Chapter 54
Chapter 54: Back from the Dead (Part 2)
Song Wei Chen drifted awake.
Her body felt hollowed out, as if someone had scooped her dry. Every limb was heavy. Every breath was thin.
“Where am I?”
Fragments of memory rushed in at once, tangled and sharp.
Gu Cang Yue’s hand closed around hers, warm and steady. “At my residence. You nearly scared me to death.”
His gaze was soft with worry and a tenderness he didn’t bother to hide. “You’re awake. That’s all that matters. Give it time—I’ll have you back to yourself.”
Something in her mind finally snapped into place.
Her eyes sharpened through the exhaustion. “No… Bao Er… Bao Er was possessed by Nian Niang…” She tried to pull her hand free and sit up, but the effort drained what little strength she had left. Her chest tightened, her breath turning thin, her face bleaching even whiter.
“Wei Wei.” Zhuang Yu Heng’s voice came from nearby, gentle but firm. “You’re too weak. You need to rest. Don’t push yourself.”
Only then did she notice he was there—and beside him, that so-called Thousand-Year Ice Block looked just as worn down as she felt.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You were thrown into Blackwater,” Gu Cang Yue said, his grip tightening as if the memory still chilled him. “I couldn’t settle my mind, so I kept watch from afar. If I hadn’t… I might have already lost you.”
She managed a faint, crooked smile. “With the mood like this… you’ve saved me so many times. Am I supposed to say I can’t repay you, so I’ll just offer myself?”
Gu Cang Yue’s eyes lit like sparks. “Really?!”
Mo Ting Feng snapped upright, unable to sit through another word. “Song Wei Chen. You’re injured and you’re still making jokes. If you have that kind of energy, save it for the case.”
“You—” Gu Cang Yue’s face darkened.
Song Wei Chen squeezed his hand lightly. He turned to her at once, anger easing into something gentler. She gave him a tired look, amusement tugging at her mouth. “He’s just a work machine with no feelings. You’ll get used to it.”
Then she looked at Mo Ting Feng. “How’s Bao Er?”
“She’s been brought back to the Dust Warden Office,” Mo Ting Feng replied. “Anything else will have to wait until we return.”
Song Wei Chen tried to rise again. Gu Cang Yue stopped her immediately.
“Are you trying to die?” His voice cut hard. “I won’t let you go.”
“Cang Yue…” She wanted to argue, but even speaking made her dizzy.
Gu Cang Yue shook his head. “No. You told me that loving someone means supporting what they believe is important. Right now, the most important thing to me is you being safe. Until you recover, you’re not going anywhere.”
She hesitated. Her body told the truth even when pride refused to. She couldn’t stand on her own, let alone walk.
She was just about to ask Mo Ting Feng for two days off when a directed transmission from the Dust Warden Office streaked into the bedchamber. Mo Ting Feng listened, his expression turning unreadable as his gaze slid to her.
“He Ran said that without you, they can’t communicate with Bao Er at all. The interrogation’s stalled.”
He paused, then added, “So it wasn’t the chaos wraith speaking through her. It was you. Your Soul-Speaker ability.”
Song Wei Chen’s throat tightened. She turned back to Gu Cang Yue. “Cang Yue… I have to go.”
Resistance flashed across his face. He didn’t want to yield.
“I’m fine,” she lied softly, tugging at his hand like a coaxing child. “I’m better.”
He sighed, defeated by her in the way he always was, and helped her sit up. She looked toward Mo Ting Feng and Zhuang Yu Heng. “I need to speak to Cang Yue alone for a moment.”
Mo Ting Feng’s eyes dimmed, but he still stood to leave. The instant he moved, the leg that had gone into Blackwater screamed with bone-deep pain. His body swayed.
Zhuang Yu Heng caught him. His hand swept over Mo Ting Feng’s leg in a quick spell, and shock crossed his face. “Your leg… are you trying to throw it away?!”
He bowed sharply to Gu Cang Yue. “I have no way to counter Blackwater’s poison. Please, Lord Cang Yue—help!”
Gu Cang Yue let out a cold snort. “That dust warden official is so capable. Why would he need my help?”
Mo Ting Feng’s expression didn’t change. “Let’s go.” He said it to Zhuang Yu Heng, then walked out as if the pain belonged to someone else.
“Lord Cang Yue!” Zhuang Yu Heng called after him, frantic. “If a Dust Warden truly loses a leg, it won’t be easy to explain to those above!”
“Whether it’s easy to explain is my matter,” Gu Cang Yue said lazily, settling on the edge of the bed. “Don’t trouble yourself with it, Lord.”
He watched Mo Ting Feng go, calm as if observing a test of endurance. He wouldn’t truly let the man cripple himself—but he wanted to see how long Mo Ting Feng could keep pretending he didn’t hurt. Blackwater’s poison gnawed like insects and stung like scorpions, rotting into marrow until the agony became unbearable. The fact Mo Ting Feng endured it without a sound said more than any words.
Song Wei Chen understood enough to feel uneasy. “Cang Yue… please. Detox him.”
Gu Cang Yue’s eyes flicked to her, and whatever pride he had left gave way. He lifted a hand and cast a spell.
Two strands of pale, icy-blue spiritual light—glittering with frost—twined around Mo Ting Feng’s leg like a double helix, then sank into flesh and vanished.
Mo Ting Feng didn’t react. Zhuang Yu Heng, however, let out a long breath, relief loosening his shoulders.
Gu Cang Yue leaned closer to Song Wei Chen, his gaze fixed on her as if the others had already faded from the room. “So… can we talk about you offering yourself to repay me now?”
Song Wei Chen looked toward Mo Ting Feng’s retreating back and made a decision that felt like stepping off a cliff.
“Cang Yue… I’ll date you,” she said quietly. “But I have to go with him.”