Chapter 203

Chapter 203: You Begged Me to Stay!

A Golden Talisman floated in the air. Under Yu Ming Yu’s startled gaze, Yu Zhi Yi flicked her wrist, and the talismanic seal sank into his forehead.

Boom. It felt like something exploded in his head. Sealed memories flew open, and a stream of things he had chosen to forget poured back into his mind.

Three years ago, Yu Zhi Yi’s master had just left. She had to catch ghosts, purify resentful energy, and guide spirits on her own. For a fourteen-year-old girl, it was hard.

That day she had captured a fierce resentful spirit. Its hatred was too deep to purify at once, so she sealed it in the City God Temple outside the city. She had to be back at Yu Manor before dark every day, or she would have to sleep on the street. She purified the spirit for seven days. With one more day, she could have finished.

But on the last day, something went wrong. Yu Jiao Jiao had noticed Yu Zhi Yi going out at set times and coming back right before dusk, so she secretly told Yu Ming Yu. He suspected Yu Zhi Yi was meeting shady people. He did not want this fake sister anyway, so he followed her that last day, hoping to catch her red-handed.

Yu Zhi Yi had reached the final step. If she succeeded, she would gain a clean spirit. If she failed, all the work would be wasted, and the spirit would become even more vicious.

Yu Ming Yu barged in, and she failed. If not for the Heart-Guard Mirror and the Defensive Magical Artifact her master had left her, she would have been in real danger. The spirit, seeking revenge, possessed Yu Ming Yu and fled the City God Temple, racing straight toward Yu Manor. On the way, it wanted to kick anyone it saw. Yu Zhi Yi stopped it over and over so a disaster would not happen.

The spirit, wearing Yu Ming Yu’s face, rushed into Yu Manor, sensed Yu Zhi Yi’s presence there, guessed it was her home, and tried to harm her family to hurt her. In that state, as long as it pretended well, it could have struck when no one was watching.

Yu Zhi Yi did not dare gamble. She threw in everything she had and destroyed the spirit. Because she had spent days burning through her spiritual energy to purify it, she was already running low. With her master’s treasures and one desperate push, she barely won, but the backlash hit her. When the spirit vanished, she collapsed into the lotus pond.

Yu Ming Yu, who had been fighting her in the pond, woke up with little wrong. Seeing a servant about to pass by, he picked Yu Zhi Yi up. That was the so-called life-saving grace.

Did he really forget all this? Not exactly. While the spirit was inside him, a sliver of his mind stayed awake. He knew what had happened. But afterward, he was so afraid that he chose to play dead, pretending it had all been a dream. He even forced himself to forget obvious details, like how he should have been in the City God Temple but somehow ended up at the lotus pond in Yu Manor.

Yu Zhi Yi watched his dazed face and asked: “Do you remember now?” Her lips curved in mockery as she went on: “I spent more than a month preparing for that spirit. To catch it and purify it, I drew countless talismans and crafted magic tools.”

“In life, that spirit had been a person who did good for three lifetimes, full of great merit, but died with a wrong. If I had purified it and sent it to reincarnate, I would have gained a lot of merit, and it would have been reborn to a powerful noble family, to a safe, happy life.”

Her eyes turned sharp: “Because you barged in, all my effort went to waste. I gained no merit and was weak for half a year.”

“And that spirit turned to nothing, with no next life.”

“I was foolish then. Even though I felt awful every day, I worried you would feel sick from the yin energy and took care of you myself.”

“In return, I got no thanks. You shamed me, disliked me, and called me a scheming girl.”

Her voice was filled with disgust as she said: “Yu Ming Yu, in the whole Yu Clan, other than Yu Jiao Jiao, the one I hate most is you.”

“Other than being lucky enough to be born into a powerful family with both parents, what strengths do you have?”

“Studying, you fail. Martial arts, you fail. Judging people, you fail. You act like you have no brain. Other than helping Yu Jiao Jiao twist right and wrong, you are good at nothing.”

“Yet you parade around like you are above everyone else. I do not understand where your confidence comes from.”

“You always say I am scheming and cling to the Yu Clan. Do not forget, when Yu Jiao Jiao came home, I said I would leave. I had packed everything and even told my master to wait for me outside the gate.”

“It was you all who said that after ten years together you already saw me as family. You also said that even if your birth sister returned, you would not ignore me. You said we were both your sisters and you would value me the same as before.”

Yu Ming Yu took a step back as older memories flooded in. His thoughts tangled. Back then, Yu Zhi Yi was only ten, and he was fifteen. He should remember more details, and he did. Yes, that day Yu Zhi Yi was ready to go. It was their whole family who said they could not bear to let her leave and that they would not blame her or give up on her. Only then did her master agree to let her stay. He too had truly treated her like a real sister and believed he could be fair. [When did it all change?] Feeling annoyed, he blurted: “Who told you to always target Jiao Jiao.”

Yu Zhi Yi laughed: “Others can say I target Yu Jiao Jiao, but not you.” When Yu Jiao Jiao set her up, she only put on an act in front of the other Yu family members and never in front of Yu Ming Yu, because at some unknown time he had already made Yu Zhi Yi equal to the word vicious in his heart. Even if Yu Zhi Yi did nothing, as long as Yu Jiao Jiao said she had done something bad, Yu Ming Yu would believe it without thinking. It was hard to believe that the man who kept calling her scheming was so easily fooled by clumsy lies.