeves. “What are you waiting for? Bring our son to the city lord’s mansion, do you want to watch him die?!”
“We have to believe in Mistress Sorceress, she is our greatest leader.” The man brushed his wife’s hands away. “Miss Xiahou, can you save my son?”
Dread gripped her heart, but Xiahou Chengqin knew that she would be unable to treat the child. If she couldn’t treat him, how could Gu Xiqiao? “Don’t believe that person, her child was not ill at all. How can you heal a healthy person?”
Saying that, she went through a box and dug out a few talismans that she had drawn in the past. She continued her treatment on the man’s child.
“We’re really not going to see Miss Gu?” Madam Wang was worried.
The patriarch of the Wang Tribe thought about Xiahou Chengqin’s ability, and nodded his head confidently. “You must have faith in Mistress Sorceress, she is the greatest person in the Lisu Tribe, an existence that even the heavens will avoid.”
“That’s right, Madam Wang. You have to believe in Miss Xiahou. Don’t bother about that aunty who brought her son to the mansion. Just wait, she will come back crying for Miss Xiahou to help her!” The onlookers said to Madam Wang.
Madam Wang watched as Xiahou Chengqin lit another talisman, and her heart calmed for the moment.
The people around them chatted with each other, joking about how those people who carried the teenager to the mansion would soon be carrying him back here.
Xiahou Chengqin had used all the talisman in the box, but there was still no change in the child. The child’s face was even getting darker as the moment passed, and looked like his life was about to be extinguished. Just at this moment, a voice shouted from outside. “He’s saved! Miss Gu has saved him!”
Saved? Miss Gu had returned the boy back to life!
Oh my god! Xiahou Chengqin had said that he was past saving, but Miss Gu had managed to?
Everyone looked at the direction of the tower in disbelief. They recalled their talk about how the sorceress of the Lisu Tribe was unmatchable, and their face flushed with embarrassment. They were sorely tempted to dig a hole to hide themselves in!
The patriarch of the Wang Tribe looked at his child, who was still lying motionless on the bed, his entire person in a daze as the words he heard echoed in his mind.
“What are you waiting for?! Hurry up and bring our son over!” Madam Wang shoved her husband violently. “I told you that this poisonous woman is no good, but you don’t listen! If anything happens to my son, I will never forgive you!”
“Wife, I offended Miss Gu yesterday.” The man said, his fingers trembling. “Do you think she’ll still be willing to treat our son?” Thinking of the way he had scolded Gu Xiqiao yesterday, the regret he felt was endless, he could even feel his intestines souring!
“Gods d*mmit! Do you want our son to die?!” Madam Wang wailed.
If he knew that Gu Xiqiao was so capable, even if you gave him courage, he wouldn’t do it again! It was all because of Xiahou Chengqin, she was the one who had indirectly manipulated him like that!
At this time, the teenager who had been carried to the mansion was being helped back by his relative. Although he wasn’t back to full health instantly, his face was no longer dark, and the color was starting to return to his face.
“Chief Wang, to save a life you mustn’t waste time. Hurry and bring your child over. Miss Gu is generous, I don’t think she will be so petty and calculative with you.” Someone suggested.
Hearing those words, the man and other onlookers couldn’t bother with Xiahou Chengqin anymore, carrying the child out immediately.
Rumors on the streets were already spreading like wildfire.
“I heard that Miss Gu can move mountains and seas with her techniques, the elders themselves said so.”
“That’s like an immortal already!”
“Oh god, I even scolded her yesterday! I’m dead!”
Xiahou Medicine Hall, which used to be bustling with people, was now empty like a ghost town. Even people with a simple headache didn’t dare to enter the place for her to look at, but would instead head towards the direction of the tower instead.
Those who had scolded Gu Xiqiao were now feeling remorseful and regretful of their actions. Whenever they saw Gu Xiqiao in the distance, they would duck and hide their heads, in the sands if it were possible. Even the people who were sick didn’t dare to go to her, choosing to endure and suffer in silence instead.
Xiahou Chengqin sat in the medicine hall in despair, the only one left in the vast room.
A few days ago, she still had the admiration and worship of people, and now, anyone that saw her would avoid her, fearing that they would be infected by the bad luck in this place. In the beginning, she was stubborn, intent on finding a chance to retaliate against Gu Xiqiao.
The elders of the Lisu Tribe issued an order during this time, stating that the sorceress of the Lisu Tribe had been replaced by the little boy that Gu Xiqiao had first rescued.
Because the family had believed in Gu Xiqiao from the beginning, after she had healed him, she took him in for the next two days. After he went back, the boy suddenly found that he had an understanding of sorcery, and even called rain down for the people of the Lisu Tribe.
As soon as the matter came out, the entire Lisu Tribe was in shock.
The elders of the Lisu Tribe were especially stunned, and brought a group of people to kneel under the gates of the city, showing their gratitude to the heavens.
The Lisu Tribe elders’ were spiritual figures in the tribe, and seeing them like this, everyone else were even more shocked by Gu Xiqiao. Those who regretted their actions now felt like banging their heads against the wall. Her medical skills were one thing, but she was also able to use sorcery to call down the winds and rains like the legends! Those who knew even just a little were already at a higher standing than others!
Finally, the boy moved to the ancient martial arts world, and the new broke out again. This made everyone jealous of his good luck. Wasn’t he just one of the many people that Gu Xiqiao had healed? They were jealous and regretful. To be able to move into the ancient martial arts world, that was the wish of every member of the Lisu Tribe, and this boy had succeeded so easily. Even the elders of the tribe gave him a lot of respect.
This was an extremely amazing breakthrough.
Xiahou Chengqin, who still had her mind set on getting revenge, could only slump to the ground after hearing this news. She heard the rumours that went around, and the jealousy in her heart had turned into regret. Without her status and power as a sorceress, she was nothing in everyone’s eyes.
Especially the technique that Gu Xiqiao had taught the boy. She had once sneaked out to watch the outside the city, and they had really called down the winds and rain. She had countless sleepless nights after that, thinking back to her actions towards Gu Xiqiao. If she hadn’t offended Gu Xiqiao in the beginning, would she have taught her all those because she was a sorceress too?