Chapter 7 – Only Because of Guilt

Time was of the essence, so Su Ru Hui packed the wind spider and spirit fire gun he had made earlier into a bundle. He also made a few meat-filled buns wrapped in oil paper for Sang Chi Yu to eat as breakfast on the way. Then, he went to the stable and dug out the scrapped puppet horse. Nowadays, most people didn’t use real horses to pull carriages anymore, instead opting for puppet horses. These things didn’t need to be fed. As long as they had enough spirit stones and regular oiling of their gears, they could run just as fast as a real horse and were much more convenient.

After a thorough inspection, Su Ru Hui was relieved to find that the horse could be fixed. He replaced the balance meter in the horse’s stomach, and it was ready to run. He also laid a small furry blanket on the seat. Sang Chi Yu hobbled over, step by step, using his crutch, and climbed into the carriage. He moved slowly, and Su Ru Hui didn’t rush him. He watched as Sang Chi Yu crawled into the compartment and threw the warm meat buns into his lap.

Sang Chi Yu caught the meat buns and said, “After we return to the Jiang residence, I will inform your father about our divorce.”

After returning to the Jiang family, Su Ru Hui wouldn’t have to go back to the Sang family. Su Ru Hui understood. It turned out that what Sang Chi Yu meant last night when he said he would figure something out was this plan. When they returned to the Jiang family, the people from the Black Street wouldn’t dare to come and harass them, so they would naturally avoid disaster. If that’s the case, why bother going with him personally? Su Ru Hui could go by himself.

Oh… Su Ru Hui understood. Sang Chi Yu was afraid that the people from the Paradise Pavilion would come looking for trouble on the road.

Ah, this kid, what could he do even if he came along? The fireworks and firecrackers were all used up and he couldn’t borrow the power of the Kun Lun Secret Sect to scare people anymore. If they really met people, was he going to knock them dead with his wooden crutch?

Why was he so kind-hearted? Su Ru Hui was very helpless. He raised his hand and flicked him on the forehead.

Sang Chi Yu was stunned for a moment, and there was a strange color in his black eyes.

Su Ru Hui smiled and said, “You just got married, and now you want to leave. Aren’t you afraid of my dad killing you? Just take it easy. I know you don’t want to be with me. To be honest, I don’t want to be with you either. But we got married not too long ago and now we’re divorcing. It’s not good for my reputation. I was counting on leaving you after a while and then getting married again. If it spreads that I was cruel to my ex-husband and caused a divorce, who would want to be with me?”

Sang Chi Yu remained silent for a long time. The raven-like eyelashes trembled, and he nodded slowly.

“Now, can you eat something?” Su Ru Hui asked.

Sang Chi Yu’s gaze fell on the meat bun in his hand. He had fasted for a whole day yesterday, and his stomach was really hungry. He opened his mouth and took a bite. The salty and fragrant beef filled his mouth, and his empty stomach was soothed. Sang Chi Yu didn’t like oily and greasy food, but the meat in the bun had a chewy texture and the oil was just right. He didn’t dislike it.

Su Ru Hui was satisfied and put down the carriage curtain. He pulled the reins, and said in his heart: “System, show me the way.”

[Information unlocked: Jiang family route map.]

A green arrow pointing out the direction appeared in front of Su Ru Hui. He started the carriage and rolled slowly onto the main road, gradually speeding up until it was almost as fast as lightning. When it was almost noon, he arrived at the Jiang family’s mansion, which was located in Jing’an Fang in the northwest of Yun Zhou. The mansion had a red gate and white walls, with a red lantern hanging under the eaves. Looking along the eaves, every ten steps had a lantern, and the end could not be seen. Any house with a “Jiang” lantern hanging under the eaves was a Jiang family house.

The gatekeeper saw Jiang Que Xie but didn’t show any change in expression. He sent someone to inform the master of the house and had someone bring a wheelchair. The servant was truly thoughtful, and there was no hint of neglect towards Jiang Que Xie. However, this businesslike attitude already indicated a problem. Jiang Que Xie had lived in the Jiang family’s mansion until he was seventeen years old, but no one had noticed that he had been replaced half a year ago. Even now, the attitude of the servants was not particularly warm or familiar, indicating that Jiang Que Xie had little presence in the Jiang family.

[Reminder: Jiang Que Xie has 26 siblings, and his father Jiang Huai Cang probably doesn’t even remember what he looks like.]

This was a good thing. There were not many people familiar with Jiang Que Xie, which made it easier for Su Ru Hui to pretend to be him. The servant pushed the wheelchair for Sang Chi Yu and brought them to the small building where Jiang Que Xie used to live. Although it was remote, it was quite exquisite. The building was built over blue water, with eaves and ridges towering high, and red lotus blooming brightly in the pond. A beautiful woman stood by the doorstep. When she saw Jiang Que Xie, she burst into tears and cried out, “My son!”

[Judging from her appearance, this person is Jiang Que Xie’s birth mother, Bai Cai Ping. She is 33 years old and is Jiang Huai Cang’s 30th concubine. According to the information known to this system, Bai Cai Ping is having an affair with Jiang Huai Cang’s eldest son.]

Su Ru Hui smiled awkwardly and hugged Bai Cai Ping, shouting, “Mother dearest!”

Sang Chi Yu nodded and paid his respects to Bai Cai Ping without saying much. Bai Cai Ping turned her head away and wiped away tears when she saw Sang Chi Yu, saying to Su Ru Hui, “My poor child, it’s all because of your heartless father that you have to marry such a…”

Su Ru Hui instinctively glanced at Sang Chi Yu, who was sitting in a wheelchair, looking at the red lotus in the pond as if he hadn’t heard anything.

Bai Cai Ping choked up and said, “Your unfortunate mother has never been the favored concubine. Your father won’t come to see us today even though you’ve returned. Luckily, your elder brother has always taken care of us and has gone to prepare a feast in the kitchen. Let’s have a good reunion as a family today.”

Su Ru Hui nodded. “Elder brother is really kind. With him taking care of mother, I’m very reassured.”

Bai Cai Ping didn’t notice anything amiss and cried, “My child, you don’t have to force a smile. If you’ve suffered any grievances, tell me about them.”

Su Ru Hui laughed, pushing Sang Chi Yu forward. “Mother is worrying too much. My husband loves me very much, right, husband?’

Sang Chi Yu said nothing.

Bai Cai Ping was half-believing, half-skeptical, and followed them into the small building.

At the banquet, Su Ru Hui asked about Jiang Xue Ya, and Bai Cai Ping only said, “The twelfth lady leads the Secret Sect’s Iron Cavalry and is a busy person. I am a woman who only knows how to embroider and never leaves my house, so how could I meet her?’

It seemed that Su Ru Hui would have to try to run into her when she went out for a walk. The mansion was so big that the walking distance was a bit long, and Su Ru Hui felt tired just thinking about it. After dinner, Su Ru Hui led Sang Chi Yu back to their room to rest. After all, they were husband and wife, and Bai Cai Ping only gave them one room, which was originally Jiang Que Xie’s room.

Su Ru Hui was the first to see the four-poster bed in the room.

[Information Unlocked: Jiang Que Xie’s four-poster bed, where Bai Cai Ping and Jiang family’s eldest son had a 300-round battle last night, and Bai Cai Ping was exhausted and defeated.]

Su Ru Hui silently changed the bedding on the bed.

Sang Chi Yu said, “You rest here for the night. I’ll leave first.”

“You’re leaving right after dinner. That’s so rude. I just told my mother you’re good to me,” Su Ru Hui exclaimed.

Sang Chi Yu was silent for a moment and said, “I’m sorry.”

“Do you have to go?” Su Ru Hui sat on the edge of the bed and looked at him.

“Yeah.”

“Why? Is my room not big enough for you?” Su Ru Hui asked.

Sang Chi Yu didn’t say anything. He sat there quietly, looking calm and ethereal, like a person made of ice and snow.

Su Ru Hui felt depressed. He really didn’t know why Sang Chi Yu had become like this, half-dead and half-alive. He endured it when others treated him badly, but when others treated him well, he pushed them away.

What had he gone through?

“Husband, you’re such a melancholic person.” Su Ru Hui sighed. “When I hit you, you didn’t want to leave me, but when I treat you well, you want to leave me. Why? I’m curious, tell me why.”

Sang Chi Yu looked away, his black eyes devoid of emotion. He didn’t respond for a long time, and Su Ru Hui thought he was going to remain silent. Then he suddenly answered, “I have guilt in my heart and I’m suffering to atone for my sins.”

Su Ru Hui: “…”

Indeed, Sang Chi Yu was the type of person who could do anything he set his mind to. Su Ru Hui had no words to reply.

He continued to ask, “Is it that you’ll stay if I abuse you, trample on you, and bully you? Fine, you should have said so earlier. I’m an expert at bullying people.”

He stood up and walked step by step towards Sang Chi Yu. He had a wicked smile on his face, and just by looking at his face, one could tell he was full of bad intentions. He had a good-looking face, and when he smiled, his eyes sparkled, but he had a sly attitude that was not like a good person at all.

Sang Chi Yu looked at him, his brow furrowed slightly. “You…”

Before he could finish his sentence, Su Ru Hui hugged his slim waist with one hand and put the other hand under his knee, lifting him up horizontally.

“Your waist is so slender,” Su Ru Hui laughed.

Sang Chi Yu’s eyes widened with surprise, but he quickly suppressed it and said coldly, “Put me down.”

“Don’t you want me to bully you? I’m not done yet.” Su Ru Hui walked to the bed and threw him onto it.

Sang Chi Yu’s hairpin was askew, and Su Ru Hui crawled onto the bed, pressing against Sang Chi Yu. He lifted his hand and took away Sang Chi Yu’s jade hairpin. His long, black hair fell like a waterfall. Su Ru Hui held his hair and smelled it, saying, “It smells nice.”

This finally made Sang Chi Yu angry. His face turned pale, and his arms trembled as he supported himself on the bed. He gritted his teeth and said, “Get out.”

“What can you do if I don’t? You can’t beat me now that you have a lame leg, lost your spiritual power, and your body is weak.” Su Ru Hui grinned and put down his hair, then hooked his chin. “Your appearance is really pleasing to the eye.”

Sang Chi Yu could hardly pretend anymore and wished he could kick him off the bed. He moved his hand but suppressed it again. He didn’t want Su Ru Hui to know that he had merged with the heart core and devoured the old dog.

Sang Chi Yu closed his eyes and turned his head away, unwilling to look at this shameless lecher. Su Ru Hui moved closer, kneeling between Sang Chi Yu’s legs. Su Ru Hui’s gaze fell on his earlobe, which was pure white, like a small piece of jade. Su Ru Hui smiled maliciously and blew on his earlobe. Sure enough, the person beneath him trembled all over, like a plucked string.

“Why are you always so shameless?”

Many people had called Su Ru Hui shameless, and he usually took it as a compliment. While feeling proud, Sang Chi Yu suddenly opened his eyes and kicked Su Ru Hui’s knee. Su Ru Hui couldn’t support himself and fell on top of Sang Chi Yu. Sang Chi Yu flipped over, and in an instant, their positions were reversed, with Su Ru Hui being pressed down.

Su Ru Hui met Sang Chi Yu’s deep black eyes. Like a deep sea, one could sink into them endlessly. In the quiet depths of his eyes, Su Ru Hui saw his own surprise.

The two stared at each other for a moment, with hot breaths audible.

After a while, Sang Chi Yu covered his eyes with his hand.

“Don’t do this again next time.”

Su Ru Hui’s view was blocked, and he couldn’t see Sang Chi Yu’s face, but he could hear his voice, which sounded slightly hoarse.

Su Ru Hui was about to move, but Sang Chi Yu thought he was going to cause trouble. He flipped him over, wrapped him in a blanket, and rolled him up tightly so that he looked like a human stick, with only his head sticking out. Su Ru Hui was taken aback. “Let me out,” he said.

Sang Chi Yu sat up and looked at him expressionlessly.

Su Ru Hui wriggled like a caterpillar, but Sang Chi Yu held him down at the waist, making it impossible for him to free himself from the blanket.

“Please, let me out. I was wrong. Can’t you forgive me?” Su Ru Hui pleaded.

“Sleep,” Sang Chi Yu said, covering his eyes with his hand.

“I can’t sleep. Please, let me out,” Su Ru Hui begged.

Sang Chi Yu remained motionless, his cold hand covering Su Ru Hui’s eyelids. Surprisingly, it felt comfortable. After tossing and turning for a while, Su Ru Hui finally settled down. He could smell the fragrance on Sang Chi Yu’s sleeve, which was reminiscent of medicine. He fell into a deep, sweet dream.

When he woke up, it was getting dark outside. The room was dark and gloomy. Sang Chi Yu was gone, and the wheelchair was missing. Su Ru Hui assumed he had taken it with him.

Su Ru Hui looked over and saw a communication compass on the edge of the bed. Obviously, Sang Chi Yu had left it in case he needed to call for him. Su Ru Hui couldn’t help but laugh. After laughing, he couldn’t help but feel sad. Staying at Jiang family’s house was only a temporary measure, and he couldn’t stay here forever. He had to find a way to solve the big problem – Han Ye.

Casually lifting his eyes to look outside, he suddenly froze.

Because he saw a dark figure outside the opposite window. A blurry face appeared on the white paper pasted on the window frame.

Someone was peeking outside the window.

Su Ru Hui was still in the shadow of the bed curtain, and the person outside should not have noticed that Su Ru Hui was already awake. Su Ru Hui remained motionless, and the shadow also remained still. The Jiang family was rich, and the window paper was thick, so the face only had a rough outline and the features could not be seen clearly. Su Ru Hui squinted and looked for a long time, but he could not make out the person’s appearance. He stayed in this uncomfortable position for a long time, and his neck became extremely sore, like being pricked by a needle. When he could not hold it any longer, the shadow walked away.

Su Ru Hui asked in his heart, “System, who is that?”

【The system can only recognize clear images. The other party’s image is blurry and cannot be recognized.】

Useless system. Su Ru Hui cursed silently. He picked up the communication compass, put it in his pocket, and quietly walked out of the door, going to the window. The person was gone, but there were footprints on the ground. Su Ru Hui took a closer look, and his heart suddenly became cold. The shoe print was exactly the same as the shoe print Su Ru Hui had found on the windowsill of the Sang family on the day he woke up. Su Ru Hui had a good memory and could not have been mistaken.

The killer was in the Jiang family.